Wild Woods
6
Runaway
Footprint
GEE WENT TO THE WOODS Saturday morning seeking both the camaraderie of his team and the peace of the Forest. The long day Thursday, waiting for Ben to die, followed by the long day Friday, dealing with the funeral and family, had been mentally and emotionally draining.
The weather was crisp but the sky was clear. He thought it might make it above freezing by mid-afternoon.
“We only have two crews today, Gee,” Jessie said. “Jonathan is sick in bed. That means I’ll probably be sick in bed tomorrow since we share everything. We’ll split his crew between us and try to get as much done today as possible.”
“What should we work on?” Gee asked.
“I think we should go back out and trace the paths from the fence Jonathan and I found. We should widen them and look for any sign of side trails.”
“Sounds good. Gear up, team. We’re off to the woods.”
Drake Oliver had become a permanent part of Gee’s crew, joining Alyson, Shannon, Jeanie, and JD. The boy’s brawn was a significant help in cutting and hauling brush. Gee cautioned his team to proceed more slowly since they were specifically looking for signs of another trail. It was backward from the way they had worked in the past. The girls and JD moved in front, searching for trails, with Drake and Gee and two boys from Jonathan’s team following behind to widen the path and remove the brush. This trail seemed to naturally pass near some of the larger trees so they could force their way off the path to measure and chart them.
They’d worked most of the morning and were planning to head back to the cabin to warm up and eat lunch when Shannon stopped everyone.
“Gee, we need you up here,” she said. The others pressed back so Gee could join the smallest member of their team. She had moved to the left off the path toward another tree that looked to be about eighteen inches in diameter. Gee moved to where Shannon had stopped. She pointed. In the clear space around the base of the tree, snow had sifted into an even layer an inch or two deep. Unmarked, except for one small footprint. Gee pushed Shannon back toward the others on the path and pulled out his cellphone. He didn’t press farther toward the tree but snapped photos of the print and the area around, even up the side of the tree to the lowest branches, about six feet above the ground.
“Let’s move back,” Gee told the team. “I want to consult with others before we decide what this means.”
“It means someone is out here,” JD said firmly. “Another lost child. We should be searching everywhere.” He stomped on the trail as they made their way back to the cabin, showing his anger with every step.
“JD, look,” Gee said softly, leading him to an open area near the cabin. “Do you see the snow cover here?”
“Yeah.” He was still scowling, but focused on what Gee was saying. Gee broke a bit of icicle from the eaves of the cabin and threw it into the branches of a tree. A shower of snow from the branches fell in clumps on the snowfield below. The others gathered near him as he pointed to the various indents in the snow.
“Look. That dent over there looks almost like the one we just found,” Gee said. “We jumped to the conclusion that it was a footprint. It could have been a print made by a falling clump of snow. That’s why I want other trained eyes on it before we start tromping around out there.”
“I see,” JD said glumly. “Who do we call?”
“Sheriff first and then Jessie.”
Work slowed and people got cold. They went into the cabin and started the propane heater while the sheriff, Jessie, and Gee returned to the print. Jessie’s team joined the kids and they talked about the recent discoveries.
“I don’t know,” Ryan said. He’d been working with Jessie and she’d held as tight a discipline on her team as Gee had. “As much as I want to discover something and think we’re being of use, I don’t want to discover that there’s someone out here. A child like the little ones Gee is helping in the hospital. I mean, if they’re here I want to find them but I don’t want them to be here.”
“I got really mad at Gee,” JD confessed. “It seemed so obvious that we should search for whoever it was and help the poor kid. I don’t think it was a falling clump of snow.”
“You have to admit, though, that it was strange to see just one footprint,” Shannon said. “How did someone get there to leave it? Fly?”
“We were being really careful looking for signs of a path but we could have missed other footprints,” Alyson said. “We might have buried them because that wasn’t what we were looking for.”
“That’ll change from now on,” Jeanie said. “I’m just beginning to realize how big a job we volunteered for, you know?”
“It makes me sick,” Viktor said. “If Jessie will have me, I plan to be out here every day during winter break. It’s two weeks away and already I feel like it’s too late.”
“Let’s not really make ourselves sick,” Rebecca said. “I’d like to stay and help, but I’m a boarder at Flor. Even though they don’t want me around most of the year, my parents require my presence during Christmas.” Jeanie hugged her classmate.
“At least you have parents,” she sighed.
“I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful,” Rebecca said. “There’s no place I’d rather be than here with you all.”
“Let’s make a pact,” Shannon said. “If there is a child in the woods, we will find and rescue him or her. We won’t quit until we know they’re all safe.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m down with that.”
“Count me in,” Gee said from the door of the cabin. The kids spun to look at him. “For now, let’s turn the heat off and pack out. We’re done for today.”
“What was the decision?” JD asked as they hiked out of the woods. Gee hadn’t said much.
“Inconclusive,” he finally answered. “We didn’t find any more prints. There was no sign of life.”
“What do you think, Gee?” JD asked quietly.
“I’m with you, son. I think someone is hiding out there.”
