by Kit DeCanti
A car with several people inside pulled up and the driver asked if she knew where the sculpture walk was.
“Oh sure… the EcoArt Walk!” Kat re-plied with a smile, “Well, you passed it down at the foot of the mountain. Just head back the way you came, like you are going into Middletown, but at the base of the mountain look for a sign that says ‘Trailside County Park’. It’s a little less than two miles before town. You are going to love it!” Kat smiled and waved as they drove off.
Since she was so close, and there was still plenty of day yet to fill, Kat decided to drop down into Middletown and take the Sculpture Walk as well. She hadn’t been there yet this year and she really wanted to see Judy Magoon’s exhibit. Kat never failed to be impressed and amazed that such an artist lived so quietly among the residents of Lake County.
Kat kept her eye on the rearview mirror as she drove down the mountain; and even though was certain she was not being followed; she was happy to be able to join a group of art enthusiasts and not have to take the walk alone. It wasn’t just humans Kat was worried about. Out here in the wilds of Lake County there were frequent bear and cougar sightings. Kat stuck close to five or six walkers. Besides, she enjoyed eaves-dropping on their comments as much as she enjoyed the art itself. She always found it fascinating to get different takes on the same piece of art. For example, upon spotting the first exhibit which was made of recycled Venetian blinds and bottle caps, an older conservative woman shrieked with joy, “A daisy patch! How happy! This is so groovy! I just love it!” It obviously spoke to the dormant memories of her youth, and the aging former hippie needed prodding to move on. Her companion’s take on it was “This is very cool. Amazing what you can recycle!” And another added, “This looks like yard art. I’m gunna make this for my mom.” And a man just stood and scratched his head.
“Men are the last to get into the spirit of things here, but by the middle of the walk his inner child will be as excited as everyone else’s.” Kat mused. And indeed it was true, except in this case, it happened with the very next exhibit. Before the group was finished admiring the PVC daisies the man was a dozen yards in front calling the group to come see the sixteen foot metal sculpture.
“Hey come and check this out!” He yelled “What is this thing? Hey- listen to this…” and he started reading the commentary out loud to the group even before they were close enough to hear him, “…this is a bunch of ‘metal, bones, salvaged lamp parts, wood, crystals piled up and welded and connected with wire,’… and it is supposed to take us from birth, through life, death and finally, beyond. I don‘t know about that… I think it’s more like a totem pole but representing urban life instead of that of Native Americans- all except the cow skull… but that‘s cool too!.” Although the man didn’t know it, he had become an admirer of the arts.
The last to catch art fever in the group was a tall good looking teenage boy. He was just way ‘too cool’ to be impressed. At least that’s what he thought. But the humorous ‘old man fishing with his crabby dog’ sculpture got him laughing and into the mood of things.
For Kat everything was going well until the she read the title of the next sculpture.
“Turning Over A New Leaf”. Kat looked up at the majestic oak tree with colorful giant ‘leaves’ made of recycled wire and autumn colored fabric hanging from wire and string swaying in the gentle spring breeze. It evoked a memory of a dream she had had shortly after she broke up with Ron.
In the dream she and Ron had taken a ride up to Cobb Mountain, and he pulled over on a very high ridge overlooking the lake. They got out of his SUV and stood looking at the lake. It was in the fall- she knew this because they were surrounded by the colors of autumn: red, yellow, orange and the deep green of pines and aspens or were they birch? The water in the lake was blanketed by fog… the fog began rising up off the lake, creeping up engulfing the trees. Suddenly she was alone as she watched tree after tree disappearing into the fog… She stood there paralyzed unable to move; waiting and wondering if she also would disappear into the mist. Then a cold wind started blowing and the colored leaves began falling to the earth. The leaves that were once lush, colorful and strong were now withered and weak and blew where ever the wind took them. The wind took them down into the mist. Her heart fell with the leaves forever to be swallowed up and lost.
