{"id":21181,"date":"2025-10-30T17:09:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T22:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/?p=21181"},"modified":"2025-10-31T12:30:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T17:30:13","slug":"devout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/devout\/","title":{"rendered":"Devout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61556140010887\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-instagram  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/boudin_mcneese\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12,4.622c2.403,0,2.688,0.009,3.637,0.052c0.877,0.04,1.354,0.187,1.671,0.31c0.42,0.163,0.72,0.358,1.035,0.673 c0.315,0.315,0.51,0.615,0.673,1.035c0.123,0.317,0.27,0.794,0.31,1.671c0.043,0.949,0.052,1.234,0.052,3.637 s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>Devout<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Rosamund Lannin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Lucy wasn\u2019t the type that went to mom meetups, but they seemed like an okay group. And, she chided herself, there was no type that went to mom meetups. She was still unpacking a lot of the garbage from Dallas, where they\u2019d never really found their people. They\u2019d moved there because her job had made her an offer she couldn\u2019t refuse, which was also what had brought them to the Iron Range of Minnesota. She\u2019d never thought wastewater engineer would be the hot career, but the last 20 years of increasingly extreme weather patterns had made her skill set in high demand. 20 years ago she had a Bachelor of Science and not much direction; now she had a husband named Noah and a 10-year-old named Margot Leander because they really loved that one director, the one who drowned in the Great Tycoon of \u201936.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThese biscuits are insane. Where did you even get butter?\u201d She glanced outside at Margot, who seemed to be doing fine with the other kids. That was good; she could be shy with new people. Much like her, she thought with a pang of guilt. \u201cThe price gouging going on right now is insane. I mean I get it. That new cow virus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWe have a little farm \u2014 a micro-farm?\u201d Lila was tiny \u2014 Lucy was shocked to learn that she had four kids and was thinking about more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThat\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYou should come see it sometime. We have a ladies\u2019 night every few months. No husbands, no wives,\u201d she nodded to Maddie, who smirked, \u201cand I don\u2019t know, it just really fills my cup. We also do a big thing right before summer \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cLila, don\u2019t freak her out.\u201d Eden was Lucy\u2019s favorite so far. She was an operations manager at a small trucking company and had the kind of steady evenness that set Lucy at ease. \u201cBut yeah, you should come next time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cDid you have a good time with the other kids?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cIt was okay. Carrie\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Carrie was Eden\u2019s daughter, a quiet girl with her mother\u2019s dark eyes. Lucy felt something like hope. The last few years had been so hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWell, let me know if you want to hang out with her again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWe already traded numbers; she can message me on my phone that\u2019s not really a phone, since you won\u2019t get me a real phone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYou can get a real phone when you\u2019re in high school. There\u2019s too much misinformation out there. Margot? Are you listening to me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cDid you have a good time with the other moms?\u201d Noah cracked a beer and slid it across the table without spilling a drop. 20 years ago she\u2019d met Noah tending bar near their unremarkable state school, two lower-middle class weirdos who didn&#8217;t quite fit in; a time when summer was synonymous with vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cShut up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThat good?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThere was one lady I liked, Eden. She seemed cool and Margot liked her daughter, Carrie. The rest of them were fine, just kind of. I don\u2019t know. The vibe was weird, but maybe I\u2019m being weird? I can\u2019t tell anymore. No one asked me about my job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Her phone buzzed. \u201cI guess it went well. Sarah invited us to a bbq.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cDo you think they\u2019ll have real meat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI don\u2019t know if they eat meat.\u201d There hadn\u2019t been any at Lila\u2019s house. She wondered what kinds of animals they raised on her farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Noah brought his A-game to the BBQ; five kinds of liquor he\u2019d been brewing in the garage since they\u2019d moved there a few months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThis is so so so good,\u201d Maddie said to Lucy. Her wife Mel nodded in agreement. \u201cIt\u2019s so sweet and smoky. Like a marshmallow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cOh yeah, he calls that the Campfire. It\u2019s an aged bourbon. He wants to open his own distillery and bar, but money\u2019s not quite there yet. He\u2019s looking for bartending work if you hear of something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI\u2019ll keep my eye out. What do you do for work again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">She had told Maddie twice but she tried to be patient. Everyone had a lot going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI\u2019m a wastewater engineer, it\u2019s actually why we\u2019re here. There\u2019s a big project over in Grand Marais, building out a sewer system that utilizes the lake but doesn\u2019t pollute it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Maddie\u2019s eyes started to glaze over at Grand Marais, which only made her feel like she had to sell it. \u201cIt should really solve a lot of water supply problems, working with the land in a way that doesn\u2019t hurt it. We\u2019re hoping it can be a blueprint for future wastewater systems.