Smith Henderson - Fourth of July Creek

He shook the man’s hand and waved at the children each and then the mother. He stopped at the hood of the car.

“We used to take these road trips,” Pete said. “We’re from out in Choteau — middle of nowhere, you know — and so Great Falls was like the big city, right? You can imagine what I thought of Minneapolis. Of Seattle. There’s just nothing better than being a kid and going to new places. And how you could sleep so good in a moving car… and when you got home or to the hotel or the campsite and your dad would wake you up and carry you to bed. .. It was just the best, you know?”

She had taken her man’s hand.

“Hey,” Pete said, “I happen to have some stuff up in my car that I was running down to the office — some blankets and coats and diapers and things. Maybe you all would want some of those things? It’s just gonna sit in my office.”

The man didn’t look up.

“Tom,” she said.

The man moved his weight to his other leg.

“Tom,” she said again.

The man touched his temple with his free hand like he was trying to figure a difficult sum. Pete and the man’s wife and son watched him work it out. He ran a sleeve under his nose and nodded.

“Maybe we’d have a look at what all you got,” he said.

Does he ever find her?

She wyoms to California. There are stories in this, but they are her stories.

Good stories? Bad?

A mixed bag.

But it’s hurtful for her to be gone so long. She needs to forgive him and come back. He’s so alone.

It’s difficult. Wyoming is hard on everybody.

I don’t think I can take it, she doesn’t go back, she doesn’t at least call? Her parents are good people. They meant well. Pete helps everyone. He’s not perfect, but he tries. He’d make up for it, for lost time.

Time, yes. These things take time.

So she does come back. Eventually.

You gotta believe. You can’t just go through life acting like there are answers to every—

Much gratitude to my agent, Nicole Aragi, and to my editor, Lee Boudreaux.

Deepest thanks to all my colleagues and confidants for their taste and wisdom, especially Jon Marc Smith, Kevin Jones, and Becca Wadlinger.

This book has benefitted from countless readers, but I’d like to thank the following people, who were especially generous with their discernment and encouragement: Michael Adams, Rebecca Calavan, Peter Carey, Jessica Hansen, Stephen Harrigan, Jim Magnuson, Patrick McGrath, and Neil Winberg.

Thanks to the following organizations for providing me with the time and resources to complete this work: the Michener Center for Writers, the PEN American Center, the Stadler Center at Bucknell University, and the Jentel Artist Residency Program.

This book would not have been possible without the sustained support of Melissa Stephenson. You are made of iron or something quite like it.

Additional thanks to the following people and organizations for their crucial help over these past several years: Tom Grimes and Texas State University, Glen and Janet Stephenson, Steve Sullivan, Jo and Dan Beck, Sue and Jim Polich, Jesse Donaldson, the Interlochen Arts Academy, Mutt, and Wieden+Kennedy.

Finally, I’d like to thank the social work professionals in Texas and Montana as well as the researchers at the schools of social work at the University of Texas and the University of Montana. Thank you for your insights, but above all for your service to the most vulnerable among us.

SMITH HENDERSONis the recipient of the 2011 PEN Emerging Writers Award in fiction. He was a 2011 Philip Roth Resident in Creative Writing at Bucknell University, a 2011 Pushcart Prize winner, and a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers in Austin, Texas. He currently works at the Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency. His fiction has appeared in American Short Fiction, One Story, New Orleans Review, Makeout Creek , and Witness . Born and raised in Montana, he now lives in Portland, Oregon.

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