We reached the back door of her house just as the sun broke free of the horizon. I followed her silently up to her bed, where we both collapsed.
I stewed on what she had said. He's hooked. How could she possibly know that? And how could he be hooked already? We barely knew each other. Although after last night’s interrogation, he knew a lot more about me than I did him. I was in no rush to find out more; I actually enjoyed our conversations about nothing. I was afraid if I knew too much about him too fast, we'd run out of things to talk about. Or at least I would. He, however, never was at a loss for words.
I daydreamed about the way he felt as I rested on him. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat lulled me to sleep. It was so soothing, natural. I wanted to be back there again as I closed my eyes.
Dorothy's face popped into my head, interrupting my reverie. I moaned.
"Come with me today. Please!"
Irelynn tugged the blanket from under me and covered her face. "No way. I'm sleeping in. I had an exhausting night."
Realizing there would be no use in trying to relax now, I got up and decided that I did care about my appearance at the Inn today. I went home to clean up. The smell of campfire and lake water probably wouldn't go over well with Dorothy. I couldn't explain myself out of that.
The morning was ticking by slowly so I took my time choosing the right thing to wear. I sorted through my sad excuse for a wardrobe several times before decided on a light blue dress that had been hanging in my closet since last summer. It would have to do this time; a T-shirt and jeans were my normal articles of choice. I was all about comfort, but all my comfort was crumpled at the bottom of my laundry hamper at the moment.
I didn't want to over-do anything in the makeup department. Usually my attempt at keeping my "natural" appearance would end up making me cry as I stared at the clown in the mirror. I settled for a little purple on my eyes (Irelynn always said that purple makes brown eye POP) and some gloss on my lips. I looked in the mirror satisfied after straightening my hair. Good enough.
The group was assembled at their usual table on the back patio.
Tilly and Rhoda stood up smiling when they saw me coming.
Rhoda spoke first. "Oh Cami! Good news."
"Yes, wonderful," Tilly piped in.
The ambush began and I wasn't even seated yet. Dorothy slid something across the table toward me. “What's that?" I asked, feigning interest. Good news to them usually meant a new recipe and the little book in front of me looked like a recipe holder. They were already sucking me into their retired housewife’s club, and now all of they were fixated on me. I eyed them all suspiciously ending up at Dorothy. She too was smiling. Not a rare experience, but definitely unexpected.
"We're going to Mexico for a week in November," Dorothy declared. “That’s your passport.”
The group stared at me with anticipation. Was I going to scream and jump up cheering? This was Mexico after all. A whole different country let alone another state. An opportunity I'd been waiting for all of my life and the idea thrilled me. The idea of not seeing Will for a whole week did not, and my momentary giddiness faded.
"Why?"
Dorothy blinked through her glasses. That wasn't the response she was hoping for. Her smile didn't leave her face though.
"For a vacation of course," she said through her teeth. "Why else?"
I had no good response.
"November is just kind of a weird time for a vacation, isn't it?"
Rhoda jumped in to resuscitate my brief excitement. "Well, Mark and Jill don't think so."
My parents? What did they have to do with this? They were in Costa Rica and as far as I knew they would be there through the end of the year. They couldn't just pack up their work and skit off to Mexico for a week. Besides, they were already in a tropical paradise.
As I tried to sort it out in my head, Tilly spoke. "They will be coming, Cami."
That's what I needed to hear.
"Wha—Really!" I stuttered. "Why?"
Dorothy put her hand on my shoulder. "This is as far north as they will be coming until at least the holidays, dear. They wanted to see you."
I could not contain myself anymore. It was going to happen. I was going to see them after four long months, in Mexico to top it all off! I jumped up and hugged my grandmother. This was the reaction she wanted. The ladies all laughed at my enthusiasm. I couldn’t wait to tell Irelynn. Wait. Did she already know? I was going to kill her for sure if she was holding out on me.
