Chapter 12
Kelly’s Den
That day, Harry and I flew back to the Fernwood Resort in silence. After landing, the little horse returned to the stables. He was still doing pony rides, though only for about an hour or so in the afternoons, and I walked over to the yoga studio so I could help Lisa.
I rather enjoyed being there and watching her work.
I came inside right as she was starting her class and waited outside, so as not to disturb her.
Lisa had explained to me the beginning of each class was very important, because it was when the women “set their intentions,” and so I waited behind the closed curtain.
Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw Kelly.
She was wearing the usual yoga outfit, but her hair wasn’t in a ponytail.
Rather, it lay in thick black curls on her shoulders.
I caught a whiff of her perfume. It was something musky, woody.
“Hey, Ivan, how are things?” she whispered right into my ear. “Did class already start?”
“Yes,” I responded, though it was pretty obvious that was the case. Both of us could hear Lisa’s melodic voice, but I wanted to be polite.
“Oops, I guess I can’t go in now.” Kelly tittered, placing her hand to her mouth. “Lisa gets so upset if we’re late.”
“Yes, it’s best to not go in now.”
Again, this was a known fact—Lisa didn’t let students into the studio if they were late for the opening.
I could nearly hear Lisa’s voice in my head repeating, “By setting the intention, you establish your plan for the next hour. If you miss it, you don’t have a reference and you waste your class.
” I was about to repeat those words to Kelly, but I felt her hand on my arm, her fingers clasping right on my naked skin. A shiver ran down my spine.
“Ivan, you have such strong arms,” Kelly breathed into my ear. “Do you work out? Or do you only do yoga?”
“No, I’ve never tried yoga.” I shrugged.
“You don’t do martial arts or anything? Or weights? Maybe you lift weights?”
“No.”
“I guess you’re a man of few words. I like that.” She gave me a coy smile. “Can you please come with me? I could use some help around the house. My husband is away this week and I’m all alone.”
“Um, sure, but I need to let Lisa know. She expects me to serve the tea, and then, of course, we also have a few things we have to do,” I said, but Kelly was already pulling me along.
“Don’t worry, Ivan, I’ve got it all worked out with Lisa. She knows. And besides, sharing is caring, isn’t that what they say?” Kelly chuckled.
I didn’t understand what she meant and what exactly she was planning on sharing, but I assumed she and Lisa had reached some sort of agreement about me helping Kelly.
So, I followed the woman to her metal box, then rode with her to her house.
We drove through an area I didn’t recognize, climbing higher and higher up a winding road until we got to the very top of a mountain, where we stopped in front of a stately mansion.
“Here we are!” Kelly said, opening the front door. I followed her inside.
Everything was gleaming white. The walls, the stairs, the furniture, the carpet.
Even the floor at the entrance. Noticing my astonishment, Kelly explained, “My interior designer thought it would be a nice statement to do that. We redecorate every two, three years, but I really like this white. I think I’ll keep it. ”
On the walls, I noticed pictures that looked like they’d been drawn by a child.
“And these are Japanese ink-art drawings. Originals,” Kelly said casually as she led me to the living room.
“Have a seat right here,” she said, pointing to the white leather couch.
I sat on the edge of the couch, trying to take up as little room as possible.
I didn’t like being away from Lisa and the yoga studio.
“I’ll just pop over to the kitchen and make us some tea.” There was a glint in her eyes, and it reminded me of how Dasha from the village looked at me. That unsettled me and I fidgeted, then rose to my feet.
“That’s quite all right,” I said. “No need for that. What was it you wanted me to fix?”
“Oh, it’s the bed. It’s a little bit shaky.” She lifted her chin, examining me. “Are you sure you don’t want anything? You want to go fix it right now?”
“Sure thing. I do need to get back soon.”
“Well, then, let’s go.” Kelly giggled as she led me up the steps. “I normally don’t do this, I hope you realize,” she said as she turned back to face me, stopping on the steps. “But you’re so special. You really are. Did you know that?”
“Thanks, Kelly.”
