Storiesonline.net
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                          William Redman Carter
                            by Lazlo Zalezac

Copyright© 2005 by Lazlo Zalezac


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Description: William Redman Carter is the son of John Carter and Linda Carter. Within his blood lies a heritage of the true people and the white man. He is blessed by the Gods and Goddesses, as well as the Great Spirit. Yet, he is still a man with all of the needs and desires of a young man.

Codes: MF ScFi rom cons het
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Copyright© Lazlo Zalezac, 2005

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Part 1: Noble Savage

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Chapter 1


Oh woe to those of us who suffer the fate of Cassandra. Doomed to know the future, yet there is no one who will believe our prophecies. Disbelief is not the real curse under which we live. We are doomed to know of pending tragedies with no way of avoiding them. That is impotence far greater than the inability to have an erection.

All of us live under the curse of Cassandra. We watch as people run headlong into tragedy while ignoring all warnings that would save them from their doom. The woman who goes from abusive relationship to abusive relationship will ignore our warnings in the deluded belief that this will be the one that is different. What a sad state of affairs it is for we who are forced to watch disasters develop.

Inside each person exists a fatal flaw that is the kernel of his or her doom. It leaves them helpless to avoid disaster in the same way that a deer facing the headlights of an oncoming truck is unable to move out of the way. The flaw itself dictates the tragedy that will befall the person. Like Cassandra, we see the flaw and know the tragedy.

What a boon it would be if we could avoid disaster by removing the fatal flaw from within ourselves, but alas that is not possible. No one recognizes the fatal flaw that exists within him or her. There is no magic mirror that reflects our flaws back at us. Our eyes are blind to it. Our ears are deaf to all news concerning it.

Even if we were to learn the flaw, we can not eliminate it. The alcoholic who has been sober for forty years still dreams of an ice- cold glass of beer. The victim of abuse still seeks the heart of gold within their abuser. Resistance is not futile, but it takes eternal diligence to keep disaster at bay. A single moment of weakness is all that is required for it to wreck havoc.

Oh woe to us whose fate is seen by Cassandra. We are doomed not to know the future because we are unable to believe the prophecies uttered by others. Disbelief is the curse under which we live. Others know of our pending tragedies and we have no way of avoiding them. That is impotence far greater than the inability to have an erection.

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The young man shrugged off his robe and waded, naked, into the artificially created pond. As a result of a summer storm the previous night, a branch had fallen into the stream and had lodged at the dam that created the pond. Standing in water that came to his waist, he wrestled one end of the branch to the bank. Nearly five inches in diameter at the base and twenty feet long, the branch could have been considered a small tree.

From the tree above, a raven made a sharp tock sound. The young man looked up at the raven as it flew to towards the house and said, "Friendly visitor? That's odd."

A thrush landed on the branch he was holding and tapped it twice with its beak. The young man looked down at the thrush and said, "Two? It must be my lucky day."

Without turning to face the path that led back to the house, he shouted, "Follow the bird!"

Having come around the side of the house without seeing anyone, Marjory and Jennifer Mitchell were surprised by the shout. Jennifer, a young woman of fifteen, looked at her mother and asked, "Did you hear someone say we were to follow a bird?"

"Yes."

From over their heads, a raven gave forth a quork sound causing them both to look up at it. Once it had their attention, it repeated the call. The bird flew twenty feet to another branch and gave the call a third time. Jennifer, eyes wide in surprise, asked, "Do you think that's the bird we're supposed to follow?"

"I guess," answered Marjory wondering what was going on. A shiver ran down her spine as the situation reminded her of some scene out of horror movie. She didn't like ravens.

As they followed the bird down a path from the house, Marjory considered what she knew about her new neighbors. A month previously, the house had been bought. The rumor was that the new owner paid cash for it, but rumors were notorious for being wrong. A week after the purchase, a huge crowd of people had descended on the house. They had arrived in Huggers, vans, taxies, and cars of all kinds and prices. Because of the arrangement of the houses along the circle, she hadn't been able to make out any of the visitors.

For two weeks, the sound of nearly constant construction had been the only sign that anyone was there. Her attention had been drawn away from the house, since that had been an exciting time in town. A couple of Druids had showed up and then disappeared leaving the rumor mill churning. Then one day, the construction stopped and she hadn't seen or heard much of anything after that.

For the past week, it was as though no one lived there although she knew better. The arrival and departure of a limousine twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, suggested that someone with lots of money had moved into the house. It was all very mysterious and Marjory didn't like it.

Marjory was brought out of her musing by a sudden exclamation from her daughter. "Oh my! He's naked!"

Marjory looked up and spotted the naked young man. Shocked at the sight of the copper skinned youth, Marjory immediately thought about protecting her daughter from the sight of a naked man. In a brusque voice, she said, "Jennifer, turn around and don't look."

Even as Jennifer turned, her first glimpse of a naked young man was forever etched into her memory. He looked like a Native American with a long black braid that hung down his back. His body was perfect with a muscled v-shaped chest. Her eyes had dwelled on his cock for a lot longer than was appropriate. Without previous experience on which to compare, she decided that he was well hung. As far as she was concerned, he was hot.

The young man, working on the opposite bank of the pond, pulled the large limb out of the water and dragged it towards a brush pile. He continued working without taking note of his two visitors. Once he was satisfied that branch was properly out of the way, he turned back to face the pond. He waved to his visitors across the small body of water before wading into it.

"Young man! Put some clothes on!"

The young man emerged from the pond and walked over to where he had dropped his robe. There was no sign of embarrassment at having been caught naked by a pair of women. He picked up the robe and put it on, although with his wet body the robe tended to stick to him. He took out a small leather pouch on a string from one of the pockets and slipped it around his neck. Once he was dressed, he walked over to where the pair of women was waiting for him.

Marjory gasped at the sight of blue robe with white sleeves. She knew what the robe signified, but couldn't believe anyone his age should be wearing it. He appeared to be the same age as her daughter. There was no way someone fifteen years old could have graduated from the Druid College.

The noise was enough to cause Jennifer to look over her shoulder. Surprised, she said, "You're one of them."

"He's not old enough to be one of them!"

"I wasn't aware that my age prevented me from being one of them," answered the young man with a smile. He didn't know how many times he'd heard graduates of the Druid College referred to as 'them.' Shrugging, he said, "I guess I'll have to call up the Grand Druid and tell him that I'm not supposed to be one of them until I get older."

"You don't know the Grand Druid."

"You may believe what you wish," said the young man. After a moment's pause, he asked, "So what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Looking at the young man as if she wanted to eat him alive, Jennifer said, "We came to warn you about the bear."

"Bear?"

Marjory said, "Yes. A bear has been spotted in the neighborhood. The police are looking for it."

"What will they do with this bear once they spot it?"

Jennifer answered, "Probably kill it."

Nodding, William turned to face the woods while grasping the small sack that hung around his neck in his right hand. Using the Navaho word for bear, he called out, "Shush."

What appeared to be a shadow at the base of a tree resolved itself into the shape of a bear once the animal rose from the ground. It was a very large black bear. Pronouncing each word individually, Marjory muttered, "Oh My God!"

"Shush, a-zeh-ha-ge-yah dineh-ih be-hay-jah yel khol-go e-e-ah." Still speaking Navaho, the young man told the bear to escape to the northern lands a day away knowing it would put the bear in the middle of the state park.

The bear rose on its back legs and roared out a challenge. Shaking his head, the young man shouted, "Nay-nih-jih."

The bear fell back to four legs and, after looking around, shuffled deeper into the woods. The young man released his hold on the small sack around his neck. Turning back to the face the two women, he said, "Thank you. I have warned the bear. He'll go back to the state park where he can't be hunted."

"You talked to a bear," said Jennifer in awe.

"You can't talk to a bear," said Marjory incredulous.

"You may believe what you wish," said the young man repeating what was a common refrain for him. He'd call the local police and let them know that the bear was leaving the area.

The young woman stared at him for half a minute before she asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm William Redman Carter," answered the young man with a nod in her direction. She was attractive. At fifteen, her body was developing into the woman that she would become. The baby fat was disappearing, but the gentle feminine curves had not fully appeared. He asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Jennifer Mitchell. This is my mother, Marjory Mitchell," answered the young woman with a gesture in the direction of her mother.

Marjory was still staring at the retreating shape of the bear unable to believe what she had observed. Hearing herself being introduced to the young man, she turned around and looked at him. She said, "I didn't catch your name."

"I am William Redman Carter."

"Do you go by Billy?" asked Marjory.

"Do you go by Maggie?" asked William examining the older woman. She was in her late thirties and it showed. Her body advertised that she had given birth to children with the kind of weight gain that many mothers never lost.

Cringing at the name, Marjory answered, "No."

"She hates that name," said Jennifer aiming a grin at her mother. If her father really wanted to make her mother angry, he'd call her Maggie.

"I feel the same way about Billy," said William.

"It has taken me years to get my mother to stop calling me Jenny."

William stared off into the distance for a minute as he considered what to do next. The mother was curious about her new neighbor and wouldn't leave until she had discovered all that there was to know. He sighed at the lack of choices available to him and said, "Would you like to come in the house for a drink?"

Daughter looked to mother with a hopeful expression that turned to delight when the mother smiled and answered, "That would be lovely."

They followed the young man back up the trail to the house. As they went, he gave a running commentary of the changes he had made to the property. "We dammed the stream to form the pool so that I would have a place to swim. I thought it would be better than installing a swimming pool. It is not very deep, but it is cool. The gravel path was put in to allow me to walk back to the house without getting muddy. Cindy designed and built it for me."

Pleased at getting a name, Marjory asked, "Who is Cindy?"

"She's a friend of the family," answered William.

"Oh, what does she do?"

"She's a Ranger."

"Park ranger?"

"No. She's one of The Rangers," William answered putting an emphasis on the last two words. Judging by the reaction, Marjory understood exactly what he meant. It was also clear that she didn't believe him.

"The patio was enlarged to hold a table, barbecue grill, hammock, and the bar. Unfortunately, the tables and chairs have not arrived yet. They'll be here in September. The bar has a sink and a refrigerator. It also has a small gas grill," said William as they reached the patio. He debated telling them who did the work on it, but felt she deserved the credit for her work. He added, "Catherine designed and built it."

"Catherine?"

"Yes. She's a Druid maker and Oliver's wife."

"Oliver?" asked Marjory continuing the third degree.

"The Grand Druid." Seeing the look of disbelief on her face, he added, "You may believe what you wish."

"You'll notice that the sliding glass door that was here has been replaced by French Doors. We also replaced that wall with glass windows to provide a nice view from the dining and living room. Beth, my sister, is an architect and redesigned the interior of the house."

"Your sister is an architect?"

"Yes. She's the best architect in the world."

Smiling at the obvious pride in his voice, Jennifer said, "You sound a little proud of your sister."

"It isn't just pride. She really is the best architect in the world. I'm sure that you've heard of some of the buildings she's designed, the Fusion Foundation Headquarters in Phoenix, Mohawk Casino in upstate New York, and the new city hall in St. Louis."

Marjory frowned as she listened to him. She knew about those buildings. They had all become featured landmarks. There was something about the architect, but she couldn't remember what it was. It took her a minute to recall that the architect was a Druid who served the God.

William opened the door and ushered his guests into the house. The room was large and airy. The walls were covered with photographs and Native American artwork. A long leather covered couch faced the glass windows. A large coffee table filled the area between the couch and the glass wall. It was simple, but elegant in a southwestern sense.

"Your parents have good taste," Marjory said after looking around the room. The natural materials of the furniture and the muted colors gave the room a very warm feeling. It was very comfortable.

"I picked out the furnishings," said William.

"It was nice of your parents to allow you to decorate their house," Jennifer said giving her mother a significant look. It was as if she expected her mother to give her a chance to redecorate their house.

"It is my house," said William. He pointed to the couch and said, "Please have a seat. What can I get you to drink?"

"A soft drink will be fine," said Marjory wondering if this kid was really the owner of the house.

"Diet if you have one," said Jennifer thinking that she had to watch her weight.

"What kind of soft drink would you like? I believe that I have every kind ever sold in the refrigerator." Marguerite had stocked the kitchen. Used to entertaining the friends of Betsy and Eddie, she had bought the kinds of beverages that kids would enjoy.

"Cokes would be fine," Marjory said.

When William left the room, Marjory raced over to the wall to examine the pictures. Eyes wide, she saw that everything the boy had said was true. There were pictures of him with Druids, Rangers, and Tribal Elders. There was a picture of a middle aged black man receiving some sort of award. Little facts organized themselves and she suddenly realized the identity of her neighbor.

William returned with a tray of soft drinks. Noticing the picture Marjory was examining, he said, "That was taken when Daddy Leroy won the Nobel Prize for his work on Chronic Wasting Disease."

"You're the son of John Carter," she said suddenly very impressed by William.

"Yes," said William with a sigh. That impressed reaction to his heritage was something he had to face on a regular basis. It usually took months before someone looked beyond his bloodline to see the young man who stood before them.

"Cool," Jennifer said as she reached for her soft drink. It would be something to boast about to the other kids when she returned to school. She wondered if he would be in any of her classes. She asked, "Where are your parents?"

"At home in Arizona."

Curious about a boy her age living away from his parents, Jennifer asked, "Who else lives here?"

"I live alone," answered William. Although he didn't like the slightly hungry look in her eye that arose when he answered her question, he was pleased that she didn't dwell on the fame of his family.

"Very cool," Jennifer said to the news. Images of sneaking over flashed through her mind. He was a hunk and well worth visiting. The girls at school would be jealous of her for landing a famous boyfriend who lived alone. With a sly grin she said, "I think I'll be spending a lot of time over here."

In a sharp rebuke, Marjory said, "No, you will not be spending a lot of time over here, young lady!"

"Mother!"

"I will not have you hanging out with a boy unsupervised," Marjory said. She shook her finger at her daughter while she added, "If you want to visit with him, he can come over to our house."

"Mother! You're so unfair," cried Jennifer mortified at her mother's behavior. She hated it when her mother treated her like a little girl in front of kids her own age. She rolled her eyes and, looking to William for support, said, "I should be able to go where ever I want."

Looking at Jennifer, he said, "I have to agree with her."

Understanding that William was supporting her daughter, Marjory looked at him with daggers shooting from her eyes. All she needed was a horny teenage boy getting her little girl pregnant. Considering that he had been walking around naked in the backyard, the odds that he would have much sexual restraint seemed very improbable to her.

Thankful for his support, a triumphant Jennifer pronounced, "See, he agrees with me."

"Not at all. I agree with your mother," William said with a negligent shrug of his shoulders. It wasn't tough to side with the mother on that issue. He didn't see much of a future between Jennifer and him. They had almost nothing in common. He was working on his doctorate and she was in the ninth grade. The last thing he wanted was the young woman hanging around the house interfering with his studies.

"What?" both women said at the same time. The mother's voice conveyed surprise while the daughter's voice conveyed outrage. The dissonance in their voices was almost grating on the nerves.

Still looking at Jennifer, he explained, "She's trying to protect you from me. I support her in that sentiment."

"But..."

"There are no buts about it. She's right in her desire to protect you from me. I'm far more worldly than you and could easily take advantage of your naivete," William said giving voice to the differences between the two of them.

Pouting, Jennifer flounced back into the seat with her arms crossed. Dreams of showing him off to her friends as her boyfriend were evaporating. Frowning, she decided that he was a self- involved jerk and not worth her time. Still, he was good looking. She only hoped that Alexandra wouldn't sink her teeth into him.

Curious about what could cause a minor celebrity to move into this back wood neighborhood, Marjory asked, "So what prompted you to move here?"

"I'm working on my doctorate at the university," William answered. He watched Jennifer out of the corner of his eye interested in her reaction. He had delayed coming here until a particular young professor had been granted tenure.

Jennifer turned to stare at him as if he were a Martian. It was clear to her that he wouldn't be in any of her classes at school. There was no way that Alexandra could sink her teeth into him if he wasn't in any classes with her. She brightened at the thought that she could still boast about having a celebrity living next door even if he was a jerk.

"What subject area?"

"Economics," William answered knowing that most people considered that an even more boring topic than physics.

"They give a doctorate in cooking and cleaning?" asked Jennifer confused by his answer. She had taken a home economics course the previous year and didn't think much of it.

"No. Economics as in money," said William suppressing a laugh although he was unable to hide his smile. It was the first time he'd heard anyone ask him if he was majoring in cooking and cleaning. Her mother wasn't anywhere near as successful in suppressing her mirth.

With a blush that covered her entire body, Jennifer, in a very defensive voice, said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"There is nothing to be ashamed about not knowing something. We all start the world in that state," William said. Mentally, he added, 'The shame comes in intentionally remaining ignorant.'

He took a sip of his soft drink and then set it down on a coaster on the coffee table. This was the first time to entertain a visitor to his house and he wondered what they thought. It didn't seem to be going that well.

"Jennifer isn't a very good student."

"Mother! I'm good enough." Jennifer said 'mother' in the manner used by millions of teenage girls when addressing their mothers out of irritation. It was long and whiny in a way that made all mothers within hearing range want to slap her.

William raised an eyebrow and studied Jennifer as if she were an interesting biological specimen. Despite the fact that Jennifer and he were the same age, he didn't have much experience with other teenagers. Entering college at six had kept him from dealing with other kids his age. He didn't understand why she was acting in that fashion, although he recognized it as normal teenage behavior.

Ignoring her daughter, Marjory asked, "I can see that you graduated from the Druid College."

"Yes. I went to the Native American College for two years and then attended the Druid College for five years where I majored in physics. After graduating, I spent a year on the reservation and went back to the Native American College to get a second degree. That one was in sociology."

"Two degrees? Physics and sociology? You're studying economics? Can't you make up your mind?" asked Marjory, launching the questions rapid fire in a stream of consciousness. She'd never heard of anyone studying such diverse areas. Shaking her head, she asked, "How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen. I've really only studied a single subject, but that subject is taught in a number of different disciplines," answered William.

"What subject is that?" Jennifer asked. She found it difficult to believe that William was her age and already had two college degrees. She was having enough trouble getting through junior high.

"The future," William said with quiet certainty.

The two women stared at him. Jennifer didn't understand what he meant, while Marjory didn't believe what he was saying. It was Marjory who finally broke the silence that had descended in the room. "Oh, how interesting."



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Chapter 2


Wearing western garb, William sat on a bench soaking up the sun in front of the Morgenstern building housing the Department of Economics within the School of Business. Classes would be starting in three days and the current crop of undergraduates were busy moving into their dorms.

He watched the parents and their children wandering around the campus with a frown. The sons and daughters wanted to declare their independence despite fears of the great unknown. The parents wanted to keep their sons and daughters from growing any faster than necessary. The resulting conflict was demonstrated with sharp words, sullen gestures, and foul language. He hated the damage they were doing to each other, but he was just one person.

His thoughts were interrupted when a young man stopped in front of him and asked, "Hey, kid. Did you lose your parents?"

The young man was clad in a yellow T-shirt with 'Student Aide' printed across it. Pasted to the chest was a paper with his name and the logo of the university. The nametag identified him as Doug, with no last name given. William answered, "No, Doug."

"They shouldn't leave you out here like this," Doug said initially wondering how the kid knew his name and then recalling his nametag. He was worried about a kid sitting alone like that. He knew that folks got lost while going to the bathroom and it could take an hour before they found their way back to the bench. There was no telling what could happen during an hour.

Holding up a sheet of paper, William said, "I'm a student here. Just finished paying my tuition for the semester."

"Oh, sorry. You look kind of young for your age," Doug said revising his impression of the situation. He thought that it must be tough for the guy to get a date looking that young. He couldn't imagine any of the women on campus wanting to go out with someone who looked fifteen.

Smiling at statement, William replied, "I look my age."

"Sorry dude, I hate to tell you this, but you look like you're fifteen."

Chuckling at the comment, William said, "I am fifteen. Like I said, I look my age."

"Wow. So you're like a child prodigy or something?"

"I'm probably the or something," answered William.

Doug laughed at the joke and shook his head in appreciation of the sense of humor displayed by the kid. He figured the guy probably had it pretty rough from other kids his age. Deciding that even a prodigy could get lost on campus, he asked, "So have you found your dorm?"

"I have a place off campus," answered William.

"So you're all settled. That's great," Doug said satisfied that he didn't have to make a detour to take care of the kid.

A limousine pulled up to the curb near where William was seated. Seeing it, William said, "My ride is here. It's been a pleasure meeting you."

"Right," said Doug staring at the black car. He watched as the kid entered the back and the car drove away. Shaking his head, he said, "Seemed like a nice enough guy for a rich kid."

Settled into the back of the limousine, William considered what he was to do next. Leaning forward, he told the driver, "Take me somewhere that I can get something to eat."

The driver turned around and looked at William. He'd been driving the kid to and from the college for a week. It seemed strange to him that a kid who wasn't old enough to drive was going to college. He asked, "What would you like?"

"Someplace with a variety of food," answered William thinking about how Daddy Ed would have answered the question. His father would have asked for a restaurant that served good food.

"There's a Chinese buffet not too far from here," suggested the driver.

"That's fine," William said looking out the window at the students. Here were so many young men and women about to have their first experiences with unsupervised life. He knew that some would fail the test and live lives of quiet desperation. Others would rise to the challenge and become leaders. Most would plug along and learn from their experiences.

The sight of the limousine passing through the campus gave rise to a wide number of reactions from those who observed it. Some of the women wondered if it contained a worthwhile catch. Some of the men wondered if the individual within represented a competitor for the women on campus. Students from poor families stared at it in envy at the easy life that the limousine represented. Rich kids figured Daddy was new rich and didn't have any class.

It was a five-minute drive to the restaurant. Upon arriving, the driver opened the door for him. Stepping out of the car, William asked, "Henry, would you like to come in and eat?"

"No. The wife will have dinner ready for me," answered the driver with a smile. Every evening the kid had invited him to have dinner with him and each time he had refused. Although he appreciated the offer, he felt it wasn't right for the hired help to dine with the boss.

"I'll be about forty-five minutes. I can take longer if you want to go somewhere," William said.

"No problem. I've got my book," said Henry as he pointed to a paperback on the front seat.

"Okay," said William. He headed towards the door of the restaurant taking his time. A man, about thirty years old, and his wife, a few years younger, entered the buffet restaurant a few steps in front of him. The man looked angry and the wife looked worried.

When the hostess had finished seating the first couple, she turned to William and asked, "One?"

Answering in Mandarin, William answered, "Yes. I would like a seat where I can watch people."

Surprised, the hostess continued the conversation in Mandarin. "You speak Mandarin well. You have a good accent, too."

"One of my mothers taught me Mandarin," William answered. He knew that it might look to some like he was showing off, but the fact of the matter was that he was pleased to have a chance to practice his Chinese.

The hostess asked, "Would that corner table be good?"

"Very good," answered William seeing that he would be able to observe everyone in the room. He followed her to the table she had pointed out.

The hostess, wanting to make a special effort for a young man who spoke her language, asked, "Would you like me to ask the chef to prepare something special for you?"

"No thank you. What you have out should be fine," answered William with a slight bow in recognition of the honor she had done him.

The waitress approached and stood next to the hostess. Hearing the exchange in Mandarin, the waitress continued the conversation in Mandarin when she asked, "What can I get you to drink?"

"Tea, thank you."

"I shall bring your tea. Why don't you help yourself to the buffet?"

"Thank you," William said. As he headed to the buffet, he overheard the hostess say that he spoke like someone whose first language was Chinese. The waitress expressed surprise that an occidental could speak so well and did so in such a polite manner. William smiled at the comments and started loading his plate with food.

While he ate, William watched the other customers eat their meals. The couple who had entered the restaurant in front of him captured the majority of his attention. The man continued to look angry, but it was clear that the subject of his anger wasn't the woman who accompanied him. The woman looked worried, although it wasn't the kind of worry associated with fearing the man.

The couple was having a very serious discussion. The gestures of the man suggested that he was frustrated and didn't know what to do, but was afraid to let his fears be known. The woman acted in an understanding manner, but her gestures undermined the man's confidence. After some time, the man stood up and marched to the restroom.

William rose and went to the table where the man had been seated. He examined the woman for half a minute. She was an attractive woman, but not in a fashion model sense. Lines of worry had already begun to etch themselves in her face.

Noticing the attention, the woman looked at him confused by his behavior. Finally, William declared, "You have children."

Off balance by his comment, she cautiously said, "Yes."

"How many?"

"One. An eight year old boy."

"Do you own your house?"

"No, we rent an apartment. Why are you asking?" Worried by the unusual questions, she examined the young man wondering what he was asking the questions. She glanced in the direction of the bathroom wishing her husband would return.

William nodded and then turned away. He marched to the rest room. Upon entering it, he stood in front of the door and waited while the man washed his face. Seeing that his temporary refuge had been invaded, the man dried his face with a paper towel. Going to the door, he expected the young man to get out of his way. He was surprised when the kid didn't

In a voice that suggested the man was acting like a jerk, William asked, "What is your problem?"

"What?" asked the man confused by the question and the tone of voice used.

"I asked you - what is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem," said the man finding that his anger was returning. He tried to push William out of the way and found the kid didn't move. It was like pushing against a stone statue. He backed up in surprise.

Ignoring the attempt to move him, William said, "I've been watching you. You're so upset that you left an attractive woman sitting alone at a table. Where do you go? You hide in the bathroom. So I ask again, what is your problem?"

Irritated, the man answered, "My boss died a couple of weeks ago and his son, the fucking little bastard, is shutting down the station where I work."

"So find another job."

"Kid, getting a job is not that easy," answered the man. He didn't know what he was going to do about finding a job. There were now specialty shops that fixed brakes, windows, and replaced Fusion Cells. Most of them were staffed with part-time kids who worked for nothing. With a wife and child depending on him bringing in a paycheck, he needed to make a good wage. The last thing he needed was some smart-ass kid telling him how to run his life.

"Why?"

"This is a college town. Good paying jobs aren't that easy to find when you've got thousands of kids that will work cheap," retorted the man. That was the crux of his problem.

William said, "You are wrong. I have two job openings. I need a handyman who can also drive me around. I need a housekeeper who can take care of the house and cook."

The idea that a kid was interviewing him for a job in a bathroom was too surreal to be believed. The man looked around as if expecting to find a camera recording the encounter. Not finding one, he looked at William. Shaking his head, he said, "Look kid. This is a serious matter."

"I've very serious," said William. He pulled out his wallet and took out a card. Turning it over, he wrote his address on the back. The man watched William curious as to what he was doing.

William handed him the card and said, "I expect you to come to this address at eight tonight to discuss working for me. Bring your wife and child."

Without further comment, William turned and left the restroom leaving behind a stunned man. Returning to the table, William decided that his appetite had been sated. Grabbing the check, he went to the counter. In Mandarin, he said, "Everything was perfect."

"I am glad you enjoyed it," said the hostess as she rang up the sale.

William paid the check and left the restaurant hoping that the man was smart enough to come by the house later that evening. The couple at the table watched as he entered the limousine. Once the limousine had driven off, the woman said, "Strange kid."

"He offered me a job. I think maybe he offered both of us jobs," said the man staring out the window of the buffet restaurant. He looked down at the card and read the name aloud, "William Redman Carter."

"He's a strange kid."

The man flipped over the card and looked at the address on the back. It was in an expensive part of town. It was out where the houses were big and the lots were even bigger. He frowned while he thought about it. He didn't have anything to lose. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "It wouldn't hurt to check it out."

It was approaching eight and William was seated in his favorite red leather chair reading a book on game theory. Looking up from the book, he gave voice to his thoughts, "The problem with the idea of a theory of decision making that assumes rationality is that people are not rational."

Looking back down at the book, William considered the theory as presented within it. He decided to test the theory against the breakfast problem. This was a problem he had invented years ago to test the validity of various theories concerning human decision- making. It had come to him one morning at the Druid college when one of the students made the statement that logic was the foundation for human reasoning. He had immediately tried to construct a logical argument that would help him select breakfast. Realizing that logic didn't allow him to select a breakfast, he realized that it was a very powerful test of a theory of decision making. He extended the problem as a means of testing if a theory allowed people to chose different breakfasts on different days.

He closed the book and thought about the material within it. He came to the conclusion that game theory failed the breakfast test. There was nothing to explain why choosing eggs for breakfast today would be consistent with choosing cereal tomorrow. In game theory, the rational decision to choose eggs today would dictate that one would choose eggs tomorrow.

The main problem was that life wasn't a finite game like chess, but an infinite game in which the rules changed as time progressed. What was valuable one day was meaningless the next. The dynamics of life required the parameters within the equations of game theory to evolve, but there was nothing in the theory to explain how they had to change.

His thoughts were interrupted by a timid knock on the door. Glancing over at the clock, he saw that it was a few minutes before eight. Smiling at the fact that his guests had shown up early, he went to the door and opened it. Standing at the door was the man and woman from the restaurant along with their child. William gestured for them to enter the house while he said, "Come in."

The man stepped through the door and looked around for a couple of seconds before gesturing for his wife to follow. Holding the child by the hand, the wife entered the house and stood behind her husband. She peeked around him to examine William. She sidled out of the way when he moved to close the door behind them.

The man said, "You mentioned two jobs."

"Yes," William said while returning to his chair. He gestured to a sofa and said, "Please have a seat. I'm expecting a call."

The trio made their way to the sofa and sat down. The child sat in his mother's lap and looked around nervously. He'd never seen his parents act in such an intimidated manner before and he was worried. Rather than make a fuss, he settled down and watched William sit down in the chair.

"I fear that we haven't introduced ourselves. I am William Redman Carter."

"I'm Ken Armstrong and this is my wife, Lisa. The little fellow on her lap is Tim."

William studied Tim for a second and then said, "If I'm not mistaken, you're about two years younger than my little brother. That makes you old enough to play with one of the big toys. I think I have a radio controlled truck here. Would you like to play with that while your parents and I talk?"

Eyes growing big at the idea of playing with a radio controlled truck, the boy said, "Really? I can play with one of those?"

"Yes," said William. He rose and went to the closet of the living room. Within it were the radio-controlled cars and other toys he had brought for those occasions when his brother visited. He pulled out the truck and a controller. He turned the truck on and set it on the floor. Pushing the lever, the truck rolled across the floor. Satisfied that it still functioned, he replaced the box in the closet and closed the door.

He handed the controller over to the boy and said, "Why don't you take it to the other side of the room and play with it there?"

The boy climbed out of his mother's lap and ran over to the truck. In the tone of voice that only mothers can adopt, Lisa asked, "What do you say?"

The boy, having forgotten his manners, stopped and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Looking at the expensive toy, the father said, "Don't break it."

Smiling at the comment, William said, "Toys are meant to be played with and sometimes they break. That's the life of a toy. Don't worry about it."

The parents stared at William as if he were from the moon. Tim carried the truck over to the far end of the room and set it on the floor. Ken said, "I'd feel bad if he broke it."

"I'm sorry, but that would be like feeling bad because a fly landed on a leaf. I've broken a lot of those radio-controlled cars. So have my brothers, sisters, and fathers." William chuckled at a particularly funny memory. He said, "Daddy Dan once put a little gasoline in one because he wanted to recreate a car explosion from one of the movies we had watched. My sister Beth warned him not to do it, but he didn't listen. When it exploded, it really exploded and parts of it are still stuck in the ceiling of the playroom. At least Daddy Ed was there with a fire extinguisher."

Surprised, Lisa wondered if his father was in a gay relationship. That would explain why the kid acted so weird. She asked, "You have more than one father?"

"Yes. I have three fathers and four mothers. They are still looking for a fourth husband," answered William. Judging by their reactions, he knew they didn't understand. He said, "I'm sure you've heard of my family. It is the Carter Clan."

Lisa looked at William as she thought about the implications of what he said. She'd heard that the kids were all super-geniuses. Knowing that William was one of them, she said, "Oh. I see. That explains a lot."

Ken said, "You mentioned something about jobs."

"We'll wait until the call comes before we discuss that," said William glancing at the clock. It was a minute later when he reached over for the telephone a second before it rang. Pushing the speakerphone button, he said, "Hello, Momma Ling."

"Hello William. Did you have any problems registering?"

"None. I got in line and paid my money. It seems they don't care how old you are when it comes to using a credit card. I've got company here and I'm on speakerphone."

There was a moment of silence before Ling said, "Everything is alright, isn't it?"

"Of course. I just need to talk with Daddy Ed for a few minutes," said William. It amazed him how much Ling worried about his safety. He knew that if she had her way, she'd do an in-depth background check on everyone within a mile of him.

"Okay. He's in the pool so it will be a second before he can get to the phone."

"I miss you too," said William.

"Stop doing that! You've got to give me the chance to say it," said Ling frustrated that he never gave her a chance to tell him how much she missed him.

"If I stop doing that, you'll think I'm sick or something," said William. He winked at Lisa and Ken to let them know that it was casual banter between parent and child.

"Of course, then I'd know you are in trouble," said Ling. Switching to Mandarin, she asked, "Are you sure that everything is okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered in Mandarin.

"Here's Ed. I'll talk to you later. I love you," said Ling.

"I love you too."

"William, how are you doing?" asked Ed.

"I am doing fine, dad," said William.

"Ling is worried about you."

"Let her know that everything is fine. I'm here with a couple that I'm interviewing as caretaker and housekeeper. Would you mind talking with them for a minute?" asked William knowing exactly how his father would answer.

"Sure."

William turned to the couple and said, "My father, Ed Biggers, is on the phone. Would you mind introducing yourself to him?"

"I'm Ken Armstrong and I'm here with my wife, Lisa."

For the next five minutes, Ed questioned Ken and Lisa. He slowly probed their character using his truth sense. The questions were designed to make sure that they didn't have drinking problems, use drugs, or were predisposed to violence. After Ed had hung up, William turned to the couple and said, "My father is satisfied that you are good people."

"He's rather intense."

"Yes, he is. I can tell you about the jobs now," William said. He looked at the couple to make sure he had their attention and then said, "First of all, I'm too young to drive in this state. I can't even get a hardship license even though I live ten miles from the campus, so I have to get a driver. It is not exactly a full-time job, so I would also expect the person to do odd jobs around the house. I was thinking you could take care of the lawn, fix any appliances that happen to break, and run errands."

"It doesn't sound difficult. Do you have a car?"

"We can pick one up tomorrow," answered William, "but in the meantime, you might want to think about what kind of car you'd like to drive. I definitely don't want a limousine. A lot of the people in my family like Huggers, so you might consider one of those."

"Okay," said Ken surprised that he would pick out the car. Mentioning the Hugger had given him an idea of how much he could spend.

"Second, I'm a full time student and I run a business on the side. I can cook, but I'd really rather spend my time on my research. I'm not as particular about food as Daddy Ed, but I do like wholesome meals. You know what I mean, all of the basic food groups in proper proportions."

Lisa looked over at her son playing on the other side of the room and said, "I know exactly what you mean."

"Again, a cook isn't a full time job. I'd like to see you do a little light housekeeping. Vacuuming, dusting, and straightening up around the house. It is time consuming, but nothing too strenuous. I expect to have a lot of visitors, so that might be a problem."

"Visitors are no problem."

William looked at the couple and said, "I would expect you to live here. I've got a suite with two bedrooms, a sitting area and a bath upstairs reserved for that purpose."

"Would we have to pay rent?" asked Ken wondering how that worked.

"No. That would be part of your compensation," said William.

"Oh."

The hardest part of the interview was about to come. Taking a deep breath, he said, "There are some rules that you should probably understand before you consider accepting the job. If you can't abide by the rules, then I can't hire you."

"What kind of rules?" asked Ken.

"If it harms none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ken said, "Doesn't sound too bad. Any others?"

Thinking about how the first year students suffered while trying to learn to live by those two rules, William chuckled. He said, "I don't think you understand the rules. They allow you to do anything so long as no one is harmed and the weak are protected from the strong."

"Anything?"

"Yes. That includes walking around the house nude. I've got to warn you that this is a clothing optional house."

The idea of a horny fifteen-year old boy trying to get glimpses of his naked wife bothered Ken. He frowned and said, "You're talking about walking around the house nude. Is this some sort of ploy to see my wife naked?"

"Not at all," answered William. He looked Ken in the eye and said, "I can't take advantage of you since that violates the both rules."

"So what, you're the boss. You can violate your own rules," said Ken. He'd seen double standards in the workplace far too many times.

Recognizing the damage of society on another individual, William said, "Sure. I can violate the rules, but I won't. In a couple of years, I will enter the Carter Glade and begin my service to the Two- Sided One."

The one thing that everyone agreed upon was that those who served the Two-Side One were the scariest of the Druids. Lisa was not an exception to holding that belief and, upon hearing that William expected to serve that particular deity, she said, "You can't be serious."

"I'm very serious. I've known that since the day I was born," answered William. His voice conveyed a calm certainty. It was the only thing about his future service to the Gods and Goddesses that he knew with any certainty. He didn't have a clue when it would happen or what his service would entail.



-------

Chapter 3


Used to avoiding black cars out of respect for the hot Arizona sun, William let Ken pick out any Hugger on the lot except for a black one. Ken didn't care much about the color and went for the green one. William made sure that it was fully loaded with all the options.

Entering the office of the salesman, William handed over a plastic card and said, "I'll be paying for it with this."

"You're paying with a credit card?" asked the salesman staring at the small rectangle of plastic.

He was about to explain that a loan would give him a far better interest rate when William said, "It's a debit card."

Ken stared at William unable to believe that the kid could possibly pay cash for a Hugger. The salesman took the card and looked at the name on it. Concerned about a minor using plastic on such a large purchase, he said, "I'll need to see some identification."

From his back pocket, William pulled out his passport. He found it odd that people believed a passport much more than a driver's license or state identification card. Expecting the salesman to rush off to his manager, William handed over the passport and then said, "Here you go."

"I'll need to check with the manager," said the salesman looking at the passport and the debit card.

"Of course." William watched the salesman leave his office. Shaking his head, he said, "Ken, you might as well relax since this is going to take some time. Believe me when I say that getting a loan would take even longer."

It was almost thirty minutes before the salesman returned. Looking over at William with respect, he said, "The bank authorized the transaction."

"Of course it did. Now we have to negotiate the price," said William with a grin.

The smile on the salesman's face fell at the announcement. It suddenly occurred to him that he wasn't going to sell the car for the sticker price. Sitting down, he asked, "What price were you looking to get?"

"Before we begin negotiations, why don't you get the manager? I dislike negotiating through a middle man."

The salesman objected, "I can handle the negotiations."

Shaking his head, William said, "I'll make an offer. You'll tell me that you have to clear it with the manager. You'll come back with a counteroffer. If that isn't a middleman, then my name is Shirley Temple."

Knowing that he was defeated, the salesman left the office to get the manager. Once the two men returned, the negotiations began in earnest. William knew the fair price for the car and made sure that he received it. Ken watched the negotiations wide-eyed. He'd never seen anyone handle a car salesman with such ease.

"You've got to sign some papers. While you're doing that, we'll prep the car. You'll be able to drive off in it," said the salesman once they had agreed upon the price. He had never had such a difficult closing.

While William signed the papers completing the sale, Ken went out to tell the limousine driver that he was relieved from duty. Returning to the office carrying William's book bag, Ken considered what had happened to him over the past twenty-four hours. He'd been told he was getting let go from his job, he'd been ambushed in a bathroom with the offer of a new job, and he'd watched a kid pay cash for a car that cost more than he had earned the previous year. Later that afternoon, he was going to move into a suite that was larger than his current apartment. Nothing made sense to him.

Once the papers were signed, William pulled out his cell phone and called his insurance agent. It took him two minutes to get the car insured with Ken and Lisa as the official drivers. Putting away the cell phone, he turned to Ken and said, "That's it. Let's go."

"Where to?"

"The school," said William after checking his watch. It was already a little after noon and he had a one o'clock appointment with the professor who would be his thesis advisor. He wasn't looking forward to this meeting. It would be another instance of not being taken seriously because of his age, but he knew the collaboration with the professor would be beneficial in the long run.

William knocked on the door. Professor Johnston looked up from his desk and considered the person standing at the door. In a gruff voice, he said, "I'm busy. If you're looking for the bathroom, it's down the hall. The department office is around the corner."

Professor Johnston looked back down at his desk, dismissing William and turning his attention back to his work. William frowned at the obvious dismissal. Carrying his book bag, he went down the hall to the rest room. Once there, he put on his robe knowing that it would give him the credibility he required. Looking in the mirror, he said, "Just once I'd like to be accepted for what I am."

Returning to the office, William knocked on the door again. Professor Johnston looked up and saw the blue robe with white sleeves. Shocked that a graduate of the Druid College was knocking on his door, he asked, "What can I do for you?"

"I have a one o'clock appointment with you to discuss my doctoral research program," answered William.

Professor Johnston looked at William with a little more care and realized that it was the same kid he had just chased away. Embarrassed he gestured to a chair in his office and said, "Have a seat."

"Thank you," answered William moving over to the chair. Once seated, he said, "Two years ago I read your paper on economic models based on the analysis of households versus big business. I found the ideas rather intriguing although I'm convinced that a hybrid economic model that performs an analysis of both households and big business would be much more powerful."

"That echoes my own thinking on the matter," said Professor Johnston surprised by the young man's assessment of his work.

"Even in the short time that your work has been published, there have been some rather significant failures in its application," William said.

"I don't think they are that significant," Professor Johnston said in a rather defensive manner.

"I respectfully disagree."

"Why?"

"I'm convinced that speculators can invalidate all economic models by exploiting them to the point where they violate the constraints on which they are based."

Professor Johnston laughed and said, "So you buy into the old adage that an economic theory never survives its publication."

"Exactly. I'd like to pursue that topic as the subject of my dissertation," answered William.

"And you want to use my theory as the basis for your proof."

"Yes."

"Why my theory?" He wondered why the kid would want to work with him to invalidate his own theory.

"Because it is the best and most comprehensive theory of economic behavior that I've seen in the literature."

"What about Hoffman's theory?" Professor Johnston asked wanting to test the kids knowledge.

"You mean Holfman's theory, don't you?"

"You're right."

"It's trash. There are so many holes in it that you could drive a garbage truck through it."

He understood that the kid knew his stuff. He'd heard that Druid College graduates were incredibly smart, but he hadn't believed half of the stories about them. Doctorates achieved in two years, dozens of patents, and national awards in research seemed to be commonplace among them. Listening to William began to make him a believer. Sitting back in his chair, he asked, "So how do you plan to proceed?"

"I'll test your theory against historical records and then identify specific changes in economic behavior that began shortly after publication of your paper."

"You will? How do you expect to do that?"

"I've ordered a computer based on a chip designed by Dan Biggerstaff. It has a built-in random number generator and is designed for use in Monte Carlo simulations. I'll construct a program based on your theory and then, using historical data, find behaviors that explain what actually happened," answered William.

"And how long will all of this take you?" asked the professor. He figured that it would take at least a decade to accomplish all of that.

"Six months to acquire the data. Three months to write the program. Two years to run the simulations. I should be finished writing and defending in three years," answered William.

"I'll need a written proposal of your research."

William reached into his book bag and pulled out a simple binder. He handed it over to the professor and said, "Here it is."

"I'll say one thing - you're prepared. Were you ever a boy scout?" asked Professor Johnston flipping through the pages of the binder. He couldn't believe what he was reading. Never had he had such a comprehensive research proposal cross his desk. Shaking his head as if to clear it, he said, "I'll have to study this for a while. There's a lot of material covered in this proposal."

William stood and went to the door. Turning, he said, "I assume that we'll have a weekly meeting on this same day and time."

Waving William away, Professor Johnston started reading the proposal and said, "Yes, yes. Next week, same bat channel and same bat time."

Not catching the reference, William left the office and headed to the restroom to change out of his robe. There was no sense advertising his past. As he walked along, he ran into Doug. The young man looked at William and said, "It seems like every time I'm over in this part of the campus I run into you. We've got to stop meeting like this. People are likely to get suspicious."

"Right," answered William with a laugh.

Looking over the robe, Doug said, "I guess you're a graduate student."

"Yes, I am."

"Cool. So am I. Feel like getting something to drink over at the student center?" asked Doug.

Surprised by the indifference to the robe, William answered, "Sure, just let me change out of this robe."

"Why were you wearing it anyway?"

"I needed to get someone's attention," answered William.

"I guess that would work. You guys are in pretty high demand and there aren't that many graduates of the Druid College running around in this area."

Having reached the restroom, William said, "Wait here while I change."

Doug waited around in the hallway while William changed his clothes in the bathroom. As he leaned against the wall, Doug wondered what was the name of his young friend. He realized that it had to be William, since there weren't that many graduates of the Druid College who fit his description.

William came out of the restroom and said, "Let's go."

"That didn't take long."

William followed Doug to the student center. Once there, he grabbed an iced tea while Doug took a cup of coffee. Sitting down, Doug asked, "So do you think that Oliver Brown is the most important man in America?"

"No," answered William taken by surprise by the question.

"What do you mean? He controls all of the Druids and they are the real powers behind the throne," said Doug surprised at the answer.

"You're wrong on several accounts. First, he doesn't control all of the Druids. Each Druid acts independently based on the dictates of the God or Goddess they serve. Second, the Druids are not the real powers behind the throne. They don't tell people what to do. They prevent people with power from taking advantage of those without power. Third, Oliver is too sensitive to evil to be that powerful. He has to keep his distance from the rest of the world."

"I guess being the son of the first Grand Druid gives you a certain perspective on these kinds of things," said Doug thoughtfully. He'd never thought about the Druids actions in the manner William had suggested.

"Actually, being around a lot of Druids will convince you that they act independently. It was one of my grandfathers who pointed out that Druids don't control people in power, just limit them in their exercise of power."

"Who's your grandfather?"

"The Reverend Leroy Jones," answered William with more than a little affection. Of all the grandparents, the reverend was his favorite. The old man had never treated him as if he were unusual or strange. There was something special about being rubbed on top of the head and being told that he was a good boy.

"Oh," said Doug impressed. Returning to his first question, he asked, "So who do you think is the most important person in the world?"

"Oscar Meyers," said William.

Doug burst out laughing and said, "That's a company that makes hot dogs and bologna."

"Not Oscar Mayer. He's Oscar Meyers. His last name is spelled M E Y E R S," said William.

"I never heard of him," said Doug. "What makes him so important?"

"He's going to bring peace to the Mid-East," answered William. A vision of four religious leaders gathered together in street in Jerusalem came to his mind. He recognized two of the men, Oscar Meyers and the Reverend Leroy Jones. A shiver went down his spine at the vision.

"Hey, are you okay? It looked like you kind of zoned out of there for a minute," asked Doug with concern.

"I'm fine," answered William with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Do you have epilepsy? My cousin has epilepsy and he tends to get that same look on his face. If I remember correctly, he has what are called petite mal seizures."

"No, I have a different problem." William looked across the student center at all of the students gathered there. He wondered how many of them would take such a laid back response to knowing that he was a graduate of the Druid College. Turning to look at Doug, he asked, "How come you are so indifferent to my background?"

"You mean - why am I not all excited about talking to one of the Carter Kids?"

"Yes."

"My dad is in a position to meet lots of important people. He taught me that important people are people first and important second. If you are dealing with important people, it is best to get to know them as a person before dealing with them. More often than not, he's liable to take a VIP fishing rather than to some fancy restaurant," answered Doug with a shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't going to mention that his father was the governor of the state.

"Your father is a wise man," said William with real admiration. He wondered who the father was, but knew that knowledge would come out in good time.

"I like him."

"So what is your area of study?" asked William.

"History. My dad says that it is going to turn me into a liberal, but I disagree. I think a proper understanding of history will make me more conservative."

"Why would you say that?"

Doug was quiet for a moment wondering how William would react to what he was about to say. Deciding that William wouldn't object too much, he said, "I think the liberal assumption is that there is an innate goodness in every man. They think that a bad person is one who has had that goodness repressed by society."

"You disagree?"

"You bet. I think there are some people who are born without any sense of goodness in them. Look at sons of rich men who have had every advantage and still turn out bad. Society hasn't repressed them. It has given them everything. Two kids raised by the same parents can turn out on opposite ends of the good and evil scale. Don't tell me that the parents beat one and loved the other.

"Evil people generate an evil force that propagates through societies, warping what was once good. History presents hundreds of examples where good people are overwhelmed by evil. Look at what Hitler did to Germany. He took a whole country of basically good people and transformed it into a regime without conscience.

"Liberals think that you can cure evil with love. Trying to talk an evil person into abandoning their evil ways doesn't work. Evil feeds on love and grows without restraint with talk." Doug's voice had become passionate as he talked. It was clear that he really believed in what he was saying.

As he drank his iced tea, William listened to Doug with interest. It was not the kind of position on good and evil he expected to find on a university campus. William predicted that one day Doug would be very well known for his views, although probably not very well loved by the press or academic communities. Curious, he asked, "Do you consider Druids to be liberal?"

"I'm not sure," answered Doug honestly. He knew there were lots of examples where the Druids had taken direct action against evil. On the other hand, some of the social programs dealing with abusive people seemed to have liberal roots.

"Interesting. Do you think Druids are good or evil?"

"I'm not sure I can answer that. A lot of evil looks good until it shows its true face," answered Doug. Recalling the identity of the person with whom he was talking, he said, "I hope that I haven't offended you."

"Not at all. It is a refreshing perspective. I guess when you consider Druids in terms of power and take into account that old adage about power corrupting, then it is easy to view them with suspicion. I'll have to talk to my father about that," said William.

"Which one? Ed Biggers?" asked Doug demonstrating his knowledge of the Carter Clan. He knew that Ed Biggers was the head of all the Druids who served the Two-Sided One. Ed Biggers was more than willing to take on overwhelming forces as demonstrated by the events in the Middle East after the Fusion Foundation Workers had been kidnapped.

"Yes. I would be very curious what Daddy Ed has to say." William decided that it would be very interesting to watch a discussion between Doug and Ed. He was sure that points made within the discussion would surprise both of them. Smiling, he said, "Perhaps you would like to talk to him when he visits."

The idea of making those kinds of statements to Ed Biggers worried Doug far more than he was willing to admit. The last thing he wanted was for a Druid to decide he was a problem. Without making a commitment, he said, "We'll see."

"Don't worry. I'd never introduce you to him if it would cause a problem for you," said William. He finished his iced tea and then said, "Let me call my driver. It'll take him about thirty minutes to get here."

"Oh, the limousine."

"No. I was able to hire a regular driver so that I'm not stuck in that back of that big car. I hate limousines. I'd rather ride in a taxi."

Surprised to hear that, Doug asked, "So why were you in a limousine rather than a taxi?"

"My mother is rather security conscious. She couldn't clear all of the taxi drivers, but she was able to investigate the two drivers of the limousine company. Since I am fifteen, I do what she asks."

"I guess I can understand that," said Doug. He thought about the lifestyle that William probably had to tolerate. A child of a very rich and famous family had to be careful to avoid getting kidnapped. People would try to take advantage of him. He sighed and said, "Fifteen or fifty, there are evil people out there who would hurt you."

Winking, William fished out his cell phone and made the call back to the house for Ken to pick him up. Once the call was finished, William said, "Tell me more about your theories of good and evil."

The thirty minutes passed quickly and the two young men went outside to wait for Ken to arrive. When the Hugger pulled up, William bid farewell to Doug and climbed in the front seat of the car. Ken looked at William and asked, "You want to sit in the front seat?"

"I sure don't want to sit in the back," answered William.

At home, Lisa and Ken watched William head down to the pond for a quick swim. As his naked figure disappeared where the path dropped down to the stream, Lisa said, "He looks so lonely."

"It seems he found a friend at the university. He was talking to some guy when I picked him up."

"How old was the guy?" asked Lisa still looking out the window.

"Twenty-five or twenty-six."

"That boy is only fifteen," said Lisa, "he needs someone his own age."

"There isn't anyone his age that even comes close to his intelligence," said Ken. Shaking his head at the impossibility of finding someone like William, he added, "Imagine what it would be like if every adult around you had the mind of a twelve year old."

"I'd go crazy," said Lisa with a shiver.

"To tell the truth, I feel pretty stupid around him. You should have seen him dealing with the salesman at the Hugger dealership. He was clearly in control there."

"I don't envy him," said Lisa with a sigh. She turned to return to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"I'll get a load of stuff from the house," Ken said thinking about the work associated with moving.

"Don't bother. William sent a crew over this morning to pack up while you were at the dealership. They'll be arriving with our stuff anytime now."

"We can't afford that," said Ken.

"He paid for it. Said it was more cost effective for us to work for him rather than waste our time moving," Lisa said over the sounds of pots and pans rattling. She had been overwhelmed by the quality of equipment in the kitchen. Everything was high-end and industrial strength.

Looking out the window, Ken observed a young woman peeking around a tree apparently in the hope of watching William in the pond. He was about to comment to his wife that William wouldn't be alone much longer when he saw her stumble backwards from the tree. He didn't see what had caused her to stumble. However, once she recovered her balance, he did see a large black bird chase her away. He chuckled at the sight of her running while waving her hands over her head.



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Chapter 4


Chuckling to himself, William shook his head as elements of the near future resolved themselves in his mind. Ken, seated at the dining room table, looked over at him wondering what he had found so humorous. He was about to ask when William said, "It is time for one of my mothers to make an appearance."

Lisa, in the kitchen with Tim, wondered why he hadn't asked her to prepare one of the guestrooms. She came out of the kitchen and looked at William with concern. This was the first that she'd heard of a visitor. She asked, "Should I prepare a guestroom?"

"Her room is ready. I saw you dust it yesterday. In terms of getting ready for her visit, would you mind getting me a bath towel?"

Lisa stood there with a puzzled expression on her face. She didn't understand what his request had to do with getting ready for her visit. Rather than question him, she went to the linen closet and retrieved a bath towel. She gave it him and asked, "Anything else?"

"No, that should do for now," answered William as he set the towel down on his desk. He picked up his book and returned to reading.

Ken stared at him for a minute and then went back to reading the instruction book that came with the Hugger. The Hugger had a built-in button for the garage door, but he didn't know how to program it. For the past three weeks, he had been using the remote to control the door. It was past time to correct that situation, but he didn't want to ask William to explain it to him.

It was half an hour later when William turned to Ken and asked, "Ken, would you get the door?"

Not having heard the doorbell, Ken wanted to ask why he should get the door. The doorbell rang before he had a chance to frame the question. Shaking his head at another example of the strangeness of living in this house, he got out of the chair and headed towards the door. Before he reached it, William said, "Don't make her stand outside."

Ken opened the door and looked at the small oriental woman standing in front of him. She was wearing a loose blouse and pants with simple flat shoes. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail. For some reason, the image of a stick of dynamite exploding flashed through his mind. Stepping back, he said, "Come in."

Without turning to look at the door, William said, "Hello Momma Ling."

He stood and turned to face her as she charged to where he was standing. She wrapped her arms around him and asked, "How are you doing?"

Nearly suffocating within her embrace, William had to wait for her to relax her grip on him to answer, "I'm fine."

"Let me get a look at you."

"You're going to have to let me go to do that," said William attempting to step back without much success. His mother was much stronger than she looked.

Ling released her hold and looked him over. She was relieved to see that he had been eating well and hadn't lost any weight. She said, "You've grown a little."

"It's only been a month since you last saw me," said William with a grin.

"Doesn't matter. You've still grown a little," said Ling.

Laughing at her stubborn instance, William said, "Allow me to introduce you to the staff."

Turning an eye on the couple standing near the kitchen, Ling, in a reserved voice, said, "Please do."

"Momma Ling, I'd like you to meet Ken and Lisa Armstrong. The little fellow hiding behind Lisa is Tim. He's a little shy. Everyone, I'd like you to meet Ling. She is one of my mothers."

When Tim peeked around his mother's leg, Ling said, "I didn't know you had a little child living here."

"Yes, you did," said William. He knew there was nothing about Ken and Lisa Armstrong that she didn't know. He would have been willing to bet she knew how much change was in Ken's pocket.

After shooting him a look that would have withered a lesser person, Ling said, "Okay, so I did know."

"How many private investigators did you hire?"

"Two," said Ling frowning.

"Two?"

"Okay, three," replied Ling. They went through this dance whenever she checked on the people around William. There were times when she wished he were more like Beth or John. They just accepted that she investigated the people around them and didn't ask any embarrassing questions.

"Now you're going to tell me about Doug," said William with a smile.

"He's the Governor's son," said Ling.

"I know. Anything else?"

"He seems to be a good kid. I couldn't find anything bad about him," said Ling. With his connections in the state, she'd had problems finding someone willing to investigate him. She was going to do a little looking around of her own just to satisfy her concerns.

"That doesn't mean you're going to stop looking."

"You're impossible," said Ling with more than a little irritation although there was a touch of affection to her voice. She hugged William despite her frustration.

Ken and Lisa had listened to the exchange in horror at what they were learning. The news that three private investigators had checked up on them was shocking. Ken was outraged, but held his tongue. In a very small voice, Lisa asked, "You investigated us?"

"Of course. We're talking about the safety of my son. Would you trust Tim to strangers without checking them out first?" asked Ling. She knew that the only people they trusted enough to watch Tim were their parents. Usually it was Lisa's parents who watched Tim.

Ken was about to reply that he wouldn't leave his son with strangers and then realized that was exactly what she meant. William wasn't like his son and Ling had no choice but to allow him to go to school. Given that he and his wife were strangers as far as Ling was concerned, he could understand her checking up on them. He said, "I guess not."

Lisa frowned, but nodded her agreement. She didn't like the invasion of privacy, but understood a mother's desire to protect her child. In a small voice, she said, "You're right."

Tim took another opportunity to look around his mother's leg at Ling. Afraid of attracting the attention of the strange woman, he ducked back behind his mother's leg. Lisa said, "That's okay, Tim. She's not going to hurt you. She's William's mother."

William winked at Tim before turning back to look at Ling. He said, "You chose a very good day to visit. I'm checking out a dojo today."

"You knew I was coming," said Ling knowing there was nothing fortunate about the timing. William was always able to predict what she was going to do.

"You didn't tell me you were coming," countered William with a smile.

Turning to Ken, Ling said, "He told you to get the door before I rang the bell. Didn't he?"

"Yes," said Ken struggling to follow the conversation. He was still trying to figure out what a dojo was.

Still looking at Ken, Ling said, "You and I are going to have a long talk about taking care of my son. My investigators said that you haven't had any training as a bodyguard. You don't even have a carry permit."

"Carry permit?"

"I'm going to have to train you. It looks to me like I'm going to have my work cut out for me," said Ling after looking over the man with a critical eye. He was out of shape, but he had a good foundation on which to build. It could have been worse.

"I imagine you'd like a chance to relax with a swim after your trip," said William. "While your doing that, I'll have Ken bring your luggage to the guestroom."

"That's a good idea," said Ling even as she started to unbutton her blouse. Like most of the Carter Clan, she always headed to the nearest pool on arriving from a trip.

Ken and Lisa stared with open mouths as Ling calmly shed her clothes. She piled her clothes on William's chair after carefully folding each item. Ken couldn't believe the tight muscular body that was revealed as the clothes came off. Lisa couldn't believe how easily the woman undressed in front of strangers. It as if she were alone in the room.

Once she was naked, Ling said, "Don't bother showing me the way. I know where the pond is."

Holding up the towel, William said, "Don't forget a towel."

"Thanks," said Ling taking the towel from his hand. For a fraction of a second, she wondered how come he had it ready before realizing that it was a stupid question.

"I'll be down there in a few minutes," said William.

"Okay." Ling walked out the back door with a backward wave of her hand.

Shocked at what she had observed, Lisa said, "Now I know why you asked for the towel."

"We all tend to hit a pool after a trip. It's a good way to relax and stretch the muscles after a flight."

"That's your mother?" asked Ken unable to believe what he had seen. He couldn't help thinking that mothers had changed a lot since he was a kid.

"Yes, that's one of my mothers. Don't let her small build fool you. She's the most dangerous woman in the country. You'll see for yourself when we go to the dojo."

"What is a dojo?" asked Ken giving into his curiosity and venting his frustration.

"A martial arts school," answered William. He sighed at the thought of what Ken was going to experience over the upcoming month. It was his hope that Ken wouldn't quit out of frustration. He said, "My mother has decided to train you. She's going to teach you how to shoot, use a car as a deadly weapon, and some basic martial arts. I'm pretty sure that she's going to require Lisa to learn some basic martial arts as well."

"What has she got? A black belt?"

"She's so far beyond that, it is frightening. As far as I know, she's never been defeated in a fight. Only one person has managed to fight her to a tie and his skills were given to him by the God," said William.

Ken and Lisa exchanged a glance. They didn't know what to say at the mention of the God, so they said nothing. William looked at Tim and asked, "Would you like to go for a swim?"

"Sure," said the boy. He started to remove his clothes, dropping them on the floor. It was just a couple of minutes later that William and Tim left the house carrying towels.

Once the boys were gone, Ken turned to his wife only to find that she was staring out the back window. With a sigh, he said, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

"That is one beautiful woman," said Lisa feeling inadequate. She looked over at her husband wondering what he thought of Ling. She could understand if he was sexually excited from seeing her. A man would have to be dead not to be excited by a woman who looked like that.

"I guess I better get her luggage and put it in one of the guestrooms."

The owner paled when he saw Ling enter his dojo wearing her brightly colored silk Gi. He competed at the national level and immediately recognized her. He had seen her fight on several occasions and knew that he was nowhere near her skill level. Making a gesture to the class, he barked, "Everyone return to your positions around the mat."

Without waiting to see how well his command had been obeyed, he walked over to Ling. He stopped and bowed politely upon reaching her. In a very respectful voice, he said, "Welcome, Grand Master Ling."

A small mummer rose from the students at his announcement. They'd never heard their sensei refer to anyone as a Master, much less Grand Master. The few who weren't in place quickly remedied that condition. All eyes were fixed on Ling.

Ling returned the bow and said, "Thank you, Master Reynolds."

"To what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

"I ask that you allow my son to practice here and for you to train the man with him," said Ling as she pointed first to William and then to Ken.

"I would be most honored to grant you your request," answered Jim Reynolds. He glanced at William and took in his brightly colored silk Gi. He wore the insignia that identified his rank as Master Shi Fu. The kid outranked him.

"Is there anything that I can do for you in return?"

"I notice that you are dressed in your Gi. Would you mind giving a demonstration of your remarkable skill for the class?" It was a reasonable request and one Ling would not be able to refuse.

"I would be honored," answered Ling with a smile.

William went to the edge of the mat and bowed once in the direction of Master Reynolds as a sign of respect to the owner of the dojo. He sat down and gestured to Ken to join him. Feeling lost in the unfamiliar environment, Ken followed William and copied the bow before seating himself. He leaned over and asked, "What are we doing?"

"We are going to watch my mother. Be quiet."

Master Reynolds went to the head of the mat and said, "Class. We are most fortunate to have a visit by Grand Master Ling Carter. She has agreed to give a demonstration of her skill. Please watch and learn. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most of you. There are only a handful of Grand Masters in the world and she is judged to be one of the most skilled."

While Master Reynolds sat down, Ling bowed to the mat and walked to the center of it. Facing the class, she said, "I shall perform the same routine twice. The first time I shall perform it in slow motion. The second time, I shall perform it as it should be performed."

The room turned absolutely quiet as Ling began her routine. Ken watched, wide-eyed, as she threw punches and kicks at an imaginary opponent. It was hard to believe that she was moving in slow motion, but the routine lasted close to five minutes. He had never seen anything so graceful or deadly in his entire life. When she finished, everyone clapped.

Ling smiled and then took her starting position. Suddenly, it was as if a tornado had been let loose in the room. She was nothing more than a blur. Ken couldn't follow her movements. Less than thirty seconds later, she came to halt in exactly the same position in which she had ended the routine the first time through it. This time, her performance was greeted with stunned silence.

Ling turned and bowed to Master Reynolds. He rose and returned the bow. Obviously impressed, he said, "Thank you so much for that demonstration."

"It was my pleasure," replied Ling. Looking over at William, she smiled and, breaking protocol, asked, "Would you mind if my son and I sparred for a three point match as a further demonstration?"

Surprised at the offer, Master Reynolds said, "I would be most honored."

Despite the fact that he had expected Ling to do that, William frowned and stood. He bowed to the mat and then stepped onto it. With more than a little irritation in his voice, he said, "Allow me a moment to stretch, Grand Master Ling."

"Of course, Master William Carter," answered Ling sweetly.

The students looked surprised to hear Ling address her son as a Master. Master Reynolds watched William prepare for his sparring match. He wondered just how good the young man was. After a few minutes of stretching, William said, "I'm ready."

Master Reynolds stepped onto the mat and said, "To your positions."

Ling and William faced each other across the mat. They bowed to Master Reynolds and then to each other. Master Reynolds said, "Fight."

For a few seconds the pair faced each other. There was a sudden flurry of movement that most students were unable to follow. After a few seconds, Master Reynolds shouted, "Stop. Point to Ling."

While he waited for the fighters to return to their positions, he stared at William. He couldn't believe the kid had managed to stop a dozen attacks from Ling. He had almost missed observing the point that he had called. Once they were in place, Master Reynolds said, "Fight."

There was a flurry of movement. This time, it had been initiated by Ling, and lasted for almost fifteen seconds before a point was scored. Master Reynolds shouted, "Stop. Point to William."

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Master Reynolds realized William was much better than his ranked suggested. William was already covered in a thin film of sweat, although neither one of the fighters was breathing hard. Once they were in place, Master Reynolds said, "Fight."

The pair slowly circled each other seeking an opportunity to score on the other. William initiated a kick that was blocked. They turned into a blur of movement that ended with William flying halfway across the mat and landing on his back. Master Reynolds shouted, "Stop. Point to Ling."

William picked himself up from the mat and shook his head as if to clear it. He moved to his position and nodded to Ling. She now had a thin film of sweat. Once they were both in place, Master Reynolds said, "Fight."

The fight started almost immediately. The pair turned into a blur as each sought an advantage over the other. It ended with William on the mat with Ling kneeling over him with her fist an inch from his face in a frozen tableau. Master Reynolds shouted, "Point and match to Ling."

Ling stood up and held out a hand for William. He took it and levered himself off the floor. Returning to their places, they bowed to each other and then to Master Reynolds. The room was absolutely silent. The match had stunned the students.

Ken stared at William unable to believe that the boy was so deadly. He'd never seen anything like it. Even in the movies it was possible to see what people were doing. He'd always thought the slow motion scenes were just special effects gimmicks. When those two fought, they were just a blur. When William had said that his mother was the most dangerous woman in the country, he hadn't really believed him. There were no doubts in his mind after that demonstration.

Master Reynolds was the first to recover. Bowing to Ling, he said, "A most impressive display of skill. Your son is very talented."

Ling, frowning at William, said, "Thank you."

Surprised by her reaction, Master Reynolds looked over at William. The young man looked contrite, but he could recall nothing that should have produced that reaction. The two of them left the mat while Master Reynolds called the class back to their previous activities.

Once away from the mat, William said, "I can't help it. It's as natural to me as speed is to Betsy."

Ling sighed and said, "I know, but you can't rely on being able to anticipate someone's moves like that."

William acknowledged her criticism with a curt nod and then returned to his seat next to Ken. Ken, oblivious to the interaction between mother and son, asked, "What are we supposed to do? They're all standing in a line."

"Watch and learn," answered William with his eyes on the students.

Ken watched the class practice in silence. It didn't take a rocket scientist to recognize the difference in skill levels between the people practicing and Ling. Their movements were stiff and awkward while hers flowed. He didn't find their awkwardness humorous since he was fully aware that they were even more skilled than he was.

When the class ended, Ling and William worked with Jim Reynolds to get Ken a simple white Gi. Ken was shocked when Ling told him to strip and try on the Gi. Rather than argue with her, he removed his clothes. Before he was able to get the Gi on, Ling told him to stand in place so that she could examine him. She walked around him checking out his body while making comments about his general degree of fitness. Ken, dressed only in his underwear, had never been so embarrassed in his entire life.

After a mortifying minute, Ling said that he could put on the Gi. Even that had been humiliating since she had to show him the proper way to wear it. William had been too busy talking with Master Reynolds to give Ken moral support. It was with a great deal of relief that Ken dressed in his regular clothes.

On the drive home, Ling steered the car through the streets with her normal aggressiveness. They had gotten about halfway to the house when she asked, "How are your ribs?"

"Probably cracked a couple of them," answered William.

"Do you want me to tape them?" asked Ling.

"No, that's okay. They're cracked, but not broken."

After a moment of silence, Ling said, "You haven't been practicing, William. I'm going to insist that we practice Tai Chi every morning while I am here."

"Yes, Momma Ling," said William looking forward to the exercises.

"I'll insist that Ken, Lisa, and Tim join us."

Ken looked over at Ling trying to keep the look of panic from his face. He'd never heard of Tai Chi, but it sounded torturous. He was beginning to wonder if the huge salary they were receiving was worth it.

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll have them get something appropriate to wear while practicing, perhaps gym shorts and a sports bra for Lisa," William said.

"What's wrong with having them do it nude?" asked Ling as she navigated along the twists and turns of the road out of town. Ken looked horrified at the suggestion of standing in front of her naked. There was no way that Lisa would accept that.

"They are not comfortable with being nude. You are not to force them into doing things that make them uneasy," William said.

"That's stupid," Ling said.

"It is the second rule. You won't force that. I won't allow you to use intimidation to force people to do things against their will," replied William. There was a sudden iron to his voice that let Ling know that she was not to press the issue.

"So be it," said Ling knowing that arguing would be as successful as asking a wall to get up and walk around. When William made up his mind about something, he could be immovable as a mountain. He was so much like John and Ed in that way.

The discussion reassured Ken that William would protect his family from Ling. He sat back in his seat and looked out the window of the car. The next month loomed large in his thoughts.



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Chapter 5


Ken removed his clothes and placed them on the patio table. The past four weeks had wrought major changes in his physique. He had lost fifteen pounds, with even more fat having been turned into muscle. His shirts were too large around the waist and too small at the shoulders.

He glanced over at his wife to see how she was reacting to stripping outdoors. Lisa's body was a soft red color, flushed as a result of embarrassment. After a month of morning exercises with William, Ling, and Tim completely nude, they had decided to try performing the exercises nude. In a way, they viewed it as a farewell gesture given that Ling was leaving that afternoon.

Ken watched William step out of the house and take his normal place in the yard. He was amazed the young man had barely glanced at Lisa. Ken looked at his wife appreciating the changes that had occurred in her body over the past four weeks. She had lost ten pounds and parts of her body that had started to droop had firmed. The chill in the air had stiffened her nipples. He wondered how William could be immune to her charms.

Seeing his parents undressed, Tim started to jump up and down with glee. He said, "Mommy and Daddy are naked!"

Laughing at the boy's excitement, William said, "So are you!"

"Yes, I am," said Tim with a smile even as he covered himself with his hands.

In response to her son's comments, Lisa had turned a brighter shade of red. She looked over at the pile of clothes wondering if it was too late to get something to wear. The sound of the door closing let her know that Ling had arrived. Resigned, she stepped over to the spot where she normally stood during the exercise period.

Stepping to her place in front of everyone, Ling noticed the lack of clothes on her two formerly reluctant students. After giving them a brief nod of approval, she said, "Okay. Let's start."

For the next thirty minutes, Ling led them through the moves of Tai Chi. The exercise was performed with slow controlled movements. With soft comments, she corrected their mistakes. There were remarkably few mistakes. The Armstrongs had learned their lessons well and Ling was pleased.

When they finished, Ling said, "Very good. I hope you continue to practice after I leave today."

In a very serious tone of voice, William said, "As soon as you go, we're going to buy a dozen bags of potato chips, spread out on the couches, and gorge ourselves on them. In a week, we'll have gained a good twenty pounds and lost all of our muscle mass."

Looking over at William, a tear came to Ling's eye. In a soft voice filled with emotion, she said, "Sometimes you remind me so much of your father. He'd say things like that."

William went to his mother and gave her a hug. There were very few occasions when she let her guard down and showed her vulnerabilities. William treasured those moments and he wasn't about to let this one go by unappreciated.

Touched and uncomfortable by the display of emotion, Ken put an arm around his wife and took Tim's hand. He led them away from the scene to give William and Ling the privacy they deserved. The past few weeks had taught him a lot about himself and others. In the manner of kids everywhere, Tim, his curiosity overwhelming his manners, kept turning back to watch. Bending down to get Tim's attention, Ken said, "Tim, they need to talk."

The boy nodded his head and asked, "Can we go swimming?"

"It's a little too cold to go swimming. Let's play with the radio- controlled trucks instead," suggested Ken. He got the desired reaction from Tim and they went into the house with Lisa following behind carrying their clothes.

William and Ling took seats around the patio table. It was a little cool, but not cold enough to chase them inside the house. Ling asked, "You haven't found her yet?"

"No, I haven't," answered William. He looked across the yard and took a deep breath as a wave of sadness washed over him.

"You're sure she's here?"

"If not this year, then maybe next year," answered William. His vision of a young woman was fixed solidly in his mind.

Putting an arm around her son, Ling said, "You're sure of this."

"I've been dreaming of her for twelve years. It's not fair. Beth has had John since she was a baby. Little John has had Susan since he was eight. I'm fifteen and haven't found my true love yet," said William sounding like a lonely fifteen-year-old boy.

It tore her heart apart to see William like that. It had taken years for the family to realize that while William could see future events that impacted others, he had almost no visions about events affecting him directly. There was one vision of his future that they knew about. He had a vision of the young woman who would become his true love. She hugged him and said, "I know it's not fair."

William stared off at the horizon. The vision of a young woman about fourteen years old going on fifteen came to mind. She was sitting on a bench crying, her hands covering her face. He was looking down at her brown hair. Her silky smooth hair was long enough to go to the middle of her back. That was all he knew about the woman he loved. Withdrawing from the vision, he said, "Soon. It has to be soon."

Shaking her head, Ling said, "I don't know what good it is for you to have that vision if all it does is make you miserable."

"Can you imagine how horrible I would feel if I didn't know there would be an end to my loneliness?" asked William. The horror in his voice was unmistakable. He had never cursed having the vision, only that it hadn't yet come to pass.

A shudder went through Ling at the thought of the misery he would have experienced. She looked down at her lap and said, "You're right."

"I'm glad you came," said William.

Smiling at the change in subject, Ling asked, "Do you think Ken or Lisa will get over my visit any time soon?"

"Oh, I think they'll actually miss you," said William with a light laugh. He'd watched Ken gain confidence over the past few weeks. The morning exercises had gotten the young couple into the best shape of their lives. The fact that they had elected to strip this morning suggested they were getting in touch with their bodies.

"You'll make sure that he continues to practice?"

"Yes. Every morning we'll practice Tai Chi. I'll have him go to the dojo with me every other evening."

"What about his shooting?"

"He'll go to the police shooting range every other morning until he gets his carry permit."

"Good," said Ling with a nod. At least having Ken carry a gun would provide some measure of security that was currently lacking. It angered her that William was considered too young to get a carry permit. Her son had more discipline than most police officers.

Returning to a subject that they had discussed almost every day of her visit, she said, "I'm going to find a body guard for you."

"You don't need to do that," said William.

"I need to do that for my own peace of mind," answered Ling. It wouldn't matter if she were ninety years old, she would feel responsible for the safety of the family. She looked at him and said, "I'd die if anything were to ever happen to you."

Looking at her, he knew she was telling the truth. She took all attacks against the family personally. It was a sad commentary on their lives that there were attacks on the family. He said, "It's tough being wealthy."

"It's not wealth. It's the basic goodness that you and your fathers possess that draws evil," said Ling. "Your father was attacked so many times that even I think it is amazing John survived as long as he did. Ed remains a constant target. I've never seen men with so many scars on their bodies. Kelly has been attacked a couple of times, but either I or Claire has always been there."

"I thought the attacks were quieting down."

"After that Middle East effort, three men tried to kill Ed. Leroy basically saved him by calling the house and giving us a warning. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal except that idiot husband of mine decided it was time to act like bait. Fortunately, Leroy tackled him just before one the terrorists fired," said Ling.

"Idiot husband?" asked William with a grin knowing that Ling must have been seriously upset with Ed to call him that.

"Okay. My poor misguided husband who thinks he is invincible to bullets," said Ling.

William laughed at his mother. Of course, Ed would try to get the bad guys to reveal themselves. He said, "Let me get this straight. Daddy Ed saw that there were men who wanted to hurt him, but he knows that they couldn't be arrested for wanting to hurt him. They had to try to hurt him, so he let them try. That way, they could be arrested."

"That's right. Like I said, misguided thinking," said Ling.

"You would have taken care of the problem by just killing them," William said.

"Even I wouldn't do that, despite the temptation. I'd have roughed them up and scared them off."

Knowing how much she would have liked to do that, William said, "Ah, I see. Sounds like a plan to me. Although when I think about it, I suspect they could have come back another time and ambushed him."

"That's what he said." Ling stared at the ground thinking about how hard it was to protect her family. It was frustrating that evil was allowed the first blow. The time and place of confrontation was up to them. Everything was stacked against the good guys.

"It doesn't help that he was right," said William watching his mother.

"No it doesn't," she admitted.

It was late in the afternoon when William waved goodbye to Ling as she drove off in her rental car. He watched the car disappear when it left the driveway; his view of it blocked by the hedgerow that fronted his property along the street. Turning, he went into the house.

"You're mother is gone?" asked Lisa knowing the answer to her question. She asked it so that he could talk about it if he wanted.

"Yes," answered William. He went over to his desk and returned to his work.

"Dinner will be ready about six," Lisa said returning to her dusting seeing that he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Thank you," said William absently. His thoughts were already in the world of economic forces and their consequences on stock prices. It was time for him to adjust his portfolio of stocks. The transportation industry was about to take a tumble after years of continued growth. They'd react by raising rates, but that would only mitigate the problem for a short time. The effects of higher prices would create a downturn in the tourism industry. The end result would be a period of strong growth in the entertainment industry.

He directed his browser to the web site of his brokerage firm. After logging in, his account information filled the screen. He sat back to examine the numbers. They looked good with all of his stocks showing increases in value.

A tapping on the window attracted his attention. A raven was tapping on the window and then flapping its wings. It took him a second to realize that something bad had happened and the raven wanted his attention. Springing out of the chair, he shouted, "Oh no."

William raced outside to the front of the house, leaving the front door wide open. Lisa stared out the door after him. She called out for Ken before racing to the door to watch where William was going. She wondered if something had happened to Ling.

The raven had already taken wing and was flying towards the street. William followed the large black bird to the front yard of the house next door. A figure lay on the ground, unconscious and not moving. Concerned about what he would find, he headed towards the figure.

Kneeling, he examined Jennifer and rolled her onto her back. It was obvious she had lost at least twenty-five pounds during the two months since he had last seen her. All of the baby fat had disappeared, as had her feminine curves. She looked like a skeleton. It reminded him of something someone had said to him once about another exceptionally woman. 'Why pursue a woman who is that skinny when you can just stick your cock in a bundle of sticks and achieve the same effect?'

He pulled his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and called the police. It took him a moment to figure out the address when they wanted to know where he was. There wasn't much he could do except watch over her until the ambulance arrived. She needed fluids, but there was no way for him to get them into her while she was unconscious.

A police car was the first to arrive on the scene. It was less than a minute since William had called. The prompt arrival was confirmation of the reason why Ling had approved of moving into this neighborhood. One of the cops raced over from the car and asked, "What's the problem?"

Borrowing Leroy's term for her condition, William answered, "Teenage Wasting Disease."

"Pardon?"

"From the looks of her, I'd say that she collapsed because she hasn't been eating. She's got Anorexia or Bulimia. It doesn't matter which," answered William knowing that the treatment she would receive at the hospital would be the same. Shaking his head, he knew this wouldn't be the first time she'd get rushed to the hospital like this. One or two more trips and she'd damage her body beyond repair.

Bending down and examining the girl, the officer could see that William had been right. The ambulance pulled up to the driveway. When the ambulance personnel took charge of the girl, the officer turned his attention to William to get the details. He asked, "What is your name?"

"William Redman Carter."

Seeing that the name agreed with the name give by the caller, the officer asked, "So how did you come to find her?"

"The Raven brought me," answered William. His answer was punctuated by a loud squawk from the Raven as it rested on the gutter of the house.

The officer looked up at the bird and then back at William. He wrote down that William was bird watching and discovered her while observing a raven. It was close enough to the truth. He asked, "So what did you do?"

"I examined her and then called the police."

It was a short simple story and one the chief would appreciate. He asked, "Do you know her name?"

"Yes, she is Jennifer Mitchell. Her mother's name is Marjory Mitchell. That's all I know," answered William.

"Do you know how to get in touch with Marjory Mitchell?"

"No idea," answered William realizing that he hadn't bothered to learn much about his neighbors. He hadn't liked the mother's inquisitive manners and had viewed the daughter as a minor irritation. Somewhat ashamed of his behavior, he looked down at Jennifer and said, "It's a shame."

"What?" asked the officer.

"Teenage Wasting Disease is fatal about ten percent of the time and has long term medical complications fifty percent of the time. Even if she doesn't die of it, she's going to put her family through hell."

The officer stared at William and said, "That's a pretty harsh thing to say."

"I know, but it's the truth," said William. He looked down at her with real regret and said, "I'm supposed to protect the weak from the strong. How are you supposed to protect someone from themselves?"

"Sounds like something a Druid would ask."

"Yes," said William looking at the officer.

The officer closed his notepad and examined the young man standing in front of him. There was something about the young man that was a little scary, but not scary in a threatening way. He said, "They're going to take her to Memorial Hospital. I suppose that as a friend of hers you'd like to go there, but I'm afraid they can't take you in the ambulance."

"I'll have my driver take me there," said William with a negligent gesture towards his house.

"That's an odd way to refer to one of your parents," said the officer.

"My driver is Ken Armstrong. He's not one of my parents."

The officer recognized the name. He had meet Ken at the shooting range when he was learning to shoot under the watchful eye of Ling. He said, "Oh, I know who that is. He's been at the shooting range with a really attractive Chinese woman."

"The Chinese woman is one of my mothers."

"Oh, so he's your step-dad," answered the policeman deciding that William was insulting his mother's new husband.

"No. He's my driver," said William. He was saved from further explanation by the arrival of Ken. He turned to Ken and said, "They're taking her to the hospital. We'll be going there before long. Tell Lisa that we'll be late for dinner."

Turning to leave, Ken said, "Okay. I'll tell her and then get the car ready."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to the house and take care of some business before going to the hospital," said William to the officer. He turned and headed towards the house. The raven lifted from the roof and followed after him. The officer stared at the big black bird.

Marjory arrived at the waiting room and saw William seated in a chair reading one of the financial newspapers. The headline proclaimed that analysts thought the airlines would report record profits. Without looking up at her, he folded the paper and set it on the table. She screamed, "It's all your fault."

"What is my fault?" asked William knowing exactly what she was going to accuse him of doing.

"If you had just paid her a little attention, she wouldn't have gone on that damned diet," shouted the mother. She proceeded to vent her frustrations in an abusive tirade in which she accused of him intentionally hurting her daughter.

William stood and listened without expression. Once she had calmed down, he said, "Jennifer and I are the same biological age. She's in ninth grade. I'm in graduate school. We have nothing in common other than biological age and you know that."

"You could have paid attention to her," said Marjory still venting her anger.

"Do you want me to treat your daughter like a little toy that I fuck and then put back on the shelf in the hopes that she'll eat?" asked William in a quiet voice.

"Of course not!"

"So what would you have me do?"

"You could have talked to her!"

"About what? The stuff we're studying in school? I'm sure she'd love to hear all of the details about consumer driven economic theories. No, I don't think so. I know, how about the stuff I studied two years ago? I bet she'd love to hear all about modern theories on the social drivers of criminal behavior. No? How about Quantum Mechanics? That's a topic a fifteen year old girl could really sink her teeth into," William didn't want to make his point in that manner, but he couldn't allow his neighbors to blame him for their problems.

"You could have talked to her about dating and stuff like that."

Looking Marjory in the eye, he said, "I've never had a date. I've never found a girl, my age, who shares my interests. I'm not going to go through a mating dance with a girl I can't talk with concerning what is going on in my life."

"But you're the same age," said Marjory as if that meant something.

"I graduated high school when I was five. I would have been very happy to date her when I was four, but I don't think she would have found that very exciting."

It was so hard to look at William and not see a kid in the tenth grade. The idea that he had graduated high school before her daughter had entered kindergarten was mind boggling. She finally said, "I'll talk to her."

"It won't do any good," said William looking down at the floor.

"What do you mean?" asked Marjory.

"It wasn't me. When she looks in the mirror, she sees something very different than what you or I see. She sees a horribly fat monster staring back at her. She needs psychological help or else she will starve herself to death."

"What are you talking about? Are you trying to say that my daughter is crazy?"

"Crazy? I wouldn't call it that," said William.

"You said that she needs to see a head shrink!" she said with a shriek in her voice. She believed that a psychiatrist would blame her for her daughter's problems. There was no way that she was to blame. She cooked balanced meals. She did everything for her daughter.

"She needs psychological treatment," said William knowing that his advice would be ignored. As a result, the chances of the girl dying just increased.

"What do you know? You're just a kid," replied Marjory before turning her back on him. She took off down the hall to return to her daughter's side without a backward glance at him.

Ken stood off to the side having watched the interaction. Shaking his head, he didn't know how William could have handled the mother any better than he had. After Marjory had left, he said, "Don't feel bad. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I accomplished nothing here," said William not feeling bad, just impotent. The visit had been necessary, but the mother would deny the problem and the daughter would hide it. As if he were pronouncing a great doom, he said, "She'll die. It will take a couple of years, but in the end she will die."

"You can't be serious," Ken said. He looked at William trying to understand what was going through the boy's mind. There were times when William made pronouncements like that and they tended to bother him. Although he'd only been around William for two months, he'd seen enough of them come true to be concerned.

"Very. She won't accept that Jennifer has a problem in time to save her daughter's life," William looked at his watch and saw that it was after six. Shaking his head, he said, "It's too late for me to help anyone here."

"What do you mean, it's too late?"

"Visiting hours are now. Normally, I'd spend an hour or two telling stories to the kids, but they are busy with visitors."

"Telling stories?" asked Ken.

"Let's say it is a tradition that was started by my father. When any of us are at a hospital, we usually spend a little time reading to the kids. Since I'm a trained story teller, I tell them stories of my people," William answered.

"What do you want to do?"

"We'll see if some child here doesn't have a visitor."



-------

Chapter 6


"I'm sure Tim enjoys the holidays and would like to celebrate them according to your family traditions. You can set up a Christmas Tree in the living room if you want," said William. He reminded himself that the needed to purchase presents for the family before he left for the winter holidays.

"Thanks," Ken said as he turned onto the street to the house. Upon turning the corner, he slowed the car and came to a stop. He ran a hand over the pistol he carried under his jacket. Pointing down the road, he said, "Something is happening up there."

William looked ahead at the pickup trucks, beat up old cars, and the two police cruisers that lined the road in front of his house. He recognized many of the men standing around the entrance to his driveway. The last time he had seen them, they were dressed in their tribal costumes. However, this time the men were wearing blue jeans and heavy coats to protect them from the weather.

In a quiet voice, he said, "Listen to me. This is very important. I want you to pull into the driveway and park the car. I will get out and greet the people there. While I am greeting them, you are to get out of the car and build a bonfire in the middle of the front yard. Once the fire is started, you are to go in the house. You will remain in the house until after I enter the house. You are not to say a single word to anyone. Do you understand my instructions?"

"Sure. Park in the driveway. You get out. Then I get out and build a fire. I go in the house and don't leave. I'm not to talk to anyone," answered Ken. He didn't understand the significance of the instructions. Skeptical, he said, "Now what do you really want me to do."

"Exactly what I said. It is very important that you do what I have asked."

"What should I do when I get in the house?" asked Ken eyeing the crowd in front of the driveway with suspicion. It was a rough looking crowd and the men didn't appear to be very pleased with the presence of the police.

"You and your family can eat dinner, watch television, or look out the window. I don't care. You are not to interfere with anything that goes on. You are not to leave the house until after I come in."

Looking down the street in concern, Ken asked, "What's going on?"

"It is a tribal thing," answered William wondering why he had not had a vision of anything like this happening. So many Medicine Men gathered in front of his house meant that something major was about to happen.

"Are you going to be safe? Ling will kill me if I let them harm one hair on your head."

"Yes, I'll be safe. It is a tribal thing," answered William. "Now let's go."

Ken slowly drove down the street towards the house. A police officer stepped in front of the car holding out his hands in the universal gesture commanding the driver to stop. Ken stopped and waited for the officer to come to the window. Ken rolled down the window letting the cold December air into the Hugger. The officer recognized Ken and said, "Hello Ken. Your wife called us when a bunch of Indians showed up and camped out on the front lawn. There are a hundred of them. We chased them off the property, but they wouldn't leave the area."

William leaned over and said, "That's my house. I'll be meeting with them tonight in my front yard. I'd appreciate it if you'd have a man stay so that we won't be disturbed."

"What's going on?" asked the officer. He had visions of drunken Indians running around yelling and screaming.

"A gathering of medicine men. There will be dancing, but it won't last too late."

"Keep the noise down or we'll have to break it up," said the officer. He could imagine the calls they'd get in the station from the people in this neighborhood.

"It is a gathering of medicine men and you are not to interfere. If you interfere, I shall have to place a call to the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the Department of the Interior."

Irritated at having a kid threaten him, the officer said, "We'll see about that."

Clearing his throat, Ken said, "Larry, let me warn you. The last thing you want to do is treat him like a kid. He has the private telephone number of the Grand Druid. I'd bet that he has the number of the President of the United States."

Deciding that he didn't want to get into an argument with the local police, William pulled out his cell phone. He was looking up the number in the phone book function of the cell phone when a black car with a Bureau of Indian Affairs seal on the side pulled up beside them. After a slight delay, three other cars pulled up behind them.

The officer stepped back with a look of concern. The kid had just barely finished threatening him with Feds when the Feds showed up as if by magic. Considering the warning Ken had given him, he was glad that he hadn't pushed the issue.

A well-dressed man got out of the first car and walked over to the officer. With a gesture, he let the officer know that he would be dealt with in due course. He looked in the Hugger at William. He'd heard of William Redman Carter although he had never seen the young man. Wanting to make sure that he had the right person, he asked, "Are you William Redman Carter?"

"Yes, I am," answered William looking at the identification the man held up.

"I'm Mike Clarkson from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We've had a special request from Awa Tsireh that we make sure your meeting tonight would not be disturbed." He didn't know what was going on, but in his entire time with the Bureau he'd never heard of such a request being made. His boss had told him that several of the tribes were willing to drop lawsuits to ensure that this meeting went off without a problem.

"Thank you. It is getting close to sunset and I must prepare. If you'll be so good to let me get to our meeting, I'd appreciate it."

"Go ahead," answered Mike. He stepped back and watched as the car headed off down the street. He was thinking that William didn't look like much, but there were a lot of stories about him being a powerful Medicine Man. Judging by the crowd at the end of the street, it was likely there was a little truth to those stories.

Turning to the other cars with Bureau markings, Mike said, "Spread the word to the neighborhood that they are not to disturb them. I'll get the local cop here to prevent traffic from entering the street."

Ken pulled into the driveway while eyeing the large number of men gathered on the street. Once he had stopped the Hugger, William said, "Remember what I told you to do."

Without waiting for an answer, William stepped out of the car and walked to the rear of it. He opened the back and sat down. His position would allow him to greet his visitors and give him a place to stack the cartons of cigarettes that he was about to receive.

Ken slipped out and went to the woodpile to get logs with which to build a bonfire. It was several minutes before the police allowed the men onto the property. The men, each bringing a gift of tobacco, came one at a time to William and introduced themselves to him. Each man was a Medicine Man of a different tribe.

When the last man had introduced himself, William looked over and saw that Ken had started a monster fire with flames that rose at least six feet into the air. The men had gathered in a great circle around the fire. Three with drums and two with rattles had taken seats on blankets. The rest stood waiting for William to join them.

It was three hours later when the prayers and dancing ended. The men, bodies warm from all of the activity, sat down around the fire which had burned down to hot coals. William sat down next to Kotyit, his mentor from the Native American College. The old man brought out a pipe, loaded it with tobacco in the manner passed down through the generations, and lit it. He exhaled a great puff of smoke to the sky and handed it to William. William inhaled and exhaled the smoke to the sky so that it would carry his words to the Great Spirit. He passed the pipe to the man seated beside him.

After the pipe had gone around the circle, Kotyit turned to William and asked, "Do you remember the letter you gave to me on the first day you came to the school?"

"Yes, I remember the letter," said William. He did remember it, but had forgotten about it. He hadn't understood the full implications of the contents, but had passed it to Kotyit in the hope that the instructor would understand it. That had been the last he'd seen or heard about the matter.

"Your father, Ed Biggers, wrote in that letter of a place that he discovered. A number of us have gone to that place with your father. He is a good man with much power. More important for tonight, he was a wise man to have informed us of that place.

"We looked at the place and studied it. We sought out the stories of its beginning and found that there were none. After much talk, we can say one thing with great certainty. It is a place of great evil. Because of it, a great curse lies upon all of us. That site must be cleansed and the curse lifted," said Kotyit in a slow measured pace that gave a stately majesty to his words.

"What is the nature of this curse?" asked William feeling uneasy that he knew nothing about this matter.

"For over three hundred years it has sucked the strength from of our people. It is why our people do not have the will to fight. It is the reason we have been defeated and sent to reservations. If it continues, we will even lose the reservations," said Kotyit. One of the symbols of their loss was that they had to hold this meeting in English. The old trade languages had been lost.

When William nodded, Kotyit continued, "This is a matter that concerns the future of all the tribes, but the cleansing that will lift the curse can only be done by one person."

"Who can do such a cleansing?" asked William afraid that he knew the answer.

"Talks With Animals," said Kotyit.

Hearing his name, William couldn't help grin a little. Every time he heard it in English, he thought of Dr. Dolittle. His amusement didn't last long as the seriousness of the situation returned. He asked, "What must I do?"

"In two weeks time, we shall meet in Arizona. There we shall build a sweat lodge. You must undertake a vision quest. On the day after the shortest night, you will do what must be done," answered Eskieah.

William considered the matter. They wanted him to do it on mid- winter's day. He wondered if they were forcing him to chose between service to the Great Spirit and service to the Gods and Goddesses. He asked, "Why that day?"

"We have deliberated on this matter for many years. It must be that day," answered Eskieah.

Gesturing to the large circle, William asked, "Why are all the tribes represented here? You alone could have asked me."

Sam White Deer of the Mohawk tribe said, "The evil is great and you are one man. There is a chance that you will fail. It will take all of us just to contain this evil. Although for how long, none of us are willing to guess."

"If you believe there is a chance I will fail, why ask me to do it?" William asked. Looking at the wisdom gathered here, he couldn't help wonder why they would trust something so important to him.

"You have two great powers within you. You have the power of the true people and the power of the white man in equal balance. Only you can enter that site with any hope of living," answered Kotyit.

"You must remove the curse from within the site," said Sam White Deer.

William looked around the circle of men. They represented the full spiritual power of all the tribes and each of them looked scared. Twin Elks said, "You are our only hope."

"I will do as you have asked," said William knowing he was committing himself to something he didn't truly understand. He could count on the fingers of one hand how many times he had acted without knowing the consequences of his actions with the kind of certainty that came from knowing the future.

A sigh of relief echoed around the circle. Eskieah said, "We ask that you spend three days and nights in the place of power created by John Carter."

The request surprised William. He looked around the circle and saw that all of the men were nodding their agreement. Wondering why they would send him to the Carter Glade at the Druid College, he asked, "Why?"

"The powers are balanced in you, Talks to Animals. That balance is very important. If you are to gain power in the sweat lodge, then you must also gain power in the other place," Kotyit answered.

"Why do you think the Gods and Goddesses of the Druids will agree to this?" asked William very surprised by the answer. It felt strange to have to refer to the Gods and Goddesses in that manner, but in this discussion he was affiliated with the Great Spirit.

One of the medicine men, ancient beyond belief, answered, "One of their rules is to protect the weak from the strong. We have come to accept that we are weak because of this curse. It is our hope they recognize this and will protect us by helping you in making us strong."

Another spoke, "There will be a high price for us to pay for their help in this matter."

"It is a price that we must be willing to pay," countered another. He added, "We have discussed this many times."

Concerned with what this would cost the tribes, William asked, "What is this price?"

His question was met by silence. As he looked around the circle, none of the men would look him in the eye. Finally, it was Eskieah who answered. "If you succeed, it is likely that we will lose you to the Druids."

"I am willing to pay that price," answered William. He was willing to do anything to help his people, but the price did not seem too high to William. After all, one of the few things he knew for sure was that he would end up serving the Two-Sided One.

Kotyit, looking at William with a kindly expression, said, "Yes, I know. It is we who are unwilling to lose one of our bright lights."

The comment touched William far more than he would have expected. Humbled, he said, "I thank you."

"It is cold and I am old. Let us end this meeting until we reach a warmer place," said Kotyit picking up the pipe to light it. His comment was greeted with chuckles around the circle. No one objected to the suggestion.

The pipe made its way around the circle. Each man inhaling once and blowing the smoke to the sky. When it returned to Kotyit, he knocked the plug out of the pipe. Around the circle centered on the few remaining coals, the men stood and stretched. Younger men turned to help the older men off the ground.

William looked at his watch and saw that it was only ten in the evening. Considering that sunset had been a little before five, he knew the meeting had lasted five hours. Looking at the large number of people gathered in his yard, he was surprised that it had been so short. Such meetings often lasted all night.

Turning to Kotyit, he said, "It was a short meeting."

"We've had many long meetings about this matter," answered Kotyit. Putting a hand on William's shoulder, he said, "You agreed without much argument. You do your tribe great honor."

William didn't know what to say. Looking at his house, he saw that Ken, Lisa, and Tim were watching out the window. He was sure they had a thousand questions about what they had seen. He looked over at his driveway and saw the agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs standing around looking miserable in the cold weather. He smiled and said, "You must have put the fear of God in the Feds."

"A group of war chiefs, lead by Awa Tsireh, descended upon their offices this morning. They showed up in modern war dress - suit and tie with leather briefcases and gold watches," answered Kotyit with a smile. He added, "It is amazing how the sudden appearance of twenty lawyers gets the attention of white men."

"If only our ancestors knew how easy it was," said William with a chuckle. Gesturing to the house, he asked, "Would you care to share some hot chocolate with me?"

"Hot Chocolate sounds very good. I am not able to resist the cold like when I was a younger man."

As they headed towards the house, a shout from behind them brought them to a halt. William turned to find Mike Clarkson walking at a brisk pace towards them. Stopping a pace away, he asked, "Is it over?"

"Yes, it is over and we were not disturbed. You may tell your bosses that we will drop the lawsuits," said Kotyit.

Mike had much more than that to tell his bosses and could hardly wait to get on the phone with Washington. He didn't know what they would make of the news that the tribes were going to rid themselves of a three hundred year old curse, but he was sure they would be interested in it. Mike Clarkson said, "Thank you. I'll let them know."

A voice from the dark said, "I'm sure you intend to let them know what was discussed here as well."

The three men turned to see who had spoken. All three were surprised when a red robed figure appeared out of the dark. He walked over to Mike and said, "Touch my medallion."

Unable to stop himself, Mike reached out and touched the medallion. William watched the man stand frozen in place for a full minute. Mike's pants tented and a sudden shudder when through his body. When his hand fell away from the medallion, Mike said, "I will tell them nothing of what was discussed here."

"You may go now," Jimmy Lee said to Mike before turning to look at William and Kotyit.

"Jimmy Lee, why am I not surprised to find you here?" William asked while watching Mike walk back to the street in a daze.

"We must protect the weak from the strong," answered Jimmy Lee. Nodding in the direction of Kotyit, he added, "I must go now."

"Thank you for coming," said Kotyit realizing that a huge service had been done for the Native American people. It had not occurred to him that the Bureau of Indian Affairs might not want them to remove the curse.

Turning to William, Jimmy Lee said, "Give my regards to Ling."

"Will do."

The old Native American Medicine Man watched Jimmy Lee walk back into the shadows. Shaking his head, Kotyit said, "I am not so sure that we will lose you entirely to the Gods and Goddesses of the Druids."

"Let's get out of the cold and talk about it there," said William shivering for the first time of the night. Now that the meeting was over, the cold was burrowing its way to his bones.

The two men entered the house. The warm air quickly chased the cold away. The two men removed their coats. Gesturing to the Armstrongs, William said, "Kotyit, this is Ken, Lisa, and Tim Armstrong. Everyone, this is Kotyit. He is a medicine man of the Apaches. He is also an instructor at the Native American College."

Ken had watched the meeting from the beginning to the end. He hadn't missed the arrival of the Druid. He didn't understand what he had seen, but he knew that something of great importance had been accomplished. He nodded respectfully to the older man and said, "It is an honor to meet you."

Excited, Tim said, "Gosh, a real Medicine Man. I've never met a Medicine Man before."

Kotyit laughed at the boy's excited reaction and knelt down next to him. Pointing over at William, he said, "Yes you have. You know William. He is a Medicine Man of the Navaho. I helped train him."

Tim stared at William with an open mouth. He turned to his father and asked, "Did you know he was a Medicine Man?"

Picking up the boy, Ken said, "No, I didn't know that."

Turning to Lisa, William asked, "Could you make us some hot chocolate?"

Faced with such an important guest, Lisa decided that Tim could stay awake a little longer. She said, "Yes."

In a desire to help his wife, Ken said, "Let me get Tim to bed. I'm sure that you have much to talk about and having a boy around won't help."

While Ken took care of Tim and Lisa prepared hot chocolate, William and Kotyit took seats around the dining room table. William took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and opened it. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He slid the pack across the table and waited for the old man to light up. He asked, "What were you saying outside about not losing me to the Druids?"

Kotyit said, "The presence of the Druid convinces me of something that I have suspected for a long time. These things have not happened by accident."

"I don't know what you mean."

"The Gods and Goddesses of the Druids have had their hands in this affair for decades. It was not just the Great Spirit guiding us to this point."

"I'm still not following you," William said. He took a drag off the cigarette.

Settling back into his chair, Kotyit said, "Have you ever given thought as to why John Carter chose to live in a no-name town when he was the richest man in America? Why did John Carter give money to create the Native American College?"

"My father loved the area and the people," answered William knowing the story about the founding of the Carter Clan. His father had gone there to escape events in Austin and had come to love the area.

"Does it not seem odd that a pure blood granddaughter of the greatest Medicine Man of the Navaho offers herself to be the bride of the man who would become the Grand Druid? Is it co-incidence that the son of that union has two sources of power balanced within him? Why is it that neither power has yet established a claim over that son?"

Faltering at the sudden focus upon him, William said, "I don't know."

"Why is it that a Druid who serves truth finds that site? How is it that he chose to tell us about it? How is it that he has guarded it all these years for us?" Kotyit looked at William expectantly.

"You may be right," William said wondering why he hadn't seen the connections. It didn't seem fair that he was so blind to events that affected him directly.

Lisa set two cups of hot chocolate on the table and returned to the kitchen afraid of interrupting the discussion. It was hard not to hear what they were saying. She was learning more about her employer in this single conversation than in the previous three months.

Putting his hands around the cup of hot chocolate in an effort to warm them, Kotyit said, "I think a lot of energy has gone into making sure that you are here at the right time and place."

William took a sip of his hot chocolate while thinking about everything that Kotyit had said. After reviewing all of the facts that he had on hand, he couldn't find a flaw with the argument put forth by his mentor. In a soft voice, he said, "I think you are right."

Ken came down from upstairs and tried to sneak into the kitchen without disturbing the two men who were talking. William said, "You and Lisa can join us at the table."

Looking at William, he was surprised to see the young man smoking. Without thinking, he said, "You're smoking."

"Yes. It is a bad habit that I only practice when I'm around Kotyit," answered William.

Kotyit, holding up his cigarette, said, "These will kill me one of these days if my students do not do it first."

"Found any rattlesnakes on your bed lately?"

"Not since a little kid left the college," said Kotyit looking at William.

"He promised not to bite you."

"And how was I to know that?" Kotyit asked.



-------

Chapter 7


An ominous feeling radiated from the black hole as the sun peered over the horizon. A huge construction crane towered over William. He watched the cage slowly approach the hole. He lifted a hand and the operator stopped lowering the cage.

William turned his back to the hole. Medicine men from all over the country had gathered in a great circle around him. Behind them, stood hundreds of warriors. Every man was dressed in tribal costumes. It was not that their costumes had importance in their actions, but that they wanted to look their best when they met the Great Spirit should they die.

Past the warriors, a handful of Druids stood where they could watch the proceedings. Ed Biggers and Kelly were among the Druids, although their reasons for being there were more parental than anything else. Next to Ed stood a couple of Catholic Priests. A good distance away was a horde of reporters, brought to the location by reports of a major gathering of Medicine Men.

Barefoot, wearing a loincloth, a medicine bag around his neck, and carrying a Tomahawk, William felt very small and vulnerable. The only modern thing was the communications radio that he wore over his right ear. He spoke, "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you," replied the crane operator.

William turned back to face the hole. Aware that he was about to enter the pit, the Medicine Men started chanting. The sound of drums rose adding power to their chants.

Never in his life had he experienced such overwhelming evil. Waves of a black hunger seemed to reach out for him. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the hole and jumped into the cage. After closing the door to the cage, he said, "Lower me."

As he entered the dark pit, he could feel dark forces gathering around him. Above his head, huge wooden beams braced the ceiling. The air inside the pit was freezing cold. He could see his breath in the fading light. Looking over the edge of the cage, he finally made out the floor. The pit was much deeper than he had thought it would be. He called out, "Stop."

It was with some relief that the cage came to a halt. He had been afraid that the radio wouldn't work inside the pit. Physics said it would work. Magic suggested that it wouldn't. There was a more than a little relief to learn that physics had won.

Reaching down to the bottom of the cage, he picked up a rope and tied it to the support cable. The cage shook as though a giant hand had slapped it. He threw out the body bags. Dust rose up in the air choking him.

Moving carefully, William climbed down the rope. When he reached the floor, he was thrown across the pit as if swatted by an invisible hand. Struggling to stand, he looked around him. The pit was circular. Spaced around the walls were eleven bodies. Six of them were Native Americans as evidenced by their dress. Five of them wore outfits of Spanish Conquistadors. He could just make out two bodies on the floor below the cage. One looked to be a missionary and the other a prospector.

The first order of business was to remove the bodies from the pit. He walked toward the center of the pit. The air was thick and heavy. It was like forcing his way through molasses. Stopping, he picked up a body bag. He forced his way to the bodies under the basket. Doing his best not to touch the bodies, he stuffed the skeletal remains into two body bags.

He pulled the bodies out from under the basket. Dust rose around him, making it difficult to draw breath. He blinked, trying to clear the tears that had welled up in his eyes. He could feel forces beating against his body. A dark hunger pulsed from where the bodies had been. He backed away from the center of the room. Aloud he said, "Lower the cage."

The cage settled on the floor. Grabbing one of the body bags, he hauled it over to the cage. He opened the door and wrestled one of the body bags into the cage. Closing the door, he stepped back and said, "Sending up a white man."

A few seconds later the cage rose from the floor. He watched it rise from the floor while holding his breath. He hoped his plan worked. When the body left the pit, there was a general lessening of the pressure beating against him. He didn't exactly relax, but he did feel relief. The opposing forces in the room had balanced and taking him wouldn't affect the balance.

He knew that once the cage set down on the ground, a priest would bury the remains in land that had been consecrated for that purpose. After more than three hundred years, the spirits held within this pit would be put to rest. A couple of Medicine Men were waiting to lay to rest the spirits of the Native Americans once they were removed from the pit.

He went to work putting the skeletal remains that were scattered around the room in body bags. Using a piece of chalk, he drew crosses on the body bags containing white bodies and feathers on the body bags containing a Native American. He had finished with four bodies when the basket was lowered back into the room.

Two at a time, he sent bodies out of the pit. Each load contained a white and a red man in order to maintain the balance of forces. The pressure beating against him lessened, but the black evil hunger from the center of the room grew even stronger. The air thickened and it was harder to breath.

The sun cast a bright spot on the floor of the pit; the spot slowly moved across the length of the pit. The hours passed, each lift of bodies took almost an hour to achieve. He had been working in the pit, fighting the forces beating him and moving through thick toxic air, for almost seven hours when the last pair of bodies was lifted out of the pit.

William was exhausted, but the forces that had been battering him had lifted. The horrible hunger originating from the center of the pit seemed to attack his spirit, trying to trick him into death. He had to crawl to the center of the pit. Once there, he dug in the dirt floor seeking the source of the hunger. Afraid to use his hands, he was reduced to scraping away the dirt with his Tomahawk. The drumbeat and chanting from outside grew in volume.

His efforts eventually revealed a crystalline skull that pulsed with an eerie green light. It was sickening to look upon. His stomach churned. Each pulse weakened him as if it was a psychic vampire draining the energy from him. It became everything he could do to lift his arms.

Gathering what little will was left in him, William raised the Tomahawk above his head. He brought it down as hard as he could upon the skull. A brilliant flash of green light blinded him. A horrible scream split the air a fraction of a second before an explosion lifted and threw him across the pit.

William opened his eyes, but could see nothing. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. The evil hunger was gone. The forces that had been beating upon him were gone. The drums and chanting had stopped. The fresh scent of the desert reached him. Every part of his body hurt. His body was freezing cold. He moaned.

"Don't talk," said a voice.

For a moment, William struggled to identify the owner of the voice. He gave up the effort deciding it wasn't important. The only thing that was important was the pain. With each pulse of pain, he knew that he lived. He could feel hands touching him, but he couldn't see who was touching him. He closed his eyes and listened to the voices around him.

"He'll be okay. Let's get him out of here," said a voice.

William felt hands lift him onto a stretcher and then the bouncing of the stretcher being carried. He opened his eyes and was immediately blinded by the bright light from the sun overhead. The thought that it should be night flitted through his mind. Holding the thought was too much effort. It slowly registered that he was thirsty. In a harsh croak, he tried to communicate his need, "Wa... Wa."

A woman's voice, he recognized it as belonging to Kelly, said, "Here's an ice chip. Suck on it."

A small sliver of cold forced its way between his lips. As it melted, heavenly water trickled down his throat. He opened his eyes, but the bright light forced him to close them again. Another chip of ice followed the first. He sucked greedily on it.

"Let's move him to the clinic," Kelly said.

William woke and looked around the room recognizing it as the family clinic. Linda said, "Ah, you're awake at last."

"What happened?" William asked.

"The pit collapsed on you after a huge green cloud billowed out of it. It took us eighteen hours to dig you out. We were very worried about you," Linda said. Worried was putting it mildly. She had been frantic and had tried to dig him out with her bare hands. It had taken Ed and Dan working together to pull her away from the site.

It wasn't a challenge to guess what the reactions had been among the mothers. He imagined that Ling and Claire had been angry, Linda had been frantic, and Kelly had turned into the clinical nurse. William said, "I'm sure that the rest of the family want to know that I'm awake."

He had barely finished speaking when Betsy flew into the room and stopped at the foot of the bed. After looking at him for a second, she said, "You're awake."

She sped off towards the door and then immediately returned to the foot of the bed. She said, "I'll go get Momma Kelly."

She hadn't covered more than three steps before she was back at the foot of the bed. She said, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

After Betsy finally flew out of the room. Linda laughed and said, "She's been popping in here every five minutes. You'll have plenty of company in a minute."

"He's awake," echoed through the door as Betsy screamed the news as she ran towards the family room.

In a soft voice, Linda said, "Your work was successful. Sarah and I were talking about it while you slept. We both feel more energetic than we have in years. It is like a veil has been lifted from our eyes. Our thoughts are sharper. I feel fresh and strong. Others are reporting the same thing."

"I'm glad," William said. He wasn't feeling particularly energetic or mentally sharp at the moment.

Eddie ran into the room. He stepped up to the side of the bed and looked at his big brother. In a serious voice, he said, "You're the bravest big brother a guy can have. I'm so proud of you."

Ruffling Eddie's hair, William said, "You're a great little brother. You know just what to say to cheer someone up."

"That was a brave thing you did, William. I'm proud of you," said Ed when he stepped into the room. He looked down at William knowing that his son had provided a very significant and important service for a huge number of people.

"Thanks, dad," William said as the rest of the family filed into the room. It didn't surprise him that Eddie and Ed had spoken nearly identical words. The two shared the same soul.

William touched his chest and found that his medicine bag was missing. Ed, noticing the gesture, said, "There was a small pile of ashes on your chest when we found you."

In bits and pieces, William was able to get a picture of what had happened. When the last pair of bodies had been removed from the pit, the evil draw toward the pit had intensified. The Medicine Men had fought to keep it contained.

When William had struck the skull, it had released a powerful explosion that knocked down everyone within four hundred yards of the pit. The crane had fallen over and the pit collapsed leaving a gaping hole with William buried under tons of debris. It took five minutes before anyone understood what had happened.

The Medicine Men were exhausted and could barely move, but the warriors who had been guarding the area sprang into action. They had searched for two hours to find some idea of where he was buried. Giving up on locating him directly, they started removing debris from all parts of the pit. They'd found him after searching for nearly eighteen hours.

Suffering from extreme dehydration, he had spent a full day in the clinic asleep. The IV was still feeding him a slow drip of saline solution. The family had taken turns watching over him. After hearing the story, William fell asleep.

William woke to find that the IV had been removed and feeling much better than the previous day. He looked over to find Leroy watching him. Leroy said, "There's a glass of orange juice for you. Drink it and then try to sit up."

William spotted the glass and drank it down. It provided a wonderful rush of energy and eased his throat. After setting the glass down, he asked, "What time is it?"

"Six in the morning," answered Leroy.

"You always get the horrible shift," William said.

Laughing, Leroy said, "I get the quiet shift. I decided I preferred this shift when Beth's father was a patient in this room. You're a much better patient than he was."

"From what I heard about him, that isn't saying much."

"Ah, he wasn't that bad," Leroy said. He remembered those times with fondness. Watching over Beth's parents had given him something to do and made him feel useful to a family that had taken him in after his accident.

William sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He asked, "What's on the program today?"

"Mostly rest for you. There are a couple hundred people outside waiting to see you. I suggest you go out there after breakfast. It is Christmas Eve and I'm sure they would like to go home to see their families."

"Why do they want to see me?" William asked.

"I would imagine they want to thank you for delivering them from a great curse," Leroy answered surprised by the question.

"Oh," William answered feeling unsettled by the prospect. He knew Ed and John often joked about slipping out the backdoor after a rescue, but he had never thought about it. He wondered where the backdoor was that he could slip out.

Leroy stood up and went to the edge of the bed. Offering his arm, he said, "Try to stand up."

Accepting the arm, William slipped off the edge of the bed and stood. He felt a little stiff, but in pretty good shape. He said, "I guess it's breakfast time."

"A little early, but I imagine Marguerite is in the kitchen already."

"Let's get something to eat," said William. His stomach rumbled, giving audible testimony to his hunger.

Marguerite was seated at the kitchen table looking over a magazine when William stuck his head through the door. In a teasing voice, he said, "I've been waiting thirty minutes for you to come out and ask me what I want to eat."

Startled, Marguerite turned and looked at him. Putting a hand on her chest, she said, "You little devil. You startled me. Just for that I'm not going to cook for you."

"How did you know that I came all this way just to be abused by you?" William asked as he made his way to the kitchen table. Leroy followed him giving a wink to Marguerite.

"What do you want?" Marguerite asked hoping that he would challenge her.

"Surprise me," William said taking a seat across from her knowing that she would make him French Toast. Leroy sat down next to William.

"He was telling me on the way here that he wanted cereal," Leroy said. William had told him that Marguerite would make French Toast.

"Not in my kitchen. You're having French Toast," Marguerite answered as she went to prepare some French Toast. She knew that he enjoyed French Toast.

After breakfast, William stepped out the backdoor of the house. It only took a few seconds for someone to notice him. A cry went out and hundreds of Native Americans rushed to greet him. The crowd came to a stop more than thirty feet away from where he was standing and formed a huge semi-circle around him of ten people deep. Looking over them, William could see they stood straight and with pride. Something important had changed inside them.

It started with one person clapping their hands together in a slow beat. A few at a time, others picked up the clapping until it was a thunderous sound that echoed across the desert. Embarrassed by the attention, William raised his hands in protest. It took five minutes for the applause to die down.

Once it was quiet, William said, "The time of darkness is over. It is time for us to learn. It is time for us to grow. It is time for us to become masters of our own destiny."

The applause was tremendous. When it finally died down, people started drifting away to go home. After a few minutes, William was left alone with Kotyit. Turning to his mentor, he asked, "Any comments?"

"I kind of expected you to come out and ask if anyone had a cigarette to spare. What you did say was a little better than that," Kotyit said with a grin.

William laughed and asked, "Have you got a cigarette you can spare?"

The old man took out a cigarette and handed the pack over to William. He took one and lit it. After taking a drag off his cigarette, William handed the pack back to Kotyit. The old man said, "You did good."

"I did what I could," William answered.

"What did you find in the pit?"

"I found a crystalline skull. It pulsed with a sickening green light."

Kotyit was silent as he considered what William had said. Finally, he commented, "Many crystalline skulls have been found in the past. I wonder if they had once been cursed in the same way. Perhaps the curse they carried had worked to completion."

"You may be right."

Looking over at William, Kotyit said, "I notice you are not wearing your medicine bag."

"It was destroyed in the pit," answered William. "Daddy Ed said that there was a small pile of ashes on my chest when they found me."

"I had heard that, but didn't believe it."

"What do you think it means?" William asked. He knew that Kotyit believed that he would still have a connection to the Great Spirit.

"I think it means that you will have to make a new one," the old man answered. He took a drag off the cigarette and blew the smoke to the morning sky. He looked over at William and said, "You'll have to wait until you get a little stronger before you even consider going into a sweat lodge."

"What do you think I should do for now?"

"Go to school and get good grades. I think the powers that be will leave you alone for a little while. You deserve a little rest after that. Maybe after you get your degree, one of the Druid Gods or Goddesses might request your service," Kotyit said feeling the rightness of his words even as he spoke them. He could feel that much of William's power was gone, but it wasn't gone forever.

William could feel the rightness of his words as well. Nodding his head, he said, "I think you are right."

Gesturing to the steps behind the house, William went over and sat down. Kotyit joined him. The two of them smoked their cigarettes. Finally, Kotyit said, "That was a big explosion. You should be proud of making such a big bang."

"I guess."

"The men who own the crane have to bring another one to get the first one upright. It was knocked over on its side. I never saw anything like it."

William was silent for a couple of minutes while he looked over the crowd of people packing to leave. Finally, he asked, "Where is Spirit of Desert Rock?"

"He was one of the ones injured in the explosion," Kotyit answered.

"I was not told that anyone was injured," William said.

"Four of the older Medicine Men died in the effort to contain the evil when the last bodies were removed. Their hearts gave out. Younger men, including your friend Dale, took their place. Sixteen of us were injured during the explosion."

Shaking his head, William said, "I did not know. I would have said words about their sacrifice."

"I think it is better that you did not know. Too much of our past is filled with sacrifice. Emphasizing sacrifice is an old man's speech. Your speech was about the future. That is a young man's speech. As a result of what you did, our people are young again and will look to the future."

"Everyone thinks I did something great, but others died. They should be recognized as the real heroes," William said.

"They will be," Kotyit said. He was already planning a ceremony to mark the event. Others were talking about constructing a monument on which the names of those who fell would be listed.

William ground out his cigarette on the bottom of his boot and put the butt in his back pocket. He asked, "So where can I find Spirit of Desert Rock?"

"I think he is in the house sleeping in a guest room. That is where all the others are," answered Kotyit looking over at William with an amused grin on his face. It was rare to catch William flat- footed.

"I should have known," said William as he stood. "I'll see you later."

"Not if I see you first."

William was laughing as he entered the house. He made his way to the dining room where Marguerite had put out a breakfast buffet. Several of the Medicine Men were seated around the table eating when William entered. Looking around the room, William said, "Well, if it isn't the walking wounded."

Dale threw a piece of toast at William and said, "Some of us became Medicine Men because we were sure it was safer than being a warrior. Imagine our disappointment when not one warrior was injured."

William was laughing as picked up the piece of toast and made his way to the buffet. After setting the toast on the table, he fixed himself a cup of coffee. He sat down next to Dale and said, "I hope you're feeling alright."

"I feel much better than I've ever felt before," Dale said. His sentiment was echoed around the table.

"So what part of you is broken?" William asked.

"It was my leg, but your mother took care of it," Dale answered feeling embarrassed. William had told him about her healing power, but he hadn't believed it. It was strange having the mother of his best friend make love to him.

"Ah, Momma Kelly."

Twin Elks said, "I hope that's not a problem."

After taking a sip of his coffee, William thought about it. Finally, he said, "It's not a problem. It is her service to the Goddess. She's lucky that her service allows her to help people become whole and healthy."

Looking William directly in the eye, Dale said, "Kind of like your service to the Great Spirit."



-------

Chapter 8

"I've got the program completed and most of the data collected. We'll start the simulation at the end of the semester," said William pointing to his project chart. It showed each of the major milestones in his research project.

Ignoring the chart, Professor Johnston was busy looking over the new computer on his desk. He couldn't believe how much William had accomplished over the past few weeks. He was still looking over the data and knew it would be days before he would finish exploring it all. William had managed to collect, in a short period of time, economic data about households that he hadn't known existed. Eyes fixed on the computer screen, he said, "You've made a lot of progress. I'm impressed."

The cell phone in William's pocket rang interrupting their conversation. After looking over at his professor, William pulled the cell phone out. Glancing at the face of it, he saw that the caller was his father Leroy. Concerned that he had not anticipated the call, he answered it, "What's up, Daddy Leroy?"

"One of my meetings got canceled, so I'm going to be in your area of the country later this week with nothing to do. I thought I would stop by Thursday and then leave Saturday. Are you up for a little company?" Leroy explained.

Wanting to let Professor Johnston know that he'd only be a minute, William went to make a gesture to the man. He found that Professor Johnston was busy looking over data in the computer like a child with a new toy and was totally oblivious to what William was doing. Turning his attention back to his father, William said, "You're always welcome. Can I ask a favor of you?"

"What?"

"Would you mind giving a talk here on Friday? I'm sure the biology department would love to have a Nobel Prize Winner give a Friday afternoon lecture."

"I've got my standard College seminar lecture in my briefcase. Set it up," answered Leroy.

"Great. I enjoy showing off my parents," William said with a chuckle. It pleased him when his parents got the credit they deserved for their hard work, particularly Leroy. The quiet black man was often overlooked because of his more famous husbands.

"My plane is ready. I'll see you Thursday."

"Right, Thursday."

Professor Johnston had turned around in time to hear the farewells. Not having paid attention, he had no clue concerning the identity of the person with whom William had been talking. Seeing the smile on the face of his young student, he asked, "You have a date?"

"That was one of my fathers. He's coming to visit next Thursday," William answered while wishing that he had a date.

"Is he here on business?" Professor Johnston asked. He wasn't normally that curious about his student's private lives, but he didn't have many fifteen-year-old students. In a funny way, he felt like he had to watch over the boy.

"It's mostly to visit with me, but he's agreed to give a lecture here on Friday," said William.

"When and where?" he asked thinking it would be a chance to meet a member of William's family. Even though there was a lot of information about his parents in the press, Professor Johnston knew that it wasn't the kind of information that would give insights into the family. He was curious what kind of parents could produce someone like William.

"I don't know yet. I have to arrange it," said William.

"Well, go do that. I'm going to look over this data," Professor Johnston said. Turning to look at the screen, he wondered where William had managed to get home purchase data going back fifty years.

"County tax records," said William as he left the office.

William stepped out of the Morgenstern Building and looked up at the spring sky. It was the first warm day of spring. The women on campus had shed their coats and donned short skirts. The young men on campus were busy watching the young women. It was a spring day on campus and love, well at least lust, was in the air.

The bench outside the Morgenstern Building was unoccupied and William went over to it to make a call. Fishing out his cell phone, he called Mary Gold to see if she could help him arrange a meeting with the chair of the biology department. She called back after ten minutes with the news that he had an appointment in twenty minutes.

William took his time walking over to the biology department. He noticed Doug was walking with a young woman and talking animatedly. He hoped his friend was able to get a date, but feared that it was highly unlikely. The women who interested Doug seldom gave him the time of day. Doug wasn't interested in the women who were interested him. Doug, in a paraphrase of Groucho Marx, often joked that he wouldn't want a woman that wanted a man like him.

Thinking about his friend, William made his way across campus towards the science building. It was a large two-story building covered with ivy. He entered the building, taking in the architecture and thinking of his sister, Beth. He knew that she'd probably find the architectural style very boring. He made his way towards the biology department on the second floor. The halls were wide with pairs of doors spaced far apart. Each laboratory had two doors, one on each end of the room.

It took him some time to find the office. Entering, he went to the secretary's desk and said, "I'm here to see the department chair."

Looking up at the young man, the secretary figured that she would put him off in a gentle manner. She answered, "Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes, I do," he answered.

"Your name?"

"William Redman Carter."

The secretary didn't need to look at her appointment book to know he was expected. Less than thirty minutes earlier, the Provost had called to make the appointment for him. Surprised that it was such a young man, she said, "Dr. Dorman will see you now."

Entering the office, William looked at the frumpy looking woman seated behind the desk. She was in her late fifties and didn't bother to hide it. Her gray hair was pulled up in a bun with strands of hair sticking out in disarray. She looked over at him with a frown and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm William Redman Carter." He knew that wasn't her real question. She wanted to know what made him think he could get an appointment with her on demand.

"Why would the Provost demand that I meet you?"

"I have arranged a guest speaker for Friday afternoon," answered William although that wasn't the real reason. Mary Gold had made a few calls to arrange this meeting and he guessed she had just cut through the bureaucracy by going directly to the top. Very few people rejected calls from a representative of the Carter Clan, particularly people who were in charge of fundraising.

"What has that got to do with me?"

"Your department is hosting him."

Dr. Dorman sat back in her chair and stared at William. The look she gave him had withered many a graduate student who had wasted her time. She seriously doubted that a teenager could arrange a speaker who would be of much interest. Much to her surprise, he smiled at her with amusement in his eyes. Curious at the fact that she couldn't intimidate him, she asked, "Who is this guest speaker?"

"Dr. Leroy Jones, Jr."

She didn't have to ask who he was, but couldn't believe that she had heard the young man correctly. Sitting forward, she asked, "Dr. Leroy Jones, Jr.?"

"Yes."

"The man who did the groundbreaking research on Chronic Wasting Disease?"

"Yes."

"You are talking about the Nobel Laureate Leroy Jones, Junior?"

"Yes," answered William nodding his head.

"May I ask how you managed to arrange for such an important person to give a lecture here?"

"Sure. He's one of my fathers and is stopping by to pay a visit. I asked him if he'd be willing to give a Friday afternoon lecture and he said yes," answered William.

She didn't need to hear any more than that. Smiling at William, the department chair asked, "What time should I schedule the lecture?"

"How about after lunch?"

"Excellent. I'll schedule lunch in the faculty dining room and we can go from there to the lecture hall. Would a noon lunch be okay with you and your father?"

"That would be fine," answered William.

"Thank you. I'll make the arrangements." Dr. Dorman knew that news of the seminar would spread like wildfire across the campus. Dr. Leroy Jones, Jr had given the world a new infectious mechanism, joining bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Not only had he done that, he'd found how diseases produced by it could be cured. He had done it as a biologist and not as a veterinarian or medical researcher.

While making his way from the building where the biology department was located, William froze with his heart hammering in his chest. Seated on one of the benches was a young woman. She looked to be fourteen going on fifteen years of age. Her hands covered her face as she cried. Her shoulders moved up and down. Her silky brown hair came down to the middle of her back. His spirit leapt on seeing her.

Hands trembling from nervousness and excitement, he made his way over to the bench. Looking down on her, his vision met reality. Yesterday's tomorrow had become today. Now that he was faced with her, he didn't know what to say despite the fact that he had sought opening lines for years. Unsure for the first time in longer than he could remember, he asked, "Would you like to talk about it?"

"You wouldn't understand," the young woman said between sobs. She didn't bother to look up at the individual who had asked the question.

Taking a seat next to her, his heart pounding in his chest, he said, "I bet I would understand."

"I'm fifteen years old and in college. Nobody takes me seriously. Everyone makes fun of me. I hate it here." Her complaints were ejected like bullets between sobs. The other students called her 'kid.' Some of them even rubbed her on the head like she was some kind of pet dog. It angered her that she made better grades than other students, but they wouldn't allow her to participate in their study groups.

"I'm fifteen years old and in college," William said softly. He had problems with others taking him seriously, but no one made fun of him. When he needed to be taken seriously, he would wear his robe from the Druid College. That made people sit up and notice him.

The young woman pulled her hands away from her face and turned towards him. It was her intention to call him a liar since she was sure that she knew better. Instead, she was shocked to see someone her own age looking at her. Disbelieving her eyes, she asked, "You're a student here?"

"Yes, I am," answered William staring at the face he had dreamed of seeing for years. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, despite the fact that her eyes were red from crying and her nose was running.

"Prove it."

"Trusting soul, aren't we?" asked William with a grin. He fished around in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. It took him a minute to locate his student ID. Removing his ID from the wallet, he held it up for her to see.

"Why haven't I see you before?" she asked. Her red rimmed eyes opening wide at seeing the student ID.

"I'm usually over in the Morgenstern Building," he answered replacing the ID in the wallet and the wallet to his pocket.

"Oh, I don't ever make it over there."

"My name is William Redman Carter."

Finding the formal introduction funny, she replied, "I'm Lucille Desi Wilkins."

"I'm pleased to meet you Lucille."

"Call me Lucy. So you are really a student here?" she asked unable to believe that she had found another student her age.

"Yes, I'm really a student here," answered William with a grin. Now that she had calmed down, William thought it would be better to talk with her in a more relaxing environment. He asked, "Would you like to go over to the student center with me?"

Not wanting to return to her dorm, she answered, "I'd love to go."

As they walked along, William knew that the complaints she had raised wouldn't provoke the kind of tears he had seen. Some other event had to have happened to trigger her reaction. He asked, "So what upset you so much?"

"I went to my dorm room after class to drop off my books and my room mate was having sex with a guy on my bed. On my bed!" The anger in her voice was unmistakable. It was the final straw after a long line of abuse by her roommate.

William listened to her roommate horror stories. Shaking his head, he wondered how someone could be so crass towards someone younger. It offended his sense of right based on the rule to protect the weak from the strong. Four or five years difference in age might not mean much to a middle aged person, but to a teenager it was a quarter of a lifetime of experience.

She vented her frustration and after a while fell silent. She wiped her eyes unable to believe that she had been crying again. The idea that she would have to return to her dorm and sleep in a bed that had been violated by her roommate was crushing. She never wanted to return to that room.

William was touched by her pain and wanted to help her. He said, "I'm sorry that your room mate is a complete jerk. Maybe I can help you get moved to a better room."

"What can you do?" asked Lucy feeling that her situation was hopeless. She looked at William seeing a teenager in the same situation as herself. Her attempts to change dorm rooms had failed. When she had asked the resident assistant about changing rooms, she had told her there wasn't another available room.

"I'm sure that something can be done," answered William knowing he would move heaven and earth to make life better for her. She was his love and her life was going to be a fairy tale existence from that day forward. He had been waiting to meet her for as long as he could remember.

The young couple made their way to the student center. Once there, Lucy went to the restroom to wash her face while William rushed off to get them something to drink. In the restroom, Lucy scrubbed her face, blew her nose, and brushed her hair frantically. Looking in the mirror, she wished that she wore makeup to hide the effects of crying. She managed to finish and find a table before William was able to pay for his purchases. She waved to him to let him know where she was seated and sat down when he nodded back at her.

After paying for the beverages, William made his way to the table. He held up a bottle of orange juice and a bottle of apple juice to let her pick one. She pointed at the bottle of orange juice and he handed it to her. She looked at him and, feeling suddenly shy, said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lucy looked across the table at William unable to believe that a handsome young man like him was spending time with her. His black hair, dark eyes, and copper colored skin gave him a very exotic appearance. Although he was a little shorter than she was, she knew that would change with time. His next growth spurt would put him taller than her by several inches. From the attention he was giving her, she believed he was just as interested in her as she was interested in him. Lucy asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," answered William. He was tempted to tell her that she just had asked him something, but the relationship was too new and fragile to risk on a bad joke.

"Why do you introduce yourself as William Redman Carter?"

"I am very proud of my name. William Redman was my great- grandfather. He was a Medicine Man of my tribe and founded the Native American College. My father was John Carter. He was the Grand Druid and founded the Druid College. When I give my name, I am doing honor to both men. It is a constant reminder that I have to strive for excellence," answered William.

His answer was a major shock. She hadn't connected his name to the Carter Clan and had never heard of William Redman, although she had heard of the Native American College. Suddenly, the handsome young man was larger than life and that terrified her. She needed some time to think, but he was seated across from her. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Tell me about yourself."

For the next hour, William and Lucy exchanged personal histories. While his life was an accelerated version of hers, there were enough commonalties that they connected. They shared an enjoyment of math, science fiction, and martial arts. One difference was that she had been held back from achieving her full potential by parents and a school system. Her parents were concerned that she was growing up too fast. The school system didn't like to make exceptions, even for bright students.

The conversation also touched up lighter subjects. She had explained that her name was a result of her mother's love of the 'I Love Lucy' show. She'd been named Lucille after Lucille Ball and Desi after Desi Arnaz. When she had finally seen the show, she'd been dismayed.

When William went off to refill their juices, Lucy sat at the table thinking about what she had learned. She had rushed through school; passing classes like cars passed bicycles on a highway. She had lived with people treating her like some sort of strange beast because she was successful at anything she attempted. For the first time in her life, she had met someone her own age that was even more successful than her. She didn't know how to react to him. She kept thinking that she'd like to react to him in the manner she wanted others to react to her.

From across the student center, Doug had watched William and Lucy talking. When William left the table, he saw the concerns flitting over her face. Deciding that he would help, he went over to the seat William had just abandoned and sat down without waiting for an invitation. Looking at Lucy with interest, he said, "There are some advantages to looking your age."

It was Lucy's experience that too many of the men on campus thought that a fifteen-year-old girl would love to date an older man. They felt she would be an easy lay. Consequently, she had to fend off several pickup attempts a day. Rolling her eyes in anticipation of another pickup line, Lucy asked, "What advantages?"

"You find a young woman your own age," said Doug.

"Are you claiming to be fifteen?" Lucy asked. It was clear by the tone of voice that she knew it was an absurd claim and that she wasn't amused.

"Not at all. I'm talking about William," Doug said looking at her quizzically. He didn't understand her hostility. When her posture showed signs of relaxing, he said, "The two of you make a cute couple."

"We're not a couple!"

"You could have fooled me. My friend William is head over heels for you. I'm not going to put words into your mouth, but if you aren't goo-goo over him then my name is Donald Duck." Doug leaned back in his chair and watched her face turn red out of embarrassment.

"Goo-goo?"

"That's short for madly, deeply, and truly interested," answered Doug with a grin.

"Oh, I shall have to add that to my vocabulary one of these days," she answered with a laugh.

"It's a perfectly good word."

"Who are you?"

"I guess by your question, you don't believe my name is Donald Duck," Doug said. She blushed when she realized what he meant by his reply. Winking at her, he said, "I'm Doug. I'm his second best friend on campus."

"Who's his best friend?"

"What's your name?" Doug looked at her expectantly.

"Lucy," she answered surprised by the sudden change in topic.

"Lucy."

It took Lucy a minute to realize that Doug hadn't changed the topic. He was saying that she was William's best friend. The presumption embarrassed her and excited her at the same time.

While William walked towards the table, he noticed Doug and Lucy talking with each other. She was laughing at something Doug had said. He thought it was strange that Doug had known of another student his age and had never let him know. When he reached the table, he asked, "Do you know each other?"

"I introduced myself to Lucy, but she didn't believe that my name was Donald Duck so I had to tell her the truth," Doug answered while winking at Lucy.

Noticing the wink, William had to play out the game. As he slid the orange juice to Lucy, he asked, "Why would you tell her that your name was Donald Duck?"

"I told her that if you weren't goo-goo over her, my name was Donald Duck. She turned around and asked me for my real name."

"Goo-goo?" asked William.

"That's short for madly, deeply, and truly interested," said Lucy giggling at how his reaction mirrored hers.

"I shall have to add that to my vocabulary one of these days," William said with a laugh.

On hearing that, Doug burst out laughing. Lucy giggled at hearing her own words coming out of William's mouth. Shaking his head, Doug said, "You two belong together. William, if you don't invite her out for dinner then I'll lose all respect for you."

"Invite her out for dinner?" asked William wondering if Doug wasn't pushing him into doing something that would scare Lucy away.

"I'd hate for Doug to lose what little respect he has for you. I guess I would have to accept if you extended an invitation," Lucy said. She hoped that by saying yes in that manner that it would make it easier for William to ask her out.

"Will you come to dinner with me tonight?" asked William nervously.

"Yes," she answered almost before he finished asking the question. Almost as soon as the word was out of her mouth, she realized that she had just accepted her first date. The enormity of what had just occurred flustered her and she put her hand over her mouth to hide her embarrassment.

"Call me Cupid. I have fired my arrows, hit my target, and now must leave. Have a fun time you two," said Doug with a flourish of his arms as he stood, bowed, and then left. He called over his shoulder before either one of them had a chance to react, "I expect to be invited to the wedding."

Once Doug had left, they looked at each other nervously. Wondering if she had just been played by an experienced team, she said, "I know that Doug was joking, but I have to know. Are you really interested in me?"

Reaching across the table, William took her hand and, looking her in the eye, answered, "I have been waiting for you my entire life."



-------

Chapter 9

Like a man on a mission, William marched into the office of the Director of Student Housing. The sign on the door identified the occupant as Mary Dove, but he didn't give any thought to the name other than to remember it. On entering her office, he was surprised to discover that the director was a woman of Native American ancestry. It was obvious by her features and by the decorations in the room. Hand carved artwork, weavings, and paintings hung on the walls. Framed on the wall was the cover of a national magazine with his picture on it.

While William was surprised, Mary Dove was absolutely shocked to see him walk into her office. Excited, she said, "You're him! You're Talks With Animals!"

"Yes, I am," said William wondering if he was going to get that same reaction from every Native American he met. He glanced at the magazine cover and wondered how many Native Americans had copies of it hanging on their walls. As far as he was concerned, one was too many.

"My cousin was there with you," she exclaimed.

"Who is your cousin?" asked William. He noticed there was a poster on the wall that told how the Lenape became known as the Delaware. He'd heard the story at the Native American College and recalling the story brought smile to his face.

"Sam Iron Bear," she replied with pride. The fact that a member of her family had participated in such an important event for her people was a source of considerable pride.

It took William a second to remember the man. He had been one of the men who had been injured in the explosion. He said, "He broke a couple of ribs."

"That's what he says, but he didn't have any broken ribs when he came home."

Nodding his agreement, he said, "My mother healed all those who were injured. It took her a couple of days to get to everyone."

Mary Dove looked at William wondering how his mother had managed to heal broken bones over the course of a couple days. It took her a moment to decide that it didn't matter. If he said she did it, then she did it. That was all the proof that she needed. She couldn't get over the fact that he was actually sitting in her office. She asked, "What can I do for you?"

"You can take care of a housing problem for me," William answered. He knew that the problem would get resolved, but he hoped that it would be for the right reason.

"What problem?"

"A young lady is having significant problems with her roommate."

Mary Dove frowned at his statement. She had that complaint at least three times a day, particularly from Freshman learning to live with others for the first time. "That's a common complaint and we can't move students around because they have problems with their roommates. I'm really sorry, but there is nothing I can do for you."

Taking a seat, William said, "The young lady is fifteen years old. Today, she caught her roommate having sex on her bed. While I am not concerned about the sex, the roommate's actions have put her at risk to disease. It is also a direct attack on her innocence.

"People need a space that is theirs, but the roommate violates her space with great regularity. It is a very subtle form of abuse.

"Her roommate has destroyed clothes belonging to this young lady. It increases the cost that must be born by the young woman. It increases the pressures under which she must live and study. It can impact her grades. That is harm.

"Now, I believe that we must protect the weak from the strong. A fifteen-year-old woman in a room with a nineteen or twenty year old woman is at a significant disadvantage. We must act to protect her. I will not buy the argument that she must learn how to handle people like that at some time. Demanding that the weak get tougher without support is a fallacious stance that does great harm," William said.

"I am aware that you are also a graduate of the Druid College," said Mary Dove recognizing the philosophy that he was using as the basis for his argument. She also had to admit that a very unbalanced dynamic was at work against the young woman.

"So you know why I say we have to act," said William.

She turned to her computer and started looking up the rooms available. After a few minutes, she said, "I've got one private dorm, but it is a lot more expensive than a shared dorm room. There are a couple of two person rooms, but I'm not sure those would be any better for her. A bipolar woman who stopped taking her medicine occupies one of them. A man occupies another room."

"Put her in the private dorm room. I'll pay the difference," William said knowing that he could afford to have an entire dorm facility built for her. He was willing to pay whatever was required.

Mary Dove looked at the screen. She wanted to help William, but she was unwilling to violate the law. She said, "You say that she's fifteen."

"Yes."

"I have to get her parent's permission to move her," said Mary Dove. She wondered if the money given by William could affect the financial support being received by the girl. She asked, "What's her name?"

"Lucille Desi Wilkins," answered William wondering how many fifteen-year-old students there were on the campus. It took him a few seconds to realize that Mary probably knew very few of the students by name. That was particularly true for students who were not a problem.

Mary's fingers flew across the keyboard as she brought up contact information. It took her a minute to find the necessary contact data. She looked up at William and saw that she was there on a scholarship. The scholarship did not cover room, board, or books. She asked, "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"Yes," answered William.

"I'll have to tell them where the money is coming from."

The idea of telling her parents that their daughter's boyfriend was willing to pay to get their daughter into a private room wasn't exactly how he wanted to start his relationship with Lucy. He asked, "Where do her parents live?"

"They live in Harmony. It's a little town halfway between here and Pittsburgh."

Coming to the decision that he needed to speak with her parents, William got out his cell phone and called Ken. When the man answered, William asked him to gas up the Hugger and come get him from the school. He told him that they were going to drive to Harmony that evening.

Looking up at Mary Dove, William said, "I would appreciate it if you would wait to make that call until tomorrow morning. We're going to see her parents."

"We?" she asked wondering if he was including her in the trip.

"Lucy and I," said William.

"Okay," said Mary Dove. She took a moment to jot down information about Lucy so that she could easily call up the account the next day.

"I had better break the news to Lucy," said William standing. He glanced at the magazine cover with his picture on it and frowned.

"See you tomorrow," said Mary Dove. She couldn't wait to get on the telephone and tell her family that she had met Talks With Animals.

William stepped out of the director's office and threaded his way to the front office. Looking pensive, Lucy was waiting for him expecting to hear that he was in trouble. She'd been terrified when he had just walked past the receptionist's desk. Not knowing what to do, she had taken a seat to wait for him to get kicked out. Worried, she asked, "What happened?"

"Well, we found a solution but we need to meet with your parents," said William.

The news that her parents would have to be involved concerned her. She didn't want them to have to drive all the way from Harmony, but she was really tired of her roommate's abuse. Of course, her father would probably require her to leave the school. Licking her lips, she said, "They could maybe come here this weekend."

"Oh, no. We'll drive down there tonight," William said not wanting her to stay in that room any more time than necessary.

"Tonight? Drive?"

"I have a driver and he'll take us down there. We should arrive in time for dinner. I did ask you out for dinner, didn't I?" asked William with a grin.

"Yes."

"So we'll have dinner in Harmony with your parents."

"Okay," she said wondering if that was such a good idea.

William led her away to where Ken would pick them up. As they walked, he asked her questions about her parents. It wasn't a cross- examination with the intent of learning how to manipulate them, but a consequence of a real interest in learning more about them. When she started telling stories about her time at home, he knew that she was becoming less concerned about having dinner with them.

When they reached the place where the car was to pick them up, he asked, "Do you need to use my cell phone?"

"What for?"

"To let your parents know that we're coming," answered William.

"Oh, yeah," she said, once again becoming nervous about seeing her parents. She frowned and said, "I didn't expect my first date with a boy to be spent with my parents."

Handing her the telephone, William laughed at her comment. He said, "Just consider them as Chaperones."

"Chaperones? Does anyone do that anymore?" she asked.

"The rumor is that when my little brother gets old enough to date, there is almost zero chances of him ever being alone with a girl," William said with a laugh. Ever since Eddie had been born, people had been talking about the need to lock up the girls. The closer to dating age that Eddie got, the more the town worried. "The whole town is working to keep that from happening."

"Oh come on."

Pointing to the phone, he said, "You're just trying to put off making the call to your parents."

Looking down at the phone in her hand, she realized that he was right. She dialed the number for her mother. William listened to her side of the conversation. "Hello, mom."

"I'm fine."

"Really. I'm fine."

"The reason I'm calling is that I'm coming to visit you tonight."

"No. I'm fine."

"Really. I'm fine," she said. Looking at William, she rolled her eyes.

"A boy is taking me," she said with a noticeable hesitation when she said 'boy.'

"He's my age."

"No. He's not driving."

"He has a driver."

"I'm fine."

"Really, I'm fine."

William grinned when she blushed and then turned her back to him. She said, "Maybe."

"No, I'm not."

"Really, I'm not." She turned back to faced William and mouthed, 'she thinks I'm pregnant.'

It was tempting to tell her that they could make that a possibility, but he refrained. He heard her say, "I'm not pregnant!"

"He wants to take us out to dinner."

"I'm pretty sure that he can afford it," she said as she winked at him.

The Hugger pulled up to the curb and came to a stop. William pointed to it and, in a soft voice, said, "Lucy, my car is here."

Looking at the Hugger, Lucy said, "Wow, you've got a Hugger. My dad wants one of those so much."

Opening the door, William let her in the back seat. Once she was in place, he said, "Don't forget you're still on the phone."

"Oh, yeah."

He walked around the Hugger and got in the other side after throwing his book bag into the rear of the Hugger. Looking over at the unexpected passenger, Ken said, "I guess we're not training tonight."

William leaned forward and said, "Not tonight. I've got parents to meet."

Glancing at Lucy, Ken raised an eyebrow and said, "Combat of a different kind."

William heard Lucy say, "We should be there in about an hour."

She laughed and said, "We can talk when I get there."

William thought about the call and how she had never once used the whiny 'Mother' that Jennifer used with great regularity. It was clear to him that her relationship with her mother was of a very different nature than what existed between Jennifer and her mother. She handed him the phone and said, "I think she would have talked to me the whole trip there."

"That would have been okay," William said with a laugh. It would have been easy enough to watch her while she was talking with her mother. She was very easy on the eyes. He took her hand and asked, "Are you nervous about introducing me to them?"

Lucy thought it about it with the same kind of care with which William attacked personal problems. After a moment, she answered, "I'm a little nervous. They want to protect me from adult pressures and give me a chance to grow up normally. I don't know how they'll react to me bringing home a boy at my age. I think they hope that I won't have a boyfriend until I'm eighteen."

"I understand and respect their sentiment," William said as he thought about it from their perspective. He knew his family was exceptional in establishing long lasting relationships early in life. His sister, Beth, and his brother, John, had found their true loves early in life. It wasn't that way for other people. Youth was associated with hormones and a lack of responsible behavior.

Seeing her puzzled expression, he said, "I live my life by two rules. If it harms none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong. Your parents are following the second rule to the best of their ability."

"I can tell that you graduated from the Druid College," Lucy said. She settled into her seat and looked out the window of the car. The last time she had seen that scenery was when she went home during spring break. She wondered if her parents were to tell her not to see him, if he would respect them on that request. Curious, she asked, "What if my parents told you never to see me again?"

"It's not going to happen."

"I'm asking you what if it does happen," she insisted.

Taking her hand, William said, "Lucy, you and I are destined to be together for life. There is no power on earth that can prevent that from happening."

"How can you say that?" she asked overwhelmed by his certainty.

"There are some things that I have known as long as I can remember. I know that I will become a servant of the Two-sided One. I know that you and I will be together for life. I know that peace is coming to the Middle East," said Oscar with certainty.

"The Two-sided One," she echoed weakly.

"Yes, the Two-sided One," answered William.

Lucy watched the countryside pass outside the Hugger while she thought about the young man seated beside her. He was the son of John Carter and intended to serve the most mysterious of the Gods and Goddesses. He thought they would be together for life. She wished she could believe that, but belief was beyond her. After all, he believed there would be peace in the Middle East.

Harmony Pennsylvania was located beside an interstate highway with a state highway that ran through the center of town. William stared at the handful of fast food restaurants that lined the state highway. They were clustered on the end of town that was closest to the interstate and served as a rest stop for cars traveling to and from Pittsburgh along the highway.

Having grown up with few visits to fast food places, William was often curious about them. There was one that was actually nearer to the center of town. Spotting it, he asked, "What's a Dairy Queen?"

Lucy looked at him and asked, "You don't know what a Dairy Queen is?"

"No, I don't," answered William. He wondered if he could convince her parents to go there for dinner.

"They serve a lot of ice cream stuff and hamburgers," she answered.

Having observed William's fascination with fast food in the past, Ken said, "If I may make a suggestion..."

"Go ahead," William said knowing what Ken was going to say.

"I think that visiting the Dairy Queen should be postponed to another time," Ken said.

"You're right," said William having turned his body trying to get one last glimpse of the store.

Lucy watched him incredulous that he would be so interested in a Dairy Queen. It was the local teenage hangout and nothing special. It made her realize that although he was very knowledgeable about some things, he was very inexperienced in others. Taking a little comfort in that insight into his character, she sat back in her seat.

Ken pulled up in front of the Wilkins house. It was a simple place with a brick and wood exterior. A driveway covered in gravel led up to a one-car garage. Two basic sedans were parked in the driveway. The large lawn was covered with brown grass that had not yet recovered from winter. Bushes were planted along the front of the house with a patch for a flower garden. There was a large Oak tree near the center of the yard.

The movement of a curtain in the large front window suggested someone was waiting and watching for them to arrive. Ken stepped out of the car and walked around to the side where Lucy was seated. William stepped out and looked around at the neighborhood.

The houses were spaced a good distance apart along the street. Most of the houses looked similar to the Wilkins place. Parked alongside a couple of the houses were boats or campers giving testimony that some members of the neighborhood partook of outdoor activities with great regularity. In a funny way, it reminded him of his hometown.

Lucy walked around the car and stood next to William. With a worried look on her face, she asked, "Are you ready to meet my parents?"

"Yes," answered William.

The young couple walked, side by side, to the house with Ken following them. The door opened before they reached it. A woman, in her late thirties, stepped out and held out her arms for her daughter. Lucy stepped up to her mother and hugged her. It was a real heartfelt hug that spoke of deep feelings between the two. William watched the exchange with a smile having been through the same thing with his mothers.

When they ended their embrace, William stepped forward and took her mother's hand, Looking her in the eye, he said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wilkins. I am William Redman Carter."

She was unprepared for his directness and confidence. Feeling a little off balance, she said, "It's nice to meet you."

"The gentleman behind me is Ken Armstrong. He's my driver."

She looked at Ken and didn't know what to say. After a few seconds of hesitation, she said, "Nice to meet you. Won't you come in the house."

They followed her into the house. Lucy's father was seated in a lazy boy recliner. Using the lever, he lowered the leg support and rose out of the chair. He was a tall man with a bald spot and receding hairline. His stomach was approaching the point where it would soon overhang his belt, but it hadn't quite gotten there yet. The look he gave William wasn't exactly friendly.

William stepped forward and extended his hand. In a confident voice, he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wilkins. I'm William Redman Carter."

Her father accepted his hand and examined the young man. He didn't like what he saw. With a chill in his voice, he said, "That's a rather pretentious way to introduce yourself."

"Perhaps, but I'm proud of my name," William answered.

"And why would that be?"

Knowing what was coming, Lucy smiled and waited for William to give his answer. Looking her father in the eye, William said, "I am named after my great-grandfather, William Redman. He was the greatest Medicine Man of my tribe."

"I kind of noticed you were an Indian," her father said. He wondered what kind of lowlife kids his daughter had attracted. Looking around the house, he figured the kid would never be able to provide a place that was quite so nice. His daughter deserved better.

"He was the founder of the Native American College," said William without rancor. He understood the father was antagonistic because he was concerned for his daughter. At the raised eyebrow from the father, he said, "My last name is from my birth-father."

"What you got more than one father?"

"Yes, I have my birth-father and three others," answered William.

"Things are just getting better and better," said the father shooting a dark look at Lucy. He wondered what kind of dysfunctional family produced this kid.

"My birth-father was John Carter. He was the inventor of the Fusion Well and the Fusion Battery. He was the Grand Druid and founder of the Fusion Foundation and the Druid College."

As soon as he heard the name of John Carter, Mr. Wilkins realized he should have recognized the last name. The wide-eyed expression on his wife's face let him know that he had really stepped in it. It seemed highly likely that he had chased off a perfectly good boyfriend. If so, he was going to hear all about it from his wife.

William continued, "Ed Biggers, the second of my fathers, is currently the head of those who serve the Two-Sided One. He is also the current CEO of the Fusion Foundation. My third father is Leroy Jones, Junior. He won the Nobel Prize for his research into Chronic Wasting Disease. My most recent father is Dan Biggerstaff. He's the chief scientist of Random Computers."

Looking at Mr. Wilkins, he asked, "Would you like to know about my mothers? I have four of them."

"Sure," answered Mr. Wilkins. Worries about the kid being able to support his daughter were replaced by fears that he was going to play rich kid with her. He would tear her heart out and leave her behind, probably pregnant.

"My birth-mother is Linda Carter. She's the author of a number of children's books. You may have heard of them -- Indian Tales. My second mother is Kelly Carter. She's founder of the International Association of Nurses and has a seat on the board of the Fusion Foundation. My third mother is Ling. She's the retired national champion in Kung Fu and holds the rank of Grand Master. My fourth mother is Claire. She's the woman's national shooting champion in the rifle and pistol." His recitation was delivered in a factual manner without boasting.

Listening, Ken wondered how good Claire must be with a gun. If she was better than Ling, then she had to be a phenomenal shot. He wondered if she had the same take no prisoners attitude of Ling.

"Oh."

"Would you like to hear about my brothers and sisters?"

Over his head, Mr. Wilkins didn't know how to answer the question. His wife said, "I'd love to hear all about your brothers and sisters. Maybe we can talk about it over dinner."



-------

Chapter 10


The place they chose to eat was a standard small town high-end restaurant. Wooden tables covered with white table clothes and surrounded by heavy chairs were distributed across a red carpeted dinning room. Wood paneling, decorated with the paintings by a local artist, was intended to give it a high-class old world feel. The attempt failed just enough to be noticeable.

The party of five followed the waitress to the large round table that was predictably placed in the corner of the room. When they reached the table, William said, "Please allow Ken to sit in the corner."

Surprised by the request, Mr. Wilkins asked, "Why?"

"I'm not only his driver, but I also am his bodyguard. I need to watch the room," answered Ken.

At the serious expression on Ken's face, William teasingly said, "Actually, the reason he is so diligent is that he's terrified that Momma Ling will come in and find that he isn't doing his job."

"You can say that again," Ken muttered as he took his seat.

William sat down next to Ken with Lucy on his other side. Mr. Wilkins sat across from William. Mrs. Wilkins sat between her husband and daughter with a smile on her face. She liked William. Looking at Lucy, she said, "You two make a cute couple."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wilkins," William said nodding in her direction. He wanted to say that he thought the same thing, but Lucy's father hadn't yet come to accept him.

"Call me Ann."

Surprising Lucy, William, in a teasing manner, said, "I think I'd rather call you Mrs. Wilkins until I can call you mom."

Frowning at the joke, Mr. Wilkins asked, "So you drove all the way down here to tell us that you are dating my little girl?"

"As much as I would like to say yes, the truth is that I came here for a very different reason," answered William. His voice was suddenly very serious and demanded their attention.

"What is that?"

"Your daughter is in caught up in a very unpleasant situation at the university. I would like to help correct that situation. I came here to get your permission to allow me to help her."

Leaning forward, Mr. Wilkins had stopped listening as soon as he heard William mention something about an unpleasant situation. He asked, "What kind of situation?"

Looking at William for a second, Lucy answered, "My roommate is a horrible person."

"Missy? What's wrong with her?" asked Mrs. Wilkins in surprise. Every time they had been on the campus, Missy had been very nice and well mannered.

"She's nice around you guys, but when I'm there alone," her voice trailed off as she searched for the right way to say what needed to be said. She blurted out, "She's a bitch. I didn't lose the sweater you gave me for Christmas, she destroyed it. She's destroyed half of my clothes. She borrows them without asking and then returns them damaged."

"What?" asked Ann, her voice rising.

Once she had started, she couldn't stop. Lucy said, "Today I came home and she was having sex with a man on my bed! She laughed at me when I yelled at her. She's been doing stuff like that ever since I started school."

Lucy broke down and started crying. William put his arm around her and hugged her. He whispered in her ear, "Don't cry. Everything is going to be okay."

Her father's face was purple with rage. The idea that someone would have sex in his little girl's bed infuriated him. He hadn't wanted her to go off to college because he knew something like that was going to happen. It was only after constant badgering by his wife and daughter that he had given into the whole idea. Barely able to keep his voice below a bellow, he asked, "Why didn't you tell us this earlier?"

In a calm voice, William asked, "What would you have done if she had told you?"

"I'd have brought her home where she'd be safe!" There was a not so subtle challenge in the way he said it.

"You know what, I agree that she would have been much safer at home," said William disarming Mr. Wilkins. He earned a very dirty look from Lucy and her mother. They couldn't believe that William would take the position that he was taking.

"So you agree with me?" asked Mr. Wilkins equally surprised.

"Yes, I do agree with you. She'd have been much safer here than sharing a room with Missy. I really hate to think of the kinds of things that could have happened to her," William said. It was clear to him that the roommate wanted to destroy Lucy's innocence. For all he knew, rape would have been the next step.

William picked up the fork and started to polish it with his napkin. In an off-hand voice, he said, "I know she was pretty unhappy about what was going on in her room, too."

"You bet she was," said Mr. Wilkins. He wondered if William had brought her here to convince her to return home. His respect for the young man rose a notch.

"You know, it makes me wonder. She must have been pretty happy about something to be able to put up with such a horrible situation for so long," William said. He put down the fork and picked up a spoon. After wiping it for a few seconds, he paused and looked up at the ceiling with thoughtful expression. He asked, "What do you think made her that happy?"

"Going to school, of course." A sudden silence fell upon the group when Mr. Wilkins understood what he had just said. He looked across the table at Lucy with an apologetic expression on his face. In a much softer tone of voice, he said, "I'm sorry, pumpkin. I guess I have a hard time understanding how important education is for you. I mean, going to school for me was a way to make a good living. For you, it's a passion."

"That's okay," Lucy said.

Ann was staring at William unable to believe what he had done. After years of talking to her husband, she had never gotten him to understand their daughter's need to learn. In less than two minutes, William had led her husband to the desired conclusion.

Nodding his head, William said, "A passion -- I like the sound of that. She has a passion for learning. Of course, that leaves us with a horrible problem."

"Yeah. How do we keep her safe?"

William put the spoon and napkin down on the table. Sitting back, he said, "I went to the Director of Student Housing and asked her essentially the same thing. We considered a couple of possibilities. One, was that she move in with a woman who is having emotional problems."

"No way," said Mr. Wilkins. The last thing he wanted was some crazy woman killing his daughter.

"That goes without saying, but it did make me think about her situation in a different light. I actually think Lucy shouldn't share a room with a woman who is four or five years older than she is. It puts her at a significant disadvantage socially," William said while looking at Mr. Wilkins.

Frowning, Ann said, "I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. I guess I hoped that her roommate would watch over her like a little sister."

Lucy watched as her father went into his problem-solving mode. Frowning, he said, "So what options do you think are left?"

"Well, you could have her move back home," said William opening a door that Lucy wanted closed. It earned him another worried look from her.

"True," said her father. One look at Lucy and he knew that solution was not going to be accepted. He had already fought that battle and lost. He said, "I don't think she would be very happy about that."

"I know they have a private room available. What do you think about her not having a room mate?" William asked.

Mr. Wilkins narrowed his eyes as he examined William. He was convinced that William was going to find some reason for her not to live alone and that the only solution was for her to live with him. That solution was not going to be an option. He thought about his daughter living on campus in a single room. It wasn't that bad of a solution. He said, "That's a possibility."

Lucy and Ann stared at him unable to believe what he had just said. Ann was about to say that they couldn't afford it, when Lucy said, "It's too expensive."

"What is too expensive is often a matter of perspective," said William.

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Wilkins, let me ask you a question. Assume for the moment that I make a hundred dollars a week. What would you think if I were to spend twenty dollars taking Lucy on a date?" William reached over to the sugar container and pulled out a handful of sugar packets. He set ten of them on the table and then pulled two of them off to the side.

"I guess I would have to say that is a reasonable amount of money to spend on a date considering today's economy," answered Mr. Wilkins watching William arranging the sugar packets.

"Yeah, but that would be about twenty percent of my income for a week," William said pointing to the two sugar packets he had pulled away. Shrugging, he pointed to the other eight and said, "However, it still leaves me eighty percent of my income to spend on food, clothing, and other essentials. I could probably even save ten or twenty dollars if I'm careful."

"Yes."

William tore open one of the sugar packets and poured the contents onto the table. Pointing to the pile in an offhand manner, he said, "Assume for the moment that I make thirty thousand dollars a week. What would you think if I were to spend a thousand dollars to make sure that Lucy was safe?"

Mr. Wilkins stared at William and then at the pile of sugar. He watched as William cut out a very small amount of sugar from the pile. Finally, he said, "That's a lot of money."

"Yeah, but that would be about three percent of my income for a week," William said pointing to the sprinkling of sugar he had removed from the pile. Looking up at Lucy's father, William said, "It is all relative. I know that twenty dollars doesn't seem like much while a thousand seems like a lot. Yet for the guy who makes a hundred a week, twenty dollars is a lot of money. For someone with a lot of money, a thousand dollars is very little."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm willing to spend every dime I have to make sure that Lucy is happy and that she is safe," William answered. He could see that Mr. Wilkins was feeling insulted. He held up his hands palms outward and said, "May I say one more thing before you judge me?"

"Sure."

"My family measures a man's worth by his actions, not by the size of his wallet. None of my fathers started rich. John Carter was a college student who had just graduated with his doctorate when he invented the Fusion Well. Ed Biggers was a cowboy. Leroy was a college student from a poor neighborhood. Dan Biggerstaff was a design engineer. All of them work hard. They worked hard when they were young and they continue to work hard to this day.

"All of them give away the majority of money they earn. John Carter gave away ninety-five percent of the money he made off his inventions. Ed Biggers gives away about the same percentage of what he earns. Leroy has never made a lot of money, but he essentially funded the majority of research into Chronic Wasting Disease. Almost a tenth of the computers produced by Random Computers are given to schools and nonprofit organizations.

"I have worked since I was six. When I was at the Native American College, I worked in the library for minimum wage. I have been running an investment company ever since I turned nine. I respect people who work hard, strive to make a nice life for their family, and help others in whatever manner they can. My best friend earns a little more than eighteen thousand a year, but donates the majority of his time to helping his community.

"I'll admit that I started with a good amount of money, but I've given away more money than I ever inherited. I give to alcohol rehabilitation clinics, job training centers, and hospitals. This year alone I've given away more than twenty million dollars," William said.

The amount of money that William was describing was making his head spin. Mr. Wilkins couldn't believe that a kid was talking in terms of giving away millions of dollars. It made him feel small.

William said, "Lucy has told me that you support a little league baseball team through the hardware store that you own. She said that you donated materials for repairs to the church. Am I mistaken in my belief that there have been a few customers who you've helped to recover from some personal tragedy?"

"No, you're not mistaken," said Mr. Wilkins.

"Speaking man to man, you have earned my respect by such actions. Never allow the difference in our incomes make you think otherwise. Do not be concerned about accepting help from me if I can provide it and you need it. Believe me, I will definitely call upon you if I think that you can help me regardless of whether you accept my offer."

Mr. Wilkins snorted and said, "Like I could ever help you."

Sighing, William said, "No man is an island. Human beings need each other to become the best people they can be. In some cases, money can solve a problem. However, the percentage of problems that can be solved by money is very small. Most problems require a person on the scene. My father realized that he could do very little to help people as a single person. He started the Fusion Foundation so that his money could be used to mobilize thousands of people to help millions of people."

"You wonder if you can help me. I assure you that you can. You can participate in my job-training program in which one of my charities pays the salary of an employee while you train them. You can help me double check that I'm not wasting my money on construction goods when I donate to reconstruction programs. There are so many people who would take advantage of me that you wouldn't believe it. I need good people who can protect me from them," William said.

