Feathers (5 page)

             
After parking on the side of the street, Raziel and I got out and headed inside.  The shop was exactly as I remembered it.  Looking around, I almost felt like I was in my element.  By me, Raziel looked around.  “Sara!  Are you here?!” he called.  It was a bit of a big place, so she could’ve very well been in the back.

             
“I’ll be right there Raziel!” I heard a female voice call back.  It was very light and airy.  I couldn’t help but wonder about the person attached to it now.  Especially when I was given the fact that Michael had said this was Sean’s mother.

             
Walking over to the glass display, I looked down at the jewelry as we waited.  There were many old pieces in there, and a few had expensive price tags on them.  But one in particular caught my eye.  It was an old necklace with a pure blue stone on it.  It was very expensive, and looked very unique.

             
“Pretty cool stuff, huh?” Raziel commented, leaning on the counter beside me.

             
“Yeah.  I guess Michael’s still got the touch in finding these kinds of things.” I commented as I looked back at him.  He seemed to be in a better mood now.

             
“It’s kind of funny, but I like coming here a lot of times.  It’s pretty quiet in here.  But then again, most of the people who come in here are.  They’re collectors looking for bargains.” Raziel said.

             
“Hey Raziel, don’t take this the wrong way, but I have to ask you.  Is this woman Sara really Sean’s mother?” I said softly.

             
Raziel sighed.  “Yeah.  I guess Michael mentioned it, huh?”

             
“Just in passing.  I just told him I’d seen him in school and he’d told me that she worked for him.” I admitted.

             
“She’s been the manager here for about three months now.  She’s a nice lady.  But I still stand by what I said about Sean.” Raziel told me.

             
By then, Sara was coming out of the back.  I was a little surprised when I saw her.  She was a very beautiful woman.  I could easily tell where Sean got a lot of his looks from.  She had the same black hair, which actually fell past her waist, and the same emerald colored eyes.  “Sorry about that Raziel.  I was just working on getting a few things straight.” She said.  But she stopped when her eyes landed on me.  “Oh, I didn’t realize you brought someone with you.”

             
“Well, she’s kind of helping me out.  My car died.  Anyways, this is Mia, Michael’s daughter.” Raziel told her.

             
“Oh.  So you’re Mia.  I’ve heard so much about you.  And I have to say, you really are a pretty girl.  You look just like your father too.” Sara said, giving me a friendly smile.

             
“Thank you.” I said, trying hard not to blush.  I really didn’t like it when people compared my looks to my dad’s.  After all, I still had a hard time understanding how someone like him could’ve fathered someone like me.

             
“Anyways, here’s the papers Dad sent for you.  He said it should be all you need.” Raziel said, handing her the folder.

             
“Thanks Raziel.  I really appreciate the trouble.” Sara said.  She then looked back at me, almost like she was studying me.  “So are you staying up here now?  I’d heard you were only visiting during the summer before.” she asked me.

             
“I guess so.  I just thought living with my dad would be better for me.” I lied.  I wasn’t about to tell her the truth of the whole matter.

             
“I’d imagine it would be.  Michael’s a very nice man.” Sara said.

             
“By the way, where was Sean today?  I didn’t see him in class.” Raziel interrupted.

             
Sara looked a bit surprised by the sudden question.  “He wasn’t feeling well this morning, so he stayed home.  Did you need to talk to him about something?” she asked.

             
“No.” Raziel answered.  “I was just curious, that’s all.  He just doesn’t miss a lot of time unless he’s going away for a while, and you usually mention that.”

             
Sara just smiled.  “That’s true, but even he does get sick on occasion.  And he did have some late nights lately.  I warned him that he might pay for it later.” She said.

             
“Well, I hope he feels better.  I didn’t get to thank him for helping me yesterday.” I said.

             
“I can tell him for you, and I’m sure he’ll be there tomorrow.  You don’t need to worry.” Sara assured me.

             
“I don’t think we’re really that worried.  Besides, he can take care of himself.” Raziel said.  He reached over and took my hand.  “Anyways, we’d better get going.  We’ve still got some things to do.”

             
Sara nodded.  “Okay.  Thank you again Raziel.” She said.

             
“What was that all about?” I asked as we walked back to the car.

             
“What?” Raziel asked.

             
“You were asking about Sean.  I thought you didn’t like him.” I replied.

             
Raziel sat back in his seat.  “Just thought we’d find out.  Like I said, he doesn’t miss a lot of time.” He told me.

             
I sighed, turning the car on.  “I guess.  But you shouldn’t be so rude sometimes.  She seemed pretty nice.” I said as we pulled out.

             
“She is.  But she knows enough now.” Raziel replied, closing his eyes.

             
I just shook my head and let it go for the time being.  After all, reasoning with Raziel wasn’t the easiest thing in the world.  And besides, I knew now that it was just that Sean had been sick.  A part of me actually felt a bit relieved for whatever reason.  I knew he was coming back.  I would be able to see him again.

             
The rest of the afternoon and evening passed quietly enough.  Raziel and I ended up having dinner at a fast food restaurant, then I made myself head home after I dropped him off.  By then, he’d called a tow truck to take his SUV to the dealer to get the battery changed.  They said it would be done first thing in the morning, so I promised that I’d pick him up and drop him off to get it.  I’ll admit I was in a pretty good mood as I walked into the house.  The afternoon and evening out had been nice enough to make me forget my fears.  And soon, Michael would be home too.  There was nothing for me to be afraid of.

