by Joy Redmond
“How about I party with you? I just flew in. Amos picked me up at the airport and we plan on coming to the Elks tonight. How’s that for a New Year surprise?”
“Oh my God! I can’t believe it. I can’t wait to see you! Now, don’t upstage me with your beauty and a sexy outfit. I have to wear a tacky uniform. If you get all the attention I’ll get all jealous.” Effy laughed and it was music to Mandy’s ears. It was then that she realized how much she had missed her best friend, and Amos and Cape Girardeau. But the snow on the ground quickly reminded her why she had left.
Mandy and Amos headed for the Elks by eight o’clock. Mandy and Effy hugged until neither of them could breathe. Little by little the place began to fill up. It was so good to see many of her old friends. She and Amos sat at the bar because Effy didn’t want them out of her sight. Effy fixed Amos his usual drink, and without asking, she fixed Mandy the same.
They were talking and laughing and it was like old times. Mandy had only had one drink when her head began to spin. She gasped and grabbed Amos’s arm. “No!” She cried.
Amos placed his hand over Mandy’s and said, “What’s wrong? You’re as white as a ghost.”
“Nothing. I just felt a little dizzy there for a minute.” There was no way she was going to tell him what she had seen. When she had turned to him, she’d seen a ghostly fog swirl and then he had fallen off the barstool and landed on the floor, flat on his back. His drink glass was broken on the floor beside him. He was dead. She tried to shake the vision off, but it had been as plain as day. Chills ran down her spine.
Amos laughed. “You’re so excited to see me, you’re drunk on love.”
Mandy laughed. “I’ve always been ditzy. I’m fine now.”
Amos finished his drink and ordered another one. Mandy was barely sipping on her second one.
Amos started laughing again and looked Mandy in her eyes. “You know what? I bet I’ll be sitting here on a barstool, drink in one hand, cigarette in the other, and I’ll fall over with a fatal heart attack.”
“No shit!” Mandy said. That’s exactly how it’s going to come down.
Mandy tried to keep laughing and enjoy the night, but the vision was too disturbing—and too vivid for her to ignore. She did enjoy dancing and catching up on the goings on with her old friends.
The weekend zipped by and Mandy hated to leave Amos, but she was ready to get back to Florida. It was another tearful goodbye when they got to the airport. They hugged and kissed, and Amos had tears running down his face as he said, “I love you. I will until I die.”
“Me, too,” Mandy said, then hurried to her gate and never looked back.
As the plane lifted off the ground, Mandy gazed down until all she could see was clouds. “Goodbye, Amos. Goodbye Missouri,” she whispered. The spirits were plainly telling her that she’d never see either again. She closed her eyes and let the tears fall.
Another chapter of my life has ended. Another door has closed. So be it. I can’t control destiny.
She kept gazing out the window, enjoying the beautiful clouds, hoping to see Purple Angel, but soon the airplane was above the clouds. She laid her head against the head rest and fell asleep.
The rest of the winter passed, but she didn’t hear from Amos, and she was sad and glad at the same time. His voice always filled her heart with happiness, but he was in her past and it had to stay that way.
When summer arrived it was another beautiful, sun-filled Florida, season. Mandy pushed Amos from her mind the best she could. Tony drove down in July, but he only stayed two weeks. Mandy’s heart hurt when he left, but she was proud of him for keeping his after school and summer job. She couldn’t believe that in just a few months, her son would be eighteen, Kati would be twenty-one, and the hardest part was accepting the fact that Abbie had just turned eleven and would be entering middle school.
Mandy wasn’t about to let Abbie go to a school where the blacks were still taking over and stabbing any white person who looked at them cross-eyed. The situation hadn’t gotten much better according to what other parents were telling her. She was in a stew. What do I do, she asked herself for the next few weeks.
Late one night, Mandy was in the living room, deep in thought; her eyes were heavy, begging for sleep. She went to bed, and her pillow had never felt so good. She closed her eyes. Suddenly, an orange bike with wings was flying through beautiful clouds, and Fluffy had sprouted wings and he was flying beside the bike.
