Occult Suspense for Mothers Boxset: The Nostalgia Effect by EJ Valson and Mother's by Michelle Read (2 ebooks for one price) (5 page)

“I’m not really dressed for this, you know,” I mumbled, staring out the window.

“Nonsense, you look beaut— ˝

“Beautiful, I know.  I love you.”

It was several miles before I realized that we weren’t headed in the direction of the restaurant.  In fact, we hadn’t even gotten on the highway yet.  I shot my husband a look of question and, like he was in tune with the moment, he was smirking.  Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of asking what he was up to, because he was obviously up to
something
, I turned back to the window and rested my chin on my hand.  We certainly weren’t lost.  John is
never
lost...quite the opposite of myself...so I decided to just enjoy the ride.

I watched
as the little rows of houses passed us by, listening to Violet tell her daddy about playing fairy princess with Kate.

“She didn’t paint your nails, did she?” He asked with a fake grimace.

“Yesss,” she grumped.  “But Mommy will take it off before school.”

I grinned, still facing the window.  I was enjoying being a third party in the conversation, listening to the two of them banter back and forth.  I glanced at the clock – six twenty five.  I looked back at the passing houses, and suddenly two things fell into place:  where we were and what we were doing.

We had jumped over several neighborhoods and were now in the area with older homes.  Homes that looked like they belonged on postcards or in lawn tool commercials.  It was my mother-in-law’s neighborhood, and we were here to drop Violet off for an evening visit.  My heart jumped a little, and relaxed at the same time.

“Surprise,” John murmured.  He knew I
loved
surprises, no matter how big or small.

“
Your
doing?” I asked.

“Kate’s.  She called on my way home from work.  Told me to act surprised when you mentioned dinner, and to drop Vy off at six thirty.”  He pulled into his mother’s flower-lined driveway.  “She didn’t tell me where we were going until I got home.  She probably figured I would let it slip.”

Mary, John’s mother, came out to greet us.  She was a petite, slender little woman, and always dressed like she was going on vacation somewhere.  She was absolutely the best mother-in-law anyone could hope for.  Whenever she knew we were coming, she would always be waiting at the door.  As soon as we pulled up, she was bustling down the sidewalk to help us inside. 

Now, “helping us inside” usually meant getting Violet unbuckled and into the house, and she generally had that accomplished before John had the engine shut off.

Grandmother and granddaughter scurried excitedly inside.  By the time John and I had reached the front door, they were already looking for something to busy themselves with.  It didn’t take long for Violet and Mary to find a puzzle to work, and they scooted us right back out the door.

“Shoo!  You don’t want to be late,” she ordered.

John slipped his hand into mine and we strolled back down the walkway.  He was so easily loveable.  Every time he touched me, especially small ways like this, it was as if love had a flavor – and I could taste it.  I breathed it in, and always felt a mixture of comfort, warmth, and security...he was
home
for me.  And I felt so blessed to have him.

He walked me around the car and cradled the small of my back while he opened the door for me, making me feel warm and fuzzy.  He was the epitome of chivalry, and always made me feel this way – like I was all dolled up and going to the prom.  My handsome date circled the car and plopped into the driver’s seat, taking my other hand in his and staring at me pensively.

“Kate and I agreed that we should celebrate with a bang tonight, and enjoy the evening together.”  He cradled my face in his palm and I felt like a school girl.  “I’m so proud of you for trying your hand as a working woman.”

The intensity in his face caught me off guard.  I was still blushing from his hand on my cheek and hadn’t expected a subject change.

“I know you’re nervous,” he said.  “And excited.  And you probably feel like you

can’t do anything as well as being a mom . . . but you’re amazing and likable.  And I know you will be fantastic.”

Was he hiding a greeting card in his pocket?

“Uhhhh…  yes,” I agreed
.  “But you forgot the part where I don’t think anyone can take care of Vy like I can.”  I definitely was not looking forward to sharing her for seven hours every week day.

“And you’re absolutely right,” John added.  “No one can teach her as well as you can.  But she’ll have a blast and so will you.  Then you two can come home and tell each other about your day.”

“Who
are
you?”

“Huh?”
He looked confused.

“Nothing.  I’m just lucky to have you as my best friend,” I smiled.  He winked at me, kissed my hand in his, and put the car in reverse.

“Let’s go celebrate,” he declared, looking over his shoulder.

