Keeper's Knowledge (Balancer's Soul cycle) (7 page)

The
first stop was
to
visit
Deputy Burrow’s. He is a
gentle
black man who is almost always wearing a
pleasant
smile. He is in his late forty’s to earl
y fifties. He is shorter than Sarah’s
mate and has a slender build. He has a beautiful wife and three
adult
children along with a new grandchild. Sarah
first met him when one of
her
colleagues held
her
in a chokehold during Connor’s graduation. His name was Mr. V. a science teacher who loathed
her
husband as much as Mathew did. Deputy Burrow put the teacher away for several more years.
And w
hen Maggie went missing, both Connor and the deputy put an end to Mathew
existence
.

The deputy wasn’t too happy with
the news of them
leaving town for several months, but was glad that
they
had something good happen within
their
lives. He said “Have a safe trip and come home in one piece.”

The next stop was for Mark.
They
stopped at his local diner he built when he first arrived
here in Minnesota
. He went inside
alone
to talk to his manager Gerry. Gerry has a strong southern accent and is a very husky gentleman.
But a
nytime Mark would invite her and Connor
over
to eat
, Gerry was always
very
polite
, especially after finding out they had a hearty appetite as great as his own
.

While Mark
made plans
in his diner, Connor called all of his usual patrons and told them that he wasn’t going to be in town for awhile and he would call them back when
he returned. Sarah then asked to use his phone. She
called
the principal
at
the school and told him about her
leave
of absence. He said that since she was so good at the job that he wouldn’t fire her
from such a long leave.

Little did he know, she’s lived longer that the history book she taught from.

The
next destination was
to
David and Rhoda’s ranch. They are the grandpa
rents of Connor and Kara. When Sarah
ever
sp
o
k
e
to them
directly,
they onl
y allow
her
to call them either
Granddaddy or Grandma.
It’s so humiliating being older than the both of them put together
yet talk to them as her elders
.
As Connor pulled into the
ir
drivew
ay and turned off the ignition they
all
walked up on the front porch. Sarah
glanced over
her
shoulder and
saw David’s red pickup truck. It was half the size of Connor’s green monstrosity.

Off to the back
stood
two
separate
barns. One red barn is specifically for the cattle that they raise for the slaughter. The other barn has a
tense
history. It too is red, except for the
black
sooty residue left from the
metal
forge that is situated inside. It was that specific barn that gave Connor th
e
mark
that’s
seared into his stern
um. It was also where he made her
anklet and his armlet.

The
May’s
house is two stories tall and the outside walls are painted a faded yellow. Rhoda always had a wide var
iety of flowers that she grew. Sarah
knew that
Rhoda
put most of her flowers into the barn to give them some protection from the snow, but the ones that lined her home were all covered in
the
deep
white fluff
.

Kara knocked and Rhoda opened the door wearing a wide grin. “Come inside where it’s warm, kids.” I
t was impossible not to
criticize her unique
style
as
they
followed her inside. Her hair is grey and kept into a tight perm
, but it’s what she wore that set her apart
.
A
black and white checkered top
and lime green spandex pants
covered her body
. Sarah could only smile i
nwardly
at such choices
.

When they
entered their blue room David
was comfortably
sitting on the couch
,
watching football. He turned his eyes in
their direction and said “Good m
orning
,
kids.” He was wearing a red and black striped shirt and blue denim jeans.
He
is a well built and handsome man for his age,
always
clean shave
n
and his wavy grey hair was combed back and held down with gel.
He stood up and asked “
Are you here to inform us about your trip?”

B
oth Connor and Kara looked at each other and simultaneously said in an obvious manner “Mom.”

Rhoda walked over to stand with her husband. She said “You guessed it. She called a little over an hour ago and told us about the trip to South America.”

Sarah
said “Grandma, that was supposed to be a surprise.”
She
sighed and feigned disappointment. “Do you have anything
else
you want to know
about our journey to the warmer side of the world
?”

Rhoda smiled s
oftly and
Sarah
could see all of the
laugh lines that she’s earned throughout her years
hadn’t once hindered her mischievous eyes and quick wit
. “No, but I would like a little trinket from your journey.”

Mark smiled and asked “From each of us or just one person?”

“We would like something small from each of you.” David chuckled loudly.

The six of
them
sat down in the room and had a nice discussion
for the next hour.
M
ost of
the
time
was spent on
talking about what
they’ve been up to since they
last saw them.
Rhoda
is
always a carefree
, witty
woman and David was wily for his age
, a perfect match
.

After
the four immortals
left
their company
they
had o
ne final destination of the day;
The
Outdoorsman S
upply Store.

The first thing
Sarah retrieved
there
was
new waterproof hiking boot
s that
allow
ed
your feet to
breathe
while keeping snow at bay
.
Connor
also threw in wool socks to keep
their
feet warm.
She
tried on ten pairs of hiking jeans that had six
deep
pockets
; two on the thigh
s
, two on the hips and
also in the
rear.
She
selected three pair
of the black ones. Connor had her
try on certain jackets that were a little roomy in the sleeves, but he put them in the push cart
anyway
. He also tried on some clothes and
did as she
did.
He grabbed
four
space blankets and thirty packets of freeze dried
and dehydrated
food. The last thing Connor said
they
needed were full body clo
aks to break the wind during their
travels.
S
ix
were obtained
. Connor grabbed two that could fit his height, three
of the same make
for
the
girls because
their
stature is all about the same and
Mark bought one for his height
.
Connor
was right about it getting cold during a
long
journey in the winter
especially
with
how they
planned to
travel
.

After
the items were
paid for
they
we went
straight
home. Kara and Mark too
k
their things out of the truck and went
back
to their
apartment
. Connor and Sarah
both carried all of
their new
items back to
the
cottage
to finish preparations
.
She
noticed that
her m
other’s red car was
gone and knew that
her
parents were setting up their
obligations to see them done while absent for an extended time
.

Connor unlocked the front door to
the Cottage and allowed her
to enter first.
Sarah
dropped the bags on the dining room table and walked over to the fireplace and added some wood to the
smoldering
coals.
She dropped to her knees and opened her
fingers to the mouth of the fireplace.
As she
started
trying to warm
her
hands up
,
Connor went
back
into his workshop without a word
, but he was smiling oddly
.
Something was up.

C
linging
sounds
of metal hitting metal
began emanating
from his
private
room
. When the logs
finally
caught flame
and took the tingling from her digits
, Connor came into the living room with a
large
box with a green ribbon
tying the box closed. The cardboard box wasn’t covered with wrapping paper, but it still had an air of beauty
and intrigue
to it.
Trickery
about the present thrilled her. Sarah
stood up
feeling
finally warmed
when he said “I’ve been thinking a lot about us and I made this.”

Sarah
took the gift from his hands as he held it out
in offering
.
The box
is
much
heavier than
first
expected.
She
grabbed the drawst
ring of the ribbon and pulled. She
sat the ribbon string on the coffee table and lifted the lid of the box.

Then she
peeked inside for the gift
to see what lay inside
.

Protection and
Vulnerable

As Sarah pulled the ribbon of
f
the present
and
her smile
was worth all the work
, time and energy spent on the materials
and manipulation
. She lifted the box slowly
,
savor
ing
the moment. When she held the bottom of the box with her right hand and finished opening the lid with her right, she gasped
in honest surprise
. She then smiled as she looked up at
him, excitement is evident in her deep
, mossy
green eyes. Without a word
,
she walked past
Connor
and sat her present on the dining table
,
after pushing some of
the
newly
acquired
items off to the side.