“I know...that helps,” she admitted.
“What helps more than anything is knowing how we feel about each other,” Dan said.
Maggie smiled broadly.
“That does make a difference,” she said as she leaned over and kissed him.
They didn’t noticed Jett coming up the sidewalk.
“Go easy son. Those’ll have to last you a couple of weeks,” he said as Maggie and Dan were startled slightly.
“Yeah dad, that’s what we were talking about when you made us jump out of our skin,” Dan said.
“Bud said you made a good impression on a lot of people today,” Jett to Maggie.
“Really? I really didn’t say much to anyone. I just listened mostly,” she said.
“Exactly. When you’re dealing with politicians and bureaucrats, that’s not just impressive, it’s smart. Good job,” Jett said.
“Thank you,” Maggie said her bright smile returning.
“And both of you – it is only two weeks. Try not to do anything drastic as a result of your time apart,” he said as he opened the front door. They stared at him blankly. “Like getting on the roof. You might fall and break your neck,” he said as he walked inside and they cringed ever so slightly.
“So he knows now. What’s the worst he can do?” Maggie asked.
“He can tell your mom and between the two of them, we’ll never hear the end of it,” Dan said.
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to prove it,” Maggie said.
Dan smiled and shook his head.
“It’s no one’s fault. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’d do it every day if that’s what it took to let you know that I love you,” he said.
“Awww, that’s so sweet. You don’t have to yell it from a rooftop. I know you love me as much as I know that I love you. But I’ll confess, I enjoy hearing you say it,” she said.
From within the house, they heard Alicia laughing.
“Your mom knows now,” Dan said.
***
Alicia had tears from laughing so hard.
“I would have loved to have seen their faces when Alvin asked them what was going on,” she said.
“He thought it was pretty funny too but he asked me to take it easy on them. And he reminded me that we all do stupid things to impress the women we love,” Jett said.
“That’s true. J.D. spray-painted ‘I love Alicia’ on every dumpster in town. And when they repainted them he painted ‘I still love Alicia.’ To this day, I don’t if I should be embarrassed by that or not,” Alicia said.
“J.D. used to buy spray paint by the case. Sometimes I think he viewed himself as a frustrated artist or poet...or maybe both,” Jett said.
“If I recall correctly, it seems you had your own reason to be embarrassed when you and Rose first started dating,” she said.
“If I would have known that patch of ice was there, I would have never taken her books and showed her how to walk downhill in the snow,” he said.
“I don’t know which was funnier – you flat on your back at the foot of the hill in front of the student center with books and papers scattered everywhere or Rose doubled over laughing trying not to follow you down the hill,” Alicia said.
“Not my finest or most graceful hour,” Jett agreed.
“Yeah, it might be best to let this slide – no pun intended,” she said.
He smiled and nodded.
“So you’re packed and ready huh?” Jett asked.
“Yeah. I figured I’d give the kids a few minutes to say their goodbyes,” Alicia said.
“Just tell Maggie to have Dan let me know when you two make it home. And as always, I’m a phone call away if you need anything or just want to talk,” Jett said.
“I’ve been thinking about that. It might be beneficial if we talk every couple of days or so to compare notes,” she said.
“Okay. How about I call you Wednesday evening at say, ten o’clock?” He asked.
“Sounds good. If something should come up before then, I’ll let you know,” Alicia said as she started walking toward the front door.
“With everything that’s gone on in the past few days, I haven’t told how nice it’s been to have you back in town,” Jett said.
“It has been nice. But I’ll be back with Maggie in a couple of weeks. Believe me, I won’t be a stranger. And tell Matt goodbye for me,” she said.
They stepped out onto the porch and found Dan and Maggie in an embrace.
“It’s time Maggie,” Alicia said.
Their hug lingered for a few more seconds before they released each other.
“Walk me to the car?” Maggie asked as Dan nodded.
Jett stayed on the porch as Alicia headed toward the driver’s side of her car.
“Be careful,” Jett said.
“You do the same,” Alicia said.
Dan gave Maggie one final kiss before she stepped in the car.
“I’ll call later,” she said.
He closed her door.
“I’ll be waiting,” Dan said.
Alicia backed the car out and they pulled away as Jett and Dan stood and waved. After watching the car disappear from view, Dan walked back to the porch.
Jett placed his arm around his son’s shoulder.
“I know you miss her already but she’ll be back before you know it,” he said.
“I know. It’s silly,” Dan said.
“Not at all. It would be silly if you didn’t feel that way,” Jett said.
Dan cleared his throat.
“About the roof thing,” he began.
“You don’t have to explain anything. I understand. By the way, do you have any supper plans?” Jett asked.
Dan shook his head.
“Why don’t you see if you can track your brother down? See if he wants to invite Linda Sue. Let’s have supper together,” Jett said.
“That sounds good,” Dan said.
“But before I do, let’s sit on the swing for a minute. I want to tell a story about teaching people to walk downhill in the snow,” Jett said.
Chapter Eleven
Matt and Dan cleared away the dishes and loaded the dishwasher as Jett invited Linda Sue into the living room.
