The plan was for me to meet my cousin Mark at the DMV in Butte the following Monday morning. I had agreed to give him Dad’s old Pontiac Firebird, and had to sign the title over to him.
On the way there, my uncle Don called again- this time I was smart enough to let it go to voicemail. He left a message and in it, he was asking for $25,000 a piece for him and Cousin Mark. No mention of my other uncle this time. Uncle Don said he and Mark were looking to buy a house together and surely I could spare the money and still make a nice profit.
The night before, Mark had messaged me saying that we may have to go to the Deer Lodge DMV because the Butte DMV was “Full of ding-dongs who have played this Covid thing to the max.” I should note that my cousin and I don’t agree on much when it comes to politics or Covid. However, I woke up irritated at the notion that I may have to go to two separate DMV’s merely because of his stance on Covid. I messaged Mark the next morning, prior to meeting him, that we don’t agree on these things saying “That’s ok because it shouldn’t interfere with our ability to take care of business.” Apparently this offended him greatly- far more in fact, than he led on. He proceeded to tell me that the world is falling apart, he is not a sheeple (ugh!), and he works hard and is good at anything he does. He followed with another message stating he’d bring the title and make sure our dealings with the Butte DMV were mannerly, short and sweet. Either he had an abrupt change of heart, or he really wanted this car. In case you’re wondering, it was the latter.
When we finally met at the DMV it was surprisingly pleasant. We hugged and as we waited in line, he told me more about himself and his life. The majority of the conversation consisted of how he was down on his luck financially and the challenges of trying to raise his teenage daughter. He also mentioned that he was hoping to buy a house- despite the fact that the housing market in Montana is booming. He even offered to treat Brett and I to dinner that night; I told him that sounded good and I would be sure to let him know later in the day if that would work. I should note I was also going to give Mark any appliances in the house he wanted- after all, it was the least I could do considering he’d spent countless hours clearing Dad’s house out. Mark informed me that he and Uncle Don wanted the washer, dryer and freezer, but would need to put them in storage because they were for the house they planned on buying, and didn’t have room for them where they currently lived.
As I replayed Uncle Don’s message in my head, I wondered if my cousin was in on all this too. But up until now, any mention of compensating Mark for his efforts had been followed by him saying “That’s what family is for.” I wanted desperately to give Mark the benefit of the doubt, which greatly hindered my ability to connect the dots.
After that, Brett and I headed to the nearby town of Deer Lodge, which is where Dad’s house was, and where I was opening the estate account. As we drove, I was consumed by a feeling of unease. “I kinda feel like an ass. I haven’t seen Mark in years, but I really don’t want to go to dinner with him,” I confessed. “Honestly, I wouldn’t go if I were you. You’re probably gonna get ambushed,” Brett cautioned. I successfully opened the account- my main reason for making this trip, and then we immediately returned to Butte to handle the fact that Brett’s tire pressure light kept coming on. Later that day I graciously declined Mark’s dinner offer. My gut was strongly urging me not to go, and I would later be grateful I listened to it.
Brett and I had also decided we’d head back home a day early. It appeared that two nights at the roach motel was our limit, and aside from the gentrified part of town, these days Butte seemed to offer little more than hopelessness and desperation. The plan was to pack up the car and head to Billings after my 1:00 pm appointment the next day with the realtor. We’d stay the night in what I was going to ensure was a nice hotel, so we’d be well-rested as we concluded our journey on Wednesday morning.
Then, as we pulled up to the house where the meeting was taking place, all sense of nostalgia and happy memories vanished. You see, this house where I had spent so much of my youth, was now a house of horrors, and the truth about my family was about to be revealed…