Blackwater

by Paul McParland

  “Well, unless you find us somewhere else, where do you expect our children to go?” Karen prodded James’ chest.

  “They will stay here.”

  “And if I send them to your parents’?”

  “I won’t let you.” James’ voice was frighteningly calm.

  All at once, there was loud banging at the front of the house.

  The three Dawsons rushed into the hall.

  It was a window in the front room.

  Karen ran to the left room where she heard the sound. James opened the door.

  Outside on the sidewalk, a group of teenagers were standing and laughing. In their hands, they had eggs, with a box at their feet.

  When the door opened, one boy threw an egg directly at James’ head.

  James ducked and the egg smashed against the banister behind him.

  The boy guffawed and the others clapped.

  “Fuck off!” James yelled.

  “Ooooohh!” The crowd mockingly echoed.

  “What do you want?” Karen screamed.

  The boys laughed.

  James made to chase them and the group ran off. He only made it to the bottom of the drive before giving up and hiking back up the hill. Again, the street had several revelers gaping at the Dawsons and their home.

  When James closed the door behind him, he leant against it and sighed. Marcus appeared from the right hand room.

  “See? This is what I was talking about...”

  Karen raised her eyebrows at James.

  “Don't!” James threatened.

  He walked up the stairs, leaving Karen to clean up the egg stained stairs and floor.

  73

  The next day, Sophie’s high pitched voice pierced the calm of the house.

  “Mommy! Daddy! The toilet’s leaking!”

  Karen and James ran up the stairs two at a time. Marcus was coming down from his room in the attic when he met them at the top of the landing. The carpet was sodden and there was water visible from beneath the closed door of the bathroom.

  “Ew! That's gross! You better not have taken a shit, Soph!” Marcus yelled through the door.

  “Marcus!” Karen barked and clapped him around the back of the head sharply. It was not a hard slap but enough to make the boy exclaim and rub his neck.

  “Sophie? Honey? Did you put too much tissue down the toilet?”

  “No, Mommy! I only went number one!” The little voice came back.

  “Open the door, darling,” James said, leaning his hand and face against the wooden grain of the door.

  There was the sound of a latch being lifted and the door opened to show a tiny Sophie standing in yellowed water. She has tears in her eyes.

  “I'm sorry, Daddy...” she said, lowering her head to the ground. A pout attached to her face.

  “Nothing to apologize for, babe...” James knelt down and hugged his daughter.

  Karen waded over to the toilet bowel and sure enough it was void of excess toilet tissue. In fact, there was none.

  “It’s clear, James. She didn't block it with tissue...”

  “I’ll go out and check the septic tank. Maybe something got stuck, that happens sometimes...” James reassured. He gave Sophie another kiss on the forehead, got up and went back down the stairs.

  Karen heard the back door open and looked out the window to see James’ silhouette against the sky approach the manhole in the ground where the septic tank was buried, long stick in hand.

  He lifted the trap door and screwed the top off of the tank. He braced himself for the putrid odor. Nothing could prepare him for what actually greeted him. He thought he might pass out.

  He retrieved the long wooden pole he had brought from the kitchen; they usually reserved it for high windows; its large hooked end made grabbing the latch and subsequently closing the window a lot easier than the use of a ladder. He guided the pole into the brown murk. There was a bit of resistance. James pondered what was giving the resistance. He dreaded to think of the excrement collected in the tank.

  The stick stopped descending and James felt resistance against his gentle pushing. He pushed hard and it moved slightly but rebounded the pole.

  Something was at the bottom of the septic tank blocking the entry and retrieval pipes. He would need to call a professional about removing it. He suspected it was a badger or a fox.

  The septic tank repair man arrived with additional equipment to pull free whatever was blocking the drainage system out.

  “Afternoon, my name is Terrell.” He flashed a name badge at Karen. “I'm from the repair company. I hear something’s blocking your septic tank?”

