Loco Motive by Mary Daheim Read Free Book Online

After they watched the movie with Willie in action, they wished he was still here. It’s hard for them to understand that thirty years later, Willie doesn’t look like the guy on the screen.”
    â€œHe may dye his hair and he’s got wrinkles, but he seemed very fit. I don’t remember his movies. I suppose his fans would recognize him.”
    Mike took a big drink of milk. He nodded—and shrugged. “Justin told them that Willie couldn’t be exactly like the movie version and Kristin reminded them that the most fun would be Halloween. That made up for missing Willie.”
    â€œGood.” Judith tried to sound pleased rather than guilty about being unable to share the entire holiday with the children.
    â€œThey’ll have a grand time.”
    Mike drained the glass. “It’ll be huge. Is it so popular that you have to reserve a place on the avenue to watch the parade?”
    â€œNo,” Judith replied. “But get there early if you want a seat outside.”
    Mike looked puzzled. “We’ll walk with the kids. You can’t stand around too long on your bum hip. Should we leave first to get a table for you?”
    â€œAh…I meant if you want to drive and not walk up the Counterbalance.”
    â€œIt’s only three blocks,” Mike said. “Living at the summit, we walk uphill a lot. The boys are so excited they’ll practically fly there.”
    â€œOh. Of course.” Judith couldn’t look Mike in the eye. “Walking isn’t easy for people with hip problems.” She had to reveal her travel plans, but hesitated, playing for time to figure out how to attend at least part of the parade. Maybe Renie or Joe would have some advice. “Where’s your father?” she asked.
    Mike laughed. “He dozed off about twenty minutes into Extrema Escrima, leaving Willie at the mercy of a Mongol horde.”
    â€œI didn’t know Willie made historical films. Was Genghis Khan after him?”
    â€œNo.” Mike took a couple of snickerdoodles out of the sheep-shaped cookie jar on the kitchen table. “These Mongols were part of a motorcycle club from Southern California.”
    â€œI hope the bikers won,” Judith murmured. “It’s after ten, so I’m going to lock up. The guests who are still out on the town will have to use their keys. Wake your father so he can go to bed.”
    â€œWill do.” Mike glanced at the dishwasher. “I almost forgot—Kris told me to unload that thing when the green light came on.”
    â€œI’ll do it,” Judith said.
    Mike shook his head. “I told Kris I would.”
    Judith scrutinized her son as he opened the dishwasher. “Hold it,” she said. “I don’t like asking, but is all this drill sergeant stuff from Kristin part of the deal you agreed to after she wanted to separate?”
    Mike’s face flushed slightly. “In a way. That is, Kris felt uselessafter she resigned from her ranger’s job.” He grabbed a handful of silverware and put it on the counter. “You know we’d tried from the get-go to be posted to the same place, even if it meant moving across the country. That didn’t happen.” Mike took out the rest of the silverware. “Even after we had the boys, she still felt she’d lost her identity and become just another wife and mother.” The stew pot and the lid were next. “It wasn’t fulfilling.”
    Judith was staring incredulously at her son. “Wife and mother don’t qualify as possibly the most important jobs on earth?”
    â€œOh, sure,” Mike replied, stacking a half-dozen plates in the cupboard next to the stove. “But that was all about the boys and me. She wanted something that was…how did she put it? Exclusively hers.” Glassware was next. “Kris realized she needed to get back to her roots. All the women in her family through four