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Wings and Faith

Page 33

by Joy Redmond


  “Anne, give Abbie the gun and come help me push. We’ve got to get it out of the street!”

  “It’s going to take all three of us,” Anne called out, as she stuck the gun into her waistband.

  Mandy said, “Hand me the gun. The safety is off.” She took the gun and pushed the safety latch on, then threw it in the grass. “We’ve got nothing to fear. Whoever was banging down the door was trying to wake us up.”

  It was a struggle but they managed to get the car out of the street. Just as they had the car into the driveway with only an inch or two of the back end hanging over the curb, a car came flying around the corner. The driver slammed on his brakes and his car slid sideways in the street. Mandy looked behind her and saw two little heads pop up in the backseat of the car as the driver rolled down the window and gave them a cussing.

  Mandy looked toward the heavens, “Thank you for letting one of your angels take human form long enough to wake me so I could get the car out of the street. It wasn’t to save my car. You did it to save the lives of those two babies.”

  Anne was ashen as Mandy told her about the man banging on the door and all that transpired after she he had awakened her. “I can’t believe it,” Anne said. “It’s like he disappeared into thin air.”

  “Like a fart in a fan filled room,” Mandy said and chuckled.

  Abbie chuckled too. “We could tell you stories that would curl your hair. Things that can’t be explained have been happening to us since I was five-years-old. I know you probably don’t believe in such things, but Mom and I are portals to the spirit world. We have visitors quiet often.”

  “I believe it now,” Anne said. “There’s no way to explain all this.” She wiped chill bumps from her arms.

  A month later, they were sitting at the table eating the evening meal when Don said, “I have an announcement. I got a call from the church superintendent and I’m being transferred to Bristol, Virginia.”

  Anne dropped her fork in mid-air. “Say what! I thought we were here to stay until we retire. The people of the church love you.”

  “Well, Anne, the superintendent said I was being transferred and his word is the gospel. I don’t like it either, but that’s how it’s going to be.” Don looked at Mandy. “You and Abbie are welcome to move with us to Virginia. Anne and I need to go over to Bristol this weekend to look over the parsonage. You and Abbie can go with us. You might decide you like Bristol.”

  “No. I think me and Abbie will go to Kentucky and see the kids and grandkids. I miss them so much.”

  Mandy and Abbie were back in Chattanooga, late Sunday night. Mandy parked the car and looked over at Abbie. “I didn’t realize until I made this trip after dark that at forty-eight, I’ve developed night blindness. Anyway, let’s go tell them the news.”

  Mandy sat down on the couch, and Don and Anne listened as she explained that she had talked with Otis about her and Abbie coming back to Kentucky. Otis had agreed to let them stay with him until they both found work and could get their own place. “I hate Bon Harbor with a passion and I dread going back there, but that’s where my children and grandchildren are, so that will make it easier. I hate being away from my family more than I hate the town. I think,” Mandy said, then she remembered all the house rules that Otis had laid down. Right back into Hodge Bondage, she thought. Too many memories of her childhood and teen years brought tears and shivers.

  May 25th, 1991, exactly 15 years to the day after Mandy left Kentucky, she was returning.

  That morning they headed out. Don drove the rented truck. Anne followed him in their car. Mandy followed Anne in her car. Abbie followed Mandy in her car. “We’ve got us a convey going,” Mandy sang.

  Her heart filled with joy, in spite of where she was returning to. She would have her family back.

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Mandy pulled up in front of Otis’s house. She sat in the car for a few minutes as Don, Anne, and Abbie went inside. She closed her eyes. “Mandy you’ve had a long vacation, but you have to take the lead again. Nikko, crawl back into your space in my head and please don’t pop out until I call on you.”

  Mandy sat for a long moment, then she felt Nikko’s personality receding, and she felt Mandy’s personality coming to the front.

  Tony and Billy came over soon after they arrived. They unloaded the truck and stored everything in the basement, which upset Otis. He watched everything like an old barnyard rooster who had lost much of his crowing.

