by
Dorlana Vann
“Can you hear me?”
Gwen glimpsed colors and faint images in quick flashes as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She knew she had been asleep, but she didn’t feel refreshed. The heaviness and fatigue reminded her of how she felt on Saturday afternoons after she had overslept. She heard her father’s voice again…
“Sweetheart? How are you feeling?”
As she managed to wake completely, she became aware of the hospital room around her. Under the layers of blankets, she shivered. When she tried to sit up to have a look around, her father, who sat in a chair beside the bed, gently discouraged her by placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Just take it easy,” her father said. “You’ve been through quite an ordeal.”
“Oh my goodness… You’re awake!” Her forced voice crackled, and her throat felt like it had been dusted with sand. “But how? And what am I doing here?”
“We were hoping you could tell us.”
“We?” With a slight movement of her eyes, Gwen focused her hazy vision until a guy standing next to her father came clearly into view. She studied him for a moment—a blue tattoo peeked out of the neck of his white uniformed short sleeved shirt. His hair blazed noticeable red, and gold dots adorned his pierced ears—but she didn’t recognize him.
“This nice young fellow from the ambulance saved your life,” her father said. “If he hadn’t given you mouth to mouth after the defrost, I would have lost you.”
“I’m saving this cookie,” the guy said, holding up a small piece of paper and a broken-in-half fortune cookie in the other. “It says, ‘a pleasant surprise is in store for you.’” He smiled at her, and she could have sworn his teeth sparkled in the light.
Gwen wished she knew his birth sign and couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Ouch,” she said and put her hand up to her lips that were painfully chapped.
Her father grabbed a small tube of ChapStick. “Here.” He smoothed it on her lips as he said, “When I came out of my coma last week, you were nowhere to be found.”
“I’m so glad that you’re all right,” she whispered.
“I’m great, but you… you gave me quite the scare. I asked Ava where you were. She said you were staying at my brother’s, but I was stuck here and couldn’t get a hold of him. I was frantic for a week—”
“I’ve been out for a week?” She looked back and forth from one man to the other. The visitor just smiled and stared at her and then stuck a piece of the cookie in his mouth.
Her father patted her hand. “It seems you were frozen for a week.”
“Frozen?” When she tried to sit up that time, her father didn’t stop her but assisted in propping her up a bit on her pillow. He grabbed a cup that sat on a tray next to the bed and helped her take a sip of the most wonderful water she had ever tasted. And then she said, “I don’t understand because the last thing I remember—” She stopped short as the cutting memories flooded in all at once. I can’t tell him.
“I know Ava is being accused of some things,” he said as his eye contact wavered. “The gardener told me some stuff that I’m having a hard time believing. Then your uncle came back from Alaska yesterday. That’s when he found you frozen in one of his ice tanks…”
“I know it was scary for your pops and all,” the E.M.S guy said, “but when that block of ice was lifted out of the tank with you inside, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so amazing and beau…” His light skin turned crimson, and in an abrupt move, he turned away from Gwen.
Gwen figured she had turned a shade of red herself, but her father didn’t seem to have noticed the little sparks. He continued talking.
“I have to find out one thing: Did Ava do this to you? She said… oh never mind what she said happened. I need to hear the truth from you.”
She looked into her father’s weary eyes. “Are you sure?”
He nodded his head. “Whatever it is…”
Two weeks earlier…
“You need to get the hell out of here,” the gardener said.
“Why?” Gwen asked, as she looked up at him. She had been reading a romance novel under her favorite tree by the pond.
“It’s not safe for you here... for any of us. At least not until your papa’s out of his coma.”
“But I don’t understand.” She stood up and wiped the soggy, dead leaves from her black jeans.
“This time she asked me to kill you.” The gardener shook his head slowly. “She tried to persuade me by saying you stepped on my gladiolus. She’s getting crazier and crazier. You didn’t step on them… did you?”
Gwen had heard whispers around the mansion all month. She knew that her step mom’s mood changed with the moon, but this couldn’t be true. “Oh, gosh.” She put her hand over her mouth.
“My magic eight ball was right; Ava must have put those knives in my bath on purpose.”
“And she made the chandelier fall in the dining room,” he said. “And she put the slivers of glass in the milk, and I’m really suspicious about those snakes in your closet. It has become a death trap for all of us. Just yesterday, poor Maria got a nasty cut.”
