South River Incident

by Ann Mullen

  I brushed her hand off my shoulder. Her words made me angry.

  “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to stand around and analyze our predicament. I’m going back out.”

  “You could be going into a dangerous situation. Think about it for a minute, Jesse. My kids are here.”

  “What would you have me do?”

  “Try calling Billy again. Maybe the connection will be better this time.”

  “I told you the line went dead.”

  “Well, we could stand here and debate whether the phone is truly dead or you could just give it a try.”

  “You know, right when I think you and I are on the same wave length, you go and blow that idea out of the water.”

  “For heaven’s sake, Jesse, just dial the number.”

  Chapter 16

  I tried to call Billy again, but it was useless. His line was dead. I panicked over what to do next. I couldn’t go looking for him in this storm, but I couldn’t leave him out there by himself. He could be hurt or he could’ve been the victim of the gunshot I heard in the distance. And unfortunately, my sister’s idea of a rescue was to stay inside and wait. I had to think fast. What could I do?

  “Why don’t you call around? Maybe he’s at his folk’s house. Try his brothers,” Claire suggested.

  “Claire, if our telephone is out of order, don’t you think the rest will be, too? I’m going out to look for him. I know he’s hurt.”

  “Please try your neighbors first. It’ll just take a minute.”

  “All right, I’ll call around. But if nothing pans out, I’m out of here.” I went to the computer table and searched my purse, looking for my address book. I scrambled to find the list of phone numbers Billy had written in it for me. I punched in Daniel’s number. The phone rang.

  “I don’t understand. Why is his phone working and mine isn’t? Hello... Daniel, this is Jesse. Is Billy there?”

  “Hi, Jesse,” he responded casually. “No, he’s not. Is something wrong?”

  “I’m very upset,” I cried into the phone. “Someone broke into our house.” I gulped in sobs. “Our power is out so Billy went out back to get the generator started, and then he was going to search the property. I went to help him, but when I got outside the storm was so bad I couldn’t see a thing. Then I heard a gunshot. I screamed for him, but he didn’t answer. I need your help.”

  “Just calm down, Jesse. We’ll find him,” Daniel assured me. “I’ll call the family and get out a search party. You said your power is out?”

  “Yes, and so is the house phone. I’m calling on my cell phone.”

  “That’s strange,” he said, hesitantly. “I just talked to Jonathan and he didn’t mention anything about a power failure. Can you get to your Jeep or Billy’s truck?”

  “I could probably make it to my Jeep. Why do you ask?”

  “I think you ought to get out of there. You can come over here.”

  “I can’t do that. Claire’s here with her two little kids. It wouldn’t be safe for us to try and go anywhere in this weather.”

  “Then lock all your doors and close the curtains. Do you have a gun?”

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  “Get it, and make sure it’s loaded. Has Claire got a gun?”

  “I doubt it.” I looked at Claire. “She has two kids.”

  “What’s your cell number?” he asked.

  I rattled off the number, praying my battery would hold up long enough to receive the call when it came.

  “I don’t know how long my battery will last. You know how these phones are. If could go dead any minute.”

  “Don’t worry, if I can’t reach you by phone, I’ll find a way to get to you.” He broke the connection.

  “He said he would call back as soon as he finds Billy,” I told Claire. “He said to make sure the doors were locked and close the curtains.”

  “Why do we need to close the curtains?”

  “To keep anyone from being able to see inside the house, silly.” I tried to make light of the situation. “Come on and help me.”

  We checked the doors and closed all the curtains. Over the kitchen sink where there was only a half-curtain, I draped a towel to cover the gap. As Claire and I were about to huddle by the fire, I thought I heard a snowmobile or some kind of engine roaring out front. I jumped up, ran to the front door, and then pulled the curtain back. The headlights from three snowmobiles glared in my eyes. I flung open the door and ran out on the porch. I stood shivering in the frigid night air as a man dismounted the machine and fought his way up the steps. I was relieved to see Daniel as he handed me a small leather satchel the size of a book.

