In the Image of Grace (5 page)

I stopped talking and watched his face for some sort
of expression. He ran his hands through his hair and said, “That’s
some crazy stuff.”

“Why yes it is,” Clarissa agreed with him.

Isabelle nodded her head with agreement to his
statement.

……………………………………………..

The four of us walked with a quick pace down to our
house. We really didn’t have much time. We got to our house and all
stood on the sidewalk in front of it.

“You guys live here,” Jeremy asked in what seemed
like amazement. “My family’s apartment could fit in like a corner
of that. Your house is awesome.”

“Just awesome by appearance only,” I murmured.

We had him wait on the side of the house while we
were buzzed in.

What happened next was Clarissa distracted Ms.
Dunderfeltz while Isabelle and I searched for the key ring that had
all the household keys on it. I honestly didn’t know which one was
the house key, so when I found the key ring in a kitchen drawer I
took the whole thing. I couldn’t go out any of the doors or the
windows on the first floor because the chime for the house alarm
would go off, but I knew the window in Elizabeth’s room never had a
motion detector on it. I guess our father thought we would never go
out one of the second floor windows and he was right we never did,
until then. I grabbed the key ring and held all the keys together
in my hand so they wouldn’t make any kind of jangling sound.

I ran across the house up the stairs and into
Elizabeth’s room where I opened up the window and called for
Jeremy. He quickly appeared and I threw the key ring at him. I
watched the key ring fly over the roof below and over the green
grass and over the tall black wrought iron fence, where Jeremy
threw his hand up in the air and caught it. He smiled up at me, I
flashed him a thumbs up and he was on the way.

We sent him to copy all the keys because as I said
earlier we didn’t know which one was the house key. Luckily there
was only about five on the key ring. I stood looking out the window
eagerly anticipating his arrival because it was going to be dinner
time soon and at dinner we were expected to be properly on time and
clean.

I knew it shouldn’t have take too long because the
hardware store was pretty much right down the block. I paced back
and forth in Elizabeth’s room, noting that nothing had changed
since she had died. Everything was as she left it, being in there
almost made me feel a little better because I was in there trying
to do as she wanted. I felt connected to her spirit, even thought
Elizabeth always said we had no souls or spirits, other people
perhaps, but not us. I used to believe that, but I wasn’t sure if
she was correct or not. I really did feel like she was there
talking to me in my room while I was sleeping. I didn’t want to
believe it was just my subconscious.

After about thirty-five minutes Jeremy was back.

I opened the window and popped my head out. The brisk
fall wind slapping me in the face.

“There was a long line,” he said trying not to be too
loud.

“Thank you so much,” I piped wanting to give him a
hug again.

“The copies are all on the key ring and have little
pieces of cardboard wrapped around them.”

“Okay, just toss them up to me.”

“Ready.”

“Yes.”

The keys flew through the air making their way back
up to me. They were approaching the window and I reached out and
missed. They fell, hit the roof and slid into the gutter. I could
see Jeremy swear under his breath. I instantly stuck one leg out
the window, held onto the frame and pulled out my upper body and
other leg.

“Jesus, be careful,” I heard Jeremy say.

I didn’t want to look down. I envisioned Elizabeth
laying down there as a five year old still breathing and then a
seventeen year old not breathing. I squatted down, then got on my
hands and knees and very gingerly crawled backwards to the edge,
feeling the sand paper like texture of the roof shingles. I slowly
rotated myself so I was parallel with the gutter and snatched up
the keys. My heart was beating like it was the lead in the
band.

“Careful,” Jeremy repeated.

I crawled back up the roof, through the window and
was safely back on the floor in Elizabeth’s room once again. “I
can’t thank you enough,” I said to Jeremy standing down on the side
walk. He gave me a wave and was off.

I had to get back downstairs and put the keys back.
Clarissa and Isabelle were in the front living room helping Ms.
Dunderfeltz dust. I quietly ran past, down though the hall that was
off the foyer that led into the back of the house, through the
family room and into the kitchen. I pulled open the kitchen drawer
and dropped the keys inside.

