“Shush, you fool!” Patti gasped, shooting Danny a chilling glare.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“No one would believe you. You can’t prove anything!”
“But, it’s true…isn’t it?”
“Would you hush up? Who told you?”
“No one told me anything. I saw you. It’s like, like…I was there!”
“Impossible!” Patti whispered. “You must’ve been spying on me!”
“No, Patti, honest!” Danny pointed to the maze. “It’s as plain as day to me!” The smug boy reclined in his chair, smirking.
Patti fumed, leering back at him through angry eyes. “Why, you dirty dog!” Patti took a swipe at him. “You really do know!”
Danny lurched to one side, narrowly escaping the fury of her petite fist. “So, now do you believe me?”
“You mustn’t tell ANYONE! Got it? Promise me!”
“Me?” Danny clenched his chest “…Promise you?”
“Mouse, if you know what’s best for me…”
“Only if you promise me something first.”
“Wh-wh-what do you want from me?” Patti eyed her counterpart with suspicion.
“Friendship. Promise you’ll always treasure our friendship.”
“Oh, sure, I promise. You’re the kind of friend a girl could really…use!”
“Aw, you’re too much!” Danny blushed.
“But, you have to swear you’ll always be there for me.”
“C’mon, Patti! You know in your heart you can always count on me.”
“Then, I guess I promise…OK?”
“It’s a good start,” Danny whispered, leaning forward. “But, not good enough.”
“Well, what the heck more can I say?
Danny beckoned for her to come closer, and the girl drew near. “Don’t just promise me,” Danny whispered in her ear. “Make me a Gemini promise!”
“A Gemini what?”
“Remember? That’s what you said to me!”
“Oh, Mouse!” his confidant laughed. “You say the most ridiculous things!”
“Think back, Patti. Who really made that necklace?”
“I already told you. My uncle gave it to me, stupid!”
“C’mon, Patti…think.” Danny held her hand. “Think!”
The girl sat in silence. Biting her lip, she pulled back and stared into the distance.
“Remember? We chased the sandpipers along the shore?”
“Yes…”
“And, the sand castles we built away from the water?”
“Of course, but…”
“Then, we dug for clams at low tide?”
“Yes, I know all that, but still…”
“That’s when you found that strange coin, remember?”
“Who could forget?” Patti agreed. “Those funny swirls…”
“The triple spiral!” Danny cheered. “You remember…we snuck some glue from the guest house?”
“And, we made molds of the coin,” the girl whispered. “Pressing it into a wet sand mix, and…”
“That’s right! Go on…”
“We placed the molds in the sun to dry, and when they hardened…”
“Go on, Patti!” Danny encouraged. “You remember, don’t you?”
“The coins…they were our lucky charms, and…”
“Yes, yes!”
“No! That’s not right!” the frantic girl shook her head. “Do you hear? It’s simply impossible!”
“Why, Patti, why?” Danny gazed into a face he no longer recognized. “What’s impossible?”
“Well, if you’re so smart, you figure it out!” The girl trembled as if she had seen a ghost. “You should know this simply cannot be!”
“Why not?” The boy grew irate. “Tell me, why not?”
“Because…”
“Because why, Patti? I’m waiting!”
“Because, I…I wasn’t actually there,” Patti confessed in a whisper. “I couldn’t have been!”
“But, I saw you with my own two eyes! We ran on the beach together! We jumped in the waves together, holding hands…”
“Things are never as clear as they appear, are they?”
“Funny…things seem pretty clear to me!”
“You still don’t get it, Mouse, do you?” Patti protested. “Trust me. It’s just impossible, ok? Forget what you know because it’s simply impossible…understand?”
“Impossible? Is it impossible that we should share some fun in the sun together?”
“No…”
“Is it impossible that we should enjoy each other’s company?”
“No…”
“Is it impossible that we’re so much alike?
“No…”
“Then, what is it, Patti?” Danny sighed. “Is it impossible that we might have liked each other?”
She stared straight through him, biting her lip.
“That’s it, then…isn’t it?”
“Whaaat? No!”
