I woke up to a room drenched with sunlight. Black Jack was sleeping next to me, sharing my pillow. He opened one of his eyes at my moving around, but then shut it again. I smiled at him and rolled over to look out the window. The street was already filled with a mess of people. They were walking to the church, all dressed in their best clothes. I saw the Crawfords move from one end of town to the other, hand in hand. Minny was wearing a spring hat with a big pink bow tied around it. Her red hair was ironed into tight curls. The sight started to make me want to puke so I rolled away from the window and stared at the ceiling. I hoped my ma didn’t have plans like that for me. If she did, I’d have to straighten her out fast.

Chief didn’t come into my room like he said he would. Ma did. She smiled when she saw my eyes were opened.

“Good morning. It’s time to get up. Your sister has breakfast started and we thought it would be a good idea to eat outside on the back porch.”

“Sounds fine to me.” 

I pushed myself up against my pillow and pulled out from under the covers.

“Let’s get you dressed first,” she said.

I watched as she pulled a clean pair of britches and a fresh tee from my dresser. I couldn’t help it, but I had to smile at that. It was a relief.

She noticed it when she turned around and asked, “Why are you smiling so?”

“No reason.”

She helped me out of the nightshirt and into the tee. It was easier getting into my britches with the extra help. She waited while I buckled up the straps.

“Ready?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Put you arms around me,” she added.

I did and she lifted me from the bed. She carried me down the stairs, through the house and to the back porch. There was a small table set up in the shade of the porch roof. Again I had to grin…the checkered tablecloth was stretched over the top of it.

Ma set me down into one of the chairs. So far, I was the only one at the table, but a plate of ham rested in the middle just to the right of a blue, glass pitcher of flowers. Maggy came out with a plate of eggs, all scrambled and yellow in one hand, and a pitcher of orange juice in the other.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Mornin’. Where’s Joe?”

“He’s cutting up the melon in the kitchen.”

“What about Chief?”

“He went to the station early this morning. He and Mike had some work to do, but they’ll be home for breakfast.”

As she said it, the door to the back porch shook. In the distance the front door rocked open and slammed shut.

“I guess they’re here now,” she said and left to go inside.

The kitchen window was opened all the way and I heard Chief washing his hands in the sink.

“Where is everybody?” he asked.

“Joe’s in the front bath washing up, Maggy disappeared when you and Mike arrived,” Ma let said, “And Kelly’s on the porch.”

“I see,” Chief said. “I guess breakfast is ready. We’re not late?”

“No. Right on time. I’ll pour you a cup of coffee you can take out with you.”

“Oh, that reminds me. I ran into Burt this morning.”

“And where was this?”

“Mike and I took a break about six-thirty and went over to Elly’s for coffee.”

“Just coffee? What’s the matter with the coffee pot at your office?”

“We ran out. Anyway Burt says-”

“Why didn’t you bring some from over here? Or better yet, just come home for coffee. I’d have been happy to make-”

“El-”

“I do know how to make coffee, Bob.”

“El,” Chief said again. This time his voice was a bit sharp.

“I do know how to grind the stuff up, you know.”

“It was only six in the morning.”

“I would have been happy to make you some–”

“Enough, all right? I know what you are trying to do.”

“And what is that?”

“Avoid the issue.”

“Which is?”

“Burt said you gave him a raise–a hefty one. He was afraid you might have made a mistake.”

“Not a raise, Bob, a promotion. He’ll be managing things over there from now on.”

“And where will you be?”

“Over here managing things.”

“El, I thought we discussed this. You don’t have to do that. I know how much you love managing that place. There’s no reason for that to change. Maggy can handle things here.”

“Bob, that’s unfair. I realize it was necessary for you to count on her before now, but she’s already missed out on most of her childhood. There are many things a young girl should be exposed to before she settles down to start a family of her own. She’s been burdened with too much responsibility for far too long. She’s gone from a little girl to a grown woman, skipping the stages in-between. She needs a break, Bob. And I intend to give her that break. I’m your wife and I want everything, including the responsibilities that go with that. I want to do this.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because, quite frankly, I’ve missed out on a few things too. I think I could get used to being a wife and mother. I’d like the opportunity to try. Besides, the pub will always be there. I’m not giving it up entirely. I still own it.”

