Summer Shadows (16 page)

19

E
ventually, Dana went to the bathroom to wash her face. Julia was in the kitchen, cleaning the mugs and thinking, when the boys came in. Ron was carrying empty drawers that Julia recognized as being from the bureaus that were to go in the boys’ room.

“What are you guys doing with those?” she asked.

“We’re getting ready for when Robert brings them upstairs!” Jack said happily.

Ron had to keep shifting his stance to keep the drawers balanced. “We thought we’d get a head start. We’re going to bring up some for Dana, too.”

“That’s a very good idea, guys. Thank you.”

Jack beamed and they went upstairs. She could hear Jack asking Ron whether socks
had
to be folded together or if they couldn’t just be tossed in.

She was just about to leave the kitchen to go into the living room when there was a pounding at the door, so loud that Julia would have been startled by half the intensity. She heard voices and hurried to answer it.

Looking up from under an enormous rain hat, Mrs. Jurta brushed past Julia, saying something so fast and so high pitched that Julia didn’t understand a word. She was followed by what appeared to be a midget in rain gear holding two leashes with puppies attached. Mystified, Julia followed them into the kitchen.

Amelia Wilde sat in a growing puddle of water on one of the kitchen chairs, watching Mrs. Jurta fuss over the puppies with one of Julia’s few remaining clean dish towels.

“Mrs. Jurta!” Julia said. “What’s going on?”

“Look, I hate to ask you, but it’s an emergency and I’m out of options.”

One of the puppies escaped her and went running down the hallway. A second later, they heard Dana’s delighted voice: “Oh,
Horatio
! What are you doing here?”

The other puppy dashed off after him and Mrs. Jurta wearily let him go. Julia hoped that the dog was house trained.

Amelia slipped out of her seat and ran into the hall. The barking alerted the boys upstairs, and they came crashing down the steps. They raced through the kitchen and into the hallway.

Mrs. Jurta raised her voice above the chaos.

“It’s Dexter – he’s taken a funny turn and I have to rush him to the vet’s right away. I’ve got Amelia and normally I’d take her with me, but the vet is all the way in Concord. I’ve explained it all to Robert, of course, and he was fine with me leaving her here and said he’d be around at the normal hour to pick her up and…”

Jack ran screeching around the corner and jumped into Julia’s arms. The tiger-striped puppy raced into the room after him and slipped on the slick floor, colliding with the table leg.

Amelia ran in and gathered the puppy in her arms while Ron stood in the doorway, watching them.

Julia hushed Jack and turned to Mrs. Jurta. “You need to leave Amelia with us?”

“Yes, please.”

“What about the puppies?”

“They need to have their medications, but Amelia knows what to do.”

Amelia reached into her pocket, pulled out a little reddish bottle, and waved it about. Dana, with the other dog close at her feet, appeared in the doorway.

Julia frowned. “You’re leaving the puppies here with me?”

“Yes.”

“Mrs. Jurta, I don’t have any experience with dogs and I don’t have any food for them. Amelia can stay with us, if her father is all right with it, but the puppies…”

But Mrs. Jurta brushed off Julia’s concerns with a wave of her hand.

“They’ll be no trouble. I’ve brought their chow and they’ll go with Amelia tonight when Robert picks them up. They need their pill at six sharp and a walk before bed. Thank you, Julia. This is why I love living in a neighborhood – we’re always here to help one another. I’ll keep you all informed on Dexter’s progress. Good night – keep dry!”

She darted back out into the rainy afternoon before Julia could regain herself enough to say anything.

There was brief silence, then Amelia yelped as Tigger slipped out of her arms. Ron jumped back as the little fellow scrambled across the floor towards Horatio.

The children waited for Julia’s reaction. Ron looked annoyed, Dana was apprehensive, and Amelia’s face was white.

Jack relaxed his grip on Julia’s neck a little, but he tightened up the moment she shifted.

“I don’t like dogs,” he whispered.

Julia thought that he was in for a very long afternoon. She shifted him on her hip and brushed a stray hair out of her eyes. The sound of the dogs at play grew more intense in the background, but no one moved. They were all waiting for her.

“Well,” she said with a sigh, “Mrs. Jurta certainly knows how to make a grand entrance, doesn’t she?”

They didn’t respond, and Julia tried again. “I hope you like macaroni and cheese, Amelia. That’s what we’re having tonight.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Amelia said solemnly.

For heaven’s sake,
Julia thought.
This isn’t a Charles Dickens moment!

“Awesome,” she said. “Now, you’re sure your father knows where you are?”

