Have you ever felt like something was just… off? That’s how I’ve felt for a while now. There are a few things that stand out, but for the most part, I can’t pinpoint what’s causing it. Everything in my life is as good as it’s ever been. Still, I can’t seem to shake the feeling.
The first time I felt that something wasn’t right came a few days ago, on Penelope’s birthday. At the time, I remember being so excited. My little girl was turning eighteen! For almost a solid week prior to the big day, I’d been trying to get her to tell me what she wanted to do to celebrate. Despite my prodding, she never gave me a straight answer. In the end, we all agreed we’d just have a nice, relaxing night at home.
Most of that day was fine. It wasn’t until dinner time that I found myself feeling like something was off. For most of the meal, Penelope hardly said anything, as if she was distracted by her thoughts. This is very unlike her, especially on a night when it’s supposed to be all about her. I considered voicing my concern, but she snapped out of it before I could say anything, and resumed being her usual, cheery self. Definitely weird, right?
After we’d all stuffed ourselves with lasagna and triple chocolate cake, my husband Sam suggested that we head into the living room and watch the movie of Penelope’s choice. This sounded fun, and we all rose from the table. Sam headed toward the living room, but Penelope was kind of standing in my path. I was about to ask her to get moving when I felt her hand on my arm.
“Mom, we need to talk,” she whispered, looking me square in the eyes.
“Okay, dear,” I replied. “What about?”
“Tonight,” she answered, still holding my arm. “You think it would be more fun for all of us if you stayed home to clean up the house and Dad took me out on a date.”
“Well, of course, that sounds like a great idea,” I replied, even though something about cleaning the house all night while my family went out didn’t really seem like fun for a moment. The moment quickly passed, fortunately, and I felt much better about it. After all, cleaning can be a lot of fun when I have the house to myself. Besides, why wouldn’t I want my little girl to get some one-on-one time with her dad on her birthday?
“Oh, good,” Penelope said. “And since it’s a date, you’ll be okay with whatever I wear. Also, it’s okay if we stay out all night and come back tomorrow.”
“That sounds just fine, too,” I smiled. In the back of my mind, a little voice wondered if I should really be so accepting of those conditions, but I quickly put those thoughts to rest. Penelope could wear whatever she wanted. She was a grown woman. And who cares if they stay out all night? I had been hoping for a little fun with Sam later, but we could always do that tomorrow.
“Thanks, Mom!” Penelope said as she gave me a hug. “I’m going to go let Daddy know. You can start cleaning up.”
From there, the rest of my evening went pretty normally. I stayed back and had fun getting the house cleaned up, while Sam and Penelope went out to go have some fun of their own. Despite how normal this seemed, I still couldn’t shake that feeling of something being… off.
The following day, I had lunch ready when Sam and Penelope arrived home. I didn’t have a clue what they’d done to occupy their time, but they sure looked worn out. We had a little conversation, and then I got busy with some odds-and-ends chores.
As I moved through the house, I kept getting these weird vibes. It seemed almost like Sam and Penelope were watching me, as though they were waiting for something. At one point, I came back upstairs from the basement and just barely caught a glimpse of Penelope diving onto the sofa across from Sam. I shrugged it off, but that definitely seemed weird.
Later that night, the weirdness only continued. I was sound asleep after a nice round of sex with Sam when I was jolted awake by a loud thud from somewhere in the house. Instinctively, I reached over to wake up Sam so he could check it out, but he wasn’t there.
Before I could get out of bed, I heard another noise from somewhere outside our room. It was faint, but I could still make out what sounded almost like someone groaning. A few moments later, I found Sam in the hall, and he informed me that the noises were from Penelope knocking some stuff off her nightstand. Something about his story and demeanor seemed off, but once again, I ignored it, and we went to bed.
For the next couple days, moments like this kept cropping up. Again and again, I’d catch something out of the corner of my eye or hear suspicious noises. For example, one time, I was in the bathroom taking a shower, and I could have sworn I heard Sam groaning from the bedroom. When I got back to the bedroom after the shower, though, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I walked into the room to find Sam sitting in bed reading a book, with Penelope standing next to the bed, just chatting away.
Later that afternoon, one of my friends called and invited me to dinner. When I told Sam and Penelope that they had to fend for themselves, they tried to play it cool but I could tell that they were almost excited I was leaving for a couple hours. When I got home that evening, I caught Sam coming out of Penelope’s room. He claimed he had just needed to change one of her light bulbs, but with his flushed face and sweaty brow, I’d have sworn he had just run a marathon.