Fired
What they had and hadn’t found weighed heavily on Gee as he made his way to the hospital to visit the children. He was greeted with hugs and smiles now. As he played and told stories, he heard their laughter. It refreshed his soul.
Promptly at five-thirty, the door opened and a plump woman with gray hair and an apron rolled in the tray of food. She was jovial and Gee could only think she was like Mrs. Claus.
“Oh, Mr. Gee,” she said. “We weren’t expecting you for dinner tonight. I’ll call for another meal to be brought up.”
“That’s not necessary,” Gee said. “I just stopped to see the children and give them a hug. I met you once before, didn’t I?”
“Oh, I’m just Grandma Sue,” the woman said. “I’m Dr. Salinger’s mother. I’m here for dinner and bedtime with the children on the nights that sweet Laura Lazorack is off. After dinner and baths, we’ll have story time and some music. Then I’ll tuck them in and sleep on the bed over there.”
“I’m so glad the children have a Grandma,” Gee said. “It’s a comforting thought.”
“I practically had to beg my daughter to let me help.” She bustled around getting the dishes on the table. Gee got a hug from each of the children before he left. He paused at the observation window and watched as they sat at the table and bowed their heads for a prayer.
The crew seemed more dedicated than usual Sunday. Jessie, true to her own prediction, was sick in bed.
“You know what this means,” Gee said. “We’re working without a forester today. What’s that mean, JD?” The boy blushed at being singled out after his confrontation yesterday.
“It means proceed with caution. Be watchful for any sign of a path or habitation. Don’t disturb anything that might be a clue. Anything might be a clue,” he answered.
“Take the lead of Team 1, JD. Viktor, take Team 2.”
“Gee, with all due respect, Rebecca is a better choice for that than me. I’m a little reckless at times and she’s more observant,” Viktor said. Gee looked at a blushing Rebecca.
“Rebecca? It seems that Team 2 is yours. Same paths we were working on yesterday. Gear up.”
It was a long six hours working in the woods, even with the half hour they took at noon to warm up and eat in one of the cabins. They were disappointed that nothing had been discovered when they hiked out at the end of the day.
Monday, Gee and Karen began the long task of preparing to move. They decided to tackle the big task first and took boxes into the study to pack her ancestors’ notebooks and library and Karen’s notebooks and research. Hers was neatly ordered in three metal filing cabinets. Her great-grandmother’s and great-great-grandfather’s notes were in boxes, desk drawers, shelves, and stacks in the cluttered room. It would be a major task to unpack and organize them in the mansion library.
“Will we have to move into Ben’s bedroom?” Gee asked.
“Hmm. I guess that depends on what you mean. If you are referring to the room he died in, no. The suite downstairs was all remodeled for handicapped access and Ben moved into it years ago when it became hard for him to make it upstairs. The real master suite is upstairs. I don’t think we’ll have any difficulty moving into that. No ghosts from at least the last three generations live there.”
“I’ll leave it to you, then,” Gee laughed. “I just didn’t want his ghost leaning over our shoulders while we’re making love.”
The rest of the week found Gee cold and alone as he worked in the woods. On Friday, he had lunch with the children and then spent the afternoon hauling a sled down the paths and collecting cut brush to haul back out to the chipper. Saturday, he would have a full crew again and they’d start working down the fence line to clear a path and check for evidence that the other farms had accessed the Wild Woods. He found the simple drudgery of loading and dragging the sled to be a kind of meditative activity that allowed him to consider all the pressing problems in his life.
The three most important on his mind were the children, the Wild Woods, and his upcoming marriage to Karen with all its attendant complications. She was the new leader of the Roth Family. Leah and Don immediately raised issues of property ownership and a prenuptial agreement. They were surprised to find the extent to which Gee and Karen had gone to create their partnership before Harvest began. Now they were insisting that the partnership be voided and property equitably split before a new prenuptial agreement was signed and in force. Karen, of course, was angry about it and at the moment there was a stalemate. The LaCoes were being consulted. Opinions were pending.
The children were doing well—better than expected. Dr. Salinger was now observing just once a week and had high words of praise for the work of all three primary caregivers—Gee, Laura, and Grandma Sue. All agreed, however, that they needed to expand the children’s socialization. Gee planned an outing with all the children the following Wednesday to the library for reading time. Both Colleen Zimmer and Wayne had agreed to spend a few hours with the children over the weekend to help engage them in some typical school activities for their age group. They had agreed that both coloring and puzzles were good activities, but there was a need to assess the children more thoroughly to see what they were capable of as opposed to what they were willing to do.
With all that on his mind, Gee hung his equipment at the foresters’ office and headed home to make Friday night dinner for Karen. It brought a smile to his face.
Karen, on the other hand, faced Cameron LaCoe over the desk in Axel’s office Friday evening. The staff had just been informed that the newspaper was hiring and would be moving to daily publication instead of Tuesday through Saturday. The new schedule would go into effect the first full week of January, meaning their first Monday edition would be released on January seventh.
That was not the news Cameron was giving Karen, though.
“You know it’s for the best, Karen,” he said. “Neither of us want this but we have to go with it.”
