Whitman River

by Maeve Ashfeld

  Glenna rolled her eyes and turned back to the TV.

  The New Memories

  “What are you up to?” Jody walked into the living room with a bowl of cereal in her hand. She sat next to Glenna.

  “Just looking through some old photos.”

  Jody leaned over and watched as Glenna flipped through the pages. The photos were older and a little faded.

  “I found some of us, earlier.” Glenna picked up a page that she had removed from the binder. There were photos of her and Jody as kids. They were smiling and playing with toys. “I never realized just how often we were together.”

  “Yeah, we’ve been friends for, what, twenty years now?” Jody crunched down on another spoonful of cereal.

  “Gosh, that makes me feel old.”

  “Not hardly.”

  Glenna smiled, “I suppose you’re right. It just doesn’t feel like we’re getting any younger.”

  “I don’t know about you but I feel younger every day.”

  “Right.”

  Glenna turned back to the album in her lap. Near the back, there were photos of people that she didn’t recognize. One of them had curly hair and giant glasses.

  “Woah, wait,” Jody put the bowl on the arm of the sofa. “Is that Guthrie?”

  Glenna looked a little closer. “Wow, I hardly recognized her with these glasses on.”

  “Plus she looks to be younger than we are, now.”

  “Yeah. I wonder if this was taken before I knew her. Why did Robert have a picture of her?”

  Guthrie was smiling at the camera. It looked like a standard portfolio headshot. Her lab coat was bright white and had a small pin attached above a chest pocket. The pin on her jacket was red with black writing.

  “I swear I’ve seen that logo before.”

  “Well, sure. You probably saw it all the time since she hung around a lot while you were a kid.”

  “Yeah, but, I think I’ve seen it recently.” She took the picture out of its plastic and held it close. “I know! This logo was on one of the letterheads.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You know those letters that I found in Albert’s office? This was on one of them.”

  “So what? Maybe that company is one of their clients?”

  “Yeah, but-”

  “I’m literally not going to have this conversation with you today.” Jody rose to wash her bowl.

  After a few weeks of living with Jody, Glenna had stopped taking her sleep medication. The two of them stayed up and had long nights where they talked about life. It was refreshing to have these kinds of conversations.

  “Maybe you’re nocturnal, anyway?”

  "I'm totally a vampire."

  "Obviously."

  Sometimes, they would go on walks to watch the moon and stars. That’s one thing that Glenna missed about the country when she lived in Benton.

  “There are no stars in the city. Even the air smells better here.”

  “Yeah, and the company’s not so bad.”

  They talked about dreams. Jody wanted to own a bakery or shelter one day.

  "Maybe a cat cafe?"

  Glenna smiled, “Where are your cats?”

  “They are with my old roomie. She’s watching them while I’m here.”

  “Why don’t we go get them?”

  “Nah. I don’t want to bring them here until we can see Merlin.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Interesting how you both almost drowned in the same river.”

  “Yeah. Interesting.” Glenna raised an eyebrow. “You sure have a way with words.”

  “Let’s go to the river.”

  “Are you nuts?”

  “Yes. We should go, anyway.”

  There was some back and forth before Glenna finally conceded.

  It couldn’t be that bad.

  Glenna followed closely behind as Jody led them to the river. The closer they got, the more she wanted to turn around and run home. She didn’t want to disappoint Jody… or herself, for that matter.

  Jody took off her shoes and lowered herself into the river and walked a few feet.

  “Please be careful.”

  She smiled and kept going. The water slowly crept up from her ankles as she went further. She stopped near the middle. The water line barely reached her knees. “The water feels so great. It’s nice and cool.”

  Glenna smiled and nodded.

  “You should come in with me.”

  “I think I’m good.”

  “Come on.” Jody held out her hand.

  The water gently sloshed around Jody’s knees. The thought of hopping in made Glenna’s skin crawl.

  “I’ve got you.” Jody walked to the edge of river and held out both hands.

  Closing her eyes, Glenna took a deep breath and walked forward. She kicked off her shoes and felt the warm grass under her feet. She opened her eyes and looked at Jody.

  “You’re doing great.”

  She grasped at the edge with her toes and then gingerly stuck one in. The water was freezing cold.

  “You wanna sit?”

