The Grateful Boys

by Françoise DuMaurier

  “How much worth of meat, would you say?” Sheriff Zeddman questioned him.

  “Hmm,” Mr Ford thought for a moment. “We’ll have to do a full accounting with the insurance company. But they really wiped out all the good stuff, I tell yer. I’d guess a good $3000 worth of steak been wiped out from under our noses.

  “That would make it a felony,” Sheriff Zeddman said. “We’ll draw up the paperwork for a report.”

  “I sure do appreciate it, Sheriff. And thanks for taking time out your busy day solving murders ‘n all to check on my little diner ‘n all.”

  “No need to thank us, it’s our job,” the Sheriff smiled tiredly.

  “You really do a better job than I expected,” Ford told him, with some degree of passive aggression. Finally, Mr Ford looked over the Sheriff’s shoulder and laid his eyes upon Mel.

  “How may I help you?” he called out to Mel.

  “I’m Melanie Lane. I’m here for the job interview.”

  “My, my! I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

  “Oh it’s alright, Mr Ford.”

  “Please,” he said, “call me Sammy.”

  “Alright… Sammy,” she said half-awkwardly.

  “Come on back to my office. Sheriffs, you two are welcome back here as well.”

  They all followed Mr Ford through the back, past a sign that read ‘Staff Only’. They went past the kitchen, and into the office. Mr Ford called the assistant manager in to handle the situation with the police report. Then he then instructed Mel to take a seat in front of his desk.

  “I’m a simple man,” he told her. “My interview consists of only one question. Just one.”

  “Well that’s really fascinating. And what would that question be, Mr For… Sammy?”

  “The only question I’ve ever asked in an interview. Tell me about yourself and what you think of Corpus!”

  She talked for roughly ten minutes – she spoke of being a widow from Charlottesville, having two kids, her mother passing, and moving back into the house she grew up in.

  “Given the years ya grew up here, do you recall Old Man McIntyre’s barn?”

  “I bet my memories are a bit different than yours,” she laughed. “The high school kids would talk about hooking up in there. But certain people, you know – like me, weren’t very welcomed there. A little too dirty for my tastes.”

  Mr Ford looked at her conspicuously. She hoped she hadn’t ruined her shot. Then he howled in laughter.

  “But,” he began, “I heard that it was near the same barn off Old Mill’s Road last night where that couple was found dead. Didn’t want ’ter mention it to the whole diner. Number one rule of customer service, never discuss bad around the dinner table.”

  “That’s what momma used to say,” she smiled half-heartedly.

  “But yes, what a shame. Maybe they drove off the road. Maybe some animal collided with ’em. Who can say? But back to you. When do you think you can start, Melanie?”

  “Oh, just Mel!”

  “Then Mel it is.”

  “I can start as soon as possible,” she said excitedly.

  “Great! How’s tomorrow morning sound? You can start with day shift. I’ll have you follow Gertrude. Mind you, she’s the best we got. Been here at Grits ’n’ Gravy since ’79.”

  Mel immediately knew which waitress he was referring to – the blue haired lady who took forever and a half to pour a cup of joe. But with that many years under her belt, she’d earned her place in the Grits ’n’ Gravy Hall of Fame… if such a thing were to ever exist.

  ***

  Mel had returned home after acquiring her new waitress position and left the restaurant with a nice old-timey diner outfit. It was the same one that every employee wore. She knew she’d try it on first thing in the morning.

  The kids were home now. Hailey was in her room staying far away from any family member named Mason. And Mason himself was in the basement preparing the room for gaming night. Of course, preparing the room for gaming night meant to bring down enough soda and chips to last five boys for at least an hour.

  The basement itself was large, fully carpeted with a few sofas and tables for leisure. The only real addition Mason made to the basement was to bring a tv and gaming console down. The only thing his friends needed to bring were their own controllers.

  One by one a different boy arrived by bicycle before ringing the doorbell. Until, finally, all five of them were in the basement. There was Mason and his closest friend, Alex. There was the most outspoken member – the treasurer, Sebastian. There was the older Matthew. And who could forget Big Ben.