Kat remembered waking up sobbing; her chest hurting like her heart was literally breaking. It was so strange because the next morning when she woke, although she remembered the dream, and she remembered crying, she had felt no connection to them at all. Not to the dream, not to the tears and not to the pain. She just went about her day.
She hadn’t thought about that dream. She remembered it, but hadn’t really thought about it. Hadn’t realized just how profound it was. The memory of it now left her shaken. Kat looked around and realized that the group of art lovers had moved on. She decided to leave the rest of the sculpture walk for another time, turning around she walked quickly to her car and drove home.
Kat was quiet through dinner and begged off helping with dishes. Her mother and sister obliged her, and let her have the space they could tell she needed.
Kat lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. She was exhausted but dreaded sleep. She didn’t want another vivid dream. She didn’t want to dream at all. She didn’t want to sleep.
But sleep she did, and dream she did. She woke up in the night sobbing into her pillow drenched in sweat, and with pain in her chest again.
The next morning she knew she had cried, but once again she couldn’t ‘feel’ any of the emotion that evoked the tears.
CHAPTER TEN
Mare Vista
Kat continued to pour herself into her work by day, and into investigating the Lombardi mystery by night. She had been busy digging up all she could on Guido Lombardi via an internet background check and had learned that he was Mrs. Lombardi’s groundskeeper at an estate called Mare Vista in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Mare Vista was the family home of Mrs. Lombardi’s first husband, Anthony Lombardi who was a widower when she married him. It was also where she had spent her married life with him, while helping him raise his son and daughter. Shortly after the first Mr. Lombardi died Mrs. Lombardi married the much younger Guido- who already carried the same last name. They took a honeymoon trip to Italy and leased a small cottage in a quaint village in Tuscany. Kat was surprised at this in view of their extravagant American lifestyle. A year or so later Guido returned to the village alone for a short time. While he was gone Mrs. Lombardi suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. He returned a third time a couple years later.
It wasn’t much. In fact it raised more questions than it answered. Kat wondered where the step children were, and if they were the relatives that the worried phone caller had claimed were being kept from Mrs. Lombardi. She also wondered what took Guido to Italy alone so soon after marrying.
Kat decided to go to Mare Vista and see what clues she could find there. For this she needed a couple days, so she would have to wait until the weekend. In the meantime Kat passed the time by spending her lunch breaks finding out all she could about Mare Vista online. The house wasn’t difficult to find- it was listed along with other Santa Clara County historical homes. It had quite an interesting history.
Mare Vista was built by a wealthy man named Myers, who owned a large successful nursery- and whose passion was plants. Mr. and Mrs. Myers were quite the socialites, even though he was known as ‘Old Man Myers’. They were even on the guest list of Mrs. Winchester of Winchester Mystery House fame on the night of her infamous party. Mare Vista also had a winery, which once made the news all the way to the East Coast when a huge forest fire threaten the property and was put out with barrels of wine from the winery.
The estate was kept in the family until finally there were only a son and daughter left. Neither wanted to claim Mare Vista as a residence.
After sitting vacant for a few years, the house became subject of folk lore when a bank robber was found hiding out in th
e attic; and reportedly the money was never recovered. About that time- the mid 1950s, the large mansion was leased to a family by the name of Armstrong, who had eight children; and a child’s game of Indians- complete with ‘smoke signals’- led to another large forest fire which again threatened the many structures on the property. After the Armstrongs moved out the grounds were almost de-stroyed when the property was leased to a hog farmer- which Kat thought was a tragedy. Later the vacant mansion finally did succumb to fire and was partially burned. After a few years it was purchased and restored to it’s original beauty by the Lombardis and has been in the family ever since.
Kat’s spirits were finally starting to lift, and even more so when the body shop called to let her know her Eclipse was ready to be picked up. She picked it up on her lunch break and was determined to be driving a new Jeep by night fall. And she was.
