Ryding Through Troubled Waters

Chapter 3.1: WANNA BET? (part 1 of 2)

The cyclone derives its power from a calm center. So does a person. ~~Norman Vincent Peale

Aunt Viv and Uncle Howard arrived a couple of hours after the sheriff helped break the horrible news to Gramps, Scoot, and the rest of the Triple R’s hands. Cale wasn’t sure how to feel. He and Aunt Viv had always had a tolerant, civil relationship, but she wasn’t on his “go-to” list when he needed help or sympathy.

However, being strong—if not silent—was one of Aunt Viv’s virtues. She showed up, assessed each of them, asked a few pertinent questions, and then formed a game plan to deal with “the situation.”

Cale tried not to be defensive as she kept things on track, just like Mom would have. Everyone seemed relieved to have mini-missions and purpose. Aunt Viv instructed the youngest three to get ready for bed and brush their teeth.

When Brandi refused to go into her own bed because Mom and Dad weren’t there to tuck her in and read a story, Aunt Viv suggested that those who wanted to gather in the living room with blankets and pillows should do so.

Uncle Howard read Brandi a story, with Phoenix and Jesse pretending to not pay attention.

Nobody wanted to be alone. Brandi cried herself to sleep in Luke’s arms. He refused to put her in her bed, clinging to her like a drowning man would a raft.

Once Jesse and Phoenix fell asleep on the couch, Luke nodded off in Dad’s La-Z-Boy. Aunt Viv covered Luke and Brandi with Mom’s favorite lap quilt, a fluffy fleece blanket that sported a family of deer in the woods. The buck stood guard as the doe and twin fawns grazed.

Gramps and Scoot lingered after the other hands left, speaking in quiet tones with Aunt Viv and Uncle Howard in the kitchen. Cale didn’t really want to discuss funeral arrangements and other such details, but Dad had left him in charge and he wasn’t about to be dismissed.

Thankfully, the conversation turned to good memories of his parents. Gramps had them all smiling when he recalled watching twenty-year-old Uncle Howard tapping on seventeen-year-old Aunt Viv’s window in an effort to convince her to take a midnight stroll with him.

Just as she climbed out the window to join him, Uncle Howard and Aunt Viv came face-to-face with Dad’s lever action .30-.30 rifle. Dad purposely snapped a twig with his boot, causing their young hearts to pound harder.

“Wade was big—even back then,” Uncle Howard said, shaking his head at Cale and chuckling. “Up to that point, I’d only been worried about your grandpa catching us. But staring down the barrel of Wade’s shotgun put a different perspective on things.”

“Ya think?” Gramps asked, eyes twinkling. He jabbed his thumb toward the ceiling. “You jumped straight up a good foot or two.”

Cale laughed, imagining that his dad had probably enjoyed getting the best of his younger sister.

Aunt Viv smiled and then grimaced. “Thankfully I thought to ask Wade just what he was doing out at one o’clock in the morning and realized he was actually sneaking back in. We quickly made an agreement to keep our nocturnal activities to ourselves.” She turned to Gramps. “But what were you doing out?”

“My job, Missy—tending to a laboring mare. You three put me in quite a position that day with the boss man.”

“You made out all right.” Aunt Viv leaned forward with a playful scowl. “Wade and I ended up mucking the stalls so you could get off early that night to go on a date.”

Scoot laughed and winked at Cale.

“Now, Viv,” Gramps said in a scolding tone. “How responsible would it’ve been of me to allow you to get away scot-free with such behavior? Offering you a few chores in exchange for quiet was the best compromise I could come up with. I valued my job, and I wanted you two to know I had your back.” He arched a confident brow, hitched his thumb at Uncle Howard. “If your daddy had found out, Howard here might not still be here. And you know that is as true as you know the sun will rise.”