The Boarding House

by Sharon Sala

  “Ellie, girls like Cinnamon don’t have crushes. They devour the guys they want, and I’m not on the market or in the mood.”

  “For obvious reasons, I get that. Sorry she comes on so strong.”

  He shrugged. “I can handle her.”

  Wyatt poured milk on his cereal then passed the carton to Ellie. They carried their bowls to the table and sat down. After the comfortable silence of sharing food with a loved one, Ellie paused.

  “What’s going to happen to us, Wyatt?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ellie couldn’t stop the tremor in her voice. “We’re broken . . . so broken.”

  “Yeah. I know.”

  Ellie pushed her cereal back and leaned forward. “Why do you think bad things happen to some people, when others live their whole lives without a single day of harm?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Even when people pray for mercy, why do you think God lets bad things keep happening?”

  “I don’t think God lets it happen, Ellie. But I think He’s there to help us through it when it does.”

  Ellie sighed. “I never knew you felt like that. You never went to church with Daddy and me when we were little. I didn’t know you believed much in God.”

  Wyatt grinned. “Maybe I’ll be a preacher someday.”

  “Then you’ll have to stop cussing.”

  “Or maybe not,” Wyatt said.

  They both broke into laughter—a sound that wasn’t heard much where they lived.

  Later, Wyatt rode part of the way to work with Ellie before she dropped him off.

  One day ran into another and then they turned eighteen. The magic number that was going to set them free.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cin was lounging against the headboard of Ellie’s bed, sucking on a lollipop as Ellie came into her bedroom carrying a load of towels she’d taken out of the dryer.

  “Where’s your hunky brother?”

  Ellie fired back. “Where did you come from?”

  “Sophie let me in. I repeat, where’s Wyatt?”

  “You make him nervous.”

  Ellis tossed the towels on the bed then started folding them.

  Cin laughed. “He makes me nervous too, if you know what I mean.”

  Ellie frowned. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure, whatever.”

  “Why are you so—”

  “Blatant? It’s what Sophie called me.”

  Ellie gasped. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry. Sophie’s getting up there in years, you know. She’s hard of hearing and getting pretty blatant herself.”

  Cin’s smile widened. “It’s no big deal. Besides, you can’t be mad at the truth.”

  Ellie folded another couple of towels, wondering why Cinnamon Hardy was wired the way she was. “Can I ask you something personal?” Ellie asked.

  “Sure, why not?”

  “Why are you so up front about what you think and feel? How do you get that way? Most people hide what they’re thinking and feeling.”

  “And they’re all fucked up, too, aren’t they?”

  “Oh. Okay. I get it.” She grabbed another handful of washcloths and continued folding. “I wish I was like that. I guess it’s why I like you. I’m envious.”

  Cinnamon threw a towel at Ellie’s head, but it missed and landed on her shoulders. “Shit. Don’t be envious of me. My life is messed up. Pretty much like yours, I’m guessing.”

  “What do you mean?” Ellie asked.

  “So, we’ve been hanging out long enough now that I know you don’t have any boyfriend, and Wyatt worships the ground you walk on, so I’m thinking Daddy dearest was responsible for the beating you got.”

  Ellie’s shoulders slumped. “He’s responsible for a lot of bad stuff.”

  Cin’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. That had been a very telling statement. She wondered if Ellie knew that sometimes it’s not about what you say, but what you don’t that tells the story.

  “Then why are you still here?”

  “I won’t be much longer. Wyatt and I turn eighteen tomorrow. We graduate in a couple of weeks after that. That’s all I’m waiting for—a diploma and being legally recognized as an adult.”

  “What do you want to do with your life?”

  “I always thought I’d go to college and figure it out there,” Ellie said. “What about you?”

  Cin rolled her tongue around the sucker then yanked it out of her mouth with a soft popping sound. “I never much think about my future.”

  Ellie frowned. “Why not?”

  “I just never imagined myself growing old.”

  Ellie shivered. “You mean you think you’re going to die young?”

  “Sooner or later, everyone dies.”

