ATE CAUGHT UP on the daily happenings of her children dur ing dinnertime. It was her favorite part of the day. She always took time to ask each how their day went and what projects they were working on in school. Alan seemed quiet. He usually didn’t say much. Don wondered how he was so successful in sales without talking.
After a blessing on the food, Jake started out by telling all about
the neat gadgets his friend’s dad owned. The man was in the excavation business. He’d let Jake and his son Bryce drive some equipment, but only in the construction yard. Jake, always curious, loved anything mechanical.
“So, Don, how’s work?” Kate asked when the children had finished.
“Pretty good,” he answered nonchalantly.
Cecily glanced over at Don, then gave him a little nudge. “Tell ‘em.”
Christina took it from there. “Tell us what, Daddy? Come on.”
“It’s nothing much.”
Cecily tried to stifle a laugh. “I’ll tell, then!” she muttered. “He got a raise and a promotion today. You’re lookin’ at the company’s newest salesman. The boss was so impressed by his work....” Her voice tailed off; she’d spilled the important parts, at least.
Don sat in mute embarrassment as the family expressed their best wishes. Kate said it didn’t surprise her at all. Alan even made a few congratulatory remarks.
After supper the children headed for the river. “You be careful, and stick together,” Kate exclaimed as they bolted for the door.
“And be back before sundown,” Alan added as the door slammed behind them.
Don helped with the dishes and Cecily followed suit. As she cleaned up, Kate peppered Cecily with friendly questions.
“Where are you from?”
“Denver. I moved here five years ago, to go to school.”
“What did you study?”
“Mostly worked on my general education. I dropped out about three years ago when I couldn’t afford to continue. My grades weren’t that great, anyway.”
“So, have you worked at Cobblecrete ever since?”
“Ralph and my dad were good friends a long time ago. I was supposed to get married, but two weeks before the wedding my fiancé backed out. The wedding invitations were sent and everything. I had to call all the guests and tell them not to come. That’s when I talked to Ralph for the first time. Didn’t know him well, but he told me to call him if I ever needed a job.”
Within half an hour, Don knew more about Cecily than he’d learned in the three days at work. She came from a large family— five boys, two girls—and she was the oldest....Her father was only able to help with tuition a few semesters. Soon she was working summers and nights to support herself in school....After the wedding thing, she’d dropped out altogether. She made a decent living working for Ralph, but wanted to try something more exciting—just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
Don walked her to the Jeep. Enroute, she asked him where the tree house was. Christina had pointed it out on one of their walks. “Somewhere near the dead end of Sixth and Fir,” Don told her.
“Come on,” she enthused, “let’s go see it.” She grabbed Don by the hand and pulled him toward the Jeep. He hesitated a moment, then joined in the chase, though he felt a little like a school boy. Cecily rumbled down the dirt road at the end of Fir. The dust shot up and hung in the air around them as they got out of the Jeep. “Isn’t this where they found that girl?” Cecily inquired, her thoughts a bit uneasy.
“I’m not sure.” Don hadn’t kept up on the events of the city when he was in jail. “I’m not that good at current events,” he added as they pressed toward the river. The sun sagged low on the horizon and the shade from the big ash trees made the evening air cool. The sound of the rushing water off in the distance made for a soothing stroll. They traversed through the undergrowth in silence, each pondering their blooming friendship.
As they drew closer to the river, swarms of mosquitoes were there to greet them. The sound of hammering could be heard in the distance as they plodded through the greenery.
“I think they’re over there.” Don pointed toward the sound.
The ground under their feet was wet. The mosquitoes were almost intolerable. Cecily angled back and forth, tiptoeing across the more marshy spots. “I think we’re in a swamp. My feet are getting wet.” She took several steps back, vainly trying to escape the green water now seeping up the sides of her white canvas shoes. “Let’s walk along the bank of the river; it seems higher.” She took Don’s hand and guided him eastward.
Switchbacking down the steep sides of the river bank to a deer trail that ran parallel to the gushing stream, the going got easier. Even the mosquitoes seemed to let up their steady assault as they headed south. Cecily didn’t let go of Don’s hand, even when they crested the bank to listen for where the children were. The rushing water still drowned out the hammering sound they’d heard earlier. But as they made their way through the rocks and brush, once more they picked up the sounds of construction. Afew more steps and Don could make out the rough-built shape of a shack, perched in the branches of a tall ash.
“Daddy!” Don let go of Cecily’s hand and peered up to see his daughter, standing atop the roof of the flimsy structure, some 30 feet in the air. Don’s heart did a somersault.
“Chrissy! Get down from there!” In his mind he could see her tumbling off the roof and landing in a heap on the rocks below.
“It’s okay, Dad,” she reassured, “I’ve got a safety rope on.” Acloser look proved her right. A climbing harness was fastened around his daughter’s waist, linked to a rope which was tied off on a thick limb.
