We’re Not in Kansas Anymore - Chapter 5
I woke from a little nappy at the kitchen table and saw I’d poured myself two cups of tea. I must have been awfully tired not to realize I’d already set one out for myself. No matter. I just put those two little cups on the sideboard so I could clean them in the morning. Time for bedily-by.
I walked to the front of the house to check the latch and bell on the door. I took a glance through the peephole and saw a patrol car parked out front. That’s odd. I wonder if the neighbor has gotten into some hot water. His daughter is very sweet and tinkles the piano well for her age, but the father does seem to have visitors at all hours. I pushed aside the curtain on the side window and saw another car parked on the street and shook my head thinking what trouble that nice man could have gotten into. “I’ll bet he has gotten into something nefarious,” I said to no one in particular. “Nefarious, nefurious, and furry us!” I giggled at my little poem and put the curtain back in its place.
I saw a bit of cobweb on my husband’s old cardigan and decided it must be time to wash it again so I walked back to toward the laundry room.
I opened the linen closet to make sure all the pipes were in place. I touched them in order from tallest to smallest and decided tomorrow I’d put them to their intended use. Perhaps I’d even invite the neighbor girl over for a little duet of organ and piano.
I glanced down and saw a fresh scuff mark on the wall. It looked like the intruders dragged something big along the floor and it bumped the wall. I bent down and spit on my thumb and tried to rub the scuff mark away. I’m going to catch those naughty intruders one of these days, and then I might just make them paint all these marks they have left on my nice clean white walls. But for now, I managed to clean a little of the scuff off with my thumb. That will just have to do.
As I got back up, I felt a little nip in the air. Fortunately I have the sweater my husband used to wear around the house to keep me warm. Thinking a nice cup of tea might take the rest of the chill off, I went to the kitchen to put a kettle on to boil.
I had just filled the kettle when I heard one of the bells ringing. I got gooseflesh from the sound but knew I needed to be brave. I would finally prove to my daughters that the intruders were real and then they wouldn’t send me back to The Place.
I held the kettle high above my head and slinked into the hallway. The ringing of the bell was louder. I saw the handle to the cellar door shaking. I took a deep breath and stood next to the door. Suddenly, it flew open and a man came tumbling into the hallway! I swung the teakettle as hard as I could and hit him on the head. He crumpled to the floor and I quickly dragged him back to the top of the cellar stairs and rolled him down into the dark.
I latched the cellar door and went to make myself a cup of tea.
