CHAPTER TWO

Lander Dills cut his high beams as a car appeared around a bend. When it was gone, he pressed them on again, doubling the brightness of the road and forest ahead.

“This is the forest primeval, ” he announced. “The murmuring pines and the hemlocks. ”

“That’s Dad doing his Evangeline routine, ” said Cordelia in the backseat, explaining him to Ben. “He gets poetically inspired at frequent intervals. ”

“Fine with me, ” Ben said.

Good fellow, Ben. Didn’t know an iamb from a dactyl, and couldn’t care less, but at least he seemed reasonably intelligent and polite. Lander, a high school teacher, had seen enough of the other kind to last him a dozen lifetimes.

His daughter had good taste in boyfriends, thank the gods.

“Longfellow knew his stuff, ” Lander said. “The forest primeval. You can feel it in your bones–the silence, the isolation. Out there, nothing has changed for a thousand years. ‘Down by the dank tarn of Auber, in the ghoul‑ haunted woodland of Weir. ’”

“The Poe routine, ” Cordelia said.

“I wouldn’t mind his motel routine, about now, ” said Ruth.

“Mom’s horny, too. ”

“That’s not what I meant, Cordie, and you know it! ”

Cordelia and Ben were laughing. The motel routine. With a pang, Lander pictured his daughter under Ben, naked and moaning. From the way the two acted, he was certain they had gone the whole route. It made him feel sick, as if he’d lost something precious. She was eighteen, though. Old enough to know what she was doing, to make her own choices. He couldn’t stop her. He wouldn’t try. But it hurt him.

“We should be coming into Barlow pretty soon, ” Ruth said, shining her flashlight at a roadmap in her lap. “How about stopping there? ”

“Don’t you want to try for Mule Ear Lake? ” Lander asked.

“We’re hours away, honey. It’ll be midnight, at least, and we told Mr. Elsworth we’d be there by nine. He’ll probably be asleep. Besides, we’ve been on the road all day. ”

“If we had been on the road all day, we’d be there by now. ”

“Here we go, ” Cordelia said. “Dad the general. His idea of a vacation is hitting the road before sunup. ”

“Well, I’d be happy to stay in this Barlow, myself, ” he said. “I’m just looking out for you people. ” He grinned through the darkness at Ruth. “You do realize, I hope, that there won’t be a Hyatt. ”

“As long as it has clean sheets…”

“Would you kids rather stop, or go on through to the cabin? ”

“Let’s stop, ” Cordelia said. “It’ll be fun. ”

“Either way’s fine with me, Mr. Dills. ”

“Well, we’ll see, ” he said.

He wouldn’t argue the point. Not worth the trouble. He was pleased enough to assume the role of leader, but only so long as nobody tampered with his decisions. His decision, from the start, had been to drive on through. Now, he’d been overruled.

With some satisfaction, and telling nobody, he switched his role from leader to chauffeur.

If they want to run the show, let them. He would sit back, relieved of responsibility, and watch. More than likely, they would botch it.

Soon, he came to the town of Barlow. He drove past a closed gas station, a general store, and Biff’s Hardware and Sporting Goods. Just ahead, on the right, was Terk’s Diner. Across the road was the Sunshine Motor Inn. Its flashing blue sign read, vacancy.

“Is this where you want to stop? ” he asked, slowing down. It wasn’t a regular motel, at all, but a cluster of cottages behind a shabby office.

“I don’t know, ” Ruth said, sounding dubious.

Lander grinned.

“What do you think? ” she asked him.

“It’s up to you. Should we give it a try? ”

“What do you think, kids? ” Ruth asked.

“I don’t know, ” said Cordelia. “It looks kind of creepy, to me. ”

Lander stopped the car in the middle of the road. He waited, watching his rearview mirror in case a car should come along.

“Shall we? ” Ruth asked him.

“If you want to. ”

“You’re a lot of help, ” she complained.

“Give the word, and we’ll stay here. ”

“Okay, ” Ruth said. “Let’s give it a try. ”

Flipping on his turn signal, Lander drove across the road and stopped beside the lighted office. “You might as well wait here. ”

“Hold it, ” Ruth said. “What are you going to do? ”

“Register. ”

“You know what I mean. ”

“I don’t think we can all fit in one of these hovels, do you? ”

She shook her head.

