Page 108 of Our Own Light

“Yes, ma’am. I’m married to my best friend Effie. We have a little girl named Josephine.” Floyd reached up to scratch his head. “I know how strange this must sound, but Effie and me are only friends. She knows about Ollie. In fact, she likes him. I talked to her about everything before coming here. She ain’t got a problem with me and Ollie running a farm together.”

“Why not continue to live in Rock Creek, though?”

“Well, I want something better for us. All of us. Me and Ollie can’t really be together in such a small community. Everyone’s homes are close together, and everybody knows everybody’s business. It’s not like me and Ollie can pretend that we’re related neither. Everyone knows we only met earlier this year. Somebody in town came to me recently and, well, it seems like me and Ollie were probably being a bit too obvious about, uh, about what we are to each other.” Floyd bounced his leg as he tried to think of how to phrase what he wanted to say. “I want the two of us to be together. I can’t keep spending every workday pretending that he’s not... that he’s not what he is to me. I can’t keep pretending I’m not in love with him. I want to live life more honestly than that. And I reckon having some land to ourselves—some small acreage and our own farmhouse—could help.”

Something he said must have struck a chord with her. All of a sudden, she was smiling warmly, the harsh lines of her face seeming to soften, and before Floyd could even utter another word, she reached over to pat his knee.

“I, too, value honesty, but people like us often cannot live our lives honestly, can we?”

Floyd shook his head, not entirely understanding what she meant. Aunt Betty patted his knee twice more and stood. When she left the room without explanation, taking the coin-collecting book with her, Floyd started twiddling his thumbs, wondering if he had somehow ruined everything.

Minutes later, Aunt Betty returned with a handsome woman by her side. Aunt Betty’s companion was shorter than she was, with mousy brown hair, cut to her chin, and big brown eyes.

“Floyd, this is my friend, Mary,” Aunt Betty said.

Floyd’s eyes flew wide. “Oh!” He scrambled to his feet and held out his hand. Mary shook it, and Floyd looked over at Oliver’s Aunt Betty before sputtering the first words that popped into his head. “You’re like me.”

Aunt Betty laughed. “Yes, that’s one way to put it.”

“Sorry, I’ve never met a woman who was...” He shook his head, still shocked and bewildered by this. “Does Ollie know?”

“Yes, he knows,” she confirmed with a nod. “Mary here is Frederick Donohue’s sister. I’m sure you’ve heard this by now, but Frederick was a friend of our family’s.” Floyd’s mouth hung open as she continued on. “Frederick was the one who helped Mary and I start our life together here.”

“Fred Donohue?!”

Floyd had a hard time believing that Frederick effing Donohue, as Ollie would have called him, had been so charitable.

“Yes,” Aunt Betty said with a shrug, chuckling. “Surprising, I know. Frederick certainly has his flaws.” She looked over at Mary again, her eyes suddenly filled with a whole lot of tenderness. It made Floyd happy to see that such a stern-looking woman had a lot of care inside her, only it was reserved for special people, like the woman she loved. After a moment, she looked back at Floyd. “When Oliver first showed up here, I was worried that he may have turned out like his father. For the entirety of his short visit, I was nervous that Mary would come home from the shops and I’d have to think of how to explain who this woman was. Mary and I are very careful about who we tell. When Oliver visited a second time, I had Mary hide away upstairs, and then, once Oliver let it slip that he was in love with a man, I introduced them.”

“Ollie never told me.”

“I’m sure he felt like it wasn’t his place. Floyd, I liked what you said about living life honestly. Or, as honestly as people like us can in this world. I’m very glad that Oliver found someone like you—someone who seems to have integrity, someone who seems to be loyal to his family, someone who is honest. Henry, Oliver’s father, is very much your opposite. I was pleased to learn that, even though Oliver is Henry’s son, he seems to have matured into a kind, if not somewhat eccentric, person. In his case, the apple seems to have fallen fairly far from its tree.”

“Rolled all the way to West Virginia,” Floyd said with a nod, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a small smirk.

Aunt Betty hummed. “Indeed.” She held up the coin book. “Shall we talk numbers?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’d like that.”

As soon as they reached the couch, Floyd asked if he could see the book one last time. Heart heavy, he flipped through the pages, stopping when he reached the page with the illegible tin-colored coin. When his eyes flitted over to Matt’s favorite one—the Flying Eagle penny—he said a silent farewell. I need to move forward now. Don’t worry, though, Ollie’ll never let me forget you. Not that I would have on my own. But his promise helps. I still love you, Matty. I always will. Eyes brimming with tears, Floyd inhaled a quivering breath and removed the Ollie coin from its pouch.

***

Hours later, when it was completely dark outside, Floyd hopped off the train and started through town. From up the road, Floyd could see Ollie’s house, the little oil lamp on his porch shining like a beacon of hope. Seeing the way it twinkled—the lone light in the darkness—Floyd thought about what Ollie had told him about them making their own light. It really was true, wasn’t it?

When Floyd reached the edge of Ollie’s property, Ollie flung open the door.

“I have half a mind to pummel you for being so late. I was worried,” Ollie said, sounding more relieved than mad. “Effie said you went to Charleston for some reason?”

“Yup,” Floyd said, coming up the stairs. “I got a surprise for you.”

“It’s not a hat, is it?” Ollie asked as Floyd walked around him. “I kind of hope it is.”

“Nope. Ain’t a hat. It’s better, I think.” Floyd opened his wallet and took out the check. He handed it to Ollie, whose mouth immediately fell open. “I reckon we can buy ourselves a farm now. Not that this is enough for everything or, well, even most of everything, but I couldn’t let you be the sole provider.”

“I . . . what . . .”

Watching Ollie stumble over his words had Floyd beaming with pride. He couldn’t help but puff out his chest a little.

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