Chapter 3
He heard the crackle of
fires surrounding him, felt the heat under his feet, the smoke
stinging his eyes. He was yelling desperately, trying to force his
body to move faster when the very air seemed to be holding him back.
A crack under him and he was
falling, hurtling into a fire that reached hungry arms up to claim
him...
Thump!
Barkus
opened his eyes and found himself on the floor, wrapped so thoroughly
in bedsheets that his only recourse was to wriggle, worm-like out the
top of the cocoon. He was in the apartment above Mary's Cafe, and it
was nearly dawn. The place was really very nice. It had been clearly
designed for 2 people who liked to socialize. One permanent bedroom,
a guest room/office, a compact but pleasantly functional kitchen and
a sizeable, open-plan living area. Large bedroom windows showed the
line of brightness that signified the coming sun and the birds
outside were celebrating the new day.
Barkus
stared around the simple, yet comfortably furnished room, his heart
still pounding in his throat, the sweat cooling on his skin. He'd had
nightmares before of course, but it was so vivid, so real. It
was like he had really been in a house fire, but he had never been in
one...
Well
said a recently-awakened voice. You haven't, but your
family has...
Barkus
jumped at the slam of a door under his feet. In the Cafe below, the
usual noises of opening up an establishment for the day began,
including several voices raised in greeting. Barkus took a swift,
scalding hot shower to chase away the demons, dressed hurriedly and
clattered down the apartment steps, turning the corner to the
entrance of Mary's just as Mary herself was turning the sign to
'Open'.
'Oh good morning Barkus,' she smiled as he walked in. 'Did you sleep
well?'
'For the most part,' he replied, then he saw who else was there.
'Sol! Gus! How are you two doing?'
'Oh cant complain now Barkus,' Sol replied with a wide grin as
Barkus made his way over to them. 'The sun's rising, everything else
is a bonus.' Barkus paused in the act of pulling out a chair after an
inviting gesture from Gus.
'That's a pretty good way of looking at it,' he admitted, sitting
down. 'I have to say that I never thought of it that way.'
'It's a different approach, that's for sure.'
'So how's Barkus this morning?,' Gus rumbled. Barkus opened his mouth
to deliver the usual inane answer, then shut it again. Instinctively,
he felt again that Gus brooked no lies.
'In need of a working dreamcatcher,' he said instead. They waited
politely, Mary quietly deposited a cup of coffee by his elbow, for a
moment it seemed like there was a crossroads looming, then he shook
his head and it passed. 'I don't know,' he mumbled. 'It's a funny
thing, dreaming.'
'That it is,' Sol nodded as Barkus took refuge in his coffee. 'It
used to be believed that a dream was always true, not even
allegorical, just plain true. Then it was thought that they had to
interpreted through standard texts and translators. At some point
they were dismissed as nothing more than images and random leakages
while the days events were being filed.' He shrugged, while Barkus
stared right through a picture of a bespectacled Dave Brubeck at his
piano. 'I'm sure tomorrow they'll find something else to reason them
away.'
'You sound ever so slightly acerbic,' Barkus pointed out, dragging
himself back into the here and now.
'Do I?' Sol seemed surprised, then he shrugged again. 'I suppose I
prefer to see dreams as slightly more significant than the 'random
filing' theory.'
'How so?' Sol pursed his lips and gazed at the ceiling, Barkus
realized that the spot he was staring at corresponded to where his
bed was upstairs, but shrugged it off as coincidence.
'Certain
things weigh heavily on the human mind,' he said slowly. 'Unfulfilled
expectations, unfinished goodbyes, regrets, pain of all kinds, they
all pull on the subconscious regardless of whether or not a person is
actually aware of it. Dreams are many things and one of the functions
is to allow the unconscious mind to,' he waved his coffee cup. 'Leave
a note on the door I guess. Though sometimes,' he laughed. 'It's more
like breaking the door down, grabbing the conscious mind by the
scruff of the neck and demanding it's attention.' Barkus laughed
weakly, but he remembered the feeling of terror as the boards broke
under his feet to pitch him into the flames. His hand began to shake.
