Nicole looked back towards the house and smiled. “Yes, William. I’ve love to. Thank you for the invitation. It was ever so kind.”
“Oh, brother, you’re doing it again. Come on, Nic. We need to work on how to talk.” Will took her hand and led her through the hedge into his backyard. “You should have just said, ‘Yes.’ You didn’t need to say all that other stuff.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a kid, and kids don’t talk like their grandparents.” Will held the bushes apart and waited for her to walk through.
“I see.” Nicole stepped through the hedge, careful not to snag her garments.
“You’re doing it again.” Will let the hedge pop back into place and took the lead.
“Pardon.” Nicole tried to keep up but William’s legs were much longer than hers.
Will stopped at the foot of a wooden structure. “Well, this is it. Ain’t she a beaut?”
Nicole looked at the haphazardly constructed wooded edifice in front of her. “I don’t know, William.” She cocked her head and stared closer at the structure. “What is a beaut?”
Will rolled his eyes and started climbing a rickety old ladder. Nicole took a tentative step towards the ladder and daintily put her foot on the first rung. Slowly and cautiously she made her way up and crawled through the trap door in the floor. It was much more spacious inside than she would have imagined.
Will plopped down on the floor and took a silver toy car from the shelf and began to run it back and forth on the floor. “Why do you live with your grandparents?”
Nicole swiped a section of the floor with her shoe and grimaced when dust began to float in the air. She decided to stand. “My parents were killed in a horrible plane crash when I was four.”
“Do you remember your parents?” Will stopped playing with his car.
“Some things I do. My mother always smiled and laughed a lot. I remember riding on my father’s shoulders and thinking I should be scared up that high, but I wasn’t because I knew my father wouldn’t drop me.” Nicole looked out the window. They weren’t that high up, but she had a clear view right to the lake.
“Those are nice memories. Why don’t you go to school?” Will traded his silver car for a red one, knocking some plastic green men over in the process.
Nicole waited for Will to pick up the toys he’d knocked over and bit her lip when he didn’t. “My grandparents don’t condone public schools, and boarding schools are nothing but rife with depravity and wickedness.”
Will rolled his eyes again. “I go to school?”
“I know. I watch you from my bedroom window in the mornings as you get on the school bus. What’s it like, William, to ride on one of those big yellow buses?” Nicole turned her back to the window. She’d love to sit on the floor like William, but mostly she’d love for him to pick those green pieces up.
“It’s kinda fun and loud, and sometimes there are fights.” Will handed Nic the red car.
“Fights!” Nicole exclaimed, as she held the tiny car between her thumb and index finger. She had no idea what William wanted her to do with it. “That doesn’t sound like fun at all.”
Will shrugged and wiped his hands on his pants. “You don’t go to school? That must be fun.”
Nicole didn’t think it was fun at all. She would much rather go to school and make friends. “I do my lessons at home. I have tutors that come three days a week to teach me.”
Will dug around in his pocket and pulled out a rumpled pack of gum. He pulled a piece out and offered it to Nicole.
Nicole eyed the gum. Sometimes gentlemen from church gave her sticks of gum, but grandmother said gum would rot her teeth out. So instead of taking the gum like she wanted to, she shook her head. “No, thank you.” Nicole watched in amazement as William unwrapped two sticks of gum and stuffed them into his mouth and chewed loudly. “William, do you have friends?”
Will slurped and swallowed and then moved the big ball of gum to one cheek, making him look like a chipmunk with a mouth full of nuts. “Sure I do. I have a bunch of friends. Don’t you?”
“No, not really. I guess my grandparents’ friends are also my friends.”
“But they are old. Don’t you have friends your age?”
“No. Our church has children my age, but Grandmother says I must attend to the Lord with the grownups. She says that children from a young age should learn to sit up and behave and learn, when in the Lord’s house.”
Will smiled through the wad of gum. “Well, now you have me, Nic.”
Nicole giggled. “Thank you, William.”
