Page 33 of Sweet Poison

“Oh! Wow,” she said, turning her head to stare at the horse and cart. “Are we going to live in a place where everybody rides horses?”

“No, that man is Amish. The Amish don’t believe in using cars or electricity. We’re just going to live in a normal town.”

She was instantly curious about the Amish and their customs, and for the next half an hour I was fielding questions about them. Eventually, she fell asleep and I drove in silence. As we reached the intersection that led to Bison Ridge, I saw the signage for Stormy City and felt a strange tingle run up my spine. Ah, Montana. She was like a delicious cool breeze on a hot day. But she had blown away.

Where are you now?

At first, it had been hard to force myself not to think of her because she came into my head so much, but as the weeks went by it hurt less and less.

She was gone and that was that.

When we arrived at Bison Ridge, I woke Anya up. “We’re in Bison Ridge, honey.”

She came awake instantly and looked around her curiously. “Oh look, there’s an ice cream place, Dad. It’s pretty. We should go.”

“Perhaps tomorrow. We should settle into our new home first.”

We left the main street and drove towards our house. As I turned into the driveway, Anya swung around to face me, her eyes were shining with delight.

“Oh wow, Daddy. You didn’t tell me our new house is called Duck’s Pond.”

“It’s called that, but there are no ducks here.”

She looked disappointed. “No?”

“Sorry.”

The evening sun was slanting onto the house and it looked absolutely stunning. I was too stressed and anxious the previous times I had come and had not realized how lovely it was around here.

“Is that it? Is that our new home?” Anya asked enthusiastically, hanging her head out of the window.

“That’s it. Do you like it?”

“Yeah, I like it. It looks like one of the houses in my Fairytales For Princesses book.”

I stopped the car in front of the house and got out. We stood side by side looking around. It was greenery as far as the eye could see. We had no neighbors within viewing distance and that was exactly how I wanted it. My daughter put her little hands in mine as we stood before the two-story house. I turned to meet her gaze.

"Do you think you can be happy here, Anya?"

It took her a while to make up her mind. "I don’t know yet," she said truthfully. "Does it have good WIFI?"

I laughed. "You bet. Brand new fiber optic internet."

“Then we’re cooking,” she said with a big grin.

She went exploring while I checked out if the expensive high-tech safety measures and alarm system, I’d purchased to be built during the extensive renovation worked the way they were supposed to.

"The house is Gucci, Dad." The use of that slang word told me Anya had genuinely given her seal of approval.

“Have you chosen your room?” I asked innocently.

“Yeah, the one next to the big bedroom,” she said with immense satisfaction. “The one with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs painted on the walls.”

“That is an excellent choice. I’m glad you like it. Did you know if you sit on the bed you’ll be able to see the big ancient oak tree on the field yonder,” I said, relieved now that I knew she liked the house. I had entertained niggling worries that she would hate her new accommodation. After all it was a total change of everything she had ever known or been used to. But she showed genuine enthusiasm about her new living conditions.

“Thank you, Daddy," she squeezed my hand.

I knew then she was scared but trying to be brave. Clearly, the suddenness of the move had scared her, but she was such a considerate soul that she was trying to hide it.

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