Psychedelic Hollow 5

itsmeocean@hotmail.com

"Oomph!" Joe had the wind knock out from him when Hallie, already dressed in her Donald Duck's PJs, flung herself on him the moment he threw the door open. For a few weeks since his hospitalization, Laura and Fenton had to stopped Hallie from jumping on him for fear that the impact would split his surgical stitches. However, he missed the enthusiasm in her show of love for him and thus, the moment his health was charged, he made sure that all limitations were lifted and she could hug him fiercely anytime she wanted.

Something was different tonight though. Instead of peals of delighted laughter, she was bawling, clinging onto his legs as her head tilted up to face his, bright blue eyes welling with tears. Joe knelt down immediately, holding her close to him as he stroked her lustrous locks and glanced quizzically at Laura and Gertrude who stood behind her.

 The two women shrugged shoulders helplessly and then, Gertrude pointed at Fenton who was observing the scene from the couch, a most culpable look on his mien.

"Daddy!"  Hallie wailed, tugging at his sleeves, "I don't like grandpa! I don't like grandpa! He killed Beeboo…"

"I honestly thought it was some spider crawling around…" Fenton tried to explain, gesturing to a plate of half-eaten chocolate cake on the coffee table "It was right over there, next to my slice of cake and thus…"

"He rolled the paper and smacked it before realizing it escaped from the matchbox a few centimeters away. Your daughter is inconsolable." Aunt Gertrude had annoyance written in bold on her forehead- being brought up by her since young when Fenton was away most of the time on cases, Joe knew she had no patience for crying children and she had openly expressed that her sentiments on Joe's indulgence in Hallie. Nonetheless, Aunt Gertrude would always be the person to buy Hallie the expensive toys that caught the little girl's eyes and if Joe was, according to her, spoiling Hallie rotten, she was sure trying her best to ferment Hallie into a demanding princess.

"I wanna Beeboo! DADDY! YOU MAKE BEEBOO COME BACK, OKAY?"

"Ahm, baby… listen.,." Joe bracketed her teary face and rubbed at her cheeks with his thumb, his heart plunging a little further down onto the floor with each drop of the bloated sadness. "Daddy will catch another spider for you…"

"NO! BEEBOO! I LOVE BEEBOO! I WANNA BEEBOO COME BACK! BEEBOO WENT SPLAT AND WON'T MOVE! I WANNA BEEBOO! Daddy… grandpa can't make Beeboo move… You come here… you make Beeboo move." Hallie broke away from Joe and tottered over to the coffee table, pointing at the newspaper desperately, "Make Beeboo move! I promise to be a good girl."

"Hallie, I don't think I can…" Joe tightened his lips and shrugged, feeling extremely useless. Hallie's eyes flooded again into gleaming blue pools of tears and suddenly, she burst out in fresh sobs and dashed up the stairs to her room, howling at the top of her lungs. Joe stood up with some struggle, exhausted from the day's events and dreading having to deal with such parental duties. Scratching the back of his head, he eyed his parents and auntie pleadingly. However, as if their actions were synchronized; they resumed to doing whatever they were apparently doing before. Laura started dusting a china vase on the mantelpiece atop the fireplace; Aunt Gertrude mumbled something about washing dishes; while Fenton sank down on the couch, feigning interest in a cartoon.

"Mom… dad… . C'mon, what do I do?"

"Haven't this happened before?" Laura looked up from her dusting and threw Joe an innocent, wide-eyed look, "I think you'll know what to do better than us. She's your daughter."

"Oh, how dandy. First dad kills her pet and then, she's my daughter and not your grand-daughter!"

"Erm, Joe, she is our granddaughter but I have faith that you're in the best position to placate her." Fenton grinned at Joe. Joe scowled at his father before walking over to the coffee table, picking up the rolled up newspaper to find a squashed spider stuck on it.

"She doesn't know what death is. How am I going to explain to her? I'm having a hard time with the  'Where do babies come from' thingy already!"

"Hmm…" Fenton nodded sagely before returning his gaze back on the television screen. "I sympathize with you completely."

"DAD!"

"Joe, just be a father…" Laura walked towards him and patted his shoulders, "She'll have to know such things. We would do it but we don't want to miss out on the most fun part of being a parent! Answering difficult, impossible questions."

"Mom!" Joe whined, aghast at the lack of assistance. Laura pursed her lips before nodding as if brimming with conviction over her own beliefs and started dusting again, whistling a happy tune.

