Anticipation

by Terri Breneman

  100

  CHAPTER 11

  Toni awoke early on Saturday morning and went through her usual routine of making coffee and feeding Mr. Rupert. A few minutes later, with coffee in hand, she sat down and started her to-do list for the day. There were the regular Saturday chores—laundry, paying bills and vacuuming. Maybe she should do more of a fall cleaning today. That would keep her mind off tonight. She was both excited and anxious about seeing Boggs again. She looked at Mr. Rupert, who was carefully cleaning the last bit of breakfast from his face.

  “Okay, boy. Here’s the plan. We’re going to clean this place from top to bottom. I’ll start upstairs and you start down here. We should be finished in no time.” She grinned. Mr. Rupert completely ignored her. She topped off her mug of coffee and headed upstairs. Within minutes she had stripped the sheets from her bed and gathered all the dirty clothes. When she got back downstairs, Mr. Rupert was in the middle of the floor in the living room, on his 101

  back with his feet in the air. He stretched and meowed as she walked by. Ah, the life of a cat. She lugged her clothes through the kitchen and put the first load in the washer.

  Returning upstairs she placed fresh sheets on the bed. Satisfied, she turned to the bathroom and began the dreaded task of cleaning the toilet. She worked methodically and was finished in no time at all. She went back to her bedroom and looked at her desk. What a mess. Books were stacked on the desk and the floor. She shook her head. This called for a fortified cup of coffee.

  Toni went downstairs and filled her mug with coffee . . . and a splash of Kahlua. She started the next load of laundry. Mr. Rupert had not budged from his spot on the carpet. She gathered the assorted papers and mail from the dining room table and returned to her desk upstairs. She sat down and sighed. This task alone could take an hour. There were assorted law books, novels, magazines, catalogs and even a few old psychology textbooks from her undergrad days. The mundane job of sorting and stacking all this stuff onto her tiny bookshelf took an hour and she barely made a dent. Her “throw away” pile contained a candy wrapper, one old brochure and a dried-out highlighter. For some reason, she felt compelled to keep catalogs “just in case” she needed to order something. She rarely did, even though Christmas wasn’t that far off.

  On her third cup of coffee now, dangerously close to her limit on an empty stomach, she began stacking her books. She arranged them by topic after flipping through each one. It wasn’t that she didn’t know the contents, it just brought back memories of a particular class or time. Criminal law. That was a tough class, but she had loved it. Administrative law. Ugh! Why did she still have that book? She should have sold that sucker the day of the final. In fact, she should have never bought the darn thing. She’d remained clueless throughout that class the entire semester. Ooh! Abnormal psychology. That was a great class. Mmm. Great professor, too. Toni recalled how she’d had a crush on Dr. Veronica Anderson. She paged through the book and found an old exam dealing with pho-102

  bias. She remembered going into Dr. Anderson’s office to ask for clarification, just so she could be close to her. Toni removed the exam and glanced at the questions. Acrophobia. Wasn’t that one of the diagnoses for Crown? The ringing of the phone interrupted her train of thought.

  “Well, good afternoon, honey.” It was her dad. “I hope I didn’t get you out of bed.”

  “Oh, Dad . . .” Toni glanced at the clock. “It’s only eleven o’clock. But I guess if I’d been up since five like you and Mom, it would seem like late afternoon by now.” She and her dad had a long-standing joke. No matter what time she would get up on a Saturday morning, he would already be sitting at the kitchen table.

  When she was a kid, she had tried desperately to get up first but never did. His greeting to her was always the same, “Good afternoon!” She grinned.

  “Just calling to remind you to take pictures of your costume before you go tonight.”

  “I will, Dad. Are you all staying home tonight?” she asked.

  Since her parents had retired, they were always on the go.

  “As far as I know, yes,” he said. “We just finished painting the living room and dining room. After lunch we’re going to the grocery store. It’s time to start the Christmas baking. There’s also a sale we wanted to check on.”

  Toni rolled her eyes. Her parents could cram more in one day than she could in a week. It was exhausting.

