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“There’s extra wire behind the henhouse.” I turned the page with a smile. “Tools are where they always are.”
“Great.” He rinsed his plate.
“The mailbox could use a new post, too,” I suggested as I realized he needed to keep busy.
“Then you’ll know where I am.” He went to leave then stopped to give his mama a kiss on the cheek, then he pushed the back screen door open and let it slap behind him the way he used to when he was younger.
“Well, now,” Meg beamed at me, “I think today’s looking up.”
“Indeed.” I wasn’t going to get too excited yet. Daniel had a long way to go, but this was a start.
* * *
It was baby steps but as the weeks went on. Daniel continued to find little things around the property to keep himself busy. He even named the damn goats. I secretly wondered if they were named after friends he’d lost. I didn’t care. It was just good to hear him talking again.
The chickens were a pain in the butt when it came to doing chores, and there were times when I would watch from the porch as the little cluckers would team up and try to trip Daniel when he was feeding the goats. He cursed them up and down, but a few minutes later he’d be carrying the ringleader under his arm, explaining how things needed to get done by sundown.
The odd time one or two old friends from school would call to see if they’d heard right that Daniel had returned from Nam, but when I would try to get him to take their call, he’d say he just wasn’t ready. I didn’t blame him. It seemed most people just wanted to forget about what happened over there and ignored what our boys had been through. They couldn’t get their heads around a far-away war, especially when they were practicing for a ball game or starting a new career.
Zack came by a few times, and I’d watch them from the study, sitting in the same room together in total silence, both reminiscing internally. It worried me, and I knew it might only be a matter of time before one of them slipped. Though the chores were a step in the right direction, it wasn’t improving his overall attitude. I needed to fix it before the worst happened. The beginnings of a plan started to sprout in my head.
“What are you doing?” Meg asked. She was wrapped in her blue robe, with curlers in her hair and slippers on her feet. I took her in as she stood in the doorway of the garage, still the love of my life. I personally thought she looked adorable but knew if I commented she’d get all twisted up and probably slap me.
“I’m changing things up.” I shot her a big smile and hoped my banging around in the wee hours of the morning hadn’t been what woke her up. “We need a change, and I think this time around it’s my turn to make it happen.”
“Should I be concerned, Ed?” Her beautiful eyes so full of concern were part of the reason I needed to make this change a high priority for all of us.
“No, my darlin’, you should be thrilled that I’ve figured out how we’re going to save our son. Well, both our sons.” I thought of Zack’s expression or lack of it last time I’d seen him. Zack was a great young man and a lifelong friend of Daniel’s. So, to see them so disconnected when they were together in one room worried me. It wasn’t healthy for either of them. Nope, a change was needed.
“Give me ten minutes to get my face on and brew some coffee. Save me a seat at that table.”
“I love you, Meg,” I called, delighted I’d married that woman. She really was my other half in life.
“Good thing you do,” she called back, “because even the goats aren’t coming to say hello. My curlers are freaking them out.” She laughed all the way down the path that led to the house. When she returned curler free a while later, she was loaded up with coffee and pastries, and I laid out my plan for her. I was beyond happy to see she was even more excited than I was about it.
“This is incredibly impressive, Ed, and what a good use of your time, for both of you.”
“It is, but I’m going to have to call in some help for the farm.”
“Don’t you worry about the farm, you hear me? My sister’s boys can chip in. This is exactly what our boy needs, so let’s make it happen. I’ve been on the phone to everyone I know. I’ve got a lot of contacts who hold some high positions. I think I might just have started to get a few heads thinking.”
I leaned over and grabbed her to me and planted kisses on her until she was screaming for mercy. Then we both went to work to make sure we had everything covered.
Later, once all my chores were done, I looked around for Daniel. The cluster of chickens outside the barn doors outed his location once again.
“Daniel?” I went into the barn and found him painting the stalls. His t-shirt was covered in white spatters, and his beloved old, tattered ball hat was jammed backward on his head and had some woodchips stuck to it.
“Yeah?”
“Come with me, will ya? I want to show you something I’m working on.”
“Right now?” He held up the paint brush.
“Yeah, right now. Come on.” He carefully balanced the brush on the tin, brushed his hands off against his shirt, and followed me out.
We walked across the driveway to the garage where I’d spent many summers teaching Daniel how to tear apart and rebuild the engine of my 1964 Mustang. He was always a quick study and great with his hands.
One of the barn cats whisked by with a mouse in its teeth, but when she spotted Dan, she went to him and dropped it at his feet.