***
“William, are you certain?” Nicole wrung her hands in nervousness as she peeked out her open bedroom window. The distance to the ground seemed much too far away.
“Come on, Nic. I’ll help you. You know I won’t let you fall.” Will balanced on the trellis with one hand and held his other hand out towards Nicole.
Nicole worried her bottom lip between her teeth and took a step closer. In the very short time since she’d made William’s acquaintance, he’d been nothing but helpful. But that was still a long way down, and this time she wasn’t on her father’s shoulders.
“Do you want to watch the movie over here? I can go get it.”
Nicole tipped her head and her copper curls sprang around her face. “We don’t have a television, William.
Will’s eyes rounded and he looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“You don’t?” Will shook his head, his eyes growing round in disbelief. “What do you do for fun?”
“I read quite a lot. And we listen to the phonograph. Grandfather has a wonderful collection of Bing Cosby and Frank Sinatra records. Of course Benny Goodman is my favorite. I can really tap my foot to his music. It’s quite lively.”
William continued to stare at her, and she didn’t appreciate the patronizing look on his face one little bit.
“Nic, come on. We don’t have time to waste. I’ve got so much more to teach you. Nobody listens to those people anymore. I don’t even know who they are. Just put your foot out and crawl down my body like a ladder. Then you can jump the rest of the way.”
Nicole peered over the sill once more and scrunched up her nose. She was curious about the movie. All she’d ever watched on television were cartoons when her grandmother was at her Circle Meetings at someone else’s house, and she really wanted to see the movie William told her about. Talking fish sounded like so much fun. She gathered her night rail in her arms and took William’s hand. After climbing through she latched onto his back and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to see how far she’d fall if she slipped. Inch by inch she crawled along his back until she felt his legs.
“That’s it, Nic. Now all you have to do is jump the rest of the way.”
Nicole opened her eyes, turned loose, and landed solidly on her slippered feet. After impact she froze and took inventory. Finding nothing injured she smiled up at William. “I did it!”
“Shhhh, quiet.” Will jumped and landed beside Nicole. “We don’t want to wake your grandparents.”
“Oh, yes. Sorry.” Nicole smoothed her white cotton night rail down.
“Come on, let’s go to my house.” Will took Nicole’s hand and led her through the hedge and right to his bedroom window. “I’ll climb through and then help you in.”
“Alright, William. I suppose going in is much the same as going out.”
Once inside Will leaned out the window. Nicole was able to reach up, grab his arms and Will lifted her inside. He was so strong.
Nicole stood quietly in William’s room and looked around in awe. Their rooms were vastly different. William had toys everywhere. One entire wire basket was filled with balls. Posters of vehicles she’d never seen and sweaty-looking men holding balls decorated his walls. His room was neat, but by no means was it as orderly as hers. Toys weren’t to be seen according to her grandmother. That’s probably why she didn’t hav
e very many.
“Go ahead, crawl up in bed, and I’ll start the show.”
Nicole took her slippers off and placed them neatly beside the bed. “How do you play with so many toys?”
“I don’t know.” Will turned the sound down low and joined Nic on his bed. “Don’t you have a lot?”
Nicole thought about her answer as she scooted over to make room for Will. “I suppose I have what I need.”
Will frowned. “What kind of games do you have?” He pulled the cover over both of them.
Nicole twisted her mouth, thinking hard. “Grandfather and I play backgammon. I’m quite fond of that.”
“Backgammon? That’s not a fun game. My nana plays that. What about toys? What do you play with?”
“I.” Nicole started to answer but stopped. She looked around Will’s room again. She had nothing like he did. Would Will think she wasn’t fun if she didn’t have toys? “I have my books. I spend much of my day reading. I travel all over the world between the pages of a book, William.”
Will shook his head and reached over to his bedside table. “Here. You can have this to take home and play with.”
Nicole took the cold metal object in her hands and looked at it from all sides trying to figure out its intended purpose. It looked like a spring she’d seen sticking out of the bottom of her grandmother’s couch. Her eyes questioned Will.