“You know, I’d love to meet your mom and dad sometime. Maybe we can get together soon,” Jett said as he offered Linda Sue a seat on the couch.
“I think they would like that a lot. Dad was a couple of years behind you at SKU. He remembers watching you play football,” she said.
“I’ll have to remember to apologize to him,” Jett said.
“And he and mom both had a class with...Matt’s mom,” Linda Sue said.
“Then we will have something pleasant to talk about after all – other than you, I mean,” he said.
She smiled.
“Thank you. You’re so sweet. I can see where Matt and Dan get it,” she said.
“They get that from their mom, believe me. I wish you could’ve known her. But I like to think that maybe she’s watching over us and she’s well aware of the things that are taking place,” Jett said.
“That’s a beautiful thought,” Linda Sue said.
“And I think she’s smiling,” Matt said as he walked into the living room and sat next to Linda Sue.
Jett’s lips curled slightly, just enough to reveal the faint outlines of his dimples.
“I think so too,” he continued, “You know I gave Dan and Maggie some advice last night and I want to share with you two tonight.”
Matt and Linda Sue looked at each other and back to Jett as they joined hands.
“I know you two love each other. There’s not a doubt about that in my mind. Anybody that’s ever experienced that kind of love can recognize it, that being said, this might not seem necessary but I want to say it anyway. Never take for granted what you have – ever. Don’t appreciate every day together - appreciate every second of every minute together. Never skip an opportunity to say ‘I love you.’ And son,
always remember, you’ll never regret the things you do for her, no matter how small. There’s no limit on how good you can be to her. In time, you’ll both know what I mean. It’s something I can’t put into words really. It’s something you have to experience but you’re gonna find out that making each other happy is a reward you’ll never top. That’s love. I’m not saying there won’t be struggles and it’ll always be easy. But it will always be more than worth it,” Jett said.
Matt nodded silently. His dad was the voice of experience in this area. Matt and Dan knew firsthand that their dad practiced what he preached. When they started school, they couldn’t understand that all kids didn’t have two parents living in the same house with them. It took them a long time to grasp the concept of divorce.
“Your son is the most thoughtful and devoted person I’ve ever known. I couldn’t ask for more out of anyone,” Linda Sue said.
“Like I said, he takes after his mom,” Jett said.
Linda Sue smiled and let it drop. She knew she was looking at a man still devoted to a wife ten years dead. Even if he refused to acknowledge it, Linda Sue knew that Matt inherited more than his dad’s looks – as did Dan.
“By the way, I started on my journal this morning,” Dan said as he entered the living room. He stood on the doorway between the kitchen and the living room while Jett offered his relationship advice to Matt and Linda Sue. He did not want to interrupt while his dad was on the subject.
“Anything interesting to note?” Jett asked.
“Not really. Just an odd dream that I was at Cumberland Falls with Maggie. We were hiking along the river and we could see Aunt Alicia at the overlook talking to someone. And as hard as we tried, we couldn’t get her attention. She just kept talking to someone,” Dan said.
“Cumberland Falls? When was the last time you were there?” Jett asked.
“I guess when we were in high school. Uncle Bud took Matt and me out there. To tell you the truth, I couldn’t tell you the last time I even thought of the place,” Dan said.
Knowing what Alicia said she dreamed about, Jett had an idea about Dan’s dream but acted as if he knew nothing.
“That is odd,” he said.
Matt chuckled.
“My dream was kinda strange too,” Matt said.
“Don’t tell me you dreamed of Cumberland Falls too,” Jett said.
“No, I dreamed that me and some of the guys were playing a game of touch football at Riverside Park,” Matt said.
“That doesn’t sound odd. That’s sounds pretty normal,” Linda Sue laughed.
“That wasn’t the strange part. There was this girl – apparently a student — was there watching the game,” Matt said.
Linda Sue looked surprised but amused.
“Who was this girl? What did she look like?” She asked playfully.
Matt chuckled.
“It was nothing like that. But she was real pretty. She had long black hair and she reminded me of someone I know but I can’t place who,” he said looking at Linda Sue. “You were there too. I could see you buying cotton candy. You were with some of your friends.”
“Did you know the girl?” Dan asked.
“No. But she looked so familiar and she kept screaming at me. Saying things like, ‘Neither of you are special,’ and ‘She can’t be around you all of the time,’ things like that. I have no idea what she meant,” Matt said.
“Was she talking about me?” Linda Sue asked.
“I have no idea. It was just weird,” Matt said.
“Did she say her name?” Jett asked.
“No. The only name I remember her saying was a guy’s name – Lee. I don’t know why I remember that,” Matt said.
Jett’s expression changed.
“Who’s Lee and why should you care?” Linda Sue asked Matt.
“What’s wrong dad?” Matt asked.
“That is weird. Tell me, did she make any kind of threats?” Jett asked.
Matt laughed but Dan had an uneasy feeling as he watched his dad.
“Threats? It was just a dream. What do I care if she made threats?” Matt said as Jett started looking agitated.
“Just curious, did she make threats?” Dan asked.
“Not that I remember. Just a lot of wild ranting that made no sense. I have it written down in my journal but I think that just about covered the dream or at least the gist of it,” Matt said as Dan noticed that Jett looked a little more relaxed.
