by Doris Miller
It is around 12:00 midnight. Missy and the triplets pull up in their grandfather Mike's car on a dark quiet street in Cambria Heights, Queens. They park the car slowly and quietly. They then step out of the car and close the doors. They stand around and look up towards the night sky. They see the moon shining very mysteriously. They start to walk two blocks down towards their Uncle Kevin's house. They soon reach their Uncle Kevin's house and go to the front door. Before Missy and the triplets get a chance to ring the doorbell, Christine slowly and quietly opens up the front door to let Missy and the triplets inside the house. She whispers to them, "I was looking out for you through the window."
Missy and the triplets enter inside the house as Christine closes the front door behind them. It is very dark and quiet inside the house. The light inside the house is very dim. Uncle Kevin and Christine's family members are all asleep upstairs. Christine leads Missy and the triplets towards the basement door. She then leads them down the dark basement steps. She whispers to the girls, "Lock the basement door behind you." The girls turn around and lock the basement door. No one else can get inside the basement.
Christine and the girls soon reach down the basement. It is very dark and quiet inside the basement. The light inside the basement is very dim. Christine goes and sits down on the bed. Missy looks at her mother and asks, "What's going on Mom?"
Christine looks at the triplets and asks, "Which triplet is Landa?"
"Me Mom," Landa says as she raises her hand.
Christine then whispers as she hysterically says, "Listen Landa, Missy told me about what happened back in Jamaica at that mineral bath I used to take you all to when you were all small!" Landa looks at her mother as her mother continues, "Missy told me about everything that happened back then! She told me about the maintenance man grabbing and trying to attack Londa inside a small building!" Landa becomes shocked! Christine continues, "And Missy told me about Dana going back after that maintenance man and killing him for it!" Landa becomes more shocked as Christine continues, "Missy told me about Dana pushing the maintenance man right into the mineral bath and then throwing a live radio right into the water to electrocute the man! That's why he was found dead that next morning inside the mineral bath! Missy told me everything about that story while you and Dana were in jail Landa!"
"WHAT!"
"Yeah Landa! Missy told me that Dana had lied to me back then when she had told me that you all had found Londa locked inside the bathroom, when you all actually didn't find Londa locked inside the bathroom, but instead, you all found the maintenance man grabbing and pulling on Londa inside a small building! Then I asked Londa and Linda about the story the next day while I was in the hospital! They confirmed it to me that it was true about what happened back then! Londa told me about the maintenance man grabbing and pulling on her, attacking her inside the small building!"
"WHAT!" Landa shouts. Then she looks at Missy and angrily shouts, "WHAT THE HELL YOU WENT BACK AND TOLD MOM ABOUT THAT STORY FOR MISSY? HUH? WHY THE HELL YOU HAD TO GO START EVERYTHING BY TELLING MOM ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BACK THEN IN THE FIRST PLACE?"
"Because Landa it was hard for me to keep this horrible secret inside me for all these years! It was very hard for me to keep something like this away from Mom!"
"IT WAS HARD FOR ALL OF US TO KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THIS INSIDE US ALL THESE YEARS, BUT I STILL HAVEN'T GONE BACK AND TOLD ANYBODY ELSE ABOUT IT! IF DANA FINDS OUT THAT MOM KNOWS ABOUT THIS, SHE'S GONNA BE REAL ANGRY AND FURIOUS WITH US MISSY!"
"Mom already said she's not going to say anything to Dana about this Landa!"
"That's right Landa," Christine says. "I'm not going to say anything to Dana about this, alright? But I have told your father and all your brothers about this! They all know!" Landa becomes even more shocked as Christine continues, "Yes Landa, they all know about it! They already made an agreement with us that they weren't going to say anything to Dana about it or let her know that they know about it! The only reason I told your father about this is because Dana is his child too and he has every right to know about this, so do your brothers! Now Landa, while you and Dana were in jail, Londa told us all that she was actually locked inside the bathroom at first! She said she couldn't get out the bathroom. That's when the maintenance man found her! Now Londa told us that she thought the maintenance man was going to bring her out to the front of the mineral bath place to where everybody else was, but he didn't! Londa said that the maintenance man decided to bring her towards the other direction where the small building was! She said that the maintenance man took her right inside the small building, then when she tried to get away from the maintenance man, he refused to let her go! She told us she was crying and screaming, trying to get away from the maintenance man, that's when Dana and the rest of you came in there and found her! When Londa told me about that story, I got so angry about that maintenance man! I couldn't believe I was actually feeling sorry for that jerk all these years! I had no idea in this world that he was attacking one of my babies! If Dana and the rest of you hadn't caught Londa in time, that maintenance man probably would have sexually assaulted Londa and probably kill her, just to keep her quiet! I told your sisters before, if I would have known then what I know now, or if I would have caught that maintenance man in the act myself, I probably would have done the same thing Dana had done!" Landa shockingly looks at her mother as her mother stands up from the bed and says, "Yes Landa, I probably would have! Now girls, now that this horrible secret is out to me, I got to ask you all something and I want you all to tell me the truth! As far as any of you know, has Dana killed anybody else that any of you know of, that I don't know of?" Missy and the triplets frighteningly look at their mother. "ANSWER ME," Christine shouts as Missy and the triplets jump in fear! Christine asks again, "Has Dana killed anybody else that any of you know of?"
