Evergreen by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 9

The day had turned to mid-afternoon and Katie and Bobby finished a not so light lunch - a cheeseburger, fries and a large shake and finishing at record speed, Joan sent them off with her usual words of warning. “Stay out of trouble you two!”

She tried to look out for all the kids of Evergreen. Having spent ten years in prison, Joan had witnessed, firsthand, the terrible things people are capable of and especially, after killing her husband, she knew that everyone had it within themselves to take a life. Under the right circumstances, human morals could be bypassed as the killer within loosened itself from its cage. But, Evergreen was not that kind of town. It was, by no means, a utopia and had its share of problems. However, serious crimes were practically nonexistent. The last murder to take place was some forty to fifty years ago and only the oldest residents of the town still remembered it. But, not with any great detail and that generation was nearly gone.

Making their way down Main Street, Katie continued to tease Bobby about his unwillingness to enter the house. “Well, I didn’t see you going in!” he responded with frustration.

Katie realized she was, again, pushing too hard and prompted a display of temper.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

She let a few moments pass, then tried to change the subject.

“Hey, you want to go to the river?”

Everyone under eighteen called it ‘the river’. It wasn’t exactly a raging torrent, but a brook whose pace varied with the seasons - rain versus drought. Running down a rocky mountainside, it formed a watery ribbon before crushing itself on the rocks below. Gathering in a pool, it rushed down the mountains as one of several inlets into Sparrow Lake. Autumn always brought a spectacular view from the pool, with the green of pines and the reds and yellows of maples, oaks, and elms. The cold autumn wind wound its way around through Evergreens surrounding topography as clouds moved in haste across the sky, as though set into motion by the hand of God.

The trail lay at the edge of town, where Main Street ended at the side of the dirt road. In only half a mile’s distance, Katie and Bobby found themselves at the pool where the water fell from the stony ridge far above. They laid down on a broad rock, staring up at the sky, the cool wind blowing across their faces. Katie suddenly bolted up to a sitting position and let out a belch loud enough to echo off the mountains across from them. “Holy shit!” Bobby said in amazement. “You want a napkin or something?” Katie quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment. But, that didn’t keep her from laughing.

“Sorry,” she said with a giggle. “I guess it was the burger.”

She laid back down on the rock next to Bobby and looking up at the sky both began to contemplate life after graduation.

“So,” Bobby began. “What are you going to do?”

“You mean after graduation?” Katie replied. “Well, I’m already working in the mill. So, I guess I’ll stay there. What about you?”

Bobby continued staring up at the sky. “Honestly? I don’t have a fucking clue,” he replied. “Maybe I’ll get a job at the clinic, or at the mill.” A few moments passed as they watched the clouds drift by.

“So, what do you think happened up there?” Katie asked. “Up where?” Bobby replied.

“You know, at the house,” she answered. This prompted Bobby’s frustration as he rolled his eyes at the return of that particular subject.

“Are we really going to go there again?” he asked. Displaying a teasing grin, Katie continued with what her imagination could conjure up.

“I heard some guy got killed up there. He must have been there for weeks before they found him. He was probably rotting into the floor.”

Bobby sat up and looked away from her, his frustration beginning to cross over into anger.

“Seriously? Really? Can we just move on?” Katie always seemed to enjoy teasing him about the things that disturbed him the most. It was one of the ways she expressed her affection for him.

“I bet it stunk like hell. I would’ve puked.” Finally, Bobby had enough and standing up, started back toward the trail.

“God fucking dammit! Why can’t you just ease up?!” Katie jumped to her feet and rushing over towards Bobby, affectionately took his hand.

“C’mon, you know I’m just messing with you.”

But, Bobby was persistent in leaving and continued walking across the rocks, toward the trail. Now, there was only one other way to calm him and it was something every woman knows how to do. Katie ran up ahead of him, turned and threw her arms around his neck. Pressing her breasts into his chest, she looked up into his eyes and offered a genuine heartfelt apology.

“I’m sorry,” she began. “You know I love you.” He responded by wrapping his arms around her slender waist and kissing her lightly on the lips. As she held him, Katie could feel his body relax as the anger and frustration he felt melted away. They released each other almost at the same time and joining hands, continued on to the trail, eventually, arriving back into town.

As the afternoon faded into evening, Katie and Bobby left each other’s company with a light kiss and went to their respective homes. After spending so many years living in the same small town, they had become inseparable. It seemed that through the years, nearly everyone knew they would someday become an item. They, however, would be the last to find out. But as night arrived at the town of Evergreen with its icy autumn blanket, Katie found herself catching up on some last minute homework. Tomorrow was Sunday, and she wanted to finish everything so as to free up the day, before going back to school on Monday. Bobby, however, was not as studious. He sat at his bedroom window, looking out into Evergreens flickering starscape. From this vantage point, he could see the hilltop where, among the pine trees, the old house stood. Its guests, both furred and feathered, curled up, their brains also taking rest during the cold still autumn night. But as fearful as he was of the house, Bobby was also curious. He wondered if there was any truth to Katie’s imaginative version of its history. Perhaps there was a way to find out more without actually going inside.