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- 12/14/2021
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Timothy - 50. Chapter 50
My phone was ringing when I got home. I didn’t want to answer, and I knew it was about Ann Marie. “Tim, are you going to answer that phone?”
“No, let it go to the answering machine. I’m sure it is about Ann Marie being moved. Print off the messages, and I’ll read them when I have a moment.”
I made coffee and started dinner. Stephen went to our bedroom to print off the messages on the answering machine.
“I read some of these. This one is from John.’
Reading the message from John, he was shocked when he checked in at the hospital and was told a hospital van came and took Ann Marie away. They had a court order.
The following message was from Eva, Tim what did you do? Why didn’t you tell us when we were there?
The other messages I didn’t want to read or care about. I knew what I was doing was the best for Ann Marie and the family, even if they didn’t think so.
“Here, read this one.”
It was from Dad. Tim, I know you are doing what you think is right. Please keep me informed of any progress.
I looked at Stephen. “I don’t know when this is over, and I believe it will be over one of these days if I’ll ever be able to look at my family the same way.”
“Give it time, Tim. Randy sent an email. Mr. Parker wants to know if he can leave any furniture they don’t need for the new house, and he said all of the farm equipment he is leaving as well.”
“Text Randy and tell him it’ll be fine. Stephen, we need to move Randy’s computer equipment to the farm.”
He looked at me, “Donnie said he and Aunt Clara will be moving there.”
We were back eating Sunday dinners at Stephen’s house, and I found routine brought me a feeling of normality. We needed to make one more trip, and I needed to check out the lodge.
We met with the Doctors at the university hospital. “Medically, she is fine, and she has a psychosis associated with a psychotic experience. Something happened years ago that was triggered when she read that letter from that lawyer. It will take us some time to unravel whatever happened years ago.”
“Tim, do you know or have any idea of what could happen?”
“No, but whatever it was, it must have left a scar in her mind.”
“Do you think Eva would know?”
“She is two years older than me, and she was never close to Ann Marie. Ann Marie hated me, but she tolerated Eva.”
“What could have happened that would cause her to hate you?”
“I don’t know.”
The following weekend we drove to the lodge. There was a small town, Stephen said it was a village that provided the basics. There was a motel. Talking to the owner, he said they weren’t busy now, but they would be sold out during fishing and hunting seasons.
We drove to the lodge. I have seen hotels smaller than this lodge. There was a balcony the length of the lodge overlooking a lake, and I counted five doors opening onto the balcony. Getting out of the car, we headed to the front door. We hadn’t made more than ten steps when this elderly gentleman met us.
“May I help you?”
I explained I would like a tour of the lodge.
“I’m sorry, but I would need permission from Mr. Timothy Walkins to let you in.”
“I smiled as I showed him my identification.”
“Well, I’m glad to meet you. My friends call me Amos, and I’ve tended these grounds for Mr. Struthers for the last twenty years. I was sorry to hear he died.”
As Amos was talking, we were walking toward the front door.
“Amos, do you have a key?”
“Yes, sir.” We watched as Amos unlocked the door.
Entering, we were in a living room, fireplace on one wall with heads of deer and bear on the wall above the fireplace. He even had plaques of stuffed fish on the walls. The plaques had a date and a name on a bronze plate attached to the plaque.
We began our toured of the lodge. The kitchen was first class. “Stephen, what would Mom say about this kitchen.”
“This is a first-class kitchen. I’ll bet there were several parties here, and he probably had a kitchen staff to rival a three-star restaurant.”
The dining room had a table that sat 20. There were two buffets, a china closet, a wine cabinet.
“I think this was a male hideout. I’ll bet there is a pool table and card tables somewhere.”
“Sir, do you want to see the bedrooms or the wine cellar?’
“Let’s see the bedrooms and then the wine cellar.”
There were ten bedrooms, separated by a hall. Each bedroom had a closet and an ensuite bathroom. The piece de resistance was the fireplace. On one side was a bar with a shelf that contained several bottles of liquors and various alcohols. The other side had a small refrigerator with an ice cube maker, a coffee machine. Glasses and cups were on the shelf above the fridge.
I looked at Stephen, “He didn’t miss anything.”
“Tim, this looks like a hideout rather than a lodge. He could hold up here for years.”
“Amos. How many parties did he have here?”
“The lodge was busy during hunting, fishing, and semester breaks. His family had several parties here.”
As we were talking, we were walking. “This door leads to the wine cellar."
That was where we found card tables and a pool table. We followed Amos to a door in the room’s rear and the wine cellar. There were four aisles with wine racks on either side. About 60 percent of the racks contained bottles of wine. There was a tag above each bottle with the name and year of the bottle.
I just looked at Stephen. He smiled.
Leaving, we thanked Amos for the tour.
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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