One Evil Man

happyhugo

Copyright © 06/19/10

Romance, Teenager, Paraplegic

 

49,409 words

Readers score 7.78 

Seduced in high school, Forrest has to marry.

Divorced, he is seduced by a married woman.

Years later, his daughter by his ex-wife, is in

trouble and he is forced to take a hand in her

up-bringing. Will he ever get to be settled down

and happy? Is there evil lurking somewhere?

Chapter One

“Forrest, its Vida. You have to do something about Nola.”

“Vida, I don’t have to do anything about Nola except send you a check every month. You have full custody, remember? And that custody is backed up by a restraining order for me never to come within 100 feet of either you or her.”

“I had the restraining order withdrawn two years ago.”

“Nice of you to inform me.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Oh come on Forrest. You wouldn’t have become part of her life even if you knew you could.” I was waiting to see what my ex-wife wanted. It had to be something. She never contacted me unless it was something that was ultimately going to be unpleasant and expensive for yours truly. There was silence and I was going to wait her out.

Small victory. “Forrest, I have to ask a favor of you. In fact it releases you from paying child support.” 

There was only one way that was going to happen. Vida was going to turn the rearing of my fifteen-year-old daughter over to me. It was too late. Vida had divorced me when Nola was three. She accused me of touching my child inappropriately. The court had agreed with her to the extent that they issued the restraining order. There was no solid proof so I didn’t end up on some list as a child molester. Pissed off, I had made some threats against Vida herself, so the order was extended to include her.

That didn’t stop her from going to court to up the support payment periodically, though. Vida was a bitch through and through. What I ever saw in her I’ll never know, but I was young. Man is a stupid animal sometimes and I was one of the first rank. “I’m listening.”

“Nola has been picked up twice at underage drinking parties. This latest one happened on the last day of school. She needs a father’s guidance now that she is a teenager. I think you should step up to the plate and do your duty.”

“Vida?”

“I know. Some of it is my fault, but I’m a single mom and I’ve done the best that I could without a man around.”

“Bullshit. It is your entire fault.” This was so typical of Vida. She dumped me and when things didn’t work out for her, she made sure I was going to pay double.

There was silence and then some sobbing. “Forrest, I really have lost all control over her. I can’t get through to her at all.  She does just as she damn pleases. Can’t you please help a little? Would you at least talk to her?”

“This is my busy season and I don’t have time. I had to borrow for the last two support payments and my note is coming due.” This was a lie, but if I gave in too easily, it just would cost me more later down the road.

“We’re going to lose her and it will be all your fault. Don’t you love your daughter at all? She has a date next Tuesday in front of the family court judge.” I did have love for my daughter, but I wasn’t going to let Vida know, or how much either.

 Yeah, I caught the “we” all right and it pissed me off even more. “Give me three days and I’ll get back to you. Don’t get your hopes up, either. I’ll see if I can find time to talk to her, maybe as soon as the weekend.” I hung up. Let the bitch stew for a few days. I thought for a minute and then made a phone call to the family court to find out just how deep in doodoo my daughter was. I found out it was nothing too serious yet, but if she continued on the same path, it could be. There would be a penalty for what she had done, but if she cleaned up her act -- well that was what was needed.

I sure was going to have a chance to talk to my daughter, because just before nine that night, Vida drove up in front of my house and honked the horn. She was screaming at Nola to get her bags out of the car. This was Vida. I hadn’t been this close to her in many years, but she hadn’t changed at all. I hesitated before going out to see what she would say.  Nothing -- no chance! As the girl removed the second suitcase from the trunk of the car and shut the lid, Vida spun the wheels and drove off.

I stepped down off the porch and approached my daughter. I couldn’t see her face as it was within minutes of being full dark. I knew she was crying. I reached her and without saying anything, I picked up the suitcases and headed for the house. I looked over my shoulder saying, “Come Nola. It is time we were acquainted.”

I suppose this must be traumatic for Nola. I knew she had never lived in a house with a man before, and I knew that she didn’t know me at all. I would suspect that I had been painted as the devil by Vida as well. I set the cases in the living room and pointed to the kitchen. I turned the overhead light on as we sat down so my daughter could see me.

“Can you stay up a little while so we can introduce ourselves, or are you too tired?”

“I’m okay.”

“Good. As your mother has told you, I’m your father. My name is Forrest W. Green. I’d like to assure you I’m not the bad person she told you I am. Just touching a little on Vida’s and my life together, we didn’t get along from day one. Your mother became pregnant before we graduated from high school. That was how you came to be. We married and lived together for three years and divorced when I was twenty-one. It was hell for me and maybe your mother too.

“I can honestly say I have never loved your mother. I did love you as a baby, but you weren’t in my care for very long.  I have no idea how we will get along now. You are nearly an adult, so I’m going to treat you as one. Please remember that.”

“I don’t know you. You have never been near me. Why should I listen to you now, just because my mother doesn’t want me around anymore?”

“To tell you the truth, I’m not too terribly happy about you being here either. I have paid out considerable money over the last thirteen years to feed, house and clothe you. I will continue, only I will do it without your mother’s interference if you will let me. All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Oh, I know more than you think I do. I know you are intelligent. I know you are a superb actress and have often been one of the main characters in your school plays. I also know you are quite athletic and play sports. Basketball and field hockey, specifically.”

“How can you know this?”

“Because I have been to many of your school activities and watched you from afar. A little more about me. I am a qualified teacher and if you want to be home-schooled, I can handle it with ease. I haven’t taught in the last three years, because I expanded my hobby into a business which pays better than teaching. I do that right here in this little cabin in the woods. You could even help if there is any part of it that interests you. I will not require you to, though.”

“If I’m home-schooled, I will miss all of the things going on in town.”

“Not necessarily. I would transport you, although you might find it awkward because you would then be an outsider.”

“What happens if I won’t do what you tell me to do?”

“Nola, I’m your last resort. You are on the very brink of being placed in a foster home by Social Services. I’ll give you a few facts about being under their authority. You would have a twenty-percent chance of being placed in a home where you felt comfortable and happy with a foster Mom and Dad. 

“But, and this is a fact, there is a sixty percent chance that you would be unhappy which would cause you to rebel against the foster parents the same as you have done with your mother. You would then be moved into a different home. Many of these homes, the people are just in it for the check that comes from Social Services. You would be moving continually in and out of different families, but never loved in any. The other twenty percent of foster care parents would find you being abused, both physically and mentally. When I say physically, I am saying sexually. I don’t want that for you.”

“Mother warned me that you might do that to me.”

“I’m telling you I won’t, even though I’m pretty much at your mercy on that score. All you have to do is say something to a teacher or someone in authority that I was abusing you and I’m toast. You can even tell a neighbour, and I’m done for. Can you understand why I’m reluctant to have you here with me? Especially since your mother had a restraining order against me previously for that same thing.”

Nola looked at me. “Mother told me she falsely accused you. Did she say that just so she could drop me here?”

“No, in that respect, she was being honest. What are the difficulties between you and your mother anyway? I said I would treat you as an adult, so please answer me truthfully. We will be living together and as of yet, I don’t know anything about how you think. How you act is pretty well documented.”

This almost woman critically examined me before answering. “Mom was asked out on a date by someone she really liked. This was a year ago. While she was out, the neighbour boy came over and talked to me. To be honest, I had never been kissed before and he hadn’t either. We tried it and we both liked it so we necked for awhile. We then watched a movie together on television.

“We were lying on the couch together when she came home. We were cuddled up close and sleeping. Mom went ballistic. She had a fit and started screaming at both of us. Her date saw Mom at her worst and never called her again. Mom blamed me for that. The boy hadn’t done more than kiss me and Mom had no right. She never let up. I figured if I was going to have the name, then I was going to play the game.”

“Have you done more than kiss now?”

“Yes, a lot more.”

“Okay, you don’t have to go into details.”

“I think you want to know how far I have gone. For your information, I’m still a virgin, but at that last party, I wasn’t going to be before the night was over. It got busted up before I had enough to drink to let someone do it.” There was a defiant look, but also one with a little bit of shame in it too.

“You don’t have a steady boyfriend then?”

“No. How could I with a mother like the one I have?” She paused. Then, “Why aren’t you blasting me like Mom has been?”

“Well so far I can’t see where there has been any great harm done. Are you on any form of birth control?”

She was not looking at me, but at the floor when she shook her head no.

“Well before you go to another party, I guess we had better make sure you get some. I don’t imagine the boy who was going to take your virginity would have been sober enough to use a condom. I’ll tell you this, I played Russian roulette with your mother. That is what happened to her and me. I don’t know about Vida, but it sure screwed my life up. I wouldn’t want that for you.

“Look, we have delved deeper into this than we have had to, right off here tonight. I haven’t told you anything about myself and I’m sure you are interested. We’ll talk tomorrow. Again, I wasn’t expecting you so soon. You will be sleeping in the extra room across from mine. I’ll help you make up the bed with clean sheets. If you want to take a shower, the bathroom is the door at the end of the hall. I guess we both have a lot to think about.”

We made the bed and I carried her cases in. There was a closet and a bureau for her clothes. Nola was silent while I was in the room. She was getting a bathrobe out and said she would shower. While she was in the shower, I stepped outside and cut a spray of white roses and put them in a vase for her to find on her night stand when she retired.

Later when I came out of the bathroom after my own shower, and before I opened my door, “Forrest, good night.”  This came through her closed door.

“Good night to you too, Nola.”

**********

There was a long time before I was calm enough to sleep. I really hadn’t had the chance to see what my daughter looked like.  She had on dungarees and either a blouse or a light sweater on under an over blouse. I could tell she was slim and fairly tall. I was sure her brown hair came from my genes. It was heavy and thick with almost red highlights in it.

I went to sleep finally, hoping the morning would bring us to a level where we could continue to communicate. Last night didn’t give any indication that she would rebel against me in any way and I was hoping we could continue in a like manner.

Her door was closed when I opened mine. I had slept an hour later than usual. I set about making breakfast. I didn’t have anything special, only what I would eat myself. There was no fruit and I wasn’t much into cereal  It had to be eggs, bacon, coffee and toast  I placed it on the table and went to wake Nola. The room was unoccupied.

I looked out the front door and couldn’t see her. I opened the back door and she was just coming out of my shop. She had her back to me as she closed the door. “Nola.” She jumped from being startled. “Nola, breakfast is ready.”

“I can smell it and I was coming in. I’m hungry.” I was followed in and I indicated where she was to sit. She sat as I poured coffee. I didn’t ask if she drank it, but I remembered that Vida was addicted, so I assumed Nola would be too. She was. 

She took the first sip and a pleased expression expanded into a smile. “Good morning, Forrest. It is so quiet, except for the birds I heard singing when I woke up. Some different than in town.” She concentrated on eating, not saying more until she was wiping up the last traces of her egg with her toast. “That was delicious. I usually have a pop tart.”

“Do you cook?”

“No. Mama wouldn’t let me in her kitchen.” She giggled, and then said, “Mama can’t cook much either, but she wants her kitchen to look as if she could.”

I laughed because I remembered when Vida and I were married, I usually put together the meals. “I guess I’ll have to give you a few lessons. Tomorrow morning we will start you out on making breakfast. Did you sleep well last night?”

“I did. I think it was the scent of the roses that must have done it. I got up early to look at the bushes. I can tell you like flowers. You’ll have to tell me their names. I went into the little building out back. I see you are a wood carver. Do you carve anything else besides Indians?”

“No, that’s it. It takes me longer to get my wood blanks glued together than it does to do the carving. The hardest part is doing the finishing when the carving is completed. These are all commission orders and each one is different. It pays well and I am becoming well known for them. You will have to Google Forrest Green/wood carver, on the Internet sometime.”

“Where do your orders come from?”

“The orders are coming from all over the world now. I advertise on the Internet. The first few I made, I sold on E-bay. I did that to get an idea of how much to charge for each one. I don’t know who carved the first cigar store Indian years ago. They went out of style for awhile and then it started up again. Some company was making them out of plastic, selling them for about a hundred dollars.”

“How much do you sell yours for?”

“My base price is about $5,000. That’s for a three-quarter size carving. A bigger one is more, and a half-size is even more than that. A smaller one is more because the proportion is difficult to get correct. It takes me about two weeks from the time I start the carving until the final coat of paint is finished. That doesn’t count getting the wood ready. I guess I gross about $40,000 more a year than I did teaching. I don’t have to put up with the hassles of unruly kids or the administration’s dumb-ass rules that they come up with sometimes.”

“Like me you mean?”

“I wasn’t being specific and you would know more about that than I would.”

“I guess it would be me.”

“I’m not going to excuse you, but you are old enough to know right from wrong. You are going to have to think things through and anticipate what the final result of your actions could lead to. When were you going to mention that you have to be in family court next week?”

“I haven’t mentioned it, because I didn’t want you to scream at me like Mom does. I thought maybe I would just skip telling you and not go.”

“You might want to rethink that. This is what I meant about being responsible for your actions. Think about the worst thing that could happen and that may well be what you are sentenced to.”

“Would you please go to court with me on Tuesday? I could wave good-bye to you as they lead me away.”

I peered closely at Nola. I could see a quirky smile forming at the corners of her mouth. I was being played. “You do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. I’ll let you know what my decision will be when you finish.” I turned and went out to my workshop. I had to get away from this darling of mine before I burst out laughing.

I felt her presence behind me when I was concentrating on fitting two bolts of pine lumber together after I had applied glue. She spoke, “You don’t believe they will take me away, do you?”

“Let me ask, isn’t it a possibility and shouldn’t you have thought of that before you started drinking?”

“I should have. I was getting back at Mom and didn’t think. She had grounded me and I snuck out of the house.”

“Okay, that was between you and your mother. When she called, she told me you had to go to court. I made a call and talked to an attorney to advise me. He is someone I know fairly well  Here is what is going to happen to you. You will be going before a judge who passes judgment on your kind of case. I am asking to be named your legal guardian with full custody. Your mother will have no control over you anymore.

“You will be my sole responsibility. That is not to say you shouldn’t apologize to your mother. You should. With all of her screaming and telling you she hates you, she does love you. She must or she wouldn’t have sent you to me, the last person on earth she wants anything to do with.”

“In court you will not get off with just a reprimand. You will be put into a diversion program. You will be sentenced to at least thirty hours of community service. I don’t imagine you will find it very pleasant, but it will keep you from having a record.”

“Do you know what I will have to do?”

“I have had a conversation with the court clerk, but the court may not think my suggestion is credible. I would suggest that you bone up on your ability to send and receive Morse code, though, just in case.”

“How do you know I can do that?”

I paused before answering. “Nola, I may not have been a visible part of your life that you were aware of. I had to walk away from you when you were three. I made friends with your kindergarten teacher and with at least one of your teachers in every grade you have attended. I did that for a reason.”

“What was the reason?”

I didn’t want to say it out loud yet. Instead I said, “You figure it out. You’re intelligent. Now you be quiet so I can concentrate on getting this piece of wood together and not spoil it. It cost me $200 and it may become something worth $5000.”

“What kind of wood is it?”

“It is white pine. If it was mahogany or walnut, it might cost five times as much as pine. The finished product could be ten times as much as what I would pay to carve in the cheaper wood. There are advantages working with the different wood species. Pine is easy to carve, but you can’t get the crispness of detail with it that you can get with a harder wood.

“Most of the figures I carve from pine are finished with paint, sometimes in a satin and sometimes in a gloss. The hardwood is usually just varnished, though sometimes the feathers are colored. The varnish I use isn’t like they used years ago, but is a polyurethane. I do whatever the customer wants. You’ll learn all of these things if you are interested.” I looked hopefully at Nola.

“If they don’t take me away and put me in jail, I’m sure what you do will interest me. Does Mom know what you do?”

“I have no idea. I don’t think a person was ever shut out of any others life like she shut me out of hers. Nola, I tried so hard to make a home for your mother and you. When you were born, it was as if you were her baby and I couldn’t have any part of you. I admit I didn’t make much money, but I was doing the best that I could at the time. She was on my butt to better myself. The only ones to help us were my parents and she trashed them repeatedly until they wouldn’t have anything more to do with her.

“The last year we lived together, we didn’t sleep in the same bed and sometimes a whole week would go by before we would have a conversation. I made the comment we never should have married. I often thought she was unbalanced. When she had me served and following that little comment, she put all those things in about me touching you inappropriately. The restraining order followed immediately. This was before I became a teacher or I would have lost my position.

“Now I know it sounds as if I am trashing your mother. I have kept close track of you growing up and I think she did a superb job until you started to rebel against her authority. I’m not saying that you haven’t had cause either, because I know how off the wall Vida can be. 

“I suspect she will calm down now and regret the moves she has made to distance herself from you. If we get an opening, she should be willing to have a rational conversation with us. You should do the same on your own. Actually it is more important for you, because I’ve lived without her for a long time, but I don’t want you to go that route. In the meantime, you and I can get to become father and daughter.”

“You’re awful forgiving. She reacts when something doesn’t go her way and starts screaming. She makes all kinds of threats and doesn’t always carry through with them. That is why I was so surprised when she dumped me on you. I thought from many things she has said about you in the past that I was really in deep trouble. You don’t seem like that at all.”

“I said I would treat you as an adult. I will continue to do so if you act like one. Acting like a spoiled teenager doesn’t cut it for me. I’m pleased to say I’m not disappointed in your actions so far, just from the few hours you have been here. I will be giving you some orders you won’t like, but if we can discuss them when you disagree, we should be able to settle things without hurting each other too much.”

I was working all of this time and had the various pieces of pine clamped just the way they needed to be. “Okay, I’m finished for this morning. Would you like to take a walk? It is good exercise and I’ll show you a sight that is something beautiful.”

“Whatever you say. Is this one of those orders we can discuss?”

“Not exactly. I’m going, and if you go with me, I think the effort you put into being with me will be your own reward in the end. I’ll pack us a couple of peanut butter sandwiches and two bottles of water apiece. You’ll be thankful for them.”

“Where are we going?”

“Up the mountain behind the cabin. There is a view from the top you’ll like.” There was a trail of sorts, but it was a difficult climb. It was two hours later when we reached the huge boulder that hung on the side of the promontory. You edged up around it and then could ease out and sit down, dangling your feet over the edge. You could see for more than fifty miles. Here and there were small villages scattered over the landscape.

Directly below was the population center that we were a part of. This stretched out in a ten-mile square. The streets were visible and some of the larger buildings and factories could be identified. On the very edge of our vision and to the right, was the municipal airport. Nola’s gaze was riveted as the noon plane landed. It was too far away to identify anyone. They looked like ants through the glass I handed my daughter.

Nola was speechless, except for the exclamation that she uttered as we sat down. “Awesome.”

Nola would spend minutes trying to pick out places she knew and then she would put the field glasses down and look again at the whole panorama. “I didn’t live that far from you did I? I knew I had a father somewhere, but you must not have been more than five miles away. That’s sad.”

“Yes it is. When you turned eighteen, you would have known me. I would have approached you to see if you would become part of my life. The date has just been pushed up a couple of years. I’m hoping that is a plus for you as well as for me.”

This beautiful jean-clad young lady wearing a flowered, long-sleeved blouse, could have sworn that I was the best thing happening to her. She didn’t, just stating, “You told me to be an adult in my thinking. So far, in the less than a day I have known you, I like what I see. You have treated me well, but I don’t know you yet and you can’t know me either. You may send me to Social Services after you hear how I acted at the party where I was busted.”

“Good enough. Don’t worry about your court appearance. I’ll be there with you. We’ll keep you from being incarcerated somehow. Now this old man has to take a nap in the sunshine for a little while.” I laid back into a hollow in the rock and closed my eyes.

“How old are you Forrest?”

“Thirty-three, two weeks after you turn sixteen.”

“We’ll have to plan a party.”

***********

Nola’s court date was next week on a Tuesday. I was trying to keep her mind off of what was coming because she was very nervous about it. Tonight was Thursday night and I asked what she watched on television. “Survivor.  It is a reality show about a bunch of people left on an island or in a jungle somewhere. They are there for forty days, I think.  Each contestant has to survive to the end of the show without being voted out by the other members. It’s kind of dumb, but the prize is a million dollars. Some of the women are cute and don’t wear much. You’d like that.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You’re a man and you aren’t that old.”

“Maybe I have a woman.”

“There is no evidence that you have. There are absolutely no women’s things in this house at all. I looked in your plan and date book and there is nothing in it that says you go anywhere with one. According to your planner, the only friends you go to see are a Rick and Mary Hanson. When you go there Saturday evening, am I going with you?”

“You’re pretty nosy.”

“Hey, you said yourself, I don’t know you. How else am I going to find out about you? Are you taking me with you?”

“I’ll think about it.” I changed the subject, although I often watched the Survivor show myself. “What time does Survivor come on?” This left Nola looking closely at me. She caught on that I didn’t want to answer about Saturday night.

“We are adults here. Isn’t that what you have stressed?”

“Nola, you were going to find out about me and the Hansons soon. I don’t know if you are ready for me to tell you all of it. There is a lot of sadness you will have to deal with. Some of it may not put me in a very good light. I will tell you I’m planning on you becoming involved with Rick in some capacity. You will see what really terrible things can happen to good people.”

“You’re scaring me.”

“No, don’t be scared. When you meet Rick the first time, your first thought will be, ‘how awful,’ but that thought will go away and your heart will soon burst with joy that you could have a chance to know him. You talk about brave. He is the bravest man I have ever known and on so many different levels, too.”

“You’re leaving me hanging here. Just a little more information, please?”

“Okay. I’ll tell you one thing he has done for me. In one way, I suppose it involves you some. When your mother made it impossible for me to live with her and put the restraining order on to keep me from seeing you, I was near suicide. Rick and Mary were my friends and they had their own problems. They took time to bring me back to the land of the living. And you were part of that as well. They explained that in fifteen years you would be eighteen and could speak for yourself.

“Comparing my life to theirs, there was no reason to contemplate ending my life any longer. There are a couple of other things that you will find out over time, that I won’t go into now.”

“Forrest, you have to take me with you. If they saved you so ultimately I would know my father, I have to meet them.” My daughter was in for a surprise!

“Okay, that’s settled. Do you have a really nice dress?  Something elegant?”

“No, I don’t have anything like that. I do have a pretty top and slacks, though.”

“Not good enough. We’ll take time to go shopping in the morning for a dress. I guess Saturday you should get your hair done. You have beautiful hair, it just needs styling.”

Nola was silent for a minute before saying, “You know you worry me. About the first conversation we had, you want me to go on birth control. A day later you want me to get dressed up and meet some people that you say I’m going to be involved with, the man especially. You aren’t planning on getting me into something immoral are you? I mean, I know I haven’t been the best person and made some bad choices, but it was some I made on my own. You’re my father, and you are supposed to keep me from trouble, not force me into something bad.”

“Nola, I don’t blame you for wondering about me. Put the way you just said, it does sound as if I’m pushing you in the wrong direction. You’ll have to trust me a little when I say I’m not. Rick and Mary are almost my only friends and I want them to be as impressed with you as I am. If you don’t want to wear a dress and have your hair done, that’s okay.  I was thinking of myself, I guess.”

“Forrest, just tell me. Will this Rick that I’m going to meet -- will he look on me as a sex object and will he be safe for me to be alone with?”

“Yes, you will be safe.  He has a medical condition that prevents him from anything physical. Even if he didn’t have this condition, I would trust him with you.”

“Okay then, dress me up and take me out.” I received a bright smile. “I guess I’m going to have to learn to trust you and not second guess you.”

“I intend that you come to trust me. I’ve watched you from the sidelines for years and I have felt I know you. It is just hard to comprehend that you don’t know me at all. That is where the uncertainty comes from. We will get on the same wavelength after we are more familiar with each other, I promise. Now go turn on Survivor and we will see what Jeff has for challenges for his castaways tonight.”

“You watch it too, don’t you? Boy, it’s a good thing you don’t know what I’m thinking you are.”

“Watch it kid, I’m your father, remember?” I made a bowl of popcorn and we sat together discussing the show as it unfolded. Nola had her favorite players and I had mine. Hers won the challenge and the one I wanted voted off, won the immunity idol. Damn! It was a comfortable evening for both of us.

I led Nola through the mysteries of breakfast making. “Oh, there is a dishwasher behind that little door beside the sink. I forgot to tell you that yesterday.” She threw the extra slice of toast at me.

After the kitchen was cleaned, I told her to come watch me rough out one of the wooden blanks I had glued together several days ago. I used an angle cutter with a type of chain saw teeth on it. It would quickly chew the blank into the rough shape of the Indian that would be the final product.

The blank was mounted between a head and tailstock about waist high. I could turn this by hand as I worked around it. Later for carving the detail, I had it upright sitting on a turnstile. I could sit down on a chair that I could raise or lower as I progressed. This made it much less tiring as I carved the wood. As I worked, I explained why I was so particular of the wood I used. It had to be fine and very straight grained so as I hammered the chisel, it wouldn’t skew and go where I didn’t want it to. Today I only did the roughing out as we had a date in town to buy a dress.

When Nola came out as we were ready to leave, she had chosen a pair of short shorts and a tight white tee. I looked at her and I got one back that had defiance written all over her face.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“One, we are going into town on a sensible shopping trip that calls for something nice. The salesclerk will be bringing you dresses for your inspection. She won’t think you serious about purchasing something elegant the way you are dressed like now. Two, I was going to buy you shoes, and I’m not going to have you sitting while a man is kneeling and trying shoes on you where he can look up and see between your legs.”

She stamped her feet and sputtered. “You, you, you’re so, so, you’re so ...” She was searching for a word. “You’re so adult!” I just stood there until in her mind she put herself in a salesclerk’s place. Her face flamed and she went back into her room and came out ten minutes later in slacks and a blouse, walking by me with her head turned away out to the Subaru we were going to town in.

“Damn it, are you always so right?”

“No, I’m not. But I have learned a few things over the years. One is that when you have true beauty, you don’t have to flaunt it.”

It was just before we got into heavy traffic when Nola looked across at me. “You paid me a compliment. Did you mean it?”

“Yes.” I smiled to myself when I saw my daughter sit up a little straighter and fold her hands demurely in her lap.

We shopped the boutiques on Main Street. This was serious business for Nola. Especially when the saleslady made the comment that so many young ladies entered saying they were looking for something, and were dressed to kill time and not really buying. My earlier point emphasized.

