Between Floors

I walked toward the woman at the end of the pier, she stood facing out to sea. The wind shifted and mist floated away to reveal a full moon. I reached her and some force kept me from speaking to her. I stood next to her; in her arms, she held a framed picture. Tears fell down her cheeks. Her hair was auburn, and she was fair-skinned. She was bundled up in an old navy peacoat. She looked as if she had lost everything. She took the picture from her breast and I looked in horror.

It was a picture of a 19th- century sailor, a picture of me! She turned and walked away, up the pier through the mist. I stood frozen to the spot.

I looked out to sea, gazing at the twinkling lights of a ship through the hazy mist.... I awoke with a hangover. Gwen and I spent the day reading the Sunday paper, eating a big breakfast, and being lazy.

I chalked the dream up to my active imagination. I never mentioned it to Gwen.

We recently moved into a row house, mid-city. Things had settled down some. Addy, our daughter, was normal and energetic, work was going well,

Gwen seemed happier with me, more than usual. I’d see Amerie from time to time coming and going from Regina’s. Fall and winter came and went. I saw Amerie one night as I was sneaking Christmas gifts from the trunk of our car to put under the tree while Addy slept. She stood on the sidewalk waiting for Julian and Regina. She was dressed to kill. I timidly said hello to her.

She smiled a beautiful smile. Her eyes twinkled happily. She said hello.

“You’re uh, let me see…Oh, you’re Juney’s tenant, right.”

“Yes, that’s right. How have you been?” I asked. There was no hint of the lady of the peacoat.

It started to snow.

“I’m doing well, look it’s snowing!”

Juney and Regina stepped out onto the landing, he was dressed in black-tie and an overcoat. Regina was dressed elegantly. Amerie tilted her head back and caught snowflakes on her tongue.

Regina locked their door.

“Hey, Don you better get inside before you catch a cold,” Juney said.

“Hi, Don, have a merry Christmas,” Regina said descending the steps.

A limousine pulled up; Reggie was at the wheel. He beeped the horn and waved at me.

“Have a good time and a merry Christmas,” I said.

Juney opened the door of the limo, “Come on we better get going.”

Regina got in, Amerie started to get in, then came back to where I stood with my arms full of packages. She kissed me on the cheek and said,” Have a merry Christmas.”

“You too,” I said, amazed. Juney, looked at me and smirked, Amerie got in along with Juney and Regina and they sped off. Life is sometimes beautiful and strange.

I took the gifts upstairs. I could smell her perfume. Gwen was putting things under the tree.

I sat the gifts on the sofa and sat down. I felt like I was drugged.

“Don? What’s the matter?”

“Hunh?”

“I said what’s the matter? Ooh, it’s snowing outside.”

“Uh yeah, I know. I‘m alright,” I said.

“Well let’s get everything under the tree before Addy wakes up,” she said smiling. I didn’t know what to make of that night, or what I should think about Amerie.

The next time I saw Amerie, the cherry blossoms bloomed on the trees in front of our house. I let Addy ride her new tricycle up and down the sidewalk instead of zooming around the apartment. We were coming down the street, I saw a taxi coming up the street. I raced to catch Addy. I caught her just as the taxi pulled to the curb in front of our house.

“Hey don’t ride so fast,” I said catching up to her. I looked up to see Amerie getting out of the cab.

She wore a striped sweater and those tight dirty jeans. Her hair was oily, and dirty. She had dark circles under her eyes, she put on some shades she pulled from her purse.

“Hi!” Addy said. She ignored Addy.

“Hi, Amerie how you doin’,” I asked.

She ignored me and went up the steps to Regina’s.

Addy turned her trike around to head back up the street. I followed her, walking slowly. I turned to see Amerie entering Regina’s. I had a momentary feeling of dread.

The sun was shining brightly the feeling passed and I trotted after Addy.

“She’s kinda strange.” “You’d expect that too with her family’s business and all.” Gwen said sleepily. I laughed a little. The monitor picked up the sound of Addy moving in her bed. Then nothing. Just dead air like the pause of a bad disc jockey with no sense of timing.

I lay back in bed watching the beginning of the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers” the last Late-night movie. My wife snored softly. I fell asleep and dreamed I was back in high school working at McDonald's and Juney’s sister came in on a hot summer day to buy a big bag of fries…she paid with a large ruby ring. I didn’t mention Addy’s behavior to my wife. I was watchful of her. Maybe it was just my imagination or the workload I was under.

In all respects, she was just a little girl, precocious but my little girl. The following weekend the weather grew hotter and I called down to Regina’s to remind her we needed the air-conditioner. She said Juney was coming over later that Saturday afternoon and She’d call when he arrived. She thought it would be a two-man job to bring it up from the basement.

