The Gatekeeper's Sons

Chapter 27

Saturday morning, after taking hot coffee to the officer stationed on their back deck, Carol drove Therese the half mile down the road to Jen's house, and, as usual, Clifford went, too. As Therese stood on the gravel drive waving goodbye to her aunt, she noticed Than and Pete walking toward her across the grassy field in their jeans and boots with water glistening down their bare chests and their wet hair clinging to their heads. They were talking to one another and laughing. Therese watched them in awe, thinking to herself that life could really suck, but it could be really sweet, too.

Clifford ran across the road to greet the two boys, and that's when they looked up and spotted her.

Pete jogged across the road and gave her a wet hug. "Cold, huh? Wake you up, sleepy head!"

Therese bit her lip. Cupid's arrow seemed to be working. "Thanks a lot, Pete. You just wait."

He laughed and walked on to the pen.

Than came up with a dubious smile. "Hey."

"Hey." She could feel her entire face transform into a huge grin. He just had that effect on her.

Before she could say anything more, Jen screamed twice from behind the house, and Clifford took off toward her. With lightning speed, Than ran past Therese. By the time Therese caught up to them, Pete was there, too, and Jen was screaming, "Kill it! Kill it!"

Clifford barked ferociously.

On the ground several feet away from them lay a brownish snake with a yellow stripe down its back and white stripes down its sides. It was about three feet long, thin, stretched rather than coiled, and very still.

"I think it's already dead," Pete said. "Calm down, sis. It's just a garter snake. It's not poisonous."

"I don't care!" Jen shrieked. "Kill it! It's gross! It scared the crap out of me!"

Pete grabbed a shovel from the nearby shed.

"Wait!" Therese said. "Don't kill it if it's not poisonous." She went up to the snake and touched it. Although it barely moved, it was still alive. "It's hurt." She stroked its back. "Clifford, stop. It's okay."

Clifford stopped barking and watched her anxiously. She could feel Clifford's anxiety as he paced and whined.

"It's okay, boy," Therese said again.

"What are you doing?" Jen objected. "Quit touching it!"

Therese picked up the snake gingerly with both hands. She was afraid she might further injure it if she didn't handle it carefully. "If we leave it here, it will die. It needs food and protection from predators."

Jen looked furious. "Therese, we don't save snakes. We kill them. Remember what happened to Dumbo?"

"Yes, I remember!" Therese snapped. "How can you say that?" She held back the desire to push Jen down to the ground, and she clenched her jaw in anger. She already felt burdened with guilt over what happened to the horse. How could her friend say such a thing?

"Now girls," Pete said.

"Me? How can you want to save that, that thing?" Jen shouted.

"Jen, it can't help what it is," Therese said. "And it's not hurting anyone now."

"So what are you going to do with it?" Pete asked.

"Do you have a box I can have?"

"I'm sure I can find one somewhere around here. For now, you can put the snake in the bed of my truck."

"Maybe we could put a wet towel down." Therese walked with Pete toward the garage where his truck was parked next to Jen's and the Suburban. "And maybe we could leave the garage door open?"