The Jump

19 Blast From The Past

When Merrill finally pulled into the driveway it was midnight, but he could see Duncan through the window reading a book. He sighed, got out of the car and decided he was too tired to get the luggage out. He would wait until morning after a good nights rest. Dragging himself, he slowly made his way up to the front door and startled Duncan as he entered, which gave him a good laugh.

"I'm sorry kid."

"It's alright I was starting to doze off, but now I'm wide awake," Duncan replied. "Oh, by the way, your daughter came by looking for you."

"Sylvia?" Merrill said feeling very surprised. "Did she come by herself or with her family."

"By herself. I told her she could spend the night and I would just head back up the road to my uncle's, but she insisted on going back home."

"Did you tell her where I was?"

Duncan yawned while saying yes and then gave himself a good stretch. "She had no clue that you were going on vacation. I actually felt bad giving her the news after seeing the look on her face. Why didn't you tell your kids that you were going out of town?"

"I'm not a child, Duncan. They don't always need to know where I am."

"Yeah but you're old. You can't be going places all by yourself," Duncan joked.

Merrill rolled his eyes. "Did she say why she stopped by?"

"Nope, wouldn't tell me a word. Just got back into her car and left."

That night, Merrill tossed and turned. Usually the sounds his farm gave off at night were soothing to him, but for some reason it kept him awake instead. He thought a lot about his daughter Sylvia and wondered why she came by and alone to top it off. He couldn't remember the last time she visited him without her family or even her brother Aaron, for that matter.

The morning arrived, so Merrill tried giving his daughter a call but there was no answer. The curiosity of why she came by the farm stayed with him the entire day and even over the week as he called her but could never reach her. He finally left a message, figuring that whatever the reason was for her visit, if it was important then she would call him back. When Merrill's daughter finally returned his call on Sunday morning, they didn't speak for a long time, but she did say that she wanted to bring her kids for a visit.

So once the day of their visit finally arrived, Merrill sat in his recliner pretending not to be anxious while he waited. As much as he tried to sound calm and cool over the phone, he was actually very excited to hear that she would be bringing the kids with her. Just then, he heard the sound of the rubble being crunched over and a car coming to a halt. He thought about greeting his daughter and grandkids at the door but then decided to wait for them to knock. As soon as they did, he swung opened the door for them and his grandchildren immediately filled his quiet home with noise. They hugged him and then rushed past to put their things down. Sylvia trailed behind them but paused to give Merrill a long hug.

"Hi, Pop."

"Hey," he replied as he held her tight.

For most of the visit, Merrill felt anxious and was constantly wondering why Sylvia was visiting so out of the blue? Yet, Merrill tried to enjoy himself with his grandchildren, all the while waiting for the right time to ask Sylvia about why she dropped by just a few days before?

To help keep the kids entertained, they all went down to the river to sit in the sun and do some fishing. Max, who was now fourteen and Joseph, who was twelve, were more independent and didn't need instructions, but Emma, who was six, still loved being doted on by her grandpa. Meanwhile, Sylvia either sat quietly in her lounge seat or tried to fill silent moments by talking about the kids involvement in sports and swimming. Later as the kids splashed at the edge of the shore, and their fishing expedition was long forgotten, Merrill decided to cut to the chase.