August (The Year of The Change Book 2) (11 page)

I agreed.

Destiny, ever vigilant, stayed between Caleb and me. At the door, I slipped out first with Destiny right behind me. It took Emma longer because Isaac had taken her hand and wouldn’t let go. When he finally released her, she made a hasty retreat, herding us to the car. Caleb slipped out behind Emma and tried to get to me for a private good-bye. Destiny was there being my friend.

With a primal growl, Caleb picked Destiny up and set her out of his way. I tried to duck into the Suburban, but he hooked my mid-section and pulled me out and into his arms. With his bear hug securely in place, he tried to kiss me good-bye. I dodged his lips and the kiss landed on my ear. A shiver ran rampant through me. I was a goner.

Before I could give in and beg for more, Emma grabbed his shoulder and neck and squeezed. He dropped like a wet towel after a shower. I stood there, stunned and looked down at Caleb lying on the sidewalk.

Emma stood over and assured him. “You will be fine, just relax and it will wear off soon.”

Isaac hobbled up and looked down at his grandson, unconcerned. “Don’t worry, Caleb, it doesn’t last long. She did it to me once, too.” He turned his twinkling eyes on Emma and smiled. “It was worth it.” He sighed.

Emma rolled her eyes and left Isaac to watch over his grandson. As we got in, I noticed her smile and look back at the adoring Isaac as he waved. Yes, this was a story I would have to hear.

Unfortunately, Emma refused to tell the story on the way home, saying it was too long for our short drive. We suggested a trip to her room where we could hole up while she told us all the juicy details. She declined, saying she had dinner to prepare.

When the Suburban came to a stop in their garage, I leaned over the seat while Destiny got out. “Someday you have to tell me yours and Isaac’s story.”

She turned to face me and whispered, “Someday, I will tell
you
this story.” She winked and opened her door.

I climbed out and thanked her for taking me along.

“I am glad you enjoyed it.  Sylvia, I am sorry about Caleb. I had no idea he would be there.”

“I know you didn’t. It’s okay." I raised my voice. "We all survived, thanks to my best friend and bodyguard.” I grinned at Destiny.

“Hey, what are best friends for but to throw ourselves at gorgeous, muscle bound hunks. Hey, do you think he might take me on the rebound?”

I hadn’t noticed Richard, who stood at the door, his arms clinched tightly over his chest and a frown securely in place. “He’s too old for you.” He growled.

She jerked around to look at her big brother. “You don’t even know how old he is.”

“It doesn’t matter because you can’t date.”

She smirked at him. “
Yet
. Seven months big bro…seven months.” She swaggered past him and into the house.

He looked at me. “The shortest seven months of my entire life.” He huffed and followed her in.

Our laughter echoed in the still garage.

I put my hand on Emma’s shoulder. “Any time you want someone to go visiting with you, I’d love to go.”

She nodded as I turned to leave. Another thought struck me and I faced her. “If you need me to sit between you and Isaac I’d be glad to sacrifice myself.” I grinned. “Especially, if Caleb is there.”

Emma chuckled. “Thank you, Sylvia. I promise to call you.”

Before she could close the door behind me I called back to her. “Hey, Emma, you have to teach me that Vulcan death grip thing you did to Caleb.” That would come in very handy.

Emma waved. “I promise, I will.”

The garage door closed and I went home to the smell of fried chicken and black-eyed peas. My stomach, though it grazed all day, was ready for a solid meal with
lots
of substance.

A New Friend

Today the painters packed up and were gone. All that was left were the sod layers. They weren’t a problem because they couldn’t get into my windows since all the scaffolding was gone. There was no way anyone could get up the three stories to my room. I was safe again.

After a large breakfast, I settled back on my bed with a book. Sometime before lunch, I heard a tapping at my window. I froze. If anyone could get his hands on a tall ladder, it was Zach.

The tapping came again. Slowly, I turned my head to look. My drapes were only half open and I couldn’t see anyone and the sun wasn't in the right position to cast a shadow. The window was shut out of habit. It was a good thing I hadn’t opened it yet. The tapping came again.

I swallowed hard. How could Zach get on my fire escape? With trepidation, I went to the window and locked it. With one shaking finger I pulled the material to the side a few inches. I couldn’t see anyone. A few more inches. My heart raced. Still, there wasn’t anyone to be seen. My mouth dried up. A few more inches.
Where was the other shoe and why hadn’t it dropped, yet?
The curtain was fully open. I peered out, ready to run for the door. There wasn’t anyone on the fire escape. That was odd. I knew the noise came from this window.

