Katherine poked him in the ribs and thought about how fun he was. And for the first time since leaving campus, she noticed Jake was still in his Dillinger “costume.” She wondered what the other patrons would think, especially if he brought along the fake tommy gun. As it turned out, no one noticed. He left his prop in the Jeep, along with the famous Dillinger straw hat.
The food was delicious. She ate too much. Jake complained that he did, too. They skipped dessert, but opened their fortune cookies and read the messages.
Jake said, “I think I got yours. It says ‘A big fortune will descend upon you this year.’”
Katherine laughed, “Ha! They’re wrong. Next year!” She broke her cookie open and read hers aloud, “The Wheel of Good Fortune is finally turning in your direction.”
“Wow, what are the odds of that?” Jake observed. “First, Scout picks out the Wheel of Fortune Tarot card; now this,” Jake said, then hummed the opening bars of the Twilight Zone theme.
“I did a Google search on the meaning of that Tarot card. I got a headache from the fine print on interpretation. I’m supposed to have either fate smile down upon me, or there’s an unwelcome change ahead. That doesn’t make any sense to me. Thank you very much, Scout, for fang marking it for me,” Katherine grinned.
Jake paid the bill, left a tip, and said he had a three o’clock, so he drove Katherine back to the stadium and parked next to her Subaru. He hopped out, rushed over and opened the door for her. Katherine unfastened her seat belt and slid out.
Jake said, “Thank you for showing up today. It meant a lot to me.” Before she had time to answer, he kissed her lightly on the lips.
Once Katherine was seated in her vehicle, he quipped, “By the way, I like your ‘New York minute’ line. Next time I have to throw out a student, I’ll be sure to use it.”
Katherine flashed him a smile, then started her car.
Jake hopped back in his Jeep and took off.
He’s amazing, Katherine thought. Before she left the stadium, she sent a text to Colleen, attaching Jake’s picture. Colleen immediately texted back, “Uncanny resemblance.”
Katherine had a few errands to do, but she made it back to Erie by four o’clock. The fifth student, who would replace Barbie, was coming over at five. After Katherine fed the cats, she grabbed her jacket off the Eastlake hall tree and went outside to sit on the front porch swing. She hadn’t been sitting there long when Margie, who was working next door, spotted her and rushed over. Margie had won the bid to remodel the yellow brick foursquare next door to the mansion, which had been a speakeasy during Prohibition. She’d been juggling work between the two houses.
“Hey, kiddo,” Margie called. “How did the first day go?”
“It was awful. Grab a seat and I’ll tell you about it.”
Margie sat down on one of the wicker chairs and said, “It can’t be all that bad?”
“Way bad. As my Irish friend Colleen would say, ‘Twas a nightmare to behold.’ ” Katherine proceeded to give Margie the short version of the morning gloom.
Margie said seriously, “I wonder why the massage queen would want to learn about computers?”
Katherine asked amused, “Does everyone in Erie call her that? Jake said the same thing.”
Margie laughed. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Listen, I’ve got to get back. I finally got sick of stripping that god-awful flowered wallpaper, so I hired a drywall crew to come in and re-do the walls.” She started to get up, then abruptly sat back down.
Two pickup trucks pulled in front of the pink mansion and parked.
“Did you hire more workers?” Katherine asked.
“Kiddo, that’s the Sanders bunch,” Margie said nervously. She yanked out her cell and called Cokey, who was working next door as well. “Hey, Sugar Pop, I’m gonna leave my cell on. I’m on Katz’s front porch. The Sanders boys just showed up. Might be trouble. I’ll explain later. Tell the guys we might need them over here. I’ll let you know.” She placed the phone on her lap.
A man in his fifties with shoulder-length hair and a short-trimmed beard got out of one of the trucks. He went over to the passenger side and opened the door. Barbie leaped out. Four guys clambered out of the truck behind her.
Margie called from the front porch, “Howdy, Sam. How are you today?”
Sam took Barbie’s arm and led her up to the porch. “Good afternoon, Ladies. Beautiful day. Are you Ms. Kendall, the teacher?” he asked pleasantly, without a hint of menace in his voice.
