Chapter Nine
Luke followed him to the house wondering what he could know about Herman’s dad.
In the kitchen, the two little kids were running about. Mark stopped and began licking the inside of an empty bowl given him by a very petite woman wearing her straight brunette hair in a Pony Tail. The boy smiled at Luke and reminded him of Herman. Mary was helping dry dishes as Matt washed them. Mary had the women’s hair and the same petite build. Matt had long blonde hair like Herman but was of slender build. The “flopem” dogs lay on a throw rug, one scratching an ear.
Herman led Luke to the woman and took her hand.
“Luke this is Michelle”.
Luke’s eyes widened hearing that name.
Michelle and Michelangelo? That ceiling art.
“Nice to meet you. Mrs. Ah, Michelle. Herman’s been helping me. Hope you had a good visit at your sister’s place.”
“Yes, I did. Just got back an hour ago.”
“Good!”, as he realized Herman had been telling the truth.
Herman seemed embarrassed and interjected,
“Say we are the Henley family. Sorry I haven’t said that.”
Luke chuckled, “And, I am Luke James. Good, we’ve got that all straightened out.”
Herman and Michelle were a real contrast. He was over six feet tall, with a wide body and a head of curly blonde hair over a round boyish face with a constant smile. Michelle was probably no more than 110 pounds soaking wet. She looked like a tom boy who could easily become a classy looking woman when wearing a snug velvet black dress. Her eyes seemed green and gold at the same time and looked into him like his Angie would do.
Herman yelled out, “Honey. Do you know where my dad’s old book is?”
Michelle looked surprised, but quickly turned and left the kitchen. Herman motioned Luke to the living room. He felt relaxed in that room with its signs of the artist hanging overhead. Michelle reappeared with an album of sorts. It had a leather cover with a helter-skelter of page corners hanging out.
“Bud, you sit here comfortably on this couch and I’ll bring you something nice and warm. Luke sat there looking at the cover. I had to ask! Oh well, might as well look.
He opened it and there was a night sky drawing like that painting in the motel, two nights back. He wandered back to that night he lay under his tree while he and the tree watched the night sky. He paged through the mass of memories - old photos, news clippings of school sports and World War Two, bus and air tickers, etc. The kids came out slowly and joined him. Mark sat on the couch with him.
“Hi mark. I’m looking at your grandfather’s album.”
Then Mark put his hand upon the album and turned a page. “Is this what you’re lookin’ for?”
Luke enjoyed the big smile on Mark’s face and then looked at the new page. There it was! His tree! Maybe a bit different, but it shook him.
“My tree!” he blurted.
Mary came and stood in front of Luke with that air of certainty girls that age have,
“That is my grandfather’s tree.”
Herman finally returned with the drinks,
“Nothin’ like hot cider with some Brandy to warm you up.”
Luke tasted it and liked it.
“Daddy! Mr. Luke thinks this is his tree.” She gave Herman a big pouty face. Herman put his arm on Mary’s shoulder and pulled her long brown hair behind her.
“Honey, things like this are best shared.”
Mary still had a serious look in her hazel eyes and gave it to Luke as she crossed her arms and pointed her little “ski nose” upward.
“So, you do know this tree?” Luke inquired.
Herman smiled at Mary,
“Sure and I have often wondered if anyone else might. Herman Sr., my dad, knew the tree right from the start. It was like a last gift to all of us.”
“Gift?” Luke sat back ready for a story from this big country guy. It seemed to fit Herman.
“Yeah. He had been God awful lonely since mother had passed on. Just gave up. Put the farm in my name and sat in his room, lookin’ out the window all day”.
Luke squirmed a bit and tried to undo that curl in his stomach. “Think I know that one. After Angie and I finished the divorce, I sat around looking at videos. About the same thing.”
Michelle broke in, “Your ex’s name is Angie?. Well it’s a good name, Luke. We have something in common picking women with an angel’s name.”
The hot cider and brandy started to relax Luke and he asked,
”You were following me in the storm, right? Or, was I getting paranoid?”
“You were not paranoid, Luke. I knew I had to meet you, ever since Jake, the motel clerk, told me how you stared at the simple old painting. Dad was no Rembrandt, you know. And Jake had always known my dad to be a sane man. So, Jake always was on the lookout for some news about that tree and I think Jake wanted to see it in person, too. Though, he’d never say so.”Just bein’ a detective’ he’d say.”
Luke fell back into the couch pillows and Herman gave a big laugh, his body shaking. Luke’s stomach curl let go completely.
“Well my tree is at home, though I thought I had seen some lights last night. Maybe that was wishful thinking.”
“Bud, we all like special things. And, that tree might be around here.”
Luke scrunched up his face to hide any trace of a hopeful smile. “How do you figure that?”
