Finding Eliza (18 page)

“Anything’s possible. Would it make a difference to you?” Jack kept tending to his grilled cheese. The sound of the spatula scraping on the cast iron skillet creaked in the background.

“I don’t know how it wouldn’t. It just seems so hard to reconcile that it was happening here of all places. It was in our hometown, Jack. It’s just so cruel.” Lizzie swiped a handful of sweet potato fries through the ketchup that Jack had squirted onto her plate. “If I did know them, I don’t know if I could forgive them for something like this.”

“Your Gran reminded you that it was a different time. Don’t forget that it isn’t your burden to bear either. You didn’t know these two. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s the reality. Forgiveness comes in all forms, especially if you aren’t the one involved. You wouldn’t have anything to forgive, would you?”

“Jack, I can’t believe it’s that simple for you. When you are the cause of someone’s death, you don’t deserve forgiveness. Every person involved in lynching was responsible for the deaths of two people. If it hadn’t been for their actions that night Eliza and Eldridge would have been alive. Two families were ruined that night.” Lizzie stood up from the table and picked up her glass of sweet tea. “I’ve got to get some air.”

“Lizzie, come on now….”

Lizzie didn’t hear him. She let the screen door slam against the frame as she walked onto the back porch. The idea of giving forgiveness to anyone in her own life who was capable of a crime like this felt so foreign. Like a wind coming from the middle of a tornado, her breath was taken away as she began to understand the reality of what she said. What if it was someone in her life today?

The concept of forgiveness was such a hard one to Lizzie. She carried a heavy resentment against herself for her part in the death of her parents. If she hadn’t begged to be at the church that night they wouldn’t have had a reason to be in the car. Instead, they were driving in the storm that destroyed her family. She couldn’t forgive herself.

Lizzie looked up at the night sky and started thinking about the lives that were destroyed that night in the cemetery. Tears began to well up inside of her. There are some things in this world that are just unforgivable, she thought. “I’ll never forgive them.”

After Lizzie composed herself, she returned to the kitchen.

Jack walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. “You know I love you, right?”

Lizzie just sighed. This was Jack’s way of telling her that she was in need of a change in her attitude.

“You really need to think about forgiving yourself for something you couldn’t control. It wasn’t your fault, you know. You’re letting it get in the way of your other relationships and the way you think of people. You’ve got such a negative opinion and you need to remember that people are capable of change and redemption. I promise.”

“That’s what you keep saying.” Lizzie pulled away from her husband’s embrace and returned to her seat.

“Then it must be true,” he said as he pulled both plates out of the oven where they had been kept warm. “Now eat.”

Without another word, the two ate in peace as Lizzie thought about what her husband said. She still didn’t think that she needed forgiveness, but she would consider offering it up to others.

Chapter Seventeen

After returning home from the diner, Thomas needed to lie down. Avery wanted to keep the house quiet, so he chose to sit in the backyard while his grandfather slept. He needed to decide what to do about the situation that threatened his family. His grandfather was one of the most peace-loving individuals that he knew. The people in town and of the church knew him as a loving person who was there to help and give. Avery had to make sure that his memory was kept intact. Thomas Abernathy was getting older. He couldn’t let his legacy be one of violence. His name had to be kept away from the events that took the lives of Eldridge and Eliza.

As he sat in the old, wooden deck chair, he looked across the back fence taking in the surroundings. The Abernathy farm had been in his grandfather’s family for the last two hundred years. As the sun set, Avery looked over the crops growing high in the fields. As a child, he would run through those fields, ducking between rows of corn or jumping over melons on the vine. Memories of childhood began fading to the nightmares of the past and of Greer Abernathy. The secrets held in that dirt went back generations and had to be kept quiet. He didn’t want them unearthed.

His mind wandered to his great-grandfather. Greer was a mystery to him. Avery couldn’t remember a single story or memory shared by his family that included his great-grandfather. There were no childhood tales passed down from his mother about time spent with her grandfather. Greer was a person who lived as he wanted. Tall and thick in build, he didn’t allow others to speak against him or his ideas. He was rough and loud with everyone that he encountered, especially his children and wife.

Avery’s grandfather took the opposite approach with his small family. Quiet and caring, Thomas tried to support and love his children and grandchildren. He made it a point to avoid confrontation. He married and lived a quiet life rooted in the church and the community that he loved. As the youngest in the family, he never expected to inherit his father’s farm until his older brother was killed. A soldier in the fields of Europe during World War II, his brother never made it home. Reluctantly, his great-grandfather changed his will to leave the land to young Thomas. Over the years, Thomas grew apart from his remaining family until none remained. Avery assumed the space in his family was from a difference of opinions or beliefs. He never would have guessed that the root was in the guilt that his grandfather revealed.

He spent the next hour pulling back the curtain on memories hoping to find a clue to explain how his parents could hide this horror from him. “So that’s why we moved,”
he thought. The weight of his new reality sat on Avery’s chest. His family had been responsible for the lynching of a young African American man and the rape and death of a local girl. If they didn’t live in the area it made it that much harder for Avery to learn the truth.

Avery reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He glanced at his watch to check the time. “Still early.” He could reach his mother before she settled in for the evening. Dialing the number, he realized that he had to let her know what was going on.

“Hello, dear,” his mother answered. “How’s the vacation with Granddaddy? Are you figuring out if you’d like to stay in Everett Springs or not?”

“It’s been interesting, that’s for sure. I haven’t decided yet about moving. There are some things that I have to sort out first.” He stopped to choose the right words.

“Avery, are you all right?” his mother asked.

“I’ve been wrestling with something today that I think we might need to discuss. Granddaddy told me about the incident with Greer and the young boy Eldridge. Mama, he told me about his involvement. What’s worse is that I’ve met a descendant of Eliza’s, and she’s asking questions.”

