Wild Woods
10
436 Peach Street
Scars
“THIS HAS BEEN an exciting week from what I hear,” Dr. Poltanys said as he clipped the stitches from Gee’s leg.
“The children have finally begun to vocalize. Not all words but they are getting very good with ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’,” Gee said. Whenever someone mentioned things being exciting, Gee thought of the children.
“I’ll bet that thrills Laura and Jude,” Adam chuckled.
“Yes. There was a little confusion when Devon called Marian ‘Mommy’ but it didn’t take them too long to sort out the relationships. And then Nina…”
“How is she doing?”
“She started calling Karen and me Mommy and Daddy. It helped the kids but it really shocked Karen. We figure she’s only ten years older than Nina.”
“Age is irrelevant. She has twenty years more experience. How do you feel about it?”
“It threw me the first time. I didn’t know what to say. We never push her for a display of affection but a few days ago, I commented about how well she was doing with her numbers. She gave me a hug and said, ‘Thank you, Daddy.’ I was blown away. Karen and I have a daughter and she’s already almost out of her teens.”
“Are you happy about that?”
“Very. Ow! I didn’t expect pulling those stitches to hurt.”
“I used a lot of small stitches to try to minimize scarring. You’ll still have a couple of new scars, I’m afraid.”
“How did your other patient from that night fare?” Gee asked.
“The preacher suffered more from hypothermia than physical damage. A few bruises and abrasions caused by the inflating airbags. Other than that, he suffers from an intolerant and abusive disposition aggravated by an attitude of religious superiority and homophobia. The condition is probably terminal.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“The kids at Flor didn’t go easy on you yesterday, did they?”
“News travels fast.”
“I saw Evan Nygard yesterday. He mentioned it.”
“I’m just… Do you suppose that if I regained my memory, I would understand why I saved him?”
“You might find a list of circumstances that shaped your outlook on life and responses to emergencies. I’m not sure that equates with understanding.” Adam inspected the wounds again and told Gee to dress. “Gee, I see a lot of injuries. I remove tonsils and appendixes. I treat diseases. In short, I see broken people. Once I remove an appendix, the patient heals. They’re missing an appendix but they’re no longer broken. You’re missing your memory but you aren’t broken. When it comes to being judgmental and disdainful of the stupidity of human beings, I’m the one who’s broken, not you. Just keep being who you are. You’ve taught me a lesson.”
In the Blood
Gee walked out along the fencerow Saturday morning with a couple of his crew, but between snow, ice, and wind, they decided it would be at least the next weekend before they could get anything done. Instead they headed back to the foresters’ office and went over the maps.
“If it wasn’t so cold, we could do something,” Gee said. “But until it gets above zero again, I’m not taking anyone out there.”
“None of the foresters are out,” Gabe said. “No reason a bunch of teenage volunteers should be. Go home and enjoy your family.”
That was a good plan. Gee found the children and Jeanie visiting at the mansion. Laura and Jude were in a lively conversation with Karen about the purpose and intent of law. The two families spent much of their weekend together as Naomi, David, and Esther were watched over by Nina and Jeanie.
Monday morning, Karen, Gee, and Nina decided to start the day with a trip to Jitterz rather than make coffee at home. The sun came out and it looked like the day might warm up at last.
“Well, look who’s graced our doors,” Birdie said when they entered the coffee shop. “Are you thawing out?”
“I’m not betting on clear warm weather yet,” Gee said. “Even on a sunny day, it’s still too dangerous to go into the woods with ice falling off the trees.”
“Birdie, I don’t think you’ve met Nina yet. Nina, Birdie owns the coffee shop. What would you like, dear?” Karen asked.
“Hello, Birdie. I’m Nina. May I have coffee with lots of milk?” Nina asked. She was gaining confidence and poise the longer she was with them. Birdie smiled at her.
“You certainly may! Elaine, would you please make a special latte for this young woman?”
“Yes, Birdie,” the singer/barista said.
“While you’re waiting for your coffee, why don’t you sip this tea?” Birdie said to Nina as she guided her to a chair. “I’ll take the cup from you as soon as you’re finished.”
“Thank you, Birdie.” Gee and Karen sat with her. “This is good. It warms my tummy!”
“That’s a good thing on a cold day, isn’t it?” Karen laughed. Nina focused on sipping the tea until Birdie approached with their other drinks and breakfast sandwiches.
“There’s stuff in the bottom of the cup!” Nina said.
“Those are your tealeaves,” Birdie said, trading cups with her. “Now, we’ll look into your cup and find out who you are.”
“You can tell who I am by looking at tealeaves?” Nina exclaimed. “Who am I? Where did I come from? Do I have parents? I mean other than Gee and Karen?”
“Easy, child,” Birdie laughed. “What I see is who is inside you, not your identity. And what I see is a very bright and outgoing young woman. All you need to be successful in life is a little education and opportunity. You’ve not allowed your past to misshape your spirit. You don’t hold anger and resentment inside you. That is very good. You hold your new family and friends as precious. These are things that are important to your life.” Birdie paused and looked at the leaves with a puzzled expression as a group of teens entered the coffee shop.
