Coulson's Crucible

by Anna J. McIntyre

  “So how was the lecture?” Harrison asked his wife.

  “Boring, how did you expect it to be?” she asked.

  “Well, did you enjoy it at all? It’s usually lovely up in Clement Falls this time of year.”

  “I suppose. A very handsome man flirted with me.”

  “Someone from the museum looking for a donation?” Harrison asked.

  “No.” Vera glared at Harrison. “He was just some man I met when I stopped at the market.”

  “Well that explains why you were so late,” Harrison said, yet he didn’t seem upset.

  “Mother, picking up men at Clement Falls now?” Garret teased.

  “Hardly.” Vera glared at her middle son.

  “Did he know who you were?” Randall asked.

  “Why do you ask that?” Vera frowned at her father-in-law.

  “You need to be careful, Vera. All sorts of unscrupulous men out there waiting to take advantage of someone in your position.”

  “What do you mean in my position?”

  “I’m sure you know exactly what I mean.”

  “I find that insulting, Randall. Basically you’re saying the only reason a man might flirt with me is because I’m married to your son?”

  “I didn’t realize having strange men flirt with you was so important,” Randall said.

  “Good lord, I never said it was important. I simply made a comment that a man flirted with me, and the only conclusion you can arrive at is that someone wants something from you.”

  Randall started to comment but Harrison interrupted, saying, “Dad, I’m constantly amazed at how little you know about women.” He turned to look at Vera. “I apologize for my teasing. I didn’t mean to start—this. You are a very attractive woman, and I see no reason why a man wouldn’t flirt with you.” Harrison paused for a moment then asked, “Russell, hand me the rolls please.”

  “I need someone to drive me to Tommy Chamberlain’s house tonight,” Russell said as he handed his father the basket of rolls.

  “Who is Tommy Chamberlain?” Vera took a sip of her wine.

  “He’s a boy in my class. His family moved here this summer.”

  “Why do you need to go there on a school night?” Vera asked him.

  “Tommy was sick today, so the teacher asked if someone would take him his school work. I volunteered.”

  “That was generous of you.” Vera sounded annoyed.

  “My driver can take you,” Randall told Russell. “You do know where this boy lives?”

  “Thanks, Grandfather. Yeah, I know. Ryan Keller told me.”

  “Who’s Ryan Keller?” Randall asked. He couldn’t recall a Keller family.

  “He’s also new this year.”

  “There are a lot of new people moving into Coulson,” Randall said with a smile, pleased the city he founded—that bore his name—was growing.

  Chapter 4

  “Beth, a limousine just pulled up in the driveway.” George Chamberlain held the lace curtain to one side as he looked out his living room window. “And I’ll be damned, that looks like a chauffeur driving the car.”

  “In Coulson?” Beth walked from the kitchen while drying her hands on a dishtowel. She had just finished washing up the dinner dishes. Beth peaked out the window and watched as the chauffeur opened the back door of the vehicle and let out a small boy. He appeared to be about the same age as their son, Tommy. The chauffeur stayed by the car as the child ran up to their front door. He carried a stack of papers.

  Beth opened the door before the boy had time to ring the doorbell.

  “Hello,” Beth greeted with a smile.

  “Hello, I’m Russell Coulson. I’m in Tommy’s class. I brought him his school work.”

  Coulson, well that explains the limousine and chauffeur, Beth thought. She guessed he was Garret’s younger brother. There was a strong family resemblance; they both had remarkable blue eyes. But the younger Coulson had blond hair while his brother’s hair was dark.

  Russell started to hand her the papers, but when she reached for them, he abruptly pulled them back.

  “Can I see Tommy?” he asked.

  Beth smiled and moved to one side so he could come in the house. She glanced outside to the driveway and noticed the chauffeur didn’t appear to be in a hurry to go anywhere.

  “Should we invite your driver in?” Beth asked before shutting the door.

  “Nah, he’d rather wait by the car. He told me so.”

