River of Dreams #21: Love and Hope

Posted on October 21, 2010 by randomyriad

Chapter 8

2 Sunday Messages

Emmylou moved the goat pen to a new spot where the underbrush was thick and came back up to the house. The coop people from Felton would come later for yogurt, kefir, and cheese. She never sold the milk straight. Emmylou went to the large living room. It had a fireplace big enough to cook in. All of the furniture in the room was at least 10 years old. The couch and armchair were from the 60’s probably left over from the school.

Emmylou pushed the button on the answering machine: “You have 2 unheard messages, new message number 1, Saturday September 19 at 8:05 pm,”

” Hello my name is Essie and eet ees bery eemportant that I can talk to you about the farm. My number ees 445-7893.”

The beep sounded. Emmylou decided to keep the message. There was something in the woman’s voice that sounded real and desperate. She hoped she wasn’t crazy.

“Next unheard message. Today at 7:58 am”

” Hello I am a former student at The Coop School and I would like to take a tour of the ranch sometime. My name is Random Anderson, and my number is”

the beep sounded before the number. Emmylou shook a little at the mention of the name. She remembered Random and had seen him a few times after he had left the school. He had been a sad little guy when he came to the school at age of 14 and she felt protective of him. During the 3 years he attended they became good friends. She was pretty sure he had a crush on her. Random had been there when her daughter was born at the school. It was his last year at the farm and the last good year of the school. He was still shy and nerdy and a virgin. She was pregnant and scared and constantly neglected and picked on by her partner, Zap, who was sleeping with at least three other students at the time. Random wrote her poems and sat in the kitchen, talking with her when he was supposed to be in classes or doing chores. She had thought of him as a little brother more than a friend. She had been too busy being a new mom to miss him when he left, but through the years he was one of the ones she thought about the most, and always with love.

She cursed the machine. Just then she heard the rumble of the coop truck pulling up. They were early. She walked out on the porch and waved to the woman and man getting out of the cab. “Mornin’ Carla, Max,” she called. They waved as the walked up.

“I’ve got all the stuff you asked for on the phone message yesterday, and more if you want it.”

Carla came up with a big open smile, “You know we’ll take what you got, woman. We can’t keep your stuff on the shelf.”

“I can brew some coffee if you want. I woulda had it made but you’re early today.”

“Coffee sounds good. I guess we did get an early start today,” said Max looking over at Carla. They went in for some coffee and news.


Chapter 9

2 Breakfasts and A Message of Love

Essie arrived at Maddie’s around 9:00 and knocked no answer. So she went back to the motel and paid for another night, and went out to a little coffee shop on the highway for breakfast. She ate slowly and thought about her dream.

“I will try today to find the farm,” She thought. “Then I will go back to Random and work things out.”

She wasn’t sure if working it out would be right for him. She debated this as she chewed her toast and eggs and sipped the bitter coffee.

At about 10:30 she went back to Maddie’s and knocked again. A ragged looking Maddie opened the door.

“Come on in, but be quiet or Debbie’ll wake up and give us hell,” Maddie whispered glancing at Debbie’s bedroom door.

“Has anyone called?” Essie whispered a little impatiently.

“Oh, that would not be good until about noon. Lets get outta here. We really don’t want those two up now. Anyway if someone calls they’ll leave a message, right?” Maddie headed for the stairs as she stage whispered, “I’ll jus’ go up and change and be back kick ass fast, and I’ll show you the sights, such as they are here abouts.”

“OK, I weel wait outside,” Essie said in a small voice as she opened the door.

“Okey doke,” Maddie said as she bounded lightly up the stairs.

Maddie came down in 5 minutes dressed in black hoody with a flaming skull on the back, long camo shorts with pockets everywhere, bright green socks and big knobby black boots. Her medium length died black hair was done up in two pig tails that stood up on either side of the back of her head.

“Dat ees quite an outfit you have on,” Essie said looking uncertain.

“Well you know one must make an impression in the world,” replied Maddie in a snooty English accent posing in a very ladylike manner.

Essie laughed easily as Maddie closed the door softly. They moved together down the street toward the highway, Maddie walked backwards so that she could face Essie, and talked a mile a minute about what she was going to show her. Essie never took her eyes off of Maddie’s bobbing face and never stopped smiling and shaking her head in wonder.

