Chapter One

Charlie was out hunting. You see, he liked to hunt. At this particular time of year, it was deer season. Mostly what he liked was getting back into nature and the sense of peace and quiet it gave him, so he quite often just used hunting for an excuse to be off by himself. You see, he had lost his wife. Well, she wasn’t exactly lost, but while he was working extra hours on a new project, she got bored and found another lover. So, she left Charlie to be with Mr. Right Now. He wasn’t all that broken up about it, though. She’d been getting restless, talking down to him, berating him for working so much and not paying enough attention to her. It wasn’t true, but she made it sound so. He spent every working minute laboring hard to make a living, and every other minute with her, cooking for her, doing her laundry, rubbing her back, making sure she knew she was important to him. It was him that wasn’t that important to her, though, so off she went.

He received divorce papers in the mail and interestingly, she asked for nothing except her personal belongings and her car. Realizing it didn’t bother him that much to do so, he signed the papers in the appropriate places and returned them to the lawyer from whence they came. That was a couple of months ago. Charlie hadn’t heard from her since. It wouldn’t be long, though, he figured, until she’d run out of money, or luck, or something. He had turned off and closed all of their shared credit cards and checking and savings accounts, transferring the money into new ones on which only his name appeared. ‘Oh, well, such is life,’ he thought. Maybe he’d be lucky, and she’d found true love. He could only hope.

He was quietly walking his hunting property, carefully looking, hoping to find some recent evidence of the big one being around. The one he’d seen pictures of on his field cameras. A fourteen-point, mature buck with a thick massive rack to beat the band. It was time to let the younger bucks take over, so harvesting the big boy was on the agenda this weekend. Probably too tough for anything but jerky, venison sticks, summer sausage and well marinated backstraps, but there’d be a lot of it.

He had still seen no sign of the big buck when he came upon his hunting cabin. Smoke was rising from the chimney, so he obviously had company. Not that he wouldn’t have given permission, under certain circumstances, but he hadn’t given anyone the go ahead to use the property. So, they weren’t there with his permission, but he decided to be nice about it and approached the cabin. When he was about five yards from the porch, the door opened. Expecting the worst, but wishing for the best, he had his rifle at the ready, but still pointing down and away.

The worst is not what happened. A young blonde woman, maybe twenty years old, very pretty, dressed in jeans, flannel, and boots, all looking eerily familiar, came to the door. She stood there looking at him.

“Hi, there. What brings you out here?” Charlie asked. She didn’t answer. “Ummm… Do you have a name?” Nothing. No response. “Can you talk? I sure wish you would talk to me.”

“My name is Belle, and you are on private property.”

“Belle. That’s a pretty name. I know it’s private property, Belle. I’m the owner.”

“Oh. I thought that would work. Maybe with someone else, it might have, huh?”

“Yeah. Maybe. Are you OK? What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere in my cabin? We’re miles from anyone out here.”

“I’m just wanting to be by myself. I’m dealing with some personal problems. Nothing I want to bore you with. I’ll get my things and leave.”

“Belle. No. Stop. You don’t need to rush off. Relax. I won’t cause you any problems. I’m not doing all that well, anyway. I wish I could find that big buck I’m looking for, but…” Belle pointed to a fence line about 60 yards away. There he was, magnificent as all get out. He looked at Charlie, then at the woods, then at Charlie, then bolted into the trees. Damn, Charlie thought, ‘That is a handsome animal’. “I’ll go looking for him later,” he said.

“You’ll find him next time you look for him. Please do wait ‘til later, though. He’s so nice. I don’t want to know he’s gone.” Her words made a troubled thought pass through him. He went inside and set the rifle down. Maybe next year.

“OK, Belle. Hey, you hungry? I thought about going back into town and getting a bite to eat. If I’m not going to be packing that big old buck out of here, I might as well have a decent meal.” She smiled at him and nodded.

“I could eat. You’re a nice guy, Charlie. I’m sorry about what’s making you sad.”

“How do you know about that?”

“I don’t, really. I just… I can sense you are not a happy person, but that you deserve better. Does that make sense?”

Charlie looked at her. “Yes, I guess so, but you must be awfully good at reading people. I’m unhappy because I’m lonely. Not because she left me.”