“So I guess you’ll be hiring a new bartender soon?”

“Yes.”

“I see.” Chief 's voice was real low. Then he darn near whispered, “Come here, Mrs. Broden.”

Their voices got all muffled which meant they were kissing and junk.

Mike and Maggy came around the side of the house. He had his arm around her waist and she was talking to him, her face stretched out into a smile. She was pointing along the side of the house at the bushes. I guess she was telling him what she planned on sticking in the ground there. He smiled back at her and pulled her closer to him. They made their way across the yard heading in my direction.

I watched Mike drag Maggy up the steps with him. He smiled at me; his smile was wide showing off his blindingly white teeth. It made me smile back before I even knew I was going to do it.

“Morning, Squirt.”

“Mornin’, Mike.”

“Sleep well?”

“Uh-huh. With the bird gone, there’s no reason to fret.”

“You think its over?” His eyes narrowed.

“Guess. For a while anyway.”

“I’m finding it hard to believe that this could all be wrapped up in a bird.”

“This?”

“This terror. Nightmare. Here and gone with a bird.”

“But that’s when it all started.”

“What?”

“The whole thing. I thought it was the tiger. But I saw the bird first. When Hank pushed Billy. I saw it then.”

Mike’s expression sharpened, and his mouth pulled down into a frown.

Joe, Chief and Ma came out from the house just then. Chief noticed the look on Mike’s face.

“What is it?” he asked.

Mike shrugged. “That damned bird.”

Chief squinted.

“Kelly says it was the bird...not the tiger. It started with the bird.”

“And?”

“They singled her out, boss.”

“Explain.”

“They came after her. It wasn’t because she witnessed anything–”

“Fred came after her for that–not the cult. I don’t see where you’re going with this, Mike.”

“Why’d they pull that number at the hospital, boss?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m just saying that it started before that. It started last summer. Not this summer.”

“And that makes a difference?”

“If they were pushing Fred–I mean the tiger to kill those depot men. Why not push him to kill her?”

“That’s what I tried to tell him,” I let them know.

They looked at me. So I went on. “I told the tiger that he was wrong– that they were pushing him–but he wouldn’t believe me. Both in the dream and at the Dead Place.”

Chief looked at me, then at Mike. For a long time he looked. Then he turned his attention back on me. “The dreams. They started last summer. You had that first one about the tiger before you even went into the hospital with the broken leg.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I didn’t think anything of it then..”

Chief looked at Mike. His eyes sharpened. “It’s like a puzzle with several key pieces missing.”

“We’d better find those pieces, boss.”

Chief nodded. Then he looked at the table and changed the subject, “Food’s getting cold.”

Everybody sat down and started passing around the food and we all had breakfast together, like a real family. It was then that I figured out what that meant. I knew right then that my sister would get hitched to Mike. I could tell by how right it felt having him there, eating at our table. I looked at Chief, then Mike. The cult still weighed on them. But at least they were able to set the feeling aside, even for just a little while.

Chief handed me my plate after loading it up with ham and eggs and a slice of melon.

“Thank you.” I looked around the table until I found the pepper. “Can I please have the pepper, Ma?”

She turned and looked at me. Then she shot a look at Chief. I felt them all staring my way.

“I did say ‘please.’"

Ma smiled at me. “I guess I’m just not used to being called that. But I do like the sound.”She handed the pepper to Chief to keep from reaching across him. Chief handed it over to me.

“There you go, pumpkin,” he said.

“Thanks, Chief.”

“So what’s everyone’s plans today?” Ma asked everyone at once.

“Joe and TJ are gonna wheel me over to the fishin’ hole today,” I let her know and looked fast at Chief. “If its all right with you, Chief.”

He shrugged and swallowed his food. “It’s all right with me.” He looked down at me. “You just keep your feet out of the water, okay?”

“Yessir.”

“That takes care of the children,” Ma said. “What about you, Maggy?”

Maggy smiled at her. “It’s Spring cleaning time, Miss Elly. We already talked about this.”

