Invasion of the Woods

Hours later, there were blue flashing lights illuminating the walls in the hallway. He slowly awoke and went to the open bedroom window all blurry eyed. He parted the soft lightweight curtain to one side. Officer Reynolds was talking in a low voice to his mom down below his window. She was in her white housecoat and nervously smoking a Lucky Strike. Her pink satin nightie was barely visible from beneath, just enough for the gentleman in uniform to take notice. The moon light reflected off her bare beautiful skin. Her silky legs were exposed from the knees down. The smell of soap and perfume filled the air. Scott remembered the officer from the church picnic several weeks ago. He and Mom seemed to hit it off well back on that warm summer day. In the park, they sipped cold lemonade and reminisced about days gone by. The picnic was attended by dozens of parishioners. The event was filled with lots of activities for the kids. The blue charcoal smoke smelling of beef and chicken rose from the grates of several stainless-steel grills, and a live Bluegrass Band called the “Sinners” kept the crowd’s attention. The air had a scent of burgers brats and dogs. Even Father Medeiros was kicking up his heels, sipping on one cold beer after another, mingling with the congregation. If was a fun day to be had by all. Now, the two adults were facing out into the woods and Officer Reynolds was talking with a serious business-like voice. Mom had put on the back porch light after seeing the two policemen searching the woods with their black mag lights. Several moths were already fluttering in circles around the dusty globe. A cicada buzzed along its secret flight path at the top of the trees. The officer’s deep voice went forth with an explanation, “The only thing I could see was a large crevice in the forest floor towards the back of your property. I am thinking it was an earthquake of some sort”. Scott’s mom, Cheryl Chester was conversing with the tall officer. “We don’t have any earthquakes in Minnesota Jake, do we?” He replied in a quick snippet, “With all the fracking that has been going on out in the western part of the state, Mother Earth is more unpredictable than ever”. “Well, I guess” replied Cheryl. “I hope our gas prices come down soon, seems like the Middle East is sucking the money from our wallets. How is this situation in my backyard going to be taken care of?” Officer Reynolds answered, “That’s quite a deep hole. I will talk with the appropriate group in the morning, and see to it that the Parks Department eventually fills it in. In the meantime, my partner is taping the area off, to keep the neighborhood kids the hell away from it! They could break a leg if they fell into it, worse yet, the walls could cave in on them. Should be fixed up in no time though. Keep a watch on it. If you find any damage to your home in the days ahead, I recommend you get your insurance man out here. My partner Dave will slide a copy of the police report under your back door when we finish up here, in case you have a claim".