  “Yes, thank you.” She led the brawny black man to the back door where James knelt over the open tank hatch, peering inside.

  When James saw Terrell, he stood and offered the man a, “Hello”.

  “Excuse me if I don’t shake your hand...” James said holding up his dirty palms.

  Was it mud from the ground or something else, Karen thought.

  She vomited a little her in mouth but pushed it back down with a hard swallow.

  “Not at all, sir.”

  Terrell dropped his tool bag on the ground with a resounding clang. He rummaged through it and produced a series of metal poles. They had one end open and the other with a long screw on the end.

  Terrell attached one pole to another, screwing them into the next section.

  Once he had a long metallic pole constructed, he reached into his bag and pulled out a large hook. This, too, screwed into one end of the pole.

  The repair man inserted this into the septic tank and felt around.

  He rummaged around before catching the blockage and pulling it upwards.

  Attached to the large hook was a bird.

  “That’s all that was causing the problem?” Karen asked disappointed.

  “Hell no! You've got plenty more down there!”

  The man continued to deposit the pole into the septic tank and produced animal after animals; cats, dogs, rabbits, mice.

  Karen’s stomach gurgled. She had to cover her mouth to stop the vomit from rising. Turning away from the ever growing pile of carcasses, Karen strode back to the house.

  Sophie was standing at the back door, peeking out through the blinds. When she saw Karen coming, she quickly let the blind snap back into place.

  Karen affected a smile and opened the back door.

  Marcus was standing by the kitchen table, casually looking out through the French doors at the two men outside.

  “Honey, you don’t want to see that.” Karen said, putting her arm around her son and leading him away from the scene.

  “How did all those animals get in there?”

  “I don’t know, Marcus...”

  Karen stroked her son’s head and patted him on the bottom. “Take your sister upstairs and get ready. Halloween is only a few days away! We’re going to get our costumes!”

  74

  The Ford pulled up in a space across from the New Haven fancy dress shop.

  ‘Maggie’s Wacky Wardrobe’ was a large Colonial Revival building. Its green wooden slats had faces painted on them. Each face was masked in some audacious way; clown, theatrical and Halloween themed guises.

  Sophie jumped out of the car before Karen barely had a chance to park.

  “Soph! Be careful!” Karen shouted after her but Marcus was already on her; grabbing her hand and pulling her close.

  “Thank you, Marcus.” She said when she reached them on sidewalk. “Don’t ever do that again!” Karen said firmly to her daughter, her finger pointed authoritatively at her.

  “Sorry, Mommy...” the child said lowering her tiny head.

  “It’s okay. You just scared me. Now, let’s get your brother his costume!”

  “What about me?” Sophie said tilting her head in confusion.

  “You’re dressing up as a ghost, honey. We need a bed sheet!”

  The girl looked disappointed, but resigned to a quiet, “Okay”.
>
  “Come on.” Karen giggled and squeezed the diminutive girl’s cheeks together.

  Karen approached the teller at the counter.

  “Excuse me. Hi, I'm looking for a costume for my son, it’s a Michael...” Karen turned to Marcus for support.

  “Myers!” Marcus interjected. “He's the killer from ‘Halloween’!” Marcus could barely hide his excitement.

  The lady behind the desk was relatively young; not much older than Karen. She had only a few graying hairs but age lined her face. Her hair was a bushy tangle of tight curls. The afro it formed reminded Karen of Carole King. Karen suspected she had been a bit of a hippie in days-gone-by.

  “Well, well! We have a little horror hound, I see!” She smiled at Marcus and turning to Karen introduced herself, “I'm Maggie. The one and only!” She laughed.

  “Very nice to meet you, Maggie. This is Marcus and Sophie.”

  Sophie offered a small wave from behind her mother.

  “Oh, what a cutie!” Maggie enthused.

  Sophie smiled sweetly and bit her lip, embarrassed.