“Hell if I know. Around Christmas seems like somethin’ unfigurable is always goin’ on around here. At least, after that Christmas we saw the tree, I did my farmin’ by the book and did other things, like Christmas, by my heart. Took a load off this man’s logicalness, at least once a year.”
Luke’s mind was floating back to the recent past and his days with the tree,
“I did feel a loosening of my heart strings a bit, but had not thought of it that way.”
“Luke, it’ll do that tuggin’ till you give in. Mostly I’d laugh at it. I can’t explain it, but it seemed to know somethin’ that was in my heart and let me see that.”
Herman took a slow planned decent onto the floor, the way big folks do, and then the little kids came around as if they knew a familiar story was to start.
“Matt, you get your mom.” The teenager left, pushing his long blonde hair to the side. He took his time and disappeared through the kitchen door. In minutes, Michelle and Matt came out. Michelle had her hands on Matt’s shoulders guiding him to the gathering and setting him down. Matt made a grunt and capitulated. Luke was drawn to her. He would have loved that done to him when a teen. At least, some touch and gentle guidance.
“Darn, where to start?” asked Herman.
Michelle moved over next to Herman and started. “Oh, Herm. How about your dad staying in his room? , Dad had been staying in his room for months; your room last night, Luke.” I’d catch him staring out the window when bringing him meals.”
Herman took over the story after Michelle started rubbing his shoulder.
“He didn’t say much either. Just waitin’ to pass on, I guess. Though he never said it straight out. It was like now, almost Christmas. One day I came up to ask him about a lost farm implement. Dad was in his usual place by that winda’. As I approached him, he turned to me and said, ‘Lydia’s ghost bought the local newspaper yesterday lookin’ for my name in the obituaries. She loved me so.” I was sure he was getting ready to oblige her. I was worried!”
Michelle looked at Herman, then took over.
“I put vitamins in his food just to make sure he got enough nourishment and a radio outside his door, tuned to the local country music station., hoping to liven his spirits.”
Herman gave her a big smile.
“We were tryin’ everything. Then two nights before Christmas I heard the darndest sound. Luke poked into Herman’s story.
“A Whoosh”, just like during the snow storm, before you found me stuck on the side of the road.”
“Well, then you do know
. I also heard it as I followed you out of town.”
Herman continued. “The kids heard also. I told them it was Santa doin’ a test run for Christmas. They told me Santa did not need any practice since he was perfect. But I was still left with the ‘Whoosh’ on my mind”
The two young ones, Mary and Mark, agreed.
“Yeah Dad. Just because you don’t believe in him.”
Herman continued,
“I went up to see Dad and ask if he’d heard the sound, since he was on the top floor. Well, there he was, at the window with his mouth opened wide like some little kid and rubbing his big farmer hands together. Somehow it didn’t fit him.”
Luke lowered his head into his hands wishing he had been so receptive to the tree. Herman watched him and went on.
“I looked out and in the grove below was that darn tree. It had a bent up star, some little red lights and three ornaments dancing and clanging against each other. The red lights and the star were blinkin’ like, maybe, a calm heart beat? Dad turned to me and yelled,
“Son, I’ve been lookin’ out into this clear, cold prairie sky all week at a funny lookin’ star and some small red ones. They’re all gone. And now there’s that tree down in the grove. It ain’t the most clever lookin’ thing but, it’s kinda’ nice.”
Herman looked at a photo on the wall nearby.
“We sat at that window for at least thirty minutes. Then it disappeared.”
Mark pointed to their symmetrical tree with the nicely applied decorations. “See, it wasn’t fancy like ours.”
Matt chimed in,
“Yeah, looked like it had rushed out the door to escape a burning building or somethin’”.
Everyone laughed and then Luke asked Mary and Mark, who were all excited,
“So, you saw it too?”
Each competed to be the first to respond.
“Yes and we helped to carry it inside. It seemed to like us carrying it,” burst Mark.
Mary covered Marks mouth and nodded her chin in pride.
“And it stood up all by itself. It didn’t even need any place to plug it in for ‘lectricity.”
Mary looked toward Luke and then to her father who had been watching Luke. She asked,
“Who are you missing, Mr. Luke?”
That curl in his stomach returned
“Angie”
Herman’s Michelle responded in surprise.
Luke started in,” My ex-wife, Angie. Being here reminds me how much she wanted a family, like yours. She had no living folks and hoped we could make a family. My folks didn’t like her. Being less repressed than them and racially mixed was too much. And I was so afraid to lose my family. Damn. Sorry about that last word. We signed the divorce papers two months ago and then I was to go on a vacation. But, I fell into a real melancholy and forgot to plan anything. So, this is my vacation. Not that I am complaining about being here.”
For a few minutes a good silence hung in the air. Then, Luke continued,
“How does this tree fit into my life?”
Mary came over and took his hand and Luke continued, “So here we are with two days till Christmas and waiting for the tree. And we are grownups.”
Mark had a worried look. “Don’t you guys believe in Santa?”