As Kat handed the key to her little Mitsubishi to the car salesman she felt a wave of relief rush over her. On the way to the dealership it was all she could do to fight off the panic attacks that were threatening to surface. She had heard that people often experience this after auto accidents, but had no idea it could be so dramatic! Kat was certainly thankful not only to be driving away in a different vehicle but in a large one at that! When she sat on the seat of her Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, it felt like it wrapped its arms around her promising safety.
The next day, to pass the time Kat walked across the street and picked up her sandwich from the Goombas Deli then walked up the hill behind it to the quaint Tuscany Village which was a scaled down Tuscan Village replica. As she walked by the little winery she was amazed at the great wine it produced in such a small space.
She continued walking up the hill side passing the tiny chapel to the amphitheater and sat down to eat her lunch, reflecting on all the places she had been the last few weeks and all she had learned about Guido Lom-bardi… and yet she knew nothing.
Where could they have disappeared to? Kat hoped the answer would be found at Mare Vista.
Finally Friday morning arrived and Kat was thankful for a distraction to keep her mind off Ron. She threw her backpack filled with weekend necessities in the back of her Jeep as she left for work, and headed out directly for the Bay Area when she got off. Caroline thought it would be good for Kat to take a weekend for herself, but Angel pouted about being left behind.
Driving down Coyote Grade on Highway 29 Kat changed her mind about continuing on through Middletown and over Mt. St Helena; and took Butts Canyon Road instead, which meant a lovely drive through the southern part of Lake County through Pope Valley, and over the mountain through Angwin and finally down into Napa Valley. The hills and meadows along the way were yellow and purple with wildflowers.
Kat was reminded of a quote by E. E. Cummings, “…. the earth laughs in flowers…”
“Well then, if that is so, today the hills are alive with the color of laughter!” Kat said out loud, as she opened her sunroof and cranked up her stereo. Getting away was a great idea.
Kat turned down her stereo as she steered her Jeep onto the winding road that wound it’s way up through a dense forest blocking out the sun as it led up to Angwin. Even though it was dark, it was anything but gloomy.
Kat always felt somewhat spiritual driving through here. It brought back some pleasant childhood feelings… memories long forgotten, leaving only a residue of love. Kat chuckled to herself at her soulful thoughts, glad she chose this route. Yes, getting away alone was a good thing.
After Kat had dropped down from Angwin and reached Silverado Trails she headed south through beautiful Napa Valley into Vallejo. When Kat merged onto the freeway she briefly wished she was back on the quiet roads of Lake County, but the very thought of Lake County, brought up the pain of the past few weeks. However, the heavy traffic managed to keep her mind too busy to dwell on her personal problems. Kat was sure glad her daily commute was nothing like what she was driving through now.
After several hours of driving and many freeway interchanges, Kat finally pulled off the freeway into Los Gatos. Seeing a fast food place she ordered through the drive thru; then headed to nearby Vasona Lake Park and ate her burger and fries overlooking the water; and reminisced the boat rides as a child with her family.
Kat pulled off on east Main Street, into the parking lot of the motel she’d made reservations at; and as she got out of her car, she uttered an unconscious “Mmmm”. Looking around she saw where the unmistakable Italian aroma was coming from. “The Pastaria & Market”, she read the sign above the door aloud; and wished she hadn’t eaten the burger and fries. After checking into the motel Kat climbed the stairs to her room. She plopped her backpack down on the desk and turned on the television thinking it would help her wind down after the long drive. She was hoping for a good night’s sleep and an early morning start.
After lying in bed wide awake for about an hour Kat decided to get dressed and take a walk. She hadn’t been in Los Gatos since she was a kid visiting her father’s relatives; but remembered how beautiful and quaint the downtown was. Kat also recalled a wonderful ‘Old Town’ and she was pretty sure the motel was only a block or so away from it.
Kat walked out onto the street and noticed an ancient gothic styled church across the street, up a bit; with people sitting on the steps. Even at eleven o’clock at night the streets were anything but deserted, so Kat felt safe enough to take a stroll. Although The Pastaria & Market was now closed; the aroma from still filled the air. “Mmmm”, Kat said again.
