by Mav Skye
There was another urgent knock followed by a voice Chloe didn’t recognize.
“Hello?”
Chloe sat up, touching her forehead. Her skin throbbed where Mama Nola had sewn the wound closed, and she had the makings of a migraine.
“Hello, anyone home?”
Chloe stood and shuffled to the hallway. She glanced over at Mama Nola’s room. The door was wide open and the room empty. Why hadn’t Mama Nola answered the door? Fear was a cold stone in Chloe’s chest, and she bolted to the front door. It wasn’t locked.
“Hello? Chloe? If you are home, please open the door. It’s about your grandmother.”
Chloe opened the door mid-knock, startling the middle-aged woman on the other side. With deep brunette hair and kind, hazel eyes, there was something very Sally Field about the woman. She laughed and touched the name—Shirley—sewn into the breast of her blouse, “Oh, oh sweet Jesus, you gave me a start.”
Little girl voices murmured behind the woman.
“She’s scared, Mommy.”
“I know.”
Then an eruption of adorable giggles that would have melted the Grinch’s heart.
Chloe touched her forehead again, and wondered if she was dreaming when the woman said, “Please, excuse me, where are my manners? I’m Shirley Pratt. I live on Gander Avenue, across the street from your friend.” She held out her hand to shake, then frowned when she saw Chloe’s forehead. “Are you okay?”
Chloe shook her hand. “Yeah, I had a bad fall in the garden yesterday.”
“Gosh, I’m sorry. It looks so painful. Would you like me to take a look at that?” Shirley went to touch Chloe’s face, and Chloe dodged her hand.
“I’m all right. Is everything okay?”
“Ha,” Shirley nodded. “Right. Your—” She waved a hand over her forehead. “Distracted me. Yes, I found your grandmother wandering around the trailer court just now on my way to work.” She stepped aside. At the bottom of the porch steps was Mama Nola in her flannel nightgown. She wore bright red lipstick and her hair hung in a messy braid. The twins, Erin and Sharon, held her hands.
They were identical save their unusual eye color. Each had dark waist-length hair tied up in pink ribbons, their grins as contagious as cotton candy.
Erin said, “We found a grandma. I think she’s yours, but if not, mom said we might be able to keep her.”
Shirley laughed, then straightened her voice. “She seemed lost and confused. Is she your grandmother? I couldn’t remember for sure that she lived here, but Erin and Sharon insisted it was—”
Chloe was out the door and down the steps before Shirley could finish her sentence. She wrapped her arms around the old woman, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall.
Sharon said, “See? I told you it was her grandma.”
Chloe said, “She’s my mother, actually. Everyone calls her Mama Nola.”
“Ohhhh…” said both the girls together.
She looked back at Shirley. “Thank you so much for bringing her home. I slept in this morning, and had no idea she was even gone.”
Shirley nodded sympathetically. “Do you have other family here?”
“Ayita, I went to the circus,” said Mama Nola, smiling and squeezing both the twins’ hands gently.
Erin said, “I want to go to the circus!”
Sharon gazed at the old woman skeptically. “Is there a circus in town? I haven't seen one.”
Mama Nola said, “How on earth do you tell them apart? And their eyes are so odd—one is blue and the other is brown.”
Chloe had known they had one blue eye and one brown, but had never noticed each girl had it on different sides.
Erin tugged on Mama Nola’s hand, and once she had her attention proclaimed, “We have Herochromniaaaahh.”
Mama Nola squatted to the girl. “Oh my, that sounds life threatening!”
The girls began to giggle, and Mama Nola turned to Shirley. “But they look so healthy.”
Shirley waved her hand. “What she was trying to say is Heterochromia. All it means is they have different colored irises. I get asked that all the time. Erin’s blue eye is on the left. Sharon’s blue eye is on the right.”
Erin said, “No, Mommy, Herochromniah means we are heroes. Miss Sara from the diner told us.”
Sharon folded her arms across her chest. “That’s right.”
Shirley sighed. Obviously, mother and daughters had gone over this subject many, many times.
Mama Nola turned to the girl on the left. “So, you’re Sharon?”