“So I’ll get two. Boys in one, girls in the other. ”

“Oh Dad”

“No, ” he said. “I’m perfectly willing to spend the night here, if that’s what everyone else wants, but I won’t sponsor Cordelia’s sexual escapades. ”

“Lander! ”

“God, Dad! ”

“That was uncalled for, ” Ruth said.

He’d expected a showdown over the sleeping arrangements for the trip. He should have handled it beforehand, but he’d hoped to avoid it, somehow. “I’m sorry, ” he said, “but that’s how I feel. As long as we’re all together, they won’t be sharing a bedroom. Not here, and not at the cabin. ”

“That’s great, ” Cordelia muttered. “Just great. ”

“It’s either that, or I turn this buggy around and we call the whole thing off. ”

“That’s fine with me, ” Cordelia said.

“It’s not fine with me, ” said Ruth. “We came up here for a good time, and that’s what we’re going to have. I happen to agree with your father. We never allowed Ben to spend the night with you at home, and I don’t see why we should start now, simply because we’re on vacation. If you were married, it would be different, but…”

“Marriage. A license to screw. ”

“If you think that, ” Lander said, “you’ve got a lot more growing up to do. ”

“I agree with your parents, ” Ben said.

“Thanks a bunch. ”

“Not about growing up. I mean, you know. ”

Cordelia sighed. “What’s this, gang up on Cordie night? ”

“I’ll get the rooms, ” Lander said. He was glad to leave the car, and the argument.

Bells jingled as he entered the office. He waited several moments at the deserted counter. Then a door opened, off to the side. A man came out of the dimly lighted room beyond. The door started to swing shut, but stopped, leaving a three‑ inch gap. Half a face appeared behind the gap, looking out at Lander with one eye.

“Room? ” asked the man, who seemed pleasant enough. Chubby and bald, with a cherubic smile, he looked like he should be doing skits on a television comedy show.

“Uh, yes, ” Lander said. “Two rooms. ” The eye behind the door watched him, only a slit of it showing through the fleshy lid.

“There are four of us. Do you have connecting–”

“Nothing like that, sorry. We can put you all up in one room, though, if you want. We’ve got one, sleeps three. We can wheel in an extra bed. ”

“No, that’s all right. Do you have two rooms available? ”

“Sure do. ” He smiled. “Want to fill out a registration card? ”

As Lander filled in the requested information, his hand shook slightly. That person in the doorway… Twice, he looked up. The face was still pressed to the crack. It was an ancient face. He couldn’t tell whether it belonged to a man or woman. The eye blinked, dripping fluid from its corners.

He finished the card, and handed it back, along with his Master Charge card.

The man ran it through the machine. “That’ll be $42. 50 for the rooms. One night. Check‑ out time is noon. Want to sign here? ”

Lander signed the bill.

He looked up at the door. It was shut.

“All set, Mr. Dills. ” The man bent down and came up with two keys. “That’s bungalows three and twelve. ”

“Are they close together? ”

“Well, one’s just behind the office here. The other’s back a ways. ”

“Do you have any that aren’t so far apart? ”

“It’s the best I can do for you, Mr. Dills. We’ve got a pretty good crowd, tonight. ”

“Okay. That’ll be fine. Thanks. ”

“Enjoy your stay with us. ”

Lander nodded. He pulled open the door and stepped outside, relieved to get away from the office.

He climbed into the car.

“Well? ” Ruth asked.

“Got ’em. Three and twelve. ” His hand hesitated on the ignition key.

“What’s wrong? ”

“Nothing, I guess. Probably the guy’s mother. ”

“What? ”

“Some old buzzard kept watching me while I was in there. It spooked me a bit. She–he–whatever, kept staring at me through a crack in the door. ”

“Dad! ” Cordelia sounded frightened.

“I’m sure she’s perfectly harmless, ” Ruth said.

“Yeah, ” said Lander. He started the car, and drove slowly into the dark courtyard, taking some comfort from the presence of the other cars parked nearby, glad his family wasn’t alone at this god‑ awful motel.