Tahoe Blues

by Lane, Aubree

  For his wife’s sake, he tried to muster up a little compassion and squelch the elation he felt that her plan had been foiled. “So, your best friend just betrayed you.”

  Marissa leaned into him. “Looks that way,” she agreed. “Annie didn’t even say she was sorry.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. Didn’t you hear? We have everything.”

  David tenderly cupped her face in his hands. “I heard. Did you? Tell the truth, if Annie hadn’t intervened, would you have actually kissed that guy?”

  Marissa looked up at him, her eyes brimmed with tears. She opened her mouth but couldn’t speak. Then she closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder.

  David sympathetically kissed the top of her head, but his eyes beamed with delight. He didn’t think Marissa would ever admit it, and she would probably blame Annie for the rest of her life, but he knew the truth. For all her bravado, his lovely wonderful wife had chosen him over some lame high school crush.

  Sierra Mist

  Late Spring 1985

  Eight year old Jessie and five year old Nathan were helping their parents move into their new home. Both of them had a box of their toys and were struggling up the front steps.

  Jessie was in the lead. Suddenly she stooped to pick something up.

  Nathan, unable to see over the top of his box, didn’t see his sister and crashed into her. He ended up sprawled out on the redwood deck with the contents of his box scattered everywhere.

  “Jessie,” Curtis yelled at his daughter. “What are you doing?”

  “Somebody left some stuff on the porch.”

  “What is it?” He asked, setting down his load to see what she had.

  “It’s a couple of pamphlets. One is from the CDF, and the other one is from the Department of Fish and Game.”

  “What’s the CDF?”

  Jessie rolled her eyes. “It’s the California Department of Forestry. It’s telling us how to keep our house safe in case a wildfire breaks out.”

  Curtis thought it was cute how his daughter at eight years old looked so superior when she knew something he didn’t, and dreaded what that was going to look like when she hit her teens. “What’s the one from Fish and Game about?”

  “Wildlife,” she answered sarcastically. “Stuff about bears, skunks, birds, snakes and—”

  “Okay baby,” he interrupted. “Set them on the table and I’ll look at them later.” He glanced back at his son and asked, “Are you all right Nathan? You need some help buddy?”

  Nathan held up a bent toy fishing pole and started to cry. “It’s broke!”

  Curtis took the pole and examined it. “Don’t worry big guy. I think I can fix it.” He bent it back until it was only slightly crooked, then handed it back to him. “How about, sometime tomorrow, you and I take a break and head down to the creek and put that thing to use?”

  Nathan wiped his tears and grinned. “Should I go dig for worms?”

  “That’s a brilliant idea son. I think there is an empty coffee can on the kitchen counter. You can put your worms in that.” Curtis smiled, watching his son dance off in the direction of the kitchen. If only all their problems could be solved that easily.

  Their back yard was nothing but dirt and scrub brush. About thirty feet from the house it dropped off into the canyon below. Nathan could dig just about anywhere and not get into trouble. His hands were full. One hand carried the coffee can, and the other held onto the handle of a small kid size shovel. Once in a while he would stop, kick over a rock and look to see if any worms were under it. So far he hadn’t had any luck. Frustrated, he sat down in the dirt.

  “What are you doing?” Jessie called from high upon the back deck.

  “I’m looking for worms, but I can’t find any,” he whined. “Can you help me?”

  “No,” she called back, appalled at the thought. “I don’t want to get dirty. I’m going to sit right here and read.” Then his sister softened, “I’ll read to you if you want.”

  “No,” Nathan yelled back mimicking his sister’s appalled tone. “I got to get some worms, so me and Daddy can go fishing tomorrow.”

  “Daddy is going to be too busy with the house!” Jessie shot back. “He’s always too busy. He is not going to take you fishing.”

  Nathan turned red in the face. The house was done. They were moving in. Tomorrow he would have time! “Leave me alone,” he shouted at his sister. “I don’t want you to read to me, and I don’t want your help!”

  “Fine,” Jessie barked back. She turned her back on her brother and sat down to read.