Erin tugged her arm. “No! I am.”
The twins laughed and talked excitedly to the old woman.
Shirley asked again. “Do you have family that helps out?”
Chloe shook her head. “It’s just me and her and Joey is always over.”
Mama Nola went to go up the steps, and Chloe gripped her arm helping her up.
“I see.” Shirley frowned. “Well, who gets the groceries, cooks or cleans? I don’t imagine Mama Nola drives.”
“I walk to the store.”
At the top of the stairs, Mama Nola turned and said, “I’ve got a story for you girls. Come along and I’ll tell you.” The twins disappeared inside behind the old woman.
Chloe said, “Look, I know she seems out of it now, but usually she is very independent and quite capable. She does almost all of the cooking and cleaning. And gardening.”
Shirley put her hand on her face, contemplating.
Chloe said, “You’re not thinking about calling an ambulance, are you? Or an elderly home?”
“No, oh no, Chloe. I was thinking about how I might help.”
“Oh.” The offer surprised Chloe. She couldn’t remember the last time a stranger had shown her kindness. “Well, we are doing fine on our own.”
Shirley fixed her kind eyes on Chloe, “I’d like to help if I could?” She glanced at her watch. “Oh my lands, I’ve got to get to work. Girls!”
Chloe thought about it while Shirley rushed inside and gathered up the twins, then rushed them outside to her old brown and tan station wagon.
Chloe followed behind as Shirley spoke. “Their babysitter can’t watch them anymore, so they’ve been stuck going to work with me until I can find someone els—wait a minute.”
Shirley paused with both girls’ hands in hers. They squirmed and tried to break free. She swirled around toward Chloe. “How would you like to babysit the girls this summer?”
Chloe grinned despite the movement making her head hurt. “I was going to ask you about it anyway.”
“Well,” a beautiful smile filled out Shirley’s face, “doesn’t fate have a way of working things out? Wonderful.”
Erin tugged on Shirley’s arm. “Mommy, Miss Sara says there no such thing as fate. She says everyone makes their own—”
“Pie!” shouted Sharon.
“No. No, that’s not what she said and you know it!”
Shirley opened up the back passenger door. “Hush, now. Both of you in the car and buckle up.”
The girls obeyed but continued to squabble about fate and pie.
Shirley turned back to Chloe. “You sure about this? They’ll keep you on your toes.”
Chloe couldn’t help but grin ear to ear. Something was finally working out this summer, and the Pratt family was exactly what she needed. She had no idea Joey’s neighbor was such an angel. How was it possible they’d never spoken a single hello after all these years? “Absolutely.”
Shirley nodded. “How about I do the shopping and cook for you and Mama Nola once a week in exchange for you babysitting the girls. In addition to that, I’ll pay you hourly. I just want to help out, you know.”
“Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mommmmm!” Erin leaned over Sharon and out the rolled down window. “Mooommmmyyy!”
“What?”
Erin said, “Can Chloe babysitter us today?”
Chloe said, “I can do it—if you like.”
Shirley glanced at Chloe, then at
her forehead and said, “How about you start in a few days when your poor head is mended up. Until then, the girls can manage a few hours at the diner.”
“But Mommmmm…” The twins said this at the same time as Shirley buckled them in, closed the back door and opened the driver’s door. “Hey, I’ll stop by after work and get a grocery list, okay?”
Chloe nodded, then waved as Shirley backed out of the driveway, turned around and drove off.
Despite the racking pain in her head and the confusion of what had transpired the day before, Chloe felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Part II
Two weeks later…
Her Fear Diary
July 1st, 1990
I had to write in here because I will burst if I don’t get it out. Things are really starting to work out! I’m babysitting the Pratt twins—who are as adorable and sweet as their mother. We have more food in the house then I can ever remember (paid out of Mama Nola’s check, of course) and Mama Nola hasn’t had a single Circus episode since the day Shirley and the twins found her. And guess what? No clowns since—that one day. Maybe I did fall on the shovel. And maybe I’ll never see him again. Things are so wonderful, I bet Mr. Jingles is just gone now. Poof! I’ll never see him again. I just know it!
