Weekend (7 page)

Pounding his head with his fist, he said, "I got it right here. I just can't say it."

"But you don't even know if you're male or female," Park said.

"I'm one of those, I know," Bert said, trying to concentrate.

"Somebody give him a mirror," Park muttered. "While he's divining the answer, why don't you go, Shani? You're—"

"Don't tell me! Don't tell me! I'll get it." She performed a quick mental review. She was: young, pretty, in love, European, a fictional character, female, dead… Inspiration struck. "Did I kill myself over my love?"

"Yes!" everyone shouted.

"Am I a Shakespearean character?"

"Yes."

"Did I stab myself with a knife?"

"Yes!"

"Did my boyfriend drink poison?"

"Yes!" Park adding, "Come on, Shani."

But she was enjoying herself. "Do I have a pet dinosaur?"

"Huh?"

"I'm Romeo!" She clapped her hands together. "I mean, Juliet. Thanks, Flynn, that's one of my favourite stories." Was he trying to tell her something?

"All right, Kerry," Park said. "Last chance."

Kerry had been keeping a low profile. "I know I must be someone rotten."

"Don't say that; it's not true," Shani said.

"I know Lena wouldn't have made me someone nice," Kerry said. Lena chuckled. Kerry went, on: "I'm not Hitler, Mussolini, Nero, Charles Manson, Genghis Khan, or Pontius Pilate. Am I a female terror?"

"You're a girl," Sol said.

"Am I pretty?"

"Ehh," Lena said.

"Yes," Robin said.

"Am I alive?"

"Ehh," Lena said.

"At times," Angie said. "Yes."

"Am I well-known?"

"Amongst a small circle of friends," Shani said.

"And amongst a larger circle of football fans," Lena said.

"Lena!" Shani said.

Kerry ripped off her name, crumbling the tape and throwing it away without a look. "Your turn, Robin,"

she said tonelessly.

"That was rotten," Shani said.

Lena laughed. "I can't help who she is."

"Shut up, Lena, it's my turn," Robin said pleasantly, probably averting a fight. Robin was not the marshmallow of before. She fingered her pendant, the gold eagle catching the lamp light, flickering like a star. "Could I have a minute? I'm thirsty; I want to get a drink." She started to stand. Flynn stopped her.

"I'll get you one," he said. During dinner, he had done the same, waiting on her hand and foot. Robin had eaten like a bird.

"My very own butler. Thank you," she smiled. "I just want a glass of water."

Flynn was back in a minute, but he had brought apple juice instead. "You can't trust the water down here," he explained.

"Oh, but it's filtered," Robin said.

"That's right, I'd forgotten," he said, sitting back down beside her. "Apple juice is better for you anyway."

A sharp cold, like cracking ice, pumped through Shani's heart as Robin lifted the drink to her lips. Funny how apple juice could look so much like beer…

"…one drink, it won't kill you …"

… So much like poison. Of course, Flynn had not been therethat night. But he wasn't the type to forget anything.

"I'm a young and beautiful woman," Robin reiterated. "I'm a famous fictional character in a recent movie."

"Several recent movies," Park said.

"Don't tell me! I want to get it." Robin pondered. "If I'm the same character in several movies that must mean there were sequels. Hmm. I got it!Star Wars! I'm Princess Leia! And here I was sitting right next to Luke." She hugged Flynn. "I should have guessed."

"I got it!!!" Bert interrupted, leaping to his feet. "Paul Bunyon!!!" he exclaimed.

Amazing, everyone had to agree.

They hashed around the possibility of other games: Angie's Spin the Bottle, Bert's Monopoly, Sol's Russian Roulette, Park's Marco Polo in the Ocean, Lena's Strip Poker. They were nowhere near a decision when Shani, out of curiosity, asked, "Robin, where did you get that eagle pendant? It's fascinating."

Robin was suddenly wary. "It's a gift. A friend who lives around here gave it to me."

"What is it?" Park asked.

Robin shrugged, her manner —for her —very peculiar. "Nothing, an eagle. It's nothing."

"An eagle," Sol repeated, exchanging a frown with Park. Shani was sure she was missing something. Sol asked, "Does this friend of yours have long stringy hair, a tan robe tied at the waist with an orange belt, and weird eyes?"

"Is he a sorcerer?" Park asked.

"He's not a sorcerer," Robin said quickly, sharply.

"That's what I say," Lena muttered, picking at her toenails.

"You have something to say about a lot of things you know nothing about," Robin said.

Lena was not impressed. "I was only agreeing with you… this time. Why don't you make upyour mind?

Is this cat for real or not?"

"What are you all talking about?" Angie asked.

"What do you want, a miracle?" Robin asked her sister. "If you can't see or touch something you assume it isn't real. There's no in-between for you, only black and white."

The tone of the evening had suddenly become chilly, as had the breeze through the dark windows overlooking the sober ocean. The foam from the waves was no longer white, or even black, but Robin's in-between - grey. Shani hugged her arms across her chest. She was not sure, but a shadow, like that of a bird, seemed to have swept by their window on its way out to sea. Far away, she heard a faint cry. It could have been a bird's, but it sounded strangely human. Robin seemed to be the only other one to hear it.

"He only spoke Spanish," Sol said. "How do you talk to him?"

"Robin's fluent in Spanish," Lena said.

"I never knew that," Park said. "That's interesting. So, tell us about this guy. I take it Lena and you disagree over his magical powers."

"I said nothing about magic," Robin whispered, withdrawing. "I'd rather not talk about it." She finished her apple juice.

The topic would have been dropped right there, except that Flynn took up the prod. He spoke carefully.

"I, also, am curious about him. At the canteen Bert and I visited, the owner - an extremely old lady who spoke good English - mentioned him when we told her that we were coming here. She indicated that he visited here often."

"No, not often," Robin said.

"I've always been curious about people like that," Flynn said, letting the statement hang.

"I wouldn't call him a sorcerer," Robin answered reluctantly. "That word gives a picture of someone who has powers that he uses to his own advantage. He doesn't do that. He could, if he wanted. But he has no need to. He's a desireless man."

"If he has never demonstrated unusual abilities, how do you know he has them?" Park asked.

"Because heknows me," Robin said suddenly emotional. She quieted. "I'm sorry, this is nothing I should talk about."

Flynn, however, was getting interested. "Did he give you the eagle as a protective amulet?"

"No."

"Robin," Lena said, as if accusing her sister of lying.

"Well, he didn't," Robin protested. "He gave it to me as a gift. He never said it was to protect me or to make me bet—" Robin halted, but was too late, having revealed more than she had wished. Was she staying down here to be near this peculiar man because she believed he could cure her? Perhaps that was why Lena viewed him cynically.

"What did he say about your kidneys?" Flynn asked.

Robin was defensive. "What makes you think I asked him?"

Flynn's tone was apologetic. "I was just thinking of myself. I would have asked."

"I did ask him, once," Robin admitted, sounding tired.

"I'm being nosey. I'm sorry," Flynn said. "Let's talk about something else."

Lena sighed. She was getting exasperated and bored. "This is all sounding more mysterious than it really is. Robin, just tell them the story that he told you when you asked about your health. Don't be embarrassed, wise men are always telling short parables that no one understands."

"I don't want to."

"Why not?" Lena insisted.

"Because… it doesn't have an ending."

"You brought up the subject and got everyone going," Lena said.

"I did not."

"If you won't tell them, I will."

"If it's private, Robin doesn't have to tell us," Shani said. Yet she, too, was curious.

"Okay, okay," Robin said. "I'm supposed to be the hostess. I guess I shouldn't be so rude. It won't matter to talk about it now, anyway. Lena, I'm feeling awfully tired. Could you get it for me? I wrote it down that day he told me. It's in a manila envelope in my desk, second drawer on the right. Thank you."

Lena returned in a minute with the envelope, plus a woolen blanket, which Robin accepted gratefully, wrapping it around her shoulders. The breeze coming in from the ocean had turned the room absurdly cold. Robin cleared her throat, saying, "This is what he told me when I asked him if I was going to get better. It doesn't really say yes or no and, like I said, it doesn't have an ending. Also, my Spanish is okay, but I'm not fluent. I can only give you the gist of what he told me. It reads like a parable."

"Once, not so long ago, there were two birds, Dove and Eagle. They were as one, very close, and would talk long and deep together. They made a vow to one another that they would always be together.

But one terrible day, a storm came, and they were separated, and Dove flew alone, always searching for Eagle, but never finding him."

"Now it came to happen one day that Dove met Raven, and they became good friends. Raven was clever and strong, and helped Dove live. And Dove respected Raven, for she could do many things that Dove could not. But Dove could sing, whereas Raven could not. Often, Raven pleaded for Dove to sing to her, and Dove always would."

"After being many days together, Raven told Dove of a new and exciting place she had heard of. She wished to go to this place, for Raven was very inquisitive, and she persuaded Dove to come with her, though Dove did not really want to go. But coming to this place, they found nothing but desert and got lost — or so it seemed — and became very thirsty. Flying high, Raven spotted a pond, and said, 'Let us drink here,' and Dove followed."

"Now, this pond belonged to Snake, and Raven knew this. Long ago, Raven had promised to bring Snake tasty food in exchange for its rattle, for more than anything, Raven wished to be able to make music like Dove. But Raven did not intend for Dove to be killed, for Raven in truth liked Dove. Together, Raven thought they could kill Snake, and she would get its rattle. But Snake had no intention of giving up its rattle. And Snake really wanted to eat Raven, for it thought Dove was thin and frail, and wouldn't be tasty. Both intended to cheat the other."

"While Dove was drinking from the pond, Raven waited for Snake to appear. And all of a sudden Snake came sliding out with its teeth wide, and surprised Raven, and Raven was barely able to escape into the air, calling for Dove to do so, also. But Dove staggered and could not fly. What neither Raven nor Snake had realised was that the pond was poisoned from Snake having drunk of its waters. Now Snake curled its tail around sick Dove, trying to lure Raven closer. Alone, Raven did not feel she could kill Snake. And Raven was afraid that if she tried, Snake would bite Dove with its strongest poison, and Dove would die."

"Suddenly, Eagle appeared, landing between them. Eagle was very powerful and could easily kill Snake.

But when he went to try, Snake tightened its grip on Dove and said, 'If you come closer, I will bite Dove.

Kill Raven for me, and leave her body, and I will give you Dove."

"Eagle turned to Raven, and Raven grew frightened. She said, 'Dove and I are friends. She would not wish for you to kill me.'"

"But Snake said, 'If Raven was Dove's friend, why did she bring her here for me to eat?'"

"Raven said, 'That is not true.' But Raven feared Dove would feel that she had been betrayed, and would allow Eagle to kill her for Snake."

"Eagle thought for a moment, and said, 'I will let Dove decide if you are a friend, Raven, and whether I should buy her freedom with your death. But I have decided this: if Dove should die, both of you will die.'

"

Robin stopped, resting her papers on her lap. "I've read enough," she said wearily.

"But is that it?" Park asked. "What did Dove do?"

"I… I…" Robin put her hand to her forehead, where perspiration had sprung. "I don't feel very good."

Shani bolted upright. "What's wrong? Should we call for a doctor?" Curse that Lena for having insisted that Nurse Porter leave!

"You don't want to call doctors around here," Lena said. "There isn't one within fifty miles, anyway.

Robin gets like this sometimes. There's nothing you can do."

Sol was not convinced. "I could drive you to a doctor. I don't care how far he is."

"I could carry you," Bert said.

Robin smiled weakly. "Lena's right. This is just the way it goes sometimes. Rest is all I need. Having you all here has been so exciting, I've worn myself out." She slipped her story back in the manila envelope.

Flynn helped her up.

"Is that all of the story the man told you?" Angie asked.

Robin caught Lena's eye. "Yes, it is," she said slowly. "He told me I was to fill in the ending."

Lena escorted Robin to her room. When they were out of view, Shani said, "I wish the nurse was here.

Her skin looks awful."

"Like she has hepatitis, yeah," Park said, worried.

"She'll probably feel better in the morning," Sol said.

Park nudged Sol's outstretched leg with his foot. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I never think like Tweety Bird," Sol said. Then he got serious. "Maybe the old man only knows one story and wanted to tell it to us. Hell, if I'd been Eagle, I would have just wasted the two jerks."

"What about Dove?" Shani asked, realising that Park and Sol must have met the old man. "Then she would automatically have died."

Sol went to speak, but paused, his eyes involuntarily drawn down the hall where Robin had disappeared. "Oh, yeah," he said casually. "I had forgotten about that."