“She thinks her shit don’t stink, but I like that about her. It takes a lot of balls to carry around an attitude that big.”
The girls both laughed.
“Here they come.” Teresa pointed to a cluster of kids coming out of the main entrance.
“You sure you wanna invite them to walk home with us?” Sophia asked before they made their way over to the edge of the sidewalk, where a group of kids had gathered.
Not wanting to lose what little ground of coolness she’d gained, she held her hands out as if she were palming the world. “Shit.” She laughed. She sort of liked using that word. “Well, shit, I think we should invite them to walk home with us. The more the merrier.” Did she really just say that? She sounded exactly like her mother.
“I think so, too. Who knows when the uppity girl might come in handy? Something tells me the nuns are going to like her,” Sophia said, “and it certainly can’t hurt to have a friend they approve of, especially given what they think of me.”
Teresa saw Mavis and motioned for her to come over. Ida was with her, so Teresa would assume she’d follow Mavis. She did.
Sophia took charge of the girls the second they entered their circle. “Where do you guys live? We need to figure out the best way home, meaning the longest route. That’ll give us plenty of time to smoke and plenty of time for the smell to wear off before we’re home.”
“Smoke?” Ida whispered. “Are you serious?”
Sophia removed her cigarettes from the inside of her bra. She shook the pack, catching a cigarette with her full lips. She removed the pack of matches from her shoe, lit up, then whipped another smoke out, lighted it off the glowing red tip of hers and held it out for Teresa.
Looking left and right, then behind her, Teresa took the cigarette, her hands shaking like dry leaves in the fall. She didn’t live that far from the school. Just one more reason her parents had decided to send her here instead of Our Sacred Angels of Mercy. Her mother had suggested she could walk to the school in the afternoons, and they could walk back home together. The look of mortification on her face must have spoken volumes because her mother never mentioned walking her home again. She looked around again just to make sure her mother wasn’t lurking in the shadows. Seeing that the coast was clear, she took a puff from her cigarette but didn’t inhale. She would practice that when she was alone. For now it was enough just to hold the smoke in her mouth, then blow it out in one long, silvery stream.
“You two ain’t gonna smoke?” Sophia asked them.
“No, I don’t think so, but you go ahead. I don’t care one way or the other,” Mavis said.
“Well I do, and I won’t be sticking those nasty things in my mouth.” Ida raised her chin a notch higher than she normally carried it.
“Look, Ida, I don’t give a flying fuck if you smoke or not, okay? I’m tryin’ to be nice here, show you the ropes, you get it?” Sophia’s Jersey accent was more pronounced when she raised her voice.
Ida nodded, then took Mavis’s hand. “We’ll follow you two.”
In pairs, they walked to the end of Conway Street, where the road split. “I’m to the right, and down a street,” Sophia announced.
“Me too,” Teresa added.
“That makes three of us. I just moved into the neighborhood. Spring Street, last house on the right,” Mavis told them.
“Well, I am one street over from Spring Street. Eucalyptus Avenue. So I guess this means we’re all walking home together?” Ida said, though her tone was much friendlier this time around.
“I guess it does,” Sophia said. “Okay, if we’re gonna be friends, let’s stop this formal shit. Call me Sophie. I hate being called Sophia. You got any nicknames?”
Teresa did but wasn’t sure if she should tell them or not. Most likely, they would never meet her father, so they wouldn’t hear his stupid nickname, but then again, she did like the new secretiveness Sophie seemed to inspire. “My dad calls me Toots. If any one of you tells anyone else, I will personally . . . beat your ass.”
There! She was starting to sound more and more like her new best friend, Sophie.
Sophie cackled with laughter. Ida rolled her eyes. Mavis smiled, showing the most perfect set of teeth Teresa/Toots had ever seen.
“I won’t say a word,” Sophie promised.
“Me either,” Mavis added.
“I suppose I will keep that horrid name between the four of us, too.” Ida said it as though she were doing them all a favor.
