by Chanel Smith
Jaxon had done a pretty good job of picking out his clothes and was ready to head out the door for school with time to spare. Even when she was exhausted, the routine kicked in and she was pretty efficient. As she unfastened the locks on the door to let him out, she was reminded of the events of the night before once more.
“Okay, Jax, when you get home from school, you go straight to Ellen’s, right?”
“Yes, mom, I know.”
“When she brings you back over to put you to bed, you go straight to bed and don’t mess with the typewriter.” She might as well get in another warning while the subject was fresh in her mind. What was it her grandfather used to say, “Strike while the iron’s hot?”
“Mom, I didn’t play with the stupid typewriter,” he growled through gritted teeth.
“Then who did? And don’t take that tone with me.”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “It wasn’t me.”
“So, who do you suppose it was?”
“I don’t know, PCR, Ellen or a ghost, but it wasn’t me.”
“All three of those are just plain silly,” she had to laugh. He was certainly sticking to his story about the whole thing. She squatted to his level. “Okay, give me a kiss.”
Though he was frustrated from being accused of something that he didn’t do, he wrapped his arms around her squeezed and gave her a peck on the cheek. She returned a peck on his and then stood.
“Do you want me to walk you down and wait for the bus with you?”
“No, mom, I can do it.” He rolled his eyes at her.
His reaction was adorable and it was the main reason that she continued to repeat the question every morning. “Okay. Have a good day. Be safe.” She watched him walk down the steps until she couldn’t see him anymore and then she moved to the window over the sink in the kitchen and waited for him to come out the door below.
She stayed at the window watching him until the bus pulled up. When it did, he turned toward the window and waved at her before getting on the bus. Turning away from the window, she scooped up her half empty coffee mug, poured enough to fill it and warm it and went to sit down at the kitchen table.
Diana had just taken a sip and started to get comfortable when Don’t Stop Believing started to play on her cell phone down the hallway in her bedroom. “And that’s why I keep it out here,” she muttered as she rushed down the hall to answer the phone.
Out of breath from her dash down the hall, she pressed the button and gasped out, “Hello.”
“I’m sorry, is this Diana Curry, Jaxon Evans’ mother?”
“This is she.” She wondered who would be calling her so early and sounding so official.
“Good. I was hoping to catch you before you started off to work.”
“Can I ask who is calling?”
“This is Margaret Thompson. I’m the counselor at Taylor Elementary.”
“Yes. How may I help you?”
“Well, I wanted to see if we could perhaps set up a conference to discuss some issues that Jaxon is having at school at your earliest convenience.”
“What sort of problems? Is he in some sort of trouble?” She racked her brain, trying to come up with any behaviors that she had noticed recently that might be transferring over to school.
“Oh, no, Miss Curry, he’s not in any trouble. Jaxon is a little angel.”
It was a relief that he wasn’t in trouble, but she was still concerned. School counselors didn’t call you in for a conference for no reason. “So, what is the need for the conference?”
“Jaxon’s teacher, Miss Williams, has some concerns about his language development and she wants to discuss them with you. When would be the best time to set up an appointment?”
“What sort of language problems?” she asked. He seemed to be just fine and she hadn’t noticed any difficulties or indications of problems on the work that he brought home or on his report cards.
“Miss Williams would have to fill you in on the specifics. I’m sure that it is nothing to be alarmed over, but we were hoping that we might be able to discuss some strategies that we’d like to try with him.”
She wasn’t getting anywhere with the counselor, so she agreed to set an appointment and then pressed the button to disconnect the call.
“Great!” she said aloud. “Just one more thing that I have to worry about.”
Chapter Three
Snapping up out of deep slumber again, it took her a moment to figure out what had awakened her. With her heart racing, she knew that she’d heard a sound again. It was exactly like it had been the night before. She froze in place and listened, not jumping to the same conclusion that she had the night before.
She glanced at the bat, still leaning against her nightstand and quietly scooped up the cell phone sitting on her nightstand. It read 2:01 a.m. Pressing in the numbers 911 without sending, she silently slipped out of bed, took up the bat and slowly pulled her door open. Again, she took three long strides and then slid into Jaxon’s bedroom.
The noise sounded like something scraping or sliding across the floor or the countertop. This time, she was certain that someone had broken in. She pressed send on her cell phone.
“911 operator. What is your emergency?” the voice answered.
“I think someone has broken into my house,” she said quietly.
“Okay. I am dispatching an officer right now, please stay on the line with me until the officer arrives.”
“Yes ma’am,” she replied.
“Are you in a safe place?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Is the intruder still in the house? I think so. I don’t know. I could hear some sounds.”
“What sort of sounds ma’am?”
“Like something being scraped across the floor or a countertop.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“I’m not looking!”
“And I don’t want you to ma’am. I’m just collecting information for the officers. So, you haven’t seen anyone, just heard sounds.”
“That is correct.”
