Call Waiting 8- Haven n Hell

To start at the beginning type “Call Waiting” into search on my home page.
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The frail old woman, sat up straight in her chair, cleared her throat and began the story of her family and the legacy of Haven.

My grandfather….the patriarch of not only my family but of this town and it’s inhabitants, was what is know today as a religious zealot. His spiritual leanings were only surpassed by his wealth.

He earned his riches in the stock market. His finger was always…ahead….of the pulse, I guess you could say. He believed he was given that gift by right of a higher being….and he had no qualms about telling everyone about that given right.

His penchant for picking the right stock at the right time was unmatched.

In the religion of money…he was a god.

In the religion of life….he was labeled a fool.

He was nobody’s fool….and one day he set out to prove it.

Desperate to find a place where his spiritual leanings would be more powerful than his sense of the money market.

On his journey, he came across a beautiful woman stranded on the roadside in the country. He stopped and asked if he could be of assistance.

She said that she had already turned away 4 persons who wished to assist her and her reason was because she had “sight beyond sight” and she had seen that their intensions were not pure…..but when she looked at my grandfather she could not read him…his mind…or see the future. Her people saw that as a sign of great fortune.

She accepted his invitation for assistance. He promised to take her wherever she wanted as long as she didn’t mind hearing of his spiritual leanings….where he warned he was quite enthusiastic about.

She gladly accepted, knowing that where she was going there happened to be a great need for someone with spiritual vigor.
___________

“Momma…I’m tired and this is boring.” Macy interrupted as she tugged at her Mother’s shirt.

Patricia looked at Macy and then at the old woman and spoke,

“I’m sorry ma’am, she is young and not much into history lessons..would you mind if she went over and lay down in the booth right over there?”

“Of course not,” she replied as she took the shawl from around her waist and handed it to Macy. “She may use this as a blanket if she wishes…”

“Say thank you.” Patricia said.

Macy looked at the old woman with sleepy eyes and replied,

“Thanks.” She looked back at her Mother and said, “I’m gonna take the phone with me…I sleep better with it close to me.”

The old woman showed a curious smile and they watched Macy saunter off over to the booth and lay down, holding the phone like a doll.

Patricia waited until the old woman returned her attention to her then asked,

“Ok…so I am guessing your grandfather was the Jim Jones or David Koresh type?…..I’m sorry…I don’t mean to jump ahead….but when do we get to the Penny part?”

The old woman replies,

“I know you are not her…but you not only have her looks but her impatience as well…..he possessed the charm and charisma of the two you spoke of but not the Armageddon tendencies or the desire to bed his followers…he was completely devoted to my grandmother. I will do my best to move the story along.”
____________

The place he took her was an encampment in the middle of nowhere consisting of tents and make shift dwellings. The inhabitants consisted of beggars, gypsies and misfits.

The beautiful woman, introduced him around. The people of the community had never been around a man such as my grandfather. They were drawn to him and hung on his every word.

He was drawn to them as well. He saw opportunity to convey his beliefs and utilize his wealth for something more than hobnobbing in top hats and suits.

He felt he had found his people…and his people needed him as a leader.

He used his influence in the market world to find a place that his people could call home. A few stock tips in exchange for land.

He was told of an abandoned town that was going for cheap….and he jumped on it.

He loaded up his caravan of followers and led them to their promised land.

He wanted to call the place “Heaven”, but in his excitement, he registered the land and misspelled it, calling it Haven.

They settled in and began their new life. My grandfather, the beautiful gypsy woman who became his wife,
and the rest of the misfits who followed because they believed.

My grandfather traded stock tips for companies to come in and help build a nice community during the day.

At night he would write his beliefs into text form and teach them to his enthusiastic followers.

All the while, my grandmother would encourage him.

He would teach them of love, family, and perseverance. He would say that although he was a great leader…that another would be born…and that one would take them to higher ground and lead them to riches that even he could not imagine.

His people longed for that day.

A few years later….Penny was born.
_________

“So….Penny is the messiah?” Patricia asked.

