Big Yellow Taxi
Chapter 11
Reflection time. The old man with the long scruffy looking beard that stood up and addressed the small crowd called what they were doing quiet reflection time. Daryl wasn't sure what that meant but he was smart enough to know he ought to keep his mouth shut and follow along with what everyone else was doing to avoid making an ass out of himself.
He and Rowan were sitting on a small section of a low brick wall. Parts of it had crumbled away but there were a few sections left standing that were being occupied as seating around the outside of the loosely formed gathering. Daryl glanced around. Some people had their heads bowed like they were praying while others were staring up into the evening sky. Rowan was doing the latter. Her head was tilted slightly back and she was staring up at the full moon that was not visible in the evening sky. Her body was relaxed and her breathing had slowed down. The expression on her face held the look of someone that was totally at peace with the world. Daryl felt calmer just looking at her.
Since he was fairly sure he wasn't supposed to be using his quiet reflection time to stare at the woman next to him, Daryl followed her example and looked up at the sky. He had always enjoyed being outdoors, so staring up at the sky as a way to relax didn't feel like such a bad idea. The moon was full and larger than it usually appeared. It wasn't as orange as it sometimes got around this time of the year but there was a faint ring of light around it. Daryl wondered if the ring meant anything and he guessed it probably did. There was a lot of hunting lore that revolved around the moon and what cycles of it were good for hunting different types of animals. Daryl had never paid any of it much attention before and now he sort of wished he had. It made the corners of his mouth turn up to think that he was sitting with a woman that not only might know what the light reflecting around the moon meant, but that wouldn't think he was crazy stupid for asking about it.
There was a ring around the harvest moon. Rowan knew to some people a ring around the moon was a good omen. Others believed it was a sign of troubles or hardships to come. Her mother said a ring around the moon simply meant it was going to rain soon and that they ought to bring the hammocks inside. But to Rowan a ring around the moon always brought to mind a quote from one of her very favorite books. But still sometimes, when the wind is warm or the crickets sing... I dream of a love that even time will lie down and be still for. Rowan read that worn out old paperback until it fell apart and Aaron had taped the binding back together for her with duct tape and then she and Ayla had read it aloud to each other until even the duct tape wore off. Rowan read and she read and she waited for someone to love her like the woman in the book.
A loud crackle broke the silence. The fire had been lit inside the large fire pit and now it was licking upwards, devoring the teepee of logs that were centered neatly over it. The ceremonial bonfire wouldn't remain as big as it was currently, but Rowan's people would take turns keeping the fire going all week as long as they didn't have any heavy rain. During the day it would burn down to no more than a tiny smodering ember. Then at night they would build the fire back up to encourage people to gather around it. Different activites would take place on different nights, ranging from story telling to singing to guided meditation or even some more romantic gatherings. These happenings would vary depending on who showed up and what sort of entertaiment they were in the mood for. But on the first night of the festival there was always dancing.
"One finger or two?," Aaron asked, a teasing tone to his voice. Daryl had been watching the people that were building the fire up to an impressive size. He hadn't even noticed the man coming towards them until he was already speaking to Rowan. She giggled at the intentional double entendre of her friend's words. Rowan cast a sideways glance at Daryl before she held up two of her slender tattooed fingers and wiggled them in the air.
Aaron had a large clear wine bottle in his hands that was almost all the way full of bright green liquid. The color of it was sickening and the odor that wafted out as the man poured two fingers worth out into a small mason jar for Rowan was even worse. It smelled like the nasty black colored jelly beans that Daryl picked out of the bag and threw away in the trash. Daryl wrinkled up his nose as he watched Rowan tilt the small jelly jar back and swallow the liquid inside. She didn't flinch or even make a face, leaving Daryl to assume that this was not her first time drinking this particular mixture.
Aaron looked at him questioningly as he took the empty jelly jar back from Rowan. Thankfully he did not ask the finger question again, but he did gesture towards the bottle and raise his eyebrows. Daryl cast a sideways glance at Rowan, hoping to get some sort of indication from her on what she thought he should do. She giggled and shrugged her shoulders.
"What is it?," Daryl asked. The color of the liquid wasn't inviting and the smell was even worse. He had never seen or smelled anything quite like it and being that he was Merle's brother, he had done more than his fair share of drugs.
"It's fairy magic," Rowan teased, making Aaron laugh along with her. Her face turned serious and she made another suggestion as she nodded towards Daryl. "Maybe you better only give him half a finger." Daryl snorted out a grunt of indignation, appalled at the suggestion that he was some sort of a lightweight. He had to weigh at least double what the woman beside him weighed and he bet he could hold his liquor better too.
"I'll have what she had," Daryl anounced with more conviction than he felt. He watched Rowan out of the corner of his eye to gauge her reaction. She simply shrugged her shoulders and continued smiling at him. Daryl was a little hesitant to consume the liquid, but since Rowan had drunk some he figured he would be a real boring date if he didn't have at least a little. He didn't know her well yet, but he felt her knew her well enough to know she wouldn't allow him to drink anything that was going to hurt him or make him sick.
