Stroking Theodore’s back, Gale smiled and said,
“Theo’s condition was a mild bowl problem. He has quite a sensitive stomach.”
Michaela nodded, neither openly expressing outright relief or worry. Gale’s eyes blinked at her eyes that remain pinned on her son, wondering if he has to teach her how to move her eyebrows. He taught her exclamatory remarks like “oh, my,” but at most she would just emit the word in a monotonous manner, which in turn caused him to wonder if she was doing that in purpose to mock his effort to impose human behavior. But her actions were too respectful, nullifying the possibility of her being sarcastic.
“He will be healthy even in the forest if he is on a steady diet.”
“Forest? Steady…diet?”
Unexpectedly, she looked a little taken aback by his rather sound regimen. It was not like he was asking her to commit her son to leech treatment, which by the way he would never do to any of his patients. Also, she is a dedicated enough mother who he assumed has made this task her priority. He wondered if there was something she was hiding.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, I…Never mind.”
With that, she picked up Theodore and bowed courteously before ascending the narrow stairs to her bedroom. What she didn’t see was Gale, still seated on his sofa in the living room, meditatively regarding her.
***
On the following morrow of Gale’s sister’s visitation, the sound of air puffing roughly from two horses’ nostrils and the halt of the sound of carriage wheels over the cobble road informed those in the Hulder house about their visitor’s timely arrival. Gale had his spinach pot pie out of the oven on the table set, and Michaela just finished combing her son’s fur to make him presentable. The passenger of the carriage took a bit longer getting off, due to the train of her coat that the coachman gallantly unloaded. As Gale set the silverware on the table, Michaela offered to answer the rapping on the entrance door.
As she opened the door, she met a mesmerizing set of light turquoise eyes with golden amber flecks that had striking resemblance to her boss’s. Except her eyes’ color was mainly green-blue and the shape was slightly longer than her brother’s, perhaps due to the illusion of her sophisticated application of kohl. Her lips had no rouge so they looked pale, but their exquisite thickness brought an unusual liveliness to her disposition that is a self-contradictory blend of stateliness and rebellion. Her stylish black attire was rather minimalistic if it wasn’t for the eye-catching length of the train of the dress behind her. Taking off her fishnet veil hair ornament, she revealed her brassy ginger hair that was far redder than her brother’s.
It took a while for her to finally look down at Michaela who was donned in the best formal dress she borrowed from the biggest heart in the most petite body in Fullgreens, Ginny Williams.
The visitor’s pupils expanded at the sight before her that her brother very aptly described in his letter, a part of which was…
“She is an Orient female, due to her rabbit blood being of Eurasian breed (didn’t know that breed dictates racial composition when transferred to human state), 5ft and 1, with round cheeks, beige complexion and olive colored limbs, and the most impressionable dark eyes, looks both scared but ready to fight, but that is her usual disposition–not the picture of uninhibited sensuality most frequently demonstrated by female rabbits as you, Octavia over and over claim to be the norm.”
“You must be my brother’s new apprentice!”
“Yes…and you are Octavia.”
‘Neither of their first words to each other are hello or pleasure to meet you. I couldn’t see how this could go wrong.’
Despite her taciturnity, Michaela was the one to actually tended to her comfort. After Octavia passed the apothecary to go to the living room, she took her long trailing coat to hang it on the banister, which caused Octavia to playfully nudge Gale on the ribs, asking “Isn’t that what you are supposed to do? You should learn manners from her.” Gale just rolled his eyes and asked “Well, I would, but I know that if I did it, you would try swap my face.” At that, a most abundant red fox tail that was hidden by her long coat charged forth to his face and in a manner of indolence, the furry pale tip flicked at his chin.
Still harassing her brother with her tail, Octavia turned around to survey her surroundings, and her eyes, narrowing in a lingering smile that was also a family disposition, popped out at the sight of something hiding behind Michaela’s dress.
“Oh my goodness! Who is this angel?”
Her melodious husky voice drawled especially as she called this little creature an angel, a little forest nymph.
Despite Michaela trying to gently coax him out, Theodore shied away and despite or rather because of Octavia’s gawking, cooing and persistent pursuit, he would hide underneath the dining table or bury himself under the carpet or scamper underneath his mom’s dress.
“So this is why you wanted so badly to get something from the toy shop in New York!”
“Octav!”
“Oh, you could’ve just told me, Gale! I would’ve actually helped, but no, you had to get some hideous blue plush doll that I bet on my fortune that would petrify this child.”
“That’s just not fair, you were the one nagging me to take you home.”
“Well, someone had to make progress.”
Gale snarled a little at his sister who had her arms crossed, and a bystander wondered if this was the usual interaction between siblings. Also he looked a lot more younger and boyish next to his sister, quarreling with her like they just met yesterday.
Soon they all settled on a candle lit dinner, Michaela being set quite at ease by the chatter between Octavia and Gale, which means she doesn’t have to talk. Time passed and as Gale stood up to take away the dishes to the pump at the behind door yard, Octavia gently intertwined her right arm with Michaela’s, asking her to join her in a walk. Theodore, still unable to change his sleep schedule, wandered around them as the two women took a relaxing walk outside in the refreshing night air.
