New Beginnings & Cherished Memories
New Beginnings & Cherished Memories
The fourth series in the Dusty Town sequence.
Knowing What to Do When the Time Comes. Episode 3
“Betty Lou,” Jacob began, as the sun had just about set and the sky was a deep, dark purple, “I don’t think I can ever really thank you enough for all you did for me and Willie. We certainly would have starved to death for sure without you cookin’ for us. Thank you for picking up so many of the pieces after Maddie died.”
“Oh, it wasn’t nothin’ at all! You know I was glad to help and it kept my mind off havin’ lost a dear, dear friend in Maddie.”
Betty Lou, Jacob, and Willie sat quietly for a bit listening to the calming sounds of the rural Kansas night and thinking about days gone by and all they had lost, and all they still had left.
“Betty Lou and I did most of the thinkin’ about your new house since Sue figured we knew you the best,” as Willie after a while broke the silence of their thoughts. “We faced it the way the old house is, so it would kinda be like the house we had together, as a family. The day Ma died, with the sun comin’ in, your new house has that too.”
Willie looked at Jacob then in the light of the porch lamp and wondered if perhaps they did the wrong thing. Maybe it should have been different.
Then Jacob replied, “I am grateful for all you have done for me. I’m proud of you and I love you very much. I couldn’t ask for a better son. The house will be a special gift for me, knowing you put your heart into it. And you too Betty Lou, what a friend you have been over the years.”
“Well, I’m glad you came back to us. Willie and I missed you a whole lot. Now that I have finished sowing my wild oats in New York City, I’m staying for good.”
“It feels odd to me, being back here, like I am here again because there is something I need to do. Like when I came back when my ma needed me, in the end only to find myself again and all the years that were lost to me since the time I had been gone. But now, I just don’t know.
Jacob continued, “It’s been a lot of years, spent so many of them here, so many in the city. I guess I just keep runnin’ from something or to something, over and over again. Always thinking I have found what I came back here for, or what I left here for. And maybe I have, or maybe I haven’t, maybe I never will.”
“It’s alright Pa, we never quite figure things out I reckon. We just do what we believe we need to do most times.”
“And you will always know what to do when the time comes, right boys?” Betty Lou added with a wink and a smile. “It’s been good advice, Willie, for your pa for years now.” And they all laughed with that knowing that comes from being back home with the ones you love.
Read Prior Episodes of New Beginnings & Cherished Memories
Starting Over Again in Kansas. Episode 1
Nothing’s Changes. Everything’s Changes. Episode 2
Knowing What to Do When the Time Comes. Episode 3 (This one)
