The Widow's Friend (6 page)

I also have special friends that were childhood friends, and
we are still in touch, and etc. etc.

And by the way, I didn’t get any snow, but I wish I would
have. I love the snow. It just stays around too long.

I hope that answers all of your questions. I can’t wait to
hear all about everything from you.

Bye for now, from the no longer gardening girl, Callii

***

From Levi Stone

Oct 28th

Hi Callii, thanks for sharing. Does anyone ever call you
Cal, or do you have any other nicknames? A hundred years ago I was called
Stoney. Jack and Rick still call me that, but for the last twenty years I’ve
been called Stoner, what else would you expect? Sometimes when I tell people
what my name is, they’ll say, “How do you spell that?” and I’ll say, “r-o-c-k.”
They always pause a moment before laughing.

You have a pet frog, huh? That surprised me. I had a toad in
my window well once, for what that’s worth. I’m a cat lover too. Mom told me
that when I was an infant, the only way she could get me to hold still when she
was changing my diaper was to put a kitten on my chest. The pets we’ve had over
the years were usually gifted or picked up by our kids, and then the pets would
adopt me after the kids lost interest in them.Our cat, Mary Jane, (Can you
guess where that name came from? It took me about two seconds.) was given to my
son at Christmastime, about two weeks before I had my hip replaced. The cat and
I bonded while I laid in bed in January and February. Then, when summer came,
she would go on a daily walk with me and our little mutt of a dog. I’ve never
seen a cat go for a walk before. Her little feet would go a hundred miles an
hour and then she would lay down on the dirt road and huff and puff, with her
little pink tongue sticking out. She was my girlfriend for ten years. She would
follow me around and sit by me wherever I went. She would sit atop the monitor
and soak up the heat while I was on the computer.

At night, whenever I would wake up, she would walk up from
the foot of the bed to have me pet her. It was amazing. I wouldn’t stir, just
open my eyes, and sometimes not even that, and there she would be. Anyway, I’m
a basic dog and cat kind of a guy. I like ‘em both, but at the moment I don’t
have a pet of any kind. I’m glad that you like cats and dogs too. I’m not sure
why—I just am.

I had never heard of Castle, (I don’t watch much TV) but I
went to Youtube and watched a preview of it. It looks pretty good.

I think Anne Richardson is great. I’m sure that she’s good
for you and that you’re good for her. I just love friendships of any kind.
Sometimes they’re hard to find. She’s lucky to have you.

Back in the nineties I had an assistant at work that I got
close to. He was single and we used to do things together all the time: movies,
Wendover, and things like that. He still lives in Idaho Falls and he’s married
now. His name is Ed Slack and he has some kind of a neurological problem, MS or
something like that. He’ll be in a wheel chair soon. Life has so much “stuff”
that it throws at us. We went to the hospital tonight and visited Mary’s Aunt
Joyce from Pocatello. She’s a truly wonderful person, in her eighties, whose
laugh and sense of humor just kill me.

While I was in there I ran into a neighbor’s wife. Her husband
is in the hospital, and it was upsetting for me to see him in the shape that he’s
in. He had chemotherapy for a tumor in his neck, and during his last treatment
they learned that he’d caught pneumonia so they rushed him into the hospital.
He might never come out again. Just last summer he was robust and vigorous. His
wife, Coleen, is a real sweetheart. Bob has always looked old to me and Coleen
has always looked young. I feel bad for her.

Is your daughter that lives in Idaho Falls your other best
friend? What is her name? There is a special bond and relationship between
mothers and daughters, I think. It sounds like you and your daughter fit right
into that category. My daughter Bailey, in Twin Falls, is Mary’s life line to
the world, and to top it off, her daughter Riley (age five) loves Mary to
pieces. Mary just laps it up.

It’s funny that your kids are buddies with Ty Morrison’s
kids. Of all those guys at the football party, frankly, Ty Morrison was the one
that I know the least. And what’s ironic about that is we’re distant cousins.
My mother was a Morrison from Blackfoot. I’m sure you didn’t know that. I met
Ty’s daughter Emma during the party. She’s a very beautiful young lady.

