Chapter 73: Chapter 73

As they continued on their way, one of the houses caught her eye. Large and regal, with tall white pillars in front of a red brick exterior, the estate looked like something out of a history book—whatever that was. “Who lives here?” Cadence asked, but before either of her grandparents could answer, that voice was back in her head.

“Cadence, please. Just breathe, Cadence. Just take a breath. You can do it.”

Cadence sucked in air, filling her lungs, her forehead puckering again. What did the voice mean she should breathe? Clearly, she was already breathing.

“Are you all right, dear?” Grandma Janette’s smile was turned down a bit at the corners, as if she wasn’t quite as happy as she had been before.

“Yes, fine,” Cadence assured her. “I just heard the voice again, that’s all.”

“How peculiar.” Grandpa tsked his tongue.

“This house belongs to the Hamiltons,” Janette explained, going on as if Cadence hadn’t just admitted to hearing disembodied voices. “Alexander and his wife Betsey, along with their children and grandchildren. He was here, but then he left, and now he’s back again. And everyone is so happy to see him.”

Cadence nodded, thinking that was lovely. She wondered how one might leave and then come back again. Where would one go? But she didn’t ask because it seemed like the sort of question that had no answer.

They arrived at the baseball diamond, and Grandma led them to a spot on the bottom row of the bleachers. A few others were watching, some munching on popcorn or corn dogs. A few children were playing in the grassy area between the home team and visitors seating areas. Everyone was smiling, and the scoreboard read that both the team in red and the team in blue were tied at zero in the bottom of the second inning.

The pitcher let the ball fly toward home. It was a good pitch, fast and right down the middle. The batter swung and missed, and everyone “awed” for a moment before spectators on both sides shouted encouragement. Even the pitcher said, “That’s okay. You’ll get the next one.”

He looked familiar. Cadence tilted her head to the side and studied him for a moment. He was tall with light brown hair and sparkling eyes. His smile was crooked, and his disposition seemed warm and caring. She was sure she knew him, but she didn’t remember from where. “Who is the pitcher?” she asked, leaning over toward her grandmother’s ear.

“Why... that’s Jack Cook,” Janette said with a grin. “You know him, don’t you?”

“Jack?” Cadence’s eyes widened. Yes, of course she knew him. It was Jack! She hadn’t seen him since... the last time she’d seen him. But she had no idea when that had been. Part of her wanted to interrupt the game, to shout his name and run out onto the field, but he was concentrating, and she remembered that Jack Cook was very good at baseball.

He threw another pitch, and this time the batter hit the ball soundly, popping it up into the air. It flew over Jack’s head, out into center field territory as the batter ran toward first as fast as he could go.

The center fielder took time to adjust his hat atop his black, curly hair, his white teeth gleaming as he licked his bottom lip and raised his glove. The ball landed in his outstretched palm, and everyone cheered, even the batter, who had made it to second but then came back toward his dugout, still smiling.

“That Reggie sure can catch the ball,” Grandpa Jordan said, clapping his hands.

“Especially a football, but he’s clearly good at baseball, too,” Janette added. “Nice hit, Jimmy! That was a solid blow!”

Jimmy, the batter, was in the dugout now, but he turned and waved at Janette, and Cadence realized there was something familiar about his face. She didn’t think she knew him, though. He reminded her of someone else. Who it was, she couldn’t say. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted to get a better look at him. No, she’d never met him, she was sure. But he looked so familiar....

“Whatcha looking at, honey?” Janette asked, patting Cadence on the knee.

“Oh, uh, nothing. It’s just... Jimmy. He looks familiar. But I don’t think I know him.”

“No, I don’t think you do either. He’s been here a long time. He’s a nice boy, sort of quiet. Not much of an athlete usually, but he tries.” Janette’s tone conveyed she meant nothing by her criticism. “That’s his mother, Arlene, over there.”

Cadence’s eyes traced past the bleachers full of people to a solitary bench sitting near the park. Lots of children were playing in the distance. A light breeze stirred the leaves above where the woman sat, but even from here, Cadence could tell there was something different about this woman than everyone else. For one, she was sitting by herself, not even paying attention to her son’s baseball game. For another, she wasn’t smiling. “What’s the matter with her?” Cadence asked, her voice low.

Janette sighed, her smile slipping away slightly. “She’s been troubled recently. It’s such an odd situation. She claims she has another son, that he was here, but now he’s not here. And while no one else knows what she’s talking about, she’s adamant about it, says she misses him so much she can’t even be happy.”

Cadence’s forehead puckered. “That seems strange. Seems like everyone here is happy.”

“Yes, most of us are. But occasionally, someone will show up who isn’t capable of being completely happy. We think it has something to do with who they were before they were here, but it’s hard to say.”

“Arlene has been here a long time,” Jordan added. “She used to be happy. I’m not sure what happened.”

“And you don’t know her other son? Never met him?”

Janette shrugged and shook her head. Cadence could see her eyes searching, as if there was a possibility she had known him at one time, but she said only, “Not that I recall.”

