"Well what are we gonna do with it if we caint sell it?" My aunt whined and in my mind’s eye I could see her asking that question with her face all squinched up as if she was in some kind of terrible pain and ringing her hands dramatically. I sighed hard and blew my cheeks out as I sat down in a recliner by the bed. It was one of those kinds of recliners that laid back and there was a Sudoku book on the end table next to it. I knew my momma had spent some time in this chair recently.
"What if momma has to go to a home?" Uncle Luther growled entirely too loudly and was subsequently shushed by the other sisters. "I'm just asking ' what if we can’t take care of her?" Poor man, he tried to whisper but his voice sounded like someone stirring a sack of pea gravels. Too many years of cigarettes and screaming at athletic events would do that to a man and Uncle Luther was proof. "We might need that money."
I could hear the clomping of his work boots as he paced on Jocelyn's hardwood floor. Tomorrow she'd have to scrub up all the scuff marks and the fingerprints we left behind. Uncle Luther's perpetually grease stained hands were touching all her spotless things. Probably another reason she wouldn't make it through the night without a migraine.
I grimaced and looked over at Meemaw sleeping soundly- blissfully unaware that her fate was being decided in the next room. I wished they wouldn't talk about her like she was a child - or worse - like she wasn't even here.
I know momma hated it too, but she'd never complain. To keep peace among the brother and sisters seemed to be her role in life. That was probably why I was banished into Meemaw's room. Apparently, I had too much of my father in me and was therefore too opinionated to participate in the discussion. Or perhaps it was none of my business. None of the other grandchildren were here were they? Well, it was a fact that I was by several years the oldest. My brother was second oldest and he was still in high school. Perhaps that was why I was at least invited to attend this little soiree.
“Well. What are we supposed to do?” My mother offered at last. “Move and it goes back to the Thornhill Estate.”
“Greedy Bastards.” Uncle Luther growled. “No way I’ll let our ancestral home go to those pigs!” A few minutes earlier he had wanted to sell it. I snorted as a response but didn’t dare say anything for fear that I‘d wake Meemaw.
Meemaw opened her eyes briefly and smiled. I wondered if she was only pretending to be asleep. I watched her for a few seconds. Probably. It was Peepaw’s favorite trick before he died. Pretend to be asleep and no telling what you’ll overhear.
The argument continued in the next room but I picked up a Janette Oak book by MeeMaws bed and flipped to the first page. Meemaw loved these books. Perhaps it reminded her of growing up back in the days before the depression- I don’t know. I pretended to read. Why not? Meemaw was pretending to sleep.
The argument in the next room continued as Uncle Luther had brought the volume up a notch. He sounded like he was on the verge of giving himself an aneurism in the next room. It seemed that he had quite convinced himself that Meemaws place being sold was his ticket to early retirement. No matter how many times Momma had tried to explain it- he refused to believe her about the deed. She had discovered about it after doing some genealogy research one summer when we visited Meemaw. I remembered overhearing them talk about the house when we stayed there. I’m sure she had explained it to Uncle Luther but apparently he didn’t believe her. He had gone and found himself a lawyer in Savannah. He had looked at the deed, told him the same thing as Momma and charged him 800 dollars.
Momma had explained it to me on our drive home. The deed was only good as long as our family lived there for at least nine months of the year. (Nine months you might wonder? Well I did and Momma said it was because back in the day people didn’t have air-conditioning and they would go somewhere cooler during the summer months. ) The property could not be sold. If ever a member of our family ceased to live there then the property would again be absorbed into the Thornhill Estate. Edward Thornhill had deeded the land to my grandmother Annalise. Both parents worked for the Thornhill Estate but she was orphaned as a young lady. We supposed at the time that Elizabeth Thornhill felt sorry for her or perhaps felt responsible for her and had her husband Edward deed the house and forty acres of land to her. Elizabeth Fitzgerald Thornhill was from Philadelphia and had high and lofty ideas about women’s rights and suffrage. She was secretly involved in women’s causes and my mother and I believed that it was because of her that the house and land which had once belonged to caretakers or the plantation foreman came into the possession of our family.
Uncle Luther was right though. Edward Thornhill was a shrewd businessman and one didn’t get as rich as he was by giving things away. So as a stipulation in the deed the land could remain only in the hands of descendants of Annalise and could not be sold. It could not be further developed besides repairs or additions to the house and even then there were stipulations as to how large the house could grow. The house had to be an active household and had to be lived in continuously by a descendant of Annalise for at least nine months out of the year but the final straw- at least as far as Uncle Luther was concerned- was that the property could only be owned by and passed through a female descendent of Annalise Hawkins.
I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall at that lawyer’s office when Uncle Luther learned the truth! I could just imagine his reaction. Somewhat akin to what was going on in the kitchen right now, I’d figure.
“That’s the CRAZIEST THING I’VE EVER HEARD!!” Luther exploded in the next room and I saw Meemaw wince, but apparently keep sleeping. Again another ‘Ssshh” and Luther continued undaunted. “That’s our land and those greedy bastards have done nothing but screw our family and I’m tired of it!”
