STARTING ANEW
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jack gently fingered every bill in the
envelope. He had not seen this much money since that night Cal’s safe had been
open. Then there had been at least twenty times more than he held in his hands
now. But that had just been cash to Cal and had no real meaning. What he had
here was a special legacy, a one time gift from his parents, not to waste and
with which to fulfill their wishes.
He knew that each dollar represented hours of
his father’s hard work on the farm and the daily sacrifices made by his mother
over the sixteen years of their marriage.
He took the money out of the envelope and
counted it out. $1500 dollars. He sat there idly thinking what to do with it
and as he did, he turned the envelope to the other side. And he smiled. While
his mother had taught his dad how to read and write, Hank had never quite
mastered cursive writing. He saw his dad’s carefully printed block letters.
His eyes focused on the words. Apparently his
father had very clear plans for the money. He had heard his parents talk about
making the down payment on the farm, but when they died, he assumed that the
money had been destroyed as well. Yet here it was.
DOWN PAYMENT ON FARM $500
JACK’S EDUCATION $500
SAVINGS $450
SOMETHING FOR EDY $50
Jack absorbed all of this information. They
had been serious about him continuing in school. They had talked about it all
the time. He just never knew that the money was there.
“If that was as important to them as it once
was to me, then I am going to do it,” thought Jack.
With a wife, job and maybe a family, it might
take a bit longer, but what better tribute could there be to his parents.
He would take some of the money and repay
Molly as soon as they returned to Denver. He would be happy not to be in debt
to anyone. Jack decided that he too would get something special for Rose and
like his father, he would save the rest for his children’s education.
Now came the problem of getting the money
back to Denver without losing it. Jack smiled to himself.
“Rose will divorce me right away if I buy a
small safe to carry around with us.”
No, the best thing would be to go and see if
Mr. Woodward was still at the First State Bank. He had known his parents and
would know what to do.
Jack stretched out his legs and put his hands
behind his head, threading his fingers together. What a day this had been. It
had been full of pleasant surprises. From finding love and laughter at the old
farm, to discovering this magic box.
He set everything aside and took up his art
portfolio. There was so much that he wanted to get on paper from today. He
needed to release all of those images. He was sorry now that he had not let
Rose take her camera. But he had not wanted the destruction he assumed he would
find, recorded that way. He knew he could get it all down on paper. He put his
pencil to his sketchbook and began.
* * * * * * * * * *
Rose opened one eye and then the other. It
was definitely morning. She reached out her hand to the place where Jack should
have been and it was cold and empty. She sat up alarmed at first and then she
saw him. He was across the room in the chair where he had been last night. His
head was resting on his right shoulder, his hands lay limp in his lap. His eyes
were closed and his hair was hanging over his face. Around the chair were
scattered balled up pieces of paper, some old documents and pictures, several
finished drawings and most unbelievably, an envelope of money. She didn’t know
what to think.
Her stomach churned a bit as she got out of
bed. Everyday now she was more and more sure that she was with child. But now
after asking Jack a few leading questions, she was not afraid to tell him.
Another few days, just to make sure and she would. It was 11 days now since
things should have started. And she was going through all this unpleasantness
almost every morning. If she didn’t tell him soon, he’d suspect it anyway.
Rose walked over to Jack, carefully stepping
over the mess on the floor. She kissed the top of his head and carefully picked
up his drawings. There were four. Anders and Amanda playing with Oscar, Jack as
she had found him at the grave, a couple standing on the hill, looking off into
the distance…his parents, and she herself holding Oscar. As usual Jack’s
drawings were filled with rich details and the figures came to life on the
pages before her.
She held the drawings to her chest and
thought about how truly happy she was for Jack.
“I think he was finally able to put this all
behind him yesterday,” she thought.
She realized now that Jack was a very complex
person. Outwardly, he seemed so strong, always displaying confidence and
optimism. He was extremely kind and gentle and had an almost uncanny sense of
knowing what people around him were thinking. And, he was much more sensitive
than he let on. If she had not seen him yesterday, she would never have
believed that her strong, competent Jack, could also be so vulnerable. She had
wished that she could have taken some of his pain away.
“I rely so much on him to take care of me. I
am glad that I could comfort him for a change,” Rose whispered softly to
herself.
Rose smiled and touched his hair again. She
loved him and knew she was so lucky. Soon now, she would tell him about the
baby. And that would ease her burden a little. Together they could share the
worries and concerns of bringing a child into the world.
She tore off a little piece of paper from his
sketchbook and wrote,
"JACK, I LOVE YOU. WENT TO GET READY. BE
BACK SOON. LOVE, ROSE."