THE STARS FAR OVERHEAD

Enos had a deep breath and stared at Daisy, "Daisy Duke, what have you done?"

Her arms wrapped around her chest, Daisy walked to the bed and sat on it, "You aren't goin' to like it, Enos. But, please, listen to me before to interrupt me. OK?"

Enos scratched his nape. She was defensive, and it meant it was worse than he thought of. He sighed and stared at her, his voice soft, "OK. Now, please, tell me where we are and how I came here, 'cause I don't remember a thing since this morning and since the fire, and it drives me crazy. I have already had enough problems with my memory."

Daisy had a deep breath and looked outside the window, "We are in a cabin near Gus McCormick's house. See, Gus came to the farm this morning, after the fire, so Luke asked him to bring us here, thinking it's a good way to protect you and me from that man. While we are away from Hazzard, Bo and Luke will find the man who is threatening you." She glanced at him and prevented his upcoming question, "You don't remember anything 'cause Luke asked Doc Appleby to give you a sedative." She caught his shaking his head in disappointment and prevented his reproach, "If we had talked to you 'bout our plan, you wouldn't have accepted to leave Hazzard, so – "

"So you forced your decision on me!" He frowned, stood up and walked to the window.

Daisy stared at him while he looked outside the window; she knew that silence and that frown: disappointment.

She remained sitting on the bed, "Enos. You are right. We are ashamed of our behavior. Now, tell me, honestly, if we had asked you to leave Hazzard, would you have accepted it?"

He turned to her, "Of course not! That man wants me, so I am involved in it, totally involved, more than everybody else. I should face it instead of running away. I should be in Hazzard, now, helping uncle Jesse, Bo and Luke to find who burnt your barn. Your barn burnt because of me, and I can't accept it. I should have gone back at the Boarding House, leaving your farm in order to drive the attention and anger of that man away from you. I shouldn't stay here!"

Daisy stood up and walked in front of him, "We perfectly know you would have left the farm, goin' back to the Boarding House and so bein' in danger. And it's why we decided to force our decision on you. I apologize for our behavior, Enos, but we just want to protect you. Things were becoming too much dangerous in Hazzard. We can't fight if we don't know who is attacking us, we can't protect you, so we decided to think of your safety, first, and then of finding that man. And your safety is away from Hazzard, now."

He rubbed his face in frustration, "You put me aside! I am not just a victim of that man, Daisy, I'm a cop too. And my job is to find and arrest the man who burnt your barn. You're treating me like an incompetent and vulnerable cop, putting me aside while Bo and Luke are doin' what's MY duty!"

Daisy shook her head in disappointment: his pride was his and her worst enemy. She had a step to him and grabbed his arms, "Enos! Nobody is treating you like an incompetent and vulnerable cop! You know how much Bo, Luke, uncle Jesse and I respect you; you know how many times we asked your help because of your bein' a good and reliable cop. We don't want anymore to go to the Atlanta Medical Center to visit you. We don't want to see you that way… or worse." She swallowed against the lump in her throat and she stared into his eyes, "We can't. We just want to protect you from that man. We love you, Enos. We couldn't let you leave the farm and face that man all by yourself. Come on, admit it: if we hadn't decided to bring you away from Hazzard, you would have tried to solve things all by yourself."

He averted his eyes and looked down at the floor, "Yeah. It's what I would have done. After burning your barn, that man could decide to hurt you, uncle Jesse or the boys as revenge for your helping me."

Daisy squeezed his arms, "I think that man burnt our barn not just for revenge but also 'cause he knew it was a way to bring you back to town, away from our farm and so more vulnerable."

Enos looked into her eyes, "I can't let uncle Jesse and the boys face that man while I'm away from Hazzard, hidden like a coward. He could decide to take revenge on them because of their hiding me. They are in danger, and I can't let them take this risk because of me. Moreover, what would folks think? They would think that Enos Strate is a coward and he is running away. I know I am naïve, shy and clumsy; I know it; everybody knows it. But I have never been a coward. I have never run away from my duty. I have to go back to Hazzard. Please. I appreciate your efforts to protect me but I can't accept this trick." He gently parted from her grasp and walked to the door.

Her heart beating furiously in her chest, she looked at him walking away, "Enos! Nobody is thinking you are a coward, and nobody is goin' to take revenge on uncle Jesse and the boys. 'Cause nobody is thinking you are running away." She paused, holding her breath and finally let the bomb fall, "People think we died in the fire."

His hand already on the doorknob, Enos turned to her, "What?"

Daisy had a deep breath, "Uncle Jesse and the boys told everybody we died during the fire." She folded her arms and shrugged, "It nearly happened for real, in effect. The barn is a mass of ashes, now, so it isn't so difficult to let people believe we died during the fire, trapped inside the barn while we were trying to save our animals. So, there's no need to worry about people thinking you are running away or about that man threatening uncle Jesse and the boys in order to know where you are."

He blinked, he shook his head, he turned to the door and he left the room.

Daisy followed him through the small living room to the porch.

He sat on the swinging chair and stared at the high pines in front of the cabin, "I can't believe you really told everybody…" He rubbed his face, "Sometimes you drive me crazy, Daisy. So, what's Luke's plan, now? I guess it's Luke's plan, as usual."

