Sighing, Rhi set the passport beside the bankbook. She was too tired to think things through at the moment. Tucking her left hand behind her head, she turned off her lamp and let her bandaged right hand fall onto the passport and bankbook. It was still hot in her room, the day's heat lingering even though the sun had gone down. She'd left her door open partway to increase the draft coming in the open windows, but it did little to stir the sluggish air. Shunning the blankets, Rhi let herself drift off to sleep, smiling slightly as her last thought was of Marika's arm around her shoulders holding her tight.
Hours later, a fit of coughing woke Rhiannon from a deep sleep. Confused, she opened her eyes, only to find they stung from the thick smoke gathering in her room. As understanding sunk in, she bolted to her feet and ran to her door, yanking it open to find the hallway filled with smoke and flames licking their way up the walls.
Screaming her aunt's name, she tried fruitlessly to awaken and warn her until she was driven back into her room by the heat and smoke. Slamming the door, she retreated, coughing hoarsely, until she bumped into the bed frame and half fell on the mattress. Struggling to sit up, she felt the discarded bankbook and passport under her hand. Jamming them into her pajama pocket, she ripped the sheets and coverlet off the bed, praying that the frayed fabric would hold her.
Quickly knotting them together, she dropped to her knees and crawled towards the open window. The smoke had thickened in the brief time since she'd awakened, and glancing fearfully across the room, she could dimly make out an eerie orange glow under the door. An ominous crackling overwhelmed her hearing as she made her way rapidly across the floor.
Rhi could barely make out shapes now, but when she bumped into the leg of the table, she knew the windows were right above her. Scrambling to her feet, she slid across the tabletop, pushing the microwave and wok out of the way, ending with her head hung out one of the open windows, sucking huge gasps of air into her oxygen-starved lungs even as she was conscious that thick reams of smoke were being drawn steadily out those windows. Eyes tearing uncontrollably, she fumbled to knot the bedding around the narrow bit of wall separating the two small windows.
"Mom, help me!" The unconscious plea escaped her lips as she tugged desperately on the makeshift escape rope, praying it would hold. When it did, she instantly swung her legs out the window. As she began her clumsy descent, she heard calls from below, and in the distance, the growing sound of sirens. Eager hands reached to assist her just as the bedding parted and she dropped the last few feet. She found herself being helped away from the house by the burly, unemployed machinist who lived across the alley with his wife and six kids.
"My aunt!" Rhi gasped, turning to look back at the house where flames could now be clearly seen shooting out from under the eaves and dancing across the roof. "Did she get out?" She looked pleadingly at the big man. He steered her to the edge of the alley and gave her into the care of his wife, who was huddled with a gaggle of neighbours watching the old, yellow house go up in a roaring conflagration.
"Shit. It's like settin' a haystack on fire," the machinist spat. "All the damn houses around here ain't nothin' but fuckin' tinderboxes."
"My aunt?" Rhi pleaded, knowing that if Hettie were still in there, she didn't stand a chance.
"I'll go 'round the front and see if I kin find her," her rescuer assured her, nodding at his wife who laid a comforting hand on Rhi's arm.
Rhi shivered and wiped her sleeve across stinging eyes. She could hear the fire trucks screaming up in front of the house and saw the flashing lights through the smoke and flames that rose from the crumbling structure.
She felt desperately sick, but couldn't drag her gaze from the disintegration. The strobes at the edge of her vision contributed to the nightmarish feeling as she was transported back to an earlier fire---the one that had destroyed her childhood. Hypnotized by the destruction, she never even noticed the return of the machinist with her aunt and one of the hen-house, Eugenia Carter, in tow.
It wasn't until Rhi heard her aunt's full-throated shriek of fury that she turned to see the big woman bearing down on her like a ship under full sail.
"YOU! You're the one who brought this down on my house!" Hettie shrilled, lashing out at her niece furiously and catching a stunned Rhiannon across the head with one hand.
