Chapter 22. Down by the River
“Got to learn to lighten up. Load doesn’t get any lighter by keeping everything heavy.”
– Cris’s Journal
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Cris ran down the short, rocky driveway, hopping the guardrail. She waited on the other side, catching Glenn as he tripped over the metal beam. The feline of questionable noble heritage flew out of Glenn’s jacket, landing on the pads of his furry paws as the duo caught their breath on the way into the park.
“Why…did we decide…it’d be a good idea…to sneak into Gallop Park…after dark?” Cris said in between breaths.
“B-because…I wanted to see this p-place again…be-before we left. I like rivers. And we…h-had some time until G-geroge…finished up whatever…he n-needed to do,” Glenn replied.
“Uh huh. Next time… decide to go sightseeing during the day. When it’s not trespassing.”
“I’ll k-keep…that in mind.”
Cris knelt, patting Bixby as she forcibly placed him into a cat harness. The regal feline nipped at the leash, but found no success in liberating himself despite his apparent displeasure. Cris offered the leash to Glenn as they started walking.
“Is that n-necessary? I c-can’t imagine Allister is fond of that c-contraption.”
“Guess my parenting style is a bit more harsh than yours, huh?” Cris teased.
“He’s a c-cat, not your c-child. You didn’t b-birth him.” Glenn cocked an eye as they continued.
They stopped at a small bridge overlooking the Huron River. The sound of the rushing waves helped to alleviate the tension in Cris’s body. Breathing deep, she took in the calming scent of the water. She stood by Glenn as he freed Bixby from the feline torture device, allowing him to play in the nearby grass.
“Remember the last time we hung out by a river?” Cris asked.
“Hm, in the w-woods. N-no, wait—the park near Texarkana. I recall you being manically d-depressed, me having a near ps-psychotic break, and B-bixby being assaulted by a raft of d-ducks.”
“Good times.” Cris smiled.
Glenn nodded, watching the river. He seemed lost in it. Cris followed his line of sight, watching traffic pass on the bridge crossing the river. The same bridge she had gone over nearly every day for four years back in high school. For some reason she couldn’t quite place, it reminded her of Kody. She sighed.
“I can’t believe G knew where Kody’s been the whole time and never said a word. I thought I could trust him,” Cris said.
“You believe you c-can’t?”
“Of course not! He lied to me!” Cris looked over to Glenn, furious.
“He ch-chose not to t-tell you something. Something he swore to p-protect for the sake of a friend. C-can’t be easy.”
Cris cocked her head to the side, keeping an eye on Bixby as she looked Glenn over. From her peripheral, she could see the royal cat nearly fall into the water as he stalked the riverside.
“T-think about it, Ch-charisma,” Glenn said, receiving a sharp jab from Cris’s elbow shortly after. “C-cris. I knew you and K-kody had feelings for each other well b-before either of you ever admitted it. It was fairly obvious. Yet I c-chose not to tell Alma for your sake. You c-could say I’m a t-terrible person or a g-good friend, but either way, I’m still me. G-good and bad.”
Cris cast her gaze back toward the flowing river, catching a glimpse of their reflection in the moonlight.
“As I’m sure E-emma has said to you—life is v-very much a-about one’s own p-priorities. For e-example, who do you think sent K-kody to your room that night?”
“What?” Cris turned to Glenn, furrowing her brow. “You were involved in that? So you know about…” she trailed off.
“Alma t-told me, b-before she disappeared. We all have roles to p-play. I h-helped facilitate your situation, and in return, h-helped myself.”
Cris stood up, looking over Glenn to make sure she could still see Bixby, who was rolling around in the grass. “What’re you talking about? How did you—” Cris paused for a moment as the realization struck her.”You and Alma.”
Glenn chuckled, taking off his glasses to wipe the lenses before putting them back. He remained focused on the moonlit river. “At first I j-just wanted to find J-jake. But spending time with Alma… something about that g-girl, whether it’s our mutual p-past, or just her…”
“Glenn, what happened between you two?”
Glenn pulled out his pill bottle, popping a pill as he went over to pick up Bixby. He began walking a trail near the river, motioning for Cris to follow.
“After Alma c-caught you two, she c-came on to me. She found out about J-jake and t-trashed my room. I overd-dosed. So you see, we all make d-decisions we’re not p-proud of, even if we stand by them. Was my intervention in th-these relationships a g-grand and noble gesture? D-doubtful. But I followed my heart, j-just as you followed yours.” Glenn brushed branches aside as they made their way along the trail.
