In the House with Mouse!

by Deborah Gregory

  I don’t care what he says—I know there is something wrong with our Daddy.

  “Can you arrange for someone—an adult—to come tomorrow, so we release your father in the morning?” the doctor asks.

  “Yes, sir, we’ll come with an adult in the morning,” I say, snapping out of my daze.

  As we leave the hospital, Angle looks at me and doesn’t say a word, I don’t want to admit it, but for once, I think she is right. I turn to her, tears welling in my eyes, and mumble, “We’d better have Doktor Snake make a house call.”

  Angie just holds me, and doesn’t say a word, which is a blessing. Even though I always gloat about being three minutes older, for once I feel like I’m the younger twin.

  Chapter

  7

  When we get back home, we both feel scared about going upstairs by ourselves.

  “Let’s go get Esmeralda!” Angie says.

  “We’ve scared that poor woman enough for one day,” I mutter. “We’d better be glad Esmeralda doesn’t speak English so she can’t tell Mrs. Elliot about the afternoon ‘fright’ we gave her—and all the strange things she saw in Daddy’s bedroom.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Angie replies knowingly.

  That’s all we would need, is for all our neighbors in the building to think they have a bunch of “pecan nuts” from Houston living next door to them!

  Taking a deep breath, we climb the spiral staircase. Scaredy-cat or not, I think it’s high time we figure out what on earth all those strange things are in Daddy’s bedroom.

  “We left the light on,” I say out loud, as if Daddy is still home. Even now, I can hear his voice fussing with us about that. He is real particular about us turning off all the lights, so we don’t “give his money away to Con Edison.”

  “I didn’t leave it on,” Angie says, defending herself as usual.

  “It doesn’t matter who left it on,” I shoot back, “’cuz Daddy’s in the hospital.” I can’t even remember who left the room last after the EMS (Emergency Medical Service) workers got Daddy in the ambulance. The first thing I do is go straight for the mess on the nightstand.

  “Somebody musta put all this stuff in Daddy’s room after we went to Drinka Champagne’s,” Angie says, like she’s honing her divette detective skills. I think she’d better stick to her neurosurgeon ambitions, because I am definitely better at clues than she is.

  “What do you mean, somebody?” I huff back. “It’s obvious who.”

  “Well, why would Abala do this?” Angie says, peering at Daddy’s nightstand and reaching for something.

  “Now that’s a dim-witted remark, Angie,” I say, shaking my head at her.

  She ignores me. Picking up one of the voodoo dolls, she starts shaking it.

  “Don’t touch anything until Doktor Lizard gets here!” I yell at her like I’m the chief investigating officer on this crime scene.

  “I thought you didn’t believe in any of this stuff,” Angie challenges me, smirking like the Cheshire Cat.

  “I don’t,” I say, realizing that I’m acting stubborn again. Well, I can’t help it! Like Big Momma says, A scorpion can’t change its ways, so why should people?

  “I’ve never seen black candles before,” Angie says, leaning over and looking at the burned votive candles. “I wonder what those are for?”

  I stare at all the other stuff on the nightstand. Aside from the black and red candles and the funny-looking brown-cloth dolls, there are stones, powders, herbs, an old-fashioned scale, some nails, and a little sack.

  “It looks like she burned something else besides the candles,” I say, surprised by the pile of ashes on the nightstand. “It kinda looks like photos—people’s pictures, maybe?”

  Angie examines the pile of ashes. ”Those are definitely the edges of photos, and magazine pages.”

  “Yeah, you’re right—magazine pages. I didn’t think of that,” I say.

  The doorbell rings, and we both jump.

  “That must be Galleria and the snake people!” Angie says, like a smart-aleck. I know she’s making fun of me.

  When we open the door and see Galleria’s face, I forget how I upset I got at her earlier. That is, until Eddie Lizard appears in the doorway, flashing his devilishly charming smile. That familiar voice I heard in my head all morning pays me another visit. Why does he have to like Galleria? Why can’t he like me?

  “Where’s Chanel and Dorinda?” Angie asks Galleria.

  “Auntie Juanita would have a fit if Chanel stayed out any longer. We put her in a cab. She’s not supposed to be hopping around all day on those crutches. Miss Cuchifrita Ballerina is still a crippled Cheetah, you know.” Galleria looks at me like she wants to make peace.” And you know, Dorinda has to help out Mrs. Bosco on Saturdays with cleaning.”

