by S. Graham
"Great, let's just keep adding the disasters to this house. I'm going to call a window company and get it replaced before the boys get home."
Mitch storms past me, and I'm left standing there staring. What the hell happened?
I start ripping the sheets off and remove items from the room. This will be an all-day cleanup.
My mind wanders to our conversation before the window. Kelowna would be nice; it would mean a possible end to this madness.
Chapter 12
After the alarm company spends two hours in my house trying to find what went wrong, they left with no answer. They couldn't find a single reason for the alarms going off. They said everything was fine, and maybe the wind on the window panel triggered the alarm. I wasn't even attempting to argue or tell them it wasn't windy last night. Deep down, I knew the reason.
Mitch managed to get someone out to replace the window rather fast; he too did not offer an explanation as to why the window shattered into our son's room. All my mind kept wondering was the possibility of moving back home to Kelowna. We were also lucky the rental company reimbursed us right away for the window, knowing I couldn't exactly wait for the ticket to be made and distributed. I needed a window replaced immediately, and I got just that.
There is one hour left until I have to pick up the kids from school and I want to call my mother. She would be over the moon with excitement over Mitch's offer, but I also wanted her to calm me down with everything going on in this house at this very moment. Plus, I'm completely alone, so an undisturbed phone call is just what's needed.
"Becca, that's amazing news! You know how much I would love my grandkids closer."
"I know, Mom." I let out a small smile while talking to her. I knew this would make her day.
"I think it's time to come home and settle down, and more so get the heck out of this house, Mom. I'm always scared and not sure what's going to happen next."
"I told you Becca, something is not right with that house."
"I know, Mom. I've actually got used to some of the things going on here. Like when I'm downstairs and the kids are in school I can hear walking upstairs or toys going off. I just let it go, it's the windows exploding or night-time occurrences I can't handle. I don't want to see this little boy anymore, and is this a safe place for my kids?"
Just then, there is a disturbance upstairs that is now making its way down the staircase. I turn my head and see a blue ball bounce from the last step. My stomach instantly gets butterflies.
"Mom, listen, I have to go grab the boys from school. I'll keep you posted, I promise".
"Okay bye love, give the boys a kiss for me."
"Bye, Mom!" I hang up the phone and grab my keys. I can go sit in a car line for 45 minutes, but I'm not waiting in this house. Grabbing my purse, I open the door and step out. The heat hits my back as I close the door behind me and lock it. Something hit the door on the other side with force. I know that sound; it's the blue ball bouncing off the inside of the door.
Someone is mad. I head to the car fast with an awful feeling that the worst is right around the corner, or in this case, the door.
Chapter 13
Weeks go by and so much changes. We have decided to take the offer and relocate our family back to Kelowna, Canada. It was rather an easy decision but a decision that comes with so much work.
"Mitch, I'm serious, this house gives me the creeps. Something is going on here."
"You need to stop, I don't believe in this supernatural stuff. We will be out soon enough, and we can start packing. Our move back to Canada will be great for everyone."
"I get that Mitch, but until we move you are still traveling and being gone for 5 days at a time. It is a long time for me to be alone in this house with the kids and whatever else is going on here."
"Becca, you will be fine and if something comes up head to a hotel if it makes you feel better."
"Fine," I say, completely understanding I've lost this battle.
Mitch grabs the suitcase handle and pulls it to the front door. "Boys? I'm leaving, come give Daddy a kiss goodbye." The boys run downstairs and race to Dad, grabbing onto him with a good squeeze. "Now listen boys, you are the men of the house until I get back, you understand?"
"Yes, we understand Dad. That means we are the boss." They both look at me and smile.
I shake my head, "Not likely my loves, Mom is the boss of this house."
Mitch laughs and leans over to give me a nice long kiss. "I'll be back as soon as I can, I love you."
Fixing the collar of his jacket, I smile. "I love you too, text me when you land."
Mitch opens the door, and the Texas heat pushes its way into our air-conditioned house. We wave at the door and close it as Mitch turns the corner to head to the driveway.
