Waiting for their mirth to let go, they at last sat up to rearrange their hair, their smiles, their breathing, and their glances.
“Dear me, oh, dear, dear,” moaned the old man, with a last gasp of relief. “Wasn’t that the best ever, the finest, the loveliest time we have ever had anytime, anywhere, in all the great years?”
All nodded “yes.”
“But,” said practical Emily, straightening her face, “drama’s done. Tea’s cold. Time to go.”
And they gathered to lift the
old tentbones of the ancient warrior, and he stood amongst his dear ones in a glorious warm silence as they clothed him in his robe and guided him to the front door.
“Why,” wondered the old man. “Why? Why did Junior return on this day?”
“Silly!” cried Emily. “It’s your birthday!”
“Well, happy me! Yes, yes.” He mused. “Well, do you imagine, maybe, next year, and the next, will I be gifted the same?”
“Well,” said Cora.
“We—”
“Not in this lifetime,” said Emily, tenderly.
“Goodbye, dear Albert, fine Junior,” said each.
“Thanks for all of my life,” said the old man.
He waved and they were gone, down the drive and off into the fine fair morning.
He waited for a long while and then addressed himself to his old pal, his good friend, his now sleeping forever companion.
“Come on, Fido, here, boy, time for our pre-lunch nap. And, who knows, with luck we may dream wild dreams until tea!”
And, my God, he thought he heard the small voice cry, then won’t we be famished!?
“We will!”
And the old man, half-asleep on his feet, and Junior already dreaming, fell flat forward into a bed with three warm and laughing ghosts…
And so slept.
The Tombstone
Well, first of all there was the long trip, and the dust poking up inside her thin nostrils, and Walter, her Oklahoma husband, swaying his lean carcass in their model-T Ford, so sure of himself it made her want to spit; then they got into this big brick town that was strange as old sin, and hunted up a landlord. The landlord took them to a small room and unlocked the door.
There in the middle of the simple room sat the tombstone.
Leota’s eyes got a wise look, and immediately she pretended to gasp, and thoughts skipped through her mind in devilish quickness. Her superstitions were something Walter had never been able to touch or take away from her. She gasped, drew back, and Walter stared at her with his droopy eyelids hanging over his shiny gray eyes.
“No, no,” cried Leota, definitely. “I’m not moving in any room with any dead man!”
“Leota!” said her husband.
“What do you mean?” wondered the landlord. “Madam, you don’t—”
Leota smiled inwardly. Of course she didn’t really believe, but this was her only weapon against her Oklahoma man, so—”I mean that I won’t sleep in no room with no corpse. Get him out of here!”
Walter gazed at the sagging bed wearily, and this gave Leota pleasure, to be able to frustrate him. Yes, indeed, superstitions were handy things. She heard the landlord saying, “This tombstone is the very finest gray marble. It belongs to Mr. Whetmore.”