Chapter Twenty-Four
Erin lay in her motel bed trying to absorb all she had learned that day. What are the odds that she would have come out of the mountains right into the chief hornet’s nest of the Masonic Temple. She had trouble going to sleep that night trying to think of all the things she needed to do in the next couple of days. The first thing in the morning, she was going back to the college and inquire about a job.
The dawn brought a few clouds dotting an otherwise clear, crisp day in Forest Glenn. Erin was excited about moving to her new apartment. She jumped into the shower and put on fresh clothes. She gathered her few possessions and took the key to the motel office. “Moving day?” The manager asked.
“Yep, getting my own place,” Erin answered. “Thanks for all the hot water. I really enjoyed it.” She laid the key on the counter and walked out into the sunshine.
Erin went shopping at the mercantile shop before getting her apartment key from Sammy. She bought sheets, towels, and some personal items. She stuck her head in the barbershop door and waved at Sammy. “Good morning,” she smiled. “I will just take the key, OK?”
“Good morning, Aaron. You bet. I turned on the heat a little so it would feel more like home. Glad to have you living above me. Did I tell you that I really don’t want parties up there?”
“Not a problem,” Erin answered. “Hopefully, I will be busy working at the University. I am not really a party-guy. More of nerd.”
Sammy laughed. “Good for you. Nerds are always welcome here.”
After Erin put away her things in the new apartment, she walked the short distance to the University. She walked through the archway once again, turning to look at the Grand Lodge. The sun was rising just above the top of the building. She expected to see rays emitting from the building rising up to the heavens. She smiled and walked to the pentacle. She knew all the names of the buildings in the quad, but was wondering which one housed the administration offices.
Out of all the points of the star she guessed that truth, knowledge, and wisdom would be academic buildings. That logic would leave air or love. She decided to try love. It worked; a small sign pointed the way to the administration office. She then found a door marked Human Resources.
Erin entered and located a receptionist. Minutes later, she left the Administration Building with application papers for a professorship position in the English Department. Erin couldn’t fill them out completely before her social security card arrived, but was assured that if she got the forms back by Monday, she could start in a substitute position in the English Department where there was an unexpected vacancy due to the death of one of their beloved faculty members.
Erin walked to the Goodwill Store on her way back to the apartment. A couple more suit jackets and twill trousers were needed now. Two shirts and one tie should complete the ensemble.
Stopping at a little market on her street, Erin bought some groceries. She wasn’t planning to do a lot of cooking, preferring to eat at the café downstairs. She had two days left before she received her new identity.
When she got to her apartment Erin took out paper from her desk. She practiced writing Aaron Jones over and over again. At first it looked too feminine with curly letters. Then she decided to do more of a block print. She took out a book from the desk, blew off the dust, and opened it. She copied page after page until she was satisfied that her penmanship was indeed masculine. Aaron Jones was emerging.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Erin thought Sunday would never come. Her application forms lay completed on her desk except for birth date and social security number. The time was getting near noon, and she decided to walk to the mall. If her drug dealer friend weren’t there yet, she could do some shopping. She took out twenty 100-dollar bills and folded them into her pocket. She mentally tallied up how much she had left. It was going down quite rapidly, but soon she would have a paycheck coming in and she could save her stash. She had been quite frugal, only buying necessities. After she got her first paycheck, she was thinking about getting a computer. Her research on the Masons would be more important now than ever.
Erin slipped on her jacket and locked the apartment. She nearly ran down the street to the shopping mall. She was very anxious to see the results of her new identity. The white Subaru was parked in the lot. Her heart beat rapidly. This was it, the final step in becoming Aaron Jones. The dealer saw her coming across the street and stepped out of his car. He walked to the sidewalk and handed Erin her new driver’s license and social security card. “Not bad, huh?” he said, obviously very proud of his work.
Erin looked at the license. Her picture looked very good, even in hologram like the Oregon licenses are required to be. Aaron Jones, age 33, male, 5’7”, 175 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, born 09/06/1971. The social security card was a typical white with blue print and looked every bit as official as did the license.
“Is the social security number legit?” Erin asked.
“It is, Aaron Jones, formerly of Austin, Texas. Luckily for you, you picked a pretty common name. There was an Aaron Jones in Texas that died. We were able to intercept the death certificate at the funeral home before it was sent to the Social Security office. You’re picking up where the deceased Aaron Jones left off. You won’t miss a beat except you changed your residence. Do you have the rest of the money to start the other certificates and junk?” He stuck out his hand.
“Oh, sure,” Erin said digging into her pocket. “Thanks, these look great. How long before the rest of the stuff is here?”
