Chapter 13
13
Jewel
The sun beat down on Jewel’s back as she bent to repair a drip line spout that had somehow disconnected, creating a pool on the far edge of the lavender field. Seeing deer tracks nearby, she thought she knew who the culprit had been. Although, unlike Dad, Jewel still liked the deer that made themselves at home on the farm. Dad wanted them dead.
“Dang deer,” he proclaimed loudly from behind her. Startled, she stood and turned to see him, hands on hips, glaring at the ground. Not for the first time, she wondered if he’d been reading her thoughts. For a guy who couldn’t remember what day it was or where he’d set his hearing aid charger, he was surprisingly tuned in sometimes. Just one more mystifying aspect of his illness.
She brushed dirt from her hands. “We don’t know it was deer.” She shrugged. “Might’ve been a digger.”
“Nah. It’s the deer. They eat my pumpkins too. Gonna get my gun and get rid of ’em.”
She just nodded. It was pointless to remind him that Mom had removed all his guns from the house. “What are you doing out here?” she asked. “I thought you were working on your bees.”
“Too hot.” He adjusted the brim of his hat.
“Too hot for bees?”
“Too hot for me.”
“Then you should get into the shade. Or inside the house.”
“The house is shade.” He frowned as if trying to make sense of his own words. “Sun?”
“Come on, Dad. Before we both get heatstroke.” She linked her arm in his and walked him back along the fence line toward the house. “How are your bees?”
“Buzzin’.” He grinned. “Makin’ honey.”
“Cooper wants to help you with them.”
“Cooper?”
“You know, the one with green hair.”
“Where’s Cooper?”
“Helping Mom in the kitchen.”
“My mom?”
Jewel glanced at him. “Honey, your wife.”
“Oh, yeah.” He nodded like he got this, but she assumed he was just playing along.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Feeling?” He pursed his lips. “Okay.”
She decided to push him a little. “What does okay feel like?” Maybe it was futile, but she still felt if she could get him to think, it might help stave off this devastating, brain-invading disease.
“Okay.” He nodded vigorously. “Okay is okay.”
“Right. So do you know what today is?” Cooper had gone over the date with him at breakfast this morning.
“Today,” he answered.
“Right.” She couldn’t help but smile. Her dad’s best defense was attempting to be clever. And since it worked sometimes, why should she question it?
“It’s sure hot today.”
“Hotter than...” He frowned as if trying to remember the rest of what he wanted to say.
“Hotter than a revenuer’s pistol?”
“Yeah. Hotter than that.”
A movement on the other side of the fence caught her eye, and she recognized Miguel walking toward them. She grimaced, realizing this could turn into a mess. She made a cautious wave, hoping he might rethink this encounter, but he continued toward them.
“Hey, neighbors,” he called out.
Dad growled. “What does he want?”
“Just saying hello,” she told him, smiling toward Miguel. “Hey there.”
“I was about to call your mom,” he said to Jewel, “but then I saw you out here and thought I’d talk to you in person.”
“You stay over there.” Dad aimed a finger gun at Miguel.
“Yes, sir.” Miguel held his hands up. “My mother wants to invite your family to our house for a barbecue on Saturday night.”
“Nope.” Dad glared at him. “Won’t go.”
“I’d be glad to go,” Jewel said. “And I’m sure Mom and Cooper would too.” She looked at her dad. “I guess you can just stay home alone on Saturday night.”
Dad looked stymied.
“What can we bring?” Jewel asked Miguel.
“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask my mother for the details.”
“Okay.”
“Too hot,” Dad mumbled, tugging her arm. “House.”
“Yes, you go on and get inside.” She extracted her arm from his. “I’ll be along in a few minutes.”
Dad looked like his feet were planted there. He wore the expression of a lost five-year-old.
“The house is over there.” She pointed him in the right direction. “Just head for the barn and keep going, Dad.” She gave him a gentle shove. “Get something cool to drink.”
