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  Shifting into drive he merged into the traffic.

  Chapter 2

  Just shy of three hours later, Johnny turned off Highway 395 and onto Mcclocklin West Road. Crossing the railroad, he was surprised that he had managed to miss the train. When he was sixteen it always seemed like the train waited for him. Laying just around the bend, preparing its horn as he came speeding down the road. Pass the canal, its once dirt road now paved with new traffic lanes, the water below sat as still as the day he left, a perfect place for the mosquitoes to nest.

  The cattails bowing in the wind that swept through the canal. The wind, a feature of the town as old and persistent as the old concrete grain towers. It swept in behind you as it pushed you down the highway and into the comfort of the small-town arms, and it was struggled against you as you drove away.

  Turning down Seattle Ave, he followed along the canal and the railroad tracks. The speed limit that once had been posted was missing its sign, with only its green metal post on the side of the road as a reminder. Though it had done little to slow anyone driving down the road, only when you caught the glimpse of the local sheriff’s truck did you tap the brakes. Little had changed.

  Stopping at the intersection between Seattle Ave and 5th Ave. Turning left and he would be at his childhood home in just a matter of moments, yet he couldn’t seem to find the desire to turn the wheel. Instead he went straight, down the road that was littered with the skeleton remains of what was once the center of the town. The old gas station sat at the corner, its red trim with yellow front shingles faded and chipped from the sun. The neon open sign flickered just above the Coors’s Light in its single pane windows. A new paint job would have done it wonders.

  Past that was the grocery store, now overgrown by trees and bushes. He could only see the store’s front which was still boarded up with only a few new spray tags on it. Pulling his car to the edge of the road, he shut the engine off and got out. He strolled towards an empty lot where he remembered the old post office once had stood. Now not even a stone was left on the lot. The grain silo to his back he walked along the old broken sidewalk, he wondered if it had ever seen much traffic. Stopping at what he once had thought was the bank. The roof had now finally completely missing, and tree branches overlaid it blocking your path to the still darkened hole in the back-left corner.

  He took a step forward only to back away when he heard the floor crack under his weight. After all these years he wondered if the room in the back still held secrets that only his eight-year old self could imagine or if they had been all flushed out. He could barely see the rebar’s comparison to fingers now and the dark hole that once frightened him so now gave way to the sun and showed more graffiti in faded red.

  Sighing he turned back towards his car, only to stop with the chirping of a killdeer. It drew his attention down the road, and he watched as it weaved across the road, chirping with each turn it took. He glanced around the ground around him, looking for its nest before chuckling to himself and returning to his car.

  Pulling a U-turn, he went back down to 5th Ave and took a right. The next left he passed under a large wooden gate and into the pasture of his grandfather’s land. The dirt trail that pulled up the house was covered on either side with recently cut grass or weeds, it was hard to tell the difference here. Parking his car beside his grandfather’s Nissan pickup. The old pickup sat naturally against the backdrop of the double wide trailer.

  A porch wrapped around the front of the home, with a cinder block path. Johnny stepped out of his car and strolled towards the front gate, he remembered installing the old pig gate. It likely took longer for him to help, but his grandfather did not curse or even bicker as they worked almost all day on the gate. Drilling into the old railroad tie and attaching the hinges, the gate still hung straight. Opening the gate, he walked into the yard, the grass had seen better years some patches of it were missing completely and others it was infested with crabgrass and goat heads.

  Skipping the second step on the porch, it always creaked. He pulled on a newly hung screen door and twisted the handle. Locked. He could not remember a time before nine that the door had ever been locked. A half pot of fake flowers had been screwed to the right side of the door and Johnny hesitated to reach his hand inside knowing that there was likely a spare key. The faded fake leaves of the plant were now home to several thick looking cobwebs. If he was younger, he would have reached into the web and plucked the key out, but something in him hesitated. A fear that had festered in him as he grew and that brought a sickling feeling over his skin over the thought of touching the cobweb, to have the hidden owner crawl over his hand in some despite attempt to stop him from damaging its home.

  Looking around the porch, it was filled with an assortment of yard tools. Racks were leaned against the railing, hedges clips, — likely the same ones that were there when he left — and a bag of grass seed. Picking up the hedge clippers he whipped the cobwebs away from the old plant on the wall and pushed them out of the way as he peered over the edge, able to see the key. Plucking it from the fake soil he tossed the hedge clips to the side and let out a shiver. Even with the extra step he still felt the goosebumps prickle on his forearms.

  Unlocking the door, he entered the darkened living room of the home. The house was bought when Johnny was about six, a replacement for the old railroad house that once stood in its place before a lightning strike engulfed it in flames. It had been a fast-talking salesman that convinced his grandfather of the home, guaranteed to last just as long as a traditional stick home. Johnny admitted the home exterior framing had been solid, he knew that the rest of the home had been built cheap. The once green carpet had to be replaced not five years after the initial purchase, his grandfather complaining that it did not even have a quarter of an inch of padding.

