Fallen Stones

by Thomas M. Malafarina

  Across the table, Jason was likewise struggling with how best to present his news to Stephanie. What he had to tell her was for the most part bad news and yet this particular dark cloud seemed to have something of a silver lining. That was assuming they were both willing to uproot their family and relocate fifty miles north. The change of jobs would mean a promotion for Jason and more money, but that also meant more responsibility. It would provide Jason with the job security he no longer had in his present position. In fact, his current position essentially no longer existed. He knew it might be a challenge for his newly blended family but Jason could see no way around the fact that eventually they were going to have to relocate. He was the breadwinner, the sole source of income. Jason had to work in order to provide for his family and for the time being with the economy in such turmoil the only game in town was actually taking place in an entirely different town; the small Schuylkill County town of Ashton.

  Both Stephanie and Jason sat in silence picking absently at their dinner, moving the food about as if interested although neither of them was really very hungry. As the mealtime wound down, the two older kids, Jeremy and Cindy wiped their faces with their napkins and got up from the table with a quick “Bye Mom, Bye Dad” before racing off to the living room to either watch TV or play video games. Seventeen-month-old Sammy was caught up in the excitement and began banging on the tray of his highchair chanting, “Down, down, down.” He always wanted to do whatever his older siblings were doing.

  Stephanie wiped the baby's face and hands clean, and then lifted little Sammy down. No sooner had his feet touched the kitchen floor then like two tiny rapid-firing pistons they carried him scurrying into the living room in search of his brother and sister. After a few seconds, the parents both heard the two older children complaining loudly, "No Sammy... Don't touch that.... no, no, no... Mom... Dad!"

  This was followed promptly by a halfhearted admonishment from Jason shouting from the kitchen "Be nice and play with your little brother." The delivery sounded less like a scolding and more like an automatic reaction given with little thought or sincerity. A statement he and thousands of other parents before him likely said more often than they wanted to. He looked over at Stephanie and smiled lovingly, but she seemed to be preoccupied with other thoughts.

  Stephanie and Jason loved all of their children and tried to never show any favoritism between them, but there was something so very special about little Sammy. They often referred to him as the glue, which helped to hold all of them together. Jeremy and Cindy were unrelated stepsiblings, yet they both were related to Sammy through one parent. Likewise, Jason was not related to Cindy and Stephanie was not related to Jeremy, yet little Sammy was a blood relative to every single member of the family. He was their common bond, the strongest link in the chain that bound them all together. Jason and Stephanie often referred to their family as a Yours, Mine and Ours type of family, making reference to the old 2005 movie which was actually a remake of a 1968 classic.

  When things sounded like they were under control in the living room, Stephanie returned to the kitchen table and put her hands on the back of the chair with a sigh, seeming to allow all of the concerns of the day to flow out with that single stress-relieving breath. It was then she noticed for the first time, Jason was not quite himself. She had been so busy worrying about her own concerns; she hadn't noticed the cloud of worry, which seemed to envelop Jason like a dark shroud.

  "Jason, honey", Stephanie asked, "Baby. What's the matter? I can see something's wrong."

  Jason looked up and as he eyes met Stephanie's he felt the all-familiar pangs of love he experienced every time their eyes met. She was the one true love of his life. He realized it the day they met and sometimes just thinking about just how precious she was to him was overwhelming. This only made the news he was about to deliver all the more difficult.

  "Well..." Jason hesitated taking a deep breath, "I have some unpleasant news.” Stephanie visibly tensed, as her fingers felt as though they would dig into the back of the chair, which now seemed to support her and prepare her for the bad news she was sure would follow. “My boss, you know Walt, called me into his office and gave me some unfortunate news. It's not good news and it's something we cannot repeat to anyone. Stephanie nodded her head silently. You remember that project I've been talking about for months; that new machine tool?"

  "Oh no!" Stephanie said with audible concern, "Don't tell me they didn't agree to give you the money. Not after all the work you put into it!"

  Jason shook his head and explained, "No, that's not quite it. The project had too good of a payback for them not to approve it.”

  “Well...then what happened? What is the problem?”

  Jason replied, “They didn't approve it for our facility."

  "I...I don't understand," Stephanie said. Then she asked, "How can it be approved yet not approved for your plant?"

  "The project itself was definitely accepted," Jason corrected, “but corporate does not want the machine to be located in our plant... they want to send it to the Ashton facility, up north in Schuylkill County."

  "What?" Stephanie complained, "You know more about that project than anyone up there. How can they do that?"

  "Unfortunately, they can and will do whatever they choose, Steph. They're paying the bills and paying my salary." Jason said, "The Ashton factory is a non-union facility with a great track record for quality, productivity and management-shop employee relations, while our place has a strong and radical union with a history of a confrontation with management. And our production numbers are in the toilet too. Remember three years ago when the union went on strike for several weeks?”

  “Yes. How could I forget? You had to go out with your other office coworkers and run the machines in the shop. That was a bad one and the company almost closed the plant over that strike." Stephanie said, "But I thought they both came to an agreement and everything worked out."

