Forever Country (17 page)

I take a few steps closer. I have to wonder
why he’s out this time of night. “Because I want to turn it into a
business with a community park or basketball court or
something.”

He looks at me and watches me carefully. “You
got kids?”

I expect him to pick up another brick, but he
doesn’t. “No.”

“
Then why do you want to
build a park? You ain’t a pedophile, are you?”

I want to laugh, but I
remain stoic. “No, not hardly. I just came back to town and I want
to do something for the children in the community.”
I figure honesty is the best
policy
.

He watches me and I wonder if he believes me.
“I’ve lived here my whole life. Why haven’t I seen you around here
before?” I hear a screen door open and close and I know Savannah
Mae is coming out the back door.

The boy bends down and
picks up another brick. I’m getting nowhere with this kid.
More truth, Abel.
“I’m
Abel Kennedy. My parents live on top of the hill.” I hear footsteps
behind me, so I turn slightly in that direction. I see Savannah Mae
getting closer and I really wish she would have listened to me and
stayed inside.

“
Hi, Savannah Mae,” the boy
says.
He knows her?

“
Johnny, does your momma
know you’re out here wreakin’ havoc on the
neighborhood?”

“
No, Ma’am.” I watch as he
lowers his head and drops the brick.
Savannah Mae just got here and she is already making more
progress than I am.

She stands tall and puts her hands on her
hips. “If you take your tail home, I’ll think about not tellin’
her.” She looks down the street. “If you hurry home, you might be
able to get there before she does.”

“
Yes, Ma’am,” he says as he
starts to walk away.

Somehow this doesn’t seem
right.
“Johnny?” I say.

He stops and says, “Yeah?”

Savannah Mae clears her throat and glares at
him.

“
Yes, Sir?”

I look over at her and her arms are now
crossed over her chest. She doesn’t look at me, but she is watching
Johnny intently. “Do you have a job?” I ask.

With his head still down, he says, “No,
Sir.”

“
Do you want
one?”

“
No one will hire a
sixteen-year-old.”

“
Johnny, if you want a job
and if you want to work, I’ll pay you to help me fix this place
up.”

Now Savannah Mae is watching me. Johnny looks
up at me, “Really?”

I nod. “It won’t be until March. Too cold to
work outside in the winter. Especially with all the broken windows.
The first weekend in March, I want you to show up here and be
dressed in work clothes and be ready to work.”

“
You’ll forget about me by
them.” He hangs his head and begins to walk away.

“
Johnny, look at me.” He
stops and looks me in the eyes. “I’m a man of my word. You show up
here and I’ll remember you. Besides, it’s kind of hard to forget
the person responsible for this.”

“
I’m sorry about
that.”

“
No problem. I’ll see you
when?”

“
On the first weekend in
March.”

“
Go right home, Johnny. I
mean it.” Savannah Mae taps her foot in the grass, arms still
crossed.

“
I’m going. Good night,
Savannah Mae.”

“
Good night,
Johnny.”

“
Does he need a ride home?”
I whisper.

“
Nah, he lives two houses
down.” She loops her arm through mine and we begin to walk towards
her house. “Mind tellin’ me why you told that boy you bought this
buildin’?”

“
Because I did. I bought it
this week. I want to turn it into a business to help the
community.” I look over at her and ask, “Do you mind telling me why
you didn’t stay in the house when I told you to?”

“
Because you didn’t ask me
to.” I put it to memory that Miss Savannah Mae doesn’t like to be
told what to do.

We walk arm in arm to her house. “You comin’
in?” she asks when we reach the back porch.

“
I want to, just not sure
if I should.”

I hold the screen and the door open for
her.

She says, “C’mon in, your momma won’t like it
if you leave me here alone with some hoodlum runnin’ loose.”

“
You think Johnny’s a
hoodlum?” I ask, walking into the house behind her.

“
No, not at all. I just
said that so you’ll come in.”

I lock the doors and then start a fire in the
fireplace. We talk about the old schoolhouse, and I tell her my
plans and she listens. I can see the excitement in her eyes and it
fuels me to want to get started on it as soon as the weather
breaks.

