Chapter Three
Bobby waited until his parents retired to their room to leave the house. He made sure his lantern had enough batteries to last him for 3 or 4 hours. He wasn't going to make the same mistake he had made many years before, when he'd fallen down a hole and get caught in the rocks. The blond boy shivered as he remembered the hours of fear and loneliness until Trixie and Dan arrived.
Bobby made his way into the woods and on to his tree house. If someone was occupying the tree house, he or she probably spent the night there. Unless they had already left. But somehow he didn't quite believe it. His hunch proved right. He could see a flickering light through the branches and he knew for certain it weren't fireflies. Someone was up there, all right. And now what?
Bobby had seen his sister get into trouble a lot of times for pulling this kind of stunt... But the strongest lesson he taken from all that was that it usually worked out just fine. Taking a deep breath, Bobby walked over to the tree house and started climbing the steps as silently as he could. The occasional snapping sounds of the old wood seemed to him as loud as gunshots. Cold sweat was pouring down his back by the time he got to the trap door, which was wide open.
Slowly, expecting to be hit over the head at any moment, Bobby peeked through the hole on the wooden floor. And he let out his breath. Danger was off for the moment for whoever it was that had invaded his tree house was now fast asleep near the wall. Carefully, trying not to make a sound, Bobby eased himself on to the wooden platform and walked towards the sleeping figure. All he could see was that it was someone skinny, probably shorter than him (which wasn't that hard since he was already as tall as Brian) and with brown hair. The light he had seen from the outside was coming from a small Camping Gas lamp, near the window. Thinking on what could have happened if the lamp had somehow turned over, Bobby felt a surge of rage and decisively walked on to the invader. A sudden flash of good sense made him grab his old baseball bat from the shelve before saying: "What are you doing here? This is private property!"
Startled, the person turned over and crawled backwards towards the wall, in defensive strategy. Bobby stood there for a second in amazement as he looked at the face of his opponent. "A girl?", he thought. Skinny, dirty and in rags, unkempt hair falling over her face, but definitely a girl. Instinctively, Bobby lowered the bat and relaxed his tensed muscles. And immediately understood his mistake.
Sensing that Bobby had lowered his guard, the girl threw herself at him as a wild cat. He was standing between her and the only way out of the tree house. Bobby felt that her strength was born out of pure despair as he wrestled her. Bobby had grown pretty strong, despite his slender build, but nevertheless he was having a hard time defending himself from her wild attacks. She was pushing him so hard that they both fell over. Finally, he managed to get in control, when her resistance apparently started to wear down. Rolling over, Bobby managed to pin her down under him, and held her wrists way above her head, so she wouldn't claw him again.
"Let me go!" she yelled.
"I will do no such thing, until you tell me what you're doing up here! This is private property you know?" Bobby said, still having a hard time in keeping her under control.
"I thought as much…" the girl seemed to be too tired to go on fighting or simply thought it was no use. "But I didn't have anywhere else to go… This is your tree-house?"
"Yes." Hoping he was doing the right thing, Bobby let go of her hands and helped her up. She was quite shorter than himself, the top of her head reaching only his shoulder. At first glance, one would say she was about 12, being so skinny, but Bobby reckoned she must be a little older. The girl had brown eyes, lively and shiny, which would be pretty if she didn't look so scared.
Still trembling, the girl reached up and took her unkempt hair away from her dirty face. Then she seemed to hesitate on what to do, but finally reached out her hand and introduced herself: "My name is Annie… Annie Dugan."
"I'm Bobby Belden." the boy said with a smile, shaking her hand.
"Do you think they're ok?" Honey asked as she laid her head on Brian's shoulder. He caressed his fiancée's hand and smiled tenderly.
"Don't worry, baby. They're grownups. They know how to take care of themselves."
"Do they? Sometimes I doubt it. After nine years, they haven't… Oh, you know what I mean!"
"Maybe they are not ready yet!" Brian sit up straight and looked into Honey's eyes. "Be patient, Honey. Jim and Trixie are very special people…They need to be certain first. Let them sort their lives out… We're here to help them should they need us."
"I'm just afraid they lose their chance at happiness, just because they spent too much time dreaming of something else…" Honey sighed. "Well, I guess I'm just anxious. I love them both so much."
"I do too, Honey. But right now I think they need time… alone." Tenderly, Brian caressed her face and thought about how much he loved this sweet and caring girl and how much he wanted to spend the rest of his days making her happy. Honey smiled, as if she had read his mind and leant towards him. He met her halfway.