It was momma’s turn to stand up. “What have they done to us Luther?” She demanded. “Besides giving the female members of our family a rent free house for a hundred years? Yes, there are some crazy conditions. But I for one don’t blame the Thornhill Family for not wanting a timeshare built next door built next door to their property!”
“But only women! That’s nuts!” He hissed. Sounded like someone was a little sexist.
It was a strange condition but if the land belonged to you and you wanted to give it away- then I supposed you could put whatever stipulation on it you wanted. Edward Thornhill had fixed it to where the land would come back to him or his family at least. After all, women tended to marry and move away- so he figured at some point or other the women of my family would tire of being tied to their island home.
However I don’t think that Mr. Thornhill ever counted on the stubbornness and tenacity of our women.
Typical male.
But as I considered it further I could see both sides of the issue. If things did go badly with Meemaw then this land could take care of her. On the other hand, it was family land and Meemaw being the last surviving female of her generation had a right to it. But then again, if someone had been able to sell it previously- it would have sold already and it would have never come to Meemaw in the first place.
There wasn’t any more land to be had on that island. Only a small fraction belonged to private owners who lived on the North end of the Island and was therefore developable. The majority belonged to the Thornhill Estate, to the state as a wildlife refuge or to the descendants of former slaves who had been brought to the island. Perhaps less than a third was owned by the latter – and they seemed to be tied there under the same auspicious agreement as my family had. They could stay- as long as they wanted. They couldn’t sell but they could pass the land to their descendants as long as they too lived on the island. Otherwise they lost their land to the state.
I reckoned that the state of Georgia and Edward Thornhill used the same lawyers because if we had owned the land outright—we’d be set. Since the bridge had been built to the north end of the island and it was accessible by car—there had been a boom in building and commerce on the north end. Even a scrap of developable land would go at a premium. Meemaw owned 40 acres. She was sitting on a gold mine- in Uncle Luther’s eyes anyway. He figured as the oldest son he would inherit it.
Or so he thought. Until that summer Daddy worked outage at the power plant and momma, Eric and I went to stay with Meemaw on the island. That’s when momma did her snooping and found the documents upstairs in a trunk. Uncle Luther’s gold mine had turned to fool’s gold and he wasn’t taking it well.
Meemaw winced again as Uncle Luther’s voice rose again. “So not only can we NOT sell it. I can’t even live there!”
“Meemaw could deed it to one of the twins then and you and Helen could live there.” Momma tried to soothe him. “Or Jocelyn .”
“I’d never live there.” Jocelyn assured the rest of them. “I hate it there.”
It was true. Jocelyn had always hated Meemaw’s cottage. She didn’t even like going there for Christmas. She liked her phone and SUV and cable TV and all the conveniences of living on the mainland.
“They don’t even allow cars on that part of the island!” Luther continued his tirade, oblivious to Jocelyn’s remark. “What would I do for a living? What about school for the girls?”
“There’s a school on the island.” Momma countered.
“Oh, No, Luther.” Helen’s voice held a warning tone. “Our girls are not going there!”
I could almost see her shudder. The school on the island was small… teeny. And it was populated mostly by children of shrimpers, hotel staff workers and the blacks who lived on the island. The two blonde princesses would be outnumbered by their darker counterparts at least ten to one.
Well Uncle Luther and Aunt Helen were out. Who was next in line?
“I’d never move there.” Jocelyn said again but nobody paid any attention to her.
“Why can’t Eddie live there?” Uncle Luther asked and I felt my face crumple at his suggestion. Why couldn’t Eddie live there? For the same reason Uncle Luther couldn’t make the house into his own private man cave. I thought to myself.
“EDDIE’S A MAN, LUTHER!” Momma’s voice rose for the first time, and I could tell her patience had reached it’s limit. “IT HAS TO BE A WOMAN!”
“HE’S GAY! ISN’T THAT THE SAME THING!” He howled and both sisters gasped. I could hear it from the back room. I hoped Meemaw was really asleep. Or didn’t know what ‘gay’ meant.
I held my breath and watched for some sort of reaction from Meemaw. There was nothing. She didn’t even wince. I let my breath out slowly. Perhaps she really was asleep. Or didn’t know what gay meant.
I wished they’d keep it down in the other room before she woke and I had to explain it. I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair as I could hear both sisters cackling like chickens who had just discovered a fox in their hen house.
“Luther Hawkins Walker!” Jocelyn hissed. “Eddie is NOT gay!”
“That was ugly, Luther.” Aunt Helen scolded him.
“He’s peculiar.” Momma defended him. “You shouldn’t talk like that about your brother.”
“What?” Luther’s voice rose. “He’s fifty five and never married. He runs an antique store. What do you call that?”
“Peculiar!” My momma screamed, at last done with Uncle Luther.
“Well I call it a QUEEN!”
