Lewis & Ondarko - Best Friends 03 - Now and Zen (9 page)

“Where are you going? You haven’t finished your cup yet, and this may be our only break until the end of the retreat. I made it just the way you like it, with something special added for relaxing.”

“I notice you’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

Must be menopausal, Pat thought. Whatever it was, she liked the additive.

“I’ll be right back.” Without explanation, Pat went through the old screen door, and Deb heard her rummaging around in the kitchen. After a final bang of a cupboard door, Deb started to get up.

What the heck is she doing now?
Then smiling, she sat down again as her friend came out with a plate of cookies.

“This may help. They’re chocolate chip.”

“What we need is not chocolate. What we need is a miracle,” Deb said, holding out her hand for a cookie.

“It’s probably not as bad as it looks,” Pat said. “Probably everyone had the same idea to get here early. Next ferry will probably be
empty.”

Deb just looked at her. “That’s a lot of probablys.” She looked up to see a familiar figure coming down the street.

“Is there one more cup for me?” the woman asked, approaching the steps. “Wow! Look at these crowds. It’ll be something if they all come to breakfast at the church. We’ve already bought up all the eggs and bacon at the Island Store.”

Pat jumped up and went into the kitchen to get another mug.

“Do you want a booster in it?” she yelled out the door.

“I’m not a drinker myself, but today, sure.” Taking a deep sip as Pat handed her the coffee, she put her feet up.

“Do you think you can get more food over on the first ferry?” Pat asked.

“All things are possible with God’s help,” she replied.

“God and Mike that is,” Pat added. The three women spent a few minutes in silence watching the crowds pile off the ferry.

More food? Pat thought. Is this woman crazy? These people can’t all be coming for the retreat. It’s just not possible!

Good drink, Deb thought, taking another swig from her mug. Almost worth all this bother.

With all the cash we make from the breakfast tomorrow, we will really be able to upgrade the church organ,
the island pastor thought.

As the women sat in the twilight, two moving silhouettes approached the cabin.

“I think the clearing in front of Bell Street will work just fine for Pie Chi,” Noreen said.

“What about your art class?” Julie asked. “Didn’t we say it would work well to have it on the lawn outside the library?”

“Remember, I need to be next to the lake for that. I’d rather take the nearest beach area.”

“Oh, hi girls,” Deb called. “Did you walk a long way?”

“All the way to the Marina and back,” Julie replied. “Don’t worry, we have it all figured out.”

“That’s wonderful,” Pat said. “Do you think we have room for everything?”

Julie reached into her pocket and pulled out a map she had retrieved from the Ferry Landing. On it, she had highlighted and labeled a spot for each workshop.

“Looks like you are in good shape,” the pastor marveled, standing up. “I see that things are under control. Well, I’ve got to get back to the church to meet with my breakfast coordinator. She doesn’t have a key.”

“See you in the morning,” Pat said.

“Bye.” Waving to them, she walked into the darkness toward the church. “Thanks for the fortification,” she added, glancing back over her shoulder.

Julie and Noreen sat for awhile on the steps enjoying the unveiling of the evening sky and pointing out constellations.

Deb’s head began to nod from the effects of the brandy. She was roused by the sound of her phone once again breaking into her revelry.

“Hi, it’s me,” Marc said. “Is everything okay over there? I just saw something on television about a missing woman.”

“Television? Really?” Deb’s eyes widened.

“Television?” echoed the voices of the others.

After what seemed like an eternity practicing crisis management and finding spaces for women where there were none, Pat put down her pen and sighed.

“There. No one will sleep out under the stars tonight unless they want to. Let’s call it a day.”

“I’ll pour,” Carolyn said, bringing in a tray laden with a pitcher of frozen Vodka Shushes and tall glasses.

“Look! It’s our vacation drink. I can’t believe we’re drinking again,” Deb said. “Just one for me. We have a long day tomorrow. Here’s to old friends!”

Sitting in the rocker, Bev handed matches to Julie, who was busying herself building a fire in the old woodstove in the corner. Noreen rifled through an antique LP record collection in the corner, looking for suitable music.

