The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (16 page)

Taliesin
clearly remembers their last meal together -his
m
other
wo
uldn't
si
t d
own.
S
he
i
nsisted
t
hat
s
he
coo
k th
em a
ll
s
upper
a
nd m
ake
th
e
t
ea a
nd
s
he th
en apo
logized f
or
th
e
t
ea
b
eing
t
oo
w
eak.
It
ca
me
o
ut
a
ll pi
ss ye
llow
a
nd und
er
br
ewed,
th
e way
s
he l
iked
it
a
nd th
e
w
ay
T
aliesin's fa
ther h
ated
i
t. Ta
liesin's
fa
ther put m
ore
t
ea
b
ags
int
o
th
e
p
ot a
nd burnt h
is fi
ngers
.
H
is
m
other
th
en go
t up
and
h
eld
h
is fa
ther's hand un
der
th
e co
ld t
ap,
soo
thing th
e b
urn.
S
he
was goi
ng
bu
t s
he
co
uld
s
till d
o
thi
s
.

Ta
liesin's m
other co
ntinued t
o a
pologize
fo
r
eve
rything th
e
t
ea,
th
e
bu
rn,
th
e way s
he'd d
one
th
e eggs
.
H
is fa
ther
s
tarted t
o e
nthuse
a
bout h
is
l
atest
pl
an; a p
lan
g
uaranteed t
o
put m
ore co
lour in
a
ll
of
th
eir
li
ves.
H
e
t
alked i
n
ass
umptives,
as
if n
othing
h
ad
h
appened a
nd th
at eve
rything w
as a
ll r
ight, w
hich
i
t
clea
rly
was
n't. Hi
s fa
ther
a
lways b
rought
up hi
s
plan
s w
hen
t
hings
aro
und him
we
re
goi
ng ill.

Th
e
n
ext
m
orning
th
ey
h
elped
th
eir mo
ther
pack a
h
ope
le
ssly s
mall
s
uitcase whi
ch
w
as
li
ght e
nough f
or
T
aliesin
t
o car
ry t
o
th
e car.
Jon
athan s
tayed
i
n hi
s
r
oom a
nd r
efused
t
o co
me
o
ut; h
e
l
ocked
hi
s
d
oor a
nd
wo
uldn't l
et
h
i
s
mo
ther
i
n
.
S
he
stoo
d
o
utside h
is
ro
om
b
eseeching
h
im
t
o
l
et
h
er say goo
dbye pr
operly,
but J
onathan sa
id n
othing.

S
he
sai
d
s
he didn't
wa
nt
to go
bu
t
th
at s
he h
ad
t
o, as t
hough
d
riven b
y
in
visible
for
ces
b
eyond
h
er co
ntrol.
S
he d
rove off wi
th
tea
rs
ca
rving up h
er ma
ke-up. H
er r
eluctance
was eno
u
g
h t
o s
low the
ca
r but n
ot to sto
p it
.
Ta
liesin's
fa
ther r
emained a
bsurdly c
alm,
in
sisting
th
at s
he t
ake
th
e ca
r
as
t
hough s
he w
ere j
ust
g
oing
o
ff t
o
th
e s
hops
o
r
so
mething. A
s s
he
drove away
h
e
be
gan
t
o
lau
gh, sayi
ng th
at s
he'd
o
nly p
acked o
ne p
air o
f kni
ckers
and
wo
uld h
ave
t
o co
me b
ack.

A
fter a wee
k T
aliesin
th
ought
it
was
a
bout tim
e s
he
ca
me b
ack
f
or
some
m
ore
kni
ckers.
H
is fa
ther
co
nceded th
at
W
est
H
aven was
full
of
kni
cker s
hops
a
nd th
at s
he mu
st
h
ave p
urchased
a
who
le l
oad o
f n
ew
o
nes
.
T
hen h
is fa
ther
to
ld
t
hem th
at
th
eir
m
other
w
as go
ing t
o s
tay in W
est
H
aven
f
or
'
a
l
ittle
l
onger',
t
o sor
t
s
ome thin
gs o
ut
a
nd put m
ore co
lour
in h
er
lif
e. Ta
liesin
a
nd J
onathan
could
see
h
er
when
ever
th
ey wa
nted t
o, a
t
wee
kends
a
nd durin
g
th
e
h
olidays.