“It’s not a bad thing,” Karen said. “Just hurts a little, you know? I’ll miss writing and editing but I’ve also found I have a lot more responsibility I wasn’t expecting now that Ben’s gone. I was thinking about resigning anyway.”
“I know what you mean,” Cameron said. “Grandfather laid down the law to me, as well. He said that if I wanted to be the Family heir, I had to back out of the role of publisher and hire someone to take it over. My responsibility, now that I did Axel’s job and fired you, is to simply hold the ownership in trust, not to publish the paper.”
“I think Family heads and heirs in high profile jobs in the City is a thing of the past. For now, at least. We’ve had too much publicity in the past months. I think I’ll consider writing that book we discussed a while back.”
“And I’m going to be a productive member of my parents’ law firm and start learning the broader management of our Family businesses,” Cameron added. “For a while, at least. I’m thinking of taking the quartet on a tour. Elaine really blossoms when she can sing. I’ll tell you this, Axel is relieved to have me out of his thinning hair.” They laughed.
“You have to admit we all gained a much higher profile during the campaign for annexation than any of us intended.”
“If the Families recede into the background, they have you to thank for it,” Cameron chuckled. “The article you wrote for Election Day was a pretty heavy indictment regarding the secrecy and dealings of our local power structure.”
“I don’t have a problem with that. If they do, they should take it to the City Champion,” Karen laughed, just as her cellphone chimed the distinctive notes of Gee calling. “Yes, Darling. I’m… What?— No. Just stay with her. I’ll make the calls. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Karen thumbed her phone and flipped through her contacts. “Sorry, Cameron. Family emergency. I’ve got to run. Good luck.”
She dashed out the door with the phone to her ear.
Waif at the Door
Gee stomped the snow off his boots before removing them and hopping in his stocking feet through the open door. The effort was vain as a gust of wind blew snow in behind him. He slammed the door against the frigid blast.
Once he’d changed clothes and had dry socks and slippers on, he headed to the kitchen. Karen would still be a couple of hours and he could get stew started. He made a short detour by the sitting room to start a fire and then happily started cooking.
The blanket of heavy wet snow they’d received made any outdoor activity difficult and Gee considered canceling his crew in the morning and just staying home. His contemplation of the tasks remaining continued during dinner preparations. Hearty root vegetables were placed in the cooker with browned beef cubes and sautéed onions. The welcoming aroma of the stew soon filled the kitchen.
Gee boiled water for a cup of tea and had just poured it when he heard the front doorbell ring. He wiped his hands and went to answer it.
A girl—or perhaps a young woman—stood on the lower step looking up at the house. When Gee opened the door, she took a step back as if preparing to flee.
“Hi. What can I do for you?” Gee asked lightly. She looked half frozen in tennis shoes and a windbreaker. She was not dressed for the weather at all.
“Is this where Karen Weisman lives?”
“Yes, it is. Are you here to see her? You look cold. Come inside.”
The girl took another step back and looked around as if weighing her options. “Will you let me leave?”
“Of course! But you look half frozen. There’s a fire burning in the sitting room and I was just making tea. Or would you prefer hot chocolate? Come in. Come in.”
The girl visibly shivered and stepped inside only far enough for Gee to close the door.
“I’m Nina. Miss Weisman said… She said if I could get to Rosebud Falls… She said I could stay with her.”
The effort of coming inside, the sudden warmth of the room, and exhaustion all seemed to catch up with the girl at once. Gee caught her as she collapsed and carried her to the sofa, feeling her cold sodden clothes. He quickly pulled a blanket over her and grabbed his cellphone.
“Julia, it’s Karen,” she said as she hurried up the street toward home. “One of the runaways I interviewed in the city has just shown up on our doorstep. Gee says she’s wet, cold, and passed out. I need help to get her into something dry and warm. I don’t want her to think Gee is helping get her undressed.”
“I can grab Ellie before she leaves. Her shift just ended. As soon as I can get free, I’ll be there. I’ll tell Adam.”
“That’s as far as it should go until we know more. It’s possible she’s being followed. If she’s sick instead of just exhausted, we’ll get her to the hospital right away.”
“You need to report her,” Adam said. “I don’t see anything physically wrong with her other than exhaustion and exposure. She has a mild fever but that’s to be expected. When she wakes up, feed her and keep her warm. She knows you, Karen. You should be close when she wakes up if possible. Otherwise, I’d like to run a full physical on her next week to make sure there’s nothing else.”
“So why do we need to report her?” Karen said. “She looks to be over eighteen and she’s been alone and living on the streets for at least six months. She came here to be safe.”
“Is she really eighteen? We can’t know anything for sure. She may be a missing person. The law is pretty specific about what a doctor has to report,” Adam said.
“There’s no reason we need to do anything before Monday,” Karen said. “I met her in the city and invited her to visit. She came. All we have at the moment is a houseguest who wasn’t feeling well. Right?” Adam nodded his head reluctantly.
“Just call if she gets sicker. I don’t think there’ll be a problem but don’t waste time if it looks like there is. Call me.” He and Julia said their goodbyes and headed back to the hospital. Ellie lagged behind.
