McCann's Manor

by Charlotte Holley

  "I see,” Kim said. “Have you lived with her all your life?"

  Sondra shrugged and replied, “Not at all. I lived in a boarding school in Monterrey and spent summers with my father when I was younger; then I went to prep school, abroad to college and on to acting school. I've been living with my mom for a couple of years now. Until recently, she never wanted her fans to know she was a mother. Now it's suddenly fashionable to her to have a daughter who has followed in her footsteps, so to speak."

  "Sounds like you and your mom aren't very close,” Liz surmised.

  "No, we aren't, really; at least not nearly as close as Dad and I are. He came to see me every weekend at the boarding school, unless he was off somewhere making a movie. The only time I ever saw her was on my birthday and Christmas. She was always too busy being the glamor queen,” Sondra shared in a matter-of-fact tone.

  Liz said, “I hardly know what to say. I apologize for prying."

  "Oh, no, I didn't think you were prying at all. I've learned to live with my mother's vanity, Liz. She thought the only way to succeed in the long haul was to stay forever young and to her, being young meant being unencumbered by children."

  Liz pursed her lips, nodded thoughtfully. “I can't understand that very well, I guess, but I'm glad you do."

  Sondra gave her a warm smile. “You have children?"

  Liz smiled proudly, “Yes, one of each. They're both grown now and my daughter and her husband just had their first baby."

  "You're kidding me! You have a grand baby?” Sondra asked.

  "Yes and there's nothing that makes me any happier than being a grandma!” Liz said.

  "That's the truth,” Kim agreed. “She's almost like a child herself when that little one is around."

  "That's so great. You always embraced your motherhood, didn't you?” Sondra asked.

  "Oh, yes, I did. I considered it a very great privilege to have children, Sondra. Motherhood is the best teacher one can have in life,” Liz said.

  "Thanks, I'll remember that, Liz. What about you, Kim? How many kids do you have?"

  Kim shook her head, “Well, I had two; I was married to them."

  Sondra laughed, “I'll have to remember that, too! That's really good. I've heard that about men."

  Kim arched an eyebrow, smiled, “Well, it's true, at least about a whole lot of them. Never doubt it for a minute."

  "Never doubt what?” John asked as he walked back into the room.

  "Just girl talk, Dad,” Sondra said with a broad grin.

  "Girl talk, is it? Cause for a red flag if ever there was one,” John said.

  "Why do you say that?” Mark asked as he followed John back into the room, a dinner roll in his hand.

  "You know what girl talk is all about, don't you? Guys! And when girls talk about guys, there is usually going to be big trouble for the guys!” John said.

  "Gosh, John,” Liz said, “is that really what you think of us?"

  "Oh, of course not, Liz. But generally whenever three or more females are gathered, males should beware!” he said.

  "Confess, John! What is it that has you feeling so guilty?” Kim asked.

  "Me? I don't feel guilty,” he protested. “Okay, maybe I do feel a little guilty. I just spoke to Sam Reynolds because the caterers need to get home, and he's coming in his chopper to take them and us—Mark, Sondra and me—out of here."

  "I thought we were going to stay here,” Sondra objected.

  "Things have changed and Mark has to get back to town for one of his patients; I really should check on the house,” John said uneasily.

  "But what about Kim and Liz? Are you just going to leave them here with no phone or electricity?” Sondra demanded.

  "There isn't enough room in the chopper to take more than five people, especially with the catering equipment,” John explained.

  "But Dad, someone should stay here with Liz and Kim, at least until the electricity and phone are back on. Suppose they need something?"

  "Sondra,” Liz said, “we'll be fine. We have candles and cell phones and we're accustomed to being here alone. It's no big deal."

  "We could send Sam back for you. It is Halloween, after all,” Mark suggested.

  Liz shook her head firmly. “Don't be silly. There's no need to worry about us. You have business to take care of, Sam might need to rescue someone who really has an emergency. He shouldn't be running back and forth over here all night."

