Kris stood just inside the doorway and watched as Amanda drove off. She closed the door and sat down on the love seat while she waited for Dean’s arrival. She lowered her head into her open palms and took a deep breath. When she lifted her head, her eyes were drawn to Amanda’s open Bible and the passage that was highlighted in yellow. She read the passage, shook her head, and allowed the tears to flow. “When have you ever been with me… and where are you now?”
She heard a car door shut and knew Dean had arrived. She looked at the Bible and closed it slowly. She did not know how to pray, but she had seen Amanda do it often enough. Something deep inside her wanted to reach out to Amanda’s God; however, something equally as strong was preventing her from doing so.
For now, the latter feeling prevailed.
CHAPTER 24
Andrew Brown’s Funeral
Dean held Kris securely in his arms as they stood in the parking lot of the Tallahassee Police Department. The harder she cried, the harder he held onto her. Every gulp of air she took tore into his heart and he knew without a doubt that he was falling in love with this woman. He stroked her hair and lifted her chin so that they looked into each other’s tear-drenched eyes. “We are going to find her, Kris. I promise you that. I will never stop looking for Charlotte Grace…”
Kris shook her head and looked back at him, the agony and despair evident on her face. She tried to smile. “Maybe you shouldn’t make promises like that, Dean.” She blew out her cheeks and took a step back from him. “That was her outfit, Dean; that was my baby girl’s outfit…”
Dean’s shoulders dropped. “I know.”
Kris took another deep breath. She knew she had to hold herself together. She used both hands to wipe away her tear-soaked cheeks. “Okay… I’m okay. So… what happens next?”
They walked to the passenger side of Dean’s car. He opened the car door for her and waited while she buckled her seat belt. He closed her door, walked around to the driver’s side, and got in. He smiled back at the brave face she projected. “Now, they’ll send the outfit to the lab for testing. There didn’t appear to be any sign of any trauma to the clothing, so we have to assume that the kidnappers simply threw them away. It was a pretty careless thing for them to do, though. I can only guess that maybe they just didn’t want to take any chances of having Charlotte’s own clothing in the car with them in case they were stopped at a check point.”
“What about the man’s shoe?’ Kris asked.
“They’ve already compared it to the one that Doug held onto that day and have confirmed it is a match. They’ll be doing extensive DNA testing on it, but without a suspect to compare the DNA results against, we’re still up against a wall. More and more tips are coming in every day. It’s just a matter of time, Kris.”
Kris looked at the young police officer who was melting the hard place that had formed around her heart. They had not so much as kissed yet but she knew she was beginning to have strong feelings for him, and that scared her. Every time she loved something or someone, she either lost them or they left her. “I really want to believe that… Christmas is only two days away.” Her eyes began filling with tears again. “My little girl’s first Christmas…”
Dean reached across and unhooked her seat belt. He held her again as loud, great sobs erupted from deep inside Kris. He wanted to promise her more than anything that her baby would be home for Christmas, but with each additional day that passed, he knew that this was one promise he could not, and would not, make. He held her in his arms for another ten minutes until her sobbing began to subside.
Kris took a deep breath and looked up at him. “There’s nothing more we can do here, so…if you think we can make it… well, I’d really like to be at Andrew Brown’s funeral.
Dean looked at his watch. “We can make it. What do you say we get you hooked back up in that seat belt?” He reached across her, hooked the belt, took her head between his hands, and kissed her softly on the forehead. “Yeah… we can make it.”
Andrew’s funeral had been everything that he would have wanted, complete with lots of singing, praise, joy, and laughter. The church had been filled with every living person Amos and Andrew had ever known.
Everyone had gathered at the Heavenly Grille by four o’clock, and Max wasted no time in serving all of them southern fried chicken, potato salad, biscuits and gravy, and plenty of Andrew’s favorite dessert – buttermilk cake. Bertie, Doug, and Amanda filled coffee cups and tea glasses while they chatted with everyone who had stopped by to help celebrate Andrew’s life.
Amos sat in his usual spot at the counter. The seat next to him, where Andrew always sat, remained empty. Nobody even thought of sitting there even though it was standing room only in the café for the next two hours.
