Vision of Shadows (3 page)

In all honesty, I didn’t absorb more than half of what Zack said. Eventually, he quieted down and went back to his game, piping in with a comment or question whenever something caught his ear.

It was Simon’s turn next. With him, it was far more of a conversation. I could tell Simon was a very intelligent boy. Thoughtful, too.

A few times, Simon would try and tell me something using words that were more than a bit beyond me, causing me to tell him to dumb it down.

Uncle Mark smirked.
“You have no idea how many times we’ve all told him that, one way or another.” 

I smiled. “I was afraid it was just me.”

“You know, it’s common for everyone to have to learn to rephrase things in an appropriate context,” Simon said. “Especially when they are faced with a new dynamic or social setting.”

“Right,” I mumbled
. “Keep dialing up the dumb there, Simon.”

“Ok
ay, look,” Simon said. “Dad’s a cop, right?”

“You are?” I asked.

“Yup,” Uncle Mark answered. “Sheriff, in fact.”

Simon continued, “
So when he’s talking with his deputies, he may use certain language, terms that are meaningful to him and other cops, but may leave a layperson confused.”

“I’ve heard Deputy Dwight Dugan talk
, and I know all the words he uses,” Zack said. “Dad would wash my mouth out with soap if I used any of them.”

Uncle Mark sighed. “I’m going to have to have
a chat with Dwight, using a few of those words myself, I imagine.”

“I’ll get you a clean bar of soap, Dad,” Zack offered.

“Anyway,” Simon said. “Sometimes we have to adjust how we communicate when we’re speaking with people who aren’t familiar with us or our method of communication. It isn’t an indicator of lack of intelligence on your part. I just sometimes forget to take that into account. Sorry.”

“What my brother is saying,” Zack
said, “is that he forgets the rest of us don’t speak geek.”

I couldn’t help but giggle as Simon sat back in his seat, closed his eyes
, and sighed.   

“So you’re a sheriff, huh?” I asked.

“I’ll try not to scare any boys coming round the house too much,” Uncle Mark added. “But I make no promises.”

“Noted,” I said
. “Although, I doubt you have much to worry about.  Boys aren’t exactly breaking down my door to ask me out. Doubt that’s going to change much unless most of the girls in Spirit have a third arm growing out of their forehead or something.”

“Only a few
, and they’re married already,” Uncle Mark answered. “Hard to imagine a girl like you—funny, interesting to talk to, and real pretty—has a hard time getting the boys to take a look.”

I smiled at him and gave him points for putting funny and interesting first and the pretty part last. Not that I saw myself as being any of those things, but it’s always nice to hear.

D
ating had never been my thing. It’s weird, but I always felt like it was cheating on the boy in my dreams to date somebody else. Besides, when you had the kind of secrets I do, you can’t really risk going out on a date. You never knew who’s going to tag along.

“I’ve been looked at once or twice
, but that’s about it. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I don’t date.”

“You don’t do that thing kids call hooking up, right?”

“Oh my God, no.”

“I’m sorry,”
he murmured. “I know you must be thinking
who is this guy
and
what gives him the right to ask such a thing
, but I’m trying to get to know you.”

“Trying to figure what you’re in for?” I offered.
“I know it’s unfair for you to be stuck with a teen out of nowhere…”

“Now stop,”
he commanded. “I am not stuck with you. You’re family. You belong with us. It’s a damn shame how this all came about, but I don’t want you to think for one second that I’m not thrilled to have you. Understood?”

He said it with such certainty that it was impossible to doubt him. I simply nodded and looked ahead. 

“Bristol, we have a long road ahead of us,” Uncle Mark continued. “You’ve been through a lot and…”

“I’m fine,” I
said.

He gave me a sad smile. “Sweetheart, I don’t believe that for a second.
You
may believe it, but I know better. It’ll hit you hard, and then just as you get up, it’ll hit you again. Something like this is supposed to be hard.”

“Really,” I insisted
. “I’m fine.”

“Right,” Uncle Mark said as he tapped the steering wheel to somebody called Dwight Yoakum, who was making me miss George Strait. After hearing about the back of old Dwight’s hand, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * * *

When I opened my eyes, it took me a moment to realize I was still asleep but dreaming. The first clue was it was very bright outside, even though it had been
dusk. The second clue was my uncle’s country music was gone. So were my uncle and his two sons. 

But
I wasn’t alone in the car. Sitting in the driver’s seat next to me was a woman I’d never seen before. She had long, blond hair, which fell down loosely over her slim shoulders. Extremely beautiful, everything from her eyes to her face bore a striking resemblance to Simon and Zack. It wasn’t hard to figure out who this was.

“Hi,
you must be Aunt Eve.”

“I am
.” She smiled. “And you must be my niece. It’s nice to meet you finally, Bristol. I’m sorry it had to be like this.”

“I’ve been hearing that a lot,” I murmured. 

She laughed. “I’m glad you’re going to live with my boys. Sorry for the reason for it, but glad you’ll be with them.”

She glanced
at the back seat, where I saw Uncle Mark between Simon and Zack. They were all asleep, the children with their heads against their father. Zack was drooling.

“
For some time now, I’ve been worried about my boys being without me,” Aunt Eve said. “All three of them, really. They could use a woman’s influence.”

“Been awhile for them
, I guess,” I said. “I suppose I should expect to find the toilet seat up more than down, huh?”

Aunt Eve laughed
, and I couldn’t help but smile. Her laughter was almost as beautiful as she was. “Mark has done a great job with them. Most times, you leave men alone together, and you’re lucky if they don’t think of ketchup as a vegetable.” 

