3 Cups and Balls

Chapter 3 Cups and Balls Cups and Balls (n) a classic magic trick that is more than two thousand years old, in which several small balls seem to appear and disappear under overturned cups; in his book, Professor Hoffmann called this trick "the groundwork of all legerdemain" Jessie was sitting right next to her father when the phone rang. He had been telling them about something called an IED, which sounded to Jessie like a bomb because it had exploded in the road right in front of the transport vehicle he had been riding in. "If we'd been even twenty feet closer," he said, "we would have all been dead. I'm not kidding you." "Jake!" Jessie's mom looked angry and tired at the same time. Mixed-up emotions. Hard for Jessie to

read. "I don't want you telling the kids stories like that." "Why not? They're old enough. They're not babies, right?" He turned to Jessie. She nodded. "I'm not a baby." She glanced at Evan, who was slouching in the doorway. He was practicing with his quarter, making it dance across his knuckles, then disappear into the palm of his hand. That's when the phone rang, so loud it made Jessie jump half an inch. Her mother hurried to answer it, as if she wanted to stop the horrible noise as quickly as possible. Jessie's head hurt, and her stomach felt achy, like it was pumped full of air and pressing out in all directions. She wondered if she felt this way because she was so glad her dad was home. "Sometimes I forget what an American phone sounds like," said her dad, leaning in toward Jessie. He flashed his special smile at her, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. Jessie wished with all her heart she could say, Me,

too! She wanted to be just like her dad. A prizewinning reporter. Brave. Fearless. A hero. Though she didn't really want to go to war. Too loud. Too messy. Too scary. She looked closely at her dad. Taking inventory. That's what she called it. Looking to see what had changed since the last time she'd seen him. Everyone always said he was handsome, but Jessie didn't really know what that meant. Her whole life, she'd been hearing how handsome her dad was. One time she overheard her grandma saying to her mom, Jake's biggest problem is that he's too handsome for his own good. That confused Jessie. How could being handsome be a problem? To Jessie, his face looked mostly the same: gray-blue eyes, straight nose, high cheekbones, and a strong jaw. He had thick dark hair that seemed just a little bit longer than the last time. There were also a few wisps of gray above his ears. That was new. Was her dad getting old? She knew he ran five miles a day, and old people didn't do that. Jessie looked at

her father's hands, which were resting on the edge of the kitchen table. He had long fingers and strong hands. No ring. Jessie always looked for that when he came home. "Hey!" said her mother into the phone. "Is something wrong? I was beginning to worry when I didn't hear from you." She walked into the dining room, which was now Grandma's bedroom, and closed the door behind her. Grandma was visiting her old neighbors, the Uptons, back in upstate New York. Jessie's mom had driven her there the day before. She was going to spend the week with her friends while Mom was away. It would have been too hard for Peggy to take care of Evan and Jessie and Grandma. Grandma had a way of forgetting things—like what year it was, or why she was living with the Treskis now, or even the names of her own grandkids. The Uptons, though, were used to Grandma and her forgetful ways. They were her oldest friends. She would be safe with them. But now Jessie wondered if the phone call was

from Grandma. Maybe there was a problem. Maybe she needed them. Maybe something had gone wrong. She tapped her foot against the rung of the chair to try to make the feeling in her stomach go away. "Hey, Evan," said her dad. "Come over here." Evan stuffed the quarter in his pocket, then slowly pushed away from the door frame he was leaning on and walked over to the kitchen table. His dad got up and stood beside him, pulling Evan in close and resting his hand flat on the top of Evan's head. "How much have you grown this year?" Evan shrugged. "Three inches and one-quarter!" said Jessie, jumping up and dancing around the two of them. "That's what Dr. Becker said at his last checkup. She said he was going to be as tall as you. Maybe taller!" "Taller than me?" Their dad stretched up to his full height, straightening his back and puffing out his chest. "We'll see about that! I'm still growing, you know!" "Are not! Are not!" shrieked Jessie, laughing and

jumping higher in the air. She felt as if she had an electric current running right through her body. Her dad was so much fun! "Jessie! Settle down!" said Evan, sounding just like their mom. Jessie whirled around so she was facing her brother. "You're not the boss of me, Evan Treski." "Fine," said Evan. "Let your head explode. See if I care." He headed for the stairs. "Where are you going?" asked their dad. "I've got things to do," said Evan. "Like what?" Mr. Treski flashed his special smile. "His magic act!" shouted Jessie, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. "He's going to put on a show, so he's practicing all the time." "Magic?" said their dad, smiling even wider. "I used to know a few tricks. Well, one at least. I wonder if I remember it." He rubbed his hand along his cheek and scratched his chin. Jessie noticed that he had some whiskers growing on his face. She hoped he wasn't going to grow a beard. Jessie hated