The last of the well-wishers had left the café by six-thirty. The only ones remaining were Amos, Max, Bertie, Doug, Amanda, Kris, and Dean.
Amos looked exhausted and…lonely. He looked at Max and smiled. “I wants to thank you, Mr. Max for everything you done today. It was mighty nice of you and Miss Bertie, yes sir, mighty nice… Andrew would’ve been right proud at the turn-out. It was a fine turn-out, indeed…”
Dean and Kris came up behind Amos and Max. Dean put his hand on Amos’s shoulder. “Yes, it was a good turn-out, Mr. Brown. Andrew had a lot of friends, that’s for sure. You know, sir, if you’re ready to go, I’d be happy to drive you home.”
Amos glanced back at Max and unspoken words seemed to pass between them.
Max said, “That’s okay, Officer Hall. I’ll see to it, personally, that Amos gets home.”
Amos touched the officer’s hand that was still on his shoulder. He patted Dean’s hand and said, “Thankee… that’s mighty nice of you to offer, but I think I’ll be ridin’ home with Mr. Max. He looked sideways where Kris stood beside the officer. He nodded and smiled at her. “Andrew and I been prayin’ for your baby, Ma’am. The Lord… He’s watchin’ out for her. She gonna be jes fine and she’ll be comin’ home soon. You’ll see…”
Kris was so touched by the genuine warmth that emanated from the old black man. She no longer felt repulsed by his toothless grin, but she still surprised herself when she moved closer to Amos and wrapped her arms around him. She felt him shudder beneath her slight embrace and knew he was crying. She whispered in his ear so only he could hear. “I hope you’re right, Amos. I hope you’re right. Thank you…”
Bertie had been watching, and listening to their conversation. She wiped away a tear of her own and told Amanda. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest too, Amanda? We’re closing for the rest of the evening and we can manage the clean up here.”
Amanda looked tired. She had been trying so hard during the past week to keep Kris’ spirits and hopes up that she had not gotten much rest herself. “Are you sure, Bertie? I don’t mind staying at all.”
Bertie shook her head. “No, you go on now. It won’t take us long to clean things up. Doug and I can do that while Max takes Amos home. It’s been a long day and I think all of you need to get some much needed rest.”
“Okay, then,” Amanda nodded. “I am a little pooped.” She smiled at Kris and Dean. “Kris? Do you want to ride with me?”
Kris almost agreed until she felt Dean squeeze her hand tightly. It hadn’t been lost on her that he had been holding on to it most of the day. She shook her head and smiled at her roommate. “That’s okay, Amanda. Thanks, but… Dean can drop me off. We’ll be right behind you.”
After Amanda, Kris, and Dean had left, Max looked at Amos and said. “I’m going to box you up some of these leftovers to take home, Amos. Finish your coffee.”
“That’s mighty kind of you, Mr. Max.” Amos slurped the strong coffee while he ran his hand across the empty stool beside him.
Bertie and Doug began carrying dishes to the kitchen.
“That really was a good turn-out,” Bertie said when Max walked in and began boxing leftover chicken and biscuits into a box.
Max o
pened a cupboard and took down an entire buttermilk cake and wrapped it in tin foil. “Yes it was.” He saw Bertie’s half grin while she watched him wrap the cake. “Saved this one just for Amos,” he smiled. When he finished boxing up the leftovers, Max looked at his fellow angels and shook his head. “It never gets any easier, does it? Saying good-bye, I mean.”
Bertie walked over and punched him lightly on his shoulder. “Nope, it sure doesn’t, but we all know that Andrew is in a much better place now. No more pain…”
Max nodded. “His transition should be an easy one, for sure. I’ve never met anyone more ready to meet his maker. The hardest thing for him was leaving Amos behind.”
“I think it’s always hardest for those left behind,” Doug agreed. “Dying seems to be the easy part; but, letting go of a loved one? Well… that’s never easy.”
“But at least they both knew it was coming,” Bertie said. “They had time to be together, to do things they wanted to do together, even if it was just sitting on those stools out there, drinking coffee and milk, and eating buttermilk cake.”