  “I know that’s right,” I say, catching my manners and trying not to act jealous again. Now I just feel disappointed. We’ve gotten used to Chanel and Dorinda being involved in everything we do, so it only seems right that they should be here with us now.

  “Hi, um, Aquanette,” Eddie says, trying to be polite. I look at him, and feel my heart fluttering. Then he steps aside and an older man comes into the apartment after him. Eddie’s father looks just like him—except that he’s older, taller, and has white hair. I know I should tell Eddie he looks just like his father, but I don’t want to.

  Judging from Doktor Lizard’s white gauze outfit and moccasins, I can tell he’s not from New York, and that he’s used to living in a warmer climate. I look down at his moccasins again—the toes are pointy like Aladdin’s slippers. Jack Frost must be nipping at his heels quite a bit. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m Aquanette Walker, and this is my sister Anginette,” I say, catching my manners and holding out my hand to shake his.

  The peaceful-looking man covers my hand with both of his, and stands still for a second—so I don’t move either. Slowly, he removes his hands, then says, ”I’m Doktor Lizard—Eddie’s father.”

  Doktor Lizard does the same exact thing to Angie. As we all walk into the living room, Galleria whispers in my ear, “He’s just trying to feel your vibrations.” Then she pinches my butt, which causes me to giggle.

  Doktor Lizard turns in front of the couch and smiles. “Let’s go see the handiwork.”

  “Excuse me?” I ask, feeling stupid because I don’t know what he’s talking about.

  “Upstairs,” Galleria whispers, nudging my back.

  “Oh, yes. Can we get you any lemonade or something to drink first?” Angie asks.

  “No, thanks—I’ve imbibed quite a bit already,” Doktor Lizard says, smiling.

  Imbibe? Lord, that’s just what we need—someone else talking funny It sure seems like we can’t understand what anybody is trying to tell us today!

  “This is definitely the work of a spooky kook,” Galleria says, sniffing the burnt air in Daddy’s bedroom.

  “No. This is the work of someone who has made a pact with the devil,” Doktor Lizard says, “to try and win the love of a man forever, so she can control him.” He moves closer, to see the stuff on the nightstand.

  I can tell by how slowly and carefully Doktor Lizard is talking that he’s trying not to frighten us. Well, it isn’t working—I look over at Angie, and I can tell he is scaring both of us to death!

  “She burned photos—probably of women—desirable women …women he used to love,” Doktor Lizard explains.

  “Why?”

  “To eliminate the competition, and to insure that he will love no other, nor harbor any lingering flames.” Doktor Lizard nods knowingly. “This sort of ritual is only performed by Hexagone witches.”

  “Our Daddy’s girlfriend’s name is Abala Shaballa Hexagone!” I blurt out.

  “Oh, well, then there is no mystery about what is going on here,” Doktor Lizard says, picking up the pouch on the nightstand and emptying the stuff inside.

  I try to peer over his shoulder and see without being rude, but I don’t know what those things are he’s h
olding in his hands.

  “My, my, my—I haven’t seen the likes of these in centuries,” Doktor Lizard says, looking at us and smiling.

  Centuries? I hope he’s joking, because he can’t be that old!

  “A piece of elephant tusk, an alligator tooth, and the bill of a mockingbird in a bogo mojo bag.” Doktor Lizard toys with the items in his hand, like he’s marveling at Abala’s “handiwork.”

  “It’s all here,” he says. “She’s created an altar for the spell—black candles to signify the negative forces inherent within the multiverse. Red candles to incite passion. Voodoo dolls stuffed with straw, his bodily fluids, nail clippings, and clothing.”

  I grab Angle’s hand and clutch it tight. I never believed that anything could scare us more than the horror movies we love to watch—but Doktor Lizard has succeeded!

  “Stones to set the time of their romance to infinity. Nails to write the spell on the candles,” Doktor Lizard continues, like he’s doing his grocery list. “Scales to weigh out his love, and the exact quantities of the herbs, roots, and powders for her potions.”

  “She’s been making him drink brews for weeks now!” I blurt out. “She tried to get us to drink them too,” “Yes, well, she wouldn’t have gone to this extreme unless something was going wrong,” Doktor Lizard says, resting his finger on his lips. “She must have discovered that his heart belonged to someone else.”

