A Daughter of Light(A Light onto the World)

Chapter 12

“No, I’m fine, thanks.”

“Sit down, sit down,” Mrs. Utt says, gesturing with her hands to my seat.  I obey, sitting down beside Oscar.  Mar’s sitting across from me beside Marisol.  Right now I don’t mind the large space between me and Mar.  Mar seems to be returning back to her normal color.

“What are you staring at?”  Yep, she’s back.  What’s her problem?  I’m the one who should have the problem.  Her mom shoots her a disapproving look as if to say, “He’s our guest”.  She turns her eyes towards her cup and sips.

“Do you like everything?” Mrs. Utt asks hopeful, trying to change the mood.

“It’s delicious, ma’am.  Thank you,” I say.

“Good, good.  You kids enjoy.  Marisol, Oscar, are you finished eating?”  They both respond with a yes.  “Okay, good.  Now why don’t you guys go wash your hands and then you can go play.”  She helps Marisol out of her seat and Oscar scrambles down from his and then they run off together. 

“I’m going to go do the dishes, you two enjoy yourselves.”

 Mrs. Utt turns to leave.

“Want any help?” Mar hollers after her.

“No, I’m fine.  You two have fun.”

I wait a minute until I lean forward in my chair to talk.   

“You know I’d get my ears checked if I were you, because you seem to be having a problem with your hearing.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Mar.  You know exactly what I’m talking about.  You totally ruined a chance at what could have been our biggest piece of evidence, and you don’t even seem to feel bad about it.”

Silence.  “What is your problem?” I ask after having a staring contest with her for almost a minute.  She’s leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed over her chest, her lips pouted, and eyes hard.

“I don’t have a problem.”

“Please, do I look stupid to you?” I say.  Her mouth opens in ridicule.  “Don’t answer that.”  A long ass silence.  “What?  Do you expect me to already know what’s bothering you?”  Typical girl, “If you are not going to answer me that, then you could at least explain to me why you turned on the light.”  I sit back in my seat.  I interlace my fingers behind my neck and I rest my head on them.

“Okay, I got it.  I won’t do it again.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Fine, all right, I freaked out and I turned the damn light on.  I said I won’t do it again and I’m not!  End of conversation.”

“So, you believe me now?”  I ask knowing that she can’t disprove what happened in the cellar.

“No, It could have been a rat,” she says. 

I’m completely stunned.  My mouth drops open.  She found a way to blow this off.  Why the hell is she so stubborn?

“What do you mean it was a rat?  How could it possibly be a rat?”

“We could have just let our imaginations run wild.   It explains why everything was being knocked over, and the hissing we heard.”

“Rats?” I say irritated.  “First you said that you have mice and now you’re saying rats.  Make up your mind, for Christ’s sake.”

“I said we might have mice, but it sounds a lot bigger than mice, don’t you think?”

“If you thought that it was a rat then why did you flash the light on?”  I knew her excuse as soon as the words left my mouth.