Hearts of Grey

by Earl E. Gobel

  “Well you’re in luck. I haven’t even checked in yet. Got caught in some traffic,” the judge said as he turned to the lady behind the desk. “It’s all right, Nancy. Ms. Windslow doesn’t need an appointment. Follow me, ladies,” he told them as he just walked right on through to his office. As they entered his office, he turned to look at the two ladies before him. Melissa threw the lady behind the desk a look of defiance as she walked past her.

  “Well, you’ll have to make this quick. I have to be in court in less than thirty minutes. So is this about Susie Barnes?” he asked Katie.

  “No, Your Honor, it isn’t?” she answered back.

  “Really? I would have thought that she would have been back in my court long before this. Gee, maybe I was wrong about her. Anyways, if this isn’t about her, what is this about?” he asked her.

  Katie laid out all of their plans for the wedding and how Father Mathews wasn’t going to able to perform the services and how everything depended on finding someone to perform the service.

  “So let me get this straight. You want me to fill in for Father Mathews and perform your wedding services? Is that right so far?” he asked her.

  “Yes, Your Honor. The wedding is this Saturday. And we’re really in a jam, sir. Can you do it?” she asked him.

  “This Saturday? Boy, you don’t give a guy much warning, do you?” he asked.

  “It wasn’t done on purpose, Your Honor,” Melissa added.

  “Well, hang on there. Let me check my calendar and see if Saturday is open,” he said as he flipped the calendar open. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m supposed to play a game of golf with the governor on Saturday,” he told them.

  Once again, all of their hopes and dreams were falling apart.

  “Let me ask you one question, Ms. Windslow. I know that Susie shot her own father protecting you and your father, wasn’t it?” he asked her.

  “Yes, Your Honor, she did. But what does that have to do with our wedding?” she asked.

  “Nothing really. But I have to ask you. How could you possibly know that by dropping those charges against her, she would some day in the not too distant future come to your rescue like that?” he asked her.

  “Well, I didn’t, Your Honor,” Katie told him.

  “That’s what I thought,” the judge replied.

  “But God did. And I knew that dropping those charges against her was just the right thing to do. God told me, Your Honor,” She told him.

  “God told you?” he asked her.

  Katie went on to explain about how the guys from that cave had changed their lives around all because of a little kindness that she had shown them that night in the cave.

  “Really? You know what, Ms. Windslow? Your belief in God just moves me. You make me believe that there’s some good in all of us,” he told her

  “Oh, but there is, Your Honor. You just have to find it, is all,” she told him.

  “Well, back to your wedding. Hang on one minute and let me see if I can’t do something,” he told her as he picked up the phone. He didn’t say anything at first. “Yes, Nancy on Saturday, I have a golf game with the governor. Would you cancel it please and tell him that I’m sorry, but something really important has come up unexpectedly? We’ll set it up for another day. Thank you,” he said as he hung up the phone. “I want you to know, Ms. Windslow, that it took me over two years to set up that game of golf with the governor,” he told her.

  “I can’t believe that you just did that just for us. I don’t know what to say,” Melissa told him.

  “I can,” Katie said. “You’re a saint, Your Honor. Thank you so very much. I’ll add you to my prayer list.”

  “You do that, and I’ll see you two ladies come Saturday. And by the way, nice job on finding that treasure. I read about it in the Charleston Herald. Nice story, very nice indeed. In fact, there’s been more than a few stories about you lately,” he told her.

  “Thanks again, Your Honor,” Katie told him.

  “You’re welcome. Now git on out of here so I can go to work,” he said with a huge smile on his face.

  “We will, and thank you again,” Katie said as she and Melissa turned to leave.

  The drive home was filled with talk of their big day that was just two days away.

  As they climbed into the car, Katie turned and looked at Melissa.

  “Did you hear what the judge said about there being more than a few articles about us in the paper? I wonder what he was talking about,” Katie asked her.

