\u201cYes, I\u2019m mr. Jervis, one of them anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome this way, your family is downstairs.\u201d He followed her down a short flight of stairs into a open area that would not be out of place in anyone\u2019s basement. Comfy, overstuffed sofas sat in a circle around a oval coffee table. Along the walls were discrete speakers and religious symbols set back in shallow alcoves. Sitting at one end of the coffee table were the owners, Mr. and Mrs Moore, and at the other end, his two brothers Ronnie and Kelly-Ray.<\/p>\n
Ron exclaimed a bit too cheerfully as he walked in. \u201cThere he is! Come have a seat son.\u201d And Kelly chimed in \u201cAbout time too. We can\u2019t get anything done here without you.\u201d Ron stood up and hugged him, following it with a slap on the back, then looked around sheepishly, as if the extra noise and quick movements were discouraged in this place. Kelly fished in the front pocket of his coveralls and stuck something in his cheek. \u201cWe can\u2019t get anything done cause none of us has any money. I hope you brought your check book cause its going to cause a helluva lot to bury mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ron sat down and gestured to the seat next to him. RJ swallowed, surprised to be confronted by the financial issues so soon after arriving. \u201cGood to see you too.\u201d he replied gruffly while eying his middle brother. Kelly looked back at him critically while shifting whatever it was in his mouth. RJ seriously thought he was going to spit on the carpet, or possibly on RJ.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell you\u2019re the big city One, living in Indiana with your Hoosier wife and all, clearly doing better than either of us S.O.B.s.\u201d<\/p>\n
RJ looked around the circle of people about him, all expecting him to say something encouraging.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call New Carlisle a big city, and besides, I have 2 kids and a wife in school, there\u2019s not much leftover\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 The comment was answered with silence and uncomfortable shifting by everyone. RJ noticed Ron sat rigidly and he wondered if he\u2019d hurt his back recently. He wasn\u2019t going to ask though he desperately wanted to change the subject. There was no real choice though, it was the Big Question of the night. He frowned at his brothers and the professionally passive faces of the Moores and said \u201cSo ummmm, how much money are we talking?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Moore cleared his throat and said \u201cUsually the surviving members of the deceased split the costs. I think we offer a very reasonable funeral for community members such as your mother starting at $20,000.\u201d<\/p>\n
The silence got longer and the looks at RJ deeper. Kelly sat forward and barked out \u201c$20,000! Mom made less than that in a year, and mine\u2019s not much more. Why\u2019s it cost so much to dig a hole and put someone in it anyway?\u201d He leaned to the side to spit, looked at the horrified faces around him and thought better of it. \u201cHow much is that each anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCall it $7000 from each of us.\u201d offered Ronnie, who was trying to be helpful, even though he had turned slightly green at the number. Mrs. Moore stood and excused herself, flipping thru papers on a clipboard as she left. Kelly got up as well \u201cThat\u2019s no damn good either.\u201d and walked back into the room where muted signs could be seen for the toilets. RJ watched him go and said \u201cWhat else did I miss? Is her insurance handling any of this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Moore looked more uncomfortable and said \u201cMrs. Jervis didn\u2019t seem to have any\u2026active coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly walked back up and barked out \u201cStevens!, she\u2019d got remarried after Dad died. Where are any of them now? She\u2019s gave up being a Selkirk when she did that. They should have to pay, not me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ron gave Kelly a withering look and turned to RJ \u201cI called our half-brother Glen and told him about mom. He hadn\u2019t heard from her directly since the adoption, but I have stayed in touch. Even took him hunting with me last fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
RJ tried to conjure up an image of his half brother while Kelly proceeded to tell the story of their abortive hunting trip. \u201cBoy has hay-fever or something\u2026couldn\u2019t stop sneezing, had dirt and dried snot all down his face by the end of the day.\u201d Then he laughed harshly, \u201cSounded like a buck in rut!\u201d<\/p>\n
RJ couldn\u2019t picture what his half brother Glen might look like now, he was 18 months old when he\u2019d last seen him. Nor could he imagine what was going on inside Kelly\u2019s head right now,clearly he was doing a poor job of dealing with the situation. Relations between RJ\u2019s middle brother and his mom had been strained since their father\u2019s death, and Kelly pretty much stayed on his side of Wilson\u2019s creek, and Mom on the other. He didn\u2019t seem to care much for anyone or anything save his gun, his pickup, and his son Justin. RJ wasn\u2019t even sure he had that order right.<\/p>\n
RJ stood up and stretched, still stiff from the long drive and too tired to think. He felt like he\u2019d been here hours, and since there were no windows to let in the light, he might have been. It could be any time out there. He cursed the state things had fallen to here, and wanted to confront his brothers about taking care of their mom, but he wouldn\u2019t do that in front of Mr. Moore. No airing family laundry here, though he was sure his brother Kelly was itching to get into it.\u00a0 The last time RJ were here, Kelly had decided to bring up some childhood slight 25 years after it happened. Never mind that his father was lying in front of him in a casket, with all his relatives gathered round. Any time and any place was good for a scrap where Kelly was concerned.<\/p>\n
