Chapter 10
Graduation, Little
Rock, Arkansas, 1969.
Zeke took his mother’s arm, escorted her
to the buffet. “Here, Mom. Have some of this nice roast
beef.” He piled it up on her
plate. Looking down at her, he had
to smile. She was still so young,
so beautiful, she turned guys’ heads even when they realized she was someone’s
mom.
“I’m only sorry
your father isn’t here,” she said softly, not for the first time that weekend.
“Me too, Mom. But he’s in my heart.”
Zeke didn’t mind
showing his feelings. He was sure
of his masculinity, that sureness being reinforced daily on the baseball field,
and nightly in sweet Corinne’s bed. Besides, he missed his dad something fierce. It was so wrong, his dying of a heart
attack when he was only forty three.
He had missed his son’s graduation from the University of Arkansas by a
month.
“I’m so glad he
saw you pitch your last game,” Jane said, adding some green salad to her
plate. “Here, put some greens on
your plate, Zeke. People eat way
too much meat nowadays.”
Zeke just smiled,
and let her pile up the salad for him too. They found seats at an already crowded table, and Zeke
introduced his mother to one of his favorite professors. “Zeke’s been our pride and joy,” said
Professor Monmouth. “We’ve never
had a student so gifted in political analysis. He’s going to go far.”
Zeke
chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I
am going far. I’m going to
Europe. At least that’s what they
promised.”
“So you took the
Federal job, then?” Professor Monmouth looked pleased. “You’re a credit to the country.”
“It was that or
get drafted,” Zeke answered. “You
know how much I want to serve our country. It’s just that I don’t agree with the Vietnam war.” Jane put her hand over Zeke’s. It was a touchy subject, one that most
people didn’t want to talk about.
“It’s okay,
Mom. Here at the University, you
can say anything you’d like.”
Outside of Little Rock, it was still nineteen fifty. But at the University, while it might
not be Haight Ashbury, in San Francisco, it wasn’t Podunk, either.
“It wasn’t always
like that,” Jane said. “But times
are changing, and the things that could tear a person apart in my day are just
winked at now. But you still can’t
speak ill of the government. So
just be careful.”
Zeke nodded. “Especially if I’m going to work for
them.”
“Any idea where
you’ll be sent first?” Professor Monmouth asked.
“Nope. After I get my training at Langley, it
could be anywhere. But since I
speak Greek, Italian, French, Spanish and some Arabic, I’d guess it wouldn’t be
Vietnam!”
“You should be
proud of that boy,” the professor said to Jane. Her face pink with pleasure, Jane could only nod.
* * *
“Zeke, there’s
something I need to tell you,” Jane said as they sat on a park bench in the
warm Little Rock night. It had
been a grand day, with the first graduation of the class of 69 at Little Rock. The school, joining the University of
Arkansas ranks just that year, obviously prided itself in being a cut above the
screaming Razorback fans at the Fayetteville campus, and Zeke had been an
honored graduate at the top of his class.
Jane felt that the time was finally right.
“Zeke,” she
continued, “there’s something I want you to have.”
Zeke looked down
at his mother. She could feel the
tenderness in his glance. He was
so like his father. Sensitive,
smart, and willing to stand up for his ideals. Jane remembered how Howard had stood up for her, twenty one
years ago in Little Rock. “Twenty
one years was not long enough to be married to your father. I miss him so much.”
Jane saw the tears
start in Zeke’s eyes, and she blinked her own away. “When you were ten, Zeke. When you were ten, I found something. I found something in the chicken
yard. I kept it. It’s the only secret I ever kept from
your father. And now I want you to
have it.”
Jane reached into
her handbag, and pulled out a cloth bag.
She handed it to Zeke, and watched as he loosened the draw string. He emptied the bag into his palm. A lump of glass.
“What is it?” he
asked. It was so like Zeke, to
ask, not to judge.
“I don’t really
know,” Jane said. “But I think, I
think it’s an Ozark diamond.” She
saw Zeke’s eyes go wide. “Yes, and
it’s huge.”
“Have you had it
looked at?” Zeke’s voice was
hoarse.
“No. But I did a lot of research, here at
the library, every time I came down to Little Rock. And I’m pretty sure.”
They were silent
for a bit. “Why didn’t you tell
dad?”
“I don’t know. At first, it was because we were all so
busy then. Then, I forgot about
it. And by the time I had looked
it up, I just sort of wanted to keep it to myself. But now I’m sure of what it is. And I’m ready to pass it on to you.”
“Uh, thanks.”
They both laughed
a little. “Yeah, it’s
strange. But I really think it’s
valuable. And I want you to do me
a favor. Don’t sell it unless you
absolutely have to. And if you
don’t have to, promise me that if you have a daughter, you’ll give it to her
when her first child is born.”
Zeke frowned at
his mother. “Why? Why such strange
conditions? I mean, I understand
about not selling it unless I have to, I mean, if it’s real, it’s worth a
bundle, look how big it is. Maybe
worth ten thousand dollars!”
“I doubt it’s worth
that much!”
“Well, who
knows. But why about the
daughter? I may never marry, I may
only have sons…”
“I know, Zeke, and
if you never marry, fine. And if
you only have sons, give it to them, when they have a child. But if you have a daughter, please,
please, let her have something for her self. Something that will always give her-- something to fall back
on. It’s so very, very hard for a
woman in this world, and for a woman with a child, life can be very cruel.”
They sat silently
for a bit longer. Then Zeke put
the rock back in the bag, and put it deep in his pocket. “Mom, what ever you want me to do with
this rock, I’ll do. But always
remember, you can come to me, you can turn to me. With what I’m going to be getting paid, you won’t ever have to
think about a rock for security.
Dad was your rock, and now I am.”
Jane put her head
on her son’s shoulder, shut her eyes, and smiled. She was truly, truly blessed.
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