already sitting in his special armchair in front of the television with a beer. Aunt Louisa was cooking dinner, chicken cutlets.
Nobody was worried until they saw me standing in the doorway, alone.
âWhere is she, Julia?â Aunt Louisa asked me. She held a spatula in one hand, her other cupping the oil that might drip off the end. âIsnât she with you?â
I had a sudden image of Eliza on the hiking trail heading off in the opposite direction. Her skinny shoulders set firmly, her feet carrying her forward, up the rocky path. But we had been still very far from the sky tower. We hadnât even gotten to the Lemon Squeeze yet or crossed the Dueling Dam Bridge.
And she was alone.
Every measure of joy and excitement that had carried me all the way here drained from my face in an instant and Aunt Louisa saw it.
âWhat, Julia? What is it? Whatâs wrong?â
I had never heard her sound that way and even though I was the one who knew that Eliza might be lost, Aunt Louisaâs voice scared me.
My mouth opened but no words came out. I saw Uncle Bruce get up from his chair. By the time he walked into the kitchen he had his truck keys in his hand. âIâll go up to the hotel and get her, Louisa. Stay here in case Eliza gets back and I donât pass her on the way up.â
âCan I go with you?â I asked Uncle Bruce.
He looked at me as if he knew there was something I was too afraid to say, as if he knew something was serious.
âOkay, letâs go.â
My heart was thumping by the time I slipped into the front seat of the truck. I was calculating the time that had passed. Imust have left Eliza around eleven, maybe ten thirty. I met Michael at the Lily Pond around eleven fifteen, but that suddenly seemed like another life, another movie. Eliza couldnât still be on the trail. It couldnât have taken her more than an hour and half to get up there and another hour to get down even if she were walking backward!
Then even if she hung out at the hotel, maybe visited with Pam or went to the tea, sheâd still be back already. Eliza hated to be alone. She wouldnât have gone swimming by herself. She wouldnât have gone to the game room or the shuffleboard court. I didnât even think sheâd really go through with it and finish the hike. I guess I figured sheâd just turn around like I did.
But the truth was I hadnât thought about Eliza at all. Not until right now. I could feel my fingers going a little numb as Uncle Bruce and I rode the road up to the hotel. Where could she be?
Uncle Bruce didnât say a word until we got to the fork and road changed to two-way traffic. âTell me what happened, Julia,â Uncle Bruce said quietly. âDid you two have another argument?â
I think I must have nodded. âWe were on the hiking trail,â I began.
I looked out the window. The end of summer was creeping across the sky and taking away the day just that much earlierthan it had the night before. It would be dark in couple of hours. I knew then that Eliza was lost on the trail, and my eyes stung with tears.
âI turned around and came back,â I continued. âEliza didnât.â
Uncle Bruce didnât talk at all. He kept his eyes on the road as we pulled into the staff parking lot behind the stables and he shut off the ignition. When Uncle Bruce got out of the car, I followed.
âOkay, Iâve got to let Mrs. Smith know. And Iâve got to alert the staff.â
âYou do?â
I had an image of how angry Mrs. Smith would be. I could just see her face.
âAnd the night manager. Heâll have the two-way radios.â
âWhat?â I asked, but Uncle Bruce was already heading into the hotel. I had to break into a run to keep just behind him and near enough. He didnât answer me. It was as if every step he took he got more and more anxious. I could feel it, like a string tightening
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