Talisman

by S. E. Akers

  My eyes began to flutter when the puff of smoke hit my face. She must’ve just finished her bowl of “bitch” for breakfast…No french-toast for her!

  I ignored her warm little gesture, turned on the oven, and went straight to cooking. Prepping the green apples was first on my list. Once all of their curly peels had been tossed into the trash, I retrieved a sharp knife from the cutlery drawer, cocked my head, raised my brow, and threw my mother a smile.

  I knew the sticky-sweet Charlotte Wallace from last night wouldn’t last long, but I’d kind of hoped her attitude could’ve at least held out until I’d come home from the daggone dance! Though my eyes stayed locked on the apples I was cutting on the thick slab of butcher-block, every one of my “chops” mirrored the frustration I felt in regards to my dear, sweet mother.

  Charlotte sat there rubbing her head, undeniably hung-over. “What’s for breakfast?” she groaned.

  “French-toast and baked apple crisp,” I replied as I ran around the kitchen gathering up all the rest of the items I needed from the fridge and the cabinets. Maybe she’ll shut up and leave if she sees I’m busy.

  “I’m not hungry,” Charlotte barked as she scooted out her chair, “but make sure you fix enough for your sister.”

  “I always do,” I replied. After all, I wasn’t the selfish one in this household — regardless of what SHE thought!

  My mother wobbled over to our junk drawer and jerked it open in a huff. After several frustrated seconds, she pulled out a fresh glue-trap, ripped open its seal, and slid it behind the fridge. I hated those things. They were so cruel…and my mother knew my feelings on the subject too.

  “Don’t you dare throw that thing away!” Charlotte warned with a fierce glare. “I saw a mouse running around in here and I want it gone. I MEAN IT!”

  “Sure,” I grinned. “I won’t touch it.” My mother let out a foul grunt and stormed out of the kitchen. She didn’t believe me, but I fully intended on keeping “my word”. I’ll just make sure I get to Mr. Mouse, “first”, I affirmed with a sneaky mental nod. When I was younger, I’d discovered (by accident) that I had a natural, uncanny knack for tracking things with my eyes and ears…and I loved the challenge of catching little critters too. It was like a game. Flies, mice, and even the occasional frog were no match for me. Truthfully, all of my senses were abnormally heightened, right down to my quick reflexes. No one could ever sneak up on me either. It was an odd talent that I put to good use around the house — mainly to keep the “kill rate” to a minimum. The way I saw it, they had every right to buzz in the air and scamper across the earth…the same as me.

  HOWEVER, I made a cold hard exception for snakes. Hey — even a “humane” girl has a line drawn somewhere in the sand.

  Within minutes, I had the nine slices of bread dipped and laid on the griddle. Once all the apples had been bathed in the oatmeal mixture, I topped them off with some flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Nothing beats the smell of warm cinnamon in the morning, I noted as set the timer and placed the casserole dish in the oven.

  Not a second later, I detected a warm musky scent floating through the room. It would’ve been hard for anyone else to pick up on it, what with the kitchen air filled with the sweet aroma of french-toast sizzling on the stove, but I could. It was unmistakably my father’s cologne.

  Not a second later, I heard Daddy’s voice calling out, “What smells so good?”

  “Your favorite breakfast,” I announced proudly, “as if you have to ask.”

  Daddy staggered into the bright kitchen, scratching his thick head of hair, which was almost as black as coal he mined, and rubbing his light blue-green eyes. They had to be my favorite feature of his. I always looked forward to them greeting me in the morning and today was no exception. They were my morning cup of coffee — guaranteed to wake me up and put a smile on my face.

  Daddy was freshly showered and dressed in his flannel pajamas. The rugged, yet gentle miner looked ready for a hot meal before heading off to bed. Even after working a long, hard shift at the mine, Daddy always had a cheery look about himself. His crew revered and respected him. You would be hard pressed to find someone in Welch who didn’t like him — especially since he was one of our town’s star basketball players when he attended Welch High School. The tall and somewhat-toned, former athlete still had folks around Welch coming up to him who wanted to talk about the “big game” against the South Charleston Black Eagles from years ago. He’d shot a 3-pointer from mid-court, with less than a second to go in the fourth quarter to win the State Championship game, 77-76. I knew how they felt. He’d once made our community proud, and they admired him. I idolized him for my own special reason. It was a simple one really — because he was my loving daddy.

