The Mason List (5 page)

“How did
your family get Sprayberry?”

“It was
my grandfather’s dad’s ranch first.  The Jessups have sold red Angus for a
long, long time.  You see all of those out there?”  He turned a little sideways
and pointed to the other side of the ranch.

I’d lived
in Texas my whole life.  I may have never gone fishing or swam in a fancy pool,
but I knew what an oil well pump looked like even from a distance. 

“It was
just cattle until they found the oil.  My Uncle Frank still sells ‘em.  The
cattle.  My grandfather just lived here and got rich.”

“Your
uncle and grandfather both live here?” I said interrupting.

“No. 
Just Uncle Frank.  My grandfather’s dead.  House was his first then mother made
it even bigger.  Anyway, he crashed one of his planes with my grandma in it. 
Happened right after I was born.  He’d learned to fly and wasn’t so good, I
guess,” he chuckled and glanced back at me over his shoulder. 

I
wrinkled my nose up at his morbid joke.  I realized what his story implied. 
Did he say his grandfather owned
planes
as in plural?

 “When my
grandfather found the oil, he kept buyin’ and buyin’ stuff.  Made my Uncle
Frank mad.  After he died, all of this was my mother’s and Uncle Frank’s.  He’s
an old grouch.  Never been married and I think he hates kids.  Or maybe just
me.  He lives in a house off over there.  That’s who I’ve been helpin’ for
bein’ grounded for the elevator thing.”

“Uncle
Frank…Jessup?”  I asked.  It was interesting to know another
Jessup
existed besides Jess.

“Yup,
he’s got me scoopin’ horse manure out of the stalls at five in the mornin’.  I
gotta do that ‘til school starts.  I hate poop.”

“I know. 
You told me.”

“Well, I
still hate it.”  He turned back to face the front. 

“I’m
really sorry.”

“Nah…not
your fault.  We better get back.  Don’t want to make your dad mad at me the
first day.” 

He
punched the gas, and I fumbled to grab his shirt.  It was a lot of information
to process for one day.  The ranch itself was enough to overload my mind.  It
was positively paradise.  I counted off more items to add to what my father and
I owed these Masons; a house, school clothes, furniture, and this place called
Sprayberry.

Chapter 9

When
I was eight…

The day
finally arrived and my secret, terrible wish came true.  My mother, Anna
Tanner, passed in her sleep a mere three days after we moved to the ranch.  She
was now a skeleton in a box.  Her body waiting to be laid in the ground; waiting
for the bugs to slither through the cracks and devour her skin and bones.

“The Lord
is my Shepherd, I shall not want… He leads me beside still waters…” 

Reverend
Cooper read Psalm 23, his voice carried among the small gathering next to the
closed casket.  Over and over again, my eyes followed the same silver leaf
pattern etched on the right side of the box.  I heard very few of the
Reverend’s words.  In all aspects, my mother’s funeral represented the finality
of the worst years of my life. 

“Even though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you
are with me.”

I lifted
my eyes up to scan the group.  Only a handful of people came to the funeral. 
My parents didn’t have any family left in Texas.  No parents or siblings.  No
Uncle Franks.  The Masons had guided my father through the preparations for the
simple service.  I had no idea how much this kind of production would cost our
family.  I no longer asked who paid for our expenses.  In the cemetery, I
mentality added the funeral to my growing debt to the Masons.

“And now,
please join me in sending God’s child Anna, a loving wife and mother, back into
His loving arms,” the Reverend’s voice carried a soothing tone.

I stood
beside my father as they lowered my mother into the deep hole.  The place with
the bugs.  I imagined them waiting, six feet down, for the fancy box with
silver leaves.  Sitting in the dirt.  Mouths open.  Teeth bared. 

