The Reunion, page 4
It seemed to be working.
Dave sighed, tried to push these thoughts aside. He looked up John Lansing’s cell number and dialed. He expected to get his voice mail too. He already knew Lansing was an extremely busy man. And obviously, a multimillionaire.
“Hello? Mr. Lansing?”
“Hey, Dave. How are things? You’re in Florida, right?”
He was surprised Lansing even remembered him. They’d only spoken briefly two other times. He must have kept Dave’s name and number on his caller ID. “Pretty nice, actually. November’s a great month here. I’m guessing it’s a little chilly there.”
“Chilly and windy.”
“I’ve never lived in Houston, but I did live in the Dallas–Fort Worth area a couple of years. Do you have a minute?”
“A few,” he said. “This about the book you’re writing?”
He remembered that too. “It is. I don’t know if you recall this, but I work for a newspaper here in north Florida. They’re sending me out your way to cover a basketball tournament our local high school is participating in. I was hoping I might get with you while I’m out there, see if I could interview you about your experiences in Vietnam. Particularly, what happened that led to you getting that Silver Star.”
“Funny you should bring that up. Since the last time you called, I got an idea that won’t let me go. I called two of my best Nam buddies and talked it over with them. We get together every few years to reminisce. They liked the idea. Liked it a lot, in fact. So, yeah, I’d definitely like to talk with you.”
“Were these men with you in that battle, the one where you got the medal?”
“No. I got that during my first tour in ’67. I was stupid enough to sign up for a second. That’s when I met the friends I’m talking about.”
Dave was having a hard time following him. What could these guys tell him about John Lansing’s Silver Star if they hadn’t even been there? “Do you want these men there for the interview?”
“No, they live in different states.”
“I guess I don’t follow what—”
“No, I don’t suppose you do. But I’d rather explain all this when you’re here in person. You have my office number?”
“I do.”
“Well, you hang up and call my secretary, Ellen. I’ve already told her a little about this. You tell her when you’re coming and tell her I want to block off the better part of that day. Tell her to call me if she runs into any snags.”
“Well, that . . . that’s great, Mr. Lansing. I really appreciate it.”
“Guess you better start calling me John.”
“So the interview’s all set.”
“Interview? Well, sure. You can still interview me, I guess.”
Still?
“But the real reason I want to meet is not quite what you’re expecting.”
“It’s not?”
“Son, it’s like that old Godfather quote. I’m about to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
9
Aaron was glad that the past several days at Bentley’s Trailer Park & Campground had been relatively quiet. He’d been checking on Heather every day. So far, her boyfriend had not returned to get his things. She didn’t seem to know what he was up to or when he’d be back, and she didn’t care, either.
Aaron was pretty sure she was pregnant, and pretty sure she needed money. Before she drove off for work this morning, she’d asked Aaron if he wouldn’t mind stopping by on his lunch hour to walk Tess. She hoped to talk her boss into letting her work the dinner shift too, which meant poor old Tess would be stuck in that trailer till after 7:00 p.m.
The other person Aaron had been keeping his eye on was Billy Ames. He stopped in on Billy every day after he clocked out. Billy had tried out the new ramp Aaron built a time or two, but for the most part, he stayed holed up in that dingy little place all day and night. Aaron had been trying to get him to get outside, get some fresh air. Always did Aaron some good when he was feeling low.
On most days, especially now that the weather was nice, Aaron spent his lunch hour outside at this little hideaway he’d found on the back end of the park. It was available to everyone who lived at Bentley’s, but Aaron had never seen another soul make use of it. He liked to pretend the place was his. It was a wooden deck built out on a curve along the old Suwannee River, a section where the river faced mostly west. The tree line on the far side didn’t block the sky much. Made for some beautiful sunsets. No properties had been developed along the water’s edge as far as he could see in either direction. Made it nice and quiet. He was sure it would do Billy Ames a world of good if he’d get out there every now and then.
But getting to the deck took a little effort. It was at the edge of the property, and you had to walk a block through a marsh across a winding wooden walkway. The walkway and deck were pretty old. Over the last two years, Sue had given Aaron permission to fix it up. He’d replaced all the rotten boards, made it as solid as he knew how. But folks in the park still didn’t take to it. Aaron figured they were afraid they’d run into snakes and spiders or the wasps who built nests under the wood railings. To Aaron, this wooden deck on the Suwannee was just a little closer to heaven than most places on earth.
Aaron looked at his watch. Still had thirty minutes left on his lunch hour. He stopped off at Heather’s trailer and put Tess on a leash. Then he walked up Billy’s ramp and knocked on the door of his trailer. He waited a few moments then knocked again.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me—Aaron.”
“Be right there.”
Aaron patted Tess on the head. She sat beside him, looked up at him like they were best friends. A moment later, Aaron heard Billy’s scooter humming toward the front door.
“What are you doing here this time of day?” Billy said as he opened the door.
“I got some time left on my lunch hour, wanted to show you something.”
“You got a dog?”
“No, not the dog.”
“Then what is it?”
“You gotta come out here to see it.”
“Outside?”
