Then there were times, when it was too quiet and she couldn't even hear the wind, when she would think about the things that meant the most to her. The things that were gone, the things that were still there, the things that didn't matter anymore. Things. That's all they were. Because without the students and their laughter, without the horses, and without the caring, they were nothing. Maple Dale was nothing.
She missed Phoenix. He'd provided her with the only warmth she'd felt since her death. Her heart ached for him, ached beyond words, though never did she question her decision to push him away. It was something she had to do. She knew that then, and she knew that now. Still, there were times when she would cry fitfully for him, and found herself wondering if this was how her mother felt when she'd given her away.
* * *
Three weeks from the day Maple Dale was shut down, Richard met Bill and Walter there. It was cold, bitter cold, and the drive hadn't been plowed, so they had to trudge up the hill
on foot. They felt like they were climbing Mount Everest.
They'd come to see if there were any signs of Leah's presence, to see if maybe she'd finally passed on. They didn't have to look long. When they opened the door to the office, they startled her, dust swirled, and they felt her go right through them, in spite of their many layers of clothing.
She was still there.
No doubt about it.
They left without saying a word, and Leah hurried to the window to rub a spot in the frosted glass so she could watch them walk back down the hill.
At the bottom, they turned to one another. "Now what?" Something had to be decided.
"I'll try to get a hold of Klaus again," Richard said, suggesting another meeting that evening. When he arrived home, Christine was baking cookies.
Sugar cookies.
Yesterday it was chocolate chip, the day before that, butterballs and crescents, before that, pecan twirls, thumbprints, and before that, crisscross peanut butter. Dozens and dozens of them.
"Wow! What's on the agenda for tomorrow?" Richard teased, helping himself to a few.
"Nothing." Christine wiped her brow. "With this batch, I'm done." And with four days yet till Christmas.
Richard smiled, just gazing at her for a moment, then grew serious. "She's still there."
"Did you see her?"
"No." Richard shook his head. "But we felt her. She's so cold."
Tears filled Christine's eyes instantly. She didn't ask how do you know? What makes you say that? Are you sure? She only asked, "What are we going to do now?" Because just the thought of Leah being cold...
"I don't know." Richard told her about Bill and Walter coming over later, and said he was going to call Matt and Klaus as well. "We'll talk about it then."
Matt was first to arrive, dressed like an Eskimo and boasting of breaking his all-time record for a five-mile run in the snow, "By nine whole seconds! On the dot!"
Christine smiled.
"I smelled your kitchen clear down the block!"
Christine laughed. "I've had this compulsion to bake lately.
Which is all right, I guess, except that I keep eating everything."
"I've noticed," Matt teased, shedding an outer layer of lycra-spandex, and then another. "Right around the middle."
Christine glanced at her figure. He was kidding, but it got her to thinking. Fortunately, just about the time she decided her pants were getting snugger in the waist, Bill and Walter arrived to divert her attention.
They all sat down in the den with coffee and a platter of assorted cookies. Shad was stretched out on the rug in front of the fireplace with Bethann. Phoenix meandered about. Bill smiled each time he saw him. He even pet him once, laughing about it. And for a while, it was as if they were just a group of friends gathered for the holiday.
Klaus had told Richard he'd tried to attend, but Richard doubted seriously if he would from the way he'd sounded. He waited until eight. When it was obvious he wasn't coming, he excused himself and went down to the basement to bring up the project he and Bethann had been working on.
It was large, but not heavy, mounted on a piece of plywood, and covered with a sheet. Everyone looked on expectantly as he set it down on the coffee table.
"A while back, at one of these meetings," he said, pausing. "Christine said something that got me to thinking. Something Bethann and I took to heart."
Christine couldn't imagine what, and Bethann explained. "It was wh-when you s-s-said, that it w-w-was a shame that ww-we couldn't have s-s-some of the old, but enough of the nn-new to..." She choked up, unable to finish, and her father put his arm around her. A lump formed in his throat.
"Matt, you said that whatever we did, let it be for Leah's sake. Not ours, but hers. And we tried."
Matt nodded in acknowledgment.
"But Leah's in all of us. Each one of us. So what we do for her, has to be right for everyone, otherwise." Richard swallowed hard. "Otherwise..."
"Otherwise it won't work," Matt said, proud inside. "So what did you come up with?"
"Hopefully the answer," Richard said. When Bethann removed the sheet, they all stared wide-eyed. It was Maple Dale. "The kind of Maple Dale we'd like to see. A Maple Dale that's an equestrian community."
"Well I'll be damned," Bill whispered. "Would you look at this."
It was a scale model. "Close," Richard said, complete with arena, barns, trees, houses, paddocks, the cross country course, and even horses. Eight of them, decked out in bright red horse blankets as they grazed on one of the hills.
Bill shook his head in amazement. "No wonder you've been asking me so many questions about the trees and the streams."
Richard smiled, and glanced at Christine. She was dabbing at her eyes. She obviously approved, immensely. Walter was in awe, envisioning every house, fence, and drive.
"How many streets?"