  “I don’t have a clue, but I think he was talking about articles about you, not us,” Melissa responded.

  “Ya think so? Maybe I should start reading the paper more often,” Katie told her.

  “Yeah, maybe you should at that. But do you know what we’ve forgotten?” Melissa asked Katie.

  “No what have we forgotten?” Katie asked as if she didn’t know. And she really didn’t have a clue. Everything had been covered, or so she had thought.

  “A rehearsal, dear. I mean do we really want to do this and hope that everyone does what they’re supposed to do. And considering I’m not even sure what we’re supposed to do, I would have to assume that nobody else does either,” Melissa explained.

  “My gosh, you’re right. We have all of these ideas and plans, but that’s all they are so far. Our wedding could really turn into a three-ring circus real fast,” Katie answered.

  “Exactly. I think we’ll need to get everyone over to your place, say, tomorrow morning, and walk through all of this until we have it right,” Melissa suggested.

  “I agree, but I don’t think tomorrow morning will work. Let’s set it up for tomorrow afternoon. It will give us a little more time to get everyone together,” Katie offered as a suggestion.

  “Fine, but remember this, Katie, the wedding will only be about ten hours after our rehearsal. So we’ll have to nail it the first time. We won’t have the luxury of a retake. It’s really more like a do-or-die type of thing,” Melissa told her.

  “Gee, thanks, Mel. You have very weird way of making me feel so much more relaxed,” Katie told her as she started to laugh.

  “Well, just remember this. If we sink like a rock on Saturday, we’ll be going down together,” Melissa responded.

  “Would you like to know what part of all of this just gets me the most?” Katie asked. “I mean, considering everything that we’ve been through from the moment that you stepped off of that train all the way up to now.”

  “Sure, I’d like to know. Hell, we’ve been through a lot, haven’t we. So go ahead tell me which part it is that you like best,” Melissa told her.

  “Well, not counting finding out that I have a little cousin that carries my name and seeing Aunt Elizabeth again, the part that I like the best is finding you as a friend, Melissa. Hell we act like we’ve known each other for years, instead of weeks. And it’s just a nice feeling if you know what I mean,” Katie told her.

  Melissa just stared at Katie for a few moments. “Well thank you, Katie, that’s about the nicest thing that anyone has ever told me. And, yes, I do feel the same way about you too. And to be totally honest, I knew that we were going to be the best of friends the very moment that I saw you at the train depot. There’s just something about you that you carry so well. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s there all right,” Melissa replied.

  “Not me, I remember. I was nervous as hell that day. I kept wondering, will you like me or will you hate me. Mike kept telling me to relax, but deep down inside, I was a nervous wreck. But that all disappeared the moment that I saw you. I just knew that all of my worries were for nothing,” Katie told her.

  “Do you remember what you told me that first day in the soda shop?” Melissa asked her.

  “Which part?” Katie asked.

  “The part where you wished that you could have as many friends as I did?” Melissa answered.

  “Yeah, I do recall saying something to that effect. What about it?” she asked.

  “Look
around you, dear. Everyone in town knows you. Maybe not your face, but the name Katie Windslow gets attention around here. I would say that you’ve done quite well for yourself in the friends department,” Melissa told her.

  “You know, it’s funny that you brought that up. Just the other day, I was thinking the same thing. It’s a nice feeling to be so well liked,” she replied.

  “It’s not that they like you, dear. It goes well beyond liking you—they admire you. You’re strong, beautiful, and every time you turn around, you’re making more and more new friends. And of course, you have that ability to see the good in everyone. You know how you keep turning a turd into a diamond thing. You’re in a class all by yourself, Katie Windslow, and I’m glad to be your friend,” Melissa told her.

  “Friends today but soon to be sister-in-laws for life,” Katie responded.

  “Very true and very well put too, I might add,” Melissa said as she pulled the car into the parking lot of the drug store.

