Touching Cottonwood

by Randall Simpson

  “Hello, Rebecca,” Matthew said. “It’s so nice of you to come and visit me.”

  It surprised and shocked her to see him in handcuffs. Her rushing joy began to mix with something more painful. Rebecca looked at the handcuffs and then at the sheriff. “Does he really need to be in those things?” she asked.

  “It’s for all of our protection,” said Sheriff O’Neil. “It seems Mr. Duncan here has a talent for escaping.”

  “I don’t think he’s going to escape in the next fifteen minutes, is he?” said Rebecca.

  “Ms. D’Arcy,” said the sheriff, “why don’t you just let me handle the security issues in this town. Isn’t it enough that you’re getting to see Mr. Duncan? Please, don’t tell me how to do my job.”

  “The handcuffs are fine,” said Matthew to Rebecca. “They make John feel more secure, and that’s important to him. They don’t bother me—really.”

  “Will we at least be able to meet in private?” asked Rebecca, looking intently at the sheriff.

  The sheriff glanced at the bars on the window and then released Matthew’s arm. “You’ve got fifteen minutes,” he said, looking at his watch. “I’ll be right outside.” The sheriff stepped outside the room, closing the door behind him.

  Rebecca rushed over to Matthew and threw her arms around him, kissing him deeply on the lips. She held his face and looked into his eyes. “I’ve missed you so much. I’m scared,” she said. “What’s this all about?”

  “I walked away from a prison in Washington State,” he said without hesitation.

  Rebecca released her hold on him and looked into his eyes. “Escaped? You weren’t released?”

  “I was released—just not by them, so they call it an escape. I really just walked right out. It wasn’t much of an escape.”

  “But you left before your time was up?”

  “I was innocent of the crime and had spent three years of my life there. It was time to come back to you.”

  Rebecca was silent as her eyes glistened with forming tears. Matthew reached up, even with his handcuffs on, and tried to wipe one away that had escaped and ran down her cheek.

  “Thank you for being honest,” said Rebecca, finally. “I had heard about your escape.”

  “I don’t mind being tested,” said Matthew. “As my wife, you have the right to know you can trust me.”

  “I do wish that along with your serving time in prison you’d told me that you had escaped as well.”

  Matthew leaned forward and kissed her forehead, rubbed his cheek against her, and then reached down and gave her a kiss. “Would you still have married me?”

  She looked at him, paused, and then said, “What do you think? What do you see in my eyes?”

  He studied her eyes and then said, “I see the love of a woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

  “The rest of your life—after you finish serving out your prison time. How much more do you think your little vacation here to Cottonwood will cost you?”

  “It won’t cost me any more time than I’ve already spent. I’ve served all the time I plan to. I’ve done nothing wrong.” He paused for a moment and then asked, “Did you get my letter?”

  Rebecca patted her purse with her left hand. “It’s right in here.”

  Matthew glanced down at the purse and her hand and said, “And I notice you’re wearing your ring. I’m glad to see that.”

  “I’m not going to take it off or hide it anymore, but you’re confusing me. How can you say you won’t be serving any more time in prison? Surely, they’ll send someone down here to pick you up.”

  “They already have. I met him yesterday. He’s a wonderful person, and I think you’d like him. He’s got real potential.”

  “Potential? The person who’s come to take you back to prison is wonderful and has potential?” Rebecca said nothing more but searched his eyes for any hint of what his strange words might mean.

  “I’m talking about what’s in his heart, but that’s not really important—at least not right now.” He moved closer and looked into her eyes. “Listen to me. I tell you this with utmost sincerity. I am never going back to prison. I intend to live out my days here in Cottonwood, growing old and raising a family with you.”

  Rebecca searched his eyes and could see Matthew’s certainty and determination. “Oh, please,” she blurted out, “tell me you are not planning to escape from here! Is that what the sheriff was talking about and why he’s got you in handcuffs?!”

  Matthew looked toward the door as Rebecca said this, and she then realized how loud she had become. There was no sound from outside the door.

