A Haven From the Storm
Chapter 22: Man of Mystery and Romance
The early mornings that we didn't have frisbee breakfasts I devoted to Mary. I got used to the routine of going to her place and chatting with her folks for a bit before we headed out for our mountain nature walk together. The small townness followed us up there. I saw a lot more of Gotz and the Doctor during those walks than I ever had while foraging and woodcutting alone. Of course they weren't interested in us, they were just foraging and woodcutting also. Of course. I didn't mind. They didn't stay close enough to us to eavesdrop and we weren't doing anything we were ashamed to have anyone see.
Well, I suppose every now and then they got a glimpse of our habitual goodbye kiss before we headed back down. But it was an innocent enough thing so that neither of us ever got any flack about it from her folks. I had a little bit of innocent fun over the matter also. One day just to see what would happen, I accidentally on purpose 'forgot' to smooch her as we started back home. Well, darn if she didn't tug on my sleeve to get my attention and then turn up her face and offer me an eyes closed exaggerated pucker. It was the cutest thing I'd seen in a long time and of course I rewarded her with what she looking for. Yeah, I suppose you could say Mary was getting more comfortable with the boyfriend/girlfriend thing.
In a place like Mineral Village, a man and a woman getting to know each other don't just engage in frivolous (however pleasant) things like hand-in-hand nature walks. Since the destination for a romance, if all works out well, is making a life together, each of the couple samples some of the things that go into such a shared life. One morning as we walked through Erehwon on our way back to town, she led off on that.
She stopped, looked carefully at the rows of vegetables and turned to me. "Jack, you know when I was a little girl, your grandfather showed Karen and I how to do a few farm chores." She giggled. "He was clever, he made them into a game for us. But I've forgotten them now." She could still look and act a little shy with me. "Since I'm living here, I should learn all kinds of things that we do, right? Could you teach me about farm work?"
I didn't see why not. I thought for a moment. "Uh...you know, you're pretty fit for a girl who sits behind a desk a good part of the day. I remember that tree-climbing of yours. How about this?" I led her to the cultivated patches and pointed at the ground. "See all these weeds?” I squatted down, yanked some out of the ground and tossed them aside. “They weren't here yesterday. They'll be back tomorrow. How do you stand with doing a little weeding? It's not exactly bone crunching labor, but it sure eats into my time."
She smiled. "I think I can handle that. But not today..." she pointed at her dress "...I'm not dressed for it. Can I start tomorrow morning?"
"Sure." Then I remembered her interest in insects. "Maybe you can help me with something else too." I turned over a turnip leaf and pointed to several small black and red beetles crawling there.
She knelt down and adjusted her glasses with one hand while carefully examining them. "Entomoscelis americana. Colloquially called the Red Turnip Beetle. They're said to be common enough here in Spring/Summer."
"Thank you. Now we've been properly introduced." I ironically nodded at the insects as she giggled. "They're getting a little too common for my liking. I'm afraid that if they get much more numerous, they'll damage the plants. You have any ideas about controlling them?"
She answered without hesitation. "Mantis religiosa. The praying mantis. They would find those beetles to be most satisfactory meals."
"OK. So how do we get them to come here? Open up an insect church or something?"
She groaned. "Karen warned me you had a corny sense of humor. We're going to bring them here, silly. The flower field halfway up the mountain is full of them. Tomorrow morning, we'll do some collecting together."
“It's a date.”
So it was to be. But a date of a very different character than I'd been expecting.
When I showed up at Mary's house the next morning, the whole family was waiting for me – Basil in his usual hiking gear, but Mary and Anna both were sporting matching olive colored linen dresses and blue print bandannas. Basil explained.
“Jack, it's always been our custom on Monday morning to go up to the hills together for a family nature hike. We'd like to invite you to come along with us today if you would.”
I didn't mind going along with them one little bit, but - but there was the little matter of Anna. More specifically, the matter of if she really wanted to share a family togetherness tradition with a city boy on probation. I gave her a quick 'are you really all right with this' glance which she answered with an almost imperceptible nod. Fair enough.
“Thank you. I'd love to join you folks.”
Basil grinned and motioned towards a number of glass jars on the dining room table. “We haven't forgotten your mantises, as you can see. Between the four of us, we should assemble an adequate armada in no time at all.”
