Sully helped her with the crushed rock paths. He clawed them up, loosening the compacted material and bringing up to the top newer looking rock. They tamped it down to compact it once again, the final results bringing a brighter color and making it look like it had just been laid. Summer was really proud of the results and brought Dr. Stuart over for inspection when she was pretty much done.
He was floored by all that she had done and how meticulously she had kept to the original garden. Many would have opted for an easier and faster route to planting, but it was clear she had put her full effort into appeasing Ms. Midnight’s demands.
She explained to Dr. Stuart her plans to expand the garden with some plants he suggested in some outer lying areas of the square knot, and to incorporate them into the existing garden. The trick was going to be trying to match the crushed rock. Dr. Stuart had some suggestion on that topic and was enlivened by her enthusiasm. She also told him how she was going to implement a drip system to help with the maintenance.
All the while Summer was giving Dr. Stuart his tour of the finished garden, Ms. Midnight stood at her post in the upstairs window scowling at both of them until Dr. Stuart waved and she stepped back, concealing herself from their sight with the draperies.
*****
“I see nothing much has changed in your relationship with Ms. Midnight despite finding Sully and the few conversations you’ve had with her,” Dr. Stuart said, taking his gaze off the curtain-clad window and focusing on Summer.
“No, I’m sad to say. And the worst part is I don’t even know where to start. Everything she says to me is so cryptic. Aside from that one conversation where we talked about Ms. Ash where she seemed so…lucid.” Frustrated, Summer plopped down on the bench.
“You’re doing your best, that’s all you can do,” Dr. Stuart said, picking up the ball Sully had dropped at his feet and throwing it towards the graveyard.
“Maybe. But I feel like I’m letting her down. If I could just understand what she’s talking about.”
“Well, I hate to say it, but it could very well be all in her head. From what you’ve told me, nothing much she’s said makes a lot of sense.”
“I don’t know. When she saw Sully she was so pleasant albeit sad. Ms. Ash was a real thing…not a person, but definitely a living thing. It just makes me think this rat and broom she keeps referring to are real things too, but to a person like me who doesn’t know anything about her or her family, it makes no sense.”
“So you think the rat could be a person?” Dr. Stuart asked.
“Or someTHING. It’s definitely not a rat. You should have seen her face when I showed her the rat I caught. I thought she was going to jump out of her skin. Someone who reacts like that to a rat definitely does not have one as a pet.”
He chuckled. “I see your point.”
“No…there’s something I’m missing…something between the lines.”
“Well, I don’t know any Mr. Rats in town, or for that matter any families named Broom. Hopefully she’ll relay more information to you.” He stood.
“Leaving?”
“Yes. I told Missy Rogers I’d stop by and check on Goldy.”
“Is she molting again?”
“No, I think she’s getting ready to lay an egg, but you know how Mrs. Rogers gets so nervous if one of her birds starts behaving strangely.”
“Boy, do I,” Summer admitted.
They both headed for the side gate near the cottage to run into Tori.
*****
“Maybe I should start holding office meetings here?” Dr. Stuart suggested.
“No way, doc. I came for some much needed girl time,” Tori blurted out.
“All righty then. I’ll let you two get to it.” Dr. Stuart said his goodbyes and patted Sully on the head.
As Dr. Stuart started for his car, it dawned on Summer she had meant to ask him a question. “Oh, wait…Dr. Stuart?”
“Yes.”
“I meant to ask you…do you happen to know who lives in that house?” Summer pointed to the neighboring house in which she had seen the terrified cat.
Dr. Stuart turned to look at the small, aging cottage with the faded yellow peeling color, trimmed in white. “Hmm. It had been a rental for years, but I wasn’t aware of anyone renting it in ages. Why do you ask? Is someone living there?”
“I…don’t know, I mean I, we, Sully and I saw a cat inside clawing at the window pane. He looked terrified, but then he was gone and I haven’t seen him since. I knocked on the door, but no one answered and I couldn’t hear the cat crying, but the whole thing was disturbing. It really bothered me. Should I break in and see if the cat might have gotten left behind or found his way into the house by accident and can’t get back out?” Summer asked.
“Before you do that, let me call Mr. Henesy’s daughter, Clair. I believe she owns the house now that Mr. Henesy has died. I’ll see if anyone has rented it. If not, I’ll let Clair know what we’re going to do, and then I’ll come back with a crowbar and help you.”
“Thank you, Dr. Stuart. That would make me feel so much better,” Summer said.
“No problem. I’ll let you know as soon as I have any info. Bye, girls!” he said as he got into his car.
Tori looped her arm in Summer’s. They turned for the cottage when Summer patted Tori’s hand, sending her a zap of electricity they both saw and heard.
“Ow!” Tori said, releasing Summer’s arm.
“Oh, my God. Tori, I’m sorry. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. The air must be unusually dry,” Summer said.
“I don’t think so. My hair will go frizzy when the air is dry and though my green streaks are fading, I’m having a rather good hair day, if I don’t say so myself,” Tori said, tossing her locks.
