Chapter 39: The Happiest Day

Part VIII: Anna Pratt’s Story

ANNA:

“Hey, Mom?” We heard the voice from the door and all smiled. Whitney walked into the room, still ramrod straight and tall as a tree. She’d coached the local boys’ basketball team to two straight state championships and was the only woman coaching a boys’ high school team in the state. I didn’t think her weight had varied by a pound in twenty-five years.

“In here, Whitney.”

“Dave just called and he’s in Indianapolis. He said you didn’t have your phone on.”

“Well, we’re just chatting, love. I didn’t want to be interrupted.”

“You should probably all plan to be interrupted big time soon,” Whitney laughed. “Matthew and Ellie are on their way as are James and Celeste. That’s four more greatgrandkids and four more great-greatgrandkids inbound. I’m sure more are on their way.”

“It’s hard to believe that Brian has grandchildren,” I sighed. “We’re not that old!”

“Jenny Lynn is finishing her freshman year in college,” Marilyn sighed. Jennifer had openly declared that Jenny Lynn was her daughter and the only grandchild I could expect from her. She had both Courtney’s beauty and brains. Brian could scarcely keep up. I wondered if he had any idea what starting his little dating group agreement would lead to.

“Part of Corazón’s Wedding Day,” John laughed. “Like you. After so many years, why did you and Marilyn finally decide to marry?”

I smiled and took my lover’s hand. My wife.

I think I can name the four happiest days of my life, though I’ve had far more happy days than sad ones. The first was when I held my own baby daughter in my arms for the first time and realized I was a mother. It wasn’t just the culmination of labor. I knew I was never going to be a college student or a high-powered attorney like Art. Pregnancy changed the course of my life and the fruit of that change was my daughter. Not everyone is supposed to be a full-time mother. I truly believe that. But it was right for me. All I wanted in the world was a happy child.

People had always told me how much Jennifer looked like me. We were both blonde, five-four or five-five, and ... um ... nicely shaped. That’s another thing I credited Jennifer for. She kept me young. Maybe I found myself competing with my daughter a little bit. My vanity said I should be the prettiest girl in my home. Well, I was barely thirty when Jennifer hit puberty and I didn’t want to look like the mother of a teenager.

I had no idea what kind of a path she would lead me down until the day I met Hayden and Marilyn at Starbridge Dude Ranch when we went to pick up our children and discovered they had been there together. That started me on the path to the second—in chronological order—happiest day of my life.

On Memorial Day weekend, twenty-nine years ago this weekend, I joined hands with Marilyn and Hayden as Rose wrapped a pale blue thread around our wrists and we were handfasted. I will cherish that day and every moment of the eleven years we three had together. I knew love like I had never known it before. It was the moment that I knew the true meaning of what Jennifer, Courtney, and Brian had declared for themselves nearly a year before. Being cónyuge in this clan was not a temporary thing. It was not something our children did to legitimize their love affairs. I was mated for life.

Ten years later, the third happiest day of my life came when I held our granddaughter, Jenny Lynn, in my arms. Of course, Hayden, Marilyn, Bill, and Crystal held the bond by blood, but I knew for a fact that she was as much Jennifer’s daughter as Brian’s and Courtney’s. I counted all Brian’s children as my grandchildren, but there was something just a little special about holding Jenny Lynn.

When Hayden passed away just a year-and-a-half later, Marilyn and I ... I can’t even describe the level of devastation. Marilyn had been with Hayden four decades longer than I had. They’d grown up together. How could I even compare my grief to hers? But my fear...

I was so afraid that with Hayden gone, she would no longer want me. I loved her ... I do love her to the bottom of my heart. I was afraid I would lose both of them.

She wasted no time in pulling me to her beautiful bosom and clinging to me as I clung to her. That night, surrounded by Brian and Jennifer and Dani, she whispered in my ear as we lay together, “Till death do us part, beloved. Please, never leave my side.”

And I never will.

It took a few years to make the leap and declare it publicly on the fourth happiest day of my life. Corazón’s Wedding Day, as that Christmas Eve has become known. We stood with the other couples in front of the fireplace in the barn and Rose declared us married. I’m still a little giddy. Women of a certain age aren’t supposed to be giddy. Oh well.