The parking lot of the restaurant was, expectedly, beyond capacity.  It was seven o’clock and prime time for silly people who thought they would come here on a whim.  They would be the ones waiting for hours tonight to get in.

John weaseled his way up to the front door to let me out of the car.

“I don’t think so,” I stated plainly.  “I’m walking with you.”

“Alright then,” he mused.  And with that, we were off to find a parking place somewhere ridiculously far away.  As we swung into a lucky spot, I noticed a familiar champagne SUV a few spaces away.  Elizabeth’s car.

Seriously?

Once we were inside, I immediately scoped the place for the cheating PTO mom.  It would be easy to be stealthy; I was also conveniently looking for Kate.

“Hey!”

So much for that plan, Kate popped up next to me out of thin air and dragged us to our table.  A beautiful linen-covered oasis, filled with prissy stemware and live flowers, was laid out before us.  There were two wine glasses at each place and each napkin was folded delicately into a flower.

John pulled the rolling chair out for me and guided me into it by the elbow.  I thought for a moment about putting my napkin in my lap right away, but decided to admire it for a while.  Someone had worked very hard on it.

I heaved my giant purse up over my lap and onto the floor next to me.  This was
not
an elegant restaurant purse, it was a mommy purse.  You could fit a small child in it, and it made me feel a little out of place.  I looked around at everyone else who
knew
they were coming here.  They had stuffed their wallets and lipsticks into the tiniest thing they could find that would match their dress.

Hmmm, yes, most of them were wearing dresses.  Including Kate
; I abhorred her for that.  She probably thought that if she asked me to wear a dress, I wouldn’t come.  She would have been right.

The waiter came around and I ordered my favorite dish after spotting it on the menu:  salmon.  I didn’t care how it was prepared, I hadn’t even looked, I knew it would be good.  Of course, everything here was probably at least
good
.

After finally giving up the notion of saving my flower napkin and staring at it forever, I unfolded it and laid it gingerly in my lap.  The bread came, and went.  It was amazing.  So rich and hearty I probably didn’t have to put butter on it, but I did anyway.  Any excuse to eat butter on something was okay with me. 

An appetizer and a glass of wine later—we were celebrating as
adults
, after all—and we were all laughing about some work-related joke of Nick’s that I really didn’t understand.  And then I spotted them. 

At a very distant table, along the
opposite wall, sat the Asch’s.  Elizabeth, her husband, and her three boys.  They were all having a grand time as well, and it looked as though the boys were getting rowdy.  I then realized how fortunate I was to be here among adults only.  If Violet had come with us, I would have been wrestling with her to stay in her chair, asking her not to roll it into the aisle, and answering a billion questions like “What’s
this
fork for?  And
this
one?”

I smiled thinking of Mary.  Among her many great qualities was her willingness to watch her granddaughter at the drop of a hat.  She never seemed too busy to baby-sit when we used to come into town for visits, and she often let John and I slip away for coffee or just a walk.  I loved that about her, and I was looking forward to many more Mommy and Daddy-only outings in the future.  Maybe moving back here would prove to be better than I thought.

I sipped my glass of uber-fruity wine, and peeked across the room again.  At that moment, I noticed the youngest of Elizabeth’s boys telling an elaborate story using both hands.  His arms were flailing wildly as he gestured this way and that with wide eyes and an animated manner.  In the process, his left elbow caught one of the many empty wine glasses at the table and sent it reeling toward the floor.

Elizabeth, still taking in his intense tale, caught the incident out of the corner of her eye.  With no effort at all, her arm shot to her right and caught the glass.  It was so fast, I wasn’t entirely sure it had happened at all.  She had leaned ever so slightly to her right, stretched out her arm gracefully, and caught the tumbling glassware just before it hit the floor –
returning it delicately to the table.  All this happened before the boy had even blinked.

Before
I
had blinked, for that matter.

I was sure that I was the only one who had seen it, and therefore couldn’t decide what to make of it.  No human could possibly move that quickly.  When I replayed the tiny moment in my mind, I was sure I’d seen a blur where her arm had been.  The young boy had stopped talking when he realized he had knocked the glass over, but didn’t have any time to await the impending doom of broken glass before it was back in front of him.  He had taken a quick breath and leapt right back into his story.