  “Good Morning, Shi,” Daddy said and then planted a warm peck on my cheek. “It’s a tad bright in here.”

  I flipped the toast. “Did you have a rough shift last night?”

  “Not exactly. I mean, everyone at the mine is on edge…and my crew can’t concentrate on their work, not when they’re all afraid of losing their jobs. I did have to pick up a lot of the slack last night. Then I got home, and your mom wanted me to umm…help her with something. I just haven’t gotten a chance to unwind yet. That’s all.”

  Daddy phrased Mom’s request as best he could — I guessed. Though, his face did appear a bit flushed. Sort of like when Chloe and I were little and asked him why their bedroom door was closed (and locked) at two o’clock in the afternoon.

  “Do you really think Mr. Riverside will shut down the mine if he can’t sell it?” I blurted, half-panicked. “What will half the town do for jobs?”

  “Honey, there’s no since in worrying right now,” Daddy insisted. “No one knows anything — honestly. We’ll find out soon enough. Put a smile on that pretty face. That’s an order, young lady.” Daddy lifted up my chin and flashed one of his trusty “everything will be okay” smiles, but even it couldn’t ease the knots in my stomach — not this time.

  In the midst of my concern for my father’s employment status, it dawned on me that I was about to burn the french-toast. Quickly, I grabbed a spatula and transferred each of the slices onto the three breakfast plates I’d laid beside the stove.

  “Order up,” I announced like I was pulling a shift at the Drive-In and then set the plate down on the table in front of him, professionally.

  “Thank you. What do I owe you?” Daddy teased.

  “We’ll put it on Mom’s tab,” I insisted.

  “Oh, I think she already owes you more than what she could EVER pay back,” Daddy replied as he cut into his toast and shook his head.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked as I pulled out my chair.

  Daddy forced down his first gulp and clanged his fork against his plate. “Are you really going to the dance with Mike Riverside?” he probed with a skeptical arch of his brow. “I don’t like Chloe dating him. But Shi, your feelings toward him…aren’t really a secret. I ’bout cut my neck shaving when she dropped that bomb on me this mornin’. WHY did you agree to it?”

  I couldn’t tell him that I knew about the surprise birthday dinner at Twin Falls on Sunday or about the college-touring trip he’d planned. Daddy loved surprises, both giving and receiving them. He would be so disappointed if he found out I already knew. Though I could never outright lie to Daddy, this situation forced me to omit some details.

  “I felt sorry for her,” I admitted. “She was sitting there crying and all upset because she couldn’t trust any of her friends…It meant a lot to me that she needed her big sister to help her with something. I really don’t mind doing it.” That was partly true. Some is better than none.

  “All right,” Daddy grumped and then sharpened his stare. “Just as long as this is something you’re absolutely comfortable doing.”

  I nodded, hoping to soften the stern crease that had set deep in his brow. After an eye-roll that could jack-up the rear bed of a truck, he shook his head and went back to eating his
breakfast.

  I guess he bought it… That’s a relief!

  “Your mom said she was going with Chloe this afternoon to pick you up a dress.” Daddy hadn’t seen me wear a fancy dress in years, not since I was a flower girl in our cousin Winona’s wedding when I was ten.

  “Yeah,” I mumbled. I just prayed she didn’t come home with something that made me look like I should be swinging from a daggone pole. But considering the run-of-the-mill choices at our limited boutiques downtown, how bad could it honestly be?

  “That’ll be a sight to see,” Daddy replied. A cheeky grin stretched across his face as he nudged my shoulder. “You…dressed up and goin’ to a dance.”

  I threw my napkin at him. “I kind of like the idea,” I insisted as I raised my head in the air and grinned. I really did — the “getting ready” part. “It’s not that I don’t like dances or all the frou-frou things that come with it. We both know Mom prefers to shower Chloe with that stuff…She always has.”