Lexi, my granddaughter, is a good friend to me right now. We’ve
helped raise her, but I think I’m already losing her a bit. She’s seven years
old, going on sixteen. Her personality reminds me of her dad. She’s high energy
and a lot of fun. But just when I think she’s growing up, she surprises me by
acting like a little girl again.

Well, it’s time for bed. I’ll send more tomorrow. It may
take me a few more nights to answer your previous e-mail, there’s a lot there.

Good night young lady and rest well, Levi

***

From Levi Stone

Oct 31st

Hi again Callii. Trick or Treat night is drawing to a close.
Mary is asleep and Lexi is too, and here I sit. It’s eleven p.m. and I’ll see
if I can maintain the energy to talk to you a bit. By the way, I spent my day
in Rexburg today trick or treating. We wandered up and down Main Street in the
afternoon with my son and his kids. We were chased out a little early by a
storm, and then in the evening, after pizza, we went trick or treating around
my boy’s neighborhood. I was impressed with the decorated front porches and
homes, the clever costumes, and the warmth of the people. There were mostly
young families in his neighborhood, but some of them were middle aged and there
were also a few oldsters. Everyone seemed happy and nice. It was a good
feeling. There were tons of kids and that made it all the more fun.

I just flipped the TV station from NBA basketball and tried
to find a good movie. They’re hard to come by these days. I had roughly thirty
choices and couldn’t see anything worth tuning in to, so I’m listening to solid
gold oldies in the music section. It will have to do. What kind of music do you
migrate to, and no, you don’t have to be careful how you answer.

You are an open book, you say? Well I’m an open book too. If
I tell you something, you can darn well know it’s the truth. Mary says I don’t
have a filter. I tell people, “I’m too dumb to talk out of both sides of my
mouth.” Anyway, what you hear is what you get, unvarnished, plain simple facts,
and that’s just the way it is—really. I’m not a “man without guile”, but I’m
close.

One of my favorite songs just came on, “You Didn’t Have To
Be So Nice” by the Lovin’ Spoonful. It’s a little sugar from the past.

I’m glad that you’re basically a country mouse. We’d be good
friends anyway, but I’m more comfortable knowing that you don’t do yard work in
your high heels, though I have no doubt that you have done it on occasion—but
please, don’t put on any airs for me. Or is that the opposite of putting on
airs, when you go from the raised little finger to eating meat with your hands?
Anyway, that’s another thing that I am, is quite liberal or nonjudgmental when
it comes to other people. I figure I’ve got enough problems of my own and all
kinds of things could happen to just about anyone. A thought keeps going
through my head over the last several years:
Everyone does the best that they can
. And I really believe that
that they do. I like people.

Oh, now another good song came on: “You Baby” by The
Turtles. And now there’s an average one: “96 Tears” by the Mysterians. Remember
that one? I didn’t either until I heard it tonight.

You must be quite good at making dolls, and you must sell a
lot of them to be able to travel to Salt Lake City for a show, put yourself up,
and still come out ahead. Someday I’d like to see some of them.

Speaking of hobbies, I need to get back into the writing
groove. I haven’t done very much this week at all. I’m editing “Hollow Chill”
right now. It’s my third book, and I originally wrote it about nine years ago.
So far, it’s been pretty rough. I used a ton of dashes between phrases at that
early stage of my writing career, and I have to repair all of that plus there
are many other things that are bad. The average person wouldn’t pick up on a
lot of it, but editors and writers would. I have always been a storyteller that
works on his writing, but I think I’m improving.

Do you mind if I ask how long you and Kevin were together? Dating,
married, and total time? According to the approximate age of your kids it must
have been for a long time.

And I love Christmas too. Who doesn’t? Though, when I was
working retail all those many years I had to run the Christmas aisle, and it
was a lot of work. All the old ladies would pass by and say, “Christmas
already?” like they were being funny or something, and I would always give them
my standard reply, “Oh, I love Christmas. I wish we could have it all year
round, don’t you?”

Is your boy down from Vancouver right now?

