Sue (2 page)

“No,” Sue replied, carefully
stretching out. “I want to be down here.” When she’d been sick on the road with
Zeke, she’d longed for this very spot.

Her mother left the room and
returned with pillows and blankets. “I’ll get you some Sprite.” Linda hurried
to the kitchen. She called over her shoulder, “Are you hungry? I can fix a
sandwich.”

“Soup.”
Sue closed her eyes. “Just soup, please.”

Frank retrieved his and Linda’s
luggage from the car and closed the door on the snowy winter afternoon. After
carrying the bags to their bedroom, he paced the living room a few times before
finally sitting in his easy chair. He cleared his throat. “Susan, we need to
talk.”

Sue kept her eyes shut. “I know,
Dad. Can we do it later? I’m really exhausted.”

He sighed. “We can save most of it
for tomorrow, I guess. But, there’s the issue of security.”

Susan stiffened, her eyes growing
wide. “What do you mean? I’m safe here at home, aren’t I?”

“The police in St.
Louis said they doubt you’re in any danger. They think
this Zeke character is long gone. But we want to be sure. We don’t want to take
any chances, honey. Your mom and I think we should maybe hire someone to keep
an eye on things.”

“Oh, Dad.
I don’t want that. Please.” Sue cringed at the thought of some armed guard
hanging around, watching her every move when all she wanted was privacy.
“Besides, wouldn’t that kind of thing cost a lot of money?”

“Well, not really. I talked to Will
about this and we think you’re fine here at home; especially since your mother
and I have rearranged our work shifts to assure one of us will almost always be
home with you. I’m going to work third shift for the time being, and your mom’s
only working the day shift; they have a college girl working the night shift
for her. But when you start going out again we think it’d be a good idea if you
had an escort. Just so you wouldn’t be alone.”

“I
want
to be alone.” Sue
rolled over painfully, turning her back on him.

“I’m scared, Susie.” Frank’s voice
cracked. “We almost lost you and...”

Sue swallowed hard. She was still
hurting her parents.
Even now.
“Okay, Dad.
Maybe just when I go places.”

“Good.” Frank’s relief was obvious.
“There’s a young man who works for Will. He’d be able to accompany you most
anytime, as long as you give him enough notice. I don’t know when you’re going
back to school, but...”

“I’m not going back.
At least, not yet.”

“Not going back? Why on earth not?
Your education is important. You can’t get a good job without a degree.”

“I know that, dad. I’m just not
ready.” Sue threw a pleading expression over her shoulder.

Her father sat silently for a
minute. “Okay, baby. For now we’ll put school on the back burner. But let’s not
take it off the stove.”

“Alright.”

Linda approached with a bowl of
soup and a glass of Sprite on a tray. She looked from Frank to Sue, sensing a
conversation of import between them. “Is anything wrong?”

“No, everything’s fine. I was just
explaining to Susan about Melvin.” Frank rose and peered out the window. “She
understands we need someone with her when she goes out, at least for a while.”

“Good, good.” Linda set a TV tray
in front of the couch. “Here’s your supper, dear.”

Sue stared at the back of the sofa
for a few seconds, marshalling her strength. When she rolled over and sat up,
she wore a smile. “Thanks, Mom. And don’t worry. Things will get back to normal
soon. I promise.”

But they all suspected it would be
a long time before their lives would feel even close to normal again.

Chapter
3

The second night home Sue slept
fitfully on the sofa. A persistent tapping invaded her restless slumber and she
woke suddenly. Gathering the blanket to her chest, she held her breath and
listened. Tap, tap,
tap
. It came from the window
behind her. Her heart thudded in her chest.
He’s here. Zeke’s here. He’s
come back to kill me.

Sue propelled herself from the
couch and fell to the floor, her feet tangled in blankets. Pain shot through
her side. She sucked in a lungful of air but couldn’t force it past her throat
to scream. Scrambling painfully to her hands and knees, she crawled toward her
parents’ bedroom. She felt as if she moved in slow motion, mired down as in a
nightmare.

“Dad,” she croaked, gazing in
terror over her shoulder. She saw a shadow outside moving against the curtain.
Tap, tap,
tap
. Her muscles went weak, but she forced
herself along.