But that isn’t what I really wanted to write about. What I wanted to write is this: Kelly invited me to a party. It’s tomorrow night. And You-know-who will be there. And with Kara Leigh gone, who knows what could happen?
8
Barbeque
CHLOE INSPECTED HERSELF IN THE MIRROR, frowning at the scar by her hairline. She swept her hair into a loose ponytail and feathered her bangs to the side to hide the skin that hadn’t quite healed yet. Ugh. She practically looked like Frankenstein. If it were around Halloween, she would manage to pull it off, but at the beginning of summer? There wasn’t any way to hide it. Kelly—or even Donny—was bound to ask what had happened, and what would she say? No big deal, a clown came out of the woods and axed me while I was gardening.
Not that the clown was holding an axe, it was a hatchet. A shiny one with a sharp blade. It was probably standing at her bedroom window right now.
“Stop it,” Chloe told herself. But she couldn’t help but turn and look out her window. There was nothing but sunshine, maple trees and the smell of honeysuckle. Chloe breathed in the scent before returning to the mirror. She turned her earrings until both Godzillas were standing straight up. She applied a dark mascara, an ice pink gloss (which looked amazing against her skin) and slid on the pink heart sunglasses she’d bought with babysitting money. “I’m going out,” Chloe told herself in the mirror. “And I will have fun.”
She had tried to arrange for Joey to watch Mama Nola that evening, but he had said he was busy. She asked him doing what, but he dodged the question. Then Chloe had asked Shirley to watch Mama, and she was more than happy to help out.
Everything was arranged. Shirley would come by in a half hour or so and bring Mama Nola over for dinner and pie, then a game of bridge until Mama Nola’s bedtime. Chloe was so thankful; she would have done anything Shirley asked.
A car honked outside, and Chloe rushed out of her room to the front door, where she bumped into Kelly as she let herself in. They both giggled, and Kelly grabbed her hand. “Come on!”
“Bye, Mama!” Chloe yelled as she shut the door and they both ran to the midnight-black convertible Mustang. The top was down, and Weasel was at the wheel. He wore a tight black shirt and his hair was shaped into a Mohawk. Chloe’s heart paused a beat when she saw who was sitting next to him.
Donny locked eyes with Chloe, then grinned as Kelly pulled her into the car.
Kelly whispered, “Surprise!”
Chloe laughed.
Weasel cranked up the music and said, “Ladies, prepare for lift off.” He shifted gears and gunned the motor, and the car flew backward all the way down the driveway.
The summer sun was still riding high in the sky. Kelly tried to talk to Chloe over the sound of Billy Idol, but it was hopeless. They tried to lip-read as the warm wind blew in their faces, tousling their hair and riding up their skirts.
Weasel lived on the other side of Spindler, and it wouldn’t have been more than a twenty-minute drive, but at a stop sign, he asked if they’d like to go to Spindler Park and walk along the river where it was cool. The girls agreed and a few minutes later, the Mustang was pulling into the large parking lot.
Donny pulled the front seat forward and helped Chloe out of the backseat. He held onto her hand as they walked away from the car.
Kelly tugged at the bottom of Chloe’s shirt. She looked back and wiggled her eyebrows at her friend, and they both laughed as they dodged other cars in the full parking lot.
Weasel said, “See, that is what I don’t get. Girls can do this telepathy thing.” He smiled at Kelly. “Here they are laughing, and I’ve no idea what about. Is it my hair?” He ran his hands over his spiked hairdo, and the girls bust out laughing again.
Chloe said, “No, your hair looks cool. I miss the hat though.”
Kelly said, “Oh, he still has the hat, though.”
Weasel waved the hat in the air. “I keep it in my back pocket for good luck.”
They were in the woods now. Birds sang, and bees buzzed. Kids happily ran back and forth on the dirt trail, sopping wet from playing in the river. Chloe couldn’t help but glance into the trees for that familiar face. Would it follow her here? She kept thinking she heard the shake of a rattlesnake tail.
Kelly whispered, “Looking for someone?”
