Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
Lori
“Wait! Please, wait!”
She’d yelled as loudly as she could but he’d screamed, “No!” and kept running. All she could do was stand there and watch as he shoved open the door at the end of the hall and disappeared.
One by one, the Littles who giggled with her at breakfast turned to look at her. Sadie spoke first. “Lori? Do you know him?”
“Yes,” she said as tears ran down her face. “Who is he?”
“I thought you said you knew him,” Haven said.
At the confusion on the others’ faces, Lori shook her head. “I do, I just… never knew his name.”
“It’s Blake,” Sadie said. “Stay here, I’m going to go get…”
Lori was already halfway down the hall before Sadie got out, “My Daddy.”
Ignoring her own Daddy’s call to stop, Lori did the opposite. She picked up speed, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had to find him. Had to get to him. She had no clue where he could have gone, but just kept running. Spotting the biggest play equipment she’d ever seen, she saw swings swaying without anyone seated in them. She ran knowing the others would soon be doing the same as she was… looking for the Little boy who’d run.
Looking for the Little boy named Blake.
Blake, who was the man Lori owed her very life to.
She ran, dragging in ragged breaths as she looked for any sign of Blake. The playground had given way to a field, but now she was dodging trees and shrubs. After climbing over a fallen log, she stopped to gather enough breath to be able to call out his name.
“Blake! It’s me, it’s Lori!”
She shook her head. She’d not known his name, so how on earth would he know hers? Still, she continued to call out his name and began to run again. Shadows grew as she ran deeper into the trees. Lori paused to look around. She had no idea where she was and no longer heard anyone calling her name or Blake’s. Maybe she should try a different direction? Maybe he’d not run into the woods at all. Still, something kept her from turning back.
“Blake? Please! If you can hear me, please answer!”
It wasn’t his voice that caught her attention as she slowly turned in a circle, listening for any sound at all. It was a swath of blue that looked out of place among the rusts, yellows, and browns of the fallen leaves. She ran over and bent to pick up a stuffy, brushing off some leaves stuck to the plush Recognizing the character, she noticed it was a bit worn but not dirty and knew she was on the right path. No Little would leave a beloved stuffy in the woods, which meant it had been dropped. Lori immediately wiggled out of the backpack she’d completely forgotten her Daddy had packed for her that morning. Dropping it to the ground, she unzipped the largest compartment, reached inside and pulled out her own superhero.
Holding the blue stuffy in her left hand, she said, “Hi, I’m Lori.” She turned the stuffy to face the pink Powerpuff doll in her right. “This is Fauna. I’m sorry, I don’t know your name, but is your Little’s name Blake?” When the Power Ranger stuffy gave a nod, Lori smiled. “I thought so. When we find him, he can introduce us properly. Do you two think you can help me find Blake?” This time both stuffies nodded and she smiled.
Holding the toys, Lori looked around but saw no movement, didn’t see any obvious trails. Glancing at the stuffy she was positive belonged to Blake, she tried to visualize how it had wound up on the ground. Closing her eyes, she imagined Blake running. He was tall with a trim, runner’s body so he could be miles away. She felt as if she’d come far, but her legs were much shorter so her steps were smaller. She replayed what she’d seen in the hallway as Blake had screamed and turned to run down the hall. He’d not been sprinting like a track star around a track, he’d been stumbling a bit. Memories of her own feet tangling, the terror she’d felt as she’d tried to get away that night played in her head. Like she had the day she’d been taken, Blake wasn’t running. He’d been fleeing.
Stroking a finger over the blue plush, she said, “Okay, think. If you were scared and running to find a place to hide where would you go? Where was he when he dropped you on the ground?”
Ground.
There was a phrase used to describe scared animals trying to flee. They didn’t race across open fields, they tried to find the nearest hiding place. They would go to ground.
Couldn’t a frightened Little boy do the same?
Squatting down, Lori looked under the leaves piled up at the base of the tree. She didn’t find Blake, but when she started to stand, a broken twig caught her eye and then another. Clutching the stuffies, she followed the trail, slipping on fallen leaves as the ground began to slope downward. Dropping to her bottom, she put the stuffies in her lap and used her hands to brace herself as she scooted down the hill. With both stuffies under one arm, she used her free hand to brush off the back of her dress. She bent down to pick a twig out of her shoe and suddenly froze.
She heard a low humming sound. Instantly thinking of bees, she cautiously looked up, praying she’d not discover a nest of hornets above her, annoyed she’d disturbed their day. Nothing but leaves stirred in the trees, but she knew she’d heard it.
“Blake?”
