They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti

Author:Cynthia Ruchti [Ruchti, Cynthia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Published: 2010-01-02T06:00:00+00:00

153

A sleeping bag makes a pretty decent shawl when you need to warm up fast. The current cold front may be good for dis- couraging mosquitoes and black flies, but my teeth chatter so much I’m afraid I’ll crack a crown.

We’re Scrooge-frugal with our pirated kindling but manage to start a fire. Jen scrambles for more dry wood. It’s rare to find a log too large for a campfire up here. Most of the fallen limbs or downed trees are thin enough to catch fire quickly. The trick today is finding something that escaped the rain under an umbrella of other fallen logs or thick undergrowth.

I check on Frank. That’s one thing I can do while my blood thaws. He’s awake, complaining of a headache. Big surprise, the poor guy. I find a spare gallon-sized plastic zip bag in the food pack and lay it near his head. Seems to me concussions and vomiting go together, if I remember from the boys’ short- lived football experiences.

My boys. I may have let them go too soon. I may have forced open the bud of their independence. Why was it so important to me to make sure they didn’t need me? Did I fear letting them down if they depended on me, like I let down Lacey? People

17

154

CYNTHIA RUCHTI

get paid to figure out things like that. I probably should have paid someone to tell me.

It’s not that I resent their aliveness. I don’t want my daugh-

ter back in place of my sons. A family can still be a family if it’s missing one of its key members, can’t it? The sparkling member. The one who helped balance all the male-dominated décor and activities and sports babble. The one who had me by the heart.

“Jen?”

“It’s me, Frank.”

“Oh, good.”

“Do you need something?”

“Pit stop.”

“Ah.”

I can’t imagine successfully helping him into the woods in

his current state of weakness. We just found another use for the “air sickness” bag.

********

“Do you think we should call Brent to send help?” Jen’s

voice holds a thread of uncertainty atypical for her.

“I haven’t earned a reputation for wisdom the last few years,

but I think we should see how the night goes. Frank’s tough. If you ask for the tour, he’ll show you scars from any number of wars. He may bounce back by morning.”

“Do you think so? Deep in your heart?”

I don’t dare dig that deeply right now. But I tell her, “What

can it hurt to wait until morning? Unless Frank takes a turn for the worse. I think he’s a little more with it already, don’t you? He was able to eat a little at supper. Great job with the dehydrated chili, by the way.”

155

They Almost Always Come Home

“The fresh air’s made you delirious. It tasted like cardboard soaked in tomato sauce.”

“With a hint of cilantro,” I add.

“When we get home,” she says, “I’m going to hug my spices and kiss my microwave.”

When we get home. How many of us will make the return trip? Just the three of us? Will I have something more than kitchen appliances to hug?

********

I should be sleeping.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.