  Ellie didn’t know how to respond to that, so she kept folding towels until she was through, then put them in the linen closet.

  “So are you through playing Martha Stewart?” Cin asked.

  Ellie grinned. “Yes, why?”

  “Let’s plan what you’re going to do for your birthday. Eighteen is a big deal, right? Is your dad going to throw you a big party?”

  “No.”

  Cin frowned. “Why not?”

  “I don’t associate with Daddy.”

  The stark expression on Ellie’s face was startling.

  “Sorry I stepped in the shit again. You’d think one day I’d learn to mind my own business.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Then I won’t.” Cinnamon laughed, and did a little dance in the middle of the floor.

  Ellie laughed, which she knew was Cinnamon’s goal.

  “Now that I’ve fucked up your day,” she said. “I gotta run. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow, and in the meantime, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  “Yeah, see you,” Ellie said.

  The day ended without note. As soon as supper was over, Ellie snuck back to her room and wrapped Wyatt’s birthday present, then hid it in her dresser.

  Later, as she lay on her bed watching TV, she could hear Daddy’s footsteps out in the hall. When he paused in front of her door, her gaze shot toward the lock. It was undone.

  She flew out of bed and slammed the slide bolt into place, then leaned her forehead against the door, her heart hammering so hard that it hurt.

  The silence outside was almost as frightening as if he’d been kicking it in. She knew he was there. She could hear him breathing.

  Then to her surprise, he spoke. “Ellie.”

  She held her breath.

  “I know you’re listening, so I’m just going to say what I came to say. Tomorrow is your birthday. I know I’ve messed up, but I am so sorry. You are the light of my life. You have always been Daddy’s girl. Please don’t shut me out. Please forgive me.”

  Ellie went back to the bed, grabbed the remote, and turned up the volume.

  Later that evening, she went to the kitchen to get a snack. She was getting cookies when Wyatt returned.

  “Aha. Caught with your hand in the cookie jar,” he said.

  Ellie giggled. “Want one?”

  “No, but I’ll take two.”

  “Help yourself. My hands are full,” Ellie said, and together they went back to their room.

  Wyatt walked in last.

  “Lock the door,” Ellie said.

  Wyatt slid the lock into place then turned around. “Why? Something happen while I was gone?”

  “Daddy begged for forgiveness outside the door.”

  “What did you say to him?”

  “Nothing. I just turned up the volume on the TV.”

  “Just be careful,” Wyatt warned. “We know now that he can lose it big-time. Don’t push your luck.”

  “Luck? I don’t have luck, Wyatt, and neither do you. If we did, God wouldn’t have put us in this place.”

  “I’m sorry. You know what I mean. Come on, Ellie, let’s eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we will be officially old.”

  She smiled.r />
  For Wyatt, it was enough.

  “Good morning, Ellie. Happy birthday.”

  Ellie smiled as she rolled over onto her back to see Wyatt standing by her bed.

  “Happy birthday, Wyatt.”

  “That never gets old, does it?” he asked.

  “You mean being twins?”

  “Yeah. It’s pretty cool to be linked with another life.”

  “That’s a weird way of putting it,” Ellie said.

  Wyatt laughed. “Are we gonna have cake tonight?”

  “Doris is making strawberry cake with cream-cheese icing.”

  “Oh man, my favorite.”

  “And mine, which is why she’s making it.”

  “Yeah, but I like it because of the strawberries. You like it because it’s pink.”

  Ellie laughed. “True. Did you get me something?”

  “Wait a minute and I’ll get it.”

  As soon as he left, Ellie sprang out of bed and ran to the dresser to get his gift out of hiding.

  He came back carrying a small box wrapped in pink paper with a bow bigger than the box, which made Ellie smile. “This is great.”

  “You haven’t seen what’s inside it yet. Open it.”

  Ellie pulled off the lid. “Oh, Wyatt.”

  He watched her pick up the stained-glass piece by the hook and chain.

