"Yes, yes," he said, reaching in.
He took out one that had a seven-pointed star with a small diamond at the center.
Mr. Bogart held it in his palm before me. The diamond had a tiny glitter in the light, which made me happy.
"This is the Mystic Star," he said. "The seven points radiate a mysterious and intense energy said to bestow the seven treasures of the kings-- wealth, happiness, love, luck, wisdom, respect, and glory." He pointed to each point as he enumerated the treasures.
Mommy took the pendant from him and put it around my neck.
"It is said you often feel the energy the moment you wear it," Mr. Bogart told me.
I did feel something, a warmth, and I looked up quickly at Mommy, who smiled.
"Hocus-pocus," Daddy muttered. "I can't believe you're doing this. Sarah."
He hurled away.
"One more," Mommy told Mr. Bogart. She looked into the case again and pointed to a necklace that held an unusual- looking stone.
"What is that. Mommy?" I asked her.
"It s amethyst," she said, "A semiprecious gem."
Mr. Bogart brought it out. The gem was held in a gold case and on a gold chain.
"I want you to wear this. Arthur," she told Daddy. "What?"
"It's special. Amethysts can protect you. It can warn you of oncoming danger. accidents. It will change color, and that's how it will warn you."
"Oh. please, Sarah. This is going too far. Really. Change color?"
"It does work," Mr. Bogart said.
"Umm. I don't doubt for you. How much is it?" "Stop that. Arthur."
"I tell you what. Mr. Atwell," Mr. Bogart said. "Take it at no cost."
Daddy raised his eyebrows and looked at the stone.
"To make me happy. Arthur," Mommy said. "Please, take it."
He shook his head and then took it and put it into his pocket quickly.
"It will do you no good in there." Mr. Bogart told him. Daddy sighed deeply and then took it out and put it on. "Can we go now, Sarah?"
She nodded.
"Take the children out to the car. Arthur. I want to talk to Mr. Bogart for a few minutes.Ill be right there." she promised.
Daddy practically seized our hands and pulled us out the door, mumbling to himself as he marched us back to the car.
"Why do I get a worm and she gets a star?" Noble complained.
"You're better off. Noble. At least your thing looks like something funny. Someday you can show it to your buddies, if you ever get a chance to have buddies "
Noble sat back. considering.
"Worms don't have arms and legs," he said. Then he brightened and thought aloud. "Unless I just haven't seen any yet. Do they. Daddy?"
"None Ive met," Daddy said. "But your mother hangs around in different circles."
"What's that mean. Daddy?"
"Please. Just let's think about lunch. How about a Whammy burger?"
That excited Noble enough for him to forget his pendant. I fingered mine.
Seven points, the treasures of the kings! Mommy did love me very much after all. I thought, maybe even as much as she loved Noble.
After we had our lunch. Mommy and Daddy had their first really bad argument in front of us. They rode home in silence, but when they arrived. Daddy started to complain about Mr. Bogart and the amulets. and Mommy didn't ignore him like she usually did. She shouted back at him, her eves full of red rage like we had never before seen. It made Noble and I cringe. We sat close to each other in the living room. They were arguing in the hallway.
"You had no right to be so rude to Mr. Bogart. Arthur."
"Rude? I thought I was quite controlled. This is getting way out of hand, Sarah," Daddy, cried. "They don't play with other children their age. You practically keep them locked up here. and when we take them somewhere, where do we take them? To some kooky guy's weird jewelry shop. Who was he, a friend of your grandmother's?"
"Yes, he was, and he was a good friend, too."
"Figures. Do you realize you don't have any normal friends either? And it's getting so neither do I. I'm afraid to invite anyone here for fear you'll see dark, evil spirits hovering around them, see their aura, and do what you did when I brought Dick Calhoun and his wife here. Do you know how embarrassing that was for me? You locking yourself up in the kitchen and leaving me with them for nearly two hours? I partnered with him on a number of big projects, for crissakes, and now he's part owner of my business."
"I told you why I didn't feel comfortable with them. Arthur.''
