“Hello, back to you, Julie. How was your day?”
“Good, so far. We had breakfast with Peggy and lunch over here. I found some steaks in the freezer and put them in the sink to thaw. Would you think I am too forward if I invited you to come over tonight and cook them on the grill?”
“You are not at all forward. I owe it to Essie to see to it that the newbie in town doesn’t eat dinner alone. Besides, I want to get to know you better. What time do you want me to show up on your doorstep?”
“Any time will be fine with me. I’m going up to jump in the shower right now.”
“Will Karla be joining us?”
“No, she has her church guild meeting tonight. She kept on at me to go with her until I told her that I wanted to invite you here for dinner. With that, she just smiled and told me to get her a grandbaby.”
“I’ll see you around six. Those steaks sound good. I’ll bring some wine.”
Julie hung up the phone and headed for the closet to see what she could find to wear. She finally settled on white jean shorts and a blue tee shirt. She decided that he needed to see her the way she was most comfortable. When Chance arrived, she was barefoot, her hair was in a ponytail, and Jolly went with her to welcome him to their home. He stooped to give his old friend a pat and was genuinely glad to see him back where he belonged. He handed Julie the wine and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m glad to see that I’m not underdressed for the occasion,” he said, with a big smile. He was wearing white jean shorts and a blue tee shirt almost identical to Julies. He did have shoes on, but they were slip on sandals. They shared an easy and comfortable laugh together.
Julie put the wine on ice and directed Chance to the steaks. He went out on the patio and lit the gas grill. “Would you like a beer or something?” Julie asked as she checked the potatoes that were baking in the oven.
“Yes, I would.”
“I think I’ll have one, too. Let’s take them out to the patio and we can sip them while our food cooks. Chance, I’m glad you came. How was your day in court?”
“It went well. My client got what she wanted, and I got finished with a case that has been dragging on for months.”
Chance went to the grill and turned the steaks. “How do you like yours? Medium or well-done?”
“Medium, well, I guess, just a bit of pink in the middle.”
“They are done to perfection, my lady. Shall we retire to the dining room for the feast?”
“Oh, yes, we must. The salad is ready and the potatoes are done. I’m famished, dear man.”
Chance was happy to see that Julie had set the table in the little breakfast nook. “This room seems cozier than that formal dining room, I hope you don’t mind, Chance.”
“I don’t mind at all. Essie and I always ate here or the library. The only time she felt comfortable in the dining room was if there were enough guests to fill all of the chairs.”
Chance whistled a tune very softly as he poured the wine. He sat down across from Julie and raised his glass. “Let’s toast to many more quiet dinners and a very long friendship filled with hope and joy.”
“To a very long friendship filled with hope and joy and endless quiet dinners,” Julie said as they clinked their glasses together.
They ate their meal between questions and answers about each other. Julie felt complete comfort in his presence. They shared a keen sense of humor and used it often throughout the meal. Chance finished his meal and began to clear the table. If he felt awkward, it didn’t show. She got up, followed him to the kitchen, and started washing the dishes. They fell in to a rhythm that was so natural they could have been doing this all of their lives. Both Julie and Chance were at ease. When the dishes were done, Chance turned to her, took her in his arms, and just held her there. She felt him quiver, ever so slightly. He held her tighter. They stood perfectly still, her in his arms, for a long moment. “Julie, I miss Essie so much. She was such a dear friend. Thank you for being here in her place and giving me what I’ve missed the most since she died.”
“I wish I had known her. If I had, I would be better able to feel what you are going through right now. I’m glad you and Essie were friends. If that had not been the case, we would never have met.”
They took the bottle of wine and the glasses out to the patio and drank to Essie, to the stars, and Karla’s big lovers’ moon. With the wine in their bloodstream and the night all around them, they laid back on the chaise lounge and made love. Somewhere in the far corners of their minds, they wondered if Francis had seen them.
Chance held her close and whispered, “I don’t think she’s home. Her lights are all turned off.”
