One Secret Too Many

 

 

 

 

Written by: Heather M. Borger

Editor: Kelly Bocich

Cover Art: Eric Bocich

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Copyright © by Heather M. Borger

Cover art Copyright © by Eric Bocich

 

No part of this manuscript may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise - without written permission of the author.

 

Dedication

For my family, who allowed me to escape to Riverside whenever I needed.

 

***

 

“Beth, pull yourself together. I refuse to believe that. You can’t think it either. You need to go tell your parents and get them out here as soon as possible. Do you hear me?”

“Yes. I’ll go tell them.”

Beth hung up the phone and braced herself for what was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever done. She walked downstairs just in time to hear the end of her mom’s message to Mattie. “We love you, Honey. Please come home.”

 

 

Chapter One

“We’re done!”

“Summer is finally here!”

“Tomorrow we GRADUATE!”

You could hear the excited voices a mile away. It was finally time to relax and enjoy the summer. Final exams were over. Some of the students would graduate the following day. For them, summer would be a new beginning, a fresh start. For many, summer would bring fun, new adventures. But, among the students leaving school today, there would be some who would find themselves wanting to forget the unforeseen events awaiting them.

“How was your Trig final, Beth?”

“Oh, I guess it was okay, but you know I didn’t do as well as you. I never do.”

“We’ll see. I’m sure you did better than you think.” Mattie was a little frustrated by Beth’s response. She didn’t need to be reminded that everyone believed she was more academically gifted than her sister. At least Beth wasn’t a total klutz.

“Did you forget that you are Riverside’s star softball player?”

“Yeah, Mom and Dad really get excited about my softball, don’t they? When was the last time you remember me getting any praise because I pitched a great inning? They hardly even make any of my games.” She couldn’t stand when Mattie brought up softball in one of her pitiful attempts to make her feel better.

“You know they don’t make many games because of work. It has nothing to do with their desire to see you play.” Mattie tried to reassure her sister.

The sisters’ academic versus sports debate was one that had been going on for years. It was no secret that they each thought the other was just being silly and insecure. In fact, it was the only thing that could ever start an argument between them. Mattie had always been blessed with the determination needed to earn good grades, but had no coordination or athletic ability anywhere in her body. Beth, on the other hand, struggled with her schoolwork and had to work as hard as she could to pull out Bs and Cs.

Athletically, however, Beth was one of the best pitchers that anyone in Riverside had seen in a long time. If she had gone to school anywhere other than the small, practically invisible town of Riverside, she would probably be enjoying a free ride through college in the fall. Unfortunately, scouts weren’t usually interested in visiting such small-town schools. The sisters’ discussions about whose talents were more desirable and useful brought out Beth’s jealousy of Mattie at its worst. Mattie always tried to overlook it, knowing she couldn’t convince her sister of anything when she was in one of her moods.

“Well, Beth, I think next year will be different. We’ll be in college! It’ll be a great year no matter what! As long as we have each other.”

“Yeah, as long as we have each other.”

Mattie could hear the sarcasm return, but chose to ignore it. Beth was still upset about not feeling as confident in her finals as Mattie felt, that’s all. Mattie could often sense that resentment from Beth in other areas Mattie couldn’t control as well, such as Mattie’s being fifteen minutes older than Beth, or what Beth often called Mattie’s magnetic personality. Mattie didn’t think she was any more approachable than Beth, but Beth always thought otherwise.

Most of the time, Beth’s moods passed as long as no one let her dwell on the problem for too long. Knowing that, Mattie restarted the conversation on a different topic as they neared the exit at the school’s front doors. Beth chimed in, trying to be cheerful again. It was difficult for Beth at times. She and Mattie went everywhere together and had all the same friends. Beth, nonetheless, sometimes wished they would have their own lives, their own friends. It felt to Beth as if they shared friends, but most of them just wanted to be around Mattie. Everyone just seemed kind enough to include Beth in their plans for Mattie’s sake.

At Beth’s softball games, while she was out in the field playing her heart out, the guys were swooning over Mattie in the bleachers. The worst part of it was that Mattie never returned any romantic interest. Most of the time she was too absorbed in her school work to care about dating. Beth would complain about it to Mattie, but Mattie would tell her she was imagining things. Mattie was so naive. Beth wished that, just once, one of the guys would give her the time of day. She would return their interest. But, no, they weren’t interested in Beth. Only Mattie. Mattie, who didn’t even seem to notice. And that left the boys even more intrigued.