On Saturdays, we always went to the market in our neighborhood just a block from the house. We all had new running shoes. Addy thought hers were very cool and avoided any puddles while we shopped. She refused to let me carry her and actually wanted to carry some of what we bought. I let her carry a bag of grapes.

“You won’t get tired of lugging’ those grapes, will you?” “Nooo.” She said with a determined look on her face. My wife held her hand as we moved through the stalls. I had my camera with me. I liked to take shots in the city. We went inside to the covered market. The market was built before The Civil War.

The produce vendors had their stalls lining the street on either side of a 19th-century building that housed the butchers, bakers, fish, and dairy vendors. Some families had owned their booths inside the ornate structure for over 100 years. White enameled, steel and glass meat cases lined both sides of a single wide aisle from one entrance to the other.

On Saturdays, the shoppers milled thickly through the block long building. There was always a great face or scene to capture on film. My wife handed me our shopping bags of produce and hefted Addy on her hip and headed off to purchase our meats. I lugged the bags and found a spot by a pillar in the center of the aisle, I looked through the viewfinder, panning around the market looking for an interesting face.

I used the telephoto lens to zoom in on the haggling shoppers. I zoomed in on a lady in a peacoat, She had on a knit hat…I focused, it was Juney’s sister. She smiled at a shopkeeper; he handed her a wrapped white package. She handed him her money …she turned, looking right at me, headed toward me. I scanned the throng looking for my wife and Addy.

Anxiety rose in me; I had a sudden fear of Addy being near her. I began to move through the shoppers. There they are! I gripped the bags and made toward Addy and my wife. Juney’s sister was making slow headway in their direction. I squeezed through and around people getting cursed for my effort. I reached the fish seller's counter ahead of her. My wife was taking a white package of fish fillets from the vendor, Addy, who rode my wife’s hip, while some old lady was cooing at her… ”Oooh, look at the pretty baby,” causing her to laugh.

I looked out into the crowd, trying to spot her. I didn’t see her even though she had on that hot ass peacoat. I reached my wife, "All done?” I asked. “Yeah,” She said,” let’s go over to the deli stand to get some lunch meat.” We started to head over there. “Hello, aren’t you Juney’s friend?” I dropped the shopping bags. Her eyes were mesmerizing, they blazed with a brown-orange fire, and her smile was beguiling and dazzling. My wife gave me a look like who is this bitch? Addy seemed to be asleep on my wife's shoulder. “Oh, this must be your wife and daughter. Hello,” she said.

Images of the sea, a vast ocean, dark and angry filled my head. “Don, who’s this?” My wife elbowed me.

“Uh, Uhm, this is, uh, Juney’s sister,” I said feeling like I was a long way from where we stood.

“Hi, I’m Gwen,” my wife shifted Addy and extended her hand, with a confident smile.

“I’m Amerie, Juney’s youngest sister. I met your husband the other night at my brother’s. Ooh, your little girl seems to be asleep.” Her eyes blazed.

I put my arm around my family. “Oh, that’s Addy,” Gwen said protectively. I looked at the greasy bag sitting on top of the purchases in her shopping bag. A line of pearls snaked from the mouth of the bag.

I recovered," Yes, Amerie, I didn’t catch your name last night…I’m Don and this is Gwen and Addy.” I felt dazed.

“Aren’t you hot in that coat and hat?”, my wife asked aggressively, letting her hand drop to her side. Her face darkened and her smile went down a few watts. Her jeans were tight and soiled, she gripped her shopping bag tightly. “I’m not hot,” she said, "I'm cold all the time, the weather doesn’t matter.”

There wasn’t a bead of sweat on her forehead. “We’ve met before,” my wife said evenly,” Regina introduced us a while back. It’s been good to see you again, we have to finish shopping. C’mon Don.” My wife grabbed my arm and headed into the crowd. I felt drained. I looked over my shoulder, she stood rooted to the spot. She looked back at me with her eyes and smile on highbeam. I started to jump on my wife for being rude, but I felt relieved to get away from her, a feeling that grew with every step. “Don, there is something wrong with her, she is seriously fucked up!” my wife said, stretching to put something into the kitchen cabinet. A fly buzzed lazily over the sink, birds were chirping outside I sat the shopping bags on the butcher block table and sat down heavily on a kitchen chair. I was exhausted. Addy was playing in her room. “What’s the matter with you?” my wife called over her shoulder. “Nothing,” I said. “I think it’s just the heat.”

“Can you believe she had on a winter coat in this weather? I’m telling you, Don, she’s been sipping the embalming fluid. Hand me that bag and I’ll make lunch.” I handed her the bag with the bread and lunch meat, it seemed to take a real effort. It had to be the heat. “Don, you okay? Go watch TV. I’ll call you when lunch is ready.” She looked concerned. “Yeah, I think I will.” I went into the living room. Addy was playing with her dolls I could hear her. I turned on the TV And dropped like a rock onto the sofa. I stretched out on the sofa, a ball game was on.