At
that moment, Gus rose to fetch a fresh jug of cream from where Mary
was filling them for the day. As he did so, his shadow fell across
Barkus and Barkus felt a moment of calm. He took a huge, shuddering
breath, then snuck a look to see if either of the other two men had
noticed his discomposure. Both appeared engrossed in their tasks, Gus
almost replacing his coffee with cream and Sol scanning the breakfast
menu on the wall.
'Would you guys like something to eat this morning?' Mary asked,
bustling over. 'The grill's warmed up and the eggs are fresh, so what
can I get you?'
'I'll have pancakes, please Mary,' Sol said. 'Just three, loaded with
fruits and chocolate please.'
'That sounds pretty good actually;' Barkus mused. 'Make that 2 orders
please Mary. And an orange juice.'
'And I'll have the melted cheese and ham on brown bread please,' said
Gus. 'Thanks Mary.' And with another smile, she was off to the
kitchen.
'So I hear you're almost ready to present to Council,' Sol said,
matter of factly. Barkus grinned, what else did he expect?
'Nearly, I have to get to grips with the material first. When there
are, entrenched interests there are entrenched ideas ,' he paused,
Sol and Gus were both grinning at him as he tried to stay diplomatic.
'And those can be hard to...'
'De-trench?' Gus suggested. 'You're not far wrong there, though the
issue is more that while the Council would love a 'John Barkus Built'
square, they'll want Paul Taylor to be in charge of the actual
building.' Barkus thought about this. Up in the flat, there were
sepia-toned pictures of the town over the last 100 or so years. When he was shown the flat yesterday, he had taken great care to memorize the section that
contained the building where Paul Taylor's clothes shop was, then
went back out again to look at the building as it was today. He was
not struck by Mr Taylor's taste in building decoration, and said so.
Both of the other men burst out laughing.
'You know,' Sol said, wiping at his eyes. 'I kinda had the feeling
you'd feel that way.'
'Well, I really had better start studying then,' Barkus mused. 'Cos
the best way to call someones ability into question is to catch them
out in a question and never let them regain balance. And I don't feel
like tottering in front of the Village Council.'
'Oh, you better be careful who hears you there Barkus,' came a new
voice. Barkus twisted to see George accept a coffee from
Mary and wander over to their table. He was out of uniform and as he
sat down, Sol asked;
'Day off today George?'
'You know it,' George replied, putting his hat under his chair and
sitting back with a sigh. 'Giving the wife a lie-in and came out for
a guilty breakfast.'
'Her granola getting any better?' George put on a look of
mock-offence.
'That's my wife you're talking about there buddy, her granola has
always been amazing.' Pause, contemplation of coffee. 'It's the
muesli that could do with some work.' Laughter.
'My wife used to put coconut flakes, nuts, berries, maple syrup and
some ginger,' Barkus paused. 'And I think a pinch of salt too, all in
a bowl and mix it up, put it into muffin tins, and pop them in the
freezer. When they came out they were these sweet, nutty, hard snacks
that went perfectly with a coffee.' Barkus paused, then glanced down
at his left hand. 'Ex-wife, I mean,' he mumbled. The other men looked
at him sympathetically, then George cleared his throat.
'You know,' he said thoughtfully. 'I don't like hard snacks, but a
mix like that sounds like it would be really tasty along with
muesli.' he paused and grimaced. 'I cant believe I just said that.
She's wearing me down boys.' Mary came over with three plates and
slid them in front of their owners.
'Having breakfast with Lisa today George?' George shook his head.
'Nope, giving her a break and letting her sleep in so I'll need some
feeding.' Mary waited, eyebrow raised as George stared longingly at
Gus's plate, then he sighed. 'You know what Lisa allows Mary, just do
your best to make it interesting.'
