Man you guys are lucky I live in a snow community or this would not have happened for at least another week. Our school was canceled for too much snow so I spent my day cozy inside writing this. I hope ya'll out there like it. Please review at the end.
Chapter 16: Bittersweet Memories
Bo felt like a zombie for the duration of the next couple days. He hadn't cried yet; there was just too much going on for that. He had to help with the wake, planning the funeral, taking care of his daughter, and half the time he ended up taking care of Charlie and sometimes Ryan, too. Jamie helped him a lot, but Bo felt like he was going to pop. He knew the time would come, but he didn't know when.
Luke had asked Jeb, who Bo was closest to outside of Luke and Daisy, to watch over the youngest Duke cousin while he took care of other things. Jeb gladly took over the responsibility. He and Bo had gone to school together until he and his parents moved away from Hazzard for awhile going into the fifth grade. In fact, Jesse and Lavinia had sent Bo to school a year early so he could be with one of his cousins. So Jeb understood the youngest Duke cousin (of that generation) pretty well himself. He only hoped he would see warning signs of Bo's inevitable breakdown.
The day of the funeral came so fast it nearly made the Dukes' heads spin, literally. And with it came heartache. The three Duke cousins who had lived with Jesse for practically their whole lives had delivered beautiful yet short eulogies. Jesse would be sorely missed among the entire community, and that didn't make things any easier.
Once it was over, all the Duke cousins and respective children and signifigant others went back to the Duke Farm for some reminiscing. Bo curled up on the couch with a sleeping Lois perched in his lap. Luke sat on one side of his youngest cousin, an arm swung around the blonde. Jeb was on Bo's other side. Daisy faced her cousins on the floor, Enos next to her. Charlie lay down with his head in his father's lap. Jamie cradled Ryan next to Daisy. Coy and Vance sat in chairs behind them.
Daisy pulled out some old photo albums, ones that included at least a few pictures of everybody. Hours passed while they flipped through the age-worn pages. Some memories made them laugh, some cry. However, Jeb and Luke were quick to notice their usually bouncy cousin was abnormally quiet. Bo sat there, cradling his daughter as close as he could, staring down at the book that held many memories.
"Oh, I remember this," Daisy announced, a teary grin on her face. She pulled a picture out of the clear plastic covering. It showed four young, happy children outside in some woods. Five-year-old Bo snuggled on the lap of his uncle Jesse. Ten-year-old Luke had his arms around an eight-year-old Daisy and a six-year-old Jeb. All five of the picture's occupant wore wide smiles. "Remember, we went campin' that summer in them woods up there near the back forty?"
Luke nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I remember Uncle Jesse spent a really long time trying to figure out how ta turn on the self-timer on that new camera. Can ya'll believe that was almost thirty years ago? About twenty-eight I think. Bo didn't you lose a tooth or somethin' that night?"
Bo still made no movement; instead he just sat there as he had been, listening with the same scowl on his face.
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Bo grinned with pleasure as he watched his uncle pull out the tin of cookies that Aunt Martha had sent with them. He started to reach for them when Jesse pushed him back, warning him not to grab them, or the little boy wouldn't get any. Bo sat there pouting for a few seconds before he noticed his older cousin Luke receiving a few of his own cookies. His were not far behind, although he was awarded his last.
Biting into his cookie, Bo quickly realized there was a strange taste to it. That perplexed him as much as the one chocolate chip that seemed extra hard. He wondered for a moment if Aunt Martha had lost her touch with chocolate chip cookies. That was, until Jesse noticed the strange look on his youngest's face.
"What's the matter, sprout?" Jesse asked the young boy.
"Somethin' ain't right 'bout this cookie," Bo told him through a mouthful of cookie. "It tastes funny. Tastes like blood. An' there's somethin' real crunchy in there."
"Open yer mouth up there, Bo," Jesse ordered. Bo obeyed, pulling his mouth wide open. He earned a chorus of disgusted mutterings from his cousins. Jesse couldn't help but smile himself. "Looks like there ain't nuthin' wrong with the cookie, Bo. I think ya finally lost that tooth that ya's been wigglin' 'round fer while."
"I did?" Bo wondered excitedly. When Jesse nodded the affirmative, Bo reached in his mouth and pulled the crunchy thing out. Sure enough, it was small and white. It was one of his lower front teeth, the first baby tooth to fall out of the blonde's mouth.
Jesse got some water for Bo to rinse out his mouth. Afterwards Jesse wanted to take a picture of them all. After a few minutes fumbling around with the old camera, he figured out how to set on the self-timer. Quickly, he got himself and the kids situated in their poses. Now, Bo had an empty space in his mouth on the bottom.
Later, Bo tugged on the coat sleeve of his uncle. "Unca Jesse? Is the Tooth Fairy gonna know I'm out here an' not at home?"
Jesse nodded. "She sure will, sprout," he answered. "The Tooth Fairy's kinda like Santa Claus. She always knows where every child is. Only difference is, the Tooth Fairy works every night, but Santa only works one night a year."
"Oh. Okay!" Bo grinned.
"Now you best git on ta bed, sprout," Jesse suggested. He earned a nod from his youngest and another smile. Bo's smile was contagious, and Jesse had to grin himself.
"Love ya, Uncle Jesse!" Bo exclaimed, throwing his arms around the neck of the only father he had ever known.
Jesse returned the hug. "I love ya too, Bo." He even planted a kiss inside Bo's curly mop of hair.
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Bo couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, still clutching his sleeping daughter. "I gotta go put Lois ta bed," he said quickly, leaving no room for questions. He stormed off towards Lois's room.
"I'll take care of it," Luke told his cousins. "You guys just stay here." He stood up and followed his cousin. Once he reached Lois's bedroom, he waited a few moments and just watched his youngest cousin tuck his daughter into bed. Afterwards, Bo just sat down in a chair near Lois's bed. Tearfully, he watched the seven-year-old sleep. That's when Luke made his move. He pulled another chair up next to Bo and threw his arm around the younger man.
"You okay, Bo?" he asked. He knew the answer, but he asked anyways. So it was no surprise when Bo slowly shook his head, too choked up to speak. "Come here, buddy." Luke pulled Bo in for a hug. For a few minutes, Bo just buried his head into Luke's shoulder and sobbed. All the while, Luke muttered comforting words into the blonde's ear.
Once Bo cried out all he had, he let go of Luke and sat upright. "Luke," he began, faltering a moment. "Nuthin's ever gonna be the same without Uncle Jesse, is it?"
Luke's heart nearly broke in two at the pitiful look on his cousin's face. "Somethings will," he said. "I promise. Yeah, it will be a lot different without 'im here with us in the flesh, but remember, he's always gonna be with us in the other way, in here." He tapped Bo's chest with his fist. "He really loved ya Bo, always remember that."
Bo did nothing but nod his head. "I know, I know he loved us all. That's what made him so great. I'm really gonna miss 'im."
"I know," Luke said softly. "We all are. He was kinda like the glue that held us all tagether. But he was so good at it, that we're stuck tagether forever. Just remember, I'm always here for ya. I love ya, little cousin."
Bo smiled sadly. "I love ya too, Luke."
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That's all, people. I think it might have been slightly longer than the last chapter. However, I don't quite know where to go from here, so hopefully I'll figure it out soon. If not, I'm sorry in advance for the possible long wait. (Unless you have some type of idea for me:) I was thinking I should keep going with this particular section in their lives on dealing with the passing of Jesse, but I don't know where to go with that, but it doesn't seem quite done yet. Now if you want some extra love in your life you'll review. I thrive on those.