“I like how straightforward you are. It’s great to have that in a man.
Most guys these days just beat around the bush, but not you.
It’s refreshing!” Kelly said, opening the door to the bedroom.
It, too, was all white. An enormous bed stood in the middle, covered with a white blanket.
On the wall right above hung one large painting with jagged lines and specks of dirt. I paused in front of it. It was ugly.
“And this is a Jackson Pollock, an original.” Kelly smiled. “Don’t tell anyone or they’ll kill me. My husband bought it as an anniversary gift.”
“Why?”
“Why? Good question, indeed. I guess he wanted to impress me. He loves me.”
I nodded. It made sense.
“So, what is it you want me to fix?” I scanned the room. The bed looked sturdy, but I approached and leaned on the frame, pushing it with my hands.
“Oh, Ivan.” Kelly licked her lips. “It’s just right here, let me show you.
” She took my hand and ran her finger inside the palm of my hand.
I swallowed hard. “Just right here,” she repeated.
She reached for my face, but at that moment, my phone rang.
It was in the back of my pocket, where Lisa had instructed me to keep it at all times.
I reached for it and answered it, just like Lisa had taught me to do, out of the corner of my eye noticing Kelly raising her eyebrows.
“Where are you?” Lisa’s voice sounded urgent.
“Don’t say anything!” Kelly hissed, but it was too late.
“I’m just over helping Kelly fix her bed,” I said.
“What?” Lisa screamed into my ear.
“Kelly, you know, the one from yoga class?”
“How’s that possible? I don’t understand.”
“Kelly said you’d agreed,” I said as Kelly threw her hands up in frustration.
“Ivan, stay right there. I’m coming to get you,” Lisa yelled and hung up the phone.
“Well, that kills the mood, doesn’t it?” Kelly sighed. “I guess it was too good to be true. Come on, Ivan, I’ll take you back.”
“Lisa told me to wait for her,” I said, following Kelly downstairs.
She pulled back her hair, and it was now in that ponytail hairdo.
I expected her to offer me tea, and this time I would have taken her up on the offer, but Kelly led me straight to the front door, opened it and huffed, “Good luck to you, Ivan.”
The second I stepped outside, I heard the door slam shut behind me.
“What a dimwit!” I heard through the closed door and blushed.
Lisa came just a few minutes later. She pulled up to the front of the house and ordered, opening the passenger side door, “Get in!”
The second I sat down, she burst into tears.
I was struck by Lisa’s tears and felt somehow responsible for them, though I couldn’t understand why. So, I sat there, staring at Lisa, as tears streamed down her beautiful face.
“Please don’t cry,” I said after what seemed like an eternity. We were still in the car, parked in front of Kelly’s mansion.
Lisa wiped the tears from her face. Her hand was completely wet. I reached and pressed it to my lips. I don’t know what possessed me to do so, but it felt like the right thing to do, and I kept my lips on her hand for a few moments. She looked up at me, and her eyes widened.
“Lisa, please, what can I do?” I asked.
“I’m so stupid. It’s all my fault, Ivan—it’s not you, it’s me,” Lisa mumbled as she looked away, shifting the car into drive.
With all the crying, I wasn’t sure Lisa could see the road, but we made it back to Fernwood without an issue. The whole time, Lisa muttered that she was a “silly woman” who’d “started to feel again.” Her words didn’t seem to require a response, so I stayed quiet.
Lisa didn’t speak until much later that day, when we were sitting in her living room. I was on the couch and Lisa at the table, propping her head with her hands. This, I’d come to understand, was what she did when she was lost in thought.
“Just a kid, just a kid.” She bit her lip.
“What am I even doing?” She was staring into the distance, and it was as if I wasn’t really there.
I figured she was speaking to herself and didn’t respond.
She was no longer crying, which was good, but she still looked very sad and I wanted to help her.
Suddenly, I remembered the Firebird’s feather I’d hidden between the cushions, reached for it, and took it out.
I figured, if anything, the feather would make Lisa feel better.
