Water Town

by Laurel Veil

  “What’s going on? Are you OK?”

  I nodded as I pulled myself from him and returned to the tree, where Sophie was holding on for dear life.

  “It’s OK, sweetie. I got you.” I held up my arms to her, and once she fell into them I carried her to my uncle.

  “Who’s this? What’s going—” He was speechless when Sophie lifted her head from my shoulder.

  “Sophie?” he whispered. “Is that… you?”

  She nodded.

  Uncle Bill looked back at me for answers, but before I could explain, we heard a car pull out from the Thorton Mansion garage.

  “Edmond Thorton!” I snapped. “He’s getting away!”

  The dots suddenly connected for my uncle and he jumped into his squad car. He shouted something into his CB radio as he drove and blocked the mansion’s driveway.

  I watched in shock and disbelief as Uncle Bill rushed from his car with his gun drawn and cautiously approached Edmond, who sat in the driver’s side of the old Mercedes Benz.

  I held Sophie tightly. “Everything is OK now.”

  Another squad car pulled up to the curb and hauled Edmond away.

  “Is it OK if I let Sophie call her mom now?” I asked my uncle when he walked up.

  He smiled. “Let’s take Sophie to her mom.”

  Sophie wouldn’t let go of me as we slid into the back seat of my uncle’s squad car.

  “Am I really going home?” she asked.

  I nodded and put my arm around her. I couldn’t wait to see the two of them reunited. Everything I had been going through now seemed so petty. This… this was big. And I was so grateful I’d gotten to be a part of it.

  When we pulled into the driveway, I subconsciously held on more tightly to Sophie. I didn’t want to turn her over to the dilapidated house that stood before us. The lawn was overgrown and resembled a miniature junkyard with all the broken-down vehicles and trash piled up in it.

  Uncle Bill helped us out of the vehicle. I looked up when I heard the front door of the house open, and was caught off guard when I saw Dane looking back at me.

  “What’s going on?” Jade said as she stepped out from behind him.

  I didn’t understand what was happening.

  Jade went rigid. “Oh, my—Sophie!” Her voice caught. “Sophie, is that you?” Tears spilled from her eyes as she raced down the steps of the porch. Sophie finally released me and ran into Jade’s arms.

  I couldn’t believe it. They’re sisters.

  Jade and Sophie’s mom came to the door with a puzzled look on her face. A moment later, she was bawling hysterically with joy and clinging on to Jade and Sophie.

  I brushed away my tears, then went to sit in the car to avoid Dane. He kept trying to make eye contact with me, but I couldn’t bear to look at him.

  I waited a few minutes for Uncle Bill to get in the car. As soon as he backed out of their drive, he asked, “So… what happened?”

  I hadn’t thought about what I was going to tell people. I mean, I couldn’t exactly say a red bird told me to follow it. Oh, really Ronnie? Why would you follow a red bird? Because when Toni and I followed one the other night, it led us to some dead bodies in a cave, duh.

  I swallowed. “I was walking past the mansion, and I thought I heard someone crying for help. I knocked on the door, and when no one answered, I let myself in; it wasn’t locked. And it’s a good thing I did, because he had her locked inside the attic.”

  “You’re not in trouble, Ron. I’m just glad you’re safe. I don’t know what I—I would’ve told your dad. I wish you would’ve called me first. I mean, Edmond already succeeded in taking Sophie. We all thought she was dead. He obviously made it look like she drowned; he could’ve done the same to you.”

  “It all worked out, Uncle Bill.”

  He tried to smile, but his worry came through.

  “I’m exhausted,” I said.

  “I bet. Being a hero can take its toll on a body.”

  “I’m going to grab a quick shower, then head to Miss Betty’s to stay the night.”

  “Oh?”

  I could hear the concern in his voice. “Yeah, there’s nothing to worry about. She just seemed tired earlier today and…” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just want to check on her. You know, make sure she’s OK.”

  “You two have gotten close, huh?”

  “Yeah.” I smiled at the realization. “We’re friends. Me, her and Toni.”

  ***

  I knocked softly on the door. “Miss Betty, it’s me, Rhonda. Are you still up?”

  There were lights on inside, but I thought she might have fallen asleep watching TV.

  I heard the chain slide and the locks turn. She now stood in the doorway wearing a thick, fuzzy robe and slippers. “What are you doing out so late? Is everything alright?”

  “I thought I might stay the night with you tonight, if you’d like some company.”

  She smiled and held the door open. “Well, come on in. Would you like a bite to eat?”

  “No, thank you though.” I nodded towards the den. “You watching TV?”

