22 A New Woman

Chapter 22 A NEW WOMAN Of all the people in the world who could have driven down this particular desolate road at this particular moment in time, why did it have to be Mrs. Audrey Higgins? She had set the twins' school on fire—while they were in it. She had chased them through The House on the Rock in Wisconsin. She had unleashed an angry mob of baseball fans on them in Illinois, blasted their eardrums at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio, and poisoned their bowling shoes in Texas. She had changed personalities numerous times, and most recently showed up as a kindly psychic named Aurora Moonbeam in Arizona. And now she was the only thing between the McDonald family and death at Death Valley. "Oh my God!" Mrs. Higgins hollered. "Are

you folks okay?" Coke, Pep, and their father staggered toward the minivan like zombies in a horror movie. They could barely speak. Mrs. McDonald was still sitting on the ground, leaning against the Ferrari. She was too weak to stand. At first, the twins didn't recognize Mrs. Higgins, who was wearing a sunhat and dark glasses, like any sensible person should while traveling through the desert. She grabbed a jug of water from her minivan and started filling plastic cups. Coke, Pep, and Dr. McDonald guzzled gratefully and accepted seconds. "Just let me die here," Mrs. McDonald mumbled, her eyes still closed. "I just want to go to sleep." Mrs. Higgins poured water on Mrs. McDonald's head and forced her to drink. As a health teacher, she had extensive experience in first aid, and knew exactly what to do in situations of dehydration and heat stroke. Once

the water touched her lips, Mrs. McDonald was revived somewhat and drank heartily, like the others. "Let me pay you," said Dr. McDonald, who was regaining his faculties. "I want to give you some money." He fumbled with his wallet, but she pushed it away. "Don't be silly," Mrs. Higgins told him. "You don't recognize me, do you? We met at the Bauxite Museum in Arkansas." "Of course!" said Dr. McDonald. "You're the health teacher from school! It is so nice to see you again. What are you doing in this godforsaken place?" "I'm on my way home, just like you," Mrs. Higgins replied. "I got an email the other day. Construction at the new school is underway and they offered me my old job back." Coke and Pep looked at each other. They were hanging back, not sure if it would be wise to become involved with Mrs. Higgins again.

Her blind love of Dr. Warsaw had caused her to do terrible things. But other times it appeared that she'd changed her ways. You never knew what you were going to get with her. Dr. McDonald helped his wife to her feet and walked her around the area to get her blood pumping again. That left the twins alone with Mrs. Higgins, who handed each of them a protein bar from her purse. Ravenous, they tore off the wrappers and wolfed them down. "Hop in!" she said, "I'll give you folks a lift back home." "Why are you being so nice to us?" Pep asked her. "You tried to kill us over and over again." "I told you, I changed," Mrs. Higgins replied. "I mean it this time. When I finally realized that Dr. Warsaw would never love me, I decided to let go of him. I became a new woman. Even the worst people in the world are capable of changing, you know." "Even Dr. Warsaw?" Pep asked. "Yes," she replied. "But I fear that Herman is

only going to change for the worse. He is mentally ill." The twins were still wary about getting into a car with this woman, who had exhibited psychotic behavior herself just days earlier. "Fine," said Mrs. Higgins cheerfully. "You can stay here if you'd like. The sun will be setting soon, and that will cool things off a bit. But then, of course, that's when the coyotes and mountain lions come out." Coke and Pep climbed into the car, taking the third row of seats. Mrs. Higgins helped Dr. McDonald transfer their luggage from the Ferrari into the minivan. As the parents climbed into the second row of seats, Dr. McDonald hesitated. "What about the Ferrari?" he asked. "Forget the Ferrari, Ben!" Mrs. McDonald shouted hoarsely. "We can deal with it later. Let's get out of here." Mrs. Higgins started up the minivan and turned the air-conditioning up full blast. As the

cool air blew over them, the McDonalds gave a collective sigh of relief. "We can't thank you enough," Mrs. McDonald said. "You saved our lives." "I can't believe you folks came to Death Valley with no water and no food," Mrs. Higgins said. "And it looks like you got a nasty sunburn there, Dr. McDonald. What were you thinking?" "I wasn't," he replied. Go to Google Maps (http://maps.google.com). Click Get Directions. In the A box, type Death Valley CA. In the B box, type San Francisco CA. Click Get Directions.