He was making me feel so relaxed with their company that I almost stepped in it good with Anna. Without thinking, I got off one of my typical wise guy remarks. “Gosh, in those smocks the two of you look even more rustic than I do!” And then right afterwards almost suffering a panic attack out of fear that I'd offended Anna. But not to fear. She and Mary just glanced at each other, then broke out in laughter together. Anna responded, “We can't exactly go around picking up bugs in our Sunday best, can we?”
“Or weeds either.” Mary added.
And with that, the four of us headed out of town together. I got a few bits of sincere sounding praise as we passed through Erehwon – I thought my vegetables looked pretty darn good and so apparently did they – then it was (halfway) up the mountain to the flower fields.
Mantises are easy to catch – they don't move very fast – but they aren't so easy to see, blending into green stalks as they do. Basil and Mary both had practiced eyes for recognizing insects and had several jars full of them in quick order. Actually, Mary was way out in first place as just about anything Basil saw would send him off into some naturalistic dissertation, which Mary and Anna treated with patient familiarity and I followed with rapt attention. He thought he was just being scientific, but listening to him explain the properties of the local wild herbs and grasses had the wheels in my head going around. It sounded as if there was money to be had in transplanting some of them to Erehwon - especially the medicinal grasses.
Anna and I lagged behind them in filling our jars. I was just learning how to spy the little critters and she – well, she wasn't exactly scared of or disgusted by them, but her diffident attitude advertised that handling them was not her idea of a lark either. Both of us dropped back a few meters as Basil and Mary got into an polite and elaborately convoluted disagreement about the sharpness of the growing seasons.
Anna kept glancing sideways at me, showing no hostility but rather what appeared to be internal conflict. After a bit of that she mumbled half to herself. “I'd think that a walk like this would be an occasion for some family togetherness rather than botanical studies...” then glanced directly at me “...don't you think?”
I looked over my shoulder at Basil and Mary gesturing with delight at a rabbit bounding its way towards the tree line. “Looks like togetherness to me.”
She sniffed. “I must differ. Family togetherness involves talking over family concerns.” Her face continued to show conflict. “Concerns like the young man who is courting our daughter.”
Once again I started sweating on the edge of panic attack. “Anna, I can't imagine what people have been telling you, but Mary and I have been doing nothing and I mean nothing improper...”
She must have made up her mind which direction she was going to go as she actually smiled at me as she went on. “Oh Jack, please don't fidget like that. I know you've been on your best behavior. All the stories I've been hearing are consistent on that score.
“You know, the two of you have our town buzzing like I've rarely seen. Everyone is talking about what a charming sight the two of you make together.” She laughed a little. “In fact, I've heard that there have been a few friendly wagers on the matter of when the ceremony will take place.”
I couldn't help but laugh back. “Really? Do you know the over-under? I might take a little of that action at the right price.”
It took her a moment to stop giggling. “You are a bit of a comic, aren't you?” She got serious again. “It's not easy for me to say this – I'm something of a proud woman you know – but I'm starting to think I misjudged you before. What I've seen in Mary the last week...well, she was not an unhappy child, but I always worried that she somewhat distanced herself from life. Now don't get me wrong, I'm pleased that she's as bright as she is, but I've worried that she lived too much in her own head.”
I responded. “What about her and Karen? That's one of the closest friendships I've ever seen.”
She nodded. “Yes, Karen is a blessing to her. She keeps her just that touch grounded in reality. But the last week – Mary's as happy as I've ever seen her. Jack, you've been good for her, and I thank you for that.”
I tried to keep from yelling with glee at yet another problem fading into the distance. “Well, thank you for that. And as for Mary, I can't tell you how good she's been for me.”
“Yes. Well, it's starting to look like you're going to be a presence in our family for some time to come. Given that, I think it only fitting that we all get used to each other. Would you like to start by joining us for dinner this evening?”
Somehow I got out a quiet “Thanks, I'd love to.” rather than a shouted “Heck yeah!”
“Around six then?”
I showed up on their doorstep at six on the dot – washed and groomed and carrying the very best turnip of the day's harvest (also well washed.) Friendly greetings all around, my usual place at the table, it was all good. As was the food – sushi and pickled vegetables were on the menu. It took me a moment to recognize the delicious white slices I was trying out of politeness to not gulp down all at once.