  “First order of business,” Mason said.

  “Is why we’re meeting on a Monday,” Ben said.

  “We just wanted you to bike here to lose some weight, Ben,” Sebastian howled.

  “Oh, ha ha,” Ben said sarcastically. “You know if I shove my fist down your throat you’ll be laughing a lot less.”

  “Ben’s not even fat,” Matthew added.

  “Exactly,” Ben said. “I’m just not a stick like you, Seb.”

  “It’s Monday so we’ll skip introductions,” Sebastian said. “I was going to tell you rotten bastards why we’re meeting on a Monday.”

  “Which is what?” Alex asked.

  “Because we’re skipping Friday night,” Sebastian answered.

  “Skipping Friday?” “What?” “Why?” the others all shouted.

  “Of course. The high school football game is this Friday,” Sebastian told them. “The place where lives are changed, legends are forged, and names are made.”

  Everyone knew the football games in Corpus were not simply games, but events for the whole town. There was no missing it unless you’d come down with the flu – in which case, they would still try their hardest to make the game.

  “I had forgotten it was this Friday,” Ben said. The others nodded, also having lost track of the days.

  Everything had a habit of blurring together in a town like this. Every day felt the same with little distinction.

  “So we all agree,” Sebastian said. “That it was my wonderful idea to have a Monday meeting in place of Friday.”

  They all nodded in agreement as Ben threw a chip at Sebastian’s head.

  “I’m not gonna let you get away with that,” Sebastian said. “Next time I’ll slap the shit outta you.”

  “Well come shut me up,” Ben taunted him.

  “I’ll shut you up when I kick your ass in combat,” Sebastian sneered as a non-serious taunt

  Mason flipped the power switch on the video game console. Controllers were whipped out at breakneck speed. And the games began.

  The next morning, Mason woke up in a haze. It was like a teenage boy’s version of a hangover, complete with enough button mashing to the point of having forgotten who won what round of what game.

  Mason woke up in his junky bedroom on the second floor, right down the hall from his sister’s room. A year ago his mom told him he was old enough to do laundry – at which point she stopped doing it for him entirely. If Mason wanted a clean pair of sheets it was up to him to wash and change them. This frankly meant that Mason simply slept on the same sheets for several months at a time. He removed the sheets only when they were too filthy to remain laid upon – such as when he wasted food or drinks on them.

  So for the past week, Mason awoke each morning lying on a mattress sans blanket and sheets. Getting dressed never took him very long. It was as if he tried to break the previous day’s record each morning. Shirt, pants, socks, shoes, and a plastic digital watch with a broken light that was advertised to have worked underwater when he bought it.

  So minutes after waking up, he strolled downstairs to the kitchen to discover his sister at the table and mom at the stove. She was wearing her new waitress outfit and scrambling eggs.

  “Almost done,” she said. “Thought I’d make my kids an early breakfast before school today. You better not expect it too often. Like ever again.”


  “That’s great, mom,” Mason said. “I don’t have to be to school as early today if you’re making breakfast.”

  “Yeah,” Hailey agreed. “That should give us a few extra minutes.”

  They were referring to arriving at school twenty minutes early in order to take advantage of the free breakfast the school offered every student. That was an extra twenty minutes he could now stay at home.

  Mom placed eggs, bacon, and toast on their plates and placed the leftovers on a third plate for herself. The skillet went into the sink and mom returned to her seat in the antiquated breakfast room – it was covered with floral wallpaper and a china cabinet directly behind Hailey.

  “So mom,” Mason said. “You’re cooking for us then you’re gonna go to work at the diner and cook for other people.”

  “She’s a waitress, not a chef, genius,” Hailey snapped, eating with one hand while swiping through her phone with the other.

  “Same thing,” Mason snapped again.

  “Your sister’s right, honey,” his Mom, Mel, answered. “I have no experience cooking in a diner. Hell, I burn half the stuff I cook for both of you.”

  “Don’t be hard on yourself,” Hailey answered. “You really only burn about a quarter.”

