The Widow's Friend (10 page)

To be continued

***

From Callii Wilson

Nov 22nd (One day later)

Hello again, I can’t believe how many typing mistakes I made
on that last email. It is hard to concentrate when you have lots of kids
around, but I am done with that duty and I’m ready for the next challenge,
which will be going to my sister’s house in Iowa. She ended up back in the
hospital Saturday night, but she is out, as of today, and is doing well. She is
supposed to have a friend stay with her all of next week, but she is nervous to
have her come because she will be bringing her ten month old with her. That’s a
little too much with her three month old being there, so she asked me if I
would come, and then she could tell her friend that she was already taken care
of. I don’t know for sure what’s going to happen yet, but I am hoping she comes
up with a different solution because this is the time of year I can make some
good money selling dolls! But if she needs me I will be there.You asked if she
was from the same mother, and the answer is yes. My mom was forty two years old
when she had her—and it was quite the surprise. We were both pregnant at the
same time. She is my only sister. I always wanted one and I finally got her.
She is more like one of my kids than a sister, though. She and my daughter are
really close. Tacey has no sister of her own so she claims Brooke as one.

So, what have you been up to? Are you looking forward to
Thanksgiving? Are you going to get up at 3:00 in the morning to get some of those
great specials? We tried that last year and I said never again, but we’ll see.
I don’t think it is worth it. I would rather pay the extra bit of money.

When I figure out if I am going to Iowa we can decide on the
road trip. It sounds really fun but I am not sure if it would be appropriate.
Please convince me that it’s okay. I feel like I would be doing the same thing
I have been preaching to my son against.

You asked me about my name and its spelling. My mom did that
to me, she was a very creative woman. She liked it with two i’s because my
middle name is Jo. She would write it like this: Calliijo, three dots in a row.
It is oh so cute, but it has given me a lot of grief. I don’t go by Callpurnia
much—only when I am trying to be professional, which isn’t very often.

Speaking of my mom, I asked you about your favorite
Christmas memory. Mine is of my mom and me going to pick out my Christmas doll
for the year. We would shop and shop until we found that special one, and then
she would spend hours making clothing for it. My mom gave me a doll every year
until she passed away, and I have done the same thing for my daughter. For the
last two years, since my mom died, my daughter has given me a doll. We are all
doll lovers. Can you tell?

Also, we always had Christmas dinners with the extended
family. My mom had nine sisters and three brothers. By the time all of those
people and their families got together it was a total mad house, but it was a
lot of fun. There are a lot of good cooks in that family.

So what is your favorite Christmas movie, and what is your
favorite Christmas Song?

Well, it is time to end this for tonight. Have a good night
and I hope to hear from you soon, Calliijo

***

From Levi Stone

Nov 23rd

Calliijo, three dots in a row—how cute is that, and this
cute as a button name just fits you, because you are as cute as a button too.
You told me once that your mother would tell me to run from you, but I don’t
believe that for a minute. She sounds like a wonderful woman and someone that
was very close to you. Am I right? Thirteen kids on your mother’s side is
amazing. It sounds like you and your mom were very close, and it sounds like
she hasn’t been gone too very long either. I’m so sorry. My mom has been gone
for almost five years now, and I still think of her often. No one has
influenced my life more than my mother, and I’m just one of six kids. Again, I’m
sorry. I know that you miss her. My mom was very close to her sisters as well.
Most live here locally. Sadie and Glen lived in Sugar City. They were the
parents of Shelly and Julie, as well as eight younger kids. They lived two
blocks down the street from me and I hung out there all the time. Again, there
were ten kids in that family and there was always a party going on down there.
They were my second family. John Morrison, mom’s brother, lived two blocks in
the opposite direction, and my younger brothers hung out at their house. Mom’s
brother Lex, the oldest in her family, went down in a plane crash in World War
II. When mom found out she was going to die, she was excited to be able to see
him again.Is your sister doing okay? Was there a scare there? It’s hard to be
away from family and worry about them. I can feel the love you have for her in
your writings. I know that it’s hard when you’re away from family. I lived in
Soda Springs for several years, and we may as well have lived out of state. We
had only ourselves to rely on. I found out that it’s a lot farther from Sugar
City to Soda Springs, than it is from Soda Springs to Sugar City, if you know what
I mean. Anyway, I hope it all works out for you.

