Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot
by Thelma Davis
December 31
11:27 PM
Maggie rocked Henry back and forth, back and forth. Her arms and shoulders and back ached. Henry was two and heavy. He also had an ear infection and was cranky.
Maggie had taken Henry to the walk in clinic that afternoon. She’d spent two and a half hours there. Now he had antibiotics but so far they hadn’t been a miracle cure.
Henry was starting to relax. His head lolled against her shoulder. Maybe she could lay him down in his crib and he would actually sleep. Henry’s twin sister, Emily, was already asleep nearby in her own crib.
Gently, slowly, so as not to trigger another crying jag, Maggie settled Henry into his crib. Her heart swelled with love at the sight of him snuggling down onto the sheet in his footie pajamas. She covered him lightly with a flannel blanket, checked briefly on Emily and quietly left the room.
December 31
11:43 PM
Maggie was exhausted. Downstairs she could hear the competitive game that was happening between Dan, her husband, and Michael, her stepson. It was nice to have Michael for the holidays. He really was a good boy and it made Dan happy. It was difficult though, Maggie admitted. Their son James and daughter Lily, who were at awkward tween stages, resented Michael and the attention Dan gave him. Michael wasn’t really interested in them either. He gave cursory nods to James when he wanted to show him the elaborate LEGO creations he’d made and had (politely, but still) asked Lily to stop talking earlier in the morning. Lily had looked indignant and then embarrassed and with her cheeks red, had gone to her room and slammed the door.
Maggie glanced across the hall at Lily’s closed bedroom door. Lily’s bedroom! It was always a terrible wreck. How could an eleven-year-old girl create such a disaster? Lily loved crafts of all sorts. She cut paper into shapes, she taped, she glued, she stapled. Then she left all the scraps and creations wherever they landed.
Lily would have to clean her room tomorrow, Maggie decided. There would be resistance and it would take all of Maggie’s patience but it had to get done before school resumed.
And thinking of school starting, Maggie had to get James to do his book report. It was due the first day they were back from winter break. (What kind of teacher does that?) Of course it had been assigned weeks ago but James hadn’t even started the book. Now Maggie couldn’t remember what book he was supposed to read. She was so busy getting ready for the holidays and dealing with the twins who seemed to take turns being sick, that she didn't have time to stay on top of James’s homework.
Maggie’s shoulders drooped and she sighed. She considered going downstairs to join the rest of the family but she was too tired and who knew when the twins would wake up. Neither of them was sleeping well since Henry was sick and maybe Emily was getting sick again too.
“I’m going to bed,” she called down the stairs to Dan.
There was a pause. Then a distracted “Oh, OK” came her way. They were deeply embroiled in their competition.
Maggie didn’t bother to wash her face. She ran a toothbrush quickly over her teeth then climbed under the covers.
January 1
12:00 AM
Sleepily, Maggie muttered, “I just wish my family would disappear for a day and I could get some sleep.”
January 1
9:00 AM
Maggie rolled over in bed. Light was streaming in through the curtains. How long had she slept? She glanced over at the alarm clock and gasped. That long! She hadn’t slept this late since she’d become a mother! Her back was stiff from lying in the same position for so long. Maggie glanced over to Dan’s side of the bed. He wasn’t there. Maybe he had gotten up early with the twins? That was sweet of him! As the fog lifted from her brain, Maggie noticed there were differences in her room. Strange. Where was the nightstand on Dan’s side of the bed? It wasn’t there and a big plant was sitting on the floor next to the bed. Their wedding picture wasn’t on the wall. In it’s place there was a landscape painting of a beach scene. Also, where were Dan’s things from the top of the dresser? His change jar? The popsicle stick picture frame Lily had made him for Father’s Day? What had happened?
Maggie climbed out of bed and left the room, trying to keep panic at bay. There must be an explanation. Outside her bedroom, she stopped short. Though it was vaguely familiar, there was something really different about the house. Then it occurred to her, this is the way the house looked before they remodeled. Before the twins were born, they’d added on to the house. They’d built an addition above the garage—another bedroom and a playroom. Now there was just a wall. Maggie was starting to panic. Her eyes slid around the uncharacteristically tidy hallway. There were no toys scattered. There were no scuffmarks on the wall and no handprints anywhere. Where was everyone? And who had cleaned everything up? And why was there a wall in front of the twins’ bedroom?
Maggie opened Lily’s bedroom door. (Where were the taped signs and notes that usually covered the door?) She stepped back and gasped at what she saw. It was a sewing room! All of Lily’s things were gone. There were shelves stacked neatly with colored fabric. There was a work table along a wall with a sewing machine and in the corner, there was a beautiful quilt set up on a large hoop that someone was in the middle of hand quilting. It was breathtaking; Maggie had always wished she had more time to quilt. Who did this belong to?