Mandy’s body jerked and she realized she had dozed off. What was the bike trying to tell me? She sat up in bed, then she began running things through her mind: Hands pushing. Knocking on door. Flying. She got out of bed, went out to the garage and slowly walked over to the orange bike. “What? I don’t understand.” She stood, staring at the bike as if she thought it was going to talk. And it did.
She didn’t hear a voice, but thoughts were running through her mind and she knew it wasn’t her thoughts. The message was clear. Move! She rubbed the chill bumps on her arms. “Okay. I get it.”
The next afternoon, Wanda came over to have a drink and sit out on the patio with Mandy and discuss the world’s problems. As they were talking, Mandy told Wanda that she was putting her house up for sale.”
“You can’t sell out!” Wanda exclaimed.
“I’ve got no choice. School will be starting next month and I’m not about to send Abbie to JFK. Clearwater has changed so much in the four years I’ve been here. It’s become a drug haven and old people are being robbed and killed every day by junkies who have to support their habit. And almost every day there’s a piece in the paper about another kidnapping and killing of children, either on the way to school or coming home. My Paradise has become mortal hell.”
“I hear ya, girl. It’s nothing like the place it was when I came down here ten years ago. At that time you didn’t even have to worry about locking doors. I’m thankful that Debbie won’t be going to JFK either. Her daddy has agreed to pay for her to go to a private school.”
“Well, I can’t afford to send Abbie to a private school and she doesn’t have a daddy that can or will. So, I’m selling, and hopefully I’ll find a place over in Largo before school starts. The principal at that school runs a tight ship. No trouble of any kind that he doesn’t get under control, fast.”
Wanda dropped her head as if she were in deep thought. “You know what? My sister has been talking about moving to Florida because she’s had all the winters she can take in Michigan. If she thought she’d be my neighbor, she just might jump at the chance at buying your house. Money is no problem for her. She has a good pension and so does her husband. Don’t put it in the hands of a realtor. I’ll give Sis a call tonight.”
“That sure would be a blessing, Wanda. Give her a call.”
A week later, Wanda’s sister and her husband came down to see the house. They loved it and wanted to buy it. They said they would be back for the closing in thirty days. Mandy could not believe how fast it had happened.
Mandy’s instincts or the spirits or whomever were giving her strong feelings and thoughts, telling her she wasn’t supposed to buy another house. “Then I guess I’ll rent,” Mandy whispered one night as she was lying in bed, receiving the message. “You’ve never steered me wrong.”
She rolled over and tucked the pillow under her head. Just as she was about to doze off, she heard a loud bang against the back door. “I know, Bike. I’m getting out of here. Now go back to your spot and let me get some sleep.” She listened carefully, expecting another bang. All was silent. “I guess you heard me,” she mumbled.
Mandy fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
That weekend, Mandy drove over to Largo. She saw a small house located in a decent neighborhood with a For Rent sign in the front yard. The best part was that it was only four blocks from the middle school. The house was empty but she peered through the windows. It’ll need a lot of cleaning, but it’ll do, maybe. She copied down the phone number
that was on the sign.
She went back home, called the number, and the owner quoted her a price that she thought it was too steep, but she asked if he’d let her see the inside. The man said he would meet her at the house in one hour.
Mandy grabbed a quick bite, then headed back to Largo. She pulled into the driveway and an older man was standing in the front yard who was as dirty as the house was on the inside.
Mandy introduced herself and the man nodded his head, then headed for the front door. Friendly old cuss, aren’t you? she thought, as she followed him, then waited for him to unlock. She stepped inside and her nostrils were assaulted with the stale smell of smoke that made her feel sick to her stomach. She turned, looked around and saw the walls were yellowed with nicotine stains. She glanced at the floor and noted the carpets were dry-rotted, then she looked at the curtains. They were as bad as the carpet. It only had two bedrooms, but it had a nice sized living room and kitchen. The kitchen had sliding glass doors that led out to a sun porch.