“Well, of course, outside.” Aaron walked Tess down the ramp, hoping Billy would follow. He turned to find Billy sitting on his scooter half in and half out the door. “You coming?”
Billy looked around. “Where?”
“There’s a place I want to show you. It’s not far. Won’t take ten minutes to get there on your scooter.”
“Is that dog friendly?”
“Well, look at her, Billy. She’s smiling, wagging her tail. She’s part golden retriever.”
“I can see that.”
“Then you know she’s friendly. C’mon. She won’t hurt you.”
“Why you walking a dog?”
“It’s just a favor for a friend. You coming?”
“This place, is it down the main road? ’Cause I don’t want to take this thing down that road. They don’t have a sidewalk, and I don’t want to get stuck in the dirt.”
“We’re not even going to leave the trailer park.”
“So where is it?”
“It’s kind of a surprise. I’d rather show you than talk about it. C’mon. Don’t you trust me?”
“Now why should I trust you, Aaron? You been real nice to me these last few days, but I don’t know you all that well.”
“I think you know me well enough to know I won’t hurt you. You don’t like this place, you don’t ever have to go back. But I think you might like it. It’s a place I go almost every day.” Aaron turned and walked Tess in the right direction. He heard Billy’s scooter heading down the ramp.
“As a rule, I don’t like surprises,” Billy said.
“I think you’ll like this one.” Aaron slowed his pace to let Billy catch up. When they were side by side, he said, “You ever have a hiding place when you were a kid? A place you liked to sneak off to when you wanted to be alone?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t think so.” They walked in silence a few moments then turned left on the paved road. “Actually, I do remember a place like that,” he said. “There was this old orange orchard a few blocks from our home. I used to like to head there sometimes. Mainly to get out of doing chores or when I got in some kind of trouble.”
“A place of refuge?” Aaron said.
“I guess you could call it that.”
“Well, there’s this spot on the back end of this property that’s become my place of refuge. No one ever goes out there but me. It’s right up ahead here. I thought if I showed it to you, you could go there whenever you wanted.”
Billy gave him a puzzled look, but he kept following. Tess’s head was just about even with Billy’s hand. She walked right next to his wheelchair. “Hey there, girl.” Billy patted her head. “What’s her name?”
“Tess.”
“Kinda fits. She’s got a nice face.”
They got to a place where the paved road curved to the left, around one of the larger oak trees in the park. About fifty feet ahead, across a grassy area, the oak forest gave way to a border of scrub and cabbage palms and much thicker brush. Cypress trees began to show up too, because they were close to where the marshy area began. As Aaron and Tess stepped into the grass, he heard Billy’s scooter stop. “It’s all right, Billy. I keep the grass mowed real good here. The ground’s nice and hard.”
“Where we going?”
“See the sign?” He pointed to it up ahead. It said: Nature Trail & Lookout.
“I can’t go in there.”
“Sure you can. It’s got a strong wooden walkway, goes all the way to this deck right on the river.”
“I don’t . . . I don’t go in jungles.”
“It’s no jungle. It’s just a marsh, and it’s pretty much—” Just then Aaron remembered. Billy had a major fear of jungles, even worse than his own. That’s where Billy lost his legs in Vietnam, walking through jungles so thick you couldn’t see a man ten feet in front of you. He had been walking point and stepped on a mine, something they called a Bouncing Betty. Blew him twenty feet in the air. When he came down, his legs were gone just past the knees.
Aaron walked back to Billy and bent down to eye level. Tess came right over. Her expression changed to something that looked like genuine concern. She seemed to know Billy was struggling. “I know what you’re thinking, Billy. And we don’t have to go back there if you don’t want. I haven’t told you too much about my time in Nam, but I got the same fear of jungles you have. But this place ain’t anything like the jungles in Vietnam, I promise. That’s part of the reason I love it back there.”
Billy looked at him a few moments.
“Really, it’s okay.” Aaron stood up and walked a few steps toward the river. “Once we get down that walkway a bit, you’ll see. Just low-lying marshes, as quiet and peaceful a place as I’ve ever seen. It turns and winds a little, maybe fifty yards. Then it opens up to a nice big wood deck, right on the river. And the scene there? Well, sometimes it takes my breath away. Besides the beauty of the river, you see all the best things that grow in Florida, just the way God meant them to be seen. And no people around, just you and me.”
He looked back at Billy. He was smiling a little.
“And the wildlife,” Aaron continued, “I see all kinds of things back there, especially birds. You’ll see all different ones wading in the water here and there if you’re quiet. Like white egrets and blue herons. Even storks on occasion. Sometimes bald eagles will fly right by, ospreys too. Like your own nature show, except you’re seeing it with your own two eyes. What do you say?”
“I don’t know,” Billy said. “I’m not sure I’d feel safe riding this thing over water, and I ain’t been an outdoorsy guy, ever since I lost these.” He pointed down.
Tess walked over to Billy and sat beside him. She leaned up against his wheelchair and rested her head on his thigh. Billy looked down. “Would you look at that?” He patted her on the head.
