Garden Spells

  “Henry already knows. That’s one of the good things about someone who has known you, accepted you, your whole life. He already knows how strange we are.”

  “We’re not strange.”

  “Henry told me something the other day,” Sydney said, stepping over to Claire. She rubbed at an invisible spot on the countertop by the stove. “Something I didn’t know. I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

  “He told you that he loved you?” Claire said, cutting her eyes at Sydney.

  “How did you know that?”

  Claire just smiled.

  “I like having him around,” Sydney said, thinking out loud. “I should kiss him. See what happens.”

  “And Pandora said, I wonder what’s in this box?” Tyler said as he entered the kitchen. He walked up behind Claire and kissed her neck. Sydney turned her head away, smiling.

  Henry had called earlier and said he was running late, so Tyler and Evanelle and Bay were already seated and Sydney and Claire were bringing the last of the dishes out to them when Henry finally knocked at the front door.

  Sydney set down the sliced tomatoes and mozzarella and went to the door as Claire went ahead to the garden with the blackberry corn bread.

  “You’re just in time,” Sydney said as she opened the screen door for Henry. He was acting as he always did. She was acting as she always did. So what had changed? Maybe nothing. Maybe this had been here the whole time, and she just didn’t see it because Henry was a good man and she didn’t think she was that lucky.

  “Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” he said as he entered.

  “It’s too bad that your grandfather couldn’t come.”

  “It was the strangest thing,” Henry said as he followed her to the kitchen. “Just before we were going to leave, Fred drove Evanelle out to the house. She said she needed to give Pap something. It was a book he’s been dying to read. He wanted to stay home with it. His leg’s been acting up, and I think it was a good excuse not to come. I had to wait for Yvonne to come out to sit with him.”

  “Evanelle didn’t tell us she went out there.”

  “She was in a hurry. She said Fred wanted to get some class he was going to over with. So,” he said, rubbing his hands together, “I finally get to see the famous Waverley apple tree.”

  “Two things you need to know. One, don’t eat the apples. And, two, duck.”

  “Duck?”

  “You’ll see.” She smiled at him. “You look nice tonight.”

  “And you look beautiful.” Sydney had bought a new skirt for the dinner, a pink one with sparkling silver embroidery, and she preened a little. “Did you know I used to sit behind you in North Carolina History class in eighth grade? I used to touch your hair without you knowing.”

  Sydney felt a curious sensation in her chest. Without another thought, she took two steps over to him and kissed him. The force of her body sent him falling back against the refrigerator. She went with him, not losing contact, and colorful paper napkins Claire had stored on the top of the refrigerator fell over the edge and fluttered down around them like confetti, as if the house was saying, Hooray!

  When she pulled back, Henry looked shell-shocked. He slowly, softly brought his hands up to touch her arms, and she felt goose bumps.

  Was that…did she really feel…

  She kissed him again to make sure.

  She felt it again, more this time, and her heart beat faster and faster. Henry’s hands went to her hair. She’d kissed many men who wanted her, but it had been a long time since she’d kissed one who loved her. She’d forgotten. She’d forgotten that love made anything possible.

  When she pulled back again, Henry asked breathlessly, “What was that for?”

  “I just wanted to make sure.”

  “Make sure of what?”

  She smiled. “I’ll tell you later.”

  “You know, this means that there’s no way I’m going out with Amber from the salon now.”

  Sydney laughed and lifted the plate with the tomatoes and mozzarella with one hand and led Henry out the back door with the other.

  The phone rang as they stepped outside. She didn’t hear it or the answering machine as it picked up the call.

  “Sydney? This is Emma. I…I wanted to call to tell you that there’s someone looking for you and your daughter. He doesn’t look…I mean, there’s something about him that…” There was a pause on the line. “I just wanted to tell you to be careful.”

  They ate and laughed well into the evening. Sydney and Henry’s legs touched under the table and she didn’t want to move, even to get up for a bottle of beer or cherry ginger ale from the aluminum tub full of ice by the table. As long as she touched him, she wasn’t going to change her mind, she wasn’t going to say he deserved better or that she didn’t deserve something so good.

