The Presence

by Shady Grim

  “What are you doing?” I asked him, with my arms folded over my chest.

  “Holy shit! Yeh scared the freakin’ hell outta me!” he shouted breathlessly. “What are yeh doin’ just standin’ there?”

  “I’m waiting for you. I heard you pull up so I came out to meet you, and I saw you sprint from your truck. You used to be a lot faster.”

  “I used to be a lot younger too. Yeh know I hate bein’ out here at night.” He moved past me to go into the kitchen.

  “Look, the guinea pigs are fine.” I pointed to Emily’s cherished charges, and rewarded their whistles with some fresh carrots and followed Ethan inside.

  “Yeh better lock the porch door. I saw some movement out there.”

  “Before you start telling me how many demons you saw coming out of the woods after you, you should put Emmy to bed. I let her stay up to wait for you. She’s asleep on the living room couch.” He went through to get Emmy settled, and I cut three pieces of apple pie; one for Ethan, one for Thor, and one for myself. I sat down at the kitchen table and waited for him to finish putting Emmy to bed. I’ve never liked the crust so I broke it off and gave it to Thor. I always gave him the crust from my pizza as well, and also the icing from my piece of cake, on the rare occasions that I ate any. I could tell that Ethan had big news to tell me by the way he rushed down the stairs. I could hear the stomp of his feet on every step. He’d always been heavy on his feet, which I always thought was odd for someone who was such a good runner. He sat in the chair across from me and broke the crust from his pie and handed it to Thor.

  “I went to see a friend of mine.”

  “I gathered.”

  “I talked about ‘er before, ‘er name is Carly...”

  “Yes.” I nodded my head to show my recall.

  “I explained to ‘er about Rachel and all, and...uh...all the bodies and stuff that yeh were tellin’ me about. And...uh...she had some really cool answers that I think yeh should hear.”

  “Okay, I’m listening...shoot.”

  “No, I want yeh to meet ‘er so she can explain it ‘erself.”

  “Why do I have to meet her? Why can’t you just tell me?”

  “She said she needs to meet yeh because it could change some of the information...or somethin’ like that. She said somethin’ about needin’ to see yer aura or somethin’. I’m not really sure, but I told ‘er yeh’d come to see ‘er.”

  “You spent all day with this woman, and you’re still not sure what she said to you? Do you ever pay attention to anything?”

  “I like a nice round butt. I’ll pay attention to that.”

  “Does Carly have a nice butt?”

  “No, she’s got a big wide butt.” He held his hands in the air, some distance apart. “It’s a butt of ample magnitude, as yeh can clearly see by my illustration.”

  “Well, that explains the memory lapse. So when am I supposed to meet this person?”

  “Tomorrow night.”

  “No, we can’t. We promised to take the kids to the fair tomorrow.”

  “We’re not supposed to meet ‘er ‘til ten o’clock. The kids’ll be in bed by eight. We’ll have plenty o’ time.”

  “Yeah, and Emmy’s up at six. I don’t feel like sitting up all night with some nutcase and then getting up in time for her. Besides, it’ll mess up my usual schedule.”

  “Screw yer schedule, this is important! Yeh spend too much time at home anyway. Yeh need to get out and meet people. You’re like a hermit or somethin’.”

  “I’m not a hermit. I have a retiring nature. Besides, I deal with people all day. I like to come home and relax. And this place needs a lot of work; it’s not going to fix itself. I have gardens to tend to, and I wanted this place repainted before the end of the summer.”

  He put his hands together in front of himself, as if in prayer, and pleaded with me. “This is really important, Heather. Yeh know I wouldn’t ask unless it was important.”

  “Of course you would, you do this to me all the time.” I laid my head on the table in defeat. “Alright, I’ll go.” As I stood up from the table I added, “But you have the honor of doing up the dishes because I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

  “Night.” He began clearing the dishes away from the table and put them in the sink. “Don’t forget to lock the porch door.” He pointed at the door, and I grumbled to myself as I passed him to lock it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  My dreams were plagued by images of Ethan and Shelly laughing at me. It wasn’t good-humored laughing, or even the malicious laugh of a cruel prankster. The laughter was downright maniacal. In one dream, I stood at the end of a dark corridor. I saw Ethan and Shelly hurrying toward me. They were holding hands. The longer I stood there, the faster they ran and yet they never came any nearer to me. In another dream, I saw them sitting closely together in my study and whispering. They were shooting nervous glances at the closed study door. I awoke at my usual time in the morning. I felt gutted, and I had to fight with myself to descend to the second floor. I stopped at Shelly’s bedroom door and knocked. “I hope you two are decent because I’m coming in.” I received a hesitant “come in” in reply, so I opened the door and popped my head in. Shelly was sitting up in bed looking scared and guilty and Ethan was angrily getting dressed.

