Minutes went by without anyone knocking on the door or window. Joseph finally got the courage to sit up and look out the rearview mirror. Samantha was gone. He sighed with relief and then opened the door. He considered looking for her to make sure she was all right, but told himself not until his experiment was complete.
In Grossman’s Pet Store he hurried down the aisle of dog food and squeaky toys to the back, where Mr. Grossman kept the rodent cages. Hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs lazed around in their cages, but he had no interest in them. “Looking for a pet, Joe?” Mr. Grossman asked.
“It’s more of a science experiment, Mr. Grossman,” Joseph said. “I need some of your rats to, you know, run through mazes and all that.” Joseph didn’t dare explain his true purpose for fear Mr. Grossman wouldn’t sell him the rats.
“How many do you need?”
“All of them,” Joseph said. He reached into his pocket for the money he’d brought. “Is this enough?”
“That should more than do it. Are you going to need anything else to go with them? Some food maybe—”
“Just the rats and a cage,” Joseph said. “A strong cage.”
“We got some nice sturdy ones over here, should make a nice new home for your little friends.” Joseph left the store with six white rats scurrying back and forth in a clear plastic cage.
He didn’t see the car in the driveway when he got home, nor did he find anyone inside the house. He left Pop’s spare keys in the toolbox underneath the sink and then went upstairs with his test subjects. “You guys ready to be part of history?” he asked the rats. They cowered in one end of the cage, compacted into a furry ball. “Too bad.”
Joseph sat down at the computer to review his notes on the nineteen potions he’d recovered from the underground chamber. In no time at all he identified a combination that would make him attractive to Samantha. He separated the necessary elements from the potions, combining them in a vial to produce a gray liquid. He held it up to the light with a smile.
He opened the top of the cage to lower an eyedropper filled with the potion. “Come and get it,” he said to the rats. One emerged from the furry ball to sniff at the end of the eyedropper. Joseph squeezed a few drops onto the rat’s pointed snout, finally managing to get a couple into its mouth.
Nothing happened for five minutes and then ten. After fifteen minutes Joseph slammed his fist against the table, rattling the clay jars. What had he done wrong? From all his calculations, something should have happened.
He turned back to his computer screen to study his notes. What did I miss? he wondered. Then he heard a shriek come from the cage. He swiveled in the chair in time to see the rat’s body quivering as though with a seizure. The rat’s body started to expand like a balloon, the muscle’s in the animal’s legs swelling up to twice their normal size. Even the creature’s tail grew thicker. The reaction stopped a few moments later with the bulked-up rat clawing feverishly at the cage to escape.
“I did it!” Joseph shouted. With this formula he would no longer be a pathetic, scrawny geek and he would have Samantha.
Chapter 14: Mama Veronica
Molly fell again, sinking up to her numb shoulders in the snow. She’d lost count of how many times she’d fallen since running away from Mama Becky’s house. She pushed herself out of the snow and toddled deeper into the forest. If only she had grabbed her jacket, mittens, and a pair of boots on the way out the door, then she wouldn’t be in this fix now. But she couldn’t go back, not after what Mama Becky—just Becky now, she reminded herself—had done to her.
Molly rubbed her cold hands together and blew on them in a vain attempt to keep them warm. She wished a real-life Sir Francis would ride to her rescue right now on his white horse. He would make a fire and give her some warm tea. Then he would take her across the sea to the palace where King Daniel and Queen Margaret waited for their daughter to return.
She tripped over something and collapsed into the snow once again. This time she couldn’t muster the strength to raise her numbed limbs from the snow. She managed to roll over onto her back to look up at the clear blue sky through the naked branches. The sky looked so pretty; she thought it might be nice to live up there as an angel like Becky had told her. She said in Heaven people lived on clouds and did the things they loved to do all the time. They could look down on the earth to see everyone they loved. If she was up in Heaven, she could at least see her parents.
