Ghost Granny

by Carol Colbert

  “I have heard that the school rings bells to let people know that school is out, but I hadn’t noticed a bell at the top of the hill.” Catherine said.

  “It is there, and it is loud. Saturday afternoon is when we have the big Halloween party over at the Recreation Center. Everyone dresses up, so fair warning. It should be a lot of fun for the kids and adults too.” Sebastian said.

  “It does sounds like a lot of fun, could you use a volunteer?” Catherine offered.

  “Not this year, you are new here so you just enjoy, next year if you want to, we can find something fun for you to help with.” Isabel answered for her brother. “Although, Friday night I plan to marathon bake and make, you and Cody can help me with that if you want to.”

  “Bake and make, sounds like a plan! Count us in!” Catherine smiled. “Baking pumpkin pies and cookies and of course, making more of the chocolates. It is fun, but it does take a lot of time. Speaking of the time, I have to get back over to the school.” Isabel said, standing up and gathering her sub wrapper.

  “I need to go too.” Sebastian said. “See you both later, remember to ring the bell on the hill, Catherine.”

  “I will, and thanks again for the lunch!” Catherine said, saying goodbye to her new friends.

  Chapter 6

  At exactly three p.m. Catherine heard the sound of the school bells ringing. She washed her hands and locked up the chocolate shop, hanging the “We will be back in….” sign with the clock on it on the door after rearranging the hands of the clock to 3:10.

  She walked the half block to the school, passing children on her way and their parents who all had a smile and a big ‘good afternoon’ to share. Catherine spotted Cody standing just inside the school door and waved. Cody ran outside to meet his mother and gave her a big hug.

  “Mommy, I love this new school! I met Sebastian’s son Max, he is in my classes and guess what? His aunt Isabel is the arts and crafts teacher and we got to make glitter pumpkins and all kinds of scary stuff for Halloween! There is a party this Saturday at the Rec Center and oh mom, I am so glad you bought me the Halloween costume!” Cody paused to take a breath.

  “I am glad you had a good day, Cody! Isabel told me about the Halloween party, I already told her that we will be there. Are you hungry?”

  “No, we had subs for lunch and as much of them as we wanted too! We each also got a bag of chips and a chocolate milk! They give you enough time to eat at this school too mom, not like my old school where they rushed you and you spent most of the time in line waiting to get your food. They even gave us an afternoon snack!” Cody said, digging into his school bag and coming up with an apple. A small box of raisins and a cup of yogurt.

  “They certainly think of everything around here.” Catherine said, opening Thelma’s Chocolate’s with her key.

  Cody ran to the display case that had all of Isabel’s new Halloween candy in it. “Wow, mom, these look fantastic!”

  “They do, don’t they? Isabel made them and she offered to show us how to make them too. Friday night we are all going to bake cookies and make candy together, would you like that, Cody?”

  Cody answered by running up and giving his mom a big hug. “I love that, mom, you are the best mom in the whole wide world!”

  “I’m glad you like it here, Cody, we are very lucky.”

  “No, mother, every cause has its effect; and every effect has its cause; everything happens to us because of what we do.” Cody said, as if reading from a script.

  “My goodness Cody, that is deep. Did you learn that today in school?” Catherine asked.

  “Mr. Lucky taught us that, he is very smart.”

  “What else did you learn in school today?” Catherine asked him.

  “Did you know that long time ago people’s clothes were all the same color? Then people found out that if you put stuff like tree bark into really hot water and put your clothes in there for a while and then dry them, that you can make your clothes brown or different colors that way. I also learned that long time ago they didn’t have regular stoves like we do now, they had to put boards in their ovens in order to make cookies, so they didn’t fall off of the boards.”

  “All that is very interesting, Cody. Do you have the same teacher for every class?”

  “No, there is Mr. Lucky for Science and History and Isabel for Arts and Crafts, but that is all I had for today. I saw other teachers walking around though, so tomorrow I might meet some more of them. Oh, Sebastian came in with the subs for lunch and he passed them out, he and Miss Cindy.”

