Stacy Matthews - Dear Mary 01 - Think Twice Before You Order (3 page)

Later

Dear Mary,

  I drove to the cemetery and put some flowers on the
graves. I have to say they keep the cemetery here in much better shape than
others I’ve seen. The grass was cut and each headstone had flowers. It
certainly would be nice if all cemeteries were kept that way. I never really
gave much thought to this kind of stuff before, but I do now.

Not a lot has changed from the last time I was here. It’s
funny how you don’t think of things or people from your childhood as getting
older or changing. When you drive into Edwardsville, even though it is a
four-lane highway, with all of the greenery on either side it feels more like
driving down a country lane than a highway. The whole town is only twelve
square miles and has about forty-five hundred residents.

The train tracks split the town in two. On the north side of
the tracks are churches, schools, homes, and lots of farmland. The south side
of the tracks would be considered more the “downtown” area. When I was a kid,
downtown was conveniently located at the end of Third Street, which was about
fifty yards south of Newton, the street I lived on. Downtown consisted of the
post office, bank, fire and police stations, a grocery store, Betty’s beauty shop
and of course Eddie’s barber shop. Apparently you can’t have a small country
town without a barber and beauty shop. At that time downtown was roughly a
block and half long, and the businesses occupied both sides of the street. The
only thing behind the business and at the end of the street, were cornfields
and wheat fields.

Both the Police and Fire departments were the first buildings
you came to. The fire department is on the east side of the street and police
department on the west side of the street. If you were in need of a fire truck
or the police and you lived on the North side of the tracks, you just had to
hope there wasn’t a train blocking them.

The post office is next to the fire department. It’s an old
stone building that looks like it was built in the 1800s and probably was.
There are apartments above the post office. I wanted to live there so bad, but
Dad said they wouldn't rent an apartment to a ten year old, just my luck. It
still looks the same today, maybe a little older, but I think those kind of
buildings looked old when they were built. I’m not sure who owns the building,
but they do a great job of keeping it up. Next to the post office is Eddie’s
barbershop. That is where all the old guys would go to play checkers and
gossip, even though they don’t like to admit they were gossiping. Next to
Eddie’s was an empty building and the guys were trying to convince Eddie to
expand the barbershop. Across the street from the Post Office, and next to the
police department on the west side, was where the old bank and general store
used to be. There was an empty lot next to it, and that is where they built the
new bank back in 1976. The general store went out of business when they built
the new bank. At Christmas they used to have a bonfire in that empty lot.
Everyone would drink hot chocolate and sing Christmas carols. I know it sounds
kind of hokey, but it was so much fun. You knew everybody there. It was like a
family reunion, only you liked all of them. They don’t do that anymore
;
kind of sad.

Betty’s was next to the new bank, and the grocery store was
next to Betty’s. Most of the women in town went to Betty’s to get their hair
done at least once a week. Of course the beauty shop is where the women would
get the reliable information about anything going on in town. My mother always
said there might have been a little bit of gossiping, but most of the time they
were either talking about their children or exchanging recipes.

All of the numbered streets in town run north to south. At
that time there were only three ways into the south side of town, all of which
were crossed by train tracks. There are seven streets total that connect to
Newton, third through ninth streets. Ninth Street was a dirt road, and the only
road that went all the way down to the river.

Back then none of the railroad crossings had the warning arms
that come down when a train is coming through. We didn’t get those until much
later. The trains used to go through town a lot slower than they do now.

The hobos would jump off the train at the Ninth Street
crossing and walk down to the river, which is about a mile south of the tracks.
All of the kids were told to stay away from that crossing. That was okay by us;
we liked the Fifth Street crossing better. During the summer, the trees on both
sides of the track bent over and gave the impression of a tunnel made out of
trees. It also had a creek and a rope swing. We would ride our bikes down there
and play for hours, catching tadpoles and making forts. We wanted to camp out
down there and have a campfire, but all of the parents said no. What are you
going to do?

