Spencerville (19 page)

"Sure. This is who we were, Annie."

"Yes, it was. So... he asked me to marry him... down on one knee, if you can believe that... I was flattered, I was feeling low about myself, I was stupid."

Keith asked her, "Annie, why did you marry him? Really. You have to know it, and you have to say it."

She glanced at him, then stood and replied, "To get back at you."

He stood also, and they looked at each other.

She said, "You bastard. Do you know what you did to me? Do you know? I hate you. I hate what you did to me, what you made me into, what I did because of you."

"I know. Feel better?"

She nodded.

He took her hand, and they sat on the edge of the stream and watched the water. She said, "Thank you. I do feel better."

"Me, too."

She said, "I don't hate you anymore."

"Maybe just a little."

"No, I don't. I'm angry at myself."

"So am I. But I think we can forgive ourselves if we do it right this time."

She asked him, "And you're sure you aren't still angry with me? I mean for the way I treated you when you went off to the Army and for marrying Cliff?"

"Well, I was. You know that. But I came to understand it a little. I mean, we never wrote about it, but just the act of writing and keeping in touch was sort of our way of saying we both made mistakes, we both regretted what had happened, and we were sort of apologizing, forgiving, and still loving — without saying 'I'm sorry, forgive me, I love you.' " He added, "I'm glad you decided to bring it up. I'm glad you feel you can talk to me."

"I do. You're the first man I've called a bastard since... well, since you — that time you had lunch in the student union with that little bitch, whatever her name was."

"Karen Rider."

"Bastard." She laughed.

They watched the rippling water for a long time, thinking their own thoughts, then Annie said, "It's peaceful here. I used to take the kids fishing at the pond. I taught them to skate there. I think you'd like them. They take after me."

"That's good."

"They're not actually kids anymore, are they? They're very mature."

"Then they're doing better than us. We don't want to grow up."

"We grew up. I want to be a kid again."

"Why not? Pick an age you like and stick with it. That's my new motto."

She laughed. "Okay, twenty-one."

"Well, darling, you have the body for it."

"You noticed. I'm the same size as I was in college. I'm very vain about my looks. Very shallow."

"Good. Me, too. By the way, you looked good in jeans the other night. What are you dressed for today?"

"Well... he wants me to dress when I go into town. I can't even go to the public pool and be seen in a bathing suit. One time he came by the high school where I was taking an aerobics class, and he got one look at what I was wearing in a coed class and he freaked out, so now I work out at home... sorry. You don't want to hear this."

"Are you allowed to have sex with a horseman you just met in the woods?"

"That happens to be one of my recurring sexual fantasies."

"Good." He stood and looked around. "A little rough here."

"Oh, be inventive, Keith. Here — we'll do it on that log." She took his hand and led him back to the big fallen trunk they'd sat on. She took off his shirt and laid it on the log. "Sit. No, first you have to take your pants off."

He pulled off his shoes and then his jeans as she undid her blouse and bra. She slipped her panties off under her skirt and said, "We shouldn't get completely naked in case someone comes by. I can say I'm picking mushrooms, and I don't know who you are."

"Good thinking. Well..." He sat on the trunk, still wearing his shorts, and Annie, still wearing her blouse, bra, and skirt, held his shoulders and threw one leg at a time over the log, then lowered herself into his lap. She put her hand under her skirt, found him, and slid it in. "Oooh... that's nice..."

She wrapped her arms around him, and he steadied himself with his hands on the log. He said, "We're going to fall backwards."

"So what?" She rested her head on his shoulder as she moved up and down on him. "Oh... that feels... different... how are you doing?"

"Just fine."

"Are we going to fall?"

"No, I've got it."

She pressed her breasts against his bare chest as she moved slowly up and down on him, then quickened her movements and began breathing harder. She suddenly stiffened and climaxed, and he ejaculated.

Her body went limp in his arms, and she held him loosely as she caught her breath. After a minute, she said, "I feel like such a whore. It feels great. How do we get out of this position?"

