The Bomb - 4. Chapter 4

Waving goodbye, I headed north, planning to cross the border into Canada. I would continue north to the Manitoba Provenance until I reach the Nunavut area and then head for Taloyoak. That would be far enough north that I should be outside of any contamination area. I still had Paul and Tom with me, and it appears that they will be with me permanently.

Just before crossing into Canada, I stopped and filled up with gasoline. “Boys, check out the station and see if there’s anything you want. I’ll be in soon to pay for the gas.”

It didn’t take much. I remembered I filled up just before meeting Jon’s grandfather. Entering the station to pay for the gas, the owner asked if I was going to pay in US dollars or Canadian dollars. I said in US dollars, he smiles, “Canadian dollars aren’t worth the same as the US dollar, so I charge more for Canadian.”

“Do you have Canadian dollars? If you do, I’ll buy them off of you. I’ll be heading into Canada, and I can use them there.”

“Dad, they have bottles of water, should we get some?”

“Yes, get as many as you can. I’m not sure what to expect in Canada.”

The station owner came back to the register.” I’ve got 300 Canadian dollars, including the change.”

“Okay, I’ll buy them, my boys are getting some things.”

We chatted while the boys shopped. I was surprised when they brought two cardboard cases, each with 12 bottles of water. Then they went back and brought several bags of chips and several bunches of bananas. All in all, I paid US$320.

With theRV loaded, we headed north. I expect some problems with Customs at the border, but there wasn’t anyone there, so I just kept driving. I turned on the radio, and Canada was broadcasting the news about the USA.

“The east coast from Massachusetts south to Georgia was bombed, Enemy boats were being sunk by planes dropping torpedos.”

Most damages came from missiles that were launched from lands in Asia and Russia. They were aimed at the West Coast. Canada has stayed out of the conflict but took refugees from the US as an act of mercy. I thought of Jon as I listened to the radio. I was very sure his parents were no longer alive.

With the late start and stopping for gas, the boys were ready for lunch. “Dad, we can fix sandwiches and keep driving. No need to stop until tonight when we can fix supper.”

The boys calling me ‘dad’ did not go unnoticed by me. I was old enough to be their dad, if they felt more comfortable calling me that, that was okay by me.

Around six, the sky seemed to darken. As we traveled further north, it seemed as if we’re traveling into the night instead of the night reaching us. We were about 226 miles north of the US-Canadian border when Paul told me to stop.

“Dad, there’s a guy thumbing. Should we give him a ride?” I smiled as I remember all of my boys were thumbing a ride, except Jon, when I picked them up.

I pulled over and stop. Paul opened the door, “Hi, where are you going?”

“I’m going home. They close the school, and I don’t have a ride home. How far are you going?”

Paul looked at me, “Tell him we are heading for Taloyoak.”

“Perfect, my home is up that away. Can you give me a lift, I’d appreciate it.”

The boys look at me, I nodded, and we had another passage.

The noise level rose as the boys asked questions and answered questions. It turns out the lad was on a special scholarship and stayed at the school. He was part of the Canadian program to educate certain native people to develop as leaders. I had forgotten that Canada has a large population of native people who are somewhat autonomous. They had had their laws and rules, more or less.

“Dad, I think he’s hungry.” I check my watch; it was close to 6:30

“Okay, I’ll pull over at the first chance I get, we can have supper. ‘Offer him a banana, that should hold till I find a place to pull over.”

I couldn’t find a place to pull completely off the road, so I pull over as far as I could. Paul and Tom took over the duties of fixing supper. Cans of soup, a salad, and hotdogs were their menu.

“What’s your name? I don’t want to call you boy.”

He smiled, “My friends call me Torn. It”s as close to my real name as you can get. Not many people can pronounce my real name. I am an Inuit. We are the first people who settled in these cold climates. You may have heard the term Eskimo, we are somewhat like them. Probably a descendent of the originals, and no, we don’t live in igloos. We live in wooden houses like you probably did.”

The boys were very interested in what Torn was telling them. He further explained that they always lived near water as it provided their food, fish, and wild game. “Wayback before the Canadians discovered us, our diet was mostly meat and fish. Now we supplement our meat and fish with vegetables. You would be amazed at the food found in the forests and lakes. Maybe I’ll show you.”

The boys were all for that. Then they wanted to know how they fished. While l they were talking, I found a spot where I could pull the RV and trailer off the road. I turned on the battery lights, so everyone passing could see where I parked.

“Boys, bedtime, Torn, I’ll make a bed for you here.”

“Dad, he can sleep with us, that bed is big enough,”

Before I could answer, they were leading Torn back to the bedroom. I was tired, making my bed on the couch, I quickly fell asleep.

I woke to Paul saying ‘easy.’ Tom was giggling. I didn’t want to know what they were doing. I could only imagine when Paul said rather loud, “Easy Torn, you’ll rip me apart.”

“Paul, are you okay?”

“Yes, Dad”

“Well, go to sleep, we have a lot of driving tomorrow, 6 am will be here before you know it.”

I fell back asleep. I woke at 5:30. I was anxious to get back on the road. I figured another one and a half days, and we should be there.

