by: Marty Chrisman
Jesse went into his bedroom and slowly sank down onto the bed. He was exhausted but sleep was out of the question. He had not one but two funerals to plan and a lot of calls to make. He felt hollow and empty inside, his mind had gone numb. He recognized the signs. His body was operating on automatic pilot so he could do what he needed to do without letting the pain and grief interfere. He’d had the same reaction when his wife, Martha died. He would rest for awhile first and then get started with the necessary arrangements.
Daisy had gone to her room too and threw herself down across the bed crying hysterically. She couldn’t believe that Bo and Luke were both gone. She prayed that they hadn’t suffered that death had claimed them the minute they hit the mountain. She couldn’t stand the thought that either one had felt any pain or realized what was about to happen. And in her heart she knew that the boys had always shared almost a psychic connection sometimes seeming like they could read each others minds and even finishing each other’s thoughts. And because of that she believed that Bo had somehow sensed Luke’s death and had simply willed himself to die too instead of living without Luke by his side. Now they would always be together though all eternity.
Cooter wandered around the old farmhouse, the rooms so empty and quiet now. It was almost as if the old house sensed that Bo and Luke would never be coming home again. Cooter was beside himself with grief but he knew that it was ten times worse for Jesse and Daisy. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before Enos spread the word around town that both of the boys had died. People would start calling soon and stopping by to show their support for the grief stricken family. Cooter picked up the phone and called his cousin, L.B. another close friend of the Duke family.
“Hey, Cooter.” LB said cheerfully when he answered the phone “How’s it going?”
“I’m out here at the Duke farm.” Cooter said, his broken voice betraying his emotions. “Tell Aunt Katie and Uncle Charlie that Bo and Luke both passed away this morning.”
“Oh, my god…..How’s Uncle Jesse and Daisy doing?” LB asked, his first concern for the remaining members of the Duke family
“They’re holding up for now.”
“I’m coming out there. I’ll be there in a little bit.” LB said, hanging up the phone so he could tell his own family the tragic news.
By late afternoon, LB was at the farm along with Enos and a several other friends of the family. The womenfolk were cooking and putting away food that was being brought in by the neighbors as the word of the tragedy spread through the community. By late evening, other members of the Duke clan had started to arrive. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, nieces and nephews. Three of the Duke cousins, Coy, Jeb and Vance Duke, were in the barn setting up makeshift cots for the family members and friends who would be staying at the farm until after the funerals.
Jesse had come out of his bedroom and was surrounded by their friends and family members who were trying to console him as best they could. The problem was most them needed consoling themselves. The tragedy of Bo and Luke’s deaths had affected the whole community. A tragedy that could never be made right again.
Unnoticed, Jesse’s youngest sister, Pauline, went upstairs and knocked lightly on Daisy’s door. She heard a muffled “Come in” and opened the door. Her niece was lying across the bed, her eyes red and swollen from crying. Instinctively, Pauline sat down on the edge of the bed and gathered her favorite niece into her arms. At her Aunt’s comforting touch, Daisy began crying again, burying her face against Pauline’s shoulder.
“Shhhhh. Hush now, child.” Pauline said softly “We’ll get through this the same way us Dukes get through everything else…as a family”
“But part of my family is gone now…” Daisy sobbed
“I know….and sometimes it’s real hard to understand why God does some of the things he does…but it’s not our place to question why.” All of the Dukes had deep religious beliefs grounded in the southern Baptist faith. Even though at times like this that faith was put to the test.
Pauline glanced up as the bedroom door opened and Jesse looked into the room. He seemed relieved to see Pauline there. She was not only his baby sister, she was also his favorite sister. “How’s Daisy doing?” he asked quietly
“She’ll be fine. I’ll stay here with her.” Pauline told him “How are you, Jess?”
“I’ll be alright.” Jesse said a bit too gruffly. He wasn’t fooling Pauline any. She knew how much he was grieving right now. Jesse had suffered so many major losses in his life. Both of their parents when he was only 20, leaving him as the oldest to help raise 8 younger brothers and 3 sisters, the youngest child only eight years old. His three oldest brothers, (Daisy’s father, Luke’s father and Bo’s father) one sister, and his own wife Martha and now both Bo and Luke. It was more than any one man should have to endure in his lifetime. Those boys and Daisy were Jesse’s pride and joy. But Jesse was still a Duke. Somehow he would endure this loss too.Jesse nodded and shut the door, going back downstairs to the gathering of friends and family who had come together to share their grief and their memoires.
As the evening wore on, Cooter stood by the kitchen counter sipping on Jesse’s finest. He watched the folks come and go and listened the sound of voices and an occasional laugh from the other room. And Cooter just got drunker. Finally Coy noticed how much Cooter was drinking and helped him out to the barn where he could lie down and sleep it off.