“Don’t worry,” Dalton joked trying to puff out his chest and sound lighthearted, “I won’t be letting any black masses hurt my girl!” She could tell he was trying to do a good impression of a superhero and didn’t sound half bad. At least he had managed to break the tension that she still felt the ache from between her shoulders. Meanwhile, Dalton thought to himself, she wouldn’t be thinking he was much of a superhero if she could see inside of him and get a glance at how terrified he had really been. Something just nagged at the back of his mind, almost like a déjà vu, when she’d mentioned the shadow and deep inside he knew it wasn’t a pleasant memory he was searching for and pushed it away for now.
“Let’s get to the motel and call it a night. I think we could both use a good stiff drink and a nice soft bed. What do ya say?”
“I say lead the way!”
Marissa swallowed trying to push down the feeling of tasting what those crepes she’d had for breakfast were like coming back up; knowing they wouldn’t be nearly as good coming up as they’d been going down. All she wanted right now was a hot shower and a warm bed.
“How much further?” she inquired.
“About another hour and a half and we will be in Covill. We will find something there and then head out early in the morning. The park is less than half an hour from there.”
***
DALTON PULLED INTO the parking lot of what seemed to be a lovely place to stay. The trees behind the buildings were in full autumn splendor making it seem like someone had purposely set the motel down in the middle of a blaze of color. Reds and yellows and oranges spread out for as far as the eye could see and both he and Marissa were in awe of the beauty. Across from the inn was a beautiful harbor with sailboats nodding rhythmically with the waves.
“Now this is what I call a vacation!” exclaimed Dalton looking at the water and restaurant right down the street. “Why can’t we just forget about the park and ‘rough it’ right here?”
“This is not roughing it. This is what would be called a luxurious, expensive get away and we agreed, we just can’t afford something like this right now, remember? Besides, I was looking forward to the fresh air and exercise and we wouldn’t be getting much exercise here.”
“Ahhhh but that’s where you are wrong my dear! I would give you wonderful exercise here. So much exercise you may never want to exercise again!” claimed Dalton being silly, trying his best to be convincing but instead coming off as the joker he was.
Marissa laughed and shook her head as she grabbed her overnight bag from the back of the Jeep and headed towards the lobby of the motel with Dalton scuffing his feet and looking at the ground behind her. She had known him way too long not to know he was being a brat and only trying to get his way so she just ignored him and kept on walking. Once he realized he wasn’t going to get his way, she thought, he would remember what the real reason was for coming to the park was in the first place, to have some alone time, alone as in the two of them. She got to the counter first and asked if they had a room available that overlooked the harbor across the street. Luckily they had two and she took the one with the king size bed. They both trudged up the stairs that led to the second floor with Dalton still dragging his heels and looking longingly across at the harbor and then turning his sad puppy eyes back to her. A few sighs let Marissa know he was really going to go overboard trying to convince her that this was where the vacation should be.
The room was nicely done in the blues and white typical to a waterfront motel. The breeze coming in through the patio doors which had been left open just a little to air the room out, felt so cool and refreshing that she went to open them even further. Dalton had arrived behind her with a bit of their luggage and some flyers for attractions in the area that he had picked up in the office while she checked in. He came up behind her as she stood looking out at the sun sinking lower and lower, seeming to sink right into the water, and wrapped both arms around her, pulling her up against the front of him, and nuzzling his nose in her hair thinking nothing that God ever put on this earth smelled as good to him as she did. The light scent of lily of the valley was intoxicating, and despite the fact that it was fall, it instantly made him think of a spring day. They both started talking at once and then as they laughed she turned to face him.
“It really is beautiful here. If you want to change our plans and go ahead and stay here, I am fine with it.” She started while he was saying to her…
“I really do want to go to that park and see the Devils Kettle waterfall. We both have been looking forward to going for a long time so let’s stick to our plans…”
They laughed at and with each other, both thinking of how great it was that each of them was willing to sacrifice for the other to get along. That’s part of what made a good relationship great. Sacrifice. Sacrifice, trust, and love, and they had it all.
