Midnight in Suburbia

NaNoWriMoDay 23: Chapter 23 - A Midnight Intruder

Chapter 23: A Midnight Intruder

Everyone bundled up in the living room next to the fireplace. After another search of the linen closest, Ralf and George found three sleeping bags, which Daniella, George, and Ralf used while Rodger slept on the couch. George and Ralph took turns watching the fire to make sure it would not go out during the night. Outside the snow continued to fall, covering everything in a blanket of while, while inside the Shupe house the living room, with the help of the warmth from the fireplace remained cozy.

Daniella snuggled into her sleeping bag, but for some reason was unable to fall asleep. Reaching for her purse, which lay at the head of the sleeping bag, she removed a small flashlight and a journal. Opening the journal she reread her last entry, then removing a ballpoint pen from her purse she placed the date Thursday, November 28, 2013 at the top and then began to write.


I'm writing this while in a sleeping bag placed in front of the fireplace in my mother's living room. Writing while lying down and using a flashlight is difficult, but not impossible. I can't seem to sleep. Perhaps it's because Preston isn't lying next to me in this sleeping bag; all though that would be a little crowded because this is a sleeping bag for one person. Still I think if Preston were here, even if we couldn't lay down in the same sleeping bag I would sleep better. I know I would get more rest then I will sleeping alone next to a fireplace.

All though, I suppose alone isn't the proper phrase. There are four of us sleeping in Mom's living room. Uncle Rodger is sleeping on the couch, while his son Ralph Shupe is snoring in another sleeping bag. George Cartwright is sitting by the fireplace because it's his turn to watch the fire and make sure it doesn't go out.

Thinking about the day, I have to say that this is the oddest or perhaps weirdest Thanksgiving I have ever celebrated. I did have the traditional Thanksgiving Feast, in fact I had two of them. One Uncle Rodger and Ralph brought while the other Ethan delivered when he brought the leftovers from Aunt Emily fridge. I suppose tomorrow I will have to start cleaning out the Mom refridgerator because I'm sure that most of the stuff is spoiled. I haven't looked in the freeze, but I suspect the stuff in there is in the process of thawing.

Mom's not going to like the idea of throwing so much food away, therefore, I'm going to have to clean the fridge out before she comes back or remembers that there is food in the refrigderator. I'm still not sure how she could have started an oven fire on Wednesday, November 27. She couldn't seem to remember whether she started the turkey cooking before she left the house to purchase some sage or oysters. I'm still not sure which she went to the store to get or if she even went to the store when she left the house that day. I'll have to check the trunk of the car to see what's in there before I drive it back to Aunt Emily's.

I wonder if she put anything else in the trunk besides what she wanted to purchase for the turkey. I suspect she though that Wednesday was Thanksgiving day, which is probably why she put the turkey in the oven. However, that doesn't explain why she left the house when she could have called Aunt Emily to pick the stuff up from the store. This whole situation is becoming frightening and upsetting. Mom just isn't acting like herself. Normally, she makes sure she has all the ingredients before she even starts cooking.

Then there is the issue with Dolly and the antique silver. We found (George, Ralph, and Uncle Rodger helped look for the silver), or at least I think I found all of Grandma Hattie's silver. I'm can't be sure until I have the entire set together and Ethan took some of the pieces back to Aunt Emily's with him. I wonder how Mom took it when she saw the silver in the paper grocery bag. I doubt she took it well because she is convinced that Dolly stole the silver.

According to George, Dolly and Frank, are up to something. He seems to think Frank will break into the house to look for the birth records Mom keeps in a trunk. I have no doubt that Frank is capable of breaking into the house, but I suspect he probably wants to destory the birth records so that no one will find out that Dolly is a bastard. George seems to find the situation with his mother's birth amusing, but then George has a good sense of humor.

Maybe Frank want to find the silver instead of birth records. Now I'm beginning to sound like Mom and I'm usually not paraniod. At least, not unless I'm driving in Las Vegas. I wonder what Dolly and Frank are up to. I wander what's wrong with Mama, I know it has to be more then simply short-term memory loss. Mom does get upset and angry, but only when she encounters rude people.

