by Nan Sampson
Per’s cabin was at least twice the size of hers, also made of logs, and a bit more updated. She had no idea what he’d done before he retired, but he’d clearly been able to save or invest enough to live comfortably.
She stepped up onto the wide front porch and let herself in. A delicious aroma enveloped her as she stepped inside. A neat row of pine pegs hung on the rough-hewn wall and she hung up her coat and scarf and dropped her mittens on the black-painted wooden bench with the family of bears carved across the top that Per had made himself.
“Ellie, my dear.” Per tossed aside a couple of oven mitts and came over to give her a bear hug. “I was so worried. I had a feeling you were going to run into trouble. You and your witchy ways must be rubbing off on me.”
“Well, I’m just glad it wasn’t more serious.” She sat down at the oak plank table, and let the warmth of the place, both physical and emotional, wash over her. Even though she loved her little cabin, Per’s place was the closest thing she’d ever felt to being ‘home’ since moving out of her parents’ house.
The old Norwegian clattered and banged around in the kitchen for a moment longer, then came out carrying a three-quart casserole dish from which heavenly scents were bubbling.
“It’s an old recipe.”
“Something from Norway?”
He chuckled. “No. It’s something from a copy of Good Housekeeping. No doubt designed to encourage housewives to stay home and feed their families instead of going out and emancipating themselves.”
“Spoken like a true hippie.”
“Hah! Well, perhaps just an emancipated man from a certain generation.” He sat down in the chair to the left of her and dug a serving spoon into the casserole, which was cheesy and bubbly on top, with a crunchy orange crust.
“So what’s it called, this dish?”
He flashed her a very Charlie-like grin. “It’s called… macaroni and cheese. Norwegian style-of course.”
Whisking her plate away from her, he scooped some up and plopped it on her plate. It smelled heavenly, and she could tell he’d done more than her mother had ever done, which would have been to open up a box and mix it up with a little milk and margarine.
“You actually boiled that macaroni yourself, didn’t you?”
“Yup. Melted the cheese too – a little Havarti, a little cheddar, and my secret ingredient.”
“So what’s the secret ingredient?”
“Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?” He took a bite, then watched her as she did the same.
It was delicious. “Wow. This is awesome.”
“Excellent. Now, between bites, tell me about last night.”
She paused. “Do you want to hear about the train wreck before, or the car wreck after?”
“Start with the train wreck before.”
“Oy.” She shook her head at the memory. “It was probably the most uncomfortable half hour, forty-five minutes of my life. We got there about five and the four of them were in the bar, apparently celebrating Link’s getting some environmental award. They’d clearly been there awhile, and it felt more like a funeral in a dysfunctional family than a celebration. Josh was completely tanked.”
“So what are his friends like?”
“Well, the darling of the crowd, Link Fairweather, is a pit viper.”
Per nodded before dropping a bombshell. “Well, that’s no surprise. He always was.”
Chapter Six
“What? You know him?” Ellie stared at her friend, a forkful of macaroni and cheese halfway to her mouth.
“Know of him. His mother is the daughter of the man who used to be the pastor at Holy Word Lutheran Church – Pastor John Mueller. His other daughter, Alphie Mueller still lives around here, over in Rockton.”
“Link Fairweather is related to the little dormouse, Alphie Mueller?”
“He’s her nephew. Alphie’s sister, Leonetta, moved away when she was about eighteen. Went to live with some shirt-tail relative in Minnesota. But after she got married, she would come back for visits, especially in the summer, and she’d bring the little boy, Lincoln, with her, and stay at her father’s house. The Mueller home was still in the family back then, although it’s been abandoned now. Heritage Acres was built on the old Mueller land. So Link spent a number of summers around these parts.”
“So Josh knew him growing up?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t say they were bosom buddies, but they spent their share of afternoons together.”
“What was he like then?”
“No, you first. Tell me what happened last night.”
“Oh, you brat! Fine.” She put her fork down, took a sip of her water. “So, Josh introduces us to ‘the team’. There’s Link, and then two others. Sierra Thorsen appears to be both their publicity manager and their attorney. Jeez, you’d think they were a rock band. She’s a mousey little thing, thin, dish water blond hair. She appears to at least care about Josh, but I couldn’t get a bead on how she feels about the other two.”
Per steepled his fingers together as he leaned back in his chair, doing his best imitation of Papa Freud. “The tabloids have it that she and Josh are romantically involved.”
Ellie grinned. “You have such a nice way of saying things. Well, that explains some things. She’s certainly got the hots for him. Spent the whole night with her hands on him – and he let her, but I didn’t get the feeling he enjoyed it.” She shook her head.
“Are you sure it wasn’t sisterly affection?”
“If it was, it was sisterly affection bordering on incest.”
“Interesting. Okay, what about the fourth member of the team?
Ellie cast her mind back, and found it was hard to remember him at all. “Matt… something. Innocuous fellow. Dark hair, I think. No, wait, it was red. The only thing I really remember about him was that he glared daggers at Josh whenever Link and Josh got near one another. As the saying goes, if looks could kill, Josh would be a corpse.”