“I know we did, but that was before I knew what a beautiful day we were going to have. Besides, your father has informed me that he and Mike are through with whatever business they had this morning–”

“I did?”

She looked at him for just a second before saying, “You did.” Then to Maggy, “That means that both you and Mike are free to goof off the rest of the day.”

Maggy looked at her for a second before turning to Chief. “Is that okay?”

Chief’s eyes were on Ma’s. He gave her ‘the look,’ the one that squints up his right eye. Then he turned to Mike. “I forgot. Take the afternoon off, Mike. We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow. I think that will work out better anyway, there isn’t much to do until we hear back from Mort.”

“Sure, boss.” Mike glanced at Ma, looking a might confused. Then he turned his attention over to Maggy. “Since I have the day free, we can go to that museum in Greenville you wanted to see.”

She smiled gratefully at Ma before saying, “That should be fun.”

“I’ll go home and change after breakfast.” He looked over at Chief. “Mind if I borrow the squad car?”

Before Chief had a chance to say if he could or not, Ma said, “Take the Roadster. I just had gas put in it.”

“Thanks, Elly. We’ll take care of it.”

Chief set me up on the porch swing after breakfast and went to help Ma and Maggy clear the table. I looked out over the back yard and waited for TJ to show. Joe had already gone in to call him and let him know that we could go and all. Joe was now untangling our lines and getting the tackle from the shed.

Black Jack came out onto the porch. He stretched in the sun that fell from the side of the house. Then he yawned to himself and came over to me.

“Hey ya, Jack,” I told him and leaned over to pick him up. I held him a while but then he got fidgety on me and I had to set him back down where he could run around. I watched him dive off the porch and into the grassy yard. He ran from one end to the other, chasing the butterflies and their shadows that came out of the woods. He stayed away from the spot were we burned the bird.

There was a big hole there now. Chief took what was left of it out of the yard and put it all in the sack Joe had. Then he had Uncle Mort take it because Uncle Mort wanted to have it looked at by what he calls an expert in the field. Chief didn’t want any part of it left, so he also dug up the dirt that was just under it. That wasn’t even good enough for him. He had Joe borrow some gasoline from our neighbor, Mr. Kreiger. He dumped that gas on the hole and lit the fire all over again. It burned just like normal gas, though, and Chief was satisfied.

In the kitchen I heard Chief and Ma doing the dishes. I guess Maggy had gone up to her room to get ready for her day with Mike. The window was now just above my head, and even though there was water being tossed around, I could still hear what they said.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?” Chief asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Today, El. You gave my deputy the day off. Why? We still have a case to work on. That cult’s still out there and still a danger to my daughter and the community.”

“FIne. First of all, both you and Mike have been working every day for weeks now, without a break. Both Mike and you deserve a day off. Next, Kelly killed the bird, honey. It’s dead. She feels safe. At least now there is breathing room. You did notice she slept soundly last night?”

“Yeah but–”

“What good will the two of you do her if you burn yourselves out now?”

“I realize that, but–”

“Third,” she pushed on, right over his argument. “It’s a beautiful Spring day out there. The sun is shining and all’s right with the world. And if you’ll notice, thanks to me, we’ll have the house to ourselves today. I can see you’ve been a little tense lately and I think I know what to do about that.”

“Oh you do, do you?”

“I do,” she said and got quiet. “You do remember what those words mean don’t you?”

There was a long spell of nothing. Then Chief said. “Yes. I remember."

“Let’s enjoy the time we have now, before the craziness, darling.”

Again, quiet.

I dropped my attention on them and looked over the yard. Then I turned my head to Miss Celban’s yard and started thinking up how I was going to get even with her. I was heavy into figuring when Maggy came out to the porch. She came over to me and sat down.

She smiled at me first, then looked to the trees along the edge of the yard. It seemed like she had something playing around in her mind but didn’t know how to let it out. 

“Joe told me you buried Hoover for me.”

“Yes, next to the side of the house. He’s next to your turtle and that bird you found in the road.”

“Thank you.” In the yard Black Jack jumped up after a butterfly, his tiny white teeth snapping up the air.

