Chapter One

~Summer 2017~

 

Riley topped the pot roast with the onions, potatoes and carrots being sure not to allow the potatoes to touch the broth. He remembered that his mama had always done it this way so that the vegetables steamed and wouldn’t become mushy after hours in the crockpot.

He did this almost every Sunday and it still amazed him that when he returned home later this evening this seared piece of semi-raw meat floating in water would transform into tender roast beef surrounded by thick gray.

He then padded through the neat house until he reached the living room where he sat in the reclining chair to pull on his boots. Riley had two pairs of shoes; the boots that he wore to church and the ones in the entranceway that he wore everywhere else.

He didn’t take time to settle into the cushion of the easy chair, which was about as old as he was. Once upon a time he would have never dared to so much as look at it, let alone set his butt on it, although he did recall once taking a dare to do just that once when his parents were out. Afterwards he’d been scared to death that his father would be able to tell. He supposed it’s why the chair was still like sitting on a cloud, despite the faded and worn tapestry pattern.

  Once he had his boots on he grabbed the keys from the mantle and left the house without bothering to lock up. He didn’t recollect the front door ever being locked when he was a kid. If anyone dared break into someone’s home the entire mountain would know about it by the end of the day including the identity of the robber. Therefore, it just didn’t happen. Everybody knew everybody else up here on Cobb Hill. And everybody knew everybody’s business.

He climbed into a dented old Chevy that had basically been pieced together by his own hands, but that purred like a kitten under the hood. He drove in no particular hurry even though the church service started promptly at eleven o’clock, and no one liked being the one to interrupt the service once Pastor Tim started.

Not that the pastor ever worried over it, but it opened you up to the scrutiny of the entire congregation for such things as being late…but not having enough time to iron that dress, or being late…to probably hide that bruise after getting hit upside the head the night before and etc.

 The radio was playing a Rascal Flatts tune but Riley didn’t pay attention to the music that drifted over the speakers. Much of his life moved in exactly that manner. It was just habit and he walked through it without much conscious thought, like the backdrop of the country music that he didn’t particularly have a fondness for, or the smell of pot roast on Sunday, which he enjoyed mostly for the nostalgia.

Once he reached the church he parked his truck and strolled up to the little whitewashed building. He always timed his arrival so that he entered the church just when the doors were closing. And then he slipped quietly into a back pew. This way he missed having to chitchat with anyone including his well-meaning pastor and first lady. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the people that he went to church with, but he knew that many of them were quick to gossip. Even the most innocent question would lead to rapid speculation about his business.

Riley knew for a fact that there weren’t many people in these parts that gave two shakes about him or any other Pranger. Many folks thought that the people living on Cobb Hill were nothing but hillbillies and the Prangers had done a lot to give credence to that belief. But Riley held his head up high just the way his mama had always taught him. And now that his mama was buried out back in the cemetery along with most everyone else in his family all he could do was abide by her teachings even if it meant that he showed up at church alone and barely spoke to anyone.

Pastor Tim began preaching about man’s desire to rule over creation. He kept it simple and got a few ‘amens’ whenever there was a lull in his preaching. One side of Riley’s lip tilted upward slightly as he remembered how much granny had disliked Pastor Tim. She’d mutter insults at him almost under her breath just because he had replaced old Pastor Mulhaney. The old pastor had been her pastor since she was a girl but he’d gotten so old that he’d forget which sermon he was giving right in the middle of talking.

Riley didn’t mind Pastor Tim who talked about books and themes that were broader than what most people on the Hill thought about, although, for the most part he kept it simple.

Riley’s eyes settled on a boy in the pew ahead of his that was playing quietly with two Hot Wheels cars and his mind drifted back to a time when he used to do the same, quietly driving the toy cars across his legs and along the back of the pew ahead of him. Sometimes his Mama would give him a warning look and sometimes Granny would confiscate the cars and deposit them into her big black plastic pocketbook. But she’d return them to him a few minutes later and he would smile like it was Christmas. Back then, being able to play with his Hot Wheels while in church was almost as good as Christmas—sometimes better because at times he never got anything at Christmas.

Before Riley knew it the sermon was over and he realized that he had a smile on his face, not because Pastor Tim had timed it to last exactly an hour (verified by most of the men in the church who checked their wrist watches and sighed in relief), but because the little boy had distracted him and for a little while he had remembered a time when coming to church wasn’t something that he did alone. He wiped away the smile.

Half an hour later when church was officially over he tried to be the first one out the door but the pastor’s wife always seemed to know that was his plan and would make it her duty to ‘engage’ him. He couldn’t just ignore her so he politely waited for her to rush down the aisle toward him.

“Riley. How are you, son?”

“I’m fine.” His voice sounded like there was a wet fish shoved down his throat and he cleared it realizing that these were the first words that he had spoken all day.

