Willow (8 page)

He started wiping down the counter as he spoke. “What I can tell you is that I’ve always had a fondness for wolves.” Ben’s voice lowered a bit. “Wolves are wild, cunning, intelligent, top-of-the-line predators. They are not easily fooled, run in packs, and are efficient trackers. Killing them is difficult; they are bloody hard to find. Wolves are the ultimate survivors.” He came around the corner and rested against the counter. “On rare occasions they can be a menace but they are without a doubt a loving and loyal group within their own.”

I listened intently to what Ben had to say. He stood up and walked to the window, mindlessly looking at the surroundings outside. “When I was ten we were living in Kansas; I had a fear of the dark at the time. It was a summer evening and I was sleeping on the porch with my younger sister. It was really hot and the air was thick with humidity. Mosquitoes were teeming about and every now and then we would hear the zap and see the light flicker as they were electrocuted. The porch was screened off and was the coolest part of the house. Our parents were already asleep and my sister was restless beside me. I could have sworn I saw a dark figure loom above us but I didn’t even hear her come in. My sister grabbed my arm but we were too frightened to move and neither of us could scream. Imagine that; being too scared to call out for help.”

Ben turned around to face us and walked over to our table where he pulled up a chair and sat down. “The figure inhaled deeply as if she smelled something that appealed to her. She looked deathly ill, but she leered at us with eyes so pale and hair so white I can’t even remember what I thought of her appearance. All I knew was that I was so terrified I couldn’t call out for my parents. Julia began to weep and the figure looked at her and with her long tapered fingers began stroking her face with those elongated white fingernails. She even hummed--a creepy lullaby at that--trying to calm Julia down. She looked at me and then looked at my sister. Her mouth curved into a wicked smile and she whispered, ‘So sweet,’ to Julia and began to pick her up in those long, thin arms of hers. Julia was holding onto my shirt but was pulled free. As the figure turned her back to me and began walking away with my sister in her arms I stood up, finally ready to fight. Before I knew it they were outside and I heard a low growl; it was so menacing my skin crawled.”

Ben shook his head at the memory. “The night was so dark I could barely make out the form. I saw the glint of amber eyes. I was so engrossed in what was happening I forgot to call out. The figure was facing the animal and she began to hiss and whine. She dropped my sister and I ran out to get her. Julia scurried into my arms and we retreated to the porch. I held her and stared as the animal bared its fangs and growled, forcing the figure to recoil. Then another pair of eyes appeared in the darkness, and another one after that. The figure began to wail and its shrieks roused my parents from their slumber. By the time they reached us, the figure had been forced into the woods behind our house and we could no longer see them, but we could hear...My dad reached for his rifle but my mother insisted he not go. My parents brought us into the house and locked all the windows and doors. We were never allowed to sleep on the porch again.”

Ben sighed, clearly absorbed in old memories.

Amber and I jumped when the phone rang.

“Excuse me a minute,” Ben said as he walked to the counter.

While he was talking with a customer Amber and I looked at each other.

“What do you suppose it was?” Her green eyes were wide with wonder.

“I have no idea,” I responded. “But he doesn’t strike me as the type of person who would make something up.”

“Nope, I wouldn’t make that up,” Ben said as he reclaimed his chair and sat down. “I know that was a long time ago but I believe that wolves saved my sisters life and whatever that thing was, she never came back.”

I was embarrassed he had heard me. “I’m sorry Ben.” The last thing I wanted to do was offend him by being insensitive or rude. “I didn’t mean to question you.”

He waved away my apology. “No offense taken. I know it’s hard to believe but I was there, I know what happened. Anyhow, I painted that portrait of the Grey Guardian, among many others, in honor of the wolves I believed had been our protectors that night. I’ve painted
a lot
of wolves in my time.”

“Why didn’t you keep it?” I asked.

“Painting it was enough. Now someone else can enjoy it.” His eyes twinkled at me. “And there are always bills to pay.”

Amber, who had been so quiet, spoke up. “Do you believe in the paranormal? If you had to guess, what would you say that figure was? Oh, and what about the ones who protected your sister, they were real wolves?”

Ben chuckled at Amber’s inquisitiveness and stroked his beard. “I would not describe myself as the tin foil hat type, no, but if I hadn’t seen what I had, I would have never believed it. The woman
did not
look
right
.” He enunciated the last two words so strongly it was apparent the memory of his encounter with her still shook him.  “She appeared to be human but while she was elegant in a balletic way, she was so dang creepy she looked like a walking corpse, or at least that’s what my 10-year-old mind conjured. I don’t know what she had in mind for my sister but it couldn’t have been good. As for the wolves, they looked like real wolves, no bigger in fact, but up close they were unbelievably frightening.” He seemed to shudder just thinking about it.