“Here, Lisa, take it, please,” I said, as I walked over and placed it on the table next to her.
“You’re giving me this? Oh, Ivan.” Lisa ran her finger along the sides of the feather. It glowed, and I could feel its warmth from where I was standing. “I could never accept it.”
“It’s okay, Lisa, please, maybe keep it for a little bit? While I’m over at the Seminole Mill.”
“I couldn’t. The feather is supposed to help you, and if I accepted it, what kind of person would I be?
” Lisa said and fell silent again. I didn’t dare say anything, too concerned Lisa would start crying again.
After a few minutes, she pushed her chair back.
“Please take the feather, Ivan, you’ll need it.
And about the whole thing with Kelly, I’m probably just overreacting. Right?” Lisa opened her eyes wide.
“Oh, probably,” I responded. I figured it was best not to say anything contradictory. “By the way, who is Jackson Pollock?”
“Wait, were you actually upstairs? That woman! What a snake!” Lisa gasped. “You think you know someone, but then they just surprise you. And never in a good way. Now, Ivan, we need to get you ready for your trip, right?”
“Right.” I nodded. “Should I get Harry?”
“Yes, please. Let’s go over all the preparations since you’re leaving in less than forty-eight hours.” She was all business, and gone were the tears and the sighs. I welcomed the change, though it did leave quite a few things unanswered.
I left to fetch Harry, going over the plan in my mind. Lisa and I had agreed that the best way to get into the inn was to stay there as a guest. Harry would wait for me in a nearby forest while I checked into the inn for several nights, learned Quinn’s routine, and then retrieved the egg.
When I came back with Harry a few minutes later, we found Lisa in the middle of her room, pacing.
“Harry, thank you for coming,” Lisa said to the pony.
Harry gave her a nod that was way too formal, but I ignored his rudeness and so, it seemed, did Lisa.
“Ivan, I’m just trying to figure out how to set you up with a credit card to pay for the room at the bed-and-breakfast. And also to pay for the food. ”
“What is a credit card?” I scratched my head.
“Oh, never mind. It’s probably illegal, anyway. I’ll just give you cash.”
“Cash?”
“Yes, money. But not coins. Paper money.” Lisa took out a greenish piece of paper and showed it to me. “This is a twenty-dollar bill. I’ll have to give you a few of these for the trip. That way you can pay for the room and the meals.”
“But wouldn’t the bed-and-breakfast give me breakfast? If that’s the case, I can just forage with Harry and get myself something in the forest for dinner. And I rarely eat anything for lunch,” I explained. “Just some bread, and that’ll be enough for me.”
“That’s not a bad idea, actually,” Lisa said, giving me a careful stare. “But you may want to take extra money with you just in case. But please make sure you hide it, all right? Don’t let anyone see how much you’ve got on you.”
“So I’ll have to hide these pieces of paper, right?” I pointed to the thing Lisa called “cash.”
“Yes. Pretend like this is actual gold.”
“I will try.” I nodded. Some of the things in Virginia made little sense. It was hard to believe a few pieces of paper had as much value as gold coins did.
“Excuse me, but what will I be eating?” Harry brayed.
“Maybe you can get some food near the mill?” Lisa said.
“You mean I should forage in the forest for food, along with Ivan? Did you think of the dangers that lurk in the forest for the likes of me?”
“Harry, don’t worry, I’ll make sure to feed you,” I said eagerly.
“Ivan, you’ll be too busy confronting Quinn. And I can’t count on accessing fresh hay. So”—Harry drew in a sharp breath—“I would need to take the special pellets with me.”
“The pellets? No, Harry, you can’t stand them!” I raised my hands in protest.
“That’s true. But what else can I do? It’s the best solution, given the circumstances.” Harry threw a look full of disapproval in Lisa’s direction.
“I’m so grateful for your help, Harry,” Lisa said to the horse. “If you don’t mind the pellets, I’ll make sure to pack them for you. Not to worry.”
“Very well.” Harry’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t contradict Lisa.