Darkness Before Light (3 of 3)

Darkness Before Light (3 of 3)Darkness Before Light (3 of 3)I woke as a strong gust of wind blew in through a shattered glass window. Not completely cognizant of where I was, in a barely conscious fog I watched as a pair of swallows played follow-the-leader before vanishing from my sight. Slowly it came to me. Tucked in fetal position, I stretched out, turning over slowly so as not to wake the mistress of Holly?s heaven. But there was no need, except for me, the bed was empty. We had fallen asleep in each other?s arms. I don?t know what it was like for her, but I had found the experience perfectly satisfying, almost natural, just like her kisses. We had been like two spoons in a drawer, dozing off with my left arm laying on top of hers. Previously, I had never before experienced such an intimacy even though married to the wicked witch of the east. Judging by the light outside, I guessed at noonish. ?Up from the grave he arose,? Holly turned to sing as I sauntered into the kitchen with the little hand on the ten and big hand on the five. ?Been up long?? I yawned. ?Not much,? the lady of the house briskly replied, flipping sizzling bacon while spooning grease over two sunny side up eggs. ?You saved me the trouble of running up to wake you. Now, be a good lad and pour us both some juice and sit down.? Our conversation over eggs, crispy bacon and wheat toast was light and friendly. We were each feeling the other out to see if the other thought the night before was now being judged a mistake in the sobering light of day. ?I?ll fix that light outside and try and find those hinges in the shed if you think you know how to take those windows apart so I drop them off at Ed?s,? Holly remarked as if this was just another day on the farm. ?I was looking at them after I woke up. Shouldn?t take much if you?ve got a good claw hammer and nice big flat screwdriver.? ?I got something better than that, Buster. There?s one of them Magic Bars or whatever they are called, in the shed hanging above the bench on the left side of the door just as you walk in. I know it is there because I used it the other day to pull some nails out. It?s like a little crow bar.? ?I know what they are. That will work.??I think Ed closes at one on Saturdays. Think you can do it by then?? Pushing myself away from the table, taking one last gulp of juice, I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, rushing out the door before she could finish her mouthful and return the favor. The tool was right where she said it was only half of the roof of the old shed was laying on top of it. The pump house had faired better but the barn had most of its most sheet metal roofing bent back at forty-five degrees on the southwestern side. It was a pretty good indicator which direction the storm had come. A tall ladder, a good hand sledge and few roofing nails would put Holly?s barn back in order before the end of the day. I had all six window frames in the back of my truck, about to honk the horn when she appeared at the door, holding up one finger. I started the engine, backed up and pulled forward just as she closed the five panel door behind her, scurrying in front of the truck as I reached over and swung the passenger side door open for her. ?That was Wilma Thompson. She was going to stop by this morning to check to make sure I was alright. I told her that I was going to stop over there this morning to check to make sure they were alright.? Holly laughed before continuing. ?Apparently it was a tornado. Poor Wilma, she began to cry because one of their horses had been killed and if that wasn?t bad enough, they lost one of their big blue silos. She said they had just been emptied of their grain a couple of weeks ago, otherwise they might have survived. I guess the main house is okay with minimal damage to the barns. Nothing too serious she said but those big blue glass lined silos are not easily replaced. If not today, I think I?ll make it over there tomorrow. Maybe I?ll buy a cake mix when we are in town.? I sat quietly as Holly jabbered on. I felt comfortable with her being comfortable with me. Just some farmer guy driving into town with his farmer?s wife. Holly had forgone the men?s underwear today in favor of a pair of tan cotton shorts and a button down collar, faded pink sleeveless blouse that buttoned up the front. Surprisingly, she had a bra on underneath ?white. A pair of well worn leather flats on her feet completed her outfit. As I pulled into the alley behind Ed?s hardware store, I began bracing myself for what a talk-of-the-town stir our being seen together would all create. I wasn?t brave enough yet to just damn the torpedoes and park out front. For a Saturday after such a severe storm, we found main street practically empty. Other than seeing leaves strewn on some of the manicured lawns, there weren?t any real signs of the storm that had passed just five miles to the south of the town. I unloaded the window frames and leaned them up against one of the backroom work benches while Holly disappeared to go up front to talk to big Ed. I waited patiently for her return. As luck would have it, no one had spied the odd couple as we pulled out of the alley before pointing my rust bucket wagon in