by Joy Redmond
He ran his hands over the fallen leaves and spread them until he found and pulled a few blades of grass, and hand fed the rabbit, who seemed determined to stay by his side.
“I finally had something in common to talk about with friends. We were all in love with the law. The first semester passed quickly. I studied hard during the week, but on weekends, the boys and I made the bar rounds. I met many women who flung themselves at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to even be civil with them. You were my only love and I wasn’t interested in another woman.
“The first semester ended the day before Christmas Eve. All my friends invited to me go home and have Christmas with them, but I knew I wouldn’t be comfortable with strangers. So, I chose to say in my apartment and let my memories keep me company. Christmas had no meaning for me without you.”
Will continued to pluck grass and feed the rabbit. “I got up Christmas Eve, made a pot of coffee and decided I’d write my part in the manuscript you left unfinished. No way was it going to end without our story. I had three lines written when I was interrupted by a tapping on my door. I knew the guys weren’t going to leave me alone.” He chuckled and shook his head.
“I was prepared to open the door and have a buddy thrust a bottle of champagne in my face. I opened the door with a big smile. I froze in my tracks when a beautiful girl thrust a handful of poinsettias in my face and yelled, ‘Merry Christmas!’ Will chuckled. “It was Sudie! I scooped her into my arms, and we staggered backward and fell to the floor. Then we kissed for ten minutes before I let her up.”
Will paused as his mind returned to that day. He felt the same tingle run through him. “Sudie spent Christmas with me and she was the best Christmas present I could have wished for at that point in my life. We had two weeks before classes resumed and we took advantage of every day. We brought in 1956 like you won’t believe, but I think you’ll like. At the stroke of midnight, we kissed, then made passionate love for two hours straight. You taught me well, Rose—all the things a man should know!” He laughed.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of her leaving me, but I knew she had to get back home and run the business.”
Will paused for a long time. “This is where I’m supposed to ask your forgiveness. Sudie broke her promise to you. A month before Christmas, she sold the house and business to two hotshot lawyers from Illinois. As soon as the deal closed, she bought her a baby blue Ford Fairlane. She packed everything she owned and came looking for me. She had spent the previous day driving around campus. She saw me coming out of the Student Building, and closely followed me. I had no idea I was being tailed.” Will picked up Cottontail, who seemed to be determined to crawl up his pant leg.
“Now this is the good part, Rose. Two days before the deadline to enroll for winter semester, Sudie got all the paper work done and started classes. She graduated in three years. After graduation, she applied and got a job with an accounting firm. I had one more year before I would graduate, but the year quickly passed. I had a long break before I took the bar exam, and I spent it writing our story.”
Will paused and stroked Cottontail’s ears.
“Well, I passed the bar by the skin of my teeth. I’ll admit, Sudie distracted me from my studies. After I was a certified lawyer, I applied for a position with a big law firm. Two weeks later, I was hired. I had another week before I was to report for duty, and Sudie was due a vacation.”
Will lifted his face and let the sun warm his skin. He listened to the sounds of the cool breeze. It was if the angles were talking to him.
He looked back at the headstone. “I want you to understand something. I love Sudie dearly, but it’s a different kind of love than what you and I shared. And you know she’s always loved me, so we got married. Nothing fancy. We went to the courthouse and one of my old college buddies, who is now the County Judge Executive, married us. We spent our honeymoon looking for a house.
“Two years later I made senior partner with the firm. Then I got the break of a lifetime. I defended a black man who was charged with raping and killing a white girl.” Will shook his head as he remembered the many trips he made to the jail and the talks with Roger Walders. Roger’s story rang true with Will. He read all the reports and he was convinced they had been falsified. He made up his mind that he would prove Roger’s innocence, though nobody in the state of Missouri believed in him. Not even his firm partners. He was fired for taking the case pro bono.
He smiled as he remembered how outraged Sudie had been with him. And how proud of him she was when he won the case. “Will Hennie Long McGraw made national news. I’m a household name. So, Rose, you can tell Miss Marylee that I am a hotshot lawyer.
“Two years later, Sudie gave birth to twin girls. I thought my heart was so full of love for a woman that it wouldn’t hold anymore. But when two nurses handed me those babies, one for each arm, I thought my heart would explode!”
Will picked up Cottontail and rubbed his ears. He remembered his dream the night before Rose had her surgery. Looking at Cottontail, he said, “It wasn’t a dream, little fellow. It was a vision of what was to be in my future.”
Will looked up and gazed upon the beautiful headstone. “We named our girls, Jada Rose and Jeka Sue. They are the most beautiful little girls on earth. They’re two-years-old, and they look just like Sudie. I brush their long, dark hair and gaze into their dark brown eyes and my heart melts. They do have me wrapped around their little fingers.” He patted his breast pocket that held pictures of his precious girls.
“So, it’s been ten years since I lost you, Rose. It’s time for my life to flip upside down as it’s always done.” He smiled. “Not this time. This time it’s going to take a leap. Sudie and I are going to take a leap of faith and move to California. I figure I can write my own ticket with my famous name. And if I can’t, we’ll do fine. After twenty-years, I’m going to see Miss Marylee’s final resting place and pay my respects. We’ll probably have a long talk, too.”
Cottontail was climbing up Will’s chest, as if he was trying to burrow a hole and go to sleep.
“That’s my story, Rose. You might already know, but I wanted you to hear it from my lips.” He set Cottontail on the ground and rubbed his hands over the name that was written on the stone. The name that would forever be written on his heart.
Will walked toward the woods, wondering if he would be able to find Red’s grave after all these years. The woods were denser and leaves covered the ground. As he walked, he looked down and saw Cottontail hopping beside him. “Come on, little fellow. I bet you know these woods better than I do now.”
Will walked midway through the woods to the spot where he thought he’d find the cross. He found nothing. He continued walking and looking, trying to remember the exact place. Finally, he stopped and scratched his head. “I don’t have a clue, Cottontail.”
Cottontail began digging with his front feet, fast and furious. “I don’t think you’re gonna find anything to eat under those leaves. Come on. I’ll see if I can find some clover for you. Sometimes there is some left, even when the leaves cover it.” He bent to pick up the rabbit. “What the hell?”
He picked up two sticks. One stick had a nail in it. The other one had a small hole in it. He stuck the nail through the hole and gasped. It made the shape of the cross.
“I’ll be damned! Now I have another souvenir.” He stuck the two sticks in his back pocket. He felt a knot form in his throat. “Hello, Red, ol’ boy. It’s been a while. I just wanted to stop by and say goodbye for the last time.”
When he got back to the yard, Will stopped and placed his hand on the angel at the end of Rose’s headstone. “I love you, Rose. Forever!”
As he stroked the angel’s head, the wind picked up, and leaves began to blow around the headstone as if they were forming a halo. The wind died down. The leaves lay still.
He trembled as he heard Rose’s sweet voice whispering in the breeze.
I love you, Will Hennie.
The End
After retiring from her career as a phlebotomist, Joy decided to pursue her passion for writing. She lives in Kentucky. She's the mother of three and the grandmother of seven.
She has penned eight fiction novels. Her Wings trilogy is a seventy-three year journey that will give you chills and thrills.
Books by Joy Redmond
Children’s
The Dreamer (2011)
Adult/YA
Anna's Visions (2012)
Stolen Lives (2013)
DarkHeart of Hampton House (2014)
Finding Will Hennie (2014)
Wings Trilogy:
Give Me Wings (2013)
Wings and Beyond (2015)
Wings and Faith (2015)
Joy’s books are available on Amazon.com in Kindle and paperback.
http://amazon.com/author/joyredmond