“I like you Patti! There, I said it. But, it scares you that maybe – just maybe – you might just like me, too.”
The girl remained silent.
“Fine, have it your way!” Danny shouted at his stoic friend. “But, I never stopped searching for you – never!”
“Searching? …Really?”
“Searching… Hoping… Believing…”
She turned to face him. “…Believing what, Mouse?”
“Believing that we’d meet again,” he confessed. “I always believed that, and here you are.”
“Really?”
“And, I’ll tell ya one better…I believe in you, Patti!”
“Why?” Patti wept into her hands. “Why do you believe in me?”
“Simple! Because you’re the one!”
“This is all way too freaky, Mouse! How do you explain it?”
“Explain? There’s nothing to explain.”
“I mean…the beach? …This class? …And, now the maze?”
“Simple! It’s all part of the magic we share.”
“This is all too weird…it makes no sense!”
“That’s all I can say,” the boy grinned. “…Until tomorrow becomes today.”
“Mouse! My woman’s intuition says you’re up to something.”
“Just promise me, Patti! The same promise you asked of me…”
“But, I… I… I don’t recall!”
“Make me a Gemini promise, Patti!” Danny spoke from his heart. “I swear, we can find that magic once again. I don’t possess it without you. Don’t leave unfinished what we have yet to get started.” The tolerant child waited for her reply with words he longed to hear. “…Well?” His smile waned with his patience.
“Well…what?”
“Don’tcha have anything to say?”
Patti held the boy’s hand. Gently, their fingers intertwined. She placed their conjoined hands on her heart. “I Gemini promise you,” Patti gazed deep into Danny’s gentle eyes. “I won’t ever forget this special day!”
His mystery girl sprang to her feet. “And, I promise – neither shall you, Danny boy!” Patti muttered, donning an evil grin. “Neither shall you…”
# # #
The adventure continues in Volume II: Precognitions. What happens next? Come sneak a peek…
PHASE THREE — HAPPENSTANCE
That which lurks around every corner…
*** SNEAK PEEK! ***
CHAPTER XXIII
Mirror, Mirror
Greater Boston, Late 1970s:
“Say now, I’ll be a-havin’ me the stuffed cabbage and a salad,” Mrs. Ormont said.
A waitress, dressed in a color-coordinated uniform, hovered beside the Ormonts’ table. “And, what kind of dressing?”
“Ranch, please.”
“I’d like the strip steak with a loaded baked potato,” Mr. Ormont said.
The waitress scribbled madly on her pad. “How would you like your steak prepared?”
“Medium
will be fine.”
“Your steak also comes with a salad. …What dressing for you?”
“Ranch is fine for me, too.”
“I think I’ll try the open-faced, hot turkey with french fries,” Danny said.
“Would you like gravy with that?”
“Yes, over everything, please.”
“And, to drink?”
“Three colas,” Mr. Ormont said. “Oh, and a round of water.”
“Very well,” the waitress remarked. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
“Well, tonight we’ll be sleeping in our own home once again,” Mr. Ormont observed.
“Took quite a spell,” Mum replied. “’Tis well worth the wait, I imagine.”
“We were fortunate the Devonshires could put us up for so long.”
“You mean, put up with us for so long, right Dad?”
The waitress returned with their drinks and a bread basket. Danny snagged a roll and was about to sink his teeth into its pillowy softness when a firm hand grabbed his wrist. “Not so fast!” Mum scolded. “First, we be a-sayin’ Grace.”
Danny could not stifle his hunger. “Since when did we start saying that?”
“Sakes! Need yea remindin’?” Mrs. Ormont frowned. “Since we be a-havin bountiful wonders to be tankful fir.”
“Son, better do what your mother says.”
The disheartened boy returned the roll to the bread basket, placed his hands together, and bowed his head. His parents repeated the same ritual, prepared to give thanks.
“We give tanks fir the food of which we partake,” Mrs. Ormont began. “And, fir our house which He did not forsake. Amen.”
“Amen,” Danny and his father declared.
“I must say,” Mr. Ormont said. “The neighborhood sure has been quiet lately.”
