If you ever saw something that you were sure you imagined or heard a sound that no one else did - then you know what it's like to attend a show starring the Novaks.
"A magical act so spectacular, it had to be real."
An oh so common statement after...
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"Oh, I cannot wait for this!"
Anna had worn her cast for well over a month now. Her fractured arm had finally healed but so much remained broken since the night she splattered to the floor in the Millstreet Bar.
Josef used a pair of scissors to cut through her cast. He then slid it off. "How's it feeling?"
Anna waved her arm around. It felt lighter to her. Almost like she shed a layer of flesh and skin. "Strange."
"That's normal... Especially for this family." Josef looked down at the cast in his hands. Maria had drawn the outline of a dove with its wings spread out on it. The white of the cast filled in the body of the bird. The cast smelled like a wet dog, but something about the innocence of the drawing caused Josef to hesitate when he held it over the trash can. "Do you want to keep it?"
"Why? Ever since that night at Millstreet, we've run into roadblock after roadblock."
Josef stood beside the trash can with the cast held over it. He didn't want to discard it. The dove stared up at him. "Maybe this farewell party could kick off a streak of good luck."
"Farewell party?"
"Dad didn't tell you... Right, you two still aren't talking. He went out to get goodies for a party. I'm assuming it's one last hurrah before Max gives us the boot." Josef placed Anna's cast on the kitchen counter near the trash can. "Speaking of, have you seen Max?"
"I haven't. He's usually the first person up. I can hear him stomping down the stairs every morning. Pretty sure his stomping wakes up the roosters." Anna rubbed her temples. "Why is your dad throwing a party? Tomorrow is the day he wants us out. We need a plan, not a celebration."
A loud shriek echoed through the Masschester farm. Anna and Josef rushed to the window to have a peek. A wooden ladder wobbled back and forth like a wacky, waving, inflatable arm-flailing tube man. At the bottom of this ladder was Luke. He was not waving or inflatable, but his arms did flail as he rolled through the tall grass of the yard, moaning in pain.
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When being the mom of a family on the run, you are forced to wear plenty of hats. Nurse was surely one of them. Anna had done everything from sewing a few small stitches on Henry's knee to picking out a couple dozen shards of glass from Grandpa Novak's temple with a pair of tweezers. Helping Luke with his sore back was a cakewalk.
"Ouch!" Luke shouted.
"Don't be a wuss," Anna teased.
Anna wrapped cloth around a bag of ice that was pressed against Luke's back. He grunted each time she tightened it. "This will help with the swelling."
"No worries, Mrs. Novak," Luke said through a grunt. "I appreciate your help. That dang old ladder can't stand any better than a toddler on a merry-go-round."
