The Girl with Bare Feet - L. Avery Brown (fiction book recommendations TXT) 📗

back of her neck stood on end. And Dumbo kept up his wild barking. “Christ Almighty, Dumbo, shut up!”

 

After some cuddling and animal crackers, Peter calmed down and Janelle threw away the ruined drawing. She started over; intentionally ignoring the strange, eerie episode. A half hour later Peter started crying again and a quick glance at the clock let Janelle know there was nothing at all strange about his cries this time; he was hungry and tired.

 

Once Peter had been fed, changed, and put down for his nap, Janelle returned to the sunroom and sat on the couch. Away from her work and with Peter napping, her mind was free to wander back to the unnatural cold that passed by her. “No. It went through me.” Her mind was reeling. She felt out of sorts. She looked at Dumbo. “God, I’m just so tired.”

 

But Janelle pushed aside her fatigue and moodiness and focused on her work. She didn't look up until the clock on her phone went off telling her it was time to go pick up Liza from the bus stop. It had been a long day and she was relieved she could shift gears and just be a mom.

 

"Come on Dumbo. Let's go get Liza." She hooked Dumbo's lead to this collar and the two of them made their way up to the bus stop. Dumbo, however, decided he wanted to run to the backyard and she knew he was planning on going for a romp in the cold lake. "No, Dumbo. No."

 

She forcibly tugged Dumbo up to the bus stop and as soon as Liza stepped off the bus, Dumbo decided he didn't want to smell like the lake. He jumped up and nearly pushed Liza down. "Well, looks like someone is almost as glad to see you as I am. Come here honey." She hugged Liza hard and felt better. "Okay now, let's get inside and you can tell me all about your first day while we eat some Oreos. How's that sound?"

 

Later that evening Wade came home to the sound of Peter squealing with laughter because Dumbo was licking his toes as scooted around the kitchen. And Liza ran to Wade with wide opened arms to give him a big hug. "I take it someone's day was special?"

 

"Yes, Daddy. I got to sit at my desk and we practiced getting in a line and then going to the reading circle and we colored and we had lunch and then I came home."

 

Janelle grinned. She was busy chopping mushrooms. "Then when she got home we celebrated with Oreos."

 

"No. Not Oreos! How could you? They're my favorite." Wade winked at Liza.

 

"Don't worry Daddy, there are some left for you."

 

"Good." Wade put Liza down and hugged Janelle around her waist. "I take it you made it through your day without incident?"

 

Janelle smiled. She considered telling him about the weird episode with Peter but chose to keep it to herself. "Pretty uneventful. I did spill my coffee on a piece I was almost done with so I have to start over but all in all, things were pretty good."

 

"Excellent. Now please tell me dinner will be ready soon. I'm starving."

 

The family sat down and enjoyed a dinner of roast chicken with mushroom sauce. And then around seven o’clock Liza started looking weary. When she yawned, Janelle tapped her daughter on the shoulder. "Alright, Miss Liza, it's time to bed with you. You've got another big day of school tomorrow."

 

"Alright Mommy." Liza ran to Wade and gave him a hug. "Night Daddy."

 

"Night Sweetie."

 

Janelle scooped Liza up in her arms and carried her up the stairs to her room. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes when she saw that apparently a tornado had touched down in Liza's room. "Honey, why is all your stuff out of your closet? Help me put it back, please." Janelle and Liza straightened up the area in front of the closet then Janelle tucked her daughter in and gave her a good night kiss. "See you tomorrow, Sweetie."

 

She reached up to turn off the bedside lamp but Liza grabbed her hand. "No, Mommy, I want it on."

 

"But you've got your nightlights, Liza. All that light will make it difficult for you to sleep."

 

"No it won't I promise."

 

"Fine. Whatever. But if you wake up a grumpy-Gertie tomorrow, it's not my fault." She winked at Liza then closed the door.

 

Janelle and Wade watched television while Peter had his nighttime bottle. When he was done, she put him down on the floor by Dumbo and snuggled up next to Wade. Then she realized she forgot to grab the basket of laundry from the hall bathroom when she tucked Liza in bed.

 

With the basket in her hands and just about ready to head back down the stairs, Janelle heard Liza moving around in her room. "That girl. She is never going to wake up in the morning."

 

Janelle opened the door expecting to see Liza playing with her dolls. But she was sound asleep. Thinking it was her imagination playing tricks on her, Janelle turned to head out of the room until something caught her eye. There, in front of the closet door, where she and Liza had picked up all her toys and whatnots and put them inside were all of Liza's shoes; lined up in a row, neat as could be.

 

The hair on the back of Janelle's neck stood up like earlier. But before she got herself worked up over something that was probably explainable, she counted to ten, turned, and headed towards Liza's door to leave the room.

 

Liza woke up and saw her. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Hi Mommy. What're you doing in here?"

