Forever Country (21 page)

“
I don’t have that answer,
Savannah Mae. I wish I did. The only thing we can do is give him
the memorial that he deserves.” I take a drink of my herbal tea.
“We’ll talk with others to see if they know what his wishes were.
Maybe his neighbors or friends would know what he wanted.” She sits
beside me and I can tell this worries her. “This is just a
preliminary article; as law enforcement officials get more details,
the newspaper will update the story. We’ll know more in the next
few days.”

We talk for a few minutes and I finish my tea
before I ask, “Can I leave my truck parked here? I need to run up
and check on Momma and Pops.”

“
Sure. Other than the
deputy, I don’t think anyone’s been up there,” she says.

“
I doubt it. I appreciate
them making the climb up the hill to check on them. I know it
wasn’t easy.

She laughs, “Daddy said the deputy looked
like a polar bear comin’ off the hill.”

“
I’m sure he was covered in
snow. It looks like you got a few feet of snow.”

 ”
We did. It snowed
for a week straight. You got warmer clothes with you?” she
asks.

“
No, I wish I
did.’

“
Hold on. I think I have
some coveralls that’ll fit you.”

I change into the coveralls she offers me. I
don’t ask, but I’m pretty sure they belong to her ex-husband,
Ethan. “Are you going to be up later?” I ask as I slip my feet into
my boots.

“
You comin’
back?”

“
I was thinking I would if
you’re still going to be up.”

“
If you’re comin’ back,
I’ll still be up.”

I kiss her goodbye and make
the climb up the steep driveway to see my parents. Before I see the
light on in the barn, I see smoke roaring out of the chimney. It’s
bitter cold and I know they are going through an excessive amount
of firewood trying to keep the house warm. Even with a
coal furnace, it’ll take extra heat to warm this
old house. The house is dark with just a faint flicker of light
coming from the kitchen and living room.

Making the climb up the snowy driveway was
more difficult than I expected. Carrying four plastic sacks of
groceries didn’t help. Momma and Pops don’t know I’m coming and I
don’t want to startle them. I fear what I’ll walk into. My worst
fear is that they’ll be huddled together trying to stay warm, or
they’ll be hungry, or both. The article about Larry’s death has
brought a real problem to light for all of us.

When I get to the front porch, I’m surprised
when I hear laughter coming from the kitchen. I knock on the door
before walking into the house. Momma and Pops are sitting at the
kitchen table with a candle lit in the center. The room is warm,
and they look happy. Nothing like the image I had in my head. It’s
9:00 p.m. and I thought maybe they would be in bed for the night.
“Am I interrupting?” I ask jokingly, but it really isn’t a joke.
I’m amazed and thrilled at how well my parents get along, and how
well they both look.

“
Well, there he is,” Momma
says, standing up from the table. Pops also stands up.

I put the groceries and
milk on the table and bend over to hug Momma. Lights come on in the
kitchen, lighting up the entire room.
Why
were they sitting in the dark? Do I dare ask?

“
I was so worried about
you,” Momma says.

“
I’m fine, no need to worry
about me. How are you both doing? From the looks of it, you’re both
doing great.” I hug Pops next and Momma sits back down at the table
blowing out the candle.

“
We’re good. Nelly made
some peach cobbler, do you want some?” I look at the table and I
see two plates with crumbs on them and two coffee mugs. I laugh on
the inside. There’s a blizzard and Momma makes peach cobbler. I
know the heat from the oven will help warm the house, so I imagine
that while they had electricity, Momma did a lot of baking and
cooking.

“
I do. I brought you some
groceries. I thought you might be running low.” Picking up the
sacks of groceries, I set them down on the kitchen counter. Momma,
Pops, and I put everything away before Momma scoops me out a hefty
portion of peach cobbler. To my surprise, it’s still
warm.

