Cold Spell
Chapter 19
Joe was unnaturally quiet on the walk back; a rarity for him and a reflection of his mood that didn't go unnoticed by his brother.
"Wanna talk about it?" Frank asked when they stopped to take a break. It was apparent that Joe's shoulder was bothering him more than he cared to admit, if his pale face and plainly evident weariness were any indicators, but Joe never once said anything about it. He just doggedly followed Frank and stopped only when Frank stopped.
But the older boy didn't think this was what was making his brother so quiet, though – there was something else.
Joe looked at him and sighed. He seemed to give it some thought and then shook his head. "No, not really."
"Okay," Frank said casually, not wanting to push, although his curiosity would have dictated otherwise. Joe would talk only when he was ready.
The wind was picking up again as the temperature dropped, and the younger boy shivered as it seemed to cut right through his jacket. He glanced over at his brother and toyed with the idea of telling him, but he was hesitant, not sure how Frank would react.
And then he sighed and just said, "I don't want to fly."
Frank started for a moment, a bit surprised that Joe changed his mind and said something, but not about what he'd said. He had wondered if Joe realized yet that their rescue would come by helicopter….
"Oh," was all he could say for a moment, and then when he opened his mouth to tell him the usual stuff, he stopped. Joe didn't need to hear that it would be normal to be feeling like this or that he'd overcome this as he had before; and he wouldn't want Frank to try and convince him that he'd be okay, or remind him that there was no other choice….
Joe knew all that.
So Frank simply said, "That's understandable."
Joe's jaw dropped – that was the one thing he never expected his brother to say, in a million years! He was waiting for the usual logical explanations and platitudes…not this.
His surprise must have shown because he heard his brother chuckle softly. "Now there's a look I don't usually put on your face…" he mused.
Recovering, Joe closed his mouth and gave his brother a strange look. "I… well, I was just expecting you to say something else."
"Like what?" Frank asked, although he already knew the answer. He glanced towards the burrow, estimating how much longer it was going to take them. The return trip seemed to be taking forever and he was anxious to get back, clean the fish and start roasting it over a fire…his mouth watered thinking about it.
And his stomach…he didn't even want to go there!
"Well…I didn't think you'd say it was stupid or anything. But I was kind of figuring I'd get the regular 'its-to-be-expected-but-you-have-no-choice' mantra read to me."
"If you'd prefer—" Frank teased lightly, inwardly pleased that he'd read his brother right about what he needed to hear. He was usually good at figuring out what would help the younger boy, but sometimes Joe baffled him and he ended up out in left field. Thankfully this time wasn't one of them….
"No!" Joe cut him off with a playful punch. "I've already given myself enough grief over it for the both of us!"
"Grief," Frank feigned indignation, "is that what my counsel is, little brother?"
Joe immediately sobered up. "Never. But mine usually is."
Frank thought about that for a moment and then sighed. "You never do give yourself enough credit."
"Excuse me?" Joe asked, caught off guard by the seeming out of place comment. They had started walking again and he began to give some serious thought to putting those socks on his hands – it seemed to be getting colder with each step!
Did someone move the burrow?
Frank walked at his side and was quiet for a few moments before he elaborated, "Joe, you got back in a plane two years ago…and you'll do it again now. It won't be easy…but you'll do it, 'cause that's just what you always do."
"Frank, I must be more tired than even I thought, because you're not making sense to me," Joe admitted as he paused and took out the socks to put on his hands.
The older boy smiled, stopping beside him. "Little brother, all I'm trying to say is that sometimes you do things that you don't want to do because there's no other choice. You've never let anything hold you back…not even your fears. And I'm proud of you for it."
Joe blushed, inwardly pleased by his brother's acknowledgment. He had oftentimes wondered if anyone realized how hard it was for him sometimes…but now he knew. Frank knew…. And he was proud….
"Thanks, big brother," he finally said, avoiding his brother's gaze, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable about this. While he and Frank were close, they didn't very often have these kinds of heart-to-heart talks.
