Part 33 (2/2)
It's damp, cloudy, and cold. Bundled up in her jacket, Kate takes out her pad, wipes it three times, and begins sketching the house across the way. When she's finally finished with her sketch, she sits there, s.h.i.+vering. Not much to do now but wait.
An hour later Kate gets out of the car, crosses the road, and walks hesitantly up the path to the house. She doesn't get far before a woman's voice startles her. ”Can I help you?”
”Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you.”
An elderly woman, clearly blind, with one leg amputated below the knee, moves out of the trees, deftly using her cane for support. ”Well, I didn't see you, either! But then again, I don't see much of anything these days. You the one with the broke-down car?”
”Yes.”
”Mmmm. I heard it chug-chugging last night. Run outta gas?”
”Yep.”
The old lady clucks to herself. ”You kids, always in a hurry, but not doin' much plannin' for how to get there. You hungry?”
”Yes, a little. But I don't mean to impose on you.”
”Nonsense, I'm glad for the company.” Reaching out her hand, the elderly lady says, ”I'm Emma Dee.”
”Kate.”
They shake hands and walk toward the house.
Inside it's clean, spare, homespun. Kate looks around at photos and bric-a-brac collected over the course of a lifetime, while Emma Dee is tending to some biscuits, eggs, bacon, and coffee on the wood-burning stove. A photo of a much younger Emma Dee, with a man and two little boys, catches Kate's eye.
Over her shoulder Emma Dee says, ”That's my husband, Robert, and my kids. The tall one's Robert Junior, and the baby is Todd. That was taken back in 1965.”
Kate is a little taken aback that Emma Dee could tell what photo she was looking at. ”Where's your husband?”
”Oh, he's dead. Since '83.”
”I'm sorry.”
”Me, too. Robert and I met when we were two years old. Our mothers were best friends. Never was any doubt that Robert and I would marry. It was fate. G.o.d's will.”
”You must miss him.”
”Every day. I can't see the pictures too good anymore, but in my mind I can see him, young and runnin' around, laughing and playing catch with the boys in the yard.”
”Where are they? The boys.”
”Oh, they're gone, too. Not dead, but moved away. Country living doesn't offer much to young men with stars in their eyes. Robert Junior is in Chicago. Works for a big-time lawyer. Got a wife and three kids of his own now. They come visit 'bout once a year, but the kids get bored here. Think there's nothin' to do. I can't travel too well these days. Diabetes.”
”Is that how you lost your leg?”
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