On Friday nights, I played cards downstairs with Juney and a couple of mutual friends. We’d play poker or spades depending on who could afford to play. Juney was Regina’s," old" man. He’d lent her some money to help her buy the brownstone, and if they were getting along, he’d spend a week or two with her.

I knew him from the old neighborhood. His family owned a string of funeral parlors. I was surprised when Regina introduced him to us when my wife and I were apartment hunting.

My wife met Regina through her journalism class. Regina was from the Midwest and a newspaper reporter.

While we played cards, she’d knit in front of the TV. She was happy to get us beer and snacks.

She could keep an eye on Juney and relax.

“Regina, told me you have an old air conditioner we can use up on the third floor.” I said to Juney. He shuffled the cards with an expert hand.

“Oh, yeah. If you want I can get it out of the basement.”

“Nah, I can get it in the mornin’.”

He puffed on his cigarette. Murph, Julian’s buddy, sipped his beer watching the deal.

“Did you do any good on your last trip to Vegas? he asked.

“I made a little, lost a little.” Juney smiled.

He considered himself a sportsman, played the horses, bet on most games, and went to Vegas a few times a year. He always said tending the dead was rather boring. His hands were manicured and befit a piano player.

Reggie’s hands, he managed Julian’s fleet of hearses, never seemed to be clean. He had a certain smell that followed him, though he looked like he just washed recently. He was eating peanuts from a bowl, shaking them up like dice, and throwing them down his throat.

We sat in the alcove of the dining room. It had just enough room for the table and us. We could hear the occasional car or foot traffic from the street through the semicircle of tall curtained windows.

Regina hated smoking but she’d rather have Juney home smoking than the alternative. You could hear the crickets chirping, a slight breeze stirred the blue haze of smoke over the table.

“Say, man how’s that fine wife of yours?” Reggie grinned.

“You got a grease smudge on your cheek, and she’s doin’ fine.”, I said.

He wiped peanut grit on his cheek.

“S’gone?”, he asked.

“Yeah, man.” Murph snickered.

“Aw Reg, don’t get crumbs all over the cards.” Julian tossed him a napkin. I sipped my beer, wondering what I could do with a pair of black aces, jack, king and ten of hearts.

“I’ma wash my hands.” Reggie raised up to go to the bathroom and hit his thick head on the adjustable dining room lamp that began to swing wildly. Juney raised his arm and steadied the lamp with his hand, studying his cards with a thoughtful look. Murph and I had to laugh.

From where I sat, I could see through the darkened dining room to the living room doorway. I could see Regina rising to go to the front door.

She opened the door. There was a girl standing in the doorway. The sconce lamplight cast a radiance like fire onto the girls auburn tinted hair.

She was light like Juney.

It had to be 70 or 80 degrees outside, but I could see as she stepped into the living room, that she had on a Navy pea coat, buttoned with the collar up. She had a brown paper bag in her hand and a big purse over her right shoulder. They were talking but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

She entered and Regina shut the door behind them. Her brow was as dry as the desert. I’d have been sweatin’ buckets in this heat. All that lovely hair and not a drop of perspiration. She looked cold.

Regina led her to the sofa. She didn’t take her coat off. I could see the backs of their heads above the sofa. She sat very still, like a doll. Regina got up and came to the alcove.

She smiled at us and bent over to whisper something in Juney’s ear. Juney stood up, laid his cards face down on the table, and went with Regina into the living room.

Reg sat down wiping his still wet hands on his thighs.”Alright, thas betta.”

I watched Juney standing over the girl on the sofa. He had a sad but serious look on his face.

He was speaking to her in a low voice but urgently. Regina sat next to the girl looking concerned. Her head never moved, like they were talking to a mannequin.

Murph followed my gaze into the living room.

“Who’s that?”, he asked, sipping his beer.

“I don’t know….”, I answered.

Reg grabbed a hand full of peanuts.

“All that hair, thas prolly Juney’s sista." Reg said shaking nuts like he was about to roll seven.

“Reg, tell me somethin’, why does she have on a winter coat and it’s hot as hell outside?”

I asked.” I think she inhaled too much formaldehyde.” He chuckled.

“That girl is strange, she the nutty one of the family.” He shook up another handful of peanuts.

Murph lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a blue plume of smoke toward the ceiling.

“Don’t tell, Juney.” he said leaning towards us,” I took her out one time as a favor to their mother. She wanted her to have a little fun, you know, get her outta the house for a while…anyway, we go out,… a movie dinner or somethin’. I take her back to my crib and she was good company, you know. We talked, laughed, and listened to some sounds.

So we getting’ into somethin’, she says wait a minute let me go to the bathroom. I’m sittin’ on the sofa and I feel like someone’s standin’ behind me. I turn around and she’s standin’ there with a damn steak knife in her hand!”

