Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

Blue Skies Trailer Park

Arden, Missouri

June 22, 1979

Ralph Childress had walked over to the office to pick up the mail and was sitting in his living room going through it. It was, as usual, mostly bills, but he saw one handwritten letter addressed to him personally, written on Hotel Halekulani stationery from Waikiki Beach. He thought: Who in the hell do I know that could be all the way out in Hawaii?

Memo to State Trooper Ralph Childress

As promised, here is the update on the present status of the 15th-century troubadour you stopped on Missouri Interstate 34 on the morning of February 14th, 1976.

I am happy to report that the lady in question and I were married a week ago and are now enjoying a wonderful honeymoon.

As the man says, “All’s well that ends well.”

Best wishes,

Gerry O’Malley

Trooper Childress chuckled. “Well, I’ll be damned. That old boy finally got her. There’s a new fool born every minute.”

Edna Childress walked into the living area carrying a Mexican Chihuahua in one hand and a TV Guide in the other. “Are you gonna fix that antenna for me or am I gonna have to hire me a handyman? You’re gonna make me miss my soap.” He put the letter back in the envelope.

“Oh, all right, hold your water, old woman. I’m going. Can’t a man sit down and read his mail without being pecked to death?”

He opened the cabinet and pulled out a pair of needle-nose pliers and headed out the door. “If you’d do it when I asked you to instead of waiting so long, I wouldn’t have to nag you. Did you ever think about that?”

He walked away, saying under his breath, “Yeah, I’ve thought of that.”

She turned on the TV set and walked over to the window so she could holler up to him when the picture came in good. She hated to nag at poor old Ralph, he was a good soul. But she couldn’t miss her soap opera today. Today Faren was going to come out of her amnesia and remember who she really was!