The Journal: Ash Fall (15 page)

“Those children must have been terrified,” I
mumbled, my breath not filling my lungs.

“Yeah, they’re going to have nightmares for a
long time.”

CHAPTER 15

June 12

“Hey sleepy head,” John teased. It was almost
ten o’clock and I had finally fallen into a deep sleep only a few
hours earlier. “I was worried when you didn’t pick me up for
rotation.”

I turned to face him and the smile on his
face instantly disappeared.

“My God, Allex, what happened to you?” John
asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He trailed his rough
fingers down my cheek and across my swollen lower lip.

“We had a bit of trouble, John. Day before
yesterday, two guys tried to kidnap Emilee.”

His hand stilled. “Is she alright?”

“Yes, she’s fine. That little girl is a real
trooper.” I smiled, and then winced. “Eric has several bruised and
fractured ribs, and I got beat up, but we fared better than the
other two.” I took his hand in mine. “I killed a man, John, stabbed
him.”

“You stabbed someone to death?” he asked in
disbelief.

“Actually, I disemboweled him,” I said with a
forced matter-of-factness. I’d been dealing with these events, and
I didn’t want to lose my tenuous reign of control by getting too
emotional.

He brushed a stray lock of hair out of my
eyes with a tender touch, while examining the purple bruise on my
face.

“Remind me to never piss you off,” he said
softly, then gave me one of his special smiles, and I smiled
back.

“I doubt you would ever attack me or hurt my
family in any way, so you’re safe. I can be a real mother bear when
someone I love is threatened.” I leaned into him, resting my
forehead on his chest. “Will you hold me please?”

John stood, stripped his clothes off, and
slid beneath the covers. He wrapped his strong arms around me,
spooning his body to mine. His body heat soothed my aching muscles;
his presence soothed my aching soul. We both drifted off to
sleep.

* * *

“Time to get up, John,” I said, nudging him
gently. His blue eyes opened with a smile, and then the smile faded
when he again took in my bruised and swollen face.

“I was hoping this was just a bad dream,” he
said as he reached out to my face, dropping his hand before making
contact.

“It will be all healed in no time, so don’t
worry about it.”

“It’s one o’clock in the afternoon. The boys
will be here soon,” I told him. “We have something very special
planned.”

“Do I have time for a shower?” John
asked.

* * *

“We need to collect fish and water lilies for
the pond,” Jason was explaining to John over a late cup of coffee.
“Eric and I decided it would be a nice day to include a family
picnic down at McKenna’s Bay into our gathering session. I know we
can all use a pleasant diversion.”

In view of the recent events, we were all
keeping the children closely watched, though Ken and Karen tried to
reassure us this was an isolated incident.

“What kind of fish are you trying to catch?”
John asked.

“I’m thinking perch. Even though they can be
aggressive, they would be less so with their own species. That’s
why I think one type would be best to stick with,” Jason said. “Of
course, goldfish would be best, though I doubt something like that
would be available. Goldfish are another type of carp, and the
hardiest in captivity.”

“Too bad we can’t find some catfish,” John
lamented.

“While we’re waiting for Eric and Emilee,”
Jason said, “I’d like to show you what we’ve done so far, John.”
Jason gave me a quick smile, and the three of us went to look at
the finished greenhouse.

John stopped about ten feet from the
protruding edge of the new structure and stared.

“Come on, just wait to you see the inside,” I
said, tugging on his hand.

Over the past few days, when I had the time
and the energy, I had sorted out the gardening stuff in the barn,
knowing much of it could be better used in here. Hanging from the
wall was now an assortment of trowels, forks and other gardening
tools, watering cans and a basket full of odds and ends. Jason had
attached hooks to the upper exposed beams which allowed me to hang
pots. Although the pots were still empty, I could visualize vining
tomatoes spilling out with juicy red fruit for us to enjoy during
the winter, maybe even some flowers to brighten the room.

“What’s the matter, John?” I said. “You’re
not saying anything.”

