“Wow. You guys get dimples from both sides,” Mallorie said.
“Who’s that?” Linda asked as she pointed to a picture of blonde girl with a similar hairstyle and build, who wore a red and white cheerleader’s uniform.
“That’s Aunt Violet, mom’s sister,” Matt said.
“She was gorgeous too,” Mallorie said.
“They both were,” Bud said. “But they were so different. Violet was a cheerleader and Rose was an athlete.”
“In high school, she was a four-year starter in softball and basketball. Any athletic talent the boys have they got from her,” Jett said.
Bud merely grunted as Mallorie turned the page and there were a series of pictures of young Rose with a baby and several individual shots of a baby girl, dressed in pink.
“That’s you,” Bud said as Mallorie stared at the pictures.
“Mom looks so happy,” Dan said.
“She was. You know how much such she loved babies,” Bud said.
“And look at this one,” Jett said.
It was a picture of Rose with the baby at the News-Democrat building.
“Is that at the office?” Mallorie asked.
“Yes, it is. I didn’t know about this picture. She used to take you shopping with her when she got her license and she would usually drop in at the paper. It used to thrill Liz to no end when Rose would bring you by there,” Bud said.
Mallorie turned the page again and there were more pictures, only these showed Rose with a blonde toddler carrying a cloth doll.
“I remember that doll. I had it for years,” Mallorie said.
“Rose got that for you for your first birthday. If I remember correctly, she bought it at Sizemore’s. In those days, that was the closest thing this town had to a department store,” Bud said.
“Yeah, that was before the mall and the big box stores out by the interstate,” Jett said.
“There wasn’t an Arch-Mart here then?” Matt asked.
“I can’t imagine life in Crystal Springs without an Arch-Mart,” Linda said.
“Believe it or not, society actually functioned once without Arch-Mart, cell phones, and the Internet,” Bud said.
“We just had fire and rocks. In Bud’s day they just had rocks,” Jett said.
As everyone laughed including Bud, Jett noticed Mallorie studying the picture of the young girl holding the baby and the serious look on her face. It was his guess that she was concentrating, trying to remember.
As the brief moment of laughter faded, she slowly flipped the page. There was another set of pictures of the same baby girl at a birthday party in front of a round cake with white icing and royal blue trim. The cake featured one lit pink candle. The baby sat in Rose’s lap.
“That was your first birthday and the pictures on this page are your second birthday,” Bud noted.
In those pictures the cake was a one-quarter sheet cake with light pink icing and dark pink trim. This time, the baby, now with a head full of platinum blonde hair, sat in a chair alone. The room was decorated with pink and white crepe paper streamers and balloons.
“And that’s your second birthday,” Bud said.
Mallorie perused each picture carefully before turning the page again.
“Looks like that might be all of that set,” Jett said.
“I don’t think I’ve seen these pictures before. That’s you and Rose, right?” Bud asked.
“Yeah. Alicia took that picture close to the time Rose and I started dating. The silhouette effect in the first picture was an accident because of a bad flash. It looks like our shadows but Rose loved it,” Jett said.
“Oh wow. That looks like it could be...us,” Linda said to Matt, who looked more closely at the picture.
“I can see that. Look at the outline of the hairstyles, their shapes, and the height difference,” Mallorie said.
Dan examined it next.
“You’re right. That’s freaky. It’s so similar,” he said.
Matt looked at Jett.
“He’s right,” Matt said.
“Well, you are my son. It’s just a coincidence that Linda is about the same height as your mom,” Jett said.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Mallorie said. “You two are like Jett and Rose 2.0,” she added with a smile.
Linda brightened.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” she said.
“Hey! Wait a minute! Where was this picture taken?” Matt asked as the pointed to a photo below the silhouette picture.
“That’s at Riverside Park. I happened to be down there shooting pictures of something that day and ran into your mom and dad. I took a shot for Rose. That’s why it’s in black and white – that was some time before the paper went color,” Bud explained.
“We hadn’t been dating long. You can tell it’s still cool weather by our jackets,” Jett said.
“Who’s that women in the background? The one with the long black hair? Dad, I swear that’s the woman I was telling you about from my dream,” Matt said.
“The one that kept yelling all of the crazy stuff?” Dan asked.
“Yeah. Do you know her?” Matt asked Jett who looked closely at the picture as did Bud.
Their eyes met at the same time. They knew exactly who it was standing just a few feet behind Rose staring at the camera. Neither man said anything.
“She resembles my mom,” Mallorie said.
“Yes she does but this was taken several years after her death. And keep in mind this was the’80s - so many people followed the same fashion trends,” Bud said.
“Do either of you know her?” Dan asked.
“I can’t say that I do,” Jett said as Bud chimed in with, “Me either.”
“Strange. Very strange,” Matt said as he shook his head staring at the picture.
“But that is a great shot of you and your wife,” Mallorie said.
“You both look so happy,” Linda said.
“We were,” Jett said.
Mallorie continued to slowly turn pages while she held the few pages with her baby pictures.
