They all raised their glasses and clinked them together. When Jake’s glass met Ari’s he did look at her, but for much less than a second. He couldn’t even be certain their eyes met. Welcome to the next ten days.
The first half of the meal consisted of Jake making controlled and polite conversation while focusing most of his energy on not looking at Ari and trying to catch Peter’s eye so he could scorch his friend with his gaze. But Peter didn’t glance his direction once.
Between the meal and dessert, Andrew raised his glass and said, “One more toast before we get our sugar fix. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the release of Susie’s first album. Which would not be in existence but for Mr. Palmer. To you, Jake.”
“Indeed!” Susie said as she and Peter and Camille joined Andrew in the toast.
“What happened?” Ari asked.
Susie pointed at Jake, who motioned with his hand to indicate less is more.
“Through his training he met the head of a small record label. Jake convinced her to listen to my music, then he and Andrew talked me off the ledge every time I thought I wasn’t going to make it, and Jake even spent three weeks with us as I was making my first record. Without his support and belief in me, it never would have happened.”
“You’re embarrassing me, Sooz.”
“Good. For a second there I didn’t think it was working.”
“Ahhhh, yes, it is.” Jake covered his eyes with his hand and sighed.
“By the way, Jake didn’t limit his efforts to Susie and Andrew,” Peter said as he looked at Ari.
“Oh really?”
Peter raised his glass again and looked at Jake. “Do you want me to tell them what you did for me and my business? Or what you did for Camille and me for our honeymoon? I think Ari might be interested.”
“No, bud. I think you’ve already done quite enough this evening.”
11
After consuming a piece of Peter’s homemade tiramisu, Jake wandered out onto the deck, spread out his arms, and set his palms on the dark-stained railing. A camp robber launched itself off a tree to his left and landed on the railing on the far side of the deck. It stared at Jake as if wanting to give him a message. Eventually it flew off, leaving Jake in peace to watch dusk steal over the lake. The sun still hung high enough over the mountains to the west to light up the lake with the richest colors of the day. Photographer’s dream.
Leonard was right. A gorgeous spot to retreat. Relax. Find restoration. Unless of course you were stuck for more than a week with a woman like Camille and another woman like Ari who would prevent any of the three Rs from happening.
As if on cue, a bald eagle swooped by him not more than fifty feet from the deck. He watched the great bird till it soared out of sight. Symbol of freedom. A reminder that he’d never be free to soar again till this life ended. Was he bitter toward God? Yeah. Should he be? Probably not. God wasn’t the one who made him pull off the freeway on that cold October night a year and a half ago. Still, why did he allow the incident to happen? Nothing good had come of it. No justice. No lesson. No hope for the future ever getting better than it was right now. Only loss. Trust God? Not easy these days.
“Hey.”
Jake spun. Susie. She danced toward him doing her disco moves, which always made him smile. “You okay?” Susie peered at him with that look that forbade him to tweak the truth. But sarcasm? That was never off-limits.
“Yeah, fantastic. Wow, it’s like I’m a kid at Disneyland. So glad I let Peter talk me into coming this week.”
“Me too. I’m getting tired of checking my mailbox for the wedding invitation.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I’m sorry, Jake. I just want you to be happy. And you have to admit, there are two types of guys. The ones who need to be married. And the type that really need to be married.” She drummed her fingers on the railing. “Which camp do you think you fall into?”
“Did you know he was inviting Ari?” Jake leaned on the railing with his elbow and stared at Susie. She shifted her gaze to the lake and Jake had his answer. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“He made Andrew and me promise not to.”
“Do you realize this is the only time I ever get to truly be myself? Where I can swim without wondering if people are gawking at me? Where I can talk about the incident without people getting a sudden fascination with the coffee swirling around their cup?”
“I know. That’s what I told him, but he has this matchmaker complex when it comes to you.”
“How can one man be so lucky?” Jake pushed himself up from the railing. “Have you seen him?”
“Peter?”
“Yeah.”
“Camille said he was going down to the water before cards.”
“I looked. There’s no one on the dock.”
“Haven’t you been down there yet? There’s a little path off to the right that takes you to a small clearing in the trees. You can’t see it from up here.”
“Thanks, Sooz.”
“It’s still going to be a good week. I feel it.”
“Hmm.”
Jake eased down the forty steps toward the dock, resting every now and then, and finally stepped onto the path Susie had mentioned. Poplar trees on either side formed a kind of tunnel that ran along the edge of the lake. Jake wound down the path and after twenty-five yards saw an opening in the trees. It led to four chairs made out of thick wood stained to a dark brown, arranged around a cold fire pit. A grove of birch trees surrounded the chairs in a half circle overlooking the water.
Peter sat in the chair on the far side like a stone, his hands wrapped around his camera, the only movement his forefinger as he snapped pictures of a burnished sun balancing on the horizon. A breeze ambled in from the left, just enough to ruffle the trees outlined against the darkening sky. The noise of laughter floated down from the cabin. The lake was glass.