  “Andy Griffith.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “I’ll grab you a blanket and a pillow.”

  A moment later, Miss Betty was relaxing in her favorite chair with her feet propped up on the ottoman. And I was curled up on the sofa, both of us covered in handmade quilts.

  We watched several episodes and laughed almost the entire time, before we both agreed we were sleepy and Betty turned off the TV.

  I thought about telling her she was a hero again. If she hadn’t confided in me, Toni and I would never have gone to the cave, and I never would have known to follow a red bird to save Sophie. But this was the most at peace Betty had ever seemed and I didn’t want to accidentally stir up any anxiety in her, so I kept quiet.

  “My mother made that quilt,” she said, referring to the quilt that was covering me.

  I marveled at her handiwork as I gently touched it with the tips of my fingers. “Wow, it’s incredible. Did she make that one too?”

  “We made this one together. She and I.” Miss Betty rubbed her hands across her quilt.

  “Your mother sounds like a wonderful person. I wish I could’ve known her.”

  “There’s a picture of her over there on the end table.” She pointed with a trembling finger.

  I picked up the small photo in the ornate frame. I’d never paid much attention to it before, but it was of a beautiful young woman in a large, elegant hat. A small girl sat on her lap, shyly leaning into her bosom.

  “That’s you with your mother?” I smiled.

  Miss Betty nodded.

  “What a lovely photo.”

  She softly chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “I’m almost ninety-six years old, and I’m having my first sleepover. I can’t wait to tell Mama.” She giggled. “She’s going to be so happy. Night, Rhonda.”

  “Good night.”

  I was so comfortable, I knew I was going to get a good night’s sleep and I drifted off right away. So, it surprised me when my eyes popped opened only a few hours later. I laid there for only a moment before I heard Miss Betty. She was having a little trouble breathing.

  I jumped up and switched on a lamp.

  “Hey, there,” I whispered. “You doing all right?”

  She smiled weakly. “I am.”

  “Should I call someone?”

  “No, honey. Please don’t. I want to stay—” She caught her breath. “Right here with you.”

  I felt my eyes well up. “OK.” She reached her hand up towards me and I took it.

  “Don’t cry.”

  “OK,” I whimpered as tears rolled down my cheeks.

  She was so congested, I realized that if she had been laying in her bed instead of reclined in her chair, she probably would’ve already passed away. My time with her was almost over.

  I sat there continuing to hold her hand, and watched
her as she slept for almost an hour. I never went back to sleep. At one point, my eyes grew heavy and started to close, when suddenly I was fully aware of someone touching my cheek and kissing the top of my head.

  I blinked my eyes repeatedly as I looked over at Miss Betty sound asleep. What just happened? Just then, Miss Betty’s eyes opened. She looked over my shoulder, and smiled. “Mama,” she whispered with delight.

  A moment later… she was gone.

  26.

  Goodbyes & New Beginnings

  I watched the waves swell and disappear for a while and thought about how I was grateful I’d been able to call Aunt Pam and Uncle Bill to help me take care of things with Miss Betty.

  I’d been pretty strong in the beginning, maybe just in shock. But when the hearse had come to take her away, I’d had to get out of there.

  “Ronnie.”

  His voice surprised me. But not only did I not flinch, I pretended not to hear him.

  “I know you can hear me,” said Dane. “Why won’t you look at me?”

  “In case you didn’t know, I have much bigger things going on in my life right now than you.” It felt so good to be strong enough to say that, but I was relieved when he didn’t leave and came over to sit next to me instead.

  “I’m sorry about Betty.”

  Tears pricked at my eyes, and I was glad I wasn’t facing him.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  I whipped my head in his direction. “Why are you even here?”

  “I don’t understand? I mean, why wouldn’t I be? I—I thought we…”

  “We? You thought we what, Dane?”

  “I told you how I felt about you. That I didn’t want you seeing anyone else, and—”

  “That goes two ways!”

  “You mean Jade?”

  My blood boiled at the sound of her name, especially since it was coming out of his mouth.

  “But we already discussed this. You know how I feel about her.”

  “I also know she’s pregnant and you’re the dad!”

  “Who told you that?” He rubbed his forehead. “First of all, she’s not pregnant. Between you and me, I think she never thought she might be. She made it up for attention and to cause problems between you and me.” He grew even more frustrated. “She and I never—I never. Can we please just stop talking about this already?”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head. He was embarrassed.

  “I don’t know why I take shit from her the way I do. I can’t help it that I feel sorry for her. Jimmy and plenty others have told me what an idiot I am. So, don’t worry, you don’t have to. I already know. You have to believe me, though, when I say I never meant to mess things up between us, Ronnie. If I could take it back—”

  “Dane. You wouldn’t do anything differently and we both know that.”