He nodded and began plodding toward the barn. When he was out of earshot, she turned back to Miguel. “Sorry about that. You know how he can be.”
“It’s okay. But do you really think you should leave him home alone on Saturday?”
“No.” She smirked. “But I have a feeling he might change his mind if he sees us all going over to your place. Anyway, it’ll be a good test.”
“Yeah. It’d sure be nice to repair our broken bridges. If that’s possible.”
“I’m willing to give it a good try.”
“How’s your mom doing?”
“Much better. The challenge now is to keep her from doing too much.”
“She’s a real go-getter.”
“Believe me, I know.” She sighed. “Cooper and I try to step in when we can.”
He nodded slowly. “And how is Cooper adjusting?”
“Pretty well. She seems to get along really well with my mom. Better than I do.”
“That’s probably typical. My Anna and Mama are like that.”
“Yeah, I try not to feel left out.” Jewel looked over to where her dad was almost to the barn now. “Dad’s moving pretty fast, at least for him.”
Miguel nodded. “Yeah, he can really move sometimes—like if he’s heading over to chastise me about something.” He chuckled. “But other times it looks like the poor guy can barely walk.”
“FTD is weird like that. I’ve been reading everything I can find about it. And all I keep coming up with is it’s a very strange disease.” She held up her hands in a defeated way. “Pretty frustrating for everyone around him.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed. So how are you doing, Jewel?” He looked intently into her eyes, signaling this wasn’t just a polite inquiry but an invitation to an honest answer.
“I don’t know. I mean, it feels kind of like a balancing act, or a tightrope walk. Every member of our family can be tricky. Dad because of his illness. But Mom can get pretty defensive if I try to help too much. She’s always reminding me she’s not helpless.”
He looked amused. “I get that from Mama too. Like walking a fine line.”
She nodded. “And Cooper, well, I never know what she’s going to do. Most of the time she seems mad at me. Then once in a while she says or does something nice. Sometimes, between the three of them, it feels like I’m going to lose my marbles.”
Miguel laughed. “I can imagine.”
She told him about the manufactured home she’d purchased yesterday, pointing out where she wanted it to be placed. “Close enough to the house that it’s easy to pop back and forth but far enough away to give us a feeling of space.”
“That’s great. When do you think it’ll be here? Ours took about six months, but I’ve heard things have slowed down even more since then.”
She explained about Hanford Homes and how Aaron offered to help get everything settled. She noticed that his smile faded at the mention of the Hanford name. “But it’s nice on the inside. And Cooper and I can paint it.”
“Wow, that’s fast. Good for you.”
“Yeah.” She peered curiously at him. “I knew Aaron Hanford in school, but I didn’t realize you married his little sister. I mean, I never really knew her, but Aaron mentioned it.”
“Yeah, Beth was a Hanford.” He shoved his hands in his pockets with a somber expression. “Aaron didn’t really approve of our marriage.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yeah. For Anna’s sake, I wish things were different.” Miguel pointed over her shoulder. “Looks like your dad might need some help.”
She turned to see her dad striding purposely toward them, wielding a pitchfork like a weapon. “Oh, great.” She exchanged looks with Miguel. “Looks like he’s on a rampage now.”
“I’ll clear out,” Miguel told her. “That should help.”
“Thanks.” She gave a meek smile. “And sorry.”
His dark eyes were sympathetic. “No problem. I understand.”
She turned from him and hurried toward her dad. “Whatcha doing there?” She pointed to the pitchfork. “No hay to pitch today.”
“Scared him off.” He shook the tool in a victorious way. “Land grabber.”
“Daaad!” She put warning in her tone. “That’s not true. And it’s unkind. Miguel bought that land from you.”
He let a foul word fly, something he never would’ve done before, but something she knew FTD was responsible for adding to the mess.
“It’s too hot out here.” She took his arm and began to guide him away. “Let’s go get some tea.”
“Tea.” He sounded a little breathless now.
“You’re tired, Dad.” She felt his steps slowing. “We need to get you inside.”
