“Just an accident,” he replied.
Attempting to get back to his work and forget what had just happened, Antonio took his computer to a different room. Without another word, he disappeared.
Noticing how tense Jenny looked, Camille began to wonder. Being fifteen years her senior, she no longer saw her as an aid but as a threat. After cleaning up the mess, Jenny quickly went to her room for the rest of the evening.
Realizing that Jenny was no longer needed, Camille concluded that she needed to let her go. She waited for Antonio to finish his work to inform him of her decision, planning to observe if he would attempt to fight back, which he did.
“We will give her two months, that way she has time to find a new job and a new home.”
“She’s been with us for many years. Are you sure?” he asked.
“It’s time.” With that, she ended the conversation.
Later that day, Antonio still felt troubled by his thoughts. He wasn’t ready to let Jenny go, but he knew that his emotions extended beyond the surface. He thought of ways to convince Camille to allow Jenny to stay, but he knew that nothing would change her mind. Needing to accept the fact that Jenny would be gone soon, he began to desire her.
Once Belinda was tucked in, Camille and Antonio went to bed. After hours of tossing and turning, sweating and palpitating, Antonio snuck out of bed quietly. Camille was always the first to fall asleep and the heavier sleeper, itwasn’t hard for Antonio to go unnoticed. Quietly walking down the stairs, he made his way towards Jenny’s door. He stood there, trying to build the courage to enter.
“Would she keep quiet?” Antonio thought as his face felt hot, his hands shook, and his blood rose higher by the second. He wanted Jenny to himself, just this once.
“What are you doing, daddy?” Belinda quietly snuck from behind him, making his heart drop down to his stomach.
“Shh. I thought I heard something. Let’s go back to bed, honey.” Trying not to make a sound, they both began to retreat, but not before Jenny opened her bedroom door. She wore a soft pink laced night gown with a slit from the hip down that exposed most of her left leg. Antonio wanted to believe that she had been waiting for him, which she had been.
Jenny looked at both Antonio and Belinda; it wasn’t hard to put the puzzle together. While pleased by the encounter, disappointment filled her. Jenny noticed Belinda holding on to her doll tightly; her glassy eyes could pierce through her soul. Without much said and awkwardly looking at one another, everyone retreated to their rooms.
After tucking Belinda and her doll back in bed, Antonio snuck back into his own bed. Quiet enough not tocause Camille to stir, he felt relieved. With the adrenaline rushing out of his system, he was fast asleep. Meanwhile, Camille lay in bed, facing the opposite direction, her eyes peeled in the dark for the rest of the night.
After being tucked in bed, Belinda was fast asleep.
“She is trying to take away my daddy,” Belinda whispered to her doll as they sat on a quilted blanket beneath the unrelenting sun. Opposite her, the doll held an empty teacup. Pin’s porcelain skin gleamed cold and vacant in the harsh light.
Belinda continued to talk as she pretended to drink from her cup, “We can’t allow her to take him.”
Belinda reached over her doll and sat her in front of her, facing away. Pulling a brush out of a woven basket, she began to brush her doll’s raven hair. It wasn’t long before the sky began to turn gray. What was once a clear blue sky was now filled with clouds heavily laden with water, signaling an imminent storm.
Once it began to pour, the water burned Belinda’s skin. Frightened, she grabbed her doll and covered both of themwith the blanket they had been sitting on. The doll’s legs remained exposed to the rain, and it wasn’t much longer before her legs began to melt and seep into the grass. Belinda tried to cover her dolls’ legs with her bare hands, but the rain burned her. Her sobs echoed around her as she cried, “I won’t let her take him, I promise.”
After waking up the following morning, Belinda grabbed her doll and went to do her morning routine. She picked out a change of clothes from her closet, did her hair the best way she could, and brushed her teeth. By nine o’clock, she found herself in the garage, looking for something she wasn’t entirely sure of. Belinda heard Jenny shouting from the kitchen that breakfast was ready, and she stopped her quest for the bacon she smelled.
“Thank you, Jenny,” Belinda said as she grabbed some pancakes, bacon, and maple syrup.
“Do you have any plans for today?” Jenny asked.
“I’m looking for something. Maybe you can help me after breakfast.”
“Sure. You know, we’ve lived here for so many years. Why don’t you have any friends around the block? It might do you good to get out of the house and play like a normal kid.”
Belinda shot an annoyed look at her and said, “I don’t like them.”
“Any of them? There are at least thirteen kids on Lull Lane. All around your age. I heard that the dads knew each other back in high school. Yours too!”
“No, thank you.”
“What about Caspian? He’s a popular boy, and cute too.”
Belinda forked a piece of gooey pancake into her mouth while saying, “Ew.”
“What about Briar?”
