same two girls trot their horses along the levie again, \"yeah Dave.
Yeah, it had a lot a years to to get a good purchase on the soil.
That\'s for sure-\" He looked back at the other boys, \"probably older
than the three of you put together.\" They had stopped working, their
sunglasses were all looking-past John\'s right hip. He turned to see his
wife, Nora, slowly walking toward him, John sighed as he thought, \"a
man\'s married to a woman for, for over a quarter century and it comes
to this.\" At fifty Nora was beatiful, reddish-brown hair \' green eyes,
long slender arms. John sighed again, \"you know you haven\'t even set
eyes on her since, since midweek atleast. She looks a lot fresher now,
more rested. Like before the boy died.\" Behind him, he could here the
ax starting to bite into a big root. He felt warm wet air move up his
nose, \"a man\'s married to a woman for half his life, he can\'t stop
loving her because she has come to hate him. Not after a month atleast,
not after half a life. Probably best to make plans to pack up.\" He
pivoted around back toward the stump, then looked down at the soil
between the toes of his boots, \"if this damn stump here\'s out today,
why you can move into town tomorrow.\"

\_,@ i

The soil was dark and rich and damp, it looked like it could never be
dry or ever possibly blow away. He lifted his eyes toward the Southern
Sierrals, for a moment, he saw a rope held strung across Roaring River
on the upper reaches near Scaffold Meadow. \"Two, three Augusts ago.\"
He and the boy were fording the river, packs on, one hand on the rope
and the other spread wide above the white water and slippery grey
granite. John felt Nora\'s hand slide around his lower back and rest on
his hip. He counted the sunglasses as they rose up to-ward him one by
one. \"Dave, Eric, Allen, this is Nora.\" She sounded like she was
smiling, \"so ski pants are the new thing for removing stumps hey?\" The
boys all looked down at themselves and laughed, then they smiled back up
at her. Nora always got along with boys around this age, she just had a
way with them. John turned to look at her for the first time, she was
smiling at him, \"hi John.\" The ax bit into that big root again, she
put her free hand\'on John\'s cheek, \"so what\'s this all about here?\"
A shovel full of peat soil landed on John\'s cowboy boot, Nora looked
down and laughed, \"whereld you find these guys John? The bowling
alley?\"

Nora lead him a few steps away from the diggings, \"John, so what\'s
this here.\" \"Nora.\" He looked away second, some black birds were over
pecking the roof of his pickup. \"Nora.\" He moved his head west and saw
that the sun had passed beyond Mount Diablo Now. Shafts of light bent
down toward the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, \"Nora
I\'m sorry. I can\'t say how much I\'m 5orry.11 Far off in the east, the
sunset reflected off a stainless stain tanker trucks, He wondered, \"are
there any dairy farms left in the Delta.\" An\'quick breeze cooled his
cheeks and he adjusted his stance to look into Nora\'s beautiful green
eyes. He brushed something off his cheek before he spoke, \"a man tries
is whole damn life, the best that he can. He slips up and,

1 0

rather be on the Coast or up in Oregon or anywhere but here. Ofcourse
sometimes it\'ll be a whole bunch of places filled with everything under
the sun. Canals, rows and rows of orchards, green fields and white
houses under big shade trees just leafing out. Fruit stands. Highways
with dirt roads running along side, tradtors with dogs1running along
behind. And then there\'s the

**Delta** itself.\" \"John?\" \"Yes Nora?\" \"I think the boys are

**hungry. 11** \"OK. 11

John lowered his head, then everyone lowered their head and the candles
reflected off their dinner plates. \"Lord, thank you for these blessings
we see before us, on this\'special day where family, new friends, good
food and spirit have come together.\" John looked up beyond the two
candles to Nora, then over at Allen, and back down to his hands spread
face down on his plate. He folded them, \"grace doesn\'t come easy for
me this evening. I guess I just have a couple of bones to pick with you
these days. I don\'t think you should have taken our Johnny or Allen\'s
little brother, Mark. You may think, doesn\'t he realize that if I
didn\'t take them that the future would be all wrong. That rivers would
cross instead of merge, that, that the moon, would fall from the sky if
I let those boys stay on earth one second longer.\' And you might say
that we didn\'t do a perfect job of watching over Johnny and Mark. Well
maybe you\'re right, maybe you\'re not. But the way I see,it, now it\'ll
be your turn to watch over them. I\'m asking you to do a perfect job of
watching over these two nineteen year old boys who had a lot still to
say if you\'d given them the chance. So I ask you as a servant for some
fifty years to watch carefully over these two boys who now are with you
Lord.\" He lifted his head and saw Nora smiling softly in the
candles,-she shook her head gently from side to side and he lowered his
head again, \"and another thing Lord.\" \"John?\" He lifted his head,
\"what?\" \"We\'re all hungry honey.\" \"OK. Amen.\"

