Water Town

by Laurel Veil

  “I have this one over here with seashells.” He led us to it, and it was perfect. The pattern was subtle and the sandy color would match the walls. I rubbed my hand across it. It felt thick and durable.

  “Can you do one-fifty?” Toni asked.

  He looked at her and scrunched up his forehead. “I’m firm on the one seventy-five… but I’ll throw in a couple pillows if you can find two you like.”

  Danielle raced over to the bin of pillows to have a look.

  “Deal,” I said, “if I can leave it here until I can get someone to help me haul it this evening.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t hold merchandise. I’ve lost too many sales that way.”

  “I’ll pay now; it’s just that I came in a Jeep.”

  “Oh, okay. If you’re paying now, everything can stay here until this evening.”

  We watched as he covered the futon and pillows with a sheet of plastic to protect them and then taped on a SOLD sign. At the last minute, I had him include four wooden stools as well. They would fit nicely at the kitchen bar and make a great place to eat until I purchased a table. I paid him and we left.

  “Where to now?” I asked.

  “I’m starving,” said Toni.

  “Let’s go get something to eat. Where would you like to go?” I asked Danielle.

  She pointed to a small restaurant across the street that was squeezed between an ice-cream parlor and a place that sold antique paintings.

  “It smells good,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  I didn’t realize I was so hungry until I saw my basket of fries. I was probably going to have blisters in my mouth from eating them so quickly. They were about a million degrees, but I couldn’t wait long enough for them to cool.

  “Hungry much?” Toni laughed. “Slow down there or you’re going to take off a finger.” She looked down at her phone as it vibrated on the table and made a face as she read her text.

  “Something wrong?” I asked.

  “No, not really. It’s just my mom. She wants me to do some things around the house for her.”

  “Will you still be able to stay the night?”

  “I think so. I’m just going to have to cut our outing a little short, I guess.”

  “That’s OK, we’ve done enough damage for today anyway. And now we have an excuse to go shopping again.”

  While I threw away our trash, Danielle stepped next door to have a quick look around.

  “Ronnie,” she called to me. “Do you think you might want to get a painting for the beach house? Here’s one of the ocean.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Danielle smiled proudly. “How much?” I asked.

  She looked at the price tag. “It’s only ten dollars! It can go in the den. And look, here’s another one kinda like it. It’s much smaller, so it can go in the bathroom.” She turned it over. “It’s only five dollars!”

  “Great!” I said, then handed them to the sales clerk.

  “Ron,” Toni said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

  I walked over and stood beside her.

  “Look at these,” she said. “C-r-e-e-p-y, right?”

  She was going through a bin of vintage photographs—sepia-colored memories of children from long ago.

  “They look so sad,” I said.

  “Why would someone give these away?” said Toni.

  “They’re very old. The people in them are probably all dead now.”

  “They’re from the orphanage,” the clerk said as she stepped towards us. “They recently cleaned it out so they could demolish it.” She picked up one of the photos and looked down at it thoughtfully. “You’ll find all sorts of things that came from there around the flea market.” She was quiet for a moment. “Will you be getting anything else?” she asked as she absentmindedly handed me the photo she’d been holding.

  I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention when I looked down and recognized two of the children in what appeared to be a class photo—they were the ghost children I had seen.

  “I—I’ll take this photo too,” I said.

  Toni gave me a strange look. I’m sure she was wondering what in the world I wanted with it.

  * * *

  Toni helped me carry my purchases to the Jeep. Danielle looked down, pleased at the small painting of the cat she’d purchased for herself. The cat was black with striking, emerald eyes, donning a red lace collar from which a stunning diamond heart locket dangled.

  “I think it was a witch’s cat.” She smiled.

  “It does look like it’s hiding a secret,” I said. “It’s gorgeous.”

  Danielle raced ahead of us to have a look at some pinwheels a vendor was selling. Spinning madly in the breeze, the blades were brightly colored and appeared to be flashing as they reflected the warm, burnt-orange light of the sun.

  Toni took advantage of Danielle’s absence. “So are you going to tell me why you bought that creepy photo?” She pulled it from the small bag.

  We stopped walking and I set down the large painting I had been carrying.

  I pointed to the two girls in the photo. “That’s them, Toni!” I whispered.

  “You mean—”

  “Yes! The ghosts.”

  I was startled by a pinwheel suddenly thrust in front of my face.

  “Look, Ronnie! Look what I got!”

  “It’s beautiful, Danielle.”

  ***

  We loaded everything into my Jeep, including ourselves.

  “Don’t bother driving to my house; I can walk from your place,” said Toni.