“Kelly...”

Maggy was dressed up real nice for her day with Mike. She didn’t wear much make-up. I guess she finally figured out that she really didn’t need it. Her hair was pulled back with her favorite turtle shell comb. It fell off her face and slipped down her back, ending in long wavy curls. Her eyes were bright; they caught the sunlight and shone it back. And she had freckles that spotted up her nose. I never really noticed them before that day. The hard look was gone from her; she seemed softer now. She seemed happy.

“That was real nice,” she said. “What you did at breakfast.”

“What’d I do?”

“Calling Miss Elly ‘Ma.’ I think she’s finally feeling like she belongs here.”

“I sort of liked it too,” I let her know. “I think I’m going to like having a mother. I can understand why you were so sad at losing yours.”

She looked at me for a long spell before saying, “That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

“We already went through all this Maggy. You don’t have to–”

“But I do, honey. I’ve been rotten to you and I want to explain.” She stopped talking and looked into the yard at my dog. He was chasing a leaf across the yard. A second leaf would fly by and pull his attention off the first.

“He’s easily distracted,” I told her. “Not like Hoover at all. But he’s a good dog in his own way.”

She smiled at me before her face got serious again. “You’d have to know what happened that day to really understand. Mother went into labor in the middle of my recital. I’d been practicing that stupid song for six months. I had the lead in the school play. Momma was helping me with the words of the song and my lines. 

“We were real close. I loved her very much, Kelly. When she went into labor I felt betrayed. Not by her, but by you. It was your fault. We had to leave right away for Four Oaks. Doctor Kingsbury expected a difficult delivery–they had made arrangements with the hospital in advance. But she went into labor prematurely. No one expected it. She wasn’t due for another six weeks. 

“Anyway, Chief came back stage and dragged me away kicking and screaming, while Aunty and Miss Elly helped Momma to the car. I was so angry. I really didn’t know what was going on, I was only eight years old and didn’t understand what was really happening. I only saw it as an affront to me. My big day was ruined. My chance at the limelight was shot down. And then from there it only got worse. 

“Miss Elly went to our house to phone Dr. Kingsbury and to collect Joe from the sitter. There was no telling how long Momma would be in labor. Miss Elly and Dr. Kingsbury showed up together just after we got there." 

I looked over at Maggy. Her face had gotten redder and her eyes cloudy. She was facing the yard but she wasn’t seeing it.

“I was a real brat on the drive to the hospital. I screamed and whined the whole way. Chief had to pull the car over and tell me to be quiet, despite the rush we were in to get Momma to the hospital. When I think about how that was her last impressions of me, I really feel sick.”

 “I think she understood, Maggy.”

“Chief was furious. I thought he stopped loving me right then and there– the look on his face, Kelly. It was horrifying. But now I realize, that look was the quickest way he could communicate his anger and disapproval, so we wouldn’t lose too much time. The whole rest of the trip I sulked. 

“I can still hear Momma in the back seat with Aunty. She was groaning, and breathing- I can still hear her heavy breathing she used to control her contractions. And I thought anything that could cause her that much pain and discomfort must be evil. I resented her pain–and that which caused it. It kept her from comforting me...don’t you see?

“When we arrived at the hospital, they rushed her right into the operating room. A nurse showed us to the waiting room. Chief went out to the hall right then and called Grandfather Warren and Grandmother. He knew the risks and they should be there. When Dr. Kingsbury arrived with Miss Elly they led him to the operating room. Miss Elly and Joe had to wait with the rest of us. Hours went by… all I could think about was how bored I was. I pestered Chief about wanting to go home, until he finally blew up at me all over again. He was so worried about her. There she was, in so much pain, and I could only think of me.”

 Maggy put a hanky to her nose and wiped away her sniffles.

“It was suppertime before Dr. Kingsbury came back out. He popped his head into the room and motioned Chief out into the hall. Joe was crying and both Miss Elly and Aunty were busy trying to sooth him. They didn’t notice me follow Chief into the hall. I stayed partly behind the door so he wouldn’t see me either...I heard them...” Maggy turned to me. “He told Chief that he could only save one of you. Either Momma, or you, but not both. There was some kind of complication, that to continue with the delivery, it would kill the baby. She was hemorrhaging. But to go in and take the baby would result in Momma’s death. Something to do with your position and her loss of blood. Aunty called me back before I could hear Chief’s decision.

