Back To Maple Cove

CONTENT WARNING/TRIGGER WARNING: There is a mention of an accident towards the end of this story.

It had been years since I’d seen my home. After four years of university and two years earning a Master’s degree, I applied for a Doctorate in Oxford. After I had completed my Doctorate of Letters, I began teaching at the same college. I taught literature classes there like my hero, J.R.R. Tolkien. I also lectured on his life and works, including his letters to friends and family. Unfortunately, I had to leave my post as Literature professor and move back home to Canada to help my mother take care of my ailing father. Luckily, I had a position lined up for me at the University of Winnipeg. It was time to face the music.

My plane touched down on the runway and I stood to reach for my carry-on bag as soon at came to a complete stop. I disembarked and went through security. As soon as I was cleared to go, I made a beeline for the carousel and waited impatiently for my luggage. I switched between looking at the carousel and looking at my watch a couple of times. It was 3:15. Lisa was probably here already to pick me up. She didn’t have to, but she insisted on volunteering. I finally spotted my luggage, grabbed them, and proceeded to trudge towards the exit. I scanned the sea of people looking for Lisa. And there she was with open arms and a big smile on her face. She looked older and haggard with lines starting to form on her face, but she was still as beautiful as ever before. Scratch that. She looked even more beautiful than I remember.

She was my childhood sweetheart, and I was friends with her and her two brothers Wesley and Kurt. They lived right next door to us. We spent so many summers together until life pulled us apart. We each had to follow our own path. Little did we know that those paths would lead us back to each other someday.

“Peter! Hi! Oh, my gosh! It’s so good to see you again,” Lisa said with a squeal, throwing her arms tightly around my neck. I dropped my bags in surprise before reciprocating and hugging her.

“It’s good to be back,” I said. “I’ve missed you. Social media isn’t the same.”

“I agree,” she said. “It’s been too long, Pete. Or should I say Professor Campbell? Or is it Dr. Campbell?”

“I don’t like waving my title in front of everybody’s nose,” I said sheepishly. “I’m still the same old Peter Campbell.”

“Well then, same old Peter Campbell!” Lisa teased. “Let’s get outta here, eh?”

“After you,” I said.

From Arrival, we walked to the parking lot where Lisa’s car was waiting for us. She helped me load my things into the trunk of her car and we were off, making our way to the sleepy little idyllic town of Maple Cove, Manitoba. There was so much to catch up on, but I couldn’t help myself. The jetlag was setting in, and as soon as my rearend hit the warm leather seat under me, I was out like a light. She understood and let me sleep. When we approached Maple Cove, she woke me up.

“We’re here,” she said with a smile. So we were. The sign “Welcome to Maple Cove” greeted us as we entered, and it was as though I had never left. We drove past Sts. Joseph & Mary Parish School with its green and white paint. Already faded and peeling in places but still green and white after all these years. As we drove down familiar streets and saw familiar scenes, Lisa’s car jumped and jolted, fully shaking me awake. Some things never change, it seems. The potholes on the roads still hadn’t been fixed. They were the same potholes as when I left for university.

“Look at that,” I said, pointing to a house with bars on its windows. One of the windows had a bar that had been bent out of shape. “Remember when Wesley, Kurt, and I did that as a prank? You’d think Mr. Martin would’ve fixed it by now.”

Lisa laughed, reliving the memory.

“Dad was so mad, he threatened to throw the boys in the slammer himself,” Lisa recalled. “I had never seen Wes and Kurt so scared for their lives!”

“How are they, by the way?” I asked, my smile fading.

“Wesley’s doing well,” Lisa answered. “He and his wife moved to Quebec. He’s a professor now at Laval. They have two daughters now—twins.”

“That’s wonderful!” I said. “How’s Kurt?”

“He’s behind bars,” Lisa admitted sadly. “Serving his twenty-five years.”

Somehow, I was expecting that answer. But a part of me was hoping he was doing well—that he was finally doing something productive with his life—something meaningful, something that gave back to the community. Sadly, that was not the case. Kurt was always a troubled child and those of us who knew him feared he would either end up dead or in prison.

“I’d love to visit him,” I said.

“I can take you there tomorrow, if you’re up for it,” Lisa offered.

“Yeah, sure,” I said. “I’d love that. I’m sure he will too. How’s your cousin Mary?”

“She’s… She’s gone,” Lisa said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“Gone?” I asked. “Gone, where? You mean she moved out of the country, or…”

“No, you idiot,” she said. “She’s gone, as in gone. She’s dead, Peter.”

I was shocked.

“Dead, how?” I exclaimed. “What in the world happened? What?”

“She was working as a waitress and dishwasher at l'Orchidée,” Lisa recounted. “One night, she was taking out the trash at the end of her shift before she went home. A speeding car appeared seemingly out of nowhere and careened into the alleyway. It pinned her to the wall. She died on impact.”

“Oh, my God,” I said in disbelief. “I am so, so, so sorry, Lisa.”

“We all are,” Lisa said. “Except for that driver. Not a drop of remorse.”

We drove in silence after that, until we reached our old street, Autumn Lane. It was very aptly named. Every autumn, the leaves on the trees along the street would change color and they would fall to the ground, coating the street and people’s lawns with a carpet of reds, yellows, oranges, and browns. I had come home just in time to see it all happen. As soon as I stepped out of Lisa’s car, a single red leaf floated down to the ground, carried by the crisp October wind. It landed on my nose before completing its journey to the ground below. It was like a kiss on the nose. Maple Cove was welcoming me back. I was home again at last.