"We're the boss of Mom… We're the boss of Mom." The boys sing while dancing around me, celebrating.
"Good grief," I say and roll my eyes. "Who's ready for the pool?"
"I am!" screams Connor.
"Let's go get changed, then Mommy is going to start packing."
We head outside, and the strong sun feels so good on my skin. The boys are jumping into the pool's deep end. Logan launches on the surface of the water; his life vest makes him bob in the water. They sure love this life of pool, sunshine, and friends. The upcoming movie will be another adjustment. The boys pull themselves to the edge and get out of the water, sopping wet. They bend their knees getting ready to launch off of the side of the pool again, when we are interrupted by an alarming sound coming from inside the house.
It's Mats, our tiny chihuahua, yelping like he's being attacked from the inside of the house. Connor looks at me with a very concerned face. "Mom?" All three of us run to the back door as the yelping gets more violent with the sound of glass hitting the floors. Did someone break into our house? Is someone hurting my dog?
"Kids, get behind me!" I reach for the doorknob, and it's locked. Who locked our door?
"Come on boys, quick," I say as I usher them to follow me.
"Mom, I'm scared."
"It's okay, Connor, maybe Mats is just being silly." I always leave a window open on the main level. Mitch hates it because we have the air conditioning on, but sometimes a bit of fresh air in the morning is what the house needs. We run along the side of the house, and sure enough, the window is open. Mats has stopped yelping, but now I can't hear him at all. Sick to my stomach and shaking badly, I pry the screen off the window. Stepping in. "Mats?" The boys are at the window pushing their heads in to see, but they are not stepping in. Taking two steps, I can see glass all over my kitchen tile from dishes that were in my cabinets. Right beside the island in the kitchen was Mats lying on the floor. His eyes were open; he was breathing fast but not moving. No one is here.
"Mom, we are coming in." I look back and see them crawling inside. I head back over to the window to help the boys place them in a safe place away from the broken glass.
"Is Mats okay?" Connor asks.
"I think so!" I kneel down next to Mats. He lets out a small whimper and lifts his head. "What happened buddy?" Mats sits up and shakes his head, climbing all over me, whimpering; he looks terrified. Picking him up, I look over at the boys.
"See? He seems okay. Why don't we get changed and take him over to our vet and to him looked at?" The boys agree and immediately start removing the wet swim trunks right there on the spot. "Run upstairs and put your clothes back on, they are on the bed." The boys dart for the stairs while letting out giggles. Standing there, I am holding Mats, who is still shaking.
"What happened little buddy?" Glancing around, I check all the other windows and doors. Everything is locked, and I honestly have no clue what happened.
We are waiting for the vet to come into our room after looking over Mats. The door opens, and a tall man in his 30s steps in wearing a long white coat.
"Mrs. Morgan, I have looked over Mats and can honestly say I'm not too sure what happened to him. His vitals are good, and his heart ra
te has come down. He seemed rather stressed when I first saw him. To me, the injuries are superficial. I would usually say that maybe it was a result of being thrown around during play and maybe hitting something."
I frown. "This didn't sound like playing, more like an animal screaming in pain."
"If you don't mind, we would like to keep Mats for observation. He has calmed down dramatically and is now sleeping. I would feel better monitoring him to make sure seizures are not playing a role either."
"This makes no sense." grabbing my keys in frustration. The boys follow my cue and stand up to leave.
"I'm sorry, I don't have anything else for you, but know we will take very good care of him overnight." My eyes tear up, and I take the boy's hands as I'm heading out of the room.
"Thank you!" I say.
"Mats isn't coming Mommy?" asks Logan.
"No, baby. The doctor wants to make sure Mats is all better before he comes back home."
"Mom, I don't understand what happened to him."
"I don't know either, baby, but at least we know he is okay, right?"
"It was the zombie Mommy, he's mad."
I look over at Logan. "No, there is no zombie. Now enough of this talk, what about some ice cream?"
