JC: William Redman Carter Noble Savage Chapter 43 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2005 Lucy sat on an egg crate talking and laughing with several of the homeless men at the Pittsburgh shelter. The gossip about what was happening around the country was flying fast and furious. A lot of the news dealt with the artist William had hired to create a statue of Happy Harry. It seemed he was starting to demonstrate that he was really an artist. Natalie, ignored by just about everyone there, was standing behind Lucy watching the men and women deal with her. It was amazing to her how nicely they treated Lucy. At the same time, they allowed Natalie the distance that allowed her to do her job. She knew it was out of respect for Lucy and not for her. She glanced over at High Roller who was staring at her like a lovesick puppy and shook her head. In a way, Natalie was glad that High Roller was watching her rather than Lucy. He wasn’t the most stable of the homeless men. High Roller was addicted to gambling. He had lost his home, his family, and himself betting on anything and everything. Handlebar, called that because of his substantial handlebar mustache, entered the gossip pit and noticed that they had two special visitors. He reached into his pocked and pulled out an interesting rock that he had found the other day. Twirling his mustache, he said, “Hello Lucy Diamonds.” Happy to see one of her favorite homeless men, Lucy grinned at the sixty-something year old man. With a body shaped a lot like Santa Clause, he reminded her of a grandfather. Smiling and happy, he always had the best stories and told them with a flourish. Despite being homeless, he always carried around something to give out as a gift. Sometimes it might be a toy and other times it might be an earring that he had found. She shouted, “Handlebar! I was getting afraid that I wasn’t going to see you.” “Ah, my favorite street urchin has come to visit,” he said with forced joviality in his voice. He wasn’t feeling well, but didn’t want to let her know that. As she approached him, she noticed that he didn’t look very well. He seemed to stagger and lose his balance. Filled with concern, Lucy rushed over to support him. Noticing that there was a problem, Natalie stepped away from where she was standing to help Lucy. The man wobbled and, despite not wanting to look weak in front of Lucy, said, “I’m not feeling well.” Handlebar suddenly turned pale while the world spun around him. He knew that something was very wrong. It was like someone flipped a switch. One minute he was talking to her normal as can be and then next minute he was sick as a dog. He threw up on Lucy. After emptying his stomach all over Lucy’s blue jeans, he collapsed to the ground unconscious. In a reaction that demonstrated her concern for him despite what had just happened, Lucy knelt down next to the man. Afraid that he was going to choke on his vomit, she wiped some of it from his mouth. She looked up at one of the nearby homeless men. He was staring at the scene in shock. Worried, she said, “He’s real sick. Get me a wet towel so that I can clean him up.” “Lucy Diamonds, you get away from Handlebar. We’ll take care of him,” High Roller said with a frown even as one of the other men ran off to fetch a towel. He had no idea what to do, but he felt that it wasn’t right for her to get so messy because of one of them. Ignoring High Roller, she put a hand on Handlebar’s forehead. It was burning hot. Not having medical knowledge, she didn’t know what the problem was. She said, “He’s got a high fever.” High Roller danced around trying to think what he was supposed to do. He looked at Lucy and said, “Let us take care of him, Lucy Diamonds. It’s not right for one of us being sick on you.” “Calm down, High Roller. He’s just got a stomach virus or something. We’ll clean him up and take him to a Fusion Foundation Clinic,” Lucy said wishing that was all that was the matter. Seeing that Lucy was covered with vomit from her waist down to her feet, Natalie moved in to take over. She said, “He’s right, Lucy. You step back and we’ll take care of it.” “Go get the Hugger so that we can take him to the clinic,” Lucy replied. She pointed over at the vehicle to emphasize her order. Frowning, Natalie walked over to the Hugger knowing that arguing wouldn’t do any good. Rock was going to be furious. The man who had run off for a towel returned with a towel that was soaking wet. Lucy twisted it to remove the excess water. She cleaned up his face and then held the damp towel to his forehead. Concerned, she said, “He’s really burning up.” “Ma’am, you should leave him alone. You’re liable to catch what he has,” High Roller said near tears. He wished Bottle Cap or Half Feather was around, they’d know what to do. He called out, “Where’s Bottle Cap?” “Bottle Cap and