  “Okay.” Beth shrugged and shut the door. In the living room, George had moved to the couch and had turned on the television. Beth led Russell to the hallway leading to Tommy’s bedroom.

  Walking down the hallway, Russell heard girls’ voices coming from a room ahead. The door was open. As he and Beth passed the room’s doorway, he glanced in and saw two little girls sitting on the floor playing dolls. The girls stopped what they were doing and looked up at him but said nothing. As he continued down the hallway, the smaller of the two girls dropped her doll and ran to the doorway to see who was with her mother. Russell didn’t look back, so he didn’t know Tommy’s youngest sister was staring at him.

  “Tommy, you have a visitor,” Beth said as she opened the door to her son’s bedroom.

  Wearing pajamas, Tommy sat on his bed sorting through his baseball cards. He looked up to see who it was.

  “Hi,” Russell greeted as he glanced around the bedroom.

  “Hi, Russell, what’re you doing here?” Tommy tossed his cards in a heap on the center of the bed then moved so that he was sitting along the edge of the mattress, his bare feet dangling to the floor.

  “Russell, you can go on in. According to the doctor, Tommy isn’t contagious anymore. Tommy, Russell brought your school work.”

  “Oh, drat,” Tommy said as Russell handed him the stack of papers.

  “I’ll leave you boys to chat a bit.” Beth left the room.

  “There really isn’t much,” Russell assured him. “Just some stupid stuff, you can do it pretty fast.”

  Tommy glanced briefly at the papers and then tossed them on the floor. Russell sat on the mattress with Tommy. The two boys started looking through the baseball cards as they talked.

  “So nothing happened at school today?” Tommy asked.

  “Nuthin’ much.”

  “My sister Alex kicked Andy Smith in the ankle after school.”

  “He’s a badass. Did he sock her?”

  “Nah, she can run pretty fast for a girl. But she needs to stop doing stupid stuff like that. She’s gonna get pounded.”

  “Yep, Andy Smith has no problem pounding girls.”

  “He ever bother you?”

  “Nah, no one ever bugs me.”

  “You ever hit girls?” Tommy wanted to smack his sisters sometimes but his father wouldn’t let him.

  “Nope. Garret would pound me if I hit a girl.”

  “Garret?”

  “He’s my brother. Goes to the high school.”

  “It’s pretty weird to have the high school next door. Where we used to live, it was across town.”

  “Last year it was all one school. You have any brothers?”

  “No, just two apey sisters. You have any sisters?”

  “No. Just two brothers.”

  “That’s cool. I wish I had a brother instead of apey sisters.”

  “Sometimes brothers can be pretty apey too.”

  Beth stood at her front door and watched as Russell Coulson raced to the limousine parked in her driveway. A few minutes later, after the car pulled away, she closed the door then joined her husband in the living room.

  “I believe that’s the brother of the boy I was telling you about earlier.” Beth sat next to George. Pulling her bare feet onto the sofa, she leaned against her husband.

  “I heard him say his name was Coulson.” He put his arm around his wife’s shoulder and gave her a little pat.

  “From what I understand there are three sons. The oldest is in college, the middle son is in my
class, and the one that just raced out the door, that’s the youngest.”

  “The one in your class, the one Alex raved about at the dinner table, that’s your trouble maker?”

  “I wouldn’t say trouble maker exactly, just too cool to follow the rules. But after today, I learned something about that boy.”

  Unbeknownst to Beth and George, their eldest daughter was standing in the hallway eavesdropping on their conversation.

  “What’s that?”

  “I always knew that boy wasn't all spit and fire. He has a little softness, and I'm hoping to find where he's hidden his brains.”

  “I imagine it’s where most sixteen-year-old boys have their brains.” They both laughed. Alex raced back to her bedroom before her little sister Katie tattled on her. They weren’t supposed to eavesdrop on their parents; her mother said it was rude. But she wondered what her parents found so funny.

