Revenge of Cornelius, Page 2

  3

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  "I'm about to make some sandwiches. Wanna help?" Sara was tying her apron in the kitchen.

  "Sure, Mom." Mira proceeded over to a side table and grabbed the freshly baked bread sitting on a silver pan.

  "When did you bake this?" She started slicing the loaf.

  "A few hours ago. It's not so warm anymore, huh?"

  "No, but surely smells tasty."

  Sara retrieved the cold cuts from the refrigerator.

  "Are you sure Dad's okay, Mom?"

  "He's doing fine, dear, except for the back pain he whines about occasionally," Sara affirmed.

  Mira sat on one of the stools next to the counter and helped her mother make the sandwiches.

  "What makes you wonder?" Sara looked at her.

  "I don't know. He just seems a little different—mellower I guess."

  "Well, that should be expected. Your father's not as young as he used to be. People do tend to get mellower as they age. Don't you think I have?"

  "No, Mom. I think not." Mira smirked.

  Sara chuckled.

  "So any new prospects lately?" Sara kept her eyes on the sandwich she was preparing.

  Mira looked at her mother cross-eyed. "What do you mean by prospects?"

  "You know... you met anyone special yet?"

  "Mom, must we always have this conversation? You ask me the same thing at least every three months."

  "That's because, you know…you're twenty-eight now, sweet pea and I think it's time that you settled down with someone nice."

  "Is this a conspiracy with you and Dad?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Dad questioned me about whether I'm going back to school or not and now, in the same hour, you're asking me about my love life."

  "There's no conspiracy, dear." Sara's eyes met hers. "But do you have one?"

  "What?" Mira scowled. "Do I have what?"

  "A love life."

  Mira sighed hopelessly.

  "Bobby Newton's been asking about you a lot lately."

  "For what?"

  "He's been a little subtle about it at first," Sara went on, "but I notice that every time you come home to visit, he makes it a point to come see you. He's also been helping your father out in the yard most weekends and helps us with practically anything else we might need."

  "Really?" Mira asked.

  "Really."

  "Why didn't you tell me he was keeping you guys so hot?"

  "Well, I'm telling you now." Sara stopped what she was doing and leaned over the counter. "One day, I came right out and asked him."

  "Pray tell, what?" Mira was gearing up for the disclosure.

  "If he liked you."

  "Mom…you didn't!"

  "I certainly did!" Sara straightened up again. "It was obvious that he did and I could see that he was just too shy to reveal it."

  "What did he say?"

  "Do you really want to know?" Sara seemed eager.

  Mira thought for a moment and sighed again. "To be honest with you, Mom... No, I don't really wanna know. Bobby's a nice guy and all, but I'm not interested. I just wanna focus on me and Rosie. I don't have any room in my life for a relationship."

  Sara's heart sank. "Mira!"

  "What?"

  "How can you say that? That you don't have any room in your life for a relationship? Don't you want to settle down with someone you can share your life with and grow old together with?"

  "I can do that with my daughter, Mom."

  "Now, that answer was just plain silly!" Sara's hands were at the waist.

  "Not to me."

  "For your information, dear, Rosie is going to grow up someday and meet a nice, handsome fella of her own. She's not going to court you, my dear. She'll have her own life to live." She leaned over the counter again. "Look…you've known Bobby ever since grade school and you two have always gotten along so well. Why not give him a chance? He is interested; he straight out told me."

  Mira was quiet. Sara could tell that she was analyzing all of the information.

  "I'm not interested, Mom," she finally replied.

  Sara exhaled heavily. "I can't believe you, Mira!" She was shaking her head. "No man's ever going to be good enough for you. I'm right. Ain't I?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about. Why are you making such a big deal of this anyway?" Mira was becoming agitated. "I'm a grown woman now, Mom. If I choose to be by myself for the rest of my life, that's my prerogative. I'm not saying that's what I want. It's just that…"

  "No one can ever fit the bill," Sara interjected. "You know what I'm talking about."

