Page 74 of Stronger Than Blood
Once the summer settled, she and Kalinda would spend their days sitting outside, enjoying the weather and Ida’s niece hadfound someone to provide enough vegetables that she could at least can a few, which made her happy.
When the weather changed in September, it brought with it other changes as well. Even when I was a child, I noticed the season changes almost always coincided with those of life. When Kalinda told Mick and me to meet her outside under the plum trees, I knew something wasn’t right. Sure enough, when Mick sat across from her and I joined her on the swing, she reached over and took Mick’s hand.
“I woke up this morning, Mick, with a warning.” Mick immediately began to blink back tears. “Shh, I know this is hard, but… well, your Granny has been given some really good months. You shouldn’t feel bad about what’s about to happen.”
He nodded, and I immediately knelt beside him. He took my hand and squeezed it, then looked over at Kalinda. “Does she know?”
Kalinda nodded. “I spoke with her this morning, and she confirmed she had sensed it herself. Mick, she doesn’t want to go back to that hospital, and I can’t say I blame her.”
“When?” he asked.
Kalinda shrugged. “I’m not sure. It could be soon, could be a week or more.”
“Okay, I’ll let Essie know I’m going to need to spend more time at home. I think Arden can hold down the fort for me until… well, for a while.”
Kalinda patted his hand and then stood to go back into the house. “You okay?” I asked as soon as she left.
He shook his head. “No, far from it, but I still have her for now, and I am going to enjoy what time I have left.”
He stood up, and I immediately drew him into my arms. This past year had been one of the best of my life. I’d grown so much closer to Kalinda, and of course, I loved Mrs. Ida. But I had fallencompletely and totally in love with Mick, so much so I couldn’t imagine living life without him.
When we pulled apart, he smiled at me, then wiped away the tear that’d escaped during our hug. “Okay, I’m gonna go spend some time with her,” he said and turned to go.
I lingered a while, thinking how I could make the transition easier for the people I’d come to think of as my family. When I went back into the house, I was shocked to find nothing less than chaos.
It looked like a tornado was passing through. Stuff was flying around the room, including clothes and bedclothes. I even got hit by a cushion from the sofa in the living room.
“Mick, Kalinda,” I yelled. “What’s going on?”
At first no one responded. Then a feeling of dread came over me.
“Now… now it’s my time.”
The voice sent cold shivers up and down my spine. I knew what I was hearing was more in my head than in real life, but that made it worse, especially since I knew it was the voice of Preston Garrison.
“You’re wrong, your time has come and gone. Leave this home. You are no longer welcome here!”
The laughter came as cold as ice on an early winter morning. “It’s my time.”
I stumbled backward and luckily caught myself against the dining room wall. When I looked up, everything was back to normal. No tornado, no items being flung around. In fact, nothing seemed out of place.
“What the hell?” I asked, then noticed Mick, Kalinda, and Mrs. Ida all staring at me from the living room.
Kalinda immediately got up and came to me. “Rory, what’s wrong?”
“I-I saw him. H-he said it’s his time now.”
“Oh,” Kalinda said. Then, taking my arm, which I was thankful for since I was still unsteady, she led me into the living room and asked me to start from the beginning and tell them what I’d seen.
“Oh, that bastard thinks because I’m dying he will take over,” Mrs. Ida said, and even though she was clearly weaker than she’d been in a while, she still had fire within her.
“He is wrong,” Kalinda said. “You are wrong,” she said to the room.
I listened for the laughter, but luckily, there was nothing. Thank goodness for that.
“So, what do we do?” Mick asked.
Kalinda shook her head. “I… well, I don’t have any direction. I’m not getting anything. Sorry, I don’t know why, but I believe things are gonna work themselves out. As I’ve said before, he doesn’t belong here, and he knows that as well as we do. Regardless, I don’t think we should pay him any attention. Our focus needs to be on Ida right now. Attention on him will only feed him.”
