Chapter 35: Charred Remains

Cade finally managed to go inside the house after watching his garage burn to the ground. He went upstairs and fell into bed next to his wife. The smoke from the fire had left his eyes red and swollen and he smelled like a bonfire, but he didn't care and he didn't bother to shower. Callie snuggled up next to him as he slept. He lay there listless and silent.

Around noon, Callie could hear the children downstairs watching television. She sat up on the bed and turned toward Cade, noticing his eyes were open. "I'll go make us all something to eat," Callie said quietly.

"I'm not hungry," Cade said, and he rolled over and smoked a cigarette and then went back to sleep.

Callie's eyes filled with tears as she went downstairs to make breakfast. "Where's dad?" Harley asked.

"He's still asleep," Callie said, and she mechanically began to cook. The dog was sitting near Harley, and hadn't left Harley's side since they arrived home to find the garage on fire.

Callie normally sent Buddy outside while they ate, but this morning she didn't care.

They ate in silence without Cade. Ashley felt a large hole beginning to form in the pit of her stomach. Jessica was somber and quiet for a change. Harley was becoming angry.

Not long after they ate some food, the Fire Marshall's truck pull up outside and he and his men conducted their investigation, quickly concluding that it was arson. The fire had started with some old rags and gasoline. The Sheriff came out to file a report and discuss the crime with the Fire Marshall.

Callie stayed out of their way, and when they asked to speak with Cade, she asked him to come down, but he refused. Callie told them he was sleeping and they looked at one another and shrugged, realizing they would have to question Cade later. They knew they could order Cade to talk to them, but it was Sunday and they were anxious to go back home to their families. The Fire Marshall collected his gear and left, as did the Sheriff. After they were gone, Callie sat at the kitchen with her elbows propped up and her face buried in her hands, and she began to sob.

The kids felt helpless. "Mommy don't cry," Jessica said, but Callie couldn't seem to stop and the kids kept looking at the closed bedroom door where Cade lay sleeping and somehow knew not to disturb him. When Callie wouldn't stop crying, Harley went outside and began to hurl rocks as hard as he could into the back yard. Ashley and Jessica came out a short time later and watched him. The air smelled of charred wood and the ashes of what once their garage were still smoldering.

Angie and Lonnie soon arrived. Angie didn't wait for an invitation. She barged inside the house and found Callie sitting at the table crying. "Oh sweetheart," Angie said and embraced Callie. Callie immediately hugged Angie and sobbed on her shoulder.

Lonnie went out to the backyard and found the kids. Harley was still hurling rocks. "So where is your dad?" Lonnie asked, and the kids explained how Cade was upstairs in his room and they hadn't seen him. Lonnie nodded. "You know, I've seen a few fires in my day and I know it doesn't seem like it now, but everything always turns out OK."

Harley turned and looked at Lonnie, "It's never going to be OK," he said angrily, and he ran off with Buddy close on his heels.

Ashley and Jessica wanted to follow Harley, but Lonnie put his hand on their shoulders to stop them, "Let's let Harley be alone for awhile." Lonnie led the two girls inside the house and sat them in front of the TV, where he turned on the television and got them started watching something. After the two girls settled down in front of the television, Lonnie went back outside to find Harley.

In the kitchen, Angie had started making coffee and cleaning up the dishes and Callie's tears were beginning to subside. "It's going to be OK Callie," Angie assured her. "You'll see."

Callie sipped some coffee while Angie did the dishes. After she washed the dishes, Angie sat back down at the kitchen table and held Callie's hand. "Don't let this get you down Callie," Angie said. "You can't."

Lonnie searched for a long time and then he finally stumbled upon Harley who was whacking a tree repeatedly with a large piece of wood in order to vent his frustrations. Lonnie watched from a distance for a while. He knew Harley needed to get some of the anger out of his system. Finally, when Harley stopped hitting the tree and slumped onto the ground in exhaustion, Lonnie approached him. Harley was crying, and Lonnie slowly pulled him up into his arms. Initially, Harley pushed Lonnie away, but then he collapsed against him and continued crying. "It's going to be OK son," Lonnie whispered. "Your dad has done more for us than anyone ever has before," Lonnie explained. "We're all going to help you get through this."

Harley listened to Lonnie's words and he wanted to believe them, but he couldn't. "M-my d-dad," Harley sobbed.

"Your dad needs some time," Lonnie said softly. "He needs to rest awhile," Lonnie said.

When Harley's tears finally dried up, Lonnie led him back to the house.

"Would you like us to take the kids home with us tonight and get them to school tomorrow?" Angie asked.

"No," Callie shook her head. "I can do it."

"Tell Cade to take his time coming back to work," Lonnie said to Callie, and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "When he's ready, he can come back. Until then, I'll hold down the fort."