It was decided that they would stick to the plan after all and head out to the park bright and early so they could get far enough in to be alone and still have time to set up camp. It got dark much earlier now that the fall had come, and they didn’t want to get stuck out in a place of that magnitude without being prepared and ready for nightfall. It was decided that Marissa would grab a shower tonight and leave it for Dalton in the morning so that they both would be assured hot water. You never knew in these motels if you were going to get lucky with that or not. She headed into the bathroom while he lay on the bed clicking on the TV with the free HBO. She turned on the shower and watched it come out of the showerhead in a burst of unexpected power she couldn’t wait to feel. Most places had those agonizingly weak showerheads that made you feel like you could spit harder. She pulled back the curtain and climbed in relishing in the hot needle like spray. She moaned and leaned her head back to get her hair wet while the water sluiced over her body, finally washing away the ache that still throbbed between her shoulder blades from that dream. Despite the heat in the shower, she shuddered again thinking of how horrible that nightmare had been. She hoped that if she lived to be a hundred she would never have another one that realistic and scary. Not that she would ever tell Dalton, but she had been having those dreams for as long as she could remember. They had pretty much stopped when she’d first met him and she had thought that maybe she’d finally grown out of them. A tear found its way down her cheek, mingling with the water from the shower as she remembered the times her mother had come to her rescue over the years, always telling her it was alright and that the dreams would stop. She had even gone so far as to buy her a dream catcher, both of them loving the legend that had gone with it. The dream catcher lore had been that Native Americans believed that the night air was filled with dreams, both good and bad. The dream catcher, when hung over or near your bed swinging freely in the air, would catch the dreams as they flowed by. The good dreams knew how to pass through, easily slipping through the outer holes to slide down the soft feathers so gently that many times the person sleeping didn’t even know that they were dreaming. The bad dreams, not knowing the way, got tangled in the dream catcher and would burn away with the first light of a new day. How disappointed they both had been when it didn’t work. The nightmares had continued until she’d met Dalton. She had been convinced at the time that it was a sure sign that he was the one for her. Her mother had loved him as if he were her own and would have been so happy to see them still together and still so much in love. Marissa liked to think that somehow she knew, that from somewhere up in Heaven, her mother looked down on them and sanctified the relationship even though she was no longer there to see it.
Memories of the fateful day that her mother died came rushing back despite her efforts to push them away. Both she and Dalton had stood on the sidewalk leading into the apartment building, waving to her mother after Thanksgiving dinner two years ago. She had seen her face clearly through the ground floor patio doors, still sitting in her usual place on the sofa, not even bothering to get up to see them off, looking sad and melancholy. This had been her mother’s mood every
holiday since Marissa’s father had passed away two years earlier from lung cancer. He had fought it so hard and they had held out so much hope, especially after he had passed that fateful five year mark, that when he finally died weighing in at a shocking sixty five pounds, it had crushed them all. Her parents had been such good friends, always doing things together, making plans for her future together, and going places with each other. It had left such a huge void in her mother’s life. She remembered glancing up at Dalton and thinking how close their relationship mimicked her parents and being so grateful for it, when suddenly, the ground shook, windows had exploded and the building where her mother lived erupted in a ball of fire. Too shocked to move, not even able to believe it was happening, both she and Dalton had stood there, frozen. The loud whoosh and blast of flames had hit them knocking them off their feet and singing both of their eyebrows and eyelashes clean off. She had jumped up and gone running back hoping to make it in the patio doors of her mother’s apartment to save her. As she drew near enough to see the flames licking and quickly melting the sheers around the patio doors, she could clearly see her mother, still calmly sitting on the sofa like nothing was happening, and sitting beside her had been someone Marissa didn’t know. Who could possibly be in there with her? She tried to get closer all the while frantically screaming at her mother to get out, getting close enough that the fire started melting what little make-up she wore, off of her face, and still, her mother sat there. Whoever it was that was in there with her mother, had grabbed her hand and sat caressing it and talking to her as if nothing were even happening. Marissa desperately looked around for Dalton hoping he would at least confirm what she was seeing, but he’d run over to the front of the building to see if he could gain entrance there and instead had ended up helping a woman who was staggering out carrying her tiny infant wrapped in a bulky blanket that had been soaked down to keep the child safe. As Marissa looked back again, she’d seen her mother throw her head back and laugh as if she had just heard the world’s funniest joke and then watched as the fiery piece of material from the sheers drifted over to the sofa where she sat and slowly but surely, engulfed the sofa in flames. Marissa stood watching in shock as finally the sofa combusted, her mother with it, and then it had looked to Marissa as if it were her father sitting there beside her mother and her heart had melted to see them together again. Then, as fast as it was her father, it was the black creature from her dreams. Marissa watched as it reached over to her mother’s face and brushed the singed hair from her eyes and together they had combusted and burned right in front of her. As she’d stood there watching, a scream that seemed to never end, started. The thing that bothered her to this day, the one thing she dared not tell anybody, not even Dalton, was that the person she’d seen sitting there on the seat right beside her mother, was Death. She knew it now as sure as she knew her own name. She had seen it reach over and take her mother seconds after the couch had burst into flames. It had been like watching a live cremation and being totally helpless to do anything. As she’d watched, she’d finally made the connection with Death and the black mass of wretched filth that had been plaguing her dreams for years. Was it a premonition that she had failed to find the meaning of? Should she have been able to connect the dots and warn her mother? What could she possibly have said without sounding like she was crazy? But now, in the quiet solitude of the shower, alone, she reflected on the dream she’d had earlier and wondered why in the world it was back.