Aaron carefully poured two servings of the bright green liquid out into the small jar and handed it to Daryl. Daryl gave the contents of the jar a suspicious sniff, wincing at the sickly sour odor. It was strong alcohol, probably homemade moonshine. But he had never seen any that was colored or flavored in quite the same way before. Since the smell was bad, he figured the taste was going to be even worse. Daryl followed Rowan's example and tossed the stuff down his throat, swallowing it as quickly as possible. He tried to control his facial features, but he couldn't help but scowl at the taste that lingered in his mouth.
"Blessed be," Aaron told him, his voice teasing again as he winked at Rowan. The people on the next section of brick wall were waving the man over, wanting some of what he had in his bottle. He offered Rowan up one more handsome smile before heading off in their direction.
Rowan sprung to her feet like a cat. She reached her arms above her head, stretching out her shoulders. Her top lifted up with her movements, giving Daryl a glimpse of the soft white skin on the underside of her breasts. It was the only part of her he had seen yet that wasn't coated in the same pale amber colored freckles. The sight of her alabaster skin caused a deep pull in the pit of his stomach and he allowed his mind to wander, thinking about what other parts of her might also be that white and silky looking. Rowan stretched her shoulders once more, her movements slower and more deliberate. Daryl could have sworn she was doing it on purpose this time, fully aware of the effect she was having on him. Her arms lowered and she spun around, her hair and the fringe on her shall flying out around her.
"Let's go drum," she suggested, leaning forward to grasp Daryl by the hands with both of hers. He hesitated a moment before letting her pull him to his feet. He wasn't sure if he wanted to drum, but in the same breath he was eternally grateful that Rowan hadn't asked him to dance with her. He couldn't dance and actively avoided any social situation that would require him to make a complete jerk of himself.
Rowan led him close enough to the fire that he could feel the heat of it without being uncomfortable. She sat down in the well trampled grass facing him and pulled a small set of two drums that were hooked together between them. Daryl could tell just by looking that the drums were an old well loved set. The tops were dirty and worn from many set of hands playing them. The painted designs on the sides were so worn and chipped it was hard to even tell what had been painted there in the first place.
Someone on the other side of the fire had already started up a beat, playing with a few sticks on a much larger set of bongo drums than the small set Rowan had borrowed to use. She leaned forward with her eyes closed, her dark lashes and the flickering firelight making shadows across her cheeks. Rowan listened first, trying to catch the beat. She wasn't musically inclined, but tapping along with a drum beat didn't require much skill. Using only the tips of her fingers at first, she started strumming lightly on her side of the drum.
Daryl wasn't a dancer, but that didn't mean he was without any natural rhythm. He watched Rowan, leaning in to follow along with the beat she was tapping out when he was sure he could follow the graceful movements of her hands. Once she heard Daryl tapping on his side of the drum Rowan's eyes flicked open and a beautiful smile spread out across her face. She wasn't sure how comfortable Daryl was with the festivities and she felt overjoyed that he was playing with her instead of trying to find an excuse to leave.
The more Rowan looked at the man in front of her, the more attractive he seemed to become. Daryl had been good looking in the light of day, but with the flickering firelight making his blue eyes turn dark he was really magnificent. Rowan let her eyes take it in, moving slowly over the contours of his face and the firm set of his shoulders. Daryl started laughing at her before Rowan realized she had stopped drumming and was staring at him like a hungry wolf. Setting one hand down on top of the drum set to brace herself, Rowan lifted up onto her knees and leaned across the small distance between her and Daryl, planting a kiss right on the side of his smiling mouth. She still remembered the internal speech she had given herself about playing it cool and letting him make the first move. But in that moment she felt like she might die if she didn't hurry up and kiss him already.
The kiss took Daryl by surprise. One second she was staring at him like he had grown a third eye and the next moment Rowan's soft lips were pressed down on his. He was taken by surprise but he recovered quickly, grasping her arm before she could even lower herself back down into a sitting position and pulling her back towards him. The moment his lips pushed down on hers he felt her yield to him completely. She wasn't sexually agressive like most of the women he had encountered before. But she made it clear that she was more than willing to be kissed by him as long and deeply as he wanted.
Her lips parted, inviting his tounge into her mouth. And when his tounge tangled with hers she moaned softly, breathing hard through her nose. Their teeth grazed as Rowan fell off balance. The drum set she was braced her hand on had tipped over in the soft dirt and would have sent her falling into the dirt as well if Daryl hadn't have caught her and steadied her with his strong hands.
Daryl looked around, suddenly remembering that he was in the middle of a crowd of strangers. Public displays of affection weren't really his thing. But as he glanced around he relaxed. People were dancing and playing musical instruments. Some were even kissing as he and Rowan had. No one seemed to be paying them any special attention. Only one man was even looking their way. He stood back towards the tree line with his hands crossed in front of his chest. The man had long dark hair and Daryl felt like he seen him before even though he was sure he hadn't. Daryl felt like the man's presence should be disturbing. But it wasn't. In fact he was smiling at Daryl and Rowan like he was genuinely happy to see them. Daryl's attention was draw back to the woman in front of him. Rowan was fumbling, the fringe on her scarf caught in the metal hinge of the drum set. Daryl looked down to help her and when he looked back up, the man was gone. Melted back into the woods like he had never been there at all.
** This chapter contained a quote from the book Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. **