“That’s why you said something about building a treatment facility for people with disfiguring diseases as an example of a way for me to increase the value of the land.”
“That’s actually what he had planned for it.”
Lee let that sink in for a moment and wondered why Stonebugger hadn’t told him that from the beginning. “Mother said he had referred to it as ‘the promised land.'“
“He talked about it for years, but for some reason, nothing ever came of it.”
“So he wanted me to carry out what he didn’t.”
“I’m assuming that was his intent.”
“Why didn’t he come right out and say that in his will?”
“I think it was because he knew you well enough through your mother to know for you to succeed in life, you had to figure things out for yourself.” He paused. “Unlike your brothers who were handed things on a platter and were able to run with it. I don’t mean any disrespect toward them. That’s just how it was, or so he told me.”
“Yes, that was pretty much how it was. I’m surprised to hear he knew me that well. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised to hear my mother knew me that well.”
Basil laughed. “When you’re a parent yourself, you’ll understand. Yes, he knew all about you. Your underutilized intellect, your struggle to fit in, your fears. Your mother told him everything.”
“If he knew how much I was struggling, I wonder why he didn’t come clean and rescue me.”
“My guess is if he had any regrets in life, that would have been it. He agonized over it. Believe me when I tell you that.” Basil let out a long sigh.
“I’m thinking back to our first couple of meetings. You were pretty hard on me.”
“Now here comes my regret. But first, understand I had just lost my life-long friend, a friend I loved, admired, and believed in. I had watched him struggle for years over the death of his sister and then his parents. I witnessed all his bad decisions and then listened to numerous plans to do something in his sister’s memory that never came to fruition. And then when he bought that land and told me his plan for it, I thought he was on to something, and I was so happy for him. A stronger Nelson had emerged. So when I discovered you were the beneficiary and read the terms and conditions he put in his will as to how you were to use the land...well, now I thought I was going to have to witness his dream falling apart, and I was resentful.”
“You had no faith in me.”
“It wasn’t that, Lee. I thought he was making it too restrictive...for anyone, let alone someone who was struggling to find himself.”
“But you finally came around.”
“I would argue it was you who came around. I think the old coot knew exactly what he was doing. What if he hadn’t put those restrictions on you, or what if there had been no restrictions at all? Would we be sitting here having this discussion?”
“Probably not.”
“Is this helpful? Do you think you know him a little better now?”
“Yes, I do. I have a different perspective now. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, please bring me up-to-date on what you’re doing.”
Lee told him about the progress on the research facility. When he mentioned Dr. Rad’s name, Basil gave him a puzzled look.
“Dr. Rad? Short for a much longer name, right?”
“Yes.”
“The University of Illinois. I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection earlier.”
“Mother told me Nelson was indirectly responsible for putting us together.”
“I never met the man, but I was involved in awarding him a small grant several years ago. Nelson met him. Thought he was eccentric but a brilliant researcher. Nelson’s real interest, though, was in his work with red clover.”
“How is that?”
“Nelson had been talking with the University of Maryland Medical Center about their research in treating skin inflammations, such as psoriasis. It was through them he met Dr. Rad.”
“What’s the connection with red clover?”
“UM was one of the first institutions to use red clover in medical research.”
30 | Five Years Behind Bars
A sharp rap on the front door startled Lee as he sat in his living room drinking his third cup of coffee, listening to music, waiting for the rain to stop so he could check out the glass that had been installed in the greenhouses the day before.
Shaneta stood on his doorstep, soaking wet, her shoes caked with mud. She clutched a soggy sack of...something.
“This isn’t workin’.”
Lee looked her up and down. “What isn’t working?”
“Look out there,” she said, pointing to the dirt road leading to Dr. Rad’s lab.
“I don’t see anything.”
“Exactly. That’s because it sank in the mud.”
“What sank in the mud?”
“The golf cart. What else do you think I would be talkin’ ’bout?”
“Shaneta, why did you take the golf cart out on a dirt road in this rain? Couldn’t you have guessed that would happen?”
Shaneta gave him a look that defied any answer.
“Would you like to come in and clean yourself up?”
“No. I would like a ride to Raddie’s. He’s waitin’ for me.”
“Looking like that?”
“He doesn’t care what I look like. He’s hungry.”
“Well, if you ask me—”
“No one is askin’ you...with all due respect.”
“I’m only saying—”
“Can you just give me a ride...please?”
Lee spread a tarp on the floor of his car and made a mental note to consider buying a pickup truck so he wouldn’t have to get his car dirty when things like this happened. He drove Shaneta to Dr. Rad’s lab, the long way around, on paved roads.
“That kitchen of his isn’t much to cook in,” she said on the way.
“You’ve been cooking there for him?” That seemed to explain why she hadn’t cooked anything for Lee since moving into the guesthouse.
