Anna's Visions

by Joy Redmond

  When Grammy was out of hearing range, Tori looked at Jill. “I hope Grammy doesn’t think we need to start wearing girdles with our braziers.”

  “I’ll stick with pantyhose and bras,” Jill said. “At least she didn’t mention a bustle!”

  The two laughed so hard, the task of snapping green beans turned out to be more fun than work. When they finished, they took the beans into the kitchen, dumped them into the sink, and covered them with ice water like Grammy always did. Then they went back outside and rode Henry while they waited for Tori’s mom to come and pick them up.

  When Momma arrived, she sat on the porch and talked with Grammy and Poppy for a few minutes. Then they climbed into the car, and headed down the long driveway. Tori looked out the back window, waving to her grandparents until they were out on the main road.

  The next day, Tori and Jill walked uptown with the money they’d made helping Grammy do chores. They went to JC Penney, where they each picked out one white bra and one black bra, and then headed for the dressing room. They eagerly stuffed their new projections into the padded A-cups.

  Tori looked into the mirror, turned from side to side, and thrust her chest forward, admiring her new busty look.

  Jill stood beside her, doing the same, then announced proudly. “Hey, my boobs are bigger than yours. My cups runneth over! I’m almost ready for a B-cup”

  “Yeah, you do have a bit more to put into yours,” Tori said. “But stop bragging, and almost doesn’t count, so stick with the A-cup and don’t try to show me up!”

  “Oh, my, nobody would dare show you up, Miss Jealous Pot. Get over it! I’ll be in a B-cup long before you’re ready for one,” Jill said.

  Tori ignored her comment as she continued to admire herself. “Just look at us. We look like Ava Gardner and Lana Turner – well, almost. I’ve seen their pictures in old movie books, and they were beautiful and busty. “I wonder if Ava and Lana wore padding, too.”

  “Did they have padded bras in those days?” Jill asked as if it had been a hundred years since Ava and Lana had graced the covers of magazines.

  “I don’t know – and I don’t care,” Tori said, still admiring herself from all angles.

  “Neither do I,” Jill said. “Hey, why don’t we keep the white ones on? I’m not sure I ever want to take it off. I just look too good!”

  “Good idea. We’ll take the tags off and pay for them when we pay for the black ones. I don’t want to take mine off either,” Tori said as she ripped off the price tag.

  They giggled as they stuffed their undershirts into their purses. Then they headed for the checkout counter, paid for the bras and wore the white ones out of the store.

  Outside, they headed for a drugstore a block up the street. They hurried inside, scanned the makeup racks, and counted their money. They were excited to discover that they had enough to buy a complete makeup kit: foundation, blush, lipstick, and mascara.

  “It’s kind of funny that wiping a little chicken poop off eggs is going to turn us into the prettiest girls at Tyler Middle School!” Tori said with a laugh.

  “Yeah,” Jill replied. “All the boys are going to be crazy about us.”

  They proudly clutched their purchases as they walked back to Tori’s house. Once there, they rushed upstairs, pulled on the tightest sweaters they could find, and lavishly applied their new makeup. They admired themselves in the full-length mirror, thrusting their breasts out as far as they could. Tori fluffed her hair, blew a kiss at her reflection, and at that moment she was a movie star in her mind.

  “We’re boy-magnets!” Jill said. “No boy could resist either of us.” Just as Tori was about to agree, Jill cocked her head as if she’d heard something. “Oh, oh, I think I hear your parents coming into the house. Maybe we’d better take off this makeup – quick!”

  “No, it’s okay!” Tori said. “In fact, let’s go downstairs and show off our new look!”

  Tori reached for Jill’s hand, but again Jill pulled it away. “Please! I know my way down the steps. Geeze! I’m tired of you pulling my arm out of socket every time you decide to go somewhere. Leave me alone!”

  “I’m sorry, I forget, and you don’t have to be so hateful,” Tori said.

  “Well, I’ve already told you I’m tired of you dragging me!” Jill then smiled. All was forgiven for the time being.