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind. I can stop just before we get there, or I can drive a little ways past so we don’t bother your mom.”

  “That’s okay. Besides, I want to help you carry everything up and see what it’s going to look like.”

  Aunt Pam met us as soon as we pulled in. She must have been looking out the window.

  To say she was thrilled to see we were home safe and that Danielle was absolutely bubbly was an understatement.

  “We had so much fun, Mommy! And we’re going to go again!”

  Aunt Pam mouthed “thank you” as she squeezed Danielle.

  I handed her the change and let her have a peek at what we’d purchased.

  “I love it,” she said. “It’s going to look fabulous!”

  I explained about the futon, pillows and barstools.

  “I’ll have Bill make arrangements to get it.”

  “Let’s go, Mommy! I want to show you what I got!”

  “We need to help them carry—”

  “That’s okay, you all can go. Toni and I got it,” I said cheerfully. I wanted a moment to talk to Toni alone before she had to leave.

  They left and we went in search of a hammer and some small nails in the storage room, beneath the house. I found what I was looking for, and after a couple of trips we had everything upstairs.

  The first thing I did was hang the small painting in the bathroom like Danielle had suggested. She was right, it fit perfectly.

  “So what do you think this all means?” Toni asked, stealing another look at the photo.

  I shook my head as I tapped a nail into the wall in the den. “I have no idea.”

  Toni slid the photo back into the tiny paper bag and left it sitting on the kitchen counter.

  I hung the picture and stepped back. “Does this look straight to you?”

  “Yeah,” she said, then plugged in a lamp and turned it on.

  “Wow!” we marveled simultaneously. The subtle glow of the lamp looked much more pleasing than the harsh light of the ceiling fan. And the picture looked great.

  “I can’t wait to get the futon in here,” I said.

  “It’s really coming together nicely,” Toni said. “Well… I better get going.”

  I quickly ran the other lamp to the bedroom and then walked with her downstairs to say goodbye.

  “So, do you think we should go back to the orphanage? Maybe you’ll see them again and ge
t some answers,” Toni suggested.

  Just thinking about the old building gave me goosebumps. “I don’t know… I’m scared. And besides, since they discovered those bodies, isn’t it considered a crime scene? I don’t think we can trespass.”

  “Yeah, I guess. There’s probably yellow tape around the entire building. We’d probably get in a lot of trouble.” She waved as she headed down the driveway. “See ya.”

  I waved back and when I turned to go upstairs, Aunt Pam called down from her balcony, “Sweetie, Uncle Bill has a truck for the—there it is now. Be careful. I can’t wait to see it!”

  When I turned around, I saw Dane looking back at me through dark sunglasses, with his window down. He grinned. “Get in.”

  10.

  A Guy, A Girl & A Truck

  “So we’re picking up a couch?”

  “A futon. And thanks,” I said, then proceeded to tell him how Danielle, Toni and I had spent our day.

  “I can’t wait to see everything,” he said.

  I felt warm inside. I think he actually meant that.

  I looked out the window and my mind drifted to the girls I’d seen, and the two bodies that had been discovered. Vehicles and buildings zipping by faded into shapeless blurs as I contemplated how everything could possibly link together. Maybe I was trying too hard to make the pieces fit. Maybe they didn’t belong together at all. Maybe the ghosts I’d seen had nothing to do with the bodies that had been discovered. But I really didn’t believe that. What did they want from me, though? Were they trying to tell me something?

  “Hello?” said Dane from somewhere far away. “You OK?”

  I turned to look at him.

  He pushed his glasses up onto his head and smiled sweetly. “I know where the flea market is, but are you going to tell me where to park so we don’t have to carry a couch for miles and miles?”

  “Futon.” I grinned and then pointed. “Over there.”

  I didn’t even have to show my receipt, because the sales clerk recognized me. He offered to help load the futon, but it wasn’t that heavy, so we laid the barstools and pillows on top of the futon and Dane and I carried everything ourselves.

  “We’re pretty good at this,” he said.

  “Yeah, we could quit Fins and start our own moving company.”

  “I’ve heard of 4 Guys & a Van movers. We could be A Guy, A Girl & A Truck.”

  I blushed when I noticed his biceps flexing as he carried his end. Nice. N-i-c-e. Nice.

  “What?” asked Dane.

  “What?” I countered, quickly feeling guilty.

  “You were smiling?”

  Was I? What an idiot! “No I wasn’t.” Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

  “Yes you were.”

  He’s not going to let this go.

  “Need any help?” asked a man who was passing by.

  Thank goodness. “Sure,” I said, stepping back to let the kind stranger help lift the futon into the bed of the truck. Dane thanked him and then took a moment to secure it with some ropes he’d brought.

