The visions, and glimpses of things I had no way of knowing about, happened more often and were more difficult to keep from Gage. The only other person who knew about them was Lisa, but she knew nothing of the curtain incident. I saw no reason to freak her out over it.
These strange occurrences were a few more of the things I assumed I’d inherited from my father; the man had left more than his child behind when he’d abandoned my mother. I sometimes wished I knew how to contact him, not because I would like a father in my life, but because I wanted to know if anything like this had ever happened to him.
There were times I felt completely alone in the world. A freak living in a world that had become pretty damn freaky on that long ago July day.
“I don’t know where to look for Bailey,” I said, forcing the words out and giving Gage a smile as I returned to playing the game. “We’ll have to go into town without him then.”
Gage’s brown eyes were still troubled, but he didn’t question me further. It was risky for us to talk of such things. If someone ever overheard…
I shuddered at the possibilities. Today would be the day, if something were to happen, but I knew I had nothing to worry about from Gage and Lisa, so I would be safe. I glanced at the living room doorway, but the only sound I heard out there was the continuous update from the news.
“Guess I’ll get to play on the swings all by myself today,” Gage said loud enough that Bailey could hear him.
The laughter from beneath the sink stopped. My smile was genuine now as I finished off my water. “Maybe we could find him,” I suggested.
“Do we really want to try? It doesn’t seem like he wants to see us.”
There was complete silence from under the sink before the door creaked open a little. I pretended not to notice it, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of Bailey’s blue eyes press against the crack.
“We might as well try, but if we can’t find him, we’ll have to leave without him. Bailey!” I called. “Bailey!”
The door closed again and another giggle sounded. I bit my inner lip to keep from laughing as we went through the kitchen, opening and closing the cabinet doors. Gage opened the closet door in the hall before closing it again. We were halfway through the charade when I saw the cabinet open again and Bailey’s eye peeping out.
Growing tired of waiting,I thought.
Bending down, I pretended to search the cabinets on either side of him before closing the doors. “Only one place left to look,” I said loudly. Bailey’s laughter increased, and I cracked the door open and poked my head inside. He was exactly as I had pictured, tucked beneath the sink in only his diaper. “There you are!”
Bailey squealed with laughter when I grabbed hold of his plump belly and pulled him from beneath the sink. “Here I am!” he cried and threw his arms around my neck. “You’re a bad searcher.”
“I am,” I agreed and placed him on the counter.
His blond hair hung in disheveled ringlets around his flushed, round cheeks. He was only two and a half, but like Gage and me, he was tall and his legs hung down over the counter to kick against the silverware drawer. I poked his round belly before checking his cloth diaper. My nose wrinkled at the potent aroma wafting from it.
“You stink,” I told him and kissed the tip of his nose.
He giggled then laughed when Gage handed him a small piece of bread. “Eat this, B,” he told him. Bailey held the bread as I gathered a towel and spread it out on the counter. “What are we feeding this kid?” Gage asked when I pulled the diaper off.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to have to stop,” I replied and Bailey giggled again. He may be the worst smelling kid on the face of the planet, but he was also the happiest.
I would have given anything to be able to toss the diaper out, but we couldn’t afford to waste anything. I dropped it into the can Gage held out for me. I really hoped Bailey would get the hang of toilet training soon, but so far, he’d been stubborn about it.
“I’ll take it outside to hose it off,” Gage offered.
“Thanks.”
“I stink!” Bailey declared proudly.
“You do,” I confirmed as I cleaned him up and pinned a clean diaper on him. “Now we’re going to get you ready for town.”
“Town!” he shouted gleefully.
I lifted him off the counter as the lights went out. Heaving a sigh, I listened to the last, fading words of the news broadcast. Gage’s smile vanished when he stepped back through the door. His gaze went straight to the now-hushed living room.
“Crap,” he muttered.
Seconds later, I heard the shuffling sounds of my mother’s feet. Bailey’s smile faded away; his arms slid around my neck as he pressed closer. His warm body helped to ease the chill creeping down my spine. After all my years with our mother, I should be used to her, but I could live another fifty years and never be quite prepared for the woman who appeared in the kitchen.
Her blue eyes slid over us, but never really seemed to see us as she approached the sink. I cradled Bailey closer and stepped away from her. “We’re going to Volunteer Day,” I said to her.
