They all crashed at 10:00 p.m., exhausted after a long, busy, and active day.
Maddie slept undisturbed in her crib while the others slept on mattresses with sheets and blankets on the hardwood floors in their respective rooms until they had time to assemble their beds.
Josslyn awoke at 7:45 a.m. She kissed Nathan on the cheek, then picked up Maddie from her crib and held her in her arms. Josslyn woke up at 6:00 a.m. every day to check for pending sales via Princess Daboola, an online boutique which she owned, and sold exotic handmade and ready-made jewelry.
Nathan awoke at 5:00 a.m. on most mornings to research over-the-counter pink sheet penny stocks to determine which ones he should buy, hold, sell, and/or short-sell. But this morning, he slept in late.
Josslyn left the bedroom and went downstairs to the kitchen. Her brows furrowed as she observed Thor and Diva lick a spot on the tiled floor.
What the heck is that? she thought.
She shooed the dog and cat away and let them out the back door into the yard. She went to the counter and gazed at an opened jar of marshmallow cream lying on its side near the edge. The marshmallow cream oozed from the mouth of the jar as if it had melted, and contents trickled down the cabinet door, dripping onto the tiled floor.
Josslyn assumed the kids had played a prank, but Caden and Trina were still asleep in their respective rooms upstairs.
She put Maddie in the high chair, then picked up the jar and looked around for the lid, but it was nowhere to be found. She tossed the jar into the trash and pulled several sheets of paper towels to wipe up the mess until it was cleaned.
The smell of coffee, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and apple cinnamon oatmeal permeated the house.
Caden and Trina came downstairs.
Josslyn stirred the oatmeal in the saucepan. “Did you come down here to make something in the middle of the night?” she signed to Caden and Trina.
“No,” Trina signed. “Why?”
“I slept like a baby,” Caden signed.
“I found an opened jar of marshmallow cream lying on its side on the counter with stuff coming out of it,” Josslyn signed, “spilling down the cabinet door and on the floor. I just cleaned it up a while ago.”
Nathan entered the kitchen. “I didn’t come down to fix anything,” he signed.
“At first, I thought it might’ve been a prank,” Josslyn signed, “but I guess not.”
“Maybe one of us didn’t close the cupboard door all the way,” Caden signed, “and it rolled out and fell, causing the top to pop loose.”
Trina eyed the cupboard door. “I don’t see how that's possible since it’s closed.”
“Now it is closed,” Caden signed with exasperation, “but last night, it may have been left ajar or not pushed all the way closed.”
Josslyn poured some oatmeal into a bowl. “I looked for the top and didn’t see it anywhere. I even looked in the trash.”
Trina took the bowl from her mother. “Thanks. Do you get the funny feeling that something strange is going on here?”
Nathan poured himself a cup of decaffeinated coffee. “What do you mean?”
Trina shrugged, unsure of how to best answer the question. “Strange things happening since we moved here.”
“Well, it is a new house,” Josslyn signed, “and it’ll take some time to get used to it.”
Later, everyone assembled their beds with the help of others in order to quicken the pace and lighten the burden.
Afterward, Trina filled a glass with orange juice, then went up to her room. She set the glass on her computer desk, pulled some clean clothes out of the dresser drawer, and went into the bathroom down the hall to take a shower.
Fifteen minutes later, Trina towel-dried her hair as she walked down the hall back to her room. Once in her room, she gasped in disgust. The contents of her orange juice had been splattered on her bedsheets and comforter. The glass was on the bed as well.
She turned and stomped down the hall to Caden’s room. He had put on a blue T-shirt when she stepped into his room with an indignant look on her face.
“What?” he signed, puzzled.
“Why did you do that?” Trina signed with a huff.
“Do what? What are you talking about?”
“You never used to do that.”
Caden gazed at Trina with a questioning look.
“You’ve been playing pranks!” Trina signed. “First, the marshmallow cream in the kitchen and now this!”
