Part 12: Summer Break
It was good to be home,
Gaele wrote, after settling into
her old room and waited for dinner. It's great to see
Devon, and Riahna, (she has grown
so MUCH since I saw her at Christmas!) Daddy is such a riot, he goes and
grabs me up and slings me around as though I'm still a little kid. But I
was having too much fun to care. It was good to see Mom, though she looked
kind of tired and subdued. She looked a lot better, though, after Don told
her about Seth's e-mail and that he was okay. Must have taken a big load
off her mind. Poor Mom. I sure do feel bad for her, and I can now see why
Don is so bent on getting Seth home again.
"Extraordinary meal, Mike, as usual," Don said, as he sat back a little from the
table.
"But of course," Mike said, pretending to twirl a moustache. "Ze mastair
chef aims to please."
"The accent needs some work, though," Rahab said in a teasing tone.
Everyone laughed.
"So, Gaele, what are your plans for this summer?" Mike was now looking at
her.
Don looked thoughtful, and then exchanged glances with Gaele.
"Ah, well, maybe Don could explain," Gaele said.
"Explain what?" Rahab eyed Don with a look of apprehension.
"Rahab, I've decided to go to Nepal to get your son," Don said.
"And?" Mike now looked uncertain.
"I'm going to go with him," Gaele heard herself say.
"Aw, man! How come I don't get to go anywhere," Devon protested.
In the silence that followed, Gaele noticed Rahab glowering at Don.
Gaele inspected her cuticles, and tried to think of something helpful
to say.
"I would feel a lot more comfortable if Gaele stayed here," Rahab said at
length. "Not that I don't trust your capabilities, Don, but it's nerve wracking
enough to have one child out in the wilderness of such a faraway place..."
"Gaele will be all right, babe," Mike said, reassuringly patting Rahab's
arm, as he grinned at Gaele. "Outside this house, you couldn't ask for safer
company than Don."
Rahab closed her eyes a moment, as though in surrender. "I... suppose I should
stop being such a worry wort... after all, you are an adult, Gaele. It's
not like you need constant monitoring any more... only, old habits die hard."
She gave Mike an uncertain smile, as if to draw support from him.
Here I am just lazing in the sun by the pool, Gaele wrote,
a few days later. I'm really enjoying vacation more than ever, away
from the grindstone of college. Hardly doing anything at the moment, other
than doing projects and gardening with Mom and Ri and just talking. Actually,
Ri doesn't talk much, but does one of her favorite passtimes that involves
plucking different kinds of flower petals and meticulously gluing them in
intricate patterns on poster board. They really turn out to be gorgeous,
and they end up in frames around the house. I have one in my bedroom.
Riahna is turning gorgeous herself, she's so willowy and long limbed like
Mom, that I almost hate her for it. Daddy says I'm gorgeous just the
way I am, though he does tease me about being built like a Mack truck...
I suppose he's right, I can hold my own with Devon, and Ri looks like a good
strong wind could just knock her over.
Oh, I dunno, I guess I used to hate her for other reasons too, one being
that she took up most of Daddy's attention because she demanded so much from
him. Sometimes he'd be frustrated to tears over her. And I'd be frustrated
to tears because he didn't have time for me any more. And I'm sorry
to say, I had some memorable tantrums myself, until Daddy realized
that I was just vying for attention, and he and Mom and everyone decided
to have meetings where we could be honest about our feelings, and kind of
air the issues, so that there wasn't anyone feeling left out.
Which brings me back to last night's meeting! It turned out fabulous,
because I'm going to get to go to Nepal after all! (Uhm... Nepal
after all? Gack, bad poet alert!) Anyway, I'm really excited about
this trip, I just love travelling. And yet I'm nervous, too. Not sure about
what, but I have a feeling that getting Seth isn't going to be very
easy...
The monastery where Gaele and Don were supposed to meet Seth was perched
on top of a mountain a day's hike from the city of Kathmandu.
"Do you want to take a break?" Don slowed to let Gaele catch up. In spite
of her strong condition, the high altitude was making her gasp for breath.
She shook her head and reached for Don and he let her hang onto the backpack
as he pulled her along. After several hundred vertical feet, even that didn't
help. She called for a halt and rested against a boulder a little to the
side of the path.
When her heart slowed enough for her to breathe normally, she looked around.
They were beside an acre or so of meadow, in the center of which was a small
shrine, surrounded by a copse of conifers that clung to the base of a cliff.
Don stood beside her, breathing easily, carrying her backpack, so that she
was not too burdened. She looked at Don in amazement, at how well he could
go right along, at an age where most people in his field were contemplating
retirement. So old and seasoned, compared to her... and yet, he could outdo
most 20 year olds. She smiled at him, and he returned it.
"You ready?" He offered a hand to help her up.
Not wanting to waste any energy talking, she nodded, and pulled herself to
her feet. She waited to let Don lead the way, but he was standing still,
his face frozen in a look of incredulity, as he focused on the copse. Gaele
followed his gaze, but could see nothing, at first, then she caught something
moving in the shadows. A moment later, a cloaked figure appeared, and stopped
when it reached the edge of the open ground, and by its stance, was keenly
aware of their presence.
Don drew himself up and waited, and finally the figure started toward them.
Trailing behind, half hidden in the folds of the generous garment, was a
yellow iguanid tail. Gaele gasped with recognition and started forward, but
Don held a restraining hand in front of her.
"Let him approach us," he said quietly.
"Seth," she heard herself call out.
When he reached them, he gathered himself and bowed formally to Don, who
returned it with equal care, and then Seth turned to Gaele, and his hands
reached to clasp hers.
"It is so good to see you both, again," Seth said in a quiet voice.
"Good?? Oh SETH," Gaele said breathlessly before Don could respond. "Don't
you realize how much everyone's been WORRIED about you?"
"Understood..."
"Mom's been completely BESIDE herself-"
"Gaele," Don gave her a look that stopped her, then looked back at Seth.
"Did you receive any of my replies?"
"Yes, I did get them, only today, because I had gone up to meet Leo coming
down from the valley..." Seth stopped, and his eyes darted around, as though
watching for eavesdroppers. "It might be better if we talked within the
monastery... it would be more sensible. Nothing to worry about, mind you,
but I'm anxious to get back."
"Yes, let's get going," Don said lightly, taking hold of Gaele's elbow and
leading her along behind him. Seth took up the rear.
"It was a pleasant surprise to learn of your arrival, Gaele," Seth said happily.
"What do you think of Nepal, so far?"
"I didn't like the city much. Too noisy, and smelly. But up here, it's simply
magnificent."
He amiably patted her on the back, and she continued the hike up the mountain
in contented silence.