Mr. Wilkins was silent as he considered what William said. When put in terms of helping each other, the offer of money was much less insulting. William turned to Ken and said, "I need to use the restroom."

Standing, William left the table in search of a restroom. Ken sat at the table for a moment trying to figure out what William meant when he announced his need to use the bathroom. Suddenly, it dawned on him that William had tried to tell him they should leave the family alone to talk. Standing, he said, "Excuse me. I have bodyguard duties to attend to."

Alone at the table, the family members looked at each other. Mr. Wilkins was trying hard to decide what he thought about William's offer. He looked at Lucy and said, "I never thought that when you found a boy that we'd have a talk like this."

"He is a little overwhelming at times," Lucy said.

Concerned by her daughter's admission, Ann asked, "Has he tried to pressure you into anything?"

"Huh?"

"You know. Has he tried to get you to sleep with him?"

"He hasn't even tried to kiss me yet. This is our first date," Lucy said as a small smile crossed her face. She said, "I think he's afraid of scaring me away."

Mr. Wilkins thought about the situation. He agreed with most of the things that William had said about the value of a person. Shaking his head, he returned to the central problem. Looking at his wife, he asked, "Can we afford to pay for a private room?"

When she didn't answer right away, he said, "Give it to me straight and don't worry about hurting my feelings."

Ann looked at down at the table and answered, "Not really. Even with the scholarship money, we have just been covering our bills."

Biting her lower lip, Lucy looked from her father to her mother. She knew her future in college depended upon their decision. The problem was that she didn't think her father would accept financial help from William. She was not surprised when her father said, "I don't want to accept charity."

Lucy slumped in her seat. Her mother said, "So I guess you won't accept his offer."

"It wasn't an offer of charity that he made," said Mr. Wilkins. William was offering to help him with his need while asking him to help William with his need. Throwing up his hands, he said, "I need to think about it."

When William and Ken returned to the table, the waitress came over to take their order. The rest of the meal was of a more relaxed nature. William asked questions about the town and the people living there. His interest was genuine and his open interest was obvious to all at the table.

Throughout the meal, Ken thought about what William had said about his family. Until William had hired him, he had been so busy taking care of his family that he hadn't given much thought to the bigger picture. He had dropped change in the charity jar at the convenience store, but he hadn't really participated in helping others.

They were returning to the Wilkins house when William exclaimed, "Ken, pull into the Dairy Queen."

"What?"

"Pull into the Dairy Queen. I just spotted someone I know," William said in a very excited tone of voice. He was pointing to a roach coach parked in front of the fast food place.

Ken pulled into the parking lot. William turned to the Wilkins family and said, "Come on. I want to introduce you to someone."

Pausing only to help Lucy out of the Hugger, William raced over to the truck. A disheveled man walked around the side and spotted William. Smiling, he said, "Hey, Half Feather. It's been a while since I've seen you."

Considering the kinds of nicknames that the street people could have given him, William always found it amusing that they had selected Half Feather. He answered, "I'm surprised to run into you here, Bottle Cap."

The Wilkins family and Ken walked over to William. Mr. Wilkins frowned at the sight of the homeless man talking to William. Noticing their arrival, William said, "Let me perform the introductions. This is Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins. The young lady is Lucy Wilkins. The guy standing over there, trying to look tough, is Ken Armstrong. Everyone this is Bottle Cap."

Nodding his head, Bottle Cap said, "Pleased to meet you."

Everyone else mumbled his or her replies, rather surprised to be introduced to the man. William asked, "So where is Happy Harry?"

"He can't resist a cone of soft ice cream. He'll be out in a minute," answered Bottle Cap pointing back at that Dairy Queen.

Mr. Atkins sidled up to Ken and asked, "Do you know anything about this guy?"

"Nothing," answered Ken with a frown and a shake of his head.

Happy Harry stepped out from behind the truck and spotted William. In a loud voice, he said, "Well. If it isn't Half Feather! How are you doing?"

The sudden appearance of the green robed Druid captured everyone's attention. Looking over Harry, William said, "You're looking fit, Happy Harry. What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking Bottle Cap down to Pittsburgh so that he can take over the daily operations of the Homeless Hotel there," answered Harry. His words caused everyone to re-evaluate Bottle Cap.

William turned to Bottle Cap and said, "Congratulations, Bottle Cap. It is good to know that Pittsburgh will be in good hands from now on."

"Thanks. Happy Harry has been showing me the ropes."

Harry paused and looked at Lucy for a second. He handed one of the ice cream cones he was carrying to Bottle Cap. Walking over to the young woman, he said, "I see that William has finally found you after all these years of searching. This is glorious news indeed. Tell me young lady, has he sung love songs to you?"

"Uh, no," answered Lucy surprised by the question.

"Ah, poor William is totally hopeless when it comes to wooing a young lady. I've tried to teach him love songs, but he can't carry a tune to save his life. You're probably better off that he doesn't sing. Have patience with him for he has a feeble voice."

Lucy was laughing at the comment. Ann giggled at the idea of wooing by singing love songs. Harry stepped up to her and made a huge production out of kissing her hand. He said, "I can see where the light of William's life gets her beauty."

Turning to Mr. Atkins, he said, "If I were a younger man, I would be outside your window on bended knee, singing love songs to your wife in the hopes of stealing her away from you. The pity is that I'm old and can't kneel down. So you'll have to excuse me if I stand while I sing."

Looking over at Ken, Happy Harry took in the tense stance, frown, and narrowed eyes. Winking at William, he said, "This is clearly a man who has met Ling. I fear that it will take years before he can smile again. Never fear young man, we all recover from meeting Ling."

Laughing, William said, "You're impossible, Harry. Allow me to provide introductions. The young lady is Lucy. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins. And the gentleman who has met Ling is Ken."

Turning to everyone else, William said, "If you haven't guessed, this rascal is Happy Harry, last of the hoboes."

Happy Harry went over to William and hugged him. Looking down at the young man, he said, "It's good to see you, William Redman Carter."

Looking at the ice cream cone, William asked, "How is the ice cream here?"

Harry took a long lick of his ice cream and gave a look as if he had just tasted heaven. He laughed at the expression on William's face and said, "As much as I like your parents, I fear they did a poor job of introducing you to the pleasures of fast food. I invite all of you inside for a treat."

Putting an arm around Ann's shoulders, Harry led the Wilkins family into the Dairy Queen. William and Lucy raced ahead followed closely by Ken. As Harry walked, he spoke to Mr. Wilkins. "It is good that William has finally found his lady love. Perhaps now he'll be a little happier."

"Happier?" asked Mr. Wilkins.

"I hope that you'll show him some of the things that he's missed out on. I'm approaching eighty years old and there are times when I feel young compared to William. It's a tragedy really."

Looking at Harry, Ann asked, "Tragedy?"

"Yes. William sees the future. It has made him far older than he really is," said Harry with a sad shake of his head. Gesturing towards the young couple with his cone, he added, "He's described Lucy so many times in the past that I would have recognized her even if he hadn't been around. He's been waiting twelve years to meet her."

"You're kidding?" asked Mr. Wilkins amazed at what the Druid was saying.

"No, I'm not. I love him like a son. I must admit that I'm going to miss having him around this summer," said Harry.

"Miss him?" asked Ann.

"Oh, William has worked with me every summer since he graduated from the Druid College. He's going to work through the summer at the college this year."

Recalling William saying that he worked, Mr. Wilkins asked, "What kind of job did he have for you?"

"Job? He was a volunteer, just like all the other Carter Kids."

"So what did he do?"

"Why he helped take care of the homeless, of course."

The entered the Dairy Queen in time to hear Bottle Cap tell Lucy, "Lucy Diamonds, if you are ever in trouble, just find one of the homeless and tell them who you are. They'll keep you safe, sound, and fed. There ain't a man out on the street that will let the girlfriend of Half Feather suffer."



-------

Chapter 11


Lucy and Ann entered the house curious as to what they were going to find. They weren't expecting to have a screaming Tim run across the room and then jumping into his father's arms. They both jumped at his scream of delight at having his father return home. Holding up his son, Ken said, "Hello, sport. I'm glad to see you too. How about we get you ready for bed and I'll read a bedtime story to you?"

"Yeah!"

Ken carried Tim up the stairs. Lisa was waiting patiently for the males to clear out of the way. Once they were gone, she said, "Let me show your rooms."

The three women left the living room before William even had a chance to introduce them to each other. They managed to introduce themselves as they went to the guestroom.

Alone, William went to his favorite chair and sat down. Pulling out his cell phone, he called home. When Cathy answered, he said, "Tell the family that I finally found her. Her name is Lucy."

Closing the cell phone, he sat back in his chair feeling tired. It had been a long hard day and one that he would love to live over and over. He closed his eyes and fell asleep thinking that he would have to tell Lisa that they would be having a lot of company Thursday.

In the guest room, Ann said, "I'm so sorry to put you out like this. We'll be here until we get Lucy moved into her new dorm and we don't know how long that will take."

"Just the two of you are nothing. He's had as many as a hundred people drop in to talk to him. He has more visitors than anyone I've ever met," said Lisa smiling as she went over to the cabinet. She pulled out a pair of bags and said, "In case you're missing anything, each of these bags have a toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, deodorant, and tampons."

Looking at the bags, Ann asked, "He's got guest bags with tampons?"

Lisa laughed and said, "I added those after he had a female guest who needed them."

Curious, Lucy asked, "He has female visitors?"

"His sisters, mothers, and Druids drop in with some regularity," answered Lisa not aware of the emerging relationship between William and Lucy. She sighed and said, "He needs a girlfriend though. I've never seen a young man who was so lonely."

Looking at Lucy, Ann knew her daughter was probably bursting with curiosity. She asked, "Any girls interested in him?"

"There was the girl next door who was after him, but he didn't want anything to do with her. I don't blame him, she isn't too stable," said Lisa. Jennifer had been taken twice to the hospital for collapsing as a result of not eating.

Returning to her role as housekeeper, she turned down the sheets on the twin beds. While she worked, she said, "You have a private bathroom through the door behind you. The closets and chest of drawers are empty if you want to unpack your stuff."

"Nice," said Ann realizing that this was a real guestroom rather than a general-purpose room that also served as guestroom. Looking around at the twin beds, chairs, table, nightstands, chest of drawers, and television, she asked, "How many guest rooms does he have here?"

"Three. We've had a number of occasions when we needed more. We packed some of them into Tim's room."

"Oh."

Satisfied that everything was ready, Lisa asked, "Would you care for some hot chocolate?"

"Sure," answered Lucy thinking that a cup of hot chocolate would be the perfect end to a long day.

Lisa led the way to the living room. The women took one look at William sleeping in his chair and made their way to the kitchen as quietly as possible. Once they reached the kitchen, Lisa turned to face the other two women. Whispering so that she wouldn't wake William, she asked, "Did he explain the rules of the house to you?"

Puzzled at having house rules, Ann answered, "No."

"There are two rules. If it harms none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong. If you follow those rules, you won't have any problems staying here," said Lisa.

"Seem easy enough," said Lucy.

"Well, the first rule is a little complicated. You see, this is a clothing optional house," said Lisa as she got out a kettle in which to heat the water for the hot chocolate. Seeing the look of horror on Ann's face, she quickly added, "I know what you're thinking. He's a fifteen-year-old boy with raging hormones and all that. It's not that way at all."

In an icy voice, Ann asked, "What way is it?"

"It's all very innocent."

"Innocent?"

"Let me tell you the truth. When I first came here, I was terrified to get undressed in front of him. The first time I did it, he barely looked at me. He's never looked at me in a way that's made me uncomfortable. I participate in the morning exercises undressed most mornings now."

"I really don't like this," said Ann becoming convinced that she had seriously misjudged William.

Lucy was shocked at the revelation that it was a clothing optional house. There was no way her father would let her see William if he knew that he was a nudist. She doubted that her mother would allow the relationship to continue. No boy had ever seen her without her clothes on and she wanted to keep it that way. Snorting, she said, "There's no way I'm going to get undressed in front of him while I'm here."

Laughing at the obviously puritanical reaction, Lisa said, "He'd never ask you to do that."

Surprised that he wouldn't want to see her naked, Lucy asked, "Why?"

Filling the kettle with water, Lisa answered, "Because I think in this circumstance, you are weak and he will do all that he can to protect you. That is the second rule of this house, to protect the weak from the strong. He would never violate that rule."

Lisa nodded her head thoughtfully and said, "I doubt that you'll even see him naked unless you are up early enough for the exercises."

"The exercises?"

"Yeah. We exercise every morning. It is called Tai Chi." She leaned over and then, in an even softer whisper, said, "I gained weight after giving birth to Tim. You won't believe this, but I was a pretty hefty woman. Now look at me. I've never looked better. My stomach is flat, my breasts are firm, my ass doesn't sag, and my legs are shapely. My husband finds me sexy again."

Intrigued, Ann examined Lisa with the intent of checking out her body. The other woman definitely looked healthy as she went about the business of making hot chocolate. Lisa looked over her shoulder and said, "I apologize for the instant hot chocolate, but William really likes it."

"I like the instant kind," Lucy said.

"Good."

Filling three cups with hot water, Lisa glanced over at Lucy. Convinced that there was a good chance that Lucy might get a crush on William, she said, "I'm probably overstepping my bounds, but you look like a nice girl and I'd hate for you to get hurt. I don't know if you're interested in William, but you might not want to get your hopes up too high."

"Why?" asked Lucy. It was an interesting comment after what Happy Harry had said earlier.

"He's real smart. The girl who gets his eye is going to have to be a super-genius. I know you're a pretty young lady, but you'd have to be in college before he'd look at you," said Lisa as she poured the instant hot chocolate into the cups. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "I think he's been waiting for someone special."

There was an interesting correlation between what Lisa said and what Harry said. Giving her mother a significant glance, Lucy asked, "What would you say if I told you that I was a sophomore in college?"

"I don't know whether I'd say that you should grab him and never let go or if you should grab a baseball bat to keep the other girls from killing you," answered Lisa with a chuckle. She passed out the cups of hot chocolate.

"Why do you say that about other girls?" asked Lucy.

"He's young, attractive, smart, rich, and famous. Gold-diggers are going to be swarming all over that boy in a year or two," answered her mother thinking about the problems that will develop later in life. She wondered if her daughter had a chance at happiness. She still didn't like the idea that he was a nudist.

After Lucy and her mother went to bed, Lisa woke up William so that he could sleep in his bed. He stumbled off to his bedroom forgetting to tell Lisa about the fact that he was expecting a lot more visitors Thursday.

Unable to resist temptation, Ann and Lucy watched the group practice Tai Chi through the back window. Ann could hardly keep her eyes off Ken and Lisa. Lisa had not been lying about being in good shape. Her body was tight and she moved with grace. With a sigh, she said, "She is really attractive."

It was strange to stand beside her mother while watching a bunch of naked people, but Lucy wouldn't have been able to turn away for any amount of money. She had never seen anything like what was happening in the backyard. When they turned to perform certain movements she could see the private parts of William, Ken, and Tim. She wasn't sure if it was normal for their cocks to be flaccid when standing around a beautiful woman like Lisa. Curious, she asked, "Shouldn't they be excited or something?"

Ann looked at her daughter well aware of what she had been examining. She had spent more than a little time looking at the same things. Smiling, she said, "Not necessarily, but I'm surprised they aren't."

Licking her lips, Lucy watched William perform a turn. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing wrong with his body. Softly, she said, "He's gorgeous."

"Yeah, he's a good looking young man. Don't let your hormones get the better of you," Ann said. Looking at Ken and William, she could understand having a biological response to the view.

"Did you notice the scars on his chest?" asked Lucy. The two horizontal scars across his chest were the only imperfection on his body that she could see.

Ann nodded, but didn't answer. The group broke up their exercise and started moving around. William talked to Ken and Lisa while Tim headed into the house. The naked little boy burst through the back door, shouted a quick hello, and raced up the stairs. Lucy said, "He's not shy about being naked."

Laughing, Ann said, "No he's not."

A minute later, Tim made the reverse route carrying a Frisbee. With a quick goodbye he was out the door. Afraid of what she was going to hear, Lucy asked, "What do you think about this clothing optional stuff?"

"It's not what I expected," Ann answered watching William talking with Ann and Ken. He looked at their eyes and not the sexy bits. It was not the kind of behavior that she expected from a teenage boy.

"I was afraid that they'd break out into an orgy or something," Lucy said giving voice to her greatest concern. After catching her roommate the previous day, she didn't think she could have dealt with that.

"Same here," Ann said. She thought about it for a minute and then said, "Let's not tell your father about this yet."

The three adults dressed. Once dressed, Ken went off to play Frisbee with Tim who was still running around naked. William went over to watch them play for a minute while Lisa returned to the house. Entering, she looked over at Lucy and Ann at the window. Smiling, she said, "Good morning. I see you are both early risers."

Blushing at having been caught watching, Ann said, "Well, we went to bed a little early last night and have a busy day today."

"That's okay. I'm going to make pancakes. Is that all right with you two?"

"That's fine," said Ann.

With everyone clothed, the group gathered around the breakfast table. As the plate piled with pancakes made its way around the table, William said, "We can expect about fourteen visitors to arrive Thursday night."

Lisa nearly dropped the bottle of maple syrup and looked over at William. With Lucy and Ann there, it would make sixteen guests and William only had three guestrooms. Concerned, she asked, "Where will we put everyone?"

"I imagine Ed, Leroy, and Dan will sleep in the backyard with me and the rest of the kids. If the weather turns bad, we'll sleep here in the living room. My mothers will share two rooms. Lucy and her mother will share a room. My grandfather will sleep in my room," answered William.

"Your family is coming?" Lucy asked. The pancakes had suddenly turned to flour in her mouth.

"Yes. I called the house and left a message that I had finally met you," answered William. He imagined that the phone lines had been burning all night. His family was spread out over most of the country at the moment. He smiled and said, "I'm sure their house is a beehive of activity about right now."

"Should I go out and get some cots, sleeping bags, or something?" Ken asked.

"No. They want to surprise me. I'm sure that if we are here with a tent city waiting for them that it will spoil their arrival," William answered with a grin.

Having survived the arrival of individual family members on a couple of occasions, Lisa said, "We're going to need more towels."

Thursday afternoon arrived. Lucy had just returned from her classes when Ed, Ling, Claire, Betsy, and Eddie arrived at the house. In five seconds it had gone from a quiet peaceful place to complete chaos. As soon as Ken had opened the door, Betsy shot around him and targeted Lucy. Before Lucy had a chance to react, Betsy had thrown her arms around Lucy in a hug. Talking in rapid- fire bursts of single sentences, she said, "He found you. You're so cute. I'm happy to meet you. By the way, I'm Betsy. You are so cute."

When Betsy let go and dashed over to Ling, Lucy was still reeling in shock. Betsy dashed back and said, "I'm going swimming. Talk to you later."

Betsy was out of her clothes and out the door before Lucy even had a chance to react. Five seconds later, Betsy was back to grab a towel from the stack of towels by the door and then was gone. Lucy looked to her mother and asked, "Who was that?"

Before her mother had a chance to answer, Ling flowed over and gave her a hug. Looking at the young woman, Ling said, "Welcome to the family, Lucy. That little dynamo was William's little sister Betsy."

"She's a little hyper, isn't she?" asked Lucy still in shock. She couldn't believe that she was meeting the formidable Ling. When Ling looked at her, it was like being under a thousand-watt spotlight.

Ling laughed and said, "She's a lot hyper. You're going to fit in with the family just fine."

"Thank you. This is my mother Ann," Lucy said gesturing in the direction of her mother.

Turning to Ann, Ling said, "Welcome to the family."

"Thank you," answered Ann

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a dip in the pond now. We'll have plenty of chances to talk over the next few days." Ling stepped away and stripped. Grabbing a towel, she headed out the backdoor.

Shocked at the casual manner they stripped, Ann said, "Now I know what all the towels were for."

Ed and Eddie presented themselves to Lucy. Ed said, "Hello, Lucy. I'm Ed."

"And I'm Eddie."

"We're so happy to meet the young woman who has captured William's heart."

Lucy stared at the black robed Druid and the young kid standing beside him. He was the second Druid she had ever met and didn't know what to say.

Eddie said, "William has been waiting..."

"... to meet you for so long," completed Ed.

"Thank you," said Lucy looking from father to son. She'd heard of twins completing each other's sentences, but never father and son. It was definitely eerie.

"I'm sure that we're overwhelming you, so we're going to head down..."

"... to the pond and take a dip. When things quiet down a bit, we'll talk," said Ed. He went over to the door and pulled off his robe.

Ann watched with wide eyes as his scars were revealed. Eddie noticed her looking at him and said, "My daddy has fought some pretty nasty bad guys. Well, I'm going to find Tim and go swimming."

An elegantly dressed black woman gracefully stepped over to Lucy. Now that the rest of the family had cleared out of the room, she could afford to take some time. In a gracious voice, she said, "Welcome to the family, Lucy. I'm Claire."

Ann watched the introduction, thinking that the welcome was more like the first meeting between the families of an engaged couple than between a couple that had just begun dating. She didn't think she had ever met so many powerful personalities in her entire life. Each one of them seemed larger than life. It almost made William seem subdued.

"You are all acting like we're a married couple," said Lucy feeling overwhelmed by the welcomes she had been given.

"William says that he has seen you in his vision and that you are his true love. He's never wrong when he makes a prediction like that," answered Claire. She reached out and ran a hand over Lucy's face in a gesture of affection.

Not knowing how to respond, Lucy said, "This is my mother, Ann."

"Pleased to meet you, Ann. Welcome to the family," said Claire giving the other woman a gentle hug.

William came over to them and said, "Sorry about that. We tend to be a wild bunch and you just met some of the more overwhelming members of the family."

Laughing at the understatement, Claire said, "I know that meeting Betsy is always a trial. I tried to keep her back, but she's too fast. Ling can affect the temperature in a room depending on her mood. I'm sure that meeting a black robed Druid is intimidating no matter who you are. The fact that you got hit with the e-clones must have been a double whammy."

"The e-clones?" asked Ann wondering if the young man was the result of some mad science experiment.

"They are so much alike that we joke that Eddie is Ed's clone," Claire said. Shaking her head, she added, "It really started getting strange when they started completing each other's sentences."

"Oh," Lucy said.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a swim," Claire said with a smile. "I'm sure that you and William have a few things to talk about now."

Lucy watched as Claire glided away and then stripped beside the door. She watched Claire step outside. Turning to look at William, Lucy said, "Everyone in your family is very attractive."

"It comes from accepting who you are," William said. Seeing the look of surprise on Ann's face, he explained, "When you accept who you are, you gain confidence in yourself. Confidence is extremely attractive and overwhelms any physical flaws that a person may possess."

"No, they are all physically attractive," Ann said.

"You saw my father and all of his scars. On someone less confidant they would have been the only things you noticed. On him, they just become a small part of the total package," William said. "I'm sure that you didn't even notice that Betsy has to be the most muscular young woman in the world."

Ann hadn't thought about it, but she could see that William was right. He had been correct about not noticing Betsy's build, but she had been moving so fast that it was hard to get a good look at her.

Looking out the back window, Lucy asked, "Are they expecting me to strip and go swimming with them?"

"No. If you want to go swimming, you can wear swimming suits. I'm sure that my mother, Linda, has one with her that you can use if you don't have one, Mrs. Wilkins. Of course, she'll be arriving later tonight since she's coming from Los Angeles. My sister, Beth, may have a bikini that will fit you, Lucy," answered William. Looking over at the door, he said, "I'm expecting her and John any minute now."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Ken went over and answered it. Beth, followed by John, entered the house with a greeting to Ken. Looking around the room, Beth spotted Lucy and headed directly to the young girl.

Lucy stared at the red robed Druid headed towards her with wide eyes. William had mentioned that she was a Druid, but it hadn't registered. The reality of it was overwhelming. Beth embraced Lucy as she said, "Welcome to the family, Lucy."

"Thank you."

Holding the younger woman's shoulders, Beth said, "My brother is so lucky to have found you after searching for all these years."

Turning to look at William, Beth said, "I hope you've told her how lucky you are to have found her."

Smiling at his sister, he said, "I told her that our meeting was the beginning of a lifetime of misery for me."

She released Lucy and hugged her little brother with affection. Laughing, she said, "I'm sure that's exactly what you told her."

Turning to Ann, Beth introduced herself and welcomed the woman to the family. She apologized for ignoring her explaining that she had just been so excited by the chance to meet Lucy. Numb, Ann was more than happy to take a second seat to her daughter although she did wonder how Lucy was dealing with all of the attention.

John disengaged from introducing himself to Ken and Lisa. Joining his wife, he said, "William, it's good to see you again."

"I see that you have begun your service to the God," said William with a smile. John had never believed William when he had said that he would become a Druid.

"I was called. Who knew that the God would want an automotive engineer as a servant?" he replied. After a moment of pause, he added, "Besides you, of course."

"Someone has to improve the safety of our automobiles," said William with a wink. Turning to Lucy, he said, "Let me introduce you to John, Beth's wonderful husband. They've been dating since they were two. Of course, they waited until they were eighteen to make it official."

"Two?" asked Ann.

"It was actually earlier than that," said Beth. Looking out the back window, she said, "I take it everyone is at the pond?"

"Yes. Before you go, would you mind getting your bathing suit for Lucy?" asked William.

"Bathing suit?" she asked puzzled by the request. Frowning, she said, "I'm not sure that I brought it. Oh wait, I know I did. I packed it thinking that I'd be going onto Miami and that I'd have to wear one at the hotel."

John said, "I'll wait for you."

Beth went out the front door to get her luggage. While she was gone, William said, "I'd be surprised if she hasn't thought about opening a chain of clothing optional hotels."

"She's discussed that many times," replied John with a grin.

Beth returned and handed Lucy the skimpiest bikini she had ever seen. Shrugging her shoulders at the look of shock, Beth said, "I'll see you down at the pool."

Staring at the two strings that were resting in the palm of her hand, Lucy numbly said, "Sure."

The introductions to the rest of the family were much the same. They'd arrive, welcome Lucy to the family, and greet Ann before striping and heading off to the pond. After everyone except Linda had arrived, Ann told William that they'd meet him down at the pool in a few minutes. Once he was gone, she turned to Lucy and said, "Wow!"

Lucy burst out laughing and replied, "Wow is right."



-------

Chapter 12


Lucy and Ann stood at the window watching the crowd of people practicing Tai Chi in the back yard. Young, old, and everything in between were moving in perfect synchronization. Off to the side was a pile of neatly rolled up sleeping bags, giving mute testimony to the number of people that had slept outside the previous night. Shaking her head, Ann said, "I've never seen anything like this."

"I don't see Ed, Eddie, Leroy or his father," said Lucy struggling to remember names.

"You could have knocked my socks off when the Reverend striped and went down to the pond," Ann said. If anything convinced her that their nudity was nothing to be concerned about it, then it was that action by the Reverend Leroy Jones. He was a national religious figure and if he didn't see anything sinful about it, then there wasn't anything sinful about it.

"He's got to be eighty years old. I thought it would be disgusting to see him naked," Lucy said. Of all of the guests, he was the one who had surprised her the most. Watching him rub William on the head and call him a good boy had been touching. She could see how William had glowed at the attention.

"Sure are a lot of Druids in this house," Lucy said, her thoughts leading her from having a major Christian religious figure in the house to the number of Druids running around. Ed, both Johns, Beth, Susan, and Kelly were all Druids. They possessed such focus and energy that it was almost impossible to keep up with them.

"I know what you mean," Ann said. She wondered how her husband would react when he drove down that evening. If they were lucky, he wouldn't forbid Lucy from seeing William. The longer she had been around the young man, the more she had come to like him. She sighed and said, "Your father is coming here this evening."

"He's going to go ballistic when he sees them running around naked like that," Lucy said.

The front door opened and the two women spun around feeling embarrassed at being caught watching the family exercise. Smiling, the Reverend Leroy Jones said, "It is quite a sight, isn't it?"

"Yes," Ann answered looking at the elderly gray-haired black man. He moved slowly, using a cane to support him.

Helping his father over to one of the chairs, Leroy said, "They'll practice their Kung Fu when they're done with the Tai Chi. You'll definitely want to watch that."

"Where's Ed and Eddie?" asked Lucy watching the Reverend sit down with a groan. His knees popped when he sat down.

"They went swimming in the pond while we took our morning walk. Ed won't let Ling train Eddie until he's a little older," answered Leroy.

This was the first sign of tension in the family and it concerned Ann. She asked, "Why?"

"Well, back when Betsy was about four or so, she caught a pedophile trying to abduct a young girl. Even though the man was pretty good sized, she nearly beat him to death. Ed felt that she was too young to understand that she had to show appropriate restraint. When Eddie was born, he said that Eddie would only learn that level of skill when he was old enough to understand the full consequences of his actions," answered Leroy.

"I'm a Christian man, but I'd have a hard time not doing the same thing as Betsy," said the elderly man from his chair. The idea of a man abusing a young girl filled him with disgust. He grunted, "Anyone who doesn't believe in evil is a fool."

"Oh come on. A four year old girl, almost beating a man to death? I don't believe it," Ann said.

"You've seen her move. She's faster than lightening. When she was three, she caught a rattlesnake by the head when it was striking. If being fast wasn't enough, Ling has been training her since she could walk. Ling is the most dangerous person in the world, but if Betsy were to get mad, then Ling would have to take a backseat to her," Leroy said.

Wanting to know more, Lucy asked, "Why is it that everyone says that Ling is the most dangerous person in the world?"

"They say that because she is the most dangerous person in the world. She's never been defeated in a martial arts contest. She's fought other Grand Masters and walked away without having broken a sweat. The only one who is a better shot is Claire. I remember once when they got into a shooting contest. Neither one of them missed the bulls-eye until the target was three-quarters of a mile away."

"That just says she's highly skilled," said Ann.

Glancing over at his father, Leroy said, "I don't know how many people she's killed. I think the only one who might even have an idea is Ling herself. Only a handful of the people who have attacked anyone in the family has survived when Ling was around."

Looking over the Lucy and seeing her saucer shaped eyes, the Reverend could understand the kinds of fears that his son's statement could generate. In a soft voice, he said, "Don't worry about Ling, Lucy. No one will ever hurt you when she's around. You're a member of the family now."

Thinking about how her husband might react on seeing the family running around naked, Ann was silent. About the time she was accepting the family, she'd learn something that cast more doubt in her mind. She looked at Lucy and worried about her future. Although Lucy was smart, even a smart girl could get into situations that were over her head.

It was late afternoon when everyone returned from Leroy's lecture at the university. The presence of a Nobel Laureate was enough to create excitement on campus. However, the presence of six Druids was like pouring a gallon of gasoline on a fire. Huge crowds of people had followed them around.

The attention had left Ann and Lucy dazed. Watching Ling and Claire manage the crowds had been a life altering experience for Ann. She had discovered that it was possible to communicate, with a single glance, the message, 'if you don't back up ten feet then you are going to die.' It was also the first time that she had realized that Ken routinely carried a gun when they were away from the house.

Everyone had headed towards the pond with the exception of Lucy, Ann, William, and Ed. William and Lucy were seated on the loveseat holding hands and looking into each other's eyes. Ed was relaxing in his chair with his hands laced behind his head staring up at the ceiling. Seated on the couch, Ann was watching her daughter fall even more for the young man.

William broke the silence when he said, "If you're going to say it, then you better do it soon. He'll be here in three minutes."

After glancing over at his son, Ed turned to look at Ann. He said, "When your husband arrives, I'd like some time with him alone."

"Can I ask why?" asked Ann.

"You can," he answered hoping that she would pick up on his reluctance to answer and not ask.

"Why?"

Ed looked out the window and didn't answer. His hand snaked up to caress the medallion around his neck. It was his hope that she would drop it.

William said, "Answer her."

"There is someone who wants him to understand," Ed said.

"Who?"

"William," answered Ed. When William had asked him to perform a small service he had almost immediately answered no. Before he could answer, his medallion had burned hot against his chest sending a message of its own to Ed. At that time, he understood that the Two-Sided One was going to intervene.

"Huh?"

"Your husband needs a glimpse into William's world before he enters William's world," Ed answered cryptically. He knew that whatever happened would be extremely personal for Mr. Wilkins, but Ann would want to know.

"What does that mean?"

Looking directly at William, Ed answered, "Before Mr. Wilkins can stand in judgement of William, he must have all the facts. Beyond that, I won't say more."

William stood up and went over to the door. He opened it and said, "Come in Mr. Wilkins."

Mr. Wilkins entered the house carrying a small suitcase. Looking at William, he said, "Hello, William."

"We were waiting for you to arrive," William said. He closed the door and led Mr. Wilkins to where everyone was seated.

Mr. Wilkins looked around the room and saw the look on his wife's face. He looked over at Lucy and frowned when she looked away. It wasn't until he looked at Ed that he really became concerned. William said, "Mr. Wilkins, I'd like you to meet one of my fathers, Ed Biggers."

Ed rose from the chair and shook hands with Lucy's father. He said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Please call me, Ed."

"Nice to meet you. Please call me Dave."

Ann stood up and asked, "Did you bring our bathing suits?"

Handing the suitcase to her, he answered, "Yes. They're in the suitcase."

Turning to look at Ed, Ann asked, "Will you have enough time for your little business with my husband while we're changing into our swimsuits?"

"It would be best if they waited until after we go down to the pond," answered William.

Turning to William, Ed asked, "How do you know that?"

"Because we talk," answered William knowing that his father would understand what he meant.

"Often?"

"Very often," answered William.

Knowing his son told the truth, Ed shook his head wondering why the Two-Sided One had not called him to service. He knew that William had to be frustrated. Ed turned to Ann and said, "Dave and I will talk until after you have gone to swim."

"Come along, Lucy. Let's change clothes," Ann said. She was nervous about going down to the pond, particularly without knowing how her husband would react. She hadn't worked up the nerve to go down there when anyone else was there. The idea of being so close to so many naked people made her nervous. She had to protect Lucy.

The image of a fat woman playing with her humongous breasts appeared to William. A second later, the vision disappeared but not before it had delivered a message to him. William asked, "Before you go, would you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Touch my Dad's Medallion."

Ed stared at William unable to believe that he had sprung that request on them without discussing it first. Before he had a chance to react, Ann stepped over and touched the medallion. After the barest fraction of a second, she released the Medallion, simultaneously giving forth a squeak as she bent over. Embarrassed by the reason for her squeak, she fled to the guestroom.

Lucy asked, "What happened?"

"Go ask her," answered William.

Dave had recognized the squeak, having heard it many times when they were in the throes of passion. He stared at the Medallion wondering what had just happened. William interrupted his thoughts when he said, "Please have a seat."

Running on autopilot, Dave sat down on the couch still staring at the Medallion. Confused, he asked, "What just happened?"

"Mr. Wilkins, look at me," William said. He waited until the man turned to face him. In a patient voice, William said, "The Gods and Goddesses have decided that I need a friend."

"What's that got to do with what just happened?" asked Dave. Ed wondered the same thing.

"They've decided to ask you to be that friend," answered William. He looked in the direction of the guestroom in which his girlfriend and her mother were changing clothes. Turning back to face Dave, he said, "They wanted to make sure that she would understand."

"Is that what this is really about?" Ed asked knowing that William's statements bordered on the truth, but wasn't quite there. The Gods and Goddesses had decided that William didn't need an enemy. There was an element of truth to the friend statement, but he couldn't tell where that statement was short of the truth.

"We will talk later," answered William. Pointing towards the guestroom, he said, "They are about ready to go to the pond."

Ed watched as William stood and headed towards the back door. He hadn't been there for more than a few seconds before Lucy and Ann appeared in the living room wearing very conservative bathing suits. He ushered the pair of nervous women out of the house. Ed said, "I have to ask you to do something."

"What?"

"Touch my medallion," answered Ed.

Dave didn't want to do it, but he reached out and touched the medallion. His finger was in contact for almost half a minute. Throughout, his face had a slack expression as if he wasn't really there. When he dropped his hand, he looked down at his pants and saw the dampness spreading across the crotch. He said, "My wife won't question why I came in my pants."

"No, she won't. Not after what she experienced."

"How much time passed?" asked Dave.

"Thirty seconds," answered Ed. As had always been the case when a person touched his medallion, Ed had no idea what had passed between the Two-Sided One and Dave.

It was incredible. In thirty seconds, Dave had been given a second childhood. In it, his parents had been Druids and he had been raised in a loving environment, one that was similar to that experienced by William. Unwilling to talk about his experience, Dave said, "Let me get out of these clothes and we'll go down to the pool."

"Most of us skinny dip," said Ed.

At the backdoor, Ed stripped out of his robe and waited naked for Dave. After five minutes, he began to get worried. He called out, "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," Dave answered with an emotional quiver in his voice. Ed could tell that he was telling the truth and relaxed.

Another five minutes passed before Dave came out of the guestroom. Ed wasn't surprised to see that he was naked. Ed said, "Ready?"

"Readier than I've ever been," answered Dave looking down at himself. He knew that he was going to blow his wife's mind showing up without clothes. He had no idea how his daughter was going to react.

As they made their way down the path, Ed asked, "What took so long?"

"I had to call my parents," answered Dave. His second childhood had explained much about his first one. Conflicts that had never been resolved were no longer problems. He had learned how things should have been done. More importantly, he had learned why things had occurred the way they had. He couldn't blame his parents for their failings any more.

"Always a good thing to do," Ed said.

"Aren't you curious?" asked Dave wondering how Ed could keep from asking what had happened.

"Very, but I know enough not to let my curiosity drive me to ask questions," Ed answered.

Nodding, Dave knew that he wouldn't have answered any questions about what he had experienced. He was curious about what had happened to Ed when he became a servant of the Two- Sided One, but he knew that Ed wouldn't answer his questions.

When they arrived at the pond, Betsy was in a splash war against most of the Carter Clan. Incredible as it seemed, she was definitely winning. Ed took off and joined his family by splashing Betsy. Now that she was totally surrounded, it looked like the tide would turn against her.

The Carter Clan was so occupied with their splash war, that they barely noticed when Dave arrived naked. The Armstrongs noticed his arrival and state of undress, but accepted it as a normal accommodation to the lifestyle of the house. When Ann noticed her husband, she gasped at a sight she had thought so improbable that it was impossible. After days of worrying about his reaction to the lifestyle of the family, she was stunned. In a shocked voice, she said, "I don't believe it."

The comment caused Lucy to turn away from the splash war and look at her mother. She then sought out what her mother was looking at and saw her father standing by the pond completely naked. Stunned, she shouted, "Daddy!"

As he waded into the pond, Dave looked at the expression on his wife's face. As if he were telling her that it would be okay if she baked a cake, he said, "Go ahead, Ann. I know you want to do it."

"Daddy?" Lucy asked in shock.

"Go ahead if you want to, Lucy. It's okay," Dave said drawing upon some of the experiences of his second childhood.

Moving slowly towards her father, she wondered how to tell him what she really wanted. Hesitating, she said, "I'm not really ready for that. I want my boyfriend to be the first one to see me undressed."

"Ah. I suggest you talk to William and see if he has an idea on how to make that happen."

"Daddy?" Lucy asked wondering if her father had been replaced by a replica. Everything was suddenly confusing. She had asked her mother what had happened when she touched the Medallion, but her mother wouldn't answer her. Then, her father had showed up naked at the pool.

"Go on and talk to William. I kind of want to chase your mother around the pond for a few minutes," said Dave with a wink. He watched as Ann was struggling to make up her mind about removing her bathing suit. Every inch of her exposed skin glowed with a blush caused by her embarrassment. It reminded him of the first time she had undressed in front of him.

Staring at her father, Lucy waded towards William. He met her more than halfway by swimming to her. He looked over at her father and said, "I guess you're kind of confused."

"Kind of confused? I'm totally confused," she admitted.

Brushing her hair out of her eyes with his hand, he said, "Let's go up to the patio where we can talk."

"Could you dress first?" She had done her best not to look at any of the men below the waist. Sitting next to a naked William would be too much for her.

"Of course," answered William. He looked over at Dave and said, "We're going up to the patio to talk. Do you mind?"

"Go ahead," Dave said over his shoulder.

William waded out of the pool and dried off his body. Since he had come down to the pond dressed, his clothes were close at hand. He put on his underwear and pants, but left his shirt off. Once he was covered, he turned and gestured for Lucy to exit the pool.

Holding out a chair for her to sit on, William waited for her to take a seat. Moving nervously, she sat down. He moved around the table to take a seat across from her. In a soft voice, he said, "You have questions."

"You bet I do! That man down there is not my father. Who is it?"

"He's your father," answered William with a grin.

"What happened to him?"

William looked at Lucy in the eye before he answered. "You've heard the expression about walking a mile in someone's shoes?"

"Yes."

"Your father walked a mile in my shoes," answered William.

"So why did he show up naked at the pond?"

"In addition to learning about me, he learned about himself. He freed himself from some limitations that have held him back in developing as a human being. You saw one result of that at the pond. He lost his shame concerning his body."

Lucy considered the answer. In a soft voice, she said, "I told him that I wanted you to see me naked before I showed my body to others."

"Thank you. I'm honored more than I can express," said William. He reached across the table and took her hand in both of his. Rubbing the top hand over hers, he said, "I look forward to that day."

"You don't want me to undress now?" Lucy asked. She didn't know how she wanted him to answer. On one hand, she wanted him to say yes to validate her femininity. On the other hand, she didn't want to undress.

"Want? Yes. Expect? No." answered William.

A huge smile burst over her face. Even knowing the answer she wanted, she would never have thought of such a perfect answer her question. William's answer sent a thrill through her body. She said, "I guess you know that I'm not ready for that."

"Ready? I think you're ready, but I don't think this is the time and place. I think that we'd both prefer some place private and special when you present yourself to me for the first time."

Relieved, Lucy said, "Thank you."

"You have one more question."

"What happened to my mother when she touched the medallion?"

"She took a walk in your father's shoes. She experienced the last part of his trip with the Two-Sided One."

"That doesn't tell me anything. What happened to her?" she demanded.

"She had an orgasm," William explained knowing she would ask questions until her curiosity was satisfied. This was a good occasion to learn what happened when you pushed too far into the realm of the Gods and Goddesses. It would save him lots of questions when he returned from the glade.

"Oh."



-------

Chapter 13


The students trickled out of the classroom in ones and twos as they finished their final exams. William sat on the floor across from the door watching them leave. Some looked confident, others angry, and a few as if they didn't care how they did in the class. Those who looked blurry-eyed or were sloppily dressed had spent the previous evening cramming in the hopes of learning the material at the last minute.

When Lucy stepped out of the class, she rolled her eyes and smiled. Closing the door behind her, she said, "No surprises on that one."

"So what would you like to do until classes start this summer?" William asked while climbing off the floor. His eyes flicked over her conservative outfit, the skirt falling to below her knees. He appreciated the fact that she didn't dress like most of the women on campus.

Lucy stepped over to him and pressed against him while his arm reached around her waist. The year together had brought them to the point of casual intimacy. After his growth spurt during the preceding fall, he was now a couple of inches taller than she was. She answered, "I'd like to visit my parents for a couple of days and then I thought we might go visit your family."

"That would be nice," William said. They walked down the hall towards the exit of the building. He asked, "Where to now?"

"How about to your place for a swim?" she suggested. She had learned an important lesson from the Carter Clan. Swimming after a stressful event was an excellent way to relax. If the last exam of the semester didn't constitute a stressful event, she didn't know what did.

"I wonder why I didn't think of that?" asked William with a smile.

Looking over at him, she knew that he had thought of that. He always anticipated her desires, sometimes before she even had them. She said, "I bet that Ken is waiting outside in the Hugger and there are fresh towels by the backdoor of your house."

"You'd be right," answered William hugging her a little harder. He added, "There are always fresh towels by the backdoor of the house now that the weather is good."

"That still doesn't explain why Ken is here," Lucy said.

"True, but he doesn't have to take us to my house."

They walked along in comfortable silence. William was thinking how nice the past year had been. Having Lucy in his life had given it an entirely new dimension. Sitting around and studying with her in his arms had changed an isolated activity into a shared activity. Where he had been alone, he now had company. Dining, shopping, watching movies, going to lectures, and campus gatherings were now attended as a couple.

Where he once had to be satisfied with his thoughts alone, he now had an interesting partner with whom he could share his thoughts. Their debates on all kinds of topics were often long, but seldom heated. She challenged him like no one else he had ever met. Her mind was sharp as a razor and she could cut to the heart of a matter with a single question.

Reaching the car, William opened the door for Lucy. She slid over to allow him to enter without having to walk around the car. He took his seat next to her. Ken asked, "Home?"

"You bet," answered William. Settling back in his seat, he asked, "So are you going to miss driving us around when we get our licenses?"

"I hadn't really thought about it. It's usually just two trips a day to the university and back," answered Ken with a negligent shrug of his shoulders. He also knew that Ling would insist on him driving them when they had a long trip. He maneuvered the Hugger through the campus streets and then onto the main street. It wouldn't take more than fifteen minutes to reach the house.

"I'm looking forward to driving," Lucy said. It wasn't that she minded Ken picking her up or taking her home, it was the shopping that was uncomfortable. She didn't like trying to buy a present for William with Ken waiting around watching what she purchased. It wasn't true, but she felt that it undermined the surprise. When she bought a new dress, she wanted William to be the first to see her in it, not Ken.

"Same here," said William with a grin. Wiggling his eyebrows in a bad imitation of Groucho Marx, William said, "It is rather hard to go parking with my girlfriend when Ken is sitting in the front seat."

Ken chuckled when Lucy lightly slapped William's thigh and jokingly said, "I'm not that kind of girl."

"You're not?" William asked in pretend shock. She was actually a very chaste young woman.

"Okay, I want to be, but it is hard with Ken sitting in the front seat of the car," Lucy replied with a giggle. It had been a sad fact of their relationship. Getting time alone with William was virtually impossible. Ken and Lisa were always around the house since they timed their vacations for the times when he was away. They couldn't drive off alone. Her dorm didn't allow men on her floor and William obeyed the rules of the house stating that undermining the rules could lead someone else into harm.

From the front seat, Ken said, "I could take a nice nature walk if you desire."

Lucy didn't answer, but looked out the window until the car pulled up in the driveway. Looking at the front yard, she noticed that the burn circle where William had said he'd had a bonfire was gone. She said, "The burn mark has finally disappeared."

Nodding his head, Ken said, "Yeah. The grass has come back and is greener than the rest of the yard."

"That burn mark bothered my father more than anything else about this house. He loves a well groomed lawn, even if his falls far short of the mark," said Lucy. Her father had been waging a lifelong war trying to get the grass to grow under the large oak tree in their front yard.

Entering the house, Lucy headed towards the guestroom to change into her swimming suit. She paused when William asked, "Where's Tim?"

"He's at a pizza party with some of his friends from school. He won't be home until eight," answered Lisa. After a long pause, she asked, "Would you mind if Ken and I go out for dinner tonight?"

"No problem. Have a good time," answered William as he removed his clothes by the door. He stretched as he waited for Lucy to finish changing her clothes. He smiled when he saw her walk into the room wearing her robe. It was a warm day and there wasn't any need for a robe, but he chose not to comment.

They walked down to the pond holding hands. Lucy looked at her surroundings. Flowers were in bloom along the path. The leaves on the trees shook in the very slight breeze. Patches of blue sky were visible through the canopy of leaves overhead. The rays of the sun cast patches of light and dark on the ground. Birds were chirping and butterflies were flitting about. Magic was in the air and the name of that magic was spring.

When they reached the pond, William let loose of her hand and waded in giving forth a squeak when it reached his private parts. He called back, "The water's a little cold today."

"William."

William turned to look at Lucy wondering why she had called his name. Standing hip deep in the water, he watched as she dropped her robe. At sixteen, almost seventeen, Lucy stood before a man naked for the first time of her life. She trembled slightly as he gazed upon her body. The past year had transformed her body from looking fourteen to that of a young woman.

"You're so beautiful," said William in a reverent voice. She had taken him completely by surprise.

His words chased away any doubts that she had about the rightness of the time and place. Rather than move, she spread her arms to her side giving him full view of her body. She said, "I'm glad you like it."

"I love you," he said. He felt young and inexperienced looking upon her body. Unable to decide if he should approach her or stand there, he ended up standing there.

Lucy could see the indecision on William's face and knew that he was as lost as she was. She stepped into the water and, surprised by the cool chill, said, "Oh, it is cold."

William waded through the water to where she stood. As his genitals left the water, Lucy could see that he was erect. A sense of power washed over her at the realization of the effect that she had upon him. He put his arms around her and hugged her.

Words were not enough to convey the feelings flooding through him. Taking her head between his hands, he kissed her softly. Lucy moaned as his lips brushed against hers. She pressed her body against his, feeling the heat from his hard cock against her skin.

Her body was on fire. When he released her, she knew what she wanted. She wanted him to take her then and there. It wasn't a rational desire, she wasn't on birth control and they didn't have condoms. It was her most fertile time of the month and she knew it. At the moment, it didn't matter. She whispered, "Take me."

As far as William was concerned, no man in history had ever had such a temptation placed before him. William picked her up in his arms, cradling her across his body. He kissed her. Rather than walking towards the shore, he fell backwards into the cold water. The cold water washed over them, chilling their passion. It was the hardest thing he had ever done. Breaking the kiss, he said, "Not yet."

The cold water crashed through her hormone-induced insanity. She realized what she had almost done and understood the consequences that would have followed from their actions if she had followed her desires. Relieved that he had been strong enough for both of them, her love for him grew even stronger. She said, "I love you so much."

"I love you," said William. The cold water might have chilled his passion, but it hadn't killed it. He loved the feel of her body in his arms. His erection was sending out constant messages that it had a biological function to perform. He said, "I need to calm down a little."

Reaching down between them, Lucy ran a hand over his cock. Giggling nervously at her first encounter with a hard cock, Lucy said, "You're right. I do too."

They slowly separated although their eyes never left the other. They swam a little in the pond to allow their passions to abate. When they finally exited the pond, William's erection had disappeared. They dried side by side, not talking but communicating through looks, gestures, and light touches. Picking up her robe, she reached out with a hand. He took her hand and they walked up to the house.

As they walked, a question that had bothered Lucy for a long time came to mind. She asked, "What are the two scars on your chest?"

"I cut myself when my Great Grandfather died as a sign of mourning and respect," he answered while pantomiming how he had performed the act.

"How old were you?" asked Lucy shocked at his answer.

"Three," answered William. Seeing the look on her face, he said, "I knew what I was doing. I knew that I was the first to honor him in that fashion."

The idea that a three-year-old boy would take a knife and cut himself in that fashion was staggering. Frowning, she asked, "Did it hurt?"

"Yes, it did."

When they reached the backyard, Lucy said, "I'd like to lie out in the sun for a little while."

They spread their towels and lay down on the ground with their backs to the sun. William, his dark skin giving him greater protection from the sun, said, "We can't stay out too long. Your fair skin will burn easily."

"Ten minutes should be long enough."

"Long enough for what?"

"To warm up," answered Lucy. Supporting her upper body on her elbows, her breasts hung down with hard nipples barely grazing the towel. She glanced over at his naked back taking in his muscular build. Clothed, he looked like a typical kid his age. Undressed, he looked like a highly trained athlete.

Inside the house, Lisa and Ken were preparing to leave for their night out. Lisa looked out the back window and saw the pair sunning themselves. In a soft voice, she said, "Ken, come here and look at this."

He stepped over and looked out at the young couple. Putting a hand on his wife's shoulder, he said, "It's about time."

"They look so cute," she said. Her maternal feelings were set on high.

"Our little boy is growing up," he teased.

With a slight smile, she said, "Yes, he is."

"Let's leave them their privacy," suggested Ken. A few minutes later, husband and wife slipped out the front door for their evening out.

Wondering what they would find inside the house, Ken opened the door and let Lisa enter first. Seated comfortably on the couch, William was reading a book while Lucy rested her head on his lap reading a different book. They looked up at the couple entering the house. William asked, "Did you have a good time?"

"Yes, we did," answered Lisa with a blush. Over dinner they had discussed the conversation that William and Lucy had in the car about going parking. Leaving the restaurant, Lisa had giggled like a schoolgirl when Ken announced that they were going to do a little parking of their own. It had been a lot of fun and reminded them of why they had fallen in love in the first place.

William was about to ask why she was blushing when his cell phone rang. Fishing it out of his pocket, Lucy sat up to allow him to move. Answering it, William said, "Hello. This is William Redman Carter."

For several long minutes, he listened to the person on the other end without making a comment. Lucy watched his face trying to determine if he was receiving good news or bad. Finally, William asked, "Are you sure?"

Another minute of silence passed until William said, "The end of August."

"Thank you," said William after another minute of silence. He folded up the cell phone looking thoughtful.

Lucy tried to determine if he was upset or happy. The neutral thoughtful expression gave no clue. Concerned, she asked, "Is something the matter?"

"A White Buffalo was born," William answered absently. Turning to Ken, he said, "Turn on the news."

"What's so special about that?" asked Lucy puzzled by the announcement. Lisa, curious as well, waited for his answer.

"It is a sign that has long been awaited by the Sioux," answered William. Snapping out of his introspective thoughts, he explained, "It is not my story to tell, but I shall tell you a shortened version of it."

"Once when the Sioux were hungry, two young men went out to find food. They encountered a beautiful woman dressed in White. One of the men desired the woman and reached out to take her without regard to her desires in the matter. He crumbled into dust at her feet. The woman spoke to the other young man telling him to return to his people and announce her coming.

"The woman in white came to his people bringing with her a bundle. Unwrapping the bundle, she gave the people a sacred pipe decorated with eagle feathers. She taught them how to pray using the pipe.

"She explained to the men the importance of the Buffalo, of women, and of children. To the women, she explained that what they did was as important as any action taken by the strongest of warriors. To the children, she explained they were the future of the tribe.

"After giving them her wisdom, she told the people that she must leave them, but that she would return one day. When she walked away, she fell to the ground and rolled over four times turning into a White Buffalo.

"The day after they honored the pipe, game turned plentiful. The Sioux have been waiting for her return since that day."

"That's a nice story," said Lucy.

"It is more than a story. It is the spirit of the Sioux," said William. "Each tribe of the plains has a different story of the White Buffalo."

Now that William had finished telling the story, Ken turned on the television. He flipped through the channels until he found one that was giving the news. The group watched the news without talking until a short thirty-second clip about the birth of the White Buffalo was aired. Seeing the calf, a shiver went through William. He grimaced when they pointed out that this was the first generation of calves conceived after he had destroyed a curse over the Native Americans. His picture had been displayed for a third of the broadcast.

After the news clip had been played, William said, "You can turn it off now, Ken."

Having seen the faces of the people looking at the Buffalo calf, Lucy understood just how significant the event had been. The reference to him removing a curse reminded her of the high profile he had within the Native American community. She had witnessed occasions in which Native Americans had greeted him with awe.

William stood and went to his desk. Opening the drawer, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He slipped out the back door to smoke and think. The Sioux Medicine Man had requested that he come to the ranch where the calf had been born. It would be August before he would go and he wondered what would happen when he went there.

Watching him leave the house, Lucy wanted to run after him. She held back knowing he needed to be alone with his thoughts. There were some things that he had to face alone.

Ann said, "I think it is wrong for someone so young to have such responsibilities."

Nodding his agreement, Ken said, "And such public responsibilities, at that."

"Would you make some hot chocolate?" asked Lucy thinking that William would appreciate it.

"How about I make some brownies?" asked Lisa.

"Can I help?" asked Lisa hoping that she wasn't imposing.

Smiling, Lisa said, "Sure. Come on into the kitchen with me."

While the two women prepared the brownies, Ken left to pick up Tim from his party. Sitting in the backyard, William stared up at the darkening sky. He exhaled and watched the smoke from the cigarette disappear into the dark.

The various tales of the White Buffalo came to mind. Among the tribes of the plains, this was the most popular subject of their stories. In all of them, the buffalo represented a return to prosperity for the tribe. He couldn't help wonder if his time in the dark pit was related to the birth of the White Buffalo. It was such a powerful symbol. He knew that others would wonder the same thing.

He planned his trip to visit the calf. Before he could visit the ranch, he would have to spend time in a sweat lodge. The real question was where he would go to a sweat lodge. His choice could have significant repercussions. After considering all of the options, he decided there was only one choice. He'd go to the Native American College and use the sweat lodge located there. Politically, it would be an act that emphasized the unity of all tribes rather than giving preference to any single tribe.

His hand went to his chest seeking his medicine bag and finding nothing. He had never replaced the medicine bag that had been destroyed in the pit. Taking a deep breath, he knew it was time to replace it. For that, he would have to return to Arizona. He snuffed out the cigarette and put the butt in his back pocket.

It was an hour and two cigarettes later when Lucy opened the back door. As the spring night air chilled her, her eyes sought him without luck. In a soft voice, she called out into the dark night, "William."

"What is it, Lucy?" he answered, surprising her with the fact that he was seated near the door.

"We made some hot chocolate and brownies. Would you like to come in and have some?" she asked.

William grabbed his cigarettes and lighter before standing. Walking towards the open door, he answered, "Sounds perfect."

His words reassured Lucy and she held the door open for him. As he passed through the door, he paused just long enough to kiss her. Needless to say, both wished that the kiss had lasted longer.

William sat down at the dining room table while Lucy brought out steaming cups of hot chocolate. He grabbed the cup and wrapped both hands around the base appreciating the warmth given off by it. Seeing Tim sit down across from him, he cautioned, "It's hot."

Giggling, Tim answered, "That's why they call it hot chocolate."

Chuckling at the obviousness of the answer, William said, "Thank you, Tim. I learned something new today."

Lucy brought out a plate of brownies and placed it in the center of the table. Looking at him, she said, "I hope you like these. We added walnuts to the batter."

"They look great," said William reaching out to take one.

Giving him a motherly slap on his hand, Lucy said, "Wait until you get a plate."

"Yes, mother," replied William with a grin. Looking with longing at the brownies, he said, "You should have brought out the plates before the brownies."

"I just wanted to make them taste better. Haven't you ever heard of anticipation," she teased.

Lisa came out of the kitchen with a stack of plates. She set them around the table and everyone sat down. Lucy made a great production out of setting a brownie on William's plate. Tim just grabbed one and started eating.

The conversation flowed around the table with ease. No one mentioned the White Buffalo. Lucy discussed her vacation plans. The conversation turned to the summer sessions at the university. It was her plan to take enough courses to finish out her junior year, but it would be difficult. Of course, the real reason for going to school was to stay close to William over the summer. Last summer had been torture and she didn't think she could survive this summer away from him.

William shocked everyone at the table when he said, "I'm going to talk to your father about having you live here over the summer."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Lucy said despite the fact that she really liked the idea of living with him. She wasn't sure how her father would respond to the request.

"I don't think that your father will have a problem with it," said William as if reading her mind. The one who he was really concerned about was her mother, but he knew her objections would last only a minute at the most.

"You don't?" asked Ken looking at William as if he were mad.

"No."

"Why?" asked Ken.

"Why?" asked Lisa sharing her husband's view.

"Why?" asked Lucy.

Grinning at the conversation, Tim decided to add his voice to the chorus, "Why?"

"Because I intend to ask his permission for me to marry you," answered William just before biting into his brownie.

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Author's note: The White Buffalo appearing in this story is a fiction, as are all of the events and characters depicted within it. The legend of the White Buffalo is found in many forms and variations. I constructed an abbreviated form of the story for William to tell based on a version that I heard decades ago. It is my hope that no one is offended by the liberties taken with a legend that is important to so many people.

The birth of a White Buffalo in modern times is not a fiction; it is a fact. Miracle, The Sacred White Buffalo, was born on August 20, 1994 at the Heider Farm in Janesville, Wisconsin. It was an event that was celebrated by many Native Americans all across the continent. Some openly wept on hearing news of the birth. Miracle died a decade later on September 19, 2004.

The Heider family did not allow commercialization of the White Buffalo. They allowed visitors to come by the farm seven days a week to see Miracle. Visitors were admitted free of charge. Thousands came to see Miracle and few left unchanged by the experience. Visitors are still welcome at the farm to visit the grave of Miracle.

It should be noted that the members of the Heider family are not Native Americans. Despite that, they opened their farm and hearts to the world. I'm sure this great gesture of respect for the beliefs of others was not always easy to make. Visitors, no matter how well meaning, are often a burden.

I have never met a member of the Heider family, but I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to them. Thank you for reminding me that generosity, respect, and understanding still exist in this world.

Visit the link below to learn more about Miracle. http://www.homestead.com/WhiteBuffaloMiracle/





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Chapter 14


"Mom, can I ask a favor?" asked Lucy while putting some eggs in a pot of water to boil. This was the first chance, since arriving at the house the previous evening, for her to talk to her mother alone. William and her father had gone fishing, leaving them alone in the house.

"Sure," answered Ann while peeling a potato. There were a handful of peeled potatoes in a water-filled bowl and a small pile waiting to be peeled. She was making a potato salad for dinner that evening.

"I was wondering if you could take me to a doctor," said Lucy. Her voice came out as a squeak. Her heart was pounding in her chest at the thought of what she was about to request. Her hands were trembling so much that she had to set down the carton of eggs before she dropped it.

"What's the matter? Are you feeling okay?" asked Ann suddenly concerned. She turned to look over Lucy trying to see if there were any symptoms of disease that she might have missed.

"Uh, I kind of want a prescription for, uh, birth control pills," answered Lucy. The last three words of her sentence spilled out one atop the other. She had butterflies begetting butterflies in her stomach and was beginning to get concerned where they would all live.

"What?" asked Ann in a near scream while turning to face her daughter with a look of shock on her face. She couldn't believe what she had heard.

Lucy cringed at the expected response and, timidly, repeated, "Birth control pills."

"Are you telling me that you've been having unprotected sex all this time?" asked Ann ready to explode. She'd thought she had raised her daughter to be more careful than to have unprotected sex.

"We haven't had sex," said Lucy dazed by the revelation that her mother had made that assumption.

"What do you mean? You've been dating that boy for years."

"It's been a year and month," corrected Lucy.

Ann had lost her virginity at fifteen. She hadn't been the first one among her friends to lose it. That experience made it difficult for her to believe that her daughter could have been with William for that length of time without having sex, Ann asked, "Are you telling me that you're still a virgin?"

"Yes, mom," Lucy answered.

"I'm shocked. I'm absolutely shocked." Mind reeling, Ann looked around for a few seconds and then made her way to the kitchen table. Taking a seat, she gestured to a chair across from her.

Following her mother, Lucy took a seat in the indicated chair. Confused by her mother's reaction, she said, "I don't understand why you're so surprised. I'm smart enough to know better than to have unprotected sex."

"I know that. I just figured you went to the university nurse and got the pills there," said Ann realizing she should have brought up the subject six months ago. Reaching across the table to take her daughter's hand, she said, "It must have been tough resisting his advances."

"Um, not so tough," said Lucy waffling on the issue. When they had their first real opportunity to do more than kiss, she hadn't resisted at all. It had been William who had done the resisting. She would never forget that when she lost control, William had kept her from making a mistake.

"Is everything alright between the two of you?"

"Everything's fine, mom. In fact, right now I expect that William is asking Dad's permission for us to get married," answered Lucy. Even as the words came out of her mouth, she knew she should have found a better way to break the news to her mother.

Ann stared at her daughter unable to believe what she had heard. This entire conversation had been one shocking revelation after another. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Let's start this conversation all over again, but let's start at the beginning."

"With the birth control pills?" asked Lucy not sure what her mother meant.

"No, with you and William meeting," said Ann.

"Well, you know how we met. I guess our first real date was a little after I moved into the private dorm. We went to a lecture sponsored by the music department on the works of Bach. After the lecture we went out for a bite to eat and then William walked me back to the dorm," said Lucy.

"Did he kiss you?" Ann asked.

"Yes, he did," answered Lucy blushing. The memory of that first kiss still curled her toes.

"Is that a typical date?"

"Well, we don't really date that much. Usually, we are together around campus and I spend time at his house. We spend a lot of time at his house," Lucy said finding it difficult to characterize their relationship.

"What do you do at the house?"

"We do our homework, read, and talk. When the weather is good, we play badminton, croquet, and swim in the pond. When the weather is bad, we play Monopoly, Chess, and video games."

"How about intimacy?"

"We talk about what's important to us. You know, our feelings, interests, and ambitions."

"I meant sex. I mean, if you're over at his house all of the time then you must be doing something."

"Well, we kiss and touch each other," answered Lucy blushing at telling such details to her mother.

"So you've been engaging in mutual masturbation and oral sex?"

"No!" answered Lucy energetically.

Thinking that she had raised a prude who was afraid of sex, Ann asked, "Why not?"

"Are you kidding? With Ken and Lisa at the house all the time, there just isn't a chance to do that kind of stuff. It would be like doing it here at home with you and Dad in the house," said Lucy blushing brightly.

"So when did he start talking about marriage?" asked Ann wondering why he had decided that it was time to propose. Given his wealth, she would have expected them to live together for a year before getting married.

"We went swimming after my last final. Tim was off at a party so Ken and Lisa decided to go out for dinner. Realizing that we'd be alone, I finally went swimming without my swimsuit."

A year before, Ann and her husband had been in the pond without their swimsuits. The entire Carter Clan had been present. Her daughter had seen her parents swimming naked in front of everyone. She couldn't believe that her daughter hadn't ever done it given that kind of permission from her parents. Ann interrupted, "Are you telling me that two days ago was the first time you went skinny-dipping with him?"

"Yes."

"Is that the first time he's seen you naked?"

"Yes."

"Go on with your story," said Ann shaking her head. She had no doubt that William had been naked in the pond on every occasion when they went swimming.

"Later that evening, William got news about the White Buffalo. He went outside to think for a while. When he came back in for hot chocolate and brownies, he announced that he was going to ask Dad for permission to marry me." Telling it in that fashion, she realized that he had never asked her if she would marry him.

Ann listened to the story wondering if teenage boys had changed since the days when she was young. She had jokingly referred to her time spent dating as the years she had participated in octopus wrestling matches. The idea that William would wait for more than a year to pursue any kind of sexual relationship was incredible and demonstrated a respect for Lucy that she didn't think possible. Amazed, she sat back and said, "I didn't think that kind of relationship was possible in this day and age."

"What kind of relationship is that?"

"One based on respect," answered Ann. She wondered if the respect was only in one direction. She asked, "Are you willing to do things for him?"

"What kind of things?" Lucy asked.

"Things like handjobs and blowjobs."

Blushing, Lucy answered, "I'd like to do them, but I don't know how."

Reaching over to the fruit bowl for a banana, Ann said, "We need to talk."

William and Dave were in an aluminum fishing boat that had three bench seats with an outboard motor on the back end and a trolling motor on the front end. Seated at the front of the boat, William cast his line beside the cattails growing along the shore. He smiled when the lure plopped into the water right where he had been aiming. As he cranked the reel, he said, "Mr. Wilkins, I have something to discuss with you."

"What?" asked the man while looking through his lures. He hadn't had a bite in the last hour and figured that a lure change was definitely required. He was seated at the rear of the boat where he could control the motor.

"I'd like your blessing," William said.

"For what?"

"I'd like your permission to marry your daughter," answered William still reeling in his line.

"Ouch," screamed Dave as a hook embedded itself in his finger. He pulled the lure out and checked his finger. Satisfied that the hook had not embedded itself to the barb, he removed it. A small bead of blood welled out while he stared at it. He muttered, "Shouldn't tell a man something like that when his hand is in a tackle box."

"Pardon?" asked William as the lure left the water. He reached back and cast again.

"I stuck my finger on a hook," answered Dave. Looking over at William, he frowned and asked, "She's not pregnant, is she?"

"No, sir."

"You are taking appropriate precautions, aren't you?"

"We haven't done anything," answered William.

"Huh?"

"We haven't done anything."

"You and her have been swimming naked together all this time and you haven't done anything?" asked Dave incredulous.

"Two days ago was the first time we were both naked when we swam. She has always worn a swimsuit," answered William wondering why they were talking about such a personal subject.

"So you want to marry my daughter. When are you expecting to do this?" asked Dave wondering what the rush was all about.

"Next year when we both are eighteen."

"So why ask me now?"

Smiling, William said, "I believe that the women are going to want to plan a wedding. Those take time to arrange, if I understand the process correctly."

Shaking his head, Dave thought about what was going through his mind when he had proposed to his wife. His thoughts about the matter had been carnal rather than nice. He commented, "You're a smart kid. I wasn't thinking about the ceremony when I proposed to my wife. I was just thinking I was ready to start living with her."

Laughing, William said, "I guess that's not that uncommon. You might say I have to think about things like that."

"So you want to marry my daughter."

"Yes, sir."

"And you want my blessing."

"Yes, sir."

"That's a rather old fashioned concept," Dave said wondering if he'd even heard of anyone doing that any more. He understood the reason for it. William had wanted to make sure that the relationship between father and daughter was not harmed as a result of his proposal.

"I suppose it is," said William.

"Well, I guess you have it," Dave said. He didn't know what else to say about the matter. He knew his daughter was too young to get married, but they were talking about going through the ceremony when they'd be old enough. He knew that by the time they married, William would have his doctorate and his daughter would have her bachelor's degree.

"Thank you."

"Let's get back to fishing, otherwise we're going to have hotdogs tonight," Dave said. He hated showing up at the house without enough fish for everyone to eat. His wife and daughter would tease him unmercifully for making them eat dogfish rather than catfish.

William watched Dave reach into the tackle box. He was half tempted to ask what the other man thought of pre-marital sex. He chuckled and cast out his line, thinking that the timing would be too cruel.

Two casts later, William hooked a nice three pound large mouth bass. Once he had reeled in the fish, the boat suddenly lurched. William, holding the fish, and Dave, having just cast his line, each looked towards the other. They each intended to chastise the other for rocking the boat. Instead, they found themselves staring at a very large Bald Eagle standing on the seat between them.

The bird emitted a loud screech and looked at William. It was a magnificent example of its species. William removed the hook from the fish's mouth and said, "It is yours, my friend."

William placed the bass onto the seat next to the eagle. The proud bird stepped onto the fish, preened for a second, picked up the fish, and flew away. On the seat were three small feathers that had fallen from the chest of the eagle. In trade for the fish, it had given him three feathers for his medicine bag. William reached over and picked them up, placing them in his pocket with great care.

"Does that happen often?" asked Dave once he recovered from the sight. He wondered if anyone would believe the story of what happened.

"Not really," answered William as his eyes sought out the retreating figure of the bird. He shouted, "Thank you for the gift."

"I didn't even know that we had Bald Eagles around here," said Dave deciding that no one would believe the story.

Looking over at Dave, William said, "It looks like we're having hotdogs tonight."

After a dinner of hotdogs and potato salad, William had formally proposed to Lucy. After a rather sedate affirmative from Lucy, they had gone on to talk about other subjects leaving Dave and Ann staring at them. An hour later, William was seated on the couch reading a science fiction book. In her normal position with her head on his lap, Lisa was reading a different science fiction book. Both were oblivious to the television blasting just a few feet away.

Dave watched the couple from his comfort chair while shaking his head. William would turn a page and then lower a hand to gently rub her stomach. She'd turn a page and go back to running her fingers along his arm. The weirdest thing was that they'd turn the pages at the same time. He'd never seen anything like it.

Across the room, Ann was already looking up web sites that dealt with planning weddings. She'd been at it for over an hour and had just found a site with detailed checklists of the things to be done. Looking over the list, she wondered if a year's notice was enough time. She went over to the love seat and said, "I don't know how we are going to manage this wedding."

Looking up from his book, William said, "Come to Arizona with me and talk to Cathy or Mary. Tell them what you want and they'll make sure it happens."

"Who are Cathy and Mary?"

"They are the family managers," answered William. Everyone in the family had a different name for the job performed by Cathy and Mary. Dan had the most succinct way of referring to them - the bosses. Even before he was married into the family, Dan had learned that if he went where they told him and took with him the material they handed him that he never had any problems.

"I'd hate to put them out," Ann said.

"That's their job. Besides, they won't be doing all of the work," William replied.

"Still, I'd rather do it myself," Ann replied feeling a little upset that the wedding was being taken away from her.

"Are you really prepared to deal with the logistics associated with several thousand guests?" asked William looking over at Ann.

"You're kidding?" asked Ann with her mouth open. She had thought that they would have a hundred guests at most.

The entire family turned to stare at William. When Lucy had dreamed of a wedding, it was a regular wedding with a typical sized crowd. William was suggesting something that sounded more like a royal wedding.

"Not at all. My sister's wedding had around two thousand guests and she didn't have all of the Native American connections. My guest list will include friends, Druids, Chiefs and Medicine of all the tribes, members of my tribe, classmates, family members, executives of charity organizations, homeless folks, government officials, and business partners. I imagine that we'll reach three thousand people without much difficulty."

Stunned, Dave could only think about how much that would cost. It was up to the bride's family to pay for the wedding, but there was no way that he could afford that kind of event. He had figured on having the wedding in the local church as a way to save money. That place could seat two hundred, not three thousand.

Staggered by the thought of what would be involved, he asked, "Where can we fit three thousand people around here?"

"I guess the first question to answer is where you want the wedding. You have your choice of locations from all over the country. There's the reservation, the Druid College, the Native American College, my parent's place, or any large city in the country. Of course, we'll have to make arrangements at that location for the halls, hotels, excursion trips, and food," said William.

"Excursion trips?"

"With that many people involved, there's no way that Lucy and I can meet with all of them over a single day. We'll have to have several days of parties to meet and greet the guests. With guests staying that long, they'll need things to do while we're busy with other activities."

"How long are you saying it will last?"

"Three or four days," answered William with a negligent shrug of his shoulders.

Lucy leaned over so that her mouth was over William's ear and whispered, "My parents can't afford all of that."

Looking at Lucy, William said, "Your parents only need to worry about paying for their share of the wedding. Since the wedding guests of my family will constitute almost all of the guests, let my family pay for that. Since the number of guests imposes other costs, such as location, housing, entertainment, food, and parties, let my family pay for that. Taking all of the things that my family should pay for into account, that leaves flowers and a wedding dress. I'm sure your father can afford that."

"You're kidding!" Dave declared trying to decide if that was a good deal or not. He hadn't realized when William had talked about it taking a year to plan the wedding that he hadn't been joking.

"What does that leave for us to do?" asked Ann thinking that the whole wedding was being taken out of her hands. She had dreamed for years of planning her daughter's wedding.

Laughing, William answered, "Everything. You'll have to work with the wedding planners to select the site, the food, the excursion trips, and everything else."

"Wedding planners?" asked Ann thinking back to the list she had just read on the computer. She had not seen working with wedding planners anywhere on the list.

"Sure. When you talk to Cathy or Mary, they will identify a set of wedding planners who will take care of the details. If you say that you want chicken served at the wedding reception, they'll arrange for a dozen caterers to deliver chicken, waiters to put the chicken in front of the guest, and hired help to clean up afterward," answered William.

"You make it sound like this is an everyday kind of thing that you have to do," said Dave.

"It is when your family controls several billion dollars," answered William in a very serious tone of voice. No one made a sound. The television blared away in the background. William looked at the stunned expressions on the faces around him. In a sad voice, he added, "Welcome to the world of William Redman Carter."



-------

Chapter 15

Greetings had been exchanged and the guests shown their rooms in the Carter home. The next order of business was to relax. William stripped off his clothes and headed towards the pool. He jumped in feet first, reveling in the feel of cool water against his bare skin. Lucy and Ann, naked as well, slipped into the pool right behind him.

Before they had even moved a dozen feet from the edge, Betsy charged into the poolroom throwing off her clothes even as she ran. Without pause, she jumped into the pool while shouting, "Chicken fight!"

Ann turned and looked at the young woman swimming towards her. At the last moment, Betsy stopped, stood up, and, excitedly said, "Climb on my shoulders. We'll show them what we can do."

"I'm too heavy," Ann started to say. Even before she had managed to complete the words, she felt Betsy's head between her legs. Less than a second later, she was on Betsy's shoulders and moving towards William. She waved her arms around trying to maintain her balance.

Knowing that Betsy was not to be denied, William helped Lucy onto his shoulders. They didn't stand a chance against the charging dynamo. Before they had even gotten set, Betsy was there in front of them. With a gentle push and a very large smile, Ann sent Lucy into the water. Lucy came up sputtering and trying to clear her hair out of her face.

Despite the strangeness associated with being naked while a young woman had her head between her legs, Ann was laughing at the expression on William's face. She could tell that he was going to say they cheated. She said, "All's fair in love and war. I do believe that Chicken Fights do count as war."

Betsy echoed her amusement with laughter. William rolled his eyes and, with a smile, said, "I guess it was a war, although I would have chosen the term ambush."

Lunging forward to hug William, Betsy said, "Ah, it's good to see you smiling William."

Ann found herself falling back into the water when Betsy moved out from under her. With the reversal of the previous situation, she found she was the one sputtering while Lucy was laughing.

Ever moving, Betsy circled around them like a shark cutting through the water. She said, "You guys are fun."

Winking at Lucy, William said, "How about a race, Betsy?"

"Normal rules?" asked the young woman with a glow in her eyes.

"Yes," answered William as he moved to the end of the pool. He took his time knowing that no matter how fast he moved that Betsy would beat him there. She danced in place waiting for him.

"On your mark, get set, go!" shouted Betsy as she took off.

Without even making the effort of swimming a lap, William watched his sister generate waves as she cut through the water. Seeing that he was still standing there, Lucy asked, "What are normal rules?"

"She swims three laps for every lap I'm to swim," answered William.

"Why aren't you swimming?" Lucy asked watching the girl cut through the water. Betsy was already at the other end of the pool and on her way back. There was no way William could win even under those rules.

"I don't need to swim. We just take it for granted that I lose."

Lucy burst out laughing at his flat delivery of the statement. Pointing to Betsy, Lucy asked, "Does she know that you don't swim?"

"Of course," William answered. Even when they were little, he could find ways for her to keep busy without requiring him to put in half the energy used by Ling to achieve the same result. It drove Ling nuts.

Ann had listened to the exchange with a grin. She couldn't believe that the thirteen-year-old girl had such energy. She swam over to William and asked, "Is she going to compete in the Olympics?"

"My brother Eddie is helping her train in track and field. She'll be ready in two years," answered William.

"Does she ever slow down?" Ann asked watching her cut through the water. It looked to her like Betsy had started moving faster after the first lap.

"Only when she goes to bed. She goes from moving to absolutely still in one minute," William answered.

"How about in school?"

"She's always moving, even in school. Finding a way of keeping her there was tough. After considering a lot of options, we settled on setting up an exercise bike in the back of the room. It cost a small fortune to create one that was quiet enough not to disturb the class. It works and allows her to attend school like a normal kid," Ling answered from poolside. She had entered the room in time to hear the last exchange between William and Ann.

"Is she like William?" Ann asked wanting to know if she was as smart as William.

"Nobody's like William," Ling said as she striped out of her clothes. She meant it in every way possible.

"Thanks, Mom," said William taking it as a compliment.

Ling entered the pool at the same time Betsy arrived next to William and announced, "I won. Do you want to race again?"

After three races in which William hadn't even moved, William, Lucy, and Ann left pool with him claiming that so much racing had tired him out. They relaxed and watched Betsy swim laps at a furious pace. Still in the water, Ling coached Betsy despite the fact that the girl didn't need any help.

Ann and Lucy exchanged meaningful looks with Ann nodding her head and Lucy shaking hers. Deciding to take the initiative that Lucy wouldn't take, Ann asked, "Why don't you show Lucy your bedroom? I'm sure she would love to see the room that you grew up in."

"I really haven't spent much time at this house. Although this was my home, it isn't really the place where I grew up," answered William ducking the real intent of her suggestion. He didn't like the idea of sneaking off for a furtive grope. When he and Lucy were going to engage in physical intimacy for the first time, he wanted it to be an act of love and not lust. He said, "I lived nine years at the Druid College, four years at the Native American College, and a year on the reservation."

It has hard for Ann and Lucy to know how to react. On the one hand, what he said reflected a life that was sad in many ways and deserved comment. On the other hand, it sounded like he was totally oblivious to the opportunity that was being given him and that deserved comment. Ann and Lucy exchanged another glance. Finally, Lucy said, "That's sad."

"That's one of the things about my childhood that made my mothers unhappy, but it was for the best. I'd have gone crazy without the opportunity to develop to my full potential," said William.

Ann was about to make a comment to the effect that he had missed her point, but William raised a hand to stop her from speaking. In a very serious tone of voice, he said, "I'm not totally oblivious to the implications of your suggestion for taking her to my bedroom. However, I'd rather pursue that at a time and place of my own choosing."

Turning to face Lucy, he asked, "Would you care to walk through the garden with me?"

"Yes," answered Lucy, grateful for the distraction. She had not wanted her mother to make the suggestion since she shared William's attitude that their first time together should be special.

Ann watched the young couple leave the poolroom. From beside her, Ling said, "I see that William hasn't lost his touch in driving people crazy."

"What is it? I give him a chance to be alone with Lucy and he totally ignores it. You'd think that after a year of being with her, he'd be a little horny by now," Ann said.

Resting a hand on Ann's arm, Ling said, "He understands the difference between lust and love, sex and making love. When he and Lucy finally get together, it is going to be special."

"Oh." She didn't know if she believed that.

"In a way, I envy her. I thought it was love the first time I was ever with a man, but I was wrong. It was lust and I was crushed as a result."

Ann understood what Ling was saying. Her first time had been disappointing. She'd been too young and too eager to satisfy a young man interested in only one thing. Nodding, she said, "Same here."

"Lucy is going to experience heaven. He's going to take her to places that few women have ever been," said Ling with a sigh. She hadn't experienced that kind of heaven until she had slept with John Carter. That had been a magic evening.

"What about him?"

"William will take care of William," answered Ling knowing there was a lot of truth in that statement.

The next day, Ann sat at the end of the conference table listening to Cathy, Linda, and Ling discuss the wedding. Her jaw dropped when Cathy said, "I think a budget of ten million should be sufficient. Of course, that depends on the location."

Ling said, "We've got double that allocated, so don't worry about location. Any place is fine with me, but I'm not all that wild about the reservations or colleges. They are just too isolated."

"I want the best for William," said Linda. Seeing the questioning expression on Ling's, she said, "I agree that the last places we should consider are the reservations and the colleges."

Satisfied with Linda's answer, Ling turned to Ann and asked, "Where would you like it?"

"I have no idea," Ann answered barely able to breathe. Her mind had gone blank upon hearing them talk about spending twenty million dollars on the wedding.

"You've got the whole world to choose from," said Linda.

"The whole world?" Ann looked over at Cathy as if lost.

"If there are a couple of places that Lucy has always wanted to visit, we could have the wedding in one and they could have the honeymoon in the other," said Ling. Seeing the look on Ann's face, she added, "That's what we did for Beth and John."

"Oh."

Linda said, "We can just ask William. He'll know where it is going to be held."

"You're kidding?" Ann asked looking as the other women around the table nodded their heads in agreement.

"Not at all. William knows everything we decide before we even decide it," said Linda.

Ann laughed in disbelief. Joking, she said, "So throw a dart at a map and pick the nearest large city. We'll have the wedding there."

Ling and Linda looked at each other for a few seconds as smiles grew on their faces. Even if William knew where it was going to be held, it would bug him trying to figure out why it was held there. Linda said, "I'll get the map."

"I'll get a knife," said Ling.

Seeing that her joke was being taken seriously, Ann stared as the women left the room. Cathy was laughing and said, "I'm sure you didn't mean it, but after being outguessed by William for years your idea is perfect."

Ten minutes later, Ann stepped back, ripped off her blindfold, and declared, "The wedding will be held in Cheyenne, Wyoming."

Ann's voice had faltered when she announced the name of the town. She bent down and examined the map with a frown. Ling stepped over and looked down at the map. Looking up, Ling asked, "Cheyenne Wyoming?"

"What's in Cheyenne Wyoming?" Ann asked.

"I've got no idea," Cathy said looking at the map. The knife had cut the map right over the center of the town. Shaking her head, she said, "I don't think it will support an event this big."

"The nearest large city is Denver," said Linda.

"Denver is good," Ann said.

"I agree, Denver is good."

Cathy made a note on her pad of paper and said, "Denver it is. I'll identify a couple of wedding consultants from Denver and have them fly in for an interview. We should be ready to interview them in three or four days. How would you like to handle the interviews?"

When Cathy turned to look at her, Ann didn't know how to answer the question. She'd never interviewed anyone before. Lost by everything that had happened, she asked, "What do you suggest?"

"I suggest that we give each of them an idea of the scale of the wedding and allow each to tell us what they would do. You pick the one whose vision is the closest to what you would like," answered Cathy.

"Okay," Ann replied thinking that it sounded easy enough.

While the mother's were selecting the city where the wedding would be held, Walt stopped the van in front of the sign advertising that the property was for sale. Gesturing to the wide open space around them, he said, "We're here."

The real estate agent, Natalie, was seated next to Walt in the front of the van. She was in her early forties and basically unhappy. She wasn't an unattractive woman, although she wore her makeup a little heavy to hide the lines on her face. Divorced by a cheating husband, she had gone into real estate out of necessity. She was desperate for a big sale and didn't know what to make of having a pair of teenagers for clients. Natalie said, "The owner said he'd meet us out here."

"How much land is it?" asked William.

"Forty square miles. That's 25660 acres of land," answered Natalie checking her property sheet. The sheet had all of the vital statistics about the property, a map, and an aerial photograph. It was a lot of land with nothing on it as far as she was concerned. Frowning, she said, "It's not very productive. I guess that explains the asking price of fifty an acre."

"You say it is adjacent to the reservation."

"Yes, it has about a mile border with it," answered Natalie. She looked out over the land and wondered who would want to buy such a desolate place.

William turned to Lucy and asked, "What do you think of it?"

"I don't know. It's kind of big and flat," said Lucy looking out the window of the van.

A black sedan, less than a year old, approached from down the road and parked in front of the van. A couple in their mid-thirties got out of the sedan and approached them. Walt got out and went around to the passenger side opening the door for the couple. Gesturing to the interior, he said, "Come on out of the hot."

The couple got into the van. Once they were seated, the man said, "I'm Mark Dunning and this is my wife Morgan."

"I'm William Redman Carter and this is my fiancee, Lucille Desi Wilkins."

"I guess you want to look at the property," said Mark wondering if he was wasting his time showing a couple of teenagers the old family place.

"Yes, we do," answered William. From the road, the place didn't look like much, but Ed had recommended they visit it. No one knew Arizona better than his father and such a recommendation was worthy of being followed.

Walt navigated the van across the cattle guard and along the remains of a dirt road. A huge plume of dust boiled up into the air behind the van. When they had gone about a mile, William was looking out one side of the van when he heard Lucy say, "Oh my goodness!"

Turning to see what had prompted her exclamation, he saw the edge of a canyon opening beside the road. The view was breath taking. William leaned forward and said, "Walt, stop the van."

Once the van was stopped, William and Lucy exited and walked as close to the edge as Lucy was comfortable. She looked out over the canyon for a full minute without saying a word. Turning to William, she said, "I could wake up to this view every morning for the rest of my life."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," she answered as she squeezed his hand. By all that she had known to that day, she should have hated it. The land was rough, wild, and raw. It did not bear the lash marks of cultivation. It bore no resemblance to a park. She had never been taken by a place in the way this one had reached out and grabbed her. It was love at first sight.

Smiling at the positive confidence in her voice, William said, "It's going to take some time to find the best view."

"I don't know if I could take it if the view was any better," said Lucy finding it hard to tear her eyes away from the panorama spread out in front of her.

Pointing in a direction that was parallel to the edge of the canyon, William said, "Let's walk up that way."

"Why?"

"I'd like to check out a couple of locations for the house," answered William. He was confident there was a place ahead where the sight would take her breath away.

"It would be impossible to have a better view than this," said Lucy.

The young couple made their way along the edge of the canyon. As they walked along, more of the canyon opened before them. Lucy couldn't believe that it was possible, but, with each step, the view she beheld increased in beauty. In the canyon below there was a thin strip of water surrounded by a lush growth of trees. She spotted a deer standing by the water.

The sound of a rattle coming from beside them caused both of them to stop. Lucy gasped at her first encounter with a rattlesnake and was tempted to run away. The fact that the snake was coiled directly in front of William was the only thing that kept her in place. Far enough away from the snake to avoid being bit, she didn't want her movement to cause it to strike William. Heart pounding, she stood in place.

With a calmness that amazed Lucy, William knelt down and looked at the snake. It was a large specimen that was at least eight feet in length with the diamond-back markings of its kind. The snake, once it had his attention, shifted so that the rattle was beating against a small rock. After a few seconds, half of the rattle broke off and fell to the ground.

In a sign that Lucy recognized as respect, the snake lowered and raised its head before it slithered away. William picked up the rattle left behind. He put it into his shirt pocket with care. It was a gift for his medicine bag. Watching the snake disappear into the desert, he called out, "Thank you for the gift."

Voice trembling as an echo of her fear, Lucy asked, "What just happened?"

"The snake gave me half of its rattle for use on my medicine bag," answered William.

"Like the eagle gave you three feathers?" Lucy asked.

"Exactly."

"Wow," said the young woman. If she hadn't seen the snake and how it behaved towards him, she wouldn't have believed it.

Feeling that he was close to the site where they would build their house, William pointed to a location a hundred yards away and said, "Let's go over there."

When they reached the spot, William looked out over the canyon. Lucy's grip on his hand tightened as she looked at the view. Lifting his hand, he patted the back of Lucy's hand as he said, "This is where we will build our house."

Awed by the vista, Lucy agreed by nodding her head. She stood on the edge of the canyon and gazed upon the panorama before her. She knew that it wasn't the Grand Canyon. The canyon wasn't that deep, it wasn't that wide, and it wasn't as long, but the impact was just as soul shattering. Taking a deep breath, she said, "This is the place where I want to live until I grow old and die."

Satisfied with her answer, William pulled out his cell phone even as he winked at Lucy. Opening it, he dialed his sister. When she answered, he said, "Beth, this is William. Lucy and I just found the perfect place for our future house."

Lucy looked around wondering what kind of house would allow them to take in the view. The best place to build it would be along the edge of the canyon, but that would not leave them with much of a back yard. She turned to look behind her and realized they were going to have a huge front yard.

She listened as William said, "I really need a house that fits this location. It's going to have to be built on the edge of canyon and blend in with the environment. Whoever designs the house is going to have to be the very best architect in the world. Can you recommend someone who can handle the challenge?"

Lucy smiled at the way he made the request. She knew he considered Beth to be the best architect in the world. It was also clear that Beth knew that he felt that way. She almost burst out laughing when, in a shocked voice, he asked, "Really? You're the best architect for the job?"

"You don't say? Well, I might have to check out your portfolio," said William grinning at Lucy. He added, "I seem to remember you making a D in your desert building design class. Didn't your adobe house fall down?"

Lucy could hear Beth even though she was standing a good distance from the phone held by William. She couldn't make out what his sister was saying, but it was said in a mock abusive voice. It amazed her how the siblings teased each other.

"I've got to buy it yet," said William after his sister had calmed down.

Although she knew as soon as he had made the call to his sister that he was going to buy the property, his putting it into words sent a thrill through her body. She looked out over the canyon and smiled at the idea that one day this would be hers.

"Okay, you'll see me in a week. At least if I don't see you first."

When he closed the phone, Lucy burst out laughing and asked, "She's going to design the house?"

"Of course," he answered slipping the phone back into his pocket.

Moving to stand beside him with her hand in his, she looked over the view and asked, "When do we move in?"

"It'll take about four years to build," said William. His father would do the geological survey to assure that the location was stable enough to support a house. His sister's design would have the first floor at surface level and the three lower floors built into the wall of the canyon. He could see the house in his mind. Nodding his head, he said, "It's going to be a house for the ages."

Later in the apartment of Linda, Lucy and Linda were seated on a couch. Lucy was sewing together the parts to create a small leather pouch. She stuck her finger with the needle while trying to sew the sides closed. Sticking her finger in her mouth, she said, "It's hard to sew leather."

"You're doing fine," Linda said looking over the pouch.

Curious, Lucy asked, "Are you sure that I'm supposed to make the pouch for William?"

"It is the duty of a squaw to do this," Linda answered.

Lucy frowned and said, "I'm not sure that I would like to be called a squaw. It sounds rather derogatory."

"It has come to be derogatory because it has been used that way for many years. When the whites first married women of the Massachusett and other Algonquin tribes, they called their wives squaws because that is what the women called themselves. The word, squa, meant woman. Because other whites didn't recognize the marriages, the wives were treated as if they were whores. Squaw came to mean a subservient woman who could be easily mistreated. Some have even suggested that it means cunt," Linda said.

"So why..."

Interrupting Lucy before she could ask the question, Linda said, "Since William freed us from the curse, many of us have examined the past and found much about which we can be proud. Some of us have taken to using the old words among ourselves out of pride for our past. Squaw is one of those terms even though it is a word from a tribe that no longer exists."

"Pride?"

"Many Native American tribes were matriarchal. Did you know that?"

"No," Lucy answered as she worked on the leather bag.

"Native American women were not servants to their husbands, but proud women." Linda looked over at the bag and nodded her approval.

"So what happened to cause Native American women to be looked upon as servants?"

"During the Age of the Great Curse, our culture clashed with the culture of the white and we lost. We lost because our culture had been weakened. Disease had destroyed entire families. The old had died without passing all they knew to the young. The young were faced with a culture they didn't understand."

Lucy looked up from her work and asked, "What didn't they understand?"

"White men farmed and their wives cooked. Our braves hunted and fought to protect us while we raised our families. We were a culture of hunters and meat kept our families alive. Our braves looked down on the white men because they worked the soil. White men looked down on our braves because the women of our tribes worked the land to augment our diet with grains. The women were viewed as subservient to lazy men and that made them even less deserving of respect then the men."

"What about stealing the land?"

"Our culture was based on hunting rather than farming. You can't stay in one spot and hunt sufficient game to feed even a small tribe year round. It requires that you move according to the season. It takes a lot of land to support a small tribe."

"The white culture was based on farming. Seeing land that had been abandoned and was suitable for farming, the Whites would move in while we were gone and establish a homestead. They didn't move away when the season changed and our people returned. Instead, they fought to keep our people from trespassing on land that they had worked hard to develop. Their presence depleted game and made life more difficult for our people."

Lucy observed, "It was a matter of life and death for all of the individuals involved."

"You're exactly right. In a way, it makes sense that we lost the battles over land. We had to keep moving to stay fed. The settlers were fighting from a more stable position. They stayed in one place and raised their crops. The more intensive use of land allowed a higher density of people. The next group of settlers would eat away a little more of our land."

Lucy looked over at Linda in surprise at the suggestion that farming was such a major source of misunderstanding. She had never heard any of that in her history courses. She'd been taught that the Native Americans had taught the early settlers how to grow corn. Older books presented Native Americans as savages while the newer books presented the Whites as savages. She had always figured the truth was somewhere in between.

"Once we had lost, the White's tried to change our culture to theirs. Our braves were made to do women's work and it destroyed all that had made them warriors. Our women were at a loss as to what they were to do. They denied us our languages, our customs, and our culture."

"You must hate Whites," Lucy said.

"No. I think that many of the Whites meant well. By everything they knew to be right and proper, our men were lazy and our women didn't act like a woman was supposed to behave. The more we resisted their efforts to mold us into their vision of how people were to act, the worse we appeared to them. They just didn't understand what they were doing to us."

"Why do you think that they misunderstood each other so much?"

"The Great Curse was upon us," Linda answered confident that the curse explained everything. She paused and said, "Thanks to William, those days are in the past. Now, I can be proud to be a squaw."

After Linda had been quiet for a minute, Lucy held up the bag and asked, "What do you think?"

"Ah, it looks good. William will like it very much," Linda answered with a smile.

Smiling at her future mother-in-law, Lucy said, "Maybe I'll be a good squaw one of these days."



-------

Chapter 16

Wearing nothing but a loincloth and a small leather bag around his neck, William walked to the edge of the stream. Once there, he paused and looked down at the ground. At the border between water and land was a stone that caught his attention. Kneeling, he picked it up.

The stone was the diameter of a quarter with a thickness of a quarter of an inch. The edges were worn smooth. There was nothing remarkable about the stone except for one feature -- the center of the stone had been worn away to produce a hole. It was a stone of great power. Thousands of years had gone into its formation. It required events that were so unlikely that the existence of the stone should be impossible.

William pulled the leather bag from around his neck and attached the stone to it. Replacing it around his neck, he knew the medicine bag was complete. Lucy had made the medicine bag under the supervision of Linda. The bag had traditional beading, but had been decorated with the eagle feathers, the rattle, and, now, the stone. Inside the medicine bag were sacred herbs.

The stream chilled him as he waded into the water until it came to his knees. He cupped his hands. Bending, he filled his hands with water. He lifted his cupped hands over his head and allowed the water to cascade onto his head. He repeated that until his entire body was wet.

His ritual bathing complete, William left the stream and headed towards the sweat lodge. He noted with satisfaction that it was well placed for communication with the spirits. The door opened eastwards, the direction from which everything starts. He picked up his drum. Days of preparation had brought him to the proper mental and emotional state for his spirit journey. It was now necessary to undergo the ritual cleansing of the sweat lodge.

William joined the other men standing outside the small shelter. The oldest man lit a sage smudge and cleansed each man with its smoke. After a prayer, half of the men entered the shelter with him. The floor of the sweat lodge was covered with cedar boughs. The other half of the men, the Dog Soldiers, remained outside to tend the fire, pass the stones into the lodge, and to protect the ceremony.

Once the men had sat down upon the cedar boughs, a dog soldier thrust stones into the lodge using a forked stick. The largest stone went into the middle of the central pit. Around the center stone, stones were placed in the four cardinal directions. As each stone was brought into the lodge, it was sprinkled with sage. The air filled with the rich scent. Water was sprinkled onto the rocks creating a cloud of steam. The men passed around an ancient pipe.

The oldest man started beating on his drum. William followed suit. When the chanting started, the atmosphere in the lodge changed. The physical reality of the world outside disappeared, to be replaced by a smoky otherworld feel. Time passed as more stones were brought into the sweat lodge. The pores of William's skin opened and his body was soon covered with thin film of sweat.

When the last of the rocks had cooled in the sweat lodge, one of the dog soldiers opened the flap covering the entrance. Fresh air rushed in displacing the steam and smell of sage. William's mind cleared with influx the fresh air.

One of the men pointed down a path. William knew that he was to follow the path to a small cave along a cliff for his vision quest. Mediating, he made the walk along the path. After walking for two hours he arrived at the cave. Taking a seat he mediated and waited for his vision to descend upon him.

William entered the fog. Beneath his feet was the hard dust of the desert. There was a small murmur of noise as if water was cascading through a distant shallow narrow of a river. He waited for his guide to arrive. Time had lost its normal progression as he was in another world.

A raven appeared before him and gave forth a croak that said, "Follow me."

When the raven took wing, William followed. As he walked the path, the nature of the path changed from desert to woodland to plains to swamp, but the fog surrounding him remained. Along the way, animals appeared along the path. In each natural environment, the animals special to those places presented themselves to him. There was the rattlesnake, deer, bear, otter, eagle, hawk, mouse, buffalo, coyote, and cougar, to name a few. At each animal, the raven paused for William to give honor to the animal.

The raven led William to the edge of a great meadow surrounded by ancient oak trees. The fog rolled back revealing the meadow in its full glory. The sun shined from above. Vines blocked his path to the meadow. Around him, the seasons changed. The vines withered and fell away. With a last croak, the raven left leaving William free to enter the meadow.

The vision lifted and William's consciousness returned to the cave. Standing, he returned down the path that he had followed to reach the cave. Reaching the sweat lodge, he greeted the men waiting for him. The ritual of the sweat lodge was repeated.

When the last stone had cooled. The other men in the lodge stopped their drumming and chanting. All turned to look at William. In a gruff voice, he said, "Always the same vision."

"Talks With Animals," said one of the men capturing in one statement both William's name and the interpretation of the majority of the vision. The other men nodded their agreement. No one would talk about the end of the vision.

Stepping outside the sweat lodge, William felt weak and extremely tired. He had gone three days without food or sleep. He returned to the stream and washed the sweat from his body. The cool water against his hot body chilled and refreshed him. One of the men who had waited outside the sweat lodge handed him a bottle of sports drink and said, "Drink this. You'll feel better."

Smiling his thanks, William accepted the bottle. It was lukewarm, which was better for him than ice cold. Opening it, he took a long swallow replacing water and minerals that had been lost in the sweat lodge. He knew not to drink more than his body could handle. Now that his throat was not quite so rough, he said, "Thanks."

Chief Awa Tsireh asked, "What will you do now?"

"I will go home, work on my dissertation, and love my girlfriend."

"What about the White Buffalo?"

"I'll go to the sweat lodge at the Native American College and then go to the ranch in August," answered William.

Chief Awa Tsireh smiled and nodded his head at the idea that William would go to the Native American College first. He knew that William placed the five hundred tribes above any single tribe and, in his opinion, that was the right thing to do. He said, "You do your great-grandfather great honor by that choice. You do all of the Native American people a great service."

William walked into the Carter House and was immediately met by Mary Gold holding her normal pad of paper. She said, "Welcome back, William. I've only got a few items for you."

"I'm tired," said William knowing that wouldn't stop her.

"It'll just take a minute," said Mary in her incredibly sexy voice. She glanced at him and then continued, "First item. There is a William Redbird who wants to interview you for the Native American Times. He's staying in Phoenix waiting to meet you."

"Give me the rest before I decide on that one," said William. He didn't really want to give an interview, but knew that he wasn't going to be able to avoid it.

"Second item. I've got three locations identified where you can work on your dissertation. First one is at Lake George, New York. The second one is in Princeton, Iowa. The third one is outside of Pine Bluff, Arkansas."

"Tell me about Pine Bluff."

"It's an isolated house along the river about fifteen minutes outside of Pine Bluff. There's fishing and hunting in the area," answered Mary Gold. She had examined aerial photographs of the area and had liked it.

"Set up a visit to it on the way back to Pennsylvania in two days."

"Alone?"

"Lucy and I," answered William.

Mary Gold smiled and made a note to that effect on her pad. Looking up, she said, "Third item. Ann will be going to Denver for a week to look at the halls for the wedding. We've set her up with a hotel and driver."

"Good. Make sure she has the resources to have a good time," said William.

"I've already done that. Cathy will go there with her to make sure that she spends it," said Mary with a smile.

"Very good."

"Fourth item. Your play money account hit two hundred million again. One of the special effects companies you invested in hit it big at the box office. Its stock price went from four to forty almost overnight."

William frowned as he considered the news. He sighed and said, "Give me a list of charities and I'll move half of the money to them. Get the accountants to calculate the taxes on eighty million. I'll move the after-tax money over to my conservative accounts and start over at twenty million in my play money account."

"That only took you six months this time," said Mary.

"I know," answered William. Sighing, he asked, "Any more items?"

"Nope."

"Tell William Redbird that I'll meet him at Shirley's Bar tomorrow at noon," said William. He yawned and said, "I'm going to sleep now."

It was eleven when William and Lucy left for Shirley's Bar to meet William Redbird. Walking down the street, William introduced Lucy to the neighbors. The neighbors greeted Lucy like a long lost friend. All of them welcomed her to the town with the kind of graciousness that was humbling.

Lucy was amazed at the lack of conflict between the rich and poor of town. In fact, she found it difficult to distinguish between the two classes. She had met Rosa and thought she was middleclass until she found out that the woman owned one of the largest chains of Mexican food restaurants in the state. The small three-bedroom house didn't seem the kind of house that would appeal to a millionaire.

It took almost forty-five minutes to reach Shirley's bar. Lucy looked at William puzzled by the destination. She said, "We're not old enough to go in there."

"Don't worry about it," said William with a smile while holding the door open for her.

Concerned, she entered the bar. Much to her surprise, it was well lit and very nicely decorated with a western theme. She wondered if all bars were so nice. She said, "Wow. Nice."

"Thank you," said Shirley looking at the young lady at the door with a smile. She saw William enter and her smile changed into a broad grin. She asked, "The usual?"

"You bet and one of the same for Lucy," said William.

Lucy nudged him and said, "I don't drink."

Shirley set two soft drinks on the counter and said, "So you brought the mysterious girl friend here to met me."

"Shirley, I'd like you to meet Lucy, my fiancee. Lucy, this is my Aunt Shirley," said William.

Shirley said, "Welcome to the family, Lucy."

"Thank you," said Lucy wondering why Shirley hadn't come by the house. She asked, "Are you Kelly's sister?"

"John is my son," answered Shirley. At the lack of response, she added, "Beth's husband."

"Oh," said Lucy.

"William calls half of the people in this town aunt or uncle despite the fact that he's not related to most of them," said Shirley. She winked at William and added, "Of course, half of the town is embarrassed by that. He's such a naughty little boy."

Lucy laughed at the obvious joke. Recalling the walk down the street, Lucy said, "It seems to be a very close knit community."

"Yeah. A lot of that is because of Ed Biggers," said Shirley with a twinkle in her eye. She wasn't going to mention that half the women in town were in love with him.

Lucy recognized the twinkle in the eye as meaning something more than suggesting they were just good friends. She raised an eye wondering if there was more to the story than Shirley had said. Then she recalled something that William had said about Eddie and the need to lock up the girls in town.

William handed a drink to Lucy and said, "Here's a coke. We need to get ready for William Redbird."

Even as he finished speaking, the door of the bar opened and a middle aged Native American entered the bar. He looked around, his eyes caressing the bottles of booze on the wall behind Shirley. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'll take a coke."

Shirley had noticed the way he had eyed the bottles. In an off-hand voice, she asked, "Are you in AA?"

"Yes," answered the man.

"The bar is closed for you. I hope you don't mind, but I won't be a party to a man falling off the wagon," said Shirley.

The man looked at Shirley with hostility and asked, "Are you doing that because I'm a Native American?"

Unperturbed by the hostility, Shirley pointed over her shoulder to a small sign and said, "We don't sell to members of AA even if they've already fallen off the wagon."

The sign gave a number of conditions under which they wouldn't sell alcohol. Included in the list was membership in AA. The man leaned forward and read the other conditions. They wouldn't sell an alcoholic drink to someone angry? No alcoholic drinks for designated drivers? He looked over at her and said, "You're kidding, aren't you? No drinks to someone angry?"

"Very serious," answered Shirley. She wiped down the counter while she added, "I'm happy enough to serve soft drinks and iced tea. No reason I have to push alcohol. No reason I have to contribute to destructive behavior. Everyone in here drinks responsibly or they don't drink."

The man replied, "Oh."

William said, "William Redbird. We're over here."

The man turned away from the rows of bottles on the wall and noticed William with Lucy standing beside him. As he walked over to the couple, he said, "Call me Beak."

"Beak?" asked William. Lucy giggled at the nickname.

"William Redbird... Bill Redbird... Redbird Bill... Beak... Get it?" said the reporter. He smiled at the grin that appeared on William's face and said, "It was my brother, my big brother, who came up with the name. He's called me Beak for as long as I can remember."

William said, "Allow me to introduce Lucy to you."

"Pleased to meet you ma'am," said Beak. He sipped his coke and looked back at the bar shaking his head. He still couldn't get over the idea of a bar posting a sign reserving the right to refuse selling drinks to members of AA.

"Let's take a seat over there. No one will bother us while you're interviewing us," said William.

The trio moved over to a table and took seats even as the bar filled with the lunchtime crowd. Beak pulled out a notepad and a recorder. Placing the recorder on the table and pointing to it, he asked, "Do you mind if I record this?"

"Go ahead," answered William.

"This is William Redbird. For the record will you introduce yourselves and spell your names," said Beak looking across the table.

William introduced himself and spelled his name. He looked over at Lucy and said, "Your turn."

"Me?" asked Lucy wondering why they would include her. As far as she understood, the interview was between William and Beak.

"Of course, it's time to announce our engagement to the world. Might as well give Beak the exclusive," answered William.

"Why me?" asked Beak surprised.

"Saves us from having to give another interview," answered William. The family's public relations firm would handle announcements to the news services. He made a mental note to warn them that he had leaked the news to the press.

Lucy stared at William in surprise. It took her a minute to realize that their marriage was a newsworthy item. It took her a moment to recover, but she supplied her name and spelled it in response to a follow up by Beak.

"So tell me how you two met."

William and Lucy took turns explaining the circumstances of how they met. They left out the more personal details about the actions of her roommate. Lucy offered how she had been upset and that William had comforted her. Even as she spoke, William knew that her words would come back to haunt her if published. While Beak wouldn't investigate why she was upset, he knew that other reporters would do it. He interrupted, "Beak, I hope you will treat her emotional state at the time we met as being off the record."

Looking from William to Lucy, Beak said, "I sense a story here."

Lucy was about to answer, when William said, "She was fifteen and going to school at a university. A lot of kids older than her have a hard time adjusting to being away from their parents. Let's leave it at that."

"Good enough," said Beak. He gave William a look that suggested the young man owed him a favor. William nodded in acknowledgement.

Beak asked, "So when is the big date for the wedding?"

"We haven't established that yet. My mother is scouting out a location and we'll set the date when we know what is available," answered Lucy.

"You'll let me know when you know the date and time?" asked Beak.

"Of course," answered William.

"Changing the topic a little, I'd like to ask about the birth of the White Buffalo. As you know, it was among the first calves conceived after you broke the curse upon the Native American people. Do you have any comments?"

"First, I was not alone in breaking the curse. Medicine men of many tribes participated in the events of that day, as did warriors. I owe my life to those good men," answered William leaning forward to make his point.

"I'm aware of that," said Beak.

"Second, I don't know how to interpret the timing of the birth. I wouldn't want to speak for the Great Spirit."

"Fair enough."

"Third, it is a significant event for all Native Americans, not just those of the plains. I would not be surprised if other signs of increasing power are seen in the near future," said William.

Surprised by the suggestion of further signs, Beak leaned forward and asked, "Such as?"

"I can't say. I wouldn't dare speak for the Great Spirit. The one thing that I do know is that the people of the plains are not the only ones who are waiting for a sign of their return to greatness. I sincerely doubt the Great Spirit will not provide those signs."

"Interesting," said Beak wondering if William knew something from a vision. "Will you go to see the White Buffalo?"

"Yes, I plan to go in August."

"Will you cleanse yourself before visiting?" asked Beak.

"Yes."

It was time for Beak to ask the question that everyone was wondering. He asked, "Where will you go?"

"The sweat lodge at the Native American College," answered William.

"You place a great importance on the Native American College."

"Of course I do. My great-grandfather was one of the founders."

While William took a sip of his soft drink, Beak said, "The Sioux are angry about new age frauds claiming to have learned the spiritual secrets of Native Americans. Many of our people agree that these frauds have gone too far in marketing and profiting off our beliefs. What are your thoughts on the matter?"

"Spiritual secrets of Native Americans? They claim to have learned them?" asked William rhetorically. He chuckled and said, "There are as many spiritual secrets as there are Native Americans. Each of us meets the Great Spirit alone and in private. Claims of knowing the Spiritual Secrets of Native Americans are easily dismissed."

"That doesn't prevent them from making the claim and profiting from it," said Beak.

"Then let them show their diploma from the Native American College or their name on the registry of Medicine Men that is kept there," replied William.

"What good will that do?"

"If they aren't in the registry, then their claim is false. If they make a false claim, they can be sued. That would tend to eat into their profits," said William with a feral grin. In a voice that sent chills down the back of Beak, William said, "Let the warriors loose upon them."



-------

Chapter 17


Lucy stepped out of the truck and went around to the back to get her suitcase. Before she had a chance to pick it up, Ken had grabbed it while looking at her as if she should have known he'd carry it. The van with Linda and Ed pulled up beside the car.

Looking around the parking lot in front of the country hotel, William said, "We'll get checked in and then I need to get on down the road."

"Are you sure that you don't want me to come?"

"Lucy, I'd love for you to come, but you can't. This is something that I have to do alone," answered William as his mother stopped beside him to listen to the exchange. He nudged a small people with the toe of his boot.

Ken shook his head and said, "If your father wasn't here..."

"He is and you won't," said William knowing that Ken didn't feel right about him going to the ranch without an escort.

"I could go with you," said Linda.

"You could, but you shouldn't. I need to face them as Talks With Animals. If I were a little older or a little younger, you could go and no one would think anything of it. However, they are going to be judging me and I need to stand alone," said William. If he were a little older, no one would think twice about his mother going with him. They'd be going as equals to share in an important event. If he were a little younger, no one would think that he was being insecure by coming with his mother since she'd have to take him there.

Earning a dirty look from Lucy and Linda, Ed said, "He speaks the truth, Linda. There's no use complaining about it. Let's check in."

The group entered the hotel with Ken in the lead. The building had a lobby that was far larger than was typical for a hotel. Until the birth of the White Buffalo, the restaurant and providing space for meetings, hosted by various civic clubs, were the primary sources of income for the hotel.

Tables, surrounded by chairs, were scattered about the lobby. A good number of the chairs were occupied and the people paid little attention to William and Linda. While the presence of two more Native Americans in the hotel lobby went unnoticed, all eyes were on Ed since he was wearing his black robe. Few people had seen a Druid up close and none had ever seen a black robed Druid. While people were marveling over Ed, Ken went up to the counter and arranged for three rooms.

They had been in the lobby for five minutes before Kotyit entered the lobby. His arrival drew eyes from Ed. A gasp went up from the handful of Native Americans waiting around the lobby when Kotyit said, "William, it is good to see you again."

As murmurs of 'Talks With Animals' filled the air, William turned to his old friend and said, "I didn't know you were coming. You could have flown with us."

Trying to look grumpy, Kotyit said, "I don't think I could have taken your company that long."

Laughing, William retorted, "That's a two way street, old man."

"You need to learn how to respect your elders, young pup," replied Kotyit with a grin. He put a hand on William's shoulder in a sign of affection. Looking at the young man, he added, "So today is the day you visit the White Buffalo."

"Yes," William answered. With his answer, the majority of people in the lobby decided that it was time to head out to the ranch so that they would be able to watch what happened when William met the White Buffalo.

As the lobby suddenly cleared out, Ken came over with keys to three rooms. Reaching the small cluster of people, he said, "We're all checked in."

Watching as Ken handed William a key to one of the rooms, Kotyit said, "I guess you'll be leaving soon for the ranch. I'm going to change into my good clothes and then I'll see you there."

Looking over at Lucy, William said, "I'll be leaving in about half an hour. We've got to put our luggage in our room."

Smiling wryly, the old man winked at Lucy and asked, "It'll take you half an hour to do that, huh?"

Lucy blushed as she replied, "Maybe longer."

Laughing at the prime and proper tone of voice Lucy used in answering, Linda said, "That's the hope of a young woman in love. I'd count on fifteen minutes, max. If he's at all like Ed, I'd settle for five minutes."

Shaking his head, Ed crossed his hands over his heart as he said, "Ugh. That's cold."

Kotyit laughed at the exchange as he walked away. Over his shoulder, he said, "Us old men take that long to figure out how to get out of our clothes."

The key let them into a basic room with two double beds, a night table between the beds, a low dresser with a television on it, and a table with two chairs. The window was covered with a curtain that didn't quite span the entire width of the window. An air conditioner built through the wall under the window struggled to keep the room cool enough to be considered warm. The carpet had seen better days.

William sat down on one of the double beds holding his head between his hands. He rubbed his temple with the tips of his fingers. Lucy moved to sit behind him and rubbed his shoulders trying to ease the tension within them. The muscles were hard little rocks under her hands. In a soft voice, she said, "You're worried."

"I'm tired," said William. He could tell by the pressure of her hands on his shoulders that she didn't believe him. Wishing he had the time to take a quick swim, he added, "I guess I'm a little nervous about what might happen."

"Life has dealt us a weird hand. Nothing about our lives is normal. We talk and act like adults, but we're still kids. Other kids our age are worried about their prom. You're about to meet the White Buffalo. You have a right to be a little concerned about what happens," Lucy said.

"Maybe you're right," said William, although he didn't sound convinced.

Lucy wrapped her arms around him and kissed his neck. After more than a year spent with him, she knew his moods. She said, "I know you, William. What's really the matter?"

"I never foresaw any of this," William said touching upon his real fear. There were huge blank spots in his ability to see the future. Those blank spots revolved around events in which he was a critical player. He was afraid of doing the wrong thing at a critical point.

"And that worries you?" Lucy asked knowing his answer.

"Yes, it does."

"Well, join the club. Everyone else goes through life not knowing what is going to happen from one minute to the next. It forces us to make contingency plans. We deal with the unexpected the best we can. I'll admit that sometimes that means we lie awake at night worrying about things falling apart. Most of the time; our fears never come true. Occasionally they do. That's life."

"You're right," said William with a sigh.

"Of course I am. I'm smarter than you are," Lucy said with a smile knowing that she was about the only person in his life that could get away with saying that. As William turned to look at her, she attempted a vacuous expression while posing like a supermodel. She couldn't carry off the vacuous look, but did manage to look like a supermodel.

William laughed at her attempt to look vacuous while appreciating her supermodel pose. He said, "You're extremely smart, devastatingly pretty, and sexy beyond belief."

"You had better keep that in mind when you're visiting that White Buffalo, buster."

"Why?" William asked.

"So you keep the visit short and come back here for a little lovin' from me!" For a second, she managed to pull off the vacuous look.

The August sun, hot even in South Dakota, beat down on the corral. The odors of manure, hay, and plants growing drifted in the gentle breeze. The sounds of summer filled the air. The bright sun washed out the colors and hurt the eyes.

A crowd of people was gathered around a corral; their attention focused on a three-month-old buffalo calf frolicking beside its mother. The young buffalo behaved like every other calf in the herd. It would move a little ways from its mother while kicking its hooves into the air and then return after a time to suckle. The only thing that distinguished it from the others was its white color.

A short distance away, a small crowd was watching the road leading up to the ranch. The rattle of a pickup truck moving down the dirt road carried for a mile. More people moved away from the corral and joined the group watching the road. A sense of expectation hung in the air although no one present was willing to put into words what they expected to happen.

The truck rattled its way up the road and finally came to a halt in front of the crowd. The driver stepped out and stretched before turning to the crowd. Seeing the attention being given him, Kotyit said, "He'll be here in about ten minutes."

A groan of disappointment rose from the crowd. The people milled around the field talking in little groups. It was much later when William pulled up driving a rental truck. He was alone. Despite her protests, Linda had stayed behind with the rest of the family.

Turning off the motor, William looked around the crowd gathered by the road and shook his head. They were there for him and not the White Buffalo. Shaking his head, he corrected himself - they were there to watch Talks With Animals meet the White Buffalo. The fact that he had no idea what was going to happen next scared him as much as facing the black pit.

William stepped out of the truck to find himself the center of quiet attention. No one said a word; they just watched him. He looked at the people trying to guess their emotions, but the expressions on their faces were so diverse that it was impossible to give a mood for the crowd. The handful of people who were hostile did not surprise William. He knew that his relationship with the Gods and Goddesses was a sore point among many. It was felt that he would sell their beliefs to new age con-artists. The looks of adoration scared him even more than the hostile looks.

There was no reason to postpone his visit to the White Buffalo any longer. Walking towards the corral, he tried to keep a relaxed step while a small crowd of people gathered behind him. They kept their distance as if they were afraid to be too close to him when he finally reached the corral. By the time he had reached his destination, it was lined with people wanting to see what would happen.

There was a section around the corral where no one else stood and it was to that section that William made his way. On reaching the fence, he climbed between the wooden slats. He felt alone and vulnerable, facing a calf with its mother nearby. The mother could stomp him into the ground and no one would be able to save him. Not having seen this moment in any of his visions, he felt afraid.

The sense of expectation was so high, that he didn't know if it would be better if something happened or if nothing happened. If something happened, he would be viewed with even greater awe. If nothing happened, a lot of people would be disappointed. Not for the first time he wondered if this visit was a good idea. Kotyit, noticing his hesitation, winked at him in support.

The calf left its mother and trotted to stand in front of William. Their eyes locked and, for William, the rest of the world disappeared. He saw only the eyes of the White Buffalo. Heart pounding, he did not see it bow to him. Without knowing that he was speaking, William shouted, "Talks with Animals, it is good and fitting that you have come to give my words to the people. I have waited long for this day."

The crowd stared wide-eyed at the scene before them. Chills ran up and down their spines as William spoke in a voice that had an odd echoing quality to it. There was a blank expression on his face. It looked as though his spirit had fled his body. His normally dark body had turned pale.

"I have three messages to deliver. Every three moons, I shall talk through a representative of the people. Many shall come to me, but I shall select the person who will carry my message to others through words and deeds.

"The first shall be a warrior who has fought well for the people and has done so without taking a life. My message is one of strength and peace. The second shall be a woman who has worked with great diligence for the health and welfare of the people. My message is one of loving and healing. The last shall be a child, for children are the future of the people. My message is of growth and the future.

"Talks With Animals, I give you my thanks for all that you have done, and will do, on behalf of your peoples, both red and white."

A second after speaking the last word, William collapsed to the ground like a rock. No one rushed to help him as something miraculous was occurring only a few feet from his unconscious body. When William had fallen, the White Buffalo had rolled on the ground. Its coat changed to a light red color. A murmur of awe spread through the crowd at the sight.

Upon rising, the calf returned to its mother and started to suckle. The action broke the spell that held people in place. Several men ran to where William was lying on the ground. William looked young, weak and vulnerable. Kotyit directed one of the men to pick up William and carry him from the corral.

As the man carried William to the ranch house, the crowd parted and watched with respect. The few who had been angry were angry no more. How could they be angry when the White Buffalo had thanked William for his service? All stood quiet as William was taken into the house.

"Where am I?" William asked when he finally regained consciousness.

Seated in a wood chair next to the couch on which William was recovering, Kotyit answered, "You are in the ranch house."

"Ah," said William as his memory of what had occurred in the corral returned.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes, but it seems as if it happened to someone else," answered William. His memory of the meeting was as if he was outside his body looking down upon the scene.

Kotyit nodded and patted William on the shoulder. In a teasing voice, he said, "Talks With Animals, you must enjoy being the center of attention. You were the youngest graduate of the college, you destroy an ancient curse, and now you serve as voice for the White Buffalo. I fear that you are going to have to screw up big time to get your life back."

Smiling at the obvious teasing by the older man, William asked, "So what can I screw up without really screwing up?"

The deep chuckling laughter from Kotyit filled the room. Shaking his head, he said, "I wouldn't hazard a guess, my friend."

William slowly sat up feeling dizzy from the effort. He rolled his head trying to work out the tension in his neck. In a soft voice, he asked, "How long was I out?"

"Three hours."

"I take it my family and Lucy are here."

"Yes. Ed is outside playing with the warriors. Linda and Lucy are in the kitchen waiting for me to call them here."

"Playing with the warriors?" William asked. The idea of his father playing with the warriors was as surprising as the events in the corral.

"Yes. Your father is out there telling lawyer jokes," Kotyit answered with a grin. Since many of the warriors were studying law and political science, telling lawyer jokes made about as much sense as tugging on a tiger's tail.

William chuckled at the image of his father teasing the lawyers. Smiling, he said, "I'm sure that he's making lots of friends."

Kotyit said, "I guess that's the Druid version of counting coup. It definitely takes courage to do that."

"Speaking of courage, I suppose it is time for me to face the women. I'm sure they're worried about me," William said.

"Not all that worried. They took one look at you and said that you were fine," Kotyit said looking across the room trying to keep his face under control.

"Really?" William asked. He didn't believe the old man for a single minute.

"What do you think? They're worried sick," said Kotyit. He turned and shouted, "Linda! Lucy! He's awake!"

The pair of women rushed into the room. Linda paused to allow Lucy to go to William first while Lucy paused to allow Linda to go first. They looked at each other and then laughed. William stood and held out his arms for both women. Linda came over and hugged him for a few seconds before stepping back. Lucy stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

"I thought I told you to return to the hotel as quick as you could. I sat there for hours trying to look sexy for your return," Lucy teased.

"I'm sorry I missed that," William said with real regret in his voice.

Concerned at his serious response to her tease, Lucy asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," William answered.

His mother asked, "Are you sure, you're alright?"

"I'm positive that I'm alright," William answered. Grinning, he said, "With four mothers and a fiancee, I can see that I'm going to be repeating myself five times over. It would probably be easier to say that I'm not okay. At least then I won't get any argument."

Lucy smiled at the complaint and said, "He's alright."

"You're right," Linda said looking relieved.

Looking at William, Lucy understood that he wanted to talk with Kotyit about what had happened earlier. She knew the men would smoke a couple of cigarettes while discussing the matter. As much as she hated the smell of tobacco on his breath, she knew it wasn't her place to demand that he not smoke in these circumstances. She'd watched the way in which the men treated tobacco and recognized it as an important ritual.

Gesturing to Linda, she said, "I suggest we go back in the kitchen now and leave the men to discuss what happened."

William watched the pair leave the living room thankful that Lucy understood his need to talk with his mentor. Turning to Kotyit, he asked, "Where can we smoke without being disturbed?"

"Manny Gray Cloud is out back waiting for us," answered the old man rising from his seat.

William recognized the name as belonging to the owner of the ranch. He followed his friend out to the backyard of the house. A man with a long braid down his back was leaning against a post that supported a patio cover. Wearing blue jeans, plaid shirt, and cowboy boots, the man was the very image of a Native American rancher. He turned to look at William and Kotyit. In a rough voice, he said, "Talks With Animals, it is a pleasure to meet you."

William examined the weathered face of his host. There were laugh lines at the corners of his eyes. His neck and hands sported the crossed wrinkles that accompanied long exposure to the sun. The hands were callused from years of hard physical labor. He said, "Manny Gray Cloud, the pleasure is mine."

Manny went over to one of the chairs and took a seat. He gestured to the other chairs. Before taking a seat, William pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket and handed it over to his host as a gift. Manny accepted the pack and opened it. After pulling out a cigarette, he handed the pack over to Kotyit. Consistent with sharing tobacco, Kotyit took a cigarette and then handed the pack to William. William took out a cigarette and gave the pack back to Manny. The men lit up and settled into their chairs.

Almost a minute passed before Manny said, "It really is the White Buffalo."

"You had doubts?" asked Kotyit looking at the other man.

"I was worried that I'd go down in our history as the man who gave false hope to his people," answered Manny with real relief in his voice. He'd spent nights lying in bed worried that the calf would turn out not to be the White Buffalo.

"Now they will blame me if something bad happens to the calf," William said shaking his head.

Kotyit took a long drag off his cigarette while staring off at the distant horizon. He exhaled, blowing the smoke up to the sky as he considered William's words. In a measured voice, he said, "It is time to move the calf to a more isolated location where it can be guarded."

"People want to see the calf," Manny said fully aware that hiding the calf would create an uproar of protest amongst the Native American population.

Nodding his head in agreement with that assessment, Kotyit said, "We'll have to find an open place where no one can sneak up and harm the calf. Our people can still see the calf, but they'll have to go a ways and pass through a lot more security to get there."

William took a drag off his cigarette and thought about it. In a soft voice, he said, "I will pay for the security if we can allow two of my mothers to design and install it."

"You'll pay?" asked Kotyit.

"How much could it cost? We put a couple of guards out," Manny said wondering what William meant about it costing money. He could get a dozen Native Americans to serve as guards.

Shaking his head to signal his disagreement, William said, "I figure an adequate security arrangement will cost around twenty million. We'll need motion sensors, infrared cameras, metal detectors, and guard stations. By the time Ling and Claire are done, a mouse won't be able to fart without setting off alarms."

"Are your mothers Native Americans?" Manny asked smiling at the image of a mouse farting in the field.

"Ling is of Chinese descent and Claire is Black," William answered realizing that there could be a problem with his suggestion. Looking over at Kotyit, he asked, "Will that be a problem?"

"Might be. It would be more of a problem if they were White," answered the old man thinking about the matter. Sighing, he added, "It's good they aren't Druids."

William understood what Kotyit was saying. A sizable proportion of the Sioux had very mixed feelings about the Druids. They perceived the Druids as being in league with the new age con men who were selling Native American beliefs for a profit. William knew that a lot of the problem was that the beliefs they were selling were falsified. The only thing that kept those who were most negative from acting against the Druids was the fact that John Carter, the first Grand Druid, had funded the Native American College.

Manny asked, "What happens now that the White Buffalo has spoken through William?"

Kotyit answered, "I will talk to Eskieah about calling for a Powwow of the five hundred tribes for the purpose of discussing how to protect the White Buffalo and about arranging for the warriors to present themselves. I will see that your mothers are invited to present a case for handling security."

Nodding his agreement, William put out his cigarette after taking a last drag from it and slipped the butt into the back pocket of his jeans. Looking at the other two men, he said, "I'll see that Linda teaches them how to address the council."

"Good."

"I think it would be best if I wasn't present at the Powwow."

"You're probably right," Kotyit said feeling sorry for William. There was a lot of pressure on the young man to deal with the politics of all the tribes.

"Now that this matter is settled, I'd like to join my family and go back to the hotel," William said slapping his thigh. Grinning at Kotyit, he said, "You suggested that I screw up. How about I leave my father here so that he can tell more lawyer jokes?"

"That would definitely ruin your popularity around here," Kotyit said with a smile.

"I'll risk it," said William feeling much better. Standing up, he said, "I'll head out now."

Knowing that William wouldn't like what he was about to say, Kotyit frowned before he said, "First, you must talk to the people gathered around the corral."



-------

Chapter 18


"Your mother and I watched your meeting with the White Buffalo on the news. That's how we knew to go to the ranch," said Lucy.

"Pardon?" William was not aware that there had been a television camera at the ranch.

"Someone filmed the whole thing with their video camera. It was on the television within half an hour of it happening."

"So what did you think?"

"Strange. It was like you weren't there. Your face was blank. Your voice was strange with an odd echoing quality to it. When the White Buffalo rolled over and changed colors, I thought it was all over. Then they explained that according to legend that after the White Lady changed into a Buffalo, she was first black, then brown, then red, and finally white. It's like she's turning back."

William tried to peer into the future, but it was blank with respect to the White Buffalo. He grinned and said, "At least my time in the spotlight will only last three months. I feel sorry for the warrior who is chosen. The poor guy has no idea what his life is going to be like afterwards."

Lucy rolled over on the bed and looked at William. She asked, "So what is your time in the spotlight going to be like?"

"Well, with my picture in the news, I'm sure that our fellow students will be all over us trying to learn more about what happened. Reporters are going to be hiding in the bushes trying to get a news story," answered William.

"Oh." She hadn't considered that. The announcement of their engagement had brought her lots of unwanted attention already. She had plenty of experience with dodging overly aggressive reporters. She'd even gotten used to reading outrageous stories about herself in the tabloids.

"Ling is going to send us bodyguards. There's no way to put that off any longer," William said with a sigh. All chance of privacy was effectively gone. The kooks and nutcases would emerge with death threats.

"You're going to have bodyguards?"

"You'll have bodyguards too."

"Me?" Lucy asked surprised at getting a bodyguard. The idea of having a bodyguard was both a rush and something to dread.

"Yes, you. As a result of this, we're going to lose all privacy. You won't even be able to go to the bathroom in a public place without your bodyguard following along," William said.

"Surely I won't have to worry when we're apart."

William looked at the attractive young woman lying in the bed next to him. He knew that the upcoming months were going to be hard for her. It tore at his heart that this event would make her life more difficult. She was entering her senior year of college and didn't need to have any further complications added to her life. He sighed and said, "That will be when you are most vulnerable."

"Why?"

"It is a whole lot easier to grab one than two, particularly when one of the pair is a highly trained fighter."

"Grab someone? What are you talking about, grabbing someone? We were talking about keeping crowds and reporters away."

"The crowds and reporters are minor irritants. The dangerous ones are the nut cases who want to make a name for themselves by doing in someone famous, the fanatics who are against what I am doing, and the creeps that have become obsessed with me," William said. Shaking his head, he added, "The most dangerous ones will use you to get to me."

Lucy sat up and stared at William in horror. The idea that someone would use her to hurt William sounded like something a paranoid person would say. Seeing the expression on her face, William said, "I'm sorry that you've gotten dragged into this."

She wondered if he really meant that they were in danger. It just seemed so unreal to her. The idea that he was becoming paranoid scared her. She asked, "Are you really serious about me being in danger?"

"Very serious," William answered. He took a deep breath and explained, "You know that my family is very high profile. I can't tell you how many times my fathers have been attacked. You've seen the scars on Ed. They weren't from accidents. John Carter had even more scars than that. You haven't met the bodyguard for the Reverend, but he's covered in scars."

The reminder of his father's scars made her reconsider his assessment of the situation. She hadn't realized that the Reverend had a bodyguard, but it made sense that a religious leader working towards peace among different religions would need one. It dawned on her that William was in much the same position as the Reverend. He was a very visible religious leader who was working for the betterment of his people.

"I remember having to go to the safe room on a couple of occasions when I was much younger. Corrupt businessmen, criminal groups, and terrorists would try to take out the family. They even tried to use missiles once, but that was before I was born.

"I'd stay in the safe room with my brother and sisters waiting for the all clear while Ling and the security team took care of the problem. The attacks never lasted long, but the aftermath dragged on forever. Sometimes, my parents would have us kids wait in our rooms so they could clean up the mess left behind," William said.

Lucy and William had talked about his childhood on many occasions. His stories were about playing games with his family, studying at schools, and learning about the desert from Ed. The way he talked, he had an ideal childhood filled with love from his parents and siblings. This was the first time he presented any negative experiences. She said, "It must have been frightening."

"Not really. We understood what was happening. I even understood why it was happening. My mother, Ling, always thought she was hiding it from us. She wanted to protect us from the harsh realities of the world, but I knew. John and Beth knew as well. We weren't scared, just disappointed in people," William said.

"You were disappointed in people?"

"Yes. It is horrible to learn that there are evil people who will kill good people. My family has helped so many people, but there are those who want to hurt them. I can't get angry. The only feeling that I can manage is one of disappointment," William answered.

Lucy put her arms around William and hugged him. Wanting to comfort him, she asked, "Have I told you that I love you?"

"Yes, I think you did that about the second time you came. I definitely remember you screaming something to that effect. Maybe it was, I love this," answered William with a smile.

"Oh, you're terrible. Here I am trying to be all sweet and nice while you're making jokes," she said with a smile.

Suddenly serious, William caressed her face and said, "I love your body. It excites me more than I can express in words. I could spend all night making love to you. I love your mind. It captivates me and astounds me with its depth. I could spend all night talking to you. I love your spirit. It makes me feel as if I'm the luckiest man in the world that you love me. I could spend all night basking in your love."

His words melted Lucy's heart. Misty eyed, she said, "I'm the lucky one in this relationship."

"I love you so much," said William kissing her passionately.

When they recovered from their passions, Lucy glanced at the clock and said, "We're supposed to meet in the dining room in fifteen minutes."

William grinned and said, "Thirty minutes. I told dad that we'd been fifteen minutes late, so he changed the time."

"You knew we'd be late?"

"Knowing that the two of us would be naked and alone in the room, did you think we'd be on time?" asked William with a grin. He'd also told his father to reserve a table with three extra seats.

"Uh, I didn't think about it," said Lucy.

"Besides, we'll need to wait for Ling to arrive. That reminds me, I had better call the dining room to request an extra three seats at the table," William said.

William and Lucy entered the dining room. The entrance was next to the bar where a bunch of men were lounging around drinking beer and talking. One of the men looked over at William and snorted. Pointing at William, he shouted, "Hey guys. Guess who just came in? It's Whines Like an Animal."

"That's not his name. It's Shits Like An Animal."

The first man barked a laugh and, making reference to an old joke, said, "Nope. His name is Two Dogs Fucking."

As some of the other men in the bar laughed, Lucy froze in shock at the insults. William turned to look at the man. Staring at the men around the table with narrowed eyes, William assessed the danger represented by the men who insulted him. The first man who had spoken represented the greatest threat. He dismissed the others as insignificant.

William turned his attention back to the first man and knew there was something important about this moment. He wasn't sure what it would be, but the man was going to play an important role in his life at some point in time.

One of the other men said, "It's just another one of the red niggers who's getting too big for his britches."

The entire place turned quiet as Native Americans scattered around the dining room stopped eating and turned their attention to what was happening at the bar. The general mood in the restaurant went from happy to tense in seconds. More than one man stood to confront the four white men at the table.

Ed Biggers walked behind the men and looked down at them. Seeing his father and knowing they didn't notice the Druid standing behind them, William decided to address their prejudice directly. He asked, "So what would it take for me to earn your respect?"

The first man laughed at the suggestion that the kid could earn his respect and answered, "You could stand up for yourself like a man."

A look of surprise came over Ed's face. He recalled his first meeting with John Carter and how he'd had been put down with ease. It was as if history was repeating itself. Looking over at William, he said, "He's telling the truth."

The man turned and saw Ed standing behind him. In a low voice, he said, "Oh shit, it's a fucking Druid."

"Dad, are you telling me that if I fight him that he'll actually respect me?"

"Looks like it, son. He meant it when he said it."

Realizing that the Druid was the father of the kid he had just insulted, the man looked as if he had just swallowed a lemon. Even in the country it was well known that you didn't make a Druid angry. Backing off, he said, "I was just joking."

Ed grimaced as the lie grated against his truth sense. Irritated, he said, "Don't lie to me. You were serious."

"Is there a legal way for us to fight?" William asked with a feral grin. He could see how the situation would progress. The knowledge of the future reassured and comforted him.

"I'm sure that if you both agree to a basic set of rules and have a referee to enforce them, that there won't be a problem," answered Ed. He frowned after giving a second thought and said, "Of course, you'll have to warn him that you are a trained fighter and can kill him without breaking a sweat."

Lucy wasn't sure that William would be able to take the larger man and said, "This is ridiculous."

William leaned over so that his mouth was by her ear. In a whisper, he said, "Don't worry. Ling trained me how to fight."

Recalling what William had said about Ling and having watched him practice, Lucy realized that William could probably take all of the men at the table. She said, "Well, just don't kill anyone."

William looked at the man seated at the table and said, "As my father has pointed out, I have to warn you that I'm quite capable of killing you. If it is necessary to fight you to earn your respect, then I'm very willing to do that."

One of the men at the table swore. Angry, he said, "What in the hell is this bullshit? They're playing head games with you. Derrick, just kick his ass."

Derrick looked around and shrugged. He'd never met anyone who could take him in a fair fight, much less an unfair one. Standing up, he said, "What the hell. Let's have at it kid."

Pretty sure what would be the answer, Ed asked, "What about the rules?"

"Bare knuckles and no rules," answered Derrick.

"Okay," answered William with a grin. He gestured towards the door and said, "Outside. I'd hate to have to buy this hotel because we damaged it."

"Okay."

William slipped out of the restaurant before Derrick could even get close to him. He knew that the other man took no rules quite literally. Derrick commented, "Son of a bitch is running off."

"No, he just can't wait to begin," replied Lucy glaring at the man.

William slipped off his boots and then his socks while seated on a bench outside the hotel. He stood when Derrick stepped out the door and turned to face the much larger man. Derrick looked at him in his bare feet and said, "I'd have kept my boots on if I were you. They hurt more when you're kicked."

"I prefer to feel the ground beneath my feet when I fight." He looked over at Lucy and saw that she was worried. William winked at Lucy and said, "Don't worry about it."

Without warning, the larger man swung at William. If the blow had landed, it would have done some serious damage. As it was, William slipped under the fist and tapped the man on his chin, his solar plexus, and his crotch. Derrick stepped back surprised at the blows. Although his balls tingled, the blows had landed without sufficient force to hurt. He tried another blow, finding that he was tapped twice on the side of his rib cage.

William had slipped behind him and tapped him gently on the back of the neck. Derrick spun around and found William kneeling in front of him. After landing four soft blows to the man's crotch, William danced back. Derrick's hands automatically went down to his crotch. He froze upon feeling William's foot pressed against his neck.

As William lowered his leg from what was clearly a deathblow, he said, "I could have killed you with that blow. Do you need to continue?"

"Son of a bitch!" Derrick swung at William again.

William took the larger man down with a leg sweep. Three quick blows were delivered with the heel, one to the center of the man's chest, one over the neck and one to his face. Before the man had a chance to react, William was standing off to the side once again. The blows had been light, just enough to let Derrick know that they were made. William said, "I could have killed you. Do you need to continue?"

Lying on the ground, Derrick knew that he was outclassed. It was clear that if the kid had hit him as hard as possible, then he would have not been breathing at that moment. Even if he were lucky enough to land a blow, all that would accomplish would be to anger the kid. He sighed and said, "No. I know when I've been beat."

William reached down to help the man stand. Derrick thought for a moment of using the situation to attack the kid. Instead, he took the offered hand and stood. Shaking his head, he said, "I've never seen anything like that."

"I've trained in unarmed combat since I was three," said William backing off and nodding at the other man.

Derrick extended his hand and, with real respect in his voice, said, "You're something else."

"Thank you."

Lucy had watched the fight in amazement. She'd seen William practice, but had never seen him spar. She couldn't believe the ease with which William had taken out the larger man. There were no doubts in her mind that William could have killed him.

"Derrick, you're a fucking sissy. He didn't even hit you hard."

Derrick spun to face his friend who had made the comment and said, "Listen asshole. He could have killed me a dozen times. If you think you could have done better, you fight him. I'll tell you one thing. He can kill you without breaking a sweat."

The temperature of the hot August weather seemed to drop ten degrees when a voice said, "Just kill him and be done with it, William."

Ken recognized the voice and flinched. He had wanted to prevent the fight, but Linda had held him back. He would have pursued it anyway, but Ed had shaken his head. Eyes closed, he said, "Hello Ling."

"You are supposed to be keeping him out of danger," Ling said looking at the man with narrowed eyes.

In an easy voice intended to disarm Ling, Ed said, "I facilitated this particular brawl, Ling. Don't go blaming Ken for it."

"Hello, Ling. We were expecting you," William said without turning around to look at his mother. He wiggled his eyebrows at Lucy causing her to giggle. Still without turning around, he added, "I knew you'd only be able to get two bodyguards on such short notice. When can we expect the other two?"

Ling stamped her foot and said, "You're impossible!"

Derrick had seen Ken's reaction to the woman. He turned to stare at Ling wondering who she was. She radiated an aura of dangerous energy that was just barely contained. It reminded him of when he used to handle explosives. When she had said to just kill the man, there wasn't any doubt in his mind that she meant it. He glanced at his friend, Jim, wondering if the guy was going to do something stupid. The ashen expression on Jim's face was reassuring.

Turning to Derrick, William said, "You're invited to join us for dinner. I'm sure that we can add another chair to the table."

"Uh, I didn't reserve the three extra chairs that you had suggested," Ed said feeling embarrassed.

"He called down to the dining room and asked for the extra chairs," Lucy said. She handed William his socks and boots.

On learning that William had gone as far as reserving seats for her, Ling was about to explode from frustration. She didn't know how William did it, but he always knew what she was about to do. Derrick watched and whispered, "You better talk to her before she blows a gasket."

William went over to the bench and sat down to put on his socks and boots. As he wrestled a sock over his foot, he said, "Derrick, I'd like you to meet my mother and martial arts instructor, Ling. Ling, this is Derrick."

"Pleased to meet you," Derrick said wondering if that was actually a true statement. The look she gave him caused him to regret his words as soon as they left his mouth.

Turning back to William, Ling asked, "What were you doing playing with an opponent like that?"

William put on his other sock without answering her. Seeing that William wasn't going to answer, Ed said, "He was using as much force as necessary to accomplish his goal and no more force as necessary."

"His opponent meant to hurt him," Ling said looking darkly at Derrick.

"There is a vast gulf between intent and the ability to carry out that intent," William said. He looked down at his socks and, coming to a very distasteful decision, asked, "Would you like me to demonstrate that?"

"Just how would you do that?" Ling asked.

"I suggest a bout. However, this time I would I utilize my gifts without restraint," answered William looking at his mother. He'd never done that, but knew what the result would be. Ling wouldn't stand a chance.

Surprising everyone, Ling said, "We'll discuss that another time."

"Okay. So would you like to introduce my new bodyguards to me?" asked William glancing at the two men standing behind Ling. They were of the same size and shape, medium height and athletic build.

The man with brown hair stepped forward and said, "I'm Rock Evans."

"Rock?" asked Lucy surprised by the name.

The man frowned at the all too common reaction and said, "My mother was a Rock Hudson fan."

"I'm Lucy. My mother is a Lucille Ball fan."

William grinned at the exchange. With a chuckle, he said, "At least they weren't fans of the Flintstones. I can just see it now, Pebbles and Bam Bam."

The second man chuckled and said, "His nickname in the business is Pebbles. I used to be called Bang because my name is Marcus Colt. Ever since I partnered with Rock, they've started calling me Bam Bam."

Lucy laughed. Her laughter almost became out of control when she saw the expression on Ling's face. Shrugging, Ling said, "They're two of the best in the business. I can't help that people call them Pebbles and Bam Bam."

William put on his boots and stood up from the bench. Rubbing his stomach, he said, "I'm hungry. Now that everyone is here, let's eat."

"Good idea."

"Are you joining us, Derrick?" asked William.

It was time to make a decision. Derrick looked at the men with whom he had been drinking and then over at William's party. Knowing that he was going to pay for his decision later, he answered, "Sure."

As the party headed towards the entrance of the hotel, Rock hung back with Colt. As soon as everyone was out of earshot, Rock asked, "What in the hell do they need us for?"

"I don't know. That kid is good. The only person I've ever seen better than him is Ling," agreed Colt. He'd never seen anything like it. The kid had totally dismantled the larger opponent without even breaking a sweat.

"You can say that again," said Rock looking at the door.

"She'll kill us if we let anything happen to that boy," Colt said with a sigh. He hadn't been sure that he wanted to accept the job from Ling when it had first been offered. Hearing her suggestion to just kill the guy had convinced him that he had made a mistake.

"We'd never get another job," Rock said shaking his head. The idea of having a recommendation from Ling had overruled his common sense. With a sigh, he admitted, "You were right, we shouldn't have taken this job."

"We had better get in there before we lose this one."

The pair of men went into the hotel and located the family in the dining room. The chairs reserved for them were at opposite ends of the table. William was seating in the center of the long table with Lucy to his right and Ling to his left. Ed was seated across from William while Derrick sat across from Ling. The poor man wondered if he was going to be able to eat.



-------

Chapter 19


"We're your bodyguards. I'm Natalie."

"And I'm Nicole," said Natalie's twin sister.

Lucy looked from one to the other. Despite the fact that Nicole had black hair and Natalie had blond, their hair was cut in the exact same style. It was parted along the top of their head and hung down to their shoulders without curls. They both had simple bangs that came down to just above their eyebrows. Lucy asked, "Which of you dyes your hair?"

Natalie removed her wig, exposing her short brown hair, and answered, "Neither one of us dyes our hair. It's not healthy."

Lucy looked from one woman to the other wondering how she was ever going to tell them apart if they both removed their wigs. While Natalie replaced her wig, Lucy asked, "So you are my bodyguards? I was kind of expending two burly guys."

"Your boyfriend must be very trusting if he'll let you go in a bathroom with some burly guy tagging along," answered Nicole with a grin at her sister.

"I didn't think of that," Lucy said turning bright red at the reminder of that. William had told her she would have company when going to the bathroom, but she had not believed him. She was still trying to deal with the idea that she had lost her privacy and was now a public figure.

An hour after Rock had gone to bed for the day, he was awakened by Colt. The big man grumbled about being woken when there wasn't an emergency. Colt just smiled and gestured with his head towards the door. Rock entered the living room and saw the twins. His partner had not mentioned the arrival of the twins, but their presence explained the smile on the man's face. More than happy to see them, Rock said, "Nikki and Nat, nice to see you again."

"Hi, Pebbles. Long time, no see," said Nicole with a twinkle in her eye. Her eyes flicked down to his crotch in a very obvious manner.

"It's been a long three weeks. It'll be nice working with you again, Nikki," said Rock.

The exchange only confirmed what Ling already knew. It was half the reason she had chosen the four of them. She cleared her throat and said, "Do you know what you are supposed to do?"

Opening her jacket and pointing at her gun, Nicole answered, "Protect the young woman from all and sundry that would harm her. We'll work twelve-hour shifts with shift changes at eight. I'm the night shift."

"I'm the day shift," said Natalie twiddling her blond hair. There was a reason they had chosen the colors of their wigs in the manner they had.

"Ling, do you mind if I sleep while you brief Natalie? Night shift starts in six hours and I've got to get some rest," said Nicole.

Nodding, Ling said, "Go ahead."

Colt came out of the bedroom and said, "I've moved my gear into the other room."

"Come on, Nikki. Time for us to get some rest," said Rock with a yawn. The entire group had traveled the entire morning and he hadn't gotten any sleep.

Having just finished setting up the second guest room for Natalie and Nicole, Lisa looked confused at his announcement. She asked, "You're changing rooms?"

"Rock and I sleep together," answered Nicole moving to stand beside Rock. She bumped him with her hip, a gesture that indicated her continued interest in him. He slipped an arm around her and, together, they headed towards the bedroom.

Watching Nicole and Rock leave the room, Colt looked over at Natalie and asked, "So are you ready for the grand tour of the property?"

Natalie answered, "Whenever you are."

Smiling at Ling, William said, "We'll leave it up to you to show them around."

Changing into her professional mode, Ling stood and said, "We'll do a walk around the property. I'll show you where I want security features added."

After the trio had left the house, William asked, "What do you think of your bodyguards?"

"They seem kind of average looking. I was kind of expecting some tough looking people," answered Lucy.

"If Ling picked them, you know they're good," Ed said.

William's cell phone rang and he answered it while Ed and Lucy talked about the twins. He was grinning at his father when he finally hung up the phone. "Doug is coming over for a visit."

Noticing William's grin, Ed asked, "And?"

"I'm going to enjoy watching the two of you talk," William said.

"Why?"

"Doug is not quite sure that the Druids represent good," Lucy answered knowing that William and Doug often spent hours discussing the matter. She enjoyed listening to them argue. In a way, she was curious about what Ed and Doug would say to each other.

"Really?"

"His thesis is that power corrupts and the Druids are too powerful not to become corrupted," answered Lucy.

Lisa rolled her eyes having heard the discussion more times than she ever wanted. As far as she was concerned, the Carters were good people and that wasn't based on an intellectual argument. She knew them and that was all the proof she required. Her mouth dropped when Ed said, "It's a valid concern."

"I can't wait for the two of you to meet," William said. "Let's go swimming until he shows up."

Lucy was out of her seat and stripping before William had even finished his suggestion. It wasn't long before William was naked as well. They went out the back and headed towards the pond with lots of grabbing at each other. Ed chuckled and said, "Lisa, you might want to send this Doug fellow down to the pond when he gets here."

Laughing at the exuberance of the young couple, Lisa said, "No problem."

Getting up, Ed went to the back door and undressed. Lisa examined the handful of scars on his back. She asked, "What's it like getting hurt so much?"

"It hurts," he answered with a grin.

Lisa blushed at his answer and said, "I don't mean it like that. I mean, what's it like knowing you are putting yourself in danger?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Ed answered, "Usually, I don't think about it at the time - I just act."

"Are we in danger?" asked Lisa getting to the real point of her concerns. She'd been concerned when Rock and Colt had shown up. With the addition of Natalie and Nicole, her fears had quadrupled.

"A little, but Ling is making sure that danger will be kept at a distance," answered Ed turning to look at the young mother. Stepping closer to her, he said, "You are right to be concerned. I'll make sure that your husband knows that his first priority should be to protect his family."

"What's going to happen?"

"I have no idea. You'll have to ask William if you want to know about the future. He's better at that than I am," Ed answered with a light laugh.

His words didn't comfort her despite knowing that he was probably right. She said, "I'm worried for Tim."

Ed put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. In a comforting voice, he said, "Don't worry. William will make sure that all turns out for the best. He's good at that."

She felt the strength in the man even as her hands ran over the scars on his back. She believed him and she believed in William. That comforted her more than four bodyguards. Pulling back, she said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now I better get down to the pond before people start to wonder about what I'm up to in here," Ed said with a wink at Ken.

Lisa realized at that moment that she'd been hugging a naked man. Blushing, she said, "Off with you before my husband returns."

"Too late," Ed said as he slipped out the back door waving to Ken.

The couple watched out the back window as Ed made his way to the pond. Ken had entered the room right before Ed had told Lisa that he was to take care of his family first. It had touched him more than he could imagine. How many parents would say that? He didn't know. Putting his arms around Lisa, he said, "He's an amazing man."

"Yes," answered Lisa. She looked over at her husband and said, "I'm horny."

"Where's Tim?"

"Swimming."

"Let's go."

"Where?"

Smiling at his wife, Ken said, "Upstairs. Where else?"

Ed was engaged in a dog paddle race with William when Doug arrived. Considering the small size of the pond, it was the only kind of race that could be held there. Doug laughed when Ed said, "You swim like a Chihuahua."

Trying not to swallow any water, William retorted, "And you swim like a Wiener Dog."

The comment caused Ed to lose it. Laughing, he had to stand before he drowned. The mental image of a Wiener Dog swimming was just too much for him. Still paddling, William shouted, "I win by default."

Seeing Doug, Lucy waved to him and said, "Come on in. The water is great."

Having visited in the past, Doug knew how things worked around the William household. He stripped and entered the water. It didn't bother him that there were a few people present whom he didn't recognize. If they were here with William, he was sure that anything that happened there would stay there. Assuring privacy was a major concern for him. His father was running for re- election, so this was a year for Doug to keep a low profile. The last thing his father needed was a news story about his son cavorting around naked with minors present.

Lucy swam over to him and said, "Glad you could come."

"Who is the guy trading insults with William?"

"His father, Ed Biggers," Lucy answered.

"Oh," Doug said getting worried. "Maybe I ought to go."

Grinning, Lucy asked, "Are you going to deprive William and I of the chance to watch you debate good and evil with Ed?"

"Preferably," Doug said turning and making his way to the edge of the pond. He'd told William on many occasions that he wasn't sure that he wanted to have that discussion with a Druid.

Lucy laughed at Doug's discomfort and said, "He won't bite."

"You don't know what they are capable of doing," Doug said. He thought about his father's race and the damage that could be done to his father's political career.

Doug nearly jumped out of the pond when Ed, standing right behind him, asked, "And just what do you think we're capable of doing?"

Wondering if he was going to kill his father's chances of re- election, Doug answered, "Anything you want to do."

"I'd say that you're pretty close to correct," Ed said. He turned back to William and winked before he added, "while being about as wrong as you can be."

Doug stared open mouthed at Ed. He stuttered for a moment and then asked, "In just what way am I wrong?"

"Let's go up to the patio and get some sun while talking about it," Ed suggested while exiting the pond.

"Oh boy," William said. He'd been looking forward to this conversation for a long time.

"Oh God," groaned Doug as he got out of the pond.

While everyone made themselves comfortable in the chairs around the patio table, William opened the patio bar. After setting cans of soft drinks out for people to grab, William filled a couple of bowls with pretzels and chips. Lucy carried the bowls over to the table.

Once the couple had finished playing host and hostess, they sat down. Opening his soft drink, William asked, "So in what way was Doug wrong?"

"I don't think he understands the source of our power," Ed said.

"I think I understand it very well. Your powers are granted to you by your Gods and Goddesses," answered Doug.

"That's right. We are constrained by our Gods and Goddesses to act in the best interests of humanity."

"The early Catholic Church claimed its power was given by their God, yet it wrecked havoc throughout the dark ages. In fact, it was responsible for the dark ages," stated Doug. He was willing to argue that point all day long.

Smiling Ed asked, "So you are concerned that the Druids will one day plunge humanity into a new dark age?"

"Uh, not exactly," Doug answered. He said, "The early church was against science. I think the Druids may lead us to a tyranny of science."

"Interesting," Ed said as he thought about the implications of the statement. He wondered what a tyranny of science would mean if it were imposed by a group working for the Gods and Goddesses.

"Too much light is just as bad as too much dark."

Looking directly at Doug, he said, "You may well be right. Our contributions to the world have been technological. John Carter gave us fusion technology. Many of the Druids emerging from the college are science and engineering oriented."

"So you admit it?"

"Admit what... the possibility that the future could be dominated by men and women of science?"

"A tyranny of science."

Ed shrugged his shoulders as if not knowing how to respond and looked at William. He asked, "So what does the future hold for us?"

"I'm not prepared to answer that question at the moment."

Lucy looked at William as she considered his answer. He didn't say that he didn't know what the future held. He said that he wasn't prepared to answer the question. A glance over at Ed convinced her that he had noticed the point as well. Doug laughed and said, "Not prepared? I'd say that it was impossible to answer that question."

William smiled at the suggestion and said, "I'd say that it was highly improbable."

Ed turned to look at Doug and asked, "Have you considered that we promote a very uninhibited lifestyle? Have you considered that we consider the safety of all people to be very important? I'd say that it suggests a compassionate element to our actions."

"You are very powerful. Power corrupts. Sure, you may promote a very uninhibited lifestyle for yourselves. That doesn't mean that you are going to do that for others. For all I know, you could declare that many of our freedoms harm those who are weak," said Doug.

"You are very concerned that we have too much power and that it will corrupt us," said Ed nodding his head. He could understand that argument, particularly since he had that discussion with John Carter. He asked, "Who will lead the Druids to that end?"

"The Grand Druid," answered Doug.

"You are making the assumption that he actually leads us."

"He's the Grand Druid."

William and Ed laughed at that. At the confused expression on Doug's face, Ed explained, "Every Druid serves the Gods and Goddesses. We've met the God or Goddess that we serve. There's no way that a single servant could lead us to perform an act counter to that desired by the one whom we serve. We know our place in the grand scheme of things and, believe me, it isn't at the top."

"Huh?"

Ed leaned forward holding out his medallion. He said, "This was placed around my neck by the Two-Sided One. No one can remove it except one of the Gods or Goddesses. As long as I wear it, I serve the Two-Sided One. I do not serve the Grand Druid or any other human power."

"Really?"

Having seen her mother touch the medallion, Lucy had burned with curiosity. She leaned forward and grabbed at the medallion with the intention of removing it. It slipped out of her hand. She chased it around Ed's chest, never able to get a good grip on it. Surprised, she said, "It's slippery."

"It can be very solid at times. Try to grab it without wanting to remove it."

Lucy grabbed the medallion and held it up to examine it. The explicit representations of genitalia embarrassed her. She dropped it and said, "Strange."

"I can't remove it," said Ed. He picked up the medallion and looked at it with a smile that suggested that he was privy to some private joke. "I wouldn't want to remove it, even if I could."

"So you're saying that every Druid acts independent of the Grand Druid," said Doug.

"Yes."

Lucy asked, "Doug, what would make you confident that the Druids don't represent a threat?"

"I guess some sort of checks and balances scheme would make me feel better. There isn't any kind of opposing power to keep you in check," Doug answered.

A hard look came to Ed's eyes as he said, "There is an opposing power and it is far stronger than we are. Its' name is evil."

Feeling that he was finally getting a sense of the fanatic behind the calm Druid mask, Doug asked, "And just what is the nature of that evil?"

"Evil is all around us. I talk about those who kill, abuse children, steal, and harm others without restraint. Evil hides from the light of day waiting for the chance to emerge and wreck havoc."

"Just how far are you willing to go in order to rid the world of evil?"

"I'm willing to give my life to protect a weak person who is being attacked by evil. Look at my scars if you don't accept that," answered Ed.

There wasn't much to say in answer to that. Doug asked, "So are you willing to remove the strong before they take advantage of the weak?"

Ed laughed and said, "Believe it or not, all of us have our strengths and weaknesses. It's just a matter of when a person uses their strengths to harm a person who is weak at the moment. Attempting to get rid of evil by eliminating those who are strong is foolish. It targets everyone and no one."

The discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Ling with the two bodyguards. Colt and Natalie looked at the group gathered around the table. Smiling, Natalie looked at Ed's cock with a very direct and assessing gaze. Teasing Colt, she said, "I think I'm going to like this assignment."

Colt frowned as he followed where her eyes were focused and realized that she was looking at the largest cock he had ever seen. He looked over at her hoping that she wasn't going to get any ideas that he should measure up to that monster. Feeling a little insecure, he said, "Come on. We've got work to do."

Undressing, Ling joined them at the table. Colt stared at the most perfect body on a woman that he had ever seen. Natalie noticed what he was looking at and said, "Down boy."

Realizing that he had been thinking thoughts that weren't appropriate, Colt said, "Let's get to work."

Ling watched them leave with a little concern for her decision to hire them. She said, "I hope they'll work out. They are the best I could find."

Ed turned to Doug and said, "I ask you once again, how would you assure that Druids do not become an evil force in the world?"

"I don't know," Doug answered.

Sitting back in his chair, Ed asked, "Do you think the founding fathers intended for us to have a right to freedom from religion?"

"I haven't thought about it. They explicitly described freedom of religion along with separation of Church and State. Based on that, I would have to guess they did mean freedom from religion. At least that is the point of view that has been in the news a lot lately."

Lucy sensing that the discussion was about to get very interesting leaned forward to look at Ed and asked, "Why do you ask?"

"I was just going to comment that the majority of the founders were Freemasons."

It was well known that Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and others were Masons. Doug knew that his father was a Mason. He said, "I knew that."

"Do you know what is required to become a Mason?" asked Ed raising an eyebrow as he asked the question.

"You have to proclaim a belief in a higher power and to have two other Masons testify on your behalf that you are a moral man," Doug answered.

"Why do you think that a candidate has to proclaim a belief in a higher power?"

Lucy answered, "Because they understood that without a belief in a higher power that there is nothing to keep a person honest. Without having to face judgement by a higher power, a person can do anything they want without fear of supernatural retribution. To avoid any kind of retribution, all they have to do is avoid being caught."

"Exactly," said Ed. Looking at Doug, Ed said, "Think about that for a minute. Without a higher power, there is nothing to define good or evil."

"How about societal rules?"

"You're a historian. Tell me if there has ever been a society with laws totally disconnected from a religion."

Doug thought about it for a moment and answered, "I really don't know the answer to that question."

"Neither do I, although I suspect that there hasn't ever been one. I'd say that the founders of this nation were very enlightened individuals. They believed that all religions were of equal value and thus accepted that all men should be allowed to follow the religion of their choice. They denied the ability of the state to impose any specific religion."

"What is your point?" asked Doug.

"I don't believe that they ever meant a freedom from religion."

"Why?"

"A higher power establishes what is good or evil. Societies made of like-minded individuals who believe in a higher power utilize the definitions of good and evil to create laws. The laws, in and of themselves, do not assure that men will follow them. It requires men who are motivated to follow them," Ed said. Raising a finger in the air, Ed said, "A person who believes in a higher power has a very powerful reason to pursue good over evil. They have a reason to follow the laws of men."

"I'll buy that."

"On that basis, I'll suggest that the founding fathers never meant for there to be a freedom from religion."

"I'll have to think about that," said Doug wondering if there was anything in the writings of the founding fathers to support that conclusion. Confused, he asked, "What has that to do with what we were talking about?"

"Where does this put individuals who know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a higher power exists? I'm talking about a person who has already faced the higher power and knows they will face them again."

"I suppose there aren't many things that can tempt them to commit evil acts."

"I'm talking about Druids," Ed said. Leaning forward to make his point, he said, "What mechanism, process, or procedure created by man can force a Druid to avoid evil that is nearly as effective as the knowledge that he or she will face their God or Goddess?"



-------

Chapter 20

William walked out the front door of his house to await his visitor. His daytime bodyguard, Colt, walked behind him wondering why they had come outside. For all he knew, they had left the house just to stand around all day in the sunshine. His eyes automatically checked the surroundings for any threats.

The two men headed over to the driveway with William leading the way. A minute later, a rental car pulled up in the driveway. Colt glared at it as if it were a direct threat. He relaxed when a green robed Druid stepped out. Looking over at William out of the corner of his eye, Colt asked, "You were expecting a Druid?"

"Yes."

The Druid asked, "Are you William?"

"I am," answered William raising his right hand to shoulder height with his first finger extended. It was the same gesture used by students everywhere when answering roll call in school.

"I'm Cole," said the Druid looking over the young man with undisguised curiosity. He didn't see the family resemblance with the Reverend. The Reverend was black and this kid appeared to be Native American. "Your grandfather told me that you have a problem here that could use my assistance."

"What problem?" William asked wondering what kind of details his grandfather had provided the Druid about his neighbors.

"You have a neighbor with an emotional disorder," answered the Druid.

"I guess you could say that," said William. He looked up at the sky and watched a small bug fly past. It was hard to say if Teenage Wasting Disease was really an emotional problem or a problem with seeing reality.

"I'm a healer."

"Ah." Looking over at the Druid, he felt there was something else unusual about him. Making a wild guess, he asked, "Are you a student at the Druid College?"

"Yes, I am. I'm a third year," said Cole.

On mention of the fact that he was a third year student, William was reminded of another third year student. He asked, "How's Oscar Meyers?"

