The Barn: Chapter One

By John Casey And Doug Campbell
He was uncomfortable during the 30-minute drive to the airport.

Because he hadn’t slept well the night before? No… Then guilt,

perhaps. Long suppressed and only now breaking through some

visceral barrier constructed by his subconscious an unknown time ago.

Things undone; things left unsaid. Keith left New England to pursue

his dreams years ago, and he never looked back. Perhaps he should

have.

He took his eyes off the road momentarily to glance at the sepia faded picture of his mother laying on the passenger seat. In less than

seven hours, Keith Conway would soon be back in his hometown to

see her and his brother John once again.

A reunion was well overdue. Keith hadn’t visited since he took the

job with ExxonMobil. Eight years of trudging bleak, expansive

landscapes on a multitude of extended trips to Nigeria from Houston.

Week after week, month after month of crunching mountains of

resultant data. Until one year turned to the next, and the next. He

couldn’t believe it had been this long. It took a call from his brother

telling him of their mother’s decline in health to finally prompt his

return to New Hampshire.

The silence had been the hardest part for John. He was the

sensitive one. Their mother had become progressively withdrawn over

the years. Little by little, dementia robbed her of her reason, her

personality, and then seemingly (and maliciously), her soul. When he

visited it was more to converse with the nursing staff about her

condition than to interact with her. Much of the person she had once

been was now gone. He would sit next to her as she lay there, staring

blankly at whatever mindless program emanated from the small

television mounted near the ceiling on the wall.

The entire staff there loved her. Though she was quietly losing

touch, much of the time in some faraway world known only to her, she

smiled often and never caused any trouble. On very rare occasions of

clarity, she would ask about their families and how their days were

going. They called her Sweet April. John visited at least twice a week,

always hoping to catch her on a good day. He remained thankful his

small-town job gave him the flexibility to take time from work when

needed. Unfortunately, the last few weeks had seen her health worsen.

Then a rise in her blood pressure. She fell twice during that time,

hitting her head at one point, and bad enough to require stitches. John

called Keith and asked him to come home.

© John Casey & Doug Campbell 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; Published with permission (PHiR Publishing, San Antonio, TX)

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