Petey had worked all day at setting up units and helping Terri troubleshoot the usual problems with electric and water hookups. It seemed as soon as the two had gotten one unit squared away, the radio’s squawked with a new location and a new problem for them to fix. Petey had secretly hoped to run into Rachel, but the opportunity never presented itself during their mad dashes around the park to put out the proverbial fires. They had to make a pit stop at Pat's shack to fuel up the Mule about 2 pm. It was there that they caught up with Nell. Petey took one look at Nell's face and knew instinctively that something was troubling her boss. She nudged Terri who was checking the oil in the Mule as Nell approached them. Terri looked up and saw the sadness in her friend's eyes. She quickly wiped the oil off her hands and walked to Nell. “You look like hell" Terri tried to joke. “I went to see Rita and Sara", Nell's face said it all. Terri swallowed hard and gripped the side of the Mule's dump bed. "It's back isn't it?" Terri's voice quavered huskily. “Yeah......she's......she's outta remission." Nell put her arm around Terri's shoulder. "Fuck!" Terri kicked the Mule's tire in exasperation. “I thought she had this thing beat. Fucking cancer!" “So did I....." Nell agreed. Petey stood there listening to the news and felt her heart grow heavy for the burden that couple she had just met last season was enduring. She sat down in the driver's seat of the Mule and looked up into the cloudless blue sky and the picture perfect day this had been until a moment ago. “How they doing Nell?" Petey asked. “Sara invited us down to a campfire tonight and I accepted for us all." Nell relayed the invitation. "Rita's...." her voice choked with emotion. "Rita's holdin' on as best she can." “Does Jesse know yet?" Terri asked. "No, not yet. I saw her pull into the office parking lot before I went down to Sara's. I haven't gone back in. You two are the first ones I've seen since I left their lot. I gotta go find Kim and tell her. I wasn't sure if you wanted me to tell Jesse, or if you wanted to." Terri stared down at the ground and gathered the turmoil of emotions raging inside into manageable control. She looked back at Nell and squared her shoulders, “I’d better be the one to tell her" Terri said as she headed toward the office. “Petey, can you listen for the radio calls for a while? She called back over her shoulder. “I gottcha covered Terri!" Petey shouted back at Terri’s retreating figure. Nell walked slowly back to her golf cart and thumbed her radio on. "Kimmy, whatcher 20?" she drawled into the mic. “Heading back from the pump station to the camper" Kim's voice piped through. “We had a minor leak It's all fixed, but I look like I just crawled through a shit hole." “Kim, I’m heading that way, do not, I repeat....do not go into the camper!!!!!" Nell shook her head and turned the key and gassed the cart in the direction of their camper. Terri nodded to the office staff that were busy checking in guests and making the new ID badges for the season. She slipped back through the hallway and into the office. Jesse was punching in numbers on an adding machine and double checking the amount with the Excel spread sheet she had on her computer screen. “I found it!" she squealed in triumph. “Someone transposed an entry in the spread sheet," she explained as Terri sat down in front of her desk. She did a double take when she saw her partner's face. “What’s wrong?" she asked apprehensively. “Sara and Rita checked in this morning." Terri began. "I know I just posted their dues in Ledger,” Jesse smiled. “Can always count on them to pay in full when they get here." "Jess" Terri said gently. “Sara’s out of remission....." Jesse sat there and let the words that Terri had spoken wash over her. It was like white noise. Nothing else got through. The noise of guests coming and going in the front office were cancelled out by the overwhelming words that Terri had communicated. Jesse's hands started to shake first. She shook her head " No......No.....I was with them when the Dr. told Sara she was in remission.....I ....went to Chemo with Sara when Rita couldn't get time off from her job......I was there....I was there when she beat it......No!....No!....No!......." Terri got up and went around the desk. She wrapped her arms around Jesse as she tried to fight back the truth. "I know babe.....I know......." she held Jesse close. “No!” Jesse kept saying into the denim shirt that Terri was wearing. Terri just held on as Jesse absorbed the news. Her body was tight and tense and vibrated