Love Said, "Hello." Pt. 03 - Final

"OK... I would go back to Texas. I am homesick. But, that doesn't mean, I wouldn't go with you, to Mississippi State. Or, anywhere else, you want to go. I love you, Naomi. I love our family. More than I love Texas."

Naomi looked down at her swollen tummy... "The baby is moving." She looked up, and drilled her sexy, dark eyes into mine... In a whisper... in a loving tone...

"Take me home, Mark. Take us home, to Nacogdoches."

We kissed. There on the beach. In each other's arms. Our twins laughing, giggling, happy. At our feet.

*****

There for a while there, I thought our baby, would be Canadian.

At a RV park, near Montreal. Waiting on a huge, winter storm to pass by, before we entered New York, for Texas. We were all safe. Well fed. Well stocked. Warm. Still receiving power, from the on board generator, of the RV. Confined to the RV, until the snow was cleared from the roads.

I worried about Naomi. She looked like she was about to pop. She was uncomfortable, and the children didn't help any, by wanting her attention. Three days later, we were able to leave for the U.S. Fortunately, there were no bad storms, from New York, to Texas. But, I cut it close...

Seven miles outside of Nacogdoches, on the Tenaha highway, I heard Naomi grunting, and panting, in the back. She kept telling me she was OK. I still worried, as I entered Nacogdoches, passed the campus, and pulled up, to the hospital ER entrance.

I got Naomi inside, watched her wheeled off, in a wheelchair, and then went for my babies. Mark, and Serena, were holding each other's hand, and were giggling, while still strapped into their car seats. Trying to see the other. Their little hands, in an embrace. I took a photo, before the scene left forever. Then, I changed dirty diapers. Called my parents. And parked the RV, in the back of the hospital parking lot.

It was great to see my parents, again. They came to see us in Seattle, last summer, when Naomi was lecturing at U of Washington. My Dad was proud of his pupil. He attended her lecture, and the lectures of the Cornell staff. Oh, by the way. Mr. and Mrs. Morton came to see us, too. Twice. Once at Michigan State, and the other time, when we were at North Carolina State.

My Mom and Dad happy to see their grandchildren, and Serena, and Mark, happy to see them. When my parents arrived at the hospital...

"Go," Dad ordered. "Go be with Naomi. We're good right here, until you return."

When I got to the maternity ward, and Naomi's room, I could hear a baby screaming, at the top of it's lungs.

Damn. I missed it. And. That was really fast. As I stepped into the room...

"Hi, Dad," the head nurse, greeted. I knew her from high school. "A little boy, Mark. Just now. He'll be with Naomi, in just a second."

"Thank you, Teresa." I sat next to Naomi. She was smiling, but clearly in pain.

"I love you, Pretty Girl."

"I love you, too, Baby." I saw her grimace a little, as Dr. Ortiz appeared to be doing something. to her... Down there.

"A tiny tear on the perineum, Naomi. Just one stitch. It'll be sore for a few days."

Just then, our son was cooing, into his mother's chest. Letting out a little, soft yelp on occasion.

"I love you, Aaron. I've been waiting for you," his mother whispered. She kissed his head, and looked at me. "Are you happy, Mark? Because, I am."

"I am, Pretty Girl. I'm happy, Aaron is with us now. And... all of us are home."

*****

My Naomi took the position at Stephen F. Austin University.

She couldn't have been more happy.

"What student, wouldn't want to succeed, the greatest forester in the country?" she told me, after the Dean offered her the job. "The greatest challenge, for an ambitious forester, is to follow in her mentor's footsteps."

Within ten years, Naomi was a full professor. The reward for her research in the Big Thicket, and other riparian forests of East Texas. Students from around the country, came to study under her guidance.

My Naomi invested all that money she made ,from her photographic, and video properties. With the dividends from those investments, we were able to purchase a four bedroom home. A modern home. Just ten years old. A huge kitchen, living room, and three baths. Three car garage, and a shop in the back for me!