Using the pitchfork like a cane, he hobbled with her back to the house. But when they reached the porch steps, he dropped the pitchfork and started to fall. “Easy does it,” she caught his weight, then helped him sit down on the lowest step. “Just rest here a minute,” she told him. “At least it’s shady. I’ll get you something cool to drink.”
“What happened to Grandpa?” Cooper asked as Jewel hurried inside.
“He got too hot and tired.” Jewel filled a water glass.
“Looked more like he was gonna murder Miguel,” Cooper said wryly.
“Yeah, that too.”
“I talked Grandma into having a rest.”
“Good job.” Jewel looked into her daughter’s eyes. “Have I told you lately how much I love and appreciate you?”
Cooper made a face. “Don’t get all mushy, Mom.”
“Can if I want,” Jewel teased as she opened the back door.
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Well, thanks anyway.” Jewel went back outside and, sitting on the step beside her dad, handed him the water glass. “Drink this slowly.” She watched as he took little sips before finally finishing it off. She took the glass and asked if he was ready to go inside.
“Yeah. My chair.” He attempted to stand but didn’t have the strength. Despite Jewel’s attempts to get him on his feet, she couldn’t, so she called for Cooper and after a few aborted tries, the two of them managed to get him on his feet and slowly and precariously up the porch steps.
Finally, he was situated in his chair and, after being reminded how to work the recliner mechanism, he stretched out and closed his eyes. Satisfied that he would stay there awhile, Jewel tiptoed back into the kitchen where Cooper was eating a banana.
“I think he wore himself out.” Jewel loaded a few dishes into the dishwasher, then paused to tell Cooper about the Saturday night barbecue.
“I already know about that.”
Jewel blinked. “How did you know?”
“Anna came by a little while ago. She brought me a video game she thought I’d like. She told me about the barbecue.”
“It’s nice that you and Anna are getting acquainted.” Jewel closed the dishwasher. She’d been cautious not to appear overly excited about this new friendship, worried that her approval could turn her daughter the opposite direction. Neutrality was the safe route.
“Yeah, Anna’s okay.” Cooper shrugged. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go try out that game.”
“Sure, that’s fine.” Jewel removed a pitcher of tea from the fridge. “By the way, did you feed the cat?”
“Mom.” She sounded exasperated. “Don’t you know I always feed the cat?”
“Well, I thought Grandpa still did it ... sometimes.”
“Seriously?” She rolled her eyes. “If we left that to him, poor Whiskers would starve.”
“Or live off the fat of the land,” Jewel teased. “You know he’s a mouser.”
“He still deserves some good food. And water.” Cooper’s expression softened. “He likes me now, even lets me pet him.”
Jewel raised her brows in mock surprise. “According to Grandma that’s no small thing. He totally ignores me. I guess Grandpa was the only one he ever warmed up to.” Jewel checked the thermometer on the kitchen window. “Gonna be hot today. It’s already eighty-five.”
“Tell me about it. I was helping Grandma in the garden and just about baked my brains out.”
“I noticed someone set up a sun umbrella out there.”
“Yeah, that was me. Some of Grandma’s baby plants were getting sunburnt and she was worried. It was my idea to move it over there, but she really liked it. She even sits out there sometimes.”
“Cool. I’m so glad you’re helping Grandma. And Grandpa too. Thanks, Coop. I know it’s not much fun being—”
“You don’t have to keep saying that, Mom. I’m not an infant. I get it. Okay?”
Jewel stepped back, holding up her hands. “Yeah. Sure. Okay.”
After another adolescent eye roll, Cooper grabbed a root beer and left. Jewel poured herself an iced tea and sat at the kitchen table, grateful for a moment of peace and quiet. Life with her parents on the farm kept such bipolar pace. At times she couldn’t run fast enough or even pause to catch her breath or think. Then suddenly everything would come to a screeching halt, and she wouldn’t quite know what to do with herself. It was confusing and disconcerting, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t going to get better.