Sunshine Valley

Good night

    That evening as night began to fall, everyone started to pack up their tools and head home until Rebecca, Simon, Widow Blake, Mr. Rice and Sheriff Pace were the only ones left.

    Mr. Rice took a deep breath, “what a day?”

    “Shoo,” Rebecca hissed as she sat on the porch.

    All the rooms were painted, appliances hooked up and running, floors polished, even the outside of the house had new siding and both porches had been painted a clean glowing white to match the siding. She looked at Sheriff Pace, who was standing in the yard, let’s not forget about the roof. This adorable little house got a new roof. He had his side toward them. She thought he was staring at her house. His back had to be four feet wide; those shoulders were huge. If he hadn’t been a football player, he should have. Or a basketball player, he was tall enough. But a sheriff? Well, she thought, he presented himself as callus enough. Maybe being the sheriff was the right job for him?

    “What else?” Pace asked. Rebecca knew she heard birds fly away frightened from the near by trees.

    Simon had joined Rebecca on the porch.

    “What’s done is enough?” Mr. Rice smiled happy about the day’s work.

    Pace turned around and just stared at him.

    He sighed in defeat; “I was hopin’ for a car port at the end of the way. A little white picket fence long the road. I have a porch swing to hang.” He looked around as Widow Blake turned on the porch light. “I wanted to take that rail off the end of the porch so that when you step from the car port you didn’t have to come round front staying out of the elements.” He looked up to the sky as if it might start raining.

    Now Rebecca knew this house wasn’t intended for a man. A white picket fence?

    Widow Blake stepped onto the porch with five glasses of lemonade. “We’re all meetin’ back here after church tomorrow.”

    The lemonade was a nice end to a long day. When Widow Blake handed Pace the glass he refused it. “This one is tea young man.”

    “Thanks.”

    If he wasn’t so mean, Rebecca could almost feel sorry for him. Almost. Something was missing from this man. Could it be a heart? She wondered.

    Sheriff Pace played with his glass instead of drinking its contents.

    “Young man.” Widow Blake had set down beside Mr. Rice on the porch.

    He held up the glass as if to say look maw I’m drinking it and took a drink. It struck Rebecca as funny. “Sheriff Pace, may I ask you a question?”

    The look on his face was stone cold. “Shore.” He didn’t bark at her.

    “How tall are you?” She wasn’t trying to be mean. He was just a huge man, not fat at all, just large and obviously in charge.

    “Child, what made you ask that?” Widow Blake asked.

    Rebecca looked at the sheriff. “I mean no disrespect but you are the tallest person I’ve ever met.”

    He took a deep breath, “six, four.”

    Simon was in shock.

    The sheriff never said a word.

    Mr. Rice cleared his throat, “speakin’ of chair-ch, will you be there?”

    Pace took his hat from the porch putting it on, setting down his glass, and then walking away.

    “Boy,” Mr. Rice called after him. He stopped in his tracks. “Be careful.” For what seemed like an hour, Sheriff Pace didn’t move. Finally, the SUV came to life and he was gone.

“What is the story with the flip phone?” Simon asked as they watched Mr. Rice shuffle to his truck.

Widow Blake smiled, “the sheriff’s office is paid for by tax dollars. The sheriff likes to run a transparent tax payer respectful office. Why buy a smart phone when a flip phone will work? He says they get better service in remote areas and are more durable. Have you ever been in the sheriff’s office?”

Rebecca and Simon both shook their heads no.

“Everything is old. Not broken down but old. Only when something breaks or it cost more to repair it then it’s worth will he get rid of it. If something still has life left in it, usually things are given away or sold at a steep discount.”

Sunshine Valley