Summer Shadows

by Killarney Traynor

  “Well, good morning, sleepy head. Did you sleep well?” Julia said. She placed a dish filled with two eggs and a cinnamon bun in front of Ron. The warm scent wafted up, and he almost drooled.

  “Cinnamon buns?” Dana asked, awed.

  “Yep. I’ve got one here for you.”

  That was enough to snap her out of her sleepy state. “I’ll get dressed right away!” she shouted, and was about to run back into the living room when Aunt Julia stopped her.

  “They’re warm now – you can get dressed afterwards.”

  Dana hesitated, but when Julia put a third plate on the table, she slid into a chair.

  “You can say grace to yourselves,” Julia said, turning back to the stove.

  They did, rushing through the prayer with only one thought on their minds.

  Ron picked up his bun and bit deep into it. He closed his eyes and savored. It was every bit as good as it smelled.

  He opened his eyes and saw Dana with cinnamon and frosting all over her mouth. She grinned at him.

  “You have frosting on your nose!” she giggled.

  He tried to wipe it off, but his hand was sticky, and he only made it worse. Julia came to the rescue with a wet paper towel, which he used while she deposited the last cinnamon bun, neatly and fairly divided into thirds, on each of their plates.

  Julia pulled a bottle of ketchup out of the refrigerator and put it in front of Dana, saying, “Make sure you eat some of your eggs, too.”

  “Yes’m,” she mumbled.

  They were far too busy eating to make conversation. Julia sat down with her mug and a notepad, squeezed between the oven and the edge of the table. She took a sip of her tea, and began to jot down notes on a sketch of the floor plan that Ron hadn’t seen before.

  She looked up with the pencil in her mouth and smiled. “I guess you guys were hungry.”

  “Yeah,” said Dana. “Hungry for cinnamon buns.” She took another bite.

  Ron said, in a big-brother-knows-best tone, “Thank you, Aunt Julia, for the nice surprise.”

  Dana swallowed her rather large mouthful and dutifully said, “Yes, thank you, Aunt Julia.”

  Ron noticed that Julia got that solemn look in her eyes again as she so often did when they tried to be helpful. She looked both sad and analytical, as though she were monitoring them and wasn’t too sure of the results. Ron didn’t really understand her expressions, and it annoyed him at times. Perhaps it was just a girl thing, he thought.

  Before he had too much time to wonder about it, Julia said, “My pleasure. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us before we can really start enjoying the summer, so I thought it would be good for everyone to have a little treat.”

  Jack was done eating. “Can I go play?”

  “Not yet, old man, just wait a second. And don’t move around too much - you’ll knock yourself right off that chair.”

  “What do we have to do today?” Ron asked, eager to show that he, too, was work-minded.

  Julia showed them her sketch: it was a rough floor plan for the house, including windows and doorways. In each room, she had written a list of what needed to be done and what supplies would be needed. As promised, the two rooms on the top floor were listed as Dana’s Room and Ron and Jack’s Room. Ron leaned in to see what needed to be done in his room. On top of the supply list were the words AC Unit.

  “All right, guys, here’s the house,” Julia said cheerfully. “I’ve gone through and made a list of what I think needs doing in all of them. We’re actually in good shape – there’s a lot less to do than I thought. What I’d like to do is go through one room at a time, starting with the most important ones, and get them all fixed up.”

  “The kitchen and bathroom first, right?” asked Ron.

  She nodded. “The kitchen and the bathroom both need a good scrubbing, but other than the cabinets for this room, they’re in good condition. We can put off whatever repairs they need for the present and focus on the more crucial renovations.”

  “What’s that?” asked Dana. “The living room?”

  “Oh, no. I was thinking your bedrooms.”

  They were both surprised, and Dana couldn’t hide her delight.

  “Cool!” she said.

  “But…” Ron was confused. “Wouldn’t it be more important to fix up the kitchen and the bathroom first? I mean, we all need those.”