“Ava did all of that? But why?”
The gardener shrugged his shoulders. “She’s crazy, and she hates you.”
“Oh…”
“The staff had a meeting just a while ago. We were thinking that maybe it might be best if you didn’t call the police about all this. You see, a few of us have some… legal issues. We were thinking that it might be best if I convinced her that you were dead. We don’t mean to be so stingy. It’s just that we all have our families to support. You understand.”
Gwen gave a slight laugh at the obvious joke he had just made, but then he continued the charade without flinching.
“To prove I completed my mission, Mrs. Summer asked for your heart. Would you mind giving me your necklace?”
“What? Wait, I don’t understand...” Gwen said, grabbing the heart locket on the necklace in a protective manner. Ava had destroyed everything else that had anything to do with her mother when she had married Gwen’s dad seven years before. The necklace was the only thing she had left.
He said, “I’ll tell her that the necklace was in my way when I tried to cut your heart out.” He shook his head. “I’m telling you, she’s so coo-coo she’ll believe anything.”
“You’re not kidding?”
He shook his head. “It’s the only way.”
A single tear escaped Gwen’s eyes as she gave the gardener her most prized possession.
“Here,” he said, handing her a bag. “We packed this for you. It has a few things you will need on your journey. Good luck.” He patted her on the shoulder and then walked back to the house, leaving Gwen standing in the backyard feeling really lost and confused as to what had just happened.
***
“Gwen, Gwen, Gwen.” She heard voices and felt the pulling of things like her hair and boots.
“What?” she said, stretching up her arms, yawning, and then coming out of her sweet dreams. She rolled over and saw fourteen eyes staring down at her. “Hey,” she said. “Everyone’s home!” She had walked to her uncle’s who lived just a couple of blocks from her home.
“Going Goth, Dude?” Dewey, her sixteen year old cousin, asked. His body slightly swayed as he leaned on the door frame like it held him up. He was the oldest of her cousins by eight years, then the rest of them stair-stepped.
She reached up and touched her hair. She had forgotten they hadn’t seen her since she had dyed it jet black. “No,” she said. “I’m a practicing witch.”
“Far-out,” he said. He made a couple of jerky head movements, and then left the room.
“Gwen, you’re too big for my bed,” Gabby said. She had her arms crossed and a snarl on her face.
“I’m sorry, I was just so tired and—”
“Are you sick?” Davie, Gabby’s twin, asked. A stethoscope hung around his neck. He put it up to Gwen’s heart and listened intently. He nodded his head and took a step back. “Well, all sounds good.”
“I’m not sick you guys. I was just a little sleepy.”
“Me too,” said Sadie, the other bed owner, and the only blonde of the bunch. She curled up beside Gwen. Gwen smiled and petted Sadie’s long hair.
“Well, I’m sick,” seven year old Simon said, taking a whiff from his inhaler.
“You’re always sick,” Gabby said.
“Am not,” he said and then sneezed.
“Settle down,” Uncle H said. He had a friendly smile, even while being authoritative. “We’re all excited to see Gwen, but let’s give her some room.” They all moved back an inch, except for Sadie who had fallen sound asleep on Gwen’s lap. That’s when Gwen noticed eight year old Basil’s head poke out from behind his father.
“Hey Basil,” she sang, “Why don’t you come give me high five?”
Basil ducked behind his dad again.
“What time is it?” Gwen asked, looking around for a clock.
“Almost five,” Uncle H said. “So, how long have you been here?”
“Five hours…”
“Then you must be starving,” he said and smiled. “All right troop, let’s go clear and set the table.”
“Yay! Time to eat,” Simon said. He then let out three loud and extremely wet sneezes.
“Gross!” Gabby said. “Dad! He just got his boogers all over my room.”
“Go on,” Uncle H shooed. “Go on.”
“But this is my room,” Gabby said as she stomped out the door.
Uncle H went over and picked up Sadie and laid her on the pillow. “I’ll just let her rest until dinner is ready.”
Gwen nodded her head and then whispered, “So, aren’t you going to ask me what I’m doing here?”
“Come on.” He motioned with his head for her to follow him out of the room. “We’ll talk after dinner.”
