Time of the Witch

by Mary Downing Hahn

  "Come on, Laura, let's get out of here!" Without looking to see if I were following, Wanda leaped off the porch and ran across the clearing.

  Chapter 12

  When I woke up in the morning, Aunt Grace was leaning over the bed, shaking my shoulder, her face worried. Confused by dreams and Maude's words, I stared at her. "Are they here already?" I asked.

  "It's Jason. He's very sick, Laura. I've called Doctor Benson and I thought I'd get you up before he comes." Aunt Grace looked at Wanda as if she'd forgotten who she was, but Wanda went on sleeping peacefully despite the sun shining in her eyes.

  "What's wrong with Jason?" I slid out of bed, trying not to disturb Wanda.

  "I don't know. He woke up early complaining that his head hurt. I took his temperature and it was over a hundred and three."

  "Is that high?"

  Aunt Grace nodded. "I hate to send Wanda home without any breakfast, but Doctor Benson will be here any minute. Do you think you could fix something for yourselves?"

  "Sure. We can just have cereal and toast or something. You know me. I never eat breakfast anyway." I saw Wanda open one eye and look around the room. "Come on, Wanda, time to get up."

  I tweaked at the covers, then looked back at Aunt Grace. "Don't worry about Jason. He gets sick all the time to get attention. Do you know he's been sick on every birthday I've had since he was born? And on every vacation too. The last time we went to Ocean City, he burst his eardrum and we had to take him to the emergency room."

  Aunt Grace shook her head. "I don't think anyone could have a fever that high on purpose, Laura." She smiled at Wanda, who was now sitting up, looking totally confused. Wanda's hair stuck up in spikes all over her head and her cheek had a long crease mark on it from her pillow. "Jason's sick, Wanda. I'm expecting Doctor Benson soon, so I'll leave you two to get dressed."

  We were sitting at the kitchen table eating toast and applesauce when Doctor Benson arrived. We heard him say a few words to Aunt Grace in the hall before going upstairs. Overhead his footsteps were loud as he walked around in Jason's room.

  "He doesn't usually come to people's houses," Wanda said. "Not unless they got something really wrong with them."

  "Maybe he likes Aunt Grace." I toyed with my toast and giggled. "Maybe she's his girlfriend."

  Wanda shook her head, her face serious. "Aren't you worried about your brother?"

  "I told you he makes himself sick on purpose." I picked up Aunt Grace's cat. "Are you hungry, Thomas? Do you want some applesauce, Mister KittyCat?" Thomas pulled away from my bowl and tried to leap out of my arms. "I bet Jason got Aunt Grace so distracted she forgot to feed you."

  Letting the cat go, I looked at Wanda. She was just sitting there, staring at me as if I were some kind of a monster. We were both very aware of the footsteps overhead, of the low murmur of voices, of Jason's absence. Despite what I'd just said, I was worried about my brother. Suppose he was really sick?

  Wanda got up and carried her dishes to the sink. "Maybe I should get on home," she said, but before she'd finished rinsing them, Doctor Benson came downstairs. Paying no attention to either one of us, he picked up the telephone receiver and started dialing.

  "Yes, Doctor Benson here," he said. "Have you got a room available in Isolation?"

  There was a pause. I stared at the doctor, my heart beating quicker. "Good," he said. "I'll be there in about half an hour with a child. Looks like meningitis, so get ready for a spinal tap." There was another pause. "Jason Adams. Five years old." Pause. "Fine. See you soon."

  Hanging up the phone, he looked at me for the first time. "I'm taking your brother to the hospital." He gave me what was probably meant to be a reassuring smile. "He'll be all right, don't worry. I'll take good care of him."

  Before I could say a word, Aunt Grace appeared in the doorway with Jason in her arms. His face was flushed scarlet and he stared at me as if he'd never seen me before.

  "Mommy," Jason whimpered. "Daddy."

  "Laura, we have to leave right now. Jason needs immediate care. I'm going to phone your mother and father from the hospital, so please stay here in case they call. I'll call you as soon as we get Jason settled."

  "Everything will be all right." Doctor Benson patted me on the shoulder and followed Aunt Grace outside.

  "Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy," Jason cried. "It hurts, it hurts."