  “It’s a bag phone and it’s turned on. You won’t have to worry about the battery going dead on this thing.”

  He turned and disappeared into the night with the others.

  I hurried back inside the house, locking the door behind me.

  “Who was that?” Claire asked.

  “It was Daniel. He brought us this phone.” I showed it to her.

  I placed the bag phone on the computer table where it would be close at hand and walked over to the fireplace.

  “All we have to do now is wait to hear something.”

  I was scared and sick to my stomach at the same time. Claire and I had been sitting by the fire for almost thirty minutes according to her watch, and we still hadn’t heard a word from Daniel.

  She looked at her wrist again. “It’s been...”

  “I know Claire, don’t remind me.” I cut her off.

  “I guess my idea was a good one.”

  “What idea?”

  “Remember, I’m the one who begged you to call for help in the first place. I told you not to go outside.”

  I laughed out loud.

  “Claire, you’re the most...”

  All of a sudden, the lights in the house came on and startled both of us. The familiar hum of the computer and printer resetting itself echoed throughout the house. The rooms had been silent up until now. Everything came alive, including the dogs and the kids.

  I jumped up, and Claire ran over to the kids.

  Someone pounded on the utility room door.

  “Jesse,” I heard Billy yell. “Let me in. It’s freezing out here.”

  I just about killed myself getting to the door. I slipped on a throw rug in the living room, and then hit my shoulder against the doorjamb as I made my way to the utility room. I jumped on Billy, almost knocking him down, when he walked through the door.

  “I’m so glad that you’re all right!” I screamed.

  “I’m fine. What’s the matter with you?”

  “I heard a gunshot and you didn’t answer when I called you. I thought you were dead. I was sick with fear.”

  “I didn’t hear you,” he explained. He walked to the living room and stood by the fireplace. “That wasn’t a gunshot you heard. It was the backfire from the generator. It just about busted my eardrums.”

  He took off his coat and rubbed his hands together against the warmth of the fire. He bent down and started to pull off his boots.

  “What’s wrong with you two?” He glanced back and forth at us. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Talk about feeling like an idiot!

  “I think you need to call Daniel,” I mumbled. “He’s out looking for you. I didn’t know what to do, so...”

  “Ah, that was him I heard. I didn’t think anything of it. He likes to ride that thing in the snow. He’s crazy. Storm... be gone!” He finally caught my drift. “He’s out there looking for me?”

  “I called him after I heard the shot. I was worried.”

  “I’m hurt, `ge ya. Don’t you have any confidence in me?”

  “Of course, I do. It’s the other people I don’t trust.”

  “I’d better call Daniel,” he said, walking over to where the bag phone was sitting on the computer table. “Once he calms down, he’ll get a good laugh out of this one.”

&nbs
p; “Won’t they all?” I stated, embarrassed.

  “Jesse, they all know you’re a city girl,” he snickered. “They won’t think anything of it. They realize it will take me a while to make a real mountain woman out of you.”

  Ten minutes later, the kids were tucked safely in my bed while Claire and I rustled up chips and beer for Billy and his brothers. Before going home, they had stopped by to make sure we were all right.

  “You’d think nothing happened,” Claire whispered in my ear. “Look at them. They get over a traumatic situation like it was nothing. I’m still a nervous wreck. I was really scared.”

  “Me, too,” I agreed. “I’m still sick to my stomach about the whole incident. I had all kinds of things going through my head.”

  “What are you ladies discussing?” Billy asked us.

  I gave him one of my coy looks and said, “Nothing, dear.”

  Daniel got up from the kitchen table and raised his beer.

  “I’d like to propose a toast to Billy and Jesse.”

  His brothers stood to join him.

  “Best wishes and congratulations. May your marriage last as long as the marriage of our father and mother—Chief Standing Deer and Sarah. Lord knows, none of the rest of ours has.”

