GOING HOME

Part I of II

What was he going to do now? The year was 2011 and Jeff has just retired from the Navy after 25 years of service traveling all over the world. He was 52 years old. No living relatives and never married. He just wanted to settle down in a small town for the rest of his life.

One place he longed to visit was his hometown in Littleville, Colorado in the Rockies. It was so beautiful there in the mountains. He hadn’t been back for some 30 years.

It would be a great trip and this would give him time to think. So he packed up his meager belongings and started out from Norfolk, Virginia heading for the Rockies.

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After a long tedious drive, he drove into Littleville and was overwhelmed with nostalgia. At first glance, the small village didn’t look that different from what he remembered in 1970. Interestingly, a feeling of age came over him.
“There’s the old candy store,” he said out loud. “I wonder if they still sell licorice candy?” Just the thought made him drool.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on the old homestead with a “For Sale” sign in the front porch window. He was born here. Stopping in front of the abandoned house, he got out and slowly walked to the front door. A tear ran down his cheek as he turned the doorbell twice. The sound rang noisily through the empty house. He remembered his mom and dad rushing through the house to greet him when he returned from college. He was overtaken with memories.

Jeff tried the front door and to his amazement, the old doorknob turned. He went in and looked into each room. So many remembrances-his bedroom, the kitchen where he could almost smell his mom’s cooking and in the front room where dad smoked his pipe. They are gone now.

Poor Jeff, what would he do next?

To be continued.