Page 14 of Locke

“It says Emily. I didn’t know that there had been a daughter somewhere down the line?” Alex unearthed a book that had been handmade. “Look, Locke. It’s a baby book. She was born in 1925 and died in the same year. Oh look, someone put a lock of her hair in here too.”

“I don’t think that would have been Martha’s child. She was born in the early nineteen hundreds. That year, if I remember correctly. They would have been about the same age.” Alex flipped through the book while he looked at the amount of dust and cobwebs that were everywhere.

“They were twins. Martha had a twin sister that died three days after she was born.” He sat down with Alex in the oversized rocking chair. “It says here that she had died in her sleep one night, and it wasn’t until morning that they found her. It has here who Martha’s parents’ names were, too. I wonder if Martha knew she had a twin?”

“I would say not. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that someone locked up this room when Emily died and didn’t mention it again. That could be why Martha and the rest of her family never wandered up there. They’d been told something or said something that kept the room locked up after all this time.” He asked her what she wanted to do about the rooms. “We can have the toys fixed. Some of them are as old as this room is. There isn’t a bathroom in this part of the house either. We can easily fix that as well. Do you like having a nursery next to our bedroom?”

He didn’t mention that it was a room that had seen death but waited for Alex to think about it. When she smiled at him, he knew they were going to be having some renovations done to this part of the house. And he didn’t mind one bit. Locke asked what she wanted done with the toys.

“Display them after we get them in working order. Bring them out on special occasions. I know that we’ve never talked about this before, but do you want to have children?” He told her that he really would, but only with her. “Thank you for that. I was just sitting here thinking about if William had known that his mother was one of twins? But she’d not tell him that. He’d hurt her with the knowledge of her being the wrong one to live or something like that.”

“He hurt her enough over the years. I think you’re right.” They looked at all the things in the room. There were books that he decided were worth some money. A first edition Beatrix Potter book, his favorite as a child after learning how to read. There were other things, too, some of which he didn’t have a name for.

Once they entered the bedroom again, he was happy that Alex decided that the room would hold too much sadness and asked if they could change the two rooms into something other than a bedroom and nursery. He told her that he thought that was a wonderful idea, and they started naming off things that the rooms could be. His favorite was an artist’s room. He wasn’t artistic, but Alex said that she used to dabble in it, so he was going to have it set up for her. Just her and a playroom in the next room so that the kids, if they had any, could come and visit Mommy while she worked.

He did ask about the bed that was in the room. It was about seven feet by seven, and he thought that it would need a custom mattress. Looking forward to having a bed that fit, he walked with her to the turret that he’d never noticed before. It was off the bedroom near the nursery.

“The glass is beautiful. I love the way that it’s wavy and bubbled.” The turret was about six feet round, and there were windows all around it. And they all opened. Locke thought that was somewhat dangerous and asked her if she would mind if he put locks on the windows high up so that a child couldn’t get to them. She agreed and shivered at the thought of someone falling to their death from so high up.

The rest of the morning and into the afternoon he spent at his desk. He wasn’t as good at investing as Dusty was but knew that it might be a while before he was back to feeling like sitting at his desk. He was going to visit him tonight and take him some dinner that he could eat without making too much of a mess.

He’d not played the lottery since they’d won that big jackpot. He, while waiting on his computer to get to the file he wanted, thought about buying one while they were out tonight. While the thought of winning more money made him nervous, he felt extremely lucky that he had been able to lay low all this time, twelve years, and no one figured out it was them who had won it. Locke thought that a great deal of that was because they were in a new city and state. It would have been harder, he thought, if they were suddenly flush in their hometown. Everyone knew that his family was about as dirt poor as anyone who had been living there. That got him to thinking about things that they could do for their hometown. Not that he thought of it as his hometown, but he did want to do something that would hopefully get the town on the right track. But without anyone knowing who had done it.

He was thinking that over when Alex told him that dinner was ready. He’d been sitting there so long that his computer had gone to sleep, and he’d not noticed. Needing to get his head in the game, he decided that he was going to make himself a schedule that he could follow about working at home, or he’d never get a thing done.

That made him smile. It was definitely worth it having a lovely wife around to be distracted with. He decided that she was worth more than anything that he’d ever had before. And was going to cherish her forever.

After putting things away, he was just leaving his office when his phone rang. Deciding to let it go to the service he switched it over just as the second ring was coming in. Going to the kitchen to have some dinner, Locke was happy that it was just the two of them eating. The Italian subs were the perfect thing to have for the end of the day that they’d had.

“Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the town council. I believe that they’re going to try to talk me into joining it. I have no desire to be sitting around with a bunch of people bitching about how the town is falling down around their ears. If they would just okay a couple of projects that our family suggested to them, things would be better. Even with the tax increase, which they’ve turned down every time it comes up on the ballot, they’d have better schools, too. But they’re upset that this house isn’t coming to them like they’d hoped.” Alex asked him why the house hadn’t come to them. “They were going to tear it down. Twice, when they thought that Martha was on her deathbed, they sent crews out to demo the house the moment that she was gone. But she always bounced back, thankfully. When it was read in the will, they acted surprised when it wasn’t theirs. They tried to sue us for getting it, but it was thrown out of court. The greedy bastard that is the mayor, is chomping at the bit to try to find any reason for us to have to hand it over. I think he has plans to put in some strip malls or something. It’s a lot of acres that she…well, we rent out to other farmers to help with their farming. I’m not sure of the rent. It’s been something that the attorneys have been working on. At least, that’s what they keep saying to figure it out. Whatever it is, I’m sure that it’s going to be very little, and they’re behind. What would you do if it was you?”

