Longing to Belong - Chapter 14 (Part 1)
Chapter 14
Birch Creek, May 2001
The sky was overcast and a thick layer of rain was falling over the town. The windscreen wipers were working at full speed as Teaspoon steered the patrol car through the dreary streets. Like usual, Sam sat in the passenger seat, today grumbling as he strained to change the batteries of an alarm clock which Teaspoon didn't know where he had got it from. “How the hell does this thing open?” Sam exclaimed in irritation, struggling with the plastic lid covering the receptacle containing the batteries.
Teaspoon chuckled and was about to quip some teasing remark when the radio came to life, the tinny voice of Sergeant Larson informing that a hardware store was being held up in the area.
“Let’s go!” Sam said, dropping the clock into the glove compartment and activating the flashing lights in the car. Teaspoon sped up toward the address of the hold-up, which wasn’t far from where they were. Five minutes later they ground to a halt in front of the shop and stormed out of the car just as they saw a couple of young men barging out of the store. The two runaway assailants split and sped in different directions. Sam and Teaspoon silently agreed on chasing after each man separately.
It had been some time Teaspoon had been in one of these hunts. Even though he trained every day, he felt he was out of shape, and why not admit it, he was no spring chicken. Besides, the falling rain and the sidewalk teemed with puddles made the task even harder. The man Teaspoon was chasing was thin and apparently fit, and he had a few feet ahead of him. As fast as he could, Teaspoon ran after him along streets, which were not as crowded as normally due to the rain.
Suddenly, the man veered into an alley, and Teaspoon knew that it was his chance to catch him. Unless he got into one of the buildings, there was no way out. And right he was. As Teaspoon entered the alley, he could make out the man at the far end, at a standstill and contemplating how to get over the wall that could thwart his escape. Teaspoon slowed down, and as he approached, he took hold of his gun. “Son, it’d be better if you…”
The word died in his mouth as in a sudden flash, the man swirled around, and before Teaspoon knew what was happening, he felt an unexpected, searing pain in his side. His eyes blurred, and the last thing he saw before collapsing onto the wet, cobbled ground was a massive gun aimed at him by the man he had thought was already in his clutches.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Louise pulled her jacket hood over her head and did up all the buttons as she got ready to fare the foul weather. From her knapsack she got out her small umbrella and opened it before crossing the school yard. Outside the school gates there was a bigger crowd than usual, which was an expected occurrence on rainy days like this. Many girls who walked home on a daily basis were picked up by her parents when the weather was foul. Louise strained her eyes, trying to locate her dad, who was picking her up today. There were too many people and a sea of unfurled umbrellas, which made it difficult for her to see faces properly. Then she felt an arm around her shoulders.
“Louise, come with me,” Emma said, and without waiting for her reply, the woman steered the girl through the crowd to her minivan. Lou closed her umbrella and handed the teacher her backpack before getting into the car. Sam, in his police uniform, was sitting in the driver’s seat and greeted her with a smile.
“Where’s my dad? He told me he’d pick me up today,” Lou asked.
As Emma settled in the front passenger seat, she shared an anxious look with her husband before saying, “Uh… he asked us to get you, honey. It… it was a last minute kind of thing.”
Lou glanced at the Cains, who wore very serious faces today. There was something strange in the way they were looking at her, but Lou couldn’t put her finger in what the matter was. Expecting to be told why her father hadn’t been able to make it to the school, Louise stared at them, but they didn’t elaborate. Actually, they didn’t say a word during the whole drive, which was odd, since both Sam and Emma were always chatting or joking with her. Maybe, Lou thought, they’d had an argument and wouldn’t talk to each other.
When Sam pulled over in front of the block where her apartment was, Louise imagined that Papa Teaspoon had simply asked the Cains to give her a lift. With all probability, his car was again at the garage. Lou kept telling him they should get a new car soon, but he always said the same: there was no money for a new car.
It had stopped raining. After jumping out of the car, Lou led the way to the entrance of her building. As they waited for the elevator, Lou kept looking from husband to wife. They were behaving oddly; Mrs. Cain kept wriggling her hands and looked worried, and Mr. Cain seemed to look everywhere but the girl.
“Where’s Frank?” Lou dared to ask as they stepped into the elevator.
Emma gave her a small smile. “He’s at the childminder’s. We’ll pick him up later.”
When they reached her floor, Lou was surprised when Sam pulled out of his pants pocket her father’s bunch of keys and opened the door. However, she brushed off the thought as she ran inside. “Dad! Dad!” Lou called as soon as she stepped inside, and then she made for the kitchen, where she imagined Papa Teaspoon would be.
