Chapter 14 – Deceit on the Horizon

Willow, Steve and Louie settled in to their new home, realizing they had signed a one year lease and another much needed big move would not be in their immediate future. So they made the most of their time in their simplistic home, planning for major changes up ahead.

Willow’s health began to suffer from the chronic stress. She decided to visit her doctor more, searching for peace and trying to maintain a heart that wasn’t on a full-time overload. Being her father had passed suddenly from a rare heart condition, along with three other family members on her dad’s side, she was under close cardiac care.

After her father’s sudden death, there was an autopsy performed along with complete toxicology reports and a load of unanswered questions. The results were disappointing as Willow’s father’s death was undetermined. The coroner tried his best to explain to Willow and her mother that every year he has approximately five to ten deaths that are undetermined and that year her father was one of them. It was definitely heart disease that ran rampant on that side of her family.

The coroner suggested she visit her doctor and have further testing done on her heart. After extensive testing was done, Willow was diagnosed with severe heart arrhythmia. She was ordered to avoid stress and no longer consume caffeine.

What planet do they live on? Avoid stress and no caffeine?

If it was that easy Willow would have eliminated both years ago. You may as well have shot her at that point because there was no possible way to avoid either during these hellish years.

Even though it wasn’t what she wanted to hear, she plugged along every day and tried her best to avoid caffeine and stress – avoid anything that jump-started her heart. The thought of Willow being able to avoid stress and caffeine was downright comical. But she was able to follow one of her doctor’s orders…exercise more and start walking.

One evening, before the sun set, she ventured out in the new neighborhood, changing from her work attire and into sweats and her favorite bright orange Nikes, taking a vigorous walk. As Willow checked out the new sites, the hilly streets became a welcome challenge as she pushed herself up and over long, steep paved hills and roads. Just then her pocket began to vibrate from the cell phone inside, noticing Steve was beckoning her.

That’s odd. He knows I’m on my walk.

“Hey Baby. Did you happen to see a red Dodge Ram drive by?”

She continued to walk in stride, looking to her left and then to her right.

“Nope. Why do you ask?”

“The same Dodge that I mentioned to you the other day passed the house again.”

“You’re scaring me. Why are you so concerned about it?”

There was a long pause when all of a sudden she heard heckling and hollering of some kind from behind her. The instant she turned around, there was the red Dodge Ram that Steve seemed to be obsessed with. The Ram was loaded with teenage boys, who hooted and hollered as they slowly passed by. She didn’t recognize the driver or any of the other wild ones inside.

“Willow! Willow you there?”

She watched the Ram pass her by, trying to take a picture of the license plate but by the time she had the brilliant idea, it was too late.

“Guess what just passed me?”

“What happened?”

She was about to respond when she noticed the wild bunch made a U-turn, heading directly toward her.

“Shit!”

As Steve continued to holler her name into the phone, she ran for the nearest house with an alley nearby. Thankful the alley wasn’t wide enough to fit such a massive vehicle, she ran until she couldn’t run anymore. Out of breath and in shock over what had just happened, she knew there was only one person behind the senseless juvenile behavior.

Squatting down behind some bushes in the alley, an oversized box came to life, moving as if someone was inside. She wasn’t alone and it was beginning to get dark. Willow gathered her thoughts and whispered into her cell phone.

“Steve. Steve, I’m okay. I’m here in the alley and will start heading back. I’ll explain when I get home.”

She decides to turn her evening walk into a fast-paced run which was monumental for her as running was one of her least favorite things to do.

There was no sign of the Dodge. Willow slowed her run into a crouch and caught her breath, looking more like an awkward ninja on crack. Home. Safe and sound.

“What the hell happened?”

“Your instincts were right. I think the twit driving the Ram was one of Mitch’s students. His face looked somewhat familiar but I can’t be sure.”

Steve was pacing the floor, scratching his head.

Just then Louie walked through the door with the brightest smile that they both momentarily calmed their nerves.

Steve began the questioning as Willow went to Louie for a much needed hug.

“Hey Louie. Do you know anyone that drives a red Dodge Ram?”

Louie looked to the floor and then up at the ceiling – deep in thought. His mouth twisted to the left and then to the right as he tilted his head to the side.

“I can’t say I do.”

“What about a student at Mitch’s dojo? Any chance one of those kids drives a red Dodge Ram?”

Instantly Louie’s eyes grow to the size of a meatball. He snaps his fingers, pointing to Steve and then pointing to Willow.

“You know what? Ian drives a red Dodge Ram. Bingo!”

There was a deafening silence when all of a sudden something hits Louie’s window and a car peeled away in front of their house.

All three of them run to the front door, only to see the rear end of a red Dodge Ram driving away in the distance. Louie ran to the outside of his bedroom window, picking up an empty Corona beer bottle.

“I think that was Ian and his crew. They must have figured out we live here. You know…he lives just around the corner. He probably saw my car and figured it out. Not good.”

That evening Steve and Willow were determined to find some peace of mind. Their quality of life was slipping away again and they knew they had to act fast. Willow pulled out her laptop and began to search for homes outside of Sonoma. Even though she lived in this once quaint bedroom town nearly her entire life, she had a glimpse of hope to start over. They all knew they were running out of options.

“What do you think of Yolo County?”

Steve momentarily set his phone down on his lap…thinking.

“I don’t know much about the area. Is that north of here?”

Willow went back to surfing the internet for more precise locations when Steve stood behind her, looking over her shoulder. They surfed in silence when Steve blurted out the northern direction of Yolo County in her ear.

She deliberately shook her head as if she was pretending to clear her ears, tugging on her right ear lobe, intentionally displaying a bit of sarcasm.

“Okay, okay…no need to be dramatic.”

After Steve grew tired of standing, bending over in the same position for a rather long period of time, he decided to join her on the couch. His interest peeked after his eyes gazed upon the rental housing prices.

“Wait. Go back.”

She arrowed her cursor back to a beautiful home with a large fenced in yard and three rooms to boot. The outside actually boasted two large backyards with an interior that was also spacious, new carpeting and freshly painted walls.

She was concerned as to why the monthly rental fee was so low.

“Do you think it’s in a bad area? I’m shocked at the price. We could totally afford this!”

Steve was suspicious. Of course overthinking and carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders was part of his DNA. Willow knew that but continued to see the glass half full instead of empty. This was a gift passed down to her by her father. Even at the worst of times humor and hope pulled her through.

She encouraged him to have an open mind and visit the area, scheduling appointments for home showings. That’s exactly what they did. That following weekend their Saturday was spent driving around a beautiful lake, taking in the sites and touring several different homes that were available for rent.

They fell in love with the area. The mountains, the lake, the country and the fact they could afford to live there. Willow would no longer financially struggle, living every month having to cash in her paycheck as an advance in order to get her through the next month. It was a vicious cycle that was wearing on her and being able to afford living in this small tourist town had become nearly impossible.

After touring four homes that day, the sounds of hungry rumbling tummies roared to be refueled. The friendly realtor recommended a local pizza joint, which was rather easy to find, located at the top of the hill with a few locals already munching down ooey gooey pizza.

Settling at a cozy table for two in the corner, they opened the menu. Willow became excited when she motioned to Steve there was a salad bar. He would surely order his usual veggie pizza with extra artichokes, ordering an all-you-can-eat salad bar as well.

The perky waitress wasted no time as she approached their table, smiling as if they were her long lost friends. The mood was refreshing. The mood made her feel alive again.

She began to imagine what life would be like up in the rolling mountains and there was no stopping her when the imagination ran wild. Steve grew accustomed to her fairy tale world as he understood it was merely one of her coping skills.

Call it childlike wonder – call it quirkiness – this was part of Willow’s DNA.

Her favorite joke with Steve and those that knew her best went as follows:

‘The other day someone told me I lived in a fairy tale world and I nearly fell off my unicorn.’

“I can see us here at this table on a rainy night, playing one of those Pac-Man video games over there. This could be our go-to place Baby cakes!”

Steve grinned and his grin grew wider when he realized the pizzeria carried his favorite ale.

“They sell Lagunitas ipa!”

Now Willow grinned as she knew it was divine intervention.

She wanted to pick up and relocate immediately but it wasn’t that simple. There was still so much to be discussed and sorted out. She wouldn’t be able to commute that far to work every day but that was just fine with her. Leaving her job from hell was a blessing from above. She knew she needed to make big changes. No one was going to do it for her.

It was a long and winding drive home, which didn’t seem to bother either one of them. Well, Steve’s driving like Speed Racer was always an issue that played on her anxiety but being filled with hope of a new direction seemed to ease some of her nervous tendencies.

Her moment of peace lasted the first hour when Steve continued to ride the bumper of the car ahead of them. She tried her best to refrain from being the back seat driver; in this case, the passenger driver. For some reason he usually seemed to think he was in some kind of race. There was no appointment to make and no rush to get home but insistently he felt everyone should drive the fast pace that he drove.

After Willow pulled her long fingernails from the dashboard, she could no longer remain silent.

“Please back off his bumper.”

“I’m not on his bumper.”

This was the usual way it started. She took a deep breath with a realization of something peculiar.

“You know, you’d make a shitty hippie. Chill. Relax. There is no race.”

He tried to hold back a chuckle but the visualization of Steve with a band of daisies around his head, flipping the peace sign instead of the bird was quite comical. They both laughed, discussing a more productive topic such as their future plans.

“I’m so happy we came up here. What did you think?”

Steve agreed as he turned down the music, which was a good sign as he no longer would push the petal to the medal. His focus would be on the conversation at hand.

“The air is so fresh up here. It could really help my asthma.”

They gazed at the majestic mountain tops around them and the clear sky, both seeming to be satisfied with their meaningful day trip.

“I think Louie would like it up here, too. He wouldn’t have to look over his shoulder all the time either.”

“Yeah. Good point. What about your job?”

Willow looked out the window at the beauty that surrounded her … just the thought of leaving that rat hole was a load off her shoulders. She inhaled and exhaled with a sense of hope. Finally. Maybe moving from the only home she has known would be the solution.

“I could finally be a full-time writer. I have researched writing forums and various jobs that pay writers well. Of course I would need to establish myself, which would take some time but I know I could do it.”

Steve, along with her mother, were her biggest fans when it came to her dreams, but deep inside he had his doubts. He had seen her at her lowest moments – the breakdowns and the constant mental challenges due to threats from Mitch. He had seen her at her worst. They met at a time in both their lives when they needed someone to lean on and get them through this life. He hadn’t seen the other side of Willow, the true Willow that she missed so much.

He waited to respond as there were many questions that needed to be answered. He smiled before words left his mouth which was reassuring to Willow.

“I know how hard it has been for you and how much you have had to deal with over the past few years.”

That was it. There was no hesitation or encouragement either way. Steve simply lived through much of the hell with her, acknowledging she didn’t have it easy. Her quality of life was gone.

“I can’t wait to get back and research steps to a writing career! This is what I have wanted to do my entire life – ever since I was a little girl. It’s never too late to live the life you’re meant to live.”

With such a beaming smile and hope in her heart, Steve wasn’t about to dim her bright light. Only time would tell.

Arriving home that evening, Louie was anxiously waiting to hear the details and he was thrilled with the chance to start over.

“Louie, you wouldn’t believe what we could afford to rent up there. The yards were huge and you didn’t have other neighbors right on top of you.”

Steve added his two cents as well.

“There is a huge lake nearby and you are surrounded by mountains. You’re only a couple hours away from your friends.”

They were all beaming at the thought of starting over and at the chance of finding peace. It was still just a distant thought.

The clock was ticking.

More deceit was on the horizon.