Oh, whew!Cataract surgery.Thank God, it was nothing too serious.
She reached across her table and placed her hand reassuringly over his, her fingers feeling his thin skin.She gently squeezed.
“Say no more.I will be happy to run your place.Don’t you worry about a thing, Sam.I’m here for you.”
She figured that would cheer him up, but he was still frowning.
“They said for me not to do any heavy lifting for a couple of weeks, so I won’t be back until then.I’ll be staying with friends.”
“I can handle everything, Sam.You go do what you need to do.Your eyes are very important.How about another cup of coffee?”she asked.
He shook his head.
He smiled and relief poured through her.He seemed okay with going off to have cataract surgery and she was glad he had a friend to come and get him.
“Wish I could.Still loads of work to do before my ride gets here.I'll take a rain check.I’ll leave contact info on my fridge for you, in case.Say hello to Ginny from me when she gets back.”
Jenna nodded.She didn’t tell him that her youngest sister Ginny wasn’t coming back.At least not that she knew of.
He stood and Jenna quickly gathered the remaining three apple fritters and placed them into a plastic container pressing on an airtight lid.She grabbed the container and followed him out to his old truck.
“You don't need to come out until tomorrow morning.I'm not leaving until later tonight and I’ll get all the animals settled.Thank you so much, Jenna.You and Tim have always been so reliable.And you especially are always such a wonderful person.I don't know what I would have done without you.Everyone else I know live so far away and can’t help and I’m not ready to give up my little farm.”
To her surprise, he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her in a big snug bear hug.
Jenna froze for a heartbeat.Something uncomfortable fluttered in her chest.Sam wasn’t a hugger and this was the first time he’d ever hugged her.That uneasy idea that maybe something might be wrong nipped at her again.
When Sam let her go, he seemed back to his old gentle self which disintegrated her momentary uneasiness.
He hoisted his thin frame into his truck and rolled down the window.
“There's a severe weather warning for this area starting in three days.Saying high winds.So, be careful when you’re out on your trails with the horses.You don’t want trees falling on you while out riding.”
Jenna nodded, trying to ignore the tightness zipping through her gut at the weather news.Her fingers curled around her elbows, a reflex she’d never quite shaken when storms were mentioned.
Severe weather alerts here in Northern Ontario were common and they caused her anxiety, especially when she was alone.So she tried not to listen to the radio and ignored the alerts, although she knew that wasn’t wise.Besides, many times it wasn’t as bad as they predicted.
“Okay, thanks” she said, forcing a smile.
“Bye, Jenna,” he said with a wink.He turned his key in the ignition and the truck rumbled to life, spewing blue smoke out of the tail pipe.
“Bye, Sam,” she called out, trying hard not to inhale the acrid smell.
He stuck his arm out his window and waved as he pulled his truck around and drove out of her parking lot.
She watched his tarnished black truck rattle up the winding road to the top of the hill, the sunshine glinting off the areas of chrome which hadn’t rusted yet.
Then Sam and his old truck were swallowed up by the looming mist enshrouded forest.And everything went deathly quiet except for an occasional squawk of a crow erupting from somewhere in the pasture.The silence that followed felt heavier than it should have, settling over her shoulders like a damp blanket.
She was all alone.
Again.
Well, not really alone.
Her palm warmed against the slight curve, real or imagined, and something inside her steadied.She knew it might just be her imagination that she had a baby bump as the nurse practitioner had told her she’d start to feel something at around sixteen to twenty weeks, and she was at best estimates eleven weeks along now.
“Okay kiddo.It’s time to get more work done,” she said to her baby.And then she headed to the chicken coop.