Yawning, Daniella closed the journal, tucked it under the pillow lying under the head of her sleeping bag, turned off the flashlight, and closed her eyes. She found herself walking through a snow covered field with silver flatware scattered across the snow and sticking out of snow banks. She reached down to pick up a knife, but instead grabbed Amity's hand and pulled her mother from the snow. Amity smiled and then kissed her daughter on the left cheek. Daniella woke up, sit up and looked around.

"Can't sleep," ask George as he put another log onto the fire.

"I'm not used to sleeping alone," she laughed unzipping the sleeping bag. "I think I'll take a walk down the hall," she picked up her flashlight.

"Just knock on the door," George yawned. "I saw Uncle Rodger go that way a few minutes ago."

Knocking on the bathroom door, Daniella waited for an answer. After three seconds, she heard the toilet flesh and the door opened. "It's all yours," Rodger said holding a candle. "I left a candle burning in there, be sure to put it out when you leave. We don't want to have another fire in this house."

"I'll blow it out, Uncle Rodger," she said as she entered the bathroom and closed the door. After fleshing the toilet she blew the candle out and started to leave the room. Pausing in front of the sink, she opened the medicine cabinet. Shining the flashlight in, she counted the empty medicen bottles and then picked one up.

'Interesting,' she thought, 'this one was fill in August, but never refilled in September.' She checked each of the other medicine containers and found the same thing. 'September was the month Mom forgot her appointment with the Doctor.' Closing the cabinet, she left the bathroom and went back into the living room. There she found Ralph sitting by the fireplace.

"Ralph,' she said as she got back into her sleeping bag. "When was the last time to talked to Mom?"

"I talked to her in August, but Dad had an odd conversation with her in late October. Why?"

"Did Mom sound strange to you?"

"Not really," he frowned. "All though, I do believe she wanted to know about security systems."

"I thought she had a security system installed last year or the year before."

"I ask her about that, but she changed the subject."

"I see," she turned her flashlight out, placed her head on her pillow and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, from the kitchen, they heard a scream followed by a curing rant. Jumping up Ralph hurried from the room, he came back a several minutes later pushing cousin Frank in front of him. Ralph was holding Frank's arms behind him as they came into t he living room.

"You can let go now," grumbled Frank. "I just wanted to see if the house was safe, after all..."

"Safe from what," said George lighting candle from the fireplace.

"What the hell are you doing here, George," Frank growled. "I thought you were at...."

"You thought I was at Gena's," he laughed. "Why'd you come to Aunt Amity's? What are you looking for?"

"It ain't any of your business, brother!"

"Frank," George sighed. "If it has to do with the Cartwirght or Shupe family, then it's my business." He guided his brother to the love seat and forced him to sit down. Then he took his cellphone from his pocket and dialed the police. "Hello, Office Marrow. This is George Cartwright, I'm at Mrs Amity Shupe's residence, holding an intruder."

"It's my brother Frank Shupe Cartwright."

"He tried to get in the backdoor. Sure, we'll hold him tell you send someone." He closed the phone.

"George, why the hell did you call the police! If I'm convicted of another robbery, they'll throw the book at me."

"Frank, unlike Mom, I have no intention of protecting you from your own stupidity or from her's."

"This was my idea," he grumbled. "Mom, didn't have anything to do..."

"Frank, I don't know what you and Mom are up to, but I do know I'm tired of giving her because she spent most of her pension on bailing you out of jail or debt. At least, when you're in prison she able to manage her own finances."

"George," Frank looked into his brother's eyes for the first time since he had entered the living room. "Mom, just wants the silver that belongs to her, the silver that Grandma Hattie intended to leave Mom in her will."

"Frank, the only thing that you and Mom are going to do with the silver is hook it, just like she did the stuff that Pop inherited from his family. The difference in this case is that both you and Mom will go to jail for selling stolen goods. Now I don't give a damn whether you go to jail or not, but I'm not going to let Mom go to prison. I doubt she'd survive more then a few days."

"Oh, come on," he laughed. "Mom's a tough old bird she'll..."

"Frank," George sighed. "Mom doesn't have more then five months to live, if that. And I'll be damned if I let her die in prison. Now just shut up and wait for the patrol car to get here."