Paranormal Anthology With a TWIST (10 page)

“
Nice?!
Oh, it’s more
than nice, Mother…it’s amazing! Why…I’ve never experienced anything like it.
It’s elegant, with beautiful curves along its body, and when it’s moving you
hardly feel a bump.” She was so suffused with excitement she could barely
restrain herself. “Oh, Mother…can you go for a drive in it?” she pleaded. “I
know you would like it!” She laughed and clapped her hands together,
practically glowing. “And, you know, it might be nice to get out of these rooms
for a bit…”

“Lenora!” her mother said sternly, shattering the excitement like
a stone through the window.

“Mother?”

“Stop behaving that way—it isn’t ladylike!”

“What?” Lenora replied. She was confused. “I don’t…I don’t
understand…”

“Sweet Lenora, sit down with your sick mother.”

Dispirited, Lenora obeyed her mother quietly, as she always had.
The energy that had permeated her body just moments before seemed to vanish. An
invisible weight settled on her shoulders, pushing her into the cushion of the
chair next to her mother’s bed.

“Ladies do not act like that about
automobiles
. You were practically out of control…prattling about,
face flushed, speaking in that dreadful manner about a mechanical carriage.
Why, it’s vulgar!”

Lenora blushed and looked down at her hands, now folded neatly in
her lap. Her mother continued relentlessly for fifteen or twenty minutes. She
stopped listening somewhere in the middle of it, mind numbed from the verbal
lambasting.

“Oh, of course, yes, Mother,” Lenora replied when her mother
finished speaking. It was a reflex as natural as breathing air into the lungs
or blinking her eyes.

Lenora had never minded the eccentricities of her sickly mother
that led to her somewhat sheltered life.

But…Lenora was changing.

She was getting older.

And, well…

Lenora was beginning to feel
resentful
towards her mother lately. After all, she was almost
seventeen
years old! She was practically an adult. To have her
mother explain things to her
as if she
were a child
…well, it just wasn’t fair.

She reasoned with herself:
If
I am childish, it’s her fault! Mother tries too hard to protect me from
everything. A bird must spread its wings to learn to fly…oh, however will I
learn to fly?

That was the day she decided maybe she wouldn’t share
everything
with her mother. Especially
if it only resulted in her heart being broken!

No, she would keep some things secret, just for herself.

That’s how it all got started with Charlie Swain. It was just a
few short months after Lenora’s mother warned her off automobiles. If Mother
had known, had the slightest inkling that they were friends, Lenora had no
doubt she would have gravely informed
Sweet
Lenora
of the dangers involved in such a relationship.

“Hey, wow, your family has a Mercedes?” Charlie asked her one day.
Josef had just driven away after depositing her in front of the school. He was
very formal, very precise…and he dropped her off daily in the same spot. He
would no doubt have also preferred to do this at the exact same
time
each day…of course, that would
require Lenora’s assistance.

“Yes,” she answered matter-of-factly. Talk of the car excited her
but she kept her composure outwardly. Charlie’s family was
new
money and
new
in
town—a rung or two beneath her on the societal ladder.

“It sure is nice!” he replied. Even though it was
obvious
, Lenora thought, Charlie didn’t
seem to realize they were not supposed to talk to each other. He plunged on,
oblivious to her look of disdain. “I’ve never actually seen a Mercedes, but I
read about this one when they released it. It’s got a two-point-six liter,
45-horsepower diesel engine…it can go over 200 miles without stopping for gas.”

“Can it really?”

“Yes!”

“I didn’t realize that…” Lenora said to him. She had forgotten all
about improprieties and was openly hanging on his every word.

“It sure can. I think you have the only Mercedes in Carlisle…maybe
all of Pennsylvania,” he said wistfully. Then he looked right at Lenora and
said, “She’s beautiful.”

Their eyes met only for an instant then, but an instant was all it
took. Lenora blushed and looked one way while Charlie cleared his throat and
looked the other.

“Do you, umm, listen to the radio?” he asked her.

“No…my mother doesn’t allow it in the house.”

There was a pause as they both thought about what to say and
fidgeted.

“Well, maybe your mother would allow you over to our house some
day, and we could listen to ours. It’s really something…we can get the jazz
channel all the way from Harrisburg.” Charlie smiled then and Lenora couldn’t
resist.

“That sounds swell,” she bubbled.

