Grapevine

By Al Jazeera
Aug 2, 2024

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Fort Worth, Texas – There’s an elephant in the room when Crystal Mason talks about her seemingly never-ending legal case. It’s her three-year-old grandson, Karter.

Stomping around Mason's home in Fort Worth, Texas, Karter clenches a plastic straw between his teeth as a makeshift trunk. He lifts his head towards the sky and blows through the straw with all his might, delivering his best interpretation of an elephant’s trumpet.

It’s a moment of silliness that makes Mason, 49, break into a wide smile.

“He thinks he’s an elephant,” Mason told Al Jazeera. “He can name every animal. We took him to the zoo recently, and he was so fascinated.”

Caught up in the memory, Mason lets herself relax. But only for a moment.