“That is true,” Max agreed. “So many people don’t get the chance to say good-bye to their loved ones. I think it’s harder for them to let go because they never saw it coming. Denial is a strong force to combat.”
Bertie watched as Max placed everything in two large bags. “Why don’t you go ahead and take Amos home now? Doug and I can finish up here. You stay with him as long as you need to, Max.”
“You know I will,” Max said. “You know I will.”
Three hours later, sitting on the old floral couch inside Amos and Andrew’s small, but tidy, trailer, Max laughed at yet another story Amos told of his and Andrew’s younger years in Mississippi.
“I bet you boys kept your Mama and Daddy on their toes, for sure,” Max laughed.
Amos wiped away a tear of laughter and nodded. “Yes sir, we did, Mr. Max. We sure did.”
He chuckled again and looked deep into Max’s dark eyes. “Yes sir… we laughed lots with Mama and Daddy. Matter of fact… why, I even remember, not so long ago, how’s we laughed so hard we practically peed our pants. That was the day Daddy told us all about you, Mr. Max. If I remembers correctly, it was last year, right after you first opened the café. Mama had passed on a couple years before, but Daddy was still with us then.”
Max’s own chuckle stopped in his throat. “About me?”
“Yes sir, Mr. Max. Amos and I got plumb tickled when Daddy started talking about you, said he knew a secret about you. We’s laughed even harder cuz we really thought he was teasin’ us… you know…‘bout you being an angel and all.”
Max scratched the back of his neck. He hadn’t seen this coming…and it wasn’t easy to catch an angel off guard. He silently chastised himself for not finding out sooner exactly what their father had suspected about him.
Amos laughed out loud. “You look like you done been caught with your hand in the cookie jar, Mr. Max. You jes sit tight for a spell; I be’s back in jes a minute.” He was still laughing when he went into one of the bedrooms.
Max was still wringing his hands and wondering what he should say, what he should admit to, when he saw Amos coming back into the room. He was carrying a wooden box about the size of a large shoe box. “What do you have there, Amos?” Max asked, but not really sure he wanted to know.
Amos sat down on the couch beside Max and said, “Well sir, inside this here box, I have somethin’ my Daddy left us. Andrew and me, well, we’s didn’t find it till a few days after Daddy died. When we seen it, well… we might be just simple country folk, but we knew what it meant.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, Amos,” Max replied, still grasping for ideas.
Amos smiled, totally unaware of the discomfort he was causing the man sitting beside him. “When you first arrived here in town, Daddy used to joke with us that you was an angel, ‘cause you owned a café with a halo and all. After he done died, Andrew and I found this here box under his bed. He never showed it to us while he was livin’ but… well, sir… we figured things out purty quick for ourselves, yes we did.”
Max remained silent and kept his hands pressed together hard.
Amos lifted the box lid and removed an old black and white photograph, still in remarkably good shape - considering it was taken in 1941, at a Mississippi restaurant called the Heavenly Halo. There were five people in the photograph. One very large black man, looking to be in his mid-forties stood in the middle. He had an arm around a black couple, the man on his right and the woman on his left. Standing in front of the man was one twin boy; standing in front of the woman was another twin boy. Both boys held up a plate piled high with Max’s famous buttermilk cake.
Amos remained quiet when he handed the photo to Max.
Max stared at the photo for a long time.
Amos was patient, rocking slightly to and fro, waiting to see what Max had to say.
Max sighed and looked over at Amos. He didn’t even try to deny it or offer up an alternative explanation for his presence in the picture. He finally smiled awkwardly and said, “I can’t believe I forgot about this photo…”
Amos’ eyes lit up with laughter and happiness. He touched Max’s shoulder and said. “You hasn’t changed a bit, Mr. Max…no, sir, not one little bit.”
Max grinned and shook his head. Maybe it was best if he didn’t say anything.
Amos grinned his trademark toothless grin, “That don’t surprise me none, Mr. Max, ‘cause Daddy use to tell me and Andrew lots of stories ‘bout angels. I’s remember him telling us one thing in particular… he told us that angels… that they don’t age.” He grinned again. “I guess Daddy was right about that, wasn’t he now, Mr. Max?”