“Nina!” Jeanie cried. “You remember Barrett, don’t you? And Alyson and Viktor? Come and join us.” Nina waved at her friends and turned to Karen.
“May I, Mommy?”
“Of course you may, Sweetie. We’ll be sitting here for a while. Take your sandwich.” Nina carried her latte and sandwich to the table where Jeanie and Alyson were sitting while Barrett and Viktor ordered for them. Karen and Gee smiled after her and then turned seriously toward Birdie.
“What else is it?” Gee asked. “You saw something important.”
“She belongs here,” Birdie said. “Have you had a DNA test done?”
“The police sent it out to the missing children database. No matches,” Karen said.
“You should try the services where you sent Gee’s DNA,” Birdie declared.
“Do you think she’s related to me?” Gee asked.
“Maybe,” Birdie said, puzzling over the tealeaves. “But I’m sure her parents or grandparents are from Rosebud Falls. The connection is in her blood.” Birdie stood and called to the kitchen. “Violet, dear! What was the name of the DNA testing company you sent a sample to?”
“The one that said I was half Haitian instead of Jamaican like my mama told me?” Violet laughed. She came over to the table and wrote down the name of the lab.
“Yes. I should have told you long ago. Your father is Haitian. I’m full-blooded Irish myself.” They all laughed as Violet returned to the kitchen.
“I recognize this one. I sent Gee’s sample there but there were no matches,” Karen said.
“I just have a feeling,” Birdie sighed as she looked over at the teens.
“I thought you would all be in school today,” Nina said to her friends. “Gee said school was Monday through Friday.”
“Yes, but it’s a holiday,” Alyson said. “We don’t have school today so we decided to go outside and play.”
“Want to join us?” Jeanie asked. “We’re going sledding.”
“In the woods?” Nina asked timidly.
“Not the Wild Woods,” Barrett jumped in. “You remember where we went sledding after the first big snowfall? The track runs from the cemetery to the lumber mill.”
“Oh, I remember! It was fun.”
“And if you are with us, we promise not to let anything bad happen to you,” Viktor said. Alyson squeezed his hand.
“I’ll… um… ask Mommy,” Nina said.
“What do you think of that?” Karen asked as they watched Nina leave with her friends. Gee sighed.
“It’s what we want, isn’t it?” he said. “We want her to have friends and to be independent.”
“But…?”
“It’s hard to let go and not worry about her.”
“Yeah. We have to, though.”
“I think I need to do some work at the foresters’ office,” Gee said.
“Where you can see the road up to the cemetery? Karen nudged him.
“I’m not going to spy on them. I just want to be… you know… close enough to respond in an emergency.”
“I love you,” Karen said. “Go off and do your work. And keep your eye out for our daughter. Just in case.”
The Bookhouse
The weather that kept Gee and his crew out of the woods also allowed him more time for other activities. He especially enjoyed sitting in Karen’s study while she worked on her book, and was often joined by Nina as he helped her with reading or writing. Nina was progressing well and while the elementary reading material was below the level of her life experience, she discovered a joy in being able to sit with a book and puzzle out the words. Her math skills were progressing much more rapidly. She seemed to have an affinity for numbers.
Gee also spent time with the younger children at Jude and Laura’s house, often with Nina accompanying him. All three children now used words and phrases, most starting with ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy’. It was clear that living full-time with the newlyweds had created a familial bond far more quickly than was possible in the hospital. Marian and Devon were almost daily visitors to the children. Ruth Ann and Sally Ann visited at least one evening a week and on the weekend.
Through the chaos of the fall and winter with all his added responsibilities, Gee had still maintained his role as reader in the Wednesday evening Bookhouse program at the library. As soon as she’d discovered what he was doing and that the younger children went there as well, Nina joined him. She sat with the little ones Gee read to. Many assumed she was just another adult piece of furniture and climbed into her lap.
So, when Wednesday evening came, quite a parade of people left the Woods and Evars households and walked to the library together.
“Go ahead,” Sally Ann whispered. She was just loud enough that Gee could hear her talking to Naomi. The two girls were near the same age. “You can ask Gee to read a favorite book. I’ll help you get it and you can take it to him.” The two disappeared behind the shelf of children’s books and soon emerged as Gee finished reading a story for the very little ones. Littlest—Esther, Gee reminded himself—sat cuddled on one side with Devon snuggled against her.
“Gee, please?” Naomi said as she approached him. Gee set aside the book he was about to read and looked at Sister.
“What book do you want, Naomi?”
“George monkey,” the girl said. Her own stuffed monkey was tucked securely under her arm. Since introduced to her in the hospital, she’d seldom been seen without the toy.
“Curious George in the Snow,” Gee read from the cover. “Come look at the book Naomi has chosen.” The rest of the children leaned forward as Gee held the book out for them to see. “Have you been outside to play in the snow? My favorite thing is to come inside and have hot chocolate after I’ve played. What do you think George’s favorite thing will be?” Various suggestions were made by the children, including snowmen, angels, sleds, and ice. “Let’s see what the story says.”
