Water Town

by Laurel Veil

  “There’s plenty more where that came from.” He grinned and then kissed my cheek again before closing the door.

  When I reached the beach house, I didn’t even bother going inside. I didn’t want to risk having a supernatural encounter, so I walked around the deck to the back and lay down on the lounge chair. It felt far less scary to be out there.

  I looked at my phone and saw two missed calls from my dad, who had also sent me some photos. I was glad to see they were of the Tower of London and not his elopement with Rachel. I could just see him having a glass of wine too many and with Rachel’s persuasion, getting caught up in the ambiance of London. I shuddered at the thought. I would have to move out sooner than I was planning. There was no way I could live under the same roof as that miserable woman.

  I’d just dozed off when I heard a car door. It was about time Toni got home. I couldn’t wait to hear how the rest of her night had gone.

  “Ronnie,” came a whisper.

  I jolted wide awake. It wasn’t Toni’s voice. I blinked a couple times to clear my vision, but it was still hard to see in the low light.

  “Nick?” I asked sleepily.

  “No,” the voice said flatly. “It’s Dane.”

  My insides tickled as I sprang up. “Hey, is everything OK?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. No. I don’t know.”

  He was so flustered, he started pacing. I didn’t like seeing him like this, and I suddenly felt guilty for having tried to make him jealous earlier. I wasn’t sure what to say and the next thing I knew, without thinking, I’d raised my hand up to him. To my surprise, he took it.

  Instantly, he calmed down. I was grateful. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if he’d refused me. He looked down into my eyes for a moment, making my heart race. I took a deep breath and pulled him down, so he sat on the lounge chair facing me. I let go of his hand and propped the back of the chair up so I could lean against it.

  “So what’s the deal with you and Nick?”

  “I like him.”

  He pressed his lips tightly together and looked away.

  “There’s no deal, though,” I said. He finally turned back to me. “He’s nice. We’re friends.” I paused so I could work up the courage to continue. “What about J—”

  Before I could say her name, he pressed his mouth against mine. I stopped breathing and didn’t open my eyes until he pulled away from me and touched my cheek. My first real kiss. It was better than any silly fantasy I had ever conjured.

  “Don’t go out with him again.”

  My pulsed quickened. “I never intended to go out with him in the first place. You’re the one who ditched me.”

  He leaned down and kissed me again. He was clouding my mind.

  “What about you and Jade?” Saying her name felt like spitting out the taste of something bitter. The mere mention of her changed the atmosphere.

  “There’s no me and Jade. We’re friends, if you can even call it that. Sometimes I think she’s just this girl I know who makes my life very, very difficult.”

  “What happened the other night? Did you two find any ghosts?”

  “Hardly,” he said. “We hung out with some kids from school that showed up right after you guys left. They were there just long enough for Jade to get cozy with one of the guys. The two of them left together.”

  “She left you?”

  “Oh, it gets better.” When Dane resituated himself to get more comfortable, he felt something underneath the end of my sleeping bag. “What’s that?” When he pulled out the bear Nick had won me, he shot me a dirty look and tossed it to the floor.

  I giggled. “Well, what happened? Did you have to walk home?”

  “No. Right after they left, the cops showed up.”

  “Did you get in trouble?”

  “Not really. But your uncle wasn’t very happy to see me. When he dropped me off, he told me to stay away from you if I’m going to be getting into trouble.”

  “What?” I asked incredulously.

  Just then, the lights came on next door at my aunt and uncle’s house.

  “I better go.” He leaned over and briefly kissed me one last time. He started to get up and then turned back. “I’m not sure when I’m going to see you again.” This time he leaned into me and pressed his mouth more firmly to mine. Our mouths parted slightly as we pulled one another even closer. I missed him so much already.

  16.

  Getting to Know You

  I was surprised when I woke in the morning. I hadn’t thought I would ever fall asleep, because my mind had kept replaying what had happened between me and Dane on a continuous loop.

  Toni was snoring on the lounge chair next to me, and I wondered what time she had made it in.

  “Hey.” I nudged her shoulder. “I’ve got something to tell you.” She wouldn’t budge. “About Dane.” She sat up so quickly it startled me.

  “Do tell.” She giggled.

  I told her everything, and I couldn’t have asked for a more attentive audience. She was as happy for me as I was. “I knew he liked you, Ronnie. I told you!”

  “Well, are you ready to go see Miss Betty now?” I asked.

  ***

  We got ready and were knocking on her door in no time. The scent of something baking and fresh coffee drifted through the screen, along with the bubbly melody of a very old song.

  “Come in,” she said as she leaned around the corner and saw us.

  We stepped into her den for a moment to admire the phonograph that was playing in the corner, and then proceeded to the kitchen.