The older boy didn't say anything, but he reached over and gave Joe's shoulder an affectionate squeeze, and they continued their walk in amicable silence.
"It was pretty hard," Joe suddenly said right out of the blue, when they got back to the burrow. They stood outside, and he was watching Frank make another fire.
"What was?" Frank said, distractedly, as he ripped up pieces of the ruined Survival manual and placed it under the moss.
Joe didn't say anything for a moment as he stared out across the tundra, lost in thought and memories. Frank sat back on his heels and watched his brother, patiently waiting for the answer.
He coughed when he inadvertently inhaled a mouthful of smoke from the newly smoldering fire as the wind changed direction unexpectedly.
The sound of his coughing broke Joe's reverie. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah," Frank coughed, "S-moke."
The younger boy shook his head. "Then why don't you move away from it, silly!"
"Good…idea," his brother agreed and stood up, moving closer to him and further away from the fire. He wondered absently how long it would take the fish to cook….
"I was talking about getting back in a plane…" Joe admitted.
"Ah," Frank said, as his gaze wandered over the tundra now as well. He knew exactly what his brother was referring to, and gave a little shudder at how close they had come to losing both Joe and Jack Wayne that day….Frank was sixteen at the time.
Fenton had taken Frank and Joe, along with him and Jack, on a fishing trip to Alaska. Their father had rented a small remote cabin where the only way in was by floatplane.
They had been there for three days when a black bear had broken into the cabin and trashed it; including eating their food supplies and ruining what it didn't eat!
So it was decided that Jack would fly back to town for new supplies, and Joe would go with him, while Fenton and Frank would stay behind and clean up the mess. The younger boy had been pretty upset about the idea of a bear being around, so his father felt it was better for him to give Jack a hand than to stay behind….
They were gone for a couple of hours and the whole flight had been rather uneventful until they tried to land on the lake. The weather had become windy and the water on the lake was fairly choppy but Jack was an experienced pilot, so no one was too concerned about this little swell.
Fenton and Frank had come down to give them a hand to unload the supplies, and they saw a big problem - a submerged log – one of the biggest hazards to a floatplane!
Frank saw it first and tried to wave Jack off, but the pilot was too busy concentrating on landing, and didn't see his frantic hand signals!
Joe did, but by then it was too late!
The plane hit the log and nose-dived into the water as Frank and Fenton watched in horror, unable to do anything!
Immediately, they were racing to the end of the floating pier and had the small motor boat unmoored and speeding out to the rapidly submerging plane.
By the time they had gotten there, Jack was out of his seat and trying to get Joe out, but the boy was trapped by a jammed locking mechanism on his seat belt – and no one had a knife to cut through it!
Frank gave another shudder, remembering the look in his brother's eyes as they locked gazes for one moment, before Fenton was shouting at Jack to get Frank out of there!
He'd been sure he was going to watch his brother drown….
And then, suddenly, Joe was free and Fenton was pulling him out of the plane…!
"I still don't know how he did it," Frank said after a couple of minutes of silence.
"Did what?" Joe asked, turning back to look at his brother even as the tantalizing smell of cooking fish assaulted his nose.
"Got you out of that seat! Man, little brother, I thought for sure you were a goner." His voice shook slightly with that small admittance, and he felt Joe give his arm a squeeze.
"I don't know either," he admitted, "I remember him giving it a mighty yank and then I was free…" He paused and then added, "And so did I."
They stood quietly in an awkward pause and then Joe sighed and gave a wry smile. "But I did get back in a plane after that. And I can do it again, now.…I don't have to like it though."
Frank smiled, "Well if it makes you feel any better, I'll 'not like it' along with you."
Joe looked at his brother in surprise. "You're terrified too?"
"Not really terrified, I don't think," Frank said ruefully, "More 'concerned'. But we'll do this like we do everything else…" his voice trailed off and his brother finished for him.
"Together."