Chapters (65)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Part One
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Part Two
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Part Three
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- About the Publisher
We walked arm in arm back to the living room, where I had a pile of to-do lists, people to call for the transfer ceremony, the minister, the social worker, and things to bring, the baby book for the footprints, the video camera, and the tiny gold cross from my mother’s christening, which she’d given to me at mine.
“Did you remind the boys?”
“Yeah, but it’s only Caleb, remember. Jake has his tournament.”
“And Audrey’s okay with swapping weekends?”
“No, but she’s doing it.” Hal smiled as he sat back in his chair and pulled up his crossword puzzle and pencil. The grandfather clock ticked, and soon giant snowflakes began to fall.
“Looks like a bit of snow is on the way,” I said, pointing to the big window, the wintry scene outside.
Hal was busy filling in letters in squares. “They’re forecasting three to six inches,” he said without looking up.
“Geez,” I said. “I guess we should take your SUV, then.”
“Mm-hmm,” he said, reading the next clue. “I’ll move the car seat in the morning.”
Twenty-Three
Digger
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2002
Evening
On the way back from Target, we were both hungry. We’d passed the Blue Anchor Grill on the way out of Superior. It looked pretty good, so we went there. Inside, Cally handed me the baby and went straight to the bathroom in back.
I found a booth and put the kid on the table so I could take off my coat. I sat down but kept my hand on the baby so she wouldn’t fall. My dad liked to tell the story of this one time he was watching my brother Davey. While changing a dirty diaper, my dad looked away for a second, and Davey fell off the dresser. Dad said little Davey just bounced like a football when he hit the carpet. Deena always joked that’s why Davey’s the dumbest of us four kids. The oldest and the dumbest.
“You better stay put,” I said to the kid.
“Hi, oh, what a cutie,” said a waitress, setting down a couple of napkins and menus. “Can I get you something to drink?”
Cally showed up and slid into the other side of the booth. “Just water for now,” she said, opening the menu.
“I’ll be right back,” said the waitress, leaving before I could order a beer.
“I could eat everything on here,” said Cally.
“Me, too,” I said, looking at photos of burgers and steak sandwiches and wings.
“I had the weirdest cravings when I was pregnant,” she said. “Glad those are gone.”
“Uh-huh.”
Cally told me how she’d had strict rules for food. The nurse had given her a nutrition chart or some shit. She was supposed to eat healthy and count vitamins. Sounded like a lot of hassle. But now that the baby was here, Cally wanted a bacon cheeseburger and fries. And a Diet Coke.