Southern Spirits

by Shelley Stringer

  “Already? Well, they’re growing much too fast! You are just going to have to come and stay with us more often!” she exclaimed as Will sat down beside her on the other sofa.

  “So where are the others?” Will asked.

  “Ty and Constance are riding down with John and Brie, and they should be here any time,” Banton replied.

  “Everett is already in N’awlins. He came by earlier this afternoon, and he’s called me twice! I’m supposed to deliver you, Constance and Brie to his grandmother’s house about three o’clock tomorrow afternoon for tea and baby celebration,” Claudia informed me as Banton chuckled.

  “This should be the baby shower of the century,” he said “My mother called me to see if we’d left this morning, and said she and Julia are meeting y’all there tomorrow afternoon,” Banton added.

  “Well, we have dinner all planned tonight. I have a friend who just opened a steakhouse in the quarter, and he is sending over some catered food for us tonight. I invited Everett, Mrs. Elaine, Mr. Matt and Julia. I hope y’all don’t mind,” Will said. I shook my head.

  “William, I miss my family so much. I love being around yours. I could never get enough,” I assured him as Banton put his arm around me.

  “Chandler Ann, you are family. Don’t ever forget that,” Claudia said as there was a knock at the door.

  “I wiwl get it, Mommy! Wet me,” Ava Grace called out as she raced down the hallway, Beau close on her heels. We all laughed as she swung the door open to find Constance, Ty, John and Brie.

  Ava never opened the screen door; she just bounced into the living room, announcing, “An ‘Stance and An Briew awre hewe! They awre hewe, Mommy!”

  Will moved to let them in. “She gets so excited, she forgets to open the door,” he explained as Constance laughed.

  “Come here, Doodle-Bug, and let me see you! I swear you’ve grown a foot!”

  Ava comically sat down in the floor, raising both her feet in the air at Constance. “An Stance, I jus hab two…see, one…two,” she counted, flipped them up in the air at Constance. Constance giggled and pulled her up out of the floor into her arms.

  “I just meant you are growing so tall,” she corrected as they came into the living room with us.

  “An Stance, I hab a twampoween in the yard…wiwl you jump wif Aba?” she asked.

  “I’d love to, Ava! Come, show me your trampoline!” she exclaimed, taking Ty by the hand. They switched Ava between them and swung her back and forth in the air as they made their way through the house.

  “So how was your trip?” Claudia asked. Brie sat down beside her.

  “Exhausting! Those two never stop fighting. I swear Diva-doll is going to implode before this wedding ever gets off the ground,” John exclaimed.

  “It’s funny, I had Diva pegged as the over-the-top twenty-thousand dollar gown type of girl, not the get married barefoot on the beach type,” he commented as he shook his head.

  “She’s changed. I think she’s tired of all the drama and all we’ve been through. She’s just in love and wants to be married,” I said as Elly crawled away from me toward Matty.

  “So, what’s our plan for tonight?” John asked, sinking down in a chair across from us.

  “Just relax, and play with the kids. Will is having dinner brought in. Since you all have a meeting at the base in the morning, we’ll hang out here, and then go to the baby shower. We’ll all meet up here afterward. Will has tomorrow night’s meal covered too,” Claudia commented as she slid off in the floor and crawled around the coffee table to chase Matty. Matty sat up, and then peeked around the table leg at Elly. Elly cackled, seeming to catch on to his game of “hide and seek.” I jumped up and hid behind the other side of the chair, and then popped out at her as I called “peek-a-boo!”

  Ellyson cackled again, and as I watched her, everyone gasped. Her skin became translucent, almost see-through…as if she were fading!”

  “Holy shit! What is going on?’ John exclaimed. Banton turned to look, and he blanched as he looked quickly at me.

  “Chandler?”

  “I don’t…I don’t know! I’ve never seen her do it before. She almost looks like she did in the hospital when they were giving her transfusions.”

  As we watched her, she grinned at us, and then became so translucent she almost disappeared. I watched, horrified as her color faded. No one said anything for several moments, and then Matty laughed at her. She turned, her color fading back to normal as she mumbled in a sort of baby garble, “Boo!”