“Yes,” Katherine said, not leaving the porch swing. “How can I help you?”
The four other men, ranging in ages from sixteen to thirty, stood on the concrete landing. The oldest had a buzz haircut with a long, shaggy beard. The younger one looked like a typical teenager, trying to keep up with the latest fashions. The other two could have been released from prison the previous day. One had dirty, long hair tied up in a ponytail, and the other had a mullet.
“I’m Sam Sanders. This is my daughter, Barbie. You two met earlier, and these are my sons. Meet Dave, my eldest,” he said, pointing at the man with the buzz haircut. “And this here is Stevie and Bobby.” Stevie with the ponytail raised his hand and glared, while Bobby with the mullet cackled nervously. “Not to forget my youngest son, Jerry.” Jerry gave an insolent teenager’s look. Sam continued, “We came over to offer our sincere apologies for what happened today. Barbie has something to say to you.”
Barbie stood silent, looking very sullen. And only when prodded by her father did she speak. “I’m sorry,” she said looking down at the porch floor. “I didn’t mean all those ugly things I said to you.”
Directly behind the porch swing, and inside the large picture window, the lace curtain parted to reveal two tall Siamese sitting on the windowsill. Scout and Abra surveyed the scene with hostile curiosity.
“Apology accepted,” Katherine said.
“Oh, ha! Ha!” Barbie laughed loudly. “See Pop, I told ya we could fix it! When is the next class, Teach?”
Katherine looked shocked. “I’m sorry, but I’ve already scheduled another student to take your place. I’ll have to place your application back in the candidate pool for the next session.”
Sam drew his wallet out of his back pocket and extracted a hundred dollar bill. “Will this fix things?” he asked, flinging the money at Katherine.
Katherine thought fast on her feet and said with a winning smile, “Although your gratuity is quite nice, and your kind gesture is appreciated, I honestly cannot accept it.”
From the corner of her eye, Katherine could see a group of men walking down the sidewalk, approaching the pink mansion from the yellow brick foursquare. She quickly glanced and observed Cokey leading the pack.
Katherine took the money and tried to hand it back to Sam, but he wouldn’t accept it. “Look,” she said firmly. “You better take it, because I’m not keeping it.”
Sam’s face clouded instantly. He yanked the money and stuffed it in his wallet.
Cokey called, “Hey, Margie and Katz, are you ready for a coffee break? The boys and I are headed to the Red Diner.” Each one of the boys Cokey referred to resembled a pro wrestler.
Sam glanced irritably at Cokey. “We’re just headin’ out.” He turned to leave, with Barbie close behind. Bobby tapped Barbie on the shoulder and said in a hushed tone, “Is that them?” He was eyeing the Siamese in the window.
“Oh, ha! Ha!” Barbie replied.
The Sanders bunch, including Barbie, got back in their trucks and left as speedily as they had arrived.
Overhearing the comment by the brother with the mullet, Katherine panicked. “I didn’t like that remark about my cats. Barbie had asked me earlier if they were worth anything. Should I call Chief London?”
“Oh, hell no,” Cokey answered. “You don’t want to piss that bunch off. They’re freakin’ crazy.”
“Thanks, love,” Margie said looking affectionately at Cokey, “for rescuing us.”
“Now, I meant it
about coffee time; let’s get in the truck and go. You ladies follow us,” Cokey announced.
“I’m sorry, I’ll have to take a rain check,” Katherine apologized. “I’ve got a student coming soon.”
Margie got up and said, “Call me if you need me, kiddo!” She left with the guys.
Katherine waved, and then went inside. Scout and Abra met her at the door. Both of them stretched up and wanted to be held. “That might be hard to do,” she said, reaching down, lifting up both, and kissing them on their necks. When she set them back down, Scout emitted a nervous “Waugh.”
“Don’t worry, baby. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
Right as she was about to walk in the atrium, she heard a loud car pull up. Its muffler rivalled a sonic boom. She moved the front door side-panel to look. It was the replacement student. A young woman with long, dark hair parted down the middle was unbuckling a toddler from a car seat in her car. Katherine walked out to greet her.
