Season of Passage, The (4 page)

was funny and nice and took a shower every morning, and stuff like that. But nowadays half the young girls in the country were dreaming about

growing up like Dr Lauren Wagner, while he was nobody, with as much chance of having his cockroach story nominated for the Pulitzer as Ricky

had of getting a date

with the teenage girl of his dreams. Terry real y was like his cockroach. He was constantly waiting to be stepped on. Years ago, someone had

stepped on him when he had passed out drunk at the county fair. It had made a deep impression on him. He had woken up with a broken nose.

Lauren went out with him just once and knew he was an alcoholic, even though he abstained from alcohol for twenty-four hours before their date.

She was straightforward: she told him she liked him, but if he kept drinking, she wouldn't speak to him again. And she promised him that she would

know if he drank, and the way she said it, he knew she would know. So he stopped. Simple as that. And Mars was the fourth planet from the sun,

and they lived on the third planet from the sun, and his woman was going to fly to Mars in a spaceship, and be gone for two years. Yeah, it was very

simple. Going sober had been hard. Her leaving was worse. He was proud of Lauren and al that, but he wished she had been the receptionist at

Mission Control, and not the famous doctor jogging in the gym.

Terry got back in his car and drove toward the cabin. It was getting dark; he flipped on the lights. Between the thick trees he caught a glimpse of the

flat shadow that was the lake. He loved Wyoming. His parents had left him the cabin when they had died together in a plane crash shortly after his

twenty-first birthday. That was one thing he had in common with Lauren. She had lost both her parents in a car crash, when she too was only twenty-

one - in her first year of medical school. Jennifer was only two at the time. Terry was proud of Lauren for a lot of reasons. If he'd had to raise a little

sister from scratch, he wouldn't have been able to hold a job at McDonald's. She amazed him, she real y did. He wanted to write a book about her

someday.

Terry was reaching for the radio dial when he heard the gunshots. The first one made him jerk the car onto the shoulder of the road. The two did

nothing to settle his nerves. He figured they must be from hunters, but he stepped on the gas. When he final y rounded the final mountain turn, and

saw Jennifer in the front of his cabin playing with her friend, he was amazed at the intensity of the relief that washed through him. He hated guns. He

even hated fireworks. He figured he must have been in dozens of battles in his past lives. Not that he believed in such things, but it kept him from

thinking he was a natural neurotic. He parked and got out. Jennifer raced over and jumped in his arms, almost knocking him over.

'Terry! We've been waiting for you al day. This is my friend. Do you know each other?'

'Sure,' Terry said. 'Hi, Danny. It's been a long time.'

Daniel shook his hand. 'Yes, sir. I'm surprised you remembered my name.'

'I have a good memory for names,' Terry said. Jennifer continued to hug him, a bundle of yel ow hair, and God, it was good to hold her. Jennifer had

to be the brightest kid he had ever met. Sometimes when he looked at her, he found himself peeking over his shoulder to see who had turned on

the spotlight. The kid had charisma, and it was a shame she hid it behind a reserved character. Terry didn't think even Lauren knew how much the

expedition had Jennifer worried. Hel , just thinking about it made him sick to his stomach. He didn't trust technology, not when he couldn't pronounce

the names of half the devices they had aboard their ship.

'And I never forget a newspaper boy,' Terry added. 'I work for a newspaper myself.'

"That's what Lauren was saying,' Daniel said.

'He's a great writer,' Jennifer said. 'He writes books about time travel and cockroaches and stuff.'

'I hate cockroaches,' Daniel said.

'You just haven't met the ones in Terry's book,' Jennifer said.

'Hey, Danny,' Terry said. 'Was that your gun I heard?'

The boy hesitated. 'Yes, sir. I'm sorry if it bothered you. I was just shooting at cans.'

'That type of shooting doesn't bother me. Jenny, where's Lauren?'

'She went to put her clothes on,' Daniel said. He winced. 'I mean...

Terry laughed. 'I know what you mean.'

'I'm sure you do,' a soft voice chuckled behind him.

