The Hidden

I ventured closer. The cardboard sign said FUTURE HOME OF ABBEY’S HOLLOW. I stared at it, then turned back to Mom. “What does that mean?” She pulled a key out of her pocket and dangled it in front of me. “It means, do you want to go inside?” “Yeah, of course. But I don’t get it. What’s going on?”

“Just come with me. Let’s go inside.”

She walked over to the entrance and put the key into the lock. Pushing the door open, she gestured for me to follow behind her. I stepped inside the shop and couldn’t believe what I saw. It was clean. Clean, clean. No cobwebs, no dirty windows. No blown-out lightbulbs or dust-streaked surfaces. Everything had been freshly painted with a coat of white paint. Some new bookshelves lined one corner, and the floors were actually shiny.

“What do you think?” Mom asked, standing in the middle of the room, arms spread wide. “I know white isn’t the most glamorous color, but it’s just a base coat. I wanted there to be something other than that old tan shade that was here before.” “It’s gorgeous, Mom. I can’t believe everything is so clean. I’ve never seen it look this way before. But I still don’t get-” She held out the key. “Happy early graduation, Abbey.”

“What? I …? You …? What?”

“I called Mr. Melchom. The rent is paid up for a year. Since it was on the market for so long, I convinced him to cover all the utilities for the first six months too. So your expenses should be minimal at first.” I still couldn’t believe it.

“Take the key.” Mom laughed, shaking it at me.

I held out my hand, and she dropped it into my open palm. Is this really happening? Did I really just get handed the keys to my shop, with no strings attached? I glanced down at it. “Mom, I … I don’t know what to say.” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. “Do you like it? I wasn’t sure what to get you, and then I thought this would be the perfect gift.” “It is perfect. Thank you. Thank you so much! I love it!” Walking around the room, I took it all in. It was like looking through someone else’s eyes. Everything was fresh and new. Suddenly I could see so much more. I could see myself here.

“Mom,” I said, trying to find the words to express what I was feeling, “I …” But I couldn’t find them. I didn’t know how to tell her I was sorry for every mean thing I’d ever said, or how I wished we would get to have more time to spend together. Mere words couldn’t tell her that she was the best mom ever and I was glad she was mine.

She must have known somehow what I wanted to say, though, because she nodded. I just smiled.

We stayed for a while after that, talking about options for paint colors and window treatments, and what artwork would look best hanging on the walls. I told Mom my idea about making it a fall-themed shop revolving around “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” with pumpkins and old books, and she loved it.

* * *

When I got home, I was practically bursting with excitement as I hurried up to my bedroom. I couldn’t wait to tell Caspian about the shop.

But when I opened the door, I saw him on the bed. Asleep.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Kame and Sophie’s office number. Uri picked up.

“Hey, it’s Abbey.”

“Hi. Everything okay?”

“Caspian is asleep again.” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice.

Silence met me on the other end of the line. Then he said, “Why don’t you just give it some time?” “Like, how much time?” I asked. “An hour? A day?”

“However much time it takes.”

I told myself to count to ten, trying not to scream in frustration at his answer. “Why does this keep happening, Uri?” I said. “Does it mean he’s slipping away from me?” Silence again.

“I’ll take that as a yes. One of you is around here somewhere, right?” I asked quietly.

“Kame. He’s in the neighborhood. Do you want him to stop by?”

“Can he do anything?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll just wait. As long as Vincent’s not around, I’m fine.” He said good-bye, and I hung up the phone, feeling angry and frustrated. All my feelings of happiness were completely gone. Settling myself in next to Caspian, I propped my chin in my hand, wondering how long it would take for him to wake up this time.

I had a hard time sleeping that night, feeling like Caspian was so far away from me, and I kept waking up. Around two a.m., I decided to grab something from the fridge. A snack might keep me distracted, at least for a little while.

A light was still on in the living room when I passed by, and I peeked in. The TV was turned down low, an old Western movie playing, and Dad was snoring away in the recliner. I shook my head and crept back out to the kitchen.

I found a turkey and cheese hoagie in the fridge and pulled it out, checking the expiration date. It was still fresh. I cut it in half and then wrapped up the remainder to put back. After stacking a couple of pickles onto the plate next to it, I carried my prize into the living room.

I found the remote by Dad’s hand and flipped though the channels, pausing every now and then to take a bite of my sandwich. Halloween III was on, so I left it and settled in. Dad’s snoring grew louder and louder, until finally I reached over and shook him.

“Dad. Dad, wake up.”

He rolled over. “I’m awake.” And then he sat up. “I’m awake. What time is it?” “Almost two thirty.”

“What are you still doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep. Got a snack.” I held up the plate.

He glanced over. “Is that a pickle?”

I held one out to him, and he took it. We both sat there for a couple of minutes, crunching loudly on the cold vegetables. When I was done, I placed my plate on the coffee table and stretched out on the couch. The room was bathed in the blue glow of the flickering television screen.

“I heard that you and Mom went downtown,” Dad said. “To see the shop?” I hit the remote and turned down the volume a bit more. “Yeah, she took me right after school. It was great.” “So, what do you think about it?” he asked.

“What do I think? I love it. The chance to have my own shop? It’s my dream.” Dad looked pleased. “I knew you’d like it.”

“Are you still planning to help me out with the business plan?” I cast him a sideways glance. I’d taken much longer than intended to actually finish the damn thing.

“Are you done with the first draft yet?”

“Yup.”

“Show it to me, then, and I’ll take a look at it. We can probably work something out.” I grinned at him. “Talk about a great graduation gift.”

He reached over and put a hand on my arm. “Your mother and I are very proud of you, Abbey. It takes a lot of effort to have your future mapped out at such a young age, and we want to do everything we can to support that. We believe in you, and we know you’ll do great things.” His words hit something inside of me that triggered a bittersweet ache. I wanted them to be proud of me. “I can’t promise that everything will work out,” I said. “But I can promise that I’ll do my best. And I’ll work my hardest. It means a lot to me that you guys are so supportive of this. Especially since I know you wanted me to do something different.” Now Dad looked a little teary. “I can’t tell you the thoughts that ran through my mind when we found out that someone had broken into the house and …” He trailed off and cleared his throat gruffly. “Well, I just never want to see that again. It really brought home a lot of things and made me start thinking about the future. Your future.” Now his words triggered something different inside of me. Regret.

All this talk of the future and the excitement of seeing the shop today as such a real, tangible thing had made me totally forget about my actual future.

The one I didn’t have.