Where Evil Sleeps

Making Friends

Chapter 2 

         Weeks had flown by since Bree started her job and the girls started school, the weather was showing signs of impending change but currently it was perfect, cool at night but warm during the day. The girls had made new friends and between play dates and birthday invites their weekends were booked. Bree was excited for them because for the first time in so long they seemed settled. Lilly’s meltdowns had decreased and Haley rarely complained of headaches.

         As for Bree she loved her new job, she loved the atmosphere and the job itself was not that difficult once she learnt everything. Kelsey had asked her to stay on permanently after two weeks saying that she was a perfect fit. This had given Bree a boost of self confidence that she really needed as the events of the previous year still haunted her nights and some days. Kelsey had also invited Bree over to her house a few times, which was above the Café. Kelsey was a single mother with two children, a son Haley’s age, Mason and a daughter a year younger than Lilly, Sofia. The kids seemed to get along well and played well together. Bree enjoyed her company but after working all week together sometimes she just didn’t feel like hanging out on the weekends. For extra business Kelsey got her liquor license so that she could now hire out the café for private functions such as business lunches or company celebrations. Business started to boom and boom and Kelsey gave Bree the task of hiring additional staff to cater to these private events.

It was Friday and getting close to quitting time, when Kelsey burst out of the office saying she had forgotten to put an event on the calendar scheduled for tonight at six-thirty. A small gathering of around thirty people were expected. Bree had hired three waitresses but they were not due to start till next Friday. Kelsey was in a panic because she had enough beverages, but the food they had requested would take at least three hours to prepare. While Bree served the remaining customers, Kelsey ransacked the freezer looking for the appetizers and began cooking. After placing all the appetizers in the oven, she asked if Bree would she mind picking up her kids when she picked up the girls. Bree didn’t mind at all and had already planned on coming back with all the kids to help set up for tonight. As Bree left, she wondered how she could work tonight with the kids, they could be upstairs at Kelsey’s as long as she checked on them it would be fine. She called Kelsey with her idea and Kelsey said it was perfect and she would take care of dinner and rent some kids movies.

After retrieving all the children from school, they headed back to Kelsey’s, the kids all excited for an unscheduled play date. Once there, Kelsey took them all upstairs, fed them and gave strict instructions as to what they could and couldn’t do and when to come downstairs. Meanwhile Bree was setting up the tables in the layout Kelsey had on the counter when the café door bell rang. When she looked up, she saw Sara, Michelle and another woman she didn’t recognize. All three were seemed to bantering with one another totally in their own world.

“Hi Bree” Sara said with a warm smile.

Bree smiled “Hi, good to see you again”. Michelle quickly taking over the conversation before Bree and Sara could continue

“Bree so nice to see you, this is Robyn, where is Kelsey?” Bree told Robyn it was nice to meet her.

“Kelsey is upstairs organizing the kids as there is a function here tonight”. Michelle walked past the counter and headed up stairs hollering for Kelsey. Robyn and Sara laughed.

Bree was a little stunned and Sara explained that Michelle marches to her own beat but she has a kind heart. Bree smiled realizing that Kelsey, Sara, Michelle and Robyn were all friends and she suddenly felt a little like the fifth wheel. Robyn spoke up “Kelsey called us in a panic and said she needed help for tonight so what is left to do?” Bree was thankful for the help but wondered then if Kelsey really needed her to stay.

Sara let out a grown “I really felt like staying in tonight, I shouldn’t have answered the phone” all three were laughing as the sound of Michelle and Kelsey’s voices were coming down the stairs.

“Now Sara what good are you to me if you just sit there?” Kelsey said playfully.

“You are so right Kels! I should go I won’t be of any help” Sara replied.

Kelsey threw a coaster at her and said “Thank you guys for coming to help Bree and I tonight I really appreciate it”.

Michelle chimed in smiling “How much do we get paid for this short notice, Friday night slavery?”

“Oh, shut up we need to get busy” Kelsey said. Like an army of ants, the women got to work and were ready as the first guest arrived at 6.30pm and from that point on it was flat chat. The private group was demanding and drank more than Bree had expected. She had expected the group to intermingle, catch up and generally socializes but it was becoming more obvious they were here to get straight drunk.

Bree was working the bar with Kelsey; Sara was preparing food trays while Michelle and Robyn were walking around serving while cleaning up empty glasses. Everyone was so busy there was no time for chatting apart from the occasional funny comments to one another which kept everyone laughing. The women made Bree feel at home and engaged in friendly banter with her but were cautious not to go too far. Bree had a good sense of humor and added her two cents worth in which at first stunned them but they all laughed. By 10pm it was starting to slow down, Bree took a brief second to dash upstairs and check in on the kids. Only Kelsey’s son was awake watching TV everyone else asleep. Bree gave Mason the thumbs up sign and he grinned and gave the thumbs up back.

