A Miracle at the Cabin Ch. 01

"Yes, you're safe here and I got to at least meet you."

She glanced at me but then quickly away as our eyes touched. We sat in silence and watched the fire as it popped and cracked.

After several moments, she then asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Just all the things that have happened here. My wife's name was Lydia and she loved coming here. In the summer we would swim and take the boat out about every day. She loved to cook so it was always fun to see her cook in the kitchen and try her new recipes. Every November, we sat in front of the fire and talked like you and I are doing. I really miss her."

"How long were you married?"

I glanced over at Pam. "About seven years. We were married pretty young. She had just graduated from UT Chattanooga before our wedding. We had dated for three years." I paused. "The ten years I knew her just weren't enough."

"I'm sure she loved you very much."

I glanced at her and smiled.

After a minute or so I asked, "When I tried to take a shower last night, we didn't have hot water. Is it turned off?"

"I couldn't figure out how to turn it on. Nothing I tried worked."

"Have you been taking cold showers all week?"

"I heated water on the range in a big pot I found. That helped some."

"The pilot light must have gone out. Let's go check it."

We walked together, actually with her several feet behind me, to the utility room. I sat on the floor in front of the water heater controls and looked inside to where the pilot light should be burning.

"The pilot is out and it's tricky to re-light. I have to pull out the owner's manual every time just to remind myself how to do it. Can you look on that shelf and find the manual?" She found it and handed it to me.

I read the instructions carefully and followed the steps in the prescribed order. Finally, I pushed the start button and the pilot kicked on and the burner ignited.

Pam was elated. "I can't wait for a hot shower."

"Me too. I'll need to change the pilot light nozzle this week.

"While we're near the porch," I said, "let's carry more wood in. Can you help me?"

"Of course."

I opened the door and walked onto the cold screened-in back porch. There was more than a full cord of wood stacked here when I left two months ago. It appeared that about a third of it was gone. "Wow, you did burn a lot of wood. Has the heat pump not been working?"

"That was another thing I couldn't figure out for several days but I finally got it on."

She held her arms out and I stacked five pieces across them. I then tucked another five pieces under my arm and we walked back into the warm house and carried it to the fireplace. I put one piece on the fire and stacked the rest in the rack. This fireplace generated a lot of heat but it did consume wood quickly.

We resumed our places and I asked, "How did you figure out the heat pump?"

She said, "You're going to think I'm crazy but it came to me in my sleep."

Now she had my full attention. "What do you mean?"

"I'd tried everything I could think of. The thermostat indicated it was on. I checked the breaker box and the switches were all on. I turned them off and back on just to see if that worked, but nothing happened.

"I was asleep one night and I had a dream. It was a very vivid one and, unlike most dreams, I remembered it the next morning. In my dream, I could see a switch outside on the house near the compressor unit. Now I had no idea that there was an outside switch. Anyway, I put on my coat and walked out there the next morning. Sure enough, it was there. When I pushed the switch lever up, the heat pump came on immediately. I can't explain how my brain knew about that switch."

"Pam, similar things have happened to me and I can't explain them either. I remember when Lydia and I were dating. A buddy asked me and another friend to go down to Myrtle Beach and play golf one weekend. He was planning to drive and I was all for it.

"Three nights before we were to leave, I had a dream that badly scared me. I saw his car in a terrible accident with the police and emergency vehicles surrounding it. That worried me so much that I cancelled. I really felt I was being silly and stupid about it so I never said anything to him, other than to be careful.

"The sad thing is that he did have a terrible accident and both he and his buddy were severely injured. I was shocked. How and why did I have this premonition? I have no idea. It really makes me wonder."

Pam added, "I'll share one other dream with you. Now this was scary.

"The first night I was here, I wasn't able to sleep much. I guess the knowledge that I shouldn't be here was weighing on me and I was really restless. But I finally went to sleep and in a dream, I saw a man coming into my room. It scared me so much that I woke up screaming. Of course, there was nobody there; it was just a dream. But only six nights later, that exact thing happened when you came in. Now, how can I explain that? I'm not a psychic. Why did my brain give me a preview of what was to happen?"

I decided it was best for me to keep my dream of the name "Pam" to myself for now. That really would have scared her.

I replied, "I suppose there are mysteries in life that we'll never understand or explain." We gazed at the fire again.