"You told me? You had a bad feeling about Betty Calhoun. Something dark whirling around her? Really. And now this voodoo stuff with the children. You're poisoning their heads. Sarah. They won't be at any advantage when they go to school. They'll be thought weird, just like we are. Do you know what Ben Simon told me the other day, the story he heard from the postman?"
"I don't care to hear it," she said.
"Well. you're going to hear it," Daddy insisted. "Simon said the postman claims that he heard Noble and Celeste speaking what sounded like Arabic or some very foreign tongue. Then he said he swore he saw Noble change into a bird and fly into a tree. They all think our kids are weird. They enjoy making up stories about them."
"Stop saving that! Stop saying they're weird!" she shouted at him.
"Then stop doing what you're doing to them. And send them to school, for god's sake," he replied and left the house, slamming the door behind him. The whole house shook.
Mommy said nothing to us. but I could see she was very troubled. She went off for one of her long, quiet walks through the meadow and into the woods.
When she returned, she looked like she had been crying for days.
Daddy didn't really wear his pendant much. and Mommy assured me as we sat waiting for him that night that he wasn't wearing it this day.
"He goes out with it on, but he takes it off as soon as he drives away."
"How do you know?" I asked.
"I know.'' she said, nodding and staring out at the dark through the slightly parted curtain. The candle flickered as if some spirit was indeed circling the small flame.
I had no doubt Mommy knew Daddy had taken off his amulet. The way she said it put the jitters in my bones.
Noble, calmed down from his tantrum, came into the room complaining about my not playing with him. but I couldn't help it. I was too nervous to pretend anything. I wanted Daddy home. I wanted us all to feel safe again,
"There's no reason for you to sit here with me like this. Celeste." Mommy told me. "Go amuse your brother." She waved me. off.
"But --"
She turned sharply.
"You two should feel the same things," she said as if she was just realizing a bigger problem. Her eves grew small again as she thought. "When one of you is sad, the other should feel sad. too."
I didn't understand why. Noble never felt what I felt, and I rarely if ever did feel what he felt. We were twins, yes, but we were individuals, too. and after all, he was a boy and I was a girl.
"Why is that, Mommy?"
My confusion seemed annoying to her. She twisted her lips and closed her eyes,
"Just go," she said with her eyes still closed. "Play! Occupy yourselves!"
I got up quickly, but before I reached the doorway, Mommy released a cry. She put her hands on her heart, one over the other, and stood there looking up, her face bathed in terror, her eyes wide, her mouth twisted.
Noble seized my hand. and I put my arm around him. She began to waver as if the floor was moving under her feet.
"Mommy?" I cried.
She started to look toward us, and then...she fainted.
The sight of her collapsing to the floor was the most frightening thing either Noble or I had ever seen. She folded, her body pouring downward as if all of her bones had turned to liquid.
Noble started to cry, and I couldn't move for a moment. All the breath had gone out of me.
"Mommy!" I screamed.
Her face w
as turned away from us, and her arm looked so twisted. I thought for sure it was broken.
"What's wrong with Mommy?" Noble shouted through his sobs. He covered his face so he couldn't see her.
I let go of him and edged closer to her, my heart pounding so hard. I could feel the thump in my throat and even into my teeth. I knelt beside her slowly and touched her shoulder, Then I poked it.
"Mommy?"
She didn't move, and I poked her harder. Noble was crying hysterically in the corner now, still hiding his face. squatting. I shook her as hard as I could, and finally, I saw her hand twitch and then her arm move as she moaned and turned slowly toward me.
She looked at me, closed her eyes, and opened them again. "Mommy, what's wrong with you?"
"Just help me sit up," she said. and I got behind her and started to push on her shoulder.
"Noble. help." I called.
He looked at us but turned away quickly, still too frightened to move.
Mommy managed to sit and catch her breath.
"I'm all right. Noble. I'm all right. Don't be frightned," she said. "Go to the bathroom. Celeste, and run a washcloth under the faucet. Cold water only. Wring it so you don't drip all over the floor and bring it back to me. Go an," she ordered. and I did it quickly.