"Where in Mexico?" I asked. Not that it mattered. Mexico! A tropical paradise vacation with my parents in the fall, what more could I ask for?
Dorothy was reveling in her victory.
"Cancun!” Tilly shouted before Dorothy could respond.
Her enthusiasm almost matched my own. Silver, curly hair fell down around her face as she leaned forward. She took my hands into hers, squealing ... just like her granddaughter. She could easily be Irelynn's older sister. Much, much, impossibly older, sister. She was never bored with the details of our high school drama and was often my shoulder to lean on during the times Irelynn used both of mine.
Embarrassed by her outburst, she sat back in her chair giggling.
Will walked by the patio as I basked in the idea of a real vacation. He could hear the noise we—well, I was making. He smiled at me and nodded to the rest of the ladies.
“Good morning.” His blue eyes sparkling as he smiled.
His charm was not unnoticed by these women. As soon as he was out of sight, Hazel giggled.
“Such a handsome young man.”
Rhoda joined in. “That he is. Dorothy tells me you two have been spending some time together.”
“Yeah,” was all I offered? I couldn’t look any of them in the eye. Their piercing glances would see through me right away. Nothing escaped these women.
Dorothy dropped her napkin on the table. “A little too much time, really.”
I almost tipped over the glass of water I was reaching for.
"What?” I looked over at her to make sure I heard her correctly. "Too much time?"
She stared back at me. There was something behind her eyes that I couldn't quiet read. Anger?
"I just want you to be careful," she said.
"Oh Dorothy. Let the girl have some fun. It's not like she's going to marry him," Rhoda shot at my grandmother.
I was positive that the next world war was about to begin. Everyone knew my grandmother was not a fan of resistance, least of all by her closest friends. I braced myself against the table. Dorothy hissed at Rhoda before falling silent. None of them made a sound as I looked around the table. Everyone watched her, waiting. She took a sip of her tea.
"Well, that's too bad. Mexico would have been a great location for a wedding," she grinned.
The table erupted with laughter.
Oh my god. I buried my face in my hands as they continued to make wedding plans. Would it be large or small, on the beach or in a church? Colors, decorations, bridesmaids. Each new plan brought with it a louder cackle from the group. I finally had to excuse myself the restroom to avoid further embarrassment.
I stared at myself in the restroom mirror. Be careful? Of what? Will? I would have to relieve her of that anxiety. I was perfectly safe with him, I knew that much already. If I could only tell her about last night. If he was some kind of mutant, I was pretty sure that night would have been the perfect opportunity to find out. And besides, everyone has a little weirdo in them, right?
Maybe she was just worried that I would start spending more time with him than my friends...and her. That was one of Irelynn's most infamous qualities. It was far too easy for her to get caught up in the excitement of a new relationship and ditch me. It irritated me the first few times it happened. But I soon realized that I was the one who had to accept that's just how she is, she can't help it.
And truthfully, when a boy enraptured Irelynn, it gave me the opportunity focus on fulfilling my destiny as a starving artist. Al
ong with the many trinkets sent from my parents, my closet was full of my attempts at art. Too many canvases and sketchbooks cluttered every nook of it. On more than one occasion, Irelynn would try to convince me that it should be used for clothes, not a museum to my failed renderings. But I was a packrat, much to Dorothy's dismay as well. I couldn't toss out these things I had worked so hard on, even if I ended up crumpling the page.
By this time next year, I would be starving in Europe. Hopefully.
Laughter outside the restroom door cut off my daydream. It was Dorothy's laughter. From what I could ascertain, it wasn't all too genuine. I wondered if my involvement with Will bothered her more than she cared to mention. Maybe she was afraid that I would run off with Will, leaving her alone. Empty nest syndrome? She never had been completely alone before. When my father left for college, my grandfather Isaiah was still alive, bumbling around the house like a mad scientist, always trying to figure things out. If he didn't know how it worked, he'd figure it out.