“Now see, that makes much more sense to me. When I heard that Josh and Link were working together, I suppose I assumed that they were, well, together in more ways than one.”
Ellie considered for a moment whether to share what Josh had told her when he’d first started his relationship with Link. But no, even if Per suspected, it wasn’t her place to confirm. While it was no secret in certain circles in Horizon that Josh was gay, his romantic entanglements didn’t need to be made public. She shrugged by way of answer.
Per nodded. “I see.”
Which made Ellie scowl. Did all the men in her life have the ability to read her thoughts? Or was she just that bad a poker player? “Anyway, when we got there, Josh was throwing verbal daggers at Link, basically calling him a phony and a liar. Sierra was busy trying to play peacemaker, and Matt hardly said a word. The tension was so thick you’d have needed a chain saw to cut it.”
“And Link?”
“Oh Link was putting on a grand performance. I cannot believe people are actually fooled by him. He’s so full of himself, it’s a wonder he doesn’t create his own gravity well.”
“Considering the number of people rotating around him, he apparently does. I get the feeling, however, that at least those in his inner circle aren’t there because they want to be. I have a friend on the Board of The Whole Earth Society and she has intimated more than once that Link needs a considerable amount of babysitting.”
“You amaze me. You have friends everywhere. Something you and Charlie have in common.”
“Ah, Charlie. So, continue your story.”
“Not much more to tell. We sat with them for a few minutes and then when Arabella pointed out the snow, we beat feet out of there as fast as we could. We were hoping to take Josh with us before he and Link got into a fist fight, but Arabella took control of Josh and made arrangements to bundle him off to bed in one of the empty guestrooms. We made our goodbyes, then got in Charlie’s little beater and started down the hill.” She groaned, remembering. “It wasn’
t bad at first, and he’s actually not a bad driver in the snow, considering he doesn’t have four-wheel drive. We got to the bottom of the hill just fine, then headed west on Martin. We were probably a mile or so along when all of a sudden this enormous deer comes flying – literally flying – across the road. I remember thinking it had to be one of Santa’s reindeers, I’ve never seen a deer leap that high.”
Per said nothing, but he reached out and laid a large, weathered, sun-brown hand on her arm.
She closed her eyes. “Charlie tried to swerve out of the way, although frankly, the deer leaped so high, I think we’d have probably just driven right under him. The car skidded, spun and then we went headlong into the ditch at the side of the road.”
She sat for a moment, remembering Charlie, head lolling forward, so very still…
“You know the rest. I called you and then Seth came out to get us.” She gave Per a glare. “You knew about the horses, didn’t you? When you called back?”
He chuckled, gave her arm a squeeze before leaning back. “Yes. I knew. You really should learn to ride, you know.”
“The Gods invented cars specifically so we wouldn’t have to ride horses.”
“Indeed? Had we additional time, I’d opt to debate you on that topic. But I know you’ll be wanting to get back to the shop at some point and I want to hear more about your evening.”
She shrugged. “Nothing more to tell.”
He stood up, gathering up the lunch dishes and stashed them in the kitchen before returning with mugs of hot, strong coffee. She didn’t like the look in his ice-blue eyes. “I think there’s at least a little more. Feel free to edit it for more sensitive viewers.”
“I have no earthly clue what you’re talking about.” She’d be damned if she’d give him chapter and verse on her nocturnal activities.
“So you and Charlie played Parcheesi all night?”
“No. We did what normal people do at night.” As he grinned at her, she snapped back, “Sleep.”
He laughed, a deep hearty sound. “Ah, Ellie. You are a joy. You make an old man laugh.”
“I don’t see what’s so funny.”
“My dear, all I want to know is that you and Charlie have progressed. I would not dream of prying like a little old lady into your, shall we say, sexual proclivities. Just assure my weak old heart that you did indeed share a bed.”
She blushed to the roots of her hair. “We did - and there was a blanket strung between us.”
Now he laughed so hard, he had to wipe his eyes. “Excellent.”
When he’d calmed down, he cleared his throat. “Does this mean he’ll be moving off the couch?”
She hadn’t really considered that. Nor did she think she was ready to now. “Per, I have no idea. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next. I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to act.” She stared down into her coffee. “This morning, everything seems weird. He’s all touchy feely and I’m trying really hard to forget that last night happened.”
He cocked his head and gazed at her. “And how is that working out for you?”
She shrugged. “Not so great.”
“Ellie, my dear.” He leaned towards her and took her hand. “Have you never been in love before?”
There was no easy answer to that question either. She didn’t like questions she didn’t know the answers to. Probably one reason she preferred to live alone. “Per, I’m not sure I’m in love now.”
“You know, love isn’t like on TV. Love isn’t necessarily fireworks and roller coaster rides. Love can be quiet, comfortable. A solid sort of feeling. That’s how it was for me anyway.”
She’d never known anything about his life before his coming to Horizon and she was sad to admit she’d never imagined him with a woman. Or a man either. “You were married?”
