by Leslie Pike
“So, do you think your mom and my uncle are going to stay together? He leaves for California on Tuesday.”
A weird expression comes over Bing’s face. Kinda sad.
“I hope so.”
“He likes her a lot. I know that much. They act differently when they’re together. Happier than when they’re not.”
That brings a smile to Bing’s face. “I think they love each other. I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if they married and we were related?” I say.
“We wouldn’t be related, asshole. He’d be my stepfather and still be your uncle.”
“There’s some kind of by marriage thing I think would happen. Like cousins by marriage.”
“You are never going to be my cousin. Let’s be happy with being bros.”
That satisfies me. Bing is my best friend. I know we’ve only known each other for three months, but that’s how I feel.
“Hey! There’s a cave!”
He runs ahead, giving McFly a bumpy ride as he does. Cali and I bring up the rear.
As we approach, the first thing I see is the sign bolted to the entry. Closed. It goes on to read the ATV has closed all caves on the publicly managed land in an effort to protect the significant colonies of cave-dwelling gray bats. Warnings of criminal prosecution and a two thousand dollar fine for disturbing the bats are in bold letters.
“Shit!” Bing hollers.
“Well, this was a waste of time,” I add.
“Maybe.”
He removes the backpack and lies on his belly to look under the sign and peer inside the deep dark entrance. McFly wiggles out of his throne and shakes off the leaf that just fell on his head. Cali takes a rest against a tree.
“I think I see the fan flower!!! Give me the flashlight,” he says, holding an arm in the air.
Retrieving it from my pack, I pass it to Bing and take a seat next to him. I stretch out to get my own view of the treasure he seeks. All this work for a fucking flower. Shit.
When he shines the light in the pitch-black tight opening, it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to what we see. Before there’s a chance to say I see a tiny red flower, a bat drops from the ceiling of the cave, swoops over our heads, and flies to the trees.
“Oh shit!” Bing says, rolling off to the side.
I yell my reaction. “Aaaaaaa!” Shit, it felt like the bat touched my head!
“What the fuck?” Bing says, laughing.
“It’s a BAT CAVE! Shit. Let’s get out of here before we get caught. If our moms get a call that we’re fucking with the protected bats, it’ll be bad! I am not going to miss the dance tonight. Not for a fucking flower.”
“I don’t see any other bats coming out. We’re okay,” he says, ignoring my statement.
I look around. “Where are the dogs?”
Bing looks to the left, the right, he stands. “There’s Cali; she’s hiding under that fallen tree.”
I look that way and whistle. “Come on, girl, it’s all right.”
But Cali stays where she is, away from any flying creatures. She puts her head down and looks away from me.
“Where’s McFly?” Bing says. “I don’t see him. Shit.”
He stands and walks away from the cave. “Here, boy! McFly!”
He yells it like he’s gathering the troops for battle. Nothing. Now a loud whistle. “McFly!”
The muffled sound of an injured dog reaches our ears. It’s a groan or more like a moan. What the hell?
“Where is he?” Bing gets serious.
There’s no playfulness in his voice. He’s scared, and so am I.
“Let’s be really quiet after I call him. I think he’s hurt.”
Tears fill Bing’s eyes, and his voice is breaking.
“Okay.”
“McFly!”
We stay frozen in place, not making another sound. Only Cali changes position. She rises and listens with us. From within the cave comes McFly’s whine.
“He’s inside the cave!” I say, moving with Bing to the entry.
Cali runs to the cave and whines her message to her friend.
“Back, Cali!”
It takes me a minute to pull her back so we can look.
I let Bing peer in and shine the light first before taking my spot, lying next to him.
“There he is!” Bing starts to cry. Not sobs, but steady tears running down his face.
“We’ll get him. Don’t cry.”
He wipes the tears, but they are replaced as soon as he does.
“He must have gotten scared and ran under the barrier. How far down do you think he is?” I ask.
“Maybe six feet. But it looks like the cave opens to the left, right beyond where he’s lying. He’s hurt, Hunter. See how he’s sticking that back leg out?”
“Yeah, I see it. It’s a good thing he can’t move any further back because we’d lose him …” My voice trails off as I realize it’s just hurting my friend.
“We need help. You and I aren’t going to be able to reach that far back.”
“I think I can squeeze in there.”
He takes off his hoodie and reaches inside his discarded backpack for something. Bringing out the inhaler, he takes a few pumps.
“Wait! You’re too big! And there’s bats in there!”
“Just hold my feet. I’m going in.”
“Oh shit. This is a bad idea! I’m going for help.”
“NO! You can’t! McFly is freaking out. He’s shaking. Maybe he’s in shock. Please, Hunter! Help me and help McFly!”
Chapter Twenty
Maxen
“Don’t forget to pack your trunks. You left them in the laundry room.”
Kim looks as bad as I feel. Sad. She sits on top of the bed while I clear out the closet and pack my bags.
“I talked to David. He’s leaving around ten tomorrow, so that puts him here by Tuesday night. I’ll be taking off Wednesday morning.”