“Nothing. I mean, farmers struggle a great deal as it is, and paying rent on some land that you don’t really need the money for is helping them in the long run. However, I’d talk to them about it. Not tell them that they don’t have to pay it but to gently remind them that they are late and see what they have to say. I’m sure you can work it out what to say. I would imagine if they’re good people, that they’re stressing about it a great deal.” He said he’d not thought of that. “Yeah, that’s why you love me.”

“And I do. With all of my heart.” After cleaning up the kitchen, they decided to walk into town and have an ice cream. One of the farmers just happened to be sitting with his family while they shared an ice cream. He thought that Alex was right. They were struggling more than he had ever imagined. Locke took a seat at the same table. “Hello, Mr. Granger. I don’t think I’ve met your family before.”

“We’re going to pay you, Mr. Erikson. Things have been tough with all the trouble we have had with the weather. And my wife, she’s been sick, you know.” He told him that he knew that. And the longer he sat with them, the more he hated the fact that he’d not gone to talk to them sooner.

“Mr. Granger, how about we talk about that while my wife, Alex Erikson, takes the little ones to get them a sundae. My treat, of course.” He nodded, and Locke could see that the man was struggling to keep his tears at bay. “I’m sorry, I should have gone and spoken to you earlier.”

Chapter 7

“Do you think that he’ll stop stressing?” Dusty was so glad that someone had come to talk to him about anything other than how he was doing. He was actually feeling pretty good now that he could get up and around more. And the food that his brother brought him certainly hit the spot. Locke told him that he’d more than likely stress more for a while. “Yes, I can see that. He’d be waiting for the other shoes to drop. Remember that lady who was forever late on her newspaper payment? Turns out that she was saving money by having dog food for her meals because it was cheaper. I’m happy that we’ve never gotten that bad. But I’m sure that it was tempting at times.”

“It was. I told him that we’d wipe the slate clean as of now. He could continue to use the pastures until I found something else to use the land for. Then I told him that I wasn’t looking into anything, so it was a safe bet that he’d be just fine for as long as he wanted. He cried, Dusty. Cried and hugged me several times before I got him to stop. I think that his oldest thought that I was coming down on his dad because he came back to the table and glared at me for the longest time.”

Dusty was happy that Locke suggested that they walk the halls. He’d been doing that so much that he was sure that he was wearing a rut in the floor. But he was getting better all the time and the doctor said that his muscles were healing just the way that he had hoped they would. He was never going to lift a piece of furniture again, not without help, anyway.

“I get to go home tomorrow. Can you come get me? I can’t drive just yet.” Something had been bothering him for a few days now. “What did I do that was so bad? I mean, I did hurt myself when I fell, but I think that I was able to work for another four hours. It wasn’t until the next day that I hurt really badly. The doctor didn’t tell you anything that you’re supposed to tell me about later, did he?”

“No. He only said that you tore up your back by falling on tense muscles. Sometimes, it’s the simplest things that take us under. Do you remember that guy who kicked his safe? What was his name?” He told his brother. “That’s right. The whiskey man. He was upset that he couldn’t get the safe open and kicked the safe, injuring his toe. That went septic, and he died.”

“Are you saying that to make me feel better? Because you’re not. I mean, damn, you need to work on your bedside manner if you’re going to be a doctor.” They both laughed, and Dusty was thrilled that it didn’t hurt as much as it usually did when he had done that even a day before. “When are you and Alex going to have kids? I did hear that the little ones of William and Gilda stayed with you for a while. Are you going to take them in?”

“They have an aunt that is just thrilled to death to have them. They seemed to know who she was, too. She’s taking them back to Florida with her as soon as they’re cleared. Rita has brightened up so much since her parents aren’t around her anymore. Did I tell you that I got a call from William the other day? He left a message with the service telling me that I need to come and bail him out.” Dusty asked him what he had wanted. “He’d only just realized that he’s related to me by marriage. He is blown away that Alex doesn’t look like his wife. I think of him saying that every time I think of him. Christ, what an idiot.”

Sitting down in the dining area, Locke went up to get them something to munch on. The food here wasn’t too bad, but it was the place, not the food, that he was getting sick of. He laughed when his brother brought back four pieces of pie and some carrots. He asked him what that was about.

“They balance things out. Alex has it in her head that we don’t eat very well. She’s right, we don’t, but she said that we’d not make a good example for anyone if we’re forever eating out. Again, she is right, but I love being able to see her eyes light up when we go out, and I see that there is something on the menu that she loves.” He asked his brother who they were trying to show off to. “Our kids. We’ve talked about that at great length here over the last few days. I don’t care what we have, but she has it in her head that I want a little girl. I do, but she thinks that with all the men in my life, I need someone else to again, balance things out. I would love to see Alex fat with our child. It causes tingles to go down my spine when I think about it.”

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