  Later that afternoon, Don and Anne headed back to Tennessee. Mandy hugged them and it was a tearful goodbye. Once again, Don would be hundreds of miles away, and Mandy had no idea when she’d see him again. And Lee was even further away.

  Tony left, but Mandy didn’t feel the ache in her heart when her son kissed her. She was in the same town, and it felt good. When Billy left, he told Abbie to come spend a few nights with him.

  Mandy and Abbie sat down on the couch in the living room, tired and trying to accept they were relocated once again, which meant they had to start a new life. Every time they started a conversation, Otis would come in and repeat the house rules, then go back to his sitting room and turn his TV on full volume.

  “I can’t believe the way he’s acting. We have use of two rooms, the living room and the front bedroom. I’m glad we can use the hall bath. It sure is hospitable of him to allow us kitchen privileges after he goes to bed at nine o’clock. How many times does he think he has to tell us not to touch his food and not to touch anything in the middle bedroom? And that TV is deafening. We can’t even hear ourselves think.”

  “Well, honey, you’re about to see a side of your granddaddy that you never knew existed. Welcome to my life when I had to grow up in the same house with him. And not to be disrespectful, but be glad that Grandmother isn’t still here. You have no idea.” Mandy patted Abbie’s legs. “He’s deaf as a door knob, you know. He’ll blast us out with that TV and we won’t be able to hear the TV in here.”

  “Well, I hope we get our own place and get out of this house fast,” Abbie said.

  “If it’s tomorrow, it won’t be fast enough for me. Let’s see what we can find on TV. We’ll only have three channels. He doesn’t have cable. It’s a waste of money, according to him.”

  “How old is Granddaddy?”

  “He’ll be eight-four next month. And I bet he lives to be a hundred. He’s too stubborn to die,” Mandy said, and laughed. “Ah, honey, he’s a good man but he’s an old German – hardheaded, high tempered, and stubborn as a mule. We just need to be thankful that we have a home.”

  Mandy turned on the TV. There was nothing but snow on the screen. “So much for any TV. This thing is older than you. He won’t let me bring up our TV from the basement and move this piece of shit out of the way. I can tell you that. I’ll have to make a space in the front bedroom, then get Tony to bring ours up from the basement, which will send Granddaddy into another fit. The fun has just begun!”

  “I’ll stay with Daddy. I know he stays drunk, but he might be easier to live with than Granddaddy,” Abbie said. “And I won’t have to starve until nine at night.”

  “That’s up to you, honey. As for me – I’m stuck.” Mandy dropped her head and unbidden tears ran. “Here I am, pushing fifty-years-old, homeless, broke, and having to be at the mercy of an old jackass just to survive. I’m backing up in life— reliving my childhood and my young adulthood.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom. You deserve much more. You’ve worked your butt off all your life. I’m sure Daddy would let you come live with him.”

  “Honey, that ship sailed many years ago. I’ll take an old jackass over a drunk, any day. And the old jackass won’t try to get frisky with me.”

  “I know we’re both next to broke, but since we don’t have a TV to watch, why don’t we go get a bottle of wine. We’ll down it, then just go on to bed,” Abbie said. “I’m twenty, almost, and I’m old enough to have a glass or two of wine.”

  “Great idea! And while we’re out we n
eed to pick up a few groceries. We already know not to touch his food.” Mandy picked up her purse. “Hold, on. I’ve got to go see if he’ll give me the house key. If we’re not back by nine o’clock, we’ll be locked out! And tomorrow, I’ll sneak the key and go get two made for us.”

  They came home and saw Otis’ bedroom door shut. “Thank God, he’s in bed,” Mandy said as she opened the fridge. “Well, he emptied the two bottom shelves. I guess they are for us. Whatever you do, make sure you don’t put any of our food on his shelves at any time.” She walked over to the pantry. “He emptied the two bottom shelves. So I guess that’s our space, and—”

  “And for piss sake, don’t ever put our stuff on his shelves,” Abbie finished her mother’s sentence.

  For the next three nights, Abbie stayed with her daddy. Mandy wrote in her journal and caught up on the past few years. After three nights with Billy, Abbie had all she could stand, and she spent the nights with Mandy. They slept in the front bedroom, with Abbie poking her mother all night, telling her to stop snoring.

