Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
The chemo was taking its toll on my girl.
“Dix?” she asked as she got up. “What is it?”
“Annie,” I said quietly. “Tell me what’s going on?”
“I messed up.” She sniffled. “I did…I did something really bad.”
My thoughts immediately went to her children.
“What happened, Annie?” I pushed, pulling my bike keys out of my pocket.
Mary snatched them out of my hand and tossed them on the counter, instead reaching for the truck keys.
She was going with me, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“I need help.” She sounded softer.
Less…exuberant.
Maybe she was calming down.
“I’m at home,” she breathed.
“Your mom and I will be there as soon as we can,” I said as I reluctantly hung up.
At the time, I hadn’t known how close she was to death.
Had I known, I would’ve spent the last couple of minutes of her life talking to her, instead of driving to her.
By the time we got to her place, Bayou was standing outside, looking sick.
Mary went to him, and I went inside.
I expected to find Annie in the living room or the kitchen, but she wasn’t there.
“She’s in her bedroom,” Bayou called out
I had a sick feeling in my gut when I walked toward the bedroom.
That sick feeling grew insurmountably when I saw her body on the floor.
I didn’t get to her side before Bayou came into the room behind me and said, “She’s dead.”
I placed my fingers to her throat, hoping to feel a pulse, and didn’t.
I looked up at Hoax. “What happened?”
“She killed herself,” Bayou murmured. “Look.”
Mary picked up the note that was lying on the bed.
She started reading, and her face crumpled.
“No, baby. No,” Mary murmured, dropping down to her knees.
I let Mary stay there with our girl, picked up the note, and caught Bayou’s shoulder in my large hand. “Come on, boy. Let’s go outside.”
“I called the club,” he whispered. “After. I called you. When I didn’t get a hold of you, I called 9-1-1.”
“I was on my way here,” I said as I pulled Bayou into my arms. “I’m sorry, Bayou. I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”
He dropped his forehead to my chest.
This boy that was so close to being a man.
The boy that shot up so high this summer that he was nearly my height.
I pulled him in so tight that neither one of us could breathe.
My brothers arrived before the ambulance that Bayou also said he’d called.
The ambulance arrived on the tail of Silas.
Silas walked to me and not inside. “Mary?”
“She’s inside. With Annie.” My voice broke.
Silas pulled Bayou into his arms, then gestured toward me to get inside.
I didn’t waste time.
Now that Bayou had someone I could trust to take care of him, it was time to go take care of my little wife.
I found her with Annie’s head in her lap, silent tears tracking down her cheeks.
She looked at me when I entered the room and said, “We missed it, baby.”
We had.
“I’m so dang sorry, baby.” I dropped down to my old, rickety knees. “I’m so sorry.”
She cupped my chin, her fingers running through my white beard. “Is Bayou okay?”
I was already shaking my head. “Don’t think he’ll ever be okay again.”
The photo came later.
Silas took it.
It was of Mary and me holding Annie’s hand as she was carried out of the house.
It captured a black-and-white shot of us refusing to let go.
I wouldn’t come to appreciate the photo until years later when I had nothing left of my girl but memories.
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
I looked over at my baby girl.
“Annie,” I breathed.
She threw herself at me and buried her nose in my neck. “I’m so sorry, Daddy.”
I squeezed her so tight she wheezed.
Only when she patted my arm affectionately did she say, “Daddy, there’s someone here that wants to see you.”
I looked up, and every bit of love I’d missed for the last half of a lifetime hit me like a battering ram.
“Mary,” I breathed.
She smiled. “Welcome home, Dix.”
Author’s Note
Okay, so I know you’re probably crying right now. I’m sorry. There really was no other way for this book to go. Mary was it for Dixie. The kind of love he had for her, he could’ve never found that with anyone else, ever. And I know a lot of you have been asking for their book for a really long time. So…you got it. Please don’t hate me.
Dixie and Mary have been playing around in my head for years. I’ve wanted to write their book, but again, I didn’t know how else it could end but this way.
So, since I just wrecked you, I decided to give you a feel-good story after this one. I hope you like Merriam and Jeremiah. Also, let me know if you see what I did with them. <3
Part Two
JEREMIAH + MERRIAM
Prologue
[ ] Nice
[ ] Naughty
[X] I tried
—T-shirt
JEREMIAH
“What can I do for you?” the helpful outdoor mall attendant asked.