*Chapter 3* Merrill opened his eyes and squinted as the bright moonlight poured into the bedroom. Immediately, he noticed that Alicia was not in bed with him. He got out of bed and looked out the window. Sure enough, she was outside and sitting on the picnic bench alone. Merrill put on a pair of jeans and met up with Alicia outside. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. She came to the realization of how handsome her fiance was, as he strolled towards her, hands in his pockets and muscular arms emerging from the wifebeater he was wearing.

"Hey," she cooed, "You were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you up."

He climbed onto the table and she sat herself in his lap. His arms wrapped around her waist and he rested his head on top of hers.

"I'm sorry if I made you upset in the kitchen earlier," he said.

"I already forgot about it."

After a few moments of silence passed, Alicia re-adjusted herself so that she was looking Merrill dead in the eye.

"Merrill, you know I love you- right?"

"Yes- why?"

"I just wanted to tell you. I love you more than anything on this planet."

"And I feel the same about you. You know I love you if I gave up minor league groupie life to spend forever with you." "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It's not. I'd rather have permanent satisfaction with one gorgeous woman then one-night stands anytime."

He pointed to the sky and said, "See Orion's Belt?"

"Yeah. It doesn't look like one though- a belt, that is."

He bit her earlobe softly and whispered, "Have you ever seen Alicia's Hickey?"

She laughed and replied, "What?"

Merrill placed one hand on Alicia's waist and the other behind her neck. He placed his lips on the right side of her neck and planted slow, wet kisses on her soft skin.

"Merrill," she whispered, "let's go back to bed. What if the kids wake up?"

"Let me live in the moment..hold on."

Alicia held her head back and giggled. As she looked back down and toward the house, her heart stopped. She saw a shadowy figure on the roof.

"Shit! Merrill, who the hell is that? Someone's on the roof!!"

Merrill jumped off of the table and was speechless as he watched the figure jumped effortlessly from the roof to the cornfields.

"Those damn Wolfington brothers. I'll show them!"

"What are you gonna do?"

"Go back to the garage, Ali."

"There's no way in hell I'm staying in there by myself."

Graham appeared at the back door.

"What's all the commotion about?"

"Someone was on the roof," Alicia replied, "Someone huge. From what I remember, the Wolfingtons were not that tall."

"What about that son of a bitch Lionel Pritchard?" asked Merrill.

"Lionel Pritchard? Come on, Merrill."

"This is something that asshole would do."

Graham said, "They're probably gone now. Let's just go back inside the house and tell Paski in the morning."

Merrill looked at Alicia and said, "Let's sleep in the living room of the house. That way, if anything happens, I'll be right there to kick his ass."

Alicia responded with a mumble and trailed behind the two brothers. As Graham went back upstairs, she and Merrill settled on the couch in each other's arms. Eventually, Alicia fell asleep, but Merrill stayed awake. He looked down at her and kissed her forehead. He was crazy in love with her- she had been there through his minor league heydays and was still there when he wasn't the it guy anymore.

'She's 23,' he thought, 'What's she doing wasting her time with a loser like me, when she could be dating lawyers or doctors?'

He held on to her tighter, holding her as if she was going to float away if he didn't. Alicia didn't realize that she was the center of Merrill's life. He couldn't bare the depression that she had been dealing with since the accident. Before it happened, she was always jovial and optimistic. Merrill had always been fearful and resistant of commitment, but he knew that he wanted to marry Alicia and start a family with her. Out of the blue, a loud thump on the roof startled Merrill and woke Alicia.

"Damn it, they're back," he growled.

"This is freaking me out."

"Stay here, baby. I'm gonna go get Graham."

Merrill sprinted up the stairs, but Graham met him halfway. Alicia tried to listen to their whispered conversation, but could only make out the end of something Graham was saying.

"Merrill, This is not an intelligent way to approach this."

"We both go outside and move around the house in opposite directions. We act crazy, insane with anger. Make him crap in his pants and force him around till we meet up on the other side. The whispering became lower and Alicia gave up listening.

'What can they do anyway?' she thought to herself.

Not even a minute later, she heard the front door burst open, accompanied by running and screaming.

She instantly recognized Merrill's voice screaming, "We're gonna beat your ass, bitch!"

"Oh my God, they've lost their minds," she said aloud.

She laughed to herself and attempted to fall back asleep. About 5 minutes later, Merrill and Graham came back in. From under the covers, Alicia said, "You two are insane."

"Hey, they left, didn't they?" Merrill said proudly.

Graham looked at Alicia in shame.

"I cursed, Alicia."

"Welcome to the secular world, Graham. Did you two see anything?"

"It was the same thing you and I saw," Merrill replied, "Someone tall."

"And that's it?"

"That's it. Let's go back to the garage now."

"But I'm comfortable."

"Come on, lazy. I'll carry you if I have to."

Alicia dragged herself off of the couch and hopped on Merrill's back.

"Night, Graham," she said, blowing a kiss at him.

"See you at breakfast," he replied.

"We'll be here." * * * * * * * * It was around 11:00 the next morning. Alicia sat on the couch in the family room, watching TV with Bo in her lap. The doorbell rang and Alicia got up.

"I got it, Graham!"

She glanced out the window and saw that it was Officer Paski. She opened the door and smiled.

"Hi, Officer Paski."

"Hi, Alicia. How have you been?"

"I'm OK. You?"

"I'm good."

"Come in. Merrill and Graham are in the backyard. I'll get them."

