Gabe was motionless as Moultrie read the will, glancing up every now and then.
“‘I, Ezekiel Bell Jr. of the city of Swinton, the state of South Carolina, do hereby make, publish and declare the following as and for my last will and testament, hereby revoking all wills and codicils made by me at any time, and directing that my executor, or substitute executor, serve without bond.
“‘First, I nominate, and appoint my attorney, Jasper Lee Moultrie, as executor of this, my last will and testament, and direct that he pay my funeral expenses and just debts as soon after my decease as possible.
“‘Second, I give and bequeath to my great-grandson, Gabriel Riley Bell of New York City, New York, for the period of three full months as soon after my death as possible, my fifteen acres of land, which include my home at 305 North Grayson Road outside of Swinton, South Carolina.
“‘Third, Gabriel Riley Bell is to reside in the furnished house at 305 North Grayson Road and to examine its contents closely.
“‘Fourth, Gabriel Riley Bell is to explore, discover and carry out the treasured destiny this property has held for six generations.
“‘Fifth, Gabriel Riley Bell may not rent, lease or sell any portion of this particular property.
“‘Sixth, Jasper Lee Moultrie, executor, will provide living expenses of two thousand dollars a month for the three months.
“‘Seventh, upon the satisfactory completion by Gabriel Riley Bell of Article Four, the executor will so declare and will then deliver to Gabriel Riley Bell the entire estate consisting of the aforesaid fifteen acres of land in Swinton, South Carolina, the house and contents that are on the property, and any other parcels of land belonging to the estate at the time of my death.
“‘Eighth, I give and bequeath to Gabriel Riley Bell the sum of one hundred thousand dollars with one half to be held in trust for his brother, Drew Booker Bell, until his twenty-fifth birthday.
“‘In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal on this eighth day of June 2005.
“‘Signed and declared by the said Ezekiel Bell Jr., and for his last will and testament in the presence of us, who at his request, in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses.
“‘Marshall G. Hamilton of Swinton, South Carolina, Jane Ann Hamilton of Swinton, South Carolina, Jasper Lee Moultrie of Charlotte, North Carolina.’”
Moultrie silently handed Gabe a copy of what he’d read. As he reached for it and settled back on the couch, Gabe felt his breath return. He’d been oxygen starved. Drew scooted next to him so he could read the will that talked about fifty thousand dollars for him. He had to see the words to believe it.
“So I’m to go to Swinton and live in this house on the fifteen-acre property for three months during which time you’ll give me living expenses of two thousand a month?” Gabe asked, his eyes still on the document.
“That is correct.”
“That’s clear. What I don’t get is the fourth article. As a result, I assume, of examining the contents of the house, I’m supposed to discover and carry out a treasured destiny that’s been waiting or hidden for six generations?”
His voice rose in disbelief as he repeated the words Ezekiel had written. “What does that mean?” His gaze fixed itself on Moultrie but his expression said that whatever Moultrie answered it would be subject to disbelief.
“Sounds like it means buried treasure.” Drew, excited at the prospect of finding a cache of jewels, clutched Gabe’s arm.
“I can’t tell you, Mr. Bell,” Moultrie said sympathetically. “I do know that most of what you’ll need is in the house so as soon as you get there…it’d be wise to thoroughly search each room. Drew can help you.”
“But what are we to look for? A map, a key, a box, or what?”
“Mr. Bell said you’ll know it when you see it.”
There was another provision stipulated in the will that was perplexing to Gabe. “Why the sixth generation? That’s a long time to wait. Supposing there hadn’t been a grandson with the name Bell in the sixth generation?”
“When I asked the same question, Mr. Bell said the oldest African had foretold it.”
Other questions that Gabe or Drew brought up usually came back in one way or another to the same vague statement. Gabe began to think Moultrie knew as little about this “treasured destiny” as he did. Great-Grandfather had trusted even his attorney just so far with ancient secrets.
There were only three issues to be decided about the will as far as Gabe was concerned. If he took the whole matter seriously, as he decided to do after Moultrie left.
The first involved his job with the state in the accounting department. He’d gone there right out of college and was content to do a competent job that would advance him up the ladder in a reasonable number of years before retirement. Consultation with human resources and his department head resulted in an agreement that he could take two of the weeks as vacation and the rest as a leave of absence without pay but without a loss of benefits. Since benefits was his main concern because of Drew, Gabe was satisfied.
The second issue was that Drew had been slacking off in school and worrying Gabe seriously for the first time because of the group of kids he’d begun hanging with.
Intervention of some sort was called for and Gabe had been racking his brains as to what it should be. There was no way he was going to allow Drew to slide further down the slippery slope of disengagement from school.
Three months away from his school would at least change his environment. Gabe went to the school counselor, who helped him make arrangements for lessons and exams.
The third issue was the least important to Gabe. He asked himself again if he would be searching for gold. But it would be an adventure unlike any that had come his way in his uneventful life, and it would help Drew.
The day he’d notified Moultrie that he’d arranged matters with his job, the attorney urged him to get to Swinton as quickly as possible. “Remember the house is fully furnished. All you and Drew need are clothes and personal items like your computer, books and music.”