"No," Missy frighteningly whispers. "Not that I know of Mom!"
"No," the triplets frighteningly whisper. "Not that we know of either!"
"No?" Christine frighteningly asks. "Well who else could Dana have killed that none of us know about? Or how many people could Dana have killed that none of us know about?" Missy and the triplets sweat as they frighteningly look at their mother! Christine continues, "Now we know that Dana killed this maintenance man that I just found out about and she killed that suspected rapist! We know that she killed that woman Rose! Did she kill that woman, Kathy?"
"We don't know Mom," Missy frighteningly whispers. "Nobody knows who killed Kathy. As far as anybody knows, Kathy was found dead."
"Yeah? Well what about Kathy's other friend, that woman Sandra? Does anybody know who killed her?"
"No Mom. Nobody knows who killed Sandra either. She was also found dead."
"Well what about that fellow that was helping Kathy and her friends beat on you Missy?"
"Who Derek?"
"Yeah! Whatever happened to him? Where is he?"
"He's dead too Mom," Missy frighteningly cries. Christine and the triplets shockingly and frighteningly look at Missy as Missy frighteningly cries, "I just found out that Derek was also found dead!"
Christine and the triplets continue to be shocked as they frighteningly look at Missy! Christine frighteningly asks, "He's dead too? Oh my God Missy! Where did you hear that from?"
"I heard it from Raymond at the school around a week ago! I first heard Derek was reported missing by his family! Then Raymond told me that Derek's body was found inside the bushes with his neck broken!" Christine's and the triplets' eyes open wider with fear as they put their hands over their mouths! Missy frighteningly cries, "His body was found not too far from where he lived! Nobody knows who killed him either!"
Christine and the triplets remain in a state of shock as Christine frighteningly asks, "Missy, do you know how long ago Derek was reported missing?"
"I heard his family first reported him missing around a few months after Dana came out of prison!"
Christine and the triplets become shocked again! Christine frighteningly cries, "Oh my God! You know
what that means Missy? That means that all the people who ganged and beat up on you are all gone now! ALL FOUR OF THEM ARE DEAD! OH MY GOD," Christine cries as she is about to fall out! Londa and Linda become so frightened, they start to hysterically cry on Christine's shoulders! Christine cries back on their shoulders as Landa and Missy frighteningly and tearfully look on!
After several seconds, Christine takes the girls off her shoulders. She holds them by their shoulders as she hysterically and firmly tells them, "Now listen girls, for God's sake, from now on in the future, if anything bad or anything wrong happens to any of you again, you cannot tell Dana about it, alright? You cannot let her know about it! From now on in the future, it's best that Dana never ever knows about anything bad or anything wrong that happens to any of you again, alright? If anything bad or anything wrong happens to any of you again in the future, come to me or the rest of the family, but please don't go to Dana! If any of you come to me or anybody else in the family with bad news about yourself, you all have to make sure that Dana is not around to hear it! If any of you come to us with bad news about yourself and you see Dana around, you're just gonna have to postpone the bad news until she's not around, or pull one of us to the side where Dana won't be able to hear it, then tell us the bad news! Now we're going to have to warn the rest of the family and relatives not to ever tell Dana or to ever let her know about anything bad or anything wrong that happens to any of you again in the future, okay?"
"Okay Mom. We understand."
"Good!"
"Mom, I didn't want to tell Dana about that suspected rapist," Landa cries. "When that suspected rapist was chasing after me, I ran home! Dana just happened to be there in the driveway because she had come there to meet me in the first place!"
"And I didn't want to tell Dana about Kathy and her friends ganging and beating up on me either Mom," Missy cries. "When I came home and told the family about it, Dana just happened to be there in the house! I didn't know she was upstairs! I didn't even know she was in the house until she came down the staircase!"
"Alright, but from now on, you all know what you have to do in the future, right?" Christine says. "Make sure Dana is not around to hear anything bad or anything wrong that happens to any of you again, okay?"
"Okay Mom."
