Anna's Visions (17 page)

Tori took a deep breath, then again started telling
Cody about her and Wes’ sordid story, pausing often to wipe away her bitter
tears.

When she had finished, Cody kissed her forehead. “I’m
sorry you had a bad marriage and I’m truly sorry you lost your baby. But I can
fix all the pain. I can be everything Wes wasn’t – and we can make as many
babies as you want.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I’d like to give
our son the kind of life I never had.”

Tori was
surprised by his statement. He was talking as if she
hadn’t turned down his proposal. He was acting as if they were going to get
married and start a family. She needed to put a stop to that – without hurting
him too much.

“Look, Cody,” she said, trying to be firm, but gentle.
“We can stay in contact and visit each other from time to time, but my life is
in Madison with my family and Jill – and I don’t even know where you’re from!”

He abruptly stood, and Tori almost fell on the floor.
“Forget it, Tori! I guess I’m just not good enough for you. I wasn’t good
enough for another woman either, and–” He paused a few seconds, and then threw
up his hands. “What’s the use?” He stomped inside the hotel room and Tori heard
the bathroom door slam.

“What’s wrong with that man? Great balls of fire!” she
mumbled.
She shrugged her shoulders. “You can get over it.
Or not!”
She strolled over to the bed, sat, picked up
the phone, and said, “Yes, I need an outside line, please.”

She was startled when Cody’s hand reached over her
shoulder, grabbed the receiver, and tore it from her hand.

“What in thunder are you doing?”

He put the receiver down and said sweetly, but firmly,
“You don’t need to use the phone just yet. I’m going to take you to a Greek
restaurant in Tarpon Springs. You haven’t eaten until you taste Greek food.”

“I don’t want Greek food or any other kind of food,
you idiot! I want to call my family.”

Cody’s jaw clenched. “If we don’t get there before the
rush, we’ll have to wait for hours. Come on Tori, don’t spoil this evening. You
can call your family as soon as we get back.”

“No! I’m going to call my family now!” Before she
could reach for the receiver, a sharp pain ran from the base of her skull all
the way to her forehead. She grabbed her temples with trembling hands. Her
heart raced and her mouth was dry as a bale of cotton. A wave of queasiness
washed over. “I don’t feel very good,” Tori said, holding her face in her hands
and leaning forward.

“Here, baby,” Cody said, holding out two more pills
and a glass of water. “These will have you feeling better in no time.”

Tori dutifully swallowed the pills and Cody took her
hand and led her out of the room. She followed like a well-trained dog.

As they drove up the coastline to Tarpon Springs, Tori
craned her neck, looked around Cody’s head, and watched the activity in the
ocean. Pelicans were diving for fish, and dolphins were doing flips. She
pointed and cried, “Did you see that!”

The right corner of Cody’s lip curled into a devilish
crook as he looked over at Tori, but he didn’t say a word.

He’s just too cute
! Tori thought.

The next thing Tori knew it was morning. She couldn’t
seem to get her eyes open, but she could again feel Cody lying in bed beside
her, whispering as he gently kissed her cheek, “You’re so sweet and so
beautiful!”

Tori reached up and touched his face, asking, “Is it
morning already?”

“Morning, glory,” he answered.

“Did I fall asleep in your room again? I don’t even
remember coming back from Tarpon Springs,” she said, rubbing her stinging eyes.
“I was having a strange dream. I was in a courthouse, saying, “I, Tori, take
you–” That’s when you woke me up. I must have been dreaming about my wedding to
– never mind.”

“Are you sure you were dreaming? Cody asked, taking
her left hand and gently kissing the back of it.

As Tori watched him kiss her hand, she gasped in
horror. Then
she sat up and shrieked, “What’s this?”

“I’d think you’d be able to tell – it’s a wedding
band,” Cody said sweetly.

“What?” she cried, trying to pry it off her
finger.

Cody grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard, and
growled, “Don’t you know that it’s bad luck to take a wedding band off. I don’t
ever want to see that ring off your finger! Do you understand?”

Tori fell back onto the pillow, her stomach churning.
“What the hell is this, Cody? It had better be some kind of joke! Is Florida
one of those get-married-quick states?”

“No, it takes three days,” he replied
matter-of-factly.

“Three days?” she whispered. “Are you telling me I’ve
somehow lost three days? How is that possible?” When Cody didn’t reply, she
wailed, “You mean it’s true? I really can’t remember three whole days –
including the day we supposedly got married? Holy canola and refried beans!
There is no way I married you!” She rolled onto her stomach and her sobs built
until they were loud wails.

“Well that’s a fine howdy-freaking-doody!” Cody said
as he got out of bed, still ranting, “Great Granddaddy Longlegs! Sometimes
you’re more trouble than you’re worth!”

He took his shorts off the chair back, reached into
the pocket, and pulled out his happy-pill pouch. “Here, take these,” he said
firmly, holding out several pills. “You’re lucky to have me as your husband –
because nobody else would know exactly what you need to help you regain control
of your sorry-ass life!”

Tori snatched the pills out of his hand, gave him a
dirty look, and yelled, “Go to hell!”

In Tori’s heart, she knew Cody was right. She was a
sick person and nobody else would put up with her. She was secretly grateful
that he seemed genuinely concerned about her taking the proper medication –
especially because her illness was precisely the reason Wes had forsaken her.

Cody watched her swallow the pills, and then began to
chuckle.

Tori got out of bed, stood for a few seconds trying to
gain her balance. She backhanded him in the stomach, and yelled, “Stop
laughing, you rotten egg sucker!” She headed for the bathroom.

Cody was still laughing as she left the room, and in
spite of her snit she began to laugh, too. As she stood in the shower, feeling
the warm water wash over her body, she began to feel invigorated. Many thoughts
raced through her mind. What would Wes think about her getting remarried so
soon? What would her family and Jill think? She supposed they’d get used to it.

As she draped a towel around her and stepped out of
the shower, the world looked much brighter. She was full of energy and ready to
take on a new day. She even found herself saying her new name, Tori Baxter,
aloud, just to hear the sound of it, and it didn’t sound half bad.

“Okay, I feel much better now. Are you ready to hit
the beach?” she said as she emerged from the bathroom. There was no reply. Tori
looked around the room, but Cody wasn’t there. Maybe he’d gone to get them some
breakfast. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten.
 

She decided to take the opportunity to call Jill while
Cody was gone. When the desk clerk answered, she said, “Yes, I’d like an
outside line, please.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the clerk replied. “Since the
occupant has checked out, you can’t use an outside line from there.”

“What are you talking about? My husband is the
occupant! Do you think he’d just check out and leave me here?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but–”

Before the clerk had finished his sentence, Cody walked
into the room, closed the door, and said, “Get dressed, baby, I’ve checked us
out. We’re going home!”

“What?” she said, even more confused than before.

He rushed across the floor and tickled her in the
ribs. “I said we’re going home – so get dressed.”

It took a second to register, but when her brain
finally kicked in, she threw her arms around his neck and cried, “That sounds
wonderful! Take me home!”

“Great! Now get your stuff together and we’ll be on
our way!”

Tori rubbed her forehead. “Cody, did I get all my
stuff out of my own room? I can’t remember. And I need to check out of that
room, too.”

“I’ve taken care of it,” said Cody, lifting a suitcase
and tossing it onto the bed. I took all your stuff out of the room days ago.
Then I checked you out and paid your bill. Everything is taken care of, little
darlin’. You don’t worry your little head about anything.”

“Well, thank you,” Tori
said,
her head spinning from the news. “It’s nice to have someone to take care of
me.” Again, she was thankful that she had somebody that loved her enough to
accept her for the mental mess she was.

A few minutes later, Tori
was
dressed, packed, and anxious to get up the road. She couldn’t wait to see her
family and Jill.

Cody followed Tori in his car, and as she drove across
the bay, she looked around and decided that although Florida was Paradise on
earth, Madison was where she belonged.

When they got to the airport she turned in her rental,
paid the bill, then turned toward Cody. “Let’s go home!” she said, raising her
arms over her head as if she were proclaiming herself the winner of a boxing
round.

When they reached the parking lot, Tori pounced into
the front seat of Cody’s Buick LaSaber and announced, “Look out, world, I’m
coming home!”

With the radio blasting, Tori was lost in a world of
her own, secure in the knowledge that her husband always knew exactly what
pills would make her feel better. She sang along with the music and bounced in
rhythm.

Cody chuckled. “You’re higher than the cost of
living!”

A few hours later, they pulled into a gas station.
“I’ve got to gas up and pee. Do you want something to snack on?”

“I’ve got to pee, too, but I’m not hungry,” Tori said,
patting her thighs in rhythm with the music.

“Get out and go, already,” Cody said.

Tori headed for the women’s restroom, skipping happily
across the pavement. When she had finished, she waited for Cody in the car.

A few minutes later, Cody appeared, carrying two small
bags of potato chips and two Cokes. He handed Tori the cold Coke can and tossed
a bag of chips into her lap. “You better eat these!”

As they resumed the trip, Tori ate the chips, but they
didn’t taste right, and neither did the Coke. “Have you got anything for a sick
stomach,” she asked, rubbing her palm over her mid-section. “Man, I hope I don’t
puke.”

Cody pulled the pill pouch from his pocket, steered
the car with his forearms, fished through the pouch, and handed her two pills.

“What are these,” she asked, turning them over in her
palm.

“Phenergan.
12.5 ml,” he said, as if it was supposed to mean
something to her, but she didn’t know one pill from another.

Tori swallowed the pills and within a few minutes she
began to feel drowsy. Yawning, she said, “I’m going to take a little nap.” She
climbed into the back seat closed her eyes, and visions of Grammy danced before
her.

“Grammy, sweet Grammy,” she mumbled. Then Jill’s face
and angelic smile seemed to be stuck to the back of her eyelids. Tori wrapped
her arms around herself as she imagined Momma holding her like she used to when
Tori was a small, sick child. She really, really wanted her mommy.
And Daddy, too.
Soon, she’d see them all, she thought, and
drifted into darkness.

Anna’s Note

June 10, 1976

I got up early this morning, even after an almost
sleepless night. Where
is
Tori? It’s been two weeks
and no one has heard a word. There’s something wrong – there has to be.

Even as I sit here in the quiet of my kitchen, I can
find no peace. My morning coffee brings no warmth to my soul. Even without a
vision, I know that Tori
is
in trouble – big trouble.
My heart is aching.

Tori, where are you? Why don’t you call – or better
yet, why don’t you come home? Where is your head, Tori? How much more can my
heart stand?

Anna West-Morgan

Chapter Twelve

Tori lay in the back seat, sleeping soundly, but she
awoke when the car made a sharp turn, and she almost rolled onto the floor. She
sat up, rubbed her eyes, not sure where she was for a few moments. Then she
remembered that she was Tori Baxter and on her way home – but she didn’t
recognize any of the scenery.
 

Cody pulled the car into a parking space in front of a
large brick building.

“Where are we, Cody? This isn’t Madison.”

“We’re home, baby,” he said, turning off the ignition
and looking at her with a smile.

“Home?” she shrieked. “This isn’t home! I thought we
were going to–”

“I don’t care what you thought,” he said flatly. “This
is your home now. You live in Atlanta, Georgia – and that’s our apartment up
there. 2B.”

Tori stared at the large building as if she were
looking at a brick monster that was about to swallow her alive.

Cody stepped out of the car and then opened the back
passenger door.

Tori was
so stunned that she couldn’t make her body move.
“Atlanta?” she finally whispered.

Cody took her arm and literally pulled her out of the
car, saying, “That’s right – Atlanta, baby. Home sweet home! Let’s go inside.”

Tori heard a woman’s voice call, “Hey, Cody! Welcome
home!”

“Hey, Emma,” Cody said, putting his arm around Tori’s
waist. “Come on over here. I want you to meet my wife.”

The heavyset woman, who looked to be in her early
thirties dressed in blue shorts and a man’s tank top, walked barefoot toward
the car.

Tori managed to smile. Was Emma kinfolk? Cody had
never told her about his family. Or at least she didn’t remember him mentioning
family.

“This is our neighbor, Emma,” Cody said, giving Emma a
sideways hug. “She lives just below us.”

Emma extended her chubby hand toward Tori. “Nice to
meet you, honey.” She playfully punched Cody’s shoulder. “Boy, you sure know
how to pick them. She’s a beauty, that’s for sure.” Emma patted Tori’s arm and
said warmly, “Anything you need, you just come to me, okay?”

“Thank you, Emma,” Tori said as pleasantly as she
could. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Cody opened the trunk, took their suitcases, and
yelled over his shoulder, “Emma, have you gotten any calls from people about
their prescriptions?”

“Sure did,” she replied. “I wrote them all down for
you. Some of them sounded a little desperate, but I told them you’d be back
today, and I assured them that you’d get their medicine to them as soon as
possible.” She smiled proudly and continued, “Oh, and the store says your new
waterbed should be here in about four days. The repair shop called, too. Your
motorcycle is fixed, so you can pick it up when you want. I think that’s all.”

As Cody picked up the suitcases and started toward the
stairs, he winked at Emma. “Thanks, Emma, you’re a good girl. We’ll see you
later.”