“Louise,” Emma called, stopping the girl mid-stride. “Please come here.” The woman patted the sofa where she had sat, and the girl obediently dropped down on the spot next to her. “Your father isn’t here, honey. We’ve just stopped to get a few of your clothes. You’re going to stay with us for the next few days.”
“Why?”
Emma breathed in and briefly glanced at her husband, who stood a few feet from them. Sighing, she took the girl’s hand and said, “Honey, your… your dad is in hospital. At once Lou’s eyes widened in horror and her body started to shake. “He suffered an accident.”
“In the car?” Lou managed to ask in a trembling voice.
Emma shook her head as she gazed into the girl’s eyes that were pleading her to tell the truth. What Emma wanted was to shield Lou and worry her the least, but feeding her a compassionate lie would be detrimental in the long run. It was touch-and-go whether Teaspoon would survive the shot. According to Sam, the doctors had only said that only after the first twenty-four hours could they make a prognosis about his chances of survival. Lou didn’t need to know the details, but she had a right to know what was really happening. “He… he was shot, I’m afraid, honey.”
Two fat tears rolled down the girl’s face, and suddenly, she felt transported back to those terrible months that her mother had spent in hospital. Nobody had talked to her about it, but she had always known that her mother was dying. “Is… is he going to die?” she managed to ask in a husky voice.
“Of course not!” Emma exclaimed too quickly, but then something in the girl’s eyes made her stop, and she recanted. “We… we don’t know, honey, but there’s no reason to think he won’t be as right as rain soon. You know he’s very touch, and the last thing he wants is to leave his dear girl behind.”
“My mom didn’t want to leave me either,” Lou said, and that was the last thing she was able to say as she started sobbing and wailing, feeling miserable and lonely like she had never felt before.
“Oh Lullabelle!” Emma cooed, drawing her to her arms and kissing the top of her head. “Everything’s gonna be all right, sweetheart.” The woman kept talking to the girl sweetly, trying to comfort her, but Lou wasn’t listening. All her mind was full of was the sound of her own cries and her beating heart as she kept imagining that white room… the one where mom had been, but instead of her, the bed was now taken by the still and pale figure of his Papa Teaspoon.
Birch Creek, May 2001
The sky was overcast and a thick layer of rain was falling over the town. The windscreen wipers were working at full speed as Teaspoon steered the patrol car through the dreary streets. Like usual, Sam sat in the passenger seat, today grumbling as he strained to change the batteries of an alarm clock which Teaspoon didn't know where he had got it from. “How the hell does this thing open?” Sam exclaimed in irritation, struggling with the plastic lid covering the receptacle containing the batteries.
Teaspoon chuckled and was about to quip some teasing remark when the radio came to life, the tinny voice of Sergeant Larson informing that a hardware store was being held up in the area.
“Let’s go!” Sam said, dropping the clock into the glove compartment and activating the flashing lights in the car. Teaspoon sped up toward the address of the hold-up, which wasn’t far from where they were. Five minutes later they ground to a halt in front of the shop and stormed out of the car just as they saw a couple of young men barging out of the store. The two runaway assailants split and sped in different directions. Sam and Teaspoon silently agreed on chasing after each man separately.
It had been some time Teaspoon had been in one of these hunts. Even though he trained every day, he felt he was out of shape, and why not admit it, he was no spring chicken. Besides, the falling rain and the sidewalk teemed with puddles made the task even harder. The man Teaspoon was chasing was thin and apparently fit, and he had a few feet ahead of him. As fast as he could, Teaspoon ran after him along streets, which were not as crowded as normally due to the rain.
Suddenly, the man veered into an alley, and Teaspoon knew that it was his chance to catch him. Unless he got into one of the buildings, there was no way out. And right he was. As Teaspoon entered the alley, he could make out the man at the far end, at a standstill and contemplating how to get over the wall that could thwart his escape. Teaspoon slowed down, and as he approached, he took hold of his gun. “Son, it’d be better if you…”
The word died in his mouth as in a sudden flash, the man swirled around, and before Teaspoon knew what was happening, he felt an unexpected, searing pain in his side. His eyes blurred, and the last thing he saw before collapsing onto the wet, cobbled ground was a massive gun aimed at him by the man he had thought was already in his clutches.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Louise pulled her jacket hood over her head and did up all the buttons as she got ready to fare the foul weather. From her knapsack she got out her small umbrella and opened it before crossing the school yard. Outside the school gates there was a bigger crowd than usual, which was an expected occurrence on rainy days like this. Many girls who walked home on a daily basis were picked up by her parents when the weather was foul. Louise strained her eyes, trying to locate her dad, who was picking her up today. There were too many people and a sea of unfurled umbrellas, which made it difficult for her to see faces properly. Then she felt an arm around her shoulders.
