Regina (6 page)

“I don’t think so sweetie. I don’t feel in
the mood to go to town. I think I just want to go back.”

“Oh come on daddy! Let’s go into town and get
out a little.” I poked his arm safely with my elbow while I smiled
for him. I thought he would laugh and come out of his mood but that
didn’t happen. His face turned cold, his eyes became hard blocks of
hatred. My smile fell immediately. “I’m sorry daddy! I just wanted
to help you. Everyone seemed so upset this morning I wanted to make
you smile.”

Then, my old daddy returned. His face
softened and his lips relaxed. A smile did cross his face but it
looked ....as if she was faking it.

“Thanks G. Why don’t we go to that thrift
store we saw just off Main Street Yesterday?”

Daddy was cool and let me drive us there. I
have a temporary permit until June thirteenth, my sixteenth
birthday! However, my excitement was short lived when I realized
the road I was driving was definitely from my dreams.

While we were at the thrift shop, I saw the
same girl from the store yesterday. She was looking at the book
section, reading the covers with care. As she turned around and
headed in my direction, I couldn’t help but make eye contact with
her.

Those brown eyes instantly connected with
mine. A smile began to form on her face as she stopped in front of
me. Her frame was stiff, and she walked as if she was nervous. Her
fingers fiddled with the hem of her sheer yellow skirt.

“Hi. Do I know you?” She asked. Her voice was
light as air, and her lips were smiling at me. Her eyes searched
mine as if she really did know me.

“I don’t think so, I’m just visiting. My name
is Regina Roth.” I said to her.

“I’m Katie. Katie Kramer.” Her soft, smooth
hand extended out to mine. I shook it politely, she had a tight
grip! “Roth? Are you related to the Underwoods?”

“Uh, yes, George and Lydia are my
grandparents. I’m here for her funeral.”

“Oh! Mrs. Underwood was my mother’s teacher
when she was a little girl. You’re Lynda’s daughter, right?” Katie
exclaimed words were coming out of her like a river.

“That’s right.”

“I bet you’re excited to meet Michael and
Mekayla.” Her eyebrows rose at me. She looked so happy to be having
this conversation with me.

My eyes scrunched in confusion. “Michael and
Mekayla?”

“Yes, uh…..Well, um, we haven’t met all the
family yet. We live in New York and haven’t been in these parts
since I married Regina’s mom.” The words stumbled out of Dad’s
mouth as he joined our conversation. I didn’t even see him beside
me. He didn’t introduce himself, but he gave Katie a cold stare.
Okay, awkward. “I’m done looking. Are you ready to go, Regina?”

Katie was polite and nodded to him. I asked
him for a minute and talked to Katie for a little longer. I found
out she was sixteen and going to be a junior. She liked living in
Lee but dreamed of leaving to move to New York or California. At
one point, Katie whispered in my ear while daddy was
distracted.

“I know you’re here for a funeral, but
there’s a bunch of us getting together at Charles Turner’s house
tomorrow night. Wanna come?” She asked.

“Oh yeah! What’s your phone number?” I asked,
taking out my cell phone.

After we exchanged our numbers, daddy and I
finished our shopping, we headed home. I tried to call Jane and
Jeff while I was in town and had service, but I got their
voicemails. I got to drive again and that made me happy. Though, I
was a little angry and confused at my parents for not telling me
about my so called cousins. Obviously, he didn’t want to talk about
anything and looked at the road on the way home. His exhaustion
seemed to return.

When we pulled up to the house, we saw mom’s
car was still gone. We had been away for at least over two hours.
Daddy and I went into the kitchen to start making lunch. The drive
home gave me time to think about this town. I guess it wasn’t so
bad for a first day.

“Daddy?” I asked with my front turned to the
sink, looking out the window.

“Yes Regina?” His voice croaked.

“When I was talking to Katie, you said we
haven’t met all the family yet? Who else lives here?”

“Your mother’s sister, Rachel and her two
children.” He said with a flat voice. He was paying attention to
his phone at the moment, and trying to ignore me.

