Forever Country (23 page)

As the
Farmer’s Almanac
had predicted, we
had one cold and snowy winter. The
Farmer’s Almanac
has long had an
excellent reputation for weather predictions. In 1816, the guy who
did the predictions forgot to write something for some days in the
summer in New England. The editor decided to have fun and wrote
such things as “Snow. Ponds frozen over.” Lots of people had a good
laugh when they read the predictions, but that year an inactive
volcano — Mount Tambora — got very, very active. The dust and ash
in the air blocked enough sunshine that the weather got cold, and
yes, New England had snow and frozen-over ponds for some days that
summer. In New England, 1816 is known as the year without a
summer.

The community is coming to
terms with the sudden death of Larry. I think the memorial service
the church had for him helped everyone be more accepting of his
death. The
Zanesville Times
Recorder
also wrote two fantastic articles:
one on hunger in rural areas and another on organ and body
donation. I don’t always agree with things that get published in
the newspapers, but I have to give credit when it’s deserved. They
did an excellent job with both articles. Organ donation and hunger
are both topics that need awareness brought to them. What good are
your organs to you after you die? They will just rot. Why not
donate them and keep one or more people alive? Or, if you are old
and your organs cannot be used in transplants, why not give your
body to a medical school so it can be used to educate doctors who
will help heal thousands of people? People won’t throw away a TV
that is worth a couple of hundred dollars, yet they are willing to
let organs rot that are worth a few lives.

Mia and Levi are reading
every book possible on Down syndrome. I applaud them for their
decision and for standing firm. I also pray that God doesn’t give
them more than they can handle. I haven’t told anyone, but I’ve
been doing my own research on the syndrome. The depth of it has a
very broad range of severity. I just pray if my niece or nephew has
it, it’ll be a very minor
degree of the
syndrome. When we talk about the baby, which is often, we focus on
the good things. When the baby is born, the gender will be a
surprise to everyone. That alone is pretty exciting.

I’m still staying with Momma and Pops, but I
need my own place. I want to build my own home, but I don’t want to
come off as flashy. I don’t need much, but I do need a place of my
own.

Over the last month, Pops and I have been
recruiting people in the community for help with the rehabilitation
project of the old school. It’ll take a lot of manpower to remodel
the school and remove the debris. I had a couple empty dumpsters
and a porta potty brought in and purchased some chainsaws and other
tools I thought we could use. My plan is to clear everything from
the building and the lot, then powerwash the building to get rid of
the graffiti. Then I want to start replacing the windows, roof,
plumbing, and the electrical wiring in the old school.

Yesterday while Pops was checking the mail,
there was another letter addressed to me. “You got fan mail?” Pops
asks.

I smile and take it from him. “Thank you, it
sure looks like it.”

“
They seem to follow you
all over the place,” Pops teases.

“
I don’t know about
that.”

Later that night I open the letter with no
return address. It’s from the same person with the shaky
handwriting.

Abel Kennedy,

You’re going to pay for what you did.

Not a Fan

I flip the page over and, of course, there
isn’t anything else written on the paper. I have no idea who this
is. My mind thinks back and I honestly can’t pinpoint who it is.
There’re so many people who could be out to get me. This isn’t the
first time that I have received hate mail, but it is the first time
anyone has ever tracked me back to my country roots.

I know there isn’t anything the police can
do, and I don’t feel threatened. I do wonder why or how someone
could have tracked me back to my hometown.

Next I open a letter from Anna Harris from
Indiana. I remember the name from the girl I helped out in New
York. I’m a little surprised to hear from her. The envelope was
mailed to my New York address, but was forwarded to Momma and Pop’s
address, which is my temporary address.

Dear Abel,

Where do I begin? You are an angel from
heaven. Thank you. Thank you for helping me and my son. Thank you
for giving me a fresh start and a chance to make something of
myself for me, and for my son.