Next she opened the room James shared with Michael when he was visiting. Instead of the two twin beds and a scattering of Lego bricks on the floor, there was a queen size bed. It was very stylish with plump throw pillows. There was an end table next to the bed, where nothing sat except a lamp. There was more art on the walls. It looked like a guest room.
Nothing made sense. Maggie went downstairs to the spotless, unfamiliar kitchen. There was not one magnet on the fridge. Not one! Where was the Mother’s Day card from Lily? It was months old and curling at the edges but Maggie loved it and had proudly stuck it to the fridge with magnets. One of the magnets had been James’s handprint from when he was in preschool. It was made out of Sculpey clay and then sloppily painted bright orange. It was ugly but it was his tiny handprint!
Maggie picked up her phone and Dan wasn’t in her contacts. She dialed his number and it didn’t exist.
“It’s like they all disappeared,” Maggie said out loud.
Her sister Karen’s number was programmed into the phone so Maggie called her. “Happy New Year!” Karen said cheerily. Maggie could hear children in the background. Maybe her family was at Karen’s house?
“Something really weird has happened,” Maggie said.
“What?” Karen asked.
“Have you seen my family?”
“What do you mean?”
“Dan? Michael? James? Lily? The twins? I don’t know where they are and my whole house is different and really clean and I’m freaking out.” Maggie’s voice rose higher as she spoke.
There was a pause on the other end. “Um…who?”
“My family!” Maggie was practically shrieking but she couldn’t stop herself.
“Are you OK?” Karen asked.
“No,” Maggie wailed, “I’m not.”
“All right. I’m coming over there. Stay put, OK?”
January 1
10:17 AM
“Maggie?” Karen called as she knocked on the front door.
Maggie rushed to unlock the door and pulled Karen inside and hugged her. Karen was the first thing that made sense all morning. Everything about her was unaltered.
They sat at the kitchen table. “So what’s going on?” Karen asked.
Maggie explained the entire bizarre morning to her, from waking up to the empty house to the way the house was as it had been pre-renovation to how she couldn’t figure out how to get ahold of Dan.
“Dan?” Karen asked
“My husband!” Maggie cried.
“OK,” Karen said. Then she paused, staring at Maggie. “Did you drink last night? Alcohol? Did you go out?”
“No!” Maggie said, “You know I don’t drink.” Their father had been killed by a drunk driver and neither of them had any interest in alcohol. Maggie was now staring at Karen. “What?” she said, “You look like you think I’m insane.”
Karen reached across the table and took Maggie’s hand. Maggie realized when she felt Karen’s warm hand that her own was ice cold. “I don’t know what to tell you, Sweetie,” Karen said gently. “You aren’t…married. You don’t have any children. I wonder if you should see someone…for help?”
Maggie snatched her hand back and stood up. “I am married. And I have children! I have James and Lily and the twins. And Michael.” She looked at Karen’s disbelieving face. “I had a c-section!” Maggie remembered, “When the twins were born!” She pulled her pajama pants down slightly so she could show her sister the scar. Her stomach was smooth and unblemished. No scar. No stretch marks.
Maggie sunk back into her chair, buried her head in her hands and started to cry.
“C’mon,” Karen said, “You come home with me. Go change your clothes, I’ll wait here and then we’ll go over to my house. You’ve been so busy at work lately. And didn’t you go to a party last night? Maybe someone put something in your drink.”
“Work?” Maggie asked feebly. “Where do I work?”
Karen looked at Maggie oddly. “Are you feeling OK? Did you bump your head?”
“No,” Maggie said, “I didn’t bump my head. My whole world is upside down! Last night I was exhausted. Right before I went to sleep, I thought ‘I wish my family would disappear for a day’…and they have!”
Karen looked at her awhile. “You remember that movie Freaky Friday? That was your favorite movie when we were kids. I think you’re confused. What you’re saying about your family? That only happens in kids’ movies like Freaky Friday, that wishes come true like magic!”
“But…” Maggie didn’t know what to say. She looked at her sister. Karen really did think she was crazy. The last thing she wanted was to have her sister keep looking at her with that sad, concerned expression. “I’m OK,” she said, “You can go back and be with your family. I’ll be fine here.”
“I think I’d rather have you with me,” Karen said. “I’ll stay here with you if you don’t want to come over. I’ll call Kevin.”
“No, no,” Maggie insisted. She knew today was the day Karen would be taking down her Christmas decorations. “I will come over for awhile.”
“Oh good,” Karen said. “It might be fun.”
January 1
11:04 AM
After she had taken a quick shower and changed into some of the beautiful new, but completely impractical, clothes hanging in her closet, Maggie took one last look at her familiar yet foreign house.
“I don’t have a Christmas tree,” she said to Karen.
“I know, I know,” Karen said, “Too much trouble. You’re not going to talk me out of it though. I love decorating for Christmas.”