  “Gimme the jam, girl,” Mason told his sister with a mouthful of eggs.

  “Try being a little more polite,” she demanded.

  “Okay, gimme the jam, thy prettiest princess in the land, whom all the boys swoon over and whose butt I gotta kiss just to get some freakin’ jam on my toast,” he said with the deepest tone of annoyance.

  “Oh shut up,” Hailey said, tossing the jam in his lap.

  “All the boys swoon over?” Mom asked, her curiosity piqued.

  “Totally,” Mason said. “I’ve seen guys salivating like wolves around her.”

  “OH MY FREAKIN’ GOD!” Hailey slammed her hand on the table.

  “It’s not that big a deal,” Mom answered. “When I was your age, they were everywhere. I met your father during our senior year in high school here. He was new to town too. He only spent one year in Corpus – his senior year. A white boy like him dating a black girl like me. Jesus, can you imagine the scandal.”

  “No,” Hailey answered. “I mean, it’s not weird these days. But when you were growing up? God, I bet it was difficult for both of you.”

  “Now nobody bats an eye,” Mom nodded. “At least not in anyplace that isn’t Corpus. But back when? Jesus. There were people that wanted both of us dead. We ran far away from here and never looked back. I still can’t believe I’m back sometimes.”

  “The only thing I can’t believe is that curly head over here,” Hailey laughed at her brother.

  “I actually combed my hair today.” Mason said proudly.

  “Don’t lie,” Hailey rolled her eyes.

  “You hear that?” Mom asked as she broke up their argument. She focused on the faint whispers emanating from the nearby radio. “Quiet down, you two. I’ll turn it up.”

  Mel got up from her seat, increased the volume on the radio and returned to her seat.

  “This is DJ Jazz,” said the voice of a sixty-year-old local radio host who’d been broadcasting for nearly forty years.

  “Can you believe I remember him doing the local radio news back when I was your age,” Mel told her kids with a scoff. “And I never even liked him much.”

  “And today we are joined by Sheriff Antwan Zeddman. Like it or not, he’s our elected sheriff. And boy, have many people in Corpus not liked it. Now he’s here to give us an update on a very tragic and unfortunate accident that occurred two nights ago ‘ere in Corpus. Alright Sheriff. The folk are wonderin’ just what went down the other night. We’re all hopin’ you could shed some light, ya see.”

  “Thank you, Mr Jazz,” the sheriff’s deep baritone voice boomed over the radio as Mel and her kids continued breakfast.

  “I saw him yesterday,” Mel told them, as if she had met a celebrity. He was, after all, the closest Corpus had to a celebrity.

  “I’m afraid to update everyone that two nights ago around midnight, a couple from the state of Virginia were making their way through our town. A few miles past the town welcome sign, down along Old Mill’s Road, the couple’s car broke down. We are sad to report that they were attacked after getting out of their vehicle.”

  “Attacked?” DJ Jazz asked.

  “By a person? Possibly. Be attacks by animals are not unheard of. Possibly even wolves this time. Still, nothing is certain at the moment.”

  “Wolves?” Astonishment could be heard from the voice of the DJ.

  “Fur was found at the site. We think it’s likely that the couple hit an animal such as a wolf. It’s possible this alarmed other wolves in the pack nearby who zoned in on the couple once they exited their vehicle. A 911 call had been placed but the couple was found dead the next morning.”

  “My God,” DJ Jazz gasped. “What a horrific incident. May we pray for all those they left behind. May they, by God’s strength, make it through this tough and difficult time. Thank you, Sheriff Zeddman. You’re a true credit to the force. Regardless of what the blowhards say.”

  “And just what do they say, DJ?”

  “They say you’re too much like Barack Hussein Obama. That you don’t share the Corpus ideals. And while we may not share the same politics, Sheriff Zeddman, I want you to know I still stand behind you in protecting our little town.

  “Um, thank you, DJ Jazz. It is more important than ever that we, as a town, now come together in unison over the ideas and commitments that we do agree on.”

