Three Converts

Part 34

Gradual light woke me up in the loveliest way. I was so comfortable, having the happiest dreams, then THUNK. I jolted up. Griffin peered up from the floor.

"Did you just fall off the bed?"

He rubbed his head. "That's embarrassing."

I giggled, thankful he'd been close enough to the edge to fall off. "You okay?"

"Yeah. That bed is magic. I've never slept so good. Let's never leave."

I pushed the covers off. "Things to do, places to go."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can we eat at least?"

"We can definitely eat."

We were nervous to exit the safety of the room, but Rocco's parents were nowhere to be seen, and Misty was bustling around the kitchen. "Breakfast is served!" she announced, setting two plates on the table and motioning for Griffin and I to sit. "Rocco already left for work and I have to leave in..." she looked at the clock on the wall, "ten minutes ago. What are your plans for the day?"

It pained me to say it, but we really did have to move on. "We have to get going, Misty. I'm hoping Franklin and the council have given up looking for me, but if they haven't..." I cringed.

Misty finished my thought. "The farther away you are, the better."

"Exactly. I wish we could stay though."

"Me too!" Griffin mumbled, his mouth full of bacon and French toast. "This is amazing!"

Misty smiled at him, then swung her grin to me. "I like this," she said, her finger oscillating between Griffin and I. "I approve."

I raised my eyebrow at her. Griffin nudged me, "What did I tell you? We're good together." I ignored them both and took a giant bite of my breakfast.

"Okay, okay!" Misty laughed. "Don't be a stranger, though okay? Send word when you make it to Sandston Valley." We simultaneously teared up. I stood to hug her. In her heels she was five inches taller than me. "I don't know how you wait tables in those things," I whispered to her.

"I love you so much," she sniffled back. And in true Misty fashion, she was gone before I knew what hit me.

**

Griffin and I took care of our dishes, gathered our few belongings and wistfully said goodbye to the luxury of our bathroom and the squishy hospitality of our bed. "You were so good to me. I'll miss you when I'm laying on the ground with a rock between my spine and my spleen."

"Your spleen?"

Griffin shrugged. "I never took anatomy. Let's go before I jump back in this bed for a nap."

I grabbed the bag before he could claim it again. "Fair is fair. It's my turn today," I insisted before he could argue. Griffin relented and stuck his head out to check for Rocco's parents, then shooed me out.

Back on the sidewalk we wondered at the oddness of the situation. "You think Rocco's parents really live there? Did Misty say if she'd ever actually seen them?"

I adjusted our bag in lieu of an answer and began walking toward the next mountain peak. Just on the other side was Sandston Valley. Surely then we'd be far enough away from Franklin and the council. The very thought put a smile on my face. Sandston Valley would be my new home. I turned my smile to Griffin. Our new home, I found myself thinking. I tucked the thought back into the nervous, shadowy corner of my heart and walked a little faster.

"Stop! Stop!!" Later I would regret turning around, but in that moment I didn't know what detriment would come from that small swivel backward. A tall woman in a long, sloppily tied robe ran for what I suspected was the first time in her life, from the awkward waddle she put into her cantor. "Stop!" She paused several yards away from us, hands on her knees panting. I turned away. The robe revealed more than I assume she wanted it to. She held a finger up and we waited politely. Then, "I'm... Rocco's... mom," she managed. Finally, she stood to her full height. Rocco did not fall far from the tree. He looked exactly like her: tall and clunky.

She thrust a hand at me and I took it, unsure if we were shaking hands or I was supporting her. I opted to shake it. Griffin did the same. "Please, join us for breakfast?"

"Oh! Um, Misty actually already fed us, but thank you so much." A breeze floated by, whipping the woman's fat curly hair into more of a frenzy than it already was.

"Tea, then? Coffee? I insist!"

"That is very kind, but we really should be on our way. We have a long day ahead of us," Griffin tried.

The woman looked desperate. I thought I saw a recognizable wildness in her face. It didn't make me empathize, but when I remembered the cozy bed we'd helped ourselves to, I did feel guilty. I looked to Griffin, but he was as unsure as I. He looked toward the mountain, then back at Rocco's mom.

"You know. You remind me so much of my late brother," she said. What could he say after that? Later, when things were horrible, he'd apologize a million times to me, but he didn't know any better. And I loved him for agreeing to go back with her. There is nothing else to be done when somebody brings up their deceased brother.

"I guess we could meet your husband. Thank you both for your hospitality."

She clapped. "Fantastic! Super. Come along." And she left us to follow her.

Back in the kitchen we'd just left, her husband was waiting for us at the table. She ordered us to sit while she put a kettle on the stovetop. Griffin and I stood in the doorway until her husband said, "You may as well sit." So we did. As adamant as they were to have us join them, the couple didn't seem very interested in chit-chat. Griffin tried a couple questions, and was met with grunts and one-word answers. I thanked them for letting us stay at their house last night, but Rocoo's dad (they never offered their names) just stared at me with severe eyes.

I cleared my throat. "I just love Misty. You really got lucky getting her in your family." That earned a small smile from Rocco's mom. Even Rocco's dad softened a hair at the mention of Misty.

"We love Misty too. She brought life back into this house." The tea was in front of us now. It was bitter and after my first sip didn't know how I could politely finish it. My mouth twisted unnaturally despite my best effort at a smile.

"When we were little Misty decided the sheep should be multi-colored, so she did all these experiments to dye them. She finally had some luck with bloodroot. The sheep never looked so bright!"

"When you were little?" Rocco's parents exchanged a look.

It occurred to me, maybe Misty hadn't told her in-laws about her childhood. "Well, Misty and I grew up in the same area. It was fun to see her again. Good tea!" I tried to change the subject.

"What do you mean, you grew up in the same area? Didn't you grow up in the commune?" I was surprised they knew this. Rocco must have filled them in at some point. That made sense. They'd of course want to know who was staying at their house.

"Um, we should probably get going." Griffin was standing up. "Thank you for everything."

"Wait, what do you mean you grew up in the same area?" The wild desperation was back in the woman's face. Before I could answer, a door slammed hard enough to put ripples in my tea.

"Lucy?! Lucy? Ohmygosh, you have to get out ofhere." The neat, trendy Misty that left this morning was gone and in her placewas a completely disheveled Misty who was shaking me until my brain rattled.She put the bag around my neck. "Go. The council is here. They're looking foryou. You have to go!" I was frozen in place, but Griffin didn't waste anytime.He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the house. I heard Misty yelling at Rocco'sparents, "What did you do?" As we flew out the door, the woman was sobbing, "Wedidn't know! We didn't know!" I turned in the doorway for one last glance at myfriend and when I turned back the council was standing on the sidewalk.