Page 38 of Goodbye Paradise
THANK YOU for all your help!
We have arrived safely at Maggie and Daniel’s place. Things are a little hectic because they are expecting their first baby in just a couple of weeks. But Maggie promises that we aren’t underfoot, and we’re welcome to stay as long as we need to.
Caleb is anxious to find a job right away. But all the garages in the area are a thirty minute drive in various directions, and he has to borrow Maggie’s car or Daniel’s truck if he wants to visit them. So it’s taking him a while.
In the meantime, Caleb is learning how to use Daniel’s computer, and I’m learning how to milk cows. Since I can’t get a job yet (I have no ID, and no transportation,) I want to help Daniel and Maggie in the barn as much as I can.
I enjoy it, actually. Cows are good company. They look forward to seeing me at milking time, and they never get too ruffled about anything. Daniel sells his raw milk to an organic yogurt maker down the road, who picks it up every morning at ten.
When the baby comes, Daniel and Maggie are going to have their hands full, so I figure milking is the least I can do.
That’s all our news, I guess. It might not sound like much, but we’re ridiculously happy to be here. Thank you for all your help. I have no idea how we would have made it here without you. Caleb used Google to calculate that you drove us 1,750 miles.
We appreciate every one of them.
Sincerely,
Joshua Royce
Eleven
Dear Josh,
I am so happy to hear how well you’re doing. When I got home, I told my wife Brenda all about you two. She said you sounded like nice boys.
That was tricky of Caleb to leave me his money. Would you thank him for me?
I never wanted money, though. But there is something you can do for me. When you run across someone who needs help, just do the same forhim. Maybe it will take a while before you figure out who that will be. Just keep your eyes open, okay?
Don’t be a stranger. Let me know how you’re doing. I like hearing from you.
George Washington
(That’s my real name. Don’t laugh too hard.)
Part Two
The Gospel According to Caleb
Twelve
OUR FIRST DAYSwith Maggie and Daniel were filled with small awkwardnesses, as Josh and I tried to figure out how to fit into their lives.
Daniel had his carpentry workshop out back, and he spent his working hours there. But in the evenings, he must have found his own house crowded.
After supper, we all watched television in the living room. “Think of it as cultural education,” Maggie said. The first night, she had us all watching a show she liked about a bunch of rich, stuffy British people. But Josh and I had never had a television, so we were happy to watch anything.
The next night was Daniel’s pick, and he put on a football game. “We have to teach you to be Patriots fans,” he said during the commercial break.
But football had a million rules, and just when things got going, all the players would end up in a heap on the turf. Everything stopped while the camera focused on ornery looking coaches, with their earphones on, and gum in their mouths. The announcers would say a whole lot of nothing, and show the play seventeen more times, in slow motion.
The best part of football, as far as I could tell, was all those muscular athletes running around in very tight pants.
During a commercial, Maggie wandered in and sat down beside her husband, lowering her round body into the sofa with a deep sigh.
“Hey, babe. Can you get me a beer?” Daniel asked, giving her a nudge with his elbow.
Now, I thought it was pretty cold of him to wait until Maggie had gotten comfortable. But even so, what happened next surprised me. Maggie smacked Daniel in the chest and said, “youasshole.”
