Fall 2012, Braxton County, Iowa
The stones cast long shadows over the newly mown grass by the time Rose made it to the cemetery. As she made her way, she noticed the headstones bearing the names of people she’d known over the years—once the last date was blank, now chiseled in. Her neighbors from down the road; they’d been a devoted couple who died within months of one another. The headstone of the young man who’d shown such promise in school, but whose life had ended in a car accident thirty years ago. He’d rested alone for so long, but his parents had finally joined him last year.
She walked past the older stones and tried not to notice the number of markers that featured angels and lambs. Too many children back then died before they had a chance to live, and it always saddened her thinking of them. Rose kept moving until she’d reached a plot in the back of the cemetery, sheltered by pine trees.
She paused before the stone bearing the names of Dr. William Krause and his wife of sixty-four years, Clara. They had been a wonderful couple, and she had fond memories of the good doctor. He’d been close to her great-grandpa Gus Winter, and had visited him often when Great-Grandpa lived with her grandmother, Essie. When she was a child, the two men had allowed her to play cards with them. She smiled. Thanks to them, she still played a mean game of pinochle. After Great-Grandpa’s passing, William’s visits continued, and her whole family felt the loss when William died.
Rose patted the top of the stone, then moved to an unpretentious stone to the left of Dr. William and Clara’s. Carved in gray granite, the stone bore only the name—HANNAH KRAUSE, and an epitaph. Using the stone for balance, Rose slowly lowered herself to her knees. After brushing away the grass clippings from the base of the stone, she placed a small pot of mums in its center. The dark bronze flowers looked nice against the gray granite.
“I think you’d like her, Hannah, even though she is married to Joseph’s kin,” Rose murmured, moving the pot a couple of inches to the left. “Trudy wants her gone, but if she’d quit her meddling, I think that girl could break the cycle.” She gave a long sigh. “I’d appreciate it if you kept an eye on her.”
As Rose walked away from the grave, she felt a soft whisper brush against her face and she smiled.