The Arcturus Man

by John Strauchs

  Another mounting source of frustration for Jared was that be bored so easily, especially sexually. Novelty was increasingly ellusive. As he grew into manhood, he was mired in a morass of ennui. In that past few years he changed again. Jared began to experience periods of deep, dark depression. Each subsequent episode lasted longer and clawed itself deeper into his soul. It was a dystopian world.

  Jenny aroused him. That surprised him. She was intelligent. She was beautiful. She was interesting. He wondered if it was worth learning more about her.

  He averted her eyes and asked matter-of-factly, “may I ask you what you are doing in my cove?”

  “Your cove?”

  “Yes,” he said in a soft voice. “I own the land around here.”

  Her eyes squinted and in a defiant voice she said, “Well, you know that the littoral edge of the sea can’t be owned by anyone.”

  “I am not questioning your right to be here. I was just curious about why you came to this cove. It is rarely visited by anyone.”

  “Clams. I am studying soft shell clams.” “Now, that was not a glamorous answer,” she thought to herself.

  “Mya arenaria,” he retorted.

  She was caught off guard. “Well, yes. Exactly.” That surprised her.

  He nonchalantly mopped his forehead. “I don’t believe that you are going to want this bandana back.” Jenny was still off balance and wasn’t really listening.

  “Are you a marine biologist, Jared?”

  “No. Not at all. I just read a lot.”

  “Then you must be very good at Latin.”

  Not thinking that he really cared about what she was doing with the clams, she nevertheless continued.

  “The longnecks have been having spotty seasons and we are trying to understand what might be causing it. Tidal sediment seems to be very heavy in this cove. Clam landings in other coves have been low for the past decade but seem to be rebounding now. We don’t understand that either. It’s contradictory. I am surveying the results of a spat fall last season.” She felt trapped in his inane conversation. All of the guys she intimidated and eventually drove away flashed through her mind like pages in a scrap book.

  “We?” he asked.

  “I am doing graduate studies with MIT’s Sea Grant Program. Ahh…sort of working out of a small motel room in Booth Bay. Camden is nice but the tourists make it impractical this time of year and the traffic in Rockland is impossible.”

  “I went to MIT.”

  “Really,” her eyes lit up. She was relieved that he had changed the subject to something he might be interested in. Instinctively, she had decided that this was a guy that had possibilities. Maybe?

  “What class?”

  He immediately regretted saying anything about MIT.

  “Class of 84,” said Jared.

  “Funny, she thought. He looked like he was close to her age.”

  He was telling too much.

  She wouldn’t let it go. “Were you a graduate student?”

  “No, undergraduate.”

  She frowned. “1984?” She pondered his answer. “I was born in 1979. How is that possible? You don’t look that old.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Then I don’t get it.”

  “I was nine when I graduated.” It was almost a whisper.

  He continued quickly so he could change the subject. “Booth Bay. Huh? That‘s mostly back road driving to avoid the tourists isn’t it?”

  She was still thinking about his answer. She had never met a child prodigy before. “It was interesting but aren’t they all sort of weird,” she thought. viously being a free-climbing crazy person, he seemed otherwise normal. Except for obHe wasn’t the kind of handsome she thought she was interested in, but his craggy looks were growing on her. He wasn’t at all heavily muscled. She thought that the six-pack look was grotesque and unnatural. Despite that he didn’t look it, he was obviously very athletic. Not many men could free climb that cliff and then fall without killing themselves.

  As she turned to walk back to her work, she nonchalantly called back to him.

  “Since you seem to be just fine, I need to get back to work.”

  “Jenny, I feel responsible for interrupting your work. May I help you?” asked Jared.

  “Sure.” She didn’t take the offer seriously, but was pleased that he was interested in her. “There aren’t many people who would know the Latin name for soft shell clams.”

  He tied the bandana around his head and walked behind her. He lingered a few steps back.

  “Saw you at Ashley’s around noon,” said Jared.

  “Really. Yes, I stopped there for a sandwich. I don’t remember seeing you. You weren’t climbing the roof or something, were you?”

  “You were leaving as I arrived,” said Jared. He surmised that she intended the jibe to be funny. He tried to calculate an appropriate response. Humor wasn’t his forte.

  I’d love to help you with your work.”

  His words seemed to be rhetorical and said out of politeness, so she said nothing. It was like telling someone that we should really get together for lunch some time. They were both silent for a while. She walked up the bluff to her Land Rover and found an extra scale and caliper. They walked out to the flats and she showed him how to weigh and measure the clams. She recorded his readings as he made the measurements. They worked diligently for the next four hours without much extraneous conversation. It went very quickly.

  “I really appreciate this, Jared. I didn’t think I could get this done before the light failed even before you started playing Tarzan. Are you sure you should be doing this?”

  He ignored the question.

  After they finished all of the measurements, they scattered the clams along the flats. As soon as the clams were released, they quickly disappeared from sight. Sea gulls were flocking overhead, hoping to catch some stragglers.

  She glanced at her diving watch. The face was blank. She had known for days that the battery was going bad, but like many things in her life, she hadn’t gotten around to getting it changed.