  Daddy smiled and shook his head. “You know, I think too much of that at an early age isn’t good for a little girl. It makes them grow-up too quick. Young girls nowadays miss out on a lot of things ’cause they wanna play ‘grown-up’ too soon — in my opinion. Most of the girls your age have their priorities way outta whack…But I can’t say that about you, Shi. There hasn’t been one day when you’ve not been responsible, or even came close to disappointing me.”

  Daddy leaned across the table and placed one of his hands over mine. I couldn’t tell if his eyes were glassy from the bright lights of the kitchen, or if he was actually getting a little emotional.

  “And you’re going to be eighteen on Sunday,” Daddy said with a slight sniffle.

  Now I was floored. I’d never seen Daddy like this before. His eyes really were misty. Maybe he’s a lot more stressed than he’s letting on? I didn’t know what had him bent out of shape — my upcoming birthday, the mine possibly closing, or the fact that he’d soon be left all alone with Charlotte and Chloe when I headed off to college in less than a year? Good thing he wasn’t going anywhere. The thought of being cooped up in a house with those two would bring me to tears for sure!

  “Daddy, what’s wrong?” I questioned.

  He sat straight up in his chair and composed himself. “I was just going to say…I knew you would grow up to be a fine young lady who would make me…and the world proud. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you, almost eighteen years ago,” Daddy declared with the utmost love and admiration.

  “Look who’s being dramatic now…The WORLD? Proud? The school hasn’t even selected their valedictorian yet. Let me make Welch High School proud first, then I’ll work on…‘the world’,” I teased.

  As soon as the timer “buzzed”, I jumped up from the table and dashed over to the oven, shaking my head and still laughing. I peeled back the aluminum foil and took a whiff of the piping hot apple crisp. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. I scooped out a generous helping for Daddy and placed it beside his plate.

  “Your mother vows you’re trying to make me fat,” Daddy laughed.

  “Well, it’s already November. You need to start putting on your winter-weight,” I joked as I shook his belly. I threw some in a bowl for myself and plopped back down in the chair across from his.

  We ate in silence for a few minutes, but Daddy kept looking at me suspiciously. He could tell I wanted to ask him something and of course, he was right.

  “What’s on your mind, Shi? You’re never this quiet.”

  “Well,” I started, “I was thinking that maybe…I would stop by the mine to see you…before you start your shift tonight.”

  “I’m off tonight, but I have to go in for a couple of hours this afternoon.” He looked at me with a curious grin. “Your ‘wanting to stop by to see me’ wouldn’t have anything to do with the meeting at 3 o’clock, now would it?”

  I aimed for cool and casual. “Maybe a little.”

  Daddy’s brow arched higher than a cat’s back.

  “Well yeah, a lot,” I confirmed as I crossed my arms. “I’m just worried, Daddy.”

  “It sounds more like impatience to me, but I don’t mind,” Daddy grinned. “Heck, I bet half the town shows up. I’ll tell Bea you’ll be stopping by.”

  “Thanks, Daddy. I’ll bring a book to read while I wait. Tell Ms. Sutherland that I promise not to bother her,” I insisted.

  “You know…Bea Sutherland thinks the world of you,” Daddy remarked. “She asks about you all the time.”

  “Really? I hate I haven’t seen her in a while. She’s such a sweet lady.”

  Daddy nodded in agreement, unable to talk through his heaping scoop of apple crisp.

  “Daddy…” I began, “do you know how she lost her eyesight?” The details about Ms. Beatrix Sutherland’s blindness had always been a complete mystery to me. I’d never asked her myself because I didn’t want to seem rude, but I was still curious.

  “Umm…I’m not really sure when it happened exactly, but she hasn’t had the use of her eyes for as long as I’ve known her. It doesn’t stop her one bit. She’s the best secretary anyone could ever want. It’s never hindered her around the office.”

  “It’ll be nice to see her,” I said. “You know, she sure has a lot of pretty rings on her fingers. I’ve always thought that it was a shame she couldn’t see them.”

  In fact, the best I could remember, she had at least one on every finger. It would have looked kind of tacky on most people, but somehow it worked for her. My favorite was a round golden topaz set in a dainty band of gold that she wore on the ring finger of her left hand. The stone was rather small compared to her other rings, but there was something about it that dazzled me — probably because it was my birthstone.

