The years slowly passed until they got to be too many to keep track of.
Many people rented the building since Rosemary and my human self left it. After Heather left Ben, then Ben left the building, a single guy used it to store his many rolls of carpet and building materials, though he did not live there. He hung around for what seemed to be about five years. I remember him telling a lady he was dating when he first moved in that he was thirty-five. Then, right before he left, his buddies came to help him celebrate his fortieth birthday by getting drunk, laughing like silly schoolboys, blasting music, and talking about sex. These were the times I really missed Angel Eyes and myself.
A family came to live there next. From what I gathered, the parents were teachers of some kind. They had two preschool-aged kids, so the mother only worked part-time. The talk was that they would stay there while they had a house built, which didn’t seem to be as long as the last guy, yet longer than Rosemary and I.
Next came an even larger family with four kids ranging from age six to sixteen. The father wasn’t present.
Another single man would move in next. This one was fairly young. He was a reporter of some kind who felt the old gym was a great place to hide away since so many people loathed reporters. He was bisexual, sometimes bringing home ladies, other times men. When he “accidentally” impregnated one of his lady dates, he demanded that she get an abortion, explaining that kids were loud, obnoxious, messy, and costly, to say nothing of what they did to a woman’s figure or how they were always in your hair and stealing your life mercilessly.
The lady refused to get an abortion unless she was paid a huge sum of money to do so. Apparently, he didn’t have the kind of money she was demanding, so he then called upon people to help induce a miscarriage in various ways. I don’t know if he succeeded, but it sure made me think of what my human self would love to do to him if I knew what was going on.
When the reporter left, it seemed like he’d been there longer than anyone else.
Next came a policewoman. It was springtime from what I could tell. My heart would race in anticipation of possibly hearing my name mentioned whenever she’d speak of other cops when she had company or spoke on the phone, but she never did. Not at first, anyway.
The middle-aged cop, whose name was Mandy, was of medium height, plump, and had dark hair and eyes. It wasn’t until she began talking to a couple she was friends with about a particular case from many years ago that my name came up. I got the feeling that this couple were also cops of some kind or somehow affiliated with the police department.
From what I could make out, a man that had been imprisoned for rape, assault, and theft was recently paroled. First chance he got, he tried to weasel his way back into the life of his ex. When she refused to acknowledge him, he kidnapped their daughter out of spite. The girl was now fourteen.
“And no one knows where they are?” asked her friend Drew.
“No, no one,” said Mandy as they sat in the living room area, which was now decorated with the latest style of furniture.
“Who was the arresting officer back when they first got him?” asked Don, Drew’s husband, who sat next to Drew on the couch.
Mandy thought a moment. “Wasn’t it that—that, oh, what was her name? That tall, dark-haired woman. She was Italian, I think. Oh, I know! It was Kay Hawkins.”
“Kay Hawkins?” Drew asked inquisitively.
“Haven’t seen her in years,” said Don. “Remember her, Drew?”
“I think so. Isn’t she the one who took up with that girl who went blind?”
“Oh, yes,” Mandy chimed in as she remembered more and more. “I think her name was something like Rosemary.”
“Matter of fact,” Don went on, “they lived right here in this very place for about a year.”
Mandy’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
Don shook his head. “Nope. Story goes that the girl was a bit of a troublemaker. Met up with Kay after once knowing each other a few years back. Kay settled her down pretty fast. Oh, how she loved that little lady. Was very devoted to her and doted on her any way she could. Loved that girl to death, so they said, and from what I could tell, the girl loved her just as much. So they hit it off, fell in love, had twins through some form of in-vitro or whatever procedure it was, then the girl went blind. Moved out shortly after the kids were born. Made a stunning couple. Bet they’re still together, wherever they are.”
“I doubt it,” said Drew. “Statistics say no way. I think Kay would’ve become overwhelmed soon enough to have taken on so much so soon. A girl who went blind, two kids, and a mortgage in under a year is quite a bit to take on.”
“Nah, I think just the opposite,” Don countered. “Kay didn’t just love that lady; she was quite obsessed with her. She’d have hung onto her at all cost and never let her go.”
