Celeste (Gemini 1)

brother!" she shouted at me.

I backed away, watched her for a few more

moments, and then ran into the house. For a long

moment I just stood in the entryway, catching my

breath. Then I went upstairs, fetched the ice pack, and

did what she had told me to do. Noble didn't wake up

for hours, and when he did, he was very

uncomfortable and very unhappy.

"Where's Mommy?" he asked. "I want

Mommy."

"She's outside cutting down the tree just

because you fell out of it," I said. and because you

said you felt someone push you."

"Cutting down the tree?"

"Listen. You can hear the chain saw." "I don't want her to cut my tree."

"You can thank yourself for that. Noble." Finally, the sound of the chain saw stopped.

Noble started to squirm, and I stopped him.

"Mommy said you shouldn't move, and

especially not your broken leg."

"But I have to pee," he said.

It didn't occur to me until that moment that his

going to the bathroom was going to be a big problem.

What would we do?

"I have to pee!" he said again.

"I'll go tell Mommy. Please don't move, or

she'll blame me, Noble. Please." I pleaded and hurried

out and down the stairs.

Mommy was standing beside the fallen tree, the

chain saw still in her hand. Her hair was wild, and she

had chips and sawdust stuck to her face.