a glance at the youngsters, indicating that Mark was being obtuse in not seeing they wanted some time alone together.
Mark said, ‘Well, that’s true.’ He let the conversation fall off.
Agatha rose. ‘Let’s retire to the parlour, like civilized folk, and we can continue this lovely evening.’ She glanced at Jack. ‘Fetch the brandy, won’t you?’
They left the dining room and were soon all settled comfortably in the parlour, where the talk turned to other topics. Gloria, sitting next to Phil, glanced at the boys, who were being considerably less obstreperous than usual. There was something she had meant to ask them earlier at the table, but she couldn’t remember what it was. She let the thought slip away.
Gabbie and Jack walked slowly along the path as the circle of light swept along before them, revealing the twigs and other impediments to easy passage. Gabbie had insisted Jack walk in the woods with her, in search of the faerie party. The flashlight flickered, then dimmed for a minute. ‘Shit!’ he said. ‘Damn batteries are weak.’
‘I declare,’ she said with a broad southern accent, ‘such language! And you a gentleman, sir!’ Jack grinned, half-seen in the gloom. ‘It’s okay, Lancelot. I’ve heard a few Anglo-Saxon expletives in my day. I’m a liberated girl.’
Jack laughed quietly. ‘So I’ve noticed. And something special, too.’
Gabbie turned silent as they walked, then said, ‘You’re not just saying that, are you?’
He stopped, letting the flashlight point down. In the light reflected back from the path they studied each other. He said nothing, but leaned forward and kissed her gently. She froze a moment, then stepped in to him, letting his arms wrap around her. She could feel the strength in his body, and her heart pounded with a rush of excitement. After a time, she gently pushed herself away, softly saying, ‘Ah … that was a pretty good answer.’
He smiled. ‘I guess.’ Slipping his arm around her waist, he resumed walking slowly, Gabbie matching his pace. ‘I do think you’re special, Gabbie. You’ve been through a lot, I know, but it’s made you thoughtful. Most of the girls your age I’ve known are a lot younger.’
She leaned her head against his arm. ‘I try to hide it sometimes. You … I guess I trust you.’
‘Thanks.’
She let a moment go by where the only sounds were their feet on the path and the breeze through the trees. The evening was warm and damp and the moon hung nearly full in the night, giving the woods a little illumination. Finally she said, ‘I … you seeing anyone special?’
‘No one special,’ he answered without hesitation. He paused, then added, ‘I had a girlfriend, back at Chapel Hill, Ginger Colfield. We met standing in line at junior registration, Cole, Colfield. We were sort of serious. At least, Ginger was serious. But when I came here it got kind of hard to hold things together, you know? Ginger’s down in Atlanta now, working for Coca-Cola, in advertising. I think she’s engaged. Since last year, nothing worth talking about. You?’
‘Just a high school boyfriend, two years ago in Arizona. Nothing since then. Just dating around.’
Jack said, ‘Never do much of that. I tend to land in a relationship and stay there a long time.’ He paused. ‘The last one sort of left me a little beat up, you know?’
Gabbie felt both comforted by the revelation and troubled. She liked Jack a lot, as much as any boy she’d met in a long time, but she was also worried things might get out of hand. ‘You don’t think much of long-distance romance, huh?’
He stopped and said, ‘You’re going back to California in September, right?’
She turned to face him. ‘Yes.’ Suddenly she was angry at herself for rushing. ‘Look, I don’t mean to make a big thing out of this, okay?’
He looked away, as if seeking something in the night, then said, ‘Maybe it is a big thing.’
She tensed as if not knowing what to do next. Her feelings were surging up from some deep place, surprising her with their intensity. She was suddenly very scared of Jack Cole and the effect he was having on her. But she also knew that what was said in the next few minutes would have a major impact on her for at least the rest of the summer, and perhaps for a great deal longer than that. With a sigh, a releasing of that sudden energy, she leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder. ‘Man … what are you doing to me?’
He held her, saying nothing. She felt as if her heart were trying to burst out of her rib cage, as if she couldn’t get a breath of air. Softly he spoke into her ear. ‘You could transfer to Fredonia. I might still be able to get accepted into the programme at UC San Diego. We could run off to Paris and live in a garret – except my French stinks.’ She giggled. ‘But why don’t we just wait and see if you still feel like talking to me tomorrow, okay?’
She smiled up at him, put at ease by his answer. She saw something sweet and caring in his eyes, evident despite the murk of the night. With a sudden surge of warmth through her body, she said, ‘I could develop a serious case of like for you, Jack Cole.’
For an answer, he kissed her. After they separated, she added in husky tones, ‘Maybe more.’
They kissed again. Gabbie was suddenly aware that for the first time since she’d started dating she was with a man who could take her somewhere and make love to her and she would go willingly, without protest or hesitation. Her blood drummed in her ears, and her breath was deep and quick. In an odd detached moment, she wondered, Am I falling in love with this man?
Suddenly Jack stiffened, breaking the mood. She said, ‘What?’
‘Listen,’ he said softly.
She strained and heard nothing at first, then a faint, unfamiliar sound. It hung just under the masking noise of the branches rustling in the night breeze, a hint of something different, maddeningly close to being recognizable, but just beyond comprehension.
Then there was something else in the air, a terrifyingly sad yet wonderful quality. Something hovered at the limits of understanding, reaching past the conscious mind to touch a more primitive and basic element of their emotions. With a quickening pulse, Gabbie found tears welling in her eyes, and she whispered, ‘What’s happening?’
Holding her close, Jack whispered back, ‘I don’t know, Gabbie. I don’t know.’ He breathed deeply, as if reaching to take control of the alien and powerful emotions that swept through him. Another deep breath, and he said, ‘Something strange is going on.’ He looked around. ‘I think over there.’
With those words, the spell was somehow broken. Whatever those astonishing and strange feelings were, they fled as he moved. She also breathed deeply, forcing herself to calm, and followed him.
Cautiously they moved through the woods towards the source of the sensations. As they climbed over a fallen tree trunk, Jack said, ‘I know where we are.’
Gabbie looked about and hadn’t the faintest notion where they were. Her attention had been riveted to Jack, and she suddenly felt concern that if anything happened to him she’d not have a hint
