Chapter Seventy One

Hi, honey, sorry I didn’t call last night. James was quite ill and there was quite a commotion here for a few hours.”

“Did they take him to the hospital?” asked Henry feeling relieved that Jenny called.

“The doctor tried his best to convince him to go, but James refused. He said he’ll know when he has to go and was firm in staying home. James’ doctor isn’t the only one who wants him admitted. There is an emergency team of doctors ready to transport him to some facility where his body will be frozen.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that to me before. He is still serious in going through with that?”

“I think he agrees it’s a bit farfetched, but he hasn’t put a stop to it. Money is no object to James. He may do whatever he can to postpone his death. I’m sure he has a series of life support measures in place as well.”

Henry remained silent, not really wanting to go there. He was more concerned about Jenny and their relationship.

“How are you holding up in all this, Jenny?” Henry was eager to know. He listened to her response carefully.

“Surprisingly well, Henry. James has changed so much and … for the better, I hardly recognize him as the same man. Our grandson, Jimmy, was over Sunday with Nora and we had such fun with him chasing butterflies. Except for yesterday, when James had a spell, everything is going fine. J.J. was over to the estate on Sunday but I didn’t see him. James and I were taking Jimmy for a walk when he came and he left right away. He’s going to be a hard one to reach, I’m afraid. Anyway, Nora, Jimmy and I spent the whole day today shopping. We had so much fun. Nora is such a lovely girl. J.J. should consider himself fortunate to have her as a wife. I hope he realizes it before it’s too late.”

“Did you chat with Nora about her financial arrangement with J.J.? Is it set up the same way yours was? I recall you were concerned about that.”

“Yes, while Jimmy was colouring and playing with a small toy the café supplied, I asked Nora about that. Apparently, she too, entered into a prenuptial agreement which was similar to the one James and I had. But two months ago, James changed all that. He formed a trust for Jimmy and a bank management arrangement such that for each year that J.J. and Nora are married, the account increases substantially. It goes hand in hand somehow along with an agreement that dictates how a settlement would be made. Nora had her father take the agreement to his lawyer. After review, the lawyer apparently said the agreement outlined a very generous and fair division of assets between the husband and wife should a settlement ever be required.” Then Jenny added something which twigged at Henry’s concern receptors.

“I just cannot believe how wonderful James has become…it’s another miracle, Henry.”

“Yeah,” Henry said, hesitantly, “It sure sounds like it. Change doesn’t come easy, Jen. When I was a counsellor it got very discouraging at times when clients came back time and again still dealing with the same self defeating behaviours. And yet, when one is ready to change, it can happen. I can see in James’ case, his illness stopped him in his tracks and forced him to examine his life and where it was all heading.”

“And it could have gone either way. He could have remained cold, hard, aloof and blaming God and life for his situation but rather his old ways seem to be replaced by a sincere attempt to reach out and be kind. I never would have thought that the garden would have such a healing effect on him either. He never ever gave a flower, a shrub or tree a second thought and now when he passes them, he stops to touch a flower or smell a herb and at times even tastes both!” And after a reflective pause, Jenny added, “The acids within him that so corroded his spirit have been miraculously neutralized by an alkaline dose of nature.”

“That’s beautifully put, Jen. But I think the real truth of the matter is that you are primarily responsible for James’ incredible recovery and he realizes it, too. Your prayers for him, your unconditional acceptance and the fact that you never lost hope. You always saw in him the child of God who the Lord had created. “

“That was beautifully put, too. Thank you, Henry.”

Henry paused, dug deep into his compassionate nature and continued, “I am so happy for James and your growing appreciation of him…just don’t forget me, sweetheart…”

“Oh, Henry, never! I will love you to my dying breath…oh here I have been talking about myself, how are you doing?”

“Keeping busy at the gallery. The fall weather is beautiful. I was thinking about driving around the country and doing some sketches of the harvest. I love the smell of straw in the air…almost as much as you like the fragrance of thyme.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to go out with you and watch you draw. Do you ever paint outdoors?” Jenny wanted to know.

“Actually, I trained under a plein air painter. I loved painting outdoors and the challenge of capturing the landscape in front of me. Unfortunately those are rare occasions on the prairies as it is usually too windy. On days when the wind is calm and it’s pleasantly warm, with or without the sun being out, there’s nothing like outdoor painting. Ask any artist and they will say, nature is the best teacher.”