When I was twelve or thirteen the city closed the crossing at
Fifth Street because there had been too many people that thought if they drove
fast enough they could beat the train to the crossing. The only thing they
managed to do was get
themselves
killed. When they
closed that crossing they also put in the warning arms at the other two
crossings.

The main part of town is still pretty much the same. I
remember when we got THE stoplight. Now THAT was a big deal.

I thought I should come back to the house in case Charlie
called, and it’s a good thing I did. He called just as I was walking in the
door. He said he had checked his messages and couldn’t believe I was in town. I
told him about the pictures I had found, and the conversation I had with Mrs.
Ruby. He said I shouldn’t listen to Mrs. Ruby because she makes up most of what
she tells people. According to Charlie she has her refreshments on a more
regular basis now.

I asked him if he knew anything about Grandpa’s new
girlfriend. He said he did but would rather tell me about her in person. I
asked if he would at least tell me her name. He said it was Tatiana. I also
asked how long they had been living together, and why am I only hearing about
her now? He told me he would answer everything when he got back, which should
be in a couple of hours. He hadn’t planned on coming back until morning but
thought it would be best if he came over now and explained. He did not want me
getting bad information because he remembered my tendency to
overreact.             

One
time
my friend Debbie fell out
of the tree and I ran to Charlie’s house and told him she was dead. Turns out
she just had the wind knocked out of her. Maybe that was a little overreaction
but he wasn’t giving me any credit for keeping my cool with Mrs. Ruby. He
didn’t think there was anything to worry about, and thought Grandpa and Tatiana
might have just gone out of town for a few days.

Let’s do a quick recap: I haven’t talked to Grandpa for
almost four days now, which isn’t all that unusual, but a little different. I
find pictures of him and some young woman that is apparently his girlfriend.
That’s a new one but I think I’m handling that pretty well. The old lady next
door tells me this young woman is living with him, and there are people coming
and going from the house at all times of the day and night. Charlie tells me
there isn’t anything to worry about and I shouldn’t listen to the drunk next
door, and he would tell me everything about her when he gets here this evening.
I’ve been trying to think why Grandpa hasn’t told me about his new girlfriend.
The only thing I can come up with is he may be embarrassed about the age
difference between them. If that’s all it is, I can live with that. What I
can’t live with is all this nervous energy. I’m going for a walk.

Back in a few

A few

Dear Mary,
  You’ll
never guess who I ran into. Grandpa Jon;
I don’t know why we called him that he wasn’t anyone’s grandpa. He had to be a
hundred and thirty back when I was a kid. He was sitting on his porch like
always, and he still dresses in overalls. I went up and said hi to him. It took
him a minute to figure out who I was, but once he recognized me a sweet look
came over his face and he said, “Sid, it is so good to see you.” He invited me
to sit on the porch with him and chat for a little while. He told me how his
daughter Loren wanted him to move in with her, and how he does not want to. He
said he did not want to be treated like an old person and he is perfectly
capable of taking care of himself. I didn’t look inside the house, but the
outside did not look in bad shape.

He said the guys come over every Saturday to play poker, and
during football season every other Sunday they come over to watch the game.
They drink their beers and smoke cigars. He does not think Loren would let them
do any of that. Besides there was not enough room at her house for all of his
stuff and he is not ready to give up anything yet. Then there is the matter of
his dog Homer. Loren would not let him keep Homer because she thinks dogs are
worse than cigars. He told her if Homer had to go to the pound then he would
too. He does not think that is any way to treat an animal, human or otherwise.
He has this guilt thing down pat, Loren better watch out.

It was nice sitting and listening to him talk, watching
people out in their yards. It was very relaxing.

