by Geof Johnson
During lunch, Darla said, “Rachel, when do you plan on putting Jamie in preschool?”
“We’re not. He’s going to stay home with my mom.”
“Why?” Pete said. “Can’t you afford it?”
Evelyn looked at Carl to watch his reaction.
He gave his father a steady look before answering. “Probably, but why should we? We have the best caregiver we could possibly want living right here.” He gestured toward Evelyn but continued to stare at his father.
Rachel broke the tension by saying, “Who wants cake?”
After dessert, Jamie opened his presents. Like most babies, he was more interested in the wrapping paper and the boxes.
“I almost forgot.” Rachel said. “We bought furniture for Jamie’s new room. Grissom’s had a big sale, and we already set it up. It’s so cute. We’re moving him out of the nursery and he’s going to sleep in a big boy bed soon.”
“I’d love to see it,” Darla said.
“Rachel,” Evelyn said, “why don’t you take them upstairs and show them? Pete and I will clean up this mess.”
Pete frowned. “I want to see his room, too.”
“You can after you help me.”
He stayed behind as the others went inside.
Evelyn stuffed some paper plates in a garbage bag. “So, how do you like their house?”
“It’s nice.” Pete said. “They got a bargain, that’s for sure.”
“Tell me, when Carl was born, did you live in a big house?”
“Oh no, we lived in a little two bedroom rental way out, just off the Asheville Highway.”
“So Carl’s first house is bigger than yours was?”
“Oh yeah, by a mile. It’s nicer, too.”
“And yet, you constantly belittle his financial standing.”
Pete’s mouth opened but no words came out.
She gave him a stern look. “You know, they say that the measure of a man is not how much he’s worth but how much he’s worth to others. By that standard, I find you lacking. You are a shallow, frivolous man whose only claim is that he can make money. And your shallow wife is only interested in spending it.”
“What are you — ”
“I’m not finished.” It wasn’t polite to interrupt the Iron Lady. “Yet somehow, you two managed to raise a fine young man. He’s a loving husband and father and a wonderful son-in-law, a man who’s cares deeply about justice and fairness, and he has decided to dedicate his life to serving his community. And still you criticize him as if he’s a disappointment.”
“But —”
She held up a finger to stop him. “If I were you, I’d seriously reevaluate your opinion of Carl’s decisions about his life, and if you can’t accept them, then keep it to yourself.” She put her fists on her hips for emphasis. “Because if you don’t, you’re going to drive a wedge between the two of you that you’ll never be able to pull out.”
Pete stared back, speechless.
“Now, help me take this stuff inside, please.” She turned and headed toward the house without looking back.
* * *
Rachel came downstairs ahead of the others as her father-in-law angrily swept past her and slammed the front door behind him.
She found her mother in the kitchen and asked, “What was that all about?”
“I had a few words with your father-in-law. He needed a little enlightenment.”
Rachel knew all about enlightenment. Her mother had enlightened her a few times.
* * *
An unconscious man floated in the air. Renn stood next to him, concentrating intently, his splayed hand inches from the floating man’s face.
“This one knows nothing!” Renn said angrily, pulling away. The floating man fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Renn pointed his finger and sent a bolt of energy into the inert body, incinerating it instantly.
“Where is that old fool?” he said to his dragon’s head staff. “Someone must know. He can’t hide forever.” He straightened his purple robe. “Come, Rovann. The hunt continues.” He stamped his staff on the ground and disappeared.
He reappeared next to a low stone house beside a shallow river. He entered without knocking. “Hello, Mother,” he said to an old crone sitting at a wooden table, cutting vegetables. She wasn’t his mother, but she might as well have been.
“I see you made it back in time for dinner,” she rasped.
“I wouldn’t miss it for all the gold in the world.”
“If you found another to cook for you, you’d never come see me.”
“You know that’s not true.” He smiled warmly.
“I don’t know that! You’re off all day gallivanting around the countryside doing heaven knows what, then you pop in here just in time for dinner, and then you disappear in your room for the rest of the night with your books.”
“I’m sorry, Mother. Tomorrow I’ll stay and help you. It looks like you could use more fire wood.”
“While you’re at it, you can fix the roof.”
“Anything for you.” He stroked her gray hair. “How are you feeling today?”
“The same. My hip hurts so badly that I can barely walk, my hands ache and my eyes are getting worse every day.”
“How is your energy? Do you feel any stronger?”
“A little, since that last potion you gave me.”
“I’ll mix another tomorrow. I’m trying to find something to make your hip better.” He would have found it already, he was sure, if the old sorcerer had not burned his books before disappearing. Curse that old fool.
“I’ve heard of a healer who lives near the coast,” he said. “She is supposed to be very skilled. I will go to her and find something that can help you.” Renn’s enormous ego made it hard for him to accept that he couldn’t help Mother, but what people said must be true: a healer is born, not made.
She closed her eyes. “Why don’t you just stop and let an old lady die in peace? I’m tired. It’s past time for me to join the list of the dead.”
“No! You have a whole lifetime ahead of you. You are no more than a child.”