  Wanda and I went outside too and watched them get into Doctor Benson's car. Wordlessly we watched the big Buick until it rounded a curve in the road and disappeared. It seemed very quiet. A bird sang in the woods across the road, a breeze ruffled the leaves of the maple tree, and a cricket cheeped under the porch.

  "Is he going to be okay?" Wanda stared at me, her eyes full of worry.

  "I don't know." I felt weak and trembly and dangerously close to throwing up my breakfast. "He wasn't faking," I said, feeling my eyes fill with tears. "He wasn't faking at all, and I didn't even go in to see him before the doctor came. Suppose he dies and I didn't even say good-bye to him?"

  Wanda touched my arm gently. "He'll be okay, Laura. I just know it. Doctor Benson's a wonderful doctor, just like the ones on 'General Hospital,' Annabelle says."

  I sat down on the steps and Thomas, hungry for breakfast, rubbed up against me, purring like a little motorboat. Nearby, Wanda leaned against the porch railing, examining the mosquito bites on her arms.

  "You want me to stay till your aunt comes back?" Wanda asked.

  I nodded. I didn't want to be by myself.

  After a long time, the phone rang and I ran to answer it, hoping it was Mom or Dad. I was disappointed to hear Aunt Grace's voice and I braced myself for bad news.

  "They aren't sure what's wrong with him, Laura. It looks like meningitis but so far the test are inconclusive." Aunt Grace sounded so worried that I started shaking. "I've called your parents and they should be here in about three hours or so. Can you get along all right till then? I don't want to leave Jason until your parents arrive."

  "Is he worse?" I whispered.

  "No. He's about the same. He just keeps calling for your mother and father." Aunt Grace's voice trailed off and I heard her blow her nose.

  "He won't die, will he?"

  "Of course not, Laura. Don't think such things." Aunt Grace's voice sounded funny, as if she didn't really believe what she was saying. "He's a fine healthy little boy. Yesterday there wasn't a thing wrong with him. He's going to be all right, Laura, I'm sure of it."

  If she was so sure of it, why did she have to keep saying it? After I said good-bye, I went back into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Wanda.

  "Is he better?" Wanda asked.

  I shook my head. "If anyone dies, it should be me," I said. "I'm the mean one, I deserve it, not Jason."

  "That's dumb." Wanda frowned at me. "Nobody deserves to die."

  "You don't think this happened because of going to see Maude, do you?" I asked Wanda.

  "How could Maude make Jason sick? She hasn't been anywhere near him." Wanda looked puzzled.

  "Witches can put hexes on people," I said. "They've got all kinds of ways to do it."

  "They only do that to people they got a grudge against. Maude hasn't any reason to harm Jason. She was your grandmother's friend. You heard her say so yourself, Laura."

  "But she said my mother and father would be here tonight and they're on their way right now. They wouldn't be coming if Jason weren't sick."

  Wanda shook her head. "Eddie came back to Charlene and there wasn't anybody sick. Both Charlene and Tanya Marie was as healthy as cows. No, him getting sick is just a coincidence."

  "In Salem they wouldn't have thought so. They'd have arrested Maude and put her on trial and probably burned her at the stake."

  "Well, nobody does things like that anymore." Wanda folded her arms across her chest and stretched out her long, skinny legs.

  I knew Wanda well enough to know she didn't want to talk about Maude, so I didn't say anything. I just sat there worrying abou
t Jason and, at the same time, looking forward to seeking Mom and Dad. Who knows, I told myself, maybe this really would be the thing to bring my parents to their senses. Maybe Maude knew that making Jason a little bit sick was the only way to get them up here. As long as he wasn't in too much pain and got well fast once they got here, maybe it would all be for the best.

  Late in the afternoon I heard a car drive up to the house. I jumped up and looked out the window. Aunt Grace was getting out of Daddy's car, but he wasn't driving. A woman I'd never seen before was sitting behind the steering wheel. Mystified, I ran outside to meet them, with Wanda following behind.

  "Where's Daddy?" I asked Aunt Grace.

  "He's still at the hospital, he and your mother both."

  "Is Jason better?"

  "I think seeing Andrea and George perked him up a little, but he's still very sick. The doctors don't know what's wrong with him." Aunt Grace shook her head and then turned to the woman standing beside her, who was smiling uncertainly at me. "Oh, Laura, this is Carol Carmack, your father's secretary."