  “Miss Cindy?” Who is she?” Catherine asked.

  “Miss Cindy is really pretty. She is the lunch lady.”

  “Oh.” Catherine said, wondering why it slightly bothered her that Miss Cindy was pretty. “Do you have any homework?”

  “That is the best part mom! This school does not believe in homework! Mr. Lucky said that if you can’t learn it all in the hours you are in school, then you are not going to learn anything after.” Cody said, grinning from ear to ear.

  Catherine had to admit that she agreed with that philosophy. How many nights she and Cody had lost sleep trying to construct some school project or other? She always felt it became more of a chore than a learning tool since the parents usually finished it while their child slept. She felt the same way about the kids selling cookies or other items. It was always the parents who worked for large corporations whose children won those contests. The ones with moms and dads who would take the brochures to work and have everyone there order whatever they were selling. What did that teach the child? Very unfair to the children who did not have that particular advantage, or have a big family to sell to. Catherine liked the basic idea of a competition, but wanted a more even playing field for the kids.

  The bell above the door rang and Isabel walked in with a little boy about Cody’s age. Cody instantly jumped up “Hi Max! This is my mom!”

  “Nice to meet you, Max. I am glad Cody has a friend, new schools can be hard.”

  Max had a look of confusion on his face. “Why?”

  “Just meeting new kids and having all new teachers. Starting classes a good month after everyone else, it can’t be the easiest thing.” Catherine explained, wondering why she would have to.

  “Max and I are headed home, we stopped by to see if Cody wanted to leave with us.” Isabel said. Cody looked up at his mother expectantly. “Hum, I was hoping Cody would want to hang out here with me for a while. Cody, how about keeping me company and telling me more about your day?” Catherine asked.

  Cody looked a bit disappointed, but he said “Sure mom.”

  “Max and I will see you two later then, remember, tomorrow night is bake and make night.” Isabel said, carrying out the empty trays she had gathered up. Catherine told Isabel that she and Cody would be looking forward to it.

  Why couldn’t I go with Max?” Cody said after Isabel and Max had left. “Because I want you here with me, Cody. You have been gone all day in school and I missed you. Besides, didn’t you tell Luna that you wanted to work with me here in the shop?”

  “Yes, I think I should start by taste testing that chocolate spider.” Cody said. Catherine smiled and took one of the little chocolate spiders that were arranged on a plate on top of the counter to be given out as samples. She took one for herself as well. “This really is the best chocolate I have ever tasted.” Catherine said. “Me too!” Cody agreed.

  There was a steady stream of customers, but enough time in-between sales to allow Catherine and Cody to tidy up. At the end of the day they put what little left over product there was into the refrigerator and locked the doors behind them. Walking to the hill Catherine decided to stop in the fabric store and purchase material for a Halloween costume for herself. She bought a few yards of black shinny material and a few other items.

  They drove their van to the hill and parked it near the bottom in a lot where they had the shortest walk. Catherine got out the garbage bag full of clothes while handing Cody
her packages from the store. When Catherine closed the back door of their van, she saw a short row of little wagon that she had not noticed before. There was a sign above them that said “Hill transport wagon – please leave at the top of the hill.”

  “I guess these are here for us to use, Cody. That will help a lot, these clothes are heavy.” Mother and son got to the top of the hill without difficulty and Catherine rang the big bell before turning to complete their trip to the top. Again she was mesmerized by the beauty of the scenery before them. “Here comes Sebastian!” Cody yelled out. Sebastian sprinted up the hill to help them and their packages to the wagon. “Looks like you went on a shopping spree!” Sebastian said.

  “Somewhat, the big bag is full of our clothes that we brought with us.” Catherine said. “I didn’t know if I should stop to get laundry soap or not, I need to wash them before we can wear them again. They have been sitting in the car all this time in the bag.”