Max shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Oh…Bertie is going to love this...” Max thought as he slowly embraced the old black man sitting beside him.
CHAPTER 25
-Christmas 2011-
The Visit to Tampa
Amanda awoke Christmas morning from another dream. During this dream, her parents had wished her a Merry Christmas and told her that she should try to persuade Kris to attend church with her. Amanda told them she had been trying to get Kris to go to church with her for months but that she would continue to try. Her parents told her that it was very important that she not give up on that quest.
Amanda was dressed and ready for church when Kris walked into the kitchen, empty coffee cup in hand.
Kris looked at the clock over the microwave and said, “You’re still here? Aren’t you going to be late for church?”
Amanda shook her head. “I’m not going to the early service this morning. I… uh… thought if I waited a bit, I might be able to change your mind about coming with me.” Amanda smiled as she got up to refill Kris’ coffee cup. “Come on, sit down… have a cup of coffee with me.”
Kris exhaled and raised her eyebrows. “We’ve been through this so many times, Amanda. I told you. I am not going to church with you or anyone else for that matter. How many times do I have to tell you that I do not believe in the church?”
“But how can you say that, Kris? You’ve never even been!” Amanda laughed. “How do you know you wouldn’t love it?”
Kris looked at Amanda and shook her head. “You just don’t get it, do you, Amanda?”
Amanda shrugged her shoulders. “What?”
“How very different we are,” Kris said. “I have never stepped foot in a church. My mother never took me; I never had any relatives or friends to take me. I’ve never read the Bible. I don’t know any of the Bible stories you’re always talking about, and, well, look at the things that have happened to me in the past six months! What kind of a God allows people to suffer like that? Never mind, don’t answer that, or you WILL be late for church.”
Amanda smiled. “I know what a hard time…”
Kris shook her head. “No, that’s just it, Amanda. You don’t know! You have had a fun, carefree life. Yo
u had parents who loved you; a wonderful Dad who raised you; a nice home to grow up in; lots of friends; a good education. I doubt you’ve ever really known any kind of heartache, except for losing your Mom and Dad. So, please, spare me… don’t tell me you know how I feel…because you don’t. You cannot possibly know how empty I feel without Charlotte Grace in my arms. She was the only good thing that has ever happened in my life and now… well, here it is, Christmas Day… my baby’s first Christmas… and I have no clue where she is, who she’s with… whether she’s alive or dead…”
Kris couldn’t continue when her body wracked with her tormented sobs.
Amanda wrapped her arms around her and held her tight until the sobs evolved into short gasps.
After several minutes, Amanda wiped away her own tears and said, “Okay, then, you win; you don’t have to go to church with me.”
Kris wiped her eyes and attempted a smile. “Thank you…”
“But…” Amanda said, continuing to stroke her friend’s head. “If you’re not going to church with me, then you have to promise me that you’ll get dressed and be ready to go when I get back home.”
“Go where?” Kris asked.
Amanda grinned, confident that her idea was a good idea. “Tomorrow is my day off and, well, it is Christmas, so I thought I would ride back home to Tampa to visit my parents’ graves. We could spend the night, I could show you a little bit of Tampa, and then we could head back here around two o’clock. What do you think?”
Kris was ready to say no. She had intended to spend her Christmas in bed with Charlotte’s favorite stuffed toy, a white teddy bear with angel wings. Dean was working a double shift today so that another officer, who had children, could spend the day with his family. She thought she wanted to be alone, but it suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t – not today of all days. She nodded and whispered, “Okay.”
“Okay?” Amanda clapped her hands. “Yes! Okay, then. I’ll be back by twelve-thirty. Pack a small bag and be ready to go. We should be in Tampa before seven and we’ll have a nice Christmas dinner some place, splurge on a decent hotel room, and get up early tomorrow morning to visit my parents’ graves and do a little shopping. If we have time, and I think we will, I’ll even show you the house I grew up in!”
The Heavenly Grille Café Page 14