by Fry,Patricia
Before Colbi could make any sense of what was going on, they heard another voice. “Hi all,” Craig said as he walked into the camp with a paramedic. “Sonya, I think you’ve been here before. You met Savannah and…uh…Jesse. This is my wife, Iris, my daughter-in-law, Colbi, and Margaret Sheridan.” He glanced around at the women, saying, “What they’re all doing out here, I don’t know.” He looked at the body and then at the young man. “But I guess it’s a good thing someone checked on these folks.” He stepped back when he saw Dolly. “You brought a cat?” he asked.
Colbi shook her head. “No. It seems that Dolly escaped and came here on her own.”
“I told you Rags was a bad influence on her,” Margaret cranked.
“So…uh…Jesse, what happened out here, son?” Craig asked gently.
“She can’t wake up,” he said. “I think she’s gone and died.”
Sonya stepped forward. “Well, let’s take a look, shall we?” After a brief examination, she said rather solemnly, “Yes, I’m afraid she’s gone. Doesn’t appear that she suffered.”
“No, ma’am,” Jesse said. “She just went to sleep, that’s all.” He wiped at his eyes with one hand and held more tightly to Dolly.
“So you’ll call the coroner?” Craig asked quietly.
Sonya nodded and walked out of the camp to make the call.
In the meantime, Craig studied the young man. He cleared his throat and said, “Jesse, I’d like to show you something.”
“Uh…okay, I guess.”
“Let’s sit here, shall we?” Craig suggested, motioning toward a pair of tree stumps. Before sitting, Craig pulled something out of his pocket. He then eased down onto the stump and watched Dolly wriggle from Jesse’s grip. He sat in contemplation for a moment, then finally opened his hand and held it out to Jesse so he could see what lay in the center of it.
The young man looked at the object, then at Craig. “What is it?” he asked.
“Look more closely, Jesse. Have you seen this before?”
“Uh…I…” Suddenly, the young man’s expression changed. His eyes widened and he gasped. He pointed and attempted to speak, but seemed unable to formulate his thoughts. “It’s…yes…I…” Suddenly he burst into tears. “I know it. I seen it before.” He hesitated, then said, “It was my…my father’s.” He looked to Craig for confirmation. “That’s what I remember. It was mine after my father died. I…I lost it.” He looked imploringly at Craig. “Is it mine?”
Craig nodded. “Yes, I believe so. Go ahead and pick it up,” he urged.
“Can I?” Jesse asked.
Craig smiled and moved his hand closer to the lad. Once Jesse had handled the military medal for a few moments, Craig asked, “Do you remember your father, Bennie?”
“Bennie?” Savannah said quietly. She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth, he eyes wide and searching.
Craig motioned for her to suppress her shock. “Do you remember your father and your mother?” he asked again.
“My father died,” Jesse answered in monotone. After an extended silence, he said quietly, “Mama.” He started to cry. “I couldn’t find Mama. I called and called for her and I couldn’t find her.” He stopped and thought for a moment, rubbing his fingers over the medal. “I was a little boy when I found Mama.” He glanced up at Craig. “…my new mama.”
“And you’ve lived with her ever since?” Craig asked.
He nodded, then looked into Craig’s eyes. “Do you know where my mama is?” He smiled. “And Sissy?”
“Your sister?” Craig asked. “Yes, Bennie, we know where they are and they’re waiting for you to come home.”
The young man took a couple of stutter-breaths, then relaxed a little. He looked at Alice’s body, then smiled and said, “I’m ready to go home.”
****
“So did you get to witness the homecoming?” Michael asked after Savannah told him about finding Gloria’s brother.
“No,” she said. “I was busy trying to help Colbi get her naughty kitty home.” She laughed. “It was refreshing to know Rags wasn’t involved in the mischief this time.”
“How did she get out, does Colbi know?”
“I guess it’s that darned bathroom window screen. It just doesn’t fit right and Dolly has figured out the combination for shaking it loose.”
“And she remembered where Alice lived?” Michael asked.
