Grimm's Last Fairy Tale (9 page)

“I promise not to. I have known for some time who I wanted and I’m just sorry that the circumstances had to be such before I finally got to appear to you.”

“I’m not. I would face death a thousand times to be with you.”

This time it was Jacob who bowed his head and blushed.

“I’d better get back to it, I suppose. When you leave, do you just disappear from my sight but still linger and watch over me, or do you actually go somewhere else?”

“Sometimes one; sometimes the other. I do still enjoy seeing the faces of the children as they read our works. But mostly, I love to see the intent on your face as you are creating. Before you knew about your illness, I could not have come to you without an invitation. Now things are different and I feel a need to watch over you just in case. I have taken liberties in doing so, and I understand if you are upset. If you wish me to only appear to you and not silently watch over you unnoticed, I will abide by your decision.”

I don’t mind. I have gotten to the point where I can kind of sense you are here and it makes me smile. I feel safe and secure, even though you are the one to escort me from this life. That probably doesn’t make any sense, does it? I should loathe you, but I can’t. I love you too much.”

“Thank you for the privilege. I’ll just make myself invisible then?”

“I don’t think that will work. Now that I’m aware of that you are here even when you’re not visible to me, I won’t be any less distracted than if I were looking at you. Might as well make yourself comfortable. Go read a book or something.”

She found herself motivated enough to continue without distraction and typed a couple of hours before she could write no longer. As much as she was enjoying this time, it drained her emotionally.

in which a trek is begun, spontaneity is experienced, and

another gender-based altercation

is nipped in the bud

“Oh, well, I can’t speak much of that either, I’m afraid. It is sacred. But I can tell you that you will be happier and more at peace than you have ever been.”

“Yes, I suppose so. I just know that this is going to cause some disruption to my routine and I’m not looking forward to that. I’m thinking about things that might need to be accomplished before I begin.”

“Like maybe you should call your children and let them in on this?”

“Yes, I need to, but that will definitely cause a disruption. They will want me to come and live with them or they will want to come here and stay with me and, to be honest, I don’t want that. I don’t want people watching me die, particularly my children. I want to have a lovely visit with each of them and say my goodbyes. They can come at the end to see me off, but no long, lingering, painful farewells. Do you understand?”

“Completely, although I have no interaction with them, so I have little control over that. Would you like help in planning things out? We should do it in the most time-efficient way possible, do you agree?”

“Yes, but it us usually just at the end and generally it is someone from their family tree that cared very much for them. I had to negotiate for this opportunity, and I can tell you that your grandmother, Loretta, was a force to be reckoned with. She’s a feisty one!”

“She was the one that told me, ‘Margaret Naomi, they may kill you, but they won’t eat you, ‘cause you’re too tough!’ This is all very enlightening, but a lot to take in really.”

Maggie struck a contemplative pose and Jacob instinctively knew when to let her just sit and ponder.

“I want to start with the oldest and work my way down. I think that’s the right way to do it. I’m not going to let them know I’m coming either, or they’ll know something’s up and kibitz amongst themselves. I’ll just show up and swear each one to secrecy.”

“Might I suggest that you bring your laptop? That way you can work while we’re in the hotel. Will you be going straight from there to the others?”

They spent most of the day taking care of the loose ends before the trip. They engaged the neighbor to look after the furry ones. She cleaned out the refrigerator, stopped the mail and newspaper, and then Maggie packed a large bag with the things she would need for the next couple of weeks.

When the chores were complete, she loaded up the car, said a quiet prayer for safety and headed out on the open road.

She knew people must have thought her the friendliest or the looniest driver because she kept looking to the right, talking, and grinning. She was so grateful that this was transpiring in the spring. It would be so much harder in the gray starkness of winter.

It wasn’t long before Jacob was beginning to acquaint himself with the music of Maggie’s life. This was altogether the most pleasant trip Maggie had ever taken, which was pretty remarkable under the circumstance. They made about 400 miles before she felt it necessary to stop for the night and rest. She knew she couldn’t push herself too hard, though she was very anxious to see Rhiannon and her family. It had been too long since she had visited these independent children of hers. She was sorry for that fact, but could not dwell on it now.

“I was so looking forward to seeing my youngest come into her own. I want to see her graduate college and find a good man and have children of her own. She’s the only one who hasn’t completed that. She’s been through so much already.”

“Margaret, this is not a foregone conclusion. It is just a distinct possibility. You may yet live to see those things come to fruition.”

“Jacob, I know that I can’t count on anything. Everything in my life is a little more precarious than it was a month ago. I can only believe in the here and now. Tomorrow is a maybe. And death, I think, is no parenthesis.”

“E. E. Cummings. It's your favorite poem. But those words reflect his personal philosophy, not necessarily your own. You can love and admire the author without embracing all of his or her personal beliefs. I should be proof to you that there is more to come. Death is just a parenthesis. There is so much more after it. Moreover, there is no period. Eternity is life’s greatest run-on sentence, but it never actually ends.”

“Whatever you say, Jacob.”

“Oh, lady, someday you will see. And I will be there to see the look of wonderment on your pretty face when you realize it; just as I saw that same look on your face as you read my books as a child.”

Then a thought occurred to her which made her tear up.

“I know this sounds crazy. I know my children will be fine. What about my cats? Isn’t that awful? I’m worried about the cats? But, the truth is, they have been my good companions for some time now. I want to know that they’ll be cared for. I’ll have to ponder that one.”

“I knew it! I knew that if there was a Heaven that there would be animals there . . . and no allergies to them! But do you have any idea how many strays I’ve taken in through the years? Will Heaven be big enough?”

Maggie excused him, took a nice long shower and settled into the bed with the TV remote in her clutches. She did not have television in her home and hadn’t for many years, so this would be a treat for her. The treat didn’t last long, however, as sleep swiftly overcame her and rocked her gently in its arms until the sun crept through the heavy generic draperies.

“Would you mind terribly if I did some writing before we got underway? I just feel impressed to put some thoughts down before I get lost in the shuffle of the day.”

She typed at a feverish pace and literally forgot that she was not alone in the room, so deep was her concentration. That intensity of writing soon had her becoming a little emotional and weepy. She stood up to wash her face and saw Jacob in the thread-bare earth-tone easy chair in the corner by the radiator. The sight of him startled her, but she soon remembered where she was and who she was with.

They packed up the car and headed out. As they drove, Maggie could not help but to admire and appreciate the silence that made neither of them uncomfortable. Their friendship was becoming that solid. They didn’t have to fill the air with idle chatter.

Maggie suddenly, and without any sort of clue, pulled off at an exit and darted down the main street of some colloquial little town. She jerked the car into a parking lot of what was clearly one-clerk grocery store. Jacob sat speechless as she left the car and pushed the shop door open like the bully she wasn’t and had never been. He grinned at this new Maggie and she turned and winked as she disappeared into the store.

Moments later, she burst back through the door carrying two large brown paper bags brimming with curiosities. Jacob squinted and could discern a crusty baguette, some fruit of the roundish persuasion, and a wedge of cheese. What he couldn’t see was the tacky red gingham plastic tablecloth, the paper plates, the plastic faux champagne glasses, and the sparkling grape juice, an alcohol-free version of the wine he had at one time imbibed.