  “No need, there is laundry soap and everything you need already at the house.” Sebastian said.

  When Catherine and Cody were in the house and Catherine was sorting through their clothes to wash them, she noticed Twinkle was sniffing the bag of material she had purchased. “No Twinkle.” She said. “You have beautiful long white hair, but I don’t want it to get on the material I bought to make my costume. Cody, why don’t you take Twinkle out on the porch since she has already eaten?”

  Cody reached for Twinkle to pick her up, but apparently Twinkle did not want to be picked up. She jumped away from Cody and ran to sit on the window seat by the big front bay window. “She does not want to play right now, mom. Can I go over Max’s house?”

  “Not right now, Cody. You saw each other at school all day. Finish eating your dinner. I am sure Max and his family are having their dinner as well.”

  “Yeah, at school, we didn’t get to play or even talk much, except at lunch.”

  “I just know how busy Isabel said she was. Remember that we are getting together tomorrow night and I am sure that it will take a long time to bake and make candies. Why don’t you just stay in or go swing on that big porch swing and after I put this load in the dyer and another load in the wash machine, I will join you.”

  Cody finished his dinner, put his glass and dish in the sink and then walked out onto the porch while Catherine continued to busy herself with the laundry. When Catherine walked out onto the porch a good fifteen minutes later carrying two glasses of ice tea, she did not see her son. She put the glasses on the little table on the porch and called out his name. She was just starting to go down the stairs to look for him when she hear him laughing and saw him riding one of the miniature horses that they had seen on their first trip to the house. Sebastian was leading the horse, but it had no saddle on it.

  Catherine swallowed her fear of Cody bouncing around on the horse bareback and called out to him. “Cody, how did you end up on the horse?”

  Sebastian walked the pony over to the porch. “Cody was petting it and I asked him if he wanted to go for a ride. I hope that is O.K. with you, the horses are gentle and used to kids. Max plays with them all the time.”

  “Barebacked?”

  “Well, for a short ride and for kids. Adults should never try to ride them. Cody is actually about the cut off age to ride them, but he could ride in a cart. The Miniature Horse breed is the product of nearly 400 years of selective breeding.

  “Why did Miss Thelma purchase them? “ Catherine asked.

  They are naturals for pulling carts. There is even racing for miniature trotters. They make wonderful pets and whenever there is a parade in town Miss Luna and Miss Thelma like to dress them up and have them in the parades. This one here is Ace and the other two are Caramel and Zippy. They are put to work a lot this time of year, with the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas parades. The kids just love them and they are gentle creatures. Cody, let me help you down.”

  “Thank you, Sebastian that was fun!” “You are very welcome, Cody, just never try and ride them when you are alone, or just with Max.”

  “I promise.”

  “Thank you, Sebastian, I will make sure Cody respects the animals.”

  Catherine pointed to the glasses of ice tea and she and Cody sat on the big swing porch. “Do I have to ask Sebastian to hook up a bell to pull when I can’t find you?”

  “I didn’t go far, mom. Did you know that Sebastian has chickens and goats and all kinds of cows and other animals back there behind the house?” Cody asked.

  “No, I wonder why I didn’t notice when we ate the stew there on our first day to the house. Oh well, we had a lot on our mind. Speaking of that, I need to make me a costume for the party Saturday and this is already Thursday evening and we have all that baking to do tomorrow after school and work. Why don’t you be my hero and put away the clean clothes in our rooms while I start making my outfit?”

  “O.K. What are you dressing up as?”

  “A witch, but a good one.” Catherine smiled. They went into the house and after finishing and folding all the laundry, Catherine made room on the table to sew her costume. She didn’t have a pattern but she was going to make it a simple long dress. She had purchased thin wires that she shaped into a pointed hat and planned to cover the wires with the black material. She got up to search in the closets, looking to see if there were some sort of broom or fireplace sweeper she could use as the witch broom.