  The room fell silent as the truth was told. Not one of the Blackhawk brothers had survived an everlasting marriage.

  “But Beth is still going strong. She’s still married to the same guy,” Robert said. “Sometimes I wonder about little Sarah. I think she might be headed for trouble with that one of hers.”

  “He’s a wild one for sure,” Jonathan said.

  “He’s got bad blood,” Daniel jeered.

  “All right, guys,” I butted in. “It’s time to go home. You’ve had enough to drink. Better yet, why don’t you all go upstairs and go to sleep. You don’t need to be driving.”

  “Hey, we’re Blackhawk boys!” Jonathan boasted. “We can handle anything. Besides, we’ve only had a couple of beers.”

  “I want each one of you to call me the minute you get home or I’m coming to your house,” I demanded. “I’ve had enough to worry about.”

  They left with the promise to call, and within twenty minutes, they all had kept their promise. Each one was safely at home. I could go to bed.

  Claire was snuggled in my bed with her kids while Billy slept on the couch. I was wide-awake. I was uptight and couldn’t unwind. I get like that sometimes. I’ll have to make a mental note to tell Billy about my occasional bouts of insomnia.

  I walked over and messed with his hair until he woke up.

  “Claire and the kids are asleep in our bed. Do you want to go upstairs with me? You don’t want to sleep here.”

  He didn’t say a word. He reached out, took my hand, and together we climbed the staircase in search of a warm bed to share.

  I scooted up next to Billy. His body was warm and masculine. I could feel his heartbeat next to mine as he tenderly made love to me. Fireworks exploded as we reached ultimate fulfillment. I slept peacefully in Billy’s arms.

  It was still dark outside when I heard the phone ring downstairs. Who was calling at this time of night? I slid out from under the covers and the warmth of the arms that had held me, to go answer the phone.

  “Hello,” I hissed, rubbing my eyes. “You better have a good reason for getting me out of bed in the middle of the night!”

  “Jesse, it’s me, your mom. It’s six o’clock. The sun’s out and we made it through the storm.”

  I walked over to the kitchen window and pulled back the towel. The beam of light glared down in my face, warming my skin. Behind the glow of the sun, I saw dark, ominous clouds. Was this an indication of the day to come? Were we still in for more bad weather?

  “It’s not over yet, Mom.”

  “That’s nonsense!” she scolded. “It’s over, and I want to come home. Dr. Bryant has released me.”

  “It’s too early in the morning. Doctors haven’t made their rounds yet. Mom, are you telling me a fib? I can’t believe you got me out of bed.”

  “You know me better than that,” she said, without answering my question. “Either come get me or I’m calling a cab.” She hung up the phone.

  Good luck! I laughed to myself. If Mom could find a cab in the city of Charlottesville, in the middle of all this bad weather, she would be mighty lucky. She’d have to be a miracle worker. Then I thought about the will of my mother. She could make anything happen, no matter what. The word no was no longer in her vocabulary, not since Dad had died. She was now a changed woman. Nothing could stop her.

  I found the number for UVA and had Dr. Bryant paged. Four minutes later, he returned my call.

  “Mom said you released her. Is that true?”

  I tried not to sound too hard-core, but I thought Mom had told a real lie. She could be stubborn at times.

  “I did release her,” he said. “I had to. She was determined to leave anyway and being officially released meant she would have to wait for someone to pick her up. It was either that or she was going to walk out.”

  “I’ll come get her. Just make sure she doesn’t leave until I get there.”

  “Miss Watson, it’s imperative that your mother take her medication every day once she leaves the hospital, until I tell her to stop.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Bryant. I’ll talk to my sister. She’s the one who will oversee Mom’s care, since she lives with her. I’ll be there shortly.”

  I hung up the phone and realized I had been talking on the wall phone in the kitchen. “Ah, it’s working again,” I said out loud.