He turned, and Lauren smiled warmly and walked toward him. She wore white shorts, a damp T-shirt. The last few days in the sun had given her a

tan that he wished she could carry with her to Mars. Her figure was excel ent. Although on the short side, she moved with the confidence of a person

who didn't know what it was like to lose, which had intimidated him at first, but which now turned him on. She had Jennifer's great mouth, wide and

ful of white teeth. She came close to having the little girl's radiant smile, which was saying a lot. Yet, otherwise, the two did not look alike. Lauren

was cute. Jennifer was beautiful. Terry had decided long ago he could handle the balance in his life.

She's been swimming. Her hair's wet. God.

Lauren's hair was straight, cut short, with bangs that reached to her eyebrows. She wiggled her nose at him as she wrapped her arms around his

waist.

'Nice of you to drop by,' she said, kissing him.

Terry shrugged. 'I was in the neighborhood.'

Lauren glanced at staring Daniel and Jennifer. 'What are you two looking at?'

Jennifer giggled. Daniel said hastily, 'I better be on my way. I'l come by tomorrow before you leave, Jenny.'

'Come early,' Terry said. 'We're leaving at six.'

'I'l be here before then,' Daniel said firmly. He touched Jennifer's shoulder awkwardly.

'Be sure to come,' Jennifer said.

Twil ,' Daniel said.

'Promise?'

'Yes.' He squeezed her hand and col ected the rifle hidden in the shadowy trees. He waved as he rode off on his bike.

'Seems like a nice young man,' Terry said.

'No taste in women,' Lauren remarked. 'Where are we going to eat tonight? I'm starved.'

'We'l let Jenny decide,' Terry said. Jennifer was staring in the direction of the road, where Daniel had disappeared. 'Jenny?'

'I'm not hungry,' she mumbled. 'Would it be OK if I stayed here?'

'Daniel must be coming back later,' Lauren said mischievously. But Jennifer's mood had already shifted. Terry had seen it before. Yet her gloom

was unlike that normal y seen in depressed people. It appeared more of a withdrawal from her surroundings than an attack of unhappiness.

'No,' Jennifer said softly, answering Lauren.

Lauren sensed the change, Terry could see that. She had learned from experience not to chal enge it. 'Sure, honey,' Lauren said. 'If you want to

stay, that's fine. But at least eat something later, OK? I'l stick a baked potato in the oven. There's chicken wings in the fridge from yesterday.

There's salad fixings, too. I could make you one before we leave.'

'Don't bother,' Jennifer said. She stepped to the stump in front of the cabin and picked up a red-covered book.

'Wel , there's yogurt and fruit,' Lauren said. 'If you want some of that later.'

'Maybe later,' Jennifer said, not interested. She opened her book and began to study the pages in the dark.

'We don't have to go out,' Terry said to Lauren.

Lauren hesitated a moment. 'Nonsense. Jenny's been babysitting Matthew's twins for two years. She can take care of herself. I have to go into

isolation the day after tomorrow. This wil be my last date for two years.'

Terry smiled. 'Unless the Martians take a fancy to you. Get dressed. Casual. We'l eat at Russo's. He told me his son, Mike, is just dying to meet the

famous woman astronaut.'

Lauren went inside the cabin. Terry went to the stump where Jennifer sat reading. It was amazing she could make out a word in the dark. She didn't

seem to notice that she had company. A minute passed. Final y, he said, 'A good book?'

Jennifer closed the book and hugged the front cover to her chest. 'Terry? Where do stories come from?'

'Huh?'

'Where do the writers get them?'

Terry knelt beside her, noticing the silence of the surrounding forest. Venus shone bright in the western sky. Lauren had pointed it out to him once.

He used to think it was an airplane or a star or a bal oon. Actual y, he never used to think about the sky at al .

'No one real y knows for certain,' he said. 'But I would say stories come from inside us, from the accumulation of our experiences.'

'From our memories?' Jennifer asked.

'Yes. When I write, the people I create often resemble those I know, or used to know. But their thoughts, they are usual y mine alone.'

'But you write so many different characters.'

'I must have many different people inside me.'

Jennifer considered. 'But you don't believe in the books you write, do you? They're only stories. They don't mean anything.'

'Sure, they're make-believe. But I like to think they have some truth in them. Usual y I enjoy the world I'm writing in more than the world I live in.'

