a mixture of sun and clouds 3

…from my short story, A Mixture of Sun and Clouds:

He took the tent and I slept on the floor of the cabin because both bunks were too narrow for two. Joanie said that we should put a string on my toe so I couldn’t sneak off in the night. I’m sure David fell asleep to the sound of our giggling.

The next day there was news of a forest fire to the north, running south toward the town, out of control. Off he went to fight it and make a few dollars. As the news came about the fire getting closer and closer, we wondered if we should leave, take the train out to Ottawa, maybe go back down to Toronto. All we did in the end was to go into town, in order to be with everyone else and get the news. We could see the red glow getting closer and closer; the air was thick with smoke. And then the deer started to walk through the town, heading for the water, their faces, calm and beautiful. Smooth Rock Falls was not more than two streets crossing each other and the open fields gave the animals plenty of room. But it was hilarious to see them looking at us as if they were saying, ‘Come on! Get into the water! What are you waiting for?’

The people waited until the raging fire was at the very edge of the town; then we followed the animals into the river and stood watching and waiting to see if the entire town would burn. It was nightfall and the water was warm; people were worried about losing their houses but there was an air of excitement and anticipation.

“I wonder how David is doing?” Joanie asked. Lizzie looked at her and at me; we were standing in the water up to our knees and she was holding the camera, which was one of those old style little boxes that you look down into. She took our picture and, just at that moment, the first few drops of rain began to fall. The people were silent and you could hear the drops hitting the water with tiny ‘plipping’ sounds. The night sky above us was dark with smoke and we couldn’t tell if there were clouds, but there must have been because the rain began to fall hard and everyone rushed back to the shelter of the houses and stores.

By morning the men were coming straggling into town, all filthy with soot and wet with rain, tired and thankful for the downpour. Lizzie found David and made him wait for his picture to be taken before he ran off and jumped in the river with the other men and boys. The women retreated to big tables set up by the boat dock and food was laid out. By noon, all the men had eaten and were sleeping under the trees. David walked back with us to the cabin. He was falling asleep as he walked and Joan and I kept him standing up. He was mumbling and we were laughing; he had his arm draped over my shoulder and Joanie’s. She turned close to him, almost snuggled in and took a deep breath and said to me, “That’s what a man smells like, Dee, like a tree not like an onion!”

We laid him out in the tent and went to sleep in the cabin ourselves, exhausted with the worried night and the busy morning. All of us slept ‘til next morning and when I got up I wanted to see David. Joanie was up already and gone and Lizzie gave me my bathing suit and said, “Let’s go for a swim, Dee. I want to take some pictures of you.”

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