Julie laughed and asked, “How did you know I was worried about Francis?”
“I was, so I thought you may be, as well. I hope she is at church with your mother.”
“Can you imagine Francis standing at the pearly gates and arguing with Saint Peter about how good and pure she is and how bad her neighbors have been?”
“Yes,” laughed Chance. “If she’s watching us now, she may be thinking that Essie wasn’t so bad after all.”
“Sometimes things just have to be spontaneous. Nevertheless, next time, our spontaneity should happen indoors with the shades closed. I will know within the hour if she saw us because Mom will be driving up with an early pregnancy test.”
“What about everybody else in town? Do you care what they think and say?”
“We are consenting adults. We are not cheating on spouses or significant others. I don’t care. I don’t feel guilty or afraid of what my Mama or anyone else might think. I don’t just do that with every man I meet. Do you care, Chance?”
“I care, but only if it causes trouble for you, Julie. I don’t do that with every woman I meet, either.”
“Good. Now, can we go inside? The mosquitoes are biting me, and I’m about to fall off of this chaise.”
Just as they walked in the door, the phone rang. They looked at the caller ID and laughed as Chance answered it. “Hello, Mrs. Steward. This is Chance Lightning. How may I help you?”
“I was just wonderin’ if everthang is okay over there.”
“Yes, everything is fine. Why do you ask? Did you see a prowler or something?” Chance stifled a laugh.
“Well, I heard some noises in the back yard, and I know that little Julie moved in there today. Karla should have stayed with her on her first night in that big old house. I thought she might be scared if she heard the noises I heard. Really, Chance, it doesn’t look good at all for her to have a man there ’till way up in the night. The neighbors could think she ain’t a nice girl.”
“Don’t worry about that, Francis. Her mama told her to be a good girl and she sure was. Now, go to bed and get some rest. You will need all of the energy you can muster to keep up with all of the comings and goings around here. Julie is a lot busier than Essie was.” Chance heard a click.
They laughed and walked toward the front door. Chance held her, and they kissed goodnight before he walked out into the moonlit night. He drove to his townhouse on the outskirts of town and wished on the brightest star in the sky that he could spend the rest of his days and nights with Julie Stockton.
Julie locked the door and went up to her room. She took a quick shower, crawled into the big soft bed, and hoped that Chance had fallen as deeply in love with her as she had him. “Thank you, Essie,” she whispered, “for giving me this glorious home, this fine bed, and the potential for a happily ever after.”
Chance tried to keep himself busy so he would not miss Julie so much. He worked at his office, mowed both Julie and Karla’s lawns, and took Jolly for long walks. He and Peg Miller took the extra clothing to churches and schools. Julie had put aside one large crate of clothes, hats, and shoes that she said would make great dress up clothes for kids. Chance did not know whose kids she was talking about so he took that crate to the third-floor room.
He went to the golf course but was not quite on his game. MaryCarol and her
husband, Jearod along with Father Joseph and Chance made up the foursome that played every Wednesday. MaryCarol did not help his game when she said “Julie” every time he was ready to putt. She teased him without ceasing ever since Julie left.
“Father Joe, when that pretty green-eyed lady gets home, you had better get up another foursome. If Julie plays golf, she will be here instead of you.”
“That’s where you are wrong. The foursome will be Jearod, Father Joe, Julie, and me. It will be you out looking for a foursome.”
“MaryCarol, is this green-eyed lady a Catholic, like you or a reprobate, like Chance?”
“Her mom goes to First Baptist Church so I assume she is neither Catholic nor reprobate. You could never get Chance to come to church, but I will just bet that if Julie asked him to, he would be on the front pew. Wouldn’t you, Chance?”
“I am not a reprobate; I just don’t go in for a bunch of ceremony, that’s all. I care and have beliefs. They just don’t happen to match yours.”
“What are you going to do when Julie decides to plan a big wedding at the Baptist Church, tell her you are not into a bunch of ceremonial crap?”