And yes, I do believe you’re an upbeat person, Callii. I
have no doubt. It’s just that when your kids are divorcing and she’s about to
deliver a baby, I can only imagine your concerns, especially along with the
other little girl that you already help out with and feel responsible for. So
again, hang tough. You’re lucky to have Anne and your daughter and all of the
others to help you through it all.

And so now, my good friend, I will proceed to unwind a few
e-mails over the next few days dealing with my marriage. These are things that
I don’t usually talk about. I have a brother who I used to confide in, but he
has lost my confidence. Sherry, my sister, knows the basics but I don’t tell
her the details. Lon Moore knows the basics but not the details, either. Jed
Best knows the basics but not much more. Lynn Brown knows almost nothing, like
most other people. And so I must ask that you don’t share any of this with
anyone—please. And I know that you won’t.

Often I don’t know who knows things and who doesn’t. I talk
to Dentist Rick Sundstrum’s receptionist, Lisa, occasionally. (We have a soft
mutual admiration—she’s single.) Anyway, when we talk I have no idea what she
knows about my marriage. Rick sits right next to my brother, Paul, at the Idaho
State football games, and I’m sure they share things. So I don’t know what gets
passed around and what doesn’t, though I’m certain it’s much more than I’d care
to know. You get the point? I have no idea who knows what or how much that they
know, not even Rick.

The worst thing I ever did was when I shared information, in
the dark of the night, with my own mother. It happened many years ago, fifteen
or so. We were on vacation in a condo. She was in a bed across the room from
mine. It was midnight and it was dark. I told her of my marital troubles and
she told me of the “affair”, more or less, depending on who you talk to, that
my dad had at his store when I was in junior high. It was hard enough learning
about my dad’s old infidelity problems, but it was just that much worse when
mom informed my whole damn family about my own marriage problems. You’d think
you could confide in your own mother. Sheesh!

So, it’s not exactly a sealed book or anything with my
family members anymore. Sherry is the one that Mary likes the most and Sherry
likes Mary too, for the most part. Sherry has her own problems, but that’s a
whole other story.I was sitting at Ty Morrison’s party a few weeks ago and I
was thinking about the guys in the room and their marriages. Most of their
marriages are rock solid and they’re generally committed to their wives, and so
of course I had to think, here I am! It was a why me kind of a thing. Rick has,
I think, a volatile marriage, (Lisa, his wife’s best friend and his
receptionist, has shared a few things with me) but through it all Rick loves
his wife and is totally committed to her. Jack Davis and his wife are totally
in love and devoted to one another, and Gaylen Best is completely in love with
Charlene. Of course Ty Morrison just lost his wife to cancer. I still don’t
know if it was a good marriage or not, do you? I’ve heard it both ways.

Now Kenny Pickering is a whole other story in itself. I don’t
understand how he thinks. He’s been single for the last twenty years and he
doesn’t even seem to care.

I sometimes tell a little joke, “I had a lot of trouble with
my first wife.” Folks will respond, “I didn’t know you were divorced.” I
answer, “I’m not.” On the team I used to work on I would pop off with first
wife jokes all the time. We had a lot of fun with it.

So anyway, if you don’t mind telling me that I can keep your
confidence, I’ll fill you in. It will probably be somewhat therapeutic for me, and
it may take awhile. And if not, you’ll save me from several hours of writing.
:^)

Thanks, Levi

P.S. Did you know you can get close to someone by writing? I
learned that when my son went to school in Texas. So, maybe we’ll be great
friends when all this is behind us. I hope so. :^) (Boy, I sure send you a lot
of smiley faces :^)

Levi

***

From Callii Wilson

Nov 2nd

Hello again to you my friend. It has been an interesting few
days. My son is here staying with me for awhile. His wife will be having the baby
tomorrow. I am the assigned baby sitter for both the 16 month old and the 7
year old for the entire day. I had the 16 month old most of the day today. He
is a handful. It is just a reminder of why you get kids when you are young. He
is really cute, though.

You asked how long Kevin and I were married. We were only
married for about eight yrs. It took me a long time to find him. When I did he
was a definite keeper. He loved my kids like they were his own. He was a very
good man. My boys were from a previous marriage. Did you know how many times I
had been married? Yes, I do have my own soap opera. I think I told you that in
the beginning.