Page 28 of Good Dirt

Disquiet

A very hears the quiver of a screen door as it shuts. She pushes the curtain aside in time to see Ebony leaving the main cottage and striding across the backyard in her rubber boots. Ebony has a regal bearing, despite the clunky shoes and floppy headgear. Her wide-brimmed hat is different from the one she was wearing yesterday when she fell into the river. Avery feels her mouth tighten as she remembers how Henry reached out to pull Ebony from the water. His hand gripping Ebony’s. The tension in the air between them, despite Henry’s attempt at sounding mildly amused.

Avery knows that tone. That’s Henry doing his everything is fine tone when everything is not fine. Like the short, cheery peck on her forehead he gave her this morning before slipping out the door with his camera. He winked at her, but Avery could see he couldn’t wait to leave. What did he expect to take pictures of when there was so little light out? That was Henry, doing his best to avoid a confrontation.

Ebony is wearing gardening gloves with a conspicuously cheerful floral motif and carrying something sharp-looking in one hand. She crouches down and starts to dig in a flower bed. For a moment, Ebony looks like a very tall child intent on making mud pies. Avery surprises herself by smiling at the sight. But as she continues to watch, a different feeling comes over Avery. A kind of disquiet. She watches as Ebony shoves the gardening tool into the earth, over and over again, stabbing at the soil as if trying to tunnel her way out of a locked room.

Earlier, over her morning coffee, Avery read an article about traumatic bereavement. How its symptoms can affect all aspects of the survivor’s life. She should stop thinking about Ebony, stop peering at her through the window, but how can she help it? That article could be Ebony’s life story. Ebony shifts her weight until she is kneeling in the dirt, and her shoulders relax into a slump. In that moment, she looks so vulnerable, and that, right there, could be the biggest threat to Avery. Henry must not see Ebony this way.

Avery has already made a hotel booking in another town for tomorrow night. She needs to keep Henry away from this cottage just for one more day. Avery will convince Henry to drive over to one of the other villages for a late breakfast of café crème and fresh bread with a dollop of jam. Then they can visit a vineyard. There’s also a chateau and a flea market on her list of options. Or maybe they could do nothing at all, as long as they do it away from here.

A full day away from this house. A full day away from Ebony Freeman. Then checkout tomorrow, and they will be gone.