A blast of cool air hit him as he shut the door. Avoiding the windows, he walked over to the desk and slid the drawer open. The gun was still sitting where he expected it to be. He picked it up, opened the chamber and looked for bullets. It was loaded. He clicked the chamber shut, checked to make sure the safety was on, and stuffed it down the front of his pants.
Moving quickly back to the door, he cracked it open. The sound of tires on gravel stopped him cold. Was it his boss back early? Did Gary forget something?
Donnie could put the gun back and get it another day but he knew he might lose his nerve if there had to be a second try. He waited and the sound of a vehicle turning around started his heart beating again. When it left the lot, he stuck his head out, saw no one, and retraced his steps to the van. Once inside, he hid the gun under his seat and started the vehicle. He still had an errand to run.
****
“You’re late!”
“Am not! Got ten minutes left.”
Donnie smiled because he knew the guys liked to give him a hard time. He set his Burger King bag down and pulled out a hamburger.
“So Donnie, what was your errand?”
Donnie reached into his back pocket and pulled out new set of work gloves.
“Just needed new gloves.”
Smitty grinned at Donnie.
“Hands hurt? Must be getting soft, Donnie.”
“Not soft, just working harder than you and wearing my old gloves out.”
Donnie smiled to himself. His old gloves were fine, laying in his van, but the guys ribbing him meant no one had seen him and he’d accomplished his mission for the day. Billy will be pleased.
Chapter 3
Donnie pulled off the county road and headed down his lane. He was excited about getting the gun and looked forward to going to see Billy. His brother would be proud of him and would want to know all the details of this milestone in their plans.
Sitting, waiting like usual, was Momma. She liked to roll herself out onto the porch and wait for Donnie to come home from work. Many times she would have a glass of cold tea waiting for him and he would sit next to her as they watched the sun go down. Sometimes he would catch her dozing when he drove up, and today was one of those days. He thought about blowing the horn to wake her, but she might not think his joke was funny.
Donnie had wanted to share the plan he and Billy were involved in with their mother. On one of his late night visits with Billy, he had asked and his brother had been very clear how he felt, even angry. Donnie remembered the conversation with some sadness. Donnie couldn’t remember a time when Billy had been angry with him when he was alive. He didn’t like Billy getting mad at him now. It didn’t happen often but it always left Donnie upset.
He stopped the van in front of the porch and climbed out. Going up the steps, he touched his mother on the shoulder.
“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!”
Donnie shook her harder and her head rolled back. He put his hand on her throat to check for a pulse. She was cold. He fell back onto the porch and sat looking at her, tears rolling down his face.
“Oh…Momma.”
****
Donnie didn’t know how long he’d sat at his dead mother’s feet but the sun was disappearing over the horizon as he finally decided what to do. Actually, he decided what not to do. He didn’t call 911.
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.
Donnie wheeled his mother back inside and into her bedroom. Cradling her in his arms, he managed to get her onto her bed. He gently laid her out, crossed her hands on her chest and covered her up. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
“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.”
Donnie stood quietly looking down at his brother’s name. The rose his mother had left was now wilted, dying. Donnie’s heart broke as he bent down and picked it up, twirling it in his fingers. He could see his Momma there, laying it on the stone, and tears began to fall again.
His expression changed as a voice no one else could hear spoke to him. Donnie went from sad to surprised.
“You know?”
He listened.
“You knew it was coming?!”
More silence.
“Why didn’t you tell me, give me warning?”
Donnie was angry. His brother could have prepared him but instead chose not to. Donnie couldn’t understand why and apparently his brother wasn’t going to tell him because Billy changed the subject.
“Yeah, I got it. Went without a hitch.”
Donnie didn’t really want to discuss the plan. He needed to know what to do about Momma. He needed to know things would be okay. Donnie sensed the loss of his mother could be the catalyst for getting Billy his final rest but he also feared it might derail everything. He knew he needed the mission to keep his life from unraveling.
“Where should I put Momma, Billy? There’s no room for her here with you and I don’t want her far from us.”
Donnie’s eyebrows went up.
“Really? Do you think it would be alright?”
A smile came to Donnie’s face.
“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 Donnie up early. He went into the barn and gathered wood from the lumber pile. He laid the wood out on the ground and pieced it together in his mind. Some nails and he thought it would do the job.
Donnie was supposed to work again today and so he needed to call in. When he called, it was his boss Gary Maddox, who answered.
“Hi, Gary. Mommas real sick, I won’t be able to work today.”
“Okay.”
Donnie sensed something wasn’t right.
“I’ll let you know tomorrow morning if she’s better.”
“Fine. Donnie, you wouldn’t know what happened to my gun, would you?”
Donnie’s heart started to pound.
“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 Donnie could respond. He hung up the phone. He didn’t want to lose his job but he was relieved and managed a smile.
He doesn’t know who took it. He suspects me but he doesn’t know for sure. One less thing to worry about.