“Do you need any help, Karen?” the nurse asked. “I don’t have anything pressing.”
“Really, Ellie? I heard you had a boyfriend.”
“Oh, God! Having Julia around is faster than a telephone,” Ellie sighed. “I’m dating a guy, okay? But we don’t usually go out in the evenings. It’s unusual for me to have a Friday night off but he never does.”
“Well, stay and have dinner with us then,” Gee suggested. “I’ve been suffering from smelling it all evening.”
“It does smell appetizing. If you’re sure it’s okay,” Ellie responded.
The three sat at the kitchen table with bowls of stew and crusty bread from the market’s bakery. Karen and Gee teased the story from Ellie. Gee recognized the man, Evert Krumb, the bouncer/bartender at the Pub & Grub. No wonder he wasn’t available for dates on a weekend night. Their conversation was interrupted by a sniffle from the kitchen door.
“Nina!” Karen exclaimed. “Are you feeling strong enough to be up? Come have a seat and let’s get you some food.”
They shifted around the table to make room for the waif next to Ellie. Gee brought her stew and a glass of milk. She ate rapidly, a tear escaping from one eye as if she had not eaten in a long time.
Flight of Terror
“I saw him on the street, looking for me,” Nina said when Karen asked her why she had run away from her during their interview in September. “I can’t go back there. They’ll kill me.”
“Really?”
“I heard Sir on the phone. He said I was too old for his market and if he couldn’t find a buyer, he was sending me to the kennel for sale or snuff.”
A shudder ran through all the adults.
“It’s been three months,” Karen said. “How have you survived? I was afraid you’d even lost the card I gave you.”
“I went back to Janie. When I explained what happened, she hid me for a couple of weeks and taught me how to make money. She said everyone pays their way and my body was my bank account. She was very nice.”
“That bitch!” Karen breathed. “She told me she was helping girls she found on the street. Helping them be better prostitutes!”
“Oh, God,” Ellie moaned. She put a hand on Nina’s.
“I can earn my way here, too,” Nina said. “I know how.”
“No!” Gee said immediately. Nina shrank into a little ball and Ellie put an arm around her, scowling at Gee. He calmed quickly. “Nina,” he said softly, “there will never be a reason for you to pay your way with sex as long as you are with us. We—Karen and I—will provide anything you need and will help you learn other ways to make a living. You will never, ever be forced to sell you body for sex while you are with us. Never!” His voice was quiet but forceful. Nina looked up at him, fear still showing in her eyes as she glanced at Karen.
“That’s right, Nina. Gee didn’t mean to frighten you, nor did I. What you were forced to do with your sir and madam or with Janie is no longer necessary,” Karen said. “Gee and I are about to move to a big house across the street and there will be a room just for you with your own bathroom and no one can go in it without your permission. We’ll get you clothes and find a teacher for you. You will never be hungry.”
“Bigger than this?” Nina said as she looked around.
“That was my reaction, too,” Gee laughed.
“I’m so glad you followed the directions on the card and came to us,” Karen said.
“I couldn’t,” Nina said. Gee looked at her thinking she was turning down their offer but Nina plugged on. “I don’t know how to read. I showed your card to Janie and she explained what it said. When I left, I had to ask people to read the directions to me.”
“I wish Janie had just called me. I would have come to get you,” Karen sighed.
“She tried and said your phone didn’t work. She said she knew someone else who would take me in and protect me on the street. I slipped out that night and ran away again,” Nina said. Karen pulled her phone out of her bag.
“I’ll call Janie and…” Gee placed a hand on hers and she caught his eye. “Maybe not. I should cool down.”
“The time when your phone was crushed in the woods,” Gee said quietly. “I didn’t get you a new phone for several days and it had a new number. We got the old number forwarded to it.”
“Oh, dear. How long have you been on the road since you left Janie’s?” Karen asked.
“A long time. I get confused with days. They’re all the same. I fell asleep in a truck that gave me a ride. He made me stay there for three days to pay him. When he let me out, I was in a big city… bigger than where Janie lives. It took me a long time to find which direction to go next.”
“You poor child,” Ellie said. “You’re safe now. You’re safe.”
“I’m very sleepy now. As soon as I wash the dishes, may I go to bed?”
“Honey, you don’t have to wash dishes. Let’s find you a toothbrush and get you to bed,” Karen said.
Gee was preparing coffee to take to Karen in the morning when he heard steps behind him. He turned to find Nina a few feet away. Her eyes were cast down with her head slightly bowed. Her hair was still wet from a shower and she was dressed in the track suit Karen had given her the night before. Nina was five or six inches shorter than Karen, so the hem of the trousers dragged on the floor around her feet. Karen had promised a shopping trip this morning.
“Do you want me this morning, sir?” Nina asked.
“Good morning, Nina. Of course we want you this morning. Nothing has changed,” Gee answered. Nina unzipped the sweatshirt and knelt on the floor.
“How would you like me, sir?” she asked, tugging at her sleeves.
“Wait, wait, wait, Nina!” Gee said. Catching the shirt and pulling it back around her shoulders and closed. “Please zip your shirt. We told you last night you would never have to earn your way with sex again.”
