Fallen Stones (32 page)

Jason returned to the present as he opened the door to the barn, switched on the light and entered. He saw the bright and shiny John Deer tractor right where they had left it Saturday. In addition to the backhoe attachment, Jason saw the trailer cart attachment. He hooked the trailer up to the tractor, assuming it would make the job of transporting the small headstones a bit easier. He also planned to hook up the backhoe attachment if necessary after he found a suitable location to dig the hole where he would bury the soon-to-be broken up grave markers.

If he couldn't figure out how to use it, he would simply have to dig a hole by hand. As a precaution, Jason found a shovel and a large sledgehammer near the back of the barn, which he placed in the trailer cart. He also found a canvas tarpaulin, which he felt would work well to prevent his cargo from scratching the paint on the bed of the trailer. He wanted to keep any evidence of his activities at a minimum.  Jason started up the tractor and eased it slowly out of the barn.

Chapter 19

 

As he sat atop the tractor, acclimating himself with its operation Jason thought again, with no small degree of guilt about how he had deceived Stephanie by not telling her he was coming up to the property today. She believed he was at the Ashton plant working out the final details of his promotion and subsequent transfer. Jason thought back to the previous Sunday when he and Stephanie had made up their minds to relocate their family to Ashton and about how they had spent most of that day making plans for the following week.

In the meantime, he said they could start to get things ready for their move. There were certainly plenty to do. Jason figured they could spend the two days packing some of their lesser-needed items into boxes to get a head start on moving. They would also have to contact moving companies for estimates as well as get in touch with a realtor about selling their Berks County townhouse.

Stephanie suggested they buy paint and spend the weekend gutting and repainting the master bedroom. She already had an idea of what her color scheme would be. "We can take out all that old junk and tear up the old, worn out carpeting," she suggested. "Then we can strip the walls and give the whole room a fresh coat of paint. We will worry about getting new flooring later but I think we could accomplish quite a bit in two days. I wish the kids were finished with school; if they were, we could head up Thursday and have four days to work. But they are not done until next Wednesday."

"There's no hurry," Jason said. "We still have to sell this place."

"I know. But I simply can't wait to see the house again." Stephanie replied. "I'm ready to move in tomorrow."

Then Jason asked, "If we are gutting and painting the master bedroom, where are we supposed to sleep Saturday night?"

"Well, there is no way I would sleep in that musty dark bedroom anyway. The answer is simple." Stephanie explained. "I'll share a bed with Cindy, and you can sleep with Jeremy."

"Ugh!" Jason replied. "Jeremy snores and kicks his feet in his sleep. That's why I haven't slept in the same bed with him since he was small."

Stephanie said, "Well if that doesn't work out there are plenty of sofas and large chairs around the place. You could always sleep in one of those."

"Well I guess you're right," Jason conceded. "Thursday morning after Sammy wakes up and is ready we can head into the home center and pick out what supplies we will need. But to be honest with you, I think you may be a bit ambitious with your plans for the weekend. We'll be lucky to get the bedroom cleaned out, let alone prepared and painted."

She replied smiling with understanding, "Yeah. I know. You're probably right. But I still would like to have the paint and stuff ready. Just in case."

"No problem," Jason said. "We can do all of that Thursday. Right now I have to think about getting everything ready for my visit to the Ashton plant on Wednesday."

Then Stephanie asked, "I don't suppose there is any way Sammy and I could come up with you on Wednesday morning is there?"

Jason knew at some point Stephanie was going to ask to come along and as such, he already had his reply prepared.

"No," Jason answered, perhaps a bit too quickly. Then he tried to backpedal by explaining. "You know I would love to take you both with me, but I have to be at the plant early, which means I will be out the door before any of you even wake up. Plus, you have to get the two older kids off to school and someone has to be here when they come home. I'm sorry, honey, but it's just not possible. I have to take this trip alone." Jason could see by the trusting look in her eyes she was buying whatever trumped-up story he was selling, and that fact alone made him feel even guiltier about the deception. But he kept reminding himself it was something that had to be done for the happiness and welfare of his family.

