A Million Wishes Read online

  As she sat in that tree looking to the west for the last time in her childhood life she vowed to herself she would never end up like Momma. If she ever was to marry and have kids, they would know they were loved, they wouldn’t be hungry or cold, or feel like they’d be better off dead. No way. They would be happy all the time like the Cane kids were. At school she never saw them sad or in dirty clothes. They were always laughing and smiling, seemingly enjoying life, and always were friendly to her and her siblings. Maybe they felt sorry for them. Mikayla didn’t care. Sometimes she felt sorry for herself too. The middle kid Noah was only 5 years older than her, but he had become her friend long ago when he’d caught her at 9 years old in their peach orchard, picking up fruit that had fallen to the ground and eating some, stuffing extras in her backpack to take home with her. Mikayla just knew she was going to get in trouble and was about to dart away when he smiled at her and she nearly choked on a mouth full of peach.

  “Don’t run its ok.”

  The smile was bright and friendly as he reached up and plucked a ripe fruit from the branch and handed it to her.

  “You don’t have to get the ones on the ground darlin’, I’ve seen you climb trees so I know you can pick some up here instead.”

  She took the peach, but her mouth was moving and not a word came out. For some reason that made him laugh, not in the way of making fun of her either, it was a laugh of joy really, like an angel might sound. He certainly was handsome enough to be an angel. His hair tumbled across his forehead in sandy waves as he crouched down next to her on the ground and held out his hand.

  “I’m Noah Cane. You’re one of the Johnson girls right…Miki? I know your brothers, we play ball together at school.”

  She nodded her head and took his big hand in hers, sticky fingers and all, shaking his hand hard and licking the peach juice off her lips.

  “Yes…Yes, I’m Mikayla Johnson. Please don’t tell on me Noah. I’ll pay you back for the peaches I ate already. I was hungry and so are my brothers and sisters.” She stumbled to a halt, ashamed she had spoken those words out loud. Being dirt poor was humbling. “I…I just figured since these were on the ground it would be ok. I know I should have asked first. You can have these back.” Regretfully she took the peaches from her back pack, jumping when he laughed loudly and started putting them back in her bag.

  “No no no Miki. Can I call you Miki?” She nodded again and felt tears well up in her big green eyes.

  “Good, Miki it is then. You keep these peached darlin’ and share them with the other kids ok? It’s fine really. Just between you and I ok?”

  Miki sniffled and used her sleeve to wipe her eyes, at that moment she felt like she’d found her prince charming and she fell in love for the first time in her young life. At 14 years old he seemed so much more mature than her older brothers. He sweetly re-packed her backpack and stood his full height again plucking more fruit while he talked. Thinking since he was ok with her eating she once again bit into the juicy fruit and mumbled out an mmm of pleasure. He grinned at her and proudly announced “Sugar Ridge has the sweetest peaches, little Miki, but I don’t think they are nearly as sweet as you, little one.”

  Blushing ten shades of red and choking down the last bite of peach she stood up so fast she almost toppled over; luckily he caught hold of her hand before she slammed head first into the tree. “Boy, you are all kinds of trouble aren’t you little one?” His laughter barked out as she blushed again, this time getting mad.

  “I AM NOT LITTLE!”

  It was a silly argument, especially since he stood at least a foot and a half taller than her but her brothers had always teased her about being littler than everyone else and it infuriated her. But Noah…it just made him laugh harder, holding his stomach and leaning over, he was cackling so hard. So what’s a girl to do when her newly found prince charming laughed at her? She stomped her little foot and shoved him as hard as she could and caught him unaware, knocking him to his rear on a few rotten peaches on the ground. The priceless look of surprise on his face had Miki laughing in delighted giggles, pointing and laughing harder when he stood and discovered the mess of peach guts on his backside. His laughter echoed with hers and he took off running towards her as she darted off, running like wild to the edge of the woods until she didn’t hear him anymore.