“Not even with you and Miss Weisman?” Nina asked. “I thought you must mean no one else. Don’t you like me?”
“Yes, we like you,” Gee said. “When we said you needn’t earn your way with sex, we meant at all. You don’t have to pay to be with us. We’ll be like parents or guardians or, if you prefer, a big brother and sister. Do any of those sound good to you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t understand the world,” she whispered.
“How about a cup of coffee? Would you like that?”
“May I, sir?”
“My name is Gee and if I offer, I mean it. Have a seat at the table. We’ll talk a bit. Do you take anything in your coffee?”
“May I have milk?”
“Here you are. In a few minutes I’ll make some eggs and cheese. Would you like that for breakfast?”
“Thank you, sir… Gee.”
Gee was struck by how much she reminded him of an older version of the children. That thought started him thinking of what the children would have become had they not been rescued. Assuming they lived.
“What is your last name, Nina?”
“Last name, Gee?”
“Yes. My full name is George Edward Evars but everyone calls me Gee.”
“Um… My full name is Nina. Everyone calls me Nina.”
“Oh, my,” Karen whispered from the doorway. “This is going to be difficult.” This startled Nina and she scrambled away from the table to kneel in front of Karen. Gee gently took her arm and lifted her to her feet.
“Remember what I said, Nina? We’re Gee and Karen. We don’t own you. You aren’t our servant. You needn’t pay us with sex.”
“I… just… can’t believe…”
Karen wrapped her arms around the girl and led her back to the table. Gee brought Karen coffee and then heated a pan for eggs. He dropped bread in the toaster as Karen continued the discussion with Nina.
“You don’t remember having any other name than Nina?” Karen asked softly.
“When I woke up, they said I was Nina. That’s all I’ve ever known.”
“Woke up?”
“Um… It’s the first thing I remember… when I started to be me. I was told what to do and when to do it. I obeyed. I was never bad but sometimes I was punished anyway. It pleased Sir and Madam.”
“How long ago was that?” Gee asked.
“A long time. I was little.”
“I need to take Nina out to get clothes and essentials and someone is sure to ask her name. Shall we say she’s a relative of yours?” Karen asked Gee.
“Mead would be here in a flash if he heard I have a known relative. And your family is well known. How about the daughter of a colleague you met in the city? Trouble at home and needed a place to stay a while.”
“That’s good. Nina, should anyone ask your name today, we’ll tell them it is Nina… O’Hara. Your hair is reddish, so it should work to make you Irish. I don’t believe there are any O’Haras in town who would ask about being related. We’ll say your mother and I worked together in New York. She’s quite ill and asked if you could visit me for a while.”
“People will ask my name? Of me?”
“It is possible. Have you never met new people before, Nina?”
“Only other sirs and madams. They don’t ask questions. Sometimes people I had sex with on the street asked my name but Janie told me to tell them it was none of their business.”
“I’m afraid Janie and Sir and Madam gave you some bad ideas of what the world is like,” Karen said. “How old are you?”
“I don’t know. I was about this big when I woke up.” She held her palm toward the floor a few inches above her knee. I can count. I was with Sir and Madam for six Christmases before my monthly blood started. Then they gave me to a new Sir and Madam. I was with them eight Christmases until I grew tall. Now no one wants me because I’m too big.”
“Karen, we are going to find these people,” Gee growled.
“Yes, we are,” Karen answered coldly. “Right now, we need to take care of Nina and you need to go meet your crew in the Woods.”
“I’ll stop to see the children on my way home tonight,” he said as he kissed Karen. “Grandma Sue should be with them for the weekend. If you get a chance to stop by today, maybe the children would like to meet Nina.”
The Crew
Gee’s crew Saturday morning was almost double the size of his normal workforce.
“What’s up, guys? I don’t usually see so many of you.”
“Uh… Gee,” Ryan Moffat said as he stepped to the front. “Most of the crews aren’t working during the winter but we heard you’re going to clear the fencerow and thought that was a job we could all help with. We’ve been working out here since Election Day and we want…”
“We want to find anyone still in the woods,” JD broke in. There were nods and noises of agreement. Gee thought of Nina’s arrival last night and nodded.
“I think we can use everyone but the work isn’t going to be easy. The snow is drifted on both sides of the fence. We’ll have to use the wagons we’ve converted to sleds but it will be muscle power that moves them. You push and pull. I don’t have any problem with you working with your girlfriends or boyfriends as long as you can stay focused on what we’re doing. Good?”
“Yes, sir,” they responded.
“Okay, sort out who is on what tasks. We’ll need a couple of people with shovels to clear snow, a measurement team for the trees we can reach, an extra cutter or two, and at least two sled teams. And I want a scout at the front looking for any sign of people. Divide yourselves up and get your gear.”
Gee got his own gear and checked to see that everyone had hard hats and understood the reason. With the heavy snowfall, many overhead branches were creaking in the wind. They headed to the woods.
“Gee, how do we tell if a sapling is hickory with no leaves?” one of the guys asked.
