“I’m a medical professional. You’ll be fine. Wait, did you write me into your will yet?”
“Not yet, so you better keep me alive until the day I see fit to put your name in it.”
Henry laughed, “Yes, ma’am. I can’t let those greedy children of yours get all of that dough.”
“I don’t know why I put up with you,” she said, continuing to scrawl her name haphazardly on pieces of paper. “Macgill’s sounds good to me. Give me a few minutes. Did you call that wife of yours yet?”
“I’m just going to now. See you out front.” She waved a hand at him in response.
Henry made his way to the breakroom, clocked out, and grabbed his stuff from his locker. It would be at least twenty minutes before Karen was ready to go. He pulled a red plastic chair to one of the small circular tables, sat down, and grabbed his phone. He opened his contact list and clicked on “ICE-Caitlin.”
After a couple of rings, she picked up. “Hello?”
“Hey, sweety, how’s it going?” He asked, a barely perceptible note of hesitation was in his voice.
“Fine.”
“Anything interesting going on?”
“No.”
“I guess that’s a good thing?”
“Sure.”
He hated when she went monosyllabic. Something must have happened. Unfortunately, this woman, who used to be so open about everything, had closed down and distanced herself from him. He didn’t understand what he had done. When the incident had first occurred, she spilled every painful detail to him. As the trial went on, she retreated further and further inward. Now, he felt like he barely knew her, let alone what she was feeling at any given time.
“I just wanted to let you know that Karen invited me out for a beer. We’re going over to Macgill’s. I won’t be out for more than an hour or two.”
“Okay.”
“Will you be okay getting yourself and Elise dinner? I can bring something home.”
“I am perfectly capable of caring for our child, Henry.” The sudden burst of anger behind her words surprised Henry.
“Honey, I wasn’t implying…”
“Don’t bother. Stay out as late as you want. I’ll take care of our daughter. Stay out all night for all I care.” She abruptly hung up. Henry looked stupidly at his phone. He thought about calling her back and decided it was probably best just to let her be. He sent her a text that said, I love you very much! See you in a bit ??.
He waited for a response but never received one. Finally, he placed his chair back and stepped out into the heat of the afternoon to wait for Dr. Watson.
Chapter Four
Elise
“Calloo coo coo!” Elise shouted from her hiding place in Grammy’s sewing room. She had inserted her small body between one of the tables and her grandmother’s enormous long arm machine. Her current quilting project hung over the edge of the table, helping to hide the young girl. The distinctive clicking of her grandparent’s miniature Australian shepherd’s claws crossed the floor. A moment later a wet, brown muzzle stuck its way under the quilt. Winston whimpered slightly and wriggled the rest of his body into her hiding place. Elise wrapped her arms around the dog. “Stay quiet, I hear someone coming,” she whispered into his ear. Winston cocked his head to the side and shot his small pink tongue out to lick her cheek.
Out in the hallway heavy footsteps headed up the stairs. She was in the first room to the right at the top of the stairs. She had thought about shutting the door to the sewing room but decided against it. She figured a closed door would be too obvious.
“Fee Fi Fo Firl, I hear the voice of a little girl.” The deep bass voice rumbled from her grandfather.
She wrapped her arms tighter around Winston and held her breath.
Pop’s footsteps continued past the sewing room. She let out her breath slowly and exchanged a sly glance with the dog. In the hallway her Pop said, “Are you in…. here?” The hall closet creaked. “Nope, no one in here.” He started to move further down the hallway. At that moment Winston let out a small whimper and struggled against Elise’s hold.
“Shhh, Winston, shhh,” she whispered, continuing to hold him close. “He’ll hear you.”
Just as the words left her lips the quilt was lifted.
The light haloed Pop’s head. “I found you!”
Elise let out a squeal as Pop pulled her from her hiding spot and lifted her into the air. She had released the dog, and he went scampering out of the room.
“Traitor!” she yelled at the canine’s retreating backside. “That wasn’t fair! Winston gave me away.”
