Brother Willy's Traveling Salvation Show (18 page)

Scott
may have misunderstood Michelle’s reaction, but the thought of leaving the coast early seemed to provoke a sense of anxiety. Up until this point, he had assumed Michelle’s issues were a matter of casual concern, but he was also growing slightly more concerned. After considering his options, Scott chose to be as direct as he could. “Michelle, are you okay?”

She looked at
him for several moments before she said what he thought she was feeling. “I don’t know. I feel like I am going to have an anxiety attack even though I have never had one before. I feel really confused about what I’m thinking.”

Still concerned
, he continued to question her. “Are you telling me everything I need to know or are you holding something back?”

She took her fist and lightly hit
his arm several times. “I’m holding a lot back from you and we need to have a long talk like we usually have. I’m not hiding anything from you, but we just haven’t had time to talk about us or me. When you and I are alone, I feel fine.”

Scott
pointed out the obvious contradiction in her statement. “Michelle, we’re alone now and you don’t seem to be feeling fine. Maybe we need to have that long talk now and see if we can get to the bottom of this problem.”

“This is not a goo
d time or place for us to talk. We can talk at dinner or tonight when we come back here. Anyway Beth is coming down the steps now.” She replied.

With
in a few minutes, Beth had laid out her towel next to their blanket and sat down. She put her arms around Scott and kissed his cheek before sitting down to give them an explanation. “Amie said for me to give you a hug and kiss and say thank you for trying to help her. I gave her your cell phone number and she is going to call you tonight.”

Without really thinking,
Scott looked at Beth. “How did you know my cell phone number?”

Michelle
replied before Beth could speak. “I gave it to Beth last night when we were at the hospital. Do you think Amie will try to get help or is she just singing the same old song?”

Beth
handed him her bottle of suntan oil as she answered Michelle. “She said Scott told her something that made sense to her, but she wouldn’t tell me what they talked about. Amie seemed to have a different attitude, but that could be gone before she gets home. I hope she will follow through with her plan because she really needs help.”

Michelle
offered her own idea. “Maybe being away from the college scene will make things easier for her. She won’t have the parties and pressure on her.”

Scott
held up the suntan oil. “Did you want me to do something with this?”

Beth
’s reply was not what he was expecting. “I guess you could start with my back and shoulders and then we can talk about where you can go from there.”

Scott
was surprised she was so obvious with her reply but Michelle showed no reaction to Beth’s insinuation.

Michelle
sniffed a few times as he applied the oil to Beth’s lower back. “That smells so good, what is it?”

Beth
took the bottle and handed it to Michelle. “Jenifer found it at a little store in Beaufort. I love the way it smells and it’s supposed to drive the guys crazy.”

Michelle
held her hand up to Scott’s nose after she put the oil in her hand. “Does it drive you crazy?”

When
Michelle held her hand close to his nose, Scott could smell nothing unusual or different about the scent even though they both described the oil as being so pleasant. Rather than argue about their illusion of a great smelling potion, he changed the subject. “We better enjoy the sun while we can because we are going to have some strong slow moving storms blow in tonight.”

Michelle
looked out over the ocean. “The waves are already bigger than they were this morning. We heard the forecast while we were shopping and they make it sound like we are in for strong winds and lightning.”

They
sat for a few minutes without speaking as Michelle and Beth stretched out on their towels. “Where is Jenifer?”

Beth replied without opening her eyes. “She, Heather and Katie all went home this morning right after Amie left. Katie and Heather got in a big argument about the way Amie was treated last night at the party.”

Scott
glanced at Michelle, “I don’t remember Katie. Did you meet her?”

Michelle
replied, “I talked with her for a little while but she went for a walk on the beach before we had a chance to really talk. She was very nice to me.”

“
I wish Katie had stayed for one more night. I’m not sure how I feel about being alone in that big house, especially with a bad storm coming.” Beth replied.

“Why did you decide to stay if everyone else was leaving?”
Scott asked.

“My parents own the
house with three other couples and I wanted to stay and get everything cleaned up for the next group to come in. Besides, I wasn’t ready to go home yet.” Beth replied.

Michelle
and Beth were both lying on their stomachs. With Scott between them and with each of them facing in opposite directions, they could not see each other. They went without talking for almost half an hour until his sense of reality came into question. What he was about to hear would defy any logical explanation.

Michelle
’s words broke their self-imposed silence. “That’s a good idea, Beth. I’m getting hot too.”

Beth
pushed her body up so that she was standing on her knees looking at Scott as he was lying on his back, watching her. “Are you coming with us?”

Scott
looked at Beth with a great deal of curiosity. “Where are you going?”

Michelle
also sat up and looked at him, apparently surprised by his question. “Beth just suggested we all go swimming. Were you asleep?”

For the moment,
Scott had the good sense to keep his mouth shut and not expose the fact that Michelle had replied to a statement that Beth never made. He knew for a fact Beth had not said a word about anything, including swimming. In his mind, he started to reconsider everything Michelle told him about her strange night.

Before
Scott could speak, Beth said, “A Coke please”

Michelle
had begun to speak at exactly the same time as Beth. “Would either of you like something to drink?”