The dress was purchased and then I sent her into another shop to purchase some things to go under it. My credit card went with her. When we reached the shoe store, there was a pimply faced young man who fitted the shoes on her. When he went out back to get a half-size smaller in one style, Nola burst out with, “If he doesn’t stop staring at my crotch, I’m going to slap him -- and I have on slacks too.” I grinned and then she giggled.

It was lunch time when we finished shopping and we went into a quiet restaurant named Otter’s for a sandwich. Coming out Nola commented that we could have got a better tasting hamburger at McDonalds and it would have been three dollars cheaper. 

“I know, but here you have to pay for the atmosphere. It is quiet and you can speak in a normal tone of voice. Business can be conducted or love words can be exchanged.”

“Have you done that in this place?”

“Many times.”

“Love words or business?”

“Both. Nola, I hate to break this shopping up, but I should start carving the detail on that Indian that I roughed out this morning. Is there anything you want to do here in town? See your mother or hang out with a friend?”

“No, I’ll go home with you. Forrest, I don’t have you figured out at all. I get dumped on you and you have spent a lot of money on me. I haven’t even known you for two whole days yet. I feel as if I know more about life too. It’s odd, when you say no, I’m beginning to realize you aren’t saying it just because you can, but that there is a reason for it. I like that. Why didn’t Mom ever treat me that way?”

“Vida didn’t treat you that way because it could be the way she was treated by her parents. I don’t know, I have my way with how I think you should be treated and she has hers. That isn’t to say she doesn’t love you either. Remember I have had years to think how I would act if I ever had the chance to advise you. I have the chance now. I’m sure you and I will disagree on some things in the future. Expect it, and you will have to accept it. I could be wrong in that too. We will see.” 

When Nola came to breakfast Saturday morning, I asked if she slept well. “No I didn’t. I was thinking about this evening. You still haven’t told me what is going to happen.”

“Okay, you know I have an appointment for your hair to be styled this afternoon. Directly after that, I’ll be bringing you home and ask you to lie down for a couple of hours, because it will be a late night for you. When you get dressed we will go and pick up Mrs. Hanson and we will go out to dinner. That will be at seven. Dinner will take upward of two hours. Your dress is beautiful and you will be nearly as elegant as Mary. I will be so proud to escort you both into the dining room to be seated.

“After dinner, we will return to the Hanson residence to meet Mr. Hanson. I will explain about Rick in a minute. What I’m going to ask of you is that you stay and keep Rick company while I take Mary out dancing. We will return by midnight and you and I will come home.”

“You are going to leave me alone with a strange man that I don’t know? How can you expect me to agree to that?”

“No you won’t be alone  There will be a nurse in attendance in the room with both of you at all times. Rick has to have one around the clock, just to keep him alive. You will be just a little diversion for him in his very tiny world. You see Rick is a quadriplegic. Actually he is worse than that. The only action he can perform is to blink his eyelids. He can’t talk or move any part of his body except his eyes.

“What am I supposed to do? Stare at him?”

“You can talk to him, read to him, watch television. He can hear what you say very well. Just keep him company and be a little window to the outside world that he can’t ever enjoy. Tell him about your life, hopes, and dreams, whatever. Remember I was thrilled you knew Morse code. If you want to expend the effort and read his blinking eyes, you can even converse with him. He is still one of the most intelligent men I have ever known.”

“Oh God, this is creepy.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think you will find it so. Would you at least consent to meet him? Mary has little time away from him, by her own choice, I should add. I provide that once a week. I try not to disappoint. They still have the deepest love for each other of anyone I know in this world.”

“You say the nurse will be in the room with us?”

“Yes, he or she, I don’t know which it will be tonight, sits at a machine that monitors his vitals almost constantly.  They won’t interfere and after a bit you won’t realize anyone else is there but you and Rick. I told you that bad things happen to good people, and this is one of those times. Fortunately he still wants to live, incapacitated as he is. And wonder of wonders, Mary wants him to live.”

“How long has he been like this?”

“Seven years. He was in a horrible car accident. The person that hit him was super rich and had a good insurance policy. He can live another ten years on what Mary won in the lawsuit which was well over $100,000,000. The cost of his nurses and care runs in the neighborhood of two million a year. He jokes that when the money runs out, he will die and Mary can find a man with a body, and not love a costly brain housed in a hollow bone.”

“How did you come to know him?”

“Know them. He was a professor at the college where I went to get my degree to teach. I lived in their house while I was there. I’ll tell you more about me and Mary some other time. They both had a hand in resurrecting me when your mother and I divorced. After the accident, I was so pleased to find that I could help them both a little when tragedy struck Rick down.”

“I can do no less than to meet him then, can I?”

“You be careful, young lady. Your father may get to be awful proud of you.”

Nola was beautiful when she came from the hair stylist, even in cream colored slacks and plain blouse. When we arrived back at my little home, she asked why she had to take a nap like a kid. “I want you to be at your best tonight. We are dining at an exclusive club. We might even see some movie celebrities who are in town. I understand that the city is trying to get a film set here.”

“You can’t know that.” 

“Start reading newspapers, Nola. All kinds of information show up in the publications. Oh, I don’t mean you have to. I was just passing on where I mined that tidbit of information from. I just thought this might be exciting for you. Anyway this will all be new. There will be six people at our table. There are usually only five. All are aware that I had sired a daughter. I want these friends of mine to know you. There will be one other man besides myself.

“After the dinner, we will return with Mary to her house and you will meet Rick as I have said. This will be for me the crux of the evening. I would very much like it if you two became friends. I’ll know soon after you two meet. Just keep focused on his eyes. That is where his soul is centered. People say there is no expression in just the eyes, but I find that not to be the case. So, if you would lie down for a rest. You don’t have to sleep, just relax.”

“Okay.”

“Forrest, would you zip me up please  I entered Nola’s bedroom where I had left a young girl of fifteen to meet a woman of twenty or twenty-one. “Oh, I don’t even know myself looking like this. I feel so grown up. I wish Mom could see me.”

“We have time if you would like to stop for a minute on the way.” 

Nola turned and faced me. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all. We’ll have to leave now, though.”

“Good. I’m so nervous I need to be moving.” I held the passenger door as Nola backed into the seat and swung her legs in. Sitting very straight, she said. “I can’t describe how I’m feeling. Forrest, you are so handsome and you have made me so pretty, I just don’t know what to say.”

“Nola, we are the same people as when we are dressed in everyday clothes. You are like a night-closing flower. Wearing beautiful clothes, you open your pretty petals in the sunshine and close them when the sun goes down. You still are the same flower. If you can remember that, you won’t get a swelled head when someone tells you how beautiful you are this evening.”

“Can’t I get a swelled head just for tonight? Maybe not with the ones we are going to dinner with, but when we stop at Mom’s.”

“Okay, but remember she loves you. It was you that caused her to give up on you -- partly anyway.”

We drove up in front of Vida’s small house. Her car was in the driveway. I parked on the street. Getting out, I went around and opened Nola’s door. When I turned around after shutting it, Nola was halfway up the walk. Vida had come to the screen door and was watching her daughter come toward her.

“Mom, I am going out to dinner tonight. I didn’t take any lipstick with me when I left. May I use your pale pink to gloss my lips just a little? We were going by and it will save stopping and buying some.”

“Oh Baby, of course you can. You’ve had your hair done. What a beautiful dress you have on. Did Forrest buy it for you?”

“Yes, just to go out to dinner in. After that, I’m going to sit with a very sick gentleman for the evening while Forrest conducts some business. We don’t have much time.”

“Go in and get what you need. I’ll say hi to your father.”

Vida came down the walk to me where I was standing waiting for Nola to return. “Hello Vida. You are looking well.” I was as civil as I could be.

“I’m okay, I guess. Forrest, how are you dealing with Nola?”

“We are doing fine. Her court date is Tuesday and she is worried about that some.”

“She should be. Whatever possessed her to begin going bad is beyond me. I’m glad you are taking over to straighten her out. I do miss her, though. What is going to happen to her before the judge?”

“I think she will be put into a diversion program. If she behaves for a year, she will not have a record.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Vida, I would like to get together with you and discuss Nola’s future. Would you be willing?”

“Call me.” Nola was coming out of the house and she stopped and they hugged. I saw Vida whisper something and Nola nod her head. Nola came to the car with a happy smile on her face.

When we resumed, my daughter leaned over and said, “Mom thinks you are so handsome. She thinks I am pretty too. I’m glad we stopped. Tonight I’m ready for anything.”

Mary was waiting and stepped down from the porch when she saw me come around the circular drive. Nola said hello and got into the rear seat so that Mary could sit in front with me. “Right on time, Forrest. Nola you do credit to your father. We’ll get acquainted before we sit down to eat.”

I sat across from Mary and Nola. I might as well say it. I loved both my friend’s wife and my daughter. Having Nola living with me was a major complication that I had to deal with. Tonight was fine. Nola would be interested in meeting Rick while I was away in a hotel with Mary. Before you think what a horrible person I am, I have to declare that I would be making love to Mary with Rick’s full knowledge. In fact this was his idea from the beginning.

It was my idea to teach Rick, myself, and Mary, the Morse code so we could converse. It was a year after his accident, and in that routine which kept him alive, he blinked out his thoughts to his wife about me. That same day he did the same with me, we discussed it with Mary and me standing together before him. Both Mary and I objected and wouldn’t discuss it. I stayed away three days, and figured he would decide to drop the request. He hadn’t.

The first two years we joined together it was so hot, exciting, and we couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. I mean it had to be illicit and although not technically cheating because it was at his urging, it seemed as if it was. Later as the ardor cooled and we could discuss this rationally, we realized he was doing this for Mary, so she could have a semi-normal life while caring for him. Not once did we ever show any fondness or intimacies while we were in the room with him. He didn’t need that.

Tonight, seated at our table was another couple, friends of Mary and Rick. They both were professors at the university.  The odd woman was a professor as well. She was there for proprieties sake, for it wouldn’t do for me to escort Mary to dinner alone. If Nola hadn’t been dumped on me in the middle of the week, she could have provided that service. Nola would have been unaware. This woman wasn’t, as she was a very close friend of Mary’s and they shared more than recipes.

Nola was quizzed about how she came to be with me. “I have always lived with my mother. I thought it time I got to know my father. Mom and I had a little argument, which I haven’t apologized for yet. For the time being, it is best for all of us that I stay with my Dad.”

A feeling of love washed over me when I was referred to as her Dad. The conversation soon moved on to other topics. Nola visibly relaxed. Her glance passed over me and I could see that quirky little smile that she used to show she was pulling my leg, knowing how calling me Dad affected me.

It was a relaxed dinner and Nola made not one faux pas all evening. As we rose together, I was complimented on what a beautiful mature lady I had for a daughter. I laughed as Nola slid into the rear seat. “Okay, you can let your head swell tonight. Tomorrow, I had better see it the same size as it was this morning.”

I parked the car at the front entrance, as I would soon be driving Mary to the hotel. Mary led us into the room that was Rick’s world.  His prison as well, if you wanted to look at it like that. Nola came in fearfully behind us. “Hi Rick, I have brought my daughter, Nola, to keep you company for a few hours. First I should ask you if it is still your wish that I take Mary out to the dance for her weekly fling?”

We all stared at Rick’s eyelids. “Y-e-s  c-e-r-t-a-i n-l-y. stop.  H-e-l-l-o  N-o-l-a. stop.” Nola walked around the contraption that held Rick. It was a bed and he lay slightly inclined so he could see those speaking to him. There was a large television set off-center at his feet, and there was a computer monitor suspended to the right of this, where he received messages and information. 

These were for when there was someone there to do the physical surfing for him on both the TV and the computer. There was also a tall stand that held a metronome. Rick claimed that if he couldn’t shut his brain down enough to relax, the cadence from this helped. The device was electric and there was a pinpoint of blue light behind it to tell when it was on. I had never known it to be shut off as long as Rick had it.

There was a large object that covered his chest which was the apparatus that did the breathing for him. It compressed and expanded his chest, just as if he was breathing on his own. Rick had been deemed a very handsome man at one time and still retained much of those remarkable looks in his face.  His hair was dark and slightly unruly. You expected him to smile at any moment, but of course he couldn’t. He was shaved and his color was healthy, although pale, because he never saw sunshine.

I watched Nola, knowing she was becoming interested in Rick and his disability. She was slow at reading the code as Rick blinked out his message. She would get better at it, the more she was with him. “M-a-r-y,  k-i-s-s  m-e  t-h-e-n  g-o. stop.  D-o-e-s  N-o-l-a  s-t-a-y? stop.”

Nola spoke for herself. “Yes I’ll stay and keep you company. Forrest, go and you too, Mrs. Hanson.”

“What happened to Dad? You referred to me that way at dinner.”

“We’ll discuss it when we get home tonight. Maybe you would like me to call you Pop or even Daddy. I am your little girl, you know.”

“Okay, okay, call me Forrest.” 

I looked first at Mary and then at Rick. He blinked, “S-m-i-l-i-n-g. stop.” which made us all laugh. Just before Mary and I left, we introduced Nola to Trudy who was the nurse on duty until one in the morning. Nola then went back to Rick.

“I’m going to tell you all about my life up until now. I’ll even tell you why my mother doesn’t want me living with her anymore. Go you guys. Dance up a storm. Maybe someday I can go dancing too.”

For some reason Mary and I did not feel right about being intimate tonight  I told her all about my week and Nola arriving so unexpectedly. I ran on about how I gloried in having Nola living with me. I did ask Mary one favor. Would she call the attorney who was bringing Nola’s charges before the judge? If Nola was sentenced to serve community service, could she suggest that she comes to her home and keep Rick occupied the numbers of hours she was sentenced to?”

“I do know the prosecutor and of course I will. Forrest, are you going to tell Nola about you and me?”

“Not for awhile, but I don’t know how long I can keep it from her. She is one smart young woman. Ideally, the knowledge should come from Rick. That would be better for you as his wife. As far as I am concerned, I think I have enough rapport with my daughter already, so she won’t think too harshly of me.”

“Forrest, if Rick and I had children, I would want a child just like Nola. You would have thought she was twenty-one tonight. She certainly held her own in both conversation and deportment. What are your plans for her?”

“I haven’t had time to think about any yet. I’m hoping I can get her interested in doing some of the painting on my statues. If she would just do the feathers, I could double my production.”

“Someday Forrest, when Rick passes on, I would love to come and help you. Damn the convention that prevents me from being with you. Rick understands, but society would more than frown on me, if I even came to your cabin.”

“Maybe with Nola living with me, you can come and at least see where I live and work. She could be our chaperone. In the meantime I have to get her record cleared up. Somehow I think I’m going to be extraordinarily proud of my daughter before very long.”

It was decided we would forgo our pleasure and return to see how Nola and Rick were getting along. We needn’t have worried. When we arrived, we discovered Nola standing beside Rick’s bed. She had one finger pressed lightly at the corner of one of Rick’s eyes. His eyes were closed, but you could tell they were fluttering.

With her other hand she had a pencil poised over a pad of paper. Nola announced why she was doing this. “I had to get Trudy to put eye drops in Rick’s eyes because they were dry. I can decipher what Rick is saying quicker by feeling with my finger than I can by looking at him. This way his eyeballs don’t dry out. He has talked continually since you left. You haven’t been gone long enough to do much dancing. Mary, were you afraid I would steal your man from you?”  Laughter peeled from Nola’s lips.

“Oop’s, Rick is saying ‘grin, grin’ to my humor. Wait, he is saying something to you Dad.”

Eyes open now, “F-o-r-r-e-s-t,  y-o-u  b-r-o-u-g-h-t  m-e  a  t-r-e-a-s-u-r-e. T-h-a-n-k  y-o-u. stop.” 

“Treasure or bad girl, I don’t know which yet. She certainly has given me much to think about. You must be tired if Nola has kept you talking all night. We’ll go along so you can rest.”

“B-r-i-n-g  l-o-v-e-l-y  N-o-l-a  b-a-c-k  s-o-o-n. stop.  S-o-r-r-y  y-o-u   p-a-s-s-e-d  u-p  y-o-u-r  d-a-n-c-e. stop.”

“Yes, but we wondered how Nola would get on with you. Maybe you would suggest Mary go dancing next week. I always wait on your suggestion.”

“T-h-a-n-k  y-o-u  f-o-r  k-e-e-p-i-n-g  y-o-u-r  w-o-r-d. stop.”

“I always will. Good night Rick. You too Mary. Be sure you make the phone call. I would appreciate it so much.”  Mary didn’t need to let us out as I was totally familiar with the house.

When we slid into the car Nola said, “I had the best time tonight. May I come back again? Oh, and do you always ask his permission to take Mary dancing? She could just go with you and he couldn’t do anything about it.”

“That’s true. It was his suggestion the first time for me to take Mary, but she is his wife. As such, he is the person who should have the say in who she goes out with for any activity where he can’t be present. And yes, you may visit him and Mary anytime. Just remember if you promise to see him and can’t, make sure you call his nurse or Mary and let him know. He would be concerned if you didn’t arrive. It is amazing what he does as a person in his condition, but he is still horribly limited. Myself, I would just roll over and die.”

“I feel the same way, Dad.”

“Nola, twice you have called me Dad to my face. Is this something you feel you have to do, or am I really becoming that in your heart?”

“In my heart, Dad.” I glanced over and we were just passing under a street light. I saw a tear glinting as it rolled down her cheek. There might have been one seen on mine if she had looked.

Chapter Two

Sunday afternoon, I had caught up my work before starting another project. Nola came into the living room after putting the dishes in the washer. “Dad, tell me all about Mary and Rick. You said you stayed at their house when you went to college. Oh, how did you get to go to college if you were divorced from Mom and had to pay child support?  Mom said you didn’t make much money.”

“This is going to take a long time to tell. I’ll bet there is something else your mother didn’t share with you.You have a grandmother and a grandfather. They moved away after your mother and I divorced when they found they couldn’t be part of your life. We will visit them later this summer. I must say they were terribly disappointed in me when I got your mother pregnant.

“They were willing to help us, but your mother took a dislike to them, saying they were too controlling. Sometimes she wouldn’t even let my mother in the door. If I wanted to see my parents, I would stop there after work, or just go over on a weekend. This made your mother mad and she called me a mama’s boy. At the time we were living with her folks, so I didn’t have much say at all.

“About the time that Vida and I divorced, money came to my folks from my grandmother. Mom sent me to college with it. It was only enough for tuition and books. Most of the money I earned working odd jobs went to Vida for your support. I took one job to house sit for a professor and his wife. He was going on a three-month sabbatical at the time.”

I paused here to catch up on the Hansons. “You can’t tell, but right now Rick is fifty. Mary is forty. It wasn’t long after Rick went to England on his sabbatical that Mary came home, because her mother, who lived down the street from her house, became ill.”

Again I paused before saying to Nola, “You may not like what I’m going to share with you about your Dad, but you will have to accept it. The Hansons had a pool and I suppose you could say I was the pool boy while Rick was in England. 

“Mary is only seven years older than me. Anyway, without imparting details, we became intimate. Before she could confess to Rick when he came home, he confessed he had had a hot encounter with one of the teachers where he was studying.

“Needless to say, this ended my intimacies with Mary. But the Hansons knew what kind of straits my life was in. They took pity on me and let me stay in their home all the while I was in school.”

“I can’t believe they would do that.”

“They did. They forgave each other and they forgave me at the same time. They didn’t even ask for a promise from me not to chase after Mary. I did make a promise to myself that I wouldn’t -- and I didn’t. I can tell you, you don’t know what love is until you have received love from Rick and Mary. I’m not talking physical love. I’m talking love of your fellow man. The kind that poets write about.

“So Rick and Mary have always been my friends. They helped me do well in my classes. I have honored their trust by being a good teacher while I was teaching, although I soon came to wish I had chosen another profession. But then when I started to concentrate on my hobby, it has had some benefits. When terrible tragedy came to them, I am glad to say I was there for them. The Morse code idea came from me, and when Rick thinks Mary needs an outing or an escort, it is Forrest that fulfills it.” 

“Dad, do you and___?”  I held up my hand, stopping the question.

“Nola, you were about to ask a question  Think carefully. Do you really need to know the answer? I will answer it truthfully, but it is up to you to ask if you think it necessary. I don’t think it is.”

Nola sat several long moments thinking, and then she gave me a blinding smile. “Geez, I forgot what I was going to say?”

I laughed out loud at her. “Oh, you’re so, so, you, you’re so, so adult!”

Nola remembered saying those exact words to me. We both broke up and that finished our little discussion about the Hansons.

*********

I don’t think Nola got much sleep Monday night, for tomorrow was to be her day in court. She did try to look bright and cheery. “What should I wear?”

“Slacks, white, crisp blouse, and flats. Comb your hair away from your face. Show as little skin as possible. Maybe just a little of that pink lip gloss you had on the other night to show you care about your appearance. Act like you are paying attention to what is going on. Especially when the prosecutor presents the charges. This is family court so the protocol will be somewhat relaxed. The judge will ask you some questions. Answer truthfully and try to use full sentences. 

“He will know you are guilty from the pictures that were taken at the party at the time it was raided. You will have to accept the sentence even if you don’t think it fair. Please don’t cry -- that won’t help at all. I’m hoping he will put you into my custody. There may be some question about that as I don’t know if your mother has started getting the family court to name me as custodian. I’ll fight that battle if it is brought up. He may ask who you want to live with. I won’t coerce you, but I would like to have you with me.”

“Dad, I want to live with you. I think I could go back and live with Mom if I am ordered to, but given the choice, I pick you.”

“Okay, we’ll leave in an hour. Don’t worry too much. You did wrong and will have to take your medicine. Remember in one year this will be over and then you can put it behind you.” I received a wan smile.

We entered the court through a side door and were directed to a room that held some of the other miscreants that were at the same party. Nola knew only two kids of the seven that were there. They just said hi to each other. There were several parents, three who had retained counsel. 

The attorney handling the case read the charges. The judge, a female, had the seven teenagers standing in front of her and asked each one if they were guilty. Nola was the only one who said that she was. The judge peered at her. “Step forward young lady. Are you being smart with me?”

“No your honor, I was at the party. I had been drinking, but I wasn’t drunk.”

“Why were you there?”

“I foolishly was there because I was mad at my mother. She gave up on me when I was found at the party. I am now living with my father.”

“Does he have custody?”

“Not yet, but my mother said she would turn custody of me over to him.”

“Okay step back. We will check into that later.”

All of the teenagers were sentenced to thirty-five hours of community service. They also had to visit the state prison and listen to a lecture on what it was like to be incarcerated. The girls would be going to the women’s prison for this and the boys to the men’s prison. This was going to take place on Thursday. Tomorrow the youths would face the staff and be interviewed as to what and where they would be working while doing the community service.

At the interview they would be issued orange jumpsuits to wear while working the required hours. It was proposed that both the father and mother be present at this interview. This was all laid out by a clerk who handled this chore in the judicial system. I volunteered to contact Vida, rather than have the clerk of the court do it.

Later on in the late afternoon, I called my ex-wife. “Vida, can you be in court tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock with Nola? It was strongly suggested that you and I both be there with her.”

“Do I have to be? She is in your hands now.”

“The question was asked who had custody. I only have your say-so that you are giving me custody. We haven’t discussed this yet. Did you want to turn over full custody to me or did you intend that we share it? If we share it, then she could live with either one of us.”

“I would share custody, but I thought you would be so angry at me you wouldn’t want to.”

“Vida, we are talking about what is best for Nola. The issues that you and I had haven’t gone away, but this isn’t about us.”

“Will she be wanting to come back and live with me?”

“That will be her choice. I have asked her to live with me, but you are her mother. She is a mature young lady who has made some immature choices lately. I would like to compliment you on the way you have raised her. That is until this last year when things went south between you two.”

“She probably blamed it all on me, didn’t she?”

“Let’s just say I know you and I don’t know her yet. It doesn’t really matter if we can get her out of this mess she has created.”

“How did it go in court today?”

“What happened is about as I figured. She has to do thirty-five hours of community service. She has to visit the women’s prison, and she has to wear an orange suit while performing her chores. This interview is to determine what those chores are to be. I think the court clerk will be interviewing you and me, more than Nola.”

“Are you going to trash me?”

“Not if you don’t trash me.”

“Nine o’clock you say is the appointment at the courthouse?”

“Yes. Would you like to have us pick you up?”

“Yes you could. Forrest, Nola was so beautiful Saturday. Did that cost you a lot?”

“No more than I could afford. She acted very grown-up. We dined in the Regency Room with some friends of mine.”

There was a long pause. “I have heard of that place, but never expected to eat there. You must know some great people.”

“Not really. I was a teacher and these were some people I was associated with for awhile. We get together sometimes. Her presence with me was unexpected, but welcomed.”

“I guess that is my fault. I was just so mad at her, I had to get her away from me.” There was another pause. “You probably think I haven’t changed since we were married, don’t you? I was doing okay until Nola started going bad, and then it seems as if I lost it every time I looked at her. Why did I do that?”

“I can’t say. Maybe you didn’t realize she was becoming an adult and should be treated as one.”

“Well, what did you do about it?”

“I just told her she was intelligent and I was going to treat her as an adult and she was to act like one. So far it is working. Hey, Nola has just signaled that supper is ready. I have to go.”

“She cooks?”

“She better if she wants to eat. I’ll probably lose a few pounds before she gets good at it.” I’m sure Vida could hear Nola laughing in the background. “I’ll see you in the morning. Vida, this was a good conversation. We should have more of them. Bye, now.”

“You were kind of nice to Mom. Should I read anything into that?”

“No. The issues that your mother and I had are still there. It took me years to let them not bother me. Now she is just someone who is in the past. However, we do have you and this holds us closer than we would be otherwise.”

“Dad, answer a question for me. How come you have never remarried? You’re a nice guy. I saw how the women we went to dinner with respected and warmed to you. The guy did too. The older single woman who was there would jump into bed with you in a minute, even if you didn’t offer marriage.”

“Maybe I have. My love life is something I won’t discuss, so this conversation won’t continue.”

“Oh ho, a little mystery here. I bet I can figure it out. Let’s see, there is nothing in your day planner that indicates you are seeing a woman. That is except Mary Hanson.”

“Nola, I don’t want to get angry with you. Would you please let it go?”

I tried to keep as neutral a look on my face as possible. Maybe I succeeded and maybe not. “Okay Dad, I guess that is reasonable. It is just that some woman out there is missing a chance to be with a wonderful person. I haven’t known you very long, but I think you’re special. By way of apologizing, you don’t have to do dishes.” That quirky little grin appeared. We did the supper dishes together.

