An Old-Fashioned Education

by Fiona Wilde

  She nodded. It had been several weeks earlier when Walt had been cleaning his on the porch. He’d showed her how to put it back together, explaining all the pieces, and told her how to load, unload and sight before shooting. It had been a short lesson, just to satisfy her curiosity more than anything; Polly had never fired a gun or even thought about it.

  “The ammo’s in the safe,” he said. “The combination is 20-4-20. I can’t see you needing to use it, but if you do, then I want you to. Don’t aim towards any people. If it’s an animal, the sound of the blast should scare it off.” When he saw her worried expression, he gave her a reassuring smile. “Mind the kick. And come spring, I’ll teach you how to shoot properly.”

  Polly nodded, resisting the urge to protest. He had enough on his mind. He winked at her, smiled at the kids and then was finally out the door.

  Outside the men were waiting with a pacing Paul, who turned and stalked after the bear tracks just as Walt walked off his front porch. The other men followed slowly, waiting for Walt to catch up, until Paul barked at them to hurry. They sped forward, hearkening to Paul’s harsh tone. Walt did not. He continued at his own pace, not seeming to mind that the other men were moving ahead. Polly smiled as she watched, proud of him for not letting Paul bully him into rushing. From her perspective, the men reminded her of a wolf pack: Paul, the insecure leader; the other men, the uncertain followers; Walt, the natural alpha biding his time.

  “Okay. Who’s up for a game of Jenga?” Polly turned to the kids, deciding the best way to keep them all from worrying was to occupy their minds. The next few hours were spent reading and playing games, but Polly’s mind was never far away from Walt. It made her uneasy that he was out with Paul, who was so openly hostile, and they were here with no way to contact him.

  “You want to pick the book this time?” Polly had just finished reading Blueberries for Sal for the fourth time and handed it to Aidan, who walked to the shelf. But, as he was passing the window, he stopped.

  “Ms. Perkins?” His voice was small and scared, and she stood and walked over, following the child’s gaze. A large brown shape was stalking the edge of the woods, behind a red-roofed cabin. The Criners. And on the back porch, pushing a car along the railing and oblivious to any danger, was Peter, the attention deficit child who’d almost taken the blame for the radio she’d busted.

  Polly’s face froze in fear. Willow Criner was likely unaware that her hyperactive son had slipped out of the house to play on the porch. The bear, obviously skinny, slinked from the tree line, its hide hanging from its bony frame like an oversized coat. How long before it caught the scent of the vulnerable child?

  Polly had to think fast. She grasped Aidan by the shoulders and turned him to her.

  “Peter,” he said.

  “I know,” she replied. “I’m going to go scare the bear off

  “But Dad said...”

  “I don’t care what your Dad said,” she replied. “But listen. You must stay here with Kerry. Understand?” She gave him a little shake and, wide-eyed, Aidan nodded.

  From the nearby table, Kerry began to whimper. Aidan rushed over to comfort her. “It’ll be okay.”

  Polly got the gun, undid the safe to fetch the ammo and then, donning her coat, dropped the shells into the pocket. She was quiet opening the door. The wind was still blowing away from the cabins, which was good. Her hands shook slightly as she loaded the shells into the gun.

  When she was sure she had one in the chamber, she started down the steps. Polly noted the direction of the wind as she walked. As she made her way towards the Criner’s cabin, she heard a noise to the left. A door had opened and she looked over to see Paul’s wife, Noni, glaring at her. Noni had been her first friend upon arriving at Pepper’s Hollow, but the look she was giving Polly now was anything but friendly.

  “What are you doing out with a gun?” She demanded. “You don’t even know how to shoot and let me guess, Walt put you in charge?”

  Polly ignored her. The woman was obviously infected with her husband’s spite, but that was a small matter compared to the situation. The wind had shifted, and the bear was turning towards the Criner’s cabin now. It had spied Peter. Without acknowledging Noni’s words, Polly crouched down and leveled the sight at the bear.

  Behind the shoulder. That was where Walt had once told her he aimed. Hitting the vulnerable lungs and heart was the surest way to bring an animal down.

  She held her breath and pulled the trigger. The report of the gun was ear-splitting. The animal roared and Noni, finally realizing what was going on, screamed as the animal roared again, dropped down and charged towards the child.