"If you want my opinion," Aunt Gertrude stuck her head out from the kitchen, her hands already protected by the latex gloves the Hardys used for washing dishes, "Just leave her alone. The more you coddle a kid like Hallie when she cries, the more she will lord over you. You're already turning into her slave."

"Still you have to explain to her the situation instead of sweeping it underneath the carpet." Fenton gently peeled the carcass away and dropped it back into the matchbox, "I'm just surprise that you couldn't have given her another pet. What about hamsters and rabbits? Those are girls' pets. And if I know I won't accidentally murder a cute furry dwarf hamster or a genial, white rabbit."

"Hallie's my daughter. There are some traits she inherited from me…" Joe sighed, taking the matchbox from his father, "Please dad, if you see a lizard, spider or worm, don't kill it unless it's deadly poisonous. Hallie loves keeping them as pets. But none died on her before- they merely… well…" Joe paused for a moment, mild guilt washing over him, "… escaped. Beeboo is the one who stayed with her the longest."

"Right. I'll ask Hallie if those disgusting things are Beeboos before I flatten them." Fenton threw Joe an apologetic glance, "And I'm sorry, son. I honestly had no idea."

"It's all right, dad. Not your fault." Joe pocketed the miniature abode turned coffin and trotted up the stairs, his mind whirling with what he could say to make Hallie understand death and console her the best he could. Oh God… A stray thought came to him and he froze in mid-step as the swirling faces of Robert Thompson, Greg Bunhill, Justin Daye and the very dead Kimberly Crawell spiraled before his mind's eyes hypnotically, Hallie could have known Death first hand… and the dangers are not stopped with Robert's death and Greg's arrest. She still has to grow up and there's drugs, violence…

Oh God… I could lose her in so many ways!

"Joe, are you all right?" Laura's voice broke the hold that the particular disturbing thought had on him. He shook his head and threw a glance over his shoulder, smiling weakly at his concerned parents.

"Yah, I am. Don't worry about me. I know what to say to her." He lied dismissively.

"I still think you should just ignore her for the time being." Aunt Gertrude opined with a censorious tone before disappearing into the kitchen again, clucking her tongue in disapproval. Joe sucked in a deep breath and prayed hard- now that he was nearing the top of the stairs, he could hear Hallie's heart-wrenching sobs. He knocked at her door twice before turning the knob, slowly walking into the dimly lit space. There Hallie was, sitting on the floor, huddled up tightly with her knees against her chest next to her nightstand. A pale yellow glow from her beside lamp illuminated half her adorable face- the flickering sallow glow seemed almost in fear of intruding on the angry, tearing little girl's face. She looked up, glared at him and then, remained extremely still.

Joe sighed, closing the door behind him.  He switched on the main light and sat down next to his daughter, holding the matchbox in his right palm and presented it to her. Her large eyes rounded with suspicious as she snatched the box from Joe. Scrutinizing it closely, she brightened up and pushed it open excitedly. Then, without warning, her jaw dropped in disappointment and Joe's heart plummeted to the ground.

She hurled it across her room, burying her face in her hands as her body shook with more tears.

"Beeboo all flat still! Beeboo is fat, not flat and squishy!"

"Darling…" Joe draped an arm across her shoulders, trying to gentle when broaching the delicate subject, "Beeboo isn't coming back…what's left is Beeboo's body but he has already flown to a nice place in the sky…"

Great, Joe. Nice place in the sky.

"Maybe Beeboo sleeping like Daddy before? We put the straws into Beeboo and Beeboo wakes up?" Hallie uncovered her face and grabbed Joe's arm, pleading with Joe as her eyes widened like a hopeful puppy. Joe didn't' know what to do as his gut clenched most uncomfortably. He could feel the stickiness of her sorrows from her touch and yearned so much to just turn back time so this talk could happen at a later time. Firstly, he wasn't ready. Secondly, he didn't want Hallie's innocence to be marred further.

"Daddy's still… alive… that's why daddy woke up…" Joe narrowed his eyes, urgently appealing to the Almighty for some glimmer of wisdom. "But now, Beeboo is with God…"

Gosh, how did dad explained Death to me? Why can't I remember? Oh…Joe recalled ruefully, I asked the question and let my mind wander off to the newest He-Man figurine as he explained…

How the hell did I remember thinking about He-Man and not what he said? Doh…

"With God? God took Beeboo away? I don't like! Ask God to bring Beeboo back!" Hallie shook his hand, whispering urgently, "God loves me… God will bring Beeboo back to me…"

"Ahm, Beeboo has gone to God… God didn't exactly take Beeboo away… well… hmm… I ah… well, whoever goes to God cannot come back again."

