Page 3 of Locke

They were going through a little town just on the edge of the Kentucky-Tennessee border when it died. Barely able to get it pulled off the road, he was able to get it off the side of the road before it was done. The smoke coming out from the hood frightened him a little, but he took in deep breaths and let it out while he tried to figure out what he was going to do now. He was thankful that no one asked him what had happened. It was hard enough for him to keep calm.

“Young man.” He was standing in front of the van with the hood up when someone spoke to him. “Oh my, that looks bad. But I was wondering if I could persuade you to give me a hand.”

“Yes, ma’am, I can do that. I’m thinking that I have plenty of time now that my vehicle has died.” She grinned at him as he went into the huge house that he’d not noticed until now. “My goodness, this is a wonderful place. Can my brothers come in as well?”

“Why my yes. The more the merrier.” He entered her home while his brothers got out of the van. Going into the house took him back in time. The antebellum of old was the perfect description for the lovely three-story home. “I had this tin on my counter all my life, and now it’s way up there on the cabinet. I don’t know who might have done that. I’m much too short to have done it on my own. I’m thinking my son has emptied it and put it up there, so I’d not notice. Of course, I’m going to notice. It’s my house.”

The tin was indeed empty. She didn’t seem to be upset; she was more resigned to the fact that he’d stolen from her again. He and his brothers tidied up the kitchen. It wasn’t dirty but very messy. He even loaded the dishwasher of all the things that he found. It was running when they settled in the living room.

“I tell you, young man—What is your name? You might well have told me, but I’ve been a little upset today.” He told her his name and introduced her to his brothers. The vacuum, a very old-fashioned one, fired up, and he knew that one of his brothers was cleaning up the other room. “Oh my, I don’t know if that’s been swept in a long time. The stupid thing is too heavy for me to cart around.”

“It’s no problem. If I may be so bold, what is your name.” She laughed. Not like the dainty woman she was, but like she’d just heard the best joke ever, and it caught her off guard. Or, he thought, something like a hyena. It was a toss-up to figure out which. It was then that Knox brought in some tea that he said he’d unearthed under the pile of dishes. “Do you live here alone, Ms. Grable?”

“Yes, I do. Usually, I can get around well, but I had me a little tumble trying to get the tin down a few days ago. Stupid son of mine, William Grable, he won’t lift a finger to help his own mother out. I think he’s disappointed that I’ve not died yet. I’m going to outlive him if I can. But he’s not getting a thing from me when I do pass. This house is going to be donated to the city and more than likely torn down for something totally inappropriate and costly. Stupid townspeople are chomping at the bit, too, waiting for me to die. But they can’t do that. I’ve put it in the will. If they do, then the house will rot here for all I care.”

The seven of them decided to have dinner together. Going into town, a short walking distance from the house, Knox picked up things to grill out for their dinner. That was another thing that he’d never had. Was some grilled food that was made especially for them. While getting out things to go with the burgers and hot dogs, he noticed that her refrigerator was devoid of anything but a couple of half bottles of salad dressing. He called his brother and told him what to get. The least that they could do was fill up her fridge for her after allowing them to rest in her home.

Chapter 2

Eleven Years later.

Loosening his tie, Locke was tempted to take it off and toss it away, but he knew that there was still more for them to do for Ms. Grable. Martha, as they had come to call her. She had passed away six days ago at the ripe old age of ninety-nine. His and that of his brothers’ hearts were still broken.

“There have been people coming by all morning. I finally had Mrs. Bell start putting some of the food in the fridge while setting the rest of it out. Did you tell people to come by after the funeral?” He told his brother that he had, and they were following him. “Good. If they don’t eat all this, I don’t know what we’re going to do with it all. There is enough food here for several large Thanksgiving dinners. And you know what? She would have hated every minute of this going on.” The thought of what Martha would have said about the food and the people would have surely been funny. And true.

Following his brother into the dining room, he could see where the townspeople had gone way above the need for food. Every container had a piece of tape with their name on it. A few half dozen had cooking instructions on it as well. They put those things in the kitchen to be heated up. As he was coming out of the kitchen, he could see that a great many people had already shown up. There must have been twenty people standing on the front porch as well.

That was when he saw William, Martha’s son. He would, of course, act like he was in charge of things. He did that every time he came to the house for some kind of event. Holidays mostly. When he saw him, William made a bee-line to him and Demitrius as he usually did. The smile on his face didn’t bode well for the six of them, Locke didn’t think.

“I hope you’re all packed up and ready to go. I’m going to take possession as soon as the will is read. You guys won’t be getting a damned thing from this place after I take over. You just watch and see.” Locke ignored him, but Demi, what Martha had started calling his brother, wasn’t going to let him have the last word. Not that it mattered. They’d had a wonderful life living there with Martha, and the house simply wouldn’t be the same with her gone now.