The old woman sighed, and replied,

“It was a time….long…long ago, dear. May I continue?”

Patricia nodded and glanced over at Macy who had begun to twitch in her sleep.
_________________

Macy was walking down the dark hallway toward the bedroom door, carrying the shawl in the crook of her arm. She heard shuffling from the other side. Instead of looking through the hole of the skeleton lock she turned the knob and walked in.
_________________

A few years later, my grandfathers prophesy came to fruition. They had a child and they named her Penelope.

She had his eyes….and her Mothers sight beyond sight.

From the time she was born, she was treated as the second coming of her father.

In time, she used her sight to avert troubles of their people and strengthen their faith in her abilities, which in turn gave them the faith to better themselves.

With my grandfather on the throne and Penny at his side…he was….God in Haven
___________

“Of course, all this is town lore, part truth…part myth…part whatever has been passed on and down since it all began.” The old woman said.

Patricia asked with a confused look on her face-

“You sound a bit jaded on this history. Why?”

She replied,

“Time changes perception, my dear. All of that occurred before I was born. What is true and what is not is not for me to know, it is just for me to continue the doctrine. What is true now….is this whole town uses her name for profit….not for prophet. I just want to know what happened….which is why I kept the phone that she said she would call me on. I waited over 8 decades…..for the phone to ring. It did. Shortly after….you came here…and here we are.”

The 2 woman just stared at each other. Only Macy screaming broke their gaze-

“MOMMA! MOMMA!” Macy shrieked as she shot up from the booth and onto the floor clutching the shawl in the crook of one arm and the phone in the other.

Patricia went to her side and said,

“What is it, honey? I’m right here.”

Macy looked at her Mother, then over at the frail old woman, then back at her Mother and replied in a dry tone.

“I know where Penny is and I know what happened.”

To be continued…..

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Call Waiting 7- Two Cents In

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The large man in the suit still had the gun pointed at Patricia and Macy as they were seated. He shook off the slight sense of fear he had for the little girl who just laughed at him. He cracked his neck, bulked up his frame and said,

“What’s so funny, kid. I have a gun pointed at you….and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Patricia interrupted,

“She is just a child. We are doing what you asked…”

Macy interrupted her Mother and squinted her eyes as she stared down the large man.

“Don’t worry, Momma….he can’t do anything without the lady telling him to….she needs us….he’s big and all but his gun isn’t even loaded….and it’s hard to be scared of a man who can’t even remember to zip his pants up after he goes to the bathroom.”

Patricia didn’t know how Macy knew the gun wasn’t loaded or how she knew about some lady who called the shots but instinct caused her to look at the mans crotch. She let out a giggle with her daughter as indeed his fly was down.

The large man holstered his gun as he looked down, red faced. He zipped up his trousers as he muttered,

“Stupid girl.”

He then pulled up a chair in front of the door, sat and crossed his arms and seemed to pout as he was bested by a child.

Patricia tried to break the tension of the waiting by asking a question.

“Why are the streets so deserted? It seems like a good sized town to be….empty.”

The large man changed his pout to a quizzical look and replied,

“You really don’t know…do you?”

Patricia shook her head in a no fashion and answered,

“Know….what?”

Before the large man could answer, his chair was struck from behind with the door which startled him and caused him to get up and turn around in a defensive fashion with his gun drawn.

An frail, old woman with a shawl around her torso, a bonnet on her head and a floor length dress pushed her way through the doorway, followed by 2 more large men. One of which, was carrying a medium sized bag.

She looked up at the man with the gun drawn and frustratingly said,

“Put that pea shooter away before you hurt yourself, Marion….and for Penny’s sake, get out of the way so I can see our visitors that you all got me out of the ceremony to see.”

Marion slumped his large shoulders, grabbed his chair and moved out of the way, clearing a sightline for the lady to see Patricia and Macy,

The old woman moved in closer to the pair and smiled. She then turned to the 3 large men and Deacon and spoke,

“I need you all to go to the ceremony and leave me with our guests. Please, leave the bag with me….”

Marion chimed in,

“But, ma’am….they may be dangerous….she has been gone a long time..”