  He looked hurt.

  “Because that’s who you are. You’re a really good guy. It’s one of the reasons I like you so much.”

  He looked relieved and gave me a tiny smile.

  “And you’re not an idiot. Jade knows how great you are, and she takes advantage.”

  When he put his arms around me, I realized I’d never loved him more than I did at that moment. It was intoxicating and frightening all at the same time. I could see myself being happy with him forever, and I also knew he could be my undoing.

  ***

  The next morning, I got up early. Toni flagged me down just as I was backing out and opened the passenger door.

  “Where ya heading?” she asked.

  “I was going to Betty’s house. Just because. You know?”

  “Want some company?”

  “Get in.” Toni had been a great comfort to me since losing Betty.

  I teared up a little when I realized Miss Betty wouldn’t be greeting us at the door. When I stepped inside, I noticed the scent of her home seemed a little different. I wasn’t exactly sure how to describe it; it just was.

  When I saw the quilt she and her mom had made, lying in her empty chair, I had to sit down and cry for a moment. Toni gave me privacy and made herself busy with chores.

  When I was done, I folded the quilts and put them away. Toni and I dusted and vacuumed and washed the few dishes that were in the sink.

  “Hey, Ronnie. The Beast just texted. I gotta run or she’ll take my phone again.”

  “You want me to drive you?”

  “It’s a quick walk. You stay here as long as you want. I’ll call you later.”

  Toni wasn’t gone long when I heard someone come to the front door.

  “Hello?” said a woman’s voice.

  Nervously, I stepped into the hallway.

  “I’m Charlotte—a friend of Betty’s. You must be Rhonda. Your aunt and uncle told me I would probably find you here.”

  “I’m just tidying up a bit.”

  She looked around. “Well, you’re doing a great job. It looks wonderful in here. Betty would be so pleased.” She smiled. “She spoke so nicely of you.”

  I looked down, willing myself not to cry.

  “Anyway, the reason I’m here is I needed to give you this.” She handed me a manila envelope.

  “What is it?” I asked as I took it.

  “Paperwork.” She paused for a moment. “It’s not a lot, but Betty left you all she had.”

  I looked up at her, stunned.

  “The house and everything in it. It’s all yours.”

  I think she was waiting for me to say something. But I couldn’t. I was speechless.

  “Well, I have to be going now. It was nice to finally meet you.”

  I pulled out a chair and sat at the table, then opened the envelope and flipped through the pages. I stopped when I saw my name on her will. She had referred to me as her dear friend.

  I brushed the tears from my cheeks and as I went to slide the papers back in, a piece of kitten stationary slid out from between them. It was a note for me, from Betty.

  Dear Rhonda,

  I’m so glad we met. I had a great time with you and Toni. Thank you for all your help.

  You are my best friend.

  Betty

  Ps. Please take care of Molly. She’s my cat. She’s been gone for a while, but I’m sure she’ll be back.

  I carefully slid everything back into the envelope and let my mind drift. I wondered, now that Betty was gone, if I should tell my uncle what had happened at the orphanage. But then I remembered about the other girl from that night, Susan, the one who’d helped kill Mr. Thorton. If she was still alive, I didn’t want to cause any problems for her. And then, I wondered if I should say something, so Emily and Katy could have a proper burial. But, when I looked at Miss Betty’s garden, I realized they had one now.

  I walked to the garden and watered all the roses. This was now my garden to tend to, I thought.

  I was just about to leave when movement under the house caught my eye. I kneeled down to have a better look.

  “Oh, my goodness. You must be Molly. A puffy white cat came towards me, along with two white kittens. “No wonder Miss Betty couldn’t find you. You’ve been busy.”

  I took a moment to pet them, then went inside and found cat food in the pantry.

  I filled all the bowls outside and watched them eat and drink until they got their fill. When Molly had enough, she took off across the yard and disappeared. Hmm, great mom. “You remind me of someone, Molly,” I called after her. I suddenly realized I was smiling, and the familiar ache that used to come at the mere mention of my mom was… gone.

  I found a box and scooped up the kittens to take them with me.

  ***

  I walked around to the back deck of my aunt and uncle’s house when I heard Danielle’s voice, and was happy to see Sophie was with her.

  “Hey guys.”

  They both looked up at me and smiled. “I’ve got something I want to show you.” I sat down on the deck and placed the box in front of me.

  “Kittens!” they both exclaimed.
<
br />   For the first time, I noticed Jade and her mother sitting with Aunt Pam at the picnic table.