  Tori returned the smile and said, “Let’s get downstairs and show Momma and Daddy what we’ve got!”

  Downstairs, Tori pranced across the floor and stood in front of her father as he sat in his recliner reading the newspaper. “Hey, Pops! How do I look?”

  He lowered the paper and looked at her. His face paled and he yelled, “Mona! You’d better come in here!”

  Tori’s mother came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “What is it Ed?” She then looked at Tori – and instantly seemed to be on the verge of fainting. “Lord have mercy!”

  Tori was confused. Why wasn’t Daddy smiling? Why wasn’t Momma running for the camera? Neither one of them said a word for a long moment until her mother managed to say softly, “Our little girl is growing up, Ed. We might as well accept it.” She turned and walked back into the kitchen, mumbling, “Lord, lord.”

  “Lord is right,” her dad repeated. Then he looked at the girls and added, “It looks like boy trouble won’t be too far away.”

  Anna’s Note

  August 22, 1969

  Every day for the past twelve years, I’ve picked up fleeting glimpses of impending doom for my darling granddaughter, yet I can’t seem to get a clear view. I’ve prayed over and over, begging God to let me see it all – and to let me tie all those flashes together so they’ll make sense. I’ve also prayed for a vision of how Jill fits into the picture, but it’s no use. All I can do is wait, wonder, and pray.

  Anna West-Morgan

  Chapter Five

  Tori was fourteen-years-old, five feet and two inches tall, slim with a fair complexion, and had been told my many people that she was a stunning beauty. At that time, she thought she should have been allowed to party with the older kids and not have any rules, but her parents kept her on a short leash.

  She and Jill still spent their summers with Grammy and Poppy and for entertainment they took the cane poles Poppy made for them, sat on the pond bank, fished for hours, and complained about their boring lives and how stupid their parents were.

  Tori always dug the worms because Jill said she wasn’t touching anything slimy. Tori dropped them into a coffee can that was half-full of dirt, then they headed for the pond, and Tori baited their hooks.

  They caught mostly bluegill, which they threw back because they were too small. They kept the big catfish and tossed them into a five-gallon bucket of water until they had enough for a meal.

  They both dragged the bucket of fish back to the house, where Poppy skinned and gutted them. Then Grammy would fry them in a cast iron skillet. When she added hushpuppies and coleslaw to their catch of the day it was a delicious meal. Eating with Grammy and Poppy always seemed to make everything taste better.

  One hot August day Tori sat on the front porch swing peeling dead skin from her legs. She had fallen asleep while basking in the sun, pining for Jill, who was in Waco visiting her grandparents.

  Grammy came outside after she had finished baking a cake and made her way across the porch. She dropped her tired body into the swing, wiped sweat from the back of her neck, and fanned herself with a straw hand fan. The heat and humidity had made her cotton dress stick to her, but she said the heat helped relieve her arthritis somewhat.

  She patted Tori’s thigh. “I warned you about too much sun at once. You have to take it easy the first few times you lay out. And I know you’re blue for Jill, but she’ll be home soon. I miss her, too.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Tori said sullenly. “I just get lonesome – and bored. Don’t take offence, Grammy. You know how I love spending time with you and Poppy, but I want to do something exciting – and I’m never allowed
to do anything!”

  “Oh, sweet, your day will come.” Grammy wiped her brow. “Don’t wish time away. It goes fast enough – though at your age time does seem to crawl. As for me, I can’t believe you and Jill will be starting high school in two weeks. Where does the time go?”

  “Boy, I hope life picks up once I’m in high school! Today I just want Jill to be here. I miss her so much.” Tori sighed as if the world was standing still and it would remain so until Jill returned. She sighed again, patted Grammy’s arm, and asked, “Did you finish my doll you started awhile back?”

  “I sure did. I was going to make two of them alike, one for you and one for Jill, but my poor old hands wore out. I guess you two will have to share the one,” she answered, rubbing her hands together the way she always did – even when her arthritic hands weren’t aching.