  “Come on, let’s go do what women do best. Let’s go shopping,” Melissa told her as she got out of the car.

  “Oh, I’ve got this part down pat. Men just don’t understand what happens when a woman goes shopping,” Katie responded.

  “Rick and Mike soon will. They’ll be paying the bills, remember?” Melissa asked.

  “Oh, I do. I just wonder if they know it yet,” Katie responded as she walked into the store with Melissa right on her heels.

  At the Movie House

  Katie and Elizabeth sat in the middle of the movie house, staring up at the screen. They were watching a cartoon about a mouse that was a captain of a boat when Katie turned in her seat to look at her mom.

  “Mom, are you sure the doctors can’t help you?” she asked.

  Elizabeth just looked at her daughter. She knew that sooner or later, she would have to explain everything in more detail to her. This was as good of a time as any she supposed.

  “Katie, there’s nothing that anyone can do. If we would have found it earlier, maybe, but we didn’t,” she answered.

  “Does it hurt?” Katie asked.

  “Sometimes. But I have medicine to help with the pain,” she answered.

  “I knew something was wrong. I heard you crying at night. I prayed to God to make you better, but he didn’t hear me, I guess,” her daughter told her.

  “Katie, God heard you, sweetheart,” Elizabeth told her.

  “Then why aren’t you better? If he heard me, then why doesn’t he answer my prayers?” Katie asked her.

  “Because answering your prayers may not go along with his bigger plan, sweetheart. Maybe I’m supposed to go to heaven and be with your father. Maybe by my dying, you’ll grow up to be a stronger and better person sweetheart. I don’t know what God’s plans are. Nobody does. But we have to believe that God knows what he’s doing. So we put our faith in him to lead us. Do you understand, dear?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I guess so. But I don’t want you to die and go to heaven. I want you to stay here with me. Always,” Katie told her.

  “So do, I dear. So do I. But what we want doesn’t really matter. But I’ll tell you this. For the last ten years, I’ve watched our little baby grow up into a fine little girl. And every day, I watched you growing and changing along the way. And just like me, I know that your daddy is watching you too,” she told her daughter.

  “What was he like, Mom?” Katie asked.

  “Who are you asking about? Your father?” she asked.

  “Yeah, what was Dad like?” Katie asked.

  “Oh, your daddy was a fine man. He was funny and a very good provider for us. But if there’s one quality that would set your daddy apart from the others, it would be his honesty. You father was a very proud man. And he never took more than he deserved, never. I admired him for that. He loved his family so much. And when he found out that we were going to have a baby, he was so excited that I thought he might explode. He was running around telling anybody and everybody. And your father knew that you were going to be a girl. He just knew. And he told me that he was going to name you after his favorite niece, and he did just that. And I have to say that you look just like her,” Elizabeth told her.

  “I like my cousin. She’s pretty and funny too. But it just won’t be the same . . . I mean without you,” Katie told her mom.

  “I know, sweetheart, and I’m sorry. I really am. But Katie will take really good care of you, dear. And you’ll grow into a strong and beautiful woman just like her,” Elizabeth told her.

  “I really love my cousin, Mom, but I don’t want to grow up to be like her,” Katie told her.

  “But, dear, why not? She’s pretty and smart and—” Katie cut her off.

  “I want to be like you. You’re the person that I want to be like. No offense to her, but I want to be just like you,” Katie told her.

  There were no words that could express the love between the two of them. Elizabeth just took her daughter into her arms and hugged her, and Katie returned the hug.

  Whatever was happening on that picture screen didn’t matter at all, at least not to the two of them.

  Katie broke away from her mother’s hug.

  “Mom, will you know when it’s time? I mean before you leave me, will you know?” she asked her mom.

  “I don’t know. Maybe, why do you ask?” she asked.

  “So I can have just one more hug, one more kiss, and so I can tell you that I love you just one more time. Please could you do that for me? I mean if you know that it’s time,” Katie replied.

