Big Yellow Taxi

Chapter 31

Rowan went to bed as soon as she got home from dinner. She slept hard, waking up from her dreamless slumber just as the first few streaks of light were painting across the sky. She wrapped her body in the quilt from her bed and padded into the kitchen on her bare feet to make herself a mug of hot tea. Sipping it slowly, she sat on the back porch and watched the sun come up over the hills.

Her father's closest neighbor raised horses. From her seat on the back porch, she could see the horse pasture. There were two new foals inside. As Rowan watched them play, she finally started to feel the heartbreak and agony of the last week dissipate. She also remembered something she hadn't while she was moping around in her bed like Ophelia.

Before they made the long trek out to her father's cabin, Daryl wanted to get his bow. He took Rowan to his house. Which meant she knew where he lived. If she wanted to talk to Daryl, she didn't have to wait for him to come to her. She could walk right up onto his lopsided trailer porch and knock on his door. Rowan briefly considered marching inside the house and shaking her father awake to demand that he drive her all the way back to Georgia right this minute. But she knew the man would not only refuse. He would throw a major fit. She was going to have to wait at least a week or two before the man would be willing to make the long drive back to her home. And even then she probably wouldn't mention her plan to hunt down the man that stole from her to her father.

Rowan finished her tea and put her teacup in the sink. All the time she spent in bed moping and then cooped up in the truck driving here left her feeling restless and full of energy. Rowan pulled some jeans on under the old worn t-shirt she slept in. She slipped on her shoes. Then she headed out and poked around in her father's shed until she found her bicycle. There was some stuff stacked up in front of it but after making a rather epic mess inside the small shed and tossing a few boxes of junk out into the dry grass she was able to pull the bike free. Rowan swung her leg over and started pedaling. She didn't have a specific destination in mind. But soon she found herself parked outside the trailer of one of her old friends from the summers she spent on the reservation when she was younger. Rowan hesitated, not wanting to wake the woman inside. It was still very early in the morning and the woman wasn't exactly expecting her. Just when she was about to turn back the way she came, Rowan heard the high pitched sound of a child laughing inside the trailer. Which meant the people inside must be awake.

Rowan leaned her bike against the side of the trailer and climbed the steps to knock on the door. The woman inside stared at her in shock for a moment when she swung the door open. They hadn't seen each other in a few years. And the visits were infrequent before that.

"Hekaza!," the woman cried as she fumbled with the latch on the screen door. She rushed out, wrapping her arm that she wasn't using to hold her baby around Rowan and squeezing her tight. "Come on in, we're just sitting down for breakfast."

Rowan followed the woman inside and took a seat at her kitchen table. She was more than happy to hold the baby while Nokake finished making breakfast. One older child was seated at the table. A little girl. Another one was playing on the floor with some small plastic cars. He rolled them as fast as he could across the uneven linoleum before racing over to retrieve them so he could do it again.

The two women caught up with each other over a noisy breakfast of sticky pancakes and overcooked bacon. Rowan helped Nokake wash up the breakfast dishes. Then they took some coffee out on the back porch and chatted a while longer while the two older children played in the sandbox together. Rowan was a little surprised that her friend knew about her dinner date the night before. She didn't realize eating dinner with her father's friend would be the subject of such gossip and speculation. But Rowan tried to imagine the situation from an outside perspective. Derek was new in town and not married. He was handsome and had a high paying job at the casino. Nokake told her that most of her single friends had been trying to catch Derek's eye all summer to no avail. Nokake was impressed that Rowan was able to get a dinner invitation from him with no effort at all on her part.

"Are you going out with him again?," she asked. Rowan shrugged. She didn't realize she was on a date in the first place. She went to dinner because she was hungry. And she hadn't thought about whether or not she wanted to spend more time with the man. Truthfully, she hadn't given Derek much thought at all.

"I don't know," Rowan said, taking a casual sip of her tea. The man was living at her house. So she was sure she would see him again. She wasn't sure if they would go anywhere in public together again or not. After the fuss everyone seemed to be making out of the first time, she was leaning towards not.

