Book 2-Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

Alex Bishop in Follow That Mystery

                                                                          Chapter 57 (continued)                             

                                                                  Family, Friends and Farewells

     Mrs. Violet Books was buried beneath a lilac tree in a small cemetery next to her parents and siblings, which was her wish.  In going through Mrs. Books' personal things, Mr. Wells found hand written notes.  One for Dawn, Glenna, Lyn, Lee, Fletch and Alex.  He gave them out at Alex's house where everyone was gathering after the service.  Alex took his and went into his bedroom alone to read it.  Mr. Wells watched him go with an empathetic look on his face.  Alex's four friends and Lyn sought out other places in the house where they could be alone to read their notes from Mrs. Books.

     Alex closed his bedroom door, went to sit on his bed and slowly opened the envelope.  He let the tears flow as he begin to read,

Dear Alex,

     I have so enjoyed being your friend.  You inspired me to write again.  You made my life exciting by letting me into your very special circle of friends and inviting me along on your thrilling adventures.  Don't ever lose that adventurous spirit, or your insatiable curiosity, or the determination to live life to the fullest; for these are very special gifts Alex.  Use them well.

                                                                                                      My deepest affection always,

                                                                                                                       Violet Books

     Alex sat staring at the note with tears running down his face.  He just sat there, seemingly unable to move.  For several minutes he sat there, perfectly still.  Finally his eyes focused on the words:  "Use them well."  Alex smiled and wiped away his tears.  "I will," he vowed.  Then he gently placed the precious note back in it's envelope.

    In the middle of November, Alex's mother, Janeen and his father Max hosted Thanksgiving dinner for Alex's friends and their families.  They also invited Mr. Wells and Scarlet and Joshua Bern.  Lyn invited Spence and also her friends Amy and Michael next door and her friend Nikki from across the street.  Fletch's brothers Matt and Sam and their friend Nick Crosby were home for the holidays so were there too.

     The boys received a lot of attention from their little brother Fletch, Alex and the rest.  None of them, including Fletch had seen Nick, Sam and Matt since their high school graduation the year before.  The boys had gone to Europe for a three month vacation when their last high school year was ended.  Now they had returned to their home town, hopefully to get jobs so they could earn, "A heap of money," (their words) before college at Stanford started the following fall.

     The group of friends spent most of the dinner and afterwords reminiscing about the old school days and asking Nick, Sam and Matt how the tour of Standford went. The boys had taken a tour before coming home.  The only down side of the get together was that Mr. Wells still missed his best friend, Mrs. Books.  But he did, for the most part, seem to have a good time.  Alex and his friends had been stopping by to see Mr. Wells often since Mrs. Books' passing.

     The stores were already full of Christmas items and one of the biggest shopping days on Earth was to start the next day-Black Friday.  But Alex and his friends said there was no way they were going to risk their lives to shop that day.  They vowed to wait until the first of December to do their shopping.

     Besides shopping for Christmas presents, the friends tried to get in as much winter fun together as they could while there was snow on the ground.  They sledded down the "Big Dipper" a few times during that cold snowy December.  Alex and the others also went ice skating at the local rink at MCnaughten Park, and tobogganing at a place called Swiss Valley where they went as children.

    Mrs. Clark, Fletch's mom threw a New Years Eve party that year.  Of course Nick Crosby and Fletch's brothers, Sam and Matt were in attendance.  Alex, his friends and their parents were invited, along with Mr. Wells.  Lyn and her friends, Amy and Nikki were having a sleep over that night, so they begged off.  The Bishops, Martins, and the other parents and Mr. Wells watched the ball dropped from Times Square and then called it a night.  The teens didn't stay that much past midnight themselves.

     Alex and his friends were glad that another mystery hadn't presented it's self this year because the group was too busy with school work and their jobs to solve one anyway.  They all were very concerned about maintaining their better than average G.P. A.'s and doing as well as they could at their after school jobs to think about much else.

     February came and with it more snow and cold temperatures.  Scarlet Weems and Joshua Bern's wedding was held the first week in the month.  Mr. Otis Wells, Scarlet's brother was giving her away.  On the day of the wedding the couple's guests gathered at the Large Methodist Church in the center of town.  Alex, Lyn, their friends and parents, along with two hundred other guests filled up the sanctuary.

     Scarlet had asked Dawn to be her maid of honor and Joshua had asked Alex to be his best man.  Fletch, Lee and Chet were ushers.  Scarlet was breathtakingly beautiful in her Italian made satin and lace, long flowing gown as she came down the isle with a teary eyed Mr. Wells holding tight to her arm.  They reached the end of the isle where two large floral baskets stood next to the altar.

     After a short but moving ceremony Scarlet Weems became Mrs. Joshua Bern.  The reception that followed in the church banquet hall, was a joyous time with family and friends.  The Bride and Groom and their guests danced to live music under gold and white balloons that hung from the ceiling.

     After a couple of dances with Dawn and Glenna, Alex sat down at one of the round linen covered, strewn with bits of confetti paper.  He was watching Lee and Glenna whirling around the dance floor when Mr. Wells sat down next to him.  "Hi," his former teacher said on a sigh.  "You look classy," Alex said with a grin at him.

     "Thanks.  I was a nervous wreck walking down that isle," Mr. Wells admitted while loosening his tie.  "You looked proud," Alex said with a nod at him.  Mr. Wells said, "I am."  "I didn't think Scarlet could look more beautiful than she usually is," Alex said, "But I was wrong."  Mr. Wells laughed.  "When are you going to take that leap?"  Alex asked him with a smirk.  "When I find the right lady," Mr. Wells said simply.  "Me too," Alex agreed.

                             (Family, Friends and Farewells to continue with next update.)