"Wait for a forest ranger." He put his arms around her, stood, and stepped away from the log. She slid down from him, and they embraced and kissed. He said, "That was very nice."

"I had fun." She put her hand on his groin and said, "We have to clean you up."

"I like to wear it."

"Is that so?" She picked her panties up, wet them in the stream, then cleaned him off and cleaned herself. "There. Can't go around sticking to things."

"You're funny."

"I feel funny. Giddy." She threw her panties in a bush. "I feel like a kid. I haven't done this outdoors since high school. Next, we'll do it in your barn, then the backseat of my car."

"Maybe we'll get a motel room."

"That, too."

He picked up his pants, but she said, "No. Take off your shorts. I've never seen a naked man in the woods. I wish I had a camera. Your socks, too."

He slid off his shorts and socks. "You're embarrassing me."

"Turn around." She came up behind him and ran her hands over his back and buttocks, squeezing his cheeks. "You're all muscle."

"You been in jail, or what? Can I get dressed?"

"No, turn around."

He turned around, and she moved her hands over his chest and down to his stomach. "I told you, I can't keep my hands off..." She looked at his stomach. "What's that?"

"A bruise."

"Oh..." She hooked her bra and buttoned her blouse. He got dressed.

She went back to the streambank and sat in a patch of sunlight near the water, her back to a willow tree.

Keith came and sat beside her.

Annie threw twigs in the water and watched them run downstream, cascading over the stones. She asked, "What happened when he came out to your place?"

"About what you'd expect."

"Tell me."

"Well, he was a lot crazier than the situation required, so I had the thought that he'd found out about your visit to me, and I was... I was really worried for a minute there. About you."

"Thank you."

"But he sort of had the drop on me, and I was a little worried about me, too. Then I realized he didn't know anything, but that he was just nuts."

"Was he alone?"

"No. He had one of his men with him. A guy named Ward. You know him?"

"Yes, he's my keeper." She added, "Cliff led me to believe he was alone."

Against his better judgment, Keith replied, "If he was alone, he'd be dead."

She didn't speak for a while, then said, "He's a coward and a liar."

"He's also dangerous, Annie. You have to be careful."

"He's never hit me. I know how to handle him."

"Your kids are gone, his job is in trouble, I'm in town, and he's ready to blow. Believe me."

She asked him, "How do you know his job is in trouble?"

"I went to that meeting at St. James. You know about that?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, my parents were there. They've been acting weird since then. I guess the subject of Cliff Baxter came up, but no one will tell me about it. Will you tell me about it?"

"No."

She thought a moment, then said, "I'm not completely naive. I know he fools around, but I can't believe that came up at a public meeting."

"Tell you what — there's a transcript available. You remember Jeffrey Porter?"

"Yes. I run into him once in a while. And his wife, Gail. That was the girl he was seeing at school."

"Right. I've caught up on old times with them. In fact, I trust them, and if you ever need anything and you can't contact me, go to them. I'll speak to them and set it up."

"Keith... no. I don't want anyone else knowing about us. It's too dangerous."

"Listen to me, I know when to bet my life on someone. These are trustworthy people. But go and speak to them first, and let me know what you think."

"Okay... and they have a transcript of the meeting?"

"They do. He called me yesterday. They're selling it all over town for five bucks, and they can't keep up with the demand. But for you, it's free."

"Keith, what's in the transcript? Will I be embarrassed, humiliated, or both?"

"I'm sorry, Annie. They got a little carried away with witnesses against your husband. But you shouldn't feel embarrassed or humiliated. You may, however, be angry."

"Actually, I don't care anymore."

"Go see the Porters. We may need their help."

"With what?"

"Rendezvous. Cover stories."

"And how long will we need cover stories?"

He took her hand. "That's up to you, Annie. Are you ready to leave?"

She looked at him. "Are you proposing, Mr. Landry?"

"Yes, I am, Miss Prentis."

"I accept."