“I would love to watch you paint!”

“That reminds me, Jen, of one early spring morning, my art instructor and I went to Wascana Park to paint when the sun came up. It was the first Saturday in May and we were at the park and all set up at the crack of dawn. Snow still covered the ground and the runoff and melting ice created a mirror-like surface on the lake. Both of us had our easels set up and paint out ready to capture the light in the landscape in front of us.

“It was an amazing experience, Jen. How quickly one has to paint to capture the changing light and how the hues change by the second. I can only imagine God as a Master Painter creating the world this way. Just imagine all over the world, thousands of His paintings are seen in the eyes of those who stop to look. God’s creation is the largest gallery all over the world.”

“Oh, Henry, you truly are an artist at heart. It’s so true. When I look at nature or the garden, I am just overwhelmed…it constantly brings tears to my eyes.”

“You will like this, Jen. A month later after this outing, my art instructor, and I went out again to the park. It was a humid morning and a foggy haze rose off the lake partially obscuring the landscape before us. I will never forget what happened next.”

“What? Tell me quickly!” Jenny asked like an excited child wanting to hear a secret.

“As the fog burned off by the heat of the rising sun, I noted a path leading to the water’s edge. It brought back a memory deep inside—”

“I bet I know, Henry! Was it the path that we cycled down that day we went to the park?”

Henry was taken aback by Jenny’s intuition. “Yes, Jenny, it was the same.”

“I remember that scene so clearly. I played it over and over in my mind. The legislative buildings on the other side of the lake, the sail boat…I imagined we had made love and that was when I had conceived Camilla. It was my way of coping at first…”

“Oh, Jenny, I can’t begin to count the number of times I played that scene over in my mind as well.”

“Did you see the tree Henry?” Jenny just had to know.

“Yeah, I was just getting to that. The tree was still there and so was the carving of the heart. The edges had crusted over and the pale yellow bark had weathered and browned, but the inscription was still intact- H loves J.”

“And could you still make out the tiny angels under each curve of the heart?”

“Yes I could, Jen. It brought back so many wonderful memories.”

“Someday when I’m back, I want you and I to visit that place again. I have a secret to tell you, Henry…”

“What? Tell me now.”

“You will have to wait; it will be something very special.”

“I sure wish you were here, Jenny. I can’t wait to hold you and kiss your tender lips.”

“I can’t wait either, Sweetheart.”

“It’s such a warm beautiful evening, I am actually out on the deck talking to you on the extension phone.”

“Is Father at the Poustinia?”

“Yes, he is. He says he might stay into the winter and see what it’s like. The house is heated and he is beginning to accept a little food. And even if I can’t get down there with the truck, I can with the skidoo.”

“It’s amazing how he spends his days and nights in prayer like that.”

“Yes, he is very close to the Lord…oh, I just noticed he lit a candle.”

“There is electricity, isn’t there?”

“Yes, but he prefers just the basics, and besides praying all the time, he is also writing a book. Did I tell you about that?”

“No. What kind of a book?” Jenny wanted to know.

“Father shared with me earlier this spring when I first took him down to the prayer house that he was going to be writing a story his guardian angel asked him to write when he was on the other side.”

“You mean Zachariah asked Father to write a book? What kind of a book?” Jenny asked again.

“You’re not going to believe this, Jenny. He said it’s a story about life. In fact, it’s a love story involving miracles and angels and all the things that happen in God’s Kingdom.”

“That’s incredible, Henry.”

“Yeah, Father said, it’s going to be a story that may have an effect upon a lot of God’s children.”

Jenny was in awe over what she just heard. “That’s truly amazing…and Father said it’s a love story?”

“Yes, and an epic one at that!”

“Oh my gosh, a love story involving miracles and guardian angels… in a way it’s similar to our story…” Jenny’s words trailed off.

“I visited with him for awhile on Sunday evening. When he was in the bathroom, I went into the bedroom where his writing desk is to see how he was coming along. I was amazed to see how much he had written already. One manuscript lay off to the side. It was in the form of a large binder and had, Book 1, printed on the outside cover. When I opened it up I was thoroughly shocked to learn what the title was. You will never guess what the title of book one is, Jenny…?”

“I can’t imagine, Henry. This is so intriguing; tell me, what is the title?”

“Pewter Angels.”