  Secretly, I’d always wanted one. The only ring I owned was my Welch High School class ring. I’d planned on going the traditional route and having my birthstone set in it, but at the last minute I opted for a diamond — a faux one. Most likely because I’d always admired Katie’s real diamond pendant, which I’d seen dangling around her neck ever since she got it for her birthday when she turned thirteen. That had a lot to do with my decision. After all, both gemstones were fakes. As long as it was clear and shiny like a real diamond, I could live with that. I figured I could always buy a golden topaz ring later on. It would definitely be more affordable than a genuine diamond.

  The rest of breakfast was relatively quiet. A faint “thump” on the front porch announced the arrival of the morning paper.

  “Don’t get up,” I instructed Daddy. “I’ll get it.”

  I glanced at the antique grandfather clock as I hurried to the front porch. It’s already a quarter to seven. After unlocking all three deadbolts, I opened the creaky door and grabbed the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. A blast of chilly morning air prompted me to shut it immediately. I slipped the paper out of its orange plastic bag and whipped it open as I walked slowly back to the kitchen. The headline on the front page said it all. It read:

  FATE OF LOCAL MINE

  TO BE UNVEILED TODAY

  Well, our little town’s dilemma made today’s top story. I scanned the article for any additional information before giving it to Daddy. Nothing. The news reporter seemed to be just as “in the dark” as the rest of us.

  “Look what made the front page,” I stated with a smirk as I handed him the paper.

  “I figured as much,” Daddy groaned. “One of their reporters bugged the heck out of us last night wantin’ to find out as much as he could before they went to press.”

  A subtle “squeak” pounded my eardrums. Daddy was still chowing down and clearly hadn’t heard a peep. But I did, and I knew what it was. I remained still and listened intently, locking on to the sound’s source and direction. Without looking, I reached down beside my chair and snatched the tiny field mouse in mid-run. I strutted over to the backdoor for a merciful reprieve.

  “Nice catch…as usual,” Daddy beamed. “Is that a new visitor or the same one?”
>
  I held the cute little guy up in the air, checking for the familiar gray patch on its belly that resembled a heart. “Same one,” I affirmed with a wink and then shooed it onto the back porch.

  “I’m going upstairs to finish getting ready for school,” I announced. “Could you be a dear and get rid of that glue trap behind the fridge? Oh, and be sure to let Mom know that I ‘didn’t touch it’.”

  “Will do,” my father chuckled. “And I’ll tell her that our little friend is history…for now.”

  “Thank you, Daddy,” I grinned and gave him a kiss on the cheek. As soon as I’d rinsed off my dishes and loaded them in the dishwasher, I headed for my room.

  “See ya after school,” I confirmed as I exited the kitchen.

  “I’m sure you will,” Daddy chuckled.

  My father never liked to say the phrase “good-bye”. He thought it was inappropriately “final”. You would have to correct yourself real quick if you ever said it to him accidentally. He preferred, “See-ya” or the occasional, “Later gator”. Personally, I thought it was a quirky OCD thing, but I humored him — out of love.

  I scurried up the stairs and over to Chloe’s door where I tapped softly — several times. “Are you up?” I asked and waited. When I didn’t hear any movement, my taps turned into bangs, which were notably louder and longer. That sure got Sleeping Beauty’s attention.

  Her door flew open in a matter of seconds. “Jeez! I’M UP!” Chloe barked. “Do you have to bang on my door like that? I’m not freakin’ deaf!”

  “Your breakfast is ready. Don’t make me late — like you usually do,” I piped back.

  “What did you fix?” Chloe questioned as she took a deep sniff of the aroma lingering through the house. “Is that french-toast I smell?”

  “Yes,” I confirmed, “and apple crisp.”

  Chloe tossed her raven hair back and stomped her foot on the floor. “Shit!” she raged. “Why don’t you just throw a couple of sticks of butter on my plate and sprinkle some damn cinnamon on it! I can’t eat that! I have to fit into my sophomore court dress tomorrow! Ugh! Don’t you ever think?”