Honeymoon for Three

by Alan Cook

  Alfred started along the trail, striding briskly and whistling. One hundred yards later, his ankle started hurting. He had completely forgotten about that damned ankle. He wasn’t going to let that stop him. He would tough it out. He kept going, albeit a little slower and with a slight limp.

  ***

  They were enjoying dinner in the rock building that contained the kitchen and the dining room when a commotion occurred at the entrance. Penny wouldn’t have paid any attention, figuring that it was just a latecomer for dinner, but the door was opened with enough force that it swung in a 180-degree arc and slammed against a doorstop, making all the diners look up.

  Then a hooded figure fell into the room, landing facedown on the floor. The figure lay there, not moving, while dead silence replaced the normal buzz of conversation. Everybody was frozen in place for several seconds, like a tableau painted by a French impressionist.

  Just when Penny started thinking that time had stopped altogether, a man who was sitting at a table near the door got up from his chair and walked over to the prone figure. He put a hand on the figure’s shoulder and said, “Are you okay?” Penny didn’t hear a response. The man lifted the hood of the figure, revealing a head with short hair. It belonged to a male.

  The man on the floor groaned and slowly lifted himself to his hands and knees. He groaned again and lifted one knee off the floor. Penny saw that his pants were ripped, and the knee poking through the hole had blood on it.

  “That’s your friend from high school,” Gary said.

  Penny recognized Alfred at the same time. What in the world was he doing here? And in this condition? She instinctively got up and ran over to him. She knelt beside him and helped him get to a sitting position.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  He stared at her, and she wondered whether he recognized her. “I broke my water bottle. It smashed when I fell.”

  “Is that when you hurt your knee?”

  He looked at his bloody knee, as if seeing it for the first time. He nodded.

  ***

  Gary was extremely dissatisfied with what appeared to be the only solution to the situation. He walked back toward their table where Alfred was now sitting with Penny, showing a voracious appetite, eating everything in sight. The scrape on his knee had been cleaned and bandaged, using the first aid kit belonging to the chalet. Gary helped him take off his wet shoes and socks. The socks, especially, stuck to his feet and had to be peeled off. Gary lent him a pair of socks, which he now wore. He still wore his jacket to help him warm up, but at least he wasn’t wearing the hood.

  Gary caught Penny’s eye and motioned to her. She got up and followed him to the corner of the dining room, underneath one of the gas lights, hanging from the ceiling, that was now lit. Tom Edison’s electric lights hadn’t found their way here yet.

  “They don’t have any rooms available,” Gary said. “They’re full. They’re willing to put a cot in our room and let him sleep there.” The tone of his voice betrayed how much he liked that idea.

  Penny put an arm on his shoulder and said, “It’s a terrible imposition, honey, but it’s only for one night. If it’s any consolation, I got my period today.”

  That was slight consolation. “Did you find out what he’s doing here?”

  “He said that we made it sound like so much fun when we told him about the chalet that he decided he wanted to stay here.”

  “So he drove all the way from Seattle with no equipment and no hiking experience, just to hike up here. It’s a wonder he didn’t kill himself. And of course he didn’t have a reservation either.”

  “I agree, it wasn’t the smartest thing in the world to do. But then, as I recall, he was never very swift upstairs in high school, either.” She tapped her head.

  Gary didn’t want to be the bad guy. He knew that showing compassion for Alfred would reflect favorably in Penny’s eyes. It was only for one night. He felt a little better, knowing the number of points he would make with her.

  ***

  The cot wasn’t that uncomfortable. It was definitely more comfortable than the front seat of his car. Alfred lay on his back with the blankets pulled up to his chin and grinned into the dark. He could see the stars shining brightly through the uncovered window. Stars were fine, just as long as they were outside and he was inside.

  In spite of the primitiveness of this place—no electricity, no hot water, no indoor toilets—things had turned out a lot better than he could have anticipated when he was halfway up the trail, wondering whether he would make it to the chalet before dark, or perhaps get lost and eaten by bears.

