by Joanne Fluke
“Leslie? Bud and Gary want to apologize for being so rough. They told me how sorry they are that you got hurt.”
Mike grinned down at the two boys. Then he tipped Leslie’s face up to look at him. “Now, what do you say, Leslie?”
All three of them were looking at her and Leslie felt hot and uncomfortable. Bud and Gary didn’t look sorry at all. They were almost smirking as they stared at her.
Mike was waiting. Leslie knew she was supposed to say something nice. The moment stretched, tense and silent, until she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“I . . . it’s all right,” Leslie managed to force out.
“Well, now that that’s settled”—Mike gave Leslie an approving nod—“let’s go get something to eat, guys. I think they’re bringing out the food right now.”
Leslie stood still and bit her lip. She was getting that bad feeling again. Mike was on their side and she just didn’t understand it. Somehow these Cold Spring kids had managed to fool Mike, but they didn’t fool her for one minute. They were still the meanest kids she’d ever met. It was just hidden underneath their phony party manners. And the girls were just as bad as the boys. She saw the way Taffy and Mary Ellen huddled on the edge of the games, looking at her. They’d poke Susie and whisper and then all three of them would giggle. All conversation stopped when she approached a group, and most of the kids, even the ones she didn’t know, looked uncomfortable. That proved they were all talking about her behind her back.
Leslie did her best to keep smiling, but her face felt as if it were cemented into place. Lunch was over quickly and it was time for the cake. Leslie swallowed nervously. She’d be the center of attention again and everyone would stare at her.
“Time for the birthday girl to blow out her candles!” Karen announced brightly, stepping out to the middle of the lawn with the cake. It was enormous, enough for seconds and even thirds, made of frosted ice cream in the shape of a clown.
Karen made her way through the crowd of whispering children and set the cake on the table draped with streamers. She was smiling gaily.
“Make a wish, darling, and blow out your candles. Then we can all have a piece of your yummy strawberry cake!”
Leslie made her way on stiff legs to the table. She felt hot and prickly all over and slightly dizzy. She knew everyone was watching her as she approached the huge cake and there was a smothered giggle from the children as she stumbled slightly on the uneven grass.
“Wish for something wonderful, honey,” Karen whispered in Leslie’s ear. “Birthday wishes always come true.”
The candles on the huge cake were flickering brightly and Leslie squinted as she took her place behind it. Moments before there hadn’t been a cloud in the sky, but suddenly the afternoon had turned overcast and gray. The pinpoints of flickering candlelight hurt her eyes and Leslie knew she had never felt so lonely. These kids didn’t want to be here at her birthday party. They didn’t like her at all. They had only come because their parents had told them to be polite.
“Shut your eyes and make a wish, honey!” Mike called out, his camera ready. “Everyone’s waiting.”
Leslie shut her eyes to block out the shimmering candles. Her mind was blank and she couldn’t think of anything to wish for. Instinctively, her fingers curled around the key in her pocket and she squeezed it tightly. At least one good thing had happened today. She had found the key, even though she hadn’t met Christopher yet.
Yes, you have. The voice was faint and crackling, like that of someone talking over a telephone with a very bad connection. I’m Christopher. Just hold the key and I’m with you.
Leslie opened her eyes, startled, but she knew that no one at the party had spoken. No one else had heard the voice, either. They were all standing there quietly, waiting for her to blow out the candles. The distant voice was inside her own head. She was imagining the whole thing. It was what her mother called wishful thinking.
“What’s taking her so long?” She heard Bud’s low voice.
“She’s so dumb, she can’t think of anything to wish for.” Gary laughed out loud as he replied.
It wasn’t true! Leslie shut her eyes and squeezed the key hard. Now she knew exactly what to wish. She’d wish that the party would end right now. And she’d wish that these horrid kids would feel just as miserable as she did.
“Blow all the candles out, honey!” Karen said, raising her voice. She couldn’t imagine what was the matter with Leslie. She was standing there, staring at the cake, stiff and still.