“Wow. I think I’d like to look at that written description. That’s just odd enough to be interesting,” Jett said.
“I’ll drop it by tomorrow,” Matt said.
“How about you Linda? Did you have any weird or unusual dreams?” Dan asked.
She laughed.
“No, I didn’t have a dream last night or if I did, I don’t remember. I must’ve been really tired,” she said.
“How about you dad? What did you dream about?” Matt asked.
“I was like Linda. I was too tired to dream,” Jett said.
The ringing of the doorbell caught their attention.
“I’ll get it,” Dan said.
He opened the door and there stood Mallorie and Bud.
“Hi Dan,” Mallorie said.
“Please come in,” he said as he stepped back for them to enter.
“Come on in and find a seat. Let me go get those albums for you. Matt, give me a hand. I’ve several boxes, so you should have plenty to look at,” Jett told Mallorie.
She looked to Dan.
“Jett said I could look through some old pictures your mom had. Bud thinks that I might be in a couple,” Mallorie said.
“She doesn’t have a lot of pictures of her earliest years. I figure it’s worth a shot to look,” Bud explained, adding as he looked to Linda, “It’s good to see you again.”
She bowed her head slightly and offered a smile.
“Likewise,” Linda said.
Dan looked confused.
“Why would dad have pictures of Mallorie when she was a baby?” He asked.
“Because your mom took pictures of everything,” Bud said as Dan clearly still didn’t understand.
“Your mom was my babysitter once upon a time,” Mallorie said.
Dan and Linda looked surprised.
“My mother died when I was just a few months old and my grandparents hired your mom to help care for me,” she said, careful to leave out the fact that Bud engineered her care. Things were awkward enough without everyone knowing that tidbit.
“Your mom was a high school student. She didn’t even have a driver’s license when she started helping with Mallorie,” Bud said as Jett and Matt came downstairs carrying two large boxes each.
“There’s four more boxes in my bedroom,” Jett said as sat his boxes down in front of the rectangular coffee table.
“I’ll help you get the rest,” Dan said as Matt sat his boxes down next to the others.
Jett opened the first box and dug out an album.
“I’m not sure what order these are in so unfortunately, you’ll likely have to flip through a lot of pictures,” he said.
Mallorie sat back with the album in her lap with Bud at her side.
“Could I get either of you anything? Something to drink maybe?” Jett asked.
“I could go for a bottle of pop,” Bud said.
“Nothing for me, thank you,” said Mallorie.
“I’ll get it - if that’s okay,” Linda said
“Not a problem. Thank you,” Jett said as he took a seat in the recliner.
“These are pictures of the boys when they were babies,” Bud said as he and Mallorie looked over each page.
Linda returned with the drink and handed it to Bud.
“Thank you,” Bud said as he took the bottle from her.
“Oh. How cute!” Linda said as she saw the pictures. At the same time, Matt and Dan returned with the other boxes.
“Oh great,” Matt said when he saw the pictures.
“What? Yo
u were a beautiful baby,” Linda said as she playfully pinched his cheeks.
“I remember that,” Bud said as he pointed to a picture in the upper right hand side of the left page.
“What’s that all over them? What happened” Mallorie asked.
Jett smiled.
“That’s when Rose and I discovered not to keep a flour canister within the reach of two-year olds,” he said.
“Did you pour it on each other or what?” Linda asked.
“I was two. I don’t remember,” Matt said.
“It was all over the kitchen and them. Before long, it was all over Rose. I tried to get a picture of her too but she absolutely refused,” Jett said.
They turned a page and there were the boys getting ready for their first day of kindergarten. The whole album was full of childhood photos of Matt and Dan. No pictures of Jett or Rose were in that album.
The next two albums were the same, featuring the boys playing different sports in a variety of uniforms.
The fourth album was different. It contained pictures Jett hadn’t looked at in years.
“That’s my sister Katie and my brother-in-law Dan Elkins,” Bud remarked as he lingered over the picture. “And that’s me in Vietnam with my friend Chuck Fullbright. That was taken about a week before he was killed.”
Below those pictures was another couple.
“That’s my parents, Matthew and Rebecca Bradley,” Jett said.
“So the guys are named after their grandfathers,” Linda said as Jett nodded.
“Did you have names picked out in case your wife had girls?” Mallorie asked.
“We had a name picked out. We didn’t know it was going to be twins. We found out it was twins and boys the same day,” Jett explained.
“What was the name?” Linda asked.
“Alicia Christina,” he said.
“That’s beautiful,” Linda said as Mallorie looked up at him.
“Yeah, but we got these two and spoiled everything,” Jett said as both Matt and Dan laughed.
Mallorie turned a page and there was a picture of a smiling 16 year-old Rose Elkins in red and white gym shorts and a white t-shirt. Her dark chestnut hair was cut in a short-feathered fashion, being a popular style in the early 1980s.
“That’s my mom,” Dan said.
“She was beautiful,” Linda said.
“Yes, she was and got even more beautiful with each passing year,” Jett said as he studied the picture.
Only When I Dream Page 23