My father
let go of my hand.  He walked slowly to edge of the hole.  His strong fingers
absently crushed the delicate, yellow flower his hand.  His body shook from the
tears running down his cheeks.  I felt a presence at my side and looked over to
see Jess.  He reached out and slipped his fingers into mine.  Feeling his hand
squeeze tight, a warmth spread through the coldness in my chest. 

“And from
the great story that began in Genesis, Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt
return.” The Revered took a small handful of fresh soil and it trickled through
his fingers down into the hole that held the casket.  “Ashes to ashes and dust
to dust.  Amen.”

My father
released the crushed petals of the rose.  I watched the yellow pieces float in
the air and then disappear down into the darkness to their final resting
place.  My father turned and walked back to where I stood with Jess.  His face
wore a sadness I’d never seen in all our struggles.  Mrs. Mason reached out
with a handful of tissues.  He blotted his eyes and sniffled into the white
paper. 

“Come on,
let’s go home.”  My father placed an arm around my shoulders and Jess gave my
hand one last squeeze.  With dry eyes, I walked out of the cemetery wearing one
of my fancy new dresses and shiny leather shoes, courtesy of the Masons. 

The
Tanners were not alone the night of the funeral.  The Masons and few others in
the community came by to bring food and offer their condolences.  A man named
Mr. Buckley discussed a job opportunity for my father at the hardware store in
Arlis.  This Mr. Buckley wanted to retire.  If all was well the next few
months, my father would be the overseeing manager of Buckley’s Hardware on the
Main Street Square in Arlis.

The
adults’ voices trickled out into dark while I sat with my arms draped over the
railing of the front porch.  My eyes watched the clear sky.  Jess sat a foot
away with his legs dangling over the ledge, bumping the side of the wooden
porch.

The night
sounds of the meadow felt good compared to the sadness that filled the inside
of our new house.  My mind retraced the moments of the last twenty-four hours. 
I’d lost my mother today.  Yet, the sadness didn’t come as it should from such
an event.  I think something might actually be broken inside of me. 

“So it
looks like you’re stayin’ here,” Jess said, interrupting the silence of my
broken thoughts.

“Yeah…you
mind?”

“Nope, I
think it’s gonna be fun havin’ someone else ‘round here,” his eyebrows furrowed
together as he laughed in a way that meant only one thing.

“Hey, you
can’t get me in trouble anymore,” I bumped him with my shoulder.  A smile
formed on the corner of my lips just thinking of being here with him.

“Nah…no
trouble,” he laughed quietly. “We just can’t get caught.  By the way, the
hardware store is haunted.”

“What?”

“It is. 
I promise.  I heard it from Gunther talkin’ at the feed store when I was there
with Uncle Frank.  You’ll be fine.  Just don’t be there at night.  Might see an
ax go flyin’ through the air.”

“That’s
not true.”

“I guess
you can stay there one night and find out.” He gave me a wink.  I rolled my
eyes and then a faint glow caught my attention.

“What was
that?”  I craned my neck, peering out in the darkness.

“A
shootin’ star.  You ain’t never see one before?”

“No. 
Like one of those just fell from the sky?”

“Sort
of.  You have to make a wish now,” he grinned back at me. 

I focused
off in the distance, trying to conjure up something that would make me feel
better.

“Now tell
me what it is,” his syrupy voice pleaded.

“I don’t
think wishes work that way.”

“Oh, come
on. 
Please
….Alex.”

“Tell me
yours first.”

“I didn’t
make a wish.”

“You did
too.  I saw your eyes closed.  Must have been a big wish.” 

I
startled him.  Jess blinked back at me for a moment with a rare loss of words,
“I…um, can’t tell ya.”

“Will you
tell me if it comes true?”

“Yeah, I
promise,” he grinned.  “There’s pictures up there, you know.  I’ll teach you to
find ‘em.”

“Pictures?”

“Yeah. 
Like that one’s the Big Dipper,” he said pointing above us.  “It’s a big ice
cream scoop.” 

