“For the record, there really is no comparison between us naming our son after a famous jazz pianist and you naming your daughter after a murderous dictator,” the Healer pointed out before getting back to the task at hand. “I think in two or three more pushes, we’ll have a baby.” He was looking at Cadence now, smiling at her above the draped sheet that made her feel a little more secure even if it didn’t really hide anything at all from the doctor.
“Okay,” she said again, ready to get it over with. Jamie told her to push, and she did, as hard as she could, hoping for two and not three as the lucky number.
“Keep pushing,” Jamie said, even though Aaron had reached ten. “She’s almost there.”
Cadence strained even harder, giving it every bit of energy she had left, and a few seconds later, she felt her daughter slip into the world. Listening to her cries made Cadence’s heart melt all
Hannah took Jo to give her a bath, and Ona helped Cadence get Cadon latched while Jamie left to go check on his own one-month-old baby. Cadence’s son was a pro almost immediately, latching on the first try to resting peacefully while he nursed. Cadence couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have even one sweet baby, let alone the blessings of two. He wore a tiny little cap to keep him warm, and she couldn’t help but stroke his head while he made soft baby noises in her arms.Hannah brought Jo back before Cadon was finished. It took her daughter much longer to latch. She kept turning her feisty little face away, growling her discontentment as Cadence tried to get her on and not disturb Cadon at the same time. With Aaron’s help, their daughter finally latched, but he had to have his hand on her back or else she’d pull off again. “She is definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Cadence declared, shaking her head at her strong-spirited daughter.
“We really should do something fun while you are all in town,” Drew Peterson exclaimed as she plopped herself down on a giant pink bean bag chair near the window in Cadence Findley’s bedroom. The rest of her friends were strewn about the room already; Taylor Christianson and Sydney Cox on the bed, Jon Chancellor and Kash Donatello in the two small chairs across the room, Jack Cook slumped against the wall next to the chairs. How many times had they all crashed here during high school? Now that all of them except for Drew, the baby of the group, had graduated from high school and gone on with their lives, these times were much rarer, and it had occurred to Cadence more than once that evening that this may be the last time she had her gang all together.
“It sounds kinda cool to me,” Kash agreed. For a moment, Cadence wondered why Drew and Kash ever broke up.“Listen,” it was Taylor this time, “it’s the night before Thanksgiving. I don’t think my parents will like it if I’m out partying until the wee hours of the morning. My mom is going to expect me to help with the dinner, you know.”&l
The sky was pitch black, clouds covering whatever stars may dare to shine. The moon hung low, its enervating journey home to the horizon almost concluded. Though it was late November, the chill seemed to come from within, not from the cool breeze that gently nudged her back to the safety of their vehicle.A glitch in the passage of time took place, and suddenly they were in the midst of the festivities. Flashes of smoke and fire clouded her vision. Many of the participants were masked, or perhaps their faces were contorted. They wound their way amongst the ghouls and specters. A p
Kash’s mom had driven the same Suburban for the last twenty-two years and, even though it was old and had no bells and whistles, it had enough room for all seven of them to ride in one vehicle, so most times, it was their vehicle of choice. When they all piled in at 3:15 in the morning to make the short trip to Villisca, most of the girls did so reluctantly, particularly Taylor, who was actually crying, and Cadence, who had clearly lost her battle with Drew, and once again, given in to the sobs and declarations of attending solo. Cadence hated being late, but she figured for an event such as this it didn’t really make much difference.
As they poured out of the vehicle, Cadence paused for a moment to look up at the sky. A soft haze illuminated the night around the festivities, but the rest of the firmament was nothing but ebony, crowned by a full moon sliding below the horizon, its pale orange hue lending an air of foreboding. Cadence knew this scene looked familiar, and she braced herself for what she felt may come.As they approached what seemed to be an entrance, the entire party tensed up. They had no idea if they would be charged a monetary fee, required to show an invitation, or sign over their first-born child. There
Just then, a loud booming began to shake the ground. From the back of the outer circle, a stream of percussionists started to pour out of one of the tents. They began to dance their way down the worn dirt path, banging methodically on their instruments, winding their way around the perimeter of the circle. There were other musicians within the parade as well, but it was the deep vibration of the bass drums that carried the reptilian line along.Most of them wore costumes, almost all in shades of red. It was difficult to see anyone’s full face. Either a half mask, paint, outlandish makeup
By the time the others left and Cadence continued down the path the parade had followed, she couldn’t even see the end of the chain anymore. In fact, the crowd had filled in the trail so completely she had to push her way through just to continue her search.Upon reaching the tent at the back of the outer circle, where the parade had begun, she realized Jack and Kash were now far behind her, several groups of people separating them. She sighed in despair, running her hands through her long brown hair and stomping her booted foot on the ground. There, in the dirt, she saw a Guy Fawkes mas