Picket Fences! Part 44

Picket Fences! Part 44



"Are you kin to the Sawyer who lives over on Shadetree Lane?", asked Jimmy.

"I don't rightly know. I could be", said Ryan.



Jimmy asked Ryan to join him for a cup of coffee in the kitchen.



"Where are you from Ryan?"



"I've been moving around so much, I can't really say", said Ryan, "My mother use to live here in Buford Falls or so I was told."


"What's her name?", asked Jimmy.

"Grace Sawyer . . . you know her?", he asked.

"My parents probably did. Grace has been dead almost twenty years", said Jimmy.

"Oh yeah, I imagine she would be. More time has passed than I realized", said Ryan.



Ryan thanked Jimmy for the information and for the coffee. Then he left to go back to his place.



At Claudia's house the following Saturday everything was ready for Noah's birthday party. The birthday cake was baked, the ballons were inflated and the guests had arrived.



Noah came to his birthday cake.



He made a wish, blew out the candles and cheered.



Claudia twirled a clapper and Shannan watched. . .



Rhys and Kevin blew the birthday horns. . .



Jonathan held Sean. . .



And Nathan held Scott while they watched . . .



As Noah started to grow up.



Then he grew up into a cute teenager.



Claudia gave Noah a birthday hug.



Rhys gave him a hug.



Then Noah asked Rhys to play Punch U-Punch Me.



"I can hardly believe Noah's a teenager already. It doesn't seem like that long ago he was born", said Shannan.

"With the kids growing up so fast, it makes you feel old", said Jonathan.

"Speak for yourself old man. I'm just getting started with the twins", said Shannan.



Shannan picked up Sean and . . .



Sit down beside Claudia.

"You know, when Noah was born, I never thought for a minute that Rhys would stick by you this long. He surprised me", said Shannan.

"He kinda surprised me, too", said Claudia.



Noah and Nathan were sitting together.

"It must be boss to be able to live on a houseboat", said Noah.

"Yeah, but ever since the ankle biters was born it's been a little hectic", said Nathan,"My dad ain't got much free time anymore."



"You mean time for you. Maybe it'll be better after the twins get old enough to start school. You ain't got much longer before you grow up into an adult anyway. Then you can move to your own place if things don't improve", said Noah.



"Yeah, you're right", said Nathan.



Rhys and Claudia were sitting together.

"Can I stay over tonight?", asked Rhys.

"Yes, if you want to", said Claudia.



"Noah wants to go back to my place with Ryan tonight. Will that be alright with you?", asked Rhys.

"Sure, he likes spending time with his brothers", she said.



"You want to go to my place with me and Noah?", Ryan asked Kevin.

"I would, but I guess I'll go on home tonight", said Kevin.

"That's cool", said Ryan.



"Arlene and Jimmy are having a birthday party for their son tomorrow. With him being my nephew and all, I should go with the folks", said Kevin.

"Yeah, duty calls, right?", said Ryan.



"Claudia, are you happy with the way things are between you and Rhys?", asked Shannan.

"You know as well as I do, that I'd like to get married. But I know that isn't going to happen with Rhys. So if this is the only way I can have him, then I'm happy with that", she said.



"I enjoyed it. We'll have to get together again soon", said Shannan.

"Yes, we will", said Claudia.



After all the others had left, Claudia asked Rhys, "Everybody's gone home. You want to go inside and get comfortable?"

"Does that include relaxing on your bed?", asked Rhys.

"That might be part of it", she said.



Then she gave him a tender kiss before going inside.



Claudia relaxed on her bed and Rhys joined her.

"Ain't that my good white shirt?", he asked.

"You left it here the last time we had a sleepover, so it's mine now. ", she said.



"You can keep it. It looks better on you than it does me", he said.

"Thank you, but I had no intentions of returning it anyway", she teased.



"The other day, Kevin asked me if I was his dad", said Rhys.

"What did you tell him?", she asked.

"I told him the truth. It won't no need to keep it from him no longer", said Rhys.



Then he gave her a romantic kiss.



They madeout.



"Can we do woo hoo now?", he asked.



And Claudia said YES!



"I love you Rhys", she said.



"Yeah, I know you do Claudia", said Rhys.



Then they both went to sleep.



