Tabby glanced at Lucy who had gone back to watching TV. Sometimes, I wondered if everything affected Lucy as little as it seemed, or if the kid was good at hiding it. If it was the hiding, we were going to have to try to figure out something to get her to open up. Spirit or not, it wasn’t good to hold in that much stuff.

  “Damn,” she said.

  “Yeah. So when Lucy and I go to Italy, keep my phone charged. I told Will he could call you for updates.”

  “Okay. That makes sense. What else do you need to do for your trip?” she asked.

  “Little toiletries, a power converter. That will get me started at least. Anything else I need, I can either buy or have you ship it to me.” I wasn’t fretting about it too much. I’d traveled before.

  “Where will you be staying?”

  I shrugged. “I forget. I need to print all that and figure out how to print from the iPad.”

  Tabby laughed. “It can’t be that hard.”

  I got off my ass and powered up my computer. Then I searched it. The problem was that it used a wireless printer which I did not have. Oh, well; it wasn’t that big of a deal to email shit to myself.

  “Well, that takes care of that,” I said as I leaned back in the chair.

  “What?” Tabby asked.

  “I’m stuck forever emailing this stuff to myself. Or, well, until I decide to upgrade everything.” And I was too lazy to do that—especially when everything was still working.

  “Yay! One more thing I can get done while you’re gone.”

  I could almost imagine her clapping her hands. Jesus. I got up and walked over to her. Then I kissed her on the head.

  “Update the whole house for all I care,” I said. “But don’t touch my refrigerator.”

  She laughed. “Most men have a favorite chair. You have a refrigerator.”

  I shrugged. “Where else would I keep my bacon?”

  She swatted me on the ass. “Go get your shower. We aren’t going to stay inside all day.”

  #

  Days passed. Tabby, Lucy, and I fell into a sort of routine. I helped Tabby pick paint colors for the entire house. Lucy finalized everything for her room. Doc did not come back. At least, this time, as far as I knew he was fine. There was no danger of him going home.

  The night before the trip to Italy, I pulled Lucy aside. Well, sort of. I asked her to step outside with me.

  She followed me into the backyard without a word.

  I closed the door behind us and turned to look at her. “I know it is going to be hard to do this, but while we’re in Italy, you’ll have to be quiet.”

  “Why?” she asked. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me. It kind of gave me the heebie jeebies.

  “We don’t know who will or won’t be able to see you or hear you. I want to draw the least amount of attention to you as possible. If it wasn’t for the fact that I don’t trust the safety of hotel rooms, I’d just have you stay there.”

  “Because of Arizona?”

  I nodded. “You’ll be going to class with me. It is going to be hard, but maybe you can help by watching for stuff you find unusual.”

  “I have to be quiet all the time?”

  I shook my head. “Only when we are in class or at the school or around anyone we don’t know. So in restaurants and at the hotel, everything should be fine. There’s so much noise in those places that no one should notice.”

  “I’ll miss Isaac.”

  I sighed. No way would I get away with taking a cat with me. He would probably have to be quarantined and everything else. “I know, but he’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”

  She wiped at her nose. “Why didn’t you want Tabby to hear this?”

  “Because she worries too much.” Granted, she didn’t vocalize it, but I noticed the dark circles under her eyes that weren’t going away. My bullshit was getting to her. Maybe me going away for a while would be a good thing.

  “That’s why you are letting her fix up the house?” Lucy asked.

  “Yup.”

  Suddenly, Tabby opened the door. “What are you two doing out here?”

  “Preparing for Italy,” I said. She didn’t need to know much more than that.

  She grunted.

  I held up my hands. “I swear, it was nothing bad.”

  She laughed. “Okay. Okay. Hurry it up, though, because I’m bored.”

  I laughed, then turned to Lucy. “You ready to go inside?”

  “Yeah.”

  I herded Tabby and Lucy back into the house. Now that that was out of the way, I could concentrate on getting my shit ready to go.

