Hearts of Grey

by Earl E. Gobel

  “I thought that she was a very unique lady,” Katie told her.

  “Just wait until you see our dresses. You’ll be pleasantly surprised,” Melissa told her.

  “I’m sure that I will be,” she answered back.

  Katie carried the pitcher of tea as Melissa carried the tray of glasses. They poured the tea into the glasses and took their seats. Katie started to tell Grady about the story that she had heard.

  So as Grady slowly drank his tea, Katie told him what the old lady had told her word for word. She could tell that Grady was totally interested in the story.

  “Well, what do you think?” she asked as she finished the story.

  “You know, ever since you were a little girl, you were always doing things that nobody else ever thought of. Just like dropping the charges against Susie. I never knew where you inherited that from. And now I know, you got it from him,” Grady told her.

  “Gee, you think so? I never made the connection between me and him before. You know, sometimes I wonder what he was like,” she told him.

  “Well, Katie, I would think that he was pretty much like you, caring about the innocent, loving the unlovable, and always doing the impossible. I think that he would approve of you and the things that you do. I’m sorry that you never had a chance to meet him,” he told her.

  “God, Grady, you almost had me crying,” Melissa told him.

  “Sorry, dear, that’s not what I was trying to do,” he told her.

  “I know, but still it was a very touching moment,” she answered.

  “I know because he made me cry. Look at these tears,” Katie told them as she wiped several tears from her cheek.

  “Well, I know that Jack loved you very much. I don’t know if you remember much about your uncle, but he was kind of like you and your Grandpa Sherman. He used to come over and play with you all the time. I remember you asking him for ponyback rides. And he would run all over the yard with you on his back. And you know, I can’t recall him ever getting tired. As long as you wanted to play, he would keep on going. Of course, that was when your mother was still here. She and Jack were the very best of friends. God, I miss both of them so much,” Grady said as he tried to wipe the tears from his eye.

  “Daddy, I do believe that you’ve made yourself cry,” Katie told him.

  “Yeah, well, with you getting married and Jack coming home after all of these years, I guess it gets to be too much all at once, even for me,” he told her.

  “Well, in a few days, Jack will be here, and things will start to simmer down, I hope,” she told him.

  “You hope? What else could possibly happen next?” Grady asked.

  “Daddy, you shouldn’t be asking questions when you really don’t want to hear the answers,” she told him.

  “Yeah, I know, but sometimes, the mouth acts faster than the brain does,” he answered.

  “Tell me about it. Like I’ve never been there before,” she said with a smile.

  “Oh, I could think of a couple of times where that happened to me as well,” Melissa added.

  “Melissa darling, you really need to speak up more often. I almost forgot that you were even there,” Grady told her as he leaned over and tapped the top of her knee.

  “Oh, I was just listening to the two of you talking, is all. It was a very touching and somewhat personal conversation, so I just sat back and listened,” she answered.

  Katie and Melissa both stood up as Rick’s car pulled into the driveway. They were there to meet it as it pulled up to a stop. Katie was at Mike’s door as Melissa was at Rick’s. Both of them greeted their men with hugs and kisses.

  Grady, still sitting up on the porch, just watched. He was taken back to a time when his beloved wife, Katherine, used to meet him just as those two women had. He could still smell her perfume, feel the silkiness of her hair, and hear the sound of that sweet, tender voice of hers. And once again, just as it had been happening more often lately, he realized that he truly missed her. Katherine would, without a doubt, be happy for her daughter—for his daughter, the only thing that he had left in the world. And he knew in his heart that she too was being pulled away from him. Slowly but surely, but it was okay. He knew that the two of them truly loved each other. She would soon have a family of her own that would need tending to. Yes, she would make a great mother for sure. But that would be in the future. And right now, he had something special to do. So as he slowly walked toward the car, Mike turned to greet him.

  “Grady? How ya doing today?” he asked.

