Martin have unlisted numbers, so we decided to let Clayt call them.”
He nodded. “Phone for the ambulance, doctor. Then I’ll call them.”
They said almost nothing while they waited for the ambulance. Clayt was grateful that Dovey did not feel the need to cover every silence with small talk. She had insisted on staying with him, offering to fix him coffee and sandwiches and tidying up the house while he paced the braided rug in the living room.
When the ambulance arrived, Clayt said, “I’m going with them. I have to sign him in, and see what they say. Thank you for coming for me, and for staying.”
“I’ll wait here, Clayt,” said Dovey. “One of your brothers might have decided to hop on a plane. On your way back, you need to stop at Krogers. I checked the pantry, and you have nothing to feed a houseful of people. Here’s a list.”
It was past ten o’clock when Clayt returned to find Dovey curled up on the sofa asleep, with the television blaring. He set the groceries on the kitchen table, wondering if he should wake her. It was late. She needed to get home.
“How is he?” she said, yawning. “I heard you come in.”
“He’s stable for now. Still in a coma, though, so I didn’t see any point in sitting there all night. I’ll go back tomorrow when the rest of them get here. Guess you should be going.”
“I’ll just make that tuna salad first, in case they get here late and hungry. You’d just dump mayonnaise into the tuna and call it done.”
He wondered if, despite the broken engagement all those years ago, Dovey still felt like a part of the family, but he didn’t ask. Perhaps she was just being neighborly. He hadn’t seen her since his mother’s funeral. He got out the onions and the pickles, and watched while she chopped them, and mixed them with the tuna. “We don’t need to do too much preparation,” he reminded her. “Garrett and Robert Lee are bringing their wives.”
Dovey gave him a look, and went back to spooning mayonnaise into the glass salad bowl.
When she finished, she put aluminum foil over the top of the bowl and set it in the refrigerator. “Now don’t forget and leave it out,” she told him, “Or else you’ll all be in the hospital.”
Finally they ran out of things to do in the house, so Dovey put on her coat and went outside. Clayt went with her. “I’ll walk you to your car,” he said. “I’m too restless to stay in that house. Maybe I’ll just sit outside for a while.”
“Well,” said Dovey, “if anything can calm you down, it’s being outside. That hasn’t changed.”
Clayt took a deep breath. “It isn’t cold. You want to sit awhile?”
“A few minutes, I guess.” The night sounds from the woods, and the sight of the stars glittering above the mountains, made her feel more peaceful than she had for a long time. She wasn’t sure why she had been so determined to stay and help, but now wasn’t the time to talk about it. The darkness was cold and clear, and Dovey let the silence grow between them until she became aware that the night was not still or silent at all.
A bat swooped into the spotlight at one end of the barn gulping down moths as it flew past. Far off, on the ridge, she heard the cry of a bird.
“Barn owl?” she said softly.
Clayt stood still, listening with his whole body until the cry came again. “Great horned owl,” he said. “Barn owls scream or make a hissing noise. There! Hear it? A low whoo-oo—that’s a great horned. He’ll be after the rabbits tonight, when they go out courting.”
“They say it’s a sign of death—hearing an owl.”
“It is if you’re a field mouse,” said Clayt, and for the first time that day, they smiled at each other. He stopped pacing and sat beside her on the concrete step. “It’s been a long time since we talked, Dovey.”
She shivered a little. “Remember when we were kids, and we used to play until way after dark on summer nights? Catching lightning bugs in a jam
He nodded. “Phone for the ambulance, doctor. Then I’ll call them.”
They said almost nothing while they waited for the ambulance. Clayt was grateful that Dovey did not feel the need to cover every silence with small talk. She had insisted on staying with him, offering to fix him coffee and sandwiches and tidying up the house while he paced the braided rug in the living room.
When the ambulance arrived, Clayt said, “I’m going with them. I have to sign him in, and see what they say. Thank you for coming for me, and for staying.”
“I’ll wait here, Clayt,” said Dovey. “One of your brothers might have decided to hop on a plane. On your way back, you need to stop at Krogers. I checked the pantry, and you have nothing to feed a houseful of people. Here’s a list.”
It was past ten o’clock when Clayt returned to find Dovey curled up on the sofa asleep, with the television blaring. He set the groceries on the kitchen table, wondering if he should wake her. It was late. She needed to get home.
“How is he?” she said, yawning. “I heard you come in.”
“He’s stable for now. Still in a coma, though, so I didn’t see any point in sitting there all night. I’ll go back tomorrow when the rest of them get here. Guess you should be going.”
“I’ll just make that tuna salad first, in case they get here late and hungry. You’d just dump mayonnaise into the tuna and call it done.”
He wondered if, despite the broken engagement all those years ago, Dovey still felt like a part of the family, but he didn’t ask. Perhaps she was just being neighborly. He hadn’t seen her since his mother’s funeral. He got out the onions and the pickles, and watched while she chopped them, and mixed them with the tuna. “We don’t need to do too much preparation,” he reminded her. “Garrett and Robert Lee are bringing their wives.”
Dovey gave him a look, and went back to spooning mayonnaise into the glass salad bowl.
When she finished, she put aluminum foil over the top of the bowl and set it in the refrigerator. “Now don’t forget and leave it out,” she told him, “Or else you’ll all be in the hospital.”
Finally they ran out of things to do in the house, so Dovey put on her coat and went outside. Clayt went with her. “I’ll walk you to your car,” he said. “I’m too restless to stay in that house. Maybe I’ll just sit outside for a while.”
“Well,” said Dovey, “if anything can calm you down, it’s being outside. That hasn’t changed.”
Clayt took a deep breath. “It isn’t cold. You want to sit awhile?”
“A few minutes, I guess.” The night sounds from the woods, and the sight of the stars glittering above the mountains, made her feel more peaceful than she had for a long time. She wasn’t sure why she had been so determined to stay and help, but now wasn’t the time to talk about it. The darkness was cold and clear, and Dovey let the silence grow between them until she became aware that the night was not still or silent at all.
A bat swooped into the spotlight at one end of the barn gulping down moths as it flew past. Far off, on the ridge, she heard the cry of a bird.
“Barn owl?” she said softly.
Clayt stood still, listening with his whole body until the cry came again. “Great horned owl,” he said. “Barn owls scream or make a hissing noise. There! Hear it? A low whoo-oo—that’s a great horned. He’ll be after the rabbits tonight, when they go out courting.”
“They say it’s a sign of death—hearing an owl.”
“It is if you’re a field mouse,” said Clayt, and for the first time that day, they smiled at each other. He stopped pacing and sat beside her on the concrete step. “It’s been a long time since we talked, Dovey.”
She shivered a little. “Remember when we were kids, and we used to play until way after dark on summer nights? Catching lightning bugs in a jam
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