OMG, A CUL8R Time Travel Mystery (33 page)

As she dressed, she thought back on the dream and a wave of nostalgia swept over her.  It hadn’t been very long ago that it wouldn’t have been a dream.  Almost every day, if the weather was good, she had jumped on the broad sleek back of her brown and white pinto horse, Scarlett.  Sometimes she didn’t bother with a bridle and saddle but just galloped around the pasture or even just laid back, her head pillowed on the horse’s broad hindquarters and daydreamed while Scarlett grazed.  Except for an occasional lashing of the horse’s tail when there was a pesky fly, the horse and the girl had quietly enjoyed each other’s company. 

And then there had been the sight of her mother in the chicken pen.  That had been so typical of almost every day of Kelly’s life.  No matter what Kelly was doing, even if it didn’t involve her mother, there had been comfort in knowing that her mother had always been there, somewhere close by. 

And now she wasn’t . . . and never would be again.

Kelly had known she would eventually grow up, marry and move out of her parents’ home.  But as a typically self-absorbed teenager, she had never imagined the possibility of her mother leaving her.  In some ways she was angry about it.  Usually, Kelly had gone along with her mother to the Farmer’s Market, but that day Kelly had wanted to spend the afternoon with her friend, Gina.  Her father had decided to go to the market with her mother instead. 

She knew it was ridiculous, but she somehow believed that if she had gone instead of her father, she and her mother would have lingered or they would have stopped somewhere else, and the stupid drunk driver that had killed her parents would have crossed that intersection before they had, and the accident wouldn’t have happened. 

Or she would have been in the car and as dead as they were. 

The ripple effect of that scenario was impossible for Kelly to wrap her head around.  Her big regret was that whatever the trigger or the timing or the karma of that moment, she had been out having fun while her parents had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and hadn’t made it home alive. 

Worst of all, she had never had the chance to say goodbye.

Kelly looked at the framed photo of her parents that was sitting in the place of honor on top of her dresser.  As usual, they were smiling.  Kelly clearly remembered the day she had taken that picture.  Last summer they had repainted the house.  Her mother’s dark hair, shorter, but almost exactly the same shade as Kelly’s, was twisted into a loose knot and held on top of her head with a clip.  But strands had come loose on one side and had somehow managed to dip into the blue paint she had been applying to the trim.  There was a matching swipe of color across the opposite cheek.  Her dad who had also been painting the trim hadn’t had a spot of paint on him until her mother had dabbed a spot of blue on the end of his nose.  Kelly had been taking pictures of Scarlett when she had heard her parents laughing and she had snapped this photo.  It had been a carefree, happy day.  A good memory that would have to last the rest of her life.

With a lump in her throat so big she could barely swallow, Kelly went into her bathroom and finished dressing.  She pulled her hair up into a small messy bun on the top of her head and fastened it with a thick elastic  band.  A black tank top, ragged-legged jean shorts and her oldest flip-flops were appropriate attire for a dirty day in the garage. 

Kelly opened her bedroom door, went to the kitchen, poured some cereal and milk into a tall glass and carried it to the garage, spooning in a mouthful as she walked.  She flipped on the lights and punched the garage door opener button before taking another bite.  As the garage door slowly opened, she could see two skinny pasty white legs sticking out of a pair of army green cargo shorts.  The door continued to growl its way upward.

“How long have you been standing out there?” she asked.

Scott ducked under the rising door.  “About two minutes.  Not too long.  Austin and I just finished mowing his lawn, so I’m already dirty.”

They turned and surveyed the oversized two-car garage.  On the left side was all the furniture they had carefully piled up.  In the back corner was a group of boxes of things Kelly or her aunt wanted to go through later, mostly family heirlooms and mementos.  On the right wall were tables of glassware and kitchen items that had already been separated, cleaned and priced.  And in the middle was a stack of boxes of household goods, linens and tools that still needed to be sorted.  Kelly and Scott stood, side-by-side, their hands on their hips.

“Unload the boxes first, then price the furniture?” Scott suggested.

Kelly nodded.  “My thoughts exactly.”

“Help me lift this box and carry it up front, then the tools will all be together.”  Scott indicated a large box toward the back. 

Kelly obliged.  It took both of them to lift the wooden apple crate filled with all sorts of hand tools and specialty items.  They had already left a cardboard box full of newer tools by the doors.  She knew, from experience back in Texas, that tools sold well at garage sales, and the older ones usually brought the highest prices.  After they placed the box down, Kelly said, “I’ll bet this old crate will bring as much as any of these tools.”

“I’ll bet my mom will be your first customer.  She likes stuff like that.  I think she calls it country.”

“Aunt Jane calls it trash,” Kelly laughed, “But I call it cash.”

They turned their attention to the boxes containing household things and started sorting them into piles. 

“You managed to avoid getting a sunburn yesterday,” Kelly commented.

“Just the tops of my ears got red.  I always forget to put sunscreen on them.”

“Well, it was fun for all of us to relax.  It seems like we’re always so busy that we don’t have time to just talk.”  Kelly tossed some faded towels into a donation box.  “I’m kinda getting used to Zoey, but there’s a weird dynamic when she’s around.”

“Way weird.  Austin is my very best friend, but he acts different when she’s around.  Heck, for that matter, he’s different when you’re around.”

Kelly hesitated, but couldn’t resist asking, “Is that bad?”

“No . . . not really.  It’s just something I haven’t noticed him doing before.  Usually Austin, like other guys, acts up trying to impress girls.  But he doesn’t do that around you.  I like that.”

I’m not sure if I do
, Kelly thought, but didn’t speak the words aloud.

They finished with the box of linens and started on the kitchen items. 

“Why don’t we turn the cardboard boxes upside down and use them to display these pots and pans?” Scott suggested. 

