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   Lucy hurried along Harter St in the hot summer heat.  It had taken more time at the insurance company's office than she had planned to cancel her house insurance and now she might be late for her next appointment.  Seems like she had spent her entire life hurrying around this town.  And now she was still doing it even though she was retired!   This use to be such a gentle shabby neighborhood, she thought as she drove down the street, now it's just shabby.  And now that giant playground and pool complex had replaced the old municipal pool where she had played and swam as a child, and the ball field had been moved to the other side of town!  Changes!  Changes!  But where were the kids?  There were few kids playing in front of the houses she drove past. And Main St was no better.  Empty storefronts and vacant lots had replaced the busy stores she remembered.  I'm glad I'm moving, she said to herself. With Dan and the dogs dead for almost 18 months now, Lucy knew she had to move and was lucky to have been able to sell her house and most of it's furnishings so quickly.  The new house was about ready for her and she did not want to try to move the old pieces of furniture into it.    There would be enough ghosts, she thought, but 72 isn't too old for a change, was it?

                                                                  CHAPTER  1

   Lucy turned off the highway onto the dirt road and drove up the hill towards the little house.  It was the first one finished of the 6 planned for development and it perched on the hillside bright and welcoming.  Painted gray with white and dark green trim, the tiny house faced the highway and lake with it's backside to the dirt road.  Lucy followed the road as it became graveled and turned between the house and the garage. Later in the season as the 2 houses on the top of the hill were finished the road would all be graveled but right now, only her driveway was completed.  She pulled up to the garage and then backed up towards the house and smiled broadly looking out the driver's window toward the lake.  She slowly opened the door and got out of her car.  Walking toward the front of her house Lucy admired the enclosed porch and open deck beside it.  She grasped the railing on the steps to the deck and tried to shake it but it wouldn't move.  'Guess I made myself clear to the contractor' she thought to herself as she went up the 3 stairs and walked across the deck stopping to adjust the position of the chairs to try and improve the almost perfect view from each one.  Lucy stopped at the door to the porch and turned looked towards the lake thinking 'I've got to plant some kind of shrubs there to soften the noise'.  The enclosed porch had a table and 2 chairs on a seikel rug at the front window facing the lake but nothing else.  She walked to the door to the house and put a key in the deadbolt.  It opened easily.  She then put the 2nd key in the doorknob lock and the front door swung open. Lucy had been at the house several times as the furniture was being moved in but this time was different.  She was home.
   Lucy walked into her living room and looked around.  The kitchen was nestled in the far corner to her left and looked like it belonged in a showroom. The wood cabinets and granite counter tops with a red backsplash made her smile.   The dining area in front of it was framed by one window that showed the lake view and the other that opened onto the porch.  The rest of the room was her living room.  There was a wood stove to her right on the outside wall and around the walls were bookshelves and her TV/entertainment center and computer. Two comfortable chairs and a small sofa faced them and still gave each sitter a view of the lake thru the front windows.  A wide doorway in the back wall led to 2 bedrooms with a bathroom between them and a laundry area in front of it.  A hallway/mudroom led to the 2nd exit while making one bedroom a little smaller than the other.  Lucy went quickly around the small house opening windows in each room.  The breeze from the lake ruffled the curtains and the wind chimes in the bedroom windows began to sing.  Lucy smiled again.  The chimes in the north facing window in her bedroom were ones Dan had given her for her birthday their first year together.  To her their notes now were signs of Dan's approval of her new home.
   Lucy went back thru the house and out to the car.  She got her suitcases and brought them into the bedroom. 'I'll unpack later', she thought,'that will give me something to do tonight.'  A second trip to the car brought in her project bag and the big bag of new yarn.  She put them next to the chair she had chosen as 'hers'.  Then she went back to the car for the 2 bags of groceries.  As she put the groceries away, she left out a bag of salad greens and a rotisserie chicken for supper.  She made a pot of coffee before turning on the TV hoping to find a rerun to give some comforting noise to the house. Then she booted up the computer and poured herself a cup of coffee.  It surprised her to see that it was after 6pm and the local news was on.  The local weatherperson was just giving the forecast for the next day:   'hazy, hot and humid with a chance of afternoon thunder storms' she heard him say. 