  “Did that boy go home?” Katie asked Alexandra when she returned to the bedroom. A year younger than her sister, Katie looked like an Alexandra miniature.

  “I didn’t see him in the living room, so I guess so.” Alexandra sat back on the floor with her sister and began putting clothes on her doll.

  “Were you scared when those boys chased you?” Katie asked.

  “No. They were just dopy boys. They didn’t scare me.” Alex sounded as if she meant it.

  “Do you like it here?” Katie looked at her sister.

  “You mean our new house?”

  “Yeah. I miss Grandma.” Katie sounded sad.

  “Me too. But mom says she’s coming to spend Christmas with us,” Alex reminded.

  “That’s a long time from now.”

  “I know. Do you like kindergarten?”

  “Yeah, it’s fun. Do you like first grade?” Katie asked.

  “Not as fun as kindergarten.”

  “Alex, please don’t kick those big boys again. I don’t want you to get socked.”

  “Don’t worry, Katie. I can run real fast.” Plus I have a protector.

  “What are you two doing?” Tommy asked from the doorway.

  “Playing dolls. Want to play?” Katie asked.

  “No way.” Tommy made a stink face.

  Katie shrugged and went back to playing with her doll.

  “Who was that boy?” Alex asked.

  Tommy walked into the room and sat on one of the two twin beds. “Russell. He’s in my class. He brought over my school work.”

  “Mom says you’re going back to school on Monday.”

  “Yeah, I can’t wait!”

  “You don’t like staying home with Dad?” Katie sounded surprised.

  “It’s okay. But there’s nothing to do here.”

  “You could always play dolls with us,” Katie said. Tommy rolled his eyes, jumped off the bed, and kicked at the doll clothes, scattering them over the floor, before heading back to his room.

  “Boys are stupid,” Katie whispered, when Tommy left the room.

  “I know,” Alex agreed.

  Harrison and Randall sat in the library at Coulson House smoking cigars when Russell returned from the Chamberlain’s house.

  The eight-year-old poked his head in the room for a brief moment. “Thanks, Grandfather!” He didn’t wait for a response but dashed down the hall and up the staircase to his bedroom. Randall chuckled.

  “That boy is always on the go. Reminds me of you, when you were his age.”

  “I don’t know about that, but he’s a sharp one and he doesn’t seem to get in trouble like his older brothers.”

  “Boys are supposed to shake things up at their age,” Randall said.

  “I suppose.” Harrison flicked an ash into a pottery bowl on the table next to his chair. “You know, Mother would skin us if she caught us smoking in her library.”

  “Yes, she would. Sometimes I wonder if she’s here, watching us.” Randall glanced to the sofa where they had found her body.

  “Dad, don’t you ever think of getting married again?”

  “Lord, at my age, whatever for?”

  “I don’t know. Companionship—love.”

  “Harrison, your mother was the only woman for me. I’m quite content with my life.”

  They were silent for a moment before Harrison broached another topic.

  “Dad, do you think it’s a good idea for Sonny to take this Europe trip alone? He’s awful young.”

  “Nonsense, you were married and had a child by the time you were his age. And you’d traveled to Europe.”

  “Yes, when I was in the service—during the war. I hate to say it, but that boy is awful immature, in spite of the fact he’s graduated from college.”

  “Then this trip will do him some good. Let him experience a broader view of the world.”

  Upstairs, Garret was in Sonny’s room, watching his brother unpack his suitcases.

  “So why unpack?” Casually sprawled across his brother’s bed, Garret picked up a cigarette off Sonny’s nightstand and lit it.

  “What kind of question is that?” Sonny glanced at his brother. “Get your damn shoes off my bed.”

  “Don’t get all bent.” Garret shrugged and sat up, setting his feet on the floor. Flicking ashes on the carpet, he took another drag off the cigarette. “This is shitty weed. When did you start smoking menthol? You a girl or something?” Garret smashed the lit cigarette in the ashtray, putting it out.