“You don’t think Judy or Rosemary would have come to feel smothered in time and run off somewhere?” Drew asked.
Again, Don shook his head. “Nope. Besides, where’s a blind girl going to run off to? A blind girl with two kids, that is.”
“You could have a point. I just would’ve thought either she’d have gotten sick of being smothered or that Kay would’ve gotten sick of having someone around who couldn’t see,” said Drew.
“What better wife could an obsessed person like that ask for? I mean, you know the chances of them running off are a lot lower when they can’t see where they’re going. Either way, they really seemed to truly, genuinely love each other,” said Don.
“Well, I’d like to find Kay, so perhaps we’ll find out which one of you is right as far as whether or not they’re together,” said Mandy. “So the question is, where are they?”
“How many years has it been since she first brought this guy down?” asked Drew.
Mandy looked through a file she had handy. “About thirteen years ago.”
“Thirteen years ago. That long? They could be anywhere by now,” said Don.
“Have either of you seen them?” Mandy asked.
“Not since they moved out of this place,” said Drew, “and we never did know them that well in the first place.”
“Any idea how old Kay might be today?” asked Mandy.
The couple looked thoughtful, then Drew said, “I think Kay might’ve been in her late twenties to early thirties the last time I saw her.”
“So she’d now be in her mid-forties,” said Mandy.
“About that,” Don agreed. “Her other half was three or four years younger, so she’d be in her late thirties, early forties by now.”
“Okay,” said Mandy, rising to fetch her laptop. She picked it up and settled back in her chair with it. “Let’s see if I can find a listing for her. I’ll search the entire Pioneer Valley. You two think they’re still in the area?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” said Don. “Cops can’t just up and move that easily, and so they don’t. I know the other one spent time in the southwest and that she liked it out there a lot, but once she went blind, the idea of returning probably went kaput right along with the fact that she was marrying a cop who couldn’t up and move whenever they got the whim to do so.”
“I think I heard that the blind girl was originally from Longmeadow,” Drew piped up as Mandy tapped away at the laptop’s keyboard.
“I doubt they’d have moved there. An Italian chick with this little white girl and two babies? Wouldn’t exactly fit in with a typical all-white, straight, Jewish town like that, though with Kay being a cop, I doubt they’d have cared, and I doubt anyone would’ve hassled them,” Don said.
“Looks like you might have been close,” said Mandy. “There’s a Kay Hawkins listed in East Longmeadow.”
“Nice town,” said Don. “Not too big, not too small.”
“After you leave, I’ll call this number. If it’s her and if she has anything she could possibly tell me that could help find this shithead that’s on the loose doing God knows what to his daughter, I sure would like to hear it.”
My heart raced as I dialed the number. Then it raced even more when it appeared that the number did indeed belong to me. I agreed to come over and discuss the case, from what Mandy said.
A while later, a shiny gold van appeared in front, and out I stepped. I could tell it was me, even though my hair was nearly one length and a good five inches or so past my shoulders. I looked much the same, though my longer hair gave me an added touch of femininity. I wore sunglasses, which I removed and clipped to the front of my white T-shirt. I had my badge clipped to the waistband of the jeans I wore.
The only disappointment was that Angel Eyes wasn’t with me.
Mandy jogged towards the door to let me in, and we entered my range of hearing talking about the building.
“Yeah, this is where I met up with Rosemary. She was a little wild there at first, but she’s grown to be a wonderful person,” I said with a smile.
“Exactly how many years ago was that?” asked Mandy.
“Rosemary and I left here thirteen years ago. We’ve been in the house we’re currently in ever since. A year after we moved, a wonderful lady moved into the guesthouse in back of the property behind the garage. She’s fifty-five now. She helps with the kids and does the cooking and cleaning.”
“How old are you and Rosemary now?”
“She’s thirty-nine, I’m forty-two. We were twenty-six and twenty-nine when we first came here.”
“You look great for forty-two.”
“Thanks. She looks even better for thirty-nine.”
“What’s she up to these days?”
“She’s a full-time writer. Still sings and makes incense, too.”
“Oh, how wonderful. Did she ever regain any of her sight back?”
