Summer Shadows

by Killarney Traynor

  “Hello?”

  “I’ve got great news for you, kiddo,” Sherri crowed loudly in her ear. “When you hear it, you’re going to say that I’m the best realtor you’ve ever dealt with in your life. I just got you the asking price on the house. The asking price, Julia.”

  Julia felt her stomach fall.

  The asking price for the Franklin House?

  After everything that had happened in that house, she ought to be relieved to sell it and never see it again. It took her a week after Michael Irwin’s attack before she could look in the mirror without wincing, and she still struggled with nightmares involving bloodstains and men with tie-wraps. She had decided more than once to sell it.

  But she couldn’t help thinking about all the dinners they’d had in the kitchen and the now-functioning dining room, the kids’ lazy morning in their pajamas around the TV, and the boys’ room with the new basketball hoop. There was the nook in the kitchen that Horatio liked to sleep in, the little garden out back that Dana and Amelia had grown so fond of, and Robert and Amelia next door, so close that Robert could stop for a cup of coffee on his way to work. So much good had happened in those walls that it was hard to remember the evil.

  They’d always known that they weren’t in Franklin for long, but now that the end had arrived, it was a jolt. She looked over to the kids in the water, steadied herself, and forced herself to speak calmly.

  “Well, that is good news, Sherri…”

  “I can’t believe it myself, kid, I was so shocked. You know how bad the housing market has been lately. It’s been tricky getting any house to move, let alone at full asking price. I could have gotten more, too, if I’d mentioned that the Smith family from Boston was also looking at it.”

  “You are amazing.”

  “More like you lucked out – these people have just come into some money and wanted to move up. They practically bought it from the pictures on the website, but I insisted that they have a look at the place. They walked through three rooms when the hubby – I assume it’s the hubby – might just be the boyfriend… Anyway, he turned to me and said…”

  Julia stopped her. “Wait a minute, wait a minute. When did you show the house?”

  “Yesterday, silly. Something wrong?”

  “Then – you mean the Springfield house?”

  “Of course I mean the Springfield house! What else would I mean? I’m telling you, Julia, no one’s looking at the Franklin house. Franklin is dead. There’s nothing moving there.”

  Julia looked out over the lake, where another family with small children was being welcomed into the water by Dana and Amelia.

  “I have to disagree with you there, Sherri,” she said. “There’s lots of life still here.”

  “Well, there may be life, but not a lot of real estate prospects. So, what do I tell the Jensens? They’re meeting with their lawyers now and will make a formal proposal this afternoon. Should I give them the go ahead?”

  It was a question that she’d been putting off all summer. Could she sell Amanda’s house or did the kids still need it? And if she did sell it, where would they live then? Could she really move them up to New Hampshire without having a job in place first?

  She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache moving in. “I don’t know yet, Sherri. I’ll have to get back to you…”

  “Oh, Julia!” She was very annoyed, and Julia couldn’t blame her.

  But she was firm. “I can’t make a decision without talking to the kids. I’ll get back to you this afternoon.”

  “But…”

  “By then the lawyers will have had a chance to draft the proposal. I’ll get back to you, Sherri, I promise. Thanks for everything.”

  She hung up and threw the phone back into her purse. Sizzling from the barbeque alerted her, and she turned the hotdogs to reveal the crispy, brown grill marks on the bottoms. She set out things for lunch, but all her contentment was gone, leaving behind the stress and insecurity that she’d been struggling with for weeks.

  Summer was slowly creeping to a close, and she was no closer to being employed than she had been back in June. If it went on for much longer, the unemployment checks wouldn’t be enough. Letting Springfield go would make so much sense. But were the kids ready? Could she do that to them?

  Dana came running then, her skin glowing.

  “I’m starving,” she said. “When do we eat?”

  “In a few minutes, honey.”

  “Good.”

  Dana plopped down on the blanket and sighed happily. In the water, Amelia squealed as Robert tossed her in the water.

