Dervla Alarms the Nanas by D.R. Ransdell

Author:D.R. Ransdell [Ransdell, D.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

I poured myself a cup of vanilla-flavored coffee before taking a seat on the porch. I wafted the steam toward my nose. Mari did the same with a cup of her own.

Lula brought out a tray of polvorones, tri-colored Mexican cookies that she bought from La Estrella. “You were gone a long time.”

I snapped up the nearest cookie. Lula knew I couldn’t resist them.

“Dervla did an expert job,” Mari said. “She wheedled out more information than a star journalist interviewing a spy.”

“That’s why we need her so much.” Lula pointed to her ears. “Emil was clueless when I talked to him. All he could think about was how much pain he was in.”

Mari rocked in her chair. “He’s all right now.”

“How would you know that?” Lula abruptly looked at her sister, who in turn nodded toward me.

Lula shook her head. “She didn’t!”

Mari rocked harder. “Don’t blame her too much. It’s a lot to take in.”

Lula imitated jabbing pins into a doll. “You . . . ?”

“Joachín and I were playing around. I thought it would make me feel better.’

The nanas fell silent. For the second time that week I assumed I’d be banished from the family.

Lula pulled up her skirt a bit to allow for ventilation. “It’s a common mistake. Sometimes even fatal.” She caught her sister’s eyes. A flicker of understanding passed between them. They’d had over seventy years to build a close bond around all their secrets.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt him,” I said. “Not seriously, at least. You have to believe me on that.”

“Of course you weren’t, honey,” Lula said. “This isn’t anything you would know about. You’re too young.”

“And you’re not Hispanic,” added Mari.

I was saved by sincerity. Had I been lying, Lula would have known it anyway, and Mari would have been alerted by my aura.

“There must be an Irish equivalent,” Lula said to Mari. “Otherwise, how did she activate it?”

Mari picked up a polvorón. “I’ve asked myself the same thing all afternoon.”

I felt more confused than ever. “How could I activate something? I didn’t do anything special. You saw me! I was right here when I put in the first pin.”

Mordy chose this moment to saunter onto the porch and lie next to my feet.

Mari nodded. So did Lula.

“No,” I said. “You’re not telling me that the cat knows something about me that I don’t.”

Lula topped off her coffee. “Mordy is never wrong. He can sense things about people. That’s why we never reprimand him if he bites. He only punishes someone for a good reason.”

“That’s why he never bites you, angel,” said Mari. “He knows you’re good-hearted.”

I had superpowers, and the nanas knew my true nature because of a cat. The world had gone crazy. It had chewed me into bits and swallowed me up.

“Now what?” I asked glumly. “Emil will kill me when he finds out about this.”

“Why would we tell him, angel?” Mari asked.

“He wouldn’t believe us even if we did,” added Lula.

I was having cookies and coffee with two Cheshire cats and one who bit bad people.

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