Summer Stars

He lay on his back and watched as the sky turned darker and the stars became brighter. He wondered if all those years ago when his great grandfather and his grandfather stared into the sky, through the metal slats of a treehouse roof, also waited for that moment, the moment when the stars looked like diamonds that hung against the backdrop of a black velvet sky. His grandfather sold the house because it was too big for his father to maintain. There wasn't a treehouse after that because none of the homes had the right kind of tree.

As he stared at the darkening sky, he thought that being away from the city had its perks. There was no artificial light that dimmed the brilliance of the stars and the quiet was appreciated. Of course, one of the drawbacks was that if you forgot something at the store. Well, you either did without or drove another 45 minutes each way. But his wife loved the house and he loved her.

His mind then drifted back to his past. During the summer months, he and his mom would lay like this staring up into the sky while she pointed out the constellations and the planets. Each night she would pick a constellation and then tell its story. By the end of the summer, he knew them all.

He was homeschooled for the two years his dad worked swing shift. Life at home during that time was idyllic. He went to bed at 11 pm sharp. His dad arrived home shortly after. Mom would get up first and start bustling around in the kitchen. Sometimes that woke him up and he would pad over to his parent's room and nestle in with his dad. Mom would announce that breakfast was ready, and they would come down. And thus, the day began.

Sometimes dad had chores to do around the house and he would help him. This memory always brought the baby Yoda carrying a monkey wrench meme to mind. It made him smile. Other times they would both go into town to pick up supplies. The three of them would have lunch together and then they would do something fun. Then dad left for work and school time started for him.

It was fun having his mom as a teacher. There wasn't that much sit at a desk time. For example, when she taught him about machines she started with the teeter-totter. First, they made one, then they played on it. After a bit, they started experimenting with sitting in different locations on the plank to see what happens. Then they added weights. Afterward, he learned the physics behind it all.

As great as his life was it made life a bit awkward when he went to school to take part in team sports. He talked about how the dippers were actually Ursa major and minor and the Greek story that gave them their names or he informed them the teeter-totter was a simple machine and the plank was actually a lever and it rested on a fulcrum. They thought him odd and would look at him blankly and then go back to talking about their favorite sports hero. Since his dad was not a sports enthusiast He could only stand there and listen. Even so, he was unhappy when his dad came off swings.

 He sighed and got up. He had to be getting back in. It did not take that long to take the garbage out.

She was waiting for him inside.

She knew something was up the moment he arrived home from work. He was distant and withdrawn. She asked if something was wrong. He gave a small fake smile, kissed her on the forehead, and went to change clothes. He was just as quiet at dinner. She didn't press, him. He would tell her when he was ready. So, she did the only thing she could. She loved him and catered to him. He made enough money to afford her the luxury of being a stay at home mom. Well, almost, she was not a mom quite yet, but in 2 months she would be. She rubbed her belly and smiled. She was waiting for him to open up so she could tell him the good news. Until then she would give him his time to work out what he was going to say.

Almost on cue, he walked through the door. He asked her to sit down. She was scared. He looked like he was going to cry.

He took a deep breath and in a shaky voice told her that his company had been sold and that everyone had been laid off. Effective today. No warning. He was employed in the morning and booted out at the end of the day. Well not quite. He and a handful of peers were offered a job at a lower rank and pay with the new company, but it wasn't enough to cover the bills and there was no promise of advancement. And to make matters worse, it was a now or never offer. He did not like making such a big decision without her weighing in. They were a team. If he accepted the job it would mean that either they would have to rent a smaller house or she would have to get a job. It was killing him because he knew how much she loved this place and how happy she was to be able to stay at home. But if he refused the job, he was worried about being able to find another one. And then there was the question of insurance. They were going to need it with the baby coming and he didn’t know if he could land a job and get through the probationary period in time for the insurance to kick in before the baby arrived.

His hesitation, though unintentional, moved them to add that all of his accumulated leave, his retirement plan, and his insurance would stay as it was. He told her he accepted the offer and broke down in tears. He felt that he failed her. 

She let him cry a bit so as to allow him time to get to the place where he could listen.

When he took a deep breath, he was finally able to look at her. He was stunned. She was smiling. She seemed a mite to happy after receiving the news he brought.

"Hey," she said. "I have news. Remember that house that your great, great grandfather owned?" "Yeah," he answered. "You mean the one with the treehouse?" She answered him by enthusiastically nodding her head up and down. She didn’t seem fazed about how much their lives were about to change. She continued. "The owner found us and is giving us first shot at buying it before he puts it on the market! I went to the bank and we qualify for a loan."

He was stunned. He would love to live in the house. Then reality set in and he replied "But I am making only a little over half of my former salary. We couldn't possibly qualify now." She smiled again and answered. "Well, no, but if we paid a huge down payment the mortgage will be less than our rent." He was puzzled. "And where are we going to get a huge down payment." He was now getting testy. She was trying to make him feel better with this pie in the sky, rainbows, butterflies, and unicorn dreams. "Well, " she continued, "Do you remember when I went down to Texas?" He did. He would have gone but it was the busiest time of the year and no one got time off. One of his relatives was gravely ill, in the end, she made a full recovery. He remembered it was one of his great aunts. She had given them money to afford the first and last month's rent plus a damage deposit on the first apartment they lived in. He had just started working at the firm and his salary was quite smaller then. His wife continued "She remembered that we were the only ones that paid her back. Ever. So, she told me if we ever needed anything to call her. So, when the owner called and talked to me, I called your Great Aunt and she is gifting us the down payment.” She continued.

“She said it would please her for you to be back in the family home." She continued speaking. Her words faded into the background as he sat motionless while he watched her on the couch. He became mesmerized by her beauty and the grace of her arms as she waved them around as punctuations to her words. She was positively glowing with enthusiasm. This confused him. She didn’t like living so close to town, yet here she was, awash in the excitement that there was a chance to do so. He began tuning in to her words and it hit him. She was excited because she knew he always wished to live in the family home. A home that a family member had built eons ago. All this was for him. All this happiness bubbling up from her soul was for him. Right then and there he wished he could marry her, again and again, each and every day. Now she was going on about babysitting one or two little ones to help with the bills. He rolled it over in his head. He could not think of one reason to say no. He stood up and took her in his arms. He loved her so much. He wasn’t sure if acquiring a house at this time was a good idea. They got ready for bed.

He woke up to a blaring alarm. Argggghhh! He forgot to turn it off. He looked at his sleeping wife and held back the tears. How lucky he was to have a woman that was always supportive of whatever he did. They decided to sit down tomorrow, which was today now, and go thru the numbers to make sure it was doable. He went downstairs and began to make coffee, then abandoned the idea.

Instead, he climbed the stairs, and as he climbed, he decided unless it was impossible, they would go for it.

He nudged her awake and motioned her to follow him. She did without question. That’s another thing he loved about her, she trusted him implicitly. She followed him outside and they walked to the top of the hill. Once at the top they lay on their backs and watched the sky as it slowly turned brighter while the stars faded away.