Naomi claimed the seat opposite Esther and Brother David leaned against her. A handicapped child Gee had seen only recently crawled to Nina and held out his arms. She picked him up with a smile toward the child’s concerned mother. There was a little more shifting around as children found seats on the laps of adults or snuggled up together on big pillows before Gee began to read.
Surveys
Gee was in the foresters’ office Thursday, poring over the printouts of geocache maps near the Patriarch when Gabe interrupted him.
“I think you have company,” he said, pointing to the door. Gee turned, finding David, Wayne, and Pàl.
“Just who we were hoping to see,” Wayne said as he shook Gee’s hand. “How are the kids?”
“All excited about being outside in the snow. Yesterday they were all at our house playing in the big yard. The little ones have built a snowman and covered nearly every square inch of lawn with little angels. Nina was right down there helping.”
“Gee, Pàl asked for assistance on a tour through the woods and down to the quarry,” David said, circumventing greetings. “He’d like to meet the Patriarch, so I volunteered you.”
“My pleasure,” Gee said. “In fact, I was just considering stopping by your office this afternoon with a couple of questions.”
“Shoot,” Pàl said. “Anything I need to look up?”
“Maybe. Do you know if SSG maintains the fence along the boundary of the Wild Woods—what is now the new City Limit?” Gee asked. “A lot happening lately and I haven’t had a chance to ask before this.”
“It seems likely. I’ll have to look through the records to find out for sure,” Pàl said. “With the new arrangement between us and the City, that might be a subject for discussion this spring. Is it in bad repair?”
“You know we’ve been clearing the area next to the fence the past few weeks. That whole first section of nearly half a mile looks brand new. I was just wondering how new it is.”
“If the company bought and installed that much six-foot chain link fencing, it should show up on the books,” Pàl said. “Do you know how much that would cost, David?” David pulled out his phone and tapped the keys on the calculator.
“Rough estimates, twelve to fifteen thousand at the price we get. Depends on whether posts were needed and if you replaced the barbed wire on the extenders, too. Materials could run as much as twenty grand if everything was replaced. And more if it goes farther than the half-mile Gee has pointed out,” David said.
“Wouldn’t someone notice that big a project?” Wayne asked. “That must have required a pretty good crew to install.”
“Who’d notice?” David asked. “One side of the fence is Wild Woods. The other is farmland, barely visible from the nearest road. Gabe? How about a ride out to inspect Gee’s work on the fencerow? We could do that while Gee is guiding Pàl and Wayne.”
“I could stand to stretch my legs a bit,” the old forester said. All four feet of his chair made contact with the floor and he reached for his coat.
“Gee, there’s a four-seat ATV fueled and ready. Why don’t you take Pàl and Wayne in that? Gabe and I will take one of the smaller ones.”
“This is the Patriarch?” Pàl said sadly. The trail was narrow but clear with the number of people who had come out through the snow to visit The Tree. “I wanted a chance to see this as much as to talk about the quarry. But it’s not the tree I want to see.”
“Why’s that?” Gee asked.
“I thought it might be the Savage Family tree, but it isn’t,” Pàl said. “I was never introduced to it before my grandfather took me to Scotland. I don’t know where our Family tree is.”
“I bet we’ll find it when we close that church and evict the preacher from the house,” Wayne suggested.
“Unless they cut it down,” Pàl suggested morosely. “I’m feeling chilled. Let’s move on to the quarry.”
Gee drove the two down a network of paths, pointing out two of the cabins they passed. They didn’t stop to investigate them. When they reached the quarry, Gee drove carefully around the rutted road that circled it, sometimes having difficulty identifying the track through the snow.
“Why would our former management replace all the fence along the Wild Woods border and not this fence?” Wayne asked, looking at a rusted section of fence that had been torn back to give access to the rim. There were several places where the fence was collapsed or missing completely. “This is a real hazard.”
“The kids believe it’s haunted,” Gee said. “Maybe ‘believe’ is too strong a word. It seems there is a ‘secret’ path from the lake to the quarry. In the summer, this is where older kids come to drink and go skinny-dipping at night. It’s where Ryan and Shannon were headed the day they saw Karen kidnapped.”
“Hmm. Hate to spoil their fun, but we have to do something about this. It’s a miracle no one has fallen in and drowned.”
“It could hide a world of secrets,” Gee agreed.
“Roy Waters’ report to me was a thinly veiled threat about needing to have a reclamation plan,” Pàl said.
“What are our options?” Wayne finally asked.
“The general dimensions suggest we’ve taken between 800,000 and 1,000,000 cubic yards of stone from this hole. The deepest area is a hundred feet down. It’s tiered, like an inverted wedding cake, with a spiral road around the edge. That’s a lot of volume. A truck can transport ten or twelve cubic yards of gravel. Somewhere around 75,000 dump loads to fill the hole.”
“My God!” Wayne breathed. What choices do we have?”