Scott
was in a position to see both of them look at each other as they realized Beth answered Michelle’s question before it was asked. Michelle then turned her attention to Scott before she stood up.

After
Michelle walked toward the house, Scott sat up and looked at Beth who was now sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her. As she began to rub suntan oil on her legs, she was watching his expression. With a devious grin, she asked if anything was wrong.

For whatever reason,
Scott decided to withhold any comments about their unusual behavior, but his curiosity required him to question Beth. “This may sound like a strange question, but what did you sleep in last night?”

Her answer was logical, but not what
he was looking for. “I slept in my bed.”

Scott
then rephrased his question. “What were you wearing to bed last night?”

She turned and looked at
him for a minute before she began to rub the suntan oil on her arms, chest, and stomach. “I can’t help but wonder why you are asking, but I was wearing pajamas.”

If
Scott were to find out if Michelle’s imagination was responsible for her two o’clock “ghost” experience, he had to know more. “Can you describe them for me?”

Beth
’s curiosity was growing, as she wanted to know his motivation. “The bottoms of my pajamas are short and white. The top is also white with small pink elephants. They are not very sexy, but I like them. Why do you to want to know what my pajamas look like?”

Being completely shocked with her description,
Scott stood up and walked toward the water before he turned around to face Beth, who was still sitting on her towel. “Does Michelle have any way of knowing what your pajamas look like?”

Beth
could tell from his expression that he was serious and very perplexed. With the smile slowly draining away from her face, she continued to stare at him. “I don’t think any of the girls in my house even know what they look like. I just bought them before I came to the beach and last night was the first time I’ve worn them. I had to pick up Amie from the hospital this morning so I was dressed and gone before anyone else was awake. No, I can’t think of any reason Michelle or anyone else would know about them. Why are you asking me about them?”

There were only two possibilities
Scott had to consider. The first explanation would be that Michelle and Beth were playing a joke on him. The second possible explanation would suggest something far more bizarre, which Scott did not yet understand or believe. Given the expression on Beth’s face, she appeared both serious and concerned. He would be able to gage Michelle’s reaction as she was now coming across the beach towards them. 

When she approached,
Beth reached up to take her Coke while Michelle handed Scott’s drink to him. “Beth and I were just talking about her new pajamas. They are short and white and have pink elephants on them.”

Michelle
quickly turned around and looked down at Beth with an expression of astonishment. Beth instantly noticed the way they were both looking at her. As their expressions were making her somewhat uncomfortable, she slowly rose to her feet. “Will one of you tell me what is so interesting about my pajamas?”

They looked at
Michelle for a moment before she nodded her head agreeing he should explain their situation to Beth. “About twenty minutes before you came down here today, Michelle described your pajamas to me, including the pink elephants.”

Michelle
went on to explain her late night experience, but offered few details. When Michelle told Beth that her experience occurred at two o’clock, Beth quickly placed her hand over her mouth, suggesting the time factor meant something disturbing to her. “Something happened to me last night.”

She walked closer to the ocean and spoke with her back turned to
them. “I woke up around two o’clock and my room looked very hazy in the dim light. At first, I thought it was smoke but there was no smell of smoke when I left my room to make sure there wasn’t a fire. After I closed my door and went back to bed, the haze became much thicker. I was getting really cold so I pulled the extra blanket over me and lay there until I could go back to sleep.”

Michelle
looked at them as if she had no idea what to think about Beth’s comment. “Then what happened?”

Beth
turned slowly and faced them. “I must have gone to sleep because I had a really strange dream. I was lying in bed with Scott while you were standing beside a dresser pulling a gown over your head. I was so cold that I snuggled up to Scott and then you came and got in bed with us.”

Michelle
continued her questions. “What did Scott do when you were in bed with us?”

Scott
couldn’t tell if Beth was being defensive or just honest. “He didn’t do anything. He was asleep. You and I just looked at each other and smiled. I don’t remember anything after that except waking up this morning when Amie called.”

Michelle
once again questioned Beth. “If you were standing at the foot of the bed looking at us, which side of the bed was I sleeping on?”

Beth
didn’t hesitate with her answer. “Scott was on the left side nearest the sliding glass doors, and you were on the right side of the bed closest to the dresser.”

Michelle
was more perplexed than before. “You’ve never been in our bedroom, have you?”

Beth
shook her head. “I’ve only been in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. I’ve never been upstairs.”

Michelle
was now starting to arouse his curiosity. “What did the bedroom in your dream look like?”

Beth
closed her eyes as she tried to remember. “The dresser was tall, dark and had something strange on top of it, but I don’t remember what it was. It just looked out of place there. The bed matched the dresser and had four medium height posts with a head and footboard. The floor had carpet.”

Scott
turned to Michelle. “What’s on top of the dresser that would be strange?”

Michelle
wanted to test Beth before she answered his question. “Was there a clock, a big stuffed fish, some dishes, or a shoe rack on the dresser?”

Beth
seemed to know the answer immediately. “I remember. It was a small shoe rack and I remember thinking that was a strange place for it to be.”

Beth
looked at Scott for a moment before she continued. “I don’t know why I remember this. In my dream, Michelle and I were both cold. You didn’t even have on a tee shirt, yet you were very warm.”