“SILENCE! The only danger here is in not fulfilling the prophesy. Do as I ask. My driver will be outside if needed.” The lady replied.

The men grudgingly left the old woman with Patricia and Macy.

The old woman, bag in her lap, looked Patricia in the eyes, paused and then spoke,

“Although you bear a striking resemblance….you are not….my Mother…who left us to fend for ourselves so many years ago….but…I sense the gift of sight beyond sight is what has brought you here. What sights have you to reveal?”

Patricia looked at Macy who was about to speak. She stopped her and did her best to explain herself.

She told the woman of the one who called herself Penny who saved the house from burning down from faulty wiring and about delaying them from going into town avoiding a terrible accident that occurred on the freeway. She told her about the dream she had about seeing a man arguing with Penny from behind the bedroom door and the gunshot and silence. She finished by saying it all started by finding an old time phone with a frayed cord in the attic of the house.

The old woman’s face changed to a surprised look. She paused and asked,

“An old time phone?”

She opened the bag that sat in her lap and pulled something out, set it on the table and asked,

“Is it similar to this phone?”

Macy reached for the phone, turned it over and looked at the nameplate, which was identical to the phone from the attic. She replied to the old woman,

“Yes, ma’am it is exactly like this one. I have it in our car outside. Would you like to see it?”

“I very much would.” The woman replied.

Macy went out the car, with her Mother watching closely, retrieved the phone, brought it inside and placed it in front of the old woman.

The old woman stared at the phone and seemed to be reliving a memory from the past. After a few moments, she wiped a single tear from her eye, regained her composure and spoke,

“That was the phone that was in our home. She called me from it on the last day she was seen. I spoke to her on this phone,” she said as she picked up the phone she took out of the bag, then continued.

“During that call…she told me…that she may have to leave….but not to worry…as long as I stayed close to the phone, that she would call and come back. I just waited for the call. I was 10 then. I kept the phone…knowing that my Mother would call. I am now 105. She started to contact me through this phone a few weeks ago….saying she had found a way home….and for me to wait. The gift of sight beyond sight was always strong in her. I sense that gift is strong in you as well…..” She said as she turned her gaze from Patricia to Macy.

Patricia, being uncomfortable, with attention being placed on her young child, interrupted.

“Whoa whoa whoa. Hold on. I don’t know what this sight beyond sight is and what it has to do with my daughter….but we have a lot of questions with no answers…and unless we get some we are out of here!”

The old woman gave a stern look to Patricia and replied,

“I don’t think leaving would be in your best interest. Marion and the boys have gone to the ceremony…and I am quite certain that he has put the word out that Penny is back. You would cause quite the ruckus by going outside at this point.”

Patricia, who looked more confused than ever, countered,

“WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? Ceremony…sight beyond sight…empty streets…old phones that ring without being plugged into anything….I wish we never would have moved into that old f@&(ing house!”

The old woman, who was a bit startled, asked,

“House….what house?”

“This house.” Patricia replied as she took the photo from the realtor file and placed it in front of her.

The old woman picked up the photo, gazed at it and paused before she spoke…..

“This is the house we lived in when I was a child….my grandfather told me he had it destroyed…..you live in it now?”

Patricia answered,

“Yes…the phone was in the attic….shortly after finding it, all of this started happening….which eventually led us here. Why has this Penny brought us here and what is going on?”

The frail, old woman sat in silence as the wheels of her mind turned and churned the newly learned information that spun around and around attempting to connect the new dots that were added to the puzzle of her families history. After a few moments, she looked up at Patricia and Macy, took in a deep breath, exhaled and spoke,

“Maybe, if I start at the beginning it would help. Possibly together we can make sense out of all of OUR confusion….for I am beginning to think that the entire existence of this town and it’s beliefs are a lie.”

_______________

To be continued……be patient….I am a mere penny’s throw from the end.

Call Waiting

Patricia and her daughter, Macy, have just finished moving into their new house. Well….it wasn’t new but it was new to them. The bank had foreclosed on the home they previously lived in. Times were tough, but they weren’t going to just give up.

