by Julia London
“Olivia!” Marnie exclaimed. “You promised I could go first.”
That seemed to startle Olivia; she blinked up at her and looked around the room. “Well…you were taking so long.”
“That’s because it is very hard to get soaking wet clothes off when you are so cold you can’t feel your fingers,” Marnie cried. “But still, you promised.”
“Sor-ree,” Olivia said as she rubbed lotion on her feet. “It’s not that big of a deal, is it?”
Yes. Yes, it was a very big deal, and Marnie was really pissed. With a snort of disdain for Olivia, she walked through the cabin, on the way to the bathroom.
“Ah…hello?” Vince said, but Marnie was in no mood to ask permission for water that was supposed to have been hers to begin with, and quickly reached the bathroom door and flung it open before the shrimp thought to call her back.
She didn’t know who shrieked louder, her or Rhys. “Excuse me, the bathroom is currently occupied!” he screeched, trying to cover himself with a towel.
Marnie threw a hand up over her eyes. “What are you doing?” she screeched back. “That is my water!”
“Oh dear. Marnie, love, I’ve left you a big hunk of bread and some imported Camembert cheese on the dining table. It’s from France. Why don’t you have a bit and we’ll talk when I am through here?”
“Cheese? You think to appease me with cheese?” Marnie exclaimed, her eyes still covered. “You cheated, Rhys. I got you this gig and you cheated me.”
“Would you kindly close the door?” Rhys snapped. “It’s rather cold.”
Marnie slammed the door shut, whirled around, and marched into the main room of the cabin to Olivia, glaring furiously at her, arms akimbo. “What the hell, Olivia? You promised me.”
“Marnie, Marnie,” Olivia said, casually drying her ears. “I know I did, but you were in the water, and it just seemed that you had already had your bath.”
“I did not have my bath. There was no soap. And it stunk. And there was a giant arch bumping against me! Jesus, Olivia, how could you be so mean?”
“She wrote the book for mean, kid. Have some bread and cheese and get over it,” Vince suggested.
“Just shut up, Vince!” Olivia cried.
“I wanted to wash my hair!” Marnie exclaimed. “I went into that freezing lake on the promise that I could wash my hair, Olivia. You made me think we had an alliance, but you really had one with Rhys and you used me to get the water.”
Olivia sighed and shrugged. “Survival of the fittest, Marnie. Survival of the fittest.”
“Aaaiieee!” Marnie shrieked, and bolted for the door. “That’s it!”
“Oh, honestly, Marnie. Stop making such a big deal about everything. You did get cleaner in the lake,” Olivia said as she stuck the tip of the towel in her ear and dried it.
“Take the cheese,” Vince coaxed her.
“I’ll tell you what I’ll take,” Marnie said, and tried to think of something profane to take, but couldn’t because she was so insanely mad, and with another shriek, she stormed out of the cabin and off the porch, stomping toward the fire with every intent of picking up a burning log and setting fire to the towel on Olivia’s head.
“What’s the matter?” Eli asked as she bounced to a halt at the edge of the fire ring, her chest heaving with her pant of fury. “Marnie?” he asked, leaning forward a little to look at her.
What was the matter? What was the matter? Everything was the matter! Every little stupid thing was hugely the matter. A tear of frustration slipped from Marnie’s eye. And then another.
“Oh shit, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice full of alarm now.
“They double-crossed me!” she wailed. “They tricked me into going into the lake, and then they used the rainwater. And they tried to give me cheese to make up for it,” she said as the tears suddenly poured from her eyes. “Oh God,” she said, and pressed her hands to her face. “Oh God, I can’t believe I’m crying. But I just wanted to wash my haaaair.”
“Ah hell,” Eli said softly. “Marnie, don’t cry.”
“I don’t want to cry. But I can’t help it.” And the tears of frustration began to flow.
Eli was suddenly at her side. He enfolded her in his arms, pressing her face to his shoulder. “Don’t cry, Marnie, don’t let them get to you. We’ll be out of here in a day or two, and you can have all the baths you want.”
“No,” she wailed. “I wanted it now!”