“I have spies everywhere. You can’t trust anyone, especially those of the furry variety. They will sell you out for a tasty treat.”
“I want to go again. Please, Pop! PLLEEEAAASSSEEE!!” Elise tried to give him the puppy dog eyes. She learned the move from her mother when she wanted her dad to do something for her.
“Your powers have no effect on me. Your mother has been trying that on me for years. I’ve built up an immunity,” Pop said.
“Awwww, you’re no fun, Pop.”
“No fun? No fun! I’m the funnest!” He flipped her upside down, gently lowered her to the floor, and tickled her. Elise squealed with laughter.
“Stop, Pop!” She yelled between her laughs. “STTOOOOPPPP!”
At her cry, Pop stopped tickling her and lay down on the floor next to her. Elise took a few moments to regain her breath, little giggles still escaping. After she was able to breathe again properly, she turned to Pop and asked, “So what do you want to do next?”
He turned his head to her, his blonde-white hair mussed from the tussle. “Well, sweetheart, I would like to go on all kinds of adventures with you, but rumor has it your mom is on her way to pick you up. So, I think it’s time to go find your socks and shoes.”
Elise pouted. “I don’t want to go home. Can I please stay here with you tonight? It’s summer time, so I don’t have to go to school tomorrow. And I’ll be back in the morning anyway. You know that.”
“I understand you want to stay here, but you know Grammy has to get up early in the morning for work. It’s hard for her to sleep when you’re here late, because she wants to stay up with you. Besides, your mom and dad will miss you if you stay here.”
“I don’t think they will. Mom got mad at me over nothing this morning. She would probably be happy if I never came home.” An unintentional tremor colored her voice.
Pop shifted onto his side, placing his left hand under his head. He gave her his serious face. “You know that’s not true. Your mom loves you more than anything in the whole world. She has been going through a lot over the past few months, and sometimes when people go through a lot, they can have short tempers. It doesn’t mean they love you any less. It just means their attention is drawn in too many directions. Do you remember that book report you had to write? The one about the cats?”
Elise nodded and said barely above a whisper, “Yeah, I remember. It was really hard.”
“Well, you got frustrated sometimes and got upset when you normally wouldn’t, right? I remember a few tears being shed about things that normally wouldn’t bother you while you were working on that.”
“Yeah, I guess I did get frustrated.” Elise enjoyed talking to Pop. He always talked to her like she was a grownup. “I just wish someone would tell me what really happened. I know that man hurt her, but no one will tell me why. I’m not a baby, you know.” She tried hard not to pout, since sticking her lower lip out was exactly something a baby would do.
“No one here thinks you’re a baby. In fact, you show me every single day how mature and grown up you are. It isn’t about how old you are. Honestly, it’s not about you at all. You’ll find as you get older there are experiences you have that you don’t want to talk about with anyone. There’ll be moments in your life you’ll hold to yourself or only share with a select few. Not all these moments will be bad, but they’ll be yours. You’ll have to figure out if, and
when, you want to share them. Your mom didn’t have the opportunity to keep her secrets a secret. She had to share them with a lot of people she didn’t want to. She had to give up pieces of herself to make sure the bad man went to jail, and it hurt her more than she’d like to admit. She’s still figuring out how to process everything she went through, and I think telling you, her precious daughter, about the bad man would hurt her too much. Try not to give her a hard time. She’ll share her story with you when she’s ready. And if she’s never ready to share, then that’s okay, too. Will you promise to take it easy on her?” Pop held out his right hand in a fist and extended his pinky.
Elise took a moment to think over what he had said. She and her friends talked about things she didn’t want the grownups in her life to know. Things she would never talk about with anyone but her closest friends. She extended her pinky and wrapped it up with Pop’s. “I promise. Will…. Will you tell me someday?”
He gave her a smile, but sadness dimmed his eyes. “It’s not my place to tell you any of your mom’s secrets. Just like when you tell me a secret, it will not be my place to tell your mom. Fair enough?”