Don chuckled, now interested in checking the place out himself. “How’d you get up there?”
“I’ll lower the ladder!” Jake called back, his head poking from the window on the side where they stood. A trap door on the bottom of the tree house dropped open and a sturdy rope-and-board ladder rolled down the massive trunk of the old ash.
Don stepped back to stay clear of the plunging apparatus. The last rung made one last flop as it stopped two feet short of the ground. “I want to go up first,” Cecily begged.
Don stepped to the side. “After you.”
Cecily seized the third rung of the ladder, stepped up, and began twisting partway around. Don grabbed her by the waist to keep her from smacking against the tree. “Be careful,” grinned Jake from above. “It’s not like climbing a normal ladder.... You have to lean against the tree or you’ll tip to the side.” Danny watched from the hole in the floor above. “Girls always fall the first time.”
At the slight, Cecily shot him a look, then regained her balance and ascended the ladder. Reluctantly, Don let go of her. As she cautiously scaled the rope above him, he couldn’t help but notice her shapely figure. Almost halfway up, Don decided to badger her a bit by jiggling the rope from below. She stopped climbing and reached out to cling onto a nearby branch. Danny again took the opportunity for some friendly taunting.
“Stop it, guys. It’s scary the first time.” Christina turned and slapped the nearest shoulder in protest.
Danny pulled his arm back as if it hurt. “Stop, guys. It’s scary,” he mimicked.
Jake came to the defense of the woman hovering below. “Okay, guys, that’s enough.”
Cecily let go of the limb, and scaled the remaining few yards. “That wasn’t a bit scary,” she said, pulling herself onto the platform. Then, turning to Danny, she made a fist. “I’m gonna get you,” she said in mock anger. “And when that big fella comes up, he’ll be next!” She obviously had learned from her younger brothers how to keep them in line.
The ceiling of the house was too low for them to stand up straight. They had to bend or kneel to keep from hitting their heads. Don started up the ladder. The boards creaked as the load of his weight pulled at the structure. “You’re gonna break it, Daddy,” a concerned voice cautioned.
“Naw,” Jake countered,“my dad’s been up lots of times, and he’s bigger than Uncle Don.”
Christina removed her harness as she eased herself down off the roof. Don complimented them on the job they’d done building the house. Cecily leaned back and listened. She observed the way he made them feel good about themselves by praising their frail structure, pieced together with leftover scraps from nearby construction projects. She didn’t think much of the workmanship—but then, she was “just a girl”.
“What a beautiful sunset,” remarked Christina. Everyone turned to look out the window opening to the west. The sky was a blaze of orange and yellow.
“We’re late,” Jake announced. “We’d better get going.”
Christina was first down the ladder. Cecily was next, followed by Don. Danny, however, climbed to the roof. Just as Don was halfway down, a rope flew past him through the air, Danny attached to the end. He arched downward, taking a slight upward turn when he approached the ground. Letting go, he landed softly.
The moment Don dismounted, Jake began to pull the ladder up through the trap door, rolling it with exactness for its next dramatic descent. “Come on, Jake. We’re going to be late,” Danny called anxiously. He knew what a stickler their dad was for being on time.
“I can give you a ride, if you want,” Cecily offered.
“Okay. You, Christina, and Uncle Don can start back and we’ll catch up in a minute. Besides, it’s a secret how we get back up there, without a ladder to climb.”
The three were twenty yards down-river when Jake’s whoop rang through the forest. Don turned back in time to see him rapelling to the ground below.
“I know the secret,” Christina said proudly. “I snuck up one day and saw how they do it. You see they have this....”
Her dad stopped her. “Maybe you’d better keep it a secret.”
“You’re right,” Christina sighed.
After only a few minutes, the boys caught up with them.
Not far from the Jeep, the boys pulled their skate boards from the tall grass where they were stashed, and Christina retrieved her old Stingray bike, which she’d camouflaged behind some bushes. By the time Don and Cecily arrived, the boards, bike and backpacks had been loaded in the space behind the rear seat.
As Cecily drove, the conversation drifted to the manhunt and Ashley’s subsequent rescue in the woods. Christina made sure everyone knew she was her good friend, adding for good measure, “Officer Stacey’s sister Emily is also in our class.”
Once in the driveway the boys got out, unloaded the gear, and headed inside.
“You’re coming with us to work on the tree house tomorrow, aren’t you?” Christina asked Cecily.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” she smiled. Don was surprised by the offer— and more so by the subsequent answer. “That is,” Cecily countered, “unless your daddy doesn’t want me to.”
“No. No, that’s not it....” Don paused. “I’m just wondering who’ll pack lunch. I got kind of hungry up there.”
“Christina and I will.” Cecily revved up the Jeep.
Dusk set in as Don and Christina watched her pull away. “She likes you a lot,” Christina said, poking her dad in the ribs in the exact same spot where Cecily had earlier.