\u201d She felt rather than saw Noah at her elbow; he must have read her body language from across the room. \u201cThey had an article about it in the <em>Tribune<\/em> last week \u2014\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThat\u2019s cool.\u201d Maddie cut her off smoothly as she sipped her drink. \u201cI don\u2019t keep up with the news that much, it\u2019s too depressing.\u201d She turned to Noah: \u201cI hear you\u2019re looking for work. Mel\u2019s cousin has a bar over in Grand Marais, one of those bougie cocktail bars for tourists. I can talk to him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThat would be great. Especially because Lucy goes over there every day for work, saving the planet! We can carpool.\u201d His grin was wide and toothy. Lucy loved him with every bone in her body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Afterwards, Eden texted her, asking if she wanted to get coffee. She sighed and accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Their coffee date turned into a thrift store date turned into a lunch date and would\u2019ve turned into a dinner date but Lucy remembered it was her turn to do dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNoah does 90% of the cooking, he\u2019s way better at it than me and he actually likes it. I do like three things really well. This was really fun though.\u201d She meant it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat are your three things?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYour dishes. What are they?\u201d Eden fixed her with her dark eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cSpaghetti bolognese, vegetable pilaf, and pancakes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThat\u2019s better than me. I guess I\u2019m the divorced dad; I should probably get an Audi like my dad had. And a younger dude.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cHa! I hate cooking. I always have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cCooking sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat do you like?\u201d She still didn\u2019t feel like she knew Eden that well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cCoffee. Thrifting. Burgers. My daughter. Not feeling like I have to explain myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cAmen to that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The winter was a good one. Her work project went well and stayed on track; if all continued, they should be able to provide reliably clean water to six towns by summer \u2014&nbsp; just in time for the scorching heat waves that had become the norm. Noah worked at Mel\u2019s cousin\u2019s bar, The Gilded Loon, an upscale cocktail bar with killer food and a view of Lake Superior. Lucy hung out with Eden every few weeks; it helped that their daughters had become friends. They went to the lake a lot. Lucy never wanted to do indoor things in the winter \u2014 there would be plenty of time for that when the sun became oppressive and the days too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">One day at the lake, Noah came with them. \u201cSo Eden, you got anyone in your life?\u201d He waggled his eyebrows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNoah! Shut up.\u201d Lucy kicked sand at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNope.\u201d Eden smiled a tight smile. \u201cIt didn\u2019t end super well with Carrie\u2019s dad and it\u2019s kind of slim pickings around here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhaaaaaaat? You\u2019ve got your pick of married cheating evangelicals, divorced evangelicals, and migrant farm workers who found their way up here and probably regret it. I think you should go with the last group, might be a bit of a cultural barrier but they\u2019re probably the most sane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Eden said nothing; for an agonizing few seconds the air was thick with the sound of bugs and Lucy\u2019s terror that they\u2019d blown it. Then Eden burst out laughing, her dark curls shaking as her shoulders heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYou nailed it. This isn\u2019t where I saw myself ending up.\u201d Lucy might be bad at feelings but the sadness radiating off her friend was palpable. \u201cBut it\u2019s worked out for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cMaybe we can all go down to the city sometime this summer.\u201d Noah said. \u201cStay in a hotel, enjoy that good air-conditioning, see some new faces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">That night when they got home, Lucy stopped by Margot\u2019s room and tapped on the door. Margot looked up from the old comic she was reading. <em>Nausica\u00e4 of the Valley of the Wind. <\/em>She must have got it on interlibrary loan; the graphic novel selection at their tiny branch wasn\u2019t amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cDid you have a good time today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYeah.\u201d She went back to her comic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cReally? You can tell me. I mean, you don\u2019t have to.\u201d Noah was so much better at this. She was about to walk away when Margot\u2019s voice stopped her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cCarrie doesn\u2019t want to be my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Margot still had the bedspread they\u2019d got her in kindergarten; a print of forest animals and fairies. Lucy was weirdly happy she hadn\u2019t asked for a new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI asked her if she wanted to get a best friends necklace; the kind with the heart that breaks in half. She said that she never has friends that long so we probably shouldn\u2019t. They always move away or stop talking to her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cOh honey.