Читать книгу Blood of the Donnellys - David McRae - Страница 7

A couple of days later I awoke with a terrific headache. Opening one eye, I glanced at my bedside radio clock — 7:30 a.m.! I sat up. How could that be? Hadn’t I just gone to sleep? Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I heard a relentless pounding that wasn’t in my head.

“Jason!” I recognized Jennifer’s voice. “Get up! Dad wants to take us out for breakfast before the movers get here.”

“Go away!”

It was moving day. We really were going to Lucan. Anger flooded through me again. I knew I’d been particularly mean to Jennifer and unfair to my parents the past few days, but it was my life, too. What right did they have to take me away from my home and friends just because they thought it would be good for me?

“Come on!” she pleaded. “Mom and Dad are waiting.” “Tell them no thanks!” I snarled. “I’m going to stay behind.”

“Jason!”

“Get lost, Stilts!”

I threw my pillow at the opening door. In my sleepy stupor I missed and knocked the lamp off the bookcase, which grazed Jennifer’s shoulder as it crashed to the floor. I froze under Jennifer’s stare. What was I doing?

Jennifer and I could always talk in the past. Now I tried to speak, explain things, but my jaw just flapped. I got off my bed and reached out to Jennifer as tears welled in her eyes, but she turned away and slammed the door behind her.

Slumping back onto the bed, I started punching the other pillow. I hit it even harder when I heard Dad ask in the hallway, “Jennifer, where’s Jason?”

“He’s not coming!” Jennifer said, seething.

“Not coming? We’ll see about that. Jason, get down here!”

I wrapped the pillow around my ears and covered my head with the blanket as I waited for him to burst into the room. I really couldn’t blame him for being angry, but I didn’t care. Instead I steeled myself for another fight with him.

“Wait, Tom!” I heard my mother say. “Let him be. He needs time.”

“But, Ellen!” Then he sighed. “Come on, Jennifer, get your coat. I’m buying breakfast.”

When I heard the front door close, I slipped off my bed, went over to the window, and looked out. Mom and Jennifer were walking arm in arm ahead of Dad. Jennifer rested her head on my mother’s shoulder, a burst of frosty breath shrouding her. Dad tightened the scarf around his neck and buttoned his overcoat. Before climbing into the car, he glanced up at my window. At first he seemed dejected — not angry or disappointed, just sad. Then, slowly, he raised a hand in a gentle wave and smiled. After that he got into the car, started it, and reversed down the driveway. In a few moments the car disappeared in the morning fog.

“Why do they have to be so nice?” I muttered.

After flipping on the stereo to my usual brand of heavy metal, I flopped face first into a pillow and closed my eyes. As I lay there and let myself be enveloped by the electric skirl of guitars, I barely heard my cell phone ring. Fumbling for the phone, I picked it up, punched the talk button, and mumbled, “Hello?”

“Hey, man!” I knew Sam’s voice right away and turned down the volume on my stereo. “You must be having some kind of blast there, kiddo! What’s up?”

“You know what’s up!” I shot back. “I move today. Remember?”

“Yeah ... I know.”

Sam resented the move as much as I did, if not more. I smacked my hand across my forehead, regretful that I was even being snarly with my best friend. “Sorry for snapping, Sam!” I struggled to keep the quaver out of my voice. “It’s just that ...

“Tough, isn’t it? I’m coming over. See you in a bit.”

“Thanks, man.”

I tossed the cell onto the bed, got up, and threw on jeans and a Toronto Maple Leafs T-shirt. Then, from outside, I heard the rumble of a big engine and the bleeping whine of a reverse signal. The moving truck was backing into our driveway. I wanted to shout, “Go away! Leave us alone!” Instead I turned up my stereo to block out the noise of the movers.

“Anyone home?” a voice called out.

I pushed myself out of bed, trudged out of the room, and looked over the banister of the upstairs landing. A burly man was standing in the foyer. He tilted his sweat-rimmed baseball cap on his head and quickly surveyed the hall, then took some measurements of the front door and tapped out the hinge pins to move it out of the way. As he straightened, he spotted me. “Hey, Jason! It’s Fred! The door was open. I know we’re a bit early, but I thought we might as well get started.”

I didn’t answer. We’d met the first time he’d come to give an estimate on our move, and he’d seemed friendly enough then. Now I was in no mood for chatter.

“Mom and Dad not home?” he asked.

“Gone out for breakfast,” I grumbled. “Be back whenever!” His smile faded.

“It is okay if we start, isn’t it?”

“Whatever!”

I returned to my bedroom and shut the door. When I heard the rattle of the moving truck’s back door and then the crash of the loading ramp on our front steps, it just made my mood blacker. With all the noise from the shuffle of furniture, the barking of orders, and my blasting stereo, I didn’t hear the tap on my bedroom door at first. When the knocking became louder, I flew off the bed.

“What do you want now?” I bellowed.

The door suddenly opened and knocked me two steps backward. It was Sam! As always, his freckled, chubby face wore a grin.

“Easy, buddy!” he said, ducking behind the door for protection when he saw my scowl.

I relaxed. “Sorry. Come in.”

Sam shut the door and checked the candy bowl on the bureau, but it was empty today. He threw himself on my bed. “Boy, did you see the arms on those movers? They’ve got muscles on their muscles and arms as big as my legs.”