  "I have no idea, Mom. I really don't."

  Sara walked around the counter and sat next to Mira. "Every single fella I knew that showed the slightest interest in you, you push them away."

  "You've lost me there."

  "Take Rosie's father, for instance. The guy just forgot your birthday and you dumped him!"

  "Mother, for your information, Cody and I had been dating for a full two years. There was no excuse for him not to remember my birthday," Mira countered. "Furthermore, it was more than just that."

  "Sweet pea, you know that's all it was. Cody was a real gentleman who treated you so well the time you were together. No amount of calls or pleading on his part prompted you to take him back after you broke up with him. I never understood how you could do that."

  "You weren't in the relationship with him, Mom. You couldn't see his stupid flaws. Furthermore, if he was such a nice guy and a gentleman as you say, how come after he saw that I wasn't getting back with him, he moved away and seemingly forgot he had a daughter. Such a nice guy he is!"

  "You're right about that," Sara agreed. "He's so wrong and he'll regret that one day, but let's not make this about Cody…I'm talking about you. Ever since that incident with Karlen Key and Andy all those years ago, you've taken on the viewpoint that love relationships must be perfect—like theirs was."

  "I really don't know what you're talking about." Mira looked away momentarily.

  "Don't you remember what you said to me that very evening after Karlen and Andy were re-united?"

  "No."

  "I remember. You said that when you grew up, you would never fall in love with a man if he wasn't like Andy."

  "The revelation instantly jogged Mira's memory."

  "You said that he was the perfect man and you wanted to have a relationship just like theirs when you grew up," Sara continued.

  Mira was silent.

  "I think I understand now. You don’t think you've found the man that's measured up to the standards you've set based on those qualities you saw in Andy."

  "That's ridiculous," Mira finally responded.

  "No, it's not and you know I'm right, dear. I realize that experience you had all those years ago - witnessing the extremely passionate, undying love they had for one another made a lasting imprint in your young mind of what love between a couple should be like. But sweetheart, I'm going to be honest with you... Romantic relationships require work. When the butterflies in the stomach settle down, couples tend to come back to reality. The struggles, hardships and disagreements set in and if the love is true and pure from the beginning, it can survive. What you didn't see were the struggles, hardships and disagreements Karlen and Andy might have had with each other when they were courting. You didn't see the attitudes and personalities that clashed from time to time. You just saw the most meaningful part—which is how strong and lasting their love was that even transcended death and that's what was so beautiful and gave you the outlook on life you have today."

  "I don't know, Mom. You've arrived at such a deep conclusion to a simple matter," Mira said.

  Sara gently stroked her daughter's hair, then got up and walked back around the counter.

  "Just think about what I said. I know when you and your brother were younger, you didn't see much affection coming my way from your father and I know that's not what you want for y
our life. But you know your father is a different man now and these past fifteen years have made up for all the years prior to that. He's more loving, affectionate and although he's still not much of a talker, he communicates way more than he used to. Our love may not be a fairy-tale type of romance, but it's true love and as we're growing old together, we're both grateful that we're here for each other and enjoying life. That's what I want for you—someone you can share your life with in a loving, caring way." She placed two sandwiches on a tray. "I'm going to take these to your father and Rosie."

  Mira sat at the kitchen counter, surprised that her mother had even brought up the Karlen and Andy saga.

  She pulled up one of the sandwiches and took a bite. Her mother was beginning to get inside her head. Maybe she's right, she thought. Then in a split second, she decided that she still felt the same way as before and nothing her mother said was going to change that.

  That night…

  Mira was helping Rosie with her pajama top. The little one had just finished her bubble bath.

  "Why do you always do this, Mom? I'm old enough to do it myself," Rosie stated matter-of-factly.

  Just then, Sara appeared at the door. "So you're ready for bed now, huh?"

  "Yes, Nana," Rosie answered cheerfully. "Umm…Nana, may I watch one more program with Pops before I go to sleep?"

