1.22 What if...............

Things were getting better with every week that passed. Birdy and Billy were doing just fine in school again, having enough free time in the afternoon to do their homework, and play for a few hours afterwards. It was right that they were given their childhood back. Britney was also having a great time in school. She saw her older siblings every now and then during the breaks, but got along great on her own, as well. Many of her classmates wanted to befriend her, because she was said to be outgoing and fun. In addition, everybody had heard about the unicorn she had at home. The two older ones sometimes were jealous, because nobody had cared about the unicorn when they told people about it. But then again, Britney knew how to make things sound interesting and exciting. 

Anna enjoyed the time she had with Beth at home. There were so many things she had to make up for; she didn’t want her youngest daughter to be lonely ever again. Now that the other kids were out of the house most of the day, she was able to play with Beth for hours, read stories to her and watch her take her first steps. Something that she had always found fascinating.

Whenever something went wrong in the house, she was now able to fix it. Nobody would have believed this was the same woman that barricaded in her garden a couple of months ago. Not that there was anybody who could tell, since Anna had lost most of her acquaintances after Jo had died. Only her neighbors, the Cordials, who had seen her the very first day she spent in Appaloosa Plains, stopped by every now and then to see how she was doing. They had, of course, noticed she hadn’t left the house for a few months, and were now relieved to see how well she was doing. At one of those visits Mrs. Cordial mentioned something about the kids still having their dolls to play with, which made Anna suspicious. When she asked what her neighbor meant, the woman reluctantly admitted that she and her husband had sent those dolls, signed with “a distant relative”. This took some time for Anna to process.

 

Later, when she was working in the garden again, she recapped what Mrs. Cordial had admitted. She had noticed that nobody ever came to visit the family – no relatives, almost no friends – and they had felt bad for them. So they had bought these dolls, wrapped them up nicely, and sent them over. There had been no hidden agenda, except to make the kids happy. Anna was confused. This meant that they had not been onto her all the time, that there was nothing evil about these dolls. Still having a hard time believing it, she pulled one of these dolls out of the closet and examined it closely. Indeed, there was no camera, no microphone. No harm in giving the children their toys back.

The two girls hugged their dolls tightly and played with them for a day or two, but soon lost interest. Before Jo’s death, he and Anna had purchased some toys for the garden, like a swing and a sandbox, and the kids spent most of their free time outside. It barely rained, so the conditions were perfect.

The school work never got a raw deal, though. Anna made sure the kids always did their homework before going to bed, not allowing any exceptions. She had chosen not to let them stay in school until the late afternoon to do their homework, even though this would have meant more free time for her, because she was interested in her children’s education. And this way she could have an eye on them and make sure that everything was going right.

Now that she was in third grade, Britney had taken up a computer course in school, getting to know the basic programs features. She learned quickly, and soon she begged her mother to buy her a computer. There were so many things she wanted to write about, so many happenings she witnessed, and also things she wanted to investigate on the internet. Anna was torn. Money was tight; she barely managed to pay her bills at the moment. Buying a computer would mean a loan, and more electricity costs. But when she looked into Britney’s eyes, filled with excitement and sparks, she reluctantly agreed. Soon, Britney was only found in front of the computer during the afternoons.

The months passed without anything exciting happening. One weekend, Britney decided to sleep over at a friend’s house, of course with her mother’s permission. Anna offered to drive her there, but she declined and took her bike to ride over there, a rucksack with clothes on her shoulders. She had fun on the weekend, getting to know her friend’s family, as well. Especially the father was a nice man, anticipating her every wish and trying to make her feel as comfortable as possible. More than one time, she caught him looking at her with a dreamy look on his face. She wondered what that was all about, but didn’t say anything. Every person had quirks, and this seemed to be one of his. Apart from that, he was a great guy, and she sometimes envied her friend for this father. She wouldn’t bother if he was her father, too. Maybe it was a good idea to introduce him to her mother some time. She would probably like this guy. Even their names sounded great together. Anna and Benjamin Vocis. Perfect.

While Britney plotted some coupling, it was her little sister’s birthday! Anna was sad that Britney would missed it, but made sure Beth had a great party nevertheless. She baked cakes, invited a few kids, cleaned the house and bought her a number of great presents, bigger than her budget allowed.

Beth aged up into a happy and open-minded child, no longer caring about what had happened during her early childhood. Having her father’s hair and eyes, a man she did not remember at all, she was a pretty girl, ready to take over the world.