Gypsy Spirits (5 page)

“Me?” She replied, “I know Maureen has plans for this house when you no longer want to live here.” 

“I will die here,” grandpa said. “Maureen will never live here. This house
is meant for you and Daniel. It needs love, and while you and Daniel may not always be together in the future, I know you have enough love to fill this house. It’ll always be your home.”

“Yes, but…”

“Remember that, Annamarie.
The house
will always be your home,” grandpa repeated.

She wasn’t sure if she should be worried about grandpa or grateful. She hugged him tight instead of thinking about it further.

“I promise I’ll always remember.”

Annamarie had no idea why Grandpa Logan was so emphatic about her remembering the house would be hers. She worried about his health and advancing age.    

Chapter Four: The Cabin  

Not many people in Timmus Woods have the desire to get away for the weekend or take long vacations in the country. They live in an idyllic woodland setting. Most homes had patios and pools in their backyards, and a barbecue or picnic isn’t a special event.     

Acorn Park is an open expanse of approximately two acres between the oaks and Acorn Lake which resembles an enormously large pond. Joggers use the quiet area more than anyone else, and people have long since given the lake to the ducks and geese migrating south each fall.

An old logging road heading east past the park leads into the woods. Anyone wishing to travel the road would need a 4WD vehicle.

The only people in town with 4WD vehicles were Daniel, two of his friends, the sheriff, fire chief, and a few volunteer firefighters. Daniel and his friends loved to drive their vehicles up and down the logging road, but they also enjoyed racing them around town, much to the chagrin of the sheriff.

Owning a cabin in the woods for a vacation get-away was not something the average person in Timmus Woods gave much thought. However, the Logans weren’t your average family. Daniel’s father built the cabin when he was a young man. He loved to hunt any animal that crossed his path. He hunted for fun, not food, but when he got older he stopped going to the cabin. Before he did, he taught Daniel to use his guns. Daniel seemed to share his love of killing anything that moved. Annamarie always wondered if Daniel would draw the line with a person if they crossed him. She had her doubts. His father’s decision to no longer use the cabin suited Daniel’s needs. He and his friends could use the cabin anytime and no one would bother them.

Daniel enjoyed hosting parties at the cabin. If a group of teens
was partying and Daniel said, “Did you see that? Let’s get out of here.” At least one girl would scream saying she saw “spirits.” Their belief reinforced his.

***        

The logging road was a bumpy ride when dry and a muddy mess after a rainstorm. Three-quarters of a mile from the edge of Acorn Park sat the Logan log cabin. The cabin was a simple square oak structure measuring twenty by twenty feet. The inside was as plain as the outside. One large room held two oak bunk beds, a roughhewn oblong table with long benches on either side, a shelf to hold canned food, an archaic sink with a hand pump, and a stone fireplace. Anything that couldn’t be heated in a pot hung in the fireplace would be cooked outside on the stone grill. Three small square windows let in sunshine or moonlight.

No one in their right mind approached the cabin uninvited. There was always too much alcohol, and too many guns to be safe. A short walk and hidden behind several oaks was an old outhouse. Although functional, it was always a concern it might collapse or blow down in a storm. No one cared enough to replace it. The guys preferred the trees.

***

When Annamarie returned home from her errands, she found Daniel stuffing things into his large knapsack. She knew what that meant before she asked. 

“Will you be back from the cabin in time to have lunch with your parents tomorrow? Remember, you promised your mom two weeks ago you wouldn’t miss another Sunday lunch.” 

“Yeah, but you’re going to have to go to church alone. I don’t think I’ll make it back in time for that.”

Annamarie wasn’t surprised. Daniel would come up with any excuse not to go to church. 

“I’ll go alone again,” she said, “but it’s not fair. We’ve
been married such a short time. People will wonder why you’re never with me.”

“Listen,” Daniel scowled. “It’s bad enough I took all those religion classes. Don’t expect me to follow you to church each Sunday like a trained puppy. I need to see what the spirits are doing. That’s most important.”

Annamarie’s face twisted in pain when she heard Daniel bring up spirits again. She feared for his sanity if his behavior didn’t change. She walked up to him and tried to hold his hand. He pulled away.

“I’m tired of staying
home while you use spirits as an excuse to drink with your friends.” 

She tried to hug him and show him she loved him. Wrenching
free, he walked away without a word.

Throwing her keys on the table, her voice rose, “I’m getting tired of how you’re acting. Oh, by the way, your mom and dad stopped by grandpa’s house
today and told me you never saw them. Where were you, and why did you lie?”

“I have a life. If I want to see my friends I will, and I don’t need your permission.”

“We’re supposed to have a life together.”

“Maybe, if it wasn’t so boring.”

“Boring?” She shouted. She hit the table with her hand. “Why did you marry me if you thought it would be so boring?”

“Ask my mother. It was her idea. Did you think I wanted to
have a wife at twenty-one?” He hollered loud enough for neighbors to hear.

“Go, and I hope you get lost.” Annamarie sank onto the love seat, dissolving into tears.

“Yeah okay, just hope the spirits are quiet tonight. I saw the trees moving again,” he grunted and slammed the back door behind him. 

***

No goodbye, no kiss to try and make up, nothing, typical Daniel. It was better than continuing the argument. Her heart breaking, his words about their marriage cut deep. What could she do now? He was off for a night of getting drunk and playing cards. He and his three friends had been tight since high school. She had no idea what he might do if she pushed him too far about staying home. When he worried about spirits, he could be uncontrollable.