Maggie didn’t say anything as she followed Karen outside. That hadn’t been what she meant. She had never had a Christmas tree? What kind of person never has a Christmas tree? Maggie wondered.
January 1
11:32 AM
“I’m back,” Karen called as she walked in her door. Her youngest, Mark, came running toward her, his red curls bouncing.
“Mom,” he cried, throwing his arms around her legs. Maggie felt a sharp pang. He was about the same age as her twins. Karen distractedly lifted him off the ground.
“Emma,” she called, “Come and pick up these blankets!” Karen sighed and added, “And all these stuffed animals.” The hallway was filled with stuffed animals arranged on top of variously sized blankets. “I’m sorry about the mess,” Karen said.
“It’s fine,” Maggie said, “I’m certainly used to it at my house.” Karen gave her another strange look. Maggie tried to divert attention by talking to Mark who was busily playing with Karen’s necklace. “Hi Mark,” she said, “Are you taking down the tree today?” He looked at her shyly, like he hardly knew her.
Emma came in the room and immediately started begging to be able to keep the animals in place. She explained a complicated scenario she had set up. Just then, Braeden, Karen’s oldest, came blazing in the room, firing a Nerf dart gun at everyone.
“Braeden!” Karen said, “Stop!” Then she added to no one in particular, “Where is your dad?”
Just then, Kevin came in the house with an armload of boxes from the garage.
“I have an idea,” Maggie said, “Why don’t I read the kids a story while you get things organized with the tree?”
“You don’t mind?” Karen asked looking at Maggie in surprise, “Usually the last thing you want to do is be stuck with the kids.” Karen looked kind of shocked by the words that had come out of her mouth, like she hadn’t meant to think out loud. She seemed to recover and said, “That would be great.”
“Of course I don’t mind!” Maggie said, ignoring Karen’s remark about how she “usually” was. Everything was too bizarre and denial seemed the safest recourse. “Emma, let’s put all these animals back in their house now though.”
“Their house?” Five-year old Emma asked.
“Yes,” Maggie said, this was a game she played with Lily all the time. “You pick up an animal and tell me its name and we will go put them in their house.”
“OK,” Emma said happily. Karen just stared.
“Braeden,” Maggie said, “We’re going to need a strong boy to carry these animals.”
Braeden flung his NERF gun on the floor and ran over, happy to be called strong.
The stuffed animals were quickly cleaned up and put in their bin, which was now their “house,” and Mark had become involved too. He happily repeated all the names of the animals after Emma said them. “Since you were such good helpers,” Maggie said, “You each get to pick out one book for me to read to you.”
The children scampered away. Braeden returned first, “You’re different Aunt Maggie,” he said.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“You’re fun!” he said.
Soon they were all seated on the couch, Braeden and Emma happily snuggled into her sides and Mark climbed onto her lap. Maggie felt that same ache she’d felt earlier. She missed her kids! Surely this was all just a crazy dream and she’d see them again.
While getting lunch on the table, it discovered that the family was out of milk. “I’ll have to run to the store after lunch,” Karen said.
“Can you drop me off at home?” Maggie asked, “I need to get…some work done.” She didn’t really have any work to do, she didn’t even know what her job was. She was hoping maybe her family was back home. She longed to see them all again.
January 1
1:40 PM
After reassuring Karen a dozen times that she was feeling completely better and would call again if she needed something, Maggie walked into her house alone. When the door clicked shut, a silence descended on the house. When was the last time her house was so quiet?
Maggie sank onto the couch. She had to figure this out. She wasn’t crazy. She had a family and now they were…somewhere. Karen had been right about the movie Freaky Friday. Maggie loved that movie. She also knew things like that didn’t happen in real life. Did they?
But then where was her family?
Maggie took another walk through her house. She lingered in Lily’s room. The quilt was beautiful. It was exactly what she would have chosen to quilt, the colors she loved. It was really beyond her skill level though to piece something that intricate. Maggie ran her fingers over the tiny even stitches. She picked up the needle and started to add more stitches.
January 1
5:55 PM
The phone rang and startled Maggie out of her reverie. It was Karen. “Are you OK?” Karen asked.
“Fine,” Maggie said automatically.
“I was really worried about you this morning,” Karen said, “That was weird.”
“Yeah,” Maggie said, trying to laugh a little.
“Did you get some work done?” Karen asked.
“I quilted,” Maggie said.
“Oh,” Karen said, “That’s nice. I figured you’d probably be deep into some bookkeeping or something. So you had a pretty good Christmas season at the store?”
“The store?”
“Yes,” Karen said, “The Nest? The store you own? Seriously Maggie, are you OK?”
“I knew which store you meant,” Maggie lied with a feeble attempt at another laugh. “I’d better get going on my bookkeeping,” Maggie said, “Thanks for this morning, Karen.”