  “Oh, I’m fine. Just talking to Katie about the past and brought up some old memories that I hadn’t thought about for a long time. Kind of got to me, is all. And you? How was work?” he asked.

  “Same old stuff. I guess that’s why they call it work. I guess if people enjoyed it so much, we would have another name for it,” he answered.

  “True, but I need to get everyone down by the gate. I have a surprise for Katie. So could you help me? Please,” he asked.

  “Sure, no problem,” Mike said as he turned toward Rick and his sister. “Hey, guys, Grady needs us all down by the gate. He has something to show Katie.” And without hesitation, everyone started walking toward the gate. When they got to where the large sign was, everyone stopped. Grady asked the two guys to pull off the canvas tarp when he gave them the signal. They both agreed.

  He turned to look at his daughter. “Katie sweetheart, I know how much your great-grandfather means to you, and your dedication to him is inspiring to say the least. So to let everyone else that happens to come through that gate know how much it means to you, I decided to give you this little sign to show your devotion to your family,” Grady said as he signaled the two men to pull off the tarp.

  When Katie first saw the sign, she was speechless as she read it. The sign itself was big. No, it was huge. At almost ten feet long and nearly six feet tall, it would be almost impossible to miss as you entered the main gate. Hand carved, this solid piece of oak was impressive to say the least. Grady had half expected it to take a few months to make it, but the guys at the National Parks Service must have worked on it day and night to have it finished in less than a week and a half.

  Katie read it again.

  The General Sherman Memorial Park

  “The Truth Is Worth Searching For

  No Matter How Long It Takes.”

  Donated by his great-granddaughter

  Katie Windslow and Family

  Katie could feel the tears of joy building up within her. Grady just watched her with the anticipation of what was sure to come. Mike walked up to Katie and put his arm around her.

  “Wow, now that’s one heck of a sign,” he told her.

  “I know. It’s amazing. I can’t believe that my daddy did this,” she said as she threw her head on to his shoulder and started bawling like a little kid. Mike looked over at Grady.

  “I do believe that she likes the sign,” he said as he patted her on the back.

  Katie lifted up her head. “I don’t like the sign—I love it,” she said as she pulled herself away from Mike’s shoulder. She walked over to her dad and threw her arms around his neck and gave him a great big hug.

  “Thank you, Daddy. It’s great. I can’t believe that you did this. And I didn’t know about it,” she told him.

  “Well, honey, that’s why they call it a surprise,” he said as he gently kissed the top of her head.

  “Grady, I do think that you’ve outdone yourself again,” Melissa told him. “Very nice,” she added

  “Yeah, well, when it comes to my daughter, it’s all or nothing,” he told her.

  “Well, you wouldn’t be looking to adopt another daughter anytime soon, would ya?” she asked jokingly.

  “But, Melissa my dear, I already have two of them,” he told her.

  “Two? How did you come up with two daughters?” she asked.

  “Well, according to my Katie here, you’re like the sister that she never had. So if you’re a sister to Kat
ie, doesn’t that make you my daughter as well?” he asked.

  “Great! I’m getting a new husband and another dad. A girl can’t get any luckier than that I guess,” she told him.

  “Welcome to the family, daughter,” he said as he threw her a smile.

  The five of them just stood there marveling over the giant sign. It was after all a very fitting tribute to Katie’s undying devotion to a man that she had never met, her great-grandfather General William Tecumseh Sherman. Love truly knew no limitations when it came to the passing of time. They all knew it, and now everyone that read that sign would know it too.

  As they slowly made their way back to the house, Katie found herself looking over her shoulder more than a few times at that marvelous sign. She just couldn’t get it out of her head.

  As they sat around the dining room table, the conversation soon turned to talking about Jack and his coming home finally.

  “So your brother, Jack, is finally coming home. I bet you’re excited, are ya?” Rick asked.

  “Am I glad to have him home? You bet. But I wish that it was under different circumstances. Jack and I were pretty close. Well, as close as two brothers could be, I guess.” Grady answered.