   "Typical summer weather for the Great Northeast," Lucy said out loud before she knew it.  'I better be careful about talking to myself.  Too bad I don't care for cats.  Maybe I should think about getting another dog.'
   Lucy drank her coffee while she checked her email and Facebook.  The phone rang, her friend, Sue, who worked part-time at the art museum next to the library called to remind her of their lunch date the next day.  Before getting up to fix her supper, Lucy posted on her Facebook wall:
   "I'm in my new house by the lake and am loving it!  Still plenty of unpacking to do but will post photos as soon as everything is settled!  Start my new part-time job at the historical society library tomorrow.  Can't wait!"
   After eating her salad and cold chicken supper and unpacking her last 2 suitcases, Lucy unbraided her hair and sat on her bed to brush it.  'I should really decide if I'm going to get it cut', she thought as she pulled it up into a high ponytail.  Dan had liked it long so she had kept it long for him.  He hadn't like it when she had colored the gray that ran in streaks thru it so she had stopped doing that.  Now there were streaks of gray thru her chestnut brown hair again.  She changed into a T-shirt and old wool socks, poured herself another cup of coffee and went back to the computer.  Lucy was pleased to
find a dozen goodwill wishes from friends on her Facebook wall and one Personal Message.

                                                                CHAPTER 2

   Lucy, Sue and Alex met when they were college freshmen.  They were never really close, no college romances, just friends.  He was a year older than them and introduced them to different types of music and literature.  After 2 years they all went to separate colleges and while the girls while stayed friends, they never saw Alex again.  Then after nearly 50 years, Lucy and Alex met again on Facebook.   Now more than 1400 miles and 2 lifestyles apart they became friends again.  They chatted a couple of times a week, quickly falling into their old teasing routines.  Lucy shared these conversations with Sue who was wasn't quite comfortable with social media.  Sue had John who was the 'love of her life' and their 3 daughters and granddaughters.  Lucy had Dan and their dogs.  Alex was just a voice from the past that they giggled over like a couple of teenagers when they met for coffee.

   A month later Lucy opened another Personal Message from Alex:
"Settled in the new house, yet?  I'm going to be up this week for my brother-in-law's funeral.  Give me your phone number and if I have the time I'll call you. Maybe we can get together for coffee or something?"  Lucy read it twice and then typed in her number and 'OK', held her breath for a couple of seconds and hit 'enter'.  She sat there for a few minutes doing nothing and then closed that Personal Message link.  She noticed a PM from a member of the craft guild she belonged to and clicked that open.  She spent the next half hour chatting with that member over a problem they were having in the guild's store.  When they finally agreed on work days to swap and clicked off, Lucy noticed that Alex had read her message and answered with  'Good'.  She read a few more postings and closed the computer.  After making sure all the doors were locked and the windows closed Lucy went to bed.  Tomorrow was going to be another busy day.
    Lucy loved her jobs.   She considered all the years she had spend working in the school library as training for the job at the historical association's library even though the school had used the Dewey Decimal system and the association  used the Library of Congress one.  She worked only 4 hours a day,  2 days a week but it was interesting and she got to see Sue for lunch once a week.  And that left her with those 2 half days to work in the craft guild's store where she sold her hand-knit items and the rest of the time to knit.  Lucy felt she had settled into the new house and new library job pretty well.  The yard around her house still needed work but she wasn't in any hurry to do that.
  There were now 5 houses on Lucy's road.  There were 2 on the top of the hill.  One had been built for a family who had a 'granny' house beside it.  Across and just above Lucy, a house was being built for a retired minister and his  wife. And just below and across from Lucy, her cousin had decided to built a house. The way the lots were staggered up the hill that left one lot empty on Lucy's side of the road but no one seemed  interested in it yet. The road had been oiled and stoned and the  homeowners could decided in the spring if they wanted to blacktop the it or continue to oil and stone it. 
   Lucy picked up her mail and drove up the road turning into her driveway.  She parked in front of the garage and making sure all the car's windows were closed got out and walked to her deck.  There were several hooks with hanging pots around her porch and deck that attracted hummingbirds and butterflies.  Lucy walked slowly past them trying to stay out of the way of the hummingbirds who swooped around her.   She dropped the mail on a deck chair and went into the house to get a glass of sweet tea.  The phone rang as she unlocked the door and she grabbed it before the answering machine could kick in.