“No problem, the kids had a great time. You were amazing with them, like a pro. I should go too. I can’t even talk on the phone for two minutes without things falling apart around here. Braeden, stop shooting your sister with that NERF gun! Maggie, that gun was the worst mistake Santa ever made! OK, bye. I love you!”
“I love you, too,” Maggie echoed. She hung up the phone and listened more to silence. Karen’s house sounded alive on the other end of the phone. Her house was quiet and spotless.
She didn’t set up a Christmas tree? Many times Maggie had lamented the trouble involved with setting up a tree. What was the point? It just took up space and created work.
Now she missed the tree.
Maggie wandered into the kitchen and opened her refrigerator. It was in pristine condition. There was a half-gallon of milk, a few pieces of fruit, a few containers of yogurt. In the freezer, there was a stack of Lean Cuisine meals.
It was depressing. Maggie picked out a key lime yogurt and found a spoon in an impossibly tidy drawer and wandered to the living room. She sat on the sofa and flipped on the TV. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d sat down and mindlessly watched TV.
She hadn’t been missing much.
Maggie pushed the button that turned off the TV. “I said I wished they’d disappear for a day,” she said out loud. “A day. Maybe they’ll come back tomorrow.”
Maybe I really am crazy, she thought. “Now I’ve started talking to myself? What next?” she asked. No one answered.
January 1
7:00 PM
In a desk drawer, Maggie found the address of her store, The Nest. She knew exactly where it was located, in an old part of town that was filled with cute little shops. She loved that part of town! She figured one of the unfamiliar keys on her key ring was for the store. She got in her car—which was also spotless!—and drove to The Nest.
The window display was gorgeous. She had done that? A bell tinkled overhead when she opened the door and lovely scents from candles on a shelf filled her nose. She sighed deeply and hit a nearby light switch. It was beautiful! This was exactly the kind of store she would have if she had a store.
I do have a store, she realized. Maggie wandered through the store, running her hands over the soft table linens and picking up the decorative plates to look at. There were wall hangings and candlesticks and pieces of furniture. She loved everything about the store. She was glad she’d had a good Christmas season.
January 1
10:36 PM
After getting home from the store, Maggie spent a little more time on the quilt. She wondered what she was going to do with it when it was finished. Her mind even started wandering to new patterns she’d like to try, now that she had more time.
Suddenly she felt guilty. She had been enjoying herself for the last several hours. She wanted her family back, she did! It was just wonderful to quilt…
Finally, Maggie decided to go to bed. The silent house seemed too quiet and her mind was too conflicted. She lay in bed for a few minutes before she fell asleep. I want my family back she said over and over in her mind. She hoped someone was listening.
She wanted them back.
January 2
8:12 AM
“No, no, Emily,” she heard Dan saying, “You’ll wake up Mommy.”
“But I don’t even know where the book is,” James said.
“Whining won’t find it,” Dan said, “Go look in your backpack, your bedroom, under your bed. It is Saturday, you don’t have much time. Back to school on Monday.”
Maggie’s eyes flew open. Dan! It was Saturday! Was it just a dream? Maggie staggered out of her twisted blankets, “Dan!” she called, “Dan!”
She burst outside her bedroom door. Dan and James were standing there, outside the boys’ room. Dan was holding Henry. Henry’s nose was runny and he was rubbing his messy face with his arm. His eyes lit up when he saw Maggie and he reached for her. Emily stopped her before she could go any further. She wrapped her arms around Maggie’s legs, “Mommy!” she said.
Maggie swooped Emily into her arm. “My baby!” she said, “My babies!” She took Henry in her other arm. One of the twins needed a diaper change but she didn’t care. She had her babies back! She leaned over and kissed James on the forehead. He backed away. Dan was giving her a strange look. “I’m so happy to see you all!” Maggie said.
Dan smiled. “We’re happy to see you too,” he said. “Especially the one with the dirty diaper…” Dan gave her a wink. “I’ll change him though. That’s where I was going when I stopped to talk to James.”
Maggie followed Dan to the twins’ room. She reached out and touched Lily’s door as she walked down the hall. It was covered with papers and the smudges of tape marks.
“It’s all so messy!” Maggie said happily as she accidentally kicked one of the twins’ toy robots.
Dan gave her another strange look. “Did you have a good night’s sleep?” he asked, “Good dreams?”
“Yeah,” Maggie said, “I…guess so. Odd dreams.”
“Mo-om,” Lily called up the stairs, “Come and see what I made.”
Maggie walked down the stairs. “Where’s the tree?” she asked.
Lily looked up from her art project spread across the kitchen table.
“Mom,” she said, “We took it down yesterday, remember?”
“Oh, yeah” Maggie said. “Show me what you’ve made.”
While Lily was explaining the complicated picture of a castle and knights and dragons and unicorns, Maggie glanced again into the family room where the tree had been. She had no recollection of taking the tree down. Then she saw the quilt folded neatly on the end of the sofa.
