The Sweetest Thing

by Barbara Freethy

  "I have it," Suzannah said slowly. "Let me get it."

  She left the room, and Julian turned to Alex in a panic. "I didn't bring my half. Someone must go and get it from the hotel."

  "Relax, Grandfather, I brought it. It's in the car. I'll get it."

  Faith smiled at Julian once they were alone. "You did it. You found her."

  "No, you found her."

  "Well, it doesn't matter who did what. How do you feel?"

  "Like I'm eighteen years old again. She's still as beautiful as I remember."

  "Yes, she is. And you're still a handsome man."

  "Hardly that. But at least she didn't turn away in horror. When I took her in my arms, it was as if all the years had slipped away. In my heart I'm still that young man and she's still that young woman."

  "Maybe what's in your heart is all that matters."

  Julian and Faith stood up as Alex and Suzannah returned to the room. Alex handed Julian his half of the pot while Suzannah set a box on the table. She slowly removed the lid, then pulled away layers of tissue paper. Finally she reached the bottom.

  "I'm afraid," she said. "I haven't touched it since I packed it away almost fifty years ago."

  Julian touched her hand. "It will be all right. I think we should do this together, put it back the way it was."

  She nodded slowly. "Okay, here goes."

  As she picked up the pot, the breeze blew through an open window, stirring the curtains and sending shivers through everyone in the room. Faith slid closer to Alex, wanting his strength, his protection -- from what, she was not completely sure.

  Slowly, deliberately, Julian and Suzannah moved their hands together until the two pieces of the pot were almost touching.

  "Do it," Faith whispered. "Do it."

  And the pot became one.

  Faith's heart stopped as the overwhelming smell of smoke filled her senses. Faith saw Suzannah put a hand to her mouth and knew the other woman could smell it, too. She wondered if she could hear the voices, the screams, the terrible mournful wailing. She looked into Suzannah's eyes and saw the same recognition. There was a woman in pain, and her grief had reached across thousands of years.

  "What's happening?" Alex demanded.

  Faith could barely speak, but finally she got the words out. "She's crying, Alex, so hard I can feel her tears dripping down my cheeks, onto my hands." Faith held out her hands, wondering how they could look so normal when they felt so strange. "We will take the pot back tomorrow. Because if we don't, she'll never see him again."

  "Who?"

  "The warrior." Suzannah and Faith said the two words at the same exact time, drawing gasps of shock from both Julian and Alex.

  "Yes," Suzannah said to Faith's unspoken question. "I saw him, too. He looked like Julian."

  "He looks like Alex to me."

  "You're both nuts," Alex said, his eyes worried. "It's just a pot."

  "It's more than that." Faith wished she could make him understand. "It's a symbol of their love. It's what holds them together. Oh, I can't explain it. You just have to believe." She looked into Alex's eyes. "Can you do that, Alex? Because I need you with me."

  "I can try. You say we need to put this back, but where? Where is this canyon? This cave? And how in hell are we going to find it?"

  Faith turned to Julian. "Do you remember where it was?"

  "Of course. I remember everything. It was called Coal Mine Canyon, at least it was called that back then. It's on the Navajo reservation, not far from Tuba City. There's a windmill that you can see from the road. From that spot you hike into the canyon. It's an amazing place. The wind rolls through the canyons like a runaway freight train. You will have to be careful. It is a desolate place, not a tourist spot. I hope you can find it."

  "You will need a guide," Suzannah said. "I know someone, a young Navajo. I think he will help us. I will call him tonight, and tomorrow perhaps..."

  "We will go," Alex said. He turned to Faith. "That is, if you're sure you want to do this."

  She wasn't sure about anything. She just knew she had to get to the end of the story or she would never have peace. "I'll do it."

  "Then we'll leave in the morning."

  * * *

  Jimmy Mitchell, a strong, young Navajo about twenty years old, arrived at Suzannah's house just after 10:00 a.m. After discussing the canyon landmarks with Julian, Jimmy felt confident he could take them to the same spot. He said that part of the land had remained virtually untouched as it was a dry, desolate place with little water. The only people who went into the canyon were intrepid hikers intent on exploring the backcountry away from the more popular tourist sites.

