by Kathi Barton
It never occurred to him that walking would have been so enlightening. He talked with people walking along the sidewalk. Made a friend of the dog that sat outside the gas station that also had the oldest looking pop machine he’d ever seen. As he was making his way toward where Mars was working on his business, Wilkerson Pharmaceutical, he found the candy machines Mars was going to have in the place.
“I’m going to make this a fun place to be while you might have to wait a little longer on things. Did I tell you my first shipment of drugs came in with an armed guard? It was more fun signing off on it than I’ve had in a while.” North sat in one of the many booths that were going to be for the ice cream shoppe renting space from Mars to do business. Mars joined him. “Amy was in earlier. She was telling me about a photoshoot she wants to arrange in my back yard. I told her so long as no one knew where she was taking the pictures, then to go for it. I had no idea that some of the plants and flowers back there were rare.”
“She was thinking about asking you to use it for engagement photos. But after speaking to Abby, she decided that it was a terrible idea. They didn’t want someone looking for a way to get into the house. They would, too, I think.” Mars sat down next to him in the booth. “My dad and I just spoke. He’s going to forget the sorrow of the past and start living for the now. As much as I’d like to do that too, I think it’ll be hard on him just a little until this aunt thing is over with. I hope not, but I don’t think he’s going to be able to just ignore it.”
“I do.” North asked him why he thought that. “Like your dad, I don’t care. I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t bring my mom back by hating these women. I don’t like them, that’s a given, but I’m not going to waste any more time of my life wondering when they’re getting out. From what I’ve been told, they’re not.”
“You think you can do that? I hope we all can.” Mars smiled. He told him he had a baby coming. “I know that, dork. What does that have to do with this?”
“Everything. Like I said, wasting my energy worrying about them when I could be spending it with my child is going to stop. I’m going to devote my life to being happy. A good father and a better cousin to you guys than I have always been.” North said that he’d been the best. “Thank you. But I’m going to be better. I’m not trying to be a smart ass here, but I want to be better at everything I do. Also, I’m going to enjoy life to the fullest. Abby and I are looking at traveling. Buying one of those big campers with all the amenities of home and seeing the seven wonders of the country. You know which ones I mean. The largest ball of string, like my mom wanted to go see.”
“That does sound like fun. I can’t remember the last time I had a vacation that didn’t involve working a little on the side. Now with a wife and hopefully a family soon, I can make myself take some time off and do just that.” He asked him about the camper. “Are you really going to get one of those bigger ones?”
“I am. I don’t know crap about camping or even how to set one up, but if I’m going to do it, I’m going to make sure I’m comfortable while I’m learning. Remember when you and I were going to go out west and see the Corn Palace? Then we looked it up. It’s a building with corn all over it. I am going to go see that. Just because I can.”
They were both laughing when Mars was called away for another delivery. North looked out the front of the building to the street beyond. He thought of how much fun it would be to come here on his lunch hour. Mars had already decided he was going to have a lunch menu from eleven to two. Abby was going to do the cooking, as she’d decided quite recently that she’d rather stay home and take her pictures than to travel. Especially with a baby coming.
“Hey there, young man. Are you Mr. Wilkerson? North Wilkerson?” The elderly man sat down across from him and smiled when North told him that was who he was. “My name is James Oliver. I live on the little farm you recently purchased.”
“Yes. I remember now. I’m so sorry, I forgot to go and see you. I’ve only recently gotten married too.” Mr. Oliver told him it was just fine. He’d been a little under the weather. “I’m sorry to hear that. As I said, I’ve been meaning to go over and talk to you. How are you doing with the house there?”
“I’m just fine. Just fine. I have me a little garden there that I’ve— Well, I’m sure you don’t want to hear that.” North told him he did want to hear it. “All right then. I’ve put me in a little garden this year. I have tomatoes that I love. Some green beans too. Did you know you can have just a veggie meal and feel quite satisfied? I do, anyway. But I was coming to talk to you about a couple of things. The banker that was holding my rent, he was never a good one to get in to talk to about stuff. I know I’m a bit behind on my rent, but I’m working on it. Selling a few of the things I can’t eat from the garden is helping me a bit.”
“Mr. Oliver, I’m to understand you’ve lived in that house there for a number of years.” He told him he’d been there twenty-three years. “That’s a good long time to rent from someone. What are you paying for rent there? I’m sure between the two of us, we can work out something that will help you along.”
“I’m paying for my wife’s funeral, you see. The new place they wanted more money a month than I could do. Mr. Farley, he was a good man, nice fella, but this new man, he wants things done up now.” North said he’d forgotten about the sale of the funeral home. “Wish it didn’t happen, but I know things gotta change. Anywho, I’ve been trying to catch up. I want you to know that. But it’s been a little hard on me with no income much to speak of. My retirement money from the school has been cut back a couple of times lately, and it’s been hard to make ends meet anywhere close to the middle.”
Mr. Oliver turned away and wiped at his face. Mars came to sit with him again and handed him a sheet of paper. On it was things that Mr. Oliver had been telling him, also that the bank was still owed three months of back rent. Then it asked if he could help him.