Jake slid into the chair next to Peter and joined his friend in watching the trees at the far end of the lake poke their tops into the bottom of the sun. Without speaking and without looking his direction, Peter set his camera on the armrest of his chair and picked up two glasses. He handed one to Jake, then settled back in his chair and took a drink. They sat in silence for another few moments before Jake broke it.
“Do you prefer to die by the sword, or shall I poison your coffee at some point during the week?”
“Do you like her?” A slight smile crept onto Peter’s face, his gaze still straight ahead. “I think you do.”
“Definitely poison. It will be slower and more painful.”
Another smile from Peter. This time his teeth showed.
Jake shook his head. “Leftovers, huh?”
“You’d never have let me invite her if I’d told you about it ahead of time.” Peter shifted in his chair and turned to Jake. Jake stared straight ahead.
“You think?”
“So you admit it. I was right.”
“Right about what?”
“Finding someone you’d be interested in.”
Jake’s gaze shifted to the dead black coals inside the circle of rocks that formed the small fire pit. Once upon a time, the remnants of those branches and logs had been green and growing.
“This was supposed to be a time for the five of us to be together. Where I could be myself. Where I don’t have to hide.”
“You know, you could always step out of the shadows and stop hiding from everyone that you don’t already know.” Peter shifted in his chair and rapped the wood of his armrest.
“Yeah, and I could go sled across the North Pole in a bathing suit.”
“My idea would be a lot more freeing. And a lot warmer.”
“Freeing?” Jake smacked his stomach with both hands. “Try living in this body for a day, then talk to me about how showing it to a complete stranger will set me free. It’s going to be a fun ten days.”
“Didn’t you hear me when I introduced her to everyone? She’s not staying the whole time
.”
“Really.”
“Probably not. I could only get her to commit to three days.”
“I wish she’d taken the three-minute option.”
“That wasn’t on the menu.”
“You swore you were never going to do this to me again.”
“I did?” Peter pretended to recoil from the look on Jake’s face. “Oh, that’s right. I guess I did.”
“Again, why’d you do it?”
“God told me to.”
Peter kept a straight face but Jake didn’t believe it for a second. “Yeah, right.”
“Maybe he didn’t, but I know he would have if I’d asked.”
“Why, Peter?”
“Do I really need to tell you?”
“Uh, yeah, I think you do.”
Peter cocked his head and rubbed his chin as if needing to contemplate his answer. “It’s time to stop feeling sorry for yourself. The fruit is ripe. The water has come to a boil. The wine has aged long enough and must now be sampled.”
“Is it possible for you to come up with an analogy that doesn’t involve food?”
“No.”
“I’m leaving tomorrow. I hope you and Ari and everyone else have a great time.”
“No you’re not.”
“I’m not?”
“No.”
Jake rose, smiled, and tossed a stick into the water. “Take lots of pictures for me.”
12
At six the next morning, as Jake reached the front door and pulled it open a crack, a voice from the breakfast table jolted him. He spun to find Susie at the table sipping something steaming out of a dark red mug.
“Wow.” Jake sucked in a quick breath and popped himself in the chest. “Thanks for jump-starting my heart.”
“You’re welcome.” She rose from the table and glided over to him, pink slippers moving like ice skates over the hardwood floor, and pointed at her cup, then the kitchen. “I’ll get you a cup of coffee. You can join me at the table and we’ll talk.”
“No thanks.”
“It’s Black Fedora,” she said in a singsong voice. “Your favorite coffee in the world.”
“Tempting, but I need to finish packing my car.”
“Peter told me last night that you were thinking of leaving. I told him no way. I guess I’m wrong. I guess it’s true.”
“Yeah, it is.” Jake rubbed his dark hair.
“Wow. Okay.” Susie nodded and drilled him with her eyes. “You and I only get a chance to see each other in person a few times a year and you’re leaving after less than a day? Nice move. And it looks like I wasn’t even going to get a good-bye. Thanks, I love you too.”
“It’s not that.” Jake shut the front door.
“Then what is it?”
“I just need to go.”
Susie tapped the right side of her face next to her eye. “I saw this coming, but I didn’t think it would happen so fast.”
“Saw what coming?”
“That you already like her.”
Heat rushed into Jake’s face. “Shut up, sis.”
“I have to admit, she is kind of perfect.” Susie tilted her head and scratched her chin in mock concentration. “And now that I think about it, there’s a high likelihood she likes you back.”
“What part of ‘shut up’ didn’t I communicate properly?”
“I saw the look on your face when Peter introduced her to all of us. I watched you during dinner last night.” Susie leaned against the front door. “I’ve been right there for every romance you’ve gone through since your first one in sixth grade. You don’t think I can see the signs by now? You don’t think I know your type? I know you, Jacob.”
“Not as well as you think you do.”
“I saw hers too.”
“Her what?”
