Chapter 2

“Remember how I always complain that the Women’s Hospital Auxiliary, which organizes the weekly visits to the senior centre, and mostly consists of a bunch of busy body, snobbish old witches? And you always say: Well, then why did you join them?”

It was the question Leon was least expecting and he wondered where it came from. He slowly nodded, believing it was wiser to let Abby get to where she was going before saying anything.

“Well, this has something to do from visiting with all those people in the old folk’s home. I admit at first I thought it would be boring but after a couple of weeks I found it so interesting I kept volunteering. Do you want to know why?”

Leon shook his head but remained silent because he was still trying to figure out what Abby was up to. She gave him a gentle nudge and squirmed delightfully in his arms and a big smile broke over her face.

“It’s because I discovered there’s gold in them there hills,” she giggled.

Leon’s puzzlement grew. Gold, now where did that come from? Has one of those old timers passed away and left Abby a fortune? Abby could see it in the bewildered look on his face and continued.

“I’ll explain but I bet you think it’s ... like ... real gold, don’t you?”

Abby’s smile grew when Leon slowly nodded. It was fun teasing him but she decided to get to the point.

“Like I said, at first I thought it would be totally boring to have to sit around and listen to those old men and women ramble on about their past lives, but then, maybe because I’m a school teacher and teach a bit of history, I realized something. Those old folks weren’t just babbling over past memories, they were recalling actually pieces of history they witnessed. They were telling stories of a bygone era that will be forgotten with their deaths, and some of their stories were so interesting they gave me fantastic ideas for my stories.”

Aby snuggled tighter in his arms and smiled up at Leon.

“Now do you see? It isn’t real gold, but there are precious gems in their memories and I realized there’s a way to keep their experiences alive before they’re forgotten forever. At the same time, I can pursue my writing aspirations. So I decided not to quit that stupid women’s group that’s mostly full of old biddies. Instead, I keep volunteering, but every time I go to the old folk’s home I bring my pen and notebook so I can take notes about the stories those old people tell me. Some of them are fantastic tales from an era that is quickly passing.”

Leon nodded in understanding. Now it all made sense. He should have known. Becoming a famous writer was one of Abby’s biggest dreams. She talked about it constantly and always shared her stories with him, and he had to admit, she did have a knack for story telling because the best ones were able to hold him spell bound, while the others were only slightly less riveting.

“You never give up, do you? You know, besides being beautiful and smart I think that one of the things I love you about the most.” He hugged her tighter and grinned down at Abby. Since she was smiling up at him he took the opportunity to plant another kiss on her sweet, delicious lips.

Abby reluctantly broke away from his kiss before she completely forgot what she wanted to talk to Leon about. He had a way of doing that to her.

“You see, since I’ve already interviewed a couple of those old timers and got their stories written, I think it’s time to get them published.”

“Published, how? That would be fantastic,” Leon exclaimed.

“Right, and I am so proud of those stories. I thought they were so good, I foolishly believed Mr. Horndecker at the River Bend Press would want to publish them in his paper. I went to see him today but he flatly refused. He barely looked at them before handing them back and you know what he said?”

Leon gazed down at Abby. He was prepared to comfort her and expected to see sorrowful look on her face but instead he saw fury. Her eyes were raging like a fast approaching summer storm that was going to wipe out everything in its way.

Oh, oh, somebody better be careful. I’m just glad it isn’t me she’s angry at, Leon thought as he recalled an old phrase that read: “Hell has no fury like an angry woman” (or something like that).

“You know what he said?” Abby retorted with an angry shake of her head that shook her long golden curls.

Leon merely shook his head, deciding it was wiser to remain mute and let Abby have her say to get everything out of her system.

“Can you imagine the nerve of him? When he handed them back to me after only a quick glance, he had the gall to say it’s best I stick to my women’s page stuff. You know that’s nothing more than local social gossip and columns about cooking or flowers. Then he had the nerve to say he’s got a paper to look after and that his readership won’t take anything too serious if it’s written by a woman. He claimed it would destroy the integrity of his stupid paper.”