Finding the Way Back (32 page)

“I’m fine, really,” I answered, trying to
sound upbeat and strong while underneath I was bone tired and
aching.

“You are still dizzy and I would be remiss in
continuing this tonight. It’s not a good idea for you to be walking
around in the dark given the way you feel,” he continued.

“I hate to say it, Laney, but you’re not
exactly the sprightliest person even in full daylight,” Connie
added.

Under normal circumstance I might have felt
insulted but this time I was actually relieved. Thinking fondly of
my bed upstairs, I quickly gave up the argument. “I would love to
have some answers but there’s no saying we’d actually find any. I
hate to admit it but I don’t want to do anything more but go to
bed.”

Everyone agreed that was the best thing to do
so we called it a night. Glen and Dean got up to go and Connie
walked them to the door. As tired as I was, I needed to unwind a
little bit so I curled up on the sofa and turned on the television.
I flipped through the channels and finally came upon a repeat of a
past season of
Project Runway
. It felt like I was melting
into the couch.

Emmett announced that he was going to run to
the grocery store to buy something to make for dinner. I suddenly
realized I was starving.

Connie made me a cup of tea for my headache
then joined me watching television. “You had better snatch that man
right up. He’s adorable and cooks.”

I blushed. “I’m not sure he’s looking to be
snatched.”

“Are you that dense? Everyone can see how
crazy he is about you. If you would stop being so hard on yourself
you would realize what a good catch you are as well. He’d be lucky
to have you.”

“Wow, that’s really sweet,” I answered. “But
you don’t have to be nice to me just because I hit my head.”

“Besides, it would be great to have him
around, he’s got some hot friends,” Connie said, laughing.

Emmett returned before long and Connie and I
followed him to the kitchen. My dizziness was finally getting
better and I was just stuck with a throbbing headache. “Can we
help?” Connie asked, although neither of was making any movement
toward actually assisting.

“You can keep me company if you like. I’ll
take care of the rest. I like cooking.”

“Is there anything sexier than those words
coming out of a man’s mouth?” Connie asked me. Emmett laughed and I
saw him glance at me quickly then look away.

We pulled up chairs to watch as he emptied
his bags on the counter. He found a few pans in the cupboard and
put some water on the stove to boil as he started cleaning and
cutting up broccoli.

“What are we having?” I asked.

“Quinoa, broccoli, fresh buns and Scottish
salmon. And for dessert, strawberries with cream,” he said with a
wave of his hand.

“That actually sounds healthy,” Connie said,
getting up out of her chair. “I’ll clean the strawberries for you,
since you are doing the rest of the cooking.”

“So healthy, I don’t even know what all of it
is,” I said.

We passed the time laughing and trading
gossip about town happenings while Emmett prepared dinner. It was
fun to have a quiet normal time. Connie set the table after
cleaning the fruit, while I continued watching. It was so unusual
to be the person who didn’t do anything that I felt a little
guilty, but then the throbbing in my head reminded me that I was
supposed to be taking it easy.

Emmett had Connie searching in the cupboards
for serving dishes. She found some candle sticks with candles and
added them to the table to make our feast more festive. I lit the
candles while Connie and Emmett brought the food over.

“It smells wonderful,” I said as Emmett
poured some white wine into our glasses.

“We have to be careful about that head injury
so you only get half a glass,” Emmett said to me, putting down the
bottle. “Dig in, ladies.”

Dishing up a healthy helping of each item, I
tasted the quinoa. The texture was a little odd, kind of like
couscous but not really. I decided I liked it. I watched as Emmett
cut up his salmon and had a bite with the quinoa at the same time.
I tried it the same way and found it amazing.

“I think I have a new favorite meal,” I
declared. “Especially if I can have someone else prepare it for
me.”

“I don’t remember when I’ve enjoyed dinner
more. You are a great chef,” Connie said after we were
finished.

“It’s a joy to cook for such appreciative
individuals,” Emmett said, refilling his glass then leaning back in
his chair. “But I don’t clean up.”

“I can take care of that,” Connie said
getting up and starting to clear away the dishes. “Laney, you can
go lie down.”

