Anna's Visions (6 page)

“Tori!”
Momma yelled from the bottom of the stairs. “You
girls come on down. I’ve got chocolate chip cookies and milk waiting for you.”

As they held hands and bounded down the stairs, Tori
said, “I think Grammy’s right. Our spirits are linked – whatever that means.”

“I think so, too – and I’m glad.”

“This Saturday we’ll go to the farm and you can meet
your new grandma and grandpa. I call my grandpa, Poppy – he’s nice, too.”

Anna’s Note

September 3, 1963

Lord
have
mercy on anyone who
tries to come between Tori and Jill. Not even death will part them. They’re
kindred spirits and have been through many lifetimes together. Though I know
Jill will be part of the danger Tori will one day have to face, I pray I can
find a way to save my precious granddaughter.

Anna West-Morgan

Chapter Four

One Saturday morning Poppy led Tori and Jill out to
the barnyard, picked them up, and set them on Henry’s back. Tori held the reins
while Jill wrapped her arms around her waist.

Poppy slapped Henry gently on the rump. “Take them to
the pond and then bring them back here.”

Henry immediately started toward the pond, and even
though Tori tried to get him to take them into the woods, he circled the pond
and took them straight back to the barn, just as Poppy had told him to do.
Although it was frustrating for Tori and Jill, it was somewhat amazing at the
same time.

When they arrived back in the barnyard, Poppy gave
Henry a sugar cube, and when the horse lifted his top lip, exposing his huge
teeth, and whinnied, Tori and Jill roared with laughter.

Poppy said, “That’s just Henry’s way of saying thank
you.”

“I don’t know about that, Poppy,” Tori replied. “It
sounds to me like he’s laughing.”

“You could be right. Sometimes I think he is trying to
talk to me, too. He’s my old buddy.” Poppy rubbed Henry’s neck. Henry shook his
head up and down as if he were agreeing.

The weekends were special. Most Saturday’s, Tori and
Jill spent the night with Grammy and Poppy. Grammy always cooked a big Sunday
dinner and Tori’s parents came to eat and visit. Sometimes Jill’s parents, Rose
and Cliff Moss came, too. Grammy gladly claimed Jill as a granddaughter – and
Jill was thrilled when Grammy fulfilled her wish for dolls and hand-sewn
dresses.

* * * *

May 23
^rd
, was the day for six-grade
graduation. Tori ran up the driveway and rushed through the side door, knowing
her mother was going to yell at her for being late and tell her to shake a leg
and get ready. Graduation was no big deal to Tori, but it seemed to be
important for her parents and grandparents.

Her mother was standing in the kitchen, staring out
the window above the sink when Tori came inside. She eased up next to her and
drew in a deep breath. “Umm, I love the smell of roses, Momma.”

“They are beautiful, aren’t they?” she said, putting
her arm around Tori’s shoulders. “I’m so glad Poppy built that trellis so they’d
grow up around the window.”

They stood in silence for a few minutes, and then her
mother looked down at Tori.
“My, my.
Tonight you
graduate from sixth grade. And in three weeks you’ll be twelve years old. Where
does time go? It seems like yesterday–”

Tori rolled her eyes and finished the sentence. “It
seems like only yesterday that I was born – blah, blah, blah.”

“Well, you just wait, Miss Smarty Pants. Someday
you’ll be a mother and you’ll know how it feels – and I was going to say it
seems like only yesterday you started first grade, so there!” Then she swatted
Tori’s rear end playfully and said, “You better get upstairs and start getting
ready.”

As Tori started up the stairs, her mother called after
her, “And stay out of our bedroom!”

Tori mumbled, “Yes, yes. I’ve known not to go into
your bedroom since I was old enough to understand English! Good grief, I don’t
give a hoot about your bedroom, Momma!”

Tori ran upstairs, taking the steps two at a time.
Momma always said that Tori went up the stairs like a loping mule. She wanted
Tori to take them one at a time like a lady, but at nearly twelve, she didn’t
feel the need to be ladylike quite yet.

Tori stood in front of her closet, and then reached
for her blue gabardine dress with the boat-neck and A-line skirt. Then she
searched the closet floor for a special shoebox, but couldn’t find it.

