Another Deception (9 page)

“Hang on.”

     Putting his finger to his lips, Jacks got up and went to the door to see if the women were still in the other room, then turned and went back pulling his chair closer to Dwight’s before sitting back down.

“No way!
I had to tell Honey that I was leaving it alone because I do not want to endanger her either. Those two almost did not make it last time and I will do whatever it takes to keep them safe and far away from Asa. I am glad to see you feel the same for I do have a plan…sort of.”                                 

10

    
H
idey thought he might spot Jean again and looked for her whenever he went into town. When he did not, he thought it just as well since she would be leaving soon anyway. He determined in his heart that the only reason he took notice of her in the first place, was the hair she wore like a bright copper crown, which had beckoned to him through the trees the day he followed her.

     Therefore, when he got home one day from running errands, he was surprised when
Romona
told him she had a visitor while he was gone. She was excited, for company was scarce and she enjoyed a good visit from almost anyone. He was more surprised when she told him it was Jean.

“You are joking with me, I know, huh?”

     No way did she show up here after he gave up on seeing her again!

    
Romona
turned away from him, so he did not see the twinkle in her eyes, busying herself at the kitchen sink
while he asked,

“
How did she come to be here? There must be a reason.” 

   
Romona
slung her dishtowel over one shoulder and turned to face him, taking on a stern look.

“Oh, just why wouldn’t a vibrant young woman like her come calling on an old woman like me? Well I will tell you….” 

    Suddenly, she started laughing at the woebegone look on her grandson’s face. Confused, Hidey turned and walked away. He had a big job for the local gold shop downtown and wanted to get started.

“Wait Hidey, I’m sorry. I won’t tease you anymore, come back.”

    He turned around,

“Granny, I have
work
to do. I hope you had a nice time but it really is none of my concern. Obviously though, she took me up on my invitation to visit you.”  

    Walking back over to
Romona
long enough to give her a kiss, he pondered further,

“I did tell her where the house was and that you loved company.”

“Well, you can’t blame me for having a little fun with you, but the fact is, her car broke down just down the road and she walked here to wait for Sam to come with the tow truck. We did have a nice visit though and I won’t be surprised if we don’t see her again.”

    Hidey changing his mind about work, instead pulled a chair out from the table, and sat down. His annoyance subsided and curiosity was taking over. “Granny, did you talk about me and tell the truth.” It made him feel funny to know that Jean and his granny had a nice long chat and maybe some of it about him, as his granny did have a habit of telling tales about his childhood.

   
Romona
turned a burner down on the stove and joined him at the table.         

    She brought two cups of coffee with her. Sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and talking about their day was something she used to do with her sweet husband when he was alive and she relished that Hidey always took time to sit and do the same. She was sorry for teasing him about Jean, but old habits were hard to change, as she always was a prankster.

“We might have mentioned you a time or two…but, it was all good! Well, mostly anyway. I might have told her about the time that bear chased you up a tree, but that was just so she would be careful out in the woods. Some visitors don’t even realize we got bear up here.”

     Hidey sighed. Shaking his head at
Romona
, he hoped hard she had not told that entire story.

“Did you know she is a writer?”

“I think
Romona
mentioned something about that.”

“Well, it turns out that I have actually read her very first book! I still have it somewhere. You know I never get rid of a good book. Anyway, when I saw her, she looked so familiar and that was it. Her picture is on the back of her book and who could ever forget that head of hair?”

     Hidey was thinking about the two books he had snitched from her stack to level his bed, making a mental note to himself to check and make sure one was not that book.

“Right, I see the car is gone, so I guess that means Sam took it to the shop. I suppose he took her home too?”

“No, I did.”

“Granny, you have no business behind the wheel of a vehicle! Doc Werner said it was too dangerous! What if you had of had one of your black outs?”

“Calm down, it was just a mile, more or less, and I am fine, am I not? Okay, I will promise not to drive without you, but then however will I return this book she loaned me, when I finish it?”

      She got up and going out of the room, returned with a book in hand.

“I am so excited, it is a sequel to the one I already have. See, the back has her picture.”

      Hidey reached out to take it from her extended hand. Flipping through the pages, he then turned it to the backside and found himself staring into intense blue eyes. The head full of wild curly hair was in a more demure style and she looked very professional, not at all, like when he had seen her. He felt a little intimidated but he also felt the stirring something else. Something he could not pinpoint. He handed the book back to
Romona
and stood.

“Where are you going, aren’t you hungry?”

