Chapter 26

Adjusting to my new life turned out to be an easy and smooth transition, with few difficulties. During the summer and fall, Jackie was at work every day, which left me free to rebuild my shattered career.

When I was more or less settled, we turned a seldom used room in the house into an office for me. While she worked at her shop, I worked at home using the computer and occasionally the telephone. There were just a handful of trips to meet clients, something I found surprising. Most of the people I contacted were very receptive to handling orders via computer.

There was a learning curve involved. Fortunately, I wasn't totally computer illiterate, and picked up the necessary skills fairly quickly.

I recovered most of the businesses on my list and added several new. They would replace the few I lost. It took a full two weeks of hard work and occasionally some fast talking. In the end, I had more clients than before driving into Danielsford.

As the months passed, memory of Mary slid further from the forefront of my mind. She never left completely, but life is demanding. It has a way of monopolizing time and attention. I had a feeling during the moments I thought about her that it was what she would have wanted.

***

On the first anniversary of the funeral, Jackie arranged to make the trip to Massachusetts with me. Neither George nor Father Maloney showed up. I hadn't expected either of them to appear.

Somehow, we managed to find the site of Danielsford without getting ourselves hopelessly lost. The headboard was still there, still standing upright and showing surprisingly little wear. Jackie roamed the area while I worked on cleaning the marker and then paying my respects. She returned from exploring a few minutes later and stood silently beside me.

I spent a few minutes trying to tell her where we were relative to the town. I pointed out the spot on which Mary said her shop once stood, and the church as well as the Common. She tried to envision it but admitted it was impossible without having seen the town.

When we left, something more than an hour later, we drove south into Boston and parked at my house. The For Sale sign had a new addition, announcing the house finally sold.

It sat on the market for six months. Tomorrow, I had a meeting with the new owners at the real estate office, where we would sign the papers. I commented that it all worked out as if someone had a hand in planning it.

"Maybe someone did," said Jackie.

I looked at her.

She shrugged. “Why not? You helped her. From what she said the last time she talked, it's pretty clear to me she cares about you. Why couldn't she be watching over you, or us? Let's go. We need to find a hotel room."

I spent a few more seconds staring at my old home. It would be the last time I saw it. We climbed into the car and drove away, into the future.

The End