When I returned, she was on the sofa, her head back. Noble was sitting now, sitting and staring at her. I gave her the washcloth, and she put it over her forehead.
"I'm all right," she said, seeing how terrified I still was. "I'm all right."
"What happened. Mommy?"
She just shook her head, her lips trembling. She wouldn't talk. I sat beside her and held her hand. Noble finally rose and came to us. He buried his head in Mommy's lap and she ran her hand over his hair and his neck.
We sat there Eke that for a long time. Noble actually fell asleep. Mommy lifted him in her arms and carried him upstairs to the room we shared. He was so tired he barely opened his eyes as she undressed him and put on his pajamas. Then she kissed him and hummed one of the songs her mother and her grandmother had hummed to her to help her sleep. I stood by, feeling forgotten. Finally she realized it.
"You get to bed. too. Celeste. Go wash your face and brush your teeth," she told me and left, seemingly floating down the stairs.
I went to the bathroom to do what she said. but I didn't get into my pajamas right afterward, Instead. I stood by the window and looked out at the road that led to our house. Way off in the distance I could see the headlights of an automobile. It's Daddy. I thought, finally coming home. It's Daddy driving his truck.
Whatever it was that had gripped my heart relaxed and loosened its hold as I watched the headlights get brighter and bigger the closer the vehicle came. I was so full of joy again. I thought I could dance like the stars seemed to be dancing earlier in the evening, but when I looked up. I noticed that even the stars were one now. The heavy clouds that had earlier begun to cover the moon had continued unfolding across the sky.
It would rain tonight. I thought. Most of the time. I liked the sound of rain at night. The pitterpatter on our windows put me to sleep. but I didn't want rain. I wanted to see the bright, happy sky again. especially when Daddy came home.
However, as the vehicle turned into our driveway. I saw it wasn't a track after all, and it was an automobile that was a much lighter color than Daddy's car. Who was it? I wondered. I saw someone get out and approach the house.
Curiosity drew me to our bedroom door and then to the top of the stairway when I heard our door buzzer ring. Mommy seemed to take forever to go to the door. The buzzer sounded a second time. I almost went down the stairs myself to see who it was, but finally I saw her walk to the door, her head down. She opened it slowly and stepped back, nodding as if she knew exactly who it was and why he had come.
When the man entered. I recognized Mr. Calhoun. He stood there with his cap in his hands.
"Sarah," he began.
"Where is he?" Mommy asked quickly.
"At the hospital," he said without wondering how Mommy knew something was wrong,
"The hospital," she repeated. "It all happened so quickly."
"When did he die?" she asked. Mr. Calhoun lowered his head.
"When did he die!" she screamed.
"About an hour or so ago," he replied. "They wanted to phone you, but I said it wasn't something to tell someone on the phone, so I volunteered to come out here. Did someone call you after all?"
She shook her head. "No," she said.
"No? But--" He looked down and then up at her again. "Im so sorry. It makes no sense to anyone. The doctor looked like he had lost his hands or something when he came out to tell us"
"What happened to Arthur?What did the doctor tell you?" she asked, still not crying.
"Some massive hemorrhaging... a cerebral aneurism, they called it. How a man that healthy could suddenly... they made it sound like getting a flat tire... an artery ballooning and bursting. I don't understand. One minute he was talking animatedly to the general contractor on the project, and the next he was... collapsed. We tried CPR immediately, of course, and sent for an ambulance. They did the best they could at the hospital. We got him right into the emergency room. and..." He looked down at the floor and then shook his head and took a deep breath.
Mommy stood there like a statue, still not crying, and now not speaking.
It seemed to spook Mr. Calhoun. He looked up, shifted his eyes, and backed up a bit.
"Is there anything I can do for you right now? I mean... you'll have to contact the hospital... there'll be arrangements to be made. If there's anything..."
"No." she said.
"I'm really sorry, shocked and sorry. Were all devastated down at the project."