  Jimmy had stocked his Jeep with backpacks and provisions in case they needed to spend the night. Despite Jimmy's confidence, Faith felt uncertain about the trip. She'd slept little the night before, tossing and turning, her dreams haunted by images of canyons and rocks and shadows, but the dreams had never become clearer than a distant haze, their meanings remaining elusively out of reach.

  While Jimmy checked their water supplies one last time, Faith slipped into the Jeep. She wore jeans and a long-sleeve plaid shirt over a tank top. She'd borrowed a pair of hiking boots from Suzannah as well as a baseball cap to protect her face from the sun. Alex was dressed in similar attire but had bypassed the hiking boots, content to wear a pair of Top Flight tennis shoes.

  Alex got into the backseat. "Ready to go?"

  She sent him a wry smile. "As ready as I'll ever be."

  "Having second thoughts?"

  "Oh, yeah."

  "I thought you had faith."

  "Occasionally I recognize that there is a place in life for logical, rational thinking."

  "Which would send you heading back to San Francisco on the first plane."

  "Right, so I'm trying not to think at all. I just want to get this over with."

  "Me, too."

  Alex leaned forward and kissed her slowly, slipping his tongue into her mouth, tracing the line of her teeth, the softness of her lips. When he lifted his head, she couldn't remember her own name, much less what she'd been worried about.

  "I've missed you," he said. "When this is over, you and I will have to get reacquainted."

  "Let's not wait fifty years, okay?"

  He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, and she had no idea what he was thinking. Before she could ask him, Jimmy got into the Jeep and started the engine.

  Jimmy drove with a lead foot that had them out of town in no time. He talked as fast as he drove, switching subjects every few minutes. Fortunately, his chatter kept Faith's mind off the trip ahead of them. She didn't want to think too much about the canyons, because she was afraid of what she would see there, what she would feel. Would the dreams return? Would they take over her life? Would she somehow lose herself in the desert?

  The questions rattled around in her head as they drove north, finally reaching Tuba City a few hours later. They turned east then, heading toward an area the Navajos call Ha Ho No Geh or "too many washes." They traveled another twenty minutes, then turned off onto a dirt road.

  The Jeep bounced with every turn of the tires, and Jimmy grew silent as the wind blew up, covering them with thick layers of desert dust. There were no trees in this area, nothing moist or lush, just an intense feeling of desolation.

  "I don't understand," Jimmy mused. "This wind -- it's stronger than I remember."

  And the winds will curse your life until you return to where it began... Faith turned in her seat, exchanging a solemn look with Alex. She knew exactly what he was thinking -- that the wind would not help their journey.

  "Suzannah told me about the pot your grandfather stole," Jimmy said, mentioning out loud for the first time their real reason in going into the backcountry. "She said it was broken, but now it's fixed."

  "That's right," Alex said.

  The wind blew Jimmy's baseball hat into the backseat. Alex grabbed it before it blew out of the Jeep entirely.

  "I
don't like this at all." Jimmy pressed his foot down on the gas. "You know, my grandmother said any person who touches a holy object may forever lose favor with the spirits. I don't want to see it -- the pot, I mean. Just keep it to yourselves, okay?"

  "Sure," Alex said. "Remember, we're trying to put it back, not steal it. The spirits should be happy with us, don't you think?"

  Jimmy started to reply, then began to cough and choke as the dust swirled into a small tornado heading directly for them. Faith put her hands over her eyes, trying to protect them from the flying dirt and pebbles. She felt terrified. They were going too fast. The wind was too strong.

  "Stop," she cried.

  Suddenly the Jeep went out of control, spinning them into the dry, prickly brush in a dizzying ride of terror.

  Faith screamed, wondering if they would ever come to a stop. Then her head hit the ground, and there was nothing but darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  "Faith!" Alex tried desperately to get upright, hearing nothing from the two passengers in the front seat. The Jeep had landed on its side, Faith's side, and Jimmy's body was sprawled over hers.

