Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead...

Connie would turn out be a very good friend, indeed! A couple of times in following summers my Mom went and picked her up and she came to visit me in the "city"...at least to her it was the city. I would also get dropped off to spend some time with her in the country. By then my Dad had remarried, and I didn't hear from him so much. He had once picked me up about once a month and taken me to stay in the mountains for the weekend. Usually, he would have a lady friend with him. But once he remarried, I didn't get invited anymore.

So one summer, I'm staying with Connie for a few days. I'm sitting in her kitchen and looking out over my Grandpa's yard. It was a very emotional feeling. I had called my Dad on many occasions, but I didn't know if he ever got the message, so when I was there, I didn't want to go over to the house since I hadn't heard from him. I didn't want to be a bother. Anyway, so I'm sitting looking out the window and all of a sudden I see a young teen looking guy come out back and start raking the pine needles. What?? "Who's that?", I asked Connie. "Oh, that's your new brother Mark. It's your Dad's wife's son." Oh.... I see.... Out there raking my pine needles??? What?? So, I head outside to introduce myself. "Hi!", I say. He looks up, kind of confused and says finally, "Uh, Hi!". "What's your name?, I ask. "Uh...Mark", he informs. "Well, hi Mark! My name's Melody and I guess I'm your sister." Well, he was as dumbfounded as any person could be! I guess he didn't realize my Dad had a daughter. Even after I explained it he still kept trying to figure out how he had a sister...

Mark and I talk for quite a while. I like him very much. He invites me to come over to the yard...imagine that!! He invites ME to come over to the yard. Whatever... We laughed and enjoyed each others company. I found an extra rake and we worked on the pine needles together. Eventually he wants to take me inside and introduce me to his Mom. My Dad wasn't home at the time. So...I follow him in through my Grandpa's back door and get introduced to Dottie. Let's just say I don't think she was thrilled to see me. Shocked? YES! Thrilled? NO. But she acts nice...and Mark really likes me and is very excited to have a big sister. Dad would come home soon. Oh, he seemed soooooo happy to see me there! I remember wanting to cry when he seemed so happy! I would be invited to stay for dinner...at my own Grandpa's house.

Later that night, Mark would invite me to his bedroom. Connie was with us. He proudly took us to my old pink cottage, which was now transformed into a teenage boys room. I thought I took it really well, all in all. His Mom would come out later to join us. She pulled out a bag of weed and started smoking it...and passing it around the room. I didn't really do drugs... I think I was 14 and Mark a couple of years younger. Now, I'm sure there would be two sides to this story, but in my recollection, Marks Mom started talking about how bad the marriage had been between my Mom and Dad. I remember thinking it would be none of her business. Worse of all, she had some facts very confused. Basically, she shit talked my Mom. I came to her defense and advised her my Dad had been dishonest if he'd told her those things. I suggested we go to the house right then and ask him.... at which point I was promptly thrown out of the cottage and off of the property. I would not speak to my father for years and years. Like before, I called him... but I wouldn't get to talk to him... What I would get, is called many unfortunate names, and I would be informed that my Dad didn't want anything to do with me again and to stay away and leave them alone. The last thing I would get is hung up on...by Dottie.

I would dream of the house in the mountains every week...year after year... and my Grandpa would come and sit on my bed in the middle of the night and stroke my forehead. He would tell me not to be sad. After my children had been born, I actually drove with my friends to the mountains. I had done it many times before and just sat outside the house, or sometimes I would hike my old trails like I did when I was young. I would go to visit Roy's grave... But this time, we would go to old Mr. Becker's grocery store...which now had become my step Mom's "Bar & Grill". I told the bartender who I was and she called over to the house and said I was there. My Dad would come to see me... and following him would be my step Mom.... screaming. She had called the police. They would come and ask us all to leave or be arrested. We had done nothing, but she obviously knew the officer and she told him we had disturbed the peace. My Dad said nothing...he just turned and walked back toward the cabin. And so we would leave.

My Grandpa sat next to me on my bed. I would rub my eyes and try to figure out if it was really him or if I was dreaming... He didn't speak at first, but I could tell he was very, very sad. Oh, how I didn't want him to be sad. "Please be happy Grandpa!", I would say. "I'm not sad, don't you be sad. I'm a big girl now." He would stroke my head. "Do you remember the time I came and took you to dinner in my new Cadillac?", he asked. Well of COURSE I did! He had a magic car! It was big and the color of cream (he said) and it was MAGIC!! He could make the windows roll down with just a command! He could make an arrow blink right or left to point out whatever he wanted!! Obviously, I had never seen automatic windows before, or blinkers that lit up....so he tricked me!! Oh, how Grandpa's car was magic! I smiled at the memory. "The smile on your face now", he said, "will come back again." I didn't understand. "You will come back to the mountains one day. She will be gone." And then I would dream... my step Mom would lose her legs. I saw her struggle to get around. It was very scary. She would crawl with her hands towards me, dead legs, and beg me to forgive her...beg me...

It would be Connie who told me. My step Mom had died. She wasn't able to walk and suffered a painful end, in a wheelchair... Lost the use of her legs.

And then... would come another dream...so many years later... It would be my Grandpa, telling me to go see Connie.... Go see Connie... and so I would, after so many years passed, I would be compelled to drive to the mountains a few days later... and what would come of the news that followed, haunts me to this day...