Revenge of Cornelius (8 page)

"Ow!" she shrieked in pain.

Theo was jerked out of
sleep.

"Ow!" Andrea felt another one. She was
sitting up now.

After reaching for the lamp switch,
Theo instantly spotted the long trail of blood that had seeped
through the back of his wife's nightgown.

"Oh, no!" he quietly exclaimed.
"Andrea…"

The look on her narrow face was one of
consummate terror. Theo pulled the thin straps down from her
shoulders and what came into view were dozens of gashes across her
back, mostly around four to five inches in length—some of them
completely mended, others only partially, and then there was the
freshest one. "My God…" Theo was at a loss for words.

"They did it again, Theo…." Andrea
sobbed. "They won't leave us alone!"

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream
escaped the vicinity of Alex's room and Theo and Andrea pitched up
and shot down the hallway in the boy's direction.

On arrival at the bedroom, Theo
switched on the light and Andrea flew right past him toward her
son.

Alex was buried under the thin covers,
shaking uncontrollably.

Andrea threw the covers off and
cradled him in her arms. "What's wrong, honey?"

"I saw them Mama. Even more came this
time."

Andrea glanced up at Theo.

"Saw who, Son?" Theo
probed.

"You know who!" Andrea snarled. "This
isn't the first time we're having this conversation."

She turned to Alex again. "Did they
hurt you, honey?"

"No, Mama. They never hurt me, but he
wants to… I just know it!" His eyes were glued to the
closet.

Andrea and Theo's followed
his.

"No one's there now, honey. They're
all gone." She tried to assure the frightened child.

"But they always come back, Mama. They
always come back!"

"Everything's fine. Mama and Daddy's
here now." She could still see the fear in those innocent eyes of
his. "Let me have a look, okay?"

"Okay," he softly
consented.

Andrea pulled up Alex's shirt and
carefully examined his chest, back and neck, then proceeded to the
lower extremities. When she was finished, she pulled down his shirt
again and breathed a sigh of relief. Theo stood nearby, silently
watching.

"He hates me, Mama," Alex
said.

"Who are you talking about, honey?"
Andrea asked.

"Mister Koney."

Theo and Andrea glanced at each other,
then re-focused on the boy.

"I don't know why he hates
me."

Andrea was puzzled by the child's
claims as she had no idea who this Mister Koney was.

"Don't worry, I will sleep in here
with you tonight, okay?" she said.

Alex nodded.

Theo remained in the room as his wife
sang softly to Alex. The child eventually drifted off to sleep in
his mother's arms.

"You see what you've caused?" Andrea
looked at her husband who had been strangely quiet the whole
time.

"I haven't caused anything!" Theo
wasted no time defending himself.

"I told you we should get out of this
house. How much longer must we take this torture, Theo, and what on
earth is preventing them from seriously hurting Alex? You see what
they've done to me. Are you blind? What kind of man are
you?!"

Theo started pacing the floor. "How do
you think we'd look running out of here like a bunch of frightened
idiots? What would people say?"

"You mean after they warned us not to
buy this place and you pretty much laughed in their faces,
huh?"

"I think you're blowing this whole
matter out of proportion. Look…if this place was really haunted,
why isn't anything crazy happening to me? Why am I the odd one out
here?"

Alex was snoring lightly now and
Andrea gently pulled the covers up to his waist. She then got up,
walked over to Theo and stopped just a few inches from his
face.

"You know what, Theo? I
have no idea why nothing crazy is happening to you, but it doesn't
make this experience any less real or frightening or torturous for
Alex and me. We've been in this house for months now and from the
third week, you've witnessed what they've done to me—every single
night. You've heard Alex awake with ear-piercing screams and the
only thing you can think of is how we'd look? Really? Are you so
cold and full of yourself that you can actually entertain
denial
of the situation
even for a second when the facts are staring you right in the face?
Do you think I repeatedly slashed my own back while you slept? Do
you think Alex and I have invented these stories about what we
sense and feel?" Her eyes were welling with tears.

"We're not leaving under any
circumstances, my darling," Theo replied matter-of-factly. "We've
come too far in life to just give up on everything now. Look what
we have here!" He extended his arms in an outward fashion. "Think
of how much we've invested into this place and made it the envy of
this neighborhood. How many people like us can say they own the
plantation of a former slave master—one who oppressed our people
and treated them like animals. Well, I'm spitting in his face now
and he's probably turning over in his grave."

Andrea felt chills creep up her spine
as her husband spoke those words, and in his eyes was something she
had never seen before: The look of evil.

"Look at the big picture," he
continued. "We've made it this far; we've defied the odds and we're
living like the rich, white people now. There's no way in hell I'm
giving this up!"

"I can't believe what I'm
hearing." Andrea was completely disappointed. "So, you're saying to
me that you will sacrifice your wife and child, the peace of your
family, to make a statement to the whole of Mizpah and the world
that you've made it and you've made it so far that you should be
commended for not only owning, but
residing
on a former plantation?
Theo, in case you didn't remember…slavery is over. It's been over
for more than a hundred years. The point you feel the need to prove
is senseless, uncalled for and plain stupid! I'm not going to
subject Alex to this craziness anymore. If I have to, I'll find a
place and we'll leave here for good."

Theo grabbed his wife by the
arm.

She grimaced in pain. "Let me go this
second! You're hurting me!"