The startled machinist instantly stepped between them, pushing the boiling woman back a few steps. Shoving at his broad chest and trying to sidestep him, she screamed, "You killed your mother, and now you're trying to kill me! You're evil, girl, EVIL! Staying out all night, doing God knows what---You brought His wrath down on my house! You're damned, Anne Davies! Have been since the moment your ungrateful carcass was dumped on my doorstep. I shoulda known you'd bring your curse with you..."
Her rant was cut off by a deep, angry voice. "Hettie Walker! That's enough!" David stepped forward and, after quickly scanning the dazed Rhiannon, turned to confront the furious woman who withered noticeably under his stern expression. "I know you're upset right now, Hettie, so I'll save the lecture on your unchristian attitude, but I suspect you'll find this tragedy had little to do with God and more to do with man's carelessness."
Turning his gaze on Eugenia Carter, the priest asked, "Can you take Hettie home with you?"
Hettie's friend nodded wordlessly and began to lead the distraught woman away. As she walked away, Rhi heard her aunt begin to wail and bemoan the loss of her precious things. Mrs. Carter comforted her loudly, which only seemed to increase the volume of Hettie's lamentations.
"Jesus, I'm sorry, kid," the machinist apologized uneasily. "I found her standin' out front with her friend, and I jus tol' her you was out back. I din't know she'd hit ya."
"It's all right, Jack," David said, as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around Rhi's trembling shoulders. "Look, I'm going to take her back to the rectory with me. Would you let the fire captain know that both inhabitants got out safely, and where he can find Hettie if he needs to talk to her?"
"Sure thing," Jack nodded eagerly. He headed off to circle around to the front of the house, dodging firemen and jumping over hoses.
With infinite gentleness, David coaxed his silent friend away from the scene. Rhi leaned gratefully against his tall, thin form as he led her down the alley, avoiding the stones for the sparse grass as much as he could to spare her bare feet.
"I'd loan you my shoes," he joked lightly, "but you could fit both of your feet into one of them, so I don't think you'd get too far."
Rhi managed to summon a small grunt, but lacked the energy for more. David seemed to understand and didn't try to force any conversation, supporting her quietly as the noise of the fire, firefighters and onlookers faded behind them.
Ten minutes later they reached the church, and David steered her to the rectory door. Unlocking it for her, he placed a large hand on her back and guided her inside. She turned automatically towards the kitchen, but stopped two steps inside, staring at the small table she'd sat at many times as if she'd never seen it before.
David came around in front of her and took her hands. She finally focused on him, and realized he was wearing a pajama shirt with jeans and runners on his sockless feet. The glimmer of a small smile began as she took in his disheveled appearance: his thin blonde hair sticking out at all angles, his glasses slipping down his large nose, and a light stubble over his normally close shaven cheeks.
"How did you know?" Rhi asked curiously, realizing that it had felt perfectly natural for him to show up when she needed someone.
"Tupper called me as soon as he heard the ruckus, and I ran the whole way there," David replied, squeezing her hands lightly. "Look, why don't you go grab a shower? You can use my robe-it's hanging on the back of the door. I'll make some tea, and we'll sit and talk a bit, okay?"
Rhi grimaced at her soot-stained arms and nodded her agreement. He released her hands, and she turned to the hallway, making her way to the bathroom. Once there, she shook her head at the dirty face looking back fro
m the mirror. Stripping off her pajamas, something dropped from her pocket, and she stooped to pick up the bankbook and passport she'd grabbed in her frantic flight from her room. She held them for a moment, realizing that was the only thing she'd salvaged and wishing she'd at least thought to grab her wallet.
Sighing, she set them aside, reminding herself that she'd gotten out safely-and that was all that counted. Suddenly eager to be clean, Rhi pushed the shower curtain aside and climbed into the tub. She let the hot water sluice over her, blasting the first layer of grime off her body before picking up the soap and determinedly scouring away the last reminders of the fire.
When Rhi finally turned off the water and got out of the shower, she was deeply grateful that she could no longer smell the stink of smoke on her body. Toweling dry, she even managed a wry chuckle as she wrapped David's robe around herself. It dragged on the floor, the sleeves came down to her knees, and she felt like the smallest of the seven dwarfs, lost in the voluminous fleecy folds.