The next sound she heard was not one of bees but was the whimper of a wounded animal… or of a frightened Little.
Please, please, please, let me find you.
Moving slowly and as quietly as she could, Lori walked in the direction she’d heard the sound. When she saw him, she yelled, “Blake!” as she pushed her way through a clump of bushes. She gave a sharp yelp as a pigtail her Daddy had so carefully plaited caught on the branch. Yanking it free, she left the pink ribbon to blow in the breeze as she continued to push deeper in order to reach him. He was curled up on his side, his head between his arms as if warding off a blow. Soft mutters she couldn’t understand came from him.
“Blake?” This time she whispered, not wanting to frighten him, yet he flinched and her heart lurched. What had scared him so badly?
Lori knew about being scared, knew about wishing she were invisible. But also remembered praying that someone would come, the emptiness she’d felt when realizing she was truly alone. “You don’t have to be scared. You’re not alone. I’m here.” When she heard his moan, she leaned closer and as carefully as she could, tucked the Power Ranger under his arm. “You dropped your stuffy, but he was brave and found me and brought me to find you.”
She held her breath, watching as his arms loosened their grip around his head. A hand dropped, fingers searching. Leaning forward, Lori pushed the stuffy a bit closer and when Blake’s fingers found it, watched as he pulled it to his cheek. Tears burned in her eyes, recognizing the comfort he desperately sought. Words she’d heard that night came back to her without hesitation.
“I promise, you’re going to be okay. Don’t move. I’ve got you. You’re safe.” She kept repeating them, remembering the disbelief she’d felt when she’d heard them, the hope she’d felt when he’d gently brushed a hand against her arm.
“That night you?—”
“I tried, I swear. I’m so sorry.” His words were soft but tore at her heart as if he’d shouted them. “Couldn’t… I-I didn’t keep my promise.”
Tears dropped on her fingers as she reached down, brushing against the stuffy but not trying to move it as she laid her palm against Blake’s cheek. “You did, Blake. You came for me when no one else did. You saved me. You did keep your promise. Please, Blake, please open your eyes.”
Blue fur absorbed falling tears as Lori kept repeating that he’d kept his promise, that she was okay, that he’d saved her, that it was all over, that the bad guys were gone, it was safe to come out.
Wiping her dripping nose with her sleeve, she gasped at the realization that his eyes had opened.
“Emerald… how? How are you here?” Long eyelashes dampened by his own tears closed to rest on his cheeks.
“No! Don’t go. Wake up, Blake!” This time when she shook his shoulders, she wasn’t so gentle. “You can’t do this to me. You have to talk to me. Damn it, Blake, you have to wake up!”
His eyes opened again. “You’re really real? I’m not… not dead? Not dreaming?”
Dead?
Taking a bit of his arm between her fingers, she pinched him.
“Ow! Why did you pinch me? That hurt!”
Lori shrugged and smiled. “Quickest way to convince you you’re not dead. Or dreaming!”
Blake moved to rub at the spot and seemed to realize he was holding a stuffy. “Scott?”
“Is that his name? He helped me find you, you know. Well, he and Fauna.” She held up the pink doll. “She’s a Powerpuff.”
Confusion clouded Blake’s eyes, but at least he was awake and seemed to be coming back from wherever he’d gone.
“I’m sorry I pinched you.”
“It’s okay,” Blake said as he began to unfurl his legs. “I thought you were an angel.”
“Me?” Her pigtails swung as she shook her head. “Nope, not even close.” Looking down at him, she smiled. “The only angel here is you.”
“I’m no angel.”
The sadness in his voice hung between them until Lori flung herself against him the moment he sat up. “Yes, you are.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him as hard as she could. “I’ve been waiting forever to find you, to thank you.”
“Thank me?”
“Yes… for keeping your promise.”
And that’s how her Daddy found them, sitting in a tangle of bushes, leaves and twigs in their hair, their arms around each other, laughing and talking over each other. When Blake gasped, Lori followed his gaze and saw her Daddy looking down at them.
“It’s him,” Blake said in a tone that had Lori looking between the two.
“Don’t be scared, that’s just my Daddy. He saved me too. Daddy, this is my angel. His name is Blake.” Turning her attention back to Blake, she giggled and held out her free hand, waiting until he took it to give it a shake. “Oh, and my name’s not Emerald, it’s Lori.”
“Gordon?”
Both Blake and Lori turned to see her Daddy looking like he’d seen a ghost.
“Barb?”
“Oh my God, Lauren?”
“Auntie B?” Lori said in disbelief.
“Huh? That’s my Mommy, and her name isn’t Barb.” Blake shot a glare in Gordon’s direction before addressing his Mommy. “Mommy, this is Lori, not Lauren and she owes a dollar to the swear jar.”