“Does anyone have any Tylenol?” Deb asked, rubbing her temples, as she lay on the opposite end of the couch from Pat.

“I do!” Linda replied solicitously. She paused from sweeping up a pile of crumbs and put her broom in the corner.

“What’s the matter? Are you not feeling well?”

“I’m worried about how we’re going to manage all the crowds tomorrow. I feel like I’m swimming without a life jacket in deep water and about to go under. Whose idea was this, anyway?” she whined, directing her gaze accusingly in Pat’s direction.

“It seems to me someone in this room talked about ‘building it so they would come.’ Didn’t know you were such a good carpenter, Deb,” Pat retorted.

“Well, I have the hard muscles tonight to prove it,” Deb replied, continuing to rub the back of her neck. “Especially in my neck and shoulders. Man, am I tight.”

“I heard that there will be hot rock massage on the screen porch at Lotta’s tomorrow,” Linda offered.

“I’m going to have to get one,” Deb replied.

“Lotta’s is even serving fancy hors d’oeuvres. I’m sure you could get in,” Pat added soothingly. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. We’ve done all we can planning this retreat. So, let’s talk about the woman who went missing.”

“You two aren’t feeling responsible for that, are you?” Julie asked, looking over at them and pausing from her fire making. “You know it wasn’t your fault.”

“Easy to say, but harder to believe,” Deb replied. “If we hadn’t created so much chaos with all the women on the ferry, maybe the staff could have kept better track of things.”

“There you go again, Deb,” Pat admonished gently. “Taking responsibility for everything that happens in life. This is not about you. And you don’t have to fix it either.”

“Did you hear that?” Linda asked suddenly.

“What?” Pat replied.

“It sounds like a scratching noise. Listen.”

The women fell silent and strained to hear.

“I thought I heard it,” Bev replied. “Maybe I’ll get to see my first bear in the wild. I was hoping for that as a matter of fact.”

“Maybe it’s a porcupine under the porch,” Pat said.

“Maybe it’s the ghost of that missing woman coming back to haunt us,” Noreen teased.

“Get out of here!” Deb replied. “I’m going outside to look. Where’s the flashlight?”

“I couldn’t find any earlier,” Carolyn replied, “but I found candles.”

Reaching to the mantle she pulled off a box of white tapers and began handing them around to the other women.

Julie reached into the budding fire in the woodstove and lit her candle, reaching out with a light.

“Silent Night, anyone?” she joked.

“Beats going out there in the dark,” Deb answered, lighting her candle first and turning to light the others in turn.

“This is like some bad Gothic novel,” Pat remarked. “Five women carrying lit candles into the dark. I know there’s a sermon here somewhere.”

Leading the way, Deb unlocked the front door opening to the yard. They paused for a moment and listened to the silence. A door slammed behind them, causing them to jump.

It was a clear starlit night. Deb could hear a crunching noise to the left side of the cabin.

She walked stealthily in the dark toward the sound, practicing the soft step learned from her walking meditation in Yoga class. The other women huddled together on the steps.

“It sounds like someone is whacking the ground with a stick,” Deb whispered.

Ahead of her lurked a large shadowy shape on the ground. She could just make out an outline.

“What the heck. It almost looks human. Is someone hurt?” she asked. The dark shadow moved up and down as if it was breathing. She took a deep breath, summoning her courage as she took a step closer to the form. One step, followed by a pause, and then another. The dark shape moved at the sight of the light.

Crunch… crunch… crunch…

“Hello!” Deb called softly. “Do you need help?”

“I’m going back in,” Carolyn said in the darkness behind Deb. “I’m calling the police.”

“Shh! I doubt there’s any police on duty out here now at this hour. We’re on an island, for heaven’s sake!” Pat whispered. She walked quietly behind Deb.

Deb crept slowly toward the noise, holding her candle boldly upright toward the night sky. Ahead of her she could see two glowing eyes low to the ground reflected in the light.

“I can’t stand this,” Pat said in a shaky voice. “The last time I saw eyes like that it was a skunk in my path on the way to the outhouse.”