  Nathan stomped off angrily. He threw his can down and plunged his shovel into the ground. It only went in a tiny bit and barely turned over any soil. The ground was too hard. He scanned the yard for someplace softer. He spied a series of small holes under a bush close to where the yard dropped off. Thinking he might be more successful over there, he raced over and with a hard push of his foot, shoved his shovel deep into the soft dirt. To his surprise he unearthed a bunch of worms. The can was on the other side of the yard, and the worms were quickly wiggling away. He picked up as many of the squiggly crawlers as possible and shoved them into the pocket of his light weight jacket.

  Curtis was in the back of the U-Haul when Nathan pranced up the truck’s ramp. “Daddy, I got the worms,” he announced proudly. “Listen, they make music.”

  Curtis heard the faint sound of something shaking. A sick feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. Cold fear gripped him as he turned to his son. “Pumpkin, worms don’t make music. Take your jacket off and let me see what you have in there.”

  For once Nathan did as he was told and dutifully handed his jacket to his father. “Be careful,” Nathan warned, “they bite.”

  Curtis laid the jacket on the floor of the U-Haul, and Nathan’s worms began to slither out. Their heads were triangular in shape, and the gray and tan diamond pattern running down their backs was unmistakable. Nathan’s worms were baby diamond back rattlesnakes.

  “Don’t let them get away,” Nathan cried lunging to recapture his legion of worms.

  Curtis snatched Nathan’s hands away, but the sudden movement startled the snakes. Instantly, they coiled up and began striking at the unsuspecting boy and his horrified father.

  Curtis was bitten twice on his hand and once more on his ankle before he was able to get Nathan away. He whisked his son up into his arms and sprinted into the house. His ankle was already burning with pain, and he knew he had been badly bitten.

  “Lena! Call 911,” he shouted frantically flinging the front door open. “Nathan and I have been bitten by rattlesnakes!” Nathan was whimpering in his arms. “Where did they get you baby?” Curtis asked, setting his son down on the floor and stroking his hair.

  Nathan’s eyes were wide with fear. “On my hands, but they don’t hurt much, and one time on my side.” He pulled up his shirt. “That one hurts more.”

  Curtis was amazed that Nathan’s hands looked fine, all he saw were some tiny scratches. The bite on his side was another story, it was already beginning to swell and change color. “Lena! Jessie! Where are you? We need your help!”

  The door slammed as Jessie entered from the back deck. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

  “Don’t panic, but we have been bitten by rattlesnakes. Where is Mommy?”

  Lena flew down the stairs holding her cell phone. “I’m here,” she wailed on the verge of hysterics. “I heard you. I already tried calling 911, but the signal cut out before I could get through. The land line isn’t hooked up yet. What are we going to do?”

  “I know what to do,” Jessie stated calmly from the other side of the room.

  “Quiet Jess,” Lena snapped, “I’m trying to think,”

  Jessie held up the pamphlet. “I read all about rattlesnake bites in the booklet Fish and Game left on the porch. I actually know what to do.”

  Curtis looked at his wife, then at Jessie, and decided his calm, self-assured daughte
r was their best bet. “Tell us what to do sweetie.”

  Jessie smiled and stood up just a little bit taller. “It says here that the best remedy for a snake bite is a set of car keys. That means we need to go to the hospital right away.”

  Curtis dug into his pants pocket and tossed his car keys to his wife. “Get Nathan into the car,” he ordered. “Jessie, you take mommy’s phone and get buckled in.”

  Lena seized Nathan and raced to the SUV with Jessie at her heals.

  Curtis stumbled out the door. He was sweating profusely and could hardly put any weight on his foot. Lena raced back to help him. She propped him up with her shoulder and hauled him towards the vehicle.

  “We have another problem,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Only one?” He chuckled in a pathetic attempt at humor.

  “I don’t know how to get to the hospital.”

  “It’s less than twenty minutes away,” he said trying to sound reassuring. “Just head down the hill. When we pick up a signal, Jessie can call 911.”

  “You know how long it takes to get to the hospital, but not where it is,” she snapped.

  He was about to collapse in pain, but somehow managed an explanation. “I read it on the internet when I was researching the property.”

  He felt his strength fade as his wife’s strength grew. It was up to her now, and she knew it.