Where do you sell your dolls this time of year? You said
that’s what you do to make money.

Now, what have I been up to? Hmmhh? I went to the Utah Jazz
game last Friday with some neighbors; they’re all about my age. It was a long
drive but it was pretty fun. The next day I was kind of sick and wanted to do
nothing but sleep for twenty four hours. It must have been the hotdog.

At work, my assignment on the team is to do all the pot luck
dinners and party stuff, and that’s kept me going the last few days. We had
pulled pork and roast beef sandwiches yesterday for our pot luck. That kind of
stuff would be pretty simple for a girl like you, but I’m brain dead in the
kitchen. I have no culinary skills at all, and I’m always grateful when I find
guys who can cook. I’m on an all-male team right now, but the upside is we can
be a little looser with our language in team meetings.

Lexi said something interesting when I was taking her home
on Sunday, and this is a little revealing of Mary. She was talking to me about
putting up the Christmas tree and she all of a sudden said, “You laugh when we
talk about the Christmas tree, and grandma Bonnie would laugh when we talk
about the Christmas tree, but grandpa Jeff wouldn’t laugh, he would just say, ‘It’s
not after Thanksgiving yet.’ (He’s the strong silent type.) And Grandma Mary
wouldn’t laugh, either.” I just said, “Everybody is different and everybody has
a different personality.” But it was just another stab in my gut reminding me
of who I live with. Sigh. Now see, it makes me feel kind of dirty to share that
stuff. It’s a continual balancing act. Sigh again.

Bailey and Bryan, my daughter and her husband, are going to
get up early on Friday morning and shop. I’ll go with them if they want me to.
I’ve only done it one other time and I thought it was kind of fun. I won’t go
in Wal-Mart though. It takes thirty minutes to get from the back of the store
to the front of the store, shuffling along like Tim Conway. I went to Target
last year and that was bad enough. I will probably get an assignment to go get
a particular something or other for Bailey in some specific store. I’ll wait
and see.

I don’t have a favorite Christmas song, though I do like
many artists and most Christmas music. I bought a David Archuleta Christmas CD
a couple of weeks ago on Amazon.com. I don’t really listen to him normally, but
I heard a Christmas song by him last winter that really impressed me – that’s
why. What is your favorite?

I like several Christmas movies, but “Christmas Story” is
probably my favorite. (It’s a guy thing.) A close second would be “It’s a
Wonderful Life.” “Miracle on 34th Street” is good, and finally “A Christmas
Carol” is good also. I like the George C Scott version and also the old one
from the early fifties, but they’re all good. And you? What do you like?

You know, it’s funny. I can read your e-mails and think I’ve
got it covered, and then I read it again and see things I’ve totally missed.
So—what do you mean your name has given you a lot of grief? I don’t understand
that.

Now, about the road trip and “us”. The way I see it, just
that one day in the car together will probably make us or break us. When I saw
you a couple of weeks ago, it was simply magical for me, but it was only for
ten minutes. When you reached a hand out and touched my arm, and when I had my
face in your hair, those things were, well—I don’t even know the word to
describe it. (And I’m a word guy!) And the things that were said between us—I
don’t even remember much. It was just being there, you and me for a few
minutes. It was great. But, again…that was only for ten minutes.