“Mr. Oliver, I’m not going to charge you rent for living in the house. As far as I’m concerned, anyone living in a place for as long as you have should be able to live out the rest of his days without having to wonder whether he should eat or pay the rent. My wife and I, we’d like for you to use the money you were paying us to make things just a little better for yourself.” The older man looked at him with so much hope that North wished he’d gone to see him sooner. “Also, if you’d not mind. I’m going to have a crew go out there and see if we can fix some of the things that might need a little tweaking.”
“There is a nice hole in the roof. But as I said, the banker, he didn’t think fixing it was worth the money.” North decided to find the banker and have a talk with him about people and their needs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to make you give me a place to live. I just wanted to make sure you understood that I’m not a freeloader.”
“Of course, you’re not. I never once thought that.” Mr. Oliver thanked him. “No need for that. The place should have been taken care of long before now. I’m in a position to take care of it, and I will. You’ll have a nicer home even if we have to build you a new one.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. My granddaughter, Rayne, is coming to visit me soon. I think she’ll be going to college from my home for a bit. It would be nice to have the roof fixed before she comes. But the other stuff, it’s not necessary.”
But it was. Not only to North, but it seemed to Mars as well. When Mr. Oliver left them a bit later, Mars asked him if he could help with the home.
“I’m sure you will be helping me, but for now, I want to have someone go out and inspect the house. I have a feeling more than the big hole in the roof is wrong with it.” Mars told him he had someone that could do that for him. “I’m sure you do. You’re a very resourceful man. But I think I just want to have him a home put out there, but make sure it’s going to be feasible. He’s more than paid for it, I think, for renting the place for so many years.”
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sp; Mars agreed. When they had settled how to get him a house put on the property, thanks a great deal to their wives, the two of them decided to take the walk that North had started together. The town, they knew, needed someone to see it through some things. North told Mars that his dad was running for mayor.
“He’d be really good at it, I think.” North agreed with him. “This walk, is it for his benefit for yours? You’re not going to run against your father, are you?”
“Goodness no. But it only started out as just a walk. I haven’t been around town in a while. By the way, your house is looking like it should have a long time ago. Planting those flowering bushes out front did make a difference to how welcoming it is.
He and Mars had been the best of friends growing up. It hadn’t changed that much since they were both adults. The only difference North noticed was that Mars seemed more relaxed like he’d been when they were both younger. He supposed it was just knowing he didn’t have to worry about things. It had helped him and his stress levels too.
“I’m glad you came by today. I’ve been meaning to ask you about a couple of things. And by all means, you can tell me no if you want. But I’d like to continue some of the traditions my mom had. Not necessarily dressing up at Halloween like we used to, but to be at the condo to hand out candy together.” North said he’d like that. “Good. The second thing. I’d very much like to be able to host family holidays together. In the big house. Not like your parents had, stuffy people, paying too much to have the privilege of having a snack in the house. I want it to be family. Also, actual friends. Again, not like it was.”
“Amy and I were talking about that just the other day. She’s never really had a celebration of Christmas and Thanksgiving. I’m assuming those are the family holidays you’re talking about.” Mars said they were. “I think it would be great for all of us. I don’t think I’ve even been to the big house since my mom was killed. I know you’re renovating it, and it’s coming along, but I don’t know the last time I was in it before that.”
“I’m enjoying the plans that are going on. I didn’t think I would at first. But finding things in the house, things that my mom told me about, certainly makes it easier for me to stay there.” He smiled. “I even had myself a slide down the old banister before they replaced it.”
They ended up walking to his home. Mars had money, much more than he thought anyone in the world would have had. And he was using it. There were so many crews working on the house that he thought it should be done before too much longer. North asked Mars about it.
“Yes. By the end of the month. Only two weeks from now. I’m walking around looking at what they’re doing, and I can’t help but think someone is a little overzealous about how much they can get done. But really, all the major things are finishing up. It doesn’t look like a constant construction zone anymore.” They looked at the main hall, a place that had foretold how dark the house was going to be before Mars had it brightened with new wallpaper and a beautiful chandelier. “Most of the stuff we’re using was stored in the big barn out back. This thing here weighs a ton but looks better than those ugly lights that were in there when we started this project. Same for the lighting in the library and the dining room.”
North loved the new and improved house. The entrance hall alone was better than he’d ever seen it. The living room had been a place he’d never been in much. However, now that it was finished up, North could see having holidays in here just as Mars wanted. He asked if he’d run across his bike while rummaging through the barn. Mars laughed.
“I nearly had it bronzed for you. I remember you riding that thing to our house and hiding it in the garage so no one would find you there. But once I started looking at it, North, I realized it was in terrible shape. Rusty, and the tires were all rotted. You’d be better off getting you something newer. That way, I won’t have to worry about you getting something from it while riding around.” They were both laughing as they entered the kitchen. “This is what Abby wanted. It’s all her design.”
The kitchen was a chef’s dream, North thought. While there seemed to be a lot of equipment, there didn’t seem to be a clutter. The counter held a mixer, oversized at that, a tea maker, as well as some things he didn’t have a name for. North asked him when the room would be finished.