Alicia went to the back door and saw Graham and Merrill headed into the cornfields.

"Merrill! Graham! Officer Paski is here!"

She came back in and joined Officer Paski at the dining room table.

"So," Caroline asked, "how are you and Merrill? That is, if you don't mind me asking."

"We're good."

"Set a wedding date yet?"

"I don't think we can afford a wedding right now."

"Why can't Graham just marry you two?"

"He's not a minister anymore."

Graham and Merrill entered the room and Alicia stood up.

"I'll let you two talk to Officer Paski."

"No, you should stay," said Merrill, "you saw what happened last night."

"That's OK. I'm gonna go watch TV with Bo."

Graham followed Alicia into the family room.

"Alicia, you have to stop this."

"Stop what, Graham?"

"Shutting the world out- and Merrill as well. He doesn't deserve it."

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel like sitting in an interrogation. I'd rather spend time with my niece."

Alicia sat down next to Bo on the couch and leaned against the armrest. Graham surveyed the glasses of water that were scattered throughout the room.

"Bo, you're too old to be doing this," he said.

Alicia tuned herself out, eavesdropping on the conversation that Caroline and Merrill were having in the dining room.

"How's work at the gas station?"

"Stimulating."

"You know, you and Alicia are a beautiful couple. You really should get married."

"I'd love to marry her. I want to, but- she's still dealing with losing Colleen and the baby."

"Maybe marrying you is what she needs to have closure."

"Lately, I don't know if she even wants to be in the same room as me."

Graham's voice broke her daze.

"No matter how much she begs, don't give Bo anymore glasses of water."

"Gotcha."

He joined Merrill and Caroline, while Alicia became lost in thought again. In her heart, she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Merrill and as a part of the Hess family. It hurt her to think that Merrill was thinking the way he did.

"Aunt Alicia?"

"What's up, Bo?"

"I can't find the remote. I need to change the channel."

"What's wrong with Dexter's-"

Alicia looked at the TV and saw that a 'Breaking News' banner was plastered at the bottom of the TV screen. Images of crop circles in India were being shown. She got off of the couch and ran into the dining room.

"Hey, come look at the TV. They found patterns in crops in India. They look like the ones out in our fields."

They went into the living room and gathered around the TV.

"-- images were shot yesterday afternoon by a thirty-four year old local camera man in Kerala, a southern city of India. It is the eighteenth reported crop circle found in that country in the last seventy-two hours."

"This is scaring the hell out of me," Alicia said in a somber tone, "Officer Paski, has anyone else in the area told you about these crop circles- or whatever they are- in their fields?"

"No. You're the only ones."

Alicia looked at Merrill, then at Graham.

"Why us? Why our fields?"

Caroline replied, "We still don't know exactly what it is. Don't jump to conclusions and scare the kids."

"Scare the kids? I'm freaking out myself. Excuse me."

Alicia left the room and went outside. She walked to Bo and Morgan's playset and sat on the swing. The echo and sting of Merrill's words to Caroline were still fresh in her mind. Closing her eyes, she swayed back and forth, letting the breeze caress her face. About five minutes later, she heard the back door swing open. She turned around and saw Merrill standing a few yards away from her.

"We're going into town," he said, "You coming?"

Alicia got off of the swing and said, "Anything to get me out of the house for a little while."

Merrill met her halfway, and they looked out at the cornfields.

He snickered and said, "Remember when we first met- it was a couple of months before you got pregnant- and we used to race Colleen and Graham through the stalks after the kids went to bed? I swear that sometimes I can hear the laughter and yelling echoing in the wind."

Alicia silently brushed against Merrill as she went into the house. Before she went in, she stopped and looked at him.

"Merrill, why do you do this to me? I know my sister's gone and that she's never coming back. You and Graham don't have to constantly remind me."

"Colleen would want you to remember fun moments like that, Ali."

"When are we leaving?"

"As soon as you're ready."

"I'm more than ready. I need to get out of here."

"Out of here, or away from me?"

"I'm not playing this game with you, Merrill."

"So much for hoping to have a nice afternoon with you in town."

Merrill made his way past her and walked around the house to the driveway. Bo, Graham, and Morgan were already in the car.

He got in the passenger side and slammed the door, leaning his head against the headrest.

"This is so unfair," he said under his breath.

"Where's Alicia?"

"Getting her purse. Or packing her bags. Who knows? Graham, I can't stand seeing her like this. Should we take her to see a therapist?"

"Give her another week or so. Maybe she'll come around."

"We've been saying that for the last six months."

Finally, Alicia ran up to the car and got In the back, next to Bo.

"So Graham," she asked, "what's the special occasion?"

"Nothing. I figured we could all escape for a little while."

He started the car and Alicia looked out the window. Merrill's grim reflection was visible in his side mirror. She reached in her purse and ripped a piece of paper out of her day planner. On it, she wrote, "We need to talk," and then handed it to Merrill. She watched as he read it and then he turned toward her. He nodded his head silently and crumpled up the paper.

Morgan asked, "Uncle Merrill, can you turn on the radio?"

Merrill pressed the power button and a man's voice boomed from the speakers.

".signs intended to be seen from the sky."

Graham took one of his hands off of the steering wheel and turned off the radio.

"No radio either- just for a while."

They eventually made it into town. Graham parked the car along the street and everyone got out.

As Merrill put money in the meter, Graham said, "Meet back for pizza in 15."

Everyone went in separate directions, but Alicia stayed by Merrill's side.

He looked at her and said, "You wanted to talk--let's talk."