“Uh, yes ma’am I am, but I need to check my email before dinner.”

“Okay dear, we will eat whenever you want because I had a snack with Jean and I am not very hungry yet.”

     Hidey headed up the stairs to his room. He was almost sure that he had seen a book with Jean’s picture on it and even more sure it now was under the right leg of his bed doing a good job of solving his wobbling problem. No wonder he felt drawn to her, she was a familiar face to him.

     Pulling the two books out from under the leg of his bed, he moaned.

“This is crazy bad!”

     There was a dent right in the face of the redheaded author. Of all the books that his granny owned, he just had to pick this one to fix his bed. Instead of going right back downstairs, he lay on his bed and began to read.

11

    
B
ecause Sang-mi’s husband was not of Korean descent, they brought their children up more Western than Eastern. Sang-mi was proud of her heritage but she embraced the laws and traditions of her new country and encouraged her children to do the same.

     Her own country was war torn when she escaped and it was years before she had the desire to return for a visit. At the age of thirteen, she left behind no known living relatives and no good memories. When she had paid her visit to her homeland, she felt no emotional attachment whatsoever. Because of this, hers was not a traditional Korean funeral, with the exception of the procession on foot to the cemetery the last few blocks, led by one select relative who sang in a deep and mournful tone followed by the closest family members, other relatives, and then friends. Jacks’ and Honey placed with the closer relatives and treated with the respect Sang-mi would have wished. Though Jacks entered her life as an older teen and was in and out of it for years, she still thought of him as one of her own. 

    He was also attorney for her estate and the day after the funeral, the family gathered at her house for the reading of the will

There were no surprises and it was a fair division of all the properties, but had there not been, there would have been no quarreling. It just was not their way. She would have included Jacks in the will had he not vehemently protested so all that he received was a sealed letter, not to be opened until he was alone. A letter was the one thing she could give him, which he could not refuse. At the unanimous nods of her children, and an understanding look from his wife, he placed the envelope in his jacket pocket for a later time. He was always touched at her children’s reaction to the special relationship between him and their mother. He did not know the rest of the family but the absence of any resentment was a real testimony to the little Korean woman who reared her children to be above such pettiness.  

     In retrospect of being therapist to many children brought up in dysfunctional homes, Honey admired the way this family pulled together with virtually no effort, intrigued by the honest love between them, making a mental note to have some in-depth conversations with more than one of the female relatives. All of her adult life she had studied the working of the human mind and now after everything, she had to admit she knew nothing about people, until she was saved and started knowing the Lord.

   The family of Sang-mi spent one last night together after the reading of the will in remembrance of their beloved Mother and Grandmother.

    Had they been the traditional Korean family, the mourning would have lasted longer and been soulfully louder.

      It was one custom, which Sang-mi demanded not practiced right along with the one of tying the hands and feet in death.

     It was a tearful evening, for some family members would be returning to far away homes and her eldest son, a career Marine, would return to Afghanistan where he was serving his third tour. This had been a bittersweet reunion, which
would likely only be repeated
at the next funeral.

    The next day, family by family left Sang-mi’s house for the last time. Jacks and Honey observed each departure, touched at how each individual down to the youngest child stopped outside the gate giving a final deep bow to the matriarch of their family.

    The last of Sang-mi’s family and relatives had all gone, but for the lone woman who was her sister in law, as they were married to brothers who both died in the Viet Nam war. Neither woman ever remarried. It was Anna, to whom Sang-mi left the house and restaurant. She was not Korean by birth, but no one could have been a better sister and confidant to Sang-mi, than Anna. They worked many years side by side and Anna would carry on as sole owner now that Sang-mi was gone.

    She assured Jacks and Honey that they would always be welcome at any time. She truly hoped they would still visit and stay in touch. She was not as close to Jacks as Sang-mi was, but she had come to think of him as family. She clung to them when the time came to leave, reluctant to let the last link to Sang-mi go.

She watched as the two of them stopped outside the gate for their own farewell bow to Sang-mi. Her eyes were full of tears and she already felt the loneliness begin to creep throughout her body.

     She started back in but the sound of tires screeching and a horn
blowing,
caused her to turn. She let out a scream as she ran toward where Jacks and Honey lay only feet apart. Honey in a tangled heap in the street, Jacks laid half on and half off the sidewalk. The midsized car kept going and Anna wanted to run after it, but instead grabbed the phone thrown from Jacks’ pocket and dialed 911.
Jacks was
trying to move while Honey lay frightfully still.