“Louise, come with me,” Emma said, and without waiting for her reply, the woman steered the girl through the crowd to her minivan. Lou closed her umbrella and handed the teacher her backpack before getting into the car. Sam, in his police uniform, was sitting in the driver’s seat and greeted her with a smile.
“Where’s my dad? He told me he’d pick me up today,” Lou asked.
As Emma settled in the front passenger seat, she shared an anxious look with her husband before saying, “Uh… he asked us to get you, honey. It… it was a last minute kind of thing.”
Lou glanced at the Cains, who wore very serious faces today. There was something strange in the way they were looking at her, but Lou couldn’t put her finger in what the matter was. Expecting to be told why her father hadn’t been able to make it to the school, Louise stared at them, but they didn’t elaborate. Actually, they didn’t say a word during the whole drive, which was odd, since both Sam and Emma were always chatting or joking with her. Maybe, Lou thought, they’d had an argument and wouldn’t talk to each other.
When Sam pulled over in front of the block where her apartment was, Louise imagined that Papa Teaspoon had simply asked the Cains to give her a lift. With all probability, his car was again at the garage. Lou kept telling him they should get a new car soon, but he always said the same: there was no money for a new car.
It had stopped raining. After jumping out of the car, Lou led the way to the entrance of her building. As they waited for the elevator, Lou kept looking from husband to wife. They were behaving oddly; Mrs. Cain kept wriggling her hands and looked worried, and Mr. Cain seemed to look everywhere but the girl.
“Where’s Frank?” Lou dared to ask as they stepped into the elevator.
Emma gave her a small smile. “He’s at the childminder’s. We’ll pick him up later.”
When they reached her floor, Lou was surprised when Sam pulled out of his pants pocket her father’s bunch of keys and opened the door. However, she brushed off the thought as she ran inside. “Dad! Dad!” Lou called as soon as she stepped inside, and then she made for the kitchen, where she imagined Papa Teaspoon would be.
“Louise,” Emma called, stopping the girl mid-stride. “Please come here.” The woman patted the sofa where she had sat, and the girl obediently dropped down on the spot next to her. “Your father isn’t here, honey. We’ve just stopped to get a few of your clothes. You’re going to stay with us for the next few days.”
“Why?”
Emma breathed in and briefly glanced at her husband, who stood a few feet from them. Sighing, she took the girl’s hand and said, “Honey, your… your dad is in hospital. At once Lou’s eyes widened in horror and her body started to shake. “He suffered an accident.”
“In the car?” Lou managed to ask in a trembling voice.
Emma shook her head as she gazed into the girl’s eyes that were pleading her to tell the truth. What Emma wanted was to shield Lou and worry her the least, but feeding her a compassionate lie would be detrimental in the long run. It was touch-and-go whether Teaspoon would survive the shot. According to Sam, the doctors had only said that only after the first twenty-four hours could they make a prognosis about his chances of survival. Lou didn’t need to know the details, but she had a right to know what was really happening. “He… he was shot, I’m afraid, honey.”
Two fat tears rolled down the girl’s face, and suddenly, she felt transported back to those terrible months that her mother had spent in hospital. Nobody had talked to her about it, but she had always known that her mother was dying. “Is… is he going to die?” she managed to ask in a husky voice.
“Of course not!” Emma exclaimed too quickly, but then something in the girl’s eyes made her stop, and she recanted. “We… we don’t know, honey, but there’s no reason to think he won’t be as right as rain soon. You know he’s very touch, and the last thing he wants is to leave his dear girl behind.”
“My mom didn’t want to leave me either,” Lou said, and that was the last thing she was able to say as she started sobbing and wailing, feeling miserable and lonely like she had never felt before.
“Oh Lullabelle!” Emma cooed, drawing her to her arms and kissing the top of her head. “Everything’s gonna be all right, sweetheart.” The woman kept talking to the girl sweetly, trying to comfort her, but Lou wasn’t listening. All her mind was full of was the sound of her own cries and her beating heart as she kept imagining that white room… the one where mom had been, but instead of her, the bed was now taken by the still and pale figure of his Papa Teaspoon.