Sophie stopped when they reached the end of the street, where they made a right turn for their respective homes. “We need to do something to seal this . . . oath. We need a . . . handshake.”
Teresa liked the idea immediately.
“I think that’s a fantastic idea! I’ve never had a secret handshake before,” Mavis said excitedly.
“Oh, I suppose I can join in. It’s not like we’re under oath or anything,” Ida added in her know-it-all way.
“Listen up, Ida. This is going to be better than taking an oath. This bonds us all together. We have to swear on our lives that whatever we shake on will always remain between the four of us unless we decide differently.” Sophie watched the others, wanted to make sure they knew she wasn’t acting silly. This was serious shit. She’d never had a close friend before, let alone three close friends. Billy Watson didn’t count.
“Are you in or not?” Sophie asked them.
“I’m in,” Teresa said.
“So am I,” Mavis repeated.
“Of course I will join in. It’s not like I’ve had a better offer,” Ida disclosed.
“Then let’s do it,” Sophie announced.
Toots held out a hand. Sophie covered it with hers. Next came Mavis, and lastly, Ida. They repeated the process in the same order.
They looked at one another, then rested their gazes on Sophie since this was her idea.
“On the count of three . . .”
“One. Two. Three.”
“When you’re good, you’re good!” Sophie shouted, and they all joined in. “When you’re good, you’re good!”
The handshake couldn’t have gone off any better. It was as though they’d been doing this all their lives.
“Well, that was fun! Do we have to keep our secret handshake a secret or just what we’re shaking on?” Mavis asked.
Again, they all looked to Sophie. “I think we should keep both a secret. What about it, Tootsie?”
She laughed. “I do like having secrets, so I agree with Sophie. Let’s keep this between the four of us.”
“Then let’s swear with our secret handshake that we’ll keep the secret handshake a secret.” Mavis was giddy when she spoke.
They all laughed, then went through the motions again. The only difference was that this time when they said, “When you’re good, you’re good,” they really meant it.
Chapter Eleven
“What in God’s name am I doing in Toots’s bed?” Ida demanded, looking around her as though she were in another world and hadn’t a clue how she’d gotten there. And she was, in a way.
“You whacked out in the bathroom,” Sophie explained. She needed to see what, if anything, Ida remembered.
Ida looked down. The shock of what she discovered hit her full force. “Why am I wearing this?” She touched the pale pink gown Sophie had dressed her in. “I know I did not have this on when I came here this morning.” She paused as though trying to recover a memory. “Is it still morning?” she asked in a childlike voice. Sophie felt a stab of pity for her friend, who placed so much of her self-worth on her appearance and what others thought of her.
Sophie plumped the pillows behind Ida’s head. “You don’t remember anything, do you?”
Ida considered her question. “I remember stopping by your house. I knocked, but no one answered, so I went inside. Your place looked like a cyclone had gone through it. I always thought you were so neat and organized.”
“Do you remember why you stopped over?”
&n
bsp; Ida gave her a dirty look. “Of course I do. I need you to model for another brochure for Seasons. We’re planning the fall line now. I thought you could be the model of the month.”
“I’m flattered, really. But isn’t that your position?”
“Yes and no. You’re dark. I’m fair. Dark is better for the fall look. Plums, purples, and rich reds, they look much better against your skin tone than mine.”
Was it really that simple? Sophie knew the answer, but it didn’t matter now. Something much darker than Ida’s fall shades of makeup had touched her friend. She would fix this; she had to because it was her fault. She knew something wasn’t right in that house. She knew it the day Abby brought Jonathan and Amy over. She knew it the other day when she’d felt all that cold air, knew it from the dream that really wasn’t a dream. This was on her shoulders, and she was not about to allow some evil spirit to possess Ida, even if Ida was a bitch most of the time. She was her friend no matter what. And friends didn’t let friends . . . well, she knew what she needed to do. Now all she had to do was convince Ida to be a willing participant.