“You mean it’s not?” I asked. 

When Aunt Eve glanced over at me, amusement danced in her eyes. I could see instantly why Uncle Mark fell for her. 

“Do you plan on telling Mark about your gift?”
she asked.

“Have you thought about how that conversation might go? Hey, Uncle Mark, guess what? I’m a wee bit on the psychic side. No biggie, but your late wife said to say hi, put the seat down
, and eat a salad every now and then.” I rolled my eyes.

“I’d love to see that
.” She smiled. “How do you think Mark would react to finding out about your gifts?”

I shrugged. The thought of anyone knowing about me was terrifying.

“Bristol, he would understand,” she said. “I know my husband. He would never hurt you like you think he would.”

“You know,” I replied
, “I already feel close to them. I want to fit in. I don’t think I could take it if they looked at me with fear or disgust in their eyes. I just…” I shook my head as the image of her two little boys glaring at me with scorn filled my head.

Aunt Eve
gave me a sympathetic smile and gazed at me with eyes filled with understanding. “That won’t happen. I promise. You’ll tell them when you’re ready. It’ll be all right.”

I nodded and looked silently out at the road.

“How about some auntly advice?” she asked. “With Simon, the more techno talk you hear, the more nervous he is. Unless he goes into what Zack likes to call geek overdrive. Simon is sweet and loyal and always eager to help.”

Her description matched what I thought of Simon already.

“My little Zack,” Aunt Eve continued. “Now, he can be a handful, but he will make you laugh. Just don’t insult the Giants.”

“
Is that a band or something?”

“Oh Lord, you’re in for it,” Aunt Eve said. “The New York Giants?”

I continued to stare.

“Just trust me on that,” Aunt Eve instructed. “He’ll go over the entire team roster if you let him.”

“God no,” I said.

“Zack was very young when I was taken away,” Aunt Eve continued. “He has problems remembering me. He may feel guilty about getting close to you. There’s no need for him to.”

“How did you die?” I asked.

M
y aunt’s face grew cold and angry. “I was murdered. They never caught the killer. It’s something that still haunts Mark. He hasn’t moved on. He hasn’t dated or even looked at another woman. As far as he’s concerned, he’s still married to me. I don’t think that will ever change. I know he blames himself. I wish he could understand how much I loved him. I was the luckiest girl in the world when he married me.”

I wondered if I might ever find someone to love in the way Aunt Eve was describing
. But how could I? There could be no secrets between people who loved each other.

“I would really love it if I could get to know you a whole lot better, but I can’t. I don’t have time.”

“Why?” I asked. “Is something about to happen?”

“Yeah, you’re almost home
, and my husband will want you to wake up before you get there,” she said. Her eyes grew intense as she held my gaze. “Listen, you’re going to have to deal with my father-in-law. He moved in a few years ago. He can be…well.” She hesitated. “He has a unique and challenging personality. Try not to get offended. He means well, I think. Hopefully, his time living with my boys made him a little nicer. Or, at the very least, it shouldn’t have made him any meaner.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” she said. “Last but not least, remember now that you’re in Spirit, things aren’t always what they seem.”

“Oh? And what are they?” I asked
, picturing the worst and getting a little sick to my stomach.

“Complicated,” she answered. “You can trust my husband. And you’re not alone. I’ve never subscribed to how your grandfather sees things, but you’ll have to make up your mind for yourself. There is plenty of guilt to go around.”

“Guilt?” I echoed. “Guilt about what? Aunt Eve, what happened to you?”

But it was too late. She was gone
, and I was being gently woken up by Uncle Mark.

“Hey
, Bristol, you there?” He nudged my arm.

I nodded groggily and stretched out in my seat. It was dark now
, and we were off the highway. I tried to take in where I was, but it was hard to make out any details.

“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to conk out. Where are we?” 

“Not too far from home,” Uncle Mark answered. “You must have been really tired. You’ve been out for three hours. Looked like you were having a heck of a dream.”

“Must have been,” I
mumbled.  

“Look, there’s something I should tell you before we arrive,” Uncle Mark said. Was this the part where I would be told that I would be living in the barn and rooming with Harry the horse or Patty the pig? “My father, your grandfather
, lives with us. He’s old and his house burned down some time ago so…”

“Let me guess,” I said
. “He has a difficult and challenging personality?”

“Uh
, yeah, that’s one way of putting it,” Uncle Mark said. “In fact, that is exactly how my wife used to describe him. Wow.”

“I don’t suppos
e you care to expand?” I asked.

Uncle Mark considered
it. “I could, but I don’t want to scare you. Besides, he’s not all that bad. Not really. If you take him with a grain of salt, he can be kind of amusing.”

“Uh
-huh,” Simon said. “So amusing, I heard you laughing at the top of your lungs just last week.”

“You heard that
, huh?” Uncle Mark said. “Listen Bristol, your grandpa
can
be difficult and challenging, but he does mean well and he loves his family. I know better than anyone. On the outside he’s grumpy and wacky, but inside of him is a kind and gentle man.” He looked at Simon’s reflection in the mirror. “Right?”

“Absolutely,” Simon agreed. “Grandpa probably ate him for breakfast.”

Zack hooted with laughter. “Yeah, with a side of bacon!”

“No
, oatmeal,” Simon amended. “Grandpa eats oatmeal. And grapefruit.”

Uncle Mark shook his head. “Maybe we should have moved in with you in Manhattan and not the other way around.”