He put his arm around her, and they rolled over, with her on top of him. She kissed him, then said, "It took you a while to get around to it."

"I'm shy."

"You are, you know. You may be a man of the world, but you're still shy."

"Don't tell anyone."

She said, "You've changed, Keith. Of course you have — but I still know you."

"You haven't changed much. I still like you."

She snuggled on top of him, and they lay together on the sloping bank. He thought she drifted off, but then she said, "When?"

"When what?"

"When can we elope?"

"Oh... well, what do you think about just moving into my place?"

She rolled off and knelt beside him, looking down at him. "We can't, Keith. This is not Washington. People don't just change partners here. They run off. They always run. They have to. You know that."

"I know. But I don't like to run, Annie."

"There is no other way." She added, "I'll go with you anywhere you want. But not here."

"Okay... but I'm going to speak to him first."

"No. He'll get violent."

Which was exactly what Keith wanted. He said to her, "He and I should talk, man-to-man and all that."

She stared down at him a long time, then said, "Keith, look at me."

He sat up and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Promise me you won't hurt him."

Keith didn't reply.

She put her hands on his shoulders. "I know he hit you, and I know you're not the kind of man who's going to forgive or forget that. But you don't have to settle the score. Let it go. For me."

Again, Keith didn't reply.

She said, "Please. Let God or Spencerville deal with him. We don't need that as part of our history." She added, "He's Tom and Wendy's father."

"I promise I won't kill him."

She looked at him and said, "No violence of any sort, Keith. Please. Not even the beating he deserves." She took his head in her hands and said, "There's nothing worse you or I can do to him than what we're about to do. Leave it at that."

"All right. I promise."

"I love you." She leaned forward and kissed him.

He stood and said, "Let me walk you back."

"Let's walk in the stream."

"Okay." He pulled off his shoes and socks and left them on the bank, rolled up his jeans, and slung his rifle over his shoulder while she gathered up her panty hose and shoes.

They walked down the stream toward the pond, hand in hand. She said, "I need a week to get my affairs in order. Is that too long?"

"Not after twenty-five years."

She squeezed his hand. "Where will we go?"

"Do you have a passport?"

"No. But I can apply for one."

"Not at this post office, you can't."

"No, I can't. I'll go up to Toledo."

"We'll go to Washington first. Bring all your personal papers."

"Okay. I've never been to Washington."

"What city did you like best in Europe?"

"Rome."

"Rome it is."

"Are you serious?"

"If you are, I am."

She thought a moment, then said, "I am."

He glanced at her and asked, "Do you understand what it means to leave home?"

"No, but if I'm with you, I'm home. How's that for lovesick?"

"I know the feeling. But have you thought about what it's like to miss your children, your family, and community?"

"Yes. I've thought about that. But it's time I did something that Annie Prentis wants to do."

"And your job? Do you still manage the hospital thrift store?"

"Yes, and I like it, but it's hardly challenging." She added, "It's a husband-approved job. No men, no money, no weekends, flexible hours, and down the street from his office."

Keith nodded. "I saw it when I was downtown."

"Would you mind if I worked?"

"You can do whatever you want."

"Can I work long hours in an office, bring work home on weekends, and go on business trips with men?"

"Don't push it, Prentis."

She smiled and squeezed his hand.

They continued through the ankle-deep stream, picking their way around the stones, and Keith liked the feel of the silt on his bare feet and her hand in his.

Annie said, "Maybe someday we can return to visit."

"Maybe."

"And how about you, Keith? This is your home, too. Did you want to stay?"

"I did, but I knew I couldn't. But maybe someday."

She thought awhile, then said, "If... he wasn't here..."

"What would he do if he got sacked?"

She replied, "He wouldn't stay. He couldn't. He'd be humiliated. And too many people secretly hate him." She thought a moment, then said, "You know, if Mrs. Baxter runs off with another man, he may actually be embarrassed enough to resign and leave town. Then we can return if we want to."

Keith nodded, then asked her, "Where would he go?"