“Anna, this is the turnip I brought you, right?”
“Indeed. I thought the pickling was done. You like it?”
“This is fantastic! I didn't know you could do this with turnips.”
She had a little of Mary's wry grin. “Flattery Jack?”
“No ma'am. Flattery is when you take one polite bite and say how good it is.” I held out my plate. “Sincerity is when you beg for seconds!”
I got them.
The dinner conversation somehow got on to the subject of our college days – not too odd as we were all (excepting poor Mary) alumni of dear old State U.
“I hope I don't hear any more of that 'rocket scientist' crud out of you two now. Basil you've got a Doctorate, Anna you your Master's and here I sit the dumb bunny with a lowly B.S.”
I was ready to try and divert the talk to another topic should Mary show any signs of feeling left out, but my fears were groundless. Of all the darned things, she had a notebook out and was madly scribbling down our recollections while asking some insightful questions of her own. (Later on, she told me she was collecting material for a story – which she never finished – that was bouncing around in her head.)
We did get off onto a local topic after awhile – my future on Erehwon. I took a casual question from Basil as a springboard into impressing them with my seriousness in following in the footsteps of my family and making a success of the farm. OK, maybe I was skirting on the edge of bragging, but it wasn't anything I couldn't back up with facts or reasons.
“...so that's what I project as the milk/grass yield ratio through the end of winter. Next spring is hard to say, my models don't converge there yet.”
Basil's eyes twinkled. “Your models? Converge?”
I shrugged. “I'm working with the techniques I learned and used before for putting order into complex tasks. So far they're working for me.”
Mary teased, “Jack, if you don't want people to call you a rocket scientist, then perhaps you shouldn't act like one.”
It was a beautiful dinner and a wonderful conversation and at the end of it I think we were all feeling pretty darned good about each other. A little after nine, I gave my thanks and begged their pardon for needing to get home and to bed. Mary asked if I could walk back to Erehwon with me, and I hardly had a second of tension before Basil's 'Most certainly!' and Anna's 'Just don't stay out too late, dear.' sent us on our way at ease.
It was a warm still night, the waxing moon lighting our way as we walked hand in hand towards Erehwon talking of this and that. At the gate, we paused and stood face to face.
“Mary, that went so well. This evening was lovely. As...” I brushed her cheek “...are you. You know, I'm just so comfortable with your folks now. And I'm especially so with you. I enjoy being with you more than any other girl I've ever known.”
The moon in her eyes was romance itself. “And I with you. Sometimes I think this is all a dream – but then I know it's too fine for a dream.”
“You know Mary, it's kind of odd.”
“What?”
“All of what we've been through in such a short time, where we appear to be going together – and we've neither of us yet said that one short sweet phrase to each other.”
“Because we're both cautious, I suspect.” There was a little tease in her face. “And besides, it's not seemly for the woman to say it first. It's the man's role to initiate such things.”
I teased back. “You're old fashioned, huh? Well, I'll do my manly duty then.” I gazed into her beautiful deep eyes. “Mary, I love you. I love you more than I ever thought I could love.”
She simply answered, “And I love you too, Jack.” And we kissed then held each other warm and tight for a moment or a century as the crickets sang us a sonata and the kindly moon blessed us with wrappings of silver light.
You'd like such moments to go on forever, but of course they can't. What broke that one up was the nearby clearing of a throat. Mary squeaked and I yipped as we nearly jumped out of our skins in shock until we saw the source of the disturbance standing on the path grinning at us.
“Karen! Scare us to death, will 'ya! How long have you been standing there?”
She and her grin were going nowhere. “Awhile. You know, I followed you two all the way from town.”
Mary was bug-eyed. “You sneak!”
She was unapologetic. “Someone has to watch over you two.” She put her hand to her chest and went on with affected innocence. “But I'm not interrupting anything, am I?”
“As a matter of fact you are.”
“She's going to tell me all about it tomorrow.”
“That's another day.” I mock scowled at her. “As for now, woman be gone!”
She feigned fright. “Oh yes sir, I'm on my way.” She spoke over her shoulder to Mary. “On second thought, you're going to tell me about it tonight. I'll hang out in front of Saibara's until you're ready then walk home with you. I can't wait to hear this one!”
I grumped a little to Mary as Karen sauntered away. “You know, there's such a thing as being too close friends.”
