In Search of Eden (32 page)

She was just unchaining her bike to ride home when somebody stepped out of the alley beside the building.

“Hey,” Grady Adair said.

“What are you doing, jumping out at me like that?” she demanded. “You almost scared me to death.”

“I didn't jump out at you. And it's not my fault if you're scared.”

“It's an
expression,
Grady. That's all. Where you been, anyway? I went out to Millers' pond, and you were gone. Don't you even believe in saying good-bye to a person?”

He didn't bother to answer that, just gave her a disgusted look. “I ain't been around because we had to move again, and now we're clean over at Damascus, and my daddy said I can't just wander around town.”

“Well, what if you were visiting somebody?”

“Well, that would probably be okay.”

“Well, then, why don't you come over tomorrow and visit me. Bring your bike, and I'll show you someplace cool.”

“I'll ask.”

“Meet me in the park where the creek is tomorrow morning,” she said.

“Do you need to ask your grandma?”

“I'm sure it's okay,” she said.

“All right,” Grady said, but he had a look on his face that Eden thought she recognized. It was the look of somebody who doesn't believe a good thing is real. It was a look that expected to be disappointed. Well, she would just have to make sure things worked out, that was all.

chapter
32

W
hy not?” Eden was trying to watch her tone like Grandma said, but it was hard. She had the day all planned, and Grady would be in the park waiting for her, but Grandma was saying she couldn't have him over without a grown-up to supervise, and she couldn't do it because she was teaching a quilting class today.

“I'll call Uncle Joseph,” she said.

Grandma shook her head. “Your uncle is busy today, dear. He has a search and rescue meeting. They're starting a new training class.”

“He didn't tell me!”

“You have to be sixteen, Eden. You know that.”

She decided she'd better not pitch a fit about that. “Well, can't he come over, Grandma? Please? I was going to take him to the campground. We'll be careful.” But Grandma was shaking her head, and when she got that look on her face, Eden knew it was useless to argue. She turned around and left, maybe stomping her feet just a little.

“Eden Elizabeth, where are you going?”

“I'm going to tell Grady,” she said, kicking the kickstand on
her bike so hard she bruised her ankle.

“Well, you see to it that you come right back.”

She pressed her lips together tightly. She could hear Grandma's footsteps.

“I didn't hear you.” Grandma was standing at the door. “And I know you're going to answer politely because you know how it would grieve me to have to restrict you again.”

The prospect of staying inside for another week was too horrible to think about. Plus, the truth was she didn't want to upset Grandma. “Yes, ma'am,” she said.

“You'll come home when you've found Grady, and then you can come with me to the quilt shop.”

“Yes, ma'am.” She got on her bike and rode away before Grandma could decide to make her stay. She was so upset her cheeks were hot, and it took all the way to town before she began to cool off. Now Grady would go away disappointed and sad, and she was disappointed and sad, too. She hated to admit it, but he was the only friend she had. She tried not to think about it, just like she tried not to think about Mom and Dad not wanting her, but she had that same tight feeling in her throat, and her chest hurt. She saw Grady waiting for her, and it was then that she thought of a plan and immediately felt better. Duh! She knew who they could get to supervise them. Hadn't Miranda said just yesterday that she wished there was something nice she could do for her?

“We got a problem,” she said, pulling her bike to a stop, and she was a little surprised because Grady actually looked afraid. The color went out of his face so that his freckles stood out.

“What is it?” he asked.

“You look plumb scared,” she said.

“I ain't neither.”

“Are so. I can tell by looking that you're scared as can be.”

“Well, what is it that's the problem?” he asked, getting mad now, which Eden thought was better than being scared, anyhow.

“The problem is my grandma won't let me hang out with
you today unless a grown-up is around to make sure we don't get ourselves killed or something.”

“Oh.” He looked relieved.

“What'd you think it was?”

“Nothing.”

She decided not to argue, even though it was obvious he wasn't telling her the whole truth. “What's your dad doing today? Maybe we could go to your house.”

“He's working,” Grady said, and he looked kind of sad about it.

“That's okay,” she said, “because I've got another idea. Follow me.”

“Why do I always have to follow you?” he complained.

“Because I'm the one with the idea. Do you have an idea? 'Cause if you get an idea, then I'll follow you. But as long as I'm the one getting the ideas, you'll have to follow me.” She shook her head. She was surprised that a person with good sense couldn't figure that out.

Grady grumbled, but she looked back once, slyly, so he couldn't tell she cared, and she could see he was behind her. She rode down Main Street for blocks and blocks to the funeral home. She began chaining her bike.

“What are we coming here for?” Grady asked. “This is a funeral home.”

Grady must think she was a total ignoramus. She thought about saying something smart, but she remembered how scared he'd looked just a few minutes ago. “Somebody lives upstairs,” she said.

“Who?” Grady asked.

“Somebody who owes me a favor,” Eden answered, because she had read it in a detective story.

It was Saturday, one of her days off, and Miranda had slept soundly after making sure the viewing rooms were vacuumed and the bathrooms clean last night. At first she had worried that it
would give her the creeps working and even sleeping in such close proximity to those no longer living. But it hadn't bothered her at all. There was a peaceful atmosphere in the little apartment and even in the funeral home itself. She had gotten up and dressed and was sipping her second cup of coffee now, watching the birds fly around the beautifully landscaped grounds.

There was a birdbath back there nestled in a tangled, exuberant garden of forget-me-nots and lilies. Some chickadees and sparrows were splashing and scolding one another. She sighed and realized she hadn't done much about her search for her mother's family. She went and got the file she had made. She had inquired about getting a copy of her mother's birth and marriage certificates and realized she would have to call Aunt Bobbie again. Well, there was no time like the present.

