by David Fenton
The Strategists of Timber Falls
Copyright 2013 David T. Fenton
The mountains stood against the horizon like sentinels. Each one was capped with snow, and halos of fog formed a crown upon their peaks. Donovan stared at them. He yearned for the day when he could rule all that lay before him. He wanted to stand high above everyone and everything, even above those who loved him.
“Keep your eyes on the road. I don’t want you to get in an accident while I’m wearing my best dress,” Meriam said coldly.
Donovan turned away from the mountains to study his wife. She was wiping glossy purple lipstick off her lips. The colour matched her sparkling black dress. It clung to her body at the shoulders and hips. Her curly, black hair made a perfect frame around her face. She might have looked like a woman who would marry a man like Donovan, but she was a waitress in a restaurant. That was where Donovan had picked her up.
She turned towards him. Her eye suddenly widened. “Watch the road!” Her shriek made Donovan jump. Afraid he would lose control of his SUV, he fixed his eyes to the road, which hugged the mountains as it wound its way through the passes. The pavement was full of cracks and small holes from many years of wear, and every now and again the large vehicle bounced. Although the light was waning, he could make out the large pine trees wrapped like a thick blanket around the mountains and the river far below that snaked its way through the forest. He could even see chunks of ice lining the edges of some parts of the river. Spring had not yet reached the mountains.
“What a depressing place this is. I wonder when the clouds will clear up?” It seems like it’s been cloudy for ages,” Meriam said. She had finished with her lipstick and began taking off her earrings. “I do enjoy the peace, but I don’t see why we had to move so far away from the city.”
“There was too much traffic, and my boss appreciated the gesture. He thinks I’m preparing for the long run.” Donovan smiled to himself. He was happy his decision had paid off. He had wanted to move to Timber Falls because of the scenery, but his boss took it as a sign of respect. Two birds with one stone, he thought. “What do you think Sun Tzu would say about that?” This was a deliberate question because he knew Meriam enjoyed reading books about political conflict and strategy.
Meriam shrugged. She didn’t even turn to face him. “I don’t know. I guess he would approve.”
Donovan frowned. His wife did not approve even though she did a good job hiding it. “I guess nothing impresses you these days,” he chided.
“Many things impress me, just not you right now.” Her tone was flat. She seemed irritated, but her eyes were closed. It looked like she was mulling something over.
Donovan shook his head and turned back to the landscape. The road was climbing upwards and began to form a crest. At this height, the river looked like a ribbon made of silver as it ran away towards the setting sun. The sight was marvellous.
“I wish we could go camping. Nothing like a good week or two in the wilds.” He could picture it. His tent set in among the trees, his wife smiling at him as she washed the pans from the night before. A fly-fishing rod in his hand; bait in the other. Him walking towards the river’s stony shore only minutes away from the tent.
“What a terrible thought. All those mosquitoes and black flies biting us. And what about bears? Did you think about bears?” Meriam was digging through her purse. “I’m sure there’s a resort out here we could visit. Besides, you don’t know anything about camping.”
Donovan bowed his head. She was wrong. He did know about camping. He’d camped all the time with his father, but he had gotten a little rusty. “I could pick it up again. It’s not that hard,” he said.
Meriam turned to him. She gave him that sweet smile of hers, the one he had fallen in love with. “Sure you can, but things are too busy right now. You know that.” Her smile faded. A sad expression replaced it. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I can ask for a vacation,” he said.
“We had one already. The cruise. Don’t you remember?” She looked worried.
Donovan smiled at her. He wasn’t losing his memory, not yet. “That isn’t what I meant.” He turned back to the road. “I meant we should just go.”
Meriam’s face hardened, the sweetness gone. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s a stupid thing to say.” She began counting off her fingers. “You have to make your presentation to the trustees. You need to obtain that permit-but not before softening up the judge, of course. Nor have you arranged for the sale of that land yet. Why, you haven’t even…”
Donovan shut her out. He was well aware of his duties; he just didn’t want to think about them. It all seemed so perfect here in the SUV overlooking the river.