“That is debatable.” He laughed. “Abby has been cooking in here since we moved in last week. Every time she does, the workers moan. She finds something else that isn’t what she needs. Last weekend, she decided the refrigerator was much too small. So, that was changed out. This is an ongoing process. The workers are saying done just about the time Abby finds something else to change.”
The two of them left the house in favor of continuing their walk. North especially enjoyed it because he was seeing the town in a different light than he ever had before. He’d always had a fear of his mom finding him doing something in town and knocking him around a bit. North figured since they were out and about, he’d take notes on things his dad could add to his campaign. It was going to be great having him as mayor.
Heading back to his home later that afternoon, North had a long list of things he’d noticed that needed to be taken care of. Mostly it was broken sidewalks in front of shops. But there were things he thought needed immediate attention like the tree that had been lying across the parking lot of the nearby retirement village. Both he and Mars had spoken to some of the people living there.
“The tree fell almost two years ago this month. I swear, it’s like pulling teeth to talk to the mayor about it. All he does is tell us he’s cutting his budget as close as he can. I don’t believe that for a minute.” Mrs. Sawyer huffed at Mars when he asked her if he could send a crew out. “Will they show? The last time I was told that it was six months before someone came out. Even then, they told us they didn’t have the right equipment. I’m an eighty-four-year-old woman, and I can see what sort of equipment it takes. You get me a chainsaw, Mars, and I’ll cut the sucker up all by myself. What is wrong with people these days? I tell you what’s wrong. They’re lazy as my old cat was. Wouldn’t even catch a mouse in favor of lying in the sun. I fixed his ass up, I did. I put him out on the porch and off my sofa, and that surely changed his mind.”
North called his foreman at the house and told him what he needed. In less than five minutes, six men were working on the tree and removing it. Mrs. Sawyer gave them all two dollars for helping an old woman out.
“Now. You want to have that daddy of yours be mayor, you tell him to come and see me. I’ll give him some things that he can use for his campaign.” North told her he’d do that. “You tell that daddy of yours, he’d better be nice to me. I have two kinds of chocolate chip cookies at my place, for those that do and those that don’t. He don’t want to be on the don’t list. Them cookies are older than snot and have some of them chips they use for a laxative. I’ll surely feed them to him if he makes me upset. I don’t like being upset either.”
“No, I can see you’d not like that.” North didn’t look at Mars. The expression on his face was enough to have him hurting to laugh. “I’ll send him around. You put him straight. If he doesn’t, then you tell me and I’ll take care of him.”
“Do you really think she feeds people she doesn’t like laxatives?” North told Mars he didn’t want to find out. “Yeah, me either. You tell your dad for me not to take anything from her until he’s doing right by her. Even then, I think I’d hold off. She is a pistol.”
Amy was up and around by the time he walked in the door. North held her while she told him of the day she’d had today, as well as the things she’d been working on. Apparently, she was supposed to take a trip to Upper Sandusky, Ohio, to take pictures of the newest member of the animal kingdom, a large nest of breeding American bald eagles. North decided it might be kind of fun to go with her.
Chapter 11
The house was just as neat as she remembered it from her childhood.
Charlie sat on the couch that still had stickers on it from when her mom bought it seven years ago. Laughing slightly, she wondered if she could take it back. She wouldn’t, of course, but it was funny. Mom not only hadn’t gotten around to removing the sales tags, but the pillows to it were sitting in the corner wrapped in plastic.
Cleaning out her mother’s condo wasn’t hard. She wasn’t anyone that saved much. Rarely did she hang pictures or paintings on the wall. Even her kitchen was sparse—one plate, two forks, and a spoon. For as little time as Mom had spent here, that was all she needed. When Charlie came to see her, they usually opted for eating out. Or having pizza. Mom loved pizza.
Taking her laptop to the living room, Charlie went over all the things her mom had set up for her in the event she were to die. While she knew her mom had made all the arrangements for her funeral and burial, it was just too soon for her to be taking care that Mom’s wishes were carried out. Looking around while waiting on her file to open up, she spotted the book North had told her about.
“It’s a photo album. I don’t want it, mind you, but you should go through it. Your mom would cut out things she found in the paper or take pictures of things at work. She would catalog them, then research them later. It was a habit she just couldn’t break herself of.” Charlie asked North what sort of stuff she found at work. “I know there is a picture of myself in it. When I’d been particularly beaten by one of the servants that worked for my mom. It was an injustice, she told me. For a woman to do this to a grown man. She would take pictures of things left out of their containers that would piss her off. Also, memos made their way into the book that she didn’t plan on following. Just things she found annoying or even wrong. It was sort of her own way, I think, of being a rebel. Which we both know she was a trendsetter on some things.”
Her mom had been too. She didn’t adhere to any rules she didn’t understand. Like, why did one have to have breakfast type foods at the first part of the day? Or high heels with a pair of shorts? Charlie loved her mom to pieces and hoped she’d known it. Charlie also hoped she had the same sort of spirit her mom had had.
