PROLOGUE
You don’t find love. It finds you. It’s got a little bit to do with destiny, fate, and what’s written in the stars.
—Anais Nin
May2020
They say our lives are written in the stars, that our fate is predetermined. But after the life I’ve lived and the things I’ve seen, I can honestly say that we are the authors of our own destiny, endowed by the Almighty with the power to choose our own paths, and, when necessary, to rewrite the stars.
Tonight, I sit alone under a chilly Tennessee sky. My only company, aside from a crackling fire and a glass of Jack Daniels, is a chorus of crickets and bullfrogs. It is a tune I know well. From the comfort of my rocking chair, I lean back and gaze deep into the heavens. Above me, the stars stretch to infinity like lighthouses on a thousand distant shores, waiting to guide my thoughts as they prepare to navigate the velvet sea.
But before they set sail, the sound of the telephone ringing brings me back to earth, so I push myself out of the rocker and shuffle into the house.
“Hello.”
“Hey, it’s me. It’s done.”
“Everything? Are you sure?”
“The moving truck is on its way to the storage facility, the door is locked, and the alarm is set. Sherrie will be by in the morning to stick the sign in the yard, so there’s nothing left to do now but wait.”
Between the alcohol, and the notion that the house that had known sixty years of love and laughter now sits empty, it takes me a moment to process.
“I can’t thank you enough, sweetheart. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You’re welcome, Daddy. I only wish I could do more. Speaking of that, I know you said you didn’t want any company tomorrow, but I wish you’d reconsider. I could leave first thing in the morning and be at your place by noon. That way we could go together.”
“Who would run the store?”
“Annalise can manage. She practically runs the place on her own as it is.”
“I appreciate the offer, but you’ve more than held up your end of the bargain. The last mile is my cross to bear.”
“Well,” she says, sighing heavily into the phone, “if you change your mind, you know how to reach me. I don’t mind dropping everything and leaving at a moment’s notice.”
“I know, and thank you. Oh, before I forget, did you find your mother’s memory box?”
“No, I’m afraid not, and I searched every inch of the house. Twice in fact. The only thing I can figure is she must have moved it without telling you.”
“You’re probably right,” I say, fearing it is lost forever. “I’ll check again in the morning before I head out.”
“Just promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you too.”
“I will. But try not to worry. I’ve been making this trip since before you were a twinkle in your mother’s eye.”
“Yes, but not like this.”
I consider that, thinking that tomorrow will be one of the toughest days of my life.
After a moment of silence, she adds, “Well, I should go. I’ve been at it all day, and I’m exhausted.”
“All right, darlin’. Tell Don I said hello, will you? Annalise too.”
“Sure thing. I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
I mosey outside, add a log to the fire, and settle in for the long night ahead. “Now where was I?” At the bottom of my glass, it all comes back to me. “Now I remember.” Leaning back in the rocker, I catch the glimmer of the North Star as the tail of a comet’s light streaks across the sky.
