As the years passed by, Bobbie-Jo finished high school, and then went off to college, where she studied law. In 1942, she became one of the first female police officers in the United States of America. During wartime, Bobbie-Jo did her part of helping the men at war by recycling metal, knitting blankets, and volunteering at the YWCA. After the Second World War ended, she met a man named Francis King, and the two of them married in 1947. Two years later, their eldest child, John, was born. (Yes, Bobbie-Jo did secretly name him after John Coffey, but she never told him or her husband in the years to come) In 1952, Bobbie-Jo and Francis had a daughter named Louise, and then had their third and final son, David, in 1954. During those years, Bobbie-Jo never lost contact with her father, or her friends – Marion, Yvonne, Harry, Dean, and Brutal.
But over time, Bobbie-Jo heard about tragic endings for some of her friends. Dean died in a prison riot in the 1940s, Harry died from a heart attack in the early 1950s, Brutal died in the 1940s (presumably in World War II), and Bobbie-Jo's brother died from cancer in 1959.
Also during this time, BJ had heard about a fatal bus crash in Alabama that her parents were both involved him. Jan was killed almost instantly, while Paul was one of only a few survivors. Although she never spoke of him, Bobbie-Jo would feel a pang in her heart for needing John Coffey whenever tragedy struck. But still, she remained a strong woman just like she was as a teenager.
In 1986, Bobbie-Jo's husband died from prostate cancer, leaving her to live with her eldest son, his wife, and their two children. Paul was also placed in a nursing home that year, where he made a few friends of his own, including a woman named Elaine. BJ still never lost contact with Paul, as she visited him in the nursing home once a week for the next several years. One day, Bobbie-Jo met Elaine, and the two became fast friends. BJ also met a caretaker by the name of Brad Dolan, and he was meaner than a cottonmouth. In fact, when she came home, Bobbie-Jo would sometimes stew about Brad and compare him to Percy Wetmore from long ago.
Indeed, Brad and Percy were very much alike – Brad was also very vain about his hair, selfish, and a plain bully towards Paul and the other old folks. Paul often flinched whenever he ran into Brad, who threatened to cut him off of regular activities or refuse him a meal. But Elaine and Bobbie-Jo would both talk back at Brad, making him temporarily leave Paul alone.
"It's Percy, isn't it?" Bobbie-Jo whispered to her elderly father one afternoon in 1995.
"Yes," Paul answered with a shaken voice, "I don't know what to do, Bobbie-Jo. In 1935, I wasn't afraid of him, but now I am."
Bobbie-Jo just smirked and said, "Remember the horrific wrong I did when I was young?"
Paul looked at his daughter with shock and disbelief as he stammered, "You-you're not going to…"
"Back then, I made a chocolate cake," Bobbie-Jo snickered, "This time, it might be a lemonade pie."
"W-w-won't you…"
"Even if I do have to serve time, it shall be worth it," Paul's daughter assured, "Percy never got to tell certain relatives of his, and I'm sure Brad won't tell, either. After all, the Lord works in mysterious ways."
Sure enough, Bobbie-Jo did, in fact, make a lemonade pie for Brad Dolan. After eating two slices of pie, he failed to notice a note at the bottom of the pie dish that read in Sharpie ink, "Percy, I mean Brad, this pie is gratitude for your hard work. YOU'RE IN for a PISS-PERFECT surprise!"
Sure enough, during his evening shift, Brad began to feel nauseous as he went to the kitchen for a break (as well as another piece of pie). When he got there, the staff members there gave him angry glares.
"Brad Dolan, is this your idea of a joke?" One woman inquired, "Pissing in a lemonade pie, and then serving it to us?! Look at this note we found on the bottom of the dish!"
The staff members showed Brad the note, and Brad realized the reason he felt so nauseous – the secret ingredient of that pie was someone's own urine! But nobody EVER suspected that a regular visitor would ever bake her own pee into a pie as a sign of gratitude; instead, the staff believed that Brad was the one who made and brought the pie, so he was fired from his job the very next day.
When word got around to the old folks, everyone (particularly Paul and Elaine) heaved sighs of relief and said things like, "Good riddance to that jerk!"
"He shouldn't have been fit for that job in the first place!"
"I wonder what he did?"
Paul just smiled to himself and thought, Bobbie-Jo, you bad girl! But at least now, you're still there to give me sunshine, even when all the light inside of me is gone for good.