A delicate clearing of the throat announced Mrs. Moore\u2019s return. She said \u201cRichard, there\u2019s a phone call for you.\u201d RJ blinked at her not understanding for a moment. \u201cWho knows I\u2019m here?\u201d He asked no one in particular as he walked toward the office door she was holding open. If he was feeling less fatigue he might have gently corrected her with a \u201cCall me RJ, everyone else does.\u201d But instead he silently followed her thru the hallway and back upstairs to an office facing the entrance.\u00a0 She gestured to the phone lying off its cradle and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. She apparently did a lot with doors in this job. RJ watched her go and then picked up the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Selkirk?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the eldest son of Geraldine Selkirk-Stevens?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I believe I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWellsir, I have good news for you. I managed your mother\u2019s insurance policy and it appears that she was still covered at the time of her death after all. Not by much, but it should cover a SMALL funeral and her hospital bills.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is good news. I\u2019m sorry\u2026I didn\u2019t get your name sir?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWilson, I represent Private and Casuality Insurance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my mother had a policy with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a good, close friend. I am so sorry for your loss Mr. Selkirk.\u201d<\/p>\n
RJ had never heard of the company, but he could dimly remember a salesman coming by years ago when he was in college. He was certain the company name wasn\u2019t P&C Insurance though. He was about to ask about the actual amount when the silence was interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t keep you long, if you could put Mrs. Moore back \u2026.put Mrs. Moore on the phone I will make all the arrangements with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
RJ looked up from the phone to see Mrs. Moore standing silently in the door, she looked as if she expected RJ to be esctactic about the insurance news. In fact, the slipup Mr. Wilson just made led him to believe she had called him, not the other way around. He gestured her forward. \u201cHe wants to talk to you now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood news, yes?\u201d she said as she took the phone from him. RJ was determined not to be manipulated into gushing his thanks, so he nodded solemnly \u201cIt appears so. Thank you for taking the time to talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked disappointed at RJ\u2019s reaction, but then waved it off. \u201cIts nothing, we talk to insurers all the time in this business.\u201d<\/p>\n
RJ went back down the hall to the basement and Mr. Moore nodded at him and turned to his brothers. \u201cI think your brother has something to say.\u201d Both brothers quit bickering where they stood and looked over. RJ wasn\u2019t going to say anything but it seemed he was being guided along a path whether he wanted it or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was an insurance company. He said mom had a SMALL policy that should help.\u201d Ron showed immediate relief and sat back down, Kelly eyed him suspiciously \u201cHow SMALL is SMALL big brother?\u201d\u00a0 RJ shrugged \u201cI didn\u2019t ask for an exact amount, he\u2019s talking to Mrs. Moore right now. RJ gestured to the door \u201cGo and ask if you like.\u201d He let the offer hang for a long moment, but Kelly made no effort to move towards the door.<\/p>\n
Mr. Moore cleared his throat again and said \u201cThe evening grows long. Let us proceed under the assumption that a\u2026modest funeral can now be afforded. Please look at the brochures I have placed on the table before you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
RJ\u2019s mind was trying to shut down on him. He didn\u2019t want to be here picking out dresses for his mother to be buried in, he didn\u2019t want to be awake at all at the moment, but every question came around to him, what he wanted, his brothers either being mute on the subjects of coffins and color schemes, or turning the question around on him. He remembered the final amount barely fell short of the estimate Mr. Moore had originally put forth, he must have had years of guiding people thru difficult questions at at time when they were most in denial, the most emotional. Kelly left during a discussion of makeup and skintones saying he had to get back up Wilson\u2019s creek before it was too dark. Ron stayed thru the final decisions, and they got everything covered but picking out a tombstone which had to wait till the next day now that it was long after closing time. When the Moore\u2019s walked them to the door and said their goodnights Ron turned to RJ and said \u201cSon you look like 45 miles of bad road.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t that just 5 miles of bad road?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ron grinned and thumped the top of his pickup. RJ noted he was walking stiffly and holding his back rigidly. \u201cIn this case Bro, I mean every mile of it!\u00a0 Follow me back to my place you can sleep on the sofa. Pay no mind to the sound of gunshot, just stay close.\u201d<\/p>\n
RJ gave him a startled look and he laughed again \u201cYou are so easy to rattle Big Bro, I\u2019m just pulling your leg.\u201d<\/p>\n
RJ turned his car around in the parking lot and pulled up behind his brother\u2019s pickup. Ron hit the gas and spun out in a cloud of dust and gravel as he got traction on the hard tarmac surface. RJ was hard pressed to stay close as his brother sped confidently thru town in the half light of the evening. Someone waved to Ron from the drugstore doorway and he drove around the courthouse and back to talk to whomever it was. RJ pulled into the spot behind him and waited while his brother talked and joked with whoever it was. He had time to read the bumpersticker on his brother\u2019s truck just before as it pulled wildly away again. It read \u201cIf God is your co-pilot, you need to move over.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The foyer of Moore Funeral Home was slightly cooler than the afternoon warmth of October just outside, and much darker. RJ stood blinking for a moment and tried to read the announcements on the wall while his eyes swam.\u00a0 He could hear indistinct music in some other room, vaguely spiritual but not immediately recognizable. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing","missing-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pDxlf-sx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1769"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3259,"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769\/revisions\/3259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vrharbor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}