Nathan grabs his coat and his Homburg from the wall hook and then, without glancing back, strides out the shop door.
I bet I know exactly where he’s going.
Old Gin has begun to stir, so I feed him some broth. Then I coax Bear from the room, bringing the used bowl to thekitchen, where Mrs. Bell is taking tea. “May I take Bear for a walk?”
“I’m sure she would love that. The leash is by the door.”
I tuck my braid under Old Gin’s cap, which I’ve taken to wearing out. Then I attach Bear’s leash to her collar. The afternoon sun heats the grass in front of the Bell residence, putting a sour tickle in my nose. Lowering myself to Bear’s level, I comb the hair out of her eyes. I might not know where Nathan went, but she does.
“Okay, Bear, take me to Avalon.”
Woof.She licks me on the nose. Then with a flick of her head, as if to say let’s go, she sets off.
Forty
Bear leads me north along a street full of shotgun houses, long dwellings whose inside doorways line up so you could fire a shot through the front and out the back without hitting any walls. Of course, I don’t know why anyone would want to do that, but not everything in Atlanta comes with an explanation.
After a mile of walking, the houses thin and the landscape grows scraggly, gangs of trees edging out the sky. The sound of running water strums along to the honks of passing geese. I begin to wonder whether Bear knows where she’s going or whether she’s just happy to be on the prowl. “Where’s Nathan, Bear? I hope we’re going to Avalon because I’m getting bunions on my bunions.”
Just as I’m about to call off the search, she dives into a screen of brush so tangled, I couldn’t throw a shoe through it without it bouncing back. I push aside the brush and find that it gives easier than it looks. I follow Bear up a small incline.
Below, a rocky stream about forty feet across runs withclear water. A flattish rock in the shape of a newsboy cap lies midstream. Nathan sits at the lip of the cap, feet dangling over the water, a book open on his lap.
Woof!
Nathan looks up, and his Homburg scans from side to side. He closes the book and gets to his feet. Bear bounds down to the stream and zigzags over a series of rocks to reach him.
“Hello,” I call over the water. “So, this is Avalon.” With the tree line obscuring the road and the hills beyond, it is hard to recognize this as part of Atlanta. Lacelike ferns brush at my face, and the cool air smells sweet and green.
Nathan embraces his dog and rubs her on the neck. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or...”
“Depressed.”
A reluctant smile peeks out from the shadow of his hat.
I lift my skirts and hop onto the first rock.
“No, stay there, I’ll come—”
The second rock is only a fist-size bump, so I quickly step to the third, then fourth, and then—
“No, not that one!”
The last rock wobbles, and my boot begins to slip, but I leap onto Nathan’s rock. With a curse, he catches me by the arm.
“I don’t fall easily,” I tell him.
He doesn’t release my arm, and my heart flops around like a landed fish. “I don’t fall easily either,” he says quietly.
Giddy goobers, suddenly I don’t feel so sure-footed at all.
He lets go his grip, but the warmth of it still makes my arm tingle.
“It’s not much.” He sweeps an arm to the far end of therock. “As you can see, the magic apple trees are not yet in season. Care to sit on my couch?”
I carefully lower myself to the lip of the newsboy-cap rock. “The unicorn tapestries are a nice touch.”
“Thank you. I do the decorating myself.” He points to a depression a few feet from where we are sitting. “There is where Excalibur was forged. Er, that’s a sword.”