  “One more thing, Sheriff. I’m never one to gossip or bring up fake news but as we all know this is a tiny town and word be spreadin’ ’round like teens at a bonfire on football night.”

  “Go ahead, Mr Jazz.”

  “Well what I’ve done heard is that the bodies were found drained. And I ain’t ever heard of a pack of wolves that drained bodies of blood.”

  “I’m afraid that’s the negative side of news spreadin’ in a small town,” Sheriff Zeddman corrected him. “As soon as one false thing is stated, it goes everywhere.”

  “So you’re saying it’s not true?”

  “Mr Jazz, I can unequivocally state that is nothing more than a rumor.”

  “So wolves killed two people out here,” Mason said, dumping the scrapes of his plate into the trash bin in the kitchen. “

  “That’s interesting because,” his mom began, “I’ve never seen any out here. Not even when I was a kid.”

  “Well, mom” Hailey began, “A lot of things often change in thirty years. I can only imagine how different Corpus was three decades.”

  “Not as different as you’d think,” her mother answered and repeated – “Not as different… as you would think.”

  ***

  Roughly a half hour later, Hailey was at her locker after having been driven to school by Madison. Nothing more than the usual morning routine.

  “You ready for that chemistry test?” Madison asked.

  “Uh, yeah,” Hailey smiled awkwardly.

  The North Carolina curriculum she had been used to was slightly more advanced than the one just two states down in Georgia. The material being covered in Chemistry class was, for Hailey, a refresher of what she had learned in her previous year of school.

  “It’s gonna be so difficult, I swear,” Madison said.

  Not wanting to seem like an arrogant know-it-all, Hailey nodded along. “Totally,” she agreed.

  Before any talk about the chemistry test could resume, the girls were approached by a tall awkward boy with curly hair, freckles, and horn-rimmed glasses. This was Charlie Ray. He sat in the same English class as Hailey and Madison. During which time he would frequently, and uncomfortably, stare at Hailey. He was the type of boy who’d gawk until a girl’s eyes met his, at which point his gaze would dart in another direction. But this morning, of all mornings, he seemed to have worked up a lot more courage than usual.

/>   “Hey, Hailey,” he shrugged awkwardly, his head bobbing up and down.

  “Uh, hi,” Hailey said nervously, unsure of what he wanted.

  “I’m Charlie Ray.”

  “Oh yeah. Don’t we have a class together?”

  “Yeah. I was just sorta-kinda, y’know, kinda wondering,” Charlie Ray stammered, looking at the floor. “Would you be interested in going… uh, going out?”

  “Together?” Hailey said, unaware she was raising an eyebrow. Not that it mattered. His gaze was still on the same polished floor the janitor had just applied a coat of wax to.

  “Well uh, whatever would work. Together. As a group. Whatever, ya know,” he shrugged his shoulders. His hands sweating deeply within his pants pockets. Hailey could practically see the sweat down his face.

  “I don’t really go out much,” Hailey said, scrunching her face just a bit. How do I turn this guy down politely.

  “Well, maybe when you do.”

  “Are you trying to ask her out? Like on a date?” Madison interrupted. She’d had enough.

  “Well, I, uhh… I guess… kinda,” he stammered.

  “l’m sorry, Charlie Ray,” Hailey said. “I’m not really the dating type,” she lied.

  She’d have loved to date someone. Just not him.

  “Yeah,” he said, finally looking up for once. “But I could still see ya round. Just as friends then.”

  “Errr,” Hailey buzzed. Friends? Since when are we friends?

  “How about the football game Friday night. Will you be there?” Charlie Ray asked.

  “Yeah, I will be,” Hailey said. But sure as hell not for you. Creep.

  “Well then I… I guess I’ll see you then,” he blurted out quickly, removed a hand from his pocket to wave, and darted away down a hall.

  “Oh God, that was horrific,” Hailey said, shutting her locker.

  “What were you waiting for?” Madison asked “Sometimes boys like that just need a straight rejection.”

  “He looks like the type who’d shatter if I just said buzz off,” Hailey said with unease.

  “Sis, that’s all of ‘em,” Madison laughed.