Obviously, he wasn’t going to tell me
anything unless I asked him first. I spun around to look at him.
His blue eyes were cold, voided of any emotion for me. I was taken
aback by his lack of love. It was as if this man in front of me
felt nothing but hatred for me, his daughter.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me about her before?
Why didn’t I know I had an aunt and cousins? I have family?” I
asked.

“The same reason we didn’t consult you about
coming here, you are a child and you do what your mother and I tell
you and that’s it. Nothing further.”

A cold shiver ran up my spine and I stopped
arguing with this man. I knew it was pointless. This subtle change
in my father’s mood was becoming not so subtle anymore.

I backed away from the room. My father’s cold
blue eyes followed me the whole way. It reminded me of when little
Regan from that movie did the same to the priest who came to give
her an exorcism. His face was like stone, forever holding the
murderous look on his face.

What did I do to get that sort of reaction? I
wondered. I have only seen dad become like this when I told him
Grandma Lydia died. I ran thru the living room and out the door. I
kept going till I was safely behind the tree line. Looking back, I
saw my father standing on the porch, looking out at the water. From
this distance, I could see he still held the vicious look on his
face.

Chapter Eight

Mom and Grandpa came home after three o’clock
in the afternoon and immediately went to their rooms to rest. I
don’t know what dad did during that time but I stayed away in the
woods while the sun was up. I grabbed Grandpa’s big rubber boots to
protect my feet at the lake and put them on. I found comfort as I
wandered around. You never get to do this in the city, without
annoying traffic. I walked to the lake to be by myself and as far
from dad as possible. I turned around to look at the house, I was
pretty far enough to see the entire house. When I looked at it, I
felt something growing inside. It moved the walls and roof with a
rhythmic heartbeat. I closed my eyes tight and re-opened them.

I felt like I was in a purple mist. The sky
above me turned brown and the clouds changed to purple. I couldn’t
see where I was anymore, but the mist cleared after a few moments
and suddenly I was standing on a wooden platform. My hands were
tied behind my back, but my legs were free. However, I failed to
notice the noose around my neck until he came towards me.

He was wearing an off white dirty sack like
gown. His beard was scruffy and his head was shaved. Serious
business was all over his face as his lips turned from a smirk to a
frown. Yellow rope was double wrapped and knotted around his waist.
It swayed on his left side as he came near me. Muscles rippled thru
his arms and legs. His neck was bulging with blood vessels. I could
see the dirt on his hands, face and under his fingernails.

In his right hand, he held a long silver
knife. The base was wide and fit easily in his large hand. It was
very long with red rubies and yellow sapphires, though I couldn’t
be sure because his hand was covering it. Whatever it was formed a
point that looked shaper than the devil. It was shiny in the
sunlight. Securely in his hand, the knife appeared to take on a
life of its own. I could feel it want to hurt me. I cringed with
fear and confusion.

It was daytime and dirt was everywhere. The
ground was nothing but dirt. It was smeared all over the faces and
clothes of the people in the crowd. These people were poor, very
poor. They wore similar sack gowns, tied with yellow ropes. A rock
barrier ran along all sides of them. Maybe we were in a little
village? I could see other people walking around, minding their own
business. Tiny shacks were set up with people selling their wares
from it. Pots, pans, vegetables, clothes and little odds and ends
were among the items sold. But rage was in the faces and attitude
of the audience in front of me. Anger was clear on their face when
they looked at me. What the hell was going on? Why do they look
like they are ready to kill me?

I was too shocked to scream out for help.
Before I realized it, the man came right at me and drove the knife
right into my chest. Feeling it touching my heart, I screamed. I
screamed and screamed while he looked into my eyes. Happiness and
joy filled his face while he pushed the knife as hard as he could
into me. Those large hands kept going until the knife went thru my
back. I screamed once more.

The people in the crowd cheered as they saw
the tip of the knife exit my back. I looked out to them in wonder
as they gave each other hugs and congratulated one another. As I
stood there, dying, I kept my eyes on him. I could now see my
executioner had blue eyes and hard features. Sweat dropped from the
sides of his face. But I saw something else in him, something that
I recognized. But before I could realize what was going on, the
purple mist returned, and I was back on Grandpa’s land.

