The Lamp: A Novel by Jim Stovall With Tracy J Trost

by Jim Stovall

  In the coming days, Stanley and Lisa developed a closeness they had never known before. They enjoyed spending time together, and they arranged several outings in the park that included Miss Esther and all of her kids. Josh and Rachel particularly enjoyed these extended-family outings.

  Although it had been a long time coming, Stanley’s garage-cleaning project finally appeared as if it might get completed. On one of the last days they were working in the garage, Josh and Rachel were bewildered as Stanley found his bicycle pump that he thought they had stolen. He laughed aloud.

  Stanley focused intensely on his book project. He took a whirlwind trip to New York for a meeting with Steve Forbes. Stanley had always been an admirer of Forbes and couldn’t wait to get his input for the book.

  As Mr. Forbes’ limousine delivered Stanley to the Forbes Building, Stanley told the chauffeur, “Thank you for the ride. I’ve never been in a limo before, and you’ve been most gracious.”

  The limo driver smiled as he opened the door and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll see you again after your meeting. Mr. Forbes insists on the round-trip treatment.”

  Stanley looked up toward the top of the Forbes Building and then glanced around at all of the skyscrapers that dotted the New York cityscape.

  Inside the building, everyone—including Mr. Forbes—treated Stanley with respect, and they all seemed genuinely interested in his book. Stanley had to pinch himself to make sure this was really happening to him as he spent an uninterrupted half hour with Steve Forbes in the ornate library that Steve’s father, Malcolm Forbes, had built into the Forbes Building.

  Stanley felt like he was floating on air as he excitedly rushed out of the Forbes Building after the interview. He couldn’t believe the transformation that was taking place in his world. He wasn’t sure if it all had started with Josh, Charles, Lisa, or maybe when he decided to let go of the past and just believe.

  CHAPTER 24

  As the plane lifted off from New York taking Stanley back home, he couldn’t wait to tell Lisa about everything that had happened and was happening.

  As he arrived home and rushed into the house, Lisa was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Stanley hurried in, still carrying his coat and briefcase.

  As Stanley set down all of his things in one of the kitchen chairs, Lisa spoke excitedly. “So, how did it go? Tell me everything.”

  “It went great,” Stanley recounted with enthusiasm. “He loved the book idea and the title Just Believe. He is going to help me get more interviews with other successful people.”

  Lisa smiled broadly and said, “Stanley, I am so proud of you!”

  Lisa walked over to Stanley and gave him a big hug. Both of them could feel the excitement of the day, the promise of tomorrow, and the fact that they were—once again—a couple.

  Stanley voiced what was on both of their minds. “You know, Charles returns tomorrow.”

  Lisa handed Stanley a plate of food and said, “It doesn’t seem like it’s been 30 days.”

  Stanley nodded in agreement.

  The couple sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed their dinner together.

  For the rest of the evening, they talked about all of the exciting things going on in their life together. The only topic that seemed to be avoided was the pending return of Charles.

  The next morning, everything in the Walters’ home appeared normal and like any other day, except Stanley and Lisa were sitting in their living room staring at the lamp on the coffee table.

  Stanley glanced toward Lisa then back at the lamp and said, “So, what do we do? Are we supposed to say something?”

  Lisa shrugged and replied, “I don’t know.”

  Stanley said with a chuckle and an ironic smile, “Maybe I should get a hammer.”

  Lisa gave Stanley a sidelong look, letting him know she wasn’t ready yet to see the humor in the fact that he had temporarily destroyed the lamp with his hammer.

  Lisa picked up the lamp and stared at it intently. She read the inscription on the side. “Hmm. Just Believe. I think I do.”

  Suddenly they heard a noise coming from their kitchen.

  Stanley turned to Lisa and asked, “Was that the toaster?”

  Stanley and Lisa just stared at one another, then rose in unison and hurried into the kitchen. They were greeted with the sight of Charles calmly buttering a piece of toast as if he belonged there. A hot cup of coffee was on the counter next to Charles.

