“Nikki,” she called and then embraced her warmly. “Thank you for doing this.”
“It’s my pleasure. Where do I start?”
“Over here on the right with the dogs. You’ll need to pick ribbons for each group.”
“So in this first line I judge dogs only against dogs?”
“That’s right. We changed the old rule a few years back. Against the stage are bunnies and cats, and then on the left it varies widely. I will tell you that we do have a few extra ribbons, so we can do a tie if you really can’t decide. Anyone who doesn’t place in the top three receives a purple ribbon for participation. Oh, there’s my husband at the microphone now. He’s ready to get things started.” Nikki followed Mrs. Marks as she moved toward her spouse.
“Okay, folks, we’re ready to get started now. If I could have a little quiet, I’ll give you some instructions. Stay in line until our judge has seen all of the pets and dismisses your section with the raise of her hand.” Nikki watched Mr. Marks smile and glance her way and tried not to blush when it became clear that he was going to introduce her.
“For those of you who haven’t heard, I guess I should mention that Doc Borden is laid up with a broken leg, but Pine Tree’s own published author, Nikki Brinks, has agreed to fill in for us.” Mr. Marks paused. “We know Doc will be back with us next year, and we appreciate him, but it’s no contest as to which judge is prettier.”
As the room erupted with laughter and a few wolf whistles, Nikki felt herself go red from the neck up. She couldn’t stop herself from wondering how in the world she could have been tempted to move back.
“Okay, now,” barked Mr. Marks, restoring order. “After your section has been judged, you can move around some, but don’t bother the other animals that are still waiting for Nikki. Let’s all give Nikki a nice big welcome and get ready for a great time.”
When they applauded, Nikki waved her hand briefly and started toward the first dog in the line. The next 20 minutes passed in what felt like seconds. She watched dog tricks, heard the dogs’ names, and met all their owners. Nikki made notes on the pad Mrs. Marks had given her concerning every animal before moving on to the cats. Again she made notes as she met animals and owners alike. Doing her best not to look ahead, Nikki was surprised to come to the end of the second line and find her neighbor, a small rabbit in her arms.
“Well, Petra. I didn’t know you had a pet.”
The little girl nodded. “It’s a rabbit.”
“I see that. Does it have a name?”
“Fluffy,” Petra told her, and Nikki wrote the name on her pad.
“And what is your last name, Petra?”
“Swann.”
“Is the bunny a boy or a girl?” Nikki asked as she wrote.
“I think it’s a girl.”
Again, Nikki made note. “Do you take care of Fluffy yourself, Petra?”
She nodded and shifted the small scrap of gray fur a little closer to her chest. Nikki smiled at her, nothing unusual—she’d been smiling at children since she arrived—but this one was special.
Nikki asked a few more questions about Fluffy, thanked Petra, and then turned to go up the lefthand side of the room. The first pet was in a deep cardboard box on a small folding table. Nikki stepped up to the box, a smile on her face, but visibly started and gasped when she saw what was inside.
“A snake!” She tried to recover her smile, even as her skin crawled. “Your pet is a snake.”
“Yes,” the little boy standing behind the box spoke confidently. “His name is Brutus.”
“Brutus,” Nikki repeated, sounding winded even to her own ears. She took a moment to compose herself and forced her eyes into the box. A shiver ran over her, but she still asked the little boy’s name.
“Theo Swann. Petra is my sister.”
“Oh, how nice, Theo, uhm, tell me, what type of snake is Brutus?”
“He’s a ribbon snake.”
She wrote, but her hand shook noticeably. Again she made herself look into the box, and the snake chose that moment to slither his tongue out and move a little. Nikki felt transfixed with horror until she realized Theo was talking to her.
“He eats mice mostly, and I take care of him myself.”
Nikki nodded and made herself write. You’ve got to calm down, Dominique. Get a grip.
“How long have you had him?”
“About six months.”
Nikki glanced down to see the snake’s tongue come out again but made herself stay calm.
“How often do snakes stick their tongues out, Theo?” This time she really wanted to know.
Theo told her what he’d studied on the subject and gave a very thorough accounting. Nikki thanked him sincerely, made herself look once more, and moved on.
Had she but bothered to look, she might have noticed the man who stood in the corner between the children. His eyes had barely left her since she’d started the judging, and after watching her with the snake, he wanted to howl with laughter. But Nikki never did glance his way. She was too busy with the last part of the small-animal lineup.
At last the judging was finished. She completed her list and handed it to Mr. Marks.
“I have our winners,” he spoke into the mike. The crowd came forward in a bunch. “When your name is called, come up and Nikki will give you your ribbon. Everyone will receive a participation ribbon, but we’ll hand out the first-, second-, and third-place ribbons first. You all did a great job, and I’m proud of you.”
“Okay, for the dogs, third place goes to …”
The list was disposed of neatly. There was one tie among the dog ranks, and Nikki watched in pleasure as little faces lit up and families cheered. Telling herself it was just because they were her neighbors, she’d been watching Theo and Petra Swann. She felt her heart swell over Theo’s excitement about a blue ribbon, but she had to turn away from Petra’s tear-filled eyes when the little girl realized that Fluffy had not placed.