   "Lucy?" a male voice asked.  "Alex Hardy."
   "Oh, Alex, hello!" she stuttered, hoping she didn't sound like the old lady she felt . "How was the funeral?"  That was dumb, she told herself.  Calm down.
   "Not bad. They kept it short. Did you turn up the heat for me?"
   "Of course," she answered, "anything to make you happy."  And then added "How long are you staying?"
   "A few more days," he answered.  "I wondered if we could get together for coffee?"
   "When?"
   "Well," he said, "I'm on my own this afternoon.  How about now?"
   "Ah," Lucy said and taking a breath added, " if you'd like to come up and see the house, now is a good time.  I could put on a pot of coffee...."
   "OK", Alex said quickly, "give me a minute to track you on my phone...ok, got you!  How long will it take to get there"
   "About half an hour" Lucy told him.
   "OK, see you in about half an hour!" Alex said and hanging up.
Lucy sat there staring at her phone for a couple of minutes before she went inside and put on a fresh pot of coffee.  She washed the cup and cereal bowl she had left in the sink from breakfast, putting them in the drain and looked around the rest of the room.  Then she checked the bathroom and ran into her bedroom and quickly made the bed.  Looking in her mirror Lucy decided since there wasn't enough time to turn a 72 yr old woman back into a hot college babe  she wasn't going to try and went back outside to sit on the deck and  wait for Alex.
    Lucy didn't have long to wait.  About 15 minutes later a car turned into her road and came up the hill towards her house.  It turned into her driveway and drove up to her house.  Lucy stayed seated while the car ignition died and the door opened and closed.   A man walked towards the deck.  He was about Lucy's height with silver gray hair.  His face was open with deep dimples in each cheek and bright blue eyes and he had a wide grin on his face.
    "Hello, Lucy," he said coming up onto the deck and walking towards her with his arms outstretched.
    Lucy stood up and smiled back.  "Hello, Alex!"  She said and walked towards him with her arms extended.  They walked into each others arms and hugged warmly. Alex kissed her quickly and hugged her again. "You look great!" he said still smiling.  "So do you," Lucy answered and started to blush. "Come on and sit down," she said, taking his hand.  "Would you like some coffee? Or Sweet
tea?"  "Let me just look at you for a minute, will you?"  He said pulling her back to the chairs and sitting down.  "How come you're not gray?" he asked reaching over and running his hand down her hair.  "Good genes," she answered.  They laughed.  "Settling in OK?" he said looking around.  "That's a great view!"  "Even if it's not the big lake?" she asked.  "Looks big enough to me," he replied.  "Where's your dock?"  "Don't have one," she said, adding,  "Can't imagine a woman alone at my age bothering with a dock and boat, but" and she paused, "I do have 'lake rights' ".  Lucy looked up to see Alex smiling at her, "Just in case I change my mind."  "Or find a man willing to do all the work?" he said in a teasing tone. They both laughed.
   Sitting on the deck in the warm sunshine, they passed the afternoon.  Lucy took Alex inside while she got the coffee.  She noticed he checked her bookshelves and had reached out and touched the old poetry books from their college years.  Back on the deck they talked about their lives now without their partners.  Alex lived near his grown children and had grandchildren.  He showed Lucy his grandson's latest soccer team pictures and the picture of his daughter's new baby, a girl named after her mother.  Lucy could see he was proud of his family and that he still missed his wife after nearly 15 years.  Lucy talked about her life with Dan and the fun they had had with their dogs and their attempt at survival gardening.  Suddenly she noticed that traffic had picked up on the highway below them and the sun was at the top of the hill, signals that it was late in the afternoon.
   "Have you plans for dinner?" she asked him.  "Why don't you stay?"
   " I wouldn't want you to go to any trouble...."he started.  
   "No, trouble!" she said quickly, "I'll do spaghetti with Angie's Fried Chicken.  The chicken is already marinating so I just have to bread and fry it while the pasta cooks. And you can be my
my sous chief and fix the salad."
