A Love for all Ages (Crockett County Trilogy Book 1) (27 page)

Stephanie sits at the table staring at her computer screen,
blinking her eyes she reads again the email from her boss Michael.
Leaning back in her chair she giggles, having reread the message,
the excitement for her next assignment grows.
A famous author of
children’s books wants her to illustrate the whole book.
This will
accelerate her career; this has been her goal since she graduated art
school.
She has been doing covers for authors for the past several
years; however this will show her strengths as an artist and
hopefully generate more opportunities.

Feeling a soft brush of fur on her ankle, Stephanie glances
down.
Seeing Lucky she leans over lifting her up.
Holding the
kitten eye level Stephanie asks, “Where have you been hiding?”
Black eyes stare back at Stephanie, “I know you have been around,
your evidence in your box and the empty food bowl are proof.”
Laughing at her foolishness Stephanie lays the kitten on her lap and
beings to stoke Lucky’s back.

Finished checking her emails Stephanie powers down the
computer, cuddling the kitten she raises from the chair.
Leaving
the kitchen she walks to the living room.
Sitting on the couch she
picks up the TV remote and begins flipping through channels,
Stephanie stops when she finds an old western with one of her
favorite actors.
Shifting on the couch she gets more comfortable
as the kitten snuggles on her lap.

As the movie begins, Stephanie removes Della’s diary from
the side table.
Deciding she will relax while she waits for Chase
she opens the book at the bookmark.
Wanting to learn more
about her Aunt and her family history Stephanie begins to read.

Dec 15
^th
Dear Diary,

My parents are making me go with them to visit relatives in
Macon. I am heartbroken leaving Archibald.
He is being so
sweet about us being apart.
He tells me I will have fun visiting my
kin and I need to have fun with people my own age.

How can I explain to my parents I would rather stay home
with my Archibald?
It seems we will be apart until after the New
Year. I will be gone a month from my love.

Stephanie feels the pain in Della as she reads each word
written.
Turning the page she finds the next entry is dated over
three years later.

June 8
^th
Dear Diary,

I am an Aunt, my brother sent a telegram today to inform us
he had gotten married over a year ago and his wife has given birth
to a son this morning.

My parents left right after receiving the message to go to
Chicago to meet Markus’ wife and see the baby.
My Mother cried
as she packed. I so wish Markus would visit, I miss my brother.

Laying the diary on the table Stephanie closes her eyes and
thinks of her own brother, having grown up as close as they were
Stephanie cannot fathom how family can move away then not keep
in contact.
The loss of Mitch is still a heart wrenching pain.
She
absently begins rubbing Lucky’s fur.
Hearing a soft meow she
glances down, the kitten is staring at her, as if the kitten knows she
needs comfort.
Scooping Lucky up in her hands Stephanie buries
her face in the soft fur.
Laughing Stephanie sets the kitten on the
floor when she begins to squirm.

Feeling abandoned Stephanie picks up the diary again and
turns the page.
Sept 23
^rd
Dear Diary,

Archibald and I spent the day at the pond.
He again related
the events leading to his death.
I know the answer to his dilemma
is there, however neither of us are able to figure it out.
To be
truthful I don’t want to lose my Archibald.
It is not fair, if we find
the answers he needs to move on, I will lose my soul mate.
But I
am a lady, and when a lady gives her word she will help, she keeps
her promise.

Sadness fills my heart as I don’t know the amount of time we
will have together.
March 9th
Dear Diary,

Today I write with a heavy heart, I buried my parents today.
They were so in love, I know they would have wanted to go at the
same time.
How I miss them.
Markus was unable to come today,
he sent a message he was out of the country and he stated he didn’t
want anything if he is named in their will, he forfeits his inheritance.
I had needed Markus to come home.
I had questions about the
accident, about what to do with the farm, and now the added
burden of taking control of the family business.

Days before the funeral the Sheriff had come to ask about
what I wanted to do with their car, I had panicked and told him to
put it in the barn.
Not sure why I had it brought here, I will never
go view it.
I will never need a reminder of the loss of my beloved
parents.

I am thirty years old and I feel as if I am an orphan.
With
my parents gone and my brother desertion I know I have to face the
truth, I will never find a man I love more than Archibald.