Picking up the remains of her possessions, she padded out of the steamy bathroom. Rounding the corner to the kitchen, Rhi saw David sitting at the table, toying idly with the teapot in front of him. He glanced up at her approach and began to grin widely.
"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up, Ichabod," Rhi grumbled amiably as she set her dirty pajamas by the entrance and slid into the chair opposite him. She watched in amusement as the priest gamely tried to suppress his chuckles, finally losing the struggle in a burst of laughter. The young woman joined in, letting some of the stress wash away in shared hilarity.
Still snorting, David poured a cup and pushed it across the table to her. It was only as he poured one for himself that Rhi noticed a third cup sitting in front of him. Tapping it, she raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"I called Marika while you were in the shower," he answered her unspoken question. "She's on her way over, and she's bringing some clothes for you."
Rhi considered that, wondering for an instant whether she should resent his interference, and then realizing that she was very glad he'd called her friend. She laid the passport and bankbook on the table, tapping them with one finger.
"This was all I saved," she said ruefully, picking up her cup and inhaling the scent of the tea gratefully.
David looked at the documents, and picked up the passport. With a quick glance to ensure he had permission, he flipped through the blank pages before setting it carefully back on the bankbook. Taking up his own cup, he took a swallow before asking, "Want to tell me about it?"
"It?"
The priest smiled knowingly at her patent disingenuousness. "Must be pretty important to you if that's all you grabbed in your escape."
She shrugged. "Well, it was more an accident that I had them on my bed. I was looking at them before I fell asleep, so when the fire happened, I just grabbed them on my way out."
"Uh huh. Any particular reason you were looking at them before you went to sleep?"
David sipped at his tea patiently as Rhi considered whether to answer him. Without any conscious decision, she began to talk to her friend.
"I look at them most nights and dream about the day when I will have enough money to use that passport." She shifted slightly in her chair, leaning forward and staring at him intently. "I'm going away from here pretty soon, Ichabod. I've had it all planned out for years. First I'm going to Wales. I was born there, in Aberystwyth, when my parents were back visiting my Dad's family. I can remember Dad talking about his family all the time when I was little. I vaguely remember meeting an uncle or a cousin that came over for a visit, but I've never met the rest of them. Dad and Mom always planned to take me there again when they could afford it."
"So you want to visit your family there?" David prompted gently.
"I want to know why they abandoned me to Hettie," Rhi shot back, the old anger rising again. "She's the only living relative Mom had, but Dad had a whole gang of them. Why didn't one of them take me?"
The priest reached a calming hand across the table, and Rhi felt the anger subside under his soothing influence. Taking a deep breath, she continued.
"Anyway, from there, I'm going to start traveling. I'm used to living cheap, and I've got a decent nest egg to fall back on. I'm not afraid to work, and I even thought I could pick up some extra money by drawing for tourists in the summer months. I'll stay in hostels or camp out where I can. I've got it all worked out in my head, even down to exactly what I'm taking with me."
David nodded in understanding. "How far are you going, and how long do you think you'll be gone?"
"Well, my maps are burnt up now or I'd show you some of the places I'm planning to go; but as to how far...pretty much wherever the winds and inclination take me, David. And I'll be gone until I'm ready to come back...if ever. I can tell you I'll never live with Hettie again."
The last was said so emphatically that the priest had to smile. Then his smile faded and pale blue eyes fixed on Rhi sadly. "I'll miss you."
Rhi ducked her head for a moment and then met his eyes steadily. "I'll miss you too, Ichabod. You've been a good-if very unexpected-friend."
They looked at each somberly, and then David asked, "What about Marika?"
Distracted, the young woman ran her finger around the edge of the teacup. Her friend had asked the very question that had been echoing in her mind every night. Troubled, she looked up. "I don't know. I...don't know."