Colt stared at William wondering why he was asking about a lunch meat company. The little song about wanting to be a hotdog flitted through his mind. The question didn't make sense unless it was some sort of inside joke from the college concerning the food there. He was further confused by Cole's answer, "He's fine. He's studying the Bible with your grandfather."

It was old news that his grandfather was teaching at the Druid College, but it explained how Cole knew the man. Looking at the Druid, he asked, "How is my Grandfather doing?"

"He's fine," answered Cole. "He sends his regards."

"I'll have to call him later," said William wondering why his grandfather hadn't told him about sending out a Druid to help Jennifer with her problem. He flashed on a vision of Oscar, the Reverend, a Rabbi, and another man gathered in a street in Jerusalem. All of them were servants of their Gods.

Cole saw that William had an expression as though he were watching something happen far away, but chose not to disturb him. When William appeared to return to the here and now, Cole asked, "So what's the problem with the neighbor?"

"She suffers from Teenage Wasting Disease. If she isn't cured soon, she's going to die," answered William while he knelt down and looked off towards the horizon. He could see her death as clear as the trees that lined the front of his house. He glanced at Cole and hoped that the young Druid would be able to save her.

Cole nodded his understanding while Colt looked at William confused by the name of the disease. He'd never heard of it and wondered if it was contagious. He was about to ask, but then realized that they were talking about an emotional problem and you didn't catch emotional problems.

"What's her name?"

"Jennifer," answered William. He thought about mentioning the mother and how she blamed him for the daughter's problems.

"Can you tell me anything about what triggered it?"

"She came over here once. We talked, but she was basically a young teenage girl in high school. I guess she decided that we would be an item, but there was no way that was going to happen. She decided to starve herself to death to look prettier for me," said William. Shrugging, he said, "I suggested to the mother that they get help, but she didn't want to listen. There was nothing more that I could do."

"You're right. There's nothing you can do," said Cole with regret. His hand went to the medallion around his neck and caressed it. Reassured by its warmth, he said, "Perhaps I can do something. Take me to them."

William shook his head as if refusing the request. His face had an expression on it as if he had just discovered half of a worm in his apple. William said, "It's the house next door."

Gesturing towards the street, Cole said, "Lead the way."

"This is not what I want to be doing," said William as he rose from his kneeling position. He'd been dreading this moment since Cole had shown up in a vision the previous evening.

"But you're going to do it anyway."

Colt had finally figured out what Teenage Wasting Disease was. He wondered why William was so reluctant to go next door. He asked, "So what's the big deal?"

"The mother blames me for the fact that her daughter refuses to eat," answered William shaking his head. He frowned as he flashed on the future. Disgusted at what he had seen, he said, "You will have to restrain her after she answers the door."

Colt lifted an eyebrow at the statement. He wasn't sure that he believed what William had said, but he wasn't going to take a chance. If the young man suspected danger, he'd be ready for it. Clearing his throat, he said, "If she moves towards you, back away. I'll step in and hold her."

"I thought you said it was the girl with the problem."

"The mother thinks I'm the reason the girl has the problem. I really think that you should go over there without me," William said.

Hearing that it was a mother protecting her child, made Colt reconsider allowing William to go over there. Nothing was more dangerous than an excited mother. He said, "I'd rather not have you go over there if there is a good chance she'll attack you."

Cole looked at William for a moment trying to decide how to handle this situation. He didn't want to go over there without an introduction and William was the only one who could do it. He said, "We'll go over there and, if she attacks you, then your guy can restrain her."

"I hope that I don't have to hurt her," Colt said shaking his head. He didn't like the idea of going over there. Frowning, he said, "Maybe I ought to wake up Rock."

Shaking his head, William knew that Colt would be able to handle the mother. He said, "Let Rock sleep."

The Druid looked at the bodyguard and said, "I'll have to get background information from the mother before I try to treat the daughter. Don't harm her."

"I don't like this," said the body guard. He grumbled to himself as he followed the Druid to the house next door.

From a tree next to the house, a raven croaked. William looked up at the bird and nodded his head acknowledging the warning the bird was giving him. Neither of the two other men noticed the exchange between man and bird. Even if they had, neither of them would have believed it as a true exchange of information.

The trio reached the front door. After a pause, it was William who rang the doorbell. He took a step back and waited for Marjory Mitchell to answer. It seemed like forever, but was probably only thirty seconds before the door opened. William said, "Hello, Mrs. Mitchell."

Spotting William, Marjory felt her blood boil. She stepped forward and, with her hands clenched in fists, shouted, "You little bastard! Have you come over here to make sure she dies?"

"I'm here to save her life," said William holding up his hands in a non-threatening manner. He stepped back as the angry woman leapt towards him with arms outstretched and hands reaching towards his throat to strangle him. All rationality appeared to have fled the woman. She was practically foaming at the mouth.

Because of William's warning, Colt was prepared to move in and subdue the woman even though he hadn't been prepared for the insanity she displayed. He reached her before she could touch William. It took him half a minute to get handcuffs on the struggling mad woman. She practically ignored Colt despite the fact that he was holding her back. Even after she was cuffed, she tried to kick William. A stream of profanities emerged from her mouth.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" Cole said looking at the furious woman. Realizing that he was going to have two patients instead of one, Cole let out a sigh. Turning to the body guard, he held out his hand for the key to the handcuffs.

Colt handed the key over without stepping away or releasing the woman. He knew that if he let go of the woman, she'd be all over William in a second despite the fact that her hands were cuffed behind her back. He looked over at William, expecting to see anything except pity on the young man's face. William was looking at the woman in pity.

The Druid looked at the woman and saw that he would have his work cut out for him. In a calming voice, he said, "Marjory, I am here to help you save the life of your daughter."

In an effort to calm the situation, William retreated out of her direct line of sight. Cole moved over and took charge of the woman. The woman crumpled against the Druid, sobbing wildly. Barely intelligible, she said, "He's killing my daughter."

Colt stepped away from the Druid while staring at the woman. When he reached William's side, he whispered, "I'm not sure this is legal."

"I don't think so, either," said William in a soft voice. He gestured towards Cole and said, "Doing it this way was his idea."

"I don't care whose idea it was, those are my cuffs on her."

After a few minutes of conversation, Cole went into the house with Marjory. Hoping that all would turn out for the best, William said, "Let's return to the house."

Colt walked beside William wondering why Ling had not warned him of the danger living next door. Irritated at William for not having mentioned it in any of the previous briefings, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me that your neighbor hated you that much?"

"I've avoided thinking them as much as possible," answered William. He didn't like the fact that he couldn't help them to get beyond their weakness.

Lucy walked across campus thinking about her schedule. Natalie walked next to her watching the crowd for threats. Natalie moved in a deceptively casual manner. They were passing the dorms when a young woman stepped in front of Lucy and, aggressively pointing a finger at her, said, "You think you're something special, don't you?"

Lucy froze and looked at the woman standing in front of her. It was Missy, her former roommate. Forgetting that she had a body guard, Lucy answered, "Get out of my way."

"Don't act like little miss innocent with me. I bet you're spreading your legs like a two-bit whore for that famous boyfriend of yours," said Missy. The woman had hated Lucy from the day she had moved into the dorm. Her parents, so protective of the young woman, were sickening. The innocent wide-eyed expression that Lucy wore irritated her beyond belief.

"Get out of my way," said Lucy moving to step around Missy. She didn't want to have a scene with the young woman.

Missy was going to stop her, but suddenly found she was facing Natalie. The body guard did not have a pleasant expression on her face. In fact, she looked ready to kill. Without looking away from Missy, Natalie asked, "Lucy, is this woman bothering you?"

"Yes, she is," answered Lucy thankful that Natalie was there.

"Get out of my way bitch. This has nothing to do with you," said Missy in a low growl. She then made the biggest mistake of her life and slapped Natalie.

Natalie reacted and threw the woman to the ground. Rolling her over onto her stomach, Natalie attached a handcuff to the woman's right wrist. She reached down and grabbed Missy's left foot and pulled it back. The other end of the handcuffs went around the ankle. Natalie stood and put her foot in the center of Missy's back pinning her in place.

In all, it took less than five seconds for Natalie to render Missy helpless and on the ground in an extremely awkward position. Missy reacted by spewing vile threats of what she would do as soon as she got free. The fact that her face was in the grass muffled her words beyond understanding. Her hate for Lucy blossomed into something even uglier.

Surprised by the sudden violence, Lucy had stepped back several paces. Once Missy had been subdued, she stepped forward to stand next to the woman on the ground. She stood for a second staring at the sight in front of her. With just a touch of satisfaction in her voice, she said, "I didn't know you could do that with handcuffs."

Stepping back, Natalie pulled out her cell phone and dialed the campus police while keeping a watchful eye on the area around her. After a short conversation with the dispatcher, she closed the phone and put it away. Kneeling down, she said, "You're a very stupid young woman. You assaulted me and I'm pressing charges."

Missy screamed out her frustration. She rolled over onto her side and yelled, "I'm going to kill both of you bitches!"

Staring at the woman on the ground, Lucy backed away. The look of pure hate on the woman's face terrified her. She hadn't taken more than three steps when Natalie said, "Stay here with me. I can't protect you if you run off."

Shaking, Lucy moved closer to Natalie. The bodyguard was tense, her eyes moving constantly while seeking out threats from any quarter. The situation had attracted attention and students began to crowd around them. In a commanding voice, Natalie shouted, "Everyone get back."

The crowd didn't step back, but it did stop advancing. Lucy was reminded of the effect that Ling had on crowds. William's mother could convey a threat with just a look and the crowd would have backed away if she had been there.

It was several minutes before the campus police arrived on the scene with a single cop driving a little golf cart. The policeman took one look at the woman on the ground, the woman standing over her, and the youngest woman looking terrified. The way Natalie was standing and acting identified her as a professional. He got on his radio to call for backup and a real car. When he had finished, he walked over to Natalie and asked, "What's going on here?"

"She struck me and I subdued her."

"Why would she strike you?" asked the cop looking down at the woman on the ground. He'd never seen a person handcuffed in that manner.

"She was harassing my client and I stepped in to protect my client," said Natalie.

"Your client?"

"I'm a bodyguard," answered Natalie. She reached into her purse and pulled out a thin leather case. Opening it, she held up her private investigation license and her carry permit for the cop to examine.

Looking over at Lucy, he asked, "Who is she?"

"Lucy Wilkins," answered Natalie.

"Never heard of her," said the cop wondering why she would need a bodyguard. Glancing back at the woman on the ground, he asked, "What's the history between them?"

"I don't know," answered Natalie. She glanced over at Lucy having wondered exactly the same thing. The easiest way for a body guard to fail their job is not to be informed about potential threats. The whole idea of blowing a job assigned by Ling was enough to give her nightmares for a year.

Lucy stepped forward and said, "She was my roommate for most of my freshman year."

"For most of your freshman year?" asked the cop knowing it was unusual for students to change roommates during the course of a school year.

"I found her having sex on my bed and moved out with the help of my boyfriend," answered Lucy looking at Missy with disgust.

"Your boyfriend? Who is that?"

"William Redman Carter," answered Natalie as another police car pulled up at the scene.

The cop recognized that name and looked over at Natalie. The reason for the young woman having a bodyguard was obvious. Nodding, he said, "You'll need to come by the station so that I can take a statement. I assume you are pressing charges."

"That's right," said Natalie as two more cops came over to discover what was going on.

Lucy watched as Natalie dealt with the cops. This was the first time that she had ever been involved with a crime and was amazed with the ease with which Natalie handled the situation. The discussion between the bodyguard and the senior officer flowed without pause or interruption.

Once things were cleared up, Natalie took Lucy by the arm and led her away. Lucy followed numbly to the student center. After making sure that Lucy was seated, Natalie sat down opposite the young woman. Lucy was pale and her hands were trembling. She kept seeing the expression of raw unbridled hate on her former roommate's face.

"It's not that bad," said Natalie.

"She hates me," Lucy said. Confused, she said, "I don't understand. I never did anything to her and she was so horrid to me. Why?"

"I don't know why. I've seen some pretty strange things in my time. Your situation isn't all that abnormal."

"I'm glad you were here. I have no idea what I would have done if you hadn't been here," said Lucy. The entire situation struck her as ironic. She had a bodyguard because William was such a public figure, but it was someone from her past who wanted to hurt her.

"That's my job," said Natalie examining the young woman. She knew that Lucy was involved with William, but there was a sense of innocence to her that tugged at her heart. She only hoped that the innocence of the young woman wouldn't make her job harder.

"Do we have to tell William about this?" asked Lucy.

"Yes, we will cover it in our daily briefing," Natalie answered. She didn't know what to make of Lucy's desire to keep the incident from her boyfriend.

That evening, eight people gathered around the dining room table to discuss the events of the day. William sipped his hot chocolate and listened as Natalie described the events on campus. Glancing over at Lucy, he said, "I was afraid of that. When I heard what kinds of things the roommate had been doing, I knew that Lucy was in danger."

"Danger?" asked Lucy.

"Yes. I had hoped that by moving out, the woman would get over it."

Face crinkled, Lucy asked, "What kind of danger?"

Looking around the table at the bodyguards, William answered, "I expected her to arrange a rape at some point in time."

Lucy stared at William in shock. She looked over to the bodyguards seated around the table finding them nodding their heads in agreement. Stunned by the revelation, she asked, "Why?"

"She hated your innocence. When you started telling me about the kinds of things she was doing, I could see that she wanted to destroy your innocence. Why do you think that I moved you out so quickly?"

"But I didn't do anything to her!"

"You existed and that was enough," William said.

Rock said, "I'm surprised that you picked up on that, William."

When William had told her once about being disappointed in people after his family had been attacked, Lucy had not understood. Sitting at the table and hearing what was being discussed, she understood what he had been saying. She was disappointed. Staring at the table, she said, "I'm sorry. I never thought it was really that dangerous."

Glaring at William, Colt said, "Speaking of dangerous, it appears that the woman next door is not quite sane. Even worse, she hates William."

All eyes turned to look at William. The young man didn't flinch at being the sudden subject of attention. Rock asked, "What happened?"

Colt described the events of the morning. When he described the almost immediate reaction of the woman to William's presence, the other bodyguards shook their heads. Rock asked, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I've avoided her," answered William.

"Did Ken know?"

"He's witnessed a tirade or two from Marjory."

Nicole swore and said, "I'm going to have a long talk with that man."

Raising a hand, William said, "He's not a professional bodyguard. His official role here is as handyman and driver. The only reason he has a carry permit is because Ling insisted. Leave him alone."

Natalie threw a manila folder on the table as she said, "Here's our first threat file."

Throwing a second folder on the table, Colt said, "Here's our second one."

Nicole collected the two folders and went over to William's file cabinet. Opening the top drawer, she filed the folders. Looking over at William, she said, "You've got a couple dozen files in here of people who've threatened you in the past. How come you never started a file on Marjory Mitchell?"

"I knew that she would never be a real problem for me," William answered. He couldn't explain why he knew that, but he did.

"Well she is!"

Shaking his head, William replied, "No she's not. Cole is treating her. She'll never be a threat again. Neither will her daughter."

Staring at William, Rock said, "You can't count on that."

Smiling at the denial, William said, "I can count on that."

Correcting himself, Rock said, "Maybe you can count on that, but we can't."

Looking around the table, Natalie said, "We'll have to start a folder on the daughter, too. I guess I'll do that tomorrow."

Colt asked, "How many folders are there in the file?"

"Looks like about twenty or so," answered Nicole not bothering to count.

"We should update them over the next few weeks," said Rock. People moved and circumstances changed. Someone who might have been a threat at one time might have left town so that their significance was decreased. Frowning, he said, "I think someone should call Ling and find out what files she has on the locals."

Lucy had listened to the discussion in horror. It dawned on her that the evening discussions around the table were not friendly exchanges about what a good day they had. Those discussions were actually working meetings in which information about threats had been forwarded from one shift to the next. She realized that was the same of the breakfast discussions.

Putting an arm around Lucy, William said, "Don't worry. You'll never get used to it, but you'll learn how to cope with it. It's all part of being a public figure."

"I can't live like that my whole life," Lucy said on the verge of tears.

"We won't live like this for much longer," William said. With a soft smile, he said, "Even as we speak, our home is being built. Every morning, we'll wake up to a glorious sunrise over an amazing view. Every night, we'll watch a spectacular sunset. We'll be far enough from people that we won't be disturbed, but close enough that we'll have a large network of friends."

"What about now?"

"Once my computations are complete, I'll be away for a while to write my Dissertation. I expect it will take about three months. You'll have to stay here and finish your classes," said William. Nodding in the direction of the bodyguards, he added, "Pebbles and Bam Bam will go with me. Wilma and Betty will stay with you."

Lucy laughed at the joke. Her laughter got even louder when she saw the looks of horror on the faces of Natalie and Nicole. Rock grinned and winked at Colt. Natalie was the first to recover and said, "If you ever call me Wilma or Betty, you'll never sleep with me again Bam Bam."

Returning to the table, Nicole said, "That goes double for you, Pebbles."

The events of the day had upset Lucy more than she would have predicted. At the moment, she wanted a little comforting. Taking William's hand, Lucy stood and said, "Let's go to bed for a while."



-------

Chapter 21

Used to being sent to answer the door despite the fact that no one had knocked, Ken headed towards the door as soon as William had told him to answer it. He shook his head in puzzlement the entire trip. Although he knew from experience that there would be a person at the door, he hadn't given up wondering how William did it. Colt looked from William to Ken wondering what was happening since he hadn't heard anyone knock.

The door opened to reveal a very tired looking green robed Druid while he was in the middle of yawn. He was sporting a three day old beard, his eyes were bloodshot, and his robe was wrinkled. Surprised the door had opened before he had even rung the bell, the Druid said, "Sorry. I'm looking for William."

Shocked at seeing a Druid in such a shabby condition, Ken stepped back and took a second look. It took him a couple of seconds to recover. He said, "Come in. He's expecting you."

"He is?"

"Yes," Ken answered. He didn't understand how William knew about visitors before they arrived, but the young man was never wrong.

Cole entered the house and looked around. The furnishings didn't look nearly as expensive as they were, but the quality was definitely obvious. He said, "Nice."

"Thanks," William said as he stepped over to Cole. Gesturing to a sofa, he said, "Have a seat. You look tired."

"I am tired," said the young Druid as he dropped onto the sofa. Sighing, he said, "Why didn't you let me know about your neighbors before now?"

"I didn't know about you," William answered taking a seat across from Cole. He studied the Druid seeking some clue as to what had been going on the past few days.

"It's almost too late to save the daughter. She's already got heart and liver problems."

"I suggested counseling, but the mother wanted to rip my head off," William said while shaking his head.

Leaning his head back with closed eyes, Cole said, "I'm done with the mother. She'll be over a little later to apologize. I haven't even started with the daughter."

"You've been there for three days," William commented. He had assumed by Cole's presence that he was finished. Frowning, he wondered why he was misinterpreting events so drastically wrong.

"That is one dysfunctional family. The father is totally absent. He stopped by for ten minutes and then left before I had a chance to talk to him. He wasn't even concerned that the kid is killing herself. The mother had a lot of issues that had to be dealt with before I could even start on the daughter. Her delusions were enabling her daughter to self-destruct. The daughter is locked into a self image that totally warped," Cole said wishing he was back at the Druid College.

Colt, the daytime bodyguard, asked, "You're sure that it will be safe for the mother to come over here?"

"Yes, I'm sure. She won't hurt William." Cole rubbed his eyes. He was very tired and just wanted to close his eyes for a minute.

"I hope you won't be offended if I don't entirely trust you," Colt said.

"I won't be offended. Your job is to be suspicious of people so you can protect your client. Mine is to be suspicious of my client so that I can cure them." Cole barely managed to suppress a yawn.

William turned towards the kitchen and called out, "Lisa, we're going to have a guest using one of our guest rooms."

"Don't put yourself out," Cole said.

"It's not a problem," William said knowing that the only person who would have to do anything would be Lisa. Standing, he said, "If you'll follow me, I'll show you where it is."

Lisa came out of the kitchen and said, "The guestroom is ready."

"I know. You always keep it ready," William said.

Cole followed William down the hallway. On reaching the guestroom, William said, "Here you go. You have your own bathroom."

Having followed the pair, Lisa entered the room and handed Cole a small sack. At his confused expression, she said, "It has a comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, shaving lotion, and shampoo."

"Ah, I appreciate it. My stuff is still in the car," said Cole looking at the bag with real appreciation.

"Speaking of which, could you give me the keys to your car? We've been driving around yours to get in and out of the driveway," William said.

Embarrassed, Cole fished a key ring out of his pocket and handed it over to William. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Sorry. I was more concerned with getting to work."

"I understand. Unlike me, most people aren't perfect. In fact, I'm the only perfect person I know."

William had delivered the line with such a straight face that Cole didn't realize that he was kidding until the young man had winked at him. Deadpan, he said, "I'm very glad I came here. You need help even more than your neighbor."

William laughed and said, "Get some rest. We'll talk later."

As they left the room, Lisa commented, "He'll have you committed to a mental hospital by the end of the day."

Winking at her, William said, "No need, I already live in a madhouse."

Lisa laughed and headed towards the kitchen. She wanted to finish preparing a snack before Tim came home from school. She was making a fruit salad with a honey dressing knowing that William enjoyed it as well.

William returned to the living room and handed the keys to Ken. He said, "Move the car so that it's out of the way. I'm tired of driving around it."

Taking his seat at his desk, William returned to work on his research. The numbers on his screen scrolled by as fast as his eye could follow. As the numbers flashed by, he mentally constructed the graph. He had missed enough of the output that he would have to wait until the run was complete to see the graph in all of its glory, but what he was seeing excited him.

Colt watched him work for a while and then returned to reading his book. When they were around the house, there just wasn't that much for him to do. It seemed to Cole the kid put in sixteen hours a day. William spent a lot of time at the house working on his programs and reading.

The only time William took a break was when he spent time with Lucy. At those times, his attention was entirely on her. Colt wondered what it would be like to have someone focus their entire attention on him with the kind of intensity with which William focused on Lucy. It had to be heady stuff.

William's shout of glee startled Cole. Looking over at the young man, he asked, "What?"

"I do believe that I've got the result I was looking for!"

"Ah, that's good," Colt said wondering what it meant. It didn't look to him like it meant that William was going to stop working anytime soon. The young man was typing like a demon on the keyboard backing up all of his work.

With an exaggerated gesture, William pushed the return key and then raised his hand high into the air. Pushing away from his desk, William spun around on his chair so that he faced Colt. In a happy voice, he said, "I'll check it tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?"

"I never like to check my work when I'm excited. It's too easy to miss things. It takes a calm cool head to find fault with your own work," William said with a smile. He felt like celebrating somehow, but Lucy wouldn't be home for another three hours.

Colt looked at the young man sitting calmly in his chair. After half a minute, he asked, "Are you excited right now?"

"Yes, I'm very excited. I may have just completed over two years worth of work," William answered puzzled by the question. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Colt with a questioning expression on his face.

Answering the unasked question, Colt said, "You don't seem very excited. You're just sitting there, hardly moving."

"Oh."

"Normally, I jump up and down when I'm really excited. I'll fidget some when I'm a little excited. You're just sitting there, hardly moving," said Colt amazed at the reaction of the young man. If he'd just finished something that he'd been working on for two years, he'd be dancing for joy.

William sat back in his chair and thought about what he'd like to do to celebrate. Ken having finished moving the Druid's car to the front curb, entered the room, and sat down at the table unaware that William had completed his research. After a few minutes, William said, "Let's go out to eat tonight."

"What restaurant?" asked Ken, suspecting that he knew the answer to his question.

"The Burger Shack in Ohio," answered William although that wasn't really the name of the place. He smiled as he thought about the hamburgers, onion rings, and milk shakes they served there.

"You mean the Sonic Drive In?"

"Yeah, that's the one. It's not that far," said William.

"That's a fast food place. Nobody goes to a fast food place to celebrate two years of work," declared Colt. He had worked protecting lots of rich and famous people and had experience with the unusual behaviors they occasionally exhibited. Without exception, they all had a little something for fast food, but he'd never had a client who had wanted to celebrate a significant milestone in a fast food place.

"William does," Ken said earning a dirty look from the bodyguard.

"They've got hamburgers this big," said William holding his hands out in a manner suggestive of their size. He licked his lips at the thought of eating one. His eyes lit up and he added, "They even have Chili Dogs with cheese and onions on them. They are so good."

"You're going to drive almost forty miles to have a hamburger or a chili dog?" asked Colt incredulous.

"I'm going to have both. Usually, Tim and I will split the Chili Dog. Lucy and I will split the hamburger. That way, I'll have room for dessert," said William.

"Dessert?"

"They have banana splits for dessert. I love these because they're made out of that soft ice cream. I'm going to have a whole one all to myself."

"You're kidding?" Colt asked. It was hard to believe that one of the wealthiest people in the world would have so much enthusiasm for a Sonic Drive In.

Ignoring the question, William turned to Ken and said, "We'll all go there for dinner after Lucy gets out of class."

"That'll be fine, William. We'll have to take two cars since there will be ten of us," said Ken chuckling.

Ken waited to hear the inevitable comment about not spoiling their appetites before going to the Burger Shack. Before William had a chance to say it, Lisa came out of the kitchen and announced, "I made fruit salad."

William frowned at the thought of ruining his appetite for supper. With a grimace at the thought of skipping the fruit salad, he said, "Maybe not today. We're going to the Burger Shack for dinner to celebrate."

Smiling at his personal name for the Sonic, Lisa said, "I made it with red delicious apples, those green grapes you like so much, canned mandarin orange slices, fresh pineapple, sliced bananas, and those red maraschino cherries. I've already added the honey dressing so the fruit can marinate in the juices. It's going to be good."

"Maybe I'll have a little bowl," William said unable to resist the temptation. He was silent for five seconds and then said, "Well, maybe I can have a big bowl of fruit salad. If I eat it now it won't affect my appetite too much for supper."

"You'll have to wait for Tim to get home," Lisa said knowing that he didn't have to do any such thing.

"That's okay; he'll be here in five or ten minutes," William said. He rubbed his hands together and said, "Lucy is going to enjoy this so much."

Sitting back in his chair, Colt shook his head in wonder. The kid was brilliant, yet demonstrated more excitement about fast food than finishing a project that required two years worth of work. He knew that William could buy a franchise and have it built within five minutes of his house, yet in living here for almost two years he didn't think of doing that. Instead, he would drive forty miles to the nearest one.

Ken was seated in his chair with his hand over his mouth so that his amused expression wouldn't be so obvious. He was enjoying the bewildered look on Colt's face and couldn't wait to see how Rock would react. Two years of living with William had presented lots of surprises. One of the biggest had been the young man's fascination with fast food.

Lisa winked at him when she noticed how amused he was at the entire situation. She was half tempted to suggest Long John Silvers knowing that William would argue over the two choices for the next three hours. The idea was shelved when Ken shook his head. There was one temptation that she couldn't resist and she blurted out, "Did you consider having Sonic cater the wedding dinner?"

"Yes, but Lucy's mom said no to the idea," answered William in a sad voice while shaking his head.

Ken burst out laughing when Colt groaned. Shocked that he had actually made the suggestion, Lisa rubbed her temple and returned to the kitchen. Even after having been around him for so long, she couldn't believe that he'd actually suggested Sonic hamburgers for his wedding party.

Not suspecting what had been decided, Lucy entered the house tired from three classes. Although Colt couldn't tell when William was excited, the twinkle in his eyes told her all that she needed to know. Rather than greeting him, she asked, "Did you finish?"

"Yes, I believe so," answered William.

Colt stared at Lucy wondering how she knew. Grinning, Lucy said, "That's great. Let me guess — fast food for dinner tonight."

"Burger Shack," William answered.

Giving up, Colt accepted that this was typical behavior for his client and wouldn't make another comment. Professionalism dictated that he not discuss the peculiarities of his clients. He glanced over at his partner and shook his head. Rock just stared at the floor shaking his head. He wasn't thrilled about eating his meal in the seat of a car after driving for almost an hour.

"Sonic. Sounds good," Lucy said having come to accept his fascination with fast food restaurants.

Natalie asked, "What's going on?"

"William just finished his research today. We're going to the Sonic Drive In to celebrate," answered Lucy. She caught the look of disbelief on her bodyguard's face.

Rather than react to the unusual destination, Natalie looked over at Nicole and said, "At least we won't have to get dressed up."

Rock mumbled, "Pity."

Nicole nudged him with an elbow and said, "It'll be fun. When was the last time we went to a Sonic Drive In?"

"They do have salads," Lisa said trying to put a positive spin on it on the belief that the women wouldn't want to eat hamburgers. She realized that hamburgers might be a little heavy as breakfast for Rock and Nicole.

"I wouldn't think of eating a salad. A hamburger sounds very good to me," said Natalie. Her last job had been for a rather wealthy individual who dined very well. Her and her sister had to work hard to keep from gaining weight on that job. The balanced meals served around the house had been a very nice change of pace for all of the body guards.

"Let me freshen up before we head out," Lucy said even as she left to go to the bedroom she shared with William. She decided that she'd slip into blue jeans and a tee shirt rather than wear her dress. At least that way, she wouldn't ruin a good dress if Tim spilled something on her.

"What about the Druid?" asked Colt, glancing in the direction of the bedrooms.

Natalie looked over at Colt and, raising an eyebrow, asked, "Druid?"

"We have a guest," answered the bodyguard giving a gesture that conveyed that the guest was safe.

"I'll wake him and see if he wants to come with us," answered William over the conversation among the bodyguards. He slipped out of the room to wake Cole.

Multiple conversations were held as Ken and Lisa got Tim ready to go; Colt informed Natalie about their guest; and the other pair of body guards discussed the logistics for the trip. The entire room dropped to silence when the doorbell rang. It took Ken a second to realize that it was only the third or fourth time that he'd heard the doorbell since William usually sent him to the door before the visitor ever had a chance to ring it.

The bodyguards all turned their attention to the door as Ken answered it. Marjorie stood at the door shifting nervously from one foot to the other. Surprised, Ken backed up and said, "Come in."

Marjorie stepped into the room and found herself the center of attention. All four bodyguards had moved to put themselves between her and everyone else in the room. Their faces had become expressionless as they stared at her. She was a red folder and that identified her as an immediate threat with opportunity to execute the threat.

Nervous, Marjorie said, "Is William here?"

After looking around to see who would answer, Ken said, "Yes, he'll be out in a minute."

"Is Cole here?"

"Yes, he is," answered Ken deciding that he had somehow become the spokesman. Not knowing what else to do, he gestured to a chair and said, "Would you care to have a seat until they are available?"

"Thank you," Marjorie answered. She moved to the offered chair feeling like an insect under a magnifying glass as the four bodyguards watched every move she made.

William came rushing out of the guestroom and said, "Sorry about not being here when you arrived, Marjorie. I forgot that you were on your way over when I went to wake Cole."

Unable to resist temptation, the four bodyguards exchanged glances at the news that William had forgotten that she was on her way over. The exchange lasted a second and then all four returned their attention back to the woman sitting in the chair. They were going to have a long talk that evening about watching over their client.

William looked over at the picture window and spotted the raven watching from a tree. Marjorie followed his gaze and, as a shiver went through her body, said, "That bird is always watching us."

"I know," William said, "I asked him to watch over you. Don't forget that your daughter is still alive because of him."

The news that he had sent the bird to watch her was almost too much to believe. It was true that the bird had always been around since he had moved into the neighborhood. Marjorie swallowed and then said, "I came over to apologize. I'm sorry about my behavior towards you. I realize now that I was blaming you for the problems of my daughter. I should have been looking a little closer to home."

"Your apology is accepted. I must apologize as well. I should have known about Cole and the gift given to him by the Goddess. If I had, I would have requested him to come here before now," replied William. Since the arrival of Cole, William had wondered why the Two-sided One had been silent on the matter. The only explanation was that there was more going on than he understood.

"No need to apologize," said Marjorie. She glanced around the room noticing that the bodyguards had not stopped watching her. Feeling uncomfortable, she said, "I better get home and watch Jennifer."

"Okay," William said. Looking over at his bodyguards, he added, "I assure you that you will have a more civil reception the next time you visit."

Colt shifted as he was about to object. Marjorie stood and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," said William. He led her to the door and opened it.

Once she left, William closed the door and turned to face the bodyguards. Colt exploded, "She's a threat! Don't treat this situation lightly."

William pointed out the window at the raven following Marjorie to her house. As one, the four bodyguards stared at the bird. He said, "We'll have plenty of warning if there is any danger."

"I'm not trusting any damned bird with your life!" declared Colt feeling ridiculous even as he said it.

"Ling would kill us if something happened," said Nicole shaking her head. She'd never heard of anything as ridiculous as a guard bird.

Rock said, "I could just see telling Ling that we failed because a little bird didn't tell us you were in danger so we sat around while your crazy neighbor killed you."

"I'd put a bullet in my brain before I did that."

Cole entered in time to hear the last few exchanges. Smiling, he said, "I'm supposed to take suicide threats very seriously. I can see that I have my work cut out for me here. William thinks he's perfect and his bodyguards are entertaining thoughts of suicide."

As William laughed, Rock said, "You've never met Ling."

"A little oriental lady about this tall," Cole said while holding his hand to the height of Ling, "and dangerous as hell."

"Yes."

"I've met her."

"Then you know," Rock said without clarifying what the Druid was supposed to know.

Lucy came out and said, "I'm ready. Let's go eat."

The trip to the Sonic was a great success as far as William, Lucy, and Tim were concerned. Tim only spilled a little of the chili from his half of the chili dog on Lucy. Since his mom and dad were in the other car, he didn't even get yelled at by them. William had enjoyed his hamburger, chili dog, onion rings, and banana split. Lucy had enjoyed her half of a burger and the root beer float. Most of all, Lucy enjoyed watching William enjoy himself.



-------

Chapter 22


The four bodyguards settled around the conference room in the office of a local private investigator. None of them looked very happy. Their current assignment was proving far more difficult than any of them had anticipated. Frowning, Rock asked, "What did you find out about the homeless folks?"

"Fat Fred is a protégé of Happy Harry. As far as I know, there's nothing to worry about with regard to him. He'll keep the other homeless under control," answered Derrick Grant with a shrug.

"Happy Harry is a Druid, right?" asked Colt.

"Yes."

Making reference to Lucy's habit of handing out coupons for meals at local fast food places to every homeless person she encountered, Natalie said, "I don't like the fact that she's always talking to the homeless. I don't care who Happy Harry is, but it isn't safe for a young woman like her to talk with homeless folks like that."

Happy for a change that she had the night shift, Nicole said, "All you can do is be ready for anything."

Derrick interrupted, "Don't worry about the homeless. Your clients have a lot of friends among that crowd."

"How do you know that?"

Laughing, Derrick said, "I asked two of them questions about your clients and the next thing I know, there's twenty of them surrounding me and wanting to know why I was so interested in them. Less than ten minutes had passed between talking to the first guy and the rest of them showing up. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't even know that we had that many homeless in this town."

"What do you suggest?" Cole looked at the private investigator thoughtfully as recollections of Sherlock Holmes and his Baker Street Irregulars came to mind.

"If I were you, I'd develop some good contacts in that crowd. You'll be surprised at what they can tell you about what is going on."

The four bodyguards exchanged glances at that piece of advice. Putting the man to the test, Rock asked, "Would you give Ling that advice?"

The private investigator blanched, but answered, "Yes, I would. I'd tell her to make friends with Fat Fred."

"When we get her on the conference call, you can tell her that yourself," said Nicole.

"Okay."

"What about the woman at the college?" Natalie asked. That was the threat she was the most concerned would become real.

"I did a thorough background investigation on her. Here's the file," Derrick said as he pushed a folder across the table. The expression on his face wasn't encouraging.

Natalie picked it up and looked over the contents. Frowning, she said, "She came from a broken home. There are rumors she was molested by her stepfather."

Derrick said, "She's got a juvenile record, but we can't get to it — it's sealed by the court. I hired a firm to ask some questions in her old neighborhood. They say that she was picked up for shoplifting, passing bad checks, and possession of marihuana. Some of the kids that knew her said that she was a bully."

"Shit, that's not good," said Nicole. She leaned forward resting her elbows on the table with her arms crossed. She frowned as she reflected on the news. It worried her that William had made a special effort to tell her that Missy would be a problem.

Rock growled and said, "Those two aren't even eighteen years old. No damn reason they should have people around them like that."

"William is worried about her," Colt said.

"I'm not sure if that is good or bad. He's got a fucking bird watching the next door neighbor," said Rock. He was regretting taking this job more than ever.

Derrick said, "Don't underestimate William. His name among Native Americans is Talks With Animals. They believe that he can actually talk to animals."

That wasn't news to the four bodyguards, although the bird was the first example they had seen of anything to that effect. Rock said, "One shotgun blast and that bird is dead."

Pushing the last folder across the table, Derrick said, "Here's the background on the neighbors. The husband is an attorney and is currently living with his mistress. She's some sort of Dominatrix and makes a bunch of money at it. Apparently, he's really into that scene."

"Whatever turns his crank," said Nicole. At the look from Rock, she grinned and added, "Does the idea of getting beat up by a woman with a whip turn your crank?"

"Not really."

Derrick ignored the little exchange and said, "The wife has all of the money in the family. She inherited about ten million from her parents. I have no idea why she hasn't divorced the husband."

Colt asked, "What about the guy in South Dakota?"

"I haven't gotten a report on him, yet," answered Derrick not wanting to have to report that to Ling. Running a complete background investigation in a small town without having the target know it was happening was a lot more difficult than doing the same thing in the big city. A man who asked questions in a small town ended up getting a lot of questions asked in return.

Dreading the conference call with Ling, Natalie said, "This has been the longest ten days of my life."

"We can't put it off much longer. She's waiting for us to call her," said Colt.

While the bodyguards were briefing Ling on the events of the past week, William and Lucy were supposed to be at home. They were under strict orders not to leave the house. Of course, the couple had taken the opportunity to drive into town for a treat at a local ice cream parlor. As they sat in one of the chairs, Lucy said, "They're going to be mad at us."

"I know."

"You're driving them crazy," said Lucy with a grin.

"I'm sure they are telling my mother all about it," William said. He asked, "So how do you enjoy having a bodyguard?"

"I was really glad that she was there when I ran into Missy," answered the young woman. She would never forget the look of raw unbridled hatred Missy had given her.

"Yeah, I'm worried about Missy," William admitted. He was silent for a moment and then said, "Don't forget that you have friends here in case something ever happens."

"Friends?"

"Happy Harry's people," answered William.

"Oh." Having met most of them through William, she tended to think of them as his friends. She was always amazed when some homeless person she had never met addressed her as Lucy Diamonds. She kind of liked it when they called her by that name, since it was so much better than the nicknames the kids in high school had used for her.

William took a sip of his milkshake and gestured to her little paper cup containing a single dip of vanilla ice cream. He said, "We have to finish before Ling calls to yell at me."

She laughed and ate a spoonful of her ice cream. The weekly calls from Ling had become a joke between them. The appearance of a bag lady coming into the ice cream parlor caught her attention. The woman approached and, in a voice filled with fear, said, "'cuse me, but you're Half Feather and Lucy Diamonds, ain't ya?"

William turned and looked at the woman taking in her tattered clothes and dirty appearance. She looked as if she was terrified to talk to them. Nodding, he said, "Yes. How can I help you?"

The woman licked her lips nervously and said, "I was locked up earlier this week in the local... Where I was don't matter none. Well, maybe it does. I was in jail if'n ya needs to know. While I was in 'dere, some woman was really talkin' nasty 'bout Lucy Diamonds. She was talkin' 'bout hirin' someone to hurt her real bad."

"Was her name Missy?" asked William in a soft voice intended to diminish her fear.

"That's the one. Real hateful woman, she is."

"Thank you for telling us," William said in a soft voice. She looked scared as if she were a rabbit surrounded by a pack of dogs. He asked, "Would you care for some ice cream?"

The woman looked around and noticed the other customers staring at her. She was used to stares. Lots of people stared at her while she was pushing her shopping cart around. Just because she was used to it, didn't mean she was comfortable with it. She said, "Tain't really the place for a person the likes a' me."

"Nonsense, everyone likes ice cream. We'd really like for you to join us," William said getting up and holding a chair out for her. "What would you like?"

Embarrassed by the gesture and unwilling to create a scene by refusing, the woman sat down in the offered chair. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Well, I'll take a bowl of ice cream, jus' like Lucy Diamonds is havin'."

"Wait right here and I'll return with it in minute. Vanilla?"

"Chocolate if they got it," answered the woman. She looked down as if afraid that she had made an unreasonable demand. She actually shivered.

As William went to the counter to get a scoop of chocolate ice cream, Lucy turned to the woman and said, "We haven't met. I'm Lucy."

"I'm Just Jan," answered the bag woman knowing who Lucy was. Everyone on the street talked about the woman who handed out coupons for food to anyone who asked.

"Jan, it's nice to meet you."

"It's Just Jan," replied the woman. She'd gotten her nickname when she had first started living on the street by insisting that everyone call her just Jan. Before she knew it, everyone was calling her Just Jan. After a while, that was who she had become — Just Jan. Glancing at William as he waited in line, she asked, "Is Half Feather always this nice?"

"I'm the wrong one to ask. I think he's nice all the time," Lucy answered with a smile.

"Imagine, him pullin' out a chair for the likes o' me. He's a right gentleman, he is," said Just Jan. The idea that someone like him would take notice of her was too much to believe. She paused to watch William order her chocolate ice cream. She turned back to face Lucy and said, "You're such a pretty little thing. Hate to think of that horrible woman hurtin' ya. You take care of yourself, ya' hear me?"

"I appreciate the warning," Lucy said.

"You or Half Feather ever need somethin', you tell Just Jan. I'll help ya, don'cha worry about that. I've become much more 'sponsible now. I been takin' my meds for a year wit'out fail," the old woman said gesturing with her finger in the air.

"I'll remember that, Just Jan." She wondered what required her to take medication and then realized that it was probably a mental disorder. Her heart was breaking thinking about the woman being forced to live on the streets because of a chemical imbalance in her brain.

William arrived carrying a cup with a double dip of chocolate ice cream and handed it to Just Jan. Smiling, he said, "I hope you don't mind a double."

She looked at the cup and then up at William awed that he would even consider giving her so much. Standing, she said, "Thanks fer the ice cream. Ya'll don't need ugly ol' me inter-fearing wit' yer date. Ya'll have a nice time. An' you, Lucy Diamonds, take care a ya'self."

"Please stay. There's no need for you to leave," William said gesturing at the chair she had just vacated. "We would enjoy your company."

Touched by his insistence that she join them, the old woman reached out and ran a filthy hand over his cheek. Voice cracking with emotion, she said, "You'se a good boy. Your momma's gotta be proud a ya."

William watched her turn and run from the ice cream parlor. He was touched by her gesture and knew that the moment of vulnerability she had shown must have been extremely difficult for her. Sitting down, he took a drink of his shake before he said, "It was nice of her to warn us."

"I think meeting you was almost too much for her to take," Lucy said looking at him tenderly. Considering his wealth, there were times when he amazed her. He treated the bag lady with the same kind of respect with which he would show the president, possibly more.

"I bet she's on medications for schizophrenia. We'll stop by the park on the way home and talk to Fat Fred. He'll watch over her," William said knowing that coming to warn them was probably the hardest thing she'd done in years. In a soft voice, he said, "Maybe it is time for her to meet Happy Harry."

"Good idea," Lucy said. She returned to eating her ice cream. After a few minutes, she began to giggle.

Curious, William asked, "What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking. I'm going to be able to tell our children that you took me on dates to an Ice Cream Parlor," Lucy said. The idea was so old fashioned that she found it funny.

"I like the sound of that," William said without laughing.

Confused by his reaction, she asked, "The sound of what?"

"Our children," William answered. He closed his eyes and tried to see a future in which his children appeared. He drew a blank. His future wasn't his to see.

Shaking her head, Lucy said, "Not until we're married."

"Of course," William said with a laugh.

The park didn't look very inviting in the dark of early evening. William, holding Lucy by the hand, led them to a section of the park where there wasn't normally much traffic. Looking around, William decided they were in about the right area. He called out, "Fat Fred, I need to talk to you."

Some bushes rustled and a large man appeared from behind them. Looking over at William, he said, "You don't need to shout, Half Feather. I ain't deaf."

"I didn't think you were. I just didn't know if you were here or a mile away," William said.

The big man waddled over to where William and Lucy waited. Looking over Lucy, he said, "It's good to see you, Lucy."

"Thanks, Fat Fred. It's good to see you, too."

"It's hard to miss seeing me, considering how much of me there is," said the big man with a laugh. "Now I know that the two of you wouldn't come by the park at this time of night to enjoy the sights. What can I do for you?"

"Just Jan stopped by and gave us some important news. It took a lot for her to do that," William said.

"She out again?" asked the homeless man. He had heard that she was in the local jail, but didn't know how long they were going to keep her. In a gruff voice, he said, "Last I heard, she was in the local slammer for trespassing. Someone said she found some store that had forgotten to lock their door and went inside to sleep for the night. She knows better than that."

"Yes. She said that she had been locked up," Lucy said.

"She told me about some threats that a woman is making against Lucy," William said. He looked down at the ground for a second and then back up at the big man. "Lucy is important to me and I appreciate the warning."

"She went out of her way to tell you this news?"

"Yes," answered Lucy, "she came in the Ice Cream Parlor to tell us."

"Ice Cream Parlor, huh? It's rare for her to get around a number of people like that. She must have really felt it was important to do that," said the man. He frowned and scratched the back of his head with a meaty hand.

"Like I say, I appreciate the warning."

"Looks like it is time for me to take a little more interest in her well being," Fat Fred said. He scratched his belly and said, "I'll make sure that she gets some of those coupons for food you hand out and gets over to the pharmacy for her pills. She's done real good about staying on the pills."

"Thanks. I was thinking Happy Harry might talk to her sometime."

"Easy enough to manage," said Fat Fred. He'd put out the word and Happy Harry would hear about it. "Good thing you came by."

"Just wanted to do right by her," William said.

"Well, I got something different to tell you."

Curious, William asked, "What?"

"We caught some guy asking questions about you and Lucy Diamonds. He said he was working for your bodyguards and wanted to find out if some of us represented a danger to you."

"What did you tell him?" William asked shaking his head. He was sure the man was exactly who he said he was. The four bodyguards were so terrified of Ling that they would investigate everyone who talked to him or Lucy.

"Told him that anyone that wanted to hurt you was going to get... ," he paused and looked at Lucy, "hurt real bad."

"My bodyguards are meeting with a private investigator right now," William said.

Nodding his head, Fat Fred said, "He offered me some money to tell him if any of us heard of anyone making threats against you. I took the money and turned it into food coupons for our flock to use."

"I'd guess he's the real deal. I appreciate you telling me about it. I'll mention it to my bodyguards. If they didn't hire him, they'll find out who did."

"Good," said Fat Fred as he turned to head back into the bushes. He paused after a few steps and said, "You two take care of yourselves. If anything happens, find one of us and we'll help you all we can."

"Thank you, Fat Fred," William said.

"Thanks. Take care of yourself," Lucy said.

"Thank you. You guys watch out for us and we appreciate it. We wouldn't be able to sleep in the park at night if it weren't for you. Most folks wouldn't have thought to come here and let me know the good thing Just Jan did for you. That's a real nice thing," said Fred as he disappeared into the bushes.

William put an arm around Lucy and led her out of the park. Rustling sounds from bushes announced the presence of folks trying to rest. In a soft voice, William said, "He'll take care of her. We'll be hearing good things about her in the future."

"I know," Lucy said looking at William. She hadn't known that he'd arranged it so that the homeless could sleep in the park at night. She wondered what that had required.

He whispered, "We better get home before the Flintstones do."

Giggling at the use of their private nickname for the bodyguards, she said, "Ling hasn't called yet."

"You had better drive. I'd hate to try to talk to her and drive at the same time."

They hadn't reached home when William's cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered, "Hello, Momma Ling. I was just telling Lucy that it was time for you to call and let me know how irresponsible I've been."

There was a low growl over the phone, before Ling said, "If Marjorie wanted to hurt you, she'd have a meal of roast raven before coming over to your house. How dare you trust your life to a bird!"

"Wow. Roast raven. That's a good one," William said chuckling.

Lucy laughed at the image her words invoked. She was glad that she wasn't talking to Ling, particularly since she could hear Ling from where she was seated. Stopping at a light, she looked in the mirror and said, "Oops. I do believe that the Flintstones are behind us."

William looked behind him and saw the familiar Hugger. He said, "We're busted."

"What are you doing?" asked Ling. "Don't answer. I know. You two went out for ice cream while you were supposed to be staying at home."

"How did you know?" William asked honestly surprised at the accuracy of her guess.

"I know you," said Ling.

"Okay, we went out for ice cream and we are on our way home," William said.

"Is Lucy driving?"

"Yes, she is," William answered.

Ling's voice got a lot softer when she said, "Keep her safe, William. I'm worried about that woman at the school. We got some real bad news about her."

"Don't worry. Lots of people are looking out for us," William said. He didn't like the fact that Missy's name kept coming up.

There was a moment of silence and then Ling said, "Remember. You are your best line of defense. You may have bodyguards, but you can't count on them for everything."

"I know, Momma Ling," William said thinking that she must really be worried.

"Have Lucy work on her martial arts. I know she's getting better, but she's not good enough yet. I wish I was training her."

"You're worried," William said.

"I love you, William."

She hung up before he had a chance to reply. William closed the phone and sat back in his seat looking thoughtful. Looking over at Lucy, he said, "I've never heard her that worried."

"About Marjorie? Doesn't she know about Cole treating her?"

"She's not worried about Marjorie. She's worried about Missy," William answered.

Lucy bit her lip and concentrated on driving. If she gave too much thought to Missy, she knew that she would start screaming. Despite the fact that a week had gone by, she couldn't get the look of hate that the woman had given her out of her mind.



-------

Chapter 23


William bent over his keyboard studying the outputs of his program. The ringing of the cell phone broke his concentration. Irritated at another interruption, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and glanced at the caller id. The fact that the call was from Lucy concerned him. He answered, "Hello, Lucy."

"William, I'm here on campus and there's this old Chinese woman who looks lost," Lucy said.

"What do you want me to do?" William asked surprised by the nature of the call.

"She doesn't seem to understand English. Could you talk to her?"

"Sure," William answered thinking that it would have been much easier to find an oriental student on campus and have them talk to the woman.

"Okay, I'm going to hand the phone to her now," Lucy said.

A female voice speaking Mandarin said, "Get away from me you..."

By the way in which the voice had faded, it was clear the old woman had pushed away the phone. Smiling, William, in Mandarin, said, "Sometimes I think my Chinese mother is senile."

The result of his comment was a string of curses delivered rapid fire. He listened, laughing at the creativeness of the old woman, until Lucy asked, "What's she saying?"

"She says that she wants you to leave her alone," William answered using creative license in interpreting what the old woman was actually saying.

"Okay. I'll talk to you later," Lucy said.

They exchanged farewells and disconnected the call. William swiveled in his chair and said, "Colt, we've got to go to the university."

"Why?"

Grinning, William answered, "There's a senile old Chinese woman who needs to be taught a lesson."

The bodyguard frowned and said, "It's best to keep your distance from mentally unstable individuals."

"You can say that again."

On campus, Lucy and Natalie left the old woman behind. Lucy paused occasionally to look back at the old woman concerned that she would get into trouble. She said, "We really should do something for her."

Her patience near an end, the bodyguard said, "She doesn't want your help. Let's get some lunch so that you can get to your next class on time."

"You're right," Lucy said looking back at the old woman. The woman raised an angry fist in her direction.

Two young men wearing shirts with the name of the university on them approached talking animatedly. There were carrying plastic tubes, the kind that was often used to hold large photographs. Lost in their conversation, the pair bumped into Lucy and Natalie. Lucy was knocked back, but Natalie had seen them coming and braced herself. As the young man who had bumped into Natalie sputtered some apology, the other hit her on the back of her head with his tube. Natalie went down like a mobile home in a tornado.

Her hand over her mouth, Lucy backed away while staring at the man who had knocked Natalie down. When both men turned to face her, she realized that she was the real target of the attack. They had attacked Natalie so that they would be able to get her without interference. Turning, she fled across the campus unable to believe anyone would attack them in broad daylight and in public.

At first, she ran without a destination in mind. With the pounding of her pursuers' feet closing in on her, she veered and headed towards the one place where she thought she would be safe. Her sudden change in direction was fortunate as one of the men had leapt to tackle her. It took the men valuable time to recover and resume the chase.

When she passed under the sign at the entrance to the park, she started screaming, "Help. Help. They're after me."

Behind her, one of the men went down as a bag lady jumped on him. With animal savagery, she bit and scratched the man. His partner finally kicked her in the head and the other pushed her off. With a final angry gesture, he kicked her in the ribs.

Lucy spotted Fat Fred and ran to him. Tears streaked her face as she collapsed at his feet. The big man stepped around her as he said, "Don't worry now, Lucy Diamonds. You're safe."

Gasping for breath, she said, "I think they killed Natalie."

By the time the men reached Fat Fred, he was not standing alone. At least ten homeless men had joined him. Angry expressions on their face, they moved to surround the men who had chased Lucy into the park. The men, surprised to find themselves surrounded by homeless, started to back away.

They hadn't gone more than five feet when an old Chinese woman charged into the fray. Lucy stared at the woman in shock as the feeble old woman turned into a fighting machine. Using her cane, she gave each man a solid hit to their knees, groins, elbows, and chins. By the time she was done, neither of the men was able to do more than lie on the ground in pain.

Seeing Just Jan on the ground and knowing that Natalie was hurt, Lucy became fully aware that she didn't even know first aid. Feeling helpless to help them, she broke down in tears. Sobbing wildly, she said, "Go help Just Jan. Go help Natalie."

Lost in her tears, Lucy didn't see the police arrive followed a little later by the ambulances. When she finally recovered her wits, she found that Fat Fred was holding her and rocking her in his arms. His big body felt comforting and she whimpered. He whispered, "Everything's going to be all right."

The old Chinese woman knelt down next to her shaking her head. In a familiar voice, she said, "You're too kind for your own good. I kept trying to get rid of you and you kept trying to help me."

Lucy stared at the old woman trying to make sense of what she had seen. Although she looked eighty, the old woman moved like she was much younger. She looked at the old woman's hands and realized they were young hands. Shocked, she looked back at the face.

Although he had run all the way to the park, William slowed to walk when he approached the trio. He tried to look calm and collected, although he was anything but that. He could see that Lucy had not been harmed. Even though the old Chinese woman had her back to him and he couldn't see her face, he knew her. He greeted her, "Hello, Ling."

Ling spun and looked at William putting her hands on her hips in an angry gesture. In an irritated voice, she said, "How dare you tell a complete stranger that I'm senile!"

"I knew it was you," said William with a smile. He shook his head as he knelt down beside Lucy noticing that she hadn't figured out the identity of her rescuer. Breaking down into tears, she flowed from Fat Fred's embrace into his. The big man stood and moved to stand beside Ling.

Hugging Lucy tightly, William said, "You did the right thing. Natalie is okay; a student helping her told me that you had run in this direction. Right now, Colt is taking care of her."

"I was terrified. Who are they?"

Looking over at Ling, he said, "I don't know. I imagine they were hired by Missy. We'll know more after they're questioned. For a change, Ling left them healthy enough to be questioned although I think she may have broken the jaw on one of them."

Shrugging off the implied criticism, Ling said, "You only need one to talk."

It finally dawned on Lucy that William had known it was Ling after the telephone call. Curious, she asked, "How did you know it was Ling?"

Laughing at the look Ling gave him, William answered, "I knew that she was worried about your safety. The idea that she would sit back in Arizona was so preposterous that I knew she was in the area. When you mentioned an old Chinese woman wandering around on campus, there was only one person it could be."

Growling, Ling stamped her foot and said, "It still wasn't a nice thing you said to me."

"What was I supposed to say? Hello Ling, how about I blow your cover?"

Frustrated, Ling didn't answer. She knew that he was right. If he had identified her to Lucy, the young woman wouldn't have acted naturally. Fat Fred said, "So I take it you are related this ne'er do well."

"Yes. He's my son," answered Ling.

"Nice boy. He's got a good character," Fat Fred said nodding his head. Pointing around his domain, he said, "William arranged that it would be okay for us to stay here. It ain't a homeless hotel, but it is good to have a place to sleep at night where you won't be rousted by the cops."

"Don't put more into it than there is. They wouldn't have gone for it if you weren't here, Fat Fred," replied William. He helped Lucy to her feet. Once she was steady, he said, "I've got to ride in the ambulance with Just Jan. She took a good hit to the head."

"I'll go with you," Lucy said looking over at the men working on Just Jan. Several of the homeless were over there making sure she was being treated well.

Watching as William and Lucy went over to the ambulance, Ling's eyes misted. She said, "I'm so proud of him. He'll make sure that the woman is well taken care of."

"I know," Fat Fred said. "That's why I'm here rather than over there."

"You like William, don't you?"

Fat Fred nodded his head and said, "That boy and Happy Harry saved my life. I was trapped under a bridge when a flash flood hit. The water was almost over my head when they found me. William jumped in that rushing water and grabbed me. I got no idea how that boy managed my bulk. I don't know how Harry managed to handle the rope. All I know is that I came to on solid ground and they were taking care of me."

Surprised that she'd never heard the story before, Ling looked over at Fat Fred. His eyes glistened with tears. Voice quavering, he said, "Can you imagine that? A boy like him risking his life for a throw- away like me. I know he's rich, but you'd never know it by the way he treats us. He's always respectful and actually listens to folks."

"His fathers are like that," Ling said. That was what she loved about them.

"As long as we're around, you don't have to worry about William. I'd give my life to protect him. He's worth a thousand of me."

Both Ling and Fat Fred jumped when William said, "That's where you're wrong, Fat Fred. You're worth as much as I am. You're worth as much as anyone else and no one is worth more than you."

The big man, his back to William, held up a hand as he moved away. In a broken voice, he called back, "A man needs to be honest to himself. I know my worth."

William watched the big man move away and said, "He's a good man. Happy Harry always chooses good folk to help."

The idea that a homeless man would show such loyalty to her son was touching. Maybe he was a little safer with them around then she had thought. Rather than let her emotions show, she asked, "What are you doing over here?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we're leaving for the hospital. The police want to talk to you," he answered.

"Go," Ling said not trusting herself to say more than that. Seeing the effect her son had on the people around him was overwhelming.

William returned to the ambulance and climbed in the back. After the door of the ambulance closed, Ling found she was surrounded by police. Until William had left, she hadn't wondered why they weren't questioning her. She hadn't realized that he had such pull with the local police.

The cop said, "Ms. Carter, I guess you didn't know that Fat Fred is employed by the city as park security. He has limited rights to arrest folk. You didn't need to attack those men."

"Too many of my son's friends would have been hurt if I hadn't," answered Ling. She pointed to the plastic tubes that were lying on the ground. "You'll find those are filled with metal. I knew that the moment Lucy's bodyguard went down."

"Oh, so you saw the original assault," the cop said. That changed the situation significantly.

Knowing the kind of problems that he would face, William entered the hospital like a king. He hated to do it, but the women who had risked their lives to save Lucy needed his help to get the best treatment possible. The petty bureaucrat in charge of admissions was immediately dismissed as he was greeted by the Director of Admissions.

The woman, dressed in an expensive business dress, was clearly flustered. She had received a call from her boss informing her that the two women arriving at the hospital were to be treated very well. There was an implied threat that she'd lose her job if things didn't happen to the young man's satisfaction. She said, "They are being taken care of even as we speak."

William said, "I'll need to talk to her doctor. Just Jan has a pre- existing medical condition that he should know about."

"Right away, sir," said the woman. She turned and barked some orders to a young man standing behind her. Turning back to face William, she said, "The doctor will be with you right after he's finished with the patients."

Lucy had watched the interaction with wide eyes. She had listened as William, talking to someone on his cell phone, had offered to donate twenty million dollars to the hospital while they were still in the ambulance. She'd never seen so many people rushing around in such a frantic state to make sure that he was happy.

The woman said, "We have a private office for you to use while waiting. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to it."

"Thank you. That would be most kind," William said.

The three of them went down a hall to a small office. The woman pointed to the phone and said, "If you need anything, please call my office. Just dial 5555 and you'll be connected to my secretary. Would you like some coffee while you wait?"

"Sure," William answered. He watched as the woman left the office. Turning to Lucy, he said, "I hate doing that."

"What?"

"Using my money to cut through red tape," William answered in disgust. Shaking his head, he said, "We'd still be arguing with the person in admissions if I hadn't made that call."

"It sure was effective," Lucy said. She'd watched the nurses and doctors scramble to get to Just Jan and Natalie. They had been rushed to an examination room without question.

William pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed home. When Mary Gold answered, he said, "I need to talk to Momma Kelly. I've got two people with head injuries that need her."

Mary Gold replied, "She's already on her way there. Ling called five minutes ago."

"Thanks," said William with relief. All they had to do in the hospital was to keep them stabilized until his mother arrived.

He hung up and turned to face Lucy. Smiling, he said, "Momma Kelly is on the way."

Puzzled, Lucy asked, "Why is she coming here?"

"She's a healer. By this time tomorrow, Just Jan and Natalie will be good as new," answered William.

The doctor and the coffee arrived at the office at the same time. Taking the coffee from the assistant, William turned to the doctor and asked, "What are their conditions?"

"They are both in pretty bad shape. I had to drain the pressure from their skulls. The next twenty four hours will be critical," said the doctor.

"Can you keep them stabilized and alive for the next eight hours?" William asked.

"I should be able to do that, but they both took a pretty good hit to the skull. The younger one looks like she was hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat. The older one was definitely kicked in the side of the head," answered the doctor. A look of puzzlement came over his face and he asked, "Why do you say eight hours?"

"My mother will be here by then," William answered.

"So?"

"She's a Druid Healer."

"Oh," said the doctor. He had heard of the abilities of the Druid Healers. As a man of medical science, he wasn't sure that he believed the stories that made the rounds. Head injuries were not to be treated lightly.

"Just Jan is on some kind of medication. My mother won't be able to help that condition," William said.

"We found a bottle of pills when we got her out of those filthy clothes. I've requested her medical records from the Fusion Foundation Clinic that is currently treating her. I'll know more about her condition once I get the records."

"Thank you," William said extending his hand.

Shaking the young man's hand, the doctor said, "You didn't need to donate the money to get them treated. They were emergency patients."

"They risked themselves to save the life of my fiancée and I want the best for them," William said. Taking a breath, he added, "Besides, I was going to donate the money anyway. I just used the situation to do it now when it would help the most."

"I'll let you know when you can see the patients," said the doctor. Shaking his head, he left the room chuckling at how the young man had the hospital administration jumping through hoops. In a way, he enjoyed watching them work to make sure that a patient was treated to the highest standard for a change.

Returning to his seat, William looked at Lucy and said, "You did the right thing. When you ran off, they chased you rather than finish off Natalie. You ran to the right place. Everyone in the park was ready to protect you."

"I just feel so bad that they got hurt," Lucy said. The idea that people were willing to die to protect her was staggering and humbling. Fat Fred had moved between her and the bad guys without thought. She barely knew the homeless man.

"I'd like to suggest that we hold a picnic at the park tomorrow to let our friends know that we appreciate their support," William said.

"That's a great idea," Lucy said. Her thoughts ran to other issues and she asked, "What about Missy?"

"She'll be picked up once the men have been questioned," William answered.

The door of the office opened. Ling, Colt, Rock, and Nicole entered the room. Nicole said, "Thanks for taking care of my sister."

"You're welcome," William said looking her in the eye. "My mother will be here in a just a little while and your sister will be good as new."

"When did you call her?" Ling asked.

"Five minutes after you did."

Turning to face Nicole, Ling said, "Your sister did her job well. They went after her rather than Lucy. I saw it happen and it took me by surprise. You should be proud of her."

The compliment coming from Ling meant a lot to the young woman. Smiling, she said, "I'll tell her you said that."

"No need. I'll tell her myself. I would suppose with you being a family member, they will let you see her," said Ling.

"Go," William said when she hesitated. He smiled when she left the room. Looking at Rock, he said, "Your girlfriend needs you. What are you doing here?"

"Thanks," said the man as he bolted from the room.

Turning to Colt, William said, "You might be able to see your girlfriend if you aren't standing in here."

"I've got a job to do," replied Colt standing up straighter.

After giving forth with a barked laugh, Ling said, "I'm here. Go."

The man left the room. Ling took a seat in one of the chair and looked at William. She commented, "I didn't realize you had so many friends around here."

"Of course you didn't. You were busy checking everyone out assuming they were enemies. Fat Fred told me about the private investigator asking questions among the homeless."

Laughing, Ling said, "I'll admit his report on that interview surprised me. The homeless aren't exactly viewed as stellar citizens. It's good to know that they actually told you about the incident."

"You saw the way they treat William," Lucy said.

"Yes, I did. In fact, I heard a story or two about my son from them," Ling said looking over at William to check his reaction. He didn't react. Turning back to face Lucy, she said, "You did all the right things. If you had hung around to help Natalie they'd have killed you. As it was, you led them away from her while making good your escape. You didn't panic and you ran to the right place. Those men would have died to protect you."

"I feel real bad about Just Jan," Lucy said.

"I saw her take down one of the men. She was a tiger and went after them without a single concern for herself. May I ask how you know her?"

"She warned us the other night that Missy wanted to hire some people to hurt me," answered Lucy. "We talked a little bit. William bought her some ice cream. All she wanted to do was to help us."

"Amazing," answered Ling.

Seated in his chair, William wasn't paying attention to the conversation. He would take a sip of his coffee and then think about the events that had occurred. The casual observer would think that he was idling his time in a relaxed manner. The truth was far different. William was furious. Someone had tried to hurt his true love and almost succeeded. Even worse, he'd had no idea that it was happening.

Attuned to the moods of her fiancée, Lucy could see that he was not happy. She tugged on his arm to get his attention. Once she knew she had his attention, she said, "You're upset."

"I'm not upset," answered William in a cold hard voice, "I'm angry. They tried to hurt you and I will not tolerate that."

A chill went down Lucy's back at his answer. Never having seen William upset, Ling sat up and stared at him. She was seeing the warrior emerge and even she was impressed.



-------

Chapter 24


The household was in total chaos. Natalie and Just Jan had been released from the hospital after a visit to their rooms by Kelly. The four bodyguards, Ling, Kelly, Lucy, and Just Jan were at the house with Ken, Lisa, and Tim. William was nowhere to be found and no one had a clue as to his location.

Allowing herself to act like a mother, Kelly paced around the living room with an expression of worry on her face. Although Kelly was worried, Ling was not. In fact, she was furious. Growling at everyone she saw, she would occasionally stop her prowling to announce to anyone who would listen, "I'm going to kill him."

The bodyguards were doing their best to stay out of Ling's way while dealing with a minor crisis of their own. Natalie was coming to grips with how she had been healed. Coming out of a coma to find a woman between her legs had been traumatic, but nowhere as traumatic as the orgasm Kelly had triggered. Nicole kept trying to explain to Natalie that it didn't represent a desire on her part, but the young woman was firmly convinced that she had turned into a lesbian. Colt and Rock stayed out of the conversation on general principles, fully aware that anything they said would be misinterpreted.

Just Jan was uncomfortable being in the house. She felt that she was ruining the furniture just by sitting on it. She kept looking at the front door wanting to run away. The only thing that kept her in her seat was that Lucy was holding her hand. Lucy was searching for some way to let the bag lady know how much she appreciated the old woman's help.

Lisa was attempting to play hostess, but she had run out of guestrooms in which to put people. After offering coffee to everyone and finding no takers, she retreated to the kitchen. It was the one room in which she felt comfortable chasing out anyone who visited, even if that person was Ling. Ken was trying to keep Tim from stirring up more trouble. Tim was sure that something neat was going on, he just had to find out what it was.

For the second time in less than ten days, the ringing of the doorbell rang surprised Ken. After looking at the bodyguards, he went over to answer it. Opening the door, he found Cole frowning and stroking his medallion. Without saying a word, the green robed Druid strode into the room and came to a halt with his feet shoulder wide and his hands one his hips. All eyes were drawn to the powerful appearance he presented.

Spotting Natalie, he turned to face her and said, "Your orgasm was not the result of a woman touching you. It was a result of the Goddess letting you know that you had been fully healed. Get over it. Go make love to your man and remember what it means to be a woman."

Turning to face Just Jan, he said, "Stand up and face me."

Unable to stop herself, Just Jan rose and said, "Yes, sir."

"For two decades you have been homeless. Now you have a home. Stay with Lucy as a companion and friend. You have a great need for her. She has a greater need for you."

"Yes, sir."

"Go with her to the pond, wash, and then return a new woman. She will take you to get new clothes. Your old life is over."

Wide eyed, Just Jan staggered back as if punched. She looked to Lucy, but Lucy was staring at the Druid as he stepped in front of her. Looking down at her, he said, "Lucy, you have accepted responsibility for this woman. It is time for you to act responsibly."

Lucy nodded, stood up from the couch, and took Just Jan by the hand. Following his instructions, she led the bag lady out the back door pausing only long enough to pick up two towels. Just Jan allowed herself to be led by the younger woman. It seemed that with each step, the past dropped from her and her spirit grew lighter.

The Druid watched the pair leave the house before turning to face Ling. His presence seemed to get even larger. Shaking his head, he said, "Relax. Trust his prescience. He knows far more than any of us."

Ling nodded feeling the power of the man. She knew that power, having felt exactly the same thing when John Carter or Ed Biggers would make a pronouncement from the Gods and Goddesses they served. It would be a stretch of the imagination to say that she actually relaxed, but she did stop her pacing and take a seat.

Walking past a stunned Ken, Cole went to the kitchen. Sticking his head through the door, he said, "Lisa?"

She looked at him wondering what words he would want to share with her. Awed by what she had heard from the living room, she asked, "What?"

"Could I please get a cup of coffee from you? I really need one," he answered as his hand dropped away from the medallion he had been holding.

"Sure." Pleased that someone wanted a cup of coffee from the pot she had brewed, she filled a cup and handed it to him. Smiling, she asked, "Cream or sugar?"

Taking a deep whiff of the coffee, he smiled back at her with just enough of his smile visible over the rim of the cup for her to see. He answered, "Thank you very much. Black is fine."

When he returned to the living room, a smiling Kelly asked, "What? You have nothing to tell me?"

"You're a Druid. You wouldn't listen to me anyway," he answered with a laugh. His laugh provoked a similar laugh from Kelly.

Sitting down, he looked over at Nicole and Rock. They looked as exhausted as he felt. In a soft voice, he asked, "Shouldn't you be in bed or something?"

Surprised, Nicole looked over at Rock and answered, "I guess."

The pair left the living room to get as much sleep as possible before their shift started. Cole sat back and took a sip of his coffee. Upon swallowing, he hummed in contentment and said, "This is perfect."

Ling, having been briefed on the presence of the Druid, asked, "So how is the neighbor girl?"

"Better. She's eating with a reasonable appetite. After my coffee, I'll go back over there to work with her some more," Cole answered. His hand went to his medallion and stroked it. It had brought him over to the house.

Curious, Kelly asked, "How long have you been working with her?"

"What day is it?"

"Wednesday."

"Ten days, I guess," answered the Druid realizing that he'd lost track of time. He took another sip of his coffee, savoring the taste. He sighed at the thought of trying to make up more than a month of school work and said, "We need a Druid who can deal with this specific kind of problem. William was more correct than he probably knew when he said there was nothing he could do to help her. She is almost beyond my ability to help."

Nodding her understanding, Kelly said, "All gifts have limitations."

"Lisa makes a great cup of coffee. That's a gift every servant of the Gods and Goddesses should envy. Consider just how much pleasure a cup of coffee, served in the right circumstances, can provide," Cole said. Looking over at Ken, he said, "You're a lucky man."

Surprised at the attention and how good it made him feel, Ken said, "You're good. You're really good."

"What?"

"You come in here and made everyone feel better. I feel ten feet tall right now."

Laughing, Cole shook his head and said, "It was just an honest observation."

-------

The blond haired woman ran down the dark street looking over her shoulder. The past two hours had been the worst of her life. She'd been heading to a local bar to talk to a man about taking care of Lucy when the kid had appeared. Since then, she hadn't been able to get rid of him. No matter where she went, he was there tapping her on the shoulder and looking at her with eyes that seemed to see deep inside her. She had tried to hit him, but she couldn't touch him.

At the corner, she stopped to catch her breath and looked around. A hand touched her on the shoulder. She spun around to find him looking at her through narrowed eyes. Impossible as it was to believe, he wasn't even breathing hard. She screamed, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"You tried to harm my fiancée," he answered without anger or malice in his voice.

The woman ran off into the dark without waiting for his answer. William watched her go. He reached down to the length of leather hanging from his belt and tied another knot in it. There were now a dozen knots tied along its length. He sprinted off in a different direction from the one taken by the woman. On reaching a corner two blocks away, he stopped and stepped into the shadows.

Missy ran, taking random turns hoping to lose him. She ran for a couple of blocks and then turned back. Side aching from the effort of running for such a long time, she stopped to catch her breath. She didn't understand how the kid was doing it. She'd run from place to place and each time he was there. She jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. Turning to face him, she shouted, "Leave me alone!"

"You know where the police are. They are waiting for you. All you have to do is turn yourself in," answered William staring into her cold blue eyes.

"Never! I'm not going to jail because of that bitch!"

"You can't get away," William said. He pointed in the direction of the main entrance of the university. In a soft voice, he said, "They're waiting for you down there."

The woman ran off in terror with no real destination in mind. She couldn't return to her dorm since a cop was camped on her doorstep. She couldn't leave through the main door since a police car was parked there. The other exits were blocked by homeless men who wouldn't let her pass. She couldn't even scream for help as that would bring the campus police and they would arrest her. All she wanted was a chance to rest so that she could come up with a plan.

William tied another knot in the leather strip while shaking his head. He took off towards the student center knowing that she would end up going there. He'd have ten minutes to reach the building. He could take his time, but she'd run almost the entire way via a circuitous route intended to lose him. She hadn't figured out that he didn't need to follow her to know where she was going.

Ten minutes later, William stepped out of a men's room and tapped her on the shoulder right after she had passed it. She spun and glared at him. Her anger overcame her terror for a moment. Furious, she asked, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"You tried to harm my fiancée."

"Bastard, leave me alone."

William shook his head and answered, "I can't do that. I have to stop you. You had plans to hire someone else tonight. I can't allow you to do that."

"That goody-two-shoes! Bah! She deserves to die," screeched Missy unable to believe that he had known what she was going to do. The handful of students engaged in a late night conversation in the student center turned to look at her.

"If you turn yourself in, the police will help you," William said pointing to the main entrance.

With her fear so thick that she could taste it in her throat, Missy ran away. In her mental fog all she wanted was to find some place where she could be alone and think. William tied another knot in the leather strip. Shaking his head, he said, "Only four more to go and then she'll turn herself over to the police."

He moved towards the football practice field. She would try to climb the fence there to get off campus. If he wasn't such a good guy he'd let her, but he knew she'd get hurt if she actually made the attempt to climb it. He settled down by one of the bushes to wait for her to arrive.

Fifteen minutes later, he spotted her creeping towards the fence in an attempt not to be seen. Her head darted from side to side as she sought a sign that the kid was there. She reached the fence and looked up at the arrow points atop the iron rods set into the rails. Swallowing at the thought of accidentally falling upon them, she had just moved to climb the fence when she felt the dreaded tap on the shoulder.

Tired of being chased around campus, she swung out to strike him. He was just out of reach of her hand. She threw herself at him intending to scratch out his eyes, but he wasn't there. Off- balanced, she fell to the ground. Looking up at him, she wondered if he was some sort of ghost. Terrified, she said, "Leave me alone."

"I can't do that," William answered. Pointing to the front gate, he said, "Turn yourself over to the police. They'll make sure that you get the psychological counseling you need."

"Bastard, I'm not going to jail for that bitch!"

William watched her run off into the dark. He tied another knot in the strip of leather. He headed towards the parking lot in an easy jog knowing that was her next destination. Upon his arrival at the parking lot, he dug into his pockets and took out the contents. He ducked behind a car to wait for her.

Ten minutes later, Missy walked through the parking lot confident that she was going to get rid of the kid for good. A tap on her shoulder and she turned around to face him. Holding the gun in front of her, she aimed at his chest and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. She pulled the trigger several more times with the same lack of results. Furious, she threw the gun at him in frustration. He stepped out of the way and moved back to his position so quickly that it almost looked like the gun had flown through him.

William held out his cupped hand and said, "It won't work without these in it."

Missy stared at the bullets and then back at the car whose window she had just broken. There was no way he could have gotten the bullets from the gun, but it was empty and he had bullets in his hand. Open mouthed, she asked, "How?"

"I know everything you are going to do. You can't get away," he answered as he pocketed the bullets.

"It's not possible."

"Yet it happened."

"Get away from me," she screamed as the level of terror she felt increased ten-fold. She stared at him as if he were some character out of a horror movie.

"Turn yourself over to the police. They'll help you," William said.

She looked around and decided that she'd steal a car. The homeless scum at the gate wouldn't stop her if she was in a car. She started to move away, but froze when he said, "It won't operate for you."

She looked at him terrified that he could read her mind. She wondered which one he thought she was going to steal. She looked at a car and saw that it was unlocked. The fact was that she didn't know how to get around the security features of a car and she knew it.

"It doesn't matter which one you try to steal. It won't operate for you," William said knowing that she wouldn't try to steal any of them now that he had mentioned it.

It occurred to her that he had somehow gotten the bullets out of the gun using magic. That he would use magic to keep the car from operating for her scared her even more. She turned and ran into the dark. Her heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it would burst.

William tied another knot in his leather strip as a policeman walked over to him. Pointing to the ground, William said, "The gun is there."

"I saw her break into the car and take it from the glove compartment. How did you know?" the cop asked looking at the gun on the ground.

"It doesn't matter," William said with a sigh. "I've got to get back to the football practice field. She's going to try to go over the fence again,"

William turned and jogged away. The cop bent down and picked up the gun using a pencil. He slipped it into an evidence bag. He watched William disappear at the far end of the parking lot wondering why he was ordered not to arrest her for breaking into the car and attempting to shoot the kid.

Nestled in some bushes, William waited for Missy to arrive. This time, she ran straight to the fence and started to climb without pausing to check it out. She fell off when he touched her shoulder. Staring up at him from the ground, she lost control of her bladder and crab walked away from him. Voice tight with fear, she said, "Keep away from me."

"You can't get away. Turn yourself in," William said looking down at her with pity.

"You're not a real person. You're a fucking ghost..."

"They are waiting for you at the gate."

She scrambled away from him, tripping and falling several times. She ran without even looking at where she was headed. Passing campus landmarks without being aware of them, she was lost. She missed her step and fell over a curb skinning her knee. Tears of fear and frustration blinded her. Sobs emerged without her being aware that she was sobbing.

William tied another knot in the leather strip and moved to the far exit. He knew that she would show up there next. Once he arrived, he waved to Fat Fred. The big man waved back and left the gate to return to the park and bed. William slipped into the darkness near the gate.

It was twenty minutes before a limping Missy made her way to the gate. Seeing that the homeless were gone, her heart skipped a beat. As she approached the gate, she thought her ordeal was over until she felt the tap on her shoulder. Stumbling back, she fell to the ground sobbing uncontrollably. She managed to ask, "Why?"

"You tried to harm my fiancée," William answered. Leaning forward to ensure that she could hear every word he uttered, he said, "You wanted her beaten, raped, and then dead. You had it all planned out."

She stared at him in horror.

"You hired two men to beat her. You wanted her to feel your pain. You wanted her to know what if felt like to be a human punching bag for some thug with no one better to hit."

She couldn't breath.

"You planned to hire another man to rape her after she recovered from the beating. You wanted her to know what it felt like when your step-father used to come into your room at night. You wanted her to know what it was like to feel dirty and used."

Her body started to tremble uncontrollably, but she couldn't tear her eyes from his.

"You planned to kill her at the end of the Spring semester right before you would leave the school for good. Although she would have been the one who died, you wouldn't have been killing her. You'd have been killing yourself."

Hearing her plans coming from his mouth convinced her that she had died and gone to hell. The kid standing over her wasn't human; he was a demon sent to torture her for all eternity. That was the only explanation that made sense. From deep within belly, she let loose with a wail that woke students and terrified all who heard it.

Leaning against the gate adding a knot to the leather strip, William said, "Go to the front gate and surrender to the police."

Too exhausted to walk, Missy crawled away on hands and knees. She collapsed and looked back in the direction from which she had crawled. The gate was open and he was nowhere to be seen. She considered trying to get through it, but knew it was hopeless. For five minutes, she didn't move. Lying on the ground, she cried until no more tears would come.

Standing, she staggered towards the far gate where the police car was waiting for her. Her legs didn't seem to work right. Her hands trembled so much that she had to tuck them under her armpits. Every sound made her jump. She expected to feel his tap on her shoulder with every step.

She reached the police car and beat on the window. Babbling, she said, "I did it. Arrest me. Get me out of here. I'm in hell. A demon is torturing me."

The cop seated in the passenger's seat got out of the car and opened the back door for her. Before he had a chance to cuff her, she climbed into the car without complaint and curled into a fetal position on the backseat. She shivered the entire drive to the station. After a few minutes at the station, they took her to the hospital.

Watching her get into the car while leaning beside a tree, William shook his head in pity. He walked over to the bench where the Chief of Police was seated and sat down beside him. With a sigh, he said, "It's done."

"That was cruel."

"It was necessary," he answered.

"Necessary? You terrified her out of her fucking skull," retorted the Chief of Police. The anger in his voice was unmistakable.

"There were three possible futures for her. This was the only one in which she lived. At least now, she'll get help and recover," William said.

"This was the only one in which she lived?" asked the police chief. He looked over at William with respectful skepticism. He'd dealt with William on several occasions. The young man would stop by and inform him that something was going to happen if something wasn't done about it. After the first few times that he'd ignored the warning and seen the consequences of his inaction, he'd come to believe the young man. He'd never been proved wrong.

"There were two other possible futures with minor variations. In one, I would have not informed you where she was and my mother would have killed her when she went after Lucy again. If I did tell you where to find her, then I would have had to kill the man she hired and she would have been killed in jail," William answered.

"How can you say that?"

"The Two-Sided One showed me," answered William. This was the first time that he had to face someone who was so weak that their weakness made them strong and a danger to others.

The Chief of Police didn't know how to react to that announcement. If anyone else told him that voices told them to do something, he'd be locking the person away for a long time. "Did he tell you to do what you did?"

"I had to choose her future. I chose the happiest future for her despite the fact that she wanted to kill Lucy," he answered defensively. To distract himself, he held up the leather strip and traced the knots on it.

Having noticed William tying knots in the leather strip over the course of the evening, his curiosity got the better of him. The Chief of Police asked, "What's with the leather cord?"

"Counting coup," answered William, although putting knots into a leather strip wasn't normally done as part of counting coup. Seeing the puzzled look on the other man's face, he explained, "Sometimes in battle, warriors would intentionally touch an enemy with a hand or a stick without causing injury. They were risking their life since it was possible that the enemy would react violently. We call that counting coup."

"This was not a battle."

"Yes it was. It was a battle of wills and I had to break the will that wanted Lucy dead," William answered.

"You drove her insane!" The man was angry because he had been a part of it. Initially, he had gone along with William's scheme because he knew it would go better for her if she surrendered herself to them willingly. It would show proper remorse and would possibly allow her a better deal with the prosecutor. The judge would have definitely taken it into account. It wasn't until he had watched the events at the gate that the full impact of what William was doing had become obvious to him. Now, he was disgusted with himself and angry at William.

"She was already insane, but she would never have been treated for it. Now, she will get the treatment she needs," William said. Seeing her future as clear as if watching it play on a movie screen, he pursed his lips and said, "She'll get treated and come out of the hospital healthy. In a couple of years, she'll get married and have children. She'll live a long life as a model citizen and be happy."

"How can you say that?"

"The Two-Sided One showed me," answered William as he looked across the great lawn. It had happened while waiting in the hospital for his mother to arrive. After he'd seen a vision of Missy's early life, he'd seen the three possible futures for her. His anger had turned to pity. When the Two-Sided One had asked him to choose, it had been easy to choose the compassionate route that looked anything except compassionate.

The Chief of Police sat quietly on the bench for a moment and then asked, "How did you manage the whole gun thing?"

"Earlier today, I waited for the owner of the car to arrive and asked him to unload it. He gave me the bullets."

Raising an eyebrow, the Chief of Police asked, "How did you know that she would take that gun out of that car?"

"The Two-Sided One told me," answered William.

"You don't serve the Two-Sided One."

"Not yet," William answered. The sound of impatience and frustration in his voice was obvious to the Chief of Police. William looked up at the sky and shouted, "When?"

The image of a fat woman flashed in his head and answered, "When it is your time, little one."



-------

Chapter 25


Spreading margarine on the slice of toast with long smooth motions, William was getting ready to enjoy breakfast. Lucy watched him, waiting for him to cut his slice of toast along the diagonal. Rich enough to afford butter, it always amazed her that he actually enjoyed margarine more. William looked up from his toast and winked at her.

Rock, the nighttime bodyguard, was watching him with narrowed eyes. The other three bodyguards were seated at the far end of the table eating their eggs. Taking a seat at the table, Ling asked, "What time did he get home last night?"

"Two in the morning," answered Rock.

"He was missing for ten hours and sits here with without any remorse for all the worry that he caused," Ling observed.

"Of course not," William said winking a Lucy.

Watching William like a hawk, Rock said, "It appears that our young charge was out last night playing games with Missy. They took her to the hospital. From what I understand, she had a major nervous breakdown."

Lucy looked at William in surprise at the idea that he would harm someone. Shrugging her shoulders as if it was exactly what she expected, Ling said, "It doesn't surprise me. He's been driving me crazy for years."

The comment brought a few chuckles around the table. While cutting his toast across the diagonal, William asked, "Did I miss anything?"

Deciding that she would talk with him later about what he had done, Lucy said, "Kelly and I took Jan out to buy some new clothes. She's moved in with us to stay."

"Good. I was going to suggest doing that," said William. Breaking the yoke of his fried egg with the corner of his toast, he said, "I assume Cole came over and dealt with everyone."

No one answered as he ate his breakfast and William decided that was what had happened. Looking up from his empty plate, William said, "I told Fat Fred we were going to have a picnic around four this afternoon. Ken, I'd appreciate it if you could arrange for enough food to feed fifty from the Barbeque Barn. I think that ribs, chicken, brisket, potato salad, Cole slaw, baked beans, and rolls should be appropriate. Colt and I will stop by the store and fill an ice chest with ice and soft drinks."

In all of the excitement created by his absence the previous night, Lucy had forgotten that William had suggested they host a picnic in the park. She was pleased that he had remembered it and that he had scheduled it for after her last class of the day. She said, "I'll be there. Can I arrange for dessert?"

"That would be great," answered William.

"How about you and I put together some Peach Cobbler," suggested Lisa wanting to get in on the picnic.

"Oh, that sounds good," Lucy said.

Feeling energetic, William said, "Let's get to it."

Everyone left the table except William and Colt. Before the bodyguard could say a word, William said, "Don't quit."

Colt glared at the young man. William smiled and said, "Things will be a lot quieter around here for a while. I'm going away to write my Dissertation. You'll like it there. Lots of fishing and outdoors activities with very few people around. Lucy will be here, but the major threat against her is gone."

The fact that the kid knew what he was going to ask was one of the reasons that Colt wanted out. Frowning, he said, "I don't mind the excitement, but you're one scary guy."

"Why? Because I can see a little of the future?" asked William.

"Yes," Colt answered. It was that and the reports that he'd heard about what William had done the previous night. The Chief of Police had mentioned the little episode with the pistol. The story had sent chills up and down his spine.

"You do it, too. In fact, everyone does it."

"No I don't."

"You don't get nervous and irritable just before something bad happens? You don't get this feeling along your spine when things are just about to spin out of control?"

"Well, yeah," Colt answered while shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"So you do see a little of the future," William said taking a sip of his coffee. Smiling, he looked at Colt in the eye as he said, "You've come to trust and rely upon those feelings."

Slumping back in his chair, Colt said, "Yes, I have. It's why I'm as good at my job as I am."

"I know. You just haven't figured out how to develop that little talent even further," William said.

"Did you enjoy what you did last night?" Colt asked. He wasn't going to work for a sadist who could and would destroy the mind of another.

"Yes and no," answered William. Colt raised an eyebrow in response to the answer. It wasn't what he was expecting. William explained, "Last night, the skills and talents of my red blood and my white blood worked in concert with each other. I could ghost through my enemies like a warrior of old. I could see the future like the Druids of the past. It was an amazing feeling and I enjoyed it. Even though it was the best course of events for her, I didn't enjoy what I was doing to that poor young woman."

"What do you think about the whole thing?"

A bitter laugh escaped William at the question. He answered, "I can't use my gift to protect Lucy, but I can use it to create the best future possible for the woman who tired to kill her. Ironic, isn't it?"

Their discussion was interrupted with the arrival of Jan. After a good night's sleep on a real bed, the woman looked twenty years younger. Taking a seat at the table, Jan could see that she was the last to wake. Gesturing to the remains of breakfast, she said, "I guess I overslept."

"Overslept? I wouldn't say that. I'd say that for the first time in a long time you slept as long as your body required," answered William. The transformation that had come over the woman was amazing. Lines that had appeared to be permanently etched in her face had smoothed out. Her speech, rough and broken, had become more formal. Her posture and manner had become more confident.

"Thank you," Jan replied picking up the last piece of toast on the platter in the center of the table.

"That piece of toast is stone cold and hard as a rock. Let me fix you something for breakfast," William said.

"Don't put yourself out for me."

"No problem. What would you like?" William asked as he rose out of his chair. Colt watched his employer surprised that the young man was willing to prepare a meal for a woman who had been homeless only the day before.

"Cereals would be nice. I haven't had cereals in years," Jan answered.

"That's easy enough," William said. It took him a minute to get a bowl, the milk, and three boxes of different cereals. Looking over the boxes, Jan poured a bowl of the cereal that Tim liked. Looking sheepish, she said, "It's been a long time, but I remember this one."

William nodded his head in understanding and smiled. He could understand her choice. As she prepared her cereal, he said, "By the way, welcome to the household."

Smiling in appreciation for the welcome, Jan replied, "Thank you. It is very nice of you to take me in."

"Did you and Lisa work out acceptable arrangements for you?"

"Not really. We discussed sleeping arrangements last night. I mentioned that I wanted to keep a little distance from the rest of the household. I'm not used to be around a lot of people all of the time."

"I can understand why you might want to live by yourself for a while. I can see where being surrounded by people and living in a place where lots of strangers drop in for visits would be stressful. How about we pick up an RV this morning? We can park it to the side of the house and it can be your private place."

Looking at William in amazement that he would do that for her, Jan said, "That would be perfect."

Colt shook his head at the contradiction between William's actions the previous night and those of the morning. He had tortured that woman last night and now he treated a homeless woman like a queen. He hoped that he never angered William because he didn't think there was a chance for him to escape the young man's wrath.

The RV lot had a lot of the low-end models parked along the front. These were the kinds of RV appropriate for a weekend trip to the local lake and were on display with a boat trailer, motorcycle trailer, or snow mobile trailer attached. With the invention of fusion motors, power was not a concern. Gone were the days of propane tanks, manual levelers, and cloth awnings. Instead, even the low-end RVs were loaded with electrical appliances and features that made them homes on wheels.

The dealer watched as William walked past all of the low and medium priced RVs before heading directly towards the most expensive item on the lot. Although he had seen William get out of the Hugger, he didn't think there was much chance of making a sale. After all, he had other two people with him. The middle aged woman with him was old enough to be his mother. The man with him was probably his brother. Taking a sip from his cup of coffee, he decided that the young man was window shopping with his mother.

With a sigh, the man levered his body out of the chair and made his way across the lot. Giving voice to a line that his coworkers often thought ironic considering his business, he said, "God, I hate tourists."

He reached the RV and examined the trio looking at the RV. William was actively examining the RV. Colt was not concerned with the RV, but was watching everyone else on the lot. Jan was looking at the RV with an expression of wonder on her face. Turning to her, he asked, "What can I help you with today?"

"You need to talk to William," Jan answered pointing to the young man who was walking around the outside of the RV.

"What can I do for you, young man?"

"Do you have this in double width?" William asked without even bothering to greet the salesman. He stuck his head in a storage container built into the back of the RV.

"Yes," answered the man raising an eyebrow. The double width version was basically the same as the single width version except that one side could extend out to provide for a living room. That particular model had come out several years earlier and was the best selling model on the lot. Rumor had it that a Druid had designed it.

"Good, I'll take it," William said as he held out his debit card to pay for it.

"Don't you need to look at it?" asked the salesman.

"No, my brother-in-law designed it as his senior project," William answered.

The man looked at the card with a raised eyebrow and accepted it. Glancing at the name on it, he recognized the Carter last name. Rather than act foolish, he said, "We've got two of the doublewides over there. After you pick out the one you want, I'll take care of running this through the bank. We'll have a crew get it ready for you. It shouldn't take more than about three hours. You can wait or I can have someone deliver it."

William was impressed that the man didn't make an issue out of his age. Nodding, he said, "That would be excellent. I'll have Jan pick it out. I'm sure that she'd like to stay here while they prepare it for her."

Nodding her head, Jan said, "That would be nice. You don't need to stay here."

"I wasn't planning on it. We've got to get ready for the picnic," William said.

"What picnic?" Jan asked.

"Ah, we are having a picnic at the park for all of the folks who helped Lucy yesterday," William answered. He said, "Of course, you are invited. In fact, I'd say that you are the guest of honor."

"Thank you," Jan said wondering what the people at the park would say about her changed situation. She hoped that they would be happy for her. She rubbed her head in memory of the blow to it knowing that she had risked everything for Lucy without understanding why she had done it.

Turning back to the salesman, William asked, "Will there be any problem with your person delivering it to the house with Jan as a passenger?"

Having dealt with many rich people in the past, the answer was automatic, "No problem at all."

"Why don't you go with..." William said to Jan before turning to the salesman and saying, "I'm afraid that I didn't catch your name."

"George Jones."

"Thank you," William said before turning back to Jan. He said, "Why don't you go with Mr. Jones and pick out which RV you want? Please, don't worry about the cost. I've got it more than covered. Just make sure that it is the one you want since you will be living in it."

Lucy had warned Jan that she was to ask for what she wanted without regard to the cost. William would be more upset to know that Jan had settled for something less than she wanted than over spending more money. When Lucy had said that Jan should only start to worry if he was talking more than ten million dollars, Jan hadn't believed her. She nodded and said, "Thanking you for doing this for me. I really appreciate it."

"You're quite welcome." William and Colt watched Jan go off with the salesman to check out the RVs. Turning to Colt, William said, "Put appropriate security gear in the RV. She risked her life for Lucy and I don't want anything or anyone hurting her."

"I understand," Colt said fully realizing how much William would reward anyone who helped him.

Frowning for a second at the amount of work facing him, William added, "I'd like to find someone to teach her how to drive."

"Let Natalie do that. She's one of the best drivers that I know," Colt said. Seeing the question on William's face, he added, "She'll enjoy teaching Jan how to drive."

"Okay," William said. He watched Jan enter one of the RVs amazed at the difference that a single day made in her. She was suddenly much more comfortable. Rather than acting as if she didn't deserve what she received, she had learned to accept gifts graciously. He said, "We'll be leaving in a couple of weeks for Arkansas."

Colt didn't know why William was skipping from topic to topic. He asked, "What's on your mind?"

William's sight seemed to turn inwards for almost a full fifteen seconds. His attention returned to the here and now. He answered, "I just have so much to do over the next few weeks. We need to get Jan settled. I've got to pack up my research material. I'd like to give the four of you a quick vacation. Cole needs to finish up and get out of the house. The e-clones will be coming for a visit."

"The e-clones?"

"Ed and Eddie," William said.

There was a large crowd of people loitering around the picnic area in the park. The majority of the people were homeless, but a few police stopped by when word of the picnic had spread to the police department. With the Carter household present, the number of attendees just reached fifty people.

Two tables that had been loaded with food still attracted significant attention. The aluminum trays that had been piled high ribs, brisket, and chicken were now empty except for a few scraps of meat. The containers that had held potato salad, Cole slaw, and baked beans were empty. Richie the Roach had grabbed the container that had held the potato salad and worked over it until it appeared that it had never held any food. All that was left were the two huge pans of Peach Cobbler and the line for that assured there wouldn't be any left.

William knelt beside one of the coolers. Fishing through the water filled with ice, his hand was turning numb from searching for a ginger ale. He knew that was Fat Fred's favorite soft drink and had bought a six pack of them. Looking up at the big man, he asked, "How many have you had?"

"One," answered the big man. He held up the nearly empty can in his hand and added, "and this one."

William looked at Fat Fred and noticed that his coat pockets were bulging. He judged that the man had four more cans stuck in his pockets. Raising an eyebrow, William said, "And you have four in your coat."

"I guess I forgot about those," the big man answered with a grin. He held a plateful of food that William had saved him in his left hand.

"So why am I looking for a can of ginger ale if you've got them all?"

"I just like watching you freeze your hand off."

William laughed and pulled his hand out of the ice chest. Shaking his head, he stood and said, "You've got a sick sense of humor."

"It's half your fault," Fat Fred said while he made his way to an empty space on one of the picnic tables.

"Why?" William asked.

"You and Happy Harry taught me how to laugh." The big man grinned and burst out laughing at the look on William's face. He put the plate down and sat straddling the bench of the table. He was too fat to sit in it in the normal fashion.

A very well dressed Jan came over to the pair and asked, "Is Fat Fred giving you a hard time?"

"No. He's just reminding me that the best intentions often have horrible consequences," William said.

Fat Fred looked at Jan for a moment with a puzzled expression on his face. Waving a chicken leg around in the air, he asked, "Have we met?"

"I'm Jan. Don't you recognize me?" asked the woman. She had been asked that question several times during the picnic.

"Just Jan?"

"Now, I'm just Jan." The difference in how she spoke the word 'just' was enough to convey the difference in meaning.

Fat Fred stared at the woman barely able to believe his eyes. The previous day he had seen her and she was just an old bag woman. It wasn't that she looked like a bag woman; she had been a bag woman. She'd had the posture, manners, appearance, and sound of a woman who had been beaten down by life. Twenty-four hours later she looked like a middle class housewife who was ready to take the kids off to soccer practice. Shaking his head, he said, "Damn, you are a fine looking woman. I didn't recognize you at all."

Blushing at the complement, Jan said, "Thank you."

"So what's going on with you?"

Amused, William watched Jan and Fat Fred talk. Fat Fred was paying more attention to Jan than he was to his food. He stepped back and found that Lucy was standing next to him. In a soft voice, he said, "I think Fat Fred is impressed with Jan."

"He should be," replied Lucy. Lisa had spent a lot of time with Jan to make sure that she looked good for this picnic.

William sighed as he led her away. In an even softer voice, he said, "Her life changed in a big way yesterday. It may have changed even more than she realizes."

"What do you mean?"

Frowning, William considered Jan for a moment and then said, "She has been living with a chemical imbalance in her brain for years. Yesterday she was kicked in the head and healed by a Druid. I think there is a good chance that the part of her brain responsible the chemical imbalance was damaged and then repaired. It's hard to tell the full extent to which the healing was made."

"Are you suggesting that she may not need her medication any more?"

"Yes. Watch over her very carefully for the next few days. You might want to go to the Fusion Foundation Clinic with her to see what would be the consequences of her taking medications that she doesn't need," William answered.

Lucy examined William with a puzzled expression and then asked, "Don't you know?"

"Pardon?"

"Don't you know if she's healed?" Lucy asked. There were times when he knew things that should have been impossible for him to know and other times he didn't know the obvious.

"No. I suspect she is, but it is nothing more than a suspicion."

"Why don't you know?" Lucy asked. She hadn't come to the realization that he hadn't known that she was being attacked the previous day.

Pointing at Jan, William answered, "The fact that she's walking around today rather than lying in a hospital bed is the result of an act by the Goddess. I'd never try to place limits or expectations on the Gods and Goddesses."

"I guess that makes sense," Lucy said. She grinned at William and said, "Since I'm your human Goddess, remember those words."

Seeing that the homeless had nearly polished off the Peach Cobbler, William said, "Time to thank everyone for their help yesterday. Would you like to do it or would you like me to say a few words?"

"Both of us," Lucy answered.

"I knew you were going to say that," William said with a wink.

William went over to the crowd of homeless men and women. He shouted, "Everyone, Lucy Diamonds has something she would like to tell you."

All eyes turned to look at Lucy. Nervous at speaking in public, Lucy said, "I'd like to thank everyone here for their help yesterday. I'm overwhelmed that so many of you came to my defense. I'm humbled that all of you, and especially Jan, were willing to risk serious injury on my behalf. Thank you."

William knew from the tears welling up in her eyes that she wasn't going to be able to say much more than that. William put an arm around her and looked at the faces in front of him. In a surprisingly gentle voice that carried across the park, William said, "It is said that a friend during a time of need is a friend indeed. Yes, there is something about knowing that when help was needed that a friend was there to provide it. I stand here and it is with a heart filled with emotion that I look upon my friends knowing that they risked everything to save my true love from certain harm."

When William had called them friends, everyone in the crowd held their breath. He continued, "It is also said that a man measures his wealth by the company he keeps. It is humbling to know that I have friends such as you in my life. I know I'm the richest man alive."

One of the men, trying to hide his emotions, kicked the ground in front of him with a toe. Looking down at the ground, he said, "Damn, Half Feather. You can do better than us."

"No I can't. No man can ask for better friends than the men and women gathered here," William replied.

His words affected the gathered people. One of the homeless men turned to Ling and said, "He means it, you know. He doesn't say things that he doesn't mean."

"I know."

One of the homeless women, tears running down her cheeks, nudged Ling and said, "He's done right by Jan. She looks happy."

"You can say that again," said the man who had first spoken to Ling. He added, "William takes care of all of us according to our needs. It doesn't matter to him that we're just bums."

Ling looked at the faces of the people around her. They were staring at William with undisguised awe and affection. There were no doubts in her mind that they would die for William or Lucy if that was necessary to protect them. For half a second, she wondered what manner of man he was to inspire such emotions in the people around him. She knew the answer almost as soon as the question had entered her mind. He was his father's son.



-------

Chapter 26


"So you're going to become Dr. Carter?" Eddie asked while watching his brother pack up his books.

William looked over at his little brother. The boy was turning into a good looking young man. His short black hair, piercing grey eyes, and subdued Native American features gave him an exotic look. William knew that it wouldn't be long before the girls started following his brother around town. Pulling the roll of tape over the top of the box, he answered, "Yes, if I ever manage to get out of here and write my Dissertation."

The young man bent over and put his hand on his back while holding his other arm as if supporting himself with a cane. Trying to sound like an old man, he said, "My Winnebago is acting up. What should I do?"

"I'd get a dictionary if I were you. It's lumbago, not Winnebago," William answered with a grin. He picked up the box and added it to the pile of boxes by his desk.

Eddie straightened up and smiled at his big brother. He went over to the couch and took a seat while he said, "It's been fun hanging with you this week. I don't get to see you very often."

"I know. When we move to Arizona we'll get a lot more time together."

"You bet. Dad and I have been out to your new place a couple of times. Pop even went out there with us once. There are lots of good rocks on your place."

William didn't need to ask which father to whom his brother referred. Eddie called Ed, Dad, and Leroy, Pop. Dan was the lucky recipient of the informal, Pappy. Dan complained, but actually appreciated that Eddie had taken to him like a father. Of course, Eddie usually called him Pappy with one eye scrunched and his lips twisted as if he were Popeye. He replied, "It's good to know that you'd come out there for the rocks at the very least."

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. I'm just teasing you."

Eddie relaxed in his chair and watched as William opened his file cabinet. Looking at all of the papers within the drawer, Eddie asked, "Did you read all of those papers?"

"Yes."

"Wow. You're going to win a Nobel Prize just like Pop and Daddy John," Eddie said. He spent hours in the library looking at the two medallions displayed in the trophy case that Kelly had installed there. He was quiet for a moment and then asked, "Why didn't they make a big deal out of Daddy John's Nobel Prize?"

"Daddy John and Daddy Leroy earned their Nobel Prizes in different ways. Daddy John felt like he was serving the Goddess when he did his research on the Fusion Well and couldn't really take too much credit. He didn't even tell the family when he won it. Mommy Kelly heard about it on the television. She sure was mad at him for not telling the family.

"On the other hand, Daddy Leroy earned his through years of hard work and thoughtful study. I was so proud of him when he went up there to receive the prize. You were there, but you weren't more than six years old at the time."

Eddie remembered the event very clearly. He nodded and said, "I remember that. Pop had this real funny expression on his face."

William laughed his agreement. Leroy had been so happy that his smile went from ear to ear. At the same time, he was so overwhelmed by the honor that there were tears in his eyes. Remembering that moment reminded him of what Kelly had observed. He said, "Mommy Kelly said that Leroy proved two things that day. The first was that science for the sake of humanity was more honorable than science for the sake of money. The second thing Leroy proved was that a man who reached for the stars was capable of catching them when supported by a loving family."

"Mom Kelly is almost as philosophical as dad."

"You're distinguishing the mothers by name?"

Eddie shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Do you realize how hard it is to come up with four different names for mothers?"

"You're smart. I'm sure that you came up with a good half-dozen words that mean mother."

Eddie grinned at the comment that he was smart and said, "I tried giving them each a different name like I did with the fathers. It went well until I called Mom Claire, Mammy. Apparently that is not a good thing to say to a black woman. Dad and Pops came down hard on me for that one. I decided it was just easier to call them all Mom."

He could understand why Claire would object to being called Mammy. He asked, "Did you figure out why they were upset?"

"Yes. I didn't realize that it was an insult to black women. I heard the term in one of the old black and white movies that dad has and thought it was just another way to refer to a mother. The movie didn't use it in an insulting manner."

"I like Daddy Ed's old movies," William said. The visits to the house in Arizona always included a number of hours watching old movies with his father on the couch. Some of the films, by modern standards, were totally politically incorrect and contained content that would be considered racist, sexist, and overly religious. They could show a black saying, 'Massa, ' and men giving cheesy pickup lines to their secretaries, but the film couldn't have a kiss that lasted too long. He commented, "There are lots of things in those old movies that wouldn't ever appear in a modern film."

"I made him promise to leave you the old westerns while I get the Sci-fi," Eddie said with a wink. He knew how much William enjoyed the old grade B sci-fi movies.

"You hate Sci-fi," William replied.

"I don't hate them. I just love Westerns even more. There are enough old Westerns out there that you don't have to watch Sci- Fi."

For the rest of the time that William packed for his trip, he and Eddie discussed various cowboy actors. For the most part they agreed, but William had always been partial to John Wayne while Eddie liked Clint Eastwood. It was the kind of conversation that two brothers who didn't see each other very often might have. William felt bad that he didn't have more time to spend with his little brother.

Their conversation came to an end when Tim came home. William watched Eddie and Tim get out the radio controlled cars. After finishing his packing, he picked up a box of his papers and carried it to the Hugger. It took several round trips to get all of the books and papers into the back of the Hugger. He arrived back in the house in time to hear his father say, "That's a real wicked course you've laid out there. Are you sure that the cars can go through some of those arches?"

"You bet," Eddie answered. He had set up the gates with one of the cars in place. Looking out the corner of his eye, he knew that William wasn't going to pass up this chance to play.

Ed leaned over and examined the starting line. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "You've got four cars set out here. There's you, Tim, and me. We are all ready to play. Who's the fourth one for?"

"Oh, I set that one out just in case someone wanted to play a little before going off to the wilds of Arkansas to write," Eddie answered. Shaking his head, he added, "Of course, William would never consider playing with us after looking at this course. He'd never be able to get through all of the traps we've put here."

Tim grinned when he realized what Eddie was doing and said, "I don't think that William is good enough to run this course."

Laughing at the obvious attempt to sucker him into playing, William said, "Just one run and then I have to pack my clothes."

It was two hours later that Lucy came home and found the four of them seated tailor fashion on the floor guiding their cars through an extremely complex obstacle course. She fought to suppress a laugh upon seeing the identical expressions of concentration on their faces as they maneuvered their cars. Each of them had the tip of their tongue out as they worked the controls. She had teased William that he should invent a tongue controlled car because he moved his tongue in the same way he moved the little lever on the radio controller. Trying to sound like a mother who has just returned home in time to catch the kids trying to shave the cat, she said, "Boys!"

Her outburst caused Tim to lose his concentration and his car ran into William's car. The pair of them brought down the stack of blocks that had been the gate through which they were to guide their cars. Ed and Eddie both tried to take their cars over the pile created by the collision. Their two cars collided and brought down more blocks. All four of them groaned at the situation.

Ed sat back and, after glancing at Lucy, said, "I don't think we're getting out of this one."

"I thought you were going to let William pack today."

William solemnly nodded his head with wide eyes and said, "I tell you, it was a conspiracy against me. I didn't stand a chance."

Lucy laughed at the expression on Ed's face and replied, "Right."

William glanced over at Lucy and winked. He had warned her that they were going to end up playing with the radio controlled cars after Tim came home from school. He replied, "I've got all of the books and papers loaded in the Hugger. All I've got to do is pack my clothes and I'm ready to leave."

"That's not all you have to do. I've got bags and bags of stuff for the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom out in my car. You need to load that into your Hugger, too."

"Bags and bags?"

"Yes, bags and bags."

"Have I told you lately that I'm goo-goo over you?" William asked.

"Every day. Morning, noon, and night."

A puzzled look came over Eddie's face. He asked, "Goo-goo?"

"That means madly, deeply, and truly interested," answered William with a wink at Lucy. The word had come to mean so much more than that to the two of them.

Lucy waited for Eddie's response. Instead of what she expected, he said, "I thought that was gaga."

William hugged his little brother and said, "You just might be right."

The interaction between the brothers brought smiles to the faces of Ed and Lucy. Ed was happy that the two brothers got along so well. He was worried that with Eddie being the youngest, that he would be left behind by his older and more talented siblings. Eddie adored his older brother and thought he was the smartest person in the world. Beth and John were a little more distant from their brother, but they were also almost ten years older and busy with their careers.

Enjoying the attention, Eddie said, "I'll help you load the car."

William stood and said, "Come on, Eddie. I'm sure that working together, we'll be done before you know it."

When the pair had left the house, Lucy said, "William really loves Eddie. He's such a good kid."

"Yeah, William's something else," Ed said knowing that she was actually referring to Eddie, but he felt the description applied equally well to all of the Carter kids.

Lucy laughed and said, "I'm not the best judge of that. I'm goo- goo over him."

"Let me guess, Doug was the one who invented that term."

Surprised, Lucy answered, "How did you know?"

"I know the young man. He's a good one. William was lucky to find him," answered Ed. They had several discussions since their first meeting and Ed had come to like the young man very much. The one thing that impressed him the most about Doug was that he had that same sense of protectiveness towards his country that Ed had towards his town.

"He's coming over for dinner. He wanted to say goodbye to William before he left for Arkansas."

It was a large crowd that gathered around the dinner table. Ed and Doug were seated across from each other, a configuration that was sure to produce considerable discussion over the meal. William and Lucy sat side by side, as did the pairs of bodyguards. Tim sat next to Cole feeling honored that the Druid would pay attention to him. Ken and Lisa looked around the table having a sense of family. They viewed William to be their son more than their employer. They were sad to see him leaving for three months.

Ed sat back after finishing his meal and asked, "So Doug, why haven't you gone into politics?"

"There are better ways to affect the country than being a leader."

Knowing at least one answer to the question, Ed asked, "What's one way?"

"Sometimes a good follower is important. The country needs people who can get the job done. Sometimes a good adviser is needed. The right word in the right ear at the right time can make sure that the right job gets done. Sometimes, a good teacher is important. There are times when you need to train the followers so that they can do what is needed. I figure I can be a little of each," Doug answered. He sat back and took a sip of his iced tea watching the reaction of the Druid seated across from him.

"Good followers. It is too easy to forget about them," Ed said. He sighed as he thought about it and the attitude that many leaders had towards their followers. Druids tended to be good advisers and teachers, but horrible followers. Oliver, the Grand Druid, often referred to leading Druids as herding cats. John hadn't even attempted to lead them.

"Yes, that's true. I've heard some of the leaders of our country say some pretty nasty things about the people who gave them power. They refer to the electorate by names like the masses, the little people, and dupes. Of course, without good followers there wouldn't be anyone to make their dreams a reality," Doug said.

"I agree."

Doug said, "I've been thinking a lot about this subject over the past few months. I'm about to complete my Master's degree and have been thinking about going towards a Doctorate. I thought a good subject would be about when the followers stop following."

"Interesting. What would be your historical case study?" William asked while leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. He rested his head on his clasped hands and focused on Doug.

"I was thinking of the fall of communism in the Soviet Union. Think about it. Here you had a superpower with some of the most intelligent and capable people in the world. Lot's of Americans underestimate the quality of Soviet Union scientists, but they were among the best in the world. You had an educated populace that was capable of executing any plan put before them, but they didn't. The entire system fell because it wasn't working."

"I'd say that was a leadership failure," Lucy said.

"That's an easy way of explaining the fall. The problem is that I believe the leaders wanted the right things and were leading the country in the right direction. The structure within which they worked, worked against them. It couldn't provide the motivation for the followers to work their hardest. The structure assumed that followers would automatically do their best for the betterment of all over the betterment of their own particular circumstance," Doug replied. He still wasn't sure if he had the best angle to take on the subject, but it was the best that he had.

Ed took a sip of his iced tea and thought about the matter. There were elements of truth in everything that Doug said, but it just wasn't a complete truth. He leaned forward and asked, "Are you sure that they had the capacity to be good followers?"

"Yes."

William shook his head and said, "I'm not sure that's the correct question to be asking. Leaders work within a social structure that is comprised of other leaders. The structure constrains any individual leader from taking their people off into radical directions. The structure also constrains the followers so that they don't try to change the structure and such that they are in a position to follow. It is the structure that prevents complete anarchy from taking over.

"In order to make predictions about how groups of individuals act over time, it is necessary to understand the structure within which they operate, the forces the structure applies to them, and the forces that are applied to the structure. I don't think that the Soviet Union is a good example of a failure of followers. The structure nullified all attempts to change things."

Doug was silent as he pondered what William said. He asked, "What would be a better example?"

"How about the overthrow of the British in India?"

"That gets into the whole Colonial thing," Doug answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. He leaned forward and said, "The problem that I've been having is that it is too easy to blame the leaders. The argument is that if a leader was good, then he'd be able to motivate his people to do what was necessary. The situation that I'm looking for is one where you had a charismatic leader, a lofty goal, and a complete failure by the people to see it through to completion."

Ed asked, "Why the interest?"

"Because I think our country is in a crisis of followership, if I could coin a term that is the converse of leadership. The majority of Americans will not follow their leaders, regardless of who the leader might be. They question everything he says, they give up at the first sign of opposition, and they try to warp what needs to be done into what they want to do. It doesn't matter if the leader is Democrat or Republican or conservative or liberal. They are so busy questioning everything our leaders say that they don't do anything," answered Doug with a concerned expression on his face.

"Seems to me that questioning our leaders is not a bad thing," Lucy said. Her instructors at school had continually reinforced the idea that the government was not to be trusted.

"Could you imagine an army where every soldier questioned every command that came their way? When the order came to march, everyone would stand around wanting to know where they were marching. They'd want to know every detail about what was going to happen. At any sign of danger, they'd stop and argue if they had been told lies. The expectation would be that their leaders would have to have perfect information. Since that's not possible, they'd charge their leaders with incompetence.

"Imagine what would happen when that army met a disciplined army that followed commands without question. They'd be overwhelmed in a minute. Not a single soldier would survive except as prisoners of war. Then imagine what they'd say about their leadership. Of course their leaders are incompetent, they lost the war. The fact that the army wasn't acting as a cohesive group because everyone was so busy arguing with each other will be totally ignored. Each individual will say that it wasn't their fault.

"The problem that I see is that as a nation, our people are just like that army. We don't understand that there are disciplined nations out there that are opposed to us for various reasons. Some may be legitimate, but most of their reasons are just flat out fictions. We are under economic attack from every quarter, the Far East, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. We have fundamentalists that want to convert us to their brand of faith by force if necessary," Doug said as he shook his head.

Ed grinned and commented, "You think the Druids aren't doing their jobs."

The suggestion that he was blaming the Druids for a failure surprised Doug. He hadn't given it a thought. A slow grin spread over his face and he replied, "Perhaps."

William shook his head and said, "The Druids have wiped out organized crime, systematic corruption, set up healthcare for everyone, provided emergency relief, and solved the energy crisis. One day soon, a Druid is going to bring peace to the Middle East. I'd say as a group that they've done more than anyone for this country and for the world than any other group or government."

Doug shook his head in disagreement and said, "Before the Druids emerged as powers, this country ran electricity and telephone from coast to coast. Railroads, automobiles, and airplanes were invented that allowed people to move from coast to coast in hours. Goods and materials could be traded over distances that were once unimaginable.

"Refrigeration became commonplace and deaths from food poisoning dropped to levels that wouldn't have been imagined by our great grandfathers. Water treatment plants eliminated diseases that had plagued man from time immortal. Medical advances occurred that changed killer diseases into mere nuisances. People go into the hospital for chronic conditions now rather than mere diseases.

"I would say that the assumption that things would not have improved without the influence of the Druids is overstating the case just a little. The Druids have made remarkable changes socially, but social changes had occurred before they came on the scene. Social security was envisioned as a safety net for our elderly. Welfare programs were put into place to help the impoverished. Education became nationwide with laws to assure that every child received a chance to be educated."

Smiling, William said, "Anyone would think that our government was doing its job well if those things had been put into place."

"It has done well in the past. Now all of the actions that need to be taken are halted before they can begin. We are suffering from a failure of followership," Doug replied.

Ed glanced over at William and said, "We come full circle without having resolved anything."

William shook his head and said, "I agree with Doug on this issue. Not only is this country in a crisis of followership, but so is the whole world. I don't think we could wipe out Smallpox today like we did in the past. Individuals were vaccinated even though the vaccine had the potential for rather bad consequences for a small percentage of those who took it.

"Today, people won't accept the risks associated with the vaccine. Why? It would be viewed as too risky even though the consequences of the disease are so horrible. The chance to wipe out a horrible disease would never be taken."

Ed raised an eyebrow as he studied William and said, "That's a rather negative assessment of your fellow human beings."

"Negative? I would prefer the term honest, accurate, or insightful," William replied with a sigh. He looked away from his father and took a sip of his glass of milk.

"I agree with William. I'm positive that it wouldn't work here in America. We've had several new diseases crop up here and we've not reacted because a few people protested the proposed actions," Lucy said. She was thinking of diseases like AIDS and West Nile Virus.

Eddie had been silent through the whole discussion. With a smile on his face, he asked, "So how are you going to change that, William?"

"How am I going to change it?" William asked wondering if he heard the question correctly.

"Yes, how are you going to change it?"

William was honestly surprised that Eddie assumed that he would be the one to correct the problem. He studied his empty plate for a minute as he thought about the challenge Eddie had presented him. It seemed as if everyone at the table was waiting to hear his answer. Unable to come up with one, he looked over at Eddie. Shaking his head, he said, "It would be very difficult."

"So, you're the smartest person in the world. If anyone can fix the problem, then it would have to be you," Eddie countered. He glanced at his father catching the smile on his face.

"I would need to think about it."

Ed asked, "What is there to think about?"

"How I would go about fixing the problem, of course."

Doug smiled at the impossibility of the task and said, "You can't be serious, William."

The expression on William's face was not one that Lucy had ever seen before. It went beyond thoughtful interest in a question. She didn't know how to categorize it, but she did know that the question interested him very much. She smiled and said, "I'd say he's serious."

"Why would you say that?" Doug asked looking over at Lucy once he realized that William was lost in thought. Doug couldn't imagine anyone even attempting to fix the problem. He felt that he'd make a great contribution just by exposing the situation as a problem.

Looking over at William with fondness, Lucy answered, "He's interested in the question because he doesn't know the answer."



-------

Chapter 27


"Would you mind telling me why we have driven across the country rather than taking a plane?"

William looked over at Colt with a wry smile and answered, "Tradition."

"Tradition?"

"Yes. This whole practice of staying away from home for several months to write a dissertation is a tradition in our family. My father, John Carter, started it when he left everything behind so that he could focus on writing. Ed Biggers was the first to continue the tradition. Then, in turn, each family member who was ready to write their dissertation left for some isolated place to work without distraction. Leroy Jones, John Carter, Jr., and Beth Carter have carried on the tradition," William answered. He was silent for a minute and then added, "In a way, I'm breaking tradition by having you and Rock come with me."

From the back seat, a sleepy Rock said, "Nothing is going to keep us from fulfilling our contract with Ling."

"And what does that contract say?"

"You're to be protected from all threats to your well being," answered Colt.

"Even when I do something stupid?"

"Especially when you do something stupid," said Rock.

William nodded and then said, "Good, because I'm planning on doing something very stupid."

Colt nearly drove off the road. Rock sat up and asked, "What?"

Chuckling at the frantic reactions of the two bodyguards, William replied, "Just seeing if you were paying attention."

Rock didn't take the dismissal at face value. He asked, "You aren't planning on running off on us."

"You bet," William answered with a grin. He got the reaction he was expecting.

"You might get away for a bit, but you won't be able to hide," Colt said. He looked in the mirror at Rock. The men exchanged knowing glances. They had taken some special precautions so that they could track him down.

Shaking his head, William said, "You both know that I'm not real happy about having the two of you around while I'm trying to write my dissertation. The whole idea is for me to be able to concentrate without any kind of interruption. I'm worried that having the two of you hovering around will represent an interruption."

"You are going to give it a chance to work," Colt said. There was a degree of hope in his voice that suggested he didn't believe it for a minute.

Rock shifted nervously in his seat. He recalled the episode with the bullets and knew that he wasn't dealing with a normal person. It wouldn't surprise him if William had already set up everything necessary to escape before they had been hired. Even Ling had said that the young man would slip away at the first opportunity. The fact that even Ling didn't think they'd manage to keep William under wraps was enough to depress him. He muttered, "There are times when you are scary."

Colt pulled onto the dirt road leading to the property that William had rented and said, "It'll be hard to take us by surprise during the day. This car is kicking up so much dust you can see it coming from a mile away."

Turning to look out the back of the Hugger, William said, "This is nothing. You should see it on the reservation."

Colt didn't feel comfortable with the idea of spending time on the reservation. He knew that he and Rock would stand out like sore thumbs as the only Whites within ten miles of William. The inability to blend into the background would only make their jobs more difficult. At least at this place, the two bodyguards could dress like the locals and be discreet in their service. He grunted, "We're almost there."

Looking out the window at the green grass and trees, William said, "I think you'll like it here. It's very peaceful. The river is right down the hill behind the house. I understand that it is full of bass and the fishing is very good."

Colt didn't bother to answer. He was on the job and it didn't matter to him where he was staying. At least this area was open enough that they would be able to see anyone coming for at least one full minute before they could arrive. Rock just grunted as he wondered just how much fun they would have there. Rock stared at William for a moment and then mumbled, "wonder how long it will be before he dumps us."

Parking the Hugger thirty yards from the house, the two bodyguards got out to investigate the surroundings before letting William out of the car. Arriving at an unsecured location was always one of the most dangerous times as a bodyguard. They would have preferred to have an additional bodyguard, but they were stuck with it just being the two of them. Knowing that William was well trained in operating a car in an offensive fashion, they would leave him in the car while they scouted around. Following their standard procedure on arriving at a new location, Colt said, "Stay in the car until we've cleared the premises. If you hear us declare an emergency over the radio, get the hell out of here."

William watched as they went around to the back of the house. Once they were out of sight, he slid over in the seat and engaged the motor. Before either bodyguard had a chance to realize what was going on, William was headed back towards the town and the storage locker that held a second car with a new cell phone. He smiled at the two cell phones on the seat beside him and wondered how long it would take Rock and Colt to realize that he had taken their phones.

From inside the house, Rock and Colt heard the unmistakable sound of the Hugger driving off. Colt couldn't believe that they had been so stupid to leave William alone in the car. He swore, "We're not even here two minutes and he's run off."

Rock reached for his cell phone to let Ling know that it was time to start tracking William's Hugger. The clip on his hip was empty. He swore, "Damn, he's got my phone."

"Mine too."

"Should we call him on the radio?"

Colt shook his head as he answered, "You know what he's going to say."

Rock keyed the radio and said, "William. Get back here."

Maneuvering the Hugger down the country road, William answered, "Sorry, guys. Don't worry about Ling. She'll understand you didn't have a chance. Enjoy your vacation and catch some fish for me."

Colt shook his head and looked at his partner. He asked, "What do you want to do?"

"We've got to go through the motions," Rock said as he pointed down the road. He broke out into a slow distance eating jog. He knew they only had to reach the nearest house and get a ride into town. Both of them had pocketed enough cash to entice even the most reticent neighbor into giving them a ride.

"Ling was right. We couldn't keep him here a day," said Colt as he jogged beside his partner. He hoped that they would be proved correct in being able to locate William.

"At least she expected it."

It was the next day when William pulled into the driveway of a house in Texas. He waved to the middle aged man standing by the front door. Getting out of the car, he said, "Hello Dave. Thanks for taking care of the arrangements for me."

"My pleasure, William. It's been a long time since a Carter was in this house. I don't think your brother has been here once since he inherited it from your grandparents."

"I know. He was pleased that I chose to come here. How're your mother and father?"

"They're fine," Dave answered. His father had retired the previous year from managing the accounts for the Carter Clan and was working part-time on the Soup Shoppe chain with his mother, Jenny. The Soup Shoppe chain had grown to over a hundred little shops, most of which were in strip malls.

"How's Karla?"

"She's fine. She'll be back tomorrow from a show in New York. Her work is selling like hotcakes," Dave said with more than a little pride in his voice.

"I know she's been very successful. You might say that my family has followed her career ever since the very beginning. In fact, I own one of her first works, a small watercolor of my father. I think she painted it when she was about fourteen," William said.

The information surprised Dave. He had not known that William had taken one of the early watercolors done by Karla or that he would be so proud of owning it. Amazed, he said, "Wow, I didn't know that."

"I've made it a point to purchase one of her paintings every year."

Dave didn't know what to make of that information. Rather than continue the discussion, he asked, "Do you want to go in the house?"

"Sure," William answered. He retrieved his suitcase from the car and followed Dave into the house. It was a small house, just three bedrooms in a lower middle class neighborhood. Inside, the furniture owned by his grandparents was still arranged like it had been on the day they had passed away. William remembered one of his early visits to the house and how quaint it had seemed, but it had also been very homey and filled with love.

"I had to replace the water heater, washer and drier. I had them run fiber to the house. You've got a brand new entertainment center. I hope that is okay with you," Dave said.

"It is very nice," William replied. He wouldn't have noticed the minor changes to the house that Dave had made.

Pointing to some boxes on the dining room table, Dave said, "Your computer is over there. I would have set it up for you, but you had mentioned that you had wanted to do that."

"You're right."

William wandered down the hall. He reached his father's bedroom and looked in. Ansel Adam's prints hung on the walls. The closet still held some of his original camping equipment. Turning to look at Dave over his shoulder, he said, "My brother could open this house as a museum and make a ton of money."

"I doubt it. No one would believe that John Carter led such a simple life. Visitors would believe that most of his possessions were removed," Dave said pointing to the nearly empty room. The bed, the bookcase filled with books, and closet of old camping gear was all that was left of John's childhood.

William smiled at the comment about his father's simple life and said, "His room at the house in Phoenix was the same way."

"Which room will you sleep in?"

"I'll use the guest room," William said as he turned around and went to the guestroom. At one time it had been the bedroom of John's older brother, but almost all traces of that older brother were gone. William dropped his luggage at the foot of the bed.

The pair walked around the house with William checking the refrigerator and pantry. Everything was fully loaded. Amazed at the effort Dave had put into fixing up the house, he said, "You really went all out. This is great."

"Thanks. I'll let you get settled in. Give me a call if you need anything," Dave said as he went to the front door. He had considered volunteering to help William unload his car, but thought better of it.

"Thanks," William said. He noticed the hesitation at the door and said, "There are some things that I have to do. Part of it is moving my stuff in here. I'll see you later."

"Alright." Dave left the house and walked out to his car.

William followed him and waved as the man drove off. He turned to the back of his car and started carrying his boxes of papers and books to the house. It took well over ten trips to get all of the material in the house. He spent the evening setting up a study in the dining room.

It was close to dinner time when his cell phone rang. He picked it up and answered, "Hello, Lucy."

"Hello, William."

"How are things?"

Lucy, in a very serious voice, said, "Things are a little tense around here."

"Really? What happened?"

"You disappeared and no one can find you."

William looked down at his body and said, "That's strange. I can still see myself. I'm not invisible."

She couldn't maintain the pretense any further and started laughing. The past twenty-four hours had been an amazing experience for her. She hadn't believed that all of the actions he had taken would be necessary when he had told her his plans. She said, "You're horrible. Ling was pulling her hair out."

"I warned her that I wasn't going to put up with the bodyguards while I was writing my dissertation. So how long did it take them to get out the news that I was gone?"

"Well, it took Rock and Colt thirty minutes to find a neighbor who would allow them to make a telephone call. Less than forty minutes after you had left, Ling had used the GPS tracer she had installed in your Hugger and located it in the storage facility. It took Rock and Colt thirty minutes to get there and search it. They found your cell phone the same way about twenty minutes later. Ling claims that you had just a little more than an hour head-start," Lucy answered. She hadn't believed him when he had said that it would take Ling about an hour to locate him if he didn't take the extreme measures that he had taken.

"I bet the first thing she did was try to call me," William said.

"Yes. She's still fuming that you call forwarded your regular cell phone to her," Lucy replied with a giggle. She had felt that was the worst thing that William could have done to Ling. "That really seemed to puzzle her. Each time she called you, she got a call on her call waiting."

"How did she figure it out?"

"When your bodyguards found your cell phone, they saw what you had done. I think they found it rather humorous. She is really something else when she's mad."

William laughed and said, "Let's see. She was stomping around while cursing in Chinese."

"Oh yes. She can be a very intense woman. I don't think I've ever seen anyone quite so angry."

"I'm sure she expected me to escape," William said.

"She was firmly convinced that you would run off, so she wasn't upset about that. She was upset that her attempts to locate you were unsuccessful."

"So what happened with Rock and Colt?" William asked. He knew that Ling wouldn't be angry at them. Even if she was, she would calm down once she saw the degree of planning that had gone into this operation. She would understand they didn't stand a chance.

"They demanded a raise saying that they had never had such a difficult client and Ling had to agree."

William grinned at the characterization of him being a difficult client. He knew the term they used to refer to the person they were protecting was the Principal. Ling was the client since she was the one paying their bills. He asked, "Where are they now?"

"They are still in Arkansas. Natalie and Nicole are down there too. Ling didn't say anything, but I guess your note explaining that they needed a vacation was taken to heart."

"I knew that would happen. Did you talk with them?"

"No, but Natalie was furious. I think it was because of some side bet she had with Nicole, but I'm not positive. Nicole had expected it and had bet Ling that you would disappear before getting to the place. Rock and Colt had figured the same thing, but hoped that they would be able to find you before Ling. How did you know they put a locator in your computer?"

The question made William smile. He hadn't opened the computer to verify his suspicion, but he was pleased to learn that it had been valid. He answered, "Where else could they put one that they would be sure would go with me no matter where I went? They suspected that I'd dump the car and leave behind everything else, but they were positive that I'd take my computer with me."

"That makes sense," Lucy said. She had been surprised that he had left his computer in the back of the car. It was only after they discovered the machine that she realized that he had made arrangements for another computer to be delivered where he was working. Ling had been shocked at the completeness of his plans.

"I guess I had better call her."

"Ling?" Lucy asked just to verify that she was following his thoughts.

"Yes."

After a few minutes of the kind of sickening sweet talk in which young lovers often engage, William hung up the phone. Smiling, he dialed the number to the spare line to the house. Once that call went through, he dialed another number. When that call went through, he was greeted with, "That was a very nasty thing you did."

"Which of the many things that I've done the past few days was nasty?" William asked truly curious as to her answer. He was sure that it wasn't his disappearance since she had to know he would leave.

"Call forwarding your phone to me when you disappeared."

William laughed and said, "I thought you would appreciate it."

There was a long moment of silence and then Ling, in a reluctant voice, said, "Yeah, I did. I was pretty impressed that you thought to do that."

"I'm glad you appreciated my little joke."

Ling laughed and said, "Well, I have to admit that I was surprised that you actually made it to Arkansas. So when did you set up your great escape?"

"At the beginning of summer when Lucy and I went out there to check it out," William answered. That trip had been an adventure with a lot of firsts. It was the first time that he had been with Lucy without a chaperone. More importantly, that was when he and Lucy had made love for the first time.

There was a very long moment of silence. Finally, Ling asked, "Where are you?"

The puzzlement in her voice was enough to let William know what she had discovered. He asked, "Where do you think?"

There was a low growl as she answered, "According to the trace, you are somewhere in this house."

"Really?" William asked with a grin. He was lucky that Ling couldn't see him as that particular grin usually sent her into an hour long tirade about not smarting off to his mother. He teased, "I wonder if that's where I am. Nope, it doesn't look like home."

"Alright, how did you do that?" Ling said with just a hint of a growl in her voice. The resourcefulness of her errant son continued to surprise her. She was going to have to search the house to find the call bridge he was using. It had to be in the house somewhere. She glanced at Lucy and took in the innocent smile the young woman was giving her. William had found a real jewel in Lucy.

"Not gonna tell you."

After giving forth an evil laugh worthy of a late fifties Grade B Sci-Fi movie, Ling said, "You can run, but you can't hide. I'll track you down little boy."

"Oh no! It's the evil Ling Manchu, the even more evil sister of the evil Doctor Fu Manchu!" His voice conveyed exactly the mock horror he intended. This was not the first time he had called her Ling Manchu.

"Nayland Smith, you are not! When I catch you, I'll punish you with all of the deviousness of my brother Dr. Fu," retorted Ling. She followed her comment with another evil laugh. She hadn't understood the reference to the evil Dr. Fu Manchu until she had seen the Peter Sellers' movie. Her first reaction was to get angry, but by the end of the movie she had enjoyed the character so much that she had adopted him as her make-believe brother. She asked, "By the way, what time is it?"

William had to catch himself before he answered with the time. It was an attempt to narrow down the part of the country in which he was staying. After a second, he answered, "Well, the clock on the VCR here keeps flashing twelve o'clock. I'd set the time if I knew it, but it is not really necessary. After all, it's right twice a day. Based on what I know, it's either before or after twelve - give or take about six hours."

Ling said, "You're hopeless. Are you answering your e-mail?"

"Yes."

"Keep in touch with us. Enjoy your time alone and get your dissertation finished," Ling said.

"I will. Watch over my girl."

"I will. Goodnight."

"I'll talk to you later," said William relieved that his mother wasn't really upset about his disappearance. He put the phone in his pocket after she hung up and looked around the living room. His papers and books were in piles by the kitchen table.

He went over to the table and started to unpack the computer. It would take about two hours to set it up and install his software. He paused and looked around for a telephone book to call out for a delivery pizza. Not finding one, he stared at the computer and decided that he'd eat first. Talking to no one in particular, he said, "Maybe they have a Burger Burner around here."

William left the house in search of a fast food burger place. He wasn't disappointed, finding several of them within a four block stretch along the main street of the town. Looking at them with a smile, he said, "I think I'm going to like it here."



-------

Chapter 28


It was early one afternoon when William found himself waking up at the table on which he had spread his papers and the pages of his dissertation. Two weeks of non-stop work on his dissertation had taken its toll on him. Working twenty hours a day and sleeping at the table when his brain was just too tired to continue had been rough. His body was stiff and his eyes sore from staring at the computer screen. He stood up from the table and stretched.

He had drafts of the first four chapters and was pleased with his progress. Although the amount of text in each of the four chapters was not that much, most of his time had been spent typing in all of the equations that formed the basis of his work. There just wasn't a good way to commit the equations to text. In fact, it had taken him almost eight hours to type in the twenty partial differential equations on which his work was based. That was just one page of his dissertation.

He stepped a short distance away from the table and stretched for a second time. The roar of his yawn echoed through the empty house. He felt the need to move and decided that he would visit the martial arts school that was in the town center. Before going, he would have to take a shower since he smelled pretty rank and practice his Tai Chi so that he wouldn't pull any muscles.

He looked around the area where he had been working. There was a pile of empty pizza boxes, bins that had once held Chinese food, and empty soft drink cans. Aware of his surroundings for the first time in four days, he was rather disgusted by the mess he had created. Speaking aloud, he said, "I better clean this mess up."

It took twenty minutes to clear off the trash and put it into a plastic trash bag. Once that was done, he didn't know what to do with it. The mundane activity actually helped divert his mind from the weird state it had entered in which it was totally focused on the economic theories that were the basis of his work. He carried the trash bag to the alley behind the house. It wasn't until he was walking back to the house that he realized that he had gone out in his underwear. At least it was still warm enough that he wasn't uncomfortable.

He went into house and slipped into his jogging shorts before returning to the backyard. For the next thirty minutes he went through the moves that Ling had ingrained in his body. It felt good to move. His thoughts became more focused on the here and now as the muscles slowly relaxed. He became more aware of his surroundings. The backyard was rather plain, a small patio surrounded by a grass lawn that was bounded by a chain-link fence. There was a small garden table with two chairs. He could see into the backyards of a dozen houses from where he stood. No one else was outside.

Having stretched out and relaxed, he decided it was time to head to the dojo. He grabbed his Gi and put it into a small backpack along with his wallet and keys. Slipping the backpack on, he went out the front door and moved into an easy jog towards the center of town. It was a short trip, less than a mile to the town center.

William was approaching the dojo when four teenage boys stepped in his path. They were all dressed alike - blue jeans, tee shirts, and jackets on which was written the name of their high school. Based on their size, William was sure that they were on the football team. The largest of the boys shouted, "Hey Spic! What are you doing here?"

William slowed to a stop and asked, "Are you talking to me?"

"You're the only Spic that I see."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not Hispanic. I'm a Native American," William replied. He was less than a hundred feet from the front of the dojo.

The large boy hopped around in a circle; whooping while covering and uncovering his mouth with his right hand. His friends laughed as though it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. William frowned and asked, "What in the hell are you doing?"

"Doing me an Injun dance," answered the guy. He whooped a couple of more times and said, "I'm gonna make it rain."

"Ah," William answered wondering if that behavior was common in regular public schools. He couldn't believe the immaturity the boys were exhibiting.

Moving closer to William, the big kid said, "You never answered my question. What are you doing here?"

Smiling as he considered the effect his answer would have on the four boys, William answered, "I came into town looking for a fight."

"You don't have to look any further."

William ran a hand along the back of his neck as he considered the situation. Despite the fact that the four boys were clearly athletes, they weren't anywhere in his class. More than likely, he would seriously injure them if he allowed the situation to escalate. He answered, "I'll be glad to oblige you after I finish my first fight."

"Huh?" The fact that William was not intimidated by facing four much larger boys was disconcerting. The largest boy looked at the others as if to say, 'Shouldn't he be offering us his lunch money to leave him alone?' The other boys shrugged and looked at each other.

William took advantage of the momentary confusion to step around the boys. As he passed, he said, "You can watch."

The boys turned expecting to have to chase him down, but William walked directly to the dojo. The boys followed him in, expecting to discover that he was one of those Kung Fu fakes who was going to dance around screaming like a cat. One of the smaller boys gave forth a parody of a Kung Fu scream. The others laughed.

William found the owner of the dojo straightening up the mats on the floor. He waited respectfully until the owner noticed him. When the man came over, William gave a short bow and said, "I am working in the area for a couple of months. I was hoping that I could spar with you while I'm in town."

The owner, a large man who was obviously fit, examined William for a moment. Finally, he asked, "Who is your sensei?"

"Grandmaster Ling Carter," William answered.

A look of honest surprise flitted across the man's face. The boys nudged each other as if they were watching a joke unfold. He asked, "What is your name?"

"William Redman Carter."

"What is your rank?"

"My mother doesn't believe in rank. She believes in excellence," William answered. Unlike his little sister Betsy, he had never competed or gone through the process of getting ranked.

The man looked over at the shelf on which his trophies were displayed. The highest trophy was third in a state level competition. He knew that he wasn't a contender, but he was good enough to teach the martial arts to kids in a small town. Frowning, he said, "I fear that I'm not in your class."

The boys suddenly got quiet when they heard the owner of the dojo admit that William was probably the better fighter. They had seen him break boards in a demonstration at the county fair. William didn't smile or gloat, but merely answered, "The practice shall do us both good."

Relaxing, the owner said, "Good."

"May I ask your name?"

"I'm Eric Corbet."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Master Corbet," William said. Removing the backpack, he asked, "Is there a place where I can change into my Gi?"

Eric pointed to a door and said, "You can change in there."

After William went into the room, the man turned to the four teenage boys that were standing around the door. He recognized the boys from the neighborhood, but didn't know any of them by name. Smiling, he said, "If you boys will take off your shoes and sit by the mat, you'll get to see one of the best fighters in the country in action."

The biggest boy, who had entertained the idea of pushing William around, blanched at hearing the owner of the dojo identify William as one of the best fighters in the country. He asked, "What do you mean?"

"His mother is a Grandmaster and is considered to be the most dangerous woman in the world. I've never seen her fight, but the articles about her say that she's never been defeated in a match. His little sister won a Gold Medal at the Olympics. If Grandmaster Ling trained him, he's very close to being a Grandmaster. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't a Grandmaster."

"Oh."

Eric went over to the mat and started his warm-up exercises. After a few minutes, he was joined by William. William was wearing his colorful silk Gi that contrasted sharply with the plain white Gi worn by Eric. The boys settled around the mat watching the pair warm-up. They didn't move until the men had finished sparring for an hour. The matches were interrupted as William gave little pointers on how Eric could improve his skills. By the end, the owner was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. He stepped back and bowed to William. He said, "Thank you for the honor of your lessons."

William bowed back and said, "Thank you. I hope that you will allow me to visit again in the future."

"Anytime, Master Carter," Eric said. He was very tempted to call William Sensei.

William flexed, feeling good in his body. Although Eric was nowhere as good as his mother, the bouts had been pleasurable. He smiled and turned to the boys seated around the mat. He said, "That felt good. Are you boys ready to fight now?"

The largest boy shook his head with vigor and, with real respect in his voice, answered, "No sir."

"My name is William Redman Carter."

"I'm Joe Jenkins," answered the biggest boy. To say that he had been impressed by William's performance would have been an understatement. He had never seen anything like the pair of men sparring. It was hard to believe that people could move that fast and with such control.

The others introduced themselves as Jack Watson, George Miller, and Artie Smith. It was Artie who asked, "How long have you been doing this stuff?"

"Since I was five," William answered. Thinking back to those early days, he said, "My brother and sisters started training as a way to divert some of the energy of my little sister. One could say that she's a little hyper and learning the martial arts was an easy way to channel her energies into something productive."

"The man over there said your mother was the most dangerous woman in the world. Is that true?" asked Joe.

"Yes."

"So has she killed anyone?" George asked.

Glancing over at Eric, William sighed and said, "Yes, but it was always in defense of our family."

Eric said, "Your father is John Carter, isn't he?"

"Yes."

Things finally clicked in Joe's mind. Everyone in town was aware of the fact that John Carter had been born and raised there. Despite the fact that William had already identified his father, Joe exclaimed, "Your father is the John Carter?"

"Yes, he is," William answered with a smile.

"My father used to mow the lawn for your grandparents. He says that he met your father a couple of times and thought he was a pretty nice guy," said Joe. While John Carter wasn't a daily topic of conversation in the town, his name came up often enough. Just about everyone who had ever known John told stories about the man.

It was a strange experience to hear others talk about his father. The external perception of his father was dramatically different from the view from within the family. William had always viewed his father as a fellow human -- a guy who would get down on the floor and play with toys. To hear others talk, his father was above everything human. Smiling, he wondered what the town would say of Ed Biggers years after he died. Thinking about it, he realized that Eddie would take over for his father and there probably wouldn't be the same kinds of stories about Ed.

As the others talked about his father, William slipped into the back room and changed into his jogging shorts and tee-shirt. The Gi was folded carefully and placed in his backpack. It took him a minute to get his socks and sneakers on. As he stepped out of the room, Eric asked, "When will you return?"

"How about next Wednesday?"

"That would be fine. May I invite my students here to watch?"

William smiled at the man's dedication to allowing his students to learn. He nodded and said, "Sure. That would be okay."

"Thank you."

The men bowed to each other before William stepped out of the dojo. Joe was waiting for him outside. When he saw William, he said, "Sorry about before."

"No problem, although there is a lesson to be learned from it."

Joe looked down at the ground and said, "Yeah."

William wondered if Joe had learned the right lesson. He said, "I've got to get back to work. Maybe I'll see you around."

"Our game is Friday night. I can get you some tickets to it if you'd like to go," Joe offered.

William looked down at the ground wondering what kind of game was Friday night before it dawned on him that Joe was talking about Texas Friday Night High School Football. Never having experienced high school football, the idea of going to a game intrigued him. Looking up, he answered, "That would be nice."

"I'll drop the tickets off Friday before I'm supposed to go to the game," Joe said with a smile. He felt that free tickets to the game made a pretty good apology for what he had said earlier.

William returned home and resumed his work on his dissertation. Four chapters were basically done and he had three more to write. Two were going to be simple, the introduction and the conclusion. The third chapter was to present his results and would be the most significant of the entire collection. It would also be a chapter with few equations; lots of tables taken directly from his database; and summary graphs. He tore into the chapter with a vengeance.

By Friday afternoon William had finished the first draft of his dissertation. He wondered if he hadn't set some sort of record in writing it. He had produced the entire first draft in less than three weeks time. It was time to take some time off. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he went to answer the door.

"Oh, hello Joe," William said when he opened the door.

Joe looked at William wondering why he looked so disheveled. Frowning slightly, he said, "I brought some tickets for you."

"Ah, that's great. Come in for a minute. I just finished my work and was getting ready to take a break," William said.

Joe entered the house and looked around. He could see the dinner table from where he stood. The huge pile of books and papers on the table was difficult to ignore. He asked, "What's with the stuff on the table?"

"My work. I just finished my dissertation," William said.

Joe looked blank and stared at William. A puzzled expression crossed his face as he asked, "Your work? What's a dissertation?"

"I'm getting my doctorate in economics. The dissertation is basically a book that describes the results of my research," William answered. He headed towards the kitchen and asked, "Could I get you a soft drink?"

Stunned at the announcement that a guy who looked younger than him was getting a doctorate, Joe absently answered, "That would be great."

William returned with a can of soda and handed it to Joe. He said, "Excuse me for a minute. I'm going to take a minute to freshen up."

"Sure, no problem," Joe answered. He wandered over to the table and looked down at all of the articles spread on the table. He noticed the rather large printout and the title page on it. He couldn't believe the massive amount of work that it represented. He thought about the little five page essay that he was supposed to write for his history class and felt a little ashamed at how much he had complained about having to do it.

He sipped his soda as he thought about William. The young man was a Master in Martial Arts and about to receive his doctorate. He wondered if William was even eighteen years old. The kid didn't even look like he shaved yet. After a moment of thinking about it, he realized that William might not need to shave because of his Native American heritage.

William stepped out of his room fresh from a shower and wearing his blue jeans with a western style shirt. He noticed Joe looking down at the table lost in thought. William cleared his throat and said, "I'm back."

The announcement startled Joe and he said, "Oh sorry. I was just looking at this stuff on the table. You must be real smart to do all this."

"My brother thinks that I'm the smartest man alive, but he's rather biased. Momma Ling thinks that I'm a spoiled rotten brat," William said with a laugh. He added, "The truth is probably somewhere in between the two."

"I guess that makes you a smart spoiled rotten brat," Joe said with a chuckle.

"That's about as good of a description as any."

"So where is everyone?" Joe asked. The house had that empty feeling that spoke of someone living alone. It was hard to put into words why it had that feel, but his uncle's house had that same atmosphere. There was a difference; this house didn't have that same lonely feel to it.

"Oh, I ran away from home to work on my dissertation."

"You ran away from home?"

William nodded his head and answered, "Actually, I am supposed to be living in a nice little farm house in Arkansas with my bodyguards. I kind of skipped out of there so that I could be alone while I worked."

The idea that the kid needed a bodyguard was preposterous. Joe had seen William fight and believed that no one would be able to hurt the kid. Still, he didn't know what to say. For a moment he was quiet and said, "Bodyguards, huh?"

"Yeah. So what will I observe at this game tonight?"

"Pardon?"

"Well, I'm not too familiar with the game of football."

"You're kidding!" The suggestion that he didn't understand football stunned Joe. He couldn't imagine anyone not knowing how to play football. Football was the biggest thing going in town. Most Friday nights the entire town turned out to watch the game.

"Not at all," William replied. Seeing the shocked expression on Joe's face, he explained, "You have to understand that I graduated high school at six, college at twelve, and got my Masters at fourteen. When I wasn't studying, I was doing martial arts, swimming, and rock hunting with my dad. My summers were spent with Happy Harry."

Joe didn't know who Happy Harry was, but he understood the implications of what William had said. The poor kid had never had a chance for a normal childhood and had missed out on football. Putting a hand on William's shoulder, he said, "Don't worry. I'll find someone to explain the game to you."

Nodding his head, William said, "Thank you. That would be quite nice. Why don't we have a seat?"

Joe slouched down on the couch and looked around the room. The décor was straight out of the fifties and showed the wear of long years of use. He said, "I thought your family was rich or something. The furniture in this place is old. I thought you would have real expensive stuff."

Settling into a chair, William caressed the arm rest and said, "Money can't buy this kind of furniture. This stuff has history. My Grandmother and Grandfather used to sit on this furniture. My dad grew up lounging around on the sofa. My father's room is just like it was when he left for college. The same bed, bookcase, and closet full of camping gear. Maybe it only has value to me and my family, but we wouldn't get rid of it for any amount of money."

"I guess."

"Think about if you were to come home after being away for twenty years. Would you want to see the furniture that you grew up with sitting there or some cold commercial furniture that meant nothing to you?"

"I see what you mean. I don't think about things like that much. I guess I take things for granted."

William smiled and said, "We all do."

I'd like to thank Drahkan for his excellent work in editting this piece.

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Chapter 29


William had walked, rather than drive, to the high school. The walk had been a weird experience. The old houses, the trees lining the streets, and the autumn air lent the neighborhood a timeless feel. Outside of the cars in the streets, it could have been any decade from the fifties to the present. With each step along the way, he was fully aware that his father had taken the same route to school when he was a child. Walking to the school had made him feel like he was walking in his father's footsteps. For a moment, the past and present were overlaid one atop the other.

Making his way through the crowded gates, it seemed to William as if the entire town had turned out for the game. The drawing together of the community around a single event reminded him of the town in Arizona. It had a similar sense of togetherness. There was a little pushing and shoving that wasn't present in Arizona, but the people here hadn't lived under the calming influence of John Carter and Ed Biggers.

Even though the game wasn't to start for another twenty minutes, the place was full of people. Entire families sat together on the bleachers with bags filled with snacks, blankets, and seat cushions. Classmates sat together, pushing and shoving each other with laughter and teasing comments. Lovers sat side by side, staring into each other's eyes. Hundreds of little private dramas play out, but were shared openly for all to see.

Looking around the stands, William could see that all of the seats near the center of the field were taken. It was clear that the middle of the bleachers were the highest demand seats. Rather than displace someone who had a more vested interest in watching the game, he walked over to the least filled end and took a seat about halfway up the stands.

He had just settled into his seat when a young woman sat down next to him in a manner reminiscent of a bird coming in to land. She had short black hair styled in spikes. Her outfit, black pants and black tee-shirt made her look like some sort of Goth, but the effect was ruined by tanned skin, the lack of piercings, and tasteful makeup. Leaning over to him, she said, "Visitors usually sit on the other side unless they're looking for a fight."

"You mean this side is meant for regulars?" William asked wondering if he had missed some sort of sign.

"Huh?" the girl asked confused by his question.

"You said that visitors sit on the other side of the field. So I would assume that this side is for regulars," William said.

"This is the side for the home team," the girl said looking at William with an odd expression.

A squawk from the railing captured William's attention and he turned to examine the black bird sitting on the railing. It studied him with the same degree of interest. William, speaking to the bird in his Native American tongue, asked, "What are you doing here?"

The bird gave forth another sound and William looked at the girl with real surprise. His tone of voice was a mixture of question and statement when he said, "The bird says he is your friend."

She smiled at how he had phrased it and said, "That's Blackie. He's one of my birds."

"Hey Birdie. What's up?" a young man asked as he stepped up the stairs of the bleacher. He knew that she didn't like the nickname, but everyone used it. She was the weird girl in school who was more at ease with her birds than people.

"Oh hey, Mark," answered the girl absently as she studied William. She didn't really care for Mark, but he wasn't as bad as most of the guys in the school. They were all small town boys and she had dreams that they couldn't comprehend. She was more interested in how William had figured out her relationship with the bird.

Wondering if he was in the right place, Mark looked at William. Joe had asked him to find an Indian and spend the game with him. This guy was the only Indian he had found. He wondered why he was seated next to Birdie. He asked, "Are you William?"

Surprised to be recognized, William answered, "Yes."

"I'm Mark. Joe said that you've never watched a football game. He asked if I would explain the game to you."

"Thanks. He did say something about finding someone to explain the rules of the game to me."

Mark looked over at the girl with a frown and said, "I see you've met Birdie."

"You're a friend of Joe's?" Birdies' face had a slightly disgusted expression on it. She didn't mind Mark so much, but Joe was a complete jerk.

The crow gave forth another squawk that loosely translated into Sparrows and Wrens. William turned to face the bird and said, "I see. Should I be concerned?"

When the bird squawked again, Birdie and Mark both stared at William talking to the bird in a language they couldn't understand. William looked at the two people seated next to him and, seeing the odd expressions they were giving him, said, "Blackie says that you are like Sparrows and Wrens. Those are two kinds of birds that occupy the same territory, but do not interact well with each other. He says that you are not friends, but you are not enemies either."

Although Birdie talked to her birds, she was skeptical that the birds talked back. She had been surprised by the remarkable exchange between William and Blackie. It was almost as if they were talking. Mark said, "You two belong together -- Birdie and the Birdman."

"My Native American name is Talks with Animals."

Birdie said, "Cool."

"Whatever," Mark replied with a shrug while wondering if William was all there. He looked back at the field as the teams came out. The game was about to start and he wanted to watch.

Irritated by Mark's attitude, Birdie said, "Mark, I'll explain the game to him. Go play with the rest of your Neanderthal friends."

"Birdie, don't talk bad about my friends. At least I have some that are human."

The girl frowned and was about to retort when William laughed. Shaking his head, he said, "Yes. Blackie was right. You are just like Wrens and Sparrows. You fight and bicker with lots of ruffled feathers, but no real damage."

Mark stared at William for a second and decided the young man was just a bit too strange for his taste. He said, "Maybe she has the right idea. You two belong together."

Fully understanding what Mark thought of him, William laughed at the comment. He said, "I don't know many people here and I'd hate to miss the chance to learn more about life in this town. If you wouldn't mind staying, I'd like you to explain the game to me. Somehow I have a feeling that Birdie doesn't have quite the same feel for the game as you."

Mark looked over at Birdie and smiled. Despite the fact that she was the school's resident kook, she followed the games just as closely as everyone else in town. He said, "Ah, she knows enough about the game. Her brother is Jack Watson, the team's best running back."

"I met Jack the other day when I visited the dojo."

Birdie looked at William for a second. Her brother had been talking about some kid that he'd met earlier that week, but he hadn't said that the guy was a Native American. Although there were lots of things that had impressed Jack, he had been most impressed by his fighting skills and had talked incessantly about them. Like every younger sister, she had tuned him out after just a few minutes and missed all of the other information about William. She said, "Ah, you're the guy my brother has been talking about all week. He said that you are some sort of Kung Fu fighter."

"I guess one could say that," William answered with a smile. It was obvious to him that Birdie had no idea who he was.

Mark looked down at the field as the team captains met in the middle of the field for the coin toss. He said, "Hey, they are about to have the coin toss."

Staring at the actions in the center of the field, William asked, "I thought this was some sort of ball game, not gambling."

Birdie laughed and said, "They are tossing the coin to see who kicks off and what end of the field they want."

"End of the field? They are supposed to stay on different ends of the playing area?"

Mark rolled his eyes at the comment. He couldn't believe that anyone was that ignorant of the game. He asked, "Are you actually an American?"

"Yes, I am," William answered wondering what that had to do with anything.

Birdie laughed and said, "He just means that you seem a little out of touch with some very important elements of American culture."

It required both Birdie and Mark to explain the game to William during the first quarter. Mark would describe the technical aspects of the game while making reference to positions, plays, and strategies. Birdie would translate Mark's explanations into concrete examples of what was occurring on the field. It was interesting how their explanations complemented each other. By the middle of the second quarter, William was able to follow the game without too many questions.

Near the middle of the stands, Vice Principal Jim Means looked around at the crowd with a practiced eye. As much as he enjoyed watching the game, he felt duty bound to watch over the students attending the game. When he spotted William, a sick feeling settled in his stomach. A strange young man talking with some of his students suggested only one thing — drugs. He had worked hard to keep drugs out of his high school and it was time for him to chase away this cancer before it could spread into his school.

Jim stood and headed to the far end of the stands to see what was happening. Much to his surprise, Dave Anderson waved him over to where he was seated. He knew Dave Anderson from the school board. Dave was the current chair and had contributed a significant amount of money for student programs. If Dave wanted to talk to him, he'd take the time to listen. He paused and asked, "What's up Dave?"

"I noticed you where you were heading. Leave the young man alone," Dave said with a gesture in William's direction. He had seen Jim adopt his official Vice Principal posture and had looked around to see what had inspired him to act in that manner. He had been surprised to see that William was the subject of the man's hard gaze. Rather than allow Jim to initiate a useless confrontation, he had acted to save the man.

"You know him?"

"Yes. That is William Redman Carter, the son of John Carter. He's visiting here while finishing his education."

Jim could have been knocked over with a feather. He looked over at William and asked, "That's the son of John Carter?"

"Yes."

Jim was fully aware of the relationship between the Carters and the Andersons. Jack Anderson, Dave's adopted father, had become John Carter's accountant just after John Carter had invented the Fusion Well. He asked, "Did you know that John Carter saved my grandfather's life once?"

Dave chuckled at the comment. John Carter had saved so many people that it was tough to find someone who didn't have a story about the man. His father often told how John had saved his life. Dave had been there, but John's actions hadn't seemed as significant to him as they had been to his father. He answered, "Uncle John saved a lot of people. My mother, my father, and, even if I may be so bold to say, me."

"You say he's here to finish his education. I take it he will be registering for classes soon?"

Dave laughed at the implication that William would be attending high school and said, "He's writing his dissertation. He's finishing his doctorate in economics."

The news shocked the educator. He had always considered going back to college and getting a doctorate in education, but the amount of work had always intimidated him. He asked, "Isn't he kind of young for that?"

"He graduated from the Druid College when he was twelve."

The Vice Principal looked over at William and shook his head. Occasionally there would be some story on the news about a young kid graduating college at an obscenely early age, but he had always discounted those kinds of stories. Shaking his head, he asked, "What can a kid that young know about life?"

"A lot more than you can possibly imagine," Dave answered. He knew enough about William to give that answer. After a moment of thought, he added, "I'll introduce you to him during halftime. You'll see for yourself."

When halftime started, Birdie leapt up like a bird taking flight. She always sat at the end of the bleachers so that she could avoid the lines at the concession stands during halftime. She said, "Let's go to the concession stands before the crowd makes it there."

Mark and William followed Birdie down the stairs to the exit. They were actually much closer to the concession stands than the majority of the crowd. Before he knew it, he was standing at the counter with a young kid asking him what he wanted. Not prepared to answer, he just started reading items off the menu, "Coke, hot dog, corny dog, cheese nachos, peanuts, and popcorn."

Birdie stared at him as he rattled off his order. Shaking her head, she said, "A little hungry?"

"That'll be twelve fifty, dude."

William started to hand over a twenty and then said, "Hey, add a raw hamburger patty to that."

"Don't have one, dude. All our burgers are nuked," said the kid surprised by the request.

When William handed over the twenty, Birdie asked, "What's the raw hamburger for?"

"Blackie," William answered as he accepted his change. The kid handed him a small cardboard box piled high with his order.

Still staring at the massive quantity of food, she was pleased by his concern for her bird despite the fact that it wasn't necessary. She said, "I have a small packet of dog treats that I carry with me. It's kind of like ground beef, but it doesn't spoil and the crows like it. I carry a small bag of sunflower seeds and cracked corn for the other birds."

Mark shook his head and said, "She's always surrounded by birds. It's too weird if you ask me."

At the mention of her being weird, Birdie spun and said, "No one is asking you."

"You're holding up the line," Mark said pointing to the kid waiting impatiently behind the counter. There was already a long line of people behind them.

While Birdie put in her order for popcorn and soft drink, William was sorting through the food he had ordered. Holding up the corny dog, he asked, "What is this?"

"That's a corny dog," Mark answered with a raised eyebrow. Although this was the son of John Carter, he decided that William was even weirder than Birdie. It made him wonder why Joe had asked him to explain the game to the kid. Joe was the most intolerant person at school when it came to weirdness.

"How is one supposed to eat it?"

"Put a bunch of that yellow mustard over it and then eat it off the stick."

William followed the instructions and found that he liked it a lot even though it was just a hotdog covered in batter and deep fried. Grinning, he said, "Hey, this is really good. Why don't you find them everywhere?"

"Are you for real?" Mark asked.

William was tempted to give a smart-ass reply, but he didn't. There were many things in life that he hadn't experienced, but he was young yet and there was time. He took another bite of the corny dog and chewed happily.

He followed Birdie and Mark to the stands. The pair, shocked by what they were seeing, watched as William ate his junk food. The corny dog was finished almost as soon as he sat down. That was followed by the hot dog. He was starting on the cheese nachos when Birdie asked, "Isn't that Mr. Anderson?"

Mark answered, "Sure is. I wonder what he's doing coming over here."

William looked up and saw Dave heading in his direction. He was followed by another man who seemed to have a major degree of influence on the behavior of the students he passed. Birdie said, "Mr. Means is coming too."

Curious, William asked, "What's the big deal?"

"Mr. Anderson is the richest man in town."

William looked at Birdie waiting for an explanation fully unaware that she had already given it. It took a second for him to realize that she was impressed by his wealth. As the men approached, William turned away from Birdie and greeted his friend. "Hello, Dave."

"Hello William. I'm surprised to see you at a high school football game. Taking a break from your work?"

Nodding his head, William answered, "I finished the first draft this afternoon. I'm going to take a week off before getting back to it. Joe Jenkins dropped off some tickets for the game so I came out to watch it."

Jim Means looked over at Birdie and Mark. Birdie was watching the exchange between William and Dave in a state of shock. In an amused tone of voice, he said, "Well, Beatrice Fletcher and Mark Thomson together at a football game. I never would have thought I'd live to see the day that you two were actually sitting together without fighting."

Birdie cringed at hearing her name and said, "I don't like to be called Beatrice."

Mark chuckled and, taking an opportunity to get in a dig, said, "She prefers Birdie."

Voice cold, she corrected him. "I prefer Betty."

Overhearing the exchange, William shook his head as he said, "I like Birdie better. It suits you."

The comment surprised her and she turned to look at him. She couldn't believe the nice guy sitting next to her would take up the dreaded nickname that had followed her through school. She said, "I don't like it."

"Among my people, names sometimes choose their owner," William said. He paused to examine her closely. Her black spiky hair, black shirt, black pants, and black shoes reminded him of the crow that was watching from less than twenty feet away. He turned and looked back at the black bird before he said, "If you were of my tribe, I'm sure that your name would be —gaagii at eet. That basically means crow girl. As a Medicine Man, that is the name I would give you. Birdie is pretty close for English."

Birdie stared at William. Rather than return her stare, he held up a fist. Blackie flew to him and landed on it. It squawked and William said, "Blackie agrees."

Dave had listened to the exchange and said, "You should be honored. You have been given a name by a Medicine Man that is highly respected amongst all of the tribes."

William shook his hand and the crow flew off to land on the railing at the end of the bleacher. William glanced at Dave and than at Mr. Means. He said, "Perhaps one day we'll have a long talk about that. However, I believe you brought a friend over to meet me."

"Ah, this is Jim Means. He's the Vice Principal at the high school."