"Good! Because Dana is my child and I do not want her to have any more murder or anymore manslaughter charges against her, alright? The next time if Dana ever gets anymore murder charges or anymore manslaughter charges against her, you'll never know, they just might put her away for a very long time and I do not want any child of mine to have to be put away for a long time! I do not want Dana to go out and destroy other families' lives by taking away their loved ones! I do not want Dana to go out and commit anymore murders do you all understand that?" Missy and the triplets frighteningly nod their heads in agreement! Christine hysterically continues, "Like I said before, I'm not going to say anything to Dana or any of our relatives about what I heard happened back in Jamaica! I'm not going to let Dana know that I know what the maintenance man did to Londa, and I'm not going to let Dana know that I know she killed that maintenance man! I'm not going to let Dana know that I know about this story! Your father and your brothers are not going to let Dana know that they know about the story either! We're not going to let any of our other relatives know about this story! The less people that know about the story, the better! The more people that know about the story, the more it will get back to Dana! And if it ever does get back to Dana, the first thing she's gonna do is become real angry and furious! The next thing she's gonna do is look at the four of you!" Missy and the triplets frighteningly look at their mother as their mother says, "You four were the only ones who were there! You four were the only ones who witnessed the entire incident! We're going to have to keep this horrible secret strictly between ourselves, your father and your brothers, alright?" Missy and the triplets frighteningly nod their heads in agreement! Christine continues, "Now listen girls! People are always talking about how mean and unfriendly Dana is! People are always talking about how she hardly ever smiles or anything like that, but there's one thing positive about her! Dana loves you all! She loves every single one of you! She loves you all more than she loves herself! In fact, she loves you all to death!" Missy and the triplets stunned look at their mother as their mother continues, "That's right! Dana loves you all to death! She would give her LIFE for you! She would FIGHT for you! She would go to JAIL for you! She would go to PRISON for you! She would even KILL for you!" Missy and the triplets frighteningly look at their mother as their mother continues, "That's why I don't want any of you to ever, ever tell Dana if anything bad or anything wrong happens to any of you again, alright? Please girls, I'm begging you! Don't ever tell her!"
"Alright Mom! We won't!"
"Good!"
All of a sudden, Christine and the girls hear a car pull up and stop in front of the house. They look at each other. Christine firmly tells the girls, "Don't move," as she goes towards the basement window. Christine approaches the basement window and takes a peak out the window through the curtain. She sees a dark colored car parked outside in front of the house with its headlights on. She then sees the headlights shut off. Christine leaves the window and whispers to the girls, "Hey! That looks like Dana's car that just parked outside!"
Missy and the triplets jump with fear as Linda frighteningly asks, "Mom were you expecting her?"
"No I wasn't expecting her! Why would I call you guys over here if I was expecting Dana? I wanted this entire conversation to be just between the five of us and nobody else! Now are you girls sure you didn't tell anybody that you were all coming over here?"
"No Mom, we didn't tell anybody," Londa whispers.
"No? Listen girls, I don't want Dana to know that you all are here! I don't want her to see us all down here together like this, because if she sees us all down here together like this, she's gonna become suspicious! She's gonna wonder what we're all doing standing down here, especially around this time of night! And she's gonna wonder what we're all talking about! She's gonna think that we're having some kind of private meeting down here and then the next thing she's gonna wonder is why we didn't call her! Then what are we going to tell her? That's why I don't want Dana to see us all down here like this!"
Christine holds the girls by their shoulders as they all become silent. They frighteningly look up towards the basement ceiling and listen towards the upstairs. They listen for a few seconds. They hear the doorbell ring. Christine signals the girls to keep silent. After several seconds, they hear the doorbell ring again. They then hear footsteps coming down the upstairs staircase. They continue to frighteningly look up towards the basement ceiling as they hear the footsteps going towards the front door. They hear the footsteps stop. They hear the front door open, then close. They start to hear faint voices and a couple of footsteps walking around upstairs. "That IS Dana up there," Christine whispers.
"She's talking to Uncle Harold," Londa whispers.
Christine and the girls could faintly hear Dana saying, "I just stopped by to visit Mom real quick. Is she asleep?" Christine and the girls could faintly hear Uncle Harold saying, "She might be. I don't even know if she's home. You might have to check down the basement. If she's not down there, then you might have to check upstairs." Christine and the girls hear Dana saying, "Okay."
Christine and the girls frighteningly stare up at the basement door from down the bottom of the basement steps. They hear Dana approaching the basement door. They hear her knocking from the other side of the basement door, calling out, "MOM! MOM!" Christine does not answer. The girls look at Christine as Christine signals for them to keep silent. Christine and the girls frighteningly stare up at the basement door again as Dana knocks on it again, calling out, "MOM! MOM!" Christine nervously looks up towards the basement door as she and the girls remain silent.