  The wind had quieted down, almost as quickly as it had arisen, blowing gently now, as if to soothe them rather than to punish them.

  "Faith, say something," he begged, finally freeing himself from his seat belt. He couldn't lose her, not now, not when it was all so new, when the future looked so bright, so full of hope. God! He hadn't realized until just this second how much she'd come to mean to him. He wanted to hear her voice once more, oozing with optimism and idealistic dreams. He wanted to see the ever-present smile glistening on her lips and shining out of her eyes. He wanted to hold her and touch her... "You have to be all right," he whispered. "You have to be."

  Alex leaned over the front seat and patted Jimmy on the shoulder.

  Jimmy stirred, uttering a pained moan. He squinted his eyes against the midday sun. "What happened?"

  "I don't know. Are you hurt? We need to get you off of Faith." Alex tried to speak calmly, tried to give Jimmy the consideration he deserved when all the while he wanted to rip the other man out of the Jeep so he could get to Faith.

  Jimmy muttered something about his leg, and when he held up his hand it was covered in blood.

  "Do you think you can move?" Alex asked.

  "Yeah. I think so." Jimmy bit down on his bottom lip as Alex helped him get out of the Jeep. When he was lying on the ground, Alex could see a long, ugly gash in his leg.

  "We've got to stop that bleeding."

  "It's okay. Get Faith," Jimmy said, his black eyes worried. "I couldn't hear her -- I couldn't hear her breathing."

  Alex's heart stood still. He wouldn't believe that she was dead. She had to be alive. She had to be all right.

  Trying not to jiggle the Jeep from its precarious position, Alex climbed into the front seat. Faith was lying on the ground, against the door. There was a cut on the side of her head and blood dripping down her cheek. He used his fingers to wipe it away from her eyes, then he felt for the pulse in her neck, hoping against hope...

  It was there, slow, quiet, but definitely present, and he heard a gentle whoosh of breath leave her lips.

  "Faith." He stroked her cheek with a gentle hand, bracing himself against the seat so his body wouldn't bump into hers. He didn't know how badly she was hurt, if she'd broken anything. "Faith, honey. You have to wake up."

  * * *

  He was calling her name, and she could feel his fingers touch her face. When she opened her eyes, he was there, watching her. It was still dark, but nearing dawn. They would have to leave now. It would be their last chance to get away.

  She couldn't move. Her cheeks felt hot, but her body felt chilled. She shivered as a light wind blew through their hiding place. Her stomach heaved in silent agony. She was sick. Her limbs felt weak. It was a chore just to keep her eyes open. Yet if they didn't leave now, they would be found, and they would be killed.

  She struggled to lift her hand to the warrior's face, and she whispered to him to go.

  He shook his head and settled down next to her. He pulled her into his arms and pressed her head against his chest.

  She knew it was wrong, madness. He had to leave. She pushed against him, telling him to go with every particle of her being. She did not want him to die.

  He shook his head again, his eyes resolute. Then he picked up the pot they had filled with water, their last few drops, and he held it to her parched lips. She drank just enough to cool her throat, then handed it to him, and he finished it off. There would be no more water. There would be no more time. But they would be together... forever. It seemed so easy to let life go, to journey to the other world, to...

  Something sharp pinched her cheek, a voice hammered in her head. She didn't want to wake up. It would be easier to die now than to let the others find them.

  "Faith, dammit. You wake up right now!"

  Faith grimaced, feeling the dream slide away, as Alex's irritated voice sank into her subconscious.

  "You are not going to leave me alone here in the wilderness, not to mention with a crazy grandfather and a trash-talking daughter and... well, you just can't leave. So wake up or else," he threatened hopelessly.

  "Or else what?" she murmured, slowing opening her eyes. She saw his worried face lit up by the now brilliant sun. She remembered the swirling wind, the dust, the accident. She was lying on her back and her head hurt. In fact, it was throbbing.

  She saw blood on Alex's fingers. "Are you all right?"

  "I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about."

  "Jimmy?"

  "He hurt his leg. Now, what about you? Where is the pain?"

  "My head."

