You'll Just Know

Chapter 14

            It was close to 1:30 when I dropped Emily off at her house. Before I could say goodnight, she had wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. Then she was in her door and I was left standing on her front porch, dazed and smelling of stale beer and perfume.

            Man, this was one weird night! I very seriously considered for just one moment curling up behind the shrubbery next to Emily's front porch and sleeping until morning. Yes. Sleep. That sounded nice. No! I need to get home! Yes. Home.

            I don't remember climbing the apple tree. I really can't see now how it was humanly possible in my condition.  Yet I did it somehow and found myself not home in bed, but stumbling through the darkness across the roof of Wendy's house.

            What was I doing here? Better yet, now that I'm up here, how do I get back down? Wendy. I needed to talk to Wendy. (What are you doing? It's two in the morning!)

            After a brief moment of disorientation, I knelt down on the eave in front of her window. Tap Tap. Lightly. Tap Tap. I saw the bed through the window in the shadowy darkness of the room. Tap Tap. Louder. (Wake up Wendy!)

            Hmm... her room looked different somehow. Like maybe she'd moved the furniture around or something. It was so dark that it was hard to tell. Tap Tap. I saw the figure under the covers finally begin to stir. (Has her bed gotten bigger?) The covers were tossed aside and a huge shadow rose from the sheets. I heard a deep, waking groan.

            Holy Moly oh geez God help me!

I realized suddenly that I had gotten turned around somehow and that Wendy's room was on the other side of the house. In the shadows of the room, I saw Mr. Cameron rising from his bed and walking past the window. In a panicked reflex action, I almost leapt backwards, but remembered the three-story drop just in time. I bit down on a startled yelp as my nails dug into the roof shingles. As silently as possible, I slid away from the window. I almost screamed again when I heard a terrifying growling sound that it took me a moment to realize was a toilet flushing from somewhere inside.

            Feeling a bit more sober, I waited for what seemed like a half of an hour before moving again. I took a breath of the hot night air and tried to re-orient myself. I finally got pointed in what I thought to be the right direction, and in a few minutes I was kneeling near another window. Carefully, quietly, I peered inside, allowing myself time for my eyes to adjust to the shadows of the room. After a minute, I was able to make out the soft green glow of her bedside alarm clock. 2:57 a.m. I was shaken when I realized that it had taken me an hour and a half from Emily's front door to Wendy's roof. It was only a fifteen-minute walk. I swore to myself that I was though with alcohol.

            Tap. I remembered last time I had crawled up to her window I had almost gotten brained with a baton. Needed to be careful. Tap Tap. Oh Wen-dy… Waaake uuup. (Geez I was drunk.)

            I saw Wendy stir under her covers, hesitantly at first.

            Tap Tap. Louder now.

            A hand reached from under the covers and turned on the bedside lamp. A crazy brown tangle of hair popped up and looked around.

            Tap Tap.

            Finally, Wendy turned to me and squinted in my direction. “Casey?” I couldn't hear her though the window, but I could see her lips form the word. She glanced at the clock, then back up at me. Then, with great effort, she pulled herself from the bed and slumped toward the window.