“I can’t move in here until this place has been cleaned. Now, I’ll clean it in exchange for the deposit. Is that acceptable?”
The man rubbed his bald head for a minute, then said, “Yeah, I guess that’ll be okay. I’m having a hard time renting it. I need the rent money to pay the mortgage on it, so I’ll take the first month’s rent and you can clean and move in when you’re ready.”
“Will you take a personal check?” Mandy asked.
Again, he hesitated and Mandy was about to say thank you for your time, and walk out the door.
“Yeah, I’ll take it,” he said, then reached into his pocket and handed Mandy a key. “Here. Write the check, then it’s all yours.”
For the next week, Mandy and Wanda cleaned the house after they got off work. They shampooed the carpets, washed down the walls, and vacuumed the drapes. The smoke smell had been replaced with the strong smell of bleach and ammonia.
They went home after they had cleaned all they could, and sat out on the patio. “Kati and Tina will have to share a bedroom, and Abbie and I will share the other one. And there’s no way I’m going to get all my furniture in that little cracker box. So I’ll have to store a lot in the garage. My car will just have to stay parked in the driveway and the paint will blister in this heat. But a body does what a body has to. This is just temporary until I figure out what I’m supposed to do. Right now, I just want Abbie in a safe school.”
Wanda hugged Mandy. “Everything will be okay.”
The next week, Mandy called a local moving company and they were on their way to Largo. The girls weren’t happy with the house, and Abbie was upset because she didn’t have her own bedroom. “This isn’t forever. It’s only until—until when I don’t know. Work with me here. I’m not all shits and giggles about things either,” Mandy said.
She went out to the sun porch and just as she pushed opened the sliding glass doors, she saw a cloudy figure of an old man, stooped and limping. Her mouth was agape as she watched the shadow hobble on, then it just passed through one of the screened windows as if it were a puff of smoke.
“What the hell?” She walked out into the back yard and looked around. “Where did you go? What are you trying to tell me? Did you die in this old house? If so, you can have it back soon. I’m only here for a little while. I hope.”
Abbie entered middle school, and every day she begged Mandy to let her ride her bike. It was only four blocks, but Mandy was uneasy and wouldn’t allow it. Too many kidnappings and killings of school age children were still happening. She drove Abbie to school every morning and Kati walked to the school in the afternoon with Tina in tow, and walked Abbie home.
Abbie kept begging to ride her bike until Mandy gave in. Abbie was so happy that her silly mother was letting her ride her bike to school, as a lot of her friends were. What she didn’t know was her silly mother was five houses behind her in the car.
All bikes were to be parked in the bike compound and the gate was locked when the first bell rang. Mandy pulled into the parking lot, eased out of the car and walked over to the bike compound. She looked for the bright orange bike that always stuck out like a neon sign. It was nowhere in sight. She scanned the lot several times. No orange bike. Her head swirled, her heart thrashed in her chest and her throat constricted.
She tried to make her feet move, but she was paralyzed with fear. Her body was rigid and her mind was in a frantic swirl of imagined pictures of what might have happened to Abbie. Finally, she managed to move, but her feet felt as if they were in shoes of cement.
Finally she made her way inside the building. She couldn’t feel the floor beneath her feet as she walked down the hallway that seemed to be a mile long. She made it to Abbie’s classroom. Wiping cold sweat, Mandy made herself peer through the oblong window on the side of the classroom door. She blew a breath that she’d been holding since she had begun the mile long journey. There was Abbie, sitting at her desk, her double ponytails swaying. Where did she put her bike? Was the gate locked by the time she got to school? Mandy wondered.
Mandy silently thanked the Good Lord and headed back outside, glancing at her watch. She was late for work. On her way back to her car, she glanced over at the bike compound. “What?” she mumbled. There in the front row was the bright orange bike. She knew there was no way she could have not seen it when she first arrived. It was then she realized this wasn’t a happening. It wasn’t a prank. It was a warning!