“There’s a picture of mom wearing one of your jerseys,” Dan said.
“Yeah, it was kind of a tradition in those days for the girlfriend of a player to wear one of his jerseys to home games. There was a little presentation ceremony before the first home game of the year. It was kind fun. And besides, she always looked better in that jersey than I did,” Jett said. “They haven’t done that in years,” Bud said.
“I love those old uniforms,” Matt said.
“Yeah, one uniform for home and for the road – not a different look every week,” Dan said.
“And I hate the black and green jersey. Black isn’t even a school color. And don’t me started on multiple helmet colors,” Bud said.
“Ugly uniforms or not, that sounds like a wonderful tradition. How did this ceremony work?” Linda asked.
“Before the first home game we would have a pep rally and bonfire. Just before the bonfire, guys would step forward by class with their home jersey. Their girlfriends would be on the front line of the crowd facing them. One at a time, each player would walk over and present his jersey to his girlfriend,” Jett explained.
“What a sweet gesture,” Mallorie said.
“Most of the time, the girl knew it was coming because guys asked them to be there in advance for that purpose. Every now and then though there would be a guy that really surprised a girl with his jersey. During his senior year, Alvin Anderson – the new chief of police – surprised everyone, including the sophomore girl when he presented his jersey to her. When he did, he asked her out,” Jett said.
“Don’t tell me. They wound up getting married,” Matt said.
Jett laughed.
“Uh, not hardly. She turned him down flat. It was the epitome of the awkward moment,” he said.
“How awful,” Linda said.
“It would’ve been worse but another young lady standing in the crowd stepped forward and took his
jersey. He ended up marrying her,” Jett said.
“What a story!” Mallorie said.
“How’s Jackie doing these days?” Bud asked.
“I haven’t seen her since they moved back. I imagine she’s had her hands full with the move and having three daughters in college at the same time, she probably hasn’t had time to look up,” Jett said.
As they chatted, Mallorie continued to look at page after page and album after album. Occasionally, a picture would spark another conversation or two along the way. After a couple of more hours, she managed to make it through each album. Only one album contained any pictures with her.
“Thank you for letting me go through your family photos. I really enjoyed looking through them,” Mallorie said.
“You’re quite welcome,” Jett said.
“To be honest, I enjoyed it as well,” Linda said.
“Allow me to apologize for my son. Apparently, you’re starved for entertainment,” Jett said.
“Gee dad, thanks,” Matt said sarcastically.
“Could I ask a huge favor? Could I possibly borrow the photos that I’m in and have copies made?” Mallorie asked.
Jett looked at Matt and Dan.
“If the boys don’t have any objections - I’ll just let you have them,” he said.
“No problem here,” Matt said as Dan added, “None here either.”
“Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me,” Mallorie said with a wide smile.
“I think that’s what Rose would’ve wanted. Go ahead and pull out all of the pictures you want,” Jett said.
“Are you sure you don’t want to keep the ones with her in them?” She asked.
“No. I have plenty of pictures and I more importantly, the memories to go with them. It wouldn’t be right to keep those from you,” Jett said.
Dan’s cell phone rang and he excused himself and walked into the kitchen to answer it.
“Must be Maggie,” Jett said.
“I hate to break up another wild night in the Bradley house, but I need to get you home, fun time or not,” Matt said as he took Linda by the hand.
“Party pooper,” she said as she stood up.
“Be careful, both of you. Are you heading back to the dorm after you drop Linda off?” Jett asked Matt.
“Yeah, I need to get in bed. Maybe I’ll sleep a little better tonight – or at least have a happier dream,” Matt said.
“I hope you do,” Jett said as he walked them to the door.
“Again, thank you for supper and a wonderful evening,” Linda said.
“Thank you for making it a more pleasant evening – for all of us. And again, you’re always welcome – no invitation needed,” Jett said.
“Good night,” she called out to the others and they chorused their own “Good nights.”
“Sweet young lady,” Bud said.
“Yes she is,” Jett agreed.
“Must be adopted,” Bud said.
“Cut her family some slack – they obviously did a good job with her,” Jett said.
“You know it is remarkable how much those two resemble you and Rose. That silhouette picture is just uncanny,” Bud said.
Jett nodded.
“I hope they’re as happy as we are...were,” he said.
“I’m sure they will be,” Bud said.
“I don’t how to thank you for these,” Mallorie said as she held the pictures.
“Seeing you with them is thanks enough. I’m only sorry that Rose isn’t here to give you them personally. I’m sure she would’ve loved seeing you now and the person you’ve become,” Jett said.
“I’ve sat here all night trying my best to remember her. I’m afraid there’s no memories left. I was hoping that if maybe there were some pictures that they would trigger a suppressed memory. I guess that sounds silly,” Mallorie said.
“Not at all,” Jett said.
“I hate to sound like a broken record but I guess we need to go. I know a couple of people that have to be at work early,” Bud said.
“Rub it in,” Jett said.
“You have any appointments tomorrow?” Bud asked.
“A couple in the afternoon,” Jett said.
