Oregon in the Fall - 2. Chapter Two: Scent

I slept in late. I hadn’t intended to do that. Though to be fair, I hadn’t planned on being here in the first place. The view from the room wasn’t nice, but it also wasn’t home. What seemed to me like a bustling metropolis last night now felt like a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Still unlike anything I grew up with. But now, looking at the grey, lifeless buildings outside, the memories of my last night at home came rushing back. The taste of blood. The scent of fear. It was intoxicating. It was wrong.

I steadied myself on the window sill and straightened my back.

“You are not those people!” I said out loud. Maybe I needed to hear it myself.

My head was conveniently fine this morning. And there was no rush anymore. No running. No chasing. No fear. I could just sit back and relax.

I could sit back and realize that I only had the clothes on my back. Almost. There were three sparse items in the old brown backpack I had grabbed when I ran away. A pair of underpants. A shirt. A broken iPod.

Nice.

I entered the bathroom. The floor was cold. It bothered me more here than out in the woods. There’s a difference to a slate floor tile when all you’ve known is wood and dirt.

I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself. Hey Grey. What are we going to do?

Tilting my head to the side, I saw just a tiny amount of dried blood. Everything underneath it was healed. As expected. I tried to read my own expression. Was it relief?

The shower looked nice. Maybe it would help with the cold feet. I got in and let the hot water run over me. My thoughts wandered. They never strayed far from my pack, from what I’d left behind. The Belcore Pack. I tried not to think about the blood and the violence. I thought about the forest, the smell of fresh air, the wind in the trees. About running free and wild. I thought about home. The home that I left.

Then I took some soap from the soap dispenser attached to the wall, lathered myself up from top to bottom, and tried to wash it all away. It worked, sort of. For the moment.

The door creaked. Someone had come into the bathroom. I hadn’t noticed. My mind had wandered again. Good wolf senses there, Grey.

I turned off the shower and peeked through the curtain.

It was a woman.

“Hey, can I help you?” I said.

She didn’t seem fazed at all. “Are you Grey?”

She sounded like Clara from last night. I guess that made sense.

“Yeah?”

“I’m Clara. Are you feeling better? Dave asked me to check on you. I did knock!”

“Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t hear.”

“That’s ok. You need a towel.”

“Yeah.”

“You have nice eyes,” she said, and threw a towel at me.

“Uh. Thank you.” She also had nice eyes. They were calm, reassuring.

I dried myself off and wrapped the towel around my hips. The room was cold enough for me to run around like a steam engine. Must’ve been a nice picture. I guess there were no boundaries around here. Not that this is foreign to me, so it didn’t faze me, either.

I walked back to my room. It was quiet. Too quiet. Something felt off, or maybe I just wasn’t used to it. I was used to hearing a lot more. The forests. The people around me. And there was something else. Something I hadn’t picked up on before. Something different.

A scent.

Did she leave that?

“Are you ok?” Clara said. I jumped and turned around, I hadn’t seen her.

“Whoa, how did you get behind me?”

“Are you sure your head is fine?”

The scent must have distracted me. I was unable to recognize it. It was like an echo, a shadow. But it was there. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe I was just imagining things.

“How about I leave you alone for now. Put on some clothes, please. The last thing I want is old Edna to end up in the hospital with a heart attack,” she said and left my room. I closed the door behind her.

I put on my spare shirt, the old socks, and my used pair of jeans. At least none of it smelled too bad. I did remember this shirt, it was quite a few years old. I filled it out pretty nicely. I guess time changes people.

I walked downstairs. There were a few people there. The place was completely changed in the morning. The space, now bathed in a warm, golden glow from the sun streaming through the windows, transformed into a welcoming haven. The Lunar Haven, eh? This radiant sanctuary, so strikingly different from its nocturnal guise, felt like a temporary home—a place of peace and new beginnings. But I might be reading too much into it. Any place after what I had left was nice. And while I took a blow to my head, everything else had been friendly and welcoming afterward.