“You are, definitely. I guess it’s just a fluke, but I’ve been zapping things for the last couple of days. Maybe I’m shuffling my feet,” Summer laughed. “So you’ve been missing me, huh? Figured you’d be so busy with Nick that you’d hardly notice me being gone.”
“I always miss girl time. Nick’s great—he’s gorgeous, he’s a vamp, he’s—”
“Great to you,” Summer inserted.
“Yeah! He’s all that, but, let’s face it, he’s still a guy and a girl NEEDS her bestest friend to hang with once in a while,” Tori admitted.
“Everything is okay though, right? You two are good?”
“Oh yeah! Things are fine. I mean, he just says dumb guy things every once in a while that irk me.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, you know, when he tells me I ‘shouldn’t feel that way’ or tells me how I need to ‘fix’ something when all I wanted to do was talk about it. I mean, what is it with men? Why do they feel they need to tell you how to do everything? And why is it so hard to close a cabinet door after opening it? I just about slammed my head into one the other day coming into the kitchen. I swear, every one of them was open. And don’t get me started on the toilet seat…I just about killed myself falling into the pot the other night.”
Summer tried to hold back a laugh at the thought of her friend lit only by the moonlight coming in the window, bent like a ‘V’ in the toilet, flailing her arms and legs trying to get out.
“I know. Believe me, it was not a pretty sight,” Tori said, but then started to laugh. “Speaking of guys…have you heard from Jackson?”
“No. Why?”
“No? I’m surprised. He’s called the clinic a couple of times since you’ve been gone, looking for you. I just assumed he called here.”
“No. In fact I was kind of wondering if he had second thoughts about me,” Summer said sadly.
“Everything Nick has said suggests Jackson really likes you. I wonder if he lost your cellphone number and is just too embarrassed to ask for it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe we should do a foursome again? We could do movie night here in the graveyard. Wouldn’t that be awesome? We could put up a white sheet and borrow that projecto
r Dr. Stuart uses at meetings. That would be so cool. Like a picnic.”
“In the graveyard?” Summer said, crinkling her nose at the thought of sitting on someone’s grave.
“Where else? We could stream a movie onto my laptop and watch some great old classic, like The Wolfman or The Bride of Frankenstein,” Tori said, giddy at the thought.
“Sure. We could do that, if you want,” Summer said, uncertain that a night watching movies in the graveyard would be anything but weird and gross.
“Great…I’ll set it all up. Do you think the old bat will be all right with it?”
“I don’t think she’ll care as long as we aren’t too loud and keep it closer to my side of the yard.”
“Super. How about tomorrow night?” Tori asked.
“Sure. What should I get to eat?” Summer asked.
“Leave it to me. You don’t have to do a thing. I’ll bring everything and set it all up.”
“Okay,” Summer said. “You’re the boss.” She laughed as Tori pulled a small notebook from her coffin-shaped purse and started writing notes about what needed to be brought and done for her dream movie night in the graveyard under the stars.
Chapter 11
Tori was true to her word—she brought everything but the kitchen sink. As to setting up, well, let’s just say Tori had big ideas, but only two hands where four to six were needed. Summer didn’t mind. She and Sully followed Tori around and did as she instructed. The last time Summer had seen Tori this excited to organize an event was when they were in the sixth grade and Tori was chosen to head up the sets and props for their class play about Jonah and the Whale.
During one of their breaks, Summer received a call from Dr. Stuart.
“Summer, just wanted to let you know I hunted down Clair.”
“Oh, good. Has she rented the house out?”
“Yes, quite recently, in fact.”
“Well, I suppose it’s good I didn’t go and jimmy the lock then.”
“Yes. I think that would have been surprising for the both of you.”
“At least the cat I saw wasn’t trapped in the house. Come to think of it, he was rather rotund—certainly not the look of a starving cat, but he certainly looked scared. The weird thing is I haven’t seen any sign of the renter—no car, no lights, nothing.”
“That is odd. Maybe he travels a lot.”
“Maybe. Clair didn’t happen to give the name of the renter, did she?”
“No, but then I didn’t ask.”
“No reason you should have, I just wondered if she offered. Thank you for calling her. It doesn’t make me feel one hundred percent better, but at least I won’t be put in jail for breaking and entering.”
“No problem. Enjoy your ‘movie under the stars.’”
“Oh, you heard about that.”
“Yes. Tori told me about it when she asked to use the projector. Sounds like fun,” Dr. Stuart said.
“Maybe. I’m not excited about sitting on someone’s grave, but Tori is having so much fun setting it up, I couldn’t possibly burst her bubble.”
“I better go. Got to stop by the clinic and check up on Buster.”
“Right. See you Monday.”
*****
Summer had to admit that though she still felt awkward sitting on a blanketed grave propped up with pillows against ancient tombstones, the evening was quite lovely. They had sub sandwiches and soda, along with popcorn and licorice whips to munch on while they watched Young Frankenstein—one of Summer’s all-time favorite comedies.
The weather that evening was perfect. They started the movie about the time the sky turned from pinks and purples to violet and indigo. On occasion, a light caress of air would blow by, fluttering the tied sheet that was posing as a screen. It had been warm during the day, but the evening brought on delectable coolness from the snow-capped mountain peaks.