"Yeah!" Both boys yell in excitement. I just needed to distract the boys from the zombie topic because maybe Logan might be right; I think someone is mad.
We are back home after a big bowl of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles; it seems to cure almost anything. The boys are in my bed for the sleepover since Mitch is away and out like lights. I'm taping the bottom of boxes and getting them ready to fill with our belongings, to start the packing process. The best time to work is in the dead of the night when the house is quiet, and all I hear is the noise of the dateline on the TV. It is probably not the best show to watch with Mitch gone and all the unexplained things going on, but it's a distraction while I pack. The house remains silent while I fill the boxes with my books and living room decor. I tape the top tight securing and labeling 'Living Room Decor' on the box. Four full boxes are done, and I realize how truly exhausted I am. Walking toward the wall, I turn on the alarm system and turn off the lights.
Tomorrow I'll pack my photography room and the kids' playroom. It should be done in less than a week. I walk into my room, closing the door behind me, making sure to lock it. My phone beside my bed pings, and as I walk over to grab it, I see the boys are almost cuddling each other, sleeping. Logan lets out a tiny snore. Picking up my phone, I can see it's Mitch.
"How are things?"
"Everything is fine, I'm heading to bed now. Love you.".
Mitch texts back. "Night babe, see you in four days."
I told Mitch earlier about Mats, and he was concerned, but of course, he has a reason for everything. "Baby, he's 13 years old, he's probably having a seizure." I was so deflated and tired I didn't even respond. I put my phone down and lay down in bed; my eyelids are so very heavy. Closing them, I drift off into a deep sleep.
"Mom, wake up! I want pancakes." Opening my eyes, I can see the sunlight is coming through the blinds.
I never woke up in the middle of the night? Was the house silent? I feel like a million dollars. I roll over, and Logan is in the middle, still sleeping and Connor on his side facing me. "Please Mom, pancakes?"
"Sure!" I say, smiling. How can I say no to this perfect little face?
Logan stirs and rubs his eyes. "Mom can I have a birthday cake for breakfast?"
I laugh. "No to Logan's birthday cake, but pancakes will be ready in ten."
Sitting up, I check my phone. Mitch's first-morning text has come in. "Love you baby, have a great day and talk to you after my meetings." Putting down the phone, I stand up, heading to my hanging housecoat. I really do feel great. Tying the belt around my waist, I open the bedroom door. Walking around the corner to my living room, I look up, stopping completely dead in my tracks. The four boxes I had packed are completely unpacked, and my books are lying all over the floor shredded into a million pieces; it looks like snow all over my living room. The living room glass decor was back on the shelves where I took them from, but the books were completely destroyed.
"Look Logan, it's Christmas." The kids push past me and pick up handfuls of novel paper, throwing it high above their heads and letting it fall to the floor. Glancing around at all the doors, I can see they are locked, and the alarm system is still armed.
"Boys, Mom is going to take you to Carol's after we eat, Mom has some cleaning to do."
My legs are shaking, but this is not a time to lose it. I'm going to not react at all. Stepping over the mess and into the kitchen, I pull out the bowls for the pancakes. What excuse can Mitch come up with for this one? I wonder.
Chapter 14
"What? There is no way, Becca. That's impossible. You have had so much on your mind with the move, Mats, and not sleeping. You must have dreamt you packed." I listen to him on the phone. How bad is it that I don't even want to argue about this anymore? What's the point? It's a losing battle, and I have never won yet.
"Yeah, probably," I say, rolling my eyes, ending that conversation.
"Listen, Becca, I'm walking in to the meeting. I'll call you later."
"Love you." I hang up the phone.
The boys have been over at Carol's for a couple of hours while I clean up the insane mess of paper all over the first floor. The books that were entirely destroyed were ones I've had for a very long time, passed down from my family. Now they are all gone, my heart ached. Making my way to the front door to grab the kids from Carol's, I notice one tiny piece of paper ripped from a book. I must have missed this one somehow. I bend down and pick up the paper to see one tiny word on it. "Forever," I say out loud. Forever. My hand crumbles it up into a tiny ball, and I think to myself, not freaking likely.
