Darrowwood Part Eighteen

      18.

            Mr. and Mrs. Daniels exchanged glances.  “Your sister is coming for you when her mission ends,” Mr. Daniels said, bounding his son up and down.  The baby cooed.

            “No, my parents,” Monica repeated.  “We made arrangements for meeting them at the port.  Have they come back from their cruise?  Don’t tell me they’ve forgotten.”

            “Monica, sweetheart,” Mrs. Daniels said, her brows knitting together, “we already told you before you went into the woods for that wilderness camp, they’re not coming back.  It was really hard on you when they passed on.  We agreed this extended nature walking might be a good idea for you, especially before you start Ervin.  It was their wish, you know.”

            Monica could not locate her heart, or any trace it had ever been there. “They didn’t come back,” she murmured, suddenly recalling what one Alendro Sinclair had remarked, some sort of punishment to be dealt out in severe cases. 
            "No, honey." Mrs. Daniels shook her head.
            “My parents died on a cruise not too long ago, isn’t it?”

            “The accident was a month ago,” Mr. Daniels replied.  He took Jack into the bathroom, muttering vaguely about diapers.

            Monica nodded, and kept nodding, twisting her cloven fingernail around in the expansive silence.  She knew it would pain her for a long time.

            Mrs. Daniels observed the girl’s face with a compassionate spirit.  “I think this time did you some good.  It might hurt for a while, but I think you will make peace with knowing they are in a better place.  I hope the time with Ms. Longbone helped you."
           Monica looked up. She repeated, "Ms. Longbone."
          "You probably know her better as Pattie. Your counselor for the season? Remember, she introduced herself in the first letter as a memoir writer?"
           Mrs. Daniels continued on, "Well, maybe we just read the letter. You might have been in your room at the time.  Monica, are you feeling alright?"
           A little too fast, Monica said, "I'm fine."
           "Are you getting lightheaded again? Come, dear, sit on the bed."
            Monica complied. The room creaked as is occupants looked at the door, as if expecting someone to come in. They could hear Mr. Daniels and Jack moving in the next room.
           Mrs. Daniels broke the silence first. "I just have one question for you, my dear Monica: where did you get that uniform?” She pointed at the insignia on the red uniform shirt, the shield emblazoned with a quill and the words “Darrowwood Preparatory”. “The girl down at the grocer’s mentioned they don’t make those uniforms anymore.  She was looking for one for the longest time, for her husband’s museum.  That’s a collector’s item around here.  Where did you get it?”

            Monica looked up from Mrs. Daniel’s finger into the woman’s face, similar in its expression to her own mother’s, one she had to be careful to remember she would not see again, and one that resembled Jenny’s more perfectly in the sweet, well-defined nose and wide blue eyes.  “I must have found it in my closet, I guess,” she replied.

End