  “Didn’t Jack have a girlfriend or a wife?” Melissa asked.

  “Well, there was a girl—Elizabeth. But they broke up then got back together, so they break up again more times than I could ever shake a stick at. But Jack could pick ’em, that’s for sure. Talkin’ about a looker. Gee, almighty, that lady could walk into any room, and it would go deathly quiet. She had this walk that she would do to get your attention, and lordy, did she know how to use it to her advantage. That’s how Jack met her. Or how she hooked Jack, depending on which side of the fence that you were on,” he told her.

  “Sounds like all of you were pretty close,” Mike added.

  “Yeah, the four of us. Hell, we got into more scuffs just defending our ladies than you would think possible. Jack and I didn’t have to drink back then to get into a fight. Hell, the ladies started most of the fights for us. Elizabeth would do her walk while Katherine would smile at some poor fool, and the fight was on. Of course, it was nice when we got home because then the ladies would pamper us as they tended to our cuts and bruises. Aw, the good ole days,” Grady told them with a smile.

  “Sounds like you all were a pretty wild bunch back in your day,” Melissa added.

  “Naw, but we certainly had our moments. I think we were more like the crazy bunch. We’d do things that were just plumb crazy. It’s a miracle none of us ever got killed,” he told them.

  There was complete silence. Then Grady thought about what he had said. “Gee I guess two of us went ahead and did just that, didn’t they?” There was a long pause of silence. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go on up to bed now. I’m not feeling well. You kids have fun. I’ll see ya all in the morning,” he said as he slowly got up and walked out of the room.

  The room remained quiet for the longest time.

  “You think my daddy will be all right?” Katie asked them.

  “Honey, he’ll be fine. He just brought up a lot of old memories, is all,” Melissa told her as she reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

  “Yeah, your dad is one tuff bird. He’ll be fine in the morning. You’ll see,” Mike said as he hugged her.

  “God, I hope so. If anything ever happened to him, I don’t know what I would do. He’s my whole life. Well, except for you all I mean,” Katie said as she slowly wiped the tears from her cheek.

  “Honey, we all know what you meant. It’s okay, and so will your daddy be. Just let him get some sleep, and he’ll be fit as rain come tomorrow morning,” Mike told her.

  The four of them sat around the table until about midnight. Their talk pretty much consisted of a bunch of nonsense gibber-gabble, but it turned serious when the topic of their wedding vows got brought up. Together, the four of them laid out a very loose format at best. But still, it was a start, which was more than they had before.

  After saying good night to her guests, Katie turned out the lights and headed upstairs. She quietly pushed the door to her daddy’s room open and saw that he was fast asleep. She felt better as she slowly pulled the door close.

  No rooster in the world could have awakened Katie before she was ready to get up. She yawned as she pulled the blankets up around her neck. She was as comfy as a flea on a very shaggy sheepdog. And even though her eyes were closed, she wasn’t asleep. In fact, she was very much awake, but she was listening, listening to the sounds of a very large empty house, listening to the sounds of her daddy banging stuff in the kitchen just as he did every morning. But today was different. He wasn’t banging anything. In fact, she didn’t hear him at all. She sat up in bed and listened. Nothing. No tea kettle, no slamming of a screen door—there was nothing. Grabbing her robe and flinging it over her shoulders, she walked down the hallway. Her daddy’s door was still shut.

  She slowly pushed it open. There he was in the same position that he had been last night. She slowly made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. As she started filling the tea kettle to make some coffee, she thought to herself, God, the morning sun is awfully bright for this early in the morning. She glanced over at the clock. She had to take a second and third look to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. It was a little past one in the afternoon.

  “No way, I couldn’t have slept that long,” she said out loud to herself. Okay, wait a second. Maybe she had because she was up really late last night. But for her daddy to sleep this long, it just never happened—ever. So she waited for the coffee water to boil and poured some into a cup. Daddy has to have his coffee first thing in the morning, or in the afternoon in this case.