  Polly felt like she was suddenly on autopilot. Her instincts to protect Peter kicked in and she quickly chambered another bullet, raised the gun and fired again. This time the bear fell, much to her surprise. She could not believe that she’d hit him. The animal had been running and the shot had been against all odds.

  Now everyone was pouring out of their cabins and Willow came screaming onto her own back porch, hauling Peter up into her arms as she eyed the carcass of the grizzly in disbelief.

  Polly walked over and Willow, glancing from her to the bear and back again, began to sob thank yous and apologies for not realizing her son was on the porch.

  She wasn’t the only one apologizing. Noni was now beside her in tears. “Oh, Polly. I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything.” With Peter out of danger, Polly suddenly realized her relief had been replaced by anger. “It would be nice, though, if you’d think for yourself instead of letting your husband decide who you should and shouldn’t like.”

  “That’s not fair,” Noni said. “Paul has every right to be upset. Walt–.”

  “Walt what?” She asked, realizing she now had an audience of the Pepper Hollow women. “He made a mistake. He did something stupid. He actually thought of himself for a change, and for his family, instead of everyone here. Is that really so wrong? From what I see, he looks after everyone, but no one looks after him. Just when someone wants to, he feels like he has something to be ashamed of.”

  She sighed and looked at the other women. “I’m sorry for all the problems I’ve caused. But let me tell you that I do care about the community here. I care about all of you and all your kids. It was hard when I first came, seeing the way you women live, how you obey. But as time has gone on, I’ve come to realize it’s not a bad way to live.” She smiled a little. “It’s even quite attractive.”

  Some of the other women nodded.

  “But leaders aren’t perfect. Walt’s not. And he admits it, and that’s what makes me want to listen to him. And your husbands aren’t either, and it’s okay to make up your own mind; whether it’s about me or Walt or this community.”

  She turned. “I’ve got to go let Aidan and Kerry know I’m okay.”

  “I think they already do,” Noni said, nodding towards Walt’s cabin, where Kerry and Aidan were giving her the thumbs up.

  Polly waved and turned back to the women. “What should we do about the bear?” She asked.

  “Bear meat,” said Greta. “Only seems fitting since the bears took half of ours.” She smiled warmly at Polly. “Thank you. That was very brave, what you did.”

  Polly felt her heart give a little twist. She had figured that Greta, more than anyone, would have resented her. After all, Polly had broken the radio the day Greta was going through a problematic labor that could have cost both her and her unborn child their lives.

  “I was glad to do it,” Polly said. She looked down at the bear. “I don’t know how much meat is on him, though. He’s awfully skinny.”

  “Yeah,” said Penny, another one of the wives. She was as burly as her husband, Rufus, was slight. The two lived on the very edge of the settlement, and while hard workers, said little. “He’d not have lasted much longer. A hungry bear is a dangerous animal, though. He’d surely take a child. We probably need to haul the carcass to the storeho
use and skin it if we’re going to salt and dry the meat.”

  Polly had never before been involved in the butchering of an animal. Despite its emaciation, it still took ten women working together to pull the carcass through the snow. She was amazed at the skill the women displayed in skinning the huge beast. The shadows were growing long by the time all the meat had been cut away and hung to dry in the smokehouse. During that time, Polly had gone into the house to cook lunch for the children, recounting at least a dozen times how she’d dropped the bear with the second shot.

  It was nearly dark when she, again, detected movement from the woods. This time it was the men. They were returning home. On the sled behind them was the hulking carcass of another bear.

  The women exited the cabins as the men approached. Walt was talking to a group of men and was smiling. Paul hung back, sullen and quiet.

  “What happened?” Willow asked, leading Peter by the hand towards her husband.

  “Walt got him,” Benjamin Criner said. “Paul there, drew a bead and missed. The bear came charging towards us and Walt dropped him with the second shot.

  The women began to laugh. “It looks like he has something in common with Polly.”

  Walt looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  Noni smiled and nudged Polly. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”

  “Let me!” Peter cried, and launched into the story of how a bear was going to get him but his teacher shot it.

  “I know you told me not to leave the house,” Polly said. “But I thought given the situation...”

  “Yeah,” Aidan said proudly. “She said she didn’t care what you said.”

  “Oh she did, did she?” Walt asked, mock stern. But it was apparent that he was not angry with her, but very proud.