Beth frequently wondered, What made Mattie so much more appealing? They were identical twins. They shared everything - secrets, thoughts, hopes, and dreams. They could be seen everywhere together and were so identical that even their closest friends had trouble telling them apart. Both were five feet six inches tall with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. On most days, they were inseparable and the best of friends. Beth wished she could figure it out, but her attempts to discern the difference had always been in vain.

Often, Beth would hide her resentment of Mattie and try to ignore the intense feeling of not being good enough. She would tell herself that it was all in her head. In spite of her attempts, it was getting increasingly difficult. Today was one of those days. As Mattie attempted to cheer her up, Beth felt her blood boil. Mattie just didn’t get it. She would never understand what it felt like to be second best. Mattie would always be the first-born, the one with the good grades, the one with all the friends, the one that was always smiling. Beth had to pretend her entire life that she believed in and agreed with everyone who told her that playing softball was her special gift. She had to pretend that she was okay with it and that it was enough for her to be good at softball. But, it wasn’t okay. It wasn’t enough for Beth any more. She wanted to do something that would make her stand out. She wanted to feel good about herself for something that everyone else would notice her for.

The predicament for Beth was that, until recently, it had always felt right to do everything together with Mattie. Lately, however, Beth found herself wanting to separate from Mattie and be her own person for the first time in her life. As she and Mattie prepared to go off to college, Beth couldn’t help but hope that things would improve for her if she could create some distance between them. If she made some friends of her own, had time by herself without Mattie, or if she could get away just a little by herself.

Maybe, then, she could enjoy Mattie’s successes more. For now, she began to feel the insatiable need for others to see distance between them. She found herself trying to separate visibly from her sister. The resentment growing inside her wouldn’t feel so wrong if others began to notice some distance forming between them. She needed something, though. A catalyst to help her. She couldn’t just begin pushing wonderful Mattie away without a reason. No one would understand that. That would certainly hurt Mattie. And, regardless of how Beth was increasingly beginning to feel towards Mattie, hurting her was not an option.

Chapter Two

Outside the school, Beth and Mattie met up with their best friend, Jill. Much to Beth’s relief, the conversation instantly changed to all the new commotion in town.

The girls’ hometown of Riverside, Vermont, was an exceptionally small and quiet town. Its small size seemed to make it friendlier. No one ever felt the need to lock their doors at night. It was the kind of town where you knew everyone and watched out for your neighbors. That also meant, however, that everyone knew everything about you; privacy was a nonexistent luxury.

Riverside’s size also meant that there wasn’t room for two of anything. If the school needed a library for the students to use, then it was the same library anyone in town would use as well. Therefore, the school housed Riverside’s only gym / fitness center and only library; it was where the townspeople gathered for meetings, and where the whole town could be seen on Friday and Saturday nights at sporting events. Riverside’s school was where just about everything important happened.

Riverside was so aesthetically beautiful that one almost had to experience it to understand. A true one- horse town if there ever was one. Riverside had no traffic lights; only stop signs. There was only one main road through the center of town. Several tree-lined roads gave access to all the homes set back off Main Street. One school for Pre-K through twelfth grade, complete with a full-day childcare facility, stood tall in the middle of town. From the classrooms on the top floor, students could see either end of town. The youngest kids enjoyed going all the way upstairs just to point out their houses to each other.

Riverside was also a wonderful destination for vacations. One of the larger, Victorian-style homes in the northwest corner of town was converted years ago to serve as a Bed-n-Breakfast. Small mountains protected the west side of town while the wide river to the east gave Riverside its name. With its deep-rooted maple trees and flowers as well as through multiple appearances in magazines and travel brochures, Riverside had gradually become relatively famous - and its reputation was just beginning to grow.

This summer, the Bed-n-Breakfast would house film crews and actors using the town for the setting of a movie. Although there would be no place for tourists staying in Riverside, there was still great potential for a wonderful summer. Some residents were unhappy with the changes occurring, but for most, the only thing on their minds was the excitement of the movie being filmed in their hometown beginning as soon as school let out for the year. It was an old-time western and despite its northeastern locale, Riverside was about as close to the “Old West” as you could get during the twenty-first century. Many of the buildings in town hadn’t been changed or renovated in close to 100 years, and that included most of the houses. Riverside truly had an old, small-town feel about it that no one could overlook.