“I can help,” I said, getting up and picking
up my plate, but Emmett grabbed my arm and shook his head in a
negative. Then he led me out to the living room, depositing me on
the couch. It was such a strange feeling, having someone take care
of me this way. I was starting to think I could get used to it.

Chapter
Thirty-Four

Emmett had barely left me on the couch when
my mother and Aunt Shelly showed up. I could see by the looks on
their faces that they had heard something about recent events. My
mother rushed in and practically threw her purse down as she moved
to me on the sofa. She sat on the edge and scrutinized my face,
running her hand across my forehead. “We heard you fell, Laney. You
should have called me,” my mother said.

“I’m sorry Mom, I didn’t think of it at first
and then I didn’t want to worry you about it. How did you find
out?” I asked as I watched Emmett leave the room.
Coward
, I
thought. I noticed my aunt enter the room behind my mother and set
an antique clock down on the coffee table.

“Ms. Mabel was in the waiting room at the
Emergency Center and she saw you being wheeled in. When she got
home she called me straight away. So what happened?”

Thank you Ms. Mabel. No wonder she always had
the latest rumors if she spent all her time in the emergency room
waiting area. My mom proceeded to run her hands down my skull to
find the lump then she moved up to kiss it. All I had to do was
hear my mother’s voice and see her face and I was a child again.
Tears sprang to my eyes as I told her the account of my escapade. I
told her about the apparition I saw and I could tell she really
believed me. Her support only made my tears worse.

“I’m fine, Mom, really,” I told her through
the tears sliding down my face. “I have a huge headache and some
bruises but they said I was okay, not even a concussion.”

“You can’t stay here alone,” she insisted. I
could see how much my story had upset her. There was real fear
behind her eyes.

“Not to worry, Tess,” Emmett said returning
to the living room. “I’m going to crash on the couch. I’d already
decided that when we couldn’t get the back door fixed fast
enough.”

“Well, thank you. Try to keep her safe,” she
told Emmett, trying to be brave. “Should Shelly and I stay
too?”

“We don’t have rooms for you, Mom. We’ll be
fine with Emmett here,” I assured her although I didn’t know
exactly how he was going to keep us safe from a ghost.

My aunt was sitting in the recliner and
pointed to the clock she had brought, changing the subject. “This
was our mother’s parent’s clock. My father gave it to me when I got
married, but it hasn’t worked since we were young. I kept meaning
to have it cleaned and fixed but I just never got around to it. I
thought it would look nice back on the mantle here.”

It was a quaint old clock. I’d seen many very
similar in antique shops. It wasn’t rare enough to be really worth
much but it was always nice to have family heirlooms and it would
give the living room some dignity after the remodel. The clock was
a black rectangular box with a round face rimmed with gold. I would
love to see if we could get it to work. I loved hearing the tick
and chimes of antique pieces. Clocks today didn’t have the charm of
an earlier generation but perhaps I glorified earlier times.

My mother moved to the end of the couch and
tried to put on her strong act making light conversation, but I
could see she was still disturbed. We talked for a while then I
began to feel very tired.

“I’ll walk you upstairs, Laney,” my mom said.
“I’d feel much better if I knew you were tucked up safe in
bed.”

I smiled at her and nodded. If that was all
she was going to ask of me I was lucky.

“I’ll make you a cup of herb tisane while
your mother walks up with you, Laney,” my aunt added, getting in on
the action.

I felt like a little girl being put to bed as
I walked up the stairs in front of my mom. When we got to my
bedroom she rummaged through the drawers where I’d put my clothes,
looking for my pajamas.

She scrunched up her face as she held up my
pink with orange flowered flannel PJ’s. They had holes in the
elbows and knees, and the ribbon that tied at the waist was
tattered. I smiled as I reached for them.

“Oh no, you can’t be seen in these, Laney,”
she said, tucking them under her arm and heading for the
closet.

“Who’s going to see me?” I asked then
suddenly remembered as she gave me a sideways glance. “Oh,
right.”

“I remember my mother having some pajamas in
here,” she said rooting around the interior. She came out with a
gauzy light blue peignoir with lace at the waist and hem. It had a
matching robe with more lace at the wrists and was far more
beautiful than anything I had ever slept in.

“Mom, seriously, that has to be the most
impractical nightgown I have ever seen,” I said, but even I could
hear the note of wistfulness in my voice. What girl who’d watched
old movies hadn’t wanted a peignoir set that looked like it had
been in an old film?

“Put it on, let’s just see,” she
encouraged.

I removed my clothes and slipped on the
nightgown and robe. It smelled a little funny, but not too bad. I
felt transported back to a time when elegance was the first word in
dressing. The full skirt would be a problem to sleep in, and I
could picture myself being wrapped like a mummy after turning over
a couple of times. Hoping to keep my mother happy I left the
peignoir set and robe on and got into bed. I could change again
after she left. Perhaps she would leave quickly if she thought I
was going right to sleep.

Aunt Shelly came through the door with the
tea and set it next to the bed. “I loved that nightgown, it is a
tad impractical isn’t it?”

“I think it’s the perfect thing for her to
wear. You should see her tattered pajamas; we wouldn’t want her to
be seen in those would we?” They shared a look that spoke
volumes.

“Perhaps we ought to buy her some new ones
tomorrow. After all, this may not be the message she wants to send
to a new beau,” Aunt Shelly said.

“I think this is exactly the kind of message
she should be sending,” my mother argued.

“Mom—I don’t care. Anything will do. Could I
please go to sleep now?”

“Go ahead and rest. I’m going to wait until
you’re asleep.”

“Mom,” I started to protest but I saw the
determination in her face and I was too tired to fight. “Fine.” I
snuggled under the covers and closed my eyes. With my mother
standing watch, I was asleep so quickly I never even heard them
leave.

* * * *

I awoke only a few hours later after dreaming
I was an Egyptian priestess and I was being mummified alive. I
became aware of my nightgown wrapped tightly around my body—it was
no wonder where the dream came from. Why was it that when I was at
my most tired I couldn’t seem to sleep through the night? My mouth
was dry and I reached out to take a drink of the tea. The tea was
stone cold; I wouldn’t be able to drink more than a sip. That meant
I would have to brave the dark and go downstairs. After the
incident earlier today I really didn’t want to go anywhere alone,
but then I remembered that Emmett was sleeping on the couch
downstairs. One cry and he would be alerted.

The house was quiet, but I could see light
from the bathroom pooling out into the hallway. I decided to try to
use the supposed gift I had. I closed my eyes and tried to be aware
of any sensations around me. Either I couldn’t sense anything, or
nothing was there. Or both. It was so still it was eerie, but there
were no feelings of fear or darkness. The weather had been mild so
the furnace wasn’t on and it was too early for air conditioning so
there wasn’t even the noise of air moving through the ducts.

I unwound my garments so I wouldn’t fall and
slipped out of the bed. I had kept the robe on, thinking I would
change before going to sleep so I didn’t have to find it in the
dark. It would at least make the peignoir a little more modest
should Emmett happen to see me. I briefly considered changing into
my old pajamas but decided I didn’t have the energy, besides I
really was enjoying the femininity of the garment. I could have
just stepped off the cover of a gothic romance. The headache was
gone, but my hip had stiffened up a little as I slept, and I
stretched a little before walking. Didn’t want to fall and wake the
whole house. I could just hear Emmett yelling at me for walking
around alone. I would just sneak down to the kitchen and back
quickly. Emmett wouldn’t be the wiser.

Quietly padding down the hall, I stopped at
the top of the stairs to listen for movement. All was silent. I
carefully grasped the rail with one hand and started down the
steps, holding my nightgown up with the other hand.

A dim light was left on over the stove in the
kitchen and I could only see dark shapes outlined in the shadowy
rooms. Stealing into the kitchen, I opened the refrigerator door as
quietly as I could. I perused the contents and pulled out a
container of orange juice. I filled a small plastic cup and
returned the container. I took a sip before turning around then
felt two hands grab my upper arms from behind.