Trixie closed her eyes in the obscurity of the car, rocked by the gentle swaying, as Jim drove through the moonlit road, right beside the Hudson. Smiling, she remembered the wonderful time Jim had shown her that night. He had been nothing short of a perfect gentleman... And the most seductive gentleman she had ever met. Jim had taken her to a restaurant up-river, called Paradise-On-the-Hudson... And the name said it all.
The 19th century building had been transformed into a hotel and restaurant with live music. The decoration was lovely, respecting the standards its original owners had set for it. Through the wide windows all one could see was starlit sky and a mirror like river, reflecting the stars. The soft jazz music lent a feeling of the 40's glamour to the place and despite usually feeling uncomfortable in such places, Trixie felt immediately at home. Maybe it was the kindness of the waiters. Or Jim's company. "This is beautiful, Jim." she almost whispered.
Caressing the hand she had wrapped around his arm, he smiled. "Yes, I thought you'd like it."
Jim had managed to put the agency subject aside and talked around it all night. Trixie felt grateful for it. She could talk to Mart, she could talk to Honey... But Jim... That would be harder. They talked and laughed and danced, recovering a closeness and intimacy they had somehow lost along the way. And sitting in the dimness of the car, they both felt there was still a chance... Maybe their last.
"Hey, where are you taking me?" Annie said, as Bobby dragged her through the woods. Apparently she wasn't used to the woods, because she was having trouble in keeping up with Bobby's long strides and kept tripping in roots and bushes.
"Don't worry. You will be safe there."
Soon they reached what Bobby later told her to be the BWG's club house. Since the group had been too busy lately to have meetings, this was a safe place to keep Annie, until he could figure out on what to do with her. When they reached the door, Bobby took the key out of the pocket of his jacket and tried to find the key hole. But unfortunately it wasn't easy to do it, with no light at all. One of the things he had learned from his big sister was that when you're doing something that you don't want others to know, you should turn off your lantern. But it was easier said than done, so, praying that no one was on Glen Road right that moment, he turned it on...
Trixie yawned and rubbed her eyes. The dimness and coziness of the car was making her sleepy. It had been a long day.
"Am I that boring?" Jim said, smiling.
Trixie giggled. "Of course not... I'm just tired." suddenly she sat up straight in her seat and rubbed her eyes. No, there it was. It wasn't her eyes playing tricks. "Jim, stop the car! Look, there in the woods, near the club house!"
Jim hit the breaks and stopped the car on the side of the road, turning the headlights off. He could see it too. The small focus of light... Feeling shivers down his back, he remembered a night that also had been very special for him and Trixie... A night when they also seen a light near the clubhouse, which could have gone up in flames had they arrived seconds later.
Before he could say a word, Trixie jumped from the car and ran into the woods. Jim followed her and almost bumped into her in the dark. Trixie had stopped suddenly when she saw the two figures standing by the door. By the flickering light of the lantern, she recognized her little brother, Bobby. "Robert Belden! What on Earth are you doing here at this time of night?" she almost screamed.
Startled, Bobby almost dropped the lantern. "Trixie... Jim! I... well, I..." suddenly he remembered Annie and grabbed her by the arm, before she could escape. The girl had been so frightened by the sudden arrival of the two strangers that she had hesitated before running off. Now it was too late.
"And who's that with you?" Trixie asked.
"This is... Annie."
Trixie couldn't see the expression on Jim's face, but she could guess the grin in his voice. "And what are you and Annie doing here in the middle of the night, young man?"
Bobby felt his face flushed and thanked God for the darkness. "It's not what you think...It's a long story. What about going inside and letting you into it?"
"Bobby, no! I trusted you! I told you I didn't want anyone to know!" Annie screamed, trying to escape his hold.
"They can help you, Annie! Trust me!" Bobby said as he tried to keep her quiet.
"I can't trust anyone, Bobby!" she screamed on the verge of tears.
Slowly, gently, Jim walked over to her and surrounded her thin shoulders with his arm. "Calm down, Annie... That is your name, right? Look, you can trust us... Right now, I don't think you have any other option..." Jim's steady and warm voice seemed to have a calming effect over the girl. Trixie smiled in the dark. Besides being irresistible to women, Jim was also great with kids.
The group entered the clubhouse and closed the curtains, so no one would see the light from the outside. Bobby was the first to speak. "This morning I went over to my tree house... There were muddy footprints on the steps and empty cans all over the place. I knew that none of you guys would go there without telling me..."
"Yeah, we all know better!" Trixie remarked with a smile. Bobby didn't pay attention to her teasing his bad temper. Everyone knew how much he hated to have his prized possessions tampered with... But he never admitted to still have occasional temper tantrums whenever one of his brothers messed with his things. "Anyway, I decided I should find out who was staying there... So I went over there tonight!"