She heard snow crunching followed by a horse neighing. Sir Francis knelt down next to Molly, raising the visor of his helmet so she could see his kindly face. “Don’t worry, my child, you’re going to be safe now,” he said.
“You came for me,” she said. “I knew you would.”
“My child, I could not let a princess be slain out here in this godforsaken wilderness.” He scooped her from the snow, carrying her in his silver-plated arms to the waiting horse. He didn’t mount the horse so much as he floated up into the saddle with Molly on his lap. He brushed hair from her face and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead with the same tenderness as Becky. “It won’t be long now before you’re home,” he said.
Home. She let the word echo in her mind. So long she had been away. It seemed like forever. Would her parents remember her after so long? She tried to voice her concern to Sir Francis, but her lips wouldn’t move. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was she would soon be home. She closed her eyes, the steady motion of the horse galloping through the snow rocking her to sleep. I’ll be home soon, she thought.
“Little girl? Are you awake?” a voice whispered. Molly felt a hand on her forehead. She opened her eyes to find an old woman leaning over her. The old woman had brown skin creased with wrinkles, frizzy gray hair streaked with white, and gray eyes rimmed with dark circles. She wore a tattered gray sweater and a silver chain around her neck. “Can you hear me?”
Molly opened her mouth, but couldn’t get any words out. Her throat felt dry as paper and her tongue heavy as clay. A silver flask appeared in front of Molly’s lips, dribbling water down her throat. “Does that feel better now?” the old woman asked. Molly nodded. The old woman helped her to sit up.
She wasn’t anywhere in Eternity. The walls around her were made of mud, not wood or stone like the buildings in town or Becky’s cottage. Could this be the castle where Mama and Papa lived? The room seemed awfully small for a castle. And who was this old woman? She must be a servant.
Molly cleared her throat and asked in a hoarse croak, “Where are my parents?”
“I’m not sure. You’re the only one I found out there.”
“You found me? No, I remember there was a horse—”
“I didn’t see any horses. I was walking through the forest and found you lying in the snow half-dead. So I brought you here,” the old woman said.
“Where is here? Are we in Dublin?”
“Dublin? We’re on the island of Eternity. This house used to belong to my grandfather.”
“Your grandfather?”
“Jonas Pryde. He lived here some time ago.” The lines along the old woman’s lips and forehead deepened when she smiled, exposing a mouth full of yellow, crooked teeth. “My name is Veronica. What’s yours?”
“Molly Brigham.”
“That’s a pretty name. You look like a Molly with that pretty red hair and those freckles.” Molly blushed at this. She wondered how many Molly’s the old woman had seen before. “How did you get here, Molly?”
“I’ve lived here since I was a baby.”
“With your parents?”
“No, with Becky.”
“Was Becky with you out in the snow?”
“No. I ran away from her because she’s mean,” Molly said. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I hate everyone there. They’re all stupid and I don’t want to go back.”
“Where’s that, Molly?”
“In town, where everyone lives.” Molly raised an eyebrow as a thought struck her. “I don’t remember seeing you before.”
“That’s because I only got here a couple days ago. I came over on a boat across the water. From a town called Portland.”
“Is Portland very far away?”
“It’s a little far. Are you hungry? I made a can of tomato soup if you want some.”
“What’s tomato soup?”
“It’s soup. Made from tomatoes.” Molly stared at Veronica blankly. “You don’t know what a tomato is?” When Molly shook her head, Veronica said, “It’s a red vegetable. Some people call it a fruit. Haven’t you seen one before?”
“No. Are they like apples?”
“Not really. They’re squishy and red on the inside. How can you not have seen a tomato?” Molly said nothing. She started to worry this Veronica might be some kind of crazy person. Or maybe Molly was still dreaming.
Veronica went over to the hearth and returned with a metal can blackened on the sides from the fire. Inside the can, Molly saw liquid almost the same color as her hair. Veronica put a little of the soup on a spoon, putting it up to Molly’s mouth. The soup tasted warm and rich with a sweetness to it. She slurped down another dozen spoonfuls. “You really like this stuff, don’t you?” Veronica said.
