Lake Chantrain

Kelsey nodded then showed more pictures until the inevitable happened. There was a picture of Kelsey standing in front of our A-frame home, full frontal and bare naked as she was born, smiling and obviously comfortable with someone taking her nude picture.

Kelsey paused, then said, "Oh... riiiiight... I didn't mention they were nudists did I? I guess I am one now too. I enjoy it a lot, really I prefer it plus I don't have to worry about selecting what to wear each morning if I am not going anywhere outside the community. I have tender feet so I wear shoes though!"

It took a minute for Susan to think it through before she simply asked, "You are happy right?"

Kelsey beamed, "Mom... I wake up EVERY... *EVERY* day with butterflies in my stomach I am so happy."

That was all Susan needed. Susan leaned back and thought for a moment then asked, "Is that house behind you where you live?"

Kelsey nodded, "Mom. It's a wonderful place and I live there with my Andrew. It's home like I never dreamed home could be. The neighborhood is called Lake Chantrain and I never want to leave."

She flipped through several pictures before she showed her one from the upper landing of the stairs that overlooked the twenty-seven-foot tall open living room then a picture of our bedroom showing the layout and Daisy, her stuffed cat still sitting on the dresser. The third picture was simply from the rear deck, showing the view over the lake as a thunderstorm rolled in.

Susan shook her head in disbelief, "You get to live there?"

Kelsey nodded happily and said, "Home."

I said that Kelsey could stay, but that my mom and I would need to take care of some errands. I called Deputy Wells and asked for an escort to where the trailers were. She agreed as the grounds had been searched and nothing was found. I wanted to see if anything was salvageable. She agreed and I left my mom to head to the trailers while my mom bought us some snacks and bought some toiletries she had forgotten when she packed in a hurry to come with us.

It was odd seeing the way to the trailers as the first time I had been blindfolded and I was too nervous on the way out to pay close attention. There were quite a few twists and turns, but I managed to figure out where we were. There wasn't anything left of the five trailers because they had burned down to the point they had burned out and there was nothing to salvage.

The picnic tables sat forlornly alone in the center as if nothing had happened. I pointed at the chicken coop to Deputy Wells and suggested a local family could make use of them and gave my wife's phone number over so she could give her blessing from her mom. The deputy smiled and agreed that was a good idea and had contacts that would make that happen. I looked around through the ashes, paying special attention to the one that Susan lived in along with Kelsey. There was nothing. It was all gone and the fire had consumed everything.

I took a bunch of reference pictures of the remains of the trailers then walked down to the bottom of the hill to the waterfall. I took several of Kelsey's waterfall, the only refuge in her life until she left Coalton behind. I headed to Earl's service station to find the same thing. Everything had been consumed by fire. The land had some value since it was along Route 52, but everything else was gone.

I got back to the hospital at two in the afternoon after getting another call from Deputy Wells to ask me a few more questions. I found out they had found the other two men. There was another shootout and they were now gone too. The investigation revealed the four men were lower-level thugs tied to organized crime, but the exact connections were unclear. There was not much more to investigate unless something else happened.

When I got to Susan's room, Kelsey and my mom were in the room quietly talking. Susan smiled at me.

Susan looked at me with a bit of concern and apologized for taking part in what was basically a kidnapping and shotgun marriage. I laughed to myself and asked her, "Why? I love your daughter and I love my marriage to her. We are happy. The method sucked, but the end result was that we were both very happy."

Kelsey nodded and said, "And I might have been at the trailers when those four men arrived and killed Earl's cousins."

That struck me and we all looked at each other. It was fucked up as hell, but Kelsey was probably still alive only because of our shotgun wedding. Susan was alive because she wasn't there at first and was a moving target at Earl's garage when she was shot. She was also lucky that a deputy approached in his sheriff's car at the time and he had decided to render aid to the woman on the ground rather than chase the fleeing suspects.

The nurse came in and shooed us out to check Susan's catheter and take her vitals. When we got back in, Susan smiled then her smile faded.

Kelsey asked, "What?"

Susan sighed and said, "They are releasing me Thursday."

I asked, "And what is wrong with that?"

Susan said, "The deputy told me the trailers were burned. I have no place to go."

