Zander needed to get to the church an hour before the funeral because there was a prayer service in the church basement prior for friends and family of the deceased or so the funeral director had told him.
Zander wasn’t really keen on the idea. This whole thing seemed to have taken a life of it’s own. Zander liked to keep things simple and he was ready for everything to be finished. He knew it was going to take some time to get the estate and property all sorted out but he needed to be finished with the funeral. Just before he left for the church, he decided to try to call Sara Jane’s cell phone number and tell her what happened. The phone rang only once and then a mobile operator came on the line and told him the number was no longer in service. The news shook Zander. He had no idea what it could mean but he didn’t think it was good news. No matter, he didn’t have time to think about it. He had a funeral to attend.
There were some of his mother’s brothers and sisters at the church when he arrived. Some of the neighbors were already seated in the basement waiting for Pastor Ron to do the honors. Zander moved around shaking hands and thanking people for coming. He was actually quite proud of himself. He could play the game as well as anyone if circumstances demanded it.
There were two sets of pallbearers mostly cousins and a few of his parents closer friends. Zander wondered why they only had males do this honor. He had never seen a female help carry a coffin. It seemed rather archaic to Zander but this was the mid-west and it had always been steeped in tradition.
It was almost time for the service to begin and the funeral director had given everyone instructions on protocol.
Zander lined up behind the caskets at the back of the church and then the whole group would file in and be seated behind Zander. As he plodded behind the coffins being pushed by the funeral home staff, Zander noticed the church was filled to capacity. It was a nice tribute to his parents.
Then he saw them. There they were, his friends. Fats and Lilly were smiling at him and nodding. Next to them were Jo, Bert, Jasper and Sandy. Behind them taking up the entire pew were the guys from the Glass Onion. Zander could not believe his eyes. He hadn’t expected any of them to attend his parents’ funeral. None of them knew them at all and yet here they were.
Zander’s throat began to swell and he could feel the tears welling in his eyes. He was going to cry and that was a total surprise. Luckily he had a handkerchief in his suit coat pocket. It was permissible to cry at your parents’ funeral but it wasn’t for them he was crying.
Right at that moment Zander had an epiphany. It wasn’t where you were in life that mattered; it was whom you were with.
*****
It was a nice service. Pastor Ron did a good job of keeping it upbeat and positive the way Zander had suggested. Near the end he asked the people stay in the church for a luncheon following and because it was cold and windy, the family wanted the graveyard service to be family and close friends only.
The trip to the cemetery was surreal for Zander. He rode in the hearse with the driver. There were four cars following with the pallbearers and behind them were some of the relatives. When he got out of the car, he could see his friends were arriving as well. Zander lifted his hand toward them to acknowledge their presence.
After the graveside service, Zander walked over to them and asked if they would come to the house after the luncheon. He had such a hangdog look that none of them could even think about declining. He needed his friends and that was quite incisive. Lilly hugged him so tightly Zander thought he might tear up again. Then just as quickly she let go and went back to the car in tears. She was an exceptional woman.
As others were getting back into their cars, Zander noticed Fats was hanging back.
“Thanks for coming, Fats. You can’t begin to know how important this is to me,” Zander said and gave him a hug.
Hugging a guy made Fats uncomfortable.
“Whoa there, dude. Save this stuff for Lilly.”
Zander let go. “Sara Jane?”
Fats dropped his eyes.
“Gone,” was all he said.
The only surprise for Zander was that he was not surprised in the least.
Epilogue
“Wat baten een kaars en bril als de uil niet ziet en wil”
What’s the use of candle and glasses if the owl doesn’t want to see?
---Dutch Proverb
Hospers, Iowa—Tuesday November 5, 1985
Zander woke up before 7:00 and went out in the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. His parents had never owned a coffee maker so he found the old percolator and guessed at how much coffee to put into the basket.
He stood looking out the window in the kitchen waiting for the coffee to perk. It had been a mind-boggling past few days. He was exhausted mentally. There was just too much to think about.
Jo and Bert had connected with Jasper and Sandy and decided to take up their offer to stay over night in Omaha after the funeral. They left together along with all the boys from the bar.
Zander talked Lilly and Fats into staying overnight. He needed to have someone around. The house would have been unbearably lonely with just him rattling around in it.
He poured himself a cup of coffee and went into the living room and sat in the same chair and looked at the old grandfather clock once more. He thought about his parents and his father’s decision to end their lives. Mortality was a frightening thing. One minute someone is alive and vital and the next minute they are gone.
Zander was thirty-five. In thirty-five more years he would be seventy. He wondered if he would still be thinking about all the things he could have done while watching his life passing by.
