Chapter Eleven: A New Morning
Collinsport awoke in a foggy mist, which was natural and more so in the arrival of a November morning. Within The Old House, in which the Collins clan had stayed, were the quick steps of a child delighted in his discovery and eager to see someone about it. David caught himself from being too quick when he decided which was Carolyn's door and tapped gently on the door with one knuckle.
"Mmm?" a weary werewolf maiden murmured, though not as hairy as she'd been the previous night, of course.
"Carolyn," David asked as quietly as he could, "I have a surprise."
Scrunching her nose in half-asleep concern she asked, "Is it a good one?"
"I think it will be, Carolyn, really."
"All right, come on in."
David turned the knob and saw a glimmer of sunlight peeping from the bare divide in the dark curtains. He stood before his cousin who laid on her bed tucked under the covers and held up his treasure.
"A radio?" Carolyn wondered just above a whisper.
"Yes. I brought it here to tune in to some old shows I couldn't get at The Great House. Sometimes the reception was better out here, and the batteries are still good for a while at least."
Carolyn reached out her fingers to clutch the radio and looked at it. The handle was a little rickety with a wee bit of rust in one corner of it. "You're really giving this to me?" Carolyn asked in disbelief.
"I have other things to play with here, but I know how you love your music, Carolyn."
Carolyn smirked at first and then sighed at him, "Come here," she said and as he did she gave him a one armed hug, which he returned with two, "Thank you, David."
He stepped back and smiled, "I was sure you were going to check that it worked before thanking me."
"Yeh," she smiled back, "I probably should have. But I think I can trust you after last night."
David nodded and ran off, closing the door as quietly as he could.
"Thank Aunt Laura, too!" she called out.
"I will!" he called back.
Carolyn pressed the power button and twirled the dial. Sure enough, the damn thing worked!
Elizabeth arose. As unaccustomed as she was sleeping in the clothes worn the previous night she realized that was all she had and did her best to make them work again on this strange day of days.
Exiting the room she'd chosen, Elizabeth descended the stairs of The Old House and was taken by the allure of it. It hadn't changed since she'd last been there years ago. The key colours were white, red and brown, and then remembered where most of the colour blue had been bestowed in this particular homestead.
"Mrs. Stoddard?" she heard Willie's voice echo from the dining room, "It's not much but we found something!"
Entering the aged dining area, Elizabeth laid her eyes upon a well dusted room, only marred with a few busts chipped here or there. The table wasn't perfect but it had previously been covered, as much of the furnishings had been. The two servants had removed the covering and cleaned everything off. There were even dishes of olde and cloth napkins lain in proper fashion along the table.
The draperies along the windows were very heavy and dark, as they were in all of the rooms, to keep the daylight out, not for the sake of vampires, but for the sake of preservation from sun damage.
"Which is just as well," Elizabeth spoke quietly, "since now we have vampires in the family."
"What was that, Mrs. Stoddard?" Willie inquired.
"Thinking out loud, Willie. What did you find?"
"Perfectly decent cans of sardines from yours truly."
"Well," Elizabeth responded, gratified, "thank Heavens for small favours ala our own family stores."
"And bread," Willie nodded, "I'm not sure how Mrs. Johnson found the ingredients and baked that bread, but she did it. We've had our breakfast already and can serve all of yours whenever you like!"
"Sardines on toast," grinned the matron of the estate, however remnant, "that's more than I hoped for last night. We're not in a hurry, though."
"I figured as much, Mrs. Stoddard. Did you want me to go into town for anything? Like a formal pardon from the sheriff?"
"I'm not sure sheriffs are in the habit of making pardons," Elizabeth mused, "but I suppose Bill might offer to help out if he's not against our family outright."
David had wandered in, "He's not, Aunt Elizabeth."
Elizabeth turned to look at her nephew, "David! You're up early."
"Well, there's nothing else to do," David grinned, "and having a ghost for a mother is good for an alarm clock."
"Very good, perhaps grand," Elizabeth grinned back, "What did she tell you about the sheriff?"
"Oh! She told me about everyone, Aunt Elizabeth."
"And what about them?"
"They forgot! Everyone in town. They have forgotten everything!"
Elizabeth furrowed her brow in disbelief, "Forgot? Everything? How?"
"Miss Win—well, Josette, she wiped their memories while we all were sleeping. Mom saw her doing it. She just went all over town and now they remember what happened as if it happened like a more normal accident."
"What?"
"So, they remember what came up last night… if things had happened by electrical problems… and a lot of the spooky stuff we said was just jokes, you know. That kind of stuff."
"Are you sure, David?"
"Positive. You know Mom. She's good at seeing what's going on."
Elizabeth took a deep breath, "She does far more than I gave her any credit for."
"Because you didn't believe in her until you saw her last night."
"Yes," Elizabeth admitted, "this is very true. A lot was revealed last night to me. Things I would never have believed. I'm glad Miss… that Josette didn't wipe my memory!"
David agreed, "Me too. Although, I'm sure mother would have restored it if she had."
"Trust Laura for that… a very good match… a very, very good match," echoed Elizabeth remembering Roger's wedding, not believing Roger's luck and thinking, "She's too good for him!"
But Laura was good enough for the rest of them, and that was what mattered most now.
"Now," said Aunt Elizabeth, "How do you feel about sardines on toast?"
"That's fine. I can have cereal another day, can't I?" answered David.
A new voice piped in, soft but strong, "You can have some cereal now if you like."
The lad of the previous night strode forward with two boxes of Frosted Flakes, wearing a black leather jacket.
"I picked these up from town, the only problem is I only have cold water and some powdered milk to go with them."
A/N: Let me know what you liked, if you can. Thanks.