She picked up the telephone and dialed. She got the machine. “Hey, Aunt Bobbie,” she said. “Could you give me a call?” Better not to say what she wanted. A better chance her aunt would call her back if she didn't expect another grilling.

She hung up the telephone and was just thinking about what she would do today when she heard footsteps on the stairs and a knock at the door. She got up and could hear stage whispers and muted voices arguing. She smiled.

“Do you think she'll do it?” a boy's voice asked.

“I think so, but be quiet or she'll hear us.”

She opened the door and smiled. It was Eden, of course, and with her the same red-haired, freckle-faced boy she had seen riding away the night she had given Eden the ride home.

“Hello!” she greeted them. “Come in, come in.”

They came in. At least Eden did, then turned and took the boy's hand and pulled him over the threshold.

“Miranda, this is my friend, Grady.”

“Pleased to meet you, Grady.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said. His cheeks were red under the freckles, and Miranda wondered if it was because of meeting an adult or because Eden had called him her friend.

Eden didn't waste any time getting to the point.

“Miranda, we need your help.”

She looked so earnest that Miranda had to stifle a smile. Eden would be very hurt if she thought she was the object of amusement. “Sure,” she said. “Name it.”

“We were going to ride out to a campground on the trail today, but my grandma said I can't go without a grown-up.”

“Oh.” She considered. She didn't really have plans today, and she had wanted to explore the Virginia Creeper Trail for as long as she'd been in town. “What about your uncle?” she asked.

“He's busy,” Eden said. “He's teaching a search and rescue class.”

Miranda nodded and counted it as an advantage that he wouldn't be popping in. “How far is it to the campground?”

“Just a couple of miles.” Her conscience must have gotten the better of her. “Actually six or so,” she amended, “but hardly any of it's uphill.”

Miranda smiled. “Well, sure,” she said, “I guess I could go.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Eden said. “Can I use your phone?”

Miranda handed her the cell and was about to show her how to use it when Eden flipped it open and dialed. Really, what had she been thinking? She listened to Eden's side of the conversation with her grandmother and had to get on and assure Ruth that she was indeed willing to accompany the kids on their trip.

“What exactly is it we're going to see?” she asked Ruth.

“It's a Bible camp my husband and I used to run, and I still own. It's about seven or eight miles out of town just off the trail. Nobody uses it now, but Eden loves it there. I would be happy to take them, but I'm teaching a class today. Thank you for going with them.”

“You're welcome,” Miranda said. “I'm glad to do it.”

“Come for supper when you're done,” Ruth invited.

Miranda accepted after deciding it would be too rude to inquire if Joseph would be there before giving her answer.

“Okay,” she said after hanging up, “let me go put on my shoes, and we'll be off. Do you need to call anyone, Grady?” she asked.

His face flushed crimson again, and he shook his head. “No, ma'am,” he said.

She got out bread and peanut butter and jelly, and they made six sandwiches and split them up so each carried two. She got her bicycle, they stopped at the Neighborhood Grocery and bought six bottles of water, six apples, and three candy bars, divided those up for easy carrying, and they were off. Eden led the way.

“I've been wanting to try this,” Miranda said. “It looks so beautiful.” It was green and peaceful, and she understood the path followed an old railroad track. “Where, exactly, is the campground?” she asked Eden.

“You go just past the River Knobs, and then it's after the river trestle but before the lake trestle.”

“Well, I'm glad you know where we're going.”

“I do. Don't you worry.”

Grady seemed a little bewildered. He pulled out a sandwich and took a bite.

Miranda decided to just enjoy the scenery. And the company. Not that they were alone. There were lots of families and people out enjoying the day. Apparently this was a very popular way to spend a vacation. They quickly left Abingdon behind, and then it was all peace and greenery for a while. For a mountainous region, it was pretty flat. The riding was easy. She supposed it made sense, considering they were following what had been a railroad track.

“My uncle Joseph does search and rescue in the woods and along the trail,” Eden said.

“This trail?” Miranda looked in vain for someplace people might get lost. All she saw was a cow pasture.

“The Appalachian Trail,” Eden said kindly, and Miranda realized there was a lot she didn't know about this region.

They rode companionably, passing walkers and twice pulling aside to let people on horseback pass them. Eden looked after
them longingly. “There used to be horses at the camp,” she said, “and paddleboats and fishing and canoes. Grandma and Aunt Vi worked in the kitchen and cooked, and Pastor Hector and Grandpa were the teachers.”

“Did you ever live there?” she asked.

“No. They closed it when I was a baby. But I think about what it was like,” she said.

Miranda could hear the longing in her voice. Eleven was young to have left paradise behind. She wondered what the future would hold for Eden with her family fractured, as well as her father. She put it aside.
She is not your child,
she told herself.
She is not your child.

They were coming up to Watauga Station and decided to stop and eat lunch. There was a grove of trees off to the side, so they set down their bikes and started in on their food. They decided to eat one sandwich and one apple and half the candy bar, saving the rest for later. Except for Grady, who said he was too hungry to wait and ate both of his sandwiches. After resting for a few minutes, they continued on.

Finally they went over the curved trestle Eden had spoken of. It was built over green rolling hills and kept the path level. They followed it, and when they could see the concrete buttresses and the pretty blue waters of Lake Holston itself, Eden pointed off the trail to a narrow dirt road, hardly more than a path, leading down the hillside.

They walked their bikes down to the campground. The road curved once, twice, and then the view opened up. They were at the crest of a hill, and beautiful green grass folded down into more hills and hollows toward the blue water of the lake. There was a big log building, a barnlike structure, a smaller house beside it, and then several tiny cabins tucked into the woods.

“The big one is the lodge. The smaller one is where Grandma and Grandpa used to live. The barn thingie is the chapel, and all the little cabins are for campers. There's seven of them, and then there's the teepees.”