Kaden ran all the way down the dirt road. When he reached the main road, he turned left and ran down the hill. He was relieved to see Emmett’s truck in the drive. The splitter sat in the grass beside the shop and the trailer was parked next to it. Split logs were scattered all around. Kaden ran to Emmett’s door.
“Emmett! Emmett!” he yelled as he opened the door and rushed into the kitchen. Kaden could hear the TV. He raced into the living room. Emmett sat in his recliner, feet up, looking toward the television. A large bandage was taped to his shin.
“So you finally showed up,” Emmett said, not turning to look at Kaden.
Kaden had stopped crying as he ran but now he burst into tears. Emmett turned around and saw Kaden standing there, holding a bundle in his arms. Blood seeped through the shirt.
Emmett jumped up, moaning as he did. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“It’s Kubla.” His words were barely audible. He opened the bundle. Emmett looked closely at the bird and put his fingers to Kubla’s throat.
“He’s still alive,” he said, gently taking the bird from Kaden. “Let’s get him to the vet. Go grab one of my shirts. You can tell me about it in the truck.”
As Kaden dashed to Emmett’s room, he heard Emmett opening and closing kitchen drawers.
“Now, where is my wallet?” Emmett said to himself. Kaden came into the kitchen wearing one of the man’s T-shirts. Letting Emmett keep on searching, he reached for the kitchen phone.
“Gram, I don’t have time to explain but I’m going with Emmett,” Kaden blurted out. “Kubla’s been hurt and we have to take him to the vet. And there’s something else, too. Dad’s at the tower and the sheriff will be coming.”
Amazed at what he was hearing, Emmett had stopped searching. He stood frozen in place, staring at Kaden.
Kaden paused, listening. “No, I’m fine, Gram. I’ll tell you all about it later. We have to hurry.” Before Kaden hung up, he added one more thing. “Oh, and Gram, lock your door until the sheriff gets there.”
On the way to Chapston City, Kaden held Kubla on his lap. The crow was bundled up to keep him warm but Kaden opened the shirt enough to stroke his head with his finger. He put his head close to Kubla’s and gurgled to the bird, a comforting gurgle, the gurgle made between friends. And as they drove, Kaden told Emmett everything that had happened since the hot dog cookout.
“What’s really confusing,” Kaden said, “is I had fun with Dad sometimes and thought . . . I don’t know what I thought. Sometimes I liked him and I thought he liked me. Other times I didn’t like him at all and I thought he hated me. I thought he was going to do better, but he didn’t. He didn’t even try.”
“Life is complex,” Emmett said. “You can like someone, you can even love someone, but still not like the way he behaves, still not agree with him or see eye to eye.”
“Well, I hate him for what he did to Kubla. I can’t forgive that.”
“Sometimes, things are hard to forgive,” Emmett said.
Kaden was quiet for a few minutes.
“What didn’t you forgive Dad for?” he finally said.
“For deserting his son,” Emmett said. “He could have chosen differently and been there for you all along. That was totally his decision. When you decide to take an action, you also decide to take the consequences.”
Kaden sat stroking Kubla. There was one thing he had left out about what happened at the tower. One thing he hadn’t told Emmett.
“Up in the tower, Dad told me you called the sheriff on him. Is that true?”
“Yes,” Emmett said. “It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, to turn in the son of my best friend. But it was the rightest thing I ever did, too. I know that and I’ve forgiven myself for it.”
“It wasn’t to get even for Kubla that I called the sheriff. I had already decided to do that.”
Kaden stopped stroking Kubla and looked over at Emmett. “Do you think Dad will be able to forgive me?”
“I don’t know,” Emmett said. “I hope so, but I don’t know.”
At the veterinary clinic Kaden handed Kubla to a nurse, who took him into a back room. Kaden and Emmett sat in the waiting room.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Kaden said. “I got all excited and forgot to call before we left.”
“I understand the situation and you’re forgiven,” Emmett said. “But just remember, a man is only as good as his word.”
“I won’t forget,” Kaden said.
The door opened and the vet came out. He was holding Kubla’s small body wrapped in clean cloths. He handed the bundle to Kaden and shook his head.