I didn’t expect the tears that threaten to spill out of her eyes. Taking a seat, I wrap my arm around her.
“Hey, what’s this about? It’s going to be good for you to have some new company.”
“I know. I love David, and it’s going to be great having him here. But …”
“But what?”
“I think you’re making a mistake, Maxen.”
Her meaning is clear.
“There’s no other choice. Believe me, Dominique and I are going to make this long-distance thing work. I love her.”
There’s a little smile.
“Has she said she loves you too?”
I smile. “Yeah.”
She takes my hand. “She’s a lucky woman.”
“I don’t know about that, but being together is something we need to have time to figure out.”
“Do you believe love is the greatest blessing?”
Kim’s own story has shaped her set-in-stone beliefs.
“Of course. For sure.”
A big smile lifts the corners of her mouth.
“Then know at some point you’re going to have to prove it. Stand with it. Either you or Dominique is going to be making the bigger sacrifice. That’s how it works sometimes.”
I take in my sister’s words.
“I just don’t want things to slip away because you underestimated this critical moment in your relationship.”
How my sister got so smart, I don’t know. But she’s wiser about love than any of her brothers. All three of us have made mistakes.
“Did Hunter tell you when they were going to be back? I told him to call when they were on their way,” she says, changing topics.
“No. I didn’t talk to him.”
She looks at her Fitbit. “I’m starting to worry. They have to get ready for the dance and set up their instruments.”
“You know boys. They’re going to slide into home at the last minute.”
“I do know boys. That’s why I’m worried.”
“They’ll be fine.
“Hey, thanks for taking my place as chaperone, by the way.”
“It’s going to be fun. Dominique and I will get to dance together.”
She gives me “the look.”
“What?”
“You’re not going to be dancing! First of all, you need to be watching the kids. They will be trying all kinds of funny stuff. And secondly, you don’t want to embarrass your nephew and Bing. Remember, our brand of dancing looks old-fashioned to thirteen-year-olds.”
“Old-fashioned? Are you kidding? We are smooth. We look good.”
She starts laughing.
“What you don’t know about kids could fill a book.”
Around three o’clock, we got more worried. After talking with Dominique, I found out Bing had a haircut appointment at two. When the stylist called to ask where he was, it shocked her. A call to Kim sealed the concern. Where the fuck are they?
Dominique sees the car and steps into the street for me to pick her up, no unnecessary moments wasted. She gets inside and takes out her cell.
“I’m going to try his friends. See if they mentioned where they were going.”
“I’m going to drive over to the school. Maybe they decided to set up in advance. You know kids, maybe they wanted to meet the girls there,” I say.
Dominique takes in the scenario and smiles. “That’s probably it! Bing said Beth and the girl he likes, Frankie, are on the decoration committee. That’s it! They are messing around with the girls. I feel a little better.”
I don’t want to contradict her or point out she’s jumping to a conclusion. I could be wrong. Let her have a few minutes of calmness. The ten minutes it takes to reach the school are filled with one-sided conversations with three of Bing’s friends. Nobody knows anything. Neither Bing nor Hunter confided in anyone. They gave us a few ideas of places they’ve hiked or explored, but that was the extent of the suggestions.
Pulling into the school lot, I park and turn off the engine. Dominique’s out before the last shudder. I follow. We go toward the gymnasium where kids are busying themselves with dance-related jobs.
“This was a good idea. I saw Trevor. He just went inside,” she says.
We make it to the door and wind ourselves past the tables set up and the beverage and snack posts.
“There he is!” Dominique says, walking faster.
We reach Trevor’s side, and he’s surprised to see us.
“Hi, Trevor,” she says. “We want to talk with you.”
“Hi.”
“Bing hasn’t returned from his walk yet. He and Hunter took off early this morning, and I expected him back by now. Do you have any idea where he could be?”
Trevor looks like he doesn’t know whether he should reveal what he knows or not. He’s weighing his choices. That’s when I chime in.
“It’s important because he might be too late to set up. Maybe you guys won’t be able to perform. I mean, you need the base guitarist and lead singer, don’t you?”
A look of panic passes over Trevor’s face. He’s about to say something when Beth and Frankie interrupt.
“Hi, Doctor Grant!” Beth says. “This is my cousin, Frankie.”
The young girl looks shy. “Hello.”
“Call me Dominique. You too, Beth. We were just asking Trevor if he knew where Bing and Hunter are. Do you know, by any chance?”
They look genuinely innocent. “No. I don’t, do you, Frankie?”
“No. They said we’d see each other at the dance.”
I can’t stop looking at Trevor’s expression. He knows something, but doesn’t want to say it in front of the two girls for some reason.
“Trevor, can you help me? I need to bring something in from the car.”
Dominique watches but doesn’t stop me from taking Trevor to the side. She stays talking with the girls while keeping an eye on us. Walking toward the doors, I get right to the point.
“What do you know?”
He doesn’t hesitate. “They went up to the caves. Bing is trying to find a certain flower for Frankie. He said the name, but I forget.”
“Why the caves?”
“That’s the only place it grows. Oh! It looks like a fan. That’s all he told me.”
