Under the Sassafras (17 page)

Blood rushed to Possum's face, but this time out of anger instead of embarrassment. “Now listen here, Missy. I, for one, don't believe you can put money in the mouth of friendship. Besides, what would I want with money? I already have everything I need right here.” Possum waved his arms as if to embrace his beloved houseboat.

Her brows rose, but her smile never wavered.

“Let's go, I can't wait to see you tell Mansir, I mean William. It’s going to be hard to call him William, he’s just always been Mansir to me.” Possum climbed in beside Sara in the front seat of the rental, a Jeep. “Did you choose this vehicle?”

“Yes, I drive one like it back home.” Sara let a smile loose a
nd Possum thought he’d gone deaf. “Has William been happy here? Is the family he's living with nice?” She asked.

Possum grinned and looked into Sara's incredible green eyes. No wonder Mansir watched out for her. She was the type of woman every man wanted to protect. Wisps of fuzzy red hair blew around her pixie face. “I think you might be surprised to see how happy William is with the Benoit family.”

“Oh Raymond, I've been so worried about him. I thought he might have been kidnapped, or ran off the road somewhere and died in his car by himself. I’ve been looking for him, but I’d have never thought to look for him here.”

Possum never took his eyes off of Sara as he heard the hurt and fear in her voice.

“I put ads in the newspapers, hired private detectives. And the nightmares, I can't begin to tell you about them. He's all I have and I thought I'd lost him.” She hit her hands on the steering wheel. “What was he doing way over here?” Sara swerved off the road almost landing them in a ditch.

“You want me to drive? I think you’re too upset to be driving,” Possum asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m making you nervous, right? William never lets me drive when he's in the car. He says I make him nervous. I've had a few accidents, none of them my fault.” Sara said, the jeep’s right wheels scraped on the gravel shoulder of the road. 

“Slow down,
Cher
, or you'll miss your turn. Turn right at that mail box.” Possum's knuckles were white as he gripped the back of her seat. “You are some crazy driver, lady.”

They drove up the driveway. The sun had mostly set behind the Benoit's house. The porch was free of people, but a warm glow peeked out from the kitchen and living room windows.  

“I wonder what this house will see tonight: sadness or joy?” Possum said.

“Joy, I think,” Sara said. She gasped softly. “Listen. That’s William. Laughing. I don't recall the last time I've heard him laugh out loud.” She wiped the tears from her eyes.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A loud knock at the front door stilled the laughter.

“I'll get it I'm closer,” Mansir said.

As the door opened a wiry redhead flew onto Mansir's chest. Long thin arms wrapped around his neck. Sobs and muffled words came from her mouth.

Pulling her arms loose he held the women at arm length.

“Sara?” Mansir felt his eyes widen with surprise.

“William, you know who I am,” she said, both laughing and crying.

“Sara, how did you get here? Did you come alone?”

“I brought her. Isn't this great?” Possum said, stepping out from behind Sara.

“Sara, I can't believe it. You're here.” Then it dawned on him. His sister. He remembered his sister. And his name. His name was William Matherson.

“Mansir, why don't we all go sit and you can tell us who this young woman is,” MaeMae said.

Mansir turned to find Joelette. She was standing with her hand on Ozamae's shoulder, hurt and confusion in her eyes.

“Of course. Let's go into the living room.” He held Sara’s hand all the way to the sofa. “Sit here.” He didn’t want to take his eyes off her but he also wanted to reassure Joelette so he continued to stand.

“Everyone, this is Sara Matherson, my sister.” Words began to stack up in his throat, causing Mansir to swallow hard. Sweat beaded on his forehead and the palms of his hand glistened with moisture, and his whole body shook. “I remember. Things are coming so fast that some are still fuzzy, but I remember. My name is William. I remember my name. How about that?

“Do we have to stop calling you Mansir now that you 'member' your name? Do we call you William, sir?” Ozamae stood in front of William with his small hands on his hips.

“That's right, Ozamae, you can call me by my real name now.” He knelt and gathered the small boy close to him, he whispered, “But you can still call me Mansir when you forget and I’ll always love that name because you gave it to me.”

He hugged Mansir's neck so hard both of them tumbled to the floor. Ozamae giggled and sat on his lap as they settled upright.

“This is remarkable. How did you find me? What made you look for me here?” Mansir asked.

“I've never stopped looking for you. It's been very hard. I saw you on the news and I came as fast as I could, not knowing what I would find.” Sara looked around the room. “Thank you all for taking care of my brother.”