“What’d you do?”, I asked uneasily.

Reg was chewing peanuts furiously.

“I jumped over the cocktail table. I said bitch are you crazy and she dropped the knife, started crying, said she wanted to go home and I took her directly!”

From the corner of my eye, I could see Juney and Regina standing at the door, his sister standing on the landing looking at them through the screen door just like when Regina answered it, the first time. She stood like a robot staring at them as they closed the door.

“Hush up, here comes Juney.” Reg said, lowering his eyes to the peanut bowl.

We looked at our cards as Juney sat down.

“Damn!”, Juney said disgustedly, looking at his cards.

Murph asked, “What’d she do now?”

“I can’t believe her.” Juney shook his head in amazement.

“She walked all the way from home with at least thirty thousand worth of jewelry we use for funerals and some of my mother's things, in a damn greasy bag of french fries.”

We all looked at each other, then at Juney.

“Murph, you got a cigarette?” Murph tossed him the pack.

“Why didn’t you run her home?”, Murph asked.

Reg was tossing back peanuts.

” I offered to ride her home, then she looked like she was going to lose it. She promised she’d walk back home and put the stuff back if I don’t tell, Mother. I’m going to call Mother in a while to make sure she got home.”

I thought to myself the undertaking business is weirder than I'd imagined. Hell, she could get mugged between here and home, but who would expect jewelry in a greasy bag of fries?

“Reg, get me a beer wouldja'” Juney went back to studying his cards.

Murph sucked air through his teeth and made a sound like,”mmph, mmmmph,mmmmmph.”

I said my goodnights and went home a little after midnight. I left Murph and Juney sippin’ beers and counting their winnings. Reg left earlier after the peanuts ran out. The summer air seemed to have a little chill in it. I let myself in and walked softly up the stairs. The house was quiet.

I could hear the digital clock in the kitchen flipping time. I went to the kitchen for a glass of water.

The moon was full and climbing in the sky as I looked out the window over the sink. Time flipped noisily on the “digital”, as I stood watching the moon climb over the dark city.

Juney called his Mother, and his sister made it home, he spoke to his sister and she said she put the jewelry back. Why would anybody carry around valuables in a greasy bag? I guess Murph was right, she is a little off. The cliché” tragic mulatto” went through my mind.

I finished my water, rinsed the glass, and set it in the dish rack. I turned to go upstairs to bed.

“Addy!” I loudly whispered, “What are you doing out of bed?”

I rushed over to the kitchen doorway and scooped her up in my arms.

“It’s really late what’re you doing out of bed?”, I asked her softly.

She had that look on her face. Defiant and demanding.

“You could have taken me home! I walked all those blocks by myself.”

She said it. SHE said it. I held her close and sat down heavily in a kitchen chair.

I sat her on the table, we were eye to eye.

“Say what you just said again.”, I demanded.

She stared into my eyes, she blinked first and seemed to swoon, falling forward into my arms.

I held her, then looked into her face.

“Daddy, can I have a glass of water?”, she asked sleepily.

It’s, okay now I thought, this is Addy, my Addy, my baby, my little girl. I felt goosebumps on my arms.

“Of course Addy, where’s your water cup?” I hugged her to me.

“It’s in the cab’ net,” she said, pointing to the cabinet above the sink. I rose on unsteady legs.

“How long have you been up?” I asked. I examined her face carefully. She was herself, my little girl, the defiant someone disappeared.

“Dunno.” She said.

I carried her down the hall to her bedroom, after she drank her water. I tucked her into bed, and covered her with her favorite blanket. I was wide awake and hummed her a lullaby till she fell asleep. I felt better Addy was sleeping comfortably, under her Winnie the Pooh blanket.

What the hell was happening?

I went over the evening in my mind, I thought about the strange events over the past few months.

I could hear the TV, as I trudged up the stairs, Carson was going off, the band playing underneath a promo for an upcoming show.

“What was Addy doing outta bed this time of night?”, my wife turned back the cover for me to get in bed.” I think she had a nightmare or something. ” I said.

I undressed and sat on the bed. “You woke me up when you were singing her to sleep.” She yawned. “Didn’t you hear her on the monitor?”

“I must have drifted off when I heard you come in.” She said groggily.

An Alka-Seltzer commercial was playing.

“Say, baby have you ever met Juney’s sister?”

I rubbed my feet, kneading the ache away. I shook her shoulder gently.

“Hey, you ever meet Juney’s sister?” I asked nudging her softly.

“Yeah,…I think Regina introduced us one day, she’s a pretty girl…where’d you meet her?”

She said looking over her shoulder with one eye open.

I continued rubbing my feet.

“Tonite was the first time I ever laid eyes on her. I didn’t really meet her, she uh…stopped by to visit Regina while we were playing cards.”

