High Stature

“Hell of a girl, wasn’t she?”

The sudden voice startled the girl, wiping a tear from her eye and composing herself to talk to the clean-cut, well-dressed man who had approached the gravesite from behind and placed roses at the foot of the tombstone.

“Yes. Yes, she was.”

“So joyous and fun to be with, such a great sense of humor,” the man said solemnly after glimpsing at the tombstone. “And a really beautiful girl, too. Had it all going for her. Gone too soon.”

“Yes, I was definitely jealous,” she said, chuckling and nodding in agreement. “All the guys wanted her.”

“How did you know Jill?” the man asked.

“We played together at the rec.”

“Basketball?”

She nodded again.

“Yeah, she was born to be a basketball player," he said. "I always thought she would make it big someday. So much talent. Always astonished me.”

“Me, too. I’m Andrea,” the girl said, extending her arm and shaking hands with him. “How did you know her?”

“I’m her father.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, it’s OK. I know she’s in a better place now.”

“And no longer suffering after all that treatment,” she added softly, trying to restrain more tears.

“It was difficult to watch for sure, yes. And she was such a warrior that I was surprised she lost the battle. But I guess you never know when God will call.”

“Just too soon.”

“Mmhmm.”

The two stood in silence for about a minute in the darkness, staring at the tombstone that was encircled by flowers and other mementos left behind by others. The tombstone read the girl’s name, Jill Janee Jensen, with the dates 8/21/2001 and 09/18/2018 chiseled below the inscription, separated by a Christian cross.

“Well, I was just about to head out anyway. I will leave you here alone,” the girl assured.

“You know, Mrs. Jensen and I were actually about to make some dinner,” the man replied, glancing at his watch. “Would you like to come eat with us? We would love to have one of Jill’s friends over for supper.”

“Sure, I would love that!” she answered excitedly.

“Great! Do you know how to get there?”

“I don’t. I have never been to her house.”

“OK, well just follow me. I’m in the Mercedes SUV over here in the parking lot.”

“Sounds good. I’m in the BMW. I’ll wait for you to pull ahead.”

———————————

“Do you know if he’s over it yet?” Jacob asked in his signature low, monotone voice, pinning his phone against his ear while trying to finish his online game of NBA Live 19 on PlayStation.

“No, he’s not over it. He’ll never be over it. I’m telling you, he really scares me sometimes,” Hayley chirped into her headset as she twirled her curly brown hair and scribbled in her Calculus II notebook.

“Yeah, I’m sure he never drank alcohol when he was growing up.”

“According to him, he was a saint. But yeah, I think he thinks you’re a bad influence.”

“You’re the bad influence. I guess he thinks you’re a saint?” Jacob retorted, rolling his eyes and throwing his controller to the ground in defeat. “I’m done with this game. I’ve already lost.”

“I am a saint. You know that,” she said facetiously. “But guess what? He and my mom aren’t here right now, so you can come over.”

“And help you with your math homework?”

“Something like that.”

“OK, I’ll be right over. See you soon.”

“Bye.”

Jacob turned off his PlayStation, gathered his keys and backpack and hurried downstairs to the bottom floor of his duplex, making sure not to hit his head on the ceiling or make too much noise so as to avoid detection by his parents.

“Where are you going?” Jacob’s mother bellowed from down the hall near the kitchen, seeing him moving towards the door.

“Over to Hayley’s. She needs help with her homework.”

“I’m almost done with dinner, so you’re not going anywhere.”

“I’m not really hungry. I’ll have leftovers.”

“You’re never hungry. You really need to add some pounds on that lanky frame. Coach Golatine even ordered it, especially if you’re going to be center.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I will, I promise.”

“You know, you should really apologize to Mr. Dowdy while you’re over there. Did you know that he just got back from a banquet at the White House?”

“No, she hasn’t told me that.”

“Well, he did. He’s a man of very high stature, and it doesn’t reflect well on us if you’re getting caught drinking with his daughter in public,” she scolded.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled halfheartedly.

“Don’t tell me, tell him,” she snapped. “And don’t stay out too late. I’ll have food waiting when you get back.”

“Alright, bye,” he mumbled again almost under his breath, slipping out the door and departing in his green Corolla for Highland Hills, one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Virginia.

———————————

“I really have to do at least a little bit of my homework,” Hayley urged as they started ascending the grand staircase.

“For Mr. Molochar?”

“Yes. I’ll never get it done in time if I don’t do at least a little tonight.”

“Yeah, his assignments were always ridiculous. It’s like we’re already graduating college at this school. Where is your dad, anyway? I know your mom’s out of town."

“At a lodge meeting.”

“What’s a lodge meeting?”

“He’s always going to these meetings with his friends. I think it’s like a fraternity.”

“Like the Freemasons?”

“Yes, I think that’s it. We’re actually going to the study in his library; it’s an awesome place to work.”

Hayley led him down the corridor to the sixth door on the right, past several bedrooms and a movie theater.

“You’ve never seen the new theater, have you?” she asked.

