Unspeakable Things(65)
My words were frosty. “How is she?”
“You know.”
I did. It made me feel alone. “How long has she been like this?”
Ricky scratched his nose again. “Not very long. Since this winter? But she’s mowing through the summer-school boys quick. Pretty much every kid in the Hollow’s had a crack at her.”
I felt that loneliness again, that deep ache like my heart had gone rotten at its roots. Something thumped against the ceiling overhead, and then giggling. “Does everyone know about her?”
“I dunno. She did her rounds on the top tier before she made it down to us. You know how boys are.”
“Not all boys. Not Gabriel.” Or Frank, though Ricky wouldn’t recognize the name.
Ricky hooted in agreement. “Yeah, Gabriel would never go for your sister.”
I felt a cocktail of smugness and shame. I didn’t want to talk about Sephie anymore. “What did the guy who grabbed you look like? I mean, other than the mask?”
Ricky’s tone was offhand. “It’s for sure Connelly.”
The air in my lungs froze. “What?”
“Yeah, we’re all positive it’s Connelly. Chester the Molester is as queer as a three-dollar bill.”
I flew to my feet, ready to kick him out of the house. “Even if he is, that doesn’t mean he attacks boys!”
Ricky shook his head. “It’s not that. It’s the metronome he brings with him when he attacks. Teddy and Clam heard it same as me. A clicking like an old clock while he’s touching you, the sound just about worse than what he’s doing with his hands. Click. Click. Click.”
CHAPTER 41
June 1, 1983
Dear Jin:
Please come visit. I need you.
Sincerely,
Cassie
CHAPTER 42
I woke up to a tangerine-cream sky, the smell of buckwheat waffles, and a sitcom family. Wayne and Ricky’d left before midnight, and then Mom and Dad had returned sometime after that but before the sun had risen. Mom had waffles prepared for Sephie and me when we came down. Dad was smiling, drinking his coffee, and making plans. Sephie picked up on the mood right away and free-fell into it, bringing her sweetest self to the table.
Not me. I was hunched over my plate of maple syrup–drenched waffle, suspicious. “Why is everyone in such a good mood?”
Dad laughed and honest-to-god ruffled my hair. “Guess your mom and I needed a vacation, Cass. You girls good while we were away?”
I shoved a forkful into my mouth and glared at wide-eyed Sephie. Her silence pleaded with me to keep the peace. She spoke before I could. “We finished all our chores. I made sure I was at class on time yesterday and stayed until the end.”
Mom beamed. “That’s wonderful! Your dad can drive you in today.” She looked like she’d lost at least five bad years on that trip. Grudgingly, I lightened up a fraction.
“I got my chores done, too.”
“How are your kitties doing?” Dad asked. He never asked about my kitty clinics.
“Good,” I said, reaching across the table to grab the glass jug of milk. “Meander had her kittens somewhere, but I haven’t found them yet. Bimbo has another eye infection, but I rinsed it out with eyebright tea.”
“That’s my girl,” Dad said, and I sat taller. “How’re your grades, Sephie?”
“In summer school?” Her fork was halfway to her mouth. “Umm, I don’t know. I could probably study harder.”
“I’ll help!” I offered. It was a reflex.
“Thanks,” Sephie said, her gratitude genuine.
I smiled back. With her sleep-fuzzed hair and happy eyes, she resembled my sister again. Maybe she hadn’t become as awful as I’d thought. I dug into my food with new energy. The home-tapped syrup wasn’t nearly as good as the Log Cabin they served on pancake day at school, but it was better than dry old eggs by a mile.
“I’m thinking of for sure getting a summer job, too,” Sephie said tentatively. “To save up for college.”
Dad nodded agreeably. “That’s a wonderful idea. Peg, what do you think?”
Mom seemed to be rolling the idea around. “Where would you work?”
Sephie wiped at a drip of syrup on her chin. “I haven’t decided. Maybe waitressing?”
“We can pick up applications when I bring you into school,” Dad offered.
It felt like the whole house was floating on bubbles. Things were fine. Better than fine! Something good had happened on Mom and Dad’s vacation, and it had shifted them, shifted the whole world. Maybe they’d attended an exorcism. I didn’t care, as long as it kept up.
It wasn’t the first good time we’d had. Whenever we traveled, packing up the chuggy old VW van, Dad grew happy, and when he was in good spirits, life was the best. Maybe this time he’d hold on to his joy permanently, a jar of fireflies that he could keep alive forever.
I didn’t even mind that Sephie and him got ready for town while Mom and I had to slip on our cruddy work clothes and head to the garden. I normally hated working outside before the dew was burned off. Wet shoes were the worst, and the weeds and dirt stuck to my fingers and worked their way under my nails. But this foggy, muggy morning, Mom was humming, and I would get to spend the day with her.