01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
34
The door to Sam's bedroom was closed, so I knocked.
"Come in," came Sam's voice.
I opened the door and saw Amy and Sam lying on the bed watching cartoons on the little television on the dresser. "Hey, Amy," I said. "Feeling better?" I walked over and stood beside the bed.
"I'm stuffed," she said. "I ate too many pancakes."
"Pancakes have a tendency to expand after you eat them," I said.
"Ugh," she put her hands on her stomach.
"So," Sam sat up, throwing a pillow onto her lap in front her. She clicked the television off with the remote and set it on the bedside table. "What's the plan, pig man."
"Yeah, pig man," Amy laughed.
"That is not my name," I said. "And it's not my new nickname either."
"Okay, pig man," said Amy, laughing even harder.
"No, that's enough," Sam said. "What's up, Simon?"
"Well, we need to figure out what to do next," I said. "First, I think I should get my car back. I called the impound. It was towed."
"At least it wasn't stolen," said Sam. "So, how much?"
"Three hundred."
"Damn."
"I know, but I need to get my laptop back and we need to get out of your hair," I sat on the edge of the bed. "How are you holding up?" I asked Amy.
"I'm fine," she answered, but a sadness came over her. Sam had been doing a good job keeping her mind off of things. "Do you think my mom came home?"
"Well," I said, "I called her shop and I called your house. No answer."
"Oh."
"Hey," I said, "someone is watching out for us, Amy. Remember that. Someone sent me that Whim." As I said it, I remembered the dream from last night and got a sick feeling in my stomach. "I do not serve your whim!" I'd said. "No?" The way that voice had said it, like a question. "No?" The memory sent a chill up my spine. I shook it off.
"Someone sent what?" Sam asked.
"The Whim," said Amy.
"What whim?"
"The Whim that told Simon to come find me," she said.
"Maybe we shouldn't talk about that," I said. "Do you want to come with me to get the car?" I was hoping to change the subject.
"Where are you going?"
"To the police station," I said. "I have to give them some money and fill out some papers to get my car back."
"Sounds boring," said Sam. "Amy can stay here with me."
"Sam," I frowned a little. "Look, you've done too much already. Don't you need to get to work or something?"
"I already took the day off," she said.
"I just, I don't know what's going on here," I said. "If anything happened..."
"Hey," she answered, "she's just a little girl. If she gets out of hand, I can take her." She smiled at Amy. Amy smiled back, but not very enthusiastically.
"Well," I sighed. "Amy, it's up to you. If you want to stay here, I'll come back as soon as I get my car. If you want to go with me, you're welcome to go."
"Do you need a ride?" Sam asked.
"No, I called a cab. It's going to be here any time."
"Well," said Amy, "I guess I can stay here and play with Sam, unless you need me."
"Oh, I definitely need you," I said, "but I can handle getting the car first."
"Okay, then it's settled," said Sam. "We're staying here and we're not ever eating pancakes again."
"Never," said Amy, grabbing her stomach again, her smile returning.
I closed my eyes and exhaled, clearing my mind. Looking outward from the inside, my eyes still closed, I probed for any warning about leaving Amy like this. I searched for almost a minute, but there was nothing.
"Are you praying or something?" Sam asked. "I didn't think you were the type."
"What?" I asked, opening my eyes and breathing deeply. "Oh, no. Just thinking. I'll be back soon."
Just then the doorbell rang. I gave Amy an awkward pat on the head and headed for the cab.
Comments