The car was towed, Dean greeted the mechanics with a mob boss grip, and we were on our way. The day was pleasant and Brent remained upbeat and chatty.
We heard from Laurel (nothing new), and the siblings found a fresh excuse to contact their parents. They still aren’t ready to tell them about Brase, but since his disappearance, they’ve invented daily excuses to call home. As unlikely as it seems, Brase MIGHT contact them. If so, Brent or Brooke’s ruse would get be promptly interrupted for their parents to mention it. The Mr. only drilled Brent on his extended work absence. No dice.
Likewise the cops. A phone call to the “investigating” (potentially a misnomer) officer rewarded Brent with a “This voicemail is full,” greeting and nothing further. Still, his buoyancy was undeterred.
It has wavered, though, in the intervening hours – not cracking entirely; but there have been brief relapses. Everything will seem normal. We’ll just be hiking along, making small talk, when one of us will realize that Brent hasn’t said a word for twenty or thirty minutes.
“Hey, Brent, what do you think?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just lost in thought. What was the question?”
It happens out of nowhere. Hell, he was in the middle of speaking once when he just froze, becoming the same zombie that haunted the motel room all night. The shift was unnerving, like his battery had run out mid-sentence.
We don’t address it. We just let it run it’s course or, if it’s gone on worryingly long, gently nudge him back. It’s worked so far.
When Brent went off to relieve himself a few minutes ago, Cal took out his phone, hurriedly fingering the screen.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
“Just curious about something; hold on.”
I waited.
“Ha,” he said moments later, “93 people in this town we’re going to. Literally nothing about it beyond a census page.”
“If you’re trying to vacuum my confidence out of our mission here, you’re a little late,” Brooke told him.
Cal shrugged, putting his phone away. Sheepishly, he admitted, “Just wondering how the restaurant scene looks – in case we have time.”
“Of course you are.”
Brent caught up a few minutes later, chewing up the trail with long, determined strides. “Come on, slow pokes!” he hailed. “Still plenty of miles left.”
He’d departed a mild version of the zombie, sullenly reporting his intentions. Now, he return as the Reverend, bright and boisterous.
“I’m ready to scream,” Brooke whispered to me as she watched her brother cheerfully bop along ahead of us.
I squeezed her hand but offered no further assurances. I’ll admit that Brent’s cocksure confidence in the motel swayed me. But after watching his startling transition so many times throughout the morning, I, too, was becoming increasingly wary.
This can’t continue; no human being can exist in such a jarring duality, can they?
~~~
Brent snapped at Brooke, an outpouring of screaming and name-calling. He was in his zombie phase, and all she did was rouse him with a, “Hey, Brent, are you listening?” Sure, it was a mite more aggressive than the delicate way we handled his transitions to that point, but his response wasn’t the least bit proportional.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
She stayed quiet at first, absorbing the flood. As soon as he expended his fury, however, it was her turn. She didn’t yell, didn’t insult him in general terms as he just finished doing to her. She was concise and to the point, “Brent, what in the hell has gotten into you?” The question was no less effective for its brevity.
He just stared back at her, the gears winding down once more. That wasn’t good enough, though, not this time. “No,” she said. “No more of this. I don’t even recognize you anymore. You’re upset about Brase, your car, fine. But why--”
He stomped off without acknowledging her any further. Fists balling at her sides, Brooke calmly requested, “Stay. Please.” He ignored her, so she rushed after him.
That was fifteen minutes ago. Cal and I continue to linger, half-way up this incline, waiting. In a way, it’s good that Brent’s peculiar attitude swings are being addressed. On the other hand, lashing out at Brooke that way was completely indefensible, no matter what he’s going through. I suppose it’s his right to beat up on himself for his imagined wrong-doings, but he doesn’t get to redirect that fury onto his sister. That’s just not going to fly.
He has my sympathy, he really does, but we can’t continue like this. I’m hoping for the best but the volume of their conversation is not encouraging.
I really hope they get this sorted out one way or another.
~~~
Clarity, a bit. But the situation is no better for it; worse if anything. I met someone at the fair. Well, I met a LOT of someones at the fair, but I’m specifically referring to a girl named Maddie. We exchanged names and little more, and I hadn’t spared a thought for her since.
Her family is close to Brooke and Brent’s. That business that held Brent back the other day, the family crisis he needed to deal with before joining us? That was about Maddie. She, too, is missing. Because the siblings are som eof the last people to see her before her disappearance, her family desperately wanted to speak to them. With Brooke and Brase still, “Away on that hike,” it became Brent’s responsibility.
Maddie’s had a rough life. She was orphaned when she was eight after both of her parents were killed in a car accident. Fortunately, she was adopted into a new family, and her new parents are good friends with Brent’s. Maddie and the siblings went to school together, with Brase knowing her best. None of them were necessarily CLOSE with her, though.
She was largely an outcast and didn’t have many real friends. She and the siblings were essentially thrust onto one another as a result of their parents’ relationship. From the sound of it, they “tolerated” each other. Nobody wants friends born out of duty.
Genuine facts regarding Maddie’s disappearance are scarce, but that hasn’t stopped everyone from talking – and not just the members of their social circle. The whole town is buzzing about the girl.
Though Maddie is an adult, she still lives at home, and from the way it sounds, her parents are very present in her life. They have never gone a DAY without knowing where she is, let alone hearing from her. Subsequently, they are absolutely losing their minds. Their frantic anxiety has infected the town’s consciousness, working the whole place up into a fervor : posters everywhere, search groups, rallies; everyone is looking for her.
And yet, she hasn’t been seen since the night I met her, that first night at the fair.
THAT, I believe, is what is really getting to Brent, the unmistakable coincidence of it. Another person in his life, the same age as his brother,disappearing around the same time.
There are rumors of Maddie finally standing up to her parents about a forbidden romance and whispers of a high schoolteacher being investigated for taking too close an interest in some of his former students. Like I said, though, real facts are in short supply.
Brooke, too, is dismayed by the news, but hearing about it, ironically, made her feel a little better about Brent’s unpredictable behavior of late. The two have reconciled for now, but we’ll see how that holds up going forward.
Dean can not get that car fixed soon enough.
~~~
Speaking of Dean, the mechanic is still digging around in the engine, figuring out the problem. Apparently the serviceman had been under the impression he could just get around to Brent’s carat his leisure – we HAD been squeezed into a “really busy schedule.” But Dean has apparently convinced him to move us to the front of the line.
“I have him at gunpoint, no big deal,” was Dean’s casual explanation. I’m fairly confident that was a joke. Either way, the diagnosis should be complete in a few hours and repairs can begin.
He continues to assure us, “It’ll be ready tonight or someone bleeds.” I just hope the mechanic isn’t in earshot as he makes all these horrible pronouncements.
So fingers crossed – on ALL counts. Brase, Maddie, the car : I think we deserve some good news for a change.