Maddie led Essie up to The Burger Spot across the highway from the Stop and Shop Market. They sat out in the bright blue day that was neither warm nor chill. Essie had a milkshake and Maddie had a bacon double slathered with sauce and ketchup.

“I wake up hungry as a horse sometimes,” Maddie burbled around a mouthful of burger and sauce dripping down the edges of her mouth. She wiped her face and plunged in again full force.

“You don’ do nothin’ by halfway do you?” Essie said with a look mixed between awe and horror. “Ojala! Child you are una diablita. I can tell.”

“That means little devil girl. You can’t fool me I’m taking Spanish this year,” Maddie said again through a monstrous hunk of meat, bread and sauce. “My mom would agree whole heartedly.”

As they sat, there came a point where neither of them were talking and no cars passed. Into the silence crept the far off sound of voices high and low intermingling like airy spirits.

“What ees that singing I hear?”

“Oh that’s probly comin’ from the church down the street. Sometimes I go there kinda as a way to spend time on Sundays. But I ain’t been in a while. you wanna go? They’re real nice and friendly. More’n Debbie and Matt on a Sunday.”

“Shouldn’ we go an check the messages?”

“Oh nobody’ll get back to us before noon, I bet.”

“OK. Lez go and see the church. They have a wonderful singing at least.”

They walked up the street to the little white church that looked like an icon for pioneer life. It was a white building with high peaked triangular roof and a stained glass windows on each side. One of Christ on the cross and one of the Virgin Mary seated in the midst of a flock of sheep. “Church of the Living Christ” A sign out front read. And under that a smaller sign that said: “This Sunday’s Message: What is Your Commitment to Love?” Essie thought it was a very fitting question.

They entered the church as the choir of about ten men and woman in silver blue robes sat down in the front pews. The church was dim with deep colored light coming through from the windows on the side. About 50 people sat scattered in groups of twos and threes with some lone people here and there. The usher handed Essie a program and looked sideways at Maddie’s ensemble but obviously recognized her. The preacher was a short, thin, pasty looking white man with short thinning hair and great black glasses that filled the upper half of his face.

“Good Morning! And welcome!” He shouted with sincere joy.

“Good Morning!” the congregation shouted back.

“What brings you here today?” He shouted the question loud and challenging.

“Love!” The congregation shot back strong and sure.

“Are you sure in your heart about that?” the preacher who’s voice was powerful far beyond his thin weedy frame and mild mannered looks. He spoke with fire and conviction.

“We are!”

“Then welcome all, even those who cannot say they come in love for this is a step toward love if you have not reached it yet. If you come in peace, or weary sadness of spirit, if you come in joy and rapturous longing for the spirit of Christ, if you come in boredom or curiosity, welcome for you fill his house with your human spirit, Amen.”

Essie suddenly broke into silent tears at thought that she had not even thought to call Random and let him know she was alright. Suddenly she was filled with grief for his feelings of abandonment. She also wept out of fear that she might lose him because of that.

“You alright?” Maddie asked in a concerned whisper. Essie nodded because she knew it had to be that way.

The service was long and meandering, but filled with hymns and Maddie sang like a banshee loud and high and off key, swaying to the music in ecstasy. Essie peered at her from the side in wonder trying not laugh and mostly succeeding.

Posted in California, conversations, developing relationships, Dreamtime, Fiction, music, Questions and riddles, River of Dreams, Singing, Telling Stories | Tagged , | Leave a comment

River of Dreams #20:Goat’s Milk and Bluegrass

Posted on October 20, 2010 by randomyriad

Chapter 6

Meanwhile Back at The Ranch


Emmylou Finegold moved with steady grace up the walk to the old farmhouse that used to be the main building of a school and before that a farmhouse of a retired police chief of San Jose. Her hair was long and indefinitely brown speckled with grey. She carried two large buckets of steaming milk so smoothly not a drop overlapped the rims. The house looked like it belonged on the main street of an 1890’s town, the home of some well-to-do prosperous type who kept most of the gain to himself, but being out in the middle of golden hills and scrub farmland, it looked less like a show off. It was yellow, the color of a dark lemon with white trim, and was surrounded by a porch with a steep awning on the corner of which hung dilapidated swing seat for two. The front steps were broad and inviting leading to a large white door. Emmylou hummed a Buddy Holly song as she swayed gently to rhythm of the milk in the pails. The morning around her was blue and crisp. She set the milk down and turned to survey the land and sky. All was well and right at least in this place. She opened the broad white door, picked up the buckets and headed for he creamery at the back of the house. She had done the goats, and there were still the cows to milk and eggs to gather. She saw the red message light flashing on the phone and thought, “I’ll check that later. Just probably a wrong number anyway.” She never talked to herself, but she began to sing in a sweet, whispery, soprano:

