I looked down at my lap, at my two hands holding the milkshake, not wanting to say anything till I was sure I could do it without crying. "Do you mind if I don't go with you?" I asked without looking at him. "Could you just drop me off at Wanda's house instead?"
"But I was going to take you out to the lake for a swim. Wouldn't you like that?"
"I sort of promised Wanda I'd come over and tell her about Jason as soon as I got home."
Daddy looked disappointed, but he said, "All right, Laura, if that's what you really want to do."
For the next half hour we drove along in silence, and I watched the scenery again, thinking about what Daddy had said. I felt sad, but in a funny way I was also kind of relieved. I could see now that, like it or not, the divorce was out of my hands. There was nothing Jason or I could do to change things.
"How does Mom feel?" I asked suddenly.
"The same way I do, Laura. She seems to be looking forward to finishing school and getting a job. She's changed a lot since we separated last January. Don't you think so?"
I shrugged. "I don't know." But I knew he was probably right. Mom really did seem to be a lot more sure of herself now. Not like Aunt Grace, not that kind of independent, but I didn't think she'd cry into the meatloaf anymore.
"That's Wanda's house, right up there on the hill." I pointed and Daddy slowed the car.
"We'll miss you," he said, as I opened the door. "Sure you won't change your mind?"
"I'll come some other time, I promise." I smiled at him and waved as the car picked up speed and disappeared around a curve. Then I ran up the hill to Wanda's house, ignoring Chief's bark as I passed the truck.
Chapter 17
Dashing up the steps, I pressed my face against the rusty screen door and peered into the living room. "Wanda?" I called. "Are you home?"
"Come on in," she yelled. "I'm in my room."
Letting the door slam behind me, I ran down the hall and flopped down on the bed next to her. "Guess what? Jason's all right! He's coming home tomorrow! Isn't that great?"
Wanda punched me up and down my arm. "You mean he's all well again?"
I nodded. "Nobody at the hospital knows what was wrong with him. They're calling it one of those mysterious viruses."
"Is that you, Laura?" Annabelle poked her head into the room. "I thought I heard your voice, but I didn't expect to see you back so soon."
"I just got back from the hospital. They're letting Jason come home tomorrow."
"Well, that's just wonderful!" Annabelle bent down and gave me a big perfumy hug that almost broke every rib in my body. "I knew he'd be all right, I just knew it."
Annabelle sank down on the bed, toppling me downhill into her soft side. "You be sure and bring him up here to see me the minute he's well enough and I'll bake him a big chocolate cake. Never knew a boy who didn't love chocolate!"
Turning to Wanda, Annabelle gave her a little poke. "Did you tell Laura our good news?"
Wanda grinned. "I haven't had a chance. Guess who's coming home?"
"Charlene?"
Wanda nodded. "She called a couple of hours ago to tell us. Her and Tanya Marie are probably on the Greyhound right now."
Annabelle looked at me. "I told Charlene she'd be back, didn't I? Didn't I stand right here in this very room and tell her she could come home any time?"
I nodded.
Annabelle sighed and lit a cigarette. "These young people just don't know what they want these days, and that's a fact. I sure hope you two grow up with more sense than Charlene's got."
"Don't worry," Wanda said, "I ain't ever getting married."
"Me either," I said.
Annabelle blew out a cloud of cigarette smoke and chuckled. "Oh, honey, just 'cause some marriages don't work out doesn't mean they're all bad. While Wanda's grandaddy was alive, you couldn't have found a happier woman than me. I been looking for someone like him for twenty years now, and if I ever find him I'll marry him quicker than a cat can drink a bowl of milk." She hugged me again and heaved herself up from the bed. "How about I fix you all a sandwich?"
After lunch, Wanda got a pack of playing cards and we sat out on the front porch playing Spit. A nice breeze was blowing, rustling the leaves and tossing the heads of the Queen Anne's Lace. Down in the field, a mockingbird was singing and in the woods behind the house a jay called.
While Wanda dealt a new hand of cards, I looked out across the valley at the mountains. Clouds high in the sky were casting moving shadows across the trees, changing their color from green to purply blue and back to green again, and all around us everything seemed quiet and peaceful.
"How about the divorce?" Wanda asked quietly. "What are your parents going to do now?"
I looked down at my cards, staring at the double faces of the Queen of Hearts and the King of Clubs. "They're getting it this winter. I asked Daddy."
"You still upset about it?"