“You’re very welcome. I was glad to help. Do you need
any help with the luggage? I’m a workhorse, you know. I can lug anything.”

“We’ve got it, Emma. Thanks anyway.”

“Okay then,” Emma said. “You know you can call on me
anytime.”

“Thanks again, Emma,” Cody said, as if she were
starting to irritate him. He motioned to Tori with his head. “Well, are you
coming?”

Tori picked up the small suitcase and dutifully
followed Cody up the stairs, feeling as if she were sleepwalking. This
definitely wasn’t the home she had expected to wake up to, but she didn’t know
what to do about it.

Cody unlocked the door, pushed it open, but had to
nudge Tori to get her to step into the apartment. Inside, Tori saw a spacious
kitchen with a shiny parquet floor. Oak cabinets and avocado appliances lined
the walls. It was nice, but strangely she didn’t see a table or any chairs.

Following Cody’s lead, she turned to the right and
entered the living room with its thick beige carpet. All she saw was a TV and a
large rack of stereo equipment. No chairs, no couch, no other furniture at all.

Cody nudged her again, and she turned and followed him
down a hallway, and into the biggest bedroom she’d ever seen. A full-size
blow-up mattress sat in the center of the room. One wall was lined with
cardboard boxes, but there was no other furniture in there, either.

She took a few more steps into the master bedroom,
which was bigger than her bedroom in Madison, and then continued toward a door
which must have led to the bathroom.

She stood in the bathroom looking at the bare walls.
There wasn’t even a bathmat set. She eyed an empty towel rack by the shower
stall with sliding glass doors. She liked the double sink and ample counter
space, but the counter was bare, too. There was no sign of hominess or
decoration anywhere to be seen.

A moment later, Cody was by her side. “Follow me.”

He led her out of the bedroom, down the hallway, and
into a second bedroom, which was completely empty.
Tori was
more confused. Had Cody just moved in or was he in the process of moving out?
An eerie feeling crept up her spine.

Cody ushered her a few more feet down the hall and showed
her a second bathroom which had the largest tub she had ever seen. Two people
could sit in it with plenty of leg room. It also had double sinks and six doors
under the counter top. A wall mirror above the sinks went for one end of the
counter to the other. She opened a door beside the commode. It was a closet
with shelves that went from floor to ceiling. Tori finally managed to say,
“This place is huge. You sure have plenty of space.”

“
We
have plenty of space,” he corrected. “This
is your home, too, remember?”

Tori heaved a heavy sigh. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Looking around, Cody said, “I’ve never had time to buy
furniture and all that, but you can decorate it anyway you want. I’ll give you
the money and you can go hog-wild!” He gave Tori a charming smile and raised
his eyebrows up and down as if he were expecting some enthusiasm from her. But
she had none to give.

She just nodded and turned back toward the master
bedroom, where she flopped down on the air mattress, covered her face with both
hands, and began to shake as if she were freezing to death, even though the
apartment was sickly hot and stuffy from being shut up for two weeks.

Finally, she looked up at Cody, who was leaning
against the frame of the bedroom doorway. “Cody, I want to go home – and I mean
my home in Madison!”

“
Tori,
shut the hell up!” He
rushed forward and before Tori could protest shoved two pills into her mouth,
as if he had anticipated her reaction.

He kept his hand over her mouth and forced Tori to
swallow the pills with no water.

“Now you just sit there for a few minutes and calm
down. I’m going to take you to Madison, tomorrow, but first we both need a good
night’s rest.”

“Can I at least call Grammy,” she asked. Her voice
sounded small, like a child pleading for permission, and her body began to
shake with sobs.

“All right!” he said in exasperation. “Get it out of
your system before you drive me crazy, and I choke the living snot out of you!”

His tone was frightening, and Tori’s hand shook as she
bent down and reached for the phone on the floor beside the bed.

Suddenly, she felt Cody’s hand taking the receiver
away as he said, sweetly but firmly, “You’ll need to use the wall phone in the
kitchen. This one isn’t working right, so you won’t get a good connection.” He
pulled her to her feet and hugged her briefly. “Just give yourself a few
minutes to calm down before you call. You don’t want to upset Grammy, do you?”

“You’re right,” Tori said, returning his hug
halfheartedly. “I’ll wait a few minutes.”

“That’s a good girl.” He gave her a peck on the lips.
“Tomorrow I’ll take you to see your family, okay?”

