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- The Cornerstone
– Part 3
-
- Last time:
-
- “How’s Asa?”
-
- “I don’t know.
I visit him and he just stares at me. Renee is with him night
and day. Clint’s coming in. I have no idea if he’s
faking or not. The doctors don’t know either right now.”
-
- Nora rubbed his arm. Bo felt
a chill run through him at her touch.
-
- “Matt and I will go
visit with him.”
-
- Bo smiled. “That’d
be great. Thanks.”
-
- “Sure.”
-
- “Goodnight, Nora.”
-
- “’Night, Bo.”
-
- ****
- The cool fall air chilled
him to his bones. His mother would be mad at him for not wearing
a jacket or a sweatshirt. He balanced his bicycle on the sidewalk
and just stared. He had to come back on his own after their ride-by.
-
- The house was red on the
outside sort of like his mom’s hair. It had lots of windows.
The backyard had lots of trees and a swing set. A big two car
garage was at the end of the driveway. He imagined which room
used to be his and the room he would have grown up in. He knew
his dad didn’t live with them here, but for a moment, he
pretended he did. He pretended they were a happy family and he
was never lied to by Sam.
-
- “Can I help you, son?”
the man asked.
-
- “No, just looking”
Matt replied.
-
- The man, carrying a briefcase,
started to walk up the driveway obviously returning home after
his day at work. “Are you sure you’re not lost?”
-
- “No, I used to live
here.”
-
- The man perked up. “Really?
It’s a great house. Are you a Buchanan?”
-
- “Yes.”
-
- “Nice family.”
-
- “Yeah, thanks. I have
to go.”
-
- Matt turned and rode away
knowing he would be back.
-
- ****
- He met up with his friend
Stevie to play a game of soccer.
-
- “Did you find it yet?”
Stevie asked as Matt continued to rummage through the hall closet
looking for the soccer ball.
-
- “No!”
-
- But there it was again. Matt’s
hand brushed against something rough at the back of the closet.
He knew what it was…it was the other half of the cornerstone.
His mother had kept it.
-
- “What’s that?”
Stevie asked.
-
- “It’s a cornerstone.
It’s from the foundation of my old house. My dad told me!”
-
- Stevie made a face. “But
why is it in the closet? Won’t the house fall down without
it?”
-
- “No! Don’t you
know anything? One little brick won’t make the house fall
down!”
-
- “Whatever! Where’s
the ball?” Stevie whined.
-
- “I’ll get it! I’ll
get it!” Matt was getting more annoyed by the minute by
his best friend.
-
- “Maybe it’s in
my closet.”
-
- Matthew ran upstairs to his
room with Nora’s half of the cornerstone in hand. He very
gently placed it in one of his dresser drawers and covered it
with his socks protecting it like an animal protects their young.
- He then proceeded to search
for the soccer ball in his closet and was successful.
-
- “I found it!” he
shouted.
-
- He and Stevie hurried to
the backyard to play before it got too dark.
-
- ****
- Nora sat at the desk in her
home office. She had no intentions of seeing Daniel and knew
she could work from home. She could not get her “talk”
with Bo out of her mind or the general sadness about him. It
was haunting.
-
- The buzz of the clothes dryer
snapped her back to reality. She dumped the whites into the laundry
basket and headed to Matt’s room. Normally, one of Matt’s
chores was to put away his laundry but today she thought she
would do it, if only to serve as a distraction from thinking
about Bo.
-
- She folded his socks neatly
only to find his sock drawer a mess when she opened it. “Like
father, like son” she laughed. As she placed the socks in
the drawer her hand felt the hard lump toward the back of the
drawer. She moved some of the socks and found the cornerstone.
-
- “What in the world?”
-
- “Hi, mom!”
-
- “Matthew, what are you
doing with this?” she asked, holding out the cornerstone
for him to see. She didn’t try to hide the fact that it
looked like she was snooping.
-
- “What are you doing?”
Matt questioned his mother.
-
- “I’m putting away
your socks.”
-
- “But you’re not
supposed to. I do that!” Matthew said emphatically.
-
- “Well today I thought
I would be nice and do it for you. Where did you find this?”
-
- “In the closet downstairs
while I was looking for my soccer ball.”
-
- “Why did you bring it
to your room and hide it? Do you even know what this is?”
-
- “Why are you hiding
it?” Matt asked.
-
- “I’m not.”
Nora replied. “It’s a memento.”
-
- “I know what it is.”
Matt replied proudly.
-
- “And how do you know
that?”
-
- “Um…” Matt
thought back to his dad’s request not to share their conversation.
