Page 79 of The Woods

Panic reaches up and grips Alice’s heart, her pragmatic resolve vanishing. The thought of Polly in the woods alone sends terror coursing through Alice’s veins. She can see it in Quinn’s eyes too. “Did your dad go looking for her?” she asks, gently moving him away from Polly’s room and toward the kitchen.

He doesn’t say anything; lets the scene in the kitchen speak for itself. Geoff is cutting vegetables by the stove, and her mother is sitting at the island, a cocktail in one hand, flipping through a magazine, soft jazz playing in the background.

“Happy Friday!” Geoff says when he notices her in the doorway. “Take a load off and come have a drink with your mom.”

“Polly is lost in the woods?” Alice’s voice is shrill with concern, piercing the bubble of domestic calm.

“I wouldn’t say lost,” her mother says. “She’s just out for a walk.”

Alice turns to Geoff. “You’re not worried? Quinn said she’s been gone for two hours.”

Geoff glances at the clock. “I wasn’t,” he says with a shrug. “Should I be?”

His response ignites rage in Alice. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She can feel heat prickling through her body.

“It’s almost dark,” Quinn says. “At what point are you going to worry and go looking for her?”

Geoff stares back at him blankly.

“I’ll go looking now,” Alice says through gritted teeth.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” her mother protests. “You’ll just end up lost. You don’t know those woods at all, dear.”

“Nobody needs to go looking for Polly in the woods,” Geoff says, continuing to chop vegetables. “She’ll be back when she’s ready and she’ll be fine. Better than fine, I suspect.” He looks up from the cutting board and Alice sees that weird shadow pass over both his eyes again.

“Whoa. Dad,” Quinn says. “Something weird just happened to your eyes.” He glances over at Alice to see if she noticed, but she does her best to act like she didn’t.

Geoff uses the knife to point at the pendant lights that hang above him. “It’s just these lights,” he says. “I’ve noticed they reflect strangely sometimes.”

“And how the hell do you know that she’ll be better than fine, Geoff?”

“Polly is an adult,” her mother says, still flipping through the magazine. “Don’t be one of those hovering parents. What are they called?”

“Helicopter parent?” Geoff offers. “She’s right, Alice,” he continues, oblivious to the flush of red rising in Alice’s cheeks. “Polly is an adult and should be treated like one. She could take offense if you go chasing after her. Like you don’t trust her or think she’s capable of finding her own way.”

“Mom, are you okay?” Quinn asks.

She can feel the splotches of heat pulsing on her face. Anger must have lit the match that started the hot flash that has suddenly overtaken her.

“I’m fine, sweetie,” she says, yanking her coat off and tossing it on the back of a chair. “When I left this morning,” she says, the volume of her voice rising with each word, “Polly was in the midst of a mental breakdown. She went into the woods two hours ago, and now it’s dark, and I’m the only adult who’s concerned?” Sweat tickles the hairs across her upper lip. She swipes at it quickly, wiping the dampness on her pants.

“Suit yourself, dear,” his nana says with a shrug. I just think it’s a bit of an overreaction about a simple walk in the woods.” Her mother points at her. “And you’re not looking well, dear. You should maybe go lie down or have a cold shower.”

“You seem really worked up, babe,” Geoff says, moving away from the cutting board toward her. “Why don’t you sit down and have some water? Try to calm down before making any decisions.”

Alice can feel her hot flash burning away her credibility. She sees what they see—a sweating, unkempt, hysterical, menopausal woman ready to run off into the woods after her daughter for no good reason.

“I’m going to look for Polly,” she says as calmly as she can.

“I’ll come with you,” Quinn offers.

She appreciates the show of support, so much that she could actually cry, but she shakes her head. “One child in the woods at night is more than enough. You stay here.” She uses her nonnegotiable tone and is grateful when he doesn’t argue with her.

“I’ll track your location while you’re in there, then,” he says instead. “And if you get turned around, just text me and I’ll guide you back.”

She manages to give him a smile. “Thanks, honey. And text me if she comes back.” Quinn nods and Alice leaves the room to prepare for her search mission. She notes that Geoff has gone back to cooking and her mother to flipping through her magazine. Alice resists the urge to turn back and rip the magazine from her mother’s hands and the knife from Geoff’s, and—

It’s like they know something about those woods that the rest of us don’t, she thinks.