“I was a child a long lifetime ago. Let me go, Renn.” She still called him Renn. No one did but her.
“If you die, I’ll have no one,” he said.
“Find a girl. A nice girl. One who can cook and keep you home. Then I can die.”
“Never, Mother.” He put his arms around her neck. “Never.”
* * *
At 3:00 AM, the Sikes household was quiet. Carl had just come home from work, and instead of winding down with a beer in front of the TV, he sat in the rocker in Jamie’s new room. Looking at his beautiful sleeping boy in the soft glow of the night light was more relaxing, anyway.
Carl’s name had been in the paper that morning; just a brief mention of a commendation he got for solving a string of break-ins in a neighborhood of expensive homes.
If it had been poor people’s homes, no one would’ve noticed, Carl thought. But his father had called him at work to congratulate him, saying he was proud of him. Carl couldn’t remember ever hearing him say that before.
* * *
Jamie’s backyard was a whole world to explore. Cleared of the summertime humidity, the autumn air sparkled in the sunlight. The colorful leaves drifted from the branches to settle on the grass below, turning it into a patchwork quilt of yellow, orange and brown. Squirrels scurried everywhere, securing acorns for the coming winter. And they were not afraid of Jamie.
Whenever Evelyn took her toddling grandson into the backyard to enjoy the sunshine, the squirrels would approach him like their cousins in the park who were accustomed to handouts. But these wild animals would only allow Jamie to get near them. If Evelyn came close, they scattered.
They were definitely afraid of Sassy. That dog had some sixth sense about when Jamie was out in the yard, and she’d escape and come to the Sikes’s house to play with him. One of her self-appointed duties was to keep squirrels as far away from him as pos
sible.
Her other duty, assigned by Evelyn, was to keep the boy out of the creek. It didn’t take Jamie long to hear the siren call of the water, and he would scurry toward it with jail-break speed whenever he thought his grandmother wasn’t looking. Finally, after scolding him for the umpteenth time, Evelyn had a talk with Sassy about keeping him away from the creek. The dog sat and listened intently, tilting her furry head to catch the meaning of every word. From then on, whenever the boy bolted for the water, Sassy would break in front of him and bark until he retreated.
With Sassy on guard duty, Evelyn sat in the gazebo without fear of having a muddy grandson, and Jamie searched the fallen leaves until he found the perfect one, then he hurried to Evelyn to show her. Then he toddled off to find the next one. After about an hour, she had an impressive collection of toddler-approved leaves, which meant it was time to take Jamie inside for lunch and call Jenny Stone to come fetch Sassy.
* * *
Toddlers are far more difficult to care for than infants, and Jamie was doing his best to remind his grandmother of that every day. Though they both need to be fed and changed, babies stay where you put them, toddlers don’t. A toddler is a perpetual motion machine, always on the go, one step away from disaster. Jamie’s favorite disaster was pulling all of the children’s books off the shelf in the family room, strewing them about in order to find his favorite, which he would take to his grandmother and say, “Read? Read book.”
And whenever possible, she would. He was hard to deny. One of her favorite memories of caring for her grandson was sitting in the rocker, paging through one of his favorite books while he pointed to the pictures and named the objects on the page. His vocabulary was growing incredibly fast, faster than anyone in the family expected. He was always curious, always looking at her with an expression that said, What is this? Tell me. I want to know.
Surely this boy is gifted, she thought.
* * *
“What are all these leaves on the table,” Rachel asked as she set her purse and keys on the counter.
“Those are Jamie’s special collection,” Evelyn replied. “He found those today. He insisted I bring them inside. He’s very proud of them.”
“Well, he should be,” Rachel said, hugging her son. He was sitting on the floor with a book. “These are probably the best leaves ever, right Jamie?”
He ignored her. The book had his full attention.
“Carl called,” Evelyn said. “He’ll be home soon.”
“Do I have time for a quick shower before dinner?”
“If you hurry. I’m going to pull the roast out in a few minutes, but it still needs to rest.”
“I’ll be quick.” Rachel dashed for the stairs. She called back over her shoulder, “Jamie, be good for Gramma.”
* * *
Evelyn heard Rachel start the upstairs shower and took a quick glance at Jamie to make sure he was staying put.
Good, she thought. I’ve got time to check on the roast.
But as she fumbled in the kitchen drawer for the meat thermometer, she didn’t hear Jamie get up and waddle into the family room.
“Book,” he said. “Read book.”
She pressed the thermometer into the center of the roast as Jamie approached the bookshelf. She watched the needle climb steadily to one hundred forty degrees, done. She picked up her oven mitts as Jamie put one foot on the bottom of the shelf and stretched for a book. She picked up the large roast and carried it toward the counter as Jamie tried to pull himself up to the second shelf.
This smells good. They’ll love this. She congratulated herself.
But when she heard the crash, her heart sank to the floor.
* * *
Carl ran up and found his mother-in-law in the waiting area of the emergency room. Her face was ashen and her eyes were red.
“What happened?” he asked, panting. “Where’s Jamie?”