How we got to that day, though ... That’s a longer story.

Jennifer and Courtney were a year ahead of Brian and most of the Mishawaka clan even though they were near the same age. We were living with the Frosts when Brian graduated. There was a certain ... joy in Mudville that went beyond getting out of school. Hannah was glowing. The two of them looked stupid in love. And occasionally there was a cry from upstairs that made their situation obvious. Marilyn and I dragged Hayden to bed every time they screamed. That sort of thing is contagious. We were all relieved to call it a night and bury ourselves in each other. Literally.

We were roused from sleep Tuesday morning by a call from Sheriff Donaldson telling us the ranch house had burned to the ground. I thought I’d done a good thing for both the kids and myself when I bought the ranch and leased it to them so they’d have a place to live when they came to college.

The three of us had talked about what I was doing in one of our most serious discussions ever. I sold my house when it was clear to me that being with Hayden and Marilyn was not temporary. We were making a new family together. Of course, there were all kinds of legal things we had to do to protect ourselves and our children since we couldn’t get married. I talked to Rex Davis for hours to see if what I wanted to do was even possible. Sending the kids to Kokomo to clean and paint my house over spring break had shown me that they were, indeed, as responsible and caring as we all thought. Rex said that incorporating their Casa would not be difficult and that as a corporation or LLC, they could lease the property from me. I’m sure they had no idea how many times the three of us had been to Bloomington to find the perfect place for them.

This trip, however, was as sad as our Memorial Day weekend trip had been joyous.

Jennifer, Rose, and Brian took Hayden and me to Bloomington and I watched as the fire in their eyes became smoke from the ashes. It broke my heart. It was my life savings and the insurance adjuster smirked as he said, “Total loss. Value, $50,000. Recommendation, no payout due to arson.” I’d paid $150,000 for the ranch out of the proceeds from the sale of my Kokomo home and got replacement value insurance. This asshole was offering nothing! Hayden took me in his arms as I wept. That might have been the only thing preventing him from charging after the bastard.

I believe there is an unwritten code among men. Perhaps it is one of Brian’s famous unwritten rules. I could see Brian tense as if the adjuster had offered him a personal affront. But I was Hayden’s woman. Brian deferred to his father in the matter of defending my honor. I’m sure that if Hayden had nodded once to his son, the adjuster would not have made it to his car.

Hayden and I had had a loving night in our suite. Brian, Jen, and Rose were in the second bedroom. We’d been on the phone getting organized for half the evening. I was comfortable with Hayden and let him take control of my body. We are a threesome but just by virtue of the way life works, he and Marilyn had many more opportunities to be together without me than I had with either of them alone. I’m sad to say that night was one of Hayden simply comforting me. I was a wreck after the insurance adjuster left and we spent a long time that night cuddled together talking to Marilyn with the phone held between us. Much like Hayden and Marilyn had done so many nights talking to me during our courtship.

We both sighed deeply when we finally hung up. We missed our lover. Hayden held me and kissed me. I wanted nothing more than to forget for a moment the smoldering ruins of the farmhouse and the look of disappointment in our children’s eyes. I found that moment in his arms and opened myself fully to my lover. I pulled him over me and hugged him as he entered me. I wanted to feel his weight pressing my body into the mattress. He was strong and covered me fully. I held him as he moved in and out of my vagina, whispering to me that it would be all right. We would recover. We would not let our children suffer.

I climaxed shortly before he did and we fell into exhausted sleep.

I am thankful for all the support we had. Rex Davis came down the next day and we started a suit against the insurance company immediately. The fire inspector came back with his report on how the fire started.

“Even though I found no direct sign of a malicious act against your property involving fire, there are questionable bits that require some lab work. In other words, while I don’t think at the moment that it was arson, I was told about your confrontation with the adjuster yesterday. I’m securing the site so that you can request a State Investigator for a second opinion. It’s likely your insurance company will want an independent investigation, as well. What I found last night as I was crawling around in the cellar was what appeared to be rat-chewed wires. The question remains as to how that contributed to the fire starting after the power had been on for two weeks. The lab work will reveal if there were any unexpected substances on or near the wires.”

The summary was the kids would be without a house in the fall.