Anna's Visions (18 page)

“Hey, little darlin’, it’s time to rise and shine.
Here’s some juice,” he said as Tori rose on her elbows. He sat beside her,
rubbed his temples, and added, “I really don’t feel up to the drive to Madison,
today, but I promised, and I know you won’t give me a minute’s peace until I
do.”

Tori smiled, thinking he could take her, or she’d
catch a bus. Either way, she had no intention of staying in that apartment one
more day, and she wasn’t coming back to Atlanta with him.

Cody began to pace the floor, rubbing the back of his
neck as if he were trying to figure out a complicated problem. Then he looked
at Tori. “You know, I just might like being a part of a real family.”

His expression
changed as he started pacing again and rambling, as if talking to himself.
“I feel hollow inside. Sometimes I wonder if I’m a
real human with organs, blood, and guts, or just an empty shell.”

What does he mean about being an empty shell?
she
wondered, and then she realized she knew absolutely nothing about him.

Finally, he turned and looked at her again. “Okay,
sunshine. Get out of bed. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us.”

Tori rolled off the mattress and tried to stand, but
her head was spinning and it was hard to hold her eyes open. She opened her
mouth but her tongue wouldn’t work and she couldn’t say anything.

Cody walked up behind her, wrapped his left arm around
her neck, pried her mouth open with his right hand, and pushed two capsules
into her mouth. She gagged momentarily, but she managed to swallow them.

“I know how you feel, little darlin’,” he said
forcefully. “I’ve been there many times – but I just gave you the cure. Soon
you’ll feel like a million dollars.”

“Fine,” Tori managed to say as she staggered toward
the bathroom.

Soon, she was feeling great again and found herself
singing as she showered. “Home, home, home. I’m a going home!”

Once she’d gotten dressed, she picked up her clutch
bag with the broken clasp which didn’t stay closed, and practically ran out of
the apartment, down the steps, and to the car, where she jumped into the front
seat and turned the radio up. “Okay! Let’s roll!
Next stop –
Madison!”

Cody drove out of the complex, but as they approached
the street, he seemed unsure which way to turn. As he thought about it, Tori
pulled down the visor to check her makeup – and a white business-size envelope
fell into her lap. She shoved it to the side, saying, “Your mail is between the
seats.”

Cody didn’t seem to hear her. He seemed disoriented,
but he finally managed to get to I-75.

Tori turned up the radio and started singing along. He
grabbed her hand. “Touch that radio again and I’ll break your fingers – you
understand? And stop singing, will you? I’ve got a headache.”

Tori whacked him on the arm. “Don’t tell me what to
do! And stop treating me like a child. If you have a headache, take a pill.
That’s what you’re always telling me. You’ve got a magic pill for everything,
you jackass!”

In one swift motion, Cody slammed on the brakes,
pulled the car onto the shoulder, opened the door and stepped out. “You can
drive your own crazy ass to Madison!” He opened the back door and crawled into
the back seat, where he sprawled face down.

“Fine!”
Tori said, sliding behind the wheel. She was glad to
be alone and in charge, but she couldn’t seem to keep her thoughts straight.
She was antsy, her mouth was dry, and she alternated between wanting to cry and
wanting to laugh out loud. Her mind bounced like a ping pong ball as the miles
rolled by.

Finally, she was excited to see the Madison city limit
sign. She was home! Tears filled her eyes as she drove down familiar streets,
turned onto Maple Street, and made a sharp turn into the driveway. She pushed
the car into park, jumped out, and began a run toward the house. Suddenly, she
stopped.

Where were Momma and Daddy and why hadn’t they come
out to greet her? Where was Jill?

Something was wrong.

She slowly walked back to the car, stuck her head
inside the window, and yelled, “Cody, wake up! We’re here.”

He groggily sat up, looked around, and then said
sarcastically, “So this is home?”

Tori surveyed the yard and the house. ‘This is it –
but I don’t understand. Where is everybody? I told Grammy I was coming home
today. This is Saturday, nobody’s at work, and Jill doesn’t have classes!” She
turned in circles, trying to comprehend what she was seeing. A tear lazily slid
down her cheek.

Cody stepped out of the car and stood beside her,
saying with even more sarcasm, “Maybe they don’t want to see you, Tori. Maybe
they’re mad because you sneaked off and married me. I’m sure they think you
should still be with your first love, Wes.”