  As he heard them enter, Charles turned and said casually, “Oh, good morning.”

  Stanley and Lisa were still in awe of Charles, and they mumbled together, “Good morning.”

  As Charles picked up his toast and coffee and moved toward the table, he announced, “I can’t tell you how excited I am to hear about your wishes.”

  Stanley and Lisa joined Charles at the kitchen table. He took a bite of his toast and a sip of the coffee.

  “Ahhhh,” he declared. “Now that’s good.”

  As Stanley and Lisa simply sat and watched Charles, he said, “Now, then. Let’s hear those wishes. What have you got?”

  Stanley and Lisa fell silent and looked at one another sheepishly as Charles stared at them with great anticipation.

  When the silence became uncomfortable, Stanley tried to explain. “Well, Charles. You see…we…Lisa and I…well, we, um…”

  Charles motioned for him to continue and said expectantly, “Yes…”

  Lisa took the lead and said, “I think what Stanley is trying to say is that we don’t…well…we don’t have any wishes.”

  Charles sat up straight in surprise and spoke animatedly. “Don’t have any wishes? Well, how can this be? If I remember correctly, you asked me for three wishes.”

  Stanley nodded and replied, “Well, we had wishes, but they kind of got answered on their own.”

  “Most fascinating,” Charles prompted. “Do tell.”

  Lisa offered an explanation. “Well, our first wish was to have lots of money. Well, that kinda happened.”

  Charles interrupted and questioned, “It happened?”

  He seemed a bit perplexed as he took out a small notebook and started paging through it.

  Charles declared, “I don’t remember authorizing any wishes in regard to money.”

  Stanley jumped in, saying, “No, no. It’s not like that. It was because of the third wish.”

  Charles was baffled and asked, “The third wish?”

  “You see,” Stanley offered, “I wanted to do something I loved, so that was going to be my third wish. And then I got this idea for a book. Yeah, it just came to me. You’ll love the title.”

  Stanley and Lisa looked at one another.

  Stanley nodded, and Lisa announced, “Just Believe.” Charles let out a hearty laugh and declared, “Well, I’ll be.”

  “Yeah,” Stanley continued. “I pitched the idea to my publisher, and he flipped over it. I got the largest advance for a book in the publisher’s history. So, that took care of wish number one. And well, wish number three.”

  Charles was thoughtful as he listened intently. He closed the notebook, put it back in his pocket, and took another sip of his coffee.

  Charles was eager to hear the rest and prompted, “Go on. What about wish number two?”

  “Well.” Stanley shared his thoughts. “Wish number two just kind of happened on its own. It took a child to show me what I needed. My second wish was for a happy family.”

  Stanley looked lovingly toward Lisa, reached out, and held her hand.

  Charles said, “Let me guess. You already had it. You just couldn’t see it.”

  Stanley thought about it for a moment, then looked directly at Charles and said in agreement, “Exactly. It was there all the time. I just didn’t believe it anymore.”

  Charles took another bite of his toast and a final sip of coffee. He leaned forward and looked at the couple intently as he spoke. “Stanley, Lisa, I am so happy to hear that you have grasped the essence of this message. You see, most people go
through life not understanding that they have been given this amazing gift. Each one of us has the ability to create the life we want. We just need to believe we can. This is a truth that has been passed down through the ages, and now the two of you have taken hold of it.”

  Charles gave them a big smile and continued. “Now the question is: What will you do with this truth? Keep it to yourselves, or share it with others?”

  Lisa smiled in understanding, but Stanley wasn’t totally onboard yet.

  He asked, “Share it with others?”

  Charles nodded and said, “Yes, Stanley. Now that you know the truth, you need to share it with others.”

  Stanley glanced toward Lisa and then looked back at Charles.

  Charles said, “When the time is right, you will know what to do. I believe in you.”

  Charles smiled at them both then declared, “Well, I best be on my way. I have quite the report to write.”

