Family Secrets
Hey, folks. How's it going? Yeah, I know I usually take it in turns with my doll to tell this story, but after that blaster-disaster yesterday I couldn't find her. She ended up bunking with me for the rest of the night and I remember trying to comfort my little chér the whole night long. To tell y'all folks the truth I hardly slept either. She kept tossing and turning and waking me up with her soft sobbing. She was trying her darn hardest to be quiet, but I was too much of a light sleeper, especially knowing that she was feeling that way. I kinda didn't wanna sleep with her being all scared the way she was, I didn't like leaving her like that. But my tired eyes got the better of me and in a few hours I was out like a light. And like I said, by the time I woke up again she was gone.
I can't say I was surprised, she was pretty disappointed in herself after losing her first chance to save herself from my friends' shadowy claws and wrecking my place in the process. On top of that she had to get back to her momma's before she wondered where her daughter had run off to.
I decided I was gonna make my way over to the hotel and meet her there, I had my own room over there anyways so if we needed some time alone outta range of her momma's beady eyes we could always sneak off there. I slipped on some of my twenty-first century gear and headed for the door.
I'd gotten used to not wearing my eye-catching crown in this new age as it's eye-catching for all the wrong reasons, to my disappointment. But I still took a little glance at my prized possession before I set foot out into the street. And that's when I remembered, when I saw that scratch over the rim. That clumsy little hussy, she'd better find a way to put this right because I was pretty damn heartbroken! My hat, my beautiful hat! Scratched! I was gonna make sure I reminded her of this when I caught up with her again. She had some making up to do. A lot of making up to do if she was hoping to still be my favourite dame before her time was up.
On my way over there I thought that maybe I should have spied on her soul and checked up on her first. I was only guessing that she was at her hotel, where else would she have gone? I thought about taking a little look into her soul, that way I'd know where she was. But heck, I couldn't do that now, I was walking along a public street. That kinda stuff attracts unwanted attention if you don't do it where there ain't no prying eyes.
Anyways, I didn't need no voodoo to find out where she was at. As I was strolling along I remembered I had a piece of twenty-first century technology in my pocket, and I was getting pretty good at learning how to use it.
I managed to get a small text together, telling her I was on my way to the hotel and did she wanna meet there. I could hardly see the screen for the sun, it was a pretty bright day. Wasn't there a way to make this thing any clearer? If I had my hat on at least I could shield my eyes from the sunlight. I couldn't wait to find out what she was gonna do to fix the mess she'd made. What's a shadowman without his hat? I was nothing, folks. I was nothing.
I got a reply after only a matter of minutes, confirming that she was at the hotel. It only takes me an hour to get there on foot when I'm taking my time and I felt like I needed the fresh air, as well as a change of surroundings. I hated seeing my old place the way it was. That's something else my Charlie doll will have to make up to me. Yeah, I know I had a part to play in her spell going haywire but she never told me that something like that might happen.
I tried not to think about which one of us was responsible for that catastrophe as I made it to the hotel and strolled on inside. I didn't want her momma seeing her with me, so I had to make sure the loudmouthed broad wasn't here. I sent her another message before heading to my suite. A buzz in my pocket from my little gizmo and my doll's message said that her momma wasn't there. Perfect, now all I had to do was wait.
"Hello, Doctor Zhivago." I heard a voice from behind me. And no, it wasn't my Charlie doll.
I stopped bang in the middle of the corridor before I peered over my shoulder I turned round and gave that doll's no good little sister a shadowy glare. "What are you doin' here, you little troublemaker?"
The motors in the blonde's wheelchair revved as she held up a little toy of her own. "What are you doing here?" She answered back, returning my scowl.
Wait a sec, that gizmo she got. That was Charlie's phone!
"Looks like I've tricked a trickster." That little punk mocked me, taking me for an idiot.
The whole morning? The whole time? I'd been talking to her?! "Where'd you get that?" I growled. "Don't cha know ya not supposed to take things that don't belong to you?"
"Charlie left it in her room this morning." The blonde teen tucked the phone under her useless legs, almost sitting on it now. "I was covering for her and replying to mum's texts when yours popped up. So I thought I'd take advantage of the situation and see how easy it was to take you for a fool."
Alright! I'd had just about enough of her games. "Why, you scheming little sneek!"
"Not so fast." This little sister jabbed a finger in my face. "I could have text mum and told her that Charlie was on her way to the downtown area to see her boyfriend again." She screwed up her face on the word 'boyfriend' like it was some repulsive word. "But the fact is I didn't. And why? Because I want to give you all the chances I can to prove to me that you're not bad news, mister!"
