Brett Barney - Remember Me.txt

by Remember Me

  “Most of my friends, when they figure out what’s going on, don’t ever come around

  anymore. It makes people really nervous. Most of the friends I’ve had don’t last a week after

  they figure it out. Then there’s my mother. Most people can’t stand to listen to her for more than

  a few minutes. Everybody thinks I’m just as snobby as she is.

  “My mother’s already embarrassed two of the girls that came over to our house the other

  night for movies. I can’t keep any of the friends I make, because they don’t like being around my

  family. After a while, it’s easier to ignore me than to bother with my parents. I hate living here.”

  “I never realized you felt this strongly about it. I thought you liked living with your

  parents.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Carol answered. “To be honest with you, I truly don’t

  understand how you get along with my mother so well. It seems almost strange to me that you

  like her as much as you do. You and she are total opposites.”

  “Sometimes you just have to look deeper into the situation. Things aren’t always what

  they seem.”

  “With my parents, things are never what they seem.”

  “So where will you go?”

  “I have a friend who graduated from school a year ago. Her name’s Janet. She’s going to

  college down south. She’s pretty good friends with Rich too. We’ve had the whole thing set up

  for months now. We’ve just been looking for the right moment. This camping trip was the only

  obstacle standing in our way, and you’ve helped me find a way to make it the right moment to

  leave.”

  “But what about giving up your last two years of high school? Don’t let it stop you from

  your education.” Margaret had enough guilt on her conscience, and didn’t want any additional

  burdens added to her shoulders.

  “I can go to school down south. I won’t give up school, just the environment I’ve wanted

  to escape from for years. It will be a new beginning for me. When I’m of age, I’ll get married, if

  I’m ready of course, and it still feels right. It feels like the right thing at this point of my life. I

  need to make sure that I’m really in love with him, and not using him as an escape route. I want

  it to be real. I won’t see Rich until things have calmed down around here. Tonight’s probably the

  last time I’ll see him for several months.

  Everything is set up. I even have my note written. I told them I’m running off to

  California to try to get into modeling. My mom will believe that. She always wanted to be a

  model.”

  “What happens when the police come looking for you?”

  “I told you it’s already taken care of. Janet is driving me down to Georgia as soon as I get

  over the state line. That keeps Rich out of it, because he’ll be back in Harrison with a solid alibi.

  A Novel by Brett Barney Remember Me?

  © 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 214

  I’ll have a fake ID made as soon as I get there. Janet’s aunt will help me register for

  school and I’ll color my hair blonde and get it cut as soon as I get there. They’ll be looking for

  me on the other side of the continent, and they’ll be looking for a runaway, not a kidnapped

  child. They don’t look as hard for runaways, because runaways don’t want to be found. I’m

  seventeen, and I doubt the police will even bother looking for me.”

  “I guess you have everything planned out.”

  “Yeah,” assured Carol in a weary voice. “That is, if you don’t plan to warn my mother

  about it.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Margaret assured her in a tone reflecting her honesty. “What are

  friends for anyway? As a matter of fact, you take all the time you need tonight. I’ll make sure

  your mother doesn’t even notice you’re gone until tomorrow.”

  “I guess I should warn you,” Carol explained. “I’m taking her car so that Rich doesn’t get

  in any kind of trouble. I don’t want it to look like I had any help with this. I’ll drop the car off at

  a bus station when I cross the state line.

  We’ll sabotage the other vehicles down at camp so that nobody can come after us until

  late tomorrow afternoon. It’s about fifteen miles to the closest phone. By that time, I should be

  crossing into Georgia.”

  “It will be the most enjoyable hike I’ve ever done. We’d better get back to camp before

  they get worried about us. I just want you to know, Carol, you’re one of the nicest girls I’ve ever

  met. You’ll make new friends quickly, and you won’t have a hard time keeping them. Give me a

  call after you’re settled with your new husband, or your new life. Your friendship means a lot to

  me. I hope everything works out for you.”

  “Thanks, Margaret. I don’t think I could have gone through with this if I hadn’t met you.

  Thank you, for everything.”

  Heather sat near the fire as some of the other campers dished up dinner for all those in the

  camp. She sat alone, Carol had plates for both of them and stood in the food line. Margaret

  walked over beside her at the empty fire.

  “Hello, Mrs. Whitmore,” Margaret spoke.

  “Hi, Margaret. So what do you think of our little camping spot?”

  “It’s wonderful. It has everything anyone could need.”

  “Well, almost everything,” answered Heather in an insinuative voice. Margaret hated it

  when she did this. Heather tried to fit in with everyone, no matter what generation they were

  from. Margaret just couldn’t figure out why Heather believed that everyone thought about sex all

  hours of the day. “But it’s a wonderful place. Are you and Carol having a good time? You’ve

  been making yourselves pretty scarce.”