Elizabeth shifted her weight in her seat and leaned back into her son’s saga.  She smiled at him and swiftly scanned the room, probably wondering if anyone had seen her.  I hadn’t realized I was still watching them when she caught my gaze.

Feeling
embarrassed
that I was staring at her didn’t even have time to register in my brain before a new sensation was upon me.  Fear.

Her hard chocolate eyes were suddenly on fire with rage.  Those perfectly trimmed brows were now b
earing down on her small nose in an expression that could be nothing but anger.  I felt like I was burning from the inside out, and was motionless in my seat.  I’d never really been afraid of anyone before, but in this moment I was
terrified
of Elizabeth Asch.  Not sure what to do, I turned back to my party.

I went quickly through another glass of wine before I had the courage to look in the direction of her table again.  When I did, she was gone.

FIVE

I yawned and stretched deeply.  It wasn’t like my body to be so tense in the morning; maybe I had slept really well and hadn’t moved all night.  But for sleeping all night, I was amazingly tired.  I felt like I needed to brush my teeth, as I could still taste the remains of dinner and one too many glasses of wine.  I pulled up slowly and sat up on the bed.

It was awfully dark to be morning, it must be really early.  But as I rustled around in the sheets, trying to swing my legs over the bed, I noticed that I was still wearing my clothes from the night before.

Wow, I must’ve had more to drink than I thought.

At that moment, my brain sloshed a bit inside my skull, and I had the strange feeling I should lay back down.  Just then John walked into the bedroom, carrying a mug of coffee.

“What are you still doing here?”  I asked sleepily.

“Still?  I’m getting ready for bed,” he answered.

Ummmmm.  What?

“It’s eleven thirty.  At night.”  He answered the q
uestion I hadn’t spoken aloud and meandered over with his steaming mug to run his free hand through my hair.  “You fell asleep on the way home from the restaurant.  We picked up Vy while you slept, and drove home.  You were awake when we came inside, but you said you were going to turn in early and threw yourself on the bed.”  He smiled.  “It was so cute.”

His expression was bemused, like he enjoyed the thought of his wife being mildly intoxicated and falling asleep in the car.

“I covered you up and put Vy to bed, got a cup of coffee, and sent a few emails to my supervisor.  And now I’m coming to bed.”

“Ughhgh,” I let myself fall back onto the bed.  I recalled that I only had a
few
glasses of wine at dinner— only two, I was sure.  It was so delicious...e
very
thing was delicious there.  Then again, it only takes a few glasses; a little goes a long way I suppose.

John sighed as though he was entertained and handed me his coffee.  He was the only person I knew who could drink a full cup of coffee at eleven thirty and still sleep soundly all night. 
If I took more than a few drinks of it, I would be up with the jitters until the next morning.  I sat up a little and sipped it gently, unable to open my eyes all the way.

“How about a quick shower before bed?”  He asked.

“Mmm-hmmm,” I mumbled, still sleeping.  It actually sounded like heaven.

He pulled me up and helped me get undressed.  I wasn’t so much woozy as I was utterly exhausted.  I’d had a long day full of emotional uproar, and I was ready to melt it all away in the shower.

After John checked on Violet, who was still sleeping soundly in her bed, he crawled into the steamy goodness with me.  I’d had time to wash my hair quickly before he joined me, and I was already feeling a little better.  A little more awake, at least.  He stepped in, threw two towels over the top, and drew me into his chest.  He hugged me lightly, but full of love.

“I love you,” he whispered, letting the hot wate
r beat down on my back while he remained dry.  “I hope you had a good time tonight.”

“I did,” I lied.  I pressed my eyes together and took a deep breath.  Visions of Elizabeth’s icy face were starting to slowly creep up on me.  “Tell Kate thanks so much.”

“Sure.”  John pulled my soggy mess of hair around with one hand and draped it over my shoulder.  The water could now work its magic on my neck, and I was certain that this was where I wanted to spend forever . . . leaning heavily on his chest, somewhere between sleep and awake, watching the droplets cling to his arms and shoulders.

It was nine forty-five before Violet crawled into my bed and flipped on the TV on Tuesday morning.  She snuggled down under the covers and her cold feet immediately found my side.  I shivered and rolled over, with an inaudible
hmph
.  This would probably be my official favorite part of every day.  Feeling the warmth of Violet’s tiny body curled up next to my back while I dozed in and out of consciousness, listening to the cheerfulness of morning cartoons.  Not a care in the world.