“It was a long time before he came back in the waiting room. By then Grandfather and Grandmother Warren had arrived...” Maggy broke off. She swallowed, choking her tears back down her throat. “He was a different person when he came back into the waiting room.”

“Who? Grandfather?”

She turned to me and shook her head. “No. Chief. I knew by the expression on his face that my mother was dead. I threw a tantrum, Kelly. I could not forgive him for choosing you over her. I haven’t been able to for the last ten years. And Grandfather only vindicated me.”

“What do you mean?”

“He made my scene look tame. He jumped all over Chief. They had never really gotten along before this, but this time it was so was horrible. Chief just stood there and took it. He took it all without saying one word in his defense. Grandfather was calling him all sorts of names: murderer, shiftless, no count, Irish Pig.... He declared the day Momma and Chief were married was the ruin of her life. He had tried more than once to break them up, and if he had succeeded, she’d be alive today. And he cursed the child–” Maggy broke off and looked at me. 

I turned away from her and looked at the ground. My ears were feeling hot.

“Anyway,” Maggy said quietly. “He only stated what I wanted to hear because it was how I felt at the time and his words validated my feelings. And I wanted to hurt Chief just then... I don’t know why. It was more than his decision. Being angry at him and you, well it forgave my actions earlier that day. The blame belonged to you and Chief.” 

Maggy started to cry for real.

“What’s the matter?”

“I can still see Chief’s face–through all the yelling and all the blame. My god, what losing her really did to him. It devastated him. But even in his grief, he took it. He let us use him as a scapegoat. I guess to keep us from blaming you.” She looked at me. “But that didn’t work- because we did that anyway. I’m so sorry.”

I watched my pup playing in the yard. I felt my own face grow warm. No one had ever really told me what happened that day. I wanted to hear it all, to understand my sister. It looked like I was going to get a little understanding of my father as well... and my grandfather who I never met. I remembered him coming to the house. He’d stay in his car and blow the horn. Both Joe and Maggy would leave in that big black car while I stayed home. I could still remember banging my hand against the glass window in the front room, calling after Joe. Once it broke and cut my hand.

“I should have been there for him,” Maggy said. “Those first few years he tried to comfort me. I just pushed him away. He betrayed me. He let her die- and for what? You?” Maggy turned to look at me. I saw her pain in her eyes. “It wasn’t until later that I found out Momma was the one who made that choice. I felt betrayed all over again. She chose you over the rest of us. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to. Then, because of the way I’d been acting, I lost Chief as well. I pushed him away when he needed me. He found his own comfort in you. You helped him get over the feelings of losing Momma. I had no one. Even Joe chose you.”

“I’m sorry, Maggy.”

“Don’t be. It was all my own doing. You never asked for the circumstances surrounding your birth. And you missed out on knowing Momma. At least I have that. Instead of trying to share that with you, as well as my family, I drove everyone away with my bitterness.”

“But you were right,” I told her and felt my own tears pulling up. “I can’t do nothin’ right. It was my fault. If it weren’t for me–”

“Oh, no, honey that’s not true.” She looked at me for a long time. Her long fingers came to my cheek and she wiped the tears away. “Momma told me how she wanted to have a big family. She loved being a Mommy. But she’d have to settle for just Joe and I. I asked her why...” Maggy broke off. Tears were coming to her eyes again. She rubbed them away with her hand.  “She told me she couldn’t have another baby. She was really sad about it, Kelly.” Maggy looked at me. “She and Chief almost fostered a little boy from the Springdale Home. That’s how badly she wanted another child.”

“What happened to the boy?”

“I don’t know. I guess it fell through. Then two years later she announced she was with child. Well that threw Chief for a loop. He went straight to the doctor and asked about the risks of such a thing. The doctor assured him she’d never carry to term. But she did. Well almost, you were only six weeks premature.”

