‘Hello, Mare!’ Dreama, their little blond counter clerk, sang out as Mare stormed in. ‘Ooooooh, the coveralls look good! Nice job on the Anti-Pesto logo!’

‘Thank you.’ Mare slammed her bag on the counter. ‘The universe is behaving badly, so I will be making adjustments.’ Then she smiled at Dreama. ‘You, however, are always good. How’s my favorite apprentice?’

‘I’m fine, thank you, Mare,’ Dreama said, straightening her baby-blue sweater, her ponytail bobbing.

‘Not fine,’ Mare said.

Dreama winced. ‘I’m glorious, thank you, Mare.’

‘Damn straight.’ Mare patted her shoulder. ‘So, what’s new at Value Video!!?’

Dreama leaned forward. ‘There’s this gorgeous guy in the office with William.’

Mare thought, Crash, and then mentally slapped herself. She had no idea where Crash Duncan was, but she was positive he wasn’t in the manager’s office in the Salem’s Fork Value Video!!

Dreama jerked her head at the door that said manager in gold stick-on letters, her round face wide-eyed. ‘He’s a vice president from headquarters.’

Mare tilted her head and thought about it. Crash had been gone for a while. There was an off chance he could have made it big and come back as a Value Video!! VP. It didn’t seem like him, but still…

Dreama leaned still closer, her pouty lips parted in wonder. ‘I think they heard about William trying to off himself

‘William was not trying to off himself.’ Mare frowned at the door, aware of the new threat. ‘What does the head office want with William? He didn’t try to hang himself in front of the customers.’ Of course, if the VP was Crash, it wasn’t a problem. She could take care of Crash.

‘The VP looks just like Jude Law.’ Dreama sighed, obviously dazzled.

‘Oh,’ Mare said, fighting her disappointment. Crash didn’t look like Jude Law. Crash looked like a really good-looking biker. Of course, there had never been any chance the VP was Crash. That had been dumb-

‘I swear to God,’ Dreama said, ‘I thought it really was Jude. And you want to know what’s funny? His name is Jude. Look.’

Dreama shoved a business card at her and Mare took it. Under the Value Video!! logo it said,

JUDE GREEN,

VICE PRESIDENT SALES.

‘He’s really gorgeous,’ Dreama said. ‘Oh-my-God gorgeous. And he just came back from the Italian office-’

‘Value Video!! has an Italian office?’ Mare said, stunned.

‘So he says “ciao” a lot and it’s so cool,’ Dreama said. And did I say he’s gorgeous?’

‘Gorgeous men do not faze us, Dreama,’ Mare said, giving the card back, reality making her cranky again. ‘They are merely flesh and blood, arranged in a pleasing manner. They too shall pass, while we remain immutable and eternal. And, of course, unfazable. That’s why we rule the universe.’

‘Yes, Mare,’ Dreama said.

Mare gave the situation some thought. Okay, Crash hadn’t come back, but if she played everything right and William didn’t do a reprise with the rope in front of the VP she might get a raise out of this. She looked around the store, trying to see it from a vice president’s point of view. Aside from the mess of returns on the counter, the place looked pretty good, several customers already there, mostly kids but they were being quiet, nothing to get a VP upset. Mare frowned as the fact of the kids being there registered. ‘What are all these kids doing in here? What are you doing in here? Get back to school. That’s all we need is the head office busting us for illegal use of high school help.’

‘Teacher conference day,’ Dreama said. ‘I’m legal. Mare, he is so hot.’

‘We’re unfazable, Dreama.’ Mare went behind the counter to clean up the mess on the desktop. She stacked the DVDs and then started sorting the receipts before the VP could get a look at the chaos and harass William into looking for more rope.

‘I bet his suit is Armani,’ Dreama said. ‘I bet he’s rich.’

‘Is there anything I need to know?’ Mare said, comparing two receipts. ‘You know, about the store?’

‘One of the beanbag chairs sprung a leak. I tried to fix it with duct tape, but I think it’s dead. He has green eyes, Mare. He’s like-’

Dreama hoisted herself up on the counter and smacked into the stack of DVDs, and Mare, her hands full of receipts, caught them with her mind, blipping down them mentally to hold each one separately, trying to dampen any little blue sparks so Dreama didn’t see. She shot a glance at Dreama, who was still talking, all Jude Green all the time.

Okay, then, Mare thought and let go of the DVDs. She looked at the stack with pride: she was getting good. It had taken years of practice, but now with concentration, she could stack DVDs with her mind almost as well as with her hands.

