The Dance

Chapter 2 The Drive Home

Lila's plane landed in Juneau and as she moved through the hustle and bustle of the airport, she spotted a familiar face holding a sign with her name scrawled on it. She smiled and waved and the man smiled back. He quickly reached out an arm and hugged Lila around the neck.

"Welcome home, baby sister!"

Jack smiled and hugged her tightly. Even though Lila wasn't a baby and definitely not Jack's sister, he loved her all the same. Jack, although not related by blood, was one of her father's closest and most trusted friends. The two grew up in Alaska together in a small community called Hoonah. They met when they were ten on a fishing trip and had been best friends ever since Jack pulled her dad out of the water when he slipped off a fishing boat in Hoonah Bay.

"Your dad sent me to pick you up. He wanted to come but his cancer is taking a physical toll on him."

She smiled fighting back the tears. "I know. Jack, I know." She whispered in his ear as she hugged him again.

Lila knew if her father could be there, he would. He and Lila had a special bond. They weren't just family. They were of the same spirit. He had sent Lila off to college in the lower 48 to make sure she got to see the world. She had won a scholarship to college and he had funded the balance from his profits at the magazine. He was the one who had arranged the internship. As his diagnosis became a reality, everything he did was in preparation for Lila to come home and take over the business. His only regret was that she had not found a husband along the way. He knew she could be stubborn just like himself and he had hoped that she would find someone to share her love of photography and writing. He wanted to know that she would be cared for after he was gone. He took comfort in knowing that Jack would be a surrogate father for him when he passed.

"Come on baby sister, Blue is in the parking lot waiting to take you home."

Lila laughed, "You still have that death trap of a truck?"

Jack winked at Lila. "Harsh words from someone who learned to drive in that truck amongst other things."

Lila blushed and laughed. "You promised you would never bring that story up again!"

Jack chuckled, "Lila and Nato....I think my hair went gray shortly after that incident."

Lila shrieked, "Jack, you promised."

Lila quickly flashed back to her awkward 16 year old self in the bed of Jack's truck. Nato, a local boy, had managed to talk Lila into the back of old Blue. Jack had stumbled upon the two of them in various stages of undress. Lila smiled at remembering Nato. His eyes were dark as coal and his long black hair was pulled back from his face in a messy ponytail. He was cute, at least in ways that sixteen year old girls thought were cute. Lila was thankful that Jack had found her before she surrendered herself to Nato's charms. She and Jack never really talked about the incident but he did like to remind of her of it. It also reminded her that she must be the oldest living virgin in Alaska. If she was going to save herself from the likes of Nato, she might as well wait for the one Mister Right. She thought and hoped that one day that would be Bradley.

"Can I drive?" Lila asked excited to see the hunk of rusty blue steel in front of her.

Jack shook his head and replied, "No baby sister, I got this."

The pair climbed in the truck and headed to her dad's home in Juneau. It was a long quiet drive and Lila was fearful of seeing her dad in such an emaciated state.

The cabin was a familiar sight. By most standards, this wasn't a regular log cabin but a mini mansion of a cabin. Her dad and Jack had built the cabin from the ground up, adding high ceilings, stone fireplaces and expansive rooms. Jack and his wife, Becky, lived with her dad. They had been caring for her father when the final diagnosis was made. Jack and Becky had no children of their own but they helped raise Lila. Her mother had passed away shortly after her birth from complications during the delivery. Her father was lucky to have them. It was always the four of them against the world until Lila left for college.

Jack yelled from the truck. "Becky, look who I've brought home."

Becky came flying out of the front door with arms stretched open yelling Lila's name at the top of her lungs. For a short and stout woman, she was quite fast when she wanted to be.

"Welcome home Lila!" She shouted. Becky hugged her so tightly she couldn't breathe.

"It's good to be home Becky. Where's my dad?"

Becky motioned to the back of the cabin. "Lila, he doesn't look like you remember him."

Lila steadied herself, took a deep breath, and headed to the back of the cabin. As she rounded the corner, she could see her father lounging in a chair. He was covered in blankets and his once dark hair was almost white. He seemed smaller now, more frail then she could have envisioned.

She could see that he was sleeping. She walked towards him and quietly touched his cheek with her hand. His eyes slowly opened and stared up at her. "Lila."

"I'm here daddy. I'm home."

He sighed as if relieved she had made it in time to see him. Lila knew his time was short for this world. "Don't speak daddy. We'll talk later."

Later never came for Lila. Her father passed in his sleep that night knowing that she was home.