“
I need to leave for a few
weeks,” I reluctantly say. “I need to return to New York to sell my
condo and get my affairs in order.”

“
When will you be
leavin’?”

“
I plan to leave this week.
I want to get things wrapped up there, so I can move on with my
life here.”

“
When you come back, you’ll
be stayin’?”

“
That’s my plan,
yes.”

When I stand to leave, I ask, “Savannah Mae,
would you lock up when I leave?” I stand at the door, waiting for
her to answer.

She laughs instead. “Since you asked nicely,
yes, Abel Lee, I will.”

“
May I call you while I’m
away?”

She looks embarrassed. “I haven’t had a cell
phone since my divorce.”

“
No landline?” I
ask.

She shakes her head, “Sorry.”

I lean in and kiss her, “I’m going to miss
you.”

“
Me, too, hurry
home.”

Savannah Mae

Abel Lee has been gone for two weeks already.
He stopped in at work on his way to the airport to tell me goodbye.
He said he wanted to hurry up and get his affairs in order so he
can begin his life here. I remember the excited feeling I got in my
belly when he said that.

It’s Wednesday, our day to work the community
supper at the church. I pick up Sawyer Jackson from his daddy’s and
head over to start preparin’ supper. Since Abel Lee stocked the
kitchen with food, Nelly, Bud, and I have been fixin’ dinner there.
I have to admit, it makes it a lot easier than totin’ the food from
my house to the church. I haven’t talked to Abel Lee since he left.
I’m hopin’ Nelly and Bud have heard from him. I miss him. I’ll have
to remember to hold back my excitement if they share anythin’ about
him with me.

When we walk into the church, it smells of
food. Pearl and a few other ladies are in the kitchen helping
Nelly. I wave before I see Bud with a mixer in one hand and a book
in the other. I try to hold back my laugh. There’s nothin’ sexier
than a man readin’ a book, but there’s somethin’ about the mixer
part that brings a smile to my face.

Sawyer Jackson throws his coat and hat on the
floor before takin’ off and runnin’ to Larry.

“
Hey, little boy, this
isn’t where that goes,” I say, pointin’ to the pile of clothes on
the floor.

He rolls his eyes and runs back to me.
“Sorry,” he says as he picks everything up. I lay my coat and scarf
on top of his on the chair in the corner of the room. I watch as he
talks to Larry, probably about makin’ him something out of
balloons, no doubt.

I walk over to Bud and offer to finish the
mixin’. He smiles and it’s a friendly smile. “Readin’ something
good?” I ask.

“
Abel sent me a box of
books the other day. I already read this one, but it’s just as good
the second time around.”

I look at the title and
it’s an old Western book.
Riders of the
Purple Sage
, by Zane Grey. Zanesville was
named after Ebenezer Zane. Zane Grey was a member of the Zane
family; in 1872, he was born in Zanesville.

I say, “Western, huh?”

“
It’s an old schoolbook.
Nothin’ like the cowboys you read about these days,” he says,
laughin’.

I’m sure it’s not.

He adds, “Not everyone
likes this book. H. Allen Smith once visited a dude ranch, where a
cowboy learned that Mr. Smith was a writer of humorous books. The
cowboy then said, ‘Never read but one book in all my life … book
called
Riders uh the Purple Sage
… never gonna read another’n’ long as I
live.’”

I finish mixin’ the brownies and get them in
the oven when a little girl about four or five years old with brown
pigtails walks into the kitchen. Her momma isn’t far behind. Pearl
stands up and smiles. “I want y’all to meet my grandbaby Jewel.”
Pearl picks up her granddaughter and I can see the little girl
looks like she has Down syndrome. She has flat facial features,
small ears, and upward slanted eyes. I put on a smile and walk over
to Pearl and Jewel. Jewel smiles and appears happy. My heart is sad
for the little girl, Pearl, and her mother.

“
Hi, Jewel,” I
say.

“
Pearl, I didn’t know you
had grandchildren,” Nelly says.

