"Lucille? Can you hear me?" Jeff was using the toy radio again.
"Jeff, oh, Jeff. Where've you been?"
"We're here, honey. We're at the avalanche."
"You've brought help?"
"They're on their way… How's Pa?"
"Hey there, Son."
"Pa!" Jeff at once felt relieved and frightened at the sound of his father's voice. He was sounding weak and tired. "Are you okay?"
"Not really, Son." He was trying to sound lighthearted. "My leg's stuck. I can't move it."
"Anything else?"
"One or two scratches."
"Just relax, Pa. Help's coming."
John and Scott were standing beside the car. Virgil was still inside, trapped by his seat belt. "Scott! Help me!"
Scott leaned into the car and roughly released the belt. Virgil quickly climbed out. "Where's Ma?"
"Under there," John breathed.
"But she can't be. It's snow."
"It's an avalanche," Scott told him. "The snow was on the hills and it's slipped off and covered the car."
"Scott. We've got to do something!" John faced his older brother.
"Yeah, but what?"
"Dig?"
"Use your brains, John. Through all that? They could be anywhere."
Stung John turned away. As he did so they heard Lucille's voice. "Oh, no. Now Alan's cryi…"
As the radio in John's hand turned away from the avalanche scene, the signal became more indistinct.
"John!" Scott's command forced his younger brother to spin round to face him. "Point the radio at the snow." Bewildered, John complied. "Now move it slowly until you get a strong signal."
"… got him now. He's quieted down." Their mother's voice was heard clearly again.
"Hold it there!" Scott commanded. He got a stick and laid it down in front of his brother so it was pointing in the same direction as the radio.
"That's where Ma is?" John was starting to sound hopeful. "That's where we dig?"
"No, we don't know how far away they are. Gimme your radio." Scott grabbed it from Virgil's unresisting hands and started running along towards the avalanche. Fortunately for his plan his father and grandmother didn't see him.
"How cold are you, honey?" Jeff was asking.
"It's not cold. In fact, it's starting to get quite warm."
Scott was scrambling along the edge of the avalanche. He was aware that he was putting himself in some danger, but was determined to do something practical. "I'm coming, Ma," he said to himself.
He eventually decided that he had gone as far as he'd dare and tried picking up the signal from the trapped car again. He was partially surprised to find that his trick worked. Once again he marked the direction of the signal. Now what? He ran back towards where he'd left his brothers, stopping once along the way to take another reading. He now had a good idea of the direction in which he wanted to dig.
"C'mon, Johnny. Let's start digging!"
"What with?" John asked practically.
Scott looked at the hubcaps on the car. They were a slightly curved solid disk, to his mind they would be ideal. He pulled out his pocket knife and jimmied open the lock that held the hubcap in place. Then he grabbed John by the sleeve and dragged him towards the spot he'd marked. "Start digging there, in that direction. I'll be back in a moment."
He ran back to the rear wheel of the car and deftly removed the second hubcap for himself. As he stood up he was confronted by Virgil. His younger brother was just standing there, hands outstretched, ready to take the disk of silver metal, ready to help. Scott hesitated and then thrust the hubcap into Virgil's hands. "John will show you where to dig," he said brusquely. He then went to get a tool for himself.
As he reached the car wheel he glanced over at where his brothers were digging. John was doing okay, but Virgil was struggling. The hubcap was too big for his still-small hands. Scott opened the car's back door and grabbed a backpack. Fishing around inside he found a stainless steel mug. Running back to Virgil, he took the hubcap from him, replacing it with the mug. "Use that!" Virgil did so, to greater effect. Scott now applied himself to the task of digging.
"Jeff. Your father wants a word with your mother."
Jeff handed the radio over to the frightened woman beside him. "I-I'm here!"
"Hey, Sweet-Pea." At the words, Mrs Tracy started. It was a pet name he had for her and he never used it in public, not even in front of his son. Sweet-Pea was not the kind of term that strong Kansas farmers would readily admit to using. "Things are looking a bit grim here!"
"D-Don't talk like that. You'll be fine, you'll all be fine." She was gabbling, trying to convince herself as much him.
"Sweet-Pea. I just wanted to say thank you for 42 great years together." They could hear the effort he was putting into making himself talk. "Marrying you was the best decision I ever made."
"And mine." She was trying to pull herself together.
"You keep our hot-headed son of ours feet firmly planted on the ground, okay? He's got grand ideas, don't let him get carried away by them. I'm proud of all he's achieved, but tell him his family comes first."
"He's listening."
"You've been a great son, Jeff, now be a great father. Bring those boys of yours up well. Teach them right from wrong. Help them be the best they can be." He paused for breath. "I love you, Jeff."
Tears were stinging Jeff Tracy's eyes. "I love you too, Pa."
They could hear the pain in his voice as he continued. "Are my grandsons there?"
Scott whipped the radio out of his pocket and motioned for the others to stop digging. "We're here, Grandpa."
"Ah, Scott. Make me a promise. Go easy on your father. He's going to need your support."
"Huh?" Scott didn't quite understand.
"Promise me!" The voice, though weak, still commanded obedience.
"I promise, Grandpa."
"Good boy. John?"
"Yes, Grandpa?"
"Thank you for lending me the radio. You've made these last minutes so much easier."
"That's okay, Grandpa." It would be years before John would be able to comprehend the meaning behind these words.
"Virgil?"
Scott gave Virgil the radio. "Grandpa?"
"Give your grandma a hug from me, okay?"
"Okay. But why…" Scott grabbed the radio before he was able to continue.
"Remember, I love all you boys." He was fighting for breath. "Put your grandmother back on again."
"I-I'm here."
"Sweet Pea. I love you. Always remember that. I love you…"
"I love you, too."
The radio was silent for a moment and then Lucille came back on the radio. She was crying. "Jeff! Oh, Jeff. He's gone!"
"No!" Grandma Tracy collapsed to the ground sobbing into her hands. Jeff stood there stunned, unable to move, unable to comprehend.
"Where's he gone to, Scott?" Virgil asked. "If he can leave why doesn't he come here?"
Scott was trying to fight back tears. "He's dead, Virgil."
"Dead?" Clearly Virgil didn't understand. Why was everyone so upset?
John started digging frantically again. Tears were streaming down his face and he angrily wiped them away.
Scott thought for a moment. "Do you remember that blue jay that we used to put food out for?"
"Yeah."
"And one day you found it in the garden, and it wasn't moving and you tried to make it fly?"
"Yeah."
"Do you remember what Ma said?"
"She said it had flown off to heaven."
"That's what's happened to Grandpa." They heard a sob from John.
Virgil frowned at the concept. "But Grandpa can't fly," he said with inescapable logic.
"Don't worry about it now. We've just got to keep digging and reach Ma and Gordon and Alan." Scott resumed his work. He was a big boy, nearly a man. He wasn't about to give in to tears. But the tears came all the same.
Virgil looked at his older brothers, not really understanding and then started to dig again.