"I'm fine, Aunt Grace," said Timber with a small, timid smile. "Henry came to my rescue." Grace finally noticed Henry standing behind Timber. She looked at Timber, then at Henry and raised her eyebrows as though she was both surprised and putting together pieces of information. Then she smiled.
"You must be our new neighbor! I'm Grace Frunden. Would you like to come in and have a glass of sweet tea or fresh lemonade? If you're hungry, dinner will be ready in ten minutes. There's more than enough and we'd be happy to have you."
"My aunt is the best cook in the world," boasted Timber with a mild accent similar to her aunt's. "She's from Louisiana so southern food is her specialty. You're going to miss out if you say no."
"I guess I should accept the invitation and stay for dinner then," said Henry. "I am hungry. Thank you for your kind invitation Mrs. Frunden."
"You're very welcome," said Grace kindly. "Please come inside. You're welcome to make yourself comfortable in the family room while I get you a glass of tea. My husband will be home from work at any moment. Timber, could you please get Emily and ask her to set the table? I need you to empty the dishwasher before dinner is ready."
Timber nodded to Grace and passed her through the doorway. She ran upstairs to Emily's room with minimal noise even though Timber was wearing sandals and the floors were wood. She knocked, opened the door and smiled at the scene in front of her. Emily was fast asleep on the floor with drawing paper spread out everywhere and a pencil in her hand. Her face was resting on a half-finished drawing of a cat with a ball of yarn. Timber chuckled and went to her bedroom (which was right next to Emily's) and grabbed her digital camera from her desk. She went back to Emily's room and took a picture of her sleeping cousin. She put the camera back in her room and went back to wake up Emily.
"Em," said Timber, nudging her arm. "Em. Wake up." Emily stirred and grunted in irritation but did not open her eyes. "If you don't wake up right now I'm going to pounce on you."
"Alright, alright, I'm up," groaned Emily. She, like Timber, had a very mild accent "Why do I need to wake up? I was having a nice dream."
"About your dream boyfriend, Josh?" teased Timber with a smirk.
"Shut up," snapped Emily as she got to her feet.
"Your mom wants you to set up the dinner table," said Timber. "I have to unload the dishwasher so come on or your mom will be upset."
"I'm coming," said Emily.
She pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes and followed Timber down the stairs. Emily went to the dining room while Timber went into the large, nineties style kitchen. Grace was introducing Chad to Henry so Timber walked past them, emptied the dishwasher and put everything away.
"That was quick," said Henry to Timber.
"She's very efficient and self-sufficient," said Chad smiling proudly at Timber. "She can cook, manage finances, change the tires on a car and change the oil by herself. We want our girls to be self-reliant when they leave home. She's a very good girl."
"Well dinner is ready if you want to help me get food on the table," said Grace to Timber and Emily.
"Yes, Ma'am," they said together.
Everyone grabbed a dish full of food and went to the dining room. The southern style dining room was right off the kitchen and it opened up to the family room at the front of the house. It was simple with just a farmhouse table with six white chairs, and a small buffet table underneath the window looking into the backyard. The food was placed on the table and everyone took a seat. Chad sat at the head of the table with Grace across from him. On the left was Timber and opposite her was Henry and Emily.
Chad Frunden was a tall man standing at six feet and three inches. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a full, well-groomed beard that was graying slightly. He was a little round at the middle but it was hard to tell if he wasn't in a t-shirt. His face gave him the appearance of an aggressive nature but he did not have a single belligerent bone in his body. Grace Frunden was a petite Southern woman, standing at just five feet two inches. Her strawberry blonde hair was usually done in a vintage style. In all respects, Grace looked like she was born in the wrong generation because she was usually adorned in a light-colored vintage dress and an apron with a string of pearls around her neck though she was not above wearing jeans and boots. She was a woman whose presence demanded respect but she was gentle and understanding.
