Free September Again (September Stories) by Hunter S. Jones, An Anonymous English Poet Page B

another squeeze. “Go, Liz. Marlowe will meet you at the Atlanta airport. We have a plane for you. You leave in three hours. We have lots to do before you leave.”
    The reality hit s like waves batter the shoreline, each wave becoming first a ripple, then building strength until the tidal wave of the full emotional impact hits. Mom is gone. She is gone forever. Just like my granddad, Charles and Jack. The tears feel like rain until the first storm passes. At least Zelda has spent time with her grandmother. Liz thinks, I haven’t been the best daughter since losing Jack .
    Her heart flew. Zelda. I will get to see Zelda. Maybe she will forgive me for whatever is hurting her.
    “Right. Let’s get everything started. I’m going back home for a while.” She has just had a shock, yet she is functioning full on as the adrenaline pumps through her veins. Mrs. T and Malachy look at each other, understanding that Liz is in shock. “While I bathe, if you two can get my luggage and bring it down, that would be great. Let’s plan on only needing two bags. I can always shop in Atlanta or Chattanooga if I need something.
    “ Also, let’s review the accounts before I leave. If you think of anything else, we’ll discuss it over breakfast.” Taking their hands in each of hers, Liz whispers, “Thank you two for always being here for me.”
    Mrs. T . responds, “Liz, it’s our job. It’s what friends and neighbors do for each other.”
    “No. You are much more than that. When I married Jack, I married you all at Nook Manor. We are a family. It’s the way he wanted us to be.”
    They smile and Malachy says, “We’ll see you downstairs in a few, then.”
    While looking in the locked closest or , as Jack called it, the cupboard, Liz couldn’t find the oldest part of her diary. The later leather diaries were all there, but the first few were missing. How could that be? No one knows of this secret closet except for Jack and Liz.
    Zelda. Somewhere in the back of my muddled mind, I recall her saying something about finding this. Have I been so numb that I didn’t even hear what my own daughter said? Reality hits for the second time as the neurons in her brain strike as a squillion lightning bolts. Zelda has discovered my diaries. That’s how she knew about Pete Hendrix. The shock runs through her the same as it had when they told her about her mother an hour ago. Zelda was to receive the diaries on her next birthday. That way, Liz could explain Charles and what her uncle meant to her life.
    That way , she could also explain the difference between falling for a man like Pete and falling in love with a man like Jack. How to fall in love the wrong way and the right way. Only, Zelda has discovered them before Liz had the chance to explain it to her.
    This is the problem. Zelda has read about Pete. She hasn’t taken the diary that relates the story of her father and me. Zelda thinks I seduced Jack. That explains why she idolizes Indie so much. She thinks I took advantage of her father’s feelings. I know her like a book. My poor baby. I have to find her and explain everything. Make it right. Just as Jack always told me to do.
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    Although Pete Hendrix goes willingly into the creek, the chill of the water catches him by surprise. The rush is immediate. He enters the creek to be baptized. All his sins will be washed away. He will rise from the water a new man, redeemed in the eyes of his God.
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    Hands cover my nose and mouth, but they are not mine. My feet come out from underneath me and I float, effortlessly, for only a moment, but it is actually an eternity. Then, I need to breathe. As I tense, the very moment before I begin to flail, the strong arms behind my back pull me upright from the watery depths.
    The tenor voice of Bro. Smith says softly, “You are now baptized and redeemed in the name of the Father, the Son , and the Holy Ghost. Let us now pray to our Heavenly Father and celebrate the salvation of