She never let Abbie ride her bike to school again, and Abbie was not happy about it, but Mandy couldn’t shake the feeling of the spirits working through the bike, telling her to get out of Florida. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Florida, but she couldn’t go on living on pins and needles. What am I supposed to do? she silently asked the spirit world every night.
Thirty days after they had moved to Largo, Mandy hadn’t heard a word about the closing on her house. She called Wanda. “Is there a problem with your sister and her husband? I haven’t heard a word about having the closing.”
“Oh, I was about to call you,” Wanda said. “My sister called this morning and said they were trying to arrange their finances and it would be another three months, possibly longer before they would be down to close the deal.”
“What?” Mandy managed to say before the words caught in her throat as if she had just swallowed her tongue. She struggled to gain her composure. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I was just caught off guard. And I’ve got a rent payment due in two weeks. Paying this steep rent is taking half of my paychecks. And I’m sorry I’m telling you about my financial woes. I just hope they don’t back out on the deal. If they do, I’ll have to move back in, then Abbie—”
“Calm down! They’re not going to back out. They just have to get a few things arranged. They still want the house and they’re anxious to get moved to Florida.”
“Thanks, Wanda. Please bring Debbie over to see Abbie soon. She really misses her.”
“Debbie misses Abbie too. We’ll be over soon.”
Mandy hung up the phone and her whole body broke into a cold sweat. I can’t keep paying the rent and all the other bills for another three months or longer. What the hell am I going to do? She headed out to the backyard to turn on the sprinklers. Just as she stepped on the soothing grass under her bare feet, she heard a soft whisper, Fly on faith.
“Keep my babies safe. That’s my main concern,” she whispered.
November came and Mandy was still walking on pins and needles as she sweated and stretched every dollar to keep the bills paid, plus worrying about the safety of Abbie and Tina was causing her to fall into depression. She awoke on her birthday and looked into the mirror over the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Forty years old. Well, I’m going to pretend last year was my last birthday. There will be no happy about this one. I’m going to clean house, turn on the radio and listen to my music. Willie and Waylon always put me in a good mood.”
She had just brushed her teeth and was getting dr
essed when the doorbell rang. “Kati, get the door!” Just as she pulled a tank top over her head, she heard Kati let out a whoop.
She hurried into the living and her mouth fell agape. “Lee! Oh, my goodness. It’s so good to see you.” She hugged him tightly. “Where’s Maylee and the boys?”
“I wanted to come down by myself. I think I know somebody who has a birthday today,” he said with a smile and arched his left eyebrow.
Kati said, “Oh, I forgot your birthday, Mama. I’m sorry. I—”
Lee said, “Well, I’m here to remind you. And I’d like to take all of you out for a big dinner tonight. I only have today and tonight. I have to head back to Georgia in the morning. How does that sound?”
“It sounds wonderful. Can we go somewhere and get some King Snow Crabs?” Kati asked.
“I was thinking the same thing. How does that sound to you, Sis?”
“It sounds expensive to me, but hey, my mouth is already watering.”
Lee treated them all to a wonderful meal, King Snow Crabs and all the sides they wanted. They were all filled to the brim, their stomachs full and happy. Mandy didn’t think it could get any better—until their waiter brought out a small cake and placed it in front of her, while the other waiters gathered around and sang Happy Birthday. Tears sprang to Mandy’s eyes. It had been one of the best birthdays she had ever had. And one she’d never forget.
The next morning, Lee left, but his visit had lifted Mandy’s spirits and her depression took a back seat. Thank you, Lee. You always seem to show up when I need you the most, she thought, as she readied herself for bed.
A week before Thanksgiving, Mandy was sitting in the living room blowing bubbles for Tina, who refused to go to bed though it was way past her bedtime. Abbie was asleep and Kati was out for the night. She had just dipped the plastic stick into the bubble bottle when she saw car lights flash through the front window.