Little Red Gem (18 page)

She glanced up and smiled.
“Your dad called. He says you’re going over to Mrs. Parkers for
dinner. Lucky you.”

“
Yeah, lucky
me.”

“
Honey, is something wrong
with my phone? Your dad says he tried calling and he couldn’t get
through.”

I tossed Teri’s phone onto
the table, having decided to give up trying to get it to work for
me. I’d ask Anne about this when I next visited her. Maybe this
extraordinary ability to make useful electrical instruments useless
was a side effect of being a ghost. This probably explained why
Anne didn’t fritter away eternity watching daytime soaps on the
couch and why William didn’t de-stress with dips in the hot
tub.

“
I must have dropped it in
water,” I said. “Don’t worry, though, I’ve got other things on my
mind at the moment.”

“
Don’t worry? It’s my
phone.”

I ignored her and raced up
to my room to get changed into the only clean pair of leggings I
could find that weren’t covered in crosses, skulls, or snake
prints. I was over sneakers so I threw on a pair of Audrey’s lace
up boots that were pretty cool but after a few days I was dying to
wear something with a heel. My outfit was completed with a silver
top that hung off the left shoulder. I gazed at Audrey’s body in
the mirror. Audrey really was all bone. My clothes would have
looked awesome on her. Guiltily, I nuzzled on my lower lip. I’d
given away two garbage bags filled with old clothes to charity only
a month ago. Audrey might have liked to have looked through the
bags, and I hadn’t even thought to offer.

Dad picked me up half an
hour later. We didn’t talk much on the short drive even though I
got the impression he was bursting to tell me something. Never in
the history of mankind has a parent who was bursting to tell you
something every told you anything good, like they were finally
getting you a pony, or you didn’t have to do homework, or don’t eat
those vegetables, or never again shall a child of mine do menial
chores. Instead, the stuff they were bursting to tell you was stuff
you didn’t want to hear, such as your hamster died, your teacher
called, we’re getting a divorce.

Dad pulled into my old
driveway and he let out a huge breath. Possibly nerves; I knew I
was stressing about my mom and dad holding me down while I was
exorcized of a demon they suspected resided within
Audrey.

Crossing the threshold
sent a barb of sadness through me. Only a few weeks ago this had
been my home. Doing a quick inspection, I saw nothing untoward. Not
a shred of evidence that my father had moved in. This was the first
sign of normalcy in my awkward new life, which was a break because
I was certain that change number five would have been my
undoing.

Change number five was Mom
and Dad living together again. How could anyone expect me to cope
with that change along with everything else?

My peach-faced parrot,
Elf, began screeching his head off and I almost wept tears of joy.
At least he recognized me.

“
Shut up, Elf.” Mom
shouted. Then she smiled weakly. “Elf is Ruby’s pet. I hate the
thing, and I’d love to leave the cage open for it to fly away, but
I can’t bring myself to do it. Every time he screeches, it’s like
she’s here.”

I am here.

I would have to give Elf a
scratch on his beak another time because Mom pulled me into an
embrace and wouldn’t let go. I found myself hugging her back and
fighting the impulse to confess everything. Tears welled up, so I
focused on the aroma of lasagna and fresh rolls my nostrils had
picked up.

My mother released me with
a kiss to the top of my head. “I hope you like lasagna.”

“
Yummo. My
fave.”

I wasn’t lying. Already my
taste buds were clambering over one another to be the first to
savor my mom’s cooking. Mom wasn’t shy about serving up a huge slab
of lasagna and I wasn’t shy about wolfing it down. I was on my
second helping when Mom and Dad glanced at one another.

I paused with the fork
halfway to my mouth. “What? Do I have sauce on my face?”

Mom shook her head. “You
remind me of Ruby.”

“
Can I use your bathroom,
please?” I asked. I suddenly had to get out of the room, before I
ruined everything by telling her the truth in an effort to ease her
suffering.

