Page 56 of The Same Flesh
“This is a five-strand rope maker,” his dad said.“Bet you didn’t know your grandfather made his own rope.”
“Was he making it in the nursing home?Why did he still have that?”
“This is a piece of family history.They don’t make them like this anymore.”
Let it go.It doesn’t matter.It’s his father, and he’s dealing with it in his own way.
But then Tean’s dad said, “Your grandfather could do anything.Anything.He was the smartest man I ever met.”
The smartest man had once hit Tean so hard on the ear—formouthing off, which in this case, meant Tean had corrected him when he’d identified a Eurasian collared dove as a mourning dove—that Tean hadn’t been able to hear anything out of that ear for the rest of the day.
“Brought himself up from nothing, too,” his dad was saying.“They didn’t make kids go to school back in his day, but he wanted to learn.He had to earn his own money to ride the bus.And if he didn’t have enough money, he got up at five in the morning and walked.”
“And he walked in the snow,” Tean said.“Both ways.”
His dad raised his head.His expression was unreadable.After a moment, he said, “I want you to have his wedding ring.”
“No, thank you.”
“He would have wanted you to have it.”
Tean almost laughed, but he managed not to.“Dad, I know this is difficult.And I’m not trying to rush you.But I don’t even know what we’re doing.Are we going through all these boxes right now?Because that’s a big project, and unless it’s something we need to do today, I’m supposed to be at work.”
“Oh, come on.It’ll only take a couple of hours, and then we’ll get lunch.”
“It’s going to take a lot more than a couple of hours.And where’s Amos?Where are the rest of them?”
“Amos is running errands.Seth is out trying to find more boxes.Your sisters are at home, watching the kids.And Tim and Corom had to work.”
“I had to work, Dad.”
“But that’s different.They’ve got families to provide for.”
Somewhere down the hall, a machine began to beep.The noise was high-pitched and urgent, and it went on and on.
“I’m going to help you tape up these boxes,” Tean said.“And then I’ll help you load them in my truck.And I’ll drive them over to your apartment.But I don’t have time to sit here and go through each one with you.”
“Tean, if you need to get back to work, go ahead.I’ll be fine here by myself.It’ll all get done.”
No, Tean almost said—and it sounded like a scream inside his head.It won’t.
That machine was still beeping.
And then it wasn’t.
Tean grabbed the roll of packing tape, crossed the room to the wall of boxes, and took the first one down.
“Not that one,” his dad said.“I haven’t looked through that one yet.
“Dad, we don’t have time to look at all of them right now.”
“I’ll be quick.”
And because the alternative was losing his temper with a man who was recently bereaved, Tean handed the box to his father.As his father unfolded the cardboard flaps and the smell of musty paper floated out, Tean grabbed the box with the rope maker and taped it shut.He set it near the door, starting a new pile.And grabbed the next one on the coffee table.This held a wedge of oxidized metal.
“That’s a hog splitter,” Tean’s dad said.“I bet you didn’t know he had that.”
I bet, Tean thought.
