Unfinished Business. C. A. Walters Walters
now she’s with God. He will protect her until we can all be together again.” All Robbie really heard was a loud buzzing noise, though later he would remember every word. He knew he had to get away, and just do something, or he would explode.
Robbie jumped up, and ran out to the driveway where his bike was waiting, and rode away. He rode like the devil himself was chasing after him, not caring where he ended up; he just had to get away from home. Eventually, he realized that he had ridden through the woods to the area where the haunted house was. He decided to see if the old woman would be in the window again, so he went around the side of the house instead of the back as usual, and looked up. There she was! Looking out the window at the backyard where he would normally appear. Robbie didn’t know why she was watching for him, or even if she was watching for him, or just looking at the woods. But in his mind, she was looking for Robbie. He walked around to that side, and she saw him looking up at her. Just before the curtain on her room closed, he noticed a tear drifting down her cheeks. He determined to see what he could do to help the old lady, there had to be something wrong for her to be trapped in the old haunted house, staring out the window all the time, and crying when she saw him. He would rescue her from whatever evil people were keeping her captive like that.
Robbie went home to plan how he would get into the old house without anyone catching him. He figured that he would be better off wearing an all-black outfit, like the ninjas he saw on the morning shows. He had a pair of black corduroys and a black t-shirt, with his black sneakers, that should do the job. He decided to wear his dark blue ball cap, to hide his hair. He figured he would have to watch the house for a few days, to see if anyone went in or out of it at various times. Since Easter vacation was coming up, that should be easy. He would get Michael to help him, either Michael could go in with him, or act as lookout in case someone was coming when he went in. Either way, having a partner would make it a lot easier. During the days between now and Easter break, he would plan, and try to figure out how to get into the house. He had only noticed one door, at the front, and had not gotten a good view of that, since he had been standing sort of in the side yard at the time. So he knew he had to look at the whole house, find out where the doors were. Wait a minute! There might be a cellar door, so he could sneak in without anyone hearing him. After all, nobody spent much time in their cellar.
Robbie decided to get out a pad of paper and a pen to make notes, so he wouldn’t forget anything in his plan. When he opened the drawer to get out his pens, he saw the card he had started for his gran. Instead of getting sad again, it just made him more determined to help the old lady in the haunted house. He carefully put it away, so he would always have it. Robbie sat in his room planning and thinking, until he fell asleep sitting at his desk. When he woke up, it was late, so he got ready for bed, and went to sleep for the night.
For the next few days, he made sure to spend time checking out the old house. Each time he tried to go around the front of the house to see the entry way, the groundskeeper would be there, either working on the front of the house itself, or just sitting on the front porch. So he never did get a good look at the front of the place, though he did see both sides and the back. There were two entrances to the cellar, but both of them had big padlocks on them. There was a back door, and it looked like it might be a possibility. If not, the best he could figure was to climb into one of the maple trees near the house, shinny out onto a branch that was hanging over part of the roof, then climb in through a window. It could be dangerous, but if he was going to be a hero, then danger was expected. He managed to get a piece of rope around 20’ long, and coiled it up so he could get to it when he needed it. With most of his plan in place, he decided to go see Michael, to get his opinion on the best way to get into the house. With all of his planning and scheming, it had been over a week since he had seen Michael. Since they were in different classes in school, they only saw each other after school was out for the day, or at recess. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Michael at recess lately, but then again, Robbie was spending a lot of his time at recess sitting under a tree and writing plans in his notebook.
He took his bike, and rode over to Michael’s house. But when he got there, what a shock! The house was empty, and there was a for rent sign in the front! Michael was nowhere to be found. Frantic, he raced home to ask his Mom if she could find out where Michael was. Mom made a couple of phone calls, and found out that Michael and his family had moved to Illinois, because Michael’s grandmother had passed away, and most of the family was in Illinois. Robbie didn’t know what to think. He was furious with Michael for leaving without telling him that he was moving. He was broken hearted that his one friend in the world was gone. He was upset that all of this was happening, and he had no control at all over what was going on in his life. First gran, now Michael. It seemed like everyone he cared about was going away.
Robbie went to his room, so he could think, and try to understand what was happening. He was very sad, and decided to just go to bed early. For the next few days, Robbie was very quiet and just kind of moped around. His parents were worried about him, and tried to cheer him up. But he just needed to work through this on his own. He had not forgotten his plan to rescue the poor old lady; he just needed some time to figure things out. He set in his mind that he would go on Saturday, the first weekend after school let out.
The rest of the year went by with no major problems, Robbie passed into the fifth grade, and his parents had a small party for him to celebrate. After the party, Robbie felt a little better, after all, he had summer vacation to enjoy, and he had passed all of his classes, so he didn’t have to worry about the dreaded “summer” school. He spent some time riding his bike, and even played ball with some kids on another block. Friday morning, Robbie went out to ride around, and enjoy the day.
The fateful day was closing in, and Robbie decided to make one more pass to see if anything had changed at the house. Imagine his dismay when he arrived, only to see that the branch he had planned to use was gone! Of course, he had no way of knowing that it had become dangerous, it was too close to the house, and if it loaded up with snow and ice it could have caused damage, so the caretaker cut it down.
In Robbie’s mind, somehow “they” had figured out what he planned to do, and removed the branch. Now he had to find a way into the house. He cautiously made his way around to the front, and for the first time could actually see what the sign in front said.
“Connecticut Valley Rest Home”! This place was a nursing home all the time. But why then was the old lady standing at the window, crying? Something still had to be wrong.
Robbie made up his mind that he still had to help this poor old lady, nobody should be so sad. So he decided he had to change his plans, and find out what he had to do to see the lady. He went home to think things out, and to write notes about all he had learned into his notebook.
Later that evening, Robbie’s parents said they were going to have a “family meeting”. Usually that meant that they were going on vacation for a couple of weeks during the summer, to visit relatives in Massachusetts.
When they had gathered in the living room, Robbie’s dad told them that he had earned a promotion at work, which meant more money, always a good thing. But it also meant that in two weeks, the family was going to move to Newburyport, Massachusetts, where his new office would be.
Robbie was floored! “Moving!” he all but yelled, “But I’ve lived here all my life! And... and..and I’ve got school, and friends, and the river, and …
“Robbie, everything will work out. There is a very nice school right down the block from where our new house is; you can ride your bike to school, or just walk.” said Mrs. Lacombe. “And I’m sure you’ll make new friends; just like you did here when Michael moved in.”
Robbie was thinking about the old lady he wanted to help out, but he couldn’t bring himself to mention it. “What about gran, who will put flowers on her headstone?” he asked.
Mr. Lacombe said, “I have made arrangements with the funeral home to make sure there are fresh flowers on her birthday, Mother’s day, and every two weeks through the year. In the winter, they put a wreath on her grave for Christmas, too.”
Robbie couldn’t think of any other arguments, so he just mumbled “Okay, I guess”, and slowly made his way