Times
of Uncle Ernest -
Chesapeake City and Beyond – Patti, Chapter 7
"As I
approached that same Wilmington dock, ten years later to the day, I saw from a
distance a red glow. And when I got closer I felt a chill shoot up my spine. It
was Afrodidy, sitting in the same spot, with her legs dangling rhythmically
under the wharf and that crimson hair waving delightfully in the afternoon sun.
Moose, she was smiling and waving as I pulled in, and she looked exactly the
same as she did when I departed."
"Let it go, Unk. Don't describe her
again, please; once is enough."
"Sorry, Moose, I hate to deprive you of
her beauty, but I'll let it go. I will say that we had a special time together.
We embraced for a long while, there on that dock, and I told her that I wanted
her forever. And she sobbed a little and said, 'Oh, Ernie, my special mortal
man. You must know that I am a goddess; I can live only in select moments of
human life. But I will always be with you—alive in your memory. For now I can
give you this, and it will be burned in your mind until you reach the Happy
Isles. You have me till sunset tomorrow. You can decide what we do, where we
go—anything.' So, Moose, I was one happy uncle.
We loved with a love
That
was more than love,
I
and my Afrodidie.
"And, believe it or not, I took her
where I had offered to take Ellie, to God's Country, exotic Chesapeake City.
Arm in arm we explored the town and the canal area, and in the evening we
partied with the greats of the town: Captain Ed Sheridan, Joe Savin, Jay Sager,
Dr. Davis, Ralph Hazel, Archie Crawford, Roy Foard, Frank Bristow, Clem
Vaughan, Patty Carlton, Kitty Schaefer, and Bill Herman.
"Didie said that Schaefer's devilled crab
was the best in the universe. She loved the enchantment of riding the ferry
back and forth across the canal, and as we embraced we watched the moonlight
dance on the wake. We even went to Summit so we could ride the lift bridge up
and down. We spent the night at the Inn at the Canal, and for our last day
together I took her to White Crystal Beach. We danced on the boardwalk to the
music from the jukebox, melodious love songs of yesteryear. Our last hours we
spent loving on the pure-white sand, gazing across the Elk at Turkey Point,
enhanced by the presence of the lighthouse, a distant white column against the
dark green trees.
"Yet sunset was approaching, Moose, and I
thought that if I kept her tightly in my arms she wouldn't go. But in an
instant—when the last dim glow descended—I felt a shock, like touching a spark
plug. And instead of the wondrous Didie in my arms, I was hugging a forked tree
branch, topped by a glob of seaweed. Just before she changed she put her lips
against my ear and whispered, jarring alert my senses and implanting forever
her words in my mind with tender gusts of warm breath: 'I'll never forget you,
Ernie. Never forget you!' "
I sat there,
smiling, Nina, because as we talked our
sun (mine and Unk’s) was setting. And soon he'd be gone and I'd be inside next
to the radio, laughing with the laughter. Sure enough, that old Uncle Ernest
jumped me, got me in a headlock, and knuckled my skull. But I escaped easily
and asked him if he hadn't touched up some of those wild stories. He looked at
me with a frown, and with mock anger asked: "Do you think your only uncle
in the world could do that? You behave yourself, Moose the Goose."
So then, Nina, I watched him trudge the
shortcut across our long field towards town. His figure became smaller as he
descended the hill. When he reached the corner intersecting the road to town, I
saw him bob down the embankment and disappear behind the contorted maple tree
that marked our property line. He would haunt the saloons until dawn, sometimes
returning the next day and sometimes not. But while I sat there as the day
died, I felt a sorrow come over me, and in my head resounded softly the words: "Never forget you … never forget you …"
[A
new book (third of the trilogy) to begin Friday, 7/20/2012 – Days of Uncle Ernest]
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