Hello! I would like to thank Chris and MaryFan1 for reviewing and the other 37 readers who couldn't find it in your heart to review. I still love ya!
Also, I just wanna explain a bit of something. The 'case' per say is going to be sort of in the past and present…and more discussed than actually acted upon. I think that, most if not all, of the story will take place over one evening.
Y'all still in?
When the Harts arrived back at their home, Jennifer disappeared to the kitchen to tell Max about the newly minted dinner plans while Jonathan disappeared to the master bedroom.
Walking to the back of his side of the row of closest, he bent to open the lowest drawer. Moving aside a couple of National Geographics and an empty, dented flask, he pulled out an old shoebox.
Closing the drawer as he brushed the layer of dust from the top, he stood and carried it back to the bedroom where he sat down on the bed with it still in his hands.
Taking a deep breath, he popped off the top and took a moment to look at everything. There wasn't much, just what he'd had in his pockets and a few other things that had survived the fire, but they held a lot of memories. Folded on the top was the failed racing form, he'd kept it as a deterrent to the urge to ever bet large sums of money on the ponies.
Moving the battered sheet of paper aside, he reached deep into the box and pulled out the remaining items. A chipped, battered red Swiss Army Knife, a shiny red Coke bottle cap, a receipt from Sadie's Diner, a set of keys to a 1939 Chevy Truck, and tucked at the bottom a letter…just looking at them brought back a flood of old memories…
Mid August: Penny, hanging out of the top window of the hay mow in the barn, wind blowing her hair into her eyes while she attempted to cut away the piece of baling twine that was caught up in the hay elevator. And just when it seemed like she wasn't going to get it, the string snapped and the elevator flipped on again. Grinning like an idiot, she nearly tumbled to the ground, but Ted deftly grasped her ankles and pulled her back to safety, planting a kiss on her lips that Jonathan wasn't supposed to see.
The night of the Forth of July, 1968: The trio stretched out across the hood of the Chevy, watching the sky light up with a six-pack and the radio blaring. "Let's do something insane," Penny had said that morning, and what a day it had been.
The night of the fire: Spreading the last bale of straw into the last stall, Ted wiped his hand across his forehead, "What about dinner at Sadie's? I'm not sure that I can take any of E's cooking."
Jonathan laughed, "Sounds good to me. What about you? E? Penny?"
She'd been staring out of the dusty stall window again, she'd been acting odd all day, "What?"
"Dinner in town. On me," Ted said slowly.
Glaring, Penny nodded and shoved her way past the two guys.
The first week of work: An ice cold Coke stuck under his nose, Jonathan jumped, "What's that for?" he asked suspiciously.
Penny rolled her eyes, "It's to drink. Don't they have Coke wherever you're from?"
"Why are you giving it to me?"
" 'Cause you looked thirsty," stomping away, Jonathan shook his head in surprise. After the way she'd been working him all week, he hadn't thought there was a nice bone in that girl's body.
Late July: The fireflies were just coming out, the sun sinking behind the mountains. Up on the roof, a trio sat with a bottle of Jack Daniels, wobbly playing Truth or Dare. "Truth or dare," Ted slurred, handing the bottle to Penny.
She giggled, "Dare."
Ted shook his head, "You've done Dare the whole time! Do a truth!"
She shook her head, her lose hair covering her face, "Nope. Nope. Nope."
"Okay, I Dare you to do a Truth."
Obviously, Penny was drunk out of her mind, because she agreed. Ted thought for a moment, staring over Jonathan's shoulder blankly. Nodding to himself, he laid out his truth, "Tell us why you ran away."
"I didn't run away," Penny said, stubbornly.
Jonathan cut in, "You told me you did."
She giggled, digging in her pants pocket of her keys, holding them up for the world to see, "I drove away silly. Took dear ol'e daddy's keys and two hundred dollars when he was passed out on the couch and just left."
"Why?" Ted persisted, his voice breaking into a whine.
Penny's smiled faded, "I had enough. Of my mother and my father and that nasty little towns and the beatings and the hate and everything. No one wanted me there, so I left."
Even drunk, both men caught on to the 'beatings,' "They beat you?" Jonathan asked quietly.
She shrugged, "My mother the hooker is doing time for manslaughter you know. She killed one of her boys. I used to pick their pockets when she was with 'em. Named me Penny 'cause that's all I'll ever be worth. Said she hated me, I ruined her life. But she's in prison. Pa hit hard. I left and I ain't going back, no matter what he said. He'd kill me, he said, but he's a liar," she sat for a second, "I don't feel so good. I'm going to bed."
After stumbling off the roof, she tucked herself into bed, leaving the two alone with the echo of her words.
The whole summer of '68 the rusty red 1939 Chevy sat in one of the back barns that were used for storage, only to be gotten out for special occasions. "I didn't exactly take it legally, plus it has a 'borrowed' license plate," Penny said with a grin when she fired up the old relic.