  He stood in the doorway as he took in the house, the old tube TV had been replaced with a flat screen. The furniture was the same forest green coach and love seat with a recliner that in circled a coffee table. His eyes rested on the recliner. He could almost feel his grandfather’s blue lingering eyes on him, telling Johnny to close the door and take a seat. Johnny’s chest grew heavy as he pushed past his own imagination. Closing the door behind him he went past the living room and into the dining room and kitchen.

  The kitchen island with its lamented countertop and hillcrest cabinets were covered with an opened loaf of Wonder Bread. His grandfather always liked to take a few pieces after dinner, especially when there was homemade country gravy. He walked down the hall and stopped at what was his grandfather’s room, the white door hung closed and he rested his hand on its handle. The weight on his chest had gained a few pounds as he decided against opening the door. He shook his head and turned, walking past the kitchen island and past the forest green recliner before he exited back onto the front porch.

  He closed the door behind him, he wasn’t sure what he expected to find in the old home. Standing at the door he thought about going back in, right to his grandfather’s room and flinging the door open. Proving to himself that the old man was not just hiding on the other side of the door, snickering with his little game.

  “Johnny?” Said a familiar voice.

  Johnny turned and looked down at the gate from the porch. There at its boundary stood, Luna Stanfur. He remembered the last time he saw her, they had to have been about sixteen. Her golden blonde hair had been dyed a light red and her brown eyes while still a little more tired from the endeavors of adulthood still clung to their dancing beauty.

  “Luna.” He said as he came down from the porch. Skipping the second step.

  “I saw a car drive around and I thought to myself that could only be Johnny Everleaf.”

  “I was just taking in the sights.”

  Luna gave him a fake smile as though she knew that he was lying.

  “How are you holding up?”

  She lifted the gate handle and entered the yard with him. Both standing along the cinderblock path. Johnny could not help but have his mind drift back to when they stood along the path and kissed each other so passionately that he thought that he might drown in her.

  “Pretty good. The long drive let me have lots of time to think. Only so much scenery you can enjoy before you get lost in your own thoughts.” He said. “What have you been up to? Grandpa never mentioned that you moved back to town.”

  “I’m glad.” She said with a half-hearted smile. “He always said you were off being busy, being all grown up. I guess it never came up to mention it.”

  Johnny felt the heaviness in his chest return. Maybe it was shame, the shame of knowing that he had could have driven back at most likely anytime. That he could have put some more effort into the phone call, not be so rushed to get off the phone. What had been so important at the time, now it seemed all so trivial.

  “You going to stay here?” Luna asked.

  Johnny turned back towards the house as he looked past the porch and into the vinyl window. He could almost still see his grandfather sitting in his recliner rocking back and forth. His own imagination had a devil of a humor.

  “No.” He hesitated “I think I will find a nice motel to stay in. I think I wouldn’t sleep very well in that house anymore.”

  “If you want, the old high school was converted into a B&B. It would be closer, and you wouldn’t have to waste the gas.”

  “The old high school? Who would want to invest money into that place?”

  “A man named Gabriel Caver. He moved in right around five years ago, most likely sometime after you left. Amazing what he did with the old place.”

  “Would you stay there?”

  “If Gabriel offered me free food I would come over with a bottle of wine and a smile.”

  Johnny let out a small laugh at th
e joke.

  “Well I guess I will have to go and see for myself.”

  “Let’s exchange numbers, in case you ever need an ear to listen.”

  “Of course.” Johnny said as he took out his phone and quickly added her.

  “Well I better get back to the station, better not be missing if the owner stops by. Be sure to tell Gabriel hi from me and I will call you a little later and maybe we can get together.” Luna said.

  She turned away from him and left out the gate and began to walk down the pasture, turning once to wave at him before vanishing from sight. He was surprised to see Luna. His grandfather had told him that she had went off towards Spokane to stay with a relative. Knowing her mother, he couldn’t blame her. He debated about staying at the old high school, it was only up the road. It would be close.

  ***

  Johnny stood on the dirt road that passed in front of the old school. He was surprised to say the least; the two-story school building was now gorgeous. Its once broken windows had been replaced with vinyl ones, the stucco had been painted a light tan, and the front door had been replaced with a glass windowed one. The front cement slab had been replaced with a red brick and on each corner, you were greeted by three feet tall bronze lion statues. Where the once High School sign hung had been replaced with Country Bed and Breakfast — a generic name if Johnny had ever seen one.

  Stepping up, he placed one hand on the bronze lion and rolled his hand across its back as he went towards the door. Entering the landing before you either ascended to the second floor or down towards what had once been the old basketball court. To his right was a large sitting room, it had several very classical loveseats wrapped in dark wooden trim and a fake fireplace hung on the wall, to his left a small counter for checking in. He turned into the sitting room and looked around.

  The entire room had been reworked, new sheetrock and fresh paint and a recessed ceiling that hide a track of light to give the ceiling a glow. The front window looked out over the volcanic bedrock landscape. The original wood floors had been resurfaced and varnished where he could just about see his reflection in it.

  “You snuck right in under my nose.”

