Past and Present

Davy Morton

The end of September 1976

It took a few tries, but I've got a job now as a plumber's assistant. My boss is OK and it's good to be able to come and go as I please again, and have a little change in my pocket, but I really don't like this town. Ain't a tree in site and the folks here act like they've had enough of ex-cons coming here to "reintegrate into society". Not that I can really blame them. Take Eric. He's gone through the motions of looking for a job as a clerk or a salesman, but he's not serious. He met a bunch of guys down at the local bar and he's with them more than not. Says the jobs he gets sent to interview at are beneath him. His parole officer is getting pretty tired of him. Just this week he told Eric that if he doesn't shape up, stop drinking, get a job and get off the dole, he's going to re-arrest him for parole violations. That kind of lit a fire under him, at least a bit. He is on an interview right this moment for a job as a door-to-door salesman. If he gets it, it would come with a car.

My parole officer and I get along alright. I told him at our last meeting that I really wish I could be in a small town. Since I've done everything I'm supposed to do over the last six weeks, he told me that if I could land a job in the kind of place I want to be, as long as it's in Maine and the employer and the business checks out, he'll work with me to get my parole amended. That means that I would only have to check in with him in person once a month. We'd speak weekly by phone, and of course my boss would have to answer a monthly questionnaire.

I think I found something. It's in Schooner Bay, of all places. There's a contractor there by the name of Peavey, and he's looking for help. I sent him a letter, explaining all the circumstances and saying I could understand if he was concerned about me, all things considered. However, I said that I was hoping for a chance to prove myself, and I gave him all my parole information. I was really surprised to get a letter from him saying he and Mrs. Peavey would be driving over to Augusta to meet and talk with me.

So this morning (it's a Sunday), they arrived at 10 am. Mrs. Peavey is Martha, the Muir's housekeeper! I remember her well, especially her cookies. Mr. Peavey is a tall thin man who is the town's one and only plumber, electrician, painter and builder. He's also the Town Constable, which will make my parole officer happy. Until a few months ago he had an assistant named Harve, but Harve had a heart attack and can't work anymore, so Mr. Peavy is looking to hire someone.

We chatted for a while and talked about what I'd been doing with Eric and all of that. I was as honest as I could be with him, told him how thick I am and how my cousin had taken care of me, but that I wanted a normal life now and how hard I had worked in prison to get a basic education. Then he did something that surprised me; he brought in a box and some plumbing tools and asked me to fix the stuff in the box. That didn't take long, so I asked if I could do some basic repairs on the kitchen sink, the faucet in the bathroom and the toilet with his tools. He said, "Go right ahead, son. Show me what you've got," and I went to work. Before too long, I had all those things fixed and Mr. Peavey was smiling. "Well done, Davy. If I can make arrangements with the Parole Board, you've got yourself a job."

Well! I can't tell you how happy I am. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes that everything works out. The Peavey's said that they'd give me a room in their house until I could afford a place of my own and that it included meals and laundry and not to worry about rent for the time being. I don't know what I did to deserve this luck, but I can only say that I'm very, very grateful.

The middle of November 1976

Of course it took most of October to get arrangements made with the Parole Board, but here I am, back in Schooner Bay. Although Mr. Gregg is nervous about having me in town, Mrs. Muir has been very gracious. I met her fiancé, Mr. Gregg's real cousin. We do look alike, but he really looks like that portrait in Gull Cottage. Daniel's been on the up and up with me. They are willing to give me an honest chance, but they don't want to ever see Eric in Schooner Bay again. Mrs. Muir's kids have grown up quite a bit and they've kind of taken me under their wing, introducing me to the rest of the town.