It was the same quilt she had been working on.
11:27 PM
Maggie rocked Henry back and forth, back and forth. Her arms and shoulders and back ached. Henry was two and heavy. He also had an ear infection and was cranky.
Maggie had taken Henry to the walk in clinic that afternoon. She’d spent two and a half hours there. Now he had antibiotics but so far they hadn’t been a miracle cure.
Henry was starting to relax. His head lolled against her shoulder. Maybe she could lay him down in his crib and he would actually sleep. Henry’s twin sister, Emily, was already asleep nearby in her own crib.
Gently, slowly, so as not to trigger another crying jag, Maggie settled Henry into his crib. Her heart swelled with love at the sight of him snuggling down onto the sheet in his footie pajamas. She covered him lightly with a flannel blanket, checked briefly on Emily and quietly left the room.
December 31
11:43 PM
Maggie was exhausted. Downstairs she could hear the competitive game that was happening between Dan, her husband, and Michael, her stepson. It was nice to have Michael for the holidays. He really was a good boy and it made Dan happy. It was difficult though, Maggie admitted. Their son James and daughter Lily, who were at awkward tween stages, resented Michael and the attention Dan gave him. Michael wasn’t really interested in them either. He gave cursory nods to James when he wanted to show him the elaborate LEGO creations he’d made and had (politely, but still) asked Lily to stop talking earlier in the morning. Lily had looked indignant and then embarrassed and with her cheeks red, had gone to her room and slammed the door.
Maggie glanced across the hall at Lily’s closed bedroom door. Lily’s bedroom! It was always a terrible wreck. How could an eleven-year-old girl create such a disaster? Lily loved crafts of all sorts. She cut paper into shapes, she taped, she glued, she stapled. Then she left all the scraps and creations wherever they landed.
Lily would have to clean her room tomorrow, Maggie decided. There would be resistance and it would take all of Maggie’s patience but it had to get done before school resumed.
And thinking of school starting, Maggie had to get James to do his book report. It was due the first day they were back from winter break. (What kind of teacher does that?) Of course it had been assigned weeks ago but James hadn’t even started the book. Now Maggie couldn’t remember what book he was supposed to read. She was so busy getting ready for the holidays and dealing with the twins who seemed to take turns being sick, that she didn't have time to stay on top of James’s homework.
Maggie’s shoulders drooped and she sighed. She considered going downstairs to join the rest of the family but she was too tired and who knew when the twins would wake up. Neither of them was sleeping well since Henry was sick and maybe Emily was getting sick again too.
“I’m going to bed,” she called down the stairs to Dan.
There was a pause. Then a distracted “Oh, OK” came her way. They were deeply embroiled in their competition.
Maggie didn’t bother to wash her face. She ran a toothbrush quickly over her teeth then climbed under the covers.
January 1
12:00 AM
Sleepily, Maggie muttered, “I just wish my family would disappear for a day and I could get some sleep.”
January 1
9:00 AM
Maggie rolled over in bed. Light was streaming in through the curtains. How long had she slept? She glanced over at the alarm clock and gasped. That long! She hadn’t slept this late since she’d become a mother! Her back was stiff from lying in the same position for so long. Maggie glanced over to Dan’s side of the bed. He wasn’t there. Maybe he had gotten up early with the twins? That was sweet of him! As the fog lifted from her brain, Maggie noticed there were differences in her room. Strange. Where was the nightstand on Dan’s side of the bed? It wasn’t there and a big plant was sitting on the floor next to the bed. Their wedding picture wasn’t on the wall. In it’s place there was a landscape painting of a beach scene. Also, where were Dan’s things from the top of the dresser? His change jar? The popsicle stick picture frame Lily had made him for Father’s Day? What had happened?
Maggie climbed out of bed and left the room, trying to keep panic at bay. There must be an explanation. Outside her bedroom, she stopped short. Though it was vaguely familiar, there was something really different about the house. Then it occurred to her, this is the way the house looked before they remodeled. Before the twins were born, they’d added on to the house. They’d built an addition above the garage—another bedroom and a playroom. Now there was just a wall. Maggie was starting to panic. Her eyes slid around the uncharacteristically tidy hallway. There were no toys scattered. There were no scuffmarks on the wall and no handprints anywhere. Where was everyone? And who had cleaned everything up? And why was there a wall in front of the twins’ bedroom?
Maggie opened Lily’s bedroom door. (Where were the taped signs and notes that usually covered the door?) She stepped back and gasped at what she saw. It was a sewing room! All of Lily’s things were gone. There were shelves stacked neatly with colored fabric. There was a work table along a wall with a sewing machine and in the corner, there was a beautiful quilt set up on a large hoop that someone was in the middle of hand quilting. It was breathtaking; Maggie had always wished she had more time to quilt. Who did this belong to?
