The Dove of Canyon City Chapter Two

Daniel

Canyon City, 2012:

                   Daniel slouches back in the drivers seat, letting out a heavy sigh of relief as he stares at the back of his grandmother’s home.  The drive from San Francisco had seemed much longer than he had remembered from his many trips as a child. He smiles as he reflects back on those trips, remembering that most of the times he would have been asleep in the back seat almost the entire trip.

         “Angel, if you stay in that car much longer you’ll be sleeping in there tonight! My back isn’t what it used to be and I can’t carry you around anymore. Now you come in here before it gets so dark you can’t see the stairs!” A familiar voice calls up to him from beyond the passenger side of the car. He chuckles and swings open the car door and maneuvers his six foot one frame from out of the car. He pauses long enough to grab his luggage case from the back seat before locking the car.

         As the locks click he dodges around the hood and heads for the steps, six wooden steps taking him to his grandmothers back yard. Only about ten feet by ten feet the thick green grass was his grandmother’s pride and joy. In the desert region that Canyon City resides in a lawn was anyone prides and joy, especially his grandmother.

         At seventy seven years old Pauline Jean was the spitfire of town, the mother figure to many in the town and the unofficial mascot of Canyon City. A social butterfly and a natural chatterbox she was the one solid rock remaining in his life. He drops his luggage case as he reaches the back door and embraces her plump five foot six frame in a gentle hug. She chuckles in his ear, her arms wrapping around him and she rocks him back and forth like she used to do when he was a child. After a moment she draws back and her blue gray eyes sparkle up at him.

         “Now you come on in here and get yourself settled. I got a room all ready for you.”

         “I’ve got an air mattress in the car grandma, I can just sleep on that until I get my own place.” He volunteers as he picks up his luggage case and follows after her into the kitchen. She has already picked up a wooden spoon she had been cooking with and she turns on him, wagging the spoon in the air at him.

         “I will not hear it. Your room is already done so go on now. Dinner is almost ready.” He just smiles and continues through the kitchen, turning left and heading down the narrow hallway and into the dining room.

         The home was built back in the height of the silver rush, a narrow hallway to the far right hand side of the building with three rooms to the left. His grandmother’s room is the first he passes, the door open a crack. The scent of licorice and the sound of a soft radio playing fades as he continues on. The hallways smells of sunlight and a light scent of dust that no amount of cleaning can remove but to Daniel it smells like home and sweet childhood memories.

         The second room is a spare bedroom and he stops in the doorway, about to drop his luggage case when  he hears his grandmother in the kitchen.

         “Keep going!” She calls out. Confused he continues on, passing through the dining room and into the living room. The third room is off the living room and when he stops in the doorway he drops his luggage case in surprise.

         The room is the largest of all three and has two large windows facing the street below. The setting sun gives the room a soft light, just enough light for him to make out the details of the room. A large queen size bed sits against the outside wall, the solid wood headboard rising up between the two windows. A matching foot board stands at the end of the bed and a chest rests beside it. The bed had his favorite blanket on it that he’d had since a small boy.

         Now Ruby Marie, I know it’s to big for him now but someday he will appreciate having a blanket this big. Besides, every child needs a blanket that can eat them up! Daniel smiles as he remembers his grandmother suddenly tossing the immense blanket over him and hugging him, muffled shrieks of laughter filling the very room he stands in now. Pictures of the family several generations back decorate the walls mixed with historical newspapers and fliers from Canyon City’s history. A large vanity mirror is mounted to the wall above a nine drawer vintage dresser, a few random objects lying atop.

         He slowly steps inside and places his bag on the foot of the bed, looking around the room lost in memories.

         The sound of his grandmother talking to herself in the kitchen and the sound of laughter and talking from down on the street pulls him from his reverie and, remembering something he digs into his bag and pulls out a small box wrapped in a cartoon mouse wrapping paper.

         Heading back into the kitchen he lowers the box over his grandma’s head, Pauline letting out a gasp and a chuckle as she takes the box.

         “What have you done Daniel?” She admonishes gently as she steps back from the stove, letting Daniel take over. He stirs the spaghetti sauce as she carefully unwraps the package. He glances behind him as she takes out the mini snow globe and peers into it, adjusting her glasses to see the small replica of Alcatraz. She giggles and turns it over before righting it again, watching the white and silver flakes float down to coat the small model of the prison.