Tori whacked him with her clutch bag. “Drop dead!” She
hurried to the side door of the house and turned the knob. It was locked. “They
never lock this door,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “None of this makes any
sense.” She hurried into the back yard, entered the garden shed, and found the
secret key they always kept hanging on a nail behind the door. She grabbed it and
hurried toward the house.

She unlocked the door, and rushed inside. The house
appeared empty. “I don’t understand this crap! Where is everybody?” She hurried
over to the table, searching for the note she was sure they had left her
telling her what was going on. To her amazement, she could find absolutely
nothing. Suddenly, her anger rose to a point that she could no longer control
it. She kicked a chair and began to scream like a lunatic.

Cody grabbed her hair, pulled her head back, and
shoved two pills into her mouth. He held her nose, clamped his hand over her
mouth, shouting, “Tori, get a hold of
yourself
. Now
swallow! And if you don’t stop screaming I’m going to have to break your
beautiful neck!”

As she swallowed and gasped for breath, he said, “Face
it! Apparently your oh-so-perfect family doesn’t want anything to do with you
anymore!”

She struggled to break free and her lungs felt like
they were going to explode. Her knees were weak and her eyes were painfully
bulging. She was sure darkness would claim her, but Cody finally took his hands
off her nose and mouth and pushed her into a chair, holding her down with his
weight on her shoulders.

“Sit there and calm down,” he commanded, spittle
spraying her face. “You’ve got to face the fact that your home’s in Atlanta.
I’ll have you regimented as soon as I get you away from here,” he said, and
then chuckled as he continued, “It seems like the Waltons shoved one of their
own off the mountain.”

He held Tori in the chair for several minutes until
finally she seemed to slip into a sort of trance. But he didn’t loosen his iron
grip.

Tori hugged her clutch bag to her chest, pushing the
broken clasp together several times as she swayed back and forth.

“Tori, everything is going to be okay,” he reassured
her, patting her gently on the shoulder.

She continued to sit catatonically, staring into
space, detached from reality. Nothing seemed real anymore.

Cody’s voice softened. “What do you want to take back
to Atlanta with you?”

She stood up mechanically and walked slowly toward the
staircase. “I guess I just want a few things from my room.” She made her way up
the steps, even though it felt as if her shoes were filled with lead. In her
bedroom, she sat on the edge of the bed and mumbled, “I want my dolls, my
picture albums, and some clothes.”

Cody scooped a few dolls off the shelf and shoved
several photo albums into a plastic container that Tori kept in her room for
laundry. As he headed out the bedroom door, he glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll
take this load to the car, and then I’ll come back for your clothes, so make up
your mind, fast!”

As Tori sat on the edge of the bed nervously snapping
and unsnapping her clutch bag she started singing, “Don’t shilly-shally, Silly
Willy. Don’t dilly-dally, Dip Wad,” and her voice sounded like a small child.

Cody returned to the bedroom, shoved several hangers
together, lifted the clothes off the rack, and threw them across his left
shoulder. “Come on,” he commanded, doing a half turn in her direction.

She stood and followed him downstairs like a robot
until they reached the kitchen. Then she said, “I’ve got to call Grammy.”

Cody grabbed her wrist and started pulling her toward
the door. “There’s no need to call her now. We’ll just drive out to her place
and surprise her.”

“We’ll surprise her,” Tori said as if she were a
parrot mocking his words. She lumbered onto the carport and slowly followed.
Cody threw her clothes into the trunk and slammed the lid.

Tori stood rigid like stone. Cody guided her to the
car and helped her into the backseat. As he turned the ignition, Tori asked in
a faraway voice, “Are we going to see Grammy now?” and tried to smile, but she
couldn’t part her dry lips.

“Yes,” he said, shaking his head in exasperation. “You
just lie down and I’ll tell you when we get there.”

“You have to take Old Mill Road,” Tori said. “Do you
know how to find it?”

“I’ll find it. No problem,” he sweetly said.

“Okay.” She curled up and fell into a blissful sleep.

The next thing Tori knew, Cody was opening the back
door of the car and flinging her over his shoulders like a lifeless sack of
potatoes.

“Are we there,” she asked groggily. “Do you see Grammy
and Poppy?”

Cody didn’t answer. He just carried her up the cement
stairs and into the huge apartment, where he locked the door behind him. Only
when he dumped her onto the mattress did she finally stir enough to ask for
something to drink.