We sit down and I tell them
I stopped in and saw Mia and Levi on my way into town. They are
relieved to hear they are both all right. Momma explains that the
electric just came back on last night.
They
also ask about Savannah Mae and Sawyer Jackson. Pops opens up the
newspaper I bought and he looks shocked when he reads the
headlines. He reads the article about Larry aloud to Momma and me.
I wish I had mentioned Larry to them before Pops opened the
newspaper. It may have softened the blow of his death, but then on
second thought, I don’t think anything would have softened the
blow. It’s shocking and devastating, no matter how you hear about
it.

We talk about Larry, the snowstorm, and the
stockpile of food and wood my parents have in the basement, and in
the barn.

“
What kinds of food are you
storing in the basement?” I ask.

“
What kind of food you
lookin’ for? We have a freezer full of meat from the animals we
slaughter. The garden was pretty good to us this year, don’t cha
think, Nelly?”

“
Oh yes, mighty good. Don’t
forget about the peach tree and the walnut tree.”

I should have known that
they would have plenty of food. After all, they live on a farm.
That’s their job — raising food. I’ve been away a long time to
forget that.
I find it amusing that I
didn’t consider that my parents would have been prepared for such a
situation. They aren’t new to this, and this isn’t their first
winter on the farm. Seeing how well they get along and how well
prepared they are, I have to wonder if they don’t prefer being
snowed in together.

Savannah Mae

I don’t have the words to describe how
excited I was to see Abel Lee standin’ at my front door. I didn’t
want him to know, so I gave him a sassy attitude about not
answerin’ his cell phone. I’m afraid if he knew the feelin’s I had
about him, that might scare him off.

I check on Sawyer Jackson
and leave his bedroom door open so more heat can flow into his
room. These old houses get cold quickly. I lie on the couch and
cover myself up with one of my grannie’s homemade quilts. I’m
reading
Beyond Secrets
by DB Jones when the knock at the door scares me. I jerk so
much that I drop
the book
and kick my legs up off the couch from terror. I
hear laughter and I know Abel Lee was watching me through the
window in the door.

I stand and straighten my clothes before
answerin’ the door.

“
Did I scare you?” he
greets me walking into the house after he stomps the snow off of
his boots.

“
No, not at all,” I
lie.

He stops and looks at me. “Are you sure?
Because it looked like you were scared the way you jumped off of
the couch in a hurry.” He smiles and I can see the single dimple
that I’ve missed so much. “I wasn’t spying, but I could see you
through the sheer curtains hanging over the window in the
door.”

“
I’m sure.” I watch as he
walks over and picks up the book I
dropped
out of fear. I close the door and lock it. These days, I always
lock the door. I make a mental note to replace the sheer curtain
with something thicker and heavier. I never once thought about
killers or peepin’ Toms until very recently. I might have thought
of Peepin’ Abels, but I don’t think he’s a peeper.

“
I think you dropped this,”
he teases as he hands me the book.

“
Thank you,” I take the
book and set it on the coffee table. I look at him and then his
mouth. Oh, that mouth. I quickly look away. He removes his boots,
hat, gloves, winter coat, and the overalls I gave him to
wear.
I almost wish he wouldn’t stop
there.

“
How are your parents
doin’?” I sit on the couch and pat the seat next to me to indicate
that he should sit down.

“
They’re doing better than
expected. In fact, I almost felt like I was intruding on them.” He
walks over and takes a seat next to me.

“
Intrudin’ on what?” I ask,
coverin’ myself with the quilt. Abel Lee looks at the small flame
burnin’ in the fireplace before he stands to add another
log.

“
Like I was intruding on… I
don’t know, on their alone time or something.” He watches me and
comes back and sits down beside me.

“
Alone time?” I ask.
“They’ve been stranded up there for almost two weeks. Are you
sure?”

He laughs and says, “Yeah. They were sitting
at the table in the dark having peach cobbler and coffee, laughing
like they were on a date. The peach cobbler was still warm.”

Smiling, I say, “I think it’s good they get
along so well.” When we get quiet, I ask, “Are you hungry?”

“
No, I’m okay. I think
maybe it’s too late for me to be here. Maybe I should
leave.”

