Six Miles From Nashville (20 page)

One stayed behind to talk with her. “Be careful with that gun, Ma’am. If you can’t handle it well, things could go badly for you.”

“I would hate to think what would have happened to me if I hadn’t had it.”

“Just the same, be careful.” He was halfway out the door when he stopped and added, “The wife and I love your music.”

“Thank you.”

Soon the police cruiser disappeared down the busy street. She locked her door and windows. Fear choked her. She thought about phoning Bill, but realized that he was off fishing somewhere. She wouldn’t be able to talk with him until he picked her up for church. She wandered around her rooms and began cleaning as if her life depended on it.

Bill arrived in her driveway and honked the horn to alert her that he was there. She hurried down the stairs holding her Bible and carrying her purse. He noticed that she had her bellbottom stacked ankle strap shoes on. It was a wonder she didn’t fall down.

He detected her strange mood. “What is it?”

“Gage tried to rob me last night?”

“What happened?”

“I pulled a gun on him and got the police to pick him up. I didn’t get much sleep after they took him off.”

“Do you feel up to going to church?”

Tears filled her eyes. “Honestly, I can’t stop shaking. I just don’t want to be alone.”

“Let me take you for a bite to eat. We can walk through the park after.”

“Okay.”

He ordered pancakes and a pot of coffee for them. Betty sat quietly. After the second cup of coffee, she quit trembling.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t available for you last night.”

“It’s not your
fault. You need to get away and go fishing whenever you want.”

He took her hand. “I want to protect you.”

“Oh Bill!” She pulled his hand up and kissed it quickly. Her tears spilled onto his large hand.

She slipped her hand from his grip. “I’m sorry. I know you still love Miss Sweetie. I wasn’t raised to be so forward.”

He sat frozen to the chair. “I don’t want you to ever be afraid again. I will always love Sweetie, but she is gone now.” He took another sip of coffee to give him time to put his thoughts to words, “You don’t know how many times I have prayed about my feelings for you since she passed away. Every time I think I should never see you again, I get so sad I can’t stand it.”

“Really?”

“I look forward to seeing you. Writing with you has been healing as well as inspirational. Does that make sense?”

“I know what you mean. The songs we wrote thinking of Miss Sweetie helped me with a lot of pain in my past.”

The waitress brought the check and Betty ducked into the ladies’ room. Bill went to the pay phone and placed a call to the police station to check on Gage’s status as a prisoner.

She found him waiting next to the counter.  T
hey decided to walk down the city streets. It was much quieter on Sunday mornings than other days of the week.

“Gage will probably be out on bond today or
tomorrow. Will you be okay?”

“I guess.”

“I hope you don’t mind, I asked the police to patrol extra around your apartment,” he said.

“Good.”

“I told them I’d be keepin’ watch from my car.”

She stopped and stared into his dark eyes, saying, “You don’t have to do that.”

He took her hand. “If he comes around, I want him to see me and know that he won’t be getting away with anything. I feel responsible for the fact that he got so close to you.”

“How’s that?”

“He had me and Sweetie fooled. We enjoyed going out with you two. He was funny and a real cool guy.”

“I know. I thought he was okay.”

“He was pretty slick. That’s for sure,” Bill said.

They stopped and looked in the window of a dress shop. She saw the clothes, but didn’t care about them. “He was fun to hang out with. It is hard to believe that he could be unfaithful to a wife and kids. Why would he do that?”

Bill had pondered that question since discovering Gage was married. “My best guess is that he is self important. He has to know that he can still attract  women.”

“I guess. I just wonder how he got into money trouble. He said he owed a lot of money to some really bad guys.”

“Seems to me that he lives a little high for a route worker. He had that Mustang and everything. A family man usually doesn’t have money for cars like that.”

“True.”

“You look tired out. Let me take you home. You can rest while I check up on old Gage.”

“I could use a little sleep.”

Chapter 22

Bill and Betty had worked on the song for the better of two days. He could tell that her mind was not on the task at hand. “What is it?”

“Nothin’,” she said.

“Gage?”

“Nope.”

“What, then?”

“My little boy will be two years old next month.”

He nodded. “Sweetie told me.”

“I wish there was a way to find out if he is okay.”

Bill frowned.