William are helping get Sad Man to the hospital. He’ll be back in a little while,” Lucy said. Even as she spoke, Handlebar convulsed and started throwing up again. At the same time, his bowels let loose and the odor of shit filled the air. She knew that wasn’t a good sign. She wiped his face with the towel and looked over as the Hugger pulled up. “High Roller, open the door and then help me get him in the back seat,” Lucy said afraid to waste even one minute. She moved around so that she could carry his feet. Natalie climbed out of the car and picked him up by the shoulders before High Roller had a chance to move. Together they carried him to the Hugger. Natalie was much stronger than she looked and basically manhandled him through the door. Lucy raced around the vehicle and climbed into the back seat of the car with Handlebar. She rested his head on her lap and stroked his forehead. His magnificent mustache was twisted and ruined. Natalie closed the door and got in the driver’s seat. As the Hugger pulled out of the Homeless Hotel, High Roller was dancing around in frustration shouting, “It’s not right!” Amazed by what he had seen, Seamless Sam went over to High Roller and said, “Can you believe it? I mean, she didn’t even flinch when Handlebar threw up on her.” “It’s not right for one of us to be sick on her like that,” High Roller said shaking his head. He was afraid that Lucy would stop visiting the Homeless Hotels. It was almost two hours later before Lucy returned to the Homeless Hotel. William and Bottle Cap were seated on egg crates waiting for her. Natalie had kept them informed of what was happening and they were both worried about how Lucy was dealing with the death of her friend. Handlebar had been one of Lucy’s favorite homeless men at the Pittsburgh Homeless Hotel. Seeing the Hugger pull up, William stood and headed over to it. Lucy got out of the Hugger and ran over to William with tears streaming down her cheeks. He held her in his arms and, despite knowing the answer to his question, asked, “What happened?” “Handlebar died before we got him to the clinic,” Lucy answered sobbing. It was her first experience with death and she was having a hard time dealing with it. After she had explained what happened, the doctor at the clinic told her that it was probably a massive stroke. Holding her close, he noticed that she had a bruise on her face. More concerned about her tears, he said, “I’m so sorry, Lucy.” “I liked Handlebar,” Lucy said. She sniffled and wiped her nose. Voice cracking, she said, “He always treated me like a granddaughter.” After watching the pair for a moment, Natalie went over to Rock to let him know what had happened. Before she got there, he asked, “How did she get the bruise?” Tight faced, she answered, “According to the doctor, Handlebar had a massive stroke. He got sick all over Lucy. We put him in the Hugger and he threw up, went into a seizure, and then died. He hit her during the seizure. We hadn’t even left the homeless hotel before he died.” Rock looked over Lucy and said, “You did everything you could. At least no real harm was done to Lucy.” “I left her at the clinic for a half an hour to wash the Hugger while she explained to the medical types what happened. When I came back, she was still filthy. She was crying and I had to force her into a shower at the clinic and wash her up. At least we had some spare clothing in the Hugger,” Natalie said watching William comfort Lucy. She didn’t feel right trying to comfort her clients since her job was to protect them from the next threat. “Rough day,” Rock said thankful that he had not been there. He watched Lucy crying in William’s arms. Her obvious distress made him want to hold her protectively. He tore his eyes from the scene and examined his surroundings. His job demanded that he stand back and watch for threats. Frowning, he said, “It is hard not to love them, isn’t it?” “Yes,” Natalie answered. She didn’t have the same level of affection for the homeless as Lucy, but she had come to accept them as good acquaintances. Lucy liked all of them and loved a few of them. She felt that Lucy was a better person than she was. Her eyes sought out High Roller, but he was gone. She asked, “What happened to High Roller?” “He told Bottle Cap what happened and then left.” “He was pretty upset,” Natalie said. She hoped that he wasn’t going to do something stupid. She’d never admit it, but she was rather fond of him. “I know. He charged over to Bottle Cap and complained about what had happened. He kept saying that it was wrong for such a pretty girl to have to deal with such ugliness. Bottle Cap asked him what he expected Lucy to do. William explained there was no way that she’d leave a friend who needed her. That seemed to calm him down,” Rock answered. He looked around the homeless hotel noticing how all of