Wednesday, August 06, 2025

Chapter 157

 

157.



It took Ike a bit to calm down. He was a mite embarrassed at the way he acted. Still was holdin’ on to wisps of his anger.

“Nels, Lilly, I’m sorry. Anita knows I get wound up about all this. It’s been a dream, a passion for me for ever so long. I’m a terrible example for others. For my youngin’s. I’m such an idjit. Did I really almost spoil it for myself? Would you have walked away from the offer your gave me?” Ike asked.

Nels nodded.

Lilly did too.

“Honey, here’s the thing we needed to consider. We don’t need no heartache at our age. We don’t need no feller that would be mean spirited, angry, hateful buyin’ our place over yonder. Ike, Cousin, we are caretakers of a wonderful legacy. We can’t just surrender it all to you iff’n you aren’t worthy of that place.” Lilly told Ike.

That comment did make Ike sort of snort just a mite. He weren’t completely a changed man just then.

Nels added, “Ike, me an’ Lilly talked about all this for a long time even before y’all showed up. We’re the last. Not the last Carpenter, of course. Bess, Joe Henry, James, all them folks over to Kentucky, they’ll still be there when we’re gone. We’re the last to live here, where our families started. But, you need to understand that. It weren’t a burden. It weren’t just land. Weren’t just an’ ancient cabin. This is us. You dreamed of a place to return to. We lived that place. We’ve lived it ever’ day of our lives.”

“Ike, Anita, we already paid up for our funeral. We already paid for stones to be laid in the Carpenter cemetery. I told Ike I didn’t want it laid yet. Didn’t want anyone to see my name on a stone till I was under it. Done paid for an’ all. Just not havin’ my name or his on no stone, waitin’ for us to die.” Lilly explained.

Then she smiled. “You need to know them stones ain’t our monument. Not at all. This grove here, my land, David an’ Jane’s cabin over yonder, that’s my monument, our monument. That’s goin’ to stand way longer than me, Nels or even y’all. My hope is, because of what Bess is goin’ to set up, my hope is it will be there for generations of Carpenters. My hope is generations of your line, our common Choctaw line, Joe Henry’s line will be able to come here too. Maybe they can come an’ celebrate who we all was.”

Nels came an’ held out his hand for Ike to take.

Ike took that ol’ man’s hand an’ looked him in the eyes.

Ike’s young, sharp eyes looked deep into Nels’ old, faded blue eyes.

Nels smiled a little smile.

“Youngin’, all we want, all we’ve wanted as we grew older here on this Carpenter land was to make a difference. That’s all any man wants, I reckon. I suspect that’s all y’all want, if y’all studied on it. Lilly didn’t have to do any of what she’s doin’, you know. We ain’t rich, but we sure ain’t dirt poor neither. Got a little socked away in the bank. When a CD comes due, we go shoppin’ to find the best deal on them rates an’ all. Not a lot, enough to pay for some beans an’ bacon in our old age. Sis’s had developers come an’ offer way more money than she’d ever spend for her four hundred seventy one acres. She wouldn’t sell her mineral rights when them swindlers came sniffin’ around. Said I was foolish to do so. One feller offered her $1,200 an’ acre for her land. Offered us $1,500 an acre for the farm.” Nels said.

Ike was shocked. “Wait. Wait. Nels that’s over $300,000 for y’all’s farm. Over half a million dollars for Lilly’s land. That’s getting’ close to a million dollars. Invest that well an’ in a couple years y’all could be millionaires. An’ Nels, his offer for your farm is way, way more than the amount y’all offered it to us for. That’s crazy. Maybe y’all should…”

“Just stop there. What would me an’ Lilly do with that kind of money? Move to Beverly Hills?” Nels asked.

That made Joe Henry, Anita, Aunt Bess an’ Lilly giggle.



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