by Marian Stack
“Do you love her?” Donna’s question had popped into her head right at the time…
“Excuse me Miss… do you want more coffee or would you like to look at the menu now?”
“Yes…No…I don’t know.” The three answers came shooting out of her mouth with little thought towards the server’s question and more towards answering her own thought to the doctor’s question.
“What? Is that a yes for coffee and no for the menu or what? Look lady… I’m busy… coffee or menu…make a decision?” The server indicated her need for an answer as she held up the pot of coffee in one hand and a menu in the other.
Her face blushed with embarrassment as she offered her reply. “I’m terribly sorry…yes both would be nice.” She knew she was too nervous to eat but would order something just to pay for her time waiting.
“The chicken noodle soup and whole wheat toast will do nicely, and thank-you,” she stated as she, with little effort in handing the menu back to the server, as Turtle from the corner of her eye noticed a rag-top silver Bentley drive onto the property, at a reckless speed, which in turn made Turtle lose concentration and in doing so did not properly hand the menu to the server and in turn dropped the menu on the floor. “Oh please forgive me.” She stated as she bent down to retrieve the menu however the server did the same and in doing so, their heads collided. “Oh my…please forgive me again and… are you alright?”
“This happens more times than one would think…and yes I’m fine. I must have a hard head, I’ve been working here since graduating, and yes I know it’s been a few years.” Then laughed and stated, “soup and toast… it will be just a few minutes.
“Well I hope she’s talking post-secondary.” Blair joked, after she had entered and watched and heard the ending of the slap-stick routine.
Turtle immediately stood to welcome her tardy date, and as she attempted to offer an informal hug, Blair immediately turned the greeting hug into a full blown affectionate hug accompanied with her normal cheek to cheek kiss.
“Was that you in the silver Bentley? She questioned as she slid onto the bench style seat offering her guest the hard wooden chair with the well-used cushion.
“Yes.” Blair stated as she took the seat along with an inquisitive look-see around the café. “All my years of living in this area and I’ve never been inside this building. It’s very quaint.” Then after accepting only coffee for now, she looked up from her cup and waited for the reason conversation to begin.
“How are you doing?” Turtle nervously asked.
“Fine.”
“Just fine?” Turtle nervously responded.
“Turtle honey… why am I here, and why did you decide on this place to meet? I was hoping maybe there was a hotel in the area allowing us to say hello properly.”
“I thought we needed to clear things up a bit.”
“I’m still listening.” After taking a sip of her coffee… “My, this coffee is quite good. I hope we get to visit this place more often. Now what were you saying?” And as she looked over the well-used wooden table with a red checker table cloth that had seen better days, she began her sentence loud and then softer, “Are you… dumping me?”
“Blair, how can I dump you when you are promised to another? Please remember that you are engaged to be married.”
“How dare you.” Blair was not angry but insulted that Turtle was able to speak the truth she could not.
“Blair, you are engaged. And what we did on that mountain was wrong. I saw the way your fiancée looked at you. She loves you.”
“She loves my money, and everything that has to offer. My brother hates her, Honey that’s why I was on that stupid adventure.” She immediately noticed the disappointing look on Turtle’s face. “What…wait, I’m sorry I said stupid adventure.” She exclaimed then leaned forwards sliding both her arms towards the woman she somehow knew she was losing. “I’m sorry, but you’re making me very nervous, please say something that I want to hear.”
“Miss Foster, it’s clear that I’m not the kind of person who can remain in an affair and then go about my normal life. I can’t even believe that I’m using these words in my life, knowing that it’s now attached to my soul for the remainder of my life. I will always be grateful…”
“Stop right there. Really… again you’re going to use the Miss Foster card. Don’t you think we are a little past that…!” Blair’s righteous indignation had begun to flair until she noticed the pain filled look and the tears building in the eyes of the woman she knew she absolutely adored, and decided to stop talking and think.
Then as she placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her over lapped hands she fell into a state of somber silence as she stared at the young innocent woman, who was being ethically torn apart by their indiscretion, and because of that she knew that if she brought her into her world of power it would literally destroy her forever. As her realization slapped her up the side of her head she whispered out, “I can’t let you go.”
“I don’t know how to stay.” And then as if she was lifted by a strong wind, Turtle slid across the bench, hesitated for a microsecond and then whispered, “Please don’t try to contact me again.” And then with excruciating movements she stood next to the only woman she had ever really loved, leaned in for her last seconds of tenderness, and then with only sheer pain guiding her she left the café.
Stunned by the outcome of her visit that she was sure was going to be an afternoon of lovemaking, Blair stared across the table at the empty bench. She was unable to move as if she had just been injected with a paralyzing concoction of poison reality.
“Is she coming back?” The loud booming voice pierced the air as the bowl of soup and the plate of toast were dropped onto the hard table top.
Shocked by the intrusion into her pain, “pardon me?” Blair looked up at the server who was standing next to the table.