Amelia pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. “Oh, yes, ma’am. He texted me to tell you thank you. You can see it right here, want to see?”

She nodded. “Dana, Ron, just go make sure those dogs aren’t ruining anything, will you?”

“Yes, Aunt Julia,” Ron said obediently.

Dana sprang for the living room, calling for Horatio.

Amelia was still holding up the phone as Julia placed the trembling Jack on the table and reached for it.

“May I see the message?” she asked.

Suddenly hesitant, Amelia withdrew the phone; then she reluctantly gave it to Julia.

There were several messages on the screen:

Amelia:
Hey dad mrs jurta has to go to the vets dana’s mom says I can stay with them until you pick me up ok?

Dad:
everything ok with m. jurta?

Amelia:
yes her dogs sick ok to stay with mrs Lamontaigne?

Dad:
Yes. I’ll be home at 7. Thank mrs Lamontaigne for me, give her my number and ask her to send me hers. Be a good girl.

Amelia:
thanks I will see you home.

It was a suspicious amount of typing for the short amount of time that Amelia had been in the house. Julia checked the time on the messages and her hunch was right: the first one was sent ten minutes before Amelia and Mrs. Jurta arrived at the house.

She looked up at the wide-eyed Amelia.

“Well,” she said, handing it back. “You’d better give me your Dad’s phone number.”

Amelia rattled it off. Julia typed it into her phone and sent a text:

This is Julia L. Just wanted you to have my phone number and to let you know that Amelia is with us.

After a moment, the reply arrived:
I owe you big time. I’ll cut out early tonight, if I can manage it.

Julia grinned:
No problem. You can pay me back in furniture lugging. See you tonight.

As she sent it, she wondered about how free and easy talking with Robert felt. It was almost as if they’d known each other for ages.

Amelia was watching her warily, concerned that Julia had noticed her lie.

She pocketed her phone and smiled at Amelia. “I hope you’ll excuse the mess, Amelia. We’re right in the middle of moving upstairs into the new bedrooms.”

A relieved smile came over her little face. “I don’t mind at all!” she said. “I can help and do whatever you want. I’ll keep the dogs real quiet, so that they don’t disturb you.”

“Amelia?”

“Yes, Ms. Lamontaigne?”

The brown eyes were huge and fearful and Julia felt pity for her. She put a hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said.

A flicker of emotion crossed the pretty, tanned face.

“You are?”

“Yes, I am. You came at exactly the right moment.”

“I
did?
”

“Yes, you did. Dana was just about to begin to set up her new room and she needs help. Girl help, you know. Only I couldn’t do it because I need to make supper. I was going to tell her to wait until tomorrow, but, with you here, she can do it right away. That is, if you don’t mind.”

The face brightened and beamed. “I don’t mind! I don’t mind at all!”

“Great. Why don’t you go get Dana and start right away?”

“Yes, ma’am!” She darted for the door.

Julia stopped her. “Amelia?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“It’s a good thing you knew about my invitation even before you got here. It saved a lot of time. But next time, wait and check with me first, all right?”

Amelia froze, horrified.

“Go on now,” Julia said. “What’s done is done. We don’t need to talk about it anymore, right?”

She gulped. “No, ma’am.”

“And it’s Julia. Now run and find Dana.”

She raced away, shouting for Dana.

Julia sighed and turned to Jack, who was sitting very still.

He looked at her solemnly. “What do we do now?”

“We make supper, my brave boy.”

“What about the dogs?”

“We’ll just have to get used to them. They’re only puppies. Now, to the floor with you…”

He grabbed at her, terrified. “No! No, the dogs! They’ll bite me!”

He was practically shrieking into her ear. She jerked her head away instinctively and straightened up. She was about to tell him not to be silly, that the dogs wouldn’t bite him, but she remembered that they were puppies - they were probably teething.

“Aunt Julia!”

Dana appeared in the doorway, her face lit with excitement. Horatio was leaning against her leg, and he looked up at Julia with doleful eyes, his tail wagging as though he were making up for his earlier rudeness.

Something about his appearance put Julia at ease – despite all the chaos, this dog was calm and happy. Horatio would be just fine around the children, she decided. He was a handsome dog, but big, even though he wasn’t yet fully grown. She had no idea what kind of dog he was and made a mental note to ask Mrs. Jurta or Amelia about it later.

Dana announced, “Amelia says she wants to help me set up my room. She says that she’s staying for supper
and
that she loves
Beauty and the Beast
. Can we watch it tonight?”