I looked at my wife who smiled a nod then I nodded. My wife said, "Yes you do."

Susan shook her head and said, "The trailers are gone."

Kelsey said, "I thought your address was 11 Lake Chantrain Trail, Wallkill Township, New York."

Susan was confused for a second then she asked in a tiny voice, "After all I did... You will take me in?"

We both smiled and nodded. I said, "The violent part was Earl, not you. You were nice to me and I know you were looking after Kelsey. As fucked up as it all is, even Earl did me a favor in that I am happy in ways that I never knew even existed until Kelsey came into my life."

Susan lost it again. Her tears were dry, but she lost it. Kelsey was hugging her mom and pretty much doing the same thing, crying happily.

My mom kissed me on the forehead with tears in her eyes and said, "Taking her in. This is one of those moments when a mom gets to confirm that she raised her son right."

I shrugged, "It's the right thing to do. She can't walk or hold a crutch so is going to need help in... everything."

My mom hugged me again and simply said, "You make your mom proud." then whispered in my ear, "You should see the way Kelsey is looking at you. She adores you even more for this."

I took it all in and said, "I'm happy. The net result of what happened is I am completely happy. When I hold Kelsey after we uh... have... uh..., sex. It's like my place in the world. Just holding her tight afterward. She is mine and only mine and she has willingly given herself to me. I did not know that feeling existed until I held her like that."

My mom nodded a knowing smile.

Kelsey asked, "Everything is gone?"

I said, "Everything but the two picnic tables in the center and the chicken coop. You will get a call about the chicken coop. The sheriff is going to try to get a local family to take it and the chickens."

Kelsey nodded and said, "I agree. I don't think our neighbors would appreciate us having a chicken coop."

She looked at me and asked, "Can we take the picnic tables? My first two meals with you were at those tables so they mean something to me."

My mom laughed and said, "As long as they come apart. I'm glad I emptied my SUV."

I shrugged and made a mental list of tools needed to take two picnic tables apart.

Susan sighed then said, "I'm going to have to trust you. You've been so kind to my daughter... and me. There is a safe, an old fire safe about the size of a large stack of papers. I need it before we go. It's in or was in, the center trailer. Even Earl did not know about it. You will find or rather it was inside an old mattress I had hollowed out in the far left bedroom of that center trailer."

I looked at Kelsey and she at me. I nodded.

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

My mom and Kelsey headed to the hospital where my mom dropped her at the front door to visit then headed to the Sheriff's Department to take care of loose ends and take any paperwork that might be needed to Susan. I started the day by switching vehicles with my mom as I went to Walmart and bought some basic tools to take the tables apart. I drove to the trailers and started at the center trailer which had burned out completely. Shit. It was just a pile of metal and the big aluminum roof hung over everything. I tried pulling on it to no avail as an ancient F150 from the 1980s pulled into the clearing and a man and woman in their early thirties got out and asked, "Who are you?"

I said, "I'm the son-in-law of Susan McCoy."

They looked at me suspiciously and said, "Prove it."

I thought for a second then brought out my phone and brought up a picture of Kelsey and I; yes one where we were clothed, "I was here yesterday to see if anything was left. Turns out my wife wants the picnic tables."

I showed them both the picture then he smiled and stuck his hand out for a shake, "Hank McCoy. This is my wife Carolyn. I heard Susan survived and I'm glad. Earl always was the black sheep and leader of the asshole side of our family, but Susan seemed nice the few times I met her at the grocery store or something."

I nodded and Hank said, "Well, then. A deputy came by, and said that yesterday someone had suggested a neighbor take the chickens and asked if we wanted them and the coop. We came by at Sunup and took them so... I guess you are the guy that I should thank!"

I nodded and smiled. He asked, "What are you looking for? It's obvious that you are looking for something.

I hesitated and he laughed and said, "A cache of some kind, probably a safe. Relax. I'm from the non-criminal half of the McCoy family. You did me a turn with the chickens, I'll do you a turn. Where is it?"

I said, "Left half in the back bedroom. This roof is in the way."

He nodded, then said, "I'll be back with tools."

