Talisman

by S. E. Akers

  “Excuse me for asking, Ms. Sutherland, but um…Why do you have so many of these little knickknacks lying around?” I inquired.

  Tyler shot me an odd look. I was a bit embarrassed by how rude he must’ve thought that sounded. Needing to tread lightly, I quickly rephrased my question.

  “I mean…Doesn’t that create a lot of extra cleaning for you?” I posed.

  “What? My little birdies?” Ms. Sutherland asked.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” I replied respectfully, feeling the overwhelming need to show Ty that I did have some manners.

  “I collect those, dear. I’ve always been fascinated with the…thought of birds. I’m even a member of the Audubon Society. I went out to Oregon last year on one of their retreats.”

  My mouth dropped. “The bird-watching organization?” I blurted skeptically. I could feel the heat from Ty’s stare. Any hotter and he would have burnt my eyebrows slick off.

  “That’s the one. But they’re also a conservation group. I’ve been a member going on thirty-five years,” Ms. Sutherland confirmed proudly.

  Still baffled, I decided to carry on with my interrogation.

  “So what did you…do on the retreat?” I inquired, causing Ty to almost drop one of the delicate baubles he was securing in bubble wrap. I had to admit, I wasn’t exuding any sort of tact.

  “We went on outings into the forest. The others bird-watched, but I listened. I’m quite the aficionado when it comes to distinguishing a bird by its call, if I do say so myself,” Ms. Sutherland boasted. “There’s just something remarkable about standing in the stillness of the forest, waiting for a beautiful melody to call out. It’s indescribably thrilling to imagine such a delicate creature flying from tree to tree while it showers the woods with its special song for all the animals to hear. There’s nothing like it — in my opinion. I love the feeling of freedom they must get from flying.”

  I’ll give her that one. Beatrix Sutherland - 2 — Me - 0. Her answer turned out to be a logical one, but I wasn’t in search of logic today. I wanted the truth.

  Ty chuckled. “But you don’t ride on airplanes, do you? Didn’t Mrs. Culbert drive you out to Oregon for the meeting last year?” he asked with a grin.

  “Oh, Tyler. Now you know I don’t like the idea of being cooped up in a long steel tube with my life in someone else’s hands. Where’s the freedom in that?” Ms. Sutherland quipped back with a smile.

  Ty returned her affectionate gesture and then purposely looked my way, clearly trying to analyze my intensions.

  “Well, I’m off to whip up a pot of apple cider. I guess I’d better let you two get to work,” Ms. Sutherland announced and then headed off to the kitchen.

  With a determined stance, I watched the sly silver-haired fox sashay proudly down the hall. Clearly it’s time to “up my game”.

  We immediately went to packing. The noises in the room were random, like boxes being assembled or items being wrapped in thick paper. Every time I heard the sound of packing tape being stretched across a box, it served an awkward reminder that Ty and I hadn’t said one word to each other since Ms. Sutherland had left the room. Ty eventually broke the silence first.

  “What’s up with you, Shi?” Ty asked cautiously.

  “What do mean?” I answered with a nonchalant shrug. I already knew the answer to that one.

  “The questions for Bea…I mean, you aren’t acting like your usual sensitive self.”

  “Just curious,” I replied innocently.

  Ty’s eyes narrowed as he processed my reply. He wasn’t buying it. I’ll have to be a little more careful with carrying out my scheme. I didn’t know whose suspicions were greater — mine about Ms. Sutherland, or Ty’s about me?

  I strolled over to the corner of the room where Ms. Sutherland’s television was sitting. Not just any TV, but a nice sized 52” inch flat-screen.

  “Why would she need that?” I posed aloud.

  Tyler finished taping up his box. “The TV? I’m sure to listen to it,” he replied sharply. “She’s not deaf.”

  “Yeah, but why does she have one that big?” I rebutted critically.

  “Maybe for company? I’m sure she has some from time to time.” Ty shook his head and started assembling a new box.

  I still wasn’t convinced, but I followed suit and got back to the job at hand. Neither one of us initiated any more conversation other than “I need more tape” or “Hand me another box”.