I continued to reminisce for a bit before deciding it was safe to return to the ladies. Surely they'd grown tired of playing dress up in their minds.
I opened the door and walked slowly toward the room, listening carefully for any form of the word wedding, bride, or Mexico.
“How’s it going out there?” His voice sent an instant thrill throughout my body.
I spun to see him grinning in the doorway. Even covered in sawdust, his perfection struck me causing my heart to lurch in my chest. Would I ever get over that?
I held my throat. “You like doing that don’t you?”
He stepped out of the shadow. Thud... No. I was not going to get used to him anytime soon.
“If it gets a jump out of you, yes.”
“Well, was that one fun for you?”
He shrugged. “No, not really. Barely got a sound out of you. Somewhat anti-climactic.”
I smiled. Apparently I was getting rather skilled at hiding my hysteria.
“Well, the good thing is I get to see my parents in a few months, bad news is my grandmother thinks we’re spending too much time together.”
Will’s eyebrows furrowed. “Too much time…how’s that? She doesn’t even know—” “Shhh!” My hand slammed up to his mouth faster than I could control it. I nearly slapped it off his face trying to mute him.
“Oh-my-god-I’m-so-sorry!” I blurted, tucking my hands back under my chin.
He rubbed his mouth snickering, and not offended by my brutality. “I’ve had worse. Just payback from whacking you last night, I guess.”
The spot where he’d slapped me with his wet shirt last night began to throb again. I’d forgotten about it until now. The welt he’d left was about the size of a quarter and not very attractive.
“That’s right!”
“At least I won’t have to worry now that you’re lurking around the corner waiting for your chance to strike back.”
“Uh no. Lurking is your forté, not mine.” I looked around to see if anyone had heard my attack. The hall was empty except for Tom at the far end standing faithfully by the door. He almost looked asleep. What a boring job.
Will cleared his throat. “So I guess my chances of seeing you anymore today are pretty much nil.”
He was staring at me again, waiting for my response behind his innocent looking eyes. I was lost again. His thick black lashes contrasted the sapphire blue in his eyes perfectly. How could I say no to him? I bit my thumbnail, straining my brain for any way to avoid Dorothy’s discomfort.
“Probably not,” I conceded. “I’ll call you later, when she’s asleep. Is that okay?”
He smiled. “It’s not nearly as good as seeing you again, but it’ll do.”
“I know.”
I turned and walked slowly back to the table letting him have a taste of his own medicine while holding on to the knowledge that I would in fact see him again. That he actually wanted to see me again. That prospect alone sustained me through the rest of the lunch with the ladies, a long afternoon with Irelynn, and a quiet evening with Dorothy.
We were almost done with the dishes when she decided to have more than a four-sentence conversation with me. She washed the dishes as I dried and put them away. I wished she would just get a dishwasher, but other than a refrigerator, washer and dryer, she saw no need for too many modern conveniences.
“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you earlier,” she began. “It’s just that you’ll be going off to college soon and...” She trailed off. My empty nest theory was closer than I thought. There was more coming, I could feel it. She was just stirring it around in her mind before she spoke, a trait that escaped me most times.
She started again. “I think you know it is not the time to be getting caught up in an affair that would take your mind off your studies and jeopardize your future. And beyond all that, I simply don’t know enough about this boy.”
Be good, I commanded myself. I remained silent, patiently drying each dish as she thought more.
She continued to rationalize her reasons. “Your parents left you in my care, a responsibility I do not take lightly, Cami.”
I nodded, biting my tongue.
She stopped washing and turned to me. “And really, honey. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I'm just asking you to take a step back for a while.”
I concentrated on putting the dishes away in perfect order so that I could maintain control of my mouth. The last thing I wanted was to upset her. I didn’t want to be the immature teenager arguing with her parents, in this case grandparent, over a boy. I was beyond that, I convinced myself. Up until now, I’d never really understood it when any of my friends behaved that way.
