Page 4 of Believe
“Why do you think I brought you here?” he smirked.
“Okay, Pops, okay,” nodded Miller turning in a circle to take in everything around him. “We’re obviously running out of time and it feels as if we have a list of things to do. I guess we divide up and figure this out.”
“I knew I could count on you boys,” smiled Matthew. He turned to face the four men he needed the most in the next few days. “Trak, Gabriel, Angel, and Miller. I have a special assignment for the four of you. Come with me, please.”
Trak nodded, smiling at the ghostly face of the man he considered a father. In fact, that’s what went through his head as he smiled at Matthew.
“I think of you as my son, as well,” said Matthew smiling at him. “You are all my sons. These people need us. Some will only need us for the season, others may need us for longer. This is what you will help me with going forward.”
“I’m honored to help you,” smiled Angel.
“Same,” said Max. The rest of the men nodded and Matthew clapped his hands together.
“Well, then. Let’s get started.”
CHAPTER THREE
“How are things at the store, Beau?” asked Gaspar seeing his cousin coming toward the men.
“Fine, Gaspar. I wanted to ask y’all if you knew what was going on with Miss Esta?”
“What do you mean?” frowned Miller.
“I mean, she’s always a little cranky but today it was much worse. She scoffed at Christmas, she didn’t want to talk about her children or grandchildren. She even seemed to be down on church. It just felt different,” he said frowning.
“She’s an old woman, Beau. Esta received notice of her husband’s death in Vietnam at Christmas time. It was just a few months shy of us pulling out of Vietnam. I’m sure she felt it was all for nothing. Her kids went to college on scholarships, some provided by us. Those kids literally graduated, came home and packed their things and said good-bye. I don’t think I’ve seen them more than three times in twenty-five years,” said Jean.
“It’s not right. She’s struggling. Her coat is threadbare and I can’t even convince her to let me help her,” said Beau feeling defeated.
“Sometimes helping someone means doing it in silence,” said Nine. “She’s proud and she’s afraid if she asks for help everyone will know how desperate she really is.”
“I drove by her little house,” frowned Beau. “Damn thing looks like it’s going to collapse in on itself.”
“What do you want to do, Beau?” asked Ian with a smile.
“Well, sir, I was thinkin’ I could get her out of the house, maybe convince her to come to mass with me.”
“She won’t go to mass with you,” said Gaspar. “Not yet. Maybe offer to take her to the farmer’s market. She used to love going down there and I’ll bet she’d enjoy that.”
“Okay. Okay, I’ll offer to take her down to the market and while we’re gone maybe y’all could fix her porch and front door to start. Oh! And the roof.”
“How long do you plan on being at this market?” smirked Ghost.
“Well, sir. I thought maybe I’d take her to lunch as well. It’s an awful small place. I’m betting five or six of our boys could fix that place right up.”
“Okay, Beau. You get her to the farmer’s market, take her to lunch, and we’ll handle the rest.”
Three days later Beau knocked on Esta’s door. At first he was worried. It took her a long time to answer the front door and when she did, she looked older than just a few days ago.
“What’s wrong?” she snapped.
“Nothing’s wrong, Miss Esta. I was just wondering if you’d like to take a drive with me to the farmer’s market.”
“The farmer’s market?” she snapped. Her eyes were excited but she tried to cover it. “Why would I go there?”
“Well, it’s not really for you. I’m trying to make something special for my mama for Christmas. She loves anything with peaches, apples, or rhubarb. I know that you’re particular about your fruit and wondered if you could help me choose.”
Esta stared at him with a disbelieving expression, crossing her arms over her chest.