I did not recall that I’d ever been to Aunt Ida’s home She lives way outside of town She’s my grandma’s oldest sister but we only see her a few times a year She always comes to our house for Thanksgiving birthdays or cookouts We never go there She’s very excited to see you Mom said Look she sent me this e-mail to show you Mom handed me her tablet and I read the message Dear Max I am delighted that we’ll be spending a couple of days together You’ll share Woe’s room while you are here Fondly Aunt Ida Who is Woe I asked No one had ever mentioned him
Mom and Dad looked at each other Then Dad fixed his gaze on the road Worthington was my cousin Mom said He was quite a lot older than me I never knew him He died before I was born Then why does he have a room at Aunt Ida’s house Well Mom said Ida only had one child So I guess no one else ever needed the room She kept it the way it was She just calls it Woe’s room Dad said trying to explain Because it was his Mom smiled and said something she probably thought would sound exciting but she just made it worse You’ll probably be the first kid to sleep there since I knew what she was about to say Dad let out his breath in a big sigh He finished Mom’s thought for her You’ll be the first to sleep there in a long time he said
We followed Route 101 for about fifteen more minutes Nobody said anything but I was thinking hard Did Worthington die in that room I finally asked No Dad said No no no What happened to him They glanced at each other again Then Dad turned onto a narrow dirt road beside a lake He fell Mom said He fell He fell off a cliff A long time ago Dad added Before I was born Mom repeated I could see a small white house up ahead It was barely visible in the thick pine trees and the shadow of Butcher Mountain The mountain rose to a flat peak It was the highest mountain in the area though it wasn’t huge How old was he I asked