As Bree returned downstairs, she heard the commotion of two guests, obviously drunk, arguing. Other guest were trying to get one of the men to leave while the other half were trying to calm down the other gentleman. Kelsey talked to the organizer and said “Bar is closed” and he agreed. Michelle asked me to brew up coffee to “sober these bastards up” laughing I went ahead. This was not foreign to Bree, men in the military fought all the time at clubs so it wasn’t anything new for her. She took a tray of coffee cups to the table where the man was still throwing out verbal obscenities to the other guy that had already left. She smiled handing out the cups of coffee and said “Drink this, go home, sleep it off and tomorrow you guys will be friends again”. She didn’t really look at anyone but he caught her eye, he looked very familiar and although drunk he seemed to stare back at her, like he recognized her. Bree stared for a second longer and then collected the empty glasses and headed back to the counter. In her mind she was running replays of where she had seen him before… California? Everyone she knew in California was military and what would they be doing here in Texas? A strange feeling washed over her and she decided to see if Kelsey knew these people or if it was a random booking.

At midnight the last guest had left and most of the cleaning was done as all five women sat at the counter, feet aching and wore out. Sara said that she had done her good deed for the year so Kelsey could not call on her again for another. Michelle and Robyn talked about bits of conversations they had overheard and they all laughed.

“If men only knew how stupid they sound once they get drunk,” said Sara.

Robyn jumped in “we’ve said that about you many times Sara so no judging”. All the women laughed including Bree. Bree suspected that Sara could be a sloppy drunk but funny.

As Kelsey thanked everyone again, they all piled out the door “saying never again, don’t call us and cancel the party next time Kels” playfully. Bree walked upstairs to collect her girls, Mason was also crashed out and Kelsey said “Let’s have a drink before you leave” Bree was exhausted but she agreed so they walked back downstairs feeling very much like they had just finished a boot camp workout. Laughing at each other for being so wore out Kelsey opened two beers and they sat down.

They raised their bottles in a cheers and Kelsey said “to hard work paying bills”. Bree took a sip and it felt good, she hadn’t had a drink since hearing the news about Christopher, then she remembered the drinking spiral she went on for the days till the funeral. She unconsciously gave up drinking the day she buried her husband. Lost in her own thoughts she forgot that Kelsey was there and then suddenly she was back. 

“Bree” Kelsey asked softly sensing Bree was away in memories. “Yes, sorry I was just thinking back to when I had a beer last…a long time ago” Bree breathed out. Not wanting to pry Kelsey didn’t push, Bree would tell her if she wanted to but she wasn’t one to push for personal information. Bree smiled and proceeded to ask about the group that hired them tonight.

“All I know is that it’s a bunch of men from a few counties that get together and talk about war stories…Apparently they get together every month but the last place kicked them out for getting too rowdy”. They both laughed.

“Why do you ask Bree?” “Well one of the drunken bandits in the fight looked really familiar which is odd because I don’t know anyone from these parts” Bree said.

“That’s weird, because he was good looking but I’m pretty sure I’d recognize a male model if he walked in here but I can look on the guest list if you want?” 

Bree smiled “No don’t worry, not a big deal…I’ve got to get home before I can’t drive – you have worn me out Kelsey Baker”. On that note Bree collected her sleeping children and took them home and placed them in bed. Bree could hardly keep her eyes open; she crawled into bed and feel straight to sleep.

The next morning Bree was awoken by her cell phone. She felt like she has just gone to sleep, who could possibly want her at this hour and on a Saturday? As she tried to focus on her alarm clock, she blinked a few times to see that it was 10:30am. She jumped up grabbing her cell phone and rushed down the hall to girls’ room only to find their beds empty, cell phone still ringing but Bree didn’t think to answer. Trying not to panic she raced down stairs through the kitchen to see both girls watching TV. Startled by Bree’s entrance both girls froze. A wave of relief washed over Bree and said good morning, the girls relaxed.

Haley said “are you going to answer your phone?” It took Bree a second to register that her phone was still ringing. Flipping it open she tried to sound like she hadn’t just woken up. “Hello?” the voice on the other end began “Is this Mrs. Anderson?” all of a sudden, she felt like she was in a time warp, the room started to spin and her stomach was in a knot, she had already had this conversation, hadn’t she?

Bree moved to the kitchen “this is she, who’s calling?” and the phone went dead. Bree stood absolutely still and started sweating. Was this a cruel joke? The few words said were exactly the same as the ones a year ago right before she found out Christopher was killed. A wave of nausea flowed through her. Who would do this to her and their family? Was it her imagination, couldn’t have been because Haley heard the phone ring? What was going on? Her instincts told her something was wrong but she had no clue what it was and how it related to her.

