Sunshine Valley

After Church

    After church, the same crowd was at the Rice house, minus Sheriff Pace. A group of teenagers were raking the yard where it had been bush hogged the day before. Loading wheelbarrows full of straw into the back of a horse trailer pulled by the oldest dually Rebecca had ever seen.

By sun set, a little white picket fence was up, a carport complete with front porch access, the porch swing was hung, and the women created some flower beds around the house. Shelving had been added to the closet, laundry room, and bathroom. The kitchen got some cute little cabinets. And the horse trailer was gone.

    Mr. Rice stood in the driveway looking at his little house. “God bless y’all.” He threw open his arms.

    Everyone started clapping. Tears of joy streamed down the old man’s face.

    “What’s this?” Widow Blake was standing at the front corner of the house opposite the carport.

    Rebecca walked over to get a closer look. She bent down to read the tag. “It’s a honeysuckle vine.”

    “That wasn’t here yesterday.”

    Mr. Rice noticed the bewildered look on the ladies faces and just smiled.

The crowd thinned out; it was just Widow Blake, Rebecca, and Simon.

Widow Blake smiled, “what another great day?”

Rebecca asked, “if it’s not too personal may I ask, why does Mr. Rice call Sheriff Pace boy? That’s very derogatory.”

Widow Blake laughed, “not between those two. Don’t go tellin’ anyone I told you this. I’ll loose my Sunshine Vally card. When Pace was a little boy, he took up corn where corn had never been planted. Jack was forever saving his bony hide. Pace would get into some dangerous situations. Jack would come along, pick him up and say ‘boy’.”

“Such as?” Simon frowned.

“Pace knew no fear as a child. He still might not.” Widow Blake clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “On one occasion Jack found Pace playing with a copperhead. Jack picked him up by the waist band of his pants, put him over his shoulder and as they left the mountain, gave the tike a lesson in snakes.”

“Nope,” Rebecca shuttered. “Where was the sheriff’s parents?”

Widow Blake just shuck her head, “that’s a story for another night.” She patted Rebecca on the leg, “goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she and Simon said in unison. They walked home as Widow Blake drove out of sight.

Sunshine Valley