Later that day, after Evan had gone home, Josslyn sat on the hardwood floor in the den, pulled a medium-sized box toward her, and opened it. She withdrew five wooden crosses of the same size. Nathan stood at the other end of the den, bent over boxes of various sizes.
Josslyn flapped her hand to get Nathan’s attention.
“Yes?” Nathan signed.
“I’m going to put these crosses in the living room, master bedroom, kitchen, dining room and one here in the den.”
Nathan nodded his approval.
Josslyn laid the crosses nearby and continued to sift through the box. “I just thought of something,” she signed to Nathan. “Instead of having a big housewarming party, how about a small one with some relatives and a few close friends?”
Nathan nodded. “I like it. I have to say, I’m really not up for having a large gathering with a bunch of people and a lot of food with all the hoopla.”
“I feel the same way.”
“On another subject, just want to let you know that instead of throwing away the newspapers, I’m going to put them in a large box and set it aside so we can use them for Diva when it's time for her to give birth.”
“Great idea! I was thinking the same thing, but you beat me to it.”
Josslyn rose from where she sat and carried the crosses while she walked into the kitchen to look for a jar of nails that were on the counter by the microwave oven. She stopped when she saw a column of several cleansers lined up to perfection in the middle of the tiled floor and parallel to the counters on either side of the kitchen.
What the heck? she thought.
She laid the crosses on the counter and went back to the den. She beckoned to Nathan with her index finger and went back into the kitchen. In a moment, Nathan met Josslyn in the kitchen with an inquisitive look on his face. She tilted her head in the direction of the floor. He observed the column of cleansers lined up and gazed at her with a questioning look, his brows raised.
“I think the kids are playing games,” Josslyn signed. “I may have a sense of humor, but this is a bit silly, especially at their age. First, it was the melted marshmallow cream and now this.”
“Do you want me to get the kids?”
“No, I’ll take care of it.”
Josslyn went to the back of the house and stood by the double sliding glass doors. She looked at the backyard, where she saw Thor and Diva lounging in the sun by the pool. She went upstairs and looked in Trina’s room.
Trina was sitting up in bed, talking with a friend via the Delos Video Relay Service app on her tablet. She looked up from her tablet. “Yes, Mom?”
“Come with me,” Josslyn signed.
“I’ll call you right back,” Trina signed to her friend on the tablet. She disconnected the call and laid the tablet on the bed, then left her room and went over to where she saw Josslyn standing in the hall outside Caden’s bedroom.
Caden sat at his computer desk, where he sent and received text messages from several friends via his smartphone. He looked up when he saw Josslyn in the hall.
She beckoned to him with her hand, turned around, and went downstairs. “All right, what did you do with them?” she signed in exasperation, indignant.
“What are you talking about?” Trina signed, confused.
“You know what I’m talking about,” Josslyn signed.
“I just know that I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Caden signed with a silent laugh and slapped his leg. He put on a straight face when he saw the look of anger etched on his mother’s face.
“There were bottles of cleansers lined up here,” Josslyn signed. She indicated with her arm where and how they were lined up. “Now, they’re not there.”
“Maybe Dad put ’em away,” Trina signed.
“I told him to leave it and that I’d take care of it.” Josslyn squatted and opened the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink. The bottles of cleansers were there. “I know I didn’t put them away, and I told your father to leave them alone. I don’t think they grew legs and walked into the cabinet, either.” She rose and went into the den. “Did you put away those bottles of cleansers?” Josslyn signed to Nathan.
“No,” he signed. “I’ve been here, sorting through the boxes.”
“The bottles are not on the floor. They’ve been mysteriously put away.”
“That’s funny,” Trina signed. “A glass of orange juice was splattered on my bed, and I thought Caden did it as a prank, but he swore he didn’t do it.”
“It’s true,” Caden signed with a nod. “I would never do something like that. I even helped her clean up the mess.”
“Something funny is going on around here,” Josslyn signed, “and I will have you know that pranks or jokes of this sort will not be tolerated.”
“I’ve said that strange things have been happening since we moved here,” Trina signed.
Josslyn nodded, contemplative. “I’ll admit it doesn’t make sense.”
Later, she hung the five crosses in the kitchen, dining room, den, living room, and master bedroom. She also placed a Bible on the nightstand on her side of the bed.