The night of the fire: the silent dinner at Sadie's. Penny and Ted were having some sort of fight and Jonathan was stuck in the middle. After Ted stomped out halfway through dinner, Jonathan was the one to pick up the tab. "Are you okay?" he'd asked Penny again.
Her skinny arms were wrapped around her chest, "I think it's time I moved on. Something feels bad here. Something's wrong. Maybe it's time I start my world tour."
They walked in silence, one glad for the chance to memorize the landscape and one glad to stretch his legs after dinner, everything seemed okay until the first fire siren reached their ears.
During the fire: it was the most haunting of all the memories he carried from that summer. The look on Penny's face just before she stumbled into the burning barn. She was screaming illegibly, chasing a shadow into the fire. Running in after her, Jonathan just missed the flaming beam that struck her shoulder, pushing her down. It was probably the only thing that had stopped her from going further, saving her life.
He had dragged her out, ignoring her shrieks of pain and protest, "He's here! He's here!" she screamed, sobbing as the biggest barn collapsed on top of over fifteen horses. "He killed them!"
By the time the paramedics arrived and were located, Penny had settled down into a shocked stupor, watching the firemen fight the blaze. "It's gone," she whispered as the paramedics bandaged and cast her arm/shoulder, "Everything."
Ted showed up then, dirty and coughing. He stumbled to Penny and dropped to his knees in front of the edge of the ambulance where she sat, "My god, you're okay, I thought I'd lost you, oh Penny."
He reached to brush the hair from her face, but she shoved him away, "Everything's gone, the horses, the farm," she swallowed a sob, "And Manuel and Luz and Marco, they're dead and he killed them because of me. Everything's gone and it's all my fault."
"I'm here," Ted said softly, "You still have me."
That sent her over the edge. Kicking out, she screamed, "No, I don't! Don't you get it, I never had you! Just leave me alone!"
The look on Ted's face was a mixture of hurt, confusion, and anger tied all together with a broken heart. He stood abruptly and stalked away.
"Jonathan?" Jennifer's soft voice broke through Jonathan's daydream, and he looked up startled. "What's this?" she asked, sitting down next to him.
He was silent for a minute, trying to figure out how to explain. "Memories," he finally shrugged.
Jennifer nodded, looking at the mismatch collection of what really looked like junk. Noticing the letter still inside of the box, she pointed to it, "And that?"
Jonathan pulled it out of the box and wordlessly handed it to her. Carefully opening the worn pages, Jennifer read these words:
Jonny-
Well, this is goodbye, and none of this 'until next time' crap. I have this feeling that we won't be seeing each other face-to-face again…I'll probably be reading about you in to society pages, but unless you read WANTED posters, you won't see me.
I can tell you're rolling you eyes, but it doesn't really matter at this point. There are things that I've done that I'm not proud of, downright ashamed, and I'm not done screwing up yet. There is one last thing I have to do before I can truly be free of my old life, and yes, I do vaguely remember my drunken confession I made to you and Teddy.
It's all true.
I've got to go and set things straight before I can move on, and it's something that I have to do alone.
There are a couple of things you can do for me though, call me sentimental if you must. My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want to do, keep those dreams of yours big and the worries small. I hope you never look back but never forget where you've come from and who've you been. Always forgive and never forget, and help somebody every chance you get. Find God's grace in all your mistakes and give more than you take. Don't give up on love, you'll find her someday.
And please, keep an eye out for the Baby, he's gonna need you. Can I tell you something? Something you won't share with him?
I love him, I really do.
But I don't deserve him, no matter what he thinks he's done, he's a good man. And good is not something that I am. Keep him on the right track, okay?
Love Always,
Penny
Jennifer read the letter twice, finishing it up with a mist in her eyes. Glancing at her husband, she wordlessly wrapped her arms around his waist. They sat that way until it was time to get ready for dinner.
Sitting on the floor of her cramped, but cozy apartment, Penny Coen looked at a similar letter that she kept tucked in wallet. She hadn't found it in her pocket until almost a week after she'd left Teddy and Jonny in that hotel room after the fire. It was a short little note, one that she'd cried over more nights than she cared to count. He'd written it days before the fire; he must have known she was going to leave.
You won't be alone Penny, I'll be in every beat of your heart as you face the unknown. Come back when you've found yourself, no matter where you've been or what you've done, I'll always love you.
~Teddy
She'd dared to hope for a moment then that he had loved, not lusted, her. That he'd changed and he was who he acted like. But in her heart, she'd known it wasn't true. She was just something new, a childish rebellion. He knew his family would disapprove of her poor little runaway status.
Shaking herself, she stood and headed to her closet to find something suitable to wear for dinner with the Harts. She wasn't going to let the dark memories get in the way of the happy ones.
Well there, how was that? The two letters contain lines from 'My Wish' by Rascal Flatts and 'Never Alone' by Jim Brickman/Lady Antebellum. I wish I was that talented at writing!
Review please!
~Striker