After getting herself together she made coffee and sat and drank it in the living room with the girls. She set her coffee down and she opened the curtains and looking out through the windows, searching for a connection to the phone call but it seemed normal. She checked for unfamiliar cars but by her calculations there was nothing suspicious going on outside so it was just through her cell phone. Not feeling like being alone she called Kelsey to see if there was anything going on today. Kelsey said they were all going to Michelle’s for a BBQ and she was supposed to tell me last night but forgot. Bree thought that was a fabulous idea, not because she really liked Michelle but because sitting around the house was making her nervous. The BBQ was at 4pm so she had time to get the girls dressed and herself into a better state, deposit her paycheck and get some groceries for the dishes to take to the BBQ. She would also try to remember to pay utilities on the computer before leaving.

Filling up her coffee she hollered at the girls to go shower and get ready, telling them they had a few errands and then a BBQ to go to. Both girls jumped up and ran upstairs with Bree walking slowly behind them. She couldn’t shake that feeling that something was wrong. Her mind was going a million miles a minute with random theories, some of them so crazy that she had to quit before really freaking herself out.

She showered, dressed and could not be bothered with her hair so she left it wild. Her hair was naturally curly so she decided to just enhance the curls and be done. Christopher didn’t like it curly so she straightened it most days, but Christopher was gone and her morning was not the best for her mental health so she didn’t want to deal with it. The girls were ready and already asking for a treat at the store before they even got there…never fails. She got the girls in the truck and they headed out to run their errands.

While depositing her check Bree noticed Kelsey was paying her more than they had agreed upon. She made a mental note to check with Kelsey. The teller deposited the check and said that there had been two deposits that posted Friday. Bree was confused, there should only be one from the military. The teller pulled it up and it showed the one from the military but then an additional one for eight thousand dollars. Bree queried where this deposit came from. The teller said she could not pull up that information but she would get her manager. Bree looked over to the girls who were pretending to be tellers filling out the blank forms at the table for customers. Could this day be any more confusing? The manager looked up the account and information from his computer and walked over with a confused look on his face. He proceeded to explain that he could put a trace on where the deposit came from but as far as finding out today, he couldn’t tell from his computer either. Bree asked if it could be a mistake and he said highly unlikely because they used the exact route number and account number. The military had this account for Christopher’s benefits to be deposited into, her savings was at a completely different bank and she had not given the new account to anyone as she opened it when they arrived in Texas. First strange phone calls, this mysterious bank deposit, people who she thought looked familiar; this was getting to be all too much. 

Bree opened another account and placed the mystery money in that till the bank could trace the origin of the deposit. The Manager said that it could take up to seven business days but he would call her as soon as he located where the deposit originated from. Until then she had five thousand mystery dollars. She could sure use that money but had more than enough to cover the bills now that she was working.

Leaving the bank, they headed to the grocery store to grab a few items and head home. At the grocery store, Bree could sense that Lilly was getting to that breaking point so they made it fast. She had thought about making a salad but opted for the premade pie baked at the deli. At the checkout, Bree couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched, she glanced around but there was no one that she could tell that was staring at her and the kids. They checked out and headed to the truck.

 After getting in her truck, she noticed a piece of paper under her wiper blade, she tried to reach it while inside but couldn’t reach so she got out and grabbed it and got back in, still not being able to shake that being watched feeling. She threw the paper in her bag and they headed home.

Once home she fed the kids a quick lunch and Lilly went to her spot on the couch while Haley played on the computer. She unpacked the groceries and pulled the receipt and threw it in her purse thinking she would balance the check book later while she paid bills. After cleaning up and throwing on a load of laundry she decided to pay bills now because the computer was always so slow.

Haley had moved to the couch and was watching TV while Lilly slept. Good Lilly needed a nap to be able to survive the afternoon activities. Bree grabbed her purse and sat down at the computer to pay bills. Searching through her purse she pulled her check book and the receipt from the grocery store. She opened the bills that were piling up by the computer and went through and paid each one and shredded them. After balancing the check book, she noticed that paper that was on her truck she pulled it out ready to shred when she saw it had handwriting on it not printer writing. She opened it up and it read “Be careful it’s more complicated than you know” she froze and stared at the writing, it looked like Christopher’s handwriting but that’s impossible he’s dead. Just thinking those words hurt her but she was more than freaked out now than ever. This couldn’t be happening. First the phone call, then the mystery money and now the note? And let’s not forget the drunken guy who she couldn’t place but somehow, she recognized. What was going on? Did this have something to do with Christopher?

