Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The wedding was beautiful. God provided a sunny seventy-degree Indian summer day. The wedding was held outside in the flower garden of the Baptist Church. Becky and Gloria were absolutely stunningly beautiful in their white wedding gowns.

Four of my best friends from Hasting Mills brought their families out for the wedding. I felt sad that I had no immediate family to share this wonderful day with. I did feel lucky to have Gus, Mary, Red Dodge and his wife there. Jon and Chris Tavy were there, of course, as was the entire Madison team.

After the reception, Gloria and I headed off to Hawaii for two wonderful weeks. We sunned ourselves on the beautiful beeches, danced until the wee hours of the morning, falling more in love with every passing day.

We were just sunning ourselves in lunge chairs by the pool one afternoon. We had only two days left before we were scheduled to go home and really start our lives together.

"Fate is sure a funny thing," I said to my beautiful bride. "I mean, how else can you explain my lying on the beach here with you, and, your being my wife."

"Yes, I know,” answered Gloria. "I always thought it would be with Bob. I still can't believe he is gone. I don't think I will ever understand life, really, at least that chapter of my life."

"I know," I said. "He was a great guy and had so much to offer. He seemed to always make the right decisions. He was truly Dudley Do-Right if there ever was one."

"He was that," added Gloria, "even to his own detriment, I think."






"I guess we all think that every decision we make, at the time, is the right one," I add. "We think we look at all the options, understand the possibilities of what may happen, even think we know how things will turn out. I guess the reality is that we move too quickly with our hearts and not enough with our heads. Maybe Bob WAS to take that scholarship. Maybe he would still be alive today if he had. Who knows, I guess."

I took a sip of my lemonade. Gloria just starred out across the crystal blue water beyond the pool fence.

"I just hope he has found his peace, where ever he is," Gloria said, as a small tear rolled down her cheek. "Bill, thank you for marrying me. I do love you so."

"You're very welcome," I reply. "Was the least I could do."

I reach across and brush away the tear.

"I hope Bob has found his peace, too," I add. "I really do. I can't help but think, though, that his business is left unfinished. I have been having some strange dreams lately, almost visions if you could call them that. It’s like I'm supposed to be doing something to help bring closure to all of this. I don't know exactly what, though."

"What do you mean, Bill," asked Gloria. "How could YOU finish what Bob tried to start?"

"That's what I don't know," I reply. "I'm certainly not as religious a person as Bob, but I think that you and I have some serious soul-searching to do to try to figure out what God wants us to do about this. I know that we can't let Bob's murder be in vain. He was too special a person for that."

I take Gloria's hand in mine and look deeply into her eyes.



"I'll help you any way I can," she replied lovingly while leaning over to kiss me softly. "We're in this together, for the rest of our lives. She caresses my face with her soft hands. "God will let us know what he wants us to do...in his own time. Some dreams do come true. Mine truly have."