“Why else would I be carryin’ ’round a bag of raw food?”
He had no answer.
“It would be nice for him to have a better kitchen...and maybe a place for me to sleep.”
“A place to sleep?” The guesthouse was a half-mile down the dirt road from Dr. Rad’s lab.
“And a covered walkway so I could walk to his place when it rains. My fanny can’t take much more of that cart.”
“Are you asking me to build another house...for you?”
“Nothin’ too fancy.”
“So you want to live with him?”
“Are you kiddin’ me? With that man? Are you outta your mind?”
The paved road ended, and Lee was forced to take a chance driving on the temporary dirt road the construction crew had created.
“Okay, let me get this straight. You want a bigger kitchen to cook in for Dr. Rad and yourself, and you want a separate place to sleep, close to him but not too close, and you don’t want to have to be in the rain when you go serve him his meals...or whatever.”
“That’s pretty much it.”
“So an extension to his living quarters with a very long hallway.”
“Perfect.”
“And what does he think about this?”
“How do I know?”
“Don’t you think this should be something you talk about...together?”
“You can’t talk to that man.”
“Would you like me to mediate?”
“You can use whatever big word you want as long as you make it happen...okay?”
Lee glanced over at the resolute woman beside him. “Okay, I’ll talk to him.”
* * *
Lee left Rockford Coin and Stamp with a check for $10,000, just enough to pay for the addition to Dr. Rad’s lab for Shaneta—a bedroom, a good-sized kitchen, and a bathroom. He hoped the twenty-five-foot tunnel connecting the two residences would pr
ove long enough for the two of them to coexist in a relatively peaceful manner, but not too long that he had to withstand Shaneta’s complaints about the long walk she had to suffer in order to bring him his meals.
Shaneta and Dr. Rad’s relationship was nothing short of puzzling. They came from entirely different cultures, had widely different educational backgrounds, practiced different religions, and had grown up in different social classes, but none of these issues appeared to impede their relationship. Perhaps most odd was that even though they were both unattached adults, with seemingly nothing to hide, neither of them would admit they were in a relationship, affirmation for Lee that when it came to relationships, some things were beyond explanation.
* * *
It was the usual small Monday-night crowd at Deer Bottom. Without even asking him, CJ brought Lee a beer and the special for the night—bratwurst and fries.
“It’s on the house,” she said.
“What’s the occasion?”
“The Bernmeister got five years.”
“Really?”
“In Marion.”
“Federal prison.”
“Yep.” She held up her glass of club soda and clanked it against his beer mug. “The bum deserves every minute of it.”
“How are the boys?”
“They seemed okay with it. Wayne said, ‘Maybe he’ll be different when he gets out with all that time he has to think about things.’ Pretty astute for a ten-year-old, I would say.”
“Sure is.”
“Are you coming to Francine’s for Easter?”
“With bells on.”
“Bennett’s coming.”
“I know. He told me.”
“So will Shaneta and Raddie be there?”
“As far as I know. They pretty much do their own thing these days.”
“When will the tunnel project be finished?”
“I’m hoping by the middle of June.”
“How’s your secret project coming along?”
“I want to talk to you about that...but not here. Could I come over tomorrow morning?”
“Long as it’s after ten.”
He finished his beer. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Lee had given significant thought to what he was about to ask CJ, but even though they had become close, and he felt he knew her pretty well, he couldn’t predict how she would react to it. The last thing he wanted to do was jeopardize their friendship.
He arrived at CJ’s house before noon with a bag containing two of Shaneta’s jerk chicken sandwiches, chips, and two fudge brownies.
“Ah, a man bearing gifts,” she said. “What do you want?”
“Let’s not go through that again.”
She laughed. “I know better now. C’mon in.”
They talked about small stuff over lunch and then retreated to her front porch with glasses of lemonade.
“So what do you want to talk about, Soc?” she asked.
“My current project.”
“So you’re finally going to tell me what it’s all about?”
They spent the next hour talking about Lee’s proposal. When they were finished, he asked, “What do you say?”
“I say...” She held him in suspense for several seconds. “Yes. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“My boys are the first to enroll.”
He held out his hand.
“Stand up, you big oaf. I think we’re close enough for this to be a hug, not a handshake.” Holding on to the embrace, she said, “I love you, you big dope. You know that? You have a frickin’ good heart.”
At that moment, Lee realized CJ would be someone he could always count on, always trust, a kindred spirit of sorts. He would do anything for her, and he had a feeling she would do the same for him. And while there had been times he thought about what it might be like to be in a romantic relationship with her, he knew their being loyal friends was more relevant for them. Not having developed meaningful relationships as a child—not with his parents, his teachers, siblings, or friends—he only now realized their inherent value and was grateful the first meaningful one he did have wasn’t encumbered by romance.