  She stopped, gasping for breath and squatted down behind the base of the tree with her hands propped on her knees. The only sound was her panting breath and the crickets calling out and the birds answering them. So when he suddenly jumped out from behind the tree and yelled “Rawr!” She fell over to her side and squealed, which only made them both bust out laughing again. Noah plopped on the ground beside her, smiling, handing her the backpack full of peaches and tugged her bright red pigtail. The journey of a long friendship started that day.

  “Miki! Miki it’s time to go, come on.” Torn out of her daydreaming, she heard Callum calling her name. Tucking the binoculars in her jacket pocket she walked down the gnarled oak branch and made her way back to his truck, eyes darting back and forth searching for her Mother. There she sat on the porch steps, silently crying. Miki stopped, looked at her big brother and when he nodded she walked over to her Mother, standing straight, voice quiet but sure. “I want you to know I love you Momma. Even after everything you’ve done to me. I will always love you but I’ll never come back here, ever.” Her Mother choked a sob and reached one shaky hand towards hers, Miki took her hand and gingerly leaned over and kissed her cheek, letting go of her hand and walking towards Callum on weak legs that were about to fail her. He opened the door for her and whispered to her as she got in. “That’s a good girl Miki; everything is gonna be alright kiddo. Just you wait and see.”

  Chapter 3

  10 years later - Atlanta, Georgia - November 2005

  The call had come as a shock; 8am which was early for a girl that tended bar until closing time at 2am and didn’t make it home from cleaning up until just around 4am.

  Ring ring

  “Dear God…”

  Ring ring

  “Grr dammit!”

  The shrill sound startled her and had her arms flailing, reaching for the annoying thing that was disrupting her precious few hours of sleep. After all, she had her Creative Writing class at noon, then African - American History after that. The life of a college student, working her way through school was heavy on books, light on sleep.

  “Hello…”

  “Miki…Did I wake you baby girl?”

  “Of course you woke me up; I didn’t get home from work until 4. What ungodly reason has you calling me at…oh dear god it’s only 8, Callum your killing me. Why can’t you call at a normal hour instead of an insanely early one?”

  “Miki, darlin’, this is important. You need to come home.”

  “Come home? Callum are you crazy? Did you hit your head and go deaf and dumb? My finals are in less than three weeks. I am barely keeping my head above water… I know its Thanksgiving but I just can’t handle any distractions right now and I promised to work the holiday so I get double time. Do you know what double time means for a college student that’s living on noodle cups and tuna? Wait…what’s wrong Callum? Why do I need to come home?”

  She pulled herself upright and wiped the sleep from her eyes, a worried frown on her face.

  “Miki, honey, I hate to tell you this on the phone but…it’s Momma. Momma passed away last night. I was supposed to take her to her doctor appointment this morning and she said to be here by 6 since we had to go into the city. She never came to the door so I got the key from under the mat and went inside. I found her…” His voice choked and she could hear him crying. Callum, crying…Momma, dead…

  “Miki I’m so sorry, but I need you to come home, help me with the funeral and be here with all of us. We need you here, even if it’s only a few days honey.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded her head, realizing then, she still hadn’t spoken and whispered to him, trying to sound sure a
nd ok. “Of course Callum, I’m sorry I was giving you hell for calling so early. I’m so sorry about Momma. Do they know how she died? Why? What was her doctor appointment for?”

  Tears now fell freely down her cheeks. Not bothering even to wipe them away, she thought of the day she had left that place, the fact she held to her word and never went back, never saw her mother’s face again. Her gut was wrenching and she started to shake. Immeasurable pain and regret hit her like a brick wall and she knew she had to get Callum off the phone soon, lest he hear her break.

  “We don’t know yet baby girl. She just told me it was a checkup but she wasn’t going to old Doc Briggs, said she found a new doctor in the city, I didn’t ask more, you know how she gets if she thinks you’re prying into her business.. I should have asked. She hasn’t been feeling well lately and I know she’s lost weight. I kind of just figured she was lonely since Lucas had passed on.”