“I’m … I’m speechless! This is just
wonderful, Allex, I can see now why you wanted it.” John turned to
Jason. “You are a magician, Jason. I would never have believed so
much could be done in so little time.” He turned slowly in a
circle, stopping to look at the fish pond. “That is just beautiful.
How are the plants staying in place?”

“That was Mom’s idea,” Jason told him. “We
put large rocks in the bottom for the fish habitat, and wired the
cattail roots to them. The Marsh Marigolds are almost a floating
island. There are some rocks built higher there. We put several
rocks in the bottom of a pair of pantyhose along with the flower
clump. So far the mesh of the pantyhose is keeping the dirt in
place. It’s resting on the top of the rock pile, unsecured, like a
floating island.” He grinned at the solution we had come up
with.

We were all silent for a moment, listening to
the water cascading into the pond from the little figurine perched
on the side.

“Where did you get that?” John asked, taking
in the statue of the miner panning for gold. The water was pumped
up a tube to just behind the miner’s feet, and then it ran over the
pan and back down into the pond, ever circulating.

“I’ve had that for over twenty years. It’s
part of my favorite bird bath. I guess I’ve always wanted a miner
in my life,” I said, smiling up at John. “All this wouldn’t have
been possible without you, you know, so you have the place of honor
- guarding the fish tank.” We all laughed at that.

“And I see that you came up with a solution
to the glass, too, Jason. Where did you get it?”

“They are all glass doors we removed from
vacant houses. I then took them apart to use singly. There’s one
double hung window at either end that can open for heat ventilation
when needed. I’m just glad we got all of it hung before Eric got
hurt. I never would have been able to put those high pieces in
place by myself,” Jason replied, just as Eric and Emi came across
the road.

* * *

Over at McKenna’s Bay, John joined Jason and
a bruised and slow moving Eric catching minnows with a seining net,
while Amanda and I moved one of the picnic tables closer to the
shore so we could watch Emi and Jacob play in the cold water. It
might be well into June, however, the lake water here heated
slowly.

“Jacob is so happy to have someone to play
with,” Amanda remarked. “Most of the kids in the school are older,
and even if Jacob is academically equal, he’s too young to play the
way they do and would rather play alone or with just one other. I
worry about him, Mom.”

“I know, Amanda, we all do. I remember
reading that many of these problems and quirks he has right now are
just a stage that he’ll grow out of in time,” I tried to reassure
her, just as Jacob started splashing Emilee, like a normal little
boy would do to his cousin.

I watched the three men in my life, thankful
we were all together. Not everyone was so lucky. They were off to
the side now, near the lily pads. Jason had retrieved my scuba mask
from the shed before we left, and had it on now. He reached down
and felt the stalk of a plant, then took a deep breath, submerging
into the cold water. A moment later he surfaced, took another
breath and went under again. This time when he came up he had the
bulb root in hand. I would have at least one pink lily in my new
pond. Then, surprising me, John took the mask and repeated the
dive, retrieving yet another lily for me. Eric stood off to the
side, I’m sure to not be in the path of any jostling, although he
was the one son who shared my love of scuba diving. I knew it must
be hard for him to only watch.

* * *

The bucket of little fish was dumped into a
long, flat pan so we could check them over. Both Eric and Jason
grew up fishing so were able to quickly identify and separate the
species. With the discarded fish returned to the lake and fresh
water in the bucket, the dozen little perch and the deep pink
lilies were taken to their new home in my greenhouse.

CHAPTER 16

June 13

“Oh,” I stated flatly, stunned by John’s
announcement.

“It’s only for a few days, I promise. I
really want to see my daughter and my mom. Please understand,
Allex,” John pleaded.

“Oh, John, I do understand, really. It’s just
that this is so unexpected. I’m being selfish for wanting you here
with me for all of your spare time. Perhaps a visit down south
should be worked into each rotation,” I suggested.

“That’s a good idea, but maybe every other
rotation would be enough,” he stopped pacing and sat down across
from me, searching my face. “The bruise is already turning
yellowish, and your lip is almost healed.” He grinned, and leaned
forward to kiss the other side of my mouth. “By the time I come
back, you’ll be good as new.”