A smile touched her lips. But the smile didn't last, slipping from her face as something cold blew across her thoughts. She looked up at the dark

sky. 'Terry? Could a story come from outside?'

'Yeah. Once I saw a kid stuck in a tree and a bunch of other kids below making fun of him, and it got me thinking about a book where ... Wait a

second. What exactly do you mean by outside?'

He never did get to find out what she meant. Lauren came out of the cabin then. But the reason he'd asked Jennifer to clarify her question was

because of the way she'd said the word outside. It had been as if she had been talking about way outside, like on another planet. It spooked him for

some reason, and he was not the superstitious type.

'Let's go, boyfriend.' Lauren hurried toward them, al the while brushing her hair. She had put on brown slacks and a yel ow blouse. Terry stood

reluctantly. He would have liked to talk to Jennifer longer.

T put two smal potatoes in the oven,' Lauren continued. 'In case you change your mind. Remember the chicken in the icebox. Please try to eat

something.'

Jennifer nodded but remained seated. 'Maybe later.'

Lauren leaned over and kissed her cheek. 'We'l probably be in before eleven, but if you get tired, don't wait up. We have a long drive ahead of us

tomorrow.' They were driving, not flying back to Houston. Lauren said she wanted to look at the highways, because they wouldn't

have them on Mars. Personal y, Terry hated long drives. He had flown up just for the night. Lauren poked him in the side. 'I want to drive tonight,' she

said.

Terry handed her the keys. 'I'l be with you in a moment,' he said. Lauren left to start the car. Once again, he was alone with Jennifer. He fluffed up

her beautiful hair. 'I'l wake you when I get up. You'l have time to spend with Danny.'

Jennifer grasped his hand as he started to walk away. She stared at Lauren behind the wheel of the car. 'She shouldn't go there,' Jennifer

whispered.

Terry sighed. 'I wish she wasn't.' He kissed her on the cheek. 'Goodbye, Princess.'

'Goodbye, Terry.'

Terry walked towards the car and climbed inside. Lauren gunned the engine, and the serenity of the forest fled. He kept his eyes on Jennifer as they

drove away. He thanked God they weren't both leaving.

THREE

Jennifer Wagner sat for a long time after Terry and Lauren left. It got darker. Presently the moon rose over the lake. A breeze stirred, and she

watched the moonbeams dance on the water. They reminded her of something she had seen long ago. What it was, though, she couldn't say. She

began to feel cold, decided to go inside and build a fire. On Mars, Lauren said, it was always cold, and fire could not burn in the open.

Jennifer liked flames.

Her book in hand, Jennifer went to the rear of the cabin, where Terry kept a woodpile. Her own tiny cabin was also in the back. It had been a

storage shed a couple of years ago, but Terry had converted it for her, putting in a bathroom and a bed. She liked privacy, where she could read

undisturbed. Plus she hated to be a nuisance when Lauren and Terry wanted to be alone. She knew about sex and stuff like that. She could hardly

wait until they got married. She would be Lauren's bridesmaid. She wondered who would be Terry's best man. He didn't have many friends, not that

she knew of. But the wedding wouldn't be for a couple of years. Not until Lauren returned from Mars. She had meant it when she had told Terry she

wished Lauren wasn't going there.

Jennifer was afraid something very bad was going to happen to Lauren on Mars.

She picked up a log and walked into the cabin. She came back twice more; the logs were heavy - she could only carry one at a time. But she bet

Daniel could have lifted al three at once, in one arm even. She wished Lauren hadn't been joking when she had said that he was sneaking back

later on. They could have talked, and maybe have gone for a walk under the stars. It was a shame.

Because now she had no excuse not to read the book.

Why do I have to read it? It's only a story.

Jennifer tossed the third and final log in the fireplace and took hold of two dry sticks from the basket of kindling by the hearth. She seldom needed a

match or a lighter to start a fire. Terry and Lauren were always amazed at how easily she got the flames going. Lauren had said long ago that if

Smokey the Bear knew of her skil s, he would brain her with his shovel. But that had been when Jennifer was younger and believed in talking bears.

Nowadays Lauren accused her of being a pyromaniac. Jennifer, however, was always careful with fire. She respected it deeply.