About the Author
Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestsellers Twelve Months, The Rockin’ Chair, Pressed Pennies, and Gooseberry Island, the national bestseller Ashes, and the novels Goodnight, Brian and The Changing Season. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early Show, CNN’s American Morning, and BET’s Nightly News. Recently, three of Manchester’s short stories were selected “101 Best” for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Also by Steven Manchester
Middle-aged brothers Jason and Tom Prendergast thought they were completely done with each other. Perceived betrayal had burned the bridge between them, tossing them into the icy river of estrangement. But life – and death – has a robust sense of irony, and when they learn that their cruel father has died and made his final request that they travel together across the country to spread his ashes, they have no choice but to spend a long, long car trip in each other’s company. It’s either that or lose out on the contents of the envelope he’s left with his lawyer. The trip will be as gut-wrenching as each expects it to be . . . and revealing in ways neither of them is prepared for.
At turns humorous, biting, poignant, and surprisingly tender, Ashes puts a new spin on family and dysfunction with a story that is at once fresh and timelessly universal.
Here is an excerpt:
Tom wheeled his late-model, platinum-colored BMW into Attorney Russell Norman’s freshly paved lot and parked between a brand new Lexus—sporting the license plate JUSTIS4U—and a custom pickup truck. Looks like I’m going after the hillbilly, he thought when he spotted the faded Massachusetts Department of Correction sticker in the rear window. His blood turned cold. “It must be Jason,” he thought aloud. I didn’t think he’d come.
Tom took a few deep breaths, not because he was nervous about his father’s death or talking to any lawyer but because he hadn’t seen his Neanderthal brother—for fifteen years, I think. He paused for a moment to give it more thought. Although their relationship had essentially vaporized in their late teens—the result of a fall out that still haunted his dreams—they’d occasionally wound up in each other’s orbits; weddings, funerals, and the like, enough to remain familiar with each other’s career choices, wives, and children. But even that came to an end fifteen years ago, he confirmed in his aching head before opening the door. While his toothache-induced migraine threatened to blind him, he took one step into the oak-paneled waiting room. His and Jason’s eyes met for the briefest moment. As though they were complete strangers, they both looked away. And here he is, Tom thought, disappointed. This is just great.
Through peripheral vision, Tom noticed that his older brother now wore a scar over his right eye, just above a bushy eyebrow that could have easily belonged to a homeless Scotsman. A jagged ear lobe, a piece clearly torn away, pointed to a crooked nose that sat sideways on his face—all of it rearranged since birth. What a big tub of shit he’s turned into, Tom thought, struggling to ignore his throbbing face and head. He’s as fat as a wood tick now, he thought, grinning, and he looks like he’s ready to pop. Jason looked straight at him, as if reading his mind. Tom immediately looked away, his rapid heartbeat starting to pound in his ears, intensifying his physical pain. Unbelievable, he thought. After all the years and all the distance, his elder brother—by only two years—still scared the hell out of him. He’s just a big asshole, that’s all, he told himself, but he still couldn’t bring himself to rejoin his brother’s penetrating gaze.
The secretary answered her phone before calling out, “Mr. Prendergast . . .”
Both brothers stood.
“Attorney Norman will see you now.”
Tom walked in first, letting the door close behind him—right in Jason’s face.
“Still a weasel,” Jason muttered, loud enough for all to hear.
“What was that?” Tom asked just inside the door.
“Don’t even think about playing with me,” Jason warned as he reopened the door and entered the room, “’cause I have no problem throwing you over my knee and spanking you right in front of this guy.”
I’m fifty years old, for God’s sake, Tom thought, and he thinks he’s going to spank me? I’m surprised the prison even let him out.
The attorney—his hand extended for anyone willing to give it a shake—looked mortified by the childish exchange.
Tom shook the man’s hand before settling into a soft leather wing chair. Jason followed suit.