"That's up to you," Richard said. "We just dotted the houses here and there. I've met with zoning and got a tentative okay on a variation. And as you can see, there's a picnic area here. And over here, we were thinking of maybe one or two tennis courts, and a basketball court here."
Walter glanced up and grinned. "What about a three-hole golf course?"
Richard laughed. "We never thought of that, but why not?"
"Yeah," Bill said, nodding. "Why not?"
Matt sat back and looked from one to the next, wishing to God that Leah could be here, to see how much people really cared.
"Does this change the size of the lots?"
"Some I think," Richard said, "like up here by the barn. We want to take Bethann's third in bits and pieces, so you'll have to work around that. We'd want to keep this pasture here, and of course the barn and the arena, and the cross country course, and the trails that wind up and around this way."
Walter liked the idea more and more as they went along. It'd be similar to buying a condominium, where the residents have access to a pool, tennis courts, and recreation rooms. Only here, they'd have a stable, grounds, and a home of their own. "And with the varying lots, you're open to far more buyers. Not everybody wants three acres."
Bill nodded. They were all in agreement.
"What does Klaus think?"
"I don't know," Richard said. "But I'm hoping since we're not taking Bethann's third cohesively, he won't object."
* * *
The following day, Klaus reluctantly agreed to a meeting. "In the town square at one."
The man's crazy, Richard thought, it was freezing out. But Klaus insisted it be there, so town square it was, wind-chill factor and all. Richard hardly recognized him. He was bundled in an ankle-length overcoat with at least three scarves tied around his neck. He had a hat pulled down over his ears and he was wearing a pair of mittens, his arms held stiff as a board and extended from his sides. He looked like a giant penguin.
"Klaus?"
He nodded, his eyes red and darting in all directions. "What did you want to see me about?"
"I have a proposal about
Maple Dale I'd like to..."
"Is it going to cost me?" Klaus asked, interrupting and turning himself completely around so he could see in all directions. "Is it?"
Richard looked at him strangely. "It shouldn't."
"Then fine, do it," Klaus said, turning around and around again and starting to leave.
"Wait! Wait a minute," Richard said. "Let me tell you about it so you can..."
Klaus swiveled back around. "Then tell me!"
Richard hesitated. "Bethann wants her third of Maple Dale spread out through the estate. We want to keep the barn and the arena. We're thinking of an equestrian community."
"Then do it I said! Do what you want! I have to go!"
"But I'm going to need something from you. A handshake if nothing else for Christ sake." When he extended his hand, Klaus literally fell over backwards trying to get away from him.
"Jesus..." Richard reached down to help him, but he started back-pedaling, still darting his eyes all around. He rolled onto his knees and elbows then, holding his hands out, and with his chin buried in the snow, started groveling.
"Here." Richard grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet, in spite of himself. "Are you all right?"
Klaus nodded, and stumbled down the street, retching as he ducked into an alley, where vomiting so violently, he lost control of his bowels. By the time he got to his car, he couldn't stand his own stench.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Leah could see nothing of herself anymore, nothing. She'd faded completely away. I must just be a soul now, she thought, all that's left of me. Fearing she was about to lose that too, she started thinking more and more about her mother and her father, her beginning. And why not, it always came down to them anyway. They were to blame for everything. especially her mother. Always.
She edged back further and further into the corner, gazing around her icy tomb, and wondered what would happen if her mother were to appear in front of her, right then, right now. What would she say to her? Would she ask her the questions that had haunted her all her life? Things like, "How could you have given me away? Didn't you care? Why didn't you ever try to find me? Was I conceived in love? Did my father care about me? Did he tell you to give me away?"
Tears welled up in her eyes. Would she ask all this? Or would she be so excited to finally meet her, that none of that would matter anymore? Would she ask instead, "Why am I so tall? Who do I take after? What color are my father's eyes? Why is my voice so deep and my cheeks always red? How did I get such little feet? What's your favorite time of day? Is it early morning, like mine? And why...?"
A smile chased the tears away as she thought of more and more. A broad smile. "Do you like horses? Do you ride? Does my father ride? Do you believe in God? Do you think there is such a thing? What's your favorite flower? Mine's daffodils. Do you like the rain? I do. I love the way it smells. Do you know my name? It's Leah. My name is Leah."
* * *
Klaus's attorney, John Smith, couldn't have been happier about the Maple Dale Equestrian Community theme, and assured Richard he'd meet with Klaus immediately to draw up the agreement. "First thing tomorrow."
Richard came home early that afternoon to share the news, and suggested he and Christine and Bethann go out to dinner to celebrate.
"Come on," he coaxed. "We'll go to Top of The Town. Bethann's never been there, it'll be fun."
Christine rested her head back on the couch and yawned. "But I'm so tired."
"Of course, from all that cooking and baking no doubt," Richard said. "You need a break."
Bethann laughed. "Come on, M-Mom. We c-c-can see the lights."
Christine yawned again. "Why don't we just have pizza."
Richard and Christine exchanged curious glances.
"I'll even let you get anchovies. In fact, stop and order it then go to that Christmas tree place across the street."
Richard and Bethann's mouths dropped.
"You're g-g-going to let us p-p-pick it out alone?"