  Julia turned the hot dogs over and lowered the heat on the barbeque, still musing. Her phone buzzed with a text, but she ignored it and went to the cooler to get out the condiments. When she came back, Dana was holding her phone, looking at a follow-up text from Sherri.

  “Are we selling the house, Aunt Julia?” she asked.

  Julia nearly choked. She snatched the phone away, snapping, “Dana! That’s private.”

  “Sorry.” She was wide-eyed. “I’m sorry, Aunt Julia. But why are we selling the house?”

  Julia put the phone in her pocket, regretting her outburst, but too shaken to apologize yet. “We aren’t selling anything yet, Dana. Let’s talk about it later, okay?”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  Julia busied herself setting out lunch, watching Dana out of the corner of her eye. She was clearly unhappy, plucking at the grass, and frowning. When Horatio came over, he put his head in her lap and she sighed as she stroked his fur.

  Julia was pulling out the salad when Dana spoke.

  “We can’t do it, you know,” she said.

  Julia steeled herself before she turned. “We can’t do what, Dana?”

  Her blue eyes were steady, unafraid. She was certain. “We can’t sell the house. It would be wrong.”

  Julia sighed heavily. She’d been right – the emotional attachment to Springfield was still too strong. Dana couldn’t let go and the others probably couldn’t, either. Where did that leave Julia?

  She was about to respond when Dana burst out, “It’s just so wrong, Aunt Julia! Ron says we need the money, but money’s not as important as people. We can’t just leave.”

  “Dana, Dana, please listen to me…”

  She shrugged off Julia’s hand and shook her head. To Julia’s surprise, she continued, her voice steady, not shedding a single tear, even though her eyes seemed misty.

  “There are people here who need us, Aunt Julia. Where would Amelia be without me? Who’s going to walk Mrs. Jurta’s dogs? Who is going to fish with Robert if Ron isn’t here? And who’s going to keep Dylan out of trouble if Ron isn’t here? He needs a friend and Ron’s the best friend anyone could ever have. Who’s going to be your friend, Aunt Julia, if we don’t have Caroline and Joseph and all those people? And Steven Hall is nice, but he doesn’t like you nearly as much as Robert does.”

  “What?”

  Dana looked surprised. “I thought you knew that,” she said. “Aunt Julia, I know some scary things happened, but you were right to bring us here.” She paused reflectively, then said, “I mean, I’ll miss Mom and Dad’s house, but Mom would want us to live where our friends are. She told me all the time how important people are. Well, I think these people are important. I think they helped us. Jack’s not scared of dogs anymore, and I didn’t know anything about gardens until we came here and now I have one. I always wanted a sister, like you and Mom were sisters. Now I do, with Amelia, and I like her, Aunt Julia. I really, really do. You don’t worry here as much, because Robert is nearby.”

  Julia nodded, listening intently.

  “And Ron smiles now. He laughs here. He has friends here, and he didn’t at home. I want to stay here. Our home is here, not at Mom’s house. That was our home when Mom and Dad were alive and with us, but it’s no
t anymore. Please, please, please, Aunt Julia, please say we can stay. We can’t go back. We don’t belong there anymore. We belong here.”

  She stopped and took a deep breath, her cheeks a bright pink. She looked up at Julia, her eyes wide with anxiety and hope.

  Julia sat next to her, not knowing what to say, and they were silent for a minute.

  Dana put a hand on her arm. “Don’t you think we belong here too, Aunt Julia?” she whispered.

  Julia looked up towards the lake. The others were coming in now, enticed by the scent of the hotdogs.

  Jack was riding on Robert’s shoulder, squealing as Robert pretended to trip. Amelia romped around him with Tigger chasing her, while Ron dunked an unsuspecting Dylan, laughing when his friend popped back out and charged at him. His laughter echoed around the lake.

  “Yes, Dana,” she said, softly. “Yes, I do.”