“Then I wasn’t never meant to be born. Miss Celban was right.”

“I can’t think of a more wrong statement than that. Chief explained that to me a long time ago. I was being horrible, as usual. He said that your soul wanted to be born to this family so bad and that Momma’s soul wanted it so badly, that they touched in heaven. And that she brought your soul home to live inside her and then later live here with us. He said you were her gift to us.”

“Her soul is still here, Maggy. I feel it every now and again. And Chief says he still talks to her.”

She nodded. “I feel it, too.”

“Do you talk to her?”

She smiled. “I used to hold the locket and talk to her picture. I swear I could feel the metal get warm. I swear I could feel her close to me.”

Maggy looked away. I looked up too. Black Jack was at the edge of the woods ready to plunge on through the bushes.

“Black Jack!” Maggy called to him. He didn’t know his name yet and started diving into the woods anyway. Maggy turned to me. “I’ll be right back.”

She left the porch and crossed the yard. I watched her disappear into the woods only to come back out a minute later with Black Jack tucked in her arms.

Her face was pointed at him and she was scolding him, only her voice didn’t have an edge to it. She was laughing at him more than yelling. When she got back to the swing, she handed the pup over to me.

“I’m sorry about the locket, Maggy, but I really don’t remember taking it.”

She smiled out half her face. “That locket was the last straw. I put so much stock in it for many reasons. It reminded me of a time when I was special. To her. When I looked at it I could feel her love. She spoiled me rotten, Kelly. We had a relationship that was in many ways like the one you share with Chief. Why, did you know that me and Joe called him Daddy until you started talking?”

I smiled at her and shrugged. “He’s too special to be just a dad.”

Maggy smiled back and nodded. “Now you understand. She made me feel like I was the most important person alive. We went everywhere together.”

Black Jack started fussing and I had to set him back down. He ducked under the swing and started sniffing around the porch. He made his way to the table and sniffed for crumbs. He found one and licked the floor.

“As it turns out,” Maggy said. “The locket is just a locket. I have the memories and they are even more special than the necklace. I was wrong to place more importance on an object than my own sister. After all, if I really want to remember her, the way she was, I need only look at you. You and her, well, you’re like the same person.”

Maggy looked at me. I could feel her eyes as they stared into mine. “I want to apologize, Kelly. But it’s more than that. I want to start over. I want us to be sisters, the way sisters are supposed to be. I want that very much, as well as all that it means.”

“What does it mean?”

“We love and trust each other. If you get into trouble, I help you out. It means we stay up late past bedtime and talk about boys. It means when its time, I teach you about sewing and make-up–”

“Yuck!”

“I guess in your case it may mean something different. We’ll discover that together.”

I smiled her one. “All right, Maggy.”

She leaned over and hugged me. When she let go she smoothed my hair from my face.

I felt Black Jack sniffing at my feet and I started fretting that he might take a notion to bite them. I was reaching down to pick him up when I saw the sparkle. It glimmered between the boards of the back porch.

“Maggy, look,” I told her and pointed. “See it?”

“Yeah.” She left the swing and went around to the side of the porch and peered through the slats of boards.

“What is it?”

“I don’t believe it. It’s the locket. How could it have gotten down there?”

I had a picture pop into my brain all of a sudden from last year when Maggy asked me to fetch her hair comb. It was sitting on her dresser with the mirror. It was next to one of her gold chains. I didn’t take especially good care of how I grabbed the comb off the dresser. It must have caught on the chain, and the locket was shoved in my pocket right along with the comb. I didn’t like that at all. I was the one who took the locket after all.

“Kelly, I can’t fit under here,” Maggy said from the side of the porch. “If I carry you to the edge of the porch, do you think you can crawl under and get it?”

“Sure.”