If we spend a day talking, maybe you’ll find me completely
boring, or maybe you’ll find me basically negative, or maybe there will be no
chemistry, or maybe you won’t laugh at my jokes, or maybe I’ll be too short, or
maybe you’ll find me full of myself, or maybe you’ll be disappointed in one
thing or the other. I could be any of those things or more – you know? You’ve
been around the block a time or two, but how else are we gonna know? I have
become close to you through e-mails, but that isn’t real. Well it is, but not
totally. Or shall we e-mail back and forth for the next six months until there’s
little else to say, and we just die off and become just another contact on our
respective e-mail lists. I can’t think of any better way to find out how we
interact than through a road trip, with great conversation all day long in a
private setting. And please, don’t worry about anything too physical. I
visualize stroking your cheek, or I imagine touching your hand, nothing more.
(What wild fantasies, huh?) After all, I still am Levi Stone, the same basic
straight arrow that you knew all those years ago. And this wasn’t my idea
anyway. It was my mother or yours that was behind all of this. Maybe they
conspired together. I never would have thought it possible. I always figured
that the brethren ran things up there. But if that world is anything like this
one is, it’s the women that always get things done, one way or the other.And by
the way, you impress me again with your scruples and moral fiber. I’m glad that
you feel a little hypocritical about this – that’s a good thing. I feel a
little weird about it too. Remember when I told you that I was close to being a
man without guile? Well, basically that’s true, but right now I kind of
hesitate to think of myself as pure, and I feel somewhat disingenuous about
this whole thing between me and you, both because it’s something I can’t talk
about in the open, and it’s something that I tend to hide. I am not deceitful
by nature, Callii—only lonely. And I believe you’re lonely too, in much the
same way that I am. You have a full and happy life, but there’s always
something lacking when you don’t have a spouse or at least a little romance in
your life. I don’t think you want to live the next thirty years alone—that’s
just a hunch. (But they say women do better alone than men – and that’s
probably true.)

The way I see it for myself is, how do I want to spend my
last twenty years? A brother recently told me, “You haven’t made a selfish
decision over the last thirty plus years.” And that’s true; it has always been
about the family, never about just me, because my decisions usually affect a
lot of others. It’s just that I’m a bit tired of sacrificing myself. I’ve been
an empty nester for four years now. Maybe I should worry a little more about me
for a change. Have you ever read a book called “The Giving Tree”. Read the last
paragraph in the book, there’s a lesson there.

And finally, there’s a huge difference between going on a
road trip for a day and talking, compared to sleeping with the nanny. (No
offense.) I understand your concern about a road trip, but in comparison it’s
not even close!

And that brings up another subject: Are you active in your
church? Do you attend every week? I’d like to know. It doesn’t matter
much—really. I see beyond that, but I’d still like to know.

So tell me if you’re in or out on the road trip. After all,
the best season for road trips is now behind us, but it’s still doable on a
nice day. And besides, on this trip it’s the conversation we’re after, not the
scenery. I still want to go, but only if you do. And no matter what happens
going forward, I think we’ll always be friends until the day that we die. So
let me know and keep me posted on what transpires in Iowa.

Thanks Calliijo, but if the answer for the road trip is no,
then I’ll have to call you Callpurnia. Our relationship then will be strictly
business!

Your friend always, Levi

“Thanksgiving”

I received an e-mail from Levi with an array of cartoons
about old people. He asked me if it reminded him of anyone that I knew.
Following is my reply and then his response.

From Callii Wilson

Nov 24th

That does remind me a little of you. Thanks for the chuckle.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving you old turkey, Callii

***

From Levi Stone

November 25th

Hi Calliijo, three dots in a row. I just opened your e-mail.
I had saved it like a little present for a day, something to open and enjoy. I’ll
send you a response in a day or two. It will be a long one. My daughter and her
kids arrived last night and things are a little busy right now. I think of you
often though, probably too often.

Also, a happy Thanksgiving to you too—you cute little hen.

Until then, Levi

***

From Levi Stone (Twenty minutes later)

So think about things and I’ll do a little writing for a few
days. Keep me posted about your sister.