At last Leslie moved. The small golden-haired girl bent over and gazed at the top of the cake, where ten candles blazed brightly. Her eyes were half closed, as if the light hurt them. She stared for a moment, swaying slightly, and then she pursed her lips and blew a soft stream of air that was more like a sigh.
“Harder, darling!” Karen coached. As she watched, the candles wavered and grew brighter. Then they flickered out as if some unseen hand were snuffing them one by one.
Up here, Leslie . . . in the tree. I’ll make your birthday wish come true.
This time the voice didn’t startle her. It was as if she had been expecting it to continue. She raised her eyes and saw the old grayish-white hornets’ nest Mike had sprayed days ago. He had said it was empty, but he was taking no chances. A hornet’s sting was painful and they could sting you over and over again. It paid to be doubly careful when you were dealing with hornets.
Even though there was no noticeable breeze, the hornets’ nest swayed back and forth like a pendulum. As Leslie stared at it, the other children began to look up, too.
“Hey! Look at that!” Bud’s voice was a whisper, but everyone heard him in the sudden stillness.
“It’s moving! Get back, girls—I think it’s going to fall!” Karen pulled Susie and Mary Ellen back a few steps.
“Don’t worry about it, kids.” Mike’s voice was loud and reassuring. “I sprayed it last week and the hornets are dead. There’s nothing to worry about at all. It’s just the wind. Come on, Leslie—let’s cut the cake!”
Mike moved a few steps toward Leslie, but all eyes were on the swaying hornets’ nest. Leaves rustled as the branch swung harder and one of the children screamed. Then there was a sharp crack as the branch snapped and the cone fell, landing on the table only inches from the birthday cake.
“Too bad it didn’t fall right on the cake!” Gary remarked, laughing loudly. “Or maybe right on top of Leslie’s head.”
Leslie stood perfectly still, staring at the hornets’ nest intently. Her eyes were huge and dark. Through the buzzing in her ears, she heard the children’s laughter and she wished harder than ever. There should be hornets in the nest. Then they wouldn’t be laughing at her like this.
Her fingers gripped the key tightly; and as she wished, a low whine began to emanate from the nest. The sound rose in volume and pitch and one by one the children began to scream as fat, healthy hornets emerged from the paper cone with an angry buzz.
“Hornets! Let’s get out of here!” Bud’s voice was high and frightened. “Run, you guys! Run!”
They were running even before Bud’s urgent warning, pushing and shoving wildly to escape the menacing whine. Leslie watched them all panic, shoving and scrambling to get out of the way as the swarm of hornets descended. The crowd of angry insects was attacking now, chasing the children as they fled from the yard.
Leslie supposed she should run, too, but she couldn’t seem to move her feet. Somehow she knew that the hornets weren’t after her. They buzzed all around her, but not one of them stung. A small smile of satisfaction crept across her face as her guests fled, screaming from the swarm.
“Leslie, move! Run for the house!” her mother was shouting to her, but Leslie knew she was safe. She stood in the cloud of hornets, unharmed, as the other children scattered and raced away. Mom had been right and Leslie shivered slightly. Birthday wishes always came true and her party was definitely, finally, over for good.
FIVE
; Leslie stood, transfixed, in front of her melting birthday cake. The frosting ran down in bright rivulets of color and a lake of strawberry ice cream was growing on the silver platter. She lifted blank eyes as the hornets darted down in a straggling line to chase after the screaming children.
They followed only to the perimeter of the yard, humming and whining angrily. Then they turned and formed a dark cloud above Leslie’s head as Mike and Karen watched, horrified. The hornets were suspended there for a full minute while Leslie stared up at the ominous black shadow. Then they quivered and were gone, streaking off in a ragged line toward the river.
“Help me, Mike! Get her, quickly!” Karen was almost hysterical as they rushed to Leslie. She was still standing there, shaking, staring blankly at the spot where the hornets had disappeared.
“In the house, Leslie—move!” Mike grabbed his stepdaughter and helped her across the lawn and into the safety of the house.
“He’s gone,” Leslie said, sighing, the blank look still on her face. “He was here, but now he’s gone.”
