moment
of carelessness, I tossed the pills into the water, the pink packages floating
away.
“What was that?”
I turned to see Shelly. “Um…nothing.”
“You threw something in the water.”
I sighed. “Those were my birth
control pills.”
“I thought you didn’t want anymore
babies.”
My gaze rested on the ground, eyeing
a patch of grass. “I don't know.”
“Did you change your mind?”
“I…probably.”
“That’s not a state secret,” she
laughed. “You can have as many babies as you want.”
“I thought Maggy would be it. I thought I was through. I can’t even believe I did that.”
“So you want more kids.”
What I couldn’t say was that I wanted
to have Brutus’s babies. The guilt I felt was horrible. This was a secret I
would have to keep to myself. A piercing, shattering sound filled the air.
“What was that?” asked Shelly.
“Oh, my God! That sounds like Daisy!”
Chapter Ten
We raced to camp, tearing through the
woods, as branches smacked my face. Shelly and I burst out of the foliage,
finding a bustling campsite. The fire had been stoked, and someone had taken
the furs out, draping them over rocks. The source of the noise was on the
blanket, as Brutus held Daisy, his mouth connecting with her belly. She
shrieked with laughter, while he blew noisily on her flesh. It was always
shocking to see a baby in the hands of a Bigfoot; the difference in size was
astonishing. His fingers overlapped her tummy; they were so big.
Shelly laughed, “They’re playing.
God! Gimme a heart attack.”
Maggy’s cries caught my attention. “She
needs to be fed.” I found her in a hut, rolling from side to side, wailing.
“Shush now. I got you.” The tiny, ape-like creature, grunted then, her lips
working. “Oh, my goodness.” I joined Brutus and Daisy on the blanket, while
feeding Maggy . He pulled me onto his lap, as I rested
against him, using him like a chair. Wolfie appeared
then, his face looking sticky. “What did you get into?” I spoke in Sasquatch.
“Honey,” he rasped. “Yummy honey.” To
illustrate this point, there were several dead bees stuck to his fur.
He sat next to Daisy, who played with
a Barbie doll. We were a strange, mixed-raced family, but, by some miracle, the
combination worked. I experienced a moment of sheer bliss then, feeling as if I
was where I truly belonged, with the people who meant the most to me. Leonard
and Pooky stomped from the trees, carrying several
salmons, which they had gutted by the river. While they placed the fish on a
metal grate, they talked amongst themselves, and I understood their
conversation. They were thrilled by the quantity of fish in these waters, and
they planned to kill a deer for supper. Lori, who had been in the hut most of
the morning emerged. She sat nearby, eyeing the fire.
I glanced at Brutus. “You should let
her go.”
His black, gleaming eyes roamed over
my face. “You stay with me, and I’ll let her go.”
“I belong to Leonard.” Leonard, who
had overheard that, glanced in our direction. “I don’t know how long we’ll be
here.”
“You be with me forever.”
I met Leonard’s gaze. “What are we
going to do?” I knew he had overhead everything he had said.
Leonard got to his feet, brushing
dirt from his hairy knees. He ambled over, kneeling before me. “This girl’s not
fit for camp life,” he rasped. He pointed at Lori. “She’s weak. It’s no good.
Let this one go.”
“Then we trade,” said Brutus. “I take
Porsche.”
Leonard’s face twisted then, his
expression filled with rage. “No.”
The muscles in Brutus’s chest
tightened, his body preparing to attack. “Stop this!” I held Maggy , who had fallen asleep. “Don't fight over me!”
Leonard stared, his eyes darting back
and forth. It seemed like the entire camp had stopped what they were doing to
watch. “You like this
Peter Tremayne
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