in denial. Then her body began to tremble and shake as it gave way to the undeniable reality. "No!!!!!" she started to weep. Her hands clenched on to Terri's shirt and she heaved between the sobs. “I was there......" she kept repeating...."I was there" “I know...... baby," Terri said, her voice husky with all the emotions she was trying to keep in check for Jesse's sake. " I know..." Terri murmured as she gently stroked her partner's hair. "I know........" ****************** Nell just barely got to the trailer before Kim pulled up in one of the Mule's used for park maintenance. She was covered in mud. Nell was on the deck’s bottom step with a garbage bag and a robe and she pointed to the shed at the head of the driveway. Kim got out of the cart and stomped her way to the shed, muttering under her breath the whole way. She opened the barn type door and switched on the light. Nell closed the door behind them. She held open the garbage bag as Kim reluctantly stripped off the muddy shirt, shorts, socks, and underwear and deposited them in the bag. Nell gave her a towel to wrap up her head and handed her the robe. “Ok..... now you go in for a shower." Nell smiled at the hapless Kim as she stood barefooted and robed. “I’ll take care of the rest of this mess" “Don’t throw my boots away this time" Kim implored as she opened the shed door and headed toward the trailer. "Those are brand new CougarPaws.....I haven't gotten 'em broke in yet!" “I won't." Nell promised as she took the offensive foot wear out on the driveway and began hosing them down.“Make sure you clean up the bathroom after you’re done. I'll make a pot of coffee to warm you up." she aimed the hose at Kim's retreating backside and barely missed dousing her with a stream of cold water. “I promise to clean up the bathroom" Kim yelled back over her shoulder as she went up the deck steps and opened up the camper door. "I don't need a pre-soak!" The coffee was ready when a demudded Kim emerged from the bathroom in clean work clothes and socks and toweling dry her hair. Nell handed her a pair of steel toed sneakers. “Your boots are dryin out in the shed. They should be ready for you in the mornin." Nell had already fixed Kim a cup of coffee and set it on the dinette table and was sipping one of her own when Kim sat across from her. “I think I might have left the robe on the floor...and the dirty towel is over the toilet...and I don't think I put the washcloth in the hamper." Nell rolled her eyes and asked “Just what part of the promise to clean up the bathroom did you keep?" “Me!" Kim said as she balled up the towel she had been using to dry her hair and heaved it through the door opening to the bathroom. “Damn, it landed on the other towel on the toilet" she crowed proudly. "Two points!" “It’s a good thing I called you when I did," Nell remarked dryly. “Else I would have had to power wash the inside of the camper." “Ahh it wouldn't been that bad." Kim laughed. "Kim, it would have been worse!" Nell smiled knowingly. Nell hesitated for a minute and sighed. “Sara is out of remission." she said simply. Kim looked over and blinked. She looked back down at the coffee in front of her and she fiddled with the spoon and stirred the cup that didn't need to be stirred. She put the spoon down, then quickly picked it up and grabbed a napkin and put it on the napkin beside the cup. She shifted in her seat and looked out the window of the camper into the backyard that was in its usual spring time disarray of decomposing leaves, dead twigs and the remnants of the winter's debris. “Looks like I'm gonna need to get out the leaf blower later this afternoon and get to work on the back." she observed. “Sara invited us all down this evening for a campfire" Nell said pointedly back on the subject. Kim grimaced. “Nell, you know I don't do these things well. I never know what to say. And I always say the wrong thing." she admitted without guile. “We are both going to be there tonight." Nell grabbed Kim’s fidgeting hand and held it still. “I gotta do the stage lighting and mixing for Lindy tonight." Kim tried to reason her way out. “I know, I don't think it will be a long evening Kim, Sara doesn't have much strength. I think you will more than likely be able to do Lindy's set." Nell said knowingly. “I’m sorry for them both." Kim said as she got up from the table and went to clean up the bathroom. “So am I." Nell said quietly as she sipped her coffee. "So am I." Click On The River To Chapter 27 © Labinky Park 2008 Labinky Enterprises 2008 |
Chapter 26
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