“We’ll have to see,” Julia said. “After all, we only have the one TV and the boys to consider. We don’t want to leave them out.”

“Well, then, maybe we could watch
Aladdin
. She’s never seen that.”

“Dana!” Amelia shouted. “Ron says we have to start!”

Dana ran out of the room.

Julia shook her head and turned to Jack. “Want to help me make supper?” she asked.

He nodded reluctantly. But when she went to put him down, he clung even tighter.

“Jack, I can’t make supper while holding you. You’re too big and you’re going to have to let go sometime.”

They were interrupted by the other children trooping in with armloads of clothes and bags, Ron leading the way. The two dogs ran about their feet, threatening to trip everyone as they disappeared up the stairs.

Jack looked at Julia with raised eyebrows. “What about the dogs?” he asked.

Julia was silent for a minute. Then she said, “Well, what do you think they made chairs for?”

20

O
fficer Wilde didn’t come until late. They had eaten and cleaned up, and cared for the dogs, and now Ron had his room to himself. He wasn’t able to concentrate, though. He was too busy listening for the door.

It wasn’t that he was one of those kids who idolized adults – far from it. He knew that he was man enough to take care of the family. But he wanted to show off the work they’d done in the bedrooms. He wanted another man’s approval. It didn’t necessarily have to be Officer Wilde’s, but since he’d already seen the earlier work and had given them some good advice about it, his opinion held weight.

After about twenty minutes, he couldn’t stand lying down any more. He hopped off his brand new bed and began to rearrange things.

He smoothed out his bedspread and re-fluffed the pillows. That action struck him as girlish, so he punched them down again.

He rearranged the drawers that he and Jack had so carefully and neatly filled, wishing, again, that he could bring up the dressers by himself. Half-filled drawers on the floor by themselves seemed so lame. He tried stacking them up on top of one another, with his drawers on one side, and Jack’s on the other; but they were rickety, so he took them down again. He finally settled on two rows of two drawers on top of each other.

Jack’s ball was sitting in the basket of toys near his bed. Ron began to dribble with it, faking passes and running between the beds in his stocking feet. He moved carefully, trying not to make too much noise, and threw the ball through an imaginary hoop. He raised both fists in victory and jumped lightly up and down as the ball disappeared under the bed.

After a while, Julia called him from the bottom of the stairs. He went out and saw that she was holding Tigger, the striped puppy, in her arms. For once, the little dog was quiet and still.

“I was going to put on a movie for the kids,” she said. “Want to pick one out?”

He nodded and started downstairs. “Is Amelia staying the night?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her father yet.”

Ron hoped that she wasn’t. He didn’t mind Amelia, really, but she always brought a lot of noise with her and made Dana act all girly and giggly. If she stayed the night, Wilde wouldn’t see the rooms until tomorrow at best, and maybe not even then. That would be disappointing.

As he approached, Tigger lifted a sleepy head and sniffed in Ron’s direction. Ron rubbed his head and the puppy closed his eyes contentedly.

Julia was giving him that funny, amused expression. He hadn’t yet been able to decipher what it meant.

She said, “Pick out something quiet for tonight, okay? I think we need a calming influence.”

Tigger began to snore as they walked through the kitchen into the living room. It was much tidier since the last time Ron saw it. The baskets of clothing had disappeared, although one remained as a make-shift bed for the puppies. A few chairs and an old couch sat in a semi-circle around the TV. Nearly all the blankets and bedding had been brought upstairs to the bedrooms, leaving only a neat pile of Julia’s things. Ron remembered that they hadn’t set up her bed yet.

“Aunt Julia, you can sleep in my bed tonight,” he said.

She was lowering the puppy into the basket and looked at him over her shoulder with a frown.

“What?”

“You can sleep in my bed tonight,” Ron said, feeling noble. “I can sleep on the floor. It doesn’t bother me.”

She straightened up and looked at the pile of bedding, then at him. “Oh, that’s all right. I don’t really mind, but thank you.”

“I don’t want your back to hurt and besides, it’s my job to take the uncomfortable things for you.”

She studied him for a moment, then said, “Thank you, Ron. I appreciate that very much. But I don’t mind, and I’d rather you be with the others upstairs. You keep your cell phone in your room, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you get reception up there?”

“Yes. Four bars.”

She nodded and rubbed her hands on her pants. “Excellent. That’s better than down here. Now, you’d better pick out a movie.”

She left the room and Ron pulled out the box of DVDs, selecting an action comedy. He was halfway down the hallway before he remembered that Aunt Julia wanted a calming movie. Grumbling, he exchanged it for a musical and put it in the DVD player. He threw himself back on the couch and turned on the TV to watch the special features, puzzling over the conversation and a little offended by her refusal.