“Either that, or she trailed us there. It was a bit of a challenge getting her back home without a harness and leash. We had to take turns carrying her—even when she didn’t want to be carried. Colbi stuffed her into her pack once, but she didn’t stay put. It was a long and arduous trek with that headstrong cat of hers.”
Abruptly interrupting her, Michael said, “Sounds like someone’s at the back door.”
“Oh, it’s Kira,” Savannah said when she saw the child standing on the porch. She opened the door for her. “Hi.” When she noticed Kira smiling broadly with her hands behind her back, she asked suspiciously, “What are you doing, Missy?”
“For you,” Kira said, holding out a bouquet of freshly picked flowers.
“Aww, how sweet,” Savannah took the flowers and smelled their fragrance. “I love them. Can you come in?”
Kira nodded. She stepped inside and hugged Savannah around the waist. “They’re a thank-you for being a good friend.” She looked up at Savannah. “I just love you.”
“Oh, honey, I love you, too. I’m so glad you’re feeling better. Everything okay with your dad? The detective told me they arrested the real bad guy this time.”
She nodded. “Yes, and it wasn’t Daddy.” Her face brightened. “He got a regular job. Mom is so happy.”
“Oh, what kind of job?”
“Working with computers…what’s it called…technolo…”
“Technology?” Savannah suggested.
“Yes, a technology company.” He’ll be working for a technology company—he’s really good with computers, you know. He’ll be bringing home regular money. The bad part is we may have to move away, closer to his job.” She looked at Savannah. “I’ll miss you and Lily so much.”
Savannah frowned. “Where’s his job? How far away would you have to move?”
“Straley.”
“Oh, that’s not far. We can still visit, but you’ll be over-the-top busy with school and meeting new friends.”
“Yeah. And guess what? I love writing letters.”
“Me, too,” Savannah revealed.
Kira tilted her head. “There’s one thing I’d like to do before we move.”
“What’s that?” Savannah asked.
“Go horseback riding.”
“Oh, what a great idea,” Savannah said, smiling widely. “Sure, we can arrange that. Do you remember my stepson, Adam?” When Kira nodded, she continued, “He’s coming this weekend; maybe we can all go riding then. I can borrow a couple of gentle horses from my friend, Bonnie, and…”
Kira jumped up and down. “Oh that would be so, so, so fun! I can’t wait to tell my mom.” At that, she raced out through the door and down the porch steps.
“You made her day,” Michael said, smiling after the child.
“Yes, it’s wonderful to see her happy again. I really do love that little girl. I will miss her,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. She sniffled and took a deep breath. “But now I’d better focus on getting supper made.”
“Uh-oh, now someone’s at the front door,” Michael said, taking his usual long strides toward the living room.
“Want some supper?” Savannah asked Lily.
“Cookie?” the baby said.
“Sure, I’ll get you some crackers and fruit. Want to sit at your little table or the high chair?”
Lily rushed to the little table and pulled out a chair to sit in.
“Okay, the table it is,” Savannah said, wiping it down and placing the snack in front of her. She then opened the refrigerator to start assembling the ingred
ients for their meat-loaf supper.
“Hon, we have a surprise visitor,” Michael called from the kitchen doorway.
Savannah turned and was stunned to see him holding a baby in his arms. “What…?” she started, confused. Just then a young woman appeared from behind him. “Leah! Oh my gosh, what a surprise,” she said, darting across the room and hugging her. “And baby Charlie,” she said, standing back and taking a good look at him.
“You didn’t recognize him, did you?” Leah asked.
“No. You caught me completely off guard.” She ran her hand over Charlie’s head and down one cheek. “He is adorable.” Looking into Leah’s dark-brown eyes, she said, “It’s so good to see you both. What a cool, unexpected surprise.”
Leah laughed. “Yeah, I made a snap decision—or I should say, Harrison and I did.” She rolled her eyes. “I loved spending time with my family; it was a healing experience—just wonderful. But my place is with Harrison. We decided not to spend any more time apart. We want to be together now.” She shrugged, smiling widely. “So we hopped a plane and here we are. Harrison’s working this evening, so I thought I’d surprise you.”