  John looked at Liz uncomfortably, shifted his weight and looked at the floor. “I'll call you tomorrow on the cell. Sounds like the chopper now. Sondra, get your things together."

  Sondra hugged Liz and Kim and shrugged helplessly. “Well, thanks for the party. I'm sorry we didn't have more time to visit."

  "Promise you'll come see us next time you're here,” Kim said.

  "I wouldn't miss it!” Sondra said.

  John gave Kim a quick hug then took Liz's hand and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I'm sorry, Liz. I didn't intend to just run off like this."

  Liz looked into his eyes a moment, smiled coolly as she backed a step away from him. She knew John well enough to know something had spooked him; he wasn't leaving because Mark had a patient to attend and the caterers needed to go home. John was leaving because something had frightened him. Had Missy put in an appearance? “You do what you need to do, John."

  "I have decided to join Sondra when she goes to Miami tomorrow. I'll be gone a couple of weeks. The change of scenery will do me good,” he said abruptly, as though he had to get the words out before he choked on them. Sondra was obviously startled by her father's announcement of his intent to accompany her to Florida, but she said nothing. “I'll call you before I leave."

  "Oh, you needn't bother,” Liz said flatly. “You'll be busy with preparations to leave, especially if your house is flooded. I suppose, though, that you'll simply hire someone to take care of it for you while you're gone."

  "Liz, don't be angry with me,” he pleaded as he reached for her hand again.

  "Angry?” she asked, taking another step away from him. “Why should I be angry, John? You don't have to have my permission to leave, or to do anything, for that matter. Have a nice trip. Sondra, dear, it was so nice to meet you; please do come again.” Having dismissed John to her satisfaction, she put her arm around Sondra and walked her toward the door. “It's too bad about the storm and all. We'd have had a fine time if you'd been able to stay."

  Sondra smiled at Liz, shot a glance back over her shoulder at her father who was following with Kim and Mark. “I know we would have. Next time, we'll just have an all girl party and sit up all night swapping stories."

  Liz nodded, smiled. “That sounds good. I'll look forward to it. You have a safe trip to Florida and don't give this hasty departure a second thought. Everything happens for a reason, you know."

  "I feel like I've known you and Kim forever and I hate that I have to leave tomorrow, but I have to be on location bright and early the next day, so I don't really have much of a choice. Goodbye and thanks for a lovely evening,” Sondra said as she went out the door.

  Liz and Kim both smiled at Sondra and told her good bye. John looked at Liz long and hard, but Liz kept her distance. “Good night, John, Mark. Thanks for coming,” she said mechanically, then added to the caterers, “Dinner was superb. I wish we could have done it justice by having a houseful of people gobbling it down. Thank you for your hard work."

  Kim waved and headed back toward the living room to give John and Liz a moment of privacy as the others went into the night to board the chopper.

  "Liz, I really am sorry about this—” he started.

  "Like I said, don't worry about it,” she said.

  "I know what you said, but you're angry with me and I don't want to leave it like this,” he said.

  "You must, because you are doing it,” she said, throwing her hands in the air. “And now all of a sudden you're taking off to Florida for a couple of weeks to boot. Obviously, you're doing exactly wha
t you want to do."

  He sighed, reached for her hand once more. She allowed him to take her hand, but she didn't return the gentle squeeze he gave her. “All I know is that suddenly I felt like if I didn't get out of here I was going to explode. I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but sometimes I just have to go somewhere for a while. This house and the memories here are too much for me."

  "Sounds like something that has been building for quite a while, why didn't you say you needed to distance yourself? Why did you have to encourage us to have this stupid party in the first place? You know I didn't want to do it: you are the one who insisted; you are the one who wanted to be here all the time and help get ready for tonight. You brought this on yourself!” she spat.

  He pursed his lips, looked at the ground, let his hands fall to his sides. “You're right; I did bring this all on myself, I guess. It's a little too late to undo it, though. I just didn't see it coming. Are we still friends?"

  Liz rolled her eyes, put her hands on her hips and looked at the chopper waiting on the lawn for its last passenger. “Yes, we're friends,” she said with a heavy sigh. “You had better go now. Sam's waiting for you."