  Claire lifted her glass after everyone had eaten. “Everyone make a toast. To food and flowers,” she said.

  “To love and laughter,” Tyler said.

  “To old and new,” Henry said.

  “To what’s next,” Evanelle said.

  “To the apple tree,” Bay said.

  “To—” Sydney stopped when she smelled it.

  No, no, no. Not here. Not now. Why would thoughts of David come to her now?

  The tree shivered, and something only Tyler and Henry thought was a bird zoomed over their heads.

  There was a thud as the apple made contact with someone at the front of the garden, near the gate. “Fuck!” a male voice said, and everyone but Sydney turned.

  She felt her bones break. Bruises popped out on her skin like a rash. The hollow space between two of her back teeth began to ache.

  “Hello?” Claire called brightly, because this was her home. She didn’t think anything this bad could happen here.

  “Shh!” Sydney said curtly. “Bay, go behind the tree. Run. Now!”

  Bay, who was very aware of who it was, shot up and ran.

  “Sydney, what’s wrong?” Claire asked as Sydney stood and slowly turned around.

  “It’s David.”

  Claire immediately got to her feet. Tyler and Henry looked at each other, feeling the fear radiating off Sydney and Claire now. They stood simultaneously.

  “Who is David?” Henry asked.

  “Bay’s father,” Claire answered, and Sydney could have cried in relief that she didn’t have to say it herself.

  From the shadows of the honeysuckle by the gate, David finally materialized.

  “Can you see him?” Sydney asked desperately. “Is he really here?”

  “He’s here,” Claire said.

  “You threw a party and I wasn’t invited?” David asked, and his shoes made loud exploding sounds on the gravel walkway as he approached, not a crunch like with normal footsteps, but angry, heavy bangs like stomping on paper caps. He was a large, confident man. His anger had never been to make up for any physical inadequacy or insecurity. His anger didn’t need a reason so profound. He would get angry if Sydney didn’t wear what he wanted her to, without first telling her what he wanted. That was why she didn’t bring many clothes with her. She had so few pieces that she had actually picked out herself.

  She tried to tell herself that maybe this wasn’t so bad, maybe he was worried or wanted to see his daughter. But she couldn’t fool herself. She wasn’t going back to him. And he wasn’t there to take her back. That left only one thing.

  She had to protect Bay and Claire and everyone else there. The simple act of her coming back had placed them in a danger she never thought would follow her here. Or maybe the day she left ten years ago had caused this to happen, a series of events that led up to this one. Either way, this was all her fault.

  “It’s all right, everyone. David and I will leave and talk,” she said. Then she whispered to Claire, “Take care of Bay.”

  “No, no,” David said. As he got closer, Sydney felt her body jerk, like an electrical shock. Tears came to her eyes. Oh, God. He had a gun. Where did
he get a gun? “Please don’t let me interrupt.”

  “David, this doesn’t have anything to do with them. I’ll go with you. You know I will.”

  “What in the hell is going on?” Tyler said when he noticed the gun. He gave an incredulous laugh. “Put that thing down, man.”

  David steadied the gun on Tyler. “Is he the one you’re fucking, Cindy?”

  She knew what Henry was going to do mere seconds before he did it. These people were so innocent. They had no idea what they were up against.

  “Henry, don’t!” Sydney screamed as he lunged for David. A shot burst into the silence like thunder. Henry was suddenly very still. A stain of bright red started to grow over his shirt at his right shoulder.

  Henry sank to his knees. After a few moments, he fell onto his back and stared up at the sky, blinking rapidly as if trying to wake up from a dream. Evanelle, as light and small as a leaf, floated over to him, unseen by David.

  “All right,” David said. “I guess we know now which one you’re fucking. Everything here looks just fabulous.” He lifted a foot, and with one push the table went over, plates breaking, ice skittering into the chicory. Tyler had to jerk Claire back to keep her from getting hit by the falling debris.