  Julia nodded. “You’re right, but, like I said, the only thing really wrong with them is that they need a scrubbing and a face lift. The face lift can wait and the scrubbing is pretty much done. What I’m more concerned about is you guys smothering to death in those sleeping bags or catching fleas from lying on these musty old rugs. The rooms upstairs don’t need too much.” She consulted her list. “Floors need scrubbing, the walls need painting, the baseboard in your room, Ron, needs to be replaced and I’d like to get an AC unit up there. Oh, and I think the closets need new shelving.”

  Dana tried to contain herself, although why she was getting so excited was beyond Ron. After all, they weren’t going to be in those rooms for very long. Before the end of the summer, they’d be back in Springfield, using their own beds and their own computers.

  Ron sighed at the thought of his computer. It would be a long summer without his PC. Why had Aunt Julia insisted on no computers and no videos games? They were his one escape from an otherwise responsibility-fraught world.

  “We might need to look at the flooring.” Julia interrupted his thoughts again. She was tapping on the pad. “Now that I think of it, I didn’t really take a good look at it last night and I haven’t gone back up there this morning.”

  “So…?” asked Dana.

  “So, let’s go have a look at it together,” Julia said, jumping to her feet. “Come on, guys.”

  She led the way out the kitchen door and up the stairs, Dana close on her heels. Ron helped Jack off of his perch and would have carried the little boy, only he was so excited that he slipped out of Ron’s grasp and went for the stairs by himself. He half climbed, half crawled up the steep stairs and Ron followed close behind, anxious that his little brother might fall.

  “Jack all right with those stairs?” Julia asked.

  “I’ve got him,” Ron said.

  “I’m fine!” Jack insisted. “I’m a big boy now, Aunt Julia.”

  “Yes, you are,” she assured him. “But I want you to grow even bigger, you know.”

  Jack made it to the top step, and pulled himself upright with a look of pride on his little face.

  Julia examined the narrow stairway with some concern. Dana was already in her room, pulling up the patched old window shade; but Jack went around to the narrow landing, and tried to put his face between the bars of the railing.

  Ron pulled him away. “Come on, Jack,” he said. “Let’s go look at the room.”

  Jack pulled his hand out of Ron’s grasp and scampered into Dana’s room. Ron didn’t bother to chase him. He took hold of the railing and shook it. It stood firm.

  “That’s good to know,” Julia said, watching him. “I’ll get one of those gate things to put at the head of the stairs. I don’t want Jack to go down by himself. Maybe it would be better for him to stay downstairs with me.”

  “No,” Ron protested. “He’ll be better upstairs with me.”

  Julia nodded thoughtfully, and then they went into Dana’s room where they found Dana holding Jack up to the back window.

  Ron looked around. Aside from some nail holes in the wall and scuff marks on the wooden floor, it seemed a sound enough place. It badly needed a cleaning: it was dusty and cobwebs were everywhere, and the blue and red walls were spattered with stains. He went to where Julia was poking her head into the closet.

  She stepped out and pointed inside it. “See those shelves?”

  He looked. They were thin, flimsy looking, and lined with fl
owered, peeling paper.

  “Those were probably put in there in the 1970s,” she said. “They weren’t meant to last longer than a decade. I’m surprised they weren’t pulled out when the place was renovated in the eighties.”

  “We should take them out, then?”

  “It would be more useful to have a bar in here to hang clothes. But I guess that’s not all that important. That belongs on the second tier of repairs.” She looked around. “This room would look a lot bigger if the walls were white. It would also look a lot more attractive and peaceful.”

  “Why?”

  “White reflects light and tricks the eye into thinking that there’s more space.” She explained. “It would make this room much easier to sell to potential buyers, too.”

  Ron nodded.

  Julia jotted down some notes and said, “Let’s have a look at your room.”

  It was much the same, perhaps slightly larger, and it had the added benefit of two skylights. The walls were painted a dark gray, which made the room look like a cave.

