Sunday morning, we left for mansionville. On the way Easton said, “Mommy, I drew the mean lady a rainbow. Can I give it to her?”
“You can if she’s there. If she isn’t, Landry can give it to her.”
“Okay. Can I get a horse?”
“Where would you keep it?”
“In the garage. We could let it out in the backyard to play every day.”
“Don’t you think it would get tired of the garage? And who would shovel up all the poop?”
She laughed from the back seat. “Horses don’t poop. Only doggies.”
“Peanut, all animals poop.”
“Huh-uh.”
“Yes, baby, they do.”
“Even fishes and turtles?”
“Even fish and turtles.”
“I didn’t see no poop from Sally.”
“Any poop. You didn’t see any poop.”
“I know. Sally didn’t have no poop.”
“She did. You didn’t pay any attention.”
When we pulled up to meet Landry, Easton was still babbling about horse poop.
“Hey, Landry. Does Sally poop?” Easton called out as she hopped down from the car.
“That’s quite a greeting, sport, but yep, I’m afraid she does.”
“Will you show me?” She skipped to where he waited.
“You wanna see Sally’s poop?”
Easton nodded.
I added, “She has this notion we could get a horse and keep it in the garage. Then for play, we could let it out in the backyard, but I asked her about cleaning up the poop.”
“Got it. Easton, let me show you something.” We followed him to the back of the stables where there was a big pile of horse manure.
“What’s that?” When she got a whiff of the stuff, she pinched her nose.
“Horse poop.” Landry nodded as she looked at him. Her eyes were comical as they grew.
“Wow. Did Sally make all that?”
“Not all but most.” Landry winked at me.
“Told ya, peanut. Do you want to scoop all that out of the garage?”
“No way, Jose. That’s wayyyy too much poop. Why does she gotta poop so much?”
“It’s a ton because she’s so big,” I said. Maybe she’d circle back to getting a dog.
“You ready to ride, Clyde?” Landry asked.
“My name’s not Clyde.” She giggled.
“Yeah, but it rhymed and I like it. Come on.” He held out his hand and she latched on.
Once she sat high up on Sally, off they went. I was primed and ready for Ravina, only she never showed. It was probably for the best. I didn’t need any of her nasty conflict.
When Easton and Landry were finished, he walked us to the car.
Easton pulled the picture out of her pocket. “Will you give this to that mean lady? I drawed her a picture so she could know what a rainbow was.”
Oh, my sweet baby girl and her big heart. Landry didn’t understand, so I explained what it meant to be under the rainbow.
“I don’t think she can ever be under one if nobody ever teached her about them.” Easton stared at Landry with huge eyes.
“Do you even know how sweet you are?” he asked.
She just stared at him. “But Uncle Landry, rainbows and oonicorns are for everyone. Maybe this will help the lady not be so mean.”
“Can I have a hug?” he asked.
“Yup.”
He knelt down and she hugged him.
“Thank you for taking me to ride Sally again. Next time I’ll bring her carrots. And I don’t want a horse no more. They make too much poop.”
“Didn’t think you would. It’s pretty stinky.”
Easton pinched her nose and nodded.
“Thanks, Landry. Next week?” I asked.
“Sure. I’ll text you.”
We got in the car and drove home. The winding road was deserted, as usual, since it was private, but the day was sunny and perfect. I wasn’t a fast driver, but as I drove, I thought of Tristian and Dad and wondered how they were faring,
As I went into the next curve, I hit the brakes, but the car didn’t respond. I hit them again and nothing. My car wasn’t old. Mom and Dad had bought it for me about a year ago and I’d kept up the maintenance. Dad had been adamant I had to have an SUV because of Easton. He was a stickler for vehicle safety and preached it all the time. My speed was around forty, but without brakes, it wasn’t good. I hit the emergency brake and that didn’t slow us down either. I clenched the steering wheel, knuckles turning white, as an overload of panic hit. Terror filled me when I thought of Easton in the back seat. My heartbeat drummed in my ears as an adrenaline surge took hold. I didn’t dare blink for fear I’d completely lose control. Think, English, think, my mind shouted. A miracle came in the form of a memory. I did something I’d read about. I put the car in neutral to separate the engine from the wheels. If I could maintain control, eventually the car would slow down as long as we didn’t come to any hills.
My phone was in the side pocket of my purse so I fumbled for it with a shaky hand and finally pulled it out. I stabbed 911 and explained my location and what was happening. The operator on the other end had to clarify a few times because my voice was trembling so much.
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Easton cried out from the back seat. Had I pulled her buckle tight? Oh, God, I couldn’t remember.
“Everything will be fine.” Was I reassuring her or both of us? I wanted to believe it with my whole heart. If anything happened to my precious daughter, I couldn’t go on.
And everything would’ve been fine and this episode would’ve ended without incident, except another car came flying toward me, running me off the road. It happened so fast, I couldn’t think or even react. There was nothing to stop the impact and I went down into a ravine, struck a tree, and flipped. Darkness claimed me as Easton screamed.
Chapter Forty-Four
Tristian
The jungle where we stayed was amazing. It teemed with incredible wildlife, of which I took thousands of photos. I thought of Easton as I snapped pics of the red-shanked douc, an incredible species of monkey with a face resembling a flame. Then there were the lemurs and the pygmy slow loris, which we saw at night. It was adorable and I knew Easton would love it. The birds were especially beautiful and we got the photos we had come here to get, including those of the Japanese paradise flycatcher.
The only drawback was it was hot as fuck, with temperatures soaring into the high nineties and matching humidity making it oppressive. It didn’t matter what I wore, my clothes were glued to my skin when I walked outside of our treehouse. Thank God it had air-conditioning. It wasn’t the kind you typically found in the States, but at least it cooled the place to a decent temperature where we could sleep without soaking the sheets.
It was truly a paradise, minus the heat, and after ten days we completed what we set out to do and headed for our next destination, the Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve. It wasn’t too far from here, and we’d make the trip by boat.
The only major drawback was I still hadn’t spoken to English. “Beck, how can you stand it?”
“Stand what?”