Legacy
Carol waved the four truck convoy goodbye. Daryl had pulled it off, Rick and Andrea would be riding for hours together. She felt just like Yente from The Fiddler on the Roof, she hummed a little of Matchmaker, Matchmaker as she went back to the house. Carl and Judith were asleep, Maggie and Beth were probably asleep, and Ashton's family was close by, but sometimes she would feel this wave of longing to talk to her grandmother. This house reminded her of James and Nancy McAllister every day. It was odd how clearly she remembered things that had happened so long ago like Grandpa saying the furniture wasn't good, it was right. Those memories made her happy, something was restored to her that had been lost, but she felt a longing for her grandmother that was almost painful.
Carol busied herself with tasks that she wanted to finish today. She and Ashton were going visiting this morning and Jo was going to watch Judith. She fixed breakfast for Carl and took care of Judith when she woke up. The odd lost feeling was still there, and she talked to Ashton about it in the car. One of the joys of being home was reconnecting with Ashton; they shared bonds of collective memories. They were kin.
Ashton listened to her and added one more visit to the list. He should have brought Carol to this house before but he had forgotten how close Grandma Nancy had been to Temperance Blaylock. The morning passed quickly, Carol and Ashton visited with neighbors who were usually glad for some company and soon it was time to go see Tempy Blaylock. She lived with her granddaughter and her family.
He pulled the jeep up to a large farmhouse. The long front porch had a swing that faced the road and an old woman sat there with a shawl around her. Ashton and Carol moved through the yard and up to the porch. A younger woman came to the screen door and welcomed them. The old woman spoke up, "I told you that I was going to have company today. They are here to see me. Go on back to your canning and leave me to my company." Ashton introduced Carol to the younger woman and to Tempy. The young woman went back in the house and left them to Tempy. The old woman leaned toward Carol who had sat down beside her on the swing, "So you have come home at last. Your grandmother said you would. I wish Nancy could have tarried here just a little longer." Carol said, "I miss her every day." The old woman put her hand's over Carol's and held on tight while she ordered, "Ashton, go out to the barn and talk with Daniel. I want to talk to this girl and you are in my way." Ashton smiled ambled over to the barn.
"So you have the sight, Nancy said you would have it after she passed. We're cousins, Nancy and me; I have it some, not like her. Nancy said Emily had a little too. Comes from the Coulter side, you know," Tempy said. "I never had any flashes of the sight until I came home. I have had a few, Emily has never said anything."
Tempy looked at Carol, "It is not a curse, it is a gift. Nancy said she saw things that were going to happen but sometimes you saw it two ways. She never saw your father or James getting killed and that was a blessing. It was their time, no way to change it. She loved you and saw two ways with you. Your mother hid you from Nancy and by doing so she doomed you to a life that Nancy couldn't alter." Carol thought about all that she had suffered because of her mother's selfishness and felt the familiar rage against her.
Tempy smiled, "Nancy never stopped looking for you. She saw your two lives, one with a cruel man and one with a kind one. The only comfort that she had was that she saw that you would find the kind one in both lives." She's talking about Daryl, Carol thought, the kind one. "I am with the kind one now," Carol said. "Nancy said that he acted tough but was tender. That you might be taking a detour but that it would work itself out eventually. She told me to tell you that was why he took losing her so hard; she was supposed to be his." Tempy spoke softly but clearly. Carol thought of Daryl's rage when Sophia was found, his rant on the hill that night that she wasn't his child. " Nancy said that child's fate was to go on home before you and him, but that you would bear another by the kind one. How far along are you, girl?" Tempy asked. Carol laughed, but said it anyway, "About 24 hours."
Tempy hugged her close, "That's good, you aren't getting any younger. Nancy left you something in the house, but I don't remember where she was going to leave it. No matter, you just keep looking for it. I knew you were coming today, I thought for a minute that you were Nancy = when I first looked at you I am going on home soon, but I wanted to see you before I go."
Carol was saddened, "I wish we could have had more time. You remind me of Grandma; I miss her so much. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Tempy asked suddenly, "Look at me and show me my passing." Carol had never tried to do anything like this, but she wanted to ease the old woman's mind. She put her arms around the old woman, put her head next to Tempy's, closed her eyes, and emptied her mind. She could feel Tempy's sight and her own merging into a vision. Tempy would have a stroke that would drastically affect- her brain. It would kill her instantly and painlessly. She would not reanimate because that part of her brain would be destroyed in the stroke. Carol and Tempy released each other slowly. Tempy thanked her and they talked for a while until Ashton came back.
Carol hugged and kissed Tempy goodbye. "Thank you, girl. I'll tell Nancy that you are doing fine now, Now get along home, you have people longing for the comforts of home," Tempy whispered. Ashton hugged and kissed her as well. "Ashton, you need to keep watch, there are people who want what you have. Now listen to me, boy, I ain't funning with you," Tempy warned.
Ashton and Carol didn't talk much on the way home. Ashton was concerned about Tempy's warning. He was going to start guarding his home more closely. Carol was reviewing what Tempy had said. Her grandmother had seen both of her paths, knew about the hell she had lived through with Ed, but also knew that both paths led to a life with the kind one, Daryl.
Carol wondered what her grandmother had left for her and where it could be. Tempy had been certain that something was left. Carol felt the upcoming loss of Temp, but knew that she was ready to go. There was a peace in knowing that she would not reanimate. Carol remembered being in the CDC and watching the monitor that showed reanimation. The stroke would kill Tempy would also destroy the reanimation part of her brain. Tempy would pass from this life to the next quickly, she would not suffer, and she would soon be with the ones who went home before her.
Carol was glad that she would be home in time to make something good to eat for supper. She didn't sense that they were in any danger now but the longing to be home was there. Tempy just wanted to go on home too.