“Let’s look at the bark,” Gee replied. “Even young hickory trees have a deeply recessed and scaly bark. Look at this one. The bark is smooth—almost slippery. And see how the twigs are dark red in color? That’s a dogwood. You can tell the holly, of course, because it still has waxy green leaves on it. We’re not cutting dogwood and holly just because they are here—only if they are in the way of the trail and sleds. In the spring, we’ll come out and choose some of those to be transplanted elsewhere and probably keep a few thickets to help replenish the soil when we take out the nuisance plants like the firethorn.”
“I feel like I should have known all that after two months working out here.”
“Most of it I’ve only learned in the past few weeks,” Gee laughed. “I’m sure Gabe is tired of answering my questions by now.”
The kids chatted as they worked, encouraged by Gee not to exhaust themselves by rushing in the cold. The goal was to clear a six-foot break along the fence, except where that clearing involved taking out a hickory. As the clearing crew drew farther ahead of the sled crew, Gee pulled them back a bit.
“Let’s see if we can get more of these trimmings out of here,” he said. “James, could you hike back to the office and see if there’s another sled available? Drake and Viktor, you’ve run the chipper before, haven’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” Drake answered.
“You’re both over eighteen. Can you follow all the safety rules? We must be building up quite a pile of brush up there that needs to be chipped.”
“No problem, Gee,” Viktor said. “Gabe gave us a full instruction course, which included wearing ear protection and always working as a team.”
“Go to it then, guys.”
Unemployed
Gee got home in time to eat dinner with Karen and Nina. He’d stopped by the hospital to play with the children for an hour but left when Grandma Sue arrived to have dinner with them. As he walked home, he wondered idly whether Nina might open some doors to understanding how the children responded to adults. He greeted Karen with a kiss at the door but didn’t move toward Nina—just smiled at her.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“I think we had a very good day,” Karen said. “What do you think, Nina?”
“I have new clothes,” the girl said shyly. “I’ve never had clothes that were brand new before.”
“I’m glad you chose that sweater,” Gee said. “It looks lovely on you.”
“Thank you, sir… Gee.”
“We had lunch with Marian and Devon,” Karen continued.
“Oh, weren’t they at the hospital today?”
“Yes.” Gee smiled and turned to Nina.
“Did you meet the children, Nina?”
“Yes.” Gee saw a tear start in her eye that she blinked back furiously. “They won’t be like me, will they?” she whimpered.
“No!” Gee and Karen both responded, causing the girl to shrink back from the table.
“I’m sorry, Nina,” Gee said. “I didn’t mean to yell. I’m not angry with you.”
“We just get upset about what was done to them and to you,” Karen added.
“It was evil,” Gee continued. “We are trying to help them heal from what was done. Like you are. I don’t know what it was and won’t ask you to tell me until you want to, but I know it was painful. We will be here if you ever want to talk about it. We want to help you and the children become all you can be… all you want to become.”
“How can I know what I want? I don’t even know what ‘want’ means,” she cried. Karen held her as Nina leaned into her to sob.
“Nina, we’ll explore together. We’ll learn together. You’re not alone.”
“Will I have to go to the hospital like Brother, Sister, and Littlest?” she asked.
“No, Honey. They are there because it’s the only place we can care for them right now. You may visit them any time you want, but you have a place to live with us,” Gee said softly.
“You are so smart and kind.”
“I’m not much of anything,” Gee snorted. “Nina, back during the summer, I lost my memory. Five months ago. Whatever I am has been what I discovered since then.”
“You are… like us?” Nina asked, puzzled.
“In a way, I am. I don’t think anyone tried to use me and make me something I’m not, but I don’t remember who I was before I woke up here in Rosebud Falls. I don’t know what is best for everyone. I just try to do the right thing. And that means giving you a home, helping you learn about life, teaching you to read, and helping you learn to smile.”
“Miss Weisman… uh… Karen?” Nina asked after dinner.
“What is it, Nina?”
“I don’t know where a clock is. I am supposed to be in bed by nine o’clock but I don’t know what time it is.”
“Oh. Let’s handle one thing at a time. You want to know where a clock is. There’s one here in the kitchen. Do you know how to read that kind of clock?” The old analog clock that hung above the pantry had kept good time since Gee cleaned it and changed the batteries.
“Yes, ma’am. I learned my numbers and to read all kinds of clocks so I could always be where I was supposed to be at the right time.”
“Okay. There is a digital clock next to your bed and a clock on the mantle of the fireplace. We have clocks on our phones and when we get you a phone, you’ll have that, too.”
“A phone? Me?”
“We want you to be able to call us if you need something and I’m sure you’ll make friends you want to talk to, too.”
“It’s almost nine o’clock,” Nina said. “I need to hurry to bed.”
“You are old enough to set your own bedtime but you probably don’t have the experience to understand how. Do you go right to sleep when you go to bed?”
“Um… mostly. If I don’t, I pretend. My lights must be dark and I must lie in my bed with my eyes closed.”
“Let’s try this, Nina,” Gee said. “If it feels right to you, you may go to bed at nine o’clock. But… you should never pretend to be something you aren’t. If you want your eyes open, open them. If you want your light on, leave it on. If you want to read… well, I’ll find books that you can learn from.”
