Hillary_Flesh and Blood (38 page)

It was no surprise that she ignored Hillary. It amused Hillary to think that Storm might be af
r
aid of her. She was in charge now, and everyone should tremble
in her presence
.

“
Hi Mom,
”
Hillary said.

“Hi honey
,
”
Kathy replied cordially,
“
it smells great in here. What are you making?
”

Hillary followed her mother int
o the kitchen. Kathy placed a small box and a plastic bag on the counter.

“
No peeking,
”
Hillary said,
“
it
’
s a surprise.
”

“
Okay,
”
Kathy agreed,
“
I can
’
t wait to dig in. How was Joshua?
”

“
Perfect! We had so much fun together. We
’
re still playing hide and seek. He
’
s getting much better with his hiding spots.
”

“
I
’
m surprised Joshy didn
’
t run out to greet me.
”

“
You know how serious he takes his game of hide and seek. What
’
s it the box and bag?
”

“
Oh, I picked up some pastries, for desert.
”

Hillary reached for the box.

“
No peeking,
”
Kathy teased,
“
it
’
s a surprise!
”

Not like the surprise I have in store for you!

Hillary withdrew her hand.

“
Yum, can
’
t wait. W
hat
’
s in the bag?
”

“
Just Storm
’
s medicine,
”
Kathy replied grudgingly,
“
you won
’
t believe what it cost me to get her. I almost left her behind.
”

“
How much?
”

“
Eight hundred and sixty-five dollars. Can you believe it? We can
’
t
—”

“
What?
”

“
Nothing,
”
Kathy replied, taking a deep breath and calming down,
“
we
’
ll be okay. What can I give you a hand with?
”

“
Maybe you can make the salad,
”
Hillary suggested.

“
Sounds good, let me just go to the bathroom.
”

While Kathy was in the bathroom, Hillary ran to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed two large slotted spoons. She ran back to the stove, opened the oven door, uncovered the pot and fished out Joshua
’
s head. She shook off the excess liquid before tossing it into the oven. She closed the oven door, threw the spoons in the sink and used the kitchen rag to wipe up the mess she made on the stove top and floor. Hillary stirred her stew with the pot spoon then returned the lid to the pot.

Kathy was back a couple minutes later. She thought it smelled peculiar but didn
’
t want to hurt Hillary
’
s feeling. She w
ould eat whatever she had conco
cted and would rave about how delicious it was.

“
Did you find Joshy yet?
”

“
He
’
ll be here soon, I
’
m sure,
”
Hillary said, as she pulled the lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers out from the refrigerator.

“
Aww, don
’
t keep the little guy waiting, I
’
ll take care of this,
”
Kathy said, as she pulled the produce from
H
illary
’
s hands and set them down on the counter. She pulled out a large salad bowl from one of the upper cabinets then reached for the butcher block.

“
Where are all of the knives?
”
she said, frowning.

Hillary grabbed one of the steak knives.

“
Just use this one,
”
she said, handing it to her mother without answering her question.

Kathy grabbed it as Hillary turned to leave the kitchen.

“
I
’
ll go hunt for Joshua,
”
she said, and was gone before her mother could question her further.

Kathy rinsed everything then added the lettuce to the bowl. She chopped the tomatoes and sliced the cucumbers before adding them to the bowl. She placed any extras back in the refrigerator and grabbed a small carrot. She rinsed it, grated it and added it to her salad. She retrieved her salad tongs and used it to mix up the contents of the bowl. It was nearly overflowing. Out of habit, she had made enough for her entire family. She felt her eyes begin to mist at the thought of Caleigh but held back her
tears. It was a special night…
it was going to be a happy one. She would deal with the madness tomorrow.

Hillary entered the kitchen fifteen minutes later and began grabbing bowls and spoons.

“
Where
’
s Joshy?
”
Kathy asked.

“
Still hiding, I think he fell asleep.
”

“
I
’
d better go look for him.
”

“
Wait, Mom,
”
Hillary said, growing nervous,
“
let him rest. We can get started with dinner, just the girls.
”

It struck Kathy as odd...suspicious.