the homeless men stood around watching Lucy with wide eyes. He knew that the legend of Lucy Diamonds was going to grow in the telling of stories around camp fires across the country. She wasn’t even aware of the impact that her concern for Handlebar had on the homeless men and women. Bottle Cap was watching everyone, noting the reactions of the homeless men to Lucy’s obvious grief at losing a friend. He knew that they were wondering if she would have the same reaction to their deaths. It was obvious that a lot of them believed that she would. Smiling, he thought about how lucky William was to have found her. After things had quieted down, Lucy pulled out her cell phone and called Barbara. When the other woman answered, Lucy said, “Barbara, we need to made funeral arrangements for Handlebar.” After less than a week on the job, Barbara was not sure that she understood correctly. She asked, “Who?” “Handlebar.” “Could you spell that?” Barbara asked. “H A N D L E B A R,” Lucy answered. “That’s what I thought you said. Where is … Handlebar?” “He’s at the morgue in Pittsburgh. I want a first class funeral for him,” Lucy said. “Okay, I’ll get Sandra started on making the arrangements right now,” Barbara said. She had never thought that one of the first tasks they’d be given was to arrange a funeral. “We’ll need to have a tombstone carved. I want one with his face on it,” Lucy said. His handlebar mustache was going to live forever even if people didn’t know who he was. “Anything else?” “Hold on,” Lucy answered. She turned to Bottle Cap and asked, “What do you usually do when someone dies at a Homeless Hotel?” “Usually we’ll sit around the fire telling his stories. It’s our way of celebrating his life,” he answered. Sometimes the story telling lasted for hours and other times folks didn’t have much to say. Even amongst the homeless, some people were more likeable than others. He expected the storytelling to last for a long time that evening. “Nothing else at the moment,” Lucy told Barbara. After Lucy had hung up, Seamless Sam came over to Lucy and held out a rock. He had been waiting for her to calm down. He hadn’t wanted to intrude on her interaction with William. Nervously licking his lips, he said, “Handlebar dropped this when he got sick. I figure he meant to give it to you.” Smiling at him, Lucy accepted the stone from Seamless Sam. She looked at it. The stone was a flat little disk that had been polished smooth in a river somewhere. It had a greenish cast to it that was rather unusual. Like most of the gifts he gave her, it wasn’t worth anything other than as a sign of affection. She rubbed it and said, “Thank you, Sam.” “I figured you would want it. You really cared for him, didn’t you?” “Yes, Sam. He was always so nice to me,” Lucy answered with a tear forming in her eye. She reached up and wiped it away. Seamless Sam, looking down at the ground, pushed the dirt with the toe of his shoe. He didn’t know what to say. He found it amazing that she would value one of his fellow homeless men. Aware that he was uncomfortable, Lucy hugged him and said, “Thank you very much, Sam.” Hesitating to put his dirty arms around her, Sam finally gave in and hugged her tightly. It was hard for him to believe that such a nice woman would want to touch him. His throat swelled and tears came to his eyes. When she released him, he said, “Thank you, Lucy Diamonds.” Lucy watched as he walked off to be alone. She had been touched on several levels. The rock might not be much, but it was Handlebar’s last gift for her. That Seamless Sam had made sure that she received it was a very nice gesture. Bottle Cap and William exchanged nods. It was one thing to come up with something nice to do for someone else, but another thing to actually do it. Sam’s actions reminded Bottle Cap of the day that he had offered his lucky bottle cap to the Chicago Angel. He knew that a lot of good ideas never saw the light of day. He reached into his pocket and rubbed the bottle cap that was in it. Standing up, he said, “It’s time I went off for a walk.” When Lucy sat down, William put an arm around her and asked, “What did he give you?” Without saying a word, Lucy held out the stone. William nodded as he looked at it. Smiling at her, he said, “That’s real pretty.” “Yes, it is,” she answered. She was going to have it mounted in a necklace. It was dark when a rather disgruntled Colt and Nicole showed up at the Homeless Hotel. William and Lucy were supposed to have returned home that afternoon, but they had changed plans so that they could join in the story telling around the camp fire. After a short exchange with Rock and Natalie, the pair took up positions where they could watch the area. The other two bodyguards went to check into the hotel that had been arranged by Sandra. William and Lucy had suggested spending the night