Chapter 15 #2
The next morning, I had the dream again.
I hadn’t had it in years. Falling. That’s how it always started.
The feeling of falling through space. It wasn’t pleasant; it wasn’t what an astronaut or a skydiver might feel.
I knew I would land, and the landing wouldn’t be soft.
Sometimes I would wake up just then... The fear of landing wrapped around me like a shawl.
Worse though were the mornings I didn’t wake up.
The mornings I landed. Pain shot through me.
A bone cracked. White light that wasn’t light flashing across my vision.
When my eyes cleared, if they cleared—it was a dream after all—when they cleared, I could see I was at the bottom of a staircase.
At the top of the stairs, my stepfather, Frank Fetterman, was staring down at me, smiling, sometimes giggling.
Always pleased with himself. It was a dream, but it was also a memory.
I shouldn’t have talked about falling down the stairs with Toddy. There were things I shouldn’t talk about, shouldn’t think about. This was one of them.
I tried to roll over, but Riley was asleep on my legs like a seventy-pound blanket.
It was still dark, but that didn’t mean much.
At this time of year, it was dark until almost 9 a.m. My guess was it was before six.
Emerald hadn’t woken yet. In just a little while she’d get restless, and I’d go down the hall and pick her up.
I’d change her, then bring her downstairs and make a bottle for her.
I’d try another mashed banana and some rice cereal.
I wondered if my mother was ever coming back.
If past was prologue, she would be back.
Once things were a little easier. I have to be honest and admit there are definitely worse people than my mother—and she had a habit of attracting them.
By comparison, she often looked good. I don’t think she did it on purpose.
Yes, she was manipulative, but choosing people who were bad enough to make her look good was genius level manipulation.
And I don’t think she’s a genius. She’s just unlucky in lucky ways. That’s all.
Down the hall, Emerald let out an exploratory cry.
The day was beginning. As I changed her, I wondered about what I should try to accomplish.
I had a report to write, which meant I had to do things that allowed me to ignore that.
Important things that would allow me to say, I couldn’t possibly write up that report, I was doing the important thing. I just had no idea what that was.
The truth was, there wasn’t much to do. It was looking more and more like our client, Melanie Frasier, was in the clear.
She hadn’t been arrested. They clearly didn’t have enough evidence against her.
If this were Law I didn’t want to ruin it. Besides, Emerald was doing an excellent job on her breakfast.
“No, I never heard anything like that.”
And then, I put two and two together.
“Oh shit.”
“Watch your mouth in front of the baby.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Oh shit! I just remembered more about meeting Bobbie outside Ronnie Sheck’s trailer. She told a story about a man with cancer giving her Oxy. She flirted with him, so he gave her the pills. That man was Brian Belcher’s father. It had to mean something.
But what?