  “It’s called a suncatcher. You hang it in the window and—”

  “. . . all the colors spill onto the floor,” Ellie said, finishing his sentence. “Just like the Jesus window in church. Oh, Wyatt . . . how did you know?”

  “Come on, Ellie. I’m your other half, remember?”

  Ellie ran to the window, shoved the curtains aside and hung the suncatcher on the curtain rod. Within seconds, flashes of pink and green and violet and yellow were spilling onto the floor at her feet.

  She poked a toe into the colors, then stepped all the way in and danced. It was just one little step, but for her, it might as well have been a waltz. “Oh, Wyatt, I love it. I love you. This is the best birthday ever.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Now you.” She handed him a small oblong box covered in dozens of little gold stars.

  “Gold stars?”

  She laughed. “Remember how happy you always were when Mrs. Rutherford would give you a gold star for good behavior?”

  “Yeah. Good call. Kindergarten was great.”

  “So open it,” Ellie urged.

  Wyatt tore through the paper then removed the lid. “Oh wow. Oh, Ellie . . . wow.”

  “Do you like it?”

  Wyatt lifted the silver key chain from the tissue then held it up to the light. The angel hanging on the other end looked like she was flying. “She’s beautiful, Ellie, just like you.”

  Ellie’s eyes filled with tears, but again, she wouldn’t let herself cry. Not about this. This was a time for joy.

  “Let’s get this birthday in gear. We’ll get dressed and go eat breakfast, then spend the day together at the mall. We can eat junk at the food court or maybe go to a movie . . . whatever we want.”

  “What about that birthday cake?”

  “That’s for tonight. I’m not willing to spend any more of this day with Daddy than I have to. What better place to get lost than the mall?”

  “Sounds like a deal.”

  Garrett came back from running Saturday errands to find the house empty. Doris had obviously come by with the birthday cake because it was in the refrigerator when he put up the milk and butter. She’d left two cards on the counter. He checked the names on the envelopes—one for Ellie and one for Wyatt. He frowned, then shook his head and walked away.

  When he poked his head into Ellie’s room, he saw the remnants of wrapping paper and bows, then the suncatcher hanging on her window. He didn’t know the significance it held for her, but it made him sad he hadn’t bought any gifts. It was fairly obvious after their last conversation that she’d throw anything he came up with in his face.

  He walked across the hall to Fern’s old room, then changed his mind about going inside and went to his room instead. All he wanted to do was go to bed and sleep until this nightmare was over.

  He was so sick at heart that it hurt to breathe and the thought of food made his stomach turn. He kicked off his shoes, stretched out on the bedspread, then closed his eyes. He was drifting toward a semiconscious state when he thought he heard Ellie’s voice.

  “. . . cut you up in so many pieces they’ll have to bury you in a sack.”

  He flew out of bed and shoved the slide bolt in place, and then crawled back in bed, rolled over onto his side and cried himself to sleep.

  It was just after 1:00 p.m. when Ellie and Wyatt stopped window-shopping and headed for the food court.

  “What are you going to have?” Ellie asked, as she scanned the assortment of options. “Ooh, look, Red Wok. How about Chinese?”

  “Not in the mood, but you can. I’m looking pretty hard at that pizza,” Wyatt said.

  “Umm, works for me. What kind—cheese or supreme?”

  “Supreme. You want one or two slices?”

  Ellie giggled. “Two. It’s our birthday.”

  “I’ll get the food. You find a place to sit.”

  Ellie nodded.

  Wyatt headed for Pizza by the Slice and got in line. Within a few minutes, he was weaving his way through the crowd toward the table Ellie had chosen.

  Ellie took a big bite of the hot pizza, then picked up a string of cheese from her plate and popped it in her mouth.

  “So good,” Ellie said as she looked up. “Hey! Look who’s here!”

  Wyatt rolled his eyes.

  Ellie grinned. “Cinnamon! Are you eating?”

  “Already did. I’m just hanging out.”

  Ellie glanced at Wyatt, who gave her a “whatever” look.

  “So hang with us for a while,” Ellie said.

  “Sure brother won’t mind?”