Mom pointed to a door to
the right of where Elf’s cage stood. “Don’t mind Elf. He’s loud,
but he won’t bite.”

As I stood up, Elf rushed
over to the edge of the cage and poked his beak through for a
scratch. I sighed. Poor Elf. He wanted a scratch and I wanted to
run up to my room and get myself together, so I said, “I’m
terrified of birds. Can I use the bathroom upstairs?”

“
Of course.”

I ran up the stairs but
slowed my pace the nearer I got to my bedroom. Slowly, I opened the
door. My chest contracted. My eyes stung with tears. Everything was
the same. Posters of singers and bands covered the
pale-lemon-colored walls. My bed with its azure-blue quilt cover
and silver cushions looked hastily made. The carpet was still
littered with text books and stray socks. A deep-green velvet chair
sat in front of a dresser that dozens of bottles of perfumes sat
upon.

I slowly entered the room
and sat on the bed. I didn’t know how long I’d sat there staring at
the things in my room and struggling with the fact that I’d never
again sleep in my bed or listen to my music or press the framed
photograph of Leo and me to my chest, but I heard a click and
looked up to see my mother in the doorway.

“
Every day I come in here
and sit on her bed, just as you’re doing now,” she said. She seemed
to want to say something else, but after a moment her shoulders
slumped and she turned and walked away.

When I came back
downstairs, Mom had cleared the dishes away and I could hear her in
the kitchen. Before I could offer to help, Dad waved me into the
chair beside him. I sat down, suddenly feeling as if I was walking
into a trap. He traced a finger on the wine glass and I suspected
he was preparing himself to deliver bad news.

“
I’ve been offered a
teaching position at the University of Texas,” he said.

“
Congrats.”

“
Only for a year, however
it will mean moving.”

“
Yeah, I figured as much.”
Texas was a few hundred miles to the south. My dad was rich, but
not own-your-own-jet type of rich.

Set up or not, there was a
piece of garlic bread on the plate with my name on it. I reached
for it and stuffed it into my mouth. Ever since I’d come back from
the dead, my hunger had been insatiable.

Dad waited until I’d eaten
half the bread to speak. “Mrs. Parker and I have rekindled our
romance.”

“
I’ve noticed.”

“
Please don’t talk with
your mouth full. Anyway, Mrs. Parker has agreed to join me in
Texas. I’d like you to consider coming with us.”

The last of the bread got
stuck halfway down my throat. Had Dad just asked me to move to
Texas with him? Had Dad just said my mom was moving to Texas with
him?

My head started spinning
at this unexpected turn of events.

“
I know you’re still in
school,” Dad continued, “but this will be a good move for you.
Besides, I’m worried you’re mixing with the wrong
crowd.”

Finally the piece of bread
dislodged itself and I blurted out, “But moving to Texas means
leaving Providence.”

Dad eyeballed me, harsher
than I’d ever seen so I doubted he was preparing himself to
negotiate the terms, more like steeling himself to pull rank.
“What’s keeping you in Providence, aside from your mom?”

“
School. My
friends.”
A spell that had his surviving
daughter trapped down an embankment. And I couldn’t forget the very
reason I’d put her there – a boy called Leo.

“
You can go to a new
school and make new friends.”

“
Mom will never let me
go.” Please, don’t let her be in on this because change number six
will be the worst of the lot, I thought.

“
You’ll love Texas,” Mom
said, entering the room carrying a tray of scrumptious desserts
that would now taste like cotton wool because I’d lost my appetite.
“It has horse ranches.”

“
I don’t like horses.” Not
true. I adored them but I’d change my mind about them if it
involved moving.

“
Texas has loads of
opportunities.”

“
I don’t like
opportunities.”

Dad scrunched his eyes up
and pressed his fingers to his temples. “I regret not spending more
time with you and your sister,” he said softly. “And now your
sister is gone. I want to be a part of your life and I don’t think
I can live without you for another day, let alone an entire
year.”