  “Hang on, honey,” her dad continued. “Here’s Mom.”

  “Hi, sweetie,” her mom said. “How are you? Are you getting enough sleep?”

  Toni answered affirmatively.

  “Make sure you take good care of yourself. Now, how are you for blouses? There’s a good sale going on. How about we pick up a couple for you?”

  Toni hated to shop for clothes and her parents had great taste.

  They also had a nose for sales. “That would be wonderful, Mom.

  Especially ones that don’t need to be dry-cleaned.” 103

  “Done,” her mom replied. Toni could hear her scratch that off her list of things to ask. “Next, we’re going to the warehouse store to buy ingredients for my Christmas baking. I’m making the usual, of course, plus a few new kinds of fudge, although I won’t start that until Thanksgiving. Do you have any special requests this year?” Toni smiled. Her mother was famous for her baking. In fact, that’s all anyone who knew her wanted as a gift for Christmas. She began on November first and made one type of goodie each day.

  Then she and Dad would carefully package and freeze or refriger-ate the dozens of cookies and candies at the end of each day. As Christmas arrived, they would get out the fifty or so containers and create an assembly line. With Christmas tins in hand, they would fill each one with at least two of every sweet.

  “Gosh, Mom, just the usual I guess,” Toni said. “I would like to order a large tin for work, if that’s okay.”

  “Of course, sweetie. It’s already on my list. Okay, well, we’ve got to scoot. I’ve got to fix lunch before we run our errands. Love you.”

  With that, her mom signed off. Toni shook her head. What a pair. With all that talk about food, she was hungry. She went downstairs, switched the laundry and looked in the fridge. Cold leftover pizza. She was in luck. She poured herself a glass of iced tea, took the pizza box to the couch and turned on the TV. Mr.

  Rupert still occupied the same spot on the living room floor. He was snoring. The sound of the TV woke him and he protested loudly. With all the energy he could muster, he got up, stretched and hopped up on the couch next to her. He immediately fell back asleep. Toni munched on her pizza and flipped through the channels. By the time she had gone through the cycle twice, nearly 45

  minutes had passed.

  A glance at her watch told her it was nearly noon. She had plenty of time. She could finish cleaning and shower before 3:00.

  Then she would treat herself to an afternoon of college football.

  With that decision made, she tossed the pizza box into the trash, grabbed her clean laundry and headed back upstairs.

  104

  Sam and Betty arose early Saturday morning. There was still a lot left to prepare for the party. By noon they had finished the decorations. They had done the family room together but had worked on the other areas individually. They were as excited as two kids on Christmas morning, Betty thought.

  “Let’s do a walk-through,” Sam suggested, “so we can get an idea of how everything looks.”

  She agreed and they went to the front yard and looked around.

  Cobwebs covered the porch, complete with huge spiders. There was a pumpkin on each side of the door, waiting to be carved.

  Tombstones leaned against the front steps and gargoyles were perched on the corners of the roof. Sam had set out sand-filled paper bags along the sidewalk, each with a votive candle to be lit later. Betty expressed her appreciation of his work with a long

  “ooh.”

  He grinned. “I think I got the knocker to work. Try it, hon
.” She went up on the porch. A huge gargoyle door knocker looked like it was made of granite with two beady eyes that glowed red. She reached up and tried it. The sound was tremendous. It sounded like it knocked on a huge, empty mansion . . . or dungeon.

  “Perfect,” she cried. “I love it.” She hugged him and then ushered him inside.

  The foyer, adorned with cobwebs, was small but sufficient.

  Betty had decided to remove the majority of the ordinary furnish-ings and replaced them with ghoulish substitutions. Instead of umbrellas in the stand, there were “severed” arms and legs. Family photos had become ghost portraits. Near the family room, a portrait on the wall said, “Hey, where are you going? I see you.” Sam gave her a long smile.

  She was ecstatic. “It works great, Sam. As soon as someone walks by, he talks.”

  They peered inside the downstairs guest bathroom, right off the family room, where Betty had left an assortment of “normal” 105

  decorations on the vanity and the walls. She was almost to the point of jumping up and down.