Mr. and Mrs. Marks rescued her by coming over to thank her for all her work. They pressed a schedule of events into her hands in case she hadn’t seen the weekend’s activities in The Sap, originally called the Saturday Afternoon Paper, and invited her to join them if she came to the barbecue that night. Nikki thanked them, not sure of her immediate plans.
She climbed back into her car, wondering when she’d ever worked so hard. It had been emotionally exhausting. Cute as Theo Swann was, his snake came back to mind, and she couldn’t stop the shudder. She started the car and went home, thinking she should probably get back to the computer for a few hours and then press her dress for church in the morning. After arriving home, however, she made the mistake of sitting in the overstuffed chair to sort through her mail. Too comfortable to move, she read her mail and dozed for the next hour, the computer forgotten.
Almost two weeks later, Nikki did a little dance as she watched the FedEx woman drive away. It always felt so satisfying to finish a book, especially if it was on time. She’d been asking the Lord to help her hold her focus for the last week, and by getting plenty of rest and keeping at it, she had gotten the job done. She now felt free to take a little time off, maybe a week or so. To start off, she decided to work in her yard. Winter would be upon her before she knew it, and although it was still warm, the air had the feeling of autumn. The trees were still holding their leaves, but the flowerbeds that had bloomed so lovely during midsummer were now dried out and ready to be cleared.
Nikki headed out to the garage for tools and started on the beds around the front door. She had a nice pile of debris in the wheelbarrow when she spotted the snake. For several seconds she was frozen with fear, but after a few moments of deep breathing, she slowly pushed off her knees and told herself to remain calm. She had no more hit the road, however, than she began to run. Tearing like a mad woman down the street, she shot onto the large porch of the huge white house and knocked as if her life depended on it.
The door wasn’t long in opening, and Nikki began to t
houghtlessly babble as soon as she saw the man inside.
“Are you my neighbor?” Her chest heaved in her fear.
“Yes, may I—” he began, but got no further.
“A snake! It’s right by the house. I don’t know what to do; I just wanted to clear the plants and there it was, not big, but a snake! I don’t know what to do.”
“Let me get Theo,” the man managed to get in.
“What if it’s poisonous?”
“We’ll be careful.”
Leaving the door open, the man moved back inside. Nikki’s eyes went back to her house as if she could see the snake from there. Not two minutes passed before the man was back, both Theo and Petra with him.
“Hello, Nikki,” Petra said as if they were headed to a parade.
“There’s a snake” was all Nikki could say, her voice still breathless.
“Theo will get it,” she responded with confidence, following her father and brother off the porch. The man strode out confidently, the children with him, but Nikki hung back a little. In fact, they had to stop and wait for her at the picket fence.
“Where is it?” the man asked.
“There,” Nikki pointed. “To the left side of the porch.”
Theo stepped forward, and it took all Nikki had not to stop him.
“Here it is, Dad. It looks like a garter snake.”
“I think you’re right.” The man had gone up right behind him.
With a long pole that Nikki hadn’t even noticed before, Theo touched it. Nothing happened, so he tried again. Under his father’s watchful eyes, the little boy bent and lifted the snake in his hand. He carried it out toward Petra and Nikki. Nikki had to stop herself from stepping behind the little girl.
“It’s dead,” he said sadly.
“Oh.” Nikki was surprised. She didn’t know how she felt about that—a little sad because of Theo’s face, but relieved for herself.
“Well, thank you for checking for me. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”
“Not at all,” the man replied, and Nikki finally looked at him. “I’m Dorian Swann, by the way.”
Nikki shook the large hand that was held out to her and introduced herself.
“Nikki Brinks.”
“You’re the writer.”
“Yes,” Nikki said, but her mind was wandering. “Did you say Dorian Swann?”
“Yes.”
“Are you the doctor?”
“Yes.”
Nikki nodded.
“Where have you heard the name?”
Nikki smiled. “When I first moved back, my mother wrote down all the emergency numbers to have by the phone; she listed yours as the doctor.”
Dorian smiled. “When you say moved back, do you just mean to Pine Tree or to this house?”
“To this house. I grew up here.”
“Then I could ask you who lived in my house?”
“Sure. There weren’t that many families.”
“We bought it from a man named Pike.”
“I didn’t know him,” Nikki began but then looked down to see Theo calmly holding the dead snake. She started in a way no one could miss.
“I’ll tell you what I want you to do, Theo,” his father spoke up kindly. “Why don’t you get the shovel and bury the snake in our backyard. Petra and I will stay here and help Nikki with her yard; you come back when you’re through.”
“All right.”
“I’m sorry,” Nikki murmured as soon as Theo was out of earshot. “For a moment I forgot about it, and then it was so close to me.”
“That’s fine, Nikki,” Dorian assured her. “Theo would think nothing of it. The kids’ babysitter doesn’t like Brutus, so Theo has learned to be sensitive.”
As soon as he said this, he turned to load a small pile of dead flowers into the wheelbarrow. He then picked up the rake and began to work around one of the bushes. Nikki went back to her knees, only a little bit watchful to see if the snake had a family.