  “How did you find me?” Sydney asked, to get him to look at her, not Claire. If he kept that up, Tyler was going to do something about it and get shot too. She glanced at Henry. Evanelle had taken a blue crocheted scarf out of her tote bag and was pressing it to his shoulder. There was blood everywhere.

  “I found you with these, you stupid bitch.” He held up a stack of photos. One mistake. One of many mistakes. She’d done everything to deserve this, but Henry hadn’t. Claire hadn’t. Maybe she should try to run, give the others time to call for help. Or grab an icicle-size piece of glass from the broken dishes on the ground and try to stab him. She thought she was getting stronger here, but he could still terrify her into submission. She didn’t have the courage to stand up to him then, and she didn’t know how to now.

  David was carelessly leafing through the photos. “This one in particular was of great help. No More Bascom! North Carolina Stinks!” He held up the photograph of her mother at the Alamo. The tree shrugged, as if recognizing Lorelei. He tossed the photos at Sydney as she backed away from him, away from the table and everyone she loved there.

  “Do you realize how you made me look? I brought Tom home from L.A. Imagine my surprise when you and Bay weren’t there.” Her fingertips had gone numb with that news. Tom was his college buddy and business partner in L.A. Looking foolish in front of him had driven David to find her with a gun. He hated to look foolish. She knew that. She knew that over every inch of her body. “Stop backing away, Cindy. I know what you’re doing. You don’t want me,” he turned and faced Claire, “to notice her. And who might you be?”

  “I’m Claire,” she said fiercely. “Sydney’s sister.”

  “Sydney,” he laughed, shaking his head. “I still can’t get over that. Sister, hmm? You’re taller, more sturdy. You don’t look like you’d break as easily. You’re not quite as pretty, I think, but you have bigger tits. But you’re probably just as stupid or you would have known not to take in what was mine.”

  Tyler stepped in front of Claire, and David never turned down a fight. He took a step toward Tyler, but Sydney said, “Don’t!”

  David rounded on her. “What are you going to do about it? You’ll let me do anything. And you know why.” He smiled evilly. “Where is Bay? I saw her here. Come out, kitten. Daddy’s here. Come give Daddy a hug.”

  “Stay where you are, Bay!” Sydney yelled.

  “Don’t you ever undermine my authority in front of our daughter!” David advanced on her, but then an apple rolled to a stop at his feet. He looked over to the apple tree bathed in shadows. “Is my little Bay behind the apple tree? Does she want Daddy to eat an apple?”

  Sydney, Claire, and Evanelle all watched, afraid to move, as David picked up the apple.

  Tyler started to move, to take advantage of David being distracted, but Claire caught his arm and whispered, “No, wait.”

  David brought the perfectly round pink apple to his lips. The juicy crack of him biting into it echoed throughout the garden, and the flowers twitched and shrank as if in fright.

  He chewed for a moment, then he went unnaturally still.

  His eyes darted back and forth, like he was watching something only he could see, a movie projected only for him. He dropped the apple and the gun at the same time.

  He blinked a few times and looked at Sydney. He then turned and met the eye of everyone in the garden. “What was that?” he said, his voice trembling. When no one answered, he yelled, “What in the hell was that?”

  Sydney looked down at the photographs of her mother, scattered around the grass at her feet. She felt a strange sense of calm come over her. She could remember clearly when David found her in Boise, when he beat her with such force in the back of his car. At one point, she knew she was going to die. As his fists came down, she was positive she was watching him kill her. It had been such a surprise to wake up, to find him on top of her. It might have been a surprise to him too. The death of someone else meant nothing to him, after all. But what he just saw meant something. It meant a lot to him.

  “You just saw your death, didn’t you?” she said. “Was it your biggest fear coming true, David? Was someone actually hurting you this time?”

  David went white.

