Storms of Future Past Books One through Four

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Five years later

Rainy summer days were the worst as far as Anne was concerned. Much as she may daydream about it, she never was going to find a magic hallway inside her closet or a hidden trapdoor under the shaggy brown carpet in her bedroom. She’d only see the same pale blue walls, the same dolls and cars and picture books on the same bright yellow shelves, the same songs to sing to herself until she was bored to tears.

The pebbled white ceiling of her room sounded like a constant roar of water, or maybe like her mother was running the vacuum cleaner in the attic. The view of the sky through her windows looked more like almost bedtime instead of not even lunch time. The streetlight she could see through the branches of a maple tree was even on.

Anne didn’t understand why Evan loved the rain so much. The only thing she loved about it was when he came over to play on stormy gray days like this.

Then the dolls and cars and bricks came to life like magic, with Evan helping figure out what the next story was until it really was nighttime and he had to go home. Anne didn’t usually like the board games her parents played with their friends, but Evan even managed to make those giggly fun.

Anne pulled another skirt out of her chest of drawers, at least the fifth or sixth she’d tried on in the last hour. The others were neatly stacked one on top of the other on her bed. She wasn’t sure why she kept changing into different ones. A vague idea of wanting to outgrow her Christmas gifts floated in the back of her mind. Wanting to grow up to six so she could start school just a little bit faster.

The pretty pink skirt with blue flowers and green leaves all over it joined the others in the disappointing fits-me-just-fine pile.

She pulled on a pair of last year’s pink pajama bottoms that were indeed a little too small, missed in her mother’s regular thinning out of her clothes for sad kids who didn’t have any. Anne scrubbed her sock feet on the thick shaggy blue carpet, then touched the metal of her doorknob. Nothing. The trick her father taught her about making sparks with her fingertips only seemed to work when it was cold outside.

Anne pushed the door all the way open and poked her head out into the hall. The blue carpet covered the whole floor and all the way down the stairs, but the walls were a boring grownup white. She couldn’t hear a sound in the whole house besides that rumbly rain.

Her mother had said she wanted quiet time for a couple of hours, and that Anne was old enough to entertain herself without help now. The idea that she was old enough for anything usually made Anne happy, but not this time. She wondered if she needed to be a day younger, a month? Or all the way back to her last birthday when she turned five?

Anyway, it didn’t seem fair to her.

Even more unfair was Evan visiting family in a far away place called Virginia for ages and ages now that he didn’t have to go off to school all day long. The thought of joining him in real school, where the big kids were, delighted and scared Anne at the same time. A few hours of kindergarten hadn’t been all that bad. She kind of wished she could go to her school today, but she knew she really was too old for that school now.

At the real school, there would be kids of all ages and sizes, not just little kids like Anne. Evan said it was okay, but he was already seven. She was afraid he knew secrets she didn’t know, something his big sister told him when she first went to real school. Gwen was a lot older than Evan, and Anne didn’t have a big brother or sister of her own. Maybe that was something no one else could warn her about, and she’d just have to walk in and face it.

Anne jumped at a slow, rolling boom of thunder over her head. Her daddy had said rain all day long and maybe storms. If it thundered, he said she couldn’t go outside no matter what because of lightning. No chance to get out or have something fun to do until lunch time.

She put her hands flat on her belly, scowling down at her fingers laced together. Nope, not even hungry. Anne thought she’d been up here for at least four or five hours, but she should have been ready for lunch by now. She shook her head and sighed.

Her mother hadn’t exactly said Anne had to stay in her room, only that she had to stay upstairs and be quiet. There wasn’t much she liked up here outside of her own room, but she stepped out into the middle of the hall anyway. From her door at the end, she could see a guest room door, a bathroom door, and her parents’ door, all shut tight. Only her grandmother’s stood open, and in the gloom Anne could make out a glowing light in there.

Anne grinned and headed that way, doing her best not to stomp and make noise. She’d been sure her grandmother would be having quiet time too, not sitting right up here alone herself. If Gemaw took a nap, she almost always kept the door closed.

Anne slowed just before the doorway, listening as hard as she could. Even noisy rain wouldn’t drown out her Gemaw’s snoring, so she must be awake and bored just like Anne.

“Gemaw?” she whispered, tapping her fingertips on the wooden door frame.

“I’m awake, sweetheart. Come right on inside.”

