Olney Springs

by Claudia Hall Christian

  “I am Giovanni,” the young man said with flourish.

  “Funny,” Charlie said.

  Giovanni raised his arm overhead before folding it into his waist and bending for a bow. They clapped for him. He stood up and grinned.

  “No,” Charlie said. Never one to let anything go, Charlie became more insistent. “What are you doing here? How did you get here? Stuff like that.”

  “Oh, yes,” Giovanni said with a grin. “I knew what you were asking. I was trying to be funny.”

  Feeling sheepish at his insistence, Charlie grinned. Giovanni shrugged.

  “I’m sure it seems strange,” Giovanni said. “You have met Marcus?”

  “I don’t think so,” Charlie said. Dale shook his head.

  “I haven’t,” Honey said.

  Maggie held out a white wooden block with the letter “A” in green on it. Honey took the block from her daughter.

  “A,” Honey said. She pointed to the letter and then gave the block back to Maggie.

  “I’ve met Marcus.” Sissy’s weak voice came from the daybed. She waved her hand. “He is Nadia’s mother’s boyfriend.”

  “His father and mother are from my hometown in Italy,” Giovanni said. “It’s a small village and very poor. Marcus went there when he was a young man and saw the poverty. Most of the village, we are related to Marcus. Since that time, Marcus has brought one girl or boy about seventeen years old from the village to live with him in New York City. It’s a great opportunity. I am that child.”

  Giovanni nodded.

  “I have been here two years,” Giovanni said. “Marcus helped me with my English and got me this job.”

  “What is your job?” Dale asked.

  “I take care of things,” Giovanni said. “I cook and clean and take care of the flat for Ivan. Until you arrived, I have mostly cook for Nadia; keep her in clean clothing which is harder than you’d think; run her private, personal errands; and maintained the flat. I handled the addition of bedrooms just last week.”

  Giovanni smiled.

  “I have one more year before another child will come,” Giovanni nodded. “Most people from my village return and get married. Two have gone to bigger cities in Italy — Rome, Milan — for school or work. But I am staying in New York City.”

  “Why?” Honey asked.

  “I was accepted to Chef’s school,” Giovanni said. “I have wanted to own my own café since I was a young child. Ivan said I can stay and work for him when I go to school. It will be a lot, but I need to get used to being busy if I want a café.”

  With a grin and a nod, Giovanni turned in place and returned to the kitchen. He returned with Dale’s panini sandwich and lemonade. Before they could ask another question, Giovanni disappeared. A few minutes later, he returned with Honey’s lunch.

  “Do you like the job?” Dale asked.

  “This is a good job,” Giovanni smiled. “I have a little apartment on the floor below, and they pay me full wages. Plus, they are very nice to me. It’s more than most immigrants get. A lot more.”

  Giovanni disappeared again only to return a few minutes later with a cup of broth for Sissy.

  “Why do you ask?” Giovanni asked.

  “I was wondering if you’d like to play with us,” Charlie said.

  “Plus, we’re nosey,” Dale said with a smile.

  “You’d like me to play with you?” Giovanni asked. “Really?”

  Charlie nodded.

  “I haven’t ever played,” Giovanni said. “I mean I purchased all of this and set it up, but I. . .”

  “Grab a controller,” Dale said.

  “But I. . .” Giovanni gestured to the kitchen.

  “Did you have lunch?” Charlie asked with his mouth full.

  Giovanni shook his head.

  “Get your lunch and join us,” Charlie said.

  “If you want to play,” Dale said.

  Giovanni looked at Charlie and then at Dale before grinning.

  “One moment,” Giovanni said.

  He went to the kitchen and returned with another panini sandwich. Giovanni took a video game controller from Dale and sat down on the couch. For a moment, he watched Honey share her sandwich with Maggie. Sissy was sipping the broth from the cup. Dale had already eaten his sandwich and Charlie was half way through. Giovanni couldn’t help but smile.

  “Now, how do I play?” Giovanni asked.

  Charlie and Dale talked over each other to teach him.

