Lee's Religion (REWORKING)

Ch 2.1 // The Road Travelled

     The sun had barely risen when a dusty old truck pulled up to the main house. Lee hopped out of the truck with a bounce in his step and started to load in the produce he asked his farmhands to drop by the house. As he loaded the crates in he heard the house's door open. He turned to look and smiled at Cassandra, and then noticed a few kids behind her.

     Rowan and Nova ran out and hugged their dad around the legs, forcing him to put down the crate he had tried to load in. He laughed and picked them up with ease, snuggling the two silly puppies. Axel walked up and started to try and help with the crates, hoping to get a chance to talk to his dad. Before he could open his maw, however, his mother made her way to Lee and ushered him out of earshot.

     "Lee, must you really? The farmhands can take the day to drop off the produce and they can still carry on without you there." Cassandra whispered, grabbing Nova from his arm and holding her tight.

     He sighed and put Rowan down. "Yes, I always promised Misty and dad that I would show up, I can't just not show up now. It will be okay. I'll text you and call you every night before bed, okay?" He hugged her and Nova, giving his wife what should have been a reassuring kiss. It looked as if Cassandra wasn't buying it, but she didn't have a choice this time.

     Axel had loaded exactly one large crate and was attempting to push it to meet the others when Lee noticed and chuckled. He gave Cassandra a loving pat on the back and then went to help his son. He noticed a large backpack on him and raised an eyebrow. Axel saw his face and smiled apologetically, "So uh, I was wondering something..."

     Lee grabbed the last crate and loaded it on the truck with a loud thump. "What's that, son?" He said, knowing what was coming next.

     "Could I go with you?" He fidgeted with the straps of his backpack like a young pup and shuffled a paw. "There's just some herbs and mushrooms I needed for some experiments and I guess I could just give you the list but I have all these containers and-"

     Lee raised a paw to stop the flow of textbook information before it started, "That's alright! You can go with me. Just don't wander off without letting someone know, the woods are no joke up there." He smiled at him and turned to look at Cassandra, who couldn't look less pleased. He shrugged it off this time and started to check his own supplies. He hadn't counted on an extra passenger but the long journey always welcomed a companion.

     Rowan came back after chasing a few bugs who had luckily gotten away. He looked up at the full truck and Axel was getting ready to leave too. Tears slowly formed in his eyes as he worked up the courage to ask the question, "Can I go too?"

     "No hunny, this is a long trip. Not for little puppies, ok? Maybe in a few years." Lee leaned down and gave his son a pet, which didn't seem to help as he was now crying.

     "Nooo! I'm not little, I can go!" Rowan ran for the truck door, which didn't end in his favor as he was lifted up as if he were a feather plucked from the ground. Lee held him on his hip and walked everyone back to the house as Axel got into the truck. He felt a little guilty, but in his heart, he knew this was right. As he set the little pup down he looked up at Cassandra and smiled again, this time receiving a genuine smile in return.

     "Well, be careful. We'll be watching for you to come home soon." She said as she wiped away a tear. She put both of the pups inside for the time being and then gave Lee one last hug. "I'll hold down everything here. You and Axel have a good time and let me know how it ... how it all goes." Her voice faltered for a moment. She was still very upset about why he was leaving and how the tribes operated sometimes, but she knew she couldn't stop it now.

     The two boys loaded everything into the car and soon they were off. It wasn't long before Axel dove into his belongings in the cab. He grabbed his phone charger and looked around the truck for a moment until he found the unused cigarette lighter to plug it in. He kept it nearby just in case as he grabbed his phone and his journal to double check a few things before experiencing it all in real time. Lee got to notice firsthand how much his son loved everything to do with magic, herbs, and potion making. He didn't know where it came from, but he was appreciative that he was involved in magic at least. He glanced at his son and laughed. "Can't spend one minute away from the books, eh?"