I heard a sound which I imagined to be feet running and a lot of yelling from all three women at once. I heard what I thought were a few threats like “You’d better not say anything like that again!” and “You’re going to need a place to live if you don’t straighten up!” and “Now I’ve about had it with you!” and such as that. Uncle Luther said a couple words that I’m not allowed to repeat and they were pronounced rather hastily and he sounded like he was out of breath. It sounded like the sisters had him on the run and I bounced up and down in my chair. Oh, my goodness, I’d give anything to be able to watch the fight!
The doorbell rang and probably saved his life.
Enter Pamela and Jack to the Fray.
Pamela was Momma’s eldest sister and the oldest child of the Walker children. I know by now you’re all confused. Let me simplify it for you. Meemaw’s children consist of (to my knowledge) Pamela, Luther, Eddie, Jocelyn and Momma – in that order. Where as Luther was the obnoxious one and Eddie the peculiar one and Jocelyn the hypochondriac and momma was the peacemaker- Pamela was the quintessential oldest child.
Meaning:
She was perfect.
She had worked as a secretary for a lawyer’s office and had married a rich businessman and they had two point five kids and lived in a big house in the country club. They didn’t have a ton of money but they definitely had a bigger house than all the rest of us, and almost every time we saw them… which was in reality probably only twice a year- they drove new cars.
I heard a few pleasantries and chairs scrape out as they all sat down at the kitchen table.
I heard Pamela say “Well, we’re all here.” Which wasn’t exactly true. Eddie wasn’t here. Momma said he had called to say that whatever they decided was good with him. He had to take care of the store. Antiques didn’t sell themselves. That was his excuse. We all knew it was because he couldn’t stand to be around Uncle Luther.
Not that I could blame him. Poor man.
The voices were quieter now; I had to strain to hear them. Nobody was going to show out with Jack here. I don’t know what it was about him but he had a calming effect on the family. He had a… well… I don’t know any other way to describe it besides to say that he had an almost regal bearing and everyone minded their manners when Uncle Jack was around. He knew people in the state legislature for goodness sakes! We all knew better than to act out when Pamela and Jack were visiting.
Momma said that his family came from money and it seemed Jocelyn and Helen’s passion in life was to impress Pamela and Jack. Jocelyn scooted around serving them drinks like she was Martha Stewart and Helen gabbed on and on about some beauty pagent the twins were going to be in. I shook my head at their charade. Like they all weren’t about to kill Uncle Luther a few minutes earlier. I suppose that he should count his blessings because if Pam and Jack hadn’d arrived when they did there might be blood on the women’s hands. Oh, well. At least Luther wasn’t acting up anymore. He kept his mouth shut when Jack came around too afraid the red would show.
The voices continued quietly in the other room. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. I tried to make out what they said until I heard someone say something about someone not having a job and my head shot up. I knew then that they were talking about me.
Then came a soft knock at the door and Momma peeked inside and asked me to “Come on in here for a minute.”
Momma, Jocelyn, Pamela, Helen, Jack and Luther looked at me expectantly. Well, not Luther so much. I was pretty sure he was still pouting. But all the others looked at me with a sort of scared half smile on their faces. It was the look that parents give their children when they tell them they’re moving and they’re half expecting a meltdown but want to put on a brave face.
They sat me down and started in on me like a bunch of buzzards picking over road kill.
You had said you’d help hadn’t you? You don’t have a job right? No one else can do it. Uncle Luther can’t leave his job. The twins aren’t even out of high school. Momma, Helen and Jocelyn are going to be taking care of Meemaw. Momma and Daddy have their farm and Eric’s only in the ninth grade. Pamela and Jack live too far away. Eddie… nobody mentioned Eddie. He lived in Atlanta which might as well been across the world… They gave me sad eyes and pouting looks. You’re the only one that can do it you see? Meemaw wanted you. Do you understand?
What the hell? I wondered. Was I going to be donating a kidney? “What?” I hissed through my teeth. A hint of my father showing up in me for a few minutes. “What do you want me to do?”
My momma looked at me blankly. I couldn’t read anything on her face. This was the same look she gave me when the dog died.
I felt my stomach tie up in knots.
“Meemaw wants you stay there. In her house.” Momma said.
Oh… my… goodness… I felt my blood drain to my feet.
“On the island.” Jocelyn offered. Thank you Jocelyn. I thought you meant her other house…I thought to myself.
“But… there’s nothing on that island.” I felt myself say. “I just graduated college… I need to start a career.”
“Good luck.” Luther snorted. “Maybe you can teach at that island school. You could be their first white teacher.”
Oh… I wanted to slap him silly….
I looked around and the only help I had was Uncle Jack who said very calmly. “Its not forever. Only until Grandma is better. You know you’re the only person who can do it right now.”
I swallowed and nodded.
In one week I was island bound.
If only I’d said no. I’d avoided too many sunburns, a broken heart, several lacerations requiring stitches, attempted murder charges, a stint in a jail cell and discovery of a family secret that could have just as well stayed secret.
But I’d have missed out on him…
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