While William talked with the two men, Birdie was thinking about what William had said. She hadn't yet realized with whom she had been talking. The idea that the young man was a well respected Medicine Man was odd. As far as she knew from western movies that she had watched, Medicine men were usually old and spooky rather than young and exuberant. Still, his naming her Birdie had sent shivers down her spine and subtly changed her opinion towards her nickname.

Birdie wasn't the only one impressed by what William had said. Mark was staring at Birdie as if seeing her with new eyes. He knew William was the son of John Carter. He hadn't known the young man was a Medicine Man. The interaction with the crow was just too perfect for it to be real, but it had occurred.

The fact that William felt she deserved a special name made Mark reassess the young woman. For a change, he looked beyond the short spiky hair and dark clothes to see the woman within. He recalled the story about how she became Birdie by rescuing a baby bird that had fallen from its nest and raising it. He glanced over at Blackie and knew the bird was lucky to be alive. Most birds rescued in that fashion didn't last a day. Blackie might have been the first bird she had rescued, but it wasn't the last one. Everyone brought injured birds to her.

Birdie was not aware of much around her until the Mr. Means and Mr. Anderson had returned to their seats. She turned to William and asked, "How do you know Mr. Anderson?"

"He's my family's accountant."

Puzzled, she said, "But he's the accountant for the Carters."

"Right," answered William as he turned to watch the kickoff that would start the second half of the game. Birdie stared at him for most of the second half of the game.

The game ended with a narrow victory for the home team. As the crowd dispersed, William said, "Let's go congratulate Joe on his victory."

"You can't really do that here. He'll be over at the Mickey D's after they get done in the lockers," Mark said.

William's eyes lit up at the mention of the fast food restaurant. He said, "Ah, the Burger Burner! Let's head over there."

Unwilling to hang out with the team, Birdie stood to leave. In a voice that clearly displayed her disappointment, she said, "I guess I'll see you around."

"You're not coming with us?" William asked.

"I don't really get along with the testosterone crowd," she answered with more than a little disgust in her voice.

"Who's that?"

"The jocks," she answered while rolling her eyes.

Mark shrugged his shoulders as if to say that she was the one with the problem. William looked at her for a moment and then said, "Why don't you get along with them?"

"They make fun of me because of my birds."

"Ah, they are jealous of you because you have a most wonderful gift and you avoid them because of their jealousy," William commented with a knowing nod of his head. William turned to Mark and said, "Hold up your hand in the shape of a fist."

Mark slowly raised his fist until it was level with his shoulder. Blackie landed on his fist. The weight of the bird was more substantial than he had ever believed. The young man was startled and started to shake his hand to dislodge the bird. William said, "Stay as you are and take a moment to examine Blackie."

"Okay," Mark said. He looked at the bird from a distance of less than two feet. He could see every feather, including the fine delicate feathers around the eyes. The eyes were a shiny black that swallowed the light, but still reflected back enough to see himself in the eyes of the bird. The beak was larger than it looked from a distance. He had never been that close to a bird before.

"It's an amazing creature, isn't it?"

"Yes," Mark said. Blackie flew away and for a moment he felt a sense of loss. He watched it fly and realized that it didn't constantly flap his wings. It was at that moment that he realized he had learned more about birds in half a minute than he had learned his entire life. Awed, he said, "I can see why you like birds."

William winked at Birdie and, in a joking voice, said, "Still, it's not a dog."

Mark laughed as William had given voice to his thoughts and said, "True, but that crow is an amazing animal."

Looking at Birdie, William said, "Lots of people have been jealous of my gifts. They stop being jealous once they realize the price I pay for them. Perhaps it is time for you to let others know what your gift costs you."

"What cost?" Mark asked.

"Sleepless nights spent nursing an ill bird back to health. There's also the loneliness that arises as a result of taking care of them rather than joining in the activities of others around her. There's always the pain of failure that comes when she can't save one after working so hard for several days," William answered.

As he had described her life, Birdie had nodded her head. She was surprised that he had understood so well. She couldn't remember how many times she had to cancel some activity because someone had found an injured bird and brought it to her. At any time there were two or three birds at home in various states of health.

Puzzled, Mark asked, "So why do it?"

"So that I can watch them fly away when I've made them better."

Smiling at Birdie, William said, "Come with us to the burger burner. It's time to make others understand."


I'd like to thank Drahkan for his excellent work in editing this piece. He found some errors in this chapter that would have resulted in a ton of e-mails.

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Chapter 30


Sunday afternoon found William sitting in the backyard enjoying the sun while sipping on a soft drink. It was a beautiful day with very few clouds in the great blue sky. The sun was warm, but the soft breeze blowing from the north was cool. He closed up his light jacket to keep the cool air from chilling him. He sighed in contentment as he took another sip of his soda.

Looking around at the neighboring yards, he noticed Mark step out the back door of one of the houses across from him. Raising an arm, he shouted, "Hello."

Mark looked around before spotting William and headed over towards him with a shout of greeting. "Hello."

Putting one hand on the top of the fence and swinging his body, Mark hopped the fence to the alley and made his way to the gate of the chain link fence at the back of William's yard. He opened the gate and walked over to where William was seated.

Gesturing to one of the chairs, William asked, "What are you up to this afternoon?"

"I was supposed to see Birdie, but she got some call about a bird that got injured." He sat down on the offered chair and looked around.

"Ah," William replied. His cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. There was a text message telling him to call Derrick along with a telephone number. It took William several seconds to realize it was the Derrick from South Dakota. Frowning, he looked at the number for a second and then said, "Excuse me, I had better contact this person. It could be important."

Not really believing that someone his age would receive an important call, Mark shrugged his shoulders with indifference. Lots of kids used their cell phones to look and act more important than they were. He decided that it was nice to know even kids of William's background were the same.

Curious, William dialed the number. When Derrick answered, he said, "Derrick, this is William. I got a message that you called."

"Thank God you've called. I didn't know who else to call," Derrick said as his words tripped over themselves on the way out of his mouth. His voice was excited, but not in a happy way.

The emotion in the voice on the other end of the phone intrigued William. He couldn't figure out what had gotten the man so upset. He asked, "What's the matter?"

"They're going to kill that White Buffalo."

William sat up straight at the announcement. Even Mark picked up the sudden concern on William's face and wondered if it was just possible that he did get important calls. William asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Some of the guys were talking about going out to the ranch where the White Buffalo lives. They were saying that they were going to shoot it before the Indians had a chance to move it."

"When are they planning on doing it?"

"Tonight. I'm sorry for the short notice, but I just learned about it. This was the first chance I've had to let you know," Derrick answered. The regret in Derrick's voice was clear to hear.

"That's okay. You've given us enough warning," William said as he calculated the logistics of getting his mothers to South Dakota in time to react.

"Well, I just couldn't stand by and do nothing."

Knowing the personal price that Derrick was going to pay for making that call, William said, "I really appreciate the warning. I'm sorry that you had to make this call. I know that it puts you in a horrible position with respect to your friends."

Derrick was silent for a moment and then, with real anger in his voice, said, "What kind of friends would put me in a position like this? I've been telling them for two months to leave that animal and the Indians alone, but they won't do it."

"I'm really sorry," William said. He knew that Derrick had to live with those people after this. More than likely they would know that Derrick had informed on them. In a gentle voice, he said, "Look, let me know if you need to leave the area."

Derrick swore, "Shit, if I can't take care of those bastards then I don't deserve to live. They're cowards. At least you stood up to me, straight up and willing to go all out. I respect that. The way they are sneaking around just disgusts me."

William had to suppress a laugh and said, "I'm sure it does. Let me call my mother and get her up there."

The shiver his words induced in Derrick could almost be heard over the phone. Derrick said, "Don't tell me that Ling is coming here."

"Yes. She'll take care of the situation," William said.

Derrick said, "I guess I better buy a suit 'cause those guys aren't going to be around for much longer. God, I hate funerals."

"I'll tell her to use restraint. I'll expressly ask her not to kill too many people."

"Don't bother. They're the one's who picked this fight," Derrick said. He was silent for a minute and then said, "If she wants some help, let me know."

"I will let her know that."

"Thanks. Bye," Derrick said right before hanging up.

William stared at the phone for a minute and then dialed his mother's number. She answered on the third ring. The irritation in her voice was clear when she asked, "Call to brag that I still haven't found you?"

"I got a call from Derrick in South Dakota. He told me some guys are planning on killing the White Buffalo tonight," answered William. He could hear Ling drop something as she turned her entire attention to the phone call. On hearing the topic discussed, Mark stared at William incredulous at the nature of the call.

"I need as many details as you can provide. I need to know when, where, who, and how," said Ling.

"I can't tell you that. I've got Derrick's number. He said that he would be happy to help you," William said.

Ling was quiet for a moment and then asked, "Can I trust him?"

"Yes."

"Give me his number. I'll call him while Claire and I are on route there."

William gave her the number. As soon as she had repeated it to him, she hung up without saying goodbye. William smiled as he folded up the cell phone and said, "I love you too, Momma Ling."

Mark had listened only to the one end of the conversation with eyes that were the size of saucers. When William put the phone away, he asked, "What was that about?"

"Some men are planning on killing the sacred White Buffalo. I sent two of my mothers to take care of it," answered William.

"Aren't you worried?" Mark asked wondering how someone could send his mother into what had to be a dangerous situation.

"Not at all. I knew this was going to happen. I just didn't know when."

"What do you mean, you knew this was going to happen?"

William sighed and then took a sip of his soft drink. Looking over at Mark, he said, "I knew this day was coming for two months. Now it is here. Today, a man just earned his redemption by turning his back on forces that were dragging him down. Tomorrow, he'll be a new man with a new future."

"A new future?" Mark asked in confusion. As far as he knew, there was only one future and no one knew what it was.

Smiling, William added, "My mother will see to that."

"What about your mother?"

"She'll take care of him and see that he comes out of this situation in good shape."

"No, I meant aren't you worried about your mother going into a dangerous situation?"

William answered, "I know a dozen of the most lethal people in the world. These are people who can and will kill if necessary. Most of them have already killed hundreds of people. My two mothers are among the most dangerous of them all."

"Who do you know that's so dangerous?" Mark asked wondering if the guy was making up stories just to impress him.

"Momma Ling, Momma Claire, Oscar Meyers, Oliver Brown, Jimmy Lee, Penny Vinter, and my little sister Betsy."

Mark didn't recognize any of the names except Oliver Brown. He remembered that the guy had spent some time in South America fighting drug lords before becoming the Grand Druid. He asked, "So who's the most dangerous?"

William was silent for a moment as he considered the answer. Shrugging his shoulder, he answered, "I guess that would probably have to be me."

"Oh."

"So why didn't you go see Birdie?" William asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"She's busy with some injured bird."

"You could help her."

"Are you trying to set me up with her?"

The laughter that came from William was easy and heartfelt. He asked, "What? I send you over to help an attractive young woman and you complain?"

Shaking his head, Mark said, "Hey, we're talking about Birdie."

"Yes and she needs you almost as much as you need her," William said.

The suggestion that they needed each other caused Mark to burst out in laughter. Shaking his head, he asked, "Why do you say that?"

"She needs you so that she can gain acceptance amongst her peers," William answered in a very serious tone of voice. There was no hint of a smile on his face.

The answer surprised Mark. He could see how he could open doors amongst her peers just by inviting her to join him in his normal activities. He asked, "Why do you say that I need her more than she needs me?"

"You are adrift. She will point you in the direction that you need to go. You definitely need to find a direction for your life more than she needs acceptance."

"What do you mean?" Mark asked defensively. William was beginning to sound a lot like his father.

"You are a senior in high school. You haven't applied to any colleges. You haven't even thought of applying to any colleges. You don't have a job and you don't have any plans to get one. You don't even have any major hobbies. Still, you are content to just relax and hang out with your friends."

It was amazing how closely William echoed what his father had been telling him for the past two years. Mark stared at the young man wondering how he knew so much about his life. This was only the second time they had met and the topic of his lack of plans for the future had never arisen. Stuttering, he asked, "How did you know that?"

"I just know things," William answered with a tired sigh.

Mark leaned forward in his chair and asked, "So what is seeing Birdie going to accomplish?"

"I have no idea. I just know that she will point you in the direction that you will follow for the rest of your life," William answered. He paused, took a sip of his soft drink, and then added, "I wouldn't wait around too much longer."

Slowly standing, Mark said, "I guess I'll go now."

"Take Joe with you."

"Joe?"

"Yes. He needs to learn a little gentleness," William said. His can was empty and he crumpled it in his hand. Mark stared at the can for several seconds as if mesmerized by the simple act of destruction.

"Okay," Mark finally said.

It was after dark when Joe and Mark sat down on the couch in William's living room. Joe gave the impression of excitement while Mark appeared to be introspective. Grinning, Joe said, "You should have seen that sucker. It was huge. I'm sitting there wrestling with it and then Birdie talks to it in this real soft and gentle voice. Then she put this little hood over its head. It quieted down and just stayed there. I couldn't believe it."

"What kind of bird was it?" William asked.

"A hawk. It was a huge hawk," Joe said. He held his hands apart to approximate the wing span. He had been impressed with the raw strength of the bird.

"There are many different kinds of hawks," William commented.

Mark said, "It was a Red Tailed Hawk."

"Ah, those can be pretty good sized," William said.

Still amazed by what he had seen, Joe said, "I've never seen anyone so gentle. She just touched that bird and it calmed down. Even when she was working on the wing, the bird didn't complain. It was like they were connected spiritually or something. I've never seen anything like it."

Mark shook his head and said, "Did you know there's no way to put a broken wing in a cast? All they can do is tape the wing against the body. The bird's body has to act like a splint."

"What do you think about that?" William asked. It was clear that each of the two young men had walked away from the experience with something different.

"Well, I think there ought to be something better. Birdie was saying that sometimes the wings don't heal correctly, particularly if the bone is broken in more than one place," Mark answered while shaking his head. Even since watching her set the bone, he had been thinking about it. He could visualize a device that would help assure that the bone would heal correctly.

"What are you thinking about?"

Looking over at William, Mark answered, "I keep thinking there has to be a better way to fix a wing than the way she did it. There ought to be some sort of splint that could be placed between the body of the bird and the wing such that it holds the bone in the right spot. You'd still have to use the tape, but it would serve to keep the bird from using the wing."

Smiling at Mark, William recognized the expression of a man looking at a mental blackboard while trying to visualize some solution to a problem that he has found particularly interesting. In a very casual manner, he asked, "So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to the grocery store," Mark answered upon coming to a decision that he would have to try his idea out.

Confused by what appeared to be a sudden change in topic, Joe looked at Mark for a minute and asked, "What are you going to do at the grocery store?"

"Buy a couple of chickens," Mark answered. He didn't know it at the time, but the family was going to be eating a lot of chicken for the next few weeks as he worked on the problem. Mark stood and headed towards the door. Upon reaching it, he said, "I'll see you around."

"What got into him?" Joe asked confused by Mark's sudden exit. He stared at the closed door and then looked back at William.

"He just found his purpose in life," William answered with a smile. It would start as a desire to invent a new splint for use with birds, but Mark's interests would soon turn to prosthetics. Seeing that the puzzled expression on Joe's face hadn't gone away, William asked, "Did you learn anything while you were there?"

"You know, I never thought much about Birdie. I mean, I kind of figured she was a kook, if you know what I mean. Today, I watched as she dealt with a tough situation," Joe answered. He added, "When we got there, Birdie was talking with a cop and a game warden. She had some sort of paper from the state that authorized her to take care of big birds, but they were waiting for a vet to arrive. When the vet arrived, she took charge of the situation. These were important people and she was dealing with them like equals. I mean, she was even telling the vet what to do."

Knowing the answer, William asked, "You mean she was ordering people around and throwing her weight around?"

"Oh no, she was real polite. She'd ask us to do something and we'd do it."

Shaking his head, William asked, "What do you think of how she was acting?"

Joe hadn't given her behavior much thought, although he had been impressed by the way she had taken charge of the situation. She had directed their actions for catching the bird. He'd felt weird getting told what to do by Birdie, but it would have felt even weirder not doing what she told him to do. He had been surprised when the bird practically hopped into his arms. Of course, things had gotten exciting for a few seconds once that had happened. Joe said, "It's kind of strange. I would have been bossing people around. You know, yelling at them to do this or that. She never raised voice. Every time she asked someone to do something, she included the word please. No one argued with her."

"It sounds to me that she got a lot done without using much force."

"Yeah. I always figured that the loudest person ran the show. I guess she showed me that wasn't necessarily the case," Joe said. His voice faltered as he reached the end of his conclusion. He was silent for a minute as he thought about it. He took a sip of his soda and stared at the floor. Shaking his head, he asked, "Do you think that I'm a bully?"

"Do you?"

"I guess I am. I never really thought about it before."

William smiled and looked over at the clock. He said, "It's time. I expect to hear about my mothers on the news about now."

Joe raised an eyebrow and watched as William turned on the television. The television turned on to a news channel. He asked, "You watch the news all of the time?"

"Yes," William answered. He was rewarded with the introduction to a breaking news story from South Dakota. He said, "My mothers are on."

The story described what happened when four men attempted to kill the Sacred White Buffalo. Two of the perpetrators were killed and two others were in serious condition. A fifth man had been taken to a local hospital for minor injuries. William smiled and said, "Red, white, yellow, and black men and women working together to save a sacred animal. It makes you think there is hope for the world yet."

"Did you mothers kill those men?"

"Yes. I'm afraid that I forget to tell my mother not to kill too many people."

Joe had watched the news story with wide eyes. When he had seen video of the diminutive Ling, he'd been shocked at how small she looked compared to the police who were standing around her. Joe looked at William and asked, "You forgot to tell her not to kill too many people?"

"Yes. Of course, that's like asking ants not to show up at a picnic."

"She kills people all of the time?" Joe asked. He recalled the owner of the dojo saying that William's mother was the most dangerous person in the world. Seeing the little woman on television made that assessment even more unbelievable.

William turned to Joe and said, "There are all kinds of ways to accomplish things in this world. You can talk softly and convince people to pursue the same goals as you. That's what Birdie does. That's more the Druid approach to solving problems. You give good advice and provide lots of warning when things are going bad.

"Alternatively, you can bully your way around and force others to do as you want. When my mother says no, you know that she's more than willing to back it up physically. She's a force of nature. I'm not saying that she uses force indiscriminately. It's just that once force enters the situation, she will bring to bear everything she has on the situation.

"Personally, I like Birdie's approach much more. My fathers and I very seldom use our strength to accomplish our goals. We spend a lot of time keeping my mothers from going overboard." William looked over at Joe to see the effect his words had on the young man.

"It seems to me that a lot more people get hurt your mother's way," Joe commented while stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Yes, that is true. If my father's had sufficient warning, this situation would not have developed to this point. Of course, they didn't sufficient warning so my mothers were the only real solution."

Joe frowned and said, "I imagine your mother doesn't have many friends if everyone is afraid of her."

Surprised at the insight, William replied, "Yes, she's a very lonely woman in a way. Very few people outside the family understand her. Most people are unwilling to take the time to get to know her. Those who are willing to take the time to know her are usually very dangerous people in their own right."

Glancing over at the television and seeing that the coverage had moved to a different news story, Joe asked, "So what is she really like?"

"When she gets tense or upset with the world, she retreats to her special room. Her room looks like something out of a Victorian photograph. Once there, she dresses up in antique clothes, reads Victorian Romance novels, and drinks hot tea.

"She's the best mother that I can possibly imagine. She can be an incredibly gentle and caring person. When we were sick as children, it was Ling who made sure that we were as comfortable as possible. Even though Momma Kelly is a nurse, it was Momma Ling who fluffed our pillows, brought stuff for us to do, and talked us through our fears. She'd take us to the park and generally did the kind of chauffeuring that mothers do for their children.

"My sister is a little dynamo and is constantly in motion. My mother is patient with her; despite how difficult it is to keep up that kind of pace. She devotes a lot of her time to burning up the energy that my little sister possesses. She spends hours in the gym, the swimming pool, and the park, just so that my sister can be in constant motion without getting into trouble."

"Wow," Joe said. He was having a hard time fitting the image of such a dangerous person with the image of a supermom. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "What was it like having so many mothers?"

"Momma Kelly is a nurse. She made sure that we drank our milk, ate balanced meals, and got the proper amount of rest. We'd go to her for any bump, scrape, or complaint. Even if all she did was put a band aide over it, we'd feel better.

"Momma Claire is a former police officer and is now a security specialist like Momma Ling. She's just as protective of us as Momma Ling, but she's almost a little more fun. She enjoys playing board games. As kids, we used to play Monopoly, Checkers, and Chess with her. Of course, she also taught us all how to shoot. She's a national champion and would take us to the Police Urban Training facility where they had the pop-ups of criminals and civilians. Now that was a lot of fun."

The idea of going to a shooting range as being a fun activity for little kids was almost beyond Joe's ability to imagine. He shook his head and commented, "I guess."

William smiled at the dubious tone in Joe's voice and continued. "Momma Linda is the story teller of the family. She used to entertain us with her stories about animals. She was also the best listener of all the mothers. My brothers and sisters spent many an afternoon on the couch at home nestled in her arms while they told her about their problems. She'd listen and tell little stories that helped put things in context. I'm afraid that I was a little too self- contained to take advantage of that side of her. Of course, no one in the family was more supportive of me getting in touch with my Native American roots."

Joe stared at William and then asked, "So which of your mothers are you the most like?"

"Ling."



-------

Chapter 31


William sat back and stared at the stack of papers. He had spent the past four weeks going over the first draft of his dissertation and fixing the small errors that had crept into it. Sections had been changed to be more precise. The language had been improved to be more readable. References had been checked and the original sources double checked for accuracy.

This pass through the dissertation was at a less strenuous pace than the first pass. He had worked eighteen to twenty hours a day on the first draft. This draft, he had settled down to a twelve to fourteen hour a day pace. It was still hard on the mind and body.

Now that he had finished the second draft, he felt the need for a major break, but there were things that had to be dealt with first. He pulled out his telephone and dialed Ling. She answered on the second ring, "Hello, William."

"Hello, mom."

"Calling to gloat that I haven't found you yet?"

"No. Just wanted to find out what has happened with Derrick," William answered pleased to note that she had asked her question with more than a little amusement in her voice.

"Oh, he's staying in one of the guest rooms and is recovering just fine," Ling answered. She had brought Derrick home because of his actions when they had gone to save the White Buffalo. Derrick had stepped between her and one of the men who was about to shoot her. It wasn't necessary, but she appreciated his attempt to protect her. She'd been ready to subdue the man, but the presence of Derrick had forced her to change her plans and she had reacted with much more force than intended. That had accounted for one of the deaths. Despite her best efforts, Derrick had gotten injured in the process.

"I'm pretty sure that he's about ready to look for a job now."

Surprised that William would mention work, Ling said, "He mentioned something about that yesterday."

"With forty-eight square miles of property, I need a fulltime ranch foreman. Let him know that the position is his," William said.

"Good idea. He'd be perfect for the job," Ling said with a smile. She wondered how it was that John, Ed, and now William could always find the right person for a job.

"I would like a fence run along the front of my property in Arizona. Could you ask him if he'd be interested in putting a crew together to do that? I'm sure that a few of the young men on the reservation would appreciate a job," William said.

"Sure, I'll mention it to him."

"Thanks, mom."

"So how's your dissertation going?"

"I just finished the second draft," William answered as he ran a hand over the stack of paper that comprised the results of his work. It was a substantial body of work.

"That's good. You've been there for two months. It took your brother and sister longer than that to reach the same point," Ling commented.

"I'm going to take ten days off before tackling the third draft. Then I'll send it to my professor for his comments," William said. He knew exactly which sections his professor would ask him to change, but he was prepared to argue the case for keeping it as it was.

"You have your credit card. Why don't you get on a plane and fly somewhere for a short vacation? Go down to Cancun for a little sun or to the north for some skiing."

"And let you know where I am?" William asked with a grin.

"Oh, I didn't think of that."

The lie was so obvious that William burst out laughing. He said, "That was a good one."

"I had to try," Ling admitted. She was beginning to enjoy the game that was playing out between William and her.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow after you've had a chance to talk with Derrick."

Ling said, "I love you, William."

"I love you too, mom," William replied. He hung up the phone and went into the living room. Settling onto the couch, he considered what he wanted to do for the next ten days. The fact of the matter was that he missed Lucy. Even though they talked on the phone every morning, it was hard being separated from her. Half of the reason driving him so hard was to return to Lucy as quickly as possible.

He went into his father's room and looked through the camping equipment in the closet. Smiling, he decided that he'd try hiking through one of the parks where his father used to hike. He fished out his cell phone and spent the next thirty minutes inviting Joe, Mark, and Birdie to go to the Dinosaur Valley State Park with him on the next Saturday morning. All three of them accepted his invitation.

After parking in the parking lot in front of the main office, William got out of the car and looked down the road. He could see two giant statues of dinosaurs from where he stood. He shook his head at the sight. William said, "Wow. This is not what I expected. I don't see how it could have been like this when my father used to hike around here. My father would have hated this."

"It wasn't. For a long time it was just a plain area with a creek bed with the dinosaur tracks. I think it was after your father moved to Arizona that they opened the park to the public. We come out here on school field trips to check out the dinosaur tracks all the time," Birdie said.

William turned and headed towards the office to get information on the hiking areas. When he reached the front door, a man stepped out wearing a Ranger's outfit. It wasn't the uniform of a Park Ranger, but that of the naturalist group that surveyed animal populations. Surprised to run into a Ranger at a public park, William said, "I didn't expect to find a Ranger here."

The man, paused, turned and pointed into the building as he said, "The Park Rangers are inside."

"I studied under CC at the Druid College my fourth year," William said even as the Ranger was walking away.

The Ranger froze and turned to look back at William. A smile grew as he put the known facts together and came to the right conclusion. He said, "My God, you must be William Redman Carter."

"Yes, I am," William answered. Joe, Mark, and Birdie were staring at William wondering how a complete stranger in the middle of nowhere knew who he was.

"I'm Ken Walker. CC is a very good friend of mine. She told me all about your time with her. Of course, all of the Rangers know your brother, John, and his wife, Susan."

"These are my friends Joe, Mark, and Birdie," William said well aware of his brother's relationship with the Rangers. He pointed to each person as he introduced them.

"Birdie? You wouldn't happen to be Beatrice Fletcher, would you?" Ken asked looking at the young woman.

"Yes, I am," she replied wondering who this man was and how he knew about her.

"You picked up an injured Red Tailed Hawk about a month ago. How's it doing?"

Shocked, Birdie answered, "She's doing fine."

"Good. Do you think it will fly again?"

Turning on her professional face, Birdie answered, "Yes. The bone is healing well. The joint wasn't impacted. There was a slight infection, but it cleared up after we treated it with antibiotics."

"Excellent."

"So what is a Ranger doing here?" William asked.

"I heard some more footprints were found outside the park. I came to see if that was true and what would be the environmental impact if it was opened to the public. Would you like to go with me?"

Looking over at the other three teenagers, William answered, "Sounds interesting. We just might be some of the first people to see tracks that were made a hundred million years ago."

Joe said, "That would be so cool."

Mark thought about it for a second and said, "Do you mean that we'd get a chance to go off the marked trails?"

"Yes, but I'll have to insist that you be careful and make as little impact on the environment as possible." Ken put an arm around Birdie and said, "Walk with me. We have a lot to talk about."

Uncomfortable at having a strange man's arm around her, Birdie shrugged it off. Stepping back, she said, "I don't think so."

William stepped forward and said, "Birdie. You can trust him. He's a Ranger. Believe it or not, you and he have a lot in common. If he wants to talk with you, it would be in your best interest to listen."

"You don't even know him," Birdie said.

"True, but he's a friend of my brother, my brother's wife, CC, and he's a Ranger. That's enough to recommend him to you, but if you are really concerned then let me say that Rangers have a compact with the Druids. Any Druid will treat a Ranger as an equal and vice versa."

Puzzled, Birdie asked, "What do you think he wants to talk to me about?"

"Joining the Rangers," William answered with a smile. He gestured to the Ranger and said, "Go walk with him. Joe, Mark and I will follow you so that you have a little privacy for your chat."

The three young men walked about thirty yards behind Birdie and Ken. Joe asked, "What do you think they are talking about?"

"About Ranger stuff," William answered.

"I've never heard of these Rangers. There are Park Rangers, the Texas Rangers, and the baseball team. So who are they," Mark asked.

"The Rangers are the best organized and most rational of the environmentalist organizations. They work to protect environmentally sensitive areas. They make sure that animals are not over hunted. They protect endangered species. And, unless I'm mistaken, they are about to get into the business of wildlife rehabilitation," William said.

"Wildlife rehabilitation?" Joe looked at William with a confused expression.

"Treating wild animals that have been injured and releasing them back into the wild once they've been healed," William explained.

Frowning, Mark said, "That's what Birdie does."

"Exactly."

"Oh. I see what you mean. He's talking to her about joining their organization," Joe said. Over the past month, his opinion of Birdie had changed. He'd come to recognize that she was very talented in what she did. The fact that an organization that did all of the things William had described was interested in recruiting her increased her stock in his mind.

"Exactly," William answered with a smile.

It took two hours to reach the new site where Ken had been directed. He paused on the bank of the Paluxy River and looked around. Although it was named a river, other areas of the country would probably consider it to be a stream. Although it was November, the weather was not cold. He said, "Let's get out of our shoes and roll up our pants. We'll want to walk along the shallows and look for the tracks."

Birdie pointed ten yards upstream and asked, "Is that a fossil over there?"

Looking in the direction Birdie pointed, Ken nodded his head when he spotted what appeared to be a long thigh bone. He looked around and said, "It might be. Why don't you all have a seat while I look around?"

William promptly sat down. Turning to the others, he said, "Have a seat. Ken needs to examine the flora and fauna to determine if there's anything environmentally sensitive here. We'd just get in his way and probably trample anything that's important."

Birdie sat down and asked, "William, what do you know about the Rangers?"

William answered, "I studied woodcraft under CC at the Druid College. We spent weeks out in the woods learning how to track, read sign, and observe nature. Of course, I already had that at the Native American College. Still, I'd have to say that she's as good at tracking as any of the Native Americans that I know. That's saying a lot.

"As an organization, there are about forty members now and they are spread all over the North American continent. They work with the government and other environmentalist organizations to study wildlife, plants, and the land.

"Unlike a lot of groups, they don't have a rose colored view of nature. They recognize that some species have really blossomed in the presence of man while others have suffered. They also recognize that some of the problems are very complex and can't be solved by prohibiting people from going into an area. Some of the problems aren't a result of people, but arose because the species has practically marginalized itself out of survival.

"A couple of years before I was born they found an area that had been untouched by humans for at least a hundred years. In that area was an endangered species of plant. Under a purely natural process, its habitat was disappearing as new growth woods gave way to old growth forest. The species was down to less than a hundred individuals when a beaver dam killed them all off. The Rangers had recognized that it wasn't a matter of if they would become extinct, but when they became extinct. Every year they've gone back there looking to see if any individuals survived, but there has been no sign. At least they saved some seeds.

Like I said, they don't have a rose colored view of nature and they don't blame people for all of the problems they find. Sure, most of the problems are a consequence of people. Still, they understand that it isn't necessarily malicious actions on our part that are creating the problem. An animal, plant, or insect travels here on board a ship and then displaces a native species. The native species becomes extinct because it can't compete. It happens.

"They are one of the good guys. I have a lot of respect for them. I'd say that they were the ones who've uncovered sixty percent of the illegal toxic waste sites in this country. They do it by observing the impact of the environment on the wildlife and plants. They really study wildlife and know what they are talking about. If you ever get a chance, you should check out their headquarters. Their library has thousands of journals containing observations made by individual Rangers."

William looked over at Birdie to make sure that he had her attention and then pointed over at Ken. The Ranger was taking notes in a small leather bound journal. He said, "Ken is detailing every species of plant, animal, and insect that he sees here. He'll work about an acre of this area for about six hours to record as much information as he can."

"You know a lot about them," Mark commented while watching Ken work. He noticed the man was sketching one of the few plants still growing. He asked, "What can he find out when everything around here is dead until spring?"

William laughed and answered, "A lot."

Mark asked, "Birdie, are you going to join them?"

"I don't know, but it is tempting. He said they would pay all of my way through college. He said that he could get me accepted into Texas A&M for a bachelor's degree in biology. Then I would go for the D.V.M within the department of Avian Medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia. After I graduated, they would get me into the Avian and Zoological Medicine Service that is part of the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at The University of Tennessee."

"You mean they would give you a scholarship for your Bachelors and D.V.M degree?" Joe asked. He had hoped for an athletic scholarship, but he was just an average high school football player in a small town where average was pretty good. There wasn't a chance of him getting one and he knew it.

"Not exactly. He called it an internship. I work for them and get paid to go to school," Birdie answered. She shook her head and said, "They are talking about nine years worth of study."

"It sounds like a pretty good deal to me," Joe said. He was afraid that he was going to end up in a Junior College somewhere and have to work his way through college. The only saving grace was that tuition in Texas was pretty cheap.

"I'm just a junior in high school. They are talking about a pretty significant amount of work. What if I fail?" Birdie asked feeling a little overwhelmed by thee offer.

William laid down on the ground and looked up in the sky. He studied a cloud that looked at lot like a very fat man playing with himself. William chuckled when the cloud drifted apart in a manner that was almost unnatural. He said, "I bet if I were to ask you what is the most common parasite to affect pigeons that you would know the right answer."

"It is..."

William interrupted her, "I'm not asking. I have no idea if the answer you give would be correct or something you made up. My point is that you probably do know the answer."

"I do," she admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.

"And you are worried that you won't make it through a program when you already have more knowledge about the subject matter than most students? Give me a break," William said. The cloud changed to look a lot like a man and woman holding hands. He said, "I'm not impressed. If you could form into the shape of a bird and flap its wings, then I'd be impressed."

Birdie stared at William in shock and asked, "What did you say?"

Realizing that he had spoken the comment to the cloud aloud, William sat up and looked at Birdie. Looking slightly embarrassed, he said, "I wasn't talking to you there at the end. I was talking to the cloud up there."

"What cloud?" asked Joe as he looked over the clear blue sky. There wasn't a cloud to be seen.

William looked up at the sky and saw there wasn't a cloud to be seen. He raised a fist to the sky and shouted, "That's it. Make a fool out of me. I hope that you had your fun."

Joe asked, "Who are you talking to?"

"The Two-Sided One. He likes to play games with me on occasion," William answered.

"That's one of the Druid Gods, isn't it?"

"God and Goddess," he corrected. Taking a deep breath, William said, "One day I will become a servant to the Two-Sided One."

Mark shrugged his shoulders and said, "Cool."

Joe gave William a skeptical look while Birdie frowned at the explanation. She felt that William was too many people to live inside a single body. He was the same age as her and seemed to be involved in a lot of things that required more life experiences than anyone her age had a right to have lived. She didn't bother to voice her disbelief.

William had returned to lying on the ground and stared up at the sky. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear Ken say that they could walk around for a bit. Joe, Mark, and Birdie slipped away to look for dinosaur prints in the bed of the river. They were joined after having discovered one set of prints by Ken. The thigh bone had turned out to be a tree limb that had fallen into the river and been covered by mud.

Turning to examine Joe and Mark, Ken said, "I can understand why William has taken an interest in Beatrice. What are your stories?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Mark said, "All he told me was that I was going to get a direction from Birdie. I'm still waiting to find out what that direction might be."

"I'm just a nice guy," Joe said with a grin. After having been around William for the past six weeks, he didn't have any pretensions that he was special in some way. He wasn't smart like William or Birdie. He had come to accept that William was a better athlete than him. Even Mark had seemed to have more drive lately than him.

Staring at Joe, Ken said, "There has to be more to you than that. I don't think he'd take the time to cultivate a friendship with someone who was just a nice guy."

"I'm not smart like Birdie. I don't seem to have the ability to focus on something like Mark. I'm not good enough of an athlete to get into college on a scholarship. I don't have any special skills of any kind," replied Joe. He shrugged his shoulders and added, "I haven't gotten out of high school yet and I already know that I'm not destined for greatness. This is my year of greatness. It's kind of depressing, if you think about it."

"Focus? Me?"

"How many chickens have you sacrificed in your attempt to make a bird splint?"

Mark blushed at the reminder and said, "Well, my dad threatened to throw me and my mother out of the house if we had chicken one more night for dinner."

"Bird splint?" Birdie asked unaware of what Mark had been doing in his spare time.

"Yeah. I've got this idea that there ought to be a better way to take care of a broken wing so I've been trying it out on chickens from the grocery store. I've been trying to make a wing splint that would give more freedom of movement in the wing while it is healing."

"The feathers will interfere," Birdie said absently.

"I'm working on it," Mark said with a shrug. He knew that there was some way to achieve the idea he had in mind. His design had evolved from a wrap-around design to something that was more like a giant clothespin.

Ken shook his head and said, "I thought you said that you were looking for a direction in life."

"I am. I just haven't found it yet."

"You don't think the invention of medical devices is a direction in life?" Ken asked.

Struck dumb by the question, Mark didn't know how to answer it. Was his fixation on the wing splint a direction for his life? He stared at William who was still watching the sky and wondered how he had known. A shiver went through his body.

Birdie turned to watch Joe. His words had slowly percolated through her thoughts and she realized it was really a very sad situation. The idea that a young man had decided that his senior year in high school was going to be the high point of his life was disturbing. She knew it was true for a lot of people, but to hear a high school student state it in such blunt terms hurt. She asked, "Joe, why do you think you don't have much of a future?"

The change in subject freed Mark's tongue and he said, "I don't think it is true. William said that you needed to learn gentleness from Birdie."

Birdie turned to stare at Mark wondering what he was talking about. Joe knowing that the term gentle had never been used in connection with him asked, "Gentleness?"

All four jumped when William said, "Sometimes one finds that their role in life is to be a supporting character to someone who is destined for greatness. Maybe the world at large doesn't appreciate it, but to the principal and the supporter it can be a very rewarding life. The opinion of the world doesn't really matter in such situations."

Mark snorted and said, "Supporting character?"

In a tone of voice that conveyed a real sense of loss that such a life was not available to him, William said, "Yes. Supporting character."

Joe said, "You sound envious."

Birdie nodded her agreement. Even Ken reacted by nodding his head in support of Joe's statement. It was clear that none of them had ever given thought as to the importance and rewards of being the spouse of a famous person. The public eye seldom turned to the person standing behind the famous, supporting them with loving words when they felt weak or hurt by criticism.

"I am. It is the most personally rewarding role in life that a person can have. It is one of the purest loving relationships that one person can have with another. You should all envy Joe for the love that he is going to experience in life."

I'd like to thank Drahkan for his fine work editting this chapter.



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Chapter 32

"You're lonely."

Shrugging his shoulders, William answered, "My girlfriend is hundreds of miles away."

"I don't mean that way," Joe said.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have any friends. There may be a lot of people around you, but you don't really have any friends." Joe cut a piece out of the steak and put it in his mouth while watching William to judge his reaction. He knew that William was going to be leaving in a week and wondered what was going to happen to his friend afterwards.

"That's not exactly true. One of my friends was a classmate at the Native American College. Another is an instructor there. Of course, there is Happy Harry. I don't get a chance to see them often, but I value their friendship. For day to day support, I have a large family and a very nice girlfriend."

Joe swallowed his meat and said, "It still seems to me that you are lonely."

William shoveled a forkful of beans into his mouth and chewed while thinking about what Joe said. Shrugging, William said, "My father had very few friends although he was an important person in a lot of lives. John Carter personally helped thousands of people with overwhelming problems. He set up mechanisms to help millions of others. Many called him friend, but there were few that he called friend. He did have a few friends and he valued them tremendously."

Joe recognized that the relationship between William and him was of a similar nature as that which existed between John Carter and most people. He valued William much more than William valued him. He understood that William cared for him, but it wasn't the deep feelings that he had for William. While cutting another bite off his piece of steak, he said, "You need a side-kick. You know, like the Lone Ranger and Tonto."

The comment caused William to laugh. He said, "It was the Lone Ranger who had the Indian side-kick, not vice versa."

Joe blushed at the realization that he had forgotten that William was Native American and waved his knife through the air. He said, "You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do."

Joe stabbed a piece of meat, but held off on eating it. He looked over at William and asked, "Were you hoping that I'd be your side-kick?"

"Would you like that?"

"Not really," Joe answered. He was intimidated by William and knew that he'd never get over it. He was afraid that William's comments at the Dinosaur Valley State Park were an invitation to become a supporting character to William. He didn't think he could love another man in the manner that William had suggested.

"Don't worry. Your future is not tied to mine," William said. He reached over and took a sip of his iced tea. The sudden lowering of Joe's shoulders hinted at the relief he felt. Setting the glass down, William said, "You know that you are going to have a nice future. My fathers were always happy that they were married to strong women."

The idea of being married to a strong woman was rather intimidating. He asked, "What does that mean in terms of being a man?"

"When you are married to a strong woman you actually get to see a softer side of women that a weak woman will never present to you. A simple massage when she has a bad day can lead her to open herself to you in ways that most men never get to experience. She'll let you see all of her vulnerabilities confident that you won't betray her.

"She's strong and confident for the most part, but she values the gentleness and kindness that a strong man can provide. Most men are arrogant and demanding. A strong woman won't tolerate that. She's looking for a true partner."

Joe stabbed the piece of meat and said, "Sounds to me like I'm supposed to be some kind of closet wimp."

"Only a physically strong man with a strong moral sense and the self-confidence to be vulnerable can handle a strong woman," William countered.

"What's in it for the man?"

"The rewards are far greater than you can possibly imagine. My fathers have never regretted marrying strong women. John Carter could have surrounded himself with a harem of weak women who would have done any sexual act that he could imagine. Think about that for a minute."

Joe worked over the meal thinking about what William had said. He hadn't thought about how many women would have thrown themselves at John Carter because of his fame, but he knew a lot of them probably had done exactly that. Why would John Carter refuse such offers? What was it about strong women that attracted him? He looked over at William and said, "I wouldn't mind a harem of weak women willing to do anything for me."

Laughing at the mental image that formed in his mind, William replied, "You might as well fuck your steak. That's about the same level of excitement you'd get from bedding a weak woman who rolls over and lets you do anything to her that you want."

"What do you mean?"

William rolled his eyes and assumed the voice of an airhead woman. "Oh Joe. You're so good. Oh my, you really fill me. Oh, you haven't put it in me yet? That's okay, I know I'll really be filled when you stick it to me. You want my ass? You can have it. You want to fuck my tits? Ooh, I'm sure I'll come if you do that. Oh, you're so big. Oh Joe, take me and do all kinds of sick perverted things to my body. I'll love you for it. You want me to just lie here like some sort of plastic fuck toy. The idea of that really turns me on. Oh, I think I just had an orgasm. Oh Joe!"

By the time William had finished his little act, Joe was laughing so hard that tears were coming from his eyes. Shaking his head, he said, "I get your point."

"There are probably a half dozen girls in your high school who'd roll over and let you do anything you want to them because you are on the football team. Why haven't you taken advantage of them?" William asked. He had watched the girls at the football games and seen how they reacted to the football players.

"Really? There are girls that would do that?"

"Yes there are."

The revelation shocked Joe. He wondered which girls in school would sleep with him just because he was a football player. The idea didn't exactly thrill him. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's news to me."

"There are also some who wouldn't sleep with you because you are a football player," William said.

"Sure, I know that." There were a number of people who discounted him because he was a jock. He knew it and wouldn't admit to others that it hurt.

"Some of each group are worth knowing. You just have to make an effort to get to know them."

"What do you mean?"

"Birdie."

Joe nodded his head and said, "Oh, I see what you mean. I had totally discounted her until I learned more about her."

"Right. There's probably a young woman in one of your classes who is quiet and shy, but makes good grades. She's driven to accomplish something in her life. She maybe looks over at you with desire when you aren't looking, but she'd never expose herself to your rejection. Sure you could pursue her with the intent of getting laid, but you'd screw up her life. Of course, you could get to know her and help her develop into the woman she could be."

Joe hummed as he thought about it. William smiled and said, "Maybe there's another woman who looks at you with contempt. She's very driven, but sees you as shallow and not worth her time. She doesn't see what value you might have in her life. Her comments hurt you, despite the fact that you'd never admit it aloud to anyone. Despite her strength, she's lonely and feels left out of the social life in school. Of course, you could get to know each other. In the process, you'd eliminate some barrier that is preventing her from being all that she can be while discovering some hidden values of your own."

"So what should I do? You're describing two different women."

Smiling, William stabbed a piece of lettuce and answered, "Yes. I am, aren't I?"

A week later, William was in the driveway packing up his possessions for the drive home. Once everything was loaded, he stepped back and went into the house. He picked up the phone and dialed Ling's number. She answered on the first ring. He said, "Hello, mom."

"Hello William."

"I just wanted you to know that I'm getting ready to leave for home now."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone and then a muffled curse in Chinese. Ling finally said, "You're at the house where your father grew up!"

"You know what, I think you're right. No wonder this place looked so familiar," William answered with a grin knowing that she had finished her reverse lookup of the incoming telephone number.

"I never even considered that as a possibility," Ling admitted with grudging respect. She couldn't believe that he had gone to a family place rather some site in the country.

William laughed and said, "I had considered my dad's first house in Arizona, but the neighbors would never have been able to keep the secret. Maria might have been able to keep the secret, but not Rosa."

"I would have killed you if you had done that," Ling said. She knew he probably had considered it.

"I'll see you when I get home," William said with a smile. He knew that even as they talked she was arranging for a flight to Pennsylvania.

There was a low growl and she said, "How did you know I was going there?"

"I love you, mom. I'll see you when I get home," William said and hung up.

He picked up the phone and called Lucy. When she answered, he said, "Hello, Lucy. I'm heading out."

"I take it you talked to Ling," Lucy said with amusement in her voice.

"Yes. You might want to warn Lisa to get a room ready for her."

Lucy giggled and asked, "So how did she take it when she finally discovered where you've been hiding?"

"There was a muffled curse, but she was pretty nice about it," William answered. He started swinging the telephone cord.

"I'll hear all about it from her before you get here," Lucy said. She'd been visited a half dozen times by Ling. She couldn't believe how persistent his mother was in trying to locate him. She laughed and added, "And you'll get to hear all about it from her when you get here!"

William chuckled at the image of Ling charging into the yard as soon as he drove up. He wondered if she would be carrying a frying pan and threatening to beat him up with it. He said, "I'll call you when I stop for the night. I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night."

"All you want to do is look at me?" Lucy asked doing her best to sound hurt.

"Look, touch, taste, smell, kiss, and ravish," William answered trying to put a leer into his voice. He paused and added, "Not necessarily in that order."

Lucy giggled and said, "I've really missed you."

"I've missed you. I better get on the road. The longer I stay here, the later it will be when I get there," William said.

"I love you, William Redman Carter."

I love you, Lucille Desi Wilkins."

After hanging up with Lucy, William went through the house making sure that everything was turned off. He stepped outside to find Dave, Joe, Mark, and Birdie waiting for him. He went over to Dave and handed him the keys to the house. He said, "Thanks a lot for all you've done."

"My pleasure. It was nice to see you again, William. I'll be in touch with you in a month about your taxes."

"I look forward to it," William said while rolling his eyes. He shook his head and said, "It's hard to believe that my dad works with the IRS."

David laughed at the often voiced Carter family complaint and said, "I have to agree with you on that."

"I'll be in touch with Karla. I have a commission for her, perhaps the best one of her life," William said.

Raising an eyebrow, Dave said, "It can't be better than the last portrait of John Carter."

"It can be and it is," William replied cryptically.

"No hints?"

"No hints."

Dave shook his hand and said, "Take care of yourself, William. Good luck on your defense."

"Thanks," William said. He watched Dave walk to his car and then drive off.

Birdie had watched William and Dave interact. She had grown up knowing that Dave was one of the richest men in the area. The idea that a person her own age could deal with such a rich man as if they were equals still amazed her. Despite all that she knew about William, it was hard to believe that he was even richer than Dave. She shook herself and said, "We stopped by to say good-bye."

"I'm glad," William replied. He went over and shook hands with Joe and Mark. The two young men didn't say a word, but they did smile and nod their heads in respect. William then went over to Birdie and hugged her. He said, "I expect to hear great things about you from the Rangers."

She blushed and said, "We'll see."

"Take care of yourselves. I'm sure that I'll be seeing each of you again in the future," William said.

Joe felt that was highly unlikely, but he refrained from commenting. He had begun his search for a strong woman who he could love and didn't have any idea where that might lead him. He just smiled and nodded his head.

Mark, who had just completed an application to the Druid College, suspected that he'd run into William again in the future. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "We'll see."

Birdie had decided to accept the offer from the Rangers. It was just too good of a deal to pass up. She said, "You never know when a Ranger will show up on your doorstep."

Pleased to learn that she was accepting the offer, William laughed and replied, "I guess I better take care of my land."

"You bet," Birdie said.

After a short exchange of goodbyes, William got into his car and drove off waving farewell. He wanted to reach Missouri before stopping for the night. It was going to be a long drive to his home in Pennsylvania where Lucy was waiting for him.

Watching William leave, Birdie said, "It's hard to believe that someone like him exists."

"Half the time I didn't believe some of the things he said, but every time I doubted him I was proven wrong," Mark said shaking his head. He wondered if William was really the most dangerous man alive. It was the hardest thing of all to believe.

In a very soft voice, Joe said, "He taught me a lot about life."

"He taught all of us a lot about life," Birdie said. She turned to the other two and said, "Let's head over to a Burger Burner and have some shakes."

"Sounds good to me," Mark said with a grin. "Maybe we ought to plan on getting together every year and compare how we're doing."

In a gesture that he'd never made before, Joe put an arm around Birdie and Mark and hugged them. It felt good to do it. He started to lead them down the street to the nearest Burger Burner. The nickname given to the burger joints by William had become common usage among the three of them. He said, "Sounds like a great idea. I'll have to check with the strong women in my life to see if I'm free when we're ready to meet."

"And just who are these strong women?" Birdie asked amused at the idea of Joe supporting a couple of strong women in his life. She imagined that they'd tear him apart at the idea of sharing him.

"I don't know, but I'm looking for them." He thought to himself, 'and when I find them, I'm going to do everything in my power to help them succeed.' The thought gave him a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Let me get it straight. We're starting out with me a junior in high school with plans to become trained as a vet and joining the Rangers. Joe is looking for a couple of strong women. What about you, Mark?"

"I applied to the Druid College," Mark answered.

Joe staggered to a stop. Three months ago he would have told Mark that he was out of his league in attempting something like that. Now, he believed that most folks could achieve anything they could dream. He said, "Wow! I'm impressed."

Birdie said, "Good for you."

At the Burger Burner, Wanda was seated at a table in the corner reading a book and eating an early lunch. She had to go to work in an hour and was just killing time until she needed to leave. She looked up when Joe entered the place and then quickly glanced back down at her book while thinking that he was such a hunk. Joe would never consider even looking in her direction. It didn't matter that she was fairly attractive; she was a brain and knew where that put her socially.

Having seen her actions, Joe fished out a dollar and handed it to Mark. He said, "Get me a strawberry shake. I'll join you in a minute."

Mark looked around and spotted Wanda at the table. He grinned and said, "Sure thing."

Sliding into the seat across from Wanda, Joe said, "Hello Wanda."

Surprised to see him invite himself to her table, Wanda wasn't sure how to react. Nervous, she said, "Hello."

"What are you reading?" Joe asked seeking something to talk about.

She held up the book so that he could see the title and, stomach tight with nerves, answered, "Just a sci-fi book."

Joe wasn't familiar with the genre. Rather than mock her as he would have in the past, he said, "I'm not familiar with Sci-fi books. Actually, I've never been one to read much. Now that football season is coming to an end, maybe I ought to try it out. Could you recommend something for me to read?"

"Uh, I don't know what you would like," Wanda answered. She looked around wondering if she could escape somehow.

"Oh," Joe said while thinking that things were not going very well. He made another attempt to get a conversation going and said, "Why do you like Sci-fi?"

"I guess I kind of like the idea that a smart person can make a difference. I know it is a stupid idea and doesn't really happen in real life, but I can't help wanting it to be true." She wanted to hit herself for making a remark about smart people. He'd probably make some nerd joke at her expense.

Joe frowned while he considered her answer. He said, "A smart person can make a difference."

"Surely you don't believe that," Wanda asked in surprise. She always felt that it was naïve to think that one smart person could make a difference.

"I know that for a fact," Joe said. He thought about William and said, "Birdie and Mark met one of the smartest people in the world not too long ago. He's younger than you and me, but he's already working on his doctorate in economics. As a result of him, Birdie has a full ride to become a veterinarian and Mark has applied to the Druid College. They are going to make a difference in this world."

"Betty has a full ride to become a veterinarian?" Wanda knew Birdie and liked the girl even though they weren't close.

"Yes. She's lined up for her bachelor's degree at Texas A&M, a D.V.M. in Georgia, and some sort of program after that in Tennessee. She's even going to be employed the whole time she's in school," Joe answered.

Wanda looked at Joe reconsidering what she thought about him. He seemed to know a lot about what was going on in Betty's life and that didn't make sense to her. She said, "I didn't know that you talked with Betty."

"Yeah, we're friends."

Wondering how she had missed that in the school rumor mill, she asked, "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Me and Birdie?" Joe shook his head in negation and said, "No, we're just friends."

"Oh." Wanda was surprised by his declaration that Birdie was his friend. She was sure that he considered Birdie as being beneath his notice. For that matter, she had always thought he considered her as being beneath his notice. Football players only hung out with the cheerleaders and not the bird girl or the brainiac in the corner.

Attempting to get the subject back to her interests, Joe asked, "Since I believe that one smart person can make a difference in the world, what book would you suggest that I read?"

"Time Enough for Love," Wanda answered after a moment's thought. She figured that if he didn't like it, then it was sure bet that he wouldn't like any Sci-fi book. Only after she said the name did she realize that it sounded like some sort of romance book that would give Joe the wrong idea.

"Hmm, I'll have to write that down." Joe didn't connect the title with any other meaning.

"Hi, Wanda. What do you need to write down?" Birdie asked as she slid into a seat next to Wanda. She smiled at the young woman and was pleased to get a smile in return.

"Time Enough For Love," Joe answered.

"Good book," Mark said as he slid into a seat next to Joe. He pushed a strawberry shake over to his friend. He added, "You'll like it."

Wanda stared at Mark and then back at Betty amazed to see them together. Everyone knew that they didn't get along. There had been rumors that the two of them were hanging out together, but she had discounted those rumors. She wondered why they had joined her at her table. Realizing that she hadn't greeted Betty, she said, "Hello, Betty."

"You can call me Birdie from now on."

"I thought you hated that name," Wanda said in shock.

Birdie smiled and answered, "I've come to like it."

Trying to help Joe, Mark asked, "So what are you up to, Wanda?"

"Just eating a little something before I go to work," Wanda said.

After tasting his shake, Joe asked, "Where do you work?"

"Over at the bookstore," Wanda answered wondering if this was some sort of inquisition.

Sitting back in his seat, Joe smiled and said, "Perfect. How about I walk over there with you and buy a copy of that book you recommended?"

Three pairs of eyes focused on her waiting to see how she answered. Wanda wondered if they were playing some sort of joke on her. She was a good student and good students weren't exactly popular in high school. The problem was that she couldn't believe that Birdie would be part of something too harmful. She swallowed and answered, "Okay."

Birdie leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Good choice."

I'd like to thank Drahkan for his fine work editting this chapter.


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Chapter 33


"Uh oh," William said as he pulled into the driveway. Rock, Colt, Natalie, and Nicole were standing in the driveway with their arms crossed and a frown on their faces. They didn't look too happy to see him. "I forgot about them."

He turned off the motor and stepped out of the car. Looking at the four body guards, he asked, "How did you enjoy your vacation?"

"You dumped us in the middle of nowhere," Colt said.

"Sorry about that," William said. He glanced over at the front door to his house and saw Ling standing there, arms crossed, with a smile on her face. He decided it would have been better if she had come after him with frying pans.

"If you'd been killed, we'd never get another job in this business," Rock said.

Tapping a foot on the driveway, Nicole said, "You are going to be a good boy from now on or else."

Nodding her head in agreement, Natalie said, "You won't like the or else."

"You're right. I was a bad boy and I promise to be much better from now on," William said. He didn't think they were going to buy that line for a minute.

"Somehow, I don't believe you," Nicole said.

Colt said, "You are a spoiled rotten kid. Your mother should have put you over her knee when you were a kid and paddled some sense into you."

Nodding his head in agreement, Rock said, "We figured that you'd try to charm your way out of this."

Face wrinkled in confusion, William asked, "What?"

"Since you're still a minor, we asked Ling if we could paddle your bottom. She gave us her permission," Natalie said. She held up a paddle and waved it around for him to see.

"You've got to be kidding," William said. He looked at each body guard, one at a time, as if he'd never seen them before.

"So turn around, drop your drawers, put your hands on the hood of your car, and brace yourself."

The absolute shock on William's face was priceless. Colt and Rock burst out laughing at him. Nicole started giggling while Natalie shook her head. Seeing that the others had blown it, Natalie said, "Yeah, we are."

Almost willing to swear that he could hear the Two-Sided One chuckling, William said, "I get it. It's make fun of William time."

Having a hard time talking because he was laughing too hard, Rock pointed to the house and said, "Lucy is waiting for you. Get in there before she blows a gasket."

William watched them all laughing for a moment and then turned to head towards the door. When he made it to the front door, he paused to look at his mother and said, "You put them up to that, didn't you?"

"Who me?"

"Yes, you."

"Well, I should have put you over my knee and paddled your bottom," Ling said with a smile. She wished that she had thought to record his reaction. After a second, she realized that the security camera had caught every minute of it. She added, "If you ever do that again, I will paddle your bottom."

"I'm going to talk to Lucy. She still loves me," William said in mock hurt and entered the house.

The reunion of William and Lucy started in the living room, but quickly moved up to the bedroom. They celebrated being together until late in the morning despite small breaks to take naps.

A tired, but very sated, William sat at the table eating breakfast. He was nearly halfway done with it when his cell phone rang. He picked it up and answered. His sister Beth was on the phone and asked, "So did you get your bottom paddled?"

"Huh?"

"The video cut off and I was curious if you got your bottom paddled," Beth answered with a laugh. She was pleased to be the one who was able to break the news to him.

"Video?" William asked with a sudden feeling of horror. He looked across the table and saw his mother calmly spreading jam on a piece of toast. The expression on her face was just a little too innocent to be believed.

"Momma Ling sent out this video of you coming home late. It ended when someone told you turn around, drop your pants, bend over, and brace yourself. So did your bottom get paddled?"

The amusement in his sister's voice was unmistakable. Afraid to ask the question, William asked, "Who is on the distribution list?"

"The whole family," she said with a titter.

"I'll talk to you later after I'm done talking to Mother Ling," William said glaring at his mother across the table.

"Be good or you'll get another paddling."

His sister hung up before he had a chance to say something in return. He closed his cell phone in time for it to ring again. He answered, "Hello."

"Hey little brother. I heard that you got into a little trouble last night. So did they paddle your bottom?"

"John, I wish they had. This is far worse," William said slumping in his seat. He wondered who would be the next one to call. He glanced over at his mother and noticed her innocent expression as she took a bite from her toast.

After a few minutes of small talk, John hung up. William looked across the table and said, "You sent out the video to the whole family."

Colt, Natalie, and Nicole burst out laughing. They had watched the security tapes with Ling afterwards and had enjoyed the look on his face tremendously. Rock said, "Ling, I'm almost tempted to give back the raise you gave us."

Ling smiled at Rock and turned back to face William. With a very large smile, she said, "That will teach you to call forward your phone to me."

Lucy asked, "What video?"

"You might want to check your email. I'm sure that you were on the distribution list," Ling answered.

After breakfast, William survived the laughter from Lucy who thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen. While he had been confronting the bodyguards, she had been in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on her makeup and had been totally unaware of what was going on outside. He had assumed she had seen the entire episode.

Lucy had just settled down when his mother Linda called. Her first comment was, "My baby was a bad little boy. Maybe I should paddle your bottom too."

"Oh, mom."

"You drove Ling crazy," Linda said with a hint of a smile in her voice.

"She loved the challenge," William countered knowing that it was a true statement. He had to take extreme measures not to be found by her.

Linda laughed and said, "She did indeed."

It was later when Ed called that the tone became a lot more serious. When William answered the phone, his father said, "I take it the video has embarrassed you."

"Yes," William said.

"You may not realize how much your absence embarrassed your mother."

William was silent for a moment and then said, "She forced me into that position."

Laughing at his son's avoidance of blame, Ed said, "Yes, she did. That doesn't change the fact that you disappeared on her and she couldn't find you. Her mission in this family has been to protect us and you put her in a position where she couldn't do that for several months."

William nodded until he realized that his father couldn't see the gesture over the telephone. He said, "You're right."

"You might want to find some way to fix things up with her," Ed said. He knew that William knew exactly what to say to Ling, but that it would be hard for him to say the words.

"I'll take care of it," William replied.

"I know you will. Of course, you are going to have to let her have a little fun for the moment," Ed said with a chuckle.

"Did you enjoy the video?"

"Tremendously. I think that is the first time in your life that I've seen you surprised by something," Ed answered.

"I hadn't thought about that. It is the first time I've ever been embarrassed like this."

"So you've learned two lessons from this. Don't embarrass Ling and humility. Let's add a third lesson and I'll hang up."

Frowning, William asked, "Third lesson?"

"You don't control everything just because you can see some of the future," Ed answered and then hung up the phone.

William stared at the phone for almost a full minute while he considered his father's parting words. He wondered if that was what he had been doing for most of his life. Was he trying to control everything because he could see elements of the future? It was a disturbing thought. He closed the cell phone and put it in his pocket.

The best call of the day was the last call and it was from his little brother, Eddie. Eddie had started the conversation by saying, "Are you okay, William? I was so worried when I saw that video."

Touched by the concern, William replied, "I'm fine, just a little embarrassed."

"Did it hurt?"

"They didn't spank me. It was just a little joke."

"Oh good, but I don't think it was a very funny joke," Eddie commented in a very serious voice. He could imagine getting a spanking and didn't like the idea of that at all, particularly if Ling was the one doing it. Linda and Kelly were too soft to make it hurt, but Ling or Claire would make sure that he would remember it. He wasn't sure about the bodyguards, but assumed they were more like Ling than Linda.

"It may have been a bad joke, but it was a good lesson," William said.

"Well, I'm just glad that you weren't hurt. I called to let you know that I hoped you felt okay."

"I feel a lot better because you called," William said. It was the truth. It was nice to know that his little brother worried about him. Eddie had hung up after a little update about what was going on in his life and how he was doing in school. The conversation had left William feeling a lot better. By that time, the entire family had called with comments about the video and he could relax knowing that there would be no more calls about the matter.

It was late at night and William was seated at the patio table looking up at the stars. He took a drag off his cigarette and watched the smoke drift to the heavens when he exhaled. Lucy was seated next to him, watching him as he worked through whatever was in his mind. She knew that when he was in such an introspective mood that it was best not to disturb him. She turned to Ling and asked, "What are your plans?"

"I'm going home tomorrow," Ling said. Seeing the look of disappointment on Lucy's face, she reached over and patted the young woman on the hand in a gesture of affection. She said, "You and William have some time to make up. You've been separated for a long time and you don't need your future mother-in-law getting in the way."

"I was hoping that we could go shopping together," Lucy said.

"I've been here off and on for three months. Why would you want to go shopping now?"

"You were concerned about William," Lucy answered.

Sitting back, Ling realized that she had not been a very good guest. Each of the past few visits had been inquisitions about William's location. She smiled as an idea came to her. She asked, "How about you and I fly to New York tomorrow morning and hit some expensive shops along Fifth Avenue?"

"You want to go to New York?"

"Yes, just you and I will go. We'll hit some shops, grab lunch at some nice restaurant, and maybe take in a show," Ling suggested getting excited by the idea.

"Sounds like fun," Lucy said with a smile. She wondered if they would have some sort of high end lingerie shop where she could pick up a little surprise for William.

"I'll make the arrangements for a private plane to fly us there first thing in the morning. It shouldn't take more than an hour and a half to get to New York. We should be there in time for when the shops open," Ling said getting into the idea of going shopping. Beth, Betsy, and Susan weren't the kind of girls that enjoyed a good shopping excursion.

Although she had a class in the afternoon, Lucy decided that she could miss it. The chance to go shopping in New York was just too good to pass up. Grinning, she said, "It's a deal."

Standing up, Ling said, "Let me make the arrangements."

William interrupted, "Before you go, there are a few things I'd like to say to you."

Raising an eyebrow, Ling looked at William trying to guess what he was going to say. She hoped he was going to apologize. She returned to her seat and asked, "What?"

"I'd like to thank you."

Ling stared at William wondering why he was thanking her. Confused, she asked, "For what?"

"How many people could hide from you for over three months?"

"Until you skipped out on us, I would have said no one," Ling snorted as she answered. She couldn't believe that he was turning this into another chance to rub her nose in how he had been able to hide from her.

"Yes. Yet the only reason that I was able to do that was because of the things you had taught me about covering my trail from pursuers. You are a very good teacher."

Sitting up a little straighter at the unexpected praise, Ling said, "You bet."

"If anyone else was looking for me, do you think they would have much of a chance of catching me?" William asked in a speculative tone of voice.

"They'd have no chance at all."

Nodding his head in a simple bow to Ling, William said, "So I'm thanking you for having taught me how to evade any potential pursuers."

"You're welcome," Ling said realizing there was an element of truth to what he was saying. If anyone was to go after William, he knew how to disappear and stay hidden. There were no doubts about that at this point.

"I'd also like to apologize to you for having played a few tricks on you."

"You mean like call forwarding your phone to mine? Or like calling a bridge that you had located within this house?"

"Yes. I was wrong to do that," William said.

Curious as to why he felt that way, she asked, "What was so wrong about it?"

"I was showing off. I was not being respectful of you," William answered.

"I accept your apology," Ling said pleased that he acknowledged that of everything that he had done, his rubbing her nose in it had been the worst.

William lit another cigarette and exhaled the smoke to the sky. He said, "There's more."

"More?" Ling asked thinking that he had covered all that needed to be said. She was sure that he wasn't going to apologize for running off.

"Yes. I was also irritated with you."

"Why?"

William held up the cigarette and examined the glowing red ember. In the dark, it managed to cast just enough light to give his fingers a reddish hue. He said, "Well, we had discussed the need for me to work in private on the dissertation. No matter what I said, you ignored me and went on with your plans to saddle me with two bodyguards. You never once considered my needs in this matter."

The accusation was well founded and Ling knew it. She said, "I guess so."

"I felt that I had to leave in the manner that I did."

"I can see how you could have felt that way," Ling said. She had to admit that it had become a game with her during the days up to his departure. She had known that he was going to skip, but she didn't believe that he could stay hidden. She shrugged and said, "You knew that I expected you to run off."

"Yes, I knew. In a way, it became a game to me."

"Same here," Ling answered with a smile.

Lucy, who had been an active participant in this venture, said, "Same here."

Ling looked over at Lucy affectionately and said, "Actually, I was rather proud of the way you stood up to me in defense of William. Not many people are willing to stand up to the mean Ling Manchu, sister of the evil Dr. Fu Manchu."

Lucy laughed at the joke, but said, "If I thought for one minute that he was in danger, I would have told you where he was. Even if all I had was a bad dream, I would have been on the telephone before you could say William Redman Carter."

"I know," Ling said fully aware of how much Lucy loved William. There was no doubt in her mind that Lucy would move mountains to protect William. She knew that Lucy was lucky in the sense that William needed very little protection. The past few months had demonstrated that to her.

"I counted on that," William said.

Ling asked, "You counted on that?"

"She's my one true love. We're connected," William said with a shrug of his shoulders. He knew that if anything bad happened to him that she would know it.

"I guess I'll try to take your needs into consideration in the future."

"And I'll try not to be so stubborn in the future," William said with a nod in Ling's direction.

Ling stood up and went over to where William was seated. She hugged him and, with real tears in her eyes, said, "My little boy isn't a little boy any longer. It's hard letting go."

William hugged her back and said, "I love you, Momma Ling."

Lucy watched the exchange with tears in her eyes. Even though she wasn't married yet, she wondered what it would be like to watch her children leave the nest. That day was far in the future. It struck her that Ling had probably felt that way about William until the day she realized that she wasn't going to find him.

Ling went into the house to freshen up and make arrangements for the day trip to New York with Lucy. Once she stepped into the house, she smiled and decided that she was going to watch the video one more time. At least in it, he was a little boy even if it was for just a moment.

"That was sweet," Lucy said.

"Daddy Ed said something that made me think."

"What did he say?"

"He said that I couldn't control the future just because I could see some of it. He's right about that. He was also right to suggest that I've been doing just that," William said.

"There is nothing wrong with acting on what you know will happen," Lucy said.

"There isn't?"

"While you may see more of the future and see it clearer than most, everyone else gets little glimpses of it. We act on it because we know that if we don't act on what we believe is going to happen, we usually get into trouble. You have to act on what you see if you want to avoid bad things from happening," Lucy said.

"Perhaps you're right."

"You know I am. The real problem is that you depend on being able to see the future. I think your father was telling you that you can't control the future because you can't see all of the future."

"I'll have to think about it."

Lucy sat back in her chair and watched William for a minute as he played with the cigarette butts in the ashtray. She decided to give him a nudge before going in to see how Ling was doing with making the arrangements for the next day. While standing up from her chair, she said, "You sure didn't see last night coming."

She went into the house after giving him a kiss. He watched her go into the house appreciating the sway of her hips as she walked away from him. He rubbed his chin as he returned to his thoughts. A line from a Clint Eastwood movie came to mind, 'A man's gotta know his limitations.' He decided there was a lot of truth in that statement.

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I'd like to thank Drahkan for all of his hard work in editing this chapter.He's helped improve the quality of my posts tremendously.





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Chapter 34


Eddie stood with his legs spread shoulder wide and his fists on his hips. Glaring at the man standing in front of him, he said, "My brother is the smartest person alive."

"There are a lot of very smart people in this world, young man," the distinguished looking man said with amusement in his voice. He added, "As Provost of this University, I can tell you that many of them are here on this campus."

"I don't care who you are. My brother is the smartest person alive. He's going to win a Nobel Prize, just like Daddy John Carter and Daddy Leroy."

William stepped over to Eddie and put a hand on his shoulder. It was hard to believe how much his brother had grown over the past few months. He was almost as tall as William already and probably would grow another six inches before this growth spurt ended. Everyday he looked more and more like Ed. It was hard to believe that Eddie wasn't a clone. Hoping to diffuse the situation, William said, "Eddie, I see you've met the Provost."

"Yes. He doesn't believe that you are the smartest person alive."

William smiled at the claim and said, "There are an awful lot of very smart people in this world."

"That doesn't keep you from being the smartest of them all," Eddie said with a curt nod of his head.

Seeing the exchange from across the room, Lucy came over and gave Eddie a big hug. She smiled at him and asked, "Are you bragging about your brother again?"

"I'm not bragging, I'm stating a fact," Eddie said defensively.

"Hey, don't get mad at me. I'm on your side," Lucy said with a wink at the Provost. The elderly man smiled back at her. She whispered in Eddie's ear, "I think he's the smartest guy in the world, too."

"Sorry, Lucy. It's just that the people here don't seem to know how smart my big brother is," Eddie said with a sigh. He pointed to William and said, "Even William doesn't seem to know how smart he is."

"Let's go see your brother John. I'm sure that he'll agree with us," Lucy said as she steered him away from the Provost.

When they were out of earshot, William said, "That's my little brother. He's the family cheerleader. According to him, my little sister is the greatest athlete who has ever lived. My brother, John, is the greatest biologist since the emergence of blue green algae. And, my sister, Beth is the greatest architect since man first decorated the entrance to a cave. Of course, he's right about them."

The Provost laughed at the comment about the cave. His specialty had been in anthropology. He said, "It is understandable. You do come from a rather intellectually distinguished family. He has a right to be proud of all that your family has accomplished, Dr. Carter."

"Thank you, sir."

"I was really quite pleased when I learned that you were coming here to complete your studies. You are the first Druid College graduate to attend our school and to attract someone of your stature was quite a coup."

William smiled at the use of the Native American term and said, "You have a lot of well known scholars on campus. I doubt that I'll be the last graduate of the Druid College to finish my education here."

A tall gentleman in a gray suit approached the pair. The Provost noticed him first and turned to greet him. "Hello Governor."

"Hello, Samuel. So you finally got my son through his Master's degree."

The Provost laughed at the suggestion that he had anything to do with it and said, "We enjoyed having him on campus. You should be proud of him."

Turning to face the Governor, William took a moment to examine the father of his friend. He was about to introduce himself when the Governor said, "You are William Redman Carter, or I guess I should say - Dr. Carter. Doug has told me a lot about you."

"I hope he didn't tell you the truth about me, I'd hate to ruin my sterling reputation," William said with a smile.

The Governor laughed and said, "I can see why my son likes you. You have the same twisted sense of humor that he does. Where is your lovely fiancée?"

"She's riding herd on my little brother," William said.

"Ah, the young man who proudly informed me that you are the smartest man in the world," commented the Governor with a chuckle. He had liked the young man. It was nice to find someone who felt so proud of his family.

"Yes, that would be him."

The Provost said, "He's quite tenacious when it comes to defending Dr. Carter."

William looked across the room at his little brother with more than a little pride. Eddie was a good kid. He said, "Eddie is special and I mean that in a positive way. He's going to take my father's place in this world and those are some big boots that he's got to fill. You don't know how important it is to me to know that Eddie will carry on my father's work."

"He's going to be the next John Carter?" asked the Governor looking over at Eddie with renewed interest.

"No. He's going to be the next Ed Biggers," William answered.

The Provost said, "Ah, so he's going to serve the Two-Sided One."

"No. That is my destiny. His is to be the guardian angel for a small town in Arizona," William said. Looking over at the Governor, he added, "You never know. He just might become the Governor of Arizona."

The Governor said, "My son speaks very highly of Ed Biggers. He seems to value his conversations with your father quite a bit. I'd like to meet him."

Grinning at the thought of his father around a politician, William said, "He's the only guy dressed in a black robe in the room. You're free to try and chase him down, but I've got to warn you that he avoids politicians like the plague."

"Why? I thought Druids were supposed to provide counsel to us politicians."

William chuckled at the thought of his father giving advice to a man running for office. He said, "My father is a human lie detector. Half truths and lies drive him bonkers."

The Provost looked at the Governor and laughed at the hurt expression on the man's face. He knew the Governor prided himself on dealing with people honestly. The Provost said, "No wonder he avoids politicians."

"I'm going to have to talk to my son and tell him to leave your father alone. How can he fill my shoes if he doesn't learn to lie a little," the Governor joked.

"Speaking of the devil, here he is," William said as Doug approached the group.

"What?" Doug asked.

"Your father was just saying that he was going to have a long talk with you about your chats with my father."

"Why?"

"He says that my father is stunting your political career since you aren't learning to lie," William said.

"Sorry dad, I promise I'll practice telling a lie every day," Doug said with a wink at William.

"That's a good start, son. I counted three lies in that one sentence."

William asked, "Three?"

"The first one was that he was sorry. The second one was a promise and we all know that by definition a promise from a politician or his family is a lie. The third one was that he was going to tell a lie every day. Makes a politician proud to see his son follow in his footsteps like that," the Governor said as he put an arm around Doug and hugged him close.

William burst out laughing. Grinning at the rare display of public affection, Doug said, "I'm just a chip off the old block."

Once the laughter died down, the Provost asked, "So Doug, what are your plans for the future?"

"I'm going after my doctorate in history. I've got an idea that I'm considering as the primary thesis of my dissertation, but I haven't fully committed to it yet," Doug answered with a shrug. He still hadn't found what he considered to be an ideal historical episode on which to put forth the idea of a failure of followership.

Suddenly serious, the Governor said, "If you pursue that topic, I'm pretty sure that you can get federal funding to support your work. The more that I think about it, the more I'm convinced that it's one of the most significant problems facing the world today."

Doug looked uncomfortable for a minute. Biting his lower lip, he said, "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't use your influence to help me with the funding."

"There's no need to go after government funding. I'll fund your work," William said.

The Governor's initial reaction was to get upset at Doug's suggestion that his help would not be appreciated, but William's comment demanded his immediate attention. Surprised, he asked, "Why?"

William smiled at the man's sudden change in expression and said, "Because I'm going to need his work to complete mine."

Stunned by William's reference to completing his work, Doug asked, "You're really going to pursue it, aren't you?"

"Yes. If you can demonstrate the problem, then I'll find a solution to it," William said.

"Where's your little brother?" the Governor asked. Over breakfast that morning, Doug had told him what William had proposed to do.

William looked around and spotted Eddie with his father talking in the corner. Pointing over to the pair, he said, "He's over there with my father. Why?"

"I'm going to march over there and tell him that he's right about you. That is the most ambitious project that I've ever heard anyone undertaking. For some reason, God help me, I believe that you'll accomplish it."

After a discussion in which more details about their future research projects had been exchanged, William drifted off to meet with other guests. He moved into the main room of the mansion where most of the guests were gathered. The party, in honor of his receiving the doctorate and Lucy receiving her bachelor's degree, was being held in the home of the University President. That hadn't been his plan. However, when the University President had heard who was on the guest list, he had volunteered his home.

William hadn't gone more than a dozen steps when Jan approached him. She smiled and said, "Congratulations, William."

"Thank you, Jan," William replied feeling a little guilty. For the first few months of her residency in the house, he had been in Texas. The past few months had been exceptionally busy. Much of his time had been spent negotiating the last draft with his supervisory committee. He said, "We haven't really had a chance to talk much since you moved into the RV. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great. I apologize about not coming into the house more often. It's just that I spend most of my time in the RV. I love it in there. I love the privacy, the quiet, and the comfort. I've never really had a place that I could call mine," Jan answered. There were times when she spread out on her couch luxuriating in her privacy.

It was easy to tell that Jan was very happy. Her smile was contagious and he was quickly infected with her happiness. William said, "I'm really glad that you like it. Lucy has loved having you around."

"Lucy has been wonderful. She takes me to school with her when you aren't available. We go shopping every week. She's been teaching me to cook. Of course, Lisa has been helping me with that as well."

William said, "It sounds like you've been busy. Now that it is getting warmer, maybe you could start joining us for Tai Chi in the morning."

"I'm not really much of a morning person. I've been getting up kind of late every morning," Jan replied feeling a little embarrassed at rejecting his offer. She felt that rejecting his offer was the same as denying that she owed him a lot.

"No problem. I'm sure that after years of having to wake with sunrise that sleeping in must be a real pleasure. Perhaps you'll join us in the pool on those hot afternoons in the summer," William said.

Jan blushed at the suggestion that she was waiting until summer to visit the pond. She said, "I haven't waited for it to get hot. Every day it is warm enough, I go down there and have a little swim."

"Excellent. Maybe one of these days Lucy and I will join you."

"That would be fun," she said. She looked around the room and a slight frown appeared on her face. She said, "You probably ought to visit with your other guests. A lot of important people have come to see you. There's no reason to spend your time with me."

Noticing the slight frown and recognizing that she didn't feel worthy of bothering him, William stepped to her stand beside her and put an arm around her shoulder. While giving her a friendly hug, he said, "I'm never too busy to talk with you. You're an important part of our household. Don't ever forget that."

"Thank you," she said with tears forming in her eyes.

"Come with me and meet some of these important people," William said as he used his arm around her to guide her over to where Kotyit and Dale were talking. They had just finished talking with the President of the University. The man had made it a point to suggest that they send graduates of the Native American College to his school. Kotyit was amazed that the man had sought him out like that.

Kotyit spotted William approaching and turned to Dale. With a wink at the younger man, he said, "Ah, Dr. Doolittle has decided to come visit us lowly folk."

William rolled his eyes and shook his head in amusement at the older man's use of the name of the fictional character. Kotyit was wearing a western style suit and looked quite sharp in it. William couldn't recall ever seeing the elderly man wearing a suit. "Hello, Kotyit. Dale."

Confused, Jan looked around to see if someone else was joining them and asked, "Dr. Doolittle?"

Pointing at William, Dale said, "His Tribal name is Talks with Animals. Now that he is a doctor, we think it might be appropriate to change his name to Dr. Doolittle."

"Oh, I get it," Jan said making the connection to the childhood film she had seen years before. When Dale started singing a little of the song about talking to the animals, she giggled at the idea of such an important man as Kotyit telling jokes like that. She patted William on the arm and said, "Dr. Doolittle, I'm going off to talk with Lucy Diamonds. Have fun with your friends."

"Okay, Jan," William said. He watched her walk over to Lucy and Eddie wondering why she had chosen to call Lucy by her street name.

"Lucy Diamonds?"

"That's the name the homeless call Lucy," William said.

"And what is your name among the homeless," asked Kotyit. He was curious about William's life away from the Native American community.

"Half Feather," William answered.

Concerned that the name was a way of calling William a half- breed, Dale asked, "Is there insult implied by that name?"

"None. If you ask any of the homeless, you will hear the name spoken with respect," William answered. He had gotten the name when he was eight and a couple of the homeless had called him half-pint. When William had mentioned his Native American heritage, another of the homeless men had asked him if he had a feather. After a few comments about lacking a feather and that a half-pint only needed half a feather, his nickname had been reduced to Half Feather.

"Dr. William Redman Carter, Talks With Animals, and Half Feather. That is a lot of names for one man to carry with him," Kotyit said looking over at William with the kind of affection an uncle would give a favored nephew. He was proud of his young friend.

"It is not the names, but the responsibilities that come with them that weigh a man down," William said.

"I'm sure that you do honor to each name," Kotyit said.

"I do what I can," William answered with a shrug. He looked at Kotyit and, in an attempt to change the subject, said, "Nice suit."

"You like it? My granddaughter said that I should wear it. She thinks she is a fashion expert," said Kotyit. From the tone of his voice, it was clear that he wasn't sure if he shared her opinion. He added, "I think it makes me look too white."

"No. It makes you look like a warrior. All we need to do is give you a brief case and everyone will run away from you," Dale said with a grin.

"I never thought I'd see the day when a red man wearing a suit instilled more fear in a white man than when he wore war paint," Kotyit said while shaking his head. He had been present when the White Buffalo had chosen a lawyer, Large Elk, to honor as a warrior. The message given had been to use the rules of society as a means to protect the people, but that they were to temper their efforts with compassion.

Smiling at the irony of the situation, William said, "The people grow stronger."

Nodding his head in agreement, Dale said, "Alcoholism is almost non-existent now. Our children are graduating school at a higher rate than all other ethnic groups in the country. Our men and women are earning good money. Many old wrongs have been righted."

Spotting Ling, Kotyit said, "Speaking of righting old wrongs, I see your mothers are here. We owe them a great debt for helping to save the White Buffalo. If you'll excuse me, I would like to go talk to them."

"Of course," William said with a smile.

Dale watched Kotyit leave and then turned to William. In a soft voice that wouldn't carry, he said, "Kotyit and I were talking about how some of the tribal elders are having problems accepting that the world has really changed. They are waiting for the bad news to come."

"I understand their feelings. We should not belittle them for being slow to recognize change, but praise them for their diligence in watching out for the welfare of the tribes," William said.

The idea of addressing the problems that were resulting from tribal elders by praising them for their diligence shocked Dale. He said, "You can't be serious!"

"I'm very serious. You and I are young. We accept what we see happening as good and right. The elders have seen much more of life's outrages than either of us. They are suspicious of what is happening. Their suspicions are founded on experience. Let us not discount that experience too readily," William counseled.

"What do you suggest?"

"How about Kotyit and I make a visit to the tribal elders of the five hundred tribes?" Although there were five hundred tribes, they would only have to visit forty locations if they invited the smaller tribes to attend a few larger meetings.

Dale was silent for a minute as he considered the suggestion. He knew that as much as Kotyit supported what was happening, there were times when the rate of change threatened to overwhelm him. He asked, "Are you sure that Kotyit is the right person to go with you?"

"Yes. His presence will balance my youth."

"Good enough. I suggest you visit our tribe first to see how things go," Dale said expecting William to discover the true difficultly of the task that he was planning to undertake.

The conversation was interrupted when a campus policeman came over to William. Bending over to speak in his ear, he said, "Excuse me, Dr. Carter. There is a homeless man outside who says that he is an invited guest, but he doesn't have an invitation with him."

"Ah, that would be Fat Fred. Let him in," William said. Seeing the expression on the man's face, William said, "Don't worry. Like you, he is a law enforcement officer."

"Oh. Okay," the officer replied wondering if the man was some sort of undercover agent.

William turned to Dale and said, "Prepare to meet Fat Fred."

"That's not a nice way to refer to someone," Dale said.

"That is his name," William said. He turned to face the door in time to see Fat Fred enter. It seemed to him that the big man had gained weight over the past few months.

Fat Fred was wearing the same clothes that he wore everyday on the street and didn't seem to care that he was not as well dressed as everyone else. The big man looked around the room without embarrassment. It only took him a minute to spot William who was waving to him. Walking past a rather surprised Provost, Fat Fred shouted, "Hello, Half Feather!"

William waited for Fat Fred to be a little closer before he answered, "Hello, Fat Fred."

"Ah, I see you have another Indian with you. Hmmm, what might your name be?"

Frowning at being called an Indian, Dale answered, "I'm Dale."

"Dale? What a boring name. Names should be expressive. Names should be fun. They should describe you in some way." He paused and then asked, "You are a friend of William?"

William smiled at the question and answered, "He's a good friend of mine. We were classmates at the Native American College. We have much in common."

Fat Fred looked at Dale for a moment and then, with a large grin, said, "If you don't stop frowning, I'll have to name you Frownin' Man."

"Huh?"

"That would be worse than going through life known as Fat Fred," he said while patting his rather large stomach. "Of course, I've worked hard to achieve the rotund body that you see before you. I even take a great deal of pride in it."

Winking at Dale, William said, "I think that Desert Dale would be a good name for my friend."

"Desert Dale? I like it," the large man said. His voice carried across the room. Turning to Dale, he added, "I will tell my people that Desert Dale is a friend of Half Feather and Lucy Diamonds. If you're ever in trouble, tell a homeless person that you are Desert Dale. They will help you in what ever way they can."

"They will help me?" Dale asked wondering how anyone who couldn't help themselves could possibly help him.

"Yes. They will help you because you are a friend of Half Feather," Fat Fred answered in a serious tone of voice. He looked around for a second and then leaned over towards William to ask, "Where's the food?"

William laughed and pointed to a doorway across the room. He said, "It's over in that room over there. Fix yourself a plate or three and mingle with my other guests."

"I'm good at mingling. If you want to find me, just look for the people running from a room! I'll be there," Fat Fred said with a belly laugh. Still chuckling to himself, he waddled off to the room that William had indicated. Even from the other room, he could hear Fat Fred greet Doug, "Hello, Old Tales! How's the history biz going?"

Turning to William, Dale asked, "What was all that about?"

"You've been accepted by the homeless as my friend," William answered.

"And that is a good thing?" Dale asked with a snort.

"Yes, it is. Don't underestimate the help they can provide. They saved Lucy from getting beaten by two men who had been hired to hurt her. If you are ever in real trouble, they will help you out," William answered. Putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, he said, "I must warn you that there's a price for their friendship."

"What price?"

"It is the same price that you always have to pay for friendship. You have to accept them despite their flaws," William answered.

I'd like to thank Drahkan for editing this story



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Chapter 35


"Congratulations, Dr. Carter," Oliver Brown said with a grin. He was seated in a large chair in one of the emptier rooms of the mansion sipping on an iced tea. He was wearing a pair of silvered sunglasses. Despite years of living with his gift, it still hurt him to be around too many people.

William took a seat across from the Grand Druid and said, "Thank you. What are you doing in here?"

"I'm hiding from the President of the University. He wants me to send some of our graduating students here," Oliver answered with a shake of his head. He had talked to Kotyit and found that the man had a similar experience with the President. It was hard to blame him. Every University administrator wanted to attract the best and brightest students they could.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" William asked.

"No need. He was just doing his job as he saw it," Oliver said with a tired wave of his hand. The thought of attracting good students made him think of some students who had recently applied to the Druid College. He said, "I heard that you ran off to Texas to work on your Dissertation."

"Yes. I went to my father's hometown," William replied.

Oliver sat up a little and said, "That's real interesting. So I guess we have you to thank for two students who applied to the Druid College."

"Two? I figured one," William said.

"Which one? Mark Thomson or Wanda Torrence?"

"Mark," William answered, "I've never met Wanda."

"It appears that her friend suggested that she apply," Oliver said. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small notepad. He looked it over for a moment and realized he couldn't make out the last name. Giving up, he said, "Yes, a fellow by the name of Joe."

"Ah, I know Joe," William said with a nod of his head. "So what about them?"

"Nothing. I just thought it was a little odd that two people applied all of a sudden from your father's hometown," Oliver answered. "It is an interesting co-incidence that you happened to have just visited there not that long ago."

"A young woman there was given a wonderful opportunity by the Rangers, too."

"That is interesting. Is it something in the water?"

"It is nothing that exotic. I was there and talked to people. Some of them discovered talents that they didn't know they had," William said in a matter of fact voice that was neither boastful nor modest, but more like the tone one would use to say that they had rinsed out a glass.

"So how do you feel now that you've finished your education?"

Laughing at the question, William answered, "The only education that I finished was the formal one. I'll be learning new things for the rest of my life."

"Good answer. I'll have to remember it and use it in a graduation speech," Oliver said with a smile.

"That's odd. If I recall correctly, that's where I heard it."

"Have you had a chance to talk with your grandfather yet?"

"We chatted a little this morning. I expect we'll spend some time out on the patio this evening," William answered. He was pleased when the Reverend Jones was able to slip away from school to attend his graduation. The thought of his grandfather teaching at the Druid College reminded him of another topic. William was quiet for a moment and then asked, "How is Oscar Meyers?"

Puzzled, Oliver sat up and studied William for a moment. Curious, he said, "You seem to take a lot of interest in Oscar. Why?"

"I don't know. It seems to me that our futures are entwined somehow, but the connections are very nebulous. I don't understand it," William answered. Every time the subject of Oscar Meyers came up there was some sort of uneasy feeling that came over him.

"Are you going to be involved in bringing peace to the world?" The idea that William and Oscar were somehow linked was intriguing. He wanted to see the two of them together and see what his gift would show him.

"I don't think so. I know that we are both going to serve the Two- Sided One, but we are both waiting for that to happen. It just seems weird to me that we are both waiting around for our service to begin," William said.

The Grand Druid studied William for a moment and then asked, "Did you know that the average age at which a Druid begins their service is thirty two?"

"No."

"You aren't even eighteen. Don't rush into your service."

Their discussion was interrupted by a shout from the entrance to the mansion, "The weird man in a green dress has arrived. Let the party begin!" The announcement was followed by lots of laughter from the other room.

"Happy Harry is here," William said with a grin.

"Someone is going to have to teach that man the meaning of the word shy."

Laughing at the idea of trying to teach Harry how to be shy, William said, "I once told him that I had seen the center of the universe. I asked him if he knew what I found there. He answered, 'Of course. You found me looking back at you.' I don't know if he was joking."

"Sounds like Harry," Oliver said with a smile.

"Let me go out there and protect all of the women from his charms," William said with a wink.

"You just keep attempting the impossible. I expect that one of these days you just might succeed," Oliver said. He laughed at the look on the young man's face.

William stepped into the room where Harry was standing with his arm around the wife of the President of the University. The normally conservative woman was giggling like a school girl. William had to wonder what he was saying to the woman. He was heading over to the pair when he heard a familiar voice in his mind. "He's not going to live forever. You need to start preparing for the day when he returns to us."

William faltered and came to a stop. He thought, 'It can't be.'

"That is the nature of life, my little one."

"When?"

"You will know when the time is to come," the voice said. As quick as it had come, the feeling of the other world presence was gone. The feeling was replaced by an ache in the pit of his stomach.

Happy Harry shook William's arm. With a look of concern, he asked, "Are you all right, William?"

Shaking his head, William said, "The Two-Sided One was here."

Seeing the expression on William's face, Harry had an idea about the subject of discussion. He said, "He said something about me."

"Yes," William said without thinking, "he said that you won't live forever."

Harry was about to make a glib comment and then realized the seriousness of an exchange between William and the Two Sided One. He asked, "Did he say when I'm to die?"

"No. Just that I would know when the time was to come," William answered still shaken by the conversation.

"Ah," Harry said. His mind was working a thousand miles an hour trying to figure out what it meant. Finally, he said, "William, I want you to promise me that you'll let me know when my time has come."

"I can't do that, Harry," William said with a frown. "I can't tell you that in so many hours you are going to die. I don't want to be the messenger who brings such horrible news."

"It isn't horrible news. It's a chance for me to let the special people in my life know that I care about them for the last time," Harry said. For the first time in years, emotions threatened to keep him from talking. Harry licked his lips and finally managed to say, "I'm a rolling stone. I never take a moment just to sit down and put things in order. I need that chance. You have to give it to me. Promise me that you'll tell me."

William felt that nothing good could come out of such a promise, but his feelings were not based on his ability to see the future. Shaking his head, he said, "Harry..."

Harry said, "William. I want you to swear on your future service to the Two-Sided One that when you learn that I'm to die that you'll tell me."

Ears ringing, William felt dizzy. He knew that the Two-Sided One had chosen that moment to tell him for some reason. Was the reason so that Harry could extract that promise from him? He didn't know. Looking up at Harry, William said, "I so swear."

The relief that washed over Harry was visible. In a soft voice, the old man said, "Thank you William."

"I don't know if you'll thank me when I come to you one day in the future and say that tomorrow you die," William said with a heavy heart.

Patting William on the shoulder, Harry said, "William, you are the son I've never had. Do not worry about my reaction. I'll thank you on that day."

William continued to frown. He said, "Okay, Harry."

Happy Harry decided to change the subject. "So, what I understand about your dissertation is that if enough people understand something, someone is going to try to profit from it. Did I get it right?"

William laughed at the simplification of his research result and said, "You know. If I had talked to you a couple of years ago, it wouldn't have been necessary for me to do all that work."

"Aw."

Laughing, William pointed at Jennifer talking to her mother. He asked, "Do you see that young lady?"

"Yes, I do," Harry answered. Adopting a lecherous expression, he added, "She's a little young for me."

Pointing to the son of the President of the University, he asked, "Do you see that young man?"

"Ah, he looks at the young lady with desire. A great desire if I'm not mistaken," Harry answered with a grin.

"Yes, I would say so too," William said with a playful expression on his face.

"What do you think we should do about that?" Harry asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"I don't know. Maybe some weird guy in a dress could introduce them to each other," William suggested with a knowing wink.

Harry strode over to where Jennifer stood and picked her up. She screamed in shock at the unexpected treatment. Before she knew it, Harry was walking across the room carrying her in his arms. She kicked her legs and tried to get away. Happy Harry stopped in front of the young man and, in a voice that carried through the whole room, said, "What was that you said young man? I'm to unhand her before you thrash me to within an inch of my life. Ah, I am terrified!"

The young man stared at Harry in shock. He had said no such thing. Harry set a squealing Jennifer down and stepped back. As theatrical as he could, he said, "Ah, young lady. This young man has threatened me with great harm if I continue off with you. Reward him with a kiss for having saved your virtue."

Harry pushed the two together so that they found themselves with their arms around each other. He turned to face the room with the back of his hand to his forehead and announced to the room, "The dashing hero has saved the fair maiden. True love wins the day. Let us all give them privacy so that the maiden can express her thanks without an audience."

Ling, followed by four bodyguards, had dashed into the room before Jennifer had even stopped screaming. They watched, transfixed, as Harry pursued his little drama. It was like watching two trains collide. It was horrible, but fascinating none the less. When it was over, Ling said, "That was awful."

Harry put his hands over his heart and said, "Twice in one day women have rejected me. First it was the young lady and now you. I am crushed."

Looking at Harry staring down at the ground as if he had lost everything, Ling burst out laughing. She grabbed his arm and said, "Come with me, Harry. I'll try to find someone who won't reject you."

Rock turned to Colt and said, "I tell you, these Druids are crazy."

William went over to Marjory. Pointing at Jennifer, he said, "Look at that. I didn't know that a human being could turn that shade of red. I'd say that the young man with her is about the same shade. Do you think they could be embarrassed or something?"

Flabbergasted, Marjory had witnessed the entire thing. Shaking her head, she said, "Embarrassed? No. I'd say that they're mortified."

"That's a nice word for it." Offering his arm, William said, "Care to join me for a little something to eat from the buffet?"

Seeing that her daughter hadn't removed her arms from around the young man, Marjory decided that maybe something good was going to come out of it. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Why not?"

When they reached Lucy, William offered her his other arm. Lucy was laughing and asked, "Did you set that up with Harry?"

"We might have talked about the subject for a bit," William answered with a grin. He winked at Marjory and said, "I might have suggested that he introduce them."

"Of course, that explains everything," Lucy said. There were times when being around William and Harry was an adventure. She never knew what was going to happen next. She asked, "By the way, where are we heading?"

"To get something to eat," William answered. He heard a giggle from another room and said, "I think Harry just met Jan."

"Should we rescue her?"

"Do you think she wants to be rescued?"

"Not at all," Lucy said with a smile.

When they entered the room where the food was being served, Lucy looked over at Fat Fred and stopped. William looked at her and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Did you hire Fat Fred to serve snacks?"

Marjory looked over in the direction Lucy was pointing. A large homeless man was walking around with a tray and offering the items to the other people in the room. When they would refuse to take one, he'd pop one in his mouth. She asked, "What's that man doing?"

"I'd say that he's having a little fun," William answered.

Fat Fred came over and offered the tray. He said, "Odd, people don't seem to be all that interested in the food."

"It looks good to me." William grabbed a little pizza off the tray and popped it into his mouth.

"Hey, that's supposed to be for me," Fat Fred said surprised that William had taken one.

Lucy grabbed one and, winking at Fat Fred, said, "Looks good. Are you having fun?"

"I was until you started eating all my food," Fat Fred said staring down at the plate. William grabbed another little pizza. He nudged Marjory and she took one.

"How did that get to be your food?" Marjory asked holding the little pizza in her hand. She didn't really want to eat it.

"When the person who was carrying the tray around gave it to me, we decided that I could eat whatever people left behind."

Rolling her eyes, Lucy asked, "Is that what really happened?"

"Well. Actually, I took the tray. The waiter person said that it was for all the guests. I suggested that I'd offer it to everyone and then eat whatever they didn't take. He went off in quite a huff."

"I can imagine," Lucy said, "Happy Harry is here. Why don't you go see if he wants any?"

Fat Fred looked crestfallen. Looking down at the tray, he said, "He'll eat all the rest."

Grinning, William said, "Don't worry about him. I think he's with Jan."

"I guess I better go find Harry. He really should have something to eat," Fat Fred said as he rushed out of the room carrying the tray with him.

Marjory watched the large man waddle out of the room. She looked at Lucy and asked, "What was that about?"

"Oh, I think that Fat Fred has a little crush on our dear Jan," Lucy answered. She grinned and said, "I'd say that he's afraid that Harry will work his magic upon her. Harry could melt the heart of an ice queen and charm the panties off a nun. You are so lucky that young man stopped him from carrying off your daughter. She'd be a fallen woman by nightfall."

Marjory laughed at the reminder of her daughter's earlier ordeal and wondered how she was doing. Looking at the food, she said, "Let's eat."

Dave and Karla Anderson spotted William while he was returning from a trip to the bathroom. Having heard that two of the kids from their town had enrolled in the Druid College, Dave was interested in talking with William. They moved to intercept him, but he spotted them first and headed in their direction.

William shook hands with Dave and hugged Karla. After getting caught up on the local gossip, Dave asked, "What are your plans for the future?

"I'm staying here for another two years while Lucy works on her Master's degree," William answered with pride.

"Shouldn't she go off to another school?"

William shrugged and answered, "This is our home until the house in Arizona is built. She didn't really want to move, so she decided to stay here. I'll support her in what ever she wants to accomplish."

Running a hand along Dave's back, Karla said, "And she'll appreciate that very much."

"You'll enjoy her appreciation," Dave said with a grin. He ran his hand along Karla's back, but his hand ended a lot lower on her body than her hand had gone on his. She giggled.

William looked across the room at Lucy and said, "We're getting married in a month. I can't wait."

"We're looking forward to it as well," Karla said. She didn't want to spoil the surprise by mentioning that she'd been working on a painting of William and Lucy. She said, "We've made all the arrangements to attend."

Dave started to mention something about their present, "Karla has been..."

Karla slipped her hand down and goosed him. She finished for him, "I've been so excited about your upcoming wedding that I've been driving Dave crazy."

William looked from Dave to Karla and laughed at the expression on their faces. He said, "Keep your secrets."

"We will."

Changing the subject, William said, "Karla, I would like to talk to you about a commission."

"A commission?" Karla asked hoping that he wasn't going to ask for a portrait of the pair of them.

"Yes, there is a Druid studying at the Druid College. I would like it if you could do a portrait of him after he graduates. You are going to have to keep this commission a secret though."

"Who is it?"

"Oscar Meyers," William answered. He said, "He's going to do something with international consequence. You'll have the only portrait of him."

Karla stared at William unable to believe what he said. Her most famous piece was of John Carter from just before he died. Amazed, she asked, "Why me?"

"You are the best," William answered with a smile.

"Will they let me visit while I'm working on it?"

"You'll need to talk to Oliver Brown and arrange it," William answered. He recalled his conversation with the Two-Sided One. He asked, "I would like a bronze statue of someone. Is there anyone you would recommend?"

Karla thought about it for a minute. There were a couple of very good people that came to mind. Finally, she recalled the one name of the person who had impressed her the most. She said, "Dante. If I remember correctly, he lives in Pittsburg."

"Is he good?"

"Yes, but he doesn't seem to have produced anything in the last three years,"

William thought about it for a second and then asked, "I've never heard of him. Where can I see an example of his work?"

"He has a piece at the Native American College. I think it is the bust of Geronimo," she replied.

William was very familiar with that sculpture. It was placed in a very prominent location inside the door. Nodding his head, he said, "I remember that piece. It is very powerful."

"Like I said, he hasn't produced anything in the past three years. I don't know if he's still working or not," Karla said. Curious, she asked, "What do you want a statue for?"

"A very large hole is going to open in this universe. I need something with which to fill it."

Once all of the guests had left, William headed out to his Hugger with his arm around Lucy. The bodyguards were marching behind them with Jan talking to the women. Lucy asked, "Did you enjoy the party?"

"Yes, I did," William answered thinking it over. The conversations had covered the entire gamut from happy and amusing to sad and serious.

"There was a little time there when you seemed upset while talking to Happy Harry. What happened?"

Shrugging, William said, "I'd rather talk about it later. Did you enjoy the party?"

"Very much," Lucy answered. It was her graduation party as well. She said, "You know, after my father had fought to keep me out of school for so long, he was so proud of me for graduating with honors at such a young age."

"He's right to be proud of you. I'm proud of you," William said.

"What I did was nothing. You graduated with a PhD," Lucy said.

Looking over at Lucy, William said, "And I didn't have to fight my parents in the same way that you did. The fact of the matter is that life isn't a race."

"It's not?" Lucy asked. She enjoyed when William started getting philosophical on her.

"A successful life is about enjoying as much as you can while helping those around you enjoy as much as they can. It isn't a race to see who can visit the most places, collect the most toys, make the most money, or achieve the most honors. Two people can walk down the same trail at different speeds and notice entirely different things along the way. Who is to say which person gets more out of the trip?

"I think that what is important is that we both celebrated an accomplishment today. They are different accomplishments, but there is no reason not to enjoy and celebrate them with equal fervor."

"Fervor? Who talks like that?" Lucy asked in a teasing voice.

William laughed and said, "You do."

I'd like to thank Drahkan for editing this story.



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Chapter 36


Nancy Darnell, Mistress of Ceremonies for the Druids, stood at head of the platform. She had finished explaining the significance of the ceremony that was to take place and now she was waiting for the bride and groom. This was her first wedding ceremony in which none of the individuals involved were a Druid. Oliver had volunteered to perform the ceremony, but she had insisted that she be allowed the honor. It was, after all, her service.

A very serene Lucy walked to the platform from the dressing room. She was radiant. She had never looked as beautiful as she did in her white robe. A hush fell upon the people in the stands of the stadium. It was amazing how quiet five thousand people could become. Lucy stepped onto the platform. When she reached a spot just in front of Nancy, she stopped and turned to look back the way she came.

William left the door and walked alone to the platform. He looked handsome in his blue robe. While her approach had been serene, William's gave the impression of being in a hurry. He stepped onto the platform and stopped beside her. They turned to look at each other. The love in their eyes was obvious to even the guests seated furthest from them. William reached out and took her hand.

Nancy, using a sword, traced a circle around the platform. When she had closed the circle, she shouted, "Be gone negative energies."

She lowered the sword and traced a second circle around the platform. When she had closed the circle, she shouted, "Protect us from negative energies."

She traced out a circle a third time. Once the circle was closed, she shouted, "Make us invisible to those that mean us harm."

By warding the area from evil, the platform had become sacred ground. She went to a covered table and removed the cover to reveal a jar of wine, a silver goblet, and a small knife. She placed the sword upon the table.

Upon picking up the jar of wine, she held it up and shouted, "May the Gods and Goddesses bless this wine!"

William was sure that he could see an aura of energy settle around the bottle of wine. Nancy returned the bottle to the table. Smiling at the couple, she asked, "Do you swear before the Gods and Goddesses that you enter this union of your own free will?"

Together, William and Lucy answered, "Yes."

Nancy turned to face the guests and shouted, "Do you swear by the deity that you hold most holy that this couple has answered yes?"

With the roar that only five thousand voices raised as one can make, the audience answered, "Yes."

She shouted, "Then no person may question the decision to be in this marriage!"

Turning to the couple, she asked, "Do you swear by the Gods and Goddesses that you enter into this marriage to love and be loved?"

"Yes," the couple answered in one voice.

Nancy turned to face the guests and shouted, "Do you swear by the deity that you hold most holy that this couple has answered yes?"

With the roar, the audience answered, "Yes."

She shouted, "Then no person may question the motives behind this marriage!"

Nancy returned to the table and picked up the jar of wine. She poured a small amount of the wine into the silver goblet before replacing the jar on the table. She picked up the silver goblet and the small knife. She stepped up to William and said, "Hold out your hand."

Knowing that she was about to invoke one of the most powerful acts of magic, William held out his hand. She stabbed a finger with the knife and held the goblet under the wound to catch his blood. She went to Lucy and told her, "Hold out your hand."

Nervous about getting cut, Lucy held out a trembling hand. Nancy stabbed the finger and caught the few drops of blood that escaped from the wound in the silver goblet. She winked at Lucy who was staring at the cut on her finger wondering why it wasn't hurting.

Nancy returned to the table and swirled the mixture of wine and blood. She then poured the mixture back into the jar. She set the silver goblet back on the table and picked up the jar. She swirled the jar so that the contents could mix. Once she was satisfied, she poured a little of the wine back into the silver goblet.

Holding the goblet up for all to see, she said, "By drinking the wine in this goblet, you will bind yourselves to each other for a period of one year."

She handed the goblet to William. He drank half of the contents and handed it back to her. She then handed it to Lucy. Looking over the edge of the goblet at William, Lucy finished the contents of the goblet. It seemed to Lucy and William as if a bolt of lightning had blasted through them the moment she finished the wine. A rope of energy tied their souls together making them one.

Nancy took the goblet from a stunned Lucy and placed it on the table. When the couple recovered, she said, "Each year, on the anniversary of this date, you will fill this goblet with some wine from this jug. You renew your joining for another year by taking a sip of wine."

Nancy closed the jar of wine and handed it to William. She then handed the silver goblet to Lucy. The young couple held onto their items as if they were the most valuable things in the world. Nancy said, "If either of you chooses not to renew your role in the joining, then you need not drink of the wine. That shall end the bond that has been forged between you."

"Say hello to the newest family of the Clan Carter!" Nancy shouted.

The people in the stands went crazy. Shouts of hello and congratulations echoed through the basketball stadium. It was nowhere near as loud as when the Denver Nuggets won a game at the last second, but it was an impressive sound none the less.

Walking together, William and Lucy walked out of the arena. Once they were out of view, they put down the jar of wine and goblet. Lucy jumped onto William; wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. In dire need, she said, "I'm so horny that my nipples are going to burst."

Rather than answer, William kissed Lucy with passion. It was a minute later before they broke apart. In a lusty voice, William said, "We can't have any exploding nipples. What do you suggest?"

"Get out of that robe and take care of the problem!" Lucy growled even while pulling her robe off.

A white robe and a blue robe settled onto the ground with Lucy lying atop them. It was hard to say if William mounted Lucy. It was more like she pulled him into her. Frantic with desire, they coupled on the floor. Each time Lucy climaxed, the feeling of lightning shot through both of them. The lightning grew stronger each time. Over and over, she came until he collapsed atop her after having his orgasm. Breathless, they held each other. Finally, Lucy said, "Wow."

"Wow, is right," William said still breathing heavily from his actions. He struggled to rise and then asked, "Are we still on the basketball court?"

"I don't think so," she said with a giggle. Truth to tell, she wasn't sure.

"Do you still have your nipples or did they explode?"

"You acted in time, they are still here," Lucy said with a giggle as she looked down at her chest. Her chest was glowing red with an orgasmic blush.

William reached over and put an arm around her. They moved together so that they were cuddling. He said, "This is nice."

"We should get out to the reception," she said.

"It'll take a half an hour for everyone to get outside to the reception."

"How long have we been in here?"

William kissed her neck before he answered, "Forever would not be long enough."

"We should get out to the reception," she said again.

"There are five thousand people out there and the only one I want to see is in here with me," William said and then kissed his way down to her nipples. Lucy sighed at the intense feelings that his kisses created within her.

"You win," she said and reached for him.

"Didn't you say that we should go out to the reception?" William teased. He gave a little nip to her hard nipple.

"Screw the reception, make love to me," Lucy replied. His attention was driving her crazy. For the next hour, he did as she commanded. This time the pace was slow and loving, but the feelings no less intense. Again, each orgasm was accompanied by bolts of lightning that drew them ever closer. By the time they finished, it seemed to them that their bodies shared a single soul.

Looking over the crowd, it was hard for Lucy to believe how many people were gathered in one place for a single wedding. The largest contingent present, over 2000, consisted of men and women who were either homeless or sex workers. They came to give honor to Half Feather and Lucy Diamonds. Happy Harry waved to the newlywed couple. Together they walked over to where he was waiting for them.

"We came to give you our wedding present," Bottle Cap said shifting nervously from one foot to the other. As the man running the Pittsburg Homeless Hotel, he had the most exposure to Half Feather and Lucy Diamonds. As such, he had been named spokesman for the group.

William said, "You needn't give us anything."

In a very serous voice, Bottle Cap said, "Many months have been spent arguing over what kind of wedding present we, the poorest of the land, could give one of the richest men in the country. The debate ranged from coast to coast and we despaired of ever finding a suitable present."

"In the end, it was the Angel of Chicago who convinced us that the one gift that would mean the most to you was our continued friendship. We know that it is not much of a gift, but it is all that we can give," he said. Pointing to the men and women crowded behind him, he said, "I pledge to you our undying friendship on behalf of all of us. If you are ever in need, afraid, or lonely, come to us. We shall satisfy your need, chase away your fear, and keep you company."

William was silent for a moment while he looked over the crowd. When he was sure that he had their attention, he said, "Kings would honor us with titles. Rich men would give us gold. Of all the gifts that one person can give another, there is not one as valuable as friendship. Let each of you know that we value your gift above all else that we could imagine."

Lucy stepped forward and kissed Bottle Cap on the forehead. In a soft voice that managed to carry across the crowd, Lucy said, "In return for your friendship, we give you our love."

Touched, Bottle Cap stepped back and turned to look at the men and women gathered behind him. He was going to ask if they had heard what Lucy Diamonds had said, but the awe struck expressions told him that they had. He looked back at Lucy and said, "You give us too much, but we shall remember this."

"We have food, song, and entertainment for all. Eat, drink, and be merry for today Half Feather and Lucy Diamonds have married!" William shouted.

The crowd roared their approval and dispersed to enjoy themselves. In less than a minute, Happy Harry was left alone with William and Lucy. Shaking his head, he said, "You two never cease to amaze me. About the time that I think you can do no more for my people; you do more for my people."

William shook his head and asked, "What did we do compared to millions offering us their friendship?"

Happy Harry embraced the two of them and said, "Accept the blessings of a broken down old Druid."

The young couple hugged Harry. Lucy's eyes were moist when she finally released him. "Thank you, Harry."

Trying to lighten the mood, Harry said, "They really spent a lot of time trying to come up with the perfect gift. It was even suggested that they should give you the California Kid, but they were afraid that you would return him and they'd be stuck with him forever."

Lucy laughed at the joke. She'd met the California Kid and liked him. He was a romantic at heart. She said, "We wouldn't have returned him right away."

"Now go mingle with your other guests," Harry said while wiping his eyes.

The couple wandered away to be intercepted by Chief Robert White Feather. Looking over the young couple, he said, "So many have pledged themselves to the two of you this day. Across the courtyard, another group waits to make the same pledge to you."

William looked in the direction in which his uncle had pointed. He saw the representatives of the five hundred tribes waiting for them to come over. Nodding his head, he said, "Thank you."

When they reached the gathering of Native Americans, a man, woman, and child stepped forward from the crowd. William recognized the man as Large Elk. The woman was a school teacher by the name of Talks Truly. The child, a young boy, was named Raven Feather. All three had been selected by the White Buffalo.

Large Elk, after handing William a packet of cigarettes, said, "Talks With Animals, let it be known that from this day forth you are welcome in any tribal meeting at any time. As first voice of the White Buffalo, your council will be honored."

Talks Truly looked at Lucy for a minute and then said, "Lucy, let it be known that from this day forth your name among our people is Walks With Wisdom."

Lucy looked over at William thinking that as long as she was beside William, that her name was indeed appropriate. William looked over at Lucy thinking that he had never met anyone who so embodied wisdom.

Raven Feather stepped forward looking very nervous. He began, "Talks With Animals and Walks With Wisdom, let it be..." He faltered and looked over at his mother who was standing to the side. She mimicked saying the words and then he said, "known that from this day forth that we name you friend."

The young boy burst into a great smile at having gotten through his little speech. William was impressed while Lucy thought he was the cutest thing she had ever seen. She wanted to pick him up and hug him, but that wouldn't be appropriate.

William turned to Large Elk and said, "You have given me a great honor. Any tribe can call upon me at any time and I will come."

Lucy looked at Talks Truly and said, "You have given me a great honor. From this day forth, I shall name you my people."

William said, "No greater honor can be bestowed than friendship."

"We give our love and friendship in return," Lucy said.

The crowd slowly dispersed, satisfied with the exchange. Gifts of equal value had been exchanged. William gestured to Great Elk. The warrior came over and asked, "What can I do for you?"

Pointing to a group of well dressed individuals, William answered, "We have almost four hundred guests from various fortune five hundred companies, two hundred from government agencies, and over a hundred politicians. I thought that you may be interested in talking with some of them. There are some who need to be warned away and others who could be invited closer."

"A warrior's work is never done," Great Elk said with a grin. He looked over at the group and said, "I appreciate the suggestion."

Lucy approached Talks Truly and asked, "Could I speak with you a moment?"

The middle aged woman turned and looked at Lucy. Concerned by the young woman's serious demeanor, she asked, "What is the matter?"

"I was wondering if you could recommend someone to teach me the ways of our people. I would hate to do dishonor to the name you have given me because of my ignorance," Lucy said.

"You were well named," the woman said with a smile. She said, "I have just the person for that task. She is undisciplined, but passionate about our history and our ways. You would both have much to teach each other."

"Thank you," Lucy said.

"I will send her to you at the end of summer," Talks Truly said.

William looked around at the people with a sigh. There were so many of them and too many wanted things from him. He shook his head. Raven Feather said, "You don't look like you're having fun. It's your party, shouldn't you be having fun?"

Lucy looked over at Raven Feather and said, "You are right. We should be having fun. Would you like to play a game of Hunt the Bug-Eyed Monsters?"

"Oh yeah," he said with a grin. He looked over at his mother. She gave him a nod that it would be all right with her. With obvious enthusiasm, he said, "I'd like to do that."

Grinning at the idea, William said, "Oh yeah. It's definitely time for a little game of Hunt the Bug-Eyed Monsters."

Several hours later, Kelly, Ling, Linda, Claire, and Ann stared at the group of kids seated around the basketball court. All five of the mothers were shaking their heads. After the disappearance of the newlyweds, the guests had started asking about them. Concerned, they had sent the husbands off to find them. When the husbands failed to return, they had gone off to find what had happened. There on the floor were William, Lucy, Ed, Leroy, Little John, Susan, Beth, John, and Dan with a group of kids surrounding each one. Kelly asked, "Can you believe it?"

Shaking her head, Linda said, "They have five thousand guests and they spend the time playing with the kids."

Claire said, "They look like they are having fun."

"The boys will be boys," Kelly said watching Ed hold his head in his hands when the kids proclaimed some problem against the bugs. She grinned at the obvious pleasure the adults were having and said, "I'm surprised at Lucy. I though she had more sense than to abandon five thousand guests."

"Don't be," Ling said winking at Ann. She grinned and said, "She's a lot like William."

Looking over at her wife, Linda said, "That must drive you crazy."

"I like her," Ling said with a shrug. She watched Lucy acting as central control sending ships of bug hunters to different locations in the galaxy. She brought other ships back to the station so that the crews could have snacks up in the stands. She added, "You know, she glows when she's with William. William actually smiles almost all the time that he's with her. She's turned our serious little William into a pleasant young man."

Wiping a tear from her eye, Linda said, "I worried for a long time about William finding someone who understood him. She knows his moods and is there for him when he needs her. I'm so happy he found her."

"Sorry lot of mother-in-laws we are," Claire said in a mock tone of disgust. "We can't even think of one catty thing to say about our daughter-in-law."

Ann, Lucy's mother, said, "Same here. I love William to death. Lucy was so lucky to find him. It takes a special man to appreciate her."

Kelly nodded her agreement and asked, "Do we break up the game now?"

"No, let them play. Anyone who wants to talk to them bad enough can join the game," Ling said. She looked in the direction from which they had come and said, "Too many of the guests want things from them. Let them have fun today. Tomorrow they have the party circuit to make."

"Rather hard to ask for investment advice while William's piloting a space ship," Kelly agreed. She shook her head and said, "Let's rejoin the party and let people know that there is nothing to be concerned about."

William's mothers left the arena while Ann stayed behind. Ann watched the spectacle for another few minutes with tears in her eyes. She had never seen her daughter play like that. Being three or four years younger than the kids in her classes and four grades ahead of kids her age had robbed her of play pals. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she said, "You're so lucky to have found William."

The game slowly disbanded and William and Lucy went out to the reception. They were almost immediately overwhelmed by people wishing them luck and congratulating them on their marriage. Their classmates from the university they had just graduated from and William's classmates from the Native American College and the Druid College gave congratulations and then asked about future plans. Neighbors and friends gave them their best wishes. Business associates and government representatives tended to ask for his help or influence.

Lucy spent a little time with Kelly. The older woman pointed out how many of the young women seemed fascinated by William. Lucy had observed that phenomenon in the past, although it was becoming increasingly more frequent. William, with his exotic features, was extremely handsome and it was obvious that other women felt the same way. The pair had a little talk before Lucy went off to stand by William.

The crowd was thinning before William got a chance to talk to Derrick. The former bully was leaning against a post smoking a cigarette and watching everyone else. William asked, "Could you give me one of those?"

Derrick handed William a cigarette and said, "That was a real nice ceremony. It seems kind of strange to think of a marriage lasting only a year, though."

"It keeps us from taking each other for granted," William said after he lit the cigarette.

"I can see where that would be the case," Derrick replied. He was silent for a moment and then said, "It took a while, but I've decided that I like Ling. At first, second, and third glance, she's a pretty scary lady."

"Yes, she is," William agreed.

"Still, you know exactly where you stand with her," Derrick said, "and I like that."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"I guess that's why I like working for you."

Confused, William asked, "Because you like Ling?"

Derrick laughed and said, "No. I like working for you because I know exactly where I stand with you."

"Where's that?" William asked. Since he had hired Derrick, he hadn't talked with the man more than a dozen times.

"You want a good job done while helping those folks that need a little help discovering their own way. So long as work gets done and people get helped, you don't interfere. You don't like to interfere."

Taking a drag off the cigarette, William said, "Well, I do want you to enjoy what you're doing."

"I love it," Derrick said. William had asked him for his vision for the place. After Derrick had finished describing what he'd do with it if it were his, William had told him to do it. Since then, he'd been given a free hand in fixing up the ranch. Shaking his head, he said, "I love it more than I've ever enjoyed anything. I like the independence you've allowed me."

"I'm glad."

Derrick put out his cigarette and said, "Well, I bought you a couple of horses as a wedding present. Place like yours shouldn't be seen only from a pickup truck."

"You're beginning to sound like my dad."

Derrick winked and said, "He did help me pick out the horses."

After fishing out some pictures from his pocket, Derrick handed them over to William. He said, "Here are some pictures of the horses. That little mare is for Lucy. She's a very good natured animal and I think she'll get along well with your wife. You have a good time on your honeymoon and don't worry about the ranch."

"We will," William said looking over the pictures. The horses looked to be of very good stock.

"By the way, where are you going on your Honeymoon?"

"Oklahoma."

Derrick stared at William in shock. It took him several seconds to recover before he could ask, "Who in their right mind would honeymoon in Oklahoma?"



-------

Chapter 37


The Denver Aquarium is owned by a restaurant chain. The Carters had reserved the entire place for two parties, one held at lunch time and the other held at dinner time. The lunch time party was to allow employees of the Fusion Foundation, fellow students, and neighbors a chance to interact with the newlyweds. The dinner time party was for executives, business types, and elected officials. Perhaps it was because of the years spent living in the desert, but the entire family looked forward to spending the entire day at the aquarium.

William and Lucy entered the first area of tanks looking at the fish with wonder. Standing in front of an aquarium filled with brightly colored fish was incredibly relaxing. William slipped an arm around Lucy and said, "I'd like to have some fish like this at home."

"I know what you mean. Look at that blue one," Lucy said pointing to a blue tang.

His eyes followed the fish moving slowly among the coral. The slow motion and subtle movement was almost hypnotic. William said, "I never knew that an aquarium was like this."

"You've never been to an aquarium?"

"No. With Betsy around, it just wasn't safe," William answered. He paused for a moment, slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand, and shouted, "Where's Betsy?"

The sudden excitement startled Lucy. She jumped back and said, "I don't know."

"We've got to find her before it is too late!"

Lucy followed William down the hall. They ran into Dan Biggerstaff who was examining an aquarium with a transparent shrimp. William asked, "Where's Betsy?"

"I don't know."

"Find her and get her out of here!" William shouted as he raced past the tanks.

"What's the matter?" Lucy called after him.

"The sharks!"

A disturbance attracted William's attention. He raced in the direction of the raised voices and came to a halt when he spotted Betsy swimming naked in the shark tank. The sharks had completely surrounded her. William froze and stared at the sight. Kelly was beside herself. She was livid at her daughter for swimming in the aquarium tank while being concerned for her daughter's safety. The fact that she was naked only compounded the problems her actions would cause. Turning to William, she asked, "What is she doing?"

"She found her totem," William said in a flat factual voice.

Confused by the tone of voice when giving his answer, Kelly looked at William and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Look at the sharks. Sharks are continually moving. They never stop. Who do you know who is that way?"

"Betsy," Kelly said. Her eyes widened while she stared at the tank seeing what William meant. Betsy was swimming with the sharks, not around the sharks or amidst them. They were swimming with her as if she were a shark. In a weak voice, she said, "Oh my."

"Exactly. She's not coming out until she has to come out. Any attempt to force her out will result in an attack on the person trying to get her," William said as he watched Betsy swim past his position once again. Her eyes had that same flat dullness present in the eyes of the sharks with which she swam.

Lucy had finally caught up to William and stared at Betsy. She glanced at Kelly trying to assess her reaction to her daughter's actions. She knew that the one who would have the strongest reaction would be Ling. She sidled over to William and asked, "What's going to happen when Ling gets here?"

"She's going to decide that I'm her favorite child," William answered with a grin. Lucy giggled.

A low growl announced the approach of Ling. The closer she got, the louder it was and the quieter everyone else became. William looked back down the hallway and watched her approach. He watched Ling while she glared at Betsy swimming past with the sharks. Her face tightened and she started towards the tank.

Knowing what she was intending, William said, "Don't."

"Don't tell me don't," Ling growled.

"You'll kill her if you do that," William said.

Ling froze and stared at William before turning to stare at the tank. Just one blow would drain the tank. She looked back at William trying to decide if it was worth her time to argue with him. Frustrated she asked, "Why?"

"Think about what will happen inside there when you bust out the side," William said.

Ling growled and nodded her head. She said, "Get her out of there and into some clothes."

"Can't do that," William said.

A man, obviously management of the aquarium, came storming over to them and asked, "What is she doing in there? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"She is swimming with the sharks and is in no danger," William answered. Pointing to a man getting prepared to enter the tank, he said, "That man, however, is in a great deal of danger."

"Why?"

"The sharks will tear him apart," William answered shaking his head disturbed by the mental image. He said, "For all intents and purposes, Betsy is a shark."

The man, who was about to get into the tank, suddenly backed away from the edge. After three minutes he joined the manager in front of the tank and said, "They just ate one of the other fish in the tank. The girl was right in there with them. This is not normal. They are in hunting mode and I'm not going in there."

"What about the girl?" the manager asked.

"She seems safe enough for now," answered the man. His eyes followed Betsy swimming past and a shiver went down his spine. He had never seen anything like that in his life.

Turning to Ling, the manager demanded, "This is a family place. We can't have a naked girl swimming in our tanks. Get her out of there."

Giving the man a cold look, William said, "It is a private party. Allow us to worry about the reactions of our guests."

A group of sharks broke off and started swarming along a section of glass. Noticing the sudden activity, William looked over in that direction to see what was going on. It was clear that the sharks were agitated. It took him a moment to notice a man who was standing in front of the tank staring at Betsy. William didn't recognize him, but recognized the manner in which he was staring at Betsy. He walked over to the man ignoring the manager's protests at his exit.

Grabbing the man and putting him in an arm lock, he marched the man away from the aquarium. When they were out of sight of the tank, William said, "If I ever catch you looking at a young woman like that again, I will personally rip your throat out."

The man stared at William without recognizing with whom he was speaking. He said, "I'll tell the host that you're making threats."

William raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Within seconds, Ed Biggers, Ling, and Claire came over to him. Without looking over at his father, William said, "This man is a pedophile. Would you find out who he is, who he has molested, and make sure that the proper authorities get that information?"

Looking over at the man, a shudder of revulsion went through Ed's body. Voice tight, he said, "Consider it done."

The man turned to see who was speaking. He may not have recognized William, but he recognized Ed Biggers. He licked his lips and looked around wildly in a last ditch hope of escaping. That hope was short lived when Ling said, "You might get one step away, but I assure you that your odds drop to zero for the second step."

He looked at Claire thinking he could get past her. She showed her pistol and said, "Try it."

Without taking her eyes off the man, Ling said, "William, why don't you take care of your sister? We'll take care of the trash."

William looked over at the shark tank. He said, "Grandfather is over there now. He'll take care of watching over my sister. Betsy will come out in a couple of hours. If you don't mind, I'll get Lucy and meet our guests."

"Go ahead."

William returned to Lucy. She was talking with Reverend Leroy Jones. William was in time to hear the older man say, "The news about the mystery man who is to bring peace to the Middle East is out. The Rabbi announced it earlier today and the press caught up with me on the way in here."

Looking over at William, Lucy asked, "So what happens next?"

"The press decides that I'm the one," William answered shrugging his shoulders. He looked over in the direction of the bodyguards and said, "We're going to need them more than ever now."

Putting his hand on his grandson's shoulder, he said, "I'm sorry William. I knew it was coming. We've been spreading the word among the other religious leaders, but the message hasn't been getting out to the people who need to know. He jumped the gun a little, but it needed to be done."

"I know," William said, "and I don't blame him. If you remember, I did predict it would happen now."

"Yes, you did. I still think it is a shame that you have to have your honeymoon in Oklahoma because of it."

Frowning at the comment about Oklahoma, Lucy asked, "Everyone keeps saying that they are surprised by our choice. What's wrong with Oklahoma? I can't wait to get there and go camping."

"William, you chose the right woman to share your life. I wish your grandmother could be here to meet her."

"Tell grandma that I love her," William said at the reminder. The woman had lost enough calcium in her bones as a result of her osteoporosis that she was unable to travel. Even simple turbulence in an airplane could break her bones.

"She knows, William. She knows. Now go visit your guests. This is supposed to be a wedding party. Even Jesus enjoyed a good wedding party."

Putting an arm around Lucy, William said, "We have been lousy hosts so far."

"It's your fault," she replied in a very factual voice.

Surprised by the charge, William asked, "Why?"

"You're the husband. It's always your fault," Lucy answered trying hard to keep a straight face. She managed for about two seconds and then burst out laughing.

William led her to the restaurant to make a circuit around the room. They greeted people from the various offices of the Fusion Foundation. He had met most of them in the past, but there were just too many people to keep track of all their names. He was about to give up when Happy Harry came over. Somehow, the old man knew everyone there. He provided names for William and Lucy without being too obvious about it. Between guests, Harry told jokes and funny stories.

It seemed to Lucy that every woman in the building had stolen his heart at one time or another. At least that is what he told each woman when talking to her. Despite having spent a lot of time around Harry, Lucy couldn't believe how easily he teased and flirted with all the women. They ate up his corny lines that were fresh only because they hadn't been used in fifty years.

It was almost three hours later when an excited Betsy came bouncing up to William and Lucy. Her hair was wet. Her clothes clung to her wet body. There was a wild look in her eyes. So excited that she was almost vibrating, she asked, "Why didn't you take me to an aquarium before now? Did you see those beautiful sharks? Aren't they great? Where can I get some for the swimming pool at home? Do you think the moms and dads will let me have a couple of them?"

Lucy laughed at the nonstop stream of questions. Amused at the idea of their parents buying her a couple of pet sharks, William asked, "Did you talk to Ling, Claire, Linda, or Kelly?"

"Um," Betsy said slowing down a miniscule degree. She looked around for a second and asked, "Are they mad at me?"

"You might say that," William said. He was sure they were mad at her, but he wasn't sure what made them the angriest. It was a toss up between swimming nude and swimming with the sharks.

"Oh, I better hide," she replied and took off towards a dark corner of the aquarium in a fast walk that was intended not to draw attention. Of course, her rigid walk while swinging her straight arms was anything except subtle. Every eye in the room watched her walk away.

Watching the girl moving purposely towards the back of the building, Lucy asked, "Do you think she'll be found anytime soon?"

"She can't keep still long enough to hide. She'll get into a dark corner, stay there about three seconds, and then come rushing out to find out if she's been missed," William said with a laugh. He remembered trying to play hide and seek with her when they were younger. She couldn't stay still long enough to count to ten.

"I really love your sister. She's so good," Lucy said. In many ways, Lucy felt that Betsy was the most amazing of William's brothers and sisters. She didn't have a mean bone in her body, her energy was contagious, and she was always smiling. Close behind her was Eddie, but he wasn't as innocent as Betsy. It was as though he understood that he was going to be responsible for a town. Beth and John were highly driven, but private people. She knew less about them than the younger siblings.

The first batch of guests left and the business groups arrived. This group was much more reserved than the first. William and Lucy greeted the guests at the door while Rock and Natalie stood to the sides behind them. Mary Gold stood directly behind William and whispered the names of the people in his ear.

Despite the fact that this was a party associated with their wedding, Lucy watched as woman after woman subtly flirted with William. Most of the flirtatious women were single although a few were married. The less subtle of the women leaned forward to give him a chance to look down the front of their dress. They smiled at him in sultry manners. They preened, posed, and, when possible, reached out to touch him. William, of course, was completely oblivious to their attention.

As individual after individual was introduced, William acted like a perfect host. He was charming and attentive to every word that his guests uttered. He complimented the women on their attire and the men on their accomplishments. Lucy was impressed with how much he knew about the guests.

All civility ended when the CEO of a very large corporation shook William's hand. Looking at the man with a cold expression on his face, William asked, "So how do you sleep at night knowing that you're destroying the company that your employees built?"

As far as Mark Durbin was concerned, Mark Durbin was the perfect CEO. He even looked the part with silver gray hair that was perfectly styled. Shocked at the question, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"You've laid off twenty-five percent of your employees over the past two years. You've destroyed your research and development. You've lost over twenty-eight billion dollars in the past three years because of bad business decisions that you made. I expect that your company will be bought out and chopped up within two years. You had almost a million people working for you at one time. They'll all be out of work before long."

"Excuse me, but I made sound business decisions," Mark countered with more than a little anger in his voice. He was an important man and didn't deserve to be ambushed like this. He bought and sold companies for billions of dollars. Even now he was working on a merger that would put him on television.

"Forty billion dollars in revenues and you only showed a profit of two percent?"

"We had a write-off," Mark said.

"Consider this, you're fired. At the next stockholder's meeting, they are going to vote you out," William said.

"You don't own any stock in my company. I know that for a fact," Mark replied. He had looked it up before coming to the wedding.

Smiling, William said, "That's true and you are the reason why. But the two people in front of you and the four behind you are in charge of accounts that own twenty-five percent of your stock. They have the ability to put together a majority of shareholders. I don't think they are very impressed with you."

Mark looked around and realized that the young man was correct. He decided that it was time to try and cut a deal with the young man. He asked, "What do you want?"

"Resign your position and refuse the severance package. Maybe they'll let you go without pressing charges," William answered with a tight smile.

One of the other men asked, "Who would you recommend to replace him?"

"I'd suggest Andrew Morgenstern. He's got a sharp mind, a good sense for business, and he has enough credibility to salvage the company," William said.

Looking over at Mark Durbin, the man said, "We can hold an emergency stockholder's meeting in forty-eight hours according to the bylaws. I'll make the call now."

"I think that would be perfect, Mr. Steve Teeples," William said with a nod of his head.

Furious, Mark Durbin stormed out of the building. Steve asked, "Why did you do that?"

"I met someone the other day that had been laid off because of him. The guy had put in twenty years of his life building that company. He'd worked his way up from the mailroom to a nice management position in a warehouse. Last year, he saved the company over four million dollars by reorganizing the warehouse," William answered. Pointing at the retreating figure of the CEO, he added, "That guy blew four million dollars in two days by having everyone in his office flown to the Bahamas for a business meeting that they could have held in the conference room down the hall. Which man do you want working in the company?"

"Good point," Steve admitted.

"Make him a public spectacle as a warning to other executives who would do the same thing. Ego should not play a primary role when it comes to being a caretaker of a company that is the livelihood of a million people. It is an important responsibility to run a company. The CEO is the captain of a corporate ship and should be expect to go down with it when it sinks. He shouldn't be the first person on the best lifeboat," William said.

Squeezing his hand, Lucy added, "See that some wrongs are righted in the process."

"You don't have a very good opinion of businessmen, do you?" Steve asked.

"Quite the contrary. In fact, I have a lot of respect for a businessman who keeps a company going strong in good times and when times are rough. Take Sidney Aliente, he's kept a very large company growing based on good business principles. He has slowly expanded his product line. He doesn't expect a new product to dominate the market within a year's time. He doesn't try to grow his company by buying everything around him," William answered pointing to a heavyset balding man talking to a young man.

"But his company isn't growing very fast."

"Look at the size of his company."

"So?"

"Look, a one man company sells twenty boats one year and forty boats the next year. He hires a second sales person. His company has demonstrated a hundred percent growth. That seems like a pretty reasonable scenario, doesn't it?"

"Yes."

"Consider a slightly bigger company that sold twenty thousand boats one year. That represents about a 5% market share of the total national boat market, by the way. Is it reasonable to expect them to sell forty thousand boats the next year?"

"Not really," Steve answered.

"Why shouldn't both companies be able to demonstrate equal growth?"

"They are different size companies. The second company would have to open new markets, build up a customer base, and... I get your point," Steve admitted.

William smiled and said, "Mergers are the biggest growth fraud of them all. Take two sand piles and sweep them together. You can make the claim that you've doubled the amount of sand in one pile, but the amount of sand hasn't changed at all. There's been no real growth."

Steve moved along deep in thought. Lucy nudged William and said, "I thought you weren't going to work tonight?"

"Oh, I wasn't working. I was teaching someone who can influence the decision making of hundreds of companies. I'll work tomorrow," William said in a very serious voice.

"And what will you do tomorrow?"

"I'll transfer some money into the fund he manages," William answered with a smile.

She nudged him in the side and said, "Mathematics isn't nearly so much fun."

"Don't be so sure about that. I've never found a better way to open a conversation than by asking someone what the integral of x dx is."

Lucy looked at him as if he was crazy. The next person in line answered, "x squared over two plus some constant."

"See," William said gesturing to the man.

Lucy shook her head and asked, "So how did you know that?"

The man spread both hands and said, "I'm an engineer."

"You knew that, didn't you?" Lucy asked William with a stern look. His grin was answer enough.

It was quite a bit later when William and Lucy, followed by their bodyguards, left the building. They were immediately surrounded by reporters. One of them asked, "So are you the one who is going to bring peace to the Middle East?"

"I don't think so," William answered.

Lucy tugged his arm and said, "This is off the record folks. William isn't going to see any peace tonight until I'm satisfied. Now if you don't mind, he's mine for the rest of the evening."

Waving one hand in farewell, William allowed Lucy to drag him off. The reporters were too busy laughing to give immediate chase. The presence of the bodyguards was sufficient to keep them in check once they had recovered from her comment. As Rock and Natalie protected their escape, Colt and Nicole took their places behind William and Lucy. There were a dozen other bodyguards around the area.

Walking beside Lucy with an arm around her torso, William whispered, "You are going to get a reputation."

"Good."

"It won't be a nice reputation," William said with a grin.

"Even better," Lucy said nudging her hip against his.

"Just wanted to make sure you understood."

Rubbing a hand over the front of his blue robe, she said, "I just want you to understand that I was serious. No rest for William until Lucy is satisfied."

"Oh my."



-------

Chapter 38


"Where's Betsy?"

"She's grounded," Eddie answered. He shrugged his shoulders and, looking over at his mother, said, "All she did was have a little swim."

"Naked, in a public aquarium, and with sharks," Ling said filling in a few details that Eddie tended to forget.

Putting an arm around his little brother, William pulled Eddie against his side and said, "At least she didn't get threatened with a spanking."

"True," Eddie said. He was tired and wished that he had been able to stay back at the hotel with Betsy. He looked over the crowd of people at the zoo and said, "You must be tired of all this by now."

"A little," William admitted.

"A lot," Lucy said. The past few days had been extremely taxing. She had never been surrounded by so many people for such a long time. It was hard smiling and making small talk with complete strangers. Sighing, she said, "I'll be glad when we can head off to Oklahoma."

Her mother frowned at the reminder of their honeymoon destination. She'd had visions of them traveling around the world in luxury. Instead, they were going to the middle of nowhere. She asked, "Why Oklahoma?"

Looking over at William as if to get permission to tell her mother the real reason, Lucy answered, "We are going to a small place that is in the middle of nowhere. No one, not even the bodyguards, will be around. It will be him and me together. We'll be all alone. We've only been alone once and that was for one day."

Concerned for her safety, her father asked, "Where will the bodyguards be?"

"We'll be guarding the entrance to where they will be staying," Rock answered from behind them. He was actually looking forward to the trip as much as William and Lucy. The past few days had been a nightmare for the bodyguards. Having thousands of people around their principal was tough for them to handle, particularly in such open places. It didn't matter that they had hired another dozen people to provide crowd management. Five thousand people were just too many to track.

Still not understanding her daughter's point, said, "How about a deserted island in some lush tropical location?"

William gestured to Rock for him to provide the answer. The man answered, "There are too many ways to approach an island. We'd have to be there with them."

"Oh," Ann said. She looked over at the peafowl that was wandering past and said, "I guess I can understand. Still... Oklahoma... it just doesn't seem to work for me."

Winking at William, Lucy took her mother's hand and said, "Let's go look at the animals and talk about it some more. William needs to mingle with some of the people that work for the Carter family."

The group separated with William and Eddie walking off towards the snack bar. The two of them would sit there and talk with all the people who stopped by to get something to eat. As they walked, Eddie asked, "What's it like being so famous and all?"

"I don't know if I'm so famous," William replied. He took a few steps and said, "Most of the time, I feel like one of these animals in the zoo. Lots of people stop by and stare at me, but none of them really know me."

"Sounds kind of lonely," Eddie said. He frowned and said, "Everyone in town knows me and dad, but it is different from how people know you. We're friends with everyone and you're friends with no one."

Before William had a chance to reply, a girl Eddie's age walked past and said, "Hello, Eddie."

"Hello, Juanita. It's always a pleasure to see you," Eddie answered. He looked the girl in the eyes as he answered and gave her a smile.

Juanita shifted nervously and asked, "Would you like to walk with me and look at the animals?"

"Uh, I was headed over to the snack bar," Eddie answered looking from Juanita to William. He really wanted to spend a little quality time with his brother.

Another girl approached and, while posing to show off her young body to best advantage, said, "Hello, Eddie."

"Hello, Mariana," Eddie answered, giving her his full attention while answering. The girl played with her long hair, flipping it behind her ear.

Juanita shot a glance of irritation at Mariana, but didn't say anything. Turning so that her chest was in profile, Mariana asked, "Would you like to walk with me?"

William watched as additional teenage girls slowly flocked around Eddie. Each of them invited him to walk with her while effectively ignoring the other girls present. Some were bolder than others, greeting him with a hug or a kiss hello. Eddie addressed each girl by name and looked her in the eye. He was calm and comfortable in talking with them. He didn't flirt or make suggestive remarks, but treated each one with respect.

William smiled and, in a volume such that only Eddie could hear, said, "Parents, lock up your daughters."

Having heard that refrain thousands of times, Eddie still didn't understand why everyone said that. He did know that it was a compliment of sorts. He looked at his brother and said, "You're just jealous."

Patting his brother on the back, William said, "Go with them and give some parents a sleepless night."

"Okay, we'll talk later," Eddie said as he was dragged away. He gave one last wave before one of the girls said something to him and he turned to give her his attention.

William watched Eddie walk off with a harem of young women surrounding him. His father had told him that the girls were flocking around the young man, but he hadn't imagined it was like that. Eddie didn't pay attention to any girl more than the others. While he walked, he pointed to one animal or another more interested in the sights around him than the women surrounding him.

Linda stopped beside William laughing at the sight. She smiled at William and said, "You two are really handsome young men. Eddie has to fight the girls off with a stick most of the time."

"I noticed."

"We had a couple try to sneak into the house in order to sleep with Eddie," she said shaking her head. Smiling, she said, "He's so much like his father. He has no idea what he does that makes him so desirable to women."

"So what does he do?"

"The same thing that you do," Linda answered with a grin.

"I don't have a flock of young women circling around me," William answered.

"That's because you're so much more developed mentally than your brother. You can't relate to them and they have a hard time relating to you. Just wait a year or two and you'll find that women will flock to you in just the same way," she said.

"It'll be a wasted effort. I'm with Lucy," William answered.

Linda shook her head and wondered how Lucy was going to deal with the women throwing themselves at him in the future. He had everything going for him, manners, good looks, wealth, and charisma. Like his fathers, he didn't even see it. She said, "I remember a young Indian maiden who did her best to get your father to marry her."

"What happened?" William asked.

"He married her," Linda answered with a smile.

William laughed and said, "We've reached the snack bar. I was going to sit here and greet guests as they came by to get something to eat. Would you like to join me?"

"No, I think I'm going to track down Dan and ask him for a kiss," Linda answered, "Have fun."

"Sure," William said. He noticed Marguerite and Bob sitting at one of the tables and walked over to them. He looked down at her tray and asked, "Hotdog?"

"Yes, I do occasionally enjoy a good hotdog. For some reason, I can't give them that same greasy flavor in my kitchen that you get in one of these places," Marguerite answered with a grin.

"So how are you two doing?"

Gray hair shooting through what had once been solid black hair, Bob answered, "She's looking better every day and I'm looking older. It's not fair."

Marguerite laughed and gave her husband a love tap. She said, "You just haven't been dancing in the kitchen often enough."

"How's the jewelry business?" William asked. Bob and Marguerite had given them a beautiful necklace for Lucy as a wedding present.

Bob smiled and said, "Pretty good. I've got a couple of people making the jewelry for me now, while I'm doing the special order stuff. It is nice being an artist."

"We really liked the necklace. It's a real beauty."

Bob glanced over at Marguerite and said, "I wanted to give her a silver chain mail top, but Marguerite didn't think Lucy would approve."

Raising his eyebrows, William said, "But William would have approved."

Marguerite laughed and said, "You're so much like your parents. It's good to see you again William."

Mary Gold sat down at the table and said, "Hello, William."

Her voice had only gotten sexier with time. William said, "Hello, Mary. Thanks for helping out with the names last night."

"It was nothing," she said. She hesitated as if she didn't want to bring up a bad topic.

Knowing that she was about to embark on a subject that he hoped he could have postponed for much later, he said, "Okay, tell me about it."

"I've assembled some people for you to interview," Mary Gold said. She had already put the candidates through one of the most grueling interview sessions that any employee had to survive to get it down to two candidates for each position. She even had Ed interview each one just to validate their character. "I've arranged the interviews for when you get back from your honeymoon."

"And?"

"I arranged for an office where you're living."

William nodded his head. Although he had grown up with a family that had a large staff, he wasn't comfortable with having people work for him. He already had Lisa, Ken, Rock, Colt, Natalie, Nicole, and Derrick working for him. He asked, "So how many people are in this staff you've assembled?"

"I thought you'd want to start off small. I found you a receptionist, an administrative assistant, an aide, a clerk, and an accountant." The staff for the Carter Clan had grown even larger than that over the years. Only the original staff still lived with the family.

Raising an eyebrow, William asked, "So many?"

"William, I have a staff of ten people who help me keep up with the schedules of your family. We have a dozen accountants now," she answered.

Marguerite said, "You're an important man now. I've been looking for a good chef for your new place."

"What about Lisa and Ken?"

"You'll still need a staff for the house when you move to Arizona. I imagine that Lisa will become head of the household staff while Ken will become head of your groundskeepers," Mary answered.

"Uh, I hate to remind you, but I don't have any grounds to keep," William said.

"Sorry, I meant to say maintenance staff," Mary corrected. She added, "If they are interested in the job, I'm sure that Natalie, Nicole, Rock and Colt will take over security at the new house."

Sinking into his seat, William said, "I was hoping to get a simpler life by moving into the middle of forty eight square miles."

Mary laughed and said, "You are so much like your parents."

"I'll have to talk to Lucy about all of this," William said shaking his head.

"She already knows."

"Oh," William said.

Marguerite said, "I've got two chefs interning with me. When you have a chance, come to Carter House so that they can demonstrate their culinary skills for you. I'm sure that you'll have a hard time choosing between them."

"I'll do that. Lucy will probably be the one to make the choice, though," William said feeling a little defeated by the entire conversation.

"I'm sure she will," Marguerite answered with a smile.

Marguerite and Bob had finished their snack. Rising from his chair, Bob said, "It's been nice seeing you, William. We're going to go look at the animals for a bit."

"Thanks for coming, Marguerite. Bob, it is always a pleasure talking to you," William said. He grinned and added, "If you see Eddie, you might try to rescue him."

"Impossible. Those girls are all over him like bees to honey," Marguerite said with a laugh as the couple left the snack bar.

Mary Gold rose and said, "I'm going now."

"Okay. Enjoy your time at the zoo. You are supposed to be enjoying yourself, not working."

William went up to the counter and ordered a chili dog complete with onions and cheese. After the restaurant meals of the past few days, the thought of eating a little junk food was just too tempting to resist. He returned to the table with his food on the tray. Lucy had watched the counter from the side and came over to sit beside him. He gestured to the French fries and asked, "Do you want some?"

Grabbing a fry, she dunked it in the container of catsup, and held it up to her mouth. Before taking a bite of it, she said, "That girl at the counter was flirting with you."

Frowning, William asked, "She was?"

She bit down on the fry and chewed it thoughtfully. Shaking her head, she said, "I could see down her shirt from way over there."

"Oh, I didn't notice," William said.

"I could tell," Lucy said. She had seen that he was totally oblivious to the woman's attempt to attract his attention. He had been more interested in the menu than the woman.

"I did think the service was pretty good."

She had seen him put a dollar in the tip jar. The woman hadn't appreciated it since she had wanted a little more out of the interaction. That had become an increasingly more common occurrence over the past year. More and more women were throwing themselves at him. She rose and patted him on the head. Smiling, she said, "You're just like your brother Eddie."

"You're the second person who has said that to me," William said.

"I'm off to find your mothers," Lucy said.

"You might want to talk to Mary Gold."

The mention of Mary Gold sent a shiver down Lucy's spine. She couldn't believe that woman's voice. It resonated with pure sexuality and it was completely natural. The woman didn't try to sound sexy, she just sounded sexy. Her father had joked that he'd marry her even if she weighed six hundred pounds just to listen to her voice. Just about every male and half the females all said the same thing. She replied, "Sure. Have fun."

"I've got a chili dog! How can I not have a good time?"

He went to work on his chili dog. As much as he loved them, he had never discovered a way to eat them without spilling half the chili on the plate. He reached over for some napkins to wipe his hands. He had just grabbed a bunch when Doug sat down and said, "I see you found where they sell chili dogs."

"I had this place mapped out the moment I heard we were coming here," William replied with a grin.

"I'm sure."

"So tell me the good news."

"I'm going to Princeton," Doug said. He shrugged his shoulders and added, "They made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"What?"

"They said they would allow your grant to cover two research assistants for me."

"Excellent," William said. He leaned over and said, "I've been giving the subject a lot of thought. I'm beginning development of a model of social, economic, and political forces. I'm going at it incrementally because the problem is so complex that there is no way that I could possibly construct it from first principles. So far, I've developed sixty partial differential equations as part of the model. Fortunately, I don't have to solve the equations in closed form since I can solve them computationally."

"You're getting ahead of me, William," Doug said holding up his hands as if fending off a tiger. "We're going to have to sit down some afternoon and go over what you're doing one step at a time. I'm not a math whiz like Lucy."

"Sorry. I get excited sometimes," William said.

"I bet you and Lucy have some very interesting conversations at night," Doug commented. Laughing, he said, "Lucy came up to me earlier and asked me to solve some formula of some kind. When I looked blank, she asked me why it was when you asked people the same question, they knew the answer. She told me about what you did last night."

William laughed and said, "She didn't know that he ran an engineering firm and had graduated from MIT."

"I have to admit that is a very novel way of opening a conversation with someone," Doug said with a laugh. He could imagine the look on her face when the guy had popped out with the right answer.

"So how's the love life?"

"Same as always, it doesn't exist," Doug answered. He looked at William and asked, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Get the women to throw themselves at you," Doug answered.

"I just got married and everyone is telling me about women throwing themselves at me. What's going on?" William asked exasperated.

Gesturing over to one of the tables, Doug answered, "You didn't notice the woman in the zoo uniform watching you?"

William looked over in the direction Doug had indicated and noticed a woman sitting there. She was attractive with short black hair and nice features, but the uniform hid her figure. She glanced in his direction. He waved to her and turned back to look at Doug with a shake of his head. "You're imagining things."

The woman had spilled her drink when William had waved. Doug smiled and said, "Right."

"So why don't you go over there and tell her that I'm a happily married man, but that you're available. Let her know that you are moderately desperate for female companionship. Don't tell her that you are extremely desperate. You'll scare her away," William said with a wink.

"Sure, I'll do that," Doug said as he rose out of his chair feeling like it was as good of an approach as any. He walked over to the woman and sat down.

Surprised by his friend's actions, William watched as Doug talked to the woman. She laughed at one point and Doug relaxed. There wasn't the sound of any slaps or screams, so William assumed that all was going well. Ten minutes later, Doug and the woman walked off.

Settling back into his chair, William closed his eyes and took a moment to listen to the sounds of the animals. For the most part, they sounded content. Some even sounded happy. It wasn't a bad zoo, but he really couldn't enjoy zoos that much. When he opened his eyes, he noticed a peacock strutting outside the snack bar. It was a rather impressive display that the bird put forth.

His professor sat down and said, "I've never had a student who got married in a basketball arena and then held a reception in a zoo two days later. I must admit, it is a novel experience. Makes me wonder why I went the church route when I could have done the same. Of course, I won't suggest the idea to my daughter when it is her time to get married."

"She's already gotten the idea."

"You're right. I'll just have to convince her to settle for the basket ball court at the YMCA and the pet store at the mall."

William laughed and asked, "Are you having a good time?"

"Great. My wife and kids are off feeding the ducks. I thought I'd sneak over here and get a chili dog," he answered pointing at his tray. With a sigh, he said, "The little woman won't let me eat them. She says the hotdogs are loaded with nitrates and the chili has enough cholesterol to choke the veins of an elephant. I don't even know what a nitrate is, but it sounds perfectly horrible."

"She's just watching out for your health."

"I know. She's just waiting for the day when I'm a hundred and fifty. I'll be defenseless. All I'll be able to do is sit in my wheel chair with drool running down my chin and she'll be laughing at me." The man imitated sitting in a wheel chair with a vacant stare on his face and trembling hands.

Smiling at the man's antics, William asked, "So I take it you are happily married?"

"Very," his former professor answered just before taking a huge bite out of his chili dog.



-------

Chapter 39


William stared at Lucy in shock. Unable to believe what he thought he had heard her say, he asked, "Excuse me?"

Pointing to the woman at the front of the conference room of the Carter House, Lucy said, "I asked her to remove her clothes."

"I thought I misunderstood you," William said. He glanced over at Mary Gold. The woman had her head down and was hiding her mouth behind her hands. The twinkle in her eye suggested that she was trying not to laugh.

The twenty-four year old woman standing at the front of the room was stunningly beautiful. She had shoulder length brown hair, green eyes, sensuous lips, and a body that most women would willingly sacrifice their first, second, and third-born children just to have it for a year. Totally unphased by the request, she calmly unbuttoned her blouse while watching William. Once the buttons were undone, she removed her blouse and put it on the chair.

Ignoring the action at the front of the room, William was staring at Lucy unable to believe what she had requested. Incredulous, he asked, "Why would you do that?"

Lucy ignored him and watched the woman undress. She found it hard to believe that William wasn't watching the strip show at the front of the room. Trying to sound business-like, she asked, "Did Mary Gold explain all of the requirements of the job?"

Watching William and amazed by the fact that he was ignoring her strip show, the woman dropped a lacy bra onto the chair and answered, "Yes, she did."

"What requirements?" William asked wondering if there was anything in the job description that he had missed. He looked over at Mary Gold, but the woman had turned her back to him. It looked like she was having a hard time keeping from laughing. He looked down at the resume once again. The woman was a phenomenal job candidate and he could hardly believe that someone so qualified had applied to be his personal assistant.

"Are you bisexual?" Lucy asked watching William out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes," she answered. She was pleased that William did not turn to look at her with the kind of leer that most men would have upon hearing her answer. He was too busy staring at Lucy to even spare a glance in her direction.

Lucy nodded her approval and said, "Good."

"Huh?" William stared at Lucy as if he had never met her before.

The woman removed her business skirt and placed it on the chair. She stood before them wearing a white garter belt, stockings, and lacy panties. She placed a foot on the seat of the chair and undid the garter. She rolled the stockings down her legs. Lucy watched her strip looking for imperfections in that amazing body. She noted that the woman trimmed her pubic area rather than shave it bare.

The woman noticed where Lucy was looking and said, "I can have it waxed bare if that is preferable."

Lucy looked at William wondering what his preference was in that area. It suddenly seemed strange to her that the topic had never come up in one of their conversations. She noticed that he was staring at her open mouthed. Smiling at her husband, she said, "Close your mouth."

Barely registering what she said, he closed his mouth. Finally, he managed to asked, "What is going on here?"

Pointing to the woman, Lucy asked, "Do you think she's devastatingly beautiful?"

For the first time since she had started stripping, William looked over at the woman. She was posed like a beauty queen; wearing nothing except for a smile. He examined her in the same manner he would if his opinion was asked about a piece of art. She had all the right parts in all the right places. She had a completely different body type than Lucy. He answered, "I suppose that most people would think so."

A little disappointed at William's reaction to the naked woman, Lucy shook her head knowing that she should have expected it. Looking at the woman, Lucy said, "You can get dressed."

The woman started to dress while thinking that either William was gay or he had the most control over his sexuality of any man she had ever met. She watched him while she dressed. It was easy to see that his attention was not on her. Although that was the result she had hoped to see, it was still surprising.

His confusion was beginning to turn into frustration. With more of an edge to his voice, William looked around the room before asking, "Will somebody tell me what is going on?"

"What do you think of her qualifications for the job?"

"They are outstanding," William said glancing down at her resume. This was the third time she had asked and he didn't understand why Lucy kept asking that question.

"Can you work with her?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure that the job will be challenging enough for her," William answered gesturing at the candidate with the resume.

Mary Gold bit back a laugh at the suggestion that the job wouldn't be challenging enough. Keeping track of a Carter was a full time job. Lucy said, "The position of personal aide for William is yours if you would like it."

"Thank you, I would like that very much," she answered.

Turning to face Mary Gold, Lucy said, "When she's finished dressing, we'll have the next candidate."

"It has been a tradition among the Carter Clan for staff, including new hires, to participate in the interview with the subsequent candidates," Mary said.

"Ah, I wasn't aware of that," Lucy said. She looked at Mary Gold for a moment and then asked, "What about Lisa, Ken, and the bodyguards. Shouldn't they be here?"

"They've already met with the candidates and approved them," Mary Gold answered with a smile. She had already run the candidates past the existing staff while the couple was on their honeymoon.

"Oh," Lucy said. She glanced over at William and said, "I see no reason to break a family tradition."

"Barbara Gray, you are now the personal aide for William and Lucy. Their schedule and personal needs are now in your hands," Mary Gold said.

Barbara finished dressing, opened the door, and called for the next candidate. Once the woman entered, Barbara took a seat beside Lucy. Accepting the stack of folders from Mary Gold, Barbara removed the top one. Turning to William and Lucy, she said, "This is Ms. Sandra Wells. She's interviewing for the administrative assistant position. Her job will be to make things happen."

Frustration on full boil at never having his original question answered, William asked, "What is going on?"

Lucy examined the folder for a minute and liked what she saw. She looked up at the woman standing at the front of the room with a smile. She handed the folder to William and asked, "Would you tell me what you think of her credentials?"

Looking down at the folder, William could see that this woman was very qualified. He was surprised that she would even consider the position based on her resume. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "I'm impressed. Her credentials are impeccable. So tell me what is going on."

"Would you mind taking off your clothes?"

"No problem," Sandra answered. She removed the coat of her business suit and placed it on the chair beside her.

In a very firm voice, William said, "Hold it. Lucy, if you don't tell me what is going on I'm going to get up and leave."

Sandra looked over at Mary Gold to see if she should continue to undress. It was easy to see that William had reached the limit of his patience. Kelly had warned Mary Gold and Lucy that this would happen. A small gesture from Mary let her know that she was to stop.

Sighing, Lucy said, "It's a long story."

"I'm willing to listen," William said settling back in his chair with his arms crossed.

Gesturing to the other women in the room, Lucy said, "I guess I should start with the problem."

"I wasn't aware that there was a problem, so that might be a good place to begin."

"Women have been throwing themselves at you wherever you go. Don't deny it, everyone has been commenting on it."

William shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's what people have been telling me. I haven't seen any signs of it."

Fully aware that he hadn't noticed, Lucy said, "It's true. Your mothers and I discussed this matter. We came up with a solution to the problem."

"That solution is?"

"I am going to make sure that you are surrounded by the most beautiful women possible. I want to know that any woman who approaches you is going to be intimidated by them. I expect that the majority of gold diggers will back off immediately."

"So why ask them to strip?" William asked afraid that he knew what the answer would be.

"I don't want you sleeping with women who are anything less than perfect," Lucy answered. She looked over at the woman at the front of the room and said, "Please, continue getting undressed."

"Don't undress. Who said that I was going to be sleeping with them?" William asked getting angry. "In case you've forgotten, we got married a month ago."

Rolling her eyes, Lucy pointed to the woman at the front of the room. She said, "Look at her. She's gorgeous. There's no way a red blooded male will be able to work with her for any length of time before he's tempted to sleep with her. You will try to sleep with her."

"That doesn't mean that she'll want to sleep with me and you know that I would never ask," William countered defensively.

"Ah, William. You don't get it, do you?"

"Probably not," he answered thoroughly confused by his wife's behavior during the entire interview process.

"You and Eddie are so much like your fathers," Mary Gold said. Shaking her head, she said, "I only worked with them for a couple of months before I was head over heels in love with them. Believe me when I say that the women who work for you will feel the same way."

"The women we hire are not going to be able to work with you for any length of time without wanting to sleep with you," Lucy answered in a matter of fact voice. At the wedding parties, she had talked to every woman who had ever worked for the Carters and it had been the same story over and over.

"You've been talking with Momma Kelly, haven't you?" William asked.

"Your mothers and I talked a lot while you were working on your dissertation. Kelly pointed out some things to me that I had never considered. We worked through my feelings about fidelity and true love," Lucy answered. Initially, she had been devastated by what Kelly had suggested. She was hurt at the idea that William would cheat. The fact that his own mother had said it was a forgone conclusion that he would be tempted at some point in time only made it worse.

Watching him during the months after William had returned from Texas had opened her eyes. She had seen how William and the women around him reacted to each other. He was oblivious to the women who flirted outrageously with him. The same couldn't be said about them. It seemed to her that a third of the women between the ages of sixteen and fifty looked at him with far more desire than was comfortable for her. She knew what Kelly meant when she said that William wouldn't chase, he'd be pursued. All that would be necessary was one moment of weakness and he would fall.

Shaking his head, William said, "It's not right to require them to sleep with me as part of their job."

Surprised by his assumption, Barbara said, "It is not a requirement of the job."

"So why strip?"

Barbara looked over at Lucy as if seeking permission to speak. Nodding her head, Lucy gave permission for her to explain. She said, "To see if you were worthy of having me work for you."

"Huh?"

"I needed to see your reaction to my body. The last thing I want is to work for someone who only sees me as a pretty face. The man or woman who I work for must see my mind first and my body second," Barbara answered with far more venom in her voice than William expected. When Mary Gold had said that she could be naked during the interview and William would ignore it had been so absurd that she had challenged Mary Gold to prove it. Every other interview she had been on had ended with the suggestion that her duties might include activities outside the office. Years of being treated like some sort of centerfold had soured her on most men.

"So how would stripping in front of me tell you anything?" William asked.

"When Lucy asked what you thought of my qualifications, you turned to the resume rather than look at me. She did that three different times. You didn't leer at me while I stripped. In fact, you pretty much ignored me. Even when Lucy asked your opinion about my body, you didn't drool like every other man has done," she said with a smile. Mary Gold had been right about William. He was exactly the kind of man that she would find irresistible.

Gesturing to the woman at the front of the room, William asked, "So why are you willing to strip?"

"To see for myself if what I've been told is true," Sandra answered looking William in the eye.

Looking back at her, he asked, "What were you told?"

"I was told that you would look beyond the physical to see the real me."

William studied her for a moment. Even though he didn't have his father's gift, he knew that she was giving him an honest answer. He looked down at her resume trying to figure out what he was supposed to be seeing that wasn't covered in it. He looked over at Mary Gold and, knowing the answer, asked, "Who told her that?"

"I did," she answered.

"Why?"

"It's the truth," Mary Gold answered with a smile.

William looked at the resume for a moment considering what to say next. Finally, he asked, "Sandra, why would you want to work Lucy and me? You could have a position in any Fortune 500 company with your credentials."

"I don't want to work in a Fortune 500 company. I would spend most of my career doing the same things over and over," she answered. Her father had told her that a few people retired with thirty five years of experience, but most people retired with one year of experience repeated thirty five times. She wanted to be one of the few who experienced something new every day. She looked at him for a minute and said, "I don't think that would be true working for you."

"So you want the challenge of having a job that changes from day to day," William said. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm not sure that I can provide that."

Frowning at William, Mary Gold said, "He can provide that."

Lucy asked, "Why do you say that?"

"You forget that I've worked for the Carters for a long time. No two days are alike," Mary Gold said. She laughed and said, "One minute you are arranging to transfer millions of dollars to some charity and the next you are setting up a trip to Antarctica."

William looked over at Sandra, sighed, and then said, "The job is yours if you want it."

"Thanks. I do want it," Sandra replied. She opened the door and called into the next room, "Next."