“Are you hurt, honey?” Mike dropped to his knees so that his face was level with hers. “Did you get stung?”
“No.” Leslie gave a strange and mirthless smile. “He’s my friend. He wouldn’t let the hornets sting me.”
“What’s she talking about?” Mike turned to Karen with alarm. Leslie was smiling a peculiar, lopsided smile and her whole body trembled violently.
“She’s in shock!” Karen whispered. “Oh, God, Mike! We’d better check her to make sure she’s all right.”
Leslie stood woodenly as her mother and Mike made a fuss over her, checking her arms and legs for stings. There weren’t any.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt, kitten?” Karen asked again, amazement showing in her face. “I’ve never seen anything like it! They swarmed all around her but none of them stung.”
“Maybe the other children didn’t get stung, either. I don’t know about any species of hornet that doesn’t sting, but perhaps this bunch was some kind of weird mutation.”
“The others got stung.” Leslie’s voice was slow and measured. She couldn’t seem to think clearly and she felt strange, as if she’d been awakened in the middle of a nightmare. “I know they got stung. I heard them screaming.”
“Well . . . I hope not.” Karen brushed a strand of hair from Leslie’s face. “They might have been screaming because they were frightened.”
“Maybe,” Leslie admitted, staring up at her mother with wide, unfocused eyes.
Just then the telephone rang. While Mike went to answer it, Karen watched Leslie closely. She was worried. Leslie’s eyes were dilated, black and huge in her white face. It had been a nasty shock, and on her birthday, too!
“That was Mrs. Wilson.” Mike came back to place his hand on Karen’s shoulder. “It looks as though Leslie was right after all. Gary has stings all over him and he thinks most of the other kids were stung, too. Mrs. Wilson said she’d contact the other parents and call us again tonight. She doesn’t think there’ll be any trouble. After all, it was an accident. Leslie was really lucky she didn’t get stung.”
“Maybe it was because she was standing so still and not running,” Karen suggested. “I bet that was it, Mike. When hornets are angry, they attack any moving object, don’t they? I think I remember reading that somewhere.”
Mike shrugged. Karen could be right. Now that they were sure Leslie was unharmed, there was a lot of cleaning up to do.
“Leslie? I think you’d better sit right here for a while,” Karen guided her daughter to a chair. “Mike and I will clean up the party things and take care of the caterers. You just rest right here at the table. And try not to feel too bad, honey. You were a wonderful hostess today, and nobody can blame you for that awful accident with the hornets.”
“Just stay here until we bet back inside,” Mike added. “We’ll hurry as fast as we can. And if you need anything, just come to the door and holler. We’ll be listening for you.”
Leslie closed her eyes for a moment. She was still dizzy and confused. She remembered holding the key and wishing the party would be over. That was when she had first heard the voice. Then the hornets’ nest had fallen and the rest was a blurry montage of images.
Carefully Leslie drew the key out of her pocket and looked at it. Why had she found it? Had she heard a voice or had she just willed herself to hear it? Could it possibly belong to a boy named Christopher? Had he made the hornets’ nest fall, and could he make all her wishes come true?
She dropped it back into her pocket and shuddered. It couldn’t have happened that way. She was making up stories again. The key was just any old key and the voice was only her imagination. The hornets had been an awful accident, just as her mother had said.
She sat quietly for a long time and finally raised her head. She felt better now. She blinked and stared out the window. Her eyes hurt a bit, but that was all. Now that her mind was starting to clear she felt silly for having imagined things.
She could see Mike and her mother working in the yard. He was taking down the decorations and Mom was gathering up the plates. The caterers were making trips back and forth to their trucks, and two men were dismantling the soda-pop fountain. Leslie sighed in disappointment. She hadn’t even had a cup of strawberry soda and it was her favorite.
At last the job was finished. The caterers drove off and Karen and Mike came back into the house. Mike flopped into a chair, and Karen sighed as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
“You look much better, honey—I bet you can’t wait to open up all those presents. I know it won’t be as much fun without the rest of the kids, but the three of us will have our own little party right here.”
“Presents!” Mike snapped his fingers. “We forgot all about Leslie’s present from us!”