“Oh. OK. Well, you’re not lonely now. Take me to dinner and we’ll talk. I’ll keep you company. You seem like a nice guy, Charlie.”

“Thank you. Talking like that, I wish we were dressed better, and we could go somewhere nice for dinner. You’d be stunning at the club in a blue dress and heels.”

“Go get your truck. Meet me back here as soon as you can.”

“How did you know…”

“Don’t ask so many questions, handsome. Just go get your truck.” He left, and when he came back, she was waiting on the porch, in a shimmery blue lamé A-line dress and purple strappy 4-inch sandals.

“Stunning. Simply stunning.”

“Thank you, kind sir. Would you carry me to the truck? The ground is a bit soft for these heels.” Charlie picked her up in his arms, noting an intense feeling of wellbeing coursing through him as he carried her the few yards to the passenger side of his vehicle. “Thank you. You’re such a gentleman. Now, take me home, and change into something appropriate, Charlie. I’m sure you have a blue tie, yes?”

He smiled at her as he put her in the truck. She felt so wonderful. It had been a long time since he’d felt anything close to that good about anything. He went back for his rifle and locked the cabin up. As they were driving back into town, he remembered, he had gotten one, a pretty blue tie, for Christmas from his niece. It was the same color as Belle’s dress.

“Belle, why is it every time I say ‘I wish’ something good happens around you? You spoke, I saw the buck, you’re wearing a beautiful dress. It just seems…”

“Charlie, do you have an open mind?” Charlie nodded. “Goodie. Take me home. Change clothes. Take me to dinner. I’ll explain everything. Please, though, keep an open mind. Above all else, remember that I am not a threat to you at all, and I know you are a wonderful person. A wonderful person deserving of much better than what life has given you since you met her.”

At the house, she followed him in and out of the bathroom, helping him with a towel, sitting on the closed john seat, talking to him about his life, his invention, how much time it’s been taking and that it’s so close to being finished. Just a couple more little hurdles and it will be ready for testing. She helped him dress in a nice gray wool suit with a light blue shirt and the tie that just perfectly matched her dress.

As they walked into the club, everyone seemed to notice. Charlie was with a different woman. A beautiful young lady. “Wow. This is a really nice place. Charlie, everyone is staring at you. You are a handsome man, you know.”

“Belle, they aren’t looking at me. Honey, they’re looking at you. I wish they thought I was your boyfriend.”

Belle giggled. Sam Frazier, a friend of Charlie’s, came to the table. “Charlie, is this your new girlfriend? She’s gorgeous. You outdid yourself, old boy. Congratulations. I’m so glad to see him happy, Miss…”

“Belle. It’s Belle, and I am, too. Charlie deserves to be happy, Sam. Thank you.”

“Well, it’s nice meeting you. You two have a good time. See you on the links, Charlie.” Sam walked away.

“Belle, how did you know Sam’s name, and I said I wish again, and… Come to think of it, Belle, how did you know my name was Charlie? Today. In the woods. I never said…”

“Open mind, Charlie? Can we talk now?” Charlie nodded. The waiter brought their water and bread and took their orders. She just wanted a shrimp cocktail salad. He ordered the special prime rib. “At least it’s not venison,” she said, smiling at him. “Charlie, I’m a common field fairy. Don’t faint, don’t say anything, don’t walk out.” Charlie’s eyes went wide open and he almost forgot to swallow the sip of water he just took. “You said you’d keep an open mind. What I’m telling you is true, but I can’t prove it until we’re alone. Rest assured, though, that I will prove it.

“Charlie, I had a falling out with my family. It’s a personal issue, and I can tell you about it later, but I don’t want to deal with that now. Not now. It wouldn’t be right. Suffice to say, I went off on my own, and when I saw your cabin, I decided to stay there for a while. I had been there for a few days already when you came by today and found me there. You’ll need to restock the firewood, by the way. It’s been chilly.

“The reason I appeared to you in this form and not in my natural fairy form was so I wouldn’t scare you. You wished for the best, but you were prepared for the worst. Your thoughts. I could tell you were a good man, and you didn’t want to cause a problem for me, and I certainly didn’t want to cause one for you. It also seemed that you liked the way I looked. Now the only reason I appear like this for you, is to see you smile. You do that when you look at me. Suffice to say, there is more to the story, and I will tell you more after dinner when we get home.”