Chapter 16 of The Half Life of Dragons

by Sonja Hakala

PREVIOUSLY IN THE HALF LIFE OF DRAGONS: It’s been seven years since Timmen Eldritch, lead singer of the mystical rock band Calliope, disappeared. To this day, most people believe he died. But there are enough conspiracy theories swirling online to keep his ardent cult members hopeful of “Timmens’ return .”

Eldritch and Calliope recorded their last album in an old farmhouse in Carding, Vermont so the town has become a reluctant mecca for Calliope culties, as they call themselves. They’ve already started to gather, and no one in Carding is happy about it. 

You can catch up on previous chapters of this novel in progress here.

---

“Top. Top. Where’s my red top?” Allison whispers intensified as she tumbled the contents of her clothes drawers one after the other. “It’s got to be here somewhere!”

She stopped, her fists clenched. “Aargh! Where did I put that thing? It’s got to be here. It was from Ollie. I would never lose it.”

Turning toward the closet that she’d already searched, Allison pressed her forehead to its door, willing herself to be still and think. Granted, she’d tunneled through her closet and drawers rather fast so maybe she missed something? Should she look again, slowly this time?

“What do you think, Al?” she whispered to herself. She smiled because that was the question Ollie used to ask her all the time. He was the first person to encourage her to think and feel for herself, the first to validate her intelligence. Was it any wonder that she’d fallen in love with Calliope’s drummer? 

Was it any wonder that she’d fallen apart so badly when he died?

Allison pulled an acre of oxygen into her lungs then let it out very slowly. 

“Three’s the magic number,” Ollie used to say. “Three wishes, three bears, three bags full, and so on.” Then he would pull her close. “And it’s how many children I want to have with you. If you’re willing.”

Of course, tears accompanied that thought. Allison sniffled, dabbing her eyes with the edge of her bathrobe’s sleeve. A loose thread tickled her nose, and suddenly she remembered the mending-pie-that-never-got-mended. “Three,” she whispered. “The third place for me to look.”

The mending pile spent its life in a covered basket on the floor at one end of her couch. Allison considered the cover a self-timing mechanism—when it wouldn’t close, she had to mend something. 

No, not her favorite thing to do.

“Ah ha,” she said as she pulled out the shirt—it was really more like a tunic—from the bottom of the pile. “There you are. No why did I put you in there?” She gave the tunic a shake. “Oh yeah, hem.”

Suppressing an exasperated sigh over her procrastination, Allison considered wearing a different top for her visit to her father. But the tunic was so perfect for a chilly March day, warm and comfortable yet stylish enough for just about any setting. And it had been a gift from Ollie, her Ollie, so she felt safer when she wore it.

She settled in the chair close to the front windows, opened her tiny sewing kit, picked out thread, found a needle, and then stopped. Sewing always conjured up images of her mother, the figure who loomed so large over the day ahead of her. It was a subject that she and her father and her brother had never really discussed, how and why Anna Owen died.

Knuckles rapped on her front door. “It’s me, your chauffeur,” Dex called.

“Come on in. The door’s open.”

“Ooh, now here’s a cozy domestic scene,” Dex cooed. “All you need is a roaring fire and a pair of glasses perched on the end of your nose.”

She made a face at him. “I’m afraid I’m not getting too far with this.”

Dex glanced at the clock on the wall above her head. “We might be cutting it kind of close, Al. You don’t look like you’ve taken a shower yet.”

“Oh gawd.” Allison twisted to see the clock. “I’ll have to wear something else.”

“Okay, what’s wrong with what you’ve got in your hands?”

“Part of the hem needs to be re-sewn,” Allison said. 

“Oh, give it here.” Dex held out his hand. “I’ll take care of this while you get the rest of yourself ready.”

“But…”

“No buts. Git.”

“Do you even know how to sew?”

“Oh honey, I’m an ace with hems and buttons. Anything else is beyond me.” He settled into the chair she’d just vacated. “Trust me. Every single gay man I’ve ever met can do—and undo—buttons.”

Allison leaned down to kiss his forehead. “I do think you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Dex.” Her eyes misted over. “And thank you for driving me to Carding.”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” he said as he started to stitch. “I’ve long wanted to see Carding. The way you describe it, I imagine it’s like Brigadoon.”

As the interstate dropped over the ridge of the Green Mountains near Montpelier, Allison sense the unmistakeable growth of butterflies in her abdomen. Her hands didn’t seem to know what to do with themselves, now gripping her knees, then adjusting and re-adjusting the zipper of her coat, then balling themselves into fists.

“Okay, what kind of soup did you make for your Dad?” Dex asked.

“Potato-leek. It’s one of his favorites,” Allison said. “My Mom made it a lot. She never used a recipe.”

“Well, I’ve never seen you use a recipe either so I’m sure it’s good.”

Silence thickened by anxiety filled the car. Finally Allison said: “Oh Dex, what if this is a bad idea?”

“You don’t know that, Al. And if you want my opinion, backing out now would be a crushing disappointment for both you and your father. You need to do this, girl. Stuff that’s left undone or unsaid just tortures you,” he said.

Allison nodded. She knew he was right. “Still, I’m glad my brother won’t be there. Our last conversation was…umm…tense. I’m not sure how he’d react to me being in the house.”

“Okay, correct me if I’m wrong but your Dad is the one who initiated contact with you through that lady lawyer, right?” Dex asked.

“Yeah. I’m not sure how they found out I’d moved to Burlington but I heard from her right after I got back north,” Allison said. 

“Oh come on, Al, think about it. Why would your Dad reach out to you if he didn’t care? Don’t you think that he and your brother—yes, your brother,” Dex said when Allison snorted. “Don’t you think they kept track of you from a distance? I know my parents did when I was at my worst. If there’s one thing you and I both learned from recovery, it’s that…”

“…you have to ask for help before you can get it.” She reached over to squeeze her friend’s hand. “I am so lucky I met you.”

Dex squeezed back. “And, once you started your recovery, your Dad got involved a little bit and then a little bit more, as you let him in. Your brother had to know that. They live in the same house, and from what you’ve told me, they have a good relationship, right?”

“Yeah. I guess Ted was pretty adamant that Dad needed to be at home in Carding, especially after…especially after.” She stopped.

“Especially after Suzanna came into his life,” Dex said softly. “You know, that’s a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences. I know you took her to Carding because you were desperate. But I will point out that you made the effort to get Suzanna to a safe place. You didn’t just abandon her.”

Silence again, broken by loud sniffles from Allison. “Oh gawd, look at me. I’m a wreck.”

“There’s tissues in the console,” Dex said.

Allison needed a few deep breaths before she could talk again. “So, tell me, does the lady lawyer still call you to check up on me?”

“Not very often, and she only ever asks about your well-being, or if you need something your Dad could provide.”

“Like a condo in Burlington,” Allison said. “You know, I am grateful for that every day. Having my own place helps me keep my balance. That and the Brick and you.”

“Lady Lawyer knows you work at the Brick, by the way,” Dex said. “She and her partner—Charlie?”

“Yeah, Charlie Cooper. Nice guy. Kinda bad taste in women, though. His first wife was a total flake,” Allison said. Dex noticed that her hands had relaxed. “So what about them?”

“I guess they came to Burlington last summer for the Jazz Festival and stopped at the Brick for lunch. Charlie recognized you.” Dex grinned. “And Agnes—Lady Lawyer—said it was the best bowl of minestrone she’d ever had.”

Allison actually smiled, and Dex drew a silent sigh of relief. 

---

Ted Owen stood next to the open hatch of his van, checking items off his list for the trip to Maine. “Okay, blue poles. Check. Two suitcases for Suzanna, and one small one for me. Check. Four…four?…jackets?” He turned toward his wife. “Why does Suze need four jackets for a three-day trip? I’m only bringing one.”

“Hmm.” Paula bent to look at Suzanna’s outer wear collection. “I see a lightweight one to wear in the car or in the ski lodge because anything heavier than that would be too warm. There’s two for racing, a lighter one that’s purple and the gray one is down so much warmer, and that makes her prepared for any temperature the mountain can throw at her. And then there’s the newest one in teal because it looks so cute on her.” She grinned at Ted’s perplexity. “Because, you know, boys. You understand that, right?”

Ted shook his head. “Girls are so complicated.” He glanced at their front door. “Has Suze seemed especially quiet to you lately?”

“Yes. I know she’s preoccupied with the race. But I also think she’s dwelling on the fact that her mother is going to be here later this morning,” Paula said.

“Oh gawd, she’s not afraid that Allison will come between her and her grandfather, is she? He’d feel awful if she thought that,” Ted said.

“No, I don’t think so, no. It’s more than that,” Paula said. “I think she’s hunting for her father. Allison’s never given her a straight answer about her paternity, and Suze will be eighteen soon. I think the combination of your Dad’s…condition.” She shook her head. “I mean, we all know what’s coming, don’t we?”

“Yeah, losing Dad.” Ted sighed. “You’re right, it’s a lot to take in. High school graduation, her grandfather’s final slalom through life, her mother reappearing.” He wrapped his arms around his wife. “Is Dad still planning to tell Allison about what you found?”

“He is. I got the paperwork all ready so she can read it for herself. Your Dad hopes it will help her continue to recover.”

“Strange, isn’t it, to realize how much a single decision can roll through the years to impact the present day.” He sighed.

“And how words unsaid can mean more than those that are spoken,” Paula said.

From inside the Owen house, Suzanna and her best friend Faye watched Ted and Paula embrace. “It’s a big day,” Faye said.

“Yeah, in so many ways.” Suzanna blinked rapidly.

“My grandmother likes to say that the hard and difficult stuff only seems hard and difficult before you begin,” Faye said.

“Yeah, this waiting and keeping things to myself has become a real drag,” Suzanna said. “So what did your father say when you asked him to take us to Kelvey’s place on the way home from Black Mountain?”

“Actually, I told my Mom first because Dad was rushing around like a crazy man trying to get all his stuff together for the trip,” Faye said with a laugh. “My Dad is so good at so many things but packing for a trip is not one of them. He goes through this insanity every time we go somewhere. Mom, Wil, and I just stand back and watch.”

“So?”Suzanna stretched the single syllable out.

“So Mom was on board straight off. It’s always irritated her that that information has been kept from you,” Faye said. “And she told Dad as soon as she could get him to sit down for dinner. He’s totally on board, too, same opinion as Mom. You have a right to have your questions answered, he said.”

Faye nodded. “That’s good to know. Let’s just hope that Nicholas Kelvey will talk to me.”

---

Thanks for sharing some of the minutes of your life with me and Carding, Vermont. I hope you’re enjoying The Half Life of Dragons and can visit next week for the latest chapter.

When I reach the end of the tale, the entire book will be available here as an ebook. In the meantime, if you need to catch up or would like to share this adventure with someone else, you can do so by clicking this link.

~ Sonja Hakala