“So which was the first family you remember living in our house?”
“That would be the Cavanaughs, Max and Eileen. They moved when I was about 10, maybe as old as 12. Then the house sat empty for about a year before Twitchells bought it. They were there until my last year of high school. I remember because their oldest daughter was crushed that we wouldn’t be graduating together.
“The Wilkinsons bought it from the Twitchells, but then I went off to college, and my mother was ready for a change. She sold our house and moved to Maine. After that I can’t tell you.”
“Actually,” Dorian said while he raked, “you filled in just about everyone. I know that Charles Brookwell built it in 1925, only lived in it a year, and then sold it to another family, but I couldn’t find any record between them and Wilkinsons.”
Wondering who else he’d asked, Nikki then wanted to know who lived at the end of the road now.
“A young couple,” Dorian told her. “Their last name is Ross, and they tell me they don’t know anyone around here.”
“You need to have coffee with one of the old-timers in town to get filled in.”
Dorian smiled. “I think you just called yourself old.”
Nikki laughed. “Some days I feel it.”
“It’s all done,” Theo proclaimed as he joined the group once again. “And we won’t even tell Mrs. Butram, because she’d rather not know.”
“Is Mrs. Butram your babysitter?” Nikki asked from her place on the ground.
“Well, she’s more Petra’s than mine, but she does the cooking and keeps the house clean. She’s nice, but she doesn’t like Brutus.”
Nikki smiled in understanding, all the time thinking it didn’t sound as if there was a mother in this household.
“We’re having soup tonight,” Petra told Nikki. The little girl was supposed to be putting little sticks in the wheelbarrow, but she was sitting on the porch steps staring at Nikki. “Do you want to have some with us?”
Nikki smiled at her but didn’t answer. She pushed to her feet and put her load of leaves and vines with the others. It was getting fairly full, so she lifted the handles and started around the back of the house, but Dorian stopped her to reiterate Petra’s question.
“We would like you to join us, Nikki.”
Nikki looked at him and then at the children who were watching her in anticipation.
“Brutus is in a cage,” Theo told her. “He can’t get out.”
Nikki’s heart melted, but she still asked of Dorian, “Are you certain? I know you weren’t planning on me.”
“We have plenty.”
Nikki met his eyes, and for a moment she couldn’t look away. She had felt his gaze on her from time to time but hated to read something that wasn’t there.
“I’d love to join you,” she said softly. “I baked a loaf of bread in my breadmaker this morning. May I bring that?”
“That’s fine,” Dorian answered as he came to take the handles from her. “Where to?”
“The burning barrel behind the garage.”
Nikki and the children followed, and all hands, large and small, helped empty everything into the can. They went back to the house as a group and finished the beds and bushes all the way around. Petra did more talking than working, but she was such a character that Nikki could only laugh.
“I want to see in your house,” she said at one point.
“Petra Swann.” Her father spoke softly but with a note the little girl did not miss.
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right, Petra. If your father says it’s okay, you may.”
Dorian shook his head. “We’ll see it some other time, Petra. We need to finish up here and head home to start dinner.”
“When are you coming, Nikki?” This came from Theo.
“When would you like me?”
“We usually eat at six o’clock.”
“I’ll come then, shall I?”
He nodded and smiled at her and left Nikki thinking what a special fami
ly they were.
“Thank you for all your help,” she said to the doctor as they readied to leave.
“You’re welcome. It looks as though you’re in pretty good shape for when the leaves start to fall.”
“Does everyone still rake and burn until we’re sick of the smoke?”
“I’m afraid so,” he said with a laugh. “We’ll see you in a few hours, okay?”
“Yes. Is there anything else I can bring?”
“Just yourself,” he said so softly that Nikki almost missed it. Again their eyes met, his very dark, almost black, and Nikki’s a light green. The doctor smiled suddenly and said goodbye. Nikki stayed where she was for a moment and then moved into the house. She took a shower, washed her hair, and worked on some things that had been waiting while she finished the book, but through it all her neighbors were not very far from her mind.
“You read my books, Theo?” Nikki asked several hours later as the children showed her their rooms.
“Oh, yes. They’re some of my favorites.”
“Theo,” Nikki sat on the edge of his bed, “do you suppose you could do me a huge favor?”
“I think so.”
“I just finished writing a book,” Nikki explained. “If you could read it and tell me what you think, I could know if it’s going to be a good story before it goes to print. Do you think your father would mind?”
“I don’t think so, but I could ask him.”
“That would be great. I would want you to give me your honest opinion.”
“All right,” he nodded congenially.
“You’ll let me know what your father says?”
“Yes.”
“Can you see my room now?”
Petra had come to the door, looking very much like a 5-year-old going on 15.
“Yes, I can,” Nikki answered her and rose. “Thank you for showing me your room, Theo. It looks great.”
“You’re welcome.”
Petra’s room was adorable, with a Noah’s ark theme that included a ceiling covered with clouds and wainscot paint that resembled the ocean filled with sea life. Nikki was captivated. Someone had gone to a lot of work, someone who painted very well.