The Tracy Daughters
Didclaimer - Unless I missed the memo, still do not own. And I also do not own the song The Greatest Man I Never Knew by Reba McEntire. It is one of my all time fave songs, as it seemed to echo my father and I's relationship for years. But I was lucky. My dad has had the chance to say "I love you" and "I am proud of you." It only took him thirty years. Not bad for a man.
Part Three - Sarah Woodbury Tracy
Sarah sat quietly in the rental car on a small side street in an equally small town outside of Kansas City, Kansas. She had lived the first sixteen years of her life here. She had nearly died here in a fire that had claimed the lives of her parents and sister. And it was here she had to deal with the past in order to go on with her future.
The greatest man I never knew
Lived just down the hall
And everyday we said hello
But never touched at all
He was in his paper
I was in my room
How was I to know he thought I hung the moon
John Woodbury was a good man. He had begun to work for Tracy Industries and had profited when the small company had become Tracy Enterprises. A corporate attorney, he could have signed on with bigger, more prestigious companies. But he had admired the drive and tenacity of Jeff Tracy. John had wanted to raise his children in the small Midwestern town his grandparents had been from, the town his wife was from. Annette's family had always been big fish in the small pond of the town's society. Rigid in their code of ethics, when their younger daughter Harriet went off to school in Boston, they rarely had contact with her. It wasn't until John married Annette that he discovered why. Harriet was a lesbian, which was unacceptable to his in-laws. John had never felt it was his place to interfere. But he quietly kept Harriet in the loop as to their life, sending bits of news and the occasional photo of first Holly, and then Sarah, after their births and as they grew.
Holly was beautiful, with the looks straight from the casting director for homecoming queen and head cheerleader. Annette constantly paraded their firstborn around, proud of their daughter's golden girl looks. Sarah, quiet and reserved, was very bright. But her glasses, braces and chubbiness made Annette favor her older daughter to the younger constantly. Annette never tried to take her in hand, never spoke of contact lenses or tried to get the child to lose weight. John suspected it was because how physically similar Sarah was to her Aunt Harriet. Did Annette really think that there was a "gay" gene, one that could be handed down along with the red hair and green eyes? John would never know.
The greatest man I never knew
Came home late every night
He never had too much to say
Too much was on his mind
I never really knew him
And now it seems so sad
Everything he gave to us took all he had
John thrived on the challenges his job with Tracy Enterprises gave him. He loved the travel and the work. But he also loved coming home. Sarah had become close to the Tracy family, closer, he suspected, than she was to her own. Jeff Tracy often mentioned his daughter, how she helped Virgil with his studies – they, along with Sarah's older sister, were in the same grade. He would also speak of how good Sarah was with his youngest son, Alan, often babysitting the boy when others in the family were busy. John had been shocked to learn that Sarah could sing from Jeff. He had no idea and from a passing comment to Annette, John had been sad to discover she had not known either.
It had been towards the end of the girls' Senior year in high school that John noticed a change in his wife's attitude towards Sarah. He had heard her speak with pride of her academic achievements. Always proud of her academically, John, and then Annette, noticed what Ruth Tracy – Jeff's mother – had been saying for years. Sarah was like a rose, ready to bloom. Annette made quiet plans to spend part of the summer helping Sarah to improve her physical appearance before college. They had agreed that it should be done discretely as Sarah may not appreciate that her parents wanted her to change her looks. But more importantly, they wanted to avoid the fall-out that would occur when Holly learned of their intent. Vainly proud of her status as the acknowledged beauty of the family, Holly had in fact pitched a fit when she discovered their plans. Sarah had been at the Tracys once more, spared her sister's tantrum. Secretly, John had begun to suspect more than just a temperamental beauty was behind Holly's attitude. It was only when Holly had gone to the prom – Sarah was babysitting Alan that evening – that John had convinced his wife to help him investigate. They had been appalled to discover drug paraphernalia. Not wanting to confront Holly with Sarah around, they planned to talk to her the next morning. John knew that Sarah would be at the high school, helping to set up for graduation. It was the perfect time.
Then the days turned into years
And the memories to black and white
He grew cold like an old winter wind
Blowing across my life
John and Annette had been killed in the fire that their oldest daughter had set that night in a drug-fueled rage. Sarah had been badly burned and taken first to Kansas City, then to Boston, by her Aunt Harry. Holly had died of her injuries a short time later, a victim of her own instability. Years later, Sarah would meet back up with the Tracy family. She had been a paramedic in Boston, and had in fact been treating Alan, the little boy she used to baby-sit; reconnecting herself with the family she had once been so close to.
Today, a physician's assistant in a clinic near Tracy Island, Sarah was happily married to Virgil. Placing a comforting hand on her burgeoning belly, where her firstborn was nestled in comfort, Sarah barely took note as Jeff, her father in all but blood, came up behind her.
"Your dad was very proud of you. He used to brag about you a lot. I know he loved you." Sarah nodded at the words as she stared at the empty field where her family home had once stood. She had never asked what happened to the property and had been unaware that Jeff had bought it and maintained the property taxes for years. He had given it back to her after her marriage and it was only now, as she and Virgil began their own branch of the Tracy family tree, that she knew what to do with it.
"I know my father was proud of me, Dad. I know he loved me. Everyone tells me so. But he forgot to tell the one person who needed to hear it the most." With that, Sarah let herself be helped back into the rental car and they drove away. As Sarah tried to hide her tears from her father-in-law, she stared at the sign now posted in the vacant lot.
"Future home of the John and Annette Woodbury Memorial Home – For Families of Children in Need at Area Hospitals. Land donated by Sarah Woodbury Tracy, building funds from the Tracy Family Charitable Trust."
The greatest words I never heard
I guess I'll never hear
The man I thought could never die
S'been dead almost a year
He was good at business
But there was business left to do
He never said he loved me
Guess he thought I knew
a/n - OK, you know the drill. Julie's will be up tomorrow. I may be a bit late in posting, as I am working a part-time job in addition to my regular one (for the holidays) and I have to be at the mall right after my other job. But I will put it up, as well as chapter three of Payment in Kind. Thanks for the support and let me know what you think. - CC