************

I watched Vida come down the walk when I pulled up to her house in the morning. I smiled, for both mother and daughter were dressed in the same style. Slacks and a white blouse. Nola was in the back seat, sitting behind me.  She leaned, moved across and forward, kissing Vida on the cheek. “Hi, Mom. Are you all set to see your daughter go to jail?”

“Nola, I hope not. I still don’t understand why you have been acting so.”

“Okay ladies, no fighting. Nola won’t be going to jail. Let’s concentrate on getting her through this. Nobody is to say anything if you can’t be nice.” Nola started humming a song. I drove a mile before I got onto what the tune was. I knew Vida didn’t recognize it, or she would have blown up.

“Nola, you’re pushing it. Now cut it out. You promised to be adult about everything. What you are doing is what a ten-year-old would do.”

“Okay Dad, I was just checking to see if you had seen the movie.”

“I did and when you go off to prison, I’ll wave and start singing the song.”

“What was she humming?”

“Nola, now see what you’ve done  If I don’t answer your mother, she’ll be mad. I can see now that this blowup between you two isn’t anywhere near all her fault.”

“I’m sorry. Mom, you don’t need to know what the song was.”

“Oh Christ, tell me. I’ll be madder now if you don’t.”

“Okay, although I wish I hadn’t hummed it. It was ‘In the Jailhouse Now.’ It was a song in the movie, ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou.’ I thought it appropriate for my plight.”

Vida had turned and was looking back at her daughter. Vida zeroed in on something different. “Appropriate for your plight. That’s poetic.” Then she actually giggled. I couldn’t believe this.  Soon we all were laughing. The moment passed and it was time to get serious when we pulled into the court’s parking lot.

It was a long morning. The clerk announced shortly after arriving what Nola was going to have to do to fulfill the requirement to complete her sentence. First on the morrow she was being transported to a women’s prison. It was a day-long jaunt. She would be booked in just as if she was a prisoner. It was a day in the life of those locked up. There would be one of the prisoners at the end of the day who would tell of what brought her to be in jail. All those prisoners who talked would tell how booze and drugs led them to commit a crime.

The thirty-five hours were split into two different chores. Nola was going to work ten hours feeding the homeless in a soup kitchen that was run by a church. The court clerk then announced that there was a standing request for anyone coming in that knew Morse code. The person would be offered the position of baby-sitting a quadriplegic in three-hour stints. They still would be required to wear the jumpsuit, but wouldn’t be out where the public would see them. Speaking directly to Nola, “I urge you to take on this chore.”

“Is the person’s name Rick Hanson?”

“Yes. Have you met him?”

“Yes, I have. I was able to converse with him. He is a lonely man and has to have total care. Is my knowing him going to make a difference?”

“No. Can you start this Saturday in the evening? You do have some leeway in choosing your hours.”

“Certainly, I can.”

“Okay then, someone here will be checking to make sure you are present. I will pencil you in for every Saturday the rest of the summer. That will complete the requirements the judge sentenced you to before you return to school.”

“If I want to go more often, can that be done?” 

“Yes, but you have to call here and let me know what days you will be there. Now go out into the waiting room. I need to talk to your parents.”

The clerk’s first question was to me. “Will she be diligent in fulfilling the requirements?”

“Yes she will. I will see that she does. Now, do I need to file a request to have the custody of Nola changed from her mother to one of joint custody held by both of us?”

“Are you both agreed to this?”

“Yes we are.” Vida and I spoke in unison.

“Okay, I’ll give you the forms and I’ll see that the family judge signs them. You can expect notification in about five working days if there isn’t anything in your background to prevent it from going through. If there is, you will have to appear and answer questions.

“Mr. Green, say hi to Mary and Rick when you see them. I know both very well. This might not be strictly the way things should be, but those two have had such bad luck. Maybe this will brighten Rick’s day just a little. Your daughter is certainly charming. How she ever went so wrong and got into the system is beyond my comprehension.”

Vida looked at me, expecting I would name her as the culprit. Would it help Nola if I did? No, not at all, and I let it go. We were done here, so I collected Nola and headed toward Vida’s house. “What did you guys talk about?”

“Mostly about changing custody. I hope what I said at the divorce hearing won’t come back on Forrest. We won’t know if it can be changed until we get a reply to the forms we filled out.”

“Does this mean I can’t stay with Dad?”

I spoke. “Don’t be borrowing trouble. It should go through okay. If it doesn’t we will straighten it out. Don’t forget who brought this on.”

“I know Dad, I don’t want you to get in trouble because Mom lied years ago.”

“Drop it Nola. Remember it takes two people to make a fight.”

“You can stay with Forrest even if the custody isn’t turned over. For your information, Forrest isn’t going to have total custody. We will be sharing it together.”

With just a little bitterness, Nola said, “Just like a normal family, right Mom?” I caught Nola’s eye in the rear view mirror. I shook my head for her to desist. Vida didn’t flare up and Nola subsided into silence.

I guess teenagers don’t ever expect that something they say will come back to bite them. Just a few days ago, Nola said in fun that when they took her away to jail, I could wave to her. The day was here. Oh, she would be coming back this evening, but still her joking didn’t seem so funny now.

“Dad, I’m pretty scared. What if something happens when I get booked into prison or something gets messed up so I can’t get out? You will promise to come get me if I’m not on the bus tonight? You know you are turning out to be everything in a father I could wish for. I have never been a touchy person, but I really could use a hug.”

I said nothing and held her to me until she had to get on the bus. I resisted waving, but what the hell, I waved anyway.  This brought a half-hearted smile as the bus pulled away.

I picked her up at the courthouse on her return. She was very quiet on the way home. The only comment was that she would kill herself if she was ever sentenced to prison. Nola went into her room while I prepared supper. I called Vida. “Nola has had a traumatic day. You know where I live. She could use a hug from her mother. Would you drive up and stay with her for a bit?”

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in a half hour.” 

“Good. I’ll make enough so you can eat with us.” I had a green salad all made and I whipped up a baked omelet. It consisted of scrambled eggs, onions, and tiny cubes of spam. There was a cup of left-over broccoli in the fridge and that went in and I made sure it was down out of sight. Into this I cubed some small bits of extra-sharp cheddar cheese that sank into the mixture. On top I laid three slices of American cheese, cut into strips. These would melt, but would not sink. It should come out of the oven shortly after Vida arrived and had greeted her daughter.

Would it be enough? I thought so. Dessert? I took some frozen strawberries out of the freezer, hoping they would be half thawed by the end of the meal. I would make frozen smoothies as the dishes were being put in the dishwasher.

“You have a beautiful spot for a home. Your name fits right in with the setting. This cabin must be cozy in the winter time too. Where is Nola?”

“Down the hall in the bedroom to the left. Just open the door. After you have a minute, come out and supper will be on the table.” I watched as Vida, whom I hadn’t sat across the table from for thirteen years, opened the door and disappeared into the room. My ex-wife had matured into a handsome woman. Did I feel any longing for her? No, but I could still appreciate what she looked like. Also I would treat her as the mother of my daughter. I started putting things on the table.

**************

Nola was getting a good dose of what life was all about. She was slotted in for lunch on Fridays at the soup kitchen. Nola soon realized that these people who slipped had lost it all. Many of the individuals had time enough already to get their usual fix of cheap wine that got them through another day. One that would take them to tomorrow would be just like the day they survived yesterday. Some were even staggering a little as they stood in line. Most were quiet as they passed the tin tray to have today’s food portion spooned onto it. There was a hopeless air to many of them.

Nola was in her jumpsuit and stood out, being the only server dressed as she was. Not one insult was given to her, and many had a kind word or smile for her. One woman suddenly slipped to the floor six places back in the line. Two men, front and back of where she had been standing, gently as they could, raised her to her feet and sat her on a nearby bench. They returned to their place in line. Soon two people came out of the office and one called 911. The other went forward and brought back a glass of juice and held it while the woman sipped it.

Nola overheard a couple of the homeless discussing the woman’s plight as she served up the food. “She has diabetes.  She just has low sugar. Good thing she was here and not in that box she lives in. The clinic will get her regulated and she will be back to her home this evening. I hope no one takes her box.”

Nola told me all about it when I picked her up. I asked her if she was hungry. “No, I ate the same food the homeless did. Dad, why can’t something be done about people such as that woman?”

“Society tries, but there are a million reasons this happens to people. If you interviewed them you would find a percentage had it all at one time. Some of the others have brought this on themselves. Some just can’t seem to get ahead and slip further behind, no matter what they do. Just think where our friend Rick would be if the man in the car that hit him didn’t have insurance or a rich family to pay the judgment that Rick won in court. He wouldn’t be here.

“I could tell you not to dwell on the injustice of it all, but that would be a cop out for me. The only answer is to help a little when and where you can, or you would never sleep again. The opposite of that is to get angry and that is just as bad, because you would be battling continually. You have to steer a course in life that balances the two or you will lose your mind.”

“Dad, I think you should go back to teaching. You see things so clearly.”

“Not really. I admit I was having trouble getting through to some of the young people in my classes. That is why I quit. I was feeling angry and felt it was hopeless because I wasn’t reaching them. Right now, I have one student and I think she is doing great.” My reward came in the glance that was flashed at me. 

We rode home in near silence. Nola’s strength had been sapped by the experience she had at the church. Just before we got out of the car she said, “Maybe Mom was angry when she had me and her life was in the pits. She took it out on you. She did the same to me. I wish she could hear you explain things just as you explain them to me.”

“Nola, you may be right. Please don’t think I can return to her even if she becomes the sweetest woman on earth. The hurt was just too deep.” As we entered the house I said, “Come out to the shop. I have just finished the next step in that Indian we roughed out. Not much detail yet, but you can get a sense of what it is.”

“Dad, it’s going to be a squaw! I didn’t know there were any Indian maids displayed in cigar shops.”

“This is not for a cigar store. It is for an Italian actor who played in some of the spaghetti westerns that were popular years ago. It is interesting, for I have a letter from a Hollywood mogul who has talked with the actor about this statue. I have the promise if the mogul likes it, and my work, he will order one.”

“Is she going to have clothes on? She would be in deerskin wouldn’t she?”

“The actor wants it to be a nude. Nothing special about that. The mogul hasn’t decided yet. I have faxed him some sketches, both clothed and unclothed. I expect to hear back in a few days.”

“Can I see what she would look like?”

“Sure, the sketches are in this drawer.” I passed them to her. She studied them and then returned them to where I had stored them.

She faced me. “Dad, those two sketches are a perfect likeness of me. All except the hair style and the feather. You have my facial features down perfect. My breasts too, for that matter. You haven’t been peeking have you?”

“No, definitely not! I did study drawing for two semesters. You do have almost perfect proportion for a young Indian maid. I just imagined what you would look like. Oh crap, I’m getting in deep here. Honest Nola, I respect you too much to go that route.”

“If it was anyone but you, Dad, I might not believe you. I am thrilled you think enough to draw me. Maybe you better rearrange my facial features so I’m not so easily recognized. Mom would have kittens and take me away from you if she saw these.”

“She would at that.” A child can teach a lesson as well as an adult. The sketches would stay here and might be seen by anyone, including Vida. I retrieved them, grabbed a pencil and quickly put some clothes on the Indian maid.

Nola watched me. “You still left me with a pretty good set, covered though they may be. Thanks.” I grinned and put them back in the drawer.

Saturday morning, without asking, Nola called the number she had been given to inform the one in charge of the diversion program she would be working that evening with Rick Hanson. She said she would be there from six until ten, and then she came and informed me.

“You didn’t want to go out to dinner like last week?”

“No, they are your friends. It was nice seeing what circle you travel in, but I’m sure Rick is expecting me tonight. If you take Mary dancing, I’ll stay until you return and not charge it against my twenty-five hours. I think I’ll plan on seeing him once or twice during the week. I am going to continue even after I complete my sentence.”

“He would appreciate that, I know. I had better inform Mary about tonight. She was planning on an early dinner with you. From now on, would you talk about your plans before you make them?”

“Dad, I’m sorry. I just wanted to show you that I didn’t take my sentence lightly. I wanted to show you how responsible I can be.”

“No problem. It would just be better for both of us to know the others plans. I’ll do the same for you. If I had told you what Mary had planned, there wouldn’t have been this mix-up. In this case you take precedence.”

When we went into Rick’s room, Trudy was just putting eye drops into this thing called Rick. You couldn’t call Rick a man and that is why I referred to him as a thing. Trudy was the best of the nurses to care for him. The others were male, and were kind and gentle and performed their duties very well, you couldn’t say they loved Rick. Not like Trudy did anyway.

Rick had flirted with her when she first came to care for him. After awhile he could see that his flirting was out of line and he stopped. She wasn’t pretty and she wasn’t young, not old enough to be his mother, but older than her charge. When she finished with the eye drops, she came and hugged Nola. She was puzzled at first, because Nola was wearing her jumpsuit.

“No, you can’t be one of those. You are just too good to have to do this. There must be some mistake.”

“Trudy, I got off track for awhile and my Mom made me come live with my Dad. He is making me own up to how bad I was. I have apologized to my mother and we are speaking again. This is the best thing that happened to me. Not what I have to go through in the program, I hate that, but living with my father.”

Nola turned away, anxious to speak to Rick. “Hi there guy, did you miss me?”

“Y-e-s,  s-w-e-e-t  o-n-e.  M-a-r-y  s-a-i-d  y-o-u  w-o-u-l-d  b-e  w-i-t-h  m-e  t-o-n-i-g-h-t. stop.”

“Real loquacious aren’t you?That’s a new word I’m using. Wait until I tell you about my week. I have been in jail. Do I look like a terrible fierce felon?” Suddenly she turned to Mary and me. “Dad, ask Rick if you can take Mary out dancing. I want him all to myself.”

“Hey Rick, are you still okay with Mary dancing?”

“O-f  c-o-u-r-s-e  F-o-r-r-e-s-t.  Y-o-u  a-r-e  m-y  s-a-v-i-o-r.  M-a-r-y’s  t-o-o.  G-o  t-a-k-e  c-a-r-e  o-f  h-e-r. stop.”

Mary came around and whispered, “Kiss, kiss. I love you.” I raised a hand in good-bye and escorted her toward the door. I don’t believe Nola saw us leave as she was babbling to Rick. 

“Where would you like to go for dinner? You said you cancelled reservations when Nola made her plans.”

“Maybe some little Italian restaurant. Somewhere that we can be in the dark. I want to talk to you later when we reach the hotel. No, don’t ask what about. That is for later. Let’s pretend that we are married and in love.”

“I thought we were in love. We do everything lovers do.”

“I know, but let’s think back to the time you were Rick’s pool boy and he was in England. That was so thrilling. Now don’t mention it again until after we eat.”

We did eat, or at least I did. Mary just picked at her food. When we reached our room, Mary tore off her clothes and slid into bed waiting for me to do the same. Tonight she didn’t want foreplay. I felt as if I was being used. I had never felt this way before. Passionate, sure, but this was an aggressive Mary I didn’t know. Soon though, I was caught up in it and returned it with a fierceness of my own. 

It wasn’t long before we exploded and needed time to rest. I started to say something. “Not yet, Forrest. This is feast night. That was the salad bar. You have the entrée coming. Dessert comes after that.” It was a long extended meal and it was delicious!

Coming down and laying quietly side by side, Mary said, “Now Forrest, we will talk. Do you want me to say this quickly or ease into what I’m going to say? Overall it won’t take long anyway.”

“Quick is good. You have been acting out of character tonight.”

“Okay. Forrest, I love you, but the sex we just indulged in is the last time between us. We have had a somewhat checkered relationship over several years. It would have been much different if you were a less honorable person. I’m getting tired of having to deal with Rick’s condition. Seven years, my whole being has been to care for him. A few weeks ago, I met a man that I want to have a normal life with.

“Help me figure out how to extricate myself from Rick without hurting him too much. I need to hurt you as little as possible as well. You are young, and you need a woman to cuddle with every night, not once a week as you have been doing lately. This is what I need too. I know there will be some days when I will hate myself for what I’m doing to both of you, but I can’t live as I have been doing any longer.”

I pulled away from this woman I had just made love to. No, that I had just had sex with. Deep down I would miss this, but in many ways I knew she was right. But Rick -- my heart was breaking, thinking about what it would do to the shell that was once a man.

“Say something! Don’t lay there hating me.”

“Mary I don’t hate you. It is a wonder that you have stuck with Rick as long as you have. I’m a little surprised that it is all over because you have been so faithful. I discount myself, because it has been at Rick’s urging that I fulfill your needs and I have derived the benefits by complying. How soon are you going to let him know?”

“A few weeks. And now I have to ask a big favor of you. Will you keep up the charade of our Saturday night outing so that I can see my new love?”

“You want me to pretend to Rick that I’m holding you in my arms while another man is actually the one holding you?”

A faint yes came from Mary. “I want to be sure that I’m not making a mistake. If I find I am, then I’ll return to the way we have been.”

“You’re asking too much, Mary. Way too much.” I rolled out of bed and sat up, holding my head in my hands. There were so many unkind thoughts bombarding my mind.

Mary started speaking behind me. “Seven years my every waking minute has been how to keep Rick alive. Oh, I have all of these nurses that come and care for him, but who do you think has to check them out to see for sure they will do for him and keep him alive. And you Forrest, sometimes I hate you. You taught us all Morse code so we could talk. Was that a blessing?

“If he had been incommunicado all of these years, he would have begged us to let him die. But you had to come in and make life worth extending. At first I thought what a wonderful gift, but now I almost hate you for it. Rick realized that I started to feel hate for him years ago, so he gave me you once a week. It worked for awhile, but think back over the last year. There is no passion left in our lovemaking. You feel it as much as I do.”

What Mary was saying was true. I acknowledged that. I thought of my relationship with Rick. I know that years ago I had almost stolen his wife from him, and I suppose all I had tried to do for him now was atonement. I knew I would do what Mary asked of me. 

I answered her request with a condition of my own. “I will do as you ask of me for awhile. I will do it until Nola has completed her sentence. After that, I can’t tell how long I can bring myself to keep up this charade. Someday I want to see Rick spell out that he doesn’t want me to take you dancing. That will tell me all issues have been resolved.”

While Mary was taking her shower, I thought back to the time I would ask Mary to marry me when Rick passed on. That was gone now. Any love I had for her was dead. I didn’t blame her either. She had borne more for seven years than most women would have. I couldn’t blame Rick for hanging on as long as he could, either. That was natural for anyone to do. There were too many forces that prevented a happy ending for Rick and Mary. Someday soon, I would walk away and remember both with fond memories.

When Mary and I arrived back at her home, I begged off coming in to speak to Rick. “You can tell Nola that I’m not feeling well and will wait out here for her. I can’t handle more tonight.”

She leaned back into the car through the window. “Thank you Forrest. I regret this, but I don’t regret knowing you. I will be seeing you next Saturday then?”

“Yes. By that time I will have it all together again and can handle meeting Rick. Good night.”

Twenty minutes later Nola came bouncing down the steps. “Dad, Mary said you were sick. How bad is it?”

“It is nothing.  A good night’s sleep is what I need. It has been a stressful week and it has caught up to me.”

“Okay, old man, if you say so.” We rode a distance. “You aren’t going to send me back to Mom’s are you?”

“No, Nola. There is only one thing left in my life that I love and I damned sure am not going to send you away.”

“I love you too.”

***********

“Dad, I’m going to call and see if I can go to the church and serve food today. I want to finish up that part of my sentence this week. Also, I’m going over to Rick’s on Wednesday. Should I go in the morning or the afternoon?”

“You can’t go in during the morning. That is when he has two nurses in to get him ready for the rest of the day. They wash him and exercise his limbs so he doesn’t get bed sores. There are other things they do for him that I’m not privy to. You better plan on it being after three in the afternoon, because he has to rest after the nurses finish with him in the morning.”

“Okay. I can’t figure out why he wants to stay alive. It is so hopeless and he has been that way for so long.”

“I don’t know. I suppose people hang on as long as they can. Did you have a good session with him Saturday evening?”

“It was good, although four hours is almost too much for me. Mary is so brave to be there for him 24/7.”

Nola came home from the church soup kitchen bubbling and happy. “Many of the people I served welcomed me back. Some asked my name and wanted to know how come I was in jail. They all spoke or asked in a nice way. I’m beginning to remember a few names, too. 

“I stayed over again today and if I wanted to, my sentence will soon be completed and they would back me up. I promised to work tomorrow, and maybe I’ll volunteer a few more times. I’m going to ask if I can wear the jumpsuit even though I don’t have to after this week.”

“Volunteering has its own rewards and you are helping others at the same time. I’m proud of you.” 

The mail came Tuesday. The court wanted Vida and me to appear on Thursday to answer some questions about the custody being reassigned to me. 

Please bring a record of your work history, a copy of your federal and state income tax filings, and anything else that would impact on why this petition for change should be granted. A copy of this notification has been sent to your ex-spouse, Vida Green. Your hearing will be at 9 o’clock, Thursday of this week, in front of the family court judge, The Hon. George Cummings, room 202. 

There was also another letter in the mailbox from the person in Hollywood about the Indian statues.

Mr. Green, I find your sketches to be mostly acceptable. However I would like to see a little more maturity in the sketch of the nude. You may not be aware of the fact that I am the leader of a committee that is against the exploitation of our young people. It would not do for me to have an example of a person of that age in my home. This is not to say that I don’t admire the female form, because I do. I wouldn’t be in contact with you otherwise.  Thank you and I await your reply.

    John Marquette

I had a few days to reply, so I slid the letter into the drawer with the previous sketches and went to look up the information needed for the custody hearing. I felt everything I had was a plus. I’m sure that Vida would present the original divorce complaint. It was too much not to expect it to be requested. I put my copy of the divorce decree and the restraining order in the folder as well.

Nola was even more charged up over what she was doing for the homeless. When I announced that I was going to have to answer questions before I was to be granted custody, Nola exploded. “Mom will trash you and I’ll be back living with her again. You won’t have custody of me so nothing has changed. I’m going to go out and get knocked up. That will fix her.”

“You’ll have to forget your birth control pills then. You didn’t give me time to finish. I don’t know how the hearing will turn out. I called my doctor and you have an appointment to talk to her about what method of birth control is best suited for you. Your appointment is at nine tomorrow morning.”

“A woman doctor, you said?”

“Yeah, and she is pretty too. I have problems every time I get an appointment.”

“How come you go to her then?”

“Hey your old man has to get his jollies somewhere.”

“You’re awful!”

“Seriously, Doctor Patty Burgess purchased the office and the patient list from my old doctor. She is very professional and what I said about having a problem doesn’t apply. She is young and should be on top of the needs and how to deal with those of a young teenager. My thinking in calling her was if you did have to live with your mother again -- and you get pissed at her -- and went out partying -- well, you would be safer this way.”

“Oh God, I have never had a physical before. Will she have to look at all of me?”

“Can’t tell. Just put yourself in her hands and do whatever she tells you to do. Answer any question she asks. You are like a book, and the only way she can read the book is by you talking to her. I do know one thing for certain.” I stopped.

“Know what Dad?”

“Her hands will be cold. I have never gone to a doctor but what they had cold hands.”

“You’re funny, ha, ha.”

I had roughed out another blank during the day and I was working with it clamped between the head and tailstock. This was a piece of pine and the wood was soft enough to push the chisel along without the need for a mallet. Sometimes when I was getting close to the final size, I used a drawshave. 

Nola watched me intently as she tapped the beat with her foot to the song that I had playing in the CD player. She spoke, “Are you going into the doctor’s office with me tomorrow?”

“Yes, you are a minor and even though you have been on my health insurance since you were born, there will be papers to fill out with the new doctor. Between the two of us we will be able to answer the questions, you know, about childhood diseases, etc.”

“How would you know about them? I’m sure Mom never talked to you about me when I got sick.”

“No she didn’t, but I made sure that her doctor kept me in the loop. After all I was paying the bills.”

“Dad, I wish I knew you always had my back. If I only could have talked to you, I might not have got into this mess I’m in. It is all mother’s fault and I hate her.”

“Hey, I think a little forgiveness is called for here. Her life hasn’t been that happy. She came to you the other day, didn’t she? She does care about you. I can tell.”

“I guess so, but you didn’t hear her screaming at me. Dad would you be mad at me if I asked her to go to the doctor for the physical tomorrow? You can give me a slip saying I’m to have birth control pills. I just won’t tell her.” 

“But if you do that, then I won’t see the pretty doctor.”

Nola looked at me and then slid off the stool she was sitting on. “I’ll go call Mom.” That quirky little smile was back.

After Nola had gone to bed and I figured she was asleep, I called Vida. “Thanks for taking Nola to see the doctor tomorrow. She didn’t want to be seen with me in the office.”

“Okay, I can understand that. Forrest, why does she need a physical anyway and why now?”

“Vida, don’t blow up over this, but Nola is going to be sixteen next week. When school starts, she will certainly be dating. I think I have her trust and we have discussed it a little. I have said she should be on birth control. That is the reason for the doctor’s visit.”

“Do you mean she is sexually active? I did find her cuddled up to a boy when I was out on a date. They were on the couch. Lord knows what they had been doing.”

“No, I don’t think she has been active enough to get pregnant. Someday she will be, and I don’t want her to get into the situation that you and I did.”

“I just hate the thought of some boy’s hands all over her and doing things she is too young for.”

“She is young, but I imagine half the kids in her class have had intercourse already. Isn’t it better to have her protected and have her trust, than to have her get into trouble? You know while you are in with her tomorrow, if the suggestion came from you, she’d forgive all of the slights she thinks she has received from you.”

“I’ll think about it. Forrest, can I ask a personal question about your life?”

“Ask.”

“Do you see anyone steady? I mean anyone in your life full time.”

“Not at present. How about you?”

“Nobody steady, although there is one man I’m very attracted to. The last regular one was a year ago, but he stopped calling. I get lonely  I know that is my own fault. I’m lonelier now without Nola here than I have ever been. When I get home from a date the house is empty. Forrest, could we go out sometime? I don’t mean just you and me, but with Nola.”

“Sometime, maybe.” I thought her request was reasonable. “I tell you what, how about coming for Sunday dinner? Nola is getting into this cooking thing and she might want to show off.”

