"Did you hear that?" Peter says and whips his head to face the others. George nods. Deandra floats closer to the dining room table in the cottage.
"I knew it was going to happen very soon," she says as she brushes my hair with one of her hands.
"How do you want to handle this?" says Peter who begins to levitate higher towards the 30 foot ceilings in the living room.
"I'll go investigate," says George. A moment later he passes through the cottage walls and soars towards the clouds before adjusting his direction to face the demonic howls that are coming from beyond the next lake.
A moment later he returns.
"It's beyond the next lake -- moments away," he says, and motions for the others to join him out front near the water's edge to prepare for battle.
* * *
"You've got gooooood angels," Aunt Nancy says as she passes me a dish of green beans. One of the servers from the resort tops off our wine glasses. I don't really feel like talking in front of them.
"Yeah," I say.
The food has brought me out of my melancholy funk; or maybe it's the wine? In any case, I'm more engaged than I was a couple of hours ago, and am starting to enjoy the company of my family. There have been talks about how much longer they are to stay. I have no immediate plans to head back to L.A. -- but I haven't shared that with them. I just know at some point they will have to return to their lives; and work.
I'm starting to wonder if I would be allowed to stay here by myself?
"You're more than welcome to stay here for the summer," says Aunt Nancy as she takes a sip of wine and then raises her eyebrows to let us all know that it's good.
"Really?" I say, and perk up.
"Yeah. You've got tonnes of people next door to keep you company if you're lonely. I can even stay for a little bit longer," she says and then passes the salad bowl to my father.
"What do you want?" my mother asks from between bites. I figure it's best to be honest, so I tell them that I think it would be nice to have a bit of alone time -- but not just yet. I don't want to be by myself just yet.
They all nod accordingly, and agree that they'll stay on for a few more days. I start to feel better. At the very least I have started to make plans. Tomorrows are becoming a probability in my mind again.
"[grumble, garble, gasp!] de dickens in Jesus' name was that?" says Uncle Hank as he walks towards the glass wall in the dining room.
The winds begin to increase and we hear birds squawking and screeching in the distance.
Aunt Nancy shakes her head like Uncle Hank is crazy and hollers for him to come back to the table. He laughs and turns to join us when --
We all freeze.
The most blood curdling sound echoes from across the lake.
"What is that?" says my mother, her eyes are wide with concern.
"Maybe an animal is being taken out by some coyotes" suggests my father who seems to be the only one at the table impervious to the screeching.
"That's not a bear," says the server who takes away some of the empty dishes and begins to load them in the dishwasher.
"Well, whatever it is, we're safe in here!" says Aunt Nancy with a big smile. We all try to pretend that things are normal -- but the screeching continues and a moment later a herd of deer gallop through the property.
"What the..???" yells Uncle Hank as he opens the glass door to the upper deck to check out the commotion. A moment later we all stand and take a step outside into the cold air to see just what exactly is going on. As the screeching continues from somewhere across the lake; beaver, deer, and other creatures scurry past the property towards the woods on the other side of us, opposite the resort.
"I've never seen anything like this," says my mother as she puts her arm around me to comfort herself as well as me.
"[grumble, garble, muffle] yer sinking dat it could be." says Uncle Hank in awe.
The winds begin to pick up and so we head back inside. Aunt Nancy shakes her head in confusion, but then laughs it off.
A moment later the screeching stops and the winds settle.
"Must be some sort of landslide, or earthquake that got them all agitated," says my father.
We return to the dining room table, and a few moments later as the dinner continues we forget about the commotion that just occurred. A few moments after that I feel at peace; warm -- and safe. I attribute the sensation to the wine, but a moment later when I feel someone brush my hair; I start to think that maybe I have had a bit too much to drink with dinner; and so, when the server comes around offering coffee, I make sure to have one before we return towards the living room to settle in and continue our conversation.