“She dresses well, but you’d expect that with her family’s business.” She said pulling the thin bedspread over her shoulders and falling back to sleep.

Carson’s monologue was on the portable TV at the foot of our bed, I undressed, and my wife scooted over as I got in. We cuddled and I asked,

” Did Addy ever accuse you of leaving her? I know she gets upset about going to the sitter sometimes?”

“Uh-uh.”, she said watching Carson offhandedly.

“I haven’t taken her to the sitter in a while,…I wonder why she accused me of leaving her?”

“Leaving her?”

“That’s what she accused me of when she snuck up behind me.”

A commercial was on.

“I don’t know what got into her, I was washing her hair and she bolted out of the tub like she had something important to do. The funny thing is she seemed stronger. Just pulled out of my hands, climbed over the tub and ran like greased lightning to you…I thought she was mad at me for getting soap in her eyes.”

“She sure had sumpthin’ to say.”, I said.

“She had this defiant angry look on her face and said I left her! Like some hurt old woman.” Carson had his swami hat on.

“She probably had a bad dream from her nap time today is all.”

My wife scooched down under the covers.

“Kinda scared me.”, I said hugging her tighter.

“It was probably just a dream…”, she sighed sleepily.

A commercial for ALIEN with Sigourney Weaver was on. I like science fiction; I thought maybe we’d go see it.

.

Moonlight filled the room. The TV was all snow. I turned it off. Addy’s monitor hummed, I could hear her soft breathing down in her bedroom.

I pulled the covers up and went to sleep.

I stood on the bus coming home from work all the way from downtown. I squeezed past a fat lady in her “Corporate” suit, complete with running shoes and Wall Street Journal when the bus reached my stop. I enjoyed walking from the corner to our house, especially on Friday evenings. The setting sun gave our house a warm glow, the trees blazed, the suffused light casting interesting patterns on the house and sidewalk.

Regina our landlord, was just opening her door, her keys jangling, as she worked them in the deadbolt lock as I walked up.

“Hey Don!”, she called brightly. The power of positive thinking was her strong suit. Regina smiled her way through good or bad times, a thoroughly modern black woman.

“Let me help you with those.”, I said bounding up the stoop to her entrance. She had packages under one arm and a couple of shopping bags at her feet. She had on some serious high heels.

She could dress for a newspaper reporter.

“So how’s the apartment?”, she asked cheerily.

We stepped into the cool quiet of her foyer.

“We love it. I like it better each day. I think all our efforts paid off.”

“Whoooo…” she dropped her bags and landed ladylike on the sofa. I stood as she unselfconsciously pulled off one high heel, and began to knead her foot energetically.

Oh I just remembered, we have an extra air conditioner for the third floor if you want it, the nails of her stockinged foot were red and neatly trimmed.

“What…oh…. yeah we can use it.”

“I’ll tell Juney to bring it up when he gets in.”

“Here, where do you want these?”

“Drop them on the chair.” She said, taking off her other shoe.

She sat both of her shoes to the side; they sat there on display. I felt embarrassed for some reason.

“Well, I gotta' go.”, I turned to go.

“Hey, how’s that bundle of energy doing?”, she called at my back.

“Addy’s great.”

“She’s always got something to say, hunh Don?”

“Yes she does.”, I smiled blushing.” I gotta go, see ya’later.”

I shut the door. My feet crushed something grainy as I went down the steps and turned up to my door. I could hear Addy and my wife from the stairwell as I came up. They were playing some sort of counting game.

“One, two, buckle my shoe, three, four shut the door…”

“There’s Daddy!”, my wife said in a singsong voice.

“Daddddy!”, Addy jumped up and tackled my shins in a bear hug as I walked into the living room.

I dropped my Lands End briefcase on the sofa and cradled Addy in my arms. My wife gave me a kiss.”You ready to eat dinner?”

“Always. I only grabbed a bagel and a coke for lunch. I barely had time to finish it. The annual report has so many last-minute changes, I was lucky to get that.”

I sat Addy in her high chair; the director chairs were a bit awkward for her eating style.

“I made pork chops with wild rice and a salad, I also got us a couple of beers.”, she said from the kitchen.” That’s why I love you.”, I said.

I took off my tie and draped it over the empty director’s chair to my right. I turned to play with Addy. She had that impatient look on her face.

“You like her shoes don’t you?”, she demanded in a soft inquisitive voice.

“Shoes?”, I asked.

“Why yes I do, I like mommy’s running shoes.”, I said tickling her. She laughed, breaking the impatient look off her face. I’d had a bit of a problem paying $80 bucks for a pair of sneakers.

“Don’t start on the shoes. I think they’re well made and worth the money.”, my wife said sitting Addy’s plate on her high chair. She headed back to the kitchen for our meals.

“Eat your meat too,” I said. Addy laughed.