They took off back home and I went to the picnic tables to start disassembling them. Hank and his wife came back fifteen minutes later as I was trying to get a rusted bolt apart. Hank drove his truck up to the left side trailer and got out and fished a bunch of straps and chains out of the back. I went up to him and said, "How much will I owe you?"

Hank smiled and said, "One chicken coop and fifteen laying hens."

I said, "I can pay."

He said, "You already have. Go back to your tables. I got this."

Hank spent a good ten minutes wrapping straps and chains around parts of the burned-out trailer and attaching them to some frame hooks at the front of his pickup. I looked up when I heard aluminum making screeching noises. Hank was backing up with all of those chains and cables attached to the roof which pulled partially away. Hank got out of his truck, made a pile then moved his straps around and fifteen minutes later, more screeching and more aluminum deposited in a pile.

I got into my frustrating job of undoing the rusted bolts when I looked up and Carolyn, covered in soot, was walking toward me, "I think this was what you were looking for."

In her hands, was an old, but not too large fire safe. Hank walked down a minute after his wife. Hank smiled, "Mission accomplished?"

I nodded, "Mostly. Damn bolts holding these tables together are rusted together. My wife wants the tables for sentimental reasons."

Hank laughed, "All countersunk and not much to get a wrench on. Shit! Give me a second."

Hank returned with a half-inch drill and a small case. He opened the case and pulled out the only item, a half-inch bit, and put it in the drill. He looked up, "German carbide bit, the real deal. Sixty dollars each."

He wasn't kidding. The term hot knife and butter comes to mind. The bolts were drilled out easily. Hank carefully put the bit back in its case. I asked, "What do you do?"

Hank said, "A little of this, a little of that. Handyman stuff. I make furniture too at my shop on Route 52."

I nodded.

He sighed, "Not much work around here, but we scrape by."

I said, "You would do well up in New York. People are always complaining about handymen and tradesmen not returning calls. Sometimes decent-sized jobs. 'Country made' furniture may sell well too. Give me your number and I will call if anything comes up."

We exchanged numbers and he thanked me again, for the chickens and any future references.

Hank and Carolyn helped me bundle the lumber from the tables together and load them. All that was left were the five crumpled aluminum shells. I walked down one last time and took a few more pictures of Kelsey's waterfall from above and below it and took a couple of small pieces of black and white granite from the pool at the bottom. I love my Kelsey and know this was her spot. Hank drove by with a friendly honk and was gone.

I was bending down to get another of the pretty black and white pieces of granite when I noticed something man-made under a rock outcropping well above the pool. I walked over then reached under and found a metal box about the size of a small file drawer, but only about ten inches deep. I opened the box and found treasure. Not money treasure but probably a couple thousand sheets of paper of sketches, journal pages, and poems by Kelsey. This place truly had been her place of refuge.

The papers were quite varied as were the five pens and two pencils I found in the box along with some colored pencils and even a couple of cheap sharpeners.

I smiled. Treasure indeed. I kept it quiet and placed it underneath the fire safe which itself was underneath a moving blanket my mom kept in her SUV.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

We arrived promptly at eight in the morning after they had fed Susan breakfast. Her color, at least the parts that were not black and blue, was a nice healthy warm pinkish tone and she seemed completely alert. Kelsey went in and hugged her mom and asked, "Ready to get the hell out of Coalton?"

Susan briefly lost it again, but nodded with a look of hope and relief.

They brought Susan to the front door of the hospital in a wheelchair, coming to the side of my mom's Highlander. Susan owned almost nothing and she carried a small plastic baggie with her meager possessions. There was no good way to dress her with all the bandages. Her hospital gown was mostly covering her, but had obvious gapping issues so I walked away a bit to allow her dignity. They opened the door of my mom's SUV to load her in. They helped her stand, but then the hospital gown got caught on the wheelchair, slipped and fell off, leaving her bare with the gown hanging off the wrist of her unbandaged right arm. Susan just sighed, tossed the gown inside the Highlander, and asked in a resigned voice just to be put inside my mom's SUV.

Fortunately, my mom had bought a tiger print blanket at Walmart so she was loaded in and we just kept her covered with that blanket. I was smart enough to take my leave with my wife as my mom started adjusting the blanket once Susan was in the seat. Though naturists ourselves, I understood the indignity Susan was feeling.