She came back to the swing and lifted me from the seat. Then she carried me to the side of the porch and lowered me to the ground. I pushed back the wood slats that decorated the bottom of the porch and crawled under keeping my feet pointed up. The crawl space was draped with cobwebs and I had to push them away to keep them from getting stuck in my hair. The ground was mushy and smelled of rotten leaves. I remembered the dream I’d had in the hospital and shivered. I turned around and saw Maggy waiting for me in the sunlight, not the bird. It made me feel better and I kept on crawling. The necklace was just a few feet from me. A beam of light slid down between the boards of the porch and lit it up. It glowed in the sunlight, all the brighter in the dark space under the porch. Something scurried away to my right. I could hear the leaves as it moved, but when I turned to look, nothing was there.

I reached for the locket and picked it up. It felt warm in my hands.

“Got it, Maggy!”

“Good. Hurry back.”

I put the locket in my front pocket and turned around and crawled back to her. Once I got to the wood strips, she reached in and hauled me out.

“Kelly, you’re filthy,” she said, pulling twigs, webs and dirt out of my hair. “Just look at your knees.”

mud was ground into the jeans. They felt wet and stunk a might.

“Put your arms around me, honey, and I’ll get you back on the porch.

I did that and my sister lifted me up once more. She carried me to the swing and set me down. Then she sat next to me. 

I pulled the locket from my pocket and handed it to her.

“Thank you.”

“Maggy? I guess it was me after all that took it. But I didn’t mean it. I swear!”

“What do you mean?”

“When I got your hair comb off’n yer dresser. I guess it got caught on the locket. I didn’t see it when I shoved the comb in my pocket. Or when I took out the comb to give to you. It must’ve fallen out when me an’ TJ was under the porch spyin’ on Hank and you. I’m really sorry.”

She surprised me by smiling. “It’s okay. Things like that happen. You didn’t do it on purpose. Look,” she said and opened the locket. There was a picture of her when she was a little girl on one side, and a baby on the other. “That’s me, when I was six. Next to me is Joe.” She put her fingers on the pictures and pushed them out, away from the center. The pictures slid out of the way showing two more gold rings. One held a picture of a pretty woman with a bright smile and hair that showed up white in the black and white photo; the other was empty. Maggy held the locket in her hands for a long while, her face getting paler.

“What’s wrong?”

“The picture of mother. She’s smiling,” Maggy said in a whisper so low I scarcely heard it.

“Isn’t that what you do in pictures?”

“Not this one,” Maggy shot back, her eyes still staring at the picture. “She wasn’t smiling in this one before.”

“But that’s impossible Maggy. Pictures don’t–” I was all about to say they didn’t change, but then I remembered the picture of Hank. It changed, first into the tiger, then into Hank, only an alive Hank, when he was trying to save me. Pictured do change... sometimes.

I looked over at Maggy. She was staring at me, full out. “What?” I asked her.

“That’s what I want to ask you. Do you know what this means?”

I shrugged up my shoulders at her and smiled too. “I guess it means she’s happy.”

Maggy looked back at the picture. She stared at it for a while before she, too, smiled. “That’s got to be what it means.”. 

“I’d like for you to have this,” she said and opened up the hook. She leaned over and hung the locket around my neck. Then she pulled back and looked at me. “There’s a picture of Chief that fits in the other side, under Joe. I pulled it out the day Momma died. I was so furious at him. I’ll put it back in for you later.”

I looked at her. I didn’t get it and I guess it showed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you sure you want to give it up? I mean she gave it to you.”

“I have the memories she gave me, Kelly. You never knew her. I know she’d want you to have this, to know her by.”

“But she gave it to you!”

My sister leaned over and kissed the top of my head. Then she ruffled my hair. “I want you to have it. I’d better finish getting ready for my date. You take care of yourself today. But most of all, you make sure you have fun.”

“I will Maggy. You have fun too.”

I watched my sister leave the porch. Once she was gone, I turned my attention on the back yard. I held the locket in my hand and felt its warmth as I looked out over the green grass. Black Jack had again made his way into the yard. He sniffed the grass with the sun beating down on his back. His tail wagged fit to beat holy Jesus. He looked up sharp all of a sudden. His ears perked up like he was listening to someone call him. Then he ran off to the side of the house. I could still see him from my spot on the porch. He went straight to Miss Celban’s flowerbed and started digging. I watched him dig up every single bulb she planted that spring.

© Copyright 2025 C J Driftwood. All rights reserved.