  “And what do you want to dress up as this Halloween?” Maggie said, leaning over the counter. She balanced precariously on it as she tried to get a better look at the shrinking child. “A pretty princess, maybe?”

  The girl only shook her head.

  “She wants to go as a ghost.” Karen rolled her eyes. “First Halloween, so we’ll let her away with it!” Karen grinned and winked at Maggie.

  Maggie chuckled. “Okay, my dear, but you have to promise to come back next year and get a costume off me, okay?”

  “Okay.” Sophie piped. She was relaxing with the woman.

  Maggie walked around from behind her counter and clasped her hands together.

  “So, Marcus. Michael wears a boiler suit. Blue, right?”

  Marcus beamed and looked at his mother. “She knows who he is!”

  “Of course!” Maggie cried. “I'm a real scary movie nut!” she laughed.

  Maggie led the trio down an aisle and turned right. She searched along the shelving that lined the back wall of the shop. Her eyes narrowed as they darted up and down, searching.

  “Ahah!” she cried. “Here we go. Now...” She said, turning to Marcus. She sized him up, pouting her lips as she did so. “I'm thinking a small man’s size would do. You’re getting to be a big boy and I think you require adult sizes.” She winked at Marcus.

  Karen marveled at the woman’s skill. She was a superb saleswoman, but she was an even better broker with children.

  Maggie handed the tightly flat-packed suit to Marcus. She continued her tour of the shop. She made her way to the far right end of the shop.

  Along the wall, was a huge array of masks. There were aged vampire masks with simpler makeup and teeth selections below. Next to these, were several variations on the Werewolf; makeup, and full over-the-head contraptions. The traditional Halloween masks continued towards the front of the shop.

  As one neared the front, however, the masks became more specific. The movie-inspired Halloween costumes lived at the forefront of the store.

  Karen recognized the likes of Leatherface and Reagan from The Exorcist; a particularly gruesome one if Karen said so herself.

  Maggie picked up a plain white mask and handed it to Marcus.

  “There you go. You know, the mask is actually a Captain Kirk mask inside out and melted?” Maggie raised her eyebrows and nodded and Marcus.

  Marcus’ eyes lit up. “What?!”

  “Yea! The makers of ‘Halloween’ wanted to come up with a scary mask but they didn't want to spend lots of money having one designed. So they went into a store like this one and bought a ‘Star Trek’ one!”

  “Cool!” Marcus hadn’t been this excited in over a year. His desire to be taken seriously as an adult had melted away with Maggie.

  Maggie now turned to Karen. “We getting anything for you, Karen?”

  Karen tittered. “I don’t know! I hadn’t thought about it. I was maybe going to look and see...” She moved her head from side to side in indecision. “I don’t want anything too gruesome!” she quickly added.

  “I have just the thing!”

  “Oh, I don’t know, Maggie...it seems...sorta...slutty...?” Karen was looking at herself in the mirror of the ‘Wacky Wardrobe’.

  “That's the point, honey!” Maggie said enthusiastically. “We wanna make that man of yours turn into a monster when he sees you!” Maggie grinned and winked at Karen.

  Karen blushed and turned back to herself in the mirror. She was wearing a skin-tight leotard. Its leopard print was extended onto the tights Maggie had given her. Atop her head were a set of cat’s ears. The finishing touch was a tail on the seat of the one-piece.

  “And of course, you can draw on some whiskers...” Maggie pointed out.

  “Of course.” Karen repeated at Maggie and the two women chuckled.

  75

  Karen and the kids traveled back to Blackwater in the best of moods. They’d had fun with the crazy Maggie. Karen thought about going back to see Maggie; ask her out for coffee some time. She hadn’t had friends in so long; it was nice to laugh and joke with someone.

  “Are we going to make my costume when we get back, Mommy?” Sophie voiced from the back.

  “Yes, honey. It won’t take very long either.” Karen smiled at her daughter in the rear view mirror of the Fairlane.

