"Brown?"
"Dirty water," she cried.
"I'm sure its nothing." he said. "Just hasn't been run in that room for a while. Let it run, and you will see that it clears up."
"I have other things to do than wait for water to clear up. Dad." she whined.
"Betsy, just give it a chance, please," he pleaded.
"Why did we have to move?" she screamed and backed into the room.
Her father looked up, shook his head, and walked back to join Elliot at the lawn furniture. I could see Betsy pacing, and as she paced, she ran a silver brush through her hair. Although she didn't look that pretty to me, she had beautiful hair. I thought, and I felt a longing in the pit of my stomach. I watched the window for another glimpse of her, and then I grew tired of it and started for home.
It took me a good half an hour to get Cleo cleaned up enough to take him into the house. Mommy already had the dinner table set. Lately, she had agreed to let me help with it, but she made sure to add. "It's something a good son would do anyway."
I could see she still looked troubled about the new neighbors. She didn't want to stop talking about them.
"I was more comfortable with Mr. Baer living there." She said. "As dirty and crotchety as he was, he kept out of our business. All I need is a neighboring woman coming over here to sit and have coffee and gossip. Waste of my time," she spit.
"He said his mother was dead," I told her. For some reason. I had left that out. She raised her eyebrows.
"Oh? Why? What happened to her?"
"I don't know." I said. "He didn't say. and I didn't ask."
"And you were right not to ask. Still," she said looking out the window and speaking in a softer tone. "I wonder if her spirit's followed them here."
The idea raised my eyebrows.
"Would you be able to see her?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "I would, and so would you," she added firmly.
As if she expected the spirits who hovered about us to be buzzing about the neighbors tonight, she couldn't wait to go out and walk into the shadows. I considered following her. but I knew she didn't like that. She always told me she needed her solitude when she was crossing over.
It was difficult falling asleep that night. I couldn't help thinking about some of the things Elliot had said. Wouldn't it be nice to really make friends with people my own age already? Would he ever come back, or had I made him hate me immediately? I couldn't get his sister out of my mind. The image of her brushing her hair lingered on the insides of my eyelids. I tossed and turned and moaned, but sleep was a door that seemed to have shut on me. I couldn't remember being as restless in a long while.
Mommy heard me and opened my door on her way to her own bedroom, but she wasn't stopping by to see what was bothering me. She had something important to tell me.
"No spirit has accompanied those people here," she said. "How do you know?"
"I know," she said. "Something's not right. Stay away from those people," she warned and closed the door.
For a long moment. I couldn't move.
Something's not right? What did that mean? If I was having trouble falling asleep before. I was surely going to have trouble now. I thought, and I actually didn't fall asleep for another two hours or so.
Every once in a while during the following day, I looked toward the forest, expecting to see Elliot spying on me or perhaps see him walking through the forest. I watched Cleo closely, too, but he didn't bark at anything in particular and mostly just lay nearby me and watched me do my chores. Mommy said nothing more about the new neighbors. but I could see she was still upset about them. When I asked her if she was all right or if there was something else wrong, she inored me as if I hadn't spoken. What she did remember, however, was that I said I was going fishing.
"I'm glad you're getting back to doing that. Noble, but please be careful," she told me when I went for my pole and the tackle box and can of worms. "Don't stay there too long. I'm going to the supermarket and to do some other shopping. I have to visit Mr. Bogart," she added, which surprised me. We hadn't been back to his jewelry store since she had bought us our amulets years ago. "We'll have dinner a little later tonight."
"Okay," I said.
I went through the woods to the stream, but far down from where the tragedy had occurred. At first I just sat there staring out at the fishing line and waiting to see my sinker bob. I had some nibbles, but nothing significant. and I had to fix a new worm on the hook three times. Suddenly I heard music, rock music. I could tell it was coming from the Baer house, of course. and I couldn't contain my curiosity.
I reeled in my line and put the pole aside. Then. with Cleo at my heels as usual. I walked carefully through the woods until I reached the Baer property line. The music was coming from the opened upstairs window I knew now to be Betsy's room. I heard a loud peal of laughter. too. Then, there was some shouting, her father's voice. Moments later, the music was turned down and finally turned off.
I could hear the movements they made in their house, and when I went a little farther down on my left. I was able to see into what was their dining room. I saw Elliot standing at the table with his arms folded, and then he sat and only the top of his head was visible.