Cadence scratched her head and remembered the voice. She was having trouble hearing it now. Before even when it wasn’t speaking to her, she had an idea it was still there. But now, it seemed to have faded away. She hoped it would stay that way. It was beginning to bother her less and less that she couldn’t place it, that she didn’t know where she’d been before she’d been here. “What is her other son’s name?”

“That’s the thing; she doesn’t know. She doesn’t remember anything about him except that he sort of looked like Jimmy but not the same. And he was here, and now he’s not here.”

She’d also thought Jimmy looked like someone, but she couldn’t remember who. She thought really hard for a moment, staring across the baseball field at Jimmy’s face. Who was it? Who had a face sort of like that? Try as she might, she couldn’t remember. “I’d like to speak to her.” Cadence was up off of the bench before her grandparents could answer. They trailed after her.

“Honey, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Jordan said, catching up to her. “She really is a little... lost.”

“That’s all right. Maybe I can make her feel better.”

“But... she might confuse you,” Janette said, pulling lightly on her elbow. “She’s confused, and sometimes talking go confused people can be... confusing.”

“I won’t be confused,” Cadence promised, although she was already feeling confused. Over in the bushes near the swing set, she spotted a cat. Yellow and white striped, with a long tail and a gleam in its eye, the kitty rubbed its back on one of the leafy branches. It wasn’t the cat itself that caused her mind to boggle up again, though. It was the idea of a cat. Something about that word—cat—reminded her of someone. She stopped walking a few feet away from Arlene and the bench. “Someone is missing,” she said again, her finger tapping her chin. But it wasn’t just one someone. There were a few someones. “Who do I know that isn’t here?”

“We already told you,” Janette said, stepping in front of her. “Everyone is here.”

Cadence nodded. Yes, of course. Everyone was here. “Do I have a pet cat?”

“A cat?” Jordan echoed. “No, I don’t think so. But you could have one if you’d like.”

Resting her hands on her hips, Cadence nodded. “I think I’d like to have a cat. I like cats. I’m very fond of cats. In fact, I think I may have had a cat before. I seem to recall being very close to cats. A cat.” That wasn’t right; something was off. She continued toward Arlene.

The woman was sitting with her hands folded, the expression on her face not quite a frown but certainly not a smile. She was pretty but looked tired while everyone else was full of energy. “Pardon me, Arlene?”

Looking up, the mother met Cadence’s eyes. “Yes?”

“I’m so sorry to bother you, but it’s my understanding that your son is missing. Is that right?”

“Oh, yes,” she exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing Cadence’s hand, which she let her have. “He was here, but now he isn’t here anymore. And I miss him.”

“But you don’t know his name?”

Arlene shook her head, her eyes dropping. “No, I don’t remember anything about him. Only that when I look at Jimmy, my other son, I remember that there should be two and not just one. That he was here, but now, he’s not here.”

Cadence patted her hand and realized her grandparents were right. Arlene couldn’t help her—and Cadence couldn’t help Arlene. Clearly, she was confused. Cadence didn’t feel confused anymore. “I’m so sorry,” she said, continuing to pat the woman’s hand for a few more seconds. “I hope he is here soon.”

“Thank you.” Arlene managed to smile a slight bit more, and Cadence pulled her hand away, walking toward the trees out of Arlene’s earshot.

“You were right,” she said with a sigh. “She’s confused about her son. He couldn’t be here and not be here. That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Exactly,” Janette agreed, neither of them considering the fact that she’d just mentioned Alexander Hamilton having been here and then not been here before he was here again a few minutes earlier.

Cadence folded her arms, sighing. Arlene was confused, but Cadence wasn’t confused anymore. She was here—everyone was here. And she wanted a cat. The voice in her head was gone. It probably wasn’t ever there to begin with.

A blonde woman walked by singing a song Cadence thought she recognized. It was a Christmas song, which should’ve seemed odd since it didn’t seem like Christmastime, but the beautiful woman sang it so well, Cadence didn’t bother to worry about that. “Mele Kalikimaka” the woman sang about a Hawaiian Christmas. Cadence smiled at her, and she smiled back, her head rocking back and forth in time to the music.

“That was lovely. She looks familiar. Do I know her?”

“I don’t think so,” Janette said. “Her name is Ellie. She’s been here a long time.”

“She loves Christmas—and Hawaii,” Jordan pointed out. “Lovely girl. Sweet as they come.”

Cadence could see that, though she wasn’t sure what Hawaii or Christmas were. “I think she looks like someone else.” Her forehead wrinkled because she had the idea that she didn’t particularly care for the someone else who looked like Ellie. Maybe she didn’t need to worry about that anymore. “I would like to go home now.” She was tired—it had been a long day.

“All right,” Janette agreed. “We should go home. It’s this way.” She turned and Cadence followed, wondering where home was and what it might be like. Would she live with her grandparents or somewhere else? Where had she lived before? It didn’t matter. Now she was here.

The redheaded woman she’d seen before was coming their direction again. Aislyn, Cadence remembered. She wasn’t looking at them, though. She was talking to the baby in the stroller, gushing and cooing, love pouring from her face. Cadence couldn’t help but smile, her hand pressed to her abdomen. “I would like to have a baby someday,” she said aloud as she watched the mother love on her child.