There is heart to this story, and you do a great job in the first scene of showing John's state of mind. It is a terrible thing to lose who you love, and humans flounder just like swans and foxes who lose their mate. We do spend a lot of time going down the rabbit hole of grief and remembrance, and sometimes big change is needed. I wish John luck in his journey. River Haven sounds like a magical place to start. Thanks, Albert!
I can't believe the tree guy showed up today with his daughters. He took down three problem trees, one was broken at the top from the ice storm and looked terrible, and two huge poplars were close to threatening my power line.
It was so hot, but he worked away for two hours and got it done. He's coming back to take another tree down from the front corner of my house. After the ice storm I am paranoid about trees breaking close to the house.
It's the same here with the heat. It's expected to break a record today, feeling like 46C. Yikes. And a tree guy is supposed to come today, but I hope he cancels for his sake. he's supposed to take down 4 trees for me, and I don't want him dropping from heat stroke..
They asked me a ton of questions today. I loved it. They are building my teen grandson a room in the unfinished basement and my son-in-law asked my opinion, and took it well when I suggested he do it differently from what he'd planned. And yeah, they want me to come see it in a couple of weeks and give them more advice.. They aren't moving in until the end of August because they still have their rental house. It's nice to be needed.
Another sad chapter. The funeral and wake were bittersweet at times. Every one grieves differently, but I have trouble getting a real handle on John. Why wouldn't he have called his very best friend Ethan as soon as it happened... or even before he visited Linda and Richard... or the gallery? It was kind of jarring, but it's a difficult time to sort through all that comes with death. Thanks for this, buddy. Cheers!
I reckon pondering works mighty fine, Ron. As far as 'shut the front door', I believe it means the same as 'Shut up!' as in 'really?'!
As far as "Bearpaw", doors do hold some significance, but you'll have to read to see what that means.
If you do read the series, I suggest you start with "Sidewinder", then "Larkspur: A Sidewinder Tale", and then "Bearpaw". Or, you can certainly read "Bearpaw" on its own.