At that, I backed off. I was still pretty mad. If this kid was cutting me some slack she had a funny way of showing it. But it was still some slack all the same and I figured that I had her to thank for not ratting on me to her mom. But that didn't mean I was about to start being nice to her or nothing. I just meant I wouldn't turn her into a frog when she wasn't looking.
"If you're looking for Charlie she went shopping." Blondie swaggered in her chair and turned herself around. "She said she was going to drop in at yours by the afternoon, so you'd better get down there and get lost before mum shows up."
Just this once I took her advice, not wanting to bump into Mrs La Bouche on my way out.
"And before you ask why the bloody hell I'm doing this," The little punk had one last incentive…meh, insult before I made tracks. "I'm doing this because I respect my sister's choices, even if they're stupid ones."
Ya know, as much as that kid's trying to do what's best for her sister, little does she know that she's right to be suspicious. But if that spoiled brat's gonna give me a chance then it's gonna make my job a little easier knowing that I won't always have her to contend with. Although I still had to be careful when she was around, I didn't want her changing her mind and I sure as hell didn't want her insulting me again. I don't know, something about it stung when it came from her. Maybe it was because she was a fat cat and y'all know how I hate fat cats. Gloating over anybody who doesn't have green in their wallet.
I grumbled all the way back down the street, making my way back home as I repeated my grudge in my head.
"Gloating over anybody who doesn't have a swimming pool in their backyard." I muttered to myself as I reached my front door. "There ain't nothing good about those money grabbin' jerks. Greedy, careless, ignorant…"
"…There ain't nothin' good about sweaters."
I heard somebody on the otherside of the door. It was faint, but there was definitely somebody there and it wasn't my Charlie doll. "…Sweaty, itchy, and they shrink!" Was it her god? No, the next full moon wasn't for another month. Besides, that voice sounded too young to belong to some almighty god. So who the hell was hanging around inside my place of business?
I opened the door, hoping to meet eyes with the stranger who'd broken in. Whoever this guy was he'd made a big mistake.
"…Momma, it's too big!" Who in the Loa's name was that? It sounded like a kid.
"…You'll grow, Michael. You'll grow." …Sweet mother of mercy… I knew that voice. That sounded like…somebody I hadn't seen since I was a little kid.
I glanced across the room and saw my doll's rose on the table. She was here. I wandered further in, never thought I'd be wary about setting foot inside my own den. But I didn't know what kinda folks my doll had invited over. The thought of my privacy being violated like this started to get me worked up and make me mad again.
"…It's not fair. Why do I have to look like an idiot? Don't we got actors to do that stuff for us?"
I pulled back the drapes to see what all the fuss was about. I gotta know who was there and what was going on.
I saw nothing but a blurry ray of golden light shining down upon the room. Despite the light, it was hard to make out what was going on. There was the shady vision of a kid. But I couldn't make out who he was talking to as she walked out of the light and disappeared
"…Grumpy, grey-haired witch." The kid grumbled after the mysterious woman.
"…And don't you talk to your momma like that. Your grandpa and I work very hard to keep a roof over your head."
He had black skin, black hair, purple eyes… Holy Loa… This kid was me!
"Michael." This time, it wasn't my momma calling after me from some magical mirage. It was my Charlie doll.
She ran over to me from the other side of the hall. I saw that smile of hers and all at once my bliss came flooding back to me.
"Charlie doll." I noticed she was about to throw her arms around me so I did the same.
"I'm so glad you're back." Well, she sounded a lot happier since yesterday.
"Nice to see you all cheered up, sweetheart." Now this time I was telling the truth for once. I loved to see like this, so full of life. "Now what have you been up to today?"
She pulled away from me and started wiggling her tush down the main hall. "I used the time reversal spell." She outstretched her arms, bringing my attention to everything that was once scattered about the room "See, it's all fixed now."
In truth I hadn't even noticed. At the time I was too focused on where those voices were coming from that I hadn't seen all my merchandise fixed and back where they belonged, at least before yesterday's big bang.
Looks like that magic of hers could clean up after itself. "Good job, baby doll." I praised her and flashed her a gentleman's smile.
"And here." She reached up at the coat stand and took my hat off the top. Oh no, she'd better not scratch that thing again! I only just forgave her the last time. "I fixed this too."
She what? Fixed it? Already?
My Charlie doll held out my hat for me to take it from her snowy hands. Oh, I took it alright. Gladly! I gave it a good look over, turning it around and examining it from every angle. The scratch on the rim was gone, and the rest of that black and red shined like the day I got the handsome thing.
"You know something, Charlie doll?" I grinned smugly, returning my crown to its rightful place. "You sure know how to make a shadowman feel important."
A grateful smile stretched her pink cheeks as my Charlie shied away modestly.
