Page 150 of The Promise Of Rain

Ansel Blum was born on February 9th, 1933, to Bernd and Anja Blum in Hamilton, Ontario.After Ansel graduated from Central Secondary School in in 1951, he went on to join the military.

After serving his country for twenty-five years, Ansel followed his lifelong dream and opened his bakery in Moose Lake.Buns and Biscuits is famous for its sourdough bread and cinnamon rolls.

I sobbed at the addition of my cinnamon rolls.

I remembered the day I perfected the recipe and was finally able to duplicate it in the bakery kitchen.

He was so proud.

Gave them a place front and centre in the display case and made them a signature item.

I chuckled wetly at the memory of him telling everybody who came in they just had to try one.Soon enough they were in high demand.

Ansel was the only person in my life who never once criticized me.He rarely had a bad word to say about anybody.

Generous and kind, in deed and in spirit, he was just that kind of man.

You walk in and the whole world lights up.

If it isn’t the prettiest flower in the bouquet come to see me.

I turned back to his writing, bittersweet tears clogging my throat.

Ansel was predeceased by his parents, Bernd and Anja, his sister, Birgit, and his brothers-in-arms.

He is survived by his adopted daughter, Jenny Davis—

My brain stuttered to a stop.I dropped the hand holding the paper to my lap and tipped my head back onto the couch.My breath shuddered in and out as I mentally chanted those sweet words.

Adopted daughter.

Adopted daughter.

He is survived by his adopted daughter, Jenny Davis.

A hot ball of grief wound tight in my throat.I wanted to scream.I wanted to cry.Suspended in joyful disbelief, I simply rolled the words around my tongue.“Adopted daughter.”

I belonged.

We were our own small family.

And now he was gone.

Tight with grief, my chest heaved with the effort to control my tears.My hands shook as I raised the paper and dipped my chin to read the rest.

He is survived by his adopted daughter, Jenny Davis.

Jenny Davis, the promise of rain, she turned his life every shade of pink.

And was worth weathering every storm.

Tears sprang from my eyes and blurred the final lines on the page.I jerked it out of the way with a sharp cry, reading the final lines through a veil of tears.

Services will be held at St.Michael’s Roman Catholic Church on April 18th at 11:00 A.M.In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hope’s Place, a shelter for homeless youth.

I sat staring into space, Ansel’s note in my hand, his love for me as clear and plain as his writing on the page.Tears fell freely and a thousand snapshotted memories flitted through my mind.

Finally, I could sit no longer.