“Me too.” He pulled away from her and added, “So all this time you were impressed by my heart? It wasn’t my stunning good looks and spectacular physique?”
“Get real.”
He shot her a sly smile. “I have to get going. Mother will be arriving soon.”
“Is she staying overnight again?”
“Mm-hm.”
“That’s nice. I really mean that.”
“I know you do. I look forward to her visits.”
“Still no communication with Henry?”
Lee shook his head.
“Probably just as well.”
Lee nodded.
Lee thought about his soon-to-be expanded relationship with CJ on the drive home and reveled in the irony that he had lacked someone to look up to his whole life, and now someone was looking up to him.
Then he thought about his mother and what her reaction would be when he gave her the letters she had written to Nelson so long ago that he had held on to all these years.
31 | Fifteen Steps
Shaneta moved out of the guesthouse and into her new residence without fanfare. In fact, Lee wouldn’t have known she had moved out of the guesthouse at all if he hadn’t found the keys on his kitchen table one morning. Next to them were a four-leaf clover and a handwritten note that read,
Thank you for being such a good friend.
Shaneta
Lee spent the rest of the day preparing the guesthouse for its new occupants.
Three days later, Shaneta invited Lee over to have dinner with her and Dr. Rad...at their place. Dr. Rad’s living quarters in the back of the lab were modest—besides the bathroom, he had only one room with a twin bed, a five-foot counter with a sink and room for a hotplate, a dorm-size frig under the counter, and a small table where he could eat and work. Lee couldn’t imagine how they could entertain in that space. But even more surprising was that “they” were entertaining at all.
Lee drove up to the front door of the lab where Shaneta met him.
“Welcome to my humble home, Mista Lee. Please, come in.” She led the way to the back of the lab.
The table had been set for three, but there were only two chairs. Dr. Rad sat in one of them. None of the plates, glasses, or utensils matched. Upon closer inspection, Lee noticed that one of the plates was from his own kitchen.
“Sit down, Lee. Can I get you somethin’ to drink?” she asked.
“Sure. What do you have?”
“Water, red clover iced tea, or Jamaican rum.”
He was tempted to ask for rum but didn’t. “Tea would be fine.”
Shaneta went to the frig, pulled out a pitcher of tea, and poured it in three glasses. “Make yourself comfortable while I get the salads,” she said as she bustled her way toward the tunnel that connected her residence with the lab.
Lee looked at Dr. Rad.
“Please don’t ask,” he said to Lee.
“Quite frankly, I don’t even know what to ask.”
“Allow me to change the subject.”
“Please do.”
“You know I appreciate all you have done for me.”
Lee nodded.
“You gave me my life back.”
“I may have helped you get back on course, but you had the courage to make it happen. No one could have done that for you.”
“Thank you, my friend. In any case, I have been thinking about how I could repay you.”
“You don’t have to—”
“No, I want to contribute in some way. Please allow me to do that.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking that if you featured a different plant each month that was particularly good for one thing or another—such as soil erosion, or filtering carbon dioxide, or attracting various wildlife—that would interest your cust
omers.”
“I like the idea.”
“Good. I can do that for you. One per month. Deal?” He reached out for Lee’s hand.
“Deal.”
Shaneta, who had been going back and forth between courses via the tunnel, sat down on the bed long enough to ask about Lee’s current project.
“So when do the doors open?”
“June 21, the first day of summer.”
“Not that far off. Are you ready?”
“I think so. I’ve taken out ads in all the local papers, and the week before it opens, I’ll be doing two radio interviews.”
“Does your family know? Will they be comin’ openin’ day?”
“I know Bennett will be there. And I hope Mother. I’m not sure about the others.”
The three of them talked about the project until the two men finished eating, at which time Shaneta got up and disappeared once again into the tunnel. When she returned five minutes later, she was balancing a tray that held three plates of dessert, two cups, and a coffee pot. She put the tray down and looked at Lee.
“Do you know how many steps there are between here and there?”
“Fifteen,” said Dr. Rad under his breath.
“Just enough for the coffee to get cold,” she said.
“Shaneta, are you trying to—”
“I’m not complainin’, mind you. I’m just statin’ the facts. Did I tell you I found a job, Lee?”
“No. Where?”
“In Walworth. Workin’ for the Seversons.”
“Cooking?”
“And cleanin’, and shoppin’. Everything. Just the two of them. No children. Just a big shaggy dog.”
“That’s wonderful. But how are you going to get there?”
“Mrs. Severson will pick me up and bring me home. Except on Wednesdays when Raddie will do the chaufferin’. And every other Friday.”
Dr. Rad forced a weak smile.
“And the day before most holidays.”
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