Suzie’s House 456 : An Advertising Agent Comes Home

Miranda could tell from the babble of voices coming from the den that the kids were in the house again. It irritated her that they felt so free to run wild in her cherished home. The pack of teenagers were always underfoot, but Suzie was hardly ever home anymore. Nothing had turned out as Miranda originally envisioned when she suggested Suzie turn the house into a boarding house.

A loud thump and laughter came from the den over the sound of some garage band on the TV. Miranda started for the stairs, then changed her mind. That loud thump could mean something needed to be moped up or repaired. She went to check it out.

All six members of the band Gene played in plus Ben and Lisa sat in the chairs and on the couch. Drew stooped to pick up a stack of books that had fallen pell-mell on the floor.

“Drew?”

He glanced at her, but continued picking up books. “I’m clumsy now,” he muttered.

None of the kids seemed the least concerned. None of them offered to help him. They all stared with fixed attention at the TV. Miranda knelt, though her tight little skirt wasn’t exactly designed for that maneuver.

“No, no.” Drew waved her off. “If you help me I’ll feel even worse.”

“Oh. All right.” She quickly straightened.

He plopped two of the books on the little desk where his laptop hummed, then went after the rest. His motions were a little off, as if he saw everything as double.

Maybe he did. Everything had changed. He’d finally returned to them in body, but his spirit still roamed in the Land of the Damned. Though she never saw him taking any kind of drugs, it was clear the ones he’d taken before still affected him.

She almost asked if he was alright. Her fingers twitched with the urge to help him as he placed the last of the books on the little desk. A couple of years ago, she probably would have shoved right in and helped him no matter how he felt about it. Falling in love with Vin had taught her not to just force her kind intentions on people.

To think that she’d originally gone after Drew. Now she felt nothing but pity.

The kids started laughing. One of the boys pointed at the TV and said something about a cord. Miranda looked closer at the program. It was a recording of a band on stage at some bar. Actually, the stage looked familiar. So did the people on it. It was the kids!

So this was Gene’s band. Miranda turned to face the screen straight on. Though still clearly amateur, they weren’t bad. A girl in a mask strutted across the screen with a microphone in her hand. She sang into the microphone, but there was a clear mechanical failure because the voice kept cutting in and out abruptly.

“See. There’s where the cord came unplugged.” The boy who pointed before pointed again.

“Well, what am I supposed to do?” The one called Emma said. Miranda remembered her because they’d had words before.

“We need new equipment,” Gene said in his always-reasonable tone of voice. That kid was remarkably unflappable.

“For that we need money.”

“But we need the equipment for the gigs so we can pay for the equipment.”

“It would help if your uncle didn’t keep taking everything.” The one called Tracy glared at the one who was doing most of the pointing.

The volume cut back in, carrying the masked singer’s voice clear and true. It was incredible. Though rough, this band had a lot of potential.

And Miranda knew just how to put it to good use.

“Hey, if you need some money, I could hook you up.” She glanced around to find every eye in the room on her.

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