'You know she only wants to make sure you live forever,' Mary
commented, as she turned away.
'Well, if second prize is making it feel like forever, then
she's certainly getting that medal.' George's smile robbed the words
of sting and Barkus felt a wave of jealousy suddenly wash over him.
He bent his head over his pancakes to hide it, and missed the look
that flashed between Sol and Gus.
'Oh wow,' he said, mouth full. 'These pancakes are amazing!'
'Yeah,' George said morosely. 'They are. It's the high percentage of
butter and cream.' Barkus paused.
'That's true' he admitted. 'But I think the nutmeg might also have
something to do with it.'
'Shush there Barkus!' Mary called from the counter where she was
polishing cutlery. 'Stop giving my secrets away!' George stared at
Barkus.
'Nutmeg?' He twisted in his chair. 'Hey Mary, am I allowed nutmeg?'
'George, you know full well that you're allowed all flavourings
except chillis and salt. It's not Lisa's fault that they're the only
ones you think you like. Don't worry, Jamie's on the case and he's
got taste-buds that are only half-atrophied.'
'How's Jamie working out for you?' Gus asked as Mary wandered over,
the cutlery chore forgotten.
'You tell me,' she smiled. 'This morning he did everything himself
from scratch.' Sol and Gus both stared down at their plates and back
at her.
'So these aren't your pancakes?' Sol asked, sounding heartbroken.
'My recipe, my kitchen, Jamie's hands on the whisk.' Mary smiled. 'He
learns fast that kid, he gets a recipe perfect after 2 tries and by
the fourth he's bringing it home to see how far he can take it.'
'How's his Pop doing?'
'Better now that his son makes sure he's eating properly. But he's
not walking as much as the doctors tell him and that's making him
seize up.'
'Well, lets be honest here Mary,' Gus rumbled. 'Where they live
there's nowhere to walk to, just out and back and James Hornet has
never seen the point in that. He may have lost an arm, but it hasn't
changed him that much.'
'And old men like James Hornet will never 'make himself a burden' as
he puts it.' She sighed and turned as the door opened to admit 3 more
customers. 'So unless there's a purpose for him to take walks besides
his health, he's not going to take them.' With a last glance at the
volumes of their coffee cups, she went to look after the 3 newcomers.
'Where do they live?' Barkus asked. A phrase from last nights study
had popped up during the conversation.
'You know that road going between Jim's Place and the blue building?
About 3 miles out that way,' George said.
'Huh.' Silence reigned for a few moments. 'How many people live out
that way?' Sol, Gus and George regarded each other for a moment.
'Over the whole road?' George shrugged. 'About 200 people, but spread
out over 10 or 15 square miles. You know, clusters of related
families, gap of couple miles, more clusters.'
'But they're not all on the road neither,' Gus added. 'Most are a
half-mile and more further back. For some, half the way into town is
getting off the driveway.'
'Huh,' Barkus said again, with a far-away look in his eye.
'Why, whatcha thinking about? Thanks Mary,' George added as Mary slid
a bowl and small plate in front of him. 'Oh wow, what is this?'
'Muesli, fruit and yoghurt, with vanilla and maple syrup,' she told
him. 'With a side of sliced pears and Jamie's special fruit cake.'
George raised an eyebrow.
'”Special”?' Mary laughed, then lowered her voice.
'Gluten free, just don't blab cos no-one will want to try it and it's
too good to be refused.'
'Well,' George sighed. 'Okay, I'll give it a try.'
'We appreciate you taking the risk,' she replied solemnly, before
heading away again. George regarded the cake slice suspiciously, then
turned his attention to the bowl.
'So what were you thinking about?' Sol asked Barkus, who was grinning
at George's examination of his breakfast.
'Hmm? Oh, sorry. What was I thinking about when?' Gus chuckled, his
melted sandwich had already disappeared, now his finger was chasing
the last of the salad dressing.
'When you were asking about the road past Jim's Place?' Sol hinted.