Nokake's older daughter started to cry, interrupting their conversation. The little girl had sand in her eye. And it was getting close to naptime. Rowan could tell her friend needed to tend to her children and get on with her day. So after a promise to return soon for another visit, Rowan excused herself. She rode her bike back home, stopping when she saw a pretty patch of purple wildflowers on the side of the road. She plucked off one of the vibrant blooms and tucked it behind her ear.

Rowan parked her bike in the driveway and headed up the stairs. Her father's truck was gone. But he left a note for her taped to the outside of the front door.

Dear Rowan,

Clean up the mess you made in my shed!

Love,

Dad

Rowan pulled the note down, giggling a little to herself as she crumbled it up into a ball and tossed it towards the contents of her father's shed which were strewn out across the yard. She thought about heading straight over to clean up the mess. But she was thirsty from her long bike ride. So she went inside the house for a glass of water. She was pulling a mason jar down from the cabinet when someone started yelling.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Rowan jumped, dropping the jar. It hit the hard tile floor near her feet and shattered. She turned towards the voice. Derek was standing a few feet away from her, his face contorted in anger. Rowan looked around in confusion, trying to figure out who the man was talking to in such an angry and accusing manner. She was the only person home.

"What do you mean?," she said, stepping back. The kitchen counter was pressing against her lower back and there was broken glass crunching under her feet. "I was having breakfast with a friend."

"Who?," Derek asked, taking another step in her direction. Rowan was scared of his sudden aggressive behavior. And she was also confused by it. She couldn't remember doing anything to make him angry. And she wasn't sure why Derek would care who she was having breakfast with in the first place. His aura was on fire. Like he was jealous. But they barely knew each other.

"Nokake," she said, glancing towards the door and trying to decide if she wanted to make a run for it. But as soon as she said the other woman's name, Derek's face relaxed. He took another step towards her, reaching his hand out. Rowan flinched away from him. Her outward display of fear seemed to shock him. He backed up a step, giving her some space.

"You didn't tell anyone where you were going," he said, "I was worried." Rowan didn't respond. She just kept her back pinned to the counter staring at him. While she appreciated that he attempted to explain his odd behavior, she was still confused by it. Her father clearly wasn't worried about where she went. He was only concerned with the mess she made and didn't clean up before she left. So why would Derek be worried? "I'm sorry I raised my voice," he added. Rowan nodded, not because she accepted his apology but because she was hoping to end the conversation they were having.

Derek took her nod as an invitation to move in her direction again. He held out his hand to her. "Let me help you out of there before you cut your feet up on that broken glass." Rowan hesitated a moment, looking down at his hand like it was a snake that might bite her. But finally she stuck her smaller hand out and let him lead her away from the mess. Derek sat her down at the kitchen table while he got the broom and cleaned up the mess she made when he startled her. When he was done he turned, leaning back against the counter like Rowan was doing just a few moments before. He seemed much more relaxed than he was when she came in. But Rowan was still a little shaken up by his previous behavior.

"I'm sorry," he said again, "My younger sister went out for a morning walk one day. Just like you did today. We never saw her again. They found her body a few weeks later. In a dumpster outside a gas station. The police said they were going to investigate. Try to find out who killed her. But what was she to them? Just another piece of reservation trash."

Rowan could feel the pain in his voice. His aura lit with streaks of blue when he mentioned his sister. She still didn't like the way Derek spoke to her before. But at least he was finally giving her a reasonable explanation for his behavior. Grief had many faces. Rowan rose from her seat and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. Derek eagerly returned her hug. She only meant to offer him solace. But she quickly found her body pressed flush against his. Derek held her with the confidence of an experienced lover. One arm circling her slim waist and the other hand pressed flat between her shoulder blades. Rowan tilted her chin up, intending to tell him that she was sorry about what happened to his sister. But before she could speak, his lips were pressing down on hers.