Instead of answering her, Will took the object and held the two ends in the palms of his hands and tossed the spring back and forth. It made a tinny, slinky sound almost like purring.
Nicole watched the mesmerizing movement of the toy and giggled. “It’s rather fun, isn’t it, William? May I have a try?” Nicole looked up into Will’s eyes with delight.
“Sure.” Will chuckled at her excitement and handed it over. He helped her to position the ends in her tiny hands. “Now, let one hand drop lower than the other one and then lift it up and lower the other hand. That’s it!”
Nicole stuck her pink tongue out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated on making the toy work as Will had. “I’m doing it, William!”
“You sure are.”
The movie forgotten, Will taught Nic how to play with many of his toys. When Will walked Nic back to her bedroom later that night and helped her to climb in her window, she still clung tightly to the silver metal toy. Neither one of them saw the shadowy figure watching from the veranda or the ember glow from the end of a cigar.
At least once a week after that night, Will began gifting Nicole with toys. He explained to Nicole that a boy his age no longer found some toys interesting but a girl as young as she was would still enjoy them. And she did ever so much. She kept them in an old suitcase she’d found in the attic and then pushed under her bed, hoping her grandmother wouldn’t notice it especially with her rule about toys shouldn’t be seen. She’d never see them under there.
*************
“Nic.” Will whispered.
Nicole turned over in her bed and smiled at Will as he hung his head through her bedroom window. “Hello, William. Are we going on an adventure tonight?”
“Come on, get dressed. The moon is so bright I thought it’d be a perfect night to search for pirate treasure.”
Nicole quietly got out of bed and searched under her bed for her suitcase, or treasure case as she’d come to think of it. She opened it and took out the old pair of shorts and t-shirt that had belonged to Will’s younger brother. Will said she needed play clothes that she didn’t have to worry about messing up when they went on their adventures.
Once she’d pulled her night rail over her head and tossed it on her bed, she pulled on the worn clothes, grabbed her flashlight and shimmed down Will’s body like a professional. She’d had a lot of practice.
Once on the ground Will took Nicole’s hand and they ran quietly to his treehouse in the woods behind his house.
“What type of treasure are we searching for, Will?”
“Pirate booty.”
Nicole laughed. “That sounds funny.”
“That’s what they call all the gold and jewels a pirate steels from the rich. He keeps everything in a treasure chest. Sometimes their ship sinks and then the treasure is lost and washes up on shores, just waiting to be found.”
“And we’re going to find some?”
“We’re going to try.”
“Alright.” Nicole started shinning her flashlight along the lake’s shore.
Will dug around in his pocket and handed Nic a chocolate covered caramel; her favorite. Nicole looked at the tasty treat and shook her head sadly. “I don’t think I should eat that, Will.” Nicole felt her lower lip begin to tremble.
“Woah, Nic. Hold on. Don’t cry. What’s wrong?”
“William, I’m afraid I’m losing my teeth.” Nicole opened her rose bud lips and showed Will the little pearly white tooth in the front of her mouth. “Look.” Nicole took her finger and wiggled the bottom front tooth. “See, it’s falling out. I’m going to have to wear store-bought teeth like Grandfather!”
Nicole threw herself into Will’s arms and cried in earnest. She didn’t want her teeth to stare at her from a glass on the bathroom sink. It was horrible, just horrible.
“Nic, you aren’t losing your teeth like your grandfather.” Will continued to pat her on the back.
“I…I’m not?” Nicole took her handkerchief from her pocket and wiped at her tears and hiccupped.
“No, you’re losing your baby teeth. See, I’ve already lost a bunch of baby teeth and then more grow back in.” Will opened his mouth and stood by patiently while Nic shone her flashlight in his mouth.
Nicole stood on her tip toes to peer into Will’s mouth. “They’re bigger.”
