Broken Road (20 page)

“Was it enough
 
time?” the older man asked. Riley nodded.
 
“Well, where to now?”
 

Riley turned back and looked at the graves. He shrugged his shoulders.“Back to the farm, I suppose.”

“The farm isn’t there anymore, Riley.”

“I know. But I have to see it just the same.”

“That’s fine by me.” Louis agreed and they began to walk the path back to the car. “Are you sure that you want to go through with this deal?”

“You mean moving into the old farmhouse with Renae the waitress?”

“Yes, I guess I do.”

“Yeah. I think it’ll be good for me.”

“What about the waitress?”

“I’d like to think she wouldn’t have offered if she didn’t mean it.”

“Me too.” Said Louis, “But sometimes people change their minds.”

“You think she will?”

“I don’t know. I hope not.” Said Riley as they got to the car. He opened his door and got in.

“Whatever happens, you need to be honest. She needs to know what. . .”Louis paused a moment as if unsure how to say what he wanted to say without offending Riley.
 

“She need to know what she’ll be up against. Is that what you mean, Louis?”

“Pretty much. She’s not a trained professional. Not a veteran. Isn’t even from here, Riley. It all spells trouble to me.”

“I’m not going back with you and I’m not staying in town.”

“That’s a shame. You know I think you’re making a mistake.”

“Yeah. I think you’ve made it pretty clear.”

“But you’re a grown man and I can’t make you stay with Doreen or come back with me. But I hope you’ll agree to some conditions that will make the transition easier.”

“Like what?”

“Let me bring you up for support group once a week.”

“That’s over a 3 hour ride, Louis.”

“I don’t mind.”

“What if I don’t want to go?”

“Riley. . .”

“I need a break from the doctors and the support groups. I need a break from the people of this town. I want to be in a place where I can find some peace and be of some use for a while.”

“You promised Dr. Nadeem, Riley. You also promised me.”

“All right, what if we compromise? Give me a couple of weeks to get adjusted and then if you still think I need to jump back in to all of that then I’ll do it. Okay?”

Louis looked doubtful.“This is all against my better judgement, Riley. But like I said you’re a grown man. I hope you’re right about this.”
 

“You’ll see, Louis. Everything’s going to be fine.” Riley said as Louis drove them toward the spot where the farm once stood. Riley tried to keep his emotions in check but the closer they got he found that it was too difficult.
 
As they neared the turn to the road leading to his grandfather’s farm he spoke up.

“You know what on second thought, let’s skip the farm and head for Broken Bow. All I have to wear is what I have on. I should probably pick up some things, don’t you think?” Louis shot him a sideways glance.

“That’s a good idea. What time will Renae be home?”

Riley looked at his watch realized they had quite a bit of time to kill.
 

“The café will close around 6. She should be home after that.”

“Are you sure, Riley? You don’t want to stop and take a look before we go?” Louis asked as he pulled off the road and started turning in the opposite direction. Riley swallowed hard. The truth was he wasn’t sure he could bear seeing the place where his grandfather’s house had once stood.
His house
.
His home.
Gone.
It was too hard and he wasn’t ready to face it.

“I’m sure.” He said and as Louis headed back down the highway toward Broken Bow he hoped to God that he was right.

Brenda had only been back a few hours when she saw Louis Montgomery’s car pull up with Riley Favreau inside. It was dark outside. She took a deep breath and tried not to shake as she made her way down the stairs of the rickety porch.
 