Timber was also close with her cousin Emily even though they were a few years apart in age. Emily Frunden was a vibrant thirteen-year-old bouncy blonde with lively reddish-brown eyes that were identical to Timber's and Grace's. She had the biggest heart of anyone Timber knew. She was lively and loud but she possessed a very gentle and nurturing nature that Timber wished she possessed on many occasions.
"I greatly appreciate the meal, Mrs. Frunden," said Henry as he filled his plate. Timber could tell he was forcing himself to be calm and polite. He was nervous and the light sweat on his hands seemed to make it difficult for him to hold his fork properly. "It's been a long time since I've had real food."
"What do you usually eat?" asked Timber looking at him with concern.
"Usually, whatever I can get," said Henry, though he looked a little abashed as he said it. "I fell on some hard times before I moved, but I recently came into some money. I can now afford rent and I found a job. Your invitation came at a convenient time. I haven't even found the grocery store yet so I have no food."
"I'm glad we could help. There's the Purity Supermarket on the corner of North Franklin Street and East Alder Street or there's a Safeway on South Franklin and Walnut. There's also a Harvest Market on the other side of Noyo Bridge on Boatyard. Though, we prefer Purity since it's a locally owned store and it is closer. So, what do you do for a livin', Henry?" asked Grace.
"I'm a teacher," answered Henry. "I start teaching eleventh and twelfth-grade history at the high school this fall."
"You may be teachin' Timber," said Grace. "She's in twelfth grade this year. Though, if you don't mind me sayin', you look a little young to teach high school."
"I'm twenty-three," said Henry. "I just got my teaching certificate last June but this is going to be my first teaching job. I had some family issues between then and now that prevented me from finding a job in time for last school year."
"Well, if Timber is your student, you should have an advance warnin'," said Grace. "She's a hard worker but she can be a very challengin' student. She knows her history well and we've received several calls over the years sayin' that Timber kept challengin' her teachers. They didn't appreciate it."
"I would be very happy if students challenged me," said Henry. "That would mean they are thinking and forming their own opinions. However, it is unlikely that Timber would challenge me. I used to do the same thing to my teachers. I'm quite knowledgeable about the subject."
"So I gather then you won't be calling us because you were corrected in the middle of class," said Chad and Henry shook his head with a grin.
"You do know that I am sitting right here," said Timber feeling slightly annoyed that they were discussing her as though she were that morning's news. "I'm perfectly capable of hearing everything you are saying."
"My apologies, Timber," said Henry with a small smile.
Timber noticed that his lower canines were a hair longer and sharper than the rest of his teeth. Timber tilted her head in curiosity. Her parents had teeth like that when they were alive. Could Henry be from the other world; the world that her parents belonged in and the one she was born into? She eyed him suspiciously but Henry didn't seem to notice her curiosity and continued eating his meal.
"So are you enjoying spending the summer with your aunt and uncle, Timber?" asked Henry good-naturedly.
"Actually, I'm a full-time resident," said Timber looking at her plate. She looked anywhere but his eyes out of fear of being swept away. "My mom and dad were killed in - an accident - when I was nine years old. I was brought here shortly after."
"We know that we could never replace her parents but we t
ry to give her a good home," said Grace.
"I have a wonderful home here with you," said Timber brightly looking up at her aunt. "I certainly like the weather. The winter here is definitely milder than Nebraska."
"Not if you go inland more," said Henry. "It snows there too. To be honest, though, it doesn't get heavy blizzards like Nebraska."
"Are you from the east side of the state?" asked Emily.
"No. I grew up near the Washington-Idaho border in Wallowa County though, I've traveled through the Sierra Nevada range," said Henry. "I lived in Idaho for nine years, and then moved back to Oregon for a short time for college and now I'm here."
"Well I'm certainly glad you moved here," said Grace. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there to rescue Timber."
"Rescue Timber?" cried Chad as his fork fell to his plate with a loud clang. The panic on his face was as clear as the sun on a hot summer day. "From what? What happened?"