Eli patted her on the back, held her tightly to him, and let her sob her frustration a few moments longer. But then Marnie got mad and pushed away from him, dragged the back of her hand across her nose. “You were right,” she said hotly. “The woman cannot be trusted.”
Eli nodded knowingly.
“That’s my problem, you know it? I always trust people. Why do I trust anyone?” she demanded.
“I don’t know about writing off the whole human race, but Olivia Dagwood should definitely be on your list,” he agreed, and pushed a twisted strand of hair out of her eyes and behind her ear.
“Oh, she’s at the very top of my list. Slot A-1.” More tears slipped from her eyes.
“No, no,” Eli murmured, and slipped two fingers under her chin and lifted her face up to his, made her look at him. “You know what? You deserve something special tonight.”
“Like what?” she asked with tearful self-reproach. “Two peanut butter sandwiches?”
“Better than that. Look up there.”
Marnie looked to where he was pointing and gasped. In a spruce, about halfway up, was an ivory object. Marnie squinted. “Is that…is that what I think it is?” she asked, fearful of the answer.
Eli nodded.
“How in God’s name did Olivia’s wedding dress get up there?”
Eli sighed. “Vince.”
Marnie’s heart leapt to her throat. “We have to get it down. That’s an original. A twenty-thousand-dollar original,” she cried, pushing Eli toward the tree.
“Not so fast,” he said, and with a wink, he started for the cabin.
“Hey!” Marnie cried, twisting around. “Where are you going?”
Eli paused, glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Just hold tight, coppertop,” he said, and walked on.
Eli remained calm, but he was quietly seething for Marnie. It was one thing for Olivia to pull those little tricks on her own retinue, but to do it to Marnie, well…for a man who worked with superegos and unreasonable people for a living, he had finally reached his breaking point. Marnie didn’t deserve this—the woman had a good heart, was as earnest as she could possibly be in doing a good job by these losers. If anything, she deserved a night at the Ritz to make up for the shabby way they had treated her.
If there was one thing Eli could not abide, it was meanness. Not in anyone.
He walked into the cabin, into the middle of the room, and sat on one of the leather chairs. Olivia smiled at him. Vince didn’t look up. And Rhys, the fat, double-crossing bastard, was spreading cheese on a slice of bread.
“What’s going on, Mr. Stuntman?” Olivia asked sunnily.
“We’re gonna have another contest,” Eli said.
Olivia instantly shook her damp head. “I don’t want to do any more contests.”
“I just bet you don’t. But now that you’ve managed to have everything your way, we’re gonna have one more.”
Olivia’s eyes widened at his tone. “Excuse me? I really don’t know what that is supposed to mean, but let’s not forget who employs who here, all right?”
“Let’s not forget there’s only one of us who can get us off this mountain,” he coldly reminded her. That pushed her back—Olivia’s eyes rounded, and her lashes fluttered a little, but she slowly leaned back, regarding him closely.
“So…what do you have in mind, mountain man?” a clearly amused Vince asked, stretching his arms high above his head.
“Let’s agree on the stakes first—the winner gets this cabin for a night.”
“No
way,” Olivia snorted. “I’m not sleeping in a tent.”
“We don’t know how long we’re going to be here. It seems only fair to rotate the only true sleeping quarters we have. Think of Marnie—she doesn’t even have a bed.”
“Doesn’t she?” Olivia sniffed.
“So what is the contest?” Rhys asked.
“Come on out and I’ll show you,” he said, and walked outside. Vince and Rhys were right behind him. Olivia reluctantly followed a moment later. He pointed to her gown hanging from the spruce. “The person who can get that down wins the right to sleep in the cabin tonight.”
Olivia shrieked and whirled around, striking Vince in the chest.
“What?” he demanded, palms up. “You ruined my boots and you said it was off. I didn’t think you’d need it.”
“You sorry bastard!” she cried.
“Ridiculous contest,” Rhys said, ignoring Olivia’s tantrum. “One must merely climb a tree.”
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” Eli said.
“Vince can climb it,” Olivia snorted. “He put it up there.”
“No, I threw it.”
“Omigod, Vince! That dress is worth thousands,” Marnie cried. “It was made especially for Olivia. It’s hand-beaded. It’s an original.”