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  © 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 215

  “We’ve been talking.”

  “I feel like Carol’s upset with me,” Heather spoke quietly. “She hasn’t been herself

  lately.”

  “I’m sure she’ll get over it. She’s very proud of her parents. You’re practically all she

  ever talks about. She just feels a little bit trapped.”

  “A child needs her parents to watch out for her. That’s one of the biggest responsibilities

  a mother has. I just want what’s best for her interests. She’ll understand someday. Right now,

  I’m just glad she has somebody like you to depend on.”

  “Well thank you, Mrs. Whitmore, but I don’t look at myself as a guidance counselor. I

  really like Carol. She’s a good friend. If I give her any advice, it’s as a friend. I want what’s best

  for her too.”

  “It’s really peaceful up here, don’t you think, Margaret?”

  “It’s great, somewhere you can go to just escape all the complexities of life. It must be

  hard, being the mayor’s wife, with all the work involved and the social image you have to

  maintain. A person could get really wrapped up in it all and forget about the important things.”

  “You’re absolutely right, Margaret. That’s what I love about this place. It’s somewhere

  that you can go to spend some time alone and work out what’s bothering you, and then get your

  prerogatives back in order.”

  “Like your family,” agreed Margaret. “There’s nothing as valuable in this world. I know I

  can’t wait until I meet the right guy and can start my own family. I have alwa
ys wanted to

  experience the joy of mothering a child, to feel it grow inside. I want to have the opportunity to

  care for, nourish and love it. Then look out for it throughout its life, and share in its failures and

  accomplishments.”

  “It’s one of the most rewarding jobs in the world, being a mother,” Heather agreed. “I bet

  you’ll make an excellent mother, Margaret, but don’t go rushing into everything. Make sure you

  meet the right man first. You can’t have a fulfilling life without the right man as the head of your

  family.”

  Margaret smiled at Heather as she stood up and walked over to the food line. Carol

  looked back at her, not sure what she had talked with Heather about. Margaret winked back at

  Carol and gave her a warm grin.

  Margaret and Carol monitored their watches carefully. Both girls couldn’t sleep from the

  excitement brewing inside them, but the source of their excitement stemmed from different

  feelings.

  Carol knew that in less than an hour she would free herself from the tight grip her parents

  had held on her. From the screen door of the tent, she could see the tent where her mother slept.

  A Novel by Brett Barney Remember Me?

  © 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 216

  It all seemed different now, the void between them grew rapidly. Soon the distance would turn

  into thousands of miles.

  Margaret’s anticipation of what would happen during the rest of the weekend had

  completely turned around. Carol’s leaving had shattered her idea of bringing her past out into the

  open during an evening camp fire. There was nothing she could do until Carol was miles away,

  she didn’t want to hurt Carol’s chances of escape.

  Margaret questioned her intentions even now, as she set it up in her mind. Heather’s life

  would lie in shambles tomorrow, even if she did nothing. Her friends would not take Carol’s

  running away lightly, and gossip would soon spread. This just made Margaret more sure of

  herself. Carol wouldn’t be here to witness anything, which eased Margaret’s tensions a bit. This

  all helped her formulate her plan more easily.

  The camp had remained silent for more than half an hour now, and the calmness

  convinced the two that everyone was in a deep sleep. They gently climbed out of their sleeping

  bags, and silently grabbed the gear they had set up inside their tent.

  The girls moved slowly, making sure not to make very much noise in their movements.

  After a good length of time, they were finally on the trail towards the lake. Margaret carried a

  small pack on her shoulders and Carol had a large duffel bag.

  The midnight air felt cold and damp. The smell of a storm filled their noses, and only a

  fraction of the bright light from the full moon blanketed the ground where they walked. Margaret

  felt a chill run down her spine, but seemed unsure if it came from the temperature, or another

  source.

  The hike was a quiet one, each girl with her thoughts wound up in different problems.

  Both realized it was the last time they would ever see one another. They had become close

  friends, but their goals made it easy to say good-bye to one another. Carol still didn’t understand

  Margaret’s interests here, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all. Carol lived her life for herself

  now.

  “I left the note on my sleeping bag,” Carol informed Margaret once they were a good

  distance from the camp. “Just tell my mom that you found it when you woke up in the morning.

  Tell her I snuck out while you were asleep. I’ll be long gone before daybreak.”

  “I understand,” Margaret assured her.

  The two reached the spot where they meant to meet Carol’s boyfriend. They could see

  somebody sitting on a fallen tree where they planned the rendezvous to take place. Carol broke

  into a run as a voice from the person called out to her. Margaret had never seen such excitement

  in the girl.