Dinner consisted of Kraft macaroni and cheese, corndogs, and instant mashed potatoes. Gwen didn’t care what she ate for dinner; she delighted in being in a household with such animation and laughter. At her house, dinners were formal. If she wanted to eat at the dinner table, she had to dress, use table manners, and excuse herself when she had finished her meal. At her uncle’s table, all hands were in the middle at once grabbing for spoons and reaching for the salt. They were all talking with loaded mouths. There were spills galore, and no one got in trouble. Fantastic!
After dinner, the little kids stood in the kitchen, most on stools, and washed the dishes. Dewey had left right after he finished eating to go meet friends, and Uncle H had invited Gwen to go look at his newly remodeled shop.
The few steps across the backyard to her uncle’s workshop in the cold February night air didn’t compare to the freezing temperature inside the metal building. Her uncle snapped on a switch, and the florescent lights way above on the high ceiling illuminated the open area. “Welcome to White Ice, Inc’s new home,” he said.
“Wow, you finally moved the whole thing.” She looked around at the tables and huge machines that occupied most of the space. Power tools, chisels, aprons, and rubber gloves covered one peg board wall. And way on the back wall sat rectangular and square containers that Gwen knew made gigantic ice blocks for his sculptures.
Uncle H said, “Yep, sure beats having to go all the way into the city.”
“I bet. But I am surprised Emma didn’t take all of this, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I saw that she took everything else. The TV.…”
“No, we sold all of that on Ebay.”
“Your couch? Why?”
“Me and the kids are saving to go to Alaska.”
“Alaska? Isn’t it cold enough in here?”
“There’s this big ice sculpting competition—The World Art Championship. I thought we would enter the Amateur Open. There’s no prize for it, but I thought getting our minds off of everything would be reward enough. The kids are really excited.”
“I can’t believe Aunt Emma just up and left you guys. I’m sorry I haven’t been by. I feel really bad. I could have helped or something…”
“The last couple of months have been rough… but we probably needed that time by ourselves to adjust. But thanks.” He smiled, causing his big, rosy cheeks to puff up. “So, enough about that. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you. You doing all right, kiddo?”
Gwen shrugged her shoulders and turned away from him, pretending to examine the chain saw. She knew she had to tell him that she wanted to stay there. But if she told him what the gardener had said, he would surely call the cops. She couldn’t upset the staff.
Her uncle put his arm around her. “I know what’s wrong. You miss your dad, don’t you?”
She nodded, unable to hold back the tears anymore.
“I can take you to the hospital. I don’t mind. I need to get by there again myself.”
“I can’t… not yet.”
“Gwen, it was an accident. He tripped—”
“On my candles. I must have dropped them on my way to the garden. Why did I have to drop them at the top of the stairs?”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Ava thinks it is.” Oops! She hadn’t meant to say anything about her.
“Is that what this is all about?” He gently turned her around to see her face and then wiped a tear from her cheek. “I’m sure she doesn’t blame you. She’s just upset, you know. Everyone just wants him to get better.”
Gwen wanted to tell him so badly that Ava had been trying to kill her and that the staff had voted her out of the house, but she kept quiet about it all and just asked, “Would you mind if I stay with you guys for a while? I can cook… help with the kids… clean up a little.”
“You know you can stay here, without doing all of that stuff… but I must say, the cooking part does sound enticing. Let’s just give Ava a call—”
“No!” Gwen shouted. “I mean, I already told her, and she said maybe it would be best…” She felt her face turn apple red from the little white lie she had just told, but he couldn’t call her. He just couldn’t!
He smiled. “Well, all right. We don’t have to call anyone right now. Oh my. Gwen, you look like you’re freezing. You have to wear a sweater when you come out here. Come on. Let’s get you out of the cold.”
Gwen sat on the Cinderella sleeping bag in the girl’s room wearing the T-shirt and shorts the gardener had packed for her. Being around her cousins made her realize how lonely she had become since her father’s accident. She shuffled the Bicycle cards she had borrowed from Dewey and then placed four of them upside down in a row as she whispered, “Will my father get well soon?” She flipped them over one by one: a joker, a seven of diamonds, a queen of hearts, and a king of clubs. “Hmmm,” she said, hoping the draw meant something good. She had to believe her father would get better any day and then everything would go back to normal. Maybe then, Ava wouldn’t be mad at her anymore. Maybe then, she could go home. And maybe then, she could go back to college — where she would have been at that moment, but Ava had told her there were too many hospital bills.
To be continued...
Because of the length, Part 2 will be posted next month.
