Old Jon walked into town slowly, cringing whenever his right leg touched the obdurate road. He smiled to everyone as he walked past them and they all smiled back, said hello, and asked poor Old Jon if he needed any help or a ride home. He had been forced to sell his own truck within the first year of the mill's closing. His bad leg prevented long walks and he lived far from town; no one had seen him in a long time.
Old Jon's once youthful and lively grey eyes seemed a little duller since the villagers had seen him last. His once cleanly shaved face that he had kept so well was spotted with rough, white whiskers. He always took pride in his clothes. Even in the days when Evie was still alive, he always washed and pressed his own clothes, even Hers were never quite as clean and neat as his were. He was a proud and good man, and he looked the part. He still wore the plain red flannel and the blue jeans, but now they were dotted with holes, rips, and stains: mud, grass, and some other indistinguishable stains that could easily be food. His proud step remained, however, and he walked into the town with his head held so high that he stared eye to eye with every person he past, those taller and those shorter.
The people were astonished to see Old Jon looking his age quite so eloquently. He had always maintained a sparkle of youth, even when he had passed the age of work; but now, that sparkle was gone leaving an empty shell of an old man, a proud man. A few of them wondered what he held in a small, cracked leather bag he carried with him. It was old and crusted with dust. It seemed to be bulging from whatever was contained inside.
Old Jon walked past the few shops and houses of the small town, heading for the grocery store. Old Jon had saved the store owner's life back in the lumber mill days. Bill, the owner, had been fresh out of high school and took the town's only real job. Old Jon's hair was already turning white then. Although Evie still graced the earth with her lovely presence. Bill had caught his hand in the wood- chipper on his first day. Luckily, Old Jon was there and pulled him away before any serious damage was done. After that, Bill left the mill and began working for the grocer. After the grocer died, with both sons off to find their fortunes in the big city, Bill inherited the store and ran it well. After the mill went under, Bill had one of his delivery boys bring Old Jon supplies once a week, free of any charge.
On that particular day, Bill was visiting a brother in the big city. Old Jon looked kindly at the cashier and asked her for her name. She pointed to the nametag on her chest and he chuckled.
"Broke my glasses three years ago. I'm afraid you'll have to tell me yourself." He smiled at her as she told him her name was Aby. He answered that it was a lovely name and she smiled.
"Well, Aby, I am going to have to ask you to do something for me. Will you give this to Bill when he gets back?" Old Jon put his bag onto the counter and it fell open revealing shining gold coins inside. She looked up at Old Jon in astonishment.
"A little something I found 'round the house. Tell him I am just paying my debt." Aby tried to explain to him that his debt was already paid, that Bill wanted him to have supplies for free, but Old Jon simply waved his hand and smiled.
He walked out of the grocery store and sat down on a small wooden bench. He loved the town, he used to come in with Evie every Sunday and attend church. Then they would walk around all day looking into the small stores and talking to the people they met. He looked toward the church at the end of the street. Evie wore a beautiful dress, it wasn't fancy because they had never been rich, but it was beautiful. She and her mother spent weeks making in just for that one day. He saw Her coming out of the church, young and beautiful, Her white gown trailing behind Her. She seemed to radiate in the happiness of seeing Old Jon again. She ran towards him and jumped into his arms as She so often did when he had been working all day. Her dark brown eyes looked at him and he looked back into them lovingly. He seemed to lose himself in Her eyes as he always had. She held his trembling hand with Her soft one and led him down the main street toward home.
The villagers passed by Old Jon for a long time, thinking that he was sleeping. He sat on that bench so peacefully. Finally, someone noticed that he didn't seem to be breathing and called the town doctor. No one ever found any more gold around Old Jon's house, no one really tried to look. If there was more, it was Old Jon's and they weren't about to rob a dead man. A few women cleaned up his house and auctioned off his possessions. The funeral was long and grim, everyone in the village missed him, though no one had seen him in years. Evie was exhumed and the two bodies were placed in one large casket. It was their final gift to Old Jon.