Reaching the door, she pounded at
the bottom. Her voice abruptly returned.
“Dad!
Mom!
Oh god, help!”

A light came on and the door flew
open. Her dad stood in the doorway in his pajamas, hair askew. Her mother
stared with wide eyes from beside the bed, one hand still on the lamp.

“What’s wrong? Sue?” Frank reached
down and helped his daughter to her feet.

“I heard noises. Somebody’s trying
to break in!” Sue sobbed.

“Get over there by your mother and
wait while I check it out.” He pushed her gently toward the bed. “Where did you
hear it?”

“The window behind
the sofa.”

“Frank, should I call the police?”
Linda cried, gathering Sue into her arms.

“Not yet. I’ll yell if I see
anyone.”

Frank was back within minutes. He
stared down at his frightened wife and panicked daughter. “It’s a tree branch.
That’s all. Wind’s blowing it against the window.”

“Are you sure?” Sue trembled and
Linda stroked her hair.

“Positive. There’s no one out
there, honey.” Frank ran a hand through his hair, but it sprang back up, giving
him a comical appearance that Sue found sad rather than funny.

“I’ll make some hot cocoa,” Linda
said, releasing Sue. “We’ll talk for a little bit, get calmed down, and then we
can go back to sleep.”

They moved to the front room and
Frank pulled his coat on over his pajamas. He slipped into his boots by the
door. “I’m going to go break off that branch.”

Within the hour, Frank had left for
work and she and her mom were settled in once more. Sue wept silently into her
pillow and listened to the night sounds in the house. Familiar sounds mostly,
but each fraught with sinister potential.

She hadn’t wanted to go through
with the recommended counseling, but she knew now that she must. It would set
her parents’ mind at ease, though she expected it would do nothing for her. She
wasn’t about to tell some stranger about her time with Zeke, her private
feelings. But she’d put in an appearance, go through the motions. She owed it
to her folks after the hell she’d put them through. Eventually she fell into a
restless sleep.

The next morning, in an effort to
return things to normal, Sue called her friend, Joyce. She wanted to let her
know she was home and safe; that things didn’t work out and Zeke just wasn’t
who she thought he was.

Joyce was thrilled to hear from
her, but wanted details Sue wasn’t willing to give. She resisted Joyce’s
curiosity, kept changing the subject, and finally made an excuse to hang up.
She was disappointed in the reaction she’d received.
Maybe
Zeke was
right; Joyce never really was much of a friend.

Chapter 4

Sue decided to abandon the
couch and returned to her bedroom the weekend after the incident with the
branch. Looking around she saw a child’s room, something she no longer was.
Leaning out the door, she shouted, “Mom!”

A crash sounded from
downstairs and Sue’s heart rate kicked into high. She edged toward the stairway
and peered down. Her mom was rushing headlong toward the stairs.

“What’s wrong?” Sue asked,
eyes darting in every direction.

“What?” Her mom stopped with
one foot on the bottom step. “You yelled. What happened?”

“What was that crash?”

“I dropped an empty pot.” She
held her chest as her eyes flew over her daughter looking for injuries. “What’s
wrong? Why did you scream?”

Heart rate slowing, Sue
dropped down, sitting on the top stair.
“Oh my god.”
Suddenly she was giggling.

“Susie?” Her mom rushed up the
stairs. “What is it, honey?”

“Oh, Mom.”
Sue wiped the tears that were streaming from her eyes. “I only wanted to talk
about redecorating my room.
Holy cow.
You scared me to
death.” Her laughter finally faded and her mom looked relieved.

“Redecorate?”

“My room.”
Sue nodded.

“That’s all?” She bent and
kissed her daughter’s forehead, saying, “Oh, Sue, baby. We are really a pair,
aren’t we?”

“I’d have to say yes.”

“Okay.” Her mom waved a hand in
front of her face, as if to dispel the fear she’d felt. “Show me what you have
in mind.”

She followed her daughter into
her room and Sue spread out her arms. “This is a little girl’s room.”

He mother started to disagree
and then realized what Sue meant. She looked at the room again. “You’re right.
What do you have in mind?”

