my mom showed up, about thirty years ago, changed the direction they’d been headed. She made them see they were hurting themselves by hiding from the truth. They’d created their own distrust by not learning about the changes they were scorning, and they had made it harder for future generations to rejoin the world. That’s part of the reason they sent me back here to live with Nana Wini.”
I slowed down when I reached the corner to let Michelle catch up so we wouldn’t be on separate sides of the house. When she finished the last neat pile, I started the new wall.
“The more of us who leave to learn about the world, the better it is for others when we go back and share what we learned. The money we earn doesn’t hurt, either. Part of the reason I know what I’m doing here is because I grew up helping with this kind of work back home.
“My mom started making improvements as soon as there was money, and she hasn’t stopped. People actually have beds to sleep in now.”
I cringed at the way that sounded. For us, sleeping on the ground or floor wasn’t a problem. We shifted to our fur and got comfortable. In fact, many of my Dad’s generation had refused beds for a long time, thinking it would make them soft and weak. Mom eventually won them over.
“So the remodeling inside, the painting outside, you learned all this from your mom?”
I nodded. “Can I ask you a question now?”
Reluctantly, she agreed.
“Will you tell me about your stepfather?”
She sighed and turned her head to look out over the trees. I wasn’t sure she was going to answer at first.
“It was just me and my mom until after my thirteenth birthday. She met Richard through a friend of a friend.”
“Richard?” If Richard was the stepfather, then who was Blake?
“He was nice. He treated my mom well, and I think he really loved her. Then, things changed.”
She stopped talking and got a far-off look in her eyes. I kept working, hoping she’d continue.
“How did they change?” I asked, after I’d slowly moved several feet away from her.
She shook herself and started sweeping.
“My mom died just after Aden was born. Richard shut us away from the world for four years.”
I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. Her own stepfather had locked them up? No child should endure that from someone meant to protect.
“Richard? Then, who’s Blake?”
She paled and set the broom aside.
“I have to check on the boys,” she said as she reached for her door.
I didn’t see her again for the rest of the day.
When Jim got home, he was quick to note the absence of Michelle and the boys.
“What did you do?” he asked, throwing a beer in my direction.
Winifred came from nowhere and snatched the beer from the air just before it reached my hand.
“You were saying?” she said as she grinned and cracked the bottle open. Winifred might be old, but she still knew how to play, and to her, we were still pups who needed some fun...sometimes. When we didn’t need to be kept in line.
“I’m not sure. She was helping me on the third floor. We were talking. She was actually asking questions about Mom and the Compound. She seemed interested in who we were. Then, I asked about her stepdad. She talked for a bit. She seemed to like him. When she said his name was Richard, I asked who Blake was. That’s when she left, saying she needed to check on the boys.”
Jim and Winifred were silently thoughtful.
“Whoever Blake is, he’s the one she’s running from,” I said.
Chapter 9
After the way Michelle had taken off and another restless night with my thoughts, I was looking forward to a new day. I shouldn’t have. Michelle never appeared. I tried to be patient while I scraped the paint from the exterior of the second and first floors, but, by three, I couldn’t stand it anymore. Had I done something wrong?
Setting my brush down, I walked through the new apartment and knocked on her door. I could hear the sounds of her steps as she backed away. There were no signs of panic or fear in her pulse or scent. Why was she avoiding me?
I went back outside and picked up my brush to do the trim around her kitchen windows, my not-so-discreet idea to catch her attention. Only, the apartment was empty.
It was only after I moved to the second floor