“We have this rule,” Karen said. “When you close your door, no one will open it without your permission. If you leave your door open, we’ll probably look in to see if you are okay but we won’t come into your room without your permission unless there is an emergency.”
“Um… Do I have to close it?” Nina asked.
“Whatever you want, Nina,” Gee said.
“And I have something else for you,” Karen said. “This little guy sat on my bed for twenty years and cuddled me many nights.” She handed Nina a stuffed panda bear. “If you want to hold him, he is there. If you want to talk to him, he listens. If you want to throw him across the room, he bounces. If you want to take him to bed… well, he doesn’t snore.” She cast a glance toward Gee and he feigned innocence.
Nina looked at the threadbare stuffed animal in her hands and hugged it to her. She smiled through tears and thanked Karen before heading to bed.
Gee and Karen sighed in unison, poured glasses of wine, and went to their own bed.
“We can’t fix them,” Karen said. “Any of them. That’s what Dr. Salinger told us about the children. It’s just as true of Nina. If we tell her what to do, we reinforce the command structure. If we don’t tell her, she’s lost. They have to heal themselves and we need to provide an environment where it can happen. Where they are loved.”
“We first saw it happening with the children when Littlest got the older kids to take her to the bathroom.”
“By comparison, Nina is years ahead of them. She ran from her owners.” Gee snapped around to look at Karen. “Yes, owners. Under the best spin you could possibly give it, Nina was no more than a pet.”
“A pet they used for sex,” Gee growled.
“Yes, but look at the independent action she took. She understood what it meant to be sent to the kennels and found a way to escape. She’s been surviving mostly on her own for three months. Janie taught her that her body was the currency that bought her food, shelter, transportation. But when it sounded like Janie was arranging another master for her, she ran away again,” Karen said. “She’s shy because she doesn’t know how to interact with people in any other way. But she’s a strong girl. She’ll make it.”
“What are we going to do Monday when you go to work and I’m trying to help the children?” Gee asked.
“Oh!” Karen giggled. “With all the excitement last night, I forgot to tell you. I’ve been fired. I’m unemployed and we’ll have to live off your income from now on.”
“Oh, no! Karen that’s terrible. My sweet darling, I’m so sorry.” Gee hugged Karen to him and peppered her face with little kisses while he expressed his sympathy.
“Thank you for the sympathy and cuddles but I’m not hurt or stressed about it. It’s not like I was working in order to put bread on the table. I can sympathize better with people who are in that situation, though. It was a shock to be told I was no longer needed,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because I’m head of the Roth Family,” Karen said.
“I had the impression the Families got along okay,” Gee said.
“Not that. During the election campaign, my byline was influential. Too influential. When I became one of the seven Family heads, the perception of my being an unbiased champion of the people, changed. I’m no longer a reporter, I’m a mouthpiece for the Families,” Karen said.
“I guess I understand. But you loved reporting. What will you do now?”
“First off, I’m going to devote more time to my husband-to-be and our new family. I’ll write. I’ve been researching that book for years. It’s time to start writing. And I’ll try to keep the Roths from killing each other over trivia. I’ll sit with the other Family heads and discuss nut production and Forest management and allocations of the Wild Woods. I’ll help with the children and try to be a role model for Nina. And I will love my husband and make sure he knows it every day.”
A Match Made in Heaven
If it weren’t for the child, Troy would have thought it was perfect. He’d known Taryn for less than two weeks and was besotted. When he’d agreed to handle the problem with Dr. Jones, he expected to be saddled with the girl and the child he’d fathered. But Taryn was more than he ever expected.
She was young and beautiful but not so young that he’d be considered a pervert. He reflected that she was older than Violet and no one had raised an eye when he dated the Meagher heir. But Violet didn’t need him. Taryn did. She wanted him. It was a new feeling to Troy. He’d always chosen his conquests based on what they would do for his standing. Someone richer, more powerful. A Family merger. And that attitude had left him single in his thirties. He didn’t need Taryn, especially with the anchor of a kid with Down syndrome. But she needed him.
Troy fantasized about what life would be like if he took Taryn and moved to Palmyra. Or even to New York. Of course, he’d be just one more voice in a crowd of radio announcers and not the One Eye on Main. That wouldn’t be so bad. He’d rebuild his popularity. The award he’d won at the Radio Television Digital News Association Conference would go a long way toward getting him a job in the city.
He imagined them in a three-bedroom apartment where there would be room for children. Well, at least one more. That kid kept rearing his ugly head in Troy’s fantasies. Was she worth it? Everything else seemed so perfect. They hadn’t had sex yet but she’d hinted that she was interested. Hinted without throwing herself at him. So unlike the others. She looked up to him and did not reject any of his advances. It was he who had slowed things down, wanting to be sure this was what he wanted. There was that kid.
“Taryn, would you and Ricky like to join my family’s Christmas celebration with me? There’s a family dinner with just my parents, brother and his son, and me. And you and Ricky. Then on Christmas Day the whole clan shows up for a feast,” Troy said as he sat opposite Taryn in the restaurant. Ricky played quietly with some beads in his stroller.