  “Your phonograph is beautiful,” I said as we took a seat at the table, which was already set with small plates and glasses. Silverware rested on white cloth napkins, and dainty coffee cups sat on matching saucers. “I love that type of music, too” I added.

  “Thank you.” She removed a pie from the oven and placed it in the center of the table on a homemade potholder.

  “Did you make that?” I pointed to the potholder.

  “I crocheted it years ago.”

  “I’ve always thought it would be so neat to learn how to knit and crochet,” I said.

  “I can show you two how to crochet sometime, if you like.”

  “That would be awesome!” said Toni. “Maybe you can show us how to bake—this pie smells wonderful!”

  Miss Betty smiled proudly. “I don’t care for lemonade with pie; I like a hot cup of coffee instead. What about you, girls?”

  We made our cups to our liking with Coffee Mate and sugar, and then Miss Betty cut into the golden, flaky lattice of the dewberry pie and gave each of us a healthy slice.

  We discussed the weather and Thorton Island’s chance of being hit by a hurricane this summer. I envisioned myself in the beach house as it swayed in gale force winds, with heavy, black, ominous clouds hanging low over the ocean. I shuddered.

  We hopped from one subject to the next. Miss Betty gave us baking tips and Toni and I talked about working at Fins, and how we’d fixed up the beach house. And then Toni shared about her childhood. I had no idea she had lived in so many places. Once again, I realized how lucky she was to have such a close family.

  “So what about you, Miss Betty?” asked Toni gingerly. “Have you always lived here on Thorton Island?”

  She gazed out the back window and rested her eyes on her rose garden.

  “I was born in a little town not far from here.” Her head was now bowed and she looked thoughtfully into her cup. I could tell she wanted to tell us more, but she was hesitant. When neither Toni nor I attempted to change the subject, she began speaking once more. “I wasn’t able to walk or talk as soon as other children my age. I’m not very smart at all, and my father hated me for it. I embarrassed him.”

  Toni and I looked at each other. We both had tears in our eyes.

  “Don’t be sad,” said Miss Betty. “For every bit that man hated me, my mama loved me even more.” She smiled and closed her eyes—I think so she could fully enjoy a me
mory. She gently caressed the side of her face as if someone had just touched it and she was resting her hand on top of theirs. “She even told me I was pretty,” she continued when she opened her eyes. “She didn’t think I was ugly like he did.” She covered her nose and looked down, like she was ashamed.

  I thought how ironic it was that Toni and I had been afraid to ask Miss Betty about her past, afraid she wouldn’t want to talk about it. It was apparent to me now, that she needed someone to listen to her.

  I watched as she freshened her coffee with a tilt of the carafe. Her hand seemed a tad more shaky than usual, and I wondered if she was upset. Steam rose from her cup like smoke from a campfire as she continued telling us a story of long ago that had been trapped deep inside her and needed to be released.

  “When my father would drink, he’d get mean. He would tell Mama such terrible things.” She blew on the surface of her coffee before taking a sip. “He told her the reason she couldn’t have any more children was because I had cursed her womb with my filthiness. He told her he probably wasn’t even my father. He always wanted sons—I wonder if he would have been nice to them.” Her voice caught for a moment and she blinked away her tears. “When Mama got sick, I took care of her the best I could. I prayed day and night and tried real hard to make her better. It didn’t work, though.” She was quiet for a moment—thoughtful. “Burying her was the hardest thing I ever did. I wanted to dig her up and run away with her… far, far away where my father would never find us.”

  My throat burned from the strain of holding back my tears, but I listened intently as she continued.

  “It was so hard around the farm after she died. My father treated his hunting dogs better than me. I was glad he wasn’t mean to them, though. Anyway, he cleaned up on the weekends, bathed and even shaved, and went to town. One night he came home with Miss Clara and they got married. She was a fancy lady and had lots of money, and she didn’t like Mama’s house. She didn’t like me either. I don’t know why; I did everything she asked me to. She told my dad she wanted to travel and so he took me to the Thorton Orphanage. He told Miss Percible I was an idiot and too ugly for anyone to want to adopt, but that I was a hard worker and could be of use to the orphanage if they let me stay.”

  I glanced at Toni and could see the pain on her face. She looked as miserable as I felt.

  “Can you believe he said that?” Miss Betty continued. “He actually said I was a hard worker.” A large grin spread across her face.

  Toni and I looked at each other again, but this time we were smiling.

  “Did you like living there?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes. Most of the time. I never talked to the boys, but the girls talked to me sometimes. Some of them were real mean to me though.”

  A knock at the door startled me back to reality.

  “Miss Betty,” came a woman’s voice. “You ready?”

