Mad Love (25 page)

Then a young, handsome man from a neighboring village showed up and proclaimed his love for Psyche. “I was desperately jealous, so I shot him with a love-at-first-sight arrow while he was standing next to another man’s wife. It worked, but another man came, and then another. Word of Psychè’s beauty had spread since the wine festival and they started showing up from as far away as Crete. I shot them all.”

“Here’s a note about one guy who fell in love with his own reflection,” Realm said. “And another about a guy who fell in love with someone’s grandmother.” She clipped them together and wrote “Shooting the Competition” on a Post-it. “This story’s kind of sick,” she said. “I like it.”

An hour passed. Errol’s voice grew raspier. I got him some water.

The story went that at the end of the year’s courtship, Psyche had truly fallen in love and had agreed to marry Cupid. There was a small ceremony at her father’s farm, and then Cupid took her far away, to a remote island in the Aegean Sea. He stole a fortune from one of his lovesick victims and with that, he bought Psyche a beautiful palace at the sea’s edge and brought her everything she needed. They were deliciously happy.

In order to keep Psyche safe, Cupid had to set up some rules. First, Psyche could never be seen outside the palace. Venus, the goddess of love, had seemingly forgotten the little Wine Princess. But if Psyche started walking around in public, people would notice her beauty and word would spread. So she began to feel like a prisoner, far from her family, alone for long periods of time when Cupid would disappear to do his work. “As the sea changes its temperament, so too did our marriage change,” Errol said.

My fingers started to cramp. Realm put together two more sets of notes: “The Wedding” and “Life in the Palace.” She was turning out to be a great help.

“How did your marriage change?” I asked.

“She began to resent my love. No, wait, ‘resent’ is not the right word,” Errol said, getting up from the couch. He walked over to the living room window and looked out at Cal Anderson Park. Branches swayed in the wind and a few pieces of trash skipped down the path. “She started to hate me. A caged animal will always turn on its owner.”

“Hey, that’s my
Death Cat
story,” Realm said.

The marriage fell apart, he told us. Each time he’d return home, Psyche demanded freedom. Though he knew they’d both be in danger if anyone recognized her, he couldn’t bear her misery and he finally agreed that she could have some company. So her sisters came for a visit, but they filled her with more resentment. Who is this man to tell you what to do? To hide your beauty from the world? He wants it only for himself. While Cupid was away, they convinced Psyche to go to town without a head scarf. And when people noticed her beauty, the sisters proudly told the story of how she’d been crowned Wine Princess and how many had said she was more beautiful than Venus herself.

Two months later, Cupid arrived home after a long journey to find that Psyche had disappeared.

“Disappeared?” Realm asked.

“She’d gone looking for Cupid,” I said. “Mr. Lee told me the story. She thought Cupid had abandoned her so she went looking for him.”

“No,” Errol said, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s the myth. That’s the spin the gods put on the story. She never went looking. They took her. They took her from me.” A strong gust of wind shook the panes. “They took her and they entombed her.”

“What?” I asked.

Realm sat up real straight. “Entombed? You mean, they buried her alive? Just for being beautiful?”

“Yes.” He kept staring out the window.

We sat in silence for a few moments. I shuddered as a horrid image filled my mind. Unaffected by what she thought was merely a plot twist, Realm sorted through the remaining notes. “I don’t see anything in here about a tomb.”

“It’s not there. I couldn’t bear to write it.”

Realm nodded. “Yeah, I get that. When I had to write the scene where Death Cat chews on her owner’s face, it kind of freaked me out for a few days.”

Beautiful Psyche had been buried alive. No wonder Errol carried so much grief. No wonder he couldn’t face the ending.

“Alice!” Mrs. Bobot called. She hurried into the living room. “Oh Alice, I … I …”

“What’s the matter?” I asked, scrambling to my feet.

“You have a phone call,” she said, her voice trembling. “They’ve been trying to call you but you didn’t answer.”

I’d set my phone to buzz, hoping for no distractions. It had gotten pushed beneath one of the couch pillows. Mrs. Bobot held out her phone, her face ghostly pale. I knew that Harmony Hospital was on the other end of that call. With all the chaos about the lost envelope, I’d forgotten to call my mother that morning. It was the first time I’d forgotten.

“Hello?” I said. The connection crackled. “Hello?”

“Alice? This is Dr. Merri, the weekend physician at Harmony Hospital. I know this question may sound strange but …” She cleared her throat. “Is your mother there?”

“Is my mother where?”

“There. At your home.”

“Here? Is my mother here?” Had I heard the question correctly? Mrs. Bobot’s hand flew to her mouth. “No, she’s not here,” I told Dr. Merri.

“We thought not,” Dr. Merri said. “There’s been limited ferry service today due to the storm and the ferry crew hadn’t seen her. But I needed to make certain she hadn’t gone home.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, the phone growing heavy in my hands. “Are you telling me that my mother’s missing?”

Mrs.
Bobot grabbed the phone from my hands and pressed the speaker button. Dr. Merri’s voice filled the living room. “She walked out the emergency exit and we think she’s gone into the woods. We can’t find her. We’ve been looking for three hours.”

“Three hours?” Mrs. Bobot said with a gasp. “Did she take anything with her?”

“As far as we can tell she took nothing. Her purse, her coat, all her belongings are still in her room.”

Errol stepped up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

“How could you let something like this happen?” Mrs. Bobot cried at the phone. “Is this what you do when a patient can’t pay the bill? You let her wander off?”

“Of course not,” Dr. Merri said. “We are as upset about this as you are. But the storm has made the search difficult. It’s hitting us pretty hard out here. We’ve had a couple of big lightning strikes and we’ve lost power. The police and the fire department are helping with the search. I’m sure they’ll—” The line went dead.

Mrs. Bobot hit redial but the connection failed. Panic surged through my body. I slid from Errol’s gentle grip and started pacing, wringing my hands, looking around. What do you grab when your mentally ill mother is missing in the woods in the middle of a freak storm? A first aid kit, some flashlights, a blanket—what?

“Oh no you don’t,” Mrs. Bobot said as I snatched my backpack purse. “This is far too dangerous. I will not have you tramping about in the woods in the middle of a storm. You will stay here in case your mother shows up.” Then she ran into the foyer and clapped her hands. “William, Archibald, get your coats!”

“Stay here? I’m not staying here,” I said, running after her. “I’m going to help look for her.”

“What’s the fuss?” Archibald said after opening his door. He and the reverend stepped into the foyer.

“Belinda’s missing. They think she’s lost in the woods. She’s been gone for three hours.” Mrs. Bobot ran up the stairs, her braid swaying. “I’m getting my keys and some sensible shoes.”

“I’m going too,” I insisted.

A flash of lighting lit up the foyer. “You listen to me,” Mrs. Bobot said. “It is my job to take care of you. I am your legal guardian in your mother’s absence and I will not allow you to wander into the woods in the middle of lightning and thunder. You will stay here and keep yourself safe.”

“Wanda’s right,” Archibald said. “Your mother would want you to stay here. We all want to keep you safe.”

“But …”

Reverend Ruttles thumped his cane against the floor. “Do not argue with Wanda. You will stay here, young lady, where you are safe, and that is the final word.”

Archibald hugged me. “I’m sure she’s fine. Your mother knows how to take care of herself.” Then he hugged me again because we both knew it wasn’t true, at least not lately. “The pot roast is ready. I hate for it to go to waste. You and Realm and Errol should go in and eat something. We’ll call you as soon as we get there.”

And with that, Archibald, Reverend Ruttles, and Mrs. Bobot piled into Mrs. Bobot’s car and drove off down the darkened street.

I kicked the back door. “Stay here?” Helplessness tugged at my body, like being caught in a whirlpool. “I can’t just sit around and wait.”

Back in the apartment I tried calling the hospital. Nothing. “What about a cab?” I asked. “Realm, how much money do you have?”

“Not much, ten bucks, something like that.” She tugged at her sleeves. “A cab will cost a fortune. You could take a bus.”

“A bus will take forever.” I searched through my purse for the credit card, the one that was maxed out, but maybe a cab driver wouldn’t be able to tell.

“I think it’s ridiculous that they made you stay here,” Realm said. “How are they going to search the woods? The reverend can barely walk and my grandmother’s ancient. And Archibald will worry about getting his shoes dirty.”

I pulled out the credit card. I had to give it a try.

“I’ll stay here in case anyone calls or in case your mom shows up,” Realm said. She shuffled in place. There were hints of Lily in her softened expression. “And I won’t read anything I’m not supposed to read. I won’t. I wasn’t going to tell anyone about your mom. Really I wasn’t. I’m not that mean.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Realm, I—”

“Let’s not do the whole apology thing, okay? Just go find your mom.”

I called the cab company. “It’s my mother’s credit card,” I told the woman who answered. “What? But she said I could use it. No, she won’t be riding with me. But I don’t have my own credit card.” Beyond frustrated, I wanted to throw the phone across the room. “What am I supposed to do? I need to get to Whidbey Island and I only have the one credit card!” I yelled at the woman.

Still standing by the window, Errol had been quiet this whole time. But he suddenly called my name and motioned me over. A green Jeep was parallel parking across the street. When the driver’s door opened, Tony Lee stepped out, his hair whipping in the wind. I threw open the window.

“Tony!” I called.

He ran across the street and stood under my window. “What a crazy storm. Hey, you never gave me your phone number, so I came by to see if you wanted to hang out or something.” His face was back to normal, no blotches, no swelling. But my face was clenched with panic. “Alice, what’s wrong?”

“My mom’s in trouble. Can you drive me to Whidbey Island?”

“In trouble?”

I leaned out the window. “I need to get to her. Right now.”

“Yeah, okay, but I don’t know where Whidbey Island is.”

“I do.”

I grabbed a coat and started to leave but then turned and looked into Errol’s bloodshot eyes. “I know I said we’d work until we finished. But I have to go. I’m so sorry, Errol. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

He looked away.

“He can tell me the rest of the story,” Realm said. “I’ll write it down. I can do it.”

“You don’t need to do that, Realm. I’ll write it tomorrow.” I touched Errol’s arm. “There’s still time, right? You said you still had time.”

He frowned. “They’ve got firefighters and police looking for her, Alice. Don’t you think that’s enough?”

“Maybe.” I swung my purse onto my back. “But what if that’s not enough? What if something happens to her and I didn’t try to help? Don’t you get it? I’ve been trying to save my mother forever but I’ve never been able to. She just kept drifting farther and farther away from me. But what if this time I can help? I have to try.”

I expected anger from him. He’d been stalking me for a week, doing everything he could to get me to help him, and now I was abandoning him just when we were so close to finishing. But he said nothing.

“I gotta go.” I started to leave.

“Wait,” Errol said. “I’m coming with you.”

“You’re sick. You should stay here.”

“No.” He shook his head slowly. “I lost Psyche. I’m not going to lose you too.”