at the Homeless Hotel, but the bodyguards had argued against it. The last thing either of them wanted was to spend the night in a section of sewer pipe. The fire was burning brightly when Bottle Cap announced, “As all of you know, Handlebar passed away this morning.” As comments of ‘pity,’ ‘he was a nice fellow,’ and ‘real shame’ floated around the fire pit, Bottle Cap help up a hand to get everyone’s attention. He said, “It is normal to share a few stories about friends who’ve passed on.” “I guess I don’t have to tell how he got his name,” Bottle Cap said with a wink. The old man had grown a huge handlebar mustache that reached a full six inches away from his face on each side. As everyone nodded, he added, “Handlebar was very proud of that mustache of his and rightfully so. I once asked him how long it took to grow it. He answered that he’d been growing it off and on since he started shaving. The real question was how long it took him to train it to curl like it did. That, he said, took him twenty years.” “That dirty dog. He told me he was born with that mustache,” one of the homeless men said with a grin. “I can’t believe you fell for that old story. There’s no way he could have been born with that thing holding him back,” another man said. His comment brought a couple of chuckles. Worried about how Lucy was handling the death of her friend, William watched her react to the light hearted teasing that flowed around the fire. He knew that she was upset about Handlebar’s death. He was pleased to see that she was handling it well. She laughed about the comment about being born with the mustache. One of the homeless said, “I told him that if he straightened out that mustache of his that he’d look just like Snidely Whiplash. Old Handlebar just laughed and said that he was too fat and jolly to look that evil.” “He did have a good belly on him,” another man said patting his own belly. Winking at Bottle Cap, he said, “I always thought it was his best feature.” The others around the fire laughed at him. Lucy thought about how Handlebar’s belly would shake when he laughed. He had a rich deep laugh that involved his entire body. His shoulders would move up and down, he’d slap his thigh, and pound his foot on the ground when he found something really funny. She said, “Ah, his mustache and stomach were all grand features, but it was his laugh that was his best feature.” “He did enjoy a good laugh,” agreed Bottle Cap. “I always liked that he laughed at himself more than at others,” William said. Leaning back on his crate, William said, “I remember when he was telling us about his odd jobs as Santa Claus around Christmas time. He would go to one of the burger places and shout out that he was there double checking his list for all the good boys and girls. Those kids would fall all over themselves to be good. Mothers everywhere appreciated that.” “He used to love doing that. He made all of his money for the rest of the year at Christmas.” While the people around the fire discussed Handlebar’s Christmas activities, William noticed a very drunk man staggering up to the Homeless Hotel. He nudged Bottle Cap and gestured in the direction of the man. Satisfied that Lucy was doing okay, William went with Bottle Cap to take care of the man. Colt followed William. Approaching the drunken man, William said, “What’s the matter High Roller?” “Such a pretty girl shouldn’t have to see such ugliness,” High Roller said. His voice was slurred. He belched and then made a face as if he had just bit into something that tasted terrible. Frowning, William said, “Let’s get you over to the Porto-potty. You’re going to be sick in a minute.” “No,” the drunk replied. He swayed, looked at William, and then said, “I’ll be okay.” Taking the man by the arm, Bottle Cap said, “Let’s go over to the Porto-potty. You wouldn’t want Lucy to see you like this.” Looking at Bottle Cap, High Roller frowned as he considered the information. Confused, he looked at William and realized that Lucy was probably still there. He frowned as his mind tried to put it all together. Finally, he asked, “She’s still here?” Seeing that the prospect of being seen by Lucy bothered the man, William said, “Yes. She’s over by the fire talking about Handlebar.” “Where is he? I want to give him a piece of my mind,” High Roller said trying to stand up straighter. He put up his fists as if he were getting ready to fight. “Handlebar died on the way to the clinic,” William said. The news struck High Roller like a blow to the stomach. He had not accepted the explanation that Handlebar was ill. He was sure that the man was drunk and, in his drunken state, had thrown up on Lucy. He fell to the ground with a groan. Shaking his head as if trying to clear his thoughts, he asked, “He died?” Kneeling down next to the drunk, Bottle Cap said, “Yes, he died.” “Lucy was