Ch.11, Pt. 2: Here there was deep silence
Here there was deep silence, the silence of sleep. The loudest sound was her pulse beating in her ears. Sometimes the wind made a ruffling sound as it passed through the treetops. And then there was the music of the chickadees as they called out their joy at peanuts.
In the middle of the little cedar woods, they came to a clearing where the snow was marked with all kinds of tracks. Clara pointed them out to her. “Look at all those rabbits! A midnight convention. And those tiny marks are from squirrels. See the handprints of racoon? And the deep narrow ones are deer. And of course all those light scratches are birds. That big mess over there is Irma. Lucky she hasn’t destroyed all the tracks.”
Where at first they had seemed all the same, Katherine began to see differences. The patterns of tracks were distinct, and while she couldn’t remember which belonged to which animal, she recognized that it would be possible to learn to distinguish them.
“There’s so much life,” she said in surprise. “I thought winter was when everything was dead.”
“Not at all. Just Harry,” Clara said wistfully.
Katherine felt a stab of regret and embarrassment. “I’m sorry again. Such a stupid thing to say.”
“Not to worry. Life goes on, even with Harry dead. And you’re right about winter. It’s full of life, and in fact you can even see it more clearly than in other seasons, because of the tracks.”
The two stood a moment longer, looking at the evidence of animal activity before them. “Shall we go on?” asked Clara.
“I hate to destroy the tracks.”
“Think of it as adding our own.” And Clara set off through the middle of the clearing.
* * *
Weeks later, on a bright afternoon filled with the sound of blue jays calling for spring, Rick came into Katherine’s kitchen with an unusual expression on his face. The woodstove was giving off a cosy warmth, and Rick went straight for the refrigerator. Holding up the bottle of vodka and a tiny glass, he raised his eyebrows at Katherine, who smiled and nodded. After filling two chilled glasses, he handed one to her. “I’ve got wonderful news. I’ve just managed to pull off the biggest deal of my life.” He spoke quietly, with a sense of awe.
Katherine held the base of the glass so as not to melt the glaze of ice that had formed. “What is it?”
“I’ve been waiting for something like this my whole life. It’s big.” He tossed the shot of vodka into his mouth, swallowed, and grinned. “Really big, but it’s finally in place!” He grabbed her to him in a hug, causing her vodka to splash onto her hand.
“Hey,” she cried, and he bent suddenly, laughing, and she felt his tongue licking her wrist, distracting her. “Ah, what were we talking about?”
“Only the biggest real estate project this region has seen in about 35 years,” he cried, going back to the freezer for a refill. “My business partners are backing me on it, and the last remaining landowners have finally agreed to sell.”
“You’re kidding!” She sipped from her glass.
Rick put his down and started pacing the kitchen, one hand running through his hair. “Man, the last two guys were the toughest. Maybe they got wind of something, and decided to try to hold out for more money. But this morning, we got them!” He clapped the back of one hand into the palm of the other. “Babe, you’re looking at a rich man - well, about to be.”
“How wonderful! What exactly is going on?”
Rick walked to the sink and gazed out the window. “I’ve been working on this for such a long time. I can’t believe it’s all fallen into place!” He gave a whoop.
“Would you tell me about the project? What is it? Have you bought up downtown?”
Rick turned, took the glass out of her hand and put it on the table. Then he gripped her shoulders. “You’re looking at the owner - or one of the owners - of all the land around you. 540 acres! Both sides of this house, clear through the concession. We had to line up five different farmers, but we did it! Yes!” He punched the air for emphasis.
Katherine’s heart leaped and she threw her arms around Rick. “540 acres! That’s enormous! Are you going to start a ranch?” Noodle jumped up against Rick, catching their excitement, but Rick roughly pushed him down.
“A ranch!” he chuckled. “Bigger! Better! I’m talking serious money. 540 acres, honey. And if you throw in your 10 acres, you can come in on the deal too.”
“What’s the deal? Tell me!” She began tickling him. He laughed and then caught her hands, looking intently into her eyes. “How would you like to build a house on top of that hill I showed you? You know, that big hill with the great views around in all directions?”
“That hill deep in the country, where we…” She looked away shyly.
“Where we made love out in the open - yes! Imagine. We can build anything. A master bedroom with a jacuzzi en suite, huge walk-in closets, a gym, and a balcony for the view! And how about a sunroom kitchen? You like plants?”
Katherine was astonished. “Wait a second. You want to build a house there? With me?”
“I’m asking you to live in it with me. Will you?”
Ch.11, Pt. 3: “You want us to live together?” » »