I looked
across the Texas sky, listening to Jess tell me about his pictures.  In all my
nights in Dallas, I’d never seen so many sparkling dots winking back at me.  It
was beautiful and mysterious, a never ending blanket wrapping the world up
tight and cozy for the night.   

“Hey
Jess, why don’t you have other people over to the ranch?” I asked casually. 
I’d pondered the thought for some time. 

“You
really wanna know?”

“Yeah.”

“Most
people want to be around us because they think we’re rich,” Jess answered with
a flat tone.

“You are
rich.”

“I know. 
It’s just not always fun havin’ everyone tryin’ to be your friend because of
it.”  Jess looked serious with the thought.  “You don’t know what it’s like
bein’ here in Arlis.  But you’re goin’ to find out real soon.”

“I’m sure
you know about us.  Your parents have paid for everything for my dad and me.” I
didn’t intend the sneer in my tone, yet that’s what happened when I finally
said those words out loud.  It was a truth that haunted me for weeks.

“I
know.”  He looked right at me with his blue eyes.  “Actually, I knew that first
day we met.  My family pays for the hospice ward too.  That’s why ya’ll moved
to Arlis.  Because of us.” 

He caught
me off-guard.  I remembered my father’s revelation of being accepted into the
hospice ward in Arlis.  
The life-saving moment
, according to him.  I
didn’t realize it was also funded by the Masons.  In reality, I should have put
that piece of the puzzle together before tonight.  My stomach tightened up, and
I looked back at Jess with wide eyes, hatred burning on my lips.  I despised
their stupid charity.

“And
that’s why, Alex.  I know you’re different than the others.  I knew it from the
first day in the hallway.  You hate the fact my family’s rich,” he smiled back
smugly.

Chapter 10

Today,
9:37 p.m.

It takes
everything in my body to fight to the surface.  Every time I try, the warmth of
invisibility pulls me back down into the comfort of the past.  It feels good
there; deep in the meadow sunshine, seeing his blue eyes.  Letting go, I
finally emerge in the cold chambers of the hospital.  I watch the beauty queen
pour a glass of water.  She carries it with a tight grip over to the side of
the bed. 

“Drink
this.”

The
restraints hold my wrist in their tight jaws.  She pushes the straw up to my
lips while I take a sip.  The liquid tastes cool as it rinses the grit off my
teeth.  Pushing the hair back from my forehead, she looks at the cut. 

“You need
stitches in that.  If you want, I can take care of it.”

My eyes
grow wide at the mere thought of her offer.  When I fail to respond, she pulls
up a chair next to the bed.  Faint black smears rest just below her perfect,
blue eyes.  I follow the outline of her face down to her blue scrubs.  She has
a pin close to the top with tiny kittens playing with tiny balls of yarn.

“Are…” 
The sound crackles in my throat.  “Are you working today?”

“I was
this mornin’.”

“And
now?”  I squint in her direction feeling the painful glow of the florescent
lights.

“Well, I
was leavin’ when I found you in the hall.  So I stayed.  Thought you needed
some company.”

Blinking
back at her odd statement, I lift my hand up to rub the tension behind my
eyes.  The restraints keep my fingers in place.  An IV snakes out from the tape
in the center of my left hand. 

“I want
them off,” I beg to her.

“Try to
be still,” she smiles, though something resembling sadness lingers in the
hollow depths of her lips.  “I’ll turn off the lights.”

The room
slips into darkness except the faint glow of the moon.  It was daylight when I
came to the hospital.  The warm summer day had become night.  The world kept turning
even when I wanted it to stop.

I hurt. 
I hurt so deep inside.  Two tears roll over my cheeks, soaking into the fabric
of the pillow.  With my hands in the cuffs, I can’t even wipe them away.  I
feel the soft fabric of a tissue dab at the corners.  The blonde face stares
down at me, the dark smudges appearing more prominent under each of her
lashes.  In that moment, I knew the beauty queen was crying too.