by Kathi Barton
“Are you finished?” He looked at Christa, Josiah’s wife, and asked her what she had to say. “We will be getting out of here because we’re going to have a long conversation with your brothers, and they’re going to spend whatever it will cost for us to get out of here. We rule the roost, Clayton, and the sooner you remember that, the longer you might be around to watch us keep the Wilkersons as pure as they were when your dad was still around, God rest his soul.”
“Mars and his wife are going to have a baby soon. Now that North is married, I’m sure that soon enough, he’ll be having children too. And you want to know what, Christa? I could care less if they were half Wilkerson and half moonstone.” He felt his face heat up when he realized what he’d said, but continued. “I have moved out of the big house. Right now, it’s being totally revamped and updated. All the furniture in the home has been sold off and replaced with things that are comfortable and easy to take a nap in. You know who’s going to be living in it? Mars and his wife. They’re having the entire house stripped out and starting over. It was a mess in there. I cannot believe that in all the years, no one mentioned how dirty and black it was. Well, it’ll be filled with laughter. Have bright rooms with children laughing and having fun in the yard. Christmases that don’t make you feel as if you’re in a cave without lights are fun.”
When Penelope started to speak, Amy told her to shut up, calling her Penny, a name that he knew she detested. As soon as her mouth closed, Tina snickered. He watched in astonished horror as the two women started snarling at each other like a pack of wolves. Clayton looked at Amy.
“That’s what they are, you know. Animals.” He nodded, watching the guards separate them as they began name-calling, spitting on each other. Clayton took a step back when he realized this wasn’t the first time he’d seen them like this.
“They’ve been animals their entire life. My wife, she was one of them too.” Amy asked him if he’d been hurt by any of them. He looked at her. “Yes. Not just physically, but many times verbally. I’ve only just realized they have never been right in the head. My coming here today with you? It’s useless, isn’t it?”
“I would say so.”
He continued to watch as the guards finally pulled out their Tasers to use on the four of them. It only seemed to serve to make them angrier, to piss them off to the point where they were now as one against the guards.
Amy went on. “The only way to take care of a wild animal is to put it down. I think—and since I’m only an in-law, you can take this or leave it—but I don’t think there is a thing you could say to any of them that they want to hear. And so long as they don’t want to hear it, they’ll never come to terms with anything you say to them.”
“They were always like this. Even my father, he would just go along with them rather than to get them to this point. So that their madness, their lack of restraint, came through. Christ, how did this get by all of us for so long? I know the answer to that, I guess. We all found it easier to do what they said rather than to be confronted by this. Oh, Amy, I can’t imagine my son going through this now. How on earth did I let him be hurt like this?” Amy asked him if he was ready to go. “I am. I won’t be back. I want to do just what you did with your mother and sister. Cut them out of my life and be done with them all. I’ve no reason whatsoever to ever return here.”
“I’d not go to the trial unless you’re there to testify. I know you will at some point, but I’d only show up then. Or work out something with your attorney so that you can do it from a remote place. It’s not worth you getting stressed out about them any longer.”
Clayton raised his face to the sunshine when they were out of the prison. He wondered how even the people working there could stand the way it was so closed up.
“You’re a good man, Clayton. I wanted to tell you that. Also, you should be aware that North loves you. Loves spending time with you and having you around now. You were very lucky in that your sister made them into the men you can be proud of.”
“I am a lucky man. I know that more than ever now.” He turned and looked at her. “I have a feeling you were to come with me to take over if I failed, weren’t you?” Amy laughed, telling him he was wrong. “Then, why are you here today? I’m sure you could have been doing a million and one things rather than being here with me trying to make four crazy women listen to me.”
“No. I wanted to spend time with you today. I didn’t care to come here; I’ll be honest with you. But just hanging out with you, getting to know the real man you are, was all I had plans for. I never thought you’d fuck up too much.” They both laughed. “As I said to North before we left, you would have made Holly very proud of you. She would have been extremely proud of all her brothers.”
As they were driving back to town, he thought of what she’d said to him and what was said last night. Would she have been proud of him? Clayton decided he wanted that. More than anything. But something else came to his mind as he drove.
“My sister wouldn’t want us to keep bringing up what we lost with her being gone.” Amy said she didn’t know Holly, but thought he might be right. “Yes. I do believe I am. She’s gone, and while we won’t ever forget her, we don’t have to compare our lives to what it might have been had she been here. I think I’m going to work on not dwelling on the past and what we lost, but the future and what might come. Like grandchildren.”
Amy laughed. “Yes, well, I don’t know what our plans are for children, to be honest. Right now, we’re working hard at just getting to know each other. Getting our lives back on track. I think North is loving taking cases that he wants to take. And being able to work with you and his uncles. I’m unable to take pictures right now, but it’s been a lot of fun working with Abby in the studio that she and I are going to have together.”