“Yeah, that’s fair.”
“All right, kiddo,” Pop said, pushing himself into a sitting position. He grunted slightly until he was comfortable. “It’s time for you to go get your socks and shoes on. You mom will be here soon. You can watch Monoflufee on the tablet until she gets here once your feet are properly covered.” He grabbed one of her bare toes and wiggled it. She giggled again and jumped up to find her socks and shoes.
*
Elise sat on the couch watching an episode of Monoflufee she had seen several times before. It centered around her favorite character, Lesembo. He had the body of a giant wolf with the head of a dragon. His body was covered with bright red fur with streaks of gold highlights that shined in the sun. His cat-like yellow eyes captivated her. Along his back a pitch-black stripe ran from the tip of his elongated nose to the ends of his three tails. He could manipulate fire and electricity but was weak against creatures that utilized water and ice. He was portrayed as a villain, but in this episode, viewers learned that he had lost his love to the great tyrant Helenab. Nothing would stand in his way of avenging her death, which made him seem evil at times. He was misunderstood by the other characters, but from this point on in the series he turned around, learning to find strength in friendship.
Lesembo had launched into his monologue about how Helenab had lured his love away with a promise of eternal youth and beauty using the Hiseth Crystal when Elise’s mom walked through the front door. Elise continued watching her show, ignoring her mother’s entrance. Her mom and Grammy talked next to the front door. Her mom’s tone of voice indicated she was not happy. It was nothing new. She was never happy anymore. Elise continued watching her show until her mom said, “Elise, come on. We need to get going.”
“Okay, just a minute.” Elise wanted to watch until the end of the flashback scene.
“No, not just a minute. Now, Elise.”
“Fine.” Elise hit the button on the side of the tablet and the screen went blank. She looked up and saw Pop looking at her from the kitchen. Guilt tugged at her after the talk they’d had. “I’m coming,” she said in a more placid tone. She stood up, scurried over to Pop, and gave him a big hug. “Love you, Pop!”
“I love you too, Bug.” He hugged her back, lifting her up off the floor for a moment. She turned and gave Grammy a hug, as well.
“I love you, Grammy.”
“I love you too, baby girl.” Grammy gave her a big kiss on the cheek. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow afternoon.”
Grammy looked at Elise’s mom. “You’re going to be okay tonight? You are more than welcome to stay here for a bit if you want.”
“I’m fine. We have to head out. I need to get the munchkin fed, and she needs to take a bath. I’m just overreacting. I promise, I’m okay.” Her mom and Grammy hugged and said their goodbyes.
As Elise buckled herself into the back seat her mom asked, “Do you want to pick something up for dinner? We can stop at the sub place on the way back home if you’d like.”
“That sounds good. Thanks, Mom.”
Elise sat quietly in the back seat of the car as they drove to get food. Her mom had turned the music up, so she wouldn’t be able to talk even if she wanted to. She stared absentmindedly out the window, watching the town roll by. She was fantasizing about being in the Monoflufee world, surrounded by unusual and amazing creatures that could talk to her and be her friends.
She had always loved animals. It drove her mom crazy sometimes, because Elise wanted to bring home every creature she found. She had been grounded for a week when she snuck a two-foot-long bull snake into the house. It was fine until it got out under her door during the night. Apparently, it had made its way into her mom’s clean laundry, resulting in a loud, high-pitched scream from her mom when she was folding clothes. Elise thought it was kind of funny. Her mom had not.
Elise was pulled from her fantasies when they stopped at the sub place. She exited the car with her mother and went inside to order. Once they were packed with subs, chips, and sodas they made their way back home. Upon entering the house, Elise grabbed her food and made her way to the family room. She started up her game system and turned it to Netflix, so she could continue watching her Monoflufee episode.