  “Years and years of doing it to other people, and finally someone is going to do it to you.” She walked up to him, close, not intimidated now, not scared anymore. Somewhere in her she had believed he would always be around to scare her at night, to torment her thoughts. But David was going to die one day. And now they both knew it. “Go as far away as you can, David,” she whispered. “Maybe you can outrun it. As long as you’re here, it will come true. I’ll make damn sure it will come true.”

  He turned and stumbled a few steps before he ran out of the garden.

  As soon as he disappeared, Sydney called out, “Bay! Bay, where are you?”

  Bay came running from the side of the garden, nowhere near the tree. She ran into her mother’s arms. Sydney held her tight before they both went to Henry. Sydney went to her knees beside him.

  “He’s going to be okay,” Evanelle said.

  “You’ve got to stop being a lifesaver,” Sydney said tearily.

  Henry smiled slightly. “You really think I’m going anywhere before you tell me what you were trying to make sure of in the kitchen?”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. How could he love someone so bad for him? How could she love someone so good?

  “I’ll go call the ambulance,” Evanelle said.

  “Get the police out here too! Give them a description of him,” Tyler yelled after Evanelle, going for the gun and picking it up. “They might be able to catch that lunatic. What kind of car does he drive, Sydney?”

  “He’s gone for good,” Sydney said. “Don’t worry.”

  “Don’t worry? What is the matter with you people?” Tyler was looking at them, suddenly realizing they all, even Henry, knew something he didn’t. “Why did he go crazy like that? And how in the hell did an apple roll to a stop at his feet if Bay was all the way over there?”

  “It’s the tree,” Claire said.

  “What about the tree? Why am I the only one wigged out about this? Did you see what just happened here? Someone needs to get his license-plate number.” Tyler started to run out, but Claire grabbed his arm.

  “Tyler, listen to me,” she said. “If you eat an apple from this tree you’ll see the biggest event in your life. I know it sounds impossible, but David probably did see how he was going to die. It chased him away. It chased our mother away. To some people, the worst thing to ever happen to them is the biggest thing to ever happen to them. He’s not coming back.”

  “Oh, come on,” Tyler said. “I ate one of those apples and I didn’t go off screaming into the nigh
t.”

  “You ate an apple?” Claire asked, aghast.

  “The night we met. When I found all those apples on my side of the fence.”

  “What did you see?” she demanded.

  “All I saw was you,” he said, which made Claire’s features go soft as she looked up at him. “What—” He didn’t get to say anything else, because Claire had decided to kiss him.

  “Hey,” Bay said. “Where did all the photographs go?”

  CHAPTER

  14

  I can’t reach them,” Sydney said. Bay was lying on her side on the grass, her head resting on her arm. She’d been dozing that Sunday afternoon in the garden, but the sound of her mother’s voice caused her to open her eyes. Claire and Sydney had propped an old wooden ladder against the trunk of the apple tree. Sydney was at the top, reaching toward the branches. Claire was holding the bottom of the ladder steady.

  “I might be able to reach that one,” Sydney said, pointing to a lower branch on the other side, “if we move the ladder.”

  Claire shook her head. “It will move it before we get there.”

  Sydney made an exasperated sound, hissing through her teeth. “Stupid tree.”

  “Hey, I thought I’d find you out here,” someone called. The sisters looked over their shoulders. Evanelle was walking down the path.

  “Hi, Evanelle,” Sydney said as she backed down the ladder. She stopped at the fourth rung from the ground and jumped the rest of the way, her skirt billowing in the air like a parasol. That made Bay smile.

  “What are you girls doing?” Evanelle asked as she got closer.

  “Trying to get the photographs of Mom away from the tree,” Claire said, even though she was only doing it because Sydney wanted to. Bay noticed that Claire had been distracted lately. Today she was wearing two different earrings, one blue and one pink. “It’s been six weeks. I don’t understand why it won’t let us have them.”

  Evanelle looked up at the black-and-white squares sticking out among the leaves and apples on its highest branches. “Let it have the pictures. That tree always loved Lorelei. Leave it be.”