Chapter 61

• The last stop on our grand Marshall estate tour was off the main road leading to their front door, beyond the ranch itself. It was a circle, an old well made of thick black rocks. With a galvanized metal jug swinging on a hanger beneath its wooden lid, it was out of a Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, and I clamped down on Gravity close to my chest for fear she'd wriggle free and toss herself in.
• And this is the wishing well of the family." Bruce stopped to rub the warm stones with a satisfied smile. "I ain't no superstitious person or nothing, but this wishing well has done a good thing for itself over the past couple centuries. We stopped using it for water in around 1900. My great-great-grandfather got something during that time, and his wife, Bertha—she was a nurse—thought he'd never get over it.". The doctors gave him a couple of days. Folks came from all around to say goodbye to the old man. She sat along the edge of the wishing well one evening, deposited a coin, and prayed he'd get better. In the mornin', he awoke feelin' like a trillion bucks! " Bruce's eyes glowed with boyish excitement. Since then, people from all over Texas visit to flip a coin and make a wish. This little baby has helped so many people." He hit the rocks a second time. "Get married, get pregnant, get well from illness, find the courage to attempt something new.
• You should really try it sometime."