Echo of a Bird's Cry

THE HERO ANGEL NOVEMBER 24

David and I sit on a boat. We're on the lake, fishing wild trout. It's seventy-five degrees today despite it being late November. The southern weather is to blame. It feels like July all year-round.

Clearwater Lake is massive. The calm blue water stretches as far as the eye can see. Mountains and lush green valleys surround us. The sun gleams on the surface of the water, creating a rippling shimmer trail of light against the lake. I breathe in the fresh lake water and toss my line back in.

David reaches in the cooler and takes out a beer. He twists the cap off the bottle, taking a long drag. He sets his beer down and shades his eyes with his hand as he glances at the cloudless sunny sky before pulling his bucket hat down.

"I've never fished before," I say.

"It's a patient sport," David says. "It's meant to be enjoyable though. All you have to do is laze around in the sun until something bites."

"I'm sorry for involving myself with Mary. But if I was in Abel's shoes, I would've wanted someone to bring my mother to me no matter how painful it was."

"It's okay, Angel. I'm not angry with you." He pats my shoulder. "You did the right thing."

"Is it strange seeing your wife again?"

He sighs. "Not really. It's stranger that she fits perfectly into our lives. I love my son more than life itself. It hurt me to keep those letters from him. He thought his mother hated him. She loves him. And he never knew that. I made a bigger mess of things." He picks up his beer, draining it. "Who knows? They probably would've been together if I showed him the letters in the beginning. I might have been the one keeping them apart."

I shake my head. "That's just as bad as the thoughts I have. Like maybe if I caught on to Easton beating the women I cherish, I could have intervened and stopped him. He would've never hit them again. I would've stopped the abuse and maybe the women in my life would be happier." I stare at the sunshine bouncing against the gleaming water. "But we can't blame ourselves. We can't go back in time and be heroes. That chance has come and went. We have to be heroes today."

David smiles. "You're wise for your age."

Something snags at my line and David coaches me on how to reel it in. A large trout hangs from my line, pierced on my hook.

David claps my back and reaches for the camera around his neck. "Good job. Now smile big for me." I lift the fish up like a trophy, grinning widely. He takes my picture. "You caught one. You're going to be a pro in no time."

I toss the fish in an empty cooler and dig out a squirming worm from the bucket, placing the bait on the hook. "Thanks for teaching me how to fish."

"We all know how the saying goes, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' I enjoyed this. We need to do this more often."

***

Eden wants to go out tonight and explore the town. We grab hot chocolates from a café and stroll through the square. The sidewalks and streets are teeming with life. People of all shades and walks of life amble by. Some holding hands. Some cheering and drinking. Some utterly lost in the beauty of Ravenwood. We pass restaurants, squat boutiques, and historic brick buildings. Everything is webbed in Christmas lights and glows like the North Star. This small town seems like a little piece of heaven. We have the best of both worlds here. Ravenwood has warm days where you can wear shorts and go fishing and cool nights where you can grab a jacket and drink hot cocoa. This town is definitely special.

We pass the flower stand and I buy her a bouquet of white lilies.

She brings the fragrant flowers to her nose, inhaling deep. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Are you still angry with me?"

I stare into her big brown eyes, drowning in their depths. "I'm here with you. That alone speaks for itself."

Her dark brows furrow. "My appointment is tomorrow. I'm going to the psychologist. Can you come with me?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry again for lying about the miscarriage."

"It's okay. But I don't like to be lied to. We deserve better. We both deserve honesty form each other."

Her mouth tightens and she looks away. We sit on a wooden bench under the open sky and stargaze.

"Are you staying in Ravenwood?" Eden asks.

"You are where I want to be, Eden."

She nods, flicking her nails against each other. "Do you want to get married?"

"We both know the answer to that."

"Do you want children with me?"

"Yes," I say. "I think we should wait."

Eden tilts her head to the side, staring at me. "Why?"

"We both need to be more secure in our relationship with each other."

"We've know each other for most of our lives," she says as if offended. "How more secure do we need to be?"

I reach out and play with a black curl close to her face, wrapping the soft coil of hair around my finger. "He loves you too."

"Who?"

"John," I say. "He told me he loves you when we met at the bar. In fact, his exact words were, 'I love this woman even though she's batshit crazy.'"

She tosses her head back and laughs hard enough tears leak from her eyes. "That's funny. I swear I'm only crazy when it comes to my family and the people I love."

I stare at her smiling face. "Would you be with John if you could?"

She laughs again, shaking her head. "God, no. We don't belong together because we're not right for each other. I'll always have love for him because of our past but I'm not in love with him." She leans in and stares at me with dark starless eyes. My heart jumps like a rabbit's foot. She grins and kisses me, her soft lips trailing against the skin of my neck. "You're the only one I want." She kisses me again. Another kiss to my jaw. "You're the only one I want a future with." A kiss to the corner of my mouth. "You're the only one for me, Angel." With each press of her warm lips, I become more intoxicated. She drugs me with kisses. Her fingers are in my hair and my hands are on her waist, pulling her closer. We're like lovesick teenagers that can't keep our hands off each other. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for this woman.

We break apart and she stares behind me. Her gaze is fixated at a point beyond my shoulder. Her entire expression changes. She frowns.

I stroke her cheek with my thumb. "What's wrong, brown eyes?"

"Ashely is here," she whispers. "She's watching us."

I glance behind me, finding no Ashely. There's an elderly couple watching a group of kids feed doves. There's no Ashely in sight.

"Did you see her?" Eden asks. "She was right behind you."

I shake my head and a painful hollow grows in the pit of my stomach. The woman I love is losing touch with reality.