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“Momma?”
She didn’t move. He shook her a little harder.
“Momma?”
She didn’t respond. He bent down in front of her, his heart pounding, and looked up into her face. It was gray.
“Momma! Momma!”
Do
“Oh…Momma.”
****
Do
He needed to talk to his brother. Billy would tell him how to handle his mother’s death. Billy would also be able to tell him what the impact on their plan would be with Momma gone. His mother’s death wouldn’t change the need for Billy to find peace.
Do
“I love you, Momma and always will.”
He turned off the light and closed the bedroom door.
He hadn’t eaten, so he grabbed a bottle of chocolate milk from the fridge and went back out to the van. He needed to get to the cemetery, needed to get to Billy and receive some guidance. He knew his mother’s death would accelerate their plan and he needed to focus on something other than the pain of Momma’s death.
The moon was new and the cemetery dark when he got there. Parking in his usual spot, he got out and slowly walked to his brother’s grave. He was dreading the news he had to deliver.
“Hi, Billy. It’s me. I’ve got some sad news.”
Do
His expression changed as a voice no one else could hear spoke to him. Do
“You know?”
He listened.
“You knew it was coming?!”
More silence.
“Why didn’t you tell me, give me warning?”
Do
“Yeah, I got it. Went without a hitch.”
Do
“Where should I put Momma, Billy? There’s no room for her here with you and I don’t want her far from us.”
Do
“Really? Do you think it would be alright?”
A smile came to Do
“That’s an awesome idea! I’ll go and take care of it now but I’ll be back soon. I love you, brother.”
****
The next morning dawned warm and found Do
Do
“Hi, Gary. Mommas real sick, I won’t be able to work today.”
“Okay.”
Do
“I’ll let you know tomorrow morning if she’s better.”
“Fine. Do
Do
“Your gun? What gun? You mean the ‘Dealmaker’?”
“Yeah, it’s been stolen. You know anything about that?”
“No, of course not.”
There was a moment or two of silence before his boss spoke again.
“Listen, I don’t need the help right now, anyway. I’ll let you know if I want you in future.”
The line went dead before Do
He doesn’t know who took it. He suspects me but he doesn’t know for sure. One less thing to worry about.
****
He worked on it for most of the day and when it was done, he stood back and looked it over. Do
He placed the lid on and carried the completed box to the house. Setting it down on the porch, he stopped for the night. He would finish the other half of his task tomorrow.
Going into the house, he washed up, made himself a sandwich and sat down at the kitchen table. The TV was off, his mother being the only one who watched it, and the house was quiet. The loneliness Do
Sadness washed over him. It helped he could still visit his brother but that didn’t stop the pain he felt inside. Do
He didn’t know how long he lay there but, after a while, Do
“You’re go
The thought that his mother would remain close by helped to calm the storm raging inside. He would bury her tomorrow and then be ready to focus on the job he had to do for his brother.
Chapter 4
Do
Hanging on the wall was a pick, which he took down, and over in the corner was an old shovel. He examined the handle on the shovel and decided it needed reinforcement. Several wrappings of duct tape satisfied him the shovel would hold up.
Walking out to the rise behind the garage, Do
Do
Once, twice, three and then four times, he would raise and plunge the pick into the dry Texas ground. Next, he took the shovel and removed the dirt he had broken loose. The process was then repeated. Over and over, pounding the dirt, pounding out his pain. It was slow, hot and tedious but he needed it.