I spotted what appeared to be the breakfast in ‘Bed & Breakfast’ in the corner of the room. Cereal. Coffee. Toast. There was also fruit. Good.

I was stuffing a piece of toast into my mouth when I smelled Dave coming down the stairs. I turned around.

“The expectation is for people to take a plate, some food, and sit down to eat. You’re just standing there stuffing bread in your face,” he said. He was smiling broadly and chuckled.

“I’m so sorry. I was starving,” I responded with a muffled voice.

“That’s ok. We don’t have a huge breakfast rush. Most of the guests just go get coffee somewhere. They are just here to sleep. Come and sit with me. There’s enough space in the corner.”

We sat down and talked a bit. Dave was a really nice guy. We talked a bit about where I came from, and I told him about the forests and mountains. I didn’t tell him my pack all turned into wolves at will. I also didn’t use the word pack. Or wolf. Family is what made most sense to humans, so that had to do.

“You can smell the seasons? That sounds amazing,” he said.

“Yes?” He couldn’t? Huh.

“So, what are you going to do next?”

“I’m not sure.”

“You’re not in a rush to leave, then?”

“No.”

He looked at me with a surprised expression, “your head!”

“My head?”

“I swear it looked like they hit you harder last night. You look perfectly fine now,” he said incredulously.

“Thanks for calling me perfectly fine.” Oops.

“Seriously, though. I’m glad you’re ok. We’ve been having trouble with those guys in the bar last night. They’re entangled with the police department. Some cousin shit. Clara calls it nepotism. She’s good with words. We already tried that a few weeks ago, and both me and Clara almost ended up in jail.”

“What the fuck,” I said.

“This might be a small city, but the focus is on small. And on corruption.”

“So, no cops then. I guess we’ll need to deal with this differently.”

“Oh. It is ‘we’ now? You really don’t need to help, Grey. You got caught in this last night. For this I am sorry. But it’s not your problem to deal with.”

“I’m good at dealing with problems.”

“Is that why you’re wanted?” he asked.

“What?”

“You said you couldn’t go to the hospital last night because you were wanted.”

“Oh,” was my only response.

“So what are you wanted for?” Dave asked.

“Nothing, really. Sorry. It was the first thing that came to mind. I ran away from home, and I have nowhere to be. I don’t want to be found, or leave a paper trail on my first day away from home.”

“Huh… First day? And you end up here…” he said. I have no idea what his face was saying right now. And my senses were off, too. Usually, I can tell what people think by smelling their emotions. Not with him, though. Earth. And flowers. And so much more. It numbed me in the best way. But I couldn’t read him.

“It was the first bus that showed up,” I explained.

“And you ended up here. With me,” he said, smiling.

Was he flirting? No.

“You are one hell of a coincidence,” he added.

“Maybe it was fate,” I said.

“Perhaps. Now finish your cereal,” he said.

“So, I was wondering. You’re a kind guy. Are you kind enough to help me out?”

“Depends.”

“I have nothing. Barely any money, no clothes.” I pointed to the shirt I was wearing, “all I have is this, and a broken iPod. They’ve seen better days.”

“An iPod?” he asked.

“It was my emergency backpack from long ago.”

“You packed an iPod in your emergency backpack?”

He had a point.

“We don’t really have cellular coverage where I’m from. This is peak technology for me.”

“You mean you don’t have a phone?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

“So, what can I help you with, Grey?”

“I need a job. And it seems like you know this city.”

“It’s funny you’re calling this a city. What can you do?” he asked.

“A bit of everything,” I replied.

“You know, there are many things to do around here. But the one thing we need help with is cleaning the bathrooms,” he said and grinned.

“I’m fine with that.”

“Nah, I’m just pulling your leg. If I tell Clara that I hired the guy who got punched in our bar to clean the toilets, she will smack me so hard,” he said. And he laughed. “Finish your cereal and come upstairs to her office.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

He just smiled at me and left, leaving a trail of air—sun—spring behind him. I was also staring at his ass, but too mesmerized by my overloaded senses to will myself to look away. When he was gone, I looked to the left towards the scent of a smirk. A smirk is like mischievous vanilla. Sweet, but giggly so. It came from an older woman at the other end of the room. She probably caught me staring. Her face was saying as much. Oh, well.