“The girl that was sitting with you, is she coming back to eat her soup or have I just gotten stiffed again by another mountain…?”
“Enough.” Blair’s word was strong and defending. “That young lady is probably…oh never mind. I’ll take care of the bill.” Knowing by the look on the servers face and the need for the money not another sad story, she decided to stop talking and silently immerse herself in her heart break.
“Do you mind if I stay here for a little while, I seem to have nowhere else to be right now?” Blair asked the server as she dropped the bill on the table, with the offer of a refill of coffee. “Stay as long as you like lady. We’re open twenty four hours.”
“Thank-you, you serve very nice coffee.”
As Blair remained in the café, Turtle drove down the highway towards Carterville as if she was running from a disaster. And even though she knew what she had just done was right thing she couldn’t allow her eyes to look into her rear-view mirror for fear that she would spot a silver Bentley speeding up from behind.
As she drove she could feel her body internally tremble uncontrollably as if she no longer had any control over her own destiny.
Now a little calmer after the solitary drive down the country highway she was happy to notice the familiar Welcome to Carterville sign on the side of the highway, the sign she had read with her memory for most of her life, but then sadly as if her emotions were playing Ping-Pong she reverted back to the feeling of everything in her and around her felt painful, as if her skin had been set on fire. She adjusted her position in the driver’s seat and then gently scolded herself as she drove bearing in mind that her only solace was that within thirty five minutes she would be seeing her beautiful little wolf pup. “Get a hold of yourself girl. You have a little friend that is waiting for you to visit.”
The beautiful little wolf pup that would forever link her to those nine days, and the memories of the adventure and the events that had brought her to his moment and then she quickly flip/flopped again and thought that maybe visiting Rain would be to hard so she decided to first complete the mundane pa
rt of her existence which was to contact the insurance company regarding the damage to her homestead, and the promise that she made to her best friend that she would do this, which forced her to make a quick turn onto the road that would bring her into the town of Carterville rather than the road that would lead her to her beautiful wolf pup.
“No… the insurance and the cabin can wait. I need to visit Rain.” She announced to the world and then pressed her foot on the break petal with such force that her old jeep begin to swerve from side to side almost to the point of rolling it. “Holy shit Turtle… what are you doing?” She spoke aloud as she placed the jeep into park and stepped out of the opening of the jeeps drivers’ side, onto the country road, attempting to regain her over the top emotions.
After the short walk down the middle of the road and back into the jeep again, which also included a small amount of internal scolding she once again turned the engine on and turned the jeep around driving up and over the full road top which pointed her jeep back towards her original direction and using more control attempting to regain her normalcy headed back down the road that would lead her to the rescue center and her pup.
“How’s she doing now that you have cared for her these past few days?” She questioned one of the volunteers as she looked on, from a distance.
“She seems to be doing very well. She’s quiet the fighter and doesn’t take much rough housing from the other two males we have introduced her too. She remains a little young to keep her with them, all the time, as they are about four weeks older than she is. That difference in time gives them the advantage of both size and strength but Rain has held her own when they have tried to gang up on her. She fought back with just the right amount of intimidation.” Sally entered the room and interjected her voice and knowledge from afar.
Suddenly turning around and offering her friend a fast greeting hug, “Do you think she will be wild enough to go back into the wilderness where she belongs?” Her voice sounded nervous and scared for her pup as she was so worried about her making her wolf endure a life in captivity.
“You worry too much. Yes you did introduce a few human smells that she will always remember but all in all she will lose most of those memories and will flourish in the wild. But for now I would tell you to go and say hello again because she is still so young she will be fine. Tee you saved her little life and she may not thank you for it but her survival is her thanks. Now go and say hello.” Sally pulled Tee out of the shadow of the wall.
Although Rain was a little apprehensive at first, her smell sparked the tenderness in the pups memory that immediately brought out the play in the wolf that turned into hugs and licks. And as the playing continued Turtle’s memories also began to surface and before she knew what was happening she was holding onto the wolf pup and crying uncontrollable tears into its soft young fur.
With a thousand promises of returning soon and often she drove back towards Carterville to complete her other promise.
As she walked out of the office of the only insurance company in the town she stopped and looked up at the sky and wondered what the rest of the day would bring. However before her thoughts were completed she was surprised to feel another person’s hands on her arm.
“Are you Miss Turtle Dove?” The large man asked as he seemed to already know the answer.
“Excuse me?” She stated as she looked down at the large man’s hand gripping her bicep.
“Are you Miss Turtle Dove?” The man questioned again but this time he seemed not to be gentle about his question or his vicelike grip positioning on her arm.
“Yes. Now please let me go. And what do you want?” She stated as she attempted to pull her arm free.
“Well that’s for the courts to decide. You will come with us.” The command left little doubt.
Suddenly, and thankfully she recognized the voice of Chief English and then watched as she quickly approached the cinematic scene that was happening in slow motion.