“The officers are only a few minutes away now, ma’am, so just hold on tight for a minute. Are you and everyone in the house secure in a locked room?”
“Well, not exactly.” She was going to have to get the latch on Jaxon’s door fixed.
“Okay. Just stay where you are, officers are on site now.”
It was only moments before she heard the knock at the door.
“There’s someone knocking at the door.”
“That will be the officers.”
“Should I go answer it?”
“Not if it puts you in any sort of danger. Are you in danger?”
The direct question stumped her. She hadn’t heard any sound in quite some time and she was beginning to feel foolish.
“Ma’am? Are you in danger?”
“Sorry, no, I’m not. I’m going to go answer the door.”
“Okay, please stay on the line until you speak to the officers.”
She went down the hallway cautiously, but with more confidence, since she knew that there were police officers on the other side of the door. Just as they had been the night before, all of the locks on the door were secure and she had to go through the process of unfastening them all in order to open the door for the officers.
As soon as she opened the door, she wished that she had put on a robe, because standing in the doorway was officer McCarty, a young, cute guy that was a regular at the Pancake House. He recognized her instantly.
“Diana? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m okay.” She felt the color rising up in her cheeks as he stepped in.
“Can I see your phone a sec?”
She handed it over to him and he quickly spoke to the 911 operator. “I’m with Miss Curry now.” He handed it back to her and she absently pressed the disconnect button. “So, what’s going on? Somebody broke in? Excuse me a second.” He looked back over his shoulder at the other officer. “We’re secure here. Why
don’t you check the perimeter? Sorry. So, what’s up?”
“I thought I heard someone break in?” she said. “I feel really stupid now, because obviously no one did. All of the locks on the door were secure before I let you in.”
“You checked the windows? Where did you hear the intruder?”
“I thought I heard him in the kitchen, but I don’t know. We’re 4 floors up, how could anyone get in?”
“You’d be surprised,” he remained serious. “Let’s check your windows just to be sure.”
The windows were latched in place and everything seemed to be secure as she led him through the house to each of the windows except her bedroom and Jaxon’s room. The intruder obviously hadn’t entered through either of those rooms, since she hadn’t bumped into him in either one.
“I’m sorry,” he said, feeling stupid. “I feel really stupid right now.”
“No reason to feel stupid. Better safe than sorry, right?” he grinned at her, but did not make her feel silly. “Besides, maybe somebody made and attempt and got scared off by something. Me and my partner will have a look around outside and see if we see anything suspicious. You going to be alright?”
“Yes. God I feel so stupid.”
“It’s okay. We were just driving around anyway. At least you got our blood pumping for a little bit,” he grinned. “Besides, you never know, somebody might have really tried to break in. We’ll look around and then keep an eye on the place, alright?”
“Thank you, Officer McCarty.”
“Call me Doug,” he winked. “Now lock the doors behind me, go back to bed and rest easy. I got this.” He had been completely professional the entire time, but as he was leaving, he had returned to the easy-going manner with which he usually chatted with her in the Pancake House.
“Okay. Thanks. Have a good night and be safe, Doug.”
She closed the door behind him and secured all of the latches. She had to hang on to the possibility that someone had attempted to break in, maybe through the kitchen window and therefore caused the noise that she heard, it was the only way that she could justify not feeling so stupid.
With a heavy sigh, she turned around to go back to her room and happened to glance toward the antique desk. The typewriter was centered perfectly on the desk as though it was ready to be used.
“Damn it, Jaxon,” she breathed through clenched teeth. “I specifically told him not to mess with that and he did it anyway. Is he lying to me? Why would he being lying to me? Because he’s afraid he’ll get his little butt blistered.” She muttered to herself and she walked back down the hall to her bedroom. I’ll check with Ellen tomorrow and see if she has used it or if she’d noticed Jaxon messing with it. If he was, and he is lying to me… She didn’t finish the thought, because unlike the night before, she was completely worn out and collapsed into bed, hoping to find the bliss of peaceful sleep.
The bliss of sleep did come earlier than it had the night before, but it still took her a while to find it. Thoughts of Doug McCarty were what kept her awake. She wore pajamas to bed instead of some frilly little panties and bra, so at least she wasn’t totally embarrassed, but it had still been a little disconcerting to be seen in her pj’s. I’ll try to remember to put on a robe the next time my house is broken into. Her own sarcasm made her smile.
Since Chris had left her, she hadn’t really had much interest in another man. In reality, with work and Jaxon, she hadn’t felt like she had time. She hadn’t thought about it a lot before, however, after seeing Officer McCarty that night, she realized that he had been in the Pancake House a lot and always sat where she would be serving him or asked for her. Whenever it was slow, she would sometimes sit down with him and his partner and try to get them to tell stories about their job. Not only were they fascinating to listen to, but they made the time pass quicker. He seemed to enjoy it as much as she did. I wonder if he’s interested in me?