My budget was going to take a hit, but Susan was family. The hospital part was covered by West Virginia Medicaid, but once we left West Virginia, she was no longer covered for anything out of state. The bills would be relatively minor compared but should still run into thousands of dollars. I didn't like it but I was raised right and I was going to help her. I was making two thousand a week gross and with the thousand a month from my trust, it would only crimp me, not cripple my finances.

I called my employer at a rest stop in Lexington Virginia and explained that I was going to be in the area Friday if there was an emergency that needed my attention. I gave a brief rundown of what had happened to my boss, Michael Jordan (No, not THE Michael Jordan). He asked, "So your mother-in-law is disabled? Correct?"

I said, "Yeah. Pretty helpless for about a month or three depending upon rehab. Her left side is all messed up. Shot twice in the shoulder, broken ankle, and broken fingers so she can't hold a crutch."

Michael said, "SHOT!? Er... Uh. Don't you want to add her to your health insurance?"

I asked, "You can do that?"

He said, "Yes, for as long as she is disabled and your ward. She didn't shoot herself did she?"

I said she was a victim of some people who did not like her husband then I made arrangements to come in briefly to get the paperwork for Susan to sign the next day.

We arrived back home in Lake Chantrain at half past five that evening. We drove in and I took the extra spot at the left front of my house so my mom could park by the stairs leading to my deck to get Susan out of the vehicle. Once in a wheelchair that my father had rented, Susan looked at our home after we parked. With my brother's A-frame to the left and my parent's bilevel home on the right, the homes were closer together than she was used to, but far nicer. Even the converted office trailers were far nicer than what was typical of Coalton.

My father came out of the house. Yes, he was dressed, but someone from the community would likely walk by naked, but we were hoping to not shock the shit out of Susan. I noted that my father had found an aluminum ramp for a wheelchair to cover the two steps up onto my deck from the parking area. My parents were a natural team, my mom had thought of this ahead and my father had taken care of it. I am so blessed to be part of my wonderful family.

They opened the door of the SUV and surprisingly Susan was just sitting bare as she was born waiting to be helped out. When my mom tried to cover her with the blanket, Susan only remarked, "It's too fucking hot for that. I know this place is a nudist resort. I'm grungy, I smell, I am sore all over and the blanket makes me even hotter. If I can have one less bit of discomfort then I'll lose the blanket so I won't be sweating and stinking even more!"

Susan was just looking around when we wheeled her up onto the deck. I opened the door into my home, but Susan asked to first be taken to the rail on my deck overlooking the lake. Kelsey pushed her to the rail edge overlooking the lake. Susan looked over the lake for a second then smiled, then smiled even more and finally just started laughing continually to herself.

Kelsey was concerned her mom may be losing it and asked, "Mom? What?"

Susan said in euphoria, "WE ESCAPED! We both escaped Coalton!"

We realized Susan was experiencing something new. A thousand tons of pressure, worry, poverty, and Earl were suddenly gone and Susan had just realized she was now beginning a new chapter in her life. Suddenly she looked so much younger as the emotional weight of her life in Coalton fell from her completely.

A few minutes later we wheeled her into my living room with its warm wood tones, hearth, and soaring ceiling. Susan put her good right hand over her mouth over her mile-wide grin, "It's wonderful!"

Kelsey agreed, "It is mom. I love this room. The glass wall overlooking the lake... the tall ceilings... the hearth! I bought us a twelve-foot Christmas tree for this room. HEY! You can help me decorate it! AND! Gibsontown city-wide garage sale is next week and Farris Falls sale is the week after. We can look for lots of ornaments at garage sales! I have an Ebay account and they sell old-time Christmas decorations!! We can look together!!!!"

Susan squealed in delight, "Yes! A real Christmas! A big tree! We should put garlands... EVERYWHERE! Oh and lights!"

Kelsey was nodding furiously, "I'm hosting! I'm making beef Wellington. Mrs. Johanssen taught me how to do it!"

They went on and I just watched as they talked excitedly planning Christmas which was almost six months away. My wonderful Kelsey had her mom back in her life. My mom watched me watching Kelsey's delight and came up and kissed me on the cheek, "It's wonderful isn't it? Seeing pure delight in the eyes of someone you love."