“Who cares?” Olivia cried. “I’m sure as hell not wearing it, and I’m not climbing the fucking tree for it, either.”
“Then I will,” Vince said cheerfully. “I want the cabin tonight.”
“That’s great, Vince, but you’re not getting it,” Olivia said angrily.
“I do if I climb that tree. And then you can find another place to sleep.”
“Don’t be so stupid, Vittorio,” she retorted with a roll of her eyes.
“Personally, I do not mind the tent,” Rhys said, and stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth. “It’s rather refreshing,” he added through a mouthful.
“Great. We’ll count you out,” Eli said, rising.
“Well, I’m certainly not going to do it,” Olivia reminded them.
“Then I’ll make sure my tent is tidied up for you,” Eli added.
“Fuck that,” she said, glaring at him. “I’m not sleeping in a goddamn tent.”
“So what, it’s you and me, Eli?” Vince asked with a grin. “You’re on, pal. Let’s go.”
“And me,” Marnie cried.
“Me first,” Vince said, and started for the tree, but Olivia suddenly darted in front of him.
“Vince, baby, I didn’t mean it was over,” she said, smiling prettily. “I was just upset about everything. This has been a disaster. But I didn’t mean it, okay, baby? I can’t sleep in a tent.”
“I know, baby,” he said. “That’s why I’m going to go do this for you. Eli’s right—it’s only fair that we compete for it, and I’m going to compete for you. I wouldn’t dream of letting you sleep in a tent. I wouldn’t dream of letting you sleep anywhere but a nice, comfy bed while the rest of us sleep on the hard cold ground.” And Vince smiled the smile that made his movies gross thirty million on opening night.
Olivia looked confused by his smile. “Oh,” she said uncertainly. “Okay.”
Vince grinned at the rest of them. “Well, come on, kids. Let’s climb a tree.”
The climbing, as it turned out, was very anticlimactic. Vince didn’t even try. One leg up, and then he was down. “That’s just too high for me,” he said.
“Augh!” Olivia cried. “You are such a bastard!”
Eli had thought Vince would at least give it a shot. He looked at Marnie. “You’re up, coppertop,” he said.
And Marnie tried. She made it about halfway to the dress, carefully pulling herself up through the sticky, pointy limbs, until she began to whimper. “My arms are giving out,” she cried, and let Eli help her down. He had counted on her failing. The girl was full of spunk, but she was exhausted and not quite strong enough.
Once Marnie was down, Eli went up, grabbed the dress, and swung down in fifteen minutes. He landed to applause from Rhys and Vince and Marnie. Olivia was pouting. The dress had been rained on, and it was wrinkled, and there were a couple of snags in it, but it looked almost salvageable. “Thank God,” Marnie said with a sigh of relief.
Olivia snatched the gown from Marnie’s hands, pivoted on her heel, and marched inside.
The rest of them returned to Eli’s fire and stood around it for a while.
“Damn, it looks like more rain,” Vince said at one point, looking up as the sun slipped behind a rain cloud. The distant rumble of thunder confirmed it. “Great. Not only does the bitch get to sleep in a tent, but she gets to do it with a storm passing over us. I can’t wait to tell her,” he said, and with a laugh, he started for the cabin.
Rhys looked up at the sky and at Vince’s departing back. “Frankly, I don’t believe he ever meant to try for the cabin. I think he’s quite through with her,” he mused, and followed Vince.
Marnie looked at Eli. “Do you think that’s true?”
Eli shrugged a little. “She does seem to be wearing a little thin on everyone.” A shriek and the sound of a large crash in the cabin startled them; Eli grinned. “Maybe sooner rather than later.” He laughed and looked at the sky. “It’s going to let loose any minute now.” He started kicking dirt on the fire. Marnie helped him, and when they had put out the flames, he grabbed her boots and they hurried to the cabin.
Vince and Rhys were seated before a fire at the hearth eating sandwiches when Eli and Marnie came in; Olivia was on the bed, her arms folded over her chest, pouting.
“A fire,” Marnie said, moving to stand before it. “Vince, it’s perfect.”
“I beg your pardon, but I am responsible,” Rhys said. “Peanut butter sandwich?”
