Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
DAMIEN
Pulling down the long, tree-lined driveway at Levi’s parents’ house, I feel my heart rate kicking up. It’s the first time I’ve been here since our last leave; I wasn’t even able to come for his funeral because we were overseas at the time. Still, my heart is now in my throat as memories of previous visits threaten to overwhelm me. As I park my rental car next to a pickup truck, I take a deep breath, crack the windows, then shut off the vehicle. Time to face the music, so to speak.
Stepping onto the gravel driveway, I take in the scents that seem to be unique to this little slice of heaven. I can hear the chickens I know his mom keeps, along with a dog barking, while the smell of the trees immediately makes me sneeze. Seems I might be here during peak pollen season judging from the amount of yellow dust motes I see moving around.
“Who are you?” a little voice asks, causing me to look down toward the ground.
A little girl, with bouncing blonde ringlets is smiling up at me, and I instinctively know she’s Levi’s because his unique blue-gray eyes are staring back at me.
He has a little girl, I muse. I don’t think he knew about her because he never said a word. Considering I knew all about Emerie, his family home, and the joys of growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, I don’t think he would’ve left this little sprite out.
Clearing my throat to unclog the lump that’s taking up residence at her innocent question, I say, “I’m a… a friend of your daddy’s.”
“My daddy lives in Heaven,” she replies. “Do you know my Pappy?”
I nod and ask, “Is he here?”
“Come on, I take you to him,” she says, grabbing my hand.
I follow along, grimacing when I step unevenly and my leg twinges. It hasn’t been long since I was discharged from physical therapy, but my therapist warned me it would be a few more months before the residual achiness went away. She also said that I might experience ‘seasonal discomfort’ which I guess was her way of saying that when the weather changes, I’ll hurt.
“Pappy!” the little sprite calls out.
“Levinia, who do you have with you?” Mr. Mathers asks, staring at me as he wipes his hands with a cloth.
She shrugs. “Don’t know, Pappy.”
Mr. Mathers walks toward us then shocks the hell out of me when he pulls me in for a hug. “Wondered how you were, Damien.”
My eyes are suspiciously wet when we pull back from one another. “Finally discharged, sir,” I reply.
He doesn’t miss much as his eyes travel from the top of my head to the tip of my toes, catching on the slightly pink skin on my arm. He can’t see my legs thanks to my jeans, but I know he watched us walking toward the barn he’s apparently puttering around in, so he had to have seen the slight limp I now have.
“Levinia, this is Damien Strong, he knew your daddy,” Mr. Mathers says. “Go see if Memaw has any lemonade, please.”
“Okay, Pappy,” she replies, grinning up at me before taking off at a run toward the farmhouse.
Once she’s out of hearing, I look at him and state, “He has a daughter.”
“Yeah, the day we got the news about the accident was the day Emerie found out she was carrying that little ‘un,” he replies. “One of the best and worst days of our lives, to be honest. She’s the spittin’ image of him at that age. Cuter though, in the way little girls can be,” he says, chuckling.
“I, uh, I’m sorry I couldn’t get here for his funeral.”
“We knew you wouldn’t be able to, son,” Mr. Mathers says. “Now, come on, I know Miriam will want to see you.”
“Let me stop and grab something out of my car. I’ve got some things he had for you guys.”
A small hitch in his breathing is the only sign I have that he heard me as I walk back to the car to retrieve the box that I brought. Once I have it in hand, I head toward the back porch where I can hear Levinia chattering away to her grandmother.
“I thought we’d gotten everything already,” Mrs. Mathers says as she carefully opens the box that’s sitting on the small table.
“Probably his trunk, but this was at the apartment we had off base,” I reply. “He would find things for you guys and keep them there so the other guys in our squad didn’t rag on him. Said they were just stuff that reminded him of home. I’m sorry I couldn’t get it to you sooner.”
Her eyes are teary, but she smiles at me while shaking her head. “No, I think the timing is just right, don’t you, Pappy?”
He winks at her then looks down at Levinia, who is now playing with some blocks. While we’ve been talking, she’s been playing, but now, she crawls onto her grandmother’s lap.
“Don’t be sad, Memaw.”
“Oh, honey, how could I be sad when you’re here?” the older woman asks.
“I have a box for Emerie as well,” I quietly admit. “Just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to make my way out here, but I’ve been overseas for the past three years.”
“Everything happens in the right time, Damien,” Mrs. Mathers replies. She starts looking through the box, small gasps and occasional giggles from her and Levinia keeping me entranced.
“Does… does Emerie still live in Possum Creek?” I question. I don’t know why I never met her during one of my other visits; probably because we were usually in and out in under two days. While I would sleep, enjoying his parents’ hospitality, he would slip off to see her for a few hours.
“She does, but she’s doing her clinical ride alongs right now.”
“Ride alongs?”
“She’s about to become a paramedic,” Mr. Mathers proudly states. “Worked her as-tail off,” he says, changing up what he was about to say when he sees Levinia staring at him.
“Mama works hard,” Levinia tells me.
“That she does, little one, that she does,” Mrs. Mathers says. “She’ll be here soon if you want to wait. I’ve got plenty so you’ll stay for supper.”
“How about we show Damien around, Levinia,” Mr. Mathers says, “and leave Memaw to her memories.”
I can tell from a quick glance that Mrs. Mathers is holding on tightly to her emotions and stand. “I’d like that. Did I hear chickens?” I ask the little girl.
“Cows too!” she exclaims, jumping up and grabbing my hand. “Come on, I show you.”
It makes me chuckle that sometimes, she’s articulate, while others, she sounds more like her age. Guess it’s because of being around her grandparents; who knows?