Chapter 2
"Aunt M's coming tomorrow! " his mother had called in the sing song voice she used with his younger brother Edmond. Johnson remembered his feeling of disgust. That tone was for babies, and he, a boy of nine years, was grown up. So he, in his frustration, had climbed the stairs up to his bedroom and gazed out the window. What would this unknown Aunt be like? Apparently she was his mother's sister, as any relative of his father's wouldn't have come.
But maybe she was a queen of a far-away land and she would take him away to live with her and have adventures and he would save her life and…
He had always tended to daydream, especially in his youth, about leaving home and having fun. His familiar home in suburban America had seemed dismal and boring to him.
But a new Aunt!
That was something!
Johnson had taken out a notebook and drawn his vision of Aunt M. 'M for mysterious ' he had thought. When the sketch was done he had held it at arms length to admire it. Aunt M… four years ago he had been ecstatic about her. But now…
After dinner he had climbed to the top bunk of his bed and looked at the ceiling. The stars he had painted there when his mother was on her business trip to London. They had comforted him, giving him that warm feeling of belonging.
Then he had turned to his side, just as he did every night. He held on to the edge of the rail of wood on the side barrier. His father had made the bed, done everything himself, would have moved it into the guestroom that was going to be Johnson's room, except for the condition.
Maybe, just maybe, his dad would come back, and would meet Aunt M, and they would get married, and win custody, and take him everywhere they went, and they would go to Asia, and Africa, and South America and…
When he woke the next morning he sat up in bed so fast his head hit the ceiling. Aunt M. would arrive today! He was dressed in less than a minute, ran downstairs, wolfed down his bowl of Lucky Charms, and ran onto the front steps. He looked at his watch. 7:03. Two more hours!
He sat on the patio, daydreaming and acting out heroic scenes of himself saving his aunt's life, and she saving his, and…
The golden Royles Royce sped into view, puffing exhaust out into the blue sky. Zipping around the corners, pushing speed limits, hitting speed bumps. It was like she had never driven a modern car before.
The car slowed, counting the house numbers- 709, 711, 713…
Johnson could hardly keep from jumping up and down. 'Here, I'm here!' he thought. Finally she pulled up the sloping driveway onto 720 Warwick Drive and parked.
The figure who slid gracefully out of the car was sleek, beautiful, and as Johnson had earlier predicted, mysterious. She seemed to be untouchable, with a grace that seemed to push all other things aside. A golden light seemed to radiate from her, a color unmatched by anything but that of her pet monkey that sat on her shoulder.
His mother opened the door, walked to the woman and embraced her.
"Hello Marissa. " she said smoothly.
A. N- you'll see. This was purposefully a confusing chapter.