  "Now, pumpkin…" Sara stepped further into the room, "…that's completely up to your mother." She glanced at Mira.

  "Mom, can I?" Rosie made her plea.

  "Honey, it's late. It's actually almost ten o'clock now." Mira glanced at the clock affixed to the wall. "You and Dad have watched television for hours already. Dad has to get some sleep and so do you. There's always tomorrow, okay?"

  Sara smiled as she looked on.

  "Okay, Mom." Rosie pouted a little as she climbed into bed.

  Mira walked toward her mother. "Can they ever get enough of that TV?" Mira remarked. "She's not interested nearly as much when we're home."

  "That's because that is their special thing," Sara responded. "Whenever your father passes on…" she lowered her voice to a whisper, "…that's most likely the thing she'll miss the most. They're creating memories that will last a lifetime. Have a good night, dear." She patted Mira's shoulder and left the room.

  4

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  After breakfast, Rosie and her grandfather busied themselves with a game of Checkers. Mira washed the dishes, then sauntered out into the western side of the yard where her parents had placed two adjustable patio chairs side by side near the plum tree. She reached up and snatched a few plums, then stretched out in one of the tilted chairs.

  As she sucked the delectable flesh of plum, the early sun met her ankles. She welcomed the warm glow that soaked through her strapped sandals.

  "There you are!" Sara said. "I was wondering where you had disappeared to."

  "This was really a cool idea putting these chairs in this spot." Mira spat out a seed and put another plum in her mouth.

  "It's better than being on the front porch," Sara noted, sitting in the other chair. "There's no shade there, so when the sun's piping hot, you've got to get indoors unless you're looking for a tan."

  There was a brief silence.

  "Your father and I are taking Rosie to the theme park today. I just told her before I came out here."

  "That's great. She'll love it."

  "Afterwards, we're going for cake and ice-cream. I haven't told her that part yet, though," Sara giggled.

  "You're trying to do all of that today?" Mira asked.

  "Sure. Why not? We'll leave around noon, so we'll have plenty of time to get everything in."

  "I just think it's a lot for you and Dad to do. You'll most likely be at the park for hours and after that, you'll all be tired—except maybe for Rosie. Whenever I go there, the only thing I wanna do right after is come home and go to sleep."

  "That's because you young people are not as strong sometimes as us older folks. Wiser, but weaker…"

  "Sure, Mom," Mira smirked.

  "I took these two weeks' vacation because I wanted to spend as much time as I can with you guys and I plan to get in as much fun time as possible. I thought Rosie was excited about going to the theme park, but your father is even more excited than she is!"

  A sudden burst of laughter escaped the house. "I win! I win!" They heard Rosie exclaim.

  Mira and Sara laughed.

  "It's like no one else on earth matters once she's with her Pops." Sara smiled.

  "So true."

  At that moment, Mira's attention shifted toward the far, southern end of the street.

  Sara could not help but notice the length of her daughter's stare. "Did I ever tell you that a family moved into that house?" she asked.

  "What house?"

  "Cornelius Ferguson's house."

  Mira gaped at her mother. "Really? When?"

  "A few months ago, a senator and his family moved in after fixing up the place pretty good. The house was vacant for well over a decade, so they must have had a great deal of work to get that place inhabitable. By the way, they're colored folks too," Sara noted.

  Mira sat straight up—clearly stunned. "I wonder if they heard the stories."

  "I have no idea. I heard the husband isn't very friendly and the wife rarely associates with anyone around here neither, so I couldn’t tell you what they know."

  Mira leaned slowly back again. "Well, maybe they're doing just fine at the house since Karlen's no longer there. I would think it's nice and peaceful just like any other house would be. I'm surprised that it remained empty all those years after she moved on."

  "You might be forgetting, sweet pea that only a handful of people knew that Karlen moved on. People around this town fear that once a place was haunted, it's always haunted anyway, so if they knew or not, it might not have made a difference."