“We might need to rethink this whole follow-your-heart thing. Seems like jumping into things only gets us in trouble.”
Glenn turned back to her, looking over his glasses. “I d-disagree. It might not always end c-conveniently, b-but I’d say we grew. I d-don’t regret my actions. D-doesn’t mean they’re ‘c-correct’ or easy to j-justify. More imp-portantly though, Kody left to find Alma. Given fate’s f-fascination with the boy, I’d say you have b-better things to worry—”
“Hey, who’s over there!” a voice shouted out from behind the brush.
Cris followed Glenn, who began running through the trail, fighting through branches. Heavy footsteps pounded the ground behind them, picking up the pace. Glenn darted off the trail, holding Bixby close to his chest in one hand while grabbing Cris’s wrist with the other. The two circled around another path and doubled back, making their way back to the entrance. They found a hiding spot behind the brush in the parking lot, and waited.
Bixby, his royal catness, observed the situation from his man-perch. His keen feline senses tingling, he wriggled his way from his man-friend’s grasp. He leapt to the ground, searching for their feathery assailants. Surely the mangy quack-quacks had returned to cause more chaos, but no such calamity would be allowed on his watch.
His cantankerousness scoured the area. He searched until convinced any cowardly water-squeekers that may have been in the area had fled. Being a righteous king, he sought to sooth his subjects.
His eminence sauntered over to his handmaiden, allowing her an opportunity to stroke his sovereign fur. He reverberated with her touch, allowing a rare glimpse of his charity. He allowed her a few moments of comfort before continuing.
The monarchial fur ball moved on to his man-friend, climbing his way up his subject’s side to show his feline affection. Looking to his man-friend’s face, his majestic chicken-stained tongue chaffed the man-friend’s skin. Salty. Satisfied that justice had been served, the imperial feline returned to his perch, maintaining an ever-vigilant watch in case his fluff-brained nemeses decided to return.
“Think we’re clear?” Cris asked, staring at the cat on Glenn’s head.
“There’s a vehicle p-parked off in the d-distance. We should wait a bit until it leaves.”
“Right.” Cris paused for a moment. “So you think Kody found Alma and that’s why he hasn’t come back?”
“I c-can’t say. What I d-do know is that you said he left to f-find her, and no one has mentioned her c-coming back. It’d be wise to assume he may have accomplished his g-goal.”
Cris sat next to Glenn, watching the sweaty fur ball try to claw his way out of Glenn’s hair. She reached over and gently handled him, letting the cat rest on her lap.
“And Jake, too,” Cris said.
“We b-both have reasons to find them as soon as p-possible.”
“Well, for what it’s worth… thanks.”
Cris reached over and kissed Glenn on the cheek. He smiled, not le
tting her distract him from his lookout.
After watching the vehicle for a few minutes, Cris turned to Glenn and asked if the vehicle seemed familiar. Both of them continued looking closer, until Cris finally recognized the license plate. Geroge sat in the driver’s seat, playing a game on his phone as he waited.
“We’re smart,” Cris said sarcastically.
“It was f-fun,” Glenn replied as they climbed out of the bramble.
The two snuck out of the park, making their way up to the van and climbing inside. Glenn took the window seat while Cris sat in the middle. She looked up front, watching Geroge play the air-banjo to Panic! At the Disco’s old-timey “Folkin’ Around” while she waited for him to notice they had returned.
“Oh, hey. Didn’t think you two were comin’ back,” he said.
“Ran into some trouble, but it’s all good,” Cris replied. Leaning forward, she said, “Sorry about earlier.”
“No sweat, chickarita. I’d probably be more than a little steamed if I found out someone was holdin’ out on me like that. Reminds me—Daron can watch the fur ball until Tabby and Kara get back from their little Cedar Point birthday-holiday. But we need to haul ass if we’re gonna catch the last flight out.”
Geroge started up the engine. Cris handed Bixby over to Glenn, letting the two have a moment as they headed out.
“Don’t worry, we’ll only be gone for a little while. Bixby’s in good hands,” Cris said.
“I’m not w-worried. He left me, and then I, him. It’s our way, ap-pparently. But as the f-fox said, ‘W-we are responsible forever for w-what we have tamed.’ We’ll meet again.”
Glenn smiled, patting the little prince as the feline purred himself to sleep. Cris shifted around next to Glenn, laying her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes, his arm wrapping around her as she exhaled, careless. Before long, sleep took her.