There was movement and a tapping. I looked down. A bushy tailed squirrel sat on the window ledge and looked up at me. My jaw dropped as I stared at the creature. I’d never been so close to one before. In my short life, I’d befriended a lot of stray dogs and cats, that Sue quickly made me get rid of, but never a squirrel.

Slowly, trying not to scare it away, I unlocked and opened the window. The squirrel moved to the middle of the ledge and sat there preening itself. In awe, I knelt down and watched the small animal, only a foot away.

When it was done grooming it sat on its haunches, twitched its nose and stared at me, chattering as though holding a conversation. Enthralled, I didn’t move. The squirrel lowered to all fours, wiggled its tail and jumped onto my shoulder. With a squeak, I lunged backwards and landed on my bottom. The squirrel scolded me as it hung on for dear life.

Afraid to move, I sat still and wondered what to do next. Would it bite me and I’d get rabies? The small critter looked me over. Having smelled the air numerous times and peered in every direction it jumped down and scurried around the floor looking in and around everything.

I stayed in my spot, fascinated by its antics.

The only pet I ever had was when I lived with my grandparents. It was a wild yellow tabby named Cowgirl who barely put up with me. She was the biggest cat I’d ever seen. She lived outside and kept the rodent population to almost nil.

The only time she came in was when Gram spotted a mouse. My grandmother would scream and run to the back door. Cowgirl knew that scream and was always there when it opened. She would walk in calmly and rub Gram’s legs. Gram said that was Cowgirl’s way of telling her she was there and would take care of the problem. And take care of it she did. A couple of whiffs were all she needed. Once she caught the scent, she became a killing machine.

Gramps would move furniture, open doors or just get out of the way until she had her prey securely clamped in her jaws. Gram would hold the screen door open while the huntress slipped out to enjoy a well-earned snack.

Afterwards, Cowgirl would meow at the kitchen door until she was let in. Gram would get out a can of gourmet cat food and the tabby would stand on her hind legs at the counter and bat at the treat as it whirred around in the electric can opener. With the can open and spoon in hand, the two would go outside with the purring, blonde feline rubbing Gram’s legs. It was a wonder Gram never tripped. She’d spoon the food into an old beat up pot with a missing handle. The cat barely let it hit the dish. After scratching her victorious cat on the top of her head, Gram would leave Cowgirl to her reward.

Gramps always said the yellow cat wasn’t a pet, but there were many a time I found him sitting in a lawn chair with a huge yellow lump of fur spilling over his lap, purring up a storm as he petted her.

The enormous yellow tabby had another job, getting rid of the stray dogs that came onto her property. She would jump on the unsuspecting canine and ride it all the way off
her
property. That’s why Gramps called her Cowgirl.

The squirrel definitely wasn’t a pet in the sense that most people think of, but it was on the same par with Cowgirl. Although I doubted it would ever ride a dog.

A splash and a lot of shrieking from my bathroom yanked me from my musing. I ran to see what happened. I’d forgotten to close the lid on the toilet and the squirrel was dog paddling for its life. Grabbing a towel I lifted it out and dried it as best I could. It then insisted on being on my shoulder. Its wet body soaked my t-shirt as it shook. The idea of toilet water on my shoulder didn’t appeal to me, but I put up with it, not wanting to dislodge the frightened animal. It laid its head down and pressed it into my neck. I took a dry wash cloth and covered the shivering rodent like a blanket.

The squirrel needed a name. I didn’t have any experience naming animals. Cowgirl had already been Cowgirl when I arrived. No appropriate names came to me. I tried once to help a friend name her gerbil, but she didn’t like any of the ideas I came up with. I still think Ralph would’ve been an acceptable name for a male rodent. She ended up naming it
Bubbles
. It was her pet after all. The name hadn’t made any sense to me, but it made her happy and that was all that mattered.

The toilet lid went down and I put the towel in the sink. I could take care of that later. Back at my bed I picked up my book, careful not to disturb my sleeping friend. It wasn’t easy maneuvering onto the bed and then propping myself against the headboard.

For a whole chapter we sat like that before the critter woke with a start and sat up stretching and shaking out its fur. Chattering, it dashed for the ledge. It jumped to the sill and chattered some more, like it was saying good-bye. Then it jumped from the window to the fire escape and left.

I rushed over to make sure it was okay. I imagined it falling between the slates. I couldn’t see it, but I heard scurrying above and figured my new friend was headed home.