God, she had the suckiest power in the family.

Mare realized that Dreama had stopped talking and was smiling past her, swinging her legs against the counter and biting her lower lip. Mare turned around.

Ah, yes, the VP Smooth gleaming blond hair. Glistening deep green eyes. A broad curving smile. All aimed at her, dressed in a very expensive charcoal-gray suit and very ugly green tie, topped off with a silver tie tack that gleamed almost as brightly as his teeth. Gimme a raise, Pretty Boy.

‘Miss O’Brien?’ the vision said. ‘Ciao! I’m Jude Green, vice president in charge of sales for Value Video!!’ He took in her coveralls and faltered a little, evidently expecting more tailoring and less Anti-Pesto from his assistant managers.

Ciao? ‘Nice to meet you, Jude.’ Mare shook his hand. It was a little damp, but not completely offputting. ‘So, you’re from Italy?’

He nodded. ‘Originally from France, but then we migrated to Italy. Just over the border.’

‘Oh, you’re French,’ Dreama said, practically swooning.

He looked at Mare’s overalls again, shook his head, and then soldiered on. ‘I’d like to talk to you.’

‘I’ll just go check that beanbag chair.’ Dreama boosted herself off the counter, grinning like an idiot.

Mare smiled at the VP but before he could say anything, Brandon Upshot, the O’Briens’ paper boy, came up to the counter with a girl who looked familiar, which wasn’t unusual. Everybody looked familiar in Salem’s Fork. What didn’t look familiar was Brandon looking nervous. Brandon could hit the front porch with the daily paper dead center, eyes closed, while riding his bike no hands, just like magic. Brandon had nerves of steel.

Brandon looked like he was going to throw up.

First girlfriend, Mare thought and told the VP ‘With you in a minute.’ She smiled at Brandon. I’m Queen of the Universe and I’ve got your back, babe. Calm down.

‘We’d like to reserve the love seat for the nine o’clock show,’ the girl said, a giggle in her voice, and Brandon blushed.

‘Let me check.’ Mare pulled out the clipboard that listed the seating available. ‘For the nine o’clock, the big couch is gone and the two La-Z-Boys, and all the beanbag chairs, but amazingly yes, the love seat is available and is now yours for the nine o’clock showing of The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Excellent choice, Brandon.’

The girl looked at him with new respect. People knew Brandon. Brandon was somebody.

Brandon got calmer.

The VP moved closer.

Watch and see how the pros do customer service in Salem’s Fork, Ciao-hound. Mare smiled at the girl. ‘Do I know you?’

‘I’m Katie Rose,’ the girl said. ‘My mom works at the bank with your sister.’

‘Oh, sure, Linda Rose, right?’ When Katie nodded, Mare said, ‘Good to see you again, Katie.’ She handed the clipboard to Brandon. ‘Write your name and Katie’s and your phone number right there.’ She pointed at the blank space for the love seat sign-up.

Brandon took the pencil with nervous fingers, and Mare saw it start to roll out of his loose grasp. She froze it long enough for him to get a grip on it and begin the serious business of writing his name and Katie’s together on the same line, then she glanced at Katie. She was smiling at Brandon, adoration in her eyes.

I used to smile at Crash like that, Mare thought, and then evicted Crash from her mind to glance back at Jude Green. He was watching her, not the customers. So much for his interest in public relations. ‘So you’re a vice president,’ she said to him, folding her arms and leaning back against the counter. ‘What brings you to Salem’s Fork?’

Jude moved a little closer. ‘We understand you had a disturbing event this week.’

‘Disturbing?’ Mare said, thinking, Oh, hell, William. ‘I don’t recall anything disturbing. There’s never anything disturbing here. We don’t do disturbing. Everything’s under control.’ My control. Gimme a raise and go away.

A sulky boy came up to the counter and shoved Brandon aside to drop Girls Gone Wild Cleveland in front of her. ‘Great flick,’ the boy said to Mare. He nudged the tall kid who’d followed him to the counter. ‘It’s got naked chicks in it. Topless.’

He looked back at Mare as if to say, How about that, baby? and she picked up the DVD to sign it out, repressing the urge to smack him upside the head with it since Jude Green was standing right there. The VP was stifling her flair. Another good reason to become queen of Value Video!!: stomp out all that flairstifling.

‘Cool. Naked chicks,’ the other kid said. Mare squinted at him. He looked to be a junior in high school. One of the Bannisters. They all had those noses that turned up at the end like elf shoes.