Chapter 17 #3
“I guessed he might,” Nora said, “which is why I’m calling.
I’m going to call Sonny this morning and tell him that the Jacksons have my permission to move in right away.
We both know it’ll take a month to six weeks for all the deed stuff, and there’s nothing worse than trying to move in the winter, especially in West Texas with snow on the ground and wind cold enough to freeze spit. ”
“That’s really kind of you, Nora, and of course, these are your calls to make. Listen, I’m driving into Crossroads this afternoon to pick up the For Sale sign. How about I bring the keys and drop them off at the Yellow Rose. Pearl’s connection to Sonny and Maggie should make that okay.”
“That would be perfect. Just tell Pearl to give Maggie a call, and she can come get them. You’re the best,” Nora said. “Take care.”
The moment their call ended, she made a call to the ranch. It rang several times, and she was waiting to leave a message when Maggie picked up.
“Hello?”
“Maggie, this is Nora. Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”
Maggie laughed. “I was working on a portrait, and trying to get enough paint off my hands to pick up the phone.”
Nora chuckled. “Sorry to interrupt genius happening, but I have a bit of news I think Chris and Ellen Jackson will like. I’ve already spoken to Patty Thomas about this. I’m giving Chris and Ellen permission to move in immediately while we’re all waiting for the deed search to be finished.”
“Oh my God! Nora! How wonderful.”
“Well, I kept thinking of how awful it would be trying to move house in the middle of winter. It’s setting empty; there’s no reason for them not to be there.”
“I can’t wait to tell Sonny,” Maggie said. “You are such a thoughtful, loving person. Chris and Ellen are going to be so excited. What a wonderful Christmas you are giving them!”
“The other thing… Patty is coming to Crossroads this afternoon to pick up her For Sale sign. She is going to leave the house keys with Pearl, at the Rose, so you might want to give Pearl a heads up about that. This way you won’t have to drive all the way to Amarillo to get them.”
“Even better!” Maggie said. “Blessings to you, Nora. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome,” Nora said, and disconnected, then checked that off of her list of things to do.
* * *
Sonny came in the back door just as Maggie was hanging up. When she saw him, she went running. “You will never guess!”
He put his hands on her shoulders and closed his eyes. Saw Chris and Ellen moving into the new house and then opened his eyes.
“When do they move?” he asked.
She swatted him on the arm. “I can’t believe I even said that to you. You don’t have to guess. Agggh.”
He grinned. “Just tell me, baby.”
“Nora just called and said she’s giving permission to Chris and Ellen to move in now. No waiting. Patty Thomas is bringing the house keys to Pearl this afternoon. We can pick them up and give them the keys to their new home immediately.”
“That is most kind of her. She has a good heart,” he said.
“I have to call Pearl and tell her about the keys, and she can let me know when she has them. Wouldn’t it be awesome if they could spend their first night there tonight?”
“It would,” Sonny said. “And I will give him the day off tomorrow so they can move their clothes and food and get settled. That’s all they have that doesn’t belong to the house they’re living in now.”
“I can’t wait to see their faces,” Maggie said, and went off to call Pearl.
* * *
Four hours later, Maggie got the call from Pearl and made a round trip to Crossroads and back, then went to look for Sonny and found him in the stable with Chris, feeding horses.
“Sonny! I’ve got them!” she said, and dropped the keys into his outstretched hand, then stood there, looking at Chris and watching his face.
“What?” Chris said.
Sonny passed the keys to Chris. “Nora Borden called this morning. You are officially free to move in. She didn’t want you to wind up having to move house in the middle of winter.”
He had a smile a mile wide. “Oh, man! This is wonderful. Ellen is going to be so excited.”
“Then go home and pack an overnight bag,” Sonny said. “Spend the night in your new home, and you have the day off tomorrow to make the official move. Go! I’ll finish up.”
Chris took off running, and Maggie was jumping with delight.
“Times like this just make my day,” she said.
Sonny grinned. “You make my day, every day. Go get out of the cold. I’ll be in soon.”
They heard Chris’s truck start up, and then the roar as he flew up the driveway, looked at each other and laughed.
“We just made his day, too,” Sonny said. “Now get! Your nose is getting red from the cold.”
* * *
The keys to their new house were burning a hole in Chris’s pocket as he sped down the blacktop road. It was the fastest two miles he’d ever driven, and he was just as excited as he’d been when he went to tell her that Sonny was buying a house for them to rent.
When he finally reached the little house on the corner of the last block south, he took the turn without bothering to brake and slid sideways in the yard before coming to a halt. Wild rides were nothing. On a horse. In a car. Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.
He killed the engine and got out running. He could smell supper cooking and heard lids banging as he burst into the house.
“Ellen! Honey!”
She came running out of the kitchen. “What now?”
He pulled the keys out of his pocket and dropped them in her hand. “The keys to our new home. Nora Borden told Sonny we should move in now, before winter sets in, and that they’ll deal with all the legal work as it goes.”
She clutched the keys to her breasts. “Now? As in whenever we want to?”
“Yes, honey. Whenever we want to.”
“Supper’s almost ready,” she said.
“Pack it up. Grab a toothbrush and your nightie. We’re eating and sleeping in our new house tonight. Sonny gave me the day off tomorrow so we can move all the rest. This is it, honey! This is the beginning of us!”
Ellen squealed, and then he began dancing her across the floor and into the kitchen.
“This is the last meal you will ever cook in someone else’s kitchen, in someone else’s pans, and eat on someone else’s plates.
Come on, I’ll help,” he said, and together, they packed up what she’d cooked, and then they packed up what amounted to an overnight bag, put all the cookware to soak in the sink, and they were gone.
Driving the few blocks down to Bluebell Street and taking that turn was like finding the end of a rainbow. They pulled up into the drive and went up the steps together, Ellen with their overnight bag, and Chris with the box of food.
He opened the door, set their things down inside, then swooped her up and carried her across the threshold, laughing from the joy of it.
“Just like our honeymoon night,” Ellen said.
Chris put her down and kissed her, and then locked the door behind them before carrying the food into the kitchen, turning on the lights as he went.
“You set the table and get the food out. I’ll take our bag to our bedroom,” Chris said.
Ellen was so giddy she was trembling, but she remembered exactly where the pretty plates were and went straight to the cabinet.
The joy of setting plates that matched onto place mats, and getting the flatware out of a drawer, and the salt and pepper shakers out of the spice cabinet was beyond anything she’d ever dreamed for herself.
When Chris came back, the food was on their plates. When he saw she put him at the head of the table, he saw the years ahead, being the man of the house, then turned around and seated her first before he sat down and reached for her hand.
She bowed her head.
And like every meal they’d had together, Chris Jackson blessed the food and the hands who’d prepared it, just like his daddy had taught him to do.