Interstate Blues

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Shutter Island

March 15th, 2020
Ashgrove, Colorado

Everyone else was still sleeping when Jack pulled up to the Pleasant Family Cemetery and Funeral Home. The second he cut the engine, he heard Ash groan and he saw him sit up out of the corner of his eyes.

"Here already? Why didn't you wake me when we were getting close?"

"You're still trying to heal, man. You need as much sleep as you can get." Jack reached back and grabbed his pack before pushing the car door open and jumping out.

"Oh, don't give me that crap. Two days ago, a witch pulled you through poor Cheech's windshield. You're just as busted up as me." But they both knew how untrue that actually was. Jack had woken up the next day only really feeling sore, and his cuts had all started to heal at an alarmingly quick rate.

"Yeah, except I'm healing like some kind of X-Men, and you aren't. So, who needs rest again?"

Ash followed him out of the car, and left the door open. "Yeah, let's not go talking about that like it's normal, okay. We're just here to spend a day or two with Mom. Like a regular family. Got it?"

"Sure. I hear ya. Does she even know we're coming?" Jack went around to the back of the car to let Keala out. She barked, licked his face, and bolted into the trees.

"I think so. Will probably called her. Guys, we're here." He slammed the door shut and Jack thought he heard him chuckle a little when Will and Marley jumped.

As Jack was grabbing the rest of his gear from the back of the Blazer, the front door creaked open and Marcia Pleasant stepped out onto the porch.

"Do my eyes deceive me? You kids drove all the way out here without telling me? It's not my birthday..." There was a wide smile on her face, and her brown eyes sparkled as she brushed loose strands of dark hair behind her ears. She was covered in flour like she'd been in the kitchen cooking all night.

"Hey, Mom. How's everything?" Ash trudged up the porch steps and wrapped his right arm around her lightly, wincing when she hugged him back with fervor.

"Oh, sweetheart... Come inside and I'll make you some tea. You can lay on the couch in the living room." No matter what ailed them, their mom always had a different tea and home remedy at her fingertips to fix them up.

"Mama!" Marley ran up the stairs, her bags hanging off her shoulders and her long braids bouncing against her back. She jumped into Marcia's waiting arms and clung to her. They were nearly the same height, already.

"There's my baby girl. Oh, sweetheart, I've missed you so much!" Marcia kissed the top of her head before she finally released Marley.

"I missed you too, Mama. Hey, have you heard from Maizie? Ash said I'm not allowed to talk to any of my friends right now. Or maybe ever." Her face fell, and before that moment, Jack never really thought about how much she and Will were really giving up for their little road trip. Friends, family, connections...

Marcia smiled softly as she moved a few steps to give Will a hug. "I told the school and all your friends that your dad insisted on sending you to a boarding school out in Anchorage. The same one he went to in fact. Will helped on the electronic end. So, everyone thinks you're unreachable until this summer."

"Mama, you're the best!" Marley skipped into the house behind Ash and Will. Jack hung back, standing at the bottom of the porch steps with a thin smile playing on his lips.

"Jack, honey? What's wrong?" Marcia leaned her elbows on the railing that went all the way around the porch, which stretched around the entire old farmhouse.