The Reunion (14 page)

T
he normal city buses didn’t run on Thanksgiving Day, but the folks at the outreach center downtown had a fifteen-passenger van at their disposal. Aaron was sitting in it now, along with ten other volunteers who’d just served Thanksgiving dinner to over two hundred people. He looked at his watch. By the look of things, if he waited till the driver dropped everyone off in the right order, he’d be late getting back to the trailer park. He sat one row back from the driver so he leaned forward and said, “Hey, Joe, wonder if you can do me a favor?”

“Sure, Aaron, if I can.”

“Any chance you could alter your route here and get me back home pretty quick? I’ve got this second Thanksgiving thing at my church I’ve got to get to, and I don’t think I’ll make it otherwise.”

The driver looked at him through the rearview mirror. “Gosh, Aaron, I’d like to, but I’m not sure I can. The director gave me this route to follow, and I better stick to it.” Then he leaned back in his seat and said quietly, “And I’m thinking some of these people might get upset if I drove right past where they live and skipped to your place. Your trailer park is the farthest out.”

Aaron sat back in his seat. Another Vietnam vet named Drew sat next to him. “Say, Aaron, I wouldn’t mind if you skipped my place if you’re in a hurry. Our family dinner’s not till five-thirty. What time’s the church event?”

“Four-thirty,” Aaron said. “Thing is, they’re sending a special van to pick me and a friend up at four. He’s a vet too. Lost his legs to a Bouncing Betty. I just got him talked into coming with me. There’s no way he’d go on his own. So if our church van stops by the trailer park and I ain’t there . . .”

“Let me see what I can do.” Drew turned around to face everyone. “Hey, everybody, listen up. Aaron here’s in a bit of a hurry. He’s got a church event he needs to get to, another Thanksgiving dinner, kind of an outreach thing, and they’re sending a special handicap van out to his trailer park. He’s got a friend who’s agreed to go to this thing, but he won’t go if Aaron’s not on that van. Anybody have anyplace they’ve got to be in the next twenty minutes?”

“You mean, are we okay if Joe takes him home first, then backtracks?”

“That’s about it,” Drew said.

“I’m okay with that.”

In a few moments, everyone else weighed in the same. “Whatta you think, Joe? Can you head over to Aaron’s place next?”

“Sure. I’m just here to serve. If that’s what y’all want, I’m game.”

“There you go, Aaron.”

“Appreciate that, Drew.” He turned around to face the rest. “Thank you, everyone, means a lot.”

“What’s this fellow’s name anyway?” Drew said.

“Billy Ames,” said Aaron. “He’s a hard nut to crack, but he seems to be coming around.”

“Well, I’ll be praying for him.”

About twenty minutes later, the van pulled into Bentley’s Trailer Park and let Aaron off. He waved and hurried to his storage room. Didn’t see the church van anywhere. When he got inside, he checked himself in the mirror. Wasn’t much could be done; didn’t see too many hairs out of place. He glanced over at the faded picture of his kids sitting on top of his little metal box. How were they spending this day? Did they spend it together? He didn’t even know how many grandkids he had, if any.

Well, he needed to stop this right now. Thoughts like these didn’t lead down a thanksgiving road. After washing his face and hands, he locked up and hurried over to Billy’s trailer. “Lord,” he muttered, “please don’t let him chicken out.” He knocked on the door just as the church van pulled up to the park office. Tess barked a few times.

“That you, Aaron?”

“It’s me, Billy.” The door opened. “Look at you.”

“Whatta you mean, look at you?”

“Your hair . . . it’s all . . .” He thought to say clean. And combed.

“Oh stop.”

Aaron sniffed the air. “You wearing cologne?”

“Just a few sprays. Would you stop?” He looked to the side, around Aaron. “That the van?”

“It just got here.” Aaron turned. “Let me go wave at him so he’ll come over here.”

“I don’t mind riding there.”

Aaron started walking. “Just come on down the ramp. He won’t mind.” Aaron got the driver’s attention and motioned for him to head over. When he turned around he saw Billy had eased out the front door.

Billy was hugging Tess’s neck, then patted her head. “You can’t come this time, girl. You got to stay here and watch the place. I’ll see if they won’t let me bring you home something. Now, you go on.” Tess backed up and Billy closed the door. He met Aaron at the bottom of the ramp. “Say, Aaron, you think they might let me take home a little bit of turkey and stuffing for Tess?”

The van pulled up. “I think they might. They usually have leftovers they let the workers take home. Tess can have mine. How’d your day go so far?”

“We had a good day overall. Watched the Macy’s Parade together, and then it turns out they have this National Dog Show right after. She sat right beside me, eyes glued to the TV. I could tell she was watching.”