He could hear laughter and thudding feet as the three youngest got ready for bed. Horatio barked sharply once, sounding like someone stepped on his tail.

Tigger woke up and began to whine in his basket. Ron went over to let him out and the puppy followed him back to the couch. He waited until Ron was settled in, then leaped into his lap and snuggled beside Ron’s arm.

After a few minutes, the girls came running into the room. Both had a freshly washed glow and were giggling. Amelia stopped short when she spotted Ron and ducked behind Dana, who ignored her.

“What are we watching, Ron?” Dana asked.

“This.” He pointed to the TV.

She craned her neck to look at the screen. “Oh. Is that okay with you, Amelia?”

From behind her back, Amelia said, “Anything Ron wants is fine with me.”

They raced by in front of Ron and threw themselves beside him, giggling as they drew their feet up and snuggled into the cushions. Tigger sat up and stared at them, his tail moving slowly, his ears alert. Amelia spotted him and patted the cushion beside her.

“Come on, Tigger,” she said. “Come sit with me.”

Tigger cocked his head and wagged his tail, but he didn’t move.

Julia entered a few minutes later with Jack. Close on her heels, Horatio went immediately over to Dana. He was too big to fit on the couch with all of them, so Dana slipped onto the floor to join him. Amelia went with her, so the two brothers had the couch to themselves.

Midway through the movie, just after Julia brought them popcorn and settled down on a chair to watch with them, they heard a knock at the side door.

“Someone’s at the door!” Jack announced.

“Figures,” Julia sighed. “Just when I get comfortable.”

Everyone was making noise of some sort by the time Ron managed to pause the DVD. In the sudden silence that followed, they could hear Julia saying, “Come in, Officer.”

“Dad!”

Amelia jumped up and raced into the other room, Dana fast on her heels. Ron and Jack followed soon after.

Officer Wilde held Amelia on his lap as she talked excitedly about her day. Dana stood off to one side, watching, while Jack balanced on Julia’s hip as she tried to convince the two dogs to stop running around and barking for a few minutes.

She spotted Ron in the doorway and said, “Ron, would you and Dana take the dogs into the other room for a few minutes?”

Office Wilde craned his neck to look at him.

“Hey, Ron,” he said, with a grin.

“Hello,” Ron mumbled, pleased to have been noticed. He left the room to put Tigger in his basket. The puppy squirmed in his grip and protested when he landed in the basket, but Ron took no notice.

Dana pulled Horatio into the living room and showed him one of the chew toys that Mrs. Jurta had left behind. While Horatio tore at it, the two left the room and shut the door behind them.

They went back into the kitchen, where they found Jack happily seated on one of the chairs with a glass of water. Julia was making coffee, and Amelia was still talking with her dad as she played with his tie.

“… and we’re just at the part where they have to rescue the girl,” she finished. “It’s, like, the best part!”

“Sounds like it,” Wilde said. He affectionately ruffled her hair and looked at her pajamas. “Are those yours? They look a little big.”

“Dana loaned them to me.” She smiled proudly. “Aren’t they pretty?”

“Very nice. Did you thank Dana and Ms. Lamontaigne for having you over?”

“Yes, Dad,” she said, with a roll of her eyes. She caught Ron’s frown and changed her tone. “That is, I think so. Thank you, Dana, and Ms. Lamontaigne.”

“You’re welcome,” Dana said.

Julia turned from the counter with a cup of coffee. “No worries, Amelia, but call me Julia, please.”

“I’m really sorry about the imposition,” Wilde said, adjusting his grip on Amelia so he could take the cup. “I would have called, but we were up in the northwest part of town today and reception’s bad up there.”

“No problem,” Julia said, fixing herself a cup of tea. “It was an emergency, after all.”

It struck Ron that Wilde looked rather annoyed.

“Well, thank you. There is actually a written procedure that Mrs. Jurta is supposed to follow under such circumstances. She’s a nice lady but… Not very good at following directions, I guess.”

Julia turned back to the table and gave him a warm smile. “Well, it all worked out for the best. As it turned out, we were in need of Amelia’s help. Isn’t that right, Dana?”

“That’s right - she helped set up my room,” Dana responded. “I’ve got a bed now, and drawers and
everything.
”

She slid into the chair nearest to Wilde. Ron, after a moment’s hesitation, followed suit, taking the chair beside Jack.

“But no bureau,” Amelia said.