Callie nodded and hugged Angie and Lonnie and realized that things would have been a real mess if they hadn't shown up. "I don't know what the kids need," Callie sobbed in desperation, when she realized Angie and Lonnie were leaving.

Angie nodded, "Yes you do. They just need to get back into their routine," Angie hugged Callie, "And I suspect they need their dad," Angie glanced at the ceiling toward where Cade was. "Lonnie and I will take care of the rest."

Callie nodded and thanked them repeatedly for their visit. Then she and the kids watched some television and went to bed. The next morning, although it was difficult, Callie sent the kids to school. There was nothing for them to do at home other than stew over the fire, so she took Angie's advice, and got them back into their routine. All day she lay on the couch and watched television. Cade refused to come out of their room and most of the day he slept.

When the kids arrived home from school, they finally entered the bedroom where Cade was sleeping to seek him out for comfort, but when they entered his bedroom, he ordered them to leave. When they lingered because they were confused, he threatened them with a spanking.

The kids rushed downstairs and cried to Callie. "Mommy," Jessica pouted.

"Let daddy rest," Callie said softly. Cade had been the strength behind everything they had built and now he lay in bed depressed, and angry.

All of them heard a truck pull in the driveway. One of their neighbors arrived with supper for them, and at least a dozen more pickup trucks and tractors pulled up outside. Angie was there again, helping Callie feed the kids, "You let your neighbors take care of dinner for a few days," Angie said affectionately to Callie. "We got it covered."

No one had ever brought Callie a meal like this in her entire life. Outside, the men from the Farmers Co-op who had worked their regular jobs all day, pulled out axes and ropes and began hauling away the burned wood and making piles of salvageable items and non-salvageable items. Everyone felt angry in behalf of Cade. Although Drake Pennington had done some bad things to all of them over the years, he had never done anything like this.

As the men worked, Callie and the children watched. Cade still did not come out of his room and Callie was surprised. When the work crew left for the night, with the promise to return the next day, Callie and the children once again felt a spark of hope. Perhaps Angie and Lonnie were right, and things really were going to be OK.

It was Tuesday morning and Callie sent the children to school. Cade had refused to get out of bed and Callie wondered if he would ever leave the bedroom again. Finally, around noon, Cade surprised her by coming downstairs to take a shower. Other than short bathroom breaks, he had not left their bedroom at all. Callie seized the opportunity to change the sheets on the bed, and as she was finishing up, Cade entered the bedroom with his towel draped around him.

"Would you like some coffee?" She asked.

"That sounds great," Cade said. His head was pounding.

Callie cooked him some eggs and made him some coffee. He devoured them. They didn't talk much. Neither of them knew what to say.

"The Co-op is helping us," Callie finally said.

Cade looked out the window at the progress they had made, which was substantial for one night. "Yeah, I see they made a good start," he said. Then he sat for a while before speaking. "I wonder if we should just give up and go back to the city."

"Go back there to what?" Callie asked. "We have no place to go there, and neither of us have jobs."

"I can't live like this anymore," Cade said dully.

Callie stood at the kitchen sink and closed her eyes, and after a few minutes she finally she spoke. "You're going to let a little thing like a stupid fire make you give up? You've been through a lot more than this in your life Cade. This fire is nothing."

Cade wrinkled his brow, surprised by her spunk.

"You've been brought to your knees a million times," Callie pointed out. "Why is this time any different?" She whirled around.

"I guess I'm tired of fighting," Cade said and he placed his elbows on the table and ran his fingers through his hair. "Next it will be this house they burn, and you or the kids will be inside it or something."

"Not true," Callie said. "We're not going to allow that to happen."

Cade shook his head. "I can't protect us against someone like Pennington. I'm not sure why I ever thought I could."

Callie's heart raced. "The thing is Cade, we aren't in this alone. I realized it yesterday. We have all of our neighbors."

Cade scoffed, "They'll lose interest soon enough," and then he added bitterly, "Pennington will see to that."

It bothered Callie to see Cade this way. The monster she had known five years ago was still inside of him, and although it remained buried for a long time, she sensed it might be emerging again. He didn't seem to care about anything anymore. Dimness surrounded him, and a feeling of utter desperation and hopelessness permeated the room.

When the kids arrived home from school, they were pleased to see that their dad had finally emerged from his bedroom and was sitting on the couch watching television. "Daddy," Jessica squealed and rushed toward him.

Cade took her in his arms and gave her a mechanical hug. He was not feeling much of anything. Ashley and Harley hung back, they wanted to hug him too, but they were afraid to because of his mood. He looked up at them after awhile and slowly put out his arms and hugged Ashley and then Harley. He had mixed feelings inside, as if he had let them down. He lit a cigarette and turned back to look at the television. It was apparent to the children, that even though he had come out of his room, he was not the same as he had been prior to the fire. They almost wanted him to go back inside his room so the house wouldn't seem so dark and brooding with him in the room.