  "Anywhere else? Can you move your fingers?"

  Faith was almost afraid to try, the vivid memory of languid weakness still fresh in her mind. But her fingers moved and so did her toes. She wiggled her legs and arms as well. Nothing hurt. Nothing tingled.

  "I think I'm okay."

  "Are you sure? I don't want to move you if anything could be wrong."

  "Can you help me out?"

  He nodded, and with much care and patience Alex got Faith out of the Jeep. She sat down on the ground next to Jimmy, her own worries forgotten as she saw his leg. He'd taken off his T-shirt and tied it around his wound to act as a tourniquet, but he was pale and his eyes were glittering with pain.

  "We need to get you to a doctor," she said.

  "Cell phone," Jimmy muttered. "It's in the car. See if it still works."

  Alex immediately returned to the Jeep, and Faith prayed he would find the phone intact.

  "Got it," he yelled. "It's working."

  Jimmy gave him a number to call, faster than 911, he told Alex. Alex dialed the number and handed the phone to Jimmy. Someone must have answered, because Jimmy told the person he needed an ambulance or a ride as soon as possible. He hung up the phone and told them someone would be there within thirty minutes.

  "I hope that will be soon enough," Alex muttered.

  Jimmy gave him a weak smile. "The bleeding has stopped. I'll be okay. I've been hurt worse."

  Faith doubted that was true but silently applauded Jimmy's brave attitude. "Let's see if we can make you more comfortable," she said, finding some of their things strewn about the dirt road. She pulled out a folded blanket and placed it under Jimmy's head. Then Alex brought over a canteen filled with water, and Faith helped him take a drink.

  "Thanks. My mouth was filled with dirt," Jimmy said. "How's your head?"

  "It's just a bump."

  "You were unconscious," Alex said. "For at least three or four minutes. I hope you don't have a concussion."

  Faith didn't think so. She could see clearly, and she didn't feel faint or dizzy, just disturbed. "I dreamed about them again," she told Alex. "When I hit my head, they came into my mind. They're in a cave, and the woman is sick. She can't move. But if they don't leave, they will be found, taken back, or killed on the spot." Fait
h paused, realizing she had the undivided attention of both men. "The woman begs the man to leave, to escape, but he won't go. Instead he lies down next to her, and they take the last drops of water from their pot."

  "What happens then?" Alex asked.

  "I don't know. Someone was pinching my cheek."

  "You seemed to be fading away, Faith. Your pulse got so faint."

  "I felt like I was her, Alex -- dying." Faith met Alex's eyes and knew that he was starting to believe.

  "That's it. We're going back, and we're leaving this pot right here. It's close enough, if it's even still intact."

  In some ways, Faith wanted to agree, because she was afraid of what would happen to her when they took the pot back. Would she simply fade away into this other woman's soul, or would she be herself again, without this strange connection to another life?

  While she was thinking, Alex searched for the pot. He found the box still intact, and he opened it carefully, checking to see if anything was broken.

  "It's okay," he said with surprise. "Still in one piece."

  "You must take it back," Jimmy said. "You cannot leave it here."

  "But you're hurt," Faith began.

  "And we can't find the way without you," Alex finished.

  Jimmy stared at them, his eyes so dark, so compelling, that he reminded Faith of a younger warrior. He no longer appeared to be the modern Native American kid who wanted to go to college and forget the old ways. He seemed transformed, as taken aback by what had happened as Faith was.

  "The wind came out of nowhere -- fury," Jimmy said. "I was not meant to go with you. The spirits have spoken. You must go alone. I will tell you the way. And somehow you will find the cave you seek and return the pot to its resting place."

  "Oh, hell, this is crazy!" Alex threw up his hands. "How are we going to find some cave out there in this wilderness? We don't know these canyons. Think about it, Faith. There are snakes out here, quicksand, tarantulas. Do you really want to go on?"

  "We don't have a choice. We have to do this."

  "You should go now," Jimmy said. "So you can find the cave before dark. There is food and water in the packs, blankets and sleeping bags. Take the cell phone, just in case. Now, listen carefully, and I will tell you the way."