Their son smiled, “I guess the winter put a chill on things.”
“My soul, Denny, why don’t yea avoid folks like Stinger?”
“I try to avoid him.” The boy retrieved his dinner roll. “Thing is, he doesn’t avoid me.”
“Mum’s right, he’s nothing but trouble.”
“Stinger?” Danny dropped his butter knife in mid-spread. “Is that who started the fire?”
“He’s the prime suspect in my book.” Mr. Ormont tore open a croissant in disgust.
“But…” Danny buttered his roll, maintaining his composure. “Do they know for sure?”
“No,” Mum sighed. “The authorities be doing their best.”
Mr. Ormont shook his head. “I’d hate to see how this affects our insurance rates.”
His son stroked his jaw. “What do ya mean? That’s what insurance is for, right?”
“Yes, but now we’re a risk,” his father explained. “File one claim, and your rates increase.”
Danny laughed. “You mean you pay for insurance, but you can never use it?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s crazy!”
“That’s reality.”
“And, what happens when they catch whoever done it?”
“Be it all the better.”
Mr. Ormont pushed his chair back and smiled. “I’d sure like to see Stinger sent to jail.”
“Heavens, Al, he be merely a juvenile…”
“A juvenile delinquent, you mean!” His father’s callous words brought Danny visions of Patti behind bars. Clank! Danny’s knife slipped out of his hand. “You seem awfully jumpy tonight, son,” his father remarked. “Got ants in your pants?”
“Denny, be a tad more careful,” Mum frowned, rummaging through the bread basket.
“I’ll try,” Danny laughed, itching to learn more. “Tell me again. If they catch the person…”
“The entire neighborhood would benefit,” Mr. Ormont said.
“How?”
“People track these incidents. The cows, the fire…”
“But, it didn’t hurt the entire neighborhood.”
“Aye, that it does, Denny.”
“I don’t understand…”
“You’ve got a lot to learn about life, young man,” Mr. Ormont remarked. Danny knew this statement meant his father was about to impart some tidbits of wisdom. “More than the neighborhood, it weakens our community.”
Danny grabbed his soda. Mysteriously, his arm jerked and smashed the glass on the floor.
““Land sakes!” Mum said. “What the devil be wit yea tonight?”
* * *
“Hey, stop that!” Patti’s friend slapped her wrist. A compact shattered on the floor of the cosmetics aisle.
“Look what you made me do, Cheryl!”
“What were you thinking?”
“It’s called hide and seek.”
“It’s called stealing! You were going to drop it into your purse.”
“Aw, it’s just one little packet of eye shadow. The store won’t even miss it.”
“It’s still wrong.”
“Hey, they have plenty more.” Patti reached for the display. “We just want one.”
“Et-a-hem…” A store clerk cleared his throat. “Can I help you ladies?”
“No, thanks.” Innocently, Patti ran her extended hand through her hair. “We were just looking.”
“Indeed…” The clerk quipped with a suspicious eye. “That’s what I thought.”
* * *
“Here we are…two salads.”
“Careful, dear!” Mum warned the waitress. “Afraid we rightly had a wee accident.”
“Oh, no problem,” the server smiled. “It happens to the best of us.” The young lady brushed the broken glass out of the aisle with her foot and motioned for a bus boy. “Your food will be coming right out.” Nothing could sour the waitress’ demeanor. “I’ll bring you another drink.”
“Dad, tell me again,” Danny asked. “You know, what you said about the community and all?”
“A community is only as strong as its weakest link.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“How it pains me to say this, but I fear Stinger’s bad reputation be a plague.”
“How so?”
“Neighbors move away...” His mother chewed upon a forkful of greens before completing her thought. “It makes the neighborhood unstable.”
“But, others will move in, right?”
“The news jumped all over the story about the fire.” Mr. Ormont pointed his fork at his son with fiery eyes. “The reporter enjoyed calling it arson. He couldn’t use that word enough.”
Mum nodded in agreement. “Spreads bad tidings ‘bout our community.”
Danny took a long drink of water and cleared his throat.