“Don’t you just love how Riverside looks with all the activity? Glowing with pride. It’s as if she knows she is going to be even more special now.”

“She’s not a person, Jill. Although, I agree - she almost looks like a real town and not just a picture on a postcard or in a magazine!” The new conversation had Beth’s earlier, angry emotions waning. Her excitement about the activity in her small town became quickly evident.

“Jill! Not you, too?” Mattie finally succumbed to the idea that her sister and best friend were going to enjoy this summer much more than she was.

“Well, isn’t it true? Riverside has always been beautiful, but it is so small that it doesn’t seem like a real town anymore. Nearly every city changes and develops over time, but Riverside doesn’t seem to have grown into anything in recent years.”

Mattie tried in vain to convince them they didn’t need the extra activity. “Come on, Riverside is a perfect town from any viewpoint. Name one other town that is as friendly or fun. I’m never afraid to go outside or go for a walk. I just hope all this movie business doesn’t change Riverside too much.”

“Hey, if 100 years of technological advancements and improvements haven’t been able to change Riverside, one movie won’t be able to. No one will even know the true location for the setting of this movie but us. Everyone who watches it will think it takes place somewhere out west!”

“I really hope you’re right, Jill. No matter what, I just hope that if this doesn’t change Riverside, nothing ever does. I want to bring my kids back here every summer to enjoy its beauty! Don’t you guys just love being where you can do just about anything? Remember on the news last night - the story about big cities enforcing curfews to keep the kids off the streets and safe at night? Except for Chief Smith, we hardly even have our own police force here.”

“Back up there, Mattie. You want to bring your kids back here? When do you plan to leave and when were you going to tell me about your kids?” Beth questioned Mattie’s comment with a smirk. She was the sister that kept them grounded in reality. If Mattie had it her way, their lives would be one big fantasy.

“Very funny. You know what I mean, Beth. I can’t see living here forever. I’m not the kind of person who could live in a small town like Riverside and be happy my whole life. But, I do want to believe that this place will never change so I can always come back and remember it how it was.”

“Well, I have to admit you’re right there. It would be nice to live somewhere that you can hop in your car and go bowling if you’d like. Maybe order a pizza and have it delivered - or at least get it home to eat it before it got cold!”

Jill chimed in. “Hey, I can hop on my bike and ride down to the dock. That can be exciting...depending on who’s there. I can even go swimming if I’d like.” Jill raised her eyebrows in an attempt to show excitement, but her enthusiasm fell short and no one believed her futile attempt.

Jill lived next door to Beth and Mattie, about two blocks south of the school. They loved each other’s company and were always debating something. For the past week the hot topic was which teachers would give the most difficult finals and who might not graduate. But bigger and better things were starting in Riverside today. The film’s producer had promised that there wouldn’t be too much activity until finals were over. It was one of the few conditions Mayor Thomas issued in order for the town to be used. No actors, no filming, and no disruptions until after final exams. He tried to extend the town’s reprieve until graduation was over as well, but that was easier said than done. The producer would hold off until the last final exam had been taken. After that, he was in control of Riverside.

The film crews rolled into town on Tuesday during finals week. That left them plenty of time for surveying the area and asking a lot of questions about the town they were about to take over for the next few months. The biggest project for the crew yesterday had been dragging tons of dirt into Riverside. The roads around the General Store would be covered by it in order to maintain the old west feel. Beth and Jill liked the new look and admitted hoping they would decide to leave it behind; Mattie just thought it made everything dirty. Today, though, with finals over, the movie cameras were visible and there were already more people in Riverside than any of the three girls ever remembered seeing.

There was one thing they could all agree on - tomorrow’s graduation might very possibly be a disaster. How much fun could their graduation celebration be if they weren’t able to actually celebrate? They had all been warned that unless something drastic happened, their graduation celebration would be a brief, indoor affair. There would be no chance for any of the fun typically associated with graduation. According to Mayor Thomas, the film producer was tough and focused intently on dollar signs. He didn’t care an ounce about a few seniors’ graduation day, and if he had any opportunity to increase his profits by securing the filming areas and beginning a day early, he would do it. That meant there would probably be none of the typical graduation fun tomorrow. The way it looked right now, this year’s graduation was already well on its way to going down in Riverside’s history as the worst ever.

