Ernestina
1 min readAug 7, 2022

ERNIE AND ERNESTINA: Searching

Book Two, Chapter 317: Maybe a Visit

I check the Greyhound bus schedule. I can leave here on a 9:40 a.m. bus and get to my sister Tish’s house in Virginia 25 hours later.

I can do this, I tell myself. I can travel that long. A round-trip ticket costs several hundred dollars. I can still do this.

David was Tish’s mate, and this is her sorrow. Her sorrow is not my sorrow. She will think her own thoughts, feel her own feelings. But perhaps I can help her. I would like to try.

I could take her a fruit cake. I bought a three-pound one today decorated with pecans. She’s not too interested in food just now. Perhaps this will entice her to eat.

I can take my work with me. My books with me. I will tell her this.

I can do this.

Ernestina

My writer husband’s favorite nickname for me was Ernestina, so in this 2-book memoir, he is Ernie. This is his story, our story, and my story. I invite you in.