“I believe you Ben,” Amber said. “There are things in this world that can’t be explained.” Turning to me, she sought my input. “What do you think?”

I looked from Amber’s face to Ben’s. “I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept of mythical beasts since the consensus seems to be that they are fiction rather than fact. I mean, if they really existed, I think they would have been proven to be so by now, don’t you?”

“But Willow, isn’t some lore based on truth, no matter how small?” Ben was politely challenging me. “Wouldn’t you say that some unexplained violence is the result of otherworldly beings?”

I shook my head softly. “Not really. I think that’s just something people tell themselves because they can’t bear to think humanity can be so monstrous.”

“Remember though,” Amber cautioned. “Ben experienced something firsthand and he might have more experience with this than we do.”

Conceding to them I rose from my seat, brushed the crumbs from the table onto my plate, and thanked Ben as he took our plates into the kitchen. When he came back out we exchanged polite goodbyes and turned to open the door. Ben called out from behind the counter, “Keep your eyes open girls, even in a place like this there could be things that go bump in the night.” 

Amber and I exchanged knowing glances, bid him goodbye and headed back to Anne’s house. While we were walking Amber’s phone rang and she nudged me while silently mouthing Reece’s name.

From what I could hear it seemed as though they were making plans.

“Yes, she’s here,” Amber said. There was a brief pause as she listened.

“I don’t know. I’ll ask her.” Amber glanced at me while still holding the phone to her ear. “Reece wants to know if you want to go out with us next weekend. There’s a bonfire...”

“I’d like to check with Anne first but I don’t think we have any plans.”

Amber returned her focus to Reece. “I think she’ll be able to come.”

After a long pause she exclaimed out loud. “Oh really? I’ll pass along that bit of info.” She closed her phone and lifted her laughing eyes to meet mine.

“Dare I ask?” I prompted.

An amused grin danced around the edges of Amber’s mouth. “Reece’s dad was quite taken with your aunt.”

I clasped my hands together and smiled inside.  I hoped it was true.

Chapter 13

The week passed by monotonously. I hadn’t heard from Haven but I wasn’t about to call him inquiring about it either. As much as I liked him I didn’t want to give him the power to affect my emotions. I couldn’t afford that kind of uncertainty.  Even with Anne, who was family, I was unsure where my roots were; I felt weak and insignificant in a large, lonely and threatening world.

While I ruminated over life I looked down and noticed I was plucking lint from the throw pillow, enough that colored pieces of fabric had fallen like snow and collected on Anne’s cream-colored flokati rug. I knelt down to pick up the pieces and saw that dark was descending earlier than usual. I had to get ready.

I felt indecision creep into my thoughts. I wondered if there was something wrong with me. Instead of going out with Amber and Reece, I wanted to stay home with Anne and enjoy our weekly tradition of making baked ziti and individual pumpkin cheesecakes. In the last several weeks we established a routine of cooking and baking together, amicably at that. She would make the cheesecake and while it was cooling she would combine sugar, water and whipping cream in a large pot until the taffy colored mixture bubbled into a thick caramel sauce. I would boil the pasta, fry the ground beef and assemble the salad. Sometimes we would talk, other times we would listen to music, which ranged from classical to pop.  

After dinner we would watch a movie or play a card game. The ritual had become commonplace in the last month and I began to look forward to the normality of it.

Tonight however, Amber and Reece had talked me into going out and meeting up with some acquaintances from Gunnison. They said there wasn’t much of a plan but that they usually got together at one of the campsites and would chill around a fire. That seemed odd to me in light of how cold it was, fire or not, but I agreed to go.

Anne was on the phone when I came downstairs. I scooted past her to the entryway where I zipped up my white down coat and wrapped a red scarf around my neck. I pulled on matching red gloves and tucked my jeans into my worn-out boots, which had seen much better days. I heard Anne giggle and looked up as she said goodbye and closed her phone.

“You look happy,” I observed, noting her flushed expression.

“That was Jericho,” she murmured, smiling again. “He was calling to ask me to dinner tomorrow night.”

