Shake Your Tree

As he watched Fitzy spend weeks ignoring his own curiosity in deference to his respect and love for Miss Mariah, Brantley tried to be his usual brand of patient. It was a skill he\'d learned from his dad- his Dad dad, not Jack. Jack couldn\'t teach patience to anyone. Shannon Connor, the man who\'d married B\'s very pregnant mother and treated Brantley as his own, was his Dad dad. He\'d taught B patience. Shannon had needed it to live peacefully with Brantley\'s mother. Celeste Connor was the most beautiful thing on God\'s green earth, but she was also one of the most high maintenance people B had ever known. Fitzy had nothing on Celeste- that was certain. Brantley tried to be his usual brand of patient. Still it was hard not to let slip the idle question or the subtle hint when they were visiting with Jack and Mariah. It was a bad habit of Brantley\'s and, in this instance, was his downfall.

They had gathered for tea, scones and a discussion of baby names- Fitzy was happily suggesting monikers for B\'s little sibling- giving Miss Mariah translations and origins of each- and yeah, as much a Fitzy was a man, sometimes he seemed to fit right in with some pretty girly things. Jack had taken one look at the half dozen naming and mythology books Fitzy had brought by and offered to show B a look under the hood of the antique Beamer he\'d bought a week earlier. Brantley gratefully agreed and maybe that was the first time the two of them had had an authentic friendly moment- one that was tension-free. It made B even gladder that Jack was reproducing again- that Jack had this chance to sort of make right not being there when Brantley was a kid by showing him how it might have been had Jack known. Jack\'s devotion to his new child was oddly comforting for B- if Jack was the kind of father he was looking like he might be, B could maybe let go of it all for real, give Jack a bye.

So, they got a couple of beers from Jack\'s fridge and headed out to the garage to be manly men together and B was just about ready to move Jack into the friend category from his former position in the family obligation column when B, having thoroughly inspected the engine made a comment about German engineering being just a teeny bit overrated.

\"And I suppose that brilliant premise came via your employer? Brant, Earl\'s a bit overly patriotic about things like German engineering, always had been,\" Jack counseled. \"In fact, years ago, he refused to service or even ride in my little fiat. Used to make Mariah laugh that I had to go into North Platte to get it fixed, especially because it was falling apart. I think I spent more on towing and repairing it than I spent on my first house.\"

\"You three were friends?\" B asked, a bit surprised, considering how Earl never seemed to be a part of anything Jack or Mariah did and Earl had made out as if they\'d only known each other slightly.

\"It\'s a small town, Brant. It was even smaller thirty-some years ago and we all went to school together,\" Jack replied, taking another sip of his beer and closing the hood.

Brantley figured this was too good an opportunity to pick Jack\'s brain about the missing newspaper pages without upsetting Miss Mariah and, in turn upsetting Fitz, so he asked, \"So, you must have known Fitzy\'s parents, too. Nola and Mariah were best friends, right?\"

Jack took a long moment kicking the new tires on his overrated, German engineered toy before saying, \"Yes, I knew them. Frank was a good man, a really good man and Nola- Nola was just breathtaking . . . smart, too and talented- sang like a bird.\"

\"But you didn\'t really know Fitz when he was growing up?\"

\"I went off to seek my fortune before Frank and Nola even got married.\"

\"Chicago, right?\"

\"Yes. Chicago.\"

\"Why didn\'t you take Mariah with?\"

\"She wouldn\'t come. Didn\'t want to play second fiddle.\"

\"Because you were a workaholic?\"

\"Something along those lines,\" Jack murmured as he slammed the hood down. \"What do you say we see how the naming is going? Think they\'ve winnowed it down from the 38 possibilities Mariah already had or did Fitz and all his books just make it worse?\"

\"Knowing them? Worse.\" They walked back to the main house and washed up in the kitchen.

\"Jack?\" B pulled on his elbow to keep Jack in the room. \"I was wondering what you know- I mean what you could tell me about when Fitzy\'s parents died. Fitz doesn\'t seem to have many facts- he just knew they were gone, but I think he needs to know a few details. It would be better for him to get them from family, you know.\"

\"Has he been worrying about it, or have you? Look, Brant, I see how you are. You love him and you want to fix anything you think might be hurting him. Losing his parents had to have been hard, but he had Mariah and he\'s doing fine- more than fine since he\'s got you. Don\'t reopen his old wounds trying to make perfect something that\'s pretty damn good as it is,\" Jack advised.

\"It\'s already open.\"

\"How\'s that? I don\'t hear Fitz asking about their deaths.\"

\"He doesn\'t want to make waves with Miss Mariah, but he needs to know.\"

\"Jesus Brant, it\'s been years! He doesn\'t need to know some gruesome story about them. I can\'t believe you stirred this up.\"

\"Actually I didn\'t. He found some newspaper articles about them have gone missing from the library archives and wondered if it meant anything. Only he won\'t ask Miss Mariah what she knows.\"

\"Because he\'s got some common sense. Mariah doesn\'t know anything Fitz needs to know, I can promise you that. Brant, this issue is best left alone. Don\'t encourage Fitz to pursue it and, for God\'s sake, don\'t either of you bring it up to Mariah.\"

\"But, Jack, I think Fitz deserves to know-\"

\"Need I remind you that Nola was Mariah\'s best friend? They were like sisters. And, right now isn\'t the best time for her to be rehashing that pain. She\'s already a high-risk pregnancy because of her age. That’s\' your little brother in there you know.\"

\"Jack-\"

\"No! damn it, Brant, I mean it. She\'s in no shape for all this. So, just back off it.\" Jack seemed to think this settled things. He pasted on a smile and went into the living room to check on Miss Mariah and Fitz. B followed, suddenly sure that whatever it was Jack wanted Fitz not to know, B was gonna find it out.