Missy and the triplets become more frightened and huddle up to Christine as they all look up and hear Dana turning and strug
gling with the doorknob, trying to open the basement door! It is locked. Dana is unable to get in. Christine looks at the girls. They are all sweating with fear! The girls look at Christine! They frighteningly whisper, "What is it Mom? What's wrong?"
"I could hear your hearts beating very fast!"
The girls frighteningly and stunned look at Christine! They jump in fear and look up as they hear Dana turning and struggling with the doorknob again, trying to push the basement door open! Christine looks at the girls again! They are trembling with fear! The girls jump in fear and look up again as they hear Dana turning and struggling with the doorknob again, trying to push the basement door open again. Christine and the girls frighteningly stare at the basement door, knowing Dana's powerful strength, they fear she might bust down the basement door and knock it right off its hinges! Dana continues to try to push the basement door open! Christine and the girls jump in fear as they hear and feel Dana giving the basement door a very hard push! Christine and the girls frighteningly watch the basement door hinges, fearing that Dana's powerful strength will actually break them! Dana continues to give the basement door a very hard push as Christine and the girls frighteningly watch the hinges of the basement door! Dana is still unable to get inside the basement! She gives the basement door another hard push! Christine and the girls jump in fear as they hear a loud pound on the basement door! They then hear Uncle Harold shouting, "RELAX DANA! MAYBE SHE'S NOT DOWN THERE! SHE MIGHT NOT BE HOME!"
Christine and the girls hear Dana angrily saying, "No? I'm gonna go check upstairs then!"
They then hear Uncle Harold say, "Okay, I'll go with you! I got to make sure you don't break down any doors around here!"
Christine and the girls hear Dana's heavy footsteps angrily going up the upstairs staircase. They then hear Uncle Harold's footsteps going up the upstairs staircase following Dana's footsteps! Christine firmly whispers, "Listen girls, I'm gonna go upstairs and try to stall Dana, alright? While I'm stalling her, I want you girls to sneak out of the house. When you girls reach outside the house, you can either come back inside the house and pretend that you all just came over here, or you can just go straight back home to your Grandma and Grandpa's house. Which do you all rather do?"
"I think we all better just go straight back home to Grandma and Grandpa's house," Missy frighteningly whispers.
"Alright then."
"Mom, maybe we should all try to sneak out and leave right now while Dana is upstairs."
"But Missy, what if Dana decides to go look out one of the bedroom windows while you're all walking out there! That's why I have to try to stall her, to make sure that she doesn't see any of you at all! I don't want Dana or anybody else to know that you girls are here! I just want this to be our secret, okay? Now where did you all park the car? Did you park the car real far?"
"We parked it down the next two roads," Londa whispers.
"Okay. Now I'm gonna go upstairs and try to stall Dana long enough for you girls to reach the car, alright? Now remember, if I have Dana in another room or if I have her back turned towards you, that's when you all make your move, okay?"
"Okay Mom, we will!"
Christine quickly gives all her girls a big loving hug and whispers, "I love you."
"We love you too Mom," the girls tell her.
After their embrace, Christine whispers, "Now listen girls, I'm gonna go upstairs and pretend to Dana that I just walked in the house! I'm gonna pretend to her that I just walked in the house and I did not hear her knocking and banging on that basement door if she asks me about it, okay?"
"Okay Mom."
"I'll see you all later." Christine turns away from the girls.
As Christine is about to go up the basement steps, the girls grab and pull back on her arm. Christine turns around towards them. They are very scared and nervous as they frighteningly ask, "Don't go up there Mom? Please don't go?"
"I have to go up there girls! Dana is looking for me! Now if I don't go up there, then she'll come right back down to the basement door! Then the next thing you know is that she'll try to bust it down! And she just might succeed! Now you girls don't want Dana to come right back to this basement door and bust it down, do you?" The girls frighteningly look at Christine. They then let go of her arm. Christine says, "I'll be alright girls! I'll be okay." Christine turns back around and starts to head up the basement steps. She reaches the basement door. She slowly starts to unlock the basement door as the girls frighteningly watch her from down the bottom of the dark basement steps. Christine opens the basement door and walks out the basement. She closes the basement door behind herself.