“It’s delicious. I wish we had tomatoes in Eternity.”
“Maybe we could go over to buy some seeds and grow them ourselves,” Veronica said. “If you want to stay here. Or as soon as you’re feeling better we can take you home.”
“Eternity isn’t my home,” Molly said. “My home is in Dublin with King Daniel and Queen Margaret.”
“Oh, so that would make you a princess. Princess Molly. Here’s your soup, your majesty.” Veronica gave Molly another spoonful of tomato soup. “When you’re feeling better we can go over to Dublin and reunite you with your parents.”
“Can we really?”
“It’s very far away though. We’ll need to make sure you’re feeling good and strong for the trip. Here, make sure you eat all your soup to help get your strength back. I’ll see if your highness’s clothes are dry.”
Molly finished the can of soup in no time, feeling strong enough to fly across the sea to Dublin. How lucky she’d been for this nice old lady to find her. Maybe Veronica was her guardian angel. “Veronica, are you an angel?” she asked.
“Me? No, dear, I’m not an angel.” Veronica brought over Molly’s dress and shoes. Molly tried to get out of bed, but her legs buckled and she would have fallen if Veronica hadn’t caught her. “Looks like you’re not ready to leave yet. You get some rest, sweetheart. I’ll be right here.”
Veronica helped Molly lie back down in bed and then pulled the covers up to Molly’s chin. She brushed away hair from Molly’s forehead and kissed her as Sir Francis had done in her dream. “Goodnight, Mama Veronica,” Molly whispered before falling asleep.
Chapter 15: The Awful Truth
Prudence watched Samantha recede into the distance. She didn’t understand what had caused her friend to get angry and run away. Wendell started to brush past her until she grabbed his arm. “We have to stay here and wait for her,” Prudence said. The two of them going out on their own and getting lost wouldn’t do any good right now. With so many dangers in this unfamiliar world, they were better off waiting for Samantha.
“We can’t let her go off alone,” Wendell said. “She could get hurt.” He wasn’t about to leave Samantha out there by herself to get crushed by an automobile or something worse. He couldn’t live with himself if anything bad happened to her. Of course stupid Prudence would want to stay here on her fat butt.
“She’ll be fine. She can take care of herself.” Prudence didn’t really believe this. From what she’d seen of this place so far there were hidden dangers lurking around every corner. Still, Samantha was better equipped to survive in this environment than either of them. “I’m sure she won’t be long. In the meantime, there’s no sense in us getting lost.”
Wendell squirmed in Prudence’s grasp, but her stubby fingers kept hold of his arm. “Let go of me!” he shouted.
“Calm down. Samantha will be fine.” She steered Wendell over to a wooden bench to sit down. She kept hold of Wendell’s arm so he didn’t run away and get into more trouble. “After all she’s been through on Eternity, this should be easy,” Prudence said, trying to sound cheerful.
“Something bad’s going to happen to her. How can you sit here and let it happen?” Wendell said.
“She told us to wait here for herself or Mr. Pryde and that’s what we’re going to do. Whether you like it or not.”
“You’re just scared,” Wendell said. “You’re too scared to go anywhere by yourself. That’s how much you care about her.”
“Samantha told us to wait. If she finds out we’ve disobeyed her, she’ll get mad at us. You don’t want that to happen, do you?” Prudence said.
Wendell considered this. As much as he worried about Samantha’s safety, he didn’t want her to get angry with him for disobeying her. She might hate him after that. He couldn’t bear for Samantha to hate him. “You’re right,” he said.
“Good, I’m glad that’s settled.” Prudence let go of Wendell’s arm and then heaved herself off the bench. She wanted to get a better look at the Designs by Suzie shop. Looking in the window wouldn’t violate Samantha’s orders.
