There is nothing certain in life except death. We are faced daily decisions, the ramifications of which permeate into every aspect of who we are and our success in life. From the moment we are turned upside down and slapped on our 'behind' until we take our last breath, uncertainty is with us. This is a story of that uncertainty and how it pertains to people's lives. World War II took from Anne Bennett a husband and brother. She is left with three children to raise alone. She finds herself struggling with the depression and emptiness of living in the past without the ability to find her future. A decision is made. She will with her children return to her childhood home. 'Clover View' is a small farm outside Albion, Michigan owned by her parents. They too have struggled, with the loss of their only son, Bud. Maybe their return to her roots can help her children, her parents and herself put their loss behind them and fine hope for their future. There are problems with this plan as three generations collide while living under one roof. The story deals with understanding ourselves and respecting the needs of others. Regardless if the reader is a teen or a grandparent, this story has a message for everyone.

Maybe, Just Maybe

By Donald Vaughn Renner

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Donald Vaughn Renner
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-4086-8

Contents

Putting Memories in a Trunk....................................1A Decision to Go Home..........................................7A Green Car on Mason Street....................................13Just Boards and Plaster........................................19An Unmentionable Gift..........................................28Pop, Popcorn and Pancakes......................................37Clover View a Story of Love....................................45Yaa-Hoo, I'm Jon Bennett.......................................53Cracker Jacks and Buster Brown.................................66A New Day of Independence......................................79The Road Back..................................................88The Traveling Suitcase.........................................101The Season for Change..........................................114The Homecoming.................................................123The Difference between Courage and Bravery.....................127On The Wings of Angles.........................................138In Need of a Miracle...........................................146Goodbye Dear Friend............................................156Mending a Fence................................................163Heathen at the Door............................................172The Winter Party...............................................178A Simple Glass of Wine.........................................189A Beautiful Lily...............................................198A Home Style Celebration.......................................206The Offer......................................................218Any Place but Here.............................................226A Jar of Kosher Dills..........................................237Faking the Left................................................246The Gift.......................................................259The Conflict...................................................267In God We Trust................................................276A Loss for the Family..........................................285The Plan.......................................................294A Song Bird Sings..............................................302The Card.......................................................309Not In a Million Years.........................................315What is it About Tassy.........................................323Showing the Pearly Whites......................................336Frankly My Dear................................................346The Story Behind the Story.....................................351Some Things You Don't Talk About...............................359Teacher Let the Fools Out......................................367Knowing Your Friends...........................................375Nothing Smells Like a New Truck................................382Somewhere Over the Rainbow.....................................390Inseparable Friends............................................397One Life Goes, One Life Stays..................................405The Sweet Smell of Honeysuckle.................................410Finding Daddy..................................................419Do You Take This Man...........................................427

Chapter One

Putting Memories in a Trunk

In the early morning hours, on May 17, 1947, Anne Bennetts lumbered restlessly. She had taken a sleeping pill before retiring, hoping for a sound night's sleep. That did not happen. She couldn't get old memories out of her head. Tonight the memories came back to her entwined in dreams. In the morning this will all be over Anne thought. This was the last night she will sleep alone in the bed she had shared with her husband, the late Captain Jon Bennett. More than two years had passed since Jon was killed in a bombing mission, over the English Channel. Two years of trying to be brave in front of the children, while crying herself to sleep most nights. Two years of empty loneliness, sleeping on one side of a bed meant to be shared by two people. As Anne drifted in and out of sleep she thought these are the last hours of the last night in our little home. The home was so perfect. There was a white picket fence and little front porch where untold hours were spent. Anne, Jon and the children sat on the porch almost every evening when the weather permitted. They listened to radio programs coming through the open window. Jane, Jon Jr. and Shelly played checkers or Parcheesi or hide and seek with other children in the neighborhood. This little bungalow that she and Jon made into a home would become the property of Carl and Freda Simmons at 12 noon. Anne had sold the house and she and the children were returning to her childhood home in Albion, Michigan.

Anne rolled over on to her left side. For years it was her favorite position for watching Jon sleep. Then as now, Anne would keep a 15 watt bulb lit in the closet every night. The lighted closet first began when Jane was an infant, and 3 o'clock feedings were a nightly ritual. With the closet door slightly ajar, just enough light fell across the room by which to see. Many nights after Jane was fed, Anne would return to bed to watch Jon sleep. The sound of his heavy breathing would have a soothing effect on her. Within minutes she would drift off back to her own dreams. Those nights are gone forever. It has been over two years since she felt Jon's body next to hers. Almost three since she looked into his face. God, he had such beautiful brown eyes. Anne pulled up the sheet and with a corner of it, wiped tears from her eyes.

From the living room the dull sound of a single chime from the Seth Thomas mantle clock announced to her another half hour had passed. Anne heard the chime and, as always, thought of the little wind up monkey that delighted Jon Jr. as a toddler. The monkey was a gift to him from a neighbor. It had a funny expression on his face and had a little red hat on his head. Cymbals were attached to both hands. When wound up, the monkey would clash the cymbals until it ran down or was turned off. The cymbals made the same sound as the Seth Thomas, only faster. Anne remembered when Jon Jr. was little they would sit him on the floor to play with his toys including the monkey. If the Seth Thomas chimed, Jon would look at the monkey, expecting the cymbals to clang. Anne wondered what time it was. She could easily roll over and check the time on the clock. She had set the alarm for 6:00 am. She would not look at the clock. If she did she would turn off the alarm and get up and start her day. For the time being, Anne was content to just lay there and think and dream of happier days.

Her mind drifted back to the day she and Jon met. It was Saturday, February 16, 1927. The Ladies Rosary Society of Saint John's Church sponsored an ice cream social every Saturday near Valentine's Day. Her mother, Katharine or Katie as she preferred to be called, was that year's president of the Rosary Society. Anne told her mother she was not going to attend the social.

"Not go to the social? Why in the world would you not go to the social?" Katie asked.

Anne could tell she was in danger of getting her mother's Irish blood riled up. Katie for the most part was a sweet gentle lady with a soft voice. However when someone crossed Katie's path, by not seeing eye to eye with her, she could and generally would get the upper hand.

"My own daughter not going to this...