As they continued on their way, one of the houses caught her eye. Large and regal, with tall white pillars in front of a red brick exterior, the estate looked like something out of a history book—whatever that was. “Who lives here?” Cadence asked, but before either of her grandparents could answer, that voice was back in her head.
“Cadence, please. Just breathe, Cadence. Just take a breath. You can do it.”
Cadence sucked in air, filling her lungs, her forehead puckering again. What did the voice mean she should breathe? Clearly, she was already breathing.
“Are you all right, dear?” Grandma Janette’s smile was turned down a bit at the corners, as if she wasn’t quite as happy as she had been before.
“Yes, fine,” Cadence assured her. “I just heard the voice again, that’s all.”
“How peculiar.” Grandpa tsked his tongue.
“This house belongs to the Hamiltons,” Janette explained, going on as if Cadence hadn’t just admitted to hearing disembodied voices. “Alexander and his wife Betsey, along with their children and grandchildren. He was here, but then he left, and now he’s back again. And everyone is so happy to see him.”
Cadence nodded, thinking that was lovely. She wondered how one might leave and then come back again. Where would one go? But she didn’t ask because it seemed like the sort of question that had no answer.
They arrived at the baseball diamond, and Grandma led them to a spot on the bottom row of the bleachers. A few others were watching, some munching on popcorn or corn dogs. A few children were playing in the grassy area between the home team and visitors seating areas. Everyone was smiling, and the scoreboard read that both the team in red and the team in blue were tied at zero in the bottom of the second inning.
The pitcher let the ball fly toward home. It was a good pitch, fast and right down the middle. The batter swung and missed, and everyone “awed” for a moment before spectators on both sides shouted encouragement. Even the pitcher said, “That’s okay. You’ll get the next one.”
He looked familiar. Cadence tilted her head to the side and studied him for a moment. He was tall with light brown hair and sparkling eyes. His smile was crooked, and his disposition seemed warm and caring. She was sure she knew him, but she didn’t remember from where. “Who is the pitcher?” she asked, leaning over toward her grandmother’s ear.
“Why... that’s Jack Cook,” Janette said with a grin. “You know him, don’t you?”
“Jack?” Cadence’s eyes widened. Yes, of course she knew him. It was Jack! She hadn’t seen him since... the last time she’d seen him. But she had no idea when that had been. Part of her wanted to interrupt the game, to shout his name and run out onto the field, but he was concentrating, and she remembered that Jack Cook was very good at baseball.
He threw another pitch, and this time the batter hit the ball soundly, popping it up into the air. It flew over Jack’s head, out into center field territory as the batter ran toward first as fast as he could go.
The center fielder took time to adjust his hat atop his black, curly hair, his white teeth gleaming as he licked his bottom lip and raised his glove. The ball landed in his outstretched palm, and everyone cheered, even the batter, who had made it to second but then came back toward his dugout, still smiling.
“That Reggie sure can catch the ball,” Grandpa Jordan said, clapping his hands.
“Especially a football, but he’s clearly good at baseball, too,” Janette added. “Nice hit, Jimmy! That was a solid blow!”
Jimmy, the batter, was in the dugout now, but he turned and waved at Janette, and Cadence realized there was something familiar about his face. She didn’t think she knew him, though. He reminded her of someone else. Who it was, she couldn’t say. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted to get a better look at him. No, she’d never met him, she was sure. But he looked so familiar....
“Whatcha looking at, honey?” Janette asked, patting Cadence on the knee.
“Oh, uh, nothing. It’s just... Jimmy. He looks familiar. But I don’t think I know him.”
“No, I don’t think you do either. He’s been here a long time. He’s a nice boy, sort of quiet. Not much of an athlete usually, but he tries.” Janette’s tone conveyed she meant nothing by her criticism. “That’s his mother, Arlene, over there.”
Cadence’s eyes traced past the bleachers full of people to a solitary bench sitting near the park. Lots of children were playing in the distance. A light breeze stirred the leaves above where the woman sat, but even from here, Cadence could tell there was something different about this woman than everyone else. For one, she was sitting by herself, not even paying attention to her son’s baseball game. For another, she wasn’t smiling. “What’s the matter with her?” Cadence asked, her voice low.
Janette sighed, her smile slipping away slightly. “She’s been troubled recently. It’s such an odd situation. She claims she has another son, that he was here, but now he’s not here. And while no one else knows what she’s talking about, she’s adamant about it, says she misses him so much she can’t even be happy.”
Cadence’s forehead puckered. “That seems strange. Seems like everyone here is happy.”
“Yes, most of us are. But occasionally, someone will show up who isn’t capable of being completely happy. We think it has something to do with who they were before they were here, but it’s hard to say.”
“Arlene has been here a long time,” Jordan added. “She used to be happy. I’m not sure what happened.”
“And you don’t know her other son? Never met him?”
Janette shrugged and shook her head. Cadence could see her eyes searching, as if there was a possibility she had known him at one time, but she said only, “Not that I recall.”
