Later that night at the Edgecomb house, Paul and Jan were both lying in their beds, trying to go to sleep. Well, Jan was trying to sleep, but Paul laid on his back, thinking about something. He thought about Mrs. Moores, and he also remembered John Coffey's miracles. Jan could sense something wrong with her husband, and said softly, "Honey, you don't tell me what's on your mind, I'm afraid I'll have to smother you with a pillow." She turned around and looked at him as Paul kept moving his fingers in thought.
"I'm thinking I love you," Paul said softly, "I'm thinking – I don't know what I'd do if you weren't my wife."
"Oh," Jan mumbled.
"I'm also thinking I'm gonna have the boys over tomorrow," Paul added, thinking of a brilliant plan.
Jan thought that was a good idea, too, before she and her husband drifted off to sleep.
The next day, the Edgecomb family was seated at a table outside along with Harry, Dean, and Brutal. Everyone was having lunch consisting of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and biscuits. "Oh boy, you sure do know how to cook chicken," Dean complimented Jan.
"Oh, thank you," Jan chuckled.
"It's one delicious treat, ma'am," Dean replied.
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it."
"My mama sure can cook, can't she?" Bobbie-Jo asked the others with a smile; she was wearing the same pink dress from the day before.
"Oh, thank you, my dear," Jan smiled with a blush.
"Hey, Brutal, you gonna hog all them taters?" Dean asked as he looked at the potatoes.
"Yes sir," Brutal joked, "Here, Dean, you want some taters?"
"Come on, Brutal," Dean said as Brutal handed them the potatoes.
"He just wants to see how big you're gonna get, Brutal," Jan teased.
Paul, meanwhile, decided to change the subject and bring up John Coffey. "Y'all saw what he did to the mouse," he told his co-workers and daughter, remembering how John resurrected Mr. Jingles.
Everyone looked at Paul, and then Brutal stated, "I could've gone the rest of the day without you bringing that up."
"Yeah, I could've gone the rest of the year," added Dean.
"Well, he did the same thing for me," Paul said, "He put his hands on me, and took my bladder infection away. And he did the same for Bobbie-Jo after Percy broke two of her ribs."
Bobbie-Jo frowned, remembering how Percy was so enraged that she was a girl working on the mile that he injured her. "Come on, BJ," Brutal told her when he saw her frown, "You got back at him yesterday, remember?"
Jan looked at her daughter sternly and inquired, "Barbara Josephine, did you do something your father and I don't know about?"
Bobbie-Jo gulped nervously, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay. I didn't really go visit any of my friends yesterday. I went to E Block."
"What were you doing there, young lady?" Harry asked her with a raised brow; he wasn't there the day before.
All eyes were on Bobbie-Jo as she continued, "I gave that chocolate cake I made to Percy."
"What's wrong with that?" Jan asked, "And why would you waste a nice dessert on a bitter man like Percy?"
The corners of Bobbie-Jo's mouth turned up as she continued, "That cake had an extra special ingredient in it."
"And that was?" Paul asked.
Bobbie-Jo looked carefully around the table at everyone, and then said, "It was… my feces!"
Harry, Dean and Brutal burst into laughter while Paul and Jan frowned at their daughter.
"Really, it's true!" Dean breathed as he laughed, "Harry, you should've seen the look on Percy's face when he found out what was in that cake!"
As everyone kept laughing, Paul clapped his hands up in the air to get everyone to settle down. "I'm sorry, Paul," Brutal said as he tried to stop laughing, "But your daughter sure does know how to get even with certain people!"
"I may dislike Percy," Paul stated sternly, "But I damn hope he doesn't end up getting sick!"
"I don't think he will, Daddy," Bobbie-Jo smiled, "Brutal and Dean and I saw him run to the restroom, and we heard him puking in there, right?"
Brutal and Dean nodded with grins and chuckles.
After all the laughter and giggles died down, Paul cleared his throat and said, "As I was saying, that man John Coffey put his hands on me and took my infection away."
After a brief period of silence, Jan said, "It's true. When he came home that day, he was… all better."
"Oh, now, wait," Dean said, "You're talking about a… authentic healing, crazy Jesus miracle?"
"I am," Paul replied with a nod.
"Oh yeah," added Jan.
"And Mr. Coffey healed my ribs, too!" BJ chimed in as she felt her left side.
"I hear you say it," Brutal said to Paul, "And I'll say it – what's it got to do with us?"
"You're thinking about Melinda?" Jan asked Brutal.
"Melinda?" Brutal repeated, "Melinda Moores?"
"Yeah," Jan answered before turning to her husband, "So Paul, how you think you're gonna help?"
"It's not a bladder infection," Paul said, "Or even a busted mouse… I think there might be a chance."
"Hold on now," Harry stated to Paul, "You're talking about our jobs, sneaking a sick woman into a cell, Paul?"
"Oh no, no, no," Paul replied, "Hal wouldn't stand for that. You know him – he'd never believe anything, even if it fell on him!"
"So you're talking about… taking John Coffey to her?" Brutal questioned. Paul nodded, and Brutal said with disbelief, "It's more than just our jobs, Paul. That's prison time if we get caught."
"Damn right it is!" Dean said.
"No, not for you, Dean," Paul told him, "See now, the way I figure it, you stay back on the mile, that way you can deny everything."
"Why do I have to stay behind?" Dean asked.
Paul answered as he looked at his wife and daughter, "Well, our boy's grown up and gone off to school, Bobbie-Jo's gonna finish up high school starting this fall, Harry's girls – they're all married now, Brutal's a single man, you're the only one here with two children and another one on the way."
"Let's not discuss this if we're thinking of doing it," Harry tried reasoning with Paul. Paul just looked at him and then Harry whispered, "Brutal, help me out here."
Brutal looked at Paul and said, "I'm sure she's a fine woman."
Jan nodded and said, "She's the finest."
"What has happened to her is a shame," Paul stated to the others, "To the eye, and the ear, to the heart…"
"I have no doubt," Brutal stated, "But we don't know if that man will kill again, do we?"
"And let's not forget," added Harry, "John Coffey is a murderer."
Bobbie-Jo frowned a little bit. I don't think so, she thought, he seems innocent to me.
"What if he escapes?" Harry continued, "I'd hate to lose my job and go to prison. I'd hate worse to have a dead child on my conscious."
Paul shook his head and said, "I don't think it's gonna happen." He paused for a moment before continuing, "In fact… I don't think he did it at all." Everyone looked at him as he finished, "I don't see God putting a gift like that into the hands of a man who murdered a child."
Finally, someone to agree with! Bobbie-Jo thought to herself with a grin.
"It's a very tame devotion," Harry stated as he looked at Paul, "But the man is on death row for the crime… and plus, he's HUGE. If he tried to get away, it would take a lot of bullets to stop him."
Bobbie-Jo frowned again and Brutal pointed out, "Oh, we'd all have shotguns. Big and shiny ones. Let's insist on that. If he tried anything – anything at all – we'd have to take him down." He looked at Paul and finished, "Understand?" After a couple of minutes of silence, Brutal asked Paul, "So, tell us what you have in mind?"
Paul looked at his daughter and asked her, "BJ, you wanna see another miracle?" Bobbie-Jo smiled as she looked at her father, and Paul continued, "You wanna give Percy more payback?"
Bobbie-Jo happily nodded and her mother advised her, "You be careful, honey, you hear?"
"I promise, Mama," Bobbie-Jo said as she made an X on her heart with her finger.