 
“Sweet Lenora,”
Mother began one morning several weeks later. “Dear girl, it has come to my
attention that you might have eyes for this
Swain
boy…”

Lenora nearly fainted when she heard her mother say that. It was
true, but how could she know? She felt a wild mixture of guilt, fear, and anger
in the pit of her stomach. After all, they hadn’t
done
anything. Well, except for hold hands twice…

Josef!
It must be Josef,
she thought.
Mother must have him spying on me.

She tried to articulate an answer for her mother and was surprised
at the unemotional tone she mustered, “Mother, we go to school together…we’ve
done nothing untoward.”

“Yes, I’m sure that’s true, Lenora. You wouldn’t lie to your
mother, dear heart, but I felt I should
warn
you about these things…”

“Oh, of course, yes, Mother,” Lenora said. She halfway listened
while her mother spoke about a lady’s character, their station in society, and
blah, blah, blah…

“Of course, you
are
almost seventeen. So, I have decided to let you meet a young man whose position
is worthy of your hand. I’ve arranged for him to escort you to the Fall Fair
this Saturday.”

“Oh,” Lenora said, shocked by this turn of events. A blind date
arranged by her mother? She hoped her feelings weren’t apparent. What about
poor Charlie? “Why, who would that be, mother?”

“Jakob Schmidt,” Mother replied promptly.

“Why, Mother, I’ve never seen Jakob Schmidt. He doesn’t even go to
school…” She had heard about the Schmidt family—everyone had. They were
known publicly for their wealth…and discussed in whispers for how reclusive
they were.

“That’s because his parents want the best for him, dear. He has
private tutors—all from the best universities: Yale, Harvard, Princeton.”

“That sounds just fine, Mother,” Lenora replied hastily. She
didn’t want to arouse any more suspicion in her mother about Charlie. She just
hoped that Charlie would understand her predicament.

But Charlie didn’t understand.

He pretended that he did. When Lenora told him that she was going
out with Jakob Schmidt to the fair only to appease her mother, he mustered the
spirit to keep his head up as he said, “Of course, Lenora…whatever you think is
best.” She was impressed by his equanimity, evidence of his fine upbringing,
but his eyes couldn’t conceal the pain. Lenora bit her lip, looked away, and pretended
she didn’t see it.

They had continued to meet at school the rest of the week, but
their conversations felt artificial and forced. They lacked the flame that had
been burning so brightly before.

Now it was already Saturday and Jakob was going to arrive any
moment to escort her to the fair. She had thought he would arrive
earlier—the sun was already sinking below the horizon—but he had
not, which was just as well, since it meant less time she had to spend with
him.

It was fully dark before there was the expected knock at the door.
Josef magically appeared to allow Jakob entry and she got her first look at
this boy nobody had ever seen.

He was a living cliché: tall, dark-haired, and handsome. Icy blue
eyes gazed out at her from beneath a head of well-manicured hair. His clothes
were impeccable, which was no surprise considering her mother’s tastes.

The eyes were the real problem. They were simultaneously riveting
and unnerving. She found it hard to look away, as if some malevolent force, or
power, compelled her to look into their smoky depths. They stared at each other
for what seemed an eternity. Finally, she forced herself to look away by
reminding herself about Charlie.

“Lenora, it’s a pleasure.” He took her hand and kissed it. His
lips were cold.

“Charmed,” she replied, trying to be demure. Inside, however, she
was already dreading the coming night.

On the surface, Jakob was a gentleman, his manners flawless. When
they parked his car, he jumped out and dashed to her side to open the door. He
offered his arm as they walked. He led her around puddles. He listened politely
if she had something to say.

However, it seemed like a performance, a bad performance,
mechanical and poorly rehearsed.

Underneath the polished exterior, there was something very dark.
It almost felt familiar in a way. The smile on Jakob’s face couldn’t hide the
steely, cold glint in his eyes. There was something not right about Jakob
Schmidt…

And she couldn’t stop thinking about Charlie.

“So…you don’t go to school.”

“No. My parents are very fastidious about every aspect of my
education.”

“Carlisle High School isn’t good enough?”

“It’s good enough for some pursuits. My parents just have a…
different
…plan for me.”

“What might that be?” She knew that she was pushing the boundaries
of acceptable conversation—working and careers were a man’s
world—but she couldn’t help herself.

“Running my father’s company. It has…
international
…requirements.”

Lenora almost snorted at that, but she told herself to be good.
After all, Mother could make life difficult if she offended her acquaintances.
She decided to make an honest effort to be pleasant.

Lenora and Jakob played a few games, danced a little bit, and had
some of the food offered at the various booths. If she were with Charlie, it
would have been fun. With Jakob, it was drudgery and she was counting down the
minutes until she could leave.