holding him when he died,” William said. “The poor little thing. She shouldn’t have to see such ugliness,” High Roller said. He started crying at the thought of Lucy having to see that. He looked up at William and said, “So much of this world is ugly. There are nasty people out there who enjoy the pain of others. There are folks who take advantage of the weaknesses of others. They rob them of everything that is important to them. Lucy is an innocent and shouldn’t be exposed to that side of life.” “There was nothing ugly today, High Roller. She loved Handlebar. She feels lucky that she had a chance to say goodbye to him,” William said trying to help the drunken man up from the ground. Between the two of them, William and Bottle Cap led High Roller to the Porto-potty. They stood outside listening to the sounds of the man getting sick. Colt stood back in the shadows watching the two men work and keeping an eye out for interlopers. He spotted someone who didn’t belong and moved to intercept him. His hand covered the camera lens just before the flash went off. Looking over his shoulder at the scuffle behind him, William asked, “What is it Colt?” “Looks like a tabloid photographer,” Colt said holding the man by the back of the neck. He squeezed and watched the man grimace. He asked, “What should I do with him?” “Take away his camera and then take him over to the fire. Let him sit between Mad Dog and Junkyard Dog,” William answered. Colt grinned at the suggestion. There weren’t any homeless there by those names. William was telling him to find the two biggest and meanest looking homeless men and put the photographer between them. Putting on his most evil grin, he answered, “Understood.” “You don’t have to do that, I’ll leave,” the man protested. Colt pulled the man over to the fire. Looking around, he spotted Big Jim and Old Marty. Big Jim had to be one of the largest men that Colt knew. Old Marty just looked mean. Forcing the man to the ground between the two, Colt winked at them and said, “Mad Dog. Junkyard Dog. Half Feather wants you two to watch this pest and make sure that he doesn’t leave until he has a chance to talk with him.” The two homeless men just wrapped an arm around the photographer and smiled. Lucy watched the action with wide eyes and then giggled at the expression that came over the man’s face. Looking down at the uninvited guest, Big Jim said, “Pest here must be cold; he’s shivering like it is twenty below.” Colt grinned and returned to the shadows to watch over William. He knew the pest wasn’t going anywhere. It took him a minute, but he found William by the showers helping High Roller sober up. Bottle Cap returned carrying a cup of coffee and held it out for High Roller. In a gentle voice, he said, “Here’s some coffee, High Roller. You might as well drink it while you’re in there.” With cold water spraying his head, High Roller reached out a hand and accepted the coffee. He said, “Thanks, Bottle Cap.” “Drink up. You’re a long way from sober,” Bottle Cap said with a shake of his head. “Why are you doing this for me?” High Roller asked. Normally, Bottle Cap would just show him to a bed and have him sleep it off. “You’d kill yourself if you acted like a fool in front of Lucy Diamonds,” Bottle Cap answered. A man that didn’t have much couldn’t afford to loose what little he had. All that High Roller had left was his self-respect. Turning to William, Bottle Cap asked, “What are you going to do with the photographer?” “I’ll just ask the guys keep him here until we’ve been gone for a half an hour. You might invite him to spend the night in one of your comfortable beds,” William said gesturing over at the sections of sewer pipe with his thumb. From the shadows, Colt chuckled and said, “Maybe word of this little incident will get around and make some of those idiots think twice next time they try to ambush you for a photograph.” “I doubt it,” William said. He looked over the wall of the shower and saw that High Roller was in much better shape. He said, “You can get out of there now.” High Roller turned off the water and reached for his clothes that were hung on the outside of the shower. William tossed him a towel and said, “Dry off first.” “Thanks.” High Roller dried off and then dressed before getting out of the shower enclosure. He looked around and asked, “What now?” Sipping on a cup of coffee, High Roller sat down next to Lucy Diamonds. Although he wasn’t aware of it, she had seen him stagger into the homeless hotel earlier. Pleased to see that he was now sober, she hugged him and said, “How are you doing, High Roller?” “Much better, ma’am,” he answered thankful for what Half Feather and Bottle Cap had done for him. “Would you like to tell us your favorite Handlebar story?” Lucy asked. “I met Handlebar right after I found myself living on the streets. He was …”