by Dawn Gardner
“Not much to tell really. She went into law enforcement. Got out, started her own investigation business. Now, I think she is doing some kind of multi-level nutritional marketing thing. She is about fifteen years older than me. I’m pretty sure I was an oops baby. My mom and dad are in their early eighties, they live in Florida. I actually grew up in the Richmond area. Dad was a civil engineer for the city. There you go. Now you.”
“You’ve met my mother,” Ellen grinned. “And you’ve heard me mention my sister, Kim, the photographer. Really, the only one left is my Dad. He passed away two years ago. And he was also in law enforcement, sheriff’s department. He had a major heart attack, it kind of took us all by surprise. Mom had gotten her diagnosis about two years before he passed. But she didn’t tell us until the day of his funeral. Kim was local, and after her divorce decided to move in with mom, which god love her. I have a whole new respect for her after these last few weeks.”
“You’re doing great.” Ted reached out and touched Ellen’s hand.
She closed her fingers around his hand and looked into his eyes, “I just want to thank you for today. It was a beautiful, thoughtful thing. And despite not giving us any fortune cookies, I know she loved it.” Ellen finished her wine.
Ted took Ellen’s glass and his and placed them on the table. He came back to the couch, took his finger and lightly traced Ellen’s jawline. She looked away. He gently brought her face back so that she could hold his gaze. “You are a beautiful woman Ellen.” She tried to move her chin, but he gently held her in place, forcing her to see his longing for her. He leaned into Ellen, his nose touching her cheek and whispered in her ear, “I’ve been waiting to kiss you again, because last time was such a tease.”
Ellen pulled back and held Ted’s gaze and said, “What are you waiting for?”
He slid his hand on the nape of her neck, guiding her back to him. Their kiss was deep, messy and ignited an animalistic hunger in both of them. He came back at her with another kiss even deeper than the last. Ellen pulled off his shirt, and his hands found her bra straps. He pulled off her shirt and buried himself in her breasts. She grabbed the back of his head. In a quick move, Ted had Ellen laying flat on her back on the sofa. His hands undid the button and the zipper of her jeans, and he wiggled her jeans off. Coming from above Ellen, his skin glided over her breasts, increasing the heat between their bodies. Ellen’s breath was ragged as he kissed her neck and then each breast. He stood beside the couch, and held her gaze. He removed his jeans and then his boxers. Ted’s mouth moved its way from Ellen’s inner thighs, along her belly, to her breasts, to her lips, and then he was inside her. The powerful joining made Ellen yell out. Their bodies moved together until they reached their peak.
Chapter 17
Joni
I’m on the river. The banks of the Yangtze are brown rock cliffs iced with bright green foliage. In the boat, Jack is sleeping. I stand. I feel her, she is near. I hold my hands to the sky to welcome her, it’s raining white rose petals. So beautiful, the sweetness of the rose saturates the air around me. I look down at the water, the rose petals cover the surface of the river. The petals begin to swirl and grow into a funnel of water and petals. It is her, she smiles, opens her arms to me, the warm light washes over me and surrounds my body like the cocoon of the butterfly, I am floating and colors are radiating out of everything…
Joni woke, pleased that she could remember her dream, she wondered if the girls were up for school yet. They were going to need lunches. Joni went into the kitchen and made peanut butter sandwiches for the girls, she grabbed an apple for each of them and placed them on the counter. Where were the paper lunch bags? Joni searched every drawer and cabinet. She knew she had just bought a stack last week. Maybe they were out in the sunroom. Joni froze at the entryway.
“Ellen Jones!” Joni placed her hands on her hips. “Ellen, wake up!” Joni yelled. Ellen woke up, grabbed the blanket and covered herself. The man had his boxers on and quickly jumped to his feet. He put his clothes on and ran out of the sunroom. “Ellen, I am ashamed of you, if you miss the bus, I’m not driving you to school. Wait until I tell your father about this. And I hope your sister didn’t see any of this.”