“Seems like she’s taken to you.” Aaron looked at his watch. He only had about twenty more minutes. He wasn’t thinking he’d be spending so much time having to talk Billy into this, and he needed to put Tess back up in the trailer. But he could tell Billy was softening up to the idea. “That wood out there is solid, Billy. You’d be as safe as riding on pavement, but I tell you what. We’ll head back and you think on it awhile. I don’t want to force you into doing something you’re not comfortable with. But if you’d like to try it again tomorrow, I’ll take you out there on my lunch break or after I clock out. Will that work?”
“I think I’d like that better.” He spun his wheelchair around.
“I understand,” Aaron said. When they got back to the curve in the paved road, they heard a roaring sound up ahead. Aaron looked up to see that souped-up blue Honda racing into the park entrance then fishtailing around the curve leading up to Heather’s trailer.
It was her no-good boyfriend. Aaron tensed up till he remembered Heather wasn’t home. They walked a little farther, and his heart skipped a beat. “Uh-oh.” Heather was opening the front door of their trailer.
“What’s the matter?”
“Heather is home.”
“Who’s Heather?”
“Tess’s owner. That boyfriend of hers likes to beat her. I better get a move on it. You’ll be all right if I leave you here?”
“I’m fine. I know my way back.”
“Can you keep Tess with you?”
“Sure. You go on,” Billy said.
10
Aaron did his best, running through the park toward Lot 31. As he neared the trailer, he saw the boyfriend’s car parked at an odd angle. He listened but didn’t hear any yelling. When he caught his breath, he called Sue on the walkie-talkie. “Sue, I’m outside Lot 31. Stay near the phone, will ya? You might have to call 911.”
“I know,” Sue said. “I saw that blue car whiz by my window. Don’t you keep a pistol in your room? Maybe you better go get it, just in case.”
“I don’t want to leave here to get it, in case something happens while I’m gone.”
“Your call, Aaron. Just say the word if you need me to call the cops. But let’s don’t do anything unless you think he might get violent. Don’t want to stir a big mess if they’re just talking. They get loud, you can step in for the park’s sake. Tell them we can’t have them yelling like that around here.”
“All right, Sue,” he whispered back. He walked a little closer till he was between Ryan’s car and the front door. He heard them talking through the open window.
“Don’t you tell me what you’re not going to do. You’ll do what I tell you.”
Aaron understood that. So did anyone else within a hundred yards. Heather said something quiet in reply.
“The most you’re getting outta me is a few hundred for an abortion. That’s it! I told you, I ain’t stickin’ around to be no kid’s father.”
Heather said something back.
“Love you? We were having fun, least I was. But it ain’t fun no more.”
Heather said something else, but now she was crying.
“You crying don’t change a thing. I’m serious. You will be getting an abortion, that’s all there is to it.”
“I am not!”
Aaron heard that. Then some banging noise, sounded like from the kitchen. Drawers being pulled out.
“Stop . . . Ryan, what are you doing?”
“You ain’t keeping that baby, then telling folks it was mine. I’ve been asking around. They got tests that can prove it’s mine, then you can start hitting me up for money. I can’t have that. Someone told me they could even put me in jail because of your age.”
“Ryan, put that down.”
There was terror in her voice. That was it.
No time to call Sue. He had to move now. He scrambled up the metal steps and pushed open the front door. “Hey!” he shouted. Heather was backing up against the living room wall. Ryan was moving toward her, a kitchen knife in his right hand.
He turned.
“You put that thing down, right now.”
Ryan’s face filled with rage. “Oh, you gonna be a hero, old man? Guess I gotta take care of you first.”
“Well, come on then,” Aaron said. “Let’s see what you got.” He braced for the attack.
Ryan took a short step, faked one direction then lunged forward, jabbing the knife at Aaron’s middle, like a sword. Aaron deflected Ryan’s arm upward and grabbed his wrist, then shoved his right knee full-on into the boy’s face. Heard a crunching sound. Ryan dropped the knife and fell back on his rear end, crying out in pain. Aaron jumped down on him, started pounding him in the face with his fist, two or three times. “How’s that feel?” he yelled. “Feel good getting hit?” He smacked him again. “You like hitting girls?”
“Stop!” Heather screamed.
Aaron stopped. He looked up at her then down at the boy.
Ryan covered his bloody face with his hands. He looked confused. Aaron stood up, then bent over and grabbed Ryan by the collar, lifted him to his feet in one motion. All the while, Ryan covered his face. Aaron pushed him toward the front door. “Not so tough when you’re fighting a man, are you, punk?”
The boy didn’t answer. Nothing but fear in his eyes. Aaron walked him to the front door and shoved him out, over the steps. Ryan fell to the ground. “You get out of here and don’t come back. I ever hear that you laid a hand on Heather here, I’m coming after you. I’m faster with a gun than my fists. I’ll make sure you don’t ever hurt her or anyone else again. You got that?”
Aaron looked around. A small crowd had gathered beyond the outskirts of the trailer.
Ryan looked up at him, then at the people. “What about my stuff? It’s still in the trailer.” There was no anger in his voice now, only fear.
“You just made a donation to the Goodwill.”
Ryan nodded then rose to his feet.
“And you’re not going to go tearing out of this park when you leave. You drive out of here going fifteen miles an hour. You understand? The whole way.”
