Monday, December 28, 2009

Daring the Darkness

What part of “Get here before dark.” don’t they understand? We tell them about how to drive the hairpin turns without causing everyone in the car to grab a barf bag. We tell them about having no mobile phone service once they get off the main highways. We tell them that our house is not on many GPS devices. We tell them that we live in the forest, and that Smoky the Bear doesn’t have a phone that they can use to call us if they get lost. But, do they listen?

Bill was scheduled to arrive at three, with plenty of time before dark descended. He had a three hour drive from Camille’s house. No problem; except, as he left Camille’s house, he pointed his car away from our direction to visit our older sister and our mother, who was visiting this sister. He ended up leaving Suzanne’s house an hour before he had anticipated arriving here.

I tried not to panic as the sun began going down, but it didn’t keep me from pacing. I vacuumed the RV, and swept the porch. I put the pot roast in a serving bowl. I set the table. And I paced, peering out the window for signs of Bill every time Gypsy began to bark.

By the time Bill drove into our driveway, it was dark – very dark. Supper had been ready for over an hour; thank goodness it was pot roast, which can hardly be overcooked. It’s bad enough driving around the forest in the dark alone, but Bill also had his daughter, Ingrid, and twenty-two month old grandson, Robbie, with him. I envisioned one cranky baby after all the hours underway, but Robbie bounced out of Bill’s car, happy as can be.

As we settled down to supper, Bill entertained us with stories of Robbie’s exploits and other of his travel adventures. He’s quite an accomplished raconteur. Ingrid could hardly get a word in edgewise, even though she is also very entertaining. After dinner, we offered to share some of the goodies that Mary and Ruby graced us with for Christmas, along with some of my homemade fruitcake. Bill chose the fruitcake, so I guess Rachel isn’t the only person, other than myself, who actually eats that Christmas delicacy.

Then it was time for opening presents in front of the fire. Robbie entertained himself with several books that he’d brought from home and a couple of glow sticks. What a delightful child! Ingrid is such an attentive and relaxed mom, we could actually converse all evening. The fact that Robbie adores his paw- paw also doesn’t hurt. By ten, Bill was ready to call it a night, so we led him to his cabin.

The road up was very steep, but we made it with tires spinning and spitting gravel. By the time we kissed Ingrid goodnight, her already big eyes were like saucers. “I don’t think I like all this woodsy. I’ll have to keep Robbie inside because he might fall off the side of the mountain,” she said. I promised her that, if she wasn’t comfortable in the cabin, we had space for her at our house in the holler – and at least four acres of flat land for Robbie to run.