by Sandi
H
Disclaimer: The characters and
situations of the TV program "Big Valley" are the creations of Four
Star/Republic Pictures and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended by the
author. The ideas expressed in this
story are copyrighted to the author.
The new day held promise as dawn’s early rays crept
through the open window. Its fingers
caressing Jarrod’s shoulders and face on its way to presenting another
beautiful spring day.
Not welcoming the tentacles of warmth, Jarrod Barkley
rolled onto his side pulling his quilt over his head to blot out the persistent
light that was calling him to awaken.
Awaken to a day that should have ushered in celebration. Awaken to a day that should have meant
togetherness. Tenderness. Instead, this day only beckoned sorrow.
It’s our day, my Love.
One year ago, I took you as my wife.
To love and to cherish until death do us part.
Jarrod pulled the quilt up tighter over his head and
shivered though the rays of daylight were warm.
“Until death do us part,” he whispered as a lone tear
escaped from his eye and rolled down his cheek and ran into his ear.
The chime of the grandfather clock in the parlor drifted
upstairs and forced Jarrod’s head to appear from out of his dark cave. “Eight
o’clock,” he sighed pulling himself out of bed. Knowing his 10:00 appointment with the Harris brothers to settle
their land deal wouldn’t wait was enough impetus to move him into the day.
Breakfast was served with the whole Barkley family in
attendance. Jarrod picked at his food
as he absent-mindedly listened to his two brothers arguing over a planned grain
purchase.
“Now Nick, we don’t need that much grain,” Heath
contended. “And besides, we’re not
getting the best price.”
“Now you hold on there Heath,” stormed Nick in his typical
hotheaded manner. “I’ve personally made
this deal with Lester Tyson and he assured me that with us buying in bulk, we
ARE getting the BEST price and that it can’t be beat.”
“I don’t know Nick.
Say what you will but it seems to me that Lester tends to pick his crop
short of it being ripe just so he can get it to market first. Besides, you know that when the grain is
harvested early, there’s more chance of getting weeds mixed with the
grain. You just can’t tell the
difference at that stage. What I’m saying Nick is the great deal you THINK
you’re getting may be NO deal at all.”
“Jarrod, will you listen to that,” bellowed Nick turning
to address his oldest brother. “Now
Heath here, he…” the agitated cowboy broke off, seeing that Jarrod was miles
away in thought. “What the devil! Jarrod, have you heard anything that has
transpired here since you sat down?”
“Huh? Oh yes,”
Jarrod replied being jolted out of his own thoughts. “Um, you and brother Heath here are having a disagreement over a
grain purchase. Well, I’ll let you two
have at it. I’m going to be late for an
appointment.” Jarrod placed his napkin
on the table and pushed back his chair.
“But Jarrod,” Victoria objected, noticing Jarrod’s almost
full plate. “You’ve hardly touched your breakfast. Surely your meeting can wait until you’ve had a decent start to
your day.”
“Sorry Mother, but I must get to the office. I’m meeting with an important client about a
fairly sizeable land deal. So if you’ll
all excuse me,” Jarrod requested. Turning to his Mother, he placed a kiss on
her cheek and added, “I just wasn’t feeling very hungry this morning. I’ll be all right. See you all at dinner this evening.”
With that, Jarrod moved out towards the barn and before
long, only the hooves of his horse trotting along the ground could be heard as
he rode away from the ranch on to his office in Stockton.
It was just beginning to turn dusk as Jarrod put the final
touches on the documents that would bring in a fine fee for services
rendered. He knew that his family would
be waiting dinner for him but there was still something that he just felt
compelled to do. Turning his thoughts to
his dear lovely wife, he felt a lump in his throat and a tightening in his
chest as he brought pen to paper and told his dear one his deepest thoughts.
My Dearest Beth,
It is the third of May as I celebrate my love to you. Oh my Love, how I long for you to rejoice
with me on this, our first anniversary as husband and wife.
Beth my dear one, I reach for you and you are not there. I call to you and there is no answer. My eyes search for you and see no one. You are not here. You are not here my Lady Love.
Please Beth, come back to me.
Come my Lady Love and we shall build a house. Our dream. Our
future. Yes, we will build our
home. A simple dwelling it will
be. We shall have sunshine always. Our beautiful home will have no roof. Nothing to hide the dancing light of your
eyes. Come my Beth. Let us walk along the peaceful paths to our
special place. Let the fragrance of wild
flowers fill our senses as I take you in my arms. Let me caress you with love my dear beautiful Beth.
You will not come back to me, this I know now. Ah, but you will really be with me
always. You are in a place, Beth, where
they cannot take you away. There you
shall remain forever my Love. My heart,
Beth. You will remain in my heart until
death do us part. I love you.
I love you Beth
For the second time that day, a single tear squeezed from Jarrod’s eye and weaved its way down his cheek to make its final resting place on the paper in front of him. Rising from his desk, Jarrod Barkley closed up his office and mounted Jingo. He would be home with his family for the evening meal.
The End