I was going to make cereal when I remember the eggs and bacon from the Smithers. I think the smell woke the boys. I watched as Paul walked to the bathroom. You could tell he was a little sore.

“Paul, are you okay?”

“Yes, dad, it was a rough night.”

“So I heard.”

“I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“Look, Paul, just because you’re gay doesn’t mean you have to put up with what happened last night. You need to make sure when you say No means No.”

“I know I didn't think it would hurt as it did. When Tom does it, it doesn’t hurt. But last night, it did hurt, a lot.”

“Get showered, and if it still hurts, there is some cream in the medicine cabinet you can use.” One of the items I bought was numbing cream. I figured if I got cut, I might want something to numb the area before I bandaged it. I never thought about what it was going to be used for this morning.

As the boys sat down, I placed a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of them. I poured them a glass of milk as I had coffee. I didn’t say anything, but I watched as Paul sat down, very easy. Torm leaned over and whispered something to Paul. I watched Paul’s reaction. He didn’t reply; he just kept on eating.

“Torn, maybe you can clean up so I can get on the road. We still have a lot of driving to do.”

The drive was pleasant; Paul took the seat on my right. I watched as he eased himself into the seat. I felt sorry for him, but I also didn’t like the idea of having a problem among the boys. I wasn’t naïve about the possibility of two teenagers not having problems. I hope they can work everything out, or I’ll have to force them to leave.

Lunch was sandwiches with fruit. That was eaten in silence.

“Dad, can I sleep on the chair tonight?”

“Yes, if you want.”

Nothing more was said. Dinner was quiet. I prepared some of the chicken we had along with cans of vegetables and salad. Torn offer to do the dishes, I was okay with that. I drove for another two hours before I found a spot to park off the road.

I made up my bed on the sofa, then made the bed on the chair. Torn came out, looked around, “Who’s sleeping there?”

“Paul”

I watched as he went back to bed. Paul came out and laid down in his bed. Again I was glad that I had this unit specially made. I didn’t hear anything for the rest of the night.

In the morning, I was anxious to get rolling. I told the boys they could fix their breakfast, but I was moving on. As I started the RV, I headed back out on the road. Tom brought me a cup of coffee, “I’m sorry, dad, about the other night.”

“I’m not the one that needs the apology.”

Tom walked back into the bedroom. I kept driving. Paul came and sat in the right-hand seat. He looked disturbed.

“What’s the matter, Paul? You look deep in thought.”

“I was thinking maybe I should’ve stayed at the farm with Jon.”

“You would have to hitchhike back. Are you sure you want to do that.?

I don’t know; I was fine until the other night. I’m gay, but I’ve never experienced what I did the other night. He should’ve stopped when I told him to stop.

”Yes, I agree even though I’m not gay, but no means no.”

“I’m glad you had the extra bed, I don’t think I could sleep in that bed in the back again,”

Can I make a suggestion?”

“Yes”

“Continue with us; Torn will be leaving us when we are near his home. Just remember you call the shots.”

He smiled, and I knew he’d stay. I got accustomed to the boys, and I also enjoyed their company.

Torn was telling us about the area and what you could do. Fishing was good; there was some hunting. He spoke about the bears and wolves and how we would have to be careful about leaving food around. Tom asked questions, Paul and I listened.

I was looking for a place to stop for lunch. I found a side road that I could pull off, but I wasn’t proficient in backing up with the trailer. “Why don’t you boys prepare sandwiches for lunch. We’ll probably eat while traveling. I don’t see any place to pull over.”

“There’s a service station about 12 miles down this road. You can pull in there.”

“Thanks, Torn.” I forgot that he was familiar with this area. About 30 minutes later, I pulled over. I filled my gas tank, then went to pay and check out the small store. They had bottles of water. I bought six. Looking around, they had maps, travel brochures, as well as snack foods.

I picked up some brochures and a detailed map of Nunavut, which showed Taloyoak.

Lunch over, the boys pitched in and cleaned up. I started to drive again. Paul still occupied my right-hand seat. “Paul, take this map and see if you can find a spot to park. If there’re any parks for areas that cater to RV’s, we’ll need to check them out tomorrow.” That kept him busy and his mind off what happened the other night.

The drive north was interesting. As there weren’t many cars or trucks on the road, we were pretty much alone. The boys read, played cards, and generally occupied their time talking or reading. However, it wasn’t as lively as when Torn first joined us. There was a ghost of what happened the other night with us—to my knowledge, Torn never apologize. I thought that was strange.

“Dad, what you have in mind for dinner?”

“Are you getting hungry?”

“No, I just want to know what you had in mind .”

‘Well, I think there are some leftovers; we should eat that up, and then we can see what we need to add to make sure you boys aren’t hungry. I may have some pot pies in the trailer. Maybe I’ll get them out. Let’s see what’s in the fridge first.”

“You have a lot of food in that trailer.”

“Yes, but with you teenagers, it won’t last long. We’ll have to augment it with fish and wild animals. How are you tracking skills?”

“I never trapped before, nor have I ever shot a gun. I’ll fish, that I can do.”

“Okay, you can be the fisherman.”

“Do I have to clean them?”

“No, Torn will clean them as an apology to you.” He laughed.