H
is fat
her di
dn't see
m th
at
u
pset, j
ust numb. H
e was
u
nable to respond i
n
a dra
matic
fas
hion, l
ooking a
lways
as
i
f
h
e
h
ad so
mething
e
lse
o
n h
is
m
ind, w
hich h
e
did.
Occasio
n
a
lly
a
t m
eal
tim
es (w
hich b
egan
t
o
c
onsist o
f bak
ed
b
eans a
nd fi
sh
fin
gers)
h
e wo
uld
s
hake hi
s
h
ead ge
ntly
a
nd mumbl
e
th
e
n
ame 'To
ni' in
credulously.
Ap
art f
rom th
at
he h
ardly sa
id
a
nything
a
bout
t
he
s
ubject
an
d
co
ntinued t
o
b
ehave as
th
ough
th
eir
m
other wo
uld
soo
n b
e
ba
ck
fr
om
her p
rolonged s
hopping tr
ip.

Ta
liesin
expec
ted
t
he
wa
lls
to come
tumblin
g
d
own
but th
ey
d
idn't
.
L
ife
we
nt
on.
A
ccording
t
o
p
eople at sc
hool it
was
n't th
at o
dd t
o
h
ave se
parated par
ents.
App
arently
it
was
n
ormal,
lik
e
m
easles; a
nd
a
pparently th
ere we
re b
enefits
l
ike
r
eceiving
t
wice as
m
any p
resents
a
t
C
hristmas.

Hi
s fa
ther
esca
ped t
o
h
is
h
ead.
He b
egan
t
o
t
alk
t
o
him
self a
nd h
e co
uld b
e
h
eard a
rguing it all
thr
ough.
H
e
h
ad
hi
s
pl
ans
t
o fa
ll b
ack
o
n. Now h
e co
uld
indul
ge
hi
s
pipe
dr
eams,
inh
ale
t
heir
h
eady va
pour
and
l
et
th
em ca
rry him
away
t
o E
ldorado. H
e
h
ad a
lways t
alked
a
bout m
oving, giving
it
a
ll
up a
nd
doi
ng
so
mething di
fferent.
Th
e
sc
hemes r
ecurred acco
rding t
o
th
e seaso
n. W
inter w
as thi
ck
w
ith pl
ans, of
ten
a
diff
erent o
ne
a wee
k.
T
hey
we
re lik
e
f
anciful
t
ales or fa
bles
a
nd h
e
t
old
th
em we
ll
a
nd m
ade
his li
steners
bel
ieve
in h
im.
Th
e fa
bles
a
ll h
ad
th
e sa
me
fa
ntastic impl
ausibility
a
nd
.
th
e sa
me
e
nding. Th
ere was
the
plan to
s
ell th
e fa
rm t
o a
n
E
nglishman
wi
th
a
f
at
w
allet
a
nd
a g
un d
og,
or
a
n Ar
ab
w
ith t
welve wives a
nd
a
n
oi
l
we
ll, or
an
Am
erican
l
ooking
f
or
a co
untry r
etreat
.
Th
en
h
e
w
anted t
o
bu
y
a cl
ipper
w
ith
fo
ur
sai
ls
a
nd
a
Pl
imsoll
line
a
nd
sa
il f
or
th
e
Ind
ies
wh
ere
it w
as
t
oo
h
ot
to w
ear
wool. And th
ere
w
as
th
e
pl
an
t
o
m
ove
t
o
Am
erica.
H
e
m
ade
them
a
ll l
ook
at m
aps a
nd
c
hoose pl
aces
th
ey
l
iked
th
e
so
und
o
f -N
antucket,
E
lmore, M
ount
M
oon,
eve
n Eld
orado
it
self.
Wh
en
T
aliesin's
m
other
left
,
hi
s
f
ather
was obse
ssed
with on
e
particul
ar sc
heme
w
hich h
e
in
sisted
had pos
sibility.
But
o
f
c
ourse it
w
as too l
ate
.
Ta
liesin's m
other
had
g
rown
acc
ustomed t
o
th
e
l
atest i
dea,
grow
n b
ored
of ch
oosing
n
ice s
ounding n
ames f
rom
a
m
ap,
b
ecome
f
ed
up with talk of Spi
ce
I
slands,
r
anches
and tr
opical
pr
omise.
Sh
e
want
ed a
r
eal
pl
ace
t
o esc
ape t
o, so
mewh
ere
th
at w
as
easy
to find.