“And you sure did. Oooh,” she squealed. “It’s so nice to see you looking so well.”
Suddenly, Leah noticed Lily. “Look at this big girl. She’s grown almost as much as Charlie has.” Her voice softened. “She is so cute.”
“Uh-oh, he’s getting a little squirmy,” Michael said.
“Here, let me get Lily’s big quilt and he can play on the living room floor, okay?” Savannah asked.
“Baby,” Lily said, sliding off her chair and edging toward her daddy.
“Yes, that’s baby Charlie,” Savannah cooed. “Come on, let’s go find your toys.”
At that, Lily ran to a toy box in one corner of the dining room and looked through it, finally grabbing a blue rattle. “Baby,” she said, tossing it in his direction.
“Gentle, little one,” Michael said, picking it up and showing it to the baby. “What a grip,” he said, when Charlie grasped one of his fingers.
“Yes, he’s strong-minded, too,” Leah said, smiling at her baby. “According to the doctors back East, he’s actually a high-functioning Down’s baby. At least, at this point.”
“What is he, three months old now?” Savannah asked.
“Just about. But he’s wearing six-month-size clothes.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment, then Savannah asked, “So Leah, what are the plans?”
“Happiness for us all,” she quipped.
“I like it,” Savannah said, smiling. Suddenly something caught her attention. “Is he giggling?”
“Yes, at Rags,” Michael said. “He just watched Rags roll over a couple of times and thought that was pretty funny.”
“He loves animals,” Leah said. “All of my relatives—my folks, grandparents, aunts and uncles—have pets, so he’s gotten used to seeing cats and dogs. Good thing he likes them. Did you know that Harrison is now the proud caretaker of a whole colony of cats?”
“I heard,” Savannah said. “Charlie will be out there taming them in no time.”
“Seven cats in the house, no thank you,” Leah said.
“So what are your plans?” Savannah asked.
“Hon,” Michael cautioned, jumping up and diverting Lily’s attention from pushing her lawnmower into the baby.
“What?” Savannah asked.
“Maybe Leah doesn’t want to talk about her personal plans.”
“Oh no. You folks are like my second parents—they gave birth to me and you saved my life. So of course I want you to know. Yeah…well, I think Harrison and I will do the sinful thing for a while. We’ve had a long-distance relationship for many weeks now. I think it’s a good idea to find out if we can stand each other in person before we take the next step.” She thinned her lips. “It’s not exactly how I want it, but I have to agree with…” she shrugged. “…well, with today’s way of doing things. Living together is a good choice economically, and we really should know one another well before we make the final commitment.”
Michael chuckled. “You make it sound like a death sentence.”
Leah waved her hand in front of her. “Oh, you know what I mean.”
Savannah spoke more quietly. “You really have things planned out, don’t you, honey?”
When Leah didn’t respond, she continued, “And that’s a good thing—to think ahead, but doggone it, there’s no way we can see into the future. All we have is now. I mean, sure, we should certainly use common sense, learn by the mistakes and successes of others, as well as follow our gut.”
“Yeah?” Leah questioned.
“I mean, even when we plan carefully, there are unknowns out there just waiting to surprise us—good ones, of course, and sometimes unexpectedly bad ones.”
“God laughs at those of us who make plans, right?” Leah said laughing.
“It could be,” Savannah agreed. “No-no, Lily,” she said, quickly reaching for the toddler.
“She’s okay, Savannah,” Leah said. “She just wants to lay with Charlie.”
“I thought she was going to roll over on him.”
“He’s used to bigger kids. Some of my friends and cousins have toddlers. He’s been roughed up a time or two.”
“A tough little boy, huh?” Michael said. He looked at Savannah. “When are we going to get one of those?”
Savannah smiled. “You have one of those—his name’s Adam.”
“But he’s not a baby,” Michael groused.
Savannah rolled her eyes at Michael, then asked Leah. “So how do you like the way Harrison is decorating the old homestead?”