And speaking of taking me under their wing, the Peavey's have just about adopted me. They are really great people. Martha is forever fussing over me, making sure that I eat my fill and mending some of the second-hand clothes I got in Augusta. Ed has been teaching me more about plumbing and also about basic electric wiring. He never yells, he just says "Now son, this is the way to do it." In turn, I do all I can to help out in the house, like mopping and sweeping the kitchen after dinner, shoveling the snow, taking care of the garbage and keeping their old truck running. Martha has a little used car of her own, but it's not that old and runs well, so I just keep it clean and waxed for her. It hasn't even been three weeks that I've been here, but I think we're all beginning to think of ourselves as a family.

Today, Ed dropped me off at Gull Cottage to do some preventive maintenance on their old water heater. It's ancient and should really be in a museum, but with a bit of TLC it keeps on working. Seeing as they're going to have a lot of guests for their wedding right after Thanksgiving, Ed thought it best that I go take a look at it and make sure it's in tip-top shape.

So here I am, banging away on it, taking apart an intake valve to make sure it hasn't corroded or built up any lime or dirt. And wouldn't you know it, suddenly Daniel's standing next to me. Never heard him even come into the room. I must have been working pretty hard on that pipe.

"What in blazes are you banging about up here?"

Standing, I wipe my hand on my work pants and then offer it to him. "I'm just going over the water heater. Ed doesn't want you to have any trouble, what with the wedding right around the corner."

"Hmmmph! I'll have you know that that water heater was the best of its kind when it was installed."

"Yeah, but according to the plate on its' side, Daniel, it was made in 1887. How do you think you'd work if you were nearly 90?" He gave me a funny look just then.

"People nowadays don't appreciate the workmanship of days gone by. Things were built to last back then. Just look at Gull Cottage itself! Why, it's 116 years old, and still as sturdy as the day it was finished!" It was my turn to give him a funny look. You'd think he was there the day his ancestor moved in.

He turned on his heal and left the attic and I got on with going over the water heater. Daniel can have his moods, I've noticed, but he and Carolyn have been very nice to me. Not only am I invited with the Peavey's to share Thanksgiving at Gull Cottage, but they've invited me to their wedding as well.

If my stomach wasn't growling before I walked in the door, it sure would be when I smelled Martha's dinner cooking. She has my favorite, meatloaf, in the oven. Ed and I clean up and then while I help set the table, I tell them about my day in Gull Cottage.

"…and there he was, right behind me. I never heard a footstep or a board creak. It's like he just flew up to the attic or something."

Martha looks at Ed and Ed looks at Martha for a moment, and then with a little nod, Martha takes me to sit down on the sofa in the living room. She's on one side of me and Ed's on the other as they take turns talking.

Martha goes first; "Well, Captain Gregg is a very unusual man, you know."

"Yep. Exceptional," says Ed.

"I'd say out of this world, Ed."

"That's a good way of putting it Martha," replies Ed.

"Davy, have you taken a good look at the portrait over the mantel in the parlor in Gull Cottage?" she asks.

"I remember it from years ago. I didn't think it l looked like it because of the beard and the dark hair."

Ed asks, "Do you think the portrait and the Captain look a lot alike?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, they do. But the man in the picture was the Daniel Gregg who built the house, right."

"Yesssss," says Martha, dragging out the word. "You know they thought back when he died that he had killed himself in the house. He wasn't buried in sanctified ground."

I don't know what that has to do with anything.

Martha continues, seeing I'm confused. "Sometimes, when people die and there's been an unjustness done to them, or if they've left something incomplete, they don't want to go on to heaven, and they stay on as ghosts."

"No! You're not saying….Captain Gregg isn't the same man in the portrait, is he? Why, I've shaken his hand, seen him do all sorts of things! Holy, uh, cow! He's going to marry Carolyn!" I look closely at Martha. "She's a ghost, too?"

"No, no, no," she laughs. "It's a long story, and I don't completely understand all of it, but you should know so you're not surprised if you see something. But don't tell anybody else. Only a very, very few people know, and we are going to keep it that way. Understand?"

I can hardly believe what they tell me, so how would anyone else believe it? I don't even want to think about it. I'm just going to put it out of my mind and forget about it.