“It’s a brick!” was all he could come up with,
not wanting to break his father’s trust.
-
- Nora smiled. He reminded
her so much of Bo that she had to laugh sometimes. How did she
never see it before last year!
-
- “It’s a special
brick to me and I want to keep it, okay?”
-
- “I know! That’s
why I protected it in my socks, like a nest!”
-
- “I saw that. How do
you know it’s special to me?”
-
- “I just…thought
it was…” he stammered.
-
- Nora knew something was up.
More than he was willing to tell. But, not wanting to get into
specifics herself, she let it go.
-
- “Well, I’m going
to keep it in my bedroom, okay?”
-
- “Sure, mom. Sorry.”
-
- “It’s okay, sweetie.
Next time, just ask!”
-
- “Okay.”
-
- ****
- “Llanview Police Department,
how may I direct your call?” Marcie asked.
-
- “Hi, Marcie. It’s
Nora Buchanan. Is the Commissioner in?”
-
- “He sure is. I’ll
put you through.”
-
- “Thanks, Marcie.”
-
- “Commissioner, Mrs.
Buchanan is on the line. Um, I mean Nora….or A.D.A. Buchanan”
with the state of their relationship, Marcie didn’t know
how to address Nora these days.
-
- “Thank you, Marcie”
was all Bo said.
-
- “What’s up, Nora?”
-
- “Hi, Bo. I’m calling
to invite you for dinner tonight with us. Nothing fancy, just
pizza. How ‘bout it?”
-
- Bo thought for just a split
second “Sure, sounds great.”
-
- “Okay, be here around
7:00.”
-
- “I’ll be there.
Thanks.”
-
- “See ya later!”
-
- After enjoying a great evening
together of pizza and movies, Bo and Nora tucked Matthew in.
-
- “It’s way past
your bedtime, sweetie” Nora said as Matthew let out a big
yawn.
-
- Nora kissed him goodnight.
-
- Then it was Bo’s turn.
“’Night dad, I love you.”
-
- “I love you too, Matt”
Bo kissed him.
-
- “Love you too, mom.”
-
- “I love you too, honey.
Goodnight. Sweet dreams.”
-
- “Oh I will mom. Having
you guys with me is the best dream ever!”
-
- Bo and Nora looked at each
other shyly. They turned out the lights and softly closed his
door.
-
- Bo wished he could take Nora’s
hand as they went down the stairs. Under “normal” circumstances
it would have been second nature.
-
- “He’s such a great
kid. You really did a great job with him, Nora.”
-
- Nora smiled proudly. “Thank
you, Bo. And now I have you to help me. Matthew loves you so
much. I hope you realize that.”
-
- “I do. It’s just
the best feeling. Some days I still can’t believe it.”
-
- “Me either. Um, would
you like some more coffee?”
-
- “Sure that would be
great” Bo replied.
-
- He didn’t want the evening
to end. He rested his head against the sofa. When Nora returned
she thought he was asleep.
-
- “Bo?” she asked,
quietly.
-
- “I’m awake. Just
resting my eyes” he smiled.
-
- “I have something I
need to tell you.”
-
- “What’s up?”
-
- “Matthew found the cornerstone
from the old house.”
-
- “He told you?”
-
- “No, I found it in his
sock drawer.”
-
- “He took it?”
-
- “Well, it was in the
closet.”
-
- “I know.”
-
- Nora shook her head in confusion.
“No…wait. How did you know it was in my closet?”
-
- “It was in my closet”
Bo stated.
-
- “He found yours, too?
No wonder he was acting so strange about it when I asked him.”
-
- Bo started to laugh. “I
think we need to start over.”
-
- Nora went on to explain the
situation more clearly and Bo told Nora his story.
-
- “How did you handle
it?” Nora asked.
-
- “Well, I simply said
that you and I loved the old house and I wanted something to
remember it by. I didn’t know if you had kept your half.”
-
- “Of course I did! I
love the old barn….well, loved.”
-
- Bo smiled “Yeah me too.
I even drove Matt by it so he could see it.”
-
- “Really? He didn’t
tell me.”
-
- “I asked him not to.”
-
- “Why?”
-
- “I didn’t want
you to think I was silly or sentimental or anything like that.”
-
- “Bo, don’t be ridiculous!
I know you are,” she said with a sincere smile.
-
- Bo laughed. “Thanks.”
-
- “I drive by the house
all the time.”
-
- “You do?”
-
- “Yes, I do.”
-
- “At least the new owners
have kept it up. It still looks great.”
-
- “It sure does.”
-
- “Well, it’s almost
midnight. Time to call it a night.”
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