A Life for a Life by Lynda McDaniel (best selling autobiographies .txt) đ
- Author: Lynda McDaniel
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I wondered what sheâd say about my new clothes. I didnât think about how she might be hurt I didnât ask her to go with me. Sheâd been picking out my clothes for almost sixteen year. But I used my own money, and Alex was who I wanted to come along and help.
I couldnât sit still. I needed to get out and go somewhere to enjoy the spring weather.
Fortunately, Billieâs schedule jibed with my mood; she was working the store that day. I decided a drive over to Elbertâs would boost my spirits. He lived in a particularly idyllic valley, and there was something special about that household of four generations of women and girlsâfrom his grandbaby and two daughters to his wife and mother. I thanked Billie and headed outside. Abit was in his chair, back after spending some time with Alex, doing goodness knows what. He looked at me hopefully.
âHey, we need more honey. Want to go to Elbertâs?â I asked and then added, âOn the clock.â
He sprang off his chair and jumped into the truck. We didnât talk much on the drive. By then, weâd grown comfortable enough in each otherâs presence, words werenât necessary. As soon as we hit the driveway, Elbert came out on the porch. âCome on in,â he said, waving at us in the car. âI know it looks like weâre moving, but weâre not going nowhere. Weâre here to stay.â
âWhy does he say that every time? We know he ainât going nowhere,â Abit said, annoyed.
âAnywhere. And isnât. And itâs just his way of saying howdy. That and making excuses in case I might judge the looks of his front porch. I couldnât care less, but people tend to think that since Iâm not from around here, I look down on your ways.â
âIâm glad youâre not from round here.â
âCome on, now, youâre the one who blamed me for not liking folks. What about Cleva and Duane and Mary Lou? And donât forget Wilkie and the Ledfords and Elbert. And there are others.â
âOh, yeah? Name them.â
I paused for a moment. âOkay, letâs not keep Elbert waiting.â
ââââââââ
Back at the store, I unpacked the honey and noticed a couple of jars in one case were cracked. I didnât think weâd broken them on the way home, but I wasnât about to haggle with Elbert over five dollars. Still, a customer had ordered a case, so I needed a full case for him and one for the store. While Billie was working, I drove back to Elbertâs on my own.
We went through the same routine, as though I hadnât just been there. He apologized and wanted to give me the jars for free. I thought of all the blackberries, applesauce, and pickles Iâd come home with over the past year, and I insisted on paying. While Elbert rummaged around on his porch for some newspapersââIâm gonna wrap them jars good this timeââI killed some time picking through a pile of books on the front porch. Several tattered books lay on top, but one caught my eye: a travel guide to the North Carolina mountains. I needed another book like that, so when Elbert was finished wrapping, I asked if I could buy it.
âOh, Iâll just throw that in for your trouble. I found that at the dump the other day, and it seemed too good to leave behind. Same with them other books. Take anything you want.â
âThanks, Elbert. And thanks again for all the berries and beans and such.â He just waved me off as though they were nothing. I shook my head, thinking how valuable they were to meâand how much work went into preserving them.
When I drove up to the store, Abitâs chair was empty. Good for himâoff with Alex again, most likely, but I wondered where since Alexâs car was in the parking lot. No other cars were in the lot, so I told Billie to go on home early, before the school bus dropped off her kids.
I settled in with a cup of tea and picked up my new travel guide. Our region was filled with beautiful Arts & Craft-era hotels, cabins, and outposts, many of which I hadnât even heard of. As I leafed through the book, I scanned the notes in the margins from the previous owner. I found a cafĂ© outside of Asheville I wanted to go to, maybe before Alex left again.
Speaking of the devil, he walked into the store and grabbed a cold lemonade. I set the book down with a niggling feeling, something I couldnât quite place. Alex put a five-dollar bill on the counter, and as I made change, I asked where heâd been.
âAbit wanted to show me his hubcap collection. Itâs really impressive. I told him if he ever wanted to sell it, I could find some folks in Virginia whoâd pay top dollar.â
âI hope Vester didnât hear you. Heâs always trying to clear that out.â
âActually, he was with us in the barn. He did perk up when I mentioned sales, but he said something about holding on to them so the value would go up even more.â
âHeâs coming around, I think. He was almost friendly at our impromptu picnic.â
âThatâs because we were all feeling so friendly,â he said, standing behind me and putting his arms around me.