When I met you, I had
honestly hit rock bottom. I was at the lowest point of my
life.
I was perhaps a week away from
becoming a prostitute. Well, I hope that will be the lowest point
of my life. I sure don’t want to go through anything like that
again.

When you left the restaurant, I sat there. I
was stunned or in shock, or maybe both. I held the check you left
me and just looked at it. $100,000. A complete stranger left me
$100,000. I never had that much money before.

At first, I was afraid this was a twisted
joke. What if the check bounced, or the account was closed? I was
scared, but if it was a good check, I knew exactly what I would do
with it.

I knew I only had one chance to get it
right. I only had one chance for a fresh start, and I didn’t want
to mess it up.

We needed a car to get us back to Indiana
safely. I needed a house for my son and I to live, and I needed to
get back in school and pay it off in advance.

Once the check cleared, I got a car. Nothing
new or fancy, but a nice, used Honda Civic. We arrived home and my
parents greeted us warmly and lovingly. Now, I wonder what I was
afraid of. They love my son and it’s nice that he has
grandparents.

I immediately enrolled in cosmetology school
and paid off the tuition in full. It felt good. We are still living
with my parents, and I banked the rest of the money. Of course, I’m
helping my parents with groceries, when they let me. In the spring,
I want to buy a house, but I need to find the perfect one for my
son, Beau.

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I
thank you. I hope one day I will get a chance to see you again. I
want to personally thank you for my second chance. I wrote my phone
number at the bottom of this letter in case you need it.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a
Blessed New Year, Anna and Beau

I put her number in my phone and quickly send
her a text.

Abel: Thank you for the letter. This is my
number if you ever need it. Merry Christmas.

Anna: Cool, thanks. Heading into class. I
need my education. Have a great day, Abel, and Merry Christmas.
Thanks, again.

Today I’m starting the rehabilitation project
of the old school. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do with it.
It came with the small lot it was built on, but I also bought the
30-something-acre land behind the school.

Pops and I get a large thermal jug and fill
it to the brim with coffee. We also bought several dozen donuts
from Darrell’s Donuts in South Zanesville. It’s not a hearty
breakfast, but it is better than nothing. I figure, if I can get
people to work for me, I should at least feed them until they get
their first paycheck. We also fill another cooler with bottled
water, pop, and Powerade. We’ve been recruiting people for the past
month and to be honest, I’m not sure how many people will show
up.

“
Well, look at that,” Pops
says as we pull up to the school.

I smile when I see Johnny sitting on the
steps. “He showed up,” I say, proudly.

“
And he’s dressed for
work,” Pops adds.

I look around and I don’t see anyone else
around. “I hope he’s not the only one working with us today.”

“
We’re early, there’ll be
others.”

Johnny stands up and walks over to the truck
to greet us. “Mornin’,” he says.

“
Good morning, you ready to
get started?”

“
Just waitin’ on
instructions on what you want me to do.”

“
Are you too young for
coffee?” I ask. Pops laughs as he sets the thermos of coffee on the
tailgate of the truck.

“
No, sir. Your Daddy and I
drink coffee together on the weekends.”

I look at Pops and he just laughs. “Your
Momma know you drink coffee?”

“
Yes, sir. She buys me
cream and sugar for it. She’d rather me drink coffee than
whiskey.”

Pops clears his
throat.
I bet she would.
“Please, help yourself to the coffee. We’ll start
work in a few minutes.”

After a few minutes and just before 8:00
a.m., several trucks pull up. I’m happy to see some people from the
church are here to help. Mia’s dad and Savannah Mae’s dad are also
here.

I know some of the guys, but Pops introduces
me to everyone by name. I give instructions on what I want to be
done and everyone begins work. The guys go inside the building and
Johnny and I start cutting down trees and clearing the debris from
the lot. While I cut the trees down, Johnny carries the cut wood
and stacks it neatly in the field.