“Okay, I can do that.” I felt that I had gained immensely in building support for Nola. I think Vida was going to find it difficult to trash me in front of the judge on Thursday. Also, if Vida came through at the doctor’s office, the shaky situation between mother and daughter would be well on the way to being healed. This was Nola’s busy day. Doctor’s in the morning, the church and the homeless at noon and a visit to Rick in the late afternoon.

I was getting ready to take Nola to her mother’s when Vida drove in. I thanked her, for I had been getting behind on my planned schedule of carving. We stood talking a minute. It came to me then, too bad I couldn’t use Vida as a model for the Hollywood Indian. She was more voluptuous than Nola, not quite as firm, but still young enough to retain some of the shape she had in her youth. I took it from the letter the Mogul was looking for something that didn’t have to have the classic beauty of womanhood, but something more realistic.

If Nola could convince her mother to model for me, she wouldn’t have to be nude. She could wear a covering over her private parts and I could remove it when I did the sketch. She wouldn’t even have to know. I would mention it to Nola and see what she thought of the idea. My hands cramped up and I sat down to massage them until they relaxed. A minute for reflections.

I thought back over the last two weeks and how various complications had edged into my life. My ex-wife and I were speaking again. I was getting to know my daughter. What a sweet person. No, not all of the time, but someone that was a joy to have around. She was a teenager with all of the uncertainties that came with being that age. She was fun to guide in the right direction and I think I was gaining as much from our association as she was.

Mary and I had come to the parting of our weekly liaison. I wasn’t going to give her much time to inform Rick that I was out and a different man was in. I didn’t blame her too much, but what an awful thing to happen to a person in the condition that Rick was trapped in. Could he trust another man as much as he trusted me? All things considered, she could just walk away from him. How much of a role as a friend to him should I play  I had stuck by him as much as Mary had for the seven long years.

I was comparatively young. I should be about making a life for myself. I ran down the list of single women I knew. There weren’t that many. What about Vida? I didn’t doubt that she would be available if I wanted to hook up with her again. We had matured and we did have Nola as a common bond. No, I would look for someone different and hold her as a last resort. I wasn’t that desperate yet. There was too much water under the bridge. If I jumped in again, I might just go over the falls and be lost forever. I went back to carving.

Nola called from the church and said she was taking a taxi over to the Hansons. Would I pick her up at seven this evening? She started to hang up. I asked, “Hey, did you get a prescription for the pills?”

“Yes, but I had to listen to the doctor and Mom for over an hour. Dad, you put Mom up to getting them for me didn’t you?”

“What difference does it make who got them for you. You got them and that is what counts. You do know you are going to have to wait awhile before they are effective.”

“I know. Dad, I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m not going to need the protection for awhile either. I’m not going to be drinking because I’m living with you. When I’m sober, I won’t be doing anyone unless I care for the person. If I go on a date, I’m going to be tagged as, ‘No, No, Nola.’ ’Course, I might fool around a little. I gotta go, love you.” For some reason, I wasn’t going to worry about my daughter. There were just enough clues in what she had just said that I knew she was serious about her new-found freedom and would use it wisely.

I didn’t go in to see Rick when I picked up Nola. She said he was tired anyway. That got me off the hook from facing him. I questioned Nola about her mother and me and the divorce hearing tomorrow. “Mom tells me that somehow you are going to be my custodian. She said she really screwed up when you two divorced and made things really bad for you. She asked me if you had trashed her to me. I told her you hadn’t and that brought a smile to her face.”

“I hope you don’t expect me to get back together with her. Nola, I just can’t. We are well on the road to becoming friends, but nothing more.”

“I know that and she says the same. Being friends is good. I think I’m going to be good friends with Mom too, just like I used to be a couple of years ago. What’s for supper?”

“I think we’ll do McDonalds. Would that be okay?” 

“I was hoping. That is why I took my jumpsuit off at Rick’s.”

Chapter Three

It seems as if Nola was blossoming right before my eyes. There was a boy at a table near where we sat. He slurped his shake and then Nola did the same in answer. First one and then the other. She leaned toward me, saying, “He’s cute.” I turned to where he was sitting. There was a woman about my age with him who I took to be his mother. She smiled at me.

I knew her. She taught in the school where I had taught three years before. I had heard that she had divorced recently because of a cheating husband. Her name was Peggy Bowdoin when we were teaching.

She got up and came over and spoke. “Hello Forrest. It has been a long time. Is this young lady yours?”

“Yes. Nola, this is Mrs. Bowdoin. We used to teach in the same school. Is the young man your son?”

“Yes. Oh, you might not have heard, but Fred and I are divorced now.” Her lips quivered as she said this. “My son’s name is Fred, Junior. I hope he isn’t like his father.”

I reached into my wallet and giving Nola some money, I said, “Would you go get all of us sundaes? Get one for Fred and Peggy. He’ll help you maybe. Peggy, sit with me until they come back.” No hesitation, Peggy sat down across from me.

I reached across the table and took her hand in mine. “Are you able to talk about the divorce yet? I was divorced years ago, you know. It was more than a year before I wanted to speak about it. I made some friends and they helped relieve some of the pain. It never really goes away until you can face that it wasn’t your fault, no matter what your ex-spouse says.”

“Oh God, you do understand. How long have you been divorced?”

“Thirteen years. We wouldn’t be speaking now except Nola got herself into trouble. She was picked up at an underage drinking party. Some of it was Vida’s fault and a lot was her own. Teenagers just don’t realize what the consequences of some of the things they do can be. Nola has never had a father. Now she is living with me and we are getting along great. 

“She is almost half-way through her diversion program. I’m so damned proud of her. She had to do community service, some of which was working with the homeless. She completes that this week and is now volunteering in the same capacity. I do ramble on. I ask you a question and don’t give you a chance to answer.”

“I’m interested. It is nice to know that others have been in the same position as me. I haven’t talked about the divorce. I just break up and cry when I think about it.” She looked up as Nola came back with the ice cream. “Here come the kids. I suppose I should go back to our table.”

“No, the kids can sit there.” I turned to the kids, “Nola, would you talk to Fred for a few minutes while Peggy and I eat our ice cream?”

“Sure, Pop.” I smiled. Nola had never called me that before. I guess she thought it was a more familiar address than Dad and she wanted to show her new friend how close she was to me. I’d take that.

Peggy was depressed over her marriage going down the toilet. Before we terminated our evening, I asked if I could have her phone number. I gave her mine as well. Just as we were leaving, Nola asked if Fred could come visit her. She had told him about the trail up the mountain. “Fred has his license so he can come to see me. I can’t ride with him after dark, because he just got it.”

“Fred, I guess that would be okay. Make sure your mother knows when you come up.”

“I will Mr. Green.”

Nola and I were sitting on the couch before going to bed. I had just shut the television off. “Dad, what do you think of Fred?”

“He seems like a nice kid and I know his mother.”

“I saw you exchange phone numbers. Are you going to call her for a date?”

“Maybe.”

“She isn’t very pretty, not like Mom is. She could lose a few pounds and she has a big butt.”

“You just wait a few years, young lady, those pounds can come out of nowhere, especially if you are upset or unhappy. She could lose a few pounds, but it isn’t important to me. Peggy used to be slimmer. When I knew her before, there wasn’t a more pleasant person around. Right now this divorce has got her down and she isn’t feeling too good about herself.”

Nola started giggling. “And old Forrest to the rescue, right Pop?”

“I’m not rescuing anybody. And where is this Pop stuff coming from?”

“Fred told me about his dad leaving and he called his father Pop. I thought I would try it.”

“Whatever. I’m going to change the subject here. I want to talk to you about your birthday that is coming up next week. What would you like for something special?”

Nola sat looking at the floor. “Dad, I don’t need a thing. Yes, I do too. I need you to keep on being a father to me. This last year with Mom was terrible for me. It seemed as if she didn’t love me and most of the time I couldn’t talk to her. If I did she screamed at me. Now I feel as if I can say anything I want to you. Mom too, some. Can you imagine what would have happened if I had asked her to take me to the doctor’s like I did today? She would have killed me.”

“Okay, you’re saying you are happy. I’m happy too with you here. I guess we will have a small party here for your birthday. I’ll ask your mother. I think maybe Mary would like to come. She wants to see my workshop. Is there anyone else? A special friend, either girl or boy?”

“I have one girl I would like to invite, but she has a boyfriend. I’ll call Fred. He will want to come. How about his Mom?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. Your mother would think she was my date or something. I just told her I wasn’t seeing anyone.”

“Guess you are right. I wish Rick could come. God, he misses so much.”

“I know. Let’s go to bed. Your mother and I have a meeting tomorrow.”

**************

The custody hearing went well for me. Vida admitted that she had basically lied about what kind of person I was when the custody was addressed during our divorce. When asked about why the change was being requested now, Vida admitted she had lost control of her daughter and turned Nola over to her father to guide her.

In two weeks I had seemed to turn the child around by making her take responsibility for past actions. She had fulfilled one third of the requirements in the diversion program already and was well on to completing them all in the next two weeks. Vida was so impressed with the results I had brought about, she wanted me to be a permanent part of the child’s custody until she reached eighteen.

“Is there any coercion or threats being made between you two to bring this about and prevent a summary judgment to the effect that you share custody?” 

We both answered no. “Okay, I think you are both working together in the best interest of the child. I’ll grant joint custody. As far as living arrangements are concerned, it would seem that it best that Nola Green live in the home of the father, Forrest Green for the present. Should the child request a change and ask to live with her mother, Vida Green, please consider her wishes. That will be all. You will receive the change so ordered in the mail within five working days.”

Before we got into the car Vida said, “Whew, I’m glad that is over. Now maybe I can concentrate on my job. I have taken a lot of time off to deal with Nola. My boss was complaining about it yesterday.”

“I know. I work out of my home, but I still have to get work done. You are still coming Sunday for dinner, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’ll be there. Can I bring anything?” 

“Bring dessert if you would. You know what Nola prefers. Oh, the following Saturday I’m having a small party for Nola’s birthday. She has invited a couple of friends. Mary Hanson will be there. I have called my mother and father and they are flying in to meet their granddaughter. That’s a surprise.”

“I had better not come then. We didn’t get along.”

“Vida, they’ll forget that. When they see what a fine girl Nola has become, they’ll give you all the credit. If it would make you more at ease, bring a friend with you.”

“What happens if it is a man?”

“That would be fine with me.” When Vida looked at me she could see I meant it. I wondered if she was screwing with my brain. It wasn’t many days ago she had said she wasn’t seeing anyone.

My thought came too fast as she went on with, “Forrest, I said I wasn’t seeing anyone steady, but I do date occasionally. A couple of my dates have met Nola and they might be interested in seeing her again on her sixteenth birthday.”

“I said bring a friend. No restrictions.”

Saturday morning I looked in on my daughter and she was still sleeping. I went out to the shop and worked on some sketches. These were all being done from memory, of course. I drew Vida first and was pleased with the results. The only thing, her shape, both in face and in body, was far from what I imagined a mature Indian would look like.

I sketched Peggy next. Ah, this was more like it. I drew on my memory of when Peggy and I were teachers together, and what I had seen of her last night. I laughed when I remembered how impressed I was with her derriere when she left ahead of me at McDonalds. Or maybe it was the movement. I ended up with a sketch that removed a few pounds -- but not that many.

I stood staring at them and thought I had better do some more research on what Indian maidens would look like. That was what the Internet was for.

“What’cha doin’?”

“Just some sketches for that commission order.”

“Let me see.” Nola gazed intently at both. “Mom will never do. Peggy is definitely in. Send them off. You get the commission and then Peggy will have to get naked so you can sculpt her.” The quirky grin was there, but she hadn’t finished. 

“And then you get lucky and then you fall in love and get married to make an honest woman out of her. The downside is that would make Fred my brother and I don’t get to try out my new-found freedom with him. And before you beat me for being a smart ass, your breakfast is ready.” 

I shook my head, but I did pick up the sketches to send off later.

The plans for Nola’s day were to fill in at the church and then visit Rick in the evening. “If you are going to take Mary out for dinner, I’ll stay with him. If you take her dancing, Trudy said that I could lie down on a cot they have in his room. That will still count toward my sentence. If I can make it, I would like to have it all completed by my birthday next week. That would be my present to myself and not have it hanging over me.”

“I thought teenagers were always procrastinators?”

“In this case, not this one. I’m still going in to see Rick when it is over, but the pressure will be off. Oh, I forgot to tell you that Fred can drive me into town this morning. He is coming up at eleven. He might even help out at the church.”

“Good. I can get some work done. Work that would have been done except I have a wayward child now that interferes with it. Call me and I will pick you up at the church, though.

“Yeah, but you don’t mind, do you Dad?”

“Seriously Nola, I don’t at all. I have to say my future is looking a lot brighter since you came to live with me.”

“For me too, Dad.”

Nola did some housework while I searched the Internet for images of Indian women. I would give the man what he wanted, but if he desired true images, they would have to wear clothes. Braided hair, but no feathers. I sat down and composed a note to John Marquette after downloading some images to back up my argument.

Mr. Marquette, I sent you sketches of the Indian maids by fax. I still don’t know what you want exactly. I have done some research and I find that most Indian women were never nude. They also never wore a feather in their hair. That was a male thing. They did, however, love to adorn themselves with whatever was at hand. When European traders came on the scene, Indians vied for the trade goods. The squaws demanded the braves trap and hunt for the skins to purchase what was the brightest and most colorful items.

Even then, beauty trumped necessities. Sometimes there was a backlash and a beautiful adorned squaw would be traded for many horses. Whether the women of the tribe thought that far ahead, I couldn’t say. My suggestion, if you want any nudity at all, you might have a papoose suckling on a squaw’s breast. Another suggestion would be to have the Indian mother clothed in one of the tribe’s colors and designs and have a papoose in the board on her back. 

If you wanted a more effective setting, you could have stripling youths by her side. My understanding is that the children of either sex would not wear more than a breech clout until they reached puberty. I could fudge the looks slightly by making the female have just slightly budding breasts. This setting would be artful and not delve into the area of eroticism that you want to keep away from. I await your decision.  Forrest Green.

I drew a sketch of Peggy Bowdoin with a boy on one side of her and a girl on the other. I sketched the back of a squaw showing a papoose with just its head showing. It was wrapped in a blanket and tied to a backboard. I wasn’t too taken with this as it made the whole image top heavy and bulky. I made note that the papoose might be laying on the ground to give the statue better lines. I added the adornments from three different images to the dress. I was looking at the sketch when Nola came up and looked over my shoulder.

“My God, that is Peggy, Fred’s mother. I’m going to ask if he has any Indian blood in him. What happened to the nudes and what did you write?” She read my letter and studied the picture. “Dad, if Marquette goes for this, you are going to be totally famous. Can I copy this to show Fred?  He can give it to his mother. Hey, you’re halfway into her heart.”  Nola gave me that quirky grin and I knew something more was coming. “Among other places.” 

Would that be so bad I wondered? Then I thought of tonight and facing Rick. He was going to make the suggestion that I should take Mary dancing as usual. Hell, I didn’t even know if I was going to have dinner with her. She might want to go with her new love interest as soon as we were out of sight of the Hanson’s house. Well I could always come back here and carve something. This suddenly depressed me, for I was a friend to Rick, and could I destroy his trust in me? So many years I had it and now it could slip away in a minute if he found out I was covering his wife’s duplicity.

Fred came to the door, even when Nola was halfway to his car. “Good morning Mr. Green. Mom said to say hi and to tell you I would be careful when Nola was with me. If you would like, I can bring her home from the church. You wouldn’t have to come into town if I did.”

“If you aren’t sick of her by then, sure. If you get back soon enough you two can run up the mountain. We have to leave here by five to get Nola to her other place.”

“I can do that. Thank you.” Next week Nola would be the same age as Fred. The few months difference in their ages seemed to show how much more mature he was than Nola. But then, she was pretty mature herself for a sixteen-year-old. She has had a rough time in the last few months and was growing up fast.

I was working steadily and totally forgot about lunch. Before I knew it, Fred and Nola were back. He was impressed with how Nola had become friends with so many of the homeless people, they kidding her about being a felon, etc., and she giving it right back to them. He guessed he would go with her when and if she continued to help out with the soup kitchen.

The two of them took off up the mountain as I paused now to eat a bite. Fred asked if he could visit tomorrow. I said he could come anytime. This was the day that I had promised Vida a meal that Nola was helping to cook. It was about time that my ex saw her daughter interacting with a boy her own age. All of us had gained ground in being friendly together, and it was time to expand a little to include others. Good, for Vida was going to meet my parents next weekend. She had some major mending of fences to do. If she blew up over seeing Fred and Nola together, I would not hesitate to cancel her invitation to Nola’s birthday party.

I was getting nervous about meeting Rick, but Nola would be there and that would help. Hell to have to depend on your teenage daughter to diffuse your own uncertainties.

I was a little more casual in my dress tonight, just wearing a blazer and dress pants -- no tie. When we arrived, Mary was dressed just the opposite, being turned out in a stylish dress and as elegant looking as only she knew how to be. “Sorry Mary, I thought we would hit Otter’s restaurant before going dancing. That is if Rick still wants me to escort you.”

Rick confirmed, “D-o  s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g  w-i-t-h  h-e-r.  S-h-e  h-a-s  b-e-e-n  u-p-t-i-g-h-t  a-l-l  d-a-y. stop” His attention turned to Nola.  “T-e-l-l  m-e  s-w-e-e-t  N-o-l-a,  w-h-a-t  y-o-u  h-a-v-e  b-e-e-n  d-o-i-n-g  t-o-d-a-y? stop.”

Mary didn’t say anything to me, and walked to her husband’s bedside. “I’ll be more relaxed dear, when I come home this evening. You are in good hands with both Trudy and Nola here. Nola, you know you don’t have to wear your orange jumpsuit when you come here. None of us would tell.”

“I know Mary, but this is part of my sentence. I’m going to do everything just as I’m supposed to. I made a promise and I’m going to keep it. Dad expects it of me and I’m not going to disappoint him.”

“G-o-o-d  g-i-r-l,  N-o-l-a.  A-s-k  m-e  l-a-t-e-r  w-h-y  I  h-a-v-e  p-u-t  w-h-a-t  I  v-a-l-u-e  t-h-e  m-o-s-t  i-n  h-i-s  h-a-n-d-s. stop.”

“Rick, I’m not ready for Nola to know everything about our relationship yet. Remember this involves Mary as well.”

“M-a-y-b-e  y-o-u  a-r-e  r-i-g-h-t,  F-o-r-r-e-s-t.  I  j-u-s-t  w-a-n-t  h-e-r  t-o  k-n-o-w  w-h-a-t  a  g-r-e-a-t  g-u-y  s-h-e  h-a-s  f-o-r  a  f-a-t-h-e-r. stop.”

“Okay Rick, you’re a great person yourself. Nola, pay attention to this man with the great big heart. I’m not sure what time I’ll be back, but it will be before midnight.”

Mary went to her husband and said her usual “Kiss, kiss, I love you,” before us leaving. I couldn’t watch and knowing I was part of the charade of Mary being the loving wife, I was feeling pretty damn small. I was already out the door and Mary had to hurry to catch up with me.

When we reached my vehicle, I didn’t start the engine immediately. “What’s your plan tonight, Mary?”

“Forrest, please drive me over to the west side of town. Pull into the Randolph apartments. You can drop me off at the second building. There will be a person there to meet me. Would you come back at eleven this evening and park in front? I’ll either be waiting or will come down in a few minutes and you can bring me home.”

“How many times do you expect me to cover for you? I’ll tell you right now, I hate what you are doing to Rick. What you are making me do too.”

“Give me a month or two. You wouldn’t want Nola to find out about you and me, would you? I know you don’t like it, but if Nola finds out that you and I have had a sexual relationship, she’ll hate you. Forrest, I have to meet this other man. Someday I’m going to move beyond Rick, and I want to be sure he is the one.”

I was silent thinking that Rick made it possible for Mary to go out and have her sexual needs met and her fires banked.  Did it make any difference if it was me or this other man who performed the service for her. The only difference I could see was that Rick knew and trusted me. This other person was someone he wasn’t even aware of. I would think about this more when Mary wasn’t sitting next to me where her close presence interfered with any clear thoughts.

“Forrest, don’t hate me. Think what it has been like for the last seven years for me.” I guess that is what bothered me the most. Mary did have an impossible life with no happy future the way things stood now. Both were my friends. 

I dropped Mary off where she said and there was a man standing in the shadows of the pillars that supported the massive entrance to these luxury apartments. I’d be back, but I certainly wasn’t happy about it. I drove home and went to carving.

I almost forgot the time and had to hurry to pick up Mary from her lover. I’m sure she got what she came here for as she was showered and had on fresh makeup. When we reached home she asked if I was coming in to get Nola. “Of course. I have come to grips with what you are doing. It is your business and I remembered that Rick is my friend. You are too, and I’ll do my best to see that Rick doesn’t find out from me that you have another interest.”

“Thank you Forrest. You truly are a friend. Is this hurting you too much, I mean what we had together?”

“No, Mary. In the last few weeks my priorities have shifted. Maybe I was too dependent on you and Rick, but now that Nola is in my life, I don’t need you as much. In fact I’m glad you have found someone to replace me.”

“That’s sad. We have been so close for so long. When did you come to this conclusion? You didn’t act like this earlier.”

“Just this evening while I was home working on one of the statues. Will you be coming to Nola’s birthday party next week?”

“No, but I would like to use it for an excuse to get out of the house and away from Rick.”

“I’ll fix it up then so Nola won’t think it strange you are not present.”

“Thank you.” Mary slid out of the car and went in ahead of me.

“H-i  F-o-r-r-e-s-t.  N-o-l-a  i-s  a  g-e-m.  S-h-e  k-e-p-t  m-e  g-o-i-n-g  a-l-l  e-v-e-n-i-n-g. stop.”

“She is something. You must be tired out so I won’t stay. I have to stop at the grocery and get a chicken to roast. Vida is coming to sample Nola’s cooking at dinner tomorrow. I think there is going to be another person in the form of a boy there as well.”

“Dad, Rick knows all about Fred. I told him about what a nice guy he is.”

“G-r-i-n,  g-r-i-n. stop.  G-o-o-d-n-i-g-h-t. stop.”

When we got into the car, Nola told me what they had talked about. Trudy and she had a three-way conversation all night long. Trudy said that Rick had asked her to call his attorney and he had been with him for almost an hour and a half the day that Mary was out with some friends. She didn’t think Mary was even aware that the attorney had been there.

The lawyer brought a video camera as directed and had taped what Rick was blinking out in Morse code. Some of the staff had been called in and the lawyer asked them to verbally attest that Rick and the lawyer had been present for a certain amount of time alone.

Rick told Trudy and her that he had made a change in his will. Even his attorney didn’t know what he said. When his will was read after he passed, someone who knew Morse code would be there to read his eyes from the tape and would know what he had recorded. “Rick was terribly happy tonight. He said ‘grin, grin’ a million times.”

“Rick still has an active mind. He would figure something like this out and go ahead and implement it on his own.  I have always looked up to him and have been so impressed with the sharpness of his mind.”

“That is all he has left, Dad. You do know that he is impressed with your mind as well, don’t you? It was you who figured out how he could communicate. He is very thankful for that, and said one other thing. He has figured out how to die anytime he wants to. How can he do that when all he can do is move his eyes?”

“I have no idea, but I’ll bet when it is time for him to go, he will do it. I don’t think you should discuss this with anyone. It sounds as if this was a private conversation.”

“I know. He told me not to tell Trudy or Mary about that part. He didn’t mention you, so that is why I told you.”

“Best to forget it then. Here’s the store, what do you want for a vegetable tomorrow?” 

“Corn. I love corn. In another couple of weeks we will be able to get corn on the cob. I can live on that and nothing else.”

We were late getting up and the dinner would be pushed back an extra hour. Fred came in about eleven. “Fred is going to be in my room with me and I suppose you want the door left open?”

I looked at my daughter, waiting for that quirky smile. I got it. “In an hour we will have to start some of the other things for dinner. You are on your own.”

“Okay Pop. First I want to show him the Indians you are carving. I’ll give him a copy of the sketches you drew of his mother too. Damn, I almost wish you hadn’t changed the one of me that you drew. He would really have liked that one.”

“Get out of here.”

Vida came in shortly after the kids had gone into my workshop. “Whose car is that out front?”

“A friend of Nola’s. He’ll be here for dinner. They are out in the shop.”

“You let a boy be out there alone with her?”

“Yes Vida, I trust her to be alone with a boy. I know his mother and I know Nola. Nola and I discussed this. She isn’t ready to give up yet what you women think is so precious.”

“You seem to know how to talk to her better than I do. If you think she is safe, I guess it is okay. I can smell the chicken roasting. Has Nola actually helped?”

“Yes, she made the stuffing and filled the cavities front and back, laughing all the while she did it. The potatoes are peeled and ready to boil. We bought some corn on the cob in the grocery store. It is from Florida and I don’t know how fresh it is. Looks kind of wilted to me.”

“Oh, she’ll eat it and say it is heavenly. She likes corn. How do you get her to do these things for you?”

“Treat her as an adult, have a little faith in her and trust her a whole lot. Works every time. How are you doing Vida?”

“Pretty well. I have had two dates with the same man. I’m meeting him again tonight after I leave here.” Vida flushed, so I could surmise that he might be staying all night with her. Nothing to me.

Nola and Fred came in. “Gee Mr. Green, you sure can carve fast. That Indian you were working on is almost finished. Nola said she couldn’t remember it being as far along and that you must have worked on it last night after you got home.”

“I did go out there after Nola went to sleep. Why don’t you two set the table and start the potatoes?” Vida sat and watched her daughter do as I asked. I went down the hall to the bathroom to wash up. When I came out, Nola was waiting in the hall.

“Dad, you lied to Mom, and you have some explaining to do to me. That Indian wasn’t worked on after I went to bed. It had to be before and had to happen while you and Mary were supposedly having dinner and dancing.”

“You’re right, but now isn’t the time to explain. I’ll talk to you later.” I hadn’t wanted to make an explanation to Nola yet, but I wasn’t going to lie to her. Oh well, I had faith she would handle this in an adult manner.

Dinner was fun. Vida did the dishes while she and I talked. Nola and Fred went down to her room. The door remained open -- just not by much. I laughed when Vida commented on it. “Go down and open it all the way if you think it necessary. I don’t, and I think Nola is just tweaking your nose a little.” Vida resisted the impulse to look in on her daughter. An hour later, Vida was the one to get that quirky little grin when Nola and Fred came out of the bedroom. 