I also smelled arousal on her. Good for her. I hope that was not directed at me, though. Maybe she’s Edna with the heart attack. Mischievous vanilla heart attack Edna.

I finished my cereal and got up. Now, Dave didn’t tell me exactly where to go, other than upstairs. Following his scent—air—sun—spring—was easy enough for me. At the end of the hall was a green upholstered, button decorated chair in front of a door with a sign that read “C L A R A”.

The sign was pink. I liked the statement. Next to the door were awards, each framed neatly with a golden border.

CLARA MILES. Oregon Women of Color Hospitality Award 2022.

CLARA MILES. Women Entrepreneurs of Central Oregon Award 2021.

And many more. Huh. And I called his place a ‘shitty bar’ last night. Great job, Grey. I hope Dave didn’t tell her.

There was a shout from behind the door. “Come on in!”

I turned the knob and opened the creaky door.

“Hey, Clara! Thank you for talk…” I managed to get out when she interrupted me.

“Oh, stop it with the pleasantries. This is just a shitty bar after all.”

Fuck. He told her?

“I… Um. I’m sorry.” This wasn’t going too well. I started sweating. I can easily deal with murder and mayhem, but this woman was authority. I felt it.

“I’m just kidding. Have a seat.” Her smile was radiant. She was beaming at me—rose—pine—mint—and for some reason, I knew I could trust her.

“Now, Grey. Dave told me you’re looking for a job. Let’s talk.”

“I was just wondering if you had something that didn’t involve cleaning toilets.”

“That’s a shame, we always need help with that,” she said.

“Really? That was just a joke. Wasn’t it?”

“We’ll see. So what can you do? I know Dave mentioned your experience was in the forest.”

“I was born and raised there. I grew up around nature, so I’m quite skilled in woodwork and survival.”

“Well, we’re in the middle of the city, so maybe that won’t be the most useful here.”

“That’s true. I’ve also helped around the house a lot. You know. The usual.”

“The usual? How about cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, folding clothes?”

“Yes.”

I was nailing this interview.

“Well, Grey. I might have something for you. Our maid left and hasn’t been heard from. So what do you think? You can stay in the room, free of charge, and work for me as a maid. We can start slow. Two shifts per week. And you can get more if you'd like.”

“That sounds amazing, Clara. Thank you.”

“Great. Come on, let’s get you started.”

We got up, and she led me to the next room. There was a big closet with a few cleaning supplies, a vacuum, a mop, and some other things.

“Let’s start easy. The bar is closed tonight, so we need to get that ready.”

“Sounds good.”

“And don’t worry about the guy who punched you. He’s a real dick.”

“It’s ok. Dave told me a little bit about the situation.”

“Yeah, it’s doing my head in.”

“Kinda like mine last night,” I said. I am witty.

“Not as forceful. It’s a slow burning pain for me,” she said.

She grabbed a few cleaning supplies. So did I. Went downstairs to the bar. There was no one else around. Someone had already cleaned up the breakfast arrangement. Imagine what lighting does to a place. Breakfast in the morning, bar at night. I was going to make sure everything was in good shape. These people are nice to me. I didn’t have many nice people around me for a very long time. So I clung to it.

To my surprise, Clara cleaned with me. I just tried to keep up with her. We did the whole main room, then we moved to the kitchen. It wasn’t an immaculate place, but it was decently cleaned regularly. I could tell.

This was nice.

Then the scent hit me again—air—sun—spring—Dave was close. I might have been a bit obvious when my head tilted up and I sniffed. Clara looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“Dave’s here,” I said.

“How do you…?” Clara asked. Bewildered, yeah.

And just like that, he entered the kitchen.

“This guy just smelled you,” Clara said.

“What?” Dave said.

“What?” I said.

Yup.