  Almost in a whisper, Rebecca then continued, “I trust you when you say you were innocent, but if you keep escaping, they’ll keep you locked up forever. What good will our marriage be then—if you’re behind bars for most of it?” She then leaned against Matthew and began to weep quietly. She tried to hold her sobbing in so that the sheriff wouldn’t hear.

  “You’ve got to trust me,” said Matthew in a low voice, resting his head on hers. “Everything depends on your trust, your faith in me—in us.” They stood close together in silence for a moment, before he added, “Did you get my other message?”

  Rebecca looked up at him with her tear-reddened eyes. “Your other message?”

  “The candle I left burning for you.”

  Her eyes suddenly filled with a different type of tears. “Yes,” she whispered. “It has meant so much to me. It’s really kind of…” She paused, searching for the right word.

  “A miracle?” Matthew said, finding the word she had somehow kept hidden from herself.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what it is.”

  “It’s meant as both a comfort and a promise. As long as that candle is burning, you will know that I am on my way back to you. It will burn until we’re together.”

  She leaned against his body again. She just wanted to feel his warmth and strength. Her heart pounded heavily. They said nothing for a few moments, and then Rebecca said, “So…you are planning to escape from here, aren’t you?”

  After a pause, Matthew said, “Yes.”

  Rebecca pulled away from Matthew and looked up at him. “Can I ask why?”

  “I have a few more things to accomplish,” he replied, “and they don’t involve going back to prison.”

  “But how will this all ever end? How will there ever be a happy ever after for us? I just don’t see how your escaping will help anything. You’ll always be a wanted man. We’ve only had one night—and I want a lifetime.”

  “If you trust me, there will be that lifetime,” said Matthew. “That candle is my promise. But I must be truthful with you—there are dangers.”

  “Dangers?” asked Rebecca. Then the entire previous night with her ride home and the intruder flashed back. She paused before proceeding. “It may have already started. Something terrible happened last night.”

  “What was it?” asked Matthew.

  “We had an intruder in the house. He broke in while we were sleeping and locked my mother and me in the garage. We got out through the garage door and called the sheriff.”

  “But you and your mother are all right? No one was hurt?” asked Matthew, his voice growing stronger and more concerned.

  “We’re fine,” said Rebecca.

  “Why was your mother staying with you?”

  “Because something happened on my way home from work. Eddie followed me. I was on my bike, and he came up behind me in the dark and almost made me crash. He was angry—about us.”

  Matthew glanced down at her ring and then looked at her, his eyes flashing reassuring strength. “Then it is starting—but never be afraid of him. Fear will only paralyze you. Never give in to it. You and I must face him together. Just have faith.”

  Rebecca drew in the strength she found in those eyes and then held him tight, whispering, “I have faith, but it’s hard not to be afraid—and sometimes things get confusing.” At that very moment she wanted to run
with him or, even more so, to fly with him, far away from Cottonwood, to a place that wasn’t confusing or full of dangers—a place where Matthew was a free man, and they could live out their lives together.

  She released him, gave him a kiss, and then looked at him. “Sometimes I wish we had wings.”

  Matthew smiled and said, “We do…‘with love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, for stony limits cannot hold love out.’”

  Rebecca whispered, “I didn’t know you read Shakespeare.”

  With the cold steel chain between his handcuffs looping down and rubbing on his wrists, Matthew gently touched the warmth of Rebecca’s face. “I had a lot of reading time in prison. It was a different kind of stony limit for me then, but now, together, we face another. We’ll pass over it, too—just have faith in our love.”

  “I will,” whispered Rebecca.

  At that moment, the door to the room started to open, and the two of them quickly pulled apart. Sheriff O’Neil walked into the room with authority. “Okay, that’s been the full fifteen minutes,” he said, reaching for Matthew’s arm. “Hope you two have had a nice little visit.” The sheriff glanced at Rebecca, holding his stare on her tear-reddened eyes longer than normal. “Ms. D’Arcy,” he said, “I’m going to escort the prisoner back to his cell, but if you’ll kindly wait here for a few moments, I would like to speak with you about something.”