“Thanks, man,” I say, patting him on the shoulder as I wave Dominique over.
When she arrives, I start walking. “Come on. I know where they are.”
An hour later, we are with two park Rangers on the mountain. Scaling the steep terrain, Dominique is not happy. In fact, I’ve never seen her so disturbed. There are tears in her eyes, and every so often, I catch her wiping them away. I get it. Not sure what we’ll find.
They could have been bitten by bats or tripped and sprained an ankle. I don’t want to think about the inhaler issue. I didn’t want to bring it up. Hopefully, he brought it. Fucking boys.
“How often are you required to kick kids out of here?”
“More often than you’d think. But this will be a first for flower picking. They’re usually messing with the bats, which are protected. Hopefully, that’s not the case here.”
“There’s only a few more caves they could get access to. The others are too far away,” Ranger two adds.
“The problem is we don’t know where they entered.” Fuck.
We hear it first. The sound of something approaching at a fast clip. Animal? Person?
“Stop!” Ranger one says, listening.
We follow suit, and the noise grows. Then I see her. Cali.
“That’s my dog!”
Dominique begins to cry in earnest. Not sure if it’s relief or fear.
“Cali! Come here, girl!”
She runs up to me, and by the breathing, I know she’s aggravated and tired. But telling us something is more important.
“She must have heard us coming,” the Ranger says.
As soon as she gets acknowledgment from me, she turns and takes off, back into the trees.
The four of us rev up our steps and follow Cali’s lead through the thick brush. Everyone is silent, except for our heavy breathing. I’m sure Dominique and I are thinking the same thing. What are we going to find? The dog makes a sharp turn to the right and under a fallen tree.
“Give me your hand,” I say, helping Dominique over.
Cali runs ahead, and I hear a voice.
“Over here! We’re over here! Good girl, Cali!”
“It’s Hunter!” I say.
“We’re coming!” Dominique calls.
When we reach the scene, it hits me like a ton of bricks. Hunter stands over Bing as he sits against a tree. His breathing is labored. It’s hard for him to catch a breath and his face is not the right color. It’s pale. Grayish. He can’t even say a word to us. McFly sits by his human, watching him like a hawk. There’s something wrong with the dog’s leg, but he isn’t crying or whining. His attention is on Bing.
“He’s having trouble breathing!” Hunter says, breaking down. “His inhaler fell from his pocket when he was in the cave getting McFly out! We couldn’t reach it!!”
“Maxen, lift Bing’s head!”
I sit on the ground and do as instructed. Dominique jumps into action, unzipping her fanny pack and pulling out an inhaler. Oh God, she brought one!! Kneeling beside her son, she quickly takes over. He lets her hold the rescue inhaler to his mouth and give him two pumps. His eyes are filled with tears. Mine are too.
His chest relaxes, and he takes the first deep breath.
There’s a reason this parenting thing is easier when two people are doing it. It’s such a huge, complicated job. It requires your heart and soul, your constant attention. Just like every other kind of extraordinary love.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dominique
We look like a family from the backroads of Kentucky out for a drive. Pa is drivin’, Ma is holdin’ an injured, muddy dog, and two raggedy children are lookin’ out the windows.
“You’re overreacting, Mom! I’m fine!”
“You�
��re fine now! You could have died, Bing. And all because you wanted to give a flower to a girl. I’m pissed!”
Hunter and Maxen are keeping their thoughts to themselves so as not to get in the middle of my anger.
“I think you need a hug, Mom.”
Not now, son. Read the room.
“Don’t you try to pull that, Bing! This is no joke. I am going to have to really think about how I’m going to handle your punishment. I don’t want to talk right now. I can’t!”
This is the first time that endearment didn’t work for Bing. I see his disappointment. My voice softens as I wrap an arm around my child.
“You scared the hell out of me. I don’t know what I’d do if …” I shake off the thought.
“You two scared us both,” Maxen says.
“Thanks for coming to look for us,” Bing calls to Maxen.
“Yeah. Of course. We were worried.”
“At least we got rescued in time! We have to be onstage in an hour!” He says it happily, shaking the day's drama off.
I jump at my son’s words. “Are you kidding me? You’re not going to the dance!”
This bit of information hits Bing harder than the fact he almost ran out of oxygen an hour ago.
“Mom! We have to go! Please! I’m fine. Look,” he says, breathing in and out in and out.
“Stop that!” I order.
“You need to rest. Really, Bing. There will be other dances. The boys will have to go on without you.”
Hunter is looking at his uncle like he should do something. His eyes catch mine in the rearview mirror, and a silent message passes between us.
“What do you think, Maxen? Am I being too harsh?”
“No. I don’t think you are.”
He sees my smile and Bing’s disappointment in the mirror.
“But maybe there’s another choice,” he adds.
“We could let them go tonight because we’ll be there too. They’d be watched closer than if they were home in their rooms. What do you think, Dominique? Am I off base?”
He did that beautifully. Like a boss parent. He allowed me to give in without giving up my authority. He and I make a good team. I give myself a few moments to consider the fantasy.
