Chapter Five: Part Three

The next morning, things were quiet in the Benson household.  Daniel had gone down to the pool, and hadn’t come back up.  He must have slept down there in the guest room, mused Rosita.  “Good riddance to bad rubbish,” she thought.  Rosita’s heart was still aching from the shameful news that had been made public last night.  Poor Matthew.  How humiliated the boy must’ve been.  And then, for him to handle it as well as he had.  Rosita knew that he was special, and she loved him all the more for it.

Rosita forced herself to get dressed and go downstairs to the kitchen.  Both of her sons had school that day.  She needed to make breakfast for them, and make sure that both of them were dropped off at their respective buildings on time.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw Nicholas sitting at the kitchen table with an icy stare on his face.  When she said good morning to him, he stared at her with a look completely void of emotion.  If she hadn’t known better, Rosita would have thought that it was a stranger sitting in her kitchen..

“Nicholas,” she asked, “are you alright?  The pupils in your eyes look huge.”

“Yeah, sure, Mom,” he said with a particular emphasis on the word “Mom”.  His voice sounded hollow. 

“Does your head hurt?” she asked him.  “Let me get the thermometer.  Maybe you’re sick”

“I don’t need the damn thermometer,” Nick snapped.  “Leave me alone.  I’m not going to school today.  I just want to be by myself out in the studio.  Can you leave me alone for one day of this goddamn life?  Can you do that for me, Mommy Dearest?  Huh?  Can you?”

“Nick!” she said with dismay.  “We don’t use the Lord’s name in vain in this family.”

“Of course, we don’t,” uttered Nick.  “We never use his name in vain.  We never do anything we’re not supposed to do, right?  We’re all perfect.  Just like precious little Matthew.  Perfect in every way.  I’m the demon child, aren’t I?  Admit it, Mother.  You’ve always loved Matthew more than me.  Face it.  He’s just more loveable than me.  So, take him to school and leave me alone.  Last night got to me, and I need a break.  Do you think you can handle that?”

Rosita said, with tears running down her face, “Oh, Nicky.  I’m so sorry that your father was so cruel last night.  He doesn’t want you getting involved in drugs.  That’s all.  When he drinks, he’s not himself.  I’m sorry that he hit you, and I can promise that he’ll never do that to you again.”

“Mom,” said Nick.  “You’re a fucking dunce.”

Right then, Matthew stumbled down the steps.  Still in his pajamas, Rosita hurried him back upstairs to bathe and get ready for school.  She thought better of continuing the conversation with Nick while Matthew was awake, so told him that he could stay home.  Then she went down to the basement to check on Daniel.

As she walked down the stairs to where the swimming pool was located, Rosita noticed that there was an odd noise.  Not knowing what it was, she went back upstairs to get a flashlight.  It was dark in the basement and she figured that a fuse had blown.  After getting the flashlight, she went back downstairs to check the breaker box.  Nothing.  Everything looked fine.

Rosita rarely spent any time in the basement, so she had to search for the overhead light switch.  She turned it on, half expecting a bulb to explode as sometimes happened.  Instead, the lights went on without a problem.  And then she saw him.

Daniel was fully dressed, floating face down in the pool.  The water was making a strange sound like electricity when it crackles.  Rosita knew she didn’t dare get in the pool to drag Daniel out, as the peculiar sound warned her away from the water. 

Rosita ran up the stairs screaming.  “Nick!  Nick!  Call 9-1-1!!!  Something’s happened to your father.”  Nick, though, was already gone.  Matthew came rushing down to see what was wrong. 

“Matthew, go and wait in the living room.  Turn on the television – loud.  Please, son, just do as I ask,” pleaded Rosita.

“But Mom, I can help.  What’s wrong?” asked Matthew.

“Now!” yelled Rosita.  Matthew went running.  He’d never heard his mother yell like that before. 

She dialed the phone and talked with the 9-1-1 dispatcher.  She had no idea what had happened.  All she knew was that Daniel was floating face down in the water, and something was wrong with the water in the pool.  She thought it was somehow electrified. 

The Benson mansion was far enough out of town that it took the ambulance and fire truck about fifteen minutes to arrive.  During that time, Rosita went into the living room to let Matthew know, in as gentle a way as possible, that something had happened to Daniel.  With the scene that had taken place the night before, and having found out that Daniel wasn’t biologically his father, Rosita didn’t know what kind of reaction to expect from the boy.  Matthew, as only an old soul can do, again showed an amazing amount of maturity for someone his age.

“Mom,” he said.  “Let’s just stay up here until the firemen get here.  They’ll know what to do.  We shouldn’t go out and get Nick because he might try to do something and get hurt in the pool like Dad did.”

And so they prayed.  With all the calmness they could muster, they knelt together in the living room, with their heads bent down and their hands folded in prayer.  Rosita knew that nothing was going to save Daniel, and, as she prayed, she realized that this was God’s way of saving Matthew and her.  Another silent presence in the room agreed.

An investigation into the death of Daniel Benson concluded that he stumbled into the pool in a drunken stupor and drowned.  There was no finding of electrocution – deliberate or otherwise.  Rosita knew, though, that there was something not right in that basement.  She just didn’t know what it was, and so was helpless to stop it.