“
I have three. Jewel and
her momma and daddy are here visiting. They live in Michigan and
came for a quick visit.” I look behind me and see that Pearl’s
daughter is wearing a toothy smile as she looks at her daughter and
her mother.

“
She’s beautiful,” I say
because it’s the truth.

“
C’mon, Jewel. Let’s go and
see your daddy,” Jewel’s momma says.

They leave the room and Mia and Levi come in
and help with dinner.

Mia places her hand on her pregnant belly
while looking at Jewel. “Aww, who’s that little cutie?”

Nelly says, “Pearl’s granddaughter,
Jewel.”

Mia smiles. “Pearl? Jewel? Think she’s named
after her granny?”

Everyone in the room laughs out loud.

“
I didn’t think of that,
but yes, I do.”

“
Do you need help?” Mia
asks.

“
No, I believe that we have
everything almost done.”

“
I’m going to talk to the
little girl’s mother,” Mia says.

I wonder why she would want to speak to the
little girl’s mother, but I don’t ask. During dinner, I notice that
Mia and Levi are eating with Pearl, her daughter and son-in-law,
and Jewel. It looks like they are in a deep conversation. Mia and
Levi are very attentive to Jewel. I can’t help but feel like
something is goin’ on.

Sawyer Jackson and I eat with Nelly and
Bud.

“
Abel sent you and Sawyer
Jackson something to the house today,” Nelly says.

“
He did?”

“
It’s wrapped up with a
note attached.”

My heartbeat quickens and I get butterflies
just at the thought of Abel Lee. “How is he?” I try to ask in a
monotone voice.

Bud says, “He’s good, he said he thinks his
condo sold.”

“
That was fast.” To sell a
house in Rose Farm would take years if it would sell at
all.

When everything is cleaned up after dinner,
Nelly gives me a note and two wrapped gifts from Abel Lee. I want
to open the envelope now, but I wait until I get home. I’m excited
to read what he has to say. I knew I would miss Abel Lee, I just
didn’t expect to miss him this much.

When Sawyer Jackson and I get home, I open
the card and read it before I give Sawyer Jackson his gift.

Savannah Mae,

I miss you. I didn’t want to begin with
that, but it’s the truth. Things are going better than I expected.
The condo has a potential buyer, so hopefully I’ll be home soon. To
be honest, I didn’t expect it to sell so quickly. New York is
beautiful, but it’s cold and dreary in the winter. I think the view
of Central Park from the master bedroom might have been the selling
point. It really is a beautiful sight.

I saw something and I thought Sawyer Jackson
would like it. It’s not much but a little something so he knows
that I’m thinking about him.

How are you? Did I say that I missed you? I
do. I also found something for you, and I wanted you to have it.
Okay, to be honest, it’s probably more for me than for you. I’ve
prepaid it for the next year.

See you soon, Abel

I give Sawyer Jackson his gift, and he
excitedly takes it. “Mommy, I like Abel Lee.”

“
You do? Because he bought
you a gift?”

“
Because he makes you
smile,” he says, innocently.

I can feel the smile on my face, and it makes
me proud that my son sees it. “Yes, he does, Sawyer Jackson, and I
have a feeling as soon as you open your gift, you’ll also have a
smile on your face.”

Sawyer Jackson quickly
opens his gift and I’m surprised when I see the movie
The Toy Story,
and a box
of six moveable figurines of the characters from the
Toy Story
films. There’s
Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jesse, Bullseye, Rex, and Hamm. I
open the box and Sawyer Jackson is excited to play with his new
toys. He holds Buzz up in the air and says, “To
infinity…”

I finish, “… and beyond.”

I put the movie in the CD player and he
watches it while I open my gift. I’m excited and I have no idea
what it could be. I’m surprised when it’s a Samsung Galaxy Note 5.
It looks like a cell phone, but it’s the size of a small tablet. I
remove the item from the box and it covers my hand completely. It’s
huge. I have never seen a cell phone this big before. I don’t know
whether to laugh or read the instruction booklet. I turn the phone
on and read the instruction manual. It’s even more complicated than
I thought it would be. Is there anything this phone can’t do?