  When Catherine started to reach for the doorknob of the pantry, Twinkle let out a yowl and jumped against the door, closing the door again with a bang. “Twinkle, what is it? Are you hungry?” Catherine said, and bent down to pick up the big white cat. Twinkle hissed at Catherine and scratched her leg. “Darn you silly cat, what is wrong with you?” Catherine said, walking to the downstairs bathroom to wash off the cut and get a band aid.

  When she returned to the kitchen, Twinkle was laying in front of the door, as if keeping guard to make sure Catherine did not try to open it again. “I have no time to fool with you, little one.” She said. Catherine felt a chill in the air and walked into the living room to make a fire in the fireplace. She saw a large stack of different shaped and colored candles. They were thick and tall and Catherine put them into the fireplace and lit them. Admiring how they glowed. They are so beautiful. I’ll have Sebastian bring in some firewood tomorrow.

  Cody watched his mom make her Halloween costume until his eye lids grew heavy. “Cody, go on to bed now honey, you have school in the morning. “

  Catherine worked on the witch costume until her eyelids were beginning to close as well. She held up the finished product and admired her work. She went into her bedroom and tried it on, very pleased with the final result. I can’t believe I did this all alone with no help. I guess I am better at sewing than I thought. She smiled and then laid on her bed and fell fast asleep.

  Chapter 7

  “I can’t believe this! What happened here?” Catherine shrieked the next morning when she and Cody woke up. She was standing in front of the fireplace holding a piece of black burnt material in her hand.

  “What is it mom? Why are you yelling?” Cody said, running into the kitchen.

  “Look, just look at this, Cody! I stayed up haft the night sewing this costume and I find it in the fireplace all burnt this morning! Even the hat! I know I left the dress in my bedroom when I went to bed and the hat was still on the kitchen table, so what happened?”

  “I don’t know mom.” Cody said, measuring out Twinkle’s food for her bowl. “Will you have time to make another one by the party time tomorrow?”

  “No. I have work all day and then we are making the candy and baking with Isabel tonight, there is just not time. I will have to find time on my lunch hour to buy a costume. Yours is still in one piece, I hope!” “Yeah, I keep mine right by my bed.”

  Cody and Catherine ate their French toast and made sure Twinkle’s litter box was clean and that she had fresh water. Catherine could have sworn that cat winked and smiled at her. Catherine didn’
t have time to dwell on it though, as Sebastian, Isabel and Max were already at their front door in the large wagon, ready to be taken to the hill to start their day.

  Catherine got into the wagon and looked at Max. Could he have burnt my witch costume? Who else? Sebastian and Isabel certainly didn’t do it and I know Cody didn’t. What is wrong with that kid?

  Catherine could think of no reason on earth why Max would want to destroy her hard work. Did she offend him somehow? “So, Max, what are you going to be for Halloween?” She asked him, trying to put a smile in her voice.

  “Ryuu”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Ryuu, the Japanese Dragon.” Max looked at Catherine as if he were explaining something so basic that she should be ashamed of herself for asking.

  Isabel, seeing Catherine’s confusion, told her that they have a game in school that was inspired by Pokémon that teaches social and emotional skills to children by combining fantasy worlds and card collecting and role paying to make learning fun. There are six dragons and there are various challenges and they also help with communication skills. Therapists also use this method when dealing with children with autism, Asperger Syndrome or other autism spectrum disorders.

  “Yeah mom, like when someone sneezes everyone says ‘Garplunk!” Cody said.

  “Oh.” Catherine did not mention finding her witch hat and dress in the fireplace this morning and was glad that Cody hadn’t mentioned it to Sebastian or his family either. She could not accuse anyone outright and she wondered what she did to offend someone enough to want to destroy her costume. She hadn’t finished sewing it until the very early morning hours and did not remember mentioning to anyone other than Cody that she was working on it. It made no sense that someone would sneak into the house before six a.m. and purposely burn the garment.