My dear Nutmeg (may I call you Nutmeg?), so good to hear from you again so soon! And what is life, but a bunch of stories coming together, am I right? I've thought about getting RayV in here to write some of his perspective, but for gosh sakes, this thing is growing fast enough already! Maybe he can do his own thing in a separate story eventually.

Hope you like the new chapter! ~Ray K.

Chapter Thirty: The Lesson

I rearranged my furniture so Franny and I would have plenty of room to move. We were both kind of awkward when she got to the apartment, not knowing what to say. I hung up her jacket for her. She was wearing track pants and a T-shirt, and I think it was the most dressed-down I'd ever seen her. It was cute.

"I can't believe you guys are leaving again," she said, following me onto the living room carpet.

"Well, it's not for-sure yet," I said, but I felt pretty committed to it.

"When would you go? You won't let Fraser disappear without saying goodbye, right?"

"Nope. Once we have a departure time, we'll let you know."

"Okay." She rubbed her arm, looking around my apartment. Even though she'd dutifully pretended to be my sister for so long, she'd never had reason to come over before.

"So, um... what were you having trouble with?"

She sighed. "Everything."

"Okay, well let's see your stance."

She moved her feet apart a little and put up her fists.

"Okay, you're really tense."

"Isn't that normal when you're facing someone who wants to hurt you?"

"Normal, yeah. But it's not what you want. That's what training is for. Bend your knees a little... think like you're about to sit down, but you suspect Little Tony might be about to pull the chair away."

Her legs suddenly became nice and springy.

"Perfect. How's that feel?"

"Pretty good. See, that makes sense."

I smiled. "Good. Now, keep your arms kind of elastic, too, and try to always guard with one hand, even while you're throwing a hit." I slightly repositioned her hands. "And kinda tuck your chin a little. Don't give him a target. There ya go."

"Have you taught someone this stuff before?"

"Uh... I've coached boxing, but it's not the same thing."

"Oh, yeah. Well, you seem good at getting ideas across."

That was one of the nicest things she'd ever said to me. "Thanks. That's probably more from being a dancer. You know, fighting's a lot like dancing. Only more... dramatic."

She laughed. "I dunno. Have you tried tango?"

"True," I said, smiling. "You dance?"

"Not for a while, but yeah."

I had to stop myself from getting excited about that. She was here for a self-defense lesson, not a dance lesson. I grabbed a throw pillow off the sofa. "Here," I said, holding it up in front of her. "Throw a punch."

She tried. Her hand barely touched it. "Gah... my aim is so bad!"

"It's okay. Um... how about this: Imagine there's a line from you out to your target. You have to throw your fist down that line. Or up... like if you're aiming for the nose of someone taller than you—you'd point your nose at his and connect with your fist. Got it?"

"I think so."

"Okay. Try again."

This time she gave the pillow a solid hit. "Hey! I did it!"

I grinned and gave her a high five. "You got this. I think you're really just trying too hard, expecting it to just magically come to you eventually. The truth is, you need to slow down a little and trust yourself more. It is gut instinct, but you need solid practice as a foundation. Then it'll come to you when you need it."

She looked really happy, like she'd just sunk her first pool ball or hit the bullseye with a dart. "All this time, there was nothing wrong with me."

"Well, that's debatable."

She snatched the pillow from me and hit me over the head with it.

I laughed. "Okay, I was just joking. Come on, let's go again."

After a while, I had her try throwing two punches in a row, reminding her to get her guard back up as soon as she'd landed. She improved until she started to get overwhelmed, and then she got her rhythm off and ended up stopping with one arm extended instead of both back in front of her.

"Time for a break," I said. I led her over to the kitchen and pointed at the bar. "Have a seat, kid."

She hopped on one of the stools and waited while I got her a glass of water.

"I think you're doing fine," I said. "Just practice what I showed you, and if you feel like you've got that down good, get someone to hold a pad for you and move it around so you can try aiming for a moving target."

"Okay." She drank half the water in her glass. She'd worked up a little bit of a sweat and the ends of her hair stuck to her face. "What?"

I shook my head, smiling apologetically. "I've just never seen you so normal before."

She snorted. "You tell anyone, I'll kill you."

"My lips are sealed. Hey, if you practice with a moving target, make sure you move your feet, not just your upper body. I used to tell some of my boxers they were putting down roots if they didn't move their feet. You know, bob and weave."