“Hi, are you Stacy?” Katherine asked.
“Yes, I’m Stacy Grimes,” the woman said as she picked up the child. “I’ve got a problem. My mom’s sick and can’t babysit. Can I come another time?” Her question came across as a plea.
“No problem. You can come right now. Your little girl is welcome, too.”
“Oh, wonderful,” Stacy said gratefully. “I have a portable playpen in the back of my car. If you could help me get it out, we can set it up.”
“Okay, park in the back and I’ll meet you at the back door.”
“Super,” Stacy started to put the little girl back in the car seat, but Katherine stopped her.
“Hey, I can hold her while you move the car.”
“Oh, sure, thanks. Her name is Angelina,” Stacy said, handing the toddler to Katherine.
Katz, who rarely held a baby, toddler or child, was a pro at cat handling. She cooed to Angelina in a soothing voice, and talked to her like she did to her cats, “Hey, sweetie, we’re going to take a little walk.”
The adorable child with curly black hair stuck her thumb in her mouth. While Stacy drove the car to the back, Katherine walked down the driveway behind her. They removed the playpen and assembled it in the classroom. Angelina was true to her name. She never cried and quietly played with her toys. After two hours, Stacy thanked Katherine several times. “I’m so glad for this opportunity. Someday, I want to move out of Erie and find a better-paying job.”
Katherine smiled, and then observed a gold bracelet with a single charm on the little girl’s left wrist, and commented, “That’s a beautiful charm.”
“Oh, thank you. I’ve got one, too,” Stacy said proudly, holding up her arm. “Angelina’s daddy gave it to us. He had ‘angel’ engraved on Angelina’s and ‘I Luv Mommy’ on mine. After I drop Angelina off at my mom’s house, I’m heading to see him.”
Helping the young mother buckle Angelina in her car seat, Katherine said, “I’ll see you on Wednesday for practice time.” She waved as Stacy drove down the driveway.
Katherine thought, If Stacy’s mom is sick, why is she dropping Angelina off so she can go see the father? It doesn’t make any sense! Katherine shrugged her shoulders and stepped down into the classroom. Scout and Abra were sitting on her desk, sniffing the air.
“That, my furry little friends, was a baby girl,” she said.
Scout started swaying back and forth. Abra began doing the same thing.
“What’s wrong?” Katherine asked nervously. “Please don’t do the Halloween dance.”
“Raw,” Abra shrieked. Scout was silent, but her pupils were mere slits in her deep blue eyes. Scout arched her back and began hopping up and down. Abra mimicked Scout’s movements.
“Okay, you two. You’re not in the Hocus Pocus show anymore. Cadabra, snap out of it!” she said, snapping her fingers. Cadabra was Scout’s show name, but Katherine never called her that. She’d said it once before when Scout was in a trance and doing her Halloween dance, and it had worked. She hoped it would work this time as well.
Scout stopped and began licking behind Abra’s ears. Abra closed her eyes and seemed to be in cat heaven.
Katherine moved over and petted them. “Scout, it really freaks me out when you do that dance. Bad things seem to follow. Now you’ve got Abra doing it too.”
Scout licked her hand.
“Okay, the both of you are going back upstairs.”
Without warning, Scout and Abra bolted out of the room and flew up the stairs to her office.
Suddenly, a strong premonition overcame Katherine. She sensed that Stacy was in some kind of danger, but she didn’t know what kind. She shrugged it off as being just another bad vibe on a day that had not been one of her better days.
Chapter Three
Katherine was late getting up because one of the cats, probably Lilac, had pushed the alarm clock off the nightstand. Sometime during the night, the small, plastic clock had become a hockey puck. Katherine had readjusted her feather pillow, thinking she had plenty of time to snooze. But when the mid-morning sun filtered through the leaded glass transom and shot a bright beam on her forehead, she leaped out of bed. “Oh, my God! Jake is going to be here any minute and I’m not dressed.” Katherine’s sudden movement frightened Abby and Lilac, who darted off the bed and scrambled down the hall. Unfazed by the commotion, Scout and Abra were sitting on the dresser like bookends, but Iris was nowhere to be seen.