I was still gazing at her smile when I glanced over her shoulder. I looked over at the back hall where only moments ago I saw a shadow of my past self running across the room wearing an oversized sweater.
"Now." I raised a brow and gestured my hand out where the magic had taken place. "What else have you been up to?" I hoped she wasn't spying on me. 'Cause if she was she might find herself knowing things about me that I wasn't comfortable with sharing. She might even uncover my true motives.
"Oh, well…" My doll fumbled around before she came up with an answer. "While I was trying to turn things back to how they were before I thought I would take a deeper look into the past." She looked up at me with a sweet look on her face. "You were adorable when you were a child. A bit grouchy, but full of life for one whose future was uncertain."
What did she know about my future back then? "I already told ya." I lost my smile at that point. "My past ain't worth knowing about. There ain't nothing interesting about-"
"-Did you squabble with your mother often?" She rudely interrupted me with her curious question. "Did you fall out a lot?"
Now I didn't want her getting the wrong idea about my mom. Unlike the doll's bossy broad my mom was an amazing woman, especially for her time.
"Heck no." I denied that we ever had any spats or disagreements of any kind. "Well, maybe when I was a little kid. But that's because I probably didn't understand what was goin' on at that age. I mean, just how old was I in this little mirage of yours? Seven?"
"Six, apparently." She played with her fingers like she was nervous. "The year nineteen-oh-three. I just wondered if for once I wasn't the only one who's mother was always too busy for me."
No way. I wasn't about to have that little doll compare her momma to mine. Sorry sweetheart, but let's face it. Your mom just ain't no good.
"My mom was a busy lady." I started defending my family's honour. "She made sure to spend time with me but there were days when she couldn't. And seeing as how I was used to getting my mom's attention whenever I wanted it I didn't understand when she suddenly seem to ditch me. But by the time I was about ten I wasn't so grouchy no more. And looking back I should consider myself lucky, if I was gonna compare my momma to yours. Except for a few days a week my mom had all the time in the world for me."
Now I almost expected my Charlie doll to be disappointed because I'd just compare her lousy mother to how a mother should be. But instead she just smiled at me all admirable and cute.
"She sounds like she was an amazing person."
"She was." I nodded proudly. "She was kind, hard working and she kept a roof over our heads. She kept us all together, even though she didn't let me get away with much when I misbehaved. She was no pushover."
"Can you remember your mother's name?" She asked, probably thinking back to that morning when my doll and I were in bed and I told her I couldn't remember.
I could remember alright. No way on this earth would I forget something like that. The reason I pretended not to that morning was because I didn't want my doll noseying into my history… So why in the Loa's name had I just blathered it all out now? Why was I doing this? I'm a man of mystery and I know better, especially when keeping secrets from this doll is the most important thing about my job! What the hell was wrong with me?
Nothing was wrong with me. In fact, everything was right with me. I'll tell you why I started sharing these details, because it felt good. I'd kept all this history to myself for so long that by now it was starting to get to me. It almost hurt, not being able to trust anybody enough to talk about these things, and I didn't know how much I was hurting until now.
Talking to this doll gave me some breathing space. It actually felt good to finally tell somebody about my bygone times.
"Michael?" That was my first name my Charlie doll was calling me by, and the only reason a dame like her knew that was because I trusted her to know it. And so far, that trust of mine hadn't been misplaced.
"Michael? What's wrong?" This girl was good at keeping secrets. Maybe telling her a few more might make me feel more at ease.
"Charlie doll, let me talk to ya for a second." I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, hugging her body into mine all snuggly-like. "Sometimes, there are things in a man's life too upsetting and too personal to tell. Some men keep it all bottled up so they don't have to go hurting themselves. I hate to say it, sweetheart, but I'm afraid I'm one of those men."
I saw the look on her face, full of disappointment and maybe a little bit of sympathy. But I was about to tell her something that would wipe the frown off her sad little face. "But you ain't given me a reason not to trust ya. In fact, you've given me every reason to have complete confidence in your promises."
"I promise I won't tell anyone any of the secrets you share with me." She turned her body around and rested her head on my chest, making herself comfortable in my arms. "I know how lucky I am that you choose to share something so delicate with me to begin with."
My doll, my cute little Charlie doll, how I love your sweet naivety. "I know, sweetheart." I ran my fingers through her soft, black hair. "The things I do for you, hmm?"
She raised her head and looked up at me with those sapphire eyes, still snuggled nicely against my body. "So." She stared at me with a sparkle in her eyes. "Can you remember your mother's name?"
I stood there embracing her for a few more moments, building a little suspense in her curious heart, just for the fun of it. "My momma's name?" I had one last chance to change my mind… and I just waved as it passed me by. "…Blanche."