Raining Boys

The sod was all laid, the house painted, and the electrician made it out to rewire the attic. Everything was done and I didn’t have to worry about guys working around our house anymore.

I rolled out of bed, intent on a shower before I dressed and went outside. I didn’t know what I was going to do in the open air, but that’s where I wanted to be because it had been denied me all week. I would find something to do.

The shower felt good. Just as I took a step out of the tub there was a crack of thunder that shook the house. I screamed and stood perfectly still, frozen with fear. One foot was in the shower the other was on the yellowing linoleum. The patter of raindrops sounded overhead and I forced myself to move and dry off.

I knew, intellectually, that fearing thunder was unreasonable, just as Sue said. But I still cringed and trembled when it happened. Before mustering the courage to move the curtain back and look out the window, I quickly dressed. When I did summon a backbone, the rain was coming down in sheets which made it hard to see across the street. I wouldn’t be doing anything outside today. The curtain swished closed, and my shoulders slumped.

With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I moped down the stairs. I didn’t have anything to do today and hoped Destiny had some ideas. I came off the stairs and rounded into the hall headed for the kitchen and FOOD! But something stopped me in my tracks. I groaned.  No, this could
not
be happening to me. I forced myself forward, fighting the impulse to run the other direction. My stomach, being the main force behind my momentum, pushed me toward the smell of hash-eggs.

At the kitchen door I paused, listening again to the voice to make sure it was who I thought it was. Yep, it was. I stepped through.

              “Hi, Sylvia!”

“Hi, Sammy.” If this day got any worse I was going back to bed. Sammy had proved to be a male irritant of a different kind. I’d met him last month and have worked to avoid him ever since.

“Isn’t it great my parents had to go to Anchorage today so my mom asked your mom if I could stay here because I would be bored going with them so we have the whole day to hang out -” I tuned him out.

That was it. I was going back to bed.

Sue placed a plate in front of my seat, piled high with hash-eggs, bacon, banana muffin and sweet roll. She pursed her lips and stood perfectly still.

It was a bribe. My stomach took the bribe gladly, dragged me to my chair and forced me to sit.

As Sammy continued his inane chatter, I ate in glum silence. The windows in the breakfast nook framed the deluge. It was hard to decide whether it really was too wet to go outside. He would probably just follow me out and then I would be wet
and
bored out of my mind.

While refilling my plate, I noticed Sue had left and the twins were nowhere to be seen. Sammy switched his monologue to how much I was eating and its nutritional value. Tuning him out, once again, I kept eating. To hold off being testy with him, I would need to be as full as possible.

After half an hour, and eating everything in sight, the rain didn’t look like it would let up any time soon. I wondered if Richard was practicing in the downpour. A plan began to hatch. Now, finally full, I got the phone and called Destiny. Sammy never paused. How did he get enough oxygen?

I plastered a smile on my face to help me fake a good mood. “Hey, Dest, how about coming over and playing cards or games today?” I moved away from Sammy and looked out the window over the sink.

He matched me step for step.

“Is that Sammy I hear in the background?”

My ruse wasn’t going to work.

Sigh
. “Yeah, it is.” I tried to put distance between us, but it was like he was attached at my hip.

She giggled. “So they stuck you with him this time, huh?”

“What do you mean?” I didn’t like the sound of this.

“Whenever Sammy's parents go to Anchorage, they pawn him off on someone so they don’t have to listen to him for four hours each way in the car.”

That made perfect sense in a warped and twisted sort of way.

“Sorry you got stuck with him.”

“Me, too.” I went for the pitiful voice. “Still, would you please come over and play cards with me?” Perhaps I could amputate this hip?

“I don’t know, Sylv.”

I worked on a deeper pitiful, “Pleeease!” My pleading took on an edge that even startled me. “As a favor?” Sammy still hadn’t shut up. My nerves were already getting raw.

She sighed. “Okay.” She sighed again then her tone lifted. “Can I bring Richard?”

“Sure!”

She could’ve brought Caleb and I wouldn’t have minded, as long as I had someone to help me keep my sanity. Destiny promised to come as soon as she could drag Richard over.

Reluctantly, I hung up and moved away from Sammy’s mouth. He followed me to the hall closet, switching his subject to kidney stones and their symptoms. I made him pick out three games and I dug for the cards. His monologue didn’t skip one beat.  I hoped he was capable of playing games. He kept right on talking and I kept right on not listening. I loaded his arms with the boxes and cards and wished I could load his mouth with some of the mittens I found in a box on the floor. I fought the temptation, closed the door, turned him around and prodded him towards the dining room. When he didn’t move more than a step, I walked around him and he followed, still talking.