Johnny and I take a break and we both walk
into the building. It’s the first weekend in March and it’s still
cold out. Not bitter cold, but it’s still cold enough to see your
breath. I’m happy to see everyone working so hard. I didn’t mention
paying anyone but Johnny, but I see these guys deserve something.
I’m sure paying them under the table will be acceptable, at least
for now.

Johnny stays with me as I walk around the
room. The broken windows have all been removed from the frames and
carefully disposed of in the dumpsters. Some of the guys have
already started removing the old light fixtures from the
ceiling.

Just before lunch, Mia and Savannah Mae pull
in. I smile as soon as I see them. I always smile when I see
Savannah Mae.

“
Hey, cowboy,” she greets
me.

I look down at my work boots, jeans, and
Carhartt coat. I don’t seem much like a cowboy. It’s been my
nickname for a few months. Oddly, I don’t think I’ve ever had a
nickname before, and I hardly consider myself a cowboy.

“
I’m surprised to see you
here.”

“
We brought lunch,” Mia
yells from over the trunk hood.

“
You did?” I ask. “Johnny
and I were just
heading out to get food for
everyone.”

“
Hi, Johnny,” Savannah Mae
says. Johnny nods and smiles.

“
Looks like we’ll save
y’all a trip,” Mia says as she opens the back door of the truck,
then adds, “Don’t just stand there, help us set everything
up.”

We set up the back of the truck like a buffet
with all of the food they brought and the drinks we brought. The
guys are very grateful as they shuffle through the line. I eat last
because I want to make sure there’s enough food, and there is. In
fact, there are enough sandwiches and chips to feed everyone twice.
The girls sit in the truck with the heater on, and I stand next to
Savannah Mae’s window talking to them. Pops is on the other side of
the truck, talking to us.

Mia becomes startled and feels her belly.
“Something happened,” she says, placing her hand on her belly.

Pops and I look concerned and Savannah Mae
asks, “Did the baby kick?”

“
What?”

“
Did the baby kick? Feelin’
movement comin’ from the inside of your belly can sometimes be
startlin’.”

Pops and I look at each other as fear leaves
our face.

Mia smiles and says excitedly, “It did it
again. Feel.”

Savannah Mae reaches over and places her hand
on Mia’s belly. After a few minutes, Savannah Mae laughs. “I miss
that feeling. That’s your baby you’re feelin’. It’s amazin’, isn’t
it?”

“
Grandpap, you wanna feel
your grandbaby?”

I watch as Pops lightly touches Mia’s belly.
When his smile gets bigger, I know he felt the baby kick, too.
“That’s a mighty strong grandbaby.”

“
Hold on, I wanna feel my
niece or nephew, too.” I walk over and touch Mia’s belly. I wait
for several minutes and nothing happens. “I personally think y’all
are crazy.” I remove my hand and watch as Mia places her hand where
mine was.

Everyone laughs and I’m a little disappointed
that I didn’t get to feel the baby. Is it possible to be in love
with it already?

“
I have to call Levi. He
won’t believe it,” Mia squeals.

“
We need to get back to
work. This buildin’ won’t reconstruct itself. Thank you both for
lunch,” Pops says, downing the last of his bottled
water.

“
You’ll be over for
dinner?” Savannah Mae asks.

“
If that’s an invite, I’ll
be over.”

Mia pipes in, “Since I’m off, why don’t
everyone come over to my house for dinner? We’ll celebrate the baby
kickin’.”

Pops, Momma, Savannah Mae, and I will have
dinner at Mia and Levi’s at 6:00 this evening. I thank Mia and kiss
Savannah Mae goodbye. The guys and I work until 4:00. “I didn’t
expect so many workers to show today.”

Pops look around at the eight workers. “They
did come out in full force.”

“
It looks like I’ll need to
set up a payroll account for this. I initially thought of just
paying the one or two who showed up cash.”

“
See how many plan to
continue this project until the end. If the majority plan to stick
around, you’ll definitely need a payroll account for them. You
don’t want to get in trouble with the tax people or labor
department.”