"But Jesus came back after three days!" Hallie held three of her right hand's fingers upright in front of Joe, "Three!"

"But it's different… Jesus is Son of God… He came down to become Man and after He died, he went down, not up to God yet. Then after three days, He went up to God again. And He is God so He's always everywhere…well…phew!" Joe swiped beads of sweat from his forehead- how did explaining about death morphed into a theoretical discussion about Jesus? As if he was the right person to ask about these things- idyllic hours in Sunday Classes gazing at the dark-haired girl seated in front of the small class came back to haunt him. Maybe he should start reading the Bible again- the one that Gertrude bought for Hallie with lots of cartoons and explanations- before Hallie could ask him anymore difficult questions.

"And Beeboo is not Son of God?"

"No. Beeboo is a spider created by God and now, he went back to God."

Hallie frowned, looking down on the floor, wringing her tiny hands together, "Is Beeboo happy?"

"Happier than when he was in the tiny little matchbox." Joe assured his daughter, stroking the soft blonde hair. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, "Grandpa says sorry."

"Is mommy coming back, daddy? Has she taken the plane to go up in the sky to God?" Hallie gazed at him and even though she was no longer crying, her eyes shone with poignant longing of the night anticipating day's arrival to just catch a glimpse of its splendid radiance. The way Hallie's mind associated different things together; Joe would never be able to comprehend. Nonetheless, her question struck a bitter, painful chord in his heart and he held Hallie close to him, letting the warmth of her living, breathing body seeped courage and strength into his soul. How close they were to not even know Hallie's fate- whether she was alive or dead and the overwhelming knowledge that she was alive that day, alive to greet him when he reach home, caused him to skip a breath. At least Vanessa didn't take Hallie halfway around the world with her. If she did, Joe knew he would be devastated. He would rather Hallie ask him tough questions everyday than to not have her by his side.

"No. She took the plane to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a country in Asia… and she calls Hallie often, doesn't she?"

"Yup. But she's not here and I miss her more than I miss Beeboo. Daddy, why not you ask Mommy to come back? I like it when she and you bring me out all the time. I don't like it when either one of you are not around."

If only I can, baby. I asked but she decided to leave still.

"I don't like it too and I'm sure she misses you very much. But mommy needs to do this so she can come back to you and be a better mother…"

"I rather she be here. She can be a better mother by actually practicing, not going away!" Hallie pouted, breaking away from Joe. Storming to her bed, she sat down heavily on the firm mattress and folded her arms angrily, her body bouncing a little from the springs.

"Well…" Joe knelt down in front of his daughter such that he was at eye-level with her. Ruffling her hair, he coaxed her with the only promise which he knew he could fulfill and which could bring a smile to those pouting lips. "Maybe this December, Daddy bring you to Hong Kong to find Mommy? We can spend Christmas with her."

"December!" Hallie exclaimed in horror, gesticulating wildly, "That's forever away! We go this weekend! Before my school starts!"

Joe straightened up and sat down on Hallie's bed, lifting her up to sit upon his lap, "Well, daddy needs to save up first to buy the plane's tickets. So December it is, all right? I promise you. If I can make it earlier, I will."

Hallie bored a penetrating gaze deep into his eyes. He returned the look, completely honest in every way with his daughter. Slowly, and to his relief, she smiled finally, happy again. "Okay! But now, I want a tarantula!"

"Tarantula!" Joe yawped, "You're a demanding little girl! No! Your grandma will scold me!"

"You told me you had one before when you were five! I'm already six and a half!" She argued and indicated to the forgotten matchbox lying on the floor, "Besides, Beeboo's gone to God. Mrs Applegate taught us that things happen for a reason. Maybe Beeboo's gone so you can buy me a tarantula!"

"Hmm…" Joe knitted his brows, not seeing the logic that Hallie vehemently believed in as she nodded her head vigorously to get him to comply with her wishes. Seeing that he was delaying in his reply, she jumped off his lap and stamped her right foot on the floor.

"TARANTULA!"

"Hallie, a tarantula is hard to keep…"

"TARANTULA! TARANTULA!  TARANTULA!  TARANTULA!  TARANTULA!  TARANTULA!  TARANTULA!  TARANTULA!"

"All right. It's nine already. Time for you to go to bed." Joe stood up and grabbed his howling and kicking daughter off the floor, playfully slamming her onto her bed. "Sleep now!"