Every day seems a little brighter,

Every load seems a little lighter,

Every goat is a little bighter,

She lost the melody and trailed off into aimless humming then found it, a few more words coming to her:

Every day it’s a gettin’ closer

Goin’ faster than a rollercoaster

Love like yours will surely come my way a hay a hay

Her voice trailed into the echo of cement creamery. She felt a little nervous about the song. It was not a song she was very familiar with, but it seemed to want to come out of her now like a message she was singing to herself.

Every day it’s a gettin’ longer

Every day love’s a little stronger

Do you ever long for

True love from me, a hee, a hee.

She shook her head and chuckled at the last hiccups. What a way to sing.

After she had dealt with the goat milk. She went out and milked the cows and gathered eggs. She sang some Eagles’ songs as she did these chores, much more to her taste.


Chapter 7

Golden Gate and Blue Grass


Random, Steve, and Lin packed up their stuff and got in the car, taking off for the Golden Gate. It was a fine crisp, blue morning with a few puffy clouds, and the ever-present fog bank loomed out on the horizon. They rode across the orange bridge into Marin County and took the turn off up to Muir Woods and the old fort on the point. There was a lot of traffic going up toward the park. And they saw signs for a blue grass show in the afternoon.

“We’ll just walk around a little, and head out before the show.”

“Hey, Man, I like Bluegrass. Its happy howlin’ music. You could use a little a’ that right about now.” Steve bobbed his head to imaginary fiddle and banjo.

“What is blue grass?” Lin asked truly puzzled at the concept of blue grass.

“It’s old timey fiddle and pickin’ tunes from the Appalachian mountains back east. They named it for Kentucky, the blue grass state,” Steve answered still bobbing his head.

“I have never seen blue grass.”

“It’s not really blue. I don’t know why they call it that.”

Steve looked to Random to see if he knew. Random just shrugged his shoulders.

They parked the car and walked up through the woods to the cliffs and the old canon emplacements facing out to sea, like an ancient monument to the god of war.

Random sat with his back against a cement wall, leaned back, letting the sun and slight cool breeze wash over him. It was the finest feeling of deep restful sadness and joyous life. It was like love from the world that he soaked into the deepest parts of him.

Steve and Lin wandered off into the woods, Steve’s low, quiet, voice rumbling little points of interest, Lin responding matter-of-factly.

Random drifted off into doze, but he was still aware of rough calls of birds, the sun and breeze. Far away, faintly, the sound of a Bluegrass band practicing “Everyday” by Buddy Holly drifted in and out. He began to hum along, but the lyrics escaped him in his totally relaxed state. They played it slow and soulful with a mandolin and fiddle and a high lonesome singer howling to the blue sky dome, under it all the boom of the tide against the rocks at the bottom of the cliffs. Random had no idea how long he had sat in this state it could have been 10 minutes or 2 hours when Steve tapped the side of his foot with his shoe.

“Hey Man, let’s get goin’ that ol’ blue grass thing is gettin’ started soon and we are gonna have a helluva time gettin’ outa here then.”

Random hopped to his feet so fast that Steve backed up into Lin and had to hold on to her to keep her from going over.

“Alright, I’m ready. Let’s go to Point Reyes,” Random said quickly. He had come out of the daze with a hunger for some undefined wild adventure. He found his bearings and strode off toward the car without taking notice if the other two were following. He was humming “Everyday”, but the lyrics were still not coming to him, buried under a feeling of vague anticipation.