“Yeah, that’s because you have baby teeth when you’re a baby, but you need bigger teeth to eat steak and stuff when you’re an adult. So they have to be bigger.”
Nicole tilted her head and creased her brow in thought. “I’m going to get new teeth that are mine? Not from the dentist.”
“Right. And when you do lose a tooth, you put it under your pillow and the tooth fairy takes your tooth and leaves you money. I got a dollar for each one of my teeth. I’m saving it in a jar in my closet to buy a car when I’m sixteen.”
“I didn’t know that you have that many teeth to lose, Will.”
Will started laughing. “Nic, you’re so funny sometimes. It’s not just tooth-fairy money I’ve been saving. I have birthday money, Christmas money, and the money Mom gives me for doing jobs around the house.”
“You’re so smart, Will.”
“Come on, let’s hunt for treasure.”
A week later Nicole lost her first tooth and slipped it under her pillow like Will had said to do. The next morning she jumped out of bed and looked under her pillow and her smile drooped. Her small little tooth hadn’t moved an inch. She tried not to be disappointed the tooth fairy hadn’t visited her. Maybe she only visited children with real parents.
After talking it over with Will, she tried it again the next night. Will said the tooth fairy could have been so busy she just hadn’t gotten to her tooth yet. But the next morning she found her tooth and no money. It’s not that she needed money. She had nothing to spend it on anyway. But she would have liked to have experienced the magic.
****
Will stood outside his parents’ bedroom door and knocked. “Mom, Dad, can I talk to you?”
“Sure, son. Come on in.” Will’s dad called out.
Will pushed the door open and walked in. His mom put her book down on the bedside table and his dad sat up against the headboard. Will crawled up between them.
“What’s wrong, Will. You look upset? Did something happen in school?” His mom brushed his hair back out of his eyes.
“No, nothing like that. It’s Nic. She lost a tooth three days ago, and the tooth fairy hasn’t been to see her. She says it doesn’t matter, but I know she’s sad about it. I just
can’t figure out what she’s doing wrong. Do you have any ideas?”
Will’s mom and dad looked at each other over the top of Will’s sandy brown hair, smiled, and nodded to each other. Will’s mom put her arm around him and gave him a hug. “Well, Son. I think we need to have a discussion….”
Later that night a much older and wiser Will made his way to Nic’s with a crisp dollar bill in his hand. His mom had even sprinkled it with fairy dust. Will was a bit disappointed fairy dust was actually glitter from his mom’s craft room. He was also glad he’d suggested Nic leave her bedroom window open that night to give the tooth fairy an easy way in.
Will landed silently on his feet inside Nic’s room. He looked around her bedroom and other than her bed and side table, a chair in the corner by the window and a small bookcase filled with books, the room was virtually bare. No wonder Nic thought he had lots of toys. He’d only ever seen Nic’s room from the window; being inside didn’t feel warm and cozy like his house.
It took him only a moment to slide the money under Nic’s pillow while she slept, and then he made his way back out the window and down the trellis. He had a surprise awaiting him at the bottom.
“Good evening, young man.”
Will jumped and stumbled. Nic’s grandfather leaned against the house with his cigar between his teeth. “Good evening, sir.” Will looked around nervously, wishing he’d let his parents come with him like they’d wanted to. How would he ever explain?
“Lovely evening, isn’t it?”
Will swallowed and kept his eyes on Mr. Montgomery’s hands as the man reached into his pants pocket and withdrew a pocket knife. “Yes. Yes, sir, it surely is a nice evening.”
Will began to shift from foot to foot, ready to run at a moment’s notice should things turn bad. He let out a sigh of relief when Mr. Montgomery opened the knife and began to clean under his fingernails.
“Would you like to tell me what you were doing in my granddaughter’s bedroom in the middle of the night?”
“Tooth,” Will spit out quickly, and then cleared his throat and tried again. “Nicole lost a tooth, sir, and the tooth fairy didn’t come see her.”
You Promised Me Forever (The Dirty Ankle Series Book 1) Page 2