  "Will you kiss me good bye?” he asked.

  She was taken aback by the question. “No,” she said categorically. “The whole time you're here you're thinking about Missy, and I don't feel like I should be kissing Missy's lover; it messes up my thinking,” she blurted. “Go. Now,” she added before she stepped back into the house and shut the door behind her.

  Inside, she quickly locked and bolted the door and leaned hard against it, as though John might try to break it down, half wishing he would. She wanted him to take her in his arms and tell her Missy was his past but she—Liz—was his future. She wanted him to stay and instead she had practically thrown him out. Stupid, stupid woman! She stood there as though transfixed to the spot as she heard the chopper revving up for the take-off, then she listened when it took off; she waited until the sound of the whirring blades was gone.

  That was it; gone in a few seconds. Damn him! Damn the stupid storm, damn Halloween and damn Missy! No, she didn't mean that. Missy had been a victim and it wasn't her fault if John Carter was still in love with her after all these years. Damn that wicked, perverse, scheming Moira, then! It was all her fault. If it hadn't been for Moira, Missy and John would have gotten married, had a house full of kids and lived happily ever after—and Liz might never have met John; and that probably would have been all for the better. Moira and the others in that hot ball of messed up weirdness were going to pay for all this—one way or another.

  Chapter 29

  "So,” Kim said as Liz slunk into the living room, “what was that all about?"

  "What was what all about? You're not going to start with me over thinking John should have been more considerate; at least he could have talked it over with us before he just announced he was waltzing out.” Liz said.

  Kim sighed, “Liz! I was talking about John and Mark suddenly flying out of here like they had seen a ghost."

  "Oh,” Liz said. “Maybe we shouldn't have talked about ghosts on Halloween. What else are you supposed to do at a Halloween party on Halloween night, for pity's sake?"

  "It's probably the storm; the place does look spooky in the candlelight. It would have been fine if the electricity hadn't gone off and if all our guests had been able to come,” Kim consoled. “By the way, why did you get so angry about his leaving?"

  Liz stared at Kim, shook her head. “If you have to ask, trying to explain is probably useless. I'm not sure I understand it all that well myself. It wasn't so much his wanting to go home; it was the nonchalant announcement he was going to Florida with Sondra that got me. They hadn't even talked about it."

  "What makes you say that?” Kim asked.

  "Didn't you see the way she looked at him? She was surprised by his sudden proclamation,” Liz explained.

  "Hmm—guess I missed that part. Are you sure you aren't reading more into all this than it deserves?"

  Liz stared at her friend a moment before picking up a candle and heading for the front stairs. “I'm going to bed now. Good night."

  "Liz, wait—” Kim beckoned.

  Liz took a deep breath, turned to face Kim. “What is it?” she asked.

  Kim stopped to blow out the other candles, joined Liz. “I'll go with you. I would say we should check the kitchen, but there probably isn't much we could do in there tonight anyway. We both need some rest."

  "That's the truth,” Liz agreed.

  "Come on, Spooky, Ghost; time to go upstairs. You know, I've been thinking about what you said about Moira having all those spirits bound to her,” she began.

  "Yes? What about it?” Liz asked.

  "Well—now think about this a while before you reject it, all right?” Kim ventured.

  "What?” Liz asked.

  "Okay, the more I consider it, the more I'm convinced we're just going to have to go through the portal into the past and find out what it was that made Moira so hell-bent on destroying everyone and—” Kim began.

  "And fix her?” Liz finished Kim's thought.

  Kim stopped on the stair, pursed her lips, waited for her friend to pooh-pooh her suggestion. When Liz kept her silence and merely stared back at her, Kim continued, “Yeah, in a manner of speaking, I guess so. Do you think that's a crazy idea?"

  "Actually, I had given it some thought myself. The question that comes to mind is: should we both go?” Liz posed.

  "Of course, we should both go. You don't think for one minute I would let you go alone, do you?” Kim protested.