“No bureau?” Wilde asked. He turned to Julia. “Oh, right. You mentioned that you might need help with those. Want me to do that now?”

“Now?” Julia asked.

“Sure. Ron and I can have them upstairs in a jiffy, right, Ron?”

Ron couldn’t keep from beaming. “Right!”

She grinned. “Well, all right then, if you insist.”

Julia showed them the storage room, where the bureaus stood empty. Ron and Wilde moved one of the bureaus to the foot of the stairs, then started to heft them up. It was surprisingly heavy. Ron’s arms strained with the load and Wilde shook his head.

“I’m not surprised you decided to wait,” he said.

Creases of worry appeared on Julia’s forehead. “Is it too much?”

“We can do it,” Ron said, and Wilde nodded in agreement.

With some difficulty, they maneuvered it into Dana’s room and stood it in the proper place.

Officer Wilde placed a hand flat on the top and tried to wiggle it. It moved slightly.

“The floor boards in here are a little warped,” he said.

“Should I brace it?” Julia asked.

He shook his head. “Dana would have to really work to bring it down on herself.”

They brought the next two upstairs in the same way, and Ron was sweating by the time they loaded in the last of the drawers. Wilde tested the boys’ bureaus, which were taller, and decided that they were in danger of tipping. They didn’t have the proper bracing equipment in the Budd house, but the Wildes did.

“We’ll get them. Come on, Ron,” he said, turning for the stairs.

“Right!” Ron replied, jumping up to join him.

They raced through the rain to fetch the tools in Wilde’s garage and then back again. While they worked upstairs, they talked about cars and fishing, and Wilde told him that some of the best fishing was to be had in New Hampshire.

“You like to fish?” he asked.

“Yes,” Ron said eagerly. “Only I don’t go too often.”

“I suppose Julia doesn’t like it much.”

“I don’t know. I never asked.”

Securing the bureaus to the wall took less time than it did for Julia to come upstairs to tell Wilde that there was coffee left if he wanted more. Wilde seemed willing, and as it was obviously going to be an adult conversation, Ron felt compelled to rejoin the others in the living room.

When the movie was finished, Wilde came in and told Amelia to gather the leashes.

“Time to go home,” he said.

“Okay, Dad,” she mumbled. She slipped onto the floor and said goodbye to Dana.

Julia broke in, saying, “Oh, but the puppies are asleep. Why don’t we just leave them here for the night? Mrs. Jurta’s picking them up tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, yes. It’ll be fine.”

And so the matter was settled. The Wildes left, and the Budds got ready to go to bed in their new rooms.

Dana was excited about her bedroom, especially now that it had a bureau. She dragged Ron into the room and began to chatter.

“I totally love this bureau! I can turn it into a vanity, just like Mom’s, if I get a little mirror to put on top.”

Ron liked her excitement. “Yeah, that’s be cool.”

“I should talk to Aunt Julia about it.”

“I wouldn’t,” he said, gently. “We’re only going to be here a few weeks.”

Her face fell. “Oh,” she said. “I forgot about that.”

It felt good to be in a real bed again, with real sheets, blankets, and pillows. Ron couldn’t stop himself from sighing as he slid in and Julia, who was tucking Jack into his bed, laughed.

“Feeling pampered?” she asked, coming over. She sat on the edge of Ron’s bed and ran a hand through his hair. It reminded Ron strongly of Mom, and he snuggled deeper into his blankets.

“Make sure you wash your hair tomorrow, Ron. It’s starting to look a little tired.”

“Yes’m.”

She kept stroking his head, as though she had more to say. He looked at her and she smiled down at him in the dark.

“Officer Wilde offered to take you fishing sometime. Is that something you’d like to do? I know you’ve been missing the Boy Scouts.”

Excitement hit him like a jolt of electricity. “Do you think we could?”

She smiled and squeezed his arm. “It was a nice offer, but we don’t really know him all that well yet. Let me think about it.”

“Let me think about it,” as Ron well knew, was adult code for “the answer is already no, but I want to let you down gently.” He fought his disappointment and nodded.

“Thank you for all your help today,” Julia said, softly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

A warm feeling washed over him, as she kissed his forehead. Although he couldn’t admit it, the affection felt as good to receive as it was good to be in a bed again.

“Good night, kiddo. Sleep well.”

He listened to her going down the stairs, thinking about Officer Wilde and his offer. Wilde seemed to like Aunt Julia and she appreciated his help. Perhaps, if he could prove to her that Officer Wilde was an okay guy, a straight-shooter, she’d relent.