Page 91 of A Lifetime of Afters
Hawk unfolded a square of paper from his pocket and cleared his throat.
“Hunter was a dreamer…and a doer. I wish I could say he dragged us kicking and screaming into his madcap schemes, but that would be a lie. None of us tolerated boredom well. You’d think it would be an impossibility growing up here the way we did, but we had our moments. Lots of them if the following list is any indication.”
Max began to chuckle beside me.
“Hunter was also a storyteller. He reveled in shocking and delighting us with the retelling of his escapades. If he was still with us, he would have told you by now, I’m sure. So, I’m going to take this opportunity to clear up a few mysteries. If he’s looking down on us, he is rubbing his hands together and grinning, ready for the big reveal. And happy he is out of range of Mom’s slippers.”
“Yeah,” Harley hooted, “but we’re not.”
“I’m not afraid,” Hawk grinned at her. “I’ve already taken the punishment for almost all of these.”
Max groaned beside me as Hawk continued.
“The Portal to Hell? That was Hunter.”
“Fish in the swimming pool? Hunter. We should have thought that through a little more. The shock you saw on our faces that morning was real. We did not expect those poor fish to die. Hunter cried for weeks.”
“He really did,” Harley nodded with a smile.
“Do you remember the smell, Dan?” Lou asked.
“How could I forget? I swear I still smell it every time I go to the pool area.”
Hawk smiled at me over their laughter. “The year the koi pond got overrun by frogs? That was Hunter’s idea. We spent two days transferring tadpoles from the river. In our defense, we thought we were doing our bit for the environment.”
“Bet you never knew before the great cotton ball mystery that a cotton ball dipped in water will freeze to anything. Hunter knew. We all agreed the momobile never looked better. The extra chores were well worth the look on your faces when you saw it the next morning.”
Dad laughed out loud, probably remembering Lou’s outrage over her baby covered in fluffy, frozen, polka dots.
“The amazing lawn tractor race that took over main street? Hunter’s baby. We ran a betting pool for that. Made enough money to take us all to the movies. That was, uh, also the night of the not so amazing snowmobile heist in which Harley sprained her ankle and Dad nearly finished us all off.”
Max, Harley, and I all groaned.
Hawk held up appeasing hands to his dad. “We are still sorry. Please, let’s not talk about it again.”
“Remember the keys to the carousel went missing for a few days? It’s time Hunter got the credit for his brilliant mind. Hunter made copies before getting them back to Old Man Gilley. We rode those ponies every night after the island closed.”
Lou clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.
“Our childhood was magical. We laughed. A lot. And we laughed more because of Hunter.”
Harley sniffed.
“He was also a planner. He had these old school style folders, and every year before his birthday, he made his plans.”
“Some of the items related to work, others definitely belonged in the play category and not all of those were PG. I’ll save those to share when you old folks go home. Because he loved to make us laugh and I’d like to give that to him.”
Tears ran down my face. Max handed me a tissue and curled his arm around the back of the couch.
“Life was never boring with Hunter around and I wish, with all my heart, that he was here because Hunter was the best brother a man could wish for. I loved him. I love him still. And I’ll love and miss him always.”
Hawk carefully folded the piece of paper into four. Nobody moved until Harley threw herself across his chest and clung to him.
He held her close and rocked her while she cried. Her quiet sobs loud in the silent room, and we all heard her clearly when she threatened, “If you ever speak of this, I’ll slit your throat in your sleep.”
He chuckled and released her. “I have no doubt.”
When she drew back, he stood and faced his parents.
