An Inheritance

Chapter 24

“Alma contacted the local authorities who, in turn, contacted the company who they were working for.  No one seemed very concerned, although the man running the operation hadn’t seen either my grandfather or Eugene for a few days.  A snowstorm had come through a couple of nights before and many of the cabins near the mountains no longer had phone and electric service; this included the cabin they were in. 

“Your grandmother cajoled, pleaded and finally threatened the mountain rescue squad until they agreed to go up to the cabin and check on them.  Alma called my grandmother and told her “Rene would be saved”, that’s all she said.  When the rescue squad finally made it to the cabin, they found my grandfather with a broken collarbone, some internal bleeding and extensive cuts and abrasions. 

“My grandfather told them he and Eugene had been out trying to do some surveying before the impending storm hit.  It came earlier than they thought it would and they were left exposed on a high ridge.  They knew they wouldn’t make it if they stayed there and tried to head back to the cabin.  They thought they would actually make it until a small avalanche hit.  It swept them off of a lower ridge not too far from the cabin.  My grandfather was knocked unconscious and he didn’t come to until a while later.  He had been pushed around a boulder which kept him from being snowed under.  He couldn’t find Eugene.”

“It took a while, but my grandfather finally made it back to the cabin and was just so thankful the men had found him.  He didn’t think he could have lasted much longer without help.  A search began for Alma’s husband.  With the help of some rescue dogs, they were able to find Eugene, but he was buried deep in the snow and it was too late to save him. 

“Normally under those conditions, a strain would be put on any friendship.  But Alma never blamed my Grandfather, never questioned why it wasn’t he that was under that snow, instead of Eugene.  She and my grandmother remained close friends which also encompassed my parents and me.  I spent many summers with Grandmere Labeaux.  Alma was my guide, my mentor and most of all, my friend.”

  

Everyone was silent for a moment reflecting on the last story, and about their own.  Lauren noticed that there was a common thread going through many of their stories.  It was her grandmother’s encouragement for anyone coming to her in trouble, was to further their education and to find a purpose in their life.  It may have sounded like such a simple solution, but sometimes the simplest of solutions were the ones that worked.

Odilia took control again.  “I’m sure Lauren has gotten a better picture of who her grandmother was; thank you all for participating.  Now, I know we’ve been here for quite a while, but there are plenty of great desserts waiting for us in the kitchen.  Why don’t we attend to those and then perform our ‘circle of prayer’ before heading home.”

A few people just stood and chatted while the majority headed for the kitchen.  Lauren rose and stretched her back, the desk-chair definitely was not meant for long episodes like this.   She felt strangely calm, but drained of energy; a complete change from her earlier resentment and irritation.    A ‘thud’ from the small bedroom announced that Abigail had completed her early evening nap and would soon be seeing what goodies she could coax from the crowd.