“…and you probably won’t finish it anyway. You never do. And you probably won’t go camping either, even if you did manage to suck up to your boss.”
Her last words grabbed Donovan’s attention. “What did you say?”
“I said you never seem to do anything. It’s so easy to figure you out. You say you’ll do something, and you don’t.” Meriam had a disgusted look on her face.
“Are you saying I’m too predictable?” Donovan snarled.
Meriam pressed herself against the back of her seat and looked at him. She was angry. “Don’t you take that tone with me! If you can’t accept your faults, then fix them!” She turned to face the windshield. Silence hung in the air for a long time.
He noticed that she seemed to be wearing a look of satisfaction, although she still seemed angry. After a while, it began to bother him. He wanted to have it out with her, but he couldn’t see any suitable place to pull over and stop. The opposite side of the road was right up against the mountain wall, and his side of the road disappeared down a slope towards the river. There were only a few feet between the pavement and the hill. The hill. The river. Camping. He was hungry. He wanted spaghetti. Hill. Spaghetti…
An evil smile suddenly split Donovan’s lips. Meriam did not seem to notice. She was looking down at her stomach.
I’m so clever, he thought.
He began singing. “On TOP of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I LOST my poor meatball when somebody SNEEZED!” The sudden outburst made Meriam jump. Her purse emptied and the contents made a pile in her lap.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
Donovan kept singing, but he had forgotten the lines. “My MEATBALL…uh…began rolling…uh…how did it go again? And grew a meatball TREE!”
Meriam grew wide-eyed as she watched her husband sing. He sounded ridiculous, and she soon became bored. “Okay, okay! We can have spaghetti tonight!” she said.
Donovan cracked a smile.
“Well, only if you cook. Heh…your cooking. How funny. Like your singing just then! How awful your spaghetti would turn out.”
Donovan’s smile faded. That’s it, he thought.
He jerked the steering wheel suddenly and sharply to the right and the SUV lurched off the road. It began crashing through the foliage on the side of the hill.
Meriam was shocked. “What are you doing? Have you gone mad?” she screamed. She sounded as though she might approve of that.
Donovan began singing again, but this time he purposely made it sound ridiculous. “Oh, my heart! My achy, breaky, heart. You just don’t seem to understand!”
“You crazy son of a bitch! Have you lost your mind?” She began to sound hysterical.
The SUV continued its chaotic descent down the tree-lined hill. Rocks and branches smacked against the windshield. The trees and side panels bounced over and scraped against the large boulders scattered among the trees. The SUV shook violently each time it struck something. Meriam bounced wildly in her
seat. Donovan was having a hard time trying to hold on to the steering wheel, but he continued to sing. “FEELINGS…!”
“What the hell is the matter with you, you goddamn, fucked up asshole? What the hell are you doing? If you don’t stop now…!” A sudden bump rocked the car and threw her against the dashboard. Immediately, she cupped her hands around her mouth and began rocking back and forth. Blood poured from between the fingers of her clenched fist and made a fan on her dress.
She must have bit her tongue, Donovan thought. I always hated that tongue.
He was no longer singing. He was having too hard a time trying to control the SUV. He wasn’t using the pedals anymore, just fighting to steer. How he had managed to navigate the minefield of trees so far was beyond him, but he wasn’t about to give up. A loud crunch came from the passenger seat. By the time he looked over, Meriam was no longer in the SUV. The door was open. As he stared into the empty space, a tree slammed the door shut.
Donovan wasn’t too sure how much time had passed since he had left the road and entered the forest, but the SUV suddenly came onto the beach. The rocks and soft dirt slowed the SUV down quite a bit, but it didn’t lessen the impact when the vehicle struck the boulder. Donovan smacked hard into the steering wheel. Blood began to pour from his forehead. His surroundings soon became hazy, and he began to drift.