“Changing the subject, huh?” Michael said, standing. “I’m going to get a water. Anyone want anything?” When neither of the women responded, he left the room.
“Well,” Leah said. “There’s not much decorating going on there, yet.”
“No? But Colbi moved out over a week ago—I thought he had a design in mind.”
“Yeah, retro,” she said, frowning. “Not my cup of tea.”
“Uh-oh,” Michael said as he returned to the living room. “Your first disagreement?”
Leah laughed. “Not really. We are pretty much on the same page with many things, but there are a few areas where we don’t think alike.”
Savannah smiled. “That’s to be expected. That’s healthy.”
“You mean we don’t have a healthy relationship?” Michael asked, feigning concern.
“Huh?” Savannah asked. “What do you mean by that? We don’t see eye to eye on every single thing.”
“We don’t?”
“No.”
“Oh, I thought we did.”
“You think I agree that we should have six children and I should be a home-school mom?”
At that, Leah began to laugh.
“Well, yeah,” he said. “Don’t you?”
“No, Michael. I don’t.”
He winked at Leah. “She doesn’t like my sawdust, either.”
When the younger woman looked confused, Savannah explained, “When he’s working on a project around here, he doesn’t clean up after himself.”
“Oh, sounds like you two have some serious issues,” she said, tongue in cheek. After the laugher had subsided, Leah said, “I hope Iris and Craig are okay.”
Frowning, Savannah asked, “What do you mean?”
Leah glanced at Michael, then Savannah. “Oh, maybe I’m not supposed to say anything. It’s just that…” she stammered. “Well, I saw Iris over at Colbi’s yesterday evening and she seemed a little preoccupied, like something’s wrong. After she left, Colbi seemed concerned about her—said she hasn’t been herself lately.”
“Oh really? I was with her today and I didn’t notice anything.” She raised her eyebrows, “But we were rather distracted today by a lot of drama.”
“It’s probably nothing. Sorry I brought it up.” Leah then stood and scooped up baby Charlie.
“I told Harrison I’d fix us a romantic after-dinner for when he gets home tonight, and I still have to go to the store. I’d better scoot.”
“After-dinner?” Savannah repeated.
“Yeah, he gets home around ten tonight and I thought I’d serve maybe some shrimp cocktail…” Her eyes flashed when she said, “He already made the shrimp sauce and some pate. I’ll buy the shrimp and some crackers and choose a nice bottle of bubbly,” she said, grinning impishly. She lifted Charlie from the floor. “I might pickle some artichoke hearts and little onions like my grandma taught me.”
“Sounds like you’re interested in the culinary arts, too,” Savannah said.
Leah nodded. “Yes, but Nana’s way is different from the way Harrison is being taught, so there’s another possible area of disagreement for us.”
“Certainly nothing serious enough to cause a rumble in a marriage, though,” Michael observed.
“Naw,” Leah said. “I just love Harrison to pieces. And I’m very proud of him.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Savannah said, wrapping her arms around Leah and baby Charlie. “So good to see you.”
“You, too.” She started to open the front door, then turned back toward the Iveys. She looked at them both. “You know, you two really did save our lives—mine and my son’s.” When her eyes welled, she blinked and smiled. “I owe you so much.”
“Seeing you happy is all that matters to us,” Savannah said. “Take care,” she called, waving as Leah stepped into her car. “Now what do you suppose is going on with Iris?” Savannah said upon closing the front door.
“Oh no,” Michael said. “Even if there is something, which I doubt, leave it alone, will you?” He followed her as she headed toward the kitchen with Lily in her arms. “Hon, forget about it. It’s probably nothing…”
Reaching the kitchen, she turned and looked at him. She placed Lily in her high chair with some goldfish crackers and picked up her phone.
When he saw this, Michael grimaced, ran one hand over his hair, and turned toward the living room, letting out a disappointed sigh as he did so.
Before Savannah could place her call, however, her phone rang. “It’s Gloria,” she said loudly for Michael’s benefit. “Hi, Gloria. How are you?”