the shortest direction back to the house I vacated the night before. Half suspecting to see a regular sized moving van outside, the driveway was empty. Two neighbors down, one of the k**s was out mowing the lawn but nobody else was in sight. That?s when I noticed that front door had been left open. ?Stay put, no matter what, okay?? ?Go get?m tiger? Holly glanced a smile my way. It wasn?t as bad as I thought. I half expected to see the walls spray painted and clothes strewn everywhere. Though it appeared that someone had searched through my dresser drawers, only the four-poster bed, complete with canopy, seemed to be missing. The stereo and tv sat where I had left them. The large wedding picture above the tv remained behind as well. Grabbing a few items of clothing, throwing them into a small over-night bag along with shaving cream, toothbrush and three other items that I thought might be just be up Holly?s alley. ?Well?? Holly inquired as I hopped back into the truck.?She?s been at the house. They took her bed and dresser and the rest of her clothes but left everything else. I should have bought a new set of locks while we were at Ed?s. But other than my tools down in the basement and the lawn mower in the garage, there really isn?t much else to take unless they come back for the tv and that painted wedding photo Martha just had to have. I have half a mind to go back in and get it drop back off at her folks place.? ?Ya, with me sitting right here next to ya. That?d raise more than a few eye brows.? Holly said it in such a tone voice so as to make me recognize the self serving naiveté of such an idea. ?I suppose you?re right. Just a thought. Let?s get out of here.? The sun had long passed midway through its journey overhead by the time we made it back to the house. I got the new set of hinges on the rear screen door while Holly cleaned up glass and fitted cardboard into the window slots upstairs. With that finished, I found the extension ladder and pounded back down the half dozen or so of tin roofing sheets on the barn that had been pulled away by the wind. Finding the wood solid underneath I made quick work of nailing it all back into place. By then, Holly met me at the light pole with fresh lemonade and a one hundred watt light bulb. Purple martin?s dive-bombed me, falling out of their house ten feet further up the pole from the barnyard light. ?Well what?s next,? I inquired, looking around the barnyard, trying to overlook the shed roof that had fallen in. Holly just stared at me and nodded at the shed with a tilting of the head. ?Don?t stop now, Buster. It shouldn?t take much. I?ll get some two by fours from the barn and you drag around those four pieces of plywood from behind the pump shed.? What Holly had imagined to be a half hour job turned into a four hour minor project. But it was done and it was done right the first time. Tearing off the entire roof on the left side of the shed, nailing in new rafters and cutting and fitting the plywood, salvaged from some -only God knows where, old billboard. Once again the red and black painted plywood advertised ?Rock City. Finishing the roof as Holly finished hauling away the old roof to the burn pile and straightening up what she could on the inside, together we stood looking at each other, sweaty, dirty but satisfied with a good days work. ?This calls for a celebration,? the landowner announced. ?And just what did you have in mind my dear?? I asked as she replied, ?How about getting cleaned up and driving all the way over to Farmers City and get something to eat at Cy?s?? to which I answered, ?But that will call for a dress!? to which she countered, ?and dress pants and a proper shirt for you. Don?t worry, I took a peek what you put in your bag. I ironed them and hung them up while you were still work?n on the barn.? Left speechless, all I could do was posit a ?Hmmm.? Careful not to get distracted, I showered downstairs while Holly got ready upstairs. ?Don?t come up here,? I was commanded as I started up the stair after growing impatient after waiting for her in the kitchen for a short eternity. It was getting be habit? finishing off the last of the last lemonade. ?I?m just about finished. Go sit out in the truck. I?ll be down there in two minutes.? ?Can I time you?? I shouted back up at her. Holly did not dignify the question with a reply. Every man has done it- waited on a woman. Martha had all but put me to hives waiting for her to get out to the truck before heading off to church. And to be fair, most times it wasn?t worth the wait. Martha wasn?t ever going to win a beauty pageant. No one was fooling them selves over that. Round, common-as-a-penny face, with white chubby arms and flocked dresses complete with padded shoulders and wide collars, none of which ever seemed to quite fit her correctly. Holly was good with her promise. No sooner had I started the truck than the kitchen light went out and the yellow tinted barnyard light powered on. There in all its glory, Rock Falls again returned to its proper place. By the time I had turned back around, Holly was already sliding into the open door. I let out a slow whistle. ?Just keep your hands to yourself and your eyes on the road,? Holly sang gaily while scooting over across the Farm