"Who are they? Kids you trained?"

I had to turn around and get myself a glass of water to keep from laughing at her. "Uh, no... it's a strategy. You know..." I set my glass down and demonstrated, getting low and moving back and forth. "Bob and weave."

"Oh! Right. Um... what about getting loose when someone grabs you?"

"It depends on how they grab you. One strategy is to use their strength against them. Another is to prey on their weaknesses."

"How do you know their weaknesses?"

"There are some that almost all people have, and you should definitely learn those. Like, it's easy for someone to pull their arm in this way." I put my arm across my chest. "But the muscles it takes to push out the opposite way don't usually get as much use. So, you know that's a weakness."

"What if someone grabs you from behind? He's got one arm around your neck... or something..." She suddenly seemed like she was being evasive.

I came around the bar. "Show me," I said.

"Well, I'll need something to stand on," she said, chuckling.

I went over to the couch and pulled a briefcase out from under it. "Good enough?"

"Okay." She stood on the briefcase on its side and I stood in front of it. She put her right arm across my neck, grabbing my left arm with the other hand. "Like this."

I knew this was the way Tate had grabbed her after she bit his hand. "If I couldn't shake the grip, I'd try to turn my head toward their elbow to take pressure off my windpipe. If I had any wiggle room at all, I'd go for bashing them in the nose with my head."

"What if he was a lot taller than you?"

"You can try to elbow him in the gut, or take out one of his legs..." I stuck my foot back between her feet and hooked one of her ankles.

"Whoa..." She squeezed me tighter to keep from falling off the briefcase.

I put my foot back on the floor. "Or you can try to stomp his instep or back-kick a kneecap."

"Oo."

"Or, if all else fails... I hate to say it, but reach back between his legs and get your nails into whatever you can find there."

"Ew!"

"And twist."

"Owww..."

"He gave up his right to a dignified, pain-free life when he assaulted you. Go for it."

She let go of me and I turned around. She was kind of giggling with wide eyes, like she couldn't believe I'd said that and wasn't sure whether it was OK to find it funny.

I smiled at her. "So, you think you got enough for now?"

"Yeah, I think so." She looked down at her feet on the briefcase and back at me. "So, this is what it's like at your eye-level. Huh."

"Yup."

"Well, no wonder you think you're above it all."

"Psh, I'm not that tall. You're just small." I almost reached up to pat her on the head, but stopped myself halfway and ran my hand through my hair instead.

She cleared her throat and hopped off the briefcase. "Well, thanks..."

"Yeah, no problem. I wanna see some progress when I come back, okay?"

"Okay." She slipped her shoes on while I got her jacket.

"I'll walk you to your... did you drive here?"

"Nah, I got a cab."

"Do you want a ride home?"

"You don't have to do that."

I didn't like not knowing who would be taking her home, especially after all that had happened. "I know I don't..." I said. "But would you let me?"

She looked a little surprised. "Okay," she said finally. "It's not dark out yet, is it?"

"Nope. I can let you out a little distance away if you want and watch you from my car."

She nodded and I opened the door, stepping back to let her out first. "Aw, screw it," she said. "Just drive me up to the house. Who cares? You're family, right?"

I smiled a little. "Something like that. Kind of in the doghouse right now, though."

"Eh. I think Ma's almost over the cigarette thing. You'd just better not pull anything like that again."

"I know." I knew I had to tell her how I felt before Fraser and I left. It wasn't going to be easy, considering I still wasn't sure how I felt. When we all thought Franny was getting married, I had pitied whoever the guy was, thinking that dealing with her every single day would be unbearable. But I was starting to think it wouldn't be so bad. Just tonight I'd gotten a glimpse of something in her that I'd never seen before, and I had a feeling there was a whole lot more under the surface. And Fraser was right: she had a good heart. That goes a long way.

We were in the car when she said, "It was you, right?"

"Huh? What?"

"You're the one who brought the cigarettes to the house."

"Yeah."

"When did you get the chance to give them to Papa?"

"Um..." I thought back carefully, trying to remember if there was any time I could have been with the old man when Franny wasn't around. "I think it was after supper, right before I went to read to the girls," I said.

"What did he say when you gave them to him?"

"I don't know, Franny. I don't remember. I just wanna put the whole thing behind me, okay?"

"What did Ray say to you?"

"Nothing."

"That's weird. 'Cause my brother likes to talk."