  As Matthew and the sheriff neared the door, Matthew turned and caught Rebecca’s eyes one last time. “Please remember that letter. It tells you all you need to know.”

  Rebecca watched in silence as Matthew was led out of the room. She waited as instructed, and within a few minutes, the sheriff returned.

  “I’ve heard you had quite a night last night,” began the sheriff. “Sparky is over at your house right now, dusting for fingerprints, so why don’t you sit down and tell me all about it?” He motioned to a chair, and the two sat down, and she began telling him the full details of the evening. The sheriff took a few notes as she was talking.

  “And you don’t have any idea who this person was?” he asked.

  Rebecca thought back to Matthew’s words. You and I must face him together. Just have faith.

  She wanted to tell the sheriff who she thought was in her house and how the same person had followed her home from work earlier in the evening. It was her instinct to tell him everything. Her instincts told her to leave everything up to the sheriff. He would at least have to question Eddie. However, she knew her instincts were based on fear. She would instead trust what Matthew had said.

  “No, I never saw him,” she said, “and I don’t think my mother did either.”

  “That’s too bad, but maybe Sparky will have some luck with the fingerprints or the shoe prints from the backyard. I hope we’ll have some luck finding a match for at least one of them. Unfortunately, there are lots of strangers in town right now.”

  “Thanks,” said Rebecca as she stood up to leave the meeting room. “It’s sure been a couple of crazy days, hasn’t it? Are they having any luck figuring out the cause of the Dead Zone?”

  “I haven’t heard that they are, but at least I’ve had some luck.” As soon as the sheriff had said it, he realized Rebecca wasn’t smiling. “Sorry, Ms. D’Arcy. I didn’t mean to offend you—but he is a wanted man in Washington State. I think you should understand that I’m just doing my job.”

  Rebecca nodded. “I understand. We’ve all got our jobs to do. Thank you, Sheriff.”

  As she turned to leave, the sheriff stood. “I know the two of you were close at one time,” he said quickly, causing her to stop. “And I’m sure this is hard for you—but this is not the same Matthew Duncan that either of us knew. He’s changed. He’s a criminal now and will go back to finish out his sentence in Washington State.”

  Rebecca gave no expression as she stared at him. Finally, she said, “You’re right—he has changed. But a criminal? I’m sure he’s not.”

  When she had finished, she noticed the sheriff’s eyes had briefly glanced down at the ring on her finger. She tried to ignore the glance, keeping her eyes fixed on his. She waited for him to ask her about it, thinking she could almost sense his mind forming the connection she wanted to remain hidden, but the moment passed in silence and he said nothing.

  Perhaps he wasn’t even looking at the ring, she thought. He’s got too much on his mind right now to have even noticed!

  The sheriff escorted Rebecca out of the meeting room and to the front door of the main office. “Things are going to get back to normal in this town real soon, I promise,” he said, opening the front door for her.

  She nodded, but couldn’t manage a full smile. “Thank you, Sheriff.” she offered in response, knowing somehow he was wrong. Things would never be the same again in Cottonwood. She’d changed, the town had changed, and though the way forward was cloudy, hidden, and uncertain, she knew the way back was impossible.

  She walked down the steps to the street, not looking back but knowing she hadn’t heard the door close behind her. She knew the sheriff was watching her, but she wouldn’t acknowledge his stare. At the moment she reached the bottom step, she heard the sheriff say, “Oh, and that’s a real pretty ring you’ve got there.”

  Her stomach knotted, she glanced at the ring and then turned and gave the sheriff a quick and forced smile before continuing down the street.

  Rebecca felt the easy sunshine of a Cottonwood summer morning on her face and realized the odd contrast of that warmth to the shaking she felt inside. She needed to walk off that dichotomy. Without consciously heading toward any specific location, she walked across the street and headed north, toward the corner of Main and Second Street. As she approached, she noticed that a short construction barricade had been set up around a patch of sidewalk in front of Rhonda’s Bridal & Floral. She walked to the edge of the barricade to get a closer look, and in glancing down, she saw some writing on a piece of concrete in the middle of the barricade. She looked around, quickly stepped over the barricade, and knelt down to get a closer look at the writing. The writing was actually two dates. One date was the current day, and the other was the previous Friday. Underneath the dates were the letters “A.M.”