I wiped the table off before I would let him empty his arms. Sue would owe me for this if it wasn’t for the fact that I owed her big time for The Change.

The first to arrive wasn't Destiny or even Richard. The first to arrive was Cory and he wasn't alone.

“Hi.” Sammy stepped in front of me and Cory backed up, throwing his arm out in front of the girl beside him. “I haven’t seen you in a long time -” I pulled Sammy behind me. “- we were just discussing kidney stones and how they form and I was telling -”

With a hand on Sammy’s chest, I stiffened my arm and held him far enough away so I could hear. “Well, Cory, what brings you to my house?” As if I didn’t know.

Sammy continued to talk, but I ignored him.

Cory’s eyes twitched between me and over my shoulder at Sammy. “My cousin, Stephanie, is visiting from Connecticut and I thought I’d introduce her to you.”

Perfect timing. “Great! Come on in.” I moved the ever noisy Sammy out of the way and waved them through. “It’s nice to meet you, Stephanie.”

Cory’s face brightened. “We’re not interrupting anything, are we?” He took his coat off as he watched Sammy, who, by the way, helped his cousin with her coat, just like a gentleman. Hmm?

“Kidney stones can get the size of a marble and still pass through the urethra tube…”

I hung both coats on the hooks behind the front door. “You didn’t interrupt anything. We were just waiting for Destiny and Richard to get here. We’re going to play games, you want to join us?”

“Yeah!” He must really be affected to get that excited about spending time with Sammy.

I looked around for Danny, who, oddly, wasn't there ready to take the conversation from Cory. I was tempted to ask where Danny was, but was afraid Cory might call him to join us. I certainly didn't need the two of them fighting today.

“…the record for a kidney stone is 5.11 inches...”

Stephanie turned in a slow circle. "I love your house. It's so big and roomy." She seemed nice enough.

“…the record for a naturally passed kidney stone is .51 inches …”

"Thank you." I turned to Cory. "The Petersons will be here any minute, do you and Stephanie want to look through the games while we wait?"

I was so excited to have more people here to dilute the effects of Sammy, I didn't even let myself pause to consider the ramifications.

"Sure, but we’ll play whatever you want to play." His eyes twinkled and he didn't even look at Stephanie to make sure it was okay with her. His poor cousin. His lips slipped to one side and he sighed.

“Maybe Stephanie has a favorite game.” I turned to find Cory’s cousin cornered, literally, by Sammy.

“on the other hand, gall stones are made from…”

I stifled a giggle before nudging Sammy out of the way and grabbing the shocked girl. "So, Stephanie,” I said as I led them into the dining room. I put her in front of me and held a hand to Sammy’s chest. "How do you like Alaska?" It was so much like an adrenaline high I almost giggled. I wouldn’t have to endure the chatterbox from hell all by myself.

Sammy launched into a monologue on the Alaska fur trapping of the early nineteen hundreds. She looked at him, waiting for him to stop. She didn't understand he was background noise.

"Stephanie," I talked over the infomercial. "have you visited here before?"

She kept glancing at Sammy, but answered my question. "No, this is my first time here." She looked intently at me, brows raised. How does one explain Sammy?

With a shake of my head, I shrugged. There really wasn’t any way to explain The Mouth standing amongst us. You just had to experience him to fully understand.

“Ah.” She looked as though she caught on. "I love it here, it’s beautiful." She was going to do just fine.

Stephanie sat at the table as the doorbell rang. Sammy moved to sit beside her, but I dragged him to the other side. I wouldn't inflict The Mouth on her like that.

On the porch, Richard shook the rain from a bright yellow umbrella with smilie faces on it. It had to be Destiny's. There was no way Richard would be caught dead with it.

"Hi, you're just in time."

Destiny grinned as she hung her raincoat on a hook. "Sammy's gotten to you already?"

I snorted. "The moment I heard him speak." We laughed. "Actually, Cory’s here too."

Destiny's brows shot up. "No!"

Richard rolled his eyes.

"He brought his cousin from Connecticut with him."

Her eyes twinkled. "Is he cute?"

"No,” I leaned toward Richard, “but
she
is."

He craned his neck to see into the dining room where I could hear Sammy droning away. We were almost there when the doorbell rang again. Who in the world would be out on a day like today? No one else but …