Bedful of Moonlight by Raven Held (audio ebook reader .txt) 📕

white hair on her head said, brandishing a photo frame adorned with seashells.
“Carla,” the old man next to her warned. “Stay out of this.”
Where was Caleb, anyway?
Just as I pulled out my cellphone, Belle turned to me, begging me with her eyes not to tell him. “Not now. This doesn’t have to be blown out of proportion.”
I stared at her. “In case you haven’t noticed, Belle, it has already been blown out of proportion.”
Hyde had caught up with Gareth. As he reached out and grabbed his shirt collar, Gareth tried to wrench out of his grasp and the two of them went tumbling against another rack on which some photo frames were hung.
“Stop it, you guys, please!” Belle cried.
But of course, there was nothing she could do.
“Take it somewhere else, at least,” the old man suggested.
Gareth got to his feet sooner, and before Hyde could right himself, he had bolted off towards the trees at the edge of the marquee.
There weren’t many people watching, save for the elderly couple and a few of them at the now-wrecked photo frames booth. They were pointing, a couple of them wide-eyed with shock, and I feared they might recognise Gareth.
Hyde was still chasing Gareth. They disappeared into the trees, and I decided to follow. If Hyde really killed Gareth, I would call Caleb straightaway.
But when I finally caught up with Hyde, Gareth was nowhere in sight.
“Where is he?” I panted.
He whirled around and glared at me. “You knew. You knew all about this, didn’t you? You knew he’s Caleb’s father and that he’s been hiding here all this while!”
His voice was so loud nothing dared to make a sound. I took a step back.
“Does Caleb know?”
I considered the option of lying to him.
“Kristen,” he said. The word cut the air between us. “Tell me the truth. Does Caleb know?”
I sighed. “Caleb’s the one who’s been hiding Gareth, ever since he came back here and committed all those stupid little crimes. I only just found out a few days ago.”
What Hyde did next frightened me. He let out a roar of fury and threw his fist into the trunk of a tree next to him.
“I’m sorry,” I said, but the word was not strong enough to get carried across.
“That kid,” Hyde said, his fist still on the tree trunk. “What does he think he’s going to do? He can’t house that …” – he glanced at me – “that person forever.”
“That’s what I told him, but for now, what is there to do, really?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “We could hand him over to the police. Anonymous tip-off. Everyone wins.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Kristen,” he said, his gaze flat. “I know that guy. He’ll never change. Do you even know why he was in jail? He hit his wife, that’s why. After they got into a huge fight. Because he cheated on her. She wasn’t too badly beat up, but she reported him first thing the next day. He makes mistakes after mistakes and never owns up to them.”
It was all starting to make sense to me: why Mrs Burnstead never mentioned her sister – didn’t even wish to talk to her or see her – what Belle told me about Gareth being Oliver’s father.
“Reilly said Mrs Burnstead blew it all out of proportion,” I said.
He shook his head. “Reilly’s always been her daddy’s girl, of course she’d take his side. But I know Gareth. I’ve known him since we were in school. He’s never really cared about anything other than what makes him happy. Caleb’s trying so hard to mend things, but that’s never going to work. Nothing will change, him least of all.”
“But we don’t have to report him,” I said, deciding that it was ironic how I was proposing this.
“Caleb will get over it. He’ll thank you if you report Gareth.”
“I seriously doubt that.” And then I understood something. “You’re not angry because Caleb hid his dad without telling you. At least, that’s not the main reason. You’re angry because Belle was in on it too.”
“Shut up, Kristen,” he said, making his way back to the marquee. “Don’t change the subject.”
The marquee was abuzz by the time we got back. It was probably a matter of time before someone reported Gareth to the police. Hyde did not have to worry about a thing.
“Hyde, I’m sorry,” Belle said, while trying to sooth a bawling Sawyer in her arms. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. It’s just…”
Hyde waited for her to continue, but she could offer nothing.
“Hey, what’s the sudden excitement all about? Did someone sew a quilt out of thin air?” Caleb grinned, holding onto Oliver’s hand. Oliver kept flicking his head around, as though about to break into a run anytime soon. I briefly remembered what Belle said about noises getting him all keyed up.
Caleb’s smile slipped after I shot him what I supposed was a grave look. “Okay, somebody give me some answers, please.”
“Gareth was here,” Hyde all but growled.
Caleb’s hand tightened visibly and Oliver protested. “Go play with Reilly and Jade, Oliver,” Caleb said, and Oliver whizzed off gleefully.
For a moment, no-one said anything. There was only the amplified noises from the fair and Sawyer crying, as we stood there assessing each other.
But Hyde soon burst out, “Were you ever going to tell anyone?”
“He said he’ll try to look for a job after the police write off his case,” Caleb said. “You know, when his case runs cold – whenever that might be – and then he’ll come back for us again.”
Hyde stared back and forth at Belle and Caleb, his eyes almost wild. “What is wrong with you people? Why are you all risking everything just to protect him? What happens if the police found out you had played a part in hiding him, Belle? You’re going to leave the boys alone in the bookstore?”
“Which is why we’ll try to keep this under wraps as much as possible,” Belle said, pulling Sawyer closer to her. “At least, until things die down.”
“Nothing will die down where he’s concerned. If he’s asking money from you now, he’ll ask it from you again and again –”
“He was asking money from her?” Caleb said.
“You didn’t really think some food and a house were enough to keep him satisfied, did you?” Hyde said dryly. “There was a reason why he committed burglary and car theft. He’ll never stop looking for trouble.”
“I get that you don’t like my dad, Hyde, but he’s not the person you make him out to be. He’s not all that bad.”
“Yeah, and you’ll be climbing mountains for him next.” He turned to Belle, and, seeing her face, looked almost guilty about yelling at her. “You’re a smart girl, Belle. How can you be so fooled by him again and again?”
She stared at him, her eyes glistening. I felt terrible for her, but it was not my place to say or do anything. Belle left soon after, rocking Sawyer and shushing him as she sank into the chair behind the booth.
“You didn’t have to raise your voice at her, Hyde,” Caleb said.
Hyde sighed. “Whatever.” And he, too, left.
Caleb and I stared at each other.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” he said. “It’ll be fine. Things will work out.” He reached for me. “Now let’s go rope in more sales.”
I thought of how much had already taken shape. We lived as domino pieces, after all. When pushed, we would tip forward and collapse into a rattling track that came back at the rear. So far, since I had been pitched forth here, the only thing to do was to wait until I came back to where everything started. At least, this time, I did not have to wait alone.