Gesturing to an empty chair at the table, Barbara said, "Have a seat here next to me."

Sandra sat down next to Barbara and said, "It's going to be nice working with you."

A lovely Hispanic woman with long black hair, brown eyes, and a killer body entered the room. William looked at her for a second before he recognized her. He didn't know her that well. To confirm his suspicions, he asked, "Juanita?"

Lucy looked at William in surprise and asked, "Do you know her?"

Juanita answered, "Hello, William."

"This is a wonderful surprise," William said believing that she had stopped by to say hello. A number of the local folks about his age had come by over the past two days to see him.

Lucy looked at Juanita with interest and asked, "How do you know each other?"

"This is my hometown. Everyone knows everyone in this town," Juanita answered.

"Oh," Lucy said. She hadn't expected William to know any of the candidates and she didn't know how she felt about that.

"You used to watch the younger kids during the Halloween Celebration here in town. I think the first time I met you, you were changing the diapers on Eddie," William said enjoying the momentary break from interviewing. Since he didn't actually spend much time in town, he met most of the people during special events. It took him a moment to remember that her father ran the local supermarket. He asked, "How is your father?"

"He's doing well. The grocery store is busy as usual."

"I had heard that you graduated college last year. He must be proud of you," William said. In terms of students going onto college and finishing with advanced degrees, the high school in town had one of the highest rates in the country.

"He was. He threw a very nice party. The entire family and half the town showed up. He made his famous barbecued goat for the occasion," Juanita replied. The fact that her father went through all of the trouble of barbecuing the goat told her that he was very proud of her.

Hearing about her father preparing goat, William grinned and said, "I'm sorry I missed it, but I'm sure that Ed was there."

She laughed and said, "Your father would crash a party just to have some of my dad's goat."

Becoming convinced that there was a little bit of history between William and Juanita, Lucy was staring daggers at William. The rapid exchange of personal information was not what she had been expecting. The little green worm of jealously started to raise its ugly head.

Although he was enjoying the break, William decided that it was time to cut the visit short and finish up the interviews. He stood up and walked around the table. Giving her a nice hug, he said, "I hate to rush this visit, but we're interviewing people and I'm sure the next candidate is pretty anxious to enter. I'm so glad that you were able to stop by and say hello. It's been wonderful seeing you again. Give my regards to your father."

"Excuse me?" Juanita asked confused. She looked over at Mary Gold who was staring at William.

Lucy looked at William with a puzzled expression on her face. Shrugging, William said, "We're interviewing people. I think we're waiting for the candidate for the accountant position to show up."

Amused at the mistake, Mary Gold said, "She's the candidate for the accountant position."

"Oh," William said realizing that he had never seen the resume. His face turned red with embarrassment at his blunder. He stammered, "I'm so sorry. I thought you had come in for a visit."

Unable to help herself, Lucy burst out laughing when she realized that William thought it was a social visit and not a job interview. He didn't make mistakes like that very often, but when he did it was usually a pretty good one. She asked, "Do you want to start over?"

"Sure," William said while returning to his chair.

Juanita took a moment to recover her professional demeanor. Once William was seated, Lucy handed him the resume. He looked over it and found that he was impressed. She had graduated Magna Cum Laude in accounting. Four summers had been spent as an intern at the Anderson accounting firm. The past year had been spent working in the Carter Clan office as an accountant while going to night school. He looked up and asked, "How much longer until you go after your CPA certification?"

"I have twelve more hours of class to reach the hundred and fifty hour requirement, but I'm going after the MBA with a specialization in accounting. I'm eighteen hours from completing the MBA," she answered.

Lucy grabbed the resume and looked over the resume. She had missed that Juanita was pursuing an MBA. Her estimation of the young woman went up a notch. She asked, "What do you think, William?"

For a moment he wondered if she was planning on opening a Montoya Accounting Firm, but he considered the local competition and knew it would be almost impossible to get a new firm started in the area. He said, "She's very qualified."

"The job is yours if you want it," Lucy said.

"I want it," Juanita answered excitedly.

"Ask in the next candidate and have a seat over here," Barbara said. She passed the next folder over to Lucy.

Lucy looked at the folder and, smiling at the resume inside, said, "The position for the clerk."

Donna Barnes entered the room and looked at William and Lucy unable to believe that she had actually made it this far in the interview process. Her uncle had attended the wedding and talked with Mary Gold during one of the parties. She had told him they were putting together a staff for William and Lucy. Upon learning that they were looking for a clerk, she had traveled from Seattle to apply for the job.

"Donna Barnes," William said after examining her features. He looked over the resume for a moment and asked, "What tribe?"

"Makah," she answered. It was a small tribe of only 2000 people located in the northwest corner of Washington.

"So, you are of the people who live by the rocks and sea gulls. You are a long way from the Pacific Ocean," he commented wondering how she would enjoy living in the desert.

"You know of the Makah?" she asked amazed.

"I hope to visit Ozette one day," William answered. The excavation of the ancient village that had been buried in 1700 by a mudslide had been required reading at the Native American College.

Lucy examined the Native American woman. The persistence she had demonstrated in going after the job had been incredible. She had camped across the street from the Carter House until Mary Gold would see her. Curious, she asked, "Why do you want the job so much?"

"The chance to work for Talks with Animals and Walks with Wisdom is too great to pass up," Donna answered.

Lucy examined Donna for a moment, thinking about her answer. She said, "I fear that the reality of working with us will lead you to see us as people rather than larger than life characters. I am sure that you will be disappointed."

Donna looked puzzled for a moment and then said, "I don't think so."

William and Lucy looked at each other having a whole conversation with a single glance. Turning back to look at Donna, Lucy said, "The job is yours if you want it."

"I want it."

"Would you call in the candidate for the receptionist's position and take a seat at the table?"

Lucy glanced at the resume and frowned. Curious about her reaction to the resume, William held out his hand for the folder. He opened it up and found that it was little more than a summary of her educational background. She had graduated from high school in Phoenix in the top ten percent of her class. He looked at the name, Amanda Bricks, at the top of the resume and didn't recall anything special about it.

The door opened and a very attractive woman entered the room. William tapped the table in front of him and the woman turned to face him. He said, "There's not much in your resume in terms of work experience. What makes you feel qualified to hold the position of receptionist?"

"I have a nice speaking voice and volunteered as a part-time receptionist at the school for the blind," Amada answered.

William asked, "How many people are in the room?"

"Including myself, there are eight," she answered after a slight pause.

"I'm satisfied that you'll do a fine job," William said. Like the previous three candidates, she was very attractive.

Lucy looked at the white cane and asked, "Will you need any special equipment?"

"Just a Braille monitor," she answered.



-------

Chapter 40


"What's the matter, Betsy?"

Betsy looked over at her brother and said, "It is just not as much fun swimming without the sharks near me."

Smiling at the fact that even when she was depressed Betsy couldn't slow down, William said, "I'm sure."

"I felt really complete swimming with them," Betsy said with a sigh. She eased into a simple backstroke straight from treading water and swam away at what was a leisurely pace for her.

William watched her swim and thought about her swim with the sharks. She had been totally at ease with the animals. He knew that she'd be back in almost no time. At most, he'd have to wait a whole ten seconds to give her a reply. When she swam past, he said, "You know that they won't buy you any sharks."

"It's so unfair," Betsy said going back to treading water. Her mothers had really gone ballistic over her swimming with the sharks. She sighed and, in a tone of voice that suggested a complete lack of understanding by her parents, said, "You'd think they were afraid of them or something."

"I'll talk to them and see what we can figure out," William said chuckling to himself. He wondered what he could say or do to convince them of a way to help Betsy satisfy her need to swim with sharks. He could just imagine asking Ling or Claire if Betsy could get a pet shark. That would go over about as well as passing gas in an elevator.

Betsy nearly lifted out of the water in her excitement and hugged her big brother. She said, "I knew you would help me."

"I'll do what I can," William said. Betsy barely heard since she had burst into a strong breast stroke that carried her across the pool like a flash.

Turning to Lucy, William said, "I guess I have a problem to solve."

"You'll solve it," she said with calm assurance. She turned to watch the new hires moving around the pool. Noticing that Amanda looked a little uncomfortable, she swam off in the direction of their new receptionist.

William watched his wife swim off. Despite the fact that they were now married, he still considered her to be the most beautiful woman in the room. He slipped over to his back and started a slow easy back stroke. After swimming most of the time in the pond back home, the full size pool was a treat. Shutting everyone out of his mind, he moved lazily across the pool enjoying the sensations of the water flowing over his body.

Lucy swam up to Amanda who was standing in the shallow end of the pool. The blind woman had turned to face the approaching swimmer and covered her body with her hands. Seeing the reaction, Lucy asked, "What's the matter, Amanda?"

Feeling uncomfortable in what felt like a very small bikini, Amanda answered, "I don't know if people are staring at me."

"Why would they be staring at you?" Lucy asked. There was enough naked female flesh in the room to distract anyone's attention away from Amanda.

"This bikini doesn't cover much," Amanda said. She had borrowed the swimsuit and had been shocked when she had been handed a suit that was little more than a string.

"Don't worry about that. My swimsuit isn't covering anything at the moment. It's back in Pennsylvania," Lucy said trying to help the woman feel a little more comfortable. She added, "You and Donna are the only ones wearing swimsuits."

"You're kidding," Amanda said. She had believed that the whole swim naked thing was some sort of practical joke being played on the blind girl.

"Feel me," Lucy said.

Amanda was shocked when her hand touched bare skin. She ran a hand over all the bits that would have been covered by even the skimpiest bikini and still felt naked skin. Confused, she asked, "Donna is the only other person wearing a swimsuit?"

"That's right. You can call anyone over and confirm it for yourself," Lucy answered.

"I thought you were playing a joke on me," Amanda admitted. She wondered if she could ever work up enough nerve to swim naked with other people in the room.

Lucy hadn't thought how it would be to be blind in that situation. Shaking her head, she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that without being able to see us that you'd think that. Would you like to talk to Donna? She seems just as uneasy about the situation as you."

"Maybe," Amanda said. She wondered what William was doing with all of these naked women in the pool. She was sure that he was probably swimming around with an erection and was glad that she couldn't see it.

"Donna! Could you come over here for a minute?" Lucy shouted in the direction of the Native American woman. The woman was wearing a one piece bathing suit that she had brought with her. It was clearly purchased without the intention of looking sexy.

Donna swam over in the direction of Lucy and Amanda. She was totally unnerved by the sight of so many naked people. This was not something she had been expecting when she had made the trip from Seattle. Talks with Animals and Walks with Wisdom were supposed to be people of the highest honor. She wondered what others would think if they were to learn that they swam naked with other people. She kept her eyes on Amanda and asked, "What do you need?"

Amanda asked, "Is everyone else naked?"

"Everyone except you and me," Donna answered. She looked around in time to see the rest of the Carter Clan enter the pool. She swore when everyone dropped their clothes. Shocked, she said, "There are more people coming and they are getting naked."

"Really?" Amanda asked unable to believe what Donna said or the sounds that she was hearing. It sounded like another six people had entered the pool room. A number of the voices sounded masculine. Wanting confirmation of what her ears were telling her, she asked, "Are there men?"

"Yes."

"Are they... um... excited?" Amanda asked curious and a little concerned about what would happen next.

Unable to prevent her eyes from moving the area under question, Donna looked at the cocks of the naked men. Surprised at the flaccid state of the men, she answered, "No."

Lucy grinned at the exchange and said, "I'll leave you two to talk a bit."

Donna watched her swim away. She was surprised when she turned back to find a teenage boy standing next to them in the pool. Her eyes flicked down and she observed that he wasn't excited by the naked women in the pool. Clearing her throat, she asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Eddie. I take it you are working for William and Lucy now," Eddie answered looking her in the eye.

His intense attention on her eyes surprised her. Unable to hold her gaze on him, she said, "Yes."

Amanda held out a hand and said, "I'm Amanda."

Shaking her hand, Eddie looked at her for a moment taking in the sunglasses on her face. She didn't seem to be looking at anything and then an explanation dawned on him. He asked, "Are you blind?"

"Yes," Amanda answered expecting the normal sympathy statements.

"Would you like us to set up a separate swim lane for you? We have ropes and buzzers that we can set at each end of the pool," Eddie offered.

Surprised at the offer, Amanda said, "No that's okay. I don't really know how to swim that well."

"I'll be glad to teach you," Eddie said.

Shocked that he was wasting his time with two women who were suited when surrounded by attractive naked women, Donna asked, "Why aren't you staring at all of the beautiful women who are swimming naked?"

Eddie looked around the pool taking note of the three new women swimming naked. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Amanda was still processing the offer to teach her how to swim. She finally answered, "Some other time, perhaps."

"When ever you want, just let me know," Eddie said. Betsy bumped him on her circuit across the pool. He said, "Whatever you do, don't let Betsy teach you. She'll run you ragged. She forgets that people don't have the same energy as her."

"Okay," Amanda answered.

"I think they are starting some chicken wars. Let me go over there and join them," Eddie said.

After telling him to go ahead, Donna stared at him while he swam away. She turned back to find Amanda staring off into space. Shaking her head, Amanda asked, "Was he excited?"

"No, he wasn't," Donna answered puzzled at a teenage boy who didn't react to the sight of naked women.

"I thought guys got erections whenever they are around a naked woman," Amanda said. Puzzled, she said, "I'm not very experienced when it comes to men."

"I'm a virgin," Donna said.

Betsy popped up between the two women and said, "Me too. By the way, I'm Betsy."

Looking at the young woman, Donna didn't know what to say. She associated nudity with immorality. She and Amanda introduced themselves to the young woman. Amanda had a hard time keeping track of where Betsy was at any given time.

Deciding that she didn't want to participate in the chicken wars, Sandra swam over to meet with the two coworkers she hadn't had a chance to talk with. When the pool was shallow enough to stand, she walked over the small group of women. She announced her arrival, "Hello. What are you gals talking about?"

Treating the subject matter as if it were nothing more significant than discussing the weather, Betsy turned to Sandra and said, "We were talking about being virgins. Are you a virgin too?"

"Uh..."

"All of us are virgins. My brother, Eddie, is a virgin, too. Of course, I think half the girls in town would like to be the one who gets his virginity, but he's waiting for the right girl. Did you know that William was a virgin until he met Lucy?" Betsy volunteered dancing around in place. She fired the sentences out like bullets from a machine gun.

She looked around for a fraction of a second. When no one answered right away, she said, "I don't know what the big deal about sex is. My moms say that you have to be mature in body, mind, emotion, and spirit before you have sex. If you don't wait until you are mature enough, then you get hurt. I'm probably grown up in mind, but my body has a bit to go. Don't you think? I mean, I hardly have breasts although that could be because I'm always moving around and don't have much fat. Did you know that breasts are fat?"

There was barely a pause long enough for her to take a breath before she continued, "Anyway, I don't have much time for the spirit and everyone says that I'm still a child when it comes to emotions. It is going to be a while before I'm ready for sex. What do you think?"

All three women were stunned at the rate at which Betsy spoke. It was like listening to an auctioneer working to get the bids up. Tired of being motionless, Betsy returned to swimming. As she splashed away, she called over her shoulder, "I'll be back to talk some more."

"What was that?" Sandra asked, stunned by the rapid fire delivery of such personal information.

"That was Betsy," answered Donna staring at the young woman cutting through the water at a high rate of speed. She'd never seen anyone able to swim that fast.

The shouts from the other end of the pool, the continuous motion of so many people around her, and the conversation was taking its toll on Amanda. She asked, "Could someone lead me out of the pool and to a chair? I have a headache."

Amanda had barely finished talking when Ling showed up and said, "Amanda, William said that you might need a little peace and quiet. Would you like to come with me to the dojo? It is the quietest place in the house."

The thought of peace and quiet was too tempting to resist. Amanda answered, "Yes that would be nice."

Ling offered her arm by placing Amanda's hand on it and led her out of the pool. It was a little tricky navigating the stairs. They dried off before leaving the pool room. Ling walked out without dressing while Amanda remained in the skimpy bikini. The bikini had small triangular patches of cloth that barely covered the nipples and a thong that left practically nothing to the imagination.

William watched the pair walk away. He turned to Lucy and said, "I hope that Ling begins her training soon."

"I'm worried about Donna," Lucy said with a slight gesture of her head in the direction of the young woman.

"She must think that she has landed in a den of iniquity," William said with a smile, "I wonder how long it will take her to realize that it is just the opposite."

"I imagine it will take her a little bit of time. Believe me when I say that it takes a lot of getting used to it," Lucy said with a laugh. Pointing to Juanita, Lucy asked, "What happened during the interview with Juanita?"

William frowned feeling uneasy at the reminder of the interview session. In a quiet voice, he said, "I don't know. I knew everything necessary to realize that she was there for an interview, but the pieces just didn't come together. I really thought she had come here for a visit."

"That's not like you."

"I'm worried. It seems to me that my knowledge of what is going on around me has been lessening lately. I was totally clueless about what was going on through the whole interview," William said. He hadn't even picked up on the reason why Lucy was asking the women to strip. Knowing his mothers, Mary Gold, and Lucy, he should have been able to predict everything about the interview.

Concerned, Lucy asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine now. It was like a fog lifted from my mind when the interviews ended," William said. He looked up at the ceiling and asked, "What's going on?"

His query went unanswered. Lucy frowned seeing the hurt expression on his face. She said, "Maybe your gift wasn't needed today."

"Perhaps," William said feeling uneasy. Pulling himself together, he said, "Let's show them how a chicken war is supposed to be fought."

"Okay," Lucy said forcing a little excitement into her voice. She was worried about William, but didn't want to let him see just how much she was worried.

A frowning Ed was seated in the library reading a journal when William sat down across from him. Looking up from his journal, Ed said, "This article is not very good."

"It happens on occasion that a bad article slips through the review process," William said knowing that in the hard sciences that it was a much rarer event than in the soft sciences.

"I'm sure that you didn't search me out to talk about the peer reviewed publication process. What can I do for you?"

"My ability to see the future seemed to desert me today," William said watching his father carefully.

Surprised, Ed said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I was taken by surprise several times this afternoon," William said.

"You rely upon it too much," Ed said voicing a sentiment that he had told William many times.

"You are probably right," William said. He looked at his father and asked, "Could I touch your medallion?"

Ed ran a hand over his medallion before he answered, "What's the matter?"

"The Two-Sided One has been quiet lately," William said licking his lips nervously.

"So you want to us my medallion in the hope that you can talk to him?" Ed asked.

"Yes," William answered.

"We serve them. They do not serve us," Ed said looking at William with a frown.

"I know. I just have to know if I've angered the Two-Sided One somehow," William said. He wondered if swearing on his future service to warn Happy Harry of his death was the cause of his problems.

Resting his chin on his clasped hands, Ed thought about the request. He was about to tell William that it would be okay when he heard a chuckle and a voice say, "Tell the little one that it is training for the future."

Noticing the blank expression on Ed's face, William asked, "What? What did he say?"

"It is training for the future," Ed said.

"Huh?"

"It is training for the future."

"It is training for the future?" William asked.

"Perhaps the Two-Sided One wants you to understand your ability better by seeing how life is like without it," Ed said speculating on the meaning of the message he had been instructed to deliver.

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I," Ed said with a sigh. He considered the nature of his service to the Two-Sided One. He said, "I tell you all the time that you rely on your ability too much. I must admit that I am guilty of the same thing. I can't imagine what it would be like to deal with people without knowing if they are telling me the truth or lying. There are even times when I fail to realize that others don't have the same ability."

"Really?" William asked despite knowing that his father always told the truth.

"I overheard a conversation the other day. Both people were lying to each other and neither one realized it. It struck me that most people do not have the kind of insights into human nature that my gift has provided me," Ed said.

"So you are suggesting that the Two-Sided One wants me to experience life in the same way that others do?" William asked. It was a plausible explanation, but he wasn't sure that it was correct.

"That is my guess," Ed answered. He did wonder why the Two- Sided One chose to inform William through him rather than doing it directly.

"I will consider it," William said.

"What are your plans?"

"I'm going up to the house tomorrow with Lucy to see how it is coming. I will go alone to reservation the next night to meet with the tribal elders. Lucy and I will head home in a couple of days to set up the office there with the new staff," William said. He figured that a couple of days would be sufficient for Mary Gold to hand off the job to his new employees.

"Sounds like you'll be busy while you're here," Ed said. Recalling that Derrick had bought horses for William and Lucy, he asked, "Are you going to check out the horses?"

"You bet," William said, "Lucy is going to have to learn to ride."

"She shouldn't have too much of a problem. Young women enjoy riding horses," Ed said. He thought back to the night that he and Kelly went for a horseback ride before they got married. He asked, "What are you plans for the rest of the summer?"

"I'm going on a tour to meet the elders of the 500 tribes. I'll stop by some of the homeless hotels and see how things are going there. We have to get Lucy set up for her Master's degree. In the process, we'll be setting up the office at home," William said.

"Sounds like you'll have a busy summer," Ed said.

William was silent for a moment and then said, "There is one other matter."

"What?"

"Betsy."

"What about Betsy?" Ed asked.

"John, Beth, Eddie and I spent our summers off traveling with Happy Harry. You haven't done the same for Betsy," William said.

"She's too active to ride around the country with Harry," Ed said.

William looked down at the floor knowing that was the official reason for keeping Betsy at home. He said, "I have a suggestion."

"What kind of suggestion?" Ed asked.

"Send her to one of the shark research institutes for the rest of the summer," William said watching his father carefully.

Thinking about how his wives would react to such a suggestion sent a shiver down his spine. He definitely didn't want to be the one who raised the subject. Shaking his head, he said, "There's no way I'm going to suggest that to your mothers."

"What do you think she'll be doing five years from now?" William asked.

"I have no idea," Ed said. There was a twinge of pain on saying it.

"She's going to follow in Leroy's footsteps. I expect she'll become an oceanographer with a biology background. She's going to spend the rest of her life studying sharks," William said.

The truth in William's words couldn't be ignored. Ed pursed his lips and thought about it. He had seen Betsy swimming with the sharks and knew that there had been a fundamental change in her from that experience. Groaning at the thought of telling the wives, Ed said, "You're right."

"I suggest that you have Ling and Linda go there with her," William said.

Having executed his promise to Betsy, William sat back and relaxed. He didn't have many chances to talk to his father and decided to take advantage of this opportunity. It was a very pleasant conversation.



-------

Chapter 41


Amused by what he was doing, Derrick led the little horse using the reigns. Lucy was seated on its back holding onto the saddle horn with white knuckles. She was nervous; feeling like the horse was huge and ready to run away at any moment. She looked over at William and, voice tight with tension, said, "I've never ridden a horse before."

"You don't say. I would never have guessed," William replied with a grin from atop the horse that Derrick had given him. It was a nice quarter-horse of good stock and was a real pleasure to ride.

"It's not funny. This is a monster. Couldn't you have gotten a smaller horse for me?"

Derrick chuckled at the characterization of the horse as a monster and said, "Any smaller and it would stop being a horse."

"Huh?"

"Anything smaller than this is called a pony," he replied considering that at 14.1 hands that if the horse was one inch shorter then technically the animal would be a pony. As it was, he was being generous in calling it a horse since it just barely qualified.

"I thought a pony was a breed and not a size," Lucy said. The horse gave a quick double step and she squeaked.

"It's both. Usually an equine smaller than 14.2 hands is a pony while an equine taller than 14.2 hands is a horse. With Pintos, any equine taller than 14 hands is a horse while less than that is a pony.

The Shetland pony is a breed and runs less than 14.2 hands,"

William answered. His horse, at 15.3 hands, looked huge compared to her little horse.

"It's still big," she said. Of course, when William rode his horse over to walk next to hers it was obvious that hers was a very small horse.

Seeing that William was in position to take control of the horse if it got away from Lucy, Derrick stopped and handed her the reins. He said, "She's a real gentle animal. Don't overwork the reins. Give her a very soft touch and she'll go where you want her to go."

Lucy let go of the saddle horn, grasp the reins and pulled back on them. The little horse started backing up. William put his hand over hers and forced it to a position where the reins hung with a little slack. He said, "That's how you want to keep the reins. Think of it this way, each time you yank the reins you're hurting the horse just a little. The harder you pull, the more you hurt it."

"That's horrible," Lucy said.

"Well, you just hurt Lady's Prize. So take it easy," William explained.

"I hurt the horse?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," William answered. He leaned over to her and said, "Now, if you want to turn right remove the slack on the right rein and put just a little pressure. That will turn Lady's Pride's head to the right and she'll turn to the right. When she's going in the direction you want, let the slack return. Turning left is the same process with the left rein."

Derrick said, "You aren't driving a car. A horse is a living animal and can handle most of the details about how to go from one place to another. Your job is to let the horse know where you want to go."

William watched Lucy ride the little horse around the corral.

Derrick walked beside the horse just in case something happened.

Having the two men watching over her allowed her to relax a little and she started enjoying being on the horse. She asked, "How did you give her the name Lady's Prize?"

"I didn't give her that name. That's her registered name," Derrick answered.

"Oh," Lucy answered not sure what that meant.

William said, "She was given that name when she was born and registered with the Pinto Horse Association of America by the previous owner. You don't change the name of a horse. Lady's Prize is officially a skewbald Pinto horse of stock type with overo markings."

"Oh, I see," she said staring at William. After a minute, she asked,

"What's a Pinto?"

"A pinto is a horse with the kind of two-toned coloration that your horse has. Overo means that the coloration is jagged rather than spotted. Skewbald means that it is a lighter coloration rather than black. Stock type means that it is a western horse with predominately quarter and paint breeding and conformation,"

William answered with a grin.

"How do you know all that?" she asked. Even Derrick looked impressed that William knew that much about Pintos.

"Daddy Ed made sure that all of us kids know our horses,"

William answered. Seeing the expression on Derrick's face, William added, "It was also a favorite horse of the Native Americans."

"Oh," Lucy answered.

"Getting tired?" William asked.

"A little. I guess I'm not used to sitting in a saddle," Lucy answered.

William led her horse to the rail of the corral and tied up the horse.

He climbed off his horse and walked around to help Lucy out of the saddle. She slid down to the ground with a little help from him.

She took a few steps and said, "I feel bowlegged."

William laughed at the expression on her face and said, "That's okay. You don't look it. When we get back to the Carter House, we'll get you a massage and you'll feel a lot better."

"Good," Lucy said.

Derrick walked over to the horses and said, "I'll take care of the horses while you check out the progress on your house. I'm sure that you'll want to walk through it."

"Thanks, Derrick. I've got to say that you really picked out two nice horses for us," William said running a hand along the flank of Lady's Prize.

"I'm glad you like them," Derrick said tipping his hat.

Looking over at Lucy, William asked, "Do you want to walk over there or take the Hugger?"

"We can walk."

William walked with Lucy the two hundred yards to the entry way of the house. The foreman, Jack Dickles, was waiting for them by the time they reached it. Nodding his head, he said, "Hello, William and Lucy. I take it you'd like to see the progress on your house."

"That's right, Jack," William answered.

Jack handed over a pair of hardhats and said, "You'll have to wear these while you're in the house."

William took off his cowboy hat and put on the hardhat after fiddling with the headband. Lucy took off her baseball cap and put it in her pocket. She put the hardhat on and found that it was riding high on her head. William took her hat and adjusted the headband before putting it back atop her head. It fit perfectly. Surprised, she asked, "You know my hat size?"

"I know all of your measurements," he answered with a wink.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, really."

"What's my bra size?"

"It's perfect," William answered.

"That's not a size," she countered.

"It is as far as I'm concerned. Your breasts are perfect. Your ass is perfect. Your feet are perfect. Your chest, waist, and hips are perfect. See, I know all your measurements," William said with a smile.

"You've been around Happy Harry too much. You're beginning to pitch woo like him," Lucy said with a grin while hitting his arm in a playful manner. Despite her words to the contrary, she didn't doubt that he knew her measurements.

Jack listened to the exchange while thinking that he would have to use that line on his wife sometime when she asked him a question like that. He was sure that answer would keep him off the couch at least one night. Shaking his head, he said, "Let's get to it."

William and Lucy entered the house through the framed doorway at ground level. From the front, it looked like a rather large one story ranch house. Ten paces after stepping through the door, they reached the edge of the first floor balcony. The lower three levels of the house opened up beneath them. In front of them, they could see the canyon through the four story glass window. Taking a deep breath, Lucy said, "It's beautiful."

Jack could understand her reaction. He had that same sense of wonder each time he stepped through the door. He said, "The stairs down to the next level are to the right and left of us. The elevators are still being installed in the shafts behind us. The elevators will be fusion powered electromagnetic lifts. These have the advantage of being completely quiet so that you won't be disturbed by the sounds of an elevator."

Nodding his head, William asked, "The Otis version?"

"Of course," Jack answered.

"Good. They have the magnetic safety locks that engage if the power should ever fail for any reason," William said knowing that he would test them by cutting the power from the fusion batteries.

His sister was definitely making sure that his money was being well spent.

Leading the way down the stairs, Jack said, "This level contains the formal living room, dining room, ten guest rooms, and an open area that can be used when entertaining. There are four readily accessible bathrooms on this level, two at each end of the open area."

Lucy looked around the huge open area. They could have five hundred guests in that area without difficulty. Shaking her head, she said, "It's so big."

"I'm sure that we'll wish it was larger when we have our house warming party," William said with a wink.

Believing that William was correct, Jack pointed to the cement columns that broke up the large area. He said, "The support columns will be encased in a natural stone façade. At the ends of the room, the walls will be finished with a natural stone façade as well. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the formal dining room and formal living room."

William and Lucy followed him to the end of the open area. There were two doors, one close to the front and one farther back along the wall. The door closest to them led to the formal living room. It was huge and provided a view of the canyon.

A door at the back of the living room led to the dining room. There was a work light on the floor that allowed them to see the dining area. This room was not as wide as the living room since it had a smaller room along the side. Jack pointed to the smaller room and said, "That is a service area. There is a dumb waiter to transfer food to and from the main kitchen on the first floor. There will be standard kitchen equipment in there and storage areas for the formal place settings and silver."

Lucy looked in the room, but was unable to see much. She asked,

"Where are the light switches?"

"We haven't finished the wiring yet," Jack said.

William looked around and realized that his sister had designed the room so that there wouldn't be a view of the canyon to distract guests away from the food during meals. He could just imagine the arguments that would have resulted from seating some guests so that they were facing the view and other guests with their backs to the view. Smiling, he said, "My sister is definitely the best."

"Let's go to the other end of this floor so that I can show you the guest rooms."

William and Lucy followed him across the open area to a hallway that ran down the back side of the room. It took William a moment to realize that his sister had put the entryways into the guest rooms at the back. That would allow the guests to have a view of the canyon from their bedrooms.

Entering a guest room, it was obvious that a lot of thought went into the design. There was a small living room and a bedroom. A bathroom and closet separated the two primary living areas. Lucy said, "This is going to cost us a fortune to decorate."

William laughed at the comment and went into the bedroom.

Looking out the window, he could see the canyon, but not the levels of the house below. He was impressed with his sister's foresight. Lucy stepped up beside him and said, "My mom and dad will love this room."

"I'm sure they will," William said.

Watching their reactions, Jack was pleased to see that they liked what they were seeing. This was the largest and most complex construction job that he had ever worked on. The supports and walls were more robust than was necessary. He was sure that the house could take a direct hit from a missile without taking much more than superficial damage. He said, "We'll go to the emergency stairs and go down to the next level."

The emergency stairs were located along the back wall. Work lights were hung along the stairs for them to see. Going down a level, they found they were facing another set of rooms. Jack said,

"These are the suites for the people who will work for you. There are twenty of them."

"Twenty?" Lucy asked.

"Yes. Ten of the suites have a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. Ten of the suites have two bedrooms."

"They don't look any wider than the rooms upstairs," Lucy said.

"They are wider by about five feet and longer by an additional thirty feet," Jack answered.

"How can some of them have two bedrooms while the others have only one bedroom?" Lucy asked.

"Every other suite extends into some of the area of the adjacent suite. If you look at the bathroom, you'll see that it runs along the length of the room rather than across the width. The second bedroom is on the other side of the bathroom," Jack answered.

The young couple followed Jack to the office area of the house. It was a huge area with lots of offices. As they walk through it, Jack pointed to an area and said, "The elevator shaft there connects to a separate building on the surface. The receptionist's office is in the building above. This will allow you to have work related visitors without having them go through the house. Your sister led me to believe that was one of the minor irritants about the Carter House."

"Yes, it was," William answered. Looking around, he asked,

"Won't the noise of having an office here be distracting?"

Jack laughed and said, "You won't believe this, but the crews are working on this section of the building today."

William raised an eyebrow and followed Jack into the office area.

He slowly became aware of a saw running in the background. Lucy looked over at him and said, "I can't believe that I couldn't hear that in the atrium."

"I know what you mean," William said amazed at the fact that someone was actually running a saw in one of the rooms.

"This whole area is designed to be a sound baffle. Now, each of the offices are rather plain but we have installed wiring conduits that will allow you to have the entire wiring of the office areas reworked without intruding into the structure. I have to admit that it is one of the nicest infrastructure elements I've ever seen in an office."

"What are the plans for the walls?"

"White board," answered Jack, "You'll have ceiling to floor white boards all around the room. There will be a metal backing so that your employees can hang things off the wall using magnets. There will be no need to drill any holes into the walls. The metal backing also acts as a faraday cage. Ling Carter insisted that we incorporate some space for her to attach some sort of security filter to eliminate electromagnetic emanations. I'm not sure that I understand all of the details about that."

"Interesting," William said. He hadn't thought of that as wall finishing for an office space, but it made sense. It also made sense that his mother would use it to ensure that no one would be able to put in bugs.

"Your mother is one paranoid lady," Lucy commented looking around the office in amazement.

"Really, I hadn't noticed," William teased.

Jack led them to the break area. Entering it, he said, "This is the break room. It is right above the main kitchen. The dumb waiter runs through that back wall so that food can be delivered here and to the conference room that we just passed. The library is right behind the conference room."

The view from the break room was spectacular. Lucy asked, "With this view, how are we ever going to get people to work?"

"I have no clue," William answered. He looked out the window as a hawk drifted through the canyon. Looking down, he could see some cattle at the bottom of the canyon grazing on some of the vegetation growing along the stream.

"Ed will love this view," Lucy said.

"He enjoys watching his town from the roof of the Carter House.

He'd like this view, but he'd miss his little town," William said.

The library and conference room didn't have a view. The size of the library was staggering. Looking around, Lucy said, "This is huge."

"It is the largest enclosed room in the house. Beth said that you would probably be hiring a full-time librarian."

"It will be nice to get most of my books out of storage," William said. The room had a very comforting feel to it. It felt as if he were being comforted inside the Goddess herself.

"This room is actually built into the earth. The doors are fireproof and very thick so that in case of a problem, it can serve as a safe room for everyone on this floor."

"Nice," William said realizing where that sense of being surrounded by the Goddess originated.

"I can't wait to see our rooms," Lucy said. Although she had seen the drawings of what the house would look like, she hadn't been able to visualize it.

The lower floor contained a swimming pool, a dojo, a playroom, a living room, a dining room, a home theatre, and ten apartments.

There was also a kitchen and a utility room. They wandered through the area amazed at the size of each room. There was a large atrium in the center that was a copy of the atrium in the Carter House. It was spacious without being overwhelming.

They entered the apartment that was to be theirs to find Beth waiting for them while seated in a metal folding chair. There was a small piece of luggage next to her. She grinned up at the couple and asked, "Well little brother, what do you think?"

"It's a little cramped, but we'll manage," William answered while winking at Lucy.

Laughing, Beth rose from her chair and said, "I think you'll manage just fine."

Lucy asked, "Just how big is it?"

"It is just a little over seventy thousand square feet," Beth answered. She smiled at the shocked expression on Lucy's face.

She added, "This level of the house is thirty thousand square feet.

This apartment alone is two thousand square feet. There are three bedrooms, two offices, a living room, and a small kitchen with an attached dining area. For all intents and purposes, it is a house within a house."

"It must have cost a fortune."

"We've done a real good job of keeping the costs down. It is running about four hundred dollars a square foot," Beth answered.

She smiled at Lucy and added, "Of course, it is going to be a little expensive decorating this place."

Lucy still had a problem understanding just how wealthy William was. She asked, "Can we afford it?"

"Well, I put aside thirty million from my play money for it when we started. I would have to say that yes we can afford it," William answered.

Lucy stared at William. She often heard him refer to his play money as the funds that he was willing to lose. If he was able to take out thirty million of his play money, she wondered how much money he had. Thinking that Beth knew exactly how much William was worth, she asked, "How much money do you have?"

"We are worth a little over a billion now," William answered.

The amount surprised Beth and she stared at her little brother. She had nearly doubled her inheritance, but that was nothing compared to what William had done. In fact, he hadn't even gotten his entire inheritance out of the trust fund yet. She realized that he must have made all of that money off the original million that he received when he graduated high school.

Stunned, Lucy said, "You said that you give away half of what you make!"

"Yes, I do," William answered. Over the past two years, he had been able to go from his base twenty million in his mad money account to over two hundred million every four months. He was giving away three hundred million a year and putting another two hundred million into his conservative funds. The conservative funds were earning a small five percent a year, but even that was a lot of money and he wasn't spending any of it.

"So I guess paying my tuition isn't really a problem," Lucy said trying to grasp the idea of a person controlling that kind of money.

"You've been worried about paying your tuition?" Beth asked. She was wondering why he was living in the little house back in Pennsylvania when he could have afforded something much larger.

Turning to William, Lucy asked, "What are the limits on my credit cards?"

"You don't have any credit cards," William answered.

"Yes I do. You gave me three of them. One for travel, one for personal items, and one for business expenses," Lucy countered.

"Those aren't credit cards. They're debit cards," William said.

"Debit cards?" she screamed. Having spent hundreds of dollars without much concern about using the cards, she said, "I could have overdrawn the account."

"I doubt it. You'd have to buy this house to do that," William replied.

"Oh."



-------

Chapter 42


The gymnasium of the activity center was empty except for a long table at which the tribal elders of all the local tribes were seated.

All eyes were watching the door at the far end of the room for their visitor. The tension in the room was high. Most of them expected their visitor to argue with them about their conservative stance and they were not looking forward to it. They were sure that they would lose this argument with this particular visitor.

Looking around the room, Robert White Feather felt that he needed to defend his invitation. He said, "He's a member of this tribe. We have to hear him out."

"There have been too many changes of late. We have to protect the tribe," Johnny Whitetail, the oldest man on the tribal council, replied. He snorted and said, "Just lock him out."

Shaking his head, Awa Tsireh said, "We said that he would be welcome at any gathering of tribal elders. Just because he is coming to tell us things that we'd rather not hear is no reason to send him away."

"We tremble like old women just hearing that he is coming to talk with us," Robert White Feather said angrily. Tensions had been high in the tribe for a long time and it was beginning to affect the council.

"You know he's going to tell us to do what all the young men and women are saying. They want us to stop holding them back."

"He's young. His word carries a little more weight than that of most, but he can't force us to do what we think is wrong," Johnny Whitetail said crossing his arms.

Sam Martin, the newest member of the council, said, "He's Talks with Animals. He lifted the curse that has held us back. He was the first voice of the White Buffalo. If he adds his voice to the others, we have to back down."

The door opened at the far end of the room and a brave entered. He said, "Kotyit and Talks with Animals have come to address the council of elders."

The news that William was coming with Kotyit was doubly bad.

Robert White Feather looked down the table at the unhappy expressions on the faces of the men and women gathered there.

With Kotyit backing William, they would not be able to argue that it was youth speaking. He sighed and said, "Let them enter."

William entered the gym behind Kotyit, giving the older man the honor of leading the way to the council members. He carried a carton of cigarettes in one hand and moved with an easy step.

There was a twinkle in his eye as he looked over the tense men and women at the table. It was obvious that they had been arguing.

When Kotyit stopped, William continued to the table and placed the carton of cigarettes in front of Robert White Feather. Kotyit said, "We have come to address the council of elders. I see that elders from nearby tribes have come here as well."

Watching William walk back to stand beside Kotyit, Robert White Feather said, "All tribes are interested in what you have to say to us."

William smiled at the diplomatic answer. William had suggested that Kotyit talk last so that he could temper the message of the young. Kotyit smiled and said, "I will allow the younger of us to speak first."

"What have you come to tell us?"

"I have come to discuss the increased tension between the younger members of the tribe and the elders," William answered. The men and women at the table shifted uncomfortably. William continued,

"Our tribe is not the only one that suffers from such tensions."

"That is true."

"We all know that this is not good."

Receiving glares from the other council members, Robert White Feather nodded his head and said, "You are correct in saying that it is not good for our tribe."

"As the council of elders for the tribe, it falls upon you to resolve the tension," William said.

"You want us to give into their demands," charged Johnny Whitetail.

"Not at all. New found freedoms are easily lost through the foolish actions of well meaning people. If anyone must be strong, it is the council," William answered with a gesture to include all of the men and women at the table.

The stunned silence in the room spoke volumes. Johnny Whitetail stared at William as if he had just declared that the moon was made of cheese. Kotyit, who hadn't been fully aware of what William was going to say, turned and looked at his companion in surprise. The first to recover was Awa Tsireh. He asked, "What are you recommending?"

"I'm recommending that rather than trying to stop the younger members of the tribe from being foolish that you direct them in a more beneficial direction. We can not have individuals of the tribe over extend their resources. They will lose all that they hope to gain if that is allowed," William said.

Robert White Feather sat back in his chair and studied William carefully. He had known the young man his whole life and William was still able to surprise him. He said, "You support our goals, but not how we are attempting to achieve them. Am I correct?"

"Yes," William answered.

"We did not expect to hear that from you," Johnny Whitetail said.

It was a trait of the young that if they didn't like how they were being treated to argue against the goals that motivated the treatment. He decided that William was not as young as he looked.

"Neither did I," Kotyit admitted. Despite the fact that William had assured him that all would work out alright, he had been worried.

For one, he wasn't comfortable with how quickly things were changing and was afraid that he'd have to disagree with William on this matter.

Leaning forward, Robert White Feather asked, "What are you suggesting that we do?"

"Stop trying to keep the younger members of the tribe from being foolish and direct them in a more beneficial direction," William answered knowing that his answer was going to irritate them.

"Just how should we do that?"

"I don't know. You are the tribal elders. You know the people far better than I. It is not my place to lead them. It is up to you,"

William answered throwing his arms out to his sides in a gesture of helplessness. He looked from one person to the next and then added, "There is almost two thousand years of experience in dealing with people gathered in this room. If a means to reduce the tensions in the tribe is to be found, then it is to be found here."

"You have not told us anything that we did not know."

"But I did," William said.

"What?"

"I told you that I support your goals. I'm sure that there were doubts about that before I came here," William answered. From the expressions on their faces, he knew that he had stated the truth.

It was an important thing to know and the entire council knew it.

They knew that soon the younger members of the tribe would have turned to William to have him speak for them. Nodding to the council, William started to turn away. He paused and said, "I will leave you to your discussions."

The council watched William leave the room. Kotyit chuckled at the thought that arguing with William was a lot like trying to put an arm lock on a snake. Once William had left the room, he turned to the council with a smile on his face. In a matter of fact voice, he said, "He was a difficult student."

Outside, William sat down on the bench on one of the picnic tables that were scattered around in front of the activity center. Danny White Feather, his cousin, was seated across the table from him.

He was guarding the door of the activity center, but that didn't require him to stand in front of it. With a grin, Danny said, "You stirred up a hornet's nest. You can hear them arguing from here.

Maybe they will ease up a little. They've been treating a lot of the tribal members like children."

Rather than reply, William dug into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He took one and handed the pack to Danny.

After lighting a cigarette, William asked, "Do you remember that time you fought your father and tried to hit him?"

"Yeah. He knocked me flat on my ass," Danny answered while taking a cigarette out of the pack. He handed the pack to William and shook his head at the memory.

"How was he able to do that?" William asked looking at his cousin out of the corner of his eye.

"He was bigger and stronger than I was," Danny answered. He bent down and lit the cigarette using a wooden match. The flame of his match lit the features of his face. The light from the match reflected off his tribal police badge. After blowing out the match, he put the box of matches in the pocket of his uniform.

"He was also more experienced."

"True."

William asked, "Why did you fight him?"

"To make him respect me and start treating me like an equal, I guess," Danny answered wondering what William's point was.

"Did it work?"

"No."

"It seems to me that you've gained your father's respect. Now that you're working with him, he's given you tribal responsibilities,"

William said.

"I've worked my ass off to do it," Danny answered with a little pride. He had been very proud the day he had been sworn into office.

"There's a lesson to be learned there," William said. He took a drag off his cigarette and exhaled into the night sky. He searched the night sky for the big dipper, finding it without much difficulty.

Although it was usually more comfortable watching the summer sky, William preferred the winter sky. There seemed to be more stars in winter.

Danny smoked his cigarette while thinking about what William had said. He glanced at his cousin and saw him watching the stars.

Although William was younger than him, he had always felt as though William was the older of the two. He knew that William was saying that you don't earn respect by fighting against those you want to respect you, but that you have to earn their respect by working with them. Shaking his head, he said, "I'll tell the others."

"I was sure that you would," William replied. He took a drag off his cigarette and pointed to the corner of the building. When he had visited the reservation for a year, he had spent a lot of time playing in that corner. He asked, "Do the kids still play with the radio controlled cars?"

"All of the time," Danny answered with a smile, realizing that he was no longer talking with Talks with Animals, but was now talking to his cousin, William. He added, "Hunt the Bug-eyed Monsters is still the most popular pastime here."

"I'm glad to hear that," William said. Looking around the activity center, he said, "I really enjoyed my time here."

"Hey, it was fun having you around. I was afraid that you'd be some stuck up rich kid, but you weren't," Danny said. It had taken most of the kids their age a couple of weeks to figure out how to deal with William. He wasn't what any of them had expected. He didn't act like a rich brat, he didn't act humble or apologetic, and he didn't pretend to be anything except who he was. He also had his BS in physics from the Druid College by then.

"Now that you're a tribal cop, are you going to marry Donna?"

"I'm thinking about it, but it isn't the right time to ask her. She's still training to be a paralegal."

Winking at him, William said, "Don't wait too long. Some young buck will start chasing her as soon as she has a job."

Danny laughed and said, "I'll just have to throw them in jail for trespassing if they do that."

"You have to stake a claim first and you know what that means."

Danny shook his head and said, "You mean I have to propose to her."

"She's a nice lady. You could do a lot worse and I doubt you could do better than marrying her."

"I tend to agree with you," Danny answered. He took a drag off his cigarette and looked up at the night sky. The stars were bright. He decided that William was probably right. It was about time that he proposed to Donna.

"I'm going to be a neighbor as soon as they finish building the house," William said after putting out his cigarette.

"I was over by your place the other day checking it out. At first I thought you were building it a little close to the edge of that canyon. Then I realized you were building it down the canyon. It is an amazing building," Danny said.

"Beth designed it," William said.

"That's a smart sister you have," Danny said, "She volunteered to design a new activity center for us. I think the tribe is afraid to accept her offer."

"Why?"

"It'll make the rest of the reservation look like hell," Danny answered with a smile.

William laughed at the joke and said, "You could ask her to design an ugly building so that the rest of the place looks good in comparison."

The door of the activity center opened and Kotyit emerged. Taking it as a sign that the meeting was ending, Danny said, "I better get back to the door."

William watched his cousin walk over to the door of the activity building. Kotyit looked around and spotted him at the picnic table.

He wandered over and sat down. Looking over at the younger man, he said, "You surprised me."

"You know that I'd never undermine the elders," William said.

"Still, I expected you to tell them to lighten up a little," Kotyit said.

He shook his head and said, "I had a whole speech prepared trying to undo the damage and didn't have a chance to use it."

"Aw, I'm sure you're disappointed," William said with a grin. He held out his pack of cigarettes for Kotyit.

The elderly man took a cigarette and returned the pack to William.

Lighting it, he took a puff and then said, "I told them that you were a difficult student."

"I'm sure that they all nodded their heads in agreement."

Kotyit laughed. He looked up at the sky and sighed. There were times when he felt old and today had been one of those times. He remembered when he had been young and full of energy. Now, it seemed that he had to take care in how he moved or he'd break a bone.

Watching his friend, William asked, "What's the matter?"

"You're so young and yet so wise. It makes me feel old," Kotyit said.

"I'm not so wise," William said shrugging his shoulders.

"Your comments in there shook up the council of elders. They'd forgotten what they were trying to achieve. You reminded them of what was important. That's not such an easy thing to do," Kotyit said. There were times when he was guilty of the same thing. It was easy to get lost while focusing on one goal to the exclusion of all else. Usually, he'd achieve his goal only to discover that everything else had gone wrong.

"We'll see how the other tribes respond," William said. He looked over at the activity center and realized that he would have to return in a couple of weeks to see what the council had decided to do.

He'd at least be able to take their solution to the other tribes when it was time to visit them.

"Word will get out about what was decided here," Kotyit said.

Realizing that the other councils of elders would probably want William to announce his support for them in public, he laughed and said, "I expect you'll be speaking to much larger crowds. The other tribes are liable to give you a chance to speak in their public forum."

"I guess I'll just have to prepare a different speech for next time,"

William said with a grin.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about that?"

"Because you know me too well," William answered. He didn't like to be manipulated into giving the powerful more power than it already had. Above all else, he had to protect the weak from the strong.

"I heard that when you are finished solving our problems, you're heading off to the Middle East to solve theirs," Kotyit said making reference to the recent news stories he had heard about William.

Chuckling, William said, "I'll just go over there and tell all the animals to go on strike until there is peace there."

"That would work," Kotyit said. He could imagine the camels refusing to act like camels. He looked over at the Hugger and watched Colt for a moment. Pointing to the bodyguard, he asked,

"Is he necessary?"

"So far no one has tried to kill me, but the press has been horrible."

Curious, Kotyit asked, "So who is the one?"

William, using hand gestures of the trade language, answered that Kotyit knew who the one was. He waved an arm and, aloud, said,

"The desert may look deserted, but appearances can be deceiving."

Kotyit stared at William and then realized that he did know who it was going to be. He had been hired by the Druid College to teach one of their students about the Great Spirit. Eyes widening, he asked, "You don't mean..."

"I do," William answered with a nod of his head.

Kotyit thought about the responsibility the Druids had given him if what he believed was true. He was to help train the man who would bring peace to the Middle East. His thoughts were interrupted when William called out in his Native American language, "Go away. It is not safe for you here. If you stay here, you will be turned into a belt and sold to a tourist."

He looked in the direction that William was looking and saw the sidewinder move away. The undulating movement as it slithered towards the desert was almost hypnotic. Chuckling, he said, "I doubt the snake knows what a belt is. They tend to have narrow hips."

"I'm sure you're right. It was the part about getting sold to a tourist that scared him away," William answered with a laugh. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. There was enough time to have one more before heading back to the house.

After William had lit up, Kotyit asked, "Where's Dale?"

"He's telling the younger members of the tribe to have patience with the elders," William answered.

Sighing, Kotyit knew that Dale was another young man who was old before his time. He said, "Too many of your friends are old.

You should have more friends your own age; friends like Dale."

"Why?"

"You will lose too many of your friends as time passes," Kotyit answered. He knew that the majority of people who were important to William were old. He included himself in that number, but he wasn't the oldest of them. The problem with young men having old friends was that old friends died long before the young grew old. It could lead to a long lonely life.

"I have Doug and Dale," William said looking over at his friend.

"Who ever heard of a war party with just three warriors?"

Sighing, William knew that Kotyit was right. He took a drag off his cigarette and exhaled to the sky. He said, "I will try to do better."



-------

Chapter 43


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..."



-------

Chapter 44

Following behind Rock and Natalie, Lucy and William entered their home with a sigh of relief. They had both been very busy since their graduation. The summer had started with locating, hiring, and delivering Dante to Harry for the purpose of creating a statue of the elderly Druid. That had been followed by their wedding with a week of parties, their honeymoon, visits to a number of tribal councils, and a few visits to Homeless Hotels around the country. Exhausted, they planned to stay at home for a month.

Lisa was in the house waiting for them and pointed to the stack of towels. With a grin, she said, "Everyone is at the pond."

"Who's everyone?"

"The whole staff," answered Lisa with a huge grin.

William thought she looked way too happy. Their arrival home couldn't be that special for her to be grinning from ear to ear like that. He asked, "What's going on? You're acting funny."

Glancing in the direction of her bedroom, Lisa answered, "Nothing. Uh... , would you mind sending that husband of mine here when you get down to the pond?"

"Let him take a break. We don't need to have our luggage carried into the house right away," William answered with a smile.

Lucy hit William on the arm and said, "William!"

"What?" William asked confused by her reaction.

"She doesn't want him to come here to take our luggage out of the car," Lucy said.

"Then why does she want him here?" William asked looking from Lucy to Lisa and back again.

"The whole staff is here and swimming in the pond," Lucy said.

"So?"

Staring at William, Lucy couldn't believe that he didn't understand what she was telling him. Glancing over at Lisa who was looking wide-eyed at William, she said, "He's down there with all of our very attractive staff. I'm pretty sure that he's getting a little excited by the visual treats. Lisa might want to take advantage of all that excitement he's feeling."

"Oh," William said with a frown. He wondered why he hadn't realized that obvious deduction. He shook his head as if he had water in his ear and was trying to clear it.

"Are you okay?" Lisa asked concerned for him. She'd never seen him act so out of touch with what was going on around him.

"I'm fine. Lucy, why don't you head on down to the pond? I'll be there in a moment," William said. His voice conveyed that his mind was elsewhere at the moment.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lucy asked reaching out to touch his arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go on, I'll be there in a little bit," William said pulling himself together and giving her a smile intended to reassure her that all was well.

"Okay," she said rather than confront him about what was obviously a lie. Moving slowly, she undressed at the door and watched William for a minute before heading down to the pond. She wasn't going to make a big production out of it, but she was very worried about William. She wished that he would tell her what was wrong with him, but knew that he wouldn't say anything until he understood what was the matter.

William grabbed a soft drink and went out to the patio. Sitting down, he popped open the can and took a long drink from it. After setting the can down, he rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers in a soothing circular motion. It wasn't that he had a headache. It was that the entire world seemed enveloped in a fog that he was having problems seeing through. It reminded him of the day when he was doing the interviews and had been confused by Lucy's actions.

Looking up at the sky, he asked, "What kind of training is this? I feel cut off from the world."

There was no answer from the Two-Sided One. William sat in the chair wondering what it all meant. He would have scheduled a brain scan except his father had told him that the Two-Sided One had said it was training. It made him wonder what kind of training would have him lose his awareness of the world around him.

For thirty minutes he sat in the chair trying to identify exactly what was wrong with him. With his attention turned inwards, he didn't notice anything around him. He didn't notice the body guards walk past on their way to the pond. He hadn't noticed that Ken had stopped and watched him for a minute before heading into the house.

When he did look around, it was as if he were looking at the world through frosted glass. The trees, lawn, house, and animals looked flat and lifeless. The problem was that it wasn't a visual flatness. It was like being suddenly deaf, but he could still hear. He knew that his sixth sense had turned off once again. Normally when he looked around he saw the past, present, and future overlaid one atop each other. It was a depth of perception that he had known his whole life and it was suddenly gone without him realizing when it had left.

Finally the fog lifted and William could sense the ebb and flow of events around him. He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. Looking up at the sky, he asked, "What was that all about?"

There was no verbal answer. This time, though, a cloud in the shape of a fat man moved across the sky shaking a finger like he was telling William not to question him. William watched the cloud confused by what he was seeing. He looked around, but there was nothing in the area to give him a clue. He looked back up at the sky and said, "I need to understand."

A voice behind him asked, "What do you need to understand?"

Startled, William turned around to find Tim looking at him with a confused expression on his face. William answered, "Some strange things are happening in my life and I need to understand why they are happening."

"Is this Druid stuff?" Tim asked. Usually when William did something strange, Tim just attributed it to his being almost a Druid. He wasn't sure what it meant to be almost a Druid, but that is how Eddie had described William's situation to him.

"I'm not sure," William said shrugging his shoulders. Giving up on getting an answer to his earlier question from the Two-Side One, he said, "It sure feels like it."

"Do you know where my parents are?"

Looking over to the side, William knew Lisa and Ken were in bed with each other. His full awareness of his surroundings had returned. He answered, "They are busy at the moment. Is there something I can do for you?"

Tim frowned for a minute while he considered the question. He trusted William and valued his opinion, but this was a very personal matter. After half a minute, he asked, "Do you promise not to laugh?"

"I promise," William answered.

Licking his lips, Tim inhaled and then, pointing downwards, said, "I think there is something the matter down there."

Having a good idea what was the problem, William asked, "What's the matter?"

"I know it is supposed to get stiff down there, but today it wasn't going down," Tim said. He was approaching twelve years of age and his body was beginning to undergo the normal changes that came with growing up. Normally, a teenager would have hidden an erection, but swimming naked in the pond made that very difficult. He was sure that everyone had noticed and was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with him.

"Ah," William said with a knowing nod of his head. He asked, "Is there something different down at the pond today?"

"Not really. It's just that all the people you hired are there today," Tim answered.

"And they are all real pretty, aren't they?"

"Yes," Tim admitted. He could hardly look in any direction without seeing a very pretty lady. He'd had a few thoughts of which he wasn't exactly proud.

"That's the explanation," William said. Seeing the concerned look on Tim's face, he said, "Your body reacted to all of the pretty women down there. It's all perfectly natural. There's nothing to be worried about. There's no need for you to feel embarrassed or ashamed."

"But they all know that I was thinking dirty thoughts," Tim said in horror.

"What dirty thoughts? That you thought they were beautiful?" William asked. Seeing the slight nod of Tim's head, he said, "There is nothing dirty about that. It is no dirtier than your mouth watering when you smell your mother's spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove."

"Can't I control it?"

"Only by becoming comfortable with them," William answered.

Wondering how he could possibly become comfortable with such pretty women, Tim asked, "How?"

"You've become used to seeing Lucy without her clothes and don't react to her in that fashion," William said. He wasn't going to mention that his mother was often naked at the pond as well.

"You're right," Tim said after thinking about it for a moment.

"Hold on," William said. He went into the house and removed his clothes. Coming out, he said, "Let's go down to the pond."

The path to the pond had been covered with pebbles that were easy on bare feet. Ken had lined the path with flowers. Tree limbs cast shadows over the path. A few steps away from the path, the natural features of the landscape dominated. The result was a pleasant walk that appealed to touch, sight, and smell. When the birds sang, the ears were treated as well.

When they reached the pond, Tim charged into the pool hoping to beat his body's reaction to the women gathered there. William paused to look around the pond. He noticed that Ken had cleared a small area and put a small table on it. An ice chest containing bottled water was on the table. Seated on the table was Barbara Gray, their personal assistant, and Amanda Bricks, the receptionist. Barbara was naked while Amanda was wearing a one-piece bathing suit.

Since this was the first time that he had seen any of the staff since hiring them, William thought it would be proper to talk to them about their jobs. He walked over the table and took a seat while he said, "Hello."

"Hi William," Barbara said.

"Hello, sir," Amanda replied relaxing now that she knew who had come over to the table.

William turned to Barbara and said, "Thanks for taking care of the funeral arrangements."

"I didn't really do anything except pass the message on to Sandra. She made all the arrangements," Barbara answered. Seeing that William was there to keep company with Amanda, she said, "I'm going back into the pond for a minute."

"Have fun. Splash my wife for me," he said with a smile.

Barbara looked at him for a minute trying to decide if he was serious. That wasn't exactly the kind of thing that an employee did to an employer. She smiled and said, "I just might do that."

Turning to Amanda, William asked, "Amanda, are you looking forward to going to your new office?"

"I guess," Amanda said. She hoped that the new office was equipped as well as the old one had been. Somewhere they had found a switchboard telephone with tactile indicators for lines that were active. She could tell which lines were ringing, on hold, in use, and available just by running her finger along the side of the phone. She had a computer with the largest Braille monitor that she had ever encountered.

William said, "You don't sound so sure."

"Well, it was a pretty nice setup at the other office," she answered. It was always difficult going to a new place and learning where everything was located. She had spent a month in the previous office and had only just become comfortable there.

"I'm sure that the new one will be just as good," William said with a smile. Mary Gold, as her last act of support for William, had made sure that a specialist had designed the reception area for her. He hoped that she would be surprised.

"I hope so. I really liked the telephone that was there," she said.

"Have you been in the pond?"

"Yes, but I'm not really cut out for the outdoor life. The pond isn't as regular in shape as a swimming pool."

"Ah, it's too easy to get turned around," William said.

"You might say that," Amanda said. She shifted and turned to face William a little more directly. Lowering her voice a little, she asked, "Is it normal for everyone to swim naked?"

"Yes, but that is just a result of our first rule. If it harms none, then do it," William answered.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if you are doing something that harms no one, then no one can complain. No one is harmed because someone is swimming naked. As a result, people are free to swim naked here."

"So it isn't required?"

"No. Forcing someone to swim naked would violate the second rule that we live by. Protect the weak from the strong," William answered.

"Are you saying that I'm weak because I won't get naked?"

William laughed and said, "No. Standing up to any simple pressures to act in a way that you don't want is a form of strength. I'm saying that forcing you to do something that you don't want to do because of any advantage of strength that we might have is wrong. I hope that you haven't felt any undue pressure to swim naked."

"No one has said anything to me," Amanda answered. She couldn't see how people looked at her and that generated doubts if they were as accepting of her stance as they said.

"And no one will."

"But I don't know what they think of me," Amanda said.

"What do you care? If they have problems with you wearing a swimsuit, then that is their problem," William said.

Amanda was silent for a moment and then asked, "Are you making an exception for me because I'm blind?"

"No. Donna is still wearing her swimsuit and no one is pressuring her to take it off," William said pointing to Donna cavorting in the pond. He realized that his gesture was lost on Amanda.

"She worships the ground that you and Lucy walk on," Amanda said.

"That will change," William replied with a smile. He noticed Donna heading his way with a slightly angry expression on her face.

When Donna arrived, she asked, "Were you talking about me?"

"Yes," William answered.

"I'm not taking my swimsuit off," she replied. No one had said anything to her about that, but she was sure that they all thought less of her because she continued to wear her swimsuit.

"Okay," William replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that no one cares one way or the other what you are wearing or not wearing while in the swimming pool. Well, if you were wearing lead weights we would care," William answered looking Donna in the eye.

She couldn't look him back and lowered her head. When she realized that she was looking at his cock, she blushed and looked up again. She didn't know what to say.

Amanda asked, "Why would you care if she wore lead weights?"

"She'd drown," William answered. Still looking at Donna, he said, "Donna, look at me."

The young woman looked at William with concern. He said, "We live by two rules. If it harms none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong. No one is harmed by what you choose to wear in the pool. No one will force you to do anything you do not feel comfortable doing. You may wear swimsuits in the pool from now until the end of time and no one will say a word against you. Some might even find your continued moral stance a good example of strength."

"A good example?" Amanda asked feeling confused by the assertion.

"Yes. It shows that she has a mind of her own and is unwilling to compromise herself just to fit in. So long as she doesn't adopt a superior attitude, she harms no one."

Donna frowned and asked, "What has a superior attitude got to do with things?"

"That is one way to force others to adopt your behavior," William answered.

There was a subtle strength in William's voice that let her know that he felt strongly about people forcing others to behave in any particular way. It made her consider his words with a little more care. She said, "You are Talks with Animals. Your word carries great weight."

"I'm very aware that it does. That is why I'm very careful when I speak," William said.

"I heard that you have addressed many of the tribes with words of caution," Donna said.

"Yes. We must protect the weak from the strong. There are many out there who will take advantage of our people. All I did was remind people of that fact," William said.

A squawk from a nearby tree caused William to look up at the Raven perched on a branch of the tree that shaded the table. Turning to the pond, William called out, "Rock, we have undesired company coming."

The bodyguard was out of the pond in a flash and pulling on a pair of pants. Within fifteen seconds he was racing up the path with a pistol in his hand. Natalie appeared from beside the path and joined him in the race to the house. Donna was staring at William. It took her a moment to recover and then she said, "It's true. You do talk to animals."

"Yes, it is true," William said. He turned to the bird and spoke, "Thank you for your warning, my friend."

The bird squawked and then flew off to the front of the house. Donna said, "That's amazing."

"We have many visitors of a non-human kind that drop by on occasion. There is a bear that comes by once a year. We've had a long tailed cat come through here," William said.

Amanda, voice squeaking, said, "A bear?"

"Yes, a bear," William answered. He reached into the cooler and pulled out a bottle of water. It was ice cold.

"Won't it attack us?" she asked nervously. She came to the conclusion that the woods were not a good place for a little blind girl.

"Not unless you mean to harm me," William answered.

Rock returned with a look of disgust on his face and said, "It was a reporter. I chased him off, but I'm sure he'll return."

"I thought so," William said.

"Natalie is up at the house and will stay there," Rock said with a frown.

"We'll hire some guards for the front of the house," William said. Despite the fact that he didn't want to hire even more people, he knew that trying to chase off trespassers was not Rock's real profession. He was a bodyguard, not a watchman.

"Why bother when you have black birds?" Rock asked pointing to one of the ever present birds perched in a tree.

"Do you speak Raven?" William asked with a smile.



-------

Chapter 45


After a noisy and busy afternoon, the house had finally quieted down. The office staff had returned to the hotel in which they were staying until more permanent housing could be arranged. Colt and Nicole had taken over duties as bodyguards while Rock and Natalie retired to their room. Lisa was cleaning up the kitchen while Ken was watching television with Tim.

Lucy and William sat on the patio waiting for sunset. William was silent while considering the events earlier in the day. Lucy watched William think his thoughts and smoke his cigarettes. She could see that he wasn't going to resolve whatever problem was troubling him. Unable to keep quiet any longer, she asked, "What happened this afternoon?"

"My sixth sense deserted me," William answered glancing over at her to judge her reaction.

"Oh," Lucy said raising an eyebrow. He wasn't telling her anything that she hadn't already figured out. His behavior was identical to the afternoon when they had the interviews. She didn't know what to say, so she asked, "Do you want to see a doctor?"

"Daddy Ed says that the Two-Sided One considers it training," William answered.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but I do know that a doctor won't help," William said. He took a drag off his cigarette and exhaled to the sky. Shaking his head, he said, "I have a feeling that it is going to be happening more and more frequently."

"I'm so sorry," Lucy said. She didn't understand the full implications, but knew that there was nothing that she could do to stop it. It was also obvious that William could do nothing to stop it from happening in the future.

"Don't be sorry," William said looking over at Lucy wondering why she thought it was her fault.

Smiling at her husband, Lucy asked, "How would you feel if I was going blind?"

"I'd feel pretty bad," William answered and realized that her sorry wasn't taking blame for his problem but supporting him. Touched by her concern, he reached over and took her hand. Softly, he asked, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

Batting her eyes at him, Lucy said, "Words are cheap. Take me upstairs and show me how much you love me."

Laughing, William looked up to the sky as if he had been assigned an arduous task. Theatrically, he said, "I didn't know what I was signing up for when we got married."

"That's right buster. Now take me upstairs and let me know how much you appreciate your wife."

William put out his cigarette and followed Lucy into the house. As he followed her, he thought, 'It is nice to be home.'

Outside of a non-descript two story office building, five very attractive women were standing around waiting for William and Lucy to arrive. The presence of so many attractive women gathered in one place had the predictable effect on the males entering the building. Several men had collided with animate and inanimate objects because they were walking while looking at the women rather than where they were going. Even a few women were rather taken aback by the collected beauty that was gathered there. More than one individual wondered if the new business, WRC Enterprises, was some sort of modeling agency.

Barbara watched the individuals walking into the building and sighed. Amanda, asked, "What's the matter?"

"Men," Barbara replied.

"What about them?"

"They are all staring at us as if we were chocolate cakes at a fat farm," Barbara answered.

Amanda was silent for a moment and then said, "You're kidding, aren't you?"

"No. The whole reason I went to work for William was that he was the first man who ever interviewed me without looking at my body first and then my credentials," Barbara answered.

Frowning, Amanda thought about it for a second and then asked, "Isn't that rather conceited of you? I mean, are you really that beautiful?"

Sandra answered, "It's not conceited of her. She is that beautiful. We all are, including you. You may not see the effect that you have on men, but it is definitely there."

"Men ignore me for the most part. All they see is the white cane," Amanda replied.

"I doubt that many of them ever see the white cane. You've got a body that most women would kill to have."

Amanda was silent for a moment while she considered the answer. Her family and her friends were always saying that she was a very attractive woman, but she had never had that much luck with men approaching her. She said, "Men don't seem to be attracted to me."

"You're wrong, but lucky in a way. Most decent men won't approach an attractive woman out of fear that they aren't good enough for her. I imagine that the bastards don't want to deal with the cane," Barbara said.

"Lucky?"

"Yeah, you don't have to deal with the bastards trying to look down your blouse, trying to cop feels in the elevator, or get hit with cheesy pickup lines that went out of fashion in the fifties," Sandra said.

"It sounds to me like you hate men," Amanda said.

"There are times when I do hate them," Barbara replied. Usually after getting harassed by some man in a position of power, she would turn to the arms of a woman just to get away from it. It wasn't that she really desired women, but just that she had never found a man she found acceptable.

"Sad," Sandra said.

"I grew up in a healthy town where the men understood women. I guess that was from the town's people being around the Carter Clan for so long. I didn't really have jerks drooling over me until I went off to college. It really surprised me how most of the college men treated women," Juanita said.

"You were lucky," Barbara said.

"I grew up around my tribe and things are a little different at home than in a city," Donna said. She shrugged her shoulders and added, "I was just Donna from down the road."

"The girl next door," Barbara said.

"Hello, ladies," William said from behind them. As a group, the women turned in surprise.

The first to recover was Barbara. She said, "We were waiting for you to arrive."

"You could have waited inside. You have the keys," William said.

"We thought that you would want to show us around the offices," Barbara replied.

"Oh. I've only been in here once, so I'll be just as lost you. Mary arranged for the office to be set up while we were traveling over the past month," William said.

Lucy shook her head at seeing the surprised reactions of the women. She knew they found it hard to believe that William didn't watch over the shoulders of everyone who worked for him. He would hire the best and let them work without interference. She said, "Let's go in and explore the place."

As a group, they entered the building and walked through a very simple lobby. Amanda was being helped along by Donna. Donna led just by offering her arm, allowing Amanda to use her cane to check for obstacles. As they walked, Donna described the environment so that Amanda could generate a mental model of the layout. They were an effective team.

At the far end of the first floor, forty seven steps from the entrance of the building, was a plain door with a very small sign that said WRC Enterprises. The group came to a halt and waited while William fished through his pockets to find the keys. It took a moment to unlock the door. He stepped back and said, "Here is your new workplace."

The door had opened upon a very luxurious lobby. The women entered the room in silence wondering what they would find. The lobby had comfortable looking chairs scattered around the waiting area. Each pair of chairs was bracketed by plants and was situated such that the occupants would be looking at an aquarium or a western style painting across the room. Soft music filled the air. Everything was designed to be relaxing.

Across from the door was the receptionist's desk. Donna led Amanda over to a desk that looked like something out of a science fiction movie. After examining the desk for a moment, Donna exclaimed, "There's no telephone."

Smiling, William said, "Yes there is. On the center of the desk is a user manual. Someone will be by later to train Amanda."

Amanda sat down on the chair and ran her hands over the top of the desk. What she felt didn't seem to make sense to her. She found the user's manual and picked it up. She opened it and ran her fingers over the first page. A smile came to her face and she said, "This reads like a science fiction book."

"That's odd. I believe that is where the engineers who designed it got the idea for it," William said with a smile. Actually, Mary had arranged for a student from the Druid College to spend hours interviewing blind people about what equipment would allow Amanda to perform her job with the greatest ease. The entire desk, computer programs, and telephone system had been designed and constructed by fifth year students just for her over the course of two weeks.

He watched as she reached out and touched a raised Braille display after reading a section of the manual. A smile crossed her face and she said, "You've got twelve lines. Right now, none of them are being used. Where's the headset?"

"In the right drawer of the desk," William answered.

She felt around the desk and located the proper drawer. After opening it, she reached in and found a very lightweight headset. It took a second to figure out the on-off switch. She turned it on and then hung the headset on her ear. Once it was in place, she said, "Oz, connect to line one."

The rest of the group had watched her explore her desk fascinated by her actions. When she mentioned Oz, just about all of them laughed. It was so unexpected. They were surprised when she said, "Oz, dial 555 555-1234."

The bogus phone number connected her to a recording. Head tilted to one side, she said, "This is a test. Oz, hold line one. Oz, connect to line one. Oz, disconnect line one."

A delighted smile spread over her face as the computer followed her instructions. Turning to face the group, she said, "This is amazing. I can operate the phones purely by voice."

Nodding his head, William said, "For the most part. It isn't very effective when there are multiple calls coming in at once, but it will allow you to leave the desk while continuing to work. One of the sixth year students from the Druid College will arrive in September to see what improvements can be made to the system. His internship will be to create a commercially viable version of it."

"This is amazing," Amanda said. She ran a hand over the desktop taking in all of the various features. Hardly able to contain her excitement, she said, "I love it."

"I'm glad you like it. Let's see the rest of the office," William said. He said the latter sentence in a slightly louder voice so that everyone could hear. Most of the other women had gone over to the waiting area to check out the plants, paintings, and aquariums.

Reluctantly, Amanda got out of her chair and picked up her cane. The group rejoined William and then went through a door beside the desk to the back office area. At the first door, they stopped and William opened the door. Stepping back, he said, "Barbara, this is your office."

Impressed by what she saw, Barbara stepped into the spacious office and looked around. She wasn't sure what she expected to find, but it wasn't what was spread out in front of her. A luxurious wood desk faced the door from across the room. In front of the desk were two comfortable chairs. On the right side of the room stood a conference table constructed of wood matching the desk and capable of seating six people. On the left side of the room was a set of wooden cabinets. She would have been impressed by anyone who had that office. She was overwhelmed that it was hers.

Turning to face William, she said, "It is beautiful."

"You have a budget of ten thousand dollars to decorate it," William said gesturing to the blank walls. He pointed to a door at the back of the room and said, "You have a private bathroom."

"Wow," Barbara said swallowing heavily.

Turning to Sandra, William said, "Your office is next."

Sandra's office was identical to Barbara's office and had a private bathroom as well. Sandra entered her office and walked around. She slipped off her shoes and felt the thick carpet under her bare feet. Smiling, she said, "I could get used to this."

"It's yours for the next two years," William said with a grin. He added, "You have ten thousand dollars to decorate it."

Juanita stared at the office and wondered if hers would be the same. It was clearly a nice office, but she wondered if it was really practical for an accountant. She needed significant work space for holding files. Donna stared at the office feeling jealous. She knew that a lowly file clerk wouldn't need a fancy office. She expected to get a little cubby-hole.

Turning to Juanita, William said, "Your office is across the hall."

Juanita opened the door to her office. The quality of furnishings was just as high as in the previous two offices. The desk was more appropriate for her purposes. Two of the wood cabinets were replaced by open shelves. She said, "It's perfect."

"The door over there leads to the file room," William said pointing to a door along one side of the room. He shrugged his shoulders and, in an apologetic voice, said, "I fear that this office doesn't have a private bathroom. Mary Gold said that Barbara and Sandra would be meeting with lawyers, businessmen, and others on a regular basis. She felt they needed a private bathroom to freshen up in between guests."

"That's okay," Juanita said while opening the door to the file room. Her eyebrows raised on seeing the size of the room.

"You have ten thousand dollars to decorate the room," William said watching the look of surprise spread over her face.

William said, "Donna, your office is on the other side of the file room."

Nervous about what she would find, Donna walked down the hallway and opened a door. She looked in and saw that it was the main door to the file room. Grinning, William said, "Next door down."

Donna walked down the hall and opened the next door. The office was smaller than the other three offices, but it was still much larger than she had expected. Like the others, the furniture was first class. Surprised by the luxury of the office furnishing she stepped back and said, "This must be a mistake."

"No mistake," William said. He smiled and said, "You have an eight thousand dollar budget to decorate it."

"It's so big and nice," Donna said. She had been expecting a little office with a metal desk instead of the fine wood furniture that filled the room. She even had a small four person conference table in her room. She couldn't imagine what use she would have for it.

"The door leads to the file room. I imagine that you'll wear out a good path through it over time," William said.

Turning to Amanda, William said, "Your office is across from Donna's."

"My office?" she asked surprised.

"Yes. The desk in the front is the receptionist station. There will be some paper work for you to fill out and other office jobs that you'll have to perform. Everyone needs a little privacy for that," William answered.

Amanda walked down the hallway using her cane while running a hand along the wall. When she encountered a door, she asked, "Is this it?"

"No, that's the men's room. The next door is the ladies room. The next door is to the break room. The next door is to your office," William answered.

Barbara looked down the hall and asked, "What are the last two rooms?"

"One is a supply room. The other is bedroom in case anyone should work late and need a place to sleep. It also has exercise equipment," William answered.

"This place is a palace," Sandra said looking in the break room. It was a full kitchenette with a large table. She noticed the standard posters required in all offices that were hung on a corkboard on the wall.

Lucy asked, "Is this satisfactory?"

As one, the women answered, "Very."

William grinned and said, "Good."

Everyone went their individual way and explored their offices along with the shared areas. Amanda went into her office and closed the door. Once she was sure that she was alone, she burst into tears. She had never expected to have such a nice setup. Even as her tears rolled down her cheeks, she knew that the next thing she would do is call her mother and tell her about her office.

Watching everyone go about their business, William turned to Lucy and said, "You might want to let Amanda know that there are some tissues on her desk."

"Why?"

"What do you think she's doing alone in her office with the door closed?" William asked as he pointed to the closed door.

"Oh. You're right," Lucy answered realizing what William meant. She looked at Donna's office and noticed the door was closed to it as well. She asked, "Does Donna have tissues, too?"

"Of course she does. I'll meet you in the break room," William said giving her a wink. He turned and went into the break room. After grabbing a soda from the refrigerator and a bag of pretzels from the cupboard, he took a seat at the table.

He settled in for a long wait since the others were too busy looking around at their offices to worry about him. He wondered how long it would take Lucy to realize that they didn't have an office. He was pretty sure that she would be the first one to figure it out. He grinned and popped a pretzel into his mouth.

It was five minutes before Lucy joined him in the break room. Seeing that he was having a drink, she went over to the refrigerator and grabbed one for herself. Popping it open while walking to the table, she took a sip. Reaching the table, she sat down and stole one of his pretzels. Before eating the pretzel, she asked, "Where are our offices?"

Grinning at the suspicious look on her face, he answered, "According to Mary Gold, the first two offices were supposed to be ours."

It made sense to Lucy. She knew that Mary would set them up with the two largest offices and would have bathrooms for them. Raising an eyebrow, she said, "Let me guess, there wasn't supposed to be an office for Amanda or a bedroom."

"There was supposed to be a bedroom. No office for Amanda and Donna was supposed to have a desk in the file room," William answered. Shrugging his shoulders, he added, "We've got our desks at home. I don't see any real need to change that."

"You're right," Lucy said shaking her head. She had seen the effect that the separate office had on Amanda and wouldn't have wanted to deprive her of it. There were times when William really surprised her. She asked, "How long do you think it will take them to figure it out?"

"A couple of days," William answered. He took a sip of his drink while watching Lucy steal another of his pretzels. At the sound of noise behind him, he turned and looked at Barbara. She was staring at him with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. Realizing they had been caught, he said, "Or maybe not."



-------

Chapter 46


Head in William's lap, Lucy was busy reading a math book. His hand was busy stroking her arm in an absent minded manner while he was reading his book. Lucy put her book down and said, "She's got a crush on you."

Frowning at the sudden introduction of a new topic, William asked, "Who? What?"

"I said she has a crush on you."

"Oh, that's nice," William said wondering who had the crush on him. He turned the page and continued reading.

"You don't know who I'm talking about, do you?"

"No clue whatever," William answered.

"Amanda."

"Oh. That's nice," William said paying almost no attention to Lucy. She was always imagining that one woman or another was interested in him.

Lucy sat up and turned to look at William. She said, "You don't believe me."

"What's there to believe? My dashing good looks turned her on? Not likely," William said. Her continued insistence that nearly every woman he met was interested in him was beginning to wear a little thin.

"You are just like your fathers," Lucy said shaking her head. It amazed her that he could be so oblivious to his effect on others while being so insightful in so many other ways. She said, "You're absolutely blind to the effect that you have on women. Eddie is like that as well."

"According to you, I've swept every woman that works for us off her feet except for Lisa and Donna," William said. He put the book he had been reading down and turned to look at Lucy more directly.

"Donna was the first to fall for you," Lucy corrected. His mentioning Lisa did raise an interesting question and she wondered how Lisa felt about him.

"Oh that's right. I remember now. She fell for me the day I gave her a nicer office than what she expected," William said. He rolled his eyes as if to suggest that it couldn't have happened that way.

"Something like that," Lucy said. A smile came over her face and she said, "You know, I never realized until now that you suffer from low self esteem."

Laughter exploded out of William upon hearing her say that he had low self esteem. His laugh was so hard and loud that Lisa even came out of the kitchen to see what was so funny. While William was laughing, Lucy was looking just slightly amused. The difference in expression made her very curious.

William was laughing so hard that he was having a hard time staying on the couch. As far as he could remember, that was the funniest thing anyone had ever said to him. Every time he looked at Lucy his laughter seemed to double him over.

Unable to hold back her curiosity, Lisa asked, "What did you say to him?"

"I told him that he had low self esteem," Lucy answered looking at William.

William howled and fell to the floor. Lisa was speechless and couldn't tell if Lucy was being serious. The tone of voice used suggested that she was very serious. If she was, then it was obvious to Lisa that Lucy really needed to have her head examined. She'd never met anyone so self assured as William. Lisa said, "I guess I can understand his laughter."

"Do you have any coffee? I don't think William is going to be able to talk for a long time," Lucy said looking down at her husband. His eyes were wet from tears of laughter.

"Sure," Lisa answered. She returned to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. Once she had finished preparing it, she turned to find Lucy standing behind her.

Lucy accepted the cup of coffee from her and then asked, "Do you know that of all the women who know William, you are the only one that I think does not lust after him?"

"Well, I love him to death. He's like my own son," Lisa answered looking over at Lucy. Shrugging her shoulders, she added, "I don't lust after my sons."

"That explains it," Lucy said nodding her head. She took a sip of her coffee and smiled. She said, "You make the best coffee."

"Thanks," Lisa answered wondering what was so special about it. It was just plain store bought coffee that was brewed in a regular coffeemaker. William's father, Ed, always raved about her coffee. Still confused about Lucy's earlier comment, she said, "I have to ask this, but why did you say that William has low self esteem?"

"We were talking about his effect on women," Lucy answered, "I suggested it because he seems to be unable to believe it. It is as though he doesn't believe that he's good enough to deserve their feelings towards him."

Lisa nodded her head in understanding. It seemed strange to her that William could talk to a woman one time and leave her standing with damp panties. She'd seen him do that time after time. She asked, "Who was it this time?"

"Amanda," Lucy said. She listened carefully for a second and could hear William still laughing although not as forcefully. She shook her head and said, "He gave her a computer with a top of the line Braille monitor as a present this afternoon at her housewarming party. It was absolutely the perfect present for her."

"He's good at finding just the right thing," Lisa said.

William came into the kitchen and took one look at Lucy before breaking out in laughter. He staggered away holding his stomach unable to say a word because of his laughter. Lucy watched him go and said, "I guess I took him by surprise."

"Seems to happen a little more often lately," Lisa commented.

"Yes," Lucy said. She frowned and listened to him laughing. It wasn't that funny.

Noticing the expression on Lucy's face, Lisa said, "I'm sure that William has been called all kinds of things. Arrogant, self-assured, confident, determined... Well, he's very focused and brilliant. I don't think that anyone has ever suggested to him that he suffers from low self esteem. It's like telling some skinny person that there is a fat person inside just begging to be let out."

Lucy's thoughts were on another matter. She sighed and said, "I feel so sorry for them. I know that Barbara is just head over heels for William. Every word and gesture that he gives her just reinforces the idea that he is her perfect man. His total focus on her as a living thinking person just slips under that man hating wall she has built around her. It just hammers on her heart. She's totally defenseless around him."

"Sounds like she has it bad," Lisa said.

"Donna has it even worse. She views herself as a poor uneducated Indian girl surrounded by brilliant beautiful women. You've got to admit, they are some of the most gorgeous women in the world. He treats her like an equal to women that she holds in absolute awe," Lucy said.

"He's her magic mirror that lets her know that she's the fairest in the land," Lisa said with a knowing nod.

"Exactly. It is fairy tale time and he's their Prince Charming."

"Aren't you jealous?" Lisa asked.

"I used to be, but then I realized that he loves me more than anything in this world. I love him so much, but sometimes his love for me is overwhelming. Receiving that much love from him, how can I possibly be jealous?" Lucy answered. Mother Kelly had been right. He could have an entire harem of women and she would never be able to doubt his love for her. It was a strange thought and one that had taken a long time to accept. She took a sip of her coffee and said, "He's quieted down. It is time for round two."

Lisa watched Lucy leave the kitchen. She shook her head and went back to preparing the bread machine for making cinnamon buns for breakfast. She used to hate housekeeping and cooking, but that had been when it was an unpaid chore. It was funny, but ever since she started to get paid to take care of the house she found that she actually enjoyed it.

Lucy returned to the couch and sat down. Every time William looked at her, he started to chuckle. Finally, he managed to say, "You really took me by surprise with that one."

"I was trying to make a point," Lucy said.

"I guess I missed it," William said still chuckling.

"Yes, you did. You get their love because you deserve their love," she said. Sighing, she said, "You won't deserve it for much longer if you don't take care of them."

"What do you mean?" William asked suddenly serious.

"You have to return their love, even if it is just a little," she answered. It was one of the hardest things she had ever said to him, but it was the truth. A person shouldn't ignore the feelings of others or pretend that those feelings don't exist.

Frowning, William said, "Lucy, I love you more than life itself. Why are you asking me to do this?"

"Why? Because I love you more than life itself. Why can I ask it of you? Because I know that you love me more than life itself," Lucy answered.

"Why now?"

"Amanda."

"What about Amanda?"

"All of the women in the office have deep feelings for you, but Amanda is the most innocent of them all."

"That just means..."

Covering his mouth with two fingers, Lucy interrupted, "That means you have to be more careful with her. You don't want to destroy her innocence. You have to address her feelings for you without hurting her. You have to return her love."

William's appetite and desire for love was totally sated with Lucy. She was everything that he wanted in life. He loved her with his whole heart and knew that she felt the same towards him. He didn't want or need more love from other people. He looked at her and said, "You are all I want. Why should I take more when I already have more than any other human being on this planet?"

"You won't be taking more. You'll be giving," Lucy answered. His question had nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she steeled herself against them. She knew that he could give his love to everyone around him and there would still be enough left to love more people. Kelly had once told her that his father had an infinite capacity to love. She hadn't understood what that meant until this moment.

"I'll think about it," William said with a sigh. He looked out the window and wished he had some place to go where he could think.

Lucy knew and understood his moods better than he did. She smiled and said, "Get your cigarettes and have a smoke."

"Good idea," William said realizing that it had been nearly three weeks since he had smoked a cigarette. He grabbed a pack from his desk drawer and headed out to the patio.

Once the door closed, Lucy fished out her cell phone and dialed a number. A few seconds later, she said, "Hello, Kelly. This is Lucy. Can I cry on your shoulder for a minute?"

The next morning, William was seated at his desk hard at work on his research. He reached over to one of the books and read one section of it. He frowned as he considered the assertion that life was an infinite game that was played according to rules that changed over time. It was a difficult assertion to deny.

Sighing, he turned to the computer and queried for infinite game theory hoping that others working in that field had come up with some new answers to his old questions since he had last visited the topic. There were millions of results. Disappointed, he went to work trying to refine his query to select out only the most relevant of them. It could take hours to read through the garbage that cluttered the web, but he knew that he would eventually find something worth value.

After sorting through results pointing to computer games that never ended and amateur discourses that treated the material with a superficial depth, he realized that he could refine his query by adding the word conference to his query. He slapped his forehead and resubmitted his query. Seconds later, the very first result on the screen was the link to an announcement for a conference that was going to be held in two weeks time.

Smiling, he opened his cell phone and called Barbara. Once she answered, he said, "Hello Barbara. This is William."

"What can I do for you?" Barbara answered.

"I need arrangements to attend a conference in Seattle in two weeks," William answered.

"What is the name of the conference?"

"The International Conference on Infinite Game Theory," William answered reading the title off his screen.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Barbara had never heard of Infinite Game Theory and wondered how they could possibly have a conference on what sounded like a very boring subject. She recovered and asked, "Will Lucy be going with you?"

"No," William answered.

Barbara was relieved to hear that answer. She had brought up Lucy's appointment calendar and had seen how busy she was over the next month. She said, "Will you be traveling alone?"

William was silent for a moment and then answered, "You know. Donna is from that area. Maybe she might want to fly up on the jet with me and then go visit her family. See if she would like to do that."

"Sure," Barbara answered surprised at the suggestion that he would volunteer to take an employee on a trip with him just so that she could visit her family. She wrote down a couple of notes to hand off to Sandra. She said, "I'll check your schedule and reschedule any appointments that you might have once I have the details for the trip."

"You are incredible," William said, "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Is there anything else that I can do for you?" Barbara said with a catch in her throat.

"Not at the moment. I'll probably forward a list of books for you to order for me a little later," William answered. After saying goodbye, he hung up the phone and returned to the computer. There were other results to his query that had to be examined.

In the office, Barbara stared at her telephone. Hands trembling, she picked up her notes to deliver to Sandra. The other woman looked up from her computer and said, "Let me guess. You just got off the phone with William."

"Yeah."

"He said you were incredible."

"Yes."

Sandra shook her head and, knowing how Barbara felt about him, said, "I'm so sorry."

"That's not all. He wants to go to a conference in Seattle. He suggested that Donna go with him so that she could visit her family," Barbara said.

"Oh Jesus! If he wasn't so nice, it would almost be cruel," Sandra said thinking about how Donna would respond to the suggestion.

"I know," Barbara said handing over the slip of paper with the name of the conference on it.

"I'll see what's going on before I talk to her," Sandra said.

It was several hours later when William's cell phone rang. Still seated at his desk and working on the problem with his theory, he answered it, "Hello."

"William, this is Sandra."

"What can I do for you?"

There was a long pause before she answered, "There's a problem with the conference that you want to attend."

"Really? What kind of problem?"

"The Conference Chair has had a heart attack. I talked to the Program Chair and they are considering canceling it."

William was silent for a minute while he considered the news. Long after Sandra had begun to wonder if he was still on the line, he said, "Call up the Program Chair and see if you can help. Fly there if necessary and hire any staff that you might require. Don't worry about the cost; just make sure the conference goes on."

Swallowing heavily, Sandra was unable to believe that he had just given her carte blanche to do whatever she thought was best. She asked, "What about the office here?"

"I have full confidence that Barbara can cover for you. Let her know that," William said without hesitation.

"Do you still want Donna to go with you?"

"Why not?"

"The office will be short two people," Sandra said.

"I'm sure that you can find an appropriate temporary person to help out in case it is necessary," William said.

"Okay."

"Look, you are the best in the world. If you can't handle a situation, then no one can. Relax and do your best. I have full confidence in all of you," William said sensing a little hesitancy in her voice.

"Thank you for your confidence in us. I'll pass it along to everyone else," Sandra said trying to keep her voice level and calm.

"Okay, call me if you need me," William said.

"Sure," Sandra said. After hanging up, she stared at the phone and shivered. No one had ever voiced such confidence in her ability to handle difficult situations. The effect of his words had almost been sexual.

She walked to Barbara's office with weak knees that threatened to give out from under her. Barbara looked up and examined her colleague. Smiling, she said, "Let me guess. You just got off the phone with William."

"Yes."

"And?"

"I'm to make sure that the conference is to be held," Sandra said.

"Did he say how?"

Shaking her head, Sandra said, "That's up to me. If necessary, I'm to fly out there and hire a staff."

"Wow," Barbara said. She thought about it and then asked, "What about Donna?"

"She's still invited."

"That'll put us short two people," Barbara said. Their workloads weren't that high, but having almost half the staff gone at once would put a strain on things.

"We can hire a temporary worker to fill in," Sandra said. Knowing the effect that her next words were going to have, she took a deep breath. She said, "He says that he has full confidence in all of us."

"Damn him," Barbara said trying hard not to cry.

"Let's face it, girl. We aren't sex objects in his eyes. We're the A Team. We're the best and the brightest who can tackle any challenge that comes our way."

Barbara sagged in her chair and looked up at Sandra. In a soft voice she said, "That's what I've wanted ever since my boobs started growing and the boys got weird. Why am I so miserable?"

Sandra gave a short laugh and answered, "Because you want to be seen as a sex object too."

"That's so pathetic, isn't it? Don't answer that. Why don't you go down the hall and make Donna miserable for a while," Barbara suggested.

Barbara waited until Sandra had left before going into her private bathroom. Closing the door, she looked in the full length mirror at her reflection. The woman looking back at her could have had a career in Hollywood as an actress. She sighed and said, "I wanted a man who wouldn't see me as an object of desire. Now that I've found one, all I want him to do is desire me. I've got to be sick in the head."

Even inside her bathroom, Barbara could hear Donna shout, "You've got to be kidding!"

William finished typing up the list of papers that he thought would help him in his research. Sitting back in his chair, he clicked on the button that would send the e-mail itemizing the papers to copy and books to order. Once he had confirmation that the e-mail had been sent, he rubbed his hands together. He knew that by tomorrow morning, Barbara and Sandra would make sure that every item would be on its way to him. Smiling to himself in great pleasure, he said, "This has been such a great day. Maybe I ought to invite everyone to the Burger Burner for dinner tonight."



-------

Chapter 47


Dr. Mayra Yolanda Darling, known to her colleagues as Darling Doctor and to her friends as MY Darling, was staring at William trying to figure out what planet he came from. She was well aware of his work in economics and had read every paper that he had published on the topic. She had not realized that he was so young. His staff had basically salvaged the conference from the brink of disaster. He had even arranged for this catered dinner for the last night of the conference.

William looked up from the sheet of paper on which he had been scribbling and said, "This is the result that I get, but I want you to double-check it for me. If I allow this parameter to get small, then this term here and that term there can be dropped. In that case, I get the same result of... uh... the German guy who presented this morning."

"It does look like Gunter's work does fall out from yours," Mayra said looking over the sheet of paper. William wasn't winning any points with her by showing that his work led to Gunter's result. She and Gunter Schmidt had been arguing for years.

"Right... Gunter," William muttered. He continued, "I'll talk to him in a little bit. If I allow this factor to become small then this term disappears. If I then normalize, I get your result."

She blinked and looked back down on the paper. She scanned through his equation for a second and saw what he meant. Surprised, she said, "You're right. You do get my result."

"Well, according to this equation here the two parameters are coupled such that only one of them can be small at a time. This suggests to me that your work and Gunter's work are two special cases at different ends of a continuum of behavior," William said. He sat back and looked at her.

Mayra had never seen anyone focus so fully on what they were working on and she had seen some pretty focused people in her life. Holding out her hand, she said, "Let me see that sheet of paper."

Handing it to her, William watched her as she read over the sequence of equations that he had jotted down over dinner. She shook her head in amazement and said, "You're right. It does follow that we are both right."

"That's what I thought and why I wanted you to double-check it," William said.

Mayra looked around and spotted Gunter over at the table with his crowd of followers. She sighed at the idea of having to sit down and talk with the man she had referred to as 'The Damned German' for the past five years. As if she had bitten into a lemon, she said, "I guess it is time to talk to Gunter."

"Yes," William said. He had noticed a significant level of tension between two groups that seemed to be centered on Mayra and Gunter.

Mayra stood and announced, "Gunter, if you would be so kind to join me at my table. We need to talk. It is time for us to bury the hatchet."

Gunter looked over at Mayra with a frown. He was sure that she was about to raise the argument to another level. He relaxed a little when he noticed that William was at the table with her. He was familiar with William's work in economics, but had never realized that he was so young.

Gunter sat down at the table such that William was between him and Mayra. William immediately launched into a discussion of the material on his sheet of paper. Ignoring Mayra, Gunter was immediately drawn into the mathematics. When William pointed out the conditions in which his work lead to Gunter's results, Gunter sat back and said, "See I told you."

"Wait a minute before you crow too loudly," Mayra replied with a grin.

William went through the argument that led to Mayra's work. Looking at the result, Gunter's mouth opened in shock. He grabbed the sheet of paper while saying, "Let me look at that."

With a frown, he read over the entire sheet of paper. His eyes kept returning to the one equation where the two parameters were coupled. He shook his head and said, "I find this hard to believe."

"Do you believe it?" William asked.

"Yes, I do," Gunter admitted. He sat back and asked, "Now what?"

Smiling, William said, "I thought that the three of us could publish this result. We could call it the Treaty of Seattle."

"Sounds good to me," Mayra said.

"Same here," Gunter said.

"Okay. Let's get up to my suite and get to work. We should be able to pound out a draft to distribute to the other conference attendees in the morning," William said while rising from his chair. He was excited and ready to work despite the late hour.

Mayra and Gunter were not so quick to rise, but they would follow him to his suite. The result William had identified was just too important not to participate in generating a paper presenting the ideas. While following William out of the room, Gunter asked, "I know about your doctorial work, but where did you do your undergraduate work?"

"Two years at the Native American College and then I transferred to the Druid College to finish my degree," William answered.

"You are a Druid?" Mayra asked nearly stumbling.

"Not yet. My father was John Carter."

"I did not make the connection with the names. I met a Druid once. His name was Oscar Meyers," Gunter said.

Surprised to hear Oscar's name, William couldn't resist the chance to find out more about Oscar. He asked, "Where did you meet Oscar?"

"You know him?"

"Yes, I do," William said.

"I am on a paintball team in Germany. My team went against him and his girlfriend. They were very good," Gunter said. The pair of them had managed to beat his team without much difficulty.

"I can imagine. Oscar is probably the most dangerous man in the world," William said.

"Dangerous?"

"He has well over three hundred confirmed kills. Some people in the know place it at over a thousand," William answered with a shrug of his shoulders. He said, "Georgia and he helped train our troops in fighting terrorists."

The discussion about Oscar, Druids, and politics continued until they reached William's suite at the hotel. Neither Mayra nor Gunter noticed the pair of bodyguards following them from a discrete distance. No one at the conference had realized that Rock and Natalie were anything other than conference attendees.

Once they reached his room, William's focus on the paper returned with jarring intensity. He ignored their questions concerning Rock and Natalie who entered the room before them and then disappeared into one of the suites. While Mayra and Gunter had both worked with intense people, neither one of them had ever encountered anyone like William. His fingers flew across the keyboard of his laptop as he wrote the paper. The short interruptions in writing where minor details were discussed were intense, focused, and direct.

They worked on the paper for three hours without break. Upon finishing typing the last sentence, William sat back and said, "The first draft is done. Why don't you two read it over and let me know what you think?"

Mayra and Gunter crowded together in front of the laptop reading what William had typed. At twelve pages the paper was not long, but the information content was dense. After twenty minutes, Gunter said, "I found a typo. The subscript here is wrong. It is supposed to be a k rather than j."

William moved in and made the correction noting that they had finished reading the first half of the paper. Once he was done, he stepped back and went to the bathroom. When he came out, Mayra and Gunter were relaxing in front of the computer. Gunter said, "That's a very nice paper."

"It's not very long," Mayra said. She couldn't help but think of just how significant of a result it presented.

"I like it," Gunter said.

"So do I," Mayra said nodding her head. She had discovered that working with Gunter wasn't nearly as bad as she had anticipated.

"It will be a very significant paper. It puts over five years of debate to rest in a most authoritative fashion," Gunter said looking at Mayra with more respect than he had held for her in years.

"It does at that," Mayra agreed.

William entered the discussion and said, "I'll have Sandra make a hundred copies of it in the morning. We'll distribute them when the conference starts."

"Sounds good to me."

William pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number for Sandra. From the second bedroom of the suite, he could hear her phone ring. He wondered when she had returned to the suite. A sleepy voice answered, "Hello."

"Sandra. I have a paper here that needs to be printed out, copied, and distributed to the conference attendees in the morning."

"It's one o'clock in the morning," Sandra said focusing on the clock beside the bed. Her brain was barely functioning. She'd been busy throughout the conference taking care of last minute details. As a result of the conference chairman's heart attack, many of the details for the conference had not been finalized. Even some of the arrangements that had been made could not be located in time to verify them. Sandra had to scramble to pull together the catering, the conference rooms, and equipment. Unable to rent the audio- video equipment, she had purchased them.

"Sorry about that. I kind of lost track of the time," William said glancing in surprise at the clock in the room.

"Put a note on the computer and I'll take care of it before breakfast," Sandra said.

"Okay," William said cheerfully. He closed the phone and turned to Mayra and Gunter. He said, "She'll take care of it in the morning."

"She's staying here with you?" Mayra asked. She had noticed where the other phone had sounded. She wondered what the relationship between the two was. It didn't look like they were lovers considering the businesslike manner in which William addressed her.

"Well, it is a three room suite," William replied.

"She is a beautiful woman. You couldn't do better than having her as a roommate," Gunter said. He had been staggered upon seeing her the first time. She was drop dead gorgeous.

"I suppose," William said with a frown. He sighed and said, "I wish my wife was here. She's the real mathematician and would have been able to help with some of the trickier parts of the theory."

"Your wife knows you are here with Sandra?"

"Yes. My wife is fully aware that Sandra arranged the conference since Dr. Harrison had his heart attack."

"And she is not jealous?"

"Of what?" William asked with evident confusion.

"She is a very pretty woman," Mayra said. Gunter nodded his agreement.

"You've met my wife?" William asked wondering how they knew that his wife was pretty.

"I was talking about Sandra."

"Oh. Yes, I suppose she is. She's very good at what she does. Putting together this conference at the last minute required that she work miracles," William said. He was dismissive in his comments about her beauty, but enthusiastic in his praise of her abilities.

Mayra and Gunter exchanged a look and decided to drop the subject. Standing up, Mayra said, "I better get to bed before I fall asleep here. I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll have breakfast delivered here. Would you both care to join me?"

After arrangements had been made to meet over breakfast, Mayra and Gunter left to return to their rooms. William took a few minutes to write a note for Sandra and then went to bed. He fell asleep without any difficulty.

Sandra woke at five in the morning wishing that she could have another three hours of sleep. The first thing she did was read the note left for her by William. Blurry eyed, she sat down at the computer and located the file. She started the document printing and went over to the coffeemaker to brew a cup of coffee. Shaking her head, she said, "He's going to kill me."

While her coffee was brewing, she stretched. She reveled in the free movement of her naked body while wishing that William would notice it. She hit the side of her head with the fingertips of her right hand in a futile wish to derail that train of thought. It amazed her that he could see her and still control himself after almost a full week of intense interaction. The coffee finished brewing and she poured herself a cup. Turning, she looked in the direction of the printer only to find William watching the pages being printed. She swore to herself and thought, 'God, he's so sexy.'

William turned and said, "Good morning."

"It's not even five thirty yet. What are you doing up?"

"I'm excited about the paper. I can't wait to see people's reactions to it," William said. Normally, a paper was written in isolation, submitted months before the conference, and then presented. Seldom did one have a chance to write a paper and have a large audience read it within twenty-four hours.

"Oh," Sandra said. She moved out of the way while he went to the coffeemaker to pour himself a cup of coffee. Feeling a little more awake, she went back to the note William had left. The conference started at nine that morning. William had scheduled the breakfast to start 7:30. She would need to order enough food for the six of them, but room service didn't start until 6:00. The temp worker wouldn't show up until 8:00. She would give the paper to the temp worker to copy and it should be done in time for the conference. Having worked with William over the week, she knew that she would need to arrange a lunch for twenty at one of the local restaurants. At least they wouldn't be checking out until the next day even though the conference ended at noon.

"It's going to be a busy day," William said cheerfully.

"Yes, I would say so," Sandra replied absentmindedly. She had been putting in sixteen hour days and it was beginning to tire her. Sighing, she said, "I have enough time to take a nice long hot shower."

"You've done a great job here. In fact, I'd say that you pulled off a major miracle. Enjoy your shower and relax as much as you can. I know that you've got everything under control," William said. He returned to the printer and picked up the copy of the paper. Sitting down, he started to read it just to make sure that it was correct. On reading the author list, he realized that neither Gunter nor Mayra had commented on the order in which he had given them.

Seeing William get lost in reading his paper, Sandra shook her head and returned to her room. She decided that a long cold shower would probably be more effective in getting her ready for the day than a hot shower. It was frustrating working around him. Half of her problem was sexual. If the way to a man's heart was through his stomach, then the way to a woman's heart was through total confidence and support of her abilities.

Mary Gold had warned the entire staff about what to expect, but none of them had believed her. To have someone, with so much power, have such absolute confidence in her abilities was staggering. Not once did he second guess her. Even when there had been a minor foul up, he had dismissed it by saying that no one could have done it any better. When she called for detailed instructions, his answer was for her to use her best judgment.

When breakfast time arrived, Mayra and Gunter sat across the table from William and Sandra. Rock was seated next to Gunter and Natalie was seated next to William. Curious, Mayra asked, "Who are these two?"

Rock and Natalie exchanged glances before Rock answered, "We're his bodyguards."

"I thought you were attending the conference."

"We are," Natalie answered.

"Oh, so you understand the material being discussed."

Frowning, Rock answered, "Not at all. We are attending the conference so that we can guard his body."

Ignoring the discussion, William finished his breakfast. He sat back and asked, "What are your plans for this evening?"

"I'm heading home this afternoon," Mayra answered glancing over at the bodyguards feeling a little nervous around them.

"I'm staying here for the evening and flying back tomorrow," Gunter answered.

Nodding his head, William said, "Well, I imagine Donna will be returning here with her family this afternoon. We'll be going out to dinner and you're invited to join us."

While Rock and Natalie exchanged grimaces at what such a visit represented for them, Sandra sat back and stared at William. She asked, "Her family will be coming here?"

"Yes. That reminds me; call her and let her know that it is all right with me if her family comes here. I'm sure that they are in the middle of an argument right about now," William said. He plucked a grape off his plate and popped it into his mouth.

Sandra pulled out her cell phone and called Barbara to forward the message to Donna while shaking her head. Despite knowing how important William was to Native Americans around the country, she hadn't even thought about how Donna's family would react to his presence in the area. It took a few minutes to convey the necessary information. When she hung up, she said, "Barbara will see to it that Donna is contacted."

"Great. I imagine that there will be at least twenty guests tonight," William said. He was quiet for a moment and then asked, "Do you think that a burger burner would be okay?"

"I don't think so," Sandra answered while writing down on a pad of paper the need to make reservations at a local restaurant. It was barely 8:30 and her to-do list had grown to over fifty items.

"Pity," William remarked thinking that it was a shame that most folks didn't consider going out for fast food a special occasion. Turning back to Mayra, William asked, "Do you think we'll have time to put together a presentation?"

"Not really," Gunter answered. There was only thirty minutes until the conference started.

"We're not on the program," Mayra said. She saw the expression on Sandra's face that resulted from her comment. William was about to make a suggestion when she added, "I don't think it would be proper to have Sandra arrange for us to be added. Besides, I think we should be publishing the paper in a referred journal."

"Okay," William said even as Sandra gave forth a sigh of relief.

There was a knock on the door. Sandra rose from the table saying, "That will be Terry with the copies of the paper. I'll have her take them down to the table at the entrance of the conference room."

"Great," William said. Smiling at her, he said, "I don't know what we would have done without you."

Shaking her head, Sandra went to the door and made arrangements for the papers with Terry. It was only a few minutes before she returned to the table. Once she sat down, William said, "That reminds me. Give all of the people who helped you a bonus."

"How much?"

"A thousand?" William suggested. He made a mental note to contact Barbara to have her arrange a bonus for Sandra.

"Yes, sir," Sandra said deciding that this had become the most expensive mathematics conference in history. She was afraid that she would lose her job when he saw the amount of money she had spent.



-------

Chapter 48


William stepped out of the hotel bracketed by his two bodyguards. All three of them came to a halt when they noticed the crowd gathered there. Rock and Natalie put their hands on the pistols. Gunter edged closer to Mayra and, in a whisper, asked, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," she whispered back.

One of the men from the crowd stepped forward and raised a hand in greeting. He said, "Talks with Animals, we of the Northwestern Tribes welcome you to Seattle."

"Thank you, Sam Hanson of the Duwamish Tribe," William replied recalling the man's name and affiliation from a meeting several years earlier. The Duwamish Tribe was one of the tribes that were not recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs although it was a member of the five hundred nations.

Shocked at being recognized, Sam required a moment to gather his thoughts. After a slight hesitation, he said, "We would like to invite you and your party to a Potlatch tonight at the Duwamish Tribal Longhouse."

"My party and I would be most happy to accept your invitation," William answered giving a shallow nod of his head in the direction of Sam.

"We shall wait for you there," Sam said. The crowd slowly dispersed as they went on their way. It would have been rude to hold up William for longer than it was necessary to deliver the invitation. After the crowd had left, Donna and her parents remained.

Sandra dug into her purse and scratched an item off her to-do list. She wondered how Barbara managed to keep track of William and Lucy twenty-four hours a day. She was with him and couldn't predict his schedule for more than four hours at a time.

William waved to Donna and asked, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your parents?"

Donna and her parents walked over to William. They had been shocked to find so many people waiting to talk to him. Donna said, "Talks with Animals, these are my parents, Don and Mary Barnes."

Don Barnes said, "We had intended to invite you out for dinner, but we just saw that you have other plans."

"We would have been pleased to dine with you. Would you mind joining us at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse tonight," William asked.

"We would be most pleased," he said.

"Come join us for lunch," William said gesturing to the half dozen people from the conference that had accepted his invitation.

"You honor us," Don said. His wife edged closer to him, unsure how to act in front of Talks with Animals. He gestured to Donna and said, "It was kind of you to give our daughter a chance to visit with us while you were here."

"It was my pleasure," William replied.

Gunter leaned over to Mayra and, in a whisper, asked, "Are they Indians?"

"Yes," Mayra answered.

"I thought they had all been killed off," Gunter remarked unable to believe what he had seen. At the surprised expression on Mayra's face, he explained, "You know, like the buffalo."

Overhearing the comment, William laughed and said, "The Native Americans are still here as are the buffalo."

As a group, the party headed over to the restaurant in which Sandra had reserved a private room for them. As they walked, Donna sidled up to Sandra and asked, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine. I'm just a little frustrated," Sandra replied shrugging her shoulders. She wished that Barbara was there to help alleviate the itch that had developed between her legs.

"I understand. I was surprised when Barbara called inviting my family to meet him," Donna said watching William talking to her father. They had been embroiled in an argument about disturbing Talks With Animals when she had received the call. She had felt that it would be rude to intrude on him when he was surrounded by so many important people. Her parents had felt it would be rude not to extend an invitation to dinner.

Mary Barnes walked beside Mayra and Gunter feeling a little more comfortable with the pair. Gunter, amazed at having met real American Indians, asked, "You are an Indian?"

"Yes, but we prefer the term Native American," Mary answered amused by the man's wide-eyed expression.

"You are the first Native American I have met," Gunter said.

"You know Talks with Animals," she countered.

"Who is that?"

"William Redman Carter. He is the most famous Medicine Man in the country. He was first to serve as the voice of the White Buffalo. He removed an ancient curse that affected all our peoples," Mary Barnes answered.

Gunter and Mayra exchanged puzzled expressions. Mayra finally asked, "William is a Medicine Man?"

"Yes, he is a most respected Medicine Man," Mary Barnes answered.

"Is he like the Pope or something?" Gunter asked confused by her answers to his questions.

"No. He is more like a tribal elder who is recognized by all five hundred tribes," she answered. Smiling, she asked, "Are you going to the Duwamish Tribal Longhouse tonight?"

"I don't know," Gunter answered.

"I'm leaving after lunch," Mayra answered.

"That is a shame. The Duwamish are known to throw a good Potlatch. They are not recognized by the Federal Government so they have fought even harder to retain their cultural heritage. There will be food, songs, dances, and story telling. Maybe if we are lucky, Talks with Animals will tell us a story," Mary Barnes said glancing in William's direction.

Sighing, Gunter said, "I would like to see that very much. I've always wanted to see a Teepee."

"Wrong tribe," Mary said with a giggle. She explained, "Teepees were used by nomadic tribes that followed the Buffalo. Here in the Northwest, our tribes were settled in communities with buildings called Long Houses. Entire families would live in a Long House. Many had very decorative entrances made of huge logs carved in the shapes of animals. We fished, hunted, and raised crops. Where William is from, they lived in Pueblos. Those are houses made of adobe."

"Oh," Gunter said. He was silent for a moment and then asked, "Is there a book about this?"

"I am sure that if you go to the Potlatch, they will be happy to give you a book. You will need to bring something to the Potlatch."

"What is a Potlatch?"

"It is a gathering in which everyone brings something to eat and the food is shared among all who attend. It is a way of sharing that allows those with much to give to those with little without being insulting," Mary answered.

Donna went over to her mother and, in a worried voice, said, "Daddy is taking a lot of William's time. He is with some very important scientists."

"Your father has manners and will not impose upon William," Mary chastised. Softening, she said, "You work with William. What is your impression of him?"

"I love him," Donna answered. Realizing what she said, she put a hand over her mouth. She had spent the entire visit with her parents trying to hide her true feelings about William from them.

Surprised at her daughter's answer, Mary said, "He is married to Walks with Wisdom."

"I know," Donna said seeming to collapse in on herself. She said, "He is just so good. He treats me like I'm special."

Concerned, Mary asked, "Has he acted improperly?"

"No," Donna said while shaking her head. She sighed and said, "I wish he would."

"Donna!"

"I'm sorry Mom. We all feel that way about him," Donna said.

"Young woman, you will behave yourself. He is a married man. I would hate to think what would happen if you bring shame on us," Mary said. Everyone was proud that Donna had gone to work for Talks with Animals.

"Yes, Mom."

Sandra joined them and, after one look at Donna, had a very good idea what they had been discussing. She said, "We are at the restaurant. Perhaps I could talk with your mother for a little while."

Gunter and Mayra had listened to the conversation while walking to the restaurant. Mayra had a good idea that Donna had told the truth about all of the women working for William desiring him. Although he was almost twenty years younger than her, his charm was infectious. She doubted any young woman could resist him for long. She had found his intellect just as difficult to resist.

They took their seats at the table just in time to hear William say, "I'll be visiting the Seattle Homeless Hotel this afternoon."

Frustrated, Rock groaned and said, "I knew it. This trip was too good to be true."

Grinning at her partner, Natalie said, "Hey, he's been here almost a week without visiting one."

"A conference, a Native American Potlatch and a Homeless Hotel, all in the same day. Are there any other crowded places he can visit?"

Mayra asked, "What's the matter?"

"I'm going to visit a Homeless Hotel this afternoon," William answered looking at Rock.

"What's that?"

"A place where homeless folks hang out," Rock said.

Knowing that the bodyguards hated it when he went to visit a Homeless Hotel, William looked down the table at Rock. Apologetically, he said, "They are friends. You can't come to town and not visit your friends."

Resigned to a tension filled afternoon and evening, Rock said, "I know."

Amazed at the number of things that William was planning on doing that afternoon, Mayra asked, "Are you always this busy?"

"No," William answered.

"Yes, you are" Sandra said.

"Okay, maybe I am," William conceded.

"Don't you get tired of it all? I mean, I've been at the conference all week and I'm exhausted," Mayra said. The late night was catching up with her and she still had a flight home.

"Not really. I've found this whole week to be rather invigorating. I'll admit that I can't wait to get home and see Lucy," William answered. This trip had been the longest that he had been away from Lucy and he couldn't believe how much he missed her.

Gunter asked, "Who is Lucy?"

"She is my one true love. She's the most beautiful woman in the world. When she walks into a room it is filled with light," William answered.

Mayra looked at Sandra and Donna. Both women were staring down at the table with tightly controlled expressions on their faces. She said, "I feel sorry for all of the other women who love you."

"You know, Lucy is always going on about other women loving me. I just don't see it," William said shaking his head. He said, "Now my Daddy Ed and my brother Eddie, they have women falling all over each other. Me, I'm just plain old William."

"I really feel sorry for the other women who love you," Mayra said looking over at Sandra and Donna. Both women were staring fixedly at the table.

Wanting to make a point to her daughter, Mary said, "What does Walks with Wisdom say about the other women?"

"That I need to return their love," William said.

Mary, Mayra, Sandra, and Donna all stared at William. Natalie nudged Rock and gestured across the table at Sandra and Donna. He rolled his eyes having listened while Lucy and William had discussed the subject many times in the past. Mary was the first to recover and asked, "What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure that Lucy will explain it to me at some point in time," William answered. He picked up his menu and proceeded to study it wishing they had gone to a Burger Burner instead. His eyes glanced down at the children's menu. He grinned and said, "Hey, they have Corny Dogs here."

Rock, sporting a black eye given him by one of the less rational visitors of the Homeless Hotel, sat down on a metal chair and stared across the room. Natalie was positioned at the other end of the room watching the crowd with an eagle eye. He had expected there to be about a hundred people there, but the crowd was closer to six hundred. It spilled out into the parking lot and neighboring buildings. He watched the people around William sure that something horrible was going to happen.

Setting a plate and glass of juice in front of him, Donna said, "I brought you some food."

"What is it?"

"It is just some Salmon, camas root, Wapato, and a little salad. There are some cranberries. I hope you like it," she said.

"Thanks," Rock said looking at the food on the plate. He recognized the Salmon and the salad. He wasn't sure which of the side dishes were the camas root and the Wapato.

"I'm sorry about your black eye," Donna said looking down at the floor.

Shrugging his shoulders, Rock said, "Occupational hazard. Don't worry about it."

"I didn't know who he was," Donna said feeling guilty that he had been hit.

"I know you didn't. He thought you were his ex-girlfriend. It wasn't your fault," Rock said looking over at her. He couldn't believe that he had never seen the punch coming.

"William shouldn't have stepped in to stop him," Donna said. She was ashamed that she had been the center of attention. A homeless man had attacked her without any warning. When William had pulled her back, Rock had received a blow that had been meant for her. Rock had never seen it coming. William had subdued the man before Rock had even fallen to the ground.

Rock shrugged and said, "William does as William does."

"Well, I'm sorry that you got hit," she said.

"Don't worry about it. I deserved it," Rock said shaking his head in disgust at his actions. He was rather ashamed that William had thought to protect Donna while he had only thought to subdue the man before he could get to William without considering what he might have done to her.

"If I hadn't gotten in your way, you wouldn't have gotten hit," she said.

"Don't worry about it. I'm a big mean bodyguard and that was just a little love tap," Rock said. He winked at her with his good eye. Seeing her relax a little, he said, "Natalie hits me worse than that when I've been a bad boy."

Donna laughed and said, "Okay. I get the point. If you need anything, let me know."

"I will," he said.

William, Gunter, and Dan were following Sam around the room examining the exhibits that were on display. William and Sam were discussing the historical and cultural significance of the various artifacts. Gunter was questioning Dan about his cultural heritage. In a way, Gunter knew that he was going to have a lot of stories to tell about his adventure with Native Americans when he returned home. He had discovered that the Native Americans weren't like they were portrayed in the movies.

When they finished the exhibits, Dan and Sam excused themselves leaving William and Gunter free to meet other people. Going outside, they came across an elderly man seated in front of a fire and surrounded by fifty children. William recognized the man as one of the best known story tellers in the Northwest. Smiling, he said, "Gunter, sit down and listen. Their story teller is about to tell some stories to the children of the tribe."

Before Gunter had a chance to answer, William was seated on the floor beside the children. While Gunter was sitting down, the old man asked, "What story would you like to hear tonight?"

"The story of Talks with Animals and the Curse," one of the children shouted.

Another child shouted, "The Story of Talks with Animals and the White Buffalo."

Horrified that stories were being told of him, William stared at the children. After a second, he said, "I would like to hear about when the animals and birds were created."

With a gleam in his eye, the storyteller asked, "Do you not want to hear your story?"

"Never," William answered with a shudder.

"Talks with Animals does not want to hear his own story. I shall tell a story that he does want to hear," the storyteller said with a wink in William's direction. Addressing the children, the storyteller said, "I will tell of how animals, birds, and trees came into being. I learned this story when I was the age of many of you. I shall tell it to you as it was told to me by an old storyteller of the Makah."

Holding up his hands as though to indicate emptiness, he said, "When the world was young..."

Gunter listened to the story about how the seal, the great blue heron, the kingfisher, the raven, the crow, and the mink came to exist as a result of a visit by the two brothers who were called Two-Men-Who-Change-Things. The brothers were also responsible for creating the trees. It was a story unlike any that he had ever heard. The brothers created the animals, birds and trees by changing creatures that were neither animals nor people. In a way it was a simple story, but the deliverance was powerful. The storyteller spoke in tones and used gestures that seemed to draw him into the story. He felt as if a great secret was being passed onto him.

By the time the storyteller was done, Gunter felt as if he could imagine the creatures that were neither animal or people while having characteristics of animals and people. He could see in his mind, the two brothers selecting what kind of animal, bird, or plant each creature would become. Each word spoken was burned into his memory. Turning to William, he said, "Thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome," William said.

"I had no idea about any of this," Gunter said.

"Let Mary and Dan know that you listened to a story of their tribe. I'm sure they would be pleased to learn of your experience," William said.

"Of course," Gunter said. He studied William for a second deciding that he was the most complex man he had ever met. How many people could say they were a scientist and a medicine man? How many rich men were considered a friend by the homeless? It was hard to believe that any single human could hold so many conflicting perspectives and remain balanced.

"Let's go back inside," William suggested. He turned to find Natalie standing behind him. Curious, he asked, "Did you enjoy the story?"

Embarrassed that she had forgotten her duties as a result of being drawn into the story, she answered, "It was okay."

"Okay?"

"All right, I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to watch the crowd," she admitted. She frowned at her admission and said, "Don't tell Rock."



-------

Chapter 49


Feeling happy about having delivered bonus checks to everyone earlier that day, Juanita entered the break room and looked around at her co-workers. None of them seemed to be too happy. Sandra had her arms crossed tightly below her breasts. Barbara was idly playing with her coffee cup with a frown on her face. Donna was hunched over with her clasped hands held between her thighs. Amanda was grasping her folding white cane with white finger tips. Curious, Juanita asked, "What's the matter?"

"William gave me a ten thousand dollar bonus for my work in Seattle," Sandra said. There was a hint of anger in her voice and her body language conveyed irritation.

"I know. I wrote the check," Juanita said with a smile. Seeing Sandra's reaction, she frowned. Confused by the apparent anger, she asked, "Wasn't it good enough?"

"It was too much! I was just doing my job," Sandra said in protest.

Shrugging her shoulders, Juanita said, "He appreciated the fact that you went the extra distance for him."

"Well I don't want his money," Sandra declared.

"What would you rather have?"

"I'd rather have him throw me over a table and take me like a man takes a woman," Sandra declared. She looked around the room to see if anyone had a problem with what she said.

Laughing at the way Sandra had phrased her answer, Juanita said, "Is that all? Don't worry about that. You'll get your turn with him. Each of us will."

"What do you mean?" Donna asked sitting up straight in her chair. She put her clasped hands on the table and looked at Juanita with her full attention.

Taking a seat, Juanita said, "I grew up around the Carters. My mother would go visit Ed Biggers about once every six months. She'd come home with a grin that would last her until her next visit. All of their staff was sleeping with them."

"You're kidding," Amanda said shocked that someone would talk that way about her own mother. She put her folded cane down on the table and turned to face in the direction of Juanita.

"Not at all."

"What about your father? Wasn't he suspicious?"

Juanita sat back in her chair and said, "My father was head over heels for Kelly Carter. He went up there with my mother. He would sleep with Kelly while my mother was busy with Ed."

"You're kidding," Amanda said unable to believe it.

"Not at all. Everyone knew about it, because everyone was doing it," Juanita said dismissing the objection with a wave of her hand that Amanda would never be able to see. "Our town had more multiple marriages and open marriages than any other town in America. I can't wait to get back to Arizona. I'm figuring on having two husbands and a wife."

There were too many things in Juanita's explanation that sparked Barbara's curiosity. She chose the most obvious question and asked, "So why isn't William doing his bit with us?"

"He's so in love with Lucy that he doesn't even see us. She'll push him into sleeping with us soon enough," Juanita said with calm assurance.

"Who? Lucy?" Barbara asked.

"Yes. She's a Carter woman if I've ever seen one," Juanita answered.

That fit with what William had said at lunch in Seattle. Sandra said, "William told us that Lucy was pushing him to love the women who were in love with him."

"That's right," Donna said, "The weird thing is that he was rather puzzled about who loved him and what she meant by loving us back."

Upset by the suggestion that a wife would send her husband off to service other women, Amanda said, "She's his wife!"

Juanita looked over at the blind woman and asked, "What's the matter, Amanda?"

"She's his wife. She shouldn't be trying to get him laid by other women," Amanda declared.

The Hispanic woman took Amanda's hand and held it in hers. In a very soft voice, she said, "There are times when I envy Lucy. That woman receives more love from William than any woman receives from any other man. She is his one true love. He loves her with his whole heart, body, and soul. He has dedicated his life to making her happy."

Juanita started rubbing Amanda's hand with soft gentle strokes. Amanda shifted feeling a little uncomfortable while Juanita continued, "He could sleep with all of us and still give Lucy more love than you can imagine. He could be in love with all of us and his love for her would grow even that much more. She's the luckiest woman in the world."

"You have to understand how the Carters view love. Love to them isn't a commodity to be traded or brokered. It isn't to be hoarded. It is to be given away freely and without condition. They give themselves to each other with their full heart and soul. The really amazing thing is that the more they give, the more they have to give," Juanita said while punctuating each sentence with a kiss on a knuckle on Amanda's hand. A small shiver went through Amanda's body as the thought of protesting briefly flitted through her mind.

"Sometimes, when you watch them around other people it is almost frightening. You think to yourself that no one can love that much. Then they turn to you and it is like being hit with a spot light. You're blinded by the intensity of their love. Your heart beats rapidly, your palms sweat, and your knees get weak," Juanita said continuing her little kisses.

Turning Amanda's hand over, Juanita started tracing little circles in the center of her palm. The sensation tickled and nearly drove Amanda out of her mind. Juanita continued, "My mother says that all of the Carter men have an infinite capacity for love. William is no different. Each of you has already felt it and he wasn't even consciously paying attention to you. When he does look at you with desire, you'll be wet between the legs and panting like a bitch in heat."

Barbara and Sandra were leaning forward, stiff nipples tenting their tops, watching Juanita's treatment of Amanda's hand. With an expression of curiosity, Donna was leaning forward watching Juanita. Sandra said, "Lucy wasn't raised a Carter."

Releasing Amanda's hand, Juanita leaned back in her chair. Amanda ran her other hand over the hand that had just been released. Smiling, Juanita said, "All of the Carter women are strong and sexy. You will never meet a stronger woman than a Carter woman. The most important thing to understand is that they are smart, really smart. Lucy is no exception."

"I'll admit that she's smart. She understands mathematics that makes my head spin just looking at it," Barbara said.

"That's just smart. Lucy is very smart. She will let William love and express his love for other women because the alternative is even worse. She doesn't want to love a man who could allow other people to be hurt because he ignores or rejects their love for him. If she allowed him to reject us, then it would eventually cripple his ability to love her," Juanita explained. Giving a soft smile as she anticipated the consequences of Lucy's actions, she added, "Yes, Lucy will press him to pay attention to us because she's very smart."

While Juanita was discussing matters with her coworkers, Lucy was straddled on William enjoying a nice slow session of love making. She leaned over and held a firm ripe breast with a hard nipple just out of reach of William's mouth. He struggled to reach it with his tongue. She giggled and lowered it to his waiting mouth. William worked her nipple through a gentle orgasm.

When Lucy settle back, William said, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too," she replied enjoying the warmth from her orgasm.

"I really missed you at night. I kept waking and thinking that you were supposed to be in bed beside me," William said. He ran a hand across her chest, pausing slightly to caress each breast.

"Why didn't you have Sandra sleep with you?"

"She's not you," William said absently. His eyes were drinking in the sight of her body. He shivered and said, "You are so beautiful."

"She's a woman and she loves you," Lucy said.

Getting irritated by the continued insistence of Lucy to fix him up with women, he said, "I'll believe that when she tells me that to my face."

"Will you make love to her when she does tell you that?" Lucy asked getting even more turned on. It wasn't the conversation that was turning her on, but his touches.

William grabbed her and twisted around so that she ended up under him without ever losing penetration. Easing into her, he grunted, "Do you want me to?"

"Yes, I want you to do that," Lucy said as another shudder of pleasure rippled through her body. This was their sixth time in two days since he had returned from Seattle. As pleasurable as his attention was to her, she was beginning to get sore. She had no doubt that he would want to take her again that afternoon and again that evening.

Confused, he asked, "Why?"

Lucy tightened her hold of him and wrapped her legs around his butt. Feeling another orgasm sneaking up on her, she answered, "Because I know that you will love me even more afterwards."

Thrusting harder as his orgasm approached, William gave up talking and concentrated on pleasuring his wife. He wanted to ensure that she came one more time and at the same time as he did. His efforts paid off. She cried out and hugged him tightly while he released deep within her. As always, it seemed to both of them that their souls merged together. Only this time, it was as though something was held back on her part. She knew what it was and knew that it was up to her to correct that problem.

"Amanda, meet me in the break room," Lucy announced upon entering the office. She turned to lock the door without even looking to see if Amanda was doing what she had ordered.

Uncertain, Amanda fidgeted around for a moment. It sounded to her like Lucy was upset about something. She waited until hearing the lock on the door click before deciding to head to the break room. Afraid of what Lucy was going to say, she made her way down the hall. Lucy was already ahead of her in the hallway stopping at each door to tell her co-workers to meet in the break room.

Amanda made her way to the break room and sat down in her normal chair. She folded her collapsible cane. She nervously fiddled with it giving her something to do with her hands. The sounds of others joining her in the break room didn't help decrease her anxiety.

Walking to the head of the table, Lucy pulled out a chair and sat down. She took a moment to look at each of the women gathered around the table. Convinced that they were five of the most beautiful women she had ever seen, she found it hard to believe that William was totally immune to their charms.

Frowning, she said, "My husband, William Redman Carter, is the most brilliant individual I've ever met. He's insightful and observant. He picks up the most miniscule clues that tell him volumes about the relationships among people. He's never wrong, except where it concerns him. He's totally blind to how people view him."

Lucy paused to look around the room. Watching Amanda, she said, "If you love him, you will have to tell him. He'll never realize it otherwise. Once you tell him, he will return your love."

Never sure what her face showed other people about what she was thinking; Amanda had gotten into the habit of holding her hand in front of her mouth in an attempt to hide her thoughts. Upon hearing Lucy's announcement, her hand flew to cover her mouth. Hope battled with despair and after a minute the two emotions declared a stalemate. From behind her hand, she asked, "What are you telling us?"

"I'm telling you to tell William that you love him. He will love you back and make love to you if that is what you want," Lucy answered.

"Why are you doing this?" Amanda didn't realize that her shaking hand was broadcasting what was in her mind far louder than the expression on her face hidden behind the hand.

Smiling, Lucy answered, "So that all of us will be happier."

Despite the words of Juanita earlier that afternoon, Barbara asked, "Why would it make you happier?"

"It's tearing me apart to see all of you so miserable. There are times when I look at William and all I see is the unhappiness that he is causing you," Lucy answered. She had not believed it when Kelly had said that she would feel that way.

Juanita smiled and said, "You are truly a Carter woman."

Raising an eyebrow, Lucy understood it for the complement that it was. She didn't know how to react, so she just said, "Thank you."

The women sat around the table looking at each other with the exception of Amanda who was nervously playing with her cane. The silence dragged on long past the point of discomfort; it had moved into the arena of hostile. Unable to take it any more, Donna asked, "What do you want?"

"I want to know who's first so that I know where to send William," Lucy answered.

"Oh, that's easy," Barbara said. Sandra, Juanita, and Donna all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Who?"

Sandra said, "Amanda."

"Of course," Barbara said while watching the folded white cane skitter across the tabletop. Amanda had been so surprised by Sandra's answer that she had flipped the cane out of her hand.

Lucy grabbed the cane when it went past and held it out. Donna took the cane and put it into Amanda's hand. The poor girl was speechless and didn't know what to say. She sputtered and then shut up while hiding her mouth behind her hand.

Rising out of her chair, Lucy said, "I'll tell William that he is to come here and talk to Amanda. Amanda, you will be prepared to tell William how you feel about him."

"But I couldn't do that," Amanda protested.

"Why?"

"He's married," she answered.

Smiling at the mention of the obvious, Lucy said, "I know. I'm his wife."

"But I'd be wrecking your home," Amanda said. Her head darted from side to side as if hoping someone would say something to help her.

Rather than leave as planned, Lucy decided that it was going to take some time to convince Amanda that it was okay if she gave William an honest statement of her feelings for him. She sat down and folded her hands in front of her. In as serious of a voice as she could manage, she said, "Please explain how you would become a home wrecker."

"When his wife learns... ," Amanda started and then stopped in obvious confusion. She tried starting over, "When you learn..."

"I already know," Lucy said.

"I'm confused," Amanda said wondering how to convey that Lucy would be hurt when she learned of his betrayal of her.

Juanita took Amanda's hand and said, "Lucy is a very smart woman."

Amanda sniffed and said, "I just don't understand how she can give him permission to sleep with other women."

Tempted to suggest that very little sleeping would be going on, Lucy fought hard to control her desire to joke. In a very serious tone of voice, she said, "Maybe it is because I care about your happiness, too."

The announcement brought stunned silence around the table. All of them had been thinking of William and their feelings towards him. All of them thought of Lucy as his wife and worried about her possible reaction to their feelings for William. None had thought about how she felt about them. The idea that she could care enough about them to allow them a moment of happiness in the arms of her husband was shocking.

Barbara was the first to speak. "Are you bisexual?"

"No," Lucy answered surprised by the question.

"So you aren't interested in us sexually?" Sandra asked.

"Not at all," Lucy answered.

Amanda was silent while thinking about what Lucy had said. Juanita had been slowly seducing her with little caresses and kisses to her hand, but Lucy's words hit her like a bolt of lightning. William treated her with respect and never made an issue of her being blind. He accommodated her disability, but treated her with the same respect as the other women. Lucy, though, had slipped beneath her notice. She'd never given any thought about how Lucy treated her.

Throat tight with emotions, Amanda asked, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Tell William how you feel," Lucy answered.

Telling William how she felt would be tough. Telling Lucy would be even tougher. Amanda said, "Okay."

The women were still sitting around the table in the break room long after Lucy returned home. Looking over at Amanda, Juanita said, "I guess I lost you to Lucy."

Not realizing that Juanita was talking to her, Amanda was silent. She was busy trying to untangle her feelings towards William and Lucy. A nudge from Donna brought her back to the room. She asked, "What?"

"Juanita was talking to you," Donna said and then realized that there was no way for Amanda to have known that.

"Oh, sorry. I was lost in my thoughts," Amanda said.

"I just said that I lost you to Lucy."

"Lost me?" Amanda asked confused.

Juanita said, "You would have made a great wife. Our husbands would have really enjoyed being with you."

"Me? Our husbands?" Amanda said feeling as if she had stepped into the Twilight Zone. For years, no one had paid attention to her. Then, in one day her entire world had turned upside down. In one afternoon, she'd had expressions of affection given her by a woman and promised that the man she was madly in love with would return her love. It was too much to believe.

"Yes, you. You're a beautiful woman and would make a great wife," Juanita said looking down at the table.

"Beautiful? Me?"

"Oh, yes," Barbara said.

Donna looked around the room puzzled at what she was hearing. Unable to hold back, she asked, "Is everyone in here a Lesbian except me?"

"No one in here is a Lesbian. Sandra, Juanita, and I are bisexual. I'm not sure about Amanda," Barbara answered looking at Donna.

"I'm not sure about me, either," Amanda said.

Shaking her head, Donna said, "Bisexual means that you aren't brave enough to admit that you like women rather than men."

"I've never been with a man or a woman," Amanda said. She adjusted her cheap sunglasses and added, "But I'm very confused about what I feel at the moment."

After glancing at Barbara, Sandra leaned forward and said, "Bisexuals are not closet homosexuals who won't commit to their own gender or heterosexuals who won't commit to the opposite gender. We are people who enjoy sex with both men and women. For us, it is impossible to choose one gender over the other. We are attracted to both."

"I don't understand," Donna said sitting back in her chair while looking around the table.



-------

Chapter 50


Doug, sitting in the loveseat sideways with a leg over the armrest, looked up from his book and saw that William had put down the manuscript he had been reading. He asked, "So what do you think?"

"I like it," William said nodding his head.

"What about my conclusion?"

"I think you are right on target. It does seem that a crisis of followership must be a democratic phenomenon," William answered. Doug had concluded after studying several dozen national histories that a loss in confidence in the democratic process led to crisis of followership. Historically, the result was a decline into social paralysis and subsequent conquest by a more vibrant regime.

"It looks like a pretty clear pattern to me. First the society fragments into social groups that have disjoint goals and values. The groups become increasingly polarized to a point where consensus becomes impossible. Each group becomes convinced that the other groups suffer from some serious moral flaw and argue against them based on the perception of that flaw. The end comes rather quickly once an external group sees the weakness," Doug said.

"And history records the fall to be the result of corruption," William said finishing the pattern.

"Yes. History records the innuendos, false charges, and rumors since the facts weren't really known even at the time," Doug said.

"That was pretty clever looking at tribal histories where leaders were elected by tribal consensus," William said.

"Most political organizations of the past were based on royal families who achieved power through inheritance, dictators who wrestled power from the existing leaders, and war lords who achieved power by conquering others. In comparison to those mechanisms of governorship, democratic means are rare."

"I'd like to see more of the details on the process by which a crisis of followership evolves," William said. If he were to model it accurately, he would need to have more details about the social forces that were at play.

"That is going to be very difficult. In all of the tribal histories that I found, the majority of information came from the victors. They weren't all that concerned about the nature of the society that they conquered. Their emphasis was on the act of conquering a weak society."

"There has to be modern examples," William said.

"No there doesn't," Doug said with a smile.

"How about Argentina?" William asked trying to think of a more modern example.

"It wasn't really a failure of followership," Doug said.

William thought about the material he had read. It had been a fascinating glimpse into big time losers in history. He said, "I want to understand it in terms of technology, medicine, economics, religion, natural events, and other social factors. Was the standard of living improving or failing? How was the culture being shaped by engineering advances? Were technological advances undermining religious beliefs? Was the culture being eroded as a result of interactions with external cultures?"

Doug closed the book he had been reading and thought about what William was requesting. Frowning, he said, "I'll try to identify that information. I can't make any promises."

"One thing that you might want to look for concerns how the people began to view their past. It seems to me that a culture that is expanding does so because the people often make hard decisions. I'm sure that some of the more influential leaders of the past made decisions that were often very nasty, but necessary. At some point in time, people look back at those decisions and decide they weren't nice. They start to dislike their past and feel that the foundation on which their culture is based is a lie," William said.

"My father is always going on about how he was taught that the founding fathers were great men. It seems that every article about those men that I read today is about what kind of hypocrites they were. Jefferson, who helped write one of the most amazing documents of all time, is viewed as a fraud because he owned slaves. The document he wrote has become suspect because of that. One of my fellow students called it the ultimate document in hypocrisy," Doug said.

"Exactly. Is it possible that losing faith in the past makes the culture lose faith in its ability to go forward in the future? Is that the real basis for a crisis of followership?"

"I think it is a little more complex than that. There has been a shift in assessing leaders in terms of their public deeds to the character of their private lives. Unfortunately, what was perfectly acceptable behavior at one time can become unacceptable behavior at a later time. Back then, no one thought anything bad of Jefferson for owning slaves. That was the status quo. Today, he's viewed quite differently," Doug said.

"Did the same thing happen in Greece and Rome? Did they start viewing their history through jaded eyes?" William asked.

"Yes, they did." Doug answered. He recalled reading a paper in which the author said that Romans had started looking outside of Rome for their values. Everything non-Roman became better than Roman.

"So what leads to that evolution of historical perspective?" William asked.

"I have no idea," Doug answered shrugging his shoulders. It seemed to him that it was an impossible question to answer.

"That's the key we must discover if we are to understand the basis of a crisis in followership," William said.

"I agree with you. I don't know how my advisor will feel about it," Doug said.

"Why?"

"He feels that this country was founded on lies and that the lies have continued through today," Doug answered.

William grimaced at the thought. Shaking his head, he said, "Pity."

Five very attractive women entered the bar of the restaurant to wait for the rest of the party. Their entrance turned the heads of all of the men and most of the women in the place. It was hard not to notice them; each was stunningly beautiful in her own way.

Professor Elliot McDonald watched the woman walk to the bar while holding his breath. Eyes fixed on Barbara, there was only a single thought running through his mind. He wanted her and he was going to get her. Such beauty had only one place in this world and that was spread across his bed. Just the thought of her in bondage was enough to give him an erection. If she wouldn't come voluntarily, he'd take her against her will.

The man had a reputation in the college in giving only one of two grades, A's and F's, to attractive coeds who took his freshman English class. The grade that the coed received was based on whether she said yes or no to his advances. Over the years, the number of attractive coeds who signed up for his courses had dropped significantly. Usually those who did were only too willing to trade sexual favors for good grades. Frequently, they did not expect the harsh treatment that came with that grade.

He glanced across the table at the current coed who was warming his bed at nights. She was pretty, but couldn't compare with the Goddess who had walked through the restaurant. Smiling at her, he said, "Excuse me for a minute."

"Sure, Professor McDonald," the coed answered more than happy to have him leave the table. Once he was gone, she wondered what she had gotten into. The man had hurt her the other night, but she was too far into it to back out now.

Elliot hurried over to the bar and approached Barbara trying to figure out what line would work best with her. He paused and walked over to her with a casualness that was purely artificial. She noticed his predatory approach and turned to watch him. Smiling, he said, "Excuse me. I'm Professor Elliot McDonald."

Barbara said, "So?"

"I'm a rather famous author. Maybe you've read my books," he said.

"I'm sure that your mother is quite proud of you," Barbara replied wishing that he would go away. She gave him a look intended to convey that she wanted nothing more to do with him.

Surprised that his line about being famous didn't impress her, he tried a second approach and said, "I'm a full professor at the college here."

"Isn't that grand?" Barbara said rolling her eyes. She made a shooing gesture with one hand.

"Let me buy you a drink," he said trying his best to charm her.

"Don't," she replied. The other women with her turned to watch the situation with concern. Usually a guy who continued after three rebukes meant trouble.

"Look, there's no need to be that way," he said getting irritated at her.

Taking a deep breath, Barbara stared at him and said, "Go away little man."

Professor McDonald stepped forward and grabbed her arm. He wasn't used to being insulted by women. Women were his toys and he enjoyed absolute power over many of them. His grip on her failed and she twisted her arm free. There was a horrible shooting pain that originated from his elbow.

Turning, he found that he was facing a young man. The young man was pinching his elbow between two fingers. He asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm William Redman Carter and you are bothering a friend of mine," William said in a flat even voice that sent chills down the Professor's spine.

"Unhand me," Professor McDonald shouted in the belief that a public scene would scare away the young man.

Doug sidled up to Donna and said, "This ought to be very interesting."

Glaring at him, she said, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that William is about to tear that man a new orifice," Doug answered with a wink. Donna smiled at the fact that this stranger knew William. Seeing her reaction, he said, "Your friend won't have to worry about the vile Professor McDonald again."

"Professor McDonald, I know you by reputation and it is not a very good one. I suggest that you mend your ways or I will bury you," William said without releasing his grip on the pressure point in the man's elbow. His voice was low and very threatening. He had heard that the man had put a coed into the hospital the year before, but she had not pressed charges.

"You can't talk to me like that," the man said looking around in the hope that someone would come to his rescue. The big guy standing behind William didn't look like he would help him. The woman standing beside William reminded him of a barracuda.

"I can and I will. You prey upon the weak using your position of authority over them to take advantage of them. That is repugnant to me and I will not allow that to continue," William said. He looked into the eyes of the man and knew that he was far more dangerous than his reputation suggested. A shiver went through his body at the thought of the kinds of things the man was capable of doing.

"You can't do a damned thing to me," the man snarled.

Doug laughed and said, "Yes, he can."

The Professor glanced over at Doug and recognized him. He said, "I take it you're going to use your connection with the Governor's brat to pressure the school to get rid of me."

Doug turned to Donna and said, "You know, that man is exceptionally stupid."

"Why do you say that?"

"William's rolodex has more names in it than the President's," Doug answered about the time that Lucy came over to stand beside him. His comment caused her to smile.

Donna laughed and said, "You're funny."

"Thanks, although I prefer to go by the name Doug," he said. When she giggled, he said, "You can call me funny if you like that better. That is a much nicer name than what most beautiful women call me."

Unable to restrain her curiosity, Donna asked, "What do they call you?"

"Go away," Doug answered with a smile. At her puzzled expression, he said, "I know it sounds weird, but each time I approach a beautiful woman that's what she says. I know they are talking to me, so that must be their nickname for me."

Donna burst out in laughter. Barbara who had stepped back from the confrontation between William and the Professor had overheard his answer to Donna's question and smiled. She decided that was the most original pickup line she had ever heard.

Unable to believe that Doug had actually said that, Lucy repeated, "Go away."

Turning to Donna he winked and said, "See, she's calling me."

Donna giggled and decided that she liked Doug. She said, "You're too funny."

Looking over at Colt who was standing behind William, Doug said, "Looks like Colt is about to blow a fuse."

Hearing Doug's comment, William turned to Nicole and said, "Nicole, perhaps you would like to escort this man back to his table and see that we aren't disturbed by him again."

Nicole took the man by the arm and said, "Thank you, William. I just love escorting bad little boys who don't know how to take no for an answer."

"Why?" William asked.

"I love to teach them the meaning of the word, 'no, '" she answered with a grim smile.

Having played that game with Nicole in the past, Colt asked, "How do you do that?"

"I hurt them until they really come to appreciate a whole bunch of words," Nicole answered with a wink at Colt.

"What words?"

"No, stop, let me go, don't hurt me, have pity, and other phrases like that," she answered. She said, "I know they really appreciate what they mean because I hurt them until they've covered every one of them a dozen times or so."

"Sounds like fun," Colt said nodding his head, "but I prefer breaking bones."

Looking over at Donna, Doug smiled and said, "You know what? If she wasn't so serious, I'd be very excited about now."

Even Amanda had to laugh at that comment. Lucy elbowed him and said, "I can talk to her on your behalf."

"No thanks," Doug said waving his hands. There were times when Nicole and Natalie scared him.

Facing the professor, William said, "I'm assigning a bodyguard to her, Professor McDonald. You won't be able to get within a hundred yards of her without me knowing it."

The man looked at William and could see that he was serious. After a glance at Barbara, he decided that she wasn't worth the hassle. Too many people were aware of his interest in her. The last thing he needed was the Chief of Police coming around and asking questions again.

While Nicole escorted the professor back to his table, the Hostess came over to William and led the party to the back room that had been reserved. When they reached the table, Donna sat down beside Doug. After a few minutes, Nicole sat down at the seat on his other side. Once everyone was seated, William introduced Doug to everyone at the table.

Barbara asked, "Go away, what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a student," Doug answered with a grin.

Lucy chuckled and, making reference to his nickname amongst the homeless, said, "I think I like Go Away better than Old Tales."

"You would," Doug said shaking his head.

Nicole wrapped an arm around Doug's arm and said, "I heard that you want me to teach you a few things."

"Uh... ," Doug stuttered unable to come up with a witty response.

"Poor guy. The cat's got his tongue," Nicole said noticing the somewhat possessive reaction of Donna to her teasing. She winked at Donna and said, "If he can't beg, then he's of no use to me. He's all yours."

Surprised, Donna said, "Thank you, I think."

Everyone laughed at Doug's blush. After some more good natured teasing, Amanda said, "William, I think it was very brave of you to step in and save Barbara from that horrible man."

"It wasn't bravery," William said. Looking over at Colt, he added, "I had Colt and Nicole backing me up."

Irritated at William's actions, Colt said, "We were backing you up? You left us in the parking lot and raced in here like your hair was on fire."

"And you came in right behind me," William said without embarrassment at the accusation.

Nicole turned to Lucy and said, "Would you please explain to him that we are supposed to go into the dangerous situations first and then he can come in after it stops being a dangerous situation?"

"I'll be glad to do that after you convince a river that it is supposed to flow uphill," Lucy said.

"Hey, I'm not that bad," William said.

"Yes, you are," Lucy said shaking her head.

"Still, it was very brave of you to rescue Barbara," Amanda said trying to get the topic back to William's actions.

"I do appreciate it," Barbara added looking over at Amanda. She wondered what Amanda was doing.

"Well, I was glad to be of service. That particular individual has a rather nasty reputation in the area. He's hurt a couple of undergraduates," William said.

"He's a perfectly horrible man," Lucy said in disgust. She had signed up for his class and transferred out after the first lecture. He stared at her throughout the whole lecture hour in a very sickening manner. A fifteen year old girl shouldn't have to put up with a middle aged man leering at her in that manner. She said, "I had him as an instructor and quit his class after the first lecture. He gave me the creeps."

Colt looked over at Nicole and said, "We'll start a folder on him."

"We'll do more than that," William said. He had not realized that Lucy knew the man. He had planned to take care of the matter, but feared that his affection for Lucy might lead him to go overboard in achieving justice.

"What do you mean?"

"I want him investigated. I want the girls he hurt found and put in touch with a team of lawyers. They deserve compensation for their injuries and he should pay for his crimes," William said.

"Are you doing that because he harassed Barbara?" Sandra asked thinking that his reaction was overkill.

"No. I'm doing it because he is a bad man who exploits women who are in vulnerable positions," William answered. He looked around the table and, with a tight edge to his voice, said, "You don't want to know what I would have done to him if he had hurt Barbara. No one hurts the people that I care about and walks away."

His comment was met with stunned silence. Although all of the women had heard the threat, the threat didn't register. All that they focused on was the suggestion that he cared about them. Amanda covered her mouth with her hand to hide her reaction to his words. Barbara and Sandra took a deep breath. Donna stared at William open mouthed. Juanita smiled and said, "You are so much like your fathers."

"Thank you, Juanita," William said with a nod of his head.

Lucy watched the women across the table although most of her attention was on Amanda. She had come to recognize that when Amanda covered her mouth that she was feeling intense emotions. Curious, she said, "What do you think, Amanda?"

Startled at being called upon, Amanda blurted out, "I love him."

Looking around to see who she was talking about, William asked, "Who? You love the guy that harassed Barbara?"

"I love you."

It was so silent in the room that it was possible to hear a pin drop on the carpet. All eyes turned to watch William. Stunned, William sat there open mouthed and wide eyed. His head slowly pivoted to look at Lucy. She gave him that smile of superiority appropriate when someone has just been proven correct in an argument. She gestured to Amanda to let him know that he was supposed to reply.



-------

Chapter 51


It was nearly midnight when William and Colt entered the house. William tried to be quiet expecting everyone to be in bed, but Colt just walked in without worrying about the noise he made. At the irritated glance from William, he said, "I'm up all night and no one notices. If I tried sneaking around here all the time, I'd wake the whole house the first time I made a noise. Everyone is used to me walking around."

"Oh, I guess I didn't think about that," William said uneasy about the direction his life had suddenly taken. He watched Colt go into the security room to talk with Nicole to get an update about the evening's activities around the house.

Wishing he was alone, he looked over at Lucy lying on the couch reading a book. He was surprised, but not really surprised, to find that she was still awake. He wouldn't have been able to sleep if she had been out of the house for the same reason as he had been out that evening.

Overhearing the conversation between the two men, Lucy was watching William over the top of her book with a smile. When she was sure that she had his full attention, she asked, "Did you have a good time?"

"I guess," William answered. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I feel guilty."

"Don't feel guilty," Lucy said with affection. She could tell by the way he was standing at the door that he felt miserable. Mother Kelly had warned her that William would react in that manner. John Carter had fought tooth and nail to avoid collecting a harem of interested women. He had been unsuccessful in his attempt, but it wasn't his fault. She held out her arms and said, "Come here."

William flowed into her arms happy that she still welcomed him. His greatest fear had been that after pushing him into visiting Amanda that she would start pushing him away. With her arms wrapped around him, he sighed and said, "I love you so much."

"I love you," Lucy said. She ran her hand across the back of his neck and pulled him down to her chest. He settled there in comfort. Others might have thought it strange for a wife to comfort her husband after he had gone off to make love to another woman, but Lucy understood how much he had not wanted to do that.

After several minutes, William asked, "Aren't you going to ask me if she was happy that I... ?"

"I don't need to ask you that. She called after you left the house and told me that she was very satisfied," Lucy said softly. Amanda had been crying tears of happiness when describing the session with William. She had used the word incredible to describe the experience.

"I guess I'm glad," he said. Of course, he had spent the entire evening making sure that Amanda enjoyed herself. The last thing that he wanted was for her to feel cheated. It had been her first time with a man and he wanted to make sure her memory of it would be special.

Lucy smiled at the doubt in his voice. She said, "You concentrated on her and put me out of your mind when you were with her, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry, Lucy," William said. That was his true source of guilt. He had made love to Amanda like a real lover, not like a sex surrogate. While he had been with her, he had felt real emotions for her and expressed them.

"Do you know what I love about you?" Lucy asked without expecting an answer. She said, "I am your one true love. You love me with your entire heart and soul."

"So why are you so insistent that I make love to the women who work for us?" William asked.

"Such love is rather heady stuff for any person, but you are the most intense and focused person that I've ever met. There is so much force behind your love that it is a little like being in the path of a hurricane."

"I'm not sure that I like being compared to a hurricane. Are you saying that my love is destructive?" William replied with a frown.

"Not at all. All I'm saying is that there is enough left over for you to give your love to others."

"But you are the loser," William said.

"Loser? Me?" Lucy asked with a laugh at the suggestion. She kissed the top of his head and said, "I'm the luckiest woman in the world. You are my one true love. You complete me and make me whole. Even with all of the love you have within you, you can't make me more than that."

"Oh," William said.

It amazed Lucy that while William could see and understand relationships for everyone else he almost totally blind when it came to himself. She was halfway convinced that the reason the Two-Sided One had given William visions of her was so that he would recognize that she was the one. Without that vision, William would have gone his whole life waiting to meet someone who he could love without ever recognizing anyone who could love him.

She held him closer to her breast and said, "The thing is that I'm not the only one who loves you. To be true to yourself, you must return their love. To turn your back on others who need to be made complete and whole would be to deny something integral to yourself. It would cripple you."

Sighing, William moved so that he could look her in the eye. He said, "I love you so much. If you were to ever leave me, I think I would die. I never want to do anything that would risk losing you."

"The only thing that you could do that would risk losing my love would be to start limiting your ability to love," Lucy said touched by his statement.

"Your wish is my command," William said giving into her position. Deep down, he knew that she was right. The moment he started turning his back on others, he would be turning his back on her. That would put their love at risk faster than anything.

In the morning, William and Lucy sat at the dining room table surrounded by books and papers. William pointed to a section of one of the papers and said, "I think that this is incorrect, but my math isn't good enough to prove it."

Picking up the paper, Lucy read the section of the paper with care. Her mind entered into the mental space of mathematics in which equations became living entities. It was one of the times for which she lived. After five minutes, she said, "It is correct, but it isn't the only possible solution. There are three other solutions to it."

"What are they?"

Lucy picked up a pencil and pad of paper. Her hand flew across the paper as if she were writing down a shopping list. She was humming to herself as she worked. William watched her work. Her eyes were alive and her lips were curled into a small smile of satisfaction. It was easy for him to understand the pleasure she was feeling since he felt the same thing when working on a good challenging problem.

She finished writing and, while pushing the notepad to him, said, "Here they are."

Smiling, William enjoyed the pleased expression on her face. She looked up at his face and asked, "What?"

"I love it when you're working math," he said, "You're so sexy."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," she replied shaking her head. If anyone else had told her that she looked sexy when solving a math problem, she would have laughed at them. She knew that William was serious.

William picked up the pad and examined the other solutions. One of them leapt out of the page screaming to him that it was the solution he was seeking. Smiling, he said, "You might want to write up these solutions for publication."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. It would make a nice Master's thesis," William said.

"Why?"

"Well, lots of people have been using that one solution while ignoring the other possibilities. I think they've settled on the wrong one because it was the only one they've identified," William answered. He picked up several other papers on other topics and said, "These papers have that same basic equation to solve and all of them have the same solution. None of them address the other solutions."

Frowning, Lucy took the papers from William and started to read them. It took her nearly an hour to get through the half dozen papers. As if no time had passed, she said, "You're right."

"Of course I am. I'm William Redman Carter," he replied with a grin.

She reached across the table and slapped his hand with a soft love tap. She said, "Being William Redman Carter negates the possibility that you are correct."

He laughed and said, "Thank you for solving my problem."

"My pleasure," she said meaning it. It was a pleasure to have a good problem to solve handed her. She looked down at the pad of paper and asked, "So what should I put in the thesis?"

"I suppose that you could describe the behaviors of the various solutions and point out where the different behaviors would affect the results presented in those papers that I handed you," William said.

"I could do that," Lucy said thoughtfully. It would take her a month or two of effort to do what he suggested.

"I know you could do that," William said with a grin.

"You're terrible," she accused.

"Of course I am. I'm William Redman Carter," he said.

"You got that right," she said with a smile. She said, "Now take me to bed and ravish this body of mine."

After the pair left, Lisa entered the room and looked at the mass of papers spread over the table. She knew better than to disturb their work. She just hoped that they would come out of their bedroom in time to clear the table for lunch. Ken joined her in the room and looked at the papers. Shaking his head, he said, "They were working together again."

"Can you believe that they spend hours discussing math like most people discuss politics?"

"I don't get it," Ken admitted.

"They are perfect for each other," Lisa said.

"Yes, they are."

The four bodyguards were gathered together at the office of the private investigator they used for their weekly security meeting. Rock frowned when Lucy and William entered the room. Irritated that they weren't at home, he said, "We prefer to have these meetings without you."

Lucy glared at him and sat down at one of the empty chairs around the conference room. William stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders trying to ease her tension. She said, "Professor McDonald put another woman in the hospital. He hurt her the same night that we ran into him at the restaurant."

"We know," Rock said after glancing around the table at the other bodyguards. That was one of the topics they were planning on covering in the meeting. They all knew that William would take matters into his own hands if they didn't come up with some plan to stop the man. He was actually surprised that William had not stepped in already.

"I want him stopped," she said with iron in her voice. Professor McDonald had used a whip on a coed leaving cuts that had required stitches. When questioned about it, he had declared that it was all part of a sex game that she enjoyed. Although the event had happened a week ago, she had learned of the situation that morning. She knew that their confrontation with the professor had triggered the sadistic act.

"We were going to discuss the matter," Rock said.

"No, you are going to fix the matter," Lucy corrected.

Chastised, Rock said, "We are going to fix the matter. Perhaps I should have said that we were going to discuss how to do that."

"That's what I want to hear," Lucy said with a grim smile. The girl who had been hospitalized was only nineteen years old and would bear the scars for the rest of her life. Her family had been so embarrassed by her actions in sleeping with a professor for an A that they had talked her out of pressing charges.

Natalie looked over at Lucy recognizing what was motivating her. Nodding her head, she said, "Protect the weak from the strong."

"Exactly," William said proud that Lucy felt such a high degree of anger at the outrage the professor was propagating. He had wanted to charge out and take care of the man, but Lucy had demanded to handle it.

"We'll leave you to your planning, now," Lucy said while standing up.

Jan was seated at the dining room table reading the local newspaper. Looking up at Lucy, she said, "The paper has another editorial about the homeless that live in the park."

"What does it say?"

"It says that we need to chase them out of town," Jan answered while shaking her head in sadness. The idea that the locals would chase her friends out of town hurt her feelings. She said, "We have to do something."

"I agree," Lucy said. She looked over at William who was busy working the crossword puzzle. She asked, "What do you think we should do?"

Without looking up from the paper, William answered, "Tell their stories. Fight the negative image with positive advertising."

It was a good suggestion. Lucy looked over at Jan and asked, "Can we do it?"

"I know their stories, but I don't know where you would even start something like that," Jan said.

"Me? You mean, you, don't you?"

"Me?" Jan asked terrified at the responsibility that Lucy was giving her. She said, "I don't know where to start."

After going to her desk to get a pad of paper, Lucy sat down beside Jan and said, "Let's work out a plan."

Uncertain, Jan nodded her head and said, "Okay."

"Who is the most famous of the homeless folks who've done well?"

"Happy Harry," Jan answered automatically.

"Then let's start with Happy Harry," Lucy said.

Their decision reminded William that Happy Harry was going to die soon. He looked over at Lucy with a sad expression. Nodding his head, he said, "That would be nice. Someone needs to tell his story at some point in time."

"I agree," Lucy said. She looked over at him and asked, "After we have worked out a draft, could you look over it to add any details that we might not know?"

"Of course," William said.

Turning to Jan, Lucy said, "The first chapter will be about Happy Harry."

"Good," Jan said looking down at the pad of paper while Lucy scribbled his name on the first line.

"Tell me about another one who has done something rather spectacular," Lucy said.

"I suppose you would have to include the Duke and Duchess of Dallas," Jan said.

Never having met the couple, Lucy was familiar with the stories told about them. She thought they would be good subjects. Writing them down on the page, she said, "Okay."

"How about we include Fat Fred?"

Grinning, Lucy said, "Sure, he's a good man and his story is a good one."

"I'm not so sure that it is a good one, but it is a common one," Jan said with a frown. She added, "I don't think it would be right to paint of a picture of the handful of us who have made it well as representative of all of us."

"I agree."

"How about we include Handlebar?" Jan suggested knowing that Lucy had loved the old man.

"Yes, he would be good," Lucy said.

For the next hour, the pair discussed who would be good subjects for their positive advertising campaign. It was about that time that Jan realized that they were talking about writing a book. Looking up from the pad, Jan said, "This is a book."

"You're right," Lucy said with a smile. She had wondered how long it would take Jan to realize that.

"I can't write a book," Jan said.

"Sure you can," Lucy said. She pointed to the first entry and said, "First you tell Harry's story. Then you tell the next one. Before you know it, you've told all of their stories and the book is done."

"But..."

"That's all there is to it," Lucy said. She glanced down the table at William. He was pretending to be very interested in his crossword puzzle, but she knew him well enough to know that he had finished it at least thirty minutes earlier.

"I can't write a book," Jan said waving her hands in front of her body as if to ward off a very unpleasant idea.

"Why not?"

"People who write books know stuff that regular folk like me don't know," Jan said.

"You know the stories of all the people on that list. It seems to me that you know a lot," Lucy said.

Smiling, William said, "Listen to her, Jan. She knows what she is talking about."

"But..."

"I'll make a deal with you. You write the stories about the first four people on your list and I'll let an internationally recognized author read what you've done. She'll tell you how to change it so that it reads well," William said.

"Who?"

"Momma Linda," William answered.

Jan looked from Lucy to William and then back at Lucy again. The whole idea of writing a book terrified her. She was about to object, but Lucy said, "You are doing it for your friends. The stories will convince others to look twice at your friends and not chase them away from here."

Knowing that any objection that she would raise would fail, Jan said, "I'll give it a try."

William, reading science fiction, was lying on the couch with Lucy's head in his lap. She was reading one of her math books. He ran a hand up and down her arm taking pleasure in the feel of her skin beneath his fingers. Lowering the book, he said, "Forest Shadow is coming."

"Talks Truly told me that she finally convinced her to come here," Lucy said. Forest Shadow was the young woman who was supposed to teach her the ways of Native Americans.

William laughed and said, "I mean, she is about to pull up in the driveway."

"She should have called to let us know that she was coming," Lucy said thinking about the inconvenience her unannounced arrival would cause Lisa.

From across the room, Jan frowned at the idea of anyone being that rude to Lucy Diamonds. She said, "I'd send her packing until she learned some manners."

"She'll never learn manners if we don't teach them to her," Lucy replied. She wondered what would happen the first time that Forest Shadow was rude to her when Jan was around. The next few days would be very interesting.

Looking over at Rock, William said, "You might as well get the door. She'll be here in a minute."

Shaking his head, Rock stood and walked across the room to the front door. He opened the door and watched the security guard at the front of the driveway deal with the person driving a small sedan. He pressed the button on the intercom and said, "Let her in. She's expected."

