Mom kept us out of school. She said we didn’t need to go back until September. She said it would be dangerous if we went back because Rodger might show up and hurt one of us. Sam was really mad at mom, but he said he understood.

The next weekend I was outside throwing a ball to Buddy. I had finished eating bacon and eggs mom made for me when I heard a car coming down the gravel road. It was a big blue car I’d never seen before. As it got closer I could tell it was an old lady driving. The car parked and the door slowly opened. I saw a foot slowly reach towards the ground then another. A little old lady struggled to get out. I heard someone opening the screen door and it was Travis. He ran down the front steps.

“Morning Ethel, what brings you out this fine morning? Do you need any help?”

“I’m fine Travis, just a little slow. Looks like you have company.”

Travis ran up to greet the old lady who was short and bent over. “They are more than guests, I have some people living in the upstairs now. A woman and her three kids.”

“Well, I just come out to see if you’d go with me to the cemetery to put flowers on the graves. I thought you might want to put a flag on Andy’s tombstone.”

“Sure, that’d be nice. What about Cody?”

“Well Cody really doesn’t like going to cemeteries. He says it brings back too many bad memories. That is just his way.”

Buddy followed me as I walked closer. The old lady smiled, and reached out her shaking hand.

“So who is this pretty young lady?”

“My name’s Bella May.”

“What a sweet name. My name’s Ethel Watts. I live on the farm just down the road a piece.” I have a great granddaughter about your age and she’ll be spending the summer with me and Cody. If you like, maybe you two can play together. She doesn’t have any other kids her own age to play with either.”

“Yes, that sounds fun.”

“So where is the rest of your family?”

“Oh they are still upstairs.” I heard the front door open and Sam walked out and stood by the door. “There’s Sam. He’s my oldest brother.” I whispered to Ethel, “Sam’s usually nice, but right now he’s mad because he had to leave his friends when he moved here.”

“Well I’ll just be extra nice to him,” said Ethel.

Travis looked over at Ethel and said, “Would you like to come in for a minute?”

“Thanks dear, but I’d like to go now before it gets too hot outside.”

“Let me get my keys and wallet and I’ll be right back,” said Travis walking back towards the house.

“Can I come too?” I said.

“Yeah, if your mom says it’s okay,” Travis yelled back.

Ethel got back in her car, “I’ll wait right here.”

I ran up the stairs and Momma was coming out of the bathroom, towel drying her hair. I was panting and out of breath.

“Momma, Momma can I go to the cemetery with Travis and Mrs Watts?”

“What? Who’s Mrs Watts?” Momma turned towards me and I could see that her left eye was a really dark purple color with a little green on the side but it didn’t look as swollen as it was yesterday.

I looked up at her and said, “She’s the old lady who lives on the farm next to this one.”

“Well I don’t know this woman. Maybe she don’t want a little kid tagging along with her,” said Momma.

“She’s downstairs in the kitchen with Travis right now. Travis said I could go along only if it was okay with you. Pleeeeease?”

Momma made that scrunched up face, rolled her eyes and then let out this long sigh… “I guess it’s okay as long as you behave yourself and mind Travis, but Bella you gotta understand that Travis is being really nice and lettin’ us live here for free until I can save up some money to start paying rent somewhere. I just don’t want any of us to be a bother for him, you understand?”

“Yes Momma”

“And be careful and watch out for poison ivy. Remember what happened the last time you were playing in the weeds.”

“I know, I know.” I turned and ran down the stairs. I ran out the front door and Travis was sitting beside Mrs Watts on the passenger side. I came running towards her car and yelled out, “Momma says it’s okay if I can go!”

I opened the back door and there were flowers in baskets all over the back seat. “Just push them over to the other side Sweetie and be careful not to spill the water on yourself. Some of those vases might be a bit full,” said Mrs Watts.

“Mmmmmm, these big pink ones smell really good.”

“Those are some peonies I cut from my garden. I had lots of them this year.”

I guess I was a bit quiet on the way to the cemetery. I just sat and listened to Travis and Mrs Watts talk about Travis’s Uncle Andy.

It felt nice to go for a drive.  I rolled down the window and held my doll up and let her hair whip in the wind. I looked down at the grass beside the road become a stream of yellows, greens and browns. I saw cows wandering the fields eating grass and a man on a tractor. As we entered town it looked dead except for two boys riding their bikes and a lady walking down the sidewalk. We rode past the courthouse and the parking around the building was empty. I bet on a weekday it would be full of cars.