He could hear some noise coming from the kitchen and then in walked Fats with a cup of coffee.
“Sorry did I wake you?” Zander wondered.
“No. I wanted to get up early and get going. It’s a twelve hour trip back to Frisco you know.”
Zander knew very well.
“I couldn’t talk you into staying for a while could I?”
“I would if I could. You know that. But Jo needs me at the bar. I’ll be doing double shifts until you decide what you’re going to do.”
“You tell her to go ahead and hire someone. I don’t think I’m going to be able to wrap everything up anytime soon.”
“You need help. Have you asked Lilly to stay and help?”
“Do you think she’d stay?”
“She’s just waiting for you to ask,” Fats paused and then went on,” You know you don’t always need a plan for every waking minute. Sometimes you just need to let go and see what happens.”
Zander figured he was probably right. At least he was feeling that a little more lately.
Fats had slept in his parents’ bedroom which Zander thought was weird. Fats didn’t have any qualms about it. So Zander asked Lilly to stay with him in his old childhood bedroom. She was happy to do so. They held each other but neither thought about sex. Somehow it seemed wrong after just burying his parents.
It was just past 7:00 and the sun was peeking into the east windows. It looked to be a beautiful November day. It was even better when Lilly walked into the room. The sun was highlighting her hair. It was mussed and needed combing but Zander thought he had never seen anyone quite as lovely. She wore gym trunks and a long t-shirt Zander had given to her because she had forgotten her nightgown. She was comfortable in her skin and came over to Zander and sat on his lap.
“Would you boys like me to make you some breakfast? There’s enough food here to feed the whole town.”
“That would be the highlight of my day,” Fats said.
“Thank you so much for staying last night, Lilly. I want to ask you something and I want you to be perfectly honest with me.”
“What’s that?” Lilly sounded alarmed.
“Would you consider staying on with me here? At least for a while?”
A big smile crept across Lilly’s face.
“For as long as you would like. It’s not like I have any place else I
have to be.”
“We’ll tell everyone that you’re my fiancé. It’s a small town and the tongues will be wagging otherwise.”
“I like that idea.” Lilly blushed and went into the kitchen.
Zander liked hearing the sound of a woman rustling around getting food ready for a meal. It made him feel like maybe his world was finally taking on some meaning. Fats grinned at Zander.
“What?” Zander asked.
“It’s about time,” was all Fats said.
Zander knew exactly what he meant however. It was time for him to stop pursuing the dream of a stupid fifteen year old. It was a dream that never could have been consummated; a dream filled with youthful infatuation idealized by raging hormones. It was time to grow up.
Pots and lids, lids and pots; it was all so overwhelming for Zander.
Sara Jane De Graff was dead and gone. Jayne Grafton was a puzzle, an enigma really. He didn’t have much hope for her. Jasper had been right all along.
“When the tit’s that big, it’s almost impossible to get weaned.”
About the Author
Jeff Zwagerman is a former educator who taught Speech, Theatre, and English. He was a high school principal and Superintendent of schools with a B.S. in Theatre and Speech, M.A. in Educational Administration, and ED.S. in Education. He now lives on Lake Okoboji in Iowa where he writes, boats, and fishes off his dock.
He is in the process of writing the second in the Zander series called “A Full Bubble Off Plumb”, a preview of which follows.
If you want just a bit more of Zander and the gang….turn the page!!
1
“The secret of change is to focus all your energy,
not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
---Socrates
Sander Van Zee had gone home to bury his parents. That had been almost a year ago. No one ever called him Sander. His nickname was Zander. He had always been Zander and he was fine with it.
Lilly had followed him back to attend the funeral hoping to herself that Zander would ask her to stay. He did of course and she had stayed with him for six months. Zander could see that she was getting restless, however. If he wanted to keep her, he had to let her go.
So Zander made arrangements for Lilly to live in his rented cabin outside of Frisco, Colorado. He wondered if she would still be there when he returned.
*****
Settling an estate was always a painfully slow process especially when real property was involved. His father’s appliance and TV business had taken a big hit during the farm crisis in the 80’s. Zander never wanted any part of the business and it was lucky for him that his father’s hired man wanted it. So Zander struck a deal with him His name was Juan Alverez. He had come to Hospers to work in the packing plant but wanted more for his family. He had been born in Texas to Mexican immigrants. His wife was a pretty little thing. Her high cheekbones suggested more of a Spanish influence and their two little boys were cuter then any little boys should be
Zander liked them right away. They were good people, “salt of the earth” his father would have said. Zander would do his best to make sure they found success in the little white bread town before he left and he would be leaving just as soon as he could. It would be no easy task but if Juan could make a few sales and fix broken appliances, people would eventually tolerate him. Acceptance was another issue.