The boys fly through the door at a swift speed and run straight upstairs laughing.
"Mom is heading to the camera room to pack."
"Sweet," says Connor, "Let's grab some army men and make a base in Mom's room." Good, that should keep them busy while I pack. I drag a couple of empty all-ready, assembled boxes and bring them upstairs into my camera room. I love how the room is set up all over with photos of my grandpa and me, full of so many memories. This is how photography started for me. My grandfather and I would take some shots and then discuss what we did to get that effect. He would always find the oldest camera he could and buy it off eBay, so proud of his new find. It was a joy we shared until his last days when he left us too soon. He left all his cameras to me after he passed, which meant the world to me, but never filled the void I had in my heart.
"Mom, how old is this camera?"
"Old, Connor, this one is Ansco's Buster Brown 2A. It's an antique folding camera made around 1912."
"Is that as old as you, Mom?"
"Cheeky little bugger, no."
He giggles. I'm holding the body of the camera covered in leather, letting out the smell of vintage beauty, making sure it's packed well with some bubble wrap. I would be crushed if something ever happened to any of the cameras.
"Logan! Put that down…Mom!"
"It's alright, Connor." I walk over to Logan and see he's picked up another one of my grandfather's cameras. With the Pentax SLR camera out of his hands, I take a look at it. Pentax is one of the greatest and longest-lived cameras. This one has been well-loved. Taking off the lens cover, I bring it up to my eye. It still has the sharp, clear focus, and then "click." The camera goes back to ready mode, and I look down to see that there's film in it.
"What?" I whisper. My grandfather must have gotten this old one working and started taking photos. A jump of excitement runs through my blood. What if I have some more pictures of him? It's like I can see what he saw when he took those photos. What beauty captivated him? He never finished the roll, and there must be just a couple of snaps left. It puts a soft smile on my face. It's a gift from the heavens. Packing is no longer important to me. I head to the door with
the camera in my hand. "Boys, Mom feels like celebrating. Let's make some homemade pizza and have a fun movie night."
"Yeah!" the boys scream as they drop their army men and leave them on the floor. "Let's go!" they say and start running past me. I want to call Mitch; what a gift this is. A gift from the heavens, a gift from my Pa.
The night swoops in fast. After a pizza and movie, the boys are now crawling into my bed. Still in awe from the camera, I have now taken it into my bedroom and placed it next to my bed. I set on the alarm system and close the curtains.
"Mom… what do you think my great grandfather took pictures of?" Connor asks.
"I don't know, baby, but I bet you they are something special… like you" I pick up the camera and bring the boys into focus. "Cheese!" they both say with cute little smiles. I snap a photo and can hear the sweet sound of it getting ready for another picture. There must be just one or two more photos left, and then I can get the roll developed. I'm not even sure where I can go for that. I have not developed any film in such a long time. The digital world just took over.
"Okay, boys, it's bed time." I put the camera back down on the nightstand and snuck into bed with them. Everyone is tired, and the conversation is almost non-existent. We just listen to each other's breathing, drifting off into a deep sleep.
The sunlight shines through the tiny gap left by the curtains. I wait for my eyes to completely adjust and look over to see both boys still in a deep slumber. Looking at them reminds me of how happy these kids make me feel, no matter what house or city we live in. As long as these sweet babies have a smile on their faces, that's all that matters to me. I reach over to grab my phone and see what time it is. I bump my camera. The excitement runs through me again, remembering the film that I need to develop—the gift from the heavens. My phone's time reads 8:09 am.
"Wow!" I say out loud. I actually slept all night long and slept in. So did the kids; I guess it was much needed.
I pulled up a new window on my phone started my search for a business that can develop the film. Darkroom Processing is located in Grapevine, TX. A little bit of a drive, but it will be worth it.