"What is it, Carrie? Come on, tell me, please!" Felicity asked again, but Carrie was sound asleep. Felicity turned off the light and also went to sleep. Everyone was quiet after breakfast that morning. Phil and Felicity finished feeding the cats and cleaning up their mess they made during the night and vacuuming their fur off the couch, Lois and Alana are washing and drying the breakfast dishes, and Carrie was still sleeping in the bedroom. Alana looked at the clock on the stove. It was 10:15. She and Lois told Phil and Felicity that they were going to the Garden Center to pick up hanging baskets and look at some fall flowers to add to the garden. After saying goodbye, Felicity and Phil went into the living room to watch TV. After the first show was over, Felicity decided to go upstairs to check on Carrie. "I'm going to check on Carrie and see if she's up." Phil looked at her and smiled and said, "Okay, sweetie. We can all plan something fun later this afternoon." Felicity smiled as she got up from the couch. "Sounds great, Phil. I'll be down soon." Felicity went upstairs to her bedroom.
As she walked in, Felicity saw that Carrie was now up and dressed in one of her new outfits: a light pink t-shirt with black capris. She also had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. "Hey, you're finally up," Felicity said. "You feeling okay?" Carrie looked at her and smiled. She nodded. "Remember the talk we had?" Carrie asked. "Yeah," Felicity replied. "Do you still want to talk about it more?" Carrie nodded again. "Come on." The girls went downstairs. "Well, well. Look who's up," Phil said as the girls went into the kitchen. "I'll heat up your breakfast, Carrie. Alana made homemade pancake and sausage sandwiches with eggs and cheese. She and Lois have gone out to the Garden Center to pick up flower hanging baskets and more flowers for the garden." "Thank you, Phil," said Carrie as she sat down. Phil heated up the remaining six sandwiches that were earlier wrapped up and put in the refrigerator. Alana made a dozen of the pancake and sausage sandwiches earlier. Phil smiled and asked, "How many sandwiches do you want, sweetie?" Carrie's stomach growled. "Two, please." Phil put the two sandwiches on Carrie's plate and set it on the table. Carrie took the first couple bites of her first sandwich and said, "Mmm! This is really good." "I'm glad you like it," Phil said. "Alana will be very happy to hear that."
After Carrie finished her breakfast and washed her plate, the girls went to the backyard. "So, you were saying that you wished your old neighbors would have done the same thing," Felicity began. "What did you mean by that?" Carrie took a deep breath. "When I was three, I snuck out into the backyard while Momma was in the dining room working on a new dress for one of her customers at the Laundromat. Sometimes, she would bring her work home if she gets out late. Anyway, once I got outside, I saw my old neighbor, Stella, putting on sunscreen and sunbathing. She had her bathing top loosened and she looked like she was sleeping. When she saw me, she asked me how long I was standing there by the fence. I told her that she had "dirty pillows.""
Felicity looked confused. "What are "dirty pillows", Care?" "They're breasts. Momma calls them "dirty pillows."" "Why?" Felicity asked. "Momma always said to me that she was a sinner before I was born and that she and all of the bad girls have them." "Well, you, me, and my mom and grandma have breasts," Felicity said. "And they didn't do anything wrong." "I know. Stella told me the same thing," Carrie said. "Anyway, Momma found out that I snuck out and she caught me talking to her." "What did she do?" "Momma ran toward me and scooped me up in her arms, telling Stella to stay away while she argued that we were only talking. Then, Momma started yelling at me and I told her I was sorry, but she didn't listen. That was when the stones fell on our house." Now I understand what she meant that she'll make the stones come again, Felicity thought.
"After Momma and I quickly went inside the house, she tried to force me into the closet," Carrie continued. "But I started crying and I told her I didn't want to go in, so she slapped me and tried to kill me with the butcher knife." "What?!" Felicity asked in shock. "And no one did anything?!" "Stella tried to tell her mom to call the police when she heard us screaming, but she couldn't do it." "Why?!" Felicity asked again. "I don't know," Carrie said. "Since then, I never heard from Stella or any of our neighbors."
Felicity opened her mouth to speak, but then the girls heard Phil calling for them. "Girls! Mom and Gram are back!" "Be right there, Phil!" Felicity called back. She turned back to Carrie. "You have to tell Mom, Phil, and Gram everything you told me. We really want you with us." "I know and I am going to tell," Carrie said. "And besides, I want to be with you, too." Felicity breathed in relief and smiled. "Come on, we better go help them get everything out of the truck and then we'll tell everyone what happened when you were little." Carrie nodded and the girls ran inside to help Alana and Lois.