Christine stands there in the dark, outside the basement door. She looks her eyes around. It is still very dark and quiet inside the house. The light inside the house is still very dim. Christine looks up the upstairs staircase. It is very dark up there with a dim light shining from a wall behind it. Christine then looks towards the dark living room. She starts to walk slowly towards the dark living room. She soon enters the dark living room. She walks all the way in the living room and stands there. Then she looks up towards the living room ceiling. She starts to hear a couple of sets of footsteps walking around upstairs. She hears one set of footsteps following the other set of footsteps. Christine continues to stand there in the dark as she looks up towards the ceiling. She turns back around and starts to walk slowly towards the dark kitchen. She continues to look up towards the ceiling as she walks slowly towards the kitchen. As she looks up towards the ceiling, she hears one set of footsteps constantly following the other set of footsteps. Christine continues to walk slowly towards the dark kitchen. She is about to pass the upstairs staircase. As she is about to pass the upstairs staircase, she starts to hear slow heavy footsteps coming down the staircase towards her. She stops. She looks up slowly towards the dark staircase. As she looks up towards the staircase, she sees Dana's dark eerie silhouette slowly coming down the staircase towards her. Christine asks, "Who's that?"
"It's me Mom."
"Who Dana?"
"Yeah."
"Well Dana! What are you doing here? I didn't expect you to be here! What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit you."
"You did?"
"Yeah."
Christine and Dana give each other a big warm hug. They could barely see each other in the darkness. Christine asks, "What made you come over here this time of night Dana?"
"Oh I just came from a bar."
"A bar?"
"Yeah. Where were you Mom? I knocked on the basement door a few minutes ago!"
"You did?"
"Yeah!"
"Oh I wasn't here Dana! I just walked in the house! I was out with an old friend of mine I haven't seen in a while!"
"You were?"
"Yeah! What's that smell on your clothes?"
"Oh I got sick at the bar."
"You got sick at the bar?"
"Yeah."
"Well come on into the kitchen Dana and let me take a look at you." Christine leads Dana into the dark kitchen. She turns on the kitchen light. When she looks at Dana, she becomes shocked and frightened to see red stains all over Dana's mouth, neck and clothes! She sees Dana dressed in a short white jacket, white stretch jeans and black shoes. She also sees Dana wearing a medium gray blouse with red stains all over it as she shockingly shouts, "DAMN DANA! WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED TO YOU? YOU GOT RED STAINS ALL OVER YOURSELF! YOU GOT RED STAINS ALL OVER YOUR FACE, NECK AND CLOTHES! IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE BEEN IN A FIGHT OR SOMETHING! OR IT LOOKS LIKE YOU GOT SOME KIND OF RED JUICE OR RED LIQUID SPILLED ALL OVER YOURSELF! WHAT HAPPENED?"
"I threw up Mom! I told you I got sick at the bar!"
"YEAH? WELL HOW DID YOU GET SICK DANA? WHAT HAPPENED?"
"Diane and Teresa had took me out to this bar. I ate some clams and had some tomato soup there. After a while, I started to feel sick. Then Diane and Teresa took me into the back room to lay me down and rest. While I was laying down resting, all of a sudden I threw up! Tha
t's when it got all over my neck! When I sat up, I threw up again! That's when it got all over my clothes! That's how I got this mess all over myself. The clams and the tomato soup didn't agree with me."
"NO? WELL WHY DIDN'T YOU CLEAN YOURSELF UP BEFORE YOU LEFT THE BAR DANA?"
"I don't know Mom. I just got so sick, I wanted to hurry up and get out of there"
"Oh yeah? Well where are Diane and Teresa at now?"
"I drove Teresa home then I drove Diane to Westchester, back to Grandma Margarita and Grandpa Tomas‘ house, then I drove here."
"Oh yeah?" Christine gets a better look at the red stains on Dana's mouth, neck and clothes. She frustratingly says, "Boy that mess looks horrible Dana! I'm gonna clean that up for you right now! Take your jacket off."
"Oh that's okay Mom, I didn't come here to stay."
"You're gonna stay until I finish cleaning you up!"
"Mom I could go home real quick and clean myself up!"
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE LIKE THAT DANA! LOOK AT ALL THIS! YOU'RE NOT WALKING OUT OF HERE LOOKING LIKE THAT! YOU'RE NOT LEAVING OUT OF THIS HOUSE UNTIL I FINISH CLEANING YOU UP ALRIGHT? THAT'S THE END OF THE SUBJECT!"
Dana looks at her mother as her mother starts to pull off her white jacket. Christine takes Dana's jacket off of Dana and places it on a chair. She then brings Dana towards the kitchen sink. She turns Dana's back towards the basement door as she starts to unfasten and loosen up Dana's gray blouse. Christine opens up Dana's blouse very wide, baring Dana's gray bikini like top. Christine looks and sees more dried up red mess down Dana's chest area. She then says, "Boy there's a lot of mess to wipe off Dana! Let me wet some paper towels!"
