Page 92 of Hope After Loss

Her eyes come to me at the call of her name, and she smiles, letting me know that she is good. Then, she sits down and starts to unload my backpack.

I dig a small hole and place the tinder down and tent the gathered branches.

I use the lighter to catch the tinder and blow until it ignites.

Once the fire is raging, I go in search of Anna.

I find her walking around in the field behind the camp with her phone raised to the starlit sky.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Trying to get a signal so I can call and check on Kaela.”

She bears up on her toes, as if the extra inch will make a difference.

I walk over and reach to take the phone from her fingers.

“You’re not going to get a cell signal up here.”

She falls back on her heels. “Nowhere?” Her voice is filled with panic.

I shake my head. “Kaela is fine. Mom is an expert at caring for babies.”

She nods. “Yeah, I know that.”

“And Pop is there with them. He is the most levelheaded man on the planet. Both of them are certified in CPR, and Corbin is a phone call away. He has emergency medical service training,” I reassure her.

She takes a deep breath.

“Feel better?” I ask.

“I know I’m being a crazy person right now. I’ve just never slept away from her. What if she wakes up in the middle of the night and cries for me?”

“If she does, Mom will tell her that you love her and will be back soon. She’ll rock her and sing to her and love on her all night if she needs it.”

“Right.”

I place my hands on her shoulders and bend to look her in the eyes. “Hey, she’s going to be okay. Come help me get our tents up, and I’ll make us some dinner. You’ll feel better once you get some food in your stomach.”

She sniffles. “You’re right. She’ll be fine. Show me how to put a tent up.”

I hook her head with my elbow and lead her over to the fire.

Where I already have the footprint for the first tent laid out.

“Okay. This is going to be the floor. I’m going to get you to help me spread out the body.”

I pick it up and hand her one of the corners.

“Like this?” she asks as she walks to the other side.

“Yep. Except we need to switch because we want the door to face the fire.”

We rotate, and once the corners are matched up, I show her how to insert each pole adjacent to the other and make sure they are seated correctly before snapping them together. Then, we match the poles to the grommets on the tent body and footprint.

“Now what?” she asks.

“Now, we raise the tent and use the clips to secure it to the frame.”