  Mandy spent the first three days visiting her grandchildren, happy to be able to be a part of their lives. Her oldest grandchild, Tina, was ten. Her youngest, Ian, was three.

  I’ve got a few years before they’re teenagers, then they won’t have time for a silly old nana. I know how that goes. And now I know why I didn’t find a job when I was in Chattanooga. I would have stayed there, and the spirits wanted me to come back to Kentucky and be with my family. We’re all together again. Thank you, God and the heavenly host. You always know best, even when I buck like a bronco.

  A week later, Abbie went to work at Budget Video.

  Two weeks later, Mandy was hired as a phlebotomist at the local hospital.

  Every week when they cashed their checks, Mandy and Abbie would hold hands and dance in a circle. “We’ll save every dime we can until we have enough to pay a deposit and first month rent. We’ll only be able to afford a hovel, but it’ll be ours and our house rules. Just hang on, Abbie!”

  One night, Mandy and Abbie were stretched out across the bed, watching their TV that Tony had carried upstairs for them. The old push-button phone rang. Mandy quickly grabbed it. “Hello.”

  “Mom,” Kati said, and Mandy could hear the tears in her voice. “I finally pitched Wally out. I gave the marriage my best for over two years, but his drinking became more than I could put up with, and two nights ago, he got physical with me. I’ve got a fist-sized bruise in the middle of my chest—”

  Before Mandy could say anything to Kati, Otis flung open the bedroom door so hard the knob made a dent in the dry wall. He marched over to Mandy, his face red, and shook his finger in her face. “I said the phone was not to ring after nine o’clock!”

  “Hold on, Kati,” Mandy said.

  She stood up and calmly said, “Dad, all you have to do is un-jack the phone on your bedside table and you won’t hear the phone ring. This is an important call and I—”

  Spittle flew as Otis continued to wag his finger in Mandy’s face. “You won’t tell me what to do in my own house. You better obey the house rules or you’ll—”

  Mandy’s face reddened and she felt Nikko come to the surface. “I know. You’ll pitch me out. You’ve been doing that since I was sixteen-years-old. We’ll be getting out of your house as soon as we can. And we’ll be happy to kiss your old butt goodbye!”

  Otis stomped off.

  Mandy picked up the receiver, “Kati, are you still there?”

  “Oh, yeah. And I heard it all. That’s the reason I married Wally so quickly. One month with him and me and the girls were ready to kill him. He’s impossible. My girls were being yelled at every day to the point they were scared to breathe.”

  “I kinda figured that out. Now, back to you pitching Wally out. I’m glad you did. I went through that and I won’t have him putting his hands on you. He really wouldn’t want me to get up in his business. I’ve dealt with his kind—” Mandy stopped herself. “Never mind about me. I’m concerned about you. How are you going to keep the rent paid, honey? I’m already buying groceries, clothes and shoes for your girls and Tony’s three children. Half my check goes to—”

  “I know, Mom! Me and Tony are still sucking you dry. We don’t need a reminder every time you fork over. We’re doing the best we can!” Kati hung up.

  Mandy put the receiver on the hook. “I guess I was thinking out loud. I shouldn’t have mentioned—”

  Abbie cut her mother off. “You were only telling the truth. She and Tony will weasel every dime you make out of you. We’ll never get out of here if you keep supporting them. They’re adults. Let them figure it out! Jeez! Learn to say no!”

  “Abbie, saying no to Kati and Tony is saying no to my five grandbabies who need things. They’re innocent and they can’t help it if their parents act like idiots and don’t know how to manage money. And Tony and Belinda drink up most of what Tony makes.”

  Abbie said, “I never thought I’d ever see anybody who could even keep up with Tony when it comes to drinking, but Belinda can top him.”

  “I can’t stop that either, but my grandbabies aren’t going to be hungry and dressed in rags. As for Kati, I’m not sure she has the mental capacity to hold down a job. That kid is bi-polar and you never know which way she’s going to flop. Angel, one minute – demon, the next.”