  Lucas. Her molesting step father…she had celebrated his death by getting rip roaring drunk with her best friend Gina Pinski. They had toasted to perverted old men rotting in hell, and she had drank until she’d gotten miserably sick and cried herself to sleep that night, demons haunting her even then. Not once had she even thought about how her mother might be hurt over losing her 2nd husband. Not once had she gone to see her. She sent her Mother a plant. A stupid plant with a card telling her she loved her; just as she had on Mother’s Day every year. She was a horrible daughter, and she was ashamed. One wrong doesn’t make another wrong right and now it was too late to fix it.

  “I’ll pack my bag and send a message to my teachers Callum then I’ll be on my way. I’ll text you when I leave, it should only take me about 3 hours to drive there ok. Give everyone my love and tell them I’m on my way.”

  “Ok baby girl I will. I love you Miki. Please be careful driving, see if one of your girlfriends can come with you ok? I really don’t like you traveling by yourself, especially not upset.”

  “I’m a big girl bubba…” She said, referring to him in her childhood way, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. See you soon.”

  Not giving him a chance to answer her, she hung up the phone, and just as quickly as she’d hung up, she picked it up again, called her professors message lines and let them know of her family emergency and requested they email her assignments so she could keep up with her classes.

  That done she got out of bed and walked to the shower, cranking it on steaming hot and stripped, stepping into the steam, the heat, the solace and waited for the tears to come but they never did. She just stood there, trembling, holding her throat, feeling the walls closing in on her and trying to catch her breath. Miki dunked her head under the water and grabbed her shampoo bottle, squirting a dollop in her hands and sinking down to the floor of the tub, she methodically scrubbed her head. Wishing things could be different. Wishing she’d had enough heart to have given her Mother another chance. Wishing time had a dial you could turn back so you could fix things that needed to be fixed in order to live with yourself, and not in guilt. If wishes were kisses…

  Rising and rinsing off before the water got cold, she went through the motions of getting dressed and packing, taking a few minutes to call her best friend Gina and let her know what was going on and where she’d be, refusing her offer to come with her. Finals were too soon, she wouldn’t dare jeopardize her friend’s grade just to ride to Sugar Creek with her, even if she desperately wished she could lean on her right now. No. She was no longer the dependent scared little girl she was when she was 13. Her life had changed then and she was strong, she didn’t need anyone.

  Miki pulled her damp, vibrant red hair up in an unruly knot, not caring that little wisp’s of it fell free. Her green eyes, that were usually bright and vibrant, were dull and lifeless. She dug through her closet and found her nicest black dress, heels and stockings, then reached for her soft pink Juicy sweats, tank top and jacket, quickly donning them along with her Nike shoes. She wanted comfort today. It was a long drive and cool autumn weather. Again, methodically she checked her bags, counting outfits, lingerie, appropriate dress for funeral and services, satisfied she had enough, she zipped them up and carried them to the door. Heading back into the kitchen she grabbed a grocery sack and filled it with the fruit she had in the bowl on the counter, and grabbed a few other snacks from the cabinet.

  She needed strength, had to fuel her body, even if she didn’t feel like it. Grabbing a few bottles of water and sticking them in her bag, she grabbed the rest of her things and headed out the door, locking it tight and packing everything into her 57 Chevy, Daddy’s truck. Callum had it for years, and when mentioned trading it off, she nearly had a fit, and insisted on buying it from him, not caring it was old and battered. It was one of the few things she had left of her father. Her iPod set to road traveling music, she backed out of the driveway of her small cottage rental, heading south, back to Sugar Creek where it all began.