  Charles rose and casually walked toward the door. He opened it, bowed slightly toward Stanley and Lisa, then walked out. Stanley and Lisa sat staring at one another, still not totally believing what they had seen.

  Stanley questioned, “That’s it? He just walks out the door?”

  Suddenly, the light bulb in the kitchen ceiling grew brighter and brighter. Then it popped loudly. Lisa screamed.

  CHAPTER 25

  Lisa was excited about all of the changes taking place in Stanley, his career, and their life together. She couldn’t seem to stay away from the home office. It had been a place of despair and failure, but in the past few days, it seemed to have been transformed.

  As she walked down the hallway, she could see that Cooper was lying on the floor in the doorway to the office. Lisa walked right up to him, but he didn’t move. Cooper just laid still and stared up at Lisa as if he were protecting a secret.

  Lisa motioned and said, “Come on, Coop. Out of the way.”

  Cooper just continued to lay motionless and stare up at her.

  She implored, “Cooper, I gotta go.”

  Cooper remained still and filled with resolve.

  Lisa tried to justify her intentions as she explained, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not doing anything wrong. He doesn’t care if I read it.”

  Cooper tilted his head to the side as he continued to stare at her. Lisa knew that Cooper wasn’t buying her story.

  She waved dismissively and said, “Ahhh, never mind.”

  She turned and walked on down the hallway, saying over her shoulder, “You know, you’re no saint. I remember a little puppy that chewed up Daddy’s new phone case. Did I tell on you? Nooooo.”

  As Lisa walked out the front door, Cooper stood up and scurried away from his post guarding the office. He knew his work was done there for the day.

  Lisa walked down the driveway and entered the garage where Stanley was standing at the workbench.

  Lisa greeted him, “Hey, there.”

  Stanley turned to face her and echoed, “Hey.”

  Lisa said, “I’ll pick up the new uniforms on my way home tonight.”

  Stanley answered enthusiastically. “They are going to be so excited. I’m glad we got them in time. This is the biggest game of the season.”

  Lisa agreed. They’re going to look great. “See ya later.”

  Lisa kissed Stanley and hurried out of the garage.

  Stanley watched Lisa retreating down the driveway and was thinking how lucky he was when he noticed a commotion in Miss Esther’s yard.

  All of Miss Esther’s kids and Alex were gathered around Josh. Josh was covered with dirt and had scrapes on her cheek and on her arm.

  Stanley left the garage and walked over to the kids to find out what in the world was going on. He realized he was developing protective and loving feelings toward Josh.

  Stanley called, “Josh, what happened to you?”

  Alex explained, “She just kicked Ronny Martin’s butt!”

  The kids all laughed, but Josh seemed embarrassed, and Stanley was concerned. Josh was trying to brush the dirt off herself and clean herself up.

  Stanley asked, “What…? What happened?”

  Alex recounted the story. “Well, Ronny called Cody a freak, and Josh told him to shut up. And then Ronny said to make him…”

  Josh appeared nervous, obviously not wanting Alex to tell the story, but Alex continued.

  “…so…she did.”

  The kids all laughed again.

  Stanley looked at Josh and asked, “You OK, Josh?”

  Josh nodded solemnly.

  Cody offered details with enthusiasm. “You should have seen her. She was like a cage fighter.”

  Miss Esther hurried out of her house and approached the kids. It was obvious to everyone that she was not happy. The group fell silent.

  Miss Esther called, “Josh, what have you done?”

  Josh tried to defend herself. “He started it.”

  Miss Esther took charge and commanded, “Go in the house, and get cleaned up.”

  Josh headed for the house.

  Miss Esther turned toward Alex and spoke sternly. “Alex, it’s probably a good idea for you to go home now.”

  Alex walked away, and all of Miss Esther’s kids went into the house except Rachel who picked up Cooper’s ball and threw it. Cooper dutifully raced after the ball and brought it back.

  Miss Esther turned toward Stanley and spoke softly. “That poor girl.”

  Stanley asked, “What’s the problem?”

  Miss Esther explained. “She is really having a hard time with all of this.”