Christine turns around towards the kitchen counter and grabs some paper towels. She wets them up under the kitchen faucet. She turns back around towards Dana and rests one hand on top of Dana's head as she frustratingly wipes off Dana's eyes, mouth and face with the wet paper towels in the other hand. Dana stands there quietly as her mother wipes her face off.
After Christine finishes wiping off Dana's eyes, mouth and face, she throws the red stained paper towels away in a nearby garbage. She turns to the kitchen sink and wets up more paper towels. She turns more hot water on. She turns back to Dana and says, "Hold your head up!" Dana holds her head up a little.
As Christine starts to wipe off Dana's neck area, Dana suddenly hisses and shouts, "YOU GOT THE WATER TOO HOT MOM!"
"THE WATER NEEDS TO BE HOT DANA! BEING THAT YOU DIDN'T CLEAN THIS MESS OFF RIGHT AWAY, IT DRIED UP ON YOUR SKIN! LOOK AT ALL THIS! THIS DOESN'T MAKE ANY KIND OF SENSE! I SHOULD JUST MAKE YOU GO UPSTAIRS AND GET RIGHT IN THE SHOWER! I MEAN JUST LOOK AT ALL THIS! BOY DANA! YOU SHOULD HAVE CLEANED THIS MESS UP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! JUST DON'T LET IT DRY UP ON YOUR SKIN!" Christine frustratingly continues to wipe off the front of Dana's neck back and forth as Dana stands there, holding her head up. Christine then throws the red stained paper towels into the garbage. She turns back to the kitchen sink and wets up more paper towels. She turns back to Dana and wipes off each side of Dana's neck, chest and shoulders.
Missy and the triplets are at the basement door. They take a peak towards the kitchen and see Dana's back halfway in their view, with the wall blocking her other half as their mother wipes her off. Londa tries to sneak for the front door. Christine secretly watches Londa as she continues to wipe off Dana's chest and shoulders. Londa is about halfway towards the door. Suddenly, she hears footsteps upstairs coming towards the staircase! She quickly hurries back inside the basement door where her sisters are! Londa and her sisters hear footsteps coming down the upstairs staircase. They then peak through the basement door. They see their Uncle Harold coming from the staircase. They see him go directly to the kitchen where Christine and Dana are.
Uncle Harold comes into the kitchen and says, "Hey! I see you two found each other, huh?"
"Yeah we did," Christine says as she continues to wipe the red mess off Dana's chest area.
"Where were you Christine?" Harold asks. "Dana was knocking and banging all on that basement door a little while ago looking for you! You didn't answer! Where were you?"
"I wasn't home Harold. I just came in the house."
"Oh I see. You see Dana threw up on herself, right?"
"Yeah I know. I'm cleaning it off of her right now."
"She said she got sick at the bar."
"Yeah she told me," Christine says as she continues to wipe off Dana's chest area. She then asks, "Oh Harold, could you do me a favor? Could you hand me two thick cloths and a hand towel from the laundry basket please?"
"Sure," Harold says as he goes into the dining room. He then comes back and hands Christine two thick yellow cloths and a red hand towel.
"Thanks," Christine says as she takes the cloths and hand towel and sets them down on the side of the kitchen counter. She takes one of the yellow cloths and wets it up "with soap and water. She turns back towards Dana and washes Dana's face with the soapy cloth as Dana closes her eyes from the soap.
Uncle Harold then goes into the refrigerator. He grabs a late night snack of some barbecued spare ribs out of the refrigerator. He closes the refrigerator door and bites on a piece of spare rib. As he chews on the spare rib, he complains, "You know Christine! There's some sauce that I just can't seem to keep around the kitchen! I don't know who keeps taking my sauce out of the kitchen."
"Well I don't know either Harold. I haven't used any sauce in a while," Christine says as she washes the front of Dana's neck with the soapy cloth. Uncle Harold continues to complain to Christine as he puts the rest of the spare ribs into the microwave oven. Christine continues to talk to Harold as she washes each side of Dana's neck and shoulders with the soapy cloth. Christine turns to the kitchen sink and puts more soap and water on the cloth. She turns back to Dana and washes Dana's chest area with the soapy cloth as Harold continues to complain to her. Dana continues to stand there as her mother gives her a stand-up sponge bath.
Christine soon wets the other yellow cloth under the faucet. She turns back to Dana and wipes the soap off Dana's face. Harold continues to complain to Christine as Christine starts to wipe the soap off Dana's neck, shoulders and chest area. Missy and the triplets are still at the basement door. They hear their Uncle Harold fussing with their mother. They take another peak towards the kitchen and still see Dana's back halfway in their view as their mother continues to clean her off.
