A loud noise from above me caught my attention. I looked up into the night sky and saw the bright landing light of a small, corporate type jet airplane taking off from the small community airport just down the road. A red light blinked at the end of the wing. The engines rumbled as the jet banked and headed south to the ‘Lower Forty-Eight’. I was momentarily fascinated, and then, just as quickly, shocked. Had Brett’s brother and sister-in-law actually left him here?
I looked down to see Todd sitting on his haunches at my side, ears perked, staring to the left and right of the road, waiting for me to figure out what we were doing.
“C’mon, boy. Let’s go back.” At my invitation and movement, he jolted out in front of me, back to my cabin.
When we returned, I put out a bowl of food for him, poured water in the pot on the stove to boil for tea, and then went to my bedroom to change. I put on a heavier sweater and thick socks.
I padded back into the kitchen just as the pot began to whistle. After making my cup of earl gray, I headed to the couch to drink the soothing liquid. I pulled my left leg up, placing my ankle under my right thigh, and blew on the steam rising from the mug.
My mind wandered to Brett. All alone in the clinic. I knew Curtis would check on him, possibly even chat with him a bit. But still, it was sad that his family had left him. I took another sip of tea. Todd lay at my feet. His head rested on my right foot.
I took my phone from the side pocket of my leggings. I took a deep breath and called my mom.
“Sweetheart!” She answered on the second ring. “I’m so glad you called.”
It would be past dinner time in Colorado. I could see her so clearly in my mind. She would be in the large kitchen in their country club home, overlooking hole nine. My dad said he liked the location because that’s where the beer cart was, and that he could get one even when he wasn’t golfing. My mother simply loved the high ceilings and Italian architecture that extended out to the outdoor living area.
I had no idea if it had snowed there this year or not.
“Hi Mom, how are you?” I stood and stared out my front window towards the mountains. My reflection stared back at me in the darkness.
“Well, we’re getting ready for our annual Christmas Eve party, so it’s a bit chaotic here. But you know I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“You and dad always host the most wonderful parties.”
I heard her giving instructions to the staff in the house. “Put that in the front entry. We need a tree in every room.” Then she turned her attention back to me. “Elizabeth, you are going to be here this year, aren’t you?”
I sighed. “I’m sorry, mom, I can’t.”
“Elizabeth,” she said more sternly. “This has gone on long enough. I didn’t try and stop you from running off into the wild. But you haven’t been back since, andthatI will not tolerate. Not anymore.”
Her vehemence caught me off guard. “I…I’m sorry, mom. I didn’t plan ahead, and then I said I would fill in…”
“Now, you listen to me.” I imagined her standing at the marble island in the kitchen, hand on her hip. “No more excuses. You come home. If just for a week.”
I was being chastised. Rightfully. It felt like being eight years old again.
“We miss you.” I thought I heard tears in her voice. “I miss you. So much.”
“Mom, I’m so sorry. You know this been hard for me.”
She sighed. “You don’t belong up there, hiding away.”
“I’m not hiding.”
“Elizabeth!” She scolded me again. “You cannot lie to me. We all know what happened. And then you were gone. It’s not too hard to see that you are hiding.”
My eyes welled. “I’ll come home soon. I promise. I just can’t make it for Christmas.” I almost told her I volunteered to pick up patrol shifts for a young man who wanted to visit his family, but I knew that would only bring her more pain, as if I’d done it intentionally. Which, of course, I had.
“Would you please also call your sisters? They miss you.”
I cleared my throat, choking out the words. “I’ll call them.”
“Darling,” she said softly. “Please come home soon. It’s just not the same without you here.”
I nodded. Then realized she couldn’t see me. “I will, mom. I will.”
We talked for a few more minutes. Safe topics like what she was serving, the decorations, my youngest sister bringing a man she’d been dating for a while, and how they were looking forward to meeting him.