“Let’s give her that one first,” Karen said, cheerful again. “I think this would be a good time, don’t you?”
“Come on, Leslie—up to your tower room.” Mike pulled her to her feet. He could hardly wait to see what Leslie would do when she saw the telescope.
They let her open the door and step in alone as they stood on the landing and watched expectantly. Leslie took one look inside the cupola and stopped in the doorway, her eyes wide with surprise. Then she wheeled around and hugged both of them hard.
“Oh, Mom! Mike! What a super present! Is it really mine? Is it really just for me?”
“You bet it is!” Mike nodded. Leslie’s reaction was worth every cent he’d spent on the telescope. There was no doubt he’d have to win on Sunday if he wanted to pay it all off, but that shouldn’t be a problem. He was on a lucky streak now and it was going to last. He might even bet a little heavier on this Sunday’s score and really clean up. In any event, the money he’d spent on Leslie’s birthday had been worth it. He could tell she was absolutely delighted.
“And that’s just half of it.” Mike’s smile widened as Leslie caught her breath. “I got your Leica all cleaned up last night. The case has a couple of bad scratches, but otherwise it’s in fine shape. You really lucked out, Leslie. You’re going to need your camera more than ever now that you have the telescope.”
Leslie looked puzzled and Mike chuckled. “I think, if we do a little jury-rigging, we can hook it up to the telescope lens so you can take pictures of the moon and stars.”
“Oh, super!” Leslie’s smile was rapturous. She’d been completely wrong about Mike before. He really was on her side. The kids from Cold Spring had just gotten her confused, that was all. Mike must be on her side to have bought her such a wonderful birthday present.
Leslie gazed at the new telescope with love in her eyes. Then she turned a pleading expression to her mother.
“Can I come up here during the day, too?” she begged, watching Karen anxiously. “I could learn about the clouds then and I could take pictures of the town from up here. I could see all sorts of interesting things in the daytime. Please?”
Karen hesitated. It wa
s exactly what she had feared. Leslie would be up here every minute and she’d never go out and socialize.
“Mom? I won’t come up here very often if you don’t want me to.” Leslie’s voice was small and disappointed.
Karen was caught in a bind. She didn’t want to put a damper on Leslie’s spirits, and her daughter looked crestfallen.
“Yes, you can use your telescope during the day, too,” she conceded. “But you have to promise to tell me first. I don’t want to be looking all over the house for you when I need you.”
“I promise!” Leslie ran over to her mother and hugged her. “You’re wonderful, Mom! And you’re wonderful, too, Mike! Will you show me how to use my new telescope now?”
Karen stood in the doorway as Mike and Leslie huddled over the telescope, Leslie’s blond hair touching Mike’s dark. They were talking about light refraction and powers now. Karen wasn’t particularly interested in hearing Mike’s instructions, so she slipped out quietly and made her way down the narrow staircase. She had other, more practical matters on her mind; for one thing, there was still cleaning up to be done. Karen stopped for a minute at the third-floor landing and gazed around longingly. She wished that she could start uncovering things right away, but it would have to wait. She’d come up here first thing in the morning, right after her regular housework was done.
The ghostly covered shapes drew Karen like a magnet, and she ran her hand over several of the more intriguing pieces. She had taken a peek at the large items when they first moved in. The lovely spinet piano in the living room was waiting for repairs and she’d found beds for most of the rooms on the second floor. That was as far as she’d gotten. There were still crates and trunks to be explored, and Karen was anxious to begin. Now that the rest of the house was somewhat in order, she could reward herself by spending some time up here, just cataloging the useful items.
It was still and quiet here in the ballroom. Karen heard Mike’s deep laugh and Leslie’s excited voice from above. A feeling of peace and the rightness of things came over her. They were at home in this huge old house. Living here made her feel she had roots with the past. Her own parents had died when she was young and she had lived with a succession of aunts and uncles, shipped from one family to the next. There had never been a family home like this. Now, in this lovely house, she felt steeped in tradition. It would be home to her and her children. It was the kind of house that would welcome generations of Houstons.