The phone next to the bed rang on its lowest ring.  John must have turned it down last night so that it wouldn’t disturb me this morning.  What a thinker.  As tired as I was last night, I certainly would
have been miffed this morning if someone called and woke me up before I was ready.  As it was now, I could barely hear it.  I reached over with one eye open and grabbed the handset off of the base.

“Hello?”  I managed to choke out, half drooling on myself.  Hope they understood that, whoever it was.

“Hey, hon.  It’s Charlotte.”

“Mmph.”

“Girl, are you in bed?!”

“No, I’m up.”  I cleared my throat to sound more convincing.

“Liar,” she accused playfully.

I propped myself up on two pillows and stretched. 
That
felt like a good night’s sleep stretch.  Sore and stiff, like I’d been in the same position all night.  It was a welcome ache.

“Okay, now I’m up.”  I leaned over and kissed Violet on the head and ruffled her hair.

“You’re so funny.  Are you going to be alright with being at the school at seven thirty every morning?” she teased.

“Yes, boss.  Now what did you call for?”  It was her turn to clear her throat, though hers was in a nervous way.

“Oh… well.  I was just wondering how you liked your tour yesterday.”

“It’s honestly the most beautiful school I have ever seen.  I love everything about it,” I answered, rubbing my puffy eyes.

She breathed steadily for a long moment, and it seemed like she was going to take her time in getting to the real reason behind her phone call.  I could tell by her uneasy silence that she hadn’t called to talk about the school grounds.

“Charlotte?  Was that all you wanted?”  I was secretly hopeful that she had called to fill me in on our encounter yesterday with Danna.  I just remembered that I
was thinking about it while I was dozing in the car last night.  I’m not sure why, but the meeting between the three of us had been on my mind as I was drifting off on the way home.

I remembered, now, the connection I had made between Charlotte’s face in the hallway and Elizabeth’s at dinner.  They both had an air of secrecy – enveloped in malice.

“Actually, no.  That’s not why I called.”

I waited
, completely alert now, stroking Violet’s hair.  Feeling as though I was about to be in trouble.

“I just wanted to say… don’t be concerned about Danna.”

Okay.  That’s it?

After another long pause, she added
; “Danna’s a wonderful girl—and you will love her once you get to know her.  She’s a great asset to our staff.”

With every word, she was sounding more curt and professional, like she didn’t want to discuss anything further.

“Will I be working with her often?”  I asked.  I was trying to be casual, but still keep the conversation going.

“Yes, you’ll get to know everyone very quickly.  Claire is great, too.  You’ll adore her, she’s Danna’s homeroom helper this year.”

“I thought homeroom mothers were chosen after school had started?”  My reply was automatic, a sort of hurt response.  I wasn’t meaning to veer the conversation away from Danna, but I was hoping to
be
that mother for Violet’s classroom this year.  I felt suddenly shortchanged.

“They are, but Danna and Claire go way back.  And Claire’s son is in her class this year.  She’s just playing favorites I guess.”

Yet another pregnant pause.  At least thirty seconds passed before I spoke again.

“So . . .” I prompted, racking my non-functional morning brain for some way to refocus the conversation on Danna.  Unable to find an avenue, I added the next best thing.  “I saw Elizabeth Asch at dinner last night.”

“Yes, we chatted earlier this morning.  She mentioned that she had seen you.”

“Did she say anything else
?” I continued casually, remembering her hardened face.

“No, she said you two didn’t speak.  She was going to come over to your table and say hello to your family, but something came up and she had to leave,” she lied.  Charlotte had many talents, but lying was not one of them.

“I see,” I said flatly.

“Elizabeth is a very influential member of our school,
Erin.”  She spoke slowly, not allowing me to take the matter further.  “Keep on good terms with her, she has proven to be very useful.”

What was that supposed to mean?

Obviously I would be getting no clear answers from Charlotte.  Maybe I could get close to this Claire she had mentioned earlier.  Maybe we would hit it off and she would give me more of the insight I was after.  There had to be
some
reason that everyone I’d met so far seemed to be on edge around me.  Yes, Claire, I would start there.

“So, I’ll see you on Thursday?” Charlotte asked rhetorically.

“Thursday.”

“Now get out of bed.”

“Right, boss,” I teased.

“And stop calling me boss, I’m your best friend.”