  I stared at Carol, taking in her perfectly made-up face, her long blonde hair feathered back professionally, her tight jeans, her pale pink T-shirt. She looked like a fashion model, the kind you see photographed on beautiful beaches in the Caribbean, riding a horse in the surf and smiling into the sunset. I hated her at first sight. Couldn't somebody ugly type Daddy's letters and answer his phone?

  "I'm so glad to meet you, Laura. I've heard so much about you." Carol smiled widely, showing even more of her beautiful teeth. "She looks just like George, doesn't she?"

  Aunt Grace shrugged. "I've always thought she favored Andrea myself."

  I smiled at Aunt Grace, thinking that was a pretty good put-down. Out of the corner of my eye I glanced at Wanda to see how she was reacting to all this. She smirked at me and winked. For some reason, the knowing look in her eye worried me.

  "Would you like a cup of tea?" Aunt Grace asked Carol. Her voice was polite, but she could just as well have been offering her a cup of turpentine, I thought.

  I started to follow them inside, but Wanda grabbed my arm. "I knew it!" she hissed.

  "Knew what?" I pulled away, not sure I wanted to hear what Wanda was dying to tell me.

  "I knew your daddy must have a girlfriend!"

  "She's not his girlfriend, she's his secretary. You heard what Aunt Grace said." I scowled at Wanda. "He's a lawyer and he has a lot of paperwork to do. He used to bring it home every night. Some nights he had so much work he couldn't come home at all!"

  Wanda shook her head. "She don't look like no secretary to me."

  "Shut up, Wanda! What do you know about lawyers and secretaries and things like that?"

  "More than you know about girlfriends, that's for sure!"

  "Get out of here!" I swung at Wanda with my open hand, meaning to slap her right off the porch, but she ducked and I almost fell into the chinaberry bush.

  "What's going on?" Aunt Grace peered at us through the screen door.

  "I'm just going home, that's all!" Wanda ran down the steps and across the lawn.

  "What was that all about?" Aunt Grace stared at me. "You didn't quarrel with Wanda, did you?"

  "She thinks she knows everything!" I pushed past Aunt Grace into the hall. "What's she doing here? Why didn't she stay in Washington?"

  "Who, Carol? Your father said he had so much work to do, he needed her to help him in the evenings, so he brought her along."

  "Well, why didn't she stay at the hospital?"

  "For some reason, her presence upset Jason. To make things easier, I suggested she drive me back here. I couldn't just leave her in Harrisburg."

  "How are Mom and Dad getting back here without the car?"

  "In your mother's car, Laura."

  "You mean they didn't drive up here together?" I stared at Aunt Grace.

  "Honey, they don't live together anymore. They each drove up. Your father and Carol, your mother by herself." Aunt Grace gave me a little hug. "Why don't you come have a cup of tea with Carol and me?"

  Not being able to think of anything better to do, I followed Aunt Grace back to the kitchen and sat down at the table with Carol.

  "Hi." She smiled at me as if she was doing me a favor. "What happened to your sidekick?"

  "She went home." I busied myself measuring honey into my tea, hoping she'd take the hint and stop talking to me.

  "Do you mind if I smoke?" Carol looked at Aunt Grace and smiled as if she were a cute little girl asking to be excused for having a bad habit.

  "Not if you don't mind sitting out on the back porch." Aunt Grace smiled too, but I could tell she wasn't about to excuse any bad habits Carol might have.

  Carol looked a little surprised. "Oh, you noble nonsmokers! You sure make it hard for us sinners." She laughed. "You used to be able to smoke just about anywhere, except church, but now all you see are those awful little No Smoking signs. I'm getting so I'm ashamed to light up." She laughed again and stood up. "Would you like to keep me company in exile, Laura?"

  I looked from her to Aunt Grace, not sure what to say. I didn't want to be rude exactly, but I felt uncomfortable around Carol. "I guess so."

  "Well, I'd better get something started for dinner." Aunt Grace got up and opened the refrigerator.

  "Do you need any help?" I surprised myself by volunteering my services.

  "After a while you can set the table," Aunt Grace said.

  "Did you paint this?" Carol stopped at the drawing table and stared at an unfinished painting of a squirrel perched on the limb of a pine tree. "George told me you were an artist, but I had no idea you were this good. This squirrel's so cute! Walt Disney himself couldn't have painted a better one."

