Part 2 (1/2)
”It's somewhere around here,” Jimmy yelled. After a few minutes of jumping into ditches to avoid lightning strikes and moving brush around, a huge gapping hole was uncovered.
”This is it!” shrieked Jimmy. ”We found it!” and before Ron could stop him he ran in.
”Wait, Jimmy! Stop!” Ron yelled following Jimmy inside the cave on his hands and knees. He was much too tall to stand. ”Jimmy, come back here right now!” Ron's deep voice echoed off the cave walls, and was much louder and angry sounding than he had meant it to be. A flash of lightning allowed him to see Little Jimmy's face. All the joy of a moment ago was gone, having been replaced by fear. Ron lowered and softened his voice and said, ”Sorry for yelling, Buddy, but you gotta listen to me. We don't know how deep this goes or if there are drop offs.”
”Oh yeah,” said Jimmy ”I forgot about that.” Ron reached in his pocket and pulled out a penlight and s.h.i.+ned it deep into the dark cave. Nothing but blackness. Both he and Jimmy were silent as he s.h.i.+ned the light on the floor of the cave a few feet from where Jimmy stood. Blackness absorbed the light. A huge black hole. Ron reached out and pulled Jimmy back towards the cave opening. Neither spoke for awhile.
”What if he hadn't listened to me? What if he hadn't stopped? What could I have done?” These questions kept echoing through Ron's head. ”How can I do this? How can I be this boy's father, and keep him safe?”
Finally Ron reached for his cell phone to call Kat and let her know that they would be on the mountain for awhile while riding out the storm. But his cell phone wasn't in his pocket. He searched his other pockets to no avail. Not wanting to let Jimmy know just how nervous he was, he tried to keep his voice calm, ”I must have dropped my cell phone when I was crawling in here. Help me take a look around.” Ron s.h.i.+ned the light over the floor and got as close to the entrance as he dared. Lake County always had lightning storms a few times a year. Which even down in the low lands were impressive; but up here on the mountain, experiencing the lightning close and personal was another thing all together. The cracking flashes of the lighting and the loud thunder was almost simultaneous. At one point the lightning was almost non stop. Before the roar of thunder stopped another flash of lightning would strike, and then another and another, causing their ears to hurt as the thunder ricocheted and echoed through the cave.
They had given up the search for the cell phone and they settled down to wait out the storm. ”Hungry?” he asked the boy.
It was then that Ron realized that they had left their back packs back in the walnut grove. He quickly looked at the boy's face and could see that he had realized it too.
”How could I be so stupid?” Ron moaned silently. ”How could I bring this child up here and put him in such jeopardy?” Ron took off his jacket and wrapped it around Jimmy and zipped it up, and brushed his wet red curls away from his face.
When the rain and lightning finally slowed down and the two hikers ventured out of the cave, they both realized that they were lost.
Finally, after finding the orchard they retrieved their backpacks; and Ron was able to get oriented again. He helped Little Jimmy strap his on, readjusting the straps to go over Ron's large jacket.
Even with the help of his compa.s.s, which Ron retrieved from his backpack, it took hours to find the trail in the thick cloud that still hovered over the mountain.
As they made their way down the slippery red muddy trail, Ron recognized the log that they took their break on hours earlier. After a short search he found the cell phone tucked up under the curve of the log. ”At least it's dry,” said a relieved Ron, as he stuck it into his jeans pocket.
Although the rain had stopped, the air hitting their wet clothes was freezing. Ron's fingers were numb as he fumbled with his keys to unlock the SUV. He helped Little Jimmy into the vehicle and ran around to the driver's side and climbed in, quickly starting the engine. He fought the impulse to turn on the heater right away, knowing it would only blow cold air for a few minutes.
”Can you manage the seatbelt, Jimmy?” The boy nodded. Ron was glad the long sleeves of his jacket had covered Jimmy's hands keeping them at least a bit warmer than they would be otherwise. But Jimmy was still s.h.i.+vering and struggled to get his seat belt buckled.
