1. Breakfast
“Dad?” Ben said from the doorway.
It was early morning. He and Scout were already dressed. Trudy was too. I was still under the covers luxuriating in the warmth of our first cold night.
“Yes?”
“Will you make us eggs?”
I sat up and tossed the covers off.
“Sure,” I said and pulled on some jeans.
I ambled into the kitchen and turned on the burner and pulled the eggs out of the fridge. And I grabbed the last remnants of our Michigan red raspberry jam.
Will I make breakfast for them, indeed.
2. Morning Sky
Their plane left in the morning. So we had to get them to the airport early. And so we all bundled into Debbie’s van and drove off before 7:00am.
The sky was as black. But as we drove east, a thin ribbon of red was visible on the horizon, pushing against the black night. And with each passing minute the red glow grew and the black sky receded.
We dropped them off at the curb and hopped out of the van to say goodbye. Debbie opened the back of the van, and Ben grabbed his suitcase. Scout pulled her pack onto her back. Trudy walked around with Guinness on his leash. I stumbled out from the backseat, able to hear the conversation for the first time.
We all hugged. And then they walked into the airport talking to each other without looking back.
The sky was no longer black. The red ribbon in the east had grown into a wide swath of pinkish/white, and day was dawning.
3. Not Sad But Sad
I stood at the dining room table for a moment, holding a cup of coffee in my hand. Then I looked up at Trudy.
“You know,” I said, pausing for a moment, looking down at my cup. “I’m not sad they’re gone.”
She looked at me.
“We’re past that now,” I said. “We have a new life, and I really like it.”
“So I’m not sad that they’re gone, but it kind of makes me sad that I’m not sad.”
Trudy smiled and chuckled and sipped her coffee.