"Bobby Belden, do you mean to tell me that you went there alone, without telling anyone where you were headed?" Trixie scolded.
"Yeah, like you never done that..." Bobby said.
Jim couldn't hide his smile as Trixie's cheeks turned crimson. Trying to help her out of her embarrassment, he said: "And then you found Annie, right?"
Three pairs of eyes then focused on the thin, pale young girl, trying to pass unnoticed. "Yes, then he found me..." she whispered.
"Where do you come from, Annie?" Trixie asked with shiny eyes. Jim smiled recognizing what he usually described as the "Schoolgirl Shamus look".
Annie hesitated, and glanced over at Bobby. He smiled and encouraged her with a nod of his head.
"From the City..." she answered, avoiding Trixie's stare.
"You mean, White Plains?"
Jim covered Trixie's hand with his, as a signal to let him lead the conversation. He understood that there was something about Annie that was more serious than it seemed. "No, Trixie." he said, calmly. "Somehow I don't think she's referring to White Plains."
"New York City..." Annie clarified.
Trixie's eyes widened. "New York? You came all the way from New York? Why?"
Annie took a deep breath. She finally understood that she was going to have to tell the story all over again. As if once hadn't been painful enough. But somehow she was beginning to trust them. Especially the one Bobby had introduced as Jim... He was ok. He sometimes reminded her of... Of someone long gone.
"Take it slowly, Annie... You have all the time you want." Jim said, with a reassuring smile.
She smiled shyly back at him and took another deep breath. "Well, my name is Annabelle Dugan... But I hate the 'belle' stuff, so just call me Annie."
"This kinda reminds me of someone." Jim teased, winking at Trixie. She made a face at him as Annie went on.
"I'm 14 years old and I live in New York... Or at least I did... Anyway, about 4 years ago my parents were killed in a car accident..."
The pain in the girl's voice sent shivers down Trixie's back. She would have died, if something had happened to her parents. Glancing at Jim, she noticed his eyes were shinier than usual, probably because of tears he was holding back. Trixie knew very well how emotional he got when it came to orphans. "Who took care of you?" Jim asked, his voice hoarse and deep.
An ironic grin appeared in Annie's face, making her look much older than she really was. "I had no one else... My mother was an orphan and my father's family is back in Ireland... I don't have a clue of how to find them... They weren't that close. After the accident I heard the neighbors say they should call the Social Services to take care of me. I panicked because my mother had told me all about orphanages... So I ran off!" Annie stood quiet for a little while, as if to gather courage to go on. None of the others broke the silence, unknowing of what to say. "I lived alone since then... Where I could... And yes, if you're wondering, I did steal!", she said, a defiant look upon her young features. "I had to eat! But I never hurt anyone..."
"No one is here to judge you, Annie. My story is not that different from yours, you know? I was a runaway for a while too." Jim said. Trixie looked at him, admiring him for knowing what to say in that moment. And she saw the difference his words made for the little girl in front of them. Annie stopped being defensive and even smiled.
"Then I met someone... A boy, a bit older than me... He lived on the streets too and he worked here and there... Jason also played the guitar and we used to go to Central Park and he played while I sang... When my parents were alive I sang in the church choir." Annie blushed as she said this. "Well, we kinda took care of each other... Until he got some new friends." Tears started to track down her face.
"What happened then?" Trixie asked softly, trying to keep her curiosity under control.
Bobby had kept quiet until then, but seeing that his new found friend was unable to go on, he picked up where she had left off. "Jason got into trouble... He was... killed. Annie witnessed it and she had to run away."
Trixie noticed how visible Jim's freckles had become over his pale skin. His eyes had grown dark and Trixie knew he was somehow recognizing himself in that little girl's adventure. "We should call the police." he said, slowly.
"NO!" Annie screamed, as she jumped from the chair. "They'll send me to an orphanage! You said you understood!"
"Calm down, Annie!" Trixie said, walking over to her and surrounding her trembling shoulders with her arms. "Jim, please... Once you asked me not to call the police too, remember?"
Jim was still pale as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Yes, I know, Trix... But if they come after her... If only I already had my school!"
"Let's make believe we do have the school, ok? Only until we figure out what to do..." Trixie looked pleadingly at Jim, but he had hardly heard the second part of her sentence at all. She'd said 'we' instead of 'you'... and now he would do anything she wanted just to hear her say it again.
"Ok..." he whispered. "We'll take care of her for a while..."