   Laughing they went back into the house and started supper.  Lucy took the marinating chicken and a bag of salad greens out of the refrigerator. While she breaded and fried the chicken Alex cut and mixed the salad fixings, picking a tomato out of the bowl on the counter and chopping it expertly.  Lucy handed him the large salad bowl and pointed to the herbs and garlic outside the kitchen window when he asked for them.  She stirred the tomato sauce as she turned the heat up under it.  Alex's salad ready, he offered to set the table and she handed him plates and glasses and pointed to the flatware drawer.  She plated the Angel Hair pasta
and handed it to him and filled a serving plate with the golden brown chicken.  The extra tomato sauce Lucy poured in a shallow bowl and added a ladle before putting it on the table.  She grabbed a shaker of Parmesan/Romano cheese and another of crushed hot pepper before going to the table and signaling Alex to sit down. 
   "Coffee, tea..."  she started to say.  
   "Or me?"   he finished.
   They laughed and started to eat.
   After dessert, what was left of a carrot cake Lucy had made earlier in the week, they took their second cups of coffee out to the deck.  Alex went back inside and refilled their cups a third time.
"That kills the pot", he said coming back outside and sitting down again.  "Should I make another?" Lucy asked.
     "Probably not," he said.  "I should leave soon.  I'm suppose to play golf with my brother and nephews tomorrow."
    The sky had darkened and was covered with stars.  "I'd forgotten how many stars there are in the sky around here, " Alex said looking up.  "I think I'm going to get an astronomy book and learn some of the constellation this winter," Lucy said.  "It would be a shame to let all that go to waste." 
   After a few minutes Alex put his empty coffee cup down on the table and slowly stood up.  Lucy joined him as he walked across the deck.  He stopped before the stairs and turned to her.  "Thanks for supper", he said putting his hands on her shoulders.  "I've enjoyed today," he answered. "When are you going back?" she asked.  "Sunday", he answered.  "If I can, I'll call you, maybe we can get together again." "OK", she said and then added"Oh, do me a favor?" "What?"  "Call me when you get to where you're staying and let me know you made it OK?  Lots of deer on the road...and troopers, " she said, "you know."  "Sure," he answered and leaned towards her and kissed her gently. Lucy blinked, surprised.  Alex laughed, leaned in and kissed her again.  "Good night, Lucy Lu," he said, using his old nickname for her.
  "Good night," she answered and watched as he walked to his car and got in.  He blinked his headlights before backing out of her driveway and driving away. 
   Lucy went back into her house carrying the coffee cups.  After putting them in the dishwasher with the rest of the evenings dishes, and adding the detergent,Lucy started the cycle.  She walked into her bedroom and changed into her T-shirt and wool socks, and picking up her evening medications went back into the kitchen.  She counted out her pills and swallowed them with water from the kitchen facet.  Then she turned off the overhead light and sat in her chair with just her high definition work lamp on.  Lucy picked up the remote and turned on the TV, not really noticing what was on.   Picking up her knitting she looked down at what was on the needles.  A child's raglan sweater, what she was know for, was on a long circular needle ready for sleeves.  Lucy worked across the first group of stitches and then worked the next 40 stitches onto a straight needle.  She slipped tip protectors on both ends of the circular needle that held the majority of the sweater and started to work on the sleeve.  She had just worked enough length on the sleeve to start the first decrease row when the phone rang.
   "Hello", she said.
   "Hi," Alex answered, "I made it OK.  And you were right, lots of deer and Troopers!"
   "But no problems, right?" Lucy asked.
   "Right, " he said.
   "Good," she answered.
   "Hey, Luce, what are you doing tomorrow night?" he suddenly asked.
   "Nothing special," she said a little surprised.
   "My nephew says there's a good restaurant across the lake from you.  Interested in going there for dinner tomorrow?"
   "Ah, yea, sure," Lucy stammered, smiling to herself.  Here I go again, she thought the old lady routine.
   "Great!  I'll make a reservation for 6:30 and be up to your place around 6pm.  OK?"
   "Fine."
   "Good!" Alex answered, "See you tomorrow night!" and hung up.
Lucy said there for a few minutes with the phone in her hands grinning. "Oh", she thought, "I think I've got a date.  Wait until Sue hears about this."  Lucy sat there for a few more minutes, then put the phone and her knitting away, and turning off the TV and her lamp walked into her bedroom and climbed into bed.   She soon fell last asleep.
