Chapter Twenty-Two

Chloe

 

 

 

I looked out of the window on the way to the Dearing estate and thought about how we could check out the waterfall for a portal. I didn’t think there was one. It didn’t make any sense to me. I thought Esteban had happened upon a spell and got here only to be crushed by a bus. Magic or not they don’t have buses in his world. I turned to Oliver.

“Oliver what do you really think about testing out the waterfall? I feel that it will be a waste of time”.

He smiled as he glanced at me. “You could be right. I don’t feel there’s a portal open to anywhere, but who knows about from somewhere to here Chloe?”

I ran my hand along his arm and up his shoulder for comfort. He grinned as we arrived at my place and parked behind my Wrangler.

Tristan’s truck was outside the drive in the lane.

Oliver and I went into the house and found mom talking with Tristan and Dale.

She gave me a curious look and went off to her study where just about all her technical equipment is boxed up now. I followed her just to find out what the look was about.

“So mom did Tristan and Dale say anything interesting?” I asked her, and she grinned.

“You know very well what they said Chloe. It seems Dale and Tristan are no longer together. I’m guessing that has something to do with you and Oliver slowing down on the engagement, but I’ve realized Chloe that you’re an adult now. Thinking that you and Oliver were getting engaged has made me see that. I’m okay with it and as you said it’s not much of a flight to the States. Now go back to your friends. I recognize plotting when I see it although I can’t imagine what it’s about this time”.

I hugged her because she’s pretty cool sometimes.

When I got to the kitchen Tristan was naturally making coffee. Search me how he drinks so much of the stuff. Dale was on her cell phone to Bartholomew and Oliver was swinging on his chair at the kitchen table. He looked up when I walked into the room and smiled.

“Everything okay with your mom Chloe?” he asked me.

I moved close to him nodded, and gave him a thought. ‘I do love you Oliver’

He seemed shocked for a second and then smiled again.

It had been a little time since any of us had shared thoughts. It just wasn’t something you fell into naturally not when you had been talking aloud to people all your life.

He brushed my hand with his as I passed and then we all started planning what to do about the waterfall.

Bartholomew was going to join us. It seemed the best thing to do was visit at random times, climb in, and toss things around the place. Innocuous things like pebbles and apples, the latter at least could rot down and fertilize the ground.

I sat in between Oliver and Tristan and we decided to check it three times that night. We would go over to the stable apartment in between times and dry off. Dale laughed at that and said Bartholomew could dry us with a spell if we asked in advance.

Even so we decided to make the stable apartment our base from which we would trail over to the waterfall and back after the tests. Dale called Eddie and stood by the door telling him what was happening. I heard her say to him that she would see him later and Bartholomew would drop her later. I looked at Tristan as she said this just to see if there was any kind of reaction because it was obvious to all she and Eddie would be together for the night. Tristan didn’t bat an eyelid. He knew I had looked at him questioningly and to my surprise sent me a thought. ‘Chloe, I have no feelings for Dale other than friendship’

Now that was bizarre. ‘We three’ really must be back on.

Oliver drove us all over to the stable apartment and we piled in there in high spirits.

About ten minutes later Bartholomew and Gaston arrived and we gathered an orange, a couple of apples, and some pebbles. Oliver had his flashlight from the Land Rover.

We walked over to the waterfall en masse. It seemed such a familiar secretive trek and a smile kept coming to my lips.

Dale talked about her kingdom and Bartholomew told her that he regretted he couldn’t go back with her if there was a portal.

She seemed to know already and that her mother wouldn’t go either.

I looked first at Oliver and then at Tristan when she announced this and they shrugged.

At the waterfall we all looked at each other for a few seconds and then Gaston grinned.

“Come on then I’ll lead the way, but have a care inside because if one of us suddenly disappears I’m not following”. Everyone laughed at that but it was a consideration.