by Ellis, J. J.
*********
Early that evening Russell ran down stairs to grab Emily’s garment bag. She snatched it from him and locked herself in the bathroom. He’d told her to bring a dress for their special date, but he didn’t know it would be a surprise. Hopefully it wouldn’t be such a good surprise that he would make them late for their dinner.
“Russell,” he heard her call from the bathroom. The lock clicked. “Could you come zip me up?”
Reaching for the door knob, he took a deep breath and pushed it open. He groaned audibly. She was wearing a short emerald green dress that showed off every luscious curve. Her eyes sparkled in the mirror.
“God. I want you again,” he moaned, caressing her shoulders. “Right here, bent over the sink.”
Emily smiled at him in the mirror. “Maybe later. I need to eat. We missed lunch.” Her stomach growled as if to prove her point.
“Yeah, yeah,” Russell pouted as he zipped her dress. “I’ll meet you downstairs, beautiful.”
Emily finished getting ready and rushed to the living room. “I’m ready, Rusty,” she called.
He was just putting his phone away when she stepped up beside him. “Everything is all set. Let’s get going,” he said with an excited smile.
They left the house, walking along the path to her cottage. “Are we taking my car?” she asked.
“No. You’ll see.”
They kept walking, hand in hand and when they cleared a set of trees and her place came into view, she gasped and smiled. “Oh Russell, it’s beautiful.”
The trees and plants outside her cottage were covered in twinkling lights and a table had been set up under the big cottonwood near the fence.
“How on earth did you manage all of this,” she whispered.
“Look over there,” he pointed to the tall hedges at the side of the property.
“Luke’s Catering,” she said as she saw the van. “Oh thank you!” She wrapped her arms around his waist.
“You’re welcome. Now let’s go fill that growling belly of yours with gourmet food.” He held her chair out for her. Luke himself served the food then drove away. He would be back the next morning to clean up.
Russell poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Emily. “A toast,” he declared. “To us and whatever entity brought us together in the parking lot of Movie and a Pizza Place.”
Emily smiled and raised her glass. “To your mother.”
“What?” Russell asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You were there to see her, and I was there because she suggested Mom and I see the final showing of the movie that day.”
Russell ran his hand down his face and sighed. “Really?”
“Does that spoil things for you?” she asked with a chuckle.
He looked at her and smiled big. “No. Never. Now eat. I want to dance with you and the sooner the better.”
They enjoyed a meal of Chicken Cordon Bleu and rice pilaf with Emily’s favorite dessert of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. They talked about everyday things, their nervousness keeping the mood light.
“Would you care to dance?” he asked when their wine glasses were empty.
“I’d love to,” she smiled.
Russell fiddled around with his phone and music started, a nice instrumental piece. He helped her to stand then took her into his arms. They danced around the yard, not speaking; Russell, nervous and excited about what he was going to do and Emily nervous and excited about what he had planned for her.
The song ended and there was a long pause.
“Em?”
“Yeah?”
“After Vivienne left, I figured I just wasn’t cut out for relationships. I figured I would be dedicating my life to Miranda. But then you…”
He looked into her eyes. “The other day I was going through my mom’s music collection and came across a song. It was exactly what my subconscious had been trying to tell me since we met up in that parking lot. It’s coming up next. Listen to the lyrics.” He pressed a button on his phone and music started to play again. ‘The Next Time I Fall’ by Peter Cetera and Amy Grant came out of the speakers.
“Emily, it’s happened. The next time I fell in love, well, it was with you. I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “I don’t know how the hell it happened, but I love you.”
“I love you too, Russell,” she sighed. “It just happens sometimes. There doesn’t need to be a reason.”
“I…I didn’t know if you felt the same way.”
“I do, Rusty. Hell, I probably have for a long time. Our senior year, all I wanted was you, but I was afraid you’d treat me like Chuck had. It wasn’t hard to pick up those feelings again after you kissed me that first time.”
Russell pulled her close and kissed her. “Shall we continue this inside?”
“Yeah,” she grinned. “Let’s do that.”
CHAPTER 15
By the time Russell was shown into Emily’s office, the doctor was wrapping things up with Miranda. She’d been with the child for nearly three hours.
“It was nice to meet you Miss Miranda,” Dr. Jacobs said with a warm smile.
The little girl looked at the floor and mumbled something back to the woman.
“Miranda can you look right here and say that louder please,” the doctor ordered.
She looked up at her father with an expression of discomfort on her face.
“You’re dealing with me right now, Miranda,” the doctor stressed. “Not your father.”
The girl looked at the doctor and said, “It was nice to meet you too.” Her voice was quiet but easily understood.
A smile broke over the doctor’s face and she reached out for the girl’s hand. “That’s great! Thank you for doing that.”
Russell saw joy in his daughter’s eyes at the praise and put a hand on her shoulder as further encouragement.
“You can go back to class now, kiddo,” Emily said, standing up to show her out of the room. When she returned to her seat, she invited Russell to sit next to her and introduced him to Dr. Jacobs.
“So, now what?’ he asked looking from one woman to the other.