  Glenna nodded quickly. Jody helped her balance as she sat on the grass. Her toes danced on the top of the water. “That wasn’t so bad, I guess.”

  Jody sat beside her. “You never told me about your dreams.”

  Glenna rolled her eyes, “They’re mostly nightmares.”

  “Nightmares only last as long as you let them.”

  “Sounds nice and prophetic but it’s not true. That’s almost as if I told you to stop being depressed.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You are. I see the way you look all the time. Ever since we were kids. As a matter of fact, you told me you were struggling back when we were in school. Do you remember that?”

  “Yeah. I’ve been struggling forever. It’s not easy.”

  “Neither is this.”

  Glenna looked down at the water. The moon shone bright and danced on the ripples. The stars twinkled in the water. Further down the bank, remnants of the old dock were still visible. Twenty-five years of neglect had run its course.

  “It’s like a ghost.”

  “What is?”

  She pointed towards the crumbling structure.

  “We can go whenever you’re ready.”

  Glenna leaned her head on Jody’s shoulder, “Let’s stay a few more minutes.”

  The Whitman River

  Young Glenna’s house was big and old.

  It was surrounded by trees and had a big river in the back. Everyone called the river Whitman River because it was mostly on their property.

  Her room was down the hall and to the right. Her parents slept at the very end. There was only one room that Glenna wasn’t allowed to go in – her father’s study.

  Mostly, Glenna loved to run from room to room. She could run very fast. But, swimming in the river out back was one of Glenna’s favorite things to do. She wasn’t allowed to go without someone else until she was old enough.

  There weren’t many kids around in the neighborhood, so she would always play with her parents when they weren’t busy. Uncle Reese and Aunt Gigi lived just down the road. She could go play with them, too.

  Glenna sat in the back of the boat with her fingers touching the water. It was so clear that she could see straight through to the rocks underneath.

  “That’s not safe. Sit up straight.”

  Glenna lifted her head to see her mother squinting sternly. Her mom was still learning to drive the boat. Uncle Reese was teaching her. Her dad stood at the edge of the grass and watched.

  “Alright, whenever you’re ready.”

  Her mom took a deep breath and started the boat. It hummed and rumbled.

  Glenna looked up at the clouds. They looked like big puffs of cotton candy. The sun was warm, and the wind was chilly.

  A big gust of wind caused the boat to slowly drift.

  “Maybe we should go back?”

  Uncle Reese patted her mom on the
back, “You’re not getting out of it that easily. It’s just a little wind. Consider it a learning opportunity.”

  Her mother snickered.

  They pulled off from the dock. Her mother turned to smile just as another big gust of wind came through.

  Suddenly, Glenna found herself underwater.

  She splashed around and tried to find which way was up. Her nose broke the surface, but she kept getting pulled back into the water. She gasped for air when she could. She saw her dad dive into the water and felt him snatch her up by the arm.

  The next thing that Glenna remembered were the beeps at the hospital. A man was in the corner with his head in his hands.

  “Dad?”

  He looked up. His eyes were red, but he smiled big and took Glenna by the hand.

  “Hey there, kiddo. You feeling okay?”

  She nodded.

  “Good.”

  Her dad sat back down in the chair and leaned his head back. She wondered why he was looking at the ceiling. She looked up, too.

  A nurse knocked on the door. He jumped up and quickly left with her.

  The room was white. There were a lot of machines that beeped, clicked, and whirred. Some of them were hooked to Glenna. She raised a hand to her head and felt bandages.

  Her dad walked back in the room and put his coat on. He pulled out his phone.

  Maybe he’s playing games?

  “When can we go?”

  “Don’t know.” He didn’t look up to answer. He kept playing.

  “Can I play a game on your phone?”

  “No.”

  Glenna frowned. He had never sounded so mean before. “Where’s mom?”

  “She’s gone.”

  “Where did she go?”

  He looked up and didn’t say anything. He stared for a long time. Then, he bent his head down and kept playing games.

  “Where’s mom?”

  He put his phone to his ear and left the room.

  The church was having a party. Glenna was told to hold a bunch of bright flowers. One of her Aunties held her hand. Her Auntie was dressed in black and crying. Everyone was dressed in black. Everyone was sad. It was a strange party.

  Auntie walked with her to the front and told her to put the flowers on top of the brown box. It had lots of pretty flowers around it.

