Annabelle by Ruby Jean Jensen

Author:Ruby Jean Jensen [Jensen, Ruby Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-951580-05-6
Publisher: Ruby Jean Jensen
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Brenda went down the hall to Jessica’s room. This unexpected turn of events didn’t make her as wildly happy as she had thought it would. Of course, not once had it occurred to her that Diane would want to take Jessica to wherever she was staying, but she had allowed herself a daydream on the subject of Diane’s coming happily home and taking over, and freeing Brenda for trotting back west to see if Rick were still around.

Now, though, she felt a mental frown dampening her spirits. Was it really the best thing that Diane take Jessica? She shrugged. Jessica would probably be delighted, and immediately cured of whatever ailed her, and that, of course, was the best thing.

Jessica was not in her bedroom. Brenda went back out into the hall, and then she heard running water beyond the half-open door of the hall bathroom. She knocked.

“Jessica?”

“What?”

“Can I come in?”

“Yes.”

Jessica was standing on a stool in front of the wash basin. There was a fleck of toothpaste left on the side of her mouth, even though it was obvious she had just washed her face. Pale, silky curls clung damply to her forehead. She stepped down from the stool and took a towel from a rack and dried her face. Brenda saw she was already dressed in jeans and a blouse that was buttoned crookedly.

Brenda sat down on the edge of the tub and pulled Jessica to her and started redoing the blouse.

“How are you feeling this morning, Jessica?”

“Okay.”

“Did you know you had a bad nightmare last night and Dad and I came to help you?”

“No.”

“You don’t remember it at all?”

Jessica gazed at the wall, hesitating, then said, “I didn’t dream last night.”

Good, Brenda thought, a bad dream forgotten should cause less harm.

“Do you know who called this morning?” Brenda asked cheerfully.

“Who?”

“Your mother.”

Jessica stared at her, her incredibly blue eyes as expressionless as if they were made of glass.

“Diane called,” Brenda said. “She said she misses you very much, and she’s coming this evening to see you. She’ll be here before your bedtime. And do you know what else?”

“What?”

“Something really fantastic. She wants you to pack a few of your things and go home with her.”

“When?” Jessica asked quickly, but the flicker of change on her face was not one that Brenda read easily.

“Tonight. She’ll probably take you to all kinds of places this weekend.”

Jessica said nothing. Her head dropped, her chin almost touching her chest, and her eyes stared downward. Brenda had a strange feeling that Jessica was trying to hide something. Brenda finished arranging the blouse, then brushed Jessica’s hair. It lay in long, beautiful ringlets. Brenda talked of zoos and restaurants and parks, of the ocean and the Mississippi River, and told Jessica of times she had been taken to those places when she was a child. And she wondered at Jessica’s silence.

“Can I go now?” Jessica said when there was a lull in Brenda’s monologue.

“Go where?”

“To play.”

Brenda said nothing for a moment, wondering if she should just turn her loose and let her go wherever she wanted, or keep her near.

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