While Elise consumed her food, her mother rattled around in the kitchen and opened the door to the refrigerator. Elise assumed she was putting her own food in there. She didn’t see her mom eat much lately. Not since the “incident.” She then heard the distinctive sound of liquid being poured into a glass. That didn’t surprise her at all. She heard that sound every night. Her mom used to buy a bottle or two of wine at a time, but now she bought it in large boxes. In a couple of hours her mom would be aimlessly wandering around the house. Elise would try to stay out of her way at that point. Dad was usually around to keep Mom’s attention from her, but sometimes he was tired and went to sleep early.
Her mom wasn’t mean to her. She was more annoying than anything. She would randomly decide to braid Elise’s hair, pulling until it hurt, or she would ask her weird questions. Sometimes, Elise couldn’t even understand what her mom was saying, and that would make her mom irritated. Even when she did decide to do something fun with Elise, like play video games, she would pause every five to ten minutes to go outside and smoke a cigarette. Elise hated the way she smelled when she came back inside. Once, she had mentioned it, and her mom went off on her for being rude. After that, she never mentioned her displeasure again.
Mom came into the room and looked at Elise as she was finishing her food. “Elle, you need to get a bath tonight.”
“Can I finish my show? I only have five more minutes.”
Mom huffed out an exasperated breath. “Fine, but I better hear the water running in five minutes. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Mom.” Elise finished her show and made her way to the bathroom to get her bath started. As she turned on the tap, she remembered her bath toys were still in her parents’ tub, since she had decided to take her previous bath in there. She ran to her mother’s ensuite. When she made it back to her bathroom, the tub was almost full. She turned the knobs to turn the water off… but it kept flowing. She twisted them left and right, but nothing changed in the force of the water flowing from the faucet. The water was getting dangerously close to spilling over the edge.
“Mom! MOM!!” she shouted while still trying to turn the knobs. The water overflowed over the edge of the tub, dampening the blue and gray bath mat. “MOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!”
“What, Elle?” Her mom called back from the kitchen.
“I need you now!”
Her mom’s foot-falls quickly came around the corner, Chase following close behind her. “Jesus, Elise! What a mess.”
“I can’t turn it off.”
“Get out of the way!” Her mother pushed her to the side.
Elise was shoved
up against the partially open door and shut them in.
Her mom bent down in front of the tub and turned the knobs. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. “What did you do?”
“Nothing! I swear.” Elise put her hand on top of Chase’s head. He whimpered and then lowered his head to drink some of the ever-growing puddle off the floor. She watched as her mother stuck her hand down into the tub to pull the stopper.
“What the hell?” She groped in the water, but it continued pouring out of the tub.
Elise’s feet were now covered with the liquid. It didn’t appear to be going under the crack in the door. She turned and tried to pry open the cheap white interior door, but it would not budge.
“Um, Mom? The door…”
Her mother turned from the tub and ran to the door. The water was up to their ankles and steadily rising. Ice cold water diluted the initial warmth. Elise shivered as her mother struggled to get the door open. She pounded her fists against it and shrieked.
“No, please! NO!” her mother sobbed, hysterical. “Let me go!” She hit the door with her shoulder, tears mixing with the water that had deepened to Elise’s knees. Chase whined and barked; his chest wet.
Elise spotted her mother’s phone on the counter of the sink. She must have placed it down when she came into the room. Elise grabbed it and called her dad.
The phone rang and rang until her dad’s voicemail requested that she leave a message. Beep.
“Dad…. Please…”
Chapter Five
Henry
Macgill’s was filled with after work patrons. It was a favorite hotspot for the people who worked in the medical district, so Henry saw several familiar faces as he made his way to a table in the bar area. He exchanged pleasantries with a few acquaintances and ordered a local beer on tap from his overly-enthusiastic waitress. Karen followed him to his choice of seats and ordered a glass of merlot. She looked worn out but happy. She had been running at top speed all day. He told her on more than one occasion she needed to slow down, to which she would respond that she would slow down when she died. He pointed out that would probably happen sooner than later at the rate she was going. She would roll her eyes at him and keep doing exactly what she was doing.
A World Divided Page 4