“I swear I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m telling Mom.”
“Show me what it is before you go telling Mom.”
Trina left Caden’s room as he followed from behind. She entered her room and stepped aside to make way for Caden as he entered. She pointed to her bed with an outstretched arm.
Caden’s eyes widened with raised brows. “I didn’t do that.” He shook his head. “I would never do anything like that.”
“There’s always a first time.”
“That would be immature and irresponsible of me if I did that. I’ve never done anything like that before and you know it.”
“Well, someone did, and I don’t think Mom or Dad did it, and I’m sure our pets didn’t do it, either.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to tell you, but I’ll help you clean up and put clean sheets on the bed.”
“You swear you didn’t do it?”
Caden raised his hand. “Cross my heart.”
“All right.”
Caden changed the sheets after Trina pulled off the bedding and took them downstairs to the laundry room off the den. When everything was back to normal, Caden signed, “Everything cool?”
“So far, yes.”
“Good. Listen, could I borrow your tablet for a few minutes to call Evan until my VP is set up? My phone is too small to see him on the screen. I’ll give it back soon as I’m done.”
“Sure. Here.” Trina handed the tablet to Caden, who sat on her bed. He speed-dialed Evan’s number.
“Hey, Caden,” Evan signed as his face came into view on the tablet after two rings. “What’s up?”
“Wanna come over, visit for a while, and help with some unpacking, then maybe go swimming for a bit?” Caden signed.
“Sure. When?”
“Now is good, if you’re free.”
“I’ll be over soon.”
“Great. See you then.”
Caden handed the tablet back to Trina. “Thanks.”
“Sure.” She pulled up the game to resume playing.
Caden left Trina’s room and went back to his room to unpack, sort, and organize until Evan arrived.
Nathan twisted the last screw with a screwdriver into the doorbell/door knock sensor on the front door’s interior, which faced the foyer and the living room beyond.
The strobe light flashed into his eyes, which made him step back in surprise. He shook his head and let out a sharp exhale. At first, he thought he might have touched a sensor, then surmised the device might have been defective due to the handling during the move. He looked through the three horizontal windows embedded in the door, saw part of a man’s torso, and realized someone stood there. He opened the door to see Evan.
“Hey, Nathan,” Evan said and signed at the same time.
“Hi, Evan,” Nathan signed. “Come in. I was just putting the door sensor on the back of this door.”
“Caden asked me to stop by for a while.”
“Sure, come right in.” Nathan closed the door as Evan went upstairs to see Caden.
“Hey, Caden,” Evan said as he signed. “Good thing you called when you did. I was kinda bored with nothing to do, ya know?” He heard a low, guttural growl, which gave him a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and made his skin crawl; the throaty intonation sent shivers down his spine. He furrowed his brows as he scanned the bedroom.
“What's wrong?” Caden signed.
“Is Thor here?” Evan asked.
Caden glanced around the room. “I don’t see him here.”
“Is he in the house?”
Caden shrugged, noncommittal.
“I just heard a growl,” Evan said.
“I thought I heard something too, but wasn't sure.”
“Really? I know you can hear some things from time to time, but I didn't think that growl would have been loud enough for you.”
“Well, apparently it was. Kinda creepy, too. Let me check.”
Caden clapped his hands to get the dog’s attention and waited a moment. He clapped again, but the dog did not come into the room. He looked out the window near his bed and beckoned Evan to come to the window and look.
Evan saw Thor and Diva lying on the grass in the front yard. “Strange. I know I heard a growl or what sounded like some type of animal sound.”
“I wouldn’t know for sure.” Caden shrugged with raised brows and pointed an index finger to each of his ears, his face a comical smirk.
“Yeah, yeah,” Evan said with a playful shove on Caden's shoulder. “I know you’re deaf.”
“Ha ha,” Caden signed with a silent laugh. “Where did you hear it?”
“Here, just a moment ago, after I walked in.”
“Weird.”
“You’re telling me.”