  On the way back, Dane asked me questions about where I was from. I wound up telling him about school and my dad too.

  I learned that he had two older brothers and that he got along with both of them, and his parents as well. That didn’t surprise me. I couldn’t imagine him not getting along with anyone. He was too likeable and easygoing.

  Dane helped me carry everything upstairs to the den. We centered the futon underneath the painting, placed the stools under the bar in the kitchen and then I fluffed the pillows on the futon. We both stepped back to admire everything. Dane nodded in approval. “That picture looks nice, and I definitely like the lamp.”

  I then showed him the painting I had hung in the bathroom.

  “You got a knack for this.” He grinned.

  “Thanks.” I suddenly became very aware of how small the room was. We were standing very close as we looked at one another. “Uh, you thirsty?” I said, trying not to sound nervous. I squeezed past him and headed towards the kitchen. “All I have is bottled water for now. I guess I need to run to the store at some point.”

  “Water is perfect.”

  “Hungry?” I asked as I retrieved a bottle from the fridge. “Aunt Pam put a box of crackers and some cans of soup in the pantry. I even have cheese and bread and condiments.” I smiled.

  “No… thanks.” He sounded distracted, and when I looked up, I knew why. He was holding the sand dollar he had given me, staring down at it. “You kept it?”

  He looked at me intensely for a moment. It made it hard for me to breathe.

  “Of course I did. It’s beautiful. In fact, I need to find a better place for it, so I can show it off more. Are you sure you’re not hungry?” I didn’t want him to leave.

  He set the sand dollar back on the windowsill and shook his head. “I’m sure.” He almost finished the entire bottle before setting it down on the counter. “I have to work. I’ll probably grab a bite there.”

  I sighed.

  “Have you heard from Charlie yet?” he asked.

  “Not yet. I probably should get back there pretty soon, before I forget everything I learned.”

  “Don’t worry if you do. I don’t mind re-teaching you.” We held each other’s eyes for a moment. “Well, I better get going. It’s too bad you’re not working tonight. I could give you a ride.”

  He wants to work with me and give me a ride! My stomach tickled at the thought.

  As he opened the door, he turned back and took one last look around. “You really are doing a great job.”

  “Thanks.”

  “See ya.” He smiled and closed the door.

  I hated hearing his truck drive off.

  * * *

  I began to wish I had a TV. I swept the floor just to have something to do, then hopped into the bathtub and hoped Toni would be back soon.

  I had just dozed off in my hot bath when I heard my phone, but I couldn’t grab it off the counter in time. It had been Toni and she’d left a message.

  She was ecstatic because Jimmy had asked her to go see a movie. I was happy for her, but wondered what I was going to do until it was time for bed.

  Just then, a noise came from somewhere in the house. My heart raced. I had locked the door behind Dane. Had Aunt Pam let herself in?”

  “Hello?” I called out. I stepped out of the tub, careful not to slip. I quickly dressed, grabbed my phone and walked towards the den. From what I could tell, everything was as I had left it. I checked the door, and it was still locked. I sighed with relief.

  I turned around, and froze when I saw Dane’s water bottle on the floor.

  What the… How did that happen? I wondered, but guessed that was what I’d heard. I raced to get a paper towel and dry up the mess that was making its way through the grout.

  When I stood back up, the first thing I noticed was that the photo of the orphans was out of the bag. Did Dane take it out? I was almost certain he hadn’t. I didn’t think he would have been that nosy and I was sure he would’ve asked me about it if he had.

  Any doubt about how the water had spilt or how the photo had been removed from the bag dissolved when I saw the strange little girl standing in my den. She wasn’t one of the two girls from earlier—the one who wore the sundress with the pink barrette or the one who had led me to the basement at the orphanage. She was from the photo, though.

  I jumped when my phone chimed. I glanced at it for a mere second and when I looked up, she was gone. I felt relieved, but I still couldn’t breathe.

  My phone chimed again, so I read the text.

  This is Dane. Got your number from

  Charlie. Kelly isn’t feeling well.

  Can you work tonight?

  I responded immediately.

  YES! Be there in 20!

  11.

  The Nightshift

  I made a quick stop in the bathroom to fluff my hair and add a little color to my face, but I was still shaking when I got into my Jeep. I sh
ot Aunt Pam a quick text to let her know what was up.

  I was surprised by how full the parking lot looked when I pulled in. I had sort of been hoping Dane just wanted to see me and was using the other waitress leaving as an excuse, but from the looks of things, he needed me. He probably could’ve used Toni’s help too.