She lathered her body with her lily of the valley soap and scrubbed herself from top to bottom luxuriating in the scent of it. It was such a nice clean smell. It reminded her of her mother who’d worn lily of the valley perfume and Marissa smiled remembering how sweet and fresh she’d always smelled. It was as if her mother was surrounding her and for some reason, making herself known today. How very sad, yet comforting. Rinsing off and grabbing the threadbare towel the maids had left, she dried her hair first, which seemed to take such a long time that it always made her think how much easier it would be to take care of if she would just cut it. The towel was already saturated and wasn’t going to be much good for her body. She grabbed the second one, mentally reminding herself to call room service and have some more sent up for when Dalton had his shower in the morning. She spread on the lotion she had gotten with the soap and then reached into her overnight bag for the lingerie she had packed. Slipping the black lace over her head and shrugging it into place; she felt her nipples respond to the roughness of the material and smiled thinking how much Dalton was going to love this one. With the thought of finally letting him know how deep her love for him flowed, she slipped the rope chain that had held the ring since she was sixteen years old, over her head and stared at it nestled between her breasts, in the mirror. She turned off the light and tiptoed out into the main room only to find him lying on his back, remote still clenched in his hand and snoring lightly. She smiled and shook her head and turned back to the bathroom to change into her regular pjs and to save this number for another night when it would be better appreciated. Once again, she wrapped the ring carefully in the cloth that had been hiding the black velvet bag and slid it between the folds of the black lace. Climbing in on her side of the bed, she didn’t lay there for five minutes before she was fast asleep herself, dreaming of nothing this time, and thankful for it.
***
THE SHRILL RING of the motel phone jarred them both awake at 5:30 the next morning. Groaning Dalton rolled over and picked up the receiver and mumbled his thanks to the front desk clerk on the other end.
“How could you think 5:30 was a civilized time to wake up?” he grumbled to Marissa.
“Hey,” she argued, “we’ve lost enough time already and I want to get there early enough to really appreciate Mother Nature.”
“You are almost early enough to appreciate Christmas.” he replied testily.
“Wow, I hope I don’t have to put up with that attitude all day,” she countered back.
Dalton ran his hand through his wavy chestnut hair and sheepishly shook his head in the negative.
“I’m sorry, I must have slept wrong last night and I have a bit of a headache going on. No excuse to be miserable with you, I’m sorry.” He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. “You are absolutely right about wanting to get there early and have the rest of the day to hike once we get everything set up. Let’s get out of here as soon as possible. Maybe the fresh air will clear this headache huh?”
“Here’s hoping. Sorry about the headache, do you want something for it? I think I have some pain reliever in my purse.”
“Sure, it’s gotta beat putting up with this.”
Marissa rifled through her purse, grabbed the bottle of pills and shook 2 out into her hand.
“These ought to cure what ails ya,” she winked.
She handed them to Dalton and then grabbed her toothbrush and headed towards the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She really hoped the fresh air helped get rid of Daltons headache. It would suck for him to have to suffer with that all day. Poor guy, she couldn’t remember him ever having a headache before. Marissa finished brushing her teeth and washing her face and threw a cap on over her hair. Bed head was a phrase they had invented just for her. When she came back in the room he’d already packed up their stuff and was waiting to get in and grab his shower.
“How’s the shower?” he asked.
“Incredible!” she replied. “You’ll love it. Maybe it will relax you and work out that headache. Sure worked for my shoulders last night.”
In the bathroom he started the shower and went back to the sink to down the pills she had given him. He splashed some cold water on his face for good measure and then relieved himself before hopping into the shower. Marissa was right, it was awesome. He finished up quickly and got dressed while Marissa dropped the key off at the office and carried their few things out to the Jeep. She then went on a search for coffee and hopefully a little something to eat. S
he was happy to find an old trailer that professed to have the “Best breakfast sandwich in town, guaranteed!” and she bought two. The smell of them almost had her swooning, the scent was so delicious. She paid the man, thanked him and turned to go back to the Jeep ready to surprise Dalton when he finally joined her. The two large coffees were sending up desperate signals to her brain and she couldn’t wait to get a swallow of it into her mouth. What was it about the outdoors that just made everything smell and taste so much better? She didn’t rightly know but she sure was thankful for it! She set the cup holder down between the seats, moving the camera over so she could fit it in. After a few minutes, Dalton came out making sure the door lock clicked behind him, seen her sitting in the Jeep and waved. She smiled back pointing to the coffee that sat next to the seat and he gave her a thumbs up. She took a bite of the sandwich almost passing out from delight as the sausage, egg and bacon dripped juice down her chin. She reached for a napkin and wiped it off while licking up the juice that had dribbled down the side of her hand. If the coffee was half as good as the sandwich, she might just relent and stay here like Dalton had suggested yesterday. She laughed to herself as Dalton swung his legs into the Jeep and inhaled deeply, sighing at the smell of the coffee and food.
Lost Souls Page 4