She waved as they got out and she started down the gravel drive toward them. Riley Favreau looked tired, almost as tired as she felt. She wasn’t getting much sleep in the drafty old place. After living at the Daisy Inn for a couple of weeks she had gone into Broken Bow and purchased some basic furniture for the house, including a couple of mattresses for each of the bedrooms. Doreen’s husband Elmer had loaned her his truck and he and Doreen had been kind enough to help her carry things upstairs and set them up. She never really
 
considered she’d have company but the thought that maybe her mother or the boys might come out to see her had crossed her mind. So she’d bought the beds with that in mind. Brenda could
never
have foreseen that Riley Favreau would be the first houseguest she’d have over. As she approached them, the man who accompanied him seemed suspicious even though he was trying hard to be polite to her. He took Riley’s belongings out of the trunk of his car which literally consisted of one small black duffel bag and a couple of paper sacks. She imagined everything else had been packed up and stored before the bank had taken the farm in the foreclosure. Brenda felt sad for the soldier. From what she had learned so far it had not been much of a homecoming for Riley Favreau. She tried to shake off the thoughts and stepped forward to meet greet them.

“I’m glad you didn’t change your mind.” Brenda heard herself say and saw a look of surprise cross Riley’s face.

“I’m glad you didn’t change
yours.
” He said grinning. It was a pleasant smile and Brenda found herself at ease with him. The man with him cleared his throat and stuck out his free hand out.

“I’m Louis Montgomery. Nice to see you again.” They shook hands.
 

“Nice to see you too. Can I
 
help you carry anything in?” She asked nervously and watched both men smile at each other taking in how little Riley owned.

“I think we’ve got it.” Riley answered and followed as she waved them up the porch and into the house. It looked almost exactly the same as the day Mr. Samson had shown it to her except for the few pieces of furniture she’d managed to find, the flimsy plastic paint sheets she’d bought at the hardware store in Bess to cover up the broken windows on the first floor and maybe one less layer of dust she’d attempted to eliminate.
 
Brenda was somewhat embarrassed to have them see the
 
house in the current state it was in but on the other hand she hoped that Riley’s companion might see that she really did need help fixing things up.

“Wow. You weren’t kidding. Things are pretty bad.” Riley said and Brenda tried not to cringe.
 

“No, I wasn’t and I’m afraid I’m not very DIY. I wasn’t expecting to find the house like this when I first came to town.”

“I suppose you were thinking it’d be more like something you’d find on the cover of Home & Garden Magazine?” Riley asked putting down his duffel bag and taking a look around. Brenda hadn’t made an effort to peel any more of the ancient wallpaper off the cracked walls or nail down any of the floorboards that were coming up in spots around the living room. Riley walked over to the old piano in the corner and ran his fingers across the keys. The sound was awful.

“Reminds me of the piano my grandma Elsie used to have, except for it sounding like some cat died inside of it.” Brenda couldn’t help but laugh and Riley laughed with her.

“When I got the keys from Mr. Samson he said the original owners had taken care of it and that it was a very beautiful home.”

“Well, 20 some years of dust, dirt and probably some water damage can take a toll on any home. I don’t
 
know
 
though, I’m not an expert on home renovation or anything but this is going to be a lot of work.” Riley ran a finger over a piece of missing wall near the piano where the wood frame was peeking out.

“You said you needed a job and I obviously need the help. We could figure it out, couldn’t we?” Brenda asked hoping he wasn’t changing his mind about staying. She
needed
him to stay.

“I did say that and I think if we worked at it we might be able to figure out.”

“Oh good, I’m glad to hear you say that.” They looked at each other for a long time and Brenda began to feel her face flush. His eyes were studying her, watching her closely as if looking for something but what? Could the fact she had lied about who she was be plastered all over her face? Could he tell? She started to panic and looked away only to see that Riley’s friend was staring at them.
 

“I’d better be getting back, Riley, but first tell me where you want these?” he asked lifting up the two large paper bags he was carrying.
 

“Upstairs.” Brenda answered. “It’s the first room at the top of the stairs.”
 

“Good enough.” The man replied and started the short, squeaky climb up the staircase.

“You sure this is okay, me staying here?” Riley asked and Brenda had to take a moment to breathe.

“Of course it is. I want to help.” She nodded.
And I want you to help me! I have to know what happened on that road!

“I appreciate it. Okay, I’m going to say goodbye to Louis and then I think I’ll turn in if that’s all right?”
 

