Runaway Ray: A Novel Inspired by True Events

By Lorena Weaver

It is 1904 as Jay and Anna Titus anxiously await the arrival of their first child. But when Jay dies unexpectedly while Anna is six months pregnant, the eighteen-year-old widow is beside herself with grief. Nearly three months later and after hours of grueling labor, she gives birth to Evan Raymond Titus. Sadly, he will never know his father.

Anna, who is desperate to find a father for her son, eventually marries Benjamin Wyatt when Evan is two. It soon becomes evident that her husband will never accept Evan as part of the family. While Anna does her best to protect Evan from Bens cruelty, the boy learns about farming and dreams of a better life. After he is finally led from Idaho to a new beginning in Los Angeles when he is twenty-one, Evan makes an impulsive decision that sets off a chain of events that will impact manynow and in the futureand haunt him forever.

In this novel inspired by true events, a man struggling to move past a horrific childhood is overwhelmed by guilt, secrets, and lies with the power to change the course of his life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532036279

Lorena Weaver

Lorena Weaver was an IT professional who started her career as a programmer and worked her way up through the ranks to eventually become a chief information officer. She has a bachelors degree in business with a focus on computer science from Metropolitan State University. Lorena was a lifelong Minnesota resident until moving to New Jersey to pursue her career. She and her husband, Jon, have two children and three grandchildren. Now retired, Lorena lives in Florida. Runaway Ray is her first novel.

Book preview

Prologue

A Child’s Memory

I stirred. Something woke me up. I reluctantly sat up and rubbed my eyes. It was late at night, the other three children were in bed, asleep. I heard the loud sounds that were coming from the kitchen. My mom and dad were yelling at each other. Well, not exactly, I should just say my mom was yelling. I could barely hear my dad. In my young mind, he seemed to be a quiet man, never raising his voice at anyone. The yelling scared me. I could tell that mom was crying and upset in a way that I had never heard before. As the yelling continued, I got out of bed, crept to the door and opened it. I peeked out but was afraid to leave the bedroom and go into the smoky kitchen for fear they would see me and know that I was awake. As I peeked I could see into the very tiny kitchen which was just past the small living room. Although it seemed late, mom was still in her house dress pacing a few feet back and forth from the sink to the table. Dad was sitting on a kitchen chair facing sideways to the table, bent over, elbows on his knees, smoking the unfiltered Camel cigarettes he always smoked. Mom kept crying, repeating herself as her anger exploded from her mouth.

This two-bedroom house on Lakeview Avenue in Mendota Heights, Minnesota was very small. From our bedroom, it was a straight shot to the kitchen, probably ten to twelve feet away. Instead of venturing out closer to the kitchen, I hid in the small, cramped closet next to our bedroom door. I was afraid and didn’t want to be seen but I was curious and couldn’t make myself crawl back into bed.

I didn’t understand why mom would scream at dad. She was loud and boisterous and yelled at us kids but during those times in our life she was never mean spirited or angry in that way. Hearing mom that upset at dad was very unusual and something I had not experienced in my childhood so far. As I said, my dad was very quiet and never said too much even if mom was irritated with him. He never talked back, just sat or stood there and took the criticism coming his way.

I would guess I was seven years old. I guess that because I was in a bedroom with two sets of bunk beds. That would mean that my brother, Tim, and my sisters, Carol and Mary had been alive at the time. I am the oldest of my siblings and the four of us shared a bedroom in this house. The house was a rambler on a hill with a large yard, both in the front and in the back. It had a long dirt driveway leading up to the single-car garage.

We had a sizable garden, a least it seemed large from a child’s perspective. We also raised rabbits and chickens. Rabbits were caged on the side of the house and the chickens had a coop in the back. The year was, I believe, 1956. My brother, John, who was born in 1956, also lived in this house. When he arrived, his crib was in mom and dad’s bedroom. Steven came along 2 years later but we had moved to my grandmother’s house in Mendota by then.

Well, go back to them then! she yelled. She continued to cry with the sobs more pronounced. I didn’t know what that meant but it never left my memory. I don’t remember what else she said but I can vividly picture the dark, cramped closet, the Nursery Rhyme linoleum tile on the bedroom floor and the dirty clothes scattered around. I remember that I was frightened. I didn’t understand what was happening or why she would say that. My child’s mind couldn’t comprehend any hidden meaning nor was I bold enough to ask any questions later. After all, in those days, children were to be seen and not heard. I just remember her yelling and that one phrase. Well, go back to them then!