  “Fudge…Do you know the time?” She saw he wasn’t wearing a watch, but asked anyway out of habit.”

  “I guess its late afternoon. Are you driving back to Booth Bay?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  He pressed farther. “And are you coming back here tomorrow?”

  “Yes, I have to sample different parts of the cove and then do it all over again just down the coast at the next cove,” said Jenny.

  He paused. “I have a guest room. Why don’t you stay here? As long as I don’t have to wait on you, I would be pleased if you would accept the invitation. It would save you a lot of time. It’s the least I can do for ruining your day.”

  Her brow furled again. “Where do you live?”

  He pointed across the sound. “There, on Eagle’s Head Island. It’s the only house.”

  She thought pensively. She didn’t know how to ask the next question.

  “I live alone. I hope that doesn’t concern you. Call a friend and tell them where you’ll be. It has been years since I ravished anyone.”

  She smiled at that. “Well, it would be a relief not to have to drive so many hours each day. The tourist traffic is worse on 95 each day. The construction seems to go on forever. With Memorial Day coming up on Monday, it will be a zoo. I think…”

  She had reserved computer time on Sunday. She risked losing it if she was late. She knew she couldn’t get her work done in time if she had to commute each day. Who knows when she could get her data processed if she wasn’t finished by Saturday evening

  -at the latest!

  “OK, sounds like a plan. I really appreciate the hospitality.”

  “This wasn’t like her,” she thought. “No one knew where she was. She will call Krissy as soon as she had a free moment.”

  “Wonderful,” he interjected before she could say any more. “Why don’t you put your SUV in the garage, grab your stuff and we’ll go o
ver to the house? You can get a nice hot shower and if you’re willing to help, we might be able to do something for dinner.”

  “OK. Thank you. Oh…it just occurred to me that most of my things are still in my motel room.” She sat on the curb and pulled on her socks and sneakers.

  “No problem. I’m sure you can manage for one night. We’ll pick up some personal items in town.”

  “OK. Thank you, again. It is very kind of you to go to this trouble.”

  “No trouble,” said Jared.

  They pulled her car into the empty side of the garage and drove into town in his Lexus.

  “Neat! The LS-460 is a fabulous automobile. I looked at a Lexus recently but couldn’t bear the price tag. I would have thought that you would have preferred an SUV considering Maine’s winters,” she said.

  “SUVs are the scourge of American highways. Have you ever tried to pull out of a parking space with an SUV on each side? It requires a leap of faith that you’re not going to get creamed backing out.” He paused for a moment, “And, Land Rovers aren’t exactly cheap either.”

  “Yes, I suppose that’s right.

  She glanced at Jared and noted that he hadn’t bothered to use his seat belt. She clicked hers closed.

  They spotted a Super Wal-Mart and pulled in. In case she needed to buy anything that might be embarrassing, he volunteered to wait in the car. As soon as she walked into the store, she took out her cell phone and speed dialed Kristin.

  “Hi, Krissy.”

  “Yea, what’s up, Jenn?”

  “Tell Mom that I’m staying with someone tonight. I won’t be at Comfort Suites until Tuesday…maybe. They don’t take messages anyway.”

  “You tell her yourself. I am tired of listening to the crap about why you won’t call her.”

  “I have to run. Please,” said Jenny.

  “Fine, fine. Where are you staying?” asked Krissy.

  “Someone has a house right where I am working. It’s on Eagle’s Head Island.

  This will save me a ton of hours.”

  “Who is this someone? Like you don’t know anybody in lobster land,” said Krissy.

  “I just met him. His name is Jared Siemels.”

  “A guy? Are you nuts?” said Krissy.

  “He’s a nice guy. There is nothing to be concerned about.”

  “Are you nuts? What is wrong with you?” pleaded Krissy.

  “Will you stop it? I can take care of myself.”

  “Fine! Lars can go to the morgue to ID your body. It won’t be me.”

  “Don’t be so damn melodramatic,” said Jenny.

  “Keep your cell on.”

  “OK, no problem. Well, maybe a problem. There might not be cell coverage on the island. In fact, it’s unlikely. I’ll use the land line as soon as I get there,” said Jenny.

  “Like call me…Often!” said Krissy.

  “Sure, sure. I’ll call you later.”

  “Hey, beam me a picture of this guy so I can finger him in the lineup.” “Very funny! Bye!” Jenny snapped her phone shut.

  She was out in less than 20 minutes and they drove back to the cove. “Do you want to give your sister my phone number?”

  Puzzled, Jenny missed that he had asked a question.

  “You look frustrated,” said Jared.

  “My sister is impossible. She’s been mental ever since she decided on drama as her major at CMU…you know…Carnegie Mellon. On top of that, Krissy is taking a computer science class and learning programming. It is contrary to the laws of nature.”

  Jared made no comment. He pulled into the garage. They walked out. He hit the remote on his key ring and the car beeped back and the garage door rolled down and locked. They walked down to the beach to the small Boston Whaler.

  “Wow. No motor. I should have known. The currents are very strong in this bay. If I have to do this on my own tomorrow, I can see myself being swept into the Atlantic.”

