By Junie Levine
Graveside services for Lucille Rose Masterson are scheduled for Saturday, June 8, 2019, 3PM, at the Wheeler Cemetery in Sugar Land, Texas. Viewing will be held at Robertson Funeral Directors Saturday, June 8, 2019, 10AM–2PM.
She flew through the air like an eagle, landing somehow on her feet each and every time, her grace provoking gasps and standing ovations. Lucy was a hometown hero, shining brightly for a short time before shooting like a comet to Austin, where she died last week, a fallen star. Her cause of death has not yet been released.
Lucy was also my best friend, and while I stayed here in Sugar Land, jettisoning my dreams of becoming a big city reporter to become the manager of Panera Bread at the Sugar Land Mall, Lucy went for her aspirations, leaving the day after graduation with one pink duffel bag and themoney she had saved when she worked with me at Panera Bread, before I became manager.
I will never forget the days we spent behind the counter, joking around and talking about Lucy’s many boyfriends. (I only dated Todd Levine, who is now my husband of three happy months!) Lucy adored her baby brother, Arlo. She also had three older brothers—Grant, Christopher, and Walter—who made sure that no one messed with her. One time, Lucy was having a romantic interlude with her high school beau when Grant and Andrew burst into her room with baseball bats! That was the end of that romantic interlude.
Lucy and I became friends when my family moved to Sugar Land. I was eight years old, new in third grade at Sugar Land Elementary. We had moved from the Panhandle, and I’d never really thought about my bowl haircut or wearing my older brother’s hand-me-down pants and T-shirts. I mean I guess I hadthought aboutit, but I hadn’t wanted to make my parents feel bad or I don’t know but the point is I showed up for my first day wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a train and below that the wordtrain.
I will never forget seeing Lucy that day. She wore pink, pleated corduroy pants, an aqua T-shirt, and a headband with pom-poms that matched her outfit. She had a rainbow backpack and silver sneakers that lit up when she jumped around, which was always. At this point, she was already kind of famous for gymnastics. She left class at onep.m.every day to go to the gym and everyone said she was going to be in the Olympics someday.
Her father of course is Jim Masterson of Masterson Honda, and they always had a new car. Also, all of Lucy’sspiral notebooks had animals on them and her pens and pencils had pom-poms like her headband but in different colors from the ones on her headband.
When I say she was my best friend I do not mean to imply that I washerbest friend. I was maybe her fourth best friend, depending on if Skye Gutierrez and she were in a fight.
After her shoulder injury, Lucy valiantly found a new dream: to move to Austin and go to college. Understandably, all her brothers decided to work for Masterson Honda (except for Arlo, of course, who is only eight!).
I visited Lucy one time in Austin. She was super busy and had to work at her waitress job all three nights I was there (and forgot to call me when she went out one night after work) but I was able to get a glimpse of her sunny days. One morning, we went to get pancakes at Kerbey Lane Cafe and they were the best pancakes I’ve ever had. I told my husband Todd we have to go to Austin just for those pancakes sometime. Maybe like a romantic surprise getaway or something, since our honeymoon was one night at the Sugar Land Ramada.
Lucy was like this:
Her hair was spun gold.
Even after she had to quit gymnastics, her body was strong.
She always loved silver and pink, even when she was older.
Three days before she died, she answered when I called and told me she thought she might have fallen in love for the first time.
She was a strong swimmer. She had a pool and even when her brothers said they were joking and tried to hold her under, she could fight them off.
She loved red roses.
Her favorite shoes were a pair of black Steve Madden high heels with feathers.
She loved true crime shows like20/20.
I can still see her in that pom-pom headband.
-8-
Liza
I WAS IN THEmiddle of chopping scallions to prepare Sam’s Noodle Salad with Smoked Brisket and Lime when my cellphone rang. I rinsed my hands, dried them, and picked up the vibrating phone, which informed me I had a “Private Caller.”
It had to be the police officer. I let the phone go to voicemail, but then it started ringing again immediately. I knew I had to answer, if only to buy time. “Yes?” I said.
“Elizabeth Bailey?”
“Yes?” I said, using the back of my damp hand to push my hair from my forehead.
“This is Detective Salvatore Revello with the Austin Police Department.”
“Yes?” I managed a third time. I forced myself to take a deep breath. If I had known this call was a fuse, and my response like a match—countdown to explosion—would I have cut the line?
“Am I speaking with Elizabeth Bailey?”