  “Who were you talking to, Jesse?” Claire asked, walking into the kitchen. “I see the phone’s back in service.”

  “Yes,” I said. “The phone’s working. That was Mom’s doctor. She’s been released and I’m going to get her.”

  “I thought we were going to make her stay in the hospital.”

  “Forget what I said. The storm didn’t last long enough to trap her and force her to stay. I thought we’d get snowed in and she wouldn’t be able to leave the hospital, but I was wrong. She wants to leave and if I don’t go get her, she said she’d call a cab. I believe she will.”

  “I think you should talk to Billy first,” Claire said. “Have you been outside? It looks pretty bad.” She walked over to the front door and pulled back the curtain. “Look, Jesse. You can’t see anything but the tops of the cars. I bet there’s twenty-five inches of snow on the ground. You can’t go anywhere. I think it would be physically impossible.”

  I walked over and stood beside her, peeking through the glass pane.

  “I think that’s a good idea, Claire. Maybe I should go wake up Billy.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” he spoke softly as he walked down the staircase, fully dressed and ready for the day. “I’ve been awake for a while. I’ll drive my truck and go get your mother. This is not a journey for two city girls. This is a man’s job.”

  “What?” Claire and I protested, indignantly.

  “It’s the place of the man to protect the women. You’re the women, and I’m the man...” He was adamant as he beat his chest with his fist. “I’ll bring her here. The storm’s not over. It’s still for now, but soon it will do real damage. Yes, I will take care of her, She will not... ”

  Claire rolled her eyes at me. I cocked my head toward her, and batted my eyelashes at Billy.

  “Your wit is what attracted me to you in the first place,” Billy kissed the side of my face. “Claire,” he turned to her and said, “Make sure Jesse stays in the house. I don’t want her running around while I’m gone. Keep the place locked up and the cell phones charged while we still have power. Mine died last night.”

  “I’m not going outside unless I have to,” I tried to reassure a non-listening audience. Billy and Claire were in a conversation all by themselves. They weren’t listening to me. I had lost control of the situation.

  Claire and I stood on the front porch, barely clothed, watching Bil
ly try to get his truck out from under the fallen snow. Eventually, he cleared a path where he had been parked, and managed to use the force of his truck to forge ahead. Once he had made it out of the long driveway and down Bear Mountain Road, he would be on a main road that we could only hope had been plowed by VDOT. I wouldn’t have to worry too much about him after that. I held my breath until I saw the tail lights of his truck disappear. He’ll be fine, I kept telling myself. He knows what he’s doing.

  Claire wrapped her arm around me, and led me inside.

  “He’ll be fine, Jesse. He’s a good driver.”

  “He’s a good man,” I added.

  The house was warm, but lonely without Billy. I missed him. I was finding this new and empty feeling a bit strange. I’d never felt sad when the person I was dating wasn’t around. I’d just go on about my business doing whatever it was I was doing. However, with Billy, it was different. We weren’t dating; we were engaged. I found that I wanted us to be together all the time, and when we weren’t, it would make me sad and lonely. Did Billy share these same feelings? Was this how true love felt?

  “I’m going to check on the kids.” Claire’s words snapped me out of my daze. “If Mom’s going to be here soon, maybe we should get a room set up for her. You know how funny she can be.”

  “There’s not much to do. The beds upstairs already have sheets on them.”

  “We could change the sheets so there would be fresh linens on the beds, and we could do a little dusting.”

  I realized she was trying to keep my mind occupied with household chores until Billy’s return. She must have sensed my lack of direction.

  “That’s a good idea. I finally did get around to unpacking my stuff, but I haven’t spent much time on housework.” My hyperactivity mode kicked in. “I’ll go strip the beds and put the sheets in the wash while you see to the kids. I bought extra linen the other day, but they haven’t been washed.”

  “That’s okay,” Claire responded. “We’ll wash the new sheets and the ones on the beds. It shouldn’t take too long. We have plenty of time.”