"Please, just drop this." I was getting very uncomfortable. I didn't think it would be so bad to let her in on what really happened, but I couldn't do that. It wasn't my secret. "I'm sorry... I'm not mad at you or anything. You have reason to be mad at me. But if you want to know what Ray said to me, you should just ask him. He'll tell you."

"You think?"

"Sure."

To my relief, she didn't ask any more questions about it.

I got out and walked her up onto the porch for the second time, hoping it wasn't a bad idea this time around.

"You wanna come in?" Franny asked, and when I looked up, I could see she looked kind of mischievous.

"Ha, I don't think so. Thanks all the same."

"Okay." She surprised me with a hug. "Thanks for the lesson."

"You're welcome," I said, hugging her back.

"Sorry I gave you the second degree in the car..."

I shrugged. "Forget it. And uh... pretty sure it's the third degree."

"Second, third, fourth... whatever." She kissed my cheek. "Good night, bro. Don't forget to tell me when you're leaving."

"I won't."

I spent the drive home trying to figure out how I would tell Franny I wanted to go out with her, and how I would explain to my parents that I was going away again. I wasn't in a very good mood by the time I got there.

I had just gotten my door unlocked when Fraser opened his.

"Ah, you're back."

I stared at him a couple of seconds. "Yeah. I'm back. You want something?"

He did that I-got-nothin' frowny shake of the head.

I kept staring at him.

"Well," he backtracked, "over an hour ago, Dief began expressing his desire to visit you, and I heard voices coming from across the hall. I could be mistaken, but the second voice sounded like Francesca's, and that would explain Dief's eagerness, since she often gives him snacks."

"You know what?"

He shook his head.

"It's none of your business who I have over."

"Right you are."

Dief looked up at me with big eyes.

"Nosy mutt," I grumbled.

Fraser cleared his throat. "Anyway, I've prepared a tentative itinerary. We'll fly to Inuvik where we'll pick up the dogsled. Then we'll travel by truck to Nunavut and by boat to Gjoa Haven. From there..."

"Ho-hold it, Fraser. How far is Inuvik from Nunavut?"

"Oh, some... thousand kilometers or so."

"Which in English is...?"

"Six hundred twenty-one miles."

I laughed. "Six hundred... Okay, here's an idea. Why don't we skip the dogsled and fly straight to Nunavut?"

Dief grumbled.

"It's only fair," Fraser said, as if the wolf had spoken his opinion in words. "They were along for the first part of the search as well... it's sort of their quest, too."

I winced. "Well then, how about we take them on a train to Nunavut?"

"There are no railways that far north, Ray."

"You're BS-ing me."

"I'm not."

"What the hell's your dogsled doing in... in... Inuvik in the first place?"

"I instructed Sergeant Frobisher to have the sled and dogs sent to Margaret."

"The ice queen?"

This time Fraser grimaced. "Inspector Thatcher would hardly have time to take care of a sled team."

"That's what I thought."

"I was referring to my sister."

"Oh, Maggie! Oh, that makes sense, 'cause she told us she lived in Inuvik."

"That she did."

Suddenly, picking up the sled team seemed like the best option. I wanted to see Maggie again. I felt a stab of guilt because I'd all but forgotten about her in my pursuit of Franny. And another one because Franny flew out of my mind when I thought of Maggie. If I did get to go out with one of those girls, would a call from Stella put them both out of my mind? I'm a bad person.

"Okay, so we get the dogsled in Inuvik and fly to Nunavut."

"It could be expensive to fly all of the dogs and the sled."

"Fly the dogs and borrow someone else's sled when we get there."

"I don't know... I'd like to have my own."

"Look, I love my car, but I could stand to rent a different one if I were far from home. If I can do that, you can borrow a different sled."

"Yes, I suppose so," he agreed.

"I mean, do you really want to spend an entire day driving across the far North? That's a day we could have been visiting with your sister... or-or looking for evidence."

"You do have a point; our days are limited."

"So we fly to Inuvik, short visit, fly to Nunavut, boat or plane to King William, and... then we find what we find."

"Then we meet with officials there about the exhumation. I plan to communicate my request by phone tomorrow, as soon as we've talked to your parents."

I grunted. I was not looking forward to that talk. "Okay. I'll go call them right now to see if they can come over in the morning."

Ugh, the next chapter's gonna be messy. But I've already committed to personal exploitation. So, stay tuned for that. ~Ray K.