“That’s good,” she continued while staring into his eyes the way only well-meaning older women like teachers and pastor wives did. “How’s your grandmother?”

As ornery as ever, he wanted to say. “She has some good days…but mostly bad.”

The middle-aged woman’s slightly pudgy faced took on a look of concern. “When we tried to visit a few weeks back she had no idea who we were…” Riley could tell that it bothered her. He wanted to tell her that it was okay and not to take it personally because sometimes she didn’t know who he was and that was one damned shame since he was the only one that mattered anymore.

He didn’t say anything and the pastor’s wife gave his shoulder a brief pat.

“Well you wish her well for us and take care of yourself, Riley.”

“Yes ma’am. I will,” he said with a brief nod and then he headed out the door being sure not to make eye contact so that he wouldn’t have to speak to anyone else.

 

 

A few minutes later Riley parked in the lot of LovingCare Elder Facility located in Irving, a short distance from Cobb Hill. He didn’t like that granny lived here instead of on the Hill but she needed constant care and it was something that he could no longer handle alone. His brother and sister were certainly no help. They’d moved out of Estill County their first opportunity. Come to think of it, so had he—only circumstances had forced his return. His mood threatened to darken—not that anyone could tell. His quiet nature had already marked him as moody; a typical Pranger, someone that you crossed the street to avoid.

He went inside and signed in as a visitor, a formality since everyone knew him and knew to expect him each and every Sunday. The woman at the front desk didn’t bother to greet him. She had been told long ago that she shouldn’t speak to the tall white man with the long beard. He was only in his twenties but he had cold, dead eyes.

Riley went straight to the recreation room where many of the residents spent their days. If the weather was nice they would be out on the front porch in wheelchairs but it was too hot for that even though it was just the beginning of June. He wasn’t looking forward to what July would have in store for them, especially working at Bodie’s Garage where it was either too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer.

Riley spotted his grandmother’s wheelchair in front of the large screen television where some travel show was playing. His heart sank when he saw that she wasn’t looking at it but staring at her hands, which were clasped in her lap.

“Granny,” he said softly while kneeling beside her. Her head lifted slowly and she looked at him. He offered her a tentative smile. “Hi. How are you today?”

“Who are you?” she asked after a few moments of staring at him.

He swallowed. I am the grandson that you took to church every Sunday of my life. I am the boy that lived with you along with my mama, daddy, brother and sister in a house built by your husband’s very own hands. I am the person that stayed with you when everyone else was gone.

And I am the person that brought you here when I couldn’t take care of you anymore.

“I’m Riley, granny.” He stared into her rheumy eyes hoping to see a spark of recognition.

“Riley…” Spoke the little old lady who barely remembered that her name was Jewel. She’d once had sparkling green eyes set in a heart shaped face with skin the color of smooth cream. Her long auburn hair had once been the envy of many women. And she’d been sassy and wild… and now she wasn’t. Dementia had turned her into someone unrecognizable both physically and mentally.

Jewel reached out one knobby, wrinkled hand to touch his long beard. He was twenty-seven and having a beard so long that it reached his collar bone was at odds to the young man that he had once been; athletic, ruggedly handsome and outgoing. But that was then and this was now.

Jewel touched his beard tentatively and Riley covered her hand lovingly with his own hand.

“I don’t know who I am,” she said in a small, lost voice that shook with age.

His eyes stung. “You’re Jewel Marlene Pranger. You’re my grandmother.” And I love you granny. I love you.

She didn’t seem to understand the words that he spoke.

It didn’t do him any good to stay too much longer. She wouldn’t remember his visit--but he would. He’d dream about this tonight and maybe over the next few nights. He kissed her on the top of her head when she once again focused on her folded hands.

He saw a nurse watching him sympathetically. The older black woman came to him. He’d seen her before, of course. He knew most of the staff even if he didn’t talk to them at length beyond asking after his granny’s appetite and health.

“She’s having a bad spell today,” the nurse spoke.

No shit, he thought. But this wasn’t the nurse’s fault. “How long has she been like this?” he asked.

“Almost all day.”

Riley ran his hand through his short hair. Despite the beard he kept the hair on top of his head short. He was big, taller than a lot of men and still well-muscled even though it had been six years since the last time he’d picked up a football.

“Alright,” he said after a time and then he walked away.

When he got home that evening the house was filled with the succulent aroma of pot roast and gravy. The potatoes and carrots were cooked perfectly but he no longer had an appetite. Still, he took himself up a plate of food and then sat down at the dining room table that was more accustomed to being surrounded by a family of eight than just one lone person.

Riley. Where are your vegetables, boy? He could practically hear his grandmother’s voice in his ears.

He got up with a sigh and whipped himself up a quick salad before taking his seat and resuming his meal.