“Not on your life! If I asked her to marry, and she said yes, I would tell her that anything is fine with me. I would bow, sing, dance, light candles, and be anointed with oil if that is what she wants. However, I have not asked her yet. She might just say no.”
“Ask her and she will say yes. We talk, you know. I like her, and she likes me. We are girls, and what girls do is talk, talk, and talk some more. When you were at Horizon Home last month, Julie and I had lunch. Believe me, Chance, she is as goofy for you as you are for her. So, you should pop the question when she gets home and stop wasting time.”
“Speaking of Horizon Home…”
“Chance, we weren’t speaking of Horizon Home! We were speaking of you and Julie getting married.”
“I know but you reminded me of something. We need to make some calls tomorrow and try to find funding or placement homes for the children. Essie was their sole support.”
“How many children are there now?” asked Father Joe.
“I was there to finalize the adoption of three brothers last month. That leaves eight. Four more are just awaiting completion of paperwork, and they will be off to Kansas. So, four will have to stay on until homes are found. The youngest is two or three months old and the oldest is ten years. The sisters are getting old and tired. Essie set up a retirement for them, but they refuse to leave until they place all of the children in good homes. It is a hard task to accomplish when they get a new baby every year or so. They have been trying to close down for three years. They just haven’t been able to turn anyone down. Did you know that Horizon Home is the only orphanage in the tristate area? Foster homes have taken their place. Children are herded from one home to the next. Every time a child throws a ball through a window, he’s jerked up and put in another home. There is no commitment to them. Some of these children are in foster care for a lifetime. The kids begin to feel that they are not worth anything. At least, the sisters at Horizon Home love them. I am sorry, Father, I got on my soap box again.”
“Chance, you can get on that one any time you want. I thought Horizon Home was gone years ago. I know the Diocese over in Arkansas stopped supporting it back in the nineties. That was long after all of the other orphanages were closed.”
“That is when Essie called me. She was mad at the Church for wanting to close it down and turn the children over to the state. She bought the property and signed it over to Sisters Elizabeth and Mary Margaret. She put a sum of money in a trust for the children’s care. Essie had been visiting the home for many years before it was in danger of being closed. She went to hold the babies, read to the children, and gave a writing class to the older ones. She loved the sisters and the children.”
“Are they still getting them dropped on the doorstep in the middle of the night?”
“No, they go and pick them up at the hospital. Once they are in the hands of the sisters and the papers are signed, the state does not have to feed and clothe them. Elizabeth and Mary Margaret truly do need to retire. I would rather find homes for the children than try to get funding. Now, they just want to find good two parent homes for them. They are not picking up any more. Hey, MaryCarol Would you and Jearod like to adopt a few beautiful children?”
“Sorry, Chance. I grew up in a house with ten kids. I was the oldest one. I need about twenty years to recuperate from that experience. Got any puppies?”
“No. But we really need to do some checking around to find some decent parents for those sweet little kids.”
“Does Julie know about the kids?” asked MaryCarol. “Since they were Essie’s interest, maybe she will help.”
“I haven’t told her about them. She barely had time to get used to the idea of Essie being her grandmother before leaving for her tour. I didn’t want to load her down with a bunch of worries before she left. She has had many changes in her life in rapid succession. Just a job change is stressful enough and then to get home to find out she has a dead grandmother she never met. Add to that, a move to a new house, starting a relationship with me, and the excitement of selling her first book. According to all of the medical reports, that is more than enough change to cause a cardiac arrest. No, it wasn’t a good time to add, ‘Hey, Julie, did you know you have an orphanage full of little mouths to feed?’ Essie would roll over in her grave if I had mentioned it!”
“I suppose you’re right, Chance. I had not thought of that. Wow, you do love her. I have never seen you so thoughtful before.”
“MaryCarol, I am thoughtful. Didn’t I remember your birthday this year?”