“No. There have been no changes other than that her eyes have lightened up over the years.”
“Have they?” Mandy asked.
I nodded. “They started off as a dark green, and now they’re a very pretty, unique shade of light blue.”
“So you’ve been undercover all this time in East Longmeadow? No wonder I haven’t seen you around.”
I chuckled as my gaze shifted upwards towards our pictures. “The pictures are still here?” I asked with shock.
Mandy followed my gaze, confusion written all over her face. “What pictures?”
I glanced quickly at Mandy. When I realized she couldn’t see what I saw, I said, “When I turned to look, I thought I saw some of the pictures we put up, not realizing it was just shadows cast upon the wall. I guess my eyes haven’t adjusted yet to the dimmer light in here.”
Mandy offered me some lemonade, then we sat on the couch and talked some more. Up closer, I could see that although I had aged over the years, I really did look well for my age. My dark hair was void of any gray, which told me it was probably dyed.
“So how are the twins?” asked Mandy.
“Great. Getting ready to turn thirteen soon.”
“How do you feel about having a couple of teenagers around?”
I laughed. “I think I’ll survive. I’ve got a ten-year-old boy and twin girls as well.”
“What? Oh, my God!” exclaimed a surprised Mandy as I nodded proudly. “Five kids in just three pregnancies?”
“Yup. We decided to expand the family. Jason’s ten, and the girls are five.”
“What are their names?”
“Anika and Brisa.”
“Oh, that’s cute.”
Again, I nodded. “It’s unique.”
“So you’ve been happy and you’ve enjoyed the last thirteen years?”
“I’ve loved every minute of it, yes,” I beamed with a bright white smile.
“No miscarriages along the way?”
“Nope. She’s kept everything she’s conceived.”
“That is truly amazing,” Mandy said, still shocked.
“The doctors think so too, but as I’ve always said, Rosemary’s quite an amazing little lady.”
“I heard she had the oldest twins here.”
“She did.”
“That must’ve been scary.”
“Yes, I’m sure she’d agree with you, though she got used to it since she never had the others in the hospital, either.”
“She didn’t?” Mandy asked, eyebrows raised.
I shook my head. “No. It’s like she has no labor. Her water breaks and boom, out they come.”
“It’s amazing how one can be blind or have other handicaps or ailments yet still carry on, you know?”
I nodded with a smile.
“Whatever happened to that friend of yours?” Mandy asked, struggling to remember the name.
“Melanie Sanders?”
“Yes, that’s it,” Mandy said, nodding.
“She’s doing well. She hasn’t been as fortunate in love, but she’s been fortunate health-wise and job-wise. She lives just next door in a small two-bedroom ranch, as a matter of fact.”
“You have a big house?”
“Fairly big. It’s a four-bedroom ranch that’s quite long, almost eighty feet.”
“Wow, that does sound long.”
“So, how’s life been treating you, and what have you been up to all these years? Any kids yourself? Or husbands, boyfriends, fiancées?” I asked Mandy.
“No, just a string of exes,” she answered before we turned to business.
I told Mandy what I knew of the subject at large, and we discussed the case, both past and present, at length.
When it came time for me to leave, I wondered if another thirteen years would pass before I’d see myself again, though I wouldn’t have much time to wonder or worry about it, for I was suddenly plunged into darkness. I sensed that the others were still with me. However, I knew instantly that we were no longer in the gym, but outdoors somewhere. It was nighttime. I heard crickets chirping and an occasional dog barking off in the distance, along with cars moving about from time to time. I couldn’t see any of these things, though shadowy silhouettes were slowly taking form as my vision adjusted to my new surroundings. I began to make out the outline of a long house and two smaller buildings. I could also make out outlines of other houses as well.
As the sun rose, I could see that I was in an enclosed, private backyard facing the back of the long house. The two smaller buildings were the garage and the guesthouse I’d mentioned to Mandy.
The yard was lovely. Flowerbeds adorned one section. Scattered across a well-manicured lawn was an array of children’s toys, sprinklers, and an inflatable pool that looked to be about twelve feet long and three feet deep.