The purple mist dissipated.

What the hell was that?!

Feeling as if something in the house was
coming for me, I bolted from the spot I stood. I ran blindly like a
chicken missing its head. My arms flapped in panic while my eyes
searched for somewhere safe. I had to find a place where I could
stop to think. My feet began to take me past the lake, towards the
highway. My phone had better service near the gate, at the end of
the driveroad. Driveroad, that’s what I call our driveway now for
it was over half a mile long. I called Renee but she was out with
her boyfriend. Next I tried Jeff. Our conversation was small and he
didn’t seem interested in what happened with daddy or the house. In
fact, it seemed a little silly once I said it out loud.

“Regina! His wife’s mother just died! Geez,
give him some space.” Jeff said in a patronizing tone. He loved
doing this to me when he thought he had the market cornered on
feelings. “So he got mad at you? He’ll get over it.”

“Well? What about never telling me about our
family? Why wouldn’t they tell me I had family here?” I asked.

“So what? They didn’t tell you about your
Aunt, big deal. Maybe she has some deep family secret? Maybe your
mother doesn’t like her. I don’t know! The point is Regina, you
don’t know why they didn’t tell you about them, so don’t judge the
situation before you know it all.” He snapped at me.

I wanted to tell him about the house and
about last night but I didn’t. “Are you ok Jeff? I didn’t mean to
make you upset.”

Whoa! What the hell did I just say? Not the
person to act like a pushover, I surprised even myself with that
response. Why would I tolerate this from a guy who is easily
replaceable?

“Yeah, I guess. Just busy this summer. I have
football camp soon and I haven’t started working out yet.”

I knew this was a big problem for him.
Football players were expected to keep in shape even in the
summertime and off-season. Jeff slacked this summer and partied
with his senior buddies too hard. His frustration was very evident
over the phone. My boyfriend is very proud of his athletic and
school record. Berkley won’t accept anyone but the best. And Jeff
strived hard to be the best. After all, Jeff Hamrel is the cutest
and most athletic guy in our school. This year, he was going to be
a senior.

I started realizing we didn’t have a lot in
common. I’m not sure why we started dating each other, but we’ve
been together for almost a year. I pictured his handsome face in my
mind as I talked to him. His slim face was oval with bright hazel
eyes and a long, perfectly pointed nose. His brown hair was usually
silky with lighter highlights. Jeff always carried a snobby,
confident smile and I can say that his smile was the first thing
about him I loved. His attitude was pretty mediocre, and I was
hoping it would improve in his last year in high school. He cared
about his parents and what they expected from him. I think he did
most of his activates to please them and not himself. His father,
famed District Attorney Jackson Hamrel Sr., just won the case
against mob boss Dominic Delgado, so his family was pretty high on
their horse right now.

After we spoke for a few more minutes, we
hung up. I felt drained as if the conversation took everything out
of me, but I did feel better about my dad and the situation. Maybe
I am overreacting and misjudged the situation. The afternoon passed
quickly for me, I continued walking the pastures and keeping an eye
out for snakes. I think I would freak out if I came across one. I
must say I was impressed with myself. The city kept me afraid of
anything that crawled. The fact that I stayed outside, in the
country all day was a monumental moment.

The afternoon started to get hot and I
couldn’t stay out here forever. With a little trepidation, I went
back to the house. Maybe daddy was over his mood. Regardless, I was
willing to go in and apologize if I said the wrong thing. I tried
my phone again when I made this decision. Since I was in a decent
size field, maybe the signal would be better.

Or maybe not. Ok, this was really starting to
piss me off! Why can I get internet but not service for my phone? I
didn’t know it at the time but Grandpa explained it to me later
that the internet connection is run underground from Lee to his
house. Therefore, the connection was constant. Our cell phone tower
was far away and the phones could barely connect with service.
Oddly enough, the only phone I could use was an old school rotary
phone. Technically, I could’ve called anyone of my friends, but the
phone bill would’ve been astronomical. Old school phone technology
blows!