  The tears swelled up in Elizabeth’s eyes as she stared down at her daughter. “Sure, Katie, I can do that for you. I wouldn’t want to go any other way, dear. I love you so much,” Elizabeth told her as she brushed her hair from her eyes and wiped away the tears from her little girl’s cheeks.

  “I love you too, Mom. And thanks for coming to the movies with me. It really means a lot,” Katie told her.

  “I’m glad that I came. Now be a big girl and eat your popcorn,” she told her as she herself took a handful from the bucket.

  The two of them spent the entire day together. After the movie was over, they enjoyed a malted at the malt shop and even found time to spend some time at the park. And while Elizabeth didn’t really have the energy to play with Katie in a way that she would have wanted to, she found it very entertaining and enjoyable just to watch Katie playing with the other kids. And just like clockwork, about every twenty minutes or so, Katie would check on her mom, and once she knew that her mom was okay, she would be off and running again. On the way home, Katie looked up at her mom.

  “Mom, do you think that there’s parks in heaven?” she asked her.

  “Well, gee, Katie, I don’t know. I suppose that they do. But what made you ask that?” she inquired.

  “Well, that way when I get up to heaven, all of us can go to the park together. Just you, Dad, and me. Wouldn’t that be great?” she asked.

  “I guess that would be fun. But what if you’re an old lady by the time you get to heaven? Will you still want to go play in the park?” Elizabeth asked her.

  “Never thought about that before, but I don’t think you could ever be so old that you wouldn’t enjoy a day at the park,” Katie told her.

  “That’s true. I guess. Just how did you ever get to be so darn smart?” she asked.

  “Just taking after you, I suppose,” she replied as she squeezed her mom’s hands just a tad harder.

  Mattersonville’s Surprise

  Katie and Melissa hurried back to Katie’s after they had finished doing their shopping. Their plan was to drop Katie off so she could call some of the people that were going to be in the wedding and inform them of the rehearsal. While Melissa drove around and told those that didn’t have a phone. They hoped that everyone could be there no later than one in the afternoon.

  But their plans were soon dashed the moment that they had entered the driveway to Matterson House. The guys had definitely been busy. Surely, they must have h
ad some outside help, for all of the chairs had been lined up in their neat little rows and a giant archway was covered in white, purple, and pink flowers. It was this archway that the two brides would enter as they exited the two carriages and made their ways up to the podium where Mike and Rick, their husbands, to be would be waiting for them. Two large white columns were on either side of the podium. Each of those were topped with large vases that held even more flowers that matched those found in the arch.

  Their pathway leading through the arch was something that neither of the two ladies had expected. The actual pathway had been constructed out of wood. Prior to the archway, it was at ground level, but it rose up at a very gradual rate. By the time it entered through the arch, the pathway itself was almost two feet off of the ground. The flooring was done in thick plywood and covered in a very deep dark purple carpet. The total length of the walkway was nearly sixty feet long. Rising up from both sides of the wooden walkway was a wooden handrail that ran from the archway itself all the way up to the square stage where the podium was erected. Both handrails were covered again in white paint and was decorated with the same flowers as the arch was.

  Behind the podium was equally as impressive. The stage itself was almost twenty feet across and maybe ten feet wide. From the very back corners of the stage, another much larger arch had been erected and filled in with white lattice. It was smothered in more pink, purple, and white flowers.

  Katie and Melissa just got out of the car and silently walked toward the huge display. Neither of them said a word. They simply could not believe what they were seeing. There was no possible way this all could have been done in less then three hours. No way.

  “Well, what do ya think?” Grady asked as he stepped out from behind the stage.

  “How . . . did you . . . I mean where did this all come from?” Katie asked.

  “Grady, what can I say . . . it’s so overwhelming. You have simply outdone yourself this time,” Melissa added.

  “What? You think I did all of this? I would love to take the credit for all of this, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it,” he told them.