Vida was getting ready to leave late in the afternoon. As I walked her to the car she said, “Nola is acting just as I wanted her to act, but never seemed to be able to connect with her like you do. You have done it in less than a month. I don’t how you did it, but thank you anyway.” I got a hug and a kiss on the cheek with a promise to see me next weekend for Nola’s birthday.

Nola mentioned that she had enjoyed having her mother here today. What happened to smooth things out between the two of them?

“You showed her respect. She was concerned a little while you and Fred were in your bedroom. You were doing that on purpose weren’t you?”

“Yes, but I won’t do it again. Dad, we’ve got today over with, now tell me about last night  I didn’t sleep so I knew you weren’t out in the shop working. You came right back home and went to carving when I thought you were out with Mary.”

“Okay, but I’m going to be telling you about my relationship with the Hansons. I’ll have to go into some details, and they might bother you. I’ll have to do a lot of explaining. You can stop and ask me any questions about anything. I think you are old enough to see that just being older doesn’t solve all of your problems.”

“I’ll try and I know with you telling me, I will understand.”

“I hope so, so here goes.  I have told you before about being intimate with Mary, but I will reiterate. Your Mom and I got divorced.  I loved you, but the divorce said I couldn’t be with you or even see you. My mother had some money, so she said I should get on with my life and go to college. I was pretty damned depressed. Anyway, I boarded with the Hansons. A seduction took place and Mary and I became intimate. Rick did a little cheating on his own and he was the first to confess to Mary.

“Long story short, we went on together with me promising not to have intercourse again with Mary. It worked well until years later, Rick became a quadriplegic. Mary had stood what life handed her without having sex for four years. Three years ago, she started looking around for a more physical relationship. I was available, so Rick asked me to take care of Mary’s needs. Older now, I thought this would lead to a life-time commitment with her. At first we were pretty intense in our lovemaking, but I soon was over wanting her so desperately.

“Our sexual relationship has now fallen apart. The physical just isn’t enough to base a lifetime of love on. Mary has found someone other than me to satisfy her needs. I’m covering for her by making excuses to Rick so he isn’t hurt. After all he is my friend. Mary is my friend as well, but I hate this deception. So last night I came back here and worked while Mary was with her new lover.  She expects me to continue until she gets up the courage to confess to Rick. 

“I don’t know if I’m brave enough have to keep on deceiving him.”

“You are in an awful position, aren’t you? What would happen if you talked to him about this?”

“The problem with that is I would be destroying Mary’s friendship as well as the possibility of Rick ending up hating me. The worst of it is Rick would have to lie there and suffer for something that isn’t of his making.”

“It is his making, Dad. He is the one who is the quadriplegic. You shouldn’t give up your life because of him and Mary. I’m looking out for you now. He knows that something like this can happen and he is ready for it. What do you think we talk about for hours on end? Trudy takes over when I get tired of deciphering his eye blinks. Trudy is more of a wife to him than Mary is anyway. I also think she loves him more deeply. She never would have cheated on him in the first place.

“Look, don’t tell him for a week. He wants to make sure I finish my sentence in court. He wants me to complete it before my birthday. I can do it this week. Maybe it would be a good idea if I was the one to tell him how you feel. Let me discuss it tomorrow with Trudy. She has nursed him for so many years and knows his innermost feelings and how he would react.”

“God Nola, who is the adult here? I think it is I who needs a hug about now.”

“Sure Dad. Look, we have enough light to make it up the mountain and back before dark. Let’s go for it. Get really tired and forget all about other people’s problems, that is what I want.” That’s what we did.

**********

Nola was working at the church soup kitchen every day but Friday this week-- and yes, Fred was with her. Hey, all of her homeless friends were being introduced to him so he could remember their names as well. Nola was going to work the remainder of her twenty-five hour sentence off this week at Rick’s. It would be all finished Friday night, two hours before I picked her up.

I called Mary on Tuesday. “Mary, I’m sorry, but my folks are coming Saturday morning. I can’t cover for you this time. It has been three months since I have seen my parents and I want them to get acquainted with Nola. Sunday is her birthday and you promised to come and then backed out.”

There was silence and then I heard a sob. Time for an apology. “I’m sorry, Mary. I don’t mean to upset you. I was counting on you being here to back up all of the good things I’m going to say about my daughter.  How about setting up your date for Friday evening instead?  Rick would understand the change in our evening out.”

“I can’t Forrest. For some reason my friend can only see me on Saturdays.”

“Did he tell you why?”

“I haven’t asked.”

“You and I have been friends for a long time. My advice would be for you to ask a lot more questions. Where are you meeting him, anyway?”

“In a friend’s apartment. His is being renovated.”

“Mary, listen to me. This man meets you outside an upscale apartment building. He takes you to a friend’s apartment for sex and can only meet with you on Saturday nights. If you are seriously attracted to this person, I think you should have him discreetly investigated.”

“Damn it Forrest, you are spoiling everything for me. Are you doing this on purpose?”

“I don’t mean to spoil anything for you, but you have been my friend and more for years. I’m concerned, that’s all.” Mary didn’t answer. There was silence for a minute, and then she hung up the phone, leaving me holding mine listening as the dial tone came on. A lost feeling washed over me. What to do?

Should I shove Mary away from me and let her get into the trouble I felt was waiting for her? I looked in the phone directory and found an investigator that offered discreet surveillance. Another one of their services offered guard duty. I called and made an appointment for Wednesday morning which went well. I engaged their services for Saturday evening, for as long as it took Mary to leave and return home.

I called Mary. “Mary, I’ve decided that I will pick you up and deliver you to wherever Saturday evening. I’ll also come and get you when you need to come home.”

“Why the change of plans?”

“I’m doing this because we have been friends for so long and we have depended on each other many times. It would be nice to know what apartment you are in, though, so if I don’t hear from you, I will know where to find you.”

“It is apartment 317. Really you shouldn’t worry about me, but it is so thoughtful of you.”

“I don’t mind. I’ll be seeing you this week when I pick up Nola. She will not be coming to see Rick Saturday, and I’ll use her for an excuse for you to come visit my parents.”

“That will be fine. Forrest, there really is nothing for you to be concerned about, but I do thank you for thinking of me.”

When I went to pick up Nola Thursday afternoon, I went in and was friendly to both Rick and Mary. I mentioned to Rick that I had invited Mary to visit my parents and would be picking her up about five-thirty. He thanked me. Nola had overheard all of this and immediately started questioning me when we got into the car.

“Your grandparents will be here for your birthday. I was going to make it a surprise, but Mary wants to use your party as an excuse to visit her lover. I’ll have to bug out to pick her up and again to go get her. Your mother will be at the party and I imagine Fred will be also. You spoke about another couple of friends, too.”

“My other friends can’t come. I talked to Mom this morning. She is bringing a date. Dad can’t you get one too?”

“I don’t know any woman I can ask this close to Saturday.”

“How about Peggy, Fred’s mother? She would come. She is always asking about you and you did promise to call her sometime.”

“But I have this thing to do with Mary. That wouldn’t look very good.”

“I’m sure she won’t mind. Call her and explain and then she can refuse.”

“You have an answer for everything don’t you? Oh, you are going to have to sleep on the couch while your grandparents are here. It might be as long as five days.”

“That’s fine. I’m not working at the church Friday. I’ll do the wash and get my room ready for them. I’ll sleep on the couch that night so nothing will get messed up. Maybe I’ll have Fred stay over and sleep with me.”

“Okay.”

“Daaad! I was kidding.”

“I know. How are you doing with him?”

“Actually pretty good. He is a great kisser. The first time he kissed me, I told him what my boundaries were and he hasn’t pushed to go beyond them. I told him I had to be a year older before I would consider going all the way and maybe not even then.”

“You didn’t have to share that with me, but it is nice to know. Nola, I’m so proud of you in so many ways.” I choked up when I said this.

“Thanks Dad.You have talked and treated me just like the adult you said you would. You share your problems with me. You know with this Rick and Mary deal. I think sometimes how shallow she is to go out looking for sex when she has a husband, and then I put myself in her shoes. I came to the conclusion, Rick being like he is and all, I don’t blame her. I could wish she had stuck with you like Rick thinks she did. You don’t seem too upset over her leaving you for someone else. How come?”

“You will also think I am shallow telling you this. It has only been about sex with me and Mary. I love her as a friend and would do anything for her. At times I even contemplated marriage with her, but you can’t build a lasting relationship on just sex. Just the same as you can’t build one with love without sex. You need both. That is Mary’s problem now. I wasn’t giving her love and sex isn’t enough. This is why she is looking for someone else. I am still looking out for her and covering for her so Rick doesn’t get hurt.”

“Dad, you say you are proud of me, but I’m just as proud of you. Do you understand what I’m saying? I don’t want to get all mushy, but I want you to know how I feel.”

“We do understand each other, don’t we?”

I called Peggy that evening. “Hi, I said I would call and I would like to see you sometime.”

“Forrest, I was going to call you soon if you didn’t call me. Our kids are having the time of their lives together, aren’t they?”

“Yes. Peggy, before I ask you something, would you listen to a little problem I have.”

“Sure, go for it.”

“I have some friends. The man is incapacitated and bedridden. He has given me permission to take care of his wife. This weekend she wants to be with her lover. Rick thinks she is with me, and I am to pick her up to go out as I usually do. To keep up the charade, I have to pick her up from her lover’s at the end of the evening. I’m doing this for Rick’s sake, not hers.

“What I would like to ask you is if you would come to Nola’s birthday party knowing I’m going to have to skip out for a short time in the evening?”

There was a long silence. I had given Peggy much information, and I knew she would examine it and ask more questions. “Are you her lover now?”

“No. I have been, but not now or ever again. Actually lover is too strong a word for our relationship. Sexual partner is a more correct definition.”

“Who will be at the birthday party?”

“Nola and Fred, of course. My mother and father and my ex-wife Vida, who I understand is bringing a date. The woman, Mary, whom I was speaking about, may put in an appearance. Nola takes care of Rick and Mary is his wife. By the way, Nola knows all about Mary and me and she knows what Mary is doing. It was she who urged me to keep covering so Rick won’t find out, as he is the one to be hurt the most. I would love to have you say yes and I apologize for getting you mixed up with these other people.”

“Let me think about it, and I’ll let you know tomorrow. Let’s talk about Fred and Nola. Fred is so excited about what Nola has got him into. I’m talking about the church and the homeless. He talks about different individuals he meets and how much they seem to like him. I think it is a good education for him. 

“I mean every once in awhile one of those that are disadvantaged will pass on some gem about what brought that particular person to be standing in a soup line for some food. Fred comes home and asks me about it. I have had more in-depth discussions with my son in the last two weeks than I have ever had in my life.

“My husband cheated on me. The only thing he talks to Fred about is asking when is he going out and lay some chick or babe. That is the mindset of his father. Nola and Fred have discussed sex with each other and both have said they want to wait until they are older. I know why Nola is with you because of where she was picked up, and I have to feel that you have imbued her with some great values.”

“It didn’t take much. I told her she was almost an adult and I would treat her as one if she would act like one. Right now we have each others trust and respect, which makes me pretty damned proud.”

“You should be. You know, I think I will come to Nola’s birthday party for sure. What can I bring?”

“It is all covered. Would you come early? The party will be at six-thirty after I deliver Mary to her lover. Come mid-afternoon if you can.”

“I will and thank you, Forrest.”

Friday morning, Nola was working up a storm getting the house ready for company tomorrow. She had all of the silverware out and was washing the stainless and polishing the silver. The washer was spinning and the house smelled of lemons where the furniture was receiving its coat of polish.

I took a call from Carlo, the investigator I had hired to keep tabs on Mary tomorrow evening. Would I come in and talk to him about placing an item in Mary’s handbag? He explained and I agreed it would be a good idea and make his job much easier. Also it would put him near enough to her if anything went wrong. When I picked Mary up, and if all had gone well with her tête-à-tête, he was going to follow her lover and see where he really lived.

I was home by eleven. The house shone so I went out into my shop. To disguise the item I received from the operative, I carved a little wooden Indian, saying it was a party favor when I presented it to Mary. Then I thought damn, she might ask if the others had received one as well. This was no time to lie so I made six more, one each for all of my guests. 

I had a cute little Indian I had really poured my love into carving. This was my present to Nola. It was one of the first I had carved and it had turned out so well I kept it. Why did I give it to Nola? I felt Nola was an extension of me and I wasn’t actually giving it away. Besides that, when I had carved it, I knew someday I would find someone who was deserving.

I was an hour early picking up Nola from Rick’s house. When I walked into his room, the privacy curtain was pulled around the bed. Trudy was on the far end of the room and didn’t hear me come in. I pushed through the flap on the curtain and stared speechless at what met my eyes.

Nola was standing with her back to me. At first I thought she was naked. Rick’s eyes swung as best they could in my direction and started fluttering so fast I couldn’t read the code. They weren’t for me anyway, they were for Nola.

Startled, she whirled to face me and screamed. “Pop, what are you doing here?” She tried to cover her breasts with one hand and the lower portion with the other. I realized with relief that she had on a skimpy bikini. Just that minute, Trudy came rushing through the curtains.

“Mr. Green, would you follow me while I explain. Nola, no harm done, but you better get dressed while I talk to your father.” Trudy turned and walked calmly to her station.

“Mr. Green, don’t blame the lass. This was my idea. A celebration if you will. A half hour ago, Nola completed her sentence. She could legally dispense with her horrid jumpsuit. She wanted to make it memorable for both herself and for Mr. Hanson. I suggested that she disrobe and put on some normal clothes, so he could see what she looked like when not a jailbird.

“Lord knows Mr. Hanson sees little of the beauty in this world. He only has the memories that play through his mind. Nola is such a beautiful person, and he should be able to see her as she would appear around a swimming pool if he were able. To be honest, I do the same for him sometimes when we are alone here together. But I’m sixty. I keep myself in the best shape I can, but it is a losing battle. Please think this through before you berate the child.”

Trudy was beseeching me to understand. It came to me. Trudy had been his nurse ever since Rick’s injuries. The woman loved him and she would do anything to give him pleasure. Pleasures that were so limited. I had no doubt that Nola, going through the act of disrobing, and yes, right now dressing in street clothes, was the utmost pleasure he could receive.

“Trudy, I think you must love Rick more than anyone who knows him. Certainly more than Mary does. This could come under the heading of exploitation, but I do understand.”

I pulled Trudy to me and hugged this woman. She who was loving a brain that had no body to return her love. I was sure that Nola couldn’t know the effect she had on Rick -- or any man for that matter. Too young and too innocent. I kissed her cheek. “Someday, Trudy, I want to see you just as Rick has seen you. Remember, you owe me.” I was smiling.

“Mr. Green, I do believe you have a bit of the blarney in you. You know, you being a friend all of these years to that dear soul has made his life somewhat bearable. I could easily fall in love with you too.” This time my kiss was for her lips. “Oh, my!”

“Dad! What are you doing?” Nola was now dressed in slacks and blouse.

Trudy’s face was flaming. It made me laugh and then we all were. “I’ll say goodnight to Rick.” I went in and faced the pair of eyes. 

“F-o-r-r-e-s-t,  i-t  i-s  N-o-l-a’s  b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y  a-n-d  i-t  w-a-s  I  w-h-o  g-o-t  t-h-e  p-r-e-s-e-n-t.  S-h-e  h-a-s  s-t-o-l-e-n  m-y  h-e-a-r-t. stop.”

“I know, mine as well.” I went on to tell Rick what tomorrow was going to be like at my house. The conversation ended with me promising to take Mary to my house for the evening.

“Y-o-u  a-r-e  s-u-c-h  a  g-o-o-d  f-r-i-e-n-d  a-n-d  t-a-k-e  c-a-r-e  o-f  M-a-r-y  s-o  w-e-l-l. stop.”

If I was, then why did I feel more and more like a heel? “I do my best to make her happy.” I had never touched Rick, but tonight I felt I had to. I brushed my hand over his brow. Whether he could feel it, I didn’t know, but he had to appreciate my gesture.

“G-o-o-d  n-i-g-h-t  F-o-r-r-e-s-t. stop.”

 “Are you mad at me, Dad? I mean for changing in front of Rick. Trudy told me he would love it. He didn’t get a chance to tell me because you showed up too soon. He wouldn’t speak to me while you were out with Trudy. And why were you kissing her? She is old.”

“Trudy loves Rick. The kiss was like from him to her, delivered by me. Am I mad at you, I don’t know. If you had asked me if it was proper to get undressed in front of a man, I would have said no. But Trudy wanted Rick to see your beauty and it will give him something to think about. I don’t blame her and I guess I don’t blame you. How did you feel?”

“Excited a little. Fred has seen me in a bikini and I didn’t feel the way I did when I was changing in front of Rick. I suppose it promoted a naughty feeling in me. That is until you stepped in and saw me. Then I had a feeling of shame, but I felt I was doing a favor for both Rick and Trudy, so I don’t feel too bad about it.”

“I guess it was okay then. Are you going to do it again?”

“No, of course not. I’m not ever wearing the jumpsuit again, so I won’t have that excuse, will I?” I looked at her and there was that quirky smile edging at the corners of her mouth. I was shaking my head as we pulled into our driveway. 

“Dad, Rick tells me he isn’t going to live very much longer.  From what he says, he is seeing a change in Mary. It is as if she has moved beyond him.  She for years loved him for what he was before the accident, but he doesn’t get that feeling now. He isn’t surprised at this, knowing it had to happen someday.

“He tells Trudy the same thing. He says he has a way to take his own life. How can that be? He can’t move anything but his eyes. Trudy and the other nurses watch him like a hawk. His doctors are coming in more frequently. I asked him outright and all I got was the, ‘g-r-i-n,  g-r-i-n. stop’ from him. Can it be possible?”

“It might be. Remember he has had seven years of living like this. He is one of the most intelligent men I have ever known. If he feels life isn’t worth living any longer, he will go.”

“I’ll cry if he does and I have told him so. He says he has only known me for a few short weeks and appreciates my being his friend. Why I think he is planning this soon is because he said a few short weeks. I have only known him for a little better than two. That makes me think this is about to happen. That is another reason I did what I did tonight.”

“Nola, you are a thoughtful, caring person. You looked beyond what others would think and thought of giving him a spate of happiness, little as it is. I admit it bothered me when I first saw what you were doing, but I’m okay with it now.”

“You’re the best, Dad. I was going to tell you anyway, knowing you would understand.”

**********

My Mom and Dad arrived in the morning. I was in my shop carving. Dad came in and watched me. “Do you ever spoil one of these?”I smiled at him when he spoke. We had an easy relationship.

“Not enough to where I can’t salvage it. If I cut too deep in one place, I have to make the whole image smaller, which is a lot of extra work. I have found that if I prepare the blanks correctly now, I seldom make goofs. It is all in reading the grain of the wood.”

“Is it paying well, son?”

“Much better than when I was teaching school  I’m also my own man. Did you meet Nola?”

“Just to say hi. She sent me out to get you as she was putting on coffee. I understand she was in trouble when she came to you. How is she doing with that?”

“She was put into a diversion program. The court gave her three months to complete her sentence. She has done it in three weeks. She isn’t out of the program until after a year and then she has no record. I’m confident that is what will happen. Another thing, she has made a hundred friends while wearing her orange jumpsuit. I’m so damned proud of her I could bust a gut.”

 “Well good. Your mother and I were worried you might have some problems with her. Especially with whom she has for a mother.”

“Dad, Vida will be here tonight. She has changed some, so don’t go making things difficult for her.”

“You aren’t contemplating getting back together with her are you? She treated you like crap.”

“No I’m not. We have buried the hatchet, so-to-speak, because of Nola. I had her here a week ago and it was all about Nola. She is starting to date and that is good for her. Nola was giving her trouble in that area, so it is good Nola came to me.”

“It sounds as if you two have got it together. What about you? How is your life?”

“Up in the air as always, but I’m working on it.”

“Let’s go have coffee. I want to see more of my granddaughter.”

Fred arrived shortly after lunch and was introduced to my father and mother. Peggy came an hour later. She and Nola had become familiar with each other in the last two weeks and bantered back and forth. Vida and a man named Frank arrived about four.  She was greeted by Mom and Dad as if there had never been any difficulties between them.

All of this time Mom and Nola had been collaborating on a pot roast. The smells coming from the kitchen were tantalizing. Everyone wanted to help, but Nola turned them all down. “Dad, take Mrs. Bowdoin out to the shop and show her the sketches of the Indian you drew to send to Hollywood.”

Damn Nola, I was caught. I had been playing around and had drawn more sketches of bodies with Peggy’s face on them. Some weren’t very flattering. Luckily no one else went out with us. “You aren’t going to like what you see, Peggy. Some of these are very explicit. The way I draw a sketch is to do a nude and then drape it with what the person will be clothed in. I’ll show you those, but not the nudes.”

I tried to separate some of the nudes from the packet before I brought them from the open drawer. “Forrest, I know I have a big ass. I won’t be embarrassed. Let me see them all.” I had used my imagination and wasn’t that familiar with Peggy. I had caught her face perfectly. She took the packet and studied the images. 

“This one is almost perfect to the way I looked before I started having trouble with my husband. You must have remembered me as I was before when we taught school together. I suppose this one is the way I am now. You’re quite the artist. What are you doing with them?”

I showed Peggy all of the correspondence I had in trying to nail down the commission. “I haven’t sent any of these sketches off yet. I sent one of Nola and that one was rejected as being too young. Do I have your permission to use your face on these?”

“Of course.”

“If I get the go ahead on them, I’d like to have you come and model for me when I start carving.” 

Peggy searched my face to see if I was serious. “Maybe. We’ll see if you get the commission.”

“Peggy, I hope I get it. You know, I would treat you with the utmost respect don’t you?”

“I know you would. As I said, I would consider it. Hell. I’m not getting any younger and my life is in the toilet. I’m ready for some new experiences.” It only seemed natural to hug this woman and kiss her cheek. I led her back into the house and met Nola’s look head-on with a smile.

I left shortly afterward to pick up Mary, leaving Nola to explain and make excuses. I didn’t much more than say hi to Rick as Mary was ready. “Mary, I’m taking you home for a few minutes and we will take a couple of photographs together with you and Nola to show Rick.”

“It isn’t necessary, you know. I suppose you are going to give me more warnings about this man I’m seeing aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not. The only thing is that I wish you would have your cell phone handy in case you want to call me. I would feel better if you would do that.”

“I will Forrest. I did promise to be at the apartment by seven. Can you make sure I get there by that time?”

“Sure, in plenty of time.” Nola showed affection for Mary when she came in. Mary also remembered my parents from long ago, and was pleased to meet them again. Mary just acknowledged my ex-wife, remembering how shabbily I had been treated. She was friendlier with Peggy. Maybe because Peggy wasn’t as pretty as the other women there -- even my Mom.

I passed out party favors, asking Mary to put it in her handbag so she could show Rick when she reached home. All were thrilled over the tiny statues. Nola was extremely pleased with hers, much finer, stained and more intricate. I passed an envelope to her and she squealed when she opened it and found a debit card in her name. I had put $500 into the account. I received a kiss -- the first really loving display we had made to each other.

Her grandfather opened his wallet and put $200 in an envelope he begged from me. Mary, not to be outdone, scribbled a check and handed it to her as well. Vida had a large shopping bag and Peggy had a small wrapped present to give to the birthday girl from both her and Fred.

I was watching the clock and pictures were quickly snapped. Mary and I left in plenty of time for her date. I made sure her statue was tucked into her handbag. My responsibility ended when I pulled in front of the apartment building. I saw a man detach himself from the pillar where he had been lounging, but he didn’t approach my car or Mary. I prayed that my investigator was on the job. Oh well, dinner was waiting at home and I made good time returning to enjoy it.

Mom and Peggy served us after we had seated ourselves. I glanced at Nola while we were waiting for the food to be put on the table. She was talking to me with her eyes, making comments about different ones here. 

“Nola, is there something the matter with your eyes? They are fluttering. You aren’t going blind are you?” She giggled before answering her mother.

“No Mom, I was talking to Dad. That is the way Rick communicates with Dad and me.” 

“What were you saying?”

“I’ll answer that. She was saying she thought her grandmother was the nicest person ever. She just loves her grandfather to pieces. She thinks you are the prettiest woman here and your date is more handsome than I am. She asked if she could shut her door long enough to kiss Fred. I told her that wasn’t her room for the duration.”

“What did she say about me? She must have said something.”

“She did, Peggy. She asked if I had kissed you when we were out in the workshop. I told her none of her business.”

“Nola, I did get kissed. Only on the cheek though. Next time it had better be on the lips. I’m not settling for a half loaf anymore, I want the whole enchilada.”

An explosive, “Mom!” came from Fred. 

Mom broke in asking for an explanation on how this talking in code was possible. While Nola explained, I grinned at Peggy. She knew I was not going to be chicken next time and she was going to get the kiss where she wanted it.

Nola convinced Vida to take her and Fred to the movies. Fred couldn’t take her because he couldn’t drive that late at night with a passenger. Frank wasn’t pleased, but after Vida whispered something to him, he agreed. I suspected he might get lucky before morning. Before they all left, Nola came and kissed her grandparents, promising she would give them all of her attention tomorrow.

Chapter Four

This left Peggy and me with my parents. Dad was telling tales on me and had Peggy laughing almost continuously. My cell phone vibrated at ten of ten. “Forrest, you better get over here as quick as you can. Mrs. Hanson is in trouble. I don’t think from the conversation that she is in any serious danger, but she has been slapped around some. I’m inside the building and the security guard from the front entrance is with me. We are on our way up to the third floor now.”

“I’ll get there as soon as possible.” I turned to Peggy. “Come with me. I have to get Mary. Mom and Dad, you can find your way to bed. I’ll be back when I can. I have something I have to do.”

It took us twenty-six minutes for the thirty-five minute drive. I couldn’t explain much to Peggy because I didn’t know much myself. The front desk was empty and we took the elevator to the third floor. Room 317 wasn’t far from the elevator and we could see that the door to the room was open. There were a couple of people peering in.

I cautiously entered with Peggy following behind me. Mary was sitting in the corner on a chair. Carlo and the apartment’s security officer had two men sitting on the bed. As we entered, Carlo came over and closed the door. He spoke, “I have the police coming. The only problem is that Mrs. Hanson says she won’t press charges even though she could charge these two with kidnapping. They will almost be assured of an assault charge, anyway. I have the conversations on tape which will bolster whatever they are charged with. Also, Mrs. Hanson has several bruises and some red marks on her. Her eye might even become discolored.”