The girls’ graduating class had only 28 students - an uncharacteristically large class for Riverside. On a normal graduation day, they would all meet outside the school. Their ceremony would begin as the school bell rang for the final time of the year. Following the short ceremony, the new graduates typically led a parade through town to the north end where everyone would gather for a picnic lunch at the General Store. Since everyone in town usually knew someone who was graduating, everyone in town usually came! Add to that the family members that came in from out of town, and the docks - located right behind the General Store - would be full of excited students and their families. Mr. Blackstone, the storeowner, kept busy all day grilling hot dogs for everyone. Many of the graduating seniors would take one last ceremonious dip in the river, complete with cap-n-gown before leaving Riverside for the big cities to pursue higher educations. Regardless of where they were going, however, most of the town stayed well into the night to celebrate and enjoy the company.

Many wondered how different this year would be. All the excitement from the movie seemed to be taking precedent over graduation already, but only time would tell if this was a “normal” graduation day. Mattie was concerned. She didn’t like the idea of the movie being filmed in Riverside and she was quite upset that her graduation day might be ruined because of it.

“Don’t you guys care that we finally get to graduate and now it may not be the celebration we’ve always looked forward to?”

“Not really. I mean, it may not be perfect, but at least we’re graduating!” Beth smiled at Mattie. She found it amusing how she was the one trying to see the good in things today. That was typically Mattie’s job.

Chapter Three

Saturday morning came and the graduation ceremony, although forced inside as expected, went off without a hitch. When the ceremony ended, however, the day’s exhilaration ended quickly as well.

“I guess you were right - no one cared as much about graduation this year. Once we got here, even we just wanted to get it over with.” You could hear the disappointment in Beth’s voice as everyone left the school after graduation.

“I know, but I hoped we would have been wrong. Just because the stupid cameras are ready to go, we’re supposed to devalue graduation. That’s not fair! Let the cameras sit - one more day won’t make them rot.” Mattie had been surprisingly against having her small town “invaded” this summer. While just about everyone else at least accepted it, Mattie had no problem voicing her opinion that this was not a good idea. Her irritation at the goings-on was a shock to most who knew Mattie because her typical happy attitude came from her optimistic belief that the glass was always half full and anything was possible. She looked for the good in everything and believed in fairy tales and fantasies. This sour attitude was not normal for Mattie and had caused her much teasing by her friends over the past few days.

Pointing toward a van full of cameramen enjoying an apparent break, Jill went on to remind Mattie that Mayor Thomas did say this could be a wonderful experience for their town. As Beth glanced over to see what Jill was pointing at, she noticed she had the attention of someone in the van. His dirty blond hair appeared uncombed and his eyes looked tired. Beth smiled, meeting his stare, but he looked away quickly and Beth sighed. He seemed to be deep in thought, and Beth realized he probably wasn’t really watching her. It looked to Beth as though another of the guys was trying to joke with him. As quickly as it happened, Beth pushed the incident out of her mind and turned her smile toward Jill who was still trying to convince Mattie of the benefits associated with the filming in Riverside.

“Mayor Thomas said it would give every resident something to be proud of.” Jill was trying, but Mattie was steadfast in her resolve that this was not the best thing that could happen in Riverside this summer.

The producer already promised to allow locals to view as much filming as possible and even use Riverside residents whenever they needed extras for the scenes. But, in order to get the perks, Riverside had to comply with the time schedules and rules set by the filming crews. That meant sacrifices would need to be made. The first of these sacrifices - graduation this year was held inside the gymnasium and there was no parade through town or picnic on the docks. The General Store was going to be the first filming location and things needed to be set up and secured as soon as possible. A few daring students had promised to try to get out to the docks to complete their post-graduation swim, but no one expected them to be successful.

This year, the school cafeteria served a post- graduation meal after which everyone headed home. The cafeteria wasn’t exactly the kind of place anyone wanted to spend more time than necessary - especially those who just graduated!

Jill, Beth, and Mattie walked home together after their graduation lunch. They complained about the ceremony, the meal, and, surprisingly, even about the upcoming summer. If today was any example of what the rest of the summer would bring, it couldn’t be over soon enough.

Another of the producer’s restrictions was placed on the traffic patterns through town. Because Riverside was so small, being told to stay off Main Street on certain days (and these days were, of course, subject to change without notice) did not go over well with many of the residents. Anyone who needed to drive through town to get to or from work or any other activity during restricted hours needed to park at one end of town or the other and walk, or drive all the way around the east side of town - over the mountains.

