Wild Mind by David Barbur

Author:David Barbur [Barbur, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cougar Rock Press

20

The sun was setting as they crossed the river into Oregon. To Tye it seemed like all he’d done lately was drive. At least the road was paved, and Kaity was behind the wheel. He stared out the window, his head spinning from the events of the last few days.

They had fallen into a companionable silence. It was like the old tension between them had eased a bit. He just enjoyed looking at her as she drove barefoot in her black dress. The flat dress shoes she’d worn kept slipping off the clutch pedal, so she’d taken them off and pitched them behind the seat in exasperation.

The gallery was in Northwest Portland, on a side street full of boutiques, bars, and coffee shops. Kaity squeezed the Jeep between two other cars, shut off the engine, and dug her shoes out.

“I never wear shoes like this,” she said. “Why did I do this? Anyway. I’m really not sure what we’re going to do here besides just show up and support our client. I think we should leave at the earliest opportunity.”

“Agreed.”

Tye stepped out onto the street. He hated cities. There was noise and concrete everywhere. He felt suffocated and trapped. Portland didn’t smell as bad as many cities, but there was still the odor of garbage, car exhaust, and human urine that made him long for the woods.

“Well, here we go,” Kaity said and took his hand.

The inside of the gallery was a bright white space. Paintings hung on the walls and soft, ambient music played just loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to identify the song. Several knots of people stood around talking. They all were much more fashionably dressed than Tye. As he and Kaity walked in, people looked them up and down, then looked away. Nobody so much as nodded or said hello.

“Well,” Kaity said under her breath, “this is… nice.”

“May I interest you in wine?”

Tye jumped at the voice in his ear. A server stood there holding a tray of wine glasses.

“Sure,” Kaity said. She took two and handed one to Tye.

“I’m probably not going to drink this,” Kaity said. “But I just feel better having something in my hands during socially awkward situations. This has led to me getting unintentionally drunk a couple of times.”

“I know the feeling,” Tye said. He had an urge to stand in a corner with his back to the wall, where he could see everyone.

“Oh, that must be him,” Kaity said and walked away without waiting for him to answer. He followed and saw she was walking toward an urn sitting on a dais against the far wall. A single spotlight shone down on it.

Tye looked at the plain black urn, trying hard to connect it with the body of the young man he’d found a few days before.

“I’ve never really thought about it before,” Kaity said, “but I guess I’d rather be cremated than planted in a hole in the ground.”

“I’d just like to be left out in the forest for the animals,” Tye said.

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