She found a house in the local classified section of the newspaper. It was a fixer upper but the price could not be beat…rent to own at that.

They decided to start taking boxes out of the garage and distributing them to the rooms that they were supposed to go into.

Kitchen
Mom’s room
Macy’s room
Dining room
Den
Garage

After getting those done, they were left with 2 stacks of boxes.

Attic
Macy’s toys

There was not an issue with the attic boxes. The issue was with the mass amount of toys. Some she had outgrown, but refused to part with. Others were broken. Stuffed animals, board games. There just wasn’t room for all of them.

Patricia decided to have “the talk” with Macy about them.

“Macy, honey….”

“Yes, Momma.”

“We need to talk about this stuff before you unpack it all. I would like you to go through these 4 boxes of toys and decide what you really…really need to keep. Here is one big box. The ones that you absolutely have to keep, you can put in here. The rest we will put into the attic.”

“But Momma…..that’s my stuff….I NEED it all! I can’t just decide to not play with things any more….I never know when I might really…really want to play with something. Please don’t make me choose….” Nine year old Macy pleaded.

She hated to tell her daughter no, but there just wasn’t room for it all. Her plan was to put the unchosen toys in the attic and each month retrieve one of the boxes and take it to Goodwill or some place where they could do something with them.

“Nope. 1 box is all you get. They will be in the attic if you ever really need them, Macy. I just don’t want them all down here. You have one hour to fill your box. Hop to it little one.”

Macy opened all 4 boxes and stood over them. For the next hour she painstakingly worked on filling 1 “big box” from 4 bigger boxes. When the one box was full she had 2 1/2 boxes to go into the attic.
_______________

“Good job, sweetie! Now let’s take them up to the attic….you know what, I haven’t been in the attic yet. Are you ready for a new adventure?” Patricia asked.

“You know I am!” Macy replied.

They each grabbed a box and headed up to the top of the stairs. Patricia opened the door. Her nose immediately took notice of the stale air that escaped.

“Whew….no one has been up here in a while! Stinky!!”

“P-U!” Macy added as she waved her hand in front of her nose to attempt to rid herself of the smell.

Patricia flicked on the light switch and then proceeded into the room with Macy directly behind her.

“Momma?….What are those dusty boxes in the corner over there. I thought you said you hadn’t been up here…”

“I haven’t, honey. The people that used to live here probably forgot them.”

“Can I look through them?” Macy inquired.

“I suppose. You do that while I bring the rest of the boxes up, ok? Watch out for spiders….BOO!” She said as she poked Macy in the back, making her shriek.

“MOMMA…DON’T DO THAT!”

“Just stay up here I will be back in a minute.”

Patricia headed downstairs to get the rest of the boxes and Macy made her way over to the boxes that the past residents left.

The first box had picnic dishes in them.

The second box had old school books in them, some had torn off covers. Most were scribbled on.

RING RING

Macy heard what sounded like a phone but she knew her Momma had a cell phone and it didn’t sound like that.

“Macy…are you ok? You look lost in thought…” Patricia asked as she came up to drop off some boxes.

“Did you hear a phone ring, Momma?”

“No…mine is still in the car on the charger.” She replied a bit puzzled.

“I’m going to get the last boxes but before that I am going to make us some lunch. You wanna come help me?”

“Could I stay up here please?”

“Ok…you will have to come down to eat though.” She said and turned back down the stairs.

RING RING
RING RING

She knew she heard it that time…it seems to be coming from a box on the other side of the room. She followed the noise.

RING RING
RING RING

She opened up the box, and saw what looked like a phone from those old time movies Momma liked to watch. At the base it had a thing to turn for the number, a long cylinder with a thing to talk into at the top, and a cord with a thing in it to put to your ear.

RING RING
RING RING

She decided to answer the old ringing phone.

“Hello….Macy’s Attic.”
——–
“Uh-huh…we just moved in.”
——–
“Sure…I will be your friend.”
———
“How do you know my Momma is about to..”