William grinned at the suggestion she was expected and returned to reading his science fiction book. Lucy looked at her math book for a second and then closed it. With a sigh, she said, "I'm never going to get through this chapter on topology today. Maybe tomorrow I'll slip out to the office and read it there."

"I'm sure that you won't have to do that," William said. He glanced over at the door just in time to catch the arrival of Forest Shadow. He grimaced at the old fashioned Native American garb she was wearing.

Forest Shadow looked around the room. Her eyes settled on William for five seconds and then she looked over at Lucy. In a very irritated voice, she said, "The only reason you are somebody is because you married Talks with Animals. Don't expect me to coddle you."

As Jan rose out of her chair, William said, "I see fireworks and it's not even the Fourth of July."



-------

Chapter 52


"That woman is impossible," Forest Shadow declared.

"Which woman?" William asked looking up from the journal in which his paper had appeared. In the week that she had been there, Forest Shadow had said that about Lisa, Lucy, Jan, Natalie, and Nicole. He didn't think there was another woman in the house about whom she could complain.

"Jan. Can you imagine that she started in on me again about how I treat Lucy? White people just like her were the ones that raped our culture. Why should I say please and thank you? I'm sure that Jan would love to see us lose the reservations and become homeless," Forest Shadow declared expecting William to agree with her.

"I seriously doubt that Jan would want anyone to be homeless," William answered finding the assertion to be rather insulting to Jan. He liked Jan and thought that the relationship between Lucy and Jan was healthy.

"Why not?"

"She was homeless for more than ten years," William answered knowing the effect that his words would have. He hoped that Forest Shadow wouldn't use that knowledge in an attempt to hurt Jan. Of course, Jan didn't have pretensions about her past.

The statement confirmed her opinion of Jan. The woman was a loser and was there because they felt sorry for her. She said, "That doesn't surprise me."

He closed his journal and turned to face Forest Shadow directly. In a stern voice, he said, "You are a guest in this house. You should learn to act like one."

"I don't like whites," Forest Shadow said looking at William with a challenging expression on her face. She said, "We were a strong people with pride. We were a peaceful people who lived at one with nature until the white man showed up. They destroyed a rich culture using bioterrorism, murder, and theft. You should be just as angry as I am."

In a sharp tone of voice, William said, "Don't give me that Noble Savage bullshit. It is just as much of a myth as the Ignorant Savage. If you want to take offense over events that happened in the past, then at least make sure that you have an accurate picture of the past."

Surprised at his reaction, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"Do you think our ancestors were casually wandering around eating berries and hunting animals without a care in the world? No, they weren't. They were fighting for their survival with a near subsistence standard of living. There were wars between tribes that were quite brutal when populations grew larger than their individual territories could support," William answered.

"But that is just a little of our heritage," she objected.

"That is where you are wrong," William said. He leaned forward and said, "You have to understand both the good and the bad of our heritage before you go around acting superior to others. What happened between the True People and the Whites was a war of survival. It was a war of survival for individuals, tribes, and cultures. It wasn't a new war. Different tribes had already been fighting that war with each other.

"A lot of very horrible acts were committed during that war. There were brutal massacres, rapes of women, and tortures. Both sides had individuals that wanted to totally eliminate the other side. I'm talking genocide, not a negotiated treaty or getting sent to a reservation. We lost the war, but we survived.

"Some of the worst things that happened after the years of war were the result of well meaning people trying to help out those they saw as inferior. They tried to stop us from speaking our languages and practicing our rituals. They forced our people to convert to Christianity at the point of a sword.

"Don't forget that they were trying to save the souls of our ancestors from an eternity in hell. As far as they were concerned, our souls were damned because we believed in the Great Spirit and we didn't believe in Jesus Christ. Each time we danced, they thought we were bargaining with the devil. Each time we went into a sweat lodge, they thought we were recreating the outer limits of hell," William said.

Forest Shadow was surprised to hear William take the side of the Whites. She said, "You've turned against your own people."

Shaking his head, William said, "No, I haven't. I'm trying to teach you something. Don't whitewash the truth because there are some facts that you don't like. Don't ignore facts because they disagree with your politics. Don't condemn the Whites for actions that were not meant to harm. Try to understand the full truth and not just one side of the story. When you do that, you'll find nobility in our people; a nobility that far exceeds that limited view that you take of them."

"What? Our people were miserable until you lifted that curse," Forest Shadow said defensively.

William looked at Forest Shadow for a full minute without saying a word. He was beginning to wonder if she could be salvaged. Such uncompromising hate of a group for actions in the past was not healthy. Ultimately, that attitude would prevent her from helping her tribe find its way in the future. The eternal victim became just that; a victim for all of eternity. Finally, he said, "Come out on the patio with me."

She stood to follow him out, but he stopped at his desk and picked up a pack of cigarettes. Surprised that he smoked, she followed him to the patio eyeing the pack of cigarettes. The significance of smoking while telling a story was not lost on her. He sat down and removed a cigarette before handing the pack to her. She looked at it and said, "I don't smoke."

Without making a comment, William took the pack back and lit his cigarette. After he exhaled to the sky, he started to tell Forest Shadow about how his Great Grandfather came to have his name. He told the story in a manner that emphasized the titanic struggle between a poor Indian boy and a highly respected man of the cloth. His words touched Forest Shadow and it was only when William revealed the name of the young man at the very end that she realized he was talking about William Redman.

Surprised by the ending, she sat back in her chair and said, "Your Great Grandfather won in the end."

"Yes, he did."

Impressed by his skill in relating the story, she said, "You are a great story teller."

"Not really," William said having heard some of the best story tellers. He put out his cigarette in the ever present ashtray and said, "Let us talk about respect."

"Okay," Forest Shadow said wondering if she was about to get another lecture or a story. The story was much easier on her ego to hear.

William lit another cigarette and sat back in his chair. He said, "Once there was a young woman of pale skin who was accepted into a tribe of the True People. She knew nothing of their ways or their history, but recognized the honor that was being given her. It was a real honor and one that she did not request.

"Not wanting to cause insult by an act performed in ignorance, the young woman went to a wise woman of the tribe. She asked if it was possible for her to learn of the ways and history of the tribe so that she would know how to be polite. The wise woman saw the wisdom of the request and arranged for someone to teach her all that she would need to know.

"The young woman thanked the wise woman and went home to wait for her teacher to arrive. She set aside a room for the teacher and sought guidance from others of the tribe on how to welcome her. The time for the teacher to arrive came and went, but there was no sign of the teacher.

"Afraid that something bad might have happened to the teacher, the young woman called the wise woman. After explaining the absence of the teacher, the young woman accepted the word of the wise woman that within a moon the teacher would arrive. The time came and passed, but the teacher did not show.

"Thinking that she might be at fault, she called the wise woman and asked if she had caused insult to the teacher. The wise woman assured her that she had done nothing wrong. Once again, the wise woman assured her that within a moon the teacher would arrive.

"Many moons passed and the teacher never arrived. Embarrassed at having to report that the teacher had not arrived, the young woman called the wise woman. The wise woman was embarrassed that her word, given in good faith, had proved false.

"Finally, the teacher arrived without warning. On arrival, the teacher berated the young woman for not greeting her in a proper manner. The teacher announced her displeasure at having to be there. The teacher criticized the room that had been set aside for her," William said.

Uncomfortable with the direction in which the story was headed, Forest Shadow shifted in her chair. This was the kind of story that was told to children on how not to act. The idea that this story could be told and retold to kids through the ages was a very unsettling thought.

Continuing his story, he said, "Lucy was respectful of the tribe, the wise woman, and the teacher. She wanted to learn the ways of the tribe so that she could honor them. She went to the wise woman for advice as all young members of the tribe should do. She prepared for the visit of the teacher in accordance to the advice of the wise woman.

"Talks with Truth was respectful of the tribe, the student, and the teacher. She sought to train the young woman so that the tribe would be better served. She was respectful of the young woman by listening to her problem and giving advice. She was respectful of the teacher by praising the depth of knowledge possessed by her and recommending her for the task.

"Forest Shadow was not respectful of the tribe, the wise woman, and the young woman. She thought it a waste of time to teach a member of the tribe the ways of the tribe. She made the wise woman look like a fool. She was abusive to the young woman."

The woman stared at William and then hung her head in shame. Hearing one of the greatest Medicine Men alive criticize her was humiliating. She didn't say a word, but sat in the chair staring at the ground. It would only compound her shame to argue with him.

William said, "Today is Thursday. I want you to leave the house. While you are gone, I want you to buy some real clothes. That outfit looks ridiculous. You're walking around dressed like Pocahontas in misery. No one dresses like that any more. Our warriors are wearing Brooks Brother's Suits, carry Armani briefcases, and wear Rolex watches. The days when they try to make a statement by dressing up like Hollywood Indians are over. Get the hint."

Her face turned bright red in embarrassment. He wasn't the first who had told her that, but his position among Native Americans gave the comment more force than what her parents possessed. She nodded her head.

He continued, "Go to a hotel for the next two nights. While you are there, think about what I have said to you. Come back at eight in the morning on Saturday. Do not be late. You will travel with Lucy, Jan, and Natalie to Pittsburgh. You are not to talk to them, but to watch and learn. When you return here, we will talk."

Forest Shadow looked up at William and nodded her understanding. He watched her enter the house. By the time he went in the house, she had left. Rock noticed him and said, "She looked like someone killed her dog and forced her to watch it die. What happened?"

"We had a little talk," William said.

The cold crisp air of winter left the night sky clear. The stars danced in the heavens. The nearly full moon lit the back yard. Seated in a chair, William drank his hot coffee waiting for Forest Shadow to come out to talk with him. He had sat down at the same time Lucy returned from Pittsburgh with Jan, Natalie, and Forest Shadow.

The back door opened and the shape of a woman outlined by the lights within the house filled the door. It was obvious that she was wearing blue jeans and a coat. Satisfied by the change in clothes, he said, "I'm here by the patio table."

Trying to see in the dark, she made her way to the patio table stumbling into the barbecue grill on the way. Taking a seat, she said, "I did as you asked."

"What did you see today?"

"The people there... They worshiped her," she answered. It had been the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Ugly dirty people had treated Lucy like she was a queen. They fetched coffee for her, gave up their seats for her, and listened to every word that she said.

"Why do you say that?" William asked.

"It was obvious. Every gesture they made was respectful. They spoke to her with awe in their voices. They watched her and tried to anticipate her needs. I've never seen anything like it," she answered.

"Why do you think they feel that way?"

It was a difficult question to answer. She had asked that question to herself the entire ride home from the Homeless Hotel. She said, "I guess because she sees them as people and treats them with dignity."

"And?"

"She treats them as equals," Forest Shadow answered.

"What did you think of them?"

"They were ugly and filthy. I was disgusted by them," she answered. Much to her shame, she had encountered a Native American who was homeless. He had told her that he wasn't the only homeless Native American. There were thousands of them spread out across the country.

"Was Injun Joe there?"

"Yes," she said. She hated that name and wondered how William could say it without disgust.

"I'm glad. Last time we were there he was in Florida. You do know that he's one of Lucy's favorites," William said.

"I noticed. She hugged him when we arrived and kissed him goodbye," Forest Shadow said. To her shame, she couldn't bring herself to touch the man. It amazed her that Lucy had hugged many of the men and women there.

"Do you know why he's one of her favorites?"

"No."

"Did you talk to him at all?" William asked.

"No."

"He used to live in Atlanta. Since he didn't have a high school degree, his choice of jobs was pretty limited. Like many of us, he doesn't have a fear of heights. He took advantage of that fact and worked on tall structures. For a while, he washed windows on skyscrapers. Later, he worked construction on skyscrapers and bridges. Between construction jobs, he took any job that came his way. He had planned to marry a young woman and then buy a house for them to live in.

"One day, he was on top of a water tower painting it with his friend. The two of them didn't worry about how high they were and worked without their safety line. The problem was that they were drinking on the job. His friend fell off and died. Injun Joe felt really guilty about it. You see, he was the one who brought the bottle of booze with him. He never went back to work after that," William said.

"Oh," Forest Shadow replied.

"That happened before the curse on our people was removed. He doesn't have the same problem with alcohol today, but he still hasn't forgiven himself. Lucy hopes that one day he'll realize that it wasn't his fault that his friend died. His friend chose to drink. His friend should have been wearing the safety line," William said.

"I didn't know."

"You didn't bother to find out," William said. It wasn't an accusation, but a fact. He took a puff off his cigarette and then said, "You see, Lucy does bother to find out. She talks to the men and women at the Homeless Hotel and not at them."

"She treats them like equals."

"Exactly."

Forest Shadow sat in her chair wondering if she was supposed to say something. As the silence dragged on, she finally said, "She's a credit to our people."

"I'm glad you think so," William said with a small smile that was hidden in the dark. He took another drag off his cigarette. Exhaling to the sky, he asked, "Will you teach her?"

"Yes."

"Will you treat her with respect?"

"Yes."

After taking one last drag off his cigarette and then putting it out in the ash tray, William rose from his chair. He said, "Everyone in this house is important for making life pleasant for Lucy. Lisa cooks and cleans so that she can pursue her studies. Ken takes care of the house and cars so that she never has to worry about them. Even Tim gives her someone to play with on occasion. Natalie and Nicole are here to keep her safe. Jan saved her from being beaten and raped. If you respect Lucy, you will allow everyone here to do their jobs."

"Yes, sir," Forest Shadow said. The information that Jan had saved Lucy from being beaten and raped was a shock. She hadn't figured out the role that the middle aged woman had in the house since she didn't appear to do anything. She had assumed that the woman was leaching off the success of William.

"Let's go in the house where it is warm. I believe that Lisa is making some hot chocolate," William said. He picked up his coffee cup and gestured towards the door with it.

The pair went into the house. Once inside, Forest Shadow said, "I'm going to my room. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," William said without further comment.

Lucy came over to William and hugged him. She smiled and asked, "Did you miss me?"

"Every minute that you were gone," he answered with a smile. After giving her a kiss intended to curl her toes, he asked, "So how did your trip go?"

"Good. Jan got permission to tell Bottle Cap's story. He wants to read it before anyone else sees it," she answered. Bottle Cap was surprised that anyone might want to hear his story. As far as he could tell, the only thing that he did of any note was attend the wedding of The Chicago Angel.

"I can't wait that long."

"He did mention that you, Harry, and I could read it first," she said.

"That's nice of him," William said. He was silent for a moment and then said, "Happy Harry won't be around to read it."

"Why?" Lucy asked and then covered her mouth with her hand when she realized what William meant. She knew the reason why Happy Harry wouldn't be around and said, "Sorry."

"No problem."

"When?"

"The statues will be finished in a couple of months. Sometime after that, I presume," William answered. He sighed and then tried to put on a cheerful face. He said, "Let's get some of that hot chocolate."

"Right," Lucy said wrapping her arm around his. They didn't move from where they were standing.

"I heard you saw Injun Joe?"

"Yes, I did. He has a job washing windows on one of the downtown buildings," Lucy said with a smile.

"That is good news."

"It's very good news. I told him that when he got a place of his own to leave his address and that I'd stop by sometime to see it," Lucy said. She knew that he'd probably feel a little uncomfortable about having her see his place, but he would get over that.

"I'm sure that Bottle Cap will have some suggestions about what we can get him for a housewarming present. He's pretty good about that," William said.

Lisa came out of the kitchen and handed both of them mugs of hot chocolate. Sitting down at the table with Lucy beside him, William said, "Tell me all of the gossip."

For the next hour, Lucy told William about what was happening among the homeless all over the country. Some of the stories were funny, some were tragic, and others were just informative. It didn't matter, hearing the stories over a cup of hot chocolate gave him a connection to the men and women who were his friends.



-------

Chapter 53


The activities being performed by the occupants of the house would never be the subject of a Norman Rockwell type of picture. The scene just wasn't cute enough. Lucy, seated at her desk, was busy writing up her solution to the math problem that William had given her. At his desk, William was busy changing his program for predicting economic and social trends. Over at the dining room table, Jan was writing on a pad of paper; capturing another chapter of her book. At the other end of the dining room table, Rock and Natalie were cleaning their pistols. Lisa was seated on the couch doing cross-stitch while Ken was at the other end of the couch reading a manual for the new satellite dish receiver. Tim was lying on the floor reading a science fiction book that he had borrowed from William.

The discordant figure was Forest Shadow who stood at the entrance to the hallway with her arms crossed. She was watching them unable to believe that this was how the group would choose to spend a Saturday afternoon. Looking out the front window, she could see that the weather wasn't all that great. It was cold and wet, but not quite raining. She frowned and wondered what she would do for the rest of that afternoon.

William turned in his chair so that he faced the rest of the room and said, "Trouble is coming. We've got three minutes."

Looking up from her laptop computer, Lucy asked, "What kind of trouble?"

"Bang bang shoot-em-up kind of trouble."

Both bodyguards put down the parts of the pistols they were cleaning. Reaching behind their backs, each bodyguard pulled out a pistol from its holster. Surprised that they weren't scrambling to put together their guns, Forest Shadow asked, "Where did you get those from?"

Ignoring the question, Rock asked, "Where is it coming from?"

"Coming down the road towards the house in a black car," William answered. He pulled out his key ring and, after fumbling through the set of keys, unlocked a drawer of the desk. He reached inside the drawer and pulled out a pistol. Looking around, he said, "Non- combatants into the safe room."

Lucy smiled at William and unlocked a drawer of her desk. She pulled a pistol out of it and said, "Non-combatants into the safe room."

"Where did you get that?" Natalie asked with a frown.

William just looked at the pistol with a raised eyebrow. He wondered whether Ling or Claire had given it to her. Regardless of which one it was, he knew that they would have made sure that she knew how to use it.

"Momma Claire," Lucy answered. She checked the pistol with practiced ease.

"Did she teach you to use it?" Rock asked.

"Do you think she would have given me a gun if she even suspected that I couldn't use it?" Lucy asked.

"Point taken," Rock said walking over to one of the bedrooms. Opening the door, he shouted, "Lock and load! It's time to rock and roll!"

Within fifteen seconds, Nicole came out of the room carrying a sniper rifle. Seconds later, Colt came out of the room carrying two assault rifles. He handed one to Rock who immediately checked it over. Nicole and Colt were wearing t-shirts and underwear.

Forest Shadow looked around the room in shock at seeing everyone arming themselves. She looked over at Lisa and Ken wondering what they thought of the matter. Ken had walked over to the closet and removed a pump shotgun. He picked up a box of headsets from the closet and handed it to Rock. In a voice that conveyed her nervousness, she said, "It looks like you're getting ready for the OK Corral."

Tim was getting off the floor and said, "William is rich. There are lots of bad people out there that don't like rich people. Some of them are dangerous."

Lisa took Forest Shadow by the arm and said, "Come with us. We'll wait in William's room."

"Don't lock up until the guard gets there," William said. Walking over to the door, William pushed the button on the intercom and, speaking into it, said, "Come into the house, right now. We're expecting bad guys."

Looking out the window, William watched the guard emerge from the guardhouse. Despite being overweight, the man made good time running up the drive to the house. William opened the door and let him in. Puffing from the short run, the guard asked, "What's going on?"

"Bad guys are coming," William said. Gesturing down the hallway, he said, "Get into the safe room."

Colt turned to Rock and asked, "What's happening?"

"I'm not sure. William says that trouble is coming," Rock answered while handing out the headsets that would allow them to communicate.

"Did a bird tell him that?" Colt asked while putting on the headset. He turned it on.

"Not this time," Natalie answered while putting on her headset. She adjusted it so that it wasn't tangled in her hair.

William said, "Do you remember that rumor that I was the one who was going to bring peace to the Middle East?"

"Oh shit," Rock and Colt said at the same time.

Looking over at him, Natalie said, "I thought they knew by now that you don't fuck with a Druid. Pardon my French, Lucy."

"Pardoned," Lucy said with a grin. She held out a hand to get a head set. With a shake of his head, Rock handed her one.

"I'm not a Druid, yet," William said with a shrug of his shoulders. Turning to Lucy, he said, "Lucy, you and Ken will stay in here. We're going to go outside where we can take care of business."

"You're staying in here with them and we're going out there to take care of business," Rock said looking at William. He was ready to shoot him in the leg if he gave too much of an argument.

"I stand corrected," William said with a smile. For some reason, Rock didn't trust that smile. He handed him a headset while shaking his head.

William opened the door and the bodyguards slipped outside. Closing the door behind them, he slid the dead-bolt into place. Turning to Ken and Lucy, he said, "You two get behind the couch."

When they went to go around the couch, he said, "Wrong side. Sorry."

Lucy said, "That puts our back to the front of the house."

"I know," William answered while walking to the back door. When he reached it, he opened the door. Seeing the looks Lucy and Ken were giving him, he said, "Don't worry. I have my reasons."

From over his headset, he heard Nicole say, "Close that damned door."

"They're coming in the back door?" Lucy asked looking at William and thinking that she'd prefer it if the door was closed.

From outside, there was a very loud squawk from one of the birds. William smiled and said, "I know a bad guy is coming. So does our friend out there."

"What friend?" Lucy asked.

"The skunk that lives at the bottom of the hill," William answered covering the microphone on the headset. He pointed through the door at the small animal curled up by the patio bar. He raised a finger to his mouth and said, "We need to be quiet now."

Lucy and Ken ducked behind the couch. Lucy was having a hard time keeping from giggling at the thought of what the skunk would do when the bullets started flying. Ken looked at her and whispered, "Did anyone ever warn you that William has some mighty strange friends?"

While Lucy succumbed to her giggles, William grabbed a coat before he slipped into the kitchen to wait. He didn't have to wait long. The sounds of shots being fired from the front of the house filled the air. Three minutes had passed since he had made the announcement.

When there was a surprised cry from the backyard and a noxious odor filled the house, William stepped out of the kitchen. A man was on the patio dancing around and waving his assault rifle in every direction. Taking careful aim, William shot the man in the right shoulder. Like Ling, he didn't have a problem with shooting an armed attacker in the back. The rifle dropped to the ground. Holding his nose, William stepped out of the house and kicked the gun away.

Deciding that it had done its duty, the skunk ran into to the woods leaving its scent behind. Kneeling down beside the wounded man, William put his pistol in the man's face. Still holding his nose, he said, "Did anyone ever tell you that you have a problem with body odor?"

The resulting tirade was in a language that William didn't understand. He did get the gist of what the man meant by the tone and expression on his face. From a distant tree, the Raven gave a couple of squawks that he did understand. Laughing, William said, "He just wanted to help."

Over his headset, he heard Lucy ask, "Is it clear?"

He answered, "The back is clear. Wait for word from the bodyguards."

His answer was echoed by an all clear from Nicole and then the rest of the bodyguards. Nicole came walking up the path from the pond with a scowl on her face that could have curdled milk. From her stand in the woods, she had seen the attacker turn and start dancing around. Convinced that William had been doing something weird, she had held off on her shot. His shot from within the house had taken her by surprise. She glared at William and said, "I had him in my sights."

"I had a better shot," William said.

When she got close enough for the odor to hit her, she turned her head away and said, "That explains why he started dancing around."

"You thought it was because of something that I did?" William asked with an innocent expression on his face.

"I was positive it was you," Nicole said. She still wasn't sure if he didn't have something to do with the guy getting sprayed.

Lucy came out of the house and looked at the guy at the ground. The odor brought tears to her eyes. She said, "I guess your friend came, gave his two scents worth, and left."

"Oh that's bad," William groaned at pun.

Colt came around the side of the house and looked at the scene in front of him. He had overheard the conversation between Nicole and William over the headsets. Despite being irritated that William had interfered, Colt couldn't resist temptation. In a stern voice, he said, "Didn't you know that use of biological and chemical weapons are a violation of international law?"

"Take it up with Pepe Le Pew," William answered without missing a beat.

The guy on the ground was in misery. The skunk spray was burning, his shoulder was throbbing, and he had a gun shoved in his face. Colt asked Ken to get a plastic cuff and knelt down beside the man. While waiting for Ken to come out with the restraint, he said, "One dead and three wounded."

"If William hadn't taken the shot, it would have been two dead and two wounded," Nicole said. She had been aiming at the center of the man's chest. Odds were good that he wouldn't have survived the shot. She hadn't noticed the skunk.

"This is the one that knows the details," William said.

Colt and Nicole exchanged glances without saying a word. Sometimes working with William was just a little weird. The flashing lights of a police car could be seen on the trees by the side of the house. Standing up, he asked, "So how are we going to explain to the police that we were in position to ambush them?"

"Just tell them the truth. I had a feeling something bad was about to happen," William answered.

A shiver went down Colt's spine when he recalled the episode with the woman who had wanted to hurt Lucy. He knew that the Chief of Police would accept that explanation. He glanced at his watch and figured that they had a three minute response time. It was actually closer to two and a half minutes since Lisa had almost forgotten to call them on reaching the safe room.

An officer came around the back shouting, "Police. Everyone drop your weapons."

Putting his rifle on the ground, Colt didn't like the idea of being disarmed based on a voice coming around a corner. William and Lucy put their pistols on the ground and stepped back. Colt called out, "We've got the perp on the ground."

The man moved and William said, "Make one more move and I'll kick your head all the way back to Saudi Arabia."

The officer came around the corner of the house cautiously and took in the scene. Unfortunately, he was downwind of the man who had been sprayed by the skunk and the smell hit him full force. He twisted his head away from the smell and said, "I've heard of a man going bad, but this is ridiculous."

Nicole smiled at the comment and said, "Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase that something's rotten in Denmark."

The guy on the ground groaned. William wasn't sure if it was from his discomfort or the jokes being made about his condition. Looking over at the officer, William asked, "Do you mind if my bodyguards get their coats?"

"No, go ahead," the officer said noticing that the two bodyguards were in their underwear and tee-shirts.

The two bodyguards gave William a grateful smile and went into the house. Until he had mentioned it, they had been more focused on the action than their discomfort. William said, "They were in bed asleep before this happened."

Ken came out of the house with a handful of the plastic cuffs and held them up for the officer to see. The officer recognized Ken from the shooting range. He said, "Hi Ken, I don't need those."

He went over to the man on the ground and pulled out his handcuffs. While he put them on the man, he read him his rights. He looked at the bullet wound and considered the point of entry. Rather than comment, he finished the job and stepped upwind where the odor wasn't as strong.

William looked over at the officer as if reading his mind. He said, "The skunk got him turned around."

"Oh," the officer replied.

Lucy said, "You had a good response time."

"Thanks," the officer said thankful that it hadn't been better. They had turned the corner just in time to see the bad guys get out of the car with their guns. If they had been there a few seconds earlier, he was sure that they would have been involved in the shootout. He didn't like the idea that he'd have been trying to climb out of a patrol car with nothing but his service revolver while the bad guys had automatic weapons. As it was, one of them had been in the process of aiming at the car when he had been shot. He said, "By the time we got close enough to stop them it was all over."

Looking down at the man, William said, "They would have opened fire on you if you were here when they arrived. They were on a mission to kill and weren't too worried about collateral damage."

"I suspect that you're right," the officer said. He knew that William was right. He'd thought about his wife becoming a widow when the man in front had aimed at the patrol car.

"Better get on your radio and request the FBI," William said.

"Why?"

"He's a terrorist," William answered. He knelt down and said, "You'd have been wearing an explosive vest except they aren't all that great when you are expecting a fire fight. Right?"

The guy on the ground glared at William and didn't answer. The officer said, "The Chief will be here any minute. I'll let him decide who to call."

"Okay," William said stepping back to put an arm around Lucy. She shivered, but it wasn't from the cold. She had just grasped the full significance of the events. These men had come here to kill William. He said, "Don't worry Lucy. I'm here and I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know," Lucy said.

The sounds of distant sirens racing to their location filled the air. Hoping to make her feel better, William said, "It'll be nice to see Daddy Ed. He'll be here to help question them."

"I imagine that Ling and Claire will be coming as well," Lucy said.

"That's right."

Doing something helped Lucy forget the dangerous situation that they had just escaped. She pulled out from his arm and said, "I'll let Lisa know to prepare a room for them."

"Good," William said with a smile while watching Lucy go into the house. As soon as the police left, they would go into the room and not come out until all of her nervous energy had been expended. For a moment, he wished that the police would all go away immediately.

The booming voice of the Chief of Police came around the corner. "I heard that you had a feeling something bad was about to happen."

"That's right, Chief," William said.

The Chief caught the full blast of the odor. Shaking his head, he said, "If I didn't know better, I'd say that something smells fishy here. It's clear that something stinks."

The man on the ground growled in frustration at being the butt of so many jokes. The spray was irritating his skin and he could barely breathe. In a thick accent, he asked, "Would you wash this smell off of me?"

"It doesn't wash off," William said. Looking down at the man, he smiled and said, "Pepe Le Pew was given a very special gift by the Great Spirit."

The Chief looked down at the man lying on the ground and shook his head. He leaned down and went through the man's pockets. He fished out a Saudi passport from the man's rear pocket. He already had three others from the men out in the front yard. He wasn't looking forward to getting involved with the alphabet soup of government agencies that would be descending on him. In a disgusted voice, he said, "He's a foreign national."

"That's right," William said.

"Any suggestion as to why he wanted to kill you?"

"There's a rumor that I'm the guy who is supposed to bring peace to the Middle East. It would seem that he doesn't want that to happen," William answered.

"Why wouldn't he want that to happen?"

"I suppose it is because Israel would still exist," William answered.

Looking at the man, the Chief said, "I've never had to arrest anyone who has been sprayed by a skunk. I wonder what we're supposed to do with him."

"Send him to the hospital," William said with a smile.

"True. At least we won't have to deal with the smell in one of our patrol cars," the Chief said with a smile. Turning to the officer, he said, "I feel sorry for you. You get to ride in the back of the ambulance with him."

The officer groaned and shook his head. He said, "You're going to owe me for this."

It took twenty minutes for the prisoners to get loaded into ambulances and hauled away. The odor of skunk still hung heavy in the air. The group retired to the house where the smell wasn't as heavy. Lisa was bustling around spraying an odor neutralizer in the air.

Once everyone was seated around the table, William said, "We're going to be taking down Professor McDonald."

"It's about time something was done about that bastard. He's a suspect in a couple of missing person cases. All of the missing people are attractive women," the Chief said. The last known victim of that sadistic man demonstrated that he was losing control. He feared that the next victim would arrive dead or turn up missing. He looked over at Rock and Colt. In a moderately threatening voice, he said, "Make sure that everything that you do is legal."

"We will," Rock answered. He looked over at William wondering if he was going to create a problem.

"Professor McDonald will be teaching a summer course. By the end of summer, he will be in jail," William said. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, it was as if the world went flat on him. He recognized it for what it was. His foresight had left him.

Not having come up with a plan, Rock looked at William wondering what he had in mind. Rock was sure that he wasn't going to like what William had to say. Although he didn't really want to know, he couldn't help but ask, "What have you got in mind?"

"My little sister is going to college this summer," William answered flippantly. Even as he said it, the thought that he might have lost his foresight in the middle of the attack hammered in on him. His little stunt of opening the door might have backfired on him. He looked back towards the couch and thought about what could have happened to Lucy.



-------

Chapter 54


"No! I will not allow your sister to participate," Rock shouted while he hit his fist on the table with a loud resounding bang with each word. There were so many reasons to argue against her participation that it was impossible to count them all. Foremost among them was Ling. She'd kill them if anything happened to Betsy.

With a definite chill in her voice, Ling asked, "What is wrong with Betsy?"

"Nothing is wrong with Betsy," Rock answered backpedaling. The second reason to object to her participation was that she was even more difficult to control than William. Of course, he wasn't brave enough to tell her mother that. He said, "I just don't feel that we can provide the kind of coverage that would assure her safety."

"Who else do you suggest?" William asked watching the reactions of Natalie and Nicole. He was sure that they had a candidate in mind.

The pair of bodyguards looked at each other with a smile. Ling noticed the exchange and asked, "Who?"

"Marissa," Nicole answered.

Both Rock and Colt groaned at the suggestion. Slumping down in his chair, Colt said, "Not Marissa."

Sitting up with increased interest in the direction the conversation was going, Ling asked, "The Marissa?"

"Yes, the one and only Marissa," Natalie answered with a smile.

Lucy looked around the room confused by the reactions. Curious, she asked, "Who is Marissa?"

Shaking his head, Rock said, "I can't think when she's around."

"Do you think you can get Marissa?" Ling asked.

"She's here," Nicole answered with a smile.

Impressed, Ling said, "Get her."

Nicole went to the door and opened it. Calling out, she said, "Marissa. Come on in."

Marissa flowed into the room and looked around the room with the expression of a Queen meeting her subjects. She posed like a racehorse in the winner's circle fully aware of the effect she had on those who looked at her.

She wore high heels that shaped her calves and a short skirt that showed off her perfect legs. Her blouse was tight enough to show off her well proportioned waist. It was cut low enough to show off significant cleavage. Her perfume filled the air without being overpowering. Her makeup was perfectly applied.

Everything had been selected to impress her client. Her eyes fell upon William and she thought to herself, 'He's nice looking, but young. I'll get his attention by visiting the older men. Then I'll turn up the heat.'

She smiled upon seeing Rock and moved over to him. Hugging him and kissing him on the cheek, she said, "It's so nice to see you again, Rock."

"Um," the man answered aware of nothing other than her soft breasts rubbing suggestively across his chest.

"You're still the strong silent type, I see," she teased while running a hand over the side of his face.

"Um."

Natalie rolled her eyes on seeing how Rock reacted to Marissa. She could understand it since the woman looked like a sex goddess. Every movement the woman made was the result of years of careful study for its effect on the opposite sex. Poor Rock didn't stand a chance and Natalie knew it.

Marissa stepped back and turned to look at Colt. Giving him a very sexy look, she flowed across the room to where he stood. He was unaware that he had risen from his seat. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. Somehow, she managed to rub her leg against his crotch without it looking intentional. She said, "Hello, Colt."

Colt didn't even try to respond. He just stood in place breathing heavily. Nicole nudged him in the side, but it didn't have any effect. His hand reached up to where she had kissed him.

Marissa turned from him and looked around at the others in the room. Her eyes widened a little at seeing the small oriental woman seated next to Colt. Leaning over, she kissed Ling on the lips. It was not a chaste kiss. Standing up, she said, "Ling, it is such a pleasure to finally meet you."

Licking her lips, Ling was impressed by the greeting. The woman had pushed the kiss to the point of leaving her breathless without crossing over that line where she would be insulted. Breathless, she said, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Seeing the kiss, both Colt and Rock groaned and sat down in their chairs. Natalie and Nicole looked at each other in surprise. They had not expected Marissa to do that to Ling. Ling had a reputation for being dangerous and giving her a kiss without invitation was like kissing a cobra. Natalie, under her breath, said, "She's good."

Marissa turned to William and licked her lips in a very suggestive manner. She flowed over to him fully expecting him to stay in his chair. William stood and held out his hand to her. Seeing his hand, she lifted hers for him to take. She knew how to turn a simple handshake into a lot more than just a business greeting.

Taking her hand, he said, "So you're Marissa. I'm William and this lady next to me is Lucy, my wife."

Surprised at the fact that he was still talking, Marissa went to caress his hand with her other hand. Marissa cranked up her sex appeal. In a husky voice, she said, "My, you have such a firm handshake."

William looked at her with a puzzled expression. No one had ever commented on his handshake before and he didn't know how to respond. He said, "Thank you. You have a firm handshake too."

Surprised by his reaction, Marissa closed the distance between the two of them. Before she made contact, William turned away so that he was sideways to both Lucy and Marissa. In a cheerful voice, he said, "Lucy, this is Marissa."

From the moment Marissa had entered the room, Lucy had been nearly breathless from the grace and beauty of the woman. If there was ever a woman who could tempt her into bed, Marissa was the one. She had watched her approach William and felt helpless to act against her. She was confident that he would end up tongue tied just like Rock and Colt. When he treated her just like every other woman, the spell the woman was casting over Lucy was broken. She smiled and said, "Hello Marissa."

Confused, Marissa looked at William wondering if he was gay. He turned back to her and looked her in the eye. Getting down to business, he said, "Natalie and Nicole said that you might help us stop a sexual predator. Do you think you're up to the challenge?"

Incredulous at even having the question asked, Marissa looked over at Natalie open mouthed. She asked, "Is he for real?"

"Yes," Nicole answered with a grin. Turning to look at Natalie, she said, "You owe me a hundred bucks."

Amused at the side bet, Ling shook her head and said, "He's just like his fathers."

"What?" William asked looking at his mother. At the amused expression on her face, he said, "I didn't do anything."

"Don't worry about it, William. You'd never understand," Lucy said rolling her eyes.

Based on Lucy's reaction, William figured out what was going on. He turned to Marissa and said, "Please excuse my wife. She thinks every woman I meet is hitting on me."

The comment caused every woman in the room to laugh with the exception of Marissa. Looking at him as if he was an idiot, Marissa said, "I was doing my best to seduce you."

"Oh," William said. He looked down at the floor for a moment while he replayed her actions once entering the room. Still not sure, he asked, "Why?"

"Because that is what I do," she answered shaking her head. She decided that he wasn't quite right in the head. It was hard to believe that Natalie had described him as some sort of child prodigy and whiz with money. The pimpliest faced kid would figure that her attention was because he was irresistible.

"You go around seducing men?" William asked. He looked over at Lucy and asked, "How does one make a living doing that? Besides the obvious way, of course."

Lucy looked down at the table and giggled. Looking up, she noticed Natalie hitting Rock to get his attention. Nicole was doing the same thing with Colt. Ling was looking over at William and shaking her head. Marissa was staring at William with an open mouth.

Not for the first time, Ling wondered how it was that the Carter men were so blind to women's advances. She said, "Marissa is a private investigator. Seduction is a good method for investigating."

"It's an advantage in getting the information my clients want from men who are helpless when faced with an attractive woman," Marissa answered.

"Okay. I assume she's good," William said after a glance at his mother. He recalled that she had recognized the name and had been impressed that she was being brought into the operation.

Marissa leaned over the table exposing an impressive cleavage and said, "I'm the best there is."

"I imagine that you'll need some details about the man we are after," William said looking her in the eye.

Two evenings later, Professor McDonald sat in his van parked near the rear of an apartment complex watching the activity around the place. He was waiting for a woman to show up. He had seen her the day before in the student center on campus, but that was as close as he had gotten to her. She was absolutely stunning in appearance. Every thing about her appearance screamed sex. Her dress had a slit up the side that showed off perfect legs. Her blouse was loose so that one could catch glimpses of the treasures beneath it. Her long hair came down to the middle of her back. After watching her for an hour, he had followed her to this apartment complex.

A car pulled up in the parking lot by the mailboxes and the woman got out. He used a pair of binoculars to check her out. His mouth fell open as he watched her adjust her hair and then, after parting her long coat, lift her skirt to adjust her stockings. His mouth watered at the fact that she wore real stockings rather than panty hose. He had to adjust his cock inside his pants. Speaking to himself, he said, "Damn, she's hot."

The woman walked over to the mailbox and checked her mail. When she didn't find anything in it, she actually pouted. Even her pout was sexy. He watched as she made her way back to her car. He knew that she would return to her car and drive to the rear of the complex where her apartment was located. It was time for him to get ready.

He got out of the van and positioned himself where he could grab her while she walked to her apartment. This was the perfect location for a simple snatch. Only two of the apartments on this end of the complex were occupied and none of the occupants were home. There were a couple of decorative shrubs at the beginning of the walkway behind which he could hide.

The woman pulled up in her car and got out. Looking through the shrub, he was treated to a nice sight of her legs when she exited the car. After opening the small bottle of ether that he had stolen from the biology department years earlier, he doused a handkerchief with the liquid. He closed the bottle and put it in his coat pocket.

When she walked past, he jumped out and put the handkerchief over her mouth and nose while holding her with his other arm. She didn't struggle too much. Her purse dropped to the ground and fell open. Once he was convinced that she was unconscious, he picked her up and carried her to the van.

He put her in the back and took a moment to feel her breasts. Licking his lips, he said, "You are going to make me a very happy man."

He put a ball gag in her mouth, a leg spreader on her ankles, and handcuffs on her wrists. All of it was bondage gear that he had bought in a sex shop in Pittsburgh years ago. More than one coed had discovered to her chagrin that it was more than sufficient to restrain her while permitting him to inflict whatever damage he wished.

Once he was convinced that she was restrained, he threw a blanket over her to hide her from view in case he was pulled over. He moved to the driver's seat and turned on the motor. He drove off satisfied that no one had seen him. No cars had passed by and no curtains had moved.

Natalie walked out of the apartment and picked up the purse. She walked over to the car and placed the purse inside it. Looking down the road, she said, "Asshole, you're going down."

Walking around the area, she collected the cameras that had captured the entire abduction. William had gone for overkill and had placed ten cameras at various locations to provide total coverage of the entire area. Even if two of them had broken down, there was enough overlap that it wouldn't matter. She looked at the one up in a tree and frowned knowing that she was going to have to climb up to get it.

In a car down the street, Rock watched the blip move across the map on the screen. William had gone for the high end equipment with a GPS based tracker with an effective range of twenty five miles. Of course, he had requested four devices be planted on Marissa. There had been one in her purse, one in her watch, one sewn into her coat, and one that she had swallowed. There was one blip that was stationary. The GPS readings put its' location in the parking lot of the apartment complex. He fiddled with a button and saw that it was the transmitter that had been in her purse.

He watched the van drive past and shook his head. He hoped that the chase wouldn't last long. Turning on the motor, he pulled out and followed the van at a distance of two miles. He tapped the button on his radio and said, "I'm following him now."

William, Ling, and Lucy sat across from the Chief of Police drinking coffee. They had just finished watching the streaming video of the abduction. The Chief asked, "How did you know?"

"He's pretty predictable," William answered.

"Where's he going?"

"I have no idea," William answered. He pointed to the computer screen and said, "Rock's receiver is sending us data once every fifteen seconds. We'll know where she is from here."

The Chief looked over at the screen and then brought up one of the recordings of the abduction. He watched it again and said, "He worked fast. I've never seen anything like this."

"He was given the perfect conditions in which to perform the abduction," William said knowing that everything about the setup had been arranged to facilitate the abduction.

"True," the Chief said.

The prosecutor looked around the room and said, "I hope that he doesn't claim entrapment."

"That's a little farfetched, isn't it?" Lucy asked.

"You never know. Parading an attractive woman in front of him who was guaranteed to incite him into action," the prosecutor answered. He wished they had discussed the matter with him before they had started this action. Of course, he doubted that he would have made any changes. It was just that he didn't like being left out of the loop like that.

"Don't worry," William said. Looking at the prosecutor in the eye, he said, "I have a feeling that you'll have a much bigger case than a simple abduction by the time everything is said and done."

The man stared at William with a frown. It was only a few weeks earlier that a couple of terrorists had attacked the young man. He was still trying to deal with all of the government agencies to figure out who had jurisdiction over the men. Although the report suggested that William and his people had ambushed the terrorists, there was no evidence that they had intelligence that the event was about to happen. The Chief had tried to convince him that William had feelings about things, but he didn't buy that explanation.

The Chief said, "It looks like he's about to reach his destination. He just turned down a road that ends in the woods."

"Is he in your jurisdiction?" William asked. He was seated too far from the screen to make out the location.

"No. I'll have to call Bob," the Chief said making reference to the Chief of Police for the neighboring town. Once the blip stopped moving, he turned and picked up the phone.

While the Chief was talking to his counterpart over the telephone, Ling stood up and said, "Let's go."

"Where?" William asked.

Surprised that William wasn't ready to charge out to the site, Ling answered, "To be there when the arrests are made."

"I was planning on staying here and letting the police handle it," William said. He couldn't look at Ling when he said it.

Stunned, Ling stared at William open mouthed. She never expected to hear about a Carter sitting back and watching a plan unfold. Always in the past, a Carter led when a plan of theirs was being executed. She didn't know what to say.

Somewhat surprised herself, Lucy looked over at William and asked, "Why are we staying here?"

"You know why," William answered looking down at the floor. He added, "I could get someone killed."

Not understanding his answer, Ling looked at Lucy and asked, "What is he talking about?"

"His ability to know what is about to happen has been leaving him on occasion," Lucy answered looking over at William. It wasn't news to her that William was worried about the inconsistency of his sixth sense. She hadn't thought it would extend to limiting his involvement in this action, but now that he had mentioned it she understood his reasoning.

"Does your father know?" Ling asked returning to her seat. It wasn't necessary to identify which of his fathers to which she referred.

"Yes, he does," William answered.

"What did he say about it?"

"He's just as confused about it as I am. It appears that Oscar Meyers is borrowing my gift on occasion," William answered.

Frowning, Ling said, "I still don't understand why you aren't going to where the action is."

Gesturing to Lucy, William stared at the floor feeling ashamed at not leading the raid. The problem was that when his gift left him, he had difficulty functioning at his normal level. It felt like he was thinking, seeing, and moving in slow motion.

Recognizing that he wanted her to explain, Lucy said, "He's trying to learn how to cope when his gift leaves. He's spent his whole life with it and doesn't really know how to deal with things without it. Imagine having your sight come and go without warning. Would you want to join some operation knowing that it could leave you at any time?"

The significance of what Lucy was saying was not lost on Ling. She looked over at William with a worried expression. Strong confident William wasn't looking so strong or confident at the moment. No one would intentionally go into battle knowing that they could lose their sight unless they were pressed by dire circumstances. She asked, "Do you get any warning?"

"No warning. It is as if someone turns off a light switch," William said.

Amazed that she was actually saying it, Ling said, "You're showing good sense by staying here."

William looked at her for a minute and said, "I sure did make Rock and Colt happy."

She laughed and said, "I bet you did."

Knowing Ling, Lucy said, "You can go there."

"Ah, it's no fun if William isn't there for me to rescue," Ling said putting her purse back down on the floor. The expression on William's face made her laugh.

The Chief of Police said, "We have twenty feet of separation between the transmitters in the coat and the other two transmitters."

"I would say he's got her where he's going to keep her," William said.

Looking pensive, Lucy said, "I hope that she's okay."

William looked off into space for a minute and then said, "She's okay."

Thirty minutes later, Marissa was sitting in a police car covered by a blanket and drinking a cup of hot coffee. The officers on the scene were falling all over themselves to make sure that she was comfortable. Professor McDonald was in the back of a different police car. He was getting more attention than he wanted, but it wasn't of the same type or quality as that which Marissa was receiving. Rather than a cup of coffee, he was given a pair of handcuffs.



-------

Chapter 55


Everyone walked around the house quietly in an unnecessary attempt to avoid disturbing William. He was seated at his desk staring off into space. There was nothing significant demanding his attention. That meant there was nothing to take his mind off his problems. Happy Harry's death had hit him hard. He had to do something to take his mind off his sadness.

Spinning around in his chair to face Lucy's desk, he said, "I'd like to go to Arizona and check out the house."

Lucy's eyes were moist at the thought of the pain he was feeling. It hurt so much to see him in such pain. Softly, she said, "I've got finals coming up. You'll have to go there alone."

Feeling even more depressed, William said, "I forgot about that. I guess I can wait ten days."

"No, I don't think you can," Lucy said thinking that having him get out of the house would be the best thing for him to do. She looked at him and said, "William, you need to get out of here. Go see the house. Spend a little time in the desert with Daddy Ed. Visit with your friend Dale."

The discussion was cut short with the ringing of William's cell phone. Looking at the Caller ID, William wondered why someone from the Druid College was calling him. Opening the phone, William said, "Hello."

"William, this is Oliver."

"What can I do for you, Oliver?" William asked.

"I need you to visit a high school tomorrow," Oliver answered.

The next morning found William walking down the halls of a high school in Columbus, Ohio. It was a five minutes before noon and a bell rang. Looking around, William wondered what the bell meant. His curiosity was satisfied less than five seconds later when students streamed out of the doors lining the hall. Amazed at the frantic activity around him, he listened as a young female student said, "I can't believe that the Songster is here!"

Another student said, "Oh, he's so dreamy. I'd just die if he touched me!"

Confused, William headed on to his destination. While walking, he overheard other kids talking about someone named Street King, who was also there at the school. He started to turn towards Rock to ask about Songster and Street King, when Rock said, "The Principal's Office is over there."

William went into the office and was relieved at the relative quiet in the office. A stout woman sat behind a desk and looked up at William with a frown. Not recognizing him, she said, "Have a seat. He'll see you when he's done with his meeting."

"I'm..."

"Young man, I don't want to hear any backtalk from you. He'll see you when he's done with his meeting," the woman said sharply while pointing at one of the chairs. She gave him a glare that was intended to send him scurrying to the chair.

Rock held up a hand over his mouth to cover his grin. William said, "But,..."

"Sit down!"

William reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number while the woman behind the desk looked as if she was about to explode. Turning his back to her, he waited for Oliver to answer the phone. When Oliver answered, William said, "Would you call the school and let them know that I'm at the school, but that I can't get in to see the Principal?"

Without waiting for an answer, William closed the phone and took a seat. Once she was convinced that William was behaving in the proper manner, the woman turned to Rock and asked, "May I help you?"

Rock was about to answer when the telephone on her desk rang. She held up a hand and said, "Hold on a moment."

It was hard to control his laughter while watching the sequence of expressions that crossed the woman's face. Rock finally gave up and burst out laughing. He looked over at William and shrugged his shoulders. The woman hung up the telephone and looked at Rock. In a slightly nervous voice, she asked, "Are you Dr. Carter?"

"No, he is," Rock answered still chuckling.

"Oh," the woman said with an expression on her face as if she had just bitten into a lemon. Looking at William, she pointed to the door and said, "The Principal will see you now."

Rock followed William into the office trying to manage a business- like face. Inside the room, there were five other people and Rock immediately snapped into his bodyguard persona. There was a man in a business suit seated behind the desk. In front of the desk, a middle-aged man with long hair, beard, and blue jeans was seated in one of the chairs beside a very classy looking woman. A rather rough looking black man was seated in a chair beside the woman with a very large and intimidating black man standing behind him.

William deduced that the man seated behind the desk was Principal Jenner. He nodded to the man and said, "Principal Jenner, I'm William Redman Carter. Sorry to be late, but I had some difficulties getting here."

Principal Jenner studied William with a raised eyebrow. The young man looked like he was the same age as the students roaming the halls. It was hard to believe that he had his doctorate. Of course, the fact that the Grand Druid had called and arranged his visit should have clued him to expect the unexpected. Gesturing to the others, he said, "You're not late. Please have a seat. I assume that you recognize everyone here."

Looking over the people in the room, William said, "I'm sorry, but I don't know any of them."

The admission took the Principal by surprise. Sitting up, he said, "That gentleman, over there, is Darnel Jenkins. The lady is Tonya. The other gentleman is Street King."

William looked from one to the other and settled on Street King. The gold chains and gemstone encrusted medallion hanging off one of the thick chains didn't seem to fit the man's name. Curious, he asked, "Are you one of Harry's people?"

The black man stared at William and asked, "Harry's people?"

"Yes, Happy Harry," William said thinking it would be nice to find out how things were going on the street since Harry's death.

"Is he a record producer or something?"

"No, Harry was a Druid," William answered looking over his shoulder at Rock only to find that his bodyguard had turned away and his shoulders were shaking. He wondered why Rock was laughing.

"I'm not one of his people," Street King said. He had never encountered a Druid before, but was very familiar with their reputation.

The big black man standing behind Street King asked, "Who is your friend?"

"That's Rock," William answered.

"What's he find so funny?"

Rock turned and looked around the room barely able to keep his amusement under control. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm sorry, but William has no idea who any of you are or what you do. Street King, when he was asking you if you were one of Harry's people, he was really asking if you were homeless."

"Say what!"

"Your name is a street name," Rock said.

Shrugging his shoulders, William said, "My street name is Half Feather."

"What kind of musician are you?" Darnel asked wondering how any musician could be so ignorant of three of the most widely known names in the music industry.

"I'm not a musician," William answered looking around that the others. They were all staring at him as if he were from another planet. He swore that he was going to give Oliver a piece of his mind when he saw him next. He asked, "Are you musicians?"

"I'm The Songster. Rock and Roll forever, dude."

"I'm a singer," Tonya said with a slight Irish brogue to her voice. Seeing the blank expression on William's face, she added, "New Age."

"I'm a rapper," Street King said feeling insulted that he had to identify himself.

"Oh. I'm not very familiar with those music styles. I prefer classical music," William said.

"If you're not a musician, what are you doing here?" Tonya asked looking over at William.

"Oliver Brown asked me to come here and report on what I see," William answered wondering what being a musician had to do with this meeting.

Irritated at being asked if he was homeless, Street King asked, "Who in the hell is Oliver Brown?"

"The Grand Druid," William answered realizing that he lived a completely different world from them. He wondered what he was doing there.

"You really don't know why you are here?" Tonya asked wondering how it was that this kid came to be there. She had traveled all the way from Ireland for this single afternoon experience.

"Not really," William said. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "I guess Oliver wanted me to meet you three."

"We're here to hear Greg Banner sing. This is one of six performances that he's giving this month," Darnel said. He had rearranged his schedule just for this chance. He couldn't imagine that Greg only sang at High Schools.

"What's so special about him?"

Principal Jenner said, "He's a very talented musician. He only sings at high schools. The strange thing is that after one of his concerts, all of the behavioral problems in the school disappear. It's like he weaves a magic spell over everyone through his singing. We've had a lot of problems with racial incidents here on campus and I asked that he play here this afternoon. These three very well known stars came here to listen to him."

A chill went through William and he took the one remaining chair in the office. Staring at the floor, he considered the description of the man's talent. After a moment, he asked, "He weaves a magic spell through his music?"

"That's how other Principals have described his performances."

Shaking his head in wonder, William said, "It couldn't be true."

Greg had visited a school in the neighborhood where the Street King had grown up. As a result of that single performance, crime had dropped in the area. All of the kids were talking about that singer and interest in his music had dropped significantly. Curious, he had come here to this high school to hear the man for himself in the hope of finding out what had happened. He said, "Look kid, I have no idea who you are or why you're wasting our time. Tell me why I shouldn't have my man throw you out of here."

"I am William Redman Carter. My father was John Carter; the first Grand Druid of modern times and founder of the Druid College. My Great Grandfather was William Redman; medicine man and founder of the Native American College. I am a medicine man and will one day serve the Two-Sided One," William answered. Looking over at Tonya, William said, "I think that something very special has happened and the Grand Druid has sent me here to investigate."

"Hah!"

"You may think this is about music, but you are wrong. I may be the only one in this room who truly understands what Greg Banner represents," William said.

The gymnasium was a riot of sound as students filled into the room and caught sight of The Songster and Street King. Few knew Tonya, although the few who did were amazed at her presence in the gym. William sat on the bleacher watching the reactions to the students. The reactions were divided along racial lines. Turning to Street King, he said, "They seem to know who you are."

"Damn straight," he answered heading out to greet some of the students. The Songster headed over to the other side of the gym. The students divided into two groups surrounding the famous musicians.

Tonya turned to William and said, "I fear that you and I are the wall flowers at this party. This is not exactly my fan base. Most of my audience is a lot older than these kids."

She had hardly finished speaking when a young woman walked over to Tonya and said, "My Dad just loves your music. He listens to it all of the time when he's driving. He says that it relaxes him."

"It is always good to know that I have fans here in America," Tonya said. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small autographed picture. Handing it to the young woman, she said, "Perhaps he would appreciate this."

"He'll love it. Thank you very much," the young woman said.

"You're quite welcome," Tonya answered. The young woman bid her farewell and returned to the rest of the kids who were gathered around The Songster. Turning to William she said, "I guess I wasn't as much of a wallflower as I thought I would be."

Four teenagers approached William. By their long black hair and facial features, he recognized them as Native Americans even from across the room. The oldest of the four was a young woman. She stopped about five paces from William and said, "You are Talks with Animals, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," William answered studying their features carefully. After a few seconds, he said, "You are Shawnee."

"Yes, we are," the young woman answered pleased that he recognized her tribe.

"I wish that I had the time to visit Bellfontaine. One of these days, my wife and I will make it here for a visit. I have long wanted to visit the caverns there."

"Bellfontaine is only thirty minutes from here," she said. Her hands were sweating out of nervousness. She had never talked with such an important person in her life. The young woman looked down at the floor for a moment and then said, "My grandfather is the Chief. I know that he would welcome you as an honored guest."

"I know your Grandfather. I met him at the Shawnee Tribal meeting in Indiana last year. He is a wise and able leader. I wish that I could accept your invitation, but I am here on Druid business," William said with regret.

Crestfallen, the young woman said, "Oh, I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"You have been no bother. Please send my regards to your Grandfather and my regret that I could not accept your invitation. Let him know that I think his Granddaughter is a proud representative of the Shawnee," William said watching her carefully. She stood a little taller as a result of his compliment.

"I shall tell him," she said with a smile. The four of them backed away.

Tonya stared at William amazed at the respectful tone that his young visitor had taken with him. She asked, "Are you of their tribe?"

"No, I'm not," William answered looking over at her.

"Oh, I just thought by how much you knew about her tribe that you were a member," she said.

"I know the heads of all five hundred tribes," William said.

The Songster came over and took his seat. Leaning over towards them, he said, "He's about to start."

A young man stepped out of the locker room and looked around. He cradled a Mandolin in his arms. For a minute he stood in place saying and doing nothing. Then, in a loud voice, he said, "May the Gods and Goddesses bless me with the gift of song. May the music I bring forth give you pleasure."

Most of the students were still talking about having met the musicians and ignored the young man. The young man started playing the Mandolin and singing. Much to William's surprise, the sound of the small instrument carried across the large room despite the noise of the students. While singing, the young man slowly moved around the gym. When he would pass a group of students, they would quiet and watch him. By the time he made a single circuit, not a single student was talking.

The man's powerful voice covered at least three octaves. He had perfect pitch and hit each note with precision. The tone of his voice was soft and warm. It drew the listener into the song. The lyrics told about how the world would be if the strong protected the weak and if people only acted in manners that harmed none.

Every teenager in the room was entranced by the music and listened without moving a muscle. William looked over at the three musicians. They were sitting on the edge of their seats staring at the young man. Looking over his shoulder, he was surprised to see that Rock was staring at the musician with unblinking eyes.

Sitting back in his chair, William realized that he was the only one in the gym who had not been drawn into the spell. In a soft voice, he said, "He is the real thing. That man is a Bard."

"That's right, William. He is a Bard. There will be others soon," a masculine sounding female voice told him.

"He's singing a song of the rules for living a proper life," William said amazed that he was hearing a true Bard sing. A Bard had not walked the Earth since the death of the Grand Druid back in the days when Druids fell.

"Yes, my little one. He's doing as Bards should do; he's teaching through art. Other Bards shall teach through words while some shall do it through movies."

Studying the young man, William sought a Medallion but did not find one. His eyes were drawn to a thick gold bracelet around the man's wrist. There was a sense of power emanating from the bracelet. Curious, William asked, "Which of you does he serve?"

"He serves all of us. He praises the Goddess when he sings of life with its mysteries of birth and death. He praises the God when he sings of the wind, the water, the earth, and the sun. He praises me when he sings of that spark that makes man different from animals. None of us, and all of us, claim a Bard," the Two-Sided One said in a male voice that had a feminine tone to it.

William watched the Bard and asked, "When will I begin my service to you?"

"When it is your time," the Two-Sided One answered.

How he knew that the Two-Sided One was no longer there, William would never be able to explain to another person. All he knew was that upon receiving his answer, the presence was gone. He looked around the room and watched the reaction of others to the Bard. Sitting back in his chair, he decided to just enjoy the music.

The concert lasted for almost two hours. When he finished, the students took a minute to recover and then broke into applause. After the students had filed out of the gym, Greg Banner walked over to where the three musicians were seated. He bowed and said, "I hope that you enjoyed my performance."

Street King, with awe in his voice, said, "I've never heard anything like it. I heard it, but I can't describe it. I barely recall what I heard. I only remember how I felt."

"Amazing," Tonya said. Shaking her head in disbelief, she said, "I've never heard anyone with such range."

Used to having at a minimum two electric guitars with a bass guitar and a drum providing hard driving beats, Darnel Jenkins said, "A Mandolin. I can't believe that you performed for two hours with only a Mandolin to support your music. It's been ages since I've played an acoustic guitar."

Greg turned to William and said, "I felt a presence while I was performing."

"The Two-Sided One was here," William said.

Looking at William's clothes, Greg was confused by his reply. He said, "I don't understand. You are not a Druid."

"That's true. I'm not yet a Druid, but I will serve the Two-Sided One in the future."

"How do you know that?" Greg asked.

"The Two-Sided One has told me that," William answered.

"Am I supposed to believe you?" Greg asked. He had felt the presence of a power in the room centered on this young man, but he didn't understand why it would visit someone who wasn't a Druid.

Smiling, William reached out and touched the gold bracelet. In a soft voice, he said, "Yes, you are supposed to believe me. One can't lie when touching a gift from the Gods and Goddesses."

Staring at William's hand, Greg knew he spoke the truth. He asked, "Why are you here?"

"The Grand Druid sent me," William answered. Looking at Greg in the eye, he said, "I think it is time for you to visit the Druid College."

"I think you may be right."

"Until then, how about you and I go to a burger burner and have a bite to eat?" William asked.



-------

Chapter 56


Carrying a tray with a burger, fries, and milkshake to the table, William was feeling good about his day. Greg Banner, Tonya, and Street King were already at the table. Other tables were filled with Street King's entourage; a motley crew comprised of members from the gang in which Street King had spent his youth. Rock had taken a separate table where he could watch everyone convinced that all were carrying guns. Nervous by the presence of the rowdy blacks, Tonya's assistant had joined Rock at his table.

After setting down his tray, William grabbed an extra chair and set it at the end of the booth. Greg asked, "What's with the extra chair?"

"My brother is coming," William answered getting a strange look from Rock.

Waiting for William to take his seat beside Street King, Tonya considered the two young men. The idea that he would become a Druid was almost as exciting as William's declaration that Greg was a true Bard. She had heard the magic in the music and knew the truth for herself; Greg was a true Bard. Somehow, hearing William make the declaration had set her Irish blood on fire.

Street King stared at Greg knowing that because of the young man the music industry was about to undergo a major revolution. He didn't believe the talk about the guy being a Bard, whatever that meant. An hour of listening to Greg had been enough to destroy the resonance that rap music had with the discontent of the young men and women who had been in the audience. The hard lyrics of street life in the projects that was the basis of rap wouldn't survive much longer. Shaking his head, he knew that he had a year, maybe a little more, in which to set aside the money that would have to last him for the rest of his life. Looking over at his entourage, he considered how much the half dozen leeches were costing him. Frowning, he wondered how he was going to get rid of them.

Looking over at William, he tried to understand the role that this young man held in this little drama. To say that the kid confused him would be an understatement. He'd never seen a young white boy who wasn't totally intimidated by his entourage. Of course, calling him a young white boy wasn't quite accurate. He could tell that the kid was part Indian and not the kind of Indian from India. Glancing over at Rock, he wondered why a kid had a body guard. His bodyguard sat down at the table with Rock.

Rubbing his hands in delight, William said, "I just love these hamburgers."

Gesturing at Rock, Street King asked, "Why do you have a bodyguard?"

"It's a long story. The short version is that my mother insisted that I get bodyguards for myself and my wife. Since then, there have been a couple of incidents where having a bodyguard has been useful so I kept them," William answered.

"What could you do that would require a bodyguard?" Street King asked. The kid didn't look or act that tough. He doubted that he would survive in the projects for even an hour.

"There is a rumor that I'm going to bring peace to the Middle East. Some people object to that," William answered with a negligent wave of his hand. He picked up a French Fry and dunked it in the paper cup of ketchup. Smiling, he took a bite out of it.

Greg Banner said, "You are the medicine man that lifted the curse from the Native Americans and spoke to the White Buffalo, aren't you?"

"Yes," William answered wondering how he came to be the center of conversation when all he wanted to do was eat. He reached down and started to unwrap his burger. It was a lot like unwrapping a birthday present. Looking up, he said, "Someone actually came up with the idea to wrap sandwiches in paper. I know that it was probably because people used to wrap meat in butcher paper, but it still makes you wonder how someone came up with that idea."

Face wrinkled in puzzlement, Street King said, "My burger comes in a cardboard box."

"Yes, rather disappointing isn't it?" William replied with a grin.

"I don't think you're quite right in the head, boy," Street King said with a shake of his head.

"How rich do you want to live?" William asked in a jarring change in the topic of conversation.

"What?"

"I asked you to tell me how rich you want to live."

"I don't understand your question," Street King answered.

"Do you want to live poor, middle class, upper class, or filthy rich?" William asked looking over at the rapper. The burger was poised inches from his mouth.

"Man, I'm living filthy rich," Street King replied. Gesturing with a French Fry, he said, "I got me fancy cars, a big house, and women lounging beside the pool."

"That's now. What about when your career ends? It will, you know," William replied. He gestured over at Greg with his burger and said, "His music is going to be the end of your music."

"I've got a couple million stashed away," Street King answered with a nervous laugh. It unnerved him that William had recognized the implications of Greg's music. Even if his career came to an end, he was going to be able to live rich for the rest of his life.

"That will give you a middle class life," William said with a nod of his head.

"What do you mean? I'm a millionaire," Street King said.

"Five percent interest on a million dollars is fifty thousand a year. Two million will give you a hundred thousand a year before taxes. Depending on where you live, that will leave you with between fifty and seventy thousand a year to live on. I imagine that the payments on your big house, fancy cars, and women lounging by the pool require more money than that. You won't be able to afford living like that. A couple of million means that you can live upper middle class," William said. He took a bite out of his hamburger and looked over at Street King to see his reaction.

Street King stared at William in shock. No one had ever laid out his economic position in such a succinct manner. He looked over at his entourage and knew they had to go. Looking down at his uneaten hamburger, he found that his appetite was gone. He asked, "So what would you do if you were me?"

William chewed his burger thoughtfully thinking about the man's position. He knew that the rapper's career was going to be coming to an end. After swallowing his burger, he took a sip of his milkshake. Finally, he answered, "Well, I'd decide how rich I wanted to live and put aside enough money to support that lifestyle in very conservative investments. By conservative, I mean bonds, mutual funds, and other things like that. I wouldn't invest in the projects of friends, land development schemes, or other risky endeavors. Once you have your basic needs met, then you can use whatever is left for the riskier stuff."

"So how much would I need to maintain my current lifestyle?" Street King asked.

"I assume it costs you about a million a year to live your current lifestyle," William said.

"Just about," Street King replied. He was bringing in a little over three million a year. After expenses and taxes, he was left with about a million a year to support his lifestyle. His fifteen million dollar house cost him a little over ten thousand a month including insurance and taxes. His six cars added another five thousand dollars a month. Furnishing his house was another seventy thousand a year. When he added in all of the electronic gadgets, it was another ten thousand a month. His party bill, including food, drinks, and strippers, was close to twenty thousand a month. Meals at restaurants ran about a thousand a day, particularly when paying for ten people with strong appetites for alcohol. His little trips with the entourage cost him another two hundred thousand a year.

"Thirty to forty million if you want to assure that you'll be able to live like that for the rest of your life," William said performing a rough calculation off the top of his head. It was enough to maintain that lifestyle without consuming the principle.

Stunned by the amount, Street King stared at William in disbelief. He was a millionaire and that meant he was supposed to be able to afford the lifestyle that he was living. Deciding that William didn't know what he was talking about, he said, "You're crazy."

"No. If there is anything that I understand, it is money. My doctorate is in economics. My investments now total well over what you require," William said.

"What the fuck are we doing eating burgers if you've got that much money?" Street King asked in a loud voice that carried across the room.

"I like hamburgers," William answered unperturbed by the outburst. Tonya giggled at his calm response. He looked over at the rapper and said, "You really ought to start doing some financial planning now. Your career is getting shorter by the day."

Picking up on the fact that he had a doctorate, Greg Banner examined William trying to estimate his age. There was no way that William could be over twenty. He asked, "How old are you?"

"I'm nineteen," William answered.

"And you have a doctorate in economics?"

"That's right."

Greg didn't care what Street King thought about William. The young man impressed him and he recognized good advice when he heard it. He said, "I'm impressed."

"Druids and Bards worked together in ancient Europe. I assume that modern Druids and Bards will work together now," William said. Bards often made sure that ancient kings who ignored the advice of Druids were the subjects of songs that pointed out their folly. Often the songs lasted longer than the kings who were the subject of the lyrics. There was no threat greater to a leader with a self-important sense of pride than going down in history as a fool.

"That is my understanding," Greg said nodding his head. If the Druids were the minds behind the throne, then the Bards were the public relations for the throne.

"I think that we'll be working together for many years to come," William said. Putting down his burger, he said, "I have a friend that you need to meet. Perhaps after you've visited the Druid College, you could come visit me."

Smiling, Greg asked, "What if the Grand Druid has some task for me to perform?"

"Don't worry about that. I can handle him," William said. He stared at his burger. So far, he had only taken a single bite out if it. He wondered if he was going to get to actually enjoy it.

To hear William speak of handling the Grand Druid, Street King said, "You're an arrogant little bastard aren't you?"

Rather than being insulted, William said, "Lots of people have told me that. As Happy Harry once said, I'm secure enough in my insanity not to worry when people call me crazy. I'll admit that I laughed when my wife accused me of having low self esteem."

Tonya laughed and said, "I don't think that is how I would describe you."

Picking up his burger, William immediately put it down. Sighing, he said, "My brother is here."

The door of the fast food place opened and a green robed Druid entered. Looking around, the Druid spotted William. Before the man had a chance to say a word, William said, "Hello, John. I've got a chair here for you."

Shaking his head that his little brother had known he was coming, John said, "Enjoy your burger, William. I won't interrupt your meal. I know how much you enjoy fast food."

"How's my favorite older brother?" William asked while turning in his seat to look at his brother who was approaching him from behind.

"You're not going to ask how I knew where to find you?" John asked in frustration. He had hoped to surprise William, but knew that was pretty much a hopeless dream.

"No," William answered with a grin fully aware of the frustration his brother was feeling. He knew how John had found him. He had learned what high school William had visited from Betty, his personal assistant, and then driven around to find the nearest burger burner.

Looking at the others at the table, John said, "Ah, Street King and Tonya at the same table. I never would have imagined that the two of you ran in the same circles."

"We don't," Tonya answered. The rapper's continued criticism of William was getting on her nerves. She didn't really like the big black man and his aggressive attitude. Gesturing to Greg she said, "We were here to listen to him sing."

"I'm sorry, but I don't recognize you," John said turning to face the man to whom she had gestured.

"He's Greg Banner, the first true Bard," William said looking at his brother.

"Does Oliver know about this?" John asked with surprise evident in his voice while studying the young man seated next to Tonya.

"He sent me," William said. He looked down at his cold hamburger and shook his head at the idea of having to eat cold fast food.

John noticed where William's attention had turned and said, "Hold on. Let me get something to eat."

Street King watched John make his way to the counter. It didn't matter that he was a tough guy from a tough neighborhood, meeting a Druid impressed him. Gesturing in the direction of John, he asked, "Is he really your brother?"

"Yes," William answered. It seemed to him that Street King doubted everything that he said. He dipped a cold French fry into the ketchup and nibbled on it. He tossed it back on his plate. Cold French fries were worse than cold hamburgers.

John returned to the table with two trays. Setting down one in front of the empty chair, he used his free hand to remove William's tray. He set the other tray in front of William and, with a wink at the others, said, "Don't bother William while he's eating fast food. He's been known to get a little cranky."

"Cranky?" William asked in mock outrage. He was pleased that his brother had thought about getting him a fresh meal.

After getting rid of the tray, John sat down and said, "Yes, William. You get cranky when people keep you from enjoying your fast food."

Unwrapping his burger, William didn't bother to answer. Gesturing at William with his thumb, Street King asked, "Does he really know what he's talking about?"

John laughed and glanced over at William. Leaning over his tray, he asked, "You've played at the Atlanta Auditorium?"

"Yes," Street King answered. It was the nicest place to give a concert in the country. The acoustics were outstanding, the stage area was perfectly designed to facilitate setting up for the concert, and crowd control was a snap.

"My sister designed that entire facility. Two of our Dads won Noble Prizes. I've already been nominated for one. One of our mothers is the author of Indian Tales. We have a lot of very smart people in our family, but William is the smartest," John said.

After William chased down his bite of burger with his milkshake, he said, "I don't think so. I'm just smart in a different way from everyone else."

"Eat your burger," John commanded while pointing at the tray with a smile. He turned to Tonya and said, "I really enjoy your music. Are you going on tour here?"

"Not this trip. I came here just to see Greg perform for myself," she answered with a smile. She glanced down at her purse and wondered if he'd want an autographed picture. She seriously doubted it.

"Pity," John said with a shrug of his shoulders. It would have been nice to take his wife to a Tonya concert. He asked, "You really came all of the way from Ireland just to hear Greg sing?"

"Yes," Tonya answered. Looking over at Greg, she said, "I'm an Irish singer and when I heard people refer to him as a Bard, I just had to see for myself."

John's eyes wandered over Greg, coming to a stop when he spotted the bracelet. Nodding his head, he said, "I see that Greg has been blessed by the Gods and Goddesses. William is right, he's a true Bard."

Greg thought back to the day when he had been playing his twelve- string guitar in the park near his home. He had closed his eyes and allowed the music to move through him. As his fingers moved over the strings, it was as if he was transported to another world. He was performing for an audience that he couldn't see through his closed eyes. At the end of the song, someone leaned forward and put a gold bracelet around his wrist. When he opened his eyes, he was still seated alone in the park. It took a moment for him to notice the gold bracelet. Upon seeing the bracelet, he realized that he had gone to another world. Looking over at John, he said, "There was a presence around William when I played earlier."

"Ah, the Two-Sided One was there," John said looking over at his brother.

Street King looked at John in surprise and asked, "You mean he's been telling us the truth?"

"He always tells the truth," John said looking over at his brother with fondness. William was enjoying his burger and the chance to eat it undisturbed.

"He sure doesn't seem intimidated by my crew," Street King said gesturing to his entourage.

John laughed out loud at the idea of William being intimidated by the rough looking guys seated at the nearby tables. He said, "William is one of the most dangerous people in the world. Momma Ling, who is recognized as the most dangerous woman in the world, puts William among the top ten."

"No shit."

Leaning back, John said, "Rock. Who took down one of the terrorists that attacked the house a couple months ago?"

"Natalie and I took out three of them. William took out the one that slipped around behind the house. He had some help," Rock answered.

"Who?" John asked. He had never heard the whole story.

With a grin, Rock answered, "The skunk that lives at the bottom of the hill from the house."

Turning to William, John, in a voice of mock horror, asked, "Did you ask a poor innocent skunk to help you out?"

"No. He volunteered his services," William answered. Grinning at his brother, he said, "I wouldn't dare involve a poor little animal in such a hideous plot unless it volunteered."

Linking together several pieces of information, Tonya said, "That Shoppee girl called you Speaks to Animals."

"She was Shawnee. My Native American name is Talks With Animals," William said correcting her.

Street King shook his head and said, "Now you claim he talks to animals."

"He does," John said.

"Out of my way," Street King said pushing against William. He was a little surprised when William didn't budge. When William stood up, he slid out from the booth and said, "You guys are fucking crazy."

William watched him gather his entourage with a frown. When Street King left the restaurant, William said, "In six months record sales of rap style music are going to drop down by twenty-five percent. He'll be broke in a year and a half if he isn't careful. Somehow, I doubt he will be careful."

Looking at William, Greg said, "That's a rather harsh judgment."

"He lives in a vernal pool," William replied.

"What's that?"

Leaning forward, John said, "In parts of this country, there are areas where it rains only during the spring. The water settles in low lying areas to form ponds. In summer, these ponds dry up and disappear. The amazing thing is that there is a kind of shrimp, called Fairy Shrimp, which live in these ponds. Such ponds are called vernal pools.

"A Fairy Shrimp will grow to maturity in a matter of days and then lay eggs that settle to the bottom of the pool. When the pool dries up, the shrimp crowd together until the water has all evaporated. The adult shrimp die when all of the water is gone. However, the eggs form cysts that can resist dryness and freezing. The next time the pool fills up, the eggs hatch and the cycle begins again."

John turned to watch the limousine containing Street King, and his entourage, pull out of the parking lot. Distracted, he added, "William's comment is the same as saying that all of the adult shrimp in a vernal pond won't survive another two weeks. It might sound harsh, but it is a truth."

Looking at Greg, William said, "Your arrival signals that the music pool in which Street King swims is about to dry up. The sad thing is that he knows it, but doesn't know what to do about it."



-------

Chapter 57


Seated at his desk, William listened to the sound of a twelve-string guitar emanating from the guest room. He liked the music Greg Banner created. Lucy loved the music and could listen to it all day. Turning to Ken, he snapped his fingers to get the man's attention. Once he was sure that Ken was looking at him, he said, "Doug is here."

Ken reached the intercom in time to hear the signal from the guard. Pushing the button, Ken said, "Let Doug in."

"Sure," came the answer. It sounded tinny as a result of the low quality speaker. The guard was positive that there was a hidden camera watching his every action. That was the only way that they could possibly know when someone drove up.

William stood up and went to the door of the guest room. Knocking on it, he waited for Greg Banner to reply. The music stopped and Greg called out, "What is it?"

"My friend has arrived," William answered.

A few seconds later, the door opened and Greg stepped out. He looked around and asked, "Where is he?"

William pointed at the door just as Ken opened it to reveal Doug stepping up to the doorstep. He answered, "There."

Giving William a sidelong glance, Greg turned his attention to watch Doug enter the room. It was obvious to him that the young man knew the people of the household and his way around the house. Waving a hand to William and saying a quick hello, Doug walked past them and called into the kitchen, "Hello Lisa. Could you give me a cup of that wonderful coffee of yours?"

"I'm pouring it right now," Lisa answered. A moment later, she handed him a cup.

"Thank you," Doug said before taking a sip. He had just driven almost nine hours non-stop from New Jersey and was exhausted. With a sigh, he said, "Wonderful."

"Thank you, Doug," Lisa said.

Doug went over to his favorite chair, but didn't bother to take a seat. After taking another sip of coffee, he looked across the room at William. He set the cup of coffee on a coaster and said, "I've been driving for nine hours straight. That reminds me, which room is mine?"

William pointed down the hall and said, "Your usual room."

"I'll be right back," Doug said heading to the guest room.

Greg looked at William and said, "He's pretty rude."

"No. He's got to go to the bathroom," William said. Used to people entering the house, stripping, and heading to the pool with the barest of hellos, William did not consider Doug's behavior as exceptional.

"I don't mean that. He's a rude guest," Greg said.

"Oh that. He's like family and not a guest. The only reason he asked which room was his is because he sleeps on the couch when we have a lot of guests," William said.

"Oh," Greg said.

It was five minutes later that Doug came out of his room to find William and Greg seated on the sofa. Settling into his favorite chair, he asked, "So what's so important that you have me come here all of the way from Princeton?"

William answered, "I want you to meet Greg Banner. Greg, this is Doug."

Doug stood up, and went over to Greg. He extended a hand and said, "I'm pleased to meet you."

Still rather taken aback by the rude behavior he had witnessed, Greg answered, "Same here, I think."

Stretching to get a kink out of his back, Doug asked, "Now that we've met, what's next?"

"I want you to tell Greg about your idea about a crisis of followership," William answered.

"Is he going to help you in constructing your equations?" Doug asked suddenly alert and focused on the discussion.

"No. I have a feeling that he's going to be part of implementing a solution," William answered looking over at Greg.

Puzzled by the discussion, Greg didn't even know where to begin asking questions. Doug returned to his chair and took a sip of his coffee trying to decide how a single person would have a role in implementing a solution. He took moment to savor the taste of the coffee before starting to describe what he meant by a crisis of followership. The discussion flowed as the three young men bent their minds to the issue. Greg debated every aspect of the proposed theory.

After three hours, Greg sat back and said, "I believe that you are correct. It fits with things that I've heard as I've traveled around the country. The problem is that I don't know what I can do to help."

"I don't know what needs to be done, yet," William said. He frowned and then said, "It will be years before I've finished developing the theory. It will be years more before I figure out what can be done to change the path down which this country marches."

"I see," Greg said. It was going to be an interesting challenge. One of the roles of a Bard was to convey information from one place to another. It was an important role, but not the most important one. The more important role was to listen to the people. The problem that William and Doug had put forth was going to influence how he heard what people said.

Shaking his head, Doug said, "There is still a lot of information that William requires and I'm having problems locating it. We may never solve this problem."

Greg nodded his head and thought about it. His conversation with the Grand Druid had suggested that William was a special character and not to be dismissed. The more time he had spent with the young man, the easier it came to accept the Grand Druid's advice. Looking at William, he asked, "What do you think of it taking years to accomplish your task?"

"I think it is great. It gives my work a consistent direction," William answered. He could think of nothing more tragic than to spend his life drifting from one minor problem to the next. He wanted, no he needed, something substantial on which to work. There were others who were satisfied with solving the minor problems and making a difference in the day to day lives of individuals. He wanted to change the world to help all of them.

"It doesn't bother you that you'll spend years working on something without knowing that you'll eventually solve it?" Greg asked.

"Rome wasn't built in a day," William answered.

"But Rome wasn't the result of a plan created by a single individual," Greg countered.

William grinned and said, "I know. That's probably why it fell."

Relaxing around the patio table the next afternoon, the three young men were discussing music. William was interested in how Greg viewed his form of service while Doug was interested in how Greg's music differed from that heard on radios. Greg said, "I believe in mind music."

"What's that?"

"I believe that there are some songs that affect the way we think and act just by hearing them. I'm not talking about lyrics, but about pure music," Greg said.

"I don't understand," Doug said.

"Well, consider the sound of chalk on a blackboard. That screech has an immediate effect on most people."

"I hate that sound," Doug said giving an involuntary shudder at the memory of it.

"You see, that is just one kind of sound that directly affects the mind. We all know it because it is so negative. The amazing thing is that it is independent of culture. I can go anywhere in the world and produce the sound of chalk on a blackboard with identical results.

"I believe that there are positive versions that instill tranquility, love, satisfaction, and other positive emotional experiences. I just haven't found it yet, although the sound of a kitten purring comes close," Greg said.

"Is that your quest?" William asked.

"Yes, it is," Greg answered.

"What about marches? Aren't they examples?" Doug asked.

"Oh, there are lots of things that come close. Marches, hymns, fugues, chants, and other sounds are very close. Still, none of them have that instinctive reaction that I am seeking," Greg answered. He found it difficult to put into words. Groping for words, he said, "It's got to be a sound that is immediate and instinctual."

"Do you have any other ideas?"

Greg took a deep breath and let loose with a little burst of song. The voice was strange and haunting with multiple resonances present within it. Chills went down Doug's spine on hearing it. Once he had finished, Doug said, "That's incredible."

Greg said, "That was an example of throat singing. There are a number of different forms, but they all have an immediate effect on the listener."

There was a slight noise from behind William. Turning, he examined Jan who had just walked around the corner of the house from her RV. He was surprised by her appearance. It looked as if she had been sleeping in the clothes that she was wearing. About to comment, he noticed the stack of papers that she held in her hand. He said, "Hello, Jan."

"Hello William. Sorry I haven't been much company the last few weeks, but I was really driven to work," Jan said holding up the stack of papers. Looking down at the papers, she said, "The book is ready for you to read. Let me put it on your desk."

"That would be nice," William said. The stack of papers looked to be about three hundred pages. He was impressed with her productivity. Just a month ago, she had started trying to commit the stories she had collected to paper.

Jan went into the house and then returned to the patio after a few minutes. She held a cup of coffee in her hands. Without asking if she was intruding, she took a seat at the table. After a sip of coffee, she sighed and said, "This tastes so good."

Acting as host, William performed the introductions. Once that was out of the way, he said, "You've been working hard."

Jan didn't answer. She was staring at the bracelet around Greg's wrist. Leaning over, she asked, "Where did you get that?"

"What? This," he asked touching the bracelet.

Licking her lips, Jan stared at the bracelet and nodded her head. Barely trusting herself to speak, she said, "I want one."

"As far as I know, it can't be bought," Greg said watching her carefully. The gold bracelet had a very intricate pattern that was almost impossible to describe. Few people even noticed it.

"For the past month, I've been barely able to eat or sleep. It's like I've been driven to write," she said. Reaching out, she touched the bracelet and stroked it. A shiver of excitement ran through her body.

"Interesting," William commented while watching Jan. This was a side of the woman that he had never seen before and he found it fascinating.

"If you are to get one, it will come to you and not vice versa," Greg said. Her intense interest in the bracelet was making him nervous. He moved his arm to break contact.

Sighing, Jan looked up and said, "I guess that is a lot like life. Some of the best things in life seek you out."

"Yes, I suppose it is," Greg said nodding his head deep in thought.

Doug had watched the exchange puzzled by what he was observing. The bracelet around Greg's wrist looked like any other bracelet to him. Jan's interest in it was just odd. He looked over at William and saw that his friend was deep in thought. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided that it would be a while before he understood what was happening.

Later, William looked up from the manuscript that he had been reading. There were tears in his eyes from reading the chapter on Happy Harry. Jan had managed to capture the complexity of the old man. Looking over at Lucy, he asked, "Have you read this?"

"Not yet," she answered amazed at the effect the manuscript had on William.

"My mother does not need to read this. She's captured what needs to be told without any help," William said. He took the chapter he had just finished reading and handed it to Lucy. Clearing his throat, he said, "You should read this."

Lucy accepted section of the manuscript and glanced at the title. It explained William's reaction. Sighing, she was fully aware that if it brought tears to William that she'd be a sobbing mess by the time she finished reading it. She said, "Would you mind handing me the box of tissues? I have a feeling that I'm going to be a bawling like a baby by the time I'm done."

"Sure," William said. He reached over and grabbed the box of tissues. Handing it over to her, he asked, "Do you want me to leave?"

"That might be best," Lucy said. She hated crying in front of him while watching movies.

Once William had left the room, Lucy started to peruse the manuscript. She started to read the words aloud, "If any story is to be told of the homeless, it must start with Happy Harry; for the homeless, the forgotten, and the invisible ones are his people."

Two sentences into it, she couldn't have set it down even if the house burned down around her. By the bottom of the page, she was smiling so hard that it hurt her face. By the end of the manuscript, tears were flowing. She looked in the direction of the trailer only seeing it through the house in her imagination. Smiling through her tears, she said, "Oh Jan. You are going to go so far."

William came into the room and without saying a word handed her another two chapters of the manuscript to read. The rest of the day passed with him reading a chapter and then handing it off to Lucy. Appointments, telephone calls, and meals were ignored as they worked their way through the manuscript. The tapestry of words she had weaved captured their attention and wouldn't let go.

It had been easy for Jan to live in the RV virtually unnoticed by the household. She was quiet and didn't ask for much. The only time her presence was really felt was when she was defending Lucy. At those moments, quiet mousey Jan turned into a lioness. The only one who interacted with Jan on a regular basis was Lucy. Despite the closeness between Lucy and Jan, Lucy was taken completely by surprise with the manuscript.

On setting down the last page, Lucy looked over at William and said, "This is amazing. I've never read anything that has touched me so."

"I wonder if we are affected so strongly because we know the people she wrote about," William said.

There was only one test of that hypothesis that she could identify. Smiling at William, Lucy answered, "Give it to Forest Shadow."

Smiling, William said, "That, my dear, is a very good idea."

"I think it is time for you to use your influence," Lucy said.

"In what way?"

"Well, you are rather powerful in the business world. I suggest that you make a few calls to publishers and help negotiate a deal for Jan," Lucy answered holding up the last chapter of the manuscript.

Lucy had barely finished answering when William whipped out his cell phone. After dialing a number, he waited impatiently for an answer. When Linda answered the phone, he said, "Mom. This is William. I need you."

Linda could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times that William had said that to her. In fact, she didn't even need fingers since it had never happened. Taken completely by surprise, she said, "I'll be there in five hours."

William didn't even have a chance to reply before Linda had hung up. Looking up at Lucy, William said, "She'll be here in five hours."

"Which one of your mothers did you call?" Lucy asked suspecting that it was Linda.

"Momma Linda," William answered while redialing the number to his mother.

"You must have just made her day," Lucy said with a smile. She said, "You might want to call her back and let her know that it isn't an emergency."

When Linda answered the phone, he said, "This is William. It's not an emergency."

"Okay. Now hang up. I've got to make flight arrangements," Linda answered. If William needed her, she was going to be there for him. She hung up on him a second time.

William chuckled while he closed his cell phone and said, "She seems a little excited."

"I can imagine," Lucy said. She knew the frustration felt by Linda. William had been a difficult child to mother. He had been independent his entire life and hadn't needed the kind of support required by most children.

"I guess we had better tell Lisa," William said looking in the direction of the kitchen from which there was the sound of coffee being brewed. He glanced at his watch and realized it was six in the morning. Looking over at her, he said, "Did you realize that we read through the night?"

Surprised, Lucy looked over at the clock. She answered, "No, I didn't."

"I guess I woke up Momma Linda," William said feeling a little guilty. No wonder his mother had reacted that way.

William got out of his chair and made his way to the kitchen. Sticking his head in the door, he said, "Lisa. Momma Linda is on her way here. She'll be staying a couple of days."

Looking over at William, Lisa shook her head. The young couple had been reading when she had gone to bed and had been in the same place when she had gotten up in the morning. She wondered when he had talked to his mother. She said, "I'll set up a guest room for her."

"We're going to bed," William said.

"I thought as much," Lisa answered shaking her head.

William and Lucy stepped out of the bedroom a little after noon only to find Linda seated on the couch reading the manuscript that had kept them awake all night. Forest Shadow was seated next to her crying while reading the manuscript. Rather than interrupt, the pair went into the kitchen to get a quick bite to eat. Two plates covered with napkins were on the counter. William looked at the plates and said, "She wrote our names on them."

"I guess that's our lunch," Lucy said picking up the plate covered by the napkin with her name on it.

William grabbed his plate and carried it over to the table. Lifting the napkin off the plate, he examined the sandwich and said, "Peanut Butter and Jelly. She even made it with the purple jelly."

Lucy smiled at his characterization of the grape jelly. She looked at her sandwich and said, "She made me a ham and cheese on rye with mustard."

"I guess she must have run out of jelly," William said while taking a seat. He looked at his sandwich and then over at her. He asked, "Would you like mine?"

"No," Lucy said with a grin. Seeing the look of relief on his face, she said, "I think that she made that one especially for you."

"Well, if you're sure," William said looking at his sandwich. Lisa had cut it across the diagonal just like he liked it.

"I'm sure," Lucy said with a laugh.

Getting out of his chair, he said, "Let me get us some milk."

Once William left the table, Linda put down the first chapter of the manuscript and took a seat next to Lucy. Gesturing to the sandwich, she said, "Let me guess. Peanut butter and jelly with the purple jelly."

"That's right," Lucy said with a laugh at the look of disgust on Linda's face.

"It is his favorite sandwich. Poor Marguerite tried to teach him to appreciate good food," Linda said.



-------

Chapter 58


"Do you think I should open a publishing house?" William asked.

"No," Linda answered putting the manuscript on the table. She had just finished reading it and had been very impressed. She knew Happy Harry, but not many of the other homeless. She had noticed that the manuscript had Forest Shadow crying like a baby by the time she had finished it.

"Okay, so who do we take the manuscript to?"

"Al Maloney would probably be the best person. His publishing house has handled a lot of best sellers. This manuscript will benefit from his experience," Linda answered.

William wouldn't change a word of the manuscript and wondered how it would be beneficial by having it changed. Curious he asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, there's the whole publishing process that it will have to go through. Before it is even printed, there is the cover art, he'll have to mount an advertising campaign, and set up distribution. He'll have to establish how big of a run to make with the first release," Linda answered. She knew that the advertising would have to be handled very carefully. No matter how well it was written, a book about homeless people didn't stand much of being a best seller unless it was handled with great care.

"You really know this stuff."

Raising her eyebrows, Linda looked at William amused by his comment. There were times when she found it difficult to believe that he was her son. She said, "I've been doing this since before you were born."

"So I guess I called the right person. If you can't be good, then it helps to be lucky," William replied with a wink.

Al Maloney sat at his desk and stared at the manuscript that Linda Carter had brought to him. Normally, he would skim the first page and know if it was worth his time to read it. After that, he would scan a manuscript; giving it a half an hour to convince him that he should publish it. Reading this one, he had taken the entire night. He had savored every word and phrase. He shivered at the memory of the pleasure that it had given him. It had been a long time since a book had given him that much pleasure.

He pressed the intercom and said, "Mercedes, please arrange for Linda Carter and Jan Adorno to come here for a visit."

There was a moment of uncharacteristic silence. He started to wonder if she was at her desk before Mercedes answered, "They are here along with two others."

Surprised, he said, "Well, send them in and clear my calendar for the afternoon."

Linda walked into the room beside Jan. Holding hands, William and Lucy followed the women into the office. While coming out from behind his desk, Al examined Linda. He thought she was one of the most attractive women he had met. Her fine Native American facial features, long black hair, and regal posture gave her a presence in the room that could not be denied. Linda extended a hand and said, "Hello, Al. It's nice of you to see us today."

"It is always a pleasure to see you, Mrs. Carter. I must admit that I'm a little surprised that you were here," Al replied. He had never handled one of her books since his publishing house did not deal with children's books. However, he did know her through social events and was very familiar with her reputation as an author. She was known to be a diligent author who wasn't pushy and worked well with editors, typesetters, artists, and publishers. To have her show up the day after dropping off a manuscript was very unusual.

Linda smiled and said, "William said that you would be ready to meet with us at the moment. He's never wrong."

Looking over at William, Al didn't know how to respond. He recognized the young man and knew enough about him not to dismiss him as just a teenager. He was actually more interested in meeting the author of that outstanding manuscript that he had just finished reading. As if reading his mind, William nodded his head and, gesturing to Jan, said, "Allow me to introduce you to Jan Adorno and my wife, Lucy Carter."

After a quick nod to Lucy and William, Al turned to Jan. His eyes quickly flicked over her. He saw a middle aged woman wearing a basic woman's business suit. It was a good quality outfit. He said, "I enjoyed your manuscript very much."

"Thank you," Jan said.

"It's going to be a tough sell, but I think that you have written a best seller," Al said.

Interrupting, William held up a hand and said, "It won't be a tough sell. It describes the best of the human character under the worst of conditions. It tells stories of greatness originating from men and women who have nothing. In today's world of sanitized living, these stories have an appeal."

Looking over at William, Al considered what he knew of the young man. A chill went down his spine. In a soft voice, he said, "I know it will appeal. I just have to figure out how to make them aware of it without turning away the audience first."

Smiling, William said, "How about telling people it was written by the second Bard of modern times?"

Leaning forward, Al's eyes widened and he asked, "You don't mean that she's a Druidic Bard?"

"Exactly," William answered.

Lucy and Linda both turned to look at Jan. Neither were surprised that William knew it before they did. It took a minute before Lucy was able to ask, "When did that happen?"

"It was the night that you and William read the manuscript. I woke up in the morning knowing that I was now a Bard," Jan answered with a blush. While William and Lucy had read the manuscript, she had a dream in which she was telling a story to an unseen audience. When she awakened that morning, the bracelet was on her wrist.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lucy asked feeling hurt that Jan had not rushed to confide her good news.

Looking down at her feet, Jan was ashamed that she hadn't shared the news with Lucy. She didn't feel right in telling her that she couldn't tell her. Instead, she answered, "I don't really feel worthy of it."

Lucy nodded understanding even though she didn't. William leaned over and put a hand on Jan's shoulder. In a soft voice, he said, "Anyone who can tell Harry's story so well is worthy of it."

Turning to Lucy, he said, "She could not tell you. Bards do not proclaim themselves as Bards. They can not tell their own story, only the stories of others."

Full understanding dawned on Lucy and she resolved at that moment to assure that Jan received full credit for her efforts. The relationship between the two women took another subtle turn. Lucy changed from supporter to promoter of her friend.

Al watched trying to figure out the dynamics of the situation. It was obvious to him that Jan was closer to the son and daughter in- law than to Linda. The son's assertion that Jan was a Bard would make a very good statement in the marketing effort. He wondered if William was correct. Turning to Jan, he said, "We'll need to work out the details for the contract. Do you have an agent?"

Linda answered, "She will be using my agent. William's staff will facilitate negotiations."

"Will you need an advance?"

"An advance?" Jan asked.

"Well, it will take about four months for us to get the book through production. That will put it on the shelves in about September. Royalties are paid twice a year -- in March and October. March royalties cover sales for July through December of the previous year. It will be at least year before you see any money from the book," Al answered.

"I do not need an advance," Jan answered after glancing at William and seeing that he was shaking his head to let her know that she wouldn't need it. William had given her a debit card and told her that he was depositing her allowance in it. Since she had never used it or even bothered looking at the statement, she had no idea how much money she had.

"Are you sure?" Al asked noticing the uncertain glance that Jan had given William.

"She's a member of our household," William said.

"And what does that matter?" Al asked surprised by William's interruption.

"It means that she does not have to worry about money for the rest of her life," William answered.

"Okay," Al said with a frown. He wasn't sure how much William was worth, but he could always tap the wealth of the rest of the Carter Clan. He'd heard things about William, but he wasn't really that well connected in the financial world.

Linda knew better than to underestimate what William was capable of doing for someone about whom he cared. She smiled at Al and said, "Jan is well provided for."

For the next hour, Al explained what Jan could expect over the next four months. It was a daunting task for a woman who had once been homeless, but Jan accepted the assignment as though she were born to it. She demonstrated a confidence and self- assurance that was far different than the woman who had to work up her courage to talk to William and Lucy in the ice cream parlor just a few years earlier.

A dozen buildings lining the road were visible through the window of the hotel suite in which Linda, Jan, Lucy, and William were staying. Sitting in the living room of the suite after their meeting with the publisher, Linda and Jan were discussing the amount of money that a best seller could bring an author. Jan was having a hard time believing that an author could make so much money and that she wouldn't know what to do with so much. She remarked that she didn't even spend her allowance.

Lucy listened to the exchange and, in a whisper, asked, "William, how much do you give Jan for an allowance?"

"I don't give Jan an allowance," William answered looking at Lucy and then glancing at Jan. He tired to remember if he had ever told her what he was doing for Jan. After a moment's reflection, he realized that he probably had forgotten to mention it.

"You told me that you were depositing my allowance in that debit card," Jan said looking over at William in confusion.

"I don't deposit anything in it. The returns on your investments are deposited in there to keep your account at a fifty thousand dollar level," William said not understanding her confusion. He was pretty sure that he had explained that to her when he gave her the card.

"My investments?" Jan asked looking at him with even greater confusion.

"Yes, I put twenty five million in an investment account for you when you moved in. Whatever money you spend on the debit card is automatically replaced from that investment account the next business day."

"Twenty five million dollars?" Jan asked. Her stomach twisted at the thought of so much money and the world started to fade on her.

Lucy leaned over to William and kissed his cheek. Pleased to know that Jan had nothing to worry about financially, she said, "That's so sweet."

Moving quickly, William raced over to Jan and caught her before she slipped out of her chair. He gently moved her head down between her knees to help her recover. Looking over at Lucy, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "She's fainted."

"I can't imagine why," Linda said in mock confusion. She wasn't surprised at all by Jan's reaction.

It took a few seconds for Jan to recover. Sitting up, she said, "I can't believe that I fainted."

Taking her hand, Linda said, "Carter men tend to have that affect on the women in their lives."

The reason why she fainted came back to mind. Turning to look at William, she asked, "Twenty five million?"

"Yes," William said. Looking at her, he said, "I thought you knew that. Haven't you been getting your statements?"

"Yes, but since I've never spent any money I don't look at them," Jan said.

"What about your clothes?" William asked.

Lucy looked embarrassed and said, "Whenever I go shopping, I take her along. We get some clothes and I usually insist on paying for everything."

"Oh," William said and returned to his chair. He looked over at Jan and asked, "So is there anything you want to buy?"

"Not really," Jan answered looking down at the floor. She had a place to live, nice clothes, and Lisa was a very good cook. She couldn't think of anything that she really wanted.

Lucy frowned and asked, "What about taxes?"

"Well, the first fifty thousand was a gift. Until she actually spends something, she doesn't have any income," William said.

"That's nice," Lucy said. She wondered how that worked, but was confident that William had set up everything with the IRS.

Jan looked at the ground for a moment and then said, "Can I take everyone out to dinner?"

"Yes," William answered.

"Good. I would like to do that," Jan said with a smile. She liked the idea of being able to spend a little money on her friends.

William was about to make a suggestion when Linda said, "Don't ask about a Burger Burner, William!"

Settling back in his chair, he turned to Lucy and said, "Nobody seems to enjoy going to a Burger Burner to celebrate. I find that very sad."

"I'm sure you do," Lucy said with a grin. She winked at Linda and added, "How about you and I celebrate our return home tomorrow with a trip to the Burger Burner?"

The exchange made Jan feel a little more self confident. She said, "I'd like to take everyone to the best restaurant in town. Of course, we'll need to find out where that is."

Linda smiled and asked, "Would you mind if I take care of that?"

"I'd appreciate it," Jan said.

Linda dialed a number on her phone. After a moment, she smiled and said, "Marguerite..."

Going out to dine required a shopping trip to get the appropriate evening wear. While the women searched for evening dresses, William was stuck at a tailor getting fitted for a dark blue suit. Despite his wealth, his busy social calendar, and his extensive contacts within the business community, William did not own a suit. Like his fathers, William usually wore blue jeans and work shirts.

After several hours, he returned to the hotel with his new suit, tailored shirt, and new shoes. Much to his surprise, he beat the women back to their room. He had been confident that they would only take an hour to shop. They barely made it back to the hotel in time to get dressed for dinner.

William, dressed in his suit, waited for the women to finish dressing. He had been waiting for ten minutes when Lucy stepped out their room. She was wearing a black evening dress that clung to her every curve. With her long brown hair and tanned skin, she looked like a million dollars. He felt his heart lurch. She was so beautiful that it took his breath away. Smiling at her, he said, "You look like a dream."

Lucy looked over at William with wide eyes. She couldn't believe how good he looked in a suit. His dark skin, Native American features, and long black shiny hair, tied back in a pony tail, gave him an exotic appearance. His dark eyes, focused upon her, were searing in their intensity. For the first time in their marriage, he looked like a power broker who could buy and sell the world. Licking her lips, she said, "I almost don't want to go out. You look so handsome."

Wearing a simple classic black dress, Linda came out and looked at her son. She was impressed and could hardly believe how handsome her son was. Winking at Lucy, she said, "William, you clean up well."

"Thanks mom," William replied.

Looking at Lucy, she said, "Lucy, you are an absolute doll."

All eyes turned to look at Jan when she stepped out of her room. She was wearing a blue dress that was so dark that it was almost black. For the first time that William could remember, she was wearing makeup. Around her neck was a silver necklace that Linda had loaned her. She looked elegant.

Nodding his head, William said, "Jan, you look fantastic. Men the world over will be jealous of me for escorting three such beautiful women for an evening."

Jan was overwhelmed by the entire experience of going out to dine. It started when their party was greeted at the restaurant by the chef. The chef discussed their choices and tailored the menu to each individual's personal taste. For the next three hours, outstanding dishes on small plates were served with lots of flourish and discussion about the preparation. It was service that went well beyond trying to impress a rich customer. It was the kind of service driven by professional pride in wanting to impress folks who dined at the table of one of the greatest chefs in the country on a regular basis.

While dessert was being served, Jan looked around the private dining room. The white linen table cloth, china plates, crystal glasses, candles, and décor were perfect. Soft music in the background helped complete a classy environment while maintaining a tranquil atmosphere. It far exceeded any concept of dining out that she had. With a sigh, she said, "This is like some kind of fairy tale."

William eyed the chocolate soufflé that had just been set in front of him and said, "Ah, one of my favorite desserts."

The chef stood back and watched as William tasted his soufflé. While it was true that William enjoyed fast food, that did not mean he did not appreciate a good meal. Dining with Ed had taught William how to approach and extract every piece of pleasure from great cuisine. Even Lucy was impressed with how William had approached each dish. After tasting the soufflé, William looked over at the chef and said, "Marguerite couldn't have done better."

Nodding her head in agreement, Linda said, "Pierre, this meal was outstanding."

Lucy had never had a meal of this quality outside of the home of the Carter Clan in Arizona and was truly impressed. Although she shouldn't have been surprised, she was impressed with how knowledgeable William was with the cuisine. She had been overwhelmed by the meal. Looking at the Peach Tart placed in front of her, she said, "This looks amazing."

Feeling a little embarrassed at her choice of dessert, Jan looked at her bowl of vanilla ice cream. She would have felt even more embarrassed except Linda had asked for ice cream first. Her eyes opened in shock when she tasted the ice cream. She exclaimed, "This is unbelievable."

Pierre grinned at the pleasure that the simple dessert had brought her. Linda tasted hers and said, "This is heavenly."

"Thank you," Pierre said. Too few of his clients actually ordered the simple dessert. It was actually his favorite dessert and he'd spent years experimenting to find the perfect recipe. He added, "It is such a simple dessert, but I love vanilla ice cream. It is a shame that more people do not request it."

William nodded his head and said, "I imagine that most people go for the most complex dish in the belief that it projects a more cultured taste. Of course, that won't prevent me from seriously injuring anyone who tries to take this soufflé away from me."

Pierre smiled at the comment and nodded his head. It was not his place to comment on the palate of his typical customers. Many ate in his restaurant with the intent of impressing others and didn't really appreciate the effort that went into producing the food they ate. He knew that wouldn't be the case with this party. They were used to food prepared by the great Marguerite. If anyone could appreciate his skill, it would be them despite the fact that only half of them drank wine with their meal.

Lucy looked over at the soufflé and asked, "Can I have a taste of your soufflé?"

Nodding his head, William prepared a spoon with a taste of his dessert. Holding it out for her, she leaned forward and tasted it. Her eyes rose in pleasure at the rich flavor. She looked at her tart and decided that she had made the right choice. It was a tough call, though. Looking over at Pierre, she said, "Every one of these desserts is outstanding."

"Thank you."

The conversation died while everyone enjoyed their desserts. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. The conversation returned when Jan finally pushed her bowl of ice cream forward and said, "I can't eat another bite."

Lucy ate the last crumb on her plate, grinned over at Jan, and said, "Same here."

Sitting back, William waited for the waiter to finish pouring coffees for everyone at the table. Once that was done, he held his cup aloft and said, "Here's to Jan the Bard. May her stories touch the hearts and souls of good men and women for many years to come."

Lucy immediately joined in and said, "Here, here."

"Well said," Linda said.

"Thank you," Jan said feeling embarrassed by the attention.



-------

Chapter 59


Seated in the student center, William drank a glass of iced tea while waiting for Lucy to get out of her class. She was taking her mid-terms and had been feeling the pressures of late. This afternoon was particularly rough since she had two exams one after the other. He had come along to provide emotional support fully confident that she would ace each exam.

An angry young man carrying a tray of food approached the table next to his. The young man threw his tray down on the table and then threw himself into the chair. Looking over at William, the guy snorted and said, "I know who you are. You're that spoiled rich kid who thinks he owns the world."

Surprised by the hostility expressed by the young man, William looked over at him taking in his worn jeans and scruffy tee shirt. When Rock started to rise, William said, "Down, Rock."

The young man looked over at Rock and shook his head. He muttered, "That's it. Keep your slave on a short leash. Fucking rich kid comes to school with his butler. Does he wipe your ass when you shit?"

Rock looked like he wanted to tear the head off the kid. Ignoring Rock, William asked, "What is your problem?"

"My problem is assholes like you who can buy their education. Some of us have to work our way through school. We're not born with silver spoons in our mouths."

William looked over at the tray of food in front of the young man. He had a small serving of spaghetti, a glass of water, and five packets of bread sticks. He knew that the spaghetti was sold by weight and that the small amount on the plate probably came to a dollar. The glass of water was free as were the bread sticks. Shrugging his shoulders, he asked, "What does it matter to you if I can pay my way through school?"

"Because I'm tired of watching spoiled little rich kids get a free ride through school. You don't even realize what a gift you've been given. Instead, all you do is party and buy your grades," the young man answered. He glared at William and turned to his food. Despite the fact that the noodles were limp and the sauce watered down, he attacked his meal with a vengeance.

Turning to Rock, William asked, "Rock, do I spend all my time partying?"

"I've never seen you party. Well, except for your wedding. There were a few parties then," Rock answered.

"I forgot about that. Of course, those receptions were more like work than parties," William said. He turned to the young man and said, "I take it you don't like parties."

"I don't mind parties. I hate the fact that rich kids like you can just buy your way through life," the young man retorted.

William nodded his head and asked, "Rock, do I buy my way through life?"

"Well, you do know how to use your money. I wouldn't exactly say that you buy your way through life. I'd say that you use your money in a manner that allows you to enjoy your life," Rock answered watching the young man carefully. He didn't trust him at all.

"That's probably accurate," William said.

"I do object to his implication that you bought your way through school," Rock said.

"Oh come on. You didn't have to study, so don't even bother to pretend that you did anything in school," the young man answered.

William held his hand in front of the young man's face. In a hard voice, he said, "Please examine my class ring."

The young man looked at it with a sneer on his face and then did a double take. Mouth open, he asked, "You went to the Druid College?"

"Yes. I did not buy my education. After I graduated from the Druid College with my Bachelor's degree in Physics, I worked hard and received my Master's degree in Sociology and my Doctorate in Economics. I earned my Doctorate at this fine institution just like everyone else who graduates from here," William said.

"You were still lucky that you didn't have to worry about money," the young man said although some of the harshness had left his voice. He stopped eating and stared at his food. Irritated, he pushed the tray away.

"Ah, so your problem isn't so much with me as with my money," William said.

"Look, you don't know how tough this world is," the kid said.

Having spent more than one night sleeping in the cement sewer pipes of the homeless hotel, Rock snorted and shook his head. Under his breath, he said, "This kid has no clue."

Reaching into his pocket, the young man pulled out a couple of coins. He threw the three pennies on the tray and said, "No clue? Fuck you! I sold my car to pay for this semester. I've got seven weeks left until I graduate and that's all the money I have left. Three fucking cents! Tomorrow I'm getting kicked out of my room because I haven't paid the rent for this month. I have no food and no place to stay. I can't even afford paper to take notes on."

"Sounds like you are in a tough spot," William said pleased to be getting to the root of the young man's anger.

"Seven fucking weeks left and now I have to drop out," the kid shouted while pounding on the table to reinforce each word.

"What about a job?"

"I've got a job washing dishes in a restaurant and it doesn't pay enough. Fifty dollars a week; that's what I make," the young man said pushing away his tray in disgust. He had five days to go until his next paycheck.

"What's your major?" William asked.

"Sociology with a minor in statistics."

William sat up and said, "That's an unusual minor. Why statistics?"

"I want to be a pollster," the guy answered. He snorted and then said, "I wanted to be a pollster."

For almost fifteen seconds, William stared at the young man while his mind considered the implications of what he had said. Pulling out his cell phone, William dialed the office. When Barbara answered the phone, he said, "Barbara. I need you to clear some space for a desk. We have a new employee."

Surprised by the request, she asked, "Who?"

The question took William by surprise. He turned to the young man seated next to him and asked, "What's your name?"

"Jack Clayton." He stared at William wondering if he was the one who was being hired.

Putting the phone to his mouth, William said, "His name is Jack Clayton. Get the paperwork ready for him."

"Yes, William," Barbara said.

William hung up and asked, "Do you have any classes today?"

"No," Jack answered staring at William.

"This is your lucky day. It just happens that I have a need for a pollster. The job is yours," William said.

"I don't think you get it guy. I'm dropping out. I can't afford to go to school anymore. You aren't hiring a pollster, you're getting a drop out," Jack said knowing that by the time he got a paycheck, he'd have been living on the street.

William reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out two hundred dollars and put it on the table in front of Jack. Leaning forward, he said, "You don't understand. I'm hiring you, starting right now. Here's an advance. If it isn't enough, then tell me what you need."

Jack stared at the money. It would probably keep him in his apartment and feed him through the rest of the semester. Rather than grab it, he asked, "What's the deal?"

"I have need for a pollster and you are the first person that I've met who wants to do that kind of work. For the next seven weeks, I'll want you to investigate polling firms to identify one that is willing to undertake a major job. My wife graduates at the same time that you do. When school is over, we are moving to our house in Arizona. You'll need to move there and get to work collecting data for me."

It sounded too good to be true. Jack asked, "What's it pay?"

"A hundred thousand a year," William answered picking a nice round number.

Jack stared at William for a minute and then reached out to take the money on the table. Putting the money in his pocket, he said, "Okay."

Recognizing that Jack wouldn't be able to work until he understood the problem he was trying to solve, William opened his cell phone and hit redial. When Barbara answered the phone, he said, "It's me again. Can you find out if Doug is available to come here this weekend?"

Barbara recognized that William was excited about something. His absence of telephone manners was another thing that Mary Gold said would happen when he got excited about something. Like every other warning Mary Gold have given her, she hadn't believed it. Amused, she said, "I'll take care of everything."

"Thanks, you're a miracle worker," William said. He hung up the phone and stood up.

Rock shook his head and looked around the room when William started pacing around in front of the table. Speaking to himself, William said, "My program is basically ready for an initial trial. Lucy will be available in seven weeks to work on the math. Doug is making progress on his historical case study. Jack will be able to acquire the data we need. Things are starting to come together. I'll still need someone who will collect the economic data that's required."

Lost in his thoughts, he continued to pace while thinking through the work that was to be undertaken. While he walked around, Lucy and Natalie came over to the table and took a seat. Watching William while he paced to and fro in great concentration, Lucy asked, "How long has he been pacing around like that?"

"Ever since he hired the guy seated next to you," Rock answered shaking his head.

Lucy looked over at Jack and, with a gesture towards William, said, "I'm his wife, Lucy Carter. Who are you?"

"I'm Jack Clayton."

"What did he hire you to do?" Lucy asked. She watched William pace and knew that his excitement had something to do with the problem he had been working on since graduating.

"Run a poll," Jack said hoping that he understood what William wanted him to do.

"That explains it," Lucy said with a nod of her head. She knew that William was looking for some way to characterize the basic attitudes of the country's population as a whole. She could see how finding someone to run a poll would give him a means of making that measurement. She turned to Rock and said, "I'm kind of surprised he didn't leave already."

"He was waiting for you," Rock said. He shrugged his shoulders not even trying to pretend that he understood William's excited state of mind.

Lucy smiled at Rock's statement. She could see that William was excited and wanted to work. The fact that he thought more of staying for her than going off to do his work meant a lot. She understood how difficult it was to hold back when great ideas called. Looking over at Rock with a grin, she said, "He really does love me."

Rock shook his head and looked down at the table. He didn't understand her statement. Looking at her like she was crazy, Jack asked, "Why do you say that? He hasn't even noticed that you're here."

"He's putting off his work to wait for me," Lucy answered. She went over to William and touched his arm.

"Ah, you're here," William said snapping out of his thoughts. He looked at here with an excited grin. He asked, "How did your tests go?"

"Great. No problems."

William said, "Let's go to a Squid Shack. We've really got to talk."

Lucy knew that the Squid Shack was anyplace that served fish and chips. The closest place that served fish and chips was almost an hour drive. If they were unlucky, he'd want to drive all of the way into Pittsburgh. At least this time it wasn't burgers. Lucy said, "Sure, I could use some fish and chips. Who all is going?"

"Oh, have you met Jack?"

"Yes, we've met," Lucy answered looking over at the young man. She added, "I understand that he's going to run a poll for you."

"Yes, he is. By the way, I invited Doug," William said. His thoughts were going in twenty directions at once.

"He's coming with us to the Squid Shack?"

"No. He's coming this weekend," William answered. He paused and then said, "The Squid Shack is too far. Let's just get something to eat at a place where we can talk."

Believing she knew the answer, she asked, "So a Burger Burner?"

"No. I don't feel like burgers today. Let's go to the Chinese place," William said. He recalled that it had a separate room and the owners would open it for him if he were to request it. Nodding his head, he said, "Yes, the Chinese place. They've got a private room. We'll be able to talk there. I've got so much to tell you."

Wide-eyed, Lucy looked over at Rock and said, "I can't believe it. He's actually turned down a Burger Burner and a Squid Shack."

Rock sat up and stared at William. He'd never heard William do that before. Shaking his head, he asked, "What about a Burrito Bungalow?"

"No, that's usually too crowded. We won't be able to talk there," William answered.

Lucy, William, Natalie, Rock, and Jack followed the hostess to the private room of the Chinese place. As they walked to the table, the hostess chatted with William in Mandarin. After a short conversation, she agreed to have their cook prepare a number of small dishes that would allow them to eat while chatting.

Once the hostess was gone, William seated Lucy at the table and then sat down beside her. Pulling out a pen, he started writing equations on the table cloth. As he wrote, he said, "Lucy, this first equation is straight out of my dissertation. It describes the basic purchasing power of a household in terms of their wages, tax rate, local property values, and cost of living index. This equation computes the cost of living index based on..."

For the next hour, William laid out the equations that comprised the economic elements of his theory that he was developing. Lucy listened and asked questions where appropriate. Jack watched the pair work together while shaking his head. He barely understood half of what William was saying.

While William was covering his theory, the waitress brought small plates of food and placed them around the table making sure that she didn't interfere with William's work. Jack, who hadn't eaten a decent meal in a month, popped the individual bite sized servings of food into his mouth while listening to William. He stopped eating when William wrote an equation on the table cloth and said, "This equation describes the structural view of political activism based on gender, age, education, occupation, income, free time, and strength of core beliefs. It basically predicts the degree of activity from complete non-involvement, to voting, contributing to campaigns, to active campaigning, and running for office. It is a step equation in which various thresholds are used to quantize involvement into different levels of activity."

Jack examined the equation with a raised eyebrow. He knew from his studies that the three most important factors were gender, age, and education. Frowning, he said, "According to that equation, there is a peak in the early twenties that drops through the thirties, forties, and only starts to rise again when a person is in their fifties."

"That's true for typical individuals. In their early twenties they are still in college and are more likely to be active. As they marry and start to raise children, their free time tends to be consumed with career and family matters. When the children leave the nest there is more free time to spend on politics," William answered. He pointed to the equation and added, "We start to see a decline associated with aging and decreased health over sixty five."

William wrote out a matrix on the table and said, "I've constructed a matrix that maps a given occupation into the income, free time, social obligations, and political obligations that are typical for an individual within that occupation."

Looking over the matrix, Jack asked, "You haven't put any values in that."

"I have the matrix back at home fully filled out," William answered. He said, "I can give an example. An upper level manager of a medium sized company in a rural area has approximately forty two hours of time outside of work that is available for relaxation, family obligations, social obligations, and political activities. That person is likely to divide their time into twenty hours for family obligations, fourteen hours for social obligations, two hours for political obligations, and the remainder for relaxation. They are likely to attend fund raising activities more than actively participate in a campaign. When they do participate in a campaign, it is likely to be in a managerial role."

Jack sat back with a frown. In none of his classes had they covered anything with that level of detail. He looked over at William halfway convinced that the guy had made it all up. Curious, he asked, "How did you get those figures?"

"I used my influence with the Governor to get personal information about all of the people who were involved in his campaign for the last election. That data included the volunteers, paid workers, and contributors across the entire state," William answered. Raising a hand palm side out to prevent an objection, he said, "I also got the data from the person who ran against him."

"That's one state and a gubernatorial election," Jack said.

"That's true. I've requested similar data from all of the candidates running in the upcoming interim elections. Not only that, I've gone to the voting registration records and identified everyone who voted in the last election. I've managed to gather the largest and most extensive collection of data concerning the voting habits of Americans," William said with a smile.

"That's incredible," Jack said. Shaking his head, he asked, "What do you need me for?"

"Well, I know the outcomes of previous elections and can kind of explain the results based on the data that I have. The real problem is that I want to be able to predict how people will vote based on what issues are important to them. In order to do that, I have to know what people think about the issues," William answered.

"There are lots of polls that will tell you that," Jack said.

"No there aren't," William countered. He wrote an equation on the tablecloth and said, "I've identified eighteen major components to how individuals relate to different social concerns. There are ranges of values for each component. For example, one component deals with religious beliefs. There are some people who believe that religion has absolutely no business in the political arena. They'll object to any hint or overtone of a religious statement. There are others who believe that politics must be driven by religion. They want a God-fearing man in office. Of course, there are positions between the two extremes."

"I understand that," Jack said. It was impossible to listen to the news without hearing dozens of political pundits arguing the role of religion in politics.

"The problem is that most polls just present the simple result of this percentage of Americans believes this or that. They don't tell us how the individuals are distributed across all eighteen of my components. That's the information that I need," William said.

"Why?"

"Here's the point. We can have a person who is traditional with respect to religion, conservative with respect to economy, and forgiving with respect to crime. We can have another person who is a rabid atheist, liberal with respect to the economy, and rather unforgiving of criminals. How many Americans are middle of the road with respect to all of the choices? How many are at the extremes of each choice?" William answered.

Lucy sat back and ran her hand through her hair. Amazed at the scale at which he was working, she said, "The matrices you are constructing are monstrous."

"It gets worse. I've got data stored in a geographic information system that maps out the residential areas, population densities per square mile, and the locations of businesses for the entire state. The number of employees at each business is available from public records. The basic structure of corporations can be used to estimate the number of people holding positions of a given category. I have the data that can correlate the position held to the income and likely neighborhood the employee lives in," William said with a smile.

Jack's mind was reeling. He didn't know how to process everything that William had laid out. Finally, he asked, "What's the whole point of this?"

"I want to establish a baseline of truth about what is going on in America and compare that to what the press reports," William answered.

"Well it sounds to me like you want to take over the country," Jack said. Now that his stomach was full and he had enough money in his pocket to finish school, he was willing to argue a little more.

"I'd never want to do that," William said as a wave of disgust ran through his body. The whole idea of controlling people like that made him ill. He added, "What I want to do is determine if this country is in a crisis of leadership or followership. To do that, I need to understand the relative distributions across all eighteen components and the correlations among various positions."

Leaning forward, Lucy examined the equations scratched on the table cloth. Her mind went into overdrive while she visualized the solutions to each equation. There were so many that it was basically impossible for her to see the entire picture. She asked, "What do you expect the poll to show?"

"I expect the poll to show that each component has a substantive minority of people who hold diametrically opposite positions. The middle ground will be dispersed among a wide number of centralist positions such that no single group stands out among the moderates although as a whole they constitute a majority position. What you'll see is that each extreme can chose a factor or two to support their claim that they are actually a majority position," William explained.

Jack frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, take the sanctity of life component. You have one extreme that believes that taking a life is never acceptable. You have another extreme that see many circumstances in which taking a life is acceptable. A group that is pro-life, against the death penalty, and anti-war might represent one extreme. Another group that is pro-choice, for the death penalty, and believes that using the military to protect national interests might represent another extreme.

"Many Americans are divided on these issues. There are probably a large number of people who are pro-choice while being anti-war. The one extreme can claim these people as supporting their views because they are anti-war. There are probably a large number of people who believe in the opposite pair of choices. That extreme can still claim those people support their view because they are pro-life.

"Meanwhile, the other extreme can claim these same people as supporting their views because they are pro-choice or they support the military," William explained.

"So you are saying that you can't get a clear view of who is in the majority because everyone is counting everyone else two or three times," Jack said.

"That's just with one component. What happens when you have that same situation existing with respect to economics, business, welfare, individualism, religion, international relations, crime, and health care?" William asked.

"You end up with total chaos," Jack said. Every topic that William raised was the subject of almost constant argument in the news and political scene. In most cases the arguments were quite vicious.

"That's right and that is a crisis of followership. You can't have a leader emerge that represents a majority position because there doesn't appear to be one," William said.

"Damn."

Smiling, William said, "If you can cast a person as taking a political position that is counter to what you can argue is a majority view taken by reasonable people, then you can deem that person unfit for office. Why? Because they hold what is clearly an incorrect position. We all know that people who hold incorrect positions on significant social issues are stupid, evil, or possibly both. As a result, all leaders become cast as stupid, evil, and possibly both."

Lucy had heard William and Doug discuss this problem many times, but she hadn't heard that particular form of the argument from William until now. She sat back in her chair and shook her head as the possibilities ran through her mind. Dismayed, she said, "I don't see any good result that can come from that situation."

"What results do you see?" William asked.

"The government becomes completely ineffective. Everything gets half done and never completed. At some point in time you are going to have a dictator emerge who is willing to kill off all opposition or an external enemy who will conquer you," Lucy answered.

"Exactly."



-------

Chapter 60


Jack sat in his new office unable to believe the difference that twenty four hours made in his life. His office was larger than the room he was renting. The furnishings were much more luxurious. Barbara Gray had told him that it had been the bedroom and exercise room, but they had converted it to his office. He would have been quite happy if they had left the bed in the room, but he wasn't going to tell them that.

He got up and made his way to the break room to get a soft drink. That was another thing that amazed him about this job. Everything in the break room was free. He had expected a vending machine. Opening a can of root beer, he took a seat at the table and looked around the room. It had real wood tables, not laminated particle board.

Sandra entered the room and grabbed a cup of coffee. Turning, she caught him looking around with an expression on his face that was just a little too wide eyed for her comfort. All she needed in her life was another puppy dog. She sighed at the thought of having a coworker who was going to be hitting on her.

"What's the matter?" Jack asked.

"Nothing," Sandra answered.

Gesturing to the room around him, he said, "It's all so overwhelming. I never expected to have such a nice office until I was an executive or something. Even this break room is luxurious. I was kind of expecting plastic tables."

Sitting down, Sandra decided it was time to get to know her newest coworker. She asked, "What did you think of Barbara?"

"That's some woman. I've never met anyone so focused and professional in my life," Jack answered. He had also been very intimidated by her appearance, but wasn't going to mention that.

"She's pretty," Sandra said fishing for his attitude towards women.

"You can say that again," Jack said with a nod of his head. There was no way that he was going to say that Sandra was just as pretty. The last thing he wanted was to get hit with some sort of sexual harassment charge.

"Why do you think William hired her?"

"Because she's focused and professional," Jack ventured. He didn't think that William would trust someone with his business that wasn't very good at their work. If he wanted a harem, he could afford to buy one. The fact of the matter was that Jack didn't have a very good opinion of women. He felt that most of them were gold diggers and only interested in a man's wallet. There were a lot of very attractive women who would spread their legs for someone as rich as William.

"You don't think he hired her because she's pretty?" Sandra asked watching him very closely.

Shaking his head in disgust, Jack stood and said, "I don't want to participate in any ugly office gossip. If you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to work. I've got to identify some polling companies for William."

Sandra watched him leave and sighed in relief. She appreciated his reaction. At least he didn't immediately suggest that Barbara had gotten her job because of her looks. She knew that he would have thought the same of her. Her thoughts were interrupted when Donna breezed into the room and, in an excited voice, said, "Doug is coming this weekend."

"I hope William gives him a little free time to visit with you. You know how William is when he's working on something," Sandra said with a smile. She had watched William during the conference in Seattle and had been amazed.

"I know," Donna said with a grin. She wasn't going to mention that Doug was going to be spending the night at her house over the weekend. She hugged herself and said, "I just like being with him. You know what I mean?"

"Yes, I know what you mean," Sandra said even though she didn't.

"So what do you think of the new guy?"

Sandra shrugged her shoulders and said, "I kind of like him. Pity I have to leave before getting to know him."

William entered the break room looking for Sandra. Finding her, he said, "Sandra. I just wanted to see if there was anything you needed before flying out to Arizona."

"No. I've got my trusty pad of paper and pencil. That's all I need for now," Sandra replied. She was going to Arizona before everyone else to set up the new offices. In seven weeks they would be moving out there for good. Bad decisions at this time would have long term consequences.

"Great. I'll leave everything in your capable hands. I know you'll do a good job. We're going to miss you around here, but I'll see you in seven weeks," William said. He turned to leave the room to talk with Jack. It was time for him to layout the eighteen components that he wanted to have polled.

A shiver went through Sandra at his words. Surprising herself, she said, "Thank you William. I love you, too."

William froze and turned to look at Sandra. He didn't know what to say and just stared at her. Seeing his obvious confusion, Sandra pretended as if she hadn't said anything significant. With a little shooing gesture, she said, "Get to work. Jack is waiting for you."

"Uh, sure," William said. He left the room feeling confused and wondering if he had told her that he loved her. He replayed the conversation in his head and just didn't recall saying words to that effect.

Once William was gone, Donna burst out in giggles. Seeing the shocked look on Sandra's face to her reaction, Donna said, "Go look up the word clueless in the dictionary. You'll find his picture there."

"Thanks. I needed to hear that. Well, I've got to head to the airport," Sandra said standing up.

Donna stood and hugged Sandra. In a soft voice, she said, "He does love you, you know."

"Yes, I know. It's a pity that he doesn't know it," Sandra said. She sighed and thought about the long trip ahead. There would be plenty of time to think on the flight.

-------

Jack, Lucy, and Doug sat around the living room waiting for William. Doug looked over at Jack and asked, "So William hired you to work on our project?"

"Yes," Jack answered. Over the past few days he had learned more about how society functioned than he guessed was even possible. He was halfway convinced that once he received his degree in Sociology that he should turn it in. His courses in Women's studies were 'bitch' sessions about how poorly men treated women rather than a developed theory of how the woman's movement originated, the social forces that were generated, and how the social climate changed in response to those social forces. The same had been true of most of his other courses. The upshot of the majority of his coursework was that white men were the source of all problems in society.

One of the most useless courses that he'd taken had been titled qualitative studies. The fact was that qualitative studies were not science. William's view of sociology was quantitative rather than qualitative. While examining William's equations, he could see social, political, and economic forces at play. They could make predictions based on William's work. With proper resources, they could even set up social experiments. That was real science.

"So what do you think?" Doug asked. He was curious why William had hired this guy without discussing the matter with him first. He'd seen the passion that William had for the problem, but he had never seen William this excited.

"I think I had an orgasm while looking over his work," Jack answered. He glanced over at Lucy and then said, "Pardon me."

Laughing at his obvious embarrassment, Lucy said, "No problem. It is pretty exciting stuff although I wouldn't describe it in sexual terms. I didn't realize just how much progress he had made in developing his theory."

"I'm more interested in your feelings about our idea of a crisis of followership," Doug said.

"After thinking about it, I'm kind of afraid of a rightwing radical taking over the country," Jack answered.

William entered the room and said, "I'm more concerned about the leftwing radicals."

"Leftwing?" Doug asked raising an eyebrow.

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but think about it for a minute. It was communism that took down the Czar. Animal rights activists routinely engage in terrorist acts. I'd hardly call either group rightwing," William replied. He shook his head and said, "Utopians really scare me."

"Conservatives are the ones we have to watch out for. All of that Bible talk will return us to the days when they burned witches," Jack said.

William laughed and said, "Don't mistake conservatives with the religious right. They may have a few areas in common, but they aren't the same."

"That's ridiculous," Jack said.

"Who do you think is more likely to legalize prostitution, liberals or conservatives?"

"Liberals, of course," Jack answered.

Lucy nodded her head in agreement. She was surprised when William asked, "Why do you think that?"

"Liberals feel that prostitution is a victimless crime," Jack answered.

"Do they really? I always thought they believed that it was demeaning to women. That prostitution represented an exploitation of women and should be eliminated," William said.

"Conservatives believe that it is a sin," Doug said.

"A lot of them do believe that prostitution is a sin. A good percentage of them also view drinking as sinful. That doesn't mean that drinking is illegal. In fact, it is just the opposite. Conservatives make sure that alcohol is heavily taxed," William said with a smile.

"You're not saying... ," Jack started to say.

William sat down in his chair and said, "That's right, conservatives would use the argument that even though it is a sin, there is no way that we'll ever be able to stop it. As a result, the only thing to do is legalize it and tax the hell out of it. That's what makes a conservative different than the religious right."

"I'm not sure that I buy that argument," Lucy said with a frown. Her father was pretty conservative and she couldn't see him arguing to legalize prostitution. She knew that he'd say that if it was to become legal that they should have to be licensed and pay their taxes.

"The key thing here is not to confuse a conservative with a member of the radical right. A conservative isn't for a God fearing nation in which non-believers are prosecuted by the law. They'd rather have people go to church on Sundays on their own free will. They would appreciate not being treated like a villain because they do go to church, pray before a major event, or place a symbol of their faith in a public area. They don't want to tear down crosses that have been in place for more than fifty years because someone has suddenly found a symbol of their faith insulting.

"A conservative is basically against change. They'll admit that things may not be exactly fair, but the correction should be a minor tweak of the system and not the elimination of the system. That's the real definition of a conservative. It isn't that they are pro-war, pro-business, or anti-gay. They just don't want radical change in how things have been up to now.

"In a funny way, conservatives do believe that people should have a lot more freedom in how they can act. They feel that if you own a business, then you have the right to say who works for you. That means you don't have to hire someone to satisfy some equal opportunity criteria. Of course, that does deny equal opportunity to some people but it isn't a result of a dictate by law.

"I'm not saying that conservatives are entirely right. Some of their opposition to change allows civil injustices to continue. I'm just saying that is the last kind of person who would adopt radical change in the American political system," William said. He knew that most people would argue against his description of conservatives, but that was just another symptom of the crisis of followership. It was too easy to lump those who opposed change with those who wanted to return to traditional values particularly when arguments against change were often couched in terms of traditional values.

Jack said, "So you are saying that liberals are more likely to overturn the government?"

"I'm saying that the far left is more likely to overturn the government," William answered.

Lucy said, "I've always considered myself to be somewhat liberal in my political beliefs."

Jack nodded his head and said, "Me too."

Doug said, "Same here."

"I've always considered myself to be a realist and a moderate," William said.

"So what do you consider to be the moderate position?" Lucy asked surprised that after being married to him for almost two years that he managed to surprise her with his politics.

"I believe in democracy. I recognize that there are injustices, excesses, and problems, but I think that they have to be solved in a sane rational process. Of course, that takes time. I am willing to make changes, but those changes have to be supported by data to back up the supposition that the change will produce the desired result. Changes have to be introduced as a result of significant planning and consideration," William said. His comment about having data to back up the predicted consequences of a change was exactly the problem he was trying to address.

"According to what you said, that is the conservative position," Jack said.

"Not really. I accept that change is necessary and I think that we should actively seek it out. Let me repeat that. I believe that you have to constantly seek out injustices, excesses, and problems that are inherent in the system. I think you have to put changes into place that solve them without introducing different injustices, excesses, and problems. I don't think that we should accept the pop theory of the day as solutions. I'm not willing to engage in nationwide social experimentation like some liberals," William said.

After William finished talking, everyone was silent thinking about what he had said. Several minutes went by before Jack asked, "So, what direction do you plan to move the country as a result of applying your theories?"

"I don't know. I don't understand the problem well enough to know what can be done to solve it yet," William answered. There was a lot of data that was required before he could identify the true underlying problems in the country.

"Give me an example of something you don't understand," Doug said.

"Let's take poverty as an example. A lot of money has been thrown at that problem over the past fifty years. Despite the availability of housing, food stamps, education programs, tax incentives for business development, equal opportunity laws, and other social efforts there are neighborhoods that have continued to drift further from the average American standard of living. These areas are characterized by high crime rates, drug use, alcoholism, unmarried mothers, high school dropouts, and chronic unemployment," William said. He paused for a moment and then asked, "Why is that the case?"

"Because they are poor and view their situation as hopeless. They don't have opportunities to escape that cycle of poverty," Jack answered.

"That is a symptom and not the problem," William said.

The lack of opportunity was always pointed out in his classes as the reason why impoverished areas remained poor. That had been drilled into Jack during all of his courses. He said, "Everyone knows that if people do not have an opportunity to escape poverty that they remain poor."

William frowned and said, "Look, there are eight years that are critical in the life of a poor person. Those years are from the age of ten to eighteen. Two of those years are exceptionally critical. That's when they are fourteen to sixteen years of age. Bad decisions during those years lock them into poverty for the rest of their lives."

Shaking his head, Jack said, "That may be true, but that is because they see lack of opportunity as holding them back."

"Not so," William said. He walked over to his desk and pulled out some papers. Handing them to Jack, he said, "Read these papers keeping in mind that they are describing good kids going bad; good kids, with great potential, who suddenly start using drugs, getting pregnant, and dropping out of school. Kids who were making A's and B's in fifth and sixth grade become C and D students by eight and ninth grade. By the age of eighteen, drug users, unwed mothers, and high school dropouts have cut off all possible future for themselves. It isn't that opportunity is lacking, it is that they have severed themselves from opportunity."

Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, "Everyone knows about what a bad job our schools are doing in educating those kids."

"You can't force kids to learn. This isn't a problem that is going to be solved by throwing another education program at the kids. The problem is that the kids are the subject of a cultural abuse that is absolutely devastating during that period of their lives."

"Don't forget that is when hormones are kicking in," Lucy said. Those were critical ages for kids of every economic and social setting because of physical and emotional changes associated with growing up.

"That's part of what makes the abuse so effective," William said. He shuffled through a stack of papers and extracted one of them. He handed that paper to Jack and said, "Here's a paper that predicted an increase in drug use in a single neighborhood as a result of a simple change in local economic policies. That prediction was seen to come true."

Jack looked over the papers in his hand and realized that he was going to spend the next week doing little else besides reading them. Looking over at William, he said, "You tell me that the problem is the result of cultural abuse and then you say the problem is economic. Which is it?"

"You asked for an example of something that I didn't understand. This is one example where I don't know the answer," William answered. He sighed and said, "There aren't any little quick and easy solutions to problems of this complexity. Can we identify them? I don't know."

"So what does this have to do with a crisis of followership?" Doug asked.

"Name one area of American Political debate that is more emotionally charged and divisive than poverty? From that one problem area, there are arguments over civil rights, drug use, prostitution, religion, and economic policy. All of our solutions are half measures because none of them address the real underlying cause."

"So what is the real underlying cause?"

"I have no idea," William said although it wasn't exactly true. He suspected that there were over a dozen reasons for the problem of poverty. Some of the reasons were social, some were economic, and some were just bad luck. He sighed and said, "In a way, I feel that the inner-city poverty areas of this country give the most obvious demonstration of crisis of followership."

Jack had always considered himself to be a liberal. He believed that big business was a major force that was bringing about the destruction of the world. He fully endorsed the idea that rich men were motivated by unbridled greed and trampled the poor under their feet. The invention of the Fusion Well by John Carter was the only thing that had avoided a global ecological disaster. He wondered if the only reason William was an exception to the powerful businessman was because John Carter was his father. He said, "Lots of people think that big business wants people to be poor."

"Why would they want that?" William asked raising an eyebrow. He glanced over at Lucy and saw that she was trying to keep from laughing.

"Because they need a constant source of cheap labor," Jack answered.

"But the people we are talking about are unemployed and unemployable. That doesn't provide big business with cheap labor," Lucy said.

William said, "There are no advantages to having a huge population of poor people from the perspective of big business. Poor people make poor consumers. They can't afford cars, new homes, new appliances, or expensive services. They don't have the kinds of skills and education that make them valuable employees. Poverty cost big businesses money. They pay taxes that are diverted to helping the poor rather than into infrastructure development that would directly impact the profitability of the company."

"I don't buy that argument," Jack said deciding that he would research that specific issue to prove William wrong.

William smiled and said, "I know. That's what makes you so valuable to me."



-------

Chapter 61


"What happened?" Lucy asked within seconds of William entering the house.

"I had sex with Donna," William answered while making his way to the couch to sit beside Lucy.

"I know that, but she sounded rather disappointed. What did you do?"

"You know, the normal kind of things you do when you have sex. We mashed lips, I pawed her breasts, and banged her box," William answered slipping an arm around Lucy.

Lucy shrugged off his arm and turned to stare at him unable to believe how had answered her question. In disbelief, she said, "It was her first time! You were supposed to make it special for her."

"It wasn't her first time," William answered. He yawned and tried to put his arm around her. Lucy shrugged off his attempt to hug her and gave him a dirty look.

"How do you know?"

"Think about it," William answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Frowning, Lucy thought about it for a minute and then shook her head. She said, "A woman can lose her hymen in a lot of ways."

"You don't say," William replied in an amused tone of voice.

His attitude towards the evening with Donna really bothered Lucy. Starting to feel angry, Lucy asked, "Did you even try to make it special for her?"

William looked up the ceiling for a couple of seconds as if he was seriously considering her question before he answered, "No."

"That's horrible."

"Not really. I gave her what she needed," William said thinking that there was a lot of difference between what some people need and what they want. Sometimes when a person is given what they want, they can never get what they need.

Looking over at Lucy, he watched her eyes turn to fire with a grin. She was furious with him. He knew that he was going to enjoy it when she decided to quench that fire on him. The idea only increased the size of his grin.

Dismayed at his answer and his lack of remorse, Lucy stood up and said, "You're sleeping in the guest room tonight, buddy."

William watched her stomp out of the room understanding her anger. She viewed his making love with the other women as ensuring that he remained a loving human being. The news that he had sex with Donna rather than made love to her made the sacrifice a failure.

He shrugged his shoulders and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of milk before going to bed. It had been a fun evening, but nothing exceptional. Grinning, he was looking forward to the next night. That would be filled with fireworks.

-------

Donna, Amanda, and Barbara were seated around the table waiting for Juanita to arrive now that Jack had left to attend his afternoon classes. Jack had made popcorn earlier in the microwave and the whole room smelled of it. The mood in the room reflected that off smell of microwave popcorn. Barbara looked tense while Amanda appeared confused. With a slight frown that the blind woman wouldn't see, Donna asked, "Amanda, would you tell me about your evening with William again?"

"Oh, it was wonderful. He was so kind and gentle," Amanda said with a dreamy expression on her face.

"What did he do?"

"Well, we talked for a long time before we did anything. He wanted to make sure that I was relaxed before we started the intimate touching," Amanda said remembering that evening.

Other women might have wanted a candlelight dinner, but Amanda thought the candles would have been wasted on her and she often felt uncomfortable eating in front of people. William had proved her wrong. He had surprised her by bringing a couple of scented candles. The lit candles had filled the air with an exquisite scent. Soft music had played in the background. Having him feed her finger foods had eased the discomfort of eating in front of other people. The sensuousness of being feed, the scent of candles and soft music had created a romantic atmosphere.

"Okay, we talked a bit," Donna said. William had talked with her for a little while before they had done anything, but it was the kind of conversation a couple of friends would have over coffee in a public place.

Juanita slipped into the room and listened to the conversation. It wasn't hard to pick up the thread of what was being discussed. Donna's lack of excitement about the previous evening was just as obvious. She was a little curious why it had turned out to be such a mundane experience for Donna. The young woman had been primed for an explosive evening.

"We petted for what seemed like forever. We undressed each other. I have to say that I was really nervous about that, but he was so sensitive to my needs that it helped calm me down," Amanda said. Undressing another person was a very unique experience for her. It might seem trite, but it was the first time that she had ever held a man's underwear and the difference between his boxers and her panties had been a surprise.

Donna nodded her head thinking they had done basically the same thing. There had been some kissing, but it just seemed to lack something. She wasn't really panting for it when they had moved on to getting undressed. She said, "Yes. We kissed for a while. We undressed ourselves, though."

"Oh," Barbara said noticing that Amanda's voice had a dreamy quality to it when relating her experience while Donna was relaying facts.

Amanda paused for a second considering Donna's statement. It didn't sound like she was with William. She said, "He let me spend forever exploring his body with my hands. Then he explored mine with his tongue. I discovered nerve endings that I never knew I had."

"We did much the same thing," Donna said although the mutual exploration was rather limited.

"When we finally got around to making love, it was like heaven opened up for me. I knew that I was the center of his universe," Amanda said with a little shiver that ran through her body.

"My experience was nice," Donna said in a bored voice.

Barbara said, "It sounds like you didn't really enjoy it."

"Maybe it was me, but I didn't feel all that close to him. I don't know. I guess I just expected more," Donna said letting the tone of her voice convey her disappointment.

Surprised to hear that her time with William had seemed rather mundane, Juanita said, "It sounds to me like you and he didn't connect."

"Yeah, it wasn't like my first time," Donna said.

"Uh, your first time?" Barbara asked surprised by the sudden revelation of experience. This was the first that she had heard of it. She exchanged a glance with Juanita who looked just as surprised.

"Yeah. When Doug and I made love, I thought the world had come to an end. I was screaming and moaning," Donna answered. Her face had the dreamy expression on it as when Amanda described her experience with William.

"You and Doug? When was that?" Amanda asked noticing the difference in Donna's voice immediately.

"Last weekend," Donna answered.

"What happened?"

"We were on the couch kissing and, well, we just got a little carried away with the passion. It was kind of what I was expecting to have happen with William," Donna answered looking a little embarrassed at the admission.

"You don't say," Amanda said. She was still trying to figure out why things hadn't been all that great between Donna and William.

"I tell you one thing. I've been re-examining my feelings towards William ever since he left last night. I think maybe I've built him up into something that wasn't quite human. I realized that I wasn't being honest in my feelings about Doug. I kept putting him second in my life to William," Donna said looking over at Juanita.

Juanita covered her smile with a hand, but it didn't hide the twinkle in her eye. She asked, "So what are your feelings towards Doug?"

Looking around as if she was about to tell a major secret, Donna said, "I think I love him."

"You think you love him?"

"I'm pretty sure that I love him," Donna said still trying to understand her feelings. She had been hiding her feelings from herself using William as a reason not to commit to Doug. She had entertained visions of having amazing sex with William and loving him for the rest of her life. In a way, she had felt that she had cheated on him with Doug. That morning, she had woken up feeling like she had cheated on Doug with William.

"So what are you going to do now?" Barbara asked.

"I think I'm going to visit Doug this weekend," Donna said, at that moment making up her mind that was she was going to visit him.

Looking over at grinning Juanita, Barbara asked, "Why wait until this weekend? Why don't you go now?"

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Barbara said. She would call in a temporary to take Donna's place for the next few days.

Standing up, Donna said, "I'll see you Monday."

"Have fun," Juanita said. She waited until Donna had dashed out of the room before bursting out in laughter. Barbara had immediately joined in the laughter.

Amanda asked, "What's so funny?"

Leaning forward, Juanita took Amanda's hand and asked, "Don't you think that William could have rocked her world last night?"

"Yes. I'm surprised he didn't," Amanda said feeling confused by Donna's impression of her night with William.

Grinning, Barbara asked, "Do you think she'd be running out of here to see Doug if William had rocked her world?"

"No," Amanda answered. A few seconds later the coin dropped and she said, "Oh!"

Juanita stroked Amanda's hand and said, "That's right. William showed her what having sex was like so that she'd know the difference between it and making love. It was a lesson she would understand since she had made love to Doug."

"I'm going to have to think about that for a while," Barbara said feeling a little sad at the revelation that a man would actually do that for a woman. The idea that a guy would put in a less than stellar performance in bed because he cared that much about someone was a little difficult to wrap one's head around.

Armed with a map and driving instructions that she had downloaded from the Web, Donna stuck her head in the room and said, "Bye. I'll see you Monday."

"Bye," Amanda said. Grinning, she added, "Have fun with Doug."

"Will do," Donna said before leaving. She had a long drive ahead of her and she couldn't wait to hit the road.

-------

Naked, William was lying in bed waiting for Lucy to arrive home from the office. She had said that she was going into school, but he knew better. She stormed into the bedroom and proceeded to rip her clothes off. Glaring at him, she said, "You bastard."

"Who me?" he asked with a grin.

"You let me think that you were an uncaring brute who took advantage of a young woman's affections," Lucy said with a growl while lowering her panties to the floor.

"Well, maybe I did," he said with a grin.

She threw herself on the bed and crawled up to him like a tiger stalking a deer. Staring at him, she asked, "Why did you let me think that?"

"What was the first thing you did when Juanita explained it to you?"

Lucy paused in her advance and answered, "I called Donna and got all of the details about her relationship with Doug."

"She'd have never discovered her feelings for him if you had talked to her last night," William said.

The idea of what he had done for Donna had ignited a fire in Lucy. She thought it was one of the most loving things a man could have done for a woman. She launched herself at him. The next hour was crazy blur of passionate sex that left both of them breathless and exhausted. Recovering, Lucy asked, "How did you know about her and Doug?"

"I just knew," William answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"When Juanita told me that Donna hadn't lost her virginity to you, I was shocked."

"They are going to get married, you know," William said. He was sure that it was going to be the best thing to happen to both Doug and Donna.

"You're kidding," Lucy said thinking that such a marriage was doomed to failure. The economic, social, and educational differences between the two of them were extreme.

"No."

"He's working on his doctorate. She's a high school graduate," Lucy said. She wondered what kinds of things they would talk about while sitting around the dinner table.

Smiling at her comment, William said, "He doesn't want a woman in his life that will put her career ahead of him. He wants a very conventional family life."

"She's a very driven woman. She camped out in front of the Carter Home in Arizona to get her job," Lucy said.

"And she dropped everything to go to Doug," William countered.

-------

Monday morning began with Donna walking into the office with her left hand held out in front of her. She walked over to Amanda's desk and said, "You've got to feel this rock on my finger."

Amanda held out a hand so that Donna could show her the ring on her finger. Amanda's fingers ran over the ring and the large diamond. Grinning, she said, "So he asked you to marry him."

"Yes, he did," Donna said with a grin. Her visit with Doug had been the best ever. She had given herself to him totally and without reservation. He had returned that love with interest.

From one of the chairs in the waiting area, came the sound of a person clapping their hands. Donna spun to find William seated there and clapping his hands. He said, "I'm so pleased to hear the good news. I'm sure that you are going to be very happy."

"I'm ecstatic," Donna said looking down at her engagement ring. She had slept late one morning and woke to an empty apartment. After relaxing in bed for thirty minutes, Doug had returned to the apartment. They had made leisurely love and then he had proposed to her.

While Donna had always dreamed of a public proposal with the man on bended knee, this proposal was far more intimate and emotional than would have been possible in public. Feeling loved in his warm embrace, the sudden appearance of the ring and proposal had been the perfect end to a long session of making love. She had wept tears of happiness.

"I'm glad," William said happy that his friend, Doug, had finally found someone to love. He asked, "When are you moving in with him?"

"As soon as possible. I'm afraid that I won't be moving to Arizona with you," Donna answered feeling a little choked up about making the announcement. When she had left home to go work for Talks with Animals, she had never imagined that her job would end with marriage.

Amanda felt happy for her friend and sad at the thought of missing her continued presence in her life. Donna had always been there for her from the very beginning. She said, "I'm going to miss you."

Tears welled up in Donna's eyes as the woman made her way around the desk. She bent down and hugged Amanda. The emotional dam burst and both woman broke into tears. Donna said, "I'm going to miss you a lot Amanda."

William rose from his seat and went over to the pair. Once they had recovered, William hugged Donna. He kissed her cheek with tenderness. In a soft voice, he said, "Donna, you can go as soon as you are ready to leave. I want you to enjoy your life with Doug. He's a great guy."

"I feel like I'm abandoning you," Donna said feeling torn between her happiness and her loyalty to William.

"You're not abandoning me. You're following your bliss and there is no way that I could possibly want to stand in your way," William assured her.

A light went off in Donna's head. She stepped back and looked at him with a frown. Closing one eye, she said, "You knew this was going to happen."

"Yes," William replied.

"I'll stay until you close down this office," she said knowing that would be in about five weeks.

"That would be fine," William said, "Now go show off that rock on your hand and tell Barbara and Juanita that you're getting married."

-------

William returned home and found Lucy seated on the couch reading one of her mathematics journal. She looked up at him and asked, "So did Donna return from Doug's house?"

"Yes," William said moving over to the couch. After taking a seat, he glanced at the article she was reading. Her name jumped off the page at him. Smiling, he said, "I see that someone is making reference to your thesis."

Jarred by the change in topic, Lucy glanced down at the journal. One of the people to whom she had sent a draft of her thesis had written a letter to the journal commenting on it. She had been shocked to learn that copies of it had been distributed around the country. The great surprise was seeing a letter in the journal describing her results and said, "Yes, I'm glad that I followed your advice and sent it out to everyone to comment upon. It's hard to believe that the same month that I am to defend the thesis that I'm seeing references to it."

"It is good solid mathematics," William said.

"There was nothing original about it," Lucy countered. She was feeling nervous about defending her work. There were only three days to go before her thesis defense.

"The Master's Degree is supposed to indicate mastery of the material. The doctorate represents a contribution to the knowledge of mankind," William said to cut off the discussion.

"I know," Lucy said having had that discussion before with William. He kept telling her that it was significant, but she couldn't help have her doubts. Of course, the fact that she had received a number of articles in the mail from researchers who were using the different solutions in their works had gone far to remove her concerns.

"Do you want to hear the good news?" William asked.

"News?"

"Yes, Doug is getting married," William said watching Lucy for her reaction.

"To Donna?" Lucy asked surprised that the relationship between the couple had moved forward so quickly. She wondered if the marriage stood a chance.

"Yes," William answered. He could see her doubts written on her face and said, "It is going to be a good marriage."

Lucy was quiet for a moment while she considered what he had said. Her years of experience told her that he was never wrong about things like that. Accepting it, she asked, "So how does it feel?"

"What do you mean?" William asked confused by the question.

"This is the first woman of your harem you've lost," Lucy answered closing the journal and setting it on the coffee table.

"My harem? I never wanted a harem. I have all of the women I want sitting on the couch next to me," William said putting an arm around Lucy.

She snuggled into him and said, "You say the nicest things."



-------

Chapter 62


The classroom was a typical lecture room with one piece desks arranged in rows facing a white board at the front. The projector screen was pulled down and Lucy's first slide was projected on it. The slide was simple with just the title of her thesis and her name on it with a plain white background.

Lucy shifted nervously at the front of the classroom. Even though William and her parents were seated in the last row, their presence was doing little to reduce the butterflies in her stomach. The defense was scheduled to begin at two, but it was now five minutes past the hour. She was ready to go, but had to wait for the Dean to arrive. Each minute of delay just increased her nervousness.

The Dean entered the room with quick furtive movements and moved to a seat in the first row. The man was small with dark eyes and a nervous disposition. Most people who met him for the first time were reminded of a mouse. The fact that the man was brilliant was often overlooked. His nervous and quick movements often made people think that he was hiding something, but it was just his basic nature.

With the arrival of the Dean, Lucy's advisor stepped to the front of the room. In a clear voice, he said, "Welcome to the defense of Lucy Carter's Master's Thesis entitled Ignored Solutions to a Common Set of Coupled Differential Equations. I know that most of us here in this room are very familiar with Lucy Carter. For those of you who have not had a chance to work with this brilliant young woman, I will give you a little background.

"Lucy Carter, formerly known as Lucy Wilkins, first came to this college at the age of fourteen as a freshman. She achieved her undergraduate degree in mathematics at the age of eighteen. She married William Carter, son of John Carter, upon graduation. She returned to continue her studies in mathematics. Today is the culmination of her studies."

Finished with his introduction, he turned to Lucy and said, "The floor is yours."

It took a few minutes for Lucy to get into the rhythm of her presentation, but by the second slide she had left her nervousness behind. With each slide, her voice became more confident and her manner became more intense. At times, her interest in the material threatened to derail her prepared presentation, but she kept herself from pursing the obvious diversions.

William watched the clock and her presentation. As far as he was concerned, she was magnificent. It was a competent, complete, and correct presentation of her results. She was following her schedule almost to the minute. After the allotted forty five minutes, she stepped back and said, "So in summary, these other solutions have been ignored in many areas where they may, in fact, be the solution desired. Are there any questions?"

One of the instructors said, "I wasn't even aware of the third solution that you included. Are you sure that isn't original work?"

Smiling at the comment, Lucy knew that she had generated three of the solutions in one sitting. It was all original work, but she was not the first to do it. It had taken her months to track down articles that had presented the solutions published prior to her discussion with William. She said, "Actually, that was one of the earliest solutions to those equations but it was published in a journal that didn't have much distribution. It should be noted that the article was in a physics journal rather than a mathematics journal. I found several other references to it, but none with the level of detail as the initial article."

Another instructor said, "I don't see this as Master quality work. I mean, all she's done is to suggest that other researchers aren't very good."

The suggestion that it wasn't quality work took Lucy by surprise. She was willing to accept that the solutions presented weren't original, but not that it was low quality. Her cheeks blushed at the criticism, but she controlled her reaction. She said, "Most of the people who utilize these equations are not mathematicians As a result, they turn to textbooks that present the most obvious solution and go no further. Two of the solutions are particularly obscure. I wouldn't have been able to find them if I hadn't identified the solutions before searching for literature that presented them."

"So what?" the professor asked with a snort of derision.

"Well, as a result of this work a number of scientists are investigating these solutions in terms of applicability in their areas of research. Just the other night, I received an e-mail that another paper was being published as a result of my work," Lucy answered feeling very defensive.

"Big deal. Some idiot e-mails you because he's too lazy to find a solution to his problem and you provided it to him."

One of the other professors turned to the other and asked, "What is your problem? This is outstanding work."

"Bah!"

Lucy was left standing at the front of the room while a horrible argument broke out among the faculty. William, despite the fact that he had been expecting this to occur, was furious. He wanted to go over to the horrid man and pound him into a pulp. His statements were totally out of line and were ruining what should have been a special day for Lucy.

Ann Wilkins leaned over to William and asked, "Can't you stop them?"

"Not really," William said with his voice tightly controlled. He looked over at father-in-law and could tell that the man was ready to loose his temper. He put a hand on the older man's arm and said, "She has to handle this herself. If we interfere then it will forever blemish her defense."

"Someone should stop it."

"Lucy can handle it," William said. He understood the value of her research better than most of the faculty in the room. Her results had saved him months of work. Even the presentation of one of those lesser known mathematical results was worthy of a Master's degree. She hadn't just presented the solution, but had described the solution in greater detail than the original article. She had also identified several dozen areas where those solutions might be worth investigating.

William gestured to Lucy that she was to take control of the situation. Nodding her head, Lucy shouted, "Quiet! This has gone on long enough."

Shocked that the young woman had interrupted the argument so vocally, everyone turned to look at her. Satisfied that she had their attention and furious at their treatment of her, she said, "Some of you may question the value of this work. I can document that there are many who see great value in what I have done. The fact of the matter is that I have presented good and solid mathematics. I challenge anyone in this room to question the mathematics of this work."

Lucy's advisor started clapping in support. He rose and faced the rest of the room. He said, "I agree with Lucy. The mathematics she presented is solid. It is my opinion that anyone who fails to see the value of her work has a problem."

Turning to face Lucy, he said, "Thank you, Lucy, for such a nice presentation of your work. I'm sure that people will be using your results for years to come. I'd also like to apologize for our bickering at the conclusion of your presentation. That was uncalled for and very rude on our part."

Recovering her composure, Lucy said, "Thank you."

William watched as the faculty left the room. The sounds of arguments filtered back into the room. Standing, he walked over to Lucy and put an arm around her. Smiling at her, he said, "You were magnificent. You really put them in their place."

"I agree," her advisor said.

"What was his problem?" Lucy asked.

Her advisor looked over at William and wondered how to answer that question diplomatically. Giving up, he said, "Well, Professor McKee thinks that William has basically bought your degree. He's accused many of us of taking bribes to pass you through our program and covertly helping you to write your thesis. It has gotten worse since the arrest of Professor MacDonald."

"Was he a friend of Professor MacDonald?" William asked.

"No. He just felt that you framed the man because he insulted you."

The Dean had remained seated. In his soft squeaky voice, he said, "Lucy. I apologize for the comments of Professor McKee. Personally, I think your thesis is a masterpiece. Congratulations on a very eloquent defense of your work. I particularly enjoyed hearing you say that you would defend the mathematics. That's what we are supposed to do in one of these things."

"Thank you," Lucy said surprised by his comment.

Turning to her advisor, the Dean said, "I would be very disappointed if she received anything less than an A for this."

"I agree."

"Now I have to go off and act like a Dean. I just have to figure out what I can do about this situation. I'll be over at the park in a little while," the mousy looking man said. He rose and left the room.

Ann went over to her daughter and exclaimed, "That was amazing. I didn't understand a word you said, but you really sounded like you knew what you were talking about."

Her father said, "I'm so proud of you. I knew you were smart."

Lucy looked over at William and noticed the tension in his jaw. The only time that she had seen him that angry was when Missy had attacked her. Holding onto his arm, she said, "You're angry at Professor McKee, aren't you?"

"Yes," William answered. Looking over at his father-in-law, he said, "There's nothing I can do when someone is a jerk. Professor McKee is a jerk."

"You can say that again," Lucy said in disgust. She looked over at William and said, "I'm glad that you warned me."

Her advisor looked at William and asked, "You warned her?"

"Yes," William said. He looked over at the advisor and said, "Why do you think the Dean attended a Master's defense?"

"I hadn't thought about it."

The celebration of Lucy's defense took place at the park. William had argued for a Burger Burner while Ann had argued for a fancy restaurant. Lucy, though, had selected a picnic at the park knowing that all of the homeless would attend as well. When they arrived, a crowd of people was waiting for her. Cheers were heard all over the campus. It sounded like the home team had made a touch down.

Fat Fred shouted, "Congratulations, Lucy Diamonds. We're so proud of you."

"Thanks, Fat Fred," Lucy said while giving the large man a hug. Once the hug was complete, Lucy kissed him on the cheek.

The big man looked embarrassed, but he was as happy as he could ever remember being. When Lucy stepped away to hug another homeless man, Fat Fred walked over to her father. Stepping up to stand beside him, Fat Fred said, "I hope you don't mind. I'm as fond of that little girl as if she was my own daughter. You must be really proud of her."

Mr. Wilkins looked over at Fat Fred and said, "I'm very proud of her. You must be Fat Fred."

"I'm definitely not Skinny Fred," the large man answered with a laugh. He used his hands to jiggle his big belly.

"Lucy talks about you a lot. She says that your heart is too big for your body."

Looking away, Fat Fred said, "She's exaggerating. I'm just a homeless guy that lives in a park."

"I heard that you take care of all the other homeless folks in the city," Mr. Wilkins said.

"Half Feather does that. I'm just his agent at times," Fat Fred answered while scratching his cheek. He didn't really feel comfortable talking about himself.

"Well, I appreciate you watching out for Lucy."

"I just do what little I can," Fat Fred answered. He looked around and asked, "Have you seen Jan?"

"I understand she is coming here with the rest of William's family," Mr. Wilkins answered.

"Good," Fat Fred said.

Mr. Wilkins noticed that Professor McKee had come to the picnic. The look he gave the man was angry enough that several of the men and women gathered there noticed. Injun Joe came up beside Lucy's father and asked, "You're the father of Lucy Diamonds, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"What did that man do to get you so angry at him?" Injun Joe said pointing over in the direction of Professor McKee.

"He was rude to Lucy."

"Rude?" Injun Joe said with a frown. Looking over at Professor McKee, he asked, "Just how rude was he?"

"He said that her work was not important enough to get her degree," Mr. Wilkins answered. A small flare of anger flashed through his body.

"There's no chance that he was right?"

"William said her work was very valuable."

Injun Joe looked around at some of the men gathered there. Fat Fred shook his head, but Injun Joe ignored him. Frowning, he said, "I see. Excuse me; I've got to talk to some of the other gentlemen around here."

Professor McKee stood to the side watching Lucy greet the various homeless folks. Personally, he was disgusted by the dirty men and women who lived in the park and never understood why the police allowed them to stay there. It was inconceivable to him that Lucy was touching them, much less hugging and kissing them. A shudder went through his body.

Two men, wearing multiple layers of clothes that had long since past seen their day, came up from behind and took positions at his side. Injun Joe said, "I heard that you were rude to Lucy Diamonds."

Startled, Professor McKee looked over at Injun Joe with fear. Blustering, he asked, "Who?"

"Lucy Diamonds. Half Feather's wife, Lucy," Injun Joe said. Seeing that the man was still staring at him, he added, "Lucy Carter."

Upon recognizing who the homeless man was talking about, the professor said, "Oh, you mean the rich bitch who just bought her degree."

"Talking like that about Lucy Diamonds is a good way to get killed," Boots said trying hard to keep control of his temper.

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. He's just telling you that there are some people who take a lot of offense at hearing anyone talk that way about Lucy," Injun Joe said.

"She put you up to this, didn't she? Or was it him?" Professor McKee asked pointing in the direction of William.

Boots stepped closer to the professor and said, "You're one stupid asshole. Lucy Diamonds and Half Feather aren't like that. If they wanted to take you down, they'd do it themselves."

"We're doing this because we don't like people talking bad about our friends," Injun Joe said.

"Gentlemen, is there a problem?"

Injun Joe and Boots turned to look at the diminutive woman standing behind them. Boots swallowed and said, "Lady Death."

"The name is Ling." Her voice was cold enough to freeze water. The nickname had started sometime after she had killed one of the men trying to kill Harry. Since then, she had been doing everything in her power to get the homeless to stop calling her that.

"Yes, ma'am," Boots said swallowing heavily. He'd heard that she was a cold blooded killer.

"I asked a question. Is there a problem?"

Injun Joe nervously licked his lips and answered, "This here fellow was talking bad about Lucy Diamonds."

