3
Chapter Two
The little girl stood peering through the glass French doors at the boys and men playing baseball on the lawn. She wore new jeans, a light blue polo shirt, denim sneakers and a Phillies baseball cap over her blonde pony tail.
"What's with the waterworks, kiddo?" Niki asked the sobbing child.
"They won't let me play." Tess looked around once, just to make sure no one was nearby while she talked to her real mom, the one who was always happy to see her. She placed one tiny fist against her hip and gestured to the window in a near-perfect imitation of the woman facing her. Tess tucked her hair behind her ear with two fingers and scowled, a dramatic gesture ruined by the unexpected hiccup. "It's not fair."
"So ya thought crying about it would change anything?" Niki shook her head at the child she was starting to consider her reward for tolerating the rest of Victoria's crap. "Doesn't look like their game was called on account of your little storm, so what's the point?"
"But I want to play. I could hit the ball. I know it, but they said I was too little." Tess sniffled one last time, wiped the last ear away, and crossed her arms. This mom liked to see signs of 'spirit' and never told her she was misbehaving.
"So, who says you can only swing a bat with Viki's rotten brats? You can sit here and be Jessica, the snot factory or I can take my Tess out to the batting cages? What's it gonna be?" Niki wore a stern look that was almost as false as her accent. Tess wasn't fooled for a minute.
"Batting cages!" Tess ran across the room to the open doorway to grab her mom's hand and pull her across the marble foyer. They had to leave right this minute, or something might happen and they wouldn't be able to go. Tess stopped breathing when her mom stopped in the middle of the foyer and walked over to the side table under the mirror, but Niki only picked up her old mom's purse and stuck her tongue out at her reflection. Niki and Tess ran, leaving all thoughts of Viki and Jessica behind.
"Come on, Slugger, we gotta stash your gear." Tess couldn't stop smiling as she removed her batting gloves and placed them inside her brand new helmet. The aluminum bat clanked against the helmet and she jumped, looking around to make sure no one heard.
When she turned back around, a section of the wall opened, revealing a dark scary-looking place. "C'mon, c'mon, time is money," called her mom. Tess went over to the wall opening. She could see a set of dim lights along a brick corridor, but she couldn't bring herself to go into the dusty passage. She closed her eyes and wished she was really brave. When she felt a hand grab her wrist and yank her into the corridor, she shrieked.
"Stifle it, missy. You saw the secret passage and now you could get in a real jam. Now open your eyes and count with me." She squeezed her eyes shut, even though her mom was trying to tell her something. A sharp pain in her shin made her eyes pop open. Her mom was bent in half, staring at her from only inches away, her gaze so intense it scared Tess. "Now count." Tess moved with her mom exactly eight paces. Her hand was moved to feel the change in the brick as her mom moved it to one side and pressed the button it hid. The door closed, leaving Tess and Niki in the dark. Tess yelped. "Push the button, Tess." She did. The door opened. "Remember that, kiddo. Now that you know about the secret passage, you need to know the way out; eight paces to the right, move the fake brick and push the button. There's another button just inside the hall closet, but that won't help you if you get stuck in that rotten place."
Tess nodded, still a little scared. Her old mom was never scary, even if she was distant. Her new mom was fun, but sometimes Tess could almost see other moms peeking out, moms who didn't love Tess or anybody else, moms who reminded Tess of Halloween monsters. For a minute in the corridor, Tess thought maybe she was in the dark with one of the scary moms. But, there was Niki, winking at her…
…until Niki looked in the mirror. Tess knew the minute her new mom went away. Niki glared at the mirror, mouthing words at the reflected image, then – stopped. Her face went slack and her eyes lost their sparkle for a long moment.
Tess watched quietly as Viki ran her hand across her face. "What happened?" she whispered. "Have I lost time again? Niki?" Viki's eyes went glassy for another minute, and then cleared. Tess sighed and remembered her manners, so she could pretend to be sweet little Jessie.
"Jessie, it's late. Why are you still awake, sweetheart?" Viki looked around. "Where's Kim?"
"I wanted to stay up and watch a movie, since we just got back from my playdate," Jessie looked up at her old mom and added, "please."
"Playdate?" Viki frowned. She rubbed her temples in an effort to banish the pain and the feeling that something was wrong. "Of course. But it is quite late…"
"Your mother's right, Jessie. You need to get your rest." Clint stood in the doorway of the library, the doorknob still in his hand. He looked over at Jessie's old mom. "You look tired, too, Viki. Kim tells me you drove Jessie to and from her playdate, when you know that Kim can cart her around just as easily; she is the nanny."
"I know, Clint, I just wanted to run a few errands and this gave me a chance to spend some time with Jessie." The smile she gave Clint was a bit shaky.
Jessie knew that her dad's smile was a fake one that he wore so he wouldn't upset anyone. Her dad wore that smile whenever he saw Jessie with her mom and Kim wasn't there. Tonight, Jessie would hear another lecture from her dad to Kim about her mom's condition and how the stress wasn't good for her. Jessie wished she knew why she was so 'stressful' that her mom couldn't be alone with her. Jessie would be better, then her old mom would love her as much as her new one did.