Despite my protests, Naomi bought a small, commercial warehouse, and office complex. Giving one of the spaces to me, for my tools, supplies, trailer, and truck. Renting the other spaces out to plumbers, car repair, and other trades. I was grateful.

Although, I resumed my electrical business, I soon began flipping homes. Buying well used homes, that needed some love, reconditioning them, and reselling them. It kept me very busy. And successful.

Trips to the Thicket on long weekends. Never in the summer. Too hot. Five children having a blast. Singing around a fire. Naomi leading us all. Perfect.

And my music.

My parents, Naomi, and now, our five children, gathered each week, to sing and play. Our four sons, each learned to play the guitar, and sing, with tutoring from their grandfather, and myself, of course.

My Serena. As pretty as her mother, she preferred the piano. And she's damn good at it.

Mark, and Aaron, formed a band, and have made some recordings. They travel the country, and sing, and play with some famous, country and western groups.

Our Steven... Came to me, a year before finishing high school. Pushing the unruly lock of hair from his forehead, Steven...

"Dad. You've taught me everything about electricity. Do you need a partner? I think I want to continue the business. I want to stay with you, and Mom. Here, in Nacogdoches. I enjoy my time, singing, and playing with you, Mom, and Grandma and Grandpa." A year later...

"Mark Jackson & Son Electric and Remodeling."

And our youngest. Daniel.

Six-three, and 240. Height, certainly from his Grandpa Morton.

First Team All-State in high school baseball. Seven D-I scholarship offers. Four year starter for Texas Tech baseball, playing right field, and hitting a conference record, of .572, his senior year. Hitting in the high .400s, the other three years. Conference record in bases stolen... total bases... runs. Most valuable player, all four years in the conference... Another record. Two appearances in the CWS. Drafted in the first round, the first pick of the draft, by the Kansas City Royals.

Oh yeah. Our Daniel... Summa Cum Laude in Finance. Minor in General Business, and Music.

Two months in the minors, and Daniel was the starting center fielder, for the Royals. His first start in Houston. The entire family came to see him. His grandparents from Mississippi, too. And... three for four, at the plate, two stolen bases, and two runs scored. A win for the Royals, against a tough Astros team. After the game...

Daniel took his mother into his arms... "Thank you, Mom. I love you so much." My Naomi couldn't control her emotions...

"Are you happy, Daniel?" she asked, through choked words. Caressing his thick wavy hair, and pushing the unruly lock, from his forehead.

"Yes, Mom. I love the game. And the game loves me."

I was proud, too. Especially, when he played in the World Series, as a rookie. Kansas City beat the New York Mets, in five games. And Daniel... the MVP of the series.

Serena. No doubt the prettiest woman in Nacogdoches. Attending Stephen F. with a degree in Finance. Meeting her husband at a bank in Tyler, where she worked. Three beautiful children. Two girls, just as pretty as their mother, and a toddler son.

The summer after Aaron was born, I ran into Lynn Rusk. On campus, after having lunch with Naomi.

She saw me first. I was happy to see her. Still pretty. Her blue eyes twinkled, and her wide, happy smile. I was a little disappointed, she didn't have her daughter with her. I really wanted to see that pretty, little girl.

"I'm engaged to be married, Mark. Curtis is so wonderful. He loves Crystal, as much as I do. I graduate in December, and Crystal, and I, are moving to Longview, where Curtis is selling insurance."

My heart swelled for Lynn, and her new life. Her happy, positive attitude, always impressed me.

My parents. I love my parents.

Mom lived to be 103 years old. Dad... 107.

Mom... sharp as a tack until her death. Dad, also sharp, but a severe decline, in the last few months. I placed his guitar, in his hands, the last hour of his life.

I'm going to miss them both.

Steven, and I, are still doing electric work. I'm flipping houses. Naomi, and I, are still working in our 70s. But, our 16 grandchildren, come to see us. We see Steven's, and Claire's, children the most. Bill, Clarice, Molly, and Maxwell. All of them singing, with their parents, and grandparents. I love them all.