Mathew shrugged. “I didn’t tell him anything Dad.”
Herman leaned towards Mark,
“Grownups just can’t help given’ up on Santa. They get stuck on him givin’ them gifts and Santa only gives to kids. So they get angry and pretend to be too smart to believe in him anymore. But, I’ll tell you this. I may be too grown for Santa. But, there is the tree and that night with Gramps. Me, mom, gramps, saw it, so we can feel like kids, right”
Michelle nodded. “And I helped grandpa. I brought some of my paints and helped him do that picture just the way he wanted it to be. That same night he had seen the tree, he called me out of my sleep. Herm was back in bed sawing logs by then. He showed me the late night sky painting. I sat there an hour. Gramps was sleeping when I left. The next morning he said he could not sleep after seeing this thing in the window and had called to me making sure he had not passed on. It was not there when I left.”
Luke sat up abruptly, “I’m sure I saw the tree my first night here. I was nervous about being here and spooked by Herman’s following me that day. But there it was and I felt peaceful. It's like a friend keeping an eye on me, an imaginary friend like those imaginary friends we talked to when we were kids."
Matt chuckled “Mark, I heard you in the barn the other day, doing the same thing.”
Mark covered his face.
Herm smiled “Sometimes kids need a voice that does not sound like a parent.”
Luke was still staring at the painting, “What happened to your grandpa, Herm?”.
“It was just before Christmas, twenty-four hours after I saw the tree with gramps. Michelle and I were in bed, almost asleep when we heard a familiar call. Gramps had been a prize winning hog caller twenty years before and that was the sound. I got up and looked out the bedroom winda' and there he was yahooin’ to that tree. The tree starlight went up and down to his dancin’ around. I was sure he’d fall of a heart attack. I pulled up the winda.”
“Gramps! Stop that yahooin’ to some darn Christmas tree.”
Michelle smiled at Herman.
“Herman. You were scared of him passing on.”
Herman nodded agreement and continued,
“Son”, he said to me, “let an old man have some fun. Come down you rock head!”
Herman continued, "Then Michelle looked out and laughed. Soon the kids were dressed and out the back door, still zipping up their coats. They stood there a moment, like kids do, lookin’ at a grown up doing what they think only kids can do. Mary started a jig and we couldn’t help joining in. It just seemed to tickle my gut and invite me to dance. “Even Matt finally joined in”
Herm smiled while his eyes looked up to the ceiling. “Then Michelle and I held each other. That’s what I like about bein’ on a farm. When something like this happens, you can let out a whoop with no T.V. news people around. People want their special times. There it was the red lights nice and bright and the ornaments dancing. Can’t say I could tell anything very deep or intellectual was there. Simply tickled about a special presence. An innocence that seemed to fit the season.”
Michelle stood up, put her arms around Herm and continued the story,
“Gramps started saying ‘Lydia, Lydia’. That was his wife’s name. She’d died 10 years before. Well, that’s when I was sure he’d lost it. Then I saw some tears come from that tough old man’s eyes and then he reached out to join hands with Matt, Mark and Mary. They all circled the tree. The kids knew Herman Sr. as a pretty crusty old man and hard to approach. He’d bark at them. Kids always want grandparents to be special. Well, especially nice to grandkids.”
Matt joined the story and blurted out,
“But, he’d softened a bit. That next morning he asked me to play checkers. Oh, he got angry when losing but, then he’d tell me stories about when he was my age; never thought of him as a kid. He’d run away many times from his drunk dad. But, he would come back to protect his Ma. Guess I have it pretty good.”
Herm and Michelle faced one another, jaws down. They did not push Matt on that comment.
Luke leaned forward, his eyes searching the eyes of this new family.
“Weren’t you curious about the tree? I mean, why did you feel so affected by it? Why did Gramps soften up? Where did it come from? Why am I here?”
Out of breath from speaking so quickly, he lay back in the couch.
They sat, smiling, eyes wandering and Luke’s demeanor was in such contrast to the surroundings.
Herman stood up, “Well I am tired and tomorrow is Christmas Eve day.”
He waved the kids toward the stairs. Michelle joined in, herding them along. Soon it was only Herm and Luke.
“Get some rest Luke. Don’t strain that brain
too much.”
Luke moved slowly with a serious look.
“You could write a book about this Herman.”
Herman turned upon a middle stair and looked down squarely at Luke,
“I’m not going to try and make money off this. Some things are best let go as a mystery. A nice one at that! If I can learn somethin’ then, those are my riches.”
Luke stepped back. “Sorry Herman. I am your guest and have enjoyed this family night. You know I really enjoyed Mary sitting by me, like a sister I never had.
“I’m glad you’re here too.” and then finished the trip up the stairs while requesting,
“Oh Luke, please turn out the tree lights.”
Luke hung back and looked at the large tree so nicely decorated. But, it was not his tree.