“He’s in X ray. Rachel’s with him.” She wiped her eyes. “The shelf fell on him.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“They think he broke his arm,” she said, her voice quivering.
“Any head injuries?”
“No.”
“How about his ribs? Any internal injuries?”
“Just his arm.” She shuddered. “It’s all my fault! I turned my back for a second, and he got hurt.”
“Okay, calm down.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “How did it happen?”
“I was pulling the roast out of the oven, and he must’ve gone to get a book. He somehow pulled the shelf on top of himself.”
“Where was Rachel?”
“In the shower.”
“He’s a quick little bugger. I can see him doing that.”
“I should’ve been more careful.”
“Stuff happens. He’s a boy.” He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and sat next to her to wait.
* * *
By the time they got home from the hospital, Jamie was sound asleep. Carl carried his wounded son upstairs. Evelyn and Rachel followed.
As Carl laid him in his bed, Evelyn said, “I’m sleeping in here tonight.”
“Mom, you don’t have to,” Rachel said. “He’s going to sleep through the night. That’s what the doctor said, after he gave him the pain medication.”
But the look her mother gave her said, Don’t bother arguing.
“Okay, fine,” Rachel said. “I’ll get the comforter so we can make you a pallet.”
* * *
Evelyn woke at dawn, groggy and confused. When she remembered where she was, she sat up and looked at Jamie in the dim light. She saw the cast on his left arm and felt a painful stab of guilt. She covered her face with her hands and sighed deeply.
I won’t be able to go back to sleep. She put on her robe and slippers and went downstairs. She was surprised to find Carl already up, sitting at the kitchen table.
* * *
Carl could tell from his mother-in-law’s face that she hadn’t slept well. He knew she was torturing herself over the accident. But he had a plan.
She sat down as he went to the counter and poured her a cup of coffee. He sat across from her and handed her the cup.
“I feel terrible about what happened,” she said.
“Me, too. I should’ve seen this coming. This is all my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“I knew this could happen. It happened to one of the guys at work.” That’s a lie, but she doesn’t know it. “Only his kid pulled a dresser over.” He took a sip of coffee. “He told me I needed to bolt all of the dressers and shelves to the wall, but I somehow never got around to it.”
“Carl, you should know better.” Her eyes flashed. “He could’ve been killed!”
“Yes ma’am, I know. I just got lazy, that’s all.”
“Well, you’re going to take care of that chore today, aren’t you?”
“Yes ma’am, first thing, soon as the hardware store opens.”
“Good,” she said firmly. “I hope we all learned a valuable lesson from this.”
“Oh, I think we did.” He stood and walked away. “I’m going to check on Jamie.”
He smiled to himself as he walked upstairs.
* * *
Jamie was cranky and whiny for most of the day, but by Sunday morning, he was back to his old self, his cast a minor inconvenience to his busy toddler lifestyle.
“I’m going to keep Jamie home from church today,” Rachel said. “You two go on without me.”
“No, I’ll stay,” Evelyn said. “You and Carl go.”
Rachel looked at her mother in shock. “Mom, you never miss church.” Evelyn Wallace had never missed a day of church in her life. Not for sickness or snowstorms. Not for birthday parties, Superbowls, or anything else. It was a given that she went to church every Sunday. But not this one. This was the day to break her perfect record. She wanted to stay home with her injured grandson.
“It’s fine,” Evelyn said. “Pick up somethin
g for lunch, please. I feel lazy today.”
After Rachel and Carl left, Evelyn said, “Well, Jamie, what would you like to do this morning?”
“Read book, Gramma.”
“Of course.
So she spent the rest of the morning in her own personal heaven, her beautiful grandson in her lap, reading books together.
Chapter 7
On a Saturday, two weeks before Jamie’s second birthday, Carl decided it was time to start building the frame for the swing, the first phase of the clubhouse to end all clubhouses.
He chose the spot carefully. At the back of the level part of their yard, just past where the grass ended and before the ground started rolling down to the creek, was a shady area with space between the trees. It was big enough for the final project, to be completed as Jamie grew older, and close enough to the house where they could easily see it from the kitchen window.
He worked most of the day, and after church on Sunday, he got Rachel to help him mount the cross beam. When the beam was in place, he bolted the chains of a baby swing to it and they stepped back to admire his work.
“It’s perfect, Carl.” Rachel said. “He’s going to love it.”
“I hope so. Look here.” He pointed to the beam. “I’ve got more holes drilled. When he gets old enough, we’ll install two big-boy swings. When he outgrows that, we’ll put up a bench swing for us.” Then he pointed at the end of the frame. “And this is where I’ll build a platform to put the slide and fire pole.”
“Let’s go wake him up from his nap and see how he likes it,” she said.
“Your mom will kill us.”
“Oh, right. Well, just as soon as he wakes up.”
* * *
After Jamie’s nap, the family gathered around the swing. Jamie laughed with delight as his mother pushed him.
“I think he likes it,” Evelyn said.
“Carl, why don’t you show Mom what you plan to do next?” Rachel said.
“Sure.” He pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket. “I drew it out. It’s going to be awesome.”