She nodded, but still didn't cry.
Later we would learn that Mommy's reaction would be more interesting to people and a more interesting topic of discussion for them than Daddy's surprising death.
"Did you know he was sick or something?" Mr. Calhoun finally asked to break the heavy silence. "I mean, did you have any idea? Did he?"
"I knew he was in trouble," she said.
"Well, why didn't he go to a doctor, get examined or something?"
"He didn't know he was in trouble." she explained. "Maybe, if he had worn the amulet--"
"Amulet?"
Mr. Calhoun shook his head.
He didn't know he was in trouble? I don't think I understand. Sarah. How could he not know if he was getting sick, but you knew?"
"I just realized it about an hour or so ago myself." she said. "It was too late."
"I don't understand. Sarah. How is it you knew but he didn't?" he asked with more demand.
"I had a message, a feeling," she told him.
He stared for a moment and then nodded, everything about Mommy coming back to him.
"Oh. Sure. I've heard of things like that," he told her. "When people are so close as you and Arthur were... sure." He was backing up more now. He was practically out the door.
Mommy took the door in hand and looked out at him. "Thank you for coming rather than calling," she said. And she closed the door before he turned to leave.
She stood there staring at the closed door. I felt as if a part of me was lifting and floating out over the stairs, down to her. I had no doubt that she sensed I was standing there. She turned and looked up at me. And then she held out her arms. and I hurried down and into them.
She held me so tightly, the tightest she had ever held inc. and I held on to her, thinking that as soon as I let go. I would fall into a dark hole.
Finally she relaxed and held me at arm's length.
"We won't wake Noble and tell him yet," she said. "Let him sleep."
"Mommy, where's Daddy?" I asked, refusing to understand the words I had overheard.
"He's gone over to the other side. Celeste," she said. "We can do nothing about it. They took him."
"Who took him?"
"His own spiritual family," she said. "He's gone.
He died," she uttered.
"How could Daddy die?" I moaned through a constricting throat. "He was never sick!"
"He must have burned himself out. Were all given a certain number of heartbeats at birth. Celeste, and if we get excited too often or are too vigorous. whatever, we can very well shorten our lives."
"No, not Daddy." I said, shaking my head and backing out of her arms. Why wasn't she crying hard if Daddy was really dead? This was just a dream.
"Go get some sleep. Celeste.." she said in a very tired voice. "We're all going to need our sleep and our strength more than ever now."
She was talking as if she was under a spell, hypnotized. Her voice didn't sound like her, and her eyes were cold and gray. I kept shaking my head, my awn tears starting to flow and fly off my cheeks.
"I've got to go out," she said suddenly. "Where are you going?" I cried.
"I have to go out there. I have things to do, things to say to people," she said.
She turned to the door.
"I want to go with you. Mommy," I said. "Please. afraid. I want Daddy."
She opened the door and shook her head.
"You can't go with me," she said. "You're not ready for such things yet. Stop being afraid," she ordered. "Go back to bed. And whatever you do, don't wake Noble. Don't let him know anything, not yet. Do you hear me. Celeste?"
I nodded.
"But I want to be with you. Mommy," I moaned.
She closed the door. and I screamed for her. Then I opened the door and saw her walking quickly into the darkness as if she knew exactly where to go. I started after her until she disappeared from sight, until she was swallowed up by the night. The sky had become totally overcast. There was no moonlight or starlight. How could she walk into that ocean of black and know where she was going? I wondered.
I called for her again, but heard nothing. My voice died in the dark.
For a while I stood there, listening, searching the shadows, wondering who it was she was going to see. Would it be Daddy? I saw nothing. I felt only a bad chill. Then I went back inside, but instead of going upstairs. I curled up at the foot of the stairway, embraced myself, and waited for her to return. I heard our phone ringing, but I didn't answer it. I couldn't keep my eyes from closing. My whole body wanted to close up. and I welcomed it. Moments later I was asleep, and when I awoke with the sunlight on my face. I found myself in my bed.
Celeste Page 4