                                                              CHAPTER 3
   

   Lucy remembered learning to make what she called Angie's Fried Chicken as a young girl.  Her best friend's mother always made it when they visited Lucy's family at camp.  It was a relatively simple recipe...boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poked by a fork and marinated for several hours in eggs beaten with salt and pepper and Parmesan/Romano cheese and then breaded and fried golden brown.  It was usually served with tomato sauce and a side dish of pasta.  When Lucy first learned the recipe she had had to debone the chicken, a messy, cold procedure that left a lot to be desired...and enough chicken on the bones to make a thin broth.  Now with boneless chicken readily available, it was much easier to do, but Angie's Fried Chicken still remained a special dish for special times.
  
   Lucy had brushed her hair  back pulling the sides up and catching them with a barrette at the back of her head. There was one silver streak that crossed the top of her head  before ending in dark, loose curls down her back and a few curly ends that had escaped around her face.  Pearl earrings were the only jewelry she wore. Her face and neck were lightly tanned and the only noticeable makeup she had on was eyeliner and mascara.  Her navy blue sundress was sleeveless with a round neck.  It buttoned up the front and she had rolled up the cuffs of her light gauze shirt to wear over it if air-conditioning  at the restaurant was too strong. She adjusted the straps of her sandals and walked through the house and out onto the deck where she had left her knitting.  Sitting down Lucy picked up her work and held it in her lap while she looked out at the lake.  The sun was behind the house and the lake resembled a piece of  glass with ripples made by the lone fishing boat moving steadily down it's length.  There were several jet skis  racing on the other side of the lake and she could just hear the shrieks of their riders.  Traffic on the highway was light.  Before she knew it a car had pulled into her driveway and Alex was walking towards the deck.  He was smiling broadly and his blue eyes were sparkling brightly. 
   "Enjoying the view?" he asked as he came up the stairs.
   "Always," she answered, "especially when a good-looking man is in it."  They laughed good naturedly and he leaned over and kissed
her.  "You're looking pretty tonight," he said, smiling again and running his hand down her arm to hold her hand for a few moments.  "Thank you," Lucy said smiling.  "Would you like something to drink before we go?" she asked.  "I don't think so," Alex answered," we can have wine with our dinner. There seems to be a lot of troopers around here" he said as a state police car drove by on the highway below them.
   Lucy put her knitting inside, got her purse and locked the door.  They walked across the deck and towards his car avoiding the hummingbirds who had collected at the hanging plants and birdfeeders.
   "My nephew gave me directions to the restaurant", he said as he made the turn onto the highway.  Lucy sat back in the seat and just smiled.  Locals knew one way to get there that cut a few miles off the trip that Alex's nephew obviously didn't know about, she thought as he drove past that turn and went into town.  "What's going on tonight?" Alex asked as they waited for the stoplight to change noticing the activity in the park.  "I think it's a band concert," Lucy replied.  "Oh, maybe we could check it out on the way back," he answered and guided the car to the right and down the street.  Lucy murmured her agreement.  Chatting pleasantly they were soon pulling up to the old restaurant at the lake.  Alex found a parking space and they walked in and were shown to their table.  "Glad I made that reservation!"  he said looking around the full dining room as they were seated.  They both smiled as they looked out over the lake and then at each other.  Their server was a young man who asked if they'd like something from the bar first but Alex said they'd have wine with dinner and ordered a bottle. Then the server described the specials of the day and they each chose one.  "I can't see your house," Alex said after the server had left them, looking across the lake.  "No", Lucy replied "it's a little further south. See the public beach?" she asked pointing, "my house is around that curve." "Oh, yea," he said moving his chair closer to her, "I can just make out the house on top of the hill!"  "Right!"  The server was back with their wine and after pouring some for Alex who tasted it and nodded his approval filled Lucy's glass and then Alex's and left the bottle on the table in easy reach of him.  Alex lifted his glass to Lucy and  with a new gleam in his eyes said "Caught in the quiet
                                                        Off on our own
                                                                                    Coming together
                                                        Staying alone...."*
"Rod McKuen," Lucy answered and they sipped their wine smiling.  "I haven't heard any of his poetry in years," she said. "Do you still have his recordings?"   "A few," Alex answered, "but the machine doesn't work that well anymore.  It's hard to find a new needle for it."  Lucy shook her head sadly in sympathy and they sat quietly for a few seconds. 
   The server arrived with their appetizers and refilled their wine glasses.  The rest of the meal was pleasant.  The food was delicious and Lucy kept laughing as Alex brought up old friends and their antics. When the server asked if they'd like dessert and Lucy said "just coffee, please"  Alex looked at her questioningly and asked "Did you bake a cake today?"
