By the time she made CT’s lunch and was just starting to clean up the breakfast dishes, the dryer buzzer signaled that the sheetswere done. Honey felt done too. She sat down across the table from CT with a weary sigh.
“Want a sandwich?” He held up a half.
She sighed. “No, but thanks.” She reached for a banana and set it by his plate. “I don’t think you had your banana today.”
He nodded as he slowly chewed.
Honey knew she should have a banana too, but she just didn’t feel hungry. Mostly she felt tired. But thinking CT should be safely occupied for a bit, she decided to get the clean sheets out of the dryer and take them upstairs. As she trudged up with the full basket, she sniffed the linens. It wasn’t a bad smell, but nothing like clean pure sunshine. Her favorite place to line dry sheets in the summertime was a clothesline CT had helped her string over the lavender field a few years ago, but at the moment, as much as she enjoyed that aroma, it felt like too much work. Maybe the girls would want to help her with that sometime this summer.
She was just fitting the bottom sheet onto the second bed when she realized she was slightly out of breath and lightheaded. She sat down on the edge of the bed and took in some deep breaths. Maybe shewasoverdoing it. Why not let the girls finish up in here? After all, they were young and strong. And she still needed to get some potatoes on the stove if she was going to make potato salad for dinner.
Honey wanted to make their first meal here special, and Jewel had been raving about her potato salad. Of course, it was more work than plain mashed potatoes, which CT would prefer, but the salad would make for good leftovers tomorrow. Besides that, she needed to get her roast into the oven soon, if she wanted it to be done on time. She wished she’d learned how to use that Instant Pot Jewel had sent them last Christmas. But life was so full of distractions, and she just hadn’t gotten around to reading the instructions. Maybe Jewel could show her. Her daughter swore by the thing, claimed it was a big time-saver. And, boy, she could sure use more time.
By the time she got back to the kitchen, CT was removing a plate from the dishwasher and setting it in the cabinet above.Honey frowned, biting her lower lip and wanting to scream. “So ... did you emptyallthe dishes?”
“Yep.” He looked pleased with himself. “Helping you.”
“But those dishes were still dirty.” She opened a cabinet door and studied the shelf of drinking glasses. The dirty ones were mixed in with the clean.
“Oops?” CT frowned. “Dumb me.”
“No, you’re not dumb.” She turned to him. “But you do look tired.”
“Yeah. Hard work.”
She still had to remind herself how he tired easily. “Why don’t you go sit for a while? Get rested up before the girls get here.”
“What girls?” His brow creased.
“Jewel and Cooper. Remember? They’ll be here soon.”
His expression was fuzzy, but he nodded.
“Go get in your chair.” She gently nudged him toward the living room. “Put your feet up. There’ll be plenty to do later.”
“Yeah. Good thinking, Honey.” He pecked her on the cheek. “You do good thinking for me and for you too.”
She forced a smile, then walked across her still-sticky kitchen floor to sift the dirty dishes from the clean ones and reload the dishwasher. She felt bone-weary as she got the potatoes ready to cook. Maybe potato salad was a bad idea after all.
But Honey continued to push herself, putting one foot in front of the next. Step-by-step, she got the roast ready and into the oven. She chopped onions and pickles and made dressing for the potato salad. Then she revived the green salad she’d made the night before and added more tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, and lettuce. It wouldn’t be long before she could add veggies from her own garden. That would be nice.
Then, tired of the stickiness, she got out her mop and bucket and gave the old wood floor a good mopping, making the oak planks almost golden again. Finally she put the mop things away and went into the living room, where CT was quietly snoring. She sat down and attempted to catch her breath. She’d certainly been working hard, but she never used to get winded so easily.Was she just getting old? Or was something else going on? She hadn’t been to a doctor since her GP retired back during COVID. Maybe it was time to find a new doctor and schedule a checkup. Well, if she could find the time. Where did one go to find time anyway?
6
Jewel
“Can you believe how green everything is up here in Oregon? Such a beautiful place. But that’s because of all the rain they get. Of course, they do suffer from drought occasionally.” Jewel had been chirping away at her daughter since they left the interstate for this less traveled highway. But Cooper’s silent treatment was ongoing. Still Jewel persisted. She’d either drive her daughter crazy with chitchat or start answering herself. “Did you ever see so many sheep? And check out those little lambs. Aren’t they adorable?”
She checked her rearview mirror to see that Cooper had put her headphones on again. Well, so much for aggravating her into a response. At least they were almost there now. As she drove through the small town of Sweet Springs, where little had changed since Jewel was a girl, she didn’t bother pointing out places of interest. She knew Cooper would probably just sneer anyway. And Jewel was fed up with trying to placate her. If Cooper wanted to act like a big baby, she’d let her.
She turned down the long driveway to her parents’ house, peering toward the barn to see if the movers had arrived yet, but there was no sign of the red-and-white truck. Just as well. Now she could supervise the unloading. She parked in front of the farmhouse and without another word to the lump in the backseat, hopped out before running up to the front door and knocking loudly. When no one answered, she let herself in. “Hello?” she called out. “It’s me. We’re here!”
She could smell something good cooking, but no one answered her greeting. She called out again then went into the kitchen to see what looked like dinner in process. But then she noticed salad splattered across the kitchen floor and an upturned bowl in the corner. “Mom!” she called out. “Where are you?” She raced all through the house but saw no sign of either of them. Jerking out her phone, she tried her mom’s cell, but it went straight to voicemail. She left a quick message, then ran outside and found her mom’s car parked nearby. She started to yell even louder. “Mom! Dad! Where are you?”
She was just calling her mom’s phone again when Cooper got out of the car and approached with a curious expression. Still irritated at her daughter, Jewel ignored her as she checked around the garden then headed for the barn, calling out louder yet. She looked inside the barn and all around but, again, saw no sign of either of her parents. “What is going on here?” she asked herself. Had something happened with Dad? Perhaps he hurt himself again. Something beyond skinned-up knees? Maybe he needed medical attention.
She was just coming out of the barn, calling out again, when Cooper came over to her. “What’s up with you?” she asked. “Why are you screaming your head off?”