  He was finally warm, under five blankets, after having wet feet for most of the hike. His knee didn’t hurt. He had devoured a good dinner. He was feeling better than he had felt for a long time, even though he was exhausted. There were no lights in the bedroom. Since the only light was provided by a small flashlight that Penny and Gary had brought, they had all gone to bed as soon as they had come from the other building.

  After dinner, Penny and Gary had played dominoes in the dining room. Alfred claimed he was too tired to play, but he watched them. Gary was merciless, beating Penny in every game. This was another reason she would be glad to get rid of him. He was dominating her. Alfred knew that Gary would probably beat him, too. He didn’t know whether this would be good or bad in Penny’s eyes, so he made the wise decision to stay out of it.

  He listened for sounds of movement from the double bed. Aside from a few whispers when they first turned off the flashlight, there hadn’t been much noise forthcoming from that direction. They certainly weren’t doing anything of a sexual nature. That was one thing he was happy about.

  He would never attempt a hike like this again. Why any sane person would engage in such misery on purpose, he didn’t know. He did have to hike down in the morning, but going down should be a lot easier than coming up.

  During the few minutes he had been alone with Penny, he considered trying to win her over. There wasn’t time to do it, and he was too tired and too hungry. His brain wasn’t working. He didn’t want to negotiate from a position of weakness. Tomorrow he would have a much better opportunity. He had spent the last few minutes making a plan that he was sure would succeed. Now it was time to get some sleep.

  CHAPTER 13

  Getting them down the trail wasn’t as difficult as Gary had been afraid it might be. He had Penny go first, then Alfred. He stayed close behind Alfred, hoping to be able to catch him if his slippery shoes betrayed him on the damp rocks. That was probably wishful thinking, and he certainly couldn’t prevent the klutz from getting wet feet. His shoes weren’t waterproof, and they had to wade through shallow streams.

  Last night had been a pain, but it could have been worse. Gary and Penny had slept in most of their clothes under many blankets. Their sex life would have been restricted even if Alfred hadn’t been in the room, and they were all so tired they had gone to sleep rather quickly. In a little while they would see the last of him.

  They went slowly, which required a lot of patience on Gary’s part. Their muscles were all sore from the ascent, but it was clear that Alfred had the biggest problems. He walked stiff-legged and had trouble stepping down, which is what they had to do for almost seven miles. His calves must be screaming. In addition, it was obvious that his knee bothered him at first, but it appeared to loosen up, and after a while, he stopped limping. But he had to rest frequently.

  They arrived at the parking lot about noon and decided to eat their trail lunches in the meadow, ignoring the bees. Because they were concentrating on their steps on the way down, they hadn’t talked about anything else. Now Penny asked Alfred what his plans were.

  Alfred swallowed a bite of his sandwich. “This place is so beautiful. Since I’ve come this far, I’d like to see a little more of it. Perhaps drive through the park today.”

  “That’s what we’re going to do,” Penny said.

  “You two have done so much for me, alr
eady. I hate to impose any more, but, uh, I don’t think I can drive today.”

  Gary stared at him. Not drive? If he could walk, he could drive.

  “The backs of my legs are so sore.” Alfred touched one of his calves and winced in pain. “And my knee is too. I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be able to put the brake on hard, and this road has so many hills and curves. If I can’t use the brakes…” His voice trailed off.

  “What you should do is drive slowly back to the Kalispell area,” Penny said. “The road is easier going in that direction. Then rest for a day or so until you’re not so sore.”

  The corners of Alfred’s mouth turned up. “If I had all the time in the world, I could do that. I have to get back to work in a few days. What I was thinking—and I know it’s a terrible imposition—well, since we’re going in the same direction, perhaps Penny could drive my car and follow Gary.”

