Chapter 6
She stood on the back porch, watching him. Reaching down she unclipped the leash from the collar and signaled to the Golden to go to him.
The funeral that morning had taken its toll on him. Instead of entering the home upon their return, he had walked around the house and away from the crowd that had begun to gather for the wake. Seeing that he needed a few moments to himself, Sue watched him as he shoved his hands into his pockets and disappeared from view then went to help Nora and Kim receive the visitors.
After some time had passed, Nora sent Sue outside with the pretense of getting away for a few minutes, but Sue thought it was because Nora needed someone to check on Jack, and she was elected.
Levi loped down the yard until he was beside the dark headed man. As of sensing great sadness from him, Levi sat and gently pawed Jack's leg to let him know he was there. Jack reached down absently and rubbed the dog between his ears, kneeling as he did so.
Feeling a hand slide across his shoulder, he didn't have to look up to know that she was there. He reached up and clutched her hand. When he was ready he stood up, clasped her hand in his and headed back to the house.
###
The last guest had left, dishes washed and put away, and the Hudsons and Sue were the only ones left in the house. Feeling quite drained, they were sprawled out on the chairs in the living room. Nora quietly flipped through a scrapbook, paused here and there, lovingly caressing the pictures, wiping at a stray tear. Kim leaned against her mother's shoulder and watched as the pictures slowly passed by.
Jack and Sue lounged on the love seat, Sue's legs drapped over Jack's while she dozed. Jack's hand gently rubbed her leg as he sat mindlessly letting himself try and not think of what would need to be done over the next few weeks and months as his mother worked on straightening out the estate. Knowing what was in the will, since he had helped his parents prepare it several years ago, he felt that the probate would go very smoothly. It was the act of clearing up many of William's personal belongings and the final reading of the will that would be the toughest of all.
He gently lifted Sue's legs and placed them back down on the loveseat. She opened her eyes long enough to see him sign "be right back" before drifting back off.
He walked out of the living room and down the hall then down into the basement where his father's workshop was located. Memories surfaced as he remember as a young boy, sitting quietly on a stool for hours on end, and watching his father transform simple pieces of wood into things of beauty.
"Daddy, when I grow up, I want to do what you do."
"What's that?"
"Make pretty things with wood."
Jack smiled as ran he fingers along the end. He followed the edge of the workbench to the end where a small bookshelf sat to the side with a few books and various other sundry items were collected. As if trying to decide which item he wanted, he studied the items on the shelf before reaching out pulling one of the figurines off, running his fingers over it, feeling the groves left behind by the carving knife.
"Now, Jack, what you need to do before you can start carving is that you will need study the wood and see if it has a story to tell. Once you find that story, then the story will come to life under your hand and your knife."
"How do you know what the story is?"
"You will know, just like when you know when someone loves you .You just do."
"Really?"
"Really. Now, you take your knifeā¦.."
"That was always one of his favorites."
Jack turned around and saw his mother standing by the stairs, arms folded across her chest, a sad smile gracing her tired face. "It was always one of mine, too." He held up the figure of the eagle, wings spread wide as if in flight. "I remember watching him, sitting on that stool, patiently carving a lumpy piece of wood into something this beautiful."
Nora nodded and shuffled across the floor to stand next to him. "And you telling him you wanted to be just like him."
He gave the eagle one last caress before replacing it on the shelf. "I still do. I hope that someday I'll be half the man he was."
She placed her arm around his waist and hugged him. "You will, Jack. You will. Just follow his example, and you will."
As one, they turned and headed back up the stairs. The light was turned off, the workshop returned to darkness. With an almost audible sigh, as if it were a living being, the room became quiet as if it sensed that the master wood carver would never again return to pick up his tools to lovingly create those items that would glorify Him.