“We need to discuss the budget for the dream journal project in the morning. Try to get a few numbers together for me if you can,” Bud said.
“I’ll do that,” Jett said.
They too said their goodbyes and Jett sat down in the recliner. He could hear Dan’s voice in the kitchen but couldn’t make out what was being said. His voice wasn’t much more than an amplified whisper.
Jett turned the television back on in order to create some noise and help in giving Dan and Maggie a little privacy.
As he watched the highlights of the baseball action of the evening, Dan reentered the living room and shoved his cell phone back into his pocket.
“Maggie and Aunt Alicia made it back to Louisville okay,” Dan said.
“Good. That’s a worry taken care of,” Jett said as Dan moped to the couch.
“Yeah,” he said.
“I know you miss her,” Jett said.
Dan forced a smile.
“Please don’t laugh, but I do and what kills me is that it doesn’t make any sense. How many years did we go with just keeping in touch via the Internet or by phone? And now, I haven’t seen her in a few hours and it’s...I don’t even know how to describe it,” he said.
Jett smiled warmly.
“I do. It’s called being in love – true, deep love. It’s the best and worst feeling in the world all at the same time,” he said.
“Does it get better?” Dan asked.
Jett chuckled.
“Yeah son, it does. It also gets worse. The more you love her, the more being away from her hurts. I don’t mean to cheapen it with this phrase, but it’s an emotional roller coaster. Having said that, it’s well worth the ride,” he said.
“How...how do you stand it?” Dan asked.
Jett gave him a puzzled look.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“I mean...I miss mom. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of her. But she’s...was...my mom. She was something different for you and until recently, I don’t think I fully understood what losing her meant for you,” Dan said.
Jett reflected for a moment before he spoke.
“For years, I couldn’t say your mom’s name without crying. In fact, if it hadn’t of been for you boys, I don’t think I could’ve made it. I’m not sure that I would’ve wanted to either. But in time, I came to realize that every moment with your mom was a precious gift. We had something most people can only dream of having. With her I experienced more in a few short years than too many people will experience in a lifetime. I have been so blessed in my life,” Jett said.
“But you still miss her,” Dan said.
“Every minute of the day – that’ll never change. Remember what I said about things getting better and things getting worse? That’s what I mean. You see for all of the grief and loneliness, I still had the opportunity to be in love with the most wonderful woman that ever lived and on top of that, to know that she loved me. Son, rest assured, I no longer linger on the grief, I survive on the love we still share,” Jett said.
“Do you think Maggie and I will have a love like that?” Dan asked.
“Only you and Maggie can truthfully know that and it’ll show with time. But my guess is, you’re off to a pretty fair start. I’ve never known you to crawl out on a roof for anybody else,” Jett said with a smile as Dan blushed.
“It seems kind of ridiculous now,” Dan said.
“If that’s the worst thing you ever do in the name of love then you are truly a fortunate man,” Jett said.
Dan smiled.
“Maybe you’re right,” he said.
“I wouldn’t do again though,” Jett said.
***
Bud opened the door and followed Mallorie into the house. He always left a table lamp on so i
t wouldn’t be completely dark when he returned. Bud turned the overhead light on in the den.
“Are you okay? You haven’t said much since we left Jett’s,” Mallorie said.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I guess seeing those pictures stirred up a lot of memories,” he said. And he wasn’t exactly lying. One picture in particular bothered him. If Bud was certain of anything it was Marie Atkins in that picture with Jett and Rose. The problem was he’d seen that picture before. Marie was never in before. Although he was new to this paranormal stuff Bud was certain that her presence did not mean anything good.
“She really was beautiful wasn’t she?” Mallorie asked.
“Excuse me?” He asked.
“Rose. She was really beautiful,” Mallorie said.
“Yes she was - inside and out,” Bud said.
“She must have been a special person to take such care of a baby that wasn’t anything to her,” she said.
“Rose was very special,” he said as sat down on the couch and searched for his stereo remote. A little fumbling with the buttons later, the sounds of “Everyday” by Buddy Holly were coming from the speakers in a low volume.
Mallorie sat next to him, shifted to the side so she could face him. Her blonde locks fell across the left side of her forehead.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything, anytime,” Bud said.
“You said that when Granny got Mrs. Stone to take care of me, she gave you and Rose a bullshit excuse. What do you think the real reason was?” She asked.
He looked down for a second before his eyes met hers, trying to decide how to answer.
“I really believe she was afraid of losing you,” Bud said.
“Losing me? What do you mean?” Mallorie asked.
He hesitated before he spoke.
“Please. This is important to me,” she said.
Bud took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
“After your mom died, Earl went crazy with grief. He just kinda dropped out of the public eye and isolated himself for a couple of years,” Bud said.
“Yeah, I’ve heard stories. I know he took it hard,” she said.
“This is not an easy thing to for me to tell you. Those years that Earl was out of sight...well, the reason was that he spent most of his time in a drunken stupor. That’s how he dealt with the grief and he very nearly drank himself to death,” Bud said.
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