         She looks up at Daniel with a sparkle in her eye and he can't help but smile at the humor in her eyes.

         “Oh sweetie thank you!” She hugged him and immediately bustled out of the kitchen to place the snow globe among all the others on her mantle. He continues to stir the sauce for dinner. The scent of the home made spaghetti sauce makes his mouth water and he gives Pauline a peck on the cheek as she comes back into the kitchen. She immediately takes the spoon from him and shoos him from the kitchen with a snap of her ever present kitchen towel from her shoulder.

         “Now off into the living room with you! Rest your feet. Dinner won't be done for a minutes yet.”

         “Yes grandma.” He says obediently, giving her shoulder an affectionate pat before heading back toward the living room.

         He sits on the couch, sinking into the well worn and welcoming couch and soon he finds his head starting to nod.



         Pauline walks into the living room to call Daniel to dinner but stops in the doorway, smiling and leaning against the door jab as she watches Daniel slowly sink to the side on the couch. After a minute she can hear soft snoring coming from Daniel's direction and she chuckles quietly to herself before heading back to the kitchen, making a plate for Daniel and setting it where he'll find it when he wakes.



         “Okay everyone listen up please!” The crowd around Daniel quiets to a few excited whispers, even the bar patrons quieting their conversations from the bar to the far right.

         The Golden Lady restaurant and chapel was occupied with the usual patrons, the regulars keeping their backs to the group of tourists. Beside him his grandmother Pauline gives a little giggle and rubs her hands together.

         “Oh this is so fun!” She murmurs to him. Daniel leans to the side slightly so she can hear his lowered voice.

         “Why are you so excited? You're done this a hundred times.” He states. She nods.

         “Yeah but the fun is watching the other people in the tour, not the tour itself.” she says as their tour guides move to the front of the group.

         “So to start off I would like to say hello to everyone and welcome to the Canyon City Ghost Tour. We will be your guides tonight. Considering the size of the group we'll be dividing you up into two groups and stagger them a few minutes apart.”

         Pauline immediately pats Daniels arm, murmurs “have fun” and immediately heads toward the younger male guide, standing beside him with a bright smile. Being a familiar face he takes her enthusiasm with a mirrored smile. Daniel goes to follow but she waves him off.

         “Go ahead and try it by yourself. You'll have fun. Just pay attention.” She says the last with a hushed voice and Daniel gives her a questioning glance. She smiles slightly pats his arm again.          “Sweetie, even though we've never spoken about it before but I know you are like me.” Daniel doesn't react and Pauline leans closer, her blue-gray eyes suddenly serious. “I know you are sensitive Daniel. Just give it a try.”

         With that she moves away, striking up a conversation with one of the out of towners. Suddenly feeling at a loss Daniel heads toward the back of the group, watching his small group assemble.

         “All right we're going to let the other group go first.” Daniel's tour guide says, addressing his group as the other moves away. “While they are heading toward the first stop, I’d like to go over a brief history of the highlight of our tour. Our last stop will be Miners Row, the famous red light district of Canyon City. Several colorful characters resided in Miners Row, the most famous being the disappearance of Caitelynn.” At the sound of her name Daniel feels a shiver running down his back, an awareness suddenly washing over him as the guide continues.

         “No one knows what truly happened to one of the most famous soiled doves. After her mysterious disappearance it was said that the light in her rooms at the end of Miners Row would turn on by themselves at night. There are also stories of singing coming from her rooms in the mornings as she would bathe.  There are also tales of a ghostly apparition roaming the boardwalk in front of the location where Mamma's Cafe used to be. According to the stories Mamma's cafe was run by Mamma Jean, a woman who was known to look after the doves of the city. Many diners say that they have seen the ghostly figure of Caitelynn roaming the small room next to the kitchen where the doves would gather to eat during the day.”

         He stops and glances back, watching the first group disappear before he beckons to his group.

         “All right everyone, let's start the tour!”

         Daniel follows, trailing at the back of the group as the feeling of foreboding remains.

         Something tells me that tonight's going to be interesting.