Next she opened the room James shared with Michael when he was visiting. Instead of the two twin beds and a scattering of Lego bricks on the floor, there was a queen size bed. It was very stylish with plump throw pillows. There was an end table next to the bed, where nothing sat except a lamp. There was more art on the walls. It looked like a guest room.
Nothing made sense. Maggie went downstairs to the spotless, unfamiliar kitchen. There was not one magnet on the fridge. Not one! Where was the Mother’s Day card from Lily? It was months old and curling at the edges but Maggie loved it and had proudly stuck it to the fridge with magnets. One of the magnets had been James’s handprint from when he was in preschool. It was made out of Sculpey clay and then sloppily painted bright orange. It was ugly but it was his tiny handprint!
Maggie picked up her phone and Dan wasn’t in her contacts. She dialed his number and it didn’t exist.
“It’s like they all disappeared,” Maggie said out loud.
Her sister Karen’s number was programmed into the phone so Maggie called her. “Happy New Year!” Karen said cheerily. Maggie could hear children in the background. Maybe her family was at Karen’s house?
“Something really weird has happened,” Maggie said.
“What?” Karen asked.
“Have you seen my family?”
“What do you mean?”
“Dan? Michael? James? Lily? The twins? I don’t know where they are and my whole house is different and really clean and I’m freaking out.” Maggie’s voice rose higher as she spoke.
There was a pause on the other end. “Um…who?”
“My family!” Maggie was practically shrieking but she couldn’t stop herself.
“Are you OK?” Karen asked.
“No,” Maggie wailed, “I’m not.”
“All right. I’m coming over there. Stay put, OK?”
January 1
10:17 AM
“Maggie?” Karen called as she knocked on the front door.
Maggie rushed to unlock the door and pulled Karen inside and hugged her. Karen was the first thing that made sense all morning. Everything about her was unaltered.
They sat at the kitchen table. “So what’s going on?” Karen asked.
Maggie explained the entire bizarre morning to her, from waking up to the empty house to the way the house was as it had been pre-renovation to how she couldn’t figure out how to get ahold of Dan.
“Dan?” Karen asked
“My husband!” Maggie cried.
“OK,” Karen said. Then she paused, staring at Maggie. “Did you drink last night? Alcohol? Did you go out?”
“No!” Maggie said, “You know I don’t drink.” Their father had been killed by a drunk driver and neither of them had any interest in alcohol. Maggie was now staring at Karen. “What?” she said, “You look like you think I’m insane.”
Karen reached across the table and took Maggie’s hand. Maggie realized when she felt Karen’s warm hand that her own was ice cold. “I don’t know what to tell you, Sweetie,” Karen said gently. “You aren’t…married. You don’t have any children. I wonder if you should see someone…for help?”
Maggie snatched her hand back and stood up. “I am married. And I have children! I have James and Lily and the twins. And Michael.” She looked at Karen’s disbelieving face. “I had a c-section!” Maggie remembered, “When the twins were born!” She pulled her pajama pants down slightly so she could show her sister the scar. Her stomach was smooth and unblemished. No scar. No stretch marks.
Maggie sunk back into her chair, buried her head in her hands and started to cry.
“C’mon,” Karen said, “You come home with me. Go change your clothes, I’ll wait here and then we’ll go over to my house. You’ve been so busy at work lately. And didn’t you go to a party last night? Maybe someone put something in your drink.”
“Work?” Maggie asked feebly. “Where do I work?”
Karen looked at Maggie oddly. “Are you feeling OK? Did you bump your head?”
“No,” Maggie said, “I didn’t bump my head. My whole world is upside down! Last night I was exhausted. Right before I went to sleep, I thought ‘I wish my family would disappear for a day’…and they have!”
Karen looked at her awhile. “You remember that movie Freaky Friday? That was your favorite movie when we were kids. I think you’re confused. What you’re saying about your family? That only happens in kids’ movies like Freaky Friday, that wishes come true like magic!”
“But…” Maggie didn’t know what to say. She looked at her sister. Karen really did think she was crazy. The last thing she wanted was to have her sister keep looking at her with that sad, concerned expression. “I’m OK,” she said, “You can go back and be with your family. I’ll be fine here.”
“I think I’d rather have you with me,” Karen said. “I’ll stay here with you if you don’t want to come over. I’ll call Kevin.”
“No, no,” Maggie insisted. She knew today was the day Karen would be taking down her Christmas decorations. “I will come over for awhile.”
“Oh good,” Karen said. “It might be fun.”
January 1
11:04 AM
After she had taken a quick shower and changed into some of the beautiful new, but completely impractical, clothes hanging in her closet, Maggie took one last look at her familiar yet foreign house.
“I don’t have a Christmas tree,” she said to Karen.
“I know, I know,” Karen said, “Too much trouble. You’re not going to talk me out of it though. I love decorating for Christmas.”