I felt suddenly uneasy. Was it the running shoes or the high heels she questioned me about?

I had a small office set-up at the end of the hallway. We lived in the upstairs apartment of a two-family townhouse. We got a decent rent from Regina, because we helped rehab the upstairs apartment. We sanded, painted, stained, and polyurethaned the upstairs apartment into livability.

The office was on the landing with a window overlooking the front door walk-up. A couple of trees rose up from the curbside to give me a little privacy from passersby. It was a tiny office with just enough room for a designer’s table, chair, and two drawer file cabinets. Just enough room for you to squeeze around the corner and up the steps to our bedroom on the third floor.

Late at night the flexible artist lamp was the only illumination in the house, the jazz station playing low the only sound.

Sometimes I’d get a creepy feeling someone was standing in the hall behind me. I’d turn around in my chair. All I’d see was an empty hall, into the dining room where moonlight fell on the dining room table and the giant “Swiss” design calendar, with horizontal monthly pages as big as a wall poster. The Helvetica type numerals declare emphatically the days of the year and just a sliver of the kitchen through the next doorway.

Sometimes, I’d be working on a paste-up or project and I’d swear someone was standing behind me; usually, it would be a draft from the stairway, or the old house settling, easing out relaxing house noises.

Addy's bedroom was off the living room, just five quick steps, a left through the living room door and a quick right into her room. She was old enough (2yrs. Old) to climb out of her baby bed and after 9 pm she slept soundly until the morning. It was rare for her to climb out of bed now to race through the hallway and up to our bed for comfort.

She was happy having her own space, HER ROOM, and every toy in its proper place.

Besides, I’d hear her release the bedrail, the way we taught her…to climb safely down to use the bathroom or visit us in bed.

Sometimes it was a strong feeling, a certainty, that someone was just outside the doorway of the landing, observing my work.

I had a position as a “Corporate” designer with a major downtown retailer. I did freelance work to cover expenses while my wife finished her degree.

Sometimes on the weekend, late in the afternoon, my daughter would sneak up on me and I’d act like she scared me. I’d grab her up and tickle her and let her draw on my tracing pad till it was time for dinner. Then other times I’d turn around quickly, trying to surprise her before she “scared” me

…no one there…

On hot summer evenings, I’d leave the downstairs door open with the screen door locked to facilitate a breeze. My wife would turn off the TV in the living room, walk up behind me, place her hands on my shoulders and kiss me on the cheek on her way up to bed.

“Don’t stay up all night, why don’t you watch the rest of ‘Carson with me?”

“I’ll be up in a minute.” I’d say, as she padded barefoot up the carpeted stairs.

I’d go down and lock the big door, run up the stairs two at a time, turn down the hall through to my office, turn off the lamp, then two-at-a-time up to bed. One night I was racing off to bed when I just reached my office landing. I felt a sudden chill, like opening a freezer door, then quickly closing it.

I began to ignore the feelings or maybe I was concentrating on my work or just worried about other things. I put those creepy feelings aside until one night…

I was adjusting some type with a T-square and triangle, when I heard wet feet slapping on the hardwood floor behind me, it had to be Addy, but why was she traipsing water on the floor?

I turned to reprimand her, she stood behind me naked as the day she was born, arms akimbo. Glaring at me. Her beautiful brown eyes seemed on fire.

“You left me!”, she shouted.

I could see my wife coming from the bathroom down the hall with a towel trailing her.

“Wha…what did you say?” I asked. She demanded again, “Why did you leave me?!”

If my eyes were shut, I could have sworn it was a grown woman speaking to me with such anger. She was only two.

My wife caught her up in the towel on her arms and asked, ”Addy, what got into you, why’d you jump out of the tub!?”

“Did you hear what she just said?”, I asked my wife astonished.

“What did you say to Daddy?”, my wife giggled and tickled her.

Addy laughed and cuddled with my wife like a two year old.

The fire in her eyes was replaced with simple joy. I looked at my wife, at Addy , they both seemed oblivious to anything other than their nightly bath routine.

“I guess I misunderstood her.”, I said bewildered.

“Well it couldn’t have been that bad.”, she said drying Addy’s thick hair.

“No…I guess not.”, I said.

“You’re just tired…why don’t you let some of those outside jobs go?”

“You know we need every dollar.?”, I said.

“Well, dinner w ‘ll be ready in a few minutes, come on Addy and get into your pj’s.”

She bundled Addy off to her room. I know what I heard. Something wasn’t right.

I went to lunch one afternoon with an exec from work. He was a brother who happened to be from New Orleans. We sat at a table that fronted the sidewalk, we could people watch as we ate.