Anne walked through her grandmother’s open door, her eyes on the pile of cases in the middle of the room. She’d never seen such pretty bags, shapes and sizes she’d never seen before, and so many different flowers and colors. The ones her parents used, and her own, were plain, hard plastic blue rectangles with tiny wheels on the bottom.

“What is all this stuff, Gemaw?”

“Hello sweet pea! These are just my suitcases.”

“They’re so pretty. Where did you get them?” Anne touched the biggest case, a dark purple rectangle bigger than she’d ever seen, made of soft fabric.

“I got these when I first got married to your grandfather, a long time ago.” She stood beside Anne, one hand on her shoulder. “My mother helped me pick them out special.”

“What’s this one for?” Anne reached for a round case sitting on top, made of that same purple fabric but with pink designs all over. Initials were sewn into the middle, small m, big F, small e.

“That one was supposed to hold hats, but it doesn’t anymore. I put my socks in there, wrapped around all the pretty things you’ve given me that I don’t want to break.”

Anne looked around the room then, noticing the walls and shelves were bare.

“Are you going somewhere?” Her grandmother sat on the bed, smiling. It was neatly made, but her special pretty pillows were all missing.

“I’m going on a trip, but everything is going to work out just fine.” Anne was drawing breath to ask where she was going when she heard someone out in the hall. Instead of her mother grumpy about her interrupted quiet time, her father walked in.

“What’s going on, Mom?” He was smiling, like her grandmother, but his voice sounded strange.

“I just wanted to get everything packed up so it would be easier.”

Anne’s dad raised his eyebrows, then squatted down and hugged Anne.

“Hi sweetheart. Listen, can you go play for a little while? I need to talk to Gemaw, private adult stuff.”

Anne started to argue that she was bored, that she’d come in here to have someone to talk to, but her father had a serious, don’t argue look now. Her grandmother was still smiling and seemed happy, and Anne couldn’t figure out why her dad wasn’t.

“Just for a little while, Anne. Okay?”

“Okay, Dad. See you later, Gemaw.”

He pushed the door around when Anne walked out, but he didn’t quite close it. She scooted her feet all the way to her own doorway, tapping her non-sparking bedroom doorknob with her fingers. She was still bored and still wanted something to do.

Her dad said it was private, but he hadn’t closed the door. She rocked back and forth from her toes to her heels, trying to decide. Playing out in the hall was still playing. She grabbed her favorite doll and her favorite car and walked quietly toward her grandmother’s room.

“I don’t understand what you mean, Mom.”

“Karen has been so kind to me, for a long time now. This will be easier on everyone, Mikey.”

Anne sat down and rolled the car back and forth on the carpet, trying to be quiet as a mouse like her dad always said.

“None of us want you to leave. Why would you think that? Karen hasn’t said anything to me, not a word.”

“Well no, I know she hasn’t. But I don’t want her to have to.” Anne scooted a little closer, her hip dragging the doll along the wall.

“We all love having you here, Mom. Come on, let me help you put everything back. A little mouse out in the hall can help. Right, Anne?”

Anne froze, her face and her whole body feeling hot. How had he known she was out there? Her plans to crawl backward until she got to her own room dissolved when he pushed the door open. He had one eyebrow raised, but he didn’t look really angry.

“Gemaw needs help unpacking her bags, Scoot. Want to join us?”

A couple of weeks later, when Anne got up, she saw her grandmother’s door standing open. It was another weekend, so everyone could sleep as long as they wanted, but Gemaw was dressed and sitting on her bed.

The pretty cases were all in the middle of the floor again.

“Good morning, sweet pea!” Her grandmother was smiling, looking as happy as a little girl.

“Good morning, Gemaw. Where are you going this time?”

“I’m just going on a trip, nothing to worry about.”

“Can I go with you? I really want to go.”

Gemaw shook her head and patted the bed beside her. Anne climbed up and scooted close for a hug.

“You can’t go on this trip, Anne, only me. You need to stay here until you grow up a little more.”

Anne crossed her arms and sighed.

“That’s not fair. I want to go on a trip, too.”

“Don’t worry, pea. You’ll get to go on a lot of trips when you get bigger, but it will all work out just fine.”

Anne jumped when her father spoke from the open door.

“Morning, girls. Heading out again, Mom?”

“Good morning, Mikey. Yes, it’s almost time to go.”