  “Just keep it down!” Sissy said from her spot in the sun. “I’m really sick.”

  The three young men looked at her and then at Charlie, who shrugged. Giovanni held up an index finger. He went to the bureau below the television and took out three headsets.

  “Perfect,” Dale said.

  They settled in for a quiet afternoon of fun.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday mid-day — 12:10 p.m.

  Denver, Colorado

  Katy sighed. They had been stuck in the space for almost an hour. They had already gone through all of their pockets to look for snacks. Katy was about to say they should leave when a face peered out above them.

  “Look!” Pointing, Paddie jumped to his feet.

  “Native American,” Noelle said under her breath.

  Katy turned to look at Noelle.

  “Did you notice how tattered the kids’ clothing was?” Noelle asked in a whisper. Even though she’d seen the ghosts for only a moment, Noelle could describe them perfectly. “No shoes. Torn clothes. Dirty faces. Thin.”

  “Uh huh,” Paddie said.

  “I bet they were slaves, like real, honest-to-goodness slaves,” Noelle said.

  With her words, the children began to appear around them. They were so surprised that the children gawked at the child ghosts.

  “So you were slaves?” Noelle asked.

  “You’re not,” the oldest boy said. “Fancy clothes, clean skin — you’re an owner.”

  “I am not,” Noelle said.

  Just then a cell phone rang. Katy took a small cell phone out of the pocket of her school uniform and looked at it.

  “I told you,” Paddie said to Katy.

  “I promised,” Katy said.

  “I said — we’re going to be on a great adventure, and your mom’s going to call,” Paddie said. “And here you are.”

  Paddie nodded.

  “She gets really scared about me,” Katy said. “I don’t like it.”

  Paddie scowled.

  “Maybe she shouldn’t worry so much,” Paddie said. “We’re fine.”

  “You don’t like it when your mom is worried,” Katy said.

  Paddie’s big blue eyes clouded with worry.

  “I’ll tell her,” Katy said with a nod. “Hello?”

  The ghosts disappeared.

  “Now see what you did!” Paddie said in an attempt not to worry about his mom being sad.

  Katy pointed to the reflection in the sword. Noelle bent down to look. The ghosts were still there.

  “Katy?” Jill’s voice came over the cell phone.

  “Hi, Mom,” Katy said.

  “Hi, Mom?” Jill asked. “When did I become ‘Mom’?”

  The ghost of a Native American girl appeared an inch in front of Katy’s face. Katy gasped.

  “Where are you?” Jill asked. Her voice rose with panic. “The phone company says you’re at school, but the assistant principal called and. . .”

  Jill panted with panic.

  “Are you all right? Did the Queen steal you?”

  “It’s ghosts,” Katy said in a whisper.

  “Ghosts?” Jill asked. “No, honey. Your daddy cleared out the ghosts.”

  “Not these,” Katy said. “Mommy, they are stuck here inside the school.”

  “Inside the school?” Jill asked. “That’s impossible. Your dad and I went over every inch of that school. Katherine Anjelika Roper-Marlowe, what are you up to?”

  “Trying to save some kids,” Katy said in a whisper.
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  “Katy?” Jill asked.

  Katy could hear her mother taking deep breaths to calm down. Katy held the phone to her head but didn’t say anything.

  “Katy-baby?” Jill asked again in a calmer voice. “Do you need my help?”

  “Only kids can see them,” Katy said.

  “Would you like me to get your dad to help?” Jill asked.

  “No,” Katy said. “I think we have to do this ourselves. But. . .”

  Jill wanted to beg Katy to be safe. She wanted to force Katy to get out of there right now! After all, it wasn’t always Katy’s job to save the world. But Jill knew that her terror of losing Katy would only make her child feel smaller and more fearful. Instead, Jill gritted her teeth and forced herself to support the strength in her daughter.

  “Yes, Katy-baby,” Jill said.

  “Will you come to school and wait for us?” Katy asked.