Chloe shook her head. “No, I thought I saw something, but it was nothing.”
Donny glanced at both girls, and Chloe raised her eyebrow at him. He said, “Yo, Weasel, I got this theory. Maybe they sign with their eyebrows?”
Chloe pointed at him. “You found us out. What do you think this means?” She wiggled her eyebrows in a smooth wave.
Donny only grinned.
Weasel said, “Oh, I know that one. Kelly does it all the time. It means… ‘Take me to a scary movie and buy me popcorn.’”
“Uh oh, Kelly, watch out. He’s on to you.” Chloe laughed again and soon they had wound through the long, shady path through the trees to Spindler river. There was a wide opening onto a sand spit. The park provided fire pits, BBQ stands and picnic tables. Several tables were filled with families, their kids in various stages of undress as they played in the sand and waded into the lazy river. It was too busy here, so they kept walking.
Kelly said, “I love scary movies, actually.”
Chloe nodded. “Me, too. It’s been awhile, though.”
Kelly play punched Chloe in the arm. “Hey! I took you to see Nightbreed in February!”
Weasel said, “Oh, man that show was wicked good.”
Donny said, “What about IT? It’s supposed to be a miniseries on TV this summer.”
Kelly looked over at Chloe, her eyes round as quarters. She grabbed Chloe’s elbow. “Remember when we read that book together last year? The clown.”
Chloe put her hand over her heart. “Ohhhh… I know.” But Pennywise didn’t scare her as much as a certain other clown. A clown with torn pink bunny ears and a lightning bolt down its face.
“Pennywise!” shouted both the guys at the same time, startling Chloe.
Kelly gave them strange looks. “The way you guys say things at the same time creeps me out.”
Weasel said, “Oh, what? You girls do it, and it’s cute. Dudes do it, and you act like we’re from another planet.”
Chloe looked at Weasel’s spikes then back at his face. “You are, aren’t you?”
Kelly smirked. “She has a point.”
Weasel said, “Donny get that woman under control.”
Chloe and Donny shared a look before Kelly grabbed Chloe’s hand and pulled her away from the path toward a smaller opening to the riverbank. “Come on!”
“What the heck?” Weasel threw up his arms. “Where are
you two going?”
“In the water!” Kelly kicked off her sandals, and Chloe did the same. They tiptoed over the hot rocks and waded out until the cool water was just over their calves.
The guys stayed on the shoreline, Weasel remarking that he couldn’t remember how to tie his shoes.
Kelly said, “He likes you.”
Chloe gave her a shy smile. “Or he’s just being nice.”
“Oh, give me a—he was holding your hand, wasn’t he? Girl, don’t give me that look.” Kelly splashed at her, and Chloe splashed her back. “By the way, thanks for inviting me Kelly. This is the first fun thing I’ve done since school ended.”
“Sure. Besides I’ve missed you, I thought you were going to be down at the pool. Where’ve you been?”
Chloe lifted her skirt as they waded deeper into the water. “I picked up a babysitting job for this lady that lives nearby.”
“Lucky. I’m jealous. I’ve already spent all my savings.”
Chloe shook her head and laughed. “On what?”
“Picked up a skateboard.”
“You on a skateboard? I’m so sure.”
“Uh, duh? Where do you think these skinned knees came from?”
Chloe glanced at her knees and sure enough, they were scabbed over. “Ouch.”
“Speaking of ouch, what happened to your…” Kelly pointed at Chloe’s scar. Chloe instantly covered it with her bangs.
“Oh, uh, I had an accident.”
Kelly raised her eyebrow. “Doing what? We’re you running with knives again, Chloe Sevenstars?”
“Caught me.”
Kelly said, “Girl, you are one mysterious bitch, you know that?”
There was a loud splash behind them, and they turned to find Weasel and Donny marching through the river in their clothes. They saluted as they approached. Weasel kept making an army Hut! Hut! Hut! sound.
“What in the—?” Chloe didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. Donny swept her up, slung her over his broad shoulders and began running back to shore. Chloe was too stunned to react. Kelly pounded her fist on Weasel’s back. “Not again!”