He shook his head. “There was an old theater? I wish I had any theater.”

“I’ll show you after we’re finished,” she said, annoyed. “You’re such a jerk.”

As she opened the door to the library, Jacob was amazed at the tall, massive bookcases filled with books on either side of him. In the middle of the room was a large desk stacked with even more books almost covering its surface; behind it, a large fireplace stood with a picture hanging over it of Hayley’s dad and a handful of other men wearing aprons.

“Who are these guys?” Jacob asked as they walked up to the picture.

“His fraternity brothers. This guy is a lobbyist, this guy owns a pizzeria, and I’m not sure about the others. But he shares a birthday with those two. This was from their party earlier this year.”

She quickly scurried over to the bookcase on the right-hand side of the room and fully extended her petite, five-foot frame to reach a picture frame resting on one of the shelves.

“And this is him with the President,” she proclaimed proudly, walking over and putting it near his face. “He’s a big donor to his campaign and was just in Washington D.C. for some event.”

“Yeah, my mom told me. That’s pretty cool,” Jacob said dismissively after quickly glancing at it and turning away, pulling up one of several chairs to the desk and setting down his backpack on the floor. “You look a lot like your dad. Same piercing blue eyes.”

"Thanks, I guess," she said, smiling.

Trying to make some space for work, he began clearing books and papers from the desk.

“365 Birthdays Interpreted? The Secret Language of Birthdays? Sanatan Society? What kind of books does your dad like to read?”

“Yeah, those are related to his fraternity, I think. He’s obsessed with it. He calls it ‘the science.’”

“Obsessed with what?”

“He thinks that you can know basically everything about someone from their birthday. I think he calls it numerology. And name, too. That someone’s full birth name can tell you all these things about them, sight unseen, and that you can dictate characteristics a person will have by what you name them. Predetermined relationship characteristics depending on weeks of birth, I think, too.”

“Like horoscopes?” Jacob scoffed. “I don’t believe it. So what about me? My birthday is March 27th.”

“What year?”

“Year matters, too?”

“It makes a big difference. Like, I don’t know everything, but he taught me this one,” she said giddily, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to him. “So, what is it?”

“2000.”

“OK, so you take your birthday and add up all the single digits. 3+2+7+2+0+0+0 = 14. And then you reduce that to a single digit. So, 1+4 = 5.”

“That’s impressive. I don’t think you need my help with this homework at all,” he said.

She slapped him playfully on the shoulder.

“So, what then?” he asked.

“One of these... I think it’s the Sanatan Society one that is printed off from the internet. Find the one for 5 under 'destiny.'”

Jacob picked up the packet, found the selection, and read it aloud:

“OK, destiny 5. It says, ‘Lucky, soft and sensuous, non committal, love to explore all of life. Intelligent, able to grasp process and access vast amounts of information and live many realities simultaneously. Easily bored, need variety, childlike at heart, trusting and innocent. Self employed, the need for freedom dominates all decisions, want to try everything and go everywhere.

“Need discipline and to practice tolerance and understanding to be happy and fulfilled. Like to cruise through life, nothing too heavy, easy does it. Technologically adept, joyous and fun to be with. Always look younger than their age.’”

“Pretty cool, huh?” she asked, looking at him wide-eyed and bobbing her head.

“That’s pretty interesting, I’ll admit,” he said, shocked at what he just read. “So every person born on that exact day in that year is supposed to share these characteristics, like a fun-person factory?”

“That’s the idea.”

Suddenly, Hayley’s cell phone ringer went off in her pocket.

“Hello? Oh hey, Naomi. You have? Can I just come over and copy it? OK, I’ll be right over,” she said, hanging up the phone and standing up abruptly.

“Hey Jacob, Naomi’s already finished this. I’m going to go over to her house real fast and copy her work. It won’t take but two minutes. You can see her field from this window over here.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know. You can go ahead and go in the theater if you want to. You might be able to figure it out yourself, being so adept. And my dad shouldn’t be back for hours, don’t worry. He always stays out very late.”

“I don’t want to commit to that, but I might,” Jacob replied. “Hurry up, please.”

“I will.”

———————————

After Hayley left, Jacob curiously rummaged through the material on Mr. Dowdy's desk, picking up the 365 Birthdays Interpreted book and searching through it, reading his birthday and ones of his friends and family. Then, sitting underneath it, he found a much smaller, black notebook with a bunch of notes scribbled in red ink. On the first few pages, it read:

“Days (psychic number)

1,10(1 amplified by 0),19,28 = sunny, energetic, confident, authoritative, cruel in intensity, provider, lavish gifts

2,11,20(2 amplified by 0),29 = shy/sensitive, insecure, romantic, easily addicted to sweets, poetic, tough fighters when provoked

3,12,21,30(3 amplified by 0) = physical beauty (surrounded by opposite sex), + motivational verve, inflated ego, jealous, gossipy

4,13,22,31 = courageous, nonconforming, rebellious and antagonistic, selfish and greedy, difficult to understand and get close to