Then I realized I didn’t take off the copy keys, so I
had to pull the keys out and start with the struggle of getting the
copy keys off the key ring. The key ring was one of those ones
where it was almost like a silver spiral and you have to stick the
end through the key and pull the key on, but I was having some
issues pulling it apart. After a few tries I pulled it apart and
was able to slowly pull the keys off. I put the key ring in the
drawer and had the copies clasped in my palm when I heard Ms.
Dunderfeltz walk through the kitchen doorway. Clarissa was behind
her mouthing, “We tried.”

“I can’t find any scissors,” I proclaimed trying to
cover my tracks.

“They’re in the other drawer,” Ms. Dunderfeltz said
pointing to the drawer on the other side of the sink. Ms.
Dunderfeltz was a short round woman with strikingly blond hair that
fell to her chin. Her face was always pink. She looked like she was
in a constant state of fluster.

“Thanks,” I beamed pulling the drawer open and then
digging for the scissors.

“Dinner will be ready shortly,” Ms. Dunderfeltz
stated walking over to the stove where there was a pot with boiling
water and another one simmering with some kind of sauce in it.

“All right,” I replied casually walking out of the
kitchen so I wouldn’t look suspicious. I then went upstairs with
Isabelle and Clarissa behind me. We gathered in my room on the bed.
I unfolded my hand and showed them the keys. “The only problem now
is the security alarm because if we get back after Ms. Dundefeltz
leaves we’ll set the alarm off.”

“Actually, that isn’t a problem,” Clarissa chirped
sitting up straight. She looked proud that she held the solution.
“I watched Ms. Dunderfeltz enter the code when she was leaving a
couple months ago and I remember what it is.”

“Wonderful,” I squeaked knowing that my sisters and I
could come and go as we pleased as long as Ms. Dundefeltz didn’t
say anything.

I smiled at Clarissa. She was the most outspoken out
of us all. She told you exactly what she thought. Our father always
said she was ill mannered because we were brought up to be prim and
proper young ladies. Clarissa always tried to fight it. She knew
that’s not what she was like.

“So,” Clarissa giggled with a grin spreading across
her face. “Does Jeremy want to be your boyfriend or what?”

“No, I don’t think so. I barely know him.”

“Well, why else would he be so eager to help.”

“He’s nice would be my guess.”

“No, I bet it’s cuz he thinks you’re pretty. This
girl Maria in my biology class sez that even though I’ve only been
going to school there a couple days, lots of guys already think I’m
hot.”

Clarissa had been only going to public school for a
few days and she was already picking up what our father would call
the lazy way of speaking. She was going to have no problem fitting
in. Then there was me. I think everybody I talked to thought I was
weird, well except for Lawrence. I had proper English and manners
drilled into my brain and it was probably going to be a while
before I could slowly drill them out.

“And you look just like me and well, so does
Isabelle, so therefore you’re hot too,” Clarissa continued on.

“Well, I’ll ask him about it tomorrow,” I said laying
back on my bed and looking at the ceiling.

“You can’t just do that,” Clarissa almost
shouted.

“Why?”

“Cuz, you have to wait till he asks you out.”

“Why? How do you know this stuff? You’ve only been in
school for three days.”

Isabelle sat crossed legged shaking her head. She was
looking back and forth between Clarissa and I, while we sat there
doing a totally normal teenage thing, talking about boys.

“I talk to people,” Clarissa announced raising her
nose in the air. “It’s called socializing. You two should try it,”
she sassed pointing to Isabelle and me.

“Well, I have. I’ve somewhat socialized with Jeremy.
That should count.”

“You have to talk to more than one person.”

“No, that’s enough for me for now, I think.”

Isabelle just shrugged. Ms. Dundefeltz called up and
told us to get washed for dinner.