Maggie didn’t say anything as she followed Karen outside. That hadn’t been what she meant. She had never had a Christmas tree? What kind of person never has a Christmas tree? Maggie wondered.
January 1
11:32 AM
“I’m back,” Karen called as she walked in her door. Her youngest, Mark, came running toward her, his red curls bouncing.
“Mom,” he cried, throwing his arms around her legs. Maggie felt a sharp pang. He was about the same age as her twins. Karen distractedly lifted him off the ground.
“Emma,” she called, “Come and pick up these blankets!” Karen sighed and added, “And all these stuffed animals.” The hallway was filled with stuffed animals arranged on top of variously sized blankets. “I’m sorry about the mess,” Karen said.
“It’s fine,” Maggie said, “I’m certainly used to it at my house.” Karen gave her another strange look. Maggie tried to divert attention by talking to Mark who was busily playing with Karen’s necklace. “Hi Mark,” she said, “Are you taking down the tree today?” He looked at her shyly, like he hardly knew her.
Emma came in the room and immediately started begging to be able to keep the animals in place. She explained a complicated scenario she had set up. Just then, Braeden, Karen’s oldest, came blazing in the room, firing a Nerf dart gun at everyone.
“Braeden!” Karen said, “Stop!” Then she added to no one in particular, “Where is your dad?”
Just then, Kevin came in the house with an armload of boxes from the garage.
“I have an idea,” Maggie said, “Why don’t I read the kids a story while you get things organized with the tree?”
“You don’t mind?” Karen asked looking at Maggie in surprise, “Usually the last thing you want to do is be stuck with the kids.” Karen looked kind of shocked by the words that had come out of her mouth, like she hadn’t meant to think out loud. She seemed to recover and said, “That would be great.”
“Of course I don’t mind!” Maggie said, ignoring Karen’s remark about how she “usually” was. Everything was too bizarre and denial seemed the safest recourse. “Emma, let’s put all these animals back in their house now though.”
“Their house?” Five-year old Emma asked.
“Yes,” Maggie said, this was a game she played with Lily all the time. “You pick up an animal and tell me its name and we will go put them in their house.”
“OK,” Emma said happily. Karen just stared.
“Braeden,” Maggie said, “We’re going to need a strong boy to carry these animals.”
Braeden flung his NERF gun on the floor and ran over, happy to be called strong.
The stuffed animals were quickly cleaned up and put in their bin, which was now their “house,” and Mark had become involved too. He happily repeated all the names of the animals after Emma said them. “Since you were such good helpers,” Maggie said, “You each get to pick out one book for me to read to you.”
The children scampered away. Braeden returned first, “You’re different Aunt Maggie,” he said.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“You’re fun!” he said.
Soon they were all seated on the couch, Braeden and Emma happily snuggled into her sides and Mark climbed onto her lap. Maggie felt that same ache she’d felt earlier. She missed her kids! Surely this was all just a crazy dream and she’d see them again.
While getting lunch on the table, it discovered that the family was out of milk. “I’ll have to run to the store after lunch,” Karen said.
“Can you drop me off at home?” Maggie asked, “I need to get…some work done.” She didn’t really have any work to do, she didn’t even know what her job was. She was hoping maybe her family was back home. She longed to see them all again.
January 1
1:40 PM
After reassuring Karen a dozen times that she was feeling completely better and would call again if she needed something, Maggie walked into her house alone. When the door clicked shut, a silence descended on the house. When was the last time her house was so quiet?
Maggie sank onto the couch. She had to figure this out. She wasn’t crazy. She had a family and now they were…somewhere. Karen had been right about the movie Freaky Friday. Maggie loved that movie. She also knew things like that didn’t happen in real life. Did they?
But then where was her family?
Maggie took another walk through her house. She lingered in Lily’s room. The quilt was beautiful. It was exactly what she would have chosen to quilt, the colors she loved. It was really beyond her skill level though to piece something that intricate. Maggie ran her fingers over the tiny even stitches. She picked up the needle and started to add more stitches.
January 1
5:55 PM
The phone rang and startled Maggie out of her reverie. It was Karen. “Are you OK?” Karen asked.
“Fine,” Maggie said automatically.
“I was really worried about you this morning,” Karen said, “That was weird.”
“Yeah,” Maggie said, trying to laugh a little.
“Did you get some work done?” Karen asked.
“I quilted,” Maggie said.
“Oh,” Karen said, “That’s nice. I figured you’d probably be deep into some bookkeeping or something. So you had a pretty good Christmas season at the store?”
“The store?”
“Yes,” Karen said, “The Nest? The store you own? Seriously Maggie, are you OK?”
“I knew which store you meant,” Maggie lied with a feeble attempt at another laugh. “I’d better get going on my bookkeeping,” Maggie said, “Thanks for this morning, Karen.”
