Djinni and the Geek

Chapter 5

Maybe more manual labor would get his brain out of this funk. If he wanted to sleep tonight he was going to have to move boxes off the bed and dig out some sheets. Or at least his sleeping bag. And setting up his computer was a major priority. His DSL wouldn't be connected until Monday, so he couldn't go online from the house but he could at least set up his work station and video game console. Blowing up aliens was always a good pick-me-up.

He had his MP3 player cranked as he worked, so he didn't hear his cell phone over the Ramones but he felt it vibrate in his back pocket. He yanked out his earbuds, heard the ringtone programmed for his sister and answered the call. He flopped down in his leather recliner to talk.

"Hey, Jenna. What's up?"

"Thought I'd see how you were doing in the new house."

"Surrounded by boxes. But yeah, it feels pretty good to have a place to call my own. No ghosts yet, so doing good so far."

"No, I'm not getting a sense that you're surrounded by spirits. All the readings I've done show that the house is a healthy one for you. I wish I could see it in person though." He heard the little sigh and mentally echoed it. He missed her too, even though they'd agreed a long time ago that they were both where they needed to be. He was glad, though, that she'd done some Tarot readings about him and the house. There had been a time when he hadn't believed in her gift but after meeting Drake, all bets were off about the supernatural. He puttered about with the phone to his ear, opening the boxes that held his remote controls and a few DVDs.

"You could come up for Yuletide."

He could almost hear her smile - that knowing, sort of wistful smile that meant she knew more than she was telling him. "Not this year. I think you'll be - busy by then. Besides, Liv and I are going to Mexico with her parents for the holidays."

"That should be fun."

"I hope so. I'll get to play with her nieces and nephews, which is always fun. I'll email you pictures of the beach and you can send me some of the snow, when you get it."

"I can do that." In Michigan, you could never tell. Snow could come in October, or not until February. "Love you Jen. Take care."

"Love you too, David. And one more thing..."

"What?" He could hear a hint of worry in her voice and he flopped down into his one good leather recliner. "Spill it, Jenna."

"I can't tell what but I get a weird feeling that things are about to start happening in your life. Like what I got in April but this time more personal, more intense. Just keep an open mind, okay? And be careful."

"I promise."

Whew, after he'd said goodbye and hung up, he slumped back into his chair and switched on the recliner's built-in massage function. When the whole dragon thing had erupted last spring, Jen had been frantic, leaving all sorts of warnings on his voice mail. And he'd only been peripherally involved. Maybe he should call his friends and give them a heads-up. Or at least go into the office and email Drake, to see if something was happening to him.

But no, Jenna had said this was more personal for Dave. So the message was for him, not for his friends. He'd just have to follow his sister's instructions, take her words to heart. Be careful and keep an open mind. That sounded like decent advice in pretty much any situation. How hard could it be?

He finished unpacking the box into the entertainment center - which along with his desk and the recliner completed his collection of decent furniture, then he stopped at the fridge for one more long-neck and headed up the wide wooden staircase to the second floor. The largest bedroom up here had been converted to a master suite sometime recently, so that was where he'd put his bed and two mismatched chests of drawers he'd scavenged from yard sales.

Once upstairs, he dug out pillows, flannel sheets and his heavy down comforter from a jumbo garbage bag, which had seemed easier to pack linens in than boxes. More trash bags held clothes and blankets. Jenna had moved all the way to Arizona to forget about all the winter nights they'd huddled under a single crummy blanket with no money to pay the gas bill. Dave stayed in Michigan, refusing to let the memories win but he did splurge on really good, warm bedding.

A bag in the bathroom held towels, a box yielded soap and toothpaste and such. It was good to have a bunch of geeks help you pack. Things were more organized now than they'd been in his apartment. He took his first shower in his new home, tossed on a pair of baggy sweats and a long-sleeved t-shirt, then wandered into the walk in closet and stared at the stack of unpacked boxes.

Maybe there was a book in here that would distract him. In the second box down, he smelled the faintest trace of licorice, then his fingers made contact with the wooden puzzle box, the one he'd picked up at the antique shop in Florida. Well, maybe that would occupy his brain for a while. He turned on some music before climbing into bed. It was too damn lonely in the big empty house without any kind of background noise. So with Green Day blaring, he sat in bed, leaning against the wall since he still didn't own a headboard and laid the box in his lap. He took a long pull of the Irish porter and tried to figure out why his silver ring had grown warm again.

Finally, he shrugged. Whatever was going on, the gods would reveal it in their own sweet time. He sipped at his ale, then picked up the wooden box. It felt almost too delicate for his beefy fingers but he couldn't resist the warm, silky feel of the burnished wood. He toyed with it until he was finished with his beer, then returned it to the milk crate that was presently serving as his nightstand, turned off the lamp and pulled the blankets up to his chin.