  Later, they put the box in a big hole. More people tossed flowers on the top of the box as it disappeared into the ground.

  Glenna turned to look for her father.

  He was sitting in the back and staring straight ahead.

  The Couple

  It was a sunny morning outside Woods County. Inside Haviland’s, everyone was busy. Glenna and Jody had made the grave mistake of shopping on a Sunday directly after church. Everyone in the store was either ravenous and frothing, tearing through the aisles. Or ravenous and moving at sloth speeds. The stock persons ran around and cashiers scanned plates of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and sweet tea at record speeds. When Glenna reached for some bananas, a cart slammed into her and dug into her heel.

  “Sorry honey. It’s for church.”

  The lady in pink became a blur whizzing past the fruit.

  Glenna hobbled to the next aisle and saw Guthrie.

  “Oh, hey!”

  “Hey, Glenna, Jody. How are you guys?”

  “We’re okay. How’s Merlin?”

  “He’s coming along. Just a few wires here and bolts there.” Guthrie chuckled, “He should be right as rain once he’s all charged up.”

  Jody stared at Glenna with wide eyes.

  “That’s good news! Thank you for doing this.”

  “Of course, of course. Any daughter of Robert’s is a daughter of mine.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Welp. I have to get back. I should have him to you fairly soon.”

  “Thanks so much. I appreciate it. Can I stop by?”

  “It’s still best that he doesn’t get too excited.”

  “Okay, I understand.”

  “Alright, see you later.” Guthrie turned and walked towards the checkout line.

  “I think that lady has a screw loose.”

  “Be nice.”

  “I am nice.” Jody smirked and winked at Glenna. Glenna could feel her heart beating a little faster. She broke her gaze and grabbed a few carrots.

  When they got back to the car, Glenna’s phone was ringing.

  “Who is it?”

  Glenna frowned at the screen.

  “Glenna?”

  “It’s Albert.”

  “Oh.” Jody flipped the trunk open and tossed bags inside.

  Glenna tried to answer but was too late. “I wonder what he wants.”

  Jody was silent.

  “He’s called ten times and left three voicemails.”

  “Well, if it were an emergency, he should have called an ambulance.”

  “Jody.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “What’s your deal?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Oh, I can't say ‘nothing’ but you can?”

  “I’m aggravated that he’s calling you because heaven knows what he wants. It worries me for you.”

  “You’re worried about me?”

  Jody looked away. “Of course. You mean the world to me.”

  “Does Jody actually have feelings?

  “I have one, yes.”

  “Haha. Don’t waste it on me.”

  “Oh, whatever. So, what are you gonna do? You calling him back or what?”

  “Probably not. Maybe tomorrow I’ll text him.”

  When they pulled into the drive, a black car was parked. A man was knocking on their front door.

  “Is that-”

  The person turned towards them.

  “What the fuck is he doing here?” Jody rolled her eyes.

  Glenna swallowed the lump in her throat. She parked the car and let out a big breath. She and Jody stared at him. Eventually, he walked their way.

  “Are those flowers?”

  He knocked on the window and smiled. Glenna placed her hand on the handle.

  Jody touched her thigh, “You don’t have to do this alone.”

  “I’m okay, promise.”

  Glenna hopped out and raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

  “Hey, Glenna. I’ve missed you.” Albert went in for a hug.

  “Excuse you.”

  He looked up to see Jody glaring.

  “Back off.”

  He backed up a couple paces and smoothed his shirt, “Didn’t realize your guard dog was still here.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Jody.” Glenna turned around. “Maybe you want to go inside for a few minutes?”

  “Really?”

  “Please.”

  Jody squinted even tighter. “I’ll put the groceries inside but when I’m done-”

  “Perfect. Thanks, Jody.”

  Jody started taking groceries in, a few bags at a time, and putting them away. She huffed every time she passed the car.

  “So, what’s all that about?”

  “What did you come here for?”

  “I brought you these,” Albert held out the flowers. “I wasn’t sure what you liked so I got roses. Can’t go wrong with that.”

  Glenna folded her arms.

  “I’ll just put them…” He placed the flowers on Glenna’s car. “So how are you? It’s been about a month since-”

  “Two months.”

  “Two months? Wow.”

  “What, Albert?”

  “I miss you. I miss you and the apartment misses you. My mom, too.”