  * * *

  EPILOGUE

  * * *

  Julia sat alone in the dining room. It was December 23rd, close to midnight, and she was still wrapping presents. Soft, instrumental Christmas music filled the room as she worked, humming along.

  Around her, garlands of green decorated the edges of the room and a tiny Christmas tree stood on the side-board that they’d brought up from Springfield. It was draped in a Christmas cloth and already set with Amanda’s holiday china for Christmas morning brunch.

  They’d invited Robert and Amelia, of course. Later on Christmas afternoon, J. C. and his friends, the Ojacors, Mrs. Jurta, the O’Reillys, and a lot of people from the neighborhood would be coming for a Christmas party.

  The party was Ron’s idea, and when Julia expressed concern that they wouldn’t be able to fit everyone, he’d assured her that they could. They were going to have a very full house, because her parents were coming up to stay Christmas Eve night. Miriam and Walter Budd, still disgusted with Julia, had elected to go to Europe for the holidays, but promised to see them after the New Year. Neither Julia nor the children were very upset about that.

  As she prepared the gifts, Julia felt a serenity that she’d never known. The dining room table heaped with wrapping paper, tape, boxes, and instruction manuals. Thanks to her new administrative assistant job at the school and a generous Christmas bonus, she was well able to fill the space under the tree this year.

  In the open doorway, the living room was awash in the gentle glow of colored lights, dancing among the tinsel that Jack had covered the tree with. Ron had picked the tree and cut it down at the local farm himself, and they’d made a party to decorate it with Robert and Amelia. They spent nearly two hours on it. New, shiny ornaments hung alongside of old family favorites. A garish and sparkly tree skirt covered the tree stand, and a perky angel winked from her perch at the top of the tree. Jack had placed it up there, held up by Robert, and he never failed to mention this whenever visitors came by to look at the tree.

  The rest of the house was decorated, too. Garland hung around every doorway, because Amelia and Dana insisted that it made the whole house look like a fairy’s Christmas castle.

  Amelia was even more excited about this Christmas than she usually was, according to Robert.

  “Her mother’s on a cruise this year,” he’d told Julia the night of the tree decorating. “I was worried how Amelia would take it, but she was so excited about spending Christmas here that she didn’t mind a bit.”

  Later, Amelia confided to Julia that her mother was on a trip with her new boyfriend, but that Amelia didn’t mind because she hadn’t wanted to miss her first Christmas with her new family.

  “I know that you and Dad aren’t married or anything,” she said as Julia blushed. “But it’s okay, because they’re already my brothers and sister, in spirit, you know. And that can be even more powerful than being a real family.” She sighed happily and twirled about the room. “I am sooo glad that you guys didn’t move! So glad I almost don’t need presents this year. Almost.”

  She didn’t know it yet, but Robert and Julia’s big present to Amelia and Dana were matching tutus to go with dance lessons that would start in January. Julia herself was not a huge fan of dance, but that was all the pair of them had asked for this year - and since Dana had been so good about the sale of the house in Springfield, she thought it was the least she could do. Besides, the girls needed their girl time.

  The kids had handled the transition better than anyone had expected. After the hard work of closing the house and moving began, Julia landed her new job - and between her new work schedule and the children starting school in Franklin in September, they had to rush.

  Robert helped them out whenever he could, even taking a few days off to help with the lugging and loading. Sherri, ecstatic to have a real sale and a good profit for once, loaned them her strapping nephew and the use of her moving van. They cleared the house in record time, but the basement and the office of the Franklin were still filled with unopened boxes. Julia thought she could go through everything over the Christmas holiday. That was looking less and less likely as time went on.

  The sale of the house went through without a hitch, and the bank account filled up. There were some healthy tears, but having to adapt to a new school and a new schedule helped everyone move toward closure faster than they might have otherwise.