Taking a deep breath, Sophie turned so that she faced Ida. “When you came searching for me this morning and didn’t find me in the house, did you see anything unusual?”
“You’re unusual, Sophie. Why don’t you just come right out and ask me whatever it is you want to ask. We’ve been friends for too many years to beat around the bush, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I do, but there is a bit of a problem. You see, I think there is something . . . well, I believe there to be an evil spirit in my house. A soul who hasn’t crossed over. I’ve had dreams . . . or visions of a woman who had a horrible accident in the house.” Surely Ida could deduce what she was telling her? “I believe there is a man involved, too.” Ida would like this addition to her story, that she was sure of.
“Why am I undressed in this bed? Did I faint?”
Sophie relayed the events to her. “I stuffed pralines in my mouth?”
“And washed them down with scotch.”
“And this scene in the bathroom?” Ida looked in the direction of the master bedroom. “I actually lost control of my bladder?” The shock was still evident on her face.
Sophie wanted to laugh, but there was nothing funny about what was going on. Yes, Ida pissed all over the floor, but Ida wasn’t in control of herself. “You did, but it wasn’t like you could control yourself. What I’m trying to tell you is this—I think that something evil, a spirit or an entity of some kind”—this was the part she’d been dreading—“entered your body when you were at the house this morning.” She gave Ida a few minutes to absorb her words and what they meant.
Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She blinked rapidly as if trying to dispel the images Sophie had just revealed to her. “I don’t understand. Tell me again.”
Damn, this was much worse than she’d thought. “I think there is a very strong possibility that an entity, an angry spirit, may have, well it might’ve . . .” Shit, this wasn’t easy. As much as she normally delighted in messing with Ida, she didn’t like this one bit. “There’s a chance that you might be . . . possessed.”
Ida fell back against the pile of pillows, her face as pale as the white silk pillowcases she was leaning against. Her lips had a bluish tint, as if the oxygen were being sucked out of her body. Her hands gripped the light blanket Sophie had placed over her. Sophie feared she was about to lose her again. She leaned across the bed, placed her hands on Ida’s shoulders, and gave them a light shake. “Stay with me, Ida. Can you hear me?”
She squeezed her thin shoulders a bit harder than normal, hoping to get a response from her. “Ida?”
Snapping back into the moment, Ida rubbed her forehead with one hand and pulled the blanket up under her chin. “I’m here,” she whispered.
There was nothing more to be said. Sophie needed a minute to think of her next move. She felt sure Ida would appreciate a few moments of silence. She really needed to go home and study the book that Madam Butterfly left her, but she couldn’t leave Ida like this. She wouldn’t leave Ida like this. She might be here for the rest of the day and into the night. It didn’t matter. She was not going to let Ida out of her sight until she purged her of the evil that was trying to take over her mind and body.
“Listen to me, can you hear me?” Sophie said in a strong, firm voice. Not the soft, almost melodic voice she used when she was performing a séance. This was her voice, the voice of Sophie, her friend.
Ida nodded that she did.
“Can you talk?”
Ida rolled her eyes. This was good; she was being a smart-ass, Sophie thought. Smart-ass was very good under these circumstances.
“Yes, but I would like something to drink. Could you get me something to drink?”
Sophie had never felt so sorry for Ida. Not even when she’d been obsessed with germs. She had no control over this, and certainly had done nothing to deserve it, but it is what it is. “Yes, I’ll get some water.”
She hurried to the master bathroom. Spying Toots’s mouthwash glass they’d used earlier to clean the urine out of the Jacuzzi tub, she rinsed it a couple of times, then filled it with water and returned to the bedroom.
“Drink this.” She held the glass to Ida’s mouth, fearing that if she let her hold it, she’d drop it and spill the water all over herself. Ida drank the entire glass.
“More,” she said, somewhat out of breath.