“Does any of that make sense?” Her eyes were now pleading.
I put my arms around her and squeezed. She only wanted what she thought was best for me. “Of course grandma. I understand.”
She hugged me back stronger than usual, I assumed relieved.
"I'm going to start my homework if you don't need me anymore.” I hoped the change in subject from boys to education would lift her spirits. It did.
"Okay," she stepped back and grinned. "I'm just going to head up to bed."
I waited until she got to the top of the stairs before making my move to the phone. I grabbed it and dialed the number but stopped short of hitting the send button. The guilt of my impending deception churned in my stomach. I didn't exactly say I would stop seeing Will, I simply acknowledged how she felt. That rationalization did little to squash the guilt. Maybe if I actually did work on my project a little before I called, I would feel better.
I grabbed the book and headed for the porch where the sun was setting slowly behind the mountains. I guessed I had about a half hour of reading I could fit in before it was too dark to see.
I relaxed into the porch swing and stared at the book cover, something I knew I shouldn't do before I actually began reading it. Too often a best seller would sit on my nightstand waiting to be read. My unfortunate habit of judging a book by its cover would cause the book to gather dust and eventually be discarded in to the "donate" bag. If the story itself wasn't inspiring enough to the cover artist, why would I waste my time by reading it?
The blood red cover was tattered around the edges. In the center a simple gold colored emblem, “DRACULA.” I sighed heavily. Out of all classics available, what made Will pick this one? It certainly wasn’t anywhere on my list of choices. If I was going to read a story about vampires though, it might as well be from the master, Bram Stoker.
I squinted harder to make out the words that finished up the fifth chapter. The sun was fully set, leaving a brilliant crimson glow over the town.
A rustling noise stole my attention from the book.
"Forget it," I said. "You're not going to get me.”
"Dang," he mumbled. "You're becoming far too astute. I'm going to have to change my tactics.”
His hands gripped the side of the porch railing. In a flash, he flung himself up and over the railing
, landing with a soft thud.
"What are you doing?"
He smiled and walked toward me. "Couldn't wait for your call."
"So you decided to stalk me?" I scowled.
He chuckled at my irritation. "Lucky for me, you're an easy target.”
I glanced at the screen door nervously. Although Will's leap was quiet, I couldn't be too sure where Dorothy was. Satisfied she wasn't coming out, I turned back to Will. He was examining the book.
He held it up. "How do yo—"
I cut him off. "You shouldn't be here." I pointed through the window, where the glow from the upstairs hall light lit the stairs. He looked hurt. “I didn't say I don't want you here," I added quickly. "I just don't know if she's asleep yet."
He was quiet for a moment. “She's asleep." He grinned, momentarily appeased, as he slithered from the railing and plopped down next to me on the swing. The sudden load on the end of the swing caused the hook in the ceiling to pull out a little. The swing shuddered as he grabbed the chain. He looked up to inspect the damage. A tiny bit of dust fell from the hole, landing in his hair.
"Whoa." He shook the dust from his head. I stared at the ceiling where the hook was trying desperately to keep its hold. That hook had been holding strong there for at least fifty years.
"Nice going fatty," I said, kicking him.
"I can fix that!" The alarm in his expression was priceless. The muted fear in his eye was not fear of me; he was afraid of Dorothy. I laughed. His hand covered my mouth.
"Shh," he commanded, saving me from myself. I nodded and he lowered his hand.
Too late. From inside Dorothy called my name. Will looked at the door and then back to me disappointed.
“Sorry.”
I didn’t have much time. She called my name once more.
“I better get inside.” I rushed to the door. “Meet me later?”
He stood up dusting his hair again, “Okay… Here?”
My mind raced. Where could we meet? Certainly not here again, the big oaf made too much noise. I struggled harder as I heard the floorboard from the top stair creak.
“The lake,” I managed.
The Valley Page 6