Although Tori
was
amazed at
how quickly his mood changed, she nodded, hugged him tighter, and rested her
head on his chest. A few minutes later, she began to feel a rush, and her own mood
became much brighter.

She jerked her head erect as if she had been goosed,
and her voice was an octave higher when she heard herself say, “Am I really
going tomorrow – to Madison, to my real home?”

“That you are, my sweet magnolia blossom!” he replied
with a smile and patted her bottom.

Tori ran into the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and
dialed Grammy’s number. Her throat was dry and she needed something to drink,
but the phone cord wasn’t long enough to reach a cabinet in search of a glass,
and she couldn’t reach the sink either, so she decided to wait.

She tapped her foot nervously as the phone rang. “Come
on, Grammy. Where are you?”

Finally, she heard Grammy’s voice come on the line.
“Hello,” Grammy said, slightly out of breath.

“Hi, Grammy! It’s me, Tori!
Boy do I have news! I can hardly believe it myself! I
met a great man in Florida – and we got married! He has this huge apartment,
but I’ll be coming home to see you–”

“Whoa, slow down, sweet,” said Grammy. “Let’s start
from the beginning. Did you say you got married?” She paused like she was
waiting for a punch line or something. It wasn’t a joke, so Tori also kept
silent. Grammy gasped. “Well, I–”

“I’ll tell you all about it when I get there,” Tori
interrupted, “but as soon as I hang up, I’m going to call Momma and Daddy and
Jill and–”

“Tori Ann, are you drunk?”

Tori was
so stunned she couldn’t find her voice for a second.
Her feelings hadn’t been hurt that badly since Poppy had yelled at her. “I’m
not drunk – I’m sorry, Grammy,” she said, and dropped the receiver as she burst
into tears. What was wrong with Grammy? Why would she think that? Why didn’t
she seem happy to hear her voice?

Tori sat on the floor, buried her face in her hands,
her tears flowing freely. A few moments later, Cody walked into the kitchen and
violently yanked her onto her feet.

“Shut the hell up before I really give you something
to cry about!” he said, as if scolding a little child. “I don’t want to hurt
you, Tori. Don’t make me!”

Suddenly, Tori
was
seized by
an uncontrollable panic, but as she turned to run, Cody caught her arm and spun
her around. She struggled to pull free, but his grip was too strong.

“I’ve got to get out of here!” she pleaded. “I can’t
breathe. I need air!”

Cody jerked her face close to his and said through clenched
teeth, “Stop fighting me, Tori. I’m stronger than you are, and don’t you ever
try to run away from me again – do you hear me?
Never!”

Tori shut her eyes, and then fell forward as if she
were going to faint.

Cody caught her and held her, gently stroking her
hair. His voice was soothing as he said, “Okay let’s go outside and get some
air.”

He led her outside and to the car. “Get in baby.” His
voice sounded as if it were laced with honey. “A tour of Atlanta will make you
feel more at home. You’re going to enjoy it here. I promise.”

As they pulled away from the apartment complex, Tori
felt as if she was disconnected from her body. Everything in Atlanta was
totally different from what she was used to in Madison. There were no small
houses with trees and flowers. Huge buildings seem to reach the sky.

Park benches were on every corner. Large city buses
seemed to be sending up smoke signals from the exhaust, writing them in a
foreign language. The fumes and the smell made her feel sick to her stomach.
She blinked as Cody drove past a shrub beside a sidewalk café. She swore she
saw it wave. She raised her hand to wave back but realized it would be silly to
wave at a shrub. “Wow, I’ve never seen anything like Atlanta.”

“The best is yet to come, baby.” Cody reached over and
squeezed her hand. He took her to a place called Atlanta Underground and he was
right – Tori enjoyed the music and the people. Everybody was friendly and the
drinks seemed to take the edge off her hysteria. She was calm and having such a
good time that Madison didn’t enter her mind.

When they returned to the apartment at midnight, she
felt as if she were floating weightless in space – and she liked it. It was a
feeling like no other she had ever experienced. So she told herself that from
that night on, whenever her emotions started to get the better of her, she’d
regain control with what Cody called vodka with dark eyes – or was it Dark Eyes
vodka?

The air mattress felt like a fluffy cloud as she lost
consciousness.

* * * *

The next thing Tori knew it was morning. She felt Cody
roll off the mattress, and as she opened her eyes, she saw him looking down on
her as if she were a prize he’d won at a carnival.

He chuckled, shook his head, and said with a smile,
“You’re adorable, but you can be a pain in the butt at times.” He turned and
left the room, but soon returned with a glass of orange juice.