  I grabbed my purse and dug my phone out. Everyone else in the room sat motionless, not believing what they’d just seen. I dialed Everett’s number, and he answered on the first ring.

  “Bebe, what is it? What’s happened?”

  “Ev, it’s Elly. Where are you?’ I asked frantically.

  “I’m at Grandmother Wellington’s.”

  “Are you coming over here?” I asked.

  “Just about to leave. Bebe, what is wrong?” he asked intuitively.

  “Ellyson. Everett, if I didn’t know any better…I’d say she just faded like an Orco,” I whispered as Banton snapped his head up to look at me.

  “I’ll be right there,” Ev answered before hanging up.

  Banton stood and scooped Ellyson up, cuddling her close to his chest as he searched my eyes.

  “Everett is on his way over,” I whispered.

  Brie leaned forward and said softly, “Chandler, many times when Patrick and Olivia would come to the safe house to work with me, they called you a fader. Do you think that is what they meant?”

  “I…I don’t know,” I answered shakily, looking down at Matty. He pulled up on my pants leg and I leaned down to pick him up.

  “What’s going on? You all look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Constance joked as she and Ty came back in with Ava Grace.

  “We did. You just missed the show,” John said. Constance cocked an eyebrow at him. He proceeded to explain what had just happened with Elly as Banton came over and knelt in front of me.

  “Chandler, baby, everything is going to be okay. I’m sure there is a simple explanation for this. Do you want me to call Renault?” Banton asked softly. Everyone began talking at once in the background.

  I nodded at him as I placed a kiss on Matty’s head. Banton handed Elly down to Claudia and then pulled his cell out and walked into the other room to call Dr. Renault.

  Amid all the confusion, Will’s friend arrived with our dinner, so he and John left the room to go and place everything out in the kitchen. As everyone calmed down, they all left the living room and wandered back to the kitchen to eat. Banton came back to the living room and sat down with me on the sofa.

  I changed Matty’s diaper methodically, going over the earlier events in my head. Elly lay beside Matty on the couch, smiling at him and playing with her toes like a normal three month old. As I watched them, my heart was beating so hard I was sure it was about to launch itself out of my chest.

  “Chandler, I can hear your heartbeat. Everything is going to be all right, calm down,” Banton said softly, bending over to pick Elly up from Claudia and then sitting down next to me. I finished dressing Matty and then pulled him to my chest. As we watched them, Matty held his hand out to Elly, and Elly leaned her face out to him, almost in a sort of silent communication. Banton and I watched them, mesmerized.

  “I’m terrified, Banton. My children have issues I can’t even begin to understand. They’re not even three months old, and they already silently communicate with each other. Now one of them can fade. How am I supposed to…what if she…Banton, I can’t do this!” I broke down in sobs.

  “God, Chandler…come here.” He pulled me into the safety of his arms, holding me and the babies. He stroked my hair as he murmured, “Don’t think for one minute you are alone in this. I’m here, and we’ll handle this. You and me…and Everett, and Constance, and Claudia, and Brie…thank God we’ve got the support system that we do. Everything is going to be fine,�
�� he continued to assure me as the doorbell rang.

  I wiped my eyes, glancing up at him. “That will be Everett.”

  As Banton pulled away, Will moved into the entry to open the front door.

  “Hey, Everett. We’re sure glad to see you,” Will welcomed him with a warm hug.

  “Whatever is going on now?” Everett came into the living room and hurried over to kneel in front of me. He reached up and wiped a tear from under my eye.

  “Everett, I don’t even think I can describe it to you. You have to see it for yourself,” I shook my head as he studied me.

  “Ev, can all Aldon babies fade?” Banton asked. Everett looked back and forth at us, and then down at Elly.

  “Fade? You mean like those Orcos we fought in your house?”

  I nodded.

  “No. I don’t know any Aldon who can fade. That’s why Dr. Renault was doing all the research on the Orcos the Seals killed here when they were on that first mission. We’d never seen it before.”