Londa tries to sneak for the front door again. She quietly goes for the front door and reaches it. She is very nervous and sweaty as she tries to quietly unlock the front door. Christine secretly watches Londa at the front door as she continues to wipe the soap off Dana's chest area. Harold takes the ribs out of the microwave. He then says, "Okay Christine, I'm gonna go back upstairs. Good night Ladies," as he starts to leave the kitchen.
"Oh Harold," Christine quickly says. "I think there's some extra sauce way up in the back of the cabinet! I couldn't reach it earlier. Maybe you can try to reach it now."
"Oh yeah? Alright!"
Christine takes the dry red hand towel from off the kitchen cabinet as Harold grabs a kitchen stool. As Harold starts to climb the stool, he almost slips! Christine and wet faced Dana worriedly look on at Harold as Christine holds on to Dana, saying, "Be careful Harold! Are you alright?"
"I'm alright," Harold says as he starts to climb the stool again.
Christine continues to hold on to Dana as they both carefully watch Harold climb the stool. Harold soon reaches the upper cabinet shelf. Christine then takes the dry red hand towel and starts to dry off Dana's face with it. She secretly looks towards the basement door and the front door as she dries off Dana's face. She then dries off Dana's neck and shoulders as Londa finally gets the front door open! Once Londa has the front door open, the rest of her sisters nervously and quietly go for the front door and reach outside of the house. They quietly close the front door behind themselves. Christine secretly looks towards the front door and gives a secret sigh of relief as she dries off Dana's chest
area.
Missy and the triplets make it outside the front door. They start to head towards the front gate and exit it. They pass by Dana's car which is in front of the house. They all look at the car. They are relieved to see that there is no one inside her car waiting for her. They quickly head to their car which is two blocks down.
Missy and the triplets finally reach their car and get inside of it. They pull off and leave the area quickly!
Back at the house, Christine finishes drying off Dana's chest area. She tries to wipe the red stains off Dana's blouse. Dana continues to stand there in front of her mother with her gray blouse wide open. Even though she still has the red stains all over her blouse and bikini like top, her face, neck, shoulders and chest areas are practically squeaky clean now!
Harold soon comes down from the stool. Christine asks, "Did you find the sauce Harold?"
"I sure did," Harold says, shaking the sauce in his hand.
"Good. Harold, are you going to the cleaners tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah. I'm gonna leave early in the morning."
"Oh yeah? Well could you do me a favor? Could you put Dana's blouse and jacket in the cleaners for me please?" Dana looks at her mother as her mother tells Harold, "Because I don't think these red stains are gonna come off so easy!" Harold approaches Christine and Dana. Christine shows him the tough red stains on the front of Dana's blouse. She then says, "If you put these in the cleaners for me, I'll just let her hold one of my shirts and jackets."
"Yeah? Okay Chris. I'll put her stuff in the cleaners for you."
"Good. Thanks Harold."
"No problem Chrissy." Harold picks up Dana's red stained white jacket from off the chair and looks at it.
Christine tells Dana, "You might as well just spend the rest of the night here Dana." Dana looks at her mother again as her mother tells her, "I'm gonna call up Tony for you and tell him that you're gonna stay here with me for the rest of the night, alright? Go down the basement and change to one of my shirts."
Dana steps back a little and takes a quick look towards her jacket. Then she turns around and walks away. Her heavy footsteps walk towards the basement door as Christine starts to show Harold the red stains on Dana's white jacket. Christine then calls out to Dana, "I'LL BE DOWN SHORTLY DANA," as Dana's heavy footsteps continue to walk towards the basement door.
Christine continues to show Harold the red stains on Dana's white jacket. Harold says, "Okay I'll take both of her things to the cleaners tomorrow."
"Thanks a million Harold. I'm gonna call up Tony right now and let him know that Dana's over here with me."
"Okay Christine. I'm gonna go upstairs now," Harold says as he takes Dana's red stained white jacket away with him.
"Okay Harold. Good night," Christine says as she goes to the telephone.
"Good night," Harold says as he goes up the staircase with Dana's jacket and his snack of spare ribs.
Christine then picks up the telephone receiver and starts to dial Dana and Tony's number.
So far, Missy and the triplets made it outside the house without Dana or their Uncle Harold ever noticing their presence inside the house.
The following Thursday morning, Missy gets ready to leave for the school. Before she leaves the house, she decides to make a quick phone call to her mother. She calls up her Uncle Kevin's house. Harold picks up the telephone and says, "Hello?"
"Hello Uncle Harold. It's me Missy. Could you put Mom on the phone real quick? I have to speak to her right away."
"Sure Missy. Hold on."
Christine soon picks up the telephone and says, "Hello Missy."
"Hello Mom," Missy whispers. "So Mom, how did it go with Dana last night after me and the triplets snuck out of there?"