The worst restriction for the girls was that swimming was not allowed near the dock on any day the film crew was within a mile of the General Store. Swimming was the one thing they truly enjoyed every summer. To make things worse, the General Store was the main “prop” for the movie. If it weren’t for all the extra activity, Riverside would have rapidly turned into a ghost town.

Beth and Mattie didn’t realize how hastily some of Riverside’s residents would leave town this summer. It was only two days after graduation, but many of the seniors already left for vacation. Mattie, Beth, and Jill hadn’t made plans to leave - yet. They planned to take the summer one day at a time. For today, they would get as close as they could get to the filming and watch for a while - if they were allowed. Maybe there’d be a need for extras already! In the least, they could kill some time and see what their summer would be like. Upon their arrival at the General Store, however, the girls became aware that, apparently, today’s scene was a secret and no one was allowed close enough to see anything good. Once again, Riverside being in a movie did not seem so fun to anyone.

“How long do you think we’ll be prisoners here, Beth?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think you need to send up the SOS just yet, Jill. I don’t think these guys will stick around too long if they realize that even the friendliest town in America is beginning to hate them.”

“Either they’ll leave, or they’ll take our whole town hostage and demand money.” Everyone laughed at Mattie’s speculation.

Beth motioned toward the tall, intimidating security guard watching the crowds. “Could you imagine? They’d have no trouble taking over a town like ours. Especially if all their security is as tall and fit as he is.”

Mattie smiled at her sister. “I certainly wouldn’t stand up to him!”

The three laughed the rest of the afternoon away until they had to go home. At least they had each other. Next week would be better, they decided. The General Store would be open and, because filming was taking place at the Bed-n-Breakfast, they could all go swimming from the dock. Fortunately, it was supposed to be hot and dry! That was good on more than one level - the less rain Riverside got this summer, the better. Rain would only postpone the filming another day.

It didn’t take long for the Three Musketeers, as they were often called, to decide to take a vacation themselves. They wanted to go to a big city. Jill moved to Riverside from just outside New York City several years ago. She tried to convince Mattie and Beth that although she’d love to go back for a visit, it wasn’t the kind of place that was as much fun to live in. Being in Riverside for so long now, Jill could appreciate how much she came to enjoy the laid back, slower, more relaxed life she found here. Regardless, they spent hours talking about what cities were close enough that they might be able to visit for a quick summer getaway.

Mattie and Beth had been born and raised right in Riverside and had never been far outside Riverside or the surrounding area. They took occasional family vacations, but had never actually left Vermont. Their mom moved to Riverside from New York City before she met their father and never had any desire to return. She told the girls that the memories of her life in the city were too painful. All Beth and Mattie knew was that their mother had no contact with her parents and no effort was ever made. At the risk of seeing their mom in pain, neither girl ever pushed the issue or questioned their mother’s decision, although neither of them understood the decision at all. Sometimes, avoiding the city made them feel like prisoners inside their small town, especially as they became older and realized how much great, big world really was out there. With the thoughts of a possible vacation, their excitement about the summer returned.

“Don’t you care what I think? Aren’t you even going to ask why I want to go so badly? You can’t keep me here forever!”

Mattie’s mom was caught off guard by her daughter’s sudden hostility. “Calm down. Relax. I just said I didn’t think it was a super idea, that’s all. Jill grew up in the city. It’s more reasonable that she’d go back on vacation. Why don’t you and Beth suggest something smaller for your trip? I’m not against the three of you going away - just against the three of you alone in New York City.”

“No! The idea is to get away from this, to see what city life is like. I don’t plan to spend four years in Community College. There are already great colleges calling me and writing. Some of them seem really cool. And some of them are in big cities. What will you do in a year or two if Beth or I decide to choose another school to finish our education? I may just choose a school in a big city! You can’t lock me up here and forget about me.”

“Just give me time to think about it. Let me call Jill’s mom and see what she thinks. For all you know, Jill is having this same conversation with her mother right now. And, besides that, I haven’t even been able to talk to Beth about this yet. Does she even want to go?”

“Of course. She wants to go as badly as I do. I just told her I’d ask - I didn’t think you’d have such a problem with the idea. And, I know Jill is not having this same conversation with her mom. Her mom understands the need to have experiences and enjoy life.” Realizing she had probably been a little rough, considering her mom, Stephanie, seemed particularly distracted lately, Mattie decided to leave while she had the chance and wasn’t grounded yet for the way she had talked.