"TARANTULA!  TARANTULA!" Hallie refused to lie down and sat up, pounding her hands on the bed. Joe head was swimming with a migraine- how could an angel transform so quickly into a little devil? This was perhaps the best time to ignore his daughter. He promptly walked towards her room's exit and switched off the light to Hallie's chagrin.

"Daddy… you don't love me anymore!"

"Daddy loves you, honey! But unless you can prove to me you can be responsible for a big pet, I can't give you one." Joe, now standing outside, popped his head into the room, just about to close to door. Hallie let out an irritated grunt before slipping underneath her covers. Shaking his head, Joe shut the door and went back downstairs.

"Hon, your dinner's in the kitchen. So, how did it go?" Laura, now watching the television with Fenton, asked him as he slumped down on the two-seater at the side, mentally blanked out.

"Just bright and chirpy! She's all happy now." Joe smiled tiredly, pretty proud of himself despite his exhaustion. Laura beamed at him but, suddenly, she indicated behind him with a nod of her head anxiously. Joe glanced behind and groaned miserably.

"DADDY!" Hallie yelled from the top of the stairs, her arms akimbo and her eyes flaring with childish fervor, "BUY ME A TARANTULA!"

"Joe, she's your daughter." Fenton peered from under his glasses at Joe and Joe was willing to bet that his father was smirking inside.

"BUY ME A TARANTULA! A TARANTULA! TARANTULA! TARANTULA! TARANTULA!"

"I knew it! You're spoiling her and soon, our house will be filled with creepy crawlies just like when you were kid!" Aunt Gertrude frowned at him as she exit from the kitchen and climbed up the stairs to do just the opposite of what she preached as Joe buried his head in his hands.

"Here, sweetie. Aunt Gertrude will buy you a bunny tomorrow. Now, go and sleep…"

"Tarantula!"

"Right. I heard you! A fluffy, little white bunny."

"No! A tarantula! Hairy, big, black spider!"

In spite of himself, Joe burst out laughing as Aunt Gertrude and Hallie's voices grew fainter. Laura stared at him in horror, most probably terrified that his wounds would split open from the force of his hilarity. He wanted to make some comments about Aunt Gertrude's selective hearing but each time he tried, he would break into fresh burst of giggles along with Fenton who was infected by his contagious mirth. Laura shook her head and smiled as she stood up from the couch to grab a magazine from the ornate bookshelf against the wall.

"So, son, now you know how difficult it is to be a father." Fenton mused, "But trust me, do it well and the results are worth every drop of sweat and tears."

"I know. I know it now even. But dad…"

"Yes?"

"Please don't make my job any more difficult by killing any more of Hallie's pets… please, please, please, please, please…" Joe begged his father dolefully with hands clasped together. Fenton stood up and went behind him, patting his head.

"No problem. And you… behave yourself. Your mom tells me you've been neglecting your diet and eating way too much sweet and fatty stuff."

"Aw…" Joe twisted his lips to-and-fro, "All right. I'll watch what I eat from now."

"Better keep your promise. You don't want to end up diabetic." Fenton chastised Joe. Joe turned around and stuck his tongue out at his father.

"For fifteen seconds before I gobble everything down!"

"Laura…" Fenton yelled across the living room to his wife, "He's your son!"

***

Frank cradled his cell phone between his neck and cheek as he tossed spaghetti over the stove. Callie was taking forever to answer the call, a habit of hers which never failed to irritate him on a bad day. However, he had since found ways to get over his frustrations with her delayed response to the phone- in between waiting for her to pick up the call, he would occupy himself with other chores. Multi-tasking- he was exceptionally adept at it and right then, he would have to garner all his wits to prepare for the wedding, help Conrad Daye with his request and send his tuxedo for dry-cleaning all in the span of a week.

"Darling! I'm so sorry. I was in the restroom!" Callie chimed after the umpteenth ring. Frank sighed and switched off the electricity for the hot plate stove, proceeding to dunk the spaghetti ala canned tomato sauce into a plate.

"Cal, you have nothing to be sorry of… hang on…" He took the plate to the bar counter in his apartment's kitchen and set it down before properly holding on to the phone, preparing himself for breaking the news to her, "How are you, darling?"

"I'm feeling grand! You must try out the new massage parlor down at Chijmes Galleries! The masseurs there are absolutely fabulous!"

"I know they are when you are gushing about them in a fake Brit's accent!" Frank teased his fiancée, wishing she was right with him then. A bland spaghetti meal always tasted exceedingly good when he shared it with her." I have something to tell you, Cal. But first, you must promise me that you won't be mad…pretty please?"

