PROSE 2005 : “His Smile”

Prose ramblings…

PROSE 2005 : “His Smile”

Dust coated Nergie Lee from top to toe the moment they met.  Not the thick, black, coal dust of everyday life, but the soft, gray dust of the freshly quarried granite he carried and thoughtfully placed along the emerging foundation of the newest house of worship to call the mountain town home.  His dearly departed mother often wished aloud that her son might be a man of God, and do some good in the world.  The young man smiled, believing that wish granted in both respects.  The young man’s older brother returned to the town the pair began to call home, wearing the collar of the newly ordained minister, full of aspirations and a focus on the task the two performed.  The small stone church began to arise out of the earth as the pair toiled side-by-side, beginning with the quarrying of the stones that now found themselves thoughtfully laid into the earth.

A gentle tapping on a labor weary shoulder alerted the young man to the presence of another.  The young man turned around to see whosoever happened to be tapping, and his gaze became transfixed upon the eyes of a girl that captivated him in an instant.  The brilliance of Nergie Lee’s smile took her aback, especially as that smile shone against the dust covering the rest of him.  That smile captivated her, as her eyes captivated him in an instant.  The minister, otherwise known as the older brother who always knew what to say, broke the silence as he thanked Delphia for the lemonade she brought with her and inquired as to the health of her mother, who had recently been unwell.

Nergie Lee quickly removed his cap as he drank the lemonade, but the smile never left his face.  As the two exchanged “thank-you”, “much obliged”, and “goodbyes”, the swell within his heart grew tenfold, as the young man watched Delphia walk away, knowing those eyes were the eyes of the girl he would marry one day.

Delphia never stopped thinking about that smile, either.  The young man carefully approached her mother first, asking if there were anyone else who might steal away that heart of hers.  Hat in hand, Nergie Lee then asked her father for his approval to see her, and later, to ask for her hand.  Though his reservations were many, her father said yes on both occasions.

The courtship was brief, and the proposal memorable.  The young girl held that memory close, and repeated the details of the moment often in later years.  The couple began married life together in a cozy house not far from the little granite church.  For a few years, the couple lived the quiet life of newlyweds, and then children came.  The children filled the once quiet life of the couple with great happiness, and some sorrow.  Eight children passed through over the threshold of the tiny house.  Three boys, and five girls, but only three of the little girls came home to stay.  The other two quickly returned to the place from which they came, leaving only a memory and a small, irreparable break upon the hearts of the young couple.

The years came and went so quickly, too quickly.  That day was like any other.  There was a dusting of snow on the ground in the days before Christmas.  Delphia awoke early, tiptoeing down the stairs to the kitchen, taking out the lunch box and thoughtfully packing her husband’s favorite things into the tin box.  Carefully were the ham and cheese sandwiches, an orange, two jars of milk, and a piece of freshly made apple cake wrapped up and tucked into the box along with a note.  Little notes often found the way into the lunch pail.  Sometimes the notes were reminders of errands in need of running, sometimes not.  The note laid atop the rest of the box’s contents simply said, “I love you”.

Tiptoeing back up the stairs, Delphia slid back into the warmth of the featherbed and quilts after placing the lunch box, full to bursting, into the icebox.  Awaking an hour later to the ringing bell of the alarm clock, as always, Nergie Lee told his dear wife not to bother with getting out of bed to see him to the door.  Always concerned, he feared the chill the rapidly dropping temperature left hanging over the house might worsen her cold.  An instant refusal met a brilliant smile as her husband pleaded again out of his concern, and she relented.  Delphia drifted back to sleep as the sight of his smile and the sound of his footsteps on the stairs were fresh in her memory.

When Delphia awoke, the day went along as any other.  There were few chores these days, as most of the children had spouses and homes all their own, with a few grandchildren as well.  Only the youngest child, a son, remained at home, months away from high school graduation.  The day passed quickly, punctuated with a phone call here or there and the return home of her son from school.  There was not a moment out of place, until Delphia would later recall, as she stood at the sink washing the breakfast dishes she felt as though her heart skipped a beat, so much so that she lost her breath.  The moment meant nothing until afterwards.

The snow piled up on the walkway that led to the front porch of the tiny house and the swing the couple sat together in almost every afternoon.  In the swing, the pair recounted the time in the day spent apart, delighting in the time spent together.  The swing saw many evenings of talking softly, sipping warm coffee, and watching the sunset signal the end of the day.  When footprints marred the white blanket of snow of the walkway, the steps were not those of the one who tread the path everyday.

The man at the door held a hat in his hands, and politely asked to come in.  The officer was very sorry, but there was an indication of foul play, or abandonment, of where the truth lay, he was uncertain.  Delphia could not wrap her mind or heart around what the officer said.  The car found, the lunch box empty, but there was no trace of him.  No one at the work site spoke out upon initial questioning after the supervisor noticed his disappearance.

Her son quickly came to her side, answering all questions as she sank into his chair shaking with disbelief.  In an instant the smile and brilliance left her eyes.  The children all arrived as soon as possible.  Delphia refused to believe the idea that he chose to disappear, although the authorities pressed the notion in the following days.  Going on as though the walkway would welcome his footsteps at any moment, Delphia decorated the tiny house as she always did for Christmas, tree and all.  On Christmas Eve, Delphia took a package wrapped in bright paper and a satin ribbon out of the linen closet and placed the parcel gently beneath the tree, hoping her husband would be there in the morning to see what lay inside.

The package remained unopened, sitting in the linen closet for over thirty years.  Every Christmas Eve, the package left the shelf in the closet, taking a place with the other presents beneath the tree, and returned, unopened to the closet come Christmas night.  The children believed abandoning the Christmas Eve ritual would be good for their mother, although she believed the package kept hope alive in their hearts as much as in her own.  Delphia never believed that her husband abandoned them, not for a moment.  The lunch box was empty, which meant as always the note lay within his breast pocket.  Perhaps the last words he ever read were those of her simple note, “I love you”.  She began to believe that the moment her heart skipped a beat, his heart stopped beating.

After placing the package beneath the tree, as done on every one of the previous thirty-four Christmas Eves, Delphia slid into bed, the snows falling outside were a soft footstep on the roof, and she drifted away to the sound of the gentle pitter-patter.

The package held a soft brown cap, and of course, the cap fit perfectly.  His smile woke her as Nergie Lee took her hand and quietly led Delphia past their son’s bedroom, down the stairs, and out onto that front porch.  Her eyes captivated Nergie Lee now as always, the smile within as brilliant as ever.  Readjusting the cap, Delphia laid her head upon Nergie Lee’s shoulder as the sunrise attempted to compete with the brilliance of his smile.

Inside, their son softly wept, sitting in the chair his father once occupied, opening the faded package.  Looking to the cap within, the man found himself smiling as he caught a glimpse of the portrait that sat upon the mantel.  The smile upon the face of his father and within his mother’s eyes remained within him.  The smile upon his face softened again into tears, as he reached for the telephone.