Stop being such a worry-wart,
she told herself.

“
Okay,
”
she agreed,
“
just the girls.
”

Hillary smiled as she carried the bowls and spoons to the dining room.

“
I
’
ve got the napkins and salad,
”
Kathy said, following behind her.

Hillary set the table then said,
“
now for the main course!
”

Hillary walked back to the kitchen. She found a soup ladle and began scooping the stew into a serving bowl. She made sure to get most of the pieces of meat out of the pot. Slowly, she carried the serving bowl to the dining room and placed it on the table.

“
I
’
ll serve,
”
Hillary said, grabbing Kathy
’
s bowl and filling it full to the top with her special meal.

“
Not so much,
”
Kathy said, waving her hand to motion for Hillary to stop serving.

“
I hope you like it, Mommy,
”
Hillary said sweetly, with a wide smile,
“
happy Mother
’
s Day!
”

“
Thanks, sweetheart,
”
Kathy said warmly, touched by Hillary
’
s gesture,
“
I know I
’
m gonna love it.
”

Hillary filled her bowl with a
much
smaller portion.

“
Where
’
s Joshy
’
s bowl?
”

“
I
’
ll get it when he joins us...dig in!
”

Kathy smiled, looked down at her bowl then dipped her spoon in the thick, light-colored stew. She stirred it then brought the spoon to her lips. She blew it gently then opened wide. She
placed the spoon into her mouth and drank the broth
slowly as she nodded. It had a weird taste. She couldn
’
t quite put her finger on the taste. It wasn
’
t all that bad, just different. Maybe Hillary had used a different seasoning, something she
had
learned in school. Kathy took another bite, this time, one with some meat.

Kathy unintentionally made a face then quickly smiled at Hillary to disguise her dissatisfaction. The meat was...well, quite nasty. It was fatty and had an odd texture.

Maybe it
’
s just that one piece, she thought.

Kathy took another
spoonful
with the juicy morsels of meat. It was just as distasteful.

“
So?
”
Hillary asked eagerly,
“
how do you like it?
”

“
M
m
m
,
”
Kathy said as she wiped some of the broth from
her
lower lip,
“
it
’
s really good...really good.
”

“
I
’
m so happy you like it!
”
Hillary squealed in delight as she began to eat.

“
What
’
s in it?
”
Kathy asked,
for
c
ing herself to eat
another bite.

“
It
’
s a secret,
”
Hillary replied mischievously, with a smile.

The two ate in silence for several minutes more. Kathy
’
s stomach began to gurgle. She knew she couldn
’
t eat much more. She had eaten about half of what was in her bowl. She was hoping to finish the entire amount, but just couldn
’
t stomach it. The more she had eaten, the worse the taste got. The texture was just so...unlike anything she
’
d ever eaten before.

What exactly was it? What kind of meat did Hillary use? Kathy thought about the smelly piece of meat that was on the floor in Hillary
’
s room. Then she thought about the pile of rotti
n
g flesh out in the woods. Her stomach churned; she felt like throwing up.

“
I
’
m going to go look for Josh,
”
she said anxiously. She wanted to make a run for the bathroom and empty her stomach.

“
Soon,
”
Hillary said,
“
let
’
s finish this special dinner.
”

“
Hillary, I....
”

“
What
’
s wrong? You don
’
t like it, do you?
”
Hillary pouted.

“
No, no, it
’
s g
reat, I just...I have a stomach
ache.
”

“
Aww, maybe you can just drink the broth.
”

Kathy lifted the bowl slowly and brought it to her lips, pretending to sip the broth. Even the smell now made her ill. She held her breath.

“
It
’
s getting late,
”
she said, placing the bowl down,
“
I can
’
t let Joshua sleep so long.
”

“
I
’
ll get him,
”
Hillary said.

“
No, finish your food, I
’
ll go and find him.
”

Hillary watched her mother walk away. The time was drawing near.

“
Joshua...
”
Kathy called out to her son as she scanned possible hiding spots in the living room.