  “How did you know?” she asked in a hushed tone.

  “Ventilation,” I replied. “Those two kids have been through enough. They don’t need to see the two of you acting like horny teenagers.”

  “It’s none of yer fuckin’ business what we do!” growled Ethan.

  “What happens in this house is my business!” I growled back. “If you two want to behave like this, then take it to a motel because you’re not doing it in here!” I closed the door and walked downstairs to the kitchen. As I was letting Thor outside, I could hear Ethan stomping angrily down the stairs. Shelly wasn’t far behind him, still looking very guilty.

  “Who the hell do yeh think yeh are?” yelled Ethan. His face was red with rage and the veins in his neck were bulging.

  “Ethan, don’t,” squeaked Shelly.

  “I don’t need yer help!” Shelly dropped her head and fell silent. He turned back to me and shouted, “Just because I live here don’t mean yeh have the right to run my life! I’m a grown man, and I can do as I please!”

  “It’s always about you isn’t it?” I said and stepped closer to him. “I don’t care what the two of you do, but I do care about what goes on in front of those kids. Did you ever stop to think about what this would do to Emmy? And what about Jimmy,” I said to Shelly. “Have you forgotten that you’re still married to his father?”

  “Don’t tell me how to raise my kid! I’m a good father!” Ethan leaned down so he could yell in my face and poked his index finger into my shoulder.

  “You and Shelly both know exactly how I feel about this kind of behavior–”

  “Yeh think ‘cause it’s yer house that yeh can just throw orders! Well, guess what? I don’t need yeh to tell me what to do! I make my own rules!”

  “Oh, I see what’s going on here. After you two screw up your lives, you both get to come here and play house. I’m so sorry; I didn’t realize I was only here to foot the bill. I’ll be careful to stay in my place in the future. It must be a great life.” My sarcasm sent him into a rage, he crouched into a low stance, and he swung at me with a straight right. I ducked the punch, stepped toward him, and came up with my palm under his chin and hooked my right leg behind his, sending him to the floor with a thud. “You forget that I’m the one who showed you that move. And if you ever try to hit me again, I will tear your ass apart.” I looked over at Shelly who was standing in the corner crying. “Stop sniveling and listen up! This is my home, not a whorehouse! Either you both obey the rules here or you get out!” I looked back down at Ethan, who was smart enough to stay put until I moved away, and resumed my sarcastic tone. “Now, let’s see what a good father you are today. As I reminded you last night, you promised to t
ake the kids to the fair today.” I moved away from him and started for the hall stairs. “I’ve decided to go into the office, so I won’t be around to babysit you. I wonder if you lovebirds will be able to find enough time to think of your kids instead of each other.”

  It being an unusually hot day, I put Thor in the cab of my truck to enjoy the air conditioning. He usually rode in the back, but since I had a cap on the bed the temperature became too overwhelming for a cold-weather dog even with the side windows open. He didn’t drool as much as the breed is known for unless he was overheated or anxious. So the only real drawbacks to having him in the front were the hair that he shed, and that he was so big I had to squeeze in to make room for myself. I was so angry about this morning’s altercation that I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I envisioned the scenes over and over until I began to question myself, as I always end up doing. Maybe Ethan was right, perhaps I really did go too far. But then my sense of morality would kick in and the disgust I felt at their behavior came rushing back. I was angry that they had so little respect for my feelings. I was even angrier that they were so thoughtless and selfish as to ignore the feelings of their own children. I felt that they owed it to their kids to be discreet. My troubles must have shown clearly on my face. When I arrived at the office, Dr. Zee stopped me and asked a harmless lead-in, as he always did when he was priming me for a confession.

  “You’re not scheduled to be here today. What brings you in?”

  “Oh, uh...I just thought I’d catch up on some paper work.”

  “You usually do that at home.”

  He’d been handling less-than-truthful patients for over forty years, and had known me since I was a child. I should’ve known that he was far too perceptive to slip a troubled mood past. “I had a fight with my houseguests, and I needed to get away for a while and calm down.”