He
asked how things were going for Grandpa and his new girlfriend. Once again I
stayed calm and acted like I knew everything. I’m starting to get good at this.
I said things were fine and asked him when he had last seen Grandpa. He thought
it had been about three days ago. I asked if he had seen a lot of people coming
and going from the house, or if it seemed like there were people there at all
times of the night and day. He said he really hadn’t seen many people there. A
couple of times he had seen another man and woman.  He asked if I had
talked to Mrs. Ruby, I said yes that was who told me there were people coming
and going at all times of the day and night. He said that sounded like
something she would say, and told me I should not listen to her because she
says the same thing about the guys when they come over to play poker. They only
come over once a week but to hear her tell it, they practically live there. He
didn’t seem to think anything too terrible was going on at Grandpa’s. That
makes me feel somewhat better.

Apparently Grandpa’s new girlfriend is the talk of the
neighborhood. Grandpa Jon said he and the other guys sure would like to have a
girlfriend like that, and wanted to know if I would ask Grandpa where he met
her. I told him I would, but I thought he had his hands full with the guys,
Homer and Loren.

He got this cute little grin on his face and said it would be
a chance he is willing to take. We talked a little longer then it was time for
me to get back to the house and get ready for Charlie.

Talk to you later

Evening, June 7
^th

Dear Mary,

Charlie got here around seven. He said there were a few reasons he wanted
to talk to me about this “situation” in person. It’s gone from nothing to worry
about to a situation, great. He said as he was driving back he was trying to
think of a way to break this to me. The only thing he could come up with was to
just come right out and tell me, so he blurted out, “Tatiana is not your
grandfather’s girlfriend, she’s his wife.”

As if on cue my entire body went numb, I could tell because I could see
Charlie’s lips moving, but I couldn’t hear anything, and I started getting that
sick feeling in my stomach again. The color must have drained from my face, as
Charlie had to help me sit down then grabbed my shoulders and I could see his
lips forming the words “Sid are you all right?”  NO, I’m not all right.
Then came the barrage of questions. How was this the first I’m hearing about
this woman? I thought Grandpa and I had been getting much closer over the last
year. Why would he keep something like this from me? When did they get married?
Why did everyone in town think she was Grandpa’s girlfriend? Charlie sat down
beside me and tried to explain everything. He said a couple of months after his
wife died Grandpa would try to get him out of the house. It may have just been
to the mall to drink coffee and people watch. They would sometimes meet their
other friends there and listen to these men talk about the dates they had gone
on, and how terrible they had been. At some point they all started joking about
how much easier it was to find a wife back in their Grandfathers day. Back then
they ordered them through the mail. No fuss no muss. Pick her out, pay for her,
and you had yourself a new mail order bride.

My mind was racing, and I think I was starting to lose my hearing again
when all of the sudden I heard someone scream, “MY GRANDFATHER HAS A MAIL ORDER
BRIDE?”  Crap it was
me
. Charlie said, “Well yes,
I guess he does.” He said one day about ten months ago Grandpa called and asked
him for a ride to the airport to pick up his soon-to-be wife. Charlie thought
Grandpa was pulling his leg until they got to the airport and she walked off
the plane. He said Tatiana was pretty, and was fifty-three years old. That
means my step- Grandma is ten years older than me. I didn’t say anything, I
remained calm or maybe numb is a better word for it.

When he and Grandpa were going over arrangements for the wedding, he
asked Grandpa if he would need to go to the airport and pick me up. Grandpa
told him things were so busy for me at work I would not be able to get away for
the wedding. Charlie said the wedding was very informal, and only he and
another woman were present. Grandpa did tell Charlie that he did not think
people in town would approve of the way he met Tatiana, so he was going to let
everyone think she was only his girlfriend. I told Charlie about the other
woman and man Grandpa Jon had seen with Grandpa and Tatiana. Charlie said he
had not seen them before, but it wouldn’t surprise him if there had been a
couple over to visit. The agency Grandpa used gave him the name of several
groups that were for couples who were in the same situation. Whatever country
your wife is from is the group you would join. Oh, before I forget Tatiana is
from Russia. The groups give the women a chance to be around other women from
the same country, so they do not feel isolated. They go to one another’s homes,
have dinner, take weekend trips, and those types of things.