"Are you and your parents on good terms now?"

"No. My dad died early last year. He had a heart attack. My sister said he was heartbroken when I left. I assume he never really recovered from that. Mom and I occasionally talk but it's not like we once did. My sister is married and lives in Texas. We also talk two or three times a year but its almost like we were strangers. Mom is alone but has some help on the farm. She's talking about selling it and moving to Texas to be closer to my sister."

"Is that why you didn't stop there rather than come here?"

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd be too welcome and I didn't want her to know I was running away again. I've really screwed up several times now and I'm ashamed of that."

"We all screw up in life. Some more than others, I suppose. I'm certainly not proud of everything I've done. My wife was about the most perfect person I've known but she messed up every now and then. It's just part of our human experience. What matters is whether or not we learn from it and become a better person going forward."

We sat in silence again and watched the fire.

Pam then asked, "Are you seeing anyone now?"

"No, I've dated a few times and had a couple of short relationships but nothing serious."

"You're a very handsome and successful man. I would think lots of women would be after you."

"I suppose the right lady has not come along just yet. After losing Lydia, my heart and spirit have just not been focused on finding a new wife."

"I understand. It's got to be devastating to lose the love of your life."

After a couple of minutes, I asked, "Is it OK if I take your suitcase back to your bedroom?" She thought for a few seconds.

"OK, if you're sure you don't mind me staying another day or so."

"It's a privilege to have you stay. You're a very interesting young lady and I'm enjoying talking to you. Plus, tomorrow is my birthday, you can't leave me alone for that!"

She finally smiled a full smile and said, "Maybe I can bake a cake for you."

"We'll see, maybe a cupcake would be easier."

I carried her suitcase back to the master bedroom and noticed how nicely she had made up the bed and straightened up after herself.

She yelled from the kitchen, "Is it OK if I make us some ham sandwiches for lunch? This ham you brought looks really good."

"That'd be good. I also brought potato salad and pickles."

I stood with my back to the fire and watched her work. Her skills as a restaurant cook really showed. There were no wasted motions and she seemed to almost glide around the kitchen. Lydia had been the same way.

"I think we're ready. Come on and get whatever you want to drink."

I decided to just drink water and she had a Diet Coke. We sat at the kitchen table adjacent to each other. Obviously, she was getting more comfortable around me.

"After lunch, maybe we can go to the store and pick up a six-pack or two." I suggested.

"Also, I need a few things."

We continued to talk about small things over lunch, mostly food likes and dislikes. I learned she loved seafood but not escargot or frog legs, both of which I really like. We both liked steak, turkey and chicken but she really loved ham and bacon. Turns out they raised a few pigs on her farm and her dad smoked the hams and shoulders and cured the bacon just like it was done for the last few hundred years. I was impressed by her knowledge of food and cooking.

After lunch, she asked. "Can I take a long, hot shower before we go out?"

"Absolutely. I need one too. You go first. Our water pressure is not so good here."

I watched her walk toward the bedroom before I put away the food and cleaned the table and dishes. As the water ran in her shower, I sat and watched the fire as it burned down to just a few small flames. That brought back memories of Lydia and me waiting for her to shower and dress before we went out. There were just so many wonderful memories of her at this cabin and Pam brought several of them to mind. The way she seemed so comfortable in the kitchen and enjoyed just gazing at the burning fire was the same as Lydia. Also, like Lydia, Pam was a great listener.

After my shower and shave, I dressed in warmer clothes. We then walked to the car and I opened the door for her. She was surprised. "I'm not used to a man opening the door for me. Thank you." She smiled.

As we drove to the supermarket about six miles away, we talked about the lake and how pretty this area is, no matter what time of the year.

"When I came with my uncle and aunt, we stayed in the small motel we just passed. I remember how clean it was. He took me out with him one day while my aunt went shopping. We had a great time. He let me reel in a small bass he hooked and that was so much fun. The first fish I ever caught. Do you fish?"

"Yes, but probably not as much as your uncle. Lydia and I would go out once or twice every time we were here; we usually didn't catch anything. I remember one time, she hooked one and it seemed to fight really hard, much more than normal. I was expecting it to be huge but it wasn't-only about a couple of pounds. Turns out she hooked it in the side, not the mouth. Evidently, that gave the fish more leverage as it fought. She was so excited, and I was too. Then we saw it and felt sorry we'd injured it so badly. By the time I got the hook out, there was a nasty cut on its side. We normally released everything we caught but decided we better keep this one. It would probably die a slow painful death and we didn't want that."

