The old hall barely contained them. Loud music shook the walls and echoed down the desolate, small-town street. Guitars twanged above the thumping bass; a reckless trumpet wailed, the lead singer gyrated and mugged at the girls. It was past one o’clock and the River Rats, a local group, were working very hard to keep everyone’s attention.
Chip danced with tall, elegant Sabrina, who shook her blond hair loose, smiled at him, closed her eyes in ecstasy, and moved. He hardly noticed what she was wearing, except for her teasing neck strap and glittering metal hardware. In barely a couple of weeks they had been through everything together — or almost everything — and now he felt close, as if he had always known her, yet fearful too, unable to believe that their dance through life could go on with this same cool excitement.
During a break from the music, he cuddled with her in the darkness near one of the side entrances, and they talked about what they both might be doing in the few remaining weeks of the summer. She told him she would stay on Tilmun Island, take care of the house, deal with relatives, see to her grandfather’s affairs, and make sure things went well for May.
They talked about travelling somewhere together, of joining forces in Europe next year. They talked of Sabrina visiting Chip in Ottawa. Life seemed full of wonderful possibilities.
After a while, Chip wandered back inside, enjoying the uproar. He cruised past the stage, feeling free, and took in the whole scene: the big hall, the lights, the gyrating bodies, the flushed young faces. Lee was teasing some local boy, spinning him round like a convenient top; May was dazzling a few Queen’s undergrads, who couldn’t quite figure out how to take her.
Later, when the girls broke away from the guys and started hanging out together, Chip went to look for a cold beer. He didn’t have to worry about driving; his parents would be along soon to pick them up.
He walked for a block or two down the dark street; it was lined with parked cars all the way to the lake. Most of them belonged to the dancers, and were empty; a few contained dark shapes, frantically clutching, or chugging alcohol. He heard crazy laughter and tried to ignore the raw smell of vomit. It would be nice to get away from this and get a whiff of the lake breeze, he thought, but he didn’t want to lose touch with Sabrina. And ever since finding the body of Garth Laberge, he’d had some bad thoughts whenever he came close to the water. The police said the man had run into a birch tree that the storm had toppled into the channel. His neck had caught in a forked branch and he choked to death, or drowned. Then he floated over to Tilmun Island with the debris.
Chip shuddered, thinking how Lawson had given something to the lake, that evil little statue, and the lake had given something back, the body of that evil little man. Blackwood Lake was pure and beautiful, or still almost so, despite the cottages, but it was also the source of a terror he was afraid might haunt him for a very long time. Already, in his dreams, he’d seen that figure — those open, dead eyes, that white face framed by the tree branches.
So he was ready to turn back when, at the intersection, among the anonymous cars and pickups, he spotted a familiar vehicle: the oversized black pickup, with Rachel Stone sitting rigid in the front seat.
He knew that she was waiting for Sabrina, ready to drive her back to the island. After Dr. Gwynn’s sudden death, some married cousins had flown in and offered to stay on Tilmun Island with the girl. Otherwise she would have been alone with grim Rachel Stone, who had found reasons to hate her.
After the fire and Cal’s disappearance, after Rachel’s outburst in Bascombe’s store, Sabrina had done her best to comfort the desolate woman. She had even promised her some money to help rebuild the ruined cottage. She had tried to get the police to treat it as an accidental fire, but Rachel insisted on boasting that her nephew had burned the place down, and she was proud of him for doing it. So the police had gone on looking for Cal, but without success. Maybe in time, Sabrina said, Rachel would soften, and forgive, and accept her help. Maybe…
Chip circled back toward the glaring light of the entrance, back toward the music and the laughter. He was about to enter, to join the throng, to look for Sabrina, when a familiar figure stepped out of the alleyway just beside him.
“Well, I did find you! I called your parents earlier, and they said you’d be here.”
“Hey, Lawson. What are you doing here at this hour?”
“I know, it’s way past my bedtime. I thought I might catch you, but I didn’t want to enter the inferno.” He waved at the hot lights at the entrance.
“It’s great to see you, Lawson. I wish we could talk. You disappeared so quickly after the funeral.”
“Yeah, I had a job interview in Toronto at a time I couldn’t change. I had to drive like a bat out of hell to get back there. But it’s all set now. I’m off to New Mexico tomorrow. I just picked up all my stuff.”
“Wow, that’s terrific! Can I still come down and see you? We’re leaving here tomorrow.”
“Absolutely. We’ll set a date by email. I’ll introduce you to the wonders of anthropology. How’s Sabrina Gwynn doing?”
“She’s fine. She’s amazing. Of course, she misses her grandfather.”
“I miss the old curmudgeon, too. But Chip, what do you think, did he find some peace before he died? Was he happy? Did the spectres and ghosts go away?
Chip thought about these difficult questions, but he had no easy answers. When he shifted his feet and hesitated, unable to reply, Lawson smiled a gentle smile, and continued.
“That’s all right, kid. How can any of us know? He was a powerful man, a cultivated man, but also — in so many ways — a relic. He belonged just as much to the past as any of his artefacts. He went out to the Near East and supervised those digs and hauled the stuff back here like plunder. No one would even think of doing that now. It’s — it’s a kind of grave robbery. And maybe he paid for it. Maybe that’s what he paid for most of all.”
“When I sat there with him,” Chip said, “I sometimes thought of an old eagle. He had a cold eagle eye, though he sure tried hard to be friendly, to me at least. I think he was surprised by my piano playing. And I guess I felt sorry for him. He knew he was lacking something, and I told you what he wrote in his diary. I hope he found that at the end. ”
“Yeah, something about love. That’s the missing link for a lot of people. And you know something? It’s better not to wait. The secret is to follow your dreams.”
Chip looked up and saw his father’s SUV turning the near corner and cruising slowly down the street. “But Lawson, I just have to ask. What do you — a scientist — make of all that’s happened? You don’t really believe in the supernatural, do you?”
Lawson laughed. “Hey, I see your father’s fancy wagon arriving over there. I’ll just go and say goodbye to him.”
Chip looked over his shoulder and saw Sabrina come out of the dance hall. She waved and moved eagerly toward them, followed by Lee and May.
“Come on, Lawson. You’re ducking the question.”
“No, I’m not. I’ll tell you this, though: maybe you should sit down and read The Tempest yourself. It’s not just about getting even, you know, or about an old man signing off on life. It’s about vision, and what you can do with it.” Lawson gave Chip a meaningful look, then continued. “And the next play your father reads should be Hamlet. Then the two of you can discuss the reality issue all over again. And, hey, I’m sure the answers you guys come up with will be as good as anyone’s. There’s a quotation in there to remember, too. A much-too-quoted quotation, but still pretty useful. You know that one I mean, don’t you, kid?”
“‘There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio.’” They spoke the words together, then burst out laughing.
Chip nodded, and thought he understood.
John and Anne Mallory came over from the SUV and greeted Lawson. The three girls arrived, talking about the fun they’d had at the dance. Sabrina went to tell Rachel she’d decided to stay that night on Freya’s Island. There were hugs and goodbyes, and everyone prepared to leave.
Chip climbed into their car behind Lee and May. Sabrina slipped into the back seat beside him and they snuggled together in the near darkness.
The car headed out along the lake road. Chip closed his eyes, and did as Lawson had suggested: he began to dream.