Forever Country (11 page)

The thoughts of Savannah Mae keep me awake. I
throw on my Carhartt coat and grab a bottle of Budweiser from the
fridge before heading outside. The night is cold and the clear sky
is filled with stars. It’s a lot brighter out here since the barn
light is fixed.

I carry some firewood from
the barn to the wrap-around porch.
Serenade Savannah Mae? Really? There must be something else I
can do for her.
I hear the horse and walk
over to feed her an apple
.
“Can’t sleep either, ole girl?” I pat her and she
likes it. “You wanna go for a ride?” I search the barn for a saddle
and bridle and saddle her up. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on a
horse, but I’m pretty sure I can do this.

We gallop in the direction of where we cut
the pine trees on Thanksgiving. I stop to give the horse a rest and
admire the quiet night. I remember when I was younger, I couldn’t
wait to leave here. Now, I can’t remember why.

When we get back to the barn, I brush the
horse and put her away. “You got a name, girl?” I feed her an apple
and head into the house.

The next morning, I collect the eggs and feed
the animals. Momma always has the coffee maker on automatic start
for 5:00 a.m. Between the smell of coffee and the roosters crowing,
there’s no chance of me, or anyone else, sleeping in.

When I return from the morning chores, Momma
and Pops are up and sitting at the kitchen table. The lights are
all on in the house and it smells of food, even though it’s just
getting to be dawn. Momma sees me and stands up from the table.
“Merry Christmas, Abel.”

Bending down to kiss her, I say, “Merry
Christmas, Momma.”

“
It’s so good havin’ you
home for the holidays.”

“
It’s good being
home.”

She turns to walk over to the stove and she
removes something from the oven.

I take the seat at the table across from
Pops. “Couldn’t sleep last night?” he asks.

“
How did you
know?”

“
I heard Bluebelle
nickerin’. She must’ve been glad to see ya. Figured you were takin’
her for a ride.”

I don’t think anything
gets past him.
“Bluebelle? You named a
horse after Momma?”

“
Nope, Belle named her. I
named Colonel. He’s a feisty stallion. Be careful ridin’ that one.
He’s been known to buck your brother a few times.”

“
Bluebelle’s a sweet girl,”
I admit.

“
She is,” Momma says as she
lays a plate of sausage gravy and biscuits in front of me. “She’s
sweeter than honey on a biscuit.”

“
Thank you,” I say,
readjusting my plate of food.

After breakfast, Pops and I go outside and
cut some more firewood. “Have you decided what you’re gonna take to
Savannah Mae’s?”

“
No idea.”

“
Serenadin’ her didn’t
appeal to you?”

I look at Pops and he’s grinning. Even he
knows that’s old fashioned. “No, it didn’t.”

“
I hate to be the one to
break this to ya, but you’re runnin’ out of time.”

“
I know.”
I have an idea, but I can’t mention it to
Pops.
“Maybe Mia will know of
something.”

“
I’m sure she’ll have some
ideas for you.”

After the firewood is cut and stacked, Pops
goes into the house to shower. I walk into the barn to check on
Colonel and Bluebelle. He’s neighing loudly and appears to be
agitated. I walk over with an apple in an attempt to make nice. He
takes the apple from me and raises his head high in an effort to
dismiss me.

Bluebelle walks over to me and nudges me with
her nose. “Hey, girl, you miss me?” I feed her an apple and she
eats from my hand. I pet her and she lets me. “You sure are a sweet
girl.” I feed her and Colonel another apple before leaving.

After a shower, I get ready for Christmas
dinner. I offer to help Momma with dinner, but she shoos me out of
the kitchen. I hear her fussing over the pies and Pops chuckles. He
stands and walks into the kitchen.

“
I wouldn’t aggravate
her.”

Pops replies, “There’s nothin’ sexier than an
aggravated Nelly. I wanna watch her fuss over her pies.”

Nothing he just said made any sense. Since
when is an aggravated woman sexy? I stay in the living room. Mia
and Levi show up and place their gifts under the Christmas tree.
Momma has Christmas music playing from the old stereo standing in
the corner. I hug them both before Mia rushes off into the kitchen
to help Momma.