  “Lena, no matter what happens you have to keep driving. Focus on the road,” he said gravely. “Don’t stop. The only thing you can do is get us to the hospital. Promise me you won’t stop.”

  Lena shuddered and nodded her head.

  She opened the car door and shoved him inside. As soon as she was behind the wheel, she threw the SUV into action, and they began snaking their way down Gold Rush Trail.

  “The article says that a rattlesnake’s venom is called a hemotoxin,” Jessie sang out from the backseat. “It can make you pretty sick, but with proper care it is rarely fatal in healthy adults.”

  Nathan began to cry.

  “Oh be quiet,” Jessie snapped. “It also says that the snake can choose whether or not to inject venom into its victim and that half of the rattlesnake bites in humans are dry. Which means, no venom. You’re going to be just fine.”

  “It still hurts,” Nathan cried louder.

  “Well duh, you were just bit by a snake.”

  “Not just once,” he whined louder. “I was bit a lot!”

  Hearing his children bickering in the backseat gave Curtis comfort. Jessie’s ramblings had also explained why the bites on their hands weren’t nearly as painful as the one on his ankle and the one on Nathan’s side. It was taking every ounce of self-control he possessed not to scream in agony. Nathan was only crying sporadically, so he suspected that his son’s bites were not nearly as severe as his own.

  As gently as possible he pulled his pant leg up to take a look at his ankle. Just the pressure of the material brushing against his wound was agonizing, and what he saw made him sick. His ankle was swollen and black. Blisters had begun to develop, and they appeared to be spreading. He rolled down his window, hung his head outside the car, and vomited.

  A few moments later, he pulled his sweat covered face back inside the SUV. He felt weak and lightheaded. “Jessie,” he said feebly, “try the phone now. Call 911.”

  Jessie fumbled with the phone, but a few seconds later, he heard her say, “Hi, my name is Jessie Marcus. My family and I were just moving into our new house on Ridgecrest Drive and my dad and little brother have been bitten by rattlesnakes. We are heading down Gold Rush Trail on our way into town. Can you help us?”

  Curtis’s heart burst with pride hearing his daughter speak with such confidence. He prayed he would have the opportunity to tell her just how much he loved her, and how brave and strong she was. Suddenly, he realized just how little time he had spent with his kids during the construction of their home. Building his big fancy dream house had taken precedence over everything else, including his wife and kids.

  He glanced over at Lena. Both hands were on the steering wheel, and she was focused solely on her driving. Her knuckles were white, and Curtis knew she must be scared out of her mind.

  “Jess, I don’t know the way to the hospital,” Lena shouted. “Tell them I don’t know the way!”

  Jessie immediately relayed the information to the 911 operator. A moment later Jessie said, “Mom, stay on this road. A police car will be waiting for us at the corner of Gold Rush Trail and Stone Church Road. He will escort us to the hospital. The hospital has been notified, and they will be ready for us. It is going to be all right.”

  A few minutes later the police car came into view. Lena honked the horn, and Jessie rolled down her window and waved her arms wildly at the officer. With its lights flashing and siren blaring, the police car pulled out in front of the SUV.

  Curtis saw Lena breathe a small sigh of relief, but she never took her eyes off the road.

  They turned onto Main and flew past the cars that had pulled off to the right, then screamed through the red light.

  “This is so cool!” Nathan exclaimed, his pain momentarily forgotten.

  A few more intersections and red lights later the hospital came into view. They turned in front of the emergency room where hospital personnel and two gurneys awaited their arrival.

  The moment the car stopped, Curtis felt strong hands pulling him from the car. Someone grabbed his leg, and he screamed in pain. They laid him on a gurney and strapped him down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Nathan was already strapped to the other gurney and was in the process of being rolled inside.

  He lifted his head in search of his wife and daughter. Lena was near their car. She had collapsed to the ground and was crying uncontrollably. Jessie was at her side resting a comforting hand on her mother’s shoulder, but her eyes were locked onto him. As the hospital doors closed, he saw his beautiful daughter smile and blow him a kiss.

  Coming Soon

  Winter in Waianae

  115 West Gibson

  Late One Night