  Despite that, Ron liked the room. He stood under the skylight, looking up into the bright blue sky, and wondered what it would be like to lie under it at night and wake up to the morning light. It would be almost like camping. He loved camping with the Boy Scouts: the quiet and the danger of living outdoors, the smell of the campfires, and the constant learning curve of trying to make do with less. It was something that he had always longed to do with his father, but Dad hadn’t been much of an outdoorsman - his idea of a day in the wild was a bike ride in the local park.

  Julia was saying, “Okay, it looks like we know what we need to do.”

  Dana asked, “Are we going to pick up the paint now?”

  “Not yet. We have to prep the walls first.”

  “How do we do that?” Ron asked.

  “First we need to clean the rooms. Why don’t you and Dana go get dressed and start on that while Jack and I tidy the kitchen? You’ll want to sweep and dust it thoroughly. We’ll wash the floors after we’ve painted everything. Sound good?”

  “Great,” Ron said, relieved to have something to do. He felt a surge of energy. “Come on, Dana. Let’s find the stuff.” He charged out of the room and down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Dana followed, hollering, “Wait for me!”

  They went into the dining room, where Ron found the broom and the dustpan. It took them both a few minutes to find the dusters and the spray.

  They had to cross through the kitchen to get back to the stairs. Julia and Jack were nearly done cleaning up breakfast. Julia’s cell phone rang as they slipped by, and she answered it, her voice echoing in the small room. Being naturally nosy, the two siblings stopped to listen.

  “Hello. Oh, hello, Mr. Irwin? Thank you for returning my call… Well, it’s not very big, but it is infested… Yes, I have the insecticide. In fact, your father sold it to me… Yep… Yep… Well, as soon as possible. Tomorrow? Oh, that would be fantastic. Yes, thank you very much.”

  Ron and Dana exchanged glances.

  Julia spotted them. “While you’re doing the rooms,” she said, “don’t forget to clean out the closets and the landing. We’re going to want to paint them, too.”

  “All right,” Ron answered.

  “Who’s coming over tomorrow?” Dana asked.

  “I’ve hired some people to come and take care of the lawn for us. They’re going to be here pretty early, so we’ll have to make sure that we are up on time.”

  “Sure, no problem,” said Ron, gesturing to Dana with his head. “Let’s go, Dana.”

  Ron and Dana quickly finished the boys’ room, closet, and the landing. While they were in Dana’s room, Dana began to talk about the colors she wanted for the wall. She pulled the pamphlet from her pocket to show Ron, chattering excitedly.

  Ron studied the picture. It was carefully folded, and she had drawn little notes and heart symbols around the edges.

  It was, Ron noted, a stark difference to Dana’s room at home. Mom’s best friend had decorated all of their bedrooms only about a year and a half ago, and she had paid the most attention to Dana’s. Her room was enormous compared to this tiny little thing in the attic. It was pink and white, all delicate and lacy and coordinated right down to the bedclothes, which were heaped up so high on the four-poster bed that it was sometimes difficult to find Dana in it. Mom called it “the perfect little girl room”.

  “And we could paint the closet door purple, too,” Dana was saying, as Ron continued to scan the brochure, looking for prices. “It’ll be such a cool room.”

  “Dana,” Ron sighed. “There’s no way we can get your canopy bed to fit in here.”

  Plus it was a far cry from the peaceful, sellable white paint that Aunt Julia had wanted. Dana’s colors were definitely full of personality, and they would probably make the room shrink again, if it was really possible for paint to do that. Ron knew he was going to have to change her mind. After all, they couldn’t expect Aunt Julia to shell out money for different paint for every room in the house. That would be far too expensive. Ron flipped to the back of the brochure, where some prices were listed.

  “It doesn’t really matter about the bed, I guess,” Dana answered. “I was thinking that we could paint the dresser green with pink drawers and…”

  Ron sighed again, stopping his sister mid-sentence.