"Leave the man alone," Ling said and gestured for the two men to leave.

"Lady Death... I mean, Ling... He was talking bad about Lucy Diamonds. We can't just stand here and let him talk trash about her," Boots said.

"I told you to leave the man alone," Ling repeated. Despite the use of the nickname that she hated, it was hard to act upset when she was pleased that they would stand up for her daughter-in-law like that.

"Ma'am. Lucy Diamonds is a Saint. It's not right to let someone talk bad about her that way," Injun Joe said.

"And how do you think she would feel if she were to learn that a guest of hers was roughed up at her party?" Ling asked looking from one man to the other.

"Yes, ma'am," Boots said lowering his head to look at the ground. It was early May and the grass was already green.

Shaking his head, Injun Joe said, "She needs to be protected."

"William protects her," Ling said.

Looking down, Injun Joe said, "This is the only thing I can do for her. She's done so much for me, but she doesn't need anything from me."

"She needs your friendship," Ling said. She stepped over to him and put an arm around the man. Leading him away, she said, "You guys think you have nothing to offer her. There are so many people who have much more than you who only like her because of what she can do for them. You don't ask her for things. You give her your friendship because you're a good man. She needs friends."

Puzzled by what he had heard, Professor McKee watched as the two homeless men and the oriental woman walked away. He headed over to where the food was laid out. After getting into line, he looked over his shoulder and found a green robed Druid standing behind him. Surprised, he asked, "Are you a Druid?"

Beth looked at him as if he had two heads and answered, "What does it look like?"

"I guess you are," Professor McKee answered feeling more than a little foolish. Trying to change the topic, he asked, "So what are you doing here?"

"My sister-in-law defended her Master's Thesis today," Beth answered unaware of the professor's role in the defense.

"Your sister-in-law is Lucy Carter?"

Beth smiled and said, "Yes. She's absolutely brilliant. She has to be in order to live with William. William is so much smarter than anyone else in the family that it is almost frightening. Our brother, Eddie, thinks that William will win the Nobel Prize in economics. The whole family, with the exception of William, agrees with him on that score."

"You're saying that he's brilliant?" Professor McKee asked still firmly convinced that William had bought his degree and used his influence to get Lucy her degree.

"I take it you don't know him that well," Beth said. She leaned forward and said, "He was one of the authors of the Seattle Treaty in Infinite Game Theory. There's no doubt that it should win a Nobel Prize."

"The Seattle Treaty?" Professor McKee asked. He had never heard of it and couldn't imagine that it would be such a big deal. Of course, he had never heard of Infinite Game Theory either.

"That's a real big deal. I looked it up and there were more than five hundred references to the treaty in referred publications. That's pretty impressive for a paper that is less than a year in publication, particularly when it takes almost two years for a paper to get published in journals on economics," Beth said.

That was a measure of acceptance that Professor McKee understood. It was an impressive accomplishment. The result had to be pretty significant or controversial to achieve that kind of recognition so quickly. Nodding his head, he said, "That is pretty impressive."

"Yes," Beth said. She looked over to where William and Lucy were talking with their fathers. She added, "William was really lucky to find Lucy. She's the only one who can keep up with him on an intellectual level."

"I find that rather hard to believe," Professor McKee said.

Beth turned to her husband, John, and asked, "Who's the smartest person in the family?"

"That's an easy one. William, of course," John answered with a negligent shrug of his shoulders before turning back to resume his conversation with Beth's brother, John.

Beth winked at her brother, John, and asked, "So who's the second smartest one in my family?"

Both Johns stopped their discussion and looked at Beth. Her husband said, "That's a little tougher to answer. Your father, Ed, is brilliant in the area of mineralogy. Your father, Leroy, won the Nobel Prize. Your father, Dan, is head of research at Random Computer. John, here, is a world recognized Biologist and his wife, Susan, is a famous botanist. Your mother, Linda, is a famous author. You're considered the greatest architect in the world."

"So who is it?"

"Of course, Lucy is the only one I've met who can keep up with William."

"Sorry, Beth, but I'd have to go with Lucy," John, her brother, answered.

Listening to the accomplishments of the family, Professor McKee was stunned. To hear that they thought Lucy was the second smartest one in the family spoke volumes. Shocked, he said, "You're kidding."

"No, she's almost as smart as William," Beth said. Frowning, she asked, "By the way, we haven't been introduced. I'm Beth."

"I'm Dr. McKee."

"Oh," Beth said while stepping back. The expression on her face suggested that she suddenly smelled something bad.

-------

This is the end of Part I of William Redman Carter: Noble Savage.



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Part 2: Hermit

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Chapter 1


A drop of water falls from the sky in the midst of a rainstorm. Where it lands depends upon influences so subtle that they are practically immeasurable. The dust particle around which the drop forms, the movement of a leaf due to a previous drop striking it, and the lifting of a deer's head can affect whether a drop lands on earth, leaf, or deer. The drop knows nothing of these influences.

The drop falls according to the forces applied to it. Alone, the drop may not be of much import, but in concert with other drops the consequences can have earth shattering effects. A drought relieved, a crop saved, a crop ruined, or a devastating flood. Yet, the drop knows nothing of these things.

One drop lands on saturated ground and triggers a mudslide that pulls up trees, destroys houses, and kills all in its path. Was it that specific drop that caused the mudslide? No, larger forces were at work and the drop was merely the trigger. Any other drop hitting that same location would have produced the same result. All of the previous drops of rain had produced the conditions necessary for the mudslide to occur.

The journey a person takes through life is a lot like the path of a raindrop. Where a person is born, what society was formed by those who came before, and the actions of nature; all affect a person's journey. The impact of a single life can be part of something much bigger than the individual.

Unlike the raindrop that knows nothing of the consequence of where it fell, a person may guess at the consequences of their life. Did a tired black women realize that she was about to trigger a social revolution because she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man? At the time of her death, the consequences of her actions were obvious. The political landscape of the world had changed.

One can argue that the specific person who triggers a social revolution is not important. The social landscape had already been saturated by the actions of thousands before and the momentum was continued by those who followed. The black woman wasn't the only actor in the drama that set off a social revolution. The man who wanted her seat, the driver of the bus, the policeman who arrested her, and the reporter who turned it into a national story were just as important.

In hindsight, the events of the past seem inevitable. If it hadn't been one person, it would have been another. If it hadn't been one event, then it would have been another. The difficulty in making that leap of inevitability is that it wasn't a different person or a different event. It was the specific person and the actual event that occurred. There is something magical about that in the minds of observers.

Is it fate, or random chance, that drives the life of a person to being in the right place and time? It isn't clear which the correct answer is, but it may be a better question to ask if it was inevitable that such an event occur. There is a sense of inevitability to the broad brush strokes of history, but it springs from events that are often overlooked by historians.

More often than not, the real people responsible for a significant social event never come before the review of historians. They lived decades before the event and miles from where it took place. Even they do not know that their daily life was saturating the ground of society providing for a mudslide of change.

Feeling restless, William took a seat where he could look out the window onto the canyon. The rugged features of the view could entertain his mind for hours. The varying hues of reds, browns, grays, and whites of the canyon wall were impressive. The magnificent view was usually sufficient to relax him, however today it wasn't having that effect.

William shifted nervously; he was thinking that he might find it to walk off his energy outdoors. He didn't understand why he was feeling so uncomfortable. He was filled with a restless energy that demanded to be released. It was as if he had drunk twenty cups of coffee.

Standing up, he sought out Lucy knowing that she would be in the library overseeing the shelving of their books. Although they had been in the new house for three weeks, there was still a lot of work remaining to be done before it would be comfortable. Lucy was taking her role as mistress of the house very seriously.

William walked through the open atrium. Lining the path were the waterfalls that Beth had designed. Beside each waterfall were exotic plants from South America that had been collected by his brother, John. Normally, William would walk through the atrium taking his time, but today his restlessness drove him without regard to his surroundings.

On reaching the library, he stuck his head in and shouted, "Lucy?"

Looking around a stack of books, she answered, "What?"

"I'm going outside for a bit. I just can't stay inside any more," William answered.

"Have fun," Lucy answered absent-mindedly while turning back to the bookshelf. She was trying to organize their science fiction collection by author's name. There were nearly thirty boxes of books remaining, she wondered if she was going to finish shelving them that day.

William went to the elevator and rode up to the surface level of the house. Driven by an urge to be alone, he left the house and got into his Hugger. Driving without a destination in mind, he ended up at the river's bank near the mouth of the canyon. He got out and looked around as the need to move fled.

Looking up the canyon he could see the house. Not once during the house's lifetime had he stopped to wonder what it would look like from below. Despite the fact that the exterior was made of glass, the building as a whole blended into the rough landscape. Rather than flat planes of glass, the exterior reflected the opposite side of the canyon. It was phenomenal and took his breath away.

He took two steps up the canyon and fell to the ground. The world around him was no longer the desert. Hard dry ground had transitioned to soft green grass. Looking up from the grass, William looked at the Two-Sided One. Unaware that the urge that had been driving him had come from the Two-Sided One, William asked, "What happened?"

"I have brought you to me, little one," the Two-sided One answered. The male figure blurred before turning into an attractive man and woman joined at the hands. The male aspect was caressing the breasts of the female aspect with his free hand.

Excited at being called by the Two-Sided One, there was only one explanation that made sense to William. He sat up and said, "So my service is about to begin."

The female aspect answered, "Oh, my poor little one..."

"... it is still not your time,..." the male aspect said.

"... although you might consider our request..."

"... to be the beginning of your service to us..."

"... but your true service..."

"... will not begin until Oscar has..."

"... finished his service," the female aspect of the Two-Sided One said.

"Then why have you called me?" William asked looking from one aspect to the other. He loved the Two-Sided One in all forms, but this was the easiest on the eyes. Both the male and female aspect exemplified the perfect person.

The female aspect sighed and shook her head. The male aspect said, "Oscar needs your vision."

"He needs my vision?" William asked wondering what that meant.

"Your vision will allow him to fulfill his service to us," the female aspect answered.

"You want me to give my vision to Oscar?" William asked stunned at the request. Oscar had been borrowing his foresight on many occasions and this was the first time that he had been asked.

"Yes."

"Why?" William asked.

"There can be only one," the female aspect answered in a soft voice.

"Only one what?" William asked.

"Only one prophet," the male aspect answered looking at William with infinite sadness in his eyes.

"There can be only one prophet," the female aspect said in a sad voice.

"Do you mean that Oscar can't bring peace to the Middle East without me giving up my foresight?" William asked finding it difficult to breathe. He was being asked to give up something that was integral to his being.

"Yes."

Swallowing, William asked, "Why?"

"Two prophets cancel each other out. There can be only one," the Two-Sided One answered with a sigh. There was a shimmer and the two figures formed backed into a single overweight man.

William was silent while considering what the Two-Sided One had asked of him. Oscar had been borrowing his gift and he had gotten used to living without it, on occasions. He wondered if he could give it up for good, but his mind kept shying away from that thought. It kept returning to a more significant thought and one that dictated his answer. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Take it from me."

"Why are you giving up your gift?"

"It is a price that I'm willing to pay to help bring about peace on earth," William answered. He sighed and said, "I'm willing to give my life. Giving anything less than that is a cheap price to pay. The loss of my foresight is nothing compared to the pain that I would be preventing."

"This will hurt, little one," the Two-Sided One said looking with fondness upon William.

It was a little after noon when Lucy went to the dining room and waited for William. She was worried, but couldn't put into words what was bothering her. After waiting fifteen minutes, she went to the kitchen and asked, "Have you seen William?"

Lisa turned from the stove and answered, "No."

Lucy sighed and said, "This house is so big that it'll take an hour to find him."

Ken entered the kitchen in time to overhear the last part of her statement. He asked, "Find who?"

"William," Lucy answered.

"I saw him outside. He was getting into his Hugger," Ken said just before sneaking a kiss on his wife's neck.

Lisa swatted at him light-heartedly and said, "Call him on his cell phone."

It was good advice. Lucy pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number. She listened to it ring until the answering service picked up. Closing the cell phone, she looked over at Ken and, with a concerned expression on her face, said, "Ken, I'm worried. He didn't answer."

Picking up on Lucy's nervous behavior, Ken said, "Let me call Derrick and have him send out the ranch hands to search for him."

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Lucy said. She went over to the kitchen table and took a seat where she could look at the canyon. The mouth of the canyon wasn't visible from where she was seated. The sight of the hard rock walls of the canyon still had the ability to take her breath away.

Thirty minutes later, Ken returned to the kitchen and sat down across from Lucy at the table. In a calm voice, he said, "We found his Hugger at the base of the canyon, but the men haven't been able to locate him yet. They are bringing some horses to help in the search for him."

"Did he have an accident?" Lucy asked finding it difficult to breathe. She had no idea what she would do if something bad happened to William.

"No. It appears that he parked the Hugger and then walked off," Ken answered. One of the Native Americans had said that William's tracks ended about three steps into the canyon.

Lucy was silent for a minute while she thought about it. She looked at the cell phone and picked it up. After dialing a number, she waited for an answer. When Ed answered, she said, "Ed. William has disappeared."

There was a long moment of silence before Ed replied, "Today is Midsummer's Day."

"So?"

"If I had to guess, he's with the Gods and Goddesses," Ed answered.

"Oh," Lucy replied speechless at the news. It took her almost a full minute before she asked, "Should I be worried?"

Ed knew that a special relationship existed between William and the Gods and Goddesses. He answered, "No. I don't know when he'll return. It could be tomorrow or in five days; all you can do is just be patient."

"Thanks, Ed," Lucy said.

"I'll be there in a couple of hours. It won't help anything, but you won't be alone," Ed said.

Terrified at the thought of facing the next few days alone, Lucy said, "Thanks, I would really appreciate that."

"See you in a little while," Ed said before hanging up.

It was four hours before Ed showed up at the house, with Eddie in tow. William's younger brother looked around the house, in obvious awe, at the miracle performed by his sister. After exchanging a quick hug with Lucy, Eddie said, "So my brother is finally becoming a Druid!"

"Hold on, Eddie. You never know what is going to happen when dealing with the Gods and Goddesses," Ed said trying to keep expectations from escalating out of control.

Worried, Lucy asked, "You don't think he'll be hurt?"

"No. He'll be fine," Ed answered. Looking around from the top level of the house, he asked, "So are you going to show us around the place?"

"Sure," Lucy answered. She led them to the elevator and took them down to the next level where the offices were located. Although the house was big and they were in the process of hiring more people, the house wasn't empty. The entire staff, with the exception of Donna, had already moved into their apartments. Donna had left to live with Doug.

Impressed by what he was seeing, Eddie asked, "When are you going to have a house warming party?"

"We were thinking about having it at the end of summer. It's going to take a while for us to finish moving in completely," Lucy answered. The unexpected visit of Ed and Eddie had required some fast action on the part of Ken. None of the guest rooms had been furnished. He had gone out and purchased two beds, beating Ed and Eddie to the house by ten minutes. He was still setting up the beds.

"There sure is a lot of room here. I think this is bigger than our house," Eddie commented.

"This is just the second level," Lucy said. The real tour began once the elevator arrived to take them to the lowest level. This was where the family really lived. Lucy appreciated the distraction.

Derrick had spent the night at the mouth of the canyon and woke feeling sore. It had been a long while since he had spent the night sleeping on the ground. He wondered when he had gotten used to the soft life and swore that he'd start camping out more often. He moved around the camp beginning a pot of coffee. The temperature was hot and it looked like the day was going to be a scorcher.

Once the coffee started, he stood and looked up at the house built into the canyon wall. Shaking his head, he said, "That sure is some magnificent building."

There wasn't an answer and he didn't expect one. Since starting to work for William, Derrick hadn't been alone very much. He was kept busy watching over the work being done on the ranch, and on the twenty men who worked there. The entire place had been fenced in, wells had been sunk, and outbuildings constructed.

While the coffee was perking, he walked around the area hoping to find some sign of William. Frowning, he couldn't help his doubts about if Ed was right about William being safe. He knew that any man could get lost in the desert and disappear for good. He reached for his walkie-talkie and, after pressing the button, said, "After the men get done eating breakfast, send them down here."

"Right, boss," came the answer. Eighty percent of the people working on the ranch were Native Americans and they had no doubts that William could handle himself. It amused many of them that Derrick was so worried about William. It also improved their opinion of him in a funny way. His concern and high regard for William suggested a better character than they attributed to the average White Man.

Derrick returned to his campfire and poured a cup of coffee. Looking up at the sun, he sighed and said, "Five more hours to noon."

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice from behind said, "That's about right. Of course, a more accurate way to judge that is by looking at your watch."

Spinning around, Derrick looked at the stranger who had entered his camp. He didn't recognize the man and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Dale."

"You're trespassing," Derrick said. Security was not going to be happy to learn that someone had snuck onto the property.

Dale shook his head and said, "No friend of Talks with Animals is a trespasser."

"How do you know William?"

"We are old friends," Dale answered stepping forward. He glanced down at the coffee pot and asked, "Have you got a spare cup?"

While Derrick prepared a cup of coffee for Dale, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"The Great Spirit told me that William was going to need a friend or two when he returns to this world," Dale answered squatting down beside Derrick. Powerful forces were at work in the world and William was going to be the first one wounded. Dale wasn't sure what that meant, but he was going to be there for his friend.

"I'm here."

"That's true," Dale answered accepting the cup of coffee from Derrick. He blew across the cup's mouth cooling the coffee it contained. Still squatting, he said, "So you are the man who helped Ling and Claire protect the White Buffalo."

"How did you know that?" Derrick answered.

"Kotyit told me all about you," Dale answered with a smile.

On hearing that Dale knew Kotyit, Derrick relaxed. For the next few hours the two men talked until the sounds of two horses disturbed them. Turning, the pair of men watched the approach of Ed and Eddie on horseback. The two riders had their attention on the landscape around them rather than on the pair of men who watched them. On reaching the camp, Ed dismounted and said, "Hello. Why is it that I'm not surprised to see you, Dale?"

"Hello, Ed. Hello, Eddie," Dale answered looking over at William's younger brother with fondness. He wished that Eddie had the same protectiveness towards the tribe that he was beginning to demonstrate towards his hometown.

"Hi, Spirit of Desert Rock. How are things among our people?" Eddie answered.

"Things go well. Employment is up, money is flowing, and the people are growing stronger," Dale answered.

"We will have to go rock hunting one of these days," Eddie said with a quick glance over at his father.

The discussion was interrupted by a groan from the other side of the campfire. Everyone turned to look at the sad figure of William lying on the ground. Ed knew immediately that William had not begun his service to the Gods and Goddesses. Going over to his son, he knelt down and said, "You'll be okay. We're here for you."

William lifted his head and looked up at his father with tears in his eyes. In a very sad voice, he said, "I gave him what I could, but it won't be enough to save him."

"Save who?" Ed asked.

"Oscar."

Eddie looked down at his older brother and, dismayed by the lack of a medallion around his neck, said, "He's not a Druid."

Dale put a hand on Eddie's shoulder and said, "You're right. He's more than that."



-------

Chapter 2


A shiver went through William when he woke in a nice soft bed. The last thing he remembered was lying on the hard ground. Even before he had a chance to open his eyes, he heard Lucy say, "He's waking up."

"I'm awake," he said opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was Lucy. She was looking down at him with an expression of concern on her face. She immediately hugged him and then stood back to give him some space. He was comforted by her hug and reached up for her hand.

"I was so worried about you," Lucy said taking his hand in hers. The expression on her face showed the lack of sleep that demonstrated her suffering of the past two days. He had been asleep for almost a full day.

"We were all worried about you," Eddie said from behind Lucy. The young man had not left William's side since they had brought him up from the canyon.

"Eddie, it's nice of you to come," William said unable to see his brother around Lucy. He wondered who else was there and was frustrated by the lack of knowledge that would have been his with his gift. He sighed thinking that he was going to have to get used to not knowing.

"Are you okay? What happened? Why aren't you a Druid?" Eddie asked. The questions came rushing out of his mouth, almost tumbling one after another.

"Let him catch his breath," Ed said putting a hand on Eddie's shoulder.

Carrying a plastic cup with a straw in it, Dale came over to the other side of the bed. Holding the cup out to William, he said, "Here, drink a little of this."

"What is it?" William asked with a frown on his face. He reached out to take the cup from Dale; realizing only once he had taken it that Dale was there.

"Old Indian potion used to cure people who've been out in the desert too long," Dale answered with a very serious expression on his face.

William took a sip and then laughed out of surprise. Holding the cup up, he said, "That's water."

"Best cure for people who've been out in the desert too long," Dale replied with a grin.

Shaking his head, William said, "I should have known. I'm glad you're here."

Eddie stared at William unable to believe that Dale had been able to play a joke on his big brother. Dismayed, he looked up to his father. In a voice tight with emotion, he asked, "What's wrong with William?"

Having seen William during the times when his gift had left him, Lucy understood how William had been changed. Concerned, she asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so," William answered knowing what she was asking. It felt strange not being certain about what was going to happen next. He sighed and said, "At least it wasn't a total surprise."

"What wasn't a total surprise?" Eddie asked feeling a sense of panic rising. His older brother wasn't acting normal and that worried him.

"That I lost my foresight," William answered.

"What?" Eddie exclaimed feeling a sense of panic rising within him. It seemed to him that the Gods and Goddesses had hurt his brother. He looked over at his father and asked, "What happened to him?"

"Calm down, Eddie. I have a feeling that William expected this to happen to him," Ed said in a controlled voice. He knew that Eddie needed to learn a little more about the Gods and Goddesses. Leaning down, he said, "Eddie, let's talk about this where we won't disturb William. He needs to rest."

"I'm worried about you," Lucy said to her husband even as Ed and Eddie left the room. Although William had gotten better about dealing with the world when his gift would disappear, he never approached his typical level of confidence. She wondered how he would survive having it gone for good.

Dale took a seat in one of the chairs and examined William carefully. In a quiet voice that assured that all was well with the world, he said, "Don't worry about him. There's more than one power watching over William."

That thought hadn't occurred to William and he found that the idea comforted him. Squeezing Lucy's hand, William said, "He's right."

Looking over at his friend, Dale said, "Seeing you in bed like this, I'm reminded of the day you removed the curse over our people. You were weak for almost a year afterwards."

"I was a mess after that little adventure," William said in agreement. His hand went up to caress the medicine bag that hung around his neck. The detailed bead work on the leather of the pouch felt cool to the touch. He ran a finger along the sharp edge of the eagle feather; the barbs of the feather giving slightly under the pressure of his touch. The rattle sounded when his actions shifted the medicine bag. He had not realized that Lucy had placed it around his neck when he had been brought back to the house.

Touching the medicine bag that hung around William's neck, Lucy said, "I made this to replace the one you had lost."

William took her hand that was touching the medicine bag and held it gently in his. He said, "I remember when my mother taught you how to make it."

"Yes," Lucy said with a smile. Remembering Linda's words on the role of a wife, she said, "I am your squaw."

"Yes, you are," William said taking comfort in her declaration.

"Let me open the curtains. The view from this room is spectacular," Lucy said. On receiving his nod of agreement, she moved away from the bed and opened the curtains. As she slid the curtains open, the impressive walls of the canyon were revealed.

"I suppose I should get up," William said thinking about all of the things that needed to be done around the house.

"Not until you've recovered a little of your strength. You've lost a lot of weight," Lucy said moving back to the bed and fluffing the pillow on which he was resting. Once she was sure that he was comfortable, she kissed his forehead.

"Thank you," William said.

"Lisa will be here soon with some soup. I want you to eat it all and get strong. We've got a lot of work to do around the house and you'll need all of your strength. I've still got twenty boxes of science fiction books to unpack in the library," Lucy said. She knew that she'd have the books shelved before he got out of bed.

"Here I am, lying in bed weak as a kitten and you're already planning on putting me to work," William joked.

Glancing over at Dale, Lucy realized that he wanted to talk to William alone, but was too polite to say that to her. She smiled at him and said, "I'll go get some books for William to read while he's recovering. Why don't you two talk together for a bit? I'll be right back."

William said, "You can do that later."

Seeing the expression on Lucy's face, Dale said, "She wants to give you and me a chance to talk alone. Let her go, William."

"Oh," William said with a frown. He wondered how he had missed that. In a voice filled with uncertainty, he said, "Okay."

Lucy slipped out of the room amazed that William had not picked up on her real reasons for leaving. Closing the door, she hugged herself while tears started to fall on her cheeks. Something essential had been taken from William and she wondered if he would ever adapt.

Looking over at William, Dale said, "Your time as a medicine man is not over, but it will end soon. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes," William said. It was the first time he had ever heard it put into words. It was the first time that he had even admitted it to himself.

"You will be starting your service to your Gods and Goddesses soon. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes," William said with much more confidence. Of course, soon was a relative word in this context.

"Filled with two great powers held in balance, the only way to shift to one is for the other to weaken. I think your Gods and Goddesses have allowed their power in you to weaken so that you can adjust more easily," Dale said.

Shaking his head, William said, "No. Oscar Meyers needed my gift in his service. They asked me to give it to him so that he could perform his service."

"You have a little anger about that?" Dale asked knowing that such a loss could easily result in resentment.

"I suppose," William answered. He wondered how he could live with a sluggish mind and in such a dull appearing world. Shaking his head, he said, "I can't really blame them; they asked for my permission. I gave it, knowing that I would be less than that what I was, because the reason was noble."

Dale laughed and shook his head. He asked, "You think there was only one reason?"

"Yes."

Surprised by William's answer, Dale asked, "Don't you think that there can be more than one reason for any action? Do you place such limits on the wisdom of your Gods and Goddesses? Aren't you afraid of insulting them as a result of such a narrow vision?"

Chastised, William studied the sheet covering his body. After thinking about it for a moment, he said, "You may be right."

"I am right and you know it," Dale said.

"Okay," William admitted feeling oddly comforted. There was a trace of doubt that remained in his voice. He asked, "What could be another reason?"

"Have you given any thought about the character of our people after the great curse was lifted?" Dale asked instead of answering the question directly.

"I know that our people have made great strides in recovering from it over the past few years," William said.

Dale laughed and shook his head at the superficial answers that William was giving. It was so unlike the young man that he had known in the past. He said, "You haven't really thought about it."

"I guess so," William answered.

"After years of living in a gray world, our people discovered color. Did you know that our people are experiencing the greatest economic growth of any segment of society? We have men who used to earn less than ten thousand dollars a year who have become millionaires through hard work," Dale said.

"I know that," William said. He had been watching the changing economics of Native Americans quite closely over the past few years.

"Why do you think that is the case?" Dale asked.

"I hadn't really thought about it," William answered knowing that the answer wasn't because the curse had been lifted. That act alone should only have made his people equally competitive with others. He shrugged and added, "They started so far behind that even minimal gains would look impressive.

"I think that it wasn't until the day the curse was lifted that our people realized what they could do. Even more important, they realized that they could do it. Having that experience freed them to see their true abilities rather than their limitations. Those who have not suffered like our people do not see what they can accomplish. Their growth is slow while ours has been explosive because we are not blinded by the obvious," Dale said.

William decided that he was going to have to think about that for a while before answering. Growing up surrounded by successful and driven people, he sometimes didn't understand the things that held people back. He asked, "Why do you mention this?"

"I believe that until you begin your service to your Druid Gods and Goddesses, you will be weak and have to learn how to live like normal men. I think that this experience may give you greater insights into your abilities when they return. I'm pretty sure that you'll need those insights in order to provide your service," Dale answered recognizing that it was ironic for a medicine man to be comforting William about his Gods and Goddesses.

Seeing William nod his head, he added, "Like our people, you need to learn to what you can do by having your abilities presented to you afresh. When your powers return, you will be unstoppable."

"Interesting. I didn't think about it like that," William said.

Having accomplished his purpose, Dale rose from his chair and said, "I'll see you around."

"Not if I see you first," William replied with a smile.

Dale laughed and said, "I'm an Injun, don't you know that means I can sneak up on you and you'll never see me?"

"Get out of here," William said grinning.

Dale slipped out of the room, leaving William alone to his thoughts. He looked out the window of his bedroom at the glorious view. He sighed and said, "A view like that makes it hard to get out of bed."

Lisa entered the room carrying a tray with food. The small white tray had little supports designed for supporting the tray over the body. Seeing the tray, William couldn't help but wonder when they had acquired it. He didn't realize that it was occasionally used by Lisa when she decided to have breakfast in bed with Ken.

There was a bowl of soup atop a white napkin. The napkin was slightly stained; the result of a minor spill while carrying the tray. In addition to the soup was a small plate with a roll on it. She set the tray down on the bed and said, "Here's some soup."

"Thanks," William said feeling his hunger rise. He picked up the spoon and tasted the soup. It had cooled during the trip from the kitchen, but it tasted good. He nodded and said, "This is delicious."

"Thanks," Lisa said watching William eat the soup. Her days as cook for the family were coming to an end. Marguerite had called and said that the new chef would be arriving soon. The prospect filled her with mixed feelings. On one hand, she enjoyed taking care of the family. On the other hand, the job had suddenly become much more than she could handle.

William ate his soup; enjoying the rich flavor of beef and vegetables. Sighing, he said, "This is very good."

"Thanks," Lisa said realizing that this was the first time that William had complimented her twice for the same thing.

"How are you, Ken, and Tim settling in?" William asked.

"It has been a little difficult. I'm not used to so many changes at once. We moved away from the town in which I was raised, there's a new house, I have new responsibilities, and there are lots of new people to get to know. At times... well, it is a little overwhelming," Lisa admitted. Over the past few weeks, she had hired four housemaids from the nearby reservation. There was one per floor of the house and another to take care of the laundry. Taking care of this huge house was a major responsibility.

"The new chef arrives soon," William said.

"Yes. I'm going to miss cooking for you, but preparing three meals a day for twenty people every day is a bit much for me," Lisa admitted. Living in the house were the four bodyguards, her family, the office staff, the housekeeping staff, and two maintenance men. Derrick and the other ranch hands usually ate in the bunkhouse with meals prepared by someone else.

"I know. Marguerite said that he would be bringing two assistants," William said. His home was a very different prospect from his parent's home. His parents had ten people living in the house. He was expecting to have thirty people living in his and another fifty working the ranch.

"I know. I've got their rooms ready for them," Lisa said with a sigh at the thought of three more people moving into the house. There were too many people to get used to in such a short period of time.

"Don't worry, things will calm down. We're hiring a librarian, a replacement for Donna, a secretary, and a research assistant," William said. He wondered how his parents had managed to have so few people working for them. Of course, they had an entire accounting firm in their employ and Ed had a dozen people working for his companies. His parents were just a little better at keeping the people who worked for them at arms length.

"Another secretary?" Lisa asked. She knew about the others, but not that he was going to hire a secretary.

"Yes. I'm separating out my research activities from my business activities. I need a secretary able to deal with the research side of my life," William said. There was going to be some rearranging of the office area as well, but it would be minimal since it had been anticipated.

"Oh," Lisa said wondering how many people he would end up having work for him.

The discussion was interrupted with the return of Lucy. She moved into the room and dropped a book on the night table by the side of the bed. At his look, she said, "Foundation by Asimov."

"Ah, great. I was thinking that I wanted to read it again," William said looking down at the tray on his lap. There was only a spoonful of soup left in the bowl.

Lucy giggled and asked, "When are you never reading one of your favorite three?"

"Never," William answered with a smile. It was true. There was always a copy of Foundation, Second Foundation, and Dune open somewhere within reach. He finished the last of the soup feeling much better having eaten something.

Lisa picked up the tray now that William was finished and left the room. Once she was gone, Lucy asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to continue my research. I fear that I won't have too many insights over the next few months, so I think I'll write a textbook on home economics for high school students," William answered. It was an idea that he had been considering since his visit in Texas while working on his dissertation.

"What? You mean cooking?" Lucy asked.

"No, I mean the economics of establishing and maintaining a home. I thought I would start with a chapter on working for a living. I'd explain about the difference between pre-tax and post- tax income. I would give concrete examples that teenagers could relate to and then build on that to cover their entire career. The next chapter would be on establishing credit. I think I'll explain how to get it, how to utilize it wisely, and what it means in terms of purchasing a home. The rest would deal with taxes, insurance, investments, preparing for retirement, and basic contracts," William said.

"Wow," Lucy said thinking about it. She wished that she had a course like that at some point in her educational career. As it was, she had a Master's Degree in Mathematics and had never been taught any of those details. She asked, "I can see where a high school course like that would be beneficial, but why would you do that?"

"I figure so much of our education system is intended to prepare people to be good little workers. There isn't anything in place to prepare people for actually living their lives," William answered. It was obvious to him that many young couples had to learn the lessons of economics through the brutal process of bad experience.

"You're right," Lucy said. She also realized that it would be exactly the kind of project that would allow William to ignore his current situation.

William sighed at the idea that he didn't know how successful his effort would be and said, "At least I'll be busy for the next year or two."

"Yes, but you are not starting on it today. You need to rest and recover," Lucy said knowing that William wouldn't be able to lie in bed for long.

"Yes, Momma Lucy," William said with a smile.

Lucy put a look of horror on her face and said, "You said that just like I was Momma Ling!"

William laughed and it wasn't long before Lucy was laughing as well. He said, "You're scarier than Momma Ling."

"That's right buster. She only threatened you with a spanking. I'm going to give you one," she replied with a laugh. She had never actually done that, but often said that she had. The one time she had said that in front of Eddie he had nearly choked on his food.

William rolled over onto his side and presented her with his bottom. Although it was covered with the sheet, he said, "Have at it."

She swatted him on the rear and, laughing, said, "Don't point that at me!"

The pair laughed with the ease of a couple who were comfortable with each other. Lucy climbed onto the bed and snuggled against William. Hearing him laugh was a good sign. It meant that he would recover from his loss and emerge stronger than before. Lucy smiled when his arm encircled her.

They had been there for twenty minutes when there was a knock on the door. Straightening up, Lucy called out, "Come in."

Eddie came into the room followed by Ed. The young man looked at William and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," William answered with a smile. The fact that Eddie worried about him made him feel good. Eddie was always the first to look out for his big brother and consider how events might affect him.

"Good. I'm sorry that you didn't get to begin your service to the Two-Sided One," Eddie said.

"You might say that I've begun it. Giving my gift to Oscar Meyers is a service of sorts," William said.

"Oscar Meyers should be thanking you," Eddie said.

For the first time since waking up, William considered what was going on with Oscar. He looked to his father and asked, "What has happened to Oscar?"

"He is still in the Glade," Ed answered in a solemn voice.



-------

Chapter 3


Moving like an old man, William slowly made his way to the conference room in the office area of the house. He felt stiff and dull witted, but life went on and he had things to do despite his desire to run and hide from the world. This afternoon he had to perform the final interview of the candidates for new staff positions. The current staff members had already met with them and passed only those they thought would be a good fit. This eliminated candidates who were unsuitable for life inside the household before he had to interview them. Ed would participate in this interview with William and Lucy to make sure that the candidates would be loyal.

Furnishing the conference room had not been the highest priority task prior to the move into the new house, but the job had been finished before they needed it for this, their first, meeting. Stepping onto the plush carpeted floor, William took a moment to look around. He was pleased by its appearance. The better features of the room were not visible, but those that were visible were impressive.

Despite attention to esthetics, the room was designed for work. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling with white board. There were magnetic holders for the markers placed every four feet along each wall. The far-end of the room had a drop down screen with a projection system built into the wall at the other end. Below the projector was a stone table on which food and other goods could be placed. Today, there were ceramic mugs and a carafe of coffee.

Occupying the center of the room was a huge conference table made of polished stone capable of seating twenty people. The table rather than being rectangular in shape was trapezoidal with the broad end open towards the projection screen. There was a seat at the narrow end of the table. This would give each person a clear view of the screen. The table was designed for work as well as talk. At each seat, there was a computer touch-screen monitor set into the surface of the table and a wireless keyboard and mouse. A small camera and microphone were arranged at the top of each monitor for use in teleconferencing.

There were two separate entrances to the room. One entrance allowed visitors to enter from a large tastefully decorated waiting room while the other allowed the staff to enter without having to deal with the visitors until they were called into the room.

Last to arrive, William walked to the seat at the foot of the table. Lucy was seated to his right and Ed was seated to left left. Barbara was seated next to Lucy and was closest to the door to the waiting room. Once he had taken his seat, William shifted around surprised at the comfort. Seeing that everyone was watching him, he said, "Let's get to it."

"Yes, boss," Barbara said. After studying the screen in front of her, she pressed a key on the keyboard and said, "Send in Cathy Burke."

On hearing the door open, William turned to watch the young woman enter the room. There was something familiar about her and the somewhat nervous manner in which she moved. It took him a second to recognize her as the Shawnee girl who attended the high school where he had met Greg Banner. Hoping his memory was correct, he said, "Hello, Cathy. How is your grandfather?"

"He's fine and sends his regards," the young woman answered rocking nervously from foot to foot. It was hard to believe that she was actually interviewing to work with Talks With Animals.

Raising an eyebrow, Lucy looked over at William and asked, "Do you know her?"

"Yes, I do. She was at the high school when I met Greg. She came to me and invited us to visit her tribe," William said feeling relieved that his memory had been correct. He also felt a little guilty that they had never followed up on that invitation.

"Oh," Lucy said. It always amazed her how many people William knew. She traveled with him and didn't seem to recall nearly as many people as he did.

Looking at Cathy, he asked, "Did you just graduate?"

"Yes," she answered amazed William had remembered her from one little meeting that hadn't lasted more than two minutes. It was reasonable that she would remember him; he was somebody important. It wasn't reasonable to expect him to remember her; she was a nobody.

Slightly distracted by the side discussion, Barbara said, "She has applied for the clerk position."

Lucy looked down at the folder with resumes. There was no resume for anyone named Cathy. She realized that the young woman probably had no work experience. It was interesting that Barbara thought to include her among the candidates. Curious, she asked, "Why are you here rather than heading off to college?"

"I'm not really interested in going to college. I want a basic job until I find a husband," Cathy answered.

"You can't be serious," Lucy said staring at Cathy horrified at the idea.

"I've very serious," Cathy answered without embarrassment. She had women react that way to her plans many times in the past. Looking at Lucy, she said, "Not everyone woman wants to be a business woman, scientist, or engineer. I want to raise a family."

Nodding his head, William asked, "Is there anyone in particular who you intend to marry?"

"No," Cathy said without embarrassment. She did not have a marriage prospect in mind and was willing to wait until the right man appeared in her life. There was a calm assurance that the right man would come in time.

Lucy was astounded that any young woman would see her place in life as nothing more than a housewife and mother. Shaking her head, she asked, "Don't you want more out of life than cleaning a house?"

"I don't want a life spent cleaning a house," Cathy answered. Seeing the confused look on Lucy's face, she said, "I want a life in which I help my husband become a successful man. I want to raise my children and watch them grow up to stand strong and proud. Until I find the right man, I will work and save my money."

"Don't you think going to college would make a wise backup plan?" Lucy asked.

"Going to college would require that I take some student loans. I don't want to bring thousands of dollars worth of debt into a marriage. I'd rather have some savings that can be used to start a good life," Cathy answered. The Native American college would be free, but it would leave her with an obligation to work for several years in her chosen field.

Although Lucy was dismayed, William was pleased at how Cathy had considered the ramifications of alternatives to her primary goal. Looking over at Lucy, he said, "I like that she knows exactly what she want to do with her life. While you may disagree with what she wants, you have to admire that she is pursuing it."

"I guess," Lucy said frowning slightly. It was beyond her why anyone would settle for less than everything and that is how she viewed Cathy's choices. She looked over at Ed and asked, "What do you think?"

"I think she is telling the truth and that she has given the matter much more thought than you would credit her," Ed said. Looking at Cathy, he said, "I think that wanting to be a good wife and mother is a wonderful choice. I respect you for making it."

"Thank you," Cathy said nodding her head to him in a stately fashion. Few people, particularly young women, understood her desire; even fewer people respected it.

Seeing that she wasn't going to get any support from William or Ed, Lucy decided that she would make college a job benefit. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Okay. I say hire her."

"Same here," William said. Turning to face Cathy, he said, "Welcome aboard. The job of clerk is yours if you want it."

"I want it," Cathy said with a smile.

"Have a seat over here by my father," William said.

Barbara looked up from her notes and said, "The next candidate has applied for the position of librarian."

"Okay, bring her in," Lucy said still distracted by thoughts about the choices that Cathy had made.

"It is a he," Barbara said smiling at the mistake. She had made exactly the same mistake. She pressed a key on the keyboard and said, "Send in Rudy Moore."

William glanced down at the resume and frowned. Handing it over to his father, he asked, "Is this true?"

Ed looked over the resume for a second before he said, "I see nothing wrong with it. Why?"

"He's a librarian at the Hooke Library at Oxford," William said. It was one of the premier libraries in the world.

"So?" Ed asked.

"Why would someone with his credentials want to work in a small private library?" William asked.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Ed asked when a middle aged man entered the room. He looked at the man and noticed that he had the largest ears on a human being that he had ever seen. Even worse, they stuck straight out from his head.

Turning to the man, William asked, "You're a librarian at the Hooke Library at Oxford. What are you doing applying for a position in a small private library?"

The man chuckled and, in a heavy West Texas accent, answered, "Well, there are libraries and then there are libraries. Some are old and some are new. I'd rather start a library than maintain one, even one as prestigious as the Hooke Library. I've got a feeling that one day this small private library of yours is going to contain some of the most important documents of our time. I'd like to be part of that."

"We're in the middle of nowhere," Lucy said. She had been expecting an English accent and the West Texas accent had thrown her.

"To tell the truth, I'm just an old Texas boy who misses the desert. I know that I could probably be head librarian at some library in a medium-sized Texas town, but like I said -- this is exactly what I'm looking for career-wise," Rudy answered.

William leaned forward and asked, "What responsibilities did you have at the Hooke Library?"

"I started in research, but I'm now in acquisitions," Rudy answered looking at William. He wondered how much William knew about libraries. He said, "I was in charge of locating and purchasing rare books."

"Any management experience?" Lucy asked.

"I had a staff of three people," Rudy answered.

William looked over at Barbara and asked, "Did you show him our library?"

"Yes, I did," she answered.

Lucy asked, "What did you think of it?"

"You've got quite a few science fiction books," Rudy answered knowing that the first books of his that he unpacked were pulp westerns. He found it more than understandable that the first books they unpacked were science fiction. Of course, he had also seen the hundred boxes of books that were stacked along the wall. There was also a huge server filled with digital versions of newspapers, journals, magazines, and films. It might be a little private library, but it was also a thoroughly modern one.

William shrugged his shoulders at the observation and turned to Cathy. He asked, "Do you have any questions?"

"Me?" Cathy asked surprised at being included in the interview.

"That's a good question, but not one that I'd ask the candidate," William said with a grin.

Lucy tried to kick him under the table, but missed and ended up giving him a dirty look. She said, "William wants to know if you have any questions that might make you think that he shouldn't work here."

"I have no questions," Cathy said feeling strange at getting asked to question the librarian.

William turned to his father and asked, "Do you have any questions?"

Although the question wasn't relevant to the job, Ed asked, "How did a good old Texas boy end up in England?"

"My Daddy was in oil over in Odessa, Texas. He was rich, then he was poor, and then he was rich again. He retired before losing most of his fortune. He saved enough to keep him comfortable for the rest of his life. During one of those rich times, I went over to England to get educated. I stayed there after I got my degree despite the lousy weather, the bad food, and the low pay," Rudy answered. He shook his head and said, "I did miss the desert."

"I understand about missing the desert," Ed said with a smile. Looking over at William, he said, "It is up to you."

"Lucy?"

"I'm for it," Lucy answered.

"Cathy?"

"What?" Cathy asked defensively. She had been distracted by looking at Rudy's ears and thinking that he must have gone through hell when he was in high school.

"Should we hire him?" William asked.

"Why are you asking me?" she asked wide eyed. She wondered how a high school graduate could make any comment on the qualifications of such an educated man.

"We're asking you because you'll have to work with him. If you can't stand the man, then why should you be forced to work with him," William answered.

"He seems like a nice guy to me," Cathy answered.

"Okay, the job is yours if you want it," William said to Rudy.

"I'll take it," Rudy said looking over at Cathy. He was surprised that William had asked her opinion. He was curious what her position was in the house.

William looked over at Cathy and said, "We have one more position to interview for, but the person will not be working with you. Would you mind waiting outside until Barbara can take you to your office?"

"Yes, sir," Cathy answered still finding it strange that her opinion about hiring the guy was requested. She looked puzzled for a moment and then said, "I meant that I wouldn't mind waiting out... well, out there."

Lucy smiled at Cathy's obvious unease and said, "We knew what you meant."

When Cathy had left the room, Rudy asked, "What is her position?"

"She's the new clerk," William answered. He gestured to the chair she had just left and said, "If you wouldn't mind sitting here, we'll be interviewing a research assistant."

Rudy Moore looked at William surprised by his answer. It dawned on him that getting the job had depended on the opinion of a lowly clerk. He started to get angry and then gained control over his emotions. Walking over to the chair, he muttered, "It's definitely not England."

Having caught the brief flash of irritation, Ed asked, "What did you say?"

Embarrassed at being caught, Rudy said, "I said that I'm not in England anymore."

William looked puzzled by the comment and turned to Lucy for an explanation. She said, "I think he's a little upset that his job depended on the opinion of a clerk."

"Oh," William said frowning.

Ed, having dealt with the situation in the past, said, "Rudy, you might not have thought about the work conditions here. You're going to be living in close proximity with the rest of the staff. As a result, it helps not to be too title oriented. You may feel that your position is a little more prestigious than that of clerk, but that's related only to the job. There is another sixteen hours a day where she is an equal resident here in the house. When you are off work, you had better treat her as an equal."

"I didn't think about that," Rudy said. He thought about it for a minute and then said, "I suppose that is why the housekeeping staff was present at the first interview."

"That's right," William answered. He wondered when they had interviewed him, but didn't want to ask the question at the moment. With a sinking feeling, he realized there were just too many things that he didn't know anymore. It was like a part of his memory had been carved away.

Rudy thought about it for a moment and then asked, "So why isn't Cathy here for this interview?"

"The candidate will not live here. This is not a staff job like yours or hers, but part of my research activities. You and Jack will be working here with the person who takes the job so I want you to be part of the interview process," William answered. He looked over at Barbara and said, "Ask Jack to join us."

Barbara took a second to figure out how to call Jack on the phone. She was still learning the conferencing system and this was the first time she had used that feature. They waited until Jack arrived in the room. It wasn't a long wait since Jack had been outside the conference room. He entered and took a seat next to Rudy. He reached out and shook hands with the man while saying, "I'm glad to see you got the job."

"Thanks," Rudy said. He barely remembered the guy from his previous interviews and had no recollection of the man's job responsibilities.

William ignored the side discussion and asked, "Can you call in the candidate for the research assistant?"

Barbara pressed a key on the keyboard and said, "Please send in Sue Sun."

Lucy flipped through the resumes and didn't find one for Susan. Looking up, she said, "There's no resume here for a Susan."

"It is Sue Sun," Barbara said placing a good pause between the first and last name.

"Oh, sorry," Lucy said picking up the resume and realizing she had been thrown by the names being in the opposite order. Her eyes glanced down the list of positions the woman held over the past few years. They were all part-time positions held while working on her Master's degree in Economics from Johns Hopkins University. She glanced over at William confident that he would find her a very good candidate.

A very small oriental woman entered the room and looked around. She went to the position at the head of the table and nodded her head. Ed frowned, looked down at the resume in William's hand, and looked over at the young woman. Putting a hand on his son's arm, he said, "Let me ask her a few questions."

"Sure, Dad," William said wondering why his father was acting that way.

"Who do you work for?" Ed asked in a neutral tone of voice.

"I work at a book store," the young woman answered staring at the cowboy. She had no idea that he was actually a black-robed Druid.

"Who else do you work for?" he asked, his voice taking a much harder edge to it.

"No one," she answered.

Ed grimaced and said, "I'm sorry, but you are lying to me. Who else do you work for?"

"No one," she answered looking at him directly in the eye.

Ed stood up and said, "I will ask you one more time and you had better not lie to me. Who do you work for?"

Looking calm, cool, and collected, the woman answered, "I work at a bookstore."

"You work for a government, don't you?" Ed asked deciding that he was going to have to do it the hard way.

"No," she answered.

"Which one? China?"

"No," she answered still looking calm and collected, but feeling anything except calm.

Nodding his head, Ed said, "You work for the Chinese government. Why did you decided to interview with William instead of a government agency?"

"I don't work for the Chinese government. I'm here because the job looked interesting," she answered shifting her position slightly.

Ed turned to William and said, "I'm afraid that you can't hire her. She's a spy for the Chinese government. I'll call the FBI and have them take care of her."

"Thanks," William said. He shivered at the idea of having a spy from a foreign government working with him while he developed his economic and social model. He knew better than anyone what kind of damage a hostile government could do with such a model. He said, "I guess we'll have to look elsewhere for a research assistant."

Sue Sun moved towards Ed with murder in her eyes. Without thought, William rose and moved between Ed in time to deflect the attack. For the next fifteen seconds, William was locked in a deadly martial arts battle with Sue. The young woman was definitely outclassed, but William was not confident in his abilities. After the first quarter of a minute, William realized that he was reacting without having to think about his actions. He moved in and took her down. It took a second to get her face down and helpless on the carpet.

Although he wouldn't say it, it had felt good to discover that his martial arts training did not rely on his gift to the extent that he had thought it did. The downside was that he hadn't recognized the danger until it had manifested. The later fact bothered him far more than the former fact cheered him. Looking up at his father, William said, "She's a fighter."

Ed reached into the pocket of his robe and withdrew a pair of handcuffs. He handed them over to William and said, "Detain her until the FBI arrives."

"It'll take them an hour to get here from Phoenix," William said attempting to put the handcuffs on her wrists. The handcuffs were too big.

"I know," Ed replied. He pulled out his cell phone and made the call to the FBI office. It didn't take long for him to get connected to the head of the Phoenix office.

While Ed was placing the call, William turned to Barbara and said, "Get Colt or Rock here. We need cuffs for very small wrists."

"I already called them while you were fighting," Barbara said still somewhat stunned by what she had witnessed. She had never seen William in action before. The young man had been fast as lightning.

Jack and Rudy stared at Ed while he told the FBI what he had discovered. When Ed hung up, he said, "They're flying in on a helicopter. They'll be here in forty-five minutes."

"Good," William said. Sue Sun fought to get away, but William had her securely pinned to the ground.

Rudy asked, "How do you know that she's a spy for the Chinese government?"

"My dad is a human lie detector," William answered with a smile. The woman tried to kick him. He leaned down and, in Mandarin, said, "You don't want to do that. I'll break your back if you try it again."

Jack was speechless. He had no idea that William was so highly skilled in the martial arts. He had watched William block kicks that came so fast that no human should have been able to stop them. Shaking his head, he said, "You're better than that Chinese dude who is in all of those Kung Fu movies."



-------

Chapter 4


Talking quietly with each other, Lucy and William waited in the theater for Eddie to arrive. The theater room had four rows of ten seats each facing a large screen. Each chair was large and comfortable with a holder for a soda built into the armrest. Beth had ordered the chairs from a real theater supply company. Like a real movie theater, the floor slanted down towards the front of the room.

At the entrance to the room, there was a snack bar complete with a typical theater-style popcorn machine. The smell of popcorn filled the air. Small tubs for popcorn were stacked beside the popcorn machine. A soda fountain with six different flavors of soft drinks was on the snack bar along with paper cups, lids, and straws. Taking up a small area of the table was a rack with several different kinds of theater candies. There was an ice machine built under the snack bar.

William stared off into the distance for a second, frowned at not knowing what was happening with his brother, and then said, "I wonder what is taking Eddie so long."

"This is a big house. It is probably taking him a while to find Ed," Lucy answered realizing that this wasn't the first time that William had asked such a question over the past few days. He still wasn't used to having to guess what was happening around him. She put a hand on his in an attempt to comfort him. It was the first time since the interviews that he had ventured out of their bedroom or his office. The fact that he had allowed someone so dangerous into the house had significantly undermined his confidence.

"Let's see, we've got popcorn, candy, and soft drinks. All we need is for Eddie to select a film," William said thinking it was a rather clever idea of his sister to include a snack bar in the room.

"First we need Eddie to show up," Lucy said. She looked around the room amazed at how accurately Beth had reproduced a movie theater in the house. In their earlier visits to the house, she hadn't even mentioned that she was going to set up a room like this. She commented, "She really did a nice job on this."

"Yes, but I wonder why she put it on the family level rather than the business level of the house," William said looking around the room.

Excited by the news he was going to deliver, Eddie ran into the theater. William noticed his excitement and asked, "What's up, Eddie?"

"We're going to be big brothers," Eddie announced breathing heavily as a result of the short run from the guest room where he and his father were staying.

The news took William by surprise. Raising an eyebrow, William knew what Eddie meant, but decided to play with him a little. He said, "I'm already a big brother. Betsy is my little sister and you're my little brother."

"Yeah, I know, but you're going to be a big brother even more," Eddie said and then thought about what he had said. His last sentence didn't make sense. Shaking his head, he said, "I guess I'm trying to say that we're going to have a new baby brother or sister."

"That's good news. Which of our mothers is expecting?"

"Momma Claire. She and Daddy Dan are having a baby," Eddie said. He was so pleased by the news that he could hardly contain himself.

"It's about time," William said. He had wondered how long it would be before Claire would have a baby. He thought about the news and realized that receiving it was a little different than in the past. In the past, he would have been the first to know that Claire was expecting and he would even have known the gender of the child. The knowledge would have come upon him slowly and he'd never have the joy of being surprised by good news.

Grinning broadly, Eddie said, "I'm really looking forward to watching over the baby."

Lucy noticed an unusual tone in his voice and said, "This is really important to you."

"Yes it is," Eddie answered, "I've been the baby of the family for years. It isn't all that easy being me."

"What do you mean?" William asked. He had been the youngest until Betsy was born and didn't recall it as being particularly bad.

"Well, I'm not special like my brothers and sisters," Eddie answered without looking over at William. John, Beth, and William were the smartest people he had ever met. His sister, Betsy, was a very gifted athlete. He was just plain old Eddie.

"I wouldn't say that," William said looking at his brother with concern. He wondered why his brother would think that of himself.

"Everyone else is smarter, stronger, faster, and tougher than I am," Eddie said. His father hadn't even allowed him to start learning the martial arts yet.

Lucy turned to examine Eddie. The young man was looking down at the floor with a frown plastered on his face. His eyes were shiny as if he were on the verge of tears. It had to be tough to grow up in the shadow of four such exceptional siblings. The oldest two were very successful and had established international reputations in their chosen fields. William and Betsy were each unique in different ways. She wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind that would reassure him.

"Don't pretend otherwise, William," Eddie said upon seeing William's reaction. He sighed and added, "I'm hoping that my little brother or sister will be normal like me. Then I won't feel so left out."

"You're right that we are smarter, stronger, faster, and tougher than you," William said after thinking about it for a second.

"See, you agree with me. I'm the runt of the litter," Eddie said, his feelings hurt by hearing his brother confirm what he believed. Although he believed he was less special than his siblings, it was devastating to hear his older brother say it.

"I wouldn't put it that way. You're the most caring and supportive of all of the Carter kids. In my book, those are the most important traits that a person can have," William said. He gave a weak smile to Eddie and said, "I mean, think about it. Intelligence without concern for consequence is irresponsible. Strength without compassion is brutality. Fast without forethought is carelessness. Tough without empathy is sadism."

"So?"

William sighed and said, "In some ways, I think you are the most blessed amongst us. You are a good person. You're that way because it is your essential character and not because you have some special gift from the Gods or Goddesses. You're fully human and that's important."

"You really think so?" Eddie asked feeling a little better.

"Yes, I really think so," William answered. He added, "There are many who believe that I'm arrogant. Some people have even said that I'm callous. In a way they are right."

"I don't know about that," Lucy said.

William sat back in the theater chair and looked over at his little brother. Tilting his head to the side, he asked, "Which of my brothers and sisters came here to share my experience?"

Eddie stood in front of William thinking about the question. The obvious answer was him, but that wasn't what William meant. He went with the obvious and answered, "Me."

Lucy had listened to the exchange and knew that Eddie wasn't getting the point of what William was saying. In the past, William would have said exactly the right thing to defuse the situation. Today he was struggling with coming up with answers. She said, "Eddie, I've noticed something rather interesting over the years with William."

"What?"

"William is always happier after talking to you. Why do you think that is the case?" Lucy asked.

Eddie looked over at Lucy with a puzzled expression on his face. Shaking his head, he answered, "I don't know. Why?"

"You make him feel good. I think you and I are the only ones who always make William feel better," Lucy answered.

"Eddie, if you haven't noticed -- that puts you in very good company," William said with a smile. He hugged Lucy close to him. He smiled over at his little brother and said, "You're a great little brother and I think you'll make an outstanding big brother."

"Thanks," Eddie said feeling much better.

Lucy looked over at the young man and asked, "So is Ed coming?"

"Yes."

"Get some popcorn, candy, and a soft drink. You've got to pick out the movie," William said holding up a wireless keyboard. The keyboard connected to a computer that would download the movie from the central server in the library and then show it on the screen at the front of the room.

"Ah, give me a second," Eddie said going over to the entrance to the theater where the food was located. It took him a minute to fix a big tub of popcorn and a medium soft drink. He ignored the candies.

Taking a seat beside William, he looked over the chair before putting his soft drink into the cup holder built into the arm. He took a moment to examine the chair before putting the tub of popcorn on his lap. Frowning, he shook his head. Taking the keyboard from William, he asked, "So how do I select a movie?"

"Just traverse the menus using the keyboard. You can search for a film by name, actor, and category," William answered. He pointed to the screen where a menu was being presented. He had already spent a few minutes becoming familiar with the system.

Looking up at the screen, Eddie said, "I'd like something funny and about family."

William was silent while he tried to think of a movie that fit that description. He wanted to hit his head in order to wake up his sluggish brain. He was saved from answering when Lucy asked, "Do you have Harvey?"

"Harvey?" William asked looking over at Lucy. He wasn't familiar with the movie. Even if he had been familiar with the movie, he wasn't sure what movies they had managed to get digitized and added to the library.

"Yes, Harvey with Jimmy Stewart. It's a funny little film and the relationship between the brother and sister is very funny," Lucy answered. She thought that the two brothers would particularly enjoy the interaction between Jimmy Stewart's character and Harvey, the giant invisible rabbit.

Eddie leaned over the keyboard and typed in his query. It took less than a second for the server to show that the film was present. He went through the process of selecting it. The screen showed the name of the film and waited for confirmation before starting it. Eddie sat back and said, "We just have to wait for Dad."

"Where is he?" William asked. He actually wanted to know how much longer he would be, but he wasn't used to asking those kinds of questions.

"He was talking to Momma Claire on the cell phone when I found him. He'll be here when they are done talking," Eddie answered. He looked over at William and said, "You know, we don't have a place to show movies in our little town."

"You're right. I hadn't really thought about it," William said.

"Maybe I should start a Friday Night Movie. I could show the movies indoors when the weather is too hot or cold. I could show them outdoors when the weather is nice," Eddie said.

Lucy frowned and asked, "Where would you show them?"

"I figure the school gym would be good when we show them indoors. We could hang a screen off the backstop of the baseball field when we show them outdoors," Eddie said. He could imagine the town's people seated on blankets scattered around the baseball field. Young couples could make out while families could spend quality time with each other.

"What kinds of films would you show?" William asked.

"The old classics would be best. I think people would enjoy watching great classic films like Casablanca. We could show Charlie Chan movies, Sherlock Holmes, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, Charley Chaplin, and the Marx Brothers. There are always the Westerns, Musicals, and old Science Fiction movies that you love so much," Eddie answered getting excited about the idea. The town still had dances along Main Street every Saturday night, but Friday nights could be rather dull.

"Sounds like fun. We're kind of far from any form of entertainment other than riding around the desert. Maybe we should start having a movie night around here," William said looking over at Lucy to see how she reacted to the idea.

She nodded her head in agreement and said, "We have almost fifty people working here. I'm sure that some of the single folks would bring dates. The married folks could bring their families."

"That does sound like fun," William said thinking that he would mention the idea to Barbara to see what would be involved in doing it. He thought about the size of the room and realized that it was already too small for the number of people that would attend. Only moments before he had been thinking that it was too large for the number of people who would use it.

"What about current films?" Lucy asked.

"I really haven't liked the recent films that I've seen. They are too coarse," Eddie said although coarse was not the word he was seeking. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "You'd run out of G rated movies in two months before having to show Cartoons."

William sat up and looked over at Eddie. In a quiet voice, he asked, "What makes you say that?"

"Most films are PG or R. They aren't suitable for families with young children. More often than not, the films are overly violent and the main characters uncaring. The language is vulgar, the action brutal, and the feelings are shallow. There is a kind of jaded attitude conveyed in modern films that bothers me," Eddie answered. He thought of two versions of a film separated by thirty years. The early version was rated G and the later one was rated PG. The difference was the introduction of bad language and crude humor in the remake. He had liked the first one more.

"You've noticed that too," William said looking down at the floor and thinking about his brother's comment. He wondered if it was another symptom of the social problem he was trying to solve.

After several minutes of silence, Eddie said, "You were talking about writing a book on Home Economics."

"Yes," William said.

"I was thinking about it. If you intend to have high school kids use it as a textbook, shouldn't you teach the material to high school kids to make sure that it is at an appropriate level?"

"I hadn't really thought about it. I suppose you're right," William answered.

"I am right," Eddie said smiling at his brother.

"What do you suggest?"

Fidgeting in his chair, Eddie said, "Well, I was thinking that I'd be willing to read the chapters and comment on them. Then you could teach the material to a high school class and see how they like it."

"What high school should I teach it at?" William asked.

"Well, you live next to the reservation and there's a high school there. I'm sure that our people would appreciate learning some tricks about money management," Eddie said. He thought about how Dale had suggested that he take a little more interest in how things were going on the reservation.

William sighed and settled into his chair thinking about the suggestion. The idea of going into a crowded high school was unsettling. Shaking his head, he said, "I'll take you up on your offer to read the manuscript, but I'm going to have to find someone else to teach the material in the school."

Puzzled, Eddie asked, "Why?"

"I'm not very comfortable with the idea of being around a lot of people," William answered.

"Why?" Eddie asked with a frown.

"I just don't feel comfortable being around strangers yet," William answered.

Lucy turned in her seat and stared at William. It dawned on her that the loss of his foresight was affecting him far more than he would admit. She wanted to know just how much his fear would hold him back. In a very soft voice, she asked, "Are you going to avoid the Homeless Hotels?"

"I don't know," William answered shifting uneasily in his seat. His stomach churned at the admission. He couldn't look Lucy in the eye.

"You will even if I have to drag you there myself," Lucy said.

Eddie was worried about his brother. Trying to make light of the matter, he said, "You just need a little time to get used to things as they are now. One day you'll wake up and be yourself."

"I don't see how," William replied.

Wishing that Happy Harry was still alive, Eddie said, "One day you'll want to visit your friends and you'll go there. Everything will be fine, you'll see."

The discussion was cut short when Ed walked into the room. He said, "Sorry to take so long. Claire was a little excited about finding out that she is a mother to be."

"That's really good news, Dad," Eddie said grinning broadly.

"Yes, it is," William said wondering if the child would be a boy or a girl. The thought reminded him that there was a time when he would have known the gender just by wondering about it.

"I'm going to call her after the movie and get all of the details," Lucy said. She tried to picture the relationship that would exist between her and the child. It was kind of strange to think about being a sister in law to an infant.

"She'd love to hear from you," Ed said with a grin.

"Great," Lucy said glancing over at William. She wondered how long it would be until she would become a mother.

"Get some popcorn, candy, and a soft drink from the snack bar. Eddie is about to start the movie," William said.

"Hey, that's a really good idea to have a snack bar in here. Sure beats walking all of the way to the kitchen," Ed said walking over to the popcorn machine.

"I thought so too," William said. He had been surprised to discover a snack counter in the room.

It took Ed a minute to fill a tub with popcorn and a cup with soda. He grabbed a package of chocolate covered raisons before he went over to the chair beside Eddie and took a seat. After examining the cup holder, he put the cup of soda in it and then spent a moment checking out the rest of the chair. After a few seconds he sat back and put the popcorn and candy in his lap. He frowned and examined the arm of his chair a second time.

Lucy had watched Ed examine the chair with a puzzled expression. William and Eddie had done exactly the same thing upon sitting down. Confused, she asked, "Why were you examining the chair?"

Ed looked over at her and said, "To tell the truth, I'm kind of surprised that Beth missed such an obvious problem with the chairs. She's really good with details."

Nodding his head, William said, "You noticed it too. Did you notice what else is missing?"

Ed looked around the room for a second and then said, "The lectern."

Confused Lucy looked at the three men and asked, "What obvious problem? What lectern?"

Ed answered, "The chair is missing a part and the lectern for speakers is missing at the front of the room."

Eddie, believing that his sister wouldn't make such a mistake, said, "I bet the people who installed the chairs just left off that part. I'm sure that the lectern is in storage somewhere."

"I don't see a closet," William said looking around the room.

"What are you three talking about?" Lucy asked confused by the exchange.

"There should be a part of the chair that swings up to make a writing surface and there should be a lectern at the front of the room. A lecture hall isn't complete without them," William answered. He added, "She should have included this room upstairs where the business offices are."

"This isn't a lecture hall," Lucy said looking from one man to the next in turn. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"It's not?" Ed asked looking around. It looked like one of the rooms at the University. He said, "It looks just like a lecture hall to me."

"This is a movie theater. All movie theaters look like this," Lucy said.

Eddie looked at Lucy and asked, "Really?"

Dropping her head down and rubbing her forehead with the palm of her hand, Lucy realized what the problem was. Having difficulty believing it, she asked, "Have any of you ever been to a movie theater?"

"No," William answered. His answer was echoed by Ed and Eddie.

"If it was anyone other than the three of you, I wouldn't believe it," Lucy said shaking her head sadly. Even after being married to William for two years, he still managed to surprise her.

"Why?"

"This is how movie theaters are designed. There aren't any parts missing from the chairs and there isn't supposed to be a lectern at the front of the room," Lucy answered.

Knowing she spoke the truth, Ed said, "Interesting. I wouldn't have guessed that."

Eddie glanced back at the snack bar and then over at Lucy. She could see the obvious question on his face. Lucy explained, "Before you say anything about the snack bar, every movie theater sells popcorn, candy, and soft drinks. That's the reason Beth installed the snack bar."

William looked over his shoulder at the snack bar and said, "Clever. I guess Beth really does know how to take care of the details."

"She had a good idea of including the cup holders in the chairs," Ed said gesturing to the arm of the chair.

Nodding his head in agreement, Eddie said, "I hope she patented the idea."

Shaking her head at what was obviously a lost cause, Lucy said, "Start the movie, Eddie."

Eddie pushed a button on the keyboard. When the movie started, the lights in the room dimmed. As one, the three men leaned forward and looked up at the ceiling. Together, they said, "There must be something wrong with the lights."

"Just watch the movie!"



-------

Chapter 5


"Son, you know I have to tell the truth," Ed said looking William in the eye. He had finally caught up with William before his son had entered his office.

"Yes, I know that," William said with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He looked away from his father breaking eye contact.

"You know that it isn't always an easy thing for me to do, don't you?"

"Yes, I know that."

Shaking his head, Ed said, "You can't hide away from the world forever. Your little brother has asked you several times to go riding with him. Each time you've refused him. You haven't even left the house once."

"I'm just not ready," William said.

The problem was that William was telling the truth. William wasn't even willing to have dinner with the rest of the family and the staff. Instead, he had his meals sent to his office where he locked the door. Even Lucy hadn't been allowed in for the last few meals. Ed said, "You aren't ready to be around more than six people at a time?"

"That's right," William said.

Moving closer, Ed looked at William and shook his head. In a quiet voice, he said, "I never thought you would hide from the world like this. Go back to your office."

"I'm sorry that I've disappointed you," William said looking down at the floor.

"You haven't disappointed me. I'm concerned about you," Ed said. There was just enough disappointment that his words grated on his nerves. He tried not to show it.

Feeling sick to his stomach, William entered his office without looking at his father or saying a single word. He had seen the grimace that accompanied telling a lie. The door closed behind him with a dull final thud. There was a loud click as the door was locked.

Ed stood staring at the door for a full minute. Shaking his head, he said, "That didn't go well."

The living room was huge and tastefully decorated. Plants were scattered around the area breaking it up into little islands filled with leather chairs and coffee tables. Floor lamps of various styles were distributed around the room providing light at night. Western art hung from three walls. The cost of decorating the room had been more than the cost of an average house.

Ed sat in a chair looking out the window at the canyon. In a way, he envied William that he had been able to bring the desert into the house in the manner that he had. Others might find the desert barren, but it moved him more than words could express.

Today, his thoughts were not on the desert. He was worried about William. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Lucy. She took a seat next to him and looked out the window trying to gather strength from the beauty presented to her. In a soft voice, she said, "I don't know if I'll ever get tired of the view."

"I wouldn't," Ed said turning to look at his daughter-in-law. Smiling at her, he asked, "What can I do for you?"

"I'm worried about William," Lucy answered.

"Me too."

"He's hiding from everyone. He won't talk to me," Lucy said. It hurt to say that he was hiding from everyone else. It hurt even more to admit that he was hiding from her. She was near tears wondering what she could do to help him.

"I confronted him about that. It didn't go well," Ed said shaking his head. He said, "There are times when the truth is not always the best policy."

"That explains why he locked the door of his study," Lucy said.

"He recognized that I'm a little disappointed in him. I couldn't hide it from him," Ed said wishing that he hadn't gone to talk to William earlier that day.

"That's bad," Lucy said, "that's real bad. He's never let anyone down. I don't think he knows how to handle it."

"I've always told William that he relied too much on his gift of foresight," Ed said shaking his head. The warnings hadn't done any good. The gift was just too much a basic part of William for him to avoid relying upon it. He said, "Of course, that was like asking a sighted person in the land of the blind to walk around with their eyes closed just to be like everyone else. It's not going to happen."

"I know," Lucy said. She sighed and said, "The weird thing is that I don't think he ever really used it to the extent that he could."

"You may have a point," Ed said thinking about it.

"It's a moot point now."

Looking out the window at the wall of the canyon, Ed asked, "Do you have any ideas what we can do to break him out of his self imposed exile?"

"No."

"Same here. Eddie is devastated," Ed said. The young man had been trying to get his brother to get out of the house and do something physical thinking that it would help William cope with his situation. When William had refused to see him that morning, Eddie's feelings had been hurt. That had motivated the confrontation earlier that morning.

"William hasn't had dinner with the household yet. He says that there will be too many people around the table," Lucy said.

"That's ridiculous. He knows everyone who will be there," Ed said although he wasn't exactly shocked at the news.

"I guess it is like giving a presentation in class. You know all of your classmates, you talk to them all of the time, and yet when it is time to give a presentation in front of them you dread it. It is even worse when you aren't prepared," Lucy said.

"You're saying that William feels like he hasn't done his homework," Ed said.

"I guess so," Lucy said looking out the window. Pointing to a hawk, she said, "There's that hawk again."

"I noticed it earlier. There are two of them. They have a nest over there," Ed said pointing to a spot along the canyon wall. He watched the hawk fly away. Turning to look back at Lucy, he said, "I don't know what to tell you. He's always been a complex person and you're the only one who truly understands him."

The discussion was interrupted when Barbara came over to where they were seated. After a quick glance at Ed, she said, "William missed his meeting with us. I tried to call him, but he isn't answering his phone."

Lucy sighed and said, "I guess you'll have to reschedule the meeting."

"I can't. There are some decisions that he has to make before the deadlines run out. Some of those decisions have to be made today," Barbara said.

"You should have scheduled the meetings earlier," Lucy said thinking that it wasn't normal practice for William to delay things until the last minute.

"This was the third meeting that he's missed," Barbara said.

Looking at Lucy, Ed said, "This is serious. I've never known William to avoid work."

Lucy's face turned white on hearing that William had missed three meetings. Tears threatened to start flowing. Feeling helpless, she sank into her chair and stared out the window. The harsh features of the desert provided no comfort.

Barbara said, "Someone needs to talk to William."

"He won't talk to me," Lucy said. She stood up and fled from the room before the tears would start.

Ed watched Lucy go and shook his head. He pulled out his cell phone and looked at it. He sighed and said, "I wonder if it is time to get some professional help."

"I know who can talk to William," Barbara said quietly. It wasn't really her place to make the suggestion, but she couldn't help herself.

"Who?" Ed asked.

William sat at his desk holding his head between his hands. He had a splitting headache that throbbed with each beat of his heart. The lights were down low and the room was absolutely quiet except for the noises he made shifting around in his chair.

Everything had become too much for him. He viewed himself like a person who had suffered a major memory loss. People who have lost their long-term memories wake up every day not knowing who they are. They are confused don't recognize the people around them. People who have lost their short term memories forget what they are doing. They become unable to execute even a simple plan because they forget the plan. William felt that he was in much the same position. He had lost his memories of what was about to happen.

It was strange and unsettling to go through life surprised by everything that happened. He didn't know what he was going to eat until he actually sat down at the meal. He didn't know what conversations he would have until people started to talk to him. He felt like he had to make things up on the spur of the moment. Even worse, there wasn't a real chance to prepare for what was to happen and that scared him.

"Go away," William shouted in response to the knock on the door. The noise had driven into his brain like a nail.

"It's me," Amanda said in a loud voice.

"Go away," William shouted back. His stomach churned at the idea of sending her away.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Amanda said, "I want to die."

"What?" William asked sitting up in his chair.

"I can't take being blind any more. I want to die," she answered with a smile. She knew that would get his attention.

Without thinking, William had risen from his chair and walked over to the door. He opened it and found Amanda charging at him. He backed away wondering what was going on.

Upon hearing the door knob turn, Amanda had swung her cane and stepped forward to enter the room. Her actions forced William to step back. When she knew that she was through the door, she closed it behind her. She backed up until her butt was against the door and slid down with her back pressed against it to sit on the floor. She thought by blocking the door that she would prevent William from leaving. Unable to see her surroundings, she didn't realize that there was a second door into the office.

William stared at Amanda confused by her bizarre behavior. He asked, "What are you doing?"

"Now that you can't leave, you and I are going to have a little talk," she announced. She made a big production out of folding up her cane.

William looked at the other door and then back at Amanda. He asked, "What do you mean?"

"Look, you lost your ability to see the future. Big fucking deal," she said striking out to the heart of the matter with her first sentence and dismissing his concerns with the next sentence.

"It is a big deal," William said staring at Amanda unable to believe the language she was using.

"I've got news for you; no one else around you can see the future."

"Look, I've got no idea what's going to happen. We can be attacked and I won't be ready to save us," William said.

"In case you haven't noticed it, I'm blind. I never feel safe. Someone can walk up to me at any time and slap me silly. I won't know about it until they are actually hitting me. You have no idea what I would give just to see the threat coming, but I can't. So do you know what I do about it? I deal with it," she said with anger in her voice.

"It's different for you," William replied angrily. His anger was directed at himself rather than at her.

"You're right. I'm blind. Everyone else around me can see. Everyone has an advantage over me. You can't see the future. No one else can see the future. You aren't at a disadvantage compared to everyone else. I am! If anyone is vulnerable, it is me!"

William went over to his chair and sat down. When he turned to look at her, he realized that he could see right up her skirt. He moved his chair thinking that she had no idea how vulnerable she was. Then it dawned on him that she knew exactly how vulnerable she was. He sighed and said, "You're better at handling it than I am."

"No, I'm not! Do you think any of this comes easily to me?" she asked.

"You manage everything so naturally," William said. There were times when Amanda amazed him with how competently she handled the challenges of her job.

"There's nothing natural about how I cope with the world around me," Amanda said with a sigh. It was tough getting by when nearly every device assumed that you could see the controls. She said, "Even simple things like radios have buttons that aren't marked with Braille labels. It requires special effort for me to figure out how to use a cell phone and, even then, ninety percent of the features aren't available to me. There's nothing natural about how I cope."

"How do you manage to get by day after day?"

Amanda moved her head back so that it rested against the door. She answered, "I have to depend on the people around me. Mostly, I rely on friends, but there are times when I have to ask complete strangers for help."

"Friends," William echoed.

"Yes, I have to rely upon friends. You can't imagine how much I miss Donna. She did so many things for me," Amanda said. She remembered the day when Donna had come over to the apartment to help fix up the bathroom. Donna identified the colors of the towels while she sewed Braille labels onto them. It wasn't much, but she did feel better being able to provide a color coordinated display in the bathroom.

"Oh."

"The move was particularly tough for me even though Juanita helped me with it."

William frowned and asked, "What did she do?"

"She went shopping with me to find furniture for my suite. She helped me put together the entertainment center. She is very attentive to my needs and I like her, but I think she has long term plans for me," Amanda said.

Looking over at Amanda, William asked, "Is there a problem?"

"No. I think she wants to marry me. I don't really know how I feel about that," Amanda answered wondering how she had become the subject of conversation.

"Oh," William said at a loss concerning what he should say.

"You find it difficult to talk to people now, don't you?" Amanda asked after a full minute of silence. She had noticed that conversations with him had become a lot more stilted.

"Yes."

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't really know what to say to fix the situation. I don't know what consequences my words will have," William answered.

"Who said that you have to fix anything? Who said that everything you say has to have consequences?" Amanda asked confused by his answer.

"I don't know. It's always been that way," William said. Most of the time, William was very careful in choosing his words.

"You don't know how to relax," Amanda said.

"I don't know about that," William said with a frown. He thought about the times spent in the pond behind the house in Pennsylvania. He said, "I know how to play."

"You never give yourself over to it entirely. You're always alert for something negative to happen," Amanda said realizing that she was gaining insights into William that he had always managed to keep hidden.

"Well, a little. I can't help it," he said.

"I have to do that too. I can't move around without explicitly testing everything in my environment."

Amanda was silent for a moment and then said, "William, you are going to have to learn how to depend a little more on your friends. You're going to have to learn how to trust people to look out for themselves and for you."

"I guess," William said. The idea of depending upon others was very disturbing to him.

"You've never had to ask for help from anyone, have you?"

"Not really. I guess I've always been pretty self-sufficient, even as a kid," William answered.

"You're going to have to ask for help," Amanda said.

William looked down at the floor and thought about it. Looking up at her, he said, "You never intended to kill yourself."

"That's right," Amanda said.

"Why did you say that you didn't want to live anymore?"

Her lips curled into a small smile. She answered, "It was the only way I knew to get you to open the door. Pleading or begging you to let me in wouldn't work. Telling you that I was there to help you would have been useless. I had to ask you to save me."

"Am I that easy to manipulate?" William asked.

"No. It's just that everyone who loves you knows that you'd walk through hell to save them from the devil."

"Oh."

"We also know that you'd run through hell rather than ask anyone for help," Amanda said.

"Oh."

"Don't worry; there are lots of people who still need your help."

It wasn't clear if that was a good thing. William didn't feel like he could help himself, much less anyone else. He asked, "Really?"

Amanda smiled and said, "There is a woman here who needs your help."

"Who?" William asked.

"Sandra."

"What's her problem?" he asked sitting forward.

"She's in love with someone and he hasn't let her know that he feels the same way about her," Amanda said hoping that Sandra would forgive her for meddling in her life.

"I'll talk to her," William said with a sigh. He wondered who the man was that was stringing her along.

Standing up, Amanda unfolded her cane. She smoothed out her skirt and made sure that she was presentable. She asked, "What will you tell her?"

"I don't know," William answered. He knew that he was saying that a lot lately, but recognized that he was going to have to get used to saying it even more often.

"May I make a suggestion," Amanda said putting her hand on the door and turning the door knob.

"Sure."

"I love you," she said opening the door.

"I love you too," William said automatically. He waited for her to make her suggestion and then asked, "What should I say to Sandra?"

Amanda stepped through the open door. It was hard to keep from laughing. She turned so that her words would carry back to William. Just before closing the door, she said, "I love you, Sandra."



-------

Chapter 6


Sandra's cheeks were burning bright red while everyone else around the table, with one exception, was laughing. The only one not laughing was Eddie. He looked puzzled and asked, "How is a person supposed to know that someone loves them if they don't tell them?"

Lucy reached over and patted Eddie on the hand. Having seen teenage girls falling over themselves to be close to him, she answered, "In your case, you can assume that ninety percent of the women your age love you."

"That's ridiculous," Eddie said looking down at his plate disturbed by the statement. His parents were always telling him things like that, but he didn't understand why.

Ed raised an eyebrow and smiled at Eddie's discomfort. The girls in town were throwing themselves at Eddie and he wasn't even aware of it. He turned to Amanda and asked, "So what did he say?"

"I shut the door behind me," Amanda answered with a giggle.

Lucy was silent. She would never have thought to send Amanda to talk to William, but recognized that if anyone was able to break through the shell that he had constructed to keep everyone away that she was the perfect person. She sighed and asked, "So why isn't he here?"

When no one answered, Eddie asked, "Did anyone tell him that dinner was ready?"

A stunned silence settled over the table. For a full minute no one said a word. Finally, Lucy stood up and said, "Excuse me. I'll be back in a minute."

The discussion around the dinner table while waiting for dinner to be served was stilted and awkward at times. William tried to participate, but kept finding that he was at a loss in terms of the direction the discussion was heading. It was frustrating, but he did his best to muddle through. The conversation would have died except the new chef, Peter, had come to announce the beginning of the meal.

Peter had created a masterpiece of cuisine from Italy and could hardly wait to see the reaction to it. This was the first meal that he was cooking for his new employers and he wanted to really impress them with his culinary skills. Once he had everyone's attention, he said, "Tonight we are going to have a seven course meal from the land of Italy."

The entire table laughed when Eddie, in a very good imitation of Ed, interrupted Peter's prepared speech and said, "Well I'll be, I think we're gonna have a salad with 'eye-talian' dressing on it."

Shaking his head, Ed said, "Everyone knows that a salad is supposed to be prepared by cutting a head of lettuce into quarters and drowning it in Thousand Island Dressing."

"And we want the good stuff, too. We'll want the kind that comes in a bottle. We won't settle for any of that cheap homemade stuff either," Eddie said winking at his father.

Listening to the exchange, Lisa initially thought they were serious, but the smiles on their faces were too broad. Glancing at Eddie, she said, "I know we have a big bottle of dressing in the refrigerator."

William laughed at the expression on Peter's face. It was one of resignation to the inevitable. It looked like the time the man had spent as an assistant to Marguerite had not fully prepared him for dealing with Ed and Eddie.

Taking a sigh, Peter said, "Yes, I found all of the bottles of that stuff some people call salad dressing. I put them all in a separate refrigerator along with other items that are only fit for barbarians. If you are ever in need of them, they are in the refrigerator we use for storing toxic waste."

Lisa would have been hurt by his comment except she had caught his wink. After all, she had stocked the kitchen with those items. She had turned the kitchen over to him convinced that she was going to miss homemade pot roasts, spaghetti and meatballs, and other basic meals that she had grown up eating and had made for her family. That thought reminded her that she considered William and Lucy like her own children.

Sitting back in his chair, Ed grinned and asked, "Did you use that fancy sign from the hospitals, the skull and crossbones, or the green yucky face?"

"I used all three and a handwritten sign," Peter answered. Looking at Ed, he said, "Marguerite warned me that some of you are illiterate and require pictures."

Grinning at the chef, Eddie quipped, "Just like at home."

William laughed at the exchange taking delight in what to him were surprising twists and turns. It dawned on him that many of the conversations he had participated in had been somewhat flat because he had known what was going to be said before they even started.

The first course was Antipasto with baby scallops, shrimp, calamari, artichokes, hearts of palm, roasted tomatoes and peas with a light vinaigrette. Peter didn't seem to mind when Tim picked all of the peas out of the dish, but did frown when Ken did the same thing. Almost half of the people around the table did the same with the calamari. Peter sighed and returned to the kitchen to make notes about what people liked and didn't like. Marguerite had warned him not to get too fancy until he learned the individual tastes of the people in the house.

The second course was a cream of corn soup with mascarpone cheese. Nearly everyone at the table studied the soup intently before trying it. Much to Peter's relief, it looked like everyone enjoyed the soup, but the reactions were not overwhelming. He sighed and wondered how Marguerite had managed to develop into such a great chef feeding people who weren't comfortable with exotic cuisine. Eddie and Ed though seemed to enjoy it a lot.

The third course was sautèed zucchini blossoms, stuffed with lobster and fine herbs, with Italian truffles and a truffle hollandaise sauce. After Peter had described the dish, Tim said, "I don't like zucchini."

Embarrassed, Lisa said, "He didn't say it was made of zucchini. It is zucchini blossoms that have been stuffed."

"We're eating flowers?" Tim asked with an expression of disgust on his face.

Eddie nodded his head and said, "I've had them before. They aren't all that bad."

Tim eyed the plate when it was set in front of him and poked the food with his fork. He asked, "What's a truffle?"

"It is an expensive mushroom," Lucy answered. She was eyeing her dish with more than a little suspicion as well.

"No need to use expensive mushrooms for me," Ken said. He took a bite of the dish and looked around with a grin. Surprised at the burst of flavors in his mouth, he said, "Hey, this is pretty good."

Looking over at his father, Tim worked up his courage to try eating the strange dish. He took a bite and chewed it. Nodding his head, he said, "I kind of like it."

Peter returned to the kitchen feeling very depressed. He knew that Ed and Eddie was very familiar with dishes like this, but he had assumed that William, Lucy, and their staff would have had some exposure to food. He wondered what kind of dishes Lisa had been cooking for them over the past few years.

The fourth course was duck raviolis flavored with fine herbs, topped with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, with a truffle herb butter sauce, garnished with basil. It was one of the dishes that had won Peter acclaim early in his culinary career. The reaction to his presentation was almost crushing.

Seeing the bowl with four raviolis in it, Tim said, "They sure don't look like the stuff from the can."

"No they don't," agreed Cathy. The zucchini blossoms hadn't thrown her since her mother had a Native American dish that included squash blossoms, but this raviolis had only a superficial resemblance to the stuff her mother heated out of the can. She hadn't ever had anything like this dish at home.

Barbara said, "Well, some people say that the stuff out of the can isn't really ravioli. Just like the spaghetti sauce from the jar isn't really spaghetti sauce."

"I can understand that about the spaghetti sauce. My mom's spaghetti sauce is a whole lot better than the stuff from the jar," Tim said still eyeing the raviolis. He sighed and cut one of them into quarters. They were a lot bigger than the canned version.

Laughing, Barbara took a bite of food and nodded her head appreciatively. Others around the table approached the dish with varying degrees of hesitation. Ed and Eddie immediately dug in and enjoyed it a lot. William liked it and said, "This is good."

Tim shook his head and said, "I don't like it. It's too dry."

Looking over at Peter with an apologetic look, Lisa said, "You don't have to eat it if you don't like it."

"Okay," Tim said pushing the dish away. He noticed that Cathy had done the same thing and gave her a grateful smile. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one who didn't care for the dish.

Peter watched the tepid reactions to his dish for a full minute before heading out to the kitchen. His depression was intensifying and he wondered why he hadn't listened better to the warnings given him by Marguerite. Turning to Alicia, one of the two assistant chefs, he said, "They don't like it."

"You're kidding," she replied finding it difficult to keep from peeking through the kitchen door to verify what he had said. Peter made the finest raviolis that she had ever tasted.

"No, a couple of them even pushed their plates away," Peter said sinking into his chair. He looked over at the plates that Terri, his other assistant, was putting together. He hoped they would like the veal dish, but he doubted it.

Soon it was time to serve the next dish. Peter went out and said, "The next dish is a roast tenderloin of veal served over an herb and truffle risotto, topped with vegetables, and sauced with a Sangiovese reduction sauce."

Tim was about to ask a question, but a glance from his mother stopped him. He sat back in his chair and wondered what a Sangiovese was. The others around the table looked interested in the dish so he chose to bid his time.

Terri and Alicia removed the plates of ravioli noticing that half of them hadn't been finished. The two exchanged glances and then served the veal dish. The reactions to the dish were positive. So far the dinner had lasted an hour and fifteen minutes. Peter felt like the evening would never come to an end.

With a satisfied sigh, Rudy said, "It's not quite a steak cooked medium well, but this looks a little better than English food."

Staring at the man with huge ears that stuck straight out from his head, Peter looked sick at the comment. This dish looked only a little better than English food? Not once while training to be a chef did he ever think that the food he lovingly prepared would be compared to English cooking. It was impossible. Even the English didn't like their cooking. He nodded his head and said, "I would have had to boil the meat to prepare it English style."

Smiling at the pained tone in Peter's voice, Rudy said, "Still learning how to boil water, huh?"

Cathy hit him gently on the arm and said, "That was mean."

"I was just kidding," Rudy said turning to look at Cathy surprised by her attack. He looked at the plate in front of him and said, "It does look pretty good, though. You've got no idea how much I missed real food while I was in England."

Only slightly mollified, Peter returned to the kitchen to check the ribs. He felt like he was walking through molasses.

So far the meal had been a thoroughly miserable experience for Mandy. So far, all of the dishes had been a trial. With the Antipasto, she was never sure what was on her fork until she put it in her mouth. The calamari, complete with little tentacles, had been a very unpleasant surprise. The soup had been a relatively easy dish to eat, although it was difficult to know if she was holding the spoon level. The stuffed zucchini blossoms had been very difficult to eat. She had actually dropped one in her lap. After searching around on the plate with her fork, she realized that the veal medallions were larger than bite size. Turning to Juanita, she asked, "Could you cut up my meal?"

Glancing over at the plate, Juanita realized that Lisa had always made sure to cut up the food for Mandy before serving it to her. She had also been in the habit of separating the foods into specific quadrants of the plate: meat at the bottom of the plate, starches to the left, vegetables to the right, and, if present, the fourth item at the top. She answered, "Sure, sweetie."

Frowning, Lisa looked at the elaborate arrangement of food on her plate and realized what the problem was. Embarrassed, she said, "I'm sorry. I should have warned Peter."

"It's not your fault," Mandy said feeling miserable. She could imagine that her clothes were completely stained by the food that had dropped from her fork.

"I'll let him know," Lisa said standing up.

"You don't have to do that," Mandy said embarrassed at being the center of attention.

"Nonsense. It's just a matter of arranging the food on your plate," Lisa said heading into the kitchen while Juanita cut up the food on the plate. She did her best to arrange the result into the proper quadrants.

Ed was busy going through his typical food appreciation cycle. After tasting the veal, he sat back and said, "This is very good."

Grinning, Eddie tasted his food and nodded his head in agreement. Peter had done an excellent job preparing it. It was tender enough to almost melt in his mouth. The flavors were rich and full. He looked over at Lucy and said, "You've got to try this. It's really good."

Lisa returned from the kitchen with a concerned look on her face. She had not expected to see Peter near tears when she told him how to prepare the plate for Mandy. It wasn't that big of a deal and he couldn't be faulted for not realizing that he had to take special care in preparing her plate. She sat down and looked at the veal. It really did look good.

The conversation was quiet while people ate. Juanita quietly helped Mandy with her meal. There were times when she paused and watched the blind woman struggle with the food. She knew that meals were the most stressful events of the day. Unable to see if the food was speared on the fork well enough to make the trip from plate to mouth, food often dropped onto her blouse. For an attractive woman, ending up looking like a toddler at the end of the meal was tough on the ego.

There was a moderate delay between courses before Peter came out of the kitchen and said, "The next course is braised short ribs served with white bean and escarole seasoned with pancetta bacon and white beans with a Brunello red wine sauce."

"I didn't know that barbecued ribs was an Italian dish," Tim said. He grimaced when he caught the look his mother gave him. Defensive, he asked, "What did I say?"

"He didn't say barbecued ribs, he said braised ribs," Lisa answered. She glanced over at Ken and was surprised to see that he shared Tim's confusion. She asked, "What?"

"What does braised mean?" Ken asked earning a thankful look from Tim. Even Cathy looked interested in the answer.

Lisa looked over at Peter and asked, "Do you want to answer that one?"

"Braising is a method of cooking. You first brown the meat or vegetables in hot fat to lock in the moisture and flavor. Then you add a little liquid and cook the food in a covered pot at a low temperature. The result is a very tender, moist, and flavorful dish," Peter answered.

"Sounds complicated," Tim said. He asked, "Wouldn't it be easier to barbecue it?"

"Perhaps," Peter answered.

"It's been ages since I've had a good barbecued meal," Rudy said with a sigh. Looking over at William, he said, "I take it that by living here, I won't have too many chances to barbecue."

"You can barbecue anytime you want," William said looking over at the Texan. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "This is your home, not a prison. There's no reason that you can't cook."

Sandra had been quiet since William had come into the dining room. So far the meal had reminded her of the kinds of meals served at restaurants when successful men had tried to impress her on dates. The honest reactions of the people to the meal had been refreshing. On dates, the men had tried to impress her with their sophisticated appreciation of the food. Looking at William, she said, "You'll have to try some of my lasagna sometime."

"That sounds good," Amanda said not realizing that Sandra had been speaking to William. Lasagna was another of those difficult foods to eat, but she really liked it.

Peter listened to the discussion with growing horror. He had just delivered a masterpiece of food to them and they were talking about barbecued ribs and lasagna. Looking up at the ceiling, he wondered if there was any justice in the world. If there was, the next meal they prepared would give them diarrhea. He took hope from that and watched as Terri and Alicia placed the plates. Shaking his head, he returned to the kitchen taking refuge in the fact that there was only one more course to get through.

Juanita leaned over to Amanda and whispered, "He put the food in the proper quadrants on the plate."

"Thank you," Amanda whispered back.

Once Peter had left the room, Tim tried a bite of the meat. Nodding his head, he said, "He's right. It is real tender."

"He's a professional chef. Everything he cooks is going to be great," Lisa said looking over at Tim. She felt embarrassed when comparing her cooking to his. There was no comparison between the low class food she prepared and that which he prepared.

Seeing the expression on Lisa's face, Lucy said, "I like your cooking, Lisa. It's just like my mother's."

"It's not very sophisticated," Lisa said biting her lower lip. This meal had pointed out that they were going to have a very different lifestyle here in Arizona. She looked at Tim and wondered how having gourmet meals would affect him when he struck out on his own.

"This kind of food is good for a special occasion, but we won't be eating like this every night," Lucy said.

"I like my mom's cooking better," Tim said smiling over at his mother. She didn't put peas or those little octopuses (or what ever they were) in his food.

Returning her son's smile, Lisa tasted a piece of meat. Shaking her head, she said, "This is really good."

"I thought Italian was stuff like spaghetti, ziti, veal scaloppini, and pizza," Tim said before taking another bite of his meal.

"This is a more sophisticated Italian meal than you normally get in a chain restaurant. Pastas are usually side dishes rather than the main dish. Pizza isn't really an Italian invention," Barbara said.

Nodding his head, Ed said, "Tim, I think you'll learn a lot about food from Peter. I know that Marguerite really expanded my horizons when it came to eating. Sure, there are times when I still enjoy a Chicken Fried Steak, but I've come to enjoy a nice Duck ala Orange."

"You don't think it is kind of weird to have two main meals in one meal?" Tim asked. He was starting to feel really full.

"You can kiss my figure goodbye," Sandra said thinking about how much she had eaten. They had been at the table for almost three hours.

In a duet, Barbara and Juanita said, "Mine too."

Relieved at delivering the final course, Peter said, "The final course of the meal is peaches and blackberries marinated in Muscat wine, served over an almond cookie with a Muscat mascarpone cheese."

"Cheese for desert?" Tim asked earning a glare from Peter that was quickly suppressed.

Ken and Lisa exchanged a quick glance. Ken knew that Lisa was feeling embarrassed by Tim's questions. In a way, he agreed with her. The problem was that Tim had beat him to voicing the same questions. He felt like they were coming off like uneducated hicks from the backwoods. Trying not to sound too uneducated, he said, "You know what they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans."

Tim looked at his father and said, "I heard they have orgies there. Will we have one after dinner?"

William nearly choked on his food at the question. Laughter erupted from around the table while Ken sputtered trying to come up with an answer. Peter left the dining room in disgust. His debut as a private chef had been a complete disaster.

Ed held up his hand in an attempt to get some quiet. After a minute, the laughter died down and he could hear the sounds of pots and pans rattling in the kitchen. Shaking his head, he said, "The sounds coming from your kitchen remind me of home. Marguerite always does that when she's sure that we don't appreciate her latest attempt to poison me."

Eddie chuckled and said, "You had better take care of the problem, William, before he decides that you are fair game for poisoning like Daddy Ed."

Taking his wife's hand, William said, "What do you think of our chef so far, Lucy?"

"I rather like his cooking," Lucy answered with a smile. She had found the food outstanding so far although the calamari was a bit too much. Small town girls from Pennsylvania didn't have that many opportunities to eat calamari. She looked in the direction of the kitchen and asked, "What do you think upset him?"

Shrugging his shoulders, William answered, "I don't know those kinds of things anymore. I guess we'll have to let him know what we thought of the meal after everyone has finished desert."

Amanda moaned and said, "Oh, this is so good."

Peter was left in the dining room stunned by the feedback from everyone at the end of the meal. Convinced that they had hated everything he had prepared for them, he wasn't prepared for the praise. Even the kid who had questioned every dish had praise for most of the meal. In hind sight, he should have known better to serve some of the dishes to someone that young. He stumbled into the kitchen and picked up the phone. A few seconds later, he said, "Hello Marguerite. This is Peter and I'm seriously confused."

He should have expected her laughter.



-------

Chapter 7


William looked up at the stars overhead. The sight of the summer sky was always special to him, particularly on nights without a moon. The stars seemed so low that you could reach out and touch them. Turning to the dark shape seated next to him, he said, "I love looking at the stars out here."

"I do too," Eddie said with a smile. In the dark, his white teeth seemed to stand out.

William pulled out his pack of cigarettes and took one out. He handed the pack to his brother and said, "Have one."

"Thanks," Eddie said taking a cigarette from the pack. Daddy Ed was aware that he occasionally smoked when around members of the tribe, but none of the mothers knew that. He was pretty sure that Momma Ling would tan his hide when she learned that he smoked on occasion. He handed the pack back to his brother.

William accepted the pack and put it back in his pocket. He lit his cigarette using a match; the flare of striking it killing what little night vision he had. He held out the match, cupping it in his hands to protect it from the wind, for his brother to light his cigarette. Eddie leaned over and lit his cigarette. The two brothers took long drags off their cigarettes and exhaled to the sky. William said, "This is the first time we've smoked together."

"Yes," Eddie said feeling a little dizzy from the tobacco. He looked over at the dark outline of William and said, "I'm glad to see you out of the house."

"I can't live in there forever," William said looking around. The quiet of the night was disturbed by some noises coming from the ranch house. It wasn't anything worrisome, just the normal noises of men and women going about the business of ending the day. He cocked his head to listen.

Eddie smiled on seeing William's posture and said, "Daddy Ed and I stand on the roof at home and listen to the town close up at night. The door closing as Shirley shuts down the bar officially ends the business day. Her car leaving for home is our sign that all is well. Even after everyone has reached home from the bar, it is never really quiet though. Dogs bark, animals come in from the desert and rummage through trash cans, and the coyotes howl in the distance. People are up and about all night long."

"You sound like Daddy Ed when you talk about home," William said. The end of his cigarette glowed brighter when he took another drag off of it. The smoke of the cigarette was barely visible in the dark; a mere blur of darkness in the darkness.

"Why not? It's my home too," Eddie said feeling protective of his little home town.

"Yes, it is. This is my home and I guess I should learn the normal sounds of people going about their business," William said. A screen door, with a spring to strong for the weight of the door, slammed shut making a crack that split the night. He couldn't help but jump a little at the sound.

"Where there are people, there's noise," Ed said smiling at William's reaction to the sound of the door closing. He took another drag off his cigarette.

"So you're leaving tomorrow."

"Yes. Daddy Ed has a survey up in Nevada. Some fool thinks that he can find silver that was missed in the late 1800s and wants us to tell him the best place to dig," Eddie said. They had turned down the job a dozen times, but the man who wanted it done was persistent.

"You don't think they'll have any luck?" William asked.

Eddie shook his head and said, "The Comstock mines are all played out. There are traces here and there, but only fit for tourists to dig up."

"What is it that they think they'll find?" William asked.

Eddie shrugged his shoulders and said, "I imagine that they think there are veins of silver, but the area around Carson City is the wrong place to look for that. There hasn't been a significant find in a hundred years. A lot of very greedy people have spent a lot of time searching. I doubt they missed anything."

"So why did Ed take the job?"

"The guy is very insistent. Dad and I discussed it. We decided that it would be a good exercise for me to take part in a geological survey," Eddie answered. Even though he didn't think they were going to find something of much significance, it was his first survey. He would be doing most of the work with Ed supervising.

"What would you like to find?"

"Well, there is a chance that there are opals in the area we are going to be working. I don't have an outstanding sample of an opal that I've collected myself," Eddie said.

"Well, I wish you luck out there," William said.

Eddie put out his cigarette by grinding it against the bottom of his shoe and slipped the butt into his back pocket. He rubbed the side of his nose and then asked, "Are you going to be okay, William?"

"I think so," William answered.

"I'm glad."

-------

Lucy stopped her horse and turned to look back at William. He had stopped and was looking back over his shoulder. Curious, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Someone is coming," William answered pointing to some dust rising on the other side of the hill. There was no reason for anyone to come out that way since the cattle were down by the river. Of course, there were fences to mend and other activities that went along with running a cattle ranch, but no one had said anything about working in that area.

"I don't hear a pickup or a motorcycle," Lucy said thinking that only a pickup truck or motorcycle could raise dust like that.

The tension he was feeling immediately lifted when he saw what was creating the dust plume. He laughed and said, "I'll be."

"Is that... ," Lucy started to ask unable to believe what her eyes were telling her.

"Betsy," William said watching his little sister running towards them. Her legs were churning so fast that they were a blur. She was kicking up dust just like a motorcycle.

The young woman came to a sliding stop in front of William and Lucy. Without even breathing heavily, she looked up at the two on their horses, smiled, and then, in a sweet voice, said, "Hello."

"Hello, Betsy," Lucy said amazed at the bright eyes looking up at her.

"Did you have a nice little run?" William asked. They were five or six miles from the house.

"Yes," Betsy said starting to fidget. Her movements were starting to make the horses nervous.

Lucy looked down at Betsy and said, "You looked like Speedy Gonzales running here."

"I'm not a mouse," Betsy said with a grin. The smile turned feral before she added, "I'm a shark."

A shiver went through Lucy as she remembered the sight of Betsy swimming with the sharks at the wedding reception. Pursing her lips, she said, "Of course you are. Did you have a good run?"

Despite the repetition of the question, Betsy answered, "It wasn't too bad. I promised Momma Ling that I'd be back in an hour. I guess I better head back now. I'll race you to the house."

"Okay," William said knowing that standing around this long was almost too much for his sister.

"One, two, three," Betsy said just before she spun around and raced off.

Chuckling, William watched his little sister streak across the landscape. The route she was taking was probably closer to ten miles than the direct distance of five miles. Considering the distance from the house and the kind of terrain on which she was running, he wondered if she was going to make the one hour limit.

Leaning forward to pet the neck of her horse, Lucy asked, "Aren't we going to go after her?"

Nudging his horse forward to a leisurely walk, William said, "She'll beat us there anyway. There's no sense in risking the horses by running them on this terrain."

Lucy quickly caught up to him and said, "I wonder why she came here for a visit."

"She's supposed to be in California working at the Shark Institute for the summer. I can't think of any reason that would cause her to return," William said. He wondered if the institute had a problem that required them to close. He couldn't imagine Betsy willingly giving up a minute of her time with the sharks. He added, "She wouldn't leave the sharks unless it was really important."

"There aren't many sharks around here," Lucy said smiling at William.

-------

After searching the house for twenty minutes, William found Betsy and Ling in the swimming pool. Betsy was doing her normal impersonation of a shark. William looked at the figure of his sister moving through the water. It was almost unnatural the way she moved. When she didn't come up for air, he examined her a little more carefully and noticed something in her mouth and what looked like a vest. He asked, "What's she wearing?"

"A rebreather. She can stay down there forever with one of those," Ling answered making her way to the edge of the pool. She paused to watch her daughter cut through the water. Her movements appeared effortless. It never ceased to amaze her when Betsy swam with sharks.

"I've never seen one that small," William said. From where he was standing, it looked like a hose that went to a very small vest.

"It is an experimental version. Unlike most rebreathers that are based on a scrubbing technology, hers uses a fusion battery to power a CO2 extraction process. She can stay underwater almost indefinitely with it," Ling said. When Ling had questioned her about the details, Betsy had answered that with sufficient energy anything was possible.

"Interesting. There are lots of applications for something like that," William said wondering about the physics involved. Of course, if the answer was obvious then it would have been invented a long time ago. If it worked outside of the water, then such a device could also be used by firemen and others exposed to harmful gases. There were great benefits associated with a small rebreather that would allow individuals to stay separate from the atmosphere for long periods of time.

"Yes there are," Ling said wondering why they were discussing Betsy's rebreather when there were matters of greater importance at hand.

"It is not that I want to sound inhospitable, but what are you doing here?" William asked.

"We were on our way to Florida to pick up a shark from an aquarium there and decided to stop here," Ling answered looking at William. She had expected to find him waiting for them when they arrived. The fact that he hadn't been expecting them had been a shock.

"Oh. Isn't this a little out of the way?" William asked rising an eyebrow.

"Your father did mention..." Ling faltered in her explanation. She didn't know of a kind way of saying that William wasn't quite himself. She tried again. "Your father said that you lost your gift of foresight."

"Yes, I have," William said watching his mother's reaction. She didn't know what to say or do. He wasn't used to seeing her so uncertain and insecure.

Ling climbed out of the pool and went over to where William was standing. They were separated by three feet, but it could have been a mile. She stood there naked, water dripping from her body and collecting on the floor beneath her. William stood facing her; watching as she bit her lower lip in indecision.

The relationship between William and Ling had always been filled with tension. In part it was because William had always been strong enough that he hadn't needed her. Ling didn't know how to mother him when he didn't need a protector. She often felt that it was unfair that even as a child, he wasn't a child. Another reason for the tension was that he knew things that others shouldn't know. He had frustrated her by always knowing what she was going to do. Looking at him now, she could see that he had no idea what she was going to say or do. That thought unnerved her.

Lucy stepped into the pool room. Rather than interrupt, she stood to the side to watch the pair of them. It hurt to watch. Each wanted to reach out to the other, but that wasn't the nature of their relationship. Kelly and Linda would have been hugging William as soon as they had gotten out of the pool. Ling and Claire were more reserved, although the word that probably applied was that they were more controlled.

"For goodness sakes, won't you two hug each other," Betsy said from the edge of the pool. She rolled her eyes and dove backwards under the water. Before the wave she had created died down she was twenty feet away.

Taking the advice of her daughter, Ling stepped forward and hugged William. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Oh, William."

"Mom," William said hugging her back.

Tears flooding her eyes, Lucy stepped out of the room to give them their privacy. She couldn't remember the two of them hugging although she was sure that this wasn't the first time they had held each other.

After a few seconds, Ling asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Mom. I'm okay," William answered.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ling asked.

Looking at his mother, he realized that she needed to talk about it much more than he did. Her son had lost something important to him and she wanted to support him in the experience. Nodding his head, he said, "Yes, I'd like to talk about it. I'd also like to spar with you later."

"You'd like to see how much of your ability to fight was based on your knowledge of what was going to happen," Ling said. She had always tried to warn him not to depend on that in the same way that she taught him not to depend on his eyesight or hearing alone.

"Yes," William said. After the fight with Sue Sun, he felt a little more confident in his fighting skills. He hoped that he would discover that his skills were still good enough to spar with his mother. She was the only test of skill that mattered.

Having found a way to support William, Ling felt much better. She smiled and said, "That would be nice."

-------

William sat down on a chair and watched Betsy jogging on the treadmill. It was his experience that this was the best way to have long relaxed conversations with his sister. He said, "You're looking fit."

"Thanks," Betsy said. She reached down and adjusted the speed of the treadmill so that it was moving at a fast walk.

"How's college?" he asked.

"It's okay. I'm making good grades although I find it hard to sit through class. They don't allow me to take an exercise bike into the classroom. Do you know how long an hour and fifteen minutes is?" Betsy asked with a slight whine in her voice. She had actually had a professor who demanded that she start taking drugs for ADD because she was disrupting the class with her fidgeting.

"There are times when an hour and fifteen minutes feels like forever," William answered with a smile.

"You can say that again. I thought I'd go crazy in my English class. The professor had a thing for love poetry. It was love this and love that for the whole class. It was boring. I figure that he was trying to pick up some of the starry eyed women in the class. I finally had to pay someone to tape the lectures so that I could watch them outside of the classroom," Betsy said shaking her head. The professor was more than happy for her to do that since he found her presence in the classroom distracting. It was hard to make grand poetic statements when she was shadow boxing in her seat.

William laughed and said, "I would have liked to watch you in class. You aren't quite the type of woman who goes for poetry."

"I got an A in that class," Betsy said.

"I'm sure you did, but did you enjoy it?"

"No. It was boring," Betsy answered with a laugh. She thought about it for a minute and then said, "I grew up surrounded by love. I've seen the moms and dads with each other. I know love. I don't need some musty old poet telling me what I've experienced first hand."

"I see what you mean," William said. He wondered if she had found a lover yet. After a moment of thought, he realized that he knew she hadn't.

Betsy said, "The professors don't make too much of a fuss. The school is very happy to have an Olympic athlete on campus. I'm taking our swim team and our track team to first place in our division."

"Are you competing in the martial arts?" William asked.

"Only at the national and international levels," Betsy answered.

"Let's see, you're running, swimming, and fighting. That must make it tough to find time to study," William said.

"That's the story of my life," Betsy said with a negligent shrug of her shoulders. She glanced over at William and said, "I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost my energy."

"You'd manage," William said.

"How are you managing?" Betsy asked slowing the treadmill down even more.

"I'm getting by. At first, it seemed to me that the world was flat and gray. My mind feels sluggish and my movements slow. Now I find that the world is full of surprises that I didn't know existed. I lost a lot, but gained a little out of the experience," William answered.

"Oh," Betsy said. She cranked up the speed and ran full out for a minute. Her brow was wrinkled in concentration. She shook her head and, with a frown on her face, said, "I just can't imagine what you are going through."

"It is only temporary," William said.

"Oh, well, that is okay, I guess," Betsy said. Her expression returned to its normal chipper state.

William watched her run full speed. It was an impressive demonstration of speed and stamina. He wondered how long she could keep up that pace. He asked, "So tell me about the rape."

"Oh, that. Some jerks had drugged some girl and were raping her. When I saw that she was unconscious I just knew that I had to stop them. I stopped them," Betsy said lightly.

"What were the damages?" William asked.

"They weren't hurt too bad," Betsy answered ducking the question.

"What were the damages?" William asked a second time.

Betsy blew air out of her mouth in an indignant huff and answered, "A broken hip, a broken jaw, a crushed testicle, and a couple dozen broken ribs."

"That's not too bad," William said facetiously. He understood that there were three men involved in the rape.

"See, you agree with me," Betsy said. She slowed the treadmill down a little. Taking little glances over at her brother, she said, "The police were rather nice about it. The boys' parents wanted to sue, though."

"I imagine they felt like you used excessive force," William said. He imagined that in addition to the broken bones, there were very few places on the men that had escaped without a bruise.

"Right, can you imagine that? I could have killed each of them a dozen times over and they thought I used excessive force. The nerve of them," Betsy said feeling indignant. Momma Ling only comment about that was that she should have killed them. It simplified the paper work.

"What happened to the girl?"

"She was devastated by the rape. Her parents came and took her home," Betsy answered.

"Why are they suing you?" William asked getting to the heart of the matter.

"Her father was a real asshole and I had to straighten him out," Betsy answered. The father had been a real jerk about the entire matter. He kept treating his daughter as if the whole thing was her fault. It had taken her about thirty seconds to convince the man that there wasn't too much you could do about when someone stronger than you wanted to rape you.

"What were the damages?"

"I broke his nose," Betsy said turning up the treadmill. She had thrown him around a little, dropped his pants to the floor, and shoved a finger up his ass. He became a firm believer that if someone wanted to rape you that there wasn't too much that you could do about it. She didn't mention that she had torn his rectum with her fingernail.

"Momma Ling said they charged you with sexual assault," William said crossing his arms. Although Ed had not mentioned anything about the episode, he was pretty sure that his father was furious about it. His attempts to moderate Betsy's reactions to threats had failed even more than his attempts to control Ling.

"There was nothing sexual about it. I was just making a point," Betsy said pouting. Seeing the look her brother was giving her, she added, "The girl was happy he learned his lesson."

William shook his head and sighed. His sister had very little restraint when it came to dealing with sexual predators and individuals who harmed children. He said, "You know better than that. It is highly likely that you'll end up going to jail for that."

Betsy turned up the treadmill again and said, "Someone in this family needs to marry a lawyer."



-------

Chapter 8


John Carter, William's older brother, squatted down by the campfire and picked up the coffee pot. While pouring a cup, he asked, "So what do you think of Betsy's legal problems?"

Shrugging his shoulders, William answered, "I don't know what to think. I keep hoping that the father will drop the charges. It would be a disaster for the prison system if she were to go to jail. The thought of that sends shivers down my spine."

John laughed and asked, "What do you think the chances are of him doing that?"

William held out his cup for his brother to fill while he answered, "Pretty good, actually. I'm sure that he doesn't want to testify about what happened to him. It's pretty embarrassing for a man his size to say that someone Betsy's size did that to him. I also think he's the kind of person who would ask for money to put an end to it."

"You're probably right," John said as he poured some coffee into his brother's cup. The odor of fresh coffee filled the air.

"I'm not sure that is the best thing that could happen for Betsy. She needs to learn control."

"I keep wondering when she'll start her service to the Gods and Goddesses," John said putting the pot back on the fire. He chuckled and said, "Can you imagine what will happen when the Gods and Goddesses direct her energy at some problem?"

"The thought of it scares the daylights out of me," William said with a snort. He could just imagine her stopping a riot single- handedly. It would make Custer's Last Stand look like a picnic in the park.

"I've got to admit the idea scares me a little," John said. He sighed and said, "It's a shame that we didn't get to spend a little more time with her while she was growing up. Same goes for Eddie, too."

"I know what you mean," William said.

John looked over his shoulder at the tent and wondered when Momma Linda would wake. Glancing at William, he asked, "Should we wake her?"

"No. Let her sleep. She was pretty tired last night. She's not used to riding around out here," William answered. He looked over at the sun that was just above the eastern horizon and knew that it wasn't even seven in the morning.

"It sure is a nice place you've got here," John said looking around at the landscape that surrounded them. He stood up and moved to the edge of their camp. This was the active time of the day when it was cool enough for animals to move around without overheating. He glanced down and watched a desert mouse scamper around the base of a tumbleweed. The mouse was busy collecting seeds. In six weeks, or so, the top of the plant would break off from the stem and shed its seeds as it rolled under the guidance of the wind.

"Thanks. We'd have never found it without Daddy Ed's help," William said.

"No one knows Arizona better than Daddy Ed," John answered still watching the mouse. The fight for life always amazed him.

Seeing what his brother was watching, William asked, "How goes your work?"

"Susan and I get to travel the world looking at exotic plants and animals. We've gotten a couple of species put on the endangered species list. It is a hard fight sometimes, but I can't imagine doing anything else with my life," John answered. He was fortunate that his wife and he shared the same passion and interest in the natural world. There weren't too many women who would enjoy sleeping in a tent in the middle of some mosquito infested swamp. Susan not only enjoyed it, but she looked forward to it with the same degree of anticipation as most women viewed Paris.

"Where are you off to next?"

"We're heading out to the Congo," John answered. There was a major problem with hunters taking bush meat and killing off thousands of animals.

"Sounds dangerous," William said.

"No more dangerous than the Amazon Basin was," John said. The danger didn't come from the animals, but the people who lived there.

"You're lucky that Susan shares your passion," William said.

"Yes, I am," John said. He looked around the camp and said, "This is one of the few times that I've been camping without her. I'll admit that I had a little trouble falling asleep last night. I get worried when she isn't around."

Laughing, William said, "Don't worry about her. I'm sure that Lucy is taking good care of her. In a couple of hours they'll be heading to the mall for a little shopping."

"That's what worries me," John said with a laugh. He turned away from the tumble weed and returned to the fire. Shaking his head, he said, "Last time she went shopping she got a camouflage colored baby doll negligee. She beat me up when I laughed at it."

"Where on earth did she find something like that?" William asked.

"I don't know," John admitted. He grinned and said, "She looks good in it though."

William laughed. He was enjoying the chance to talk with John. It seemed like too many years had passed without them having a chance to get together like this. He asked, "Are you going to have kids anytime soon?"

"I don't know," John answered with a frown. Shaking his head, he said, "I keep thinking about what kind of life we'd be giving a kid. Susan and I would be miserable living in a house, but raising a kid in some of the places we go to would be nearly impossible. The Gods and Goddesses have given us immunity to the diseases we encounter, but I'm not sure that our children would have the same benefit. You can't imagine the germs, viruses, and parasites that we encounter."

"I hadn't thought about that," William said.

"Besides, can you imagine what it would be like growing up while tramping around in the wild?"

"That doesn't sound all that bad to me," William said.

"Come on, William. You know better than that. His home would be a tent. The only toys he would have would be those that he could carry in his pack. He couldn't have a pet and half the animals he encountered would want to eat him," John said. Shaking his head, he added, "Besides, what kind of education would he get?"

"I don't know, but your children would have two of the greatest parents any child could possibly want. That's got to count for something," William said looking over at his brother with a smile.

"Maybe," John said with a sigh. Looking at William, he asked, "What about you?"

"We're planning on having a whole bunch of kids, just not anytime soon," William said.

"Why not?"

"We need a chance to grow up a little," William answered.

"You're the oldest person I know," John said.

"What do you mean? I'm younger than you," William said. For some reason, that comment had hurt his feelings.

"You were more mature than I am now when you were three years old. You've always looked at the world though old eyes," John said looking over at his brother.

William didn't reply in words. He snorted and shook his head.

John said, "I remember when you wouldn't talk with people because the conversations were too superficial. You preferred learning from books than people because you didn't have to deal with people."

"Okay," William said with a frown.

"I bet you can't name three teams in the NFL," John said.

"Sure I can. I've studied the economics of sports," William replied.

John laughed at the admission and asked, "Who won the super bowl last year?"

"I have no idea," William answered.

"That's my point. You're above that kind of stuff. You may have lived around people, but you don't really live with people," John said. He wondered how many real friends William had. He couldn't see his brother having a friend that he just hung out with to pass the time.

Linda slipped out of the tent and watched the two brothers talking. She had been listening to them from about the time they started talking about Ed helping William find the property. The direction of the discussion was beginning to bother her.

"Do you think I don't have friends?" William asked.

"I don't know."

"Spirit of Desert Rock is a friend of mine. So is Kotyit. Happy Harry was a friend. I'm friends with Oscar Meyers, too," William said.

"Kotyit is an old man and so was Happy Harry. I see you as being about their age. I can't say too much about your friendship with Oscar Meyers, but I'm pretty sure that you don't sit around and drink beers with Dale," John said.

"We don't drink beers. Our Native American blood doesn't make that a very good idea," William said.

"You know what I mean. Do you and him get together just to talk about stuff? Do you go hunting and camping together? "

The question bothered William. He frowned and answered, "Dale and I don't do stuff like that."

"That's my point. You don't do stuff like that. You don't engage people like other people do. Everyone else around you is an employee," John said looking at his brother. He knew that he was the only one who could say something like that to William and have him take it seriously.

"Kotyit once told me that a war party of three wasn't much of a war party."

From behind, Linda said, "Kotyit is a wise man."

-------

When Lucy thought of shopping with another woman, the kinds of stores she considered going to did not include sporting goods and hardware stores. However, those were the only stores that Susan even considered visiting. Since this was really the first chance that Lucy had to get to know her sister-in-law, she had gone along with her.

To say that Lucy had found it boring was an understatement. They had spent thirty minutes at the hardware store doing nothing more than checking out the various ropes they had in stock. Even the salesman's eyes had glazed over when Susan had started comparing the strengths and weakness of hemp, nylon, and cotton ropes. After all of that, Susan had walked away without buying anything.

Lucy couldn't believe that two days of shopping had led to only a single purchase. It just wasn't natural for a woman to act like that. She looked down at the ground and covered her eyes with a hand when Susan started to show off the results of two days of shopping.

Holding out a pair of high top leather hiking boots and, in the same voice as a woman showing off a new pair of high heels, Susan said, "Look at what I found."

Linda looked over at Lucy and rolled her eyes. She understood exactly what Lucy had gone through trying to go shopping with Susan. That was half the reason why she had argued to go camping with the boys. Riding a horse all day and sleeping on the ground at night was better than shopping with Susan.

Without missing a beat, John said, "Those are nice. Are they the ones that have a steel toe?"

"Yes, they are. I couldn't believe it when I saw them in the store. I've been looking for a pair of these for ages," Susan answered. Her eyes caressed the leather.

"You're kidding," Linda said. She noticed Lucy shaking her head as if warning her not to pursue that subject.

"I had a pair of these a year ago and they were so comfortable. I was furious when that stupid monkey carried off one of them. I wanted to grab it by the throat and strangle it. I mean, I had just gotten those boots broken in," Susan said.

"I think she would have killed that monkey if she had been able to find it," John said with a laugh.

"Well, it is hard finding a pair of hiking boots that fit so well," Susan said calming down a little. She growled and said, "At least plants don't steal stuff."

Hoping to change the subject, John asked, "Did you find anything else?"

"No. I guess Arizona isn't the place to get outfitted for the Congo," Susan said.

William and John exchanged glances. Grinning, William said, "There's only one place to go."

"That's right," John said with a twinkle in his eye.

Susan shivered and licked her lips. Excited, she asked, "When can we go?"

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked looking from one person to the next. The deer caught in headlights expression on Linda's face scared her.

"We're only talking about going to the greatest store in existence," Susan said rubbing her hands in anticipation.

"Macy's? Saks Fifth Avenue? Neiman Marcus?"

"No. The Sporting Goods Store in Colorado," Susan answered with glee.

At the look of horror on Lucy's face, Linda put an arm around her and said, "I know exactly how you feel."

-------

"Druids," said the man behind the counter when the group entered the store.

"Hello," John and Susan replied together recognizing a fellow Druid without even having to see him or his robe.

"Hello Peter Goodman," William said dredging up the name of the Druid who had taken over the store from Catherine from his memory. Based on the reaction of the man, it was obvious he had recalled the correct name.

Lucy came to a complete stop and stared at the dog sled hanging from the ceiling. The price tag suggested that it was actually for sale. She wondered how many of them they actually sold. Looking over at the counter, she asked, "How many of these do you sell?"

"A dozen a year," the man answered with a grin. That was the most common question he got from people visiting the store for the first time.

"You're kidding," she said incredulously. She couldn't imagine anyone buying one of those when there were modern snow mobiles available that ran off Fusion Batteries. There were snow shoes hanging next to the sled. She guessed it made sense that if you were going to use a dog sled that you'd also use snow shoes.

"Not at all," the man answered familiar with that reaction.

"Have you got any clothes?" Lucy asked deciding that she could look through them while the others were looking at the camping gear.

"The whole back half of the store is filled with clothes. If we don't have it, then it isn't worth wearing," the man answered with a grin. He knew that Lucy was going to be disappointed.

Lucy headed directly to the back of the store. William went over to where the pack saddles were hung on the wall. Susan and John went over to the area where they had tropical jungle gear.

After an hour, Lucy caught up with William. She sidled up to him and said, "Did you know that they actually have camouflage underwear here?"

"Really?" William asked with a grin. He was half tempted to ask her to buy a pair. Winking at her, he said, "You might want to show them to Susan."

"You're kidding!"

"Not at all."

Lucy glanced in the direction of Susan and watched the woman examine some mosquito netting. Susan was in an intense discussion with the red robed Druid who had been behind the counter. Shaking her head, she said, "I think you're right."

"Go ahead and show them to her," William suggested.

"And she seems like such a normal girl," Lucy said with a sigh.

Chuckling, William watched Lucy head over to where Susan was pulling on the netting to see how durable it was. He was pretty sure that it would take Lucy twenty minutes to get Susan away from the netting. It was easy to see that Lucy liked Susan, but she didn't understand her at all.

He turned back to look at the rock climbing gear. There was some gear there that he thought Eddie would enjoy. The collection of carabineers was overwhelming. Frowning, he realized that he didn't know enough about them to make a reasoned selection. Deciding that a bad choice would be worse than not making the purchase, he moved away from the climbing gear. There had been a time when the knowledge necessary to know what to buy would have just come to him.

William stopped in front of a rack containing enameled cookware and knelt down to examine them. They were nice, but he already had a set given to him by Daddy Ed. Peter stopped by and said, "Those are old fashioned, but you can't beat them for durability."

"I know, I've got a set," William said.

Peter pointed to some plastic items on the shelf above them and said, "A lot of people prefer these. They are lightweight and fold up nicely to fit in a backpack. Personally, I can't stand them."

"I know what you mean. They don't seem very sturdy," William said. He folded one of the items into a bowl. It was very flimsy and he could picture spilling his meal onto the ground by accident. Shaking his head, he said, "I'd only consider one of these if I were hiking and had to carry everything with me."

"Like I said, they are popular with a lot of folks," Peter said.

"So what do you suggest for someone who has a packhorse?" William asked.

"Cast iron cookware, enameled plates, and stainless steel cutlery. I know they're heavy, but they'll last forever. You're grandchildren will probably be able to use them," Peter answered.

"That's what Daddy Ed bought for me," William said.

"Ed Biggers is an old fashioned outdoorsman. I bet he's taught you a lot about being outdoors," Peter said.

"Yes, he has," William answered. He looked over at Peter and said, "The Rangers taught me a lot too."

Peter raised an eyebrow at the mention of Rangers. He had a lot of respect for the woodcraft. Gesturing to where William had spent thirty minutes, he said, "I noticed you checking out the climbing gear. Did you see anything you like?"

"I don't know anything about rock climbing," William said feeling rather uncomfortable admitting his ignorance.

"Are you with the young woman who went off to look at the clothes?" Peter asked.

"Yes."

Peter laughed and said, "I doubt you'll ever get a chance to learn how to rock climb."

"You're probably right."

"Is there anything that you need here?" Peter asked.

"I'd like to get some rock climbing gear for my brother Eddie," William said.

"I know just the thing for him," Peter said leading the way to the climbing gear. He knew that Eddie had the highest quality equipment available on the market. It didn't matter; there was always equipment that required replacement.

"Thanks," William said as he followed Peter down the aisle.

After William had finished picking out some items for his brother, Lucy came over and tapped him on the shoulder. When he looked back at her, she gestured to another part of the store and said, "I can't believe it, she did buy the camouflage underwear."

"I told you."

Lucy sighed and said, "She's such a nice girl, but you really have to wonder. She gets excited about buying hiking boots and army underwear."



-------

Chapter 9


The squick of a white board marker flying across the white board filled the air. William looked up and watched Lucy work through the equations on the board; her hand moving at almost a blur. She stepped back for a second and then dived in for another round of simplifications. Her hips swung from side to side as she worked her magic on the mathematics. With her entire body participating, her long hair started swaying in a most seductive manner. William was entranced.

Frowning, Lucy stepped back from the board and said, "Hmm, I'm going to have to think about this some more."

"What are you trying to do?" William asked.

"I'm trying to find a transformation that simplifies that collection of equations you call a theory," Lucy said tapping her lower lip with her index finger.

Shaking his head, he said, "It doesn't look any simpler to me."

"Of course not! I haven't found the right transformation yet," Lucy said giving him a dirty look.

"Hey don't get made at me," William said holding up his hands palm out towards Lucy.

"I can't work miracles with the mess," Lucy said.

"That's okay," William said.

"It's going to take some time to find the right one."

"Great," William said with a smile.

The smile caught Lucy's attention. She frowned trying to figure out why he was smiling. When nothing came to mind, she asked, "Why is that great?"

"I like watching you work," William answered.

Lucy rolled her eyes and turned back to face the whiteboard. She said, "Well, I'm going to busy here for a while."

"Okay," William said sitting back in his chair. He folded his arms across his chest and watched Lucy return to work.

-------

"She's here," Barbara said from the door of William's office.

"Who's here?" William asked.

"The woman interviewing to be your research assistant," Barbara answered still not used to having to tell William what was happening.

"I'll get Lucy and we'll meet you in the conference room," William said.

Hoping that he wouldn't get upset, Barbara said, "She's already in the conference room. We're waiting for you."

William saved his document and watched the screen of his computer. The little icon signifying that it was working flashed on the screen. The seconds ticked by while he waited for the icon to disappear. About the time he had become convinced that the program was stuck in some sort of infinite loop, it went away and he relaxed. Looking over at the door, he asked, "Why does it seem to take forever to save my files?"

"How big is it?"

"Only two hundred pages," William answered. The program he was using to write his book had become increasing slower with each page of text that he had added. It seemed to him that another dozen pages and the program would become unusable.

"It can't handle documents that big. You need to get a better word processor," Barbara said with a frown.

"What do you mean? Everyone uses this word processor," William said.

"Well, I hate to tell you this, but it isn't a very good one. It's meant for small reports, short papers, and letters. It isn't intended to produce books," Barbara said.

"That's stupid," William said. He held up a book produced by the company that wrote the word processor and said, "Their book is more than two hundred pages in length."

"They don't use their product to produce their books," Barbara replied with a smile.

"Remind me to remove the CEO from that company," William said throwing the book onto the table in disgust.

"I don't think that will be possible. He's the one who started it."

"Alright. I guess I have to find a new program to use while I write my book," William said. He decided that he would break his book into individual chapters instead of trying to do it all within a single file. It would make it more difficult to search for text, generate indexes, and to create a table of contents.

Barbara said, "That'll be the first thing that your new research assistant can do for you. She can find a better word processor and then import your book files into it."

"Well, we better hire her soon because I can't tolerate more delays," William said standing up. Looking at Barbara, he said, "I'm sure that I don't even need to interview her. I'm positive that she'll be outstanding. You've never let me down."

"The last one was a Chinese spy," Barbara said.

"So what? The CIA hasn't verified what Daddy Ed discovered. There's no way that you could have discovered that all by yourself."

"Well, I'm sure that Vera isn't a spy for the Chinese government."

"Why?"

"She's not Chinese," Barbara answered. She wasn't going to mention that her mother had known the Vera's mother. She smiled and led the way to the conference room.

-------

The page he had been editing the day before now looked like a page out of a book. The difference was almost as striking as night and day. Surprised, he said, "Wow, this looks like a real book."

"It's a typesetting program that is used by a number of publishers. You can control everything about the way each page is laid out," Vera said. Her fingers ran across the keyboard with practiced ease. She was still breaking the huge file into chapters for the new program.

William watched Vera work. After hiring her, she had immediately gone out and purchased a program at one of the office supply places that carried high-end software. That morning, she had installed it and started importing his file into the program. After just a few hours, she had his manuscript looking like a million dollars.

"Won't it be difficult to write the material when I have to worry about how to format the page?"

"You don't have to format each page until you are done with the first draft. I just did that on the first couple of chapters to see what it would look like," Vera answered looking up at him. She turned back to the screen and looked at the figure. Frowning, she said, "You're going to have to get those figures done professionally. I'm sure that we can pick up a graphic artist who will take your hand drawn pictures and turn out publication quality images."

"I guess I need to talk to Barbara," William said.

"I'll handle that," Vera said. She pushed her chair away from the desk and said, "You can get to work now. I'll load the early files and start formatting the chapters you have finished."

"Won't my working on this interfere with you?" William asked.

"No. This program has version control built into it. We can't edit the same file at the same time, but I can work on one of them while you are working on another," Vera answered.

Lucy turned around from the whiteboard and watched Vera. The two women were a study in contrasts despite being the same height. Vera was extremely skinny with short black hair. Lucy was softer with long brown hair that was nearly to the middle of her back. Vera's movements were sharp, almost staccato in their tempo. Lucy's movements were graceful and flowing. Perhaps as a result of those differences, Lucy found that she liked Vera.

Lucy recognized that Vera confused William. The woman had never smiled at him; not even during the interview. The expression on her face when dealing with him was always very serious and business-like. She watched the puzzled expression on his face as he watched Vera leave the room.

"She's good."

"I suppose so," William said shaking his head. He wondered if he was going to be able to work with her.

"You know she's good."

"Okay. She's just not very friendly," William said turning to look at Lucy. The smile on her face was a startling contrast to Vera's typical expression.

-------

The Hugger kicked up a plume of dust as it traveled down the dirt road. Ken looked over at William and said, "I imagine that you're wondering why we are going this way. We put up a cattle guard between your place and the reservation. It cuts almost twenty minutes off the drive to the school."

"Why did we put up a cattle guard?" William asked wondering when he had lost track of what was happening on his place.

"With so many of the men who work on the ranch living on the reservation we thought it would be a good idea. It cuts the commute time significantly for many of the men. It's really nice with Tim going to school on the reservation," Ken said.

"How long does it take to get him to school?" William asked. He hadn't even given any thought to that.

"Forty minutes," Ken answered.

William realized that he should have known that since they had left an hour before he was supposed to be in the classroom. He asked, "So you are spending almost three hours a day taking him to school and then picking him up?"

"No. He drives himself to school," Ken answered with a grin.

"Isn't he too young?"

"This is private property and the school is on reservation land. The reservation decided that kids could drive so long as they avoided roads with real traffic. He's only allowed to drive on your place and the dirt roads on the reservation. He can't drive on regular roads," Ken answered.

"That's good thinking."

"It wasn't our idea. When we enrolled him in the school, the administrator there suggested it. It seems that a lot of the kids on the reservation do the same thing. Most of them live thirty minutes to an hour away from the school. He took a driving course at the school over the summer and got a permit that is valid only on the reservation," Ken said.

"I wasn't aware that they did that. In fact, I wasn't aware that they could even do that," William said. He imagined that it would allow a lot of the kids to make it to school that would have had difficulties in other circumstances.

"They've been renegotiating some of the freedoms on the reservation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They've decided that some of the protections that have been placed on the young are preventing them from maturing. As a result, they relaxed some of those limitations and are forcing the kids to accept a little responsibility for their actions."

"How do you feel about that?" William asked. He could imagine that Lisa would be pretty upset if something bad happened to Tim.

"I like it. He's doing stuff that I did as a kid growing up. Back in Pennsylvania he wouldn't be able to do a lot of things for a couple of years."

"Like what?" William asked.

"Well, like driving. They upped the minimum driving age from sixteen to seventeen after I got my regular driver's license. A lot of us who grew up in the country had agricultural licenses that allowed us to drive at fourteen. We could drive farm equipment on roads, including trucks. That didn't mean that we were out racing or anything like that, but we could drive a tractor or a truck loaded down with hay. There were also hardship licenses that allowed a person who was fifteen to drive to home, school, work, and the store.

"We didn't have bus service, so most of my classmates had hardship licenses to get to and from school. Our parents were busy milking cows, running their businesses, and other things. They didn't have the time or money to interrupt their lives to drive us to school. The responsibility for getting to school fell on us," Ken answered.

"What else were you allowed to do as a kid that isn't allowed today?"

Ken thought for a second and then said, "Work. I started earning money when I was about nine or ten years old. I'd stop by the stores along Main Street on my way home from school and sweep up the floors for a couple dollars a week per store. I spent about an hour and a half a day doing it. It was no big deal. No one felt that I was being exploited or anything. I was earning money to buy a bicycle.

"It isn't even the law that is preventing some of these kids from working. A lot of chains have employment rules that prevent them from hiring kids under seventeen. As more of the smaller stores go out of business, where are the kids supposed to go for a job? I don't know. Tim wanted to be a paperboy and they wouldn't hire him because he was too young.

"Even if the chain does allow them to hire younger kids, they say that kids can't work after seven in the evening on a school night. When is a kid supposed to work? The earliest they can get to work is around four on school days. If they have to leave by seven, then they only get three hours. The store closes two hours after they have to head home. Why should a store hire someone who can't work until closing?"

Considering the unusual nature of his childhood, William felt a little like a hypocrite when he asked, "Didn't you feel like your childhood was stolen from you?"

Shaking his head, Ken answered, "My childhood was just like everyone else's. What was there to miss? I went to school, played ball with the other kids, worked when there was work that had to be done, and went to church with the family on Sundays."

William said, "You mentioned that the reservation was changing things?"

"Yes. Kids are allowed to drive to and from school along the dirt roads. The way they figure it is that they've got miles on each side of the road to stop before they hit something. A lot of the kids have started working after school in the local businesses. They've changed the school system from age tracked to knowledge tracked."

William interrupted, "Excuse me. What was that about changing the school system?"

"This summer they changed the entire way that the school system functions. Rather than putting kids into classes based on their age, they put the kids into classes based on what they know. There can be kids of three different ages in the same classes, but they all have the same aptitude for the material," Ken said.

"I'm going to have to talk to the Council of Elders about these changes," William said. It bothered him that such a significant change had managed to get past him without noticing it. Then it dawned on him that he'd been hiding from the world for three months.

Ken looked over at William and said, "Before you go off half cocked, I've got to tell you that Lisa and I are real pleased about those changes. Tim is a year ahead in English, right on in History and Science, and a year behind in Math. His grades are better and he's learning the material this year with much greater ease than last year. He may the oldest person in his math class, but he's the youngest person in his English class. Being in a class that is the right level for him and getting a good grade in it is a whole lot better than getting the lowest grade in his class."

"I'm just concerned about making too many changes all at once," William said.

Ken snorted and said, "They are just rolling back the clock a little on most things. Shoot, most of the stuff they are trying was how things were done fifteen years ago."

-------

The high school was a modern looking sprawl of buildings spread across ten acres of land. The primary building, the gymnasium, and the football stadium had been constructed in the sixties, but the four surrounding buildings had been built within the past five years. The parking lot was huge and filled with cars that spanned two decades of manufacturing.

Inside the math and science building, William followed one of the seniors to his class room. This was his second time inside a high school. His experience in Ohio had not prepared him for this particular school. Rather than a mad rush to get from one class to another, the students here moved at a more sedate pace and with a lot less noise than in Ohio.

The student stopped in front of a door and said, "This is your classroom, Talks with Animals."

"Thank you, Desert Wind," William said looking inside. There were already a dozen students in the room waiting for him. The students were busy talking to each other about matters important to students everywhere.

"Do you need anything?" the young man asked unable to believe that Talks With Animals was actually teaching in his school. He wished that he had signed up for the Home Economics course and regretted his words to the effect that he didn't want to learn how to cook.

"I'm fine," William answered. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped into the classroom. The noise in the room turned to complete silence.

Finally, one of the young women at the front of the room asked, "Are you looking for someone, Talks with Animals?"

"This is Home Economics, isn't it?" William answered.

"Yes."

"I'm the instructor," William said with a smile. The reaction of the class was one of shock. The kids looked from one to the other unable to believe what they had heard.

It took a few minutes for the class to settle down. Glancing at the clock, William saw that it was past time for the class to start. Walking to the front of the class, he turned and asked, "You've just gotten a part time job at a burger burner making seven dollars an hour. You work twenty hours a week and get paid every other week. Would anyone like to tell me how much money you will get when you cash your paycheck?"

One of the girls raised her hand and, once William called upon her, answered, "Two hundred and eighty dollars."

"Does everyone agree with that?" William asked. Everyone nodded their heads. William smiled and said, "Well, all of you are wrong."

The girl who answered said, "Wait a minute. Two weeks at twenty hours a week is forty hours. You said that we made seven dollars an hour. Forty times seven is two hundred and eighty."

"That's right, but that's not how much money you will get when you cash your paycheck," William said.

"Why not?"

"We'll cover that in the next class," William answered with a smile. He noticed half of the students sat back in their chairs with frowns on their faces. They wanted the answer now. Instead of giving them what they wanted, he said, "John's gross pay is forty thousand dollars and Joe's gross pay is sixty thousand dollars. How much more money does Joe actually get to spend than John?"

"That's easy. Joe makes twenty thousand dollars more than John, so he gets to spend twenty thousand dollars more," said Patrick, one of the two young men in the class. The two young men were friends and had signed up for the course thinking that the home economics class was a perfect way to get closer to the girls on campus.

"Once again, your mathematics is perfect, but your answer is wrong," William said. The rest of the class sat back in their chairs with frowns.

"How can my math be perfect, but my answer wrong?" Patrick asked feeling like William was making fun of them.

"We'll answer that question in class tomorrow, too," William answered. It was obvious that the class was not happy with his answer. He asked, "Does anyone in here know their credit rating?"

The students stared at William wondering what he was talking about. None of them had any credit, so it sounded like a trick question. Looking around, he asked, "Does any one know what the Fanny Mae Foundation does?"

Dead silence settled on the room while William waited for an answer. Finally, Jack said, "Isn't that a porno story written a couple hundred years ago?"

One of the girls rolled her eyes and said, "You're thinking of Fanny Hill and it is not a pornographic story. It is erotic literature."

"Sorry," Jack answered somewhat defensively. He asked, "Do you know what a Fanny Mae Foundation is?"

"I don't know," she answered giving him a dirty look.

Raising his hands out to his sides to indicate that he was just guessing, Patrick said, "It is underwear for a woman with a big butt."

About half of the class laughed at the obvious joke. Chuckling at the thought of sharing that particular description of the Fanny Mae Foundation with Lucy, William said, "Good guess, but not quite the right answer. We'll learn about that when we are ready to talk about buying a home."

"It's going to be years before any of us are ready to buy a home," one of the girls said. There was getting out of high school, graduating college, getting married, and finding a job that came before buying a house.

"You might be right, but I assure you that you'll need to start working towards that goal as soon as possible. This class is about home economics. It isn't about cooking or sewing. It is about the economics of living your life, earning money, spending money, buying a house, and preparing for retirement. We'll talk about major financial decisions you'll have to make about things like insurance, investments, real estate, and the stock market. We'll cover how government regulations, corporate policies, and civil law can affect the quality of life."

One of the girls raised her hand and asked, "Are you telling us that there's no cooking in this class?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. We will not be cooking or sewing. I will not give you any household tips on how to clean difficult stains," William answered. The two young men at the back of the room looked particularly pleased to hear that.

"That's the best news I've heard all week," she said with a great big grin. The truth was that she wasn't in the class because she wanted to be there. She added, "My mom is going to be so pissed."



-------

Chapter 10


The last test, marked with an A+, joined the rest of the tests stacked on the left hand corner of William's desk. Looking over at Lucy, he said, "That's the last one."

"So how were the grades?" Lucy asked looking up from her work.

"Not bad," William answered patting the stack of test papers. The first eight weeks of teaching had been hard on William. He didn't have any real experience of dealing with high school students. Getting his early education at the Druid College had not prepared him for the social and emotional structure within which high school students operated. He had finally found the appropriate level at which to present the material and the students had responded. He said, "At least I didn't have anyone write that a tort is a kind of pie."

Lucy giggled and said, "Good. We all know that it is a kind of toaster pastry."

"Don't remind me of that. I couldn't stop laughing when Patrick said that he'd had a Pop Tort for breakfast," William said with a chuckle.

"Admit it, Patrick was your favorite student," Lucy said. It seemed to her that every day after class, William had told her about Patrick and his comments. She could even tell by William's mood when Patrick missed class for a few days because of an illness.

"Maybe," William admitted. The young man had a very funny sense of humor, but had often delivered the jokes in a manner that hadn't been disruptive. It seemed to William that Patrick had a perfect sense of timing when delivering a joke.

"So how was it teaching high school?" Lucy asked.

"Different. I really didn't know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know if these kids are representative of high school students everywhere," William answered.

"Did you decide to teach another semester?"

"Yes. I made a lot of changes to the book as a result of teaching this class. I need to see if the changes represent an improvement," William answered. After reading the first draft of the book, Eddie had pointed out that the level of the material was just a little too high for high school students. William had disagreed, but Eddie had been proven correct. He said, "I'm going to have to do something nice for Eddie. He really helped a lot."

"What are you going to do for him?"

"I don't know."

Lucy was silent for a minute and then suggested, "You might consider taking him to some exotic location for a rock hunting expedition."

"No, I can't really leave here," William said shaking his head vigorously from side to side.

It had been her hope that he would agree, but she hadn't counted on it. Lucy didn't say anything for a minute. In a quiet voice, she said, "Christmas is coming. Are we going to the homeless hotel in Phoenix?"

William rested his chin on his fist while thinking about her question. The uneasy silence stretched to three minutes before he answered, "Yes. We'll go, but we're taking Rock, Colt, Natalie, Nicole, and Ling with us."

It was a long awaited concession. Rather than allow him to change his mind, Lucy jumped up from her chair and said, "I'll go make the arrangements now."

It was too late to retract his words. She had run out of the room before William had allowed his doubts to get the better of him. He sighed and said, "This is going to be a disaster."

-------

A recording of Oscar Meyers leaving a church was playing on the television. William turned up the volume to listen to the news report. This particular channel was tracking Oscar's progress through Russia. The reporter mentioned that Russia was in the middle of the coldest December of the past one hundred years. William shook his head and said, "I thought you had more sense than to visit Russia in the winter time."

Lucy looked up from the book she was reading. It was a murder mystery and she was reading a part where the crime sleuth was pursuing some significant clue. She asked, "Who are you talking to?"

"Oscar," William answered thinking that Oscar looked tired. Three months on the road had to be wearing him down a little. Georgia was wearing so many clothes that he couldn't tell how she looked.

"Huh?"

"He's in Russia. I was just saying that I thought he had more sense than to visit Russia in the winter time," William answered gesturing at the television. It showed Oscar and Georgia trudging along a street with snow falling around them. Crowds lined the streets making signs of the cross as they passed.

Lucy glanced over at the news just in time to catch the last two seconds of the news story. Nodding her head, she said, "That's okay. He'll be back in the Middle East at the height of summer. The temperature extremes will average out."

"Spoken like a true mathematician," William teased.

"Speaking of which, I found a transformation that simplifies about half of the equations in your theory," Lucy said smugly. She looked down at her book and resumed reading.

After a full minute passed, William asked, "When are you going to show it to me?"

Looking up with a smile, Lucy said, "After I finish this chapter."

"I can't wait that long," William said looking up at the ceiling.

-------

Across from the library was a large room that William and Lucy had adopted as their work room. To say that the room was disorganized would be misleading, but it was overwhelming to the unprepared visitor. Lucy liked to refer to it as controlled chaos, but William called it comfortable.

Occupying William's side of the room was a desk flanked by two tables. There were papers stacked in neat piles on the two work tables. On the one to the right of the desk, there were fifteen small stacks of paper, each representing one chapter of his book, placed one beside the other with two inches between them. There were three stacks of books about economics and sociology on the floor within reach. The wall, ceiling to floor whiteboard, on one side of the room was filled with equations while the other was marked off in the form of a calendar with important dates filled in. Appointments for William were in red while those for Lucy were in black. Every day had something in red or black.

The most intimidating part of the room was the huge array of computer monitors mounted in front of the desk. The array comprised six monitors across and four monitors tall. The top row had real-time feeds from Wall Street and news services. One row of the monitors showed the situation status board from the Fusion Foundation command center. The remainder of the monitors showed various programs that William was using.

In contrast, Lucy's side of the room was a study in simplicity. It was occupied by a simple desk with a single stack of papers. A few neat notes were jotted on the walls.

Ken entered the room and looked around. It was only the second time that he had been in it. The only people who visited with any regularity were Doug, Rock, Rudy, and Vera. William didn't allow the cleaning staff in the room, treating the material within it as secret. Clearing his throat, he said, "William, there's a young man here to see you."

Since interruptions were very rare, William and Lucy swiveled around in their chairs to look at him. Looking puzzled, William asked, "Who would want to see me?"

"He said that his name was Patrick Black Thorn," Ken answered hoping that he had remembered the name correctly. Rock was on the first floor watching the young man from a discrete distance. Odds were good that the young man would never know that he was being watched.

On hearing the name of their guest, Lucy grinned and said, "I get to meet the infamous Patrick at long last."

"I wonder what he's doing here," William said rising from his chair. He glanced at the stack of tests wondering if it had anything to do with his grade. He didn't think so.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity to meet Patrick, Lucy immediately joined him. The couple went up to the first floor where Patrick was waiting for them. He was standing at the railing looking out the window at the magnificent view outside. The stories that he had heard about William's house had not done it justice. When he heard footsteps behind him, he turned and looked at William. Feeling awed by his surroundings, he said, "This is an amazing house."

"Thank you," William said glancing over at the far end of the room. He made a gesture dismissing Rock.

Frowning a little, Patrick asked, "Isn't it a little too large?"

It was a good question. There were times when it took William fifteen minutes to find Lucy in the house despite the fact that there were major portions of it that they rarely visited. The upstairs was only used when entertaining guests. The second floor was primarily office space with the library and quarters for the staff that lived in the house. The bottom floor was their living area and they spent most of the time in their suite, the pool, the exercise room, and the dining room.

William answered, "It does seem that way at times. My sister designed the house so that it could accommodate a lot of visitors. She also assumed that my family would grow in size."

"It would take a lot of kids to fill up this place," Patrick said looking around the room. His gaze stopped at Lucy and he said, "Of course, with a wife who looks like yours I imagine that you'll have lots of kids."

Lucy laughed at the compliment. She had been warned that Patrick tended to say things that were often embarrassing. She said, "Thank you. My name is Lucy."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Carter. I'm Patrick."

"Please call me Lucy." It felt weird being called Mrs. Carter despite how long they had been married. Everyone still referred to her as Lucy.

"So what brings you over here?" William asked realizing that he hadn't made proper introductions.

"My sister is getting married in a month and I thought... Well, I thought I would invite you," Patrick said. He was hoping to surprise his sister by having the famous Talks with Animals attend her wedding. No one in the family even had a clue that he was over there inviting William to come to it.

Always interested in weddings, Lucy asked, "What are the names of the bride and groom?"

"My sister is Cathy Black Thorn and the groom is David Light Wind."

William frowned as he tried to put faces to the names. He said, "I know your sister, but I fear I've never met David Light Wind."

"I feel so sorry for him. He's a nice enough guy, but he's definitely the slowest man in the tribe," Patrick said shaking his head sadly.

Brow wrinkled, Lucy wondered in what way David was slow. She asked, "Why do you say that?"

"My sister caught him, didn't she? If he'd have been any faster he would have gotten away. The Great Spirit knows that everyone else did," Patrick answered.

William laughed and said, "Maybe he didn't want to run."

"Tell me a story that I'll believe," Patrick said with a grin.

Never having had a sibling, Lucy realized that this was one of those situations over which brothers and sisters naturally fought. She laughed and said, "We'll be happy to come to the wedding. You've made me curious and I have to see if the groom has a club foot."

"Good, I'll tell my family to expect you," Patrick said thinking that his sister would really be pleased.

"I take it Dale will be officiating over the traditional part of the ceremony," William said.

"Yes," Patrick said. He had gone with his father when they had asked Dale to officiate over the ceremony. It had been a very quiet and formal meeting.

Smiling, William said, "I'll talk to him and see if he would like an assistant."

Eyes wide, Patrick couldn't believe that Talks with Animals would condescend to officiate in a wedding for his sister, much less do so in a secondary position. Stunned, he asked, "You'd do that?"

"Sure," William said. Although he was somewhat active in the political aspects of the tribe, no one had ever approached him to perform in his role as a Medicine Man in the ceremonies of living. Not once had he been asked to officiate at a wedding, a funeral, or a naming. He wasn't sure if it was because he was too distant or if they respected him too much to want to bother him. This would be a good chance to participate in the daily life of the tribe a little more.

"Wow," Patrick said knowing that his sister would be overwhelmed.

William reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. It took a few seconds to look up the number for Dale, but it wasn't long before he was talking to his friend. When Dale answered, William said, "Hey Dale, this is William."

"What's up, William?"

"I was just informed that Cathy Black Thorn and David Light Wind are getting married next month. Would you like an assistant during the ceremony?" William asked. He was volunteering to participate in a sweat lodge the day before the wedding and to hand Dale the sage that would be burned before the bride and groom left for their first evening together. It was a role that was typically given to younger man learning to be a Medicine Man.

There was a long pause at the other end of the line while Dale wondered what the relationship between the couple and William was. As far as he knew, William didn't even know them. Puzzled by the request, Dale answered, "Wouldn't you rather lead it?"

"No. It's been such a long time since I've been to a wedding that I've probably forgotten what to do," William answered winking at Lucy. His comment drew a look of incredulity from Patrick.

Dale laughed at the comment knowing what William had really meant. Dale had been asked to give it and William was not going to interfere in the honor that had been given. He said, "In that case I'll be more than happy to have you provide backup during the ceremony."

"Alright," William said. He was about to disconnect when an idea came to him. He said, "One of these days, you'll have to come over for dinner. We've just gotten a new chef."

Surprised by the invitation, Dale answered, "That would be nice."

"Great. How about you come over on the second Friday after New Years Day?"

"That would be good. Do you mind if I bring a lady friend?"

The request caught William by surprise. He hadn't been aware that Dale was currently dating anyone. He answered, "Sure. I have to admit that you surprised me with the request."

"Why?" Dale asked.

"I just figured that as handsome as you are that you'd be bringing two or three lady friends," William answered with a laugh. Dale burst out into laughter on the other end of the phone.

Lucy perked up and mouthed, "He's bringing a girl?"

William nodded while Dale said, "I walked into that one."

"See you on the second Friday after New Years day," William said.

"Okay," Dale said.

After hanging up, William turned to Patrick and said, "It's all set up. I'll help Dale with the ceremony."

"My sister is not going to believe this," Patrick said. Although it made sense that Medicine Men would socialize, he had never thought of Spirit of Desert Rocks as being in the same social circles as Talks with Animals.

"Why?" Lucy asked.

"Talks with Animals is the greatest Medicine Man alive. He is an elder to all of the tribes, not just ours. To think that her wedding will have him involved is a truly great honor," Patrick said.

"I am a Medicine Man, just like Dale. One of the most joyful of our responsibilities is to participate in wedding ceremonies," William said.

"Sure, but you should be doing it for important people," Patrick said.

William was about to answer when Lucy asked, "And who is more important to you than your sister?"

"No one."

"See, he's doing it for an important person," Lucy said looking over at William with a smile.

Looking from Lucy to William, Patrick didn't know how to answer. Finally, he said, "I guess I should go home and tell my sister the good news."

"If she has any questions, have her give me a call," William said.

"Thank you," Patrick said.

William watched the young man leave the house. It had taken a lot of nerve to come over and invite him to the wedding. He had risked getting turned down. Turning to Lucy, he said, "I like him."

"I do too," Lucy said. Although there was a vast difference in education and social standing, Patrick was only five years younger than William. She felt that there was a real possibility of a friendship developing if Patrick could get past the difference in social standing.

"Do you realize that he's the first member of the tribe who has invited us to a social event that wasn't a family member? Even my more distant cousins have not invited me," William said.

"I didn't realize that," Lucy said with a frown. Now that he had mentioned it, they had lived in the house for almost six months and no one from the reservation had extended any kind of invitation to them. It made the actions of Patrick even more significant.

"I guess there's a lot of distance between me and the members of the tribe," William said wondering if it was his fault somehow.

"There's a lot of distance between you and the rest of the world," Lucy said admitting a truth that was unpleasant, but true none the less. His social standing among the Native Americans put a distance between him and the tribe. His wealth put a distance between him and everyone else. His intelligence and education put a further barrier between him and the average person. It wasn't a real barrier erected by him, but one perceived by everyone else.

"I know," William said. He knew that distance didn't exist between him and Lucy. She understood him. He sighed and said, "From the way Patrick was talking, you'd think the Pope was helping a Parish Priest officiate a wedding."

"In a way, I think that is exactly how he views it," Lucy said. She had seen how other Native Americans treated William. To them, he was TALKS WITH ANIMALS in all capitol letters. He was responsible for removing the great curse that had held them back for three centuries. It gave him legendary status and put a huge distance between him and the people he had helped.

"That's wrong on so many levels," William said shaking his head sadly. With the loss of his foresight, it seemed to him that much of what had made him different from others had disappeared. It only made the separation even more difficult to bear.

Hugging him, Lucy said, "No it's not, but that's why I love you."

"So what do I do to change how people view me?" William asked her.

"You show up to the wedding, get drunk, and make a complete ass out of yourself," Lucy answered with a smile.

"That will change the way that people look at me?" William asked knowing that she wasn't serious.

"No, but it will be a start," Lucy answered with a grin.

"I couldn't ruin someone's wedding that way."

"I know, but that's why I love you."

Putting an arm around her, William started to head back to the library. As they walked, he said, "You love me because I won't ruin someone's wedding?"

Grabbing his ass, she said, "That and you have one of the finest asses I've ever seen on a man."

Laughing, William said, "It's good to know that I'm appreciated for all of the right reasons."

"Only the best of reasons," Lucy said in agreement.



-------

Chapter 11


"Vera."

"What?" she answered without even looking away from her computer screen. Her fingers did not slow down in the least bit.

William frowned at the tone of voice that she used in answering him. It seemed to him as if she was upset about something. Dismissing his concerns, he said, "I need you to research the sex industry."

"Excuse me," Vera said drawing out each word twice as long as would be normal. She saved the file she was working on before turning to face William. The expression on her face could have curdled milk.

"I need you to research the sex industry," William repeated now that he had her full attention. He couldn't believe that he had neglected such a major economic sector in gathering data.

"And the nature of the research that you want me to perform is?" Vera asked narrowing her eyes.

"I need to know about prostitution, sex shops, online sex sites, and any other areas of the sex industry that I may not be aware of," William said. Almost immediately the adult film industry, strip clubs, and magazines came to mind. He knew that ten minutes with Happy Harry would have given him a complete list of businesses that could be considered as part of the sex industry. That thought reminded him how much he missed the old man.

"I can tell you all you need to know in one word."

Wondering what she meant, William asked, "What word?"

"Disgusting."

That was not the reply that William had expected. He said, "I've gotten data about all of the other major economic sectors in the United States. I can tell you how much the typical family in every economic stratus spends on housing, health care, food, entertainment, travel, vacations, energy, and manufactured goods. I can't tell you how much is spent in the sex industry."

"There is a good reason for that," Vera said in a cold voice that could have frozen water.

"What?" William asked not even sure what he meant by the question.

"It is disgusting," Vera said turning back to her computer as if dismissing him. Her fingers went back to work on the keyboard, but the rhythm of her typing was a lot slower and less steady.

William stood there and stared at her for a full minute. He asked, "You are going to research it for me, aren't you?"

Vera huffed and said, "I'd rather not."

"Why not?"

"It is disgusting."

Stunned, William was at a loss as to what he should say. No one had ever treated him in that fashion. Finally, he said, "It doesn't matter if you consider it to be an illegitimate area of business, but as an industry it is of major economic significance. I want to know about the business numbers, not the parts about how tab A gets inserted into slot B."

"It is disgusting and should be eliminated," Vera said folding her arms across her chest. Nothing that William could say would change her mind on the matter.

"How difficult would be it be eliminate it?" William asked trying a different tactic to get the information he desired.

"It would be impossible. There are too many perverts and they spend too much money," Vera said looking down her nose at him.

"How much do they spend?" William asked.

"I don't know," Vera answered with a frown.

"How can you eliminate it if you don't know how and where they spend their money?"

"I don't know."

"So find out."

With an expression on her face that made William think of someone eating worms for breakfast, Vera said, "Okay."

-------

Lucy stared at William for a second and laughed. Shaking her head, she asked, "How could you forget that?"

"I just didn't think of it," William answered. Although he was sure that it had to have been covered in his courses, he couldn't recall any of his books on economics discussing the matter.

"You can't be serious," Lucy said looking puzzled.

"I am. The closest they came to it was to discuss the second economy, but that was cast in terms of organized crime, undisclosed tips, fraud, cash only businesses, and work performed without being reported," William answered. He had used law enforcement data for the organized crime data and fraud. Of course, the IRS had estimates for the undisclosed tips and work that went unreported. Shaking his head, he said, "It was like they didn't even want to admit that the sex industry existed."

Lucy frowned and looked up at the equations on the board. Curious, she asked, "What is the second economy?"

"If you look at the top eight equations and the bottom eight equations, you'll see that there are basically two economies. The first economy, described by the top eight equations, is the legitimate one. All transactions are performed in a legal fashion with appropriate taxes paid. The second economy, described by the bottom eight equations, is a cash only economy although it does admit to a certain amount of barter. These transactions are never reported and taxes are not paid on them. Usually the price of services in the second economy is lower than if it is provided under the first economy," William answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, suppose that I have a car towed for some reason. If I pay the guy with a credit card, then he has to declare it and pay the taxes on it. That could be as much as half of what he receives. The money is directly tied to him receiving it. On the other hand, if I pay the guy in cash, he doesn't have to report it since there is nothing tying him directly to the money. That means he doesn't have to pay any taxes on it. He can charge only three quarters of the legitimate price and still have more money in his pocket."

"How big is this second economy?"

"About the same size as the first economy," William answered with a smile.

Stunned, Lucy sat back in her chair and considered the matter. Her eyes drifted over to the equations on the board and considered those that represented the second economy. Finally, she asked, "Who earns most of that money?"

"Every economic class earns a bit of it. There are an awful lot of people who are officially earning at a poverty level, but actually earn twice that much."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Lucy said, "Just think about it. If you were able to actually tax that second economy, then the whole national debt could be paid off in no time."

"Actually, I doubt that very much. The first economy would probably tank as a result. It depends upon the infusion of money from the second economy. If the second economy were to get taxed, the costs of those goods and services would go up and transactions would go down. The first economy would suffer from a major loss of sales as a result of the downturn in the second economy," William said.

"You are telling me that there is a black market in the United States of America."

William pursed his lips and nodded his head before he answered, "Yes."

"I thought that was a third world or war time phenomenon."

"Most people think that. I'd bet that most people who are involved in the second economy don't even realize that they are participating in a black market. They just figure they are earning a little extra cash to buy that DVD player at the electronics store," William said.

Lucy shook her head and laughed. She said, "And you forgot to take into account the entire sex industry in all of those equations on the board."

"That's right."

"You've got a lot of work to do," Lucy said. Her eyes twinkled with amusement at the idea that William had forgotten something so significant.

"That's right," William said with a sigh.

"You're going to need some help from me," she said.

Smiling at the thought of being able to watch her work, William said, "That's right."

"You don't seem disappointed by that prospect."

"I'm not," William said grinning at her.

-------

As was always the case in December, the Phoenix homeless hotel was crowded. It was a matter of seasons. Many of the homeless men and women who roamed the states came to warmer climates when the weather turned cold. That didn't mean they necessarily left the cold behind, but it did mean that their chances of surviving the winter were greater.

William and Lucy, followed by Ling and the bodyguards, walked to the shack where essential items like food, clothing, and blankets were distributed. William walked up to the window and looked at the black man running the place was busy brewing another large urn of coffee. As always, William wondered how a black man had ended up with hair that particular color of red. He said, "Hey, Copperhead."

"Half Feather, it's good to see you. It's even better to see Lucy Diamonds," Copperhead replied giving Lucy a wink. The man had been busy since early in the morning preparing for the Christmas meal. It wasn't that he had to cook the food, but that he had to set up the camp for distributing the food that William was bringing and the larger than normal crowd that it would draw.

"It looks real festive around here," Lucy said pointing to the decorated tree. The tree was decorated with beer cans and bottles tied to it by string. It fit in with the environment of the homeless hotel very well.

"Ah, the fire company donated the tree to us," Copperhead said looking over at the rather rough looking tree. It had been the last one on the lot the previous day. It may have been the orphan tree, but the folks at the camp had fun decorating it.

"I like it," William said staring at the tree. He'd seen dozens of trees decorated in the same manner at Homeless Hotels around the country.

"So what did you bring?" Copperhead asked looking over at the crowd that was gathering to greet William and Lucy.

"Bring?" Lucy asked. She looked over at William with wide eyes and asked, "Were we supposed to bring something?"

Visions of a riot breaking out in the homeless hotel flashed through Copperhead's mind. There would definitely be a riot when people discovered that they weren't going to get the Christmas dinner that he had promised. He stared at William unable to believe that he had been let down by Half Feather.

At the look of horror on Copperhead's face, William laughed and said, "I recall loading a couple of Huggers with enough turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, rolls, and cranberry sauce for four hundred people."

Laughing, Copperhead said, "You had me going there for a second."

"Where do you want us to put the food?" William asked.

Pointing to the parking lot of the mattress discount store that was next to the Homeless Hotel, Copperhead answered, "They let us use their parking lot this year. We spent the morning setting up the tables."

Seeing how everyone was keeping ten feet away from Ling, Rock knew there wouldn't be any trouble with her around. Looking over at William, he said, "Natalie and I will move the Huggers over there and unload."

