What She Heard

Teresa peered out the window into the blue violet darkness while Joanie cowered behind her. “What was that?” It was a windy night, and the oak tree’s branches danced in the wind, far too close to the shutters

“It’s so dark, and I’m scared, Terri.” The girl wrapped her face in the folds of Terri’s slate maxi skirt. 

“We’re safe. There’s nothing out there.” She pulled the curtain back into place with a trembling hand, then jiggled the lock on the back door. 

Joanie moved with her. ”I want my mommy, Terri.” She threw herself onto the tiled floor and covered her face, tiny tears stuck to her delicate upper lashes.

Teresa bent down and hooked a trimmed pink nail under Joanie’s chin. “Sweetie, we’re OK here. Your parents will be home before long.” She stood and stretched a hand to her charge. “C'mon, let’s get some cider, and I’ll read you another Pete story, or we can play Candy Land again.” 

In the kitchen, Joanie said, “I want a cinnamon stick in mine.”

Teresa sighed. “As you wish, my lady.” She swished her skirt and curtseyed, and Joanie giggled. 

Joanie sat at the breakfast nook table while Teresa pulled down two earthenware mugs, and packages of cider and cinnamon sticks. Most days when the Smiths called, she answered without hesitation. Joanie was a sweet only child who loved games and videos. But something had changed over the last few stays with her. Teresa thought she seemed sadder and needier lately. 

This afternoon, she had pulled the covers over her head when she arrived home from school, her date with Thomas for the Halloween dance canceled at the last minute, no explanation given. She had assembled snacks in the kitchen and poured candies into the dish to leave out for trick or treaters, content to spend the evening alone after her mother was asked to cover for one of the ER nurses with a sick child. She hadn’t planned to be stuck with a 5 year old on this Friday night, but found herself saying yes when Mrs. Smith called at 5:30 when her other sitter canceled. 

 She’s just a sad kid, and Teresa felt a little guilty for her annoyance. 

 When Joanie screamed, the reverberation shook the cabinets. The mug slipped through her fingers and shattered on the tile.  

“Joanie, why?”

“I heard something! I did!”

“What? We’ve been in here the whole time.” Teresa stepped over the pieces on her way to the broom closet. “Keep your feet up til I’m done.” She angled the vac under Joanie’s chair. When she was sure all the shards had been swept up, she emptied the compartment into the can. 

“I’m sorry, Terri. I thought I heard a noise.”

She exhaled and poured the water into Joanie’s cup in a slow trickle, careful to avoid burning her tingling hand. When Joanie had her drink, Teresa sank into the chair opposite her.

“Joanie, what is it you thought you heard?” She reached across the table and eased a bruised green apple from the fruit bowl. “Let it cool first, sweetie.”

The girl cradled the handle with her tiny palm. “OK. I think it was a, a monster. In the hallway.”

Teresa pulled herself out of the chair and walked out of the kitchen. She peered into the space, illuminated by a pair of lamps on either end of the hall. The hardwood floors gleamed. The bedroom doors remained open. The house looked clean, dusted, with nothing out of place. 

“Joanie, there’s no monster here or anywhere.” Teresa sank into the chair and cut a wedge from the fruit.  

“But I did, Terri. I know I did. It was big and loud. From down there.” Joanie tilted her head toward the floor. 

Teresa took another bite of apple. She hadn’t eaten since lunch, which had been a tuna sandwich and a few cucumber slices she made before she rushed out the door.

“OK, Joanie. Maybe it was a shadow, and something electrical made the noise you heard.”

“Can you look?” Joanie blinked away a tear.

“I can’t leave you, I’ll tell your parents. Maybe they have to get something fixed.” Teresa wrapped the rest of the apple in a napkin. “Ready for a story?”

Joanie nodded, and Teresa stood and walked to the living room. The bookshelf held hardbacks on the higher shelves and books for Joanie on the lower shelves, board books she no longer read and storybooks she loved. 

“I want Pete the Cat!” Joanie reached for the book and handed it to Joanie.

“Is this a new one?”

“Noo, but it’s my favorite!”

They sat on the sofa, Joanie curled beside Teresa, a cushion under her. 

“....Goodness, no!” They chorused and swayed.

When they finished the book, Teresa sent Joanie to get dressed for bed, and pulled her favorite Dr. Seuss from the shelf, a story that her father read to her before bedtime. A memory of her curled at his side, their heads against each other’s as she listened to his mellifluous voice. She blinked back a tear, turned off the lights except for a small lamp near the door. She was halfway to Joanie’s room when a thump below her feet caused her to stop.

“Terri! Where are you?” Joanie collided with her and jumped into her arms. She carried the girl into her room and yanked a tissue from the box on her bedside table. When she was settled under the covers, Teresa locked and slammed the door.

“I told you!” Joanie wiped the streak of toothpaste with a trembling hand.

“What could it be?” Teresa’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Please stay here ‘til my mommy comes back.”

Teresa hugged Joanie and nodded against her cheek. 

When her breathing had evened out, Teresa untangled herself and tiptoed down the hall. She left the door ajar, just in case she needed to grab Joanie and make a break for it.

Back in the kitchen, Teresa checked her phone for messages, then looked out the window before she circuited the house. The wind was now calm. The trees stood like sentries at attention. The Smiths had never mentioned the basement, and she hated the idea of skulking anywhere. It was probably just a pipe, or a cat that somehow had broken a window and found its way inside.

A chill raced down her spine. Don’t go down there, it’s nothing. 

Teresa jiggled the doorknob, then eased the door open. 

A crackle, like an old record player, drifted up. A throat cleared. “Go away, the end is nigh!”

Teresa stumbled. It was her turn to scream. She grabbed her backpack and sprinted. When she threw open the door, Mrs. Smith's hand hovered over the keyhole.

“Hey, we made it a little earlier. Do you want Joseph to run you home, or do you want to wait for your br—”

When she passed Mr. Smith in the driveway, he said, “Teresa, stop. I’ve got your money! Wait.”

Teresa didn’t look back or stop until she reached the end of the street where she pulled out her phone.

“Danny, come, hurry!” Her voice echoed through the darkness.

“What’s wrong, Terry? Are you OK?”

“Please hurry. I’m at the corner, down the street from the Smiths.”

“What? Why?”

“Just get here, Danny.” Teresa clicked off and sank to the curb, her back against the street sign. It was a thirty minute ride from his dorm to this side of town, but she didn’t mind. 

The wind picked up, and she shivered. She remembered her sweatshirt on the back of the sofa, but she folded her arms across her chest against the cold. Danny’s horn snapped her to attention.

“You good, sis?” He handed her his hoodie when she settled in the seat.

Teresa closed her eyes. “Remind me to never answer if the Smiths call again.”

“That bad, huh?”

“You have no idea.”