“So you’ve been with my brother for a month and three days, I reckon, Michaela.”
Michaela nodded back and Octavia smiled.
“He must trust you very much to leave the store to you for three days! He is rather prickly to people who don’t assume some responsibility.”
As she didn’t say anything back and Octavia began to understand what Gale meant by her silence having a rather tangible effect.
“He must miss your company when you leave Fullgreens.”
As if she saw something before her block her path, Michaela stopped and finally faced the taller red-haired woman inquisitively. The woman swayed her head to a side and smiled.
“To return to the forest with your adorable son!”
At Octavia’s cheery words, the color of her face waned a little but she hurried to turn her face away. Still not taking off her sly, elliptically slanted eyes from her like a prey, Octavia said with an enigmatic softness.
“It seems…that you’ve becoming rather fond of this place. Not having to be someone’s ‘game’ and all.”
“Would you please not say that?”
For the first time, she raised her voice at someone who seemed stronger without leaving out the acidity and hurt.
“I feel like a stranger enough as it is. You…don’t need to remind me of my vulnerability. And my son’s.”
Suddenly she looked rather dignified, her resentment giving her strength. At this unexpected change, Octavia raised her eye brows and in a voice of genuine regret, she apologized.
“I am very sorry. I should never have said that. I didn’t realize that for someone of you who always was a rabbit, it must be terribly hard to adjust. And I shouldn’t have talked so lightly of your past.”
Seeing that she won’t lower her guard, she continued. She decided it was better to just tell her the true reason she asked the question at first place.
“I was wondering why you would rather stay, a foreigner here in this provincial town than freely roam in a land you’re more familiar with. I’m sorry for being so blunt, but the people here torment those based on how they look. They are vicious. It is not as safe for you and your son here as it seems. Is there a reason why you insist on being with Gale?”
Michaela thought. Although Octavia’s frankness left an awful after taste of awkwardness, her words were not wrong. Wars between the colonists and the Indians at lands like the Narrangansett were the main gossip in the Fullgreens, and Indian scalp was an ongoing commodity, sold at 20-40 cobs. Also, the Saucer family briefly mentioned having their parents being kidnapped from Barbados to be sold as “human chattel” and that they were the odd privileged group from the fate of Negroes although they make less than an average field hand. She would be denying the reality she cast herself in if she thinks that being with Gale would ensure their safety.
“I won’t ask you to forgive me. I am just…an older sister worried about her brother.”
“I understand.”
And she really did. She wouldn’t want to keep someone who could expose her beloved Theodore to danger either. She actually wouldn’t hesitate to cast the possible hazard or even run away. Gale was just…unusual.
Octavia looked into her face, with raw pleading turquoise eyes. What she really wanted to convey to Michaela was.
‘I just ask you to keep this in mind. Just please don’t use his trust. He has made himself a possible target of suspicion of treason already by living with you…Our family has gone through enough. I can’t lose my brother the way I almost did before.’
But looking at Michaela’s stony stare, she wasn’t sure if she could trust this rabbit woman. Could it be that her subservient demeanor was just a trick to fool Gale into helping the widow and her son beyond his means? Was she as artless as she looked?
Finally turning back to the house, they were greeted by Gale and Theodore who was overjoyed by the toy the former got for him.
“Mom, look what Gale got for me! He said it is an angel!”
It was actually a blue mousey looking plush doll with a giant mouth and four bulbous eyes.
“Did you say thank you?”
“Yeah…is something wrong?”
“No, nothing. Thank you so much…Please excuse us.”
Gale blinked in wonder at her rather listless gratitude, but she turned, biting her lip, ascended the stairs, Theodore following her. She sounded rather sad, he noted.
Octavia also said that she must leave and while giving her brother a tight embrace. They were outside of the apothecary as they stood, waiting for her carriage.
“Gale, one last thing.”
“It’s about Michaela, right?”
She stared back at him with the look that asks him how does he know, but she sighed when he just placed his hands on the side of his waist, wordlessly demanding an explanation of the change in the ambience after their “little walk.”
“I am going to warn you only once.”
Now that was the promise he wasn’t sure she was going to keep.
“Don’t…trust her too much. Make sure that her apprenticeship is temporary. I…am beginning to question her motives for staying with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think possibly, just possibly, she is using you and your trust, Gale. You…look like a cuckold.”
“A cuckold? Octavia, are you out of your mind?”
“Shush, shush. Was I ever wrong when I judged those around me, Gale? I lived in God-forsaken London and Versailles as soon as I was old enough to leave home. I’ve seen all kinds of people. I am just asking you to be more careful. Is that too much to ask?”
With his eyebrows knitted in agony, Gale covered his mouth with his left hand, looking both mortified and deep in thought. After perusing her brother’s handsome features with a maternal gaze of concern, she disappeared into her carriage. After a snap of a whip, the carriage went off in the direction to Rotun Hill, leaving behind Gale deciding to cool himself off in the evening breeze.
Hulder Tales 