  I had a sick feeling, the bile beginning to rise in my throat. “Do you think Elly can fade because one of them bit me while I was pregnant?” I almost choked on the words.

  “Oh, Bebe. I don’t know. Have you called Dr. Renault?”

  “I just got off the phone with him. He’s on his way over here now,” Banton replied.

  Everett reached up and rubbed my leg, sensing how upset I was. “Bebe, how exactly did she do it? Did she fade completely, or was it subtle?”

  “I would say completely,” Banton answered.

  “Put them back in the floor like before,” I suggested to Banton. We placed the twins in the floor again, and I hid behind the chair and popped my head out at Matty like I’d done when Elly faded. Matty immediately giggled, crawling toward me. Elly sat watching quietly. I popped out a couple more times, Matty giggling louder each time. He then crawled back toward Elly, reaching out to her. She leaned over and lay down in the floor, her face flat on the carpet as she watched him. Just when I thought she wasn’t going to play, she began to fade again. Only this time, she faded completely, blending in with the rug. All you could see was her outline.

  “Sweet Jesus!” Everett breathed out as he shot a worried glance at me. Banton called out softly, “Ellyson Marie…where are you?”

  She giggled, but didn’t fade back in. I began to cry silently.

  “Ellyson Marie, Daddy can’t see you. Where are you,” Banton said in a sterner voice. The outline of Elly’s form pushed up, and then began to fade back into form. I took a deep breath as I looked over at Banton.

  “What are we going to do?” I said, the tears threatening again.

  Everett sat down beside me as Banton picked Elly up out of the floor. Elly looked at Banton warily, pulling away from him slightly. It occurred to me he’d never talked sternly to either one of the twins before. He must have realized her reaction was from his tone, too. He pulled her into his chest and kissed the top of her head.

  “You’re okay, baby girl. Daddy’s not mad at you, sweetheart. Daddy loves you so much,” he cuddled her.

  “Oh, sweet Bebe…everything is going to be okay. Please, don’t cry. Everything will be fine, yeah.” Everett said, hugging me close.

  “Banton, the food is out in the kitchen, and everyone else is almost finished. Why don’t you and Chandler go in and eat, and Brie and I will stay here with the twins,” John offered softly as I shook my head.

  “Not right now, John. I’m not hungry.”

  “Chandler, come on. You need to eat, and the twins are fine,” Banton urged. I looked up at him and shook my head again. I was so upset and nauseated that there was no way I could eat.

  “It’s time to feed the babies and get them down. I think I’ll take them up,” I said, rising.

  “Chandler, let me help you,” Brie offered as she came around John. When she picked Matty up I took Elly and started for the stairs.

  “Sweetheart, I’ll fix their formula, and I’ll bring it up to you,” Banton offered, kissing me on the forehead when I passed him.

  Claudia came through the foyer from the back of the house. “Chandler, I’ll show you to the nursery,” she offered, taking the stairs in front of us.

  After we had everything laid out, Brie helped me undress the twins and put them in the tub. Even in my state of distress, I wondered at the beautiful nursery suite that Will and Claudia had built. It had an en suite Jack and Jill bathroom, with a tiny, half-size tub that had an indention with a small seat, so an adult could sit against the tub and easily lean over to wash the babies. Each end of the tub was reclined much like a baby bath-tub, and was covered with a removable pad sort of like Velcro fabric.

  As we watched the twins play and splash, Brie took me in her arms.

  “Andie, it’s going to be okay.”

  I nodded at her. “Thanks, Brie. I know. It’s just hard. I find myself wishing we could have a normal life and that all I had to worry about was ear infections and chicken-pox. I catch myself feeling sorry for myself and for them. They will never have normal, will they?”

  She nodded as she touched my cheek. “I don’t even know what normal is anymore. I just try to look at my life, and thank God every morning for John…and for you and Everett,” she whispered. I smiled at her.

  “You do know how I feel, thank you,” I murmured as Banton cleared his throat behind us.

  “Andie, Dr. Renault is here, if you are ready to get them out,” he said.

  Brie helped me dry the twins off and dress them on the elaborate changing tables built into the bathroom. When we had them dressed, we took them back into the nursery where Dr. Renault and Everett waited with Banton.