1

A Man

Why did this story have to be? What shaped this man? What mistake changed his life and put his families at risk?

Secrets and lies eat away at you, nibbling at your mind, clouding your senses, instilling fear of being uncovered. Sometimes they are so bad they will kill you, either from the guilt eating away at your insides or the self-medication you ingest to numb your pain. Sooner or later the secrets and lies catch up to you.

Evan Raymond Titus was a man with many secrets. He told many lies or avoided the truth, which is still a lie. He had a troubled, painful childhood whose memories, as much as he tried to forget, never left him. He never wanted to talk about his childhood and wished he could erase what happened to him. He just wanted to be happy but any lasting happiness was elusive, a feeling he could never hang on to.

As much as he tried he couldn’t escape his childhood or a terrible decision that impacted so many people. He wanted to be a good man and have a family but he had made a terrible mistake that would haunt him until his death.

With all that had happened to him, deep down he was a kind man, a very nice man as his acquaintances described him. When he was with his children, he was loving and gentle. Family and friends meant a great deal to him. He loved the feeling of having his own family to surround him with love and laughter.

To put things in context, this story starts with a short history of the Titus ancestors because many of his offspring didn’t know that they existed. He may not have known that they existed either or he just didn’t care. He never mentioned his father’s side of the family to anyone. He never knew his father but his absence from his life changed what could or should have been. He missed his father terribly, yet he had never seen him. His father had never held him or talked to him or shaped his character. As a child, he harbored anger over having to endure a step-father’s rage. He loved his mother but he didn’t understand why she had married such a hateful man. He never understood what happened to his father. It was as if he never existed. He never knew the Titus relatives; no Grandmother or Grandfather Titus was in his life. He felt different because of this. As a child he felt like he didn’t belong. His family wasn’t like other families. He grew up yearning for a place where he could be happy, where he could have a family of his own.

Much of his life could be viewed as a sad tale, always looking over his shoulder, always fearful of being found, always guilty for what he left behind. When he thought of his wives, he was overcome with sadness. He left these women with no money, with children to raise on their own at a time when few women worked outside the home.

This story can also be viewed as a heartwarming tale of the women who survived with the hardships placed on them, overcoming those hardships as best they could to raise his children, the children who grew into responsible, hard-working adults, parents and grandparents. They overcame each hardship through their own means yet they felt the hole in their hearts that could never be filled when he left them all.

2

A Little Titus History

Evan Raymond Titus never told his spouses or children anything about his father or his Titus relatives and ancestors. Most people he met thought he had no living relatives. He had, in fact, many living relatives and a long line of Titus ancestors who were adventurous, strong, resourceful and hearty. They were good, hard-working people looking for a better life for their families.

Robert Titus, Evan’s great (seven times) grandfather, migrated from London, Middlesex, England to Boston, Massachusetts in 1635. His children and their families eventually settled in various cities in New York. The Titus men and women were rugged, hard-working pioneers. Many lived long lives, well above the average expectations for their times.

It wasn’t until the early 1800’s that James Titus Jr., Evan’s great, great grandfather, started to head west. James Jr. and his family made their way to Ohio, Indiana and Missouri, facing the fear of the unknown and searching for a place to settle, always hoping for a better and prosperous life. James Junior’s family settled in Indiana. James Jr. died after being thrown from a runaway horse at the age of seventy-one. His offspring would venture further west to Illinois and Missouri with farming as their primary occupation. Through the years the west would continue to entice at least one of the Titus men. Albert, Evan Raymond’s grandfather and James Jr.’s grandson, set his sights for Colorado when he was around seventeen years old. In 1866, about one year after he arrived in Colorado, he married seventeen-year-old Susan Goyn in Holt, Colorado just south of Denver.

Albert and his family moved around Colorado but stayed primarily in the Boulder area. Albert and Susan had seven children but only four survived to adulthood. For forty-two years Albert owned a saloon in Boulder County. He was also an ex-clergyman, farmer and horse rancher. He loved horses and worked hard to raise a fine breed. He was also involved in mining and was part owner of the Jefferson Coal Mine near Magnolia, Colorado. In 1892 Albert retired and sold his corner saloon to focus more on mining. In 1896, it was reported in the newspaper that he had made a rich strike at a depth of sixteen feet of some first-class tellurium, a rare silver-white metalloid. He was very excited about this find. He wondered what else he could do to expand his mining activities. Mining became his major focus, a focus he would later regret.