  Jason explained, "Well, not quite. You see, the company agreed to many of the union's demands just because they felt shutting down the plant in the middle of a strike was bad public relations, plus they needed to keep producing product. However, the boys at corporate have a very long memory and while the union was bragging to the media about how they brought the company to its knees, the suits must have been planning a way to eventually get what they wanted. They always get what they want in the end. And here is the really bad part of the story. Not only are they putting the new machine in Ashton, but they're also moving our entire machining operation up to that facility. All that will remain in Lancaster is some assembly, sales, purchasing and product design."

  "But you're a manufacturing engineer," she said, suddenly realizing the implication of what Jason had just said then she asked. "What will happen to you? Are they going to let you go, you know, are they going to fire you?" She pulled out the chair and carefully walked around it, deciding to sit down for the news, which she was certain, would follow.

  Jason took another deep breath and said, "Well, that's up to me, or I should say up to us." Stephanie said nothing, just stared at Jason with some confusion. “Bottom line is, I can either take the layoff and go try to find another job somewhere else…” He hesitated for a moment and then with as much enthusiasm as he could muster said, “… or I can take a promotion and be the manager of manufacturing engineering at the Ashton Plant.”

  “What?” Stephanie asked again, her face beaming with surprise and pleasure.

  “Yep,” Jason said with a bit of obvious pride. “More money…more responsibility…a definite promotion.”

  Suddenly, Stephanie began to shake and for a moment Jason was afraid she was going to cry, until he realized she was actually chuckling, laughing. To say the least, this was not the reaction he had expected. He could have understood anger, frustration, sadness and worry but laughter was not at all what he would have anticipated.

  “Steph, are you OK?” he asked perplexed. Then, being an engineer and a man, he unsurpri
singly tried to smooth things over somewhat by offering a more palatable solution. It was his nature to find solutions to problems. He quickly suggested “I mean...there are many ways we can approach this...I could commute back and forth for a while...and then in a year or so if the job works out we could find a place to live either up in Schuylkill County or even somewhere in northern Berks County… I mean…if that is what you…I mean we…want to do...and if it didn't work out, I could continue to commute until I find another job closer to home. Don't worry, Steph; there are a lot of solutions to this, I promise you.”

  Stephanie leaned back in her chair not looking at Jason but staring at the floor while shaking her head in amazement. She said, “Well, honey, it looks like you’re not the only one with a surprise today.”

  Jason suddenly got an extremely concerned look and asked “What? You’re not…not pregnant again are you?" He slapped his hand against his forehead in surprise. Jason had recalled from when Stephanie was pregnant with little Sammy her emotions seemed to be a bit topsy-turvy and her mood swings were many. He feared Stephanie's strange out of place laughter might be attributed to a pregnancy.

  The question caused Stephanie to burst into fresh fits of deep belly laughter. When she calmed somewhat she said, “No, silly, I’m not pregnant. Here look at this.” She handed him the manila envelope with its ornate gold-leaf return address. She had been laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes. She dabbed them with the sleeve of her shirt.

  “What’s this?” Jason asked as he read the return address. “H. Mason Armstrong? A lawyer? I hope we aren't being sued. I don’t get it.”

  “You will... Just read it,” Stephanie said still chuckling.

  “Why are you laughing?” he asked. "This wasn't exactly the greatest news I just dumped on you."

  She replied, “I'm not really sure why I am laughing. I think I'm either just amazed by the strange turn of events today or perhaps I am simply relieved. This has been a really bizarre day. Please, just read the letter, honey. You know how I always say things happen for a reason, even things that seem to be bad at first? Read the letter and you'll understand.”

  Jason gave her a quizzical look and then read the letter first by quickly skimming, which was his habit, then after looking up wide-eyed at his wife; he read it again using his finger to follow across the critical lines, just to make sure he had read it correctly.

  “Inheritance?” he asked, “How much?” It was the first thought he had and he had blurted out the words without even thinking. Then he realized how crass it was to ask such a question and said, “I mean, I know it was probably in bad taste to ask something like that, but I assume you didn’t even know this guy, this Emerson Washburn, right?”

  She said, “No I never heard of him. I had no idea he even existed. Apparently he was my father’s estranged brother, and I assume he was single with no kids. He must have thought I was his only living relative. So it looks like he must have either known about me or learned about me somehow and for some reason chose to leave his estate, whatever that might be to me.”

  "Speaking of which, what about your brother Chuck? I wonder why he wasn’t named in the will," Jason asked.

  Stephanie thought for a moment and then said, "That's a very good question. Maybe Washburn didn't know about him or for some reason chose to exclude him. I would have thought it was possible that Chuck might have gotten a similar letter, if this one didn't specify that I was the sole heir to his estate. Maybe we will find out more a little later on during the whole settlement process."

  "This is so weird" Jason added, "I mean the whole strange series of coincidences. First, I all but get canned from my job... and the only spot available for me is with the division in Ashton. Then you get this inheritance letter from some unknown relative, also from Ashton...and you are left an estate with property in the area of Ashton... I mean this is so unbelievable it seems like the type of setup you would find in a movie or maybe a novel."