We drove up to the gates to the Carlisle cemetery. Mrs Watts circled slowly past rows of tombstones. Giant old trees gave shade to large patches of neatly cut grass. All over the grounds were laid fresh bunches of flowers and wreaths. We turned around a bend in the road and Mrs Watts slowed to a crawl. She parked the car under a large tree and opened her door. I opened my door and ran outside. The grass felt spongy and soft under my shoes. Travis got out and walked around to help Mrs Watts get the flowers from the back seat. I noticed a large statue of an angel and ran over to get a better look. It was really old and the writing had worn away so much it was hard to read. “Beloved mother and father, may the angels watch over your eternal slumber” I felt the rough old looking statues with my fingers. As I bent over to touch the stones, I realized that I was probably standing right on top of someone’s grave. The idea that a dead rotted body was just below my feet gave me chills. Do dead people know I’m here? Do their ghosts wander this place? I stood and looked back. Travis and Mrs Watts were slowly walking in the opposite direction from where I had wandered. I darted off towards them clutching my doll. I slowed down as I neared them. Mrs Watts bent down and placed her hand on the small stone marker rubbing her fingers across the words, “Cody John Watts  July 12 1932- January 3 1953”.

Whose grave is this? I asked.

“This is my eldest son, CJ. He was killed many years ago in the Korean war. I had just gotten a letter from him wishing me and his father a happy Christmas telling me that he expected to be coming home on leave soon. A week later some men arrived at my doorstep telling me that he’d been killed in action. It was a shock to us all.”

“I’m sorry Mr’s Watts,” I said.

“Thanks Bella. CJ was engaged to be married the spring of that year. It was all so sad.”

“Cody was telling me about your son a few weeks ago,” said Travis.

“Cody took the news really hard. He hasn’t been able to bring himself to come to the cemetery in many years. After his father passed away in 1980, he hasn’t been to the cemetery since.”

Mrs Watts took the vase of peonies and mums and carefully placed it beside the marker then took the small little flag and pushed the end into the dirt. Her eyes welled up with tears and she bent down and whispered something to the marker as she patted the stone. She sat quiet for a moment then rose to her knees. “Travis dear, could you help me up? My knees aren’t as strong as they used to be.”

We started walking back towards the car and Mrs Watts looked over at Travis, “So you ready to see where your uncle Andy was buried?”

We piled back into her big blue car and drove to another section of the cemetery. It was a much newer area, but not as nice. She stopped the car and we got out and she led us towards a fence. “Just a bit further,” she said. We came to an area near the fence just on the edge of the mowed lawn. There was a small stone with a small inscription A. McAllister 1946-2000. Beside the tiny stone was a small sun bleached and weathered flag. “Here’s where they buried your Uncle Andy and this one that says J. Riggs 1940-1995 is Joe,” said Mrs Watts.

“Why is it so far from the rest of the family?” said Travis.

“From what I heard when Joe died, Andy wanted to buy a plot for both himself and Joe next to his family, but the rest of the family said no. It was a bit of a scandal. Not only did the family object to Joe being a black man, but a gay black man was just too much.  Andy was also given a full military funeral, but not many of the family attended. I was there along with his sister.”

“That’s too bad that being gay is such a taboo,” said Travis.

“Was he gay like Will and Jack from the Will and Grace show?” I asked.

Mrs Watts and Travis looked at me in disbelief then looked at each other.

“Do you know what homosexuality is Bella?” said Travis.

“Sure, it’s when a man likes another man. When we was living with Roger he’d make us turn channels because he didn’t want to watch a bunch of fags on TV.”

“That is a terrible thing to say,” said Mrs Watts.

“Yeah, Roger’s mean to everybody.”

Travis and Mrs Watts placed a vase of flowers beside the stone and replaced the old flag with a new one.

“I wish I had gotten to know my uncle better. I had no idea what become of him until after his death,” said Travis.

As we walked back to the car I noticed Travis looking off towards the older section of the cemetery. He seemed to be day dreaming. He just stood there staring as we walked on. As we got near the car, Mrs Watts called back, “Travis, are you coming dear?”

He turned back as if he had just woke up. “Uhhh, yeah… Be right there.”