3

Idaho

At the turn of the century the mining industry in Idaho was booming. In 1862 the gold rush had started near Idaho City but within a few years it ended when the easy gold ran out. The real mining began after that when lead and silver were found in the late 1800’s.

In 1902, Albert, at the age of fifty-seven, his wife, Susan, and two of their children, nineteen-year-old Richard Jay (Jay) and fifteen-year-old, Jessie, traveled nearly seven hundred miles northwest to move to Arco, Idaho. Arco is about two hundred miles east of Idaho City and is situated along the Big Lost River. It is considered a gateway to the Lost River Range. It was a very scenic, small town next to a mining camp with few amenities. This beautiful area with so much opportunity seemed like the perfect place to settle, but, for the Titus family, it would eventually bring pain and deep sorrow.

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At nineteen-years-old, Albert’s son needed to find work in Arco. With his dad’s mining background and his own knowledge of mining, Jay was quickly employed to work in the mines near this small town.

Albert was excited that Jay found work but there was something about this place that bothered him. Even with Albert’s keen interest in mining, he missed Colorado. He questioned his decision. He knew his wife, Susan, also had an uneasy feeling about Arco. She told him it just didn’t feel like home. Albert questioned their unease. Was it because they missed Colorado or was it something else? He decided to give it some time and stay in Arco. He noticed that Jay liked his job, even with the physical demands. He reasoned with his wife that they should stay because their son wanted to continue to work here and he didn’t want to leave him in Arco with no family nearby.

Jay was their pride and joy. He was young and handsome with so much potential to mature into a fine, hard-working man with the expectation of one day having a wife and family of his own. Being around their only son was more important to them than returning to Colorado. It was a sacrifice they gladly made.

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Anna May Woodbridge was born in California. Her parents and the children moved around a bit trying to find a place to raise their expanding family. They traveled to Colorado and finally in 1898, settled in Blaine County, Idaho with their five children. They lived in Era, a mining camp west of Arco. In 1900, when Anna was fourteen years old her parents bought a ranch near Arco, where they settled in to raise their now six children.

Anna was the oldest sibling, providing much needed assistance to her mother. She was a hearty and attractive young woman who happily took on the chores of their new home: cleaning, cooking, sewing, and helping with her sisters and brothers. Working alongside her siblings she helped with the animals and other ranch chores.

By the age of sixteen, Anna was maturing into a beautiful young woman with long dark hair and an infectious smile. She loved the ranch and appreciated the beauty of this picturesque area where her parents had brought them.

It was in the town of Arco where Anna met Jay. Her family was in the small town to get some supplies and mutual friends introduced her family to a tall, young, handsome man. She thought he had a wonderful smile and he seemed interested in her. He kept glancing in her direction, making eye contact. This interest and her reaction to this man was new to her. He made her cheeks feel hot and she giggled when he looked her way. She liked him and hoped that he was feeling the same.

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Jay was immediately smitten. He was impressed with her beauty, her smile and her dark eyes that twinkled. She seemed happy and full of life. She filled his thoughts day and night. He knew right away that he wanted to get to know her better and hoped that his first impressions would last. He worked up the nerve to start courting Anna.

The next Sunday, he sat close to her and approached her as soon as the services were over.

Hello Anna, you look lovely today

Hello, it’s so good to see you again.

Jay paused, calming his nerves as he asked, Would you like to go for a walk?

She nodded her head then looked back at her parents motioning that she was going with Jay.

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It wasn’t long before the small-town residents were buzzing about the new young couple. They would see them walking in the town and it appeared to them that they were made for each other. The townspeople gossiped that one day soon they would marry.

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Jay was indeed in love. His happiness was evident for everyone to see. The other miners teased him about the smile he couldn’t hide. He would meet Anna every Sunday at the small gathering of church goers. He would follow her to her home where they would spend the day together. They would sit or walk and talk about the future and the exciting times they lived in. When he left he would secretly kiss her good-bye and blush when one of Anna’s sisters would invariably catch him in the act. He finally worked up the courage to ask Anna’s father if he could have her hand in marriage.