As Jimmy buckled up, Ron called Guido's Pizzeria and asked McKee to have their delicious and nutritious veggie pizza ready for them in a half hour, and as an after thought he asked if they had soup. They did, which relieved Ron. Although there were snacks in the backpacks, Ron wanted to get some hot food inside Jimmy as quickly as possible. He then called Kat to tell her, with as little details as possible, that he and Jimmy were okay but were eating on the way home and asked her to let Mrs. Capra know.
Ron was definitely not looking forward to Mrs. Capra's disapproving look when he returned Jimmy cold and dripping wet to her.
”Why did I not think for us to bring a change of cloths?” Ron scolded himself, then wondered if he should forgo the pizza and just get Jimmy home so he could get out of those wet clothes. He wasn't sure which would be best for Jimmy. By the time they arrived at Guido's he had made the decision to have the soup at the restaurant and let Jimmy eat the pizza on the drive home.
”I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out!” Ron frowned. He wasn't used to this feeling of uncertainty. He was usually a man of instant decisions and action- knowing instantly how to handle an emergency. He had rescued kids off cliffs on Walker Ridge; he had pulled a family out of a burning house by throwing wet blankets over them. He had pulled a drenched baby out of an upturned vehicle after the mother had driven into the lake in a storm. In all those circ.u.mstances he knew just what to do. But this was different. This was Little Jimmy. This was possibly going to be his son. For the first time Ron felt what it would be like to be a parent. Felt the fear of making the wrong decision where your child's wellbeing was concerned. Felt the heavy responsibility he was taking on. He felt uneasy and uncertain about his ability to take care of and protect Jimmy.
Delivering Little Jimmy back to Mrs. Capra was even more difficult than Ron had feared. Although Jane Capra was a small woman, secretly Kat and Ron referred to her as 'The Grizzly Bear'. And just like with a mama bear, you don't want to come between her and her cub.
As Ron pulled up the drive way he could see Mrs. Capra's tiny silhouette in the living room window- standing with hands on her hips.
”Oooh boy!” Ron groaned out loud. He glanced at Jimmy who was staring straight ahead with wide eyes. ”It'll be okay, Buddy. She's mad at me not you.” Ron rea.s.sured the boy. But silently he said, ”This is not going to be fun.”
Ron rushed Little Jimmy into the house, and Mrs. Capra ordered the boy to the bathroom.
”I have a hot bath drawn for you. Hurry and get in it! I also have some hot chocolate on the table next to the tub.” Despite being agitated she knew how important it was to let Jimmy know she wasn't angry at him, and was able to muster up a warm smile and hug. Then she held his face momentarily in her small hands to look him in the eyes.
”I was worried about you Jimmy. I hope we never have to go through anything like this again! But we'll have some stories to tell won't we!” she chuckled. ”Now hurry and get out of those wet cloths! I've already laid out your pjs and robe in there for you.”
She stood watching as Jimmy disap-peared up the stairs and waited until she heard the bathroom door close before facing Ron squarely, and with hands on hips began scolding him.
”I never thought I had to worry about Little Jimmy going with you of all people! You should have been home hours ago! And not even calling to let me know what's going on!” Almost standing toe to toe she shook her finger up as close as she could get to Ron's face, ”You- you sorry excuse for a sheriff deputy! Hmp! And you take him up on that mountain when the weather report was clearly calling for a storm. And then you get lost?! How could you put my Little Jimmy in such jeopardy?” Her hands were on her hips again and she somehow had made herself seem twice her size. ”Well? What have you got to say for yourself?!”
Ron couldn't find words to express his remorse. How sorry he was for everything; for the whole chain of events which stemmed from his bad decisions. Starting from going upon on the mountain despite not feeling up to it, and in spite of the bad weather report. Even though it all stemmed from his fear of disappointing Jimmy, how could he explain that? How could he explain what had caused his mind to freeze, up there on the mountain when he didn't fully understand it himself? How despite all his training, the thought of making a wrong decision where Jimmy's safety was concerned crippled him from being able to decide anything at all.