Sophie refilled the glass, and this time, Ida held it. Though her hands were still shaky, she didn’t spill the water. Her color was coming back. That was a good sign. She needed Ida to talk, to tell her how she felt.
“Want some more?” Sophie asked.
“No, that’s enough. I want to know why this is happening! I don’t practice that voodoo magic, or that psychic stuff you live for. I want an explanation, Sophie, and I want it now!”
This was much better. Ida was returning to her old bitchy self. “I do, too. I am going to try to help you, but you can’t act like a bitch, Ida. You need to listen to me and do what I say. Do you think you can do that?”
Ida considered her question. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”
“Yeah, you could let it go and who knows what would happen to you, maybe to Daniel, quite possibly the twins, so sure, if you want to let it go, that’s your choice.”
“Of course I will not let this go! Do you think I’m insane?” Ida said, her tone almost back to normal.
Well, yes, she did often question her friend’s sanity, but now wasn’t the time to bring up the past.
“Do you feel like going downstairs?” Sophie didn’t know what she was going to do once they were downstairs with the others, but she’d figure it out when and if.
“Is there something for me to wear, other than this?”
“I’m sure I can find something in Toots’s closet. Sit tight,” Sophie said before entering Toots’s huge walk-in closet. Five minutes later she came back with black silk lounging pants and a matching top. She took a bra and panty set from Toots’s lingerie drawer, then found a pair of sandals next to the bed. “This should fit. You want me to help you dress, or step out for a minute?” She really didn’t think it was wise to leave her alone right now, but if Ida insisted, she’d step into the hallway and leave the door cracked open.
“You can stay put. I have a feeling it was you who put this awful gown on me, so you must’ve seen the full view, not that I care. I’m not ashamed of my body.”
Sophie grinned. The bitch was back. At least for a while.
Chapter Twelve
Sophie saw that everyone was still in the kitchen. “Toots, come over here a second, I need to talk with you in private,” she said, then waited at the bottom of the staircase.
They all focused their attention on Sophie.
“Just Toots, okay?” she said to Goebel, Bernice, and Robert. “I’ll fill you guys in on the details later.”
Toots hurried to the bottom step. “Wann
a go out and have a smoke?”
“Yes, but I can’t. Follow me upstairs. I don’t want to leave Ida alone any longer than I have to.”
Toots followed behind. When they stood outside Toots’s bedroom door, Sophie put a finger to her lips indicating they should be quiet. In a hushed voice, she said, “I don’t want Ida to know we’re out here. I need to observe her for a few minutes, to see if she’s really back to herself, or if this entity that seems to have taken over is screwing with me.”
Toots’s eyes got as wide as saucers. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. Evil lies and tries to draw you into its grasp so it, or they . . . hell, I don’t know how to refer to this shit, but I do know that we can’t let our guard down. We might think Ida is fine when in reality, she’s not.”
“I don’t get it. How can we distinguish the real Ida from this thing? This is almost too bizarre, even for us.”
“I’m not sure. I’ve read on the topic but not enough to completely understand it. I have a book at my house. I keep it locked in a safe in my office. Madam Butterfly gave it to me years ago when I was having her read for me. You remember her, right? She’s the woman who told me I had the gift. I think those were the words she used. This book she gave me wasn’t really a book. It’s a journal of sorts, and it’s handwritten, in both English and Latin. Inside the cover it reads The Roman Ritual. Have you ever heard of this book?” Sophie whispered.
“Maybe. As you know full well, I spent six years going to Catholic school, so I think I heard it mentioned. Why? What does this have to do with anything?” Toots spoke softly and quietly, very much disturbed at the thought of Ida’s having been possessed by some evil demon or whatever.
Sophie peeked through the crack in the bedroom door to make sure Ida wasn’t in trouble. She appeared to be sleeping, but Sophie knew that right now nothing was necessarily as it appeared, nothing was as it should be. She needed to get to the bottom of these goings-on, and fast.
Spirited Away Page 6
