In his new white Lexus convertible, Dave O’Reilly drove his girlfriend of just a few weeks, Iris McArthur, through the quiet Northern California countryside. A closed picnic basket sat on the back seat next to Iris’s black and white Springer spaniel, Maxie. Newly in love, the young couple found it almost impossible to keep their hands off one another.
“I hope you like potato salad,” Iris said dreamily, snuggling close. Dave nodded sagely; he would like just about anything she had prepared for them.
They drove through the countryside on this Sunday afternoon in early spring, listening to their favorite songs on a CD, admiring the scenery, and searching for a likely place to stop for their picnic.
“How about under that tree up there, on the little hill?” Iris asked, pointing her adorable chin.
Dave shook his head. “No, honey; I think that’s private property.” Smiling, Iris nodded and patted his knee, then leaned over to lay her head on his shoulder while he grinned contentedly and put his free arm around her.
After an hour or two – neither of them particularly aware of just how much time had passed – they found a perfect spot for a picnic. As Dave pulled into a verge beside the road, the dog bounded out of the car and directly over to a tall tree, where he lifted his leg to water it.
Iris chuckled, and said, “I guess it’s a good thing we stopped when we did.”
Dave grinned at Maxie’s obvious relief, and they climbed out of the car and carried the basket over to a big, shady oak tree. Iris laid out a blue and white tablecloth from the basket, some covered bowls, plastic glasses, and a bottle of sparkling cider.
Maxie, the dog, bounded joyfully over to a small creek that wound its way through the little valley where they had parked, barked at nothing and ran back to his mistress. He barked again, as if to say that this was indeed a very good spot, and then settled down beside the tablecloth, panting happily.
“Let’s eat,” Iris said, and uncovered the bowls and began pouring the cider. There was cold chicken, potato salad and chocolate cake, which they ate slowly, occasionally passing bits of chicken and cake to the dog or to one another. They chatted tranquilly between kisses, enchanted by the changing images in the clouds floating overhead, and by the sun slowly sinking behind the nearby mountains. After a while, they both grew drowsy in the late afternoon warmth.
***
“Huh, what?!” Dave was suddenly awakened by the feeling of a hand laid lightly on his stomach. Expecting to see his lovely Iris, he smiled slowly and then opened his eyes to observe that the afternoon had grown late and it was getting dark. His smile quickly vanished as he found himself looking directly into the crazed, wild eyes of a life-sized gargoyle.
He jerked upright, suddenly terrified. What had happened? He looked around wildly for Iris, fearing that the monster had done away with her while they slept. The dog lay silently beside Dave, its eyes open but unseeing.
Dave couldn’t see his girlfriend, and then the gargoyle-like creature leaned in closer to him and grinned, its mouth dripping saliva and blood, and he screamed in terror. The monster’s mouth opened wider and wider and, as it came closer to him, Dave saw that it was wearing Iris’s pretty dotted Swiss dress and white shoes.