Aaron smiled as the van door opened. He had never seen Billy so upbeat.

“Mom, you’re killing me. This smell. When are we going to eat?” Dave Russo walked into the kitchen, peered over his mother’s shoulder. She was stirring homemade mashed potatoes. The turkey had been roasting in the oven for hours.

Jake stood in the doorway. “Really, Grandma, we’re starving. I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.”

“You two go watch your game. In about ten minutes, I’ll call one of you back to pull this thing out of the oven. It’s way too heavy for me. Then I gotta make the gravy, and then we’re ready. Here.” She reached over and grabbed two dinner rolls. “Put some butter on this, one for you and your father, and go.”

Dave looked at his son. A few weeks ago they were seeing eye to eye. “Come here.”

“What?”

“Just come here. Stand here and look at me.”

“What’d I do?”

“You didn’t do anything.” He looked down at Jake’s feet. He was just wearing socks. “Look at this, Mom.”

“What, I’ve got to stir this butter in here.”

“Just look a second. You see this? I’m looking up at him. You see this?”

She turned. “Jake, you’re bigger than your father.”

“Taller, Mom. Not bigger.”

Jake smiled. “Bigger’s coming, Pop.”

“Now, you two go on, go watch your game. I’ll call you in a few minutes.”

Dave’s phone rang. “Where’d I put it?”

“It’s over there on the hutch, Dad.” Jake walked back and plopped on the sofa in front of the TV.

Dave looked at the cell phone screen. It was Karen. He picked it up before the third ring. “Hi, Karen, how are you? Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Thank you. You too. I’m doing fine. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Not at all. We haven’t eaten yet, but the smell is torturing me.”

“I’m stuffed,” she said. “We always eat around one. Then we go back and eat some more around six. Well, the men do. Aileen and I just have some coffee and pie.”

“So what kind of pie is your favorite, pumpkin or apple?” he said.

“Pumpkin.”

“Me too.”

“Store-bought?” she asked.

“Are you kidding? Not in Angelina Russo’s house.”

“I’ll bet it’s wonderful.”

“It’s the best.” Dave felt a presence behind him. He turned to find his mother standing in the kitchen doorway, staring at him, a funny look on her face. “Maybe I should call you back after we eat?” he said. “My mom’s going to need me to pull the turkey out in a few minutes.” He walked toward his bedroom.

“Sure, we’re just sitting around recovering. Call whenever. Let me just tell you this real quick. My brother and I went through that box of my dad’s stuff. It was just a bunch of odds and ends of his my mom kept. But we did find a stack of birthday and Christmas cards he sent us as kids. I’d forgotten all about them. There were a couple of envelopes in the stack. Unfortunately, at some point they’d suffered some water damage. The ink on the envelopes is smeared and faded. But on one of them I could make out that it came from Perry, Florida. Steve said that’s the town where we lived before moving out here. I was too small to remember.”

“Really? Perry’s less than an hour from where I live.” This could be just the break Dave was looking for.

“Do you want me to send them to you?”

Dave thought a moment. “I know, how about I fly out there tomorrow and pick them up?”

“What?”

“I know, it sounds crazy. But Karen, this is the biggest lead I’ve had so far. I could fly out first thing in the morning, have dinner with you, and fly back in the evening. Then I could start working on this over the weekend.”

“I . . . I don’t know.”

“Do you have to work?”

“No. We decided to close the office down for the holiday. Tomorrow’s the biggest shopping day of the year.”

“Then let’s do this. I’ll go pull the turkey out of the oven, then get on the internet to book a flight while my mom makes the gravy.”

She laughed. “Okay. I’d love to see you.”

“You would?”

“I didn’t think I’d see you again . . . so soon.”

“Well, you’ll see me tomorrow. I’ll email you the flight info.”

“Okay. How about this time you skip the rental car? I’ll come pick you up and drop you off after dinner.”

“Great. That’s what we’ll do. Okay, well . . . see you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

Dave turned around to find his mother, now standing in the hallway, with that same look. “So what, you’re flying out again tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Mom. It’s about this guy I’m searching for, the war hero. That was his daughter. She’s found something that might help me locate him. I’m going to go out there and get it and fly back here tomorrow night.”

Jake walked up and stood behind her. “Are you going to tell us what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

They were both smiling. “Who’s this girl?” his mother said. “This . . . daughter?”

“What? It’s nothing.”

“C’mon, Dad. We’re not stupid. You’ve been acting different ever since you got home.”

“Is she somebody nice?” his mother asked.

“Yeah, Mom. She’s nice. She’s . . . real nice.”

“See, there’s that smile on your face. You like this girl.”

“No, Mom, it’s not . . . well, yeah. I think I do.”

“Whoa . . . Dad. Is this for real? Did you meet somebody?”