5,14,23 = good-looking, way with words, restless, adventurous, gentle at heart, fickle minded, rolling stone

6,15,24 = everyone’s friend, charming and charismatic, loving and caring, sexual, attractive, admired, adored

7,16,25 = philosophical, thinker, trouble expressing feelings, emotional explosions, cynical, perfectionist, poetic

8,17,26 = strong constitution, daredevil, serious, intense, revolutionary, problems with authorities, ruthless

9,18,27 = Martians, soldiers, police officers, fearless, benevolent, hardworking, anger easily, cool and intelligent”

Continuing onto the next few pages, it stated:

“Name (letters) (VeBest)

a/j/s = 1 (predominant of name/tied = “hidden passion 1” = warrior/leader)

t/b/k = 2

u/c/l = 3

m/v/d = 4

w/e/n = 5 (predominant of name/tied = “hidden passion 5” = sense of humor)

o/x/f = 6

y/p/g = 7

q/h/z = 8

r/i = 9

Name (complete) (Lucky-name-numerology.com/Heart of Numerology/Initiation Into Numerology/Decoz)

50 - judge, professor

55 - Greek warrior, astonishing talents

66 - Fine arts, moralist, generous, sweet, animals

77 - elitist

88 - No love/finance, fanatic

99 - Mafia Don, brute strength, misunderstood, gossip victim, criminal, terrorist

100 - strong character, noble, apparently sweet but dominant personality"

Finally, after skimming through most of the material in the notebook and reaching the back cover, he came across a curious list of names written down on it, some of which had an x placed next to it:

“Jordan Williams

April Hinckley - x

David Jones - x

Larry Henderson

Anisa Porter - x

Andrea Kipling - x”

Recognizing the last name and with his interest piqued, Jacob walked over to the picture of the men in aprons searching for the date of their party.

“October 24, 2018,” he read from the bottom. “Perfect.”

Returning to 365 Birthdays Interpreted, he looked up the day of October 24th.

“Naturally good at catching your prey. Striking, captivating, untouchable. Big-game hunter. Secret affairs, unconventional relationships. Others rarely know the extent of your exploits,” he recited. “Hmmm.”

As he started taking pictures of the pages contained within the notebook, suddenly the door to the library swung open.

“Jacob? What are you doing in here?”

“Hayley had invited me over to work on...”

Before he could finish, Mr. Dowdy ran over to Jacob and snatched the notebook from his hands.

“Now listen, Jacob. You ain’t seen nothing. And this right here...”

He walked over to the bottom right-hand corner of the left-hand bookcase, removed a book and pressed a button, which made a portion of the bookcase open to reveal a hidden room full of valuables. He then entered and retrieved a black duffel bag, plopping it down on the desk in front of Jacob.

“This $20,000 will ensure you ain’t seen nothing. Don’t spend it all in one place. And remember, if you tell anyone, I will have you and your family killed. Now get out of here.”

Stunned, Jacob nodded, walked out to his car, loaded his bags into his Corolla and started home. As he was pulling around the fountain to exit the cul-de-sac, he saw Hayley pull up in her white Lexus sedan and roll down her window.

“Jacob? Where are you going?” she yelled.

“Home," he replied. "Your dad’s...”

“No!” she exclaimed, hitting her hand on her forehead.

“No, it’s OK. Everything’s fine,” he assured her. “I’m just going home. See you tomorrow.”

———————————

A week later, Jacob was getting dressed for school, running late and once again talking on his phone.

“No, it won’t be any longer than a month. I can’t afford more than that. It’s facing him while entering downtown, right? Good, good. No, they should be following. Yes, just first, last, and 'The Second.' Thank you for everything. OK, bye.”

After hanging up the phone, he went downstairs where his mother was standing in the hallway, ready to meet him.

“Can’t eat this morning, Mom. I’m running late. Sorry,” he insisted, pushing past her towards the door with his back turned.

“Wait, Jacob.”

“I don’t have time, Mom, really.”

“No, it’s not that. I’ve heard a rumor that Henry Dowdy is a person of interest in that missing girl case from the area, Andrea Kipling. Have you heard that?”

“Yeah, there’s a 'wanted' billboard up that has his name on it and shows his secret notes, with her name and an x next to it in them.”

“You’re kidding! Which one?” she asked.

“One of very high stature,” he quipped.

Jacob turned around and once again headed to the door, before his mom grabbed him by the wrist and turned him around, giving him an inquisitive and concerned look.

“Jacob! That wasn’t you, was it?”

Jacob nodded, staring down at the ground while holding his backpack straps with his thumbs.

“Aren’t you scared about what will happen?” she asked.

“Not me,” he said, shaking his head before lifting it to make eye contact. “I am a Martian.”

“A what?”

Ignoring her question, he hurried out the door and slammed it behind him, throwing his backpack in the passenger seat of his Corolla and starting it up.

“You wouldn’t know,” he muttered to himself, speeding off to beat the bell for another day of school.