Leonard Self made a promise and today he must honor
it. His lovely wife, Inetta, died on this date one year ago and before passing
she made him promise he would carry out her request. She asks that he take her
ashes and toss them over the side of Artists Point cliff. He remembered her
saying, “Me and Jesus’ll be watching, and I want to float for a while.”
The cremation was a little out of character for
Inetta. She believed along with all the members of Shower of Blessings Holiness
Temple that the body should be laid to rest in preparation for the Rapture. The
pastor put Leonard at ease by stating, “Inetta’s passed all the Lord’s tests,
so I’m sure the Lord can handle hers.”
Why wait a year? This bothered Leonard. Inetta said it
was to make sure she was sufficiently “good and dry.” He thought maybe it was
more like time to find a wife or Jesus. Inetta was always up to something. It
was in her character to hope for these thing, but also in his character to not.
In preparation of this event, Leonard has spent the
year giving away most of his belongings. It was easy and no one seemed to
notice since he was giving away Inetta’s at the same time. The things he had
left were either for the trip or to be given away en route.
The truck had just enough gas to get Leonard to the
cliff. He had extra kibble to give his neighbor Winnie for seeing after his dog,
Stitches. Another neighbor, Vaughn Hobart, will get a surprise with his mail.
Leonard left a set of keys to the house and the title to his truck in the box.
The day is set in motion, but Leonard is running ahead
of schedule. He wants to time the event at sunset. He thought his haircut would
take longer. He gave away his mirror two months ago and can only imagine the
curled up mess he will be presenting to the town barber, Dave Grantham.
Leonard also made a promise to Inetta, although he
never spoke of it. He promised when he saw her again it was with a clean head
of hair. The only thing that annoyed Inetta was a mess of unruly hair. He
teased Dave about not having to cut the crop circle that sat high on his head while
giving him the reverse tree line special.
Released in 2013, Monument Road is the first novel
by Charlie Quimby. Not his first attempt at writing though, Quimby has written
plays, then criticized plays, and now makes individuals sound good for Harvard
Business Review. You will love how he turns a phrase.
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