  Suddenly, my heart stops—maybe Daddy really does still love Ma! “Well, it would have to be our mother—she lives in Houston,” I explain quickly.

  “I see,” Doktor Lizard says, while taking out a bag from his leather satchel.

  “I must uncross the spell here first.”

  “How do you do that?” Galleria asks.

  “Uncrossing oil, jinx removal, and hocus-pocus powder,” Doktor Lizard says nonchalantly He opens a bottle and sprinkles drops everywhere, while chanting: “Break the hex, blast the root, free this man from the Hexagone hoot!”

  Galleria takes her Kitty Kat notebook from her backpack. I can’t believe she’s gonna write this stuff down! It figures Galleria would try to make a song out of anything—even Daddy’s misery! I cut my eyes at Angie, who just shrugs.

  “Now we must go examine the crossroads,” Doktor Lizard mumbles, like he’s talking to himself.

  “What crossroads?”

  “When you walk to the corner, there’s a pole, and when you look up, you see the sign for the street and the avenue, pointing in two different directions,” Eddie explains for his father.

  “The intersection of two roads, two street signs, is a place of great magical power. It’s also the best place to dispose of the remnants of a spell—leftover candle wax, incense and photo ashes, footprint dirt, ground bone fragments,” Doktor Lizard says, gathering the stuff off the nightstand and putting it carefully in his bag.

  “Do you want us to help you?” I ask.

  “We’re losing light, so we have to hurry,” Eddie Lizard says quickly “Later, you and your sister should clean the room as well as you can—before your father comes home from the hospital.”

  “Oh, okay,” I say, trying not to look at him while he talks. I know this is silly, but Eddie Lizard just makes me feel so self-conscious. I cut a quick glance at Galleria. I can tell she is truly smitten with him.

  “We have to go remove the remnants, then visit the hospital and attend to your father,” Doktor Lizard calmly explains. “With all their medical expertise, doctors are never able to detect the work of a spell, hex, curse, or devil’s pact.”

  “Can we help Daddy?” I ask hopefully.

  “Well, the sun hasn’t gone down yet, so we still have some time. I will do my best,” Doktor Lizard says, kissing the talisman charm around his neck.

  When we get to the corner of Eighty-ninth Street and Riverside Drive, Doktor Lizard instructs us to go through every piece of garbage. I feel so funny, because people are staring at us. They probably think we are homeless people—or even worse, that we’re up to no good.

  “That’s mine!” screams a homeless woman who has appeared out of nowhere. She has bright red lipstick smeared across her mouth. “Don’t touch my stuff!” she yells, lunging at me so quickly that I drop the empty milk carton I’m holding.

  “This is hoodoo business, woman—scat!” Doktor Lizard says without moving a muscle. The lady gets a scared look on her face and walks off, babbling.

  How did he do that? I wonder.

  “The power of hoodoo is known by many,” Doktor Lizard says, as if reading my mind.

  Well, we sure didn’t know anything about hoodoo. Not that I’m convinced that all this poking around in public garbage cans is gonna make Daddy better!

  “Well, our work is done here,” Doktor Lizard announces, after he quietly puts more stuff into his satchel.

  “I’m real glad you came,” I whisper to Galleria as we get into Doktor Lizard’s blue Cadillac and head over to the hospital. When we arrive and announce that we want to see Mr. Walker, the nurse attendant looks at us rather skeptically, but she lets us go up to Daddy’s room.

  “What are you gonna tell your mother?” Galleria asks me as we walk down the long corridor. Galleria knows, because she stayed at our mother’s house in Houston with us, that Angie and I haven’t told our mother bo-peep about High Priestess Abala Shaballa. How are we supposed to tell Ma the truth now, after we’ve been fibbing all this time? The Lord doesn’t like liars, I can hear Ma’s voice ringing in my ear.

  “She’s gonna be so hurt that we lied to her about what was going on with Daddy and that pecan nut!” I whisper to Galleria. “We’re gonna have to tell her the truth—eventually.”

  “She may try to take you back from your father,” Galleria says nervously. “What if she wants you and Angie to move back to Houston?”

  I know what Galleria is getting at. We can’t move back to Houston and leave the Cheetah Girls behind!