“Mom, I’m sorry.” Ellen said and ran past her with the blanket dragging behind her.
Chapter 18
“Holy shit. That was the most awkward moment.” Ted said as he slipped on his shoes at the door. “I’m going to be late for school,” he looked at his phone.
Ellen started to laugh. “This is kind of hysterical.”
“Now you have a sense of humor?” Ted said, half joking and half serious.
“My mom thinks I’m in high school this morning.”
Ted stopped buttoning his shirt, “So, what you’re telling me is that in high school you had boys over and slept with them on the couch?” Ted raised his eyebrows.
“Now who doesn’t have a sense of humor?” Ellen poked Ted in the chest. Ted kissed Ellen, grabbed his coat and was out the front door.
“Maybe you could help me with my history homework later today?” Ellen called out and Ted smiled as he got into his car.
Ellen walked back into the kitchen and saw the sandwiches and apples on the counter. Joni was making lunches. Ellen thought of the countless lunches her mother made for her and Kim. Other than when her mother was sick, she didn’t miss a day. Ellen gathered up the blanket around her body and went into the sunroom. Joni was curled up with Miss Morris in her chair. Ellen wondered where her mother’s mind was right at this moment.
“Ellen, where have you been? I’ve been waiting hours for you.”
“I’m sorry Mom. I just need to get my clothes.”
“Why are your clothes on the floor? And why are you naked?”
Ellen grabbed the clothes and stepped into the kitchen, dropped the blanket and quickly started to put her clothes on, “It’s a long story, are you hungry, want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?” Ellen said.
“Yes, that sounds good. Ellen, I wanted to tell you something and now I can’t remember what it was.”
Ellen came into the sunroom with the sandwiches and apples on plates. “Maybe it will come back to you.” She handed Joni the plate and realized her mother was in the present, as much as her mind could be. Ellen was reliving each bit of last night in her mind, when her phone buzzed. She heard the phone, but didn’t see it anywhere. Ellen moved closer to the buzzing sound, she looked under the couch, nothing. She pulled the cushions away and found the phone just as the call stopped. Before she could even look at her missed calls, Ted sent a text. ‘Hey, I forgot my messenger bag with all my papers. It’s right by the door in the living room, tucked in the corner. I don’t need it until second period, do you think you could run that up to the school in about 40 minutes?’ Ellen texted him back, ‘Sure, I’ll text you when I’m in front of the school office.’
Ellen and Joni finished their breakfast. Ellen tried to get in touch with the home health aide to see if they could come earlier, but she couldn’t reach them. Time was ticking. Ellen took a quick shower and got herself and Joni ready to go in thirty-five minutes. The school was about twenty minutes away; she’d be a little late. As Ellen started to back out of the driveway, she realized she had forgotten Ted’s bag. Wondering about her own brain, she ran into the house and grabbed the bag.
“Whose bag is that?” Joni said.
“It belongs to Ted, your neighbor do you remember him? We’re returning it to him at the school.”
“Oh.” Joni looked out the window.
Ellen wasn’t sure if she remembered or not. She wasn’t going to push it. They came to the highway and Joni looked around.
“You’re going the wrong way. We have to go that way to go to the parkway. I thought we were going to the parkway?”
“No, we have to go to the school to give Ted his bag. Do you want to go to the parkway?”
“Yes, I do.”
“We can go once we drop off the bag. Okay?”
Ellen said, but Joni didn’t answer she just stared out the window.
“I told him not to go. Why did he have to go, it was just a piece of paper.” Joni felt her chest. “Where’s my butterfly? Where is it Ellen? Stop Ellen, we have to find it!”
“Mom, calm down. I’m sure it’s back at the house, maybe the chain broke in your sleep.”
“We have to find it.”
“We will, we’ll find it.” Ellen pulled into the school parking lot and sent Ted a text, ‘We’re here a little late, meet you in front of the office.’
