“Well, he’d better,” Olivia declared, “because we’re stuck together.”
“Like bubble gum and black licorice.” Ivy grinned. No matter what her dad was going to say, she felt lucky to have found Olivia. She took a deep breath and sat up. “Okay, I’m going to go tell him right now.”
A few moments later, Ivy stood peeking in through the open door of her father’s study. In the center of the bookshelf-lined room, her dad was hunched over a sprawling gray cardboard model atop a high table. From the door, Ivy could see postage stamp–sized color Xeroxes of paintings on the interior walls and elaborate floor lamps the size of chess pieces. She knew her dad was redecorating a wealthy New York family’s crypt—Vamp magazine was already talking about doing a piece on it.
Ivy watched silently as her father adjusted a tiny gray altar in one of the rooms. Next to it, he lay a scrap of dark purple fabric as a carpet, then thought better of it and tried a burgundy one instead.
Ivy loved watching her father work. It was like watching him play with an ever-changing Goth dollhouse. She could just imagine a black-clad, high-society vampire lounging on that altar. “Hello, Ivy,” her father said suddenly without looking up.
“Hi,” Ivy said in a small voice. She’d thought he hadn’t known she was there.
“Is something on your mind?” he asked, picking up a tiny black coffin between thumb and forefinger.
“No.” Ivy gulped. “I just thought I’d say hello. You know how I like to watch you work. That burgundy carpet’s killer.”
Her father glanced up at her suspiciously. “Okay, I’d better get back to my homework and stuff,” Ivy said, her heart racing. “Just wanted you to know I have an identical twin sister named Olivia who’s in my science class. Bye.” She bolted away.
“Ivy?” her father called after her.
She stopped in her tracks and took three slow steps backward so she could see her father again through the doorway. He was standing upright, the miniature coffin held up like a little exclamation point next to the O of his open mouth. “What did you just say?” he asked.
“I have a twin,” Ivy whispered.
“That can’t be.” Her father shook his head.
“Sure it can,” Ivy said, trying to smile. “Her name’s Olivia. She moved here at the beginning of the school year.”
“And how,” her father asked, “do you know this girl is your twin?”
“Because we look exactly alike,” Ivy answered.
“Many people look alike,” her father countered.
Ivy peered down at the emerald ring hanging from a chain around her neck. “But not many people who look like me also have a ring like mine,” she pointed out.
Her father breathed in sharply through his nose. “This is . . . quite a surprise,” he said slowly. Ivy winced.
“There’s more,” she said. He turned a shade paler, which is no easy feat for a vampire.
Ivy steeled herself. “She’s a human.” Her father gasped, and the miniature coffin slipped from his hand. He grabbed at it frantically, but it bounced off his fingers. Reaching for it, the back of his hand accidentally struck the model, and one wing’s cardboard walls collapsed, crushing a pair of gargoyle easy chairs.
He stared down at the model in disbelief. “Sorry,” squeaked Ivy.
“It is not your fault,” her father said absently, going to sit behind his desk. He put his head in his hands. “Does she know of your true nature?” he asked, looking up after a moment.
Of all the questions Ivy expected from her dad, this was the one she’d been dreading most. She nodded, and her father closed his eyes in disappointment.
I am going to be grounded for eternity, thought Ivy. “She would have found out sooner or later,” Ivy blurted. “And Olivia won’t tell anyone. She knows how serious it—”
Her father held up his hand to stop the stream of words coming from her mouth. “I understand,” he said simply. He looked at her sternly, but Ivy didn’t think he looked angry. He took a deep breath. “How do you feel about this sister you have found?”
“I love her,” Ivy said matter-of-factly. “I couldn’t imagine my life without her. I feel like meeting her was meant to be.” Ivy stood there, waiting for her dad to respond, but he just stared into space. Finally she said, “Is it okay if I go to Olivia’s house for dinner tonight?”
“Have you finished your homework?” her father asked expressionlessly.
“Mostly,” Ivy answered.
“Then you may go,” he allowed, forcing a small smile. He stood and came to give her a quick hug before looking down at his model. “It seems I have my work cut out for me here,” he said, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. Ivy nearly skipped back down to her room in the basement. Considering I was half expecting him to burst into flames, she thought, I think he took that pretty well!