“What about your mom and sister?” She shrugged, and he told her he was sorry for bringing them up. “Don’t be. They’re a part of what we’re getting on track with as well. I want to tell you they don’t matter to me anymore, but that wouldn’t be the truth. I’d love to tell you I’ve washed my hands of them both, but that would also be a lie. I’m their sister and daughter, no matter how much I’d like to think on the contrary.”
“North told me you’ve changed your phone number and fired the staff you hired from amongst the staff at one of the houses.” She told him how the butler was giving the women information about them when he visited them. “I guess that happened a great deal too. I’m going to do that as well. I might even tell my brothers to do the same. But I think we all need to learn a new way of living. To stop looking to the past for answers when we need to be making our future into what we can. I’m sick of being sad all the time for things I feel I lost. I’m going to start living like a man again. Hell, I might even find someone to date.”
“You might want to think about getting laid too. I bet it’s been a lot longer than you remember.” He didn’t ask, but he was sure no one currently working for them would side with the women. Also, he thought he was going to take her advice on getting laid. It had been way too long. “Also, I know you like living in the condo and are enjoying just being by yourself at times. There will always be room for you should you want to come and stay with us. As I said, I don’t know about grandchildren right now, but I do expect you to be in their lives as much as you want.”
“I want to be as much a part of their lives as I can. Yours and North’s as well.” She said she’d like that too. “Good. Amy, I would like to ask you a favor. I want you to...not hit me too terribly hard, but when you see me getting all emotional, just shake me up a little. Get me moving in the right direction.”
“I promise I won’t hurt you too much, but you’re right, Clayton, it is time for all of you to move. Even North and the others. Whichever way you want, but you really do need to start moving.” She laughed, and he asked her what she thought was so funny. “You should run for mayor. From what I’ve heard
about this one, he’s a jackass. I think there has been some shady business going on that needs to be taken care of. When I saw that elections were coming up, you’re the first person I thought of. You’d do a great job. And knowing the law would be an added advantage over this jerk because you’d follow them instead of bending the shit out of them.”
He thought about it off and on all the way home. Clayton also thought about how he was going to be moving on. Loving his sister was all he’d ever do, but it was time for him to stop thinking about how he’d missed so much and begin to make memories for him and his family while he still had them. Yes, he thought, it was time to get to living again.
Chapter 10
North hung up the phone and sat there for several minutes. Lorinda had died. Charlie had called him first, telling him her mom had requested at some point in her life for no one to do anything heroic to save her.
“Mom told me a few weeks ago, when I was visiting with her, that she was a believer in donating organs. That I was to, if I could, make sure she didn’t lie around rotting her organs when someone else could use them.” Charlie cried then, telling him something he’d not known about the woman. “I’m doing that now. Making sure someone else has a chance at life even if hers was snuffed out too young.”
“I’m so sorry. I really respected her.” She told him that she had him as well. “Thank you for that. I wouldn’t have become an attorney without her there pushing me to be the best. Your mom, she sure could be a mean bitch when she wanted.”
Charlie laughed with him. “She’s the reason I’m not an attorney. I wanted to be one, don’t get me wrong, but she told me there was no middle ground in being one. You either loved it or hated it. I think toward the end, she didn’t care for it much.” North had known that as well. She’d told him many times she wished she’d been a doctor instead. He asked Charlie what she was going to do now. “Go to her home. Get rid of whatever I don’t want and move on. It would have pissed her off to no end if I sat around being depressed about losing her.”
“It would have at that. I can almost hear her now. Telling you to get up off your ass and get to work at cleaning out shit for her.” Charlie laughed, which he supposed he’d wanted her to do. “What will you tell the rest of them? She had a sister, didn’t she?”
“Aunt Rose. I don’t think I’ll tell her at all. Aunt Rose has been in a nursing home for the last few years. She had a stroke and never fully recovered from it.” North told her again he was sorry. “No reason to be, North. Aunt Rose was a hellcat when she was younger. Mom used to say that Rose was getting some much needed rest now. She sure didn’t have much when she was growing up. Aunt Rose is about twelve years older than Mom anyway. I don’t think they were very close.”
After telling her he’d be there for her if she needed it, they hung up. North wondered what would happen to Lorinda’s seat now. It would be very difficult filling her spot as a sitting judge. There was no one like her—fair, but firm and funny, and serious too. She was going to be a hell of an act to follow.
When his phone rang again, he nearly didn’t answer it. But when he saw it was his dad, he picked it up, smiling. He wanted to hear firsthand what happened at the jail today. He’d heard a little from Amy when she got back, but her ankle was bothering her, and she had to lie down for a little bit.
“I’m done talking about them. From now on, son, we’re only going to talk about the here and now. What do you say?” He agreed with him. “Good. Okay, I need your help. That little missus of yours put a bug in my ear today, and I’m going to do it, by golly. I’m going to run for mayor.”