She asked, "Won't it drive you crazy to be so close to the house on Wednesday but not be able to stop by?"

Jason said, "No. Not really. I will have so much to do to get ready not only for the job transfer but also learning about my new responsibilities in Ashton that by the end of the day, my brain will be so fried the house will be the last thing on my mind."

Stephanie was always amazed at the way Jason could compartmentalize his life and his responsibilities. He had a natural tendency to categorize everything, put it into its own appropriate mental box and deal with it when required. She supposed that was how he was able to handle multiple projects and responsibilities so effectively. Stephanie found it mind-boggling how he could be in Ashton on business, just a few miles from their new and incredible house, yet he would have no interest in stopping by whatsoever, because this was not part of his plan for the day. Likewise, when he and the family went up to the house for the weekend, she knew he wouldn't even think
about his new job or would never consider going anywhere near the Ashton plant, no matter how excited he might be about his new promotion.
 

It was as if Jason's brain was equipped with some sort of bank of switches he could turn on and off at will. Stephanie however, was the exact opposite. There was no way she could have dealt with being so close to the property and not have at least done a quick drive-by and maybe stop to take a few pictures with her cell phone. But not Jason; it was simply not his way. Then she suddenly got an idea.

Stephanie suggested, "Well why don't you stay overnight at the house Wednesday night and head back first thing Thursday morning? You are off from work anyway." Although she was sure, the inflexible Jason would probably not be interested in staying because it was not part of his current itinerary, she suggested it nonetheless.

"That might be a good idea," Jason said with very little enthusiasm, "But no. I don't think I will. I want my first night in the house to be with all of you. That will make it much more special." The fact of the matter was, Jason was certain after dealing with his unpleasant graveyard task at the house, the last thing he would want to do was be alone in the unfamiliar environment. He felt a cold chill race down his spine and did his best to ignore it. He didn't believe in ghosts or spirits and was not worried about the owners of the graves seeking vengeance against him for disturbing their rest, but the idea of his desecrating a gravesite then staying alone in the house on the same night just seemed a bit too creepy, even for him.  

To Stephanie, Jason's was behaving as she predicted he would. She admired the way he smoothed over his refusal by suggesting it would be better if he spent the first night in the house with her and the kids. But she knew how his mind worked and his rejection of her idea was born more of his inflexibility rather than any desire to create a special family moment. She felt like saying, "Sometimes Jason, you can be so stubborn about things," but instead she chose to respond to his comment by saying, "Sometimes you are so sweet." And the she kissed him. She understood, on occasion, not being completely honest could be a good thing. However, had she known about Jason's true plans for that Wednesday, she likely would have thought much differently.

Truth be told, Jason knew he would likely be able to handle most if not all of his promotion and transfer paperwork over the corporate Intranet and there would be no business-related reason for him to travel to Ashton on Wednesday. He suspected he might have to do so at some point in time but what he had to do at this stage in the process didn't require a personal visit. The memory of their discussion faded as Jason's tractor passed the spa building.

Jason looked over at the hexagonal shaped building recalling the strange feeling he had experienced the previous Saturday. He would have sworn someone had been watching him although he knew it was not possible. He experienced so many strange unexplainable feelings that day, so he had pushed the sensation aside. Yet, now as his tractor passed the odd structure, the hair on the back of his neck began to tingle. He pressed down on the gas pedal, eager to get to his business.

As he bounded along the meadow, getting closer to the site of the graves, Jason recalled his previous two days of work. On Monday, as planned, Jason went to work and told Walter he would accept the promotion. Walt then instructed the personnel department to immediately begin processing the paperwork, including the application for relocation expenses. Jason figured he might as well take advantage of the cash regardless of the windfall Stephanie had received. Since he understood he would have to continue working anyway, he might as well accept all the benefits he could get. Walt offered to have the Ashton personnel department put him in touch with some local realtors the company often used. But Jason explained it wouldn't be necessary.