  #

  The airport was crazy. Somehow, it seemed more hectic than when we went to Arizona. Maybe because Tabby wasn’t there. She kept me grounded. Now, I was on my own.

  “I think the gate is over there,” Lucy said, pointing.

  I followed her finger and there it was. Maybe it was a girl thing. I wasn’t quite ready to admit that I couldn’t handle this without them, but I’d sure be a lot more bumbling about it.

  “Thanks, Luce.” I headed toward the gate and Lucy trotted behind me. I sat in a chair to wait and set my carry-on bag in front of the chair next to me so Lucy could sit down.

  “I like airplanes,” Lucy said.

  I inwardly groaned. The last time had been a stressful mess for me. On our way to Arizona, she flitted about the place like a bumblebee. I kept expecting disaster to strike, but it never did. But ever since that girl at the fast food restaurant admitted to seeing Lucy, I’d been pretty uneasy.

  I could only imagine the types of shit she could get into on a transatlantic flight. It could be an epic disaster.

  “Lucy,” I said out of the side of my mouth. “Remember not to do anything crazy on the flight, okay?”

  “Uh-huh.” She was looking out the window at the big plane coming in.

  This was going to get interesting.

  #

  I was surprised. As far as plane rides went, Lucy mostly sat at my feet. I was thankful for the little bit of legroom. Maybe she was as nervous about it as I was. It was still nice to know that she was listening to me finally. I knew it wasn’t an easy thing for her to do, but the minute I got the chance, I was going to do something special for her. I didn’t know what. Hopefully, inspiration would strike.

  The first thing I did when we get to the hotel room was check for bedbugs. Tabby had given me a checklist of stuff to watch and that was at the top of the list. Luckily, it didn’t have any. I brought my suitcase into the main part of the room and sat on the bed to relax. All I wanted to do was sleep, but it wasn’t happening yet.

  “We’re staying here for six weeks?” Lucy asked.

  “Yep.” The room was one of those hotel apartments. It had a single bed, a small table with two chairs, and a kitchenette. The bathroom was serviceable, and I was thankful we were staying in a place where there wasn’t a communal bathroom for the entire floor. Those were common all over Europe. I wasn’t ready to get that close with other people.

  It was fancier than the room I’d had in seminary, but it wasn’t luxurious either. The most important part? I could work with it.

  “Where’s the TV?” Lucy asked.

  I looked around. She was right. I guessed either the Order didn’t feel it was important or TV in a hotel room wasn’t a necessity in Italy. Either way, Lucy was going to have to figure out something else to do. Shit. More and more I was starting to wish I could have left her at home. This was not going to be a fun trip for her.

  “Guess we don’t get one. I’m sorry,” I said.

  She shrugged. “It’s better than staying in a car for days.”

  In Arizona, we’d been left without a choice as far as that went. The supposedly possessed dude had forced us into staying with him. It hadn’t been pretty. Plus, since he was actively contacting and dealing with demons, it wasn’t good to have Lucy there. So Tabby had warded the car and Lucy had stayed in it with Doc.

  “I’ll get you some books and anything else you might want tomorrow when we go out. Right now, I need to get some sleep.” My eyelids were starting to close on their own and even blinking a lot wasn’t stopping them.

  “Okay,” she said.

  I lay back on the bed and my eyes slammed shut almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

  #

  I didn’t wake up until almost noon local time. Starting tomorrow, I was getting up at seven. According to my packet, the classes for Exorcismo E Preghieri Di Liberasione started at nine. I was thankful they brought me over a few days beforehand. Otherwise, this exercise would be a disaster.

  It was Friday morning. Class started Monday. I crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom. When I came back, I sat down at the little table and peered outside. Lucy was sitting opposite me, very still.

  “What are you looking at?” I asked.

  “Nothing. Everything. It’s almost as good as TV.”

  I chuckled. “Well, that’s good. I’m going to get a shower. Then, you and I are going shopping.”