“Give it two weeks. It is quite a process to get all you asked for.” The dealer unfolded the bills and counted them. “Just right. Check back here in two weeks and I should have the remaining papers. And remember, you will have to bring three more thousand when you pick them up.”
“Yes,” Erin said. “I remember very well. This is taking all my life savings. But you do good work. I hope the rest is just as good.”
“It will be,” the dealer said as he stuck out his hand to shake hers. “Welcome to Forest Glenn, Aaron Jones.”
It was official. Aaron Jones was born.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Aaron slipped her new identification into a wallet she picked up at the Goodwill Store and walked back to her apartment. She completed the job application forms with the necessary information and had only to wait until the next day to get them to the University. She noted on the employment and educational section of the form she would provide additional information when transcripts and other legal papers were sent to her next week. She turned on the television and plopped herself into the overstuffed chair. Ten minutes later she was asleep.
Aaron woke up to a knock on the door. She jumped from the chair with a start trying to clear her foggy mind. Who could be at the door? On a Sunday? Who knew she lived there?
Aaron slowly opened the door a crack to reveal the professor she met at the University’s pentacle staring back at her from outside. “Hi, there,” he said. “Sorry to bother you, but can I come in?”
“Oh, sure,” a startled Aaron answered as she opened the door. “I guess I fell asleep and I am a little groggy.”
Aaron showed the professor in and shut the door. “How did you know I lived here?”
“This is a small town, Aaron. Between the motel, the café, and the barbershop, you were pretty easy to locate. May I sit down?”
“Yes,” she stuttered. “Excuse my manners. You are my first visitor and I am not sure what I should do. Would you like something to drink? A beer or juice?”
“A beer would be great,” answered the professor. “By the way, my name is Gordon Gibson, Professor Gordon Gibson.”
Aaron returned from the kitchen, a beer for Gordon and a juice for her. She didn’t want to dull her senses at all while attempting to establish her new identity. Gordon was standing over her application forms. Aaron stopped and asked if she could help him.
“I see you are putting in an application to the University. Any particular area of interest?” He asked.
Aaron held the beer out for Gordon and walked to the papers on her desk. She shuffled them around and said, “I am interested in working at the University. English is my field. I was told I could stand in for one of the professors that died suddenly. I hope to get my credentials here in the next couple of weeks and officially apply for the job.” Aaron turned and sat on the chair and motioned for Gordon to sit on the sofa.
“Where did you go to college?” Gordon asked.
“East coast,” Aaron spit out. Please don’t ask which college. I don’t know where yet. Change the subject. “I moved to Texas and just recently moved here to Forest Glenn. I really like it here. I hope I can get a permanent job at the university. What is your field?”
“English is my field also,” Gordon replied. “I am an English Literature Professor. Did you move from Texas to Oregon to teach?”
Remain calm. This is just a test. There will be many more. “I found the weather in Texas to be too extreme. I had heard a lot about how beautiful Oregon was so I moved here and taught for a while in Coos Bay. Everything I heard about Oregon is true. In fact you have quite a secret jewel here in this state. The beauty is sometimes breathtaking.
“I took a sabbatical this year and just finished a backpacking trip through the Coast Range Mountains. I came down to Forest Glenn quite by accident, but I am really glad I did. I was teaching high school and found it absolutely unfulfilling. I am excited about possibly teaching at the college level. That is why I earned my doctorate.” She hoped she wasn’t talking too fast. Too fast usually means you aren’t telling the truth. She decided to stop talking. Aaron felt she was revealing a little too much.
“How interesting. Do you have family?” Gordon inquired.
“No,” Aaron said softly. “No brothers or sisters. Parents killed in an auto accident and not married.”
“Do you have a religious affiliation?” Gordon inquired further. “This probably sounds pretty nosey, but we are a private college and we do have our spiritual advisor, you know. If you want a permanent job, you will need to become part of the brotherhood.”
“No, I have no religious attachment,” Aaron answered. “Join the brotherhood? Does that mean the Masonic Lodge?”
Gordon put his bottle on the coffee table. He reached into his suit jacket inner pocket and drew out a brochure. “I am afraid so. As you will soon see, all the professors on campus are males. Females are not allowed, however we don’t advertise that. Part of the unwritten requirements of joining the faculty is membership into the Masons.”
Gordon handed Aaron the brochure. Aaron looked at the front, scanned the interior, and flipped over to the back where an application form was printed. She tried to hide her pleasure and amazement to what had just fallen into her lap.
“What do I have to do to join?” She inquired.
“I have a list of books you can get at the university library. You should read some of them for background. Then fill out the form on the back of the brochure. I will be your sponsor and lead you through what you need to do next.”