I shrugged. “Life sucks!”

Sam flashed another grin. “It won’t be that bad, Jase. It’s not like you’ll be a million miles away. We both have cells. Besides, I’ll be paying you a visit during March break.”

I frowned but didn’t say anything.

Sam riffled through a copy of Sports Illustrated. After a few minutes, he asked, “What did the judge say you have to do again?”

“I have to do thirty hours of community service helping Granddad in Lucan.”

Sam chuckled. “Your grandfather! What a guy! What he’s up to these days?”

“See!” I snapped. “You’re just like everybody else! Making fun of him all the time. And now I have to hang around him. I’m sure glad no one knows me in Lucan.”

“Whoa, Jase! Your granddad’s a great guy. Sure, he may seem weird to some people, but I think he’s always doing neat things. I was just asking what he’s doing lately. You don’t have to bite my head off.”

“I’m sorry, Sam. I’m just on edge these days. Granddad’s doing a history of Lucan and helping set up the village’s new museum wing.”

“Is that all you have to do? Work in a museum and help your granddad with local history? What’s the big deal?”

“And help out with senior citizens.”

Sam snorted. “Poor guy! That’s some serious hard time.”

“You don’t get it,” I growled. “He’s digging up more stuff about the Donnellys.”

“You mean the Black Donnellys? From what your folks have told me, and what we’ve read in school, people in Lucan aren’t going to like that very much.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Some of the villagers rarely speak to him anymore. Even his oldest friends have warned him off.”

“Geez! He’s really into it, isn’t he? But your granddad never lets other people’s opinions stop him. You know that.”

“Yeah, but ...” I held my breath for a moment to stifle my anger. “Now he’s studying trance clairvoyance.”

Sam sat upright. “Say what?”

“Ghosts! He’s studying ghosts! The other kids in town have a hoot wisecracking about him. And I have to move there to work with him. Lucky me, eh?”

“But where are the ghosts in Lucan?”

“Out on the old Donnelly Homestead on the Roman Line. Granddad’s made friends with a Mr. Salts, the current owner of the old Donnelly farm. He’s another ghostbuster!”

Sam whistled. “Cool!”

“Sam! Not you, too.” I knew Sam secretly enjoyed many of my grandfather’s antics. Given the chance, I think he would have loved to work with him.

“Come on, Jase! You’ve read William Bell’s Five Days of the Ghost and thought it was pretty cool, too.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“We even did some research into ghosts and hauntings for our project on the book! You really got off on the whole theory of the etheric body, the half-stage between physical and spiritual bodies after death.”

He was right. I did enjoy that project.

Sam jumped on my silence. “Give your granddad a chance. He’s an okay guy.”

Just then I heard laughter float up from the front foyer.

“Jason, we’re home!”

I recognized my mother’s voice, then heard quick steps come up the stairs and stop at my door. A gentle tap followed.

“Jason? Can I come in?”

Sam slapped my arm and nodded at the door. “She’s my friend, too. I also came to say goodbye to Jennifer.”

Slowly, I got up and opened the door. “Hi, Jen,” I said sheepishly. “How was breakfast?”

I melted at the sight of my sister’s warm smile and stepped back to let her into my room. Jennifer reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder. I didn’t draw back this time.

“It was great,” she said. “But I missed you.”

I nodded and let my head droop.

“Sam!” She raced over to the bed and bounced beside him.

I watched and listened as the two bantered. After dodging a pillow thrown by Sam, I joined in the laughter and retelling of old memories. Then, as they continued gabbing, I tried to finish up the last of my packing, wrestling the bedding off the bed they still occupied.

“Jennifer! Jason!” Mom called from downstairs.

“Coming, Mom!” Jennifer piped up.

I had mellowed with Sam’s visit, but I wasn’t as ready yet as Jennifer to accept this new start in our lives. When I pushed the top drawer of my bureau a little too hard, my baseball trophies fell over.

“Your father wants to get going,” Mom said. She was now in the hallway and was peering into my room. “Jason, the movers are going to do your room shortly. It looks like you still have a few things to pack, though.”

“I’m almost done,” I said. “Sam’s here. Jen and I are just saying goodbye.”

Mom smiled. “Hello, Sam.” She backed out of the room. “Don’t be too long, okay?”

The three of us sat in silence. It was hard for me to keep back the tears. I blinked rapidly as I shook my best friend’s hand. Jennifer openly let the tears flow and hugged Sam a little tighter and a little longer than usual.

“See you later, Freckle Face,” she whispered to Sam.

“Not if I see you first!” Sam said, his voice quavering uncertainly.

We all shuffled down the stairs and quietly shrugged into our heavy winter coats. Mom and I looked at each other. I smiled, and she put her arms around my shoulders so as not to embarrass me completely in front of Sam.

“We’re off, Fred!” I heard Dad say from the kitchen. “We’ll see you in Lucan.”

“Right you are, Mr. Stevens. Safe journey!”

Dad held the front door open for us to leave. I let Mom and Jennifer go ahead. Dad followed Sam and me out but stepped around us to open the car.

“Take care, Sam!” I said.

We high-fived each other, and I scrambled into the empty back seat. Jennifer and I waved at Sam, who lingered on our front steps. Soon we were off in a cloud of exhaust and snow flurries. I settled back. My mellow mood had vanished and the anger was back.