“We could add some safety features. Make the slope around the edge gentler. Put in a beach and call it a park,” Pàl said. “Or we could just erect an extra strong security fence and hire a patrol twenty-four-seven to keep people out.”
“Or a combination of the three,” Gee said. “Fill the area on the low side and create a gentle slope. Fence off the most hazardous areas. Stock it with fish. If they’ll live. Waters suggested the levels of some chemical were extra high. It might not be safe.”
They mulled over the ideas as they walked along the lip of the quarry, currently frozen over.
“How long ago did you stop quarrying?” Gee asked.
“I haven’t been investigating it with all the other shenanigans the former board was up to. It’s been a hundred years since it was producing any quantity. There were occasional lifts up until World War II. That’s when my grandfather took the company public and converted it to sand and gravel instead of limestone. Why?” Gee did some calculating in his head.
“I think something was going on down there during or right before the war,” he said.
“Why do you say that?”
“Something Jan’s father said when I visited him.”
“You visited August Poltanys? I thought he was too far gone to communicate.”
“It was an accident. I sort of stumbled into his room. His mind isn’t in the present. He called me George but I don’t think he knew me. He was desperately trying to convince George that they shouldn’t come to the quarry again because of what they’d seen.”
“You should talk to Jan about that and see if he can make sense of it,” Pàl said. “I barely know my own Family, let alone his. Dee says August has had Alzheimer’s for a long time. Amazing he’s still alive.”
“Well, for now, it looks like we have about thirty grand worth of fence replacement to deal with,” Wayne said. “And then we’ll have to plan for dump loads of gravel.”
“What do you think, Loren?” David asked as he drove the head of the Cavanaugh Family along Fox Hill Road east of town. A sale sign had been erected in front of the Alexanders’ property where the unfortunate couple had been poisoned.
“What do they want for it?”
“Their only daughter lives in Indiana and wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Says she has no pleasant memories of living here. She’s asking three-fifty. The house could be subdivided off with a couple of acres and sold for at least half that. We’d get thirty-eight acres backed up to the Wild Woods for about one-seventy-five.”
“What about the property next door? We’ve got a murder here and a fire there. Arson?”
“Not according to the sheriff. Fire investigators found a slow propane leak in an old connection. When the automatic heaters kicked on for the cattle, it sparked the propane which lit the hay. Damn shame about the animals and equipment but they were probably all dead before anyone even realized there was a fire. It was all the firefighters could do to keep it from spreading to the house. John Daniels’ grandfather bought the place in 1938, so it’s been in the family for eighty years. Not like the Alexanders who just bought their place after Simon went to work for SSG. So, we have eighty acres with a good farmstead even without the barn. John is pretty distraught over the loss but I’m guessing a million-dollar offer would change his outlook on life.”
“And why are we interested in these two properties?” Loren insisted. David knew he was just trying to put the pieces together in a logical order so he could prepare a business case.
“They back up to the Wild Woods,” David said. “They’re a natural 120-acre extension of cleared land. We have hundreds of strong young first-generation trees that could be planted out here and have an orchard with the potential of matching the production of our most prolific area of the Forest. It’s an investment in the future of the Forest.”
“And easier to get productive than the Wild Woods itself,” Loren said. “I’ll put production estimates together. Put in a contingent offer and let’s call the Family heads together.”
Back to the Woods
By Saturday morning, the sun had been out three days in a row and the ice had melted from the tree limbs. It was deemed safe for the crews to resume work and Gee was pleased with the number of volunteers who showed up. Jessie and Jonathan joined them at the foresters’ office.
“Wonder if we could raid your crew for a couple of volunteers,” Jessie said.
“What do you need?”
“A good caliper person and a cache recorder,” Jessie answered. “We’re planning to map the transplantable trees that surround the Patriarch. We designed a separate section of the cache because we’ll be recording the smaller trees this time. We want to see what we can effectively remove to create the least stress on neighboring trees.”
“Dad says we’re going to get land to expand onto, so we’ll be in full transplant mode when the sap stops running this fall,” Jonathan said. “We just have too much prep work to do to get any transplanting done before they start sprouting this spring.”
“Do we know where they’ll go yet?” JD asked. “Oh! I volunteer to record the cache.”
“Thanks, JD. If you can be spared, we’d like that. We have some ideas but part of planning a project is knowing what you have to work with,” Jonathan said.
“Could I do the caliper things?” Leslie asked. “Alyson taught me how.” She was the youngest of Gee’s crew and the only freshman among them. Gee noticed she always stayed near geeky JD. He seemed oblivious.
“That rounds out all we need,” Jonathan said. “Did we deplete your resources to much, Gee?”
“We have a good-sized crew today,” Gee laughed. “Without Leslie, we’ll have to figure out someone else to wiggle into the tight spaces but we’ll manage.” He turned to the rest of his crew. “Gear up and let’s get started. Hot chocolate at our house at four o’clock if we can get a good day’s work in before it gets too cold.” There was a little cheer and his team headed for the fencerow.
