Lichgate Ch. 3

By some miracle I make it to my bus before it departs. The ride home is uneventful and I take the time to ponder my encounters with Nick. The bus drives by the recently occupied house that I noticed on my way to school. I conclude that it must be the house Nick moved into. There is a man getting groceries out of the back of the SUV as we drive by. Nick’s father maybe? I think to myself. He seems kind of short to be Nick’s dad though. Who knows, maybe his mom is some giant or something. I idly wonder if either of his parents have weird hand temperatures. I make a note to add that to my list of questions for tomorrow.

The bus lets me off at the corner of my block. I walk the two minutes to my house and see my mom’s blue BMW in the driveway. She must be planning to go back out again soon because it’s not in the four car garage yet. Our house isn’t huge exactly, but definitely spacious. The outside is light blue with white trim and during the spring there is a wide variety of flowers planted in the window boxes. The garage is off to the side and usually houses my mom’s BMW, my dad’s Land Rover, and two Harley Davidson Switchbacks. I keep trying to convince them that at the very least, I deserve a Softail.

The inside of the house is meticulously maintained by my mom. How she has the patience to clean five bedrooms and four bathrooms almost daily is beyond me. Instead of going through the front door, I enter through a door on the side of the house that opens into the kitchen. My mom is sitting on one of the bar stools with her elbows on the counter top, one hand flipping through this month’s National Geographic and the other feeding Cheez-its to herself and to my dog, Poppy.

“Did you know the biggest crocodile ever caught was 21 feet long and over 2000 pounds? That’s just nuts”, she says without looking up.

“Hi mom. No I didn’t know that. Can you stop giving Cheez-its to my dog please? They aren’t good for her.”

“Nonsense, cheese is good for their coats.”

“You aren’t really giving her real cheese”, I point out.

“The box says it’s real.”

“The box lies. One day maybe you’ll learn to read the ingredients label.”

“You know, I’m the parental figure here. Aren’t I supposed to be educating you about nutrition?”

“Probably.” I sit down on a stool next to her and grab a Cheez-it for myself. Regardless of what they are made of, they are tasty.

“How was school today sweetie?”, mom asks me.

“It was...er...interesting. There’s a new kid in a few of my classes now.”

“Oh? Boy or girl?”

“A boy. His name is Nick. Nicholas Zane to be precise. I think he must have moved into that house that was up for sale for awhile near the school. The sign is down and I saw an SUV parked there.”

“Zane, hmm? Interesting indeed.” My mom doesn’t sound quite as cheery as she did when I first got home.

“Do you know the family?”, I ask.

“No, no. Not really”, she is quick to respond. “Anything else interesting happen today?”

“Well I fell on my butt a few times and in biology Rachel thought her pig moved. Nick says his leg bumped the table though.”

“Nick was at the table where the pig moved?” She sounds worried. I was expecting her to be more amused than worried. I mean, the pig didn’t actually move. She wisely doesn’t ask about me falling on my butt though.

“Yeah, why?”

“No reason”, she replies. “Honey, I’ll be right back. I have a phone call I need to make.”

“No problem. I’ll be here”, I lie. I fully intend to listen in on the phone conversation. My mom gets up off her stool and heads to the office she shares with my dad. I count to 15 and quietly follow. I wonder who she suddenly has to call.