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  © 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 217

  Margaret stood a short distance away from the joyous couple. She decided to stand back

  and give them some room. After several seconds, the two broke their embrace and Carol turned

  to acknowledge Margaret.

  Margaret greeted Richard with a handshake and quickly decided to get some information

  from him. She wanted to make sure that he could pull it all off. She didn’t want Carol to come

  back after the events she had planned for later. The plan was still taking shape in her head, but

  she felt sure that she didn’t want any witnesses.

  “So what happens now?”

  “We have a car waiting down by the road,” Rich explained. “I borrowed it from a friend

  for the evening. Janet is waiting in the car right now. I’ll just spend a few minutes here with

  Carol, then I’ll take her to Janet.

  “The three of us will drive up to where all the cars are parked. Carol will take her mom’s

  car and drive it over the state line so that it looks like she ran away by herself. They’ll leave it at

  a bus station, so it looks like Carol did everything on her own. My friend will accompany her on

  the ride and then they’ll change vehicles and abandon her mom’s car there. That will make it

  harder for anyone to trace Carol’s movements. All this will happen before daybreak.

  “Meanwhile, I’ll sabotage all the cars left at the bottom of the trail. I’ll probably just cut

  the fuel hoses and take a decent length of the hose so they can’t just mend it back together. Then

  I’ll drive back down into town where my alibi is waiting. As long as Carol has the keys, we’re all

  set.”

  “The spare keys are in my pocket,” Carol assured him. “Now I don’t want you to worry,”

  Carol told Margaret. “I’ll be just fine. If we do get caught, I won’t even bring up your name. As

  far as everyone knows, you have no idea of what’s going on here. I tricked you, and you’re a

  deep sleeper.”

  “You take good care of yourself,” Margaret told her friend. “Don’t worry about anything

  back here. I’ll make sure things on this end go smoothly. If you ever need anything, you have my

  number. I hope things work out better for you at your new home.”

  “Thank you, Margaret, you’re the best,” Carol replied to her friend as she gave Margaret

  a hug. The smile on her face told Margaret that this was right for her.

  “I’ll leave you two alone for a while now,” Margaret told the two. “I know how much

  these few minutes alone mean to you. I’ll be up at the top of the trail, making sure nobody comes

  down here looking for you.”

  Margaret gave her one last smile, and she walked back up the trail and sat down to take a

  breather. She looked up at the sky, feeling the dampness all around her. She wondered if she felt

  happy for Carol, or because she was out of the picture now. The light from the full moon slowly

  dimmed as the clouds began to filter out the brightness.

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  © 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 218

  Margaret could smell the musty odor of the storm as it moved in over the area. The wind

  had kicked up and she knew she needed to get started before the weather got any worse. The

  storm assured her of what she had to do, and she now knew exactly what her next step was.

  She looked back at the clearin
g where Carol and Rich stood. The two held one another in

  a long embrace. She knew they would not see one another for some time, so she turned, leaving

  the two with their privacy.

  Margaret started up the trail to the camp. She felt relieved that things had worked out so

  well for Carol. She didn’t want her new friend around for what would happen. Nothing more

  stood between Heather and herself now, and confrontation grew inevitable.

  She picked up several items from the camp, checking to make sure that everyone was still

  where they should be. She didn’t want anyone wandering off and realizing that Carol was gone.

  Margaret got what she needed and started back up to the cliffs that Carol had shown her earlier in

  the day. She could tell by the dark clouds moving in that a heavy storm drew near.

  The wind at the top of the mountain blew furiously as the storm began to unleash its force

  on the area. The brilliant flashes of lightning around her reminded Margaret of her dream as she

  looked over the edge of the mountainside. She flipped on the powerful flashlight to get a good

  look in the dark. The momentary flashes of light lit up the surrounding area, but didn’t help her

  pinpoint the rock face below.

  Even with the flashlight, Margaret couldn’t make out the ledge beneath her. She knew

  that it was down there though, Carol had assured her of it. She pulled her ropes from the pack

  she carried and found a solid tree to use as an anchor.

  She wondered what could drive herself to stand on a ledge in the middle of a lightning

  storm, like this. The recollection of her beginning and end with Heather was all it took to wipe

  that thought from her mind. There were others like herself, whose paths hadn’t crossed the same

  fortune when the choice was made. She did this for herself, and for them.

  Margaret pulled out her harness and climbed into it. She attached the harness to the rope

  and tossed the rope over the side of the cliff. After putting on her gloves to protect her hands,

  Margaret started down the mountain in search of the ledge. The wind had kicked up and she had

  a hard time keeping her footings. It would take much strength to climb back up to the top.

  Margaret fought her way to the ledge and let out some of the slack in her rope, giving

  herself more mobility to walk along the ledge. She needed to locate the spot Carol had