"Did you eat it?"

"Yes. Lydia looked up recipes for bass and found one she thought sounded good. It was-no fishy taste at all."

"My uncle always released the ones he caught. But he carried a small digital camera with him to take shots of anything he wanted to brag about later. He was so funny. He couldn't wait to get back to the motel every evening and show us his trophy pictures." She chuckled.

"Did he often catch big ones?"

"Well, I couldn't tell. There were no reference points in the pictures to go by. I couldn't tell if they were a foot long or two feet long. But my aunt and I pretended to be impressed and happy for him. That's all he really wanted."

I added, "And I'm sure they continued to grow bigger over the years."

"Exactly, even before we got home, they had grown." We both laughed.

She asked, "You ever go fishing for mountain trout? I think I'd like to do that sometime."

"I love to fish in the streams. When I was a boy, my dad used to take me into the Tennessee mountains and fish. We usually caught at least one but sometimes we caught our limit. The Fish and Game Commission stocked most of the rainbow trout so they were pretty dumb. Hatchery trout will eat anything and completely ignore the fact that some guy was standing next to them in the water. A wild trout would've been long gone. Maybe I can take you sometime."

Pam looked at me and responded, "I'd really like that."

We arrived at the Publix grocery and there was a CVS pharmacy next door. Pam decided to head there while I did the grocery shopping. I'd prepared for only my meals this week so I needed more coffee, bread and meat for her. I also bought a case of Stella, a beer she seemed to enjoy. I was now planning for her to stay all week, although she hadn't committed yet.

As I was checking out, Pam walked in and saw me at the register. She smiled and waved to get my attention. As we walked to the car, she carried a CVS bag but didn't indicate what she'd bought.

I asked, "Is there any place else we need to go while we're out?"

"Is there a bookstore anywhere around here? I'd like to look for something."

"I know just the place. There's a large Borders store about five miles away. I'd also like to look for some new books. I think I've read everything in the cabin. I was hurrying so much to hit the road last night, I just forgot to grab anything to read."

As I drove, Pam said, "I want to look for a book about dreams and what they mean."

That surprised me. "Do you really think we can figure them out?"

"I don't know, but I'm intrigued by my dreams this week. Why were they so accurate and so vivid that I remembered them when I woke?"

"Pam, I'm probably going to scare you to death with what I'm about to say." I glanced at her and she just stared at me. "Last night, when I finally got to sleep, I dreamed of you and the name 'Pam' kept coming to me over and over."

"YOU'RE SHITTING ME!" she screamed. She sat with her mouth open and her hand over it just staring at me. Pam's eyes showed extreme fear.

"No, that's why I almost fainted this morning when you told me your name."

"Holy crap! What's going on, Tom? This is scaring me!" She looked straight ahead with her hand over her mouth. I could see her body shaking.

"Pam, there's something going on bigger than we understand. Maybe we can get some books that'd help. There was one written a number of years ago by Billy Graham on angels. I'll see if Borders has it."

"Do you think an angel was involved?"

"I've no idea. But something is communicating with us. The Bible talks about angels but I know little about them."

We rode in contemplative silence the rest of the way to Borders. As we arrived, I glanced at her again and saw a few tears rolling down her cheeks. I reached over and took her hand and she squeezed mine. "Pam, we'll figure this out." I handed her my handkerchief and she dabbed at her eyes.

In the store, we split up. She went for the dreams and I went for the angels. About 30 minutes later, we left with four books, including Dr. Graham's. As soon as I drove out of the parking lot, she was reading one of the books.

"Tom, it says here that our dreams are likely to be about situations or events that we'd like to have happen. But I sure never wanted a strange man to come into my room in the middle of the night."

"And it doesn't explain how I knew your name. You know, there must be a million names but my brain came up with 'Pam'. You're the first 'Pam' I've ever known. How in the world did that happen?"

She kept reading all the way home. I just drove, trying to control my wild rambling thoughts.

End of Chapter 1-- Stay tuned. Chapter 2 will come very soon.