  “So you’ll just keep supporting them?”

  “It looks that way,” Mandy said, and shook her head. “And it looks like I’ll be stuck living with Dad. But, you keep saving and you can find you a place. It’ll just take longer.”

  Abbie grabbed her purse. “I’m going over to Daddy’s. You just stay right here, keep taking Granddaddy’s shit, and keep supporting two worthless kids. At least I’m going to make something of my life. You won’t ever have to worry about supporting me.”

  Mandy sat down on the bedside. “Honey, you’re only twenty-years old. You have no idea what a mother and grandmother will sacrifice for her family. But I’m proud of you.”

  “Ah, save it!” Abbie said as she left the bedroom and went out the front door, slamming it behind her.

  Mandy stood at the front door and watched as Abbie got into her car and drove way. You’ve got so much to learn, my sweet child, she thought, as she closed the wooden door and locked it. She went back into the bedroom, sadness burning at her soul, turned off the TV, swallowed two Valium, and called it a night.

  The next morning she was startled from a deep sleep when Otis opened the bedroom door and yelled. “You didn’t lock the front door when you came back home last night. I locked it before I went to bed like I always do. Anybody could have come in and—”

  Mandy jumped out of bed. “I didn’t go anywhere. Abbie went over to stay with her daddy because you had her so upset. I locked the door when she left! I know how to lock a door!”

  Otis lowered his bristles. “Well, I forgot to tell you, you have to give the door and extra push after you shut and lock it. The lock doesn’t catch until it gets the second push. So, I’ll let it slide this time. Just be sure to do it right from now on.”

  “Aye, aye, sir!” Mandy mumbled, knowing her dad couldn’t hear her.

  Chapter Fifty

  For the next year, Mandy’s world revolved around work, changing clothes, listening to the messages on the answering machine, then having to scream until she was hoarse as she relayed the messages to her deaf dad. Then she’d go check on her grandchildren, making sure they weren’t in any danger or being left alone with no food in the house. Kati was running wild since her divorce, and Tony and Belinda were drunk more than they were sober. I’m running on empty again. I need to be three people, she thought every night as she went to bed. She fell into an abyss of sleep so deep that dreams couldn’t go there.

  The only thing that had changed in that year was Otis finally gave in and let Mandy clean out the middle bedroom so she and Abbie didn’t have to share the same bed. One Saturday morning, Mandy was jarred awake by the sound
of glass shattering. She jumped out of bed and headed up the hallway just as Abbie came out of her bedroom and they met face to face.

  Abbie said, “Did you hear that? It sounded like the plate glass that covers the front of Shoney’s just shattered into a million pieces.”

  “Yeah, I heard it. It woke me up. We’ve got to find what broke.”

  They went from room to room. Nothing was broken. “Maybe it was the sliding glass doors in the basement,” Mandy said. “That was a lot of glass.”

  They went downstairs. The sliding glass doors were standing firm. Mandy checked the other two side windows. They were fine. “Maybe my box of china and crystal fell over,” she said as she squeezed her body between boxes and furniture. Everything was in place. “This makes no sense. Let’s go outside and see if there was an accident.” Mandy pushed open the sliding glass door. She and Abbie walked around the house, stood in the front yard and looked up and down the street. Nobody was outside and they saw no broken glass.

  “Mom, we were both asleep, but there’s no way we could have been having the same dream at the same time. And there’s no sound like glass shattering—but glass shattering. Was this a happening?”

  “It had to be, but what on earth does it mean?”

  Abbie shrugged her shoulders. “Beats me. What did a lot of happenings mean?”

  “Maybe we’ll figure it out later. I’m just glad we don’t have to sweep up a buttload of glass.”

  “Let’s get back in the house before the neighbors think we’ve lost our minds out here in our pajamas and barefoot,” Abbie said.

  Mandy laughed. “The neighbors are the least of my worries. I just hope Dad doesn’t find us outside and start a game of twenty questions and I’ll have to scream my brains out so he’ll hear me and the whole neighborhood will hear me too. I get so tired of yelling at him.”

 

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