Memories That Still Haunt Us

Chapter Twenty-Five:

"I need to run upstairs to change my outfit." Millie says to me; actually, she screeches at me. She's been scrambling around all day, ordering me to do things as we prep the house for her uptight friends to come by for brunch. I'm supposed to be off on Saturdays, but I can't remember the last time she actually let me have a Saturday off. Each week she comes banging on my door, giving me a list of urgent things I have to help her with.

Each time she talks to me, I imagine slitting her throat and watching the blood squirt from her neck like a broken pipe. Or sometimes, I imagine placing my hands around her throat and squeezing until her face turns purple and her eyes nearly bulge out of her skull.

This summer has been excruciatingly hot. It doesn't help that my guest house doesn't have an air conditioning unit. I've been forced to buy about fifteen fans just for my bedroom alone. Ellis also hasn't gotten around to fixing the windows so I can open them up during the cooler nights to let some air in.

"Answer the door if anyone shows up and escort them to the parlor room." She informs me, sounding like a character from Clue when she calls it a parlor room. Without another word, she darts up the stairs in her hideous jumpsuit, which drowns her and washes out her skin.

I roll my eyes and move back into the kitchen, where I continue cutting the cucumbers and placing them with the other tray of fruit and veggies. Beck comes flying into the room. "I'm having a friend over." He announces it and hops onto the bar stool. "I'm going to make him my apprentice."

"Oh?"

He reaches his hand over and snags a carrot from the tray, stuffing it into his mouth. His loud chomping makes my body stiffen. "Are you having a playdate with Mommy and her friends?"

I can't help but laugh. "Absolutely not."

"What are you doing then?"

Just being a servant to your horrible mother. This was not part of the job description. "Your mom needs some help setting things up while she finishes getting ready."

"Can we go swimming on Monday together?" He asks.

I nod. "Sure."

"Dad got me Puff."

I look at him confused. "What's that?"

"Puff the Magic Dragon. He got me Puff for the pool." He makes a dinosaur-roaring sound. "We can play with Puff." He snatches another carrot, nearly falling out of the bar stool as he does so.

"Would you like a plate of your own veggies?" I ask as he grabs another handful of carrots, messing up my organized tray.

He shakes his head. "Nope!" He leaps off the bar stool and races around the counter over to me. "Want to know a secret?" He wiggles his eyebrows at me mischievously.

I stop cutting and look down at him. "What's the secret?"

He leans into me. "My friends all think you're pretty." He giggles, his head falling back with laughter, before he takes off out of the kitchen.

I shake my head just as the doorbell rings. I wipe my hands on the rag hanging off the dishwasher, then move towards the front door. When I open it, Gretchen and Courtney are standing before me, purses strung on their arms, and their hair curled into ringlets that desperately need to be brushed out. "Oh! Reign, it's so lovely to see you." They both say it in unison.

They remind me of the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp.

"Are you going to be joining us?" Gretchen asks.