  Miss Betty looked at her watch. “Oh my, look at the time. I’ve got to be going; I have a doctor’s appointment. Be right there, Charlotte.”

  Would you like us to stay and clean up?” I offered.

  “That would be nice. Oh, and would you mind giving my roses a little something to drink? I have a watering can in the garage.”

  “No problem,” said Toni.

  “Don’t worry about locking up when you leave. I won’t be long.” She grabbed her purse and left.

  Toni and I cleared the table. There were only a few dishes. I planned on quickly washing them and then heading out back to help Toni finish up with the watering.

  ***

  “You done already?” I asked, surprised when Toni peeked her head inside only a few minutes later. I had just dried the last dish and was putting it away.

  “I think you need to come look at something.”

  The tone of her voice gave me goosebumps. “OK.”

  I hung the towel I’d been using on the oven handle to air dry and followed Toni out back into the garage.

  “What is it?” I asked when she just stood there.

  “Notice anything?”

  I looked around once more, this time more deliberately. “No, sorry.”

  “The boxes you hauled down from the attic—where are they?”

  I looked all around. “I don’t know. I guess she got rid of them.” I could tell my answer wasn’t sitting well with her. She was deep in thought.

  “Spit it out,” I said.

  “How many boxes were there?”

  “Eight, I think.” I followed her eyes to the garden. “Wait. You don’t think she buried them, do you?”

  “There’s only one way to find out.”

  17.

  Digging Deeper

  “I wonder how much time we have?” I asked, nervous.

  “Relax, she just left. We’ll hurry, but we should be OK,” Toni tried to reassure me.

  “Which rose should we dig up?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t matter. Just do this one.” She pointed. “It’s closest to the entrance.”

  I took the shovel and carefully heaved a large scoop of dirt away with the bush, setting it down gently. “I hope she can’t tell we messed with her garden.” I felt guilty and stupid, until my shovel hit something. “Oh my gosh, Toni!” I quickly brushed away the rest of the dirt until the lid was completely visible. “Are you serious? She actually buried them! What could be inside them?”

  My heart was already racing, but when I heard a car, I thought it was going to leap right out of my chest.

  “Relax,” said Toni. “It passed. It wasn’t her.”

  “Let’s leave the box in the ground and just remove the lid. It’ll be faster that way.” I said.

  Toni agreed with a nod of her head and then we both got on our knees and attempted to pull up the tape from the lid. We finally ripped it off, taking a thin layer of cardboard with it.

  “If she ever decides to dig this up, she’s going to know someone messed with it,” I said.

  Toni pulled the lid up, and I froze when I saw what was inside. Staring up at me from a black-and-white photo with scalloped edges were the eyes of one of the ghost children I had seen.

  “This is one of the girls—one of the ghosts—I saw, Toni! Look, you’ll recognize her from the class photo I bought on the pier.”

  Toni took hold of the photograph. Her brows furrowed as she studied it. She then set the photo to the side and rummaged through the contents of the box. It contained a young girl’s sweater, a tattered doll, and an old, discolored children’s book. Toni sat back and gazed over the garden.

  She suddenly leaped up and began frantically digging up the next rose bush.

  “What the heck are you doing, Toni? Betty could get back any second!”

  “There’s definitely another box!”

  I finished replanting the first rose bush and then raced over to Toni. She already had the lid removed, and she held up another photo.

  It was probably near a hundred degrees, but I shivered. “That’s the girl I saw at the beach house.” I swallowed. “What does this mean, Toni? Why did Betty bury these boxes?”

  “I don’t know,” said Toni. “I mean, there’re no bodies, but it’s like these are graves.”

  I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. “The bodies they discovered at the orphanage—it has to be them.”

  We looked out across the garden. Six girls had been discovered so far. There had been eight boxes and there were eight rose bushes. I bet two more girls were going to be found.

  A slamming car door jolted us into action. We buried the box and replaced the rosebush before realizing the car was at a neighbor’s house and not Miss Betty returning.

  “I’ll put up the shovel,” I said. “You finish watering and let’s get outta here!”

  Toni and I couldn’t get into my Jeep fast enough. I accidentally made my tires squeal a little, I took off so quickly.

  We were quiet for a minute, each knowing what the other was thinking. When Toni turned to look at me, I knew what
she was going to say. “So, do you think she did it?”

  “No way.” But I wasn’t even sure I believed what I was saying. “She wouldn’t do something like that. Right?”

  “Who knows? People say she’s crazy.”

  “I don’t think she’s crazy, just slow. And besides, why would she do something like that?”

  Toni stared out the window. “Well, she did say some of the kids at the orphanage weren’t very nice to her.”