The Halloween dance was this week. The feeling of anticipation and excitement was heavy in the air, just like the warning that hung over my head and Stacey’s lie. The dance was what everyone needed after a tough first month of the school year. But I got the feeling it would only be the band-aid over the proverbial wound that was this town and its secrets.
That night, while I was preparing dinner for my dad and me, the door opened, and I listened for the sound of his leather shoes on the wood floor.
They finally came after a short delay. I smiled, putting on a façade as he walked into the kitchen with a look of worry on his face. My smile sank, and so did my heart.
“Hey, Dad, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. Long day at work. How was your day?” He kissed my head and grabbed a beer from the fridge before leaning against the kitchen counter. He took a long drink.
“It was fine. The Halloween dance is this Friday night.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Are you going with anyone?”
Now was the time to drop the bomb and find out if what Dane had said was true, and our parents were really dating each other.
“Yes actually. Dane O’Connell. Did you know he lives next door?”
I watched his face for a reaction. There was a slight hesitation, where his eyes widened in surprise, but he covered it up with another swig of his beer.
Okay. Not the reaction I was hoping for.
But he finished his beer, set down the empty glass bottle with a loud clink on the counter, and looked at me.
“Oh, that wouldn’t be wise. You know I’m dating his mother?”
I was silent for about a minute, trying to come up with an appropriate response. But I came up blank.
Dad walked over to the fridge and took another beer and walked out of the room.
I followed him.
“Dane told me, but I didn’t want to believe him. Are you in love with her?” he sat down in his favorite armchair in the lounge room and flicked on the TV at low volume. I sat on the nearby love seat.
“We’ve only just started dating, but I like her very much, yes. What about you and Dane? How long has that been going on?”
My face heated. “Um… I met him at the party before school at the Circle. I… I really like him.”
He took another drink before continuing. “That’s nice.”
Something was up with him too.
“Dad, what’s going on? Not with Mrs. O’Connell and you, but what happened at work?”
“Oh, I got a big development contract today, but I’m not sure I should take it.”
“Oh, congrats. Where? What for?”
“For the old asylum. They want to build a holiday resort and golf course on the site.”
I froze.
I knew that asylum well.
I had once been a patient there. And the woman I put there was still a resident, among others. But they weren’t the only reasons we were worried.
“I see,” I said finally.
“But it’s okay. I won’t be accepting the contract.”
“Why? You know, if they knock down that place, it would hide everything. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Yes. But it would also unearth a lot of things. I can’t let that happen. Some secrets should stay buried forever.”
I had an idea. “Well, I could sneak in there and find anything that might reveal our secret. No one would ever know.”
He looked at me, alarmed. “You don’t know that. The walls have eyes and ears. People will find out.”
“I’ll be careful. Promise.”
He nodded and took another drink of his beer before turning up the volume on the television.
And that was the end of the conversation. I stood up to leave the room.
“Dinner will be ready in a minute. Okay, Dad. Don’t worry about that thing. You should take the contract.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Darce.”
As I ate my dinner in silence that night, I began to plan how I would break into the one place I told myself I would stay away from.