Page 28 of The Woodcarver's Model
Rob made his way to a table which was illuminated by a single candle in a jar. A woman in a flowing caftan was pouring herself a cup of something from a carafe. She looked like she’d stepped right out of a 1960s commune.
“I was told to put these here,” Rob said.
“You must be Mitch’s new friend. I’d recognise his scones anywhere,” said the caftan lady. “Happy Solstice Day.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“And the same to you,” he offered as he arranged the scones on a tray.
“I’m surprised a healthy man like you didn’t eat most of those on the way over.”
“Trust me—I tried.”
“You must be starving. Try one of these,” she said, offering a brownie from a tray in front of her. “I just baked them last night. They go great with the tea.”
“I don’t mind if I do.” He downed one in a single bite, chewing as he poured himself a cup of the tea, which tasted earthy with a touch of lemon. After the caftan lady left, Rob knocked back the tea and a few more brownies and headed off to check out the event.
There was remarkably little light beyond the candle at the food table. He had to watch where he was walking. People were clustered in small groups, many with cups of strong coffee pressed under their noses. The lack of light made the stars even brighter. It wasn’t the first time he’d been to a dark sky preserve, but familiarity never bred contempt when it came to the night sky. He sat down. His body felt jittery.Too much sugar,he thought.
He lay down and stared at the sky. The more he stared, the more stars he saw. It was like lengthening the exposure of a photograph.My eyes are cameras… Click. Click. Click.“Click, Click. Click.” He giggled.
“Hey, are you okay down there?” a guy asked, after he’d almost stepped on him.
“Amazing. Come here.” Rob patted the ground and the guy lay down beside him. “Now look up. You can see everything. The light from those stars is billions of years old. The stars it’s coming from may not even exist anymore, and we wouldn’t know it for, who knows—millions of years.”
The guy beside him began to snore. Rob giggled.I should wake him up so he doesn’t miss anything, he thought. Just then a huge wet tongue slobbered across his face. “Rufus! Rufie, old boy. Here, lie down and look at the stars with us.” Rufus just sat there. “Rufus, this is my friend…sleeping-guy. Sleeping-guy, this is the best friend you could ever have, Rufus, but you probably already know him. Everybody does.”
Rufus let out a bark. Just then Mitch strode up. “Good boy.” Mitch rubbed the dog behind the ear. “Hey, where did you get to? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Have you ever seen the stars look so…runny before? Hey! Lie down with us and watch the runny stars,” Rob said patting the ground.
Mitch asked, “So, who’s your friend here?”
“Friend? Oh yeah. I have no idea. He just sleeps here. Come—look up. Wow, they’re all the colours of the rainbow now. I’ve never seen them do that before…”
“Has someone given you something to eat or drink?”
Rob smiled. “Huh?”
“Have you eaten or had anything to drink since you’ve been here?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Hippie lady gave me a brownie and a cup of tea. But don’t tell her—I stole a few more brownies. Shhhhh.”
“Okay, listen up,” Mitch yelled out. “No more feeding the newbie or you’ll be the one cleaning up after him, not me.” He reached out and took Rob by the hand. “Come on, Dopey, up you get.”
He hauled Rob up onto his feet. Rob threw his arms around him. “Oh, I love you sooo much.” He spoke the wordsoas if it had as many O’s in it as there were stars in the sky, and as he spoke, he spun around while looking up, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Mitch had to grab him before he fell over or knocked into the matronly figure approaching them.
“Where aaaare we?” Rob asked.
“Welcome toTobar Creag, my home. I’m Maggie Tupman. You must be Robert.” She gave him a big hug. “I’ve heard a great deal about you—but they’ve only been rumours, I’m sure. Now we’ll find out the truth.”
“Don’t go spooking him, Maggie. He’s had a few of Shirley’s brownies and isn’t too steady on his mental pins at the moment,” Mitch said.
“I hope you saved some of those treats for me. Solstice Day isn’t quite the same without them.”
“Oh yeah.” Rob laughed and gave Maggie another hug. “Lemme show you where they are.” He began to pull her towards the table.
“Maybe in a bit, Robert, but first I have to rally the troops,” she said. “Now, come on, people! The sun’ll be showin’ in the east soon. We must be ready for 5:11.”
Mitch grabbed Rob’s hand. “Come on. You’ll love it.” He pulled Rob along with him as the small crowd moved to the edge of the field which Rob now saw was a cliff overlooking the Salish Sea and the rising sun.