Even though my brain was
scrambling to make sense of this conversation, smack bang in the
middle of the swirling pattern was one nagging hypothesis. “Leo’s
mom said she ran into you and told you I was at her
house.”

“
Is there a question
looming behind your statement?”

There was, but I was
afraid to ask. Luckily I didn’t have to. Dad seemed to have read my
mind. “Mrs. Culver and I are acquainted.”

My mouth acted without
approval from my brain. “Did you marry her too?”

Mom’s grip on the tray
loosened and the glass bowls clinked together but stayed put. I
honestly didn’t know where the snide remark had come from. But I
regretted the outburst and I wished it could have been taken back.
Especially considering the way Dad’s hardened eyes drilled into
me.

“
I wasn’t born an adult,”
he snipped. “I was once young like you and I had friends. Mrs.
Culver and I used to live next door to one another. Now, my dear,
you owe Mrs. Parker an apology.”

Mom plastered a fake smile
on her face and dished out the desserts. “It’s okay, David. I’m
fine.”

His fingers touched hers
as he grasped the glass bowl of chocolate mousse from her. His
voice was more sugary than the dessert. “You’re an amazing woman,
Suzanne. Don’t ever let me forget.”

The chocolate mousse
should have been the highlight of the meal. Instead, the three of
us ate as though one of the bowls was laced with poison only we
didn’t know which one. After dinner, Dad told me to wait in the car
while he said goodbye to my mom. I disobeyed him and hid among the
overgrown bougainvillea that was taking over the porch.

“
I’m sorry if Audrey upset
you, Suzanne,” Dad said. “I promise it won’t be like this when
we’re all together.”

My mom sighed. “Audrey
didn’t upset me, David, I can handle a teenager. It’s just…she
reminds me so much of Ruby. My sweet baby used to drive me nuts
with her piano lessons, and her demands for a horse, and the final
straw came when she met a boy and I was driven mad with worry that
I was going to lose her. To my credit, I did the right thing and
took the time to get to know Leo and I came to the conclusion I
liked him.”

“
I don’t trust
him.”

“
David, the boy isn’t
without his flaws. Were you and I much different at that age?
Anyway, our arguments settled down for a few weeks, and the next
thing she drove me nuts about was talk of giving up school to
follow Leo all over the world as a singer. Music was the only
subject that set us at odds with each other. But I tell you, I’d
give anything to be in a sparring match with my daughter
again.”

As Mom’s heart-wrenching
sobs shook the house, I snuck off to the car wishing I’d taken my
dad’s advice sooner.

***

The moment I was back
inside Audrey’s bedroom I noticed the faint blue glow of my phone.
Still plugged into the charger, I pulled the cable as far as it
reached and lay down on the bed. I stared at the blank screen
letting the millions of questions take flight inside my brain, and
for the first time in ages, none of these flying thoughts were
about me.

Did Audrey have a
boyfriend? Did she send a text good night to a special person? Did
she update her social networking sites? Did she even have social
networking sites? I belonged to most of them and I’d never come
across her profile once.

After a minute I told
myself to put the phone back on the bedside. After another minute I
was still clutching the phone to my chest, warning myself that
nothing good could come from playing with fire, still I couldn’t
put the phone back on the bedside table.

I gave up humoring myself
and typed in the words GOOD NITE then I punched in Leo’s number and
hit SEND.

Leaning my head against
the headboard, waiting for a reply that might never come, my mind
drifted back to the dinner conversation. Years ago, I’d have given
anything for my parents to be together. Months ago, before I’d
hooked up with Leo, I’d have seriously considered moving to Texas
to play happy family. The prospect of leaving Providence now was
out of the question.

A thousand minutes flew by
where I drifted off and jerked myself awake. The final time I
jerked awake, the screen of the phone was glowing. I checked the
message.