Lori’s head swung back to look at him in disbelief. “Tattletale!”
“Hey, stop punching me.” Leaning down, he grinned and whispered. “Be grateful I didn’t rat you out for pinching me. Swearing costs you a dollar. Pinching or punching will earn you a spanking.”
“Really?”
At Blake’s emphatic nod, Lori reached up and hugged him, speaking softly. “Then thank you for not telling on me.”
“Figured I owed you.”
“Blake, I think you smacked your head or something. I owe you. You saved me.”
Blake hugged her tightly. “My head is just fine. You have no idea how you just saved me, Lori with the emerald eyes.”
Gordon stood holding a pink ribbon, Beverly an abandoned backpack as they stared at each other in stunned disbelief as the Littles worked to disentangle themselves. Their fingers remained locked together as they crawled out of the bushes to stand before their Bigs.
When Gordon reached out to pull a twig from Blake’s hair, Lori grabbed his arm before he could toss it away.
“Don’t, Daddy.” When the others looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, she giggled. “Don’t you see? It’s not a real twig. It’s the magic wand from the story.”
“What story is that, sweetheart?” her Auntie B asked.
“The one that brings me a baby sister,” Lori explained.
Blake huffed, “Hey, maybe you smacked your head. I’m not a girl and I’m bigger than you!”
Lori shrugged “Even better. That’s the thing about magic. It knows exactly what you need when you think you want something else. Now I’ve got a big brother to protect me.”
“From what?” Blake asked.
Lori rolled her eyes and giggled. “I dunno, but I’m sure we’ll think of something.”
Blake’s eyes widened as her thumb and pointer finger tapped together making a pinching motion. He grinned and nodded. “I’m sure we will.”
“Could someone please tell me—am I the only one who feels like they’ve fallen down the rabbit hole?” Beverly asked.
“No!”
The foursome turned to find Sadie, Hayleigh, and Haven standing at the top of the slope. Behind them stood Derek, Jared, Erika and the two women who’d been in the hall along with a whole bunch of Littles Lori didn’t know. Her mouth dropped open to see Wren and a real cowboy seated on the backs of a pair of horses. Even Moses was there and when she gave him a little wave, he grinned and waved back. Every single person was staring at the four of them.
“I have to agree with Sadie,” Derek said. “I think we’re all in Wonderland with you. How about we get you back up to the lodge and have us a little story hour.”
“It might take more than an hour,” Gordon said as he bent to pick Lori up only to discover she had no intention of releasing Blake’s hand. Her Daddy looked at Auntie B, who’d laughed.
“Don’t look at me. You’re the Daddy.”
As his first big-brother gesture, Blake solved the problem by suggesting Gordon hold Lori while Blake kept hold of her hand and his Mommy thought it a fabulous idea as long as she got to hold Blake’s other hand. As a rather ragged line, they began to maneuver their way toward the others. They crested the hill without falling down, though it took Jared reaching out to grab hold of the backpack’s strap and pull Beverly forward when she started to teeter backward.
Lori was beaming as she watched people come to hug Blake and then shift aside to allow the next person to reassure themselves that he was okay. Finding the man who’d saved her soothed her heart in ways she’d never be able to express. Discovering he was a Little like her was truly magical. But, seeing her Auntie B again standing next to her Daddy was like seeing all the sprinkles in the world raining down on this magical Ranch.
As they started back toward the resort, Blake tugged on Lori’s hand. When she looked down, he whispered, “Why does your Daddy call my Mommy Barb?”
Instead of answering, Lori looked up at her Daddy.
“The same reason your Mommy called Lori, Lauren. Those were the names they had before,” Gordon said.
“Before what?” Blake asked.
“That’s part of the story, buddy.”
Lori knew it was all confusing and she’d lived it. Hearing everyone around addressing her Auntie Barb as Bev was a little strange, but she really didn’t care if they called her Bingo, Benji, or Bonzo.
“Don’t worry, names change all the time. I bet you were called Blakey or something when you were a little Little, right?”
“Yeah, but?—”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we found each other again, right?”
Blake looked at the Bigs and then back up at her. “I-I guess?”
Lori beamed and squeezed his fingers. It was far more than just right. It was all she’d ever wanted.
One frightened Little boy had run into the woods, but it was the large group that had come looking for him, the people who so obviously cared about each other in ways she’d never experienced that let Lori know Rawhide wasn’t just a resort for kinky vacationers. It was a place where people actually lived their lives practicing inclusion, diversity, and unconditional acceptance.