“Don’t be stupid.” Susie took his arm and led him across the living room toward the kitchen. “Let’s get you some java, then have a little conversation.”
“If you know what’s going on inside me, then you also know why I have to get out of here.”
They reached the kitchen and Susie handed Jake a mug, poured him a cup of coffee, then pointed to the french doors. “Lemme get my shoes on and let’s go for a little walk.”
On their way out she grabbed a folder off the kitchen table. They made their way onto the deck, then around the side of the cabin and up the long driveway. They wandered up the dirt road that meandered farther up the lake to the right. They walked a hundred yards in silence before Susie spoke.
“I have a wild thought, crazy, no logic to it whatsoever, but give it a listen, okay?”
“Sure.”
“I’ve been sensing something about you every time I thought about this week and the five of us being together. I even had a dream about it, which I’m not going to tell you about yet, but I think this week is about something deeper than a girl, or you avoiding this girl.”
“You had a dream.”
“Yes.” Susie picked up a large stick that lay on the side of the road and swung it like a light saber. “But that comes later. Right now I want to tell you about what I think the deeper thing is, and I want you to keep an open mind.”
“I’m a human sieve.”
“Good.” Susie chuckled, then stopped and glanced up and down the empty road. “And promise not to think I’m crazy.”
“That part is going to be a challenge. I’ve thought you were crazy since we were both eight. One of the things I like best.” Jake grinned.
“I’m serious. This is important.”
“Okay, bring it on. Tell me. Make me think you’ve lost it out here in the wilds of the Oregon backcountry.”
“I found out about something last night that confirmed my dream. I think you’re here with me this week because you’re the one, the only one, who can help me find this something. It’s a place. And it’s a place you might want to find as well.”
“That doesn’t sound insane.” Jake narrowed his eyes. “Yet.”
“Here comes the crazy part.” She looked at Jake, eyes blinking, her hands rubbing up and down on her shorts.
“Ready, Coach.” Jake held up both hands like he was about to catch a football.
“I think you’re supposed to help me find something at the end of this lake.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
Susie poked the stick in his direction. “This is the part where you don’t laugh and ask if I’m crazy.”
“No laughing, unless it’s out there as far, far away as Star Wars or—”
“It’s farther. Way.”
“Wow. Okay, no laughing.” Jake suppressed a smile. “What’s at the end of the lake?”
“A lost corridor.” Susie lifted the stick.
“A what?”
“A lost corridor. A trail, a kind of tunnel or something. A path that takes you from one place to another.”
“I know what a path is. But I’ve never heard of one getting lost.”
“Listen.” Susie’s eyes grew intense. “Supposedly, if you can find it, and get through it to the other side, you’ll find whatever you want most in the world. It will be given to you.”
“Where did you come up with this fairy tale?”
“I didn’t. I discovered it.”
“How? Where? Before I buy a ticket for Loco Land, I’d like to know who built the park.”
“I have to give all the credit to the piano man.”
“Andrew?”
“He’s plunking around on the keys last night when you went down to the water to mope—”
“Hey!”
Susie winked at him and continued. “He opens up the piano bench to see if there’s any music and finds this.”
She opened the folder she’d been carrying and handed him three yellowed pieces of handwritten sheet music with lyrics scrawled in a dark pencil. Jake looked for the name of the songwriter, but all he found was the name Emily printed in small, neat letters at the bottom of the first page.
&nbs
p; “May I?” Susie said after a few moments. She extended her hand and Jake handed the pages back to her.
“It’s a song about a lost corridor at the end of this lake that can fix the problems of anyone who finds it. At least that’s my interpretation. Listen.”
Susie held the music in front of her and began to sing.
Paths are right in front us, if we have eyes to see,
Drawing us and healing us, where we need to be.
Blinded eyes and hardened hearts keep us from the race,
Water and path will take us there, if only we’d embrace.
Oh can’t you see? Oh can’t you see now?
Willow Lake, oh draw me now, to the tunnel at the end,
Grant to me my deepest wish, you promised this to send.
“I know, I know, not great lyrics, but still, pretty intriguing idea.” Susie shoved the paper back into the folder and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Jake stared at her, guessing his face had turned a shade lighter. The words of the song were almost the exact same words Leonard had spoken to him on the plane.
Paths are right in front of us all the time, Jake. The right ones. Ones that can take us exactly where we need to go, but they’re so hard to see, so hard to see. Most people are blind. But the water and path are there, take us where we need to be, oh can’t you see, can’t you see, even if they’re sometimes too real to embrace.
“What’s wrong, Jake? You look pale.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Uh-uh. You’re not going to skip past this.” Susie huffed out a laugh. “You look like you saw Yoda.”
“No, just a bit of a shock. The guy that told me about this place, the cabin I mean, he said something just like the lyrics to that song.”
“See! That means you have to help.” Susie waved her light saber stick again. “We will use the ways of the forrrrrrrce to find the corridor, Luke.”
The Long Journey to Jake Palmer Page 8