As she sat there frozen holding onto the note and inbox message popped up. She folded the note and placed in her check book to look at later. She opened the email and it was from her old neighbour checking in and to let her know they were pregnant. She was so happy for them and she missed them being next door. She wrote a quick reply congratulating them and giving them a brief update on the girls and work and left it at that.

She needed out of the house and a distraction. She woke up Lilly, checked her still wild hair, grabbed the pie and the kids and headed out the door. She waited till both girls got in the truck and scanned the street, still nothing she could pick out of the ordinary. She jumped in and headed to Kelsey’s to follow her to Michelle’s.

As they pulled up there were two things that stood out, the size of the house and the number of cars parked outside. Bree suddenly felt under dressed and under prepared. As if Kelsey was reading her mind, she said not to worry, Michelle’s husband, Rick probably invited a few of his friends over also. Bree was not in the mood for meeting new people and having to repeat certain parts of her life to total strangers but it was better than sitting at home wondering who wrote the stupid note. Her fear was now turning to anger. How dare anyone stress her and the girls out just as things

were starting to settle down.

“Bree?” Kelsey said softly recognizing the stare similar to the one that Bree was in last night.

“Yes, I’m coming…come on girls, please remember your manners”. Both girls nodded but their eyes were drinking in the huge house and beautiful gardens. As they passed the fountain that was big enough to take a bath in, they reached the front door. Kelsey rang the bell and walked right on it as if she owned the place, hollering to announce their arrival.

Bree followed Kelsey and trying to take in the house at the same time. It reminded Bree of a show she saw where all these rich athletes and music legends invited the world in to drool over their houses and cars.

Michelle appeared “Hi Girls, glad you could make it; we are firing up the grill now”. Michelle told Haley and Lilly to follow Mason and Sofia to where all the kids are and Bree felt worried.

“Don’t worry Bree, we can see them from where we sit” as if now she was reading Bree’s mind. Bree smiled and followed them and.

Michelle led them through her enormous kitchen and to the patio. Bree spotted Sara and Robyn sitting together and then a group of men over by the bar/grill area. Bree figured that two of the men had to be with Sara and Robyn and one had to be Rick, Michelle’s husband. Bree looked around and Michelle was right she had a perfect view of the kids all playing on what looked like a park playground rather than a back yard play set.

After all the introductions Michelle brought out wine for the women while the men went back to congregating around the bar/grill. Bree sat back and relaxed, after the day she had she felt like she could finally breathe. Michelle and Sara were very amusing to listen to, jumping from topic to topic and bantering back and forth with Robyn and Kelsey throwing the random comment here and there. Bree was happy to listen but the girls seemed to want her to join in. Robyn brought up the previous night’s work that they partook in and they all burst out laughing. “Speaking of last night...” Kelsey pulled a bunch of envelopes out “The organizer for last night’s brawl dropped by this morning and basically paid me to let them return in a month” Kelsey handed everyone an envelope.

Michelle ripped hers open “That’s it??” she laughed.

Kelsey shot her a glance, “not all of us married money honey take it or leave it” trying not smile. Michelle just smiled and blew her a kiss as if to kiss her ass.

Bree opened her envelope and saw hundred-dollar bills, around four but she didn’t want to pull it out and count it. So, by her calculations not only had they paid their original bill but he had tipped Kelsey around another two thousand five hundred dollars to let them come back in a month and every month after that.

“When are they coming back?” Sara said laughing and she thanked Kelsey.

“Count me in” Robyn said “me too” chimed in Bree. Michelle piped in with “let’s celebrate our hard work” and she headed back into the kitchen for more drinks.

Bree watched as Kelsey followed her in, they were talking and she saw Michelle give her the envelope back, Kelsey was refusing but Michelle laughed at her and said she didn’t need it and that she should put in back into the business by hiring more staff. They both laughed and Michelle handed it back to her and it was done. I guess when you have so much money five hundred bucks isn’t that much.

As the sun started to set families started to make a move to go home. The afternoon flew by and Bree had totally enjoyed herself, it had been a long time where she just sat and laughed with good company. The men joined them to eat and then went to smoke cigars, so it was pretty much a girl’s afternoon. The kids grazed when they got hungry and thirsty but Bree didn’t see the girls till it was time to leave.  

 Gathering up her kids, Bree thanked Rick and Michelle for their hospitality and that she enjoyed herself very much. Michelle said she was glad she could make it and that she expected to see her every time. Bree saw the soft side to Michelle throughout the day and she figured that she’s just abrupt in her speech but her intentions were as good as gold. Waving bye to Sara, Kelsey and Robyn, Bree drove home with both girls asleep before she got out of the neighbourhood. She gave not another thought to the earlier events of the day; she didn’t want to ruin how good she felt.