âSo when are you going back to D.C.?â
âTrying to get rid of me?â
âNot really, just wondering.â
âSoon,â he said, âbut not for a day or two more. And I want to come back next month. You didnât tell me Abitâs sixteenth birthday was coming up. I canât miss that.â
âDid you two cook anything up?â
âNot yet. He said his folks always had cake and ice cream, but I think we should try for something special. Either way, Abit told me his folks agreed to his inviting us this year.â
âI believe youâve started to win them over. Iâm grateful.â
âHow grateful?â
âJust good friend grateful,â I said, wiggling out of his arms.
Alex went up to the apartment to feed Jake and start dinner. Heâd taken on a new challenge: making dinner from store ingredients that needed to be used. That seemed to spark his creativity. His chicken Marsala the other night rivaled Oscarâs in D.C.
I picked up the book again and looked for the copyright page. Guidebooks went out of date so fast, I didnât want to bother with something from even just three or four years ago. I was surprised, given its appearance, that it was copyrighted last year. Of course, a trip to the county dump could do that. I noticed a dog-eared page just past the copyright page, a once-blank page that had been filled with a neat list of notes. And thatâs when it clicked. The notes in the margin and on that page were in Lucyâs handwritingâmostly driving directions to Laurel Falls and some places she wanted to visit.
I also noticed that the book kept opening at a certain spot, and when I let it, I saw where ten or so pages had been ripped out. The last page before the tear was about Asheville, and the first page after the tear featured Jefferson and the Ashe County Courthouse. It was obvious that our region had been removed, but I was curious about exactly what was on those pages. I didnât know what that might tell me, but it seemed important to find out. Had Lucy removed them for easier handling, or had someone else removed those pages because of something in them?
On Sunday morning over breakfastâAlex made waffles topped with fresh strawberriesâwe talked about driving to Boone, the nearest city with a decent bookstore that would likely stock the guidebook. We cleared the dishes and headed downstairs, Jake in the lead. Abit stood up to greet Jake, avoiding the usual collision.
âHey, Mister, whatcha up to?â
âNothinâ.â He looked so glum I didnât dare look at Alex, or Iâdâve started laughing. I loved that boy, man, whatever, but he did pitiful so well, it was hard to keep a straight face.
âWant to go to Boone?â
âI ainât ever been there!â
âWell, stop saying ainât, and weâll take you,â Alex said. âAnd be sure to wear some of your fine new duds.â
âBut first ask your mother,â I added.
He ran up the steps like a boy and came back down looking ten years older.
âWhen are we going to get there?â
Alex and Della looked back at me, both of them frowning like a hoot owl. I started laughing. âIâve never said that before. Hell, Iâve never really been anywhere,â I told them, âbut Iâve seen that on TV shows, the way kids was always asking that on car trips.â Alex gave me a thumbs up, and we was all laughing by then, so I doubted they heard me add, âIf it were up to me, we could keep on driving forever.â
As we rode along, I asked Alex all kinds of questions about his life in D.C. Unlike Della, he was a real talker. He told me about some of the parks and museums. And he mentioned that prize and the trouble he got into because of some mistake. Iâd heard Della mention it before, and I think it musta weighed heavy on him. He told me heâd tell me about that another time, which was music to my ears. Another time. I didnât like him at first, but I was probably kinda jealous. I was getting to like him almost as much as Della.
âWhen are you going back?â I asked, hoping heâd stay a while longer.
âHa! Thatâs some way to put it, Abit. Let me tell you something about wordsmithingâwhen talking to people, try putting things positively. As in âHow long are you staying?ââ
I felt a hot flush come over me. I didnât know if I was mad or embarrassed, likely both. He looked at me in the rearview mirror and musta seen it. I could feel how red my face was.
âHey, Abit. Iâm sorry. I can get pretty pompous sometimes. Just ask Della.â
She turned round and smiled at me, like she knew how I felt. I pouted for a few minutes, but then I decided not to ruin such a good day over something like that. And, besides, he had a point.
âItâs just that I want to stay more than I want to go back,â he said after a while. âApology accepted?â
I decided heâd meant it. I nodded. We rode along, quiet-like for a while, but then it all blew over, like weâd rolled down the
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