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“Well, but I need to make sure things are battened down at home,” De
“They are,” De
Stem asked, “Couldn’t you at least stay till we get Dad moved?”
“The Weather Cha
“Stuck!” Jea
“They’re talking about cutting service to the whole Northeast Corridor.”
“So …” Red said. He drew a deep breath. “So, let’s see if I’ve got this straight. You plan on leaving in the morning.”
“Right.”
“Before I’m in my new place.”
“ ’Fraid so.”
“The thing of it is, though,” Red said, “what about my computer?”
De
“I was counting on you to set up my Wi-Fi. You know I’m not good at that stuff! What if I can’t co
He was asking not only De
But Amanda’s Hugh said, “Who, me?” And Red just kept staring into one face and then another. Finally Nora, who was seated next to him, set a hand on top of his. “We will take care of all that, I promise, Father Whitshank,” she said.
Red peered at her for a moment, and then he relaxed. No one pointed out that Nora didn’t even have her own e-mail address.
“Well, this is just great,” Jea
“The prodigal son,” Nora said contentedly, and she smiled across the table at Petey. “Isn’t it?” she asked him.
But Petey had his mind on the hurricane. He said, “What if you get picked up in the air, Uncle De
“You never know,” De
Sunday dawned cloudy and ominous, which was no surprise. Even without a direct hit, the hurricane was bound to spread a swath of wind and rain and electrical glitches throughout the city. Before things could get any worse, therefore, Jea
Then Red took so long to eat them that he was still at it when Jea
Jea
“Last night I dreamed the house burned down,” he told her.
“What, this house?”
“I could see all the beams and uprights that hadn’t been exposed since when my father built the place.”
“Oh, well …” Jea
“No,” Red said, “I think he’s still in bed.”
“In bed!”
Nora said, “I knocked on his door a while ago and he said he was getting up, but maybe he went back to sleep.”
“He was the one who couldn’t wait to leave!”
“Calm yourselves,” De
He was standing in the doorway, already wearing his jacket, with a canvas duffel bag hanging from each shoulder and a third, much larger bag at his feet. “Morning, all,” he told them.
Jea
“I see we’ve beaten the rain, so far.”
“Only through pure blind luck,” she said. “I thought you were in such a hurry!”
“I overslept.”
“Have you missed your train?”
“Nah, I’ve still got time.” He looked over at his father, who was single-mindedly pursuing a stray bit of egg white with his fork. “How’re you feeling, Dad?” he asked.
“I’m okay.”
“Excited about your new place?”
“No.”
“There’s coffee,” Nora told De
“That’s all right. I’ll get some at the station.” He waited a beat. “Should I call a cab?” he asked. “Or what?”
He was looking at Jea
“Seems like you’ve got your hands full.”
He looked again at Jea
“It’s no trouble,” Nora said.
“Ready, Dad?” Jea
Red set his fork down. He wiped his mouth with a paper towel. He said, “It seems wrong to just walk off and let other folks do the work.”
“But we’re going to work at the new place. You’re the only one who can tell me where you want your spatulas kept.”
“Oh, what do I care where my spatulas are kept?” Red asked too suddenly and too loudly.
But he heaved himself to his feet, and Nora stepped forward to press her cheek to his. “We’ll see you tomorrow evening,” she told him. “Don’t forget you promised to come to our house for supper.”
“I remember.”
He lifted his windbreaker from the back of his chair and started to put it on. Then he paused and looked at De
De
“Did you arrange it? I can just about picture it. Paying a guy good money, even, just so we’d all start missing you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Red gave a shake of his head and said, “Right.” He chuckled at himself. “That would be too crazy,” he said. He shrugged into his windbreaker and settled the collar. “Still, though,” he said. “How many guys in tank tops listen to classical music?”
De