Page 58 of Whistle

“But I want a moment with Charlie first,” Annie said. “And not some miniaturized version of him. I want my real son.” She

paused, bit her lower lip. “I want to be able to say goodbye to him.”

Nabler nodded in agreement. “Of course.”

“You’ll see that he gets home?”

Nabler crossed his heart. “Hope to die.”

Like that means anything . She did not expect him to allow Charlie to survive this, but felt she had to make Nabler think she did. She had one hope

in the back of her mind, and she would need Charlie’s help if she were to make it happen.

“And how do I... turn into what you want me to be?”

“It’s a rather... intimate procedure.” He could see the horror in Annie’s expression. “Not quite that. Don’t worry. I have

no need for that kind of pleasure. There will be a closeness. And you won’t feel a thing.”

“Will Charlie have to watch?”

“Probably better that he doesn’t.”

“Get him out of that train. Make him his real size again.”

“Already have. He’s right there.”

Annie whirled around. Standing by the door that led into the shop stood Charlie, the real Charlie, full size and rubbing his eyes as though waking up from a nap. His clothes were dirty, his hair a matted mess. Annie maneuvered her way through the various ribbons of track in her path, ran to him, dropped to her knees, and threw her arms around him.

“Oh, Charlie, Charlie,” she said, burying her face in his neck and squeezing him to her. “I was so scared for you.”

When she pulled back to look him in the eye, she saw that as many tears were running down his face as there were running down

hers.

“I’m sorry I ran away,” he whimpered. “I thought I had to. The man tricked me.” He was looking at Nabler over his mother’s

shoulder.

“He made me think he was Dad. He was in my dream one night and showed me where the key was to open the shed, so I could get

out the trains. He made me think Daddy was here.” His chin crumpled. “But when we got here, Daddy wasn’t here.”

“I know, sweetheart, I know.”

She recalled that night John spoke to her, warning her not to leave the city. That was the real deal, she thought. Not Nabler

working his black magic.

Charlie said, “I kept thinking, if there was a chance, if maybe Daddy was really alive, I had to come here and get him. And

when I found him I’d bring him back and you’d be so happy.”

He tightened his arms around his mother’s neck, and she could feel the tears running down into her collar.

Charlie put his lips to his mother’s ear and whispered, “He killed Daddy.”

“I know.”

“And he wants you. Everything was a trick to get you here.”

“I know that, too, Charlie.”

“One time when I looked at him, he was different. Just for a second. Like the thing you were making.”

“I saw that, too. We’re in a tough spot here, but I want you to know I love you more than anything in the whole world.”

“I love you, too, Mommy.”

Nabler tapped his wrist. “Tick-tock,” he said.

Annie turned and looked at him. “You said he could get some fresh clothes?”

“Yes, but you should say your goodbyes now.”

Annie said to Charlie, “The car’s just down the street, past the tree that fell down. It’s unlocked. All our stuff’s packed

in the back. You’ll find some of your clothes there. I packed real fast, so I might have missed some things. And I brought

back my stuff, even some of the things I’d been working on.”

“Okay.”

She put hand on each shoulder and looked at him very directly. “Mr. Nabler here wants me to help him with what he does. I

don’t want to do it, but we’ve kind of made a deal. I help him, and you’ll be okay.”

“We get to go home?”

“ You get to go home. It looks like I’ll be staying here.”

He started to tear up again. “I don’t want to go home without you.”

“Mr. Nabler’s giving me a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ll be able to use my talents to do some amazing things. He’s

been explaining it all to me. When you were in the train, circling around us, did you hear him talking about it?”

“A little, yeah,” he said, and sniffed.

She spoke slowly and deliberately. “About how when something happens with the trains, it makes something like that happen

in the real world? Did you hear him talking about that?”

Charlie nodded.

“Don’t you think that’s interesting? And the way I understand it, it doesn’t always have to be with trains. Like, you know that saying when you’re walking on the sidewalk, step on a crack, break your mother’s back?”

“I would never do that.”

“I know, but you know the saying?”

Charlie nodded.

“It’s kind of like that. When you hurt something that’s pretend, it makes the real thing feel the pain. I just wanted to be

sure you understood.”

“I guess I do.”

“And you’re going to find just what you need in my Bloomingdale’s bag. You know the one? That says medium brown bag on it?”

“I know the one you mean.”

“Okay. I love you, Charlie. We’re a great team, always have been.”

She gave him another hug, and a kiss, and then stood. Charlie looked at her and then at Nabler, not sure if he was supposed

to leave now or not.

“Go on, now,” Nabler said. “Get your stuff. I know your mom doesn’t believe me, but I am going to take you home. Soon. I hold up my end. And don’t be thinking of doing anything stupid, like running off without

me, because if you do that, I’m not going to give your mother that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she was telling you about.

I’m going to be sending her to join your dad. You understand me?”

Charlie nodded.

“Then get going. You go through that door, takes you through the shop, you head out the front. Got it?”

Another nod. He took one last look at his mother.

“Bye, Mom,” he said.

His mother tried to smile, with a quivering chin.

“Bye, Charlie. You be good.”

Charlie turned away, opened the door to the shop, and disappeared.

Annie stood there a moment, collecting herself, before turning around to face Nabler.

“Shall we begin?” he said.