  She turned to me, grinning. “Okay.”

  It was the least I could do. Maybe I would find her some toys or games to help her occupy the time.

  #

  The first thing I did was to buy myself a cell phone and minutes to use while I was there. If I ran out of minutes, all I needed to do was buy a new SIM card. So much easier than in the States. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was used to the way stuff was in America, I would consider relocating. But I wasn’t sure if Europe could stand that much of me.

  Lucy and I sat at a little café. I was programming Tabby’s number into the phone when Lucy gasped.

  I glanced up. “What?”

  “He’s gone now, but there was a guy that looked like Mr. Black.”

  I peered in all directions, but there was no one there. I sighed. Chances were it was a fluke, but I knew better than to count on stuff to go the way I wanted them too. “Well, keep your eyes open. If you see him again, let me know,” I said.

  “Okay.”

  The waiter came and took my order. I got a cappuccino and had to stop myself from calling it a crappuccino. I also ordered a breakfast pastry platter the waiter recommended. And people complained about Americans being obsessed with sugar. I wanted to laugh.

  After he walked away, I stared at Lucy. “Want to talk to Tabby?”

  She shook her head. “Not today.”

  “Okay.” I shrugged. I guessed Will was right about Lucy and phones. Oh, well. I dialed Tabby’s number.

  “Hello?” I heard her answer.

  “Hey, wanted to make sure you got my number while I’m here,” I said.

  “How’s Lucy?” she asked.

  “She’s okay. No TV in the hotel room, so after breakfast, I’m going to get her some books and toys.”

  I heard her sigh. “This house feels too empty.”

  I was starting to feel sorry for her. I’d figured she’d be happy to have the house to herself. I assumed wrong yet again. “At least you know the date we’ll be back.”

  “True. And I’m counting on it.”

  The last bit, the way she said it, was almost angry. Not like Tabby at all. Maybe she was having a bad day.

  “I’ll let you go now, looks like the guy’s coming with my food.” The waiter had a tray piled high.

  “Okay. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.” I hung up.

  The waiter deposited my pastries in front of me. “Anything else?” he asked in halting English.

  I shook my head. “No, thanks.”

  #

  After a few misunderstandings, I found how to get to a bookstore that was close by. I bought Lucy several picture books and as many coloring books as I could find. They even had these cute little bird dolls and I bought her one of those too. It wasn’t TV, but it was something at least.

  We caught a cab back to the hotel room. As soon as we were up in the room, Lucy visibly relaxed.

  “It is really hard to not say stuff,” she said.

  I wanted to ruffle her hair. Poor kid. This was sucking for everyone. “I know. I wish it wasn’t so bad.”

  She nodded.

  “Want me to set up your books here on the table?”

  “Yeah.”

  I got all of her stuff organized. Then I set myself up on the bed. I’d brought along both my Bible and my copy of the Roman Ritual for the sole purpose of brushing up on information before class on Monday. I imagined that they would be referring to both often. At least that’s how everything in seminary had been. No reason to think this class would be any different.

  It had been quite a while since I’d read either one. And well, this was the Roman Catholic Church. They didn’t do too well with unconventional. I could imagine how well me and Tabby’s ritual would go over with them. The fact that it worked would only make them more pissed.

  “Jimmy?” Lucy asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “What are we going to do if they can sense me?”

  I stared at her. Dammit. She shouldn’t be fretting so much. “Who?”

  “The people in the class.”

  I sighed. And they all wondered why I worried about stuff so much? There was no guarantee; I’d already learned that. “We’ll deal with that if we have to. God wouldn’t have put you in my hands for no reason at all. Try not to worry.”

  She sighed. “Okay.”

  #

  Getting to class Monday wasn’t as easy as I thought. Rome had all of these twisty, turny streets with names I had no way of remembering. I thought about using the GPS on the phone, but who knew if I even had enough data for that. Best to be frugal and try something else.