  “Your cousin again, huh?” He shook his head and glanced at his watch. “The first patient isn’t due in for a bit. Let’s go into my office and talk.” I followed him into his office with Thor at my side as usual. “What happened?”

  I rubbed my hands over my face before I answered in a failed attempt to calm myself. “You know my friend, Shelly, is still staying with us, right?”

  “Yes, she and her little son.”

  I nodded my head in assent. “Well, she and Ethan have taken a liking to each other and...uh...they got together last night. I woke them up this morning, before the kids were up, and told them off about it. We continued the fight in the kitchen and Ethan threw a punch at me, so I knocked him on is butt. He told me it’s none of my business what they do and I told them if they didn’t like my rules then they should leave.”

  “What did Shelly say?”

  “Nothing, she stood in the corner and cried. I think maybe I did go too far. I mean, they are adults. It just bothered me so much that they would do something like that with their kids asleep across the hall. Emily is missing her mother, and Jimmy misses his father. It’s so selfish of them not to consider the effect it would have on the kids.”

  “If they don’t like how you run your home then they should live somewhere else. You had every right to do what you did, but you can’t protect someone else’s kids. I know you’re worried about them, but there’s nothing you can do if their parents are irresponsible.”

  “I just hate pulling the ‘It’s my house.’ routine.”

  “If they behaved like the adults they’re supposed to be, you wouldn’t have to. And it’s not just about the children’s feelings is it?”

  “I’m angry that they showed so little respect for my wishes after all the help I’ve given them. It’s not that they slept together that bothers me. It’s that they did it in my house. They should’ve rented a room or something. If they were married, or had been living together for a while I wouldn’t care, but they just met. They haven’t been separated from their spouses that long. It’s disgusting. This is the reason I wouldn’t let Ethan move in before. I knew it would be an endless stream of girlfriends and parties. He wanted to move into my apartment with me so he could get away from his parents–that was before Emmy came along. After she was born, he wanted me to give him a free house.” I was still angry about the audacity of the years-old request. “Well...you remember, I’m sure I told you all this before. I guess I’m just ranting.”

  “You feel used.”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “You are being used. If you’re too nice, people will walk all over you. If you make them feel too at home, they’ll take over your life. They’re getting too comfortable, and they’re taking your help for granted. You should never have let either of them move in with you. Let Shelly live with her family. She’s their responsibility, not yours. As for Ethan, I know he’s family, but he’s not your responsibility either. He is now what he will always be, and you can’t change him. You’re letting your heart rule your head.” He wagged his finger at me to punctuate the warning.

  “I know Ethan’s done some foolish things in the past, but I think he’s making a real effort to change.”

  “It won’t last. He’s already starting to revert back to his old behavior. I know you love Ethan, but you’re not a child anymore. You’ve outgrown him.”

  “I just can’t turn my back on family.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with giving someone a hand up. We all need a little help sometimes, but what you’re doing is a lot more than a hand up. It’s very easy to get used to be taken care of, and it looks like those two are already sprouting roots. They’ll bankrupt you if you’re not careful.” He stopped to look at his watch again. “I have to start seeing my patients now. You better put a lot of thought into this arrangement. This morning’s argument was just the beginning.” He stood up from his desk and strode out of the room.

  I left Dr. Zee’s office and went into mine. Thor lay down on his mat next to the air conditioning vent, and I sat down at my desk. I managed to lose myself in paperwork and straightening up my office. After several hours, Thor started to pace about the room so I knew he had a full bladder. There was a small wooded patch behind our offices where I took him to do his business. While I was standing around waiting for him, I decided to have an early dinner at Donnelly’s Cafe. Kate, Dr. Zee, Thor, and I usually had lunch there together, but today I passed on it as I was too preoccupied to eat. I took Thor back inside to collect his collar and leash and my briefcase. I said good day to Dr. Zee and Kate and walked down the main street toward the Cafe. I normally didn’t need to leash Thor, but with all the vacationers around I liked to keep him secured to me. He was familiar with most of the locals, and they with him, so there was no need to worry about him biting anyone; but he was notoriously aggressive with strangers, particularly men, and I rather liked him that way. His impressive size was an attraction to most people, especially children, and they frequently asked if they could pet him. He would normally allow small children to approach, but the accompanying adults had to stay back. He always gave a low warning growl to persons that he found unsavory, but there was always a thick-headed someone who ignored the warning and stepped right up to him. I’ve often had to put my hand out and sternly tell people to back away. There’ve been a handful of instances where people continued to approach even after I’d expressly told them not to, all the while insisting that dogs like them. I wonder sometimes if people are looking to be bitten so they can sue me, or if they really are so stupid that they don’t know when a dog growls at them, they’re being warned off. Luckily today, most people were at the fair so the street was quite empty.