  “We don’t have that much time, Dana,” he said patiently. “Aunt Julia has to make over the whole house and she can’t spend all of her time on our rooms. Besides, we’re not going to be here long enough to make it worth it. We’re better off picking colors that older people would like.”

  “Older people?”

  “Sure. I heard that lady, Sherri, say that the only people who would really be interested in a house this size are old people.”

  “So?”

  “So, if we want to sell it, we should decorate it with them in mind.” He paused. “And your paint costs twice as much as what old people paint costs. See?”

  He showed her and her enthusiasm withered away. Ron got no joy out of deflating her like that, but he had a job to do. Keeping things easy for Aunt Julia was at the top of his list.

  Julia called them from the bottom of the stairs, ending their conversation, and they went out to see what she wanted.

  She was downstairs, talking with a plump, middle aged woman. Dana stopped at the top of the staircase and didn’t move until Julia beckoned them down.

  “Come and meet Mrs. O’Reilly,” she said.

  “Oh, please,” the woman said, with a wave of her hand. Her makeup-encrusted face was creased in a smile. “No need for all that. Just call me Sheila. Everyone else does.”

  “Go on,” Ron whispered to her and Dana descended reluctantly. He followed her and Julia introduced them.

  “Hi, kids,” Sheila said cheerfully. She smelled very strongly of cigarette smoke and her teeth were yellowed, but her eyes were bright and her smile was friendly. She had a Tupperware container in one hand and waved it with every sentence she spoke. “How are you enjoying the summer?”

  Timidly, Dana said, “Very nice, thank you.”

  “Quiet bunch, aren’t they?” Sheila asked, not unkindly. “Not at all like my grandkids, let me tell you. They were born screaming and they haven’t stopped yet. My husband says that they’re strong minded like me, but I know better than to mistake that for a compliment! Oh, that reminds me.” She gave Julia the Tupperware container. “My Katy baked these for you. Hope you like them.”

  Julia mumbled, “Uh, thank you.”

  “She likes baking, that one. She’s a wild card, but she sure knows her way around a kitchen. I don’t know where she gets it from. I wasn’t like that at her age. I was out wasting my youth on boys and love-ins. I was at Woodstock, you know.”

  “No,” Julia said with a faint smile. “I didn’t know. Would
you like to come in and have a cup of coffee?”

  “I would, but I have to run and pick my grandson up from camp. He’s staying with me for the summer, or maybe longer. My daughter is taking some time out to pull herself together. I’ll take a rain check on that coffee, though, if I may.”

  “Of course.”

  “I just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood and make sure that you found everything all right.”

  “I think we’re doing well, but to be honest, I haven’t had enough time to look around much.”

  “Well, if you need anything let me know. You’re probably strapped for furniture right about now, right?”

  “Well, actually…”

  “A lot of that stuff in the storage room is in really good shape – it had belonged to the previous owners, I think, and the renters just shoved it all in there to make room for their own stuff. Before you buy anything, I would have a good look around in there. Odd that they didn’t use it,” Sheila mused.

  “Well, perhaps they felt more at home with their own things.”

  Sheila shrugged. “Maybe. Probably they just didn’t like the idea of using what the previous owners had used. I can’t blame them. This house had some weird people in it before the bank took it over, I can tell you.”

  Ron felt a shiver go down his spine, and he looked at Dana. Her blue eyes were wide and she looked frightened.

  “What do you mean, ‘weird’?” he asked.

  But Sheila didn’t hear him. A blast from a horn filled the air, making them all jump.

  Sheila scowled, her whole face turning dark, and she stuck her head out of the side door.

  “Won’t kill you to wait a second!” she screamed into the morning air. “Lord Almighty!”

  Julia’s eyes went as wide as Dana’s, and they all recoiled a little when Sheila swung back around to give them a wide smile.

  “My old man’s getting impatient,” she said. “I have to go, but I’ll stop by later this week to see how you’re getting on. Ah, man, I could just eat that little one up!” She reached for Jack.