  “Well, I must say this is the most beautiful nursery I’ve ever been in,” Dr. Renault commented as I nodded. “Now, let’s see about these two little ones,” he said as he examined Elly first, then Matty. He checked their vital signs, examined them physically, drew blood, and made notes on his laptop. After he’d done everything he could without more equipment, he turned to me.

  “Chandler, can you describe exactly what happened when she faded?”

  I relayed the events as best as I could, with Banton and Everett joining in. After we’d explained everything, Dr. Renault considered Elly for a moment.

  “Do you think you could get her to do it again?” he asked.

  “We can try,” I replied, lifting her from her crib. Banton picked Matty up, and we placed both of them in the floor. Banton got on his hands and knees and I did the same. We tried several times, but even as Matty immediately joined in our game of hide-and-seek, Elly just watched silently, eventually laying her head over on the carpet and placing her thumb in her mouth. Banton tried to engage her, but her eyes widened and she shook her head at him, telling him she didn’t want to play.

  “I think Banton’s reaction earlier when he talked to her sternly made her think he was angry with her. She sensed she might be in trouble for fading, and now she is reluctant to,” Everett observed as I nodded.

  “Yes, I think that might be it,” I agreed as Banton looked at me curiously.

  “Well, I can take your word for what happened. I believe you. I’m at a loss, kids, so I’m going to confer with some of my colleagues and with the pediatrician who helped me with them before. In light of this newest development, I’m sure you are more apprehensive than ever about their development. You will need to keep them sheltered until we get a handle on this.”

  I nodded. I’d already been thinking about having to keep them from public view.

  “There is one more thing,” he began as he looked over at Everett. “I know your circle of acquaintances in the Aldon world is small, but you need to keep this latest development to yourselves. Your children put our privacy in great jeopardy, and this is new territory. We don’t want to raise any alarms that might cause a stir with the Aldon, Orcos, or the Navy. Let’s keep this quiet, and keep the twins low-key,” he warned as a new fear gripped my heart.

  “We will, Doc. Thank yo
u for coming out.”

  “You’re welcome, son. Take care of them. I’ve grown quite fond of your little family. I’ll be in touch,” Dr. Renault said, placing his hand on my shoulder as he left the room.

  Voices drifted up the staircase as Banton’s parents and Julia arrived. I looked at Banton. I was exhausted and emotionally drained from the events of the last two hours.

  He sensed my thoughts as usual. “Why don’t I go down and explain things to Mother and Daddy, while you and Brie feed the babies. Mother will want to see them, so she can come up and kiss them goodnight. You don’t have to come down tonight. Everyone will understand,” he said as he kissed me on the forehead. He handed me their bottles, and then closed the nursery door behind him.

  “Brie, do you mind helping me feed them?’ I asked her. She shot me an incredulous look.

  “Are you kidding? Some nights, I want to walk down to your house and offer to help. I love this so much. I just don’t want to intrude all the time,” she said, a sparkle in her eye. I nodded at her as I picked Elly up out of the floor, and then took a rocker as Brie settled into the other with Matty. After we’d fed them, they drifted off so we placed them gently in their cribs.

  “I’m going to go back downstairs with John. Andie, please call down if you need me. I love you, darlin’,” she whispered as she hugged me close.

  “Thank you so much, Brie. I love you too. Remember when I said I’d be calling in all those favors?” I reminded her of our conversations after she’d transformed.

  “Yeah, and I’ll even change dirty diapers,” she called back as she left the nursery. I looked down at my sleeping babies, both of them on their backs, Elly with her thumb in her mouth, Matty making sucking noises in his sleep. I was so unhinged by Elly’s episode I was hesitant to leave them. I wanted so badly to take them in our room and let them sleep with us, but then I thought, it’s you who’s upset, not the babies. I looked up, realizing for the first time that there was a door between the nursery and our room, connecting the two. I went over and opened it and sighed. I got ready for bed, taking my makeup off and then donning my nightgown. As I climbed into bed, there was a soft knock at the door.