“I'll mention it to her.”
So, life on the farm got that much better. Mary and I still did our morning mountain strolls (as we still do to this day whenever we have the freedom.) Afterwards, we did a little farm work together. Weeding isn't really an engrossing pastime but she never gave it up or complained about it, merely observing that the exercise was good for her. She was also trying to get used to the farm animals. There was nothing to get used to in Wowser, he loved anyone who took the trouble to scratch behind his ears, so he and Mary were buddy-buddy in no time.
Charlie was a different matter. Heck, I don't think he ever liked anybody all that much. He only tolerated me because I took the trouble of brushing his mane, back and sides every morning. My talking to him did seem to calm him a little, and his taste in conversational topics was broad (when nobody was listening, I confess that I did bounce some off-color limericks off his uncomprehending ears.) But he never got that used to Mary. I had him tightly contained in a small but adequate wooden fence built so that it was a trivial matter to get him in and out of the stable. Mary stayed well outside that fence after that first attempt of hers to pet him had him running around his pen shaking his head and whinnying like a lunatic - and left her more than a bit frightened.
“Mary, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into him there, but he has always been high strung.”
She was clearly holding in her feelings – and holding her tongue. “That fence is strong enough to hold him, right?”
“I'll reinforce it this afternoon.”
We no longer had to account for our time and activities to Anna, either. After all, what we were doing with our mornings together was out in the open for everyone to see (and many did.) Our mornings did change Mary's routine however. Between our walk and work, it was no longer possible for her to get back home, change into her library clothes and open up at ten. After pushing herself hard a couple of days and still not making it, she shrugged it off and quietly changed the sign on the library door to read “Hours: 11am to 4pm.” If anyone ever noticed, they never said anything to her about it.
My livestock got more numerous also. The fact of my having one lonely hen was starting to gnaw at me. She laid an egg a day all right – but I saw no way of making a poultry empire – or much money – or even an omelet – out of one lousy infertile egg. Rick, good pal that he was, put the matter right. One afternoon, he showed up at Erehwon with a rooster under his arm.
“Jack, your chicken coop is pretty close to empty.”
“True in every detail.”
“So you wouldn't mind if I stashed this bird away there, right? I've got too many roosters right now, and you know that if you have too many in too small a space, they never stop fighting. I don't want anyone to get hurt.”
Solving the equation “rooster plus hen equals more chickens for free” took me about a second or so. I took possession of the bird without any further ado, Rick went off happy and all was right with the world. Introducing her new coopmate to Popuri (feathered friend) was a pleasure for all involved. He preened and strutted around her as she showed the greatest of interest in her handsome new roomie. It was lookin' good. Real good.
“OK, I'll leave the two of you alone now to get...uh...better acquainted.” And I closed the door of the bridal chambers behind me as I exited.
As my first Spring on Erehwon drew to a close, I anticipated a couple of changes in my farm life – and one new complication I'd not been planning on.
First, my turnip growing was coming to an end. To this day, I don't really understand why the growing seasons are so sharply defined, but they are. The lady insisted they were, the journals of my ancestors going back nearly three hundred years recorded the fact and my experience has confirmed it. The last few days of spring I was a little blue as I extracted each patch's harvest and then left it fallow. I'd become fond of those vegetables. I consoled myself with the thought that there was more to life than turnips – like, for instance the corn, tomatoes and onions whose cultivation I had already planned for the summer.
Second, my daily squirreling away of every G I could spare and my nightly wood gathering and cutting finally paid off. On the 29th, I finally had enough of both to close the expanded chicken coop deal with Gotz. The guy assured me that “You're gonna love it!” No doubt. It was the feelings of the chickens whose nuptial chambers were being redone that had me concerned. I finally just brought them into my shack while the construction was in progress. They didn't mind a bit...and it didn't slow down their – uh – family life either. I learned a lot about the social life of poultry those few days. Enough to last me a lifetime.
The third thing – which I'd not been planning on, though I should have seen it coming – was the entrance of a new character. One who would, as it turned out, be at the center of the upcoming summer.
Mid morning of the 30th of Spring my farm work was over for the season. The last turnips were in the shipping bin, I'd already made a shopping trip into town for corn, tomato and onion seeds, and was getting ready to clear some more land when an unfamiliar masculine voice and all too familiar feminine giggling issued from the townside gate.