The doctor was the first to speak. “Well, an official diagnosis takes time,” she stated. “I’ll need to see her a few more times and she will need to be observed by counselors in social settings for a definitive answer. However, based on the statements of Dr. Ethan Mannon, Miss Zane and Mrs. Platski, I’m leaning toward a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome.”
Russell reached out for Emily’s hand as the doctor continued to explain the varying levels and degrees of the autism spectrum and why she thought Miranda fell into it where she did.
“I have a few questions for you Mr. Harper. So we know what ‘symptoms’ we will need to treat. Although I hate to call them that myself.”
“Of course,” Russell agreed. “I’ll tell you what I can.”
“Okay, let’s start with this. We all agree that help is needed in managing Miranda’s meltdowns.”
Russell’s head shot up. “Meltdowns…Yes. I like that term much better than tantrums.”
“As do I Mr. Harper. Now can you tell me, does Miranda have any sensory issues?”
“Sensory issues? I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with that.”
“Most parents aren’t,” she admitted. “What I mean is, well, does Miranda hate bright lights, loud sounds, certain textures, or other stimulating things like that? To the point of having a meltdown, of course.”
“Yes! Absolutely.” It was as if something clicked in his brain. So much of the last nine years was starting to make sense. “When she was younger she was terribly bothered by lights and sounds. Now it’s just loud sounds most of the time. She hates elastic against her skin, especially from her thighs down. Certain foods ‘feel funny’ in her mouth. Jesus! It all makes sense now.”
“Water!” Emily exclaimed. “Russell has she…”
“Yes. She’s always hated baths, or spilling on herself. She’s not afraid of the w
ater, she doesn’t like how it feels.”
Doctor Jacobs cleared her throat. “A lot of pieces will fall into place now, Mr. Harper. Miss Zane, has Miranda had an IQ test since she’s been here?”
“No, she hasn’t. We’ll make sure to set one up.”
“An IQ test?” Russell questioned. “Why is that important?”
“Miranda is most likely highly intelligent. We just kind of want to get an overall feeling for where she is at.”
“Highly intelligent? I always thought she was, but her grades are not so good.” He was confused as to how a C student could be considered highly intelligent in an academic setting.
“Organizational skills, Russell,” Emily said, squeezing his hand. “Sometimes kids on the high functioning end of the spectrum have poor organizational skills which keeps them from finishing or turning in assignments, or even keeping track of them long enough to get them home to do for homework.”
“Oh… her messy backpack, desk and bedroom.”
“Don’t sound so sad, Mr. Harper. These are all things we will be working on with your daughter. With the right therapy and attention, Miranda will be okay.”
Russell looked at Emily and smiled. “She’ll really be okay?”
“Yeah,” Emily smiled back. “We’ll make sure she is.”
“Things won’t always be easy for her, Mr. Harper, but she’ll be able to function just fine.”
The next hour was spent going over future appointments, treatment plans and Miranda’s general health history. When Doctor Jacobs stood to leave, Emily and Russell stood also. He wrapped his arm around his girlfriend and pulled her close, which didn’t go unnoticed by the doctor. “I assume Miranda will be getting a new counselor?” she asked.
“Yes,” Emily answered. “Lena Driscoll will take over her case immediately.”
“Very well. Tell her I’ll be in touch.” She shook hands with the couple then left the room.
Russell turned to Emily with a big smile on his face. “Thank you!”
“For what?”
Russell looked at her like she must have lost her mind. “For saving my little girl. I’d all but lost hope until you came into our lives.”
“Sweetheart, I was just doing my job,” she stressed.
“Oh no,” he said with a chuckle. “Admit it, you took an interest in her the moment you saw her melting down in that parking lot. Before you even knew she was a student here.”
Emily shrugged. “Well yeah. I was drawn to her immediately.”
“You saved my family, Emily,” he murmured, “and for that I will forever be grateful.” He took her in his arms and swung her around before planting a kiss squarely on her lips.
“Emily, Lana Driscoll is on line one,” came Mary’s voice over the intercom.
She hurried to her desk to respond. “Mary, tell her I’ll call her back in five minutes.”
“I’d better get back to work,” he said. “I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah. Ethan invited me over for dinner. And I’m inviting you over to my place for dessert.”
“I’ll be there,” he grinned. “Tomorrow, you, I, and Miranda will go out to celebrate her ‘almost’ diagnosis. Sound good?”
“Yeah. I love you, Russell.”
He felt like he was grinning like a big idiot, but he couldn’t help himself. “I love you too, Emily.”
When he turned around to leave, Mary was standing there in the open doorway with her own grin. He winked at Emily and left her to call Miranda’s new counselor. Before he reached his truck, his phone buzzed.
“Hello?”
“Hey Russell, it’s Jack.”
“Oh hey, what’s up?”
Jackson cleared his throat before continuing. “Miranda said you guys had been out by the lake house recently.”
“Yeah, we went swimming a few days ago. Why?”
“Did you notice if any windows were open?” Jack asked in his usual over-calm tone.
“Sorry man, I didn’t really pay attention. What’s with all of the questions?”