  “If I did, I would have already told you to get lost,” Wyatt said.

  Cinnamon grinned. “Ha. A chink in the armor. I knew I could break him.”

  “Don’t get too cocky,” Ellie said. “He’s just humoring me because it’s our birthday.”

  “Like I already knew that,” she said. “I would have gotten you guys gifts, but no dough. You know how it goes.”

  “We don’t need presents, just friends,” Ellie said.

  Wyatt groaned. “Dang, Ellie. You need to go to work writing verses for Hallmark. That was seriously corny.”

  It made everyone laugh and was the needed icebreaker that carried through the rest of the afternoon. When they finally left the mall for home, Cin was with them.

  Garrett saw the car pulling up into the driveway. He took the cake out of the refrigerator and quickly poked eighteen candles he’d already counted out into the icing and lit them as the door opened.

  As they entered the kitchen, it was the first thing they saw.

  “Cool,” Cinnamon said. She snuck a quick peek at Garrett when he wasn’t looking.

  The man was obviously on edge. She’d seen happier men at a funeral.

  “Doris brought your cake over this morning . . . the traditional strawberry,” Garrett said.

  “I love strawberries,” Cin said. “Ellie? Wyatt? Come on guys. Somebody blow out the candles so we can eat.”

  Garrett watched without comment, wondering if Ellie would crumble. To his surprise, it was Wyatt who pulled her in.

  “Come on, Ellie. We can’t disappoint Doris. She made it on her day off, right?”

  “She left cards for you, too,” Garrett said. “They’re on the table.”

  “For both of us?” Ellie asked.

  Garrett nodded.

  Ellie picked hers up. When she opened it, a ten-dollar bill fell out.

  “Wow. Doris is cool,” Ellie said.

  “Seriously,” Wyatt echoed as his produced the same.

  Cinnamon sidled closer to the table. “Now the cake?”

>   Ellie sighed. “Now the cake. On the count of three, Wyatt.”

  “One. Two. Three.” They blew until all the candles were out.

  When Garrett began to cut the cake, the skin crawled on the back of Ellie’s neck. She watched him absently licking a bit of icing from his thumb and shuddered. Just the thought of him touching anything she was going to eat was disgusting.

  “Easy,” Wyatt whispered.

  “I’m fine,” Ellie muttered, then picked up a piece of cake and a fork and sat down at the table to eat.

  “Oh my God, this is so good,” Cin gushed.

  Sophie entered the room, frowning. “God is not responsible for that cake. Doris is.”

  Cinnamon choked on her bite. “Oh, yeah, my bad. Sorry about that.”

  “Cut a piece of cake for Sophie,” Ellie said.

  Garrett did as she asked, and knowing Sophie’s proclivity for manners, added a napkin with the fork.

  “Enjoy,” he said.

  “Hey! Aren’t you having any?” Cin asked.

  “Wasn’t invited to the party,” Garrett said.

  Wyatt sighed. “Don’t make a big deal out of this. Just get a piece of cake.”

  Garrett served himself some cake, started to sit down at the table, then caught the expression on Ellie’s face and walked out of the room carrying the plate.

  “What was that all about?” Sophie asked.

  “Who wants something to drink with this?” Ellie asked.

  “I’ll take anything with fizz,” Cinnamon said, and Sophie forgot her question had gone unanswered.

  After a second piece of cake, Cin carried her plate to the sink.

  “I’m outta here, guys. Thanks for letting me hang with you today.”

  “Don’t you need a ride somewhere?” Ellie asked.

  “I’m good. See you when I see you,” she said, blew Wyatt a kiss and waved at Ellie.

  Sophie frowned. “She’s very forward, that girl.”

  “But she’s my friend,” Ellie said.

  Sophie smiled. “Yes, dear, I know. I was simply making an observation. Times have certainly changed since I was a girl. My, my, I had no idea.”

  “I’ll clean up,” Ellie said, and began loading the dirty plates and glasses into the dishwasher.

  Sophie set her plate on the counter. “I believe I’ll retire for the evening.”