29
Helen was driving the Volvo. It seemed odd to Kate. Just four days ago her husband William was sitting where her sister was. Her daughters were in the rear. They were headed in the same direction, to the same destination. The time of day was about the same; the weather was very similar.
But now a man she’d known for only twenty minutes was sitting in the back seat, her daughters were at home with her mother-in-law, and her husband was missing.
“It’s funny how everything seems so different today than when we drove through here only a few days ago!”
“What exactly do you mean, Kate?”
Paul pulled himself forward from the back seat. He was holding onto both front seat headrests. Helen looked at her sister, expecting a quick response, but there wasn’t one.
“Kate!”
“Oh! Sorry, I was thinking about my feelings now as compared to the other day as we drove toward…”
Kate stopped in mid sentence, let out a deep sigh. She bit her lower lip.
“I have no idea why this has happened! Last Saturday my mind was taking in the passing scenery, the same one we are currently passing, and thinking of the silliest things. Today it all looks so different.”
Helen and Paul exchanged eye contact, uncertain what Kate was talking about.
“Kate, can you tell me a little bit about what happened last Saturday?”
“Well, Paul, where do you want me to start?”
“Since all I know for now is what Helen told me on the phone, why don’t you start from the beginning of the day? Just in general terms for now… I mean, of course, when you tell me about William disappearing, try to give me more details.”
“To start with, Saturday was William’s birthday!”
“Really!”
“Paul, do you think that it’s strange that William disappeared on his birthday?” Helen asked, both out of interest in the answer and interest in turning Paul’s attention toward her. She wasn’t going to sacrifice learning about William’s whereabouts for her own personal gain, but at the same time, she wasn’t going to waste a chance to rekindle a romance with Paul.
“I’d better take some notes! No, Helen, it isn’t necessarily strange, but at this point anything that is a noteworthy point like the fact that it was William’s birthday on the day he went missing could be a very important detail. Okay, Kate! By the way, how old was William?”
“He was thirty!”
“William looked more like twenty-five and acted more like thirty-five. My sister hit the jackpot when she met William. Paul, you would really like him…”
Kate’s eyes began to tear. Helen had not considered how her comments might affect her sister. Helen was driving and looking straight ahead but turned momentarily when she heard Kate’s breathing change in rhythm and pitch. She quickly realized her comments were upsetting her sister.
“Oh, Kate, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go on and on. You know how much I… like your husband.”
Helen was careful not to say “liked”. She made up her mind that she was not helping matters much and, flirting opportunity or not, it would be better if she just drove and let Paul control the conversation.
“You know guys, I’d better pay attention to the road. Never mind me, go ahead and discuss things. I will just keep my mouth shut.”
Helen made a motion with her right hand across her mouth as if to pull a zipper shut.
“Helen, I do not want you to shut up! I like it when you talk. It’s me. I need to be more in control. Look, I promise that if you help me convey to Paul what a great guy William was, then I will not break down.”
“You got a deal, Sis, but for now I am going to concentrate on driving. Go ahead, Paul, she is all yours!”
“I am glad you guys cleared that up. Listen Kate, I have a feeling that we are going to get to the bottom of this so let’s get to work! Let’s treat this like an assignment. I think we should structure a plan of action and then the three of us should focus on individual tasks. We can resolve this. I need both of you to be strong and clear-headed. Do you both think you can handle it?”
“Paul, are you saying you will help us through this until we find William?”
“Helen, your sister appears to me to be very levelheaded and sincere. I think something happened to William that is out of the ordinary. I am accepting the challenge to help you find out what that is. Plus, you never know what might become of us spending time together again.”
Kate could see Helen blush a bit. She was waiting for her to say something. Helen just lifted both her hands off the steering wheel, flipping her palms back as if to say “You never know.” Then dropping one hand back on the wheel, she made another zipping motion across her mouth indicating she had no further comment and then shooed both of them away, back to their discussion.
Kate turned to Paul.
“Paul, I like your attitude and, by the way, if I have not mentioned it yet, I really want to thank you for taking the time to help me.”
“Don’t mention it! Now, to get back to business, how did you guys decide to visit the Natural Bridge?”
“Well, actually we started out going to the Lauray Caverns.”
“The Lauray Caverns? How did you end up at the…”
“Well it was William’s idea. He was watching me flip through a guide book, and as I turned the pages, there it was!”
“What was?”
“A full color image of the Natural Bridge.”
“And then?”
“And then? And then we changed our minds, or William changed them for us, and we changed directions and went to the Natural Bridge.”
“And?”
“And?”
“And did anything else happen on the way that seamed out of the ordinary?”
“Well, I don’t seem to remember anything out of the ordinary along the way. That’s what you mean, don’t you?”
Paul just nodded. He was becoming a bit concerned since it seemed that Kate was not concentrating, not supplying him with the facts he wanted. Kate sensed Paul’s frustration.
“Look, Paul, I am not trying to drive you nuts! I guess I am a bit over-anxious to get to the part where William turns to water right in front of me! There! I’ve said it!”
“What I want to know… before you tell me more about that part is…”
“You mean you don’t think I’m crazy? I am telling you William disappeared by turning into water right in front of me! Are you not going to ask Helen to turn the car around? Are you not going to say that there is nothing you can do to help me since I must be crazy?”
Helen understood her sister’s frustration, but she also knew Paul wasn’t the source of it and couldn’t help but tell Kate this.
“Kate really! Please give Paul a chance! He is after all here to help!”
There was silence for a moment, which seemed to all of them to be forever. Helen forced herself to say no more. This was not the time to be her usual ranting self. Paul was committed not to say the next word, either. He felt caught in the middle.
“Paul I am sorry! But I need to know what you think about me, and the fact that I know in my mind William vanished in front of me into a downpour of water!”
“Kate! First of all, I do not think you are crazy! I guess you will have to accept the fact that I, unlike most people, believe that absolutely anything is possible. You will have to accept this as fact. I believe in divine intervention. I believe in supernatural powers. I believe that we use only fifteen percent of the true potential of our minds and that exponentially if we could harness the remaining eighty-five percent, we could communicate without using dialogue. We could travel without using mechanized vehicles such as this automobile! We could vanish in a downpour of water!”
“Wow!”
Kate had turned to the rear and was staring at Paul straight in the face between the front seats the whole time he spoke. She turned and looked at Helen, who met her eyes.
“I told you Paul was different! Please give him a chance!”
“Paul, I am both sorry and ecstatic. I can’t wait to show you the very spot where William vanished, and I promise to be more cooperative. Now, tell me, do what you want to know next?”
That was the turning point. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Helen relaxed her shoulders. Her sister had accepted Paul as someone she could trust. Paul had impressed Helen. Kate had let down her guard. They continued their trip toward the Natural Bridge.