There was silence from her side. Frank stopped whatever he was doing, his nerves sizzling into overdrive with some nervousness. Only Callie could reduce him to such a quivering mess. Though he knew she would go to lengths just to make him happy, he had always been rather frightened of hurting her or maddening her.

And then, there were times he wondered if they had to sometimes go the extra mile to please each other was actually healthy for the relationship...

Never had to be on jitters around Nancy when I tell her I'm on a case…

Bad Frank! Naughty Frank! He slapped the side of his head to expel the thought. Maybe he should just relinquish the case completely over to Joe. Working on it would place him in close proximity with Nancy Drew and he was in a quandary as apprehension and excitement pulled his sentiments into two polarized directions.

"Okay… spill it out." Callie voiced finally. Perhaps she was trying to sound like she was faking anger in good fun but he could hear a slight, edgy tone sharpening her words.

Just spell it out like it is.

"I'm on a case. The news recently about a high school girl who died due to bad reaction to a date rape drug? Her boyfriend is implicated and he's Conrad Daye's kid brother. Conrad asked me for help… I can't… you know…"

"Is that it?" She sounded a little startled, "From your anxious tone, I would have thought it's more than that."

"It's so close to our wedding… I'm worried you'll be a little pissed that I'm taking on a case."

"I'll be pissed if you take on a case to shoot evidence for adultery or something akin to that. But… I know you, Frank. I'm going to marry you. And I know it'll just kill you if you can't help Conrad… so… go. Take on this case with my blessings. Just make sure you're in the church on time."

Now, it was he who grew silent as he was speechless, bursting with so much emotions that he couldn't even think. She didn't sound wearied- definitely not like a resigned love throwing in the white flag. In fact, she sounded like she truly understood. If they ever fight, it would most likely be some competition she conjured up between his commitments to his cases and to her. And right now, at this crucial moment when he was charged with an additional and almost equally important responsibility, she didn't hold it against him. A glow flushed his face with fever- that of the fervent of true love reassured.

"I love you." He whispered almost painfully as a sadly sweet yearning coiled around his heart, squeezing it achingly with thoughts of her. A week- they had waited years for this day and at times, they could be apart from each other months. However, he was almost certain that he couldn't survive the week without her.

"Love ya too. Darling, do you know that the hotel sent us a complimentary penthouse suite to spend a night in?"

Frank smiled, hearing the ruffle of papers in the background. He could just imagine her pretty eyes rounding with excitement at all the little freebies they were getting. Leaning back against the cool metal backrest of his bar stool, he twirled his spaghetti with a fork and heard her mumbling to herself.

"Ah ha! I found it! I can't believe a wedding is so much paperwork! My room is flooded… listen to this… Enjoy a night of pleasures and indulgence at our penthouse suite with complimentary luxurious treats at our highly acclaim spa… . Ooh… not only that! We have a thirty percent discount expiring in two years' time to a world class resort in Mauritius! You want the details? Or are you busy?" Callie asked hesitantly.

"Hit me with them, darling." Frank drawled and laughed lightly when he heard Callie rattle on about the resort and when she felt was the best time to go. The nitty-gritty didn't matter to him at all, what mattered was that her voice was keeping him company, even though her person couldn't.

An hour after his late-night dinner and about twenty minutes after his call with Callie ended, the phone rang again and he rushed to answer it, thinking that it might be Callie wishing him sweet dreams. He couldn't sleep if she didn't cosset over him via the phone every night and each coddling session could last up to an hour or so. Clicking the 'talk' button, he breathed her name, panting from the slippery run from the bathroom to the phone.

"Cal…."

"Conrad here…"

"Oh…" Frank dragged out, taken aback and embarrassed as his cheeks reddened from both awkwardness and the hot shower. The towel around his waist loosened from the mad dash and he cradled the phone with his neck, readjusting the damped piece of cotton. "Hmm, what's up?"

"Waiting for your girl to call? Sorry…"

"No worries."

"Justin skipped town. I don't know where he is. Went down to buy dinner and…"

"Whaa…come again?" Frank was instantly alert- he was more than willing to post bail for Justin but should the kid go missing, a substantial part of his savings would fly away. He knew he wasn't a stranger to generosity but he wasn't that munificent. The prospect of losing the bail was crawling all over with those hairy, spine-chilling spiders he hated so much. "Justin skipped town?"

"I'm sorry, man. I should have been watching him…"

Frank squeezed his eyes shut, using every bit of energy in his cells to smother his anxiety and tiredness, stilling his heart and mind. "All right, give me half an hour. I'll be right over."