“Yes, you did. You sent me flowers, and they were only three days late.”
Julie and Karla were on the last leg of the tour. They had enjoyed plays, museums, and a tour of the publishing company. Julie was nervous about her appearance on several news shows but managed to get through them and was finding the interview process a bit easier with each one. Tomorrow she would be in Chicago and on the Oprah Winfrey show followed by a reading for C Span’s Book TV on Thursday. Then they would fly to Tulsa where Chance would pick them up at the airport and attend a signing at the library before the drive back to McAlester. Saturday would be the final segment of signing and a sweet welcome home.
Karla could not wait to get home and tell all of her friends about the tour and bore them to tears with pictures and videos. Not to mention the bragging rights she now had. She had already called everyone she knew back home to tell them about Oprah and C-Span. Karla knew, too, that Julie and Chance needed to be together because they were in love. Then, she thought of the potential grandbabies and nearly burst with joy.
Julie wanted to get home to see Chance and Jolly. It’s funny how much can change in just a few months. She could not imagine her life today without Chance in it. They spoke on the phone and emailed every day since she left. Julie hoped this week would fly by so she could see him again. The next thought was that perhaps she should make an appointment to see the doctor. She needed a checkup, anyway. While she was there, she thought she should have a discussion as to whether she was capable of having children and, at her age, should she even try. Old eggs may not produce a healthy child. It would not be fair to Chance to marry him and then find out she could not have a child for him. That is, if he wanted to marry her.
Karla patted Julie on the shoulder and said, “Julie, you have a lot on your mind. I can tell by the way that you are lookin’ off in space as if you are in some other world. Are you worried about the next two stops? Don’t be. You will do just fine. Or, are you thinkin’ of Chance?”
“I was thinking about all of the above and more. I think I will take about a week or two when we get home just to relax. I’m tired and jet lag is beginning to get to me. I am not worried about anything. On the contrary, I am very thankful for the opportunity to travel and meet fans of the book. Oprah and C-Span are delicious treats I never e
xpected! Hasn’t this been an awesome experience? And, I’m anxious to get into Essie’s diaries and journals and find out more about that remarkable woman. Yes, I will write Essie’s story, but it will not be a mystery. It will be the explanation of the mystery that was Essie Grogan.”
“I know it will be a good one, too. I can’t wait to get my hands on it! Nothin’ smells better or feels better in my hands than a brand-new book. Oh, to read a biography of someone I know, written by someone I know, will be a delight. You can’t tell me anythang about what you find in Essie’s journals until after I read the book. Promise me.”
“Okay, I promise.”
Every town has a crazy. McAlester is no exception. Scudder Brown is as much a part of this town as the Masonic Temple. He is somewhere around fifty years old, small in stature, speaks with a slow southern drawl, and is quite nice looking. He dresses in the latest men’s fashion and never has a hair out of place. It takes a stranger, sometimes a good hour, to realize that Scudder has a few screws loose. He has fooled patients at the hospital on more than one occasion into thinking he is a specialist sent in to help figure out their problem. On holidays or weekends, it is not uncommon for him to call dispatch at the police department and let them know what part of town he will be patrolling for his shift.
Scudder can imagine any profession and be an expert in just a few minutes. He so believes in his expertise that an unsuspecting stranger will be, at least momentarily, convinced, as well. With a stethoscope around his neck, he is the authority on psychotic episodes, chemical imbalances, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. While he insists he is not a specialist in manic behavior, he can lecture on some of its manifestations and the phenomenon of delusions of grandeur. When patrolling, he is the best undercover detective in town or an FBI or CIA agent. He is a people watcher and pays close attention to detail. His medical knowledge comes from frequent admittance to mental hospitals. He got his police experience in a like manner. Scudder looks upon these trips as learning opportunities. When asked where he had been, he smiles and says that he just got back from a seminar at Harvard Medical School or some police academy. Scudder fully believes he is telling the truth.
The Estate of Essie Grogan Page 6