She shrugged helplessly. Her dream of escape was so old and deep-rooted. Her feelings for the blonde lawyer were so new. She wasn't even sure if she understood them, or if Marika reciprocated them. She didn't know how to balance the two or solve the inherent conflict, so she'd been trying not to think about it too much, preferring to live in the present and let the future take care of itself.
They were silent for long moments, and then David sighed. "Well, I'm glad you saved something anyway. The church has an emergency fund that I have discretionary use of, and I'll help you get some things together."
He held his hand up when she began to protest and shook his head sternly. "No, not this time, Rhiannon Davies. You've nothing left, and I'm not about to let your pride stand in the way of me helping you, got that!?"
Rhi couldn't help smiling, and she subsided with a chuckle. "All right." She smirked mischievously, "But I'm paying you back some day!"
He looked at her with a little grin. "If you wish to make a contribution to the church fund at some future date, I certainly wouldn't deny you that right." Sobering, he added, "I really am sorry that you lost everything, but I'm so deeply grateful that you got out safely."
"Thanks." She patted his hand gratefully. "My stuff wasn't all that great, but I am sad to lose my pictures." Wistfully, she considered all the drawings that had covered her walls. "Strange, I lost my folks to a fire, and now I've lost all my pictures of them to another fire. Ironic, eh?"
"Can you draw your parents again?" the priest asked gently, sympathy clear in his voice.
Rhi nodded. "Yeah, I haven't forgotten how they looked. In fact, that's how I first got started drawing. We lost all the family photos in the fire, and I didn't want to forget Mom, so I started drawing her over and over. Found out I actually had a talent for it. Then when Dad died...well, it took me a while to stop being mad at him, but eventually I started drawing him too."
David looked at her steadily. "Do you want to talk about them?"
Rhi looked at him sharply, but he wasn't pressing or prying, simply offering her the option to tell him if she wanted to. Did she want to? She'd never spoken to anyone about what had happened all those years ago. Even when her teachers had referred her to various counselors, she'd clammed up and refused to open up until the counselors had given up in exasperation and defeat. But this was her friend. She'd already trusted him with her dream of flight...Could she trust him with the events of that horrible year?
She studied him, remembering how she'd thought him the homeliest man she'd ever seen when she first met him. Now she saw the kindness and
compassion in those pale eyes. She saw the lines of experience and laughter in his thin face. And she saw that he genuinely cared...about all people, but most especially about her. She wondered for an instant how his wife could've abandoned such a gentle, wonderful man, but set the thought aside. Rhi knew, as much as she'd ever known anything, that she could trust this man...this priest...this friend.
"Yeah, Ichabod. I want to talk about them."
He nodded, but didn't say anything.
She began. "I was ten years old..."
At that moment, they heard a car pulling into the driveway. Rhi grinned ruefully and said, "Hold that thought." Going to open the door, she watched as Marika hurried up the pathway. The lawyer didn't hesitate for a second. She swept Rhiannon into a hug, and the small woman absorbed the sensation hungrily, burying her face gratefully against her friend's chest as her own arms went around the slender waist and tightened convulsively.
They stood in the doorway, rocking slightly in the lengthy, mutual embrace until Marika pulled back. Rhi reached up and lightly brushed away the dampness on the lawyer's cheeks. They looked at each other and then an expression of dismay crossed the blonde's face. Holding Rhi at arm's length, she stared.
"What in heaven's name are you wearing?" Marika asked in amazement.
"The Friendly Giant's housecoat," Rhi replied wryly. "Not like I had a lot of choice."
Marika smiled. "Well, I can do something about that-not that you don't look adorable."
She turned and quickly returned to the car as Rhi unconsciously beamed. The lawyer returned with a plastic bag and handed it her companion. "Here, I think you'll find something that'll fit you a bit better in there."
Rhi smiled her thanks, and left Marika with David in the kitchen as she went to change. She found underwear, shorts, a tee shirt, and sandals that were much too long, but still wearable. Dressing, she surveyed herself in the mirror and shrugged slightly at her now more conventional appearance. Hanging the robe back up on the door, she returned to the kitchen to find her friends deep in serious conversation.
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