Rhys woke up during the night and was lounging on the bedroom bench.



Claudia woke up and went over to him.

"Rhys, is there something bothering you?", she asked.



"I couldn't sleep", he said, "Go on back to bed."



"I'm a good listener, if you need to talk about anything", she said.



"Claudia, what am I suppose to do when I get old? Ain't no women gonna want to do woo hoo with an old man", said Rhys.



"You still have quite a few years before you need to worry about that. And I'm sure you're be just as sexty and desirable when you're an elder as you are now", said Claudia.



"Yeah, you're right. I don't have to stop living just because I'm getting a little older", said Rhys.



"I ain't dead yet", he said.



"No, you're definitely NOT dead", she said.



"Thank you Claudia. Talking to you helped me a lot", said Rhys, "I'll send Noah home this afternoon, but first I'm going to tell him and Ryan that Kevin is their brother. It's about time they all knew."



Then Rhys left to go home with a new outlook on life.



Later that morning downtown at the Office Of Records . . .. . .





Ryan Sawyer has come seeking information about his mother Grace.



He walked into the office and asked the clerk "Could you help me, please?"



"Yes sir, what can I do for you?", she asked.

"I need to see the certificate of death for Miss Grace Sawyer", he said.

"All the town records are over there in that cabinet. Just sign the book before you take any out", she said.



He signed the open book on top of the cabinet . . .



He found Grace's file and sit down to read. It listed her birthdate, date of death, her address and where she was buried.



He placed the file back in the cabinet and thanked the clerk.



Ryan sit on the bench in front of the building. Jake the barber sit down beside him.

"I haven't seen you around town before. Did you move to Buford Falls recently or are you just visiting?", asked Jake.

"I'm visiting at the moment. Can you give me directions to Buford Falls Church . . . well, actually the cemetary", said Ryan.



"Sure, it isn't too far from here. You go left, up two blocks and you'll see it. The cemetary is right beside the church. You can't miss it", said Jake.



"Thanks for your help", he told Jake.



Then Ryan left in the direction Jake had said he would find the church.



He walked up two blocks and the church came into view at the end of the street and he saw the cemetary right beside it.



He found Grace's tombstone with the baby angels carved on it. It saddened him to see his mother's final resting place, but he couldn't mourn someone he never knew.



Ryan turned around when he heard someone say "Can I help you?"

The voice came from a well-dressed, elderly gentleman, he presumed to be the pastor of the church.



"Thanks, but I already found what I came here for", said Ryan.

"Were you and Grace friends?", asked Rev. Woods.

"No, I never had the pleasure of meeting her", said Ryan.



"That's too bad. She was a wonderful lady", said the pastor.



"Did you know my mother well", said Ryan.

"Grace . . . was your mother?", said the pastor.

"Yeah, but in name only. It's a long story", said Ryan.

"Let's sit down and you can tell me, if you'd like", he said.



"Well, you see, when my mother found out she was expecting a baby by some good-for-nothing fellow here in Buford Falls and he didn't want to marry her. She came to her brother's farm in Pleasentview, where I was born. George and his wife Nora couldn't have childern of their own, so Grace let them have me. Nobody in town knew that Grace had given birth to me. They thought Nora and George had finally been able to have a child", said Ryan.


"I'm sure Grace must have thought she was doing the best thing for you at the time", said the pastor.

"Yeah, I guess she did. But George and Nora were both elders by the time I became a teenager and they died soon after I became an adult. They left me the farm, but I lost it during the depression", he said.

"When did you find out Grace was your mother and they weren't your real parents", asked the pastor.

"They left a letter with their lawyer explaining everything. It said that George's younger sister Grace was my mother. I didn't try to find her back then because I figured she wouldn't want to be reminded of that time in her life", said Ryan, "But now I wish I had tried to find her and gotten to know her before she died. "



"I think we all have things we've done in the past that we wish we could go back and do over", said the pastor.

"To be sure, YOU haven't ever done anything like that", said Ryan.



"Son, I'm that good-for-nothing fellow who loved Grace, but couldn't marry her. I was already married to a woman I didn't love and Grace didn't tell me she was expecting my child", said the pastor.



"So YOU . . . you're my father! I'm the son of a preacher", said Ryan.

To be continued . . .