“Really?” Dad laughed and said he was as good as if not better than the idiot they had now. “That’s very true. I heard yesterday that he’s going to be running on the same ticket he did the last time and did nothing about. I think he was going to bring in more businesses. Dad, your family alone has done that without even trying.”
“That’s right.” Dad laughed. “I also want to move in with you and that little girl of yours. She set me straight on things there too. I’ll tell you about them later. I love her, North. I know you do, but so do I. She’s just the ticket I need for being a man again. Would you believe it, she told me to get laid.”
“Not what I want to think about when I’m thinking of you.” Dad laughed, and North couldn’t help but join him. “All right. So you’re running for mayor and getting laid. Is there anything else I should know about?”
“Yes. One thing. I should have said this more often. I love you, North. I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love your own flesh and blood.” North felt his heart tighten in his chest. He couldn’t remember his father ever saying that to him. “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I plan, for the rest of my life, to be with you as much as you’ll allow it. I’m going to be the best damned grandda that has ever been made too. You watch and see.”
“I believe you, Dad. And I love you too.” They both were silent then, working, North was sure, on being manly instead of babbling like a fool. “You move in with us, and it will make me the happiest man in the world. With you and Shelton here, it’ll be the best home any of us have ever lived in.”
“You betcha. I do want to tell you that my new style was as much a hit as I thought it would be. To be honest, I’d forgotten I was wearing them when one of the women pointed out how bad I looked. Could have died a happy man right then and there. I won’t, not for a long time if I can help it.” Dad laughed. “Before I forget, I’m going to change my phone number. I might need your help in doing that. I told the prison I don’t want any more calls from them unless it’s to make funeral arrangements. And even then, I might just tell them to plant her in the back yard. I tell you, son, this living thing is pretty heady stuff, isn’t it?”
“It is. I think you’re doing a good job of it too.” Forgetting for the moment his pain of losing his friend while speaking with his dad, North believed his dad had it right. To forget the past and start living with the now. He thought about seeing Amy large with his child. It was all he could do not to hang up on his dad and go talk to her about having a child of their own. “Dad, it’s maybe too soon, but what do you want to do about the things in the house you took? Mom’s jewelry? There were, I think, some paintings you took too. Amy has looked them over, and I think she said it wouldn’t take long to clean them up. She said they were dusty more than dirty.”
That had been a surprise to him too. That even though his father had lived in the house that Mars was making his own, there were lots of rooms he’d never stepped foot in. Dad and Mars were finding all sorts of things Dad didn’t know about.
“I’m going to sell it all. Unless it’s family stuff, then we’ll keep it. But with her things—and from what I’ve remembered from the inventory from the police, there was a great deal of it—we’ll have ourselves a garage sale and donate what doesn’t sell. Surely there are others out there who could use some of that stuff.” North loved this newer version of his dad. “Also, I’ve got it in my head that when I do move in, I’m going to need myself a car. And a driver’s license. I’ve not driven in longer than I care to remember. I might enjoy that.”
“I love to drive. Taking the car around for special occasions makes it feel like it is special. I can take you to the motor vehicles office soon. Also, if you want to look at cars, that’s good too. I need to get Amy one when she’s able to drive again.” Dad asked when he could start moving things to the house. “Anytime. As you know, there are quite a few bedrooms that are still empty. Shelton, he lives on the second floor. I think he was planning to be there when the children arrive.”
“I like that idea. We can each take an end.” Dad was as excited as he’d ever heard him sound. North decided to take his idea and run with it too. Being down about everything was very wearing. “North, do you think us working together is going to be all right? I have to tell you, it’s been fun
for me. Getting to know the law again. Digging into a case or two. Even my brothers have been having some fun when we get together. It’s been like a family project for us to see what we can use when I have a case.”
“I’m looking forward to it, Dad. And as you said earlier, there is enough space between us that if we have some conflict, we can cool off in our own area.” So far, that hadn’t been an issue. Dad had been working from home for the last couple of days, working up to the talk at the prison. “I’m looking forward to having both you and Shelton living here. Perhaps the two of you can do things together too. He’s a good man.”
“He and I have been comparing notes on life. That’ll have to change too. I’ll have him looking at life like I have. Seeing the future.” Dad laughed. “Son, I love you. I have to get going now. I have things to do. I want some ugly sheets. Ones that have the most god-awful designs on them, so I wake up with a smile. I’m never going to have a white silk sheet on my bed for any kind of money. I want good old fashioned cotton, damn it.”
When his dad hung up, North sat there smiling for a while. His dad was right. There had to be more to life than white silk sheets all the time. Getting up from his desk where he’d only been looking over contracts for the businesses that Amy owned, he decided to go and find his old bike. It had to be around someplace. He thought perhaps it was still in the garage at the big house. North decided to walk there.