“I’ll talk to Mary.” I walked over to her. “Tell me what happened.”

“Oh Forrest, I’m in such a mess and I have been so stupid. Stanley took me out to dinner and was loving and attentive all the way through the meal. When we got back here to the room, he started loving me up. I resisted, saying I wanted some answers before we made love. He laughed, saying he was here for one thing and it wasn’t to answer questions. He then slapped me. I looked up and there was another man in the room. He had a camera pointed at me.

“That is when he said he had me on tape from our session when I was here last week. They started to rough me up. I screamed and fought back the best that I could. One held me and was taking off my clothes when the door opened and the guard from downstairs came in. He had to break the security chain to gain entrance. I don’t know who the other man with the guard is.” 

“That’s Carlo. I hired him to make sure you were safe. He heard everything that went on here tonight. That little statue I gave you has a bug in it.”

“Forrest, how can I ever thank you.” Just as she said this the police came in. It took almost two hours to get statements before we could leave. The police searched both the room and the two men, finding not only the hand-held camera, but another one that was hidden that could cover the whole room. They also found a satchel containing the tapes of Mary from the week before and one before that.

It was one-thirty before I pulled up in front of the Hanson residence. I went into Rick’s room with Mary to explain just a little of why I hadn’t returned by midnight. “Rick, Mary has a lot to tell you. I have suggested she tell you fully about what has happened tonight and why this has happened. Maybe if she had talked to you months ago, she wouldn’t have had so much to explain. Please listen to her. Forgive her if you can. It is an untenable situation she is in, and it isn’t because she wanted to be unfaithful.”

“I  t-h-i-n-k  I  u-n-d-e-r-s-t-a-n-d. stop.  M-a-r-y,  b-e  a-t  e-a-s-e.  I  f-o-r-g-i-v-e  y-o-u. stop.”  Rick forgave her before even finding out why he needed to. 

Mary came over to me and hugged me and then Peggy. “Forrest, thank you so much. Rick and I  have gone through something like this before. You can go home now. We will work it out. We always have.”

Rick had one last word for me.  “F-o-r-r-e-s-t,  c-o-m-e  w-h-e-n  y-o-u  c-a-n  a-n-d  b-r-i-n-g  t-h-e  l-a-d-y.  I  w-o-u-l-d  l-i-k-e  t-o  m-e-e-t  h-e-r. G-o-o-d-n-i-g-h-t. stop.”

“Goodnight, Rick.”

Peggy and I talked about what was before Mary on the way home. She was going to have some trying days. This would not go away, and I’m sure it would become public. Before I left, I strongly suggested that Mary engage her attorney and have him speak for her. There was no way these men would be let off, but maybe her attorney could keep it as quiet as possible. Her attorney could implore the judicial system to charge the perpetrators with as little as possible in the interest of Mary keeping from appearing blatantly in court.

When we reached home, Peggy received her kiss on the lips and the promise of me calling for another date. As she was getting out of my car and into her own she said, “You know, I think it will be very interesting being a model for the Indian statue. Keep me in the loop.” Now this was a situation that was fast moving forward. I thought for a minute. Yes, it would be interesting having Peggy model for me. 

Nola was asleep on the couch and I slid into bed, only giving a passing thought to Rick and Mary, before turning my mind back to Peggy.

*********

“Where did you go last night Dad?”

“I went to get Mary. She got into a little trouble. She is home now. I expect she will call here sometime to fill me in. She was going to tell Rick what happened and tell him why she wasn’t with me. Let’s not think about it today with your grandparents here.”

“Will Rick be all right? I worry about him. Mary can take care of herself, but he can’t.”

“It really isn’t for us to interfere. You can’t shoulder his problems.”

“Can I call Trudy?”

“Do you know her home phone number?”

“Yes, and she has mine.”

“Well wait awhile and maybe she will call. Do you know her hours for today?” 

“Yes, they get over at one this afternoon.”

“I guess it would be okay to talk to her about two. In the meantime, hang out with Mom and Dad.”

“Did you kiss Peggy when she left before you went to get Mary?”

“She didn’t leave, she went with me.”

“Ooo, all alone late at night and in the dark. I bet you kissed her when you came back here.”

“Young lady, I don’t kiss and tell. I’m not even curious if you kissed Fred last night.”

“I’ll tell you anyway. I did, and Mom saw us too. For once she didn’t blow her stack either.”

“Maybe that is because Frank was planning on kissing your mother later.”

“I’m sure he was. I could tell you how they acted in the movies, but I guess I better not.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Dad, has Gram and Gramp ever been up the mountain?”

“Once right after I bought this place. Why don’t you ask them to go with you? I expect Fred will be showing up here before the day is out too, won’t he?”

“You can bet on it.”

It was me that took a call from Trudy, as Nola was on the mountain with my parents and Fred.

“Mr. Green, Rick wanted me to relay his thanks for what you did in rescuing Mary last night. She spent hours confessing to him about you and the man she chose to replace you. She is feeling terrible about everything and has promised to not do anything outside of her marriage ever again.”

“If you get to talk to Rick before I do, just tell him I am still his friend and will do whatever I have to do to keep that friendship.”

“God if only everyone had a friend like you, what a nice world it would be. Forrest, I think we had better begin to believe that we won’t have Rick with us much longer. There have been a few times when I haven’t been able to rouse him. He doesn’t do this when the other nurses are on shift. I asked him point blank about it and all I get is that ‘g-r-i-n,  g-r-i-n. stop.’”

I had known Rick for many years and I suppose I understood how his mind worked even better than Mary did. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“One other thing. He loves the young lady, Nola. He wants both you and me to prepare her for when he isn’t with us. This carries more weight with me than anything else he has said. He says his world right now is the brightest it has been in years and it is all because of her.”

“Has he asked for any different medication or change of routine?”

“No, not at all. Do you think he is playing games with us?”

“Absolutely not! Trudy, would it be so bad if he had found a way to leave us?”

Trudy broke into sobs. When these quieted she agreed that Rick must be getting tired of living the life he has. “I know he feels he has kept you from finding the love you deserve. He thought you and Mary would marry and now he sees that won’t happen. He also knows how short teenagers’ attention spans are. He knows Nola is all for him at present. He doesn’t want to live long enough to see her pull away from him. He made the comment he wishes he was thirty-five years younger with the body of a teenager. Now he has nothing.”

“Who is infatuated, him or her? Where are you in all of this?”

“Same place as always and I don’t mind him finding joy in dreaming about Nola.”

“Liar!” Just an audible sob came forth over the wires. “I will come in and bring Nola very soon. I’d like to observe Rick myself.”

Not thinking too clearly, I went out to the shop, gathered the sketches and faxed them off to John Marquette. I had just finished when Mom, Dad, Fred and Nola came down the mountain. “Can we go up in the early morning when the sun comes up?” I’d go up with them if anyone was up at that time.

I was waiting to hear back from Hollywood. Peggy came over and watched me carve. I found I could concentrate, even when Mom, Dad and Peggy crowded into the shop to watch me. I looked closely at Peggy, wondering what kind of a wife she would be. I know she wasn’t the prettiest woman I knew, but her personality more than made up for her lack of beauty.

Fred was pretty much sidelined for the week until Mom and Dad left on Friday morning. Nola did go to the church to serve food on Monday and Wednesday. She also spent an hour a day with Rick. Mary was always with him now.

Peggy wasn’t saying anything, but I noticed when she was invited to lunch, she ate small portions.  She was also trekking up the mountain, saying she couldn’t get enough of the view. I suspected she used this climb for exercise. It certainly was, for if you attacked the mountain as aggressively as she did, you were bound to lose weight.

I harked back to my relationship with Mary. At times it was very intense and then at times it cooled. Those were the times I wondered why I bothered with her. The last sexual encounter had been extremely hot, but by morning, I was told it was to be the last time for us.  Even with all of that, I had protected her, but then that was more for Rick.

I did not want another complicated relationship. Period. I hadn’t reached the level with Peggy where I just had to have her. I also hadn’t reached the conclusion I could just slip in bed with her and walk away either. Somehow, I knew this would hurt her. We had started to flirt, but more as friends than anything else. Why was I thinking all of this now?

Mom and Dad left and I promised I would be out to visit sometime in August, bringing Nola with me. It was the following week that I received a contract to carve one adult female Indian, one stripling male youth and one girl just reaching puberty. He wanted it to be without a papoose. The grouping was to be positioned in Marquette’s foyer where the focus would be on the squaw’s face.

He approved the sketches I had sent. The squaw would be shown in her finest raiment with beads and quills. My research had come up with the picture of a female shaman  Her features were bold and strong, much like Peggy’s facial features. Also the body nearly matched Peggy’s, being full and buxom. She would be wearing a headband -- no feathers, although some would be incorporated into her garment in other places.

The boy would be wearing a beaded breech clout, both front and rear. The young girl would be wearing the same.  However she would also have a front and back panel of feathers that fell over her chest and back, being open on the sides. Whether this was to cover her emerging breasts, or just something for adornment, I couldn’t pin down any research on the subject. Both children wore headbands of the same design as the adult. I also couldn’t find from research if the shaman birthed children or if she was prohibited. Didn’t matter, I was giving Marquette what he asked for.

“Hi Peggy, how would you like to become immortal?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I have the commission to do the Indian grouping. I could use a model. There is just one catch.” I paused to see what Peggy would say.

“You’re saying you want me to pose without clothes on, aren’t you? I don’t know if I can do that.”

“No, the catch is that the Indians are going to be covered and I don’t have an excuse to see you otherwise.”

“Oh darn, and I was going to be shy, and then let you talk me into doing it for you.”

“Well I’ll think of something and maybe I’ll get there yet. Could you come over? I have to glue the pieces of wood together and I need some idea of what I’m going to end up with. I need to see you to get the size correct. I think for the youths, I can get it out of one solid piece with maybe a few small additions for the hands and feet. These are going to be positioned as naturally as I can make them. 

“The facial features might be a problem, but I think I’m good enough to carve them, even though they may be generic. That’s with the two kids. For you, I want you to be here when I carve the woman. I’m going to use your exact likeness.”

“I’m not pretty. Why don’t you find someone who has more regular features than me?”

“I drew Marquette your likeness and I believe that is why I received the commission. You’re it, Babe, and no arguments. So can you come over now?” 

I was all business when she arrived. I took measurements and jotted them down on a copy that I was going to use. Next, on a large piece of paper, I mapped out how many pieces of wood I would need and where to position them. I had a small storeroom where I kept a supply of wood. I could control the temperature to some extent. I collected the bolts of wood that I would use that were on hand and listed those I needed to order. 

“All done for now. What do you want to do?”

“Go up the mountain with you.” 

“Good, I was going to suggest that. I’ll make some peanut butter sandwiches.”

“Not for me. I’m not hungry.” I made them anyway and stuck a bottle of white wine into my backpack. We didn’t rush and over one real rough spot, I put my hand on Peggy’s behind and pushed. For that I received a smile.

On the crest we paused before working ourselves out to the lookout. Peggy extolled the site. “This place amazes me. I feel as if my cares all fly away when I reach this point. I’m even using this vision to make my mind shut down so I can sleep. I visualize the clouds floating in the sky and I concentrate. Soon it is morning and I feel so wonderful waking up.”

I said little, as I knew just how Peggy felt. I had come here for years just for the feeling Peggy was describing. Her thoughts turned to the night of the birthday party. “What’s going to happen to Mary, the woman you rescued?”

“Not sure yet. The two men are being investigated. It has been discovered they have played this game before. It was when they went for Mary that they were tripped up. There is at least one other woman who was actually blackmailed and paid money. She is going to testify. There may be others. Who knows Mary might even be named a Jane Doe and not have to appear.”

“How is the man that I saw lying in bed? The husband.”

“He wants to meet you and it had better be soon. He is getting ready to die. He has lived like this for seven years. Apparently he has figured out how to commit suicide. It seems an impossible feat when he can only move his eyes. I have known him for many years and I know how intelligent he is. I’m going to miss him, but to tell the truth, I’m a little curious about how he is going to accomplish his own demise.”

“Why now?”

“Some because of me, some because of Mary and I suspect from what his nurse tells me, a lot because of Nola. I’ll explain. He always thought I would marry Mary because we go back so many years together, but now I’m not interested. She, from what has happened recently, is tired of the care of him. She has tried to hide the fact, but he recognizes the truth. This happened once before some years ago, and that is when I became more involved. He urged us to become intimate. A way to satisfy her unhappiness with the situation, if you will.

“With Nola, it is entirely different. He is thinking of her and her happiness. She is totally caught up in his plight. But he knows that because she is young and vibrant, it won’t last very long. If he waits until coming to visit is a chore for her, and then he dies, he knows she will feel guilt, thinking she has neglected him. He won’t put that on her conscience. So I think the time is ripe for him to go. Those are my thoughts anyway.”

“It makes sense. Is anyone doing anything to prevent it, and if it can’t be prevented, when will it happen?”

“The doctors are coming in more frequently and the nurses are being extra special in their care of him.  Other than that there is nothing that can be done. As far as when, I’m not sure. I’m thinking that it may happen at the time Nola and I go out to visit her grandparents. She will be away and if my deductions are correct, that’s his plan.”

“That is only three weeks from now. Can I help in any way?”

“You would if I asked?”

“Yes I would.”

“Okay then, would you travel with Nola and me? If that is when, I would fly back and be here with Mary. Rick would appreciate it. Please don’t think it is because of any feelings I have left for her, because they can’t be rekindled again. It is kind of a duty I have placed on myself.”

“I’ll help in any way I can.”

“You’re a wonderful caring person, Peggy of mine.”

“I wish I was your Peggy.”

I changed the subject by asking a question. “Do you have a contract to teach this year?”

“Yes of course. Ordinarily I would have found some work for the summer, but I thought I would take it off to get over being married to a cheating bastard. I thought I would be dating by this time and having wild uninhibited sex all summer long. You know something? Coming to Nola’s birthday party has been the high point so far. I did get kissed and I had to almost shame you into giving me that.”

“Is wild uninhibited sex what you are looking for?”

“I wouldn’t turn it down.” She was silent for a few minutes and I could see she hadn’t finished. She continued, “But that isn’t what I really want. I want to wake up in the morning cuddled up to a man who has loved me in the evening. A man who offers to get up and make the coffee, knowing we will do it together while preparing breakfast. One who sits across from me reading the morning newspaper, and who I can depend on being there the following morning as well.  That is what I really want.”

“That sounds like the American dream. I’m interested. It is something I would like to work toward with you. I would like to go slow for the time being, though. Nola being here with me is so new, I would like to concentrate on her until school begins again. Any free minute I have, I will be working on this commission. I have promised delivery by October 30th for Marquette’s annual open house on Halloween.

“You have promised to come model for me, so we will be much together. It wouldn’t be fair for you to forgo any wild uninhibited sex for the summer, just when I can’t begin to give you what you need.”

“Fair enough.” I was a little surprised at Peggy’s answer. Did she mean she might still go look for the wild uninhibited sex she felt she needed? Or would she wait until I could give her more of my attention? Time would tell.

We stayed on the mountain for almost two hours. Coming down we were both tired and somewhat sweaty. I wanted to take a shower. Peggy didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. Finally I said, “Would you like to go out to dinner this evening?”

“I’d love to.” I went to the phone and made reservations at one of the better restaurants in town.

“Let me shower and get dressed. Do you want to go home and change now? You can hang around and I’ll give you a ride if you want. You can change then.”

“No, I will wait for you.” I was toweling off when Peggy opened the bathroom door and stood there without clothes on, watching me. “I decided to shower here. You don’t mind do you?” 

I turned fully and faced her, taking in the body of this woman. She was heavy, but after examining what was before me, I thought that if she lost some weight, she would have a body to die for. Her breasts were large, but there was little sag to them. Her tummy, which ordinarily would protrude, was fairly flat. Her upper thighs were the same, in that when the pounds came off over all, she would shrink, leaving her a well-proportioned woman.

As she stepped into the shower and closed the door she offered, “You thought one time that you would be carving me in the nude. This is what you would be looking at. Now go and save me a dry robe to go home in. I don’t want to put my sweat-stained clothes back on.”

I didn’t go far. I had to shave and I went about that just as if I was alone. I was fully aware of her behind the clouded shower door, though. I suppose she was of me as well. When I finished I said, “Towels are in the cupboard. Peggy, I left a fresh robe here for you to wear. I’m getting dressed, and I won’t be long.”

“Forrest, do you have to get dressed yet? There, you made me ask. Damn it man, I’m trying to seduce you.”

“Peggy of mine, I believe you have succeeded.” I had to call and ask the restaurant to give me a later reservation. Peggy ended up with a quick sample of what she expected of the summer and just a little sample of what she wanted her life to be like in the future. I followed her car, knowing she was driving the highway with only my robe on. When we reached her house, I almost canceled the dinner date altogether, but by this time we were both ravenously hungry.

We talked intimately all through dinner and decided it best if we returned to our former relationship just as if today had never happened. But it had happened!

“Dad, there are women’s clothes in the laundry. Where’s the woman?”

“Oh, Peggy came over yesterday to help with the Marquette commission. We went up the mountain afterward. We decided to go out for dinner, so as she was all heated up, she changed here. You don’t mind doing them for her do you?”

“Did you get in the shower with her?”

“I showered first and then I waited for her to finish. She changed into something comfortable and then we went to dinner.”

“I don’t think you are telling me everything, but it is your business. I wouldn’t mind if you hooked up with her. Fred wouldn’t either. He thinks you’re a pretty good guy.”

“I guess if you are going to have a boyfriend, Fred would be good for you.”

“Dad, Fred and I aren’t like that. He is my friend and we like working and hanging out together. I don’t think we’ll ever be closer than that. So Pop, if you want to boink Mrs. Bowdoin, it’s okay with both of us.”

“You’re walking awful close to the line young lady.”

“I know I am, but it is me who is doing the laundry around here for you. That should count for something.”

Trudy called the next day while Nola was at the soup kitchen. “Mr. Green, Rick had a spell and no one could rouse him this morning. He was like that when I came on at six. He could have been out for as long as eight hours. Nola is coming over for a few hours this evening and I won’t be here. Would you come with her?”

“Sure, I’ll be there. Rick wants to meet Nola’s boyfriend’s mother. I’ll have her with me as well. So tell me how Rick was acting.”

“It is strange.  The doctor was here, because we are to call him for any unusual event. The other two that help in his daily routine were present and he is always awake for that. All of a sudden, I looked at him and he said, ‘G-o-o-d  m-o-r-n-i-n-g  T-r-u-d-y. stop.’ just as if he had been awake at his usual time. There is only one thing really different and that shows up on his monitoring equipment. His heart rate slows and you wonder if it is going to stop altogether. We increased his breathing machine’s action, but that doesn’t seem to affect his heart rate at all.”

“Mr. Green, I needed to talk to someone. I hope you don’t mind me calling you.”

“Anytime, Trudy. How are you handling this?”

“I have resigned myself to the fact that Rick will be leaving us. I wanted you to know and try to make it as easy as you can on dear Nola.”

“I’m doing that. What is your shift for tomorrow?”

“The afternoon one.”

“I’ll plan on seeing you tomorrow. Do take care of yourself. I think Nola will understand soon what is happening. She is so levelheaded, I don’t anticipate a problem when Rick goes. That is other than losing a friend who she has grown fond of.”

“I know. I’m still surprised that she has taken to Rick the way she has. She stands by the hour with her finger at the edge of his eye so she can understand what he is saying. I guess it is a much faster way for them to communicate. I couldn’t do it, I know that.”

“Me either. I’ll see you tomorrow. You get some sleep tonight.”

“I will, Mr. Green. Thank you for talking to me.  Bye now.”

I called Peggy and made arrangements to pick her up. Nola would be with me. Fred hadn’t met Rick and showed no interest in doing so, so that was no problem. Fred acted as Nola’s chauffeur most of the time. Nola was now talking about learning to drive and had gone so far as to investigate finding someone to teach her. No way was I going to, although I was sure my daughter would give her full attention to it. Maybe when she returned to school, she could get into one of those classes.

When Peggy slid into the front seat, Nola was watching us closely to see if there was any particular intimacy between us. I don’t think she had got onto the fact for we played it cool. Peggy was on my mind though, and when she turned around to say something to Nola in the back seat, my leg received a nudge by one of her shoes. I must be on her mind as well.

“Hi Rick, how is it going today? Oh, I brought a friend I want you to meet. You can’t talk to her as she doesn’t know the code.”

“P-l-e-a-s-e-d  t-o  m-e-e-t  a  f-r-i-e-n-d  o-f  F-o-r-r-e-s-t.  P-e-g-g-y  B-o-w-d-o-i-n,  i-s  i-t?   F-o-r-r-e-s-t  h-a-s  b-e-e-n   m-y  f-r-i-e-n-d  f-o-r  s-e-v-e-r-a-l  y-e-a-r-s  a-n-d  I  l-o-v-e  h-i-m  d-e-a-r-l-y. stop.”

The three of us were gathered around Rick’s bed. Nola offered to translate and took up her position with her finger lightly touching his eyeball. I related how I had received a commission to do a statue, and Peggy was going to model for the likeness. “I  e-n-v-y  y-o-u  m-y  d-e-a-r.  I  e-n-v-y  a-n-y-o-n-e  w-h-o  c-a-n  u-s-e  h-i-s  h-a-n-d-s  t-o  c-r-e-a-t-e  s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g  a-s  b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l  a-s  h-e  i-s  a-b-l-e  t-o. stop.”

“I know. His hands are so expressive. He felt my features when he was drawing a likeness of me to submit for the commission.”

“I-s  t-h-a-t  t-h-e  o-n-l-y  t-i-m-e, P-e-g-g-y?  F-i-n-g-e-r-s  o-n  a  p-e-r-s-o-n  c-a-n  b-e  s-u-c-h  a-n  e-x-p-r-e-s-s-i-v-e  i-n-s-t-r-u-m-e-n-t  t-o  u-s-e  f-o-r  l-o-v-e. stop.”

“I’ll never tell.” Peggy was actually blushing as if caught in a fib. I was a little put out with Rick, myself. I wouldn’t have minded if Nola hadn’t been here. 

“Nola, why don’t you show Peggy the nurses’ station and all of the instruments that monitor Rick’s well-being? I’ll talk to him. I turned to Rick as they pulled the privacy curtain closed as they left.

“So Rick, is there anything I can do for you?”

“N-o-t  a-t  t-h-e  p-r-e-s-e-n-t.   N-o-l-a  t-e-l-l-s  m-e  y-o-u  w-i-l-l  v-i-s-i-t  y-o-u-r  f-a-m-i-l-y  s-h-o-r-t-l-y.    P-l-e-a-s-e  c-o-m-e  i-n  t-h-e  d-a-y  b-e-f-o-r-e  y-o-u  l-e-a-v-e.  I  m-a-y  h-a-v-e  s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g  f-o-r  y-o-u  t-o  d-o  t-h-e-n. stop.”

“Okay Rick, I’ll plan on it. How are things between you and Mary?”

“W-e-’r-e  g-o-o-d.  T-h-a-n-k-s  a-g-a-i-n  f-o-r  y-o-u-r  r-e-s-c-u-e  o-f  M-a-r-y.  V-e-r-y  t-h-o-u-g-h-t-f-u-l. stop.”

“Thanks. I did what I thought was necessary. I’m taking Peggy out for a bit. I know you enjoy having Nola here. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“I  s-h-o-u-l-d  s-t-e-a-l  h-e-r  f-r-o-m  y-o-u.  G-o  t-h-e-n. stop.” There was no answer I could make, so I said nothing.

When Peggy and I reached the car she said,  “He may be your friend, but I don’t like him. I’m sorry I feel that way.”

“Rick is changing and I can feel it as well. He made me promise to come in the day before we leave for Mom and Dad’s. I think he wants me to do something for him. I’ve dealt with him for several years and have always done things he has asked of me.”

“You be cautious about what you agree to. If as you say, he is going to take himself out, remember he won’t be here to resolve it if you get into trouble.”

“Where did you get any idea like this?”

“It is just a feeling I have. I watched Nola. The minute she touched him, she was acting as if she had no will of her own. What goes on behind that curtain when it is closed?”

“It can’t be much. He can only move his eyes.”

“I still don’t trust him. Is there any way you can find out what they are saying?”

“I could talk to Trudy. That is the nurse he most relies on.”

“Do it please?” I was thinking Peggy was way off base, but then I firmly believed in women’s intuition.

Everyday I worked on getting the wood ready to carve the Indian shaman. The bolts of wood that came from the supply house were superb. The only piece I had trouble with was the one that would be for the medicine stick she held in her hand. This would be held crosswise against her body. The stick had to be shaped, but would be against the grain. This was nearly impossible in the round. I decided I would carve the Indian and then affix the last piece separately after it was completed.

When possible, Fred and Nola were always together. One evening Nola asked me to take them both in to see Rick, whereas she had always been alone. They were subdued when I picked them up. Rick had said some nasty things about Fred. Nola was, of course, the only one who could read his eyes to know what was said. Fred had picked up on the fact Rick wasn’t happy about him being there. “Dad, Rick acted like a jealous husband.”

“We’ll talk about it later. Let’s go get a creamie.”

Later that night, just before going to bed, I asked Nola about Rick. “I don’t know what to say. Most of the time he is as nice as he ever was. I know it doesn’t make too much sense, but I can feel on his eyeball with my finger when he gets angry or upset. Tonight, seeing Fred with me, he definitely was agitated. And then he asked me if Fred and I were having sex. I denied it and he said he didn’t believe me.” She paused and I could tell she was hurt. “I thought he was my special friend.” Nola was near tears.

“It seems as if his mind has latched onto you and he is jealous. Probably it is just frustration.”

“In a way I guess he has. When my finger touches him, I am powerless to stop reading him. This started right after he convinced me to change out of my jumpsuit. The time I had my bikini on. He tells me to watch the random screen saver on the computer as it twirls around and changes color. It is such a relief when you come to pick me up. Dad, he doesn’t like Mrs. Bowdoin. I could feel that.”

“She doesn’t care for him either. That was her reaction when she met him. Nola, try something for me when you are next with him. I assume you are still going aren’t you?”

“Yes, of course. What do you want me to try?” 