“He’s not mad at you, Trevor,” Viktor said as the two larger boys loaded cuttings and branches onto a sled. Despite a few bare patches on the path, the sled still moved more easily through the woods than the wagon. “If he was mad at you, he’d have to be mad at all of us. We all wanted to ask that question. Talk to him.”
Gee fell back from the trimming crew enough to help the two boys get their sled turned around and loaded again. Trevor took a deep breath.
“I hope you’re not mad at me, Gee.”
“I have no reason at all to be mad at you,” Gee chuckled. “What’s on your mind?”
“I was pretty snotty at the forum last week and I want to apologize for the way I came off. I guess it’s not that uncommon for me. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. You made me think.”
“Us, too. Angela… er… Ms. Jamison, our social studies teacher, suggested we consider a bunch of ethics questions to see where we stood. Some of them were pretty brutal, like having five people on a sinking raft that would only hold four and having to decide which to throw overboard.”
“Some questions just don’t have a good answer,” Gee affirmed.
“Even questions we thought we knew the answer to,” Trevor continued. “Knowing everything we do today and given a time machine, would we go back in time and kill Adolf Hitler in his crib? We started out with everyone saying sure. That would save the lives of six million Jews. Then she asked if that would be enough, or would we have to track down other key people in the organization like Goebbels and Goehring and kill them? Was there any way we could eliminate the threat without killing just as many people—probably a lot of innocent people—or causing their death by creating a leadership vacuum?”
“From what I’ve read, that’s always been an ethical question about time travel,” Gee mused. “What if we did one little thing that caused a change in the timeline. But we don’t often bring it into the present. What if we do one little thing today that causes the future to shift? Isn’t that just as important?”
“How can we tell unless we know the future?” Trevor asked. “That’s what you were getting at, isn’t it? We concluded that even knowing one future didn’t foretell what would happen if something was changed. When it comes down to it, the only scale we have is exactly what you said. Would going back and killing Hitler make me a better person? Or would it just make me a murderer? You really helped us learn something.”
The kids were excited to gather at the mansion for hot chocolate after a day in which they cleared over a hundred yards of fencerow. The hard work had been broken by both heavy discussions and by riotous singing as the kids started adapting some of the Harvest songs to the process of clearing the woods of debris.
Several kids were already in the house holding cups of cocoa before Gee got home. Jessie and Jonathan had arrived with JD and Leslie as well. It was the first time the house had not looked huge and empty to Gee.
“Daddy! Daddy!” Nina shouted as she rushed to him. Before he had his coat off, she’d wrapped her arms around him for a hug. “Guess what! Guess what!” she demanded but before Gee could venture a guess, she continued. “I went to the woods! And I didn’t get scared… very much. And I saw the old Tree. And Mommy says you’ll get married there and we’ll really be a family!”
Gee was overwhelmed. He looked at Karen’s benign smile.
“I’m so happy you went to meet the Patriarch,” he said. The Tree is very special to me.”
“I know,” she whispered with awe in her voice. “He’s as old as you are!”
The kids nearby laughed and there were comments about Gee being as old as the trees in the Forest. Soon pizza arrived and Gee’s age was forgotten.
“You took Nina to the Wild Woods?” Gee asked Karen when things had finally settled down.
“It wasn’t completely spontaneous but I wasn’t sure she’d go until we left,” Karen explained. “We’ve been talking all week about what you do in the woods and how you are making it safe so we can get married there. Nina had interesting questions about marriage and whether she could be married, too. It’s been tricky.”
“I’ll ask Penny Tomczyk to add some books about family life to our reading list,” Gee suggested. “It would probably help all the children.”
“As long as they don’t paint too narrow a description,” Karen said. “I don’t want her to think there is only one kind of family. Anyway, I called Jessie and Jonathan yesterday about arranging a little excursion. They said they had work to do near the Patriarch and would get a couple of kids to accompany us so Nina wouldn’t feel alone. I have to hand it to Jessie and Jonathan. JD and Leslie are about the least threatening kids you’ve got on your crew. They kept Nina engaged and talking all the way to The Tree.”
“I’m just excited that she made that leap after her last time in the woods,” Gee said.
“I think part of it was giving her permission to be frightened and assurance that we would be with her. You know, this being a parent is exhausting,” Karen laughed.
“Yeah. But look at the kids. Our baby has friends and they consider themselves welcome in our home.”
”A couple of those boys are definitely interested in more than friendship but they’re being respectful. She looks like one of their contemporaries. But listening to her tell a funny story about being confused between the numbers six and nine helped them understand she’s not yet at their level. She’s like a little sister to nearly everyone here, even though she’s the oldest among them,” Karen said.
“So how was she when she finally saw the tree?”
“She climbed it.”
“What???”
“Not high but just up to the first branch. She sat on it like she’d been born there. We talked about what the wedding would be like and her part in it.”
“Which is?”
“How could anyone else be my maid of honor?”
“That could be difficult,” Gee sighed. Karen turned to him with concern written on her face.