  We had the entire living room packed up in about two hours. Every accessory had been wrapped and carefully placed in boxes, and we were ready to move on to the dining room. Mr. Mayfield, our town’s local handy man, finally arrived. Ty stepped outside to greet him. Ms. Sutherland had mentioned to us a few minutes ago that he would be by to pick up a set of keys he’d accidentally left here last night.

  An opportunity presented itself. Ms. Sutherland was still in the kitchen, but she would have to pass through the living room on her way out to give Mr. Mayfield back his keys. I’d noticed she wasn’t using her cane. Why would she in her own house? I could stack a bunch of boxes in the doorway and let her think I was outside, but I’ll hide in here. That way, when she sees the obstruction and thinks that no one is around to catch her, she’ll have to maneuver around them.

  Busted, I predicted with a gleam in my eyes.

  I hurried over and stacked several boxes in the doorway. I kind of got carried away and positioned them so there wasn’t any way around. She would definitely have to move them. Booby trap set, I confirmed.

  “Ms. Sutherland…Mr. Mayfield’s here. I’m going out to say hi to him,” I called out.

  “Oh, please tell him that I’ll be out there in a second with his keys,” she called back from the kitchen.

  “Will do,” I replied with a grin.

  I slammed the door shut, tiptoed back into the living room, and crouched down behind the yellow-checked sofa. I heard the faint sound of footsteps creaking along the hardwood floor that flowed throughout the house. The sounds were getting louder and heading this way. I peered around the corner and waited patiently out-of-sight.

  Just a few more seconds…

  I spotted her shadow rounding the corner. She stepped through the doorway and…began to crash right into my pyramid of boxes! From out of nowhere, Ty burst into the room and was by her side to catch her, right before she hit the floor.

  “I’ve got you, Bea! Are you okay?” Ty asked anxiously.

  “Oh yes, Tyler. Goodness! I really need to be more careful. I’m so used to my surroundings that I’d forgotten they were in the process of being altered today. I should have known better and had my cane ready. Really, Tyler…I’m fine, dear. I sure do appreciate you breaking my fall. I hope I didn’t hurt you. Did I break anything?”

  “No, Ma’am. I’m fine and so are your things. These boxes are marked, ‘pillows & draperies’, nothing breakable in them. I just want to make sure that you’re okay.”

  I could hear the worry in his voice. It was obvious he was quite fond of her. I remained hidden behind the sofa, wallowing in my shame. My quest for answers had almost come at Bea’s expense.

  What was I THINKING? She could’ve really been hurt. I felt horrible, absolutely horrible! My suspicions had taken a backseat to my humility — not to mention, my guilt.

  “I’ll get these out of your way and carried out to the van.” Ty picked up the keys she had dropped and handed them back to her. “You can go ahead and give these to Mr. Mayfield,” he insisted. “You’ve got a clear path to the front door. There’s nothing in the way.”

  “Thank you, Tyler,” Ms. Sutherland replied gratefully.

  As I peeked out from behind the sofa, I saw her giving his cheek a few gentle pats. Quickly, I pulled back, so I could remain out of Ty’s sight. I heard the door open and then slam shut. Ms. Sutherland was finally outside.

  One down, one to go…

  Patiently, I waited for the sounds of Ty lugging the knocked over boxes out to the van — but they never came.
I sat there thinking, What’s he waiting on? My patience was starting to wear thin. The next thing I knew, a growing shadow was approaching the end of the sofa where I was hiding.

  “She’s gone, Shi,” Ty announced in a scathing tone. “You can get up now.”

  He sounded really pissed. I grimaced and mouthed silently, Shit. I was mortified. Slowly, I rose from my spot to see an extremely irritated Tyler Smith.

  “Where’s your head, Shi?” Ty demanded. “SERIOUSLY?” Ty’s tone was bad enough, but his expression left me with no doubts regarding his current emotions.

  Time to cover my ass. “What are you talking about?” I posed, playing clueless.

  Ty’s mouth flew open as he let out a disbelieving grunt. “You KNOW what I’m talking about. I saw you. I saw you through the front window.”