MaeMae came over and held out her hand to Sara. “People call me MaeMae. Why don't you stay with us a couple of days so you and William, was it, can catch up? Give him a little time for his memory to catch up with him. We have plenty of room, if you don't mind bunking in with your brother.”

“That’s very kind, but I don't want to put you out. However, this has been a long day and I would like a chance to get to know the kind people William has been living with. Thank you.”

“My name is Joelette.” She stepped forward toward Sara. “Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. This is all a shock to us. This is my youngest son, Ozamae. I will excuse myself as well and take this young man to his room.”

“That’s not necessary, Joelette, you can stay in here with us. Please don't feel like you need to leave.” Mansir caught hold of Joelette's arm.

“Why not? You’ll be leaving soon, right?” Joelette whispered. She turned away from him. “Possum, do you need a ride home?”

“No, but I get the hint. It's a great night for a walk. Why don't you put Ozamae to bed and you can walk a little way with me? These two have much to talk about.”

“Sounds good to me. Come along, son. Tomorrow's another day and we have to get up early to see T-Boy. Say your good nights.”

“Mom, I have much to talk about too. I want to talk to Sara about her hair. Please, just a little while?”

Sara got down from the sofa and sat on the floor next to him and Ozamae. “Maybe you can ask me one question tonight and save up the others for tomorrow? Is that alright with you, Joelette?” Sara looked up at Joelette for permission.

“One question, and please do be polite.” Joelette smiled at her son.

“I will, Mom. How old are you? Have you always been his sister?” He pointed to William. “Why does your hair stick out all over?”

“Ozamae those are not polite questions and remember you get just one.” Joelette's face blushed.

“Since you asked all of those in one breath I will try to answer as many as I can in one breath. I'm 31. Yes I've always been his sister. And I have naturally curly hair that does not respond well to humidity. How's that?” Sara asked. She gulped in a breath.

“I like you,” Ozamae said. “You're nice just like my Mansir. Goodnight.” He planted a sweet kiss on her cheek. Then he fell into Mansir's outstretched arms and planted a long kiss on his cheek. “Love you more.” Ozamae called out skipping toward his room.

“No, I love you more,” he called out as the small boy disappeared around the corner of the hall.

###

“Thank you, Possum, for getting me out of there. I thought I would go mad.” Joelette walked with her friend.

“It’s always hard to see someone you love go on with their life and leave you behind.” Possum put his arm around Joelette's waist. “This is going to be hard, on everyone, but we need to count our blessings for William's good fortune. It still sounds so strange to call him that. William makes him sound like a stranger.”



“He is a stranger. William, as he is called, is not the same man that lived with us these few months. And to set the record straight, I do not love him. Whatever gave you that idea?” It was a lie and she knew Possum would call her on it, but she hoped that if she argued the point enough eventually her heart would agree with the words. Sadly, it didn’t.

“Joelette, my friend, everyone can tell the minute you look at him. It's okay. He's a very good man.”

“He's a married man. I must look like a fool,” she said with a shake of her head.

“That you cannot help. No one can control their heart.”

“I cannot help what? That I look like a fool, or that he is married?”

“Oh no you don't. Stop putting words in my mouth. You cannot help that he is married. Looking like a fool comes naturally.” Possum grinned at her playfully and nudged her with his elbow.

Joelette laughed. “You sure know how to turn a woman's head with all that sweet talk.” She took a deep breath, then fisted her hand so tightly her nails cut into her palms. “How are the boys going to handle this? Ozamae's loved him from the moment we found him in the swamp. T-Boy's just started loving him. He thinks he's a real live hero. This will devastate them.

“We will just have to keep them busy so they don't think about him. After T-Boy recovers, he can help me on the boat. No heavy stuff, just something to keep him busy, that will help him forget.” Possum paused a moment, then added, “I’m not convinced that even if Mansir leaves, he’ll be gone for good. He obviously loves you too.”

“I will not break up a marriage,” Joelette said firmly.

“That’s not what I was suggesting.”

They were quiet for a moment, the sounds of their steps on the gravel path, kept a rhythmic beat. “Is that how we forget Possum, staying busy? I hope that’ll work because right now I don’t think I’ll ever forget him. I don't know how I’ll ever say goodbye.”