A week later they were on their way with a check for two thousand dollars in Gabe’s wallet.
Chapter 2
“This is a whole lot better’n yesterday.” Drew drummed the side window in rhythm with the beat from the radio.
“You can say that again,” Gabe agreed.
His spirits had been rising ever since they’d awakened to see clear skies from the windows of the Richmond motel where they’d decided to stay when, instead of the rain stopping as Gabe had prophesied, it had increased right up through the early dark. After breakfast they’d gone through Virginia and were now in South Carolina.
The total mileage from New York to Swinton was around seven hundred miles and Gabe could have made it in one long drive. Friends of his had boasted of driving more than that, stopping only for brief naps by the roadside. That wasn’t his style. He wanted to see where he was going and what the land was like. South Carolina was certainly different from any place he’d seen before.
The sun shone through huge trees whose branches arched over long approaches to houses set back on lots, and it shone as well through tall, straight trees that marked the boundaries of fields.
Some of the fields were already green. Some were still brown.
“What’s that white stuff over there?” Drew pointed to a large field where dry brown plants had balls of white sticking to them.
Gabe slowed the car. “That’s cotton.”
“It grows like that?” Drew looked at him disbelievingly.
“You’ve seen pictures of it in books and on TV, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, but—” He turned to look again at the fluffy balls.
“But it’s different when you see it in real life, isn’t it? I wish Pop had told us about his South Carolina people. Those unknown relatives of ours had seen cotton fields. Maybe they’d even gone along those rows picking and filling sa
cks to be taken to the cotton mills. Or maybe they worked in the tobacco fields. Remember those funny-shaped tobacco barns we saw?”
Gabe hoped Drew was picking up information that he’d remember. For himself, he was ashamed of his own ignorance. If nothing else good came out of this adventure, his New York insularity had been revealed to him. There was much more to be seen and to be appreciated beyond the five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.
They passed small towns where there’d be rural sections where empty houses and other structures had fallen in upon themselves and were covered with vines. He’d read somewhere that the green plant that clambered up trees and smothered them was a parasite called kudzu. It was extremely difficult to get rid of. He noticed there were a number of houses with trees, shrubs and flowers around them, but the houses were standing alone except for a garage and perhaps a shed. He wondered who lived in those dwellings and what their lives were like without other people close by.
The contrast between the South Carolina countryside and what he saw daily in Manhattan was fascinating to him.
Signs told him he was coming up on Florence where he knew he’d have to feed the hungry gas tank. Might as well feed his always-hungry brother, too, before he began complaining. He could leave I-95 here and pick up 20 West, get a glimpse of what Columbia, the capital, was like, then go southwest and make his way to Swinton.
“Are we gonna eat anytime soon?” Drew asked right on schedule.
“We’re stopping in Florence for gas and we’ll eat there.” He filled the tank at the first Shell station he saw then drove away.
“Hey! There’s a McDonald’s right next door,” Drew pointed out.
“I see it. Let’s go someplace a little nicer. Aren’t you tired of fast food?”
Drew shrugged and began looking earnestly on both sides of the street. “I just wanna eat sometime soon,” he grumbled.
They came to a small shopping area that had a homey look with its trees, benches, and turn-of-the-
century lamp fixtures.
“There’s a restaurant next to that bookstore,” Drew said. Gabe turned in and found a parking place. He took his new casual jacket from the backseat and slipped it on. After they visited the men’s room and came out into the nicely decorated dining area, Gabe felt a sense of excitement. This was the final leg of their trip. Their next stop would be Swinton.
Business was brisk, with a stream of people at the buffet counter. Many of the tables were already occupied and there was a buzz of conversation throughout.
“The food looks good,” Drew said as he picked up a tray and silverware. “I’m sure hungry.”
“Get whatever you want.” Gabe was behind Drew and had already decided on the steak and baked potato combination, a green salad and cherry pie. A lady farther down the line was having some problem at the cash register. As Gabe leaned a little forward to see what was happening, his attention was caught by the profile of a young black woman just past the third person beyond Drew.
She turned slightly to look at the vegetable casserole she’d passed and seemed to be making up her mind whether to order it.
Her skin, the color of creamy milk chocolate, was flawless and the contour of her face seemed perfectly designed. He couldn’t see her eyes but a turquoise earring sparkled in the lobe of a delicate ear and matched the jacket she was wearing.
As she shifted her shoulder bag, her left hand came into view. It was bare. I’ve got to see her face, Gabe thought.
The line began to move swiftly as a second cashier was added. Drew and Gabe had to answer questions from the server about their steaks and by the time they’d received their meal, the young lady was nowhere to be seen.
“I don’t see an empty table in this section,” Drew commented, and led the way around a partition into a smaller area where the tables and chairs were bunched together.
Gabe was suddenly struck from behind by a tray and felt something damp landing on the left arm of his new jacket.
“What the—” he began and turned while trying to keep his tray of food upright.
The girl in the turquoise jacket was trying to keep the rest of her food from sliding off her tilted tray while apologizing at the same time.