“Would you want to move to such a place?” Mr. Ormont asked.
The question festered in Danny’s head when their dinners arrived. The waitress opened a stand, rested her tray, and began to serve. “Let’s see, a strip steak for the man of the house,” the waitress announced, centering the plate before Mr. Ormont.
The Ormonts eyed their son eager to continue the discussion.
“Stuffed cabbage for the first lady…”
“Hold your thoughts, son.”
“And, the hot turkey for the young squire.”
“A veritable banquet,” Mum said, wide-eyed.
“Steak sauce for you, sir?” the waitress offered, replacing Danny’s refreshment.
“Certainly.”
The waitress rested the bottle on the table. “Will there be anything else?”
“No, I think we’re fine for now.”
“Well, then…I’ll be back to check on you soon.”
“Is that how you want people to view our community?” his father asked, drowning his dinner in steak sauce.
“Gee, it’s not the neighborhood that’s bad,” Danny considered. “Just a few bad apples.”
“Pity...” Mum sliced into her entree. “Truth be told, a few bad apples be a-spoilin’ the whole bunch.”
Danny considered his mother’s words, blindly rea
ching for his drink. Once more, his arm jerked wildly, thrusting his glass to the floor.
“Denny!” Mum shouted. “’Tis twice now!”
* * *
“Patti!” Cheryl shouted, jerking Patti’s arm once more. “What’s with you?”
“Hey, don’t make a federal case out of this,” her companion barked. “Just slip this into your pocket.”
“I, uh, like the color you chose for me. But, I don’t want it that badly.”
“It was worth a second try. I hate waiting in line.”
“I’ll just pay for this, and we’ll be out of here.”
“You know, I bet you could walk right out of here, and no one would know.”
“Oh, yeah…right.” Cheryl rolled her eyes.
“No, really!” Patti coaxed. “Just walk straight into the mall. Piece of cake.”
“It’ll never work. Besides, some of these places are alarming their stuff.”
“Don’t be such a coward. They’re only alarming the big stuff, not this.”
“Since you’re so smart, why don’t you do it?”
“I’d do it in a heartbeat…if this were my color, that is.”
“C’mon, Patti, get real,” Cheryl challenged. “I dare ya!”
* * *
The Ormonts finished dinner in silence. But, when the family was ready for the check, the waitress could not to be found.
“That ought to cover it.” Mr. Ormont tossed two twenties on the table. “Now, let’s leave before someone causes any more damage.” All eyes fell upon Danny as he slunk down in his seat.
Mr. Ormont headed for the door with Mum trailing close behind. The pair did not wait for Danny. The boy wriggled out of his seat, spilling his water across the table where the money lay. Unable to find a clean napkin, Danny produced a packet of crumpled tissues from his pocket and dabbed at the mess.
* * *
“I’ll do it if you will,” the challenger whispered in her friend’s ear. The two girls moved to the far end of the aisle and continued the debate.
“No, Patti…I don’t think we should.”
“You dared me. You can’t back down now, Cheryl.”
“What if we get caught?”
“Relax. Nothing to it, really.”
“No…it’s just not right.”
“I’m not gonna wait for you to stand in that line.”
“Honestly, Patti, I don’t get you. I’d wait in line for you.”
“You’re wasting my time!”
“But, you know how much I really want that shade of eye shadow!”
“Stop whining!”
“C’mon, let’s beat it.” Cheryl returned the compact to the shelf, gave her companion the cold shoulder, and stormed out of the store alone.
* * *
“Denny, time’s a-wasting,” Mum called over the din of restaurant chatter. “Off wit yea!”
The boy glanced at his mother, groping for the unused tissues. Rushing to catch up with his parents, he jammed the wad into his back pocket. But, something did not feel quite right. Danny climbed into the car and toyed with the bunched-up lining of his back pocket. He leaned forward, struggling to smooth the bulge to no avail. Annoyed, he emptied the pocket. Two soggy twenties lay folded in his hand. Their wrinkled faces stared back at him in disgust. Holy helicopters! I just stole the dinner money!
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