  I ended up getting the directions via the iPad. I honestly wasn’t surprised at all to find that it worked there. So far, the Order’s network seemed to be everywhere. In a way, that was unsettling, but now, it made it all a lot easier. I was going to have to start being thankful for the little things.

  Lucy almost floated behind me as I rushed through the streets. Just getting to the bus stop was an adventure with the morning thrall. I hated the traffic, and unlike the States, most of it was people walking every damn place. It was complete chaos.

  Eventually, I found my way to the school. It was the campus of the American Catholic University, but the exorcism class was part of their offerings. I stopped at the big map located near the elevators and found the classroom.

  I hopped onto the elevator and rode silently up to the proper floor. Lucy was being good and quiet. I wished that there was something else I could do for her, but there was nothing. The only consolation was that I was probably going to be as bored as she was.

  I got to the classroom with about a half an hour to spare. There were a few students waiting there already. Among the mix were priests, a nun, and one man dressed in a suit. Good to know I wasn’t the only oddball in the class. Or at least the only one dressed in regular clothes. I was probably the weirdest person there no matter what.

  As the minutes ticked by, more and more students crowded around. On a good note, not one of them appeared to notice Lucy. That made one less thing to worry about. And if Lucy got bored and wanted to make silly faces, she could. In fact, I would have to try to encourage it.

  My imagination wandered and, suddenly, I found myself wondering what would happen if someone dropped a giant pack of fireworks in the middle of the hallway. I had to keep from smiling. These people were entirely too formal. I could almost see one of the nuns pulling out a ruler to smack me.

  I mean, granted, this was a class about how to do an official exorcism, but shit, even the demons laughed. Looking at the stoic faces around me, I had to doubt if they’d even seen a demon. I, however, probably had too much experience with them at this point. I should have been given this class as soon as I was “welcomed to the family.” Not now when I had already performed exorcisms, discussed evil with the Devil, and dealt with a fucked-up changeling.

  Soon, a man dressed in a black robe came and opened the door with a large set of jingling keys. I chose a seat in the back. No sense in drawing more attention to myself and, well, maybe I could whisper to Lucy now and then from up there. Surely, the teacher wouldn’t be looking in the back all the time?

  The dude in the black robes went to the front of the classroom, and began turning on lights and firing up computers. It was kind of nice to see the Vatican was high-tech. I should have known, though. The Order certainly had plenty of fancy doo-dads.

  He said something in Italian. I raised my hand. I needed to see about the translator they had said I would have. I hadn’t seen him anywhere. It was possible one of the guys dressed like a businessman was my translator and hadn’t been given my picture or anything.

  “Che cosa?” he asked.

  I cleared my throat. “What about my translator?”

  “Lo non parlo inglese,” he said.

  I figured that meant he couldn’t speak English. Great. This was going to be fun.

  I pulled my iPad out from my bag and held up my hand with my index finger up. I hoped he’d recognize I was wanting him to wait. As soon as it loaded, I pulled up a translation app and had it say, “Traduttore.”

  The guy paused for a minute, then said, “No.”

  Well, at least I had confirmation. Either the Order had lied, or there was a fuck-up. I let the guy ramble on. He started passing out papers. I sent off an email to Father Martin about my lack-o-translator. Hopefully, they could get it sorted out as soon as possible.

  There wasn’t anything else I could do. I leaned back in the chair and let him drone. Every so often, he’d put up a picture that was supposed to be scary, but since it had no meaning to me, it didn’t touch me. None of the photos were very graphic either. I had the American insensitivity in my favor.

  I finally got my piece of paper passed up to me. It was in Italian. I could get it translated, but there was a big part of me wondering why should I bother. If I couldn’t understand the lecture, the notes from it wouldn’t help all that much.

  Every so often, I thought I understood something because it was similar to Latin, but I couldn’t be sure.

  #

  After class, Lucy and I hit a café nearby for lunch. I needed something good after that fiasco.

  “How are you supposed to learn anything if you don’t understand?” Lucy asked.

 

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