Part 29 If Oak Trees Could Talk!
Wow, can you believe that we are in February already? What does your mind automatically go to when someone says “It’s February.” When I think of February I automatically think of spring being on its way and Love being in the air! I hope that if you are reading along or “tuning in” each week to my video blogs, that you’ve realized that If Oak Trees Could Talk is truly a love story. Maybe it is sometimes the story may seem a little too mushy and sentimental, but I honestly know real people who love each other like my characters Henry and Helen love!
True Romance and unconditional love does exist! It hasn’t died. Because love is alive, I choose to pursue it with a passion! After all, what were we put on this earth for? My answer is….So that we can love and be loved.
Today we will finish Chapter 14 The Family Gathering and continue to cruise right into Chapter 15 The Cruise!
Chapter 14 The Family Gathering!
“Lovely, it will be just lovely.” Helen agreed.
Henry was right! As he visited the Oak tree it was as though a flood of pleasant memories came rushing back to him. He found himself pushing the swing gently as he remembered his little Amelia shouting “Higher, Daddy, higher!” He smiled with the remembrance of how brave she was. Then he whispered, “She’s still a brave little thing!” He also remembered the day that Amelia walked him to the tree and told him about Robert. She sat in the swing once again and her Daddy pushed her gently. She was so confident and sure that Robert was the one for her. When Henry stopped pushing her in the swing and walked around in front of her, he looked straight into those pool blue eyes. He saw the same sparkling light that was in his Helen’s eyes. He could never put that light out, so as heartbreaking as it was to admit that his little Amelia had grown up, he realized at that moment that she had grown up right before his eyes and was in love! Henry’s only wish was that she would find the kind of love that he and his Helen had found. He knew it was a rare kind of love, but when he looked into Amelia’s innocent face that day, he was assured that she had found it! He went on to remember her beautiful wedding in the gardens and how it was so hard for him to turn her over to Robert that day. He was so afraid that Robert would whisk Amelia away to some other state and that they wouldn’t get to see much of her. But that wasn’t the case, instead Robert and Amelia went in partners with him at the Hardware store and Amelia helped him run it every day. As the swing made a gentle creaking sound it reminded him of the day that he placed Dylan in the swing for the first time, then Robbie. So many of the life events that were precious to Henry happened right here, right under the old Oak tree. While Henry’s memories came flooding back he became so overwhelmed with gratitude. He stopped to honestly thank the one who he felt was responsible for his breakthrough!
“Now God, it’s me Henry William Tyler. Now I know that you haven’t heard from me as often as you should have, but Lord I am grateful to you. I am grateful for my Dear sweet Helen’s recovery and my loving Daughter’s family. Dear Lord, I am also grateful for my old friend here! I’m sure glad that you helped me make my get away to come to see her. I ask that you help me to come back home soon. I thank you for the memories that my old friend helps me to remember! You have always been here for me and my family and again Sir I am grateful. I thank you that my old friend here is like one of your angels, if I may say such things. She has been stationed on this property for over a century guarding this place. Thank you for keeping her strong for my family to enjoy. Only you know what will happen when I return back to Glenview so I won’t worry about the future. I just want to thank you for now, so Lord, thank you in Jesus name!”
Chapter 15
The Cruise!
Amelia went to the garage to pull the car out when Henry and the boys came around to the front of the house. When Henry saw the car he was elated. He was totally under the assumption that Amelia intended for him to drive them to Glenview. When Amelia had gotten out of the car to tell all of her goodbyes to the boys and Robert, she then helped her mother to get down the steps. She walked her mother down the walkway and helped get her into the passenger side of the car. In the meanwhile, Henry moved quickly as well.
He hugged the boys, shook Robert’s hand and yelled to them, “Will see you soon!” He stood on the driver’s side of the car as he had reached the car before Amelia and Helen did
“Love you boys! Your old Gramps and Gramma will be back really soon. So I’m not going to say good-bye but instead I’ll see you soon!” Henry said as he climbed into the driver’s seat of the car. He might have forgotten a lot of things but he was sure that he could remember how to drive. The thoughts of driving his car into Mason Creek thrilled him. He thought of all the places that he would like to drive to. The first stop would be to his Hardware store. It just dawned on him that his Amelia had probably been running the place since he had left. It would be good to drop in the store to see some old friends he had not seen in the past months. He smiled as he remembered how the crowd used to gather around the counter to hear his wild and embellished stories.
When Amelia saw her Daddy get into the car, she glanced quickly at Robert. He just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Robert knew that this was between Amelia and her Daddy.
“Now Daddy, I am not for sure that you should be trying to drive. I really think that I need to drive. I will take you anywhere you would like to go okay?” Amelia said desperately knowing that she was probably wasting her breath.
“Amelia, I’ve been driving ever since I was nine. Do you remember when I told you about me driving my father to that house that time when I was little and he hit that deer? Now I think if I drove at nine years old that I can drive now, don’t you?”
“Yes, but Daddy…..that was….” Amelia stopped. She couldn’t bring herself to say it. She wanted to say “but Daddy that was when you were well,” but she knew that he wasn’t as ill as he had been. Maybe he was well for all she knew.
“Momma, what do you think?” Amelia asked. She thought if Helen objected than Henry would surely listen to her. However, Helen did not back her up at all. Instead she scooted right up against Henry like they were teenagers on a date and waited for him to cruise them down the road!
“I think it will be fine, Sweetie. Just sit back and enjoy the beautiful ride!” Helen commanded.
Amelia just stood beside the car totally speechless. She couldn’t believe what was happening but knew that she had lost. She looked over at Robert and mouthed to him “Pray for us!”
“Come on Daughter! Don’t worry, get in the car! I could drive this car with my eyes closed. Have you forgotten that I am the one who taught you to drive? I think a cruise through town will not be too awfully dangerous for any of us, now will it?” Henry argued so convincingly.
“No I guess not…” Amelia mumbled as she slowly entered the backseat of the car.
“Okay, everyone in?” Henry asked as he simply was beaming like a teenager taking his first drive. He put the car in gear and off they went. He backed the car up just fine and proceeded forward.
“See nothing to it!” He assured Amelia.
Thank you once again for “tuning in” or reading along with me! It is my hope that you have been enjoying my Romance/Suspense novel, If Oak Trees Could Talk!, for it has been my pleasure to share it with you! As always I would love to hear from you. I want to thank all of you that have begun following my WordPress blogs. Please continue to “tune it” as we are moving right along through the book.
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