After dinner, we gather around the tree for
our gift exchange. Pops hands out gifts, as Momma sits on the couch
taking pictures. Mia and Levi get a family gift of bath towels, and
an outfit each. Mia is excited and stands up to hold the white
sweater next to her. I get a few pairs of Wrangler jeans, long
johns, and a couple flannel shirts. I’m grateful to have some more
clothes to wear.

Mia and Levi pass out their gifts next. Momma
and Pops insist there isn’t anything they need, and I think Mia
looks hurt when they don’t want to accept their present.

“
It’s not much, please just
open it,” she pleads. I watch, and Mia and Levi sit together on the
couch holding hands.

We all open the envelope, and it’s a baby
announcement. I look at Mia and Levi and they are both grinning.
The only thing filled out is the parents’ name. The baby’s name,
weight, length, and date of birth are all left blank.

Suddenly, I hear Momma squeal with
excitement. “A baby?”

Mia nods. Her long blond ponytail is bouncing
with every nod.

“
Oh, my word, a grandbaby?”
Momma asks again.

“
Yep.” Mia stands and Levi
looks proud. He also stands and puffs his chest out further than
usual.

I lay the unopened gift on the floor and rise
to congratulate the expectant couple. When Momma and Pops are
finished hugging them, I congratulate them both. “This is good
news.” I never wanted children, and I never wanted a wife either.
But for my brother, a family suits him. He is smiling and I know
this is something that he wants.

“
You’re gonna be an uncle,”
Mia informs me.

“
I guess I am. Do we know
when?”

“
On or around June
30
^th
.”

We finish opening our gifts and I stand and
remove the two envelopes from the tree. I hand Mom and Pops one,
before handing Levi and Mia one.

As soon as I sit down, Momma says, “Abel, if
this is money…”

I interrupt. “It’s not.” I know from past
experience that they won’t accept money from me. “Please, just open
it.” I brace myself for an onslaught of yelling, but it doesn’t
come.

“
Abel…” Mia begins to say
and stops. I look at her and Levi and they are both looking at the
paper that was in the envelope. I slowly look over at Momma and
Pops. He takes the paper from Momma’s hands and reads
it.

“
Abel, how did you get the
deed to our house?” Mia asks.

I rub my hands together and take a deep
breath. “I wanted to do something nice for everyone.” I let that
sink it, before saying anything else.

“
You paid off the farm?”
Pops asks.

“
I did.”

“
Bro, you paid off our
house?” Levi asks, and he sounds happy and excited.

Finally, someone appreciates my gesture. I
look at him and smile, but my smile fades quickly when I see the
scowl on Mia’s face. Suddenly, I feel the need to protect myself. I
stand up so I have an advantage. “Look, before you say anything.” I
take a deep breath and continue, “Please, I just wanted to do
something nice for the people I love the most in this world.”

“
Abel, this is too much. We
can’t let you pay off our house.” Mia thinks for the right words to
say. “You can’t just go around payin’ off people’s
mortgages.”

I did. I want to chuckle
because it was really quite easy to do. The bank was eager to take
my money. But I don’t chuckle, and I don’t say that the bank was
eager to take my money.
“Since I’ve been
home, I see what you…” I look at Mia and then look to Levi, Pops,
and Momma and then say, “You donate food to the church to give
away. You even donate Sugar-Frosted Flakes because you know that
kids like Sugar-Frosted Flakes.” I look at Momma and say, “I sent
money home to help you, and you refused to take it. I want to
assist you so you can continue to help others.” I look at Pops and
then at Momma. “This gift is for me as much as it is for you. I
want to do this for you… for all of you. Please, don’t take that
away from me.”

The room goes quiet and I walk towards the
fireplace. “Thank you, Abel,” Momma says. I watch as she and Pops
stand and walk over to me. I think I see tears in Momma’s eyes. I
hug her. “Thank you,” she whispers.

“
You’re welcome,
Momma.”

“
Thank you, Son,” Pops
says. I hug him next and then Mia.