  “Grammy, do you remember me telling you about the first day I met Jill and there seemed to be sparks between us when we first touched hands?”

  “Yeah, I sure do.”

  “When I asked what it meant, you said you’d explain it to me when I was older.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Well, I’m older, right? So will you please explain it to me? It was the strangest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Tori said, pausing as she remembered that moment. “I’ll never forget the feeling.”

  “I think you’re old enough to grasp the concept. I suppose your momma wouldn’t want me talking about it, but you asked and I’m going to tell you what I believe. You can take it for what it’s worth. It’s like this. You felt a strong energy when you touched hands because your spirits are linked – you’re kindred spirits, some people would call it. Your spirits recognized each other from another lifetime – maybe many lifetimes.”

  Tori looked into Grammy’s eyes. “I believe in reincarnation. I think we get more than one chance to get things right, so we keep coming back again and again. Jill and I have always had a special connection. We can even communicate with our eyes, and sometimes it’s like we can read each other’s mind.”

  “You can,” Grammy said, nodding her head. “I’ve seen you two exchange looks when you don’t want me to hear something – almost like identical twins.”

  “Do you think we might have been twins in another life time?” Tori asked, her eyes as big as saucers.

  “I guess it’s possible. We don’t usually remember how we were related in previous lives – or maybe we weren’t related.” She pushed herself up from the swing, using Tori’s leg for support, and added, “Your momma probably wouldn’t approve of our talking about reincarnation, so I guess I’ve said enough for now.”

  As Grammy went back into the house, Tori continued to peel her thighs. She had been determined to have a dark tan by the time Jill came home, but the fresh pale skin beneath the peeling layer told her it wasn’t going to happen.

  She went inside and helped Grammy make supper. After they had eaten and the dishes were washed, dried, and put away, they again went outside and sat together on the swing. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the sounds and smells of the summer night.

  Then Tori asked, “Grammy, how do you get the gift?”

  “I guess it’s just one of those things you inherit,” Grammy said. “Many mountain people have it. It’s kind of like the mountains are so close to Heaven that God just reaches down and blesses certain people with the gift of sight. I inherited it from my great-grandma. It seems to skip two generations.”

  Tori thought for a moment. “That means my child could inherit it. Wow! That would be so neat! My daughter could tell me what to expect in the future. I could definitely dig a daughter like that,” she said. “Or son,” she quickly added.

  Grammy said, “I’ve often thought about that, too. But let’s just be quite for a few minutes and listen to the night sounds. To me there’s nothing any more peaceful or calming than the sound of God’s creatures on a summer night. Crickets used to sing me to sleep when I was a child.”

  “Well, you can call it singing if you want to. I just call it racket” Tori laughed.

  “Racket or not, let’s be still for a while,” Grammy said. They rocked gently and listened to the soothing night sounds of chirping crickets and croaking frogs. Twinkling fireflies put on a dazzling display against the vast blackness of the Milky Way.

  Tori gently lay her head on Grammy’s shoulder, and whispered, “When I was little, you always told me that twinkling stars were angels blowing kisses, remember?”

  “Of course,” she replied, giving Tori a squeeze. “And it’s the truth. Look up there. The angels are blowing you kisses from all across the sky.”

  At that moment, Tori couldn’t imagine being anywhere else in the whole world. She even found herself enjoying the singing of the crickets.

  Soon, Grammy’s head began to nod. Tori motioned to Poppy, who was sitting in his favorite metal rocker by the front door. Poppy walked toward Grammy, took her hand, and said softly, “Come sweet, it’s time for us to go to bed.”

  Tori said goodnight as she watched Grammy and Poppy walk slowly through the screen door and thought how wonderful it was that they were still so much in love after fifty years of marriage. She couldn’t imagine her life without them. She gently pushed the swing back and forth, listening to the comforting sound of the squeaking chains until she glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost eleven o’clock. She decided it was time to call it a night herself.