Zander didn’t really need much money from the sale of the business. His parents had left him a rich man. The actual building was appraised at twenty-five thousand. There was another ten thousand in stock and parts. His father had no outstanding debts and no creditors had been overlooked. That’s where the good news ended.
His father very seldom said no to anyone. He charged to almost everyone and there were a number of slow paying accounts receivable. Some dated back a number of years.
Zander had gone through most of the bills and written off those he knew would never pay. He came up with the idea of letting Juan reduce the thirty-five thousand cost of the business by collecting remaining debts. He calculated that there was almost eighteen thousand left on the books. Most of it would be easily collected but some would not.
Zander would have liked to have just given Juan the keys and walked away but the banker said it wouldn’t be a good idea. Something about a personal investment making any business work.
It was a worry-some issue for Zander. Rural Midwest was dying. Farms were getting bigger and bigger. Families were having fewer kids. Parents had done a great job of selling college to their children and after graduation; they migrated to larger cities where there was employment. They would never return. It was a vicious cycle and it wouldn’t change. The time of the baby boom was over.
Zander discussed with Juan about how he had to become a regional dealer and it would take a great deal of advertising. Prices had to be fair and he should try to be just a few dollars over the big box stores with the guarantee of service after the sale.
It was a pretty good business plan but it still worried Zander. He hoped it would be enough for Juan and his family to see success.
As busy as Zander had been getting the estate and business settled, he was becoming bored. The days went by fast but the evenings dragged on. There wasn’t much to do in his old hometown. He thought a lot about Lilly and Fats and wondered how they were doing. He didn’t want to keep calling them because it seemed rather desperate somehow.
Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the thoughts of Sara Jane and that alone pissed him off. She had jilted him twice and he had written her off as the worst investment he had ever made. It gave him considerable angst when she randomly popped into his head. So now his evenings consisted of trying to keep from thinking about her.
It was a tough job and Zander didn’t know if he was up to the task. It didn’t help matters when he would see her younger sister around town. She was a nice person and was always friendly to Zander. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea but he just didn’t want to see or talk to her. So he decided to spend his evenings planning his getaway and it proved to be a good way to get his mind off those things he no longer wanted to think about.
Lilly and Fats had been good at phoning him. Fats would call him before he went to work at the Branchwater. Zander supposed Fats was his best friend. He was always saying things to try to make Zander feel better. Mostly they were so far out there that they just made Zander laugh. Lilly called him once a week in the evening at his parents’ home. Zander was going to disconnect the phone but kept it just so he could hear Lilly’s voice. She had a way of settling him down and they would talk for an hour or two. That was a little strange because Zander hated talking on the phone.
Lilly had hung out her shingle as a financial consultant and investment counselor. Bert had made a small office for her in his building and she would pay next to nothing for the rent until her business took off. It was starting to look good for her and she was excited talking about it to Zander. It helped that she kept the books for a few small businesses and offered a tax service. Her first customers were Jo and Bert and they told everyone they knew about Lilly’s where-with-all.
Zander had called Jo and thanked her for helping her out.
“Nonsense,” was all Jo would say on the subject.
“Just keep Fats away from her,” Zander said but was just a little serious.
“No worries for you. That girl is head over heals for you. When are you coming back?” Jo asked.
“I‘m not sure. There are a few loose ends that I have to tie up. But believe me it just can’t be too soon. I never wanted to come back here.”
“Some things just can’t be helped. That’s just life. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back here just as soon as you can,” Jo replied.
Conversations with Jo always made Zander feel better. So he decided to quit moping around and find something to occupy his time until he could leave.
Zander was a detail person. It was important for him to see things thr
ough until the end and be a part of his affairs even when he wasn’t really needed. He was a micro manager. He knew it was a flaw in his personality but he just couldn’t help himself. The irony of his situation was that while he wanted to leave Hospers as soon as possible, he could have merely walked away and let events take their course. The estate would settle with or without him being there and the banker would have been happy to take care of his affairs. The characters traits that made Zander self-confident and strong-willed also brought him anxiety.
Those details would haunt him when he looked back on the events that happened because of his inability to walk away. It was almost impossible for Zander to believe that just one small decision could alter so many lives, especially his own.
A FULL BUBBBLE OFF PLUMB, the second Zander
adventure novel, will be released later this year.
Watch our website for newss: www.OakTreeBooks.com
Always a Kicker Page 26