  For a moment, Katy felt every bit the little girl. Jill heard the fear in her daughter’s voice. She wrinkled her nose and stuck to her guns. She would not be the reason Katy wasn’t everything she could possibly be. She believed in her daughter.

  “I’m on my way,” Jill said.

  “Daddy, too,” Katy said. “And Auntie Sandy and Uncle Aden and Paddie’s parents.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Jill said. “No fairies?”

  “No,” Katy said. “Not unless we can’t get out.”

  “Where are you?” Jill asked.

  “In the wall of Paddie’s classroom,” Katy’s voice dropped to a quieter whisper. “Mommy?”

  “Katy-baby,” Jill said.

  “I love you,” Katy said.

  Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety

  Not Possible

  Tuesday mid-day — 12:40 p.m.

  Denver, Colorado

  “No,” Jacob said in an irritated voice. “It’s simply not possible that there are other ghosts in this building. Not in Brighton, where we found the building, and most certainly not here.”

  Jacob was frustrated with himself, but he glared at Jill. She shook her head and scowled at him. He knew he shouldn’t take it out on her. This knowledge didn’t stop him from wanting to spew his frustration out on her. He turned his back to her scowling face.

  “Ask Delphie!” Jacob said and walked away from her.

  They were sitting in a small sitting room converted from a large closet into a waiting room for families and parents. Jill’s idea behind the room was that parents would have a private place to talk to school officials in case of an emergency. She hadn’t realized that she and Jacob would be the first parents to use the room the second day of school.

  “Why didn’t you. . .?” Jacob spun in place to look at Jill. Seeing her face, he shook his head. “Don’t answer that.”

  “You’re usually in the middle of this type of adventure,” Jill said. “This horrible feeling is how I feel every time you disappear. I know the Sea of Amber was not a treat for you but I lived with this bone-crushing panic and despair, and then the Isle of Man, and. . .”

  Jacob hugged her tight. In her ear, he whispered, “I’m so sorry.” They held each other for a moment before Jill moved away.

  “I won’t have her live in fear,” Jill said with a nod that was fiercer than she felt. “She has to be. . .”

  “Strong,” Jacob said with a nod. “Capable.”

  Nodding, Jill dropped into a brand-new armchair. The armchair exhale was pure chemical newness reminding Jill that she never imagined she’d ever use this room. There was a knock at the door, and Delphie stuck her head into the room.

  “There you are,” Delphie said.

  Jill got up to hug Delphie. She let go to allow Jacob to hug his mother’s best friend.

  “How are you holding up?” Delphie asked.

  Jill shrugged, and Jacob shook his head.

  “What do we know?” Delphie asked.

  Jacob opened his mouth to talk. Before he said anything, he nodded to Jill.

  “Jill knows more than I do,” Jacob said.

  “Start at the beginning, and don’t leave any detail out,” Delphie said.

  “I guess. . . well. . .” Jill glanced at Jacob. “You took Katy and Paddie on a tour here, right?”

  Jacob nodded.

  “They came with me while I finished the last details,” Jacob said. “I had a list of ten or so things. They like to come to houses with me, so I brought them here.”

  “Did you go through the whole building?” Delphie asked.

  “Everything,” Jacob said. “Even the basement. Katy pointed to where some of the more creepy things had been. She said the building remembered.”

  “That evil has lingered in the building?” Jill asked.

  “No, no. Sorry, that’s what I said, not what she said,” Jacob said. “She just said that the building was excited for a new start. I asked her if the building remembered, and she told me not to be silly. Buildings can’t remember anything.”

  Jacob nodded.

  “Why did you ask whether Jacob toured the children?” Delphie asked.

  “Yesterday, when I brought Katy to school, she wouldn’t get out of her booster,” Jill said. “When I asked her about it, she was vague and kind of weird.”

  “Which is how she is when it’s something to do with Paddie,” Delphie said.

  “That’s exactly what I thought,” Jill said. “I figured Julie would be here with Paddie soon, so I just waited. Julie drove into the parking lot just a few minutes later. Paddie was pressed against the window. He looked terrified. Katy told me that he was afraid of ghosts after their time with Maughold on the Isle of Man.”