Old Town Los Gatos was much as she remembered, and was quite magical at night with the trees glowing with tiny white lights. Kat walked down some stone steps and was happy to see the toy store and creamery still there.
These shops were Kat and her little sister’s favorite part of their trips down to visit their father’s relatives. Their dad used to buy them watermelon ice cream and their mother always found new pieces of furniture or dolls for their doll house. The shops were closed but the Wine Cellar was open and Kat had a sudden yen for a glass of wine.
As she walked down the curved stone steps she felt as though she was entering another time. It was dark and rustic and probably hadn’t changed at all in over fifty years- if ever. She found a quiet corner from which she felt less conspicuous. Kat had never been comfortable going to restaurants or lounges alone, but since it was almost empty she settled in.
Kat remembered her parents talking about having a date here back in… it must have been 1971 when he took her to meet his family. Looking around Kat wondered which table her parents had sat at, trying to imagine them sitting there- her mom blond, young and beautiful; her dad with his dark good Italian looks, holding hands looking into each other’s eyes planning a long life together. Tears sprang up in Kat’s eyes. She could remember so vividly the love her parents had for each other. How happy they were together. A life together cut way to short. She had always wanted a love like theirs… she thought she had found it with Ron.
Kat shook her head trying to change the subject in her mind. “You are taking yourself down a slippery road to depression!” Kat scolded herself. “If you don’t watch out you will find yourself checked into Dr. Fleming’s depression clinic up on Cobb Mountain.”
Once again Kat found herself thinking about calling Crossroads Inn Time and joining the group of women who were finding their ‘self’ there.
Just then a crowd came in and from their conversation Kat was able to determine that they had just come from a theater around the corner. Too bad. If she had known Kat would have gone. The play being discussed sounded amusing and upbeat. Something a local had written based on some well known rock music. It sounded fun- and Kat could sure use some fun!
The waitress came and Kat ordered a glass of white wine and a cheese fondue. She knew she wouldn’t be able to eat much of it, by herself- but couldn’t resist. It was not often that she found fondue on a menu. Her parents had loved to fondue- a thing of the seventies Kat supposed, but she was glad fondues were �
��coming back’. She hoped to see some on menus in Lake County soon. Kat began to relax and thought perhaps she could sleep now.
As the theater crowd drifted up the stone stairs out to the plaza, Kat joined them and hoped the brisk walk to the motel in the night air wouldn’t wake her up again. It didn’t. She slept sound and woke up re-freshed and ready for an adventure.
Kat merged onto Highway 17 from Los Gatos Boulevard which immediately started to climb and wind its way up the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was a lovely drive, but Kat kept her mind fixed on the road, as the heavy traffic was moving fast. This was the main route to Santa Cruz; and being a lovely day- the beach seemed to be calling half the Bay Area. Kat briefly toyed with the idea of ditching the trip to Mare Vista and heading to the beach herself. But the pull to solve the Cobb Mountain mystery was too strong and at the summit she made the turn towards the top of Loma Prieta, the tallest mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountain range, and on the west side of which Mare Vista was perched.
Kat was happy to be off the freeway and able to drive slower to enjoy the scenery. Finally she approached a fork with one going up the mountain and the one on the right winding off around the corner.
“You take the high road and I’ll take the low road,” Kat laughed out loud as she took the right branch onto Highland Way. A few more curves in the road and she was at the base of the driveway to Mare Vista. She was calm, in spite of her encounters at the previous properties. She felt confident that anyone connected to the Lombardis were long gone from this property. Although it was still in the hands of the family no one had lived here for several years according the internet- not even a caretaker. It was not on the market; so no realtors to go through!
Kat found the gate locked, but from her online research she knew there was a service driveway that led up to the barn, and she headed for it. She was dismayed to find a locked gate there as well, but undeterred. Kat climbed a tree that was growing next to the fence and was able to jump down on the other side with out too much trouble. She turned around to lock her Jeep with the remote, and stuck the keys in her pocket with her cell phone.