“Thanks,” she said, taking it. Rhys held up one to Eli, which he gratefully took, along with a bottle of water, and joined Marnie in front of the fire. The four of them—Olivia was still pouting—made small talk while they ate sandwiches and apples. Every once in a while, one of them would walk to the door and open it to peer outside, then close it again, when it appeared the rain was not abating.
Beneath the damaged roof Eli had patched, they had several pots lying around to catch the tiny streams of rain that came in. Periodically, Eli would pour the water into a kettle.
When the rain did at last pass over them, and the stars came out, Eli quietly left the cabin during a lively discussion between Olivia and Vince about a script she obviously loved and he despised. As he stepped out, Olivia called Vince stupid and moronic, and he responded by calling her a bitch.
When Eli returned a half hour later, he had a flashlight in one hand and Marnie’s backpack in the other. “I’m beat,” he announced. “Time for you all to go home.”
Olivia turned big, sad eyes to Vince. Vince rolled his eyes.
Rhys stood up, took one last peanut butter sandwich, and sang out good night. Vince stood, too, and frowned down at Olivia, who was sprawled in one of the leather chairs before the fire. “What?” she said weakly.
“Come on. Eli won. He gets the cabin.”
Marnie stood, but Eli put a hand on her arm to stop her.
“It wasn’t really a contest,” Olivia whined. “I didn’t agree to it, and I paid for this cabin.”
“I’ll reimburse you,” Eli said.
“I’m not going,” she said, and tossed her head.
“Jesus H. Christ,” Vince shouted. “Would you, just once, think of someone besides yourself? I am so sick of your shit,” he bellowed, and grabbed Olivia’s arm and yanked her up to her feet. “Put some shoes on.”
“Who are you kidding?” Olivia said sharply, yanking her arm from his grasp. “You think you can make me? What a joke.”
She said it with such disdain that Eli thought Vince would strike her. He didn’t strike her, but for the first time since they had walked into this meadow, Vince lifted a finger. He lifted all ten of them and firmly grabbed Olivia, slung her like a sack over his shoulder, and pushe
d past Marnie. “I swear, Livi, you are on my last nerve,” he shouted as Eli calmly opened the door for him. Out they went, Vince marching stoically on, Olivia screeching at him to put her down.
The last thing they heard was Vince roaring at Olivia to shut up, followed by, “I hate you, Vincent! I hate you so much!”
Eli shut the cabin door and smiled at Marnie. She looked so bedraggled—even a twig was stuck in her hair now—that Eli couldn’t help laughing. He’d never seen a more charming woman in all his life, and moved to where she stood, trying in vain to smooth one side of her hair. “I’ve got something for you,” he said. “Wait here.”
He walked out the back door and picked up the kettle of rainwater he had saved for her. It was full. Coupled with what was in the kitchen and the two buckets he’d put out back, he thought there might be enough for a shallow bath. He returned to the cabin, walked to the hearth, and hung the kettle from a hearth hook, left over, presumably, from the days when this was someone’s home.
“What are you doing?” Marnie asked, watching him closely.
“Giving you a hot bath,” he said, and laughed when Marnie squealed and clapped her hands with delight. In the kitchen, he grabbed two of the pots and brought them back to the hearth. “There’s not enough water to run through the bathroom’s heating element, but there’s enough to heat and pour into the tub the old-fashioned way.”
They stood side by side, anxiously watching the kettle and willing it to boil. When the water began to sizzle, Eli took the kettle from the fire to the bath and poured it into the tub.
“Get ready,” he said. “I have enough for one more kettle, and that should be enough for a shallow bath.”
“Oh, Eli,” Marnie said, throwing her arms around his neck. “I think I love you!” She covered his face with kisses, then abruptly let go, grabbed up her little bag, and hurried to the bathroom.
Eli swallowed down the admission he felt on the tip of his tongue: I think I love you, too.
When he returned with the second kettle full of water, he walked into the scent of lilacs. Marnie had poured a small bottle of soap into the tub. He poured the water, went out, and returned with one of the thick robes Olivia had worn and a towel, both of which he hung on the hooks provided. “Have fun,” he said and moved to close the door behind him, but Marnie stopped him with a hand to his arm.