  She slowly pushed his door open and walked into his room.

  “Come on, sleepyhead, the day a wastin’,” she said but got no response.

  “Daddy, come on. I’ve got your coffee here,” she said as she shook him. But there still wasn’t a response.

  “Daddy, wake up. This isn’t funny,” she said as she shook him feverishly. Still no response.

  “Oh God, no. Please not now, please. Daddy, wake up,” she said as she slapped the side of his face.

  Grady’s eyes flew open.

  “Daddy, you’re alive!” she said as she hugged him.

  “Well, of course I am. What in the hell are you doing hitting me. Damn, Katie, that hurt,” he told her.

  “But you wouldn’t wake up. I thought that you were—”

  “Dead?” Grady said as he rolled back over, pulling up the covers over his shoulders.

  “Yeah, I thought you were dead all right. But get your butt up. We have things to do today, and we’ve already slept through half of the day,” she told him.

  “You go ahead. I’m staying right here,” he told her.

  “Like hell you are. You have to go help with the arrangements for Jack. Oh, I see this is all about what you said last night, isn’t it?” she asked him.

  But he didn’t answer her.

  “It is, isn’t it. Well, if you think for one second I’m going to let you lie in this bed and feel sorry for yourself because you’re alive and they’re not, you’re mistaken. I would think that Jack would mean more to you than this,” she told him.

  Grady rolled back over and sat up. “Don’t you ever say that I don’t care for my brother. That’s just downright mean. And I didn’t raise you to talk to me like that!” he yelled at her.

  “Well, you’re acting like a child. If you want to mope around and feel sorry for yourself, you can find somewhere else to do it,” she told him.

  “I’m fine right where I’m at,” he told her as he lay back down, pulling the covers with him as he rolled away from her.

  “Fine. But just remember this, Mom and Jack are staring down at you, and they’re disappointed to see you acting this way. You’re better than this,” she told him as she turned to leave.

  Grady sat up, and tears we
re flowing down his cheeks like raging rivers of emotions. “But I miss them . . . and it should have been my turn, not your mother’s,” he said as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

  Katie ran to her daddy’s side and threw her arms around him. “I miss them too, Daddy. But God called them, and not you, to heaven. And as much as it hurts, we have to go on with our lives, remember?” she told him.

  He pulled away from her and stared at her. “Did you memorize that from somewhere?” he asked even though he knew the answer.

  “You know that I did. That’s what you told me when Mom died, remember? So come on, get dressed. We have things to do,” she told him as she kissed him on the cheek.

  “I’m sorry for acting that way,” he told her.

  “It’s all right. It will be our little secret, okay?” she told him.

  “Okay, and one more thing,” he said as he watched her stop to turn to face him.

  “And what’s that?” she asked.

  “You can yell at me all you want to. But my cheek still stings. Never again, okay?” he asked.

  “Okay, as long as you promise never to play dead again,” she said with a smile as she left his room.

  “I wasn’t playing dead. I was friggin’ sleeping!” he yelled to her as she turned to walk away.

  “Yeah, well, you could have fooled me!” she yelled back to him without even turning around.

  Grady slowly made his way down the stairs. And even though it was past one in the afternoon, he felt tired. Oh, he had gotten plenty of sleep, but bad dreams can make even the best sleep worthless. And he had some pretty bad dreams, that’s for sure. Reliving Katherine’s death over and over, the smoke and the heat of the flames all seemed so real. He wouldn’t be one bit surprised to find soot on his face. It had been that real. But he knew that it hadn’t been real, at least not last night it wasn’t. Back on the night of the fire, it had been all too real. A night that would change their lives forever.

  He walked right past Katie and made himself another cup of coffee. He sat down across from her. He started rubbing the side of his face where she had slapped him. Finally she noticed what he was doing.