Daisy walked to the swinging chair and sat by his side, "They are goin' to find a way to unmask that man. They haven't decided how to do it, yet. For starters, they are goin' to observe how people react to your death. Maybe that man – "

"Are you telling me they have no plan, yet?" Enos turned to her, his eyes open wide, "Maybe that man… what? Are they thinking he is goin' to dance on my grave, so showing his real feelings for me? Trust me, it won't happen."

Daisy frowned, "Don't be so sarcastic, Enos! It isn't your style. I know you're disappointed because of our plan and because you have to stay here 'til Bo and Luke unmask that man. It could be a long time and you hate to stay still, I know."

Enos stood up and walked down the porch's stairs, he stopped in the middle of the glade in front of the cabin and rested his hands on his hips. He finally turned to her, his hands still on his hips, "I don't have the slightest intention to stay here for a long time, Daisy, letting people think I am dead and letting Bo and Luke solve the whole thing."

Daisy sighed and reached him in the glade. He could be so stubborn to drive her crazy, but she wasn't going to surrender; she perfectly knew the button to push: the sense of duty that was pushing him away from that cabin could turn into the reason for staying. "And what about me, Enos? Did you forget why that man hates you so much? It's because of me, and at some point he could decide to use me against you, some way or another. Do you recall what happened with Scanlon? Uncle Jesse and the boys are worried for you, and for me too. I am safer here than in Hazzard."

A shadow of worrisome crossed his eyes, his voice a whisper as he was talking to himself, his look down at the ground, "This is what I fear the most. I talked to Bo and Luke 'bout it, some days ago." His hands on his hips, he kept on looking at the ground then he stared at her, "I don't want you to be involved in this. If something happened to you because of me, I wouldn't forgive myself for it."

Daisy nodded and had a step to him, she rested her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes, "This is the reason why we should stay here. Hazzard now is too much dangerous both for you and me. It isn't a matter of bein' coward, Enos, but of self-defense. Sometimes, in order to win a fight, it's better to withdraw. Uncle Jesse and the boys aren't putting you aside; we are a team, and we fight for the same reason, though with different roles. Something similar happened when Nervous Norman was after me and I stayed at your home because it was dangerous staying at the farm. Well, think of it as the same thing. Was I a coward, then?"

He silently stared at her, eyes into eyes. He finally smiled, a smile of resignation, and walked back to the swinging chair, "I know what you're doin', Daisy, you're trying to give me an active role in my bein' here. I trust Luke and his plans, and I trust also uncle Jesse's wisdom. If they think that staying away from Hazzard is the best thing to do, actually, OK, I'm goin' to stay here, but I'm not planning to stay here for a long time."

She reached him on the swinging chair, "OK. Give uncle Jesse and the boys some time to unmask that man, and if it doesn't work we're goin' to help them with a new plan." She looked at the sky turning dark blue from its previous reddish nuance, some stars and the moon already sparkling in that blue. She stirred and yawned, "It's been a long day," she turned to him, "do you want me to cook something for dinner?"

He nodded, his eyes at the sky, "Yeah. And after dinner I'm goin' to stay here, looking at the sky. I can't sleep, now; I spent almost the whole day sleeping." No reproach in his voice, he glanced at her and smiled amused, then he looked up at the starry sky, "I love this kind of deep blue, the kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words, the color of a completely closed-in night." He scratched his hair, blushing, "Never mind. On nights like this, when the air is so clear, I end up saying things I usually wouldn't. I talk as if I have no audience but the stars, far overhead. Sorry."

Daisy smiled and kissed his cheek, "Enos, you are very very sweet. Now, I am goin' to cook dinner; meanwhile, enjoy the sky." She stood up and entered the cabin.

The call of an owl woke Daisy up.

Sitting up, she stared at the room her, recalling it wasn't her bedroom at the farm. She rubbed her eyes and stirred.

Enos wasn't sleeping by her side in that wide bed, and she wasn't surprised of it.

In the moonlight filling the room, she walked to the door, she opened it and entered the living room, wondering if Enos was still on the porch looking at the sky or …

… Or if he was sleeping on the couch. She smiled at Enos' figure huddled up on the couch, she took the blanket fallen on the floor probably while he was turning round and she covered him.

She walked to the cabin's door and came out, sitting on the swinging chair and looking up at the starry sky.

She wanted her family unmask the man who hurt Enos, but at the same time she didn't dislike the idea of spending some time with Enos, just him and her away from everybody else.

"I love this kind of deep blue, the kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words, the color of a completely closed-in night… On nights like this, when the air is so clear, I end up saying things I usually wouldn't. I talk as if I have no audience but the stars, far overhead."

Just him and her talking of things they usually wouldn't, no audience but the stars far overhead.

She shivered in the cold air of the night and she came back to the cabin, the moonlight guiding her through the living room to the bedroom.

"On nights like this when the air is so clear, you end up saying things you ordinarily wouldn't. Without even noticing what you're doing, you open up your heart and just start talking to the person next to you—you talk as if you have no audience but the glittering stars, far overhead."

"it'll be this kind of deep blue. The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words —the color of a completely closed-in night."

Banana Yoshimoto (did I ever say I love Banana Yoshimoto? Oh, yes, I think I did.)

A little final add: blu notte (Italian), my nick, means "blue night", the kind of deep blue you can see at night. I love this shade of blue, and it's also the title of a song of my favorite italian singer. :-)

Stay tuned for more. A lot of things are going to happen, it will be a roller coaster.