Brian knocked once, walked in. He nodded to his sister, sat down at the kitchen table. 'Hey, buddy, you found a job yet?'
'No.'
'I got a lead on something. It might not pan out, but this guy at the site has a brother who deejays. You know, parties and dances and shit like that? He's looking for someone to help him haul equipment. It's a part-time gig, nights mostly, but, hey, it's something. Might even pick up a few tips.'
Daniel shook his head. 'I don't think so.'
'Why not, man? Haul in a few speakers, hang, listen to some tunes, get paid for it? Can't get much breezier than that.'
'Dance music depresses me.'
'You really want to depress yourself, listen to Pet Sounds. You know, by The Beach Boys? Most depressing goddamn album ever put to vinyl. I bum out every time I hear that thing.'
The employment opportunity was forgotten as Brian began riffing on music, chronicling his likes and dislikes over the past twenty years. Just as well. He wasn't a bad guy, but he was a flake and a half, and he only brought up these so-called 'job opportunities' to lord over Daniel the fact that he was working and Daniel wasn't. Brian was six years older than Margot, five years older than Daniel, and though he'd always been loving and supportive in his way, he'd also been slightly resentful that they both had better paying, more respectable jobs than he did, and ever since Daniel had been out of work, he'd been in hog heaven.
It was after eleven before Brian finally left, grabbing his sister around the waist and spinning her once around the kitchen floor. They stood in the doorway, waving, as he woke up half the neighborhood with his car and drove off.
Daniel closed the door, locked it, and Margot kissed him. 'Thanks.'
Daniel smiled wryly. 'Hey, he's family.'
'You went above and beyond. Ready for your reward?'
'I've been ready all night.'
'Let me go check on Tony.'
Margot went down the hall to Tony's room, and Daniel double-checked the doors to make sure they were locked before turning off the lights and heading back to their bedroom. Margot was already standing before the dresser, loosening her hair, and he closed and locked the door behind him as he stepped into the room. He glanced toward the narrow bathroom doorway, saw darkness, shadow. There was a vague feeling of unease, a sense once again that something was wrong, and he walked quickly over to the bathroom and turned on the light, gratified to see that there was nothing out of the ordinary.
This afternoon, taking out the trash, he'd seen a shadow down the alley behind their house, a shadow he couldn't identify but that looked vaguely familiar: small, almost dwarfish, wearing a tattered gown or smock that billowed in the breeze. It had been around two o'clock, probably the least scary time of day, but the blocky shadows cast by east-facing garages had covered the narrow alley and, along with the slightly overcast sky, had contributed to an uncharacteristically solemn scene. He'd tossed the Hefty bag into the garbage can, turned back toward his yard, and seen, out of the corner of his eye, movement. He looked down the alley and saw, several houses away, on a protruding section of white fence, the shadow of a small figure with longish hair and a raggedy knee-length gown that blew in the breeze. The figure did not move, was perfectly still, only its hair and tattered clothing waving in the wind, and the sight had instantly rung some mental bell. He knew he'd seen it before, but he could not remember where or when. He scanned both sides of the alley, looking for the figure that was creating the shadow, but saw nothing.
The shadow raised a hand. Beckoned.
A wave of cold washed immediately over him. He'd been afraid, instinctively frightened, though he had not known why, and he'd hurried quickly out of the alley, through the yard, into the house, locking the back door and closing the drapes so he wouldn't be able to see.
Daniel took off his shoes and pants, sat heavily down on the bed. The thought of the shadow had stayed with him all evening, haunting him, taunting him with its almost-recognizable familiarity, and though he had wanted to say something to Margot about it, he had not.
He was aware how stupid it all sounded, and he did not want her to think that he was sitting here alone each day, inventing fantasies to frighten himself, letting his imagination work overtime because he had nothing better to do.
He unbuttoned his shirt, threw it on the floor, leaned back on the bed.
Margot had finished with her hair and had taken off her clothes. She started toward the bathroom. 'I'm going to take a quick shower.'
He sat up on one elbow. 'Don't.'
She stopped, looked at him, eyebrows raised.
'I like it dirty.'
Smiling, she walked over to him, crawled into bed. 'I
like it that you like it dirty.'
Afterward, they lay there, spent and sweating. Daniel reached for the remote, turned on the TV, started flipping through channels. Margot snuggled next to him.
'Have you noticed,' she said finally, 'that Tony's been acting a little . . . strange lately?'
He looked at her. 'Strange how?'
'I don't know. Secretive. Suspicious. He seems to be spending a lot of time alone in his room.'
'A boy? In his room? Alone? Secretive? Suspicious?'
Daniel smiled. 'Hmmm. I wonder what he could be doing.'
She hit his shoulder. 'Knock it off.'
'You might check the stiffness of his sheets.'
'You can be a real jerk sometimes.'
'I'm sorry, but it's perfectly normal--'
'It's not normal. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I
know about that. I do wash his underwear, you know.
But this is ... different.'
'What? Drugs? Shoplifting? Gangs?'
'Nothing like that.'
'What then?'
'I don't know. But it's kind of ... spooky.'
Spooky.
He didn't say anything, pretended to watch TV. She went off to take her shower, returned and climbed into bed next to him, and soon afterward, he felt her body relax, felt the pattern of her breath change as the even rhythm of sleep overtook her.
He waited for a few moments, then carefully extricated himself from her arms, moved closer to the edge of the bed. He stared at her while she slept, gently touched her hair. She was so beautiful and he was so happy with her, but the chilling thought that it would not last forced itself into his mind and would not be dislodged. It was the same feeling he'd had this morning an anxious, maddening sense that something was going to happen to her and Tony, and he found himself thinking again of the shadow.
Spooky.
He rolled over, onto his back, and closed his eyes, forcing himself to think of nothing, forcing himself to fall asleep. It took a long time. On the television, he heard a talk show give way to an infomercial, heard the infomercial end and a movie begin.
It was halfway through the movie before he finally drifted off.
He dreamed, and in his dream, the small shadow was in his house, and he sat in a chair, paralyzed, in the living room, as it roamed down the hall looking for his wife, looking for his son.
Laurie Laurie Mitchell looked across the boardroom at the other department heads dutifully making notes on their legal pads.
