Oakdale, Illinois, Snyder Farm, 2019
The farmhouse was dark and silent and the floorboards creaked, as Leo tiptoed his way down the main staircase leading to the parlor.
He hoped he wouldn't disturb anybody. But he found himself wide awake and had become bored just lying in bed with his thoughts.
He was desperate for news on his pop. He hated the thought of Luke being locked up in a prison cell, caged like he was some violent animal rather than the gentle father Leo knew.
But even more, for reasons he couldn't quite formulate yet, he was afraid for his dad.
As he reached the sitting room and the family television set, he was brought up short. A small table lamp was on and Luke's oldest sister, Faith, lay in the arms of her young husband, Ian. Both were fast asleep on the sofa.
Of all the Snyder siblings, Faith was the one most like Luke in looks. Seeing her up close like this caused Leo's heart to ache.
Would he ever see his parents again? And what was going to happen to him, when the authorities found out he was hiding out at the farm?
Quietly and carefully he wrestled the remote out of Ian's hand and pressed the mute button as soon as the TV turned on. Faith shifted in her sleep at the short burst of sound.
Leo breathed a sigh of relief and then started to channel surf, looking for a 24-hour news channel. He found it funny how in the past, he was always looking for something to watch that wasn't the news or some boring documentary. Now he found himself desperate for CNN.
But when he found it, he really wished he hadn't.
There was no sound as the anchorman reported on a football game. But running along the bottom of the screen was a series of news headlines. One of these read, "Snyder found hung in holding cell."
Leo took a step back; knocking a small side table and sending the lamp tumbling to the floor with a loud crash.
Faith shot up to sitting; hand on her heart.
"What the...!" Ian exclaimed.
"Oh my, God!" Faith breathed, eyes connecting with those of Leo. "God, you scared me! What are you doing up so late, ha?"
Her eyes were kind. They were his pop's eyes and it was all too much for Leo. "P…P…Pop?" he stuttered, stunned. "Pop?"
All at once Faith took in Leo and the silent TV broadcast and she slowly cupped one hand over her mouth.
At the look of horror on her face, Leo felt a sharp pain in his heart like a thousand claws digging in. He gasped as grief quickly flooded his body. Suddenly, he understood with dreadful clarity the strange adult behavior in the house.
"Oh Leo…" Faith shook her head. She quickly stood and approached him; grasping his face in her palms. "I'm so sorry…"
"Not my pop! Please! Please…"
"No, Leo…! Listen to me… We thought it was true but it's not…"
Leo shook his head at her in confusion.
"He's not dead, Leo! My dad's with him as we speak. Do you hear what I'm saying?" Her eyes narrowed and held Leo's with so much fortitude. "He's alive, Leo. I'm so sorry! We wanted to tell you before you saw the news."
"He's alive?" Leo softly asked, just to be sure.
Faith smiled and nodded. "Yes… yes he is!"
Leo covered his face in his hands and Faith pulled the small boy in; holding him through his wracked relief.
"It's going to be okay," she told him, looking back into the eyes of her worried husband. "Everything's going to be okay."
…
Eva Snyder, wild curls tied back with a pink ribbon; paid little heed to the dirty tide-mark her wading in the pond had made on the hem of her yellow summer dress. She dropped to her knees in the dew-damp grass to better examine the brightly-colored dragonfly she'd found settled on a leaf.
The insect was covered in tiny iridescent green-blue scales that glimmered like the gems she'd seen in some of Grandma Lucinda's jewelry.
"Eva! Eeee-vaaa!"
She ignored the call, not even turning her head toward it. One of the best things about being on the farm, as opposed to inside the house, were the seemingly endless places to hide.
She was so close to the dragonfly now, she was sure it would allow her to touch it. Utterly fascinated with her find, she moved her little finger closer... closer-
"Eva!" Her brother bellowed right in her ear and she jumped with fright, falling over sideways. The dragonfly spread its wings and quickly took off, disappearing over the water.
"Ethan! You scared it away!"
"Why didn't you answer when I called you? I know you heard me!" At 13, Ethan towered over his little sister.
She turned her back to him. "I was busy."
"You still have to answer when somebody calls you," he chastised with the superiority of the older child.
"That rule is only for grownups, dumbass!" she snapped with irritation. Eva looked back at her bother just in time to catch him wordlessly mimicking her and she huffed. "What do you want, anyway?
"Well..." Ethan replied, "...since you asked… I thought Nurse Eva might like to know her patient is awake."
Eva jumped to her feet and quickly snatched up her muddy sandals lying under a nearby bush.
"Why didn't you tell me from the start?" she asked with annoyance.
Her brother looked her up and down; whistling. "God, you're filthy! Mom's gonna go nuts!"
"Will not."
"Will too."
"Will not!"
"Eva! Ethan! Breakfast!" Grandma Emma's clear voice called from the back of the farmhouse; and the two children hurried up the garden path.
"Ethan?" Eva asked. In one muddy hand she dangled her sandals, while with the other she dragged a fallen tree branch behind her, leaves scraping patterns in the dry sand. "Do you think Leo will end up staying with us?"
"Not sure," Ethan replied. "Why?"
Eva shrugged, stopping for a moment. "It's just… I heard Mommy and Gran talking and they said Leo might get taken away…"
She carefully watched her brother. Ethan wasn't good at hiding emotions, while she was usually pretty good at reading whether he knew more than he let on.
"I don't know, E. I hope not."
"Me too," she replied.
They shared a rare moment of peace, where she allowed him to fondly ruffle her curls.
"He's pretty cool, isn't he?" Ethan smiled as they continued up the bank.
"Yeah… Do you think Luke and Noah will come back home? I'd really like to meet them."
Again her brother shrugged. "Luke's in jail, Eva, and… they don't know where Noah is. I guess… I guess it's not looking likely now."
She sniffed, feeling the full weight of what that would mean on her tubby little shoulders. "It's not fair," she moaned. "I never even got to meet my big brother."
"No… I get it…" Ethan sympathized. "But it's pretty amazing we got to meet Leo, right?"
As he spoke, they spotted their new nephew making his way down the back garden to meet them.
Eva dropped the tree branch and ran; beating Ethan to the boy. "Let me feel your forehead," she demanded, before even greeting him.
Leo fondly smiled at her. But she noticed his eyes were really red. Eva knew he'd been crying again. She wished she was really a nurse and could honestly make him feel better. But for now, she considered fussing over him would make him feel more welcome.
"Did you drink your medicine today?" she asked.
"Absolutely," Leo assured her, bending low, so she could cup his forehead. He turned as Ethan approached and shyly greeted the other boy. "Hi."
"Hey," Ethan grinned. "Hungry?"
"Starving!" Leo nodded. He seemed to be trying to hide a smile, as he observed Eva's muddy state. "Where have you guys been?"
"Down at the pond," Eva told him. "The dragonflies are hatching! They've beautiful!"
Ethan placed a brotherly arm over Leo's shoulders, as they walked the rest of the way up the hill. "And we were just saying how happy we are that you're here."
"Yeah!" Eva confirmed, taking Leo's hand in her own.
Leo sadly smiled, biting his lower lip. "I'm happy too, guys."
Eva felt warm inside. She knew that Leo was being, at least partly, truthful.