Lacy walked the three
blocks to the local grocery store wondering why she was always the one to get
stuck going to get the stuff they needed to complete the meal that was on the
agenda for their supper. After all, her sister was a year older than her at fifteen, so why wasn’t she the
one that had to go to the store. What
did her mother think she was, some
puppet that all she had to do was pull the strings and make her dance to
whatever tune she wanted?
She angrily strode into
the store and grabbed a basket. Since all she needed was a head of lettuce, portabella mushrooms, and an
onion, there was no reason to push a grocery cart around. Five minutes was all the longer it took her
long to grab the items she needed and then she moved to the register to pay for
her purchases.
As she stood in line,
the conversation of the women ahead of her caught her attention. Both women were in there mid to late sixties,
one’s hair was dyed cotton candy pink and the other’s was dyed baby blue. The one with the pink hair—Dorothy Milner—was
speaking, saying, “Did you hear about what happened last winter?”
Blue hair’s—Genevieve Holden—eyes widened, a
gleam coming into her eyes as she said, “Yes!
My daughter Maurice told me all about it. Can you imagine? How could someone think they would get away
after letting something like that happen?”
Pink hair nodded. “He was a monster, that’s for sure.”
Blue hair covered her
mouth with her hand as her eyes caught Lacy in line behind them. She leaned closer to Pink hair and said, “We
better change the subject. After all, wasn’t it her sister that it
happened to?”
Lacy paid for her
purchases and as she thought about what the two women had said on her way back
home, she vaguely remembered overhearing an argument her parents had had. Lenora’s name had come up as had Coach
Clemment’s. She remembered her mother’s
voice sounding choked up as she’d said, “If it hadn’t been for Coach Clemment’s
stopping that monster from hurting Lenora…” she’d broken down in sobs.
Lacy recalled hearing
the sound of a chair scraping on the floor and then her father had said, “It’s
all right Elaine. She’s safe now and that
boy wasn’t able to harm her.”
Her mother’s voice was
muffled and Lacy had to strain to hear her as she’d said, “I just can’t get over
how close we came to losing her. Who
would have thought that a seventeen year old boy could be a serial killer?”
Lacy was brought back to
the present as their dog Shep bumped her leg.
She looked up at her house and for some reason her eyes were drawn to
the third floor where Lenora liked to spend all of her time. She saw her up there now, standing at the
window as if she were anxiously waiting.
There was a look of relief on her face on seeing Lacy, and the younger
girl raised a hand and waved as she grinned up at her sister.
Lenora smiled.
Lacy hurried up the stairs
and deposited her bounty on the kitchen table as her mother turned from the
sink and smiled. “Thank you for going to
the store.”
Lacy smiled, ashamed now
for her earlier tantrum. “Anytime,
Mom. I really don’t mind.”
Elaine gave her an odd
look but just smiled and went back to preparing the evening meal.
Lacy raced up the
stairs, stopping at her room to grab the chess set that was her most prized
possession, and then raced up the stairs to the third floor and knocked on the
door. When it was cautiously opened,
Lacy grinned at her sister standing in the doorway and held up the chess
set. “Would you like to play?”
A beautiful smile was
her response.
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