“Macy…lunch is ready.” Patricia yelled from downstairs.

“Wow…are you magic or something.”
——–
“K…I won’t tell. It will be our secret. Bye!”

Macy put the earpiece back onto the receiver and headed downstairs for lunch.

As they were eating their grilled cheese sandwiches and chips, Patricia asked her daughter a question.

“So…Did you find anything interesting up there?…..”

“…..ummm….no not really…” She sheepishly replied as she swung her legs under her chair.

“That doesn’t sound too convincing…what did you find?”

“Well….I did find an old time phone…..can I keep it?” She excitedly replied.

“It’s not yours honey. They might come back for it.”

“I promise to not break it and and if they come back for it I will give it back…I will even put ALL My toys up there and leave them if I can play with the phone…PLEEEEAAAAASE, Momma….”

Patricia had a parental decision to make. Let her child trade all her toys for a left behind old phone that may make her happy or….

She thought about it for a minute.

They have both had a tough time in the last few months since Macy’s father died in the plane crash. Trying to adjust to being just the two of them has been hard and she really has not been able to afford to give her anything she really wanted.

What could it hurt for her to keep the phone? She hasn’t heard her plead for anything in a while. It was nice to see her so full of glee.

“Ok…you can keep the old phone but if someone comes back for it you will have to give it back to them.”

Macy smiled and pumped her fist.

“YES! Thank you Momma! Can I take it to my room now?”

“Your welcome, honey. Yes…but only after you help me take the that box of your toys to the attic.”

Macy jumped out her chair and ran to do what her Mom had told her.

After the toys were stored away she retrieved her old time phone and took it to her room and shut the door behind her.

She placed it on her desk and stared at it…..wishing for it to ring. She fell asleep waiting.

Patricia came into the room and tucked her little girl in, turned on her nightlight and gave her a kiss goodnight. Then went to bed herself.

Sometime during the dead of night Macy was awakened….

RING RING
RING RING
RING RING

She picked up the receiver,

“Hullo?”
———
“She will be mad if I wake her up…”
———
“I don’t understand….what fire….”
———
“Ok…ok…but she’s gonna be mad if I wake her up…”

CLICK

She exits her room and smells smoke. She runs into her mother’s room, jumps on the bed and yells,

“FIRE, MOMMA, FIRE!”

Patricia groggily opened her eyes and was about to scold her daughter for waking her up when she too smelled smoke.

She jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. In the den she saw a flame ignite the curtains. She grabbed the fire extinguisher, pulled the pin and sprayed it at the wall. The fire was extinguished fairly quickly. Only the smoke hung in the air.

She looked at Macy still stunned and perplexed and asked,

“How did you know there was a fire, baby? It had to have just barely started when you woke me.”

Macy scratched her head let out a sigh and replied,

“Umm….I had to go the bathroom…when I came out I saw smoke so I went to get you…..” Macy replied with a lie….but she promised to keep the secret.

“I’m so proud of you, honey!”

Patricia tucked her daughter back into bed and went to turn off the breaker that coincided with the plug that started the fire. She would call an electrician tomorrow to check all the circuits.

Macy pretended to sleep but was really waiting for the lady in the phone to call. She wasn’t waiting long.

RING RING

Macy picked up the receiver to the ringing phone and spoke to the voice on the other end,

“I don’t like to lie to my Momma…please don’t make me do that again.”

“————–”

“How did you know about the fire?….are you like an angel that watches over us? I’ve seen them in movies…do you have a halo and wings?”

“—————–”

“You are not an angel….but you are LIKE an angel? I don’t get it. I will ask my Momma about that.”

“—————–”

“What do you mean she won’t believe me. If I can hear you, than so can she….right?”

“————”

“Ok, ok I promise not to tell….what is your name so I know what to call you?”

“————”

Macy giggles, “Penny…that’s a cute name. I gotta go to sleep, Penny. Good night.”

“———-”

Macy hangs the receiver back onto its clip and drifts off to sleep.
_________________

The days and few weeks that followed were relatively normal. Patricia started working from home updating medical transcripts, and Macy continued building a relationship with her “not really an angel” friend, Penny, by answering her old phone when it rang.