"Greg grabbed me," said Timber. She regarded her wrist and noticed discoloration from where his hand had come in contact with her skin. "It looks like he bruised me too. I scratched him in the face before he could do something worse and he got mad, but Henry came over to rescue me before anything else happened."
"Why hasn't something been done about him?" asked Chad.
"Is he always a big problem?" asked Henry.
"He moved here two years ago from God knows where," said Grace. "All of us know each other in this neighborhood. We've all been in each other's homes, all of our kids know each other and they all play together. It's like that in most neighborhoods in this town. We do a neighborhood potluck every year on the first Saturday of fall. The only one who doesn't attend is Greg."
"At first, we thought he was shy," said Chad. "Grace and I went over to his house with a pie to welcome him to the neighborhood a week after he moved in. Neither of us liked what was inside."
"Takeout boxes piled high, and flies everywhere," said Grace with an uncharacteristically sour look on her beautiful face. "It was disgustin'. It looked like he brought his garbage with him. I don't know how anyone could live like that."
"Then Timber noticed him watching the kids outside," said Chad. "She's the oldest kid on this street and she keeps an eye on what's going on around her. At first, we didn't think there was anything wrong with Greg watching the kids. We thought he was keeping an eye on them like the elderly man up the road. His youngest daughter had drowned in a river when she was six. As a result, he feels obligated to keep an eye out. So no one worried until Timber told me he was only watching the girls. We filed a report with the police but I was told that unless he's doing something illegal, they can't do anything but issue a warning."
"I saw him talking to Jacelyn this morning," said Emily as though she were just remembering. "He was trying to give her a beer but Timber intervened before Jacelyn took it. She gave him an earful until he left."
"She's seven years old!" cried Grace. "You don't try to give a seven-year-old beer! That's it. Tomorrow, I'm going to the police department and -"
"Wait," interrupted Timber. "We don't have any evidence of anything. I've been waiting for him to slip up so someone can call the police but he's too careful."
"But he grabbed you today," said Grace. "Lord knows what he'll do to the other girls!"
"He smelled like he'd been drinking all day," said Timber. Then an idea struck her. Forgetting that Henry was there she started thinking out loud. "I could sneak into his house. He wouldn't recognize me if -"
"No," said Chad firmly. "Absolutely not. You know how I feel about that. At home you're safe but I don't want to risk anything happening."
"But -"
"Timber, I forbid it. That's my final word."
"Fine," said Timber in a defeated voice. She slumped back in her seat and poked at her spinach leaves with her fork. She never liked being chastised but she knew her uncle was right.
"I apologize, Henry," said Chad. "She is still a teenager. She's mature, but she's still a teenager."
"Quite alright," said Henry as though the scene that unfolded didn't really bother him. He looked at his watch and sighed softly. "I really do hate to eat and run, but tomorrow is an early morning for me. I have to get my classroom ready before school starts and I need to finish unloading the moving van tonight. When I get settled in, I will return your kindness and have you over for dinner. Although I should warn you, I'm not much of a cook."
"That's alright," said Chad. "I'm not either. The cooking is usually left to Grace and Timber, and Emily makes great baked goods."
"Would you like help tomorrow, Henry?" volunteered Timber before she could stop herself. She immediately wished she had not said anything because the table had gone silent. She flushed and began curling her toes again. Timber figured she might as well continue since she had already thrown herself into a pit. "I don't have anything to do tomorrow and I don't like doing nothing."
"I see no reason why you can't," said Henry. "If it's okay with your aunt and uncle."
"Can I help, too?" asked Emily enthusiastically, and cast a side glance at Timber curiously. Then she turned to Henry. "I can fit in small spaces."
"That's true," said Timber with a smile. Emily was very small for her age at four feet ten inches and only one hundred and two pounds. Timber often teased her about being a miniature string bean. Emily would laugh and call Timber an overgrown squash.