“Hum,” she said, standing up and walking over to her
bed. Tori bent down and looked beneath the bed, and there it was. She dragged
the box out, opened the lid, and admired the white patent leather low-heel
pumps – her first pair of shoes with real heels, even if they were only an inch
high.

She slipped her feet into them and felt so grownup.
She couldn’t wait to be able to wear six-inch heels, but that wouldn’t be for a
few more years. She wasn’t allowed to wear lipstick either, even though she
felt old enough to wear light pink. Her mother wouldn’t hear of it.

She pulled her dress over her head, and then admired
herself in the floor-length mirror on the back of the bedroom door. Her auburn
hair was just below her shoulders. She brushed it a hundred strokes every day,
wore it parted down the middle, and wouldn’t allow barrettes or bows in it. She
thought she was too old for Momma to decorate her head like some kind of Christmas
display.

“Tori, are you about ready?” Jill yelled as she
started up the stairs.

Tori heard Jill trip twice, so she knew Jill was also
wearing her new pumps. Jill walked into Tori’s room and flopped down on the
bed, causing her full skirt to billow. “Boy, I’ll be glad when this night is
over so I can get out of these pumps and this dress and back into my jeans. I
hate dressing up!”

Looking in the mirror and pushing her hair behind her
ears, Tori replied, “It isn’t important that we
feel
good – it’s important
that we
look
good! Beauty can be painful, you know.” Then she blew a
kiss at her reflection. “And
I must say, I’m looking gorgeous
!”

“Oh, so you love your beautiful self?” Jill said as
she joined Tori and gave her a nudge with her elbow. “Scoot over!” She looked
at her own reflection and smiled. “Mirror, mirror on the stand – ain’t I the
fairest in all the land?” Then she lowered her voice and answered her question.
“Of course, ‘tis you with eyes so blue – and your bright blond hair, no one
else can compare.” Jill tickled Tori in the ribs. “Boys are crazy about
blondes, you know.”

Tori shoved Jill’s hand away. “Nah, boys are crazy
about redheads. We’re spitfires, you know. But I’m not a redhead. I’m really an
auburn-head, and we’re a lot more fun than you boring, dumb blondes.” She
returned the elbow nudge and added, “Let’s go before Momma has a cow. She wants
to take a hundred pictures before we leave.”

They held hands and walked regally down the stairs.

Tori glided across the living room and turned in
circles. “Well, how do I look?”

Momma sighed. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but
it’s true. I can’t believe my daughter is graduating from sixth grade. It seems
like it was only yesterday that you were born.”

“Git a grip,
Momma.
I’m tired of hearing it,”
Tori said scanning the room. “Where’s daddy?” Don’t tell me he’s off with Cliff
Moss. He does know this is my big night, doesn’t he?”

Jill giggled. “Tori you’re so dramatic. Do you really
think our daddies would be off playing pool and forgetting about our special
night? Good grief. You’re ridiculous!”

“Really!”
Momma said. “Do you think your daddy would forget
your big night? He’s cleaning out the car because
you
didn’t do it after
our last trip to McDonald’s,” Momma said, looking at Tori with a scowling face.

Her daddy came into the living room, put his hand over
his heart, and said in mock astonishment, “My goodness. Who are these two
beautiful girls? They’re certainly heartbreakers!”

Tori’s dad stood six-four and weighed over two hundred
pounds, but he was tenderhearted and Tori could see tears welling up. He
quickly reached for the camera and took a picture of her mother standing
between her and Jill, with her arms wrapped around their waists. Then her
mother took one of her dad doing exactly the same thing.

After the picture taking, Daddy said, “Okay,
everybody, let’s roll. We don’t want to be late for the big night.”

As they stepped out of the house, Rose and Cliff
appeared on their back porch. Daddy called out, “Jill is riding with us, Okay?
See you there.” He held the back car door open for the girls, as if they were
princesses being driven to the ball.

When they arrived at the school, Jill’s dad pulled his
car beside Tori’s parents’ car. Tori and Jill jumped out just as Grammy and
Poppy pulled their pickup in on the other side.

Tori laughed. “Hey, they just made a car-and-pickup
sandwich!” She grabbed Jill’s hand. “Hurry up! We’ve got to go in the side door
and get in line before the principal starts yelling.”