The room was framed in rich mahogany paneling. The desk could have belonged in the oval office. Beneath a green-glassed banker’s lamp, stacks of file folders took up most of the vast desktop. An American flag stood in one corner, while framed diplomas and certificates, bearing witness to the man’s intelligence and vast education, covered the brown walls.
Attorney Norman wore a pinstriped shirt and pleated, charcoal-colored slacks held up by a pair of black suspenders. He had a bow tie, a receding hairline that begged to be shaved bald, and a pair of eyeglasses that John Lennon would have been proud to call his own. There’s no denying it, Tom thought, trying to ignore his brother’s wheezing beside him, he’s either a lawyer or a banker. He couldn’t be anything else.
While Jason squirmed in his seat, visibly uncomfortable to be sitting in a lawyer’s office, his hands squeezed the arms of the chair. What a chicken shit, Tom thought, trying to make himself feel better. Peering sideways, he noticed that his brother’s knuckles were so swollen with scar tissue they could have belonged to a man who made his living as a bare-knuckle brawler. He’s still an animal too, he decided.
Attorney Norman took a seat, grabbed a manila file from atop the deep stack and cleared his throat. “The reason you’re both here . . .”
“. . . is to make sure the old man’s really dead,” Jason interrupted.
In spite of himself and his harsh feelings for his brother, Tom chuckled—drawing looks from both men.
“The reason we’re all here,” Attorney Norman repeated, “is to read Stuart Prendergast’s last will and testament.” He flipped open the folder.
This ought to be good, Tom thought, while Jason took a deep breath and sighed heavily. Both brothers sat erect in their plush chairs, waiting to hear more.
As if he were Stuart Prendergast sitting there in the flesh, the mouthpiece read, “My final wish is that my two sons, Jason and Thomas, bring my final remains to 1165 Milford Road in Seattle, Washington, where they will spread my ashes.”
“Seattle?” Tom blurted, his wagging tongue catching his tooth, making him wince in pain. Quickly concealing his weakness, he slid to the edge of his seat. “Oh, I don’t think so,” he mumbled, careful not to touch the tooth again.
Jason was shaking his head. “Hell no,” he said.
The attorney read on. “I’ve always been afraid to fly, so I’m asking that I not be transported by airplane but driven by car.”
“No way,” Tom instinctively sputtered.
Jason laughed aloud. “This is just great. The old bastard’s dead and he’s still screwing with us.”
The less-than-amused attorney revealed a sealed envelope and continued on. “As my final gift to my sons . . .”
“Only gift,” Tom muttered, feeling a cauldron of bad feelings bubbling in his gut.
“I’m leaving this sealed envelope for them to share, once and only once they’ve taken me to my final resting place.”
“What the fuck!” Jason blurted.
Every cell in Tom’s overloaded brain flashed red. Don’t do it, he thought. You don’t owe that old man a damned thing. But every cell in his body was flooded with curiosity. He looked at Jason, who was no longer shaking his fat head.
“Maybe the bastard finally hit it big at the dog track?” Jason suggested.
Tom nodded in agreement but secretly wondered, Could it be the deed to the land Pop bragged about owning in Maine? He stared at the env
elope. For as long as I can remember, he claimed to own forty-plus acres with a brook running straight through it. He stared harder. Could it be? he wondered, wishing he had X-ray vision. A parcel of land in Maine sure would make a nice retirement . . .
“How ’bout we travel separately and meet in Seattle to spread the ashes?” Jason said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Great idea,” Tom said, hoping against all hope that the idea would fly with their father’s lawyer.
Attorney Norman shook his head. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but your father specifically requested that you travel together with his remains to Seattle. Any deviation from this can and will prohibit you from attaining the sealed envelope.”
There was a long pause, the room blanketed in a heavy silence. Son of a bitch, Tom thought, this couldn’t have come at a worse time. He turned to Jason, who was already looking at him. “What do you say?” he asked, already cursing his inability to curb his curiosity.