A few minutes later, Cody returned with a glass of
water. As Tori reached out, Cody shoved another pill into her mouth and then
let her wash it down with the water.

Tori quickly downed the whole glass of water and asked
for another. But he handed her a shot of vodka and she knocked it back. She
snuggled against the soft pillow, and the world went black.

Anna’s Note

June 16, 1976

I finally received a phone call from Tori, but she
just rambled and made no sense. I made the mistake of asking her if she was
drunk, and she hung up on me. I held the dead phone in my hands, crying in fear
and frustration, until Poppy came in from the barn and found me.

When he asked me what was wrong, I told him that Tori
had called and I thought she had said she was coming home, but she was talking
so fast that I couldn’t make it all out.

“Well, maybe she’ll call back,” Poppy said. “Where is
she now?”

“I don’t know,” I cried. “She could be anywhere. All I
know for sure is that she’s not here, where she belongs.” I wiped sweat beads
that lined my forehead, and a cold shiver ran through my body.

I didn’t know the man’s name that Tori claimed to have
married, but I didn’t need a vision to know he was evil.
Tori
was
in trouble. And there was absolutely nothing I could do about it,
except ask God if He would send an angel to whisper in my ear and tell me
Tori’s whereabouts.

Anna West-Morgan

Chapter Thirteen

Tori had no idea where she was when she first woke up.
Then she realized that she wasn’t in Madison. She was back in Atlanta! She
looked up just in time to see Cody walk out of the bedroom, all showered,
shaved, and ready for work. He didn’t even look back, which seemed odd, but she
decided he just didn’t want to wake her.

She swung her legs off the bed, walked into the
kitchen, and watched Cody hurry down the steps and head for Emma’s apartment.
She opened the door a crack so she could listen to their conversation.

Cody banged on Emma’s apartment, yelling, “Emma, it’s
me, Cody. Come on, open up!”

Tori stepped out onto the landing and almost fell over
the railing as she leaned over to hear what Emma was going to say when she
answered the door. Tori heard the click of a lock, and then she saw Emma
standing a few steps across the threshold. Emma yawned. “Cody, what the hell do
you want this time of morning?”

“Well, a good morning to you too, doll,” Cody said,
and kissed her on the cheek.

“Listen, I have to go to work and I need you to keep
an eye on Tori for me.”

“Sure, what’s wrong with that little doll?” Emma
asked.

“Well a lot of things, actually,” Cody replied. “But
the most import thing is that she has to take her medication and she won’t
remember to take it if–”

“Oh, I’ll make sure she takes her medicine. What’s
ailing her?” Emma asked. “Give me the details,” she said as if she were about
to hear about the world’s worst affliction.

“She suffers from manic-depression. That’s–”

Emma interrupted, “Oh, I know what that is. It’s when
a person is on a high one day, and then
lower
than a
snake’s belly the next. Terrible illness,” she said, shaking her head.

“Well, in Tori’s case it’s not from day to day, it’s
from minute to minute.”

“Well, sufferin’ succotash! She’s got a bad case,”
Emma said.

Tori wondered why Doctor Harrison hadn’t diagnosed her
correctly when he told her family that she had suffered from a reaction to the
anesthetic – She was a manic-depressive! Again, Tori was thankful that she had
a man so smart and so much in love with her that he would take the time to make
sure she took her medication.

Tori felt tears well as Cody said, “Oh, sometimes she
gets the noddies. So don’t worry if she nods off during mid-sentence. It’s part
of her illness.”

“Oh, the noddies won’t bother me. I’ll just poke her
and keep her awake,” Emma said.

Cody handed Emma
some pills. “She’ll need to take two of these, twice a day. Give her the first
dose when she wakes up and the second one at two o’clock – and could you please
try to get her out of the apartment. Drive around. Go shopping. Whatever,” he
said, reaching into his pocket and handing Emma a wad of money. “Shop till you
drop!
When this runs out, I’ll give you some more.”

“Yeah, we can sure do that,” Emma said.

Tori could see pride swelling as she watched Emma’s
chest rise and fall, as if taking care of Tori was a great honor.
I’m her
new project,
Tori thought.

Actually, Tori felt good knowing that she wouldn’t be
left alone in a strange apartment in a strange town, and Emma seemed to be
enthusiastic about taking care of her. Maybe she had found her first new best
friend in Atlanta.

