Page 81 of Chasing Fireflies

But Chief Rogers was not okay, and only a few days later, pneumonia took him. We held his funeral the following weekend. The town of Green Ridge was devastated and so was poor Anne. It all happened too quickly. Even though he had been sick for a while, we thought he would get better. They say things work out the way they’re meant to even if it’s wrong. Well, I tell you this one was wrong. This place just isn’t the same without that old man.

The roofers will be finished with the roof today, and after my morning run with Bear and my breakfast at Chevy’s, I head back home to get changed for work.

Sara drives herself this morning, and I take my work truck. I park it and hop out, seeing that Anne has already opened the office door. The bell rings above me like it always does, and Anne looks up. She’s been crying.

“Anne, you don’t have to be here. Ben and I can handle things.”

“It doesn’t matter where I go, Cash. He’s everywhere. I have so many memories with that man.”

I take a seat across from her and remove my hat. “Tell me about when you two first met,” I ask. The town can wait for my rounds today. I’m going to sit here with this sweet woman and let her talk about the love of her life.

Her face lights up, and she grabs a tissue from her box on her desk. “Well, it was back in the sixties…” she begins.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Seven Year Anniversary

Cash

I walk out of the bathroom in a gray button-up shirt with dark jeans. Flipping the light off, I see my wife in a floor-length hunter green dress. I smile because she looks so good in green. She turns to face me as she puts an earring in her ear.

“You sure do clean up nice, Cash Williams.”

“I do, don’t I?” I look down at my outfit. She smiles and walks over to me. Kissing her lips, I wrap my arms around her and breathe in. “You smell pretty.”

“Oh, I smell pretty, do I?” she asks, pulling away and giving me her smile.

“Yes, and you look pretty, too.”

“Thank you,” she says, looking into my eyes.

“Let’s go eat, woman.” I grab her hand and walk us down the stairs. I see Bear lying on the floor, and his tail slaps it with a hard thump when he notices us coming down. “Bear, hold down the fort. I’m taking your mama out for our anniversary.” I pat his side, and we walk out the door.

*

Dinner is nice. We both order steak, but it’s after dinner that I’ve been looking forward to.

We’re driving down an older road, and Sara keeps asking where we are going.

“Just wait,” I tell her.

She wiggles in her seat and looks out the window. It’s dark, so she won’t see what we are doing until we get there. A few minutes later, I’m pulling off the road and onto dirt. I look over at Sara.

“Cash, what could we possibly be doing way out here? I hope you aren’t taking me camping. You know I hate bugs, baby.” She looks out the back window into the bed of the truck, obviously looking for a tent. There are blankets and pillows back there, but no tent. “Why are there blankets back there?”

“Will you just wait and see, Mrs. Impatient?”

She huffs, but grins. Anne told me about this place. She said not a lot of people know it’s back here. It’s mainly for the people who just want to step back in time for a bit, and maybe relive their teenage years. The owners don’t run it for the money; they have plenty from what I’ve been told. They do it for the memories. We round a curve and pull onto another small road before a huge field comes into view. I look over at Sara as she takes in the scene. I’ve never seen it either, but it’s her expression I care about. Her eyes are wide with slight wonder, and her mouth is hanging open. Her fingers go to her lips, and she smiles.

“Cash.” She looks over at me as I drive Old Blue forward and then back him up beside an old speaker.

“This is amazing. How did you find this place?”

“Anne. She said she and the chief used to come here all the time. They only play older movies.”

“This is so cool. Like black and white movies?” she asks.

“No, I think newer than that, but they play those, too.” I put the truck in park and open my door.

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