  Gary couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had to tread carefully because Penny appeared to be sympathetic to Alfred’s problems. “What kind of a car do you have?”

  “It’s that Ford over there.”

  Gary followed Alfred’s pointing finger and with a shock recognized the car. Where had he seen it? “Did you stop at Grand Coulee Dam two days ago?”

  “Why yes.”

  “We were there at the same time,” Penny said. “We saw your car. I remember it because it looks just like my car. I didn’t know it was yours.”

  “Really? Where’s your car?” Alfred looked around the parking area.

  “We didn’t bring it,” Penny said. “We brought Gary’s car.”

  “What kind of a car do you have?” Alfred asked Gary.

  “The green Beetle.” Gary indicated his car, parked thirty feet from Alfred’s.

  “I remember your car,” Alfred said, beaming. “VW’s are so…cozy. As I recall, it was raining hard at the dam.”

  “Speaking of the car, I need to get something from it.” Gary nodded to Penny to accompany him.

  When they were out of earshot of Alfred, Gary said, “How much longer are we going to have to put up with this guy?” He was scowling, but he couldn’t help himself.

  “He is becoming a pain. I tell you what. We’ll help him out today, and that’s it. Tomorrow he’s on his own. I’ll drive his car because I’m used to driving an automatic. You’re better with the VW in the mountains. This road is really tricky.”

  “Where is Alfred going to ride?”

  “I can tell by your tone of voice that you don’t want him riding with you. He can ride with me. It’s okay. He’s harmless.”

  “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about being separated from you. After all, this is only the seventh day we’ve been married.”

  “You’re so sweet.” Penny gave him a hug. “We’ll be together at all the viewpoints. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

  When Penny talked like that, he would do anything for her. One day shouldn’t make that much difference out of a lifetime.

  ***

  Penny drove the Ford from the parking lot onto the road behind Gary. He had promised to drive slowly in the mountains, so that she wouldn’t have any trouble keeping up with him. They would be stopping often.

  The jagged peaks were gray on top, except for pockets of white snow. Lower down, blankets of green covered the hillsides where the evergreen trees ruled. Everything looked so sharp and fresh and clean. You could eat off the landscape. They headed uphill and would be going over the continental divide.

  Penny glanced at Alfred sitting in the seat beside her. He had changed from the pants with the torn knee into another pair. He looked very much the same as he had in high school, with his hair short and his head a little too large for his body. Ears and nose to match. He had unzipped his jacket, and Penny could see the bulge in his stomach. That hadn’t changed either.

  “Fantastic scenery.” Penny tried to make light conversation.

  “We don’t have much time,” Alfred said.

  Time for what? They had plenty of time.

  “Look.” Penny braked as a mother grizzly bear and two cubs loped across the road in front of them. The mother ran on three legs, holding the fourth aloft. They disappeared over the cliff at the side of the road.

  “We don’t have much time,” Alfred repeated, “so I’ll make this quick. I want you to come with me.”

  “Come with you where?”

  “Leave Gary and come home with me.”

  She must not have heard him correctly. “What did you say?”

  “I want you to leave Gary and come home with me. Now. Today.”

  He couldn’t be serious. He wasn’t smiling, but she decided to treat it as a joke. She laughed and said, “Alfred. I never knew you had such a sense of humor.”

  “I mean it. Gary’s no good for you. I’ll take care of you.”

  “All right, joke’s over. I don’t want to hear any more talk like that.”

  Penny glanced at Alfred. He was looking at her with his mouth slightly open. After a pause he said, “I’ll protect you from Gary. You don’t have to be afraid of him.”

  “I’m not afraid of Gary. Now will you get off this subject?” She was getting mad.

  “We had an understanding.”

  “What?”

  “At the Space Needle. And dinner afterward. Gary is controlling you. With his so-called morals and his domineering nature. I saw it in your eyes. You were appealing to me to help you get away from him.”

