Page 100 of Mistaken Impression

“And they still look after you?”

I glance over at him, and even in the darkness, I can see he’s staring at me. “Sometimes.”

“You don’t mind living with your brothers?” he asks, after a moment’s silence.

“I don’t live with them.”

“Not most of the time, obviously, but when you go back there…?”

“I don’t live with them, even then. Not anymore. I’ve got my own apartment down there now. You’ll see it all for yourself, next weekend, when I take you down there… although I’m not sure it’ll be as exciting as this.”

“I don’t know. Meeting your family sounds exciting.”

He doesn’t seem nervous at all, which surprises me. In his shoes, I would be.

We cross the state border into Vermont, and I frown over at him. “How much further is this place, Mac?”

“Not far. You’re heading for Wilmington, so if you see a sign, take it.”

I keep my eyes open, concentrating on the road and the signs, and after a short while I spot one that says ‘Wilmington’.

“Okay… where now?”

“We need to go through the town.”

I do as he says and once we come out the other side, onto a wide road with trees on either side, I turn to him again. “Do I just keep going?”

“Yes. Just a little further.” He’s staring out the windshield, and after about five minutes, he says, “Turn left… just here.”

I indicate and take the turn, noticing the sign that says ‘Mountain View Cabins’.

“Cabins?” I say, frowning at him.

“Yeah…” He sounds doubtful for the first time since we left the studio as I drive us carefully down a narrow track until we come out into a clearing with a long log cabin on one side. There are several parking bays out front, and I pull up in one close to the double doors. “Wait here,” Mac says. “I won’t be a minute.”

I do as he says, looking out the windshield as he runs up the steps, disappearing in through the doors. Once he’s gone, I glance around. There’s only one other car here, and I feel a little lonely, turning up the music for company. I keep my eyes fixed on the doors and am relieved when they open again within a few minutes, and Mac comes back out, with a big smile on his face, and rushes back to the car.

“It’s freezing out there,” he says, settling in beside me.

“It’s November. It’s Vermont. What did you expect?” I select reverse gear and glance across at him. “I just hope, wherever we’re staying, it’s got heating.”

“Oh, it’s got heating, don’t worry.”

I’m not sure what that means, but I follow his directions down an even narrower track than the one that led us here. There are trees on either side of us, although every so often a lantern marks a turning to one side or the other.

“Where am I going?”

“Right to the very end.”

On and on we go, the tall shadowy trees our only companions, until we come to the very last lantern at the end of the track. I turn left, our route becoming narrower still, the trees hemming us in.

“Are you sure this is right?”

“Yeah… the guy told me not to worry. He said it would look like we were going nowhere and then…” He stops speaking and I hit the brakes as we come to a gap in the trees, which opens up to reveal a tiny cabin. It’s lit by two lamps on the porch and has smoke billowing from the chimney. The drapes might be closed, but there’s a soft glow peeping through them, and I turn to Mac, smiling.

“Is this ours?”

“For the weekend, yes. I wish it could be longer, but…”

---