Summertime June

Part 3: Family Secrets

     It was less than a week after we had discovered the bridge when I found myself sitting on the front porch of our home alone with my father. This in itself was a rarity, as Father was almost always occupied with the running of our farms. When he was not overseeing the daily goings-on, he was with my mother, attempting to pull her out of her shell for a few short hours each evening. This particular night, however, he had decided to spend the evening on our porch, smoking one of his cigars. The air was unseasonably cool, the autumn weather having finally begun to show its face. I remember the way the porch looked back then, with its fresh white paint and chairs made out of oak wood harvested from our very own woods less than fifty years before. My grandfather had had those chairs made for my grandmother as an anniversary gift, and they remained on that porch until well after my father passed away. The thing that strikes my memory about this night though, was not the chairs or the cold weather, or even the spiced smoke wafting through the air from my father's cigar. It was the look of deep consternation that marred my father's brow, and the worry lines etched deep into his face, that I remember most.

"Ava Anne," he began, for he always used both of my names when he spoke to me of something serious.

He reached over and took my hand into his own much larger one.

"I must speak with you, child. And I need you to listen well to what I say, it is vitally important." He spoke with a gravity that alarmed me.

"Yes Father, of course." I smiled a small smile as I spoke the words, hoping to ease the hunted look I saw within his eyes.

He drew deeply from his cigar and exhaled spirals of thick smoke before he spoke again. "I noticed you and June, the other day, coming home from Old Church Road. You know that you are not allowed down there, and I must ask that you two not venture that far from home again. There are dangers there. It is not safe for young girls to wander so far on their own."

I shrunk down in my chair a little at his words; I had been fully aware when we went that my father wouldn't be pleased. I had simply hoped in vain that he hadn't noticed our leaving and the general direction of where we had been going.

"I'm sorry, Father. Truly I am. We meant no harm, we were just exploring. It won't happen again, I promise you." my voice shook as I spoke the last words; how I hated upsetting my father.

My father looked at me then, considering. He opened his mouth as though he was about to speak and then closed it carefully, shaking his head. After what seemed like forever, when his cigar was more than halfway gone, he opened his mouth to speak again, this time without even looking in my direction.

"There are things that I cannot tell you, Ava Anne. Things that are better left to adults, and I will not burden you with them. Trust me when I say that I always only desire what is in your best interest, and June's as well. Do not disobey me in this again." His words should have sounded harsh, but his hand still covering mine let me know that he would not remain upset with me for very long. I leaned over and gently kissed his brow as he bid me goodnight.

Later that evening, as I readied myself for bed, I heard a quiet knocking at my door. I walked over and opened the door, curious to see who would be wanting to speak with me at that late of an hour. I should have known already that it would be June. She looked pale and ghost-like against the backdrop of the darkened hall. Her long auburn hair was tied back in a simple plait, a stark contrast to the pale cream color of her nightgown.

"May I please come in, Ava? My mother had to go to your mother's rooms. She's having one of her bad times again." Her voice conveyed nothing that would indicate the severity of the situation; she probably hadn't wanted to worry me. I ushered her into the room and gave her one of the extra blankets off of my bed to wrap around her shoulders.