“No problem, the kids had a great time. You were amazing with them, like a pro. I should go too. I can’t even talk on the phone for two minutes without things falling apart around here. Braeden, stop shooting your sister with that NERF gun! Maggie, that gun was the worst mistake Santa ever made! OK, bye. I love you!”
“I love you, too,” Maggie echoed. She hung up the phone and listened more to silence. Karen’s house sounded alive on the other end of the phone. Her house was quiet and spotless.
She didn’t set up a Christmas tree? Many times Maggie had lamented the trouble involved with setting up a tree. What was the point? It just took up space and created work.
Now she missed the tree.
Maggie wandered into the kitchen and opened her refrigerator. It was in pristine condition. There was a half-gallon of milk, a few pieces of fruit, a few containers of yogurt. In the freezer, there was a stack of Lean Cuisine meals.
It was depressing. Maggie picked out a key lime yogurt and found a spoon in an impossibly tidy drawer and wandered to the living room. She sat on the sofa and flipped on the TV. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d sat down and mindlessly watched TV.
She hadn’t been missing much.
Maggie pushed the button that turned off the TV. “I said I wished they’d disappear for a day,” she said out loud. “A day. Maybe they’ll come back tomorrow.”
Maybe I really am crazy, she thought. “Now I’ve started talking to myself? What next?” she asked. No one answered.
January 1
7:00 PM
In a desk drawer, Maggie found the address of her store, The Nest. She knew exactly where it was located, in an old part of town that was filled with cute little shops. She loved that part of town! She figured one of the unfamiliar keys on her key ring was for the store. She got in her car—which was also spotless!—and drove to The Nest.
The window display was gorgeous. She had done that? A bell tinkled overhead when she opened the door and lovely scents from candles on a shelf filled her nose. She sighed deeply and hit a nearby light switch. It was beautiful! This was exactly the kind of store she would have if she had a store.
I do have a store, she realized. Maggie wandered through the store, running her hands over the soft table linens and picking up the decorative plates to look at. There were wall hangings and candlesticks and pieces of furniture. She loved everything about the store. She was glad she’d had a good Christmas season.
January 1
10:36 PM
After getting home from the store, Maggie spent a little more time on the quilt. She wondered what she was going to do with it when it was finished. Her mind even started wandering to new patterns she’d like to try, now that she had more time.
Suddenly she felt guilty. She had been enjoying herself for the last several hours. She wanted her family back, she did! It was just wonderful to quilt…
Finally, Maggie decided to go to bed. The silent house seemed too quiet and her mind was too conflicted. She lay in bed for a few minutes before she fell asleep. I want my family back she said over and over in her mind. She hoped someone was listening.
She wanted them back.
January 2
8:12 AM
“No, no, Emily,” she heard Dan saying, “You’ll wake up Mommy.”
“But I don’t even know where the book is,” James said.
“Whining won’t find it,” Dan said, “Go look in your backpack, your bedroom, under your bed. It is Saturday, you don’t have much time. Back to school on Monday.”
Maggie’s eyes flew open. Dan! It was Saturday! Was it just a dream? Maggie staggered out of her twisted blankets, “Dan!” she called, “Dan!”
She burst outside her bedroom door. Dan and James were standing there, outside the boys’ room. Dan was holding Henry. Henry’s nose was runny and he was rubbing his messy face with his arm. His eyes lit up when he saw Maggie and he reached for her. Emily stopped her before she could go any further. She wrapped her arms around Maggie’s legs, “Mommy!” she said.
Maggie swooped Emily into her arm. “My baby!” she said, “My babies!” She took Henry in her other arm. One of the twins needed a diaper change but she didn’t care. She had her babies back! She leaned over and kissed James on the forehead. He backed away. Dan was giving her a strange look. “I’m so happy to see you all!” Maggie said.
Dan smiled. “We’re happy to see you too,” he said. “Especially the one with the dirty diaper…” Dan gave her a wink. “I’ll change him though. That’s where I was going when I stopped to talk to James.”
Maggie followed Dan to the twins’ room. She reached out and touched Lily’s door as she walked down the hall. It was covered with papers and the smudges of tape marks.
“It’s all so messy!” Maggie said happily as she accidentally kicked one of the twins’ toy robots.
Dan gave her another strange look. “Did you have a good night’s sleep?” he asked, “Good dreams?”
“Yeah,” Maggie said, “I…guess so. Odd dreams.”
“Mo-om,” Lily called up the stairs, “Come and see what I made.”
Maggie walked down the stairs. “Where’s the tree?” she asked.
Lily looked up from her art project spread across the kitchen table.
“Mom,” she said, “We took it down yesterday, remember?”
“Oh, yeah” Maggie said. “Show me what you’ve made.”
While Lily was explaining the complicated picture of a castle and knights and dragons and unicorns, Maggie glanced again into the family room where the tree had been. She had no recollection of taking the tree down. Then she saw the quilt folded neatly on the end of the sofa.
It was the same quilt she had been working on.