“Guess he liked the cupcakes, huh?” I knew full well that Jericho had been quite taken with Anne, enough that he had warned Reece to be on his best behavior around me. “Are you going?”

“I told him I would let him know tomorrow,” she said, a mischievous smile gracing her face, “But yes, I intend to go.”

“You’re making him sweat!” I blurted out in amazement.

“Like you said, I had to get his attention. The rest was up to him.” She winked at me as she passed by and simultaneously we both heard the blare of a horn.

“Can’t they come up to the door?” Anne asked disapprovingly.

As if she had been heard, a knock followed. Anne, with her hands on her hips, watched as I opened the door to see Reece standing there.

“Sorry about that,” he said to Anne. “We were just playing around.” He gestured to Amber who was waving from the front seat.

Smiling but shaking her head, Anne turned to me. “Well, I’m sure you’ll have fun but please be safe, and Willow…you know what time to be home.”

After we said our goodbye’s I picked up my tin full of homemade candy and followed Reece outside. As we approached his truck I saw that Amber was beaming with excitement. Once I was settled in back she pointed to the small cooler next to me. “Our contribution.”

While I briefly looked at the cans of coke and the bag of chips, Reece slid into the driver’s seat and checked to see if we were ready.

After a twenty minute drive we pulled off from the main road and onto a single lane dirt road. In the distance we could make out the flickering of lights. At one point some branches brushed against the side of the truck, startling everyone except Reece who wore an amused expression as Amber and I giggled and teased each other for being so skittish.  When we drew near we saw there was quite a gathering already and while there were a couple of familiar faces, I didn’t know anyone else.

After parking we gathered our folding chairs, candy and cooler and headed to the picnic table where all the food and drinks were kept. I knew people were watching but I didn’t feel comfortable looking at anyone. I felt a hand on my arm and heard Reece say, “Don’t worry. They won’t bite.”

A smile touched my lips. “Their bite is not what worries me.”

Reece stopped and was about to say something when he shook his head and chuckled to himself. Holding my chair I followed Reece to where Amber had set hers up. She was already mingling but I drew inward, wondering why I seemed to diminish in a crowd. Reece sensed my hesitation and stayed with me. After sitting down I began to look around. Amber was talking with an Asian girl I recognized from school. She was with another student, her boyfriend probably since his arm was around her waist. There were a few girls huddled together by the fire where they were roasting marshmallows. They laughed as one caught on fire. Some young men were behind them. The shortest, a stocky but very fit young man with black hair, was staring at the pretty red head who was concentrating on cooling her marshmallow by blowing on it. The fire warmed her pale skin and danced off her tight red curls. I didn’t mean to stare but I found her lovely to look at. Her eyes briefly met mine and she gave the faintest of smiles; my face lit up in return. I also noticed a group of three who were clustered together near some trees. They were all wearing dark hoodies and were talking amongst themselves. Their faces were shadowed in darkness and one was smaller than the others. I felt Reece leave my side and watched as he went and retrieved two sodas from the cooler. While he was returning Amber stopped him and he began to chat with her.

Feeling self-conscious as I stood by myself, I began to fidget and brushed my bangs out of my eyes. I directed my attention back to the trio and felt my heart leap as the one leaning against the tree with his hands in his pockets lifted his head enough that the fire disclosed his chiseled features. It was Haven and he was looking right at me but his expression was blank. I dropped my eyes and noticed that his companions had turned to look in my direction and I briefly made out Lacey’s face but didn’t recognize the other one. I was too shy to stare so I turned to look for Reece who caught my glance and came my way with Amber by his side.
Ridiculous
, I scolded myself. Here I was, almost an adult, and I couldn’t even be alone amongst strangers without needing someone to make me feel secure.

Reece handed me a soda while my thoughts raged. It had been several days since I had seen Haven and I thought we had a great time together and then nothing. He must not have been interested and I didn’t want to worry about it or question myself further. I decided to put him out of mind and concentrate on my friends who seemed happy to be with me. And yet, I could feel his eyes on me and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t bring myself to look back.

At one point Amber and I went to the table to gather some goodies. We picked up napkins and paper plates and while she used a fork to pierce a hot dog, I picked out a large, soft pretzel. Someone had brought melon cubes on skewers and another had set out a plate full of brownies. Satisfied we had enough we returned to our chairs and ate around the crackling fire which every so often spit in the air with a sizzling hiss. Periodically I would meet Haven’s stares and before my nervous habits could give me away I would turn and engage someone in casual conversation, anything to keep from wondering.