  Thanks to Ron’s private school, he had advanced a grade and was now in class with Dylan and his friends who, due to Ron’s good influence, were no longer the troublemakers they had been. Dylan, in fact, was researching and writing a book about his experiences in the Lang house while Ron was seriously pursuing his studies, and finding out that he was actually a pretty good athlete and scientist.

  Dana and Amelia were in the same class. Dana was emotionally stable now, and her friendships were much better. Both she and Amelia had a group of girls that they liked to hang out with, and they had them over for movie nights on occasion.

  Jack was thriving. He liked his school, even though he was initially intimidated by his teacher and new schoolmates. For a while, Julia worried about him, but then he met Judah. Judah was a little boy who was absolutely terrified of dogs.

  “He’s just like me, only scareder,” Jack had explained to Julia.

  Jack introduced Judah to Horatio, and by the time he’d cured him of his phobia, Jack had made a fast friend.

  As for Julia, the new job was a challenge, but in a good way - and she was considering taking an online degree course to further her job prospects.

  Brad Lang’s attorneys had demanded that the state reopen the case, and it looked as though he would be cleared. As yet, no one knew what he was going to do with the house. It was well known, however, that A. Glenn Bernard had been hired to write a history of the case from Brad’s point of view. What Stephanie’s family thought about it could only be imagined.

  Both Michael and John Irwin were arraigned and awaiting trial. J. C.’s family had a lawyer who felt very sure that they’d be able to reduce John’s charges, thanks to his emotional state at the time and his impeccable reputation in town.

  The last gift was assembled and wrapped. Julia stood up, stretched, and checked her watch. It was 12:30 and she was exhausted. She stowed the wrapped boxes in bigger, cardboard ones, then carried them into her room, which the kids had been strictly forbidden from entering. She was just about to go around shutting off Christmas lights when she heard a soft rapping from the kitchen door.

  She went over to the kitchen door and peered through the window. Out of the shadows, a hand held up a bottle of sparkling grape juice.

  Laughing, Julia pulled the door open and let Robert in. He was wearing his heavy weather coat over his jeans and sweater, and a swirl of chilly wind followed him into the house. Julia shut the door behind him.

  “What are you doing here?” she whispered, following him into the kitchen. “It’s after midnight!”

  “I came to celebrate,” he said. He put down a plate
of cheese and crackers on the kitchen table. “Break open the wine glasses, Jules, we are living large.”

  “With sparkling grapes, no less! And what,” she asked, as she got out the glasses, “are we celebrating?”

  “Santa Claus! He just finished all his wrapping tonight.”

  “By a strange coincidence,” she handed him a glass, “so did Mrs. Claus.”

  “I knew that,” he said, twisting open the bottle. “How’s Amelia?”

  “She and Dana fell asleep an hour ago. I didn’t think they’d ever get tired.”

  “So we have the place to ourselves for a little while.” He swept his arm toward the living room. “Shall we drink by candlelight? Methinks I hear good old Nat King Cole playing.”

  “Good ears.”

  “Well, I’m not as old as I look.”

  “Neither am I.”

  “Oh, geez, then, is this legal?”

  “You tell me. You’re the cop.”

  “In that case, it’s legal. Here, you take the glasses and settle down on the floor right there.”

  She sat where he gestured and he settled next to her. He filled their glasses as she took the plastic wrap off of the plate. They reclined against the couch, toasted each other and sipped the fruity drink.

  “Umm…” she said. “Nice vintage.”

  “Only the best for you, Julia.”

  “Mmmm…”

  They sat in easy silence for a while, listening to Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra serenade them.

  Julia kicked off her shoes and Robert followed suit, slipping his arm around her shoulders as they leaned back against the couch. It was warm and comfortable, and she leaned into his shoulder and relaxed. He pulled her a little closer and brushed the top of her head with his lips.

  “Nice,” she murmured. Her eyes were heavy, and she was so relaxed that she nearly dozed off.

  “I think so, too,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here, Jules.”