What the?!?

     Simon jerked awake. He was lying on his side, his arms curled under his pillow; yellow light streamed into the room from the outside pole light. ‘How did this happen?’ he thought. With great care, he got up so not to wake Rebecca. The thought of what it must have felt like to find your mom butt naked, frozen, in a place like Coal Town consumed his heart. 

    He went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Memories of the years he spend wanderin’ returned with force. Most were good. Nature provided ample food and shelter. One cold winter he was forced into a rundown house in Denver during a blizzard. Other people had found shelter in the house as well. No heat. Little food. At first, they were skeptical about letten him join them. But as the blizzard raged on, they gave in. During the second night of his stay in the house, he and a woman cuddled up for warmth. She was rail thin. He had a few meat sticks and crackers in his bag that he shared with her. 

     As they sat under a rat eaten blanket, trying not to die, she poured out her mind to him. Originally from San Francisco, she mourned for the sand, surf and longed for the arms of her children. The victim of a car accident, that had killed her husband, gotten her hooked on pain meds and had spiraled into having her children taken from her; she sobbed on his shoulder. He had no words to comfort her. Just let her cry. When he had woken the next morning, she was dead. He prayed that she was sittin’ in the sand with her husband watching the surf. Not knowing what to do, he covered her with the blanket and left. 

    Rebecca’s hands caused chills to cascade down his body as she guided them from his shoulders, down his back and around his waist. He cried out, stifling it as soon as it left his mouth. She gripped him tighter, stroking with greater vigor thinking his cry was one of passionate delight instead of the truth.  When he was finished, she smacked him on the butt, leaving him standing there being pulled into pieces. 

    As he tried to collect his thoughts, it seemed to him that she took delight in having heard about what had happened to the sheriff. It caused his stomach to churn thinking anyone would find joy in such misfortune. Especially HIS wife. ‘Who was this woman?’ He finally got his glass of water. Went to the bathroom, before returning to bed. Rebecca dove under the sheets with the force of an Olympic swimmer. He started to say he couldn’t. But it didn’t take long before air caught in his lungs. His body was begging for release again. ‘Who was this woman?’

Not really a secret

    Simon was lying in the bed reviewing his schedule. Not a lot was happening. He prayed for snow, that meant work cleaning driveways. He was startled when Rebecca jumped in the bed. Laughing he asked, “happy?”

     She purred in his ear as he laid his phone on the night stand, “you will never guess what I learned today?” 

     “What did you learn?” He hissed as she nibbled on his ear. 

     “So,” she raised up straddling him. “The crones were talkin’ in the teachers lounge. Not as important, looks like long range forecasts have predicted a freeze out for us in January.” She laid her hands on his chest. “This led to a conversation about our beloved sheriff.” He shifted slightly under her. The heat from and the position of her body was working magic. “The crones say that soon after he became sheriff, during one of these ‘freeze outs’, “she straightened up so she could use air quotes when she said freeze outs. “He and a couple deputies went to Coal Town to see if he could get THOSE people to shelter.” Even though he was in a state of arousal, Simon didn’t like the way she said ‘those people’. “Apparently, he found his mother, butt naked, dead. The crones couldn’t decide between them what the corner had ruled the cause of death.”

     Simon wanted to say how horrible this information was. And how horrific that must have been. But his wife was doing things to him. Things he enjoyed and he couldn’t form a thought, let along a sentence to express that thought. 

Father daughter

     Jack bundled up against the cold as he and Evie walked around Sunshine Valley. The mad dash that has became Christmas was over. Most folks had returned 80% of their gifts or had stored them to be regifted. A light snow was falling, most folks were snuggled in their houses. 

     He held onto Evie’s arm a little tighter. “I started doing this when I moved closer to town.” The smile on his face was one of contentment. “The decorations seem prettier to me after all the fuss is over. They seem to glow brighter, hummin’ bird.”

     “Thanks for sharin’ this with me dad.”

     “I know the reason isn’t pretty,” he patted her hand. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

     As they strolled, she thought, ‘I am too? Am I glad to be home?’ So far, there really wasn’t anything to miss. Other than her old church family. Talking to them just wasn’t the same as being submersed in their love. But she was adjusting. Right? Workin’ with The Peel’s to get Hillbilly Yoga off the ground was fillin’ hours. And of course, her job. Simon was probably upset that she took to carin’ for Teka twice a month. That was eatin’ into his pocket. It filled a hole in her life. She smiled, and of course Dillon. But the way the man worked, gee whiz. She was reluctant to ask him to do stuff, he needed rest more an anything. But, he could always say no, right? He was a grown man. 

     “I don’t know what I was expecten’, some aspects have been really hard. Others, joyous.” He squeezed her arm a little tighter. 

“Dad?” She thought about how to phrase her question. “Dillon is a very sweet man, why didn’t he marry? Have a family?”

     “Oh hummin’ bird, none of them wur you. You are the woman he judged all women by.”

     “That’s not fair to anyone. I’m not the end all and be all of anything.”

     “Look at it from his point of view, when he was hurtin’, where did he run?”

     “To you and mom.”

     “I think it might have started that way. But it all boiled down to you. God gave me the kindest soul in heaven as a daughter.”

     “Thanks dad. There are times,” she trailed off. “That sets me up for all kinds of failure.” She squealed. 

     Jack stopped, then turned to face her. “You put too much pressure on both of you. He already loves you. That battle is won. Your mother and I had our share of struggles. At the end of the day, our love for each other made all the struggles seem small.”

     “If he’s been waitin’ all his life for me, he’s gonna be so disappointed.”

    Jack’s heart froze. “Why hummin’ bird?”

    “I’m just a person. Flawed. Has he put me on some kind of pedestal to fall off of and crush us both?”

     “I don’t see that. Dillon was so lost as a boy and a young man. He had to find himself. If he had turned out like his parents, no one would have blamed him. But he rose above. First, he lost you.” He sighed, “we both did. He got a job that made him grow. Losing both parents to the devil,” Jack grunted. “But you’re back. Where, as a parent, I feel you belong. Selfish, I know.”

     Evie’s head was running away from her. This was too much information. She remembered the ‘he’s been moppin’ ‘round here for 40 years’ comment. But she thought her dad was teasing. Though she’s never known him to be a jokester. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Dillon. 

     Her dad cut through her thought’s. Have you ever wondered why I never remarried? Your mom’s been gone,” he paused thinking. Then finally settled on, “awhile now.”

     “I figured she was ‘the one’.”

     “I figure, you are that person for Dillon.”

     “The path hasn’t been easy but you are home for a reason. Perhaps God knows you both are ready for each other.”