Page 11 of Raw

“Morning. Sleep well?” Jason asked.

“Uh, yeah. The bed’s very comfortable,” I replied, not mentioning the struggle I had to fall asleep because of him.

Not even Sitka’s barks were that loud.

“Good. I’m giving Sitka her breakfast, then I’ll prepare some for us. Want eggs and bacon?”

“Yes, please.”

He placed the raw chicken on the floor, letting Sitka go at it like a wild animal.

Papa once had a dog too, but he died a few years ago because he was old.

He was Papa’s helper in the forest, carrying firewood to the camp and helping him hunt down animals like hares, moose, and even bears.

“Can I help?” I asked, stepping closer to him and looking at the other half of the chicken on the counter.

“You can get the bread out of the freezer and preheat the oven,” he told me.

I nodded and walked over to the big freezer next to the fridge, pushing up the lid and looking for a loaf of bread I knew he took with him from Fairbanks.

“Your mother texted. Wanted to know if you’re already with your father and brother.”

“Oh.”

Already? I wasn’t even gone for a whole day.

“Did you reply to her?” I asked, taking the bread to the table and then heading over to the oven.

“I did. Told her you’re still here waiting to get picked up. She’s quite worried, don’t you think?”

“She is, but there’s no reason for her to be. I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”

I had repeated those last words too many times ever since I graduated and announced to Mama that I wanted to live with Papa.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes.”

“All right,” he said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. “You’re determined to live in the middle of nowhere. I get it. Don’t think I would let my daughter do that though.”

“Lucky I’m not your daughter then,” I muttered, looking over at him with a frown. “You live in the middle of nowhere too.”

“But I’m an old man. I also have electricity and warm water.”

“We don’t need those things at Papa’s. We can make fires and have the river close.”

Jason shrugged, obviously not wanting to continue this conversation.

As nice as he was, I needed him to care about his own shit rather than mine.

“Scrambled?” he asked instead, taking the eggs out of the fridge.

“Sure.”

*

“Bring it back, Sitka!” I called out to her.

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