"That was delicious, Mom," Ivy said, as she helped Mrs. Abbott clear the table after dinner. Ivy didn't usually eat tofu steaks, but Olivia's mom had made them with a red wine reduction sauce that tasted surprisingly like blood.
"Thanks, honey," Mrs. Abbott said appreciatively. Just then, the doorbell rang. Mrs. Abbott slipped off her apron and went to answer it.
Maybe that's Olivia, thought Ivy nervously.
What if Dad caught her trying to pass herself off as me?
She heard Mrs. Abbott open the front door, followed by a chorus of high-pitched noises - it sounded like a flock of giant birds from an old horror movie.
Ivy crept down the hall and poked her head around the corner.Two little human girls wearing tutus and tiaras were chasing each other around Mrs. Abbott's legs, screaming their heads off. In the open door stood a woman who must have been their mother.
Ivy whipped her head back before anyone saw her. She swallowed hard. Baby bunnies! she thought.
"We really appreciate you and Olivia watching the girls," the woman at the door was saying. "Of course. Go have a great time with Jeff," Ivy overheard Mrs. Abbott reply.
The kids are staying!? Ivy realized. She would rather have been buried alive. Nothing could be more dangerous and strange than a tiny human, let alone two of them!
"Olivia!" Audrey called. "Casey and Stacey are here!"
Ivy took a deep breath and forced herself to put one bobby sock-clad foot in front of the other. She made her way down the hall and stood frozen in the living room doorway. In front of the fireplace, Olivia's father was wound up in a jump rope, one little girl pulling on each end.
"Not so tight," he said, "or I'll have to use my li ching on you." He tried to laugh, but he was clearly helpless.
"Here's Olivia," Audrey said when she saw Ivy.
The girls dropped the jump rope handles and started leaping up and down.Their shrieking took on a new intensity. "OLIIIIIVIAAAAAA! OLIIIIIVIAAAAAA!"
Audrey must have noticed the horrified expression on Ivy's face, because she said, "We promised Carol, remember? We're taking care of the girls while she and Jeff go to dinner for their anniversary."
I'm going to kill my sister, thought Ivy.
Casey and Stacey raced up to Ivy. She had no idea which was which, but one was wearing a yellow leotard and tutu, and the other was wearing a pink one. She forced herself not to recoil as they tugged at her hands.
"TEACH US A CHEER! A CHEER! A CHEER!" they shrieked.
"I - I don't know any cheers," Ivy stammered. Olivia's mother and father both stared at her. "Just kidding." Ivy smiled weakly.
"Well then," said Audrey. "I'll just leave you to work your magic." She winked at Ivy and walked out of the room.
Don't leave me! Ivy wanted to yell. She had zero experience with human kids.This wasn't going to be like hanging out with Brendan's little sister.
Playing Vampire Hunter was not an option. What am I supposed to do with a pair of hyper baby bunnies for a whole evening? she thought frantically.
She didn't know ballet, and she wasn't about to have a conversation about ponies.
"OLIVIA, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING
FOR?" the girl in the yellow tutu screamed. Human children are like animals, Ivy thought. They can smell fear. She couldn't let on that she had no idea what to do.
"Look, Olivia," the girl in the pink tutu said. "We got dressed up for you."
"You did?" said Ivy, and both little girls beamed up at her angelically. The one in the pink tutu was missing two front teeth. All at once, Ivy realized that these little bunnies were expecting her to be nothing more than the perky, peppy, fun Olivia they knew. All I have to do is give them what they want, she thought.
Ivy clasped her hands together. "Well. Those are the prettiest, sparkliest, most princessy outfits ever!" she said, giving her best Olivia ponytail flip. "I totally love them!"
"I told you she'd be impressed," the girl in the yellow tutu said, beaming at her sister.
Olivia was sitting at the table in Ivy's kitchen as her father checked the oven.
"What's for dinner?" she asked, her leg bouncing nervously under the table.
"It is a surprise," he answered mysteriously. This afternoon, Olivia and Ivy had agreed that she'd make up some excuse at dinner time so she wouldn't have to eat anything that would make her puke. "Just say 'I'm not feeling well' or 'I'm trying a new diet,'" Ivy had said.
But now the evening had been going so well that Olivia didn't want to spoil it. Her father had set the table for them really nicely. "Can you give me a hint?" she asked anxiously.
Her father came over and lit a candle in the center of the table. "In honor of our move," he said proudly, "I have made a European dish that is renowned for its taste, texture, and iron content."
Olivia's stomach churned. That means something bloody, I know it, she thought. She gulped her glass of water. "I don't think I'm hungry," she said after a moment.
Her father's face fell, and Olivia felt superguilty. "Won't you even try a bite?" her dad pleaded. "It's quite a delicacy. In fact, it's part of a traditional human breakfast."
It can't be too gross then, Olivia thought. Okay, I'll try it.
Her father slipped on a gray oven mitt and crossed the kitchen to pull something out of the oven. She could tell he was slicing something. He returned and set a plate before her. It had two thick patties on it that looked like dirt.
Olivia poked one with a fork. "What is it?"
"Black pudding," her father said proudly. "It's very popular in England."
That doesn't sound so bad, Olivia thought.
"What's in it?"
"It's congealed blood sausage, cut into slices," her father said matter-of-factly.
"Humans eat that?" Olivia blurted.
"All the time," her dad replied, sitting down across from her with his own plate. He cut a huge piece and popped it in his mouth. He shut his eyes blissfully, savoring the taste. "Mmmmm."
He gestured toward Olivia's plate encouragingly, but she couldn't move. She was too busy concentrating on not breathing through her nose.
"Go on." He nodded.
Olivia's fork and knife shook in her hands. She forced herself to cut a piece the size of her pinky fingernail. She adjusted her glass of water so the moment she took a bite she could chug.