South River Incident by Ann Mullen

about a noise in
the woods. Jesse doesn’t scare easily like Claire does.”
    Billy’s comment made me
feel good.
    Claire would have probably
burned up his phone line with all kinds of crazy stuff while I would have dealt
with the problem myself, instead of admitting helplessness. She has always had
someone to take care of her and never had to make any kind of decisions on her
own, except maybe which dress to wear. She had lived at home with our folks
until she married Carl and now that they were getting a divorce, she had to
have someone to take his place. So she moved back home with Mom. As I look
back, I bet the idea of moving out here to Billy’s house must have scared her
half to death. She would be alone and might actually have to do chores, like
shovel snow, or do her own yard work in the summer, or change a light bulb. Me;
I could do all that. I’ve been on my own since I graduated from high school. I
was the rebel in the family. Mom says I took after my dad. I was proud of that.
He was a good man!
    “I think Claire just wants
the man to be in charge. Some women do. Besides, isn’t that the way it should
be?” Cole asked. “The man takes care of the woman. He’s her protector, lover,
and friend.”
    So that’s it! That’s been
our problem all along. I knew there was something hiding beneath Cole’s
charming facade. He was one of those men who said one thing, but wanted just
the opposite. He wanted to be the boss. That’s why he deserted me when I needed
him. He knew I would never succumb to being just an ordinary housewife or lover
who would try to satisfy his every need, above all else. He also knew I would
stand up for myself. I would never sit back and let someone push me around. I
had too much power over my life for his comfort. I actually had a brain. I made
my own decisions. I didn’t depend on a man for everything.
    “Maybe you and Claire
should hook up. You’d be perfect together. She’s needy, and you’re the
protector. It would be a match made in heaven!”
    “What?” Cole was stunned.
“What does that mean?”
    “It means,” I said, walking
into the house and taking off my coat, “if you want a woman who is never going
to stand up to you, I ain’t the one. If you think Claire’s such a perfect
candidate for that position, then why don’t you go have a talk with her?”
    “Kids, stop fighting,”
Billy said, stepping in between us.
    I was quickly getting
agitated and Billy was trying to head off any kind of lovers’ quarrel.
    The house had warmed up
nicely and the fire in the fireplace had taken on a soft glow through the glass
doors. A nice bed of coals had developed. I walked over and picked up a log out
of the carrier and lay it on the embers.
    “I hope there’s some more
firewood.”
    “There’s plenty out back,”
Billy said. “I just hope it’s not rotten.”
    “It’ll still burn, won’t
it?”
    “Yeah, it’ll burn, but
it’ll burn up fast and it doesn’t make good wood for an all-nighter. I’ll check
it out. If the wood is rotten, we may need to get some more. You never know
when you’ll lose power out here. The gas heat has to have electricity to
operate so you need a backup. We don’t want to freeze this winter, do we?” He
smiled at me in an overdone, loving way, and then winked.
    What was that all about? We
weren’t living together. Then it hit me; he was trying to make Cole jealous.
Suddenly, my devilish alter ego took over. I played along. “I think between the
two of us, we can keep this place warm.”
    Cole stared in disbelief,
but didn’t say anything. He was at a loss for words. I had struck home. I let
him know right then and there that I could move on. I wasn’t going to die
without his love. I was a real person. I had a life! I didn’t need him as much
as he thought!
    All three of us had crossed
the line. Billy pushed Cole; I lied; and Cole had shown his true colors. Things
were definitely going to be different.
    “Time out,” Cole