 

Janelle whispered and went to her daughter. She put down the laundry basket. "Nothing. I just came in to make sure there weren't any dirty socks under your bed. But I didn’t find a single one." She tucked Liza, who was already starting to fall asleep, back beneath her covers. "Liza, can you tell me something?"

 

"Mmm hmmm."

 

"Why did you put all your shoes out like that in front of your closet door?"

 

Liza rubbed her eyes and yawned. "I didn't, Mommy."

 

"Well, who did?"

 

"She did." Liza was fighting falling asleep.

 

"Who?" But Liza was already asleep. An electric-like sensation wrapped around Janelle. She just stood there for a moment trying to process what had happened. “You’re making yourself nuts, Janelle. Just leave.”

 

Janelle walked out and told herself to relax. She reminded herself that Liza was always playing with little imaginary friends. Last month she had an elephant friend she insisted needed buckets of water or else he'd shrivel up and die. And to keep her daughter happy, Janelle grabbed all the large pots and bowls she could find and filled them with water. Liza was pleased and went about her day chatting with her elephant. Her elephant friend only lasted about three days.

 

Thinking about that silly elephant helped put things in perspective. After all, Liza just had her first day of school and she did mention how her teacher had all the children line up their backpacks and lunchboxes in a neat way right in front of the cubbys, which were designed for smaller items. "That's gotta be it. She's taking the neatness thing to heart. Maybe having her clean up before she went to be minded her of what her teacher told her. Yeah, that's gotta be it."

 

Janelle carried the laundry downstairs laughing at how ridiculous she'd been for being such a wuss. When she got to the kitchen she groaned then called for Wade. "Hey, honey, can you come help me with the laundry?"

 

Wade yelled out from his office. "Sure thing. Let me just save my work. Don't want to lose it."

 

A minute later he was standing beside her. "Laundry, again? How is that even possible?"

 

"That's what happens when you have two children. It's some sort of weird exponential thing. Two kids equals four times the laundry twice as often." Both she and Wade laughed at her 'Mommy Math'. Wade opened the back door and helped her carry the laundry outside to the door that led to the small room where the washer and dryer were. "Honey, explain to me again why your dad put the laundry room outside?"

 

He laughed. "Well, remember this was just a getaway sort of place. We didn't do a lot of laundry and most of it was washing the towels and clothes we wore when were at the lake." He looked behind him at the flat, dark spot in the night made visible only by the soft glow of the moon above. Wade opened the sliding glass door that led into the tiny room.

 

"Yeah, but for Pete's sake, Wade, it's so tiny in here, Wade. There's barely enough room for me to turn around and actually fold the clothes. Your dad could've made it just a foot or two wider or something. There's lots of space down here." She hit the wall to her right. "I mean it sounds kinda hollow over there. Can't we expand the room?"

 

Wade shook his head. "Sorry. We can't. Something about support beams and joists and whatnot because it's where the most weight of the house is.” He patted the wall and stared at it for a moment. "If I could expand it you know I'd do it. I'd do anything for you. But you know what? This room isn't too small. And this wall is in the perfect place to do this." Without warning, he pushed Janelle against the wall and started kissing her.

 

Janelle was taken completely off guard. "What're you doing, Wade?"

 

He tugged at her jeans, unzipping them and pushing them down her legs. "What do you think I'm doing?" He picked her up with one hand, pressing her against the wall and used his other hand to loosen his own pants.

 

"Wade, but..." It had been a long time since Wade had been aggressive when it came to making love. "The kids... are..." He stopped her speaking when he planted a powerful kiss on her lips. She could feel his arm around her holding her there against the wall. With his free arm, he lifted her leg up so she could feel him.

 

Janelle looked into his eyes. They were wholly with passion the likes of which they'd not shared in quite a while. And before she could say another word he found his way into her and made love to her right there, pressing her body against the wall. Janelle was speechless. It felt good. No. It was better than good.

 

It was amazing. And she enjoyed letting him have his way with her. She knew her back would probably hurt tomorrow and considering how he was going at her, Wade might need to use a heating pad, too. But it was worth it. When he was done, Wade gently loosened his grip on her waist and let Janelle's feet touch back down on the floor. He smiled, kissed her, and then zipped up his pants. "Sorry, don't know what came over me."

 

Janelle laughed. "Well, maybe you should help me with the laundry more often." She put back on her own clothes.

 

Wade's eyes lit up. "Maybe. I mean we wouldn't have to worry about the kids walking in. And it is sort of hot and close in here. You know, the more I think about it, I think this is a perfect spot for getting away from the kids." He patted the wall, smiled, and looked around. Then he grabbed the laundry basket and put the clothes in the washer as Janelle grabbed the detergent."

 

She gave him a playful little kiss. "Well, at least we can walk away smelling all April Fresh or Lavender Blossomy or whatever scented additive I picked up at the store." She winked and stepped out of the room into the now cold early autumn night. "Shit, it's chilly."

 

Wade laughed. "We should bring coats next time. Maybe some wine, too."

 

"You're nuts."

 

"Yeah, but you love me. Nuts and