As Cody turned to leave, Tori stepped back into the
apartment, walked into the living room, and peered out the window as he drove
away. She stood for a few minutes, running Cody’s conversation through her
head, and fear paralyzed her. She was one sick puppy, all right. But what were
noddies?

A few minutes later, Emma gently knocked on the front
door. When Tori answered, Emma smiled and held out a bag of donuts and two coffee
mugs.

“Good morning!” Emma said cheerfully. “I’m glad you’re
up. I brought you a continental breakfast!”

“Why, thank you, Emma.” Tori took one of the mugs from
her hand. “Come on in and we’ll have breakfast together.”

“That’s what I had in mind,” Emma said, stepping into
the apartment.

Impulsively, Tori threw her arms around Emma’s neck
and began to sob. Being shunned by her family and her best friend had left her
devastated, and she really needed some comforting at that moment.

“There, there,” Emma said, patting Tori’s back.
“Everything’s going to be fine. I’m here, and we’re going to spend the day
together, okay?” Then she looked Tori up and down and said, “You know what? I
think you could use something more substantial than a couple of donuts. You’re
not any bigger than a popcorn fart!” She laughed, and Tori laughed with her.

“I think you’re right. I don’t eat like I should,”
Tori said.

“Why don’t you get dressed and meet me in my apartment
in about fifteen minutes. That’ll give me time to get some bacon and eggs
started.”

As Emma turned to go, Tori wiped her tears and said,
“That would be great, Emma. Thank you. I can’t remember the last time I ate. My
memory doesn’t seem to be on track lately.”

“I know, honey. You get dressed and hurry downstairs
to my place. I’ve got to fatten you up. And I’ll get another pot of coffee
going, and then we’ll get on with a big day.”
 

“I’ll be right down. I think I could eat some biscuits
and gravy, too. Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to–”

Emma started laughing before Tori finished her
sentence. “I’ll fix some biscuits and gravy. I didn’t know what you like, but I
bet I’ve got anything your taste buds want. I like to eat and I always keep my
house full of food.” She patted her large stomach and added, “But I don’t guess
you can tell by looking at me, huh?”

Tori laughed, too, and then realized she couldn’t
remember the last time she had laughed – or even felt the urge to laugh. A warm
feeling came over her. With Emma for a friend who could make her laugh, and
taking her medications she would soon be back to her old self. The horrible
depression had lasted for five months the last time, but with Emma’s help, Tori
thought that she could lick it, once and for all.

Once Tori had joined Emma in her apartment, she found
that she could only eat a few bites, but it did feel good to have some food in
her stomach. When Tori had finished, Emma handed her the pills and happily
said, “After you take your medicine, we’ll go shopping. Cody gave me some money
this morning and told me it was our duty to spend it!” Her eyes lit up as if it
was time for Christmas and she had a no-limit budget.

“I’m ready,” Tori said, wondering why Cody had given
the money to Emma instead of her.

A few minutes later, they were pulling out of the
parking lot in Emma’s car. “How much money do we have to spend?” Tori asked

“You know, I don’t know.” Emma reached into her large
shoulder bag and pulled out the roll of bills. “Here, count it, honey.”

To Tori’s amazement, the entire wad consisted of
one-hundred dollar bills. She began to count.
“Holy mint
factory!
We’ve got almost five-thousand dollars here,” she said,
creasing her brow. “That’s a half years salary for my parents. Geeze! Why does
he carry this kind of money on him? Nobody carries this kind of cash!”

“My word, that’s a year’s salary for a lot of people,”
Emma answered. “You know what? I bet he cashed a check for us so we’d have
enough money to buy whatever you want.”

“Well, he did tell me he wanted me to furnish the
apartment, so that would make sense,” Tori said, nodding in agreement. “Even
so, this is an impressive pile of cash!”

Emma laughed, slapping the steering wheel. “Honey,
we’re going to have some kind of fun today! We’ll have that apartment so nice I
bet Home Beautiful will want to take pictures and put them in their magazine.
Now wouldn’t that be something.” She clucked her tongue like a mother hen.
“My, my.
Honey Pot, that man sure is crazy about you.”

“Or just plain crazy,” Tori said with a laugh.

Emma drove several blocks, then pulled into a parking
lot and pointed through the windshield. “Right down here a piece is Haverts
Furniture Store. They got stuff that’ll knock your eyeballs out. Just wait
until you see the art work, too. I could never afford anything in there but I
do think I’ll enjoy helping you spend Cody’s money.”

