elsa arendelle who had lost her father at three and who had never known a grandmother never expected to find a father as she enterred her middle age but that was exactly what happen although she called this man a friend as a grown woman must do when she finds the man who should have been her father relatively late in life. she met this man on the evening she and her wife and her two children moved into the big white frame house in ludlow. winston churchill moved in with them. church was her daughter eileens cat.

The search commitee at the university had moved slowly the hunt for a house within commuting distance of the yniversity had been hair raising and by the time they neared the place where she blieved the house to be all the landmarks are right like the astrological signs the night before caesar was assassinated elsa thought morbidly they were all tired and tense and on edge.

Gage was cutting teeth and fussed almost ceaselessly. he would not sleep no matter how much anna sang to him. she offered him the breast even though it was off his schedule. gage knew his dining schedule as well as she better maybe and he prompty bit her with his new teeth. anna still not entirely sure about this move to main from chicago where she had lived her whole life burst into tears. eileen promptly joined her. in the back of the station wagon church continued to pace restlessly as he had done for the last three days it had taken them to drive from xhicago. his yowling from the cat kennel had been bad but his restless pacing after they finally gave up and set him free in the car had been almost as unnerving.

elsa herself felt a little like crying. a wild but not unattractive idea suddenly came to her she would suggest that they go back to bangor for something to eat while they waited for the moving van and when her three hostages to fortune got out she would floor the accelerator and drive away without so much as a look back and foot to the mat the wagons huge four barrel carburetor gobbling expensive gasoline. she would drive south all the way to orlando florida where she would get a job at disney world as a medic under a new name. but before she hit the turnpike big old 95 southbound she would stop by the side of the road and put the fucking cat out too.

then they rounded a final curveand there was the house that only she had aeen up untill now. she had flown out and looked at each of the seven possible they had picked from photos once the position at the university of maine was solidly hers and this was the one she had choosen a big old new england colonial but newly sided and insulated the heating costs while horrible enough were were not out of line in terms of consumption three big rooms downstairs four more up a long shed that might be coverd to more rooms later on all of ut surrounded by a luxuriant sprawl of lawn lushy green even in this august heat.

beyond the house was a large field for the children to play in and beyond the feild were woods that went on damn near forever. the propwrty abutted state lands the realtor had explained and there would be no development in the foresewable future. the remains of the micmac indian tribe had laid claim to nearly eight thousand acres in ludlow and in the towns east of ludlow and the complicated litigation involving the fedreral goverment as well as that of the state might might stretch into the next century.

anna stopped crying abruptly she sat up is that?

thats it elsa said. she felt apprehensive no she fwlt scared. in fact he felt terrified. she had mortgaged twelve years of their lives for this it wouldnt be paid off untill eileen was seventeen.

she swallowed.

what do u think?

i think its beautiful anna said and that was a huge weight off her chest and off her mind. she was not kidding she saw it was in the way she was looking at it as they turned in the asphalted driveway that curved around to the shed in back her eyes sweeping the blank windows her mind already ticking away at such matters as curtains and oilcloth for the cupboards and god knew what else.

mother? ellie said from the back seat. she had stopped crying as well. even gage had stopped fussing . elsa savored the silence.

what love?

her brown eyes under the darkish blonde hair in the rearview mirror also surveyed the house the lawn the the roof of another house off to the left in the distance and the big feild stretching up to the woods.

is this home?

its going to be honey she said

hooray she shouted almost taking her ear off. and elsa who could sometimes become very irritates with ellie becided she dint care if she clapped an eye on disney world in orlando. she parked in front of the shed and turned off the wagons motor.

the engine ticked. in the silence which seemed very big after chicago and bustle of state street and loop bird sang sweetly in the late afternoon home anna said softly still looking at the the house. home gage said complacently on her lap. elsa and anna stared at each other. in the rearview nirror eileens eyes widened did you did she was that they all spoke together then all laugged together. gage took no notice he only continued to suck his thymb he had been saying ma for almost a month to anna now and had taken a stab or two at something that might have been ma to her or only wishful thinking on elsas part. but this either by accident or imitation had been a real word home. elsa plucked gagw from her wifes lap and hugged him

that was how they came to ludlow.