“What is it, Gee?”
“I was going to ask her to be best man.”
Reports
The days were clear but cold. With his crew back in school, Gee made little progress on the fencerow and focused, instead, on loading piles of brush from other cutting sites to take to the chipper. One or two loads was all he could manage before the cold drove him inside. He found other foresters in the office, as well. No one could stand the biting cold for long.
“Gee,” David called to him. He was in a close conversation with one of the foresters. “You’ve worked with Darrell White before, right?” Gee shook hands with the forester. “I think we should keep this among the three of us but Darrell discovered something.” Darrell shuffled around.
“Might be nothing,” he said. “We got a call from a neighbor on the south side of the woods about a fallen limb across his fence this morning. You were already out so I took a four-wheeler around by the quarry and down to SSG in order to get to the guy’s house. It was a pretty good-sized limb and it took an hour to get it cut into chunks and off the fence. I’ll have to go back down tomorrow and fix the fence. By the time I got the wood cut, I was freezing. I decided to get myself warmed up and cut through the woods to cabin six. I didn’t notice a thing disturbed in the cabin except that when I tried to light the heater, I discovered it was out of propane.”
“How much have we been using the cabins as warming huts?” Gee asked.
“Not much,” David said. “We equipped them all with heaters but we just haven’t sent anyone out there for over a month unless they were working with you along the fence. I don’t send foresters out in this kind of cold.”
“I disconnected the tank and loaded it on my cart to bring in for a refill,” Darrell continued. “But I got to thinking and went back inside. You know those survival kits the kids put in the cabins? I checked the one inside. I couldn’t remember what all was supposed to be in the kit because I didn’t help with them, but I was sure there was supposed to be food. There was none in this one. I think someone’s been using that cabin.”
Gee crumpled onto a seat next to David. He looked at the other two men.
“In this weather. We need to check all the heaters and replenish all the kits,” he said. Whoever it is could freeze to death.”
“I agree,” David said. “Darrell, keep this under your hat. If we make the wrong move out there, we could scare someone away and make it worse for them. Gee, you and I should load the utility unit with a fresh tank for all six cabins and head out to change them.”
“We should take food.”
“We don’t have supplies to restock and I think heat is more important.”
“I agree. Let’s get going.”
David and Gee wrapped themselves as warmly as possible, loaded six propane cylinders on the utility ATV and headed back into the woods.
“We need to go out and help them,” Karen exclaimed when Gee told her about their discovery as they lay in bed that night. She was ready to get dressed and go right then.
“We are helping him, her, or them,” Gee said. “They are staying as hidden as they can from us. We didn’t open any doors this afternoon when we replaced tanks. We found one other empty, but all had been used. David and I kept scanning for tracks, but whoever it is walks carefully, even where there’s snow. Darrell said the survival kit he checked looked completely undisturbed but there was no food in it. Tomorrow, we’ll start dropping energy bars off at each of the cabins. I just don’t want to scare them away.”
“Gee, it could be children,” Karen wept. “Like Naomi and David and Esther. Or like Nina. What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to hold our arms open and hope they’ll trust us enough to come into them,” Gee sighed. “It’s all we can do.”
Wayne spent an hour Thursday after school stopping by both the Woods house and the Roth mansion. Before he went home, he sat with Gee and Karen with a cup of tea and plate of cookies Lynda Raven had baked that morning.
“Nina is progressing well,” Wayne said. “I left her with the younger children so I could talk to you. They are all excited to be learning.”
“Anything we need to be aware of?” Karen asked. “I’m following the plan you laid out as well as I can.”
“The biggest difficulty they’re having is comprehending things that are beyond their experience. Usually, by the time a child reaches Esther’s age, for example, she’s absorbed a huge amount of information about life from her environment. She knows what a family is, what colors are, how to build with blocks, the sounds that all the animals make. Nina is better at that than the little ones but even she has limited experience. It’s hard to get the concept of a horse galloping across the plains, for example, if the only horse you’ve ever seen is a stuffed unicorn.”
“Oh, wow. What can we do to help things along?”
“More field trips, for one,” Wayne said. “Broaden their horizons. Nina’s socialization with friends is helping her immensely. Cooking has been good for all four. Work with Laura and Jude to find anything of interest for them. I know the weather has made it more difficult, but take them shopping. Look at antiques. Artwork. Eat in different restaurants. Visit a farm so they can see animals. Safe animals.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The little children love Good Dog Carl. Naomi read it to her sibs this afternoon while I was there.”
“There are no words. Just pictures.”
“How do you read the book in the library?”
“I just talk about what is happening in the pictures,” Gee said.
“Exactly. You should listen to Naomi tell the story. You might get a different feeling for it. Nina, on the other hand, is terrified of Good Dog Carl. I’m sure she’s had a bad experience with dogs—possibly with Rottweilers specifically. Books are teaching aids, broadening experience and helping with critical thinking. But books also build on common assumptions of experience. The children don’t have that foundation. The more experiences the children have, the faster they will progress.”