“Troy? You’d really take me to meet your family?” This was what her psychiatrist had told her would happen. It was just more than she’d hoped for. The therapist had used some drug on her that helped hypnotize her. But it was just to help her overcome her reluctance. She’d undergone drug therapy before. It was no big deal.
As an unhappy teen, she’d been rescued from an attempted suicide and brought back to a position of self-worth. There were drugs involved then, too, but the psychiatrist explained what each was for and she was so desperate for help that she’d agreed. She emerged from therapy a happy and well-adjusted teen.
She thought life with Richard Taft was idyllic. It was what she was made for. But his reaction to the her handicapped child drove her back to the brink of suicide. She’d sought out the same psychiatrist who had helped her before. The doctor had suggested that she move to Rosebud Falls. The positive reinforcement of the drug and hypnotism made her ready to find the love of her life. And here he had just invited her to meet his family. Taryn was certain they would move in together soon and she would become Mrs. Troy Cavanaugh. Her fantasies would come true.
She need only accept what her psychiatrist had planned for her.
Finding Friends
Gee was surprised Wednesday morning when Ruth Ann and Sally Ann Metzger arrived at the hospital instead of Marian and Devon. It was the first day of the school’s winter break and Sally Ann was excited to help.
“Sally Ann’s teacher, Ms. Zimmer, told her class about the children found in the woods and how isolated they were in the hospital,” Ruth Ann said when Gee greeted her. “That put Sally Ann in campaign mode.” Gee was beginning to worry about the children’s long-term care. They had been in the hospital for a month now and he planned to take them to the library this evening for reading time as he had last week. They’d clutched his arms frantically until Devon and Marian showed up and helped. They needed a home and he once again started wondering if he and Karen could care for them now that they had Nina, too.
“Thank you for donating your time,” Gee said. He turned to his young fan. “Sally Ann, you understand that the children are not stupid. They just haven’t had the opportunity to learn important things like you have. Can you be patient with them?” The little girl looked pleadingly at Gee.
“Gee, can they have friends?” she asked.
“I think that’s one of the things they need most,” he answered, lifting the youngster in his arms. “If you can be a friend, that would mean more than anything.” She gave him a hug and he let her down. Sally Ann took her mother’s hand and together, they opened the door to children’s world.
His crew was already hard at work when Gee got to the woods. Gabe had checked their equipment and gone over the assignments before leaning back in his chair in the office and waving them on. Gee observed the work and helped at each of the jobs for a bit as the teens made slow but steady progress down the fencerow.
“Gee, this section of fence is all new,” Ryan said. “I went back and checked the fence at the border of the Forest. It’s in no better condition than the one we tore down between the Forest and the Wild Woods. But the entire fence along the Wild Woods that we’ve been clearing is shiny and new.”
“Good observation, Ryan. I’ll ask over at SSG to see if they authorized replacement or if it was done by the farmers. This isn’t exactly the type of fence farmers would normally erect,” Gee said. The crew was ready to break for lunch and headed to one of the cabins. Working kept them warm but it didn’t take long to get cold when they stopped for a break. They lit the propane heater and gathered around with their lunches.
“Tell us about the new girl,” Alyson said. Gee looked at the tall girl with surprise written on his face.
“Uh… New girl?” he stammered.
“Mom said she met her up at the hospital with Karen Saturday,” Alyson continued. “A friend of Karen’s who came to live with you?”
“Well, she’s eighteen but very shy,” Gee said hesitantly. He was having to make this up as he went, not having expected the teens to be so up-to-date with their information. “She was… sick for a long time and is behind on basic things like reading and writing. Her mother’s been ill and the stress was too much at home. Karen has become her guardian for a while. We’re just trying to help her adjust to her recovery and to learn what has happened in the world while she was sick.”
The kids looked at each other and it seemed they had more on their minds. Finally, JD broke the silence.
“She’s like the children rescued from the woods, isn’t she? Was she drugged and brainwashed?”
“Uh… JD, that is a lot to assume.”
“Not really,” Jeanie said. “We just want to know if she was found out here in our woods and if we can help.”
“We don’t know exactly where she came from,” Gee sighed. “Let me just say that the life she has lived for the past ten or fifteen years is nothing at all like what any of you have experienced. We’d like to not make a big deal out of things just now. She just needs to adjust to a more normal life.”
“Nothing’s more normal than having friends,” Alyson said.
“You would never turn a child away, Gee,” Jeanie said. “Neither will we. It’s not like we come out here to the woods and work our asses off for exercise. We believe we’re here because children have been harmed here. Even if we never find another one out here, we’ll make sure the woods and everyone in it is safe.”
“You kids are something special, you know that?” Gee said. “I’ll talk to Karen and Nina. When I got to Rosebud Falls with no memory of who I am, I felt like a stranger everywhere. Then, one-by-one, I made friends. Karen, Mead, Ellie, Marian and Nathan. You were all part of that, too. When you came to my house on Halloween, when you marched to take down the fence, when you volunteered to help in the woods. I’m proud to call each of you my friend.”
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