Coming Home Again - Part III

Two days had passed since his Grandfather's funeral, and Dustin Henry lay awake in the pre-dawn first light of day. He thought about Jenny and a feeling of peace and contentment flooded his mind and heart. He was certain he would be lost without her right now.

Jenny was due to come over in a couple of hours, and Dustin wanted to be up and ready for her arrival. The two of them were planning to go into town to see Attorney Gray and discuss the situation Dustin was facing with the farm and the two strangers who seemed intent on taking it away from him.

A shower and breakfast would jump start his strength to face the day. Dustin decided to make French toast and eggs sunny-side-up for breakfast. That had been Grandpa's favorite breakfast. Somehow making it now made Dustin feel closer to Grandpa, and the thought brought the familiar ache to his chest.

Since Jenny called him with the news of Grandpa's passing, the ache had been there underneath all the frenzied action of getting home, going to the funeral home to help plan the funeral and then getting through it. He had renewed some old friendships in the aftermath of the funeral, and he looked forward to seeing them in the coming days and weeks.

With the eggs and toast on the table Dustin looked out the front window to see if Jenny was coming yet. He saw her car in the distance, heading his way on the old gravel road.

Jenny pulled into the yard and parked her car beside Dustin's. They would take his car to Mr. Gray's office.

An hour later, breakfast and a quick clean-up job done, Dustin and Jenny were on their way to Attorney Lucius Gray's office. Mr. Gray's secretary welcomed them and ushered them into his private counseling room.

"Dustin", he began, "from my research, it seems that the state government is interested in your farm and that of several others close by. Some of my partners are hired to represent some of your neighbors in the case".

"Here is where the problem comes in. When government is involved, whether federal, state, or local, they have a long-standing precedent on their side. It's called eminent domain. This simply means that if land is needed for the greater common good of large parts of the population, they can legally claim rights to the land as long as they pay you a fair price".

"Fair price...how do they decide what is a fair price for the place someone has called home for most or all their lives? Grandpa must have been beside himself with the thought of losing his house and farm land. It might have contributed to his heart attack and shortened his life. How do they decide on a 'fair price' for that!?".

"I understand your distress about this, Dustin", said Mr. Gray. "The fact is they can go by land values and assessment amounts. There seems to be overwhelming evidence that the best and wisest, though not the easiest, thing the landowner can do is try to find every possible angle to maximize the price they get, not let them shortchange you".

"By the way, Dustin, I have Wilbur's will right here in this folder. You can take time to read it here or take it home to go over it. Since it is not a very long document, I would recommend going over it here and now. I have enough time if you and Jenny do. The bottom line is, the property is now in your name, so any negotiations will be between you and the government agents.

I will call Anna in...she is the best secretary I've ever had! She can notarize our signatures and all your Grandfather's property and belongings will be legally yours. Any trouble or complications you encounter can be brought to my attention immediately and I will do all I can to help resolve them".

Two hours later, papers signed and notarized, Dustin and Jenny were almost ready to leave Mr. Gray's office and make the trip back to the farm. Lucius Gray reached out his hand to shake hands with Dustin and Jenny when he suddenly stopped. "Wait", he said, "I have something in my wall safe that Wilbur asked me to give you if anything happened to him. He did not want to keep it there in the house in case of a burglary or house fire. Wilbur thought of everything where you were concerned. It is a small brown paper box with the words, 'Fragile - Handle With Care' printed on one end. He made me promise not to let anyone but you get hold of it. Of course I assured him I would do as he requested'.

Mr. Gray stepped across the room and turned the dial on the lock. He reached in and extracted the small box, closed and locked the wall safe, and came back to the desk, handing the box to Dustin.

"You might want to open this in private, so why not take it home to open it. If there is anything I need to know about, just call my cell phone number. It's on my card. I'll be on standby for you anytime".

"Thank you so much, Mr. Gray. I see now why Grandpa spoke so highly of you and never thought of looking for another lawyer. I'll call you soon".

Having said goodbye to Mr. Gray, Dustin and Jenny went to the car and Dustin started it up. He asked Jenny to hold the box and said they would open it when they got back to the farm.

Neither of them talked much on the drive back. They were still processing all that Mr. Gray had told them and wondering what would happen next. Was there NO way Dustin could keep from losing the house and land? The little box seemed like an afterthought.

Almost home, Dustin asked Jenny if she would like to stop at the little diner...the only one in the community...for an already-cooked meal before returning to the farm.

There was no disagreement. Jenny loved to cook, but she was tired now and felt washed-out, as did Dustin.

They chose a table and were ready with their choices when the waitress came to take their order. They ate slowly, going over and over in their minds what they had just heard. Jenny felt as though she had a part in everything that was happening, a part in anything that touched Dustin's life for better or worse.

The thought of the last three words jolted Jenny. It sounded like the marriage vows. She must not get ahead of herself. Sure, she was coming to think of Dustin as more than a cherished friend, but he might not feel the same about her. She tried, without much success, to calm her frazzled feelings before he started to wonder what was wrong.

Back home at last, Dustin reached for the box and carried it as they walked back to the porch and sat down on the swing. He had always loved to sit in this spot because the scenery was astounding. He could not think of losing this beautiful farm.

Dustin reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket knife. The box was wrapped in sturdy twine which he cut in two easily and began tearing off the paper.

He paused, wondering what Grandpa had put in such a small package that could be so valuable. When he lifted the lid off the unwrapped box, a little piece of paper fell out on his lap. He lifted it and read, "Dustin, I wish I could be there with you now, but since I cannot, I want you to have your Grandmother's wedding and engagement rings. My Mary was the most beautiful bride you could imagine. When you find the one for you, please use these rings if you wish. They can be re-sized if necessary. I love you, Dustin!"

Tears streaming down his face, Dustin lifted the rings, looked at Jenny, and knew he had found the one for him.

He took Jenny's left hand and said with a tremble in his voice, "Jenny, I love you so much! You are the one for me. I would be honored if you would agree to be my wife."

Jenny replied, 'I love you, too, Dustin. I have loved you as long as I can remember. Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife and share my life with you".

One long kiss later, they sat quietly with Dustin's arm around Jenny, looking at the diamond on her finger and watching it sparkle in the afternoon sunlight.

Had it not been for the echo of the words, 'eminent domain', they would have been almost perfectly happy.

Both Dustin and Jenny felt, at that moment, like they were the only two people on the planet. They could not know that two strangers were parked out of sight down the old gravel road watching everything and plotting....

To Be Continued...