Posted in California, conversations, Dreamtime, Fiction, mindworks, music, NaNoWriMo, novel projects, Of the Road and The River, River of Dreams, Singing, Telling Stories | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

River of Dreams #19: Motel Thoughts and Dreams

Posted on October 18, 2010 by randomyriad

V

A Night in the Motel


When she got around the corner, Essie took off her shoes and ran silently just outside the slashes and pools of light that came through from the highway.  The Motel was one block up and two over. She sprinted across the street seeing no sign of her pursuer, and made it into the alley behind strip mall on the corner. She worried about stepping on glass or sharp metal, but kept moving through the darkness. She made it to the next street, and slowing a little to check for cars, scooted across the street. She quickly crossed the Motel parking lot and slipped into her room, locking the door as she closed it.

It was a small uninspiring room with a bad painting of cannery row on the wall over the bed. The colors were all wrong.

Essie was suddenly struck by how tired she felt. She undressed quickly and dug through her backpack for her nightshirt, an oversized flannel work shirt, found it and put it on. Flopping on the bed, she grabbed the TV remote and flipped channels for a while. She finally gave up; Saturday night TV sucked. She did not have any books to read so she switched out the light and thought about things, about Random and how she hated to leave him. She thought of the wolf. She was almost certain it would not hurt her. She panicked at the strangeness of its golden eyes. She knew the wolf carried a message she was not yet ready to receive, and so she escaped into Maddie’s house.

Essie’s thoughts drifted to her life, and how hard it had been for her and Random these last months. They had both felt stifled and unable to find a path that included their relationship. They were from two different worlds. He didn’t understand what she needed sometimes. She wanted to move to a cheaper place and take things slower, live a little more and spend less time working. He wanted to finish his studies and work enough to keep the apartment in the city, which meant Essie had to work more too. She had felt her soul, the spirit of her youth fading into her work. Then the dream of the turtle came and told her of the farm. She did not know why she must find the farm, but it had to do with waking something up. She had a vague idea of vast spans of time as She drifted off to sleep thinking of the farm she had never seen and golden eyes shining in the dark.

Essie sat on a long beach of fine white sand. A huge mountain loomed behind her. She watched the sun set over a completely still ocean. There were no waves. A breeze came from over the water making her cold. She huddled tighter down into the sand and began to sink. She struggled wildly, but the sand was so fine it was like a gritty cloud that she fell through. Suddenly, in the flurry of sand and movement, her flailing hand grabbed hold of another hand, which gripped and pulled. She came up looking into Random’s lovely calm face.

“There you are I’ve been looking for you,” he said grinning broadly.

As Essie looked into his gray green eyes, a feeling of panic came over her. She knew they must get into the city before the sunset or the gates would be locked forever.

“We must go now, to the ceety. We must run or the gates weel close,” she yelled over a roaring sound of waves, which had resumed their relentless pounding of beach.

Essie grabbed his hand and pulled him as they ran. They reached the city and slipped in as the gates closed, clanging and reverberating like a tremendous gong.

As she dragged him through the maze-like streets, Essie could see the wolf gaining on them. The wolf was a messenger, and the message was what she feared. The wolf had almost overtaken them when they came to a doorway with the symbol of a black bird in flight above it. She frantically pushed the door. It opened so easily they fell inside, Random on top of her. He was kissing her and taking her clothes off. Essie was wrapped in his body.

“Stop!” she yelled. Angry and frightened Essie struggled desperately. “You don’t understand! We must get to the end of the hall.”

But he would not stop and Essie could not resist. She had to respond to the contact of his skin against hers. She felt her body explode into fire on the sandy floor. With her last sliver of composure she pulled herself free of Random’s embrace and staggered, gasping down the hallway. At the end was a pool of water covered in lily pads. She stumbled to the edge and tumbled into the cool water.

Essie woke drenched in sweat. Groggily she glanced at the clock. It said 7:16. She gathered some clothes and went into the bathroom to take a cool shower.

As she stood the water falling on her cooling body, Essie thought of the dream. The fact that the wolf pursued her in her dreams and in the waking world left a numb little seed of terror just under the surface of her thoughts. Memories from childhood came slowly sifting through. She began to remember vague pieces of stories and words. “Tegethnot” echoed in her mind’s ear, and stories of how the beings that dwell there have powers to reach out into the waking dream of life. The stories of the old indian woman that lived next to her mother’s house on the edge of jungle, were full of turtle, wolf, the black bird of night, and the monkey people who taught humans how to speak the language of the jungle and the water people.

