Wicked Forest (DeBeers 2)

"I will, I can't wait." "Me neither. Stay well."

"You, too. Amou Una," she said. and said goodbye. When I hung up, my cheeks were streaking with so many tears of happiness. Thatcher thought I had received some terrible news.

'Oh, just the opposite, Thatcher," I cried. "Just the opposite! Amou is coming!"

The woman of the dreads," he teased.

"We won't let the dreads come into our world, will we?" I asked him.

"Never," he promised.

He kissed away my tears of joy.

Were my feet still on solid around? Were my eyes full of roses? Soon, Willow, I told myself. Soon you will know.

Two days later, Thatcher's friends held his bachelor party. He reminded Linden, who was not eager to go. Thatcher insisted, however, and got me to join in encouraging him.

"Just don't let him drink. Thatcher," I begged. "Remember his condition and his medication."

"Of course. He's my hero. He saved my woman in distress, didn't he? I'll look after him." he promised.

When they left that night. Linden looked back at me with such dark, fearful eyes. I nearly rushed out after them to stop him from going. My heart actually stopped and started again after the cold wave of fear washed over my breasts. I avoided my mother, afraid she would see my anxiety and it would heighten her own.

Making excuses. I went to bed early, but I didn't close my eyes. I wanted to be awake when Thatcher and Linden returned, no matter how late. My determination wasn't strong enough, however, and my eyelids turned into lead, shutting and dropping me back on the pillow, where I was drifting away until I heard the first scream.

I practically flew out of my bed and out the door. Hurrying down the hallway in my nightgown, barefoot, I stopped at the top of the stairway and called down. Mother, who apparently had waited up for Linden, had been there when Thatcher and he came through the front door. It was more like Thatcher carrying him through the front door. He had his arm around Linden, whose head bobbed and swayed on his neck like one of those funny animals people put in the back of an automobile, its head on a spring.

Mother had her left fist pressed against her mouth to stifle another cry. I came down the stairs slowly. Thatcher looked drunk himself. his eyes silly and wild. a wide grin on his face.

"He's all right." he said. "We're both all right-- right. Linden. buddy?"

It was then that I saw the small trickle of blood that had come out of Linden's nose and dried over his upper lip. He barely opened his eyes, then closed them again.

"What did you do. Thatcher? He wasn't supposed to drink at

"It was a bachelor party. They got me drinking and I lost track of our boy. I didn't know he was in the sauce until I heard him topple over a chair. He's all right. He's all right. He'll just sleep it off, like everyone else. He's one of the boys now, finally one of the boys. Everyone was calling him Superman because of the way he saved you from an ugly fate."

"What?" Mother managed to ask. "Nothing. Thatcher's being an idiot.-

"Let's get him to his room," Thatcher cried. and moved toward the stairway, tripping and nearly bringing himself and Linden down, I rushed to Linden's other side and took most of his weight onto my shoulders.

"Tha's a good girl." Thatcher declared. "Worry. not. Grace. He's fine. I'm proud of him. Everybody likes him, especially the belly dancer." Thatcher smothered a giggle with his free hand.

Mother moved up behind us as we climbed the stairway.

"I'll tend to him," Thatcher declared upstairs. "This isn't for you women to see."

"Forget it. Thatcher. You've done enough tending to him. Go to bed," I ordered.

"Ex-squeeze me?"

"You heard me, go to sleep," I cried, and pushed him away from Linden. Mother took up the slack and we guided Linden to his bedroom,

"Unhand that Superman and let him go down with pride, Thatcher screamed.

-Go to sleep!" I screamed back at him.

He fluttered about, then turned and stumbled his way to our suite.