Jason shook his head in disgust. “The last thing I want to do is to go on some stupid road trip with you.”
“Trust me, that’s a mutual feeling,” Tom shot back.
“But I don’t think we have a choice,” Jason added. “Our fucked-up father wants to play one last game with us, so to hell with it—let’s play.”
This is insane, but he’s right, Tom thought. With a single nod, Tom stood. “Okay, let’s have the ashes then,” he told the lawyer.
The attorney shook his head. “I don’t have them. They’re currently at a funeral home in Salem.”
“Salem?” Tom squeaked, unhappy that his tone betrayed his distress.
“That’s right. You have to take custody of your father’s remains from the Buffington Funeral Home in Salem, Massachusetts.”
“You must be shitting me.” Jason said.
The attorney smirked. “I shit you not,” he said, throwing the letter onto his desk.
Salem? Tom repeated in his head. Just when I thought Pop couldn’t be a bigger prick . . . The migraine knocked even harder from the inside of his skull, making him feel nauseous. Amid the pain, his synapses fired wildly, considering all this would mean: I’ll have to take bereavement leave from school and find someone to cover my classes. I should probably double my treatment with Dr. Baxter tomorrow. And what about Caleb and Caroline? he asked himself, quickly deciding, They’ll be fine without me for a few days. Then he pictured his wife’s face. And Carmen, she’ll be fine without me for a lot longer than that. The nausea increased. Screw her.
“Are we done here?” Jason asked, obviously itching to leave.
The lawyer nodded. “I’ll need proof in the form of a video or a series of photos that you’ve deposited your father’s remains where he wished. Once I have that, the letter’s all yours.”
“How wonderful,” Jason said sarcastically. He stood, turned on his heels, and headed for the door.
Tom also got to his feet. He looked at the lawyer and, trying to ignore his physical discomfort, he smiled. “Don’t mind him,” he said, shrugging. “That imbecile is exactly what our father trained him to be.”
This was supposed to be a simple summer for Billy; one more lazy expanse of time before college began. He’d fill the hours playing with Jimmy – his canine best buddy – going camping and doing all the things he promised Jimmy they’d do before Billy left.
But that was before the accident that shook the entire town.
It was before the summer job that turned into something so much more than a way to get a paycheck.
And it was before Vicki.
This summer was destined to be many things to Billy, things he didn’t truly understand until now. But it was definitely not going to be simple.
An enormously touching, richly textured, deeply moving novel of new adulthood, The Changing Season is an experience to savor.
“The Changing Season is a story that will bring you back to that awkward period of time between childhood and adult life. I highly recommend this book.”
– Richard Paul Evans, #1 NYT Bestselling Author, The Christmas Box and The Mistletoe Promise
Here’s an excerpt:
On Saturday afternoon, Billy’s parents hosted a barbecue to celebrate his graduation. Fold-out chairs were placed throughout the backyard and so many wonderful smells filled the spring air. The traditional Baker clam boil was simmering in a huge copper, oval-shaped pot—with wire screens resting on top to steam white fish in wax paper and boiled eggs wrapped in aluminum foil. This mouth-watering bounty competed with the distinct smells of juicy hamburgers, marinated meat and grilled chicken on a stick. Billy’s mom and Sophie scurried around, taking care of each detail.
Potato salad and macaroni salad, slathered in mayonnaise and basking in the warm sun, sat in the middle of the plastic-covered table. Billy watched as his Aunt Phoebe made it her mission to shoo black flies away from the corn on the cob, bowls of potato chips and a platter of sliced watermelon. And then he spotted his little cousin, Jack. “Hey, Juice Box, you made it!”
Jack sprinted up to Billy, giving him a hug and a sealed card. “It’s from Aunt Phoebe,” the boy announced and petted Jimmy’s head before running off to the inflatable bounce house Billy’s parents had rented.