Posted in California, conversations, dangerous creatures, Dreamtime, Fiction, mindworks, Mythical and mysterious, NaNoWriMo, novel projects, River of Dreams, Telling Stories | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

River of Dreams #18: A Night Visitor

Posted on October 17, 2010 by randomyriad

III

Essie Leaves a Message


 

“Wow! This is pretty Kick Ass!” Maddie burst out tossing the bat on the sofa and flopping down next to it so she landed in a perfect lounging position hands behind her head. “What brings ya to this part of the world anyway?”

Essie smiled in spite of her deeply anxious feeling.

“I, too, had a dream. I had to find a farm that was a school and I had to find eet on my own. Eet was a turtle that tol’ me thees.”

“Wow! And I thought my dreams were weird. But, I know a woman that runs a farm up in the hills that used to be a hippie boarding school.”

“Yes! Dat ees why I come here!” Essie’s voice gained urgency and hope. “I hear my fren’ talk of thees place before, on Highway 9.”

“I don’t know xactly where it is, but we should be able to call. It’s like Eagle sumptin’ farm or ranch. I’ll get a phone book.”

Maddie immediately went about on a high velocity search of shelves and end tables which were all cluttered with various papers, beer and soda cans, pizza boxes, and dirty dishes.

“Here it is!” Maddie yelled. She held up a thin phone book and jumped over the couch landing in a sitting position already leafing through it.

“E, e, e, a, g. Here she is Eagle Tree Ranch. You wanna call. There’s the phone.” She held up the phone book and pointed to the phone.

Essie dialed carefully looking at the number. It rang several times and then came the message machine. Essie asked Maddie for her number and Maddie wrote it on a scrap of paper and handed to Essie.

“I hope eet was OK to leave, dees number. I dint know the number for the motel.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll take the calls tomorrow, but you’ll have to come back here in the morning. Maybe we can drive out there tomorrow.”

“I haf no car. I heech hiked here.” Essiee shrugged, “Eet ees far, dis place?”

“About 5 or 10 miles I guess. Like I said I been there once on a field trip when I was in 6th grade, and I know the ranch chick from some stuff she did at our school a cupla years ago. I think her name is Emmajean or sumptin like that. Walkin’ would be hard it’s all uphill, and I know there is no sign on the highway for the ranch. It’s off on some dirt and gravel thing way the hell outen the middle of nowhere.”

Essie smiled in spite of the bad news. Maddie was like an electrical outlet charging Essie low batteries.

After getting to know each other a little, Maddie and Essie played a game of gin rummy for peanut MnMs that Essie had in her bag and talked aimlessly about life and this and that. Essie let Maddie win most of the MnMs.

“Well, I should be on my way, now,” Essie said at about 9:30, picking up her bag and moving toward the door.

“Yeah, you must be beat, bein’ on the road and all.”

“You are one sweet keed. Tanks for letting me een. Eeseet OK eef I come by tomorrow and take you out for a burger or somethin’,”

“That would be super di fuckin’ duper. I got nuthin’ to do on Sunday. Debbie hangs out all day watchin’ football and drinkin’ beer. Matt’ll probly be here too, and what a loada’ thrills that is.” Maddie rolled her eyes.

Essie gave her a little hug at the door.

Maddie received it stiffly at first and latched on a little. Essie smiled and peeled away.

“Oh yeah you gotta come back to get your message anyway. Maybe I can help ya find the place, or drum up a ride. Ya’ know you could always stay here. Debbie would hardly even notice.”

Essie smiled a little again. “No, but tank you anyway, I’ll sleep bedder at de motel once I get in and seddled.”

“Go quick. Oh you should go out the back that way if whoever is followin’ you won’t know you’re gone.”

Maddie showed her to the back door, and Essie disappeared into the night without looking back.

Maddie stood and listened, but could not even hear Essie’s footsteps. She went out front and stood on the porch peering out into the dark. She thought she caught the reflection of a light down the street in two amber eyes. They winked out and were gone without a sound. Maddie shivered a little, stepped back in and locked the door. She turned the TV on and flipped channels for a while gave up and went to find her schoolbooks. Debbie’d have a conniption sure if she didn’t have her homework started.