Today I told him how deeply my love for him is.
And even
on this heart breaking day, I received the happiest request of my life.
My Archibald asked me to marry him.

With tears in her eyes Stephanie turns the page noticing this
entry is long she settles deeper on couch then begins reading.
March 12th
Dear Diary,

Yesterday I became Mrs. Archibald Butterworth!!!!!
We had a beautiful ceremony.
We stood in front of the
fireplace and said our vows.
We looked into each other’s eyes and
pledged our love forever.
The words written in the Bible became
our promise. Archibald kissed me with a feather light touch;
ending the ceremony traditionally.
Only here can I speak of our wedding night.
How I wish I
could tell the world about the enchanted wonderment of his love
making.

Resting the diary on her lap, Stephanie feels torn.
Does she
read this part or allow Della her privacy?
Gazing up at the portrait
Stephanie can feel the approval from Della.
Noticing the twinkle in
Della’s eyes Stephanie tries to remember if it was there before.
Dismissing the image as wishful thinking, she lifts Della’s diary and
continues reading.

My husband is a romantic.
This became apparent at
bedtime, he asked me as I was getting ready for bed if I would come
to bed without my night gown.
I am thirty years old and actually
blushed like a school girl.
But for Archibald I did as he asked. As I
was in bed waiting, I felt like a real bride waiting for her husband.

I was nervous when Archibald appeared beside my bed,
knowing under the covers I had pulled to my chin, I was naked as the
day I was born.
Having turned the lights off, the only light in the
room was from the moonlight through the window.
I could still see
his eyes watching me as I waited wondering.

With eyes filled with love and passion, he asked me to trust
him.
Unable to speak I nod yes, then he asked me to remove the
covers; he wanted to look upon me.
Slowly I slid the covers to the
side, exposing my body for him.
As desire consumes him, I see it
shine through his eyes, my embarrassment subside.

Wishing I could feel his touch, have him make me his wife in
every sense of the word, I jumped when his hand touches my breast.
His feather light touch, feels like a cool breeze shimming over my
body.
The sensation of his touch makes my desire grow.
Knowing
we cannot consummate our marriage I am shocked by the feelings
Archibald was creating in me.

He touched and kissed me for hours, with the lightest of
touches and the whisper of his kiss, he had me begging for more.
I
felt as if he had touched and kissed every inch of my body.
I was on
fire, my whole body sweating.
It was at that moment I felt his
touch at the core of my passion.
As my body shakes with release I
heard his husky laugh.

The knowledge that Archibald had allowed me to experience
a real wedding night will always be a precious memory for me.
One I will cherish forever.

Finished with this entry, Stephanie regards Della again.
The
realization of the deep love Della and Archie shared, knowing they
had not allowed anything to stand in their way has Stephanie feeling
envy for them.
Admitting to herself she wants that kind of
devotion for her and Chase.

Shaking her head to clear it, she turns the page.
June 5th
Dear Diary,

Today we had our first argument.
Totally my fault.
Bless
Archibald he must think I have lost my mind.
I found a gray hair
today while I was braiding my hair.
Knowing my Archibald will not
age, however I on the other hand will grow old and ugly, I panicked.
He tried to assure me he will always love me.
But my mind had
already convinced me he would grow to hate being with me so I told
him to stop lying.
This was a major blow to his pride.

My husband a man of honor would never lie to me, I know
this.
So I put my own pride aside and went to him, I begged him to
forgive me.
With the sweetness I have known from him, he
informed me he had already forgiven me.

June 8
^th
Dear Diary,

I just want to make this clear to myself; I can’t believe my
husband has lied to me.
Something I never would have thought he
would do.
In fact, he is still lying to me.

But this lie I will allow, I will permit him to think I truly
believe.
Confused Stephanie glances at the portrait and then back
down at the book.

My wonderful husband told me today he is aging.
I know
he is doing this to make me feel better, so that is why I am tolerating
this lie.
The things Archibald does for me make my love grow
stronger each and every day.
He knows my fear of growing old
while he stays young looking is still upsetting to me.
So with his
remarkable desire to keep me happy he is making the illusion of
aging.

