~
Cal waited out front that night, full of nervous anticipation. He didn’t know whether he was more excited at the prospect of seeing her or about what they planned to do. He looked down the street anxiously, afraid she might not show up. When he saw her slim figure approaching he actually felt his heart pounding.
He called out when she drew near, “Hey Cali.”
“Hello Calvin,” she replied.
“That’s not fair,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Because I haven’t guessed your name yet.”
He could see the corner of her lips twitch up, and he realized that he’d never seen her smile. “It’s not Rumplestiltskin,” she said.
“Huh?”
“Nothing.” She looked down, serious again. “Where is this place?”
“It’s on the other side of town,” he said. “We can take my bike.”
She stood her ground. “I’d rather walk.”
“It’s too far to walk,” he countered.
“You’d be surprised at how far I can walk,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.
He threw up his hands. “It’s gotta be ten miles!”
She didn’t move, and he started to question the wisdom of involving the strange girl.
“C’mon,” he said, walking over to where his bike was parked. “Look–I got a helmet and jacket for you to wear, and I promise I’ll be careful.” He held the gear out to her.
She tentatively edged closer, swallowing hard. The last time she’d been on a bike, it was with her dad. Tears sprang into her eyes, and she was glad it was too dark for him to see.
“For Rufus?” he added, cocking his head as charmingly as possible.
“What about you?” she asked, “Where’s your helmet?”
“Don’t worry about me; the skull is nature’s helmet.”
She almost smiled at his joke, pressing her lips together and taking the jacket. She slipped it on, noticing how it smelled like him. She reached for the helmet as he stood grinning at her.
“What?” she asked.
“It looks good on you,” he said, climbing on the bike and starting it up.
She took a deep breath in, exhaling slowly. “For Rufus,” she said, slipping on the helmet and climbing up behind him.
“Hold onto me,” he told her.
She took him by the waist gingerly, keeping some space between their bodies. She could feel his lean torso tense up under her hands, and for some reason it unnerved her. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about her parents’ accident.
True to his word, he was careful to go slowly, and within a few minutes they pulled up into a dark alley, parked the bike and walked out onto the sidewalk. The pound was across the street, and he showed her the fence they needed to scale. They waited in the shadows until the security guard was clearly visible in the office window.
“Wait a sec. You do know that this is illegal … right?” he asked.
Her mother had always said that legal and right were two different things. Besides, Cal had read Machiavelli. She rolled her colorful eyes at him. “Lead the way.”
He reached the fence first, turning around like he expected her to need help. She scrambled up faster than he could, climbing with effortless grace and jumping down to land as light as a feather. He went after her and hit the ground with a thud, sending a lone dog barking with alarm. They both froze, waiting a few minutes until the noise trailed off and stopped.
He took her hand in his, and with a redundant finger to his lips he led her around a corner to a door standing ajar. There was no need to lock this room, because it was lined with securely padlocked kennels housing the dogs deemed vicious. This was where the death-row inmates were caged, and the room was filled with battle-scarred pit bulls and mangy-looking mixes, with a few wild-eyed Rottweilers thrown in.
They were trapped, frightened, and ready to start barking on a hair trigger.
The room smelled awful, but far worse than the odor was the terrible despair that permeated the atmosphere. It was a place of great sorrow, and goose bumps rose on Cal’s arms. Her heart went out to the poor animals, and she walked in ahead of Calvin, sending a soothing blast of lavender pink out ahead of her. She moved down the row of kennels, and he watched in amazement as the dogs all lay down in her wake.
They rested their heads on their paws with audible sighs, a peaceful feeling washing over them that many hadn’t experienced since they were puppies. She reached the end of the walkway and turned back, her face wet with tears. Cal stood at the other end of the room with his mouth hanging open.
She dropped her face into her hands, drained. He rushed up to her, worried, and she raised her head, wiping her eyes with determination. “Find him,” she whispered. “I can’t look anymore.”
He nodded, speechless, peering into the rows of kennels and finally stopping at one. She joined him, waiting as he climbed over the wire to get inside the enclosure. Rufus sat up, wagging his tail, and Cal heaved him up and over the fencing to her. She caught him, staggering and falling to the cold cement floor with Rufus licking her face happily.
Cal jumped back over and helped her up. “Are you okay?” he whispered, brushing off her back awkwardly. Again, he wanted to give her a hug, but she was already turning away, sending the pathetic dogs one last blast of peace and drowsiness that she hoped would last them all night.
She hurried out of the building, climbing the fence numbly and waiting on the other side to catch Rufus. This time she managed to keep on her feet, waiting for Cal to jump down and take the squirming dog from her. He took Rufus under one arm, and grabbed her hand with the other, hustling the three of them into the alley and onto the waiting bike.
It was awkward, but they managed to climb on with a peacefully sedated Rufus sandwiched between them. She held the calm dog securely, holding firmly onto Cal this time. He liked the way her hands felt on him, and the hair on his scalp started tingling.
He pulled up to his dark house and parked. They got off the bike and stood while Rufus wandered the yard happily, sniffing the ground and lifting his leg to re-mark his favorite spots.
“That was a trip,” Calvin said.
She handed him back his helmet and jacket in silence, remembering the shocked look on his handsome face. “Please … Please don’t say anything. Please don’t tell anyone …”
“I won’t,” he said, and he meant it. He knew he had just witnessed something profound, and he wasn’t about to ruin it by telling Jarod or one of the silly girls at school. They watched Rufus silently for a while.
“I should put him in the house before someone sees him,” Cal said, looking at her hopefully. “Do you want to come in?”
She shook her head no, glancing back over her shoulder. “I should go.”
The motorcycle ride, combined with the chamber of horrors she’d just seen at the pound, had shaken her to her core. She wanted to curl up in bed and cry. It was late, and Phil was bound to be passed out by now, making it safe to go home.
The truth was, it was all too much, and she needed to be alone with her fresh grief.
Calvin was disappointed; he hated going into the house when it was empty.
“I’ll walk you,” he said, putting Rufus indoors and rushing to return to her side.
They walked along the road, and he asked her where she had moved from.
“I came to stay with my aunt,” was the most he could get out of her.
“I have to find a place for Rufus before they come looking for him,” he said. “Will you help me move him?”
“Okay,” she nodded.
He took out his phone, noticing that he had tons of texts piled up from various girls. “Give me your number and I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“I don’t have a number,” she said.
“How do you call people?” he laughed.
“I don’t,” she replied.
“Why?” he asked, honestly curious about her.
He didn’t know what to say, realizing that she wasn’t joking. They got to the condo complex and she stopped, indicating he’d come far enough.
“I can check by your house on the way to school tomorrow,” she volunteered.
“Okay,” he nodded eagerly. He wanted to reach out and grab her, wrap his arms around her and kiss the sad look right off her face, but he was afraid of scaring her off for good. “Thanks,” he said awkwardly, “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He started to walk away, and she called after him, “Do you give up?”
“Give up what?” he asked.
“Trying to guess my name.”
“You got me,” he said.
“It’s Caledonia,” she told him, turning to walk away.
“Caledonia,” he said out loud, letting the word roll around on his tongue. He couldn’t stop smiling the whole way home.
~
Chapter Six
GRANDPARENTS
The Athena Effect Page 13