Beth came in the back door as Mattie slammed the front door and stormed out (one last display of anger couldn’t hurt). Beth found her mother in the kitchen making dinner and started to ask what was wrong but decided against it. Her mother’s scowled face wasn’t exactly the response she’d expected when she said hello. Instead, she decided to go back out and try to find Mattie. Even if Mattie were mad, nothing would be worse than upsetting her mother even more. This week was especially bad. Their father had just left for his annual cross-country business trip and Stephanie always became grouchy when Matthew was away for any length of time. If it was possible, this week was even worse than normal. This week, Stephanie seemed anxious as well. The girls felt as if they were walking on eggshells since their dad left. There was an intensity in the house neither girl had ever experienced before. And, after Mattie’s outburst, it was bound to get worse.

“What happened in there? You left awful quickly!”

“I hope you didn’t want to go to the city with Jill too much. Mom just threw a fit because she doesn’t want us to go. Beth, I have to get out of here!

“Mattie threw herself down on the front lawn and looked up at her sister with a pout.

“Okay, calm down. You only asked her once. We can talk to her later and see what happens. She seemed distracted again today anyway. Maybe she really didn’t think about it if her mind was somewhere else.”

“Yeah, I guess. We’ll have more time later anyway. I just hope she relaxes a little. Have you noticed how stressed she seems since dad left? It’s more than her typical, miserable, moping, ‘I miss Matthew,’ this week.”

“I noticed it, too, but I figured maybe it was because of all the pressure from getting everything ready for him to leave right after graduation. She had tons to get done last week.”

“That might be all, but I’ll be honest - I’m a little worried about her. She doesn’t typically unravel when dad leaves town. This week, though, she seems to be coming apart at the seams.”

For the next hour or so, Mattie and Beth discussed if, how, and when they should bring up the topic of their vacation again. They decided to wait and see how dinner went. If their mom seemed calmer and less distracted, maybe later tonight would be the perfect time. This time they would ask together.

Then again, maybe not...

“So, Beth, what’s this Mattie told me about the two of you wanting to leave Riverside when it’s at its most exciting? There’s more to see here than ever before, and you want to leave just so you can go spend time in some overcrowded, polluted, crime-infested city alone with Jill.”

Mattie spoke before Beth had a chance to answer. “Gee, Mom, you make it sound so intriguing. It’s a shame you’re too narrow-minded to realize there are some places out there that aren’t as bad as you want them to be! I can’t help it that you grew up in the city and still hate it so much we can’t even talk about it!”

“Madeline Jane! You should know better than to speak to me like that. Especially for the second time today! Get upstairs until you calm down and can apologize to me. Take your dinner with you. There’s no reason to waste it. Beth, you stay here. I’ll need help cleaning up.”

“So, who’s getting punished here, anyway?” Beth stopped short, knowing by the look on her mother’s face that it was time to quit. She was not standing on the most solid ground right now, and she knew it. For the rest of the evening, Mattie moped in her room and Beth sat outside on the porch swing. Morning couldn’t come soon enough for anyone in the household. No one, however, expected it to come as early as it did...

The phone startled Mattie awake. She glanced at her alarm clock. It was only three thirty in the morning. Who was calling this early? Whoever it was, Stephanie answered it before the second ring. She must have been waiting – surely, she hadn’t awoken from a deep sleep and answered the phone that quickly. She sounded wide-awake.

“Hello. ... Yes, today is still fine. ... I’ll leave now and be there in about five hours. ... I’ll see you then. ... Bye. ... Who? ... No, I’ll be alone. ... Yes, I’m sure. ... I’m not ready for that yet. ... Okay, bye.”

Mattie stayed in her room. With her door open slightly, she could hear everything that had been said. The only thing she didn’t understand was who was calling and why. Was her mom really expecting the call? Or, had the phone rung more than once and Mattie just didn’t realize it because she was in such a deep sleep?

She heard her mother moving around quietly in her bedroom. A moment of panic hit - was something wrong with their father? No. Her mother seemed to be expecting this call. As Mattie’s mind continued to race, examining all the possibilities she could imagine, her anxiety rose and soon she was in a state of panic. Was Beth awake, too? Did she hear the phone call? Was it all a dream? A nightmare? No, it couldn’t be; it had to be real. She was awake; she was wide-awake.