Sue explained her ideas and
then said, “I want to get started today, if possible.”

While her mom finished the
housework, Sue spent a couple of hours pulling mementos from the bulletin
board, posters from the walls, and knickknacks from drawers. Not wanting to
throw it all out, she sorted some for the trash, some to keep. Next she bagged
her stuffed animals to give to charity. All but one teddy bear, which she’d had
forever and couldn’t bring
herself
to part with.

Sue pulled down a large plastic tub
that resided on the top shelf of her closet. She’d add the pile of things she
decided to keep to this container. She fingered through the items one more time
before placing each inside. She flipped through an old Christmas program, read
a birthday card from her grandma, and slipped three fingers into a friendship
bracelet she’d made but never given away. With a sigh, she packed them all
away, snapped the lid onto the box, and slid the box home on its shelf. She
doubted she would look through them again for a long time.

Finally, her mom hollered up
that she was ready.

The two spent the afternoon
shopping. Sue had decided to leave the walls and furniture white. She picked
out a geometric-patterned bedspread in deep blues, purples, and black. Several
abstract prints in subdued tones and two small lamps with dark blue shades were
added to their selections. Sue perused a curtain display and rejected a dozen
window treatments. Finally, she chose wide-slatted vertical blinds in deep blue
and desktop accessories to match.

“Hey, Mom, can we move the
little desk into the guest room? I want to get a computer and I’ll need a
table, too.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Good. Let’s stop and get one
on the way out.”

“That’s fine, but how about a
break first? Surely your feet hurt from all the walking; I know mine do. How is
your side?”

Sue thought about telling her mom
to leave her be, but truth be told, her feet did hurt. “You’re right, my feet
are bothering me. I’ll soak them later tonight. But my side doesn’t hurt too
bad
.” She smiled bravely. “How about we go to the food court
and get something to drink? We can rest before finishing up the shopping.”

“Sounds like a plan,” her mother
agreed.

They shared a baked pretzel with
blueberries, drank their sodas, and discussed the redecorating project. “You
know, once I have the computer home, I’d like to have the internet,” Sue said.

“Your dad and I have talked about
doing that anyway. This would be good time for us to bundle our phone and
cable, too. Your dad will be thrilled, all those channels.”

After a comfortable break, they
made their way to a computer store. Here Sue bought a PC and a
printer/copier/fax machine. She chose a dark walnut desk with multiple shelves
to hold all the apparatus.

Smiles flashed and laughter rang
out as they entered the house. Sue’s dad was sitting on the sofa watching the
news.

“Well, well, well. What’s going on
here? You two seem awfully happy.” He picked up the remote and hit the mute
button.

Sue’s mom grinned. “That’s because
we just bought enough stuff to keep you busy for the weekend.”

“
Hunh
?”

“Come help carry in my new
bedroom, Daddy.” Sue clapped her hands. She hadn’t realized this shopping trip
would please her so much. “Do you think we can get my new desk together before
supper?”

“New desk?
Don’t you already have one?”

“Yes, but I bought a computer and
desk to go along with it. Mom said we could get the internet.”

“Internet?”

“That’s right, Frank. We’re going
to bundle the phone, cable, and internet. You’ll get a ton of new channels.”

“I can’t argue with that.” He
looked at his wife and daughter with fondness, “Let me grab my toolbox.”

Later, after the canopy top had been
removed, the small white desk moved to the guest room and replaced with the
newly assembled one, they ordered pizza and ate around the TV. Sue sat with her
feet in hot water and Epsom salts. It felt wonderful. After massaging them with
Vitamin E oil, Sue returned to her naked room and her depression settled back
in. She already missed her stuff, even though the whole idea had been hers and
she knew in the long run she’d be happier. Sue fell into a restless sleep only
to awake in the morning to the sound of her dad toying with an electric
screwdriver outside her closed bedroom door.

“Up and at it,
Susie.
I have blinds to hang.”

Sue struggled up. She rubbed her
hands down her face and then gathered clothes and limped toward the bathroom.
“It’s all yours,” she said over her shoulder. Her dad patted her on the back in
passing and went to work.