  “Daddy looks so peaceful,” Angie sighs as we gather around his bed.

  The nurse from the desk comes inside and tells us, “He’s resting now, so we’re gonna have to ask you to leave.”

  “Oh, please, ma’am—I just need to look at my father for comfort. We won’t disturb a thing,” I plead with her.

  The nurse looks at Doktor Lizard like she’s unsure what to do. “All right,” she finally says.

  When she leaves, I crack a smile.

  “That was quite a performance—you drama queen!” Galleria whispers, complimenting me on my theatrics. I guess I have learned a thing or two, going to LaGuardia Performing Arts Annex with a whole bunch of real-life drama queens.

  Doktor Lizard reaches over the hospital bed and tries to open Daddy’s eyelids. Then he touches his palms, heart, and head. ”I’m gonna need your help,” he says, motioning for us to help prop Daddy up in his bed.

  “Anginette, go guard the door to make sure the nurse doesn’t come in,” Doktor Lizard commands my sister.

  When we’ve propped Daddy up, Eddie Lizard holds him still while his father prepares something in a bowl. ”This is a ‘decoction’—the opposite of a concoction—it should help undo the Love Spell.”

  Daddy doesn’t even open his eyes as we open his mouth and hold the cup to it so he can gulp down the decoction.

  “She almost had him, that’s for sure,” Doktor Lizard comments, as he pulls out a piece of paper and a fancy-looking pen. “I’m writing your father’s name on parchment paper with dragon’s blood ink, to help him heal,” Doktor Lizard says, looking at me until I realize he’s waiting for me to tell him Daddy’s name.

  “Oh, I’m sorry—his name is John Walker.”

  After Doktor Lizard finishes writing Daddy’s name, he puts the paper on the night-stand, takes out two white candles from a case, and lights them on the table. Then he places some oil on one of the voodoo dolls, and puts it on Daddy’s chest. “I’m going to recite an incantation to gain the help of the healing spirits,” Doktor Lizard explains. “You won’t be able to un
derstand my chant as I drift into the unknown tongue, but do not be frightened.”

  Galleria nods her head, and I grab her hand as we listen to Doktor Lizard making funny noises and words. “Abba—hum, dweebie dum, raccaacaacaa, dummmmmmm.”

  It just sounds like Doktor Lizard is calling somebody dumb, but I have no idea what he’s really saying. Angie turns around, startled, but I motion for her to keep guarding the door. After Doktor Lizard finishes his chant, he wraps the voodoo doll and parchment paper in a piece of white cloth and places it between the two white candles.

  All of a sudden, the patient in the bed next to Daddy’s turns over and yells out, “Hey, if it isn’t the Bobbsey Twins!”

  My heart almost jumps out of my chest, until I realize that it’s Mr. Bloody Ace Bandage from the emergency room. “That’s right, it’s us,” I whisper to him. “Shhh, we don’t want to wake our Daddy!”

  “Oh, okay,” the man says, then turns back over.

  “Don’t worry, we’re finished here,” Doktor Lizard assures me as he packs up everything.

  “Who was that wack attack?” Galleria asks, puzzled, as we flee Daddy’s hospital room. “The Bobbsey Twins—funny we never thought of calling you that.”

  “Well, you thought of everything else to call us,” I reply sarcastically, then wrap my arm under Galleria’s. I’m not mad at her—I’m just anxious to find out if Doktor Lizard’s ritual worked.

  As if reading my mind, Doktor Lizard calmly tells us, “Now all we have to do is wait and see. You’ll have to watch your father’s behavior closely when he’s released.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll watch him like Houston hawks!”

  “What do we do about Abala?” Angie asks, like a scaredy-cat.

  “Nothing,” Doktor Lizard says. “She’ll know that she’s failed—that he doesn’t love her—and she’ll find another victim.”

  I feel a pang in my chest, as if Doktor Lizard is talking about me. He probably knows a lot more about people’s secrets than he’s telling. He probably already knows that I like his son, and that Eddie doesn’t like me.

  I sit quietly in the back of the car with Galleria and Angie, while Eddie Lizard sits up front with his father. My nosy sister whispers something in Galleria’s ear. Galleria whispers back, loud enough for me to hear: “No, silly willy—I’m just mackin’.”