She pressed her face against the display window for Designs by Suzie. Never in her life had she seen anything so wonderful as what she saw through that window. Clothes of every color in so many shapes, more than she could have ever imagined. How could one person have possibly made them all? She had to go in and find out. Samantha could see her through the store windows if she happened to come back while Prudence was inside.
Wendell grabbed Prudence’s arm. “We can’t go in there. We have to stay out here in case Samantha comes back,” he said. He didn’t understand girls. One moment Prudence was saying how important it was for them to wait for Samantha and the next she wanted to go shopping.
“I’ll only be a minute. You can stay out here and wait.”
“There’s nothing in there for you.”
“There’s nothing in there for a baby like you either.”
“You’re the one wearing maternity clothes.”
“I am not!”
“You are so. I saw the label on the box where Samantha got that dress. It said, ‘Maternity’ plain as day. Figures only a dress for a pregnant woman would fit you.”
Prudence’s cheeks flushed red with rage. How dare Wendell say she was wearing a pregnant woman’s clothes! This was a perfectly fine dress, much better than her Eternity clothes. This dress was so pretty and colorful, like those inside the shop. She smoothed down the dress over her stomach and said, “I don’t care what you think. I’m going inside.”
She marched into the store and took a sleeveless red dress off a rack. She held it up to her body, but it wouldn’t fit. She tried another and another with the same result. Wendell was right, no one made dresses for anyone as fat as her.
She clutched a green dress with puffy sleeves in her hand when a woman asked if she needed any help. “I’m just looking,” Prudence said. She put the dress back on the rack.
The woman wore a tan jacket, a matching skirt that went to her knees, and a white blouse that shimmered in the light. The ensemble gave the woman a feminine look, but also a powerful one. Prudence felt underdressed by comparison in her simple dress. “I hope you don’t mind my asking, but how far along are you?” the woman asked.
Prudence put a hand to her stomach as tears came to her eyes. The woman wrapped an arm around Prudence’s shoulders. “I’m sorry to upset you, honey. My sister went through the same thing when she was about your age. Do you need a place to stay? I know a great place over in New Hampshire that will take care of you. I think I still have a business card—”
“I’m not pregnant!” Prudence finally managed to blurt out.
“Oh. I thought by the dress and—” The woman took her arm off Prudence’s shoulder. “I apologize. That was so presumptuous of
me. I feel terrible. Can we start over? My name is Suzie. I own the store. You probably gathered that from the sign, I’m sure. What’s your name?”
“Prudence.”
“What a lovely name, very classic. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Prudence before. A few Constances and even a Temperance, but never a Prudence. It’s very unique,” Suzie said.
Prudence didn’t care how unique her name was, she just wanted to leave this awful place and go back to Eternity. Why had Samantha run away and left her to face this alone?
“How about we find something pretty for you? I’ll let you have it free of charge for me being such a knucklehead.” Prudence didn’t say anything. Suzie took her hand, leading her to the back of the store to a section labeled ‘Plus Sizes.’ She thumbed through the rack until pulling out a mint green T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. “These are good for a girl your age. Why don’t you go into the changing room to try them on?”
Prudence looked at the clothes skeptically, but then decided they couldn’t be any worse than what she had on now. She took the clothes and trudged into the changing room. Her reflection in the floor-length mirror on the door brought tears to her eyes. Why was she cursed to be so fat? Why couldn’t she be skinny and pretty like Samantha or Helena?
She sat on the bench in the little room to cry, keeping her eyes on the floor so she wouldn’t have to see her bloated reflection. After a few minutes, Suzie knocked on the door and asked, “Do you need any help in there, honey?” No one could help her with what she wanted most.
Outside the store, Wendell leaned against the clapboard façade, studying the automobiles as they passed. He wished Samantha would come back and Prudence would stop dallying in the store so they could return to Mr. Pryde’s house. The sight of so many automobiles made him want to tear apart the one at Mr. Pryde’s house so he could figure out how it worked.
Children of Eternity Omnibus Page 40