  “Not to worry, Jenny. I have an outboard on a second boat you can use.”

  “I feel really indebted for all the trouble you’re going to.” Her brow furled again.

  He noticed that she was very expressive in her facial mannerism. He didn’t like that, but it was a small thing. She climbed into the boat and he pushed them off the beach, jumped in, and began rowing. As soon as the boat was little more than thirty feet from the shoreline a current grabbed them with a jolt and spun the bow toward the port side.

  She had an uneasy feeling. She was being marooned on an island with a man living alone. He hadn’t smiled once. Not once! Was it too late to back out of this?, she thought. “This was a mistake.”

  He began to row with rhythm. Shirtless, she noticed that his physique changed dramatically as he exerted himself. His stroke was strong. The instant the boat started to retard from its forward glide, he would pull on the oars again and the boat seemed to be in smooth perpetual motion. He was easily, almost effortlessly, rowing against the current. It was fascinating to watch. Rowing had never before seemed to be such an art to her. He was a fascinating guy. “Maybe it wasn’t a mistake.”

  He smiled at her. “I usually wait for the tides. In the morning I let the tide and currents take me to the mainland and six hours later, they bring me home again. Actually, I enjoy rowing. Am I repeating myself? I do that a lot. Sorry!”

  “I can see that you do—like rowing, that is. As I said, if I was the one rowing, we would be half way to New Brunswick by now.” She laughed. “He has a nice smile,” she thought.

  A little more serious now, but only slightly, she continued, “I am quite comfortable at sea, but I do depend on science and internal combustion engines to get me there.”

  “Then we will have to make a point of it that you are entirely comfortable tomorrow,” said Jared.

  A lobster boat passed them. Jared rowed into the wake. Someone from the boat waved. Jared waved back.

  “Friends?”

  “No. Just people who know me.”

  “Strange comment,” she thought.

  He reversed the oars as he approached the boat house. The overhead door to the boat house went up as they approached. Jenny glanced around to see if someone had opened it for them. He drifted in and tied off the boat to the dock. They climbed out and walked out of the boat house. Jared called out, “lock it.” It closed and locked. Jenny looked around. A large, two-story log cabin appeared ahead of them. It was surely the biggest log cabin house she had ever seen—and Maine was full of them. A copse of big birch trees surrounded the house. The setting was breathtaking. The logs were golden yellow surrounded by the beautiful pealing white bark of the surrounding trees. A porch wrapped around the house. There were flowers everywhere. Some were hanging and some were in window boxes. It was only May. “They must have come from a hot house,” she thought. She was amazed. She could see at least six high white wicker rocking chairs. As they approached the house, she could hear the front door unlock. She looked back at him. She expected to see him using some sort of remote control device, but he didn’t appear to have one. He was still only dressed in shorts so he couldn’t be carrying very much. She was perplexed.

  “How was he doing this? “she thought.

  She opened the front door and walked in. This was not the house of a bachelor. There were no socks and grungy underwear on the sofa. No beer cans and half-eaten pizza slices on the coffee table. It wasn’t any kind of guy’s place that she was accustomed to. The house was immaculate and beautifully furnished and decorated. It was overwhelming. There were oil paintings of marine scenes on the walls. The furniture was rustic, but obviously very expensive. It was all handcrafted wood furniture. The chairs and sofa were highly polished drift wood with plush white leather cushions. The tables were cuts from massive logs with intricate ring designs. The floors were polished hard wood but softened by beautiful Persian rugs. Sensing that he didn’t walk through the house in muddy shoes, she slipped her sneakers off.

  Jared said in a subdued voice, “Mozart—you pick
,” and suddenly “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” could be heard coming from everywhere.

  “Jared, you said you lived alone?”

  “Yes, but I do have a woman who comes here from time to time to take care of this place…usually when I’m not around. Her name is Marie Bird. I think she’s coming in the morning.”

  “Who are you talking to?” asked Jenny. Who turned on the music?

  “The house,” said Jared.

  She didn’t understand but let it drop. There was too much to take in.

  “It is fabulous,” she said.

  “I like it. Why don’t you go upstairs and freshen up. on you. Perhaps a shower?”

  “That would be great. Where shall I go?”

  He pointed up the staircase. “First door on the right. I can still see a lot of clay

  You will find bathrobes in the dressing room. Please help yourself. I’ll be in the kitchen to see what we can scrounge for dinner.” He thought for a moment. “If you don’t see switches or handles on things, or if they don’t seem to work right, that usually means they are voice controlled.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “No, it’s really quite simple once you get the hang of it. You know. Lights on. Shower on. The commands are very logical. If you say a temperature, that’s what the water temperature will be. You do know Celsius, don’t you?”

  “This is absolutely unbelievable,” said Jenny.

  “If you don’t know how to do something, just say ‘talk to me.’”

  He opened a drawer and took out a small plastic pin. “Put this on and the house will know where you are. It’s RfiD. You can also just keep it in your pocket. I’ll program you into the system a little later. After that, it will know who you are as well. It will learn what you do and how you like to do things so after a while you have fewer and fewer commands to make.”