Around two or three John woke, he could hear Nora breathing next to him
for the first time in a month. For no reason he remembered when she was
pregnant with Johnny, \"she really had to breathe for two then. Then
Johnny was born and he slept right over there and you could hear her
breathe softly again and once and awhile you could hear him breathe too.
And sometimes when he was quiet a long time you\'d get up and golover to
make sure he was still breathing and he always was-,\'

3 0

To Nora everything seemed right at the table now, \"a table covered with
flowers and foods and surrounded by warm faces. Seeing John at the other
end kind of balances things nicely\"\' John smiled at the boys, \"you
know I really appreciate what-you guys did for us today.\" Allen\'s eye
didn\'t look too bad in the candle light, \"hey John. Like you said, it
was better than , watching reruns of the Wide World of Sports.\" John
and the boys all laughed, \"Dad! That\'s how you talked them into
working for You?\" Melissa shook her head, \"don\'t understand why men
do the things they do.\" Dave wispered something to Eric, Nora kicked
Dave in the shin, \"I\'m not so sure she wouldn\'t call your bluff there
Dave.\" Even in the candlelight Nora could see Dave getting red,
\"that\'reminds me. Melissa is starting Berkeley in the fall and she and
Johnny were going to leave together and now.\" A sharp pain in her chest
caused her to stop. She resumed smiling, \"And now she\'s going over
there by herself-\" The boys all looked at Melissa, s \' he looked away,
then back at Dave. Melissa cleared her throat, \"hey it\'ll be no big
deal. All I want is a tour of the campus is all. You mind?\" Dave
knodded, \"anytime.\"

The timer on the oven sounded and Melissa got up to get the lasagna,
John clapped his hands together, \"so let me see. Who gets wine?\" He
reached out to move Allen\'s wine glass in front of Erin, \"guess
everyone but Allen.\" \"Oh this is great. I\'m the only one who\'s
twenty-one and I don\'t get any wine.\" Nora laughed, \"I\'ll take that
as a compliment.\" Allen pointed a finger at Erin, \"I mean she\'s only
what?\' Sixteen and you\'re giving her a glass and not me.\" Erin smiled
at him, \"tough Allen.\" John looked back to Allen, \"you\'re driving. I
have enough to feel guilty about without seeing a picture in the
newspaper of the tailend of that fancy German car of your sticking out
of the front end of some semi.\" Eric tilted forward to look at Allen,
\"yeah Allen. I can see the picture caption now. \'BMW meets Mac on
Altam6nt Pass.\' Would look good on the refrigerator door hey.\" Allen
brushed something off his cheek, \"Yeah call it \'sympathy for the Devil
at Altamont\' why not.\"

Melissa placed the lasagna on the table between her mother\'s plate and
the candles. John squeezed Allen\'s wrist, \"no. No Allen I really
appreciate the help you gave me today.\" Allen looked down at his plate,
\"I think it was good we came out to your place today John. Maybe drop
by some time, next ski season or something.\" Allen\'looked over at Nora
and then down again,

\"that is **If** it\'ll be alright with Nora-\" Dave shifted his
shoulder back to twist toward Allen, he could see Mark when he looked at
Allen\'s profile. Dave moved his eyes to John, \"yeah. Yeah it was good
we came here today. To where ever we are.11 Erin laughed, \"River Bend.
This is\'River Bend. Where did\'you think you were?\" All three boys say
in unison\' \"the Central Valley.\" John lifted his head toward the
ceiling and started to smile,,he could hear Nora and the girls laughing.
He lowered his head to the boys, \"yeah. I guess your right. Sometimes
that\'s all this is. The big space between San Franesico and the Sierras
filled with\'either fog or heat, and a lot of kids who would

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