IV

A Message From the Black Bird


Maddie lifted her head off of her science book that lay open on the coffee table as her mother unlocked the front door.

“Hey, sweetie, why aren’t you in bed,” Debbie said as she came with a bag of something from work.”

“Doin’ homework . . . I musta fallen asleep a little.”

“Well its one a.m. and time for bed. Get up there baby and don’t forget to brush your teeth.” Debbie walked over and gave her a pat on the back.

“Alright,” Maddie agreed sleepily and shuffled with half closed eyes to the stairs and up slowly.

“Ganight, princess,” Debbie said and got no answer.

Debbie went to the door and waved to a man sitting in a pick-up parked on the curb out front. He got out carrying a bag full of bottles. He came in as she was getting glasses from the cupboard. He grabbed a piece of her butt as she stretched up for the glasses.

“Now you cut that out, Matt. You’ll make me drop these and she’ll hear us. You know that ruins it for me.”

“Sorry Hon, you jus’ get me all hot and bothered. I jus’ can’t wait.”

“Well, you won’t hafta wait much longer. Jus’ let me get in there and get these clothes off.”

“Now, thas what I liketa hear,” Matt growled and followed her into the bedroom.

Maddie fell into her bed after running a toothbrush over her teeth, more ritual than cleaning. She was asleep before she could cover herself.

The dream came immediately. She was standing in a big field of long dry yellow grass in the distance were oak and scrub bordering the field in all directions and low hills beyond. The grass was tall all around her with no hint of how she had come to this spot. She gazed into the distance and saw a black speck in the gray sky growing larger and taking on a shape. It was a black bird and it came swiftly. She could see it was very large like a raven only larger.  It circled around her and flew in a straight line away. Maddie followed trying to keep it in sight. She finally came to the edge of the field, and there was the bird perched on a fence post turning its amber eye to her and croaking.  On the other side of the fence was a broad meadow of low green grass. A huge ancient tree twisted low and massive in the middle, its roots like tremendous wooden serpents writhing in and out of the ground around the tree. On the bluff at the far end of the field a yellow house perched. Maddie looked back to where the black bird had been. There was nothing but a cloud of dark mist.  A croaking echo came from inside the cloud, “Tegethnot, tegethnot . . . “ Over and over fading with the dream as the mist dissipated in a breath of breeze.

Maddie woke a little, crawling under the covers, and settled in for the night.

 

Posted in California, conversations, dangerous creatures, developing relationships, Dreamtime, Family, Fiction, mindworks, Mythical and mysterious, NaNoWriMo, novel projects, playing games, River of Dreams, Telling Stories, Wild Life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

River of Dreams #17: A Small Town on The Highway

Posted on October 16, 2010 by randomyriad

Part III

Finding The Ranch

 

I

Saturday Afternoon at The Drifter’s Reef

 

Maddie Bolter skipped down the sidewalk. Every now and then she did a little shuffle slide to avoid people who eyed her nervously, Dressed in baggy army green pants, a plaid flannel shirt with the sleeves cut off at the shoulders, fluorescent green canvas high top basketball shoes and a baseball cap backwards, Maddie was 15 and all attitude. Wherever she went Maddie made as good an impression as a punk band in a nursing home. There was nothing bad about Maddie– she just didn’t vibrate on the same frequency as any other person in the known universe. She didn’t march to the beat of a different drummer: there were no drummers that could go where Maddie marched at least none had survived the audition.

She slid on into the Drifters Reef just off of the seedy strip that was the main drag in Weston, California, a little speck of a town with a little lowball casino, a couple of bars, two cheap motels, a grocery store, and a few fast food places.

“Hey girl! Whatchoo doin’ this fine day? You lookin’ off the charts,” Reggie the bouncer, all muscle and easy slouch, addressed her with a nod and a smile.

“Jus’ looking for Debbie. She make it in today?”

“That is yo’ Momma you talkin’ ‘bout, right? You oughta call her momma or my mom or somethin’ seems like.”

“Is she here?” Maddie said with a little edge. “My Mom that is,” she corrected at Reggie’s look of disapproval.

“I’ll get her. You know you not supposed to be in there unless you aged since last I seen ya.”

“Yeh, now I’m 21 so you gotta let me in right?”

“ I’ll get her. You wait out here with the rest of the jail bate.”