  Johnny turned towards the voice. A man a few feet shorter than himself stood in the frame of the sitting room, his dark black hair was slicked back with strikes of grey and steel blue eyes stared him down.

  “Mr. Craver?” He asked.

  “My reputation proceeds me. Though don’t listen to those rumors they say, I’m much meaner.”

  Gabriel spoke with a slightly broken accent, somewhere between broken English and what Johnny swore sounded like a bad Irish accent. Something some actor that had never been trained would do on some B-budget movie.

  “I’m…”

  “No. No. If you know me. Only fair I get a crack at you.” Gabriel said, pressing a finger to his mouth as he leaned against the door frame.

  “Tall and slender lad, dusty blonde hair, and the only new car that has driven into town in over a week. Mr. Everleaf I would presume?”

  “Correct. Though I don’t see what my height or hair has anything to do with it.”

  “Nothing. Old Gretchen Olson phoned me a bit ago. I just thought I would try my Sherlock Holmes impression.”

  “You were recommended by Luna Stanfur.”

  “Oh, lovely lass that girl, bless her heart. Last month she sent me several overnighters, paid for the lights.” He said pointing towards the recessed lighting.

  “I’m surprised of how the old building looks. I remember it clearly from my childhood and I don’t believe it could ever hold this much charm.” Johnny said as he followed Gabriel towards the front desk. “Though with somewhere this nice, I don’t know if I could afford more than a few nights.”

  “Don’t be silly boy. It would be criminal of me to charge you a penny while you dealt with Ken’s arrangement. Good man, came up twice a month and mowed the grass for me.” Gabriel thumbed through a guest book and spun it towards Johnny. “I think the south room would suit you nicely, just above here.”

  “I can’t stay for free.”

  “You can. Just sign in the book.”

  Johnny took the pen from Gabriel’s hand and signed his name. He would have argued further, but he knew when to just agree. Something he had learned when he got onto a double deal with the older salesman. There was always something that told him that he would lose, and he decided to just go with the flow.

  “Great. Breakfast is served around nine every day and we have a full heated pool on the bottom level, always open and if you should find yourself unable to sleep just come knocking and I’m sure I can lure you to sleep with a few tales.”

  “A pool?” Johnny asked.

  When he was younger, his grandfather had told him that below the old basketball court there was a pool lining. All on hydraulic gears. He had figured it was just one of his grandfather’s fibs to trick him.

  “Like a tour?”

  “That would be great.”

  Gabriel shut the book and slid it back to his side of the counter. Which made Johnny eye the book, covered in a leather binding and had a rose engraved. He turned and followed Gabriel as they descended to the lower level. The steps were covered with a rug that had been fastened to mimic each step.

  He stepped onto the landing that overlooked what had once been the basketball court, the walls had been stripped back and replaced with railing and he could see the pool below. He leaned against the rail as he looked down into the bottom of the old school. He remembered being told to stay out of the school because the basement flooded after a hard rain or a harsh winter, but any damage that had been done was replaced with black marble tiles, lounge chairs and even what appeared to be an unmanned minibar.

  “Took nearly a year alone to tear apart the warped floors on the bottom level. I was glad to see that the pool’s foundation had survived after all the years.” Gabriel said, leaning against the railing beside Johnny.

  “Mr. Craver. This must have cost a fortune, wouldn’t have been easier to just bulldoze the whole place and start over?”

  “Might be true, but sometimes you can feel a building breath and this building was still breathing amid the ruin and mold covered walls. It spoke to me deeply; it drew me in the moment I saw it from the highway. Like a lass that batted her eyes at you just right.”

  Johnny stared at Gabriel as he spoke, the words flowing out of him in the most honest fashion that Johnny had not experienced since he left home. Though he still thought it would have been easier to replace the old school, he admitted that the building had frightened Johnny growing up, but now it felt like a second coat in cold winter keeping him warm.

  “Comparing a building to a woman might have been a bit of stretch. One too many nights spent alone after all these years. Call me Gabriel, no reason to be so formal.”

  “John. Well most call me Johnny.”

  “To the left is my room and behind us is the kitchen. Neither too special nor grand in the theme of the tour.”

  Johnny turned and followed Gabriel back up towards the second floor. The hallways of the second floor had been covered in plush carpet and the walls painted a light tan to match the rest of the building, with random paintings hanging on the walls. Some Johnny recognized as copies of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Stopping he stared at the painting, it seemed to draw his eyes with its dark and yet vibrant color scheme.

  “Wonderful replica. Bought it off an art dealer in New York back in the early eighties. Shifty man, could sell you the Statue of Liberty if you didn’t know any better.”

  “It’s captivating for a replica.” Johnny mumbled. He had always been drawn to painting, it had been an escape for him when he was younger, but with age reality took hold and he chalked it up to a childish dream. Pulling himself away from the painting and continued to follow Gabriel.

  The second floor was completely enclosed with seven full furnished bedrooms that Gabriel showed to Johnny. Each one themed in some manner, one painted light blue with sea décor, another seemed deeply western themed, each beautiful and unique.