He shook his head, and there was sadness in his eyes. “No. Never so lucky. But I’ve certainly been in love.”
His voice was gruff with emotion, but he held Ellie’s eyes. “We never had what I would have called a grand passion. But we fit perfectly together. She was so different from me and yet we were like two halves of a balanced equation.” He gave a soft chuckle. “Anna would have loved that analogy – she was a math student at University.” He sighed. “Ah well. That was a very long time ago. My point is that love can take many forms, and very few of them resemble a movie from the Hallmark Channel.”
She gave his hand a squeeze now. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
“Oh, but they’re not bad. They are wonderful memories. Someday, when the pain lessens a bit, this is the way you will feel about your parents. But you know that in order to heal, you have to feel, Ellie. That goes for Charlie too. If you want this to work, you’re going to have to let yourself feel. Not think, but really feel.”
She felt more lost at that moment than she ever had. “I don’t know how to do that, Per. I don’t remember how to feel anymore.”
He nodded. “Just let go. It will happen.” He leaned back then and emptied his coffee mug in a single gulp.
“Now. Let me tell you about Link Fairweather. He’s trouble, Ellie, no doubt about it. He was the kind of boy that liked to torment other children. Although never in the presence of an adult. Most adults thought he was charming and well-behaved.”
“Yeah, I got that first hand.” She told him about the argument she’d overheard in the middle of the night.
Per sat and listened quietly until she was finished. “It is amazing how willing we are to let other people control our destinies. How we let lies and other’s beliefs be used as weapons against us. It would be so much simpler if we could be who we are, take credit or accountability for the things we’ve done, for good or ill and deal with one another on that basis.”
There was a depth and wisdom in his words Ellie could tell came from personal experience, although what that might have been she had no clue. When it came right down to it, she knew very little about Per, other than what he offered at face value.
“So what do we do?”
“Do? What do you mean?”
“Well, we can’t let Josh be forced into this sham of a marriage.”
“Isn’t that Josh’s problem?”
“Yes, but—“
Per held up a hand. “Ellie, stop. I can see where you’re heading and it’s some place you don’t belong. Unless, has Josh asked you to help him?”
“Well, no. He doesn’t even know I know.”
“Then until and unless he does, you’d be well-advised to stay out of it.”
She was surprised by his response. She thought for sure he’d be right in there with her, fighting for Josh’s future. It took her aback. “But Per, this is Josh’s future. Or Patti and Earl’s. What would they do if they lost the dairy?”
His smile was sad. “They’d manage. They always have. But I seriously doubt it will come to that. Bullies tend to be full of hot air, with very little follow-through.”
“I don’t think Link is a bully, I think he’s just plain evil, and I think he’d take great delight in destroying the Moughs. I can’t believe you’re just going to sit there and let it happen. I thought you cared about this community.”
“Ellie, I do care. If something bad happens, I’ll be right there to help out. There is a point, however, at which you have to let people make their own decisions, chart their own course. Everyone must be responsible for their own actions. Is that not a tenet of your own faith?”
“Yes, but—“
“No buts. Josh must choose his own path. If he allows himself to be railroaded then perhaps a part of him actually wants that to happen.”
“You can’t mean that.” She was incensed, and hurt. She couldn’t understand why Per was being so intractable.
Per stood up. “Let’s not argue. Please.”
She stood as well, feeling as though she were being dismissed. “Thanks for lunch. It was delicious.”
He smiled. “Thank you.”
Followin
g her to the door, he helped her on with her coat, then turned her to face him, with a sad look on his face. “Ellie, please. Tread carefully. People must be allowed to make their own choices, for good or for ill. It is only by making choices that we learn what is most important to us.”
“You sound as if you’ve made some bad ones.” It came out more churlish than she’d wanted, but she couldn’t quite tamp down her anger.
The sorrow on his normally cheerful features made her stomach churn. “Yes. You are correct. I have made some terrible choices, Ellie. They cost me everything that was dear to me, and then some. I have had to live with the consequences of those choices every day for the last fifty years. So as your friend, as someone who cares about you, I ask you to think carefully about tinkering with other people’s free will.”
He pulled her into a bear hug then. “Now go and stay warm. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, she was bundled out the door. The cold air was a shock, but not nearly as much as the conversation she’d just had. Clearly she had some thinking to do.
There was so little foot traffic that it made no sense to keep the shop open much past four. As darkness settled in along Main Street, she packed it up and drove home. Erik bounded down the porch steps as she came up the walk, his fur dusted with snow, leaves tangled in his thick tawny fur.
“You’ve been rolling in something again, haven’t you?” She took a moment to examine him, making sure he wasn’t bringing something nasty smelling into the house, then opened the door and walked in.
It was like stepping into paradise. She loved coming home, but tonight was even better. A blazing fire crackled in the fire place, and a delicious aroma wafted to her from the alcove she called a kitchen. The little table had been set, and a kerosene lamp burned in the center, a replacement, no doubt, for candlesticks she didn’t own.