“
Abel, you have more money
than you know what to do with,” she says, standing on her tiptoes
to hug me. “This is really nice, especially with a baby on the way.
Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome, Mia. There
isn’t anything I won’t do for junior.” I hold back the laugh that
threatens to come.

“
Don’t start that, Abel
Lee. There’ll be no juniors in this house.”

She backs away and Levi hugs me next. “Bro,
you paid off the house.”

I want to laugh, but I smile instead. “You’re
welcome, Levi.”

“
Thanks, Bro.”

Pops speaks up and says, “I have one more
gift. Abel, can you give me a hand?”

“
Sure.”

“
Stay here,” he tells Mia,
Levi, and Momma. Momma smiles — she knows what the gift
is.

I follow him to the barn and help carry the
heavy, unwrapped, cardboard box into the house. He sets the present
in front of Mia and Levi. “Belle and I bought this a few weeks ago.
We knew we would need it one day, we just didn’t know we would need
it so soon.”

Mia and Levi open the cardboard box and
reveals a handmade, wooden cradle with spindle sides. “Oh, my
goodness,” Mia says, holding her hand to her mouth. “This is
gorgeous.”

I learn that Savannah Mae’s ex-husband and
father-in-law made the cradle. After checking out the cradle, I
realize it’s top quality workmanship. I gently swing it back and
forth, and I wonder if Savannah Mae had one for Sawyer Jackson.

When Mia and Levi leave, I remember that I
didn’t ask Mia what I should do about meeting Savannah Mae. I
decide to go with my first plan.

Savannah Mae

“
Why you rushin’ off?” My
dad stands from the couch.

“
I just wanna get home and
clean up. It’s still a mess from this mornin’.”

“
You sure that’s the only
reason?”

“
Yes, Daddy. I need to drop
Sawyer Jackson off at Ethan’s, then I’m headin’ home.”

“
It’s not like you to be in
such a hurry on a holiday.”

Mom is standin’ next to Daddy and my sister,
Samantha Marie, is placin’ ear buds into her ears so she can listen
to some music. “I know, I’m sorry. You didn’t see the condition I
left my house in.”

“
Okay, I understand. Call
us if you need anything.”

“
Thank you, Daddy, I will.
Mom, dinner was delicious. Thank you.”

I take the containers of
leftover food, then Sawyer Jackson and I head to his daddy’s house.
When I pull up to his apartment, my stomach does a flip when I see
Heather Sue’s car parked next to Ethan’s truck.
Homewrecker!

“
Momma, that’s not Daddy’s
car.”

I look back at Sawyer Jackson and smile. “No,
it sure isn’t.” I try to not show the hurt on my face, and I try to
not remember the night I caught my husband kissing her.

“
Ready to see what Santa
Claus brought you?” I say too happily for his benefit and
mine.

“
Yay, Santa,” he says,
excitedly.

Before I have time to get
Sawyer Jackson out of his booster seat, Ethan is walkin’ out of the
house to greet us.
He probably thought I
would cause a scene.

“
Merry Christmas,
Daddy.”

“
Merry Christmas, Buddy.
Wanna see what Santa brought you?”

“
Yay, Santa.”

“
I love you, Sawyer
Jackson, and I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”

“
I love you,
too.”

I look at Sawyer Jackson and hand him to
Ethan. “Look, Savannah Mae…”

“
Ethan.” I raise my hand to
stop him. “I don’t want to hear it. I’ll pick Sawyer Jackson up
tomorrow around noon.”

“
I know what you’re
thinkin’,” Ethan says.

I give him an icy
stare.
I’m pretty sure he has no idea what
I’m thinkin’.
I furrow my eyebrows and
whisper, “Don’t. You have no idea what I’m thinkin’. Don’t talk to
me about her again.”

I look up at his apartment and Heather Sue is
standin’ in the doorway.

He backs away from me, holdin’ our son. I put
on my Mommy smile for my son. “Go see what Santa brought you, and
I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“
Yay, Santa came,” he says,
clapping his hands. “I wanna see my presents.”

I get into the console of the car to retrieve
the small gift Sawyer Jackson and I got his daddy. I wish it were
just from Sawyer Jackson, but stupid me, I wrote it was from the
both of us on the card.