“Sure. If you need to use the bathroom it’s the next door on left.”

“That’ll work. Where are you going to be? Is there another room down here?”

“No.” She felt the flush coming on again. “I’ll be upstairs in the other bedroom.”

“Oh.” He seemed surprised.

“There’s also some food in the fridge. Not much. I need to go into town and do some shopping but if you want a sandwich everything’s
 
there.”

“ I may take you up on that later. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome.”

“See you in the morning?” He called as he climbed the stairs with the duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

“See you in the morning.” She called back and then walked outside to get some air.
 
Louis Montgomery walked out with her after saying goodbye to Riley.

“This is a nice thing you’re doing for him.”
 

“I don’t mind. I’ve definitely got the room and like I keep saying I’m desperate for the help.”
 

“I know.” Louis said flashing her a quick smile. “But I also thing you have a right to know what you’re getting yourself into with this arrangement.” Brenda sighed. She expected him to bring it up sooner or later.

“Like?”

“For starters he can’t drive.”

“Why?”

“Several reasons. Some of them psychological. Some of them physical. Riley sustained injuries while he was overseas. The doctors are still trying to figure them out but they affect his hearing, his sight and his depth perception. I also think it has to do with the accident. Did they tell you about that?”

“I overheard you all talking at the café. I think I have an idea.”

“It’s one thing to know about, it’s another thing to have to drive him around wherever he has to go.”

“I don’t mind.”

“I believe you.” Louis said kicking up some gravel with his shoes. Brenda could tell he was trying to find a way to talk her out of her decision to take the soldier in.

“If you’re worried about me not being prepared to deal with whatever issues Riley has, Doreen has already mentioned some of them. I think I can handle it though.”

“And if you can’t?”
 

“I’ll ask for help. Doreen said I can call her anytime day or night.”

“That’s good because nights are sometimes the worst.”

“Why?” she asked and tried to remember if Doreen had mentioned anything specific.

“The nightmares.”

“Oh.” She said realizing that Doreen hadn’t mentioned nightmares but then why would she? She’d hadn’t seen him in a while.

“He’s supposed to be taking some medication to help him sleep. He might not tell you about it and I’m not saying you have to check that he’s taking it. That would be asking too much of you. But, if you notice anything out of the ordinary or you feel you can’t deal with what’s happening I’d like you to give me a call. Day or night just like Doreen, okay?” He handed her a business card with his contact information.

“How bad is it?” She mustered the courage to ask him.

“I don’t really know. I’ve never had him spend the night. But if it’s like some of the other veterans I’ve worked with or even like me, sometimes it can get pretty bad. You don’t know where you are or even who’s who. If that happens things can get dangerous, do you understand?”

“You’re a veteran?”

“Vietnam.”

“I thought you were his caseworker.”

“I am. I also run a support group to help veterans returning home. It’s not easy. Not for them, not for their families.” He explained and Brenda tried to keep her mind from going back home to her own family and her own loss. “Riley’s been struggling. Now that he’s gotten all this bad news about his home and his grandfather’s financial problems he might have a harder time of it. Nightmares could get worse.”

“Okay.
If
that happens what do I do?”

“If it were me I’d get out of the house and give one of us a call. That’s the best thing you can do. Don’t try to engage him or talk him out of the dream. It usually doesn’t work. If you have any doubts about your safety you call the Sheriff. Don’t wait around and see if Riley comes back from the experience. Let someone who is trained to deal with something like that do their job.” Brenda could tell Louis was watching her face intently probably wanting to see if the information would change her mind. It gave her lots to think about but she was still determined to see it through.

“Still want to do this? It’s not too late and I’d be happy to talk to Riley. I’m sure he would understand.”

“Yes. I still want to do it.” She answered immediately and he smiled.

“Okay. You be sure too call me if you need anything. I’ll be checking up on Riley and he knows that so don’t hesitate. I’m available day or night.” He said and she took another look at the card in her hands before putting it in her back jeans pocket.