If the
night were typical, before it was over, they would all see something strange in the woods. They would either come home drunk or barricade themselves in the cabin and pass out.

He and Ben Hanson, his best friend, got each other in and out of trouble since they met in kindergarten. Ben worked at the dairy with his father. Daniel, of course, was forced to take the
insurance classes his father insisted on so he could get his license. Surprisingly, he did incredibly well.

Edwin
Sanstun aka “Bulk” had picked up the nickname in high school when he played football. He planned on turning pro, but tore up his knee toward the end of senior year. That ended his career hopes. Without much talent and a lot of strength, he became the town handyman. Building storage sheds, adding siding, roofing, snow plowing, or lawn care Bulk was your man. His parents died in an auto accident a year after graduation, and Bulk refused to move to Oaklin to live with his brother. He moved in with Garret Frant. 

Garret rounded out the foursome and was
a local mechanic. He could fix anything on two or four wheels. Even George trusted Garret with his cars. Annamarie knew the four would be together, and only heaven knew what they might do.

The four guys had been in and out of all sorts of juvenile trouble since grade school. One of these days, they would drag Daniel into some problem too serious for his father and his powerful lawyer to resolve.  

***

She picked up the phone and called her best friend Bonnie. Annamarie was a free woman for the next eighteen hours. She could always count on Bonnie for a fun idea.    

“Hello.” 

“Hi.”

“Annamarie, I was thinking about calling you, but worried Daniel might answer.”  

She never liked Daniel either. Annamarie wondered if anyone besides his family, friends and her cared for him. 

“The guys went up to the cabin for the night, and I’m free.” 

The thought
set Bonnie off on a tangent of wild ideas. It was 1967, and they lived in a small town. There wasn’t much to do close to home. 

“You want to try and sneak into the Tangledbranch Saloon again?”

Annamarie gasped, “Don’t you remember the last time we tried?”

“I forgot about the Bradley brothers.”

“We were lucky to get home in one piece.”

“The drive-in movie theater will be full of screaming teens. It’s Saturday night,” Bonnie said.

“We’re still teens. We could scream, too.”    

They settled on the five and
dime/bookstore and a pizza at Mario’s. Bonnie was a nursing student at the community college. She was transferring to a four-year school next month to finish her studies, and Annamarie was going to miss her terribly.

They’ve been best friends since they sat next to each other the first day of junior high. Annamarie smiled and Bonnie smiled back. The rest is history. 

They were like two peas in a pod. At least until Annamarie started working at the dairy and Bonnie began college. Their lives took different paths, but they still stayed close.

If there were three peas in a pod, they would have had to make room for Deb. She was their voice of reason when Bonnie and Annamarie would get one of their crazy ideas. They all thought she would be a pillar of society when she grew up, and their parents loved her for her common sense. That is until high-school graduation. 

It was on Saturday evening, the tenth of June. Deb turned eighteen the next day, and her parents threw a big party to celebrate graduation and her birthday. On Monday morning, she told her parents the graduating class was meeting for a “thank goodness we’re free” party at the park. That was the first big lie she ever told her parents. A few minutes past ten, Steve picked her up. They headed for the adjoining county and eloped. The single redeeming quality, that kept her dad from killing Steve when they came home, was he was the new deputy sheriff. At least she had married an upstanding citizen. Maybe she would become a pillar of the community after all.

Annamarie called Deb to see if she wanted to go with them. Deb was unable to go out with Annamarie and Bonnie and warned her to be careful and not get into trouble. “Yes, Ma’am,” Annamarie giggled, “We’ll be good.” 

***

Daniel and his friends arrived at the cabin a little after six o’clock. Leaving their sleeping bags and other necessities in the two vehicles they grabbed the beer, liquor and snacks. Too busy horsing around and laughing, they didn’t see the eyes watching from the trees. If they had, they would have gone
home or reported the incident. They didn’t see the eyes, but the eyes saw them clearly. 

Even Daniel with his sense for danger didn’t realize he was being watched. His thoughts were on drinking and fun. The usual anxiety that kept him alert was pushed to the back of his mind. The guys were ready for a wild night.

***

Bonnie and Annamarie had a great time. Most people thought Timmus Woods was too small to have an enjoyable evening, but for Annamarie it was perfect. They wandered around the five and dime looking at almost everything for sale. 

Bonnie complained, “I can’t find any book I don’t already own. Let’s eat.”

They sat down at Mario’s and began their normal disagreement over pi
zza toppings. 

“Annamarie, at least try anchovies, you might like them.”

“They taste salty, and I hate fish. We’re not having those on our pizza.”

“Okay, we’ll just have them on half.”

“Don’t try that again. The one time we did, the entire pizza tasted like them, and I had to order another one.”

“How are you ever going to find wonderful new tastes, if you refuse to try any?”

“If it’s a fish, I’m sure I’ll never miss it.”

“Okay, what should we order?”

“What we always do, sausage and pepperoni.”

Both girls enjoyed a nice laugh over their little
disagreement and decided they would always be the same.  Annamarie prayed that would be true. Oblivious of the horror about to take place ten minutes away, they continued on with their evening.  

Their pizza was delicious and their conversation lively. When Annamarie drove Bonnie home, they made a promise to do this again, at least once, before she left for college.