  Stanley didn’t understand and asked, “All of what?”

  Miss Esther looked directly at Stanley and stated, “She is being adopted.”

  Stanley was incredulous. He blurted, “Adopted?”

  Miss Esther nodded and said, “Yes. She’s had several visits with a prospective family.

  Stanley was in shock.

  He blurted, “She’s leaving? She hasn’t said a word.”

  Miss Esther nodded and said, “That doesn’t surprise me. She doesn’t want to go.”

  Stanley sighed and asked, “How soon is this going to happen?”

  Miss Esther shrugged and answered, “I’m not sure. Could be any time now. Depends on how the visits go.”

  Stanley was in shock. He muttered, “Wow. I never expected that.”

  Miss Esther’s gaze fell as she explained, “What makes this more difficult is that they don’t want to adopt Rachel.”

  Stanley spoke defiantly. “What? They have to! Those two need each other.”

  They both fell silent for a moment. Stanley felt sick. Esther could sense that the news had hit him hard.

  She offered, “I think the thing she is most upset about is leaving you.”

  Stanley looked intently at Esther and said, “I can’t believe she is leaving.”

  Rachel continued to play. She was oblivious to the conversation going on between Miss Esther and Stanley and all it represented.

  Cooper brought the ball back to her and dropped it at her feet. Rachel threw it again, and it bounced off of the house and began bounding down the driveway.

  Cooper raced after the ball. Rachel could see that the ball was headed for the street with Cooper in pursuit. She looked up toward Miss Esther and Stanley, but they were engrossed in their deep conversation and didn’t notice.

  CHAPTER 26

  A delivery truck was moving down the street. The driver was distracted as he was talking on his cell phone and trying to read the address on his clipboard at the same time. He didn’t notice the ball rolling out into the middle of the street.

  Rachel was struggling with what to do. She began hurrying down the driveway as she saw the truck coming closer.

  She watched Cooper dart out into the middle of the street, and then—without thinking—Rachel called out his name. “Cooper!”

  Miss Esther and Stanley were stunned to hear Rachel’s voice. They turned in unison and saw her running toward the st
reet.

  Rachel continued yelling, “Cooper! Cooper!”

  Stanley raced toward Rachel as he could see the approaching disaster. Suddenly, the image of Rachel in the street turned into Eddy. Stanley’s nightmare came to life. Stanley could see Eddy, once again, riding his bike down the driveway and into the street.

  Stanley looked toward Rachel as he ran, but he yelled, “Eddy, stop!”

  Rachel ignored Stanley and rushed into the street in front of the oncoming truck.

  Stanley continued to rush toward Rachel, but in his mind, he saw his son.

  He continued to scream, “Eddy! Eddy, stop!”

  Rachel was only focused on Cooper, and she was oblivious to all else around her.

  She called frantically, “Cooper!”

  Stanley saw visions of Eddy’s face, the truck approaching, and a bent and mangled bike lying in the middle of the street.

  Rachel reached Cooper who was standing in front of the oncoming truck.

  She grabbed his collar and pulled, calling, “Cooper, come on! Come on!”

  As the truck bore down on them, the driver glanced up and saw a young girl right in front of him. He slammed on his brakes, and everything seemed to move forward in slow motion.

  Stanley ran out into the street, right in front of the truck, and grabbed Rachel just in time.

  Cooper jumped out of the way, and the truck squealed to a stop five feet past where Rachel and Cooper had been standing an instant before. The truck came to rest with its tire rolling over Cooper’s ball which loudly popped.

  Stanley was sitting on the curb at the edge of the street, holding a trembling child in his arms.

  He saw visions of Eddy as he said soothingly, “Eddy, it’s going to be OK. Hang in there, buddy. It’s going to be all right.”

  Stanley yelled loudly, “Somebody get an ambulance!”

  Then he said more softly, “Help my son.”

  Stanley hugged the child and was jolted back into the moment, realizing that he had been holding Rachel all the time. Stanley broke down and wept.