The sounds of the crickets died down as birds began to chirp. The sky brightened, and a few puffy clouds were visible, resembling thick globs of marshmallow.
A window slid open somewhere in the back of the house, though I couldn’t see anyone.
A large German Shepherd pushed its way through a flap in the wall. It sniffed around the yard, then headed somewhere out of view.
Very faintly, I heard voices and sounds of doors opening and closing. Although I heard some adult voices, most of the voices were of children.
A while later, a sliding glass door opened and out ran three children. There were two girls who looked identical and sort of resembled my human self. The other one, an older boy, had Rosemary’s features with lighter skin and hair. I knew who they were long before I saw Rosemary.
They jumped on their swings as Rosemary emerged, stepping slowly and cautiously. She wore a colorful short-sleeved dress and looked as beautiful as ever. The only real difference was the few strands of gray which now threaded through the golden-brown curls that hung well below her waist. She was still tiny, though she had filled out with age. Either way, it was clear that I had something most men could only dream of. I wasn’t surprised Melanie was still single, for even if she knew she couldn’t have Rosemary, what normal, red-blooded gay woman or straight man wouldn’t at least wish they could?
Rosemary made her way to a plush swinging bench chair that had a canopy over it. She sat down on it and leaned back comfortably.
Just then, out came another set of twins. The ones that had been born before my very eyes. They looked a lot like my human self as well, with their deep dark hair and eyes and darker skin. In the shade, their hair looked almost black.
“Kay’s going to take us bowling like she promised us she would this weekend,” said the girl whom I knew was Angel.
“Sounds like fun,” Rosemary said with a smile, staring straight ahead at nothing.
An older woman then emerged from the guesthouse at the back corner of the lawn, which was directly behind the garage that was next to the house. “Good morning,” she called cheerfully.
The others greeted her in return.
I came out of the house shortly afterward in shorts and a T-shirt. “What a beautiful day,” I said. Then I turned to the kids. “Angel, Dylan, and Jason, are you ready to go bowling?”
They eagerly assured me that they were.
“Okay, then let’s get going.” I stepped over to Rosemary and kissed her. “Bye, Angel Eyes. Don’t work too hard today. Wouldn’t want you to be too tired for our dinner date later on.”
“Oh, I won’t be,” Rosemary said with a smile. “Have fun, everyone.”
I turned to the little twins. “You two be good for your mom and Millie, okay?”
They nodded wordlessly as the three eldest and I filed into the garage and backed out a moment later in the gold van I’d gone to the old gym in.
“Well, Miss Rosemary,” said Millie, “I do believe I’ve run out of flour again. How about my taking the little ones to the store with me? Let you enjoy nature in peace and quiet for a while.”
“Sure, Millie. I’m sure they’d love to tag along.”
Millie headed with the kids to an older maroon car that was parked in the driveway.
The dog followed.
“Oh, no you don’t, buster. You ain’t coming along,” said Millie.
“Get back here, you spoiled pooch,” Rosemary demanded.
Obediently, the dog retreated.
I watched Rosemary as she sat on the bench swing. What would occur over the next few minutes would leave me stunned with shock.
As soon as the car rolled down the driveway and out of view, Rosemary’s eyes instantly snapped into focus, and she scanned the side of the yard opposite the guesthouse and garage. She was obviously looking for someone or something.
Just then, someone hopped over the fence. A tall, skinny, dark-haired woman. “Everyone gone?” she asked.
“Yes, Mel, but not for long. The little ones didn’t go bowling. They’re just headed up the street with Millie for some flour and God knows what else the old hag needs to cook the shit she cooks for us.”
“I heard,” Melanie said with a slight laugh.
Rosemary watched her approach and sit down next to her. She took over the gentle swinging of the bench with one of her long legs.
“I thought they’d be gone all day,” said Melanie.
“And they thought I’d be blind all my life. I guess we can’t always know it all,” Rosemary said with an impish grin.
“No, I guess not,” Melanie said with a grin that was just as devilish. “Wanna have a quickie?”
“Sure,” said Rosemary, rising to lead Melanie into the house. “Just let Angel Eyes take good care of you.”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKb8mz2IeQe