Mattie remained as quiet as possible but she still needed to strain her ears to listen to what was going on in her mother’s room. Her mom was being very careful not to make a sound. But, if she listened close enough, Mattie knew just where her mother was. She had gotten out of bed when the phone rang. Now, she was standing in the doorway. She must have been ready and waiting to leave because it was not long before Mattie heard her mother go downstairs.

As the anxiety wore off and Mattie’s curiosity rose, fatigue took over the fear and she became quite tired again. It was the car that woke her next. Their mother was leaving! Mattie jumped out of bed and leapt to the window. She opened the blinds just in time to see her mother’s car driving off up the road. Mattie had a sick feeling that something was wrong. Her mother was a careful, deliberate person. She planned everything out. And, she always told them what her plans were. Stephanie didn’t like spontaneity. She told the girls that acting without thinking would only lead to trouble. This certainly wasn’t like her at all. Along with Stephanie’s exceedingly strange behavior lately, Mattie worried about what her mother was doing.

She eventually relaxed enough to fall back to sleep. It appeared as though Beth had never woken up. At 8:00, Mattie’s alarm went off. She got up and went to her mother’s room. It was not unusual for the room to be empty - their mother left for work at 7:30 every morning. This morning was different, though. Mattie scanned the room. She looked for a note, a hint, a clue. Anything that would tell her where her mother had gone in such a hurry so early this morning. She felt a little guilty as she looked around, because she really had no business searching through her mother’s things. That’s probably why she startled so easily when Beth came in.

“What happened last night, Mattie?” So Beth had been awake. Mattie thought the phone must have woken Beth up, but she wasn’t sure.

“What do you mean?”

“I heard the phone ring, I heard Mom get up, and I know she went somewhere. What’s wrong?”

“Do you really think I know any more than you do? It was about three thirty when the phone rang. I only heard one ring, so either I woke up just as she answered it or she was waiting for it to ring. By four, Mom was leaving. I was just in here now hoping she left a note or something that would tell us where she went in such a rush.”

For the next hour or so, Mattie and Beth searched the house for clues. Their mother left no sign that anything unusual had happened. But, not by mistake - she went to great lengths to cover up any evidence that today was not just another normal day. She even erased the number that called from the caller ID on every phone in the house. To anyone else, anyone who had not been in the house early this morning, it would look as if she had simply gone off to work and would be walking back in the door again by five. The fact that Stephanie wanted to hide all evidence of the phone call confirmed Mattie and Beth’s suspicions that something was wrong.

Just then, the phone rang. Mattie and Beth jumped. They both stared at the phone. Did they really want to answer it? What if it was their mother? What if something was wrong?

“Hello.” Mattie made the decision to answer it first. “Hi, yeah, it’s Mattie. ... Oh, hi, Jill. ... Sorry, I didn’t recognize your voice. ... It’s been a long morning already. ... Sure, you can come over anytime. ... Okay, bye.”

“Is she coming over now?” Beth sounded stressed that they would be getting company so early this morning.

“Yeah, she’ll be ready to come over shortly. She said about ten minutes.”

“Should we tell her what happened this morning?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we should wait. We can tell her tomorrow if Mom doesn’t get home before then.” They looked at one another dazed. Although each of them realized the possibility, they were both surprised when Mattie verbalized that their mom may not come home tonight. Neither one of them really knew.

Jill always knocked so softly on the door. Beth and Mattie hardly heard her sometimes. Today it was a strong, loud knock that startled both of them out of their conversation. Maybe it seemed so loud because they really hadn’t expected Jill so quickly and still were unsure about what to tell her.

“What happened here this morning? You guys look terrible. Is something wrong?”

“No, not really. Well, not that I know of - I hope.” Mattie’s answer was clearly hesitant, but she wasn’t sure what exactly to say.

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with this, would it?"

Mattie and Beth stared in surprise. Then they glanced at each other.

“Where did you find that?” Beth screamed in surprise, grabbing the paper from Jill’s hand.

It took Jill a moment to recover from the force of the question, but she finally answered. “Whoa, relax. I just picked it up from the edge of a puddle in your driveway. Don’t worry, I didn’t look at it too long, not once I realized it was your mom’s handwriting, anyway.”

Beth apologized and explained she didn’t sleep well the night before. They invited Jill inside and decided to tell her what happened.

Turning the paper over in

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: Heather M. Borger
Bildmaterialien: Eric Bocich
Lektorat: Kelly Bocich
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 21.08.2013
ISBN: 978-3-7309-4482-0

Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Widmung:
For my family, who allowed me to escape to Riverside whenever I needed.