Out of everything I have heard about this situation so far, this is the
only thing that has made sense. Charlie thought it may have been a couple they
had met there, or it may have been Dr. Niemeyer and his wife. AH, Dr. Niemeyer,
I jumped in. Who is he? I told Charlie I found the doctors name and number in
the address book. He said the first couple of months Tatiana had been here were
great. Grandpa seemed to be so happy. They did everything, boating, dancing;
she even learned how to fish. It was around the third month that Grandpa told
Charlie he thought Tatiana had some kind of addiction problem. Great, that’s
just what he needs. Grandpa said he noticed some things around the house
missing, nothing big, just small things. The liquor seemed to be disappearing.
Grandpa told Charlie one of the men in the group had told him about Dr.
Niemeyer. Apparently this man had a similar problem with his wife. Charlie said
Grandpa made an appointment for Tatiana that next week.

Dr. Niemeyer said Tatiana would need to come in for three appointments.
After that he would be able to assess what type of treatment plan would work
best for her. So far that doesn’t sound unreasonable. When the third session
was over the doctor called Grandpa and said Tatiana should have one session a
day. I thought that sounded a little excessive, and according to Charlie so did
Grandpa, but he told Charlie Tatiana thought it would help her. After going every
day for three weeks, Dr. Niemeyer called Grandpa into the office and told
Grandpa he thought it would be best if Tatiana moved in with him and his wife.
Grandpa thought this was over the top, but Tatiana told Grandpa she thought it
would help her. Charlie said if Grandpa would have told him about this before
Grandpa agreed to let her go, he would have told him it was a bad idea.

Now I know the doctor I went to was an entirely different thing, but I
would NEVER have thought about moving in with her and her husband. I still
can’t believe Grandpa let Tatiana move in. I don’t know him as well as I
thought obviously, but has he completely lost his mind?

I have come to realize there are certain things in my life that will
always be a constant. The flyer for the fifty percent off sale will always be
in my mailbox the day after the sale, I will always have to buy three boxes of
Girl Scout cookies from every woman I work with that has a daughter, and
everyone will always be able to tell what I am thinking just by looking at my
face. I have tried to work on the last one, but it never seems to take. The
other two I’ve just come to accept.

Unfortunately, Charlie was right in face-viewing range, and jumped in
with the fact that Grandpa genuinely cares for Tatiana. Grandpa also knew it
wasn’t the ideal way of getting a wife, but he was trying to make the best of
it, and wanted to make sure Tatiana got the help she needed. Charlie kept
telling Grandpa he needed to tell me how he and Tatiana had met, but Grandpa
was pretty sure I would have a big problem with the way the marriage had been
arranged, and then what with the problems Tatiana was having he thought it
would be too much.

Apparently Grandpa started keeping to
himself
once Tatiana’s problems came to light. Charlie said he didn’t know the extent
of the problems until after Tatiana had moved out, and Grandpa came over to his
house to tell him the whole story.

My head was spinning. My Grandpa went on the Internet and got a mail
order bride. As I was sitting there holding my head Charlie came over and put
his hand on my shoulder. He said the most crucial thing we need to do now is
figure out where they are and make sure they are safe and sound. He was right.
I have never been remotely close to a situation like this. What do we do? Where
do we start? Should we call the police again and make a missing person’s
report? Charlie said he didn’t think that was necessary yet. It could be that
Grandpa and Tatiana went out of town. Dr. Niemeyer would come up with “bonding
weekends” for couples to take so they may be on one of those.

Charlie said he had been a little suspicious from the beginning but when
Dr. Niemeyer had Tatiana move in the red flags went up, and whistles started
going off. He contacted a man he used to work with named Mark and asked if he
could help find some information on the doctor. Charlie had been over at Mark’s
when I got into town. He said they have some theories but nothing concrete. At
this point they really think Grandpa and Tatiana could be having a long weekend.
Charlie said he needed to get back to Mark’s but would come back in the morning
to fill me in on the rest of the information they were going over. He wanted to
know if he needed to bring anything for breakfast. I told him not to worry; I
would have coffee and breakfast waiting for him.  

Talk to you in the morning