'Oh my, this is good,' George enthused suddenly. He had finally taken
the plunge and a spoonful from the bowl, now he was staring into it
with the expression of a man on the verge of a revelation. He looked
up into three bemused expressions. 'I'm sorry, please continue.'
Amidst
chuckles, Barkus said; 'I want to ask Sheryl what she could come up
with for that road.' The three other men looked him quizzically.
'Just out of interest,' he said, a shade defensively.
'Sheryl Monroe,' Sol mused, while Gus regarded Barkus with an
unreadable expression. 'I been hearing some strange things
regarding...'
George
coughed and held his napkin to his mouth. He coughed again and this
time managed to clear the problem. He looked up.
'Sorry, he said for the second time in a minute. 'It seems that tasty
muesli is a dangerous thing, liable to choke you if eaten too fast.'
'I
wonder is that the first time anyone's said that?' Barkus asked as he
got up to re-fill his cup from the jug on the counter. Mary was at
the other end of the restaurant, entertaining a small, hyperactive
child while it's parents tried to doze over their coffee. There was a
mirror here and Barkus saw George shoot Sol an annoyed, meaningful
look, while Sol raised his shoulders in the universal “who, me?”
gesture. When he got back to the table, all was normal, though Gus
was regarding the ceiling with a repressed smile and folded arms.
'Well,' Barkus said as he sat down again. 'I've been reading the
books she lent me and they're fascinating. I want to see some
different applications though,' he paused, he had lost them. 'Do you
guys have any idea what I'm talking about?'
About
ten minutes later, Barkus realised that he had gotten himself into a
hole, but was momentarily saved by Sol looking towards the door and
breaking into a large smile.
'Sarah! Welcome back my dear, it's been far too long!' he boomed,
standing to give the tall stranger a hug. She was so much taller than
him in fact, that his face ended in her breasts, a fact that he did
not seem to mind at all. She laughed a rich, warm laugh and wrapped
her arms around the top of his head.
'With a welcome like that, is it any wonder I stay away so long?' Gus
and George laughed as Sol emerged with a loopy grin, before standing
for their hugs of welcome. Gus even lifted the woman off her feet
momentarily, resulting in another thrill of laughter. Lynn, Barkus
noticed, was grinning from ear to ear and her eyes sparkled as she
drank in Sarah's every move. He put two and two together and was
thankful that he had not embarressed himself. Then it was his turn to
greet the newcomers.
Sarah
turned a broadly smiling face and dark eyes on him, and he was
momentarily tongue-tied. She was one of these rare people who almost
created electricity with an arm gesture, who vibrated with inner
purpose, and focused that energy on whoever was the subject of their
attention. The fact that she was drop-dead gorgeous did not help at
all. As he muttered an inane greeting to go with his handshake while
Lynn introduced them, his eyes fell on a vivid red and black badge
pinned low to one side of the scoop-neck top she was wearing. It had
a slogan on it.
“
'What does it mean?',” he echoed, not realising he spoke aloud
until the sound of his voice hit his ears. Sarah regarded him with
her head on one side, eyes sparkling. Barkus hoped he wasnt blushing
as he stumbled on in embarresment. “Your badge, it says, “What
does it m...?” So, what does it mean?”
“Are you completing the thought on the badge or are you asking me
the meaning or purpose of the badge?” Barkus paused, the woman's
face held the same expression as his younger sister's had when she
was in a playful mood.
“I
think I've guessed the purpose of the badge and so may have reached
the meaning also.” The smallest change in her expression told him
that he had won a prize so he plunged on. “I think people fill in
words that they expect to see, that resonates with their frame of
mind at that time. By dangling a badge like that where people are
bound to look,” he was rewarded by a bark of laughter. “You have
a sure-fire way of assessing a person in a short period of time.”
Sarah
smiled ruefully and turned to Lynn.
“You're right,” she said to her. “I do like him despite
myself.”
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