             
After settling myself in, I headed upstairs to my room and sat down at my desk to begin working on a report I had due in a week.  I turned on some music on my laptop, and allowed myself to get lost in it while I worked.  But slowly, I became aware of a strange sound just below the music.  Sitting up a little more in my chair, I listened a little closer.  It sounded like scratching.  I quickly turned around to look behind me.  It was only here and there, and very slight though.  Do we have mice?  I wondered.  Slowly, I turned back to my computer and sighed.  I glanced at the clock.  Seven thirty.  Michael should be home very soon, I thought.  There’s nothing to worry about.

             
But after working for a few more minutes, I became aware of another feeling slowly coming over me.  I felt like I was being watched.  I slowly brought my head up again and took a deep breath.  Once again, I felt very anxious.  The feeling was almost overwhelming.  A part of me was saying to turn around and look at the window over my bed.  That was where it was coming from.  I was sure of it.  But it was very, very hard to make my body obey.  What would I see if I looked now?  Would I see nothing?  Or would something be staring back at me?

             
Slowly, I managed to make myself turn my head.  To my shock, I did see something.  But just as quickly, it sprinted down.  All I could really see was a large flash of white.  I quickly got up without thinking and hurried to the window.  Jumping up on my bed, I shoved the large window open and leaned out to get a better look.  But the white shape was gone.  All I could see was the darkness of the trees.  I felt my heart pounding now.  What in the world was that?  I was certain it had been some kind of animal.  But I’d never seen anything remotely like it before.

             
By then, I could see headlights coming up the driveway.  I quickly closed the window and ran back to my desk, throwing my books to the side and turning off my computer.  Hopping on the bed, I grabbed the novel on my nightstand and opened it.  If anything, I was hoping to fool whoever came up there into thinking I’d been sitting there reading.  There was no way they’d believe I’d been working on that report.  Not when I couldn’t even remember what the report was for now.

             
As I expected, after about ten minutes, there was a knock at my door.  “Yes?” I called, still holding the book up.

             
“Hey.  I’m back.” Michael said as he walked in.

             
I quickly put the book aside.  “I’m glad.  I was starting to get worried.” I said, mustering the best smile I could.

             
“Sorry about that.  The last meeting ran late.  I can’t say I was too happy about it either.” Michael admitted.

             
“I guess everything went okay then?” I asked.

             
“For the most part.  It was just more of the usual in the end.” Michael said.  He walked over by the other window near my bed and looked out for a moment.  It was funny, but I had the distinct feeling he was looking for something.

             
“Is something wrong?” I asked, getting up to move by him.

             
“It’s nothing.  I was just double checking something.  Anyways, you really should be careful about keeping these locked when night falls.  We live in a pretty safe area, but you still never know.” Michael answered, clicking the lock back into place at the top of the window.  It was rather funny that I hadn’t noticed that one was unlocked until then.

             
“Sorry.  I forgot I had them all open earlier.  I thought I’d gotten all of them.” I said, laughing slightly to hide my uneasiness.

             
But Michael easily seemed to catch onto it.  “Are you all right?  You look nervous about something.” He noted.

             
“It’s nothing.  I just freaked myself out earlier with a shadow.  And I thought I heard a mouse.” I lied.

             
Michael nodded.  “It’s possible.  That is the biggest issue we have around here, even in this house.  I suppose I’ll have to have it checked over again with Orkin.  It is that time of year when they come out.” He admitted.

             
“I don’t know if it was one.  I just heard a little bit of scratching like they make.  But I didn’t see it.” I said.

             
“It’s probably better just to get it checked then.  Like I said, it is that time of year when all kinds of things come out of hiding.  And I doubt you’d take it well if a snake showed up in the house either.  That did happen last spring.  It was quite unpleasant.” Michael mused.

             
“Don’t say that Dad.  I will freak out when Spring comes if I remember that.” I said flatly.  I didn’t need to know what kind of critters came out in Maryland, considering I’d had enough in Miami with the giant roaches we tended to have.

             
Michael just laughed.  “Don’t worry about it.  It will be taken care of.  By the way, do you know if Raziel delivered those papers like Raphael asked him to?”

             
“Yeah.  I ended up taking him today.  His car battery died in the school parking lot.” I admitted.

             
“Of course.  I warned him to push the issue the other day.” Michael said, shaking his head.

             
“It had been a while since I was in Jameson.  And I got to meet Sara.  She seemed really nice.” I said, sitting back on the bed.

             
Michael smiled.  “She is.  I’m rather glad that Raphael told me about her.  She’s a hard worker, and she keeps the store running smoothly enough.” He said as he sat down beside me.

             
“Raziel was asking her about Sean too.  He wasn’t in school today, and she said he was sick.  I was pretty surprised Raziel asked though.  I thought it he didn’t like him.” I continued.

             
“Actually, so am I.  But I guess everyone needs a rival at some point in their lives.” Michael commented.

             
I glanced back at the window over my bed, thinking once again about the white shape I’d seen.  “Hey Dad, are there a lot of animals around here?” I asked absently.

             
“I suppose it depends.  Why ask?” Michael asked.

             
I sighed.  “It’s nothing.  I just thought I saw something earlier, and I didn’t know what it was.  That’s all.” I lied.