The four of us left directly after to school to go
down to the university to visit Mr. Carl. We all sat on the EL
watching the city go by. We watched the tops of apartment
buildings, back porches, store fronts, side streets and brick
bungalows whiz by. I sat next to the window, Jeremy was to my left
and Isabelle and Clarissa were sitting side by side behind us. I
asked Jeremy earlier in the day if he wanted to come with and he
said okay. Clarissa said the only reason I invited him was because
I liked him. I was going to ask him if the only reason he helped us
was because he thought I was pretty, but I decided to let it pass
as Clarissa suggested. The train rattled along and kind of smelled
like what I imaged a garbage dump would smell like on a hot summer
day. There were quite a few other people on the train with us,
mainly other kids coming home from school. I was wondering what we
would say to Mr. Carl. How exactly should we approach him? Were we
to start right out with, “You’re a liar.” I’m sure he’d be
wondering why we were there or how we even found him. I was just
hoping he would even talk to us.

“This is the stop,” Clarissa declared getting up and
walking to the train doors. We all got up and followed her, swaying
with the movement of the train.

The doors opened with a swooshing sound and we
stepped out onto the train platform. We followed the crowd and
walked to the left down the platform. Side by side we got on an
escalator that took us to the ground. We walked through the
turnstile and out to the street corner. At the light we crossed and
walked towards the university. I kind of knew where to go because I
looked at the university map online. Mr. Carl was teaching at the
south campus, so we had to walk across the main campus and cross
the street where the south campus was located. As we walked across
campus I took in all the buildings and students milling around.
There were students sitting on cement benches that lined the main
walkway across campus. Others were darting off to class with their
books in hand or with their backpacks on their backs. One student
was riding his bike across campus. The buildings all looked old and
historical. I’m sure they had all been there over a hundred years.
They were all done in a yellow stone, I had the slightest idea
which one and the corners of the building had bigger stones on them
like added embellishments. They all had ornate carved doorways with
scrolls and the year the buildings were built. One of the buildings
said 1891. I was right about being over a hundred years old. An
older gentleman passed with a graying beard and a sport jacket. I
wondered if he was a professor and if he was what did he teach. Was
it the sciences or perhaps something in the arts?

I then began to think if the four of us looked out of
place walking across a college campus. Did people think we were
there for a tour, or did they not even question it? I wore my brown
coat and this time I had on a hat. It was one I picked out when we
went to the store with our father. It was peach and very soft and
fuzzy, it felt like a rabbit, luckily it was not made of one. I
checked. It was almost the shape of an upside down flower. It fit
snuggly around the top of my head and kind of belled out at the
bottom. It was the cheeriest thing I picked out that day. Clarissa
had her hair up in what seemed now to be her signature ponytail and
wore a pink ski vest over her shirt. She kept talking to Jeremy as
we walked. It seemed she discovered she liked talking to other
people because our whole lives we’ve only had each other to talk
to. The drill went something like this.

“What year are you?” Clarissa asked.

“Senior,” he replied.

“What is your full name?”

“What?”

“First, middle, last.”

“Why? Are you going to steal my identity? Get a
mortgage in my name, a bunch of charge cards and ruin my
credit.”

“No,” Clarissa giggled.

“All right then. Jeremy James Moretti.”

“What are your hobbies?”

“Uh, music and I like poetry, mainly from the beat
generation and music again I guess.”

“Really, that sounds like you just made it up.”

“Do you want me to say watching football and
drinking?”

“We’ll go with the first. Where do you live?”

“Up on the northwest side, way up on the northwest
side actually.”

Clarissa paused to think of something else to ask and
then continued. “Where are you going to college?”

Jeremy shrugged. “I dunno, that’s still in discussion
with my mom and stepdad.”

“Ever kill anybody?”

“No, well at least not intentionally.”

Clarissa’s mouth fell open.

“I’m joking.”

“Good.”

“Anything else?”

“When I think of more I’ll get back to you.”

Jeremy bobbed his head. It kind of made him look like
a pigeon.

Isabelle quietly walked along with us just taking in
the atmosphere. The tips of her ears and nose were a rosy pink
because she wasn’t wearing a hat, just a grass green pea coat. I
couldn’t believe we were on the campus of what we always referred
to as our father’s university. It was always off limits to us like
the rest of the world. I wondered how he would react if he found us
there. What could he have really done anyways? We reached the edge
of the main campus and waited for the light to turn and walked
across the street looking at the address on the buildings. We found
the one we wanted and climbed the front steps. An overwhelming
feeling of anxiety came over me. I stopped on the second step.