When Reality is More Than Memory
-By Robert Faulkender ©
By late afternoon Ted rode down the main street of Holliday, Texas. Things seemed smaller than he remembered. He stabled his horse, but found no rooms at the hotel. On his way to the boarding house he decided to stop first at the Samuelson General Store. In range of the store he noticed that the name was now Samuelson’s Emporium.
Must be doing pretty good.
Ted entered quietly. He stood just inside the entrance. The smell of the place reminded him of the first time he stepped into the store: how Leitha struck him dumb with her greeting. At the far side of the room a young woman looked up from counting items of some sort. “May I help you?” she said.
His mouth opened, about to speak, when a second woman rose up from behind the counter. His heart skipped. She smiled at him, but she turned to the girl. He felt his mouth go dry.
“That’s enough for today, Millie. You may go. I have an old friend to greet.” Leitha brushed a strand of long black hair behind her ear. Again, she shyly smiled across the room.
Leitha was more beautiful than he remembered--no feisty young girl, but a woman. Except, where she had been intimidating before, she was inviting now; plain dark skirt straight to her ankles, a plain black blouse buttoned up the neck, pencil stuck in black hair pulled back and tied with a black ribbon. He loved her; always had; just that simple; only he never admitted it.
Ted nodded as Millie passed by; he stepped further into the store. Leitha fussed around behind the counter for a moment until the shop girl left then she swept across the room right into his face, and with a hand on each of his cheeks, gave him a sisterly kiss on the lips. He felt light.
“I see that ‘sheriff’ is no longer an appropriate title, sergeant,” she teased.
Ted studied the smile, the new little lines in the corners of the eyes, still the twinkle. It occurred to him that he should speak. “Hello, Leitha. Came the moment I received your note.”
She quickly turned away, “Ah, it’s the note that brought you.” She moved thoughtfully toward the front door. “If you will wait a moment I’ll close the store, then we can go back to the house. I’ll fix us a little supper; we’ll get caught up.”
“Whatever you say, Leitha.”
She moved with such grace. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And dressed all in black, with the black hair; everything accented her ivory coloring .
Leitha was a woman now-- not so much intimidating as desirable...
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