  "It's not finished." Aunt Grace didn't bother to look up from the lettuce she was rinsing.

  "Well, it's just adorable. Do you have any others I could look at?" Carol persisted.

  "No. They're all packed and ready to send to a gallery in Boston."

  Carol looked impressed. "Do you sell a lot of art work?"

  "Enough to buy groceries and pay my electric bill." Aunt Grace bent down and opened the cupboard where she kept her pots and pans. She made so much noise rummaging around for what she wanted that Thomas got up from the windowsill where he'd been napping. He stretched and walked off, tail in the air, obviously displeased at having been so rudely awakened.

  "Well, I've got to have my coffin nail. Coming, Laura?" Carol opened the door and held it for me as I followed her outside.

  Just as we were running out of things to say about the weather and the scenery, we saw Mom's car turn into the driveway.

  "They're here!" I jumped off the porch and raced across the lawn to meet them, not caring whether Carol got left behind or not.

  "Laura! Oh, honey, you look wonderful!" Smiling happily, Mom threw her arms around me.

  "Mom! Mom!" I hugged her tightly, happy to feel her familiar bony frame and to smell the fragrance her shampoo always left in her hair.

  "Darling!" Over Mom's shoulder, I saw Daddy walking toward me, his hair tousled, his smile warm. Up and down my spine I felt all tingly with happiness at the sight of him.

  As I pulled away from Mom to hug him, he grabbed me around the waist and tried to swing me up in the air. "Hey," he grunted in surprise, "do you have ten pound weights in your shoes or something?"

  I shook my head, laughing happily.

  "Well, it must be the mountain air. Or your aunt's cooking. Anyway, you're prettier than ever!"

  Aunt Grace waved from the door. "Come on, you all. I've got dinner on the table."

  As soon as we sat down, I could feel the tension. Mom sat between Aunt Grace and me, Dad sat on my other side, and Carol sat between him and Aunt Grace. No one said anything as Aunt Grace passed the chicken around. No one looked at each other. The only sound was the clink of forks. It was so quiet I could hear myself chewing.

  "Is Jason any better?" I said suddenly.

  Mom shook her
head. "He's about the same, honey. They're still not sure what's wrong with him." She pushed her plate away, leaving a drumstick and half her potato salad untouched.

  "I think we should take him back to Washington. I'm sure the doctors at Children's Hospital would know what to do." Dad frowned at Mom. "What can you expect from a hospital in the middle of nowhere?"

  "I told you I agree with Doctor Benson. Jason is too sick to travel, George." Mom returned Dad's frown. "He's better off here. They're doing all they can."

  "Well, it's not enough." Dad's voice rose a notch, and my stomach churned. Why did they always argue at the dinner table?

  Mom looked at Aunt Grace. "Is that hammock out on the porch comfortable?"

  "It's wonderful. Go out and try it, Andrea. You'll love it." Aunt Grace smiled and gave Mom a pat as she left the table.

  As soon as Mom was out of the room, Dad turned to Aunt Grace. "Well, how's life in West Virginia?"

  "Great." Aunt Grace smiled at him and helped herself to more salad. As she passed the bowl to Carol, she added, "I love it here."

  "But don't you get bored sometimes? Why, Blue Hollow doesn't even have a restaurant, let alone a movie theater, and it's a half hour's drive to Harrisburg."

  Aunt Grace shrugged. "A great cook like me doesn't need to eat out and the mountains are more interesting to watch than most movies are."

  "It really is beautiful up here." Carol smiled and waved her fork vaguely at the window and the mountains stretching away to the sky. "And the way she paints." She chewed a mouthful of salad. "If I could paint like that, I'd never be bored."

  Dad smiled at Carol and shrugged. "Well, Grace, as long as you're happy, I suppose that's all that matters. But frankly I prefer the city."

  I looked at Daddy. "You told me you'd give anything to spend a whole summer in the mountains, soaking up sunshine and breathing fresh air. You said I was really lucky to be coming up here!"

  Dad laughed and ruffled my hair as if I were five years old. "Laura, I'm talking about spending your whole life in a place like this. I'd love to get away from Washington for a summer, but I wouldn't want to move up here permanently."