“Which brings up, when are you leaving?” I
asked, not hiding my disappointment.

“I think on Friday and come back on Tuesday,
which will still leave us another six days before I have to report
back in. Is that okay with you?”

I reached across the polished wooden table
and took his rough hand in mine. “John, you don’t need my
permission. Part of our arrangement here is that we both have lives
to live; lives that don’t always include the other. We both know
that and accepted that right from the beginning. Yes, I will be
here waiting for you when you come back.” Then I smiled at him and
saw the relief in his blue eyes.

“Right now, I need to see Dr. Mark to get the
stiches removed from my shin. Do you want to come with me?”

* * *

“I’m glad I caught you in, Mark. Do you have
time to take these stitches out?” I asked when I walked into the
new medical clinic, interrupting his paperwork.

“Yes, of course,” Mark replied a touch too
curtly when he saw I wasn’t alone.

“John, this is Mark Robbins, our new doctor
in town,” I made the introductions, noticing how Mark and John eyed
each other warily, or maybe it was hostilely.

“Come into the exam room, Allexa, and have a
seat.” He turned to John and dismissively said, “This will only
take a few minutes.”

John got that stony look on his face that I’d
come to recognize as him seething, as Mark closed the door.

“Is that my competition, Allexa?” Mark asked.
He wiped the area of the stitches with some alcohol and set out
tweezers and fine-nosed scissors, not looking at me.

“Yes it is, and would you please open the
door,” I stated bluntly.

He looked up at me in surprise. “Yes, of
course.”

Once the door was opened, I could see John
sitting stiffly in full view, and I invited him into the room with
us. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door
jamb to watch.

“This healed very nicely, Allexa. Did you do
anything special to the wound?” Mark commented as he snipped and
tugged each stitch out.

“I used comfrey poultices on it every day.
They were very soothing and I think helped to prevent any
infection.”

“Interesting. Well, you still need to be more
careful about injuring yourself,” Mark stated, to which John
grunted in agreement. “Now, let’s look at that face.” He gently
probed my cheek for any tenderness. “Have you been doing the same
poultices on your cheek?”

“Yes, except I’ve made them chilled instead
of warm, to help with the swelling.”

“Well, it’s done wonders. I wouldn’t have
expected this to be so welled healed so soon after taking a punch
to the mouth,” Mark cast a quick accusatory glance over to John.
“The lip will take a few more days though.” He put his instruments
in a metal pan and dropped the gauze with the stitches in the
trash.

I looked from one man to the other and almost
laughed. The posturing was so amusing to me, however, I knew if I
laughed out loud it would only make the situation worse. I got down
from the table and reached for John’s hand, turning back to the
doctor.

“Thank you, doctor, I appreciate your
concern. I’ll be in touch.”

* * *

“Maybe I should stay here instead of going to
Indiana,” John said as we were setting the table for dinner.

I was stunned for the second time today, only
this time I understood. “You’re jealous of the doctor, aren’t you?
That’s flattering, John, really,” I said, smiling at the
thought.

“He’s a good looking man,” John
commented.

“So are you,” I replied simply.

“He’s a professional.”

“So are you.”

“And he’s educated.”

“So are you.” I replied once more.

“You’re attracted to him,” John muttered.

“No. I find him attractive, yes, but I’m not
attracted to him. I’m attracted to you. Isn’t that obvious by now,
John?”

He looked at me, with sadness in his eyes. “I
still think I should stay here.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever given you any reason
to not trust me, John. I will be here when you return, I love you.
Isn’t that enough?”

June 14

“Is there any part of your restocking that
you haven’t done yet?” John asked me, admiring the recent additions
to the pantry shelves. The newly filled canning jars twinkled in
the filtered afternoon light. After doing all the ramps, I started
on the fish that Jason and Eric had been bringing me. Eric had even
managed to snare some rabbits from the wooded back acreage. We ate
fresh what we wanted and I canned the rest for later. I’d even
taken the smaller, softer rabbit bones and pressure canned them for
dog and cat food. There was no waste, not anymore.