(For example, for the letter A it was the 26th word on the list, for Z it was the 1st word on the list)
Now that Dad was gone, it was time for us to clean out the house and barn. I left the house to my two older sisters while my younger brother and I tackled the barn. We tended to be the pragmatic ones and I didn’t want to listen to my sisters wail and lament over each item. I, for one, was glad those days were gone. Joey was young enough he didn’t remember the worst days before our mother went away.
Back then she was politely described as outlandish. She dressed in weird outfits and said inappropriate things. Now we know she was schizophrenic. We took the brunt of the voices in her head telling her to do things to us, bad things. Joey wasn’t a year old when they found some of her clothing beside the lake.
“Hey, Molly, come look at this?” Joey shouted and I left my memories behind.
“What’s up?” I ambled over to one of the side windows.
He pointed to an old horseshoe beside a vase on the sill. “Think Dad kept this for good luck?”
I shrugged. “He was a farrier for many years. His anvil should be around here somewhere.”
“Really? Those things go for lots of money nowadays.”
“Huh, didn’t know that. Let me know if you find it.”
We continue culling items into three piles. Sell, trash, keep and divide between us siblings.
It took us the better part of a week but we were done. Our sisters were still in the house bickering on what went into each pile.
I looked over the three piles and picked up the single horseshoe. “Joey, didn’t you find Dad’s anvil or farrier tools?”
“Nah, he musta sold them.”
I had another thought. Those would have provided enough weight to keep a body underwater.
Thank you.