  "Did they save most of the bearing trees?" Mira asked. "I can still see a few from here."

  "Most of the trees that were there in front of the property are still there," Sara returned. "They cleared down the entrance that leads to the house starting more at the right side of where the fence used to be. I guess they didn't have the heart to uproot all those lovely, fruit-bearing trees. They did a really nice job with the driveway. You can't see it from here."

  Suddenly, Mira had an idea. "Maybe Rosie and I will pay them a visit. What's their surname?"

  "Benjamin, I think. Mira, you really don't want to intrude. Some people would rather be left alone." Sara seemed flabbergasted by the very idea.

  "True, Mom, but I'm sure just going and introducing myself will only be interpreted as my being neighborly and nothing more."

  "You're not going to mention anything; are you?"

  "I… don't think so. Don't see any need for that right now," Mira replied.

  Laughter erupted again from the inside. "This time you lose!" Michael blurted.

  Rosie was giggling even louder than before. "I saw what you did, Pops! You cheater!"

  Her words pulled Mira into a flashback of when she and Wade did anything competitively—she always accused him of cheating.

  "Wade and I used to fry fish in this very spot," Mira indicated with her chin. "We never told you that."

  "You didn't have to." Sara smiled. "A mother always knows when her kids are up to something even if she never breathes one word of it. I can only imagine some of the other things you and your brother got into when my and your father's backs were turned."

  "I don't think you wanna know, Mom." Mira was obviously taunting her mother with curiosity.

  "So, you're going to keep the rest to yourself, huh?"

  "Mum's, the word."

  "Well, you just go right ahead, sweet pea." Sara got up. "Have to head inside now and fold some laundry, then I'll get a little rest before it's time for us to leave. Are you coming with us?"

  "I'm not sure," Mira replied. "I may just let you guys go and have fun without me. Y
ou usually do, anyway, everytime Rosie and I come down."

  "Aww… such a baby. It's your own fault if your daughter thinks you're not 'fun' enough to hang with Nana and Pops."

  Sara's smile was undoubtedly sickening. She cheerfully walked off and disappeared around the bend.

  For the longest time, Mira sat alone thinking about the new residents of the Ferguson house. The more she thought about the prospect of going anywhere near the place again, the more interested she became. She soon got up, picked a few more plums then headed back inside. Peeking into her parents' room, she saw that her father and Rosie had quieted down and were watching television together in bed.

  "What's on?" She stood at the door with arms folded.

  "The Friendly Ghost." Rosie glanced up at Mira. She was lying on her stomach in the opposite direction of her grandfather with her face cupped inside her little hands. Michael was resting on his back with fingers interlocked behind his head.

  "Don't you ever get tired of scary pictures?" Mira asked Rosie.

  Michael laughed. "Did you ever get tired of them when you were her age?"

  "Dad!"

  "What?" Michael looked her way.

  "I didn't want her to know I did the same thing!" She spoke in a coarse whisper.

  "I hear you, Mom," Rosie sang.

  Michael sighed. "Does she ever have bad dreams after watching supposed scary pictures?" he asked Mira.

  "No."

  "Well, leave her be! She's a tough kid. What might give you the shakes, probably won't faze her."

  Mira walked in and sat next to Rosie. "Wanna go for a walk?"

  "Now?" Rosie inquired.

  "Yeah, but I can wait until your picture's over if you want."

  Rosie looked back at her grandfather. He could tell she was wondering if he would be disappointed if she left.

  "Go ahead. We have a full two weeks to watch TV together," Michael assured her.

  "Okay, Pops!" She scooted up and kissed him on the cheek. Mom and I won't be long. Would we, Mom?"

  "No sweetheart. We won't be long."

  "Okay then. I'll put on my shoes and make sure my hair is fixed nicely."

  "Good girl," Mira said as Rosie skipped out of the room. "What on earth have you done to her, Dad?"

  Michael arched his brows. "Me? I haven't done a thing."