  Stephanie replied, "I have to agree. There are so many strange coincidences all coming together at one time; it almost feels like someone else is controlling our destiny; like we have no say in the matter."

  Jason said, “Luckily, I don't believe in such things, even though I was the one to point it out. I suppose it is just a weird set of coincidences that happen sometimes, and now it is happening to us...hopefully with very positive results. Do you realize, depending upon how much money is involved, this could change everything?”

  “Yes.” She replied, “And maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm laughing. I've spent all afternoon thinking about the letter, the inheritance and what to tell you. And I realize you’ve been struggling with how to tell me your news as well. So depending upon how this turns out, all of our worries might have been for nothing and our troubles may be over." She laughed again, but then suddenly her face took on a more serious expression.

  "I hope you realize it might not be worth much, maybe not much at all." She cautioned, "I mean who knows what land or property is worth up north. I suspect a lot less than here. But if by some miracle it is a lot of money... Oh my, just imagine... then we will have the freedom to do whatever we want. You could simply take the layoff and try to find another company locally to work for, or take some time off to relax. I know manufacturing type jobs are few and far between nowadays but this inheritance might be enough to carry us for a while. Or you could even start that private consulting firm you have been dreaming about. Who knows?”

  “No matter how insensitive this might sound, I have to wonder how much is actually involved in the estate.” Jason said. “I mean is it land, is it property, money jewelry, cash, whatever?”

  “I don’t know.” Stephanie confessed, “I only received the letter late today and the whole idea hasn’t really sunken in yet.”

  "Have you spoken with the lawyer or were you waiting to tell me first?" he asked.

  "No, I haven't called him yet," Stephanie replied. "I didn't want to call him until after we spoke."

  Jason said, “Well then, we have to give this Armstrong guy a call and see what’s what. You know, this could be really big.”

  “I was going to try to call tomorrow, but then I was thinking tomorrow's Saturday and he may not be in the office until Monday,” Stephanie explained.

  “Monday?” Jason exclaimed, “There’s no way we can wait until Monday! I mean this is like when we play the lottery and fantasize about how we would spend the money if we won. This is too important to wait until Monday. We have to try him first thing tomorrow. Maybe we could leave him a voicemail at the very least. If he checks his messages he might get back to us sooner. Hey. What about email?” Jason again skimmed the document looking for an email address and with a disappointed look said, “Crap! No email, but I just got another idea. What time is it?”

  Stephanie looked at the wall clock behind Jason and replied, “It’s about 5:45.”

  “You don’t suppose he might be working late tonight do you? I know it’s Friday night, but he could be still in the office,” Jason suggested. “I mean its Ashton for Pete's sake. Nothing happens there on a Friday night other than almost everyone is going to bed early, hanging out at the fire company social hall or working late. Being a lawyer, I would go with working late. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try and see if he is in, would it?”

  Looking surprised and at the same time exhilarated, Stephanie said “You mean call him… tonight… right now?”

  “No time like the present.” Jason suggested, “We might as well find out where we stand before we spend the whole weekend imagining what we might do with a would-be fortune only to discover it might be nothing more than a few dollars.”

  “Yes, I suppose you're right,” Stephanie agreed. “It wouldn’t hurt to give him a call and at least introduce ourselves and see what we have to do next.”

  Jason handed the letter with the lawyer’s phone number to Stephanie who already had her cell phone in hand. She quickly dialed the number and told Jason e
xcitedly, “It’s ringing.”

  After only two rings, the phone was picked up, and Stephanie was stunned to hear a man’s deep baritone voice say, “Good evening, Mrs. Wright, this is H. Mason Armstrong. I’ve been expecting your call.”

  Chapter 5

  “Jaaaaaaaakkkk.” Jack heard the mysterious voice calling once again. He wanted to run, to escape to somewhere safe, but his feet felt as though they were frozen in place as they often did in horrible nightmares. But this was no nightmare; as least not one of the sleeping variety as he was very much awake. He instinctively knew if he were to try to take a step, it would feel as if he were walking in a bog of mud several feet deep. This too was another sensation he recalled from some of the worst bad dreams he had experienced. This preternatural feeling enshrouding him was very much like that of a surrealistic nightmare. He started to turn as if in slow motion, feeling like he was trying to do so in an atmosphere thick with gelatinous fluid. Both of his feet seemed to plod heavily, as he suspected they would, but eventually he managed to turn completely around and faced the inside of the bedroom once more.

  He was uncertain if he actually wanted to discover who had been calling his name in that strange ghostly, whispering voice, but he was unable to resist looking. He could not imagine what type of force other than perhaps his own subconscious and irrational fear, which might have had the capability of causing his feet to feel and behave as if they had turned to lead weights. On the surface, he didn't think he had fallen into a state of paralyzing fear over what he might discover, but it was possible he was mistaken. Maybe on the surface he believed he was not afraid, but perhaps at some subconscious level, he might actually be terrified; he just didn't know. Regardless, his curiosity was still very strong although it had taken on a more cautious, ominous edge as if he was straddling the line between circumspection and impending terror.