  “Alfred, you have completely lost what little mind you had. If you say one more word, I’m going to stop this car and dump you out.”

  “It’s my car. But before you do anything rash, listen to this.” His voice had suddenly developed a hard edge that Penny had never heard before. “What do you think Gary will do when he finds out that I know you have a mole on your left breast?”

  Penny turned to look at him and almost drove off the cliff. She jerked the wheel to turn the car away from the cliff and then had to slam on the brakes to prevent them from driving into the mountain on the other side of the road. She brought the car to a stop and sat there trembling.

  “How do you know that?” She immediately realized that it was the wrong thing to say. She was admitting that he was right. How could he know? It must have been a wild guess. She could tell from his wolfish grin that he knew he had scored.

  “Remember the party at Joan’s house when we were seniors in high school?”

  She shook her head.

  “Let me refresh your memory. Halloween night. Everybody went in costume. As I recall, your boyfriend of the moment was off somewhere. You put on quite a show.”

  It was coming back. She had long forgotten about that night. Repressed it. She had gone as a cheerleader. Nothing unusual about that since she was a cheerleader at Fenwick High School. Underneath her cheerleader uniform she had worn sexy pink panties, instead of tights, and a pink bra.

  It was her secret, and she didn’t really intend to show off her fancy underwear—at least that’s what she told herself—but when the Thunderbird wine started flowing, she became warm—from the wine, the bodies, and a fire in the fireplace. Somebody put marching music on the phonograph—the kind the school band played at football games. That’s when she started doing cheerleading routines. Which made her even warmer.

  The boys, who had also been sucking up the wine, started shouting, “Take it off.” She used the heat to rationalize taking off her sweater, evoking more cries. So she took off her skirt. She remembered doing handstands and then going out in the yard and turning cartwheels. She wasn’t certain what happened after that. Alfred must have been at that party—she didn’t remember—but what did he know that she didn’t? How did he find out about the mole on her breast? Penny decided that silence was her best defense.

  Horns blew behind her. She was stopped in a traffic lane on the narrow road. Cars were trying to get by. She drove forward, still trembling a little.

  “You did a striptease,” Alfred said.
“Then you passed out on the lawn.”

  She must have passed out because her memory ended at that point. It was definitely out of character for her. It had cost her a boyfriend, although that had been a minor loss. There were plenty of boys aching to go out with her. But what about Gary? She had represented herself to him as an All-American girl. Would this bother him? After all, it had happened seven years ago. Youthful indiscretion.

  What had occurred after she passed out? She was afraid to hear what Alfred was going to say next.

  “Of course, I wasn’t drinking,” Alfred continued.

  Ouch. Puritan Alfred.

  “I was looking out for you. I and another guy carried you upstairs and put you on a bed in Joan’s spare room so you’d be safe.”

  Uh oh. She definitely didn’t want to hear this. She spotted the green VW stopped at a turnout. She pulled in behind it. This should give her a reprieve for a moment. And time to collect her thoughts.

  CHAPTER 14

  Gary saw the Ford coming around a curve and breathed a sigh of relief. He had started to worry when he saw that Penny was no longer behind him. He pulled into the first available turnout and waited for several agonizing minutes. Had she lost control of the car and…? He couldn’t bring himself to finish that thought. But he realized how empty life would be without her.

  Penny brought the car to a stop and got out. Alfred exited awkwardly from his side. He really was hurting. Maybe it was dangerous for him to drive. Penny walked directly to Gary and gave him a big kiss. That was a nice way to be greeted.

  “What happened to you?” Gary’s anxiety made his voice harsher than it should have been.

  “I…I thought I had a flat tire. We stopped to check.” Her voice sounded strange.

  “It’s dangerous to stop on this road. Let me check the tires.” Gary walked around the Ford. The tires looked fine to him. He went back to Penny. Alfred was a few feet away, looking up at the Garden Wall, a spectacular mountain ridge.