The faulty wiring was fixed and the house was becoming a home.
____________

As Macy was busy finishing her artwork in the Winnie The Pooh coloring book, her Mother walked in,

“Macy, honey….I’m going to go take a shower and then we need to run into town and run some important errands, ok. Please get out of your jammie’s and be ready, ok.”

“Ok Momma”

Macy put up her coloring book and headed to her room to change.

RING RING
RING RING

“Hi, Penny. What’s up?”

“———–”

“But Momma says we have to go….”

“———–”

“But Momma will be mad….”

“———–”

“No, you haven’t lied to me before….I’m always the one who ends up lying….”
Macy said in her best pouty voice

“———–”

“No I don’t want anything to happen to Momma and me. Ok ok I’ll do it.”
_______________

Patricia got out of the shower and went to go check to be sure her daughter was getting ready like she asked. She walked into her room…..no Macy

She walked into the den where Macy was when she left to take a shower….no Macy

She began to call for her.

“Macy…come on honey. We have to go I don’t want to get caught in traffic.” She said as she walked into the kitchen. As she continued to look around, trying not to panic, she noticed the back door open.

She ran outside and caught a glimpse of her daughter running out the back gate holding the phone she got from the attic.

“Macy Ann! You better get back here!” She yelled as she pursued.

Macy hid behind an old discarded dog house that was in the alley and tried to catch her breath.

RING RING

“My Momma will find us if you keep calling!” Macy pleaded

“———-”

“Ok…about 5 more minutes then I will let her find me.”

CLICK

Macy had no idea how long 5 minutes was. She just stayed hidden until her Mother found her.

Patricia was out of breath….and patience when she saw her huddled behind the doghouse.

“Macy Ann you stay right there!” She frantically yelled.

She came up to her, put her hands on her hips and began to verbally scold her.

“Do you know how worried I get when I can’t find you?….I have already lost your father and I could not bear losing you! Why, Macy, Why? You never leave without asking! I told you we had something to do! Now I have to wait until later. Do you know how hard it is to make ends meet? Well…answer me!”

Macy’s eyes began to water as she knelt.

“I’m sorry Momma….I had to do it!”

“What is that supposed to mean? All you had to do was get into some clothes and wait. That was all you HAD to do!” She angrily stated as she took a hand off her hip, grabbed Macy’s little hand and lead her back to the house.
______________

Patricia sat Macy on the couch and expected answers.

“Why, Macy?” She asked sternly

Macy paused then threw caution to the wind and spoke the truth…

“Penny told me to stall you so we wouldn’t leave when you wanted to.”

Patricia looked at her daughter with a quizzed look.

“Who’s Penny, I don’t know a Penny.”

“She’s the lady who calls the phone from the attic. She told me about the fire before it happened and to stall today. I think she is from Heaven.”

Patricia slowly replied,

“Penny’s…..from…..Heaven?….look young lady I don’t know where you got this cockamamie story from but that old phone doesn’t even have a wall plug on it….it’s an old phone that doesn’t work. And because you refuse to tell me the truth to why you hid from me, you are grounded from playing with that phone. Leave it here with me and go to your room until I tell you to come out.”

Macy grudgingly gave the phone to her Momma and said as she sulkily went to her room,

“She said, you wouldn’t believe me.”
_________

Still upset about her daughter and having to wait to go into town, Patricia turned on the TV to calm her nerves.

—–BREAKING NEWS——

A multiple car pile up has occurred on the freeway. This footage was taken from our traffic can a few short moments ago. More news to come as details become available….

Patricia turned off the TV, a bit shaken, and looked at the old phone that sat on the table next to her.

She got up and went to ask her daughter some more questions….it had to be a coincidence….didn’t it?

Macy was sound asleep on her bed.

Patricia went back to the couch and laid down herself.

After a short while….the dreams came.
__________

I wrote this a year ago under the title “Call Forward“. I left it unfinished after 2 parts.

It’s time to finish it.

Part 3 is in the works….