  The main street was small and contained most of the town’s commercial businesses. There were about a dozen or so streets that extended from it, which were lined with residences and a few scattered businesses. We had one gas station, one bank, and one grocery store. The nearest hospital was two towns away. There was a greater call for veterinary services than there was for the care of a medical doctor. Dr. Zee has, on past occasions, filled in for the town vet, Dr. Sheldon Sco
vy, when he was overworked or too ill to make his rounds. It wasn’t unusual to see a dog or a cat in Zee’s waiting room, waiting to be treated for an infected ear or have a minor cut stitched and bandaged. Recently, Dr. Scovy picked up a young assistant by the name of Brian Kilpatrick, who would be leaving for veterinary school in the fall. Brian was a local from the town of Clement, which is one town over. He will, therefore, be an accepted replacement for Dr. Scovy when the time comes. Small towns can be very reluctant to accept new faces.

  We strolled lazily down the main street until we reached the cafe. By this time, Thor was drooling heavily from the heat. The owners and operators of the place were known simply as Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly. Upon entering their establishment, many of the customers were disgusted by my bringing in a slobbering dog and began to complain. But the Donnelly’s were used to Thor and Mrs. Donnelly, in particular, liked to see him. She ran to Thor with an old towel to wipe the slobber from his face. After exchanging greetings with the Donnelly’s, Thor and I went to our usual spot in the very back so as not to annoy anyone any further. I ordered a bowl of cheese ravioli and a glass of ice water, and Thor had a bowl of boiled and diced chicken with a bowl of cool water beside it. While waiting for my order, I took out my laptop to go over my finances again. The repairs on the house were a little over budget and slightly behind schedule, but not enough to be of any real concern. Ethan would’ve been working a little faster if he didn’t have to stop and break up fights between Emmy and Jimmy. Considering the mountain of work that had to be done, and with Ethan being only one person and not in top health, he was moving along rather well.

  Ethan had been telling me almost daily that the children’s fights were getting more and more vicious, to the point of being abnormal. He insisted that Jimmy had a cruel temper, but I had seen no evidence of it. The boy was always meek and sullen when I was home. He never spoke to me unless I asked him a direct question, behavior which I attributed to his stifling mother and abusive father. It’s only natural that children will have squabbles, especially when both of them are used to being an only child. It seemed to me that they were just getting more comfortable with each other so the fights were more frequent. My take on the goings on between the children doesn’t mean that I discounted Ethan’s concerns. It was unlike him to favor one child over another, even his own. In fact, he was much more likely to spoil a child than was I. Even in his worst mood, where he would give another adult hell, he wouldn’t lose his temper with a child. For him to accuse a little one of being abnormal in any way was very out of character. Because I knew him so well, I took his reports of Jimmy’s behavior as fact, but beyond his testimony I could find no evidence of unusual cruelty. It was pointless to even broach the subject with his mother because she would lie endlessly to protect him. Shelly would punish, or allow to be punished, another child for something she knew her own son had done. This marked favoritism was causing a good deal of tension in the house. Ethan felt that it was unfair to punish Emily and not Jimmy when they were both at fault. I was in total agreement with him, but how does one punish a child when that child’s parent forbids it? I concluded that it was Shelly’s protection of Jimmy that made him so eager to pick fights with Emily. What child wouldn’t take advantage of such a situation? He could do as he pleased and Emily would take all the blame for it. Since I hadn’t been witness to any unusual behavior, I was at a loss as to what to do about it. It was Ethan who had to deal with it all day, so it was he who talked to Shelly about it. He told me that so far he’d done nothing but make suggestions to her, but even that put her back up. Ethan didn’t want to cause an argument, so he let the matter slide. But as the animosity between the children was increasing, so was Ethan’s impetuous temper; or at least that’s what I was led to believe until this morning. Obviously he couldn’t be that angry with Shelly, or all that concerned about Emily. Anyone with scruples would be more concerned about the unfair treatment of his child than the chance to sleep with the person who was guilty of the prejudice. But Ethan’s code of ethics had never been awe-inspiring in the past. I suppose I had no reason to expect him to have a stellar set of ethics now.