  Jacob groaned and turned away from them.

  “I told you this,” Jill said. “Katy told you all about it.”

  “I thought it was the female ghost,” Jacob said with his back to them.

  “So did I,” Jill said. “I’m pretty sure Katy did, too.”

  Jill shrugged.

  “That’s what I know,” Jill said. “Anyway, I got a call today around noon. The school said they couldn’t find Katy or Paddie. They didn’t say anything about Noelle. I don’t know why.”

  Aden stuck his head in the room before coming inside. Jill nodded to him. Knowing he’d want the same information, she pressed on.

  “So I called Katy,” Jill said.

  “Called her?” Aden asked.

  “I made Katy carry a cell phone,” Jill said. “After the Isle of Man, I mean. My mom put it on her plan because our phones are through the company and. . .”

  Jill shook her head.

  “It’s a kid’s phone,” Jill said. “Colin got one for Paddie, too, but Paddie broke his.”

  “Intentionally?” Julie said as she came in the door.

  Jill winced.

  “It’s not your fault,” Julie said. “My child is a menace!”

  She smiled.

  “Colin is in New York,” Julie said. “Do you mind if I wait with you?”

  “Of course,” Jill said.

  Jill held out her arms and hugged Julie. The men waited impatiently for Jill to finish greeting Julie.

  “What did Katy say?” Aden asked.

  “When?” Jill asked.

  “When you called her?” Aden asked.

  “Oh right — sorry,” Jill said with a nod. “Katy said they were in the wall behind Paddie’s classroom, and they were trying to help some kids.”

  “Some kids?” Delphie asked.

  “Kid ghosts,” Jill said. “She said something about the kid ghosts hiding from adults. Only kids can see them.”

  “Is that possible?” Julie asked in Delphie’s direction.

  Delphie took a moment to think about it before she shrugged.

  “I don’t know,” Delphie said with a shake of her head. “Jacob?”

  “No,” Jacob said. “It is not possible for a ghost to hide from me.”

  Unafraid of Jacob’s moods, Aden pressed forward.

  “If that’s the case, where di
d the ghosts come from?” Aden asked.

  Used to Aden pushing him, Jacob took a few quick steps toward him. Aden stood his ground.

  “Are you saying I left these ghosts in the building to torture poor Paddie like Maughold did?” Jacob asked.

  Aden grinned. Jacob shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. A moment later, Jacob laughed.

  “What just happened?” Julie whispered to Jill.

  Jill shrugged.

  “What just happened is that I heard my own insanity,” Jacob said. “I’m sorry. I’ve felt so guilty that. . .”

  Jacob nodded.

  “I haven’t been looking at solutions,” Jacob said. “So, to your question, Julie, there’s no way these ghosts were here in the building.”

  “Could they have come from around Denver?” Jill asked.

  “No,” Jacob said, and Delphie shook her head. “Delphie and I worked for a month at least to make sure that nothing could enter the building. We put it in the walls themselves.”

  “That’s where Katy is,” Jill said under her breath. “In the walls.”

  “I. . .” Jacob started.

  “Listen, not to get in the middle of your self-loathing, but we’re builders,” Aden said. “It’s what we do best, and, if need be, we can get the building team here.”

  “They’re on another job,” Jacob said with a nod. “But they could be here in ten minutes if call them.”

  “Do we have the plans?” Aden asked.

  “I left them at home,” Jill said.

  “Sandy’s bringing them,” Aden said. “She should be here any minute.”

  “These children are so loved,” Delphie said with a smile. “That could have brought the ghosts.”

  “How so?” Julie asked. Her face pinched with the look of someone asking a question they didn’t really want to ask.

  “Spirits are like people,” Delphie said. “They are drawn to warmth, kindness, and love. This school is a safe place. That could have brought them as well.”

  Julie’s head bobbed up and down in a nod as she thought about what Delphie had said. After a moment, her face contorted with confusion.