 
DAVID SHATH SQUARE Chapter Twenty-one
There's nothing like a dose of reality to snap you out of your petty personal politics. As I lay beside Thoreena on the damp bed of swamp grass, our fight diminished in importance. I was happy to have her safe and shivering beside me.
"Hardy."
"Yes."
"Was that a mountain lion?"
"I'm afraid so," I said, teeth chattering.
"Hardy, we've got to go back to the Pointe. We're just not capable of living here alone."
"I can't go back to the Pointe. I won't ever go back there."
"Why not?"
It took me a long time to answer. I contemplated our situation. We had almost nothing in the way of clothing: light cotton shirts, jeans, socks and tennis shoes. Our cabin had a hole in the roof and my arm was injured and winter was coming. After a while, I said:
"I'm not going back because I hate my father."
"Why?"
"Because he abandoned my mother and he's a homosexual."
Thoreena was stunned. It took her several minutes to recover.
"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard," she finally said.
"What's so crazy? He let my mother die a lonesome woman while he partied with his nancy-boy friends. While my mother was alive, he was only home long enough to change his underwear and pluck another novel from his precious bookcase."
"Hardy, you're father has always been kind to you. He taught you how to read and write."
"Oh, yes. My precious homeschooling. Do you know why he teaches me at home? "
"No."
"Because he wants me to be his trophy son. The near perfect academic with a 98 percent average. His approval is very conditional. If I do well in my studies, I get a nice little pat on the ass: 'Well done, Hardy.' If I don't do well, he turns to ice. He won't even glance in my direction or put an arm around me and say something like 'It's okay. I love you despite of your insipid mind.'"
"Hardy, I think you're being too hard on your father. I've known him all my life and he always treats you with kindness and respect."
"Of course he does in public. Don't you see? I'm his creation. A shining example of his ability as a lone parent. It allows him to assuage his guilt over my mother's death and his perverse sexual practices."
I could see that Thoreena was less than convinced. She turned away from me and stared at the wall for a long time.
Finally she said: "This is too much for me to understand at one time. Let me think about it."
"Sure."
"But Hardy, we still have immediate problems to deal with. I'm' not a quitter and I'm not afraid. But I'm a realist, and I don't see how we're going to survive here alone."
I was ready for this.
"Don't worry, Thoreena. Two people united in their cause can create a miracle. We're going to create several miracles!"
Thoreena looked at me closely. She was wet and cold and miserable, but I guess the defiance in my eyes ignited her fighting spirit: she wrapped her powerful arms around my body and gave me a bear hug that took my breath away.
"Okay, Hardy. It's a deal. But only until the first snowfall. If we aren't prepared for winter by then, we'll return to the Pointe."
"Fine," I said. "We'll be prepared."
As if to seal the bargain, Shadow came and lay beside us on the damp rush bed. His fur was dry and warm and we wrapped our arms around him and fell asleep.
Outside, the rain had stopped and the clouds had dissipated. A heavenly host of northern lights illuminated the October sky. My grandfather told me that the aurora borealis is comprised of angels who dance to the music of the spheres announcing God's glory to the universe. My father said the lights are electromagnetic radiation that signal the onset of cold weather.
To Chapter Twenty-two
Copyright © 1999 David Square/Log Cabin Chronicles/4.99 |
