7th Ticket. Set Me Free

This time around I’m going to let the investigation come to me, if it comes at all. I’m finished turning over every leaf, bumping up against deadends and hours spent wondering. “Not this time, Mel.” I said out loud into an empty room. “Get Outta my life why don’t ya babe.” My Diana Ross ringtone alerts me to mom’s call.

“Hi Ma.”

“Well look whose finally available.”

“Here I am.” I said. “What’s new?”

“Still into irony, Jimmy? What do you think is new?”

“Buster called, told me she was married and that she was just killed by a garbage truck at one am.”

“And you believed Buster’s hogwash?” Mom asked.

“He caught me while I was driving home from my morning class. He was blubbering and I was trying to hear everything he was saying. But now that I think about it I wonder If I was the first person he called? Ya know, before he had time to compose himself.”

“I hate to say this, Jimmy, but the Tains have become something of a mystery in the last ten years or so. We used to be best friends with Buster and Lisa but anymore we’re like ships that pass in the night.”

“ How long has this been going on, this estrangement?” I asked.

“Well, little by little since she went missing. Lisa and I spoke almost every day while you kids were growing up and through your college years. And then you both went your separate ways to pursue careers instead of getting married like you’d planned. Even then we exchanged knowledge. If I hadn’t heard from you in a while, I’d ask Lisa if she’d heard anything and she did the same with, Melissa. Because we knew you two were keeping in touch. Seems to me, and I’ve said this before, but it seems you both waited too long to make a marriage decision. I think you both just drifted apart.”

“Drifting was never part of my thought process, mom. Up until she left for Alaska I knew in my mind, beyond a shadow of a doubt, we would always be together. We managed a long distance relationship for years because we were both so busy.”

“Let’s see, you both graduated from high school in 73, attended different stituations of higher learning, big mistake, 73 through 77.” I’m really surprised you never broke up in college.”

“Both of us were really committed to our studies.”

“Are you telling me, son that you never saw any nice young ladies that you wanted to date?”

“I became friends with several but when I really thought about it none were as smart or as pretty as, Melissa.”

“And do you think she never met any young men at her situation that she might have liked to date?”

“No. Mom.”

“I’d really like to know what your thinking was back then?”

“She had a double major in chemical engineering and geology. She was so busy she asked me not to call her, like Friday through Tuesday.”

“Five days a week? Let me guess, she was studying?”

“Yes.” I said.

“She was cheating on you.”

“Why say that?” I asked.

“A beautiful college coed tells you not to call her on the weekends? C’mon, Jimmy what do you think she’s up to?”

“Studying.”

“Jimmy, wake up son. She’s a 20 on a one to ten scale. She’s away from home for the first time. Nobody’s looking over her shoulder, her crazy daddy isn’t waiting up with a shot gun if you bring her home two minutes past twelve. I guarantee you the dogs were sniffing around and she was responding.”

“That sounds so dirty.” I said.

“Fact of life young man.”

“Did Lisa tell you she was dating other guys?”

“She never said anything about her dating exactly but she did say that a few guys were interested.”

“Really?”

“On another occasion before we stopped talking she told me that if you were still interested you better get off your butt and do something?”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me this?” I asked.

“you want me to be honest, Jim?”

“Please.”

You left in 73, for college and only came home for holidays and summer vactions, then in 77 after graduation that job in Oceanside Nebraska came along for a couple years and then poof. The funny papers came calling and you were gone. I didn’t see you for three years, Jim. Melissa managed to make it home more than you did.”

“Yeah she would write to me afterwards and tell me how much she hated it.”

“What is there to hate about Range?”

“No newspapers. What was it you were going to be honest about, ma?”

“Well on one of those rare occasions when Melissa was home she came over for a talk, we sat in the kitchen for hours and all she wanted to talk about was you. How you were doing, where you were in the world. She was scared, you were turning up in every warzone on the planet.”

“That’s my job.”

“But she told me she wanted kids, she wanted a husband that came home after eight hours instead of three months.”

“When was she going to come home, ma? She had crews drilling wells on three continents in some of the most dangerous places on earth. When was she going to have three kids and a house with a white picket fence? Plus She always said she didn’t want to live in Range Montana.”

“Jimmy, Range wasn’t the problem, Buster was.”

“What kind of problem?”

“Rumors that he was a little too fond of his own underage girls.”

“Kidding?”

“They were just rumors, nothing official; not like the law was involved or anything. But lots of talk. Melissa was the oldest so even after she was gone there was still Robin and Gwen living at home. Unfortuatly those two were born to broadcast news.”

“What did creepy daddy do?” I asked.

“Word got out that he would video tape his girls while they were sleeping. Also heard that he and Lisa liked making dirty movies. I mean with each other not the kids.

“That’s one way to keep the fire alive.”

“Fire? More like a forty watt porch light swinging in the breeze.” Said Mom. “Okay kid, I gotta get going but one last thing, they’re having her memorial service in two weeks and I’d sure like to see you there.”

“I don’t know about that.” I said with some hesitation.

“Hey you can’t tell me your in Beruit or Nepal this time. Drive up for the weekend. Give that 911 a workout.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Do it.” She ordered. “Love you.”

“Love you too, ma”

I promised myself I wasn’t going to get into another invest but after talking to mom I felt that maybe tracing my steps back to where we started might shed some light on a few things. Our college years. Back in the late seventies snail mail was all we had. I Cut open my Melissa box and dozens of dogeared pages torn out from binders and note pads with hastily written messages came pouring out.

8/20/73

Hey, Mel,

HS Over, I guess life has officially started. Me in Missouri and you in Montana. I have a dorm room and a roommate, Ted. I don’t know him too well at this point but he seems nice enough. Mom and Dad and Tom really went the extra mile driving me out here with all my stuff and helping me get set up. We toured around the campus and I kind of fell in love with the place. I’ll send pictures when I get a chance. Mom said this was the first real vacation they had taken in years. I think they’re going to take their time getting back to Range. They took off about two hours ago and I thought this would be a good time to write a few lines. Alone with thoughts of you. Your the only one I ever loved. Is it possible to only have eyes for one person in this life time. I will always remain true. All my love, all my heart, Jimmy.

8/24/73

Dearest Jim,

Today I left for college. Arrived this afternoon. All the way dad is calling Bozeman, Boss man. My little girl is going to Boss man university because someday she’s going to be in charge of something. Hell if I know what she’s going to be boss man of. Then he laughs like he just said the funniest thing in the world. I’m just really scared he’s going to make a scene when we get there. At one point mom went to use the rest room and it’s just the two of us in the truck. He informs me that he wanted to drive me to school on his own without the old plow listening to everything. That’s what he calls my mom, the old plow. I tell him that I’m glad she’s here because spending time with him is torture. He’s so crude. So he back handed me right across the face. There’s a big red spot on my cheek. Mom saw it and acted like she couldn’t see it. Then before he leaves he whispers you better be good or else this could all come crashing down around you. Little girl. In other words no more money for school. Sorry my news isn’t better, nicer, sweeter but if he cuts me off, Jimmy I’ll be running to you as fast as I can and we’ll tie the knot at a Missouri JP. And live happily ever after. Love you Jim. Your Melissa

I knew there were problems with Buster, knew them long before my mother did.

TBC