The fact that Officer Doug McCarty might actually have some interest in her was sort of thrilling, but the moment that she allowed the thought to register in her mind, she rejected it immediately. That’s as silly as a ghost with a typewriter. Smiling to herself, she relaxed and allowed sleep to overtake her.
Chapter Four
“Though it is not severe at this point,” Miss Williams pointed out. “We think that if we get ahead of it now, while the symptoms are just beginning, we might be able to head off any subsequent problems and keep Jaxon on track so that he continues to advance.”
“What sorts of things can I do at home to help him along?” Diana asked. In spite of the fact that the counselor and teacher were downplaying things, somewhat, she still felt like it was something that simply shouldn’t be happening with her son. The members of her family had always been avid readers and writers, inheriting that particular interest and skill from her grandfather, who passed it on down through his daughter. Even Diana’s father was a man of reading and writing. She inwardly steamed at Chris for muddying the gene-pool.
“There are some home programs.” Miss Williams hesitated for a moment, glancing over at Miss Thompson. “But they can be pretty expensive.”
“Well, can you at least give me the information to at least take a look at them? I mean, I appreciate what you will be doing here at school, but Jaxon’s education is my responsibility, therefore, whatever I need to do at home or can do at home is of a great deal of interest to me.”
“You have no idea how encouraging that is to us,” Miss Williams smiled. “Most parents simply assume that we’ll take care of it all. We do our very best, but…”
“You’ve got lots of other kids to tend to and can’t give the full attention necessary,” she interrupted with the line that she knew was coming. “Trust me, I get it. My mother was a teacher.”
“That certainly explains a lot,” Miss Williams laughed.
“We really do appreciate the interest that you’re taking in this,” Miss Thompson added. “Believe me, Jaxon is a bright spot at Taylor Elementary and we just adore him. He doesn’t seem to have any other difficulties that we have been able to diagnose at this point. Anyway, Miss Williams has left papers here for you to sign and I’ll go over the new programs with you while she goes back to class.”
“It was really a pleasure to talk to you Miss Curry. I can see where Jaxon gets his charm. I will be right back in a few minutes with contacts to those programs.” She glanced at the counselor to make sure that what she had said was acceptable and received a nod in response. “Okay, then, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
With the papers signed and the information she’d requested in hand, Diana arrived back at her apartment a little bit after 1:30 in the afternoon. That meant she only had about an hour and a half before she had to start her shift at 3:00. I hope that I have a chance to chat with Ellen before I have to go to work. With that thought in mind, she decided to get ready for work early so that she would have the time free when her neighbor got home.
She only spent about 20 minutes getting ready, since she’d already showered before the conference at the school. With a little extra time to spare, she sat down to browse through the information that Miss Williams had given her. She couldn’t believe how expensive the programs were. How would she ever come up with that kind of money? If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.
That is the mood that I found her in when I knocked on her door. I’d gotten out of class a little bit early, so I decided to sit down and have a chat with her. Since we seemed to always be coming and going at the same time, we rarely had the opportunity to sit down and talk. “Hey, how’s it going?” I said as I stepped into her apartment.
“It could be better, but I guess I’ll survive.”
“Really? What’s going on?” I asked. I noticed the scattered brochures on the table and caught a glimpse of what they were about, but didn’t go prying into them.
“Jaxon is having some language development problems at school, so I’m looking through some programs that I can use here at home to
help him out.”
“I’m sorry. That must be stressing you out for sure.”
“It is, but you don’t want to hear about my problems.”
“Actually, when it comes to Jaxon, I do. Since I’m with him in the evenings, what can I do to help?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I’m really just getting started looking at this stuff, but I’ll sure let you know as soon as I have some clue as to what needs to be done.”
“That sounds fair enough.” I waited a moment, watching the stress on her face as she worked over something in her mind. “What else is going on? You look kind of tired.”
“Oh god, I hope I don’t look too tired.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well, I’ve been getting awakened at about 2:00 a.m. the last two nights because of some noises. It sounds like someone is breaking in, but whenever I check things out, there’s no one here and all of the windows and doors are locked. So, I haven’t slept well the last two nights.”
I was immediately on alert. Maybe she had some paranormal activity taking place in her apartment. I hadn’t ever noticed any strange energies, but, at that particular time, I wasn’t as tuned in to it as I later became. Believe it or not, I used to be a great deal more reserved about even suggesting that sort of thing was going on to people. Consequently, I just nodded my head and listened to her.
“There is one other thing that I wanted to ask you,” she said.
“Okay. Ask away.”
“Did you happen to notice if Jaxon was messing with the typewriter the last two evenings?”
“No, I’m pretty sure he hasn’t. We’ve been staying pretty busy in my apartment the last couple of nights. He’s been helping me with some projects. When we’ve come over here, it’s been straight to the tub and then right into bed. Why? What’s up?”
“You haven’t used my old antique typewriter for anything have you? I mean, it’s okay if you needed to borrow it, but I’m just trying to figure out a mystery at the moment.”