Christine laughed. They were right, she'd never trusted them before, always wanting to have the perfect tree. "Go!" she said. "Before I change my mind."
They left in a flash, and upon returning, woke her from a nap, with Shad at her feet and Phoenix cuddled under her arm.
"Wait till you see it," Richard said, kissing her as he set the pizza on the coffee table. "It's eight feet tall."
Christine sat up, gulping. "Eight feet?"
Bethann nodded as she came in with napkins, plates, and Cokes. "And it's s-s-so fat."
Christine shook her head, she should've known better. "Eight feet, and fat."
Richard and Bethann nodded proudly.
"What kind is it?"
Richard glanced at Bethann, and together they shrugged. "I don't know. We didn't ask. It's pretty though, if you don't look at that one flat side."
"A flat side?"
Richard nodded nonchalantly, and passed her a piece of pizza, smiling. "For you, my sweet."
Christine sighed.
Bethann could hardly keep a straight face now, she had to stuff her mouth full of pizza to keep from laughing, and Richard changed the subject.
"What do you think about a party out at Maple Dale? A real celebration."
Christine plucked an anchovy off her pizza and fed it to Phoenix. "You mean, open to the public?"
"No, not necessarily. Maybe just us. You know, me, you, Bethann, Bill, and Walter, their families, Matt."
Christine gave the idea some thought while feeding Phoenix another anchovy. "When?"
"Soon," Richard said.
Christine smiled. Soon, meant for Leah's sake, so with that in mind, they decided on Christmas Eve and started making plans. Maple Dale would be all decorated and the menu would be simple, maybe just some party trays, cold cuts and relishes. Christine would take care of the desserts herself, she certainly had more than enough cookies already.
"Well, maybe just a few more." she said. "And some nut roll. And a cake. And some punch."
"Do you th-think Mr. Bukener'll c-c-come?"
"I don't know, honey," Richard said, doubting it. "But we can ask."
There was a lot to be done between now and then. But first things first. The tree. Christine took a deep breath, and went to take a look. Richard and Bethann followed her. They wanted to see her reaction.
It was priceless.
"It's a blue spruce!"
Richard nodded. "A six footer. And the man guaranteed me it was cut just last week. I shook it to death and not one needle dropped. Right?"
Bethann nodded. "And th-the trunk is p-p-perfectly straight. As s-s-straight as an arrow. Look! And it's p-p-perfectly round, no b-bare spots, and it was th-the bluest one."
Christine blushed, smiling. "Am I that hard to please?"
"Yes!" they said, laughing. "You are!"
* * *
Klaus hung up the phone after talking to his attorney and hurried back to his chair. He'd pushed it to the center of the room so he could see anyone, anything, everything, coming from all directions, and wrapped himself in a blanket. He'd taken five showers since coming home, his skin was red and peeling. He had sores all over his body that were infected from his incessant scratching. And his hands were swollen to twice their
size.
Someone was there, he could hear them. "Who are you?" he shouted. "What do you want?"
He'd been to three different doctors this past week alone, but not one could tell him what was wrong with him. "It's your nerves," one suggested. "Perhaps a tranquilizer."
"The sons of bitches!" They were incompetent. There was too something wrong with him. There had to be. His heart raced, pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode. His wrists throbbed, he could see his blood pumping. And no matter what he tried to eat or drink, it refused to stay down, yet he was still gaining weight.
"Who are you?!"
He darted his eyes around the room, and out of the corner of his eye, thought he saw something scurry across th
e floor. "What was that?" he gasped.
He saw it on the other side.
"There it is again!"
The phone rang.
He jumped, and ran to answer it, but felt something crawl across his feet, and ran back, dropping his blanket.
"Who is it?! Who's calling me?"
He tucked his feet up, something was crawling under his chair. A bug! Hundreds of bugs! Crawling up the chair and onto his legs, then all over his body. "Oh my God!" He screamed, swatting at them, swatting until his swollen hands were bloody and dripping. "Oh my God! Help me!"
His own voice responded. "This is Klaus Bukener the Second."
"What?! Oh my God!"
Again, "This is Klaus Bukener the Second."
The tape repeated itself over and over, stuck, then clicked, and with the tone, started at the beginning. "This is Klaus Bukener the Second."
Again and again.
And again.
* * *
Leah heard a noise outside and, hurrying to the window, rubbed a circle in the frost and peeked out. It was a plow truck, throwing snow high in the air as it forged its way up the hill. Her heart pounded with excitement.
It was Bill. She knew his truck.
Having stopped by Richard's earlier to pick up the scale model of Maple Dale, he shoveled his way to the door, and brought it in and set it down on one of the desks.
Leah watched from the corner. As he uncovered it and stood gazing down at it, he could feel her presence. "Well, isn't this something," he said, as if to himself.
Leah moved closer.
"A Maple Dale Equestrian Community. I suppose that means you have to own a horse to live here, or like them at least."
Leah gazed at it in wonder. "It must," she said, her voice a gentle breeze. "It must."
Bill nodded. "I'm glad they're saving all these trees. It'd be a shame to have to cut them down."
Maple Dale (Maple Dale Series) Page 14