  “Go buy your own fucking smokes.” Sonny tossed his empty suitcases in the closet.

  “I thought the old man was sending you on some trip. Figured you’d be packing instead of unpacking,” Garret said.

  “You jealous?”

  “Not especially.”

  “I hear those French girls are really hot.” Sonny sat on the edge of his desk and looked over at his younger brother. “Figured I’d fuck my way through Europe.”

  “Because you can’t get any here?”

  “I get plenty. Just looking forward to something different.”

  Bored with the conversation, Garret stood up.

  “That explains what happened to your brain,” Garret said as he walked to the door.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Sonny scowled.

  “You fucked your brain out.” Garret laughed as he walked from the room. A moment later Sonny slammed his door shut. Walking down the hall, still chuckling, Garret noticed his younger brother Russell was looking out his doorway.

  “Hey, squirt.” Garret smiled at Russell.

  “Is he really leaving again?” Russell whispered. Stepping out into the hallway, the young boy glanced down at his eldest brother’s closed door.

  “That’s what they say. Haven’t heard when. Can’t be soon enough as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Garret, why is Sonny the way he is?”

  “You mean an asshole?”

  “You aren’t supposed to use words like that.”

  Garret laughed and then tousled his brother’s blond hair.

  “You gonna rat me out, kid?”

  “No.” Russell looked somewhat offended that Garret would suggest such a thing. Russell could not recall a time Sonny actually lived at Coulson House. He was always off at college, but he did visit on occasional weekends and holidays. They weren’t visits Russell looked forward to, as Sonny enjoyed tormenting him.

  “Sonny—is Sonny. But lucky for us the schmuck won’t be here for long,” Garret cheerfully reminded him.

  Chapter 5

  “Anthony, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Gina told her brother. She watched as he packed his suitcase. Fifteen minutes earlier, he had tossed it on the bed after announcing he was leaving the boarding house.

  “There’s nothing for me to do up here. I’m about to go crazy from boredom.” He continued to pack.

  “It’s that woman, isn’t it?” Gina asked.

  “What woman?”

  “The Coulson woman, I saw how you looked at her. Please, don’t try starting anything with her. I thought you came up here
to lay low for a while, until things settle down in Long Island. You don’t want to draw attention to yourself.”

  “You worry too much, Gina. I can take care of myself.” He closed his suitcase and lifted it off the bed. After kissing his sister’s cheek, he headed out the door.

  Gina stood on her front porch and watched as Anthony got into his car and drove off.

  “Is he gone?” Nick asked, walking into the living room. Gina continued to stand at the open door.

  “Why didn’t you make him stay?” Gina asked.

  “Your brother has never listened to me. And frankly, I’m glad he’s gone.” Nick walked over to the door and closed it. Gina turned and looked at her husband.

  “He’s my brother,” she said, tears in her eyes.

  “And if he wasn’t your brother I never would have put up with him for as long as I have. I don’t like him around my family. He makes me nervous. Your brother is a dangerous man, you know that.”

  “He loves me,” Gina whispered, tears swimming in her large brown eyes. Nick pulled her into his arms and held her.

  “I love you too, Gina. I want you safe.” He kissed the top of her head.

  Cliffwood Motel was built the same year as Coulson House. Unlike the stately mansion, whose primary function was to impress potential property owners and show the world Randall Coulson was committed to the ambitious development project, speed and price dictated the motel’s construction. Time had not been kind to the inferior structure, which looked twice its actual age.

  For Wally Keller, Cliffwood Motel’s dilapidated state made it possible for him to afford the purchase of the rundown commercial property. Had the motel been located in an isolated area or on the outskirts of town, it would not have suited his needs. After all, he had two sons to consider. Two sons he was raising on his own.

  He had worked in construction since he was a teenager so when renovating the motel, he could do most of the labor himself. Becoming a business owner had never been his dream, but after his wife’s death two years earlier, he found it increasingly difficult to be both a mother and father to his boys while working outside the home in his construction job.