  The men were clapping him on the back, and then were clapping Polly on hers. She smiled at Walt. She’d not felt this good since coming to Pepper’s Hollow.

  “Wait, Wait!” Paul pushed through the crowd, coming to stand between the community and the couple. “So they killed a couple of bears. So what? Have you forgotten that Walt here, all but abandoned us for this...this...” He turned to glare at Polly, his face furious. “whore?”

  Polly heard a crack and then saw Paul fall at her feet. The snow under him was covered in blood from his broken nose. He looked up at Walt, stunned. Walt was backing up, taking off his jacket.

  “You want to apologize?” He asked quietly. “Or do you want to settle this here?”

  Paul stumbled to his feet, but Noni rushed forward. “No.”

  He, almost violently, threw her off; but his wife yelled. “Paul!”

  Paul turned, staring at his wife as she pulled out a handkerchief and helped him press it to his nose. “Stop it,” she said. “Just stop it. You had no right to say that to Polly. And you have no right to hate Walt. None of us are perfect. We all need to learn. Isn’t that what you’ve told me after I’ve been punished? That we make mistakes and need to forgive others and ourselves?”

  Paul was breathing heavily. His face was a mask of anger and hurt. “I’m sorry,” he said through the handkerchief. His gaze fell on Polly. “I’m sorry.”

  Polly nodded. Everyone was silent. It was apparent that Paul’s capitulation meant that Walt Springer’s authority had been restored.

  Three Months Later …

  “Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?” Polly wrapped the last piece of pottery and laid it in the box before standing up with a sigh. The cabin looked so empty. In spite of everything, it made her feel sad to leave. Pepper’s Hollow, she believed, would be beautiful in the full flush of spring.

  “I’m sure,” Walt said, walking over to her and taking her in his arms. He arched an eyebrow. “And I should spank you for questioning me. The kids are over at Greta’s; it’s not like they’re going to hear us.”

  “A good girl spanking, right?”

  He laughed. “That’s all you seem to be getting these days.” He sat down in the nearby chair and pulled her across his lap, raising her skirt and rubbing her bottom with his broad hand.

  “You know, once we establish the new community, the rules are going to be the same. Husbands in charge, and I expect you to continue to be the model of obedience, young lady.”

  “And if I’m not?” She asked teasingly. He brought his hand down hard on her bottom and rubbed. She yelped and then moaned. Walt smacked her again and again, building the fire slowly in her plump bottom cheeks, until she was issuing steady little cries of pleasure-pain.

  It felt good to give into him, to trust him this much. And she knew she could, indeed, give him her obedience, because he’d earned it. After the incident with the bears, the community had voted Walt back in charge. But it was clear that the tension, between his second-in-command and himself, would always hang over the community, like a cloud. When Walt announced that he was leaving to start another community, there was debate and tears and then ultimately, acceptance. The community was large and it was time for new leadership. Paul expected it would go to him, but instead, Benjamin Criner was voted the new head of Pepper’s Hollow. At first thaw, Paul and Noni had packed up and left. It was hard for Walt, losing the friendship of the man who’d co-founded Pepper’s Hollow. But that was life.

  Benjamin had his own ideas, and Walt realized his departure would clear the slate for new policies. The group was still old-fashioned and eschewed technology despite Walt’s urging them to reconsider. Walt decided that the new community he started, would be a mixture of the old, patriarchal ways, and new, technology that would prepare any children in the group for life outside the community, once they grew up and moved away.

  As Walt lifted Polly to her feet, she rubbed her throbbing bottom and smiled.

  “The Canadian border,” she said. “Fifteen acres of land, wildflowers, moose, and lots of fresh air.”

  “And, God willing, people like us,” he added.

  “Did you place the ad?”

  “Yep. This morning from your laptop. Already have two dozen applicants.”

  “I’m so proud of you!” She said, smiling. The week before, they had found several online publications and forums for intentional communities.

  Polly was glad she’d gotten off his lap moments later, when the kids burst through the door.

  “I hear the airplane!” Aidan said, excited.

  “Me too!” said Kerry. She jumped around, the old stuffed dog Polly had given her, flopping at her side.

  “Let’s go then,” Walt said, picking up the remaining boxes.

  Polly was the last to leave the cabin. Taking one final look at the room where her life had changed, she smiled, cut the light and turned her face towards the warm spring sun and her future with Walt and the children.

  THE END

  Fiona Wilde

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