“I assume Laura and Jude are on board?” Karen said.
“Yes. I think you might have a four-footed neighbor before long. Jude suggested a puppy.”
“Oh, my! Do you think we should do the same for Nina?” Karen asked.
“Nina can help you decide on that. She’s smart, just inexperienced. She might prefer something less intimidating to her, like a rabbit or a potbellied pig.” Wayne laughed at their open-mouthed expressions. “I know Nina has visited the school and the children,” Wayne continued. “Why don’t you make a field trip to our house this weekend. Jo and I would like to experiment with entertaining guests to see if we get along in the kitchen. Sunday night?”
“That sounds like fun!” Karen said.
“I haven’t been down your way in quite a while,” Gee said, noticing that Wayne had said ‘our house,’ not ‘my house.’ “Let’s plan on it.”
Family Matters
“You want us to put up two million dollars to buy and transform 120 acres into an extension of the Wild Woods,” Heinz said. The Family heads had gathered at the Roth mansion out of habit from the years that Ben could not or would not travel.
“In general, yes,” Loren said. “This isn’t just blind speculation, though. The proposal you have in front of you shows that within five years this 120 acres will have greater productivity than any equal-sized patch in the Forest. Less than half the budget you see is for land purchase. The remainder is to add foresters and staff to do the transplanting. The trees in the shade of the Patriarch are the straightest and most beautiful I’ve ever seen.”
“What does Gee think?” Heinz asked, looking at Karen.
“Uh… I’ve not discussed it with him,” she answered.
“I think he should be at this table,” Jan said firmly.
“He’s not Family,” Loren responded. Jan shook his head.
“No. He’s not Family. He’s Forest. Not even David and Jonathan have a greater affinity for the Forest and Wild Woods. It’s the nut.”
“I don’t like to admit it,” David growled. “But you’re right. We shuffled the Wild Woods off to him because the foresters didn’t have time to deal with teenage volunteers before winter. I’m sure not going to eat a nut like he has.”
“Twice,” Karen said. The men turned to stare at her. “Gee discovered the Patriarch on Thanksgiving. He was a little vague about exactly what happened. It was similar to what occurred with the grandfather tree before Harvest but this time he didn’t fall into a coma. He slept for an hour and came home. But when he told me the story, it was the same as the first time. The tree gave him a nut and he ate it.”
“I’ve looked all around the Patriarch and have seen no sign that it’s bearing,” David said. “No nuts on the ground, no shells, nothing. But one nut dropped in Gee’s lap? I have to agree. He needs a seat at the table.”
“Can we get him here now?” Pàl asked.
“No. Nina asked to go to the library again to get more books, so Gee took her,” Karen said. “And we need to have Collin present, too. If Collin wants to appoint a representative instead of coming to meetings himself, that’s fine. But the Meaghers have been absent too long.”
“He’s a little disruptive,” Heinz chuckled. “But I agree. It’s time all the Families and the Forest were at the table.”
“We need to act soon or the properties will go on the open market. I put a contingent offer in on the Alexander place and planned to meet with John Daniels tomorrow.”
“I think we can proceed,” Karen said. “We know the financial condition of both Gee and Collin. Money for the purchase will come from those seated here. I’ll guarantee Gee’s portion.”
“I think the six of us should guarantee both Gee’s and Collin’s portion,” Pàl said. “It’s the right thing to do.” There were nods of assent around the table.
“I’ll make the offer and remove contingencies,” Loren said. “When Gee and Collin can be represented, we can agree on a strategy for the expansion.”
Loren’s headaches were far from over. He found his sons waiting for him at home. The news that Troy was moving wasn’t completely unexpected but the tensions were still high.
“Boston is a long way from home, son,” Loren said as he faced Troy.
“Not so far. Three hundred miles. If you miss my voice you can probably still get the station here. It’s a good station and they like my style. I’ll miss the Window on Main but I really won’t miss Rosebud Falls that much.”
“So, when do you leave?” Clark asked.
“Anxious to get rid of me, brother?” Troy’s relationship with his older brother had always been strained. “I start Monday. Taryn and I will be back next weekend to move our apartments.”
“Taryn Taft?” Loren said. “The girl you brought home for the holidays? I thought you’d be through with her by now.” Troy turned on his father, seething with anger.
“It’s Taryn Cavanaugh now,” Troy snarled. “We were married in Boston last week.”
“Married?” Clark barked. “The great playboy, Troy Cavanaugh, married a woman with a retarded kid? She can’t be that good a fuck!” Troy connected a solid right to Clark’s stomach that doubled him up.
“Says the man who lives in a separate house from his wife,” Troy snarled. “She couldn’t stand to live with you any more that the rest of us can.”
“All right! Cut it out, you two. You’re grown men, not school boys,” Loren shouted. Clark straightened up, holding his stomach.
“Always the spoiled little twit,” Clark spat. “Daddy just kept you from getting your ass whipped again.”
“I said, shut up!” Loren said. “There’s no end to my disappointment in both of you. Troy, there are supposed to be agreements. Prenuptials. Did you get anything signed?”
