“Remember how I told you about my wife Trisha ... How she was such a fine teacher and how her kids loved her so?”
“Yes, sir. I remember.” There was a somber look in his dark brown eyes—one that made my chest tighten with worry. It was clear Ford loved his wife. You could hear it in his voice whenever he talked about her. It was also very clear he missed her terribly—some nights more than others. I had the feeling that tonight was one of those nights. “You said she taught third grade. One of the hardest grades to teach.”
“That’s right, but it didn’t matter what grade she taught. Trisha loved all kids. Didn’t matter what gender, what age, or what race. She loved them all the same.” He let out a depressed sigh as he adjusted his worn-out cap, inching it down so I couldn’t see the emotion in his eyes. “That’s why it was so hard for her when we couldn’t have kids of our own.”
Ford was always so busy talking about Trisha and her kids at school or the trips they’d taken, I hadn’t thought to ask if he had any children. There was no hiding the surprise in my voice when I replied, “I didn’t realize you didn’t have kids.”
“We tried for years. Got pregnant a couple of times, but Trisha couldn’t seem to carry to term.” Tears welled in his eyes as he continued, “Nearly broke her heart.”
“I can only imagine. No one should have to go through that.” I reached over and placed my hand on his arm. “I’m truly sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was God’s plan for us. Just like it was his plan for her to teach and love her students like she did.” His eyes met mine. “I also believe it was in his plan for me to meet you. I can’t tell you how many long, awful nights were made a little better just by seeing that sweet smile of yours. You’ve always been so kind and thoughtful, and it’s meant a lot to me.”
“Your friendship has meant a lot to me too. More than you might think.” I’d told him bits and pieces about my past, but I’d never really gone into anything specific. I didn’t see the point in dwelling on it now. Instead, I simply said, “I never really felt like I had any friends or even a real family until I came here.”
“Then, I guess it was in God’s plan for you to end up here with us.” Before I could respond, Ford reached in the front pocket of his overalls and pulled out a white envelope. As he handed it over to me, he said, “I want you to take this and continue following that plan. Take those college courses you didn’t finish and get your degree.”
“What?” I opened the envelope and gasped when I saw that it was filled with cash. “Oh, Ford. This is too much. I can’t accept this.”
“You most certainly can. It’s a gift, and I want you to have it.”
“But this is money you could use for yourself. You could take a trip or fix your kitchen floor like you’ve been talking about.”
“Got no place I want to go, and my floors are fine.” He placed his hand on mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Like I said, never had kids of my own. It would mean a lot to me if you’d let me do this for you.”
“Are you really sure about this?”
“Wouldn’t have given it to you if I wasn’t.”
“Thank you, Ford. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
“You’re very welcome.” He eased back his hand as he smiled and said, “I’ll expect an invitation to your graduation.”
“You can count on it.”
I got up and went over and hugged him, thanking him once more. As much as I hated to leave him sitting alone, I didn’t have a choice. I had to get back to my other customers. The rest of the night was a bit of a blur. I filled one order after the next and was relieved when everyone started to say their goodbyes and leave. Once our last customer paid his tab and left, Gladys and I stared out at the mess they’d left behind and sighed with exhaustion. Gladys shook her head as she muttered, “Good heavens. What a night!”
“Did you have fun?”
“Lord, yes. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had such a great time.” Her lips curled into a pained smile as she said, “Probably have the headache of all headaches tomorrow after all those shots, but it was worth it.” She started tossing empty bottles into the trashcan as she said, “Still having a hard time believing this is the last time I’ll be here cleaning up the place.”
“You still feel good about your decision to close?”
“Yeah, I think it was the right thing to do, but that doesn’t mean I won’t miss the place.” She sat down on one of the stools as she glanced around the room. “I got a lot of good memories here, but it’s time to move on.”
“It’s going to be hard not seeing you every day.”
“Well, I’ll be expecting to see a lot of you, missy,” she replied playfully. “You best be planning to visit.”
“You know I will.” I reached over and gave her a hug as I told her, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Gladys. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
“You would’ve made it just fine.” She patted me on the shoulder. “You’re a smart girl with a good head on your shoulders. No one can tear you down unless you let them. Remember that whenever the tough times roll around.”
“I will.”
We were just about to start cleaning up when Rafe and Country finally returned from the clubhouse. As they made their way over to us, Country looked around the bar and grumbled, “What a fucking mess.”
“No more than usual.” Gladys continued tossing empty bottles as she said, “Shouldn’t take long to get her cleaned up.”
“Are you kidding me?” Country argued. “This shit is gonna take hours.”
It was clear from his tone that he wasn’t in the mood to deal with helping us close. To be honest, I understood how he felt. It was after midnight, and even though it was still relatively early, I was exhausted. I’d hoped Gladys would feel the same, but Gladys being Gladys, countered back with, “Well, it has to be done.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t have to be done right this second. Let’s just come back in the morning or something.”
“He’s right.” Rafe stepped forward as he continued, “We’ve all had a long night. Let’s just call it, and we’ll get a few prospects over here to take care of the mess.”
“That sounds like a hell of an idea.”
“I don’t know. Doesn’t seem right to leave things like this.”
“It’ll be fine.” We could all see Gladys wasn’t sure it was the best idea, but Country wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Come on, Gran. Go grab your stuff and I’ll help you upstairs.”
“But I need to lock up.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I assured her. “You head on home and get some rest.”
Thankfully, Gladys was tired and grabbed her things without any fuss. As they started up to her apartment, Country called out to Rafe, “I’ll see you back over at the clubhouse.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I get Marlowe home.”