\u201d Lucy brought her in for a hug. \u201cI\u2019m sure she\u2019s just dealing with her own thing. It\u2019s not about you. Anyone would want to be best friends with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThat\u2019s not true.\u201d But she leaned into her mother\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">She meant to bring it up to Eden but could never find the right time and she didn\u2019t really know how to bring it up anyway. Probably better to let the girls work it out amongst themselves. She didn\u2019t tell Noah either. Besides, when they got to Last Chance Winter Dance party at The Gilded Loon, Margot and Carrie split off immediately and commandeered a booth, ordering Shirley Temples and fries and a truly ridiculous brownie sundae. She tried to slip Mel\u2019s cousin her credit card but he told her it was on the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">It made her so happy to see Margot have some semblance of a normal childhood. Things were so different now and she often wondered what effect that was having on her. Each generation had its own problems, she supposed, but tycoons and virus outbreaks weren\u2019t things she had been prepared to deal with. Not to mention all the moving for her work. Maybe she could do something about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Noah was mixing drinks at the bar; she grabbed him on a break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cHey,\u201d She kissed him; he tasted like mint gum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWell hey there,\u201d he smiled. \u201cWhat\u2019s got you in a good mood?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat would you think about staying here after my project was up? Like, permanently? Maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cReally?\u201d His face was an arched eyebrow. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cPeople seem nice, Margot\u2019s doing well, you\u2019ve got a good thing going on here.&nbsp; I could find more work, I might have to travel some but yeah. Houses are so cheap, the weather is the best we\u2019re going to get. You like it, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI do, but it\u2019s so small. I always saw us ending up in a city, maybe not in the center but close to everything. I know you hated Dallas but like, there are other cities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat\u2019s even in the cities anymore?\u201d She countered. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on that you\u2019d want? Being inside half the year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cProximity to different kinds of people. But I get what you\u2019re saying.\u201d He rubbed the back of his neck. \u201cLet\u2019s talk about it more later. Hey, there\u2019s the ladies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Eden and Sarah and Maddie and Lila bellied up to the bar. Eden squeezed her arm, a gesture that surprised and pleased her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The conversation flowed into the night. Noah took Carrie and Margot home. For a moment after he left there was a lull. Lucy felt warm and brave. She cleared her throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cSo I don\u2019t know anything for certain, but we might stay on after my project is over. I\u2019m going to see if there\u2019s more work at the plant in Hibbing \u2014\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">No one cared about the new plant in Hibbing \u2014 they erupted in cheers and clapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cLucy!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThat\u2019s amazing, we\u2019re so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cAre you pregnant?\u201d Lila sounded hopeful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Lucy snorted without thinking. \u201cNo. I\u2019m 40 and we\u2019re happy with Margot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cDon\u2019t worry about her, she\u2019s baby-crazy,\u201d Sarah beamed, \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled. You have to come to the farm next weekend. We have a thing every year to bring spring in, it\u2019s a little granola but if you\u2019re going to stay there, you should be part of it. It\u2019s important to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cShe could also come next year,\u201d&nbsp; Eden said, \u201cI mean \u2014\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNo, she should be in on this if she\u2019s going to stay here. Meet us at the farm at dusk. Wear comfortable clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The moon shone quiet and cool over Lila\u2019s farm; a welcome reprieve from the day. It was barely April but the days were already starting to warm up. The farm was small; a few greenhouses and an old, red barn, where the women were gathered. Sarah waved her over to where they stood in a rough semi-circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cShould I have brought something?\u201d She scanned everyone\u2019s faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNo you\u2019re great. We\u2019re just waiting for Lila.\u201d Maddie said. \u201cShe\u2019s bringing out Lulu. It\u2019s almost time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cLulu the cow?\u201d In the distance, she could hear a faint mooing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Maddie turned to Eden. \u201cDo you want to explain it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNot really, I think we should\u2019ve waited until she\u2019d been here another year, but whatever.\u201d Maddie made a face at her. Eden continued, \u201cWe have a good life here. The weather is livable and our kids are healthy. Do you know why that is?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Lucy blinked. \u201cWe\u2019re at the northern tip of Minnesota. It\u2019s geography.