They had moved in the night they’d broken down in her drive. Since then, he and his brothers had lived a wonderful life. Even if that only meant that they were well loved, hugged, and told what a great person they were. Each of them had gotten good jobs, thanks to Martha and she’d taught them how not only to save money but she taught them how to invest in stocks and other things in the eleven years they lived with her.

Locke made his way to the side porch and pulled out a bottle of water from his suit jacket as he sat down on the stairs. It had been a habit he’d not broken as yet to have a bottle of cold water on himself in the event that while they were out together, Martha would have cold water. He let the tears fall when he thought of how much he’d gotten from the elderly woman. More than they’d ever gotten from any other person in the world, including their father. When Dusty joined him, the two of them talked about Martha and all the fun they’d had over the years living with her and also taking care of her needs.

“Are you going to stick with being a nurse, Locke? I know that you only did it for her, getting your degree so that you could make sure that Martha was getting the best of care. I’ve heard some of the people talking, and they sure could use you at the hospital with how well you care for people.” He asked his brother if he was going to go to a real job instead of living in the shadow of Martha. “I guess that makes sense. I believe the only reason that she lived as long as she did was because of you. You kept her healthy with all that you did for her.”

“We all did. Each of us played a part in her longevity. She told me once that the only reason she’d not given up like she was ready to do was because we all kept her going. And we had fun, too.” Dusty agreed, and the two of them talked about their lives with Martha.

“Mr. Erikson?” They both turned to see who was addressing one of them. “Mr. Locke Erikson?”

“That would be me. Is there something that I can help you with, sir?” He said that he was the attorney for Mrs. Grable. “Oh, good. Mr. Grable, her son, is in the kitchen. I believe he’s having something to eat.”

“He’s bashing the six of you for making his mother last as long as she did. Oh, the stories that she would tell me when I’d talk to her. She loved every moment of her life these last few years. And like your brother here was telling you, you had a huge part in her life as her nurse and caregiver. She wouldn’t have lived as long as she had if she’d been put in a nursing home. I believe it would have sucked her soul dry to live in one of those. Also, you made it so that she got to die at home, her fondest wish. I myself cannot thank you enough for giving her that. She never had a terrible word to say about any of you.” Both he and Dusty thanked him. “And you certainly made this house shine. My goodness, you six made the house look like it had so many years ago. Martha was very proud of you boys, she called you.”

“She opened her home and heart to us, and there was no turning back after that.” Locke looked out over the expansive, well-maintained yard. “I hate that the city is going to get this place. It holds fond memories for us as well.”

“Will you all be there for the reading of the will?” Locke turned and looked at the attorney and told him that they hadn’t been mentioned. “Oh, but you were. All of you, including her son. She had a change of heart, Martha did when that incident happened with the school board. Never would I have thought that they’d come in here and demand that she move out so that the school could have a larger parking lot during football games. She was fit to be tied, I tell you. I’ve never seen her so worked up before.”

“I don’t think that Mr. Agine was reelected following that. Martha didn’t get upset easily, but she was as pissed as I’ve seen her that day. Did anyone ever get why he thought it was a good idea to toss an eighty-something-year-old woman out of her home so that he could have it torn down?”

“No. Only a few months back, I heard that he was running again. Now that the rugrats were out of town. I have no idea who he was talking about, but there you have it. The reading will be first thing in the morning. Nine o’clock at my offices. I’d like to see you boys there when it’s read to you all.” Dusty said that they’d be there, and after thanking them for such a nice service and laying out of food, he was heading home. “You boys be careful now. There is no telling what William will do now that she’s gone.”

They both agreed with the elderly man and finished off their waters. Locke hadn’t eaten anything since last night and he wasn’t feeling all that hungry now. But Dusty pointed out that he had to eat or Martha would come back and haunt him, so he went into the kitchen to get him a plate of food.

Since he’d gone outside, the thought the amount of food had doubled since then. Smiling at the things that were in neighbors’ containers, he had to laugh when he thought of some of the things that Martha would have said about the spread of food.

“You can bet your last penny that old Carole Lee didn’t make that chicken there. She just emptied out a large container of that man’s bucket of chicken and said it was her own. Do you really believe that she cut up that cold slaw in those tiny little pieces? She didn’t. Then, after she would make a teasing remark, Martha would say ‘bless her little heart’ to everyone. “Oh my goodness, did you taste that tea that Harley brought? Goodness, it’s sweet enough to make your eyeballs pop, bless his little heart. And things like that. She was a good woman and a better friend than anyone could have been friends with.

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