"Oh it went okay Missy. I had Dana spent the rest of the night here with me down in the basement."
"Oh she spent the night with you?"
"Yeah. She left here around 45 minutes ago."
"She did?"
"Yeah."
"Well did Tony know where she was? You know how he's always calling all over the place looking for Dana whenever she doesn't come home."
"Yeah I called Tony myself last night. I told him that Dana was here with me. I told him that Dana had gotten sick at the bar and that she had threw up on herself. Then I told him that Dana had stopped here for a quick visit, but I was gonna keep Dana over here with me until she gets ready to leave in the morning."
"Oh yeah? Well what did he say?"
"He said that it was a good thing I called him, because he said he was sitting up waiting for her!"
"He was?"
"Yeah. Then he told me he was glad to know that Dana was safe and with me."
"Oh that's good. You know Mom, I want to ask you something."
"Yeah? What is it Missy?"
"Well when the triplets and I were standing at the basement door, we overheard you and Dana talking in the kitchen. We overheard you two talking about some red stains that were on her face, neck and clothes. We overheard you telling Dana that it looked like she'd been in some kind of fight or something. When you had asked Dana about those red stains, we overheard her telling you that she had threw up all over herself at some bar that Diane and Teresa had took her to last night, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Mom, do you think that Dana was actually telling you the truth about those red stains that were all over herself? Do you think those red stains that were on her skin and clothes could have actually been bloodstains? Of somebody else's blood?"
"Oh no Missy, those weren't blood stains. Those were actually stains from where she threw up from some tomato soup that she had ate. I smelled it. It smelled just like tomato soup."
"You smelled it?"
"Yeah, I smelled the soup! It didn't smell like blood. It didn't look like blood either as I was cleaning her up."
"No?"
"No. It looked like blood when I first saw it, but after I studied it and smelled it, I knew it wasn't blood. Believe me Missy, if it was actually bloodstains, I don't think that Dana would have even came over here last night. I don't think she would have come over here and risk anybody seeing her like that if it was actually bloodstains."
"Yeah I guess you're right Mom. Boy I'm relieved to hear that it wasn't bloodstains, because the triplets and I were really worried about Dana! We got so scared when we overheard you asking Dana about some red stains that were all over her face, neck and clothes, we thought it was bloodstains. I mean that's the way she looked when she had attacked Kathy, Rose and Derek with the baseball bat! Dana had red bloodstains all over herself that time! The triplets and I thought that maybe Dana had gotten into some kind of another vicious fight or something like that! I mean when we all overheard you and Dana talking about the red stains that were all over her clothes, the triplets and I were thinking to ourselves, 'Oh no! We hope Dana didn't get into another vicious fight and probably k……," Missy's eyes become filled with tears.
"I know Missy," Christine sadly says. "I can imagine what you all must have been thinking at that moment. I was startled myself when I first saw the red stains all over Dana. But it wasn't bloodstains Missy. It was actually stains from where she threw up from some red tomato soup. I cleaned it all off her last night."
"Yeah we saw you cleaning her up Mom."
"Yeah, she was very messy."
"I can imagine! Oh Mom, the triplets and I are very, very worried about Dana."
"I know Missy. We're all worried about Dana. We're all worried about her problem with having a violent temper, which causes her to do violent things! That's why your father and I are gonna see if we can try to get Dana some help again. Your father and I talked on the phone a little while ago."
"You did?"
"Yeah. He called me up this morning. We're gonna go look around for a psychotherapist this morning to see if we can find one that is able to help Dana with her violent temper."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah Missy. Your fathe
r is supposed to come pick me up this morning. He's supposed to be here in about an hour."
"Oh yeah? That's good Mom! I hope you and Dad find a reliable doctor for Dana."
"Yeah me too."
"But Mom, will Dana be willing to go once you and Dad find a doctor for her?"
"Dana is not going to have a choice in this matter Missy. Once your father and I find a reliable doctor for Dana, we're going to make sure that she goes to make the visits! We're gonna take her there ourselves!"
"Oh that's great Mom! I really want Dana to get help for her violent temper. I don't want her to wind up back in jail, prison or any mental institutions again!"
"Neither do I Missy. None of us do. That's why your father and I are going to try our best to find a good doctor that is able to help your sister."
"That's good Mom." Missy looks at her watch and says, "Okay Mom, I'm running late. I gotta get ready to leave for the school. Let me know how things turn out."
"Sure Missy, I will. I'll talk to you later."
"Alright Mom. I love you."
"I love you too darling. I'll see you later. Don't be late for work."
"Okay Mom. Take care." Missy hangs up the telephone. She leaves the house and rushes off to the school.
Chapter 23
The Psychotherapist