“Well, come downstairs and have breakfast first. We’ll check the schedule and make sure.”

Everything got put away again after breakfast, but Anne’s grandmother didn’t seem upset at all. She thought her parents were only pretending to be happy, though. They all went to the park that afternoon, and Anne almost forgot all about it. When she came downstairs to kiss her parents goodnight, they were sitting in the living room talking. The TV was on, but it was turned down low.

She took the stairs one at a time, quiet as a mouse.

“I haven’t said a word to her, Mike, not a word.”

“You know how she picks up on things. If you wanted her to move, you should have said something to me. I had no idea.”

“Then she doesn’t either, so let’s just forget about it.”

They were quiet for a few seconds, and Anne had decided to go back upstairs after all when her daddy spoke again. She had to listen really hard to hear his words.

“She kept saying it would be best, now she’s saying it would be best for Anne. Where else would she be getting that, Karen?”

“I told you I didn’t say anything, and I didn’t. If you’re determined to get into this with me right now, I’ll tell you right now she might have a point. These things get harder over time, not better. It might not be best for Anne to see that.”

Anne stood up, forgetting that she wasn’t supposed to be listening at all.

“Mommy? You want Gemaw to leave?”

Her mother stood too, but she didn’t move toward the stairs. Her face was bright red.

“Anne, I’ve told you about sneaking around and listening to grownups!” Anne drew back at her mother’s shout. “You need to get back upstairs and go to bed, now!”

Before her father could say a word, Anne ran back up the stairs as fast as she could. After she cried enough to feel a little better, she heard voices coming from downstairs, loud voices. The TV must be on louder now.

Just as Anne was about to fall asleep, someone knocked on her door.

“Anne, sweetheart?” her mother whispered. “Are you still awake?”

“I’m awake, Mommy.”

Both of her parents came in and sat on the bed, one on either side of her. When her daddy turned on the light, she saw both of them had red eyes like they’d been crying.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you, Anne,” her mother said as she stroked Anne’s cheek. “I was surprised you were there, but I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“Your Mom and I were talking,” her daddy said. “Private grownup talk. You know what that means, don’t you?”

Anne wished she could hide her face under the blankets.

“I know. I’m not supposed to listen. I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better.” Her mother scowled, but Anne caught her father’s smile. “Can I ask you something?”

Her mother and father looked at each other, then back at her. “Sure, hon,” her daddy said. “But it is bedtime, so not too long.”

“Is Gemaw going away?”

Her father brushed back her hair and sighed.

“I don’t know, Anne. She will someday, you know that. Like Grampaw did.”

“Yeah, I know she’ll be gone someday, but I mean is she going to live somewhere else.”

“How would you feel about that?” her mother said.

“I don’t want her to go,” Anne said. “She makes me feel better when I have bad dreams.”

Her father moved closer and Anne put her head in his lap.

“What do you mean?” he said. “When do you have bad dreams?”

“I have bad dreams a lot, not every night, but a lot. Gemaw comes in and tells me everything will be okay. Sometimes I go into her room, but most of the time she finds me before I even get up.”

Her mother’s face scrunched up for a second, but her daddy only had a little smile. His eyes looked sad instead of happy.

“Well, no one’s going anywhere right now,” he said. “Gemaw did that for me when I was your age too, sweetheart, but you can come to us if you have bad dreams. You know that, right?”

“I know, but I don’t want her to go. Please? I really want her to stay here.”

“Enough talk for one night.” Anne’s mother kissed her forehead, then stood and turned out the light. “We all need to get some good sleep, and we all need some sweet dreams.”

After a couple of quiet days, Anne’s grandmother packed up her pretty bags again. She did that more and more often. For a while, she and her daddy made a game out of it, seeing how fast they could help her put everything back, and her grandmother played along.

Anne knew the second when everything changed. Her daddy never had to tell her a word. His whole face and his body and his heart changed. Her grandmother never did seem to be upset or sad when they were helping her put everything away, but after getting more and more upset every time, her daddy gave up.

He didn’t make her unpack anymore, and he didn’t try to talk her into staying. Her grandmother just slept on the boring bed in the empty room, her cases all piled up in the middle. Anne was too scared about what her daddy giving up might mean to ask questions, but something deep down in her chest knew what would happen.

Her Gemaw moved out into a huge, scary building before Anne had time to turn seven.

She never quite believed the promise that everything was going to work out just fine.