Bess came by this morning with fresh bread and some raspberry stalks – dirt clinging to their roots with a thick loamy smell that took me right into the depths of the forest.
Her two eldest immediately commandeered Skobath to the back room where the three of them spotted red birds in the woods before their mother shooed them outside to find the best place for the berries.
Barbie came along with some cheese and the three of us had toast and cheese with tea.
Bess and Barbie very intentionally did not mention the youths from the night before, but it was definitely the subtext to the things we were discussing.
We talked about the weather and the ritual and Paul’s daily walks, but not about Tana and Kat and not about the Strawberry Moon.
Skobath pulled her fat body onto the table to beg for cheese and Barbie picked her up like a little baby and gave her what she wanted.
I felt strangely at peace, despite the jangly nerves pouring off the other two at the table.