The Writing on the Wall
~a short story by cat, assisted by kate who has been ever-so-helpfullyrecounting her baby stories~
a/n: this goes along with Unwelcome Visitor, which you don't have to read first, but if you want to read it, my wonderful (ha) co-author Denra has it posted. her penname is psychochild88. this one i wrote solo, though, double ha. i do not like capital letters. and now, i'll get on with it. . .
~
"Ja-ack!" Sally's voice called from all the way down in the kitchen.
The Pumpkin King jumped slightly, causing the house of cards he had been building to topple over into a disheveled pile. Jack sighed. "Yes, love?" he called back.
"I'm all out of Eye of Newt," came the reply. "I've got to go visit the witches and see if they have any to spare. Can you watch Kate?"
"Of course," Jack responded immediately. "Give me a second, I'll come down." He swept the cards up into a small velvet bag and took the spiral stairs several at a time. Crossing the living room in three long strides, he met his wife at the door to the kitchen and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
Sally laughed and handed their three-year-old daughter to him. "Have fun, you two," she said, as she got her shoes and slipped them on. "Don't destroy the house while I'm out!"
Jack chuckled. "Oh, darn, you figured out the plan!" he said good-naturedly.
"'Bye, Mommy!" Kate waved, giving her mother a wide skeleton grin. Sally waved back as she slipped out the door.
As soon as the door shut, Kate began wiggling mercilessly. "Down!" she insisted.
"Alright, down you go," Jack agreed. He set her down on the thick, dark red carpet.
"Daddy, I wanna draw," she said, tugging on the leg of his pants. He bent down to his daughter's eye level.
"What do you say?" he prompted.
"Can I draw... pleeeease?" Kate gave her father her widest, most innocent eyes.
Jack grinned. "I'll get you some paper." He hunted up several sheets and a few sticks of colored wax.
"Yay!" the small girl exclaimed, and set about scribbling happily. Jack watched her color for a minute, then shook his cards out of their bag onto the table and settled on the couch to start his house of cards again.
Jack squinted, carefully lining up the last two cards. His house had grown into an elaborate construction, with two sprawling wings and three towers. As he set the cards on top of the leftmost tower, the doorbell screamed, startling him. Once again, the entire house of cards collapsed. He groaned and put a bony hand over his face.
"I got it, I got it!" Kate exclaimed, running to the door. She jumped up and down, trying to reach the doorknob. Jack scooped her up and opened the door.
"Jack!" said the Mayor's boisterous voice. "I thought we could go over the plans for next Halloween- "
"Um, can this wait? I'm a little busy right now," Jack interrupted him, nodding at Kate, who was busy attempting to grab the Mayor's hat.
"Oh, this'll only take a minute. Now, about these spiders here. . ."
Jack set his daughter back down, seeing that there was no way he could stop the Mayor from talking. "Kate, sweetie, it looks like Daddy's going to be busy for awhile. Go back and draw, okay?"
"'Kay," Kate nodded, and scampered away. Jack turned back to the Mayor, resigned.
"What was that about the spiders?"
The town bell pealed, interrupting the Mayor's long-winded description of the strategic placement of black cats. "Oops! I really must be going," he exclaimed, and hurried away down the steep front stairs.
"Finally!" Jack muttered to himself, closing the door with relief. There was a reason that he had only expanded his front door enough for Sally to fit through. "Thought he'd never leave." He turned, and his eye sockets widened in shock.
The far wall of the living room was covered with scribbled flowers, rainbows, and smiley faces, drawn in what looked suspiciously like makeup. "Look, Daddy!" Kate called, waving an empty lipstick tube. "Un-scary pictures!"
"Kate, what- "
"Mommy has prettier colors," she explained with a perfectly rational air.
Jack sank onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. "I'm dead, he moaned. "Again." He suddenly felt a soft tap on the side of his skull. Removing one hand, he saw Kate peering at him intently.
"How come you're dead?" she inquired.
"Kate, those are pretty pictures, but pictures go on paper, not on the wall," Jack explained.
"Oh. Oops," Kate said, her good mood apparently undisturbed. "Let's clean it up! With *soap*!"
Jack gave a small laugh. "That is a very good idea," he agreed, relieved.
As Jack scrubbed the last bit of lipstick off the wall, Kate peered out the window. "Mommy's coming!" she announced.
"Quick, let's hide!" They gathered up buckets and rags and darted into the kitchen. Jack piled everything into the largest bucket and set it quietly inside the storage closet. As he flicked a bit of soapsuds off his jacket, the sound of the door creaking open filtered through to their hiding place, followed by soft footsteps crossing the living room.
"That's odd," came Sally's voice. "Now how did my makeup get into the living room?"
Jack winced. Busted!
"Daddy," Kate whispered, "I think you better hide."
~fin~