We spoke of him one day leaving, how we would deal with it
when we were forced too.
We shared our fears as we laid in bed
last night after another treasured love session.
Archibald told me
we would never again search for a way for him to leave.

The thought of him leaving and us never being together had
me crying.
With a tenderness I have grown so accustomed to from
Archibald, his feather light touch held me all night.

June 19
^th
Dear Diary,

I have not written for a very long time.
I have no excuse for
the years not documented.
My Mother had given this diary to me
on my 18
^th
birthday.
Told me with pride how each woman in her
family had kept records of the events, visitors and important
thoughts.

Looking back on my life up to this point, I find my recording
are mostly of my time with Archibald. Therefore, the only person
needing to read this is me.

I am writing today after nearly 20 years to record the death
of my brother.
I received a phone call from his wife early this
morning.
She explained he had died in his sleep.
The doctors
informed her he had a bad heart; she says she hadn’t known this.

Having not seen or heard from Markus for years, I find I am
unable to morn his passing.
he cut himself off from us.
The only time he had contacted our parents was the birth of his son.
The message he sent when our parents died could have been from a
stranger.

He hadn’t check on my wellbeing, hadn’t cared enough to
contact me in years.
I will not be going to his funeral, I find myself
not caring enough to travel to a memorial service for a man I don’t
know.

I was trying to remember Markus before he left when I was
16 years old.
The memories have faded; the passing of 34 years
will do that.
Sadness for lost family overwhelmed me.
I feel I was an only child, when he left

No visits, no letters, no phone calls.
August 30
^th
Dear Diary,

I had a visitor today, my nephew Markus Jr.
He told me he
goes by MJ.
He is 20 years old, and looks like his Father.
I only
know this due to he showed me pictures.
It has been 2 years since
the passing of his Father; I asked why he was visiting me now.

He told me his Mother had passed away six months ago; he
was packing up their belongings and came across the information
about me.
He just wanted to meet me and he had an envelope he
said had my name on it.
He told of his older brother dying at the
age of two from a high fever and how his parents had him late in
life.
He stayed for a couple of hours then said he had to leave as he
had to work tomorrow.
As he left he said he would visit a much as
he could and he wrote his phone number on the envelope.

I felt sorrow for the loss my brother had with the death of his
child.
Not sure how anyone can ever recover from a tragic such as
that.

The envelope stayed on the coffee table an hour after MJ left;
I was nervous about the content inside.
With Archibald by my side
I finally opened it.
If was full of letters, wrote by my brother but
never mailed.
There was birthday cards and hand written letters
all addressed to me.
Confused I sat and looked at them, terrified to
read them.

Through Archibald I found the strength to read them, I sat on
the couch and read out loud the words my brother had written.
Each letter started the same way, with him stating he loved
and missed me.
The first couple explained why he had left and
never came back.
Tears rolled down my face as Markus explained
our father had disowned him upon learning Markus had started
transporting moonshine due to gamblingdebts. Their father had
sold several antiques to give him the money to repay his losses than
had told him to leave and never come back.
Looking back I know my Father was a hardworking, law
bidding and God fearing man.
But the concept he would disowned
his own son over this or anything broke my heart.
Markus had only
been 20 years old when he had left; a man yes, but a very young
man.
All these years I had thought it was Markus that had wanted
to leave; it was him that had turned his back on us….on me.
The letters in the middle of the stack Markus had written
about the death of his child, his feelings of pain, how the death of
Marshall had almost ended his marriage. His pain reflected in his
words.
He had also written when his wife had given birth to his son
Markus Jr.
He had expressed concern for this child, praying he
would not be taken as Marshall had.
Once again tears fell from my eyes.
As I continued reading
my letters I came to the understanding my brother had not mailed
any of these in fear I would return them.
He had felt if he didn’t
mail them, he would not have the pain of my rejection.
Reading the last letter written just days before his death,
Markus spoke of wasted time, how family should never lose touch
and he expressed his love for me, he had kept the knowledge of my
young love deep within his heart.
Reflecting on Markus’ words I promise to do my best to keep
his son in my life.
I will not have another family member lost due
to misguided judgments.