Page 35 of The Woods

“So that’s it, then?” Quinn says, so angry that he forgets to be intimidated by the tall man in uniform with a gun at his side. “You’re just going to leave when he could be out there hurt or dying?”

The officer gives Quinn a patronizing smile. “Even if he is still in there, it’s unlikely that any real harm would come to him.” He speaks so calmly it makes Quinn want to kick him in the shin. “Animal attacks are pretty much unheard-of in this area, and there isn’t any deep water to fall into. If he has gotten lost in the dark, I’m sure he’ll find his way back in the light. If he’s not back when the sun comes up, we’ll organize a bigger search in the woods and surrounding area.”

Quinn waits for his mom to give the police officer shit for calling off the search and demand that they get back in there until they find him. Instead, she slowly nods and thanks them for their efforts. The officer promises to get in touch if the search in town is fruitful. Then he saunters off across the backyard, his utility belt jangling with each step, the beam of his flashlight swinging back and forth like a light show as he goes.

“That’s total bullshit,” Quinn hisses at his mom. “How could you let them leave like that when Dad is still missing?”

“They did all that they could in the dark. If they were truly worried that something awful had happened, then they would have gotten helicopters or dogs or something. Take it as a reassurance that they didn’t. They know those woods better than we do.”

His mom puts her hands on Quinn’s and Polly’s arms and starts to lead them back to the house. Quinn pulls away from her, but she doesn’t react. “Why don’t you guys try to get some sleep,” she says in that way that she thinks sounds like a suggestion but is really an order. “I’ll get a blanket and stay out here in a deck chair. As soon as your dad walks out of the woods, I’ll come tell you. Deal?”

“I think we should all just go to bed,” his nana says, walking ahead of them, her red high-heeled shoes in one hand. “But if you want to sleep in a deck chair, suit yourself.” She waves before heading toward her cabin. “Don’t bother waking me if he returns in the middle of the night. I can wait until morning to hear how it all turns out.”

“Good night, Mother.” His mom’s tone tells him she’s as irritated with his nana as he is.

They reach the back door, and his mom puts her hands on his shoulders and gives him a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be okay, Quinn. Your dad will be fine. He’s a smart and resourceful guy and this is all just a silly mix-up.”

Quinn sees red.

“That’s what you said the night Lucy died,” he barks, shrugging off her hands. “And you were wrong, and it was all your fault. If you had just come and picked me up like I asked you to, Lucy would still be alive.” He surprises himself with the last part. He didn’t know he was going to say that.

His grandmother has stopped walking and is watching them from a few feet away. His declaration freezes Polly in her tracks.

His mother’s eyes widen with shock at his words but then they narrow, and he sees a rare fury in her expression. “How. Dare. You.” Her words come out quietly, through clenched teeth. “Did it ever dawn on you that if you had stayed at that fucking sleepover like you were supposed to, none of it would have happened? Why am I always the one to be blamed for everything?” His mom’s voice grows louder with each word, her fists clench at her sides, and her cheeks bloom red. “Your dad gets stumbling drunk, flirts with other women, then wanders into the woods, and somehow it’s my fault that he’s missing? Tell me how that’s possible, Quinn. Tell me how the fuck I’m to blame. Go on, then. Tell me.”

She’s practically yelling now. “Do you think you’re the only one who’s scared that he’s missing right now? The only one who ever suffers? You selfish little—”

His nana puts a hand on his mom’s arm. “Alice,” she says firmly. “Stop.”

His mom, nods, turning away from them all, but not before Quinn sees her face scrunch up with tears.

“Go to bed, both of you,” his nana commands, and Quinn does what he’s told. He works hard to keep his own tears from falling.

Alice

She’s put on a few more layers, along with a coat, and brought out the duvet from her bed. She wraps herself in it and stretches out on the deck chair. Panda is curled into a ball on the ground beside her. Quinn had slammed the door on Panda, refusing to take her to bed with him as he usually does.

She still can’t believe she said those things to him. That if he had stayed at the sleepover, none of it would have happened. She had thought it, more than once, but never imagined she’d say it out loud. Something in her had just snapped. The ever-careful and measured maternal part of her vanished in an instant. Leaving only a tired, beaten-down, angry woman who was fed the fuck up with criticism. Her mother had tried to console her after, saying that Quinn would understand in the end, that tensions were running high, that everything would be better in the morning. Platitudes that Alice didn’t believe but appreciated hearing. She has no idea if he’ll ever forgive her for what she’s said, but she can’t even think of that right now. Her husband is missing.

She stares at the path leading into the woods. It’s not like him to disappear into nature; he’s not the outdoorsy type. That makes her wonder what drew him in far enough to get lost and not come out again?

She has a knot in her stomach the size of a small boulder. Her last words to him were awful—just be better. She’d stormed back into the party after their fight and downed a couple of glasses of wine, purposely keeping her eyes off the back door for his return and staying engaged in conversations until her guests gradually started to leave. It was when only Libby and Ralph remained that she’d realized Geoff was missing.

She’d thought the whole time that he’d been with Ralph out in his writing studio, likely complaining about her, but Ralph said he hadn’t seen him for at least an hour. Alice said he’d probably passed out on the couch out there and promised to tell him they said goodbye.

When Ralph had left to get the car, Libby had looked Alice right in the eyes and asked, “Are you okay? You seem… on edge.”

“More than usual?” Alice replied with a little laugh that sounded bitter and crackling.

“I don’t know,” Libby said, staring even harder into Alice’s eyes. “It’s different than your usual stuff. Deeper. This is not an easy time in a woman’s life, and it’s okay to admit if you’re struggling.”

Alice was so sick of people talking about menopause. She shook her head. “I’m fine, Libby. It’s just the stress of settling into a new place, that’s all. Give me a few weeks and I’ll be so relaxed and blissed-out from living in the woods you’ll barely recognize me.”

“Okay. If you say so,” Libby answered, sounding unconvinced. “And you’d better be at my Halloween party.”

Alice had reassured her friend that she’d be there, then hugged her tight, not wanting to let her go. Only once they’d pulled out of the driveway did Alice go looking for Geoff in his writing studio, leaving her mom to put away leftover food. With one hand on the door, she’d wondered if she might walk in there to find him with a woman, the one she’d seen him sharing a cigarette with earlier. She felt a wave of nausea at the thought, but also an unexpected rush of adrenaline. Something akin to a craving for the drama of it all, for the chance to unleash pure fury on him, not just for infidelity but for everything else. He wouldn’t be able to gaslight his way out of it, not if she caught him with his pants down.

She entered and, finding the cabin empty, was flooded with relief.