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean maybe?”

“I don’t know. She’s really nice. Her name is Karen. Her father’s this war hero I’m looking for. But I don’t think anything can come of it. She lives in Texas.”

“Are we going to get to meet her?” his mother said.

“I don’t know, Mom. It’s way too early for that.”

“Maybe so,” Jake said. “But I haven’t seen you like this before.” He leaned down and said in his grandmother’s ear, “I think your little boy’s in love.”

“I think you may be right. He’s flying out there to see her.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow,” she said. “To pick up something. Something she could mail just as easy. What sense does that make?”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Jake said. “That’s how love is.”

Dave shook his head, but he couldn’t stop smiling. “You guys are making way too much out of this.”

I
t was just after lunch, the day after Thanksgiving.

Bentley’s Trailer Park was half empty from all the folks gone for the holiday and the people out shopping. But Aaron’s chore list was still half full. Fortunately, none of them were marked urgent, and the day continued to promise few interruptions. It would give him time to get to some rainy-day projects and, hopefully, allow him to spend some quality time out on the deck as soon as he clocked out.

But all of that changed at 1:12 p.m.

Aaron had been riding his golf cart, towing a wagon full of dead palm fronds to a pile on the back side of the property, when he heard the loudest CRACK he’d ever heard. A moment later, a thundering BOOM.

He slammed the brakes on the cart.
Lord, what was that?

He turned toward the sound behind him, then looked up. The sun was shining through the trees; it couldn’t have been lightning. Shouts and screams rang out from the front end of the park. He got out, unhooked the wagon, got back in, and headed in that direction. As he drew closer, he saw a cloud of dust and debris rising up and spreading through several trees.
What in the world?

It wasn’t a fiery explosion; there wasn’t any smoke that he could see. That was always a worry in trailer parks, with all the propane tanks people use. The shouts and screams were getting louder.
Lord, please let everybody be all right
.

His walkie-talkie squawked. “Aaron, you hear that?”

“On my way, Sue. Fast as this cart’ll go. What happened?”

“I just called 911 to be safe, but we should be okay. It’s that huge oak tree hangs over Irene Hamlin’s trailer. The biggest limb just broke off. ’Bout scared me half to death. Squashed her trailer like a bug.”

Oh no
. Aaron wished this thing would go faster.

“But she’s in Tampa for the holiday,” Sue continued. “That’s what she told me earlier this week.”

“Sue . . . she got back late this morning. I waved to her not fifteen minutes ago while I was gathering up these dead palm fronds.”

“What?”

“She said she was only going for Thanksgiving Day, because of her cat. She insisted her son bring her back this morning.”

“Oh Aaron, that means . . . she’s in that thing? I’m looking at it right now. Oh my word, you need to get here quick.”

“I’m just around the corner.” Aaron couldn’t think straight. He just prayed some more. As he turned the corner onto the paved road, a small crowd gathered up ahead in the vicinity of Irene’s trailer. Sue was off to the left, her hands covering her mouth. People were pointing, some crying.

“Where’s the fire department?” someone yelled.

“Already called them,” Sue said. “They’re on their way. Has anyone seen Irene?”

“She’s gone for Thanksgiving,” a lady said.

“No, she’s not,” Sue said. “She came home a little while ago.”

“You mean she’s in
there
?”

“Has anyone seen her?” Sue yelled again.

People shook their heads no. Aaron rolled up and parked the cart. Then hurried over to Sue. Before he reached her, the devastating scene came into full view. If poor Irene was in there . . . he didn’t see how she could be alive. The largest oak limb of Big Bertha, the one that arched right over the roof, had snapped near the trunk. The whole thing had fallen down the middle of Irene’s trailer. It looked like a giant had stepped right on it with his boot.

Billy Ames rolled over on his scooter, Tess beside him on a leash. “That’s just awful. I never knew Irene, but no one should have to die like that.”

“We don’t know she’s dead yet, Billy,” Aaron said.

Tess started barking and pulling at the leash, as if she wanted Billy to move away. “You smell that?” he said.

“Anyone smell gas?” someone else said. “I think I smell gas.”

The woman in the crowd closest to Irene’s trailer yelled, “I hear some kind of hissing sound.”

“Everybody, get back,” Aaron yelled. “It’s a gas leak. This thing could explode.” People instantly responded. Those who could, ran.

“Nobody smoke. Nobody light a match,” Sue shouted. “Where’s that fire department? We aren’t that far out of town.”

The circle widened now, till everyone stood maybe fifty yards away. Aaron wondered if it was far enough. If that trailer exploded . . . “I think we need to get back more,” he yelled. “At least till the firemen get here. They’ll know what to do.”

Just then, a new sound. Everyone heard it.