All he could muster up was a feeble, ”I'm so sorry... I... I really am.”
”Well 'sorry' doesn't cut it Mister!” Mrs. Capra literally snarled.
As Ron drove home he felt as though he was running away. Running away from Mrs. Capra's anger. Running away from the events of the day. And running away from Jimmy. From the frightening responsibility of parenthood.
CHAPTER FOUR.
The Bronchitis Ron awoke the day after the stormy events on the mountain with a tickle in his throat that wouldn't go away. If he thought getting out of bed was difficult the day before- it was next to impossible today. He dragged himself into the shower; and with much effort got himself dressed to drive Kat to her Uncle Lenny and Aunt Antoinette's.
Ron climbed in his SUV, and looking at his watch, he knew they'd be late. But at least he hadn't caused Kat to miss Sunday breakfast with her family. Even when he was on duty he tried to be able to stop in for breakfast at Kat's Aunt and Uncle's. It was an important family tradition.
Kat's father died when she and her little sister Angel were young girls; and Lenny had become a father figure to his sister's daughters. He took that response- bility very serious. Lenny, who besides being Kat's uncle was also Ron's boss; and his wife Antoinette, who Kat and her sister Angel simply called 'Auntie', insisted that the family gather at their table for Sunday breakfast each week. Auntie was a wonderful cook, a warm hospitable hostess, and was quick to make Ron feel like family.
Noticing how Ron looked when he and Kat joined them for breakfast, Lenny shook his head and frowned, ”Lookin' pretty puny, Ron. You better take one of those sick days you've been h.o.a.rding. Take a day to get some rest.”
Lenny was the watch commander at Lake County Sheriff Department, and had a strong work ethic.
”For Lenny to tell me to take a day off I must look like I'm dying,” thought Ron. He was glad Mrs. Capra had turned down the invitation to join them for the family breakfast. Besides not wanting to face her after the unpleasant episode when he dropped Jimmy off the previous evening, he would hate to give her and Jimmy any germs that he may have. Looking across the table at Uncle Lenny, Auntie, Angel and his mother- in-law, Caroline Amoretti, Ron felt guilty that he may be spreading germs to Kat's family.
”Maybe I better go, I don't want to...”
”Nonsense!” Auntie said and shot her husband a look for his rude remark. ”What you need is a hearty breakfast, now you just sit there and I'll get you some green tea and honey for your throat.”
After breakfast Ron and Kat went grocery shopping; but put off a couple other planned errands. As they walked the isles of the grocery store, Ron could feel his energy evaporating with each step. When he and Kat finally returned home, after putting the perishable groceries away, they both hit the sofa and catnapped all afternoon. As the afternoon turned into evening Ron had a full blown cough and was running a fever and he couldn't swallow without wincing. ”I'd better call in sick tomorrow,” he said to Kat. She nodded.
”I think I'll join you,” Kat replied without a smile.
The next morning they both were burning up with fever and coughing. The couple was glad that they had stocked up on throat spray and cough drops the day before; and thankful too, when a knock on the door revealed Auntie with some homemade Greek lemon chicken and rice soup.
”You too?” she exclaimed when she saw Kat. Well there is enough here for the both of you. Now let me go make some tea. You both should be in bed. Kat was too weak to argue; she just turned around and went towards the bedroom with Ron following her.
The next day found the two just as sick if not worse; and as much as they would have rather just stay in bed, being county employees, they both had to get a doctor's excuse.
Returning home later, with medical excuses and prescription strength cough syrup, they found Caroline waiting on the porch. She had brought more soup, but Kat refused to let her in the house.
”No Mom,” she said through the car door between coughs. ”Just leave it there; I don't want to make you sick. How is Auntie? I hope she didn't catch anything from us.” After arguing a bit Caroline finally put the pot of soup on the table next to the glider and left. Ron retrieved the soup on the way into the house; and after putting it in the fridge he stumbled back to the sofa and bundled up until he stopped shaking.
”What a wimp I've turned into!” he muttered through chattering teeth. Kat tried to laugh but could barely muster up a grin.