William looked uncertain for a minute and then said, "Okay."

Lucy whispered to William, "It'll be okay."

"I know. Just stay close to Ling," he answered biting his lower lip. There were a lot of people around and that still bothered him.

While Rock and Natalie went over to two of the Huggers, Lucy turned to the crowd of homeless men and asked, "Who would like to help them unload the food?"

For a second there, it looked like the start of a marathon race as everyone headed towards the parking lot next door. Copperhead laughed at the sight. He knew that it was as much the food as it was that Lucy Diamonds had asked. He said, "There's nothing like a Christmas meal to get them moving."

Turning to watch the activity, William's eyes fell upon the statue of Happy Harry. He walked over and touched the statue feeling his heart break. Looking up into the face of the man who had taught him many of the smaller lessons of life, William felt the absence of his friend come crashing down upon him. In a soft voice, he said, "I miss you."

A feminine sounding male voice said, "It's about time."

"Huh?" William said thinking that it was the first time since Midsummer's Day that he had heard that voice.

"It's time for you to start living a real life again," the voice said.

"I'm trying," William said thinking how difficult it had been to come to the Homeless Hotel with Lucy. It wasn't for his own safety that he worried, but that he couldn't protect those he loved.

"Try harder," the voice said sounding much more masculine.

"I will," William said realizing that he had been living like a hermit for six months with the exception of teaching at the high school. It was long past time for him to start living a real life.

"I know you will," the voice said with a gentler tone to it.

William could feel the presence of the Two-Sided One leave. The visit had two effects on William. First, he was reassured that the Two-Sided One was still watching over him. Second, he was a little embarrassed that he had to be reminded to live.

When he turned away from the statue, Lucy was standing by his side with a concerned expression on her face. William had been staring blankly at the statue of Happy Harry for almost three minutes. In a soft voice, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," William said looking at her.

"What happened?" she asked wondering if his ability to foresee the future had returned.

"The Two-Sided One talked to me," William answered. He looked over and saw that Ling was standing a discreet distance away.

"What did he say?"

Looking over at the statue of Happy Harry, William answered, "He said that I've been acting like a self-indulgent asshole wallowing in self-pity."

"What?" Lucy asked surprised by the language.

"I did not say that," the Two-Sided One said. With a chuckle, he added, "I should have, though."

"Well, he didn't really say that, but that is what he meant," William answered glancing over at the statue of Happy Harry.

"So what are you going to do?" Lucy asked.

"We are going to go over to there and have some turkey with our friends," William answered putting an arm around her. Heading towards the lot where the food was being put out, he added, "When the food is done, the stories told, and the songs have been sung, then we will go home and make mad passionate love."

"Sounds like a perfect day," Lucy said slipping a hand down to his ass and squeezing it. She had a feeling that he was going to rock her world that evening and she was looking forward to it.

Following behind, Ling watched Lucy's hand reach down a goose William. She laughed at the little jump he gave. She knew that William was going to be all right as long as Lucy was around. The young woman could be a brazen hussy when William needed her to be one. She would let him know that it was proper for a man to act like a bull around a cow in heat on occasion. There were times when men needed to let loose like that.

Colt and Nicole followed behind Ling keeping a discreet distance from the trio. It was close enough to intervene if there was a problem and far enough back to spot a problem while it was developing. Colt said, "It sounds like our lives are about to get busy again."

"I'm glad. The past six months have been rather boring," Nicole said.

As they walked, Colt asked, "When did we decide that we were going to keep working for him permanently?"

"I don't know. I got a call the other day to protect some movie starlet from a stalker and turned it down without even thinking about it," Nicole said. It had been the first call for a job in the past year.

"Rock and I have stopped getting calls," Colt said.

"It is not a bad job," Nicole said looking around the crowd of homeless men and women. Shaking her head, she said, "Remember all of those boring Hollywood receptions we would have to attend?"

"Yeah. I remember trying to protect clients who would get drunk and then do everything they could to get away from us," Colt said recalling the days spent watching self-indulgent clients who had little or no restraint in their lives.

Nicole laughed and said, "The only thing different is that William doesn't drink and he succeeds in getting away from us when he really wants to."

"So are you going to stick with this job?" Colt asked.

"I guess. I figure there will be lots of opportunities for a little excitement," Nicole said with a shrug of her shoulders. She looked at Colt and asked, "What about you?"

"I'm thinking about getting married and settling down," Colt replied.

"Oh?"

"Yes."

Nicole walked along thinking about what Colt had said. She wondered whether he was going to ask her or Natalie to settle down with him. The relationship among the four bodyguards had become a little more complicated since they started working and living together for so long. There were times when she shared her bed with Colt and times when she slept with Rock. Wondering if this was an oblique approach to a proposal, she asked, "Anyone in particular you are thinking of marrying?"

Colt shrugged his shoulders and answered, "I don't know. I'm just thinking about it."

"Oh," Nicole said irritated that he didn't know who he wanted to marry. The usual order was to find someone and then start thinking of getting married to them. She thought to herself, 'That bastard is going to go out and find some floozy to marry. Who am I? Chopped liver? No, I'm the cow who gave away the milk for free.'

They reached the area where the food was being served. Colt turned to Nicole and asked, "Would you like me to fix you a plate of food?"

"No, I can manage that by myself," she answered with an edge of coldness to her voice.

"Oh," Colt said wondering what had caused her to change moods so quickly. Deciding that he wouldn't understand, he gestured to the food line and said, "Well, why don't you go first and I'll watch over William and Lucy?"



-------

Chapter 12


It was past time for the weekly status meeting among the bodyguards and they had a problem. Rock and Colt had arrived, but Natalie and Nicole had not put in an appearance yet. Neither man was very happy. The absence of the two women at the meeting underscored the problem. For some reason, the women were furious with them. Everyone in the household, with the exception of William, was aware that there was a problem among the bodyguards.

The first clue that Rock had of a problem was when he returned to the room he shared with Natalie after finishing his duties late Christmas night. Expecting to find her waiting for him dressed in lingerie, he was shocked to find that all of his clothes were out in the hallway. He was then surprised to learn that Nicole had moved out of Colt's room. He had moved in with Colt puzzled as to what he had done wrong. Colt was just as confused.

Frustrated at sleeping alone, Rock said, "You must have said something to anger them."

"I can't think of anything that I said that would make them mad at us," Colt said shaking his head. He was just as confused by events as Rock.

"All I know is that Christmas morning everything was okay and by nightfall things had gone to hell," Rock said running his fingers through his hair in frustration. Christmas morning, he had given the two women nice necklaces that matched the earrings that Colt had given them. They had seemed quite overwhelmed by the gifts. He asked, "What happened?"

Scratching the side of his face, Colt said, "I don't know. I was telling Natalie that I was thinking about settling down. Next thing I know she's mad at us."

Rock stared at the top of the table while thinking about it. He sighed and said, "I've been thinking the same thing. I'd like to get married and raise a kid or three."

"The problem that I have is that I can't make up my mind whether I'd like to spend the rest of my life with Natalie or Nicole," Colt said glancing at Rock to see his reaction.

Snorting, Rock said, "Hell, I'd ask them both if I could."

"Same here. There are two of us and two of them. If one of us got both of them, the other would be out in the cold. We ought to be able to figure out some way of pairing up for good," Colt said while twiddling his fingers nervously. He wished that he had brought something to work on. It would be nice to have something to do with his hands while waiting for the women.

"There's got to be some way for the four of us to be happy."

Barking out a laugh, Colt said, "I sure as hell am not happy right now. I like you, but you aren't my ideal for a roommate."

"If you had to choose between them, which one would you ask to be your wife?"

Shaking his head, Colt felt that the choice was impossible. He'd spent hours thinking about it, but he couldn't make up his mind. He answered, "I don't know. I love them both."

"Yeah," Rock said in agreement.

"How about you?"

"You know, I've spent a lot of long days and nights on duty with each of them. We've grown close under adversity. To be honest, that closeness has moved to love. I love them both, too. It is an impossible decision," Rock said.

Colt said, "There are two of us and two of them. We ought to be able to come up with some solution."

"The only solution that I can think of is that we marry them both," Rock said throwing his hands up in the air.

"Like any of us is going to go for that."

-------

Vera pointed a finger at Barbara and said, "He wants me to research the sex industry."

"I don't understand what your problem is with that," Barbara said staring at Vera. It was obvious to her that the young woman was upset, but she didn't see any reason for it. As far as she understood, William had hired her as a research assistant.

"It is sexual harassment," Vera said wondering why Barbara didn't understand that men couldn't require women to investigate an industry based on perversion.

"He wants business numbers about an important sector of the economy. I really don't see a problem with that," Barbara said wondering how William had broached the subject if Vera had seen it as sexual harassment. She couldn't imagine William acting in an improper manner.

Frustrated, Vera blew air out of her mouth. She said, "What do you mean you don't see a problem with that? He has me looking into prostitution, sex shops, adult films, and other kinds of businesses that are equally disgusting. When I put in a query on the internet, I get back pages with pictures of women doing things that are positively immoral. The fact that he's demanding that I do it is sexual harassment. What don't you understand about that?"

Barbara stared at Vera unable to come up with a response. It was obvious that Vera didn't distinguish between the financial aspects of the business with the services provided by the businesses. Trying to mediate the situation, she asked, "Have you talked to William about this?"

"Of course not; he's the one harassing me. That's why I came to you," Vera answered crossing her arms and staring at Barbara.

Deciding that she should get a second opinion on the matter from Sandra, Barbara said, "Okay. Let me look into it."

"You better. If he keeps on insisting that I do this, I'll sue him," Vera said. She rose and went over to the door. Looking back at Barbara, she said, "There's no court in the world that would rule in his favor."

-------

With Vera gone, Barbara sat back in her chair shaking her head. She had no idea what to do about the situation. William's request for economic figures was purely within the scope of Vera's job responsibilities. She decided that William was going to have to assign someone else to pursue that particular line of research. She made a note in her book to discuss the matter with him.

She had hardly finished when there was a knock on her door. Looking up, she said, "Come in."

Feeling a little uncertain about disturbing Barbara, Rock stepped into the room and looked around as if seeking out a threat. Nodding at Barbara, he said, "I was wondering if you could help me."

"What's the problem?" Barbara asked. She didn't deal with the bodyguards very often, but liked them. It was very unusual for one of them to ask her for any help.

"Uh... well... you see... ," Rock said not knowing how to say what he wanted to say. He stopped trying and just looked at Barbara.

"I don't quite understand," Barbara said in an attempt to prompt him to get to the point.

"You're a woman," Rock said grabbing onto something factual.

"Yes, I am," Barbara answered wondering if he was trying to ask her out on a date. Shaking her head, she wondered if she had somehow wandered into the Twilight Zone.

"So you understand women," Rock said.

It felt to Barbara like this conversation was going to be as incomprehensible as the conversation with Vera had been. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I suppose I do understand women."

"Good. So you'll do it?" Rock asked looking at her expectantly.

"Do what?"

"Talk to the women and find out what we did to make them so mad at us," Rock answered frustrated that she hadn't figured out what the problem was.

"Which women?" she asked thinking that there were at least two dozen women in the house.

Frowning, Rock answered, "Natalie and Nicole, of course. Who else would be mad at us?"

"I don't know why anyone would be mad at you," Barbara answered with a sigh.

"Thanks," Rock said turning to leave the room. He paused at the door and asked, "When will you know something?"

"I'll try to talk to one of them later," Barbara answered.

Nodding his head, he said, "Don't give them the third degree. They hate it when you question them like that. Use your authority. They won't like it, but they'll answer your questions."

-------

"I'm tired of waiting for him to do something," Sandra said to Juanita in the break room. The two women were in there alone and venting several months of frustration. There was an open bag of chips on the table. Sandra took out a chip and broke it into little pieces.

Watching Sandra as she destroyed the potato chip, Juanita asked, "Are you sure that he knows what you want?"

"Amanda told him almost six months ago," Sandra said. It had been a great topic of conversation around the dinner table. Despite Amanda's very explicit suggestion concerning what William should say to her, he had never acted on it.

"I don't understand why he's ignoring us," Juanita said giving voice to the fact that William didn't pick up their hints that they were interested. In a way, she envied Amanda and Donna. He'd listened to someone about their desires.

"I'm tired of it and I'm not going to put up with it any more," Sandra said reaching for another potato chip. It didn't last any longer than the previous chip. The pile of crumbs doubled in size.

"What are you going to do?" Juanita asked concerned that her friend was going to do something rash.

"I'm going to quit," Sandra said. She pulled out a third chip and started to break it into little crumbs.

"Are you going to eat those chips or torture them?" Juanita asked entranced by the bizarre behavior. She'd never watched anyone do that to a bag of potato chips before this.

"Oh, I do that when I'm upset," Sandra said looking down at the pile of crumbs she had created with embarrassment. She actually preferred to destroy those little stick pretzels instead of chips, but they didn't have any in the break room.

"Don't quit," Juanita said watching as Sandra destroyed another potato chip.

Looking down at the potato chip, Sandra asked, "You don't think it is weird that I break up potato chips?"

"No, that's not what I meant. Don't quit working here," Juanita said worried about her friend.

Sandra's laughter at the miscommunication suddenly turned to tears. Resting her head on her arms she allowed her frustration bubble forth. Looking up at Juanita, she said, "I can't stay."

-------

Adding a note to talk to Natalie or Nicole onto her to-do list, Barbara sighed. She wondered when she had become the personnel department. Rubbing her temples, she wished the day was over.

"Barbara?" Juanita called through the slightly open door.

"What?" Barbara asked.

"I think we have a problem," Juanita said slipping into the room. She closed the door behind her and took a seat.

"What kind of problem?" Barbara asked thinking that it must be a full moon or something.

"I don't know how to say this," Juanita said feeling like she was about to violate a confidence.

Barbara waited, but Juanita didn't say anymore. Frustrated at having to pull information from everyone who came into her office, she said, "Just tell me."

"I think... Well, I don't think... Actually, it doesn't matter what I think. She said that she wants to quit," Juanita said looking expectantly at Barbara.

"Who?" Barbara asked wondering if she had lost some ability to understand English. It dawned on her that Juanita might have been talking about Nicole, Natalie, or Vera.

"Sandra," Juanita answered.

"What!" Barbara sat up straight in her chair and stared at Juanita shocked at the news. The last thing she had expected to hear was that Sandra was considering leaving. She stuttered for a second before she managed to ask, "When did she say that?"

"About ten minutes ago," Juanita answered. Seeing the shock on Barbara's face, she added, "She sounded pretty serious to me, too. She was very upset and crying like Niagara Falls."

"Did she say why?"

"It's William," Juanita answered thinking that would explain everything. She was pretty sure that Barbara would understand the frustration that Sandra was feeling.

"What's he done?"

"It is more like what he hasn't done," Juanita answered.

"What hasn't he done?" Barbara asked wondering why she had to get information one small piece at a time. Trying to make sense of what people were telling her was like trying to solve a jig saw puzzle.

Rolling her eyes, Juanita said, "He hasn't been intimate with her yet."

Snorting, Barbara said, "He hasn't been intimate with you or me, but we aren't about to quit."

"Sandra thought that he would act after Amanda gave him that little talk about her. You know the one I'm talking about. The one she had with him six months ago. Sandra is tired of waiting for him," Juanita said.

"Okay," Barbara said sitting back in her seat thinking about the situation. She sighed and said, "I'll talk to her."

"Don't talk to her," Juanita protested.

"Huh?"

"Talk to him."

-------

"Hello, Lucy?"

"Betsy? Is that you?" Lucy asked. It was hard to make out the voice on the other end of the telephone. There was a lot of background noise that interfered.

"Yes. This is Betsy. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Lucy answered wondering why Betsy had called her.

"Good. I need a little favor," Betsy said rushing her words.

Lucy could hear the sounds of what sounded like a major fight over the phone. Curious, she asked, "What?"

"Mom and I got into a little trouble," Betsy answered.

Dreading what she was going to learn, Lucy asked, "Which Mom?"

"Momma Ling," Betsy answered.

Lucy cringed at the idea of what it meant if Betsy and Ling got into trouble. Odds were good that a number of people were either in the hospital or the morgue. She asked, "Why didn't you call Ed?"

"You know how he is about us being too rough when faced with violence. Momma Ling and I discussed it. We thought it would be better if you helped us out," Betsy said. There was a pleading quality to her voice.

"Why didn't you call William?" Lucy asked thinking it was strange that she had called her rather than William. In fact, this was the first time that Betsy had ever called her.

"He'd tell Daddy Ed," Betsy answered.

This was really beginning to sound pretty bad. Lucy decided it was probably best that Betsy had called her rather than William. There was no telling how William would have reacted. She asked, "What happened?"

"We were in China Town and there was this little problem with a gang. Well, actually it was two gangs and somehow we were in the middle," Betsy answered.

Lucy could imagine Betsy gesturing while talking. She asked, "Where are you?"

"The Central Station Police Department in San Francisco," Betsy answered. Lucy could hear Betsy put her hand over the telephone and tell someone, "If you talk to me one more time you'll be wearing your ass for a hat."

Lucy said, "Betsy, let me see what I can do for you."

"Thanks, you're a great sister in law," Betsy said right before hanging up the phone.

-------

Lucy frowned as she hung up the telephone. She picked up the phone and dialed an internal number. When Barbara answered, Lucy said, "I have a problem."

Thinking it was her day for cryptic conversations Barbara was about to say something rude, but held it in check. She asked, "What?"

"I need one of the best lawyers in San Francisco to get Betsy and Ling out of jail. I don't know what they've done, but we need them out now. Once you've managed to get that started, I'll need a jet to San Francisco. See if you can't get me there in four hours," Lucy answered.

"Thank God," Barbara said relieved that someone was finally talking sense.

"Excuse me?" Lucy asked wondering what was so great about having to go to San Francisco to bail her sister-in-law and mother- in-law out of jail.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I've been having a rough day. This is the first conversation I've had today that actually made sense," Barbara said. She looked at her watch and realized that it was almost lunch time. She wished the day would just end.

"There is one more thing," Lucy said with a slight bit of hesitation in her voice.

"What?" Barbara asked with a sickening feeling in her stomach.

"Uh... well... I don't know how to say this," Lucy said.

"Just say it," Barbara said.

"Don't tell William until after I've gone," Lucy said feeling very guilty about not telling William.

-------

Barbara walked into William's office feeling like Daniel entering the lion's den. Maybe if she was lucky the lion would have a thorn in its paw and she'd escape with her life. She didn't feel lucky. Lucy had just left for the airport; leaving her with the unpleasant task of telling William about his wife's unexpected trip. Thinking that this was not going to be a good day for William, she sat down and opened her pad.

Watching her, William asked, "What's the problem?"

"I wish we only had a single problem. Do you want them from most serious to least serious?"

"Sure," William said.

"Okay. Betsy and Ling were arrested in San Francisco. They called Lucy to bail them out. She's gone there to take care of the problem," Barbara said watching William closely.

William frowned at the news. It bothered him that Lucy went there without him. He asked, "Did she take bodyguards?"

"Yes. She went there with Colt and Rock," Barbara answered thinking that was another matter she should discuss with William.

"Why didn't she take Natalie and Nicole?" William asked.

"That's another problem," Barbara said with a grimace.

"What?" William asked.

"It appears that Natalie and Nicole are mad at Rock and Colt. They don't want to work with the men any more," Barbara answered licking her lips. She hadn't had a chance to investigate the matter before she had to dispatch two of the bodyguards with Lucy.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Barbara answered.

"Oh," William said at a loss for words. He was pretty sure that if his foresight was active that he'd have foreseen those problems and possibly prevented them. Instead, he was finding out about them long after they had developed.

"There's another problem," Barbara said after a long moment of silence.

"What?"

"Vera is upset at having to investigate the sex industry. She's thinking of suing you for sexual harassment," Barbara said.

"What?" William shouted unable to believe what he was hearing.

"I'm not sure that I understand the problem, but she's quite adamant that she shouldn't have to research the financial figures for the sex industry," Barbara said fidgeting with her notebook. She was half convinced that of all of his problems, this one was going to be the most serious.

"Oh," William said thinking about how stubborn she had been in trying to get out of that particular job. He wondered how he should have handled the situation. He asked, "Is there anything else?"

Barbara looked at William and wondered how to tell him the problem in a manner that would help resolve it. Shaking her head, she said, "Sandra has been waiting six months for you to go and fuck her senseless. She's tired of waiting and is talking about quitting."

"Quitting what?" William asked. He dismissed her desire to sleep with him almost automatically.

"She's talking about resigning her position and leaving," Barbara said.

"What should we do?" William asked feeling a real sense of panic. He wouldn't know what to do without her.

"I will no not anything. You will visit her and rock her world with a night of hot passionate sex," Barbara said while wondering who would tell him to do that for her.



-------

Chapter 13


"I don't know what to do," William said to the wall. He shook his head thinking that he was supposed to make everything all right, but he couldn't. There were just so many problems. He decided that the only thing he could do was to call in some help. The question was — who should he call?

For the bodyguard problem, he would normally have called Ling. Of course, Ling was a problem at the moment. That was another problem. He was going to have to call his father to get him involved. Thinking about Ling and her problems, reminded him that Lucy had gone off to help her. He rolled his eyes thinking about what Lucy was doing. At least she was with the bodyguards. Of course, the bodyguards weren't operating at their best.

He decided that with Ling in trouble and the bodyguards ineffective, that he was going to have to call in additional security. There was only one person who he could call for that -- Claire. She was close enough to the business that she'd straighten out the problems with the bodyguards.

Sighing, he picked up the telephone and dialed his parent's house. When Mary Gold answered the phone, he said, "Let me talk to Ed."

Mary Gold, used to Carter telephone etiquette, realized that there was a problem by the lack of greeting. The call was immediately transferred to Ed. When Ed picked up the phone, he asked, "What's the problem?"

"Momma Ling and Betsy have been arrested in San Francisco. All I know is that two Chinese gangs were involved. Lucy has arranged for a lawyer and has flown up there to take care of the matter," William answered finding that retelling the story allowed him to focus on the essentials of the problem.

"Chinese gangs?"

"That's what I understand," William said.

Ed was silent for a moment and then said, "I'll call Jimmy Lee. He'll check to see if the Chinese mafia has returned to China Town. While he's doing that, I'm going to have a little talk with Ling and Betsy. I don't think they are going to be too happy."

"Well, I hope that's one of my problems taken care of. I guess I better talk with Claire for a minute," William said.

"What other problems?" Ed asked realizing that William was asking for help.

"I have bodyguards that are not getting along with each other, an employee that is threatening to sue me for sexual harassment, and another employee who is about to quit because I haven't had sex with her," William answered. He wasn't going to add that his wife had run off to help his sister and mother without letting him know until after she was gone.

"I'll be up there in an hour. I'm going to bring Claire and Kelly with me," Ed said. It sounded to him like things were falling apart for William and he wanted to make sure that he got all of the help available.

"Momma Kelly?"

"Who else would you talk to about woman troubles?" Ed asked. His history had shown him that it was best to leave the relationship problems to the woman and just go where he was told. He was pretty sure that Kelly would tell him that if a woman wanted to sleep with him that he should show up with a bow tied to his cock singing Happy Birthday.

"You're right. I guess I'll call the lawyer about the woman wanting to sue me," William said with a sigh.

"That's the whole reason I'm going there rather than flying off to San Francisco. Don't do anything until I've had a chance to talk to her. Of all your problems, I think that is your most serious one," Ed said.

-------

"William, I don't know what to say to you," Kelly said with a sigh. She wondered how Carter men could be so blind when it came to women. Shaking her head, she said, "When a woman lets you know that she loves you, you need to respond in some fashion. It is wrong to ignore her."

"Huh?"

"What did I say that was so confusing?" Kelly asked. William's face was a study in bafflement. One would have thought that she was explaining differential equations to a sixth grader by the expression on his face.

"When did I ignore her? When did she let me know that she loved me? How am I supposed to respond?" William asked.

Shaking her head, Kelly said, "I swear you inherited the Carter stupid-about-women gene."

Claire giggled at the comment. William glared at both of his mothers and then said, "That's not helping me."

"I'm sorry, but it is true," Claire said.

"So would someone explain it to me?" William asked feeling more than a little exasperated by the conversation.

"I wish Lucy was here," Kelly said.

"She's bailing out Ling and Betsy," William said feeling irritated at the lack of progress. He had hoped to have this problem straightened out by now.

Kelly looked at William for a second. She'd never seen him that frustrated in his entire life. Sighing, she asked, "Did Lucy ever tell you that Sandra, Barbara, Juanita, Amanda, and Donna wanted to sleep with you?"

"Yes, but I didn't believe her," William answered.

"She was telling you the truth," Claire said shaking her head. William and Eddie could have a woman show up in their bedroom naked and they'd ask if she was there to borrow something to wear completely oblivious to what was being offered.

"Lucy keeps saying that they want to sleep with me, but I've never heard anything like that from them," William said crossing his arms.

"Well, they do," Kelly said.

"Why didn't they just tell me that?" William asked. Gesturing wildly around the room, he said, "If there was someone that I really wanted to sleep with, I'd tell them straight out. I'd just say -- I want to sleep with you. I say that to Lucy all the time."

Claire started laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes. Every time she glanced in William's direction, she burst out laughing again. Giving up, she rose and said, "I've got to get out of here. I can't take it anymore. This is killing me."

"What's so funny?" William asked when Claire finally left the room.

Kelly looked at William for a minute and then said, "William, I'm going to go through this one more time. The women love you. They've told you that in everyway possible except directly telling you to fuck them. Lucy has told you that they want you to sleep with them. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes," William said. The women had never told him that they love him. He hadn't seen any evidence that they wanted to sleep with him. Shaking his head, he said, "I understand what you are saying, but I'm not sure that I believe it."

"Believe it," Kelly said.

"So what am I supposed to do?" William asked.

"Lucy is out of town. Invite Sandra to sleep with you tonight. Tomorrow night, invite Juanita to sleep with you. If Lucy is still out of town, invite Barbara to sleep with you the next night," Kelly said. Seeing the expression on his face, she added, "By sleep, I don't mean put your head on the pillow and close your eyes. I mean, make love to them."

"I don't think Lucy would approve of that," William said shaking his head.

Kelly pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. William watched as she explained the situation to the person on the other end including details about her proposed solution. It bothered him that she was talking about his problem with someone else. After a minute, she handed him the phone and said, "Someone wants to talk to you."

William held the phone to his ear and said, "Hello."

"Listen to your mother, William," Lucy said.

"Did you hear what she said I was supposed to do?" William asked.

"Yes. Do as your mother says. I'll talk to you later," Lucy said. She had to hang up before breaking into laughter.

William handed the phone back to his mother and shook his head. Kelly asked, "What did she say?"

"That I'm supposed to listen to you and do what you say," William said sounding like a little child.

"So go talk to Sandra about tonight," Kelly said.

William shook his head and said, "This people relationship stuff sure is confusing."

-------

"You have a very serious problem," Ed said looking at William. He didn't know if this problem was going to resolve itself to a positive end. Some problems required years to solve.

"You've talked to Kelly and Claire?" William asked thinking that his problems with the opposite sex was getting announced to one and all. He had promised that he would do his best to make Sandra comfortable that evening.

"No. I was talking about Vera," Ed answered.

"Oh," William said thinking that this problem should have been dealt with fairly easily. After all, he hadn't done anything wrong. It did bother him that his father was calling it a serious problem. Concerned, he asked, "What is the problem?"

"I gather that you were rather insistent that she research the sex industry," Ed said.

"Of course I was. That's her job and her dismissal of my request was pretty much a surprise. I can't have a research assistant who refuses to research what I need researched," William said.

"You didn't accept her refusal or allow her to explain way she was refusing," Ed said looking at William.

William stared at his father and said, "I allowed her to explain, but the only explanation she gave was that the sex industry was disgusting. That's not a reason to refuse. Her job is to investigate various industries and provide me with financial data. What makes the sex industry any different than the recyclables industry?"

William was telling the truth and that was a point of difference with the story told by Vera. She had been telling the truth as well. Ed said, "So you don't know the real reason why she tried to refuse you?"

"No clue."

"You don't know why she turned it into a sexual harassment issue?"

Shaking his head, William answered, "I don't know why she did. I don't see how it is a sexual harassment issue. All I want are figures that describe how people are spending money in a sector of the economy."

"What if I were to tell you that she blames the sex industry for the death of her father?"

"Uh," William answered at a loss for words. If there was a connection between looking up business statistics, her father's death, and her claiming sexual harassment, he didn't see it. He ran his hand through his hair and asked, "And that relates to sexual harassment how?"

Giving William a sad smile, Ed said, "Connections don't have to be rational to be significant."

"So what happened?"

"Her father died of a heart attack while engaging in a little extramarital activity with a prostitute. He'd been seeing her for years. From what I could piece together from Vera's description of how he had been found, it appears he enjoyed her services as a Dominatrix. To make matters worse, the prostitute attended his funeral and laid his favorite whip in the casket. The resulting scandal created a very negative environment for a girl who was only twelve," Ed answered feeling her pain. There were a lot of things that Vera believed that might or might not have been the truth. A great deal of investigation would be required to get at the real truth.

"That must have been rough on Vera," William said.

"You don't understand how rough it was. Vera was young and only knew that her daddy had died because he'd had sex with a prostitute. Her mother never missed an opportunity to denigrate men or prostitutes. She doesn't really like men. You might say that she hates men because her father abandoned her at a particularly vulnerable age. She was working for you despite your gender, but the demand that she investigate the sex industry made you nothing more than a man with one thing on his mind — having sex with prostitutes," Ed said.

"So I went from being an acceptable employer to being pond scum?" William asked staring at Ed. He didn't see anyway to make the situation better.

"That's a good summary of the situation."

"What can I do?"

Ed shrugged his shoulders and said, "She needs serious help. Even with proper help, she won't be better for years. You have to accept that it will be years before she could be happy working for you. In fact, she may never forgive you. I'm afraid that you are going to have to let her go."

Sorry about losing a good research assistant, William said, "I'll do what I can for her. I'll try to set her up in a good job somewhere that she can get the help she needs."

"That would be for the best."

-------

"Love."

William stared at Claire waiting for the rest of the story. She had come into his office after she had finished talking to Natalie and Nicole. Her response to his question about the problem between the bodyguards had been that one word. He rested the ankle of his right leg on his left knee and shook his foot waiting for more of an explanation. After a minute, he gave up and said, "I ask you about their problem and you tell me love. What does that mean?"

"It means that you can expect a wedding sometime soon," Claire answered.

"So the problem is solved," William said with a smile. It was nice to have at least one of his problems solved. He shifted in his chair hoping that the rest of his problems would be solved that easily.

"Not at all," Claire answered with a twinkle in her eye. Seeing the change in expression on his face, she said, "You can expect to hear some loud screaming, throwing of fragile items, and probably some major breakage when they finally get around to fighting. It'll get a little physical, but I wouldn't worry about that. They are all skilled fighters and know how to take a blow."

"Who is going to fight who?" William asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Shrugging her shoulders, Claire answered, "It is going to be a four- way melee. I imagine that Rock and Colt will go at it first. Then, it will be girls against guys when they discover what the fight was about. After that, I wouldn't even want to try and predict the order. I can tell you one thing; you are probably going to see a real cat fight develop."

"Why will they be fighting?"

"Two macho guys who both like the same women aren't going to want to share. One of them will pick one of the women and the other is going to want her too. They'll flip back and forth a couple of times before getting physical about it. Of course, two competitive women aren't going to accept being shared. They won't appreciate the guys being unable to make up their minds," said Claire. She whistled softly and said, "It is going to be bloody."

"What can I do?" William asked wondering how he could avoid all of that excitement.

Claire answered, "You could have Kelly stay here to patch them up afterwards."

"No. What can I do to prevent it?" William asked.

"Oh, that. The answer to that question is simple," Claire answered enjoying this far more than she thought possible.

William sat on the edge of his seat waiting to hear the answer. Claire just watched him with a smile. Frustrated, he asked, "Well tell me."

"You can't do a thing," Claire said breaking out into laughter at the expression on his face. She stood up, went over to him, and hugged him to her chest. It was nice to be needed for a change. In a soft voice, she said, "Let your mothers handle this problem."

-------

In the dining room of his living quarters, William pulled out the chair for Sandra and helped her into her seat. Once she was comfortable, he went around to the other side of the table. He sat down and examined the hotplate in the center of the table. Smiling, he said, "I think Peter has selected Fondue for our dinner tonight."

"Fondue? Why do you say that?" Sandra asked nervously. Now that William had expressed an interest in making love to her, she was terrified that the evening wouldn't turn out well. There was often a large gap between reality and fantasy. She wondered what would happen if she backed out and returned to her suite.

"He's set up a hot plate in the center of the table. The only time he does that is when we have Fondue," William answered avoiding at the last moment mentioning Lucy.

"I've had Fondue before," Sandra said struggling to make conversation. It was hard to believe just how nervous she felt being there with him.

He looked down at the place setting. Puzzled at seeing chopsticks, William wondered which of the many variations of Swiss Fondue Peter was going to serve them. It dawned on him that they weren't going to have Fondue. He picked up the chopsticks and said, "It looks like he has something else planned for this evening."

Peter came into the room at that moment carrying a large pot filled with soup stock. With a small flourish, he set it on the hot plate. While his two assistants loaded the table with plates containing thinly sliced meats, vegetables, mushrooms, and condiments, Peter posed at tableside, ready to explain the history of the dish and how to eat it. Standing up straight, he announced, "Tonight, I have created for your enjoyment an ancient dish called Mongolian Hot Pot."

William interrupted, "I heard that the Chinese stole this dish from the Swiss."

"No. It is Mongolian Hot Pot; sometimes called Chinese Steamboat. It was invented over a thousand years ago in Mongolia by the Mongols," Peter explained, thrown somewhat by William's interruption.

"Nope," William said, "The recipe was stolen from the Swiss in 1973. It was a massive operation involving thousands of Chinese spies who signed up for classes in cooking schools across all of Switzerland. They were after the recipes for Cheese Fondue, Meat Fondue, and the particularly valuable and elusive Chocolate Fondue. Despite having their best agents assigned to the mission, the only recipe they successfully stole was the one for Meat Fondue."

Peter groaned and held a hand to his forehead. He wondered how every special meal that he presented ended up with him being frustrated.

"The agents involved in the effort smuggled the recipe back to China in a box inside a box inside a box inside a suitcase. The suitcase was guarded by a hundred soldiers. All of the soldiers were masters of Fu Manchu Mustache Fighting. I bet you didn't know that was a Kung Fu fighting style," William said looking at Sandra for confirmation of his last sentence. She giggled and that was confirmation enough.

"You see, it was an evil conspiracy to undermine the Swiss economy by mass producing Fondues. Of course, it didn't work out that way. It's a shame what happened after they got the recipes back to China," William said. He crossed his hands over his heart as if in suffering some great sorrow.

Laughing at the stunned expression on Peter's face upon hearing the fabrication, Sandra didn't want the story to end. She asked, "What happened?

Shaking his head, William adopted a very sad expression. With a long sigh, he said, "The assistant to the agent in charge had smuggled out digital watches. Manufacturing them covertly in Taiwan, they were successful in undermining the Swiss economy. He ended up getting promoted and his former boss, the poor agent in charge, was fired in disgrace.

"After being fired, the poor man tried selling Swiss Fondue on the street corners in Peking, but it wasn't a very popular item. You see, the Chinese don't really like the Swiss except for their chocolates and, to tell the truth, they prefer Belgium Chocolates over Swiss Chocolates any day. He just barely made enough to feed his family, but not to clothe them.

"His naked wife, after a bitter divorce, got the recipe for the Fondue. She set up a competing shop on the opposite side of the street. Once the novelty of being served by a naked woman wore off and she was able to afford clothes, her business started going downhill. As a marketing ploy, she stopped calling it Swiss Fondue and started calling it Mongolian Hot Pot. Well, she made marketing history and it wasn't long before her shops were found all over China. Of course, her ex-husband went bankrupt and spent the rest of his days drinking rice wine."

Horrified at what William had done to the history of an ancient dish, Peter looked down at William and said, "I've never heard anything so pathetic in my entire life."

Nodding his head in agreement, William said, "I know what you mean. That guy was really a pathetic loser. You see, he could have renamed it Chinese Steamboat and put his ex-wife out of business. It was a later competitor who coined that name for the dish."

Sandra had giggled through the entire story like a schoolgirl talking to her crush. Listening to the story, she relaxed thinking that the evening, at the worst, was going to turn out to be very entertaining. She felt a tingle between her legs at the idea that it might turn out for the best.



-------

Chapter 14


"They weren't arrested, they were in protective custody," Lucy said. She had watched a security film of the entire thing and it was true that they had been caught in the middle of two opposing gangs. Odds were good that the fight between the two gangs would have amounted to little more than some pushing and shoving. Ling and Betsy had not shown the kind of restraint that the gang members would have brought to the confrontation. They had responded with the full intent of causing serious bodily injury.

"Why were they placed in protective custody?" William asked wishing that he could see her face.

"How can I put this? They were rather exuberant in their response to being in the middle of a fight. The police are concerned that the gangs will want revenge," Lucy answered.

"How exuberant?" William asked thinking that Lucy was acting too much like Betsy.

"Let's just say none of the gang members have left the hospital yet," Lucy answered trying to avoid giving too many details.

William rolled his eyes as he interpreted the answer. Betsy and Ling had destroyed the gang members without killing any of them. Odds were good that a few would never be able to walk again. He sighed and said, "Well, I've asked Claire to go there and bring all of you back here."

-------

Ling and Betsy walked into the restaurant like queens. It was an ugly little place with old tables that rocked when things were put on one side or the other. The linoleum was worn and faded. The décor was cheap and tacky. The walls needed painting. Not a single word in English was visible in the entire place. It did not look like a place of business that would continue to be open for much longer, but it had a dedicated clientel.

The two women were not intimidated by the number of men sitting around reading newspapers, playing cards, and eating. The fact that all activity came to a stop and everyone stared at them had no effect on them either. They treated it as if it was their due. Ling walked all of the way to the back of the room and stepped behind a small wall that kept the occupants from being visible from the door. She stopped in front of a man known as Papa Chung. The man looked at her with a cold hard expression that had brought nightmares to many others.

Ling was not intimidated. Looking at the man with a smile that lowered the temperature of the room by ten degrees, she said, "Don't bother trying to get even with me. Just treat this as a lesson learned and go on with your business."

"You've made a major mistake," Papa Chung replied leaning back to signal his men. He couldn't believe the nerve of the woman walking into his place like that.

Ling reached down and picked up a tea pot from the table. Holding it up and out to her side, she said, "Kill the teapot."

Upon saying the words, three things happened nearly simultaneously. The first was the creation of large hole in the wall behind Ling. The second was the explosion of the teapot into a hundred pieces. The third was the appearance of a hole in the wall behind Chung and about three inches from his head. Ling was impressed that Chung's reaction was little more than a narrowing of his eyes.

Chung was impressed by the demonstration. Reaching down to pick up his tea cup and take a sip of his tea, he considered it with the cold calculating logic that had allowed him to gain his position as leader of the gang. Enough of the woman's body was visible to the street for someone to know where she was. She was holding out three fingers of the hand that were visible to an observer on the street. He added up all of the clues. Ling had communicated to the shooter where the teapot was held. The shooter had taken the shot blind based only on that slight amount of communication. Setting down his teacup, he said, "Impressive, but you cheated. You have a very good shooter who was able to read your body position that well. You must trust him a lot to risk injury like that."

Ling raised an eyebrow and smiled at the man. There was something rather terrifying about the smile that she gave him. She answered, "I didn't cheat. I was making a point. All it takes is one man talking to you and we'll read his body position to know where you are."

Chung paled. He hadn't thought it all of the way through like that. There were dangerous people who were merely dangerous and people who were deadly dangerous. You could emerge victorious fighting against people in the first category. When fighting people in the second category, you would have to be satisfied with mere survival. This woman had just proved that she in the second category. Considering what she had done to his men in the restaurant earlier, surrounding himself with people wouldn't help much if he were to escalate this to the next level. Even if he won, he would lose. Nodding his head, he said, "I will treat this and the other matter as lessons learned."

"It is nice doing business with smart men," Ling said. She turned and walked to where Betsy was waiting impatiently for her. Betsy was eating an egg roll that she had lifted from one of the men's plates. Together the two women walked out of the restaurant.

The women walked down the street and got into a van. A few minutes later, Claire got into the van and said, "We can go now."

"I'm glad you decided to use the fifty caliber rifle. There was a metal plate in the wall. Anything smaller and I doubt it would have made it through to hit the teapot," Ling said while the driver pulled away from the curb.

"I thought there would be," Claire answered with a grin, pleased to know that she had hit the target. That had been a once in a lifetime shot that would have made William Tell proud. She had made two of them that day.

Bouncing in her seat, Betsy said, "That was fun. Can we do that again some time?"

"No," Ling said shaking her head. She was so tense that she thought that she would break if she had to move too quickly. Two such visits in one day were too much. Looking at Betsy, she said, "Remember. Don't say a word about this to Lucy or her bodyguards."

Betsy pulled out a pistol and an ammo clip from her purse. Holding them up, she asked, "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Where did you get that?" Ling asked looking at the little nine millimeter pistol that was favored by so many street gangs.

"One of the men pulled it out right after Claire shot the teapot. I took it away from him," Betsy answered while brushing a hand through her hair.

"Give it to me. I'll get rid of it," Claire said holding out a hand for the gun. She had been so focused on Ling that she hadn't seen Betsy take the gun. She didn't like working without a spotter.

"Do you want to go shopping?" Betsy asked after handing over the gun.

Claire checked the gun to make sure that it was unloaded. She looked at the pistol for a second and then disassembled it with quick deft movements. Looking up at Betsy, she answered, "No."

"No. I'm going back to the hotel and soak in the hot tub," Ling answered amazed that Betsy wanted to go shopping. This whole thing had started when they decided to take a quick break from shopping to have a little lunch. She sighed and said, "I'm getting too old for this."

-------

William and Barbara were in Barbara's office waiting for Vera to arrive. William was dreading this meeting and hoped that all went as planned. He kept fidgeting and wished the woman would arrive. He had spent a lot of time trying to arrange a proper situation in which to place Vera.

Watching William fidget, Barbara felt bad about the entire situation. This was the second failed attempt to get a research assistant for William. She had called her mother and found out a few details about Vera's background. In hindsight, she should have researched Vera's background a lot more, but even that wouldn't have identified the problem.

In order to fill in the silence, Barbara said, "Sandra and Juanita seem to be very happy."

"I'm glad," William said. He had enjoyed his nights with the two women. While Sandra had started the evening tense and unsure, Juanita had acted like such a visit was a normal everyday activity.

"When is it my turn?" Barbara asked. There was a trace of nervousness in her voice when she spoke. Sandra and Juanita had both told her that she had to be exceptionally explicit in telling William what she wanted.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," William said believing that she was only doing it to fit in with the rest of the women.

"I want it. I want it so bad that I can't sleep at night," Barbara said. She had talked for a long time with Sandra. Much to her horror, she discovered that William really didn't believe that they wanted to sleep with him. It boggled her mind. Every other man she had ever known had wanted her regardless of her desires in the matter. It was strange to be on the opposite side of the fence for a change.

"I'll arrange for a nice dinner tonight in my quarters and we can talk about it then," William said wishing that Lucy was at home. Unfortunately, Lucy wouldn't be returning until the next afternoon.

Before Barbara had a chance to respond, there was a knock on the door. She called out, "Come in."

Vera entered the room and looked at William with obvious distrust. She moved the other chair in the room so that she was seated as far from him as possible. Looking over at Barbara, she said, "You requested that I come here."

Clearing his throat, William said, "I was talking to the president of the Organization of Women Engineers last night. She said that they were having a problem trying to get young women interested in engineering as a profession. After a bit of discussion, she wanted to know if I could help her with the problem."

"What has that got to do with me?" Vera asked.

"I suggested that she get a top-notch research assistant to collect all of the sociological reasons that prevent women in this country from pursuing engineering careers. I said that she needed to investigate what is different in countries where there are large numbers of female engineers. She agreed that it was a good suggestion, but that there was one major problem. Since it is a non- profit organization, they don't have the money to pay someone," William said. It had been a lot of hard work maneuvering her into that conversation.

Irritated at the fact that he hadn't answered her question, Vera repeated it, "What has that got to do with me?"

"I have agreed to provide a research assistant to the organization. Are you interested in the position?" William asked.

"You don't want me working for you because I won't research that disgusting sex industry," Vera said crossing her arms and glaring at him. She had expected something like this, first he harassed her about researching the sex industry and now he was firing her because she wouldn't demean herself.

"Quite the contrary," William replied. His reason for sending her away was that she needed some help and that help wasn't available where he lived. Looking at her, he said, "I find that you are extremely competent at what you do. I would love to keep you here and working on my project. Everything you have delivered to me is of very high quality. To be quite honest, I do not want you to leave."

"So why are you trying to get rid of me?"

"I'm not. I'm asking if you'd like to serve as the research assistant for the Organization of Women Engineers. I would never send someone who I thought was less than stellar. It is my reputation at stake. This is a wonderful opportunity to improve society and I felt that I would be remiss if I didn't offer it to you before looking elsewhere.

"This is a temporary assignment that will last anywhere from two to five years. When it is done, you would return here to work for me," William answered. Mentally, he added that she would return if she wanted to work for him. He doubted that she would want to return.

Vera stared at William trying to decide if he was being honest with her. She was tempted by the offer, but the suspicion that he might be doing this to get her out of the way bothered her. Unwilling to commit, she said, "I'll think about it."

"Excellent," William said surprised that she hadn't accepted the offer immediately.

"Give me a day or two to think about it," she said.

"Take as much time as you need," William said. Vera stood to leave. Before she reached the door, William said, "Let me ask you one question before you go. There's no need to answer me now, but I want you to think about it while you are considering taking the position."

"What?" Vera asked wondering what he wanted from her.

"How would you have reacted if you had learned about the position being available and I hadn't offered it to you?" William asked. He turned away from her and faced Barbara. Vera stared at the back of his head for a moment and then slipped out of the office.

-------

It was highly unlikely that anyone on Earth would find Barbara to be anything other than a stunningly beautiful woman. This wasn't just a personal opinion of a handful of people, but was backed by science. Scientists had discovered that people who had more symmetric features were seen as being more beautiful.

When Barbara had been in college, she had allowed the symmetry of her face to be measured in a psychology experiment. She had a level of symmetry that was better than most supermodels. Not only were her features perfectly symmetrical, they were also perfectly placed.

Less commonly discussed in the public literature was the attractiveness of the symmetry of the rest of the body. Barbara was blessed in that area as well. Almost all women have asymmetric breasts. The differences are usually so minimal that they aren't noticed. Despite the fascination that most men have with breasts they have to differ significantly in order to be noticeable. Barbara didn't have that problem with her body; it was nearly perfectly symmetrical.

There was nothing wrong with Barbara's body. In fact, there weren't even any moles or birthmarks to spoil her skin. Unlike a lot of women, Barbara didn't feel it that there was some feature that spoiled her appearance. She felt that it was the lack of a feature that spoiled her appearance. Instead of looking like a sexy woman, she felt that she looked like a manikin.

William looked across the room at Barbara while she posed for him. His eyes roamed over her body. Personally, he agreed with her - her body was too perfect and it gave her an almost surreal appearance. That didn't seem to bother his erection. He said, "You're very beautiful."

Looking down at his erection, Barbara knew that he was interested. She approached him slowly and watched as his erection throbbed in time with his heartbeat. Other men had come just from watching her approach like that. She asked, "Do you like what you see?"

"You know I do," William answered. He wished that Lucy was home and standing in Barbara's place. He missed her even though she had only been gone for four days. A slight jiggle of Barbara's breasts derailed his thoughts. Shaking his head, he said, "You are so sexy."

Smiling, Barbara climbed onto the bed and crawled over to him. Experience had taught her that she should get the man off as quickly as possible so that he would pay attention to her body. Men often had problems with premature ejaculation. She reached down and fondled his erection.

William had other ideas though. Tracing a finger along her jaw line, he said, "Intelligent and sexy. What a devastating combination."

Before she realized what was happening, William had turned the tables on her. She was soon in the throes of the most amazing orgasm of her life. It was only the first of many she was to experience that night. In the morning, she could not recall the transition from making love to sleeping.

-------

William stood outside the private terminal at the airport waiting for Lucy to arrive. The weather was cold. His light jacket was just a little too thin to keep him warm. He jammed his hands into his pockets and started pacing in an attempt to get a little warmer. It wasn't enough. He was about to go inside and wait at the door when the jet arrived. Smiling, he walked out to greet her.

Lucy climbed out of the jet and ran to William. All thoughts of being cold fled William when he felt her arms around him. He kissed her and then said, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Lucy replied happy that he had come to meet her at the airport.

He kissed her passionately and only broke when he felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turned his head to find Betsy bouncing around. She said, "Hello, William. Are you done kissing her, yet?"

Chuckling, William answered, "No."

Lucy pushed him over to Betsy and said, "Say hello to your sister. She's been talking about seeing you the whole flight."

"Hello, Betsy," William said. He hugged her for the full five seconds that she could keep from moving. He looked over at the plane in time to see Ling guiding the two bodyguards out using arm holds that appeared to be painfully applied. Curious, he asked, "What's going on with Ling?"

"She's becoming a marriage counselor," Betsy answered. She raced off to watch the men unload the luggage from the jet before William had a chance to ask another question.

He didn't connect being a marriage counselor with putting arm locks on people. Turning to Lucy, William asked, "Can you explain what she said?"

Grinning at his obvious confusion, Lucy patted him on the cheek and said, "There are only two things you need to understand."

"What?"

"Listen to me and listen to your mothers," Lucy answered. She had reports of William's evenings with the staff and was pleased that they had been satisfied. The idea that William was surrounded by beautiful women who would protect him from predatory gold diggers was becoming a reality.

"I did," William said.

"I know you did. You made four women very happy," Lucy said. It was a great relief to her that the tension that had been slowly building had finally been relieved.

"Four?" William asked. He had only slept with three of them. Confused, he thought about it for a second and then said, "Oh, you're including Vera."

Raising an eyebrow, Lucy wondered if he had slept with Vera too. That would be a disaster and was exactly what she didn't want to have happen. She asked, "What about Vera?"

"She's moved to Detroit to take a research assistant position with the Organization of Women Engineers. It is a long story, but she wasn't too happy working with me. She'll be a lot happier now," William answered.

"I guess that makes five women you've made happy," Lucy said. She wondered if it was really a good idea to leave him alone for so long when he didn't have his gift.

"Who is the fifth?"

"Think about it," Lucy answered. She glanced over at the bodyguards and flinched when Ling kicked Colt in the calf. She said, "That has to hurt."

"What is she doing?" William asked watching the two bodyguards beg Ling to leave them alone.

"I have no idea, but she's definitely doing it with energy," Lucy said. When she had stepped out of the jet, Ling had been talking to them about multiple partner marriages. She could only assume that the two body guards had made some comment that Ling had found insulting.

Claire climbed out of the jet and approached William and Lucy. She was smiling at the couple. When she reached them, she turned and watched Ling. With a grin, she said, "I don't think they will call a woman property ever again."

"Oh, that was stupid," William said grimacing.

"Yes. They both agreed that two men couldn't really share a woman because it would always be a problem deciding which one owned her," Claire said. She laughed and said, "They're lucky Ling is doing the necessary attitude adjustment. I'd have just shot them in the knees."

Running her hand down William's braid, Lucy said, "I'm lucky that William doesn't think that way."

Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "I know the truth. I belong to you."

"You're so sweet," Lucy said knowing that most women would have replied by telling him that he was well trained. She knew that it wasn't a matter of training.

Claire laughed and said, "William is a Carter. He knows that you can not take another person's love for granted. He knows that love is a gift that is given every day."

"It is a two way street," Lucy said.

Claire hugged Lucy and said, "You're a Carter, too. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

Ling had the two bodyguards on their knees repeating what was to be their mantra for the rest of their lives. Together, the two men were saying, "A wife is not property."

Watching the scene, William said, "She's going to have to do the same thing for Nicole and Natalie."

"She knows that. When she's done, then it is Kelly's turn to educate all four of them. If they think they are in pain now, they don't have a clue what is coming their way," Claire said with an evil little smile.



-------

Chapter 15


Dale sat on the couch looking out the window at the view. He put an arm around his girl friend. She nudged him in the manner that lovers have used throughout time to get attention. Confident that he was being attentive, she asked, "Are you thinking of building a house like this?"

"No," Dale answered. He was much more traditional in what he wanted in a house. Leaning forward, he said, "I want a simple house with three bedrooms, a family room, and a kitchen with enough room for a kitchen table."

"How about a dining room?" she asked looking over at him.

"I don't want a den, dining room, or an office. I don't want to work there. I don't want rooms that sit idle until company comes over," Dale said. He looked over at his girlfriend and said, "I want a home for a family. I want to have two or three kids running around; leaving their toys on the floor like kids have done ever since people moved into caves. I want a place to live in and I mean that in the most exuberant meaning possible."

"Wow," she said wondering if he included her in that picture.

"I don't need a great house to impress guests. When company comes over, I'll take them to the backyard where we can share the view of the desert," Dale said. He would have said more except William and Lucy had arrived holding hands.

Looking at the couple on the couch, Lucy said, "Sorry we're late. We were working and lost track of time."

Dale said, "No problem. We were admiring the view and talking."

"Excellent," William said.

Dale said, "May I introduce you to my girlfriend, Little Desert Rose. Everyone calls her Rose. Rose, this is Talks with Animals and Walks with Wisdom. Everyone calls them William and Lucy."

"It is nice to meet you Rose," William said looking at the woman. She was a year or two older than him. Like many Native American women her age, her hair came down to the middle of her back. She was not movie star beautiful, having features that were more Native American than white, but she was an attractive woman.

"It is an honor to meet you Talks with Animals," Rose said. Even though she was dating Dale, meeting Talks with Animals was a major event. Dale looked at her with a frown. She turned to Lucy and said, "I've always wanted to meet you, Walks with Wisdom."

Lucy laughed while taking a seat on the loveseat and said, "You're going to give me a swelled head with that kind of talk."

"We can't have that happen. You won't be properly proportioned with a big head and a small body," William said with a grin. He sat down beside Lucy and put an arm around her.

"Oh," Rose said feeling a little embarrassed. She realized she had come off as a star-struck teenybopper. Turning to Dale, she asked, "How did you and William meet?"

"We were classmates at the Native American College," Dale answered.

"He'll never admit it, but I was the better behaved student. He was always getting in trouble," William said.

Dale snorted and said, "Who put the rattlesnake in Kotyit's bed?"

"It promised to behave," William said.

"I know, it told me," Dale replied. Kotyit had called him to remove the snake from the bed.

Lucy looked at Dale and said, "I didn't know that you could speak with animals, too."

"Yes, that is one of the things that William and I share in common," Dale said. Grinning at William, he added, "He just got the better name."

It was a long standing joke between the two of them. The fact was that Dale's name fit him. If anyone was able to connect with the feel of the desert, it was Dale. William glanced at his watch and realized that it was later than he had thought. Gesturing to the couple on the couch, he said, "Let's head to the dining room. Our Chef, Peter, is probably furious that we're not there yet."

-------

Peter entered the dining room and looked at William with a slight frown. He asked, "Are you going to behave?"

"I suppose so," William said looking over at the Chef with a smile.

At the look of surprise on the faces of their guests, Lucy explained, "Carter men tend to make the life of the Chef miserable."

"You should have seen the look on his face when I brought that lizard here for him to cook. You'd think he had never prepared lizard before," William said shaking his head.

"You never brought me a lizard to cook," Peter said rolling his eyes.

"Look at him deny it," William said shaking his head.

"How does he do with rattlesnake?" Dale asked keeping a straight face.

Shrugging his shoulders, William answered, "After he burned the lizard, I wouldn't trust him with such a fine meat as rattlesnake."

"I did not burn a lizard," Peter said.

"Deny, deny, deny," William said. Looking over at Peter, he asked, "What are we having tonight?"

"Road kill surprise," Peter said before returning to the kitchen.

Rose looked at the back of the retreating Chef with wide eyes. Worried, she asked, "He's kidding, isn't he?"

"Of course he is," William said.

Peter proceeded to deliver a seven course meal that was out of this world. The basic style of the food was Haute Cuisine with very small portions for each course. The end result was that everyone was fuller than they could imagine. The preparation and presentation was exquisite.

Sipping coffee at the end of the meal, Dale said, "That was outstanding."

"I'm glad you liked it," William said.

Of everyone there, Rose was the most impressed by the meal. She couldn't believe that the servers replaced the entire place setting with each dish. Awed by the entire experience, she asked, "Do you eat like this every night?"

Lucy answered, "No. Most nights we have simpler meals. All of the staff usually joins us for dinner. You can't spend three hours eating every night."

"What did they do for dinner tonight?" Rose asked.

"They probably had the same dinner, but ate it upstairs in the break room," Lucy answered.

"You have more than one dining room?" Rose asked.

William answered, "Lucy, why don't you take Rose for a tour of the house? I'm sure that she'd like to see all of it."

Dale watched Lucy lead Rose out of the dining room. Once they were gone, he turned to William and said, "I'm sorry. She seems a little awestruck."

"Don't worry about that. It is understandable. I've been getting some advice about making myself a little more accessible to people. Lucy and I realized that we hadn't been invited to any celebrations since we've moved here. We thought that if I were to get a little more exposure to people on the Reservation that we might be able to tone down the awe and remove some of the distance that exists," William said.

"That's good. I've been worried about you living out here all alone. I was pleased to hear that you were teaching at the high school. That was a rather amazing course you put together," Dale said. He'd heard from a lot of the parents how pleased they were when they saw the material their children were studying. A lot of them had photocopied the pages that William had handed out and read them for their own education.

"I hope it helps them," William said.

"I'm sure it will. So tell me, what did you think of Patrick?"

William laughed at the question. Shaking his head, he said, "I like him. He's either going to be a comedian or a Tribal Chief. I'm not sure which."

"Some say there's no difference," Dale said with a laugh.

William laughed and asked, "What is your interest in him?"

"His father asked me to teach him some of the old ways over the summer," Dale said. He took a sip of his coffee and noticed that it had cooled too much.

"Why doesn't his father do it?" William asked.

"Well, he grew up at a time when a lot of the young men were turning their backs on their heritage. He was one of those young men who actually prided themselves on not doing anything Indian. He never even visited a sweat lodge. Now he regrets it," Dale answered. He grabbed the carafe and refilled his cup. The result was a tepid coffee, but it was better than cold.

"Maybe we ought to do something for them," William said. He drained his cup before taking the carafe from Dale and refilling his cup.

"We?" Dale asked with a grin at the expression on William's face as he drank the cold coffee. He had a feeling that he'd end up doing all of the work.

"Sure. You and I could probably put together a nice group of tribal elders who'd be happy to hand off some of their knowledge. I'm sure that Chief White Feather would be more than happy to take some of the older men out on their first hunt," William said.

Dale nodded his head while thinking about it. As far as he could see, it wouldn't be a bad idea. He said, "Robert White Feature would make sure that they learn to use their guns safely."

"Fathers could then teach their sons how to hunt," William said.

"Did any of your fathers teach you to hunt?" Dale asked. He was curious about William's relationship with his family. He'd seen William when he was a young man and knew that he was different than most. It had to have affected his childhood relationship with his parents.

"No. Ling and Claire taught me to shoot. One of the Rangers, CC, taught me how to track animals in the wild. It was Robert White Feather who took me hunting. Of course, I learned a little of that at the Native American College, too," William answered. He laughed and said, "Well, Daddy Ed did teach me how to hunt rocks."

"Ah, yes. The wily rock," Dale said. It had been a while since he had been out collecting rocks. He looked over at William and said, "It's been a while since I've been out collecting samples."

"Let's go next weekend," William said.

The invitation took Dale by surprise. He said, "Sure. That sounds like a good idea."

"Why don't we invite Patrick?"

That suggestion really surprised Dale. Nodding his head, he said, "That would be an interesting weekend. I've just got to ask. Why Patrick?"

"I like him. Kotyit once told me that a war party of three wasn't much of war party. He said that I needed to make a few more friends. Lucy and I talked about it. We decided that he was right," William said.

"I know what you mean," Dale said.

"You don't have many friends, do you?" William asked.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Dale thought about it. Most of the men his age were still struggling to establish their careers. Looking back at William, he answered, "Not really. A lot of my childhood friends took John Carter's advice and became lawyers. They are in their late twenties trying to establish their credentials. They have formed their own war party. You and I are the two youngest Medicine Men in the state."

"I think that is what Kotyit was talking about," William said.

"So let's take poor Patrick out to hunt the wily rock," Dale said with a smile.

"Let's tell him that we are taking him out to hunt, but not say anything about rocks. We'll surprise him with that once we get outdoors," William said.

Dale laughed and said, "That sounds like a perfect plan."

-------

Rose sat on one of the couch with Lucy at the other end. Both women were turned so that they mostly faced each other. Rose said, "This sure is a big house."

"William's sister designed it assuming that he and I would marry another four people. I'm afraid that she doesn't understand William too well because I don't think that is going to happen," Lucy said.

"Four more people?" Rose asked wide eyed.

"Yes. She figured that we'd get two more husbands and two more wives. William and I are not bisexual so the idea doesn't really appeal to us," Lucy said. She wasn't going to mention that William had lovers in the house that would take care of him in case she wasn't enough for him.

"Oh," Rose said. She was still having a hard time getting past the idea of a marriage of six people. Deciding that she didn't really want to pry, she said, "I think the house is very lovely, but don't you get lost in it?"

"I don't get lost, but I do lose William on occasion. I imagine that we could play hide and seek in here all month without running out of hiding places," Lucy answered. The tour of the house had taken almost an hour and they didn't even visit most of the rooms.

"I can imagine," Rose said. "When we were waiting for you earlier, Dale was telling me about the kind of house that he wants. He was describing my dream house."

Their discussion was interrupted when Rock came over and said, "William and Dale have asked me to let you know that they've gone outside to smoke."

Lucy looked over at Rock and said, "What's the matter, Rock? You don't look too happy."

"I just finished having a long talk with Kelly Carter," Rock answered. Kelly had laid out scenarios in which Natalie, Nicole, and Colt had died. She had painted them with such detail that he could imagine it actually happening. She had grilled him about his feelings for each of the three other bodyguards. He was surprised to discover that he was just as upset about the idea of Colt getting killed as either of the two. He had ended up bawling like a baby. Shaking his head, he said, "That woman knows how to tear up a person's heart. I thought Ling was tough, but Kelly had me begging for mercy."

"They are both very strong women," Lucy said.

"You can say that again," Rock said shaking his head. Looking over at Lucy, he said, "I'll leave you alone now. It's time for me and Colt to have a long talk."

"Okay," Lucy said.

When Rock was gone, Rose couldn't restrain her curiosity. She asked, "What was that about?"

"Rock and Colt love Natalie and Nicole. They've been stuck trying to figure out what to do about it. Neither man can choose just one of the women. They've been partners for so long that they don't want to ruin it. Of course, the women can't decide which man they want. They've been partners forever, as well. My mothers-in-law have decided that it was time for them to get involved," Lucy answered.

"What can they do?"

Laughing, Lucy answered, "Anything they set their minds to doing. Right now, I think they've decided that Rock, Colt, Natalie, and Nicole should be married as a single family."

"You're kidding?" Rose asked.

"No. I think they are right, too. Those four love each other. They've spent years looking out for one another that to break them up would be a disaster," Lucy said.

"I'm not sure what I think of those multiple partner marriages. I'm an old fashioned girl who wants my one guy," Rose said rather shocked by Lucy's calm acceptance of such an idea. She had just about decided that it must be a rich person's lifestyle.

"I'm not bothered by people having multiple partner marriages if they all love each other, but I know what you mean about being old fashioned. I'm rather old fashioned myself. I love William so much, that I can't see me loving anyone else that much," Lucy said.

"I don't mean to judge," Rose said hoping that she hadn't offended Lucy.

Laughing, Lucy said, "I don't see how anyone can fail to judge. That isn't exactly the kind of thing that one can be neutral about. The idea of marriage being between one man and one woman is basically a cornerstone of our culture."

"I guess. I haven't really thought about it," Rose said. She felt a little like a backwater hick who hadn't seen much of the world. In a way it was true.

"So how long have you been seeing Dale?" Lucy asked.

"About six months," Rose answered.

"That sounds serious. Is he the one?" Lucy asked knowing that it wasn't really a polite thing to do.

"I wish, but I'm afraid that I'm not worldly enough for him," Rose answered biting her lower lip.

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked.

"Dale is an important man in the tribe. I'm just the daughter of the guy who owns the hardware store," Rose answered.

Lucy burst out laughing at that revelation. Seeing the hurt expression on Rose's face, she explained, "You won't believe this, but my dad owns a hardware store."

"You're kidding," Rose said unable to believe that Talks with Animals would settle for a woman whose father owned a hardware store. She wondered how Lucy could be comfortable with such a large house.

"No. He has a simple hardware store in a small town in Pennsylvania," Lucy said.

"Wow, I would have never thought that of you. I mean, you're so cultured, refined, and everything," Rose said still not getting beyond the myth of the person with whom she was talking.

"Let me tell you how small town I am. My husband is so rich that he can buy any restaurant that we eat in, but I still look at the price column for the lowest priced items before I select what I want to eat," Lucy said provoking a short bark of laughter from Rose.

"I can understand that," Rose said having been guilty of exactly the same behavior. She didn't think that a rich kid would even think of doing that. They would order what they wanted to eat and ignore the price. She looked over at Lucy starting to see the real woman for the first time. It was amazing what the right insight into a person could yield.

"When my mother-in-laws take me shopping, I have to leave the store before they ring up the sale. I get sick when I see how much they'll spend on clothes for me. I'm still happy with clothes from the discount store," Lucy said.

Rose took a moment to examine Lucy's outfit. It dawned on her that she was wearing a dress that she could have purchased at any store. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It must be nice to afford any dress you want."

"I suppose it is. Of course, you have to ask yourself if it makes much sense to sit around the house wearing a formal evening dress that costs five thousand dollars. It is more comfortable wearing jeans and a tee-shirt. To tell the truth, I'd rather wear loose jeans rather than form fitting designer jeans. At least I can sit around the house comfortably," Lucy said.

"I never thought about it that way," Rose said. Some of her expectations were being turned upside down.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and said, "No one does until they are faced with the reality of the situation. I sure didn't."



-------

Chapter 16


"What?" Patrick shouted upon learning the nature of the elusive quarry that they were hunting. He was wearing a brand new hunting outfit that he had talked his father into buying for him. The camouflage coverall, the camouflage hat, the orange vest, and hiking boots that had been a source of immense pride had become a source of embarrassment. Unable to believe what he had heard, he said, "We're going rock hunting!"

William and Dale were having a hard time controlling their laughter. The look on the young man's face had been priceless. Dale said, "That's right."

"You said that you were going to teach me how to hunt," Patrick said.

"We are," William said. "I'll admit that we kind of mislead you as to what we were going to hunt."

"But, I look stupid," Patrick said.

Getting serious, Dale said, "We didn't expect you to go out and buy clothes, but actually you'll be pretty warm in that outfit. I wouldn't worry about looking stupid."

"You're just saying that," Patrick said. He looked from Spirit of Desert Rock to Talks with Animals thinking that the two most important men in the tribe had made him look like a fool. His feelings were hurt.

Dale gestured to the area around him and then patted the young man on the back. He said, "We are out here in the middle of William's place and there are only the three of us. It is cool out here and your clothes are warm. You aren't the first to come out here wearing a coverall to keep comfortable."

William said, "Don't forget that you are out here to learn. We aren't kidding about that."

Dale nodded his head and said, "That's right. We are here to teach you something."

Feeling a little mollified, Patrick said, "Okay."

Dale looked at William for a second and asked, "Are we near the place marked on the map?"

"Yes," William answered. His brother had marked several places on a map where they could expect to find some nice mineral samples. This particular area was supposed to have some quartz that was collectable.

"Get down on your knees," Dale said to Patrick. He sank to his knees and watched the younger man get down on his knees. He leaned forward and placed the palms of his hands flat on the ground. In a soft voice, he said, "Touch the ground in front of you like I am doing."

"Okay," Patrick said wondering what Dale was doing. This seemed to be a rather strange way to hunt rocks and he watched waiting for them to pull another joke on him.

Kneeling beside Patrick, William said, "Spirit of Desert Rock is well named. Watch as he sends his spirit out into the rocks around us. Notice how his breathing has slowed and his eyes have closed. He's communing with the land. Patrick, why don't you try it?"

Patrick had watched Dale touch the ground. His joining with the land was almost visible. He would have sworn that if he had tried to pull Dale's hand from the ground that the ground would have come up as well. It was time to trust the two most powerful men in the tribe. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Once Patrick had closed his eyes, William said, "Feel the Earth beneath your hands. Reach down into the Earth and feel the power that resides within it. Let your mind go and follow that power to the source."

Patrick could feel the Earth beneath his hands. It wasn't a great well of power, but he felt something. It was as if it was alive, but living in slow motion. A shiver went up his spine. There was a small shove on his back that broke his concentration. Looking up, he noticed that the sun had moved a considerable distance across the sky.

Dale and William were smiling at him. Patting the young man on the back, Dale said, "Very good, Patrick. You were in touch with the Earth Mother for almost an hour."

"That was amazing," Patrick said. He wondered how so much time had passed without him being aware of it.

"I remember my first time to touch the Earth Mother," Dale said with a soft smile on his face. Shaking his head to break out of his memories, he asked, "Did you happen to notice where any Quartz crystals are located?"

"I didn't think to look," Patrick answered feeling like he had let them down.

William laughed and said, "Don't worry about it."

Patrick looked over at William and asked, "How was it your first time?"

Shaking his head, William said, "That is an experience that is denied me. Not all can touch the Earth Mother like that. Dale is one of the few people who I know that can do it. I guess we can add you to that number now."

"Oh, I didn't realize," Patrick said wondering if he had hurt William's feelings.

"Don't worry about it. I am too thankful for the gifts that I have been given to wish for more," William said. He turned to Dale and asked, "So where are the rocks?"

"They are by the little indent in the rock wall over there. Why don't you show Patrick how to collect a sample while I watch?" Dale suggested.

"Sure thing."

-------

Patrick used the rock hammer to free the sample under the guidance of William. While he worked, Dale said, "There was a time when our people walked with bare feet upon the ground. We slept on the ground. We were at one with our surroundings. It helped tie us to the Earth Mother.

"We could feel her and gather strength from her. That has been lost. Patrick, you and I are of the few who can even feel the Earth Mother any more. Our people aren't the only ones who are suffering. Everybody lives in air conditioned houses. It has separated them from the physical world. They don't even feel the passing of the seasons anymore. They can't smell the air and sense the approach of a storm," Dale said with a sigh.

William looked over at Dale and said, "There are young braves to teach. The old ways won't be lost. Patrick isn't the only one who can touch Mother Earth and feel the beat of her heart. There will be others."

"I know," Dale said. He watched Patrick wipe his forehead and hold up the small Quartz crystal that he had just liberated from the ground. Smiling, he said, "That's a nice little sample."

"Thanks," Patrick said feeling pride at having found the crystal. He examined it carefully and asked, "What do I do with it?"

William handed him a box and said, "Put it in here."

Patrick took the box and put the crystal in it. Shaking his head at the thought of trying to explain to his father that he had gotten a trophy rock rather than a trophy deer, he said, "It isn't a deer."

"No, it isn't," William said with a laugh. He looked at Patrick for a minute and asked, "Would you like to see a deer?"

"Sure," Patrick answered thinking that they were going to have to go somewhere and wait for some deer to walk past.

William turned to face the land and shouted, "I am Talks with Animals. I promise to leave some cracked corn for any deer that chooses to talk with me."

Patrick turned to Dale and asked, "Why is he speaking that language?"

"It is the language of the First People. It is the language that all animals know," Dale answered.

"Do you know it?"

"Yes," Dale said watching the area where William had called out. He had the ability to talk with animals, but it was nowhere as good as William's talent. He wasn't surprised to see a dozen deer come out of the brush along the creek. He whispered, "Be quiet while William talks with them."

Patrick watched in amazement while William talked to the deer. They talked about the state of food and water in the area. They talked about how the bucks were in fine form the previous rut. They talked about how all of the construction at the house had disturbed them, but that they were adjusting to the changes. Dale gave a running commentary about what was being said.

When the deer left, William rejoined his companions. Dale said, "That was interesting."

"Yes, it was."

Patrick stared at the two men with him in awe. To believe that William could talk with animals was one thing, but to watch him do it was another. He asked, "What was so interesting?"

"It seems that our construction disturbed the deer, but it also drove off a number of the predators in the area. They feel the herd is growing too large. All in all, they are happy with the changes around here," William said.

"The hunting will be good," Dale said while nodding his head.

"Hunting? How can you hunt them after talking with them?" Patrick asked appalled at the suggestion of hunting the deer. He felt that it would be like shooting a friend.

"The herd has to be culled. They even mentioned that the herd was getting too large. If the natural predators aren't doing the job, then it falls upon us to do it," William answered turning to look at Patrick.

"If the herd isn't culled, it will grow beyond the ability of the land to support them and they will all suffer. Many will die a long slow painful death from starvation. It is nature's way of ensuring balance," Dale added. He looked over at Patrick and saw that the young man didn't understand. He explained, "It is an example of the land's limited capacity to support life in its most brutal manner. The deer will consume all of the supply of food while increasing their numbers until there is not enough food left for the herd. In their fight over what is left, many of the weaker animals will starve and die until the demand lessens and the food supply recovers."

Nodding his head, William said, "Each individual strives to be the one to survive, but the group as a whole knows when it needs to be culled. In the wild, it is the weak and infirm that fall victim to the predator. That is the job of the predator. When the predator is gone, then humans need to fill that role."

"Unfortunately, man as predator wants to take only the strongest and fittest individuals from the herd. We want the deer with the ten point rack. That is not necessarily the best thing for the herd. When I hunt, I take the oldest animal of the herd. That has the best impact on the herd," Dale said. He gestured in the direction of the herd and said, "It is our custom to thank the deer for its life when we hunt."

"I guess," Patrick said. "Can't we feed the deer instead of killing them?"

Shaking his head, Dale said, "All that does is allow more deer to live long enough to produce even more deer and increase the pressure on the environment. You again reach the point where the herd must be culled. How many deer are you going to feed? A dozen? Two dozen? A hundred? "

"I guess you're right," Patrick answered.

Dale winked at William and said, "See, Patrick, you did get a little hunting lesson after all."

Chuckling, Patrick said, "I can even say that I saw a dozen deer."

William looked around and said, "It is starting to get a little late, let's set up camp."

-------

"There's something nice about sitting around a campfire at night," William said.

"It is primitive," Dale said holding his hands over the flames to warm them. The day had been chilly, but with nightfall the temperature had gotten cold.

"Why don't women like to camp?" Patrick asked. When he had mentioned to his sister that he was going to learn how to hunt with William and Dale, she had not sounded very interested in the camping part of the adventure.

"I wouldn't go that far. A lot of women don't like to camp, but it isn't a general truth about women. My sister-in-law is at home in some of the wildest places in the world. I think she could live the rest of her life in a tent," William answered. He grabbed the bag of giant marshmallows and pulled out one. He thrust it on the end of his stick and then held it over the coals.

Patrick took the bag of marshmallows and prepared one for himself. He asked, "So why don't most women like to camp?"

"If you think about it, camping is a lot more work than being around the house. It took us a long time to make dinner and clean up the mess. Why would someone who is used to modern appliances want to deal with starting a fire, cooking over a fire, and then cleaning up without a dishwasher? We're going to be sleeping on the hard ground tonight. Why should someone want to do that when they could be sleeping in a nice soft bed?" William said.

Frowning, Patrick said, "So what are we doing out here when your house is fifteen minutes away?"

"I enjoy camping in the backyard," William said winking at Dale.

"Don't let it burn," Dale cautioned pointing at the marshmallow.

"Don't worry. I don't think I've ever burned a marshmallow," William answered just in time to watch it burst into flames. He groaned at having his words proven wrong so quickly after uttering them. He lifted the flaming mess out of the fire and blew on it while Dale and Patrick laughed.

Still chuckling, Dale said, "If you discount all of that black stuff on your marshmallow, you still haven't burned one."

"Marshmallow al Carbon," Patrick declared provoking another round of laughter.

Shaking his head, William ate the burned marshmallow off his roasting stick and replaced it with a fresh marshmallow. He pointed over to the fire and said, "At least it didn't fall off the stick."

Patrick looked at the end of his stick finding that his marshmallow was gone. There was a molten burning mass in the fire. Laughing, he said, "I meant to do that. I didn't want you to feel too embarrassed."

William laughed and shook his head. He stuck his marshmallow over the coals and watched it with a little more care. It was hard to see how well it was cooking in the dark, but he rotated it over the fire slowly to prevent it from burning. He said, "It has been a long time since I've roasted marshmallows over an open fire. I think the last time was when I was six or seven."

"Really?" Patrick asked looking at William surprised.

"Well, I had a rather unusual childhood," William said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You can say that again," Dale said. He wondered at times how William had managed to turn out as normal as he had. Giving into the temptation of eating roasted marshmallows, he grabbed the bag and started to fix one for himself. It had been years since he had done that. As he worked, he said, "There aren't many kids who go to college when they are six."

"What can I say?" William asked, not expecting an answer. He pulled his marshmallow out of the fire and in front of his face so that he could inspect it. It was a nice golden brown. The outside had swelled and the inside had melted. With a little care, he removed the marshmallow and ate it. It tasted good.

Patrick tried to remember what he had been doing when he was six. All he could remember was watching Saturday morning cartoons dressed in pajamas. He asked, "How does someone even get a chance to go to college when they are six?"

For the next hour of the evening, the three of them discussed their individual childhoods. The discussion flowed easily from one to the other. The marshmallows were replaced with a pot of hot chocolate. The pot of hot chocolate disappeared. The fire burned down and the young men went off to their tents to sleep through the night.

-------

Morning found the three young men standing side by side facing east to watch the sun rise. It was a subdued sunrise, the gray of the horizon slowly turning yellow while the sky above turned blue. A small sliver of the sun peaked over the horizon and the day had officially begun. The air was cold, but not cold enough to see their breaths.

Turning away from the sight, William's stomach announced his hunger with a low growl. Patting it, he said, "I'm hungry."

Dale laughed and said, "Thinking with your stomach this morning?"

"You bet," William answered.

Patrick went over to the fire pit and started building a fire. It would take some time for the fire to burn down to coals. While he worked on the fire, Dale prepared a pot for coffee. William dug through the supplies for the bacon and eggs. As the fire began to catch, Patrick asked, "Why don't you have a Fusion Cell hotplate?"

Shrugging his shoulders, William answered, "It is not the same."

"You can say that again," Dale said in agreement. He set the coffee pot next to the fire and sat back waiting for the fire to produce enough coals to start perking the coffee.

"I don't understand. Your father invented the Fusion Cell, but you don't seem to use it all that much," Patrick said.

Smiling at the observation, William said, "My father was a minimalist when it came to camping. My other father, Ed, does things the old fashioned way. I guess I was raised to have a kind of old fashioned minimalist approach to camping."

"I'm not talking about camping. I mean... well, it seems to me that you just don't use technology all that much. When I watch television shows about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, I see their houses have all kinds of gadgets. The doors open automatically, they have robotic vacuum cleaners, and the whole house is computer controlled."

Dale looked over at William interested in how he was going to answer the observation. William shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess that I don't see much of a need to cover more than the basics of living. Our house is very modern, but it isn't a smart house. I don't see the need to have doors that open themselves or lights that come on automatically."

"It is a big house," Dale commented.

"The house is a home and an office. We have most of the staff living there on the second floor. And the offices are there. The topmost floor is for entertaining, but we really haven't done that much entertaining since we got here. Your visit with Rose is really the first time that anyone who wasn't family came to visit us," William said.

"So you live in a huge house designed for entertaining and yet you live like a hermit," Dale said.

"I haven't been myself," William commented. Despite the fact that he had gone without his gift for almost a year, he still hadn't gotten used to living without it. The marshmallow incident the previous night had been one little symptom of that.

Patrick looked at William wondering what he was talking about. Dale nodded his head knowingly, but didn't pursue the topic of discussion. William said, "I'm trying to quit living like a hermit."

"It was a good idea to come out here to hunt rocks," Dale said with a nod of his head.

"I enjoyed it," Patrick said. He hoped that he would get an invitation to come out here again with the two men.

"I wonder how much money the women spent yesterday," William said. His wife had gone shopping with Rose while they had been rock hunting.

"At least Rose isn't spending my money," Dale said with a grin.

"Knowing Lucy, she paid for everything. You better watch out. I'm pretty sure that she bought some outfits for Rose intended to get you on your knees begging her to be your wife," William said.

"And the downside to that is?" Dale asked. He was seriously considering marrying Rose.

"There isn't one that I can see," William answered with a grin.

In a matter of fact tone of voice, Patrick said, "Girlie cooties."

William and Dale laughed at the comment. It had been years since Dale had heard that term. He asked, "Girlie cooties?"

William asked, "What happens when you get girlie cooties?"

Patrick grinned while he answered, "They sap your will so that girls can get you to do anything they want."

"He might have a point," Dale said with a chuckle.

"Last year, I caught a bad case of girlie cooties from Mary. That girl had me sitting through horrible movies, buying her flowers, and exhibiting all kinds of strange behaviors. One day I found that I was carrying out the trash at her house because she had asked me to do it. It was horrible," Patrick said shaking his head.

William laughed and asked, "So you are over it?"

"Yes."

"And you are looking to catch another case of girlie cooties from a different girl," Dale said in a teasing voice.

"That's right. That's the real horror of girlie cooties. You get addicted to them," Patrick said with a wink.



-------

Chapter 17


The Catholic religious wedding ceremony for Cathy Black Thorn and David Light Wind started at noon. It was a traditional Catholic service and lasted for almost an hour before they exchanged their vows. The Catholic priest provided a nice service in which he blessed their marriage. To tell the truth, Lucy had found it rather boring. She also felt that the bride wasn't given the kind of attention that most women sought in the wedding ceremony.

At two, the bride and groom met at their future home to perform the Native American wedding ceremony. Lucy, although not a member of the bride's or groom's family, was allowed to attend by joining the tribal elders who would watch. It was their role to give the young couple advice once they were married.

It started with the groom taking a seat on the west side of the living room in their new house. His mother sat beside him while the rest of his relatives sat against the north wall of the house. The bride came in carrying a basket that was half full of corn mush. She was followed by Dale and William. William carried a small wedding jug that contained water. The bride set the basket in front of the groom before taking a seat beside him. Dale sat beside her and then accepted the jug of water from William.

At that point, William's job in the ceremony was over. After all, it was a very minor role in the ceremony usually given to an apprentice so that he could learn from watching the proceedings. He went over to where Lucy was seated with the tribal elders. He took a seat beside her and held her hand. Every eye in the room had watched him join the elders. His presence at the wedding was considered a great honor for the bride's family.

The bride and groom washed their hands from the jug of water with Dale pouring the water over the groom's hands first and then the bride's. In a whisper, William explained to Lucy that washing their hands symbolized cleansing their minds, bodies, and spirits. It was important to enter into the union spiritually clean.

Dale then blessed the corn mush by sprinkling corn pollen to the four directions. The bride and groom then ate of the corn mush. It was messy since they used their hands. Although the bride and groom tried to look serious, their eyes smiled at the mess they made. William, whispering so that only Lucy could hear, explained that eating together was representative of their spiritual matrimonial union. He pointed out that the corn mush was a mixture of white and yellow corn symbolizing the male and female. Since they entered into the marriage as equals, there was an equal amount of each color corn.

The bride's family then brought out small servings of food on little plates. They served the bride and groom first and then served the family of the groom. While the food was served, the two families formally greeted each other. It was the first official notice that the families made of each other.

The tribal elders took turns explaining the secrets to marital happiness. Most of the advice from the men was to the groom suggesting that he always listen to the wife. William suggested that each morning they spend a minute to remember the feelings that motivated them to get married. Lucy suggested that each night they spend a minute to think about what they had done that day to let the other know that they were loved. The rest of the elders had nodded their heads at the wisdom imparted to the young couple by William and Lucy.

Once the elders had finished giving their advice and the food on the small plates had been consumed, the wedding party moved outdoors where friends were gathered to celebrate. The real meal was laid out for all to enjoy. There was music and dancing to go along with the food. William and Lucy had taken the opportunity to talk to everyone at the wedding.

-------

It was after midnight when William and Lucy finally reached their home. William sat down on the couch in the living room of the suite he shared with Lucy. He yawned with a low roar while stretching his arms over his head.

Lucy smiled at him and asked, "Did you have a good time?"

"Yes, I did," William said.

"The bride was lovely," Lucy said.

"Contrary to expectations, the groom didn't have a club foot," William said.

Lucy laughed and said, "Patrick was so funny."

"Patrick was so proud of his sister," William said. He had caught Patrick explaining to someone that William had attended just because his sister was special. It pleased him that the young man thought well of his family.

"The family was proud that you attended the wedding," Lucy said. She had heard that from many sources during the party. John Black Thorn had thanked William several times for participating in the ceremony.

"Maybe I'll get invited to a party or two in the near future," William said.

"I hope so. I had such a good time," Lucy said. She found that although she knew very few members of the tribe, she liked being around them. There was a strange sort of laid back approach to life that was comforting. There was also a quiet confidence that they could handle all that life had to throw at them. She suspected that confidence had a lot to do with William's destruction of the curse.

"Would you like to throw a party here?" William asked.

"Yes, I would," Lucy said. There had been plans to have a house warming party at the end of the previous summer, but those plans had been delayed when William had lost his ability to see the future. Lucy was pleased to hear that he had recovered enough to consider having a party at the house.

"Let's set one up for the middle of May. We'll have the kids I taught in school come and they can bring their families. They are all seniors, so we could call it a kind of graduation party."

"That's an interesting idea," Lucy said trying to figure out how many people would attend. She figured that there were twenty-five students and that each student was probably in a family of four or five. That would make the guest list to be about a hundred and twenty-five people. She added another twenty five assuming that some of the students or their families would bring along a boyfriend or girlfriend. Then she thought about the students of the first semester and doubled the figure. She smiled and said "We will have a chance to see how good the first floor is for parties."

William held out his arms for Lucy. She slid into his lap while he said, "I really liked your advice for the bride and groom."

"I was really surprised by your advice," Lucy said. She kissed him on the cheek. The idea that he spent a minute every morning remembering why he married her was very special.

"Why?" William asked surprised by her admission.

"I was thinking of saying something stupid about not letting the man know just how much you controlled his life when you said that. I had to come up with something real fast so that I wouldn't look stupid," Lucy said.

"Does that mean that you don't take a minute every night to think about how you let me know that I'm loved?" William asked pretending to be hurt.

"You know better than that," Lucy said with a smile and a short little love tap on his arm. She grinned and said, "I didn't tell them that every day at noon that I think about how I can make the rest of your day miserable."

"Ah that explains why mornings are always better than afternoons around here," William said with a laugh while running his hand across her back.

"I hope you aren't too tired for me to ruin your night. I've got plans that require nudity, groping, and lots of moaning," Lucy said.

"I'm never too tired for that," William said. He stood up with her in his arms and carried Lucy into the bedroom.

-------

William sat at the breakfast table eating a simple meal of scrambled eggs and toast. Peter watched him eat the meal. He had offered Eggs Benedict, but William had chosen plain scrambled eggs. William over at Peter and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Peter said.

"Lucy and I may have a small challenge for you coming up," William said. He picked up a slice of toast and slathered some strawberry jam on it. Judging by the container, it wasn't the cheap kind from the store that he liked so much.

"Let me guess. You want me to prepare some masterpiece that you can mock in your typical fashion," Peter said.

"No, I can always do that," William replied with a grin.

Raising an eyebrow at the offhand way in which William had replied, Peter asked, "So what is this challenge?"

"Buffet for two hundred and fifty guests or so," William answered watching Peter out of the corner of his eye.

"Buffet?" Peter said with a frown. As far as he was concerned, that was assembly line cooking. The tricky part was coming up with a menu that wouldn't kill the cooking staff. There were standard menus that would serve the purpose perfectly well.

"Yes, but not that same old kind of food that I always get when I attend one of those fancy charity events. I'm not really impressed by the kind of stuff that is normally served at those kinds of things. I mean, boiled shrimp, egg rolls, those mini Russian thing-a-ma- jobs, and filets of chicken that are breaded and smothered in some weird sauce just isn't going to cut it," William said. The look of horror on Peter's face was almost worth charging admission.

Peter stared at William for a minute trying to decide if he was serious. There was only one conclusion — William was serious. He frowned and said, "It'll take some time to come up with a menu."

"You've got plenty of time. Oh, don't include any of those awful little cheese blitzes. I hate them," William said. About to take a bite out of his toast, he paused and added, "Don't include any of those wraps. That flat bread tastes like cardboard. If I wanted to eat cardboard, I'd go out and buy a hamburger and eat the box it came in."

"Any other restrictions?" Peter asked. In a half dozen sentences William had shot down every menu item that had come to mind.

"None that I can think of at the moment," William answered with a smile. He took a bite out of the piece of toast.

"I'm sure you'll reject half of my suggestions," Peter said with a sigh. Marguerite had warned him that working for a Carter would be a challenge and he hadn't believed her. Of course, all of the negatives were offset by the fact that he had far more freedom than most chefs could ever achieve in their career.

After swallowing his food, William said, "Probably. After all, you did try to pawn off a dish stolen from the Swiss as being Mongolian."

Lucy laughed at the sour expression that came over Peter's face. She said, "Don't look so glum, Peter. This is a real challenge and one that I'm sure you'll succeed in meeting."

Shaking his head, William said, "You have to watch these chefs with both eyes open. They're tricky little fellers."

Peter headed off to the kitchen before he had a chance to say something that he would regret. Even before he reached the door, his mind was hard at work trying to come up with an appropriate buffet meal for the party. He wondered if it was possible to include a couple of cooking stations.

Lucy said, "I'm not sure that he's convinced that you are teasing him."

"He cooked for a year at my parent's home. I'm sure that Daddy Ed was even worse," William said with a grin.

"If you recall, he didn't come out of the kitchen once when your father was here," Lucy said with a laugh.

"True," William said. He looked over at the door and saw that Colt was standing there waiting for them to finish talking. He asked, "What's up, Colt?"

Colt entered the room and looked around for a minute. Taking a deep breath, he answered, "We're going to get married."

"You and me? Isn't that rather sudden?" William asked with a grin. Lucy chirped out a laugh that almost strangled her.

"No. Rock and I are going to marry Nicole and Natalie. We're going to need a few days off so we can get hitched," Colt answered.

"It's about time and you'll need more than a few days off if you are going to do it properly," William said. He shoveled the last forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

"You can say that again," Lucy said. She waited for William to repeat himself, but he didn't.

"It won't take more than a day or two to get married," Colt said with a frown.

"That won't do at all," Lucy said.

Shaking his head, William asked, "We'll need to know when you are planning on having the ceremony. Of course, we'll cover all of the expenses. Have you given any thought about where you want to go on your honeymoon?"

"You don't have to do that," Colt said holding up his hands.

"Of course we don't, but we want to," Lucy said giving him a nod of her head.

"Right. Just let us know where you would like to get married and how many guests you'll have. I'll put Barbara to work on it," William said.

"I'm serious; you don't have to do that. Rock and I were thinking about maybe just driving up to Las Vegas," Colt said. When they had discussed eloping to Las Vegas they hadn't considered that William would insist on making it a much bigger affair.

"Nonsense," William said. He looked over at Lucy and asked, "Do you think that Natalie and Nicole would be happy getting married by an Elvis impersonator?"

"Probably for about three days and then they'd get pissed," Lucy said.

"That answers that," William said looking over at Colt.

Colt hadn't thought about how the women would feel about a Las Vegas ceremony after the fact. He looked down at the floor and said, "I'll need to talk to Rock about this."

"You'll probably need to talk to Natalie and Nicole as well," Lucy said.

Colt shuffled out of the room. Watching him leave, William said, "He doesn't seem all that excited about having a big wedding."

"The wedding isn't for the men; it's for the women," Lucy said pursing her lips. She wondered what kind of trouble Rock and Colt were headed towards with their idea of eloping.

-------

Laughing at a private joke, William and Lucy sat down at the conference table. Barbara watched the couple with a frown. Licking her lips, she said, "I've got a candidate here for the research assistant position."

"Bring her in," William said.

"There is something that you might want to know before I bring her in," Barbara said looking a little worried. Although everyone else had already interviewed the candidate, she wasn't sure about her suitability for the job.

"What?" Lucy asked. She knew that another failure to get a competent research assistant would drive William crazy. He had been very upset about the situation with Vera. The woman had started off so promising.

"She's not exactly young," Barbara answered after clearing her throat. Age wasn't supposed to be an issue when hiring someone, but the need for long term stability in the workforce was important to most employers. It cost money and time to find a competent employee. It was a waste of money if they had no intention of staying for long. She had hoped to find someone younger who would work with William for years.

"How old is she?" William asked looking over at Lucy in confusion. He wondered what age had to do with anything.

"Sixty," Barbara answered.

"At least she isn't a hundred," Lucy said.

"She'll probably want to retire in two or three years," Barbara said.

"So?" William asked.

"I'm pretty sure that you don't want to go through this process again," Barbara said.

Waving off that concern, William asked, "Is she competent? Does she know how to use the research tools that we have here?"

"She's very competent. For the past twenty years, she was a research assistant for a very well known author who passed away last year. He wrote those massive historical novels. Well, she did all of the research for him," Barbara answered. She hadn't believed it when the resume had crossed her desk and had double checked every reference. She had gone so far as to call the author's widow to get a character reference. Considering that she had worked with the man for such a long time, the widow had said that there had never been a harsh word exchanged with the woman.

"Bring her in," William said impatiently. All he wanted to do was to work on his research and the lack of an assistant to track down the data that he needed was driving him crazy.

"Okay," Barbara said afraid that she was allowing another mistake to occur.

The woman who entered the room looked older than sixty. In fact, she looked closer to eighty than sixty. She sat down at the table across from William and Lucy without the typical nervousness of the average job applicant. She had come to the interview more out of curiosity about William than an expectation of getting a job.

The fact was that she seriously doubted that she would get the job. Everything that she had been able to learn about William was that he hired only the best, but everyone that worked for him was relatively young. If she were to get the job, she'd be more than twenty years older than the next oldest person. Her age was working against her and she had come to accept that.

William studied the woman for a moment and then said, "I need economic figures concerning various economic sectors. One of those sectors is the sex industry. Do you have a problem with that?"

The woman looked across the table for a second at William. Deciding that she had nothing to lose, she answered, "Honey, the average prostitute in Arizona charged a twenty dollar gold piece for a night back in 1883. The price in silver towns was significantly higher. At that time, a twenty dollar gold piece would purchase anywhere from four to twenty acres of good farm land. At the current price of land, that same property would cost anywhere from sixteen thousand to forty thousand dollars. Today a prostitute will charge between two hundred dollars and three thousand dollars for a full night. I would suggest that prostitution as an economic sector has not kept up with the cost of living as well as other economic sectors.

"The kinds of services provided by prostitutes have not changed much in a hundred and fifty years. They still provide blow jobs, straight sex, and anal sex with about the same statistical distribution as was common in the past. Women have always posed to have their images captured for posterity. Since cameras were a lot rarer in those days, it was more common for them to pose for an artist, but there are lots of sexually explicit photographs remaining from as early as the 1860's. The sex industry, in terms of services provided, has not changed all that much despite advances in technologies. The economics of the industry has changed over time.

"Today, there are often more middlemen taking money in the chain between service provider and customer. While pimps and madams have always been involved in the sex trade, there have been new roles open up in modern times. There is a large distribution network of sexually explicit material today that didn't exist back then. It has become a real industry rather than a back alley activity.

"Every town of over eight thousand people can be assured of having at least one place where sex for money is available. There are brothels, massage parlors, and escort services. Even small towns have women who will accept money to provide sexual services. The sex trade is pervasive throughout our society," the woman answered. She sat back and watched William's reaction.

William studied her thoughtfully. He leaned forward and asked, "How difficult would it be to establish how much of a family income is spent in the sex industry based on the economic income of the primary wage earner?"

The woman chewed her lower lip for a second while thinking about how she would go about acquiring the information her requested. She answered, "That's a tough one, Honey. I fear that no government agency has really studied that aspect of the sex industry. Even the university types shy away from that subject area. Most studies are from the supply side of the industry. They look at how many sex shops, prostitutes, and video rental places there are in a locale while estimating how much money they make. As far as I know, there hasn't been a major study that has addressed the demand side of the equation."

William frowned at the answer although he believed that she was probably accurate in her assessment. He glanced over at Lucy and found that she was smiling at him. Lucy was enjoying this discussion too much and he wasn't sure why. He asked, "What would be required to find out that information?"

"Fund a study of it," the woman answered as if it was obvious what he would have to do.

"How long would it take to get the data I want?" William asked thinking that she at least had a way of getting the information that he wanted.

"Honey, depending on the accuracy of the answer, it could take anywhere from a year to twenty years," she answered without hesitation.

"Barbara, do you think that you could ask Dave to come here?" William asked turning to look at Barbara. He decided that Dave could probably put together a poll that would give reasonable estimates in relatively good time. He turned back to the elderly woman and was about to ask her another question when Lucy tapped him on the shoulder. Now that he was actually making some progress on getting the information that he wanted, the interruption was a little disconcerting. He turned to look at her and asked, "What?"

"You've gone into work mode. You might want to hire her before you start having her work for you," Lucy said with a smile to soften the effect of her words.

William blushed and nodded his head. He was about to make the offer when he realized that he hadn't even asked for the woman's name. He asked, "What is your name?"

It was Barbara's turn to blush and she answered, "William, this is Victoria Clemmons. Victoria, this is William and Lucy Carter."

There was no real need for an introduction on Victoria's part. She knew as much about William as anyone alive. She had spent almost two weeks doing nothing except finding out everything she could about him. There was a substantial amount of information about him that was available in the public records. Having heard that William would probably offer her the job, Victoria smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Honey. Sugar, you've got quite a handful there with that young man."

Lucy smiled at the form of address and said, "I know."



-------

Chapter 18


"What are you doing?" William asked.

From behind her cluttered desk, Victoria looked up at William. She answered, "I'm browsing the information highway."

"Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Honey, the trick in this business is getting a feel for where information likes to hide. I spend a lot of time looking in the nooks and crannies of bizarre little archives scattered here and there. It is a never ending quest," Victoria answered. She glanced at the screen hoping that he would either assign her something or allow her to return to her idle browsing.

Although he could see that Victoria was uninterested in holding a conversation, he was interested in how she viewed her job. Taking a seat, he asked, "What do you mean by bizarre little archives?"

"Well, there are some people who have found diaries written by their ancestors and have published digitized images of the pages on the web. Some were written by famous people, but the majority of them were written by common everyday people. These are treasure troves of information, but they are hard to find. These diaries capture the daily lives of common folk. Little comments about what they had for breakfast, arguments with neighbors, and their concerns about their children tell you more about the times then the best researched history article," she answered.

"How about the quality of the information?" William asked.

"Honey, it is the best source of information. In many cases, this material constitutes original sources. As such, they have to be examined with regard to the perspective of the individual who wrote them. A discussion about alcohol written by a guy who occasionally has a couple shots of whiskey during a celebration is going to be different from that of an abolitionist," Victoria answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I see," William said thinking about it. "So what kinds of things do you spend your time looking at?"

"Honey, if it deals with humanity I'm interested in reading about it," Victoria answered. Her years as a research assistant for an author had allowed her to learn a lot about the human condition.

"What is your take on humanity?" William asked.

"Honey, I'm a nobody and my opinion doesn't count. Knowing that, I haven't formed a real opinion," Victoria answered. Her eyes glanced over at the computer monitor on her desk while she wished that she could return to her perusal of the article she was reading.

"Am I keeping you away from something interesting?"

Victoria answered, "Honey, as much as I love sitting around chit chatting, I'd rather be reading. Do you have anything for me to research?"

"You've been working with Dave to get the data I want?"

"Yes. He's setting up a survey even as we speak," Victoria said gesturing in the direction of Dave's office.

"Okay. You're collecting information on the other industries?"

"Honey, I've got a hundred reports on order. When I get them, I'll extract the information you want. Until they arrive, there isn't much more that I can do on those fronts," Victoria answered. She had ordered copies of self-study reports of a number of organizations that monitored the economics of their respective industries.

"It sounds like you have everything under control," William said noticing that her eyes were continually flicking over to her monitor.

"Honey, I'll let you know when you give me a challenge that I can't handle," Victoria answered.

William rose from his chair and said, "I'll leave you to your reading. If you discover something particularly interesting, please forward it to me."

-------

Sandra entered the break room to get a cappuccino. Drinking from a mug of hot tea, Victoria was seated at the table reading from a rather thick stack of papers. Sandra watched the woman make some notations on one of the pages of the report. She continued to watch the woman work while the machine produced her coffee. No one brought their work into the break room; that was an unwritten rule and it bothered her to see it broken.

Once her coffee had finished, she took the little cup and sat down at the table with Victoria. Clearing her throat, she said, "We don't usually bring work into the break room."

Victoria looked up at Sandra and said, "I'm not working."

"It sure looks like it to me," Sandra said pointing to the report.

"This? This is the court transcript from a trial that was held in 1925. I was just looking at it," Victoria said holding up the paper in her hand.

"What trial?"

"The Scopes Monkey Trial," Victoria answered. Anticipating the next question, she said, "I've always heard about it, but never really spent the time to read the transcript."

"Is it interesting?"

Victoria laughed and said, "Famous trials involving political and religious implications are always interesting. There is always a lot of grandstanding, flowery language that has been carefully scripted, and passionate arguments. I'd say that they are more entertaining than interesting."

"I guess," Sandra said. She studied the older woman for a few seconds and then asked, "I notice that you call William, Honey. What's the deal with that?"

"He's a cute boy," Victoria answered.

Sandra thought that she was going to choke on her coffee upon hearing the unexpected answer. Shaking her head, she said, "He may be young, but don't ever underestimate William."

Victoria raised her eyebrows and studied the young woman across from her. She knew that William was brilliant and that there hints of magic about him, but he was a young man and the appearance of the woman across from her was proof enough of that. She decided that it was time to let the other woman know that she wasn't to be underestimated. Looking the young woman in the eye, she said, "I know you're sleeping with William, so don't try to use that against me."

"Yes, I am. That's no secret. So is Barbara, Juanita, and Amanda," Sandra answered feeling strange admitting that aloud.

"It's not a secret?" Victoria asked surprised by Sandra's answer. She had expected a much different response. In particular, she had expected some sort of threat about how she had better watch her step or else William would be chucking her out on her tail.

"Of course not," Sandra answered seeing the uncertainty on Victoria's face.

"His wife must be happy about that," Victoria said with a snort.

"Well, she had to really work on him to get him in our beds. At least his mothers supported her efforts," Sandra said enjoying the older woman's reaction.

"What?"

"Don't be so surprised. I thought you knew a lot about William. It almost sounds to me like you know nothing," Sandra said.

"She's okay with it?"

"She views us as the first line of defense against gold diggers. She's the reason that all of us are attractive young women," Sandra said with a smile at the shocked reaction of Victoria. Picking up her cup and rising from the chair, she added, "When it comes to working, all William cares about is that we are the best at what we do."

"You're kidding," Victoria said.

Sandra paused long enough to take a sip of her coffee before she answered, "Not at all. Don't worry. None of us will use our special relationship to get rid of you. It wouldn't work."

"It wouldn't work?" Victoria asked staring at the woman as if she was insane. History of women controlling men in bed suggested otherwise.

"He's great in bed and all of that. However, when it comes to work he's all business. The bedroom does not mean a thing." Sandra said. She turned and left the room leaving a stunned Victoria in the break room.

The older woman wondered how she had managed to misread the situation so thoroughly. She had no doubts that Sandra, despite her words to the contrary, would run off and talk to William. Looking at the stack of papers, Victoria said, "Well, it was a nice job while it lasted."

"Why do you say that?" Amanda asked entering the room.

"You wouldn't understand," Victoria said.

Amanda smiled sweetly and, in an excited voice, said, "You're probably right. Anyway, did you hear that William is having a dress up party tonight? You should wear your nicest dress to dinner. It's going to be one of the Chef's special meals."

-------

Sandra looked at the beer cheese soup with a frown. She was afraid that it would add a full two inches to her waistline. She took a taste and found that it was delicious. She said, "This is good soup."

"Don't say that so loud. The Chef will get a swelled head," William said with a wink.

"I heard that!"

Everyone around the table laughed at the comment from the kitchen. William said, "Let's talk about a safer subject. Did anyone have anything interesting happen to them today?"

Looking over at William, Sandra said, "Victoria told me today that she knew you and I were having sex with each other."

Victoria choked on the piece of bread she was chewing. She clutched her throat and tried to breath. When Barbara announced that Victoria was choking, pandemonium broke out at the table. Worried, Peter came rushing out of the kitchen to perform the Heimlich maneuver only to discover that William had beaten him to it. After he had managed to dislodge the offending piece of bread, William looked over at Peter and asked, "Did you accidentally serve the food intended for me to her?"

"Of course not," Peter answered. He snorted and said, "I would have used a faster acting poison."

As everyone around the table laughed, William knelt down to Victoria and asked, "Are you okay?"

After swallowing a sip of water to counter the irritation in her throat, Victoria answered, "Yes. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" William asked.

"Yes," Victoria answered. She wished that she could crawl into a hole.

"What happened?" William asked.

Victoria gave Sandra a dirty look and said, "Sandra's comment took me by surprise."

In his West Texas accent, Rudy glanced over at William and said, "You know that it is not a good thing to sleep with one of your employees, don't you?"

"My parents slept with everyone who worked for them, but it was always instigated by the employee. It was actually a job benefit. Each month, every employee who lived in their house could request to sleep with one of my parents. My parents never sought out sex with anyone who worked for them," William said.

Juanita nodded her head and added, "Every month, a couple from town would be able to make the same request."

"You're kidding?" Victoria said.

"No," William answered.

Rudy asked, "So is that one of our job benefits that you didn't tell us about?"

William turned to look at Lucy. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "You answer that question. I don't understand this interest in sleeping with me at all."

Lucy patted William on the back and said, "Eat your soup while I explain it to everyone else. I'll explain it to you later."

"Thank you," William said. He turned to his soup and started eating it.

Lucy leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table with her hands clasped. The bowl of soup was nestled within her arms. Looking around the room, she said, "William is young, handsome, and filthy rich. Women throw themselves at him no matter where he goes. Now, I know that he's only human and one day some woman would entice him away unless I take steps to prevent that from happening. I could become a jealous green-eyed monster and never let him out of my sights, but that just isn't my nature.

"The steps I've taken were suggested to me by his mothers. They suggested that I surround him with very attractive women with whom he had occasional sexual relations. It was recommended that these women have an important role in his life beyond being a source of sexual relief. In fact, they should have a position that was nearly equal to family. When I interviewed Barbara, Sandra, Amanda, Donna, and Juanita I wanted to make sure that such an arrangement was satisfactory with them. They agreed."

Rudy asked, "Who's Donna?"

"She left our employ when we moved here," Lucy answered.

"She married a friend of William's," Dave said. He was learning things in this discussion that hadn't been mentioned before.

Victoria asked, "So with him having that special relationship with them, I guess that makes us second class citizens."

"No," Lucy said looking around wishing one of William's mothers was around. They would have explained everything better than she could. She said, "If you want to sleep with him, you can."

"Huh?" William said looking up from his soup surprised.

"Eat your soup, William. I'll explain it all to you later," Lucy said to him without even looking in his direction.

Cathy, seated next to Rudy, took the Texan's hand and said, "But I don't want to sleep with William. I've got Rudy."

"Then don't," Lucy said.

"You will want to," Barbara said. She sighed while looking over at William and added, "He's irresistible."

"You're wrong," Cathy said frowning at Barbara.

Shaking her head, Barbara knew that Cathy wouldn't understand for quite a while. Rather than discuss it there, she said, "We'll talk about it later."

Sandra glanced over at Victoria and smirked at the expression of smug superiority on the older woman's face. She said, "Victoria, you are going to fall so hard for him that it is going to hurt. You'll be begging him to sleep with you before long."

"Huh?" William said looking around the table.

"Eat," Lucy said. She smiled when he shoveled another spoonful of soup in his mouth.

"What do you mean?" Victoria asked. She was old enough to be his mother.

"Wait until he really starts challenging you. You're going to discover things about yourself that you've never even guessed existed. Each time you succeed, he's going to be there appreciating you for what you do best. He's going to slip in and steal your heart with kind words. Not once will he ever suggest anything improper, but you'll be going to your suite at night with soaked panties," Sandra answered.

"You have no idea how I'll react to him," Victoria said.

Barbara said, "I've never desired a man until I had worked with William for a few months. It got to the point that my desire for him was so strong and I was so frustrated that I wanted to scream."

Lisa looked over at Victoria and said, "Barbara, I'm afraid that I have to agree with Victoria on this. Now, I've worked for William for a long time and a lot of what you and Sandra have said is true. Victoria might not fall for him. I didn't. Of course, I see him like a son. I've got no interest in going to bed with one of my sons."

"Thank God," Tim said while making a face at the idea of sleeping with his mother.

Ken said, "I have to agree with my wife on this matter. Victoria is probably going to view him like a son."

William looked up and said, "Don't forget that Nicole and Natalie have no interest in sleeping with me."

"Yes they do."

"Huh?"

"Eat your soup," Lucy said patting him on the arm.

"I finished it," William answered looking down at his empty bowl. He wondered if Lucy was telling the truth about Nicole and Natalie.

"Then have some bread," she said rolling her eyes.

"Would someone pass the bread?"

Turning to Victoria, Lucy said, "I think Lisa is probably right."

"So I'm destined to be a second class citizen," Victoria said thinking that this job had been too good to be true. Her words provoked nods from Rudy and Cathy.

Getting irritated at all of the talk about being second class citizens, Tim pounded on the table to get everyone's attention. Once everyone was looking at him, he said, "If you really believe that, then you don't know William. Everyone around this table knows the rules of this household. If it harms none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong. Those are the rules that William lives by.

"He'll never harm you in that fashion and he won't let anyone hide behind him to harm you. He'll protect you from anyone who attempts to abuse you. It doesn't matter who it is or what their relationship is to him. No one is second class with respect to William."

Nodding his head, William said, "Well said, Tim."

"Thanks," Tim replied with a smile.

Victoria stared at Tim considering what he said. His words had the ring of truth to them and she was almost willing to give the others the benefit of the doubt. She sighed and looked down at her soup. She said, "I guess we had better eat the soup before it gets cold."

After the soup course, Peter brought out a nice Venison dish. William looked at it and asked, "What is that white stuff that you have hidden under the meat?"

"That is a puree of turnips and potatoes," Peter answered.

Looking at Peter as if he had two heads, Tim asked, "Do you mean to tell me that a turnip is some sort of gourmet ingredient?"

"Yes. So is the potato."

"Are they special turnips?" Tim asked. Lisa nudged him in the side to get him to be quiet.

"No," Peter said. His shoulders visibly sagged at making the admission.

"No wonder you tried to hide it on us," William said with a grin. He was rewarded with a glare.

Tim tasted the puree and said, "Hey, this isn't bad."

"Thank you," Peter said rolling his eyes at the faint praise.

William tasted them and nodded his head. Marguerite couldn't have done a better job on them. Feigning indifference, he said, "You can make this dish again."

"Well thank you," Peter said turning to return to the kitchen.

Tim asked, "Can you show me how to do this puree sometime?"

"Excuse me?" Peter asked stunned by the request. He turned and stared at Tim. He asked, "Why would you want to learn how to make this dish?"

"You said that it was made from potatoes and turnips. I figure if I ever have to cook for some girl, that such a fancy dish made from cheap ingredients would come in handy," Tim said. He figured that he might not be able to afford the fancy meats, but having a good side dish would make an impression.

"I'll be happy to teach you how to make this dish," Peter said. He strode into the kitchen feeling pretty good.

William looked up from his dish and asked, "You were kidding about Nicole and Natalie, weren't you?"

"Eat your food," Lucy said with a smile.

"This relationship stuff sure is confusing."



-------

Chapter 19


Cupping a match in his curled fingers to protect it from a light wind, William lit a cigarette. He shook his hand putting out the match and dropped the extinguished stick into a bucket. Holding up a hand, he said, "The screen door will slam in a minute."

Despite the warning, Dale jumped when the screen door slammed shut making a noise like a rifle shot. He said, "I'm glad you warned me."

"The cook takes out the trash every night about this time. It used to startle me every time I heard that door slam shut," William said.

Dale took a drag off his cigarette and studied his friend. William looked satisfied with his life. Pleased to see it, he said, "It seems to me that you've settled in here okay."

"Yes, I guess I have."

Patrick took a drag off his cigarette and then exhaled. Feeling a little dizzy from the effects of the tobacco, he asked, "Was there a problem settling in?"

"It's always a little difficult moving into a new place," Dale answered.

"I wouldn't know about that. I've lived in the same place my whole life," Patrick said with a slightly wistful tone in his voice.

"How's your sister adjusting to married life?" William asked.

Patrick laughed and said, "I think her husband is beginning to realize that he should have learned how to run faster. We had them over for dinner and I swear that he ate enough food to last a month."

"Why? Can't they afford food?" William asked.

"No, my sister is a horrible cook," Patrick said with a wink.

Someone opened the door to the house and the sounds of a party spilled out. Dale said, "Maybe we should head back into the party. I'm pretty sure that we'll be missed if we stay out here much longer."

"We can finish our smokes," William said looking out at the moonlit desert. He sighed and said, "Daddy Ed loves the desert. It really does grow on you."

"Yes, it does. I really missed it when I went off to college. Being away from here for five years was hard," Dale said. It seemed that he had a difficult time getting a feel for the land at the Native American College.

"I don't know about that. I've never really been away from here," Patrick said. He wondered if he was ever going to get off the reservation. Television presented a whole different world to him than he had ever experienced. It was his hope that he'd get to experience it one day.

"What are your plans for college?" William asked.

Patrick frowned at the question. He knew that he had told William before his plans for college. He answered, "I'm going to the community college. It is the only option that we can afford."

Dale studied Patrick for a moment pleased to see that William had been correct. He said, "You're not too happy about that."

"Not really," Patrick answered. He didn't want to complain. His father was working hard to improve the standard of living for the entire family and life was getting better. Opportunities were opening up for him. He stared off at the horizon and added, "It does bother me a bit. I'd like to get out and see the world. I feel trapped here on the reservation."

Dale and William exchanged a look. William grinned and said, "That can be corrected."

"Yes, that can be corrected," Dale said with a grin.

Patrick looked from one to the other with concern. Not quite sure that he wanted to know the answer, he asked, "What does that mean?"

"You'll see," William said. He put his cigarette out in a bucket of sand that had been placed there for that purpose. The person who washed his clothes had gotten tired of discovering that he had left cigarette butts in the back pocket of his pants.

"Should I be concerned?" Patrick asked while William led him back to the house.

Dale put an arm around Patrick and asked, "Have we ever tricked you?"

"Uh, yes."

William winked at Dale and said, "Then I guess you should be concerned."

-------

Standing at the buffet, William was busy loading a plate with food. He was pretty impressed with the spread that Peter had managed to put together for this party. He looked at the little handmade miniature tacos and took a couple of them. He scooped a small serving of refried beans on the plate. Next to the refried beans were the miniature enchiladas.

A very large man with his hair braided down to the middle of his back approached William. There was a large feather in his braid. He stopped a few steps away from William and waited for the young man to notice him. It was a minute before William noticed him and, somewhat embarrassed, said, "I'm sorry, Daniel Coyote Paw. I didn't see you there. Am I in your way?"

"No, Talks With Animals. I have come to talk with you," Daniel said. For such a large man, he felt very nervous approaching William.

"Ah. Well, grab a plate and load up with some of this food. We can talk while filling our stomachs," William said. He looked over at the small tortilla topped with beans, lettuce, and cheese. Excited he said, "Look at that! He even made miniature tostadas!"

"Interesting," Daniel said while grabbing a plate. He had actually expected fancier food than what was being served, but on looking around he realized that the teenagers were really going wild over the selection.

"It took me thirty minutes to decide between the Taco Hut, the Burger Burner, and the Squid Shack. I decided that I'd do them all," William said looking down at his plate of food. Looking over at Daniel he added, "When I'm done with that, I'm going to hit the Dairy Bar and have one of those Banana Splits. They've got those little bananas that are about three inches long. There are three small scoops of ice cream -- chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream smothered with crushed pineapple, strawberry topping, and chocolate sauce. It is then totally smothered with whipped cream and cherries on top."

Daniel looked at William for a second and then put a couple of the small tacos on his plate. He figured that was enough to be polite, although the Banana Split did sound good. He said, "Maybe I'll get one after I eat a bit more."

William looked at Daniel's plate and asked, "Is that all you're getting?"

"For now," the man answered realizing that the small plate in his large hands looked a little ridiculous.

"Let's go over there where it is a little quieter and you can tell me what you want to discuss," William said indicating a table that was a little off to the side by pointing to it with his nose.

Daniel followed William to the table and sat down after William took a seat. He said, "I want to thank you for throwing this graduation party. It was very kind of you to think of our children like that."

"It was my pleasure. They are a good group of kids," William said. He bit into one of the miniature tacos, taking half of it in one bite.

Daniel was finding it harder to get to the reason he had sought out William than he had anticipated. He blurted out, "My oldest daughter is having a baby and we'd like you to preside at the naming ceremony."

"Okay," William said. He eyed the rest of his taco. Before putting it in his mouth, he asked, "When and where?"

"Uh, the baby hasn't been born yet. We are expecting her to have it around the eighth of June," Daniel said.

William pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. When Barbara answered, he said, "Hello, Barbara. This is William. Could you pencil in a hold on the week before and after the eighth of June? Mark it naming ceremony."

Barbara hadn't believed William when he said that he expected to get asked to do some things around the Reservation, but had stayed at her desk late that night just in case. She penciled the request into the calendar and asked, "Can't you be a little more specific?"

"Can't do it until the baby is born," William answered. He laughed and said, "Babies tend to have minds of their own concerning when that occurs."

"Okay. Consider the time reserved for a naming ceremony," Barbara said.

"Thanks. You're really great for ruining your evening on my behalf," William said before hanging up. Turning to Daniel, he said, "Got it marked in my calendar."

"Thank you, Talks With Animals."

"Please, call me William." He bit into one of the miniature Tostadas with a smile.

"Thank you, William," Daniel said. It was hard to believe that William had actually agreed to perform the naming ceremony. He said, "My grandchild will be truly blessed to have you at the naming ceremony."

William smiled and said, "You're grandchild is already blessed."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the grandfather," William answered.

-------

Supervising the service at all of the serving stations, Peter watched William take another trip to the buffet. This time he was going after the Fish and Chips. He'd never seen William that excited about food. Shaking his head, he said, "I can't believe it."

Standing next to Peter, Lucy smiled at the Chef and said, "I told you he'd like the fast food theme."

"I can't believe it."

Lucy said, "You do know that he was upset that we wouldn't serve hamburgers from a Burger Burner at our wedding reception?"

"You're kidding?"

"Nope. Everyone in his family objected to it," Lucy said with a smile.

"I'm stunned."

Lucy looked over at Peter and said, "You serve food like this on occasion and you'll have a friend for life. The nearest Burger Burner is an hour away. I'm not even sure where the nearest Squid Shack is."

"What is a Burger Burner? And a Squid Shack?" Peter asked turning to stare at Lucy. He had never heard of any kind of fast food restaurant with those names.

Lucy laughed and said, "A Burger Burner is a place that sells hamburgers. A Squid Shack is a place that sells fish and chips."

"Oh."

"You're going to have to buy a couple bottles of that Malt Vinegar that they use in the one chain. He really likes that," Lucy said.

"What does he call a pizza place?"

Lucy laughed and answered, "It depends on his mood. Sometimes he calls them Bowel Binders. When he actually wants a pizza, he calls them Leaning Towers."

"Leaning Tower?"

"You know, the leaning tower of Pizza," Lucy said with a laugh at the grimace that flashed across Peter's face. He had really walked into that one.

Peter shook his head in dismay. There were times when dealing with Ed Biggers was easier than dealing with William. At least Ed Biggers appreciated great food. He wasn't sure that William did. He said, "So he really likes fast food."

Lucy looked at Peter for a second and then said, "You have to understand. William was raised eating some of the finest food to come out of American kitchens. He was raised on food prepared by Marguerite. The Druid College has food that is of the same quality as some of the finest restaurants in the country. He isn't impressed by great food. He is attracted to some foods that aren't so great just because it is unique and novel."

Peter was silent for a minute and then asked, "So why am I here?"

"He may not be impressed by great food, but he does appreciate it," Lucy said.

"Why does he make fun of it?"

Lucy looked at Peter for a second. She reached over and grabbed a slice of pizza. Putting it on a plate, she posed and said, "Allow me to present tonight's main dish. It comes all of the way from Italy and has a long distinguished past. There are rumors that Caesar was fed nothing except this dish growing up as a child. He gave credit to this wondrous delicacy for his strength of character and leadership qualities. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you — the Pizza."

Blushing at her characterization of his presentation of the meal, Peter said, "I get it."

"Some of us enjoy learning about what we are eating. I know that I enjoy it, but William doesn't. To tell the truth, I don't think you've cooked anything that William hasn't eaten a hundred times before," Lucy said.

-------

Standing apart from the rest of the guests, William pulled out his phone. He dialed a number and waited for Barbara to answer. When she did, he said, "Hello, Barbara. This is William."

"What can I do for you?"

"I'd like it if you could arrange for Patrick to have a tour of the Druid College and to have him fill out an application for admission while he's visiting there," William answered.

"Okay. Doesn't the normal procedure require that the person interested in going there apply first?" Barbara asked.

"Yes, but Oliver will make an exception if you ask him. Oh and ask him to put Patrick up in the first year dorm," William said with a smile.

"Okay," Barbara said.

"I'd also appreciate it if you'd arrange for him go out to the Native American College for a visit. See if you can't get them to have him apply for admission there, too."

"Let me get this straight. You are paying his way to visit both colleges just so that he can fill out applications?" Barbara asked.

"Yes."

Confused, Barbara said, "Isn't the usual process to have them fill out applications and then mail them it?"

"Sure, but there's nothing usual about Patrick," William said. He waved to Dale to get his friend's attention. Once he had it, he gestured for him to come over.

"I'll see what I can do," Barbara answered shaking her head.

"Thanks. You're really a life saver," William said before telling her goodbye and hanging up the phone.

Dale asked, "So did you make the arrangements?"

"Yes, I did. His parents agreed with our plans. I've asked Barbara to arrange visits to the Native American College and the Druid College," William answered with a smile.

"I'd say that our young friend is going to grow up a bit over the next few weeks, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, I would," William answered.

Dale folded his arms and leaned against the wall watching Patrick making jokes with some of his classmates. Soon they would all be graduating high school and getting on with the business of establishing positions in life. He asked, "Which one do you think he'll go to?"

"That's hard to say," William answered turning to watch Patrick. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "I'm not even sure that he'll qualify for the Druid College. He's smart, but is he smart enough?"

"That's a tough question. Any chance they'll bend the rules?"

"Not at all," William answered.

"With Oscar Meyers bringing so much attention to the Druids, it could be a real career maker for him to graduate from the Druid College," Dale said glancing over at William. Seeing the sad expression cross William's face, he decided that it would be best to change the subject. He said, "It's getting late and most of your guests are young. They'll be leaving soon. You might want to make your little speech now."

"Good thinking," William said. He looked over at the Dairy Bar and asked, "Do you think there is enough time to eat a Banana Split before I give the speech?"

"Sure," Dale said with a smile.

-------

It was only 10:30 in the evening when the party came to an end. Despite being a weekend night, many of the students had brought their families and that included younger siblings with early bedtimes. Parents, much to the teenagers' chagrin, insisted that they not overstay their welcome.

Lucy watched as the last of their guests left the house. It was a nice crop of young men and women who had been in William's classes. Like William, she had not had any experience with such a large group of people that age and found their social positioning interesting. It was easy to see why William had seen Patrick as special.

William came up to her and put an arm around her. He said, "I think the party was a success."

"I think so," Lucy said. She looked over at William and rubbed a spot where a little ice cream had fallen onto his shirt. Grinning, she asked, "Did you have enough to eat?"

"Yes. That was a great buffet," William answered without embarrassment.

"I noticed that you made trips to the Burger Burner, Taco Hut, and Squid Shack stands," Lucy said.

"I've got to say that Peter did a rather spectacular job of recreating the kind of food that you get at those places," William said. He had eaten enough to worry about getting a stomach ache.

"Yes, he did," Lucy said. She asked, "So did you get many requests?"

"Yes. I was asked to perform a naming ceremony and to officiate a wedding. We also got an invitation to a surprise retirement party for Chief Robert White Feather," William said.

"He's stepping down from being a tribal Chief?" Lucy asked surprised by the reason for the party.

"No. He's stepping down as Chief of the Tribal Police," William corrected with a smile.

"Oh, I didn't realize that," Lucy said.

"My uncle should have retired years ago," William said. He knew that it was going to be hard for his uncle to accept being retired. After a full and active life, sitting around the house was going to be impossible so he and Dale had been working to find something to occupy his uncle's time.

"What is he going to do?"

"Dale and I are trying to get him to teach some of the middle aged men of the tribe a bit more about the old ways. A lot of them had turned their backs on our culture and now regret their decision to do so," William said.

"Do you think he'll go along with the idea?" Lucy asked.

William smiled and said, "We are making it very difficult for him to resist by putting it in the context of it being for the good of the tribe. Uncle Robert has a very strong sense of tribal loyalty."

"That's good," Lucy said. Curious, she asked, "What about Patrick?"

"It is interesting that you brought that up. He was complaining earlier today about never having had a chance to leave the Reservation. Dale and I took care of that complaint, although Patrick doesn't know it yet," William answered.

"You didn't?"

"Yes, we did."

"The First Year Dorm?"

William smiled and nodded his head. He answered, "We'll see if Oliver will let him stay there."

"That's cruel," Lucy said. She could imagine poor Patrick entering the first year dorm and discovering that he was surrounded by naked men and women. The young man would die of embarrassment.

"Dale and I discussed the matter a long time. We felt that Patrick is going to have a great future, but he needs to grow up a little. We'd like it if he went to the Druid College for two years and then finish at the Native American College. It would help define his sense of right and wrong while putting him in touch with his culture," William said.

"Why are you doing this for him?" Lucy asked.

"He's a friend. You help friends grow into better people," William answered.



-------

Chapter 20


The tension in the air felt like the beginning of a thunderstorm. The family members sat around the hotel room looking at each other; none of them were able to conceal emotions they felt. The muscles in his face pulsed as Ed Biggers clenched and unclenched his jaw in anger. Terrified at what was going to happen next, Linda and Kelly were sitting as far back in their chairs as possible. Leroy and Dan looked at the door wondering if there was any excuse that would allow them to leave the room. Claire was staring at William wondering if he had suddenly become suicidal.

Ling glared at William unable to believe what her son had just said to her. Crossing her arms, she asked, "Are you fool enough to repeat that?"

"I am not a fool, but what I said bears repeating. You are out of control," William said looking at his mother. When she started to rise out of her chair, he added, "If my father were alive, he would be very unhappy with you at the moment. You push the rules to their very limits. One day you will cross the line and Daddy Ed will be forced to kick you out of the family."

"He wouldn't do that," Ling said dropping back into her seat while glancing at Ed. Seeing the anger on his face, some of her anger had been suddenly replaced by doubt.

In a tight controlled voice, Ed said, "Yes, I would. While your behavior in San Francisco could be called self defense, you could have chosen to fight your way out rather than fight to be the last one standing."

"You are teaching Betsy to resolve her problems with the same lack of restraint. She's in trouble now and it could get worse," William said jabbing a finger in the direction of his mother. Kelly and Linda held their breaths expecting an explosion any minute.

"She's young and exuberant," Ling said in defense of Betsy's actions.

"That's not an excuse," Ed shouted. He took a deep breath to calm down. Once he had control over his emotions, he gestured in the direction of William. He said, "William is probably more dangerous than any one of us, but he's never gotten into trouble with the law. He stays well away from that line of bullying people into changing their behavior from harmful to helpful. You bullied his bodyguards into accepting marriage as a partnership that can include more than a couple."

"Look, they are physical kind of people. They know how to take a blow. We were just talking in a language that we all understood," Ling said crossing her arms.

William shook his head in disappointment despite the fact that he had known the bodyguards wouldn't have let the problem escalate out of their control. He rose from his chair. Turning to his mother, he said, "You don't get it. My father was not afraid to use force, but only in response to force. John Carter fought evil, not bad attitude. Your first response to any challenge is to use intimidation and, if that fails, force. That is wrong."

"My willingness to use force has saved lives," Ling said.

"And put lives in jeopardy," William replied.

"Whose life did I put in jeopardy?" Ling asked.

"Betsy's life," Ed answered. He glared at her; daring her to disagree. When she looked like she was about to say something, he added, "That little stunt with the gang leaders could have escalated into violence. Walking into their den and challenging them like that has to be the most stupid thing I've ever heard you do."

Ling paled at Ed's admission that he knew about her little visits to the gangs. She had hoped that he wouldn't learn about them. Rather than admit that she had used bad judgment she said, "We could have handled any problem that came up."

"It doesn't require skill to kill someone, only luck. There were more than enough guns there that one person could have gotten lucky. Rather than being here to watch our daughter go to trial for sexual assault, we would have been here visiting her grave," Ed answered. He had just learned about what Claire, Ling, and Betsy had done in San Francisco and was still furious about it.

The reminder of why they were all sitting around in a hotel room in San Francisco caused Lucy to look at her watch. Seeing that it was getting close to the time when they had to leave, she said, "It is time that we went to court."

"I'll get Betsy," Ling said and stomped out of the room.

-------

The hallway outside the courtrooms was crowded with people. Some had finished their business with the court and were discussing the consequences of the actions that had occurred inside. Others were waiting their turn with the judicial process. All kinds of cases were pending; most were minor, but a few were serious.

The tension among the members of the Carter Clan had broken them into little groups. Betsy, Ling, and Claire were together talking about the likely outcome of the case. Ling and Betsy were upbeat, but Claire looked worried. She knew that a judgment against Betsy would have long term consequences.

Kelly, Lucy, Ed, and William were gathered together discussing the likely outcomes of the case as well. William and Ed were both worried that no matter what was decided that the result would not be good. Lucy and Kelly were trying to deflect the men's concerns.

Linda, Dan, and Leroy were watching the two groups from a small distance away. They were not so worried about Betsy, but they were worried about the family as a whole. The discussion in the hotel room had not been pleasant. They were worried that Ed might find it necessary to kick Ling out of the family. It would require a majority of the family to agree to the action, but they doubted they would stand in the way if things escalated to the point where Ed felt it was necessary to take action. He wouldn't do it unless Ling did something really bad.

Unaware of the tension among the family, Betsy's lawyer walked down the hallway with a smile on his face. He stopped in front of Ed and said, "They dropped the charges."

"Why?"

"The victim refused to testify," the lawyer answered pleased that he had represented his client well. He had been pretty confident that the man wouldn't want to testify that a young girl had stuck her thumb up his ass. He had dropped hints that he would use the standard rapist justification that the man had been asking for it.

On hearing the news, Betsy jumped up and down. Excited, she said, "See, I told you it would all work out in the end."

William frowned at hearing his sister's comment. Ling said, "I knew you'd be okay. You did the right thing with that man. I would have probably hurt him a little more than you did, but you did good."

Giving a little victory dance, Betsy said, "You're always right, Momma. Maybe next time I'll squeeze the balls a little harder."

Glancing over at Ed, Lucy could see that he was about to explode. She put a hand on William's arm and looked at his face. His eyes had narrowed to thin slits. Speaking to no one in particular, she whispered, "This isn't good."

Taking a deep breath, William turned to face the two happy women. In a voice that brought chills to their spine, he said, "Momma Ling. Betsy. I am disgusted with you both. You are celebrating that you got away with using your strength to harm a weak man. You are celebrating the fact that you've violated both rules that John Carter gave his life to teach all of humanity."

Both women turned to stare at William with wide eyes. In a flat voice, he said, "You are banished from my house and my presence for a year. I do not want to see you or have you contact me in any way during that time."

Turning, William walked away leaving a stunned family behind. Lucy quickly caught up to him and took his hand in hers. She had expected to find his hand hard with tension, but the slight squeeze he gave her hand was gentle. He wasn't angry, just very sad.

Linda, Claire, and Kelly stood in the hallway staring at William open mouthed. Claire ran a hand over the swell of her pregnant belly. Even the child she carried had reacted by suddenly becoming perfectly still. She didn't relax until the child kicked her.

Unable to breath, Ling stared at William's retreating back. It felt as if he had managed to hit her in the stomach with a perfectly executed kick. She swayed for a moment and then collapsed to the ground. While Dan and Leroy were surprised by William's action, they were even more surprised by Ling's collapse. Concerned, they knelt down to take care of Ling. She had taken a very nasty fall and cracked her head on the floor. There was a small cut that bled far more than was reasonable.

Tears welled out of Betsy's eyes in response to her brother's actions. The brother that she adored had said she disgusted him. Her happiness at having escaped a trial collapsed into despair. She called out, "William!"

When he didn't turn around, Betsy knelt on the ground sobbing out of control. Her entire body shook. She let loose with a pitiful wail of anguish and curled into a fetal position.

Linda and Claire slowly turned to take care of the distraught young woman. There was no way for the pregnant woman to kneel down next to Betsy. When she started to say that William didn't mean it, Kelly stopped her with a quick wave of her finger.

Looking down at her daughter, Kelly said, "Betsy, you'll see him in a year. Until then, don't bother trying to talk to him. He won't answer your calls or open the door for you."

Ignoring Betsy and Ling, Ed smiled with pride as he watched the young couple leave. While the courts hadn't punished Betsy for her actions, at least William had. He hoped that both women had learned something from his son's actions. He turned to look down at Betsy. In a cold voice, he said, "Remember this day."

Kelly put an arm around Ed. She said, "Let's get a cup of coffee."

"That's a good idea," Ed said after looking down at Ling. Shaking his head, he turned and walked away. William had really done a great service to the family.

Kelly and Ed walked off leaving the rest of the family behind to deal with the two distraught women. Betsy was shocked that they left. It seemed to her that her whole family was abandoning her. Claire said, "I've never seen Ed so angry."

Ed and Kelly left the courthouse holding hands. Kelly said, "I'm proud of William.

"He always has managed to surprise me," Ed said with pride.

"His timing was impeccable," Kelly said. In one masterful stroke, he had ended their celebration of the fact that Betsy had avoided having to take responsibility for her actions. She patted Ed's hand and said, "He's strong enough to see it through."

-------

William and Lucy climbed into the jet and took their seats without saying a word. They hadn't said anything to each other since leaving the courthouse. They had stopped long enough to pack up their clothes and check out of the hotel at which they had been staying. Lucy watched William fiddle with his seatbelt. She said, "You did the right thing."

"Why do I feel so horrible?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and said, "You don't like conflict."

William pulled out his cell phone and dialed the house. When Barbara answered, he said, "Barbara, this is William. For the next year, we are not accepting any calls from Ling or Betsy. Let the bodyguards know that if either one of them shows up at the house that they are to turn them away. If they threaten violence, the bodyguards are not to stop them. I'll take care of that problem."

"Yes, William," Barbara answered. She wondered how the bodyguards would react to that news. The last thing they wanted was to have to face Ling with bad news.

"Thank you, Barbara." William hung up the phone and looked out the window. He sighed and said, "Let's go home."

-------

Claire and Dan sat in the stands watching Betsy run around the track at the university. A significant sized crowd had gathered to watch her run. The young woman had been running all out for five hours. Even after living around Betsy for so many years, Claire couldn't believe that anyone could run with that kind of energy non-stop for so long. She looked over at Dan and said, "She's really upset."

"William's rejection really hurt her," Dan said.

Claire felt a rather unpleasant twinge in her stomach. She ran a hand over her distended stomach and asked, "What's going to happen when I give birth to the baby?"

"What do you mean?"

"Will William come to see the baby?" Claire asked. She burst into tears at the idea of not being surrounded by the family when she gave birth. Nothing was working out the way she had planned.

"I'm sure he will," Dan said hugging her.

There was another unpleasant twinge of pain in her stomach. Frowning, Claire said, "I think I have heartburn or something. I keep getting these little spasms in my tummy."

"Uh, are you sure that it is heartburn?" Dan asked.

"Yeah," Claire said dismissive of his concern. She watched as Betsy flew past. There were tears running down the young woman's face. Shaking her head, she said, "She's still crying."

"I know," Dan said. He put an arm around Claire and hugged her close in an attempt to comfort her.

"I wonder how much longer Ling will stay locked in her bedroom," Claire said. William's words to his mother had shaken everyone to the core with the exception of Ed and Kelly. She assumed that it was a Druid thing on their part. It was obvious that they were clearly on William's side in this argument.

"I don't know," Dan said. He felt Claire flinch in his arms.

"Uh, I don't think this is heartburn," Claire said clutching her stomach.

-------

Propped up with pillows, Claire held the tiny infant in her arms. Staring down at the baby, she said, "It's a boy."

"What are you naming him?" William asked. He held out a finger and watched as the baby grasped it. He smiled at the intense look of effort on the infant's face.

"Michael," she answered with a smile. There were already too many males named John and Ed in the family.

"Ah, you decided to name him after your grandfather," William said glancing over at Claire. The infant pulled on his finger to regain William's attention. Lucy watched in disbelief at the interaction between William and the baby.

Claire was surprised that William knew her grandfather's name. She asked, "Did you ever meet my grandfather?"

"No. I never had that pleasure," William said. He waved a free finger to and fro in front of the infant's face watching as the eyes tracked the movement. He grinned and said, "You can expect great things from Michael. He's a smart one."

"As smart as you?" Claire asked.

"I don't know, but he's plenty smart," William answered.

Kelly asked, "When are you going to make us grandmothers?"

Surprised by the question, Lucy exclaimed, "What!"

"When are you going to have a baby?" Kelly asked, rephrasing her previous question. It seemed to her that she was never going to become a grandmother. None of the other kids were even making sounds like they were going to have children.

Lucy looked over at William for a second before she answered, "We've talked about it a little, but we haven't come to a decision."

Smiling, Claire said, "Talking doesn't make a baby. Making love makes a baby."

William snapped a finger as if realizing something important and said, "That's what we've been doing wrong. We've been talking too much."

Lucy smiled at her husband before she asked, "Do you mean that we were supposed to be doing something while talking about love?"

"Yes, it appears so," William answered.

Claire and Kelly laughed at the exchange between the young couple. After the laughter died down, Kelly asked, "I'm serious. Are you considering having a baby anytime soon?"

"Well, not within the next nine months," William answered winking at Lucy.

"Right. It takes that long to hatch a baby," Lucy said.

"Hatch a baby?" Claire asked surprised at how Lucy had phrased her answer.

"Sure. My mom told me all about the birds and the bees. Baby birds come from eggs after Daddy Birdie and Mommy Birdie get married," Lucy answered. She posed with a finger to her chin for a second while looking thoughtful and then added, "That's right. First the Daddy Birdie and the Mommy Birdie get married, then they have the baby bird."

"Ah, that it explains it," William said.

Kelly looked at William for a second. She tried to resist the temptation, but it was impossible. Dreading what she was going to learn, she asked, "Explains what?"

"I always wondered where the stork entered the picture. Of course, that doesn't explain the cabbage patch," William said straight faced. He turned to look at Lucy and asked, "Why does the stork leave the baby in a cabbage patch?"

"Economics," she answered.

Laughing, Claire asked, "Economics?"

"Sure, cabbage is such a horrible vegetable that the only way to convince people to grow it is for the storks to leave the baby there," Lucy answered.

"Eureka! That's what is missing from our economics model," William said pointing up in the air with a finger. Little Michael made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

Surprised by the noise, Claire looked down at the baby. Smiling, she said, "You're already giving the baby a sick sense of humor."

Everyone in the room laughed. William reached out and touched Claire on the side of her face. In a soft voice, he said, "We had better go. I'm pretty sure that Ling and Betsy want a chance to see Michael."

"You don't have to leave," Claire said.

"Yes, I do," William replied. He turned and faced Dan. Taking the man's hand, he said, "Congratulations on the birth of your son."

"Thank you, William," Dan said pleased that William had traveled there to see the baby. There had been a time when he had been very uncomfortable around William.

"We'd better go. I'm sure that Ling and Betsy are about to go crazy," William said. He looked over at Lucy and gestured towards the door. She nodded her head and took his hand in hers. Together they left the room.

Outside the waiting room, they paused for a second and listened through the door. Lucy tugged his hand and the pair walked past the door. Halfway down the hall, Lucy said, "Betsy is still crying."

"I know," William said with a frown.

"She's devastated," Lucy said.

"It is for the best. Betsy needed to learn restraint. Momma Ling needed to see what she was doing to Betsy. They may be hurting, but surgical procedures to remove cancerous growths are not without pain," William said.

"You didn't remove a cancerous growth," she said looking at him. She viewed what he had done was to teach them both an important lesson. She added, "You taught her an important lesson."

"It wasn't a lesson that I taught. I removed a cancer from her spirit that would have eaten away everything that was good within her. She'll be a much healthier person as a result," William replied. He paused and looked back down the hallway. Sighing, he added, "I wish it didn't hurt so much."

Lucy said, "You did the right thing."

"Knowing that doesn't make it any easier."



-------

Chapter 21


William's fingers flew across the keyboard of his computer. The world had collapsed down to him, the keyboard, and the monitor. His focus on what he was doing was absolute. He had been working like that for almost eighteen hours straight. His eyes widened a little on seeing the result of his query on the screen. His fingers tapped out the next command and he watched the screen as numbers scrolled past almost too fast for the eyes to follow. William was in the grove and it all made sense to him.

The final line showed up on the monitor and William smiled at the result. A couple of keystrokes later and the program ran again. He sat back and watched the screen smiling like a maniac. It was the perfect time for him to let loose a maniacal laugh, but the thought didn't even cross his mind.

Seated at her desk, Lucy watched him from across the room. She had gone to bed and gotten up early to find that he had never come to bed that night. On entering their workroom, she could tell that he was in the zone and working at an incredibly productive rate. Rather than risk interrupting his concentration, she had slipped over to her desk and watched. It was amazing to watch someone who was so involved in the world of ideas. She understood. There were times when she lived in that same world.

William tapped a few keys and the results were copied into a spreadsheet. A minute later the printer started churning out pages. He rolled his chair across the room and picked up the first few pages disgorged by the printer. He looked at it and nodded his head. Unaware that he had an audience, he said, "Excellent."

"What?" Lucy asked seeing that he had returned from that magical world where one could occasionally swim with ideas.

"I've finished predicting all of the winners of the next election," William said.

"The election isn't for another month. A lot can happen in a month," she said.

Laughing, William said, "A lot can appear to happen in a month, but the demographics do not lie. Even if one of these candidates dies a week before the election, the results won't change."

"The polls tell a different story," Lucy said.

"The polls tell the transient story of what people are saying. What they do is far different than what they say," William countered.

"I'll accept that in part, but I still think that saying you've predicted the result a month before the election is stretching the truth a little," Lucy said. She knew that his models were getting near the point of completion, but his claim was more than a little extreme.

Leaning back in his chair, William pursed his lips in thought. He held up the papers in his hand and said, "These are my predictions. How about we make a bet?"

"What kind of bet?" Lucy asked knowing that William wasn't the type to gamble.

"I bet that I get every election correct that is on these pages," William said.

"Every election?" Lucy asked incredulously. She'd be a fool to pass up a bet like that.

"I'm talking about every election at the state and national level. That's every state legislative seat, every gubernatorial seat, and every congressional seat that is up for grabs. That's over five hundred elections. I'm saying that I have predicted who won each and every one of them. If that isn't enough, I'll add in a few mayors of large cities," William said looking at Lucy.

"Don't worry about the mayors," Lucy said studying William trying to decide if he was bluffing. She took a deep breath and asked, "What will you give me if I win the bet?"

"What would you like?" William asked.

"That's a tough question."

"Why?"

"You already give me everything that I want," Lucy answered with a smile. It was the truth. She couldn't think of anything that she wanted that he wouldn't give her anyway.

A very short discussion followed in which the stakes of the bet were laid out. Once they had agreed on terms, Lucy said, "Now get something to eat and go to bed."

"Yes, Lucy," William said with a grin. He collected the papers from the printer and rolled his chair back to his desk. He squared the papers into a neat stack and set it on his desk.

-------

Word of the bet leaked out, although the exact details were unknown to anyone other than William and Lucy. While the staff knew the bet was about the upcoming elections, that didn't prevent them from speculating on the stakes. Barbara and Sandra were convinced that if Lucy lost, she would end up in bed with one of them while William watched the action. Of course, Barbara and Sandra disagreed on which one of them would be the bed partner.

The great question was what William had at stake. Speculation about what William had to do ran from the mundane to the bizarre. Side bets were placed suggesting that William would have to serve Lucy breakfast in bed for a month, take her to a dance, or serve as her sex slave for a night.

Just because the staff didn't know the details of the stakes, that didn't prevent them from teasing the young couple. Many of the teases were intended to identify the stakes. When Barbara had suggested to Lucy that after losing the bet that Sandra would enjoy having sex with her and William, Lucy had blushed and shaken her head. She had laughed when Sandra had suggested the same thing only involving Barbara. William had gotten similar taunts although they were more of a wink-wink, nudge-nudge variety.

Peter, the chef, was halfway convinced that William would have to cook a dinner for everyone if he lost the bet. When he had asked William about it, William had asked how he liked his lizard cooked. Halfway convinced that William was serious, Peter had shaken his head and stomped off with William's laughter ringing in his ears. After that little exchange, Peter hoped that William won the bet.

On the day of the election everyone in the household was glued to the television watching the election results. It wasn't that anyone was really interested in the outcome of most of the races, but they were interested in the outcome of the bet. The home theatre had turned into a party of sorts with pop corn, theatre candies, and soft drinks.

On many of the elections, it looked like William was wrong until the last few districts turned the numbers around. Lucy checked off one election after another amazed at the results. Looking at the last one, she said, "You predicted this election to a tenth of a percent."

"Yes," William said with a smile.

"All of the election results have been within a quarter of a percent," Lucy said looking over some of the final number updates for races that she had already marked.

"That was my margin of error," William said.

"That's ridiculous," Lucy said staring at the printed sheet. She couldn't believe what she was looking at. Shaking her head, she asked, "Did you finish the model?"

"Not yet, but I'm close. This election was basically a simple test of the core sections of the model," William answered.

"I'm still trying to simplify some of the equations," Lucy said looking over at him. There were times when his mind was absolutely fascinating. She wondered how he had managed to achieve such a remarkable result.

"I know. I coded all of those horrible equations. I plan to let the computer crunch away on them once I've settled on the input data," William said. He was pretty sure that when Lucy finished her work that his program would function a million times faster. That kind of performance would be necessary when he tried making long term projections on the social and economic behavior of the country.

Lucy looked up at the screen and saw that William had gotten another race correct. Shaking her head, she marked off the appropriate entry. She asked, "How did you do this?"

"Actually, it was a lot of hard work by Victoria," William answered gesturing to the elderly lady.

Surprised, Victoria looked at William and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I used all of that research on the public perceptions of the candidate's positions on a few key issues to frame voting profiles. Your research was remarkably accurate," William said. Shaking his head in wonder, he said, "I don't think any other person on the planet could have provided me with the data that you managed to collect."

"Thank you," Victoria said feeling pleased at having her hard work recognized.

"Such dedication to shifting out the factual information from so much chaff is a rare quality in any person. I'm lucky to have found you," William said.

"Thank you," Victoria said as a slight blush spread over her face at the praise.

"It is I who has to thank you," William said. He looked over at Lucy and said, "Do you think that Victoria deserves a reward for such dedication?"

Smiling, Lucy answered, "Sure, but what kind of reward would be appropriate?"

"How about a visit to one of the oldest archives in the world?" William asked.

"What archive would that be?" Victoria asked suddenly very interested in the discussion.

"The Pope owes someone I know a very big favor. I'm pretty sure that with his help that we can arrange for you to visit the Vatican Archives," William said. He looked at Victoria to see her reaction. She was staring at him open mouthed.

"Which archives?" Victoria asked hardly able to breath. She was going to die if he answered the Secret Archives.

"The Archivum Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum," William answered. He had already made the call and knew that the visit had been approved.

Others could have been offered riches beyond imagining, but their pleasure wouldn't have been a tenth of what Victoria felt at the idea of visiting the Vatican Archives. Victoria asked, "Who does the Pope owe a favor and why would they arrange for me to visit the Secret Archives?"

"My Grandfather, Reverend Leroy Jones," William answered with a smile.

Lucy smiled as the other women in the room nodded at each other in a knowing fashion. William had just seduced Victoria with her heart's desire. Victoria was staring at William. Her fingers trembled in excitement at the idea of even an hour in the archives. She asked, "When?"

"After the first of the year, you will travel to the Vatican and meet with Cardinal Joseph John Scarlatti. He's an Assistant Archivist and you will work with him cataloging documents that were written between 900 and 1000 AD. They are planning on making more documents available to the scholars," William said.

Victoria let out a long low moan and slumped into her chair. Barbara smiled and turned to Sandra. In a whisper, she said, "I think she just had an orgasm."

"I think you're right," Sandra said. The two women looked at each other for a minute and then broke into laughter.

Another election result was posted and Lucy looked down at the sheet. Puzzled, she said, "What is this? It says that the initial count is for one candidate, but the final count would go to the other candidate."

"Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that one. It is going to be very close. There's one voting district that has always misreported the numbers. Tonight it will look the one candidate will win, but that will change in the morning. There'll be a recount, but the final result will stand," William answered with a smile. He had found that on the night of the election they usually counted the first hundred votes and scaled the results to the total voting count so they could go home early. The next morning they would count all of the votes and report the updated figures.

"I don't believe that," Lucy said. She had been about to concede the bet, but decided to hold off on that for the time being.

"We'll see in the morning," William said.

That little announcement was not greeted with much happiness by the staff in the room. They all looked from one to the other. Finally, Barbara asked, "What are the stakes on this bet?"

William and Lucy winked at each other. Lucy answered, "You won't know until the bet is settled."

Sandra asked, "Oh come on! If you lose, are you going to have a threesome with William and Barbara?"

"If William loses, is he going to cook a lizard for Peter?" Rudy asked provoking a laugh from everyone with the exception of Peter.

The Chef just grumbled and said, "I hope not."

Cathy looked over at Rudy before she asked, "Is William going to end up being Lucy's sex slave for a night?"

Juanita looked at the normally quiet young woman and then at Rudy. She asked, "Cathy, have you got some hidden desires that Rudy ought to know about?"

Cathy blushed and answered, "No."

"I know all her desires," Rudy said with a grin.

"Are you sure?"

"Um, maybe not," he admitted earning an elbow in the ribs from Cathy.

Juanita said, "Well, I'm positive that William will be taking Lucy out dancing if he loses."

Amanda asked, "Why do you say that?"

"No one has ever seen William dance," Juanita answered.

"I know I haven't," Amanda said pointing to her cheap sunglasses. Everyone laughed at the obvious joke. She turned her head in Lucy's direction and asked, "Has he ever taken you dancing?"

"Does the horizontal tango count?"

"No," Juanita said.

"In that case, I'd have to say we've never gone dancing," Lucy said. She looked puzzled for a second and then turned to face William. More curious than upset, she asked, "Why is that?"

"I don't know," William said shrugging his shoulders. He asked, "Do you want me to take you dancing?"

"Sure," she answered.

"I'll take some lessons and then we'll go dancing," William said. If Lucy wanted to go dancing, they would go dancing.

Juanita sat back in her chair and said, "I guess that wasn't the bet."

"You'll know when the last election result is in," William said.

-------

The tension around the breakfast table was high as the entire staff waited for William and Lucy to make their appearance. Victoria had a paper with all of the election results on it and had checked it against the predictions made by William. They knew the outcome of the bet.

William and Lucy walked into the dining room holding hands. After taking their seats and filling their cups with coffee from the carafe, William asked, "Did you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?"

"Yes. Do you want to know the results of the election?" Victoria asked holding up her printout.

Lucy and William shared a smile. Lucy answered, "After breakfast. I'd hate to have to settle the bet on an empty stomach."

"Same here," William said just in time for Peter to deliver waffles to the young couple.

The entire staff groaned at the news. For the next forty-five minutes, Lucy and William made a great production out of eating their breakfast. William had spent almost ten minutes asking detailed questions about the waffles and their history. When he had started asking about the kind of vanilla extract Peter had used in their preparation, Peter finally said, "Enough with the questions. It's time to settle the bet!"

William and Lucy burst out into laughter. Finally, William asked, "So who won the bet?"

"You did," Victoria answered.

"Ah," William said. He turned to Lucy and said, "I guess it is time for you to pay up."

"Here? In front of everyone?" she asked.

"Yes," William answered. He turned to face Lucy.

Everyone leaned forward wondering what Lucy was going to do. They all held their breath as she delivered a kiss. Sitting back, she asked, "Was that satisfactory?"

"Very," William answered to a very quiet room.

Unable to believe what she had seen, Barbara asked, "Was that it? You bet a kiss?"

"Yes," Lucy answered.

"What would William have done if you had won?"

"I would have kissed her," William answered with a smile.

Peter left the room mumbling, "At least it didn't involve having to eat lizard."

Sandra was shaking her head and asked, "Do you mean I lost sleep last night over a kiss?"

-------

Lucy and William were alone in their office. Lucy looked at the sheet of paper and said, "That was an amazing accomplishment."

"I've still got to double check the precinct by precinct numbers," William said.

"Still, all of the races predicted to within a quarter of a percentage point. That's an incredible result," Lucy said. She stared at the equations on the wall thinking about the kind of power that being able to make predictions like that could produce. She said, "I have to know how you did it."

"It was actually a lot easier than it sounds. I looked at population densities and mapped that to voter preferences. Less dense populations tend to be more conservative than highly dense populations. The trick is establishing where the population break points are. That is, determining at what population density the voters swing from conservative to liberal. That point depends how on far the population is from a major population center and how each candidate is perceived by the population," William answered.

"I'm not sure that I follow," Lucy said frowning at the overly simplistic explanation.

William turned to the computer and pulled up a voting district by voting district map of New York State. Each voting district had an associated average population per square mile notation next to it. In addition, it had a distance to a key population center. William pointed to the two numbers. He explained, "These two numbers influence local attitudes towards government and social programs. When the population density is low and the distance from a major population center is high, then people tend to trust the government, but are against big social programs. When the density is high and the distance from a major population center is low, then people tend to favor big social programs, but distrust the government."

"I'm not sure that I believe that," Lucy said.

"Look. If you live in a high density area, you must rely upon government services and social programs. You can't go out in your backyard and burn your trash when there are thousands of people around you doing the same thing. It just doesn't work. So you rely upon trash collectors, fire departments, and police forces to maintain order. Of course, you don't want them to be too intrusive in your life, so you don't trust them.

"In a low population density area, the trash collector isn't going to drive fifteen miles out to your place to pick up your trash. You have to take care of it yourself and tend to underestimate the need for such government services. Government is basically local, small, and transparent. You know the people in office. You trust them because the government isn't intrusive in your life.

"The two extremes have very different perspectives on what is necessary from their government. They vote based on those perspectives. Intermediate population densities have perspectives that tend to grow more in favor of positions taken within the highly dense population areas when they are close to urban areas. Again, there is a slight difference in the government services they expect."

"So how did you predict the outcome of the election?" Lucy asked fascinated by William's explanation.

"Simple, for each voting district I created a voting profile based on those two numbers: the population density and the distance from a population center. I placed each candidate on a spectrum between the two extreme positions based on the popular perception of their stand on the issues. I then applied the voting profile for each district to the candidates based on that classification. I summed the predicted votes across all precincts to get a final number. In essence, I simulated the election," William said.

"That is amazing," Lucy said. This result rivaled his ability to predict the future before he had lost his foresight. She wondered how he would have done with his gift to see the future added to the set of equations he had developed. She knew that he wouldn't abuse the power that the combination would give him, but that wouldn't hold true for anyone else. The thought of what someone else would do with that power was frightening.

"Yes, it worked just as I thought it would."



-------

Chapter 22


The number of bodyguards in the Las Vegas area was at a record high. People who had worked with Natalie, Nicole, Rock, and Colt had flown in from all around the country to attend the wedding. Nowhere was this more obvious than in the exercise room of the hotel in which the wedding guests were staying. The exercise room had attracted a large number of women who were watching the men work out. As one young lady said, "Why pay for tickets to see nearly naked women performing on a stage when there's a whole room full of hunky men here for the picking?"

A small group of very large men is not all that unusual in Las Vegas, but when a hundred or more gather it is noticed. When it reaches several hundred, people really notice. It was also quite easy to observe that they weren't your typical bodybuilder types. The men moved with too much alertness of their surroundings. Often they greeted each other with terrifying displays of aggression until they broke out in laughter. Bodybuilders looked big, but these men looked intimidating.

The most dangerous looking men weren't the big ones whose presence was usually sufficient to prevent trouble. The smaller men tended to be the specialists and they were usually brought in long after trouble had developed. Their demeanor was much more threatening since their jobs involved a lot more danger than guarding some celebrity.

Not all of the bodyguards were men, just the majority of them. With so much testosterone gathered in one place, single women were frequently propositioned. For the most part, the attention was flattering. The women who weren't flattered were quickly ignored as the men turned their attention to those who would be flattered.

Lucy was seated at the blackjack table staring at her cards. She had fourteen in her hand and the dealer had a ten showing. She scratched the table and watched as the dealer set down a jack. Shaking her head, she watched as the dealer collected her five dollar bet. Replacing her bet for the next hand, she said, "This is not good at all."

At the table with Lucy were three men who were attending the wedding. They didn't know Lucy, but were definitely interested in getting to know her. In an attempt to impress her with their machismo, one of the men said, "Without Ling here, who would you say is the most dangerous person in town?"

"I don't know. I guess that would be Dexter," one of the other men answered. Dexter was a specialist who helped retrieve abductees.

"It could be Big Mike," the third man said gesturing to the first man who had spoken.

Watching the dealer clear the table after turning over the bottom card and revealing a King, Lucy said, "Nope. You're both wrong."

The first man asked, "Oh, are you in the business?"

"Nope, I'm one of the protected rather than a protector," Lucy answered.

That little piece of information surprised the men and they all turned to look at her. It seemed obvious to them that she was impressed with the services of her bodyguard. The first one to speak said, "So I take it your bodyguard is the most dangerous one here?"

"Nope," Lucy answered smiling as the dealer laid an ace in front of her.

"Then who is the most dangerous man here?"

"My husband," Lucy answered frowning when the dealer laid a second ace on her hand. She put out a second chip to split the cards.

Amused, one of the men asked, "Who is your husband?"

From behind them, Claire answered, "He's William Redman Carter."

The men all jumped and turned to look at Claire. Everyone at the table knew who she was and reacted to her sudden appearance. Of course, it was hard to tell if they were more surprised by her presence or the fact that they had been trying to pickup the wife of Ling's son. As one, the three men said, "Hello Claire."

"Hello, Chuck," Claire answered. She looked at the other two men and said, "Hello, Big Mike. Hi Joe."

Lucy groaned when the dealer laid a three and a four on her split aces. It looked like she was going to lose another hand. She turned to Claire and said, "I'm having rotten luck."

Looking over at the hands in front of Lucy, Claire said, "It looks like it."

"I'm glad to see that you could make it," Lucy said.

"Well, Ling was pretty upset that she couldn't attend, but she insisted that I come anyway," Claire said with a shrug of her shoulders. Ling had beaten the stuffing out of a punching bag back at the house when she discovered that William had asked that she not attend the wedding.

"I'm sorry about that, but William is still pretty angry at her," Lucy said.

"It is for the best," Claire said.

"So how is little Michael doing?" Lucy asked.

"He takes after his father," Claire answered. Laughing she added, "He can't get enough of my breasts."

Lucy laughed as the three bodyguards blushed. She said, "That's just because he's male."

"Yeah," Claire said smiling. She looked over at the three men and asked, "So what do you think of Rock and Colt getting married to Nicole and Natalie?"

"It's different, but they've been a team for so long that it makes sense," Chuck answered.

Nodding his head in agreement, Joe added, "It would be bad to break up a team like that."

Claire said, "Smart answer."

"Momma didn't raise a cabbage," Chuck answered.

Lucy laughed and said, "I'm going to have to remember that one."

Joe looked at Lucy and said, "So you're William's wife."

"Yes, I am," Lucy answered groaning as the dealer took her money. She shoved another bet out and said, "I want a winner this hand."

The dealer smiled and spent a minute cleaning up her money tray. William came up behind Lucy and said, "Master Fong has agreed to spar with me. Do you want to go with me to watch?"

Turning to look at William, Lucy said, "No. I think I'll stay here and lose some more money if that is all right with you."

William smiled and said, "Keep your losses to under your allowance."

"I'll try," Lucy replied. Her debit card still had a balance of over twelve million dollars. She'd make more in interest that day than she could lose at the five dollar table even if she spent the entire day there. She smiled at him and said, "Have fun beating up Master Fong."

"I will," he said with a smile. After a few more minutes of small talk, he left for the Dojo of Master Fong.

The bodyguards at the blackjack table looked at each other for a second. Chuck said, "There's no way I'm missing that."

The bodyguards left the table. One of them called out to a friend who was seated at another table, "William Redman Carter is going to spar with Master Fong at his dojo."

From around the casino, several dozen people all got up from their tables. Many of them left their bets. Noticing the mass exodus toward the doors, the blackjack dealer asked, "What's going on?"

Claire settled into one of the recently vacated chairs and answered, "William is going to spar with Master Fong. It should be a pretty good show."

Lucy looked down at her cards and sighed. She shook her head and said, "Another fourteen."

Claire laughed and said, "You have to hit a fourteen."

"I know the odds and they ain't good," Lucy said provoking a laugh from Claire. She indicated a hit and groaned when the dealer gave her another face card.

Claire asked, "So how are things at home?"

"They are okay. William's still a little upset about Betsy and Ling," Lucy answered replacing her bet.

"You should see Betsy and Ling," Claire said.

"We heard Betsy at the hospital. She was still crying," Lucy said.

Nodding, Claire said, "You know what? I think William did exactly the right thing. Even I could see that Ling has been a little overboard lately. She wasn't helping Betsy with her take no prisoners attitude."

"Yes, I know."

"William was the only one who could put a stop to it," Claire said.

"Believe me when I say that he did not enjoy it," Lucy said. She watched the dealer give her a pair of tens. She smiled and said, "At last, I have a good hand."

Claire looked down at her hand and saw that she had nineteen. Smiling, she waved off another card. Lucy did the same. The dealer turned over her hole card and showed that she had a sixteen. She dealt herself a five.

Lucy stared at the hand and said, "This is not good."

"What are you doing at the five dollar table? Why aren't you over at the hundred dollar table?" Claire asked.

"I'm only playing against the interest that I'll earn today from my allowance money," Lucy answered. She shoved another five dollar bet out and said, "I've got about another three hundred hands to lose before I have to quit."

Claire laughed and pushed a green chip out. She said, "I'm going to have to lose at a little fast rate than that. Michael will be getting hungry soon."

"Are you breastfeeding?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, it is a Carter tradition," Claire answered. She wasn't going to mention that it wasn't limited to infants.

The dealer dealt Claire a twelve and Lucy a twenty one. Lucy said, "Finally, I won a hand."

"Lucky you," Claire said groaning as she went bust.

Lucy left the money on the table for the next hand. She asked, "What's it like being a mother?"

"Wonderful," Claire answered.

The women played blackjack for an hour talking about motherhood and other matters of general interest to them both. Lucy broke even while Claire lost five hundred dollars. They each gave the dealer a hundred dollar tip when they left the table.

-------

As was common with group marriages, rather than getting a marriage license the foursome filled out all of the papers necessary to cover each other financially. None of the states recognized group marriages, but they did allow for legal partnerships. The stack of papers included wills that covered inheriting assets, papers of incorporation for dealing with the taxation issues, living wills, and powers of attorney that gave them the ability to make decisions for each other. It was a sizable stack of paperwork that they had to sign.

The papers covered the legal aspects of getting married, but the spiritual aspect was a much more personal matter that was performed very publicly. The hall William had rented was filled to capacity. The guest list was a who's who of the protection industry. To say that the brides were a little overwhelmed by it all would be an understatement.

The Minister, hired to perform the service, was a well known Lesbian