“He can’t see your eyes if you are beside him. Instead of looking at the computer, close your eyes. See if that has any effect on how you feel. He may have that screen saver mesmerize you.”

“What’s mesmerize mean?”

“Hypnotize you.”

“Oh, I see what you mean. You think he would do that to me?”

“Doubtful, but you are acting a little strange around him. The solution would be not to see him at all. Has he said anything unusual that you can remember?”

“No, not really. He talks about giving some of his possessions away. He wants Trudy to have his television and one of his college friends is going to have his computer. I think you are going to have the electric metronome. This stuff is in the will his attorney made out a short time ago. Some of the will is on tape and won’t be decoded until after he dies.”

“Well he certainly is acting strange. Let’s go to bed and not think about it.”

“Dad, do you love me?”

“Now that you ask, I do. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I lost you.”

“That’s the way I feel too. You know, I’ve got awful close to Rick and told him I care a lot for him, but it is nothing to the way I feel about you. I’m certainly going to miss him when he is gone, but maybe it will be a relief. I feel as if sometimes I am owned by him. I’m not and if I’m going to be owned by anyone, it will be you.”

“Nola, no person should be owned by another person. There have been enough wars fought over something like that. That said, I do appreciate your love for me. Go to bed. Too many deep thoughts will keep you awake.”

“Okay, Pop.” 

**********

It was to be next week we would leave for my folks’ home. It entailed a two hour flight  Fred could go, but said no. He was happy to visit his father and listen to his bullshit for a week (his words). Nola had tried doing what I said about closing her eyes when exhorted to watch the screen saver. She was now back to her former unworried, happy self. As promised, I visited Rick the night before Nola, Peggy, and I were to leave. Nola had been in to see him in the afternoon and begged off for tonight. 

“Hi Rick, I’m here as promised. Nola and I are leaving in the morning.”

“N-o-l-a  i-s  n-o-t  w-i-t-h  y-o-u? stop.”

“No, she is packing. She’s pretty excited. First plane ride and stuff. I have to go home and pack myself. The Indian statue I’m carving has been keeping me busy and it is coming along great. Peggy is my model, I guess I told you that.”

“N-o  y-o-u  d-i-d-n-’t.  W-h-y  d-i-d-n-’t  y-o-u  u-s-e  s-o-m-e-o-n-e  p-r-e-t-t-y  l-i-k-e  M-a-r-y? stop.”

“Mary and I aren’t that close anymore. We are still friends. How could we not be when you and I are friends? Anyway, I used Peggy’s face and that is what got me the commission. What did you want to see me about?”

“O-h,  n-o-t  m-u-c-h.  I  d-o  w-a-n-t  y-o-u  t-o  h-a-v-e  t-h-e  m-e-t-r-o-n-o-m-e.  W-o-u-l-d  y-o-u  p-i-c-k  i-t  u-p  b-e-f-o-r-e  y-o-u  l-e-a-v-e  i-n  t-h-e  m-o-r-n-i-n-g? stop.”

“Won’t you still need it?”

“N-o.  I  w-a-n-t  N-o-l-a  t-o  h-a-v-e  i-t  t-o-m-o-r-r-o-w  o-n  t-h-e  p-l-a-n-e  t-o  s-h-o-w  h-e-r  g-r-a-n-d-f-a-t-h-e-r. stop.”

“You’re a good friend. Nola has gained so much by knowing you. Look, I’ll be running along and I’ll see you when we all return. Nola is worried about you already, being so alone. She is going to call Trudy every day to check on you. You’re sure you don’t want me to take the metronome tonight?”

“N-o.  G-o  a-l-o-n-g.  F-o-r-r-e-s-t,  y-o-u  d-o-n-’t   k-n-o-w  w-h-a-t  k-i-n-d  o-f  f-r-i-e-n-d  I  a-m. stop.”

“Whatever, old buddy. See you.”

The fates conspire! We were getting ready to leave for the airport when Trudy called. “Mr. Green, Rick couldn’t be roused this morning. There was an incident last night, but I don’t think it has anything to do with his condition. A car hit a tree and knocked the power out. Rick’s breathing apparatus was of course on backup batteries until his standby generator took over.”

“Okay, I was supposed to come by and pick up the metronome, but we are running late. Nola can have it when we return. Her grandfather knows what one is. You see one, you’ve seen them all. I’ll call when we reach our destination to see that Rick is okay.”

“You’re such a good person, Mr. Green.”

I found Peggy packed and ready. Nola was so excited, she ran her mouth continually. There was no delay at the airport and we were in the air on time. Just as we were about to land, the thought of the metronome crossed my mind, but even though Rick had insisted I pick it up, I felt it was inconsequential. Mom and Dad were waiting for us when we came down the ramp and retrieved our luggage from the carousel.

An hour later I called Mary to see if Rick had roused up.

“No he hasn’t, and we are in the middle of a crisis here. Rick’s vitals are showing several abnormalities. His machines are all up and working just as they are supposed to. However, his brain scan is showing unprecedented activity, just as if he is trying to rouse himself, but can’t. His heartbeat though, is abnormally slow.” 

“Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to come to you?”

“No of course not. You have been my savior for the last time. See to Nola. I worry about her. Call again this evening.  That will be time enough to tell her anything about Rick.”

“Thanks Mary, I’ll be in touch.” I went back to my family and informed them that Rick was still unresponsive, and that this had happened before, so I wasn’t worried.

It was a great day for all of us. Mom and Dad had planned some activities and we all enjoyed ourselves. It was after nine that evening that I had a chance to call. I reached Trudy this time. 

“Oh Mr. Green, none of us know what is happening. Everything that can be thought of has been tried to rouse Rick. There was a time when Rick’s brain indicated he was very disturbed. Now his heart rate has receded to an abnormally slow rate. It is steady, but very slow. It is as if it could stop at any minute.

“The doctors have increased his breathing apparatus rate, but it has no effect. This has never happened before. Often we tweaked it and if we speeded it up just a little, his heart rate would speed up as well. Now, nothing.”

“He is stable though?”

“Yes, but if his heart beats any slower, it will stop altogether.”

“How are you doing?”

“Mr. Green, it is so nice of you to be concerned for me. I am doing fine. I fear that Mr. Hanson isn’t long for this world. That may be a good thing. The poor man has suffered so long. I’m going to remember him so fondly. Seven years I have cared for him. He is so fortunate to have a friend like you. How is Nola doing?”

“I haven’t said too much to her, other than Rick hasn’t been lucid for awhile. I think if Rick passes, she will handle it very well. I have been talking to her a lot about life in general. She is quite the adult and is handling herself well.”

“I have said a few things along the same line. Maybe I have had a premonition that Rick was going to die soon and have tried to tell her that if he dies, it won’t be the end of the world for her.”

“Thank you for that. I’ll say goodnight, Trudy. I’ll call again tomorrow.”

“What did they say when you called, Dad?”

“Not much change, except his body is slowing down. The doctors are mystified and can’t seem to revive him. See you in the morning, Sport.”

“Night, Dad.”

Mom and Dad’s house had only two bedrooms. The guest room did have a king-sized bed in it. I had a choice of sleeping on the couch or sleeping with Peggy and Nola. They prevailed on me and Nola to take the outsides with Peggy in the middle. We all had pajamas on, so I agreed.

Pajamas in August -- umm! We went to bed with only a sheet over us.  I went to sleep facing out.  Peggy and Nola were whispering, which I ignored. I felt Peggy’s arm go over me and she spooned tightly to me. Then Peggy whispered in my ear, “Nola has gone out to sleep on the couch. She’ll be back before morning. Does this give you any ideas?” It did!

I asked my lover in the morning, “Peggy, would you leave Nola and me alone. I have a few things I want to say to her.”

“Okay.” She agreed as she came and threw her arms around me and put her lips up to be kissed, and then hurried into the shower. 

Nola stood in front of me with that half grin on her face. “Yes, Pop?”

I had to grin at my daughter, but I tried to act angry. I felt as if I was the butt of a conspiracy. “Nola, I’m well able to find my own companions. Really you are interfering in some personal issues here. What happens if the feelings between Peggy and I aren’t mutual? One of us could be terribly hurt.”

“I know how Peggy feels about you. I think you feel the same way about her. I’m only trying to move things along for you.”

“Honey, it doesn’t work that way. This love stuff is too personal for others to be involved. Peggy and I have to sort this out ourselves. I admit that the end result will probably be just as you hope. But really, this is something I want to do for myself. That’s the fun of falling in love. You explore what the other party needs and then you provide. You evaluate how it is received and you evaluate to see if this is something you enjoy doing for her now. Then you decide if you want to continue. That’s falling in love.

“I thank you for pushing us together, but we are able to do that on our own.”

“Okay Pop, I’ll back off. I get your point.” I got a hug and then she pulled back, looking me in the face. “So Pop, where am I sleeping tonight? Here or on the couch?”

“How’s the couch?  Comfortable?”

“Very.”

“That’s where you should be sleeping, then. I’ll explain to your grandparents by saying it is too crowded in the bedroom.”

“They won’t believe you.” The look on her face belied what she was saying. It was as if she knew something I wasn’t aware of.

“I know, but they won’t say anything. Sometimes people ignore the obvious.”

I called Mary and she informed me there was no change in Rick’s condition. His heartbeat was so slow, you wondered if it would continue. “The doctors are coming in for another consultation this afternoon. I’ll call you back after they leave and tell you what has been determined.”

“Fine Mary. I know all is being done to bring him back.”

“We are. In a way, I’m glad you aren’t here. There is nothing you can do. I’m glad you came in the night before you left.  I have a feeling you won’t be seeing Rick alive by the time your vacation is over.  Are you enjoying yourself?”

“I am. No worry about getting any work done until I get home. Nola is someone I find I never want to be without. We just get on so well together. Peggy is here with me. We are getting to know each other. I know she isn’t as beautiful as you, but I think soon we will be making a life for each other.”

“I’m glad for you. Someday, I’ll do the same for myself. You know I was thinking about that man you hired to protect me. If I start going out with anyone, I’m going to hire him to check out the person I’m dating.”

“Good idea. I was really impressed with him. Mary, call me if there is any change in Rick.”

“I will.”

I set the phone down. I could hear Mom and Peggy talking in the kitchen. “You don’t mind if I call you Mom sometimes do you?”This was Peggy speaking.

“Of course not, Dear. I never got along very well with Vida. I was glad when she and Forrest divorced. What was the outcome last night?”

“It was great. Nola disappeared and I had Forrest all to myself. He is a wonderful lover. He doesn’t say much, and isn’t forward at all, but he certainly knows how to make a woman feel loved when he gets into action.”

“You can thank me for Nola coming out and sleeping on the couch. It was my idea.”

“Thanks, Mom.” What? Peggy was calling my mother Mom already? I had the feeling I was going to have a wife, whether I wanted one or not. I mean, how can a man go against the wishes of his mother? Also it seems as if my daughter was bound and determined that I have Peggy in my bed -- probably permanently.

Chapter Five

The phone rang shortly after Peggy and I went to bed. It was Mary. “Forrest, Rick was pronounced dead a couple of hours ago. The doctors were in this afternoon and standing by his bed having a consultation. This was after reading the transcripts from his machines since the last incident the day you left for your vacation. Suddenly his brain waves went wild. The doctors directed the nurses here to do several things to reverse the direction he was taking.

“Rick never revived, staying in the vegetative state he has been in for the last few days. Three hours later his heart slowed and stopped altogether. There didn’t seem to be any correlation between his heartbeat and his wild brain waves. These waves continued for about nine minutes after his heart stopped beating. The doctors examined him and pronounced him dead. They are still puzzled by the timing of his death. He will have an autopsy, of course.”

“Do you want me to be there with you?”

“No need. I’ll make the funeral arrangements. You will be back from your vacation by the time I have it scheduled.” There was a long pause. “Forrest, you know I hate to say this, but I’m glad Rick has passed on. He had no real life. For the last few months, it was as if I didn’t know him anymore. Then I had that fiasco that you were instrumental in getting me out of. He said he forgave me, but I don’t know.”

“How is Trudy taking his death? She loved him.”

“I know she did. We spoke a few minutes ago. She is taking it well. She claims it was just a job, but I know differently. I am going to do something for her, so she doesn’t have to find another position at her age. She has been with him for seven years.”

“That is extremely generous of you.”

“You do know you have been named in his will don’t you?”

“Oh I hope not.”

“Nola is in it as well. He was so taken with her, I’m not surprised. This is all fine with me. I have money in my own right. What he is bequeathing is some of what was left from the settlement he received. I don’t know any details. The lawyers will inform everyone when the reading of the will is to be.”

“I don’t want to even think about that. Are you sure you are okay?”

“Yes. I’ll see you when you get home. Enjoy the remainder of your vacation. Goodnight, Forrest. You are such a good friend.”

I turned to Peggy and asked if she thought I should tell Nola tonight. “No, wait until tomorrow morning.” I could understand her reasoning, as my thoughts were on Rick for hours before I received any rest for myself.

Nola took it better than I thought she would when I informed her about Rick in the morning. “I’m glad he has died. I wouldn’t like to live if I was like him. Seven long years he has been like that. How could he stand it?”

“I don’t know. He did seem to take an interest in life and the people around him. I think for a bit you were closer to him than anyone except Trudy. He was so nice to you.”

“Not all the time. Dad, do you remember when I felt he was taking over my life, and I felt as if I was being owned by him?”

“Yes, I remember that. Why?”

“Remember how you said to counter the feeling? I followed your suggestion and closed my eyes, just reading what he was saying with my fingertip. He said some awful nasty things to me. I didn’t want to bother you with what he was saying. It seemed as if I was being hypnotized. If I closed my eyes, I could understand what he was saying. If I had them open and looked at the TV or computer, it was as if I had to follow his direction. I wasn’t going to visit him anymore after we got home from here.”

“I didn’t realize this. You should have told me.”

“I couldn’t. You two have been friends for so long. I couldn’t break you up.”

“Nola, you must remember, you come first in everything, before anyone.”

“Even Peggy?”

“Yes, even before Peggy.”

“I wouldn’t want that, but thank you anyway.”

Our vacation lasted two more days. My father and Nola were inseparable, showing each other affection, even beyond what she showed me. I knew how Dad felt. It was as if you had found a missing link and suddenly your life seemed whole, where before you weren’t quite connected. I knew that my father and mother would be coming to visit much more often now that Nola was living with me. Peggy was an attraction for them as well. Peggy seemed to have become the daughter Mom had longed for.

Returning home, I immediately went to see Mary. “I’m fine Forrest. The house seems empty, of course, but my cares have lifted. Rick was a burden to us all. I have asked Trudy to stay here with me as a companion for awhile. She is still relatively young at sixty, and has never married. She will be coming into some money, as Rick did provide for all of his nurses. This is what his attorneys inform me. The reading of his will is going to be a week after the funeral, which is next week on Wednesday.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Nothing at all. Just knowing you are here ready to step forward at anytime is enough.”

“Okay Mary, just ask if you need anything. You know you and I have had a complicated relationship that goes back for thirteen years. Rick was always a presence. It was exciting when we first came together and then when we confessed to him about our affair, I expected some sort of retribution. Instead, he seemed to accept it as something that was bound to happen, which surprised me.

“Later, years after he became incapacitated, he pushed us to restart the affair again. I still don’t understand that totally. It just wasn’t the same between us. Oh the sex was good. Sex is always good, but there wasn’t the fiery passion we had before. That is until our last time when you said it was to end. We really connected that one night.”

“I know, but it was time to end it and we both were aware that it should. Of course I screwed up and was caught up in what turned out to be a huge mistake. We are still friends aren’t we now?”

“Always, but it is time to move on and start new lives for ourselves. May I sit with you at the funeral?”

“Of course. I’m counting on it.”

I went to the shop the next morning to carve on my Indian statue with a clear and untroubled mind. Nola resumed her volunteer work at the church, coming home singing, and as happy as could be. All she said about Rick was that she was glad she didn’t feel compelled to go over there to visit. For myself, I did have one empty spot in my life. Peggy wasn’t in my bed at night. However, I did see her most days, always culminating in a fast trip up the mountain to end the day.

***********

The funeral was planned for eleven in the morning. Mary had received a report attached to the death certificate, just stating that no abnormalities had been found during the autopsy. Cause of death was attributed to an over-worked heart too tired to continue. The funeral was very small, consisting of our little group that had been around him for the last few years. There was one elderly aunt and three of the professors who at one time were colleagues of his. 

Rick was laid to rest next to his parents in the family plot. Mary had a monument erected years ago. She had sandwiches and coffee served in the dining room of her home. It was a quiet gathering and only lasted an hour. 

There were six nurses who had attended, Trudy the only one who had been with him all seven years of his confinement. They all reminisced about their time with Rick and with each other. The several doctors had sent condolences, but were not in attendance. Before breaking up the gathering, Mary announced the names of those who would be named in Rick’s will. All would receive formal notices from the attorney by the end of the week. Life moves on.

My carving hours in the shop lengthened from my normal six to sometimes more than eight as I became more excited as my statue progressed. The facial features would be the last area that I would be carving. Rather than have the shaman standing still, I had her as if she was just taking a step forward. One arm was a little forward of the body.  This gave the illusion she was walking. Of course the children would be keeping step with her.

At first I wanted the arm and hand that held the medicine stick to be raised, but gave that up as being too fragile.  I instead had it slanted across her body.  On her feet she would be wearing moccasins of decorated deerskin. Her skirt was to be down to the middle of her calves. This too was deerskin and plain with just a frazzle going down the outside of her thighs and around the bottom of the dress.

Her whole back was to be undecorated, except where her shaman’s banner passed over one shoulder and down under the arm that held the medicine stick. This was to more define her shape than anything and was smooth over her buttocks. I was going to make her garment tight-fitting, so as to give the sense of her being robust, much as Peggy was in real life. That is if I was able to complete it before Peggy lost her roundness.

Peggy was sitting by the hour, silently watching me. She was enthralled as I brought out each detail. I looked over my goggles at her. “Let me think, Indian women didn’t wear bras, so I guess I had better have nipples showing.” I said this with a straight face.

“Don’t you dare! If you do, you are never going to see mine again.”

I laughed. “All right, I don’t think they would show through the deerskin dress anyway.” I thought this was a great joke, that is until I next glanced at her and she had her top off and there she was in all of her glory. It was a half hour before I got back to carving again.

As she came in one morning, Peggy handed me a flat package. “Here Forrest, you are spending too much time sharpening your chisels. These are new and have already been honed to the sharpest and finest edge. I’ll take your old ones and get them back in a day. I’ll get you another set if need be.” The half hour I usually spent in the morning fixing my chisels I spent thanking Peggy.

Finally I was down to the beads and quills. This detail was repetitious, but had to be so carefully done. If you messed up one bead in a row, it would be disastrous. I got through it without mishap, thankfully. All I had left for carving on the full-sized statue was the face. I would do this next, as school would commence in two weeks. I would need Peggy here as I was using her facial features -- exactly. Tomorrow was the reading of Rick’s will, so I didn’t attempt anything more for the day, even though it was too early to stop carving. I took Peggy to Otter’s for a late lunch.

The attorney came to Mary’s home for the reading, and everyone joined her there. The attorney first made an announcement. “Most of you involved in Mr. Hanson’s will, do know how to read Morse code. In the interest of time, I have had his visual eye movements decoded by three different disinterested people. All agree that my written copy is as accurate as can be. The tape with his eye movements will be made available to anyone who wishes to read it. It will also be made available if anyone wishes to challenge my interpretation in a court of law.

“Mr. Hanson was not a wordy person, which is understandable. First I have a list of the smaller bequests to the nurses and one relative. This money is the remainder of the settlement he received from the insurance company for compensation for the injuries he received in the accident seven years ago. The sum is still quite substantial.”

The sums given out to five of the nurses that were in attendance for varying lengths of time, went from $500,000, to $1,250,000. Trudy, who had been there all seven years, received $2,500,000. Tears were running down her face as this was announced. His aunt received a like amount.

“To my wife, Mary, faithful and unfaithful at times, depending on how she felt about me and who she was with when I was not in attendance, I leave  the bulk of my personal estate, amounting to $47,000,000. The only reason she inherits is because she was with me at the beginning of our life together. Even though unfaithful at times, she has been the one to most extend my time on earth, by directing my care through the excellent nurses she employed.

“To Forrest Green, friend at times and one who succumbed to the seduction by my wife, Mary, I leave $5,000,000. I have directed my attorney to send you a tape after a period of three months about how I have seen my life. Especially during these last few months. This is for your eyes only and hasn’t been decoded by anyone.

“To Nola Green, sweet daughter of Forrest, I leave $7,000,000. That and an apology for some unwise moves I attempted. May you use the money wisely.

“To all of you, I must say I have not enjoyed my time on earth. I wonder if there is a God to have placed this burden on me and on those who have had to care for me all these years. I bid you adieu with that thought in mind.”

The room was silent. I don’t believe many of those present had thoughts of Rick, himself. They would be thinking more of the money that he left them. Trudy seemed the only one who appeared to be hurting. I stepped to her and folded her into my arms. She clung to me and whispered into my ear, “He was a good, good man.”

“I know Trudy. You were so faithful to him.”

“I would have been more if I could. Not for any money either.”

“He knew that from the minute you came into his life until he decided to leave.”

“It was his decision wasn’t it? I feel that as strongly as you do too. That alone makes me feel better.”

The gathering soon broke up. Nola was conspicuously silent on the way home. “Pop, am I really worth $7,000,000?”

“Well after you pay taxes, you might have about $5,000,000 left. You are definitely a rich young woman.”

“I hate what I thought about Rick along toward the end. I wish I could thank him. Dad, what was that about the apology?”

“I have no idea. Whatever it was apparently didn’t work. Send up a prayer. For all that he said, I think he believed in the Lord.”

“I will Dad, I surely will.” Nola made a phone call to her mother when we arrived home.

“Mom, something serious happened to me today.”

“What? Did you get into trouble again?”

“No, Mom, I became a very rich girl. Dad says I’m worth about five million dollars.”

“Oh come on, Nola. No one we know is that rich.”

“I am, Mom. That man, Rick Hanson, who I have been visiting, left me $7,000,000 and Dad says after taxes, I’m still worth a lot.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I probably will get someone to tell me what is the best thing for me to do. I’m still a minor, so I don’t even know if I have control of it. I’ll have to ask Pop. Anyway, I thought you would be happy for me.”

“Is your father there? Let me speak to him, please.” Nola called me to take the phone.

Vida started right in with questions. “Is what Nola said true?”

“Yes it is. In fact I was left some money as well. Not as much as she was, but a lot.”

“How much?”

“None of your business, Vida. Let’s just say that I won’t have any trouble paying the mortgage.”

“Lucky you.” There was a long pause. “Forrest, I’m glad for both of you. I have some news as well. Frank has proposed to me, and I have accepted. I think we will be married on New Year’s Day.”

“Congratulations Vida, that is good news. I hope you will be happy.”

“Thank you. You know just as soon as Nola went to live with you my prospects improved all the way around.”

“I guess you can say mine have as well. We will have to get together and celebrate our good fortune.”

I called Peggy and told her the good news, both mine and Nola’s. “Is this going to change your lifestyle? Oh damn, you’re not going to want me around any longer, are you?”

“Umm, how about all of us going out to dinner tonight? Fred is invited. Nola will want to tell him all about it. Peggy, haven’t you ever imagined having a rich man fall in love with you and give you everything you ever wanted?”

“Forrest, I don’t want material things, I want you. That’s enough.”

“Okay then, party this evening and back to work tomorrow. I have commitments.” It was a wonderful, happy evening.  Nola was almost giddy and maybe I was a little that way myself.

I had trouble getting to sleep. It was Rick, of course, that bothered me. First, he had named Mary unfaithful in a more or less public setting. Also he named me as the one that she was unfaithful with. I had the feeling, Rick, dead as he might be, was not through with me. I suppose I had until the 25th of November before I would find out. That was three months from today.

It was difficult to concentrate on carving in the morning.  I knew I was too hyper to do the small detail work on the shaman. I roughed out the two child figures. Nola went along to the church soup kitchen for the noon meal. “I suppose you told everyone how rich you are now,” I asked when I picked her up.

“No, I didn’t tell a soul. Dad, I think we should find someone to advise me what to do with my inheritance. There are a hundred things I have thought to do when a person has so much money. The soup kitchen needs larger quarters. I’ll bet if I suggested they start a fund drive to buy the building behind the church, I could match the money they raised and make it happen. Could you hire someone to tell us what to do with our money?”

“I can, and I’ll make some phone calls.  The funds haven’t been transferred yet, but will be just as soon as the administrator dispenses them. Tomorrow, I have to be calm enough to continue carving. I can’t lose another day. Time is getting short and Peggy has to start classes soon.”

“Why don’t you marry her and then she won’t have to work, just like you won’t have to.”

“Nola, I’m not giving up carving. I enjoy it too much. Peggy teaches school because she wants to. Neither one of us is going to be sitting around. The reward for that isn’t enough to make a person happy.”

“That’s the way I feel when I’m at the church filling plates for those people that need food. I’m thinking I may use some of the money to help out the church someday. I just don’t know how yet.”

“Time enough to decide.”

Peggy came up to the cabin early, with Fred driving. He was taking Nola to the church today. Peggy and I had coffee and then I said, “Let’s get started on the head.” I worked as much with my fingers as I did by eye. I would feel her living, breathing face and wanted to imbue the same into the wood I was carving. This worked for me. The shaman’s eyes, though, wouldn’t really come alive until the color was applied. 

I had a problem with the chin. I was just so afraid I would pare the wood down too far and I wanted my subject to show the strength of a confident, in-charge woman. It was there in Peggy’s features and I wanted to duplicate it in the Indian. I worked so intently that suddenly I started shaking with fatigue. I hadn’t worked that many hours in time actually, but was affected by being so intently focused on what I was doing. I stepped back and was really pleased at what I had accomplished.  I knew one more session would complete the carving.

Peggy followed me into the house and told me to go rest in the bedroom while she prepared some food. I dozed until I heard voices in the kitchen. I went to see who was here. I stood just out of sight in the living room. It was Mary who had come and she was explaining to Peggy what the attorney had read in the will about her and me. I guessed I wouldn’t interrupt and went back and lay down.