A woman screaming from inside the crushed trailer. “Help me. Somebody. It’s me, Irene. Anyone there?”

“Oh Aaron,” Sue said. “What are we going to do?”

“Nothing we can do,” Billy said. “That thing could explode any minute.”

“But she’s trapped.”

Aaron ran toward the trailer. “Where are you, Irene?”

People yelled behind him.

“Aaron, come back!”

“What is he doing?”

“You’re both going to die.”

“Wait for the firemen.”

The gas smell was strong. “Irene?”

“I’m in back. I don’t know what happened. The whole trailer is tilting up.”

“That big limb over the house snapped off, fell right across your living room. I’ll be right there.” Aaron ran down the length of the main limb. All the brush and branches near the trailer were too tall to get through. He climbed over and ran toward the back bedroom. It was off the ground about two feet higher than normal. “You in here?”

“In the bedroom. I was taking a nap.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Banged my head pretty bad. Knocked me out, I think. My right leg is cut and bleeding. My walker’s all messed up.”

He ran around the back to the other side. A door hung open, the top half of the hinge torn off. The gas smell seemed stronger on this side. In the distance, he heard sirens, but he couldn’t wait. Then Irene’s cat leapt down to the grass. She looked dazed but otherwise unharmed. She ran off as he made his way to the steps. “I’m right here, Irene. We need to get you out, now.”

“That gas is making me sick.” She paused. “Wait . . . Aaron . . . you need to go now. I’ll be all right till the firemen come.”

“This thing could explode.”

“I know,” she said. “You go on. If this explodes, I’ll see Jesus and Moe in the blink of an eye. I can’t be the cause of you dying here with me.”

Aaron walked up the metal steps and jumped into the opening. He was lying in the hallway. To his left about five feet, the ceiling and hallway floor joined together. It was hard to even make out what he was seeing. Her bedroom doorway was at the other end of the hall. Through it, he saw her arms on the floor. “I’m in, Irene. Can you move at all?”

“I can move my arms and legs, but I’m too weak to pull myself up to the doorway. The angle’s too steep.”

“Just stay there.” The sirens were getting louder. He scrambled up the narrow hallway toward her door. When he reached the opening he looked to the left, saw her lying on the floor, pushed up against a built-in dresser. The bed had slid over her. “I’m going to pull you toward me by the arms. It might hurt a little.”

“It’s going to hurt a lot more if you don’t. Go ahead.”

“If your feet can push on anything,” he said, “do it.”

“All right. Have you seen Lucy?”

“She’s fine. I just saw her jump out the back door.”

“She’s probably scared to death.”

“We’ll round her up, don’t worry.” He came through the doorway and wedged his legs between the jamb and the nearest wall and started pulling. It took quite a few moans from him and groans from her, but he managed to drag her toward him. He slid back through the doorway down the hall. Once her body passed the door opening, gravity began to lend a hand. He shimmied feet first down the hall until his legs were sticking outside. “You okay?”

“Keep going,” she said.

When his feet touched the metal steps, he said, “This is going to be awkward for you, Irene, but to get you out and away from this trailer, I’m going to have to give you a piggyback ride.”

“Do what you gotta do, Aaron.”

He pulled her down the hallway some more as he backed outside. After coming down the stairs, he tossed them aside. Standing on the grass, he began to feel dizzy. If he didn’t get out of here quick, he might just pass out. “As I pull your arms out, you grab hold around my neck. When you’re out most of the way, I’m going to lift you up, and you just hold on.”

“All right.”

In a few moments, she was safely on his back. He thanked God she wasn’t a big woman. He ran as carefully as he could away from the trailer. They were on the opposite side, running away from the crowd. The sirens now pierced the air, and red lights flashed throughout the area. But Aaron couldn’t see the trucks just yet. He kept moving farther from the trailer.

Suddenly, the whole thing exploded. A roaring blast of heat and wind knocked them to the ground. He lay there a minute, his face in the dirt and leaves, Irene lying on top of him. He didn’t feel hurt. “Irene, you okay?”

She rolled off to the side. “I’m alive.”

People screamed and yelled things on the far side of the trailer. It dawned on Aaron: they probably thought he and Irene had just died in the explosion. He rolled over on his side the other way, turned his head, and looked at her. It was an odd scene. He’d never seen an old woman lying flat on the ground.

She looked right at him and smiled. “You just saved my life, Aaron Miller.”

“I suppose I did.” He sat up. “You stay put. I’m going to walk around all this mess and get those paramedics to bring a gurney over here. They’re going to want to give you a ride in their ambulance, check you out at the hospital.”

“I’m fine here at the moment.”

He stood up.

“But,” she said, smiling, “whatever comes next won’t be near as fun as that piggyback ride I just got.”