Sara and Mansir didn’t hear Joelette when she returned home, their laughter rang out from the front of the house. But she heard them. Voices familiar with each other. A tinge of jealousy crept into Joelette’s being. It was ridiculous, being jealous of his sister. Still, she couldn’t help but think about how Sara would always have his past and present, and now Joelette would have neither.

###

Sara turned to her brother. “This is quite a family you've found. Tell me everything, how did you end up here? Do you remember?”

“A little. I remember so much more since seeing you, but there’s a lot that’s still foggy. I remember driving late at night. I started to get sleepy and I decided to pull off the road and get a room for the night. If you noticed when you drove here this is a very remote place. After I turned off the main road I wandered down road after dirt road hoping one would take me to civilization. It was the middle of the night, no one was around.” He closed his eyes and tried to visualize that night so long ago.

“Something darted out in the road and I tried to miss it and ran off a small bridge. It all happened so fast.” Rubbing his temples, he sighed. “I don't remember anything after that until I woke up in this house.”

“How did you get here?”

William saw the look of concern and wonderment in his sister's eyes. “They found me, Joelette and her two boys. Together they put me in the bed of the truck and brought me to this house and MaeMae. She's a healer. You know, kind of a doctor and nurse all rolled into one, but homeopathic. They nursed me back to health.”

“Didn't you see a real doctor?” Sara asked, a deep frown on her brow.

“Joelette brought me to a doctor in a neighboring town. Dr. Adams is the one who diagnosed me with amnesia. He is also the one who suggested that I stay with Joelette and her family until I regained my memory.” He shrugged. “I didn’t have any other resources, no money, no job. And it took a few days for my head injury to heal up. So I offered to work here in exchange for a room and food.”

Memories of those first few weeks flooded back to him. “Sara, these are good people. I have learned so much from them.” He chuckled. “I’ve learned so much about myself, I know that must sound strange considering I didn’t know who I was.”

“I’m happy you found a safe place with people that you have grown to like. I’m so happy they took care of you. William, I’ve never been so afraid. I thought I’d never see you again.” She reached over and took both of his hands in hers. “I looked and looked. No one remembered seeing or hearing from you after the party at your house. It was like William Matherson had disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“Maybe he did Sara. I think that William is gone. Something changed me, this place, the accident, this family.” His breath became shallow. “I was running from something, Sara. I can't remember that part, but I was running from something or someone. I remember wanting to get as far away from California as I could.”

“But why Louisiana? Why so far away?” Sara searched his face. “William, you don’t know about Marion do you? You don’t know what happened to her?”

He took Sara's hand in his and kissed the back. “The past is still a little shaky for me. It’s returning, I remember so much but there are still holes.” He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. “Marion. The name sounds familiar to my tongue but I can’t seem to see a face.”

“Oh William, I don’t know how to handle this. I don’t know if I should tell you things or let you remember on your own.” She squeezed his hand. “Why don’t we go to bed and tomorrow morning call your doctor and ask questions. I don’t want to do anything to make your progress stop.”

“Let's go in my room and you can take a shower and stretch out. I do have other questions, if you don't mind staying up a little longer.”

“I'm not tired, really. I could talk to you all night. Or do you think we are bothering someone?”

“Why don't we at least move to the sofa?” he said.

Sara took off her shoes and propped her feet on William’s lap, and then she leaned back on the opposite end.

Sara stared at him and smiled. “Look at you. You have never looked better. Healthy, happy and a real tan not the kind you get from a booth. Have you been working out?”

“Not working out per-se, but rather labor-intensive work and I've loved every moment. I can say I've never been this content. The not knowing these last few months has just about driven me crazy. How awful it must have been for you not knowing where I was. I would never have put you through that hell if I’d a choice.” William looked over at Sara to see she’d nodded off. She’d been like that since they were children. Always wanting to stay up late with him. She’d tell him she wasn’t tired and then she’d fall asleep fifteen minutes into whatever movie they’d put on. “Hey, Sara, you need to go to bed. We can talk tomorrow.”

William left Sara asleep on his bed and then went out onto the back porch. Marion. Something had happened to Marion, Sara had said. The vision of the blonde woman materialized in his mind and she turned around. He saw her face and immediately knew who she was.

Marion, his wife.

Sara had been afraid to tell him something about her. He wanted to wake his sister and find out, but he wouldn’t. His memories were coming back now, perhaps this would too. By morning he could remember everything. Tonight he didn’t have to know everything.

The one thing he did know was before he and Sara went back to California, he’d finish the field. He had a promise to keep.