He said he’d heard through mutual friends about our luck with finding a brownstone apartment. I told him about all the work we put into getting the place livable. A strange idea popped into my mind, I asked him if there were black sailors in the 1800s who sailed on ships bound from New Orleans. Of course, he answered, there had been a few in his family. I felt mixed emotions, it confirmed the dream for me, but what did it mean? Reincarnation is just a concept. I never felt it to be true. I invited him to dinner in the near future so he could see all the work we had done. He was interested in rehabbing property near where we lived.

Gwen finished her classes and went looking for a new job. I found more freelance work.

Things started to get busy for both of us. We planned a dinner party to show off our home to a few friends. The weather was growing warmer. I worked late into the night on my projects.

One night I heard arguing , loud muffled voices, downstairs. I heard Regina’s front door slam and I saw Juney get into his car and drive off. I figured Regina was playing him a little close, wanting more than what Juney was delivering. The phone rang upstairs in our bedroom.

It was a safe bet Gwen and Regina were deciding Juney’s fate.

I smiled and worked on into the night.

A dish or glass slipped in the kitchen sink I heard it break. I went to investigate. I threw the broken pieces into the trash. I looked at the dish strainer it was crowded with clean dishes, one had just slipped from the rack. No big deal. I looked at the digital it was very late. I headed off to bed. I got a few feet from my office and the cold air there sent chills up my spine. I quickly went up the steps to bed.

I began a new project at work, it required me to work a few hours overtime for a week or two.

Summer was getting closer. There were a few diners and coffee shops near my building. I took a break to get a bite to eat.

I was reading a newspaper, finishing up a sandwich, when Amerie came in and sat at the counter beside me. ” I hear the food in here is pretty good,” she said with a smile. I looked her over and decided she must be feeling well. Her hair was full and clean, she dressed as if she had come from work. It is I said evenly.”It’s kind of early, I usually eat later.” She glanced over the counter menu quickly.

“I saw you a few weeks ago you got out of a cab at Regina’s,” I said.

“Oh, I didn’t see you.”

I thought you nearly walked over Addy.

“I said hello, you walked right past me and Addy.”

She toyed with a knife in the setting on the counter.

She waved her hand dismissing my statement. “I had something on my mind.”

I felt a need to go. “You aren’t about to leave are you?”

A sense of exasperation came over me. “I’m not leaving you.”

I surprised myself, why did I say those words?

A path through magnolia trees led to the smell of brine. The air was wet with the smell of decay and the sea. I'm walking toward the sound of lapping waves. It's so humid, it could be twilight or close to sunrise.

I know I'm being watched. Like spider webs, the magnolia leaves slide over me as I walk toward the water. I stumble onto a rickety pier and I see a woman in a long dress with a bustle? She stands at the end of the pier, staring out to sea. Mist drifts over blocking my view.....

"Daddy!"

I almost jump out of my skin! Addy is holding her doll, dancing it on my chest. I had dozed off.

"C'mon, Don, and eat.", my wife calls from the dining room.

"Daddy kiss my dolly!", Addy commands, she smiles brightly.

"No, no, Addy." , I say groggily. I sit up on the sofa. I see the Yankees are up to bat on the TV.

"Let's go eat lunch...", I tickle Addy, lifting her up to go to the dining table.

I don't mention my dream to Gwen. We eat I feel better, then there's a knock at the screen door. "Hey! Anybody home?" echoes up the stairwell.

"I better let Juney in, he's here about the air conditioner for our bedroom."

Gwen sips her beer, looking at tv, nodding for me to get the door.

I lock the storm door and follow Juney back through the alley to the cellar doors at the rear of the house. We descend into musty, darkness, he hits the light switch. There's exposed beams so low, we have to duck a little to walk through the piles of old furniture.

"It's in the front room.", he says, leading the way.

The dim light reflects on the few gray hairs on Juneys head, he has on an expensive white dress shirt with French cuffs neatly rolled up his forearms. His expensive leather shoes crunch the grit on the floor as we walk, my running shoes glow in the gloom. He flips another light switch, it's hotter and dustier in the front of the basement. I see feet walking past the grimy front basement windows. The walls in here glisten with moisture.

"Here it is.", he says.

There's old ornate chairs with red cushions, some covered with dusty sheets. The air conditioner looks old and heavy sitting on an old wooden pallet in a corner. Above me I can hear Regina upstairs moving around.

She turned on the stereo and some Heatwave song revs up. I wipe the sweat from my face with my shirt tail.

"Whew! This is going to take some work getting this up to the third floor."

I huff. Juney, hardly perspires.

"We can manage, shouldn't be too much trouble," he scratches his goatee.

"Let's wrap one of these sheets over it, I don't want to get my pants dirty."

He takes a sheet off one of the chairs, shaking the dust off. I cough the air is so musty. On the chair sits a red purse.

"Wow!" Juney, exclaims. " That's Amerie's purse. She's been looking everywhere for it...she, anyway remind me to... He looks in the purse moving things around, then he pulls out a string of pearls, a wallet with cash in it and a vacation souvenir, a small plastic "ship in a bottle".

