Spider Lake by Gregg Hangebrauck Page B

with that monkey for all those years.”
    The doctor jotted down something in his notebook and asked: “You say you only knew the old man for a week. What kind of association did you have with him? Would you call it friendly?”
    Ben wasn’t sure where the good doctor was going with this line of questioning. “Doctor Levine, my association with the old man was this. I would bring him a plate of food which my mother would cook for him each night at dinner time. Mom didn’t cook for the guests normally, but she felt sorry for him looking so thin, and she shared our dinner meals with him. He pretty much stayed to himself in or near the cabin the entire time, and to tell you the truth, I stayed as far away from cabin six as I could. When I would bring the food, the monkey would be on the cabin roof, watching me with those beady little eyes, and to tell you the truth that monkey gave me the creeps. So, in answer to your question, I would say that my few words a day with the old guy would categorize my association with him as almost non-existent.”
    “So you think that the old man in the dream may be apologizing for having left the monkey behind at the resort after his death. You said on your first visit that after the monkey came into your life, you were unhappy. Why is that?”
    Ben thought about how he would begin. “Doctor, I know that this may sound kind of loony so I am going to come right out and say it. The monkey was the cause of all of my family’s problems from the day the old man died. I tried to tell my parents how wicked it was, but they didn’t believe me. It is as if the little creature had a spell on them.”
    “Now Ben, you know a monkey having supernatural powers—”
    “No doctor, what I am saying is that the monkey acted one way in front of grown ups, and another way around children. He knew how to behave when the people that mattered were around.”
    Doctor Levine raised one eyebrow but did not reply. He made more notes and waited for Ben to continue on his own.
    “I am not sure how to begin. My parents were kind of disconnected with me back then. It was not that they didn’t love me, but rather they were busy running the resort. My dad spent a lot of time in the evenings keeping company with the guests. He was an affable man, and I am sure he thought that by befriending the guests he would foster long term repeat resort business. My mom supported this role by preparing hors d’oeuvres and mixing with the female guests. From across the clearing I would hear the laughter which always made me smile, but being too young for that sort of entertainment, I would be off playing with Matt or some of the other cabin kids. I am sure that it may not have been easy for them to be entertaining night after night, week in week out.”
    “When the old man died, my parents were wondering what to do about the monkey. They called the Milwaukee Zoo for some advice, and were happy that the zoo would be willing to send someone to capture and transport the creature back to the zoo. It was a day or two later when entertaining the guests by the house during the usual evening soiree, that the monkey jumped on my Labrador Retriever’s back and rode him around the clearing. The animal must have had some experience riding dogs in the circus or maybe carnivals, because he looked like a miniature Lone Ranger slapping the dog’s backside with one hand, and holding on to the scruff of the dog’s neck with the other. The already buzzed party guests erupted with laughter and the rest as they say, is history. My parents changed their mind and decided it would be a cute thing to have the monkey around to entertain the resort guests. Maybe they thought it would take some of the pressure off of them.”
    The doctor kept writing notes in his notebook, occasionally making a gesture with his eyes or uttering “uh huh” to let Ben know he was listening with interest. Ben continued, “The grown ups all loved the monkey. It got rave