“Tee, I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.” Her voice sounded winded and filled with concerned as she rapidly continued her quick informative plea to try to remain calm.
“The investigation into the cabin fire has turned ugly. I promise I will look into this, but for now you have to go with them to Rynthorp.” She talked as fast as she could as she watched Turtle being placed into the back of the unmarked detective cruiser.
As the door to the car slammed shut, Chief English watched in total alarm as one of the two officers climbed into the back of the cruiser and then watched in disbelief as the unmarked car drove away with her friend, that just days before was hailed as a local hero.
Now with her hands behind her back handcuffed to the metal seat loop, she allowed her entire upper body to lean forwards allowing her head to fall downwards as she forced her mind to return to the night of the cabin fire and the events that occurred.
Chapter Fourteen - No Contact
Blair abruptly entered the study and walked directly over to the always ready bar service station, with its crystal liquor carafes, filled with some of the finest liqueurs and whiskeys money can buy.
After a brief inspection of her choices she walked over towards the set of French doors and using only the tip of her elbow, because both her hands were now filled with a variety of drinking materials, pressed downward on the elegantly designed gold eagle head handle with enough force to disengage the door’s device, and then using only her right hip for power she offered a little friendly persuasion with a strong push forcing both doors to swung open wide exposing the large terrace and the exquisite view of the back yard acreage. Then without hesitation she marched over to her favourite place in the area which was underneath the beautifully preserved massive old growth cedar pergola, which always sparked the enjoyable family memory of this area being one of her father’s favourite places in the entire expansive estate grounds, as he was the designer and contractor of this unique, one of a kind structure.
Once she reached her destination she then preceded with very precise movements to lean forward placing her left bent arm over the table that cradled the bucket full of ice, which she then abruptly allowed to drop onto the surface of the table top. She did notice her carelessness as some of the ice came squirting from the bucket, but cared little for the mess she was making. In spite of this and after placing the crystal rock glass on the table she purposely showed more care with the placement of the two liquor decanters. Then reaching over she grabbed several ice cubes with her hand, an uncouth act that would have in the past driven her absolutely crazy, played the silly game of Eeny Meeny Miny Moe, then chose the decanter that contained her favourite thirty year old vodka, again, because it was once one of her father’s favourite’s, and poured a generous amount over the glass of ice. She then proceeded to looked up at the condition of the sky, not that she had any intention of leaving her resent resting/drinking place, again pleased that the sky was clear of any nasty rain clouds, she without hesitation began to remove her silk button up blouse exposing the delicate lace camisole that encased her beautiful toned and tanned skin.
With a cold beverage in her hand and the warm sun beating on her face she settled onto the chaise-lounge, and allowed her mind to wonder back to her favourite memory of her adventure and the time she spent in the cave…learning a whole new way of life. She mentally concluded that she irrefutably knew that this timeframe was when she absolutely and unequivocally fell in love for the first time.
As she allowed the name “Turtle Dove” to linger on her lips she downed the ice cold glass of vodka and reached to pour another without hesitation. Privately she knew that her personality never did well with heavy drinking especially during the day but this knowledge had little effect on her emotional state of mind, or her desire to become rational. Numbing the pain of her unvoiced loss was all that she was concentrating on and everything else in her life could essentially go straight to hell.
As she continued to allow her sorrow to consume her, and as she consumed t
he strong alcohol, she was unaware that her brother had arrived home early from work, which in itself was an anomaly, and prior to him advancing her position, he had stood in the open door frame of the French doors allowing the cool breeze to softy move the sheers in an easy rhythm fashion, as he watched his sister behaving in a manner which he had never witnessed before… lost and confused. As he observed his sister he could tell by her jerky movements that even though the location was ideal her mood was anything but.
Prior to his decision to advance her position and visit he decided to remove two more alcohol filled decanters from their station.
“Hey sis.” He announced his arrival from about fifteen feet away allowing his sister to know that he was approaching. A learned exercise from when they were young.
His memory immediately flowed back to the day when she was about thirteen and he was finally eighteen, he remembered sneaking up behind her as she was practicing on a mirror how to kiss another for the first time and scared her to the point she rocketed the mirror straight at his face. Using the back of his hand knuckles he immediately rubbed the scare on his chin just below his bottom lip from the eight stitches that took to close the deep gash.
Turing around she was stunned to notice her brother heading straight for her carrying additional liquid refreshments. “What the F are you doing home this early?” She stated as she grabbed for her blouse, then offering him a kiss-peak on the cheek, “My dear brother haven’t you noticed, the sun is still up and nowhere close to setting.” She exclaimed as she completed her sarcastic greeting.
“Well, you’re in a welcoming mood!” He stated as he placed the two additional decanters on the table and then boyishly vaulted onto the other chaise-lounge.
One of the members of the household–service team had approached the two family members in a rush as the arrival of both the heads of the household was an unexpected event that caught the team off guard.