  "But if we both go, who'll take care of Spooky and Ghost?” Liz asked.

  "No! No-no! That's not even an issue,” Kim fired back. “We'll simply come back before we left, or at the most a few hours later, and there will be no need for anyone to take care of Spooky and Ghost."

  "Come back before we left!” Liz parroted. “Oh, sure—if we come back at all. No problem."

  Kim grimaced at Liz. “What is it with you these days, Liz? Nothing I say can be done. You never used to be so negative. What is your problem?"

  "Come on, Kim! Don't be crazy,” Liz chided. “Even Ben said the portal isn't totally safe; we might just find ourselves permanently lost in the past."

  "No, that is not an option, Liz,” Kim insisted. “Ben knew how to control the portal and after last night, we have access to all he knew. We can control it, too."

  "Maybe,” Liz conceded with a slight nod. “Let's sleep on it and tomorrow, when we're rested and it's daylight, we'll talk about it. Agreed?"

  "Sure,” Kim said. “We do need to get some sleep,” she said as they reached the top of the stairs.

  "I'm kinda glad everyone left,” Liz confided. “This way, we don't have to play hostess until the small hours of the morning when we're totally bleary-eyed. We can just veg out until morning."

  Kim laughed, “Right. I'll see you in the morning, then."

  "Good night. Rest well,” Liz said as she turned at the doorway into her room. Bed was going to feel great tonight. Neither of them gave a second thought to their pact to room together until this great confusing conflict was over.

  * * * *

  It was six o'clock in the morning when Liz's cell phone woke her. She groped at the night stand, finally found the intrusive instrument of her rude awakening. She pressed the talk button as she drew the phone to her ear, mumbling about changing the ring to something less insistent. “Hello?"

  "Liz,” John said hesitantly, “I know it's early but—"

  Liz sighed, opened one eye to peer at the clock beside the bed. She stifled a yawn, waited.

  "You still there?” John asked sheepishly.

  Another sigh and silence.

  "Guess you're still ticked at me, huh?"

  "John, why did you call? I was asleep; I don't wake all that fast from a sound sleep; just tell me what you want; I'm listening,” she said, stretching as she rolled onto her back.

  "I'
ve been thinking about what you said last night about my being Missy's lover and only thinking about her when I'm there."

  Liz waited.

  "You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

  Liz frowned. What was he going to say to her? Why did she need to make it easy for him to tell her he didn't want to come around anymore? “What is it, John?"

  "I guess maybe that was true, even after all this time, at first; but over the past few weeks I have started to think of you as—” This time the silence came from John's end.

  Liz's eyes flew open. What was he going to say? She swallowed hard, tried to keep her breathing even. “You've started to think of me as what?"

  "Well, as more than just a friend or as a psychic who has come here to help Betty and this house—and me. I find myself wanting to come see you and hating to leave. Oh, damn! Liz, because of you, I find myself for the first time ever thinking maybe I could forget all the things that have happened there and when I think of the manor now, I'm thinking of you—not Missy."

  "Is that why you ran out of here like you had seen a ghost last night? Is that why you decided to go to Florida on the spur of the moment?"

  "Well, yes. Crazy as it may sound, the realization of it all hit me only last night and; well, it completely blew me away! I think I'm falling in love for the first time since Missy."

  Liz opened her mouth to speak, closed it again, swallowed, then tried again. She took a deep breath, blew it out through puckered lips to disguise her surprised gasp. “Haven't you played the romantic lead enough by now to know you should be standing in front of your leading lady when you tell her something like this, to catch her when she faints?"

  There was a moment of silence then she heard a relieved sigh and a low chuckle. “Sorry, when it comes to matters of the heart I'm only the dashing romancer on the screen. I tend to botch it big time in real life."

  She almost laughed, too, but she could feel tears surfacing and she didn't dare speak or laugh or sob for a minute. Had she truly this instant heard what she had just heard? Was he only trying to stop her from being angry? Had she really been angry, or was she merely scared of playing second fiddle to a ghost?