  The next morning, Grammy rattling pots and pans awakened her. Her bedroom was downstairs and she could hear every sound in the house. She crawled out of bed and slowly made her way into the kitchen. “Are you making biscuits?” she asked sleepily as she walked to Grammy’s side.

  Grammy was stirring gravy in the old cast iron skillet and when she heard Tori’s voice, she dropped the spoon into the hot gravy. “Lord, have mercy, child! Someday you’re going give me a heart attack!”

  Tori laughed as she always did when she startled Grammy. She’d been doing it since she was old enough to sneak up on her, and always when she least expected it. “Sorry, I thought you heard me coming,” Tori said, and realized she had to be more careful with Grammy.

  Grammy laughed, too. “Sit down. I’ll fix you a plate, you little imp!”

  Tori sat down at the table and a few minutes later Grammy set a plate filled with biscuits, gravy, and fried eggs in front of her.

  As Tori began eating, she said, “You know I’ve got to go home today. Jill is supposed to be back early in the morning and I can’t wait to see her. Can you drive me to town when we’re done with breakfast?”

  Before Grammy could respond, Tori thought she heard a car door slam out in the driveway. Then she heard a second door slam.

  “Jill!” she said, jumping up and running out of the kitchen. Though she stubbed her toe on the coffee table as she rushed through the living room, she made it outside in record time.

  As she ran across the porch, Jill was headed up the steps. They hugged each other and jumped up and down, doing their pee-dance as they had always called it. “I knew it was you. I could feel it in my bones!”

  “Well, tell your bones to stop being such tattletales.” Jill laughed. “I wanted to surprise you.”

  Grammy emerged from the house and stood watching their happy reunion and waiting for them to stop chattering long enough to say, “Well, let me give my other granddaughter a hug. I’ve missed her, too, you know.”

  Jill raced up the steps and hugged Grammy tightly. “I missed you, too, Grammy.”

  “Lands sakes, where’s my manners,” Grammy said after a few moments. “Come on in, Rose. We can have a cup of tea while these two do some catching up.”

  Rose and Grammy visited while Jill helped Tori gathered her clothes from around the house – including the bedroom floor, the backs of chairs, and the bathroom. About a half hour later, her bag was packed and she was ready to go. They both kissed Grammy goodbye, and then hurried outside and climbed into the backseat of
Rose’s car.

  As they drove down the driveway, Tori looked at Jill, and said, “We’ve only got two weeks to practice our cheerleading before school starts.”

  Jill laughed. “I think two weeks is enough time to get our jumps, flips, and splits perfected.”

  “I hope so. You know I have trouble doing a full split like you can. But I’ll get it with a little more practice.” Tori hoped she was right.

  They began practicing in Tori’s backyard that afternoon and continued for the next two weeks. Cheerleading was the most important thing at that time.

  * * * *

  The first day of high school was the biggest thrill of Tori’s life – partly because her parents had promised she could double date when she became a freshman. The thought of her first date and her first kiss nearly overwhelmed her. She was in the big league now – a genuine high schooler – and if she were elected cheerleader, she thought that she’d really be stepping in high cotton.

  Two weeks after school began, all the students assembled in the gym. Coach Norman walked to the middle of the floor and stood in front of a microphone.

  “Good morning students – and for all you freshmen, welcome to Dixon High.” He paused and waited for the students to settle down, and then continued. “Before we begin the tryouts for cheerleaders, I’d like to introduce our varsity football team. As I call each player by name, give them a big hand if you please.”

  The students fidgeted during the ensuing quiet.

  “Wesley Asner, quarterback,” Coach said.

  Wesley came running out from the locker room, across the gym floor, took his stance, legs apart, and his hands behind his back, and smiled.

  Tori felt her face flush, not believing her eyes. The boy she had seen in dreams was standing in front of her! He had coal-black hair, brown eyes, olive complexion, and a wide smile showing pearly teeth.

  She sucked in a deep breath. It was mind-blowing. Grammy had always told her to pay attention to dreams because they were messages from the angels, showing her what lay ahead. She’d never really known what Grammy was talking about until that moment.