“I’m so sorry.” Big hazel eyes glanced up at Gabe and a deep flush reddened her face.
“Here, let me clean the potato salad off of your sleeve. Someone bumped me and before I knew it my tray hit you. I’m so sorry.”
She needed her hands free but there wasn’t an empty table nearby. Among the diners watching the fiasco was a woman who took the tray and offered a clutch of napkins.
Gabe wanted to be anyplace but where he was. Everyone was looking at them as the girl bent and wiped at the oily salad, making the spot worse than it had been. Where was Drew? He could at least come and get Gabe’s tray so he could move.
“It’s all right,” he told the girl. “Don’t bother with it.” Gabe didn’t think she even heard him, she was so upset as she kept rubbing.
“Little accident?” Drew said with a broad grin as he came up beside Gabe and took his tray. He rarely had the opportunity to see his big brother lose his cool.
Annoyed at being the center of this kind of attention, Gabe captured the girl’s hands. They were slender, soft and smooth.
“It’s only a cotton jacket and it’ll wash out,” he said firmly, letting go of her hands and taking a step away.
Gabe saw she was nearly as tall as he when she straightened up to discard the damp napkins. The profile he’d seen of her at the counter hadn’t prepared him for the interesting tilt of her eyes, the generous shape of her mouth, the nose that fit perfectly with her other features and above all, a sense of strength and determination. No wonder it had been so hard to make her stop her cleaning job.
“I’ll be glad to have the jacket cleaned,” she said. Her voice was businesslike as she met his eyes but her face still had a rosy flush.
“That isn’t necessary, but thanks.” Wanting to put an end to the already overlong scene, Gabe turned away and walked over to the table where Drew was waiting.
“Eat your food so we can get out of here,” he growled as Drew welcomed him with a smirk. “I’m tired of being the afternoon’s entertainment!”
He’d wanted to meet the girl in the turquoise jacket, but did it have to be a disaster?
If this muddle was an indication of things to come in the next three months, he might as well turn the car around and head back to New York.
A few hours later, Gabe was convinced this might be one of the weirdest decisions he’d ever made in his thirty-five years as he slowed his car to a mere crawl, trying to avoid the potholes in the one-lane country road, which was already guilty of layering what used to be his sparkling black Lexus with dust.
The fact that the afternoon sun held a softness that he’d never experienced in New York City in March didn’t make him feel any better, and even though it illuminated spectacular trees, which stood like ancient sentinels, their branches arched over long approaches to houses both stately and modest, his earlier enjoyment waned each time his tire hit another pothole.
When he’d seen the detour sign a few miles back, he’d had no idea it meant going from a four-lane highway onto seven miles of dirt road. Surely this couldn’t last much longer. Glancing in his rearview mirror, he saw there was a line of cars behind him. If they were in a hurry it was just too bad. He wasn’t taking a chance on injuring his car by going any faster than the fifteen miles per hour his speedometer was registering. Now he understood why there’d been a hand-printed Drive Carefully warning taped to the metal detour notice.
Up ahead he thought he saw another bright orange sign. He accelerated to twenty miles per hour and sure enough, after a slow and careful turn to avoid another large pothole, he was able to get back on the highway.
When they’d left Florence, Drew had grumbled, “I wish we could’ve stayed on I-95 and gone to Florida. At least it has Disney Worl
d. But what’s South Carolina got?”
“Lots of alligators. They used to fascinate you.”
“That’s when I was a little kid.” Drew twisted his mouth in scorn.
“Fort Sumter is outside of Charleston. That’s where the Civil War began.”
“Who cares about history? Anyway, we’re not going to Charleston.” Drew turned away from Gabe and fidgeted around in the passenger seat until he found a comfortable place to put his long frame, and in a few minutes had gone to sleep for the umpteenth time since they had left Manhattan and Gabe had pointed the Lexus south.
Gabe was trying to hold on to the notion of adventure this South Carolina trip might have for him and Drew, when he saw a green sign on the right: Swinton, Next Exit.
His heart beat faster and he touched Drew on the shoulder.
“Wake up, Drew. We’re almost there!”
Drew sat up. “It’s about time,” he grouched, trying to hide his excitement as he rubbed his eyes.
Gabe took the exit smoothly and paused at the light. Seeing nothing on the left except more fields, he turned right when the light changed. Cars passed him on the left while he took in the scattering of gas stations and small businesses interspersed with modest frame houses that hadn’t yet been overtaken by the town as it expanded toward the highway.
“Today is March 4,” Gabe observed. “Look at that sign by the bank. What does it say the temperature is?”
“Fifty-five degrees at 3:00 p.m.”
“You have any idea what the temperature at home is?”
“Yeah. I heard on the radio it’s 30 degrees and cloudy,” Drew said.
Although it wasn’t the intense yellow of a summer sun, the light that fell on the brick library, the two-story town hall, the steeple-white Baptist church and the residences that began to appear had a pleasant glow.
“I like this better,” Gabe said. Cold weather had to be endured if you were living in Manhattan but he’d always looked forward to its departure.
“Where do people down here swim?” Drew turned to look at a group of several brick buildings that, according to the sign, comprised Swinton High School.
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