“Iris,” Katherine called.
Iris sauntered into the room and yowled.
“Hey, Miss Siam, what have you been up to? Why didn’t you wake me up?” She petted the Siamese on her back.
Katherine grabbed her cell off the charger and called Jake. He answered right away. “I got up late. I’m just getting ready now,” she apologized.
Jake advised her to dress warmly and that he’d see her in thirty minutes.
Pressing the end button, she said to the cats, “I’ve got thirty minutes to feed you guys and get ready.” Dashing into the bathroom, she quickly took a shower and washed her hair. She didn’t waste time blow drying it because it was so short and would dry quickly anyway. She applied makeup and a hint of lip gloss. Racing into the bedroom, she put on her clothes. After she laced up her sneakers, she grabbed her cell and keys. Katherine flew down the hall and took the stairs at breakneck speed. The cats followed her, vocalizing their individual distinctive way. “Last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg,” she said playfully to the cats. In record speed, she dished out food, then grabbed her bag and went to the front door to wait for Jake. Within a few seconds, he pulled up in his Jeep Wrangler. She dashed out and turned her key in the deadbolt lock on the front door.
Jake was walking up the sidewalk, holding a jacket. “Hey, it’s really chilly out. You’ll need more than the jacket you’ve got on. This is the coldest Covered Bridge I can remember.” He handed her a beige field jacket.
Katherine took the coat and put it on. It obviously was one of Jake’s, because it was way too big. She climbed into the Jeep and said excitedly, “Finally, I get to experience my very first Covered Bridge Festival.”
Jake got in and answered, “There’s several festivals going on at the same time, but we’ll go to the one in Millbridge. It’s about an hour from here.” He started the Jeep, put it in gear, and drove out onto Lincoln Street, making a U-turn.
They talked most of the way. That was one of the reasons why Katherine liked Jake so much, because it was easy to be around him. She had a gut feeling that Jake felt the same way. She counted her lucky stars.
“How’s the party planning coming along?” he asked, as he turned south onto U.S. 41. “I got my invitation. Abra looks adorable in her purple cape. Too bad you didn’t include the pic you took of Scout ripping it off,” he kidded.
Katherine laughed. “You won’t believe this, but I hired a party planner.”
“Really?” he asked. “That’s cool.”
“Michelle recommended her to me. So far, I’m impressed. I’ve talked to he
r on the phone a few times. She’s hired a fortune teller to read fortunes and hold a séance in the attic.”
“No way,” Jake interjected.
“Way,” she answered. “There’ll be a close-up magician who’ll find something that belongs to each guest, then hide it in the mansion. We’ll be given maps. Whoever finds the most objects will receive a fifty dollar gift card.”
“Sort of like a scavenger hunt?” Jake asked, amused. “But how does the magician find things on the guests?”
“Not sure. I’ll have to ask the party planner.”
“It might not be too safe for the magician to get too close to either Cokey or Daryl.”
“Why?”
“Cokey and Daryl share more in common than the family name. They’re also former marines. They might flip the magic man into next week.”
Katherine laughed boisterously. “Flip him into next week. That’s a good one.”
“So what are we going to eat?” Jake asked.
“Typical man question,” Katherine quipped. “Because the dining room table accommodates twelve people, I have invited twelve guests. Dinner will be catered by the Erie Hotel.”
“Excellent!” Jake approved. “I hope prime rib is on the menu.”
“For you, the world,” Katherine said affectionately, then “Now, here’s the coincidental part. The fortune teller and the magician are Russian, and both are from Brighton Beach, New York.”
“Where’s that?” Jake asked, slowing down for a squirrel that had darted across the road.
“Brighton Beach is located in lower Brooklyn. It’s close to the famous Coney Island. It’s full of immigrants from Russia. My mom and dad used to take me to their restaurants. Dad loved Russian food. We’d call a car service to drive us from Bay Ridge to Brighton.”
“Fascinating,” Jake said. “I’ve heard of Coney Island, but not Brighton or Bay Ridge.”
“Maybe we could go there someday,” Katherine suggested enthusiastically. “I can show you my old haunts.”
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