  Sophie nodded and went back to staring out the window at the passing yellow and brown of autumn.

  “Hey Jay, what’s the deal with the toilet?” Karen kissed James on the head and quickly retreated as the smell from the septic tank rose up to greet her.

  He was sitting at the kitchen table, great curling wisps of steam rose from the cup of coffee in front of him.

  “It’s fixed now but...how the hell did those animals get in there?!” He was pissed.

  “I don’t know...you don’t need to be upset, it’s fixed now...” Karen offered with a feeble smile.

  “The guy said it should have backed up months ago! The amount of animals in there, it’s impossible the toilet could have worked that long!”

  “Could they all have been recent?” Karen went over to the cooker and retrieved the kettle. She filled it at the sink and placed it on the burner, lighting it with the nearby matches.

  “No. He said that would be almost impossible...” James lowered his head into his coffee and gulped.

  Not in Blackwater, Karen thought.

  “Hold still now. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you...” Karen told Sophie.

  Sophie stood in the middle of the living room with a blanket over her head. The hem of her costume was being adjusted so that her tiny feet would not catch on the huge bed sheet.

  “Marcus, hand me the pen now.” Karen said over her shoulder.

  The marker materialized in front of her face.

  “Thanks, babe.” Karen took it and felt with her other hand for Sophie’s eyes.

  “Keep your eyes closed while I draw the eye holes, Sophie.” Karen drew a steady circle on the sheet. She examined it and then drew another eye sized circle on the other side.

  “Right, that's it.” Karen lifted the sheet off Sophie. “Leave it with me and I’ll sow the bottom and cut out the eye holes.”

  Sophie grinned excitedly. She skipped out of the room and bounded up the stairs, singing a tuneless refrain.

  “You gonna try yours on?” Karen said, looking to Marcus as she resumed her seat on the sofa, needle and thread in hand.

  “Okay!” Marcus hurried up with stairs after Sophie.

  They left Karen alone in the front room. She hummed to herself as she sowed along the new hemline.

  After several minutes, she heard someone rapidly running down the stairs.

  “Careful!” Karen called, smiling to herself. Marcus loved Halloween.

  “What do ya think?” A muffled voiced said.

  Karen looked around at a short man in a blue boiler suit and snow-white ma
sk.

  “Ooh! Scary!” she cooed.

  Marcus held his arms horizontally from his sides and spun round.

  “Good, isn’t it?” he said. The mask made him almost unintelligible.

  “Yea! It’s very frightening though...I don’t know if you're going to get much candy if you turn up like that...people aren’t going to want to open their doors!” she chuckled.

  “Cool...” Marcus said looking down at himself.

  “No! Not cool!” she laughed. “You're not meant to frighten people to death! They frown upon that sort of thing in polite society.”

  Marcus let out a mock evil laugh.

  Karen hooted. “Stop it!” She coughed. “My stomach hurts!”

  Marcus lifted the mask up and smiled at his mother.

  “Can I watch TV?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  He plopped down beside Karen on the sofa; boiler suit still zipped up and the mask on top of his head.

  Karen smirked and returned to her sowing.

  76

  “James! Come and see the kids’ costumes!” Karen shouted up the stairs. In truth, Karen did not know where James was. She assumed he was upstairs as she had not seen him all day.

  Was he asleep?

  “James!” she shouted again from the bottom of the staircase.

  There was still no answer.

  Karen looked in to the living room at the children; both in full Halloween garb.

  “Hold on a sec, guys.”

  Karen quickly ran up the stairs.

  “James?” she whispered as she opened the bedroom door, realizing he might have taken a nap. He wasn’t there.

  Karen exited the room and pondered. She looked to her left and noticed the bathroom door was ajar, she pushed it open further. He was not in there either.

  Sophie’s room; no.

  She laboriously ascended to the attic. She looked inside briefly.

  Where could he be?

  Her feet heavy on each step, Karen returned to the children who now stood at the foot of the stairs.