As they started toward the school, Grammy called out
to them, “What’s the big rush? Do you two have to primp before you make your
grand entry?”

“Something
like
that,” Tori
called over her shoulder. “We’ve got to hurry. We’ll see you inside.” She
stopped for a minute, turned back toward Grammy, and added, “We’ve got our bags
all packed. We’re going to stay with you and Poppy for a few days?”

“That’s fine,” Grammy replied. “See you later,
alligator.”

“After while, crocodile,” Tori answered.

The commencement was short and simple. The principal
gave a brief speech, and then called names as each student walked across the
stage to receive their diplomas. When it was over, Tori hoped she could make it
down the three steps from the stage to the gym floor without falling, since all
the flashbulbs were blinding her. Tommy Hill was behind her, but she was
determined not to let him get close enough to touch her.

After Tori had navigated the steps, she hurried to her
parents and gave them each a kiss. Jill kissed her parents, and then she and
Tori rushed toward Grammy and Poppy.

“Okay, we’re ready to go as soon as we get our bags
out of the trunk,” Tori said, grabbing Jill’s hand and turning to head for the
car.

Jill pulled her hand away. “Tori, ever since first
grade you’ve been dragging me around by the hand as if I don’t have sense
enough to know which way to go. Well, from now on I’ll have you know that I’m
not blind – and I’m not some ragdoll you can just drag around!”

“Well, excuse me!” Tori said, her eyes widening and
her brow furring. Jill had never pulled away. Then Tori crossed her arms across
her chest and pouted.

“Oh, come on,” Jill said with a laugh. “Let’s get out
of here!” She took Tori’s hand and this time Tori let Jill lead the way out to
the car. Her dad opened the trunk, took out their suitcases, and hoisted them
into the bed of the pickup. Tori and Jill kissed their parents again, and then
stepped onto the bumper, heaved themselves over the tailgate, and sat in the
truck bed. They kicked off their shoes and let their legs dangle over the side all
the way to the farm.

A short time later, Poppy pulled the pickup into the
long driveway. Tori loved the sight of their two-story white house with its
concrete porch that went across the front, painted forest-green to match the
shutters. There was no place on earth like the Morgan farm, and it always gave
her a warm, fuzzy feeling. Winter or summer, it was a fun place to be.

* * * *

One day in mid August, Tori and Jill were sitting on
the porch swing after gathering eggs. Grammy came out of the house with two
glasses of lemonade and sat between them, drawing in a deep breath as if she
were more tired than usual.

Then she gave each of them a sly look and said with a
chuckle, “Well, my goodness. You two girls have done gone and sprouted
ninnies.”

“Grammy!”
Tori exclaimed. She and Jill had actually talked
about it many times, but still, for her grandmother to say it... That was
different.

“Well, you have, and there isn’t anything wrong with
it. We all get them eventually, but I think you girls will want to start
wearing bras before school starts in the fall. The boys will start gawking,
like boys do, but I still think you girls will need to sack them up so your
nipples won’t be sticking out like rosebuds.”

Grammy’s frank talk was a tad shocking, and Tori and
Jill slapped their hands over our mouths, stifling their giggles.

“Girls, if you want me to, I’ll tell your mommas that
you two need to start wearing braziers.”

Without thinking, Tori crossed her arms over her young
buds. She was proud of her growing breasts, though they were sore and sensitive
to the touch, and at times even pulling an undershirt on was painful.

Tori looked down, pulled at her shorts, and softly
asked, “Grammy, you know we got our periods, don’t you? We started about two
months ago – on the same day.”

“Yeah,” Jill added, “and I don’t know why it’s called
a
period.
I think it should be called an
explanation point.
When
that time comes around, we get kind of crazy – Tori especially. She’s like a
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I never know what to say, what to do, or if I should
even breathe. She’s impossible!”

“Oh, like you don’t go crazy, too?” Tori said.

“That’s enough girls. We’re all a little nuts at that
time,” said Grammy, looking at Tori with a sly smile. “But I think Tori
is
a little goofy all the time, since nobody knows what’s
going to set her off.”

“Oh, Grammy!”
Tori giggled, giving her a playful nudge.