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There’s no denying fatherhood makes me soft and nostalgic. Cherie’s birth breaks something open inside me. She’s so tiny. I recognize a lot of Oana in her little face right off the bat. When she seems to prefer me holding her, I feel like a hero.
By the time they can walk, my kids will shadow me around the homestead all day, only taking a break for naptime.
Anouk’s son is often around the homestead, playing with his cousins. Jimmy’s around eight when OG Meemaw finally kicks the bucket, dying in her sleep with a smile on her face.
OG Peepaw handles losing his long-time love-hate relationship with his usual emotional abandon. Though he’s stoic at first, he starts crying at the funeral and doesn’t stop. Not even after throwing himself inside the open grave. We have to fish him out, so they can finish filling the hole.
Too sad to live alone anymore, Zeb sets up a tent next to Queen Meemaw’s house and won’t leave.
Anouk handles Coretta’s death with a bit more finesse. She wears black for a year and breaks into “Danny Boy” at random times.
My great-grandmother leaves her small house, land, and farm animals to Anouk.
“I never want her to return to her pharisaic family,” Coretta says in her video will. “Those people give me the creeps.”
I suspect Oana hoped Anouk might come live with us at the homestead once Coretta died. Except her sister has already built a life for herself. Anouk’s version of freedom is just tamer than what Oana considers fun.
Every year, Anouk and Jimmy come along on our vacations. The sisters are excited so see the world outside West Virginia. Each summer, we take an RV on the road. My ma drives the behemoth while Pa-Donovan, Otto, Betty, and I ride our motorcycles. We go as far west as California and as far north as Canada. My kids enjoy the same adventures I did as a kid while Oana and Anouk see everything they missed.
My favorite times aren’t the ones on the road. I prefer to be home with my wife and kids, knowing most of my family is only yards away.
Oana often plays songs on the back deck in the evenings. Music awakened her wild side so many years ago. These days, she’s got her a mini band with Alexis’s ukulele and the kids playing their own instruments. Cherie owns the heart of a drummer. The girl loves to get loud. Van loves the bass and guitar. Not to feel left out, I learn how to play both instruments, too. Just like when I was a kid, the best fun is when everyone gets involved.
Sometimes, when I’m alone with Oana, she’ll just stop whatever she’s doing and stare at me while a smile warms her beautiful face.
“When I pictured going wild, I never dreamed this big. I only imagined being with you. I worried too many big dreams would make me lose sight of the most important one,” she says and rests my hand against her heart. “But I wake up every day, excited to see you. That hasn’t changed, and it never will.”
“I knew you were magic,” I promise her. “It wasn’t the booze or the moonlight. It was you.”
Oana rewards me with the same wonderful smile she did that night. Sometimes, when riding around Tumbling Rock, I find myself replaying the greatest hits of our time together. My dream girl has changed a lot since I stumbled upon her in the woods. Her hair and clothes are different. She’s also more outspoken and fearless. Yet, at her core, Oana’s the same sweet, sexy chick I fell for in the moonlight.
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