Sycamore Row - John Grisham

To be fair, there were some Langs in there too. A sister-in-law in particular had
become a constant nuisance. She was out of work and needed a loan, preferably one
accompanied by a verbal promise that could not be enforced. Simeon almost reached for
the bottle, but he fought the urge and got out of his truck.
There were kids everywhere, a fire in the fireplace, and a kitchen full of women
cooking and men tasting. Almost everyone was either happy to see him or good at
pretending. Lettie smiled and they hugged. He had called the day before from Kansas
and promised to be home in time for dinner. She pecked him on the cheek to see if he
had been drinking, and when he passed that test she relaxed considerably. To her
knowledge, there was not a drop of booze in the house, and she wanted desperately to
keep it that way. In the den, Simeon hugged his kids—Portia, Phedra, Clarice, and Kirk,
and his two grandchildren. From upstairs, a boom box was blasting “Rudolph” while
three little boys pushed Cypress in her wheelchair up and down the hallway at a
dangerous speed. Teenagers watched the television at full volume.
The old house almost shook with a chaotic energy, and after a few minutes Simeon
was at peace again. The solitude of the open road had been dashed, but it was, after all,
Christmas Eve, and he was surrounded by family. For sure, much of the love and
warmth on display was being driven by greed and the desire to get closer to Lettie, but
Simeon let it go. For a few hours anyway, just enjoy the moment.
If only Marvis could be there.
Lettie arranged two tables end to end in the dining room. The ladies then covered
them with roasted turkeys, hams, sweet potatoes, half a dozen other vegetables and
casseroles, and an impressive assortment of cakes and pies. It took a few minutes to
gather everyone around the food, and when they were still Lettie offered a quick prayer
of thanksgiving. But she had more to say. She unfolded a sheet of white notebook paper
and said, “Please listen, this is from Marvis.”
At the sound of his name, all movements stopped, all heads dipped lower. They all
had their own memories of the oldest child, and most of them were heartbreaking,
unpleasant.
Lettie read, “Hello Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, aunts and
uncles, cousins and friends. I wish you the happiest holiday greetings and hope
everyone has a Merry Christmas. I’m writing this from my cell, at night. From here I can
catch a glimpse of the sky and tonight there is no moon but plenty of stars. One is really
bright, I think it’s the North Star but I’m not sure. Anyway, right now I’m pretending it’s
the star over Bethlehem, leading the wise men to the baby Jesus. Matthew, Chapter 2. I
love you all. I wish I could be there. I’m so sorry for my mistakes and the misery I’ve
caused to my family and friends. I’ll get out one day and when I’m free I’ll be there at
Christmas and we’ll have a great time. Marvis.”
Her voice stayed strong but tears streamed down her cheeks. She wiped them,
managed a smile, then said, “Let’s eat.”