Twenty-three


“Don't speak unless you can improve on the silence.”
~ Spanish Proverb


For the rest of the day, Hyde ignored us, so we figured it would be better if we stayed out of his way. The closest he ever came to communicating with us was to hand us the flyers for the book-fair so we could give them out.
But what with giving out flyers and manning stalls and keeping an eye on Oliver and Sawyer (and also making sure that Gareth doesn’t come back), we hardly had time to dwell over that at all.
It was ten at night when the last customer left and Belle and her friends started counting the money they had raked in for today. What was left on the tables were only a handful of photo frames and some candle containers. The bamboo and canvas bags, sequined shoes, quilts and beaded necklaces were a hit, so none were left at all.
Caleb and I were helping to dismantle the tents. Hyde was at the other end with a friend of his who had offered to help.
I watched Hyde nervously. “He’s really mad at us, isn’t he?”
“Not at you, I’m sure,” Caleb said, but he didn’t sound certain. “He’ll speak to us in his own time.”
“Has he ever been this mad at you?”
He made no response.
“And you think all this is worth it,” I said.
Looking up, he said, “I do.” He meant to say some more, but seemed to think better of it and handed me a tent stake wordlessly.
We worked quietly for a while, before the silence started prickling everywhere.
“Your mom bought a whole lot of stuff today,” he finally said. “I don’t know why she’d need five wine racks, but hey” – he shrugged – “if it makes her happy.”
Here we were, back to talking about me again.
“Are you going to see Gareth tonight?”
“And quilts,” he said, shaking his head and giving a little chuckle. “She bought a whole stack of them. I’m sure those old ladies at the Beaming Rose Elderly Home are cursing her for depriving them of some patchwork comfort.”
“If you’re going, I’m going as well.”
I waited for him to argue, tell me it was none of my business, and that I should just stay in bed tonight. But all he said was, “Give me a hand with this, will you?” as he handed me a corner of the massive white billowing tent to fold up.

*

Of course, there was only one mug that night, one that either of us could claim. It was still steaming – Caleb had just left. I left it sitting there, its contents reflecting the moonlight, and slipped out of the gate.
I did not know what I was going to do when I got there, what I could do, and what would be taking place. But I made my way there nonetheless, taking the detour so as to avoid the cemetery. Even if he was not talking to us at the moment, Hyde would undoubtedly tail me if he saw me wandering alone at night, now that he knew of Gareth’s presence.
The shack was lit up – a dim glow peered through the gloom of trees – as though it was sitting in wait. There were voices, raised voices. I crept closer, hoping they would not notice my shadow flitting about. The window was opened, and the night breeze teased the gauzy curtain.
“If you’d taken a speck of caution, you wouldn’t have done something as stupid as that, and Hyde wouldn’t have seen you!”
Gareth flung a hand across Caleb’s face. Caleb staggered.
I stifled a cry, biting hard on my knuckles.
“And if you’d showed a speck of respect to your