   "Yes," she replied blushing lightly, "I made a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting."
    "Then just coffee for me, too," he told the server. 
    Their  coffee finished and bill paid Alex and Lucy walked to the car with his hand lightly touching the small of her back. He opened the car door for her and waited until she had fastened the seatbelt before gently closing the door.  Backing  up the car, Alex slipped it into drive and headed back toward the village center.  They could hear the sounds of the band concert get louder as they got closer.  Alex found a parking place and they walked, hand in hand, toward the park.  The band was a country group playing gentle classics and couples were dancing on the sidewalks and grass.
     "Want to dance?" Alex asked putting his arms around Lucy's waist.  "The band's pretty good, aren't they?"
    "They sound like Alabama, don't they?" she asked putting her hands on his shoulders and swaying with him to the music.
     "Well, it is one of their hits," he pointed out.
     "Yea," she agreed and together they said the title of the song, 'When We Make Love'.  When the band started another love song Alex pulled Lucy closer and they continued to dance.  The band kept the mood going with different songs for 15 or 30 minutes until they finally announced the last one, the Ronnie Milsap classic 'Woman in Love' ,that lifted the mood and allowed the keyboardist to end the night with a flourish. Alex twirled Lucy and caught her back in his arms as the song ended.  They both laughed...as were most of the people in the park.  The concert had been enjoyed by so many people.  Lucy and Alex slowly walked back to the car holding hands.
  "I haven't been to a band concert like that in...I don't know how long," Alex said as they reached his car.  He opened the door and Lucy slipped in.  "It was fun," she said, "and I hope I didn't step on your toes."
   "Toes all present and accounted for," he quipped as he got in behind the wheel.  "You're not a bad dancer...." he started.
   "Not a very good one either," she said. "But you are.  I enjoyed it." 
   It was almost dark by the time they got back to her house.  And the moon and the stars were quickly being covered by dark clouds coming in from the west.   The wind had picked up and there was a distant rumble of thunder.  "The coffee pot is set" Lucy said as they walked across the deck to the porch door, "just have to switch it on.  We should have coffee before the storm hits."
   "I'm glad it held off and didn't stop the band concert," Alex said as they went inside.  "Do you lose power often out here?"
   "Once in awhile," she answered, "not often."
   They had their coffee and cake at the dining table then refilled their coffee cups and took them to the small sofa facing the window and watched the storm as it rolled across the lake.  When Alex put his cup on the end table and put his arm around her shoulder Lucy held her cup in her lap with both hands and raised it to sip it slowly. When she was finished, he took it from her and placed it on the end table with his.  Then he turned her toward him and kissed her warmly.  Lucy responded and Alex kissed her again and again.  He ran his hand up and down her arm several times kissing her each time he held her by the shoulders.  Lucy sighed and moved her hands to his shoulders leaning against him.  He tightened his hold on her and kissed her neck.  His hand ran down over her breast and body and was soon tracing a pattern on the skirt of her dress.  He managed to unbutton the button of it and started to ran his hand up and down her thigh.  Lucy moaned lightly and Alex laughed. He kissed her again and moved her arms so they went around his neck.   Standing up he pulled her to him in a tight hug and she raised one knee to hug his leg. 
   "Mr. Hardy" Lucy said softly, "did you stick a sock in your pocket?"
   "No," he laughed.  "Is that a problem?"
   "A man your age...Lucy started, "are you healthy enough for sex?"
    "Care to find out?" he answered with that twinkle in his blue eyes again.  Taking her hand they walked towards Lucy's bedroom pausing and kissing as they went with Alex carefully unfastening the barrette from Lucy's hair and running his hand through her long hair.  Once there Alex pulled her down on the bed and  just as a loud thunder clap rolled over the house and the lake was lite up by a large burst of lightening, the lights in Lucy's house went out.

                                                                   CHAPTER 4

    Dan was a survivalists always ready for when 'the shit hit the fan' .  He insisted that they buy a portable generator and so they did.  The one he choice ran on diesel and other alternative fuels but luckily they never had to use it.  Lucy used the money she got for it and his other tool that she sold after he died for the building plans for her new house.  She looked on it as his contribution to her future.
  


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