Billy looked up to find his eccentric, chain-smoking aunt smiling at him—and shooing away more flies. While she waited and watched, he opened the card and pretended to read the message. Fifteen bucks, he thought. That ought to buy me two lunches on campus…maybe. He grinned. I’ll have to show Charlie.
He nodded gratefully and approached Aunt Phoebe to give her a hug. “Thank you so much for the generous gift,” he told her, wondering whether he would ever get the ashtray stench out of his clothes.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” she said, planting her shriveled lips onto his cheek like a cold snail. “Spend it wisely, okay?”
Billy quickly excused himself and hurried over to a picnic bench, where his dad and Uncle Pete were telling the same stories they always told. The Boston Red Sox played on a transistor radio; Joe Castiglione’s distinctive voice confirming that summer was just underway. While people talked and laughed above the table, Jimmy worked beneath it like a pilot fish on the under belly of a shark—trawling for scraps—scanning and devouring most leftovers before they ever hit the ground.
Billy headed into the house to relieve himself when he spotted Jack swatting something invisible in front of the living room window. “What are you doing, Juice Box?” he asked him.
“Catching bees,” Jack said, swatting away.
Billy looked closer. The little boy was trying to capture dust particles floating around in the window’s sunlight. “Keep at it,” he told him. “You’re doing a good job.”
As she hurried past the two, Sophie laughed.
Throughout the afternoon, Billy and his underage friends sneaked swigs of beer, while his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins filled the yard with many different conversations going on at once. Kids played and Jimmy took chase, at least to the best of his limited ability. Some of the men played horseshoes, while some of their women looked on from the shade of the giant oak tree. But no matter what they were doing, everyone was smiling—as they shared in each other’s company.
Suddenly, a water balloon fight broke out. In the past, Jimmy would have jumped right in. But not today. Today, he sat on the sidelines and watched through sad puppy eyes, his gray muzzle resting across his worn paws.
Many of Billy’s friends came and went throughout the day. Each one of them greeted Jimmy, spoiling the old dog with lots of love.
“Any plans for the summer?” Bianca asked the group of recent graduates huddled together.
Charlie grabbed her around the waist. “I’ll be spending most of my time with the woman of my dreams,” he said, pulling her close to him.
“And who’s that?” Billy asked.
Ev
eryone laughed, while Charlie pretended to be angry.
Mark smiled. “I’ll be taking a couple of intro courses at the local college to help me get a head start on next year,” he announced.
“Of course you are,” Charlie teased, “what else would you be doing?”
“Summer school?” Billy said, jumping in. “You can keep that, Mark. I don’t want to learn anything this summer.”
Bianca turned to Billy. “So what do you have planned then?”
“I plan on chillin’,” Billy said and then smiled excitedly. “I have to get a real job, but whenever I’m not working I plan to be at the beach with Jimmy.” He looked at the dog. “I also promised that I’d take him camping before I head off to college.” He patted the mutt’s head. “Jimmy loves our camping trips.”
Jimmy sat back on his haunches, slobbering all over himself. He had just consumed a hamburger patty that one of the graduates sneaked to him. He looked up at Billy.
“Right, buddy?” Billy asked him.
Jimmy licked his chops and whimpered for another handout.
Mark bent down and rubbed the mutt’s belly. “Looks like camping’s not the only thing old Jimmy loves.”
Everyone laughed.
“You need to stop eating,” Billy scolded the dog, “or you’re going to get sick.”
As the afternoon grew late, Billy noticed Charlie and Bianca exchanging some heated words in the shadows of the yard. “You’re wrong, Charlie!” Bianca squealed. “Yeah, I’ve talked to that kid a few times, so what? There’s nothing going on between us.”
“I know what I’ve seen,” Charlie hissed. “Don’t tell me what I’ve seen with my own eyes.”
As their argument rose in volume, people began to take notice. Oh boy, this isn’t good, Billy thought.
Sophie approached him. “Billy, you need to tell them to either knock it off or leave.”
Nodding, Billy made his way toward them to break it up.
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