  “It looks great, hon.” But he was clearly puzzled.

  Finally she couldn’t stand it any longer. “Open the shower curtain!”

  He slowly pulled back the curtain. Then his jaw dropped.

  “Holy cow! This is incredible.” He stood admiring her handiwork.

  “I absolutely love this. How in the world did you do it?” She had used an entire spool of fishing line, but she had to admit the effect was unexpected. It would be even more fun at night.

  Standing in the shower was a life-size skeleton made of plastic.

  She had placed a shower cap on his head and secured a long scrub brush to his hand. The designer of the skull had taken some anatomical liberties so that he had somewhat of a face.

  “It looks like it’s looking straight at me,” Sam said.

  She eagerly showed him how Mr. Clean was attached to the ceiling, curtain rod and faucet.

  After a moment or two, they squeezed themselves out of the bathroom and walked arm in arm to the family room. Silently they surveyed the room.

  A late addition to the house, the family room ran the entire width of their home. To the left of the entryway was a sliding glass door that led to a small deck. The back wall held a modest fireplace and the right wall boasted two windows. There was also another doorway that led back to the kitchen.

  Even in the daylight, the room had a festive Halloween feel to it. Betty preferred “funny” to “horror” when it came to decorating, as did Sam. Suspended from the ceiling was an upside down cardboard casket. It contained a skeleton, held in by cobwebs, with one arm dangling free. The skeleton was grinning.

  Sitting in an old rocker by the fireplace was a witch, a rather rotund figure made from stuffed pillow cases, dressed appropriately with a cape and pointed hat. A large stuffed black cat sat on her lap. A small motor was attached to the rocker and when turned 106

  on, she slowly rocked while humming a tune. Next to her was a large black cauldron in the fireplace. Tonight there would be dry ice placed inside so that it would appear to be “brewing.” Scattered about the room were a variety of decorations including pumpkins, severed body parts, candles and wall hangings. On the corner table was a black raven that said, “The end is near,” when someone walked by. One of Sam’s favorite decorations, however, appeared to be an ordinary mirror that replaced the painting above the fireplace. Betty chuckled. Most folks didn’t really notice the mirror until they looked in it. Then, to the surprise of everyone, the reflection included not only that person, but also a grinning ghost. The effect was both startling and amusing. Sam adjusted the mirror and admired himself. Next to him was a reflection of an obviously happy ghost, literally beaming. Betty smiled.

  “I think the three of us look great!” Sam laughed.

  Betty shook her head. “Okay, you two. Let’s get a move on.

  We’ve got a lot of hors d’oeuvres to prepare this afternoon.” She had already baked a cake and a few dozen cookies.

  After cubing a variety of cheeses and cleaning fresh vegetables, the two began working on the hot food. Soon the kitchen was filled with the aroma of onions and garlic, the sound of laughter and, for Betty, the overwhelming feeling of love. Time passed quickly as they worked side by side. By late afternoon there was a huge pot of chili on the stove and three Crock-Pots lined up on the counter. Barbequed Smokie Joes, hot wings and Swedish meat-balls—perfect for a crisp Halloween night, she thought.

  “Everything turned out great, Sam. How about bringing in the pumpkins? I’ll fix us a quick sandwich and then we can carve the pumpkins after we eat.”

  Sam nodded and trotted outside. By the time he carried in the pumpkins, Betty had prepared turkey sandwiches and placed a fresh can of Diet Coke by his plate.

  Sam glanced at his watch. “Let’s see. It should only take about 107

  an hour to do the pumpkins. Then I’ll run out and pick up the dry ice. That will still give us lots of time.” Betty nodded and finished the last of her sandwich. “I told most people to come around seven. Then we’ll have plenty of time to mingle and snack before we head out to the haunted house. I am so excited. Bill said we should all go to the employee entrance and he’ll take us in that way.” Bill was Betty’s younger brother who loved Halloween as much as they did. “This is going to be so much fun.”

