Deep River Burning (19 page)

“Where are you going now, Josh?”

“I’d like to go wherever you are going,” he said earnestly.

“It’s a long drive to North Carolina.”

“Then I guess we should hit the road.”

They both checked out of their hotels and met at Buddy’s Place for dinner. They drove all night under the unobstructed light of the waning gibbous moon and arrived at Isabel Beach, North Carolina just in time for Josh to see his first sunrise over the Atlantic. She couldn’t wait to introduce him to Father Allen and Jimmie, to show him everything she had seen. The Susquehanna River empties into the Chesapeake Bay, she remembered, so Helena was out there somewhere, perhaps everywhere.

Denver felt calm. It was early morning and the horizon line on the Atlantic was blurred by a morning fog that she knew would soon burn away. She watched Josh walk across the beach and into that alluring line where water bubbles in and then pulls away in a most natural and rhythmic fashion. He ran his hand through the foaming surf and smiled, first to himself, and then at Denver. If she ever dealt with fire again, she would remember the water, the way the ignited sun is tempered by the cool spray of a cresting sea. She would remember the sunrise of that morning and how it traced the edges of Josh’s body like a gold cord. She was tired and happy, but she had things to do. She needed to get Josh settled into her apartment. Later, she would visit the beach again and say a prayer to her parents, thanking them for leading her to this place. She saw no great difference between the living and the dead. Everyone follows a path that leads to a boundless and bewildering love.

Acknowledgments

For their support and contributions to this book, I owe a warm debt of gratitude to Amie McCracken, Allie Maldonado, and Karen Gowen. I would also like to thank members of my writing community for sharing their passion and insights—Karen George, Nancy Jentsch, Taunja Thomson, and Blaise Weller. I extend my deepest gratitude to my husband Christopher for his unwavering courage, love and support.

About the Author

Originally from Pennsylvania, Donelle Dreese is an Associate Professor in the English Department at Northern Kentucky University where she teaches Multicultural and Environmental Literature, American Women Poets, and writing courses. Her creative work has appeared in journals such as
Quiddity International, Appalachian Heritage, Roanoke Review, Connotation Press, ISLE,
and
Conclave: A Journal of Character.

Her books include a YA vignette novella,
Dragonflies in the Cowburbs
(Anaphora Literary Press),
A Wild Turn
(Finishing Line),
Looking for a Sunday Afternoon
(Pudding House), and
America’s Natural Places, East and Northeast
(ABC-CLIO). Her most recent book is a collection of poetry,
Sophrosyne,
forthcoming from Aldrich Press.

Donelle holds a Ph.D in Literature and Criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and serves as Assistant Editor for the Journal of Kentucky Studies. You can learn more about Donelle at
donelledreese.com
, or follow her on Twitter (@donelledreese).