Whitney looked a little sad. He could imagine the frail man sitting there today used to be a strapping, able body with authority and a million stories to tell.
They visited with Uncle Blake for an hour, and in that time, the man fell asleep at least a half dozen times. Sometimes he didn’t even seem to realize it. When he fell asleep again, Whitney grabbed Matthew’s hand. “Let’s go see the barn. I want to show you the stables. Maybe he’ll be awake by the time we get back.”
The path to the barn was up a hill.
“It’s farther than it looks,” Matthew said.
“Yeah, I used to walk this path like it was nothing. I couldn’t wait to get back to see the horses.”
The big red barn had huge sliding doors on the front. Whitney approached one door and slid it open. She walked inside. “It’s so different with no animals in here.” She kicked her feet through some old shavings that had been pushed to the side in the alley. “Used to be you would walk in here, and the horses would welcome you. They’d snort and nicker.”
“You really loved it.”
“I did.”
“Ever think about having a place like this? Away from the city?”
“Sometimes I dream about it.” She shrugged. “Over here is where Goldy stayed.” She pointed to the wooden plaque with GOLDY etched into it. “Uncle Blake made that. I painted the engraved part gold.”
“Well done. And you said you couldn’t paint.” He slung his arm around her waist. “Holding out on me?”
She described every horse that had been in every stall and then they climbed the stairs to the loft. “Up here is where the apartment is.”
Matthew stayed right behind her.
She opened the door, and you’d have never known the apartment was in the top of a barn from the inside. The walls were finished as nicely as the sheetrock in his place, and the windows were huge.
“The light in here is amazing,” he commented.
“Yeah, I guess it is. Hadn’t ever really paid much attention to that. Look out this way. I always loved this view.”
“Wow. I’d love to come and paint that view someday.”
“We can. Anytime you want. I’d really like to spend more time with Uncle Blake. I’ve been away too long. I didn’t realize he’d declined so quickly.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I know that must be hard. I’d love to come back with you, but I’ll say this: you don’t get time back. Spend as much as you can while you have the chance. Relive those memories. Share the laughs. They won’t be there forever.”
Whitney brushed a tear away. “You’re right. I miss coming here. I’ve let work keep me from coming as often as I should. I’m going to change that.”
“Good.”
“I hope you will come with me sometimes, at least when you’re not too busy.”
“I will. I’d like that,” he said.
“William preferred going to the lake with my parents. I always begged to be dropped off here.”
“Sounds like you’ve got some pretty great memories here,” he said as they strolled back up to the house to see if Uncle Blake was still asleep. “We’ll come back often,” Matthew promised.
Whitney squeezed his arm.
He wanted nothing more than to please her, and he’d enjoyed the visit too.
When they walked inside, Whitney called out, “Uncle Blake? Are you awake?”
“Of course, I’m awake,” he said. “Where did you go?”
“Your niece gave me a tour of the stables and barn,” Matthew said. “I noticed the old carriages. You used to drive your horses?”