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Everyone looked worried. Eden took a deep breath. \u201cYes, but that\u2019s only part of it. Everything is so chaotic now, we don\u2019t know when the next major event is going to happen \u2014\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cActually we do, we\u2019ve gotten really good at predicting it. It\u2019s one of the few upsides of this mess we got ourselves into.\u201d Something started to rise in her gorge. \u201cIt\u2019s why we\u2019re still alive as a species. There\u2019s a long way to go, but I mean, but \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cIt didn\u2019t protect my twins from the mudslide!\u201d Maddie had tears in her eyes. \u201cIt didn\u2019t protect Lila\u2019s last farm or Sarah\u2019s first husband. We\u2019ve stopped relying on science and what the news says is progress. It takes forever and it doesn\u2019t always work. This works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Something in her voice froze Lucy\u2019s feet to the muddy ground. The rains were supposed to stay heavy for the next few weeks; she should check on the retention basins more regularly. She should also leave, but she didn\u2019t know how. Her hand strayed to her phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cShe needs to see it.\u201d Sarah\u2019s voice was hushed. \u201cShe can just watch this time. It\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Lulu the cow was hugely pregnant. Her sides bulged and her udders were swollen with milk. Lila struggled to pull her into the barn, sweat shining on her high brow. Last week she had asked Lucy if she\u2019d look good with bangs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">She got her into the barn and tied her to a wall. Lulu mooed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cAre \u2014 what are you going to do?\u201d Lucy found her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Lila ignored her and addressed the group. \u201cShe\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The next hour seemed to play out in slow motion. Lulu birthed not one but two calves (\u201cTwins!\u201d Sarah breathed), her water bag breaking and spilling over the damp ground. The air smelled biological in a way Lucy wasn\u2019t familiar with; she liked systems and order, not whatever was going on, but she still didn\u2019t really know what was going on and felt under some spell. Then Lila brought a sledgehammer out and killed the smaller calf, spattering its brand-new brains across the floor. The women howled and painted their bodies with blood and offal, keening and yelling their anguish into the night; at one point she felt Eden\u2019s hand at her elbow, drawing her in, but she moved away. She closed her eyes and then someone was leading her out, away from the smells and cries and Lulu\u2019s somber face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat the fuck was that?\u201d She found her voice, she was yelling at all of them but especially Lila, who looked smug and sanctified like Ella in fifth grade had when she\u2019d told her that women who killed their babies were going to hell and that\u2019s why Laurie\u2019s mom had cancer; she was certain. \u201cYou don\u2019t even eat meat, why would you do that? Why would you kill that baby?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cIt protects us,\u201d Lila said. \u201cWe care about our children. This is how nature works. We haven\u2019t had an extreme weather event since we started. It works. You\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cAnd we\u2019re not like the groups over in Bemidji, we heard that they \u2014\u201c She never heard the end of Sarah\u2019s sentence. \u201cThis isn\u2019t. This isn\u2019t \u2014\u201c She was babbling and then she was running and she was texting Noah a stream of consciousness he would make her explain later. As she ran the rain started up again, the water mingling with the tears on her face. She didn\u2019t know if she was crying for the nameless calf or Lulu or Eden or the world as a whole, but she knew she had to keep moving or she would collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Rosamund Lannin<\/strong> has a kid and a job. She has published Pushcart Prize-nominated short stories and personal essays in <em>Bluestem Magazine<\/em>, <em>Strange Horizons<\/em>, <em>Lady Churchill&#8217;s Rosebud Wristlet<\/em>, and <em>Vice<\/em>. When she&#8217;s not querying a novel about live action roleplaying (LARP), you can find her riding her bike around the gloriously weird northwest side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&lt;&lt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/the-museum-of-people\/\">Back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/the-ticking-clock\/\">Next<\/a> &gt;&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To learn more about submitting your work to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/boudin-submissions\/\">Boudin<\/a><\/em> or applying to McNeese State University&#8217;s Creative Writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/mfa-application-submissions\/\">MFA program<\/a>, please visit Submissions for details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Devout Rosamund Lannin __________ Lucy wasn\u2019t the type that went to mom meetups, but they seemed like an okay group. And, she chided herself, there was no type that went to mom meetups. She was still unpacking a lot of the garbage from Dallas, where they\u2019d never really found their people. They\u2019d moved there because&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241],"tags":[75,146,26],"class_list":["post-21181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boodin-the-ticking-clock-oct-25","tag-boudin","tag-fiction-2","tag-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21181"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21235,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21181\/revisions\/21235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}