Read Online The Fourth Sunrise by H. T. Night - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: H. T. Night
Ads: Link
I had just had one more home run after that day.”
“ What happened to your batting average?”
“ My mind was only on Christine. Nothing else mattered. Plus, my shoulder got worse as the season went on.”
“ Why did you wait so long to see her? New Mexico is only one state over from Colorado.”
“ It was a different world then. In those days, every penny I made, I gave back to my family. My dad was on disability and they needed anything that I could give them. Also, when the season was over, I had to rush home. My dad took a turn for the worse and he died that fall.”
“ Wow, I’m sorry.”
“ Thank you. That was a long time ago.”
“ I’m sorry for asking why you waited so long.”
“ No, it’s an important detail to the story. I didn’t see her immediately because I needed to be there for my family. I went to work immediately after the season ended. I had two goals. Help my family and put a little away so I could take a bus trip to Delta, Colorado.”
“ By January, I had put aside enough money to buy a round-trip ticket to Delta, Colorado. It was actually a ticket to Denver, but Delta was one of its stops.”
Chapter Eleven
January 1969 – Delta, Colorado - Bus Stop, 3:00 p.m.
“ The bus dropped me off at the bus station on the south side of town at 3:00 p.m. I had bought a bouquet of flowers at the last stop and made sure that they looked as fresh as they could on that cold winter day.
“ I was so excited I didn’t know what to do with myself. You see, we’d never exchanged numbers or addresses. Everything had happened so fast at the very end of our first meeting that it was impossible for us to exchange anything. All I had to go on was my memories of the greatest night of my life. I had trust in my heart that I had found the woman of my dreams, the lady I was destined to be with.
“ Boy was I wrong!
“ I made my way downtown and I hit Mulberry Street. There must have only been only one girl like Christine Norquist in this town. Everybody must know her.
“ I was right. It didn’t take long for me to hear the wonderful news. The first person I talked to was an older gentleman who owned the local market.
“ He was very happy to tell me that Christine Norquist was now Mrs. Connelly. She had married up with the guy she had previously broken up with before the night she met me. Captain Benjamin Connelly. Believe you me, Captain Benjamin Connelly was the pride of the town.
“ I ended up asking three different town folks and pretty much got every detail of the autumn wedding that happened only one month prior to my showing up. They got married in front of the old Baptist chapel and the whole town was invited. Nearly 800 people showed. Mary Dickson caught the bouquet and was already engaged with her boyfriend. Every last detail made me want to throw up.
“ In the end, the wedding didn’t matter as much as the details of the actual marriage. I heard that they moved to Virginia. That’s right, Virginia. I had used up every dime I had to chase a woman who I believed was the love of my life, only to realize I was just a dope. It was awful.
“ I made my way back to the bus station, with the mangled flowers still in hand. I don’t know why I didn’t throw them away. I kept those flowers as long as I could. I didn’t throw them out until years later.”
Chapter Twelve
Present Day – Delta, Colorado - Coffee Shop, 1:00 a.m.
I stared at Sharee and felt like a dope once again, even years later, retelling the story. Sharee smiled at me and just slowly shook her head. Her eyes were beaming.
“What’s going on?” I asked Sharee because her face was priceless.
“ It just amazes me how each of us is so precious. And so much can happen that can alter so many things.”
I guess the story touched Sharee in a way that I hadn’t anticipated. But there was still a lot more to say. I looked at Sharee and said, “We really haven’t even
“ What happened to your batting average?”
“ My mind was only on Christine. Nothing else mattered. Plus, my shoulder got worse as the season went on.”
“ Why did you wait so long to see her? New Mexico is only one state over from Colorado.”
“ It was a different world then. In those days, every penny I made, I gave back to my family. My dad was on disability and they needed anything that I could give them. Also, when the season was over, I had to rush home. My dad took a turn for the worse and he died that fall.”
“ Wow, I’m sorry.”
“ Thank you. That was a long time ago.”
“ I’m sorry for asking why you waited so long.”
“ No, it’s an important detail to the story. I didn’t see her immediately because I needed to be there for my family. I went to work immediately after the season ended. I had two goals. Help my family and put a little away so I could take a bus trip to Delta, Colorado.”
“ By January, I had put aside enough money to buy a round-trip ticket to Delta, Colorado. It was actually a ticket to Denver, but Delta was one of its stops.”
Chapter Eleven
January 1969 – Delta, Colorado - Bus Stop, 3:00 p.m.
“ The bus dropped me off at the bus station on the south side of town at 3:00 p.m. I had bought a bouquet of flowers at the last stop and made sure that they looked as fresh as they could on that cold winter day.
“ I was so excited I didn’t know what to do with myself. You see, we’d never exchanged numbers or addresses. Everything had happened so fast at the very end of our first meeting that it was impossible for us to exchange anything. All I had to go on was my memories of the greatest night of my life. I had trust in my heart that I had found the woman of my dreams, the lady I was destined to be with.
“ Boy was I wrong!
“ I made my way downtown and I hit Mulberry Street. There must have only been only one girl like Christine Norquist in this town. Everybody must know her.
“ I was right. It didn’t take long for me to hear the wonderful news. The first person I talked to was an older gentleman who owned the local market.
“ He was very happy to tell me that Christine Norquist was now Mrs. Connelly. She had married up with the guy she had previously broken up with before the night she met me. Captain Benjamin Connelly. Believe you me, Captain Benjamin Connelly was the pride of the town.
“ I ended up asking three different town folks and pretty much got every detail of the autumn wedding that happened only one month prior to my showing up. They got married in front of the old Baptist chapel and the whole town was invited. Nearly 800 people showed. Mary Dickson caught the bouquet and was already engaged with her boyfriend. Every last detail made me want to throw up.
“ In the end, the wedding didn’t matter as much as the details of the actual marriage. I heard that they moved to Virginia. That’s right, Virginia. I had used up every dime I had to chase a woman who I believed was the love of my life, only to realize I was just a dope. It was awful.
“ I made my way back to the bus station, with the mangled flowers still in hand. I don’t know why I didn’t throw them away. I kept those flowers as long as I could. I didn’t throw them out until years later.”
Chapter Twelve
Present Day – Delta, Colorado - Coffee Shop, 1:00 a.m.
I stared at Sharee and felt like a dope once again, even years later, retelling the story. Sharee smiled at me and just slowly shook her head. Her eyes were beaming.
“What’s going on?” I asked Sharee because her face was priceless.
“ It just amazes me how each of us is so precious. And so much can happen that can alter so many things.”
I guess the story touched Sharee in a way that I hadn’t anticipated. But there was still a lot more to say. I looked at Sharee and said, “We really haven’t even
Similar Books