I shrugged. "Sort of. I love them both, you know? It would be so much easier if they lived together."
"Not unless they loved each other."
I nodded. "I know." I watched a tear splash down on the Queen's face. "But they don't—they don't love each other anymore. So I guess they're doing the best thing. I wouldn't want them to live the way Maude said, hating each other, always unhappy."
Wanda's hand touched mine, gave it a little squeeze. "It'll be okay," she said.
"Daddy's probably going to marry Carol," I muttered, not daring to look at her for fear she'd say she told me so.
"She's a jerk," Wanda said.
"I know." I grinned at her. "I hope Daddy finds out before he marries her."
Just as I was about to lose the third game in a row, I saw a cab stop at the foot of the driveway. As Charlene opened the door to get out, Annabelle scooted down the steps, waving and smiling. Wanda and I followed after.
"I thought you was going to call me from the depot," Annabelle said. "You didn't have to go wasting your money on a taxicab."
Charlene brushed her hair out of her face and handed Tanya Marie to her grandmother. "I didn't feel like sitting around Blue Hollow waiting for you." She pulled her suitcase and two cardboard boxes out of the cab. Thrusting the suitcase at Wanda, she burst into tears. "Don't give me no lectures, Annabelle," she sobbed. "You were right and I should've listened to you, so just leave me alone."
Annabelle nestled Tanya Marie on her hip and put her arm around Charlene. "Honey, honey, don't worry. I'm glad you're back, that's all. Now come on up to the house and lie down for a while. You must be all worn out."
Without another word, Charlene followed Annabelle up the driveway, leaving us with the suitcase and boxes.
"Well, she could at least have said hello to me," Wanda said, but she carried the suitcase up the hill and set it on the porch next to the door. "Guess she can haul it the rest of the way when she needs it."
Dumping the boxes next to the suitcase, I looked at Wanda. "Maybe Twyla made that spell wear off too."
"Could be." We stared at each other and I could feel little prickles run up and down the back of my neck. Wanda shivered and hugged herself. "Life is awful strange sometimes, isn't it?"
I nodded and we sat down side by side on the porch railing, watching the shadows drift across the mountains.
"There's your aunt's car," Wanda said.
As the car swung around the curve and dipped down the hill, I got up. "I guess I'd better go home. It must be almost six o'clock."
"You want me to walk part way with you?"
I shook my head. "There's nothing to be scared of now."
Wanda grinned. "Well, then, I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe we can go down the creek where it's deep enough to swim."
"That sounds like a great idea. Come over tomorrow, okay?" I waved good-bye and ran down the steps. As I passed the truck, Chief stuck out his head and barked, but I smiled at him, keeping a safe distance. "You're not as bad as you'd like to think you are," I said.
Chief made a snuffling sound and
crawled back under the truck. Turning around, I waved at Wanda again and started down the road.
When I got near the grove, I hesitated, feeling scared in spite of myself. The late afternoon sun had retreated from the woods and it looked dark and spooky under the trees. Looking around for Maude, I walked slowly into the gloom, feeling my heart thump against my ribs.
Suddenly a crow rose from a branch over my head, cawing loudly. Flinching away from him, I saw Maude step out into the road ahead of me. She stopped and stared at me, leaning on her stick and mumbling, but she made no move toward me. For an immeasurable period of time, we both stood still, watching each other, saying nothing. Finally Maude took a step, her feet shuffling, and stopped again within a foot of me, her eyes probing my face.
"Such a pretty girl," she whispered, reaching out a shaking hand to touch my face, but dropping it less than an inch from my cheek. "Don't I know you? Aren't you Margaret?"
She shook her head, her eyes bewildered. "No, no, you can't be Margaret. That was a long time ago, a long, long time ago. Margaret left me, she went away and left me all alone." Maude sighed. "But you look like her—yes, you look like her."
"Don't you remember me?" I whispered.
"Remember you? Should I remember you?" Maude drew her shawl tightly about herself. "No, no, I don't remember you."
As she stared at me, searching my face for clues, Soot dropped down gently on her shoulder and cawed softly. "Yes, yes, it's time to go, my pretty," Maude whispered to the crow. "Time to go."
"Without looking at me again, Maude stepped around me and hobbled away down the road, talking softly to Soot.
For a few seconds I stood still and stared after her. Then I turned and ran toward my aunt's house.
* * *
* * *
Mary Downing Hahn, Time of the Witch
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends