[MarvHarvey]

Marty meets Mia and Charlie, Chapter 4, Part 7

I almost slept, just for lack of ability to do anything else, but it was too cold and uncomfortable. This must be what it is like to be in some lost-island prison waiting for the evil dictator to send his henchmen into the torture cell. I did dry off again, mostly, and the bag didn't get splashed too much from that last bucket, but that was the only good news. Noise, discomfort, fatigue, yeah, this was bad.

What was Kate up to? Hours and hours were passing. She was taking this very seriously - did she know about Mia and Charlie? I was sure that I hadn't done anything out of the ordinary: rode my bike at the same times, went to work pretty much the same, and the same with everything else. And I would be telling her of course, I just hadn't worked out how to tell her, what with a busy life with two jobs, two kids and everything else going on.

It seemed like it had been forever, but it must have been midnight or so. I was dozing and on the edge of sleep. With my eyes closed, and under the bag, I didn't notice when the lights came on again. With the static I also didn't hear Kate come closer.

I thought I could hear her softest, sweetest voice, rhythmic and dreamy as if in fairy land: "Tell me what you are doing at Hillside Preserve. Tell me what you are doing at Hillside Preserve. Tell me what you are doing at Hillside Preserve. Tell me what you are doing at Hillside Preserve. Tell me what you are doing at Hillside Preserve. Tell me what you are doing at Hillside Preserve. Tell me what you are doing at Hillside Preserve. Tell me what you are doing at Hillside Preserve."

"Nothing," I mumbled. "Nothing, just meeting people." And as I said that I realized I was talking. The static was off. The lights were on. "Huh?" I said as I snapped my head upright, and back and forth, trying to see and hear as well as I could. "Kate?"

"So now, bad boy, it's interrogation time," Kate said sweetly. "What do you have to tell me about? This is your chance to make a clean confession - after this it gets tough." Her voice rose in pitch and changed to a sing-song rhythm, "One cha-ance, one cha-ance only."

"Oh Kate I have nothing to confess except that I love you forever and there hasn't been anyone else since we met in 3rd year. You know that."

"TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE DOING AT HILLSIDE PRESERVE!"