  “The best ever.” Sam picked up the big knife. “Okay, let’s get these pumpkins carved. I need to have time to transform myself into Gomez Adams.”

  Betty laughed. This year they were dressing as Gomez and Morticia. Although it wasn’t the most original idea they’d ever had—last year they were rotten fruit—it was a bit more practical.

  They’d had difficulty maneuvering around the guests last year and sitting was nearly impossible. This year they would be able to wear their costumes the entire evening. She smiled. This was going to be the most memorable party yet.

  That afternoon the man walked briskly past several shops, then stopped in front of a newspaper machine to read the headlines.

  There was no mention of his latest victory, but maybe tomorrow.

  Disappointed, yet smug, he continued on his way. It was a beautiful crisp fall afternoon and he was feeling very proud and content.

  On a whim he stopped at a coffee shop and bought himself a cup to go. Digging in his pocket for change, he smiled at the young cashier. She smiled back then lowered her eyes. Ah, a girl who knew her place.

  He took his cup and sat outside. He blended in quite well.

  Pleased with his surroundings for the moment, he took time to relish his last accomplishment. It had been the work of an artist. As he replayed the events in his mind, there was a momentary feeling of anger and shame when he recalled jumping the fence. He 108

  unconsciously touched his leg. The cut had been deeper than he first thought. He had worried that it might require stitches, but the bleeding had finally stopped. He shook his head and then chuckled ever so softly. He thought about how incredibly inept the police were and how brilliant he was. Here he had made a big mistake and the police were clueless. So clueless, in fact, that he could probably give them a hundred clues and they would never catch on. In the end, this would make them all realize how advanced he really was. They would know, of course, by what he’d done, but this would help illustrate the depth of his mind. He decided to explore this idea further while he enjoyed his coffee. He didn’t linger too long. He had to get back home or he would be missed.

  109

  CHAPTER 12

  Toni glanced at her watch. Time to shower and start to get ready. She turned off the football game and ruffled Mr. Rupert’s head. She still hadn’t vacuumed or dusted, so with a wary glance back at Mr. Rupert, she quickly cleaned the room. Although it wasn’t the most thorough job, it looked nice enough. She replaced the vacuum cleaner in the closet and went upstairs. After shower-ing she surveyed her costume as it lay spread out on her bed. She decided she would wear shorts underneath,
just in case. She had decided earlier that a few couch pillows would suffice for her stuff-ing but was having difficulty figuring out how she would keep them in place. Mr. Rupert, as if sensing his expert advice might be needed, jumped up on the bed. He promptly took charge and with his huge head tossed the pillows off the bed. He looked around at Toni’s costume and curled up next to her long body pillow and began bathing. Toni retrieved the pillows from the floor.

  “How rude, Mr. R.,” she said. “I’m trying to be creative here.” 110

  Mr. Rupert glanced up from his task and meowed loudly.

  Toni laughed. “You are so pushy sometimes, young man. Look at you. It’s not like I’m in your way or anything. You just barge on through, then plop down on my big pillow.” An idea flashed. “Hey, my big pillow. I could wrap that around my waist and use a rope or bungy cord to hold it in place.”

  She yanked the big pillow off the bed, causing Mr. Rupert to roll. She wrapped it around her waist and ran over to the mirror.

  Satisfied, she dropped the pillow and went to her huge closet and searched through several boxes. In the third box she found a pile of bungy cords. She hooked them together and rewrapped herself in the pillow. With a slight tug she was able to fasten the ends.

  Grinning, she pulled on the blue jeans. A little snug. Perfect. That would keep them in the best position so that her rubber butt would show. She strutted around her bedroom.

  “What do you think? This is turning out great.” She sat down at her desk so she could put on her shoes. This was not an easy task. She decided she should bring a change of clothes with her to the party. There was no way she would be able to get around in this outfit all night, especially at the haunted house. She grabbed a pair of overalls and tossed them in a bag. Then she stripped back down to her shorts and a T-shirt before heading down to the kitchen. She wanted to fix a plate of snacks before Boggs arrived.