I come in from my shop, having stowed away the tools, I used to repair a loose baseboard in our bedroom. My Naomi turns, and falls into my arms. Kissing me. Holding me, like she never wants to let me go. I return my affection, to my Pretty Girl.

Naomi takes her hand, and pushes away the unruly, snow white, lock of hair, from my forehead...

"We've had a wonderful life, haven't we Mark?" Before I can reply... "Our love for one another. We shared our love with our children, and grandchildren. I never expected my life to be this way, before I met you. I love you so much, Baby."

"Naomi... I have never forgotten the evening you said 'Hello' to me. I choke up, at times, when I think back, on that night we met. How awkward I was, when I offered to shake your hand. The love you mentioned, just now. About us, and our children. It all began because you said, 'Hello.' You came to me, Naomi. You started it all. For both of us." I was choked up for a few seconds...

"I love you, Naomi... Thank you, for saying 'Hello.'"

The End

Prologue

The Ivory-billed woodpecker (IBW).

This bird exists. Maybe.

First, I describe my work as, "Fantasy." Even in sexual situations. If it is too good to be true... Fantasy. Just like works of science fiction, time travel, etc.

Now for the bird...

The Ivory-billed woodpecker was considered extinct, in the United States, until in 2004, when a recreational kayaker, during a trip along the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, of Arkansas, described seeing an unusual bird, in his online blog.

One of his readers, recognized the description, and contacted a friend, who contacted the Ornithology Lab at Cornell University. A lead researcher, after interviewing the kayaker over the phone, then contacted a well-known IBW enthusiast, in Alabama.

Within two weeks of the first sighting, the two men met up with the kayaker, who took them to the location he saw the bird. Within an hour, the bird appeared. Flying from the woods, across the Cache River, and to the woods on the other side. Both men in the canoe, saw the bird, and made a frantic attempt, to follow the bird, which failed. They immediately wrote in their research notebooks, independently, what they had seen, as objectively as possible, and compared notes later that day. The descriptions were remarkably similar.

A full blown research team, from Cornell, was dispatched to the East Arkansas swamps, of the White River Basin. Additional researchers, from this team, also saw the bird, but no photographs, or videos, were produced, to document the bird. A blurry video was taken during this period, but despite exhaustive, video analysis, the IBW couldn't be, absolutely confirmed.

Earlier in 2003, an experienced ornithologist is certain she saw an IBW in the southern portion of the White River National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas... drinking water from a small pool, and flying from the ground, to a nearby tree. Showing off its unique white markings. She failed to bring her camera ,that day, to document the sighting. And later, in 2006, an Arkansas state employee, encountered an IBW, along a trail of a state wildlife refuge, located a few miles west of the Cache River NWR. Again, no photographic, or video evidence was produced.

For Texas, an aggressive effort was conducted in the 1990s, by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, to verify the IBW was extinct, within the state. The effort confirmed no evidence existed the IBW was in Texas, and the bird was officially declared extinct in Texas. After the Arkansas sighting, the TPWD was granted funds, by the Department of the Interior, to explore the prospect, of the bird's existence, in the East Texas swamps, and forests. Again, no evidence was found in the brief effort.

At the federal level, the Ivory-billed woodpecker is officially extinct, in the United States. However, I found an April 2022 internet published paper, from a group of researchers, who have presented compelling evidence, the bird exists, in an undisclosed bottomland forest, in Louisiana. They claim to have documented a group of IBW while feeding. Their research spanned a time period of two years, plus. Their paper has yet to be peer reviewed, as of April 2022.

There is abundant information about the Ivory-billed woodpecker on the internet, and to date... and to my knowledge... there are no definitively, and peer reviewed, photographs, or videos of the bird, since those taken by James T. Tanner in the 1930s.

So, the main characters, in this work... found Ivory-billed woodpeckers in Texas.

It's... Fantasy.

End.