Jack sighed. “I don’t know. I just got a strange feeling when we were there. Don’t mind me, it probably just subconsciously reminded me of something from my war days. I’ll talk to you later, Russell.”
“Okay Jack. Bye.” The old man was probably right. The war was just haunting him now that he was out of the comfort zone of Alaska and his hometown.
Russell got into his SUV and headed to work. He couldn’t wait for dinner that night. His uncle and Jack were going to tell the story of how they’d met forty-five years before at the Heart of Alaska Lodge near Denali National Park. It should be a fun night. From everything he’d heard, the beginning of the friendship between the two men was an unforgettable story.
CHAPTER 16
Halfway to work, Russell decided he had better check on the lake house. Grabbing his phone, he called and let his Assistant Manager know what he was doing and that he would be late. After hanging up, he tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and it slipped off to fall beside the console.
“What could be wrong? After all, Jack thought it was most likely nothing. But it’s probably best to check it out,” Russell reasoned out loud to help convince himself that he would truly find the lake house locked up tight.
Coming to a stop in the parking area behind the cabin, Russell got out of his SUV. Noticing an earring on the ground, he bent to pick it up, and before he realized what was happening, his door closed. Damn it! His keys and phone were now locked inside. Sighing, he turned toward the path leading through the trees to the lake house and pocketed the earring. He briefly wondered where it had come from. It didn’t look like something his mother wore, but then again, he hadn’t seen his mother’s jewelry in years.
As he jogged up the path, his mind on his now inaccessible phone and keys, he never heard the soft sound when a blonde haired woman stepped out behind him and began to follow quietly.
**********
“I’m telling you Jack, this meal will be fantastic,” Ethan said as he pulled ingredients from the cupboard. “It’s my sister’s best recipe for fresh caught fish.”
“Shouldn’t she be making it then?” he replied as his fingers drummed on the table. “It is her recipe.”
“Normally, I would agree,” Ethan said as he turned around to look at his friend. Seeing the faraway look in the former Marine’s eyes, he suddenly felt cold. “What’s wrong Jack?” When he didn’t get a response, Ethan slammed a frying pan down and repeated. “What’s wrong Jack?”
Turning his attention to Ethan, he slowly stood. “When we were near the lake house something just felt out of place. I couldn’t figure out what. Probably because I had never been there before, but my gut tells me something is wrong.”
“What exactly do you mean?” Ethan asked, confused.
“I swear we were being watched. It could have been an animal but…” Jack’s voice trailed off. “Damn it, it was just too quiet.”
“Too quiet? I heard birds singing not too far off,” Ethan replied.
“Not close enough. Something, or more likely someone, was closer,” Jack said as his eyes went blank. “Stay here. I’m going for a walk.”
As Jackson walked through the front room, Ethan saw him grab his gun belt and put it on. The sound of an approaching car put his friend’s strange behavior on the back burner as Emily and Miranda pulled into the driveway. A few seconds later, the little girl burst into the kitchen and ran by, tears flowing from her eyes.
**********
At the end of the school day, Emily and Miranda ran down the day’s events. The upcoming conversation was one the counselor was not looking forward to. “Randi, I have something important to talk to you about.”
“What is it, Miss Emily?”
Concentrating on the road and trying to ignore her gut feeling, Emily breathed in and out steadily. “After talking with Principal Dave and Doctor Jacobs, we all feel it would be best for you to see another counselor.”
/> Miranda smiled. “I don’t mind having another counselor. It will be fun to have two. I just hope she’s nice.”
Emily blanched. “Randi, you won’t have two, just one.” Her voice was quiet. “I won’t be your counselor anymore.”
“What? Why not?” Miranda shouted. “Why not!”
Emily took a deep breath before continuing. This was all going south quickly. “With your dad and me getting so close, we think it best…”
“No, no, no!” Miranda screamed as she began rocking back and forth in her seat. “You can’t stop. You can’t!”
“Sweetie, I’ll still be around, I just won’t be your counselor,” Emily tried to explain as they pulled up to the house. “Please listen to me.”
“No, I won’t. I hate you!” Miranda yelled as she jumped out of the car. “I wish Daddy had never met you.”
Emily slumped in her seat and began to cry as Miranda burst through the back door into the house. She put her head against the steering wheel and laid her hands on the dashboard. Emily was sure that the little girl was just upset and didn’t mean what she’d said…wasn’t she?
**********
When Russell reached the lake house, he went right to the back door. When he tried the handle it turned and started to open. That was strange, he’d figured he would have to break in since he didn’t have a key. Stepping back in shock he turned to look around and found himself staring at his ex-wife and the pistol she was holding.
“Did you miss me, Russell?” she asked with a cruel smile. “Or has your little slut put me totally out of your mind?”
“Vivienne, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Go inside and we’ll talk. We don’t want to air our dirty laundry out here,” she said, motioning with the pistol. “Now be a good boy and do what I say.”
Russell turned and walked slowly into the house. He briefly considered slamming the door on her until he realized she hadn’t come onto the porch. As he looked around he saw his dad’s old solid oak arm chair sitting in the middle of the room. Hanging from each arm was a pair of handcuffs. He slowly walked into the room.