Aaron stood and stuck out her hand. Gordon stood and took her hand. As they shook hands, Aaron said, “Thank you so much. I actually feel quite honored that you would want me. This looks like a very interesting organization.”
“We are very close. You will probably hear about strange things that go on in the lodge, but rest assured, they are not true. We are just very close-to-the-vest in our meetings. You are not expected to know everything about the Masons before you become a member. The whole point of the Masonic Society is to advance in knowledge over a period of time to become illuminated—or enlightened. You will not understand everything you see or hear until you have advanced through ranks—called Degrees. Your first will be Entered Apprentice. I hope you find the information at our library satisfactory for introduction into the Masonic Lodge.”
With that being said, Gordon turned toward the door. As he laid his hand on the knob, he turned toward Aaron. “Just to make sure,” Gordon started. “You must believe in God—or a Supreme Being. Neither the word Jesus nor his teachings are allowed spoken at the University or at the Lodge. If you have a problem with that, you probably want to apply somewhere else for a professorship.”
Aaron replied, “I have no problem with that. As I said, I have no religious affiliation. I am but putty in your hands.”
Gordon smiled. “Absolutely the perfect answer. See you on campus.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The next two weeks were torture. Aaron started as a substitute in the English Department of the University. She filled her days with work but her nights were long and lonely. It seemed as though she were in limbo until her credentials were presented to the college. She couldn’t really talk about her past as she was unsure what colleges she had attended. So she stayed to herself choosing to spend idle time reading the literature in the library. She skimmed through most of the lists of books that Professor Gibson had given her. They were pretty much recruitment material for the Mason. No great revelations that she hadn’t already learned from her extensive research.
There are approximately 5 million members worldwide, mostly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. The encyclopedia.com reports that it is the largest secret society in the world. There is no central Mason authority, such as the Pope to the Catholic Church. Instead the jurisdiction is divided among national authorities, called grand lodges, along with many concordant organizations of higher-degree Masons. In the United States and Canada, the highest authority rests with state and provincial grand lodges. Custom is the supreme authority of the order, and there are elaborate symbolic rites and ceremonies.
Principles of Freemasons have traditionally been liberal and democratic. Old bylaws cite religious toleration, loyalty to local government, and political compromise as basic to the Mason ideal. The brotherhood is expected to believe in a Supreme Being, use a holy book appropriate to the religion of the lodge’s members, and maintain a vow of secrecy concerning the order’s ceremonies.
There are three typical degrees: Entered Apprentice (First Degree); Fellow Mason (Second Degree); and Master Mason (Third Degree). The average Mason does not rise above Master. If he does, however, he has the choice of advancing through about 100 different rites, encompassing some 1,000 higher degrees throughout the world.
Not many surprises there, except it is no secret that everything the Masons do is a secret. Aaron was a bit surprised that one of the bylaws is religious toleration after Professor Gibson had warned him about the prohibition of the use of Jesus’ name and his teachings at the University and in the Grand Lodge Temple. That doesn’t seem tolerant to her. But, as she would become enlightened along the way of Degrees, maybe things would make more sense.
Apart from spending time at the university, Aaron started running every night after work. She picked out a course that wound around and through the college and surrounding neighborhood. It was about five miles long, and she was getting in excellent shape. An unfortunate side effect, however, was that she was losing more weight. One night on her way to the shower, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. From the waist up she looked very much like a slender young man. Her breasts were almost non-existent from the weight loss. Maybe it was not so unfortunate considering her impersonation.
It seemed to take forever, but it was finally Sunday morning, exactly two weeks from the time she last saw her drug dealer. Aaron ate breakfast at the café and could wait no longer. She walked to the Safeway mall to meet her dealer. The white Subaru sat innocently parked among the other shoppers. She went to the window of the car. The dealer sat smiling at her, a large manila envelope lying on his lap.
“Got the rest of the cash?” He asked.
“Got some good credentials?” Aaron snapped back.
“The best,” he answered. “Take a peek.”
He slowly opened the end of the envelope and held it out for her to look inside. What she could see looked very professional.
She reached into her pocket and handed the dealer a wad of cash folded in two. He snapped it from her hand and stuffed it in his jeans pocket.
“You are actually in these college computers. The small colleges are so easy. We just hacked into their records and inserted your information. You can actually ask them for transcripts again. Someone on campus may even remember you were in his or her class. Enjoy.” He turned on his car engine and drove out of the parking lot.
Aaron was left standing with her envelope. She yearned to open it and peruse the papers. She knew she couldn’t. She didn’t want to take any chances from this point on. She hurried back to her apartment.