When next I awoke, Mary was gone. Peggy never mentioned that we had a visitor. It was addressed obliquely, though, when she, out of the blue stated, “You know for all of Rick Hanson leaving you a lot of money, I don’t think too much of him.” I let this pass. I didn’t think much of Mary either, for kissing and telling Peggy about our earlier life together. 

Peggy and the two young people made plans to go shopping for school attire. Although the funds for both Nola and me hadn’t been transferred yet, it gave Nola a sense that she could buy whatever her fancy desired. I wondered if she would really splurge.

In the morning I checked every cut I had made. There were a few places on the statue that needed some attention, making them a little crisper and better defined. Satisfied, I set about sealing the whole statue. This was done to prevent the stain and colors from sinking into the wood and to make sure they wouldn’t bleed beyond the lines. This again was to give me a sharp, crisp detail to the subject. 

When staining wood, the carver had to be very careful when coloring where he had cut across the grain of the wood.  The stain would be more apt to sink in here, and when dried, would appear darker than those areas where the color was going with the grain. I was experienced and well aware of these problems. When finished, I went to work on the Indian youths.

“Did you spend all of the money you had in your card?”

“No. I bought four simple skirts and tops and three new pairs of slacks. Peggy already knew which shops had sales on. I bought two new pairs of flats. I think I’m all set. Wait until you see what Peggy purchased. She looks neat. She only bought a couple of outfits. She said she didn’t know what size she was going to end up being.” Nola was acting a little concerned about something. “Pop, you aren’t going to disappoint Peggy are you? I know you two have been intimate because I helped set it up. I do think she can make you happy or I wouldn’t have bothered.”

“You are okay with us being married?”

“Yes I am. I know she is two years older than Mom, but she still is more like a sister to me than a future step mom.”

“What about Fred and you? How is your relationship with him going to be affected?”

There was now a long silence as Nola was trying to find some words. “We have talked about ‘what if’ if you and Peggy were married. If you do marry her, he and I will have a brother-sister relationship. That’s the way it has to be.”

“If I didn’t marry his mom, what then?”

“If I was a year older, we probably would get a lot closer than we are now. I don’t think we would ever get married even if you and Peggy don’t, but it would be an experience to share with someone you can trust.”

“I think I get your meaning. I don’t think I can advise you. Maybe you could talk to Peggy a little about it. I guess I would go along with whatever she says. I’m not married yet and Fred isn’t your brother yet.” I had talked myself into a corner and didn’t know what to say next. 

Nola came over to where I was sitting and pulled me to my feet. She put her arms around me and hugged me as tight as she could. “That’s what I like about you, Pop. You understand so much. I guess it is ultimately Fred and my decision, but it is so good to be able to talk about something such as this. There is no crying and screaming and threats that you can’t do this or you can’t do that.” I had made my daughter as safe as possible. Now it was up to her to find the best way to grow up and be happy.

Peggy and I made sure that we weren’t intimate around Nola. Sure she knew we were and we did find time for each other. Peggy didn’t stay over and I didn’t sleep at her house either. She was on my mind a lot, especially when I was painting in the various colors on the beads and quills. I hated to keep saying shaman or Indian statue, so I named my carving “Oona.”

Oona started taking on a life of her own. Her eyes were some of the first portions I colored in. I even found myself talking to her if I was alone. I found I could let my mind drift as I got down to some of the staining on this hunk of wood. I thought about my time with Vida and how miserable I was. After we were married, it didn’t seem as if I had a happy moment at all. Then when she divorced me, I had to deal with the loss of Nola.

That drove me to being seduced by Mary. I was an easy target. My unhappiness and my depression drove me into her arms and then into her bed. It was lust, pure and simple, and I didn’t wake up until Rick came back from England and it all came out. He did accept that it happened and seemed to be able to live with it. He kept me there near both Mary and him. That was torture in itself, knowing he was making love to this seductress in a different part of the house, while I was alone.

I had given my word not to be intimate with Mary again and I kept it faithfully. He was a professor of psychology. It came to me now that maybe he was playing head games with me and I didn’t realize it. Son-of-a-bitch!

The so-called friendship lasted for six years until his accident. By this time I was a teacher. I suppose I was a loner and in all of my free time I taught myself how to carve. During this time Rick would call and insist I come for dinner. Mary would be as elegant as only she knew how to be. Then came the accident. I supported Mary while she was getting through the worst of her immediate change in lifestyle.

Later I thought with Rick’s ability to blink his eyes, we could talk if we could learn Morse code. It worked out just as I hoped, but it bound me closer than ever to both Rick and Mary. This wasn’t my intention. I wanted to use every minute of my spare time carving. When Rick came up with the idea of what amounted to servicing Mary, I resisted. Not for long, though. Mary went through her seduction of me again and I was hooked.

I had been without an outlet for any intimacies and soon I was enticed into her arms. This time I lasted a couple of years and I, at times, found it a chore. I wasn’t disappointed to find that Mary had another interest, but I did worry about her, which led me to hire Carlo to protect her.

Now I had been seduced by another woman. This time, I felt I had a chance to find real happiness. I smiled to myself as I ran my fingers lightly down and over the breasts of Oona. I knew what lay under the carved deerskin dress. How could I help it? I had created the Indian in the likeness of one I was fast coming to love -- enjoy to the fullest as well.   I leaned forward and rested my lips on those I had created in wood. I must be crazy.

**********

Nola, prevented from serving the noon meal in the soup kitchen while at school, still traveled to the church, helping organize and prepare the meal before she had to be in class. Fred was usually here early and took breakfast with Nola and me as he wanted to be her steady transportation until she could drive herself. Nola was able to get into one of the classes that she needed to get her license to drive. She was also carrying a full load of courses. Never a complaint was heard and she seemed to thrive on her filled up days.

I didn’t often see Peggy now, except on weekends, as she always seemed to have course work or papers to correct during the week. We did find time for each other then, and Nola again made sure that she was absent at least some of the weekend.

Oona and her young ones were completed by the first week of October. I spent several days building a special crate to ship Oona out to John Marquette. I shipped her off on the fifteenth. Five days later, I received word back that she had arrived safely and intact. Marquette was thrilled and insisted I be there at the unveiling on Halloween.

“Peggy, can you get three days off to go with me?”

“I think so. Let me find out.” She hesitated before asking, “Forrest, what about Fred and Nola? They can’t go with us.”

“I know. I thought maybe they could stay either here or at your house together.”

“You would be okay with that? They are awful young. Something might happen.”

“It could. Do you think that is a bad thing?”

Again there was a long pause and then a quiet “No,” came from Peggy. “I just wondered if you were aware that they might do some exploring. More than they have already.”

“I’m aware and I trust Nola. I feel that Fred would treat Nola as she should be treated too.”

“Okay, I’ll see if I can get the time off. Are you going to tell Nola that we are leaving them alone together?”

“Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll speak to Fred as well.”

“What are you going to be saying to him? He is my son so maybe I should do it.”

“I don’t think it necessary. I’ll just ask Fred to obey Nola if at anytime she says stop. That should be enough.”

“They are almost adults aren’t they? I think Nola is the more mature about sex. Certainly more than I was at that age.”

“Me too. I don’t think our parents were as close to me as I am to Nola. That’s the difference and I didn’t know what kind of trouble I could get into. I damned sure got into enough.” The next day Peggy said she had the three days off that she needed. The next morning at breakfast I mentioned to the two kids our plans.

“We’ll be gone three days and the weekend. You two can hang out here. Now all I want is your promise to respect each other in all things.”

I looked at both and their faces had flushed at my announcement. “Thanks Pop, we’ll be fine. You can trust us to get along okay.” I made reservations later on in the morning for our flight.

*************

Marquette’s chauffeur met us at the airport and transported us directly to his mansion.  I wanted to see Oona the very first thing.  She was in an alcove at the head of the stairs, not in the foyer.  Fully draped with a sheet, he uncovered her for my inspection. Oona was surrounded by some plants and was placed as if she was striding across the prairie.  I about burst with pride.  Somehow Marquette had put a light on the far side of the room that was the image of a three-quarter moon. It seemed as if Oona’s eyes were lifted to this. The whole effect was startlingly real.

We were soon led to the room where we would be staying for four days. It was massive and the appointments were richer than anyone of our station could imagine. The bed itself was almost as large as my whole room at home in my cabin.

Tomorrow was Halloween and a costume party was planned. John Marquette knew that Peggy had been my model and had a dress of deerskin for her to wear. It was form-fitting and showed her every curve. It was hers to take with us when we went home. For me he had a pair of shorts with suspenders with a bag of carving tools attached to the belt. We all wore masks, but were easily identifiable as associated with the new statue. There was a sit-down dinner to start the festivities. 

Gowns and costumes of every color and shape were present. I had never seen such a display in my life. The women ran the gamut from almost nothing to stiff Elizabethan dress with many petticoats. The men were ghouls and pirates and everything in between. Wine was flowing and as the evening proceeded it started to be more of a Roman orgy in progress than a costume party. 

As things got wilder, Peggy asked me to take her to our room. I agreed, but found our room preempted by a couple.  They had removed their masks and most of their clothes. The man was an actor I recognized as one who had been a box office darling thirty years ago. His female companion couldn’t have been twenty. At least they weren’t in our bed, only on it. 

Peggy and I retired to the outside balcony until we heard them leave. I locked the door and stripped the coverlet from our bed. This was our introduction to Hollywood. We went to sleep as the revelers got louder downstairs. Several times I heard our door tried, and I knew it was someone looking for a little privacy.

The thought crossed my mind wondering how Oona felt with what was going on below and around her. I guess it didn’t disturb her, as she was still looking at the moon when we went by her in the morning. John was unapologetic as we came down, just saying he should have warned us what the party was to be like. Did we enjoy ourselves?

“We found it interesting, but much different than our small town gatherings.” 

“I’ll bet. Sit, we’ll have coffee. Now, I’m supposed to ask you. Can you do the Indian maiden in the nude? One of my guests was much taken with the statue, but he would like the statue to be unadorned. He would pay the same amount.  I suspect if you did take the commission, it would be less trouble, just from the fact you wouldn’t have as much detail to carve.”

“This would be in the round, I take it?”

“Yes, and with the same model if possible.”

Peggy’s face flamed. “I don’t think that Forrest could find the same model to pose for him.”

“Let me write down a figure. Forrest would be paid for the carving, but this figure I’m going to show you will be for the model herself.” I didn’t see what John wrote down.

“Wow, that’s a pretty impressive figure. Very persuasive. I think maybe Forrest could find that model again. You must realize that this model is a couple of sizes smaller than Oona, don’t you?”

“That has been taken into consideration.You, my dear, were recognized and well inspected last night. Can I give Forrest the name of the person that wishes to purchase your likeness?”

“It is up to Forrest. It will be his commission.” I put the name and phone number in my wallet. 

Later when we were alone I said to Peggy, “I told you I was going to make you famous.”

I guess we did what every tourist does when they come to Hollywood.  We took tours and inspected the walk of fame.  We were ready to go home though, and were glad when we boarded our flight east.

As the plane rose into the sky I asked, “Peggy, can I move in with you for a few months? I have engaged a builder to add two more rooms to my cabin. Another bath too. The rooms will be larger than the two I have now. One will be the master bedroom. All of us who will be living there will need more privacy. I’ll have to continue working in my shop, but that won’t be a problem.”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Is this a permanent arrangement, us living together, I mean?”

“I’d like to make it permanent. We could be married three or four days from now, you know.”

“It can’t be done. Your parents can’t be here that soon. What about Nola and Fred? They need to get used to the idea of you and I being married.”

“We’ll talk to them. I have slept next to you for four nights on this trip. I can’t imagine sleeping alone again.”

“Is it me or my body you want next to you?”

“Can’t have one without the other. I’ll take you anyway I can get you.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, what?”

“Okay you can move in with me. My house is bigger so the kids can have separate rooms. Forrest, what are we going to find has developed between them when we get home?”

“I think everything will be cool. We may never know what went on. I’m not going to ask and I don’t think you should either.”

“If that’s the way you want to play it, good. My thoughts exactly.”

The kids were on the mountain when we returned and so glad to see us when they came down. We spent the evening telling about our adventures. They thought it gross when we told about the couple having sex on our bed. Both wanted to know what actors we recognized while we were there. I had thoughtfully asked for the guest list from John Marquette and passed it over saying we had dinner with these people. Oh wow!

The house was spotless and the bedrooms were made up. Nola had a meal in the crock-pot and we sat down to chicken cacciatore and pasta. She apologized for forgetting to get a loaf of hard bread. No problem.

“I’m just the little homemaker and housewife wouldn’t you say?” Fred and Nola went into gales of laughter. I think they were disappointed we didn’t start asking questions about their time of living together. 

The backhoe showed up to dig the foundation for the addition on Monday, and Nola and my things were installed in Peggy’s home. Peggy and I slept in the same bed, but didn’t make an issue of it and were as discreet as possible. It was strange for us to see Fred and Nola curled up on the couch together. Never was there anything that was inappropriate displayed between the two of them either. They acted like they were the close brother and sister they soon would become.

Things were moving fast for me. I contacted Mom and Dad and informed them I was planning on getting married to Peggy. It was to be a civil ceremony before the judge. The same judge we met when Nola was before her several months ago. They passed on coming at this time, but would be spending time with us at Christmas. That would be fine. I planned on the wedding the day before Thanksgiving.

On the twelfth of November, I received a letter from the administrator of Rick’s estate informing me that it would be several months before the bequest from Rick would be dispensed. Nola received a certified letter at the same time giving the same date. This gave us more time to make a decision about what to do with the money.

On the twenty-fifth of November, I received the promised package that was mentioned by Rick when his will was read. It was marked for my eyes only. I turned it over and over in my hands. Wouldn’t I be better to trash it and never read his last words to me? This was the feeling I had. Tomorrow was my wedding day and I wanted my mind totally taken up with the ceremony and ultimately my new wife. I would look at it at some later time. I put it aside under my socks in the drawer Peggy had given me to use.

We were ushered into the judge’s chambers. Me, Peggy, Nola and Fred. Before the judge opened her book for the reading of the service, she made note of Nola’s being in the diversion program. She complimented her on completing it in such a timely manner. This made Nola feel very good to be recognized and know she wasn’t just a number in a file somewhere.

Within fifteen minutes rings had been exchanged and Peggy was now Mrs. Forrest Green. Nola had a new mom and Fred had a new dad. There was to be no honeymoon at this time. I did show Peggy reservations I had made for a cruise during the February break from school. 

We returned home and started baking pies and rolls for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner. Late in the afternoon, Nola and Fred went over to Vida’s to tell them all about the wedding. This gave me the chance to consummate the marriage. I would have a lot of happiness to be thankful for, as we went around the table tomorrow, recapping the recent events.

**********

Everyday I went up to my workshop. I had three cigar store Indians to carve before Christmas. All three had been roughed out, so it was doable. The nude that Peggy was to model for was for the future. I had stressed this as she was a school teacher and not often available to sit for me.

One evening she was attending a seminar and I sat in with her. It was dry and boring, so when there was a break, I said I was going out to grab a coffee and would be back before the speaker was finished. I had to go more than a block to find an open convenience store. As I was pouring my coffee, a man that had come in behind me spoke. “Mr. Green, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” I turned around. Carlo, the investigator I had hired to see to Mary stood there waiting to get coffee.  “Hi Carlo.  It has been awhile. The first of August wasn’t it?”

“Correct. I was talking to Mrs. Hanson about you the other day. I had to talk to the prosecutor about the men concerning her trouble. She was in his office at the same time.”

“How is she doing? I have been busy and haven’t been in touch. I was married just a week ago.”

“She was fine.  Say if you have a minute and aren’t doing anything, my car is down the street. You could drink your coffee there. Actually I’m on a stakeout and could use the company. I have someone else in the vehicle watching while I get us a beverage.”

“Sure, I guess. I have at least a half hour before I have to pick up my wife.”

We paid for our coffee. The other person in Carlo’s vehicle had a diet sprite ordered. His car wasn’t far. We crossed the street and as we approached. I could see a woman watching through the rear window. I slid into the rear seat.

“Hi Forrest.”

“Mary?”  Surprise, surprise!  She leaned over and took the can of soda from Carlo. Then she kissed him, before turning back to me.

“I understand you and Mrs. Bowdoin are married. I’m upset you didn’t inform me. I’ll send you a present when you tell me where you are living.”

“Our marriage was kind of sudden. What are you doing here with Carlo?”

“Carlo and I are dating. He has been really helpful in keeping my name out of the news. In fact I’m thinking of investing in an expansion of his business. There is another agency we are thinking of buying. I work in his office some and if there is a stakeout, I go with him. I’m even going to get a license to carry a weapon. The investing is an area that Carlo thinks is profitable. He is a licensed bail bondsman, but hasn’t had the money to fully back it. That’s my part.  We are going to be equal partners.”

“Just in the business?”

“No, more than that. At least we are working toward more.”

“Mary and Carlo, I’m happy for you. I was wondering what you were going to do after Rick died. For the last seven years, you have been totally tied down. If anyone deserves a change in lifestyle, you do, Mary.”

“Thank you Forrest. Remember when I said if I found a new man, I was going to have Carlo check him out because I trusted him to get me out of trouble? Why go to all of that trouble when Carlo himself is available.”

“That’s great. Say, can we get together sometime. Nola would like to see you. I’m so proud of her.”

“How about your wife? She knows about our past doesn’t she?”

“Yes, and that our past was behind us before I started going with her. I think now you two could be friends.”

“I’ll call this weekend and arrange something. That is if Carlo isn’t on stakeout. I wouldn’t miss the chance of that.”

I slid out of the vehicle. I kissed Mary on the cheek and went around and shook Carlo’s hand through the window. Mary started poking Carlo and pointing down the street to a man getting into a car. Carlo started his vehicle and drove away as the other did. I was left standing in the street. I felt as if a chapter had just closed -- and I was okay with that.

I informed Peggy about my little adventure while she was listening to a boring speaker. “Lucky you.” She paused before asking. “Forrest, are you the least bit jealous of Carlo?”

“Absolutely not. How could I be when I have you?”

“Somehow I believe you.”

Sunday morning I snuggled up next to Peggy. “Not this morning Bud. I’m feeling a little woozy. Why don’t you go up to the cabin and work? I’m staying in bed and catch another little nap.” It hit me. There was only one reason for my wife to feel woozy.

“Peggy?”

She turned over with a broad smile on her face. “Forrest, I haven’t had it confirmed yet but I am overdue. Actually it is too soon for me to be woozy. I thought I would run it by you and see how you felt about us having a baby.”

I tried acting upset and swung out of bed. “Damn it woman, first I carve a statue just what my buyer wants and then you go on a diet. Then I find a buyer that wants you slim and sexy. What do you do? You go and get pregnant on me.  Am I ever going to be able to carve you just as you are?”

“Next year, I promise.”

 I crawled back into bed. “Peggy, I missed having Nola growing up with me.  This time I’m going to be with the child every step of the way. This pleases me no end.”

“That was what I was hoping. I so want to have a baby with you and I knew you would be okay with it. The next one we will talk about.” I grinned because it looked as if I was going to be a father -- for years to come.

Later, I went into our room and retrieved the tape from my sock drawer, taking it with me. It was Sunday, so there would be no interference from the builders who were constructing my house. I made coffee and sat down to decipher what Rick said.

I knew it was going to be bad by the way he started.  “F-o-r-r-e-s-t,  y-o-u  b-a-s-t-a-r-d!  I  a-m  n-o-w  g-o-i-n-g  t-o  t-e-l-l  y-o-u  h-o-w  I  f-e-e-l  a-b-o-u-t  y-o-u. stop.” I sat down and typed his message into the computer as I read what he was saying with his eyes. If I wanted to show anyone, they could read it already deciphered.

Forrest, you had sex with Mary. I suspect she was the one to seduce you. That said, I’m sure you didn’t resist. I came home from England and discovered the infidelity. I hated both of you. You didn’t know that did you? From that moment on, I was on a mission to destroy you. I kept you near both Mary and I, so when my plans could come together, you would be available.

Being near and not having access to Mary, must have been hell for you. Nice touch, huh? It took six years to finalize what I had planned for you. I had in place a bribe for one of your students to accuse you of rape. Unfortunately my accident came about and I was unable to follow through. After my accident you came up with the Morse code gambit so that I could converse with you and others. I almost forgave you then.

My next plan was to throw you two together and get you both to plan my death. That is when I urged you to service Mary and make this a plausible situation. I thought for awhile it was going to work and I was giving Trudy hints to follow through after my death. Did I care that I was dead? Look at this body that was without life except for my eyes. Let that be your answer.

This didn’t work. Your ardor cooled, and taking Mary became a chore instead of a pleasure for you. That in itself was a small victory for me. Suffer, you bastard! I did.  I laid here in this contraption day after day, hating you more than ever.

The metronome I asked for, remember me asking, saying it was for me to sleep? That wasn’t it. I needed that to hypnotize myself and others. Watching it go back and forth with the blinking light is the perfect instrument for this. It took a couple of years to perfect the mesmerism so that I was confident I could control my heartbeat and keep myself from being roused by others. I tried it out a few times, finding I could control the length of time I couldn’t be roused, until I heard something on the television. I used a different sign each time, such as the twelve o’clock news or the weather. But the secret of my demise was the metronome.

Trudy suspected what I was planning. Putting everything together, I accomplished this to my satisfaction. My plan was for Trudy to know what the result would be if someone removed the metronome.

If you took it, then you could be accused of killing me. Before I did this, I wanted you to suffer even more. Nola, sweet, little, innocent Nola. I started hypnotizing her. It worked for awhile. Trudy even thought this was so innocent. Poor old Rick -- give him a titillating tidbit! I did get her down to a swimsuit. Oh she is so lovely!  My mind plays over her exquisite form even now. I was going to program her to want both beer and liquor and demand sex from anyone. I would destroy you through her slide into degradation.

But suddenly I didn’t have control over her as I did at first. I discovered she was closing her eyes. She thought she was being hypnotized by the screen saver on the computer, but it wasn’t that was it? It was the blinking light on the metronome. I said some really sexy and nasty things to check out my control. I found my control over her was all gone. Did you do this to me? Don’t answer, because I’m dead by this time and I can’t hear you.

Thirteen years I have planned to get even. I have nothing left except hate for you. No more plans possible, except to leave you with a guilty conscience. The money I left you? Every time you spend a dollar, you will think of me and the times you spent with Mary. Hopefully this isn’t too subtle. 

I have hypnotized myself for the metronome to be my support system. The beat regulates my heart. Set to slow speed, that is what my vitals do indicate. I had Trudy reset it at different speeds to check. When it is removed from my hearing, my heartbeat will slow and finally stop. I will live as long as the metronome is clicking in the background. No more rousing from a program on the television. I have asked that you remove the metronome, which makes you the one who killed me. You have, damned fool that you are, done as I have always asked. You will do this, I am positive, and now I hope you burn in hell.  Rick.”

*******

I sat back from my keyboard. My coffee was cold. Yes and I was too. I thought of everything Rick had said. First, I knew what Rick’s unexplained apology to Nola was. Best she never find out. Second, I didn’t remove the metronome, someone else had done this when I was with Mom and Dad on vacation. Maybe one of the doctors ordered it removed when the computer and the television were taken away. No need to share that either.

I made a call to Trudy who I knew was living with Mary. “Hi Trudy, how is it going?”

“Great, Mr. Green. I find it is such a relief not having to care for Mr. Hanson. I hear you are married to the woman I met one time?”

“Yes, I am. Nola is almost as pleased with her as a step mom as I am having Peggy for a wife.”

“I can believe that of Nola. Such a sweet child. Look Forrest, I have an appointment and must go. Thank you for calling.”

“Trudy I wanted to ask you a question about the metronome that was in Rick’s room. Did he ever ask you to adjust it? I think you mentioned also there were a couple of incidents he had along toward the end of his life.”

“Yes, Rick was always asking me to change the beat on the metronome. The metronome was discarded the day Rick passed away. The doctor had the room cleared as soon as he arrived. I think eventually it went out for curb pickup sometime ago. The two incidents occurred about three days apart. One when the power failed when a pole was struck down the street, and the other just a short time before he died.”

“Was the metronome on the same power circuit as his breathing machine?”

“No. The metronome didn’t work while the power was out.” There was silence. I knew Trudy was very intelligent.  “Mr. Green, we talked about something a few weeks before Rick passed away. We didn’t think it possible. He was so smart and figured out a way, didn’t he?  That was the way he did it, wasn’t it? We never suspected. Bless him, I’m sure God will forgive him for having to bear such a heavy burden for so long and then being able to find a way to meet his maker. He was so brave. I suspect this shouldn’t be discussed should it?”

“No, I think it best to forget it.” Trudy could believe that Rick deserved to be in heaven. For myself, I think he should end up some place where cremation would be like a cooling breeze.

I heated up my coffee and sat back down again. The tape had to be destroyed. That I knew. I had a copy on my computer. It took one second to delete the file. I put the tape back in the machine and erased that as well. Was I going to lose sleep over the things that Rick had accused me of? No. First, my only crime was to succumb to Mary thirteen years ago. Rick said I was forgiven  I had believed him then and it was too long ago to change my mind now.

Had I killed him -- no! As far as I was concerned he had committed suicide. I could hate him for what he had tried to do to Nola. Who knew? Nola was still the same sweet girl I loved and hadn’t been damaged. Not worth the bother to hate at this late date.

I heard a car drive up. “Hey Pop, Fred and I came to visit. Actually we want to make one last trip up the mountain before it snows tonight. Fred has a friend here with us. It is his new girl. I like her a lot.” She shouted out the door for them to go ahead.

“Dad, I needed a moment with you. I talked to Mom about something. I always wondered how she could hate you sometimes and then again still show some fondness for you. I asked her about it.”

“And what did she say?”

“She said a woman or girl never gets entirely over her first time with a man  She said you were her first and even though she hated you sometimes and couldn’t love you, you always held a special place in her heart. She still feels that way about you. Dad, what I’m trying to say is, that is the way I feel about Fred. He will always be someone special for me.”

“I understand, sweetheart. Thank you for sharing this with me.”

“Peggy said I should share when I told her about it after talking with Mom.” Nola turned and started out the door.  “Pop, I understand you have Peggy with child. Congratulations!” She turned back just long enough to show me that quirky little grin and the love behind it.

A little more than seventeen years ago, I had been seduced by a pretty girl.That started what seemed like a lifetime of misery. All of this was behind me now. Overall I would travel that road again to reach the rewards I now had before me.

The End.