His mother went quiet on the other end of the phone. “Oh, son. This isn’t how I wanted you to learn about this. I didn’t want you to know. Whatever you do, remember that it is in the past and it needs to stay there. That’s not Granddaddy’s life now. It’s not who he is.”

“I know, Mama. I’m not upset with him. Honest. I’m just worried is all. I’m worried about Lizzie. That’s her name - Lizzie.”

“The Clydell girl? I don’t understand. What’s she doing asking about this? Does she know about it? Oh Avery, that will kill your grandfather. He adores her so.”

“The girl from that night was Lizzie’s great-aunt. She’s digging to find out who was involved. I have to figure out how I’m going to keep it from coming out. It seems like the story is rearing its ugly head once again, and I need to stay here until it’s stopped.”

Avery walked over to the bright red metal gate that divided the front pasture from the back. Leaning over it, he rested his arms and head on the top rung. “I just don’t know how to make that happen.”

“You can’t run from the truth, Avery. I’ve tried. It may have taken a few decades, but you still found out.”

“The truth is what scares me, Mama.”

“Reach out to her for forgiveness. That’s all you can do.”

“What if that isn’t enough, Mama?” he asked. “What then?”

***

Following Thomas’ nap, the two men enjoyed the type of country meal that Avery remembered from his childhood. They stuffed themselves with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and enough biscuits to last them until spring. After they finished, Avery cleared the dinner plates and silverware from the table. Thomas stretched and shuffled into the other room. Still drained after their earlier conversation at the diner, his movements were heavy and slow. Pouring his heart and sadness into his grandson had been a harder experience than he had expected. It had been years since he dragged up the details of that day. Hearing himself say the words caused him to relive the events. Thomas saw the pain in Eliza’s face as the men violated her. He heard the screams of Eldridge as he watched his love get beaten and broken. The demons awoke, and they weren’t letting the old man walk away without damage. His rest didn’t provide the respite that they had hoped it would.

Standing at the kitchen sink rinsing dishes, Avery thought about his next move. He wasn’t used to thinking about people as threats, but that’s what Lizzie felt like. A panic welled up inside him and took over his body raising his blood pressure and heightening his anxiety. He couldn’t stop thinking of Lizzie Clydell and the pain that flashed in her eyes as she told him the story of her great aunt. She seemed so determined to locate the truth. As he thought of Lizzie’s words, his blood began to boil. The muscles in his neck and jaw tensed as he thought of the young woman who held his grandfather’s fate in her hands. He wasn’t sure if his anger would continue, and perhaps he didn’t care. His hands shook and caused the soapy china dish he held crashed to the ground.

“Avery? You okay, son?” asked Thomas from the great room.

“Sorry about the plate. I was just thinking, Gramps. I’ll clean it up.”

The phone rang, breaking the heavy silence. Before Avery could pick up the heavy black receiver from its wall mount he heard his grandfather answer from the extension.

“Well, hello there my dear. How are you this evening?” Thomas paused as the other unidentified party continued. “Aren’t you the sweetest? We’d be glad to come for dinner tomorrow. Avery will still be here. Can we bring anything? I can make some biscuits if you’d like.”

Avery crept around the corner for a closer listen. He could hear the tone in his grandfather’s voice change, reflecting a little nervousness. Just as curiosity got hold of him, he heard his grandfather disconnect the call with a pleasantry.

“So, which girlfriend invited you over?” Avery teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

“That was Lizzie Clydell inviting us over for dinner tomorrow night. Avery, what will I do if she’s found out?” Thomas lowered his head into his hand and began to weep. “She’s so precious to me. Her grandmother is like family, and that little girl has filled a place in my heart that became so empty when your mama left town. What will I do if I lose her after she knows the truth? Your mama couldn’t face me when she found out about what my father did. What if it’s the same with Lizzie? What do I do now?”

Avery walked over to his grandfather and joined him on the vintage settee. The old piece of furniture creaked as the two men sat side by side. Avery realized that after today their roles had become reversed. No longer was his grandfather patting the back of a scared boy assuring him that everything would be fine. It was Avery’s turn to give his grandfather words of comfort.

“I’ll make sure it’s okay, Gramps. Just trust me. I won’t let anything happen.” Avery hoped that he wasn’t lying. “I’m sure she doesn’t know or she wouldn’t invite us. It will be fine. I promise.”

As he walked into the kitchen to finish the after dinner chores, he noticed a photo on the wall. It was a wedding photo of new love. A young groom stood tall and thin in his best clothes wearing a look of accomplishment on his face. He was smiling, proud to be a new husband. His wife, delicate and small, stood next to him, her head barely reaching his shoulder. Her lips curled up toward her bright, wide eyes she held fixed on her husband. Her bridal headdress was made from a simple lace that was pinned in her hair and draped just behind her. Her hands lifted to her chest in order to hold her wedding flowers so the camera could capture the beautiful blooms. The groom gently held one of her hands to help support the weight of the bouquet while his other arm wrapped around her back. Their young faces seemed so full of hope and innocence.

“Gramps, who’s this?” Avery was drawn into the image. He assumed it was his grandfather and grandmother as it took a position of prominence in the room. He was surprised that he had never noticed the heavy wooden frame with the thick beveled glass before. “Is this you and Granny?”

“Believe it or not, that’s my father and mother on their wedding day.” Thomas looked up at his parents not with the face of an old man but the eyes of a child. “My father was innocent once. I’m not sure what happened to turn him into the monster that he would become later on. I love this photo because it makes me think that life could have been different if only he had kept that innocence. He had a heart that could love once. If only he had found the ability to give grace to others instead of sorrow.” His weak voice trailed off. “Don’t hate me, Avery. Don’t hate me for what my father did.”