  I scanned over to the bay window, which was now naked and drapery-free. Shamefaced, I slowly turned back to witness his fixed stare.

  “You stacked those boxes there on purpose, and then you hid behind the sofa,” Ty charged. “For what? To watch her fall?”

  “Not exactly,” I replied sheepishly as I passed him and then bolted into the dining room. This sure has gone from bad to worse. He followed right behind me. There was no avoiding this exchange.

  “Wait a second. What do you mean, ‘not exactly’?” Ty asked.

  I paused to contemplate whether or not I should reveal my suspicions about Ms. Sutherland. If I told him that I doubted she was blind, he would probably think that I’m crazy. On the other hand, if I didn’t give him a good reason, he would most likely assume I’d done it out of shear meanness, and that I was a despicable, horrible person. I looked at the confused expression on the handsome face of the boy I’d had a crush on for years. His blue eyes widened with every lingering moment of my silence.

  Well…I can live with “crazy”.

  Nervously, I started assembling a box for the china plates. “I was just conducting a little experiment,” I mumbled.

  Ty’s eyes swelled at such an alarming rate I thought they were going to pop right out of his head.

  “What kind of ‘experiment’? How many bones you can break in a blind old lady’s body?” His question reeked with disgust and sarcasm.

  “NO!” I objected. I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “I wanted to see if she truly is…blind.” I didn’t want to see the look on his face, not after that admission, so I started wrapping dinner plates while I nervously waited for his response to my “truthful”, yet on the surface, completely “insane” reason.

  “If she’s truly blind?” Ty repeated, open-mouthed. He was definitely dumbfounded, but at least he didn’t look as irate. “Why would you EVER THINK she wasn’t?” Ty questioned. “We’ve both known her for years…Shiloh, she’s always been like that.”

  I placed the wrapped dishes in a box and turned to face him. “I know, but the other day I felt like she was…watching me. I could feel her eyes on me. It’s hard to describe, but it was like she wasn’t only looking at me, but into my soul…or something.”

  That ought to tighten up the last strap on my straightjacket, I confirmed quietly.

  Ty tilted his head back and shook it while he stared at the ceiling. “That’s crazy, Shiloh. Utterly crazy!” He walked away asking, “Why would sweet old Bea ever do something like THAT?”

  He was almost out of the room. “Ty — Wait! You’ve been working here for the past few years. Has there ever been a time when you’ve felt like that?” I pleaded. “Like she’s watching you?”

  Ty stopped and turned his head slightly. “No,” he answered flatly.

  I had to stop him from leaving, so I dashed over and threw myself in front of him, blocking the doorway. Without thinking, I grabbed his arms. I could feel his muscles contracting through his shirt.

  “Never?” I pressed. “You’ve NEVER felt or noticed anything? Anything strange at all?”

  Ty didn’t move. I was in no way, shape, or form as strong as he was, but something had him planted in place, motionless. His head was cocked to the side, staring silently down at the floor. The handsome jock was thinking long and hard about something. My hands guided his head towards mine, until we were staring in each other’s eyes.

  Ty yielded a sigh. “Maybe…Yeah, maybe,” he muttered.

  As I stared up at Ty, I noticed some reservation hiding behind his deep blue eyes. Without a doubt, he was leery about something.

  “What Ty? What have you noticed?” I asked eagerly, breathless with anticipation.

  “Last fall, I was here with another volunteer, Clayton Myers. He was up on the roof fixing a couple of loose shingles for Bea. When he was coming down, he slipped and fell off the ladder. As soon as he hit the ground, I heard a loud crack. He was in a lot of pain, so I checked leg. He couldn’t move it…and his ankle was red and swollen. I ran inside and called an ambulance. When I came back out, Bea was sitting on the ground beside him. She didn’t see me standing there. She told him to lie still, so she could check it. She ran her hands all over Clayton’s right ankle and up his leg, for about a minute or two. It was really weird. Then the ambulance came and took him to the hospital. I stopped by to check on him on my way home, but he was fine. They said none of his bones were broken, and his leg wasn’t even swollen anymore. They were just keeping him there because he couldn’t remember what had happened. They thought he must’ve hit his head. All I could think about was the cracking sound I’d heard. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that same sound at football practice over the years. I’d swear on my life that it was broken!”