She said, “I don’t want to talk to him or anything. I just want to be sure he isn’t living in an orphanage or something. I want to be sure that the people he lives with are good to him. I couldn’t live with my decision if I found out that he was suffering.”

“You left him at the Springfield hospital, right?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s call the hospital administrator and set up an appointment. We can let him know that you just want to be sure he was adopted out.”

“Okay,” she said.

He took her phone and made several calls before talking with her. “He will meet with us.” “Okay. When ?”

“Tomorrow at eleven a.m.”

“Goodness.”

“Pack some things. We can get started this afternoon. You will want to be well rested for that meeting.”

The balding, middle-aged man looked over his glasses as he asked, “Young lady, why would you want to interfere in the life of this little child?”

Betty’s voice cracked, “Not interfere. I just have to know if he’s all right.
I want to know if he was adopted.”

“Are you aware that I cannot tell you where he is?”

“I figured as much, but I don’t need to see him. I just don’t want him living in an orphanage when I am able to care for him now.”

“I don’t know.”

Bill weighed in, “Listen, it would put her mind at ease if you just let her know if he was adopted.”

The man pulled out a scratch pad and pen. “What day did you bring him in?”

“October 29, two years ago.”

He pushed the call button on his phone.

“Yes, Mr. Burke.”

“Doris, I need the files of all babies left at the hospital October 29,1974.”

“Left?”

“Left by unwed mothers.”

“Yes sir.”

He turned
, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. “We have closed adoptions here. I will not give you the names of the parents or their location.”

“I understand,” she said.

Half an hour passed before Doris entered the room with two folders. She put them on the desk in front of her boss. “Anything else, Mr. Burke?”

“Thank you. You may go.”

He picked up the first folder. “The infant was a boy?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, this one is female. Let’s look at the other one.” He opened the file and studied the contents carefully. “This is a male. What time did you leave him?”

“Ear
ly morning...around five a.m.” Tears choked her voice.

“This would be him.”

She pulled out a Kleenex from her purse and dabbed her eyes. Bill put his hand on her shoulder and patted her slightly.

“He was adopted that week.
His examination revealed that he was a strong little fellow even though he was born outside of the care of a hospital.”

“Good,” she said.

“Miss Barnes, could you give any medical history that would be beneficial to this child?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are there heart, diabetes, cancer, or other health concerns in your family history?”

“No, we have been blessed with good health. My grandparents are still with us and going strong.”

“Would you consider leaving your name in the file in case, at some point, he would choose to contact you?”

“Yes. Is it okay if I leave a note telling him that I wish him the best?”

Mr. Burke studied her face. “You do know that he will not see this file unless he asks to in the future?”

“I know. I am so grateful to know that he was chosen by people who wanted a child. One day, he may have questions, but not want to see me. I want him to have at least one answer if that is the case.”

She took a pad from her purse and wrote in careful script:

Please know that you were an innocent baby. I was not able to provide a life for you. I have never forgotten you and pray for you every day. If you want to talk with me, I will answer your questions.

Betty Barnes

She handed the note to Mr. Burke and he placed it in the file along with the address Betty had provided. For a moment she sat in the large leather chair and let the weight of the moment sink in. “Mr. Burke, thank you so much for easing my mind about the baby. You are an angel.”

He watched her and Bill as they got up and left his office. It seemed most difficult to hold lives in his hands. He was glad that he bent the rules to give the serious girl the information that she sought.

Chapter 23

Music flowed from her pen with great abandon since discovering her child was in a loving family. It was easier to see the promise of joy in her future knowing that he was loved.  She and Bill were busy writing for other country artists and worked slowly in developing their own stage performance.

The morning began with a soft knock at her door. She opened it quickly and saw Bill standing with his guitar in his hand. “Ready to work?”

“You got something started?” she asked.

He sat at the table and ran his fingers over the frets and began a toe-tapping tune.

“That’s really neat! Sing what you’ve got,” she said.

He stopped mid chord. “I don’t have any words to this. The melody came to me early this morning.”

“I like it.”

“Not to change your mood or anything, but I checked up on Gage,” he said.

“You did?”

“He finished doing his time. I still can’t believe they only gave him two months, but he is back home.”

The smile fled from her face.

“Don’t worry. I made it  clear that if he ever came near you, he would have to answer to me.”