Eli had a deadbeat dad and his mom, try as she might to make a great home for her son, was too busy working double shifts to really fill the home with laughter and kisses. When he went away to college his mom moved in with another loser and she stopped sending him postcards. My family was about as far away from joy as the moon is from the sun.
Lennox smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “For a little while, anyway.” She shook her head and returned her gaze to mine. “What I’m trying to say is, I want to be your sister. I consider you family. That means unconditional love. I have your back whether you like it or not. Whether you want to think of me like that is up to you. But I’m here for you, Grace. So is Vic, even if he doesn’t show it that well. We will never stop loving you and we will never leave you.”
I reached for my menu, shaking my head. “That sounds nice.” It did sound nice. Words had a way of sounding pretty, sort of how flowers smelled good at the beginning; stick around long enough, though, and flowers always died.
Lennox smiled and picked up her menu too. “I guess you’re just gonna have to stick around and see that I’m true to my word.” I frowned at her over my menu. What had I done to earn this love?
Our meal was languid. The rain poured, the music droned, and our forks clinked slowly. I tumbled her words around in my head. She wanted us to be family.
Family.
Not the kind that beats each other, but the kind that loves. Unconditional.
I was chewing my corn, mulling over the thought, when Lennox’s phone buzzed against the table. She picked it up, her eyes scanning the screen.
“It’s Vic,” she said, placing it back on the wood stained table. “He’s with Eli. They
’re at some bar across the street from the lawyer’s. You done?”
I wasn’t finished with my meal, but I nodded anyway. Mama’s house still needed to be packed up and the sooner we did that, the sooner we could go home. Our flight home was the next morning and I really didn’t want to extend the trip. The sooner we got out of Georgia, the better.
Lennox settled our bill and we went to get the men.
When Eli and Vic slid into the car there was a heaviness about them. I glanced at Eli, looking for some recognition, but he just shook his head. Again we rode in silence. The rain was just letting up when we approached the town. Dusk was falling and the sky was a cold iron color. I shivered, despite the heat in the car.
We drove the streets of the town, but it looked very different. Our town had never been much to boast about, but it had at least been a town. Now it was like something out of an old movie: completely dead. The corner store I’d frequented was deserted, the sign hanging diagonally off its hinges. Dust stained the cracked glass of windows and cars were dead on the side of the road.
“This is it,” I said as Lennox nearly passed the house. It was easy to pass, hidden behind dead grass and weeds higher than your knee. Lennox killed the engine and we all sat in a pregnant silence.
“I guess we should get started,” Eli said. “Box everything up before tomorrow.” Vic got out of the car and slammed the door, marching up toward the dilapidated two-story. Sighing, Lennox got out and followed. Only Eli and I remained in the car, but I just couldn’t make myself follow.
Eli broke the silence. “Did you know that Vic grew up poor?”
“Vic grew up with my parents,” I responded foolishly. I didn’t look at Eli when he spoke; my eyes were trained on the house. It used to be that this house was the scary, old house on the street. Now every house looked old and abandoned. What had happened to this town?
“No. He was adopted when he was five. He was in and out of foster homes until then. He never had anything of his own until your parents adopted him.” This was completely new information to me. I had thought Vic was a baby when he went to my parents. I looked at Eli, waiting for him to explain more. “The first toy he ever had, the first thing that was ever his, was that train set in the will.”
“How do you know this?” I turned around in my seat to get a better look at him.
Eli shrugged. “We talked a bit at the bar.”
“Well…” I sighed. “Why doesn’t he want it then?”
Eli ran a hand over his skull. “Cause your daddy smashed it to pieces. At least that’s what he thought. Your mama must’ve fixed it. Or at least she’s givin’ him the pieces.”
What a mess. What a total mess. So much heartache and ruination borne from only two stories.
I sighed, sliding out of my seat, and said, “We oughta help them.”
Everything was nearly packed. It was almost three in the morning, and we’d spent all night boxing up. We worked quickly and without talking. Finishing fast was our tacit agreement with one another. Almost everything was going to trash or charity. I think we all decided that these demons needed to be exorcised and out of our life.
I saved the worst for last: Mama’s room. It actually wasn’t that bad. I threw her quilts in boxes and trashed her clothes (all had holes) and toiletries. I was nearly finished when I stumbled upon a letter in her nightstand.
My darling baby girl,
I stopped, hand clutched to my heart. The letter was meant for me. I didn’t want to read it. Everything in my soul told me to tear it up and continue the exorcism, but morbid curiosity had my eyes traveling.
My darling baby girl,