There was not much alone time with Jackson, but maybe that was what Summer and Jackson needed. With them both quite shy around the opposite sex, a movie double date kept the stress of keeping up small talk to a minimum. Summer felt relaxed sitting under the stars touching shoulders ever so slightly with Jackson. They laughed, ate and threw popcorn at Nick and Tori every time they started smooching. Sully lay with his head in Summer’s lap, keeping a watchful eye on Jackson. Summer wasn’t sure but she thought Jackson had made an attempt to put his arm around her a couple of times, to which Sully raised his head in disapproval and Jackson withdrew.
Summer also noticed that Sully’s eyes watered some and he seemed to be sniffing a bit. If she didn’t know better, she would guess Sully might be coming down with a little cold or allergies. She might have reprimanded him at discouraging Jackson’s advances, but she figured there was plenty of time for that in the future, and if Sully was getting sick, he was her priority.
Several times during the evening she thought she heard a voice. Not really words per se, but moans of discomfort or pain, maybe even boredom. She caught herself looking over her shoulder behind the tombstone, to see nothing. By the reactions of the others, it was apparent she was the only one hearing the voice and she wrote it off as some kind of sound distortion from the movie bouncing off the trees and buildings, being moved around in the breeze.
During a potty break after the first movie, Tori busied herself setting up the next show on the projector with her computer. Jackson and Summer headed back to the cottage to make another batch of popcorn and recycle the soda and beer cans and bottles. Sully darted off after something in the woods, barking as he went. Summer laughed at him as he lumbered away, ears flopping and tail wagging. He looked so out of proportion with his giant feet and legs that looked too long for his growing body.
Jackson and Summer chatted while they waited for the microwave to pop the popcorn. Jackson sat on the little sofa with a chewed cushioned. Summer cringed at the memory of Sully’s first morning in the small house. She needed to find a new chair. Readjusting his position, Jackson pulled a manila pouch from between the cushions and looked it over. “Did you lose this?” he asked.
She stiffened when she saw the envelope and took it from his offering hand. “No. Not exactly. I’ve just been avoiding it.”
“Why?” he asked. “What’s in it?”
“I haven’t a clue. It was something the sisters found in my swaddling when they found me,” she answered, turning the envelope over and over.
“And you haven’t opened it because…?” he asked with concern.
“I don’t know. I guess I’m a little scared of what I will find inside.”
“Afraid? What could possibly be inside that you’d be afraid of?”
“Information. My past. A feasible reason why I was abandoned,” she said.
“But isn’t that a good thing?” he asked, setting his comforting hand on her shoulder.
“I suppose. I guess, when you’ve wondered for so long. The possibilities of the answer are a little scary,” she said trying to work out her fear in her head as she verbalized it.
“Information and truth are good things, it’s what you do with them that make them bad. Think of all the worries you can throw away with the truth the contents might reveal. Open it. I’ll hold your hand, literally if you like, or I can get Tori.”
“No. Having you here is fine. I appreciate it. Okay. Here goes nothing,” she said, tearing the paper at one end. Before pouring the contents into her lap she looked to Jackson for encouragement and took a deep breath. She tipped the pouch and out rolled out a wooden cube with beautiful markings of red, black, yellow and brown. She felt a little disappointed. She picked it up turned it this way and that admiring the craftsmanship then shrugged her shoulders at him. “It’s a block of wood. Nothing super revealing there.” The microwave dinged and Summer handed him the cube. He silently inspected the small box.
Summer poured the fluffy white kernels of hot popcorn into a large bowl, and headed for the sofa, tossing a piece of popcorn that didn’t make it into the bowl into her mouth. Sh
e sat, setting the full dish on the coffee table in front of them.
She turned her attention to the wooden box in his hands. “It’s kind of cool looking, don’t you think?”
“Cool? This is a work of art. I’ve never seen one so intricately designed and the workmanship is, well, it’s perfect.”
She furrowed her brow in confusion. “You’ve seen one of these before?”
“Well, not one of this magnitude, but yes, many.”
“Really? Great, then you can tell me what the heck it is?”
He did a double take, then announced as if he was astounded she didn’t know, “It’s a Japanese puzzle box—one of the most magnificent ones I’ve ever seen too.”
“A puzzle box?”
“Yes. These are often given at weddings or other special occasions. Money is sometimes placed within. Sometimes tiny presents,” he explained.
“Really? How do you open it?” she asked, intrigued by his excitement.
“Each master artist has their own design secrets. Sometimes they are simple—maybe two or three moves will open the box; others are very complicated having over a hundred steps. They were used to keep important documents or secrets inside them, and then later, they became a fun way to give money or trinkets.”
He pointed to the pattern on the box, “This pattern here with the different colored circles—that is called the ‘Yakko’ pattern. And this one here that looks like diamond fish scales—that is called ‘Nami.’ Each of the colors is a different wood. The masters take deep pride in making these amazing patterns with no dyes or paints.”
“Really. I thought it was painted, hmm,” she said with interest.
“In the area where these are made, Hakone, there are many different native woods, giving the artist a wide array of colors for their marquetry.”
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