  My hands remained where they were, locked onto his strong arms. I could feel my grip tightening as soon as I recognized the familiar air of suspicion in his voice, like a haunting whisper of doubt. It echoed mine. Even though I wasn’t there — I believed him.

  “Shi, I know what I heard…and what I saw. But that’s impossible, right?”

  “Honestly, Ty…I don’t know anymore. The last few days have made me question everything around me.”

  I suddenly realized my “clutch” had turned unexpectedly into more of an “embrace”. Helplessly, my eyes began taking in every curve of his face. Soon they locked onto his, almost like the two pools of blue were calling me in like a cool lake in the heat of summer. I wasn’t sure, but I thought I felt him moving slowly towards me.

  Abruptly, I pulled away and grabbed the dishes I’d just laid on the table, pretending to get back to the job at hand. I was a little uneasy about his intentions. After all, Ty was Kara’s boyfriend, even if she didn’t seem to openly respect their so-called commitment.

  How could I even think about handing out my “first kiss” to him, only to see him dancing (and who knows what else) with Kara tonight? Anyway, he may not have been trying to kiss me. He probably just lost his footing or something. Either way, I pushed my desires aside as I thought, I’m NOT a second-string player! That declaration blared through my head like a bugle sounding at dawn.

  Though my back was turned to him, I could feel his eyes on me, which made me feel apprehensive and elated, both at the same time.

  Ms. Sutherland entered the room. “How’s everything coming?” she asked.

  If there was ever a moment in need of a tension breaker, this was definitely one of those. I thanked the cosmos and went on to reply, “Fine, Ms. Sutherland. We’ll have you all packed up in no time.” Ty, however, never said a word.

  “I’m sure going to miss this house,” Ms. Sutherland remarked as she lowered her head and smiled half-heartedly. I assumed she was probably reminiscing by the way her eyes appeared glassy as she stood there in silence. Without delay, she began to tear up. Ms. Sutherland took an extra deep breath as she lifted her head and wiped them away. “Now, it’s okay if you two don’t get finished. I’ll have the movers do the rest when they come for the furniture next week. I know you have to leave around 1 o’clock Tyler, and Shiloh, I don’t want to keep you here all day.”

  “I can stay till
around three, Ms. Sutherland.” I was in no rush to get home, and I still hadn’t gotten what I’d come for — my answer.

  “Okay. I’ll let you two get back to it,” Ms. Sutherland said with a smile and then disappeared back down the hall. Ty carried the knocked over boxes out to the van, and I went back to packing up the dining room. Within minutes, he stepped back into the room.

  “I’m going to start on the bedrooms,” Ty announced and then left straightaway, his arms laden with as much packing paraphernalia that he could carry.

  It was clear to me that he was upset, but I wasn’t quite sure about what — The “Ms. Sutherland” thing, or the “I don’t know if you were going to kiss me, but I’m not havin’ it” thing? I shook my head and continued packing.

  In a little over an hour and a half, I had all Ms. Sutherland’s china, sterling silver, and crystal stemware wrapped up and placed in various boxes. After lugging them to the driveway, I started loading the boxes inside the truck. It was a lovely fall day, but there was a bit of a nip in the air. On my last trip of carrying miscellaneous dining room cartons outside, I spotted Mr. Estell walking down the street.

  That’s FOUR freaking times in THREE DAGGONE DAYS! Crap. I know Welch is “small”, but…come on!

  Even in the light of day, that man gave me the creeps. I didn’t know if it was his mangy appearance or his eerie demeanor that bothered me more. I’d never seen a smile on his face, but to be fair, I’d never really looked at him long enough to notice one. There was just something about him that compelled me to look away. His presence here disturbed me so much that I quickly slid the box inside the truck and turned to go back into the house.

  I happened to glance across the street before I strolled up the walk. Mr. Estell had stopped directly in front of Ms. Sutherland’s house and appeared to be watching me. I felt a shiver go down my spine. I got a clear look at his face this time. His expression was blank. There wasn’t even an ounce of emotion.