proportion as she got older, and that contact lenses and a little makeup would turn her into an attractive woman.
One photo that catches my interest shows a family of fourâVera and a man I take to be her husband stand behind two kids, Jenny, who is scowling as usual, and a boy who looks to be a few years older, who has a devilish grin. Jennyâs around eight in the picture. The kids look alike, although the boy is better-looking. On the back someone has written four names: Vera, Howard, Edward, and Jenny. Edward must be Jennyâs brother. Why wonât she talk about her brother? Did he get in some kind of trouble? Did he disgrace the family in some way?
Iâm interested in the way Howard looks in the photo. Jenny said he walked out on the family, but you would never have guessed it from the way he beams into the camera. What made him decide to leave? Probably that old story of the kids getting old enough to talk back, and the dad starts to feel trapped, and then he meets someone younger who makes him feel like his old self, and he decides he should start over and get it right this time. Vera asked me to locate him. Although Jenny doesnât seem enthusiastic, I canât help thinking it would be a fine thing for her to at least know where Howard is. And then I remember the other thing Vera asked meâto find Howardâs first wife. Jenny said he wasnât married before, but she might not have known. But the question is, why did Vera want me to find her?
I flip through other photos and theyâre versions of the same picture, as if it was a ritual to have their family picture taken every year to mark the passage of time. The last picture in the stack was taken when the kids were in their teens, both of the children towering over their parents. But what stops me in my tracks is that I recognize Eddie Sandstone. He was the man coming out of the hospital the day I last went to visit Vera.
I hear Jenny drive up and make a hasty exit from the bedroom. Iâve put myself in an awkward position. Now I know that her brother was at the hospital, but if I tell Jenny I saw the photos, sheâll know I was snooping.
Jenny has brought some barbecue brisket for lunch and we eat on the kitchen table. Neither of us has much appetite and we have a hard time keeping up a conversation.
When I get home midafternoon, I turn on the computer. Iâm curious to know if thereâs an obvious reason for Jenny to be ashamed of her brother. In no time Iâm staring at a string of entries for people named Eddie Sandstone. Itâs amazing how many people have the same nameâeven an unusual name like Sandstone. I narrow it down to Texas and query the state files that I can access through the Texas Public Safety sites. Apparently Jennyâs brother has lived in Temple for many yearsâa couple of hoursâ drive from here. Although he has a contractorâs license, he seems mostly to do sheetrock work. Heâs been married for two years, with no children, and was married once before. Except for a few traffic tickets over the years, he has had one run-in with the law, an assault charge, which was dropped later. In other words, I find nothing to account for Jennyâs animosity toward her brother. But family feuds donât have to have much of a reason.
CHAPTER 9
I wondered if Jennyâs brother was going to show up at the funeral, but I donât see him in the considerable crowd. Jenny is down front surrounded by her motherâs friends. She contacted her aunt and found out sheâd recently had back surgery and wasnât able to travel, so thereâs no family to mourn Vera except Jenny. I go down and say hello to her before I take a seat farther back.
The service is ready to start when I hear a bit of buzz at the back of the room, and I turn to see the man I recognize as Eddie Sandstone walk in, alone. He makes his way down the aisle, and I wonder if he plans to sit next to
One photo that catches my interest shows a family of fourâVera and a man I take to be her husband stand behind two kids, Jenny, who is scowling as usual, and a boy who looks to be a few years older, who has a devilish grin. Jennyâs around eight in the picture. The kids look alike, although the boy is better-looking. On the back someone has written four names: Vera, Howard, Edward, and Jenny. Edward must be Jennyâs brother. Why wonât she talk about her brother? Did he get in some kind of trouble? Did he disgrace the family in some way?
Iâm interested in the way Howard looks in the photo. Jenny said he walked out on the family, but you would never have guessed it from the way he beams into the camera. What made him decide to leave? Probably that old story of the kids getting old enough to talk back, and the dad starts to feel trapped, and then he meets someone younger who makes him feel like his old self, and he decides he should start over and get it right this time. Vera asked me to locate him. Although Jenny doesnât seem enthusiastic, I canât help thinking it would be a fine thing for her to at least know where Howard is. And then I remember the other thing Vera asked meâto find Howardâs first wife. Jenny said he wasnât married before, but she might not have known. But the question is, why did Vera want me to find her?
I flip through other photos and theyâre versions of the same picture, as if it was a ritual to have their family picture taken every year to mark the passage of time. The last picture in the stack was taken when the kids were in their teens, both of the children towering over their parents. But what stops me in my tracks is that I recognize Eddie Sandstone. He was the man coming out of the hospital the day I last went to visit Vera.
I hear Jenny drive up and make a hasty exit from the bedroom. Iâve put myself in an awkward position. Now I know that her brother was at the hospital, but if I tell Jenny I saw the photos, sheâll know I was snooping.
Jenny has brought some barbecue brisket for lunch and we eat on the kitchen table. Neither of us has much appetite and we have a hard time keeping up a conversation.
When I get home midafternoon, I turn on the computer. Iâm curious to know if thereâs an obvious reason for Jenny to be ashamed of her brother. In no time Iâm staring at a string of entries for people named Eddie Sandstone. Itâs amazing how many people have the same nameâeven an unusual name like Sandstone. I narrow it down to Texas and query the state files that I can access through the Texas Public Safety sites. Apparently Jennyâs brother has lived in Temple for many yearsâa couple of hoursâ drive from here. Although he has a contractorâs license, he seems mostly to do sheetrock work. Heâs been married for two years, with no children, and was married once before. Except for a few traffic tickets over the years, he has had one run-in with the law, an assault charge, which was dropped later. In other words, I find nothing to account for Jennyâs animosity toward her brother. But family feuds donât have to have much of a reason.
CHAPTER 9
I wondered if Jennyâs brother was going to show up at the funeral, but I donât see him in the considerable crowd. Jenny is down front surrounded by her motherâs friends. She contacted her aunt and found out sheâd recently had back surgery and wasnât able to travel, so thereâs no family to mourn Vera except Jenny. I go down and say hello to her before I take a seat farther back.
The service is ready to start when I hear a bit of buzz at the back of the room, and I turn to see the man I recognize as Eddie Sandstone walk in, alone. He makes his way down the aisle, and I wonder if he plans to sit next to
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