"I don't have any objections to the both of you goin' to help as long as you two stay together," said Grace with a small pointed smile. "What do you think, Chad?"
"You have my permission," said Chad though his tone said otherwise. "As long as you're both home before four. Remember, we're going to the movies tomorrow night."
"I will be able to have them home by three tomorrow," said Henry. "Thank you again for everything."
When dinner had finished, Henry and Chad stood up and Chad saw him to the front door. A few minutes later he returned to the dining room.
"He's a very nice young man," said Grace. "He'll fit right in the neighborhood. He seems to have a very mild attitude."
"I picked up on that too," said Chad. "It will be nice having him around. It will give me someone to talk to. I think it would be good for him too. He seemed ... Well..."
"Lonely," finished Timber.
She knew how he felt. She still felt that way sometimes even though she knew she was loved and accepted by her aunt, uncle, and cousin. Her secret made feeling completely normal and understood impossible. She went to bed that night thinking about Henry. She kept thinking about the loneliness in his familiar eyes, his scent, but most importantly, Timber kept thinking about the warmth she felt in her body when she shook his hand.
The next day Timber woke up at six thirty in the morning. She was a habitual early riser and once awake, she would get restless and find herself unable to stay in bed. She got up, stretched and turned off her alarm before she went into the joint bathroom she shared with Emily. She turned on the light in the separate bath and toilet area and closed the door. She turned on the water in the shower and stripped down. She put her pajamas in a small heap on top of the hamper and left her bra and underwear on the gray tile floor. She adjusted the temperature, stepped into the hot water and took a deep bre11ath as she savored the warmth. She let the water run off of her for a moment before washing her long hair. She lathered up her vanilla-scented body wash and made sure she scrubbed thoroughly. After rinsing the conditioner out of her hair and washing her face, Timber turned off the water.
She stepped out into the cold room and shivered as the chilled early morning air nipped at her skin from the ajar window. Timber wrapped a soft white towel around her body and grabbed her undergarments. She walked into her bedroom and turned on her small heater, smiling as she warmed up her feet. Timber didn't mind feeling cold since her bedroom had random cold spots, but her feet were sensitive to low temperatures. She got dressed in her working clothes which consisted of a ratty pair of blue jeans staine
d with blue paint and car oil, a plain baby blue t-shirt that was only a little too big and a pair of old graying tennis shoes. She brushed her hair and put it into a french braid. She heard Emily's alarm clock go off and she smiled. Emily would hit snooze and sleep for another ten minutes before she crawled out of her bed.
Timber dumped out her purse because she had things in it that would not be a necessity for the day. She put aside her chapstick and body spray and other items that she didn't want to carry with her. When she repacked her purse, she put in her wallet, sunglasses, and a granola bar for herself and Emily. She also grabbed an extra for Henry. She looked around the room for anything else she might need but nothing grabbed her attention.
She heard Emily get into the shower so she grabbed her large cream purse and made her way down the hardwood stairs to the kitchen. Grace was sitting in the breakfast nook with a toasted bagel and a cup of coffee. Timber looked at her feeling baffled. Grace usually left for work at seven every weekday morning.
"Good mornin', Honey," said Grace with a mild croak in her voice.
"Good morning," said Timber. "Did you sleep alright? You look a little tired."
"I'm not feelin' my best this mornin'," said Grace. "I called into work and let them know. I don't know if I'll be able to go to the movies with y'all tonight. I'll make a hot toddy and take a nap in a while."
"Well just rest today and I'm sure you'll be up for it." Timber looked at the refrigerator. "I'm going to make lunch for Emily and I. Is it okay if I make some for Henry too?"
Grace looked up at Timber over her coffee mug, and then she lowered it and looked at her niece with a knowing smile. Timber suspected her aunt knew something she wasn't telling her.
"Don't you think he can manage on his own?" asked Grace with a raised eyebrow. "Why the sudden interest? This is not like you."
The Timber Effect Page 2