“
Do you want to watch a
movie with me? I can make us some popcorn if you’d
like.”

“
You don’t want to be
alone? It’s getting kind of late.”

“
Not really.” I look at him
and then I see the book on the coffee table. “I was readin’
that
book earlier and it
was kind of scary.”

He smiles and leans up and turns the book
over. “No popcorn but a movie sounds good.”

I jump up, euphoric that
he’s stayin’ awhile longer. “What do
you
want to watch?” I hold up several DVDs for him to choose
from.

He laughs. “I
don’t
want to
watch
Pretty Woman
.” I take
Pretty Woman
away and lay it on the floor.

I say, “I
don’t
want to
watch
Tombstone
.”
I remove it and lay it on the floor on top of
Pretty Woman
. “Your turn.”

He smiles, “I really
don’t
want to
watch
Toy Story
.”

“
Are you sure? You bought
this for Sawyer Jackson and it’s now our favorite
movie.”

“
I’m sure that you’ll get
tired of seeing it before Sawyer Jackson does so there’s no need
for you to watch it now. Put it on the floor with the other
do-not-watch films.”

“
Okay, your loss,” I tease
as I place
Toy Story
on the floor. “Two movies left,” I say, waving the DVD’s in
front of me. “Which one will it be?” One movie is behind the other
and he can see only the top movie.

We both laugh. He begins to speak, and I
interrupt, “Nope, it’s my turn to pick.”

“
Fair enough, as long as
you
don’t
choose
Pitch Perfect
to watch,” he says, pointing to the DVD that he
can see.

“
I
do not
want to watch
Pitch Perfect
,” I laugh
loudly and place
Pitch Perfect
on the floor with the other movies. I wave the
final movie —
Pitch Perfect
2 —
in the air and sing,
“We’re watching this one; we’re watching this one.”

I put the movie in and Abel Lee and I lie on
the couch, watchin’ the show. I laugh and he kisses the top of my
head. After awhile he becomes silent, and I don’t think he’s
watchin’ the movie at all. By the time the movie is almost over, I
believe Abel Lee may have fallen asleep. I slowly get up from the
couch, and he doesn’t move. Lookin’ around the room, I decide to
cover him up and let him sleep here. I gently kiss him goodnight
before turnin’ the television off, and goin’ to bed.

CHAPTER FIVE

Abel Lee

I wake up in an unfamiliar
house. Blinking a few times, I remember last night. I’m at Savannah
Mae’s house. I have a kink in my neck that I try to work out before
I stand up. Sitting on the couch, I realize how uncomfortable I am.
Should I leave? Should I stay? Do I make myself at home and make
coffee? I really want some coffee, and I want to go to the
bathroom, but I can’t remember if her floors creak. What will
Sawyer Jackson think
if he sees
me?

I hear the coffee pot
before I smell the coffee.
Thank God,
Savannah Mae’s up.
I stand and walk into
the kitchen, expecting to see her standing at the sink. When she
isn’t there, I look around the small house. No Savannah Mae; the
coffee pot is on the automatic timer. The floor didn’t creak when I
walked across it. I go to the bathroom and I’m surprised when I
come out and Savannah Mae and Sawyer Jackson are still in bed
asleep. I quietly wait for the coffee to finish brewing while I
stand at the kitchen window and look out at the pile of wood in the
backyard. I also notice a few dead trees around the old school that
need to be cut down. If they fall on their own and hit the
building, it could cause a heap of problems.

I pour myself a coffee and drink it while
looking outside. I think I’m afraid if I move, I’ll wake up
Savannah Mae and her son. There are a hundred things I need to do
and I’m not getting anything done standing here. I need to leave,
but I don’t want to leave without seeing Savannah Mae. Looking
around, I’m grateful when I find a stack of Post-it notes and a pen
in a drawer in the kitchen. I jot down a quick note, and after I
check on Sawyer Jackson, I quickly put on my boots and coat, add a
log to the hot embers, and leave.