Maddie stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her eyes and then spread a wide fake smile.

“Some day I’m o take a picture of that face,” he said walking away into the bar. “Then you be sorry.”

Maddie paced a little in the entryway next to the phones and newspaper rack.

“I thought I told you not to come ‘round here. You know Marty don’t like it when I leave the table, and he don’t like kids ‘round neither.” Her mother moved out of the dark bar, thin and chesty with bleached blonde bangs. She talked fast and twangy.

“I’m sorry if my life interferes with your job, Debbie. But, a girl’s gotta eat, and there is nothing at home but cookies and beer. I need twenty to shop for a coupla days.”

“I’m sorry honey. Momma’s been busy. Here go get some stuff.” Debbie’s tone changed to apologetic as she pulled a bill out of her pocket, handed it to Maddie then snatching it back, said parentally, “ But, don’t go gettin’ no junk. No sodas or candy. Jes sandwich stuff. I don’t like you cookin’ when I’m not there.”

“I am fifteen, an’ I cook better’an you anyway.” Maddie grabbed the twenty and ran. “See ya later.”

“I leftya a note. You better read it!” Debbie called after her.

“I will if I can,” Maddie shouted back without turning.

Her mom followed her down the street with her eyes. Her face tightened a little, shaking her head as she turned and took a slow breath.

“That girl is a firecracker,” Reggie said smiling paternally as Debbie passed him on her way back to her table.

“Yeh, she’s gonna set the world on fire, she don’t look out,” she said over her shoulder.


II

The Straw Groom


“Have to get him ready for the wedding,” Maddie said to the two dancing cherubs who flew around her head. Their wings made a musical buzz like quietly trilling flutes. She was trying to stuff a straw effigy that was about a foot long into a small tuxedo. She had the top all set, jacket, shirt, cummerbund and bow tie with a top hat on its head. She was trying to get the pants on. They kept sticking on the ends of the straw that protruded on the sides of the legs.

“For chrisake, how in the goddam fucking hell do they expect me to get these stupid goddam pants on these sticky legs.”

Maddie’s head popped up from the arm of the sofa. The house was dark and there was a rapping sound. She got up and turned on a lamp by the couch where she had been dozing. She stretched on her way to the door and peeked through the little hole.

“Who izit?” she said with a little irritation.

She saw a short woman with a golden brown face and long black hair.

“You don’ know me, but Iyam staying at the motel. Someone ees following me. Could I please come een for a meenute, ?” The woman said with a little panic but mostly under control.

Maddie thought for a second, and quickly went to get the softball bat leaning against the wall just inside her mother’s bedroom. She came back and opened the door just wide enough to allow the small woman to squeeze in.

“Tank you, Iyam bery escared. I dint want to go back to my room alone.”

“Whose after ya?” Maddie asked still holding the bat like she could use it.

“I coon’ see bery well,” She said shivering a little, “eeteez dark, but I could hear hees footsteps behind me.”

“What makes you think you’ll be safe in here?” Maddie asked relaxing a little, but still holding the bat with ready hands.

“I don’ know eet was the firs house I came to on my way back from the store.”

Maddie noticed the little bag the woman was carrying and relaxed a little more.

“Come on in, Don’t worry about nuthin’. We’ll beat em’ senseless with old Baba O here if they poke there head in,” Maddie said as she leaped up on a chair by the door and swung away at an imaginary intruder.

A small nervous giggle bubbled up behind the woman’s closed mouth smile.

“Tha names Maddie B.” she leaped down and holding the bat over her shoulder extended her free hand.

“Esmeralda,” said the woman, “But everyone calls me Essie.”

“Well Essie it is. This is my mom’s dump, but she’s off working at the casino at this very moment. So you are free to stay for a while.”

“Tank you, I tink in about feefteen minutes I weel try to go.”

“I was jus’ havin’ the strangest dream. Sumptin’ about trying to dress up a little straw doll in a tuxedo so he could get married tomorrow.”

“Hmm, dat ees bery strange.”

“The funny thing was, I felt like it wasn’t really my dream.”

Posted in California, conversations, dangerous creatures, developing relationships, Dreamtime, Family, Fiction, Mythical and mysterious, NaNoWriMo, novel projects, playing games, River of Dreams, Telling Stories, Wild Life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment