Chapter 10: 436 Peach Street

Scars

“This has been an exciting week from what I hear,” Dr. Poltanys said as he clipped the stitches from Gee’s leg.

“The children have finally begun to vocalize. Not all words but they are getting very good with ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’,” Gee said. Whenever someone mentioned things being exciting, Gee thought of the children.

“I’ll bet that thrills Laura and Jude,” Adam chuckled.

“Yes. There was a little confusion when Devon called Marian ‘Mommy’ but it didn’t take them too long to sort out the relationships. And then Nina...”

“How is she doing?”

“She started calling Karen and me Mommy and Daddy. It helped the kids but it really shocked Karen. We figure she’s only ten years older than Nina.”

“Age is irrelevant. She has twenty years more experience. How do you feel about it?”

“It threw me the first time. I didn’t know what to say. We never push her for a display of affection but a few days ago, I commented about how well she was doing with her numbers. She gave me a hug and said, ‘Thank you, Daddy.’ I was blown away. Karen and I have a daughter and she’s already almost out of her teens.”

“Are you happy about that?”

“Very. Ow! I didn’t expect pulling those stitches to hurt.”

“I used a lot of small stitches to try to minimize scarring. You’ll still have a couple of new scars, I’m afraid.”

“How did your other patient from that night fare?” Gee asked.

“The preacher suffered more from hypothermia than physical damage. A few bruises and abrasions caused by the inflating airbags. Other than that, he suffers from an intolerant and abusive disposition aggravated by an attitude of religious superiority and homophobia. The condition is probably terminal.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“The kids at Flor didn’t go easy on you yesterday, did they?”

“News travels fast.”

“I saw Evan Nygard yesterday. He mentioned it.”

“I’m just ... Do you suppose that if I regained my memory, I would understand why I saved him?”

“You might find a list of circumstances that shaped your outlook on life and responses to emergencies. I’m not sure that equates with understanding.” Adam inspected the wounds again and told Gee to dress. “Gee, I see a lot of injuries. I remove tonsils and appendixes. I treat diseases. In short, I see broken people. Once I remove an appendix, the patient heals. They’re missing an appendix but they’re no longer broken. You’re missing your memory but you aren’t broken. When it comes to being judgmental and disdainful of the stupidity of human beings, I’m the one who’s broken, not you. Just keep being who you are. You’ve taught me a lesson.”

In the Blood

Gee walked out along the fencerow Saturday morning with a couple of his crew, but between snow, ice, and wind, they decided it would be at least the next weekend before they could get anything done. Instead they headed back to the foresters’ office and went over the maps.

“If it wasn’t so cold, we could do something,” Gee said. “But until it gets above zero again, I’m not taking anyone out there.”

“None of the foresters are out,” Gabe said. “No reason a bunch of teenage volunteers should be. Go home and enjoy your family.”

That was a good plan. Gee found the children and Jeanie visiting at the mansion. Laura and Jude were in a lively conversation with Karen about the purpose and intent of law. The two families spent much of their weekend together as Naomi, David, and Esther were watched over by Nina and Jeanie.

Monday morning, Karen, Gee, and Nina decided to start the day with a trip to Jitterz rather than make coffee at home. The sun came out and it looked like the day might warm up at last.

“Well, look who’s graced our doors,” Birdie said when they entered the coffee shop. “Are you thawing out?”

“I’m not betting on clear warm weather yet,” Gee said. “Even on a sunny day, it’s still too dangerous to go into the woods with ice falling off the trees.”

“Birdie, I don’t think you’ve met Nina yet. Nina, Birdie owns the coffee shop. What would you like, dear?” Karen asked.

“Hello, Birdie. I’m Nina. May I have coffee with lots of milk?” Nina asked. She was gaining confidence and poise the longer she was with them. Birdie smiled at her.

“You certainly may! Elaine, would you please make a special latte for this young woman?”

“Yes, Birdie,” the singer/barista said.

“While you’re waiting for your coffee, why don’t you sip this tea?” Birdie said to Nina as she guided her to a chair. “I’ll take the cup from you as soon as you’re finished.”

“Thank you, Birdie.” Gee and Karen sat with her. “This is good. It warms my tummy!”

“That’s a good thing on a cold day, isn’t it?” Karen laughed. Nina focused on sipping the tea until Birdie approached with their other drinks and breakfast sandwiches.

“There’s stuff in the bottom of the cup!” Nina said.

“Those are your tealeaves,” Birdie said, trading cups with her. “Now, we’ll look into your cup and find out who you are.”

“You can tell who I am by looking at tealeaves?” Nina exclaimed. “Who am I? Where did I come from? Do I have parents? I mean other than Gee and Karen?”

“Easy, child,” Birdie laughed. “What I see is who is inside you, not your identity. And what I see is a very bright and outgoing young woman. All you need to be successful in life is a little education and opportunity. You’ve not allowed your past to misshape your spirit. You don’t hold anger and resentment inside you. That is very good. You hold your new family and friends as precious. These are things that are important to your life.” Birdie paused and looked at the leaves with a puzzled expression as a group of teens entered the coffee shop.

“Nina!” Jeanie cried. “You remember Barrett, don’t you? And Alyson and Viktor? Come and join us.” Nina waved at her friends and turned to Karen.

“May I, Mommy?”

“Of course you may, Sweetie. We’ll be sitting here for a while. Take your sandwich.” Nina carried her latte and sandwich to the table where Jeanie and Alyson were sitting while Barrett and Viktor ordered for them. Karen and Gee smiled after her and then turned seriously toward Birdie.

“What else is it?” Gee asked. “You saw something important.”

“She belongs here,” Birdie said. “Have you had a DNA test done?”

“The police sent it out to the missing children database. No matches,” Karen said.

“You should try the services where you sent Gee’s DNA,” Birdie declared.

“Do you think she’s related to me?” Gee asked.

“Maybe,” Birdie said, puzzling over the tealeaves. “But I’m sure her parents or grandparents are from Rosebud Falls. The connection is in her blood.” Birdie stood and called to the kitchen. “Violet, dear! What was the name of the DNA testing company you sent a sample to?”

“The one that said I was half Haitian instead of Jamaican like my mama told me?” Violet laughed. She came over to the table and wrote down the name of the lab.

“Yes. I should have told you long ago. Your father is Haitian. I’m full-blooded Irish myself.” They all laughed as Violet returned to the kitchen.

“I recognize this one. I sent Gee’s sample there but there were no matches,” Karen said.

“I just have a feeling,” Birdie sighed as she looked over at the teens.

“I thought you would all be in school today,” Nina said to her friends. “Gee said school was Monday through Friday.”

“Yes, but it’s a holiday,” Alyson said. “We don’t have school today so we decided to go outside and play.”

“Want to join us?” Jeanie asked. “We’re going sledding.”

“In the woods?” Nina asked timidly.

“Not the Wild Woods,” Barrett jumped in. “You remember where we went sledding after the first big snowfall? The track runs from the cemetery to the lumber mill.”

“Oh, I remember! It was fun.”

“And if you are with us, we promise not to let anything bad happen to you,” Viktor said. Alyson squeezed his hand.

“I’ll ... um ... ask Mommy,” Nina said.

“What do you think of that?” Karen asked as they watched Nina leave with her friends. Gee sighed.

“It’s what we want, isn’t it?” he said. “We want her to have friends and to be independent.”

“But... ?”

“It’s hard to let go and not worry about her.”

“Yeah. We have to, though.”

“I think I need to do some work at the foresters’ office,” Gee said.

“Where you can see the road up to the cemetery? Karen nudged him.

“I’m not going to spy on them. I just want to be ... you know ... close enough to respond in an emergency.”

“I love you,” Karen said. “Go off and do your work. And keep your eye out for our daughter. Just in case.”

The Bookhouse

The weather that kept Gee and his crew out of the woods also allowed him more time for other activities. He especially enjoyed sitting in Karen’s study while she worked on her book, and was often joined by Nina as he helped her with reading or writing. Nina was progressing well and while the elementary reading material was below the level of her life experience, she discovered a joy in being able to sit with a book and puzzle out the words. Her math skills were progressing much more rapidly. She seemed to have an affinity for numbers.

Gee also spent time with the younger children at Jude and Laura’s house, often with Nina accompanying him. All three children now used words and phrases, most starting with ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy’. It was clear that living full-time with the newlyweds had created a familial bond far more quickly than was possible in the hospital. Marian and Devon were almost daily visitors to the children. Ruth Ann and Sally Ann visited at least one evening a week and on the weekend.

Through the chaos of the fall and winter with all his added responsibilities, Gee had still maintained his role as reader in the Wednesday evening Bookhouse program at the library. As soon as she’d discovered what he was doing and that the younger children went there as well, Nina joined him. She sat with the little ones Gee read to. Many assumed she was just another adult piece of furniture and climbed into her lap.

So, when Wednesday evening came, quite a parade of people left the Woods and Evars households and walked to the library together.

“Go ahead,” Sally Ann whispered. She was just loud enough that Gee could hear her talking to Naomi. The two girls were near the same age. “You can ask Gee to read a favorite book. I’ll help you get it and you can take it to him.” The two disappeared behind the shelf of children’s books and soon emerged as Gee finished reading a story for the very little ones. Littlest—Esther, Gee reminded himself—sat cuddled on one side with Devon snuggled against her.

“Gee, please?” Naomi said as she approached him. Gee set aside the book he was about to read and looked at Sister.

“What book do you want, Naomi?”

“George monkey,” the girl said. Her own stuffed monkey was tucked securely under her arm. Since introduced to her in the hospital, she’d seldom been seen without the toy.

“Curious George in the Snow,” Gee read from the cover. “Come look at the book Naomi has chosen.” The rest of the children leaned forward as Gee held the book out for them to see. “Have you been outside to play in the snow? My favorite thing is to come inside and have hot chocolate after I’ve played. What do you think George’s favorite thing will be?” Various suggestions were made by the children, including snowmen, angels, sleds, and ice. “Let’s see what the story says.”

Naomi claimed the seat opposite Esther and Brother David leaned against her. A handicapped child Gee had seen only recently crawled to Nina and held out his arms. She picked him up with a smile toward the child’s concerned mother. There was a little more shifting around as children found seats on the laps of adults or snuggled up together on big pillows before Gee began to read.

Surveys

Gee was in the foresters’ office Thursday, poring over the printouts of geocache maps near the Patriarch when Gabe interrupted him.

“I think you have company,” he said, pointing to the door. Gee turned, finding David, Wayne, and Pàl.

“Just who we were hoping to see,” Wayne said as he shook Gee’s hand. “How are the kids?”

“All excited about being outside in the snow. Yesterday they were all at our house playing in the big yard. The little ones have built a snowman and covered nearly every square inch of lawn with little angels. Nina was right down there helping.”

“Gee, Pàl asked for assistance on a tour through the woods and down to the quarry,” David said, circumventing greetings. “He’d like to meet the Patriarch, so I volunteered you.”

“My pleasure,” Gee said. “In fact, I was just considering stopping by your office this afternoon with a couple of questions.”

“Shoot,” Pàl said. “Anything I need to look up?”

“Maybe. Do you know if SSG maintains the fence along the boundary of the Wild Woods—what is now the new City Limit?” Gee asked. “A lot happening lately and I haven’t had a chance to ask before this.”

“It seems likely. I’ll have to look through the records to find out for sure,” Pàl said. “With the new arrangement between us and the City, that might be a subject for discussion this spring. Is it in bad repair?”

“You know we’ve been clearing the area next to the fence the past few weeks. That whole first section of nearly half a mile looks brand new. I was just wondering how new it is.”

“If the company bought and installed that much six-foot chain link fencing, it should show up on the books,” Pàl said. “Do you know how much that would cost, David?” David pulled out his phone and tapped the keys on the calculator.

“Rough estimates, twelve to fifteen thousand at the price we get. Depends on whether posts were needed and if you replaced the barbed wire on the extenders, too. Materials could run as much as twenty grand if everything was replaced. And more if it goes farther than the half-mile Gee has pointed out,” David said.

“Wouldn’t someone notice that big a project?” Wayne asked. “That must have required a pretty good crew to install.”

“Who’d notice?” David asked. “One side of the fence is Wild Woods. The other is farmland, barely visible from the nearest road. Gabe? How about a ride out to inspect Gee’s work on the fencerow? We could do that while Gee is guiding Pàl and Wayne.”

“I could stand to stretch my legs a bit,” the old forester said. All four feet of his chair made contact with the floor and he reached for his coat.

“Gee, there’s a four-seat ATV fueled and ready. Why don’t you take Pàl and Wayne in that? Gabe and I will take one of the smaller ones.”

“This is the Patriarch?” Pàl said sadly. The trail was narrow but clear with the number of people who had come out through the snow to visit The Tree. “I wanted a chance to see this as much as to talk about the quarry. But it’s not the tree I want to see.”

“Why’s that?” Gee asked.

“I thought it might be the Savage Family tree, but it isn’t,” Pàl said. “I was never introduced to it before my grandfather took me to Scotland. I don’t know where our Family tree is.”

“I bet we’ll find it when we close that church and evict the preacher from the house,” Wayne suggested.

“Unless they cut it down,” Pàl suggested morosely. “I’m feeling chilled. Let’s move on to the quarry.”

Gee drove the two down a network of paths, pointing out two of the cabins they passed. They didn’t stop to investigate them. When they reached the quarry, Gee drove carefully around the rutted road that circled it, sometimes having difficulty identifying the track through the snow.

“Why would our former management replace all the fence along the Wild Woods border and not this fence?” Wayne asked, looking at a rusted section of fence that had been torn back to give access to the rim. There were several places where the fence was collapsed or missing completely. “This is a real hazard.”

“The kids believe it’s haunted,” Gee said. “Maybe ‘believe’ is too strong a word. It seems there is a ‘secret’ path from the lake to the quarry. In the summer, this is where older kids come to drink and go skinny-dipping at night. It’s where Ryan and Shannon were headed the day they saw Karen kidnapped.”

“Hmm. Hate to spoil their fun, but we have to do something about this. It’s a miracle no one has fallen in and drowned.”

“It could hide a world of secrets,” Gee agreed.

“Roy Waters’ report to me was a thinly veiled threat about needing to have a reclamation plan,” Pàl said.

“What are our options?” Wayne finally asked.

“The general dimensions suggest we’ve taken between 800,000 and 1,000,000 cubic yards of stone from this hole. The deepest area is a hundred feet down. It’s tiered, like an inverted wedding cake, with a spiral road around the edge. That’s a lot of volume. A truck can transport ten or twelve cubic yards of gravel. Somewhere around 75,000 dump loads to fill the hole.”

“My God!” Wayne breathed. What choices do we have?”

“We could add some safety features. Make the slope around the edge gentler. Put in a beach and call it a park,” Pàl said. “Or we could just erect an extra strong security fence and hire a patrol twenty-four-seven to keep people out.”

“Or a combination of the three,” Gee said. “Fill the area on the low side and create a gentle slope. Fence off the most hazardous areas. Stock it with fish. If they’ll live. Waters suggested the levels of some chemical were extra high. It might not be safe.”

They mulled over the ideas as they walked along the lip of the quarry, currently frozen over.

“How long ago did you stop quarrying?” Gee asked.

“I haven’t been investigating it with all the other shenanigans the former board was up to. It’s been a hundred years since it was producing any quantity. There were occasional lifts up until World War II. That’s when my grandfather took the company public and converted it to sand and gravel instead of limestone. Why?” Gee did some calculating in his head.

“I think something was going on down there during or right before the war,” he said.

“Why do you say that?”

“Something Jan’s father said when I visited him.”

“You visited August Poltanys? I thought he was too far gone to communicate.”

“It was an accident. I sort of stumbled into his room. His mind isn’t in the present. He called me George but I don’t think he knew me. He was desperately trying to convince George that they shouldn’t come to the quarry again because of what they’d seen.”

“You should talk to Jan about that and see if he can make sense of it,” Pàl said. “I barely know my own Family, let alone his. Dee says August has had Alzheimer’s for a long time. Amazing he’s still alive.”

“Well, for now, it looks like we have about thirty grand worth of fence replacement to deal with,” Wayne said. “And then we’ll have to plan for dump loads of gravel.”

“What do you think, Loren?” David asked as he drove the head of the Cavanaugh Family along Fox Hill Road east of town. A sale sign had been erected in front of the Alexanders’ property where the unfortunate couple had been poisoned.

“What do they want for it?”

“Their only daughter lives in Indiana and wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Says she has no pleasant memories of living here. She’s asking three-fifty. The house could be subdivided off with a couple of acres and sold for at least half that. We’d get thirty-eight acres backed up to the Wild Woods for about one-seventy-five.”

“What about the property next door? We’ve got a murder here and a fire there. Arson?”

“Not according to the sheriff. Fire investigators found a slow propane leak in an old connection. When the automatic heaters kicked on for the cattle, it sparked the propane which lit the hay. Damn shame about the animals and equipment but they were probably all dead before anyone even realized there was a fire. It was all the firefighters could do to keep it from spreading to the house. John Daniels’ grandfather bought the place in 1938, so it’s been in the family for eighty years. Not like the Alexanders who just bought their place after Simon went to work for SSG. So, we have eighty acres with a good farmstead even without the barn. John is pretty distraught over the loss but I’m guessing a million-dollar offer would change his outlook on life.”

“And why are we interested in these two properties?” Loren insisted. David knew he was just trying to put the pieces together in a logical order so he could prepare a business case.

“They back up to the Wild Woods,” David said. “They’re a natural 120-acre extension of cleared land. We have hundreds of strong young first-generation trees that could be planted out here and have an orchard with the potential of matching the production of our most prolific area of the Forest. It’s an investment in the future of the Forest.”

“And easier to get productive than the Wild Woods itself,” Loren said. “I’ll put production estimates together. Put in a contingent offer and let’s call the Family heads together.”

Back to the Woods

By Saturday morning, the sun had been out three days in a row and the ice had melted from the tree limbs. It was deemed safe for the crews to resume work and Gee was pleased with the number of volunteers who showed up. Jessie and Jonathan joined them at the foresters’ office.

“Wonder if we could raid your crew for a couple of volunteers,” Jessie said.

“What do you need?”

“A good caliper person and a cache recorder,” Jessie answered. “We’re planning to map the transplantable trees that surround the Patriarch. We designed a separate section of the cache because we’ll be recording the smaller trees this time. We want to see what we can effectively remove to create the least stress on neighboring trees.”

“Dad says we’re going to get land to expand onto, so we’ll be in full transplant mode when the sap stops running this fall,” Jonathan said. “We just have too much prep work to do to get any transplanting done before they start sprouting this spring.”

“Do we know where they’ll go yet?” JD asked. “Oh! I volunteer to record the cache.”

“Thanks, JD. If you can be spared, we’d like that. We have some ideas but part of planning a project is knowing what you have to work with,” Jonathan said.

“Could I do the caliper things?” Leslie asked. “Alyson taught me how.” She was the youngest of Gee’s crew and the only freshman among them. Gee noticed she always stayed near geeky JD. He seemed oblivious.

“That rounds out all we need,” Jonathan said. “Did we deplete your resources to much, Gee?”

“We have a good-sized crew today,” Gee laughed. “Without Leslie, we’ll have to figure out someone else to wiggle into the tight spaces but we’ll manage.” He turned to the rest of his crew. “Gear up and let’s get started. Hot chocolate at our house at four o’clock if we can get a good day’s work in before it gets too cold.” There was a little cheer and his team headed for the fencerow.

“He’s not mad at you, Trevor,” Viktor said as the two larger boys loaded cuttings and branches onto a sled. Despite a few bare patches on the path, the sled still moved more easily through the woods than the wagon. “If he was mad at you, he’d have to be mad at all of us. We all wanted to ask that question. Talk to him.”