Pearl River Junction: The Sons of Daniel Shaye

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Shaye was surprised to find that he was nervous to meet the boy who might be his grandson. When Belinda returned to the room, she was followed by the sheriff’s wife, who was carrying the boy.

The first thing Shaye noticed was that the boy was big for his age, much the way Matthew had been. He also had brown hair and brown eyes. On the other hand, the boy seemed fairly alert, which had not been the case with the young Matthew.

“Mr. Shaye,” Belinda said, “this is Marion Cotton, Sheriff Cotton’s wife.”

“Ma’am.”

“Mr. Shaye.”

“And this is Matthew,” Belinda said. “We call him Little Matt.”

Shaye wondered briefly why it was the sheriff’s wife who was carrying the boy and not his mother.

Marion Cotton brought the boy toward Shaye, who took a few steps closer to get a good look at him.

“Hello, Little Matt,” he said, reaching a hand out to the boy, who immediately grabbed one of his fingers. The child’s grip on his finger was impressive.

“He’s a strong boy,” Shaye said.

“Yes, he is,” the sheriff’s wife agreed.

Shaye studied the boy, trying to see if he could find any trace of Matthew in there somewhere. Certainly this child had the size, but other than that Shaye couldn’t see a resemblance between Little Matt and his own son. Neither did he see any of himself or his wife in the boy’s face or eyes.

“Well?” Sheriff Cotton asked. “What do you think?”

“It’s too soon to tell,” Shaye said. “He’s a fine-looking boy, but…”

“Why won’t you accept him as your grandchild?” Marion asked.

“Ma’am,” he said, “with all due respect, you didn’t know my son. A relationship of this type between him and Belinda—or him and any girl—is hard to believe.”

“I’m sorry that your son is dead, Mr. Shaye,” Marion said, “but this boy needs his family.”

“Marion!” Cotton said.

“No, it’s okay,” Shaye said. “She’s right. The boy does need a family—I’m just not ready to say that my sons and I are that family.” He directed himself to Belinda. “When can my sons meet you and the boy?”

“Any time, I suppose,” she said. “Today, tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, I think, then,” Shaye said. “I want some time to talk with my sons.”

“Fine,” Cotton said. “Should we do it here again?”

“Outside,” Belinda said. “Maybe out back.”

“Noon?” Shaye asked.

“Yes.” He could tell Belinda was not satisfied with the outcome so far. “That’s fine.”

“Well…” Shaye said, not sure how to end this. “It was nice to meet you, Belinda.”

“Yes, you too,” she said, putting out her hand. Shaye doubted that the Cottons could see what he saw: the dissatisfied look on her face and in the set of her shoulders.

“I’ll come out with you,” Cotton said. “I have to go back to work.”

They walked to the door together and stepped outside.

“Mind if I walk back to town with you?” the sheriff asked.

“No, sir.”

They walked back together, but didn’t talk very much, which suited Shaye. He wondered how the man would react if he told him how controlled he thought he was by Belinda Davis. He also wondered if Belinda was able to manipulate Mrs. Cotton in the same way?

When they reached the center of town, the sheriff said, “Well, I better get back to my office. I’ll meet you there again tomorrow?”

“I know where your house is,” Shaye said. “Why don’t we just meet you there?”

“Fine,” Cotton said. “I’ll see you all then.”

He broke away from Shaye, who continued on to the hotel, where his sons were waiting.

Thomas spotted his father first, walking up the street toward them.

“James.”

James turned his head and saw his father. They both stood and waited for Shaye to reach them.

“Pa?” Thomas said.

“How did it go?” James asked, anxiously. “Is the boy Matthew’s?”

“I can’t tell, boys,” Shaye said. “He’s a big boy, all right, but there’s no way to tell.”

“Maybe we’ll be able to tell,” James suggested. “When can Thomas and me see him?”

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Shaye said.

“Why then?” James asked. “Why not today?”

“Let’s get some lunch, boys,” Thomas said. “We can talk about it while we eat.”

“But Pa—”

“Come on, James,” Thomas said. “Pa’s obviously got somethin’ to talk to us about. Let’s let him tell us.”

“Pa?” James asked.

“Over lunch, James,” Shaye said. “Over lunch.”