He briefly told Walt how Stephanie had been willed a house in the Ashton area, and they would be moving into that property as soon as possible. He deliberately neglected to mention the size or the opulence of the property and decided instead to let Walt make his own assumptions. Walter lived in the far western side of Lancaster County, almost into York County and although they had been friends, he doubted once the man retired he would ever see Walt again, especially with them moving so far north. He decided the less said about their inheritance the better.

"What a great coincidence," Walt said. "Stephanie gets a house in Ashton, right when you need it. That's amazing." Then Walt said, "But you're still going to need a realtor to sell your current house, won't you?" Then he quipped, "Or did someone with a bag of cash walk in off the street and offer to buy your house sight unseen?"

"No such luck," Jason said. "We'll need to find a realtor and put the place on the market. But I plan to use a local Reading area realtor for that business, and I can contact them on my own.”

Then Walt reminded him, "Well, just be sure to keep copies of your closing costs and moving expenses because your new promotion entitles you to a refund for most of those types of expenditures."

Jason agreed to do so then reminded Walt of something he had said on the previous Friday. "Walt. Last Friday you told me if I took the job in Ashton I could take off this Wednesday through Friday to get some of my personal stuff straightened out for the move. Does that offer still stand?"

"By all means," Walter agreed. "As I said. If you can just cover for me while the folks from Ashton are here today and tomorrow, that won't be a problem."

Jason said, "Thanks, Walt. I appreciate that. By the way, who is coming down from Ashton today anyway?"

"Well..." Walt replied thinking, "as far as I know...the man you are replacing, Jim Dodson, as well as two of his engineers...who, now that I think about it, I suppose will very shortly be your engineers. One guy by the name of Brian Josephs and another named Ken Jackson. Do you know either of those guys?"

Jason felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. For the first time he realized the two engineers who would be arriving shortly were going to be his subordinates within a matter of a few weeks. He had met all of the Ashton engineers at one time or another. He had gone out for drinks and pizza with most of them at some point in time, but that was as their equals, now things would be very different. It would be very strange to meet them again knowing he was going to be their boss and especially since he was told they had no knowledge of his upcoming promotional offer especially if they didn't know about it, which he assumed was the case.

Jason knew, Brian Josephs to be a good, hard-working technical non-political type of manufacturing engineer, concerned only with doing the best job possible. Jason suspected no matter whom his boss might be Brian would always do a good job. He was the sort of man one simply gave minimal instructions, pointed in the right direction then let him loose to solve the problem.

Ken Jackson, however, would be a different situation entirely. He was the senior manufacturing engineer and was likely the one who Jim Dodson had been grooming to take his place. He wouldn't be happy to learn Jason had taken a job, which he believed to be rightfully his. As Jason recalled, in addition to being good at his job, Ken was also a very political sort of animal. He was a local boy, born and raised in Schuylkill County with many local friends in the area. He knew how the system at Ashton worked and how to get what he needed. If any of the Ashton engineers were to end up being a problem for him, it would likely be Ken.

Jason hoped once his promotion was announced, Ken might become angry enough to leave the company and seek employment elsewhere. But Jason also understood the economic conditions in the country, not to mention in the job-starved area in and around Schuylkill County. He would likely end up stuck with Ken and would have to find a way to deal with him. Jason decided if possible, since Walter was leading the tour, he would keep a low profile and try to avoid any interaction with the group for the present. It was all so strange and uncomfortable for him. He managed to keep himself busy and was able to avoid the group on Monday.

But on Tuesday, Jason was required to sit in on a meeting with Walt and the Ashton group to discuss various technical aspects of the many pieces of equipment on their list for transfer. It was a bit awkward for Jason as well as the other engineers, but they all did their best to focus on the job at hand and Jason avoided eye contact as much as possible. Jason did notice Jim Dodson look at him several times in an appraising fashion. He assumed Jim was aware by now of Jason's acceptance of the job and that Dodson might comparing Jason to his own choice for his replacement, wondering if Jason measured up to his expectations.