Ignoring her cries, he yanked her
again. This time, there was a violent glare in his eyes. "You are
not taking my son anywhere and you will not step foot out of this
house. How dare you defy me and threaten to bring shame to this
family? I am a State senator. Have you lost your mind?"

She was struggling to break free of
him, at the same time not wanting to wake the child. "I'm wondering
if you've lost yours. Let me go!"

Theo looked at Alex who had shifted
slightly in bed. He slowly released his grip.

"Get out of this room!" Andrea
charged. "And don't you ever put your hand on me again! If you
think shame would follow you if your family left you, Mister
Senator, imagine the shame you'd feel if they find out that you put
your hand on me like that!"

Seeing that she meant business, Theo
turned and quietly left the room. Andrea shut the door behind
him.

Overwhelmed with mixed emotions, she
sat on the chair near the door and sobbed quietly. Feeling helpless
and defeated, and also dismayed by her husband's aggressive
behavior, she knew above everything that she must protect Alex—at
any cost.

7

_________________

"Wade's going to try and get here by the weekend," Sara said as she
and Mira sipped coffee at the kitchen counter.

"Dad's not up yet?" Mira
asked.

"No. He was up for most of the night
and fell off to sleep again at around four this
morning."

"His back again?"

"That and the wheezing. You didn't
hear it, huh?"

"No, I didn’t."

"He's much better now after taking
some more meds," Sara stated.

"Mom, what I don't understand is why
you're playing doctor here instead of taking Dad to the hospital
where he can get some real help," Mira said.

"He won't go," Sara replied. "Besides,
there's really nothing much that they can do for him at this point
other than chemo. Like I said, your father's not considering that
option."

Rosie walked into the living room.
"Morning," she said tiredly.

"Morning to you!" Sara quickly met
her. "Do you want waffle pancakes this morning or you'd rather some
cereal?"

"Nana, you know I hate cereal!" Rosie
answered.

"I know," Sara chuckled. "I've already
mixed a batch and will fry them up for you right now."

"Thanks, Nana. I'm going to tell Pops
'morning'."

"Oh no, dear," Sara quickly replied.
"He's fast asleep. Let him get a little more rest,
okay?"

Rosie looked at her mother who
appeared to be totally out of it, but managed a half-smile anyway.
"O…kay."

"Come sit here with Mom," Mira
offered.

Rosie climbed up on the stool next to
her.

"Did you sleep well, sweetheart?" Mira
patted her knee.

"Yes, Mom. Did you?"

Mira's first thought was an honest
one. However, her reply was determined to be more comforting. "I
slept like a baby." She rubbed her nose to Rosie's.

The child giggled.

"Did you sleep well, Nana?" she asked
as Sara poured the batch of pancake mix into the frying
pan.

"Like a charm, pumpkin." She smiled
lovingly.

Just then, they heard a door crack
open and Michael advanced into the room. Sara quickly lowered the
heat on the stove and went to meet him.

"I'm all right." He put his hand up.
"Good morning, everyone."

Rosie rushed to meet him and he leaned
over slightly to hug her.

Sara helped him back up.

"I think you should lie down a little
while longer, honey."

"No way!" He shook his head in
protest. "My back and that bed aren't the best of friends anyway.
I've had enough rest. Came to check on my li'l pumpkin." He smiled
at Rosie who was still standing next to him.

"Dad…" Mira started.

He made a face that
silently said:
Lighten up! You don't want
to worry Rosie.

Mira got the message.

"Pops, come sit here at the counter
with me." Rosie took him by the hand.

"Rosie, Dad's gonna sit at the table
today. Why don't you join him there?" Mira interjected.

"I think that's a fabulous idea!"
Michael looked at Rosie.

As they headed to the table, Mira
could see that her father's health was rapidly declining. He was
obviously weak, yet valiantly struggled with each step. She knew he
was doing it more for Rosie—than for anyone else and seeing him
like that deeply saddened her. More distressing was the fact that
there was nothing she could do to change the inevitable.

Rosie sat next to her grandfather,
wiggling her feet at the table as she often did.

"Pops, you look really tired. Are you
still sleepy?" she asked.

"Just a little tired—yes; sleepy—no,"
Michael replied.

She continued wiggling her feet,
simultaneously staring at him.

"I didn't see you get in yesterday.
How was your visit over at the Benjamins' house?"

"It was fun," she answered quickly.
"We did sooooo many things, Pops, and Mrs. Benjamin let us help her
pick flowers in the garden. They have a huge garden with roses,
daffodils and other colorful flowers and Alex got pricked by
something and started crying like a baby…"

"Rosie, you weren't teasing, were
you?" Sara asked from the stove.

"Pumpkin would never tease," Michael
asserted. "She's the most sensitive, loving little girl. I bet you
helped make it all better for Alex. Didn't you?"

"How did you know?" She had a
bewildered look. "Yes, I made it all better. Mrs. Benjamin was
going to take him over to the tap, but I asked her if I could and
she let me. Even when he felt sick earlier that day, I helped him
feel much better. What I would like to know is why Nana thought
that I teased him." She frowned. "My Mom taught me never to
tease."

Sara glanced over and realized that
she had hurt Rosie's feelings. She turned off the stove and
immediately went over to her.

"I'm sorry, pumpkin. I was just
playing. I know you're such a good girl." She rubbed her back
gently.

"I know, Nana. I wasn't really upset."
She smiled.

"Pancakes are ready. Bringing them
over now."