Drew Hayden Taylor

sixteen minutes off the trip into town. People from the village always
travelled across the lake, even before most people had cars. Years ago
people drove sleighs or even walked across the two mile lake. It was
usually safe from mid-December to early March, supposedly.

Having grown up there all their lives, most of the local people can
handle the frozen lake. That's what makes what happened to Ryan’s
parents sopuzzling. What happened shouldn’t have happened. It was
late February, a safe enough month. All the winter sales were begin-
ning and his parents, always frugal shoppers, decided togoall the way
toToronto tospend fourdaysshopping. It wasall planned. Being only
9 at the time, Ryan got to go with them while his older sister stayed
behind with relatives.

1 was told that Ryan was always particularly close to his
parents,closer then his older sister. My mother claimed it was because
he wasadifficultbirth. Story had it hismotheralmostdied giving birth
to him and then he almost died of some respiratory problem a week
later. His mother blamed the nursing staff, saying they didn’t watch
over himenough. Then his father accused this one nurse of being racist
and prejudiced against Indians. You had to know Ryan’s parents.

Needless to say, they both survived. Maureen, his mother, liked
to say she refused to even consider dying until she knew if herlittle one
would be okay. That sort of set the pattern for the rest of their lives.

By pattern I meant he was the baby of the family and was treated
like that. It wasalittle obvious thathe was favoured by the parentsbut
that happened in some families. Of course that was not to say the
parents neglected or didn't love Aricka, his sister. He just got the
benefit of the doubt, or the bigger slice of the pie. Pretty soon Aricka
learned toaccept that, thoughitwasthrough gritted teeth. I'samazing
Ryan didn’t grow up more spoiled then he really was.

Iremembered how excited Ryan was aboutgoing to Toronto. He'd
never been there before. Aricka, fours years older, shrugged off his
enthusiasm, a little hurt she wasn’t going. All she had tolook forward
to was a week of exams and staying with her aunt.

Standing at the school bus stop that fateful morning, all she talked
aboutwasherbrotherand the trip. Minus 10degreesand she could still
whine.

“He always gets what he wants. Mom treats him better then me.
Shealways does. He's thebaby,” she says. “If you baby someoneall the
time then they’ll be a baby all the time.”

I'stamped my poor frozen 13 year old feet in response. The school
bus was late, probably due to the heavy falling snow. A possible day
off from school was rolling around in all our minds so we didn’t care

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