“Just write me out of your will, old man. I’m through with this Family and I’m through with Rosebud Falls.” Troy stormed out of the house.
Funny Number
“All moved in, Raven?” Gee asked when he saw the former waitress/new housekeeper in the kitchen cleaning the oven. She started, bumping her head on the stove.
“Oh! Sorry, um… Mr. Evars. I was getting an early start…”
“I’m still Gee, Raven. Please don’t start treating us like royalty. I still stop at the Pub & Grub occasionally for a beer, you know.”
“At the Pub & Grub you’re just another guy occupying one of my tables. But here, you’re my employer. It changes things.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Gee said. He understood somewhat, though when he worked at the Market with Nathan, he didn’t remember treating him any differently than at home. “Still, your employers prefer to be called Gee and Karen. Could you manage that?”
“Sure. I just need to get comfortable with the work. And everything.”
“How’s Timmy adjusting?”
“He loves his new apartment,” Raven laughed. “But it made him so nervous! He had to recite the route to work several times and asked me at least a dozen times when he should leave so he would be there on time. He’ll adjust but he needs to get his routine set. Once he’s driven to work a few times, it will become second nature. He knows his limitations and does his best to compensate for them.”
“It’s only two miles and a straight shot,” Gee said. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Mr… Gee, you don’t really understand. Timmy does fine if his routine isn’t disrupted. Mr. Panza at the Market has been really good with him. He has a list of the things he needs to do each day and he does them. Efficiently, I’m told. But if he pulled out of the driveway and turned right instead of left because he was distracted by something, he might be in Syracuse before he realized he should have been to work by then. We just need time to make it routine.”
“I hope this arrangement is an improvement for him and not a setback,” Gee said. “Nathan is very pleased with how hard he works. Karen thought this would be a benefit for both of you.”
“Oh, it is! Please don’t think we’re ungrateful. I’ll still put in some hours at the pub and Timmy will, too. But it’s nice to think that I don’t have to pull fifty hours a week to make ends meet,” Raven said.
“Hello, Miss Raven,” Nina said brightly as she bounced into the kitchen. She paused long enough to give Gee a quick hug and then went to prepare her morning cup of coffee.
“Good morning, Miss Nina,” Raven answered. “You look bright and lively this morning.”
“I get to help Gee and my friends in the woods today,” she said. “I promise not to get scared of the cabins again, Daddy.”
“Don’t worry about that, sweetheart. If you get scared, come straight to me and I’ll help you,” Gee said.
“You don’t have coffee yet!” Nina said. “I’ll pour it.”
“Will you pour me a cup, too, please?” Karen asked sleepily.
“Here, Mommy,” Nina said, stopping to hug Karen before handing her the coffee. “Are you coming to the woods with us?”
“No, honey. I just reached a very important part of what I’m writing and want to keep working on it this morning.”
“You were so involved last night, I don’t think you knew I kissed you goodnight! I have no idea when you came to bed,” Gee said, giving Karen a kiss. “Are you sure you got enough sleep to keep writing?”
“If I get too tired, I can take a nap.”
“I thought you didn’t work at the newspaper any longer,” Raven said.
“I don’t,” Karen answered. “I’m working on a book that shows the intents and actual results of sex trafficking legislation in the country. Many laws have no effect at all while even more make the problem worse by punishing the victims instead of the perpetrators or by being applied to completely unrelated activities.”
“I had no idea,” Raven said, glancing at Nina. “I’ll stay out of your area while you’re working today but if you need anything, let me know.”
Late Sunday afternoon, Gee, Karen, and Nina parked near Wayne’s home in the Orchard Project. Just a few months ago, Gee had helped his friend glaze windows and paint the house. He noted that with the beginning of school, Harvest, Friday night football, and the chaos of settling his grandfather at Savage Sand and Gravel, many of the tasks Wayne had planned had been delayed. The rusted swing set, for example, still sat in the front yard, surrounded by snow.
Karen took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Gee understood. It might be a different color than she remembered, but the house held the memory of a nightmare that had driven Karen for fifteen years. Gee knocked on the door. Nina stood next to him, singularly fascinated with the brass house numbers.
“Funny number,” she said repeatedly as she tapped on the last digit of Wayne’s address. Gee didn’t pay much attention to her as Wayne opened the door to greet them but a slight ping as a brad hit the porch caught his attention. Nina was playing with the loosened six, turning it upside down and right side up.
“Funny number,” she repeated. Karen stood looking at her with her mouth open.
“I’ll need to replace the doorframe in the spring,” Wayne laughed. “The wood is so punky the nails keep falling out.”
“Funny number,” Nina chanted. “Six. Nine. Six. Nine.” She twirled the number all the way around and then spun on the porch as if she’d just become aware of her surroundings. “Rocko! Rocko! Come! Swing!” She dashed off the porch and sat on the one remaining, rusted swing seat, kicking her feet up and giggling.
Karen slumped against Gee and he caught her as she fainted.
Comments
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