  The closer she got, the tighter her throat felt. Her hands were sore from clenching the wheel so hard, and her bottom lip was tender from her absently chewing it. Old habits were hard to break. Familiar sites were coming in to view now. Mr. Wilson’s old general store looked exactly the same as it did growing up, and she was sure if she went in there he probably still had the old soda fountains and would make her the best cherry vanilla coke around. That made her smile. He’d always been such a sweet man, spoiling her and her siblings.

  Then there was the ice cream shop that Callum always took her to on Sunday’s after they went to church when she moved in with him all those years ago. He’d done his very best to parent her, but in those days he was quite a hell raiser himself. She turned out pretty good with a solid head on her shoulders, so she was always grateful for him taking her in. It had been rough sometimes, he was gone a lot, at parties, and with girlfriends, school and work but she’d focus on her writing, and learned to take care of the cooking and cleaning. Soon enough she got a few side jobs of her own, babysitting for neighbors and cleaning for Widow Sparks, sometimes even cooking her meals when her arthritis was acting up. All in all, her last 4 years of school, living with her brother, were a hell of a lot better than the first 13 years of her life.

  Miki then passed the Sugar Creek Journal and smiled. Her first articles had been printed there. That was where her real passion for life began after seeing her words in print. At first it had been small things, commentary on a church ice cream social or little insert on school happenings, pep rallies and games, but it morphed into so much more than that. A way to express herself and be free of the restrictions of being told you can’t do this or you’re not smart enough for that. Now she was sought after in her college and local paper in Atlanta, plus she had her first novel in the works with plans of making it a trilogy. She had more work than she could keep up with, along with her studies and bar tending job. She had put herself through college without taking out any student loans and was in her senior year, finishing up a semester ahead of everyone else, and for that, she was ridiculously proud of herself. So were her siblings. Her oldest sister had an album with every article Mikayla had ever written, all the way back to the first ones in the Sugar Creek Jr. High paper. Every time she came home Mia would pull it out and proudly boast of her smart baby sister, and it always had her blushing ten shades of red but it felt good to know she was making them proud.

  Now she was heading just outside of town to the more country part of the area. She was supposed to meet her brothers and sisters at Momma’s house. The same house she hadn’t been to in ten years. Dread filled her. Pain set in, and the ache in her ribs seemed to throb to life as it always did when she remembered. Then her breath caught a little. The Sugar Ridge Plantation, The Cane family, Noah. God she hadn’t seen him in nearly a year. Once he joined the military he’d been overseas for so long and at most times, unreachable, but still they had written each other from time to time. It had been a while since she’d asked any of her brothers about him because they always teased her to th
is day for having a crush on their friend. It was easier for her to just wonder, than suffer through the relentless hardy har har’s from 3 annoying brothers that enjoyed tormenting her all too much. For the first time since waking that morning, Mikayla smiled. She missed her family. The easy laughter her and her siblings had now was precious, but she had stayed away too long and too often and she needed to change that. Life was too short to not spend time with them. Especially now that Momma was gone. She didn’t need more regrets than she already had.

  Chapter 4

  Miki pulled the 57 Chevy to a stop and stared for a moment at the house that she grew up in. Her family was already here, but she couldn’t manage to make herself get out of the truck yet. It was then that Callum burst out the door, followed by the twins Christopher and Curtis, Mia, Martha, and Monica, her face still slick with tears and a tissue crumpled in her hand. Miki turned off the truck and stepped out, holding her arms open and taking them all in close to her, hugging, kissing cheeks, and whispering words of love and that she had been missing each of them. Then one by one she touched faces, needed to feel the texture and warmth of those she loved so dearly. Christopher was so tall and strong, the spitting image of how she remembered Daddy. His dark brown hair tousled and swept to the side and those chocolate brown eyes looking older and weary. Martha was a short curvy thing with her short cropped cherry red hair shimmering in the sun. She kissed her soft cheek and moved to Mia, the one that always tried to mother them now, just as she did the twins when they quit school at 15 and moved in with her because they just didn’t get along with their stepfather Lucas.