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Thornton Woodbridge thought that Jay was a fine, upstanding, young man and he knew that his daughter was head-over-heals in love with him. He noticed the twinkle in her eye as she did her chores, obviously thinking about Jay. He was all she could talk about at the dinner table.

Thornton watched Jay nervously approached him.

Sir, may I talk to you?

Expecting the question, Thornton replied, Of course.

"Mr. Woodbridge, sir, I really respect and love your daughter, may I have her hand in marriage?

Thornton smiled and gave his approval immediately. He shook Jay’s hand as he said, Take good care of my daughter thinking, I couldn’t ask for a better son-in-law.

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The Titus and Woodbridge families were very happy for the young couple and welcomed their union. Both families traveled sixty miles on the Oregon Short Line train to witness the joining of Anna and Jay in matrimony. On Wednesday, Sep. 9, 1903, just before Jay’s twenty-third birthday, he married seventeen-year-old Anna May in Blackfoot, Idaho.

Jay had now been working in the mines for nearly five years.

4

Jay and Anna

The twentieth century had just begun with so much to look forward to for the newlyweds. Exciting things were happening in the country. The Wright brothers had the first powered airplane flight in December 1903 and the use of automobiles was promising. The number of them being built was growing. People were astonished when they heard that 8,000 automobiles would soon be on the roads in the United States. Roads and train tracks were expanding at a feverish pace. In addition, the stories about moving pictures (silent movies) were exciting to think about.

Teddy Roosevelt was President of the Unites States. His popularity was growing more each day. He had won the hearts of the common man by regulating corporate interests and protecting the interests of the average citizen. Unfortunately regulating mining companies for workers’ safety wasn’t a priority for the government.

Miners didn’t worry about the safety or risks of mining. They knew that accidents would happen and were careful to prevent injuries. The job was difficult, dirty and dangerous but the miners accepted these conditions. Life was hard for the people working in the mines and living near them. The long physical hours, six days a week, took its toll on many of the men. Even with the challenges of the job, it didn’t hamper the upbeat optimism of the residents in Arco. They remained enthusiastic about all the new advances happening and the opportunities to build a better life for their families.

There seemed to be a promising outlook in so many ways for Jay and Anna Titus. They were deeply in love and had cheerful hopefulness for starting a family and having a long and happy future.

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After their marriage, Anna and Jay moved into a small two-story house with a front porch big enough to hold two chairs. Their home had a few pieces of hand-me-down, homemade furniture and supplies given to them by their parents, relatives and friends. Anna thought it was perfect. She smiled as she prepared and organized their home. She couldn’t be more pleased with her new life. With a spring in her step and joy in her heart, she would keep the house clean, do the laundry, mend the clothes and prepare the meals among other every-day chores of a housewife. She felt truly blessed and would often hum songs while she worked. She took time each day to read her Bible and thank God for her good fortune. She thought that Jay was the perfect husband. He was kind, respectful and Anna knew that he loved her very much. She thanked God every day for him and prayed for a long and happy future with her husband by her side.

Six days a week Anna prepared a lunch for Jay and kissed him goodbye in the pre-dawn of a work day. She said each day, Be careful, Jay as he walked out the door to work in the lead mines. She knew that his work was grueling but it afforded him the opportunity to make money and build a stable future for Anna and his future family. Anna looked forward to having and raising his children.

It didn’t take long for the good news. Shortly after they were married, Anna waited in anticipation for Jay to come home from work. She knew he would be tired and dirty but she needed to tell him the news first thing. She couldn’t possibly wait for him to sit down at the dinner table to tell him. Anna waited by the front door, dinner simmering on the stove filling their home with a delicious odor of homemade bread, chicken and gravy. With her anticipation rising, she kept peeking out the door to see if Jay was approaching, anxious to tell him the news.

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Jay opened the door and as he stepped inside. He noticed that Anna was waiting for him, in fact, standing right in front of him. At first, he worried that something was amiss. Anna was normally in the kitchen working over the stove preparing his dinner. Why was she waiting for him like this? What could be wrong? She was just standing there looking at him with an odd look on her face. He looked at her quizzically. Is everything OK Anna?

He watched a smile reshape her face with a look of excitement forming, she blurted out, Jay, I think I’m with child!

He took her into his arms, holding her closely. Are you sure?

Looking up at him, Anna nodded.

Anna, my love, this is wonderful news. I am so happy. How do you feel?

He watched her giggle at his question as she replied, "I feel wonderful,