The others laughed nervously behind them. Inching closer, Deb could make out the unmistakable form of a large dog lying on its back. Julie moved forward and shone a light on the animal. Crunch. Crunch. Legs wide apart, the dog playfully itched its back.

Realizing she had been holding her breath, Deb let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s just a dog,” she whispered towards the women behind her. “And it’s cute.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake!” Julie answered. “We got worked up over that?”

The women turned around and walked back to the front door, swatting mosquitoes as they went. The dog followed and before they knew what was happening, the beast went to the rug in front of the fire, turned three circles and lay down as though it belonged in the room.

“Get that dog out of here!” Linda said. “I just swept the floor.”

“Aww, look at him. He’s happy!” Deb cooed.

“It’s a girl,” Julie said.

The dog was a full-grown golden lab. No gray hairs were encroaching on her muzzle. Sighing contentedly, the dog closed her eyes and went to sleep.

“I’m not making her leave,” Deb said to the others. “You can if you want. For me, there are few sweeter sights in life than a content dog by a fireplace.” The women shrugged and moved back to their seats, as the dog was soon temporarily forgotten.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t call the police,” Deb teased, patting Carolyn on the arm.

“It’s late,” Carolyn said. “I’m going to bed. It’s an early morning.”

“Good night,” the others called, as Carolyn retired.

“So, I remembered one thing we didn’t do yet for the retreat. What are we going to do to make sure everyone knows where to go tomorrow?” Pat asked.

Julie smiled mysteriously and glanced at Noreen.

“Shall we tell them now?” she asked.

“Better now than tomorrow,” Noreen replied.

The two women went into the bedroom and returned with a pile of poster boards already attached to stakes.

“Wow!” Pat looked at the pile. “Where did these come from?” she asked, reading the titles aloud:

RETREAT BREAKFAST AHEAD

Heavenly food at St. John’s Church

PIE CHI HERE

Tai Chi with an Italian flair

WRITING WORKSHOP

Write the story you never wanted your husband to know

TAROT READING

Need an answer to a life question? Bev is your gal

SELF DEFENSE

Don’t count on that male in your life to take care of you.

Learn to defend him!

DEB AND PAT’S CABIN THIS WAY

Everyone laughed.

“Great job!” Pat said.

“We got to thinking this afternoon that you might need some help with organizing,” Julie said with obvious pride. “We thought we could have those of us who are not leading an event stationed around the signs to help direct the people. So we just tried this. We’re a step ahead of you.”

“More like half a mile, you mean,” Pat replied, picking up a sign. “Oh, you women! I knew there was a reason we invited you along. You think of everything! But do we really need one that tells where we’re staying?” she asked, pointing at the signs.

“‘Fraid you’re gonna get lynched?”

Pat smiled.

“Okay,” Deb said. “With the ghostie and all, we forgot to talk about the missing woman. Did anyone hear anything?”

“I’ve got enough on my plate,” Linda answered dismissively. “We’re not the police.”

“I’m not asking you to be; all I’m asking is for you to keep eyes and ears open… and mouths, too,” Deb replied.

“That won’t be hard for you, Pat,” Julie joked, playfully punching Pat on the shoulder.

“What do you want me to do?” Linda asked, picking up a tablet and a pen from the table.

“Well, tomorrow there’s going to be a breakfast at the church and the restaurants will be all full of hungry women. That should be a good time to do a little gumshoeing, you know, just quietly talking to people. Ask questions.”

“Like about what they saw on the ferry?” Linda asked.

“Sure. But also about what they didn’t see. Remember to be sure and write down quotes word for word. And don’t forget to write down their names and phone numbers for each statement you get,” Deb continued. “Otherwise, it will be useless afterwards.”

“I can do that!” Linda exclaimed, as she meticulously wrote down the instructions.

“I’ll make sure we make an announcement at Pie Chi,” Julie said.

“And I’ll be listening to the gossip during my art class,” Noreen added.

“Tired?” Bev asked after the others had retired to the kitchen to clean up. She offered Deb a candy dish filled with mint chocolates.

“I’ll be okay,” Deb replied, sucking on a mint. “I’m still a little worried that we’ve forgotten something important. You know, that old ‘responsibility’ tape.”