  While Rebecca was contemplating what the writing could mean, a man’s voice came from behind her. “Can I help you, miss?”

  Rebecca stood up and spun around, seeing a man with a dark complexion standing near the barricade she’d just crossed. To her, he appeared to be of some sort of Middle Eastern descent, perhaps Pakistani or Indian. Whatever his heritage, she didn’t recognize him.

  “Oh, sorry, am I in the way here?” replied Rebecca.

  “Not at the moment,” answered Akash, “but perhaps in a few minutes you will be—when the public works crew arrives to start their digging.”

  Rebecca moved over to where he was standing. “What’s going on here?” she asked, stepping back over the barricade to stand next to him.

  Akash studied her for a moment and then held out his hand and shook hers. “I’m Akash Mudali,” he said. “I’m sure you can tell that I’m a stranger here in Cottonwood. I’m working for the State of Colorado—investigating the Dead Zone.”

  “The Dead Zone?” replied Rebecca, looking toward the writing on the sidewalk inside the barricade. “And this barricade has something to do with that?”

  Akash smiled at her. “Well, to tell you the truth, I’m not sure if it does or not. That’s why we’re going to be digging here…Ms., uh—”

  “I’m sorry, D’Arcy—Rebecca D’Arcy.”

  “Well, Ms. D’Arcy. When you were on the other side of this barricade, you were standing right at the very center of the Cottonwood Dead Zone. In fact, I think you’re the first citizen of your town to do so. And lucky for you to have come by at this moment and stood there, because in just a few minutes—once the crew gets here and starts digging—you’ll need wings to stand on that spot, as it will be right over an ever-deepening hole.”

  “The cente
r of the Dead Zone? Really? And what will they be digging for?” she asked, looking back to the spot where she had just been standing.

  “I don’t really know,” said Akash. “All I know is that it’s the center of the Dead Zone, so it just seems to make sense to dig it up and see what’s there.”

  During her life, Rebecca had walked past this spot on the sidewalk in Cottonwood a thousand, or two thousand, or possibly even ten thousand times. She could recall absolutely nothing remarkable about the spot. She was about to thank Akash for the information and move on, when it came to her. It was a jolt not unlike the one she’d had upon seeing the small candle remaining faithfully lit long after it should have gone out. It was a jolt not unlike the one she had when she’d first seen Matthew walking down the street on the previous Friday. It was a jolt not unlike the one she’d had when he first touched her again after being apart for so many years. It was a jolt not unlike the one she’d had when the traffic had stopped, for it had stopped, she realized, when she was standing on the exact spot now marked as the center of the Cottonwood Dead Zone.

  Her heart was beating rapidly. She felt somewhat off balance, so much so that if the hole had already been dug, she might be in danger of toppling down into it.

  “Are you all right, Ms. D’Arcy?” asked Akash, touching her on the arm. “You look a little pale.”

  “Oh…I’m fine…quite fine,” she answered, regaining her composure enough to make eye contact with him, though her thoughts were as unmanageable and soaring like a flock of birds flooding from a tree.

  “Well, I sure wish I’d been standing right here last Friday, just before noon,” said Akash. “I would love to have seen if there was anything unusual occurring at this spot when the Cottonwood Dead Zone was created.”

  Rebecca remained silent for a moment longer as she stared at the writing on the sidewalk. She finally mumbled in a low voice, “Sturnella neglecta.”

  Akash looked at her. “Excuse me?” he asked.

  She looked up from the sidewalk at Akash. “Singing,” she said in a voice that sounded almost trancelike but came from her faraway thoughts. “The Western Meadowlark began singing at that time. That’s what you would have heard. As for what you would have seen…” Rebecca paused as emotions choked back her voice.