The Chardon Chronicles: Season One -- The Harvest Festival (36 page)

He was folding laundry when Telia
returned.

“Oh gawd!” she said, “A man who changed the
world is working as an orderly for a girl he barely knows!” she sat
next to him and kissed the side of his face.

“Yeah… I think I might need to get her to the
hospital. She’s in rough shape.” He sighed. “What do you mean:
changed the world?”

She tapped a knuckle on his head. “Hello?!
You still don’t
see
it. You created a way to connect to a
whole ‘nother world.” she groaned with exasperation. “It’s
incredible, now that we’ve adjusted it. It’s like I close my eyes
here and am transported to a different place. It’s green and
breezy.”

Matt raised his eyebrows and put the laundry
down. “You’re right…”

Telia cut him off, “Matt I’ve been able to do
things in our world, too. I was able to see
through
a crow’s
eyes.” She leaned back on the couch. “I mean that alone was the
most amazing thing that’s happened in my life… It’s like magic is
real.”

“That really is amazing, Tee.” he said.
“You’re right, I think my preconceptions about what we’d find
really soured it for me.”

“Anyway, I’m gonna go shopping today with
Dana. I hope you can get out of this,” she waved at the laundry
pile, “and get back to your
real
work. Oh! I’m going over to
Tweedy tomorrow for Parents Night.”

“Yeah, I’ll go too. I’ll get Amy taken care
of, somehow.”

She kissed him. Johnny and Dana walked into
the house. Johnny was rubbing his clean shaven chin.

Dana said, “Check out this baby face. It’s so
smooth.” she felt his cheek.

Telia laughed. “You look sooo different. It
looks good.” she lightly pinched his chin.

Telia and Dana drove to Cleveland Heights to
do some shopping. Dana picked a few different stores to check out:
some boutiques and some thrift shops. They went to a thrift shop on
Coventry. The place was in an old building with scratched up
hardwood floors and exposed brick walls. There was no discernable
system to the racks of clothes.

“Do you remember the 80’s?” Telia asked.
“Well, of course you don’t you were, what, 5?”

Dana snickered, “Yeah, I was born in
1985.”

“I had huge hair. Enormous. I am going to
bring that back. Well a version of it.” She stopped in front of a
full length mirror that was attached to a pillar.

“You do have great hair.” Dana said. She ran
her fingers over Telia’s ponytail.

“Well, it used to be great, now it’s just a
little dried out. I think I’ll see if I can get that glossy sheen
back.”

Dana grunted and furrowed her brow. “Telia, I
never thought you were really concerned about your look.”

Telia nodded, “I really wasn’t. Growing up,
my family put less than zero value on appearance. Matt’s family is
the same. But, I’m really just starting to appreciate its
power.”

She took off her jacket and hung it on a
hook. She undressed down to her bra and panties. Dana’s mouth was
hanging open. Other people in the store noticed her and pretended
to continue shopping while they stole glances.

“Check out the stomach. Still got it.” Telia
said. She was a tall, solidly built woman with classic proportions
and large, heavy breasts.

“Telia, you’re amazing me lately.” Dana
smiled. Telia put an arm around her and pulled her close.

“Feel that.” she put Dana’s hand on her butt
cheek. Dana squeezed it.

“Firm.” she laughed.

“Yeah, maybe too firm. I need a couple more
pounds of fat. My face tends toward a mannish look.”

“Tee, you’re really beautiful already.” Dana
said.

Let’s see what you’ve got going on. Telia
started unbuttoning Dana’s top. Dana let her do it, then she
undressed. They were starting to collect a crowd of shoppers. A
couple of cell phone flashes popped. Telia smiled at the
attention.

Dana was almost a full head shorter than
Telia and her body more solid and square. Her dark hair was
straight and shoulder length. Her face was oval, and her skin was
very pale. Telia looked at their reflections in the mirror.

“I think you could pull of a schoolgirl
look.” Telia said. She smacked her butt. “Look at that jiggly
thing.”

“Telia, you’re like a queen…” Dana said.

“And that’s the problem. It doesn’t really
work
that
way” she frowned. “That’s why I need your
imagination. Turn me into someone you’d fantasize about.”

Dana guffawed. “You
already
did that,
but I get it.” She stepped around Telia and examined her. She put
her hand on Telia’s chest again and looked through her. They were
both quiet for a few moments.

Telia smiled, “When you do that, what exactly
are you doing?”

Dana shushed her and continued staring. She
announced, “It’s really a conversation--you, the real
you
,
talks to me. Not really with words, but images, feelings. With
Matt, and now with you, it’s a little like looking into the Sun.
” she made an exploding motion with her hands. “You and
Matt are all up here,” she pointed at her head. “I get that you are
trying to move
down
. You want off your pedestal and to roll
in the mud with me and Robbie and David.”

Telia considered a moment. “I think that’s
very perceptive. I can see that, now. I never appreciated your
power
, Dana.”

Dana picked up their clothes, and grabbed
Telia’s hand. She looked around the store for the fitting rooms.
“Follow me.” The rest of the shoppers went back to their
business.

Dana grabbed a dressing room key from a
colorfully painted rack and pulled Telia into the room and locked
the door.

Telia was puzzled, “Dana, what are you…” Dana
kissed her and pulled her close against her body. Telia tensed up
and pushed Dana back a little and looked into her eyes.

Dana said, “You have to let it go…”, she
patted Telia’s chest.

Telia nodded slightly, “Alright.” She kissed
Dana back.

They emerged from the dressing room about a
half hour later. They were holding hands and laughing.

Telia said, “I’m going to get my hair colored
black. Let’s go.”

Matt went up to Amy’s room to take her to the
hospital. He expected to find her passed out or laying on the
bathroom floor, but she was standing up and looking out the window.
She was drinking a glass of orange juice.

He smiled, “Hey! How are you feeling? Better,
I guess.”

She smiled, “Yeah. I woke up with an
incredible craving for this.” She held up the glass. “It’s the
first time I’ve had any real food, well drink, in days and
days.”

Matt leaned against the door frame. “Well,
make yourself at home, I guess. Don’t feel like you need to stay in
this room. It’s pretty warm out today, there’s a patio and a nice
picnic spot in the back yard.”

Amy said, “I am going to take a shower and
put on some fresh clothes. Do you have internet?”

Matt nodded, “Of course, yeah, whenever
you’re ready come get me and I’ll show you the computer.”

He trotted down the stairs and warmed up some
chicken noodle soup. A while later she padded down to the kitchen.
She was wearing some of Tracy’s sweats and a sweatshirt. Her skin
tone returned to a more natural color, but her lips were still
pale.

“I almost feel human.” she said.

“You feel ready to eat some soup?” he
asked.

“I can try a bite. I really don’t feel
hungry. Incredibly thirsty though. More citrus.”

He filled another big glass of OJ. She gulped
half of it down in one shot. “So good!” she said and smiled.

He pointed across the library. “There’s a
computer in there. It’s on all the time. Oh, here’s a tablet
computer.” he gave her a tablet. “It’s good for surfing the web.
The WiFi reaches out pretty far from the house, too.”

She looked around, “This house is so nice.”
she sighed heavily. “My parents’ place used to be a little like
this. I mean all these things. I sold just about everything,
though.”

He asked, “What happened to them?”

“Oh mom died a few years ago--cancer. Then
dad just sort of faded away. Lost interest in being alive, I think,
and he died in his sleep. I found him.” she shuddered at the
memory. “They were older. I was a surprise baby.”

“I have a daughter. She’s just turned 14. She
goes to a boarding school.”

“Do you miss her?” She asked.

“Oh yeah, it is great having her around here.
But at least with the phones and email now, we’re in contact a lot.
I am going to see her tomorrow.” He furrowed his brow at the
prospect of her being alone in the house. “You think you’ll be
OK?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really know. So far so
good. I’ve been through this a few times. The first couple days are
bad, then it’s normal.”

Matt scratched the stubble on his chin, “So
you’ve gone through all this before? I imagine it’s really hard to
break free.”

She nodded, “No doubt. But I think being in a
new environment around decent people for once will help.”

Matt said, “I hope so. Well, listen, my
family has a big network of friends with a lot of different skills
and knowledge. They’re into all sorts of things, so this is sort of
a new day for you if you want it.”

She teared up and wiped her eyes. “I really,
honestly do… I really do.” she said. She ran a finger over the
tablet.

He smiled and said, “Oh and before I forget.
I got a crew to head over to your house and they cleaned it up. You
can stay here for a while. We can figure this whole thing out.”

He felt pretty good. He decided to go down to
the warehouse and get his research back on track. He and Johnny
drove down again.

Robbie pulled into the driveway a couple
hours later. A rusted 1990s vintage Buick LeSabre was on the grass.
He didn’t recognize the car, but at the Wells farm, you never
really knew who would show up driving what. He heard people talking
on the patio, so he walked around to the back of the house.

Amy was sitting in one of the lounge chairs
and she was chatting with a chubby young guy in a white T-shirt and
a pair of very baggy pants. The guy looked at Robbie with a note of
hostility in his gaze.

“You’re Amy?” Robbie asked and offered them
his hand. “I’m Matt’s brother, Robbie. It’s good you are up and
around.”

She shook his hand. Her fingers were thin and
her grip was slight. “Yeah, I’m Amy. Nice to meet you.”

Her eyes were vacant and wandering.

“And you are?” he asked the guy.

“Oh, I’m nobody.” he said. “You about ready
to go?” he asked Amy.

“Huh? What?” she mumbled.

“C’mon.” the guy stood up and pulled her to
her feet.

“Why? I don’t want to go anywhere.” she
said.

“Do you have 50 bucks?” he asked her.

“No…” she mumbled.

“Let’s go then…” he pulled her. She pulled
her arm away and looked at Robbie. He was disgusted. He sighed. He
didn’t really feel like dealing with this.

“Alright, buddy, beat it.” Robbie said. He
put his bag on the ground.

“Maybe you got $50?” he asked Robbie.

Robbie sighed. “I guess this will be easier
than kicking your ass.” he handed the guy 3 twenties. “Keep the
change. If I see you here again, well. Don’t ever come back here,
got it?”

The guy jumped into his car and peeled down
the driveway spraying gravel into the yard and leaving a cloud of
dust wafting over the lawn.

“That one’s a winner…” Robbie took his hat
off and tossed it onto the bag in exasperation. He said, “My
brother can be a total shithead. So let me guess, you got online
and found a dude who’d bring some shit here in exchange for a
fuck?”

She nodded and looked down at her feet.

Robbie sighed. “Where’s your self respect,
girl? What happened to you?” he walked into the house.

She followed him mostly because she had
nothing better to do. She tapped a finger on her chin and said in a
dreamy voice, “really nothing happened to me… I was a spoiled girl.
I was an only child. My life was nothing hard. It just
happened.”

His anger was building, but he knew he wasn’t
angry at her, he was angry at Matt. He bumped his fist on the
countertop a few times. “Alright, well, I know nothing anyone will
do or say will actually change your life at all. It’s completely up
to you. I am going to walk down to the neighbors’ house today to
pick out a puppy. Their dog had pups and I want one. If you want to
walk with me, you’re welcome to come.”

She nodded. “Mmm Kay… I’ll go too.”

He shook his head and managed a forced smile
then went up to his room. He hopped onto the bed. It wasn’t
especially comfortable, but it was home. As he got older, it became
more difficult to stay on the road for an extended period. David
was happy no matter where they were or what they were doing, but
Robbie always felt tethered to the farm, and as weeks or months
went by the elastic pull got stronger.