“Good idea.  We’ve run out of tables, and I don’t want to put stuff on the furniture or people might not realize it’s for sale.”

They flipped several empty boxes over and started arranging the pots by sets, occasionally tossing one into the donate box or carrying something to one of the tables if it appeared to have greater value.

“What do you think about Zoey?” Kelly asked.

“She doesn’t live in the real world.  Her parents are pretty rich, and they give her everything she wants.”  Scott shrugged.  “I guess I wouldn’t mind if my parents gave me a car.  But Zoey has an entitlement mentality that sometimes makes her a little hard to take.”  He started to throw away a blackened cast iron skillet, but Kelly stopped him.

“Believe it or not, that will probably sell.  It’s been broken in.”

Scott eyed the crusty, super heavy skillet.  “I can see that.”

“I’m not sure why, but my mom said it takes a long time for them to get that yucky coating.  Something about it helped them cook more evenly.  Mom always used one like that when she fried chicken.”

They worked quietly for a few more minutes before Scott picked up on their earlier conversation.  “You know, that trip to save Wendy really showed me that Zoey has more substance than meets the eye.  She was freakin’ fearless.”

“You sound impressed.”

“Just surprised.  I didn’t think she had it in her DNA.”

“Not much surprises you, does it?”

“I tend to over-analyze things and consider all the options.  So, no, I guess I’m not surprised a lot.”  He looked up and his blue eyes held her gaze.  “How about you?”

“I used to love surprises, but some surprises aren’t so great.”

Scott’s eyes softened, then turned away.  He knew he had touched on a subject that made her uncomfortable, so he changed it.  “You’re not like most girls.  You don’t talk constantly, and you seem to think things through logically.”

“Is that good thing?”

“For me it is.  Nothing makes me crazier than to hear girls chatter on about their shoes and hair.”

Kelly reached up and touched the tangled mass of hair on top of her head.  “Are you implying that I should think more about my appearance?”

He stared at her, then laughed.  “God, no.  You’re the first girl I’ve ever mentioned the words
hair
and
shoes
to, which is, in itself, a compliment.  I wouldn’t be hanging out with you if you weren’t cool.”

She smiled.  Nobody had ever called her cool before.  She had never been a girly-girl, and she would have been as bored as Scott with a conversation about shoes.  In fact, she was more of a nerd.  She liked computers and games and books way more than fashion or shopping.    

They continued to work through the boxes until Kelly’s grumbling stomach reminded her it was time for lunch.  They went inside, made sandwiches and took them out on the patio.  Kelly noted that Nico had done a good job of picking through the debris and cleaning up all the sunflower seeds that had been spread around.

“What was with that screeching today?” Scott asked.

“Oh, that was Nico.  He got upset when the feeder I made him fell down and broke into a million pieces.”  She pointed to the shards of pottery still spread around the yard.  “I need your help designing a perch and feeder for him.  Aunt Jane hates it when he perches on the chairs.”

“I can imagine.  Sure, I’ll draw it up.  Maybe I can get my dad to weld something for us.”

“That would be great.  I want it to look good and be inviting for him,” she explained.  “I really like having him around.”

“I’ve seen him flying around this area for a few months.  He doesn’t act like a tame bird, but we don’t have wild macaws in Florida.”

“I finally got him to say his name this morning.  But I’m beginning to think he doesn’t speak English.”

“Can you speak Spanish?”

“A little,” she admitted.  “We spent a month in Mexico last year as part of my home schooling.  My mom thought it was important that I learn the geography, history and language of Mexico by actually immersing into the culture.  It sure made it more interesting.” 

Scott stood and stretched.  “Ready to get back to it?” 

They returned to the garage and spent the next three hours focusing on the old tools.  Scott was much more interested in them than anything else they had sorted, so he would pick up an item, tell her what it was for and what it was probably worth, and she would price and label it.  While they worked they talked about their favorite books, television shows and movies.  Kelly wasn’t surprised that she and Scott had very similar tastes in entertainment.  The hours flew by and when they finished with the tools, Kelly wiped her grimy hands on an old towel.

“I think we should call it a day.  We got a lot done,” she said.

“There’s not much left to do tomorrow.”

“No, I figure a couple more hours.  I still have to price the furniture.  Then on Saturday morning, it won’t take much time to drag everything outside.  I’m guessing that the big stuff will attract people driving by.”

“You’re going to put an ad up on
Craigslist
and
Yardsalesearch
, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I thought I’d do that tonight so people can plan ahead.”

Scott shuffled his feet and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.  “Speaking of planning ahead, do you want to go see the new Iron Man movie tomorrow night?  I know it’s been out for a few weeks, but I haven’t had a chance to see it yet.  Unless, you’ve got something better to do or...”

Kelly could see how uncomfortable he was, so she interrupted.  “That sounds like fun.  I love Iron Man movies, and I haven’t seen that one either.”

Scott visibly relaxed.  “Really?  I mean, that’s awesome.  Maybe we can grab a pizza either before or after.”

Kelly nodded.  “Great!  I’m sure my aunt won’t mind, but I’ll let you know after she gets home tonight.  Are we playing
OOT
later?”

“Yeah, we all fell asleep too early last night and didn’t get to play.”

“I know I did.  We may not have lost any actual days in 2013, but we sure lost a lot of sleep.”

“Text me.”  Scott wiped his hands on his shorts, leaving behind streaks of grime and rust he’d picked up from the tools.

“Later.”  She watched him walk across the lawn between their houses, then she closed the garage doors, grabbed the broom and dustpan and went through the house to clean up the bird feeder mess.  If she hurried she could take a much-needed shower and throw together something interesting for dinner before her aunt got home.  But even as she worked, all she could think about was that tomorrow night she was going on her first real date…with her new best friend.