Coming Home Again

The Old Barn

There was something about a rainy day in the little mountain town that Dustin Henry called home.

It was raining the day he left the little farm. It seemed only fitting that it would be raining when he came home. A gentle, cleansing rain that gave the air that awesome scent he had always loved…the smell of the earth right after the rain.

He had dreamed of coming back here for eight years. How he had longed to see his Grandfather, sit down and talk with him like in the old days.

When he left eight years ago to study at the University, his Grandpa had been as strong and robust as ever, but Dustin could tell by his letters that the old man’s strength was waning and his spirit was weary.

Dustin remembered the look on his Grandpa’s face as he loaded the old Chevrolet to make the 500 mile drive to begin his adventures in ‘higher education’.

“Be careful”, Grandpa had said. “Learn all you can and never give it less than your best, but don’t forget your roots. Know that I will be thinking of you, praying for you every day, and looking forward to the day you come back home.”

Now he was home again, and Grandpa wasn’t there…would never be there again.

How could he forgive himself for not coming back in time to spend time with the man who raised him and loved him as his own son.

He would never forget the day he and Grandpa, along with other family members and friends, stood by two open graves after his parents had been killed in an auto accident.

His paternal grandfather never thought twice about taking Dustin in, feeding, clothing, educating him, and loving him unconditionally.

For eight years, Dustin had carried the image of Grandpa leaning against the porch railing, sadly waving to him as the old Chevy pulled out of the yard and out of sight.

Jenny

There was someone else who lived in the old neighborhood who loved Dustin…unconditionally. His lifelong best friend, frequent rival, occasional tormentor, Jenny Carson.

He and Jenny had gone all the way through school together - elementary school, middle school, and high school.

Throughout their elementary school years, they forged a quick rivalry because they were the two smartest kids in class every year.

Keeping a few points ahead of Jenny on any test was Dustin’s greatest motivation for studying so hard and making education his number one goal in life.

Education came first, before Jenny, before Grandpa, before anything or anyone. Dustin did not mean it to be that way and never really formed the thought in his mind. It just seemed to be more and more true with the passage of time.

He had kept in touch with Jenny more faithfully than with Grandpa, although he wrote to the old man at least once a month during all the time he was away.

Jenny was the one who called him the day his Grandpa, Wilbur Henry, had the massive heart attack that ended his life.

Dustin could not believe what he was hearing when Jenny told him his grandfather was gone. He still could not believe it.

Coming home in the rain, driving down the long gravel road toward the farm, Dustin wondered what would become of the house and land his Grandpa had owned. Years ago, Grandpa Wilbur had told him that when he died, it would all belong to Dustin.

Somehow, Dustin hadn’t thought of that conversation in years. The first four years of his time at the University had been consumed with earning a Bachelor’s Degree. After the first year, his guidance counselor had helped him apply for a scholarship, and he had been granted a full scholarship based on the merits of his academic record. His quest for a Master’s Degree began.

He was happy that at least his education did not have to continue costing Grandpa, and he would not be buried in student loans once he had earned his degree.

Mrs. Avery

In almost every letter Grandpa had written to Dustin, he had talked about Mrs. Avery. He had only praise for Edith Avery, his neighbor of fifty years.

After Dustin left home, Grandpa needed more help keeping up with the work as his health weakened, so he hired Mrs. Avery to clean house for him once a week, come by on Wednesday afternoons to do his laundry, and stock his refrigerator with cooked food for him to eat.

Mrs. Avery lived alone, and the friendship they shared filled an important place in both their lives.

Dustin looked forward to seeing Mrs. Avery again, too.

Looking Around

The house had been well maintained, as he knew it would be. Grandpa had always taken care of everything he owned. Dustin parked in the driveway and dug in his pocket for the front door key.

The key turned easily in the lock and Dustin entered the parlor. An indescribable feeling engulfed him as he saw the pictures of himself on the walls, just as they had been when he left home. Everything looked exactly as he remembered it.

A tour of the house, walking from room to room, left Dustin feeling emotionally exhausted with the surprising force of old memories.

The last room he entered was the kitchen and Dustin reflexively opened the refrigerator door just as he did every day for many years. There was a fresh gallon of milk there and bowls of mashed potatoes, green beans and corn.

It was too much, and Dustin sat down, put his head on his arms on the kitchen table and cried like a baby.

Emotionally spent, he stepped outside the back door and walked around the yard, then beyond the yard to the chicken pen (minus any chickens), the cow pasture, and the wonderful old barn that had been his favorite place on earth as a little boy.

Over to the right hand side of the barn, Dustin saw the garden spot where Grandpa used to plant a garden that was the envy of the community. Everyone said Wilbur Henry had a green thumb and could make anything grow and thrive. The thought entered his head that this applied to boys as well as crops.

The only thing in bloom there now was Grandpa’s fern plants he had planted along the front side of the barn. They had always seemed indestructible and so delicately beautiful.

Dustin saw Grandpa’s old tractor parked under the big oak tree where he always kept it. He climbed up on the seat and sat there, looking around, trying to take in the fact that Grandpa was really gone.

A Visitor

Dustin’s revelry was broken by the sound of a twig breaking and he looked up. About twenty feet away from the tractor, Jenny was standing there looking at him.

Dustin jumped to the ground and came to her side, enveloping her in a big bear hug. He didn’t mean to, but he started crying again, and Jenny cried with him.

Wordlessly, when Dustin grew quiet, she took his hand and they started walking toward the house.

Back in the kitchen, Jenny perked some tea, poured it in the big kettle, sweetened it, and led Dustin out to the front porch to sit on the porch swing together.

Jenny told Dustin how sorry she was that his Grandfather had died. Then she told him how good it was to see him again. “It’s strange”, said Jenny “how you can go for eight years without seeing someone, and when you are together again, it seems like all that time apart never existed”.

They sat and talked for three hours, which seemed more like 10 minutes, and noticed that the late afternoon sun was sinking in the West.

Jenny hesitantly asked Dustin if he had heard of the land developer who had been trying to get his grandpa to sell the farm to him.

Dustin’s eyes opened wider, his mouth opened and closed again, and he simply shook his head , “no”.

“Grandpa said it would all be mine when he was gone. Whoever this developer is, he can take it packing. I am not about to sell Grandpa’s farm to him or anyone else”.

“Jenny, will you go with me after the funeral to see Grandpa’s lawyer?".

The Funeral

Dustin had not realized how much he missed the people he grew up around. The funeral was hard for him, but after the service, he stayed around and talked for a while, renewing old acquaintances.

As he was talking to some former neighbors, Dustin saw two strangers leave the church, get into an old Ford and drive away. He had no idea what part they would play in his life in the coming months.

To Be Continued....