"Ain't that something?", I say curiously.

Juney puts the items back into the purse. He snaps his fingers.

"She left it down here I bet when we moved her things back home to Mothers." "You know, I saw her today shopping at the market", I say rubbing the sweaty grime on my forearms.

"I don't think so. Mother has a nurse caring for her. She hasn't been feeling well, or at least I don't think she's let her go out ,lately", Juney said absently. He dropped the purse back on the chair.

"C'mon, man.", he lit a cigarette with a gold lighter, "We better get this thing upstairs before you pass out in this heat."

I coughed, waving his smoke away. "Yeah, okay." We wrapped the air conditioner in a used sheet we found and lugged it up to the third floor. Juney actually broke a sweat with the effort.

I found an adapter plug and the air conditioner actually worked, it cooled our whole apartment.

"You'll never believe what we found in the basement."

"What?", asked Gwen.

"You, know I mentioned to Juney, we saw his sister at the market the other day."

"What did you find in the basement?", Gwen gave me the "first things first" look. "Oh, yeah...,I said. "We found a purse that belongs to his nutty sister. It had jewelry, money and all her ID info. He says she lost it a while ago, and get this, he says she was at home all day today with his mother."

Gwen looked puzzled. "I 'vonder who we met at zee market." in my best Dracula voice. Gwen sat back on the couch and sipped her beer. She touched my foot with her foot on the cocktail table as we caught the last innings of the baseball game.

Gwen said softly," All I know is, if she's any indication, it would be hard to believe if anybody in that family knows what the other one is up too"

Reggie Jackson was up to bat on the TV. "I'd say she probably did a little shopping for her mom, Juney's always at Regina's or the funeral parlor, their "Mother" is a boogie wanna be socialite, you're right, baby."

Gwen turned away from the TV, looked into my eyes and asked, "What did you do with the purse?"

"Juney, probably has it." I answered. Reggie struck out. "He'll probably give it to her." I sipped my beer.

"I bet he didn't.", Gwen sat up on the sofa.

"She's been looking for it, he'll take it to her."

Addy was at her grandmothers for the weekend. "Let's go in the basement and see.", Gwen said excitedly.

"Hey, it's hot and musty down there. You don't want to leave this cool to fish for lost treasure, do yee?", I said with a pirates leer.

"Oh, stop it!", she laughed.

Our flashlight cast a big circle into the basement shadows, dusk was falling. Gwen decided our sleuthing required more light and turned on the basement lights. "It's in the front room.", I led the way.

Gwen held onto my shirt tail with a firm grip. "Don't be scared.", I said sarcastically. Our shoes crushed the dirt and grit as we wove our way through the stacks of furniture and junk.

"I don't believe it.", I said wiping my face with my free hand. The red purse was sitting on the plush cushion of a dining room chair. I felt the heat of my wife's body against my back as she stood on tip toes looking over my shoulder. "What's in it?", she said greedily.

I picked it up," Let me show you. I already told you", I whispered. The gloom in the basement was hot and humid.

"There's a wallet, money. Are these real?", I asked, holding up a string of pearls that glowed in the weak overhead light.

"Yeah, they're real, put them back!" Gwen exclaimed. I looked her in the eyes, she was scared. "You, okay?"

"Yeah, c'mon let's get upstairs." , she turned to head out.

The fresh air made Gwen feel better. I locked the cellar doors and we walked up the driveway to the street. A breeze, overhead blew through trees on the street. Gwen was hugging herself, as I knocked on Regina's screen door.

"Hey, what's up you two?" Regina asked merrily, she held a glass of wine in her hand. She unlocked the screen door. "C'mon in and have a drink." Heatwave's "Always & Forever" played on her stereo.

"Gwen, you look chilly, lord knows how with all this heat."

"I'm fine, girl.", she replied. Regina sipped her wine. Regina waved to them to have a seat on her sofa. She spotted the purse in Don's hand.

"What's that ,Don?"

"Oh, that's why we stopped by, uh ..., Juney, forgot to bring his sisters purse, we found in the basement when we brought up the air conditioner.", Don answered. He set the purse down on her cocktail table.

Regina said," I'll be right back with some glasses for your wine, you'll love it." From the kitchen she asked, "Gwen, have you finished the assignment for class?" We could hear glasses clinking. I nudged Gwen, "Oh? ...Yeah, I finished it yesterday and typed it up at work." She sat, still rubbing her arms as if she was cold. Regina brought the bottle and two filled glasses and set them on the table, then sat down in a comfy chair facing them.

Gwen sipped the wine and some color returned to her face. "Oooh, that is good." She smiled. Don took a quick sip, then set his glass down near the purse.

"I haven't finished my paper yet...," she drank. "Oh what did you find? You said you found something in the basement?" They all looked at the purse.