“...and so I told him, 'well, you'll just have to put in on my tab then!'”
And I got to the gate in time to see both Popuri and Mary each hanging on to an arm of purple-bandannaed stranger as they all struggled to stay on their feet while laughing. I was...nonplussed.
“Uh, hello all. What's up? I think I missed the start of that joke.”
Popuri and Mary talked/giggled/squealed together. “Here's Jack! Hello Jack! Kai, this is Jack!”
Kai. The man of mystery and romance makes his appearance at last. I put aside that touch of annoyance with Mary at being all over that fellow, assumed a 'friends with all the world' smile, and extended a hand of greeting to him.
“Kai, welcome to Mineral Village. I've heard so much about you.”
His handshake was firm, his expression complex behind a matching smile of politic amiability. “And I've heard lots about you also.” He got serious for a bit. “Hey, I'm really sorry to hear about your grandpa. I liked the guy. Hell, everyone did, right?”
“Thanks, everyone sure did. But we just have to carry on – me, carrying on here the way he'd like.”
“Sure.” He stared a bit at the still overgrown back fields. “What happened to this place? Where'd all that junk come from?”
“It was right about up to where I'm standing the start of the year. Talk about a world-class workout clearing it off.”
“You did all that in a season?” There was just a touch of respect in his voice. “Not bad. Hey, after busting your buns like that, bet you could use a little R and R.”
“Maybe. Depends.”
“Ha! You talk like your grandpa too. What I'm talking about – I like to celebrate the first day of summer with a friendly little swimming race down at the beach. I usually get most of the guys here to join in. So how about you? You swim?”
I kept up the laconic act. “Some.”
He looked a touch amused as he answered in kind. “Good. Come on down at ten. Show us what you got.” He turned to Mary. “Pardon me, but I must say farewell to the foxiest librarian in thirty states. The snack stand awaits me!”
She continued to giggle (and blush a bit) as Popuri picked it up. “Oh, please let me come with you and help clean it up. Please please please!”
He grinned ear to ear. “Well, if you put it like that...pardon me folks, but duty calls! Jack, drop in on me anytime you got the munchies, OK.”
“Thanks. Will do.” And Mary stayed behind as the two lovebirds made their way back into town. I was just a little bit...well...put off with her behavior.
“Well Mary, I must say that that was an interesting display.”
“Yes, Popuri is in heaven now. There's no keeping her mood down now!”
“Actually, I'm kinda surprised at you – you who I thought was such a quiet reserved woman being all over that fellow.”
“Oh Jack, it's Kai. It just fun to have him around. When he shows up, you know it's summer!”
“There's summer fun, and then there's summer fun.”
Mary looked amused. “Why Jack, I think you're jealous.”
“A little.” I admitted.
She teased. “I'll remember that for if you ever start getting out of line.”
I kept a straight face. “Fine. You do that very thing. But just remember that not having Kai's undivided attention could break Popuri's heart. And then, nice guy that I am, I'll have to comfort her, right? And we've already broken the ice, like that night on the beach when we...”
Mary no longer looked amused. “All right Jack. All right. I'll stipulate that you've made your point.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
It wasn't really a quarrel – we kissed and made up before it even got to the point where we'd have had to kiss and make up. But after she left, that fellow was on my mind for the rest of the day. It was pretty plain to me that Popuri both saw Kai as the greatest guy who ever lived and as a ticket out of a town that she'd outgrown. And legally, she'd be able to do whatever she wanted to about the matter once her twenty-first birthday rolled around later that week.
I was a little concerned though. Popuri as a cousin had grown on me as Popuri the not-quite-wanted girlfriend never had. I was fond of her – and concerned for her well being. And also with the well being of Lillia who I loved like a second mother and Rick who was an all-right guy in my book. Kai as Popuri's husband – I supposed that was proper and fitting – if the guy was stable husband material. A question which I had no answer to, not knowing the guy. And it was a question I resolved to get an answer to by getting to know the fellow. And if the answer was unsatisfactory, I resolved that I was going to do my damndest to abort that mission before it got off the ground – or the docks, rather.
The question and the high and powerful sun together drew sweat from my brow. It was going to be one of those Summers. I could tell it.
And I was absolutely right.
