can hear a little bit of laughing in his words.
“I don’t enjoy it, either,” I say. “I don’t like the bubbles.”
“Here, then,” says Wolf. “This doesn’t have bubbles.” His hand touches my hand and puts a mug into it.
I think maybe it is cold coffee, but it smells wrong. When I sip, it is sharp on the back of my tongue, like the smell of pine pitch on a hot summer day, but it also tastes like berries and bitterness.
“My own elderberry wine,” says Wolf, “mixed with mead. Better than beer for you and me.”
We stand and watch the others by the fire, and we pass the cup back and forth. We are quiet in the shadows under the trees. I start to feel warm inside, from the wine. I watch Bo and the others. I watch how the sparks fly up when someone throws more wood on the fire. Wolf is standing close enough by my side that I can feel the heat his body makes, but he never touches me except to give and receive the cup we share.
Bo and I go to Wolf and Eva’s trailer right at 5:00 p.m., like she said to when she invited us. Eva is Wolf’s wife. Bo introduced us at the truck when she visited this morning. She was down by the fire last night, and so were her daughters, Wolf’s daughters, Stormy and Sky. They are a whole family.
When we walk past her truck, the engine is still ticking, making the little sounds the parts make when they cool. She must not have been home very long.
Bo climbs up the steps to the front door and knocks. Then he steps back down and waits. I start to think maybe we didn’t understand, because nobody is answering the door, but then I start to hear loud TV-commercial music coming from inside the trailer.
Bo steps up and knocks again, harder this time, with the side of his fist. It’s not polite to knock like that, but the person inside won’t hear it otherwise.
The door opens and it’s Eva. “Hey, kids,” she says. “Come on in.” She is holding a cigarette and a can of beer in one hand while she welcomes us in with the other. “I didn’t expect you so soon. Wolf and the girls, they’re always late. So I figure everybody’s late. Not you two, though.”
“Da taught us to be on time,” says Bo.
“That’s real polite,” says Eva. Now she’s got one hand for the beer and one for the cigarette. She punctuates her sentences by putting one or the other to her mouth.
Not just polite, I think, also important so a person doesn’t get blown up. Time matters. Da taught me that.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Eva says. “Sit down. Sit down. Soon as Wolf and the girls get here, we’ll eat. I wanted to welcome you to the family; so we’ll be having a big family dinner together. You want a beer?”
“Yes, please,” says Bo.
Eva puts her own beer and cigarette down on the counter by the fridge. She pops the top on a cold one and hands it to Bo. I see the edge of the counter has lots of brown marks where cigarettes have been set down on it and forgotten, but this time she remembers; she picks it up and tucks it in her mouth. “What about you, honey? Thirsty? I think I got some ice tea back there somewhere if you want it.”
I shake my head.
“Change your mind, you let me know,” says Eva, then she walks over and settles into the couch beside Bo. “Relax,” she says. “Make yourself at home.” Then she picks up the TV remote, leans back, and puts her feet up on the coffee table so we know how to do that in her home.
“About time. I thought I said be home because we were going to have dinner,” says Eva when Stormy comes through the door. “Bo and Valley are here.”
Stormy makes a kissing face, maybe at Bo, then turns and heads down the hall.
“I’m calling Wolf,” Eva says in our general direction. “He probably lost track of time. He does that.” She walks over to the counter and digs around in a purse, but before she finds the phone, the door opens again. It’s Wolf.
“Let’s eat!” says Eva. “I picked us up a real dinner in town.”
“I don’t enjoy it, either,” I say. “I don’t like the bubbles.”
“Here, then,” says Wolf. “This doesn’t have bubbles.” His hand touches my hand and puts a mug into it.
I think maybe it is cold coffee, but it smells wrong. When I sip, it is sharp on the back of my tongue, like the smell of pine pitch on a hot summer day, but it also tastes like berries and bitterness.
“My own elderberry wine,” says Wolf, “mixed with mead. Better than beer for you and me.”
We stand and watch the others by the fire, and we pass the cup back and forth. We are quiet in the shadows under the trees. I start to feel warm inside, from the wine. I watch Bo and the others. I watch how the sparks fly up when someone throws more wood on the fire. Wolf is standing close enough by my side that I can feel the heat his body makes, but he never touches me except to give and receive the cup we share.
Bo and I go to Wolf and Eva’s trailer right at 5:00 p.m., like she said to when she invited us. Eva is Wolf’s wife. Bo introduced us at the truck when she visited this morning. She was down by the fire last night, and so were her daughters, Wolf’s daughters, Stormy and Sky. They are a whole family.
When we walk past her truck, the engine is still ticking, making the little sounds the parts make when they cool. She must not have been home very long.
Bo climbs up the steps to the front door and knocks. Then he steps back down and waits. I start to think maybe we didn’t understand, because nobody is answering the door, but then I start to hear loud TV-commercial music coming from inside the trailer.
Bo steps up and knocks again, harder this time, with the side of his fist. It’s not polite to knock like that, but the person inside won’t hear it otherwise.
The door opens and it’s Eva. “Hey, kids,” she says. “Come on in.” She is holding a cigarette and a can of beer in one hand while she welcomes us in with the other. “I didn’t expect you so soon. Wolf and the girls, they’re always late. So I figure everybody’s late. Not you two, though.”
“Da taught us to be on time,” says Bo.
“That’s real polite,” says Eva. Now she’s got one hand for the beer and one for the cigarette. She punctuates her sentences by putting one or the other to her mouth.
Not just polite, I think, also important so a person doesn’t get blown up. Time matters. Da taught me that.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Eva says. “Sit down. Sit down. Soon as Wolf and the girls get here, we’ll eat. I wanted to welcome you to the family; so we’ll be having a big family dinner together. You want a beer?”
“Yes, please,” says Bo.
Eva puts her own beer and cigarette down on the counter by the fridge. She pops the top on a cold one and hands it to Bo. I see the edge of the counter has lots of brown marks where cigarettes have been set down on it and forgotten, but this time she remembers; she picks it up and tucks it in her mouth. “What about you, honey? Thirsty? I think I got some ice tea back there somewhere if you want it.”
I shake my head.
“Change your mind, you let me know,” says Eva, then she walks over and settles into the couch beside Bo. “Relax,” she says. “Make yourself at home.” Then she picks up the TV remote, leans back, and puts her feet up on the coffee table so we know how to do that in her home.
“About time. I thought I said be home because we were going to have dinner,” says Eva when Stormy comes through the door. “Bo and Valley are here.”
Stormy makes a kissing face, maybe at Bo, then turns and heads down the hall.
“I’m calling Wolf,” Eva says in our general direction. “He probably lost track of time. He does that.” She walks over to the counter and digs around in a purse, but before she finds the phone, the door opens again. It’s Wolf.
“Let’s eat!” says Eva. “I picked us up a real dinner in town.”
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