Dan Amos scaled the backstairs and opened the screen door. He walked into the dark kitchen, started circling the table then rested his hands on the back of a chair. He had glimpsed into Ned’s heart.
I feel my son, he thought.
He walked slowly down the hall, listening to the occasional floorboard creak under his feet, and stepped into the bedroom. Ruth turned in her bed and emitted a little gasp.
‘Shhh,’ he whispered. ‘It’s only me.’ He could barely see her in the dark.
‘Did you leave the room?’ she asked. ‘Where have you been?’
His head was still spinning and he hesitated. ‘I went for a glass of water,’ he said.
Ruth waited. ‘Yes, it’s warm.’
His eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and he saw her face as she pulled the sheet up under her chin.
‘Come back to bed,’ she said.
He walked towards her and slowly sat on the edge of the mattress. There was a long pause and he guessed Ruth would soon detect his heavy spirit.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked. She leaned in and looked at him. She crawled out from under the sheet and slowly sat beside him. ‘Did you have a bad dream?’ she said quietly.
In the kitchen, he had felt all right. But now, as he heard her words, he felt an unpleasant twisting in his abdomen. Ned’s story was going around his head. The twisting grew more intense and began to hurt a little, and he put his face down between his knees.
‘You’re not going to believe what just happened,’ he said.
She leaned forward and touched his arm. ‘What?’ she asked.
He waited, analysing. ‘Ruth,’ he whispered. ‘There’s so much desperation out there and so many things are hidden.’ He listened to his breathing between his legs. ‘I’ve never dug this deep.’
‘You did have a dream,’ Ruth said.
He hesitated. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I had a vision… Downstairs, under the house.’
Ruth reached out and touched his hand. ‘A vision?’ she said. ‘What did you see?’
He breathed quietly. ‘Jay, sitting on the couch. He was talking to me, reaching out, and he seemed very confused. He needed my help.’
Ruth remained quiet and he wiped his eyes.
‘I’m just so set back,’ he said. There was a long stretch of silence then he felt Ruth’s gentle arm come around him. It felt good and he needed it. All these years, she had been his support and now, in these subsequent minutes, his stomach began to relax and his sadness slowly diminished. He turned and slowly climbed into bed.
‘Everything will be all right,’ Ruth said. And with that he accepted he should worry about these things tomorrow. He wasn’t quite sure how she did it, but Ruth was an angel that had saved him many times before, and was rescuing him now. She could sooth any ailment, such was her strength and infinite reassurance.