Tori giggled. The tree in a planter in front of a
parked car waved at her. She waved back as she said, “This sure is a friendly
place. Florida was like a different world, but Atlanta is like being on a
different planet.”
 

Emma chuckled as she pulled into a parking space. “I
like it here. I think once you get used to it you will too. You never run out
of places to go or things to see. She put the car in park and said, “Ready to
buy furniture and fill up that empty apartment?”

“I’ve never shopped for furniture. You might have to
pick out what you think will look good. You’ve seen the apartment more than I
have.”

“No problem there, honey.”

They spent three hours in Haverts and Emma selected
what she thought would bring the apartment to life. Each piece of furniture she
touched, she said, “This was built to last.”

Tori merely nodded.
Will I last without my family
and Jill?
she
wondered.

Emma paid the bill and scheduled a delivery date. “How
about we grab some lunch, then we’ll get some stuff to dress up them bathrooms.
Do you like McDonald’s?”

“Sure. Doesn’t everybody?” Tori giggled, remembering
the many times that Momma had taken her and Jill to McDonalds and how she had
fussed when they didn’t clean out the car when they got home. But the giggle
was followed with tears.

“Come on, honey. Don’t cry on,” Emma said as she
hugged Tori and wiped her tears. “We’re having fun. Don’t you love spending a
man’s money and buying beautiful things?”

“Yeah,” Tori answered as she followed Emma out of the
store.

Tori didn’t eat half of her cheeseburger and she
didn’t want her usual cherry pie. She just wanted to take a nap. But she agreed
to shop for bathroom accessories.

Emma finished her meal, then reached into her purse
and pulled out a napkin. She unfolded it and said, “Here, honey, take your
pills. It’s a little late but we spent so much time buying furniture I plum
forgot.”

Tori took the pills and didn’t say anything. She
merely followed Emma to the car.
 

After they had bought enough to beautify both
bathrooms, Emma said, “We really need to stop at Piggy Wiggly. We have to stock
the pantry and fridge. I know there’s not enough food in that apartment to
attract a field mouse.”

Tori laughed.

Once in the grocery store, Tori and Emma both took a
cart. Emma went down every aisle as Tori closely followed, reaching up and
taking a few items off the shelf, not really knowing or caring what she was
putting into the cart.
 

When they had made their way from one end of the store
to the other, both carts were full, but Tori had no idea what Emma had thrown
into her cart. She stood in a daze as the cashier rang up the items, and Emma
paid the bill.
 

When the groceries had been loaded into the trunk,
Tori slurred as she said, “We’ve bought a lot today. Do we have any money
left?”

Emma laughed. “We’ve got a few bucks left. But we
might need to hit Cody up for some more before we hit the mall. We’ll do that
tomorrow if you want to. Just wait until you see Peach Tree Mall, honey. It’s
as big as a small city. And we won’t stop with Atlanta, either. I know a lot of
places and we’ll hit them all.”
 

“Sounds good to
me.
Tomorrow
the malls!”

When they got back to the apartment, Tori helped Emma
carry the groceries upstairs, but Emma said she would put things away so Tori sat
at the kitchen table and watched, hoping she could remember where Emma had put
things.

Tori had to admit that Emma and she had a nice day
together, but there was still something missing. Tori tried to be enthusiastic
about the new life she was creating, but it didn’t feel right. Madison would
always be her home, no matter how much money she was able to spend.

Every day for the next week they visited every
clothing store and shoe store in every mall within forty miles, and there were
a number of times when Tori couldn’t even remember everything they had bought
that day.

Tori’s memory wasn’t improving. In fact, it was
getting worse – to the point she’d get lost in mid-sentence when she tried to
have a conversation with Emma.

One day Tori asked Emma if she knew which drugstore
Cody worked in. Tori thought it might be nice to drop in and surprise him.

Emma scratched her head. “You know, honey, I sure
don’t. But I’ve never asked. I do know that he travels a lot. I think he
delivers medication and other pharmaceutical stuff to hospitals, clinics,
nursing homes, and – oh, I guess any place that needs medical supplies. You
know that Cody, honey. Getting information out of him is harder than pulling
hen’s teeth. He’s a private person, and he sure doesn’t share much about
himself.”