Chapter 8

A tall middle aged man who seemed to resemble both Stacie and Mrs. Lamont walked into the room. He smiled sweetly. “Hello Stacie,” he said. “I see you have brought some friends. Would you be so kind as to introduce us?”
“Of course, but you must know I don’t have much time. Josh and I have to meet some friends shortly.” Stacie said in a curt manner that was out of character.
“Of course, of course,” his smile faded. “Always in a hurry, places to go, people to see. And your friends?”
“This is Amber, and her little boy. I brought her here because her son is sick, and she needed a good doctor.” Dr. Lamont took out his stethoscope and began to look at the little boy.
“And the boy?” prompted Mrs. Lamont.
“Well, I haven’t named him yet,” laughed Amber.
“I meant Josh.”
“Yes, well. Father, this is my friend Josh. I met him a little while ago at Club Nuevo. Josh, this is my
“Father,” thought Josh, “then, Mrs. Lamont must be her mother or grandmother.” He wondered why there seemed to be so much tension in this little family. What had happened and why was Stacie so eager to leave them?“I’ll need to take him into my office,” said Dr. Lamont to Amber and motioned for the two of them to follow him. They left and there was a lull in the conversation.
Mrs. Lamont broke the silence. “Will you be staying for lunch?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Stacie said quickly. “Josh and I are in a hurry. We have to meet some friends.” At that she stood up to leave. Josh and Stacie said goodbye to Mrs. Lamont and left the little house.
When they were outside Josh stopped. “My friends probably won’t be back for a few hours. We could have stayed.”
“I’m not ready yet,” she said. Josh didn’t press the issue any further.” We can wait for your friends over there.” Stacie pointed to a group of trees beside the gate that Josh, Jenn, and Starr had come through.
“That would be perfect,” said Josh. The two of them walked over and sat down. Stacie pulled a couple of apples that she had saved from that morning’s breakfast. “Here, catch.” She tossed one to Josh, who caught it.
While they were eating Josh turned and looked at the gate. It looked just like the one back home. “What is that gate to?” he asked.
“It’s a garden.”
“Have you ever been in there?”
“Sure. Hundreds of times. Wanna see it?” He nodded and as she grabbed his hand to pull him up she fell forward into his lap. They stared at each other and Josh brushed her hair back and kissed her. She smiled and then she got up, this time pulling Josh up with her.
They opened the gate and walked into the garden. Instead of being whisked away into another world, they walked into the most beautiful garden Josh had ever seen. There were flowers and trees of every imaginable shape, size and color.
Stacie led Josh over to a flowering bush with brilliant blue and gold buds. “This was my favorite as a child. I used to sit here for hours and watch it bloom.”
“Watch it bloom?” Josh was started. When he looked again the buds were opening.
“Yes,” said Stacie putting her arm around his waist. “The flowers on this bush bud, grow, bloom, and die in less than an hour. When I was younger I could sit here all afternoon and watch them grow, die, and bloom.” Stacie continued to lead Josh around the garden, pointing out various plants and flowers.
“This one is a spiny root.” She pointed to a plant with a long stem and fibrous leaves. “Its roots don’t grow deep but they have sharp thorns with poison designed to ward off predators.”
“You know a lot about plants.”
“Well, I used to want to raise and study them.”
“And now?”“I don’t know. Let’s just wait for your friends.” Stacie led Josh out of the garden to the trees near the gate. They sat down and waited for Starr and Jenn.
After a while Josh began to get impatient. “I wonder where they could be.”
“I’m sure they’re fine, they’ll be here soon.” reassured Stacie.
They continued to wait. Still they didn’t come and Josh grew impatient again. “Where are they?”
“Well, do you know which way they went? Maybe we could meet them halfway.”
“Starr went that way,” he pointed north to the path through the forest she had taken. “And Jenn went that way.” He pointed east to the path through the mountains.
“Well all we can do is sit here and wait until one of them comes back.” So with that they continued to do so.