When Ellen and Joni entered the school, the students were in the middle of changing classes. Ellen had forgotten how loud schools were. The entry way was an open space with skylights letting in natural light. The school office was to their right, the walls separating the office and entryway were glass from floor to ceiling. Joni looked around at all of the students. Ellen could tell her mother was overwhelmed by the noise and the students. Ellen stood on her tiptoes looking for Ted. Her eyes caught his smiling face, he was about a full foot and a half above the mass of moving people.
“Thank you so much,” Ted squeezed her hand as he retrieved the bag from her. He leaned into her and almost in a whisper he said, “I can’t stop thinking about you and last night.”
Ellen blushed, why did he say that in front of her mother. Ellen glanced to her right and Joni was gone.
“Mom? Joni?” Ellen yelled out into the pulsing crowd of students. “Oh my god Ted, where did she go, I can’t believe this, she was just right here.”
“Ellen, don’t worry. She couldn’t have gotten too far.” Ted and Ellen searched the crowded lobby area in front of the office. There was a long, loud buzz and the students moved at a quicker pace. Before the end of the buzzing, the lobby was clear and Joni was nowhere in sight.
“Okay,” Ted said and looked at Ellen, “you step outside the front doors and take a look around there. I’m heading into the principal’s office to tell him what we have going on. Meet me back here in five minutes.”
Ellen stepped out the doors and looked both directions from the front doors. Then she walked toward the parking lot to get a better view of the school. Nothing. She ran back to the school and back into the lobby area. A few minutes later, Ted came back out.
“They’ve put the school into a yellow lockdown mode.”
“Okay, I just hope she’s still in the school.”
“Let’s sign you in, and they have alerted the school security. Don’t worry we’ll find her.”
Ellen and Ted went into the office. She gave them her driver’s license. While they were in the office, the security team came in and asked Ellen some questions about what Joni looked like and her condition. Ellen described Joni and told them she had Alzheimer’s. The principal made an announcement that students and teachers needed to stay in their current classroom, until told otherwise. He went on to say that the special career assembly program would still be held today, it would just be delayed.
Ted asked for one of the office administrative assistants to go down and stay with his classroom. Ted and Ellen walked the halls looking for Joni.
Chapter 19
Joni
Nothing looked familiar. Why was she here in this place? She needed to find the way out. As Joni walked down the hallway, a light flickered and drew her attention to a set of double doors. Joni moved toward the double doors and the light transformed into a watercolor painting of bright pink, yellow and pastel blue. The doors were vibrating like rippling water. And as Joni got within ten feet of the doors, there she was. Joni felt her peace and warmth. The woman was back to lead her, show her where to go next. She motioned for Joni to come through the doors. Joni raised her hands up afraid to touch the watercolor painting, fearing that she would disappear. Reaching for the door handles, her hands became part of the painting. Joni looked down at her hands, which now were yellow and pink and rippled like the doors. Her fingers gripped the metal bar and pushed open the door. The painting disappeared and Joni was in complete darkness. The room was large, she could feel the empty space way above her head. When her eyes adjusted, she recognized this place to be an auditorium, seats in rows, and a sloped floor that led to a stage with deep burgundy curtains.
Joni walked toward the curtains. She walked to the side of the stage, climbed the stairs and went behind the curtains. Joni let her fingers glide along the folds of the velvet. There was a sound and she stopped right in the middle of the stage.
The small lights on the walls flickered and a man came down the aisle searching. What was he looking for? He shined a flashlight down each row of chairs. He was getting closer to Joni. She worried he was after he. Around the outside of his body Joni saw colors, dark colors, reds and blues. She held her breath. The man stopped at the fourth row and walked into the center of the aisle. He bent over. Joni heard a zipping sound.
“Shit.” The man said. He looked around and said into a walkie-talkie, “We have a situation here. I was looking for the woman and I found something. We got a code red in auditorium. Call the ATF.” He shined his flashlight in a sweeping motion around the dimly lit space. As he reached the double doors, he stepped across the threshold and looked back at the spot where he’d just been, and said into a walkie-talkie,“I’ve secured the area.” He closed the door.
Joni let her breath out and moved down the stairs. As she looked again out into the rows of seats, the woman reappeared, hovering above where the man had just been. She was motioning to Joni, telling her without words to come to the spot. Joni did.
The lights on the walls flashed on and off and a loud shrill sound pierced the air.
The chairs that surrounded the woman were vibrating like the doors earlier. As Joni got closer, the woman motioned for Joni to look down. Joni saw a light tan backpack. The woman smiled and moved her arms in a sweeping motion telling Joni to pick up the bag and place it close to her. Joni did.
In a trailing flash of light, the woman moved toward the double doors, and motioned for Joni to follow. Joni moved toward the doors.
Joni pushed open the doors. A group of men stood behind them. They were all outlined with the deep colors like the other man. Their mouths were moving, their faces contorted and their hands were flailing. Joni heard nothing and as she neared them they moved, giving her a wide path.
The woman was now in a beautiful wave of watercolor flowing across the ceiling. Each part of the ceiling rippled as her presence touched it. Below the woman and right at Joni’s feet was a bright path of light. Joni followed the path and the muffled sounds of people seemed farther away.
Joni clutched the backpack to her chest and walked into the entryway. She stopped and looked behind her, the group of people had grown and fanned out like a semi-circle. Joni looked at each person marveling at the colors that radiated from their bodies. It was every color Joni had ever seen and some she had never seen before. She turned away from the mob of people.
Looking through the glass into the office, Joni saw a tall boy. She knew him, she just couldn’t remember how or where. A light glowed in a small sphere in the center of his chest. Her eyes held his gaze. The boy’s tired eyes rimmed with tears. And when he finally moved his gaze to the floor, Joni watched as the light grew and filled his body. She then opened the front doors and walked into the parking lot, still clutching the backpack.
Chapter 20
The explosion rattled the glass of the school’s entryway. Ellen ran to the doors. She saw the plume of grey-white smoke rising up out of the parking lot behind the first row of parked cars. Her instinct was to run to her mother, but Ted reached Ellen just as she stepped outside the front doors and wrapped his arms tight around her.
“Ellen please, don’t.” Ted held her tighter. The school security raced to the parking lot where the smoke had originated. Sirens screamed in the distance and were coming closer. The smell of burning inundated the parking lot and the smoke dissipated to a blanket of fog. The first yellow fire truck turned the corner and the
medic unit was right behind them. The truck was barely parked before the firefighters were out, and the captain walked over to the site. He walked to the front of the school.
“Where is the principal?”
“Right here.” The principal stepped toward the firefighter.
“Sir, there’s been an explosion, looks like a bomb. I need you to evacuate the school. I want everyone removed from this front entrance, now. We’re going evacuate the rest of the school through the other doors. The ATF and police are on the way.”
“My mother? Is she alive?” Ellen looked at the firefighter.
“No ma’am she’s not, I’m sorry.”
Still in Ted’s arms, Ellen started to cry and shake. The firefighters from the truck were now directing people from the front of the school off to the auxiliary parking lot on the side of the school grounds. Half of the firefighters and the principal went back into the building. More sirens were off in the distance.
Ellen had been at the house for two hours. And in those two hours the explosion had replayed in her mind over and over. The smell of the burning permeated her nose. Kim was not answering her phone or the text messages. Ellen looked at the schedule that Kim had shared with her, the group was in the rainforest. Ellen had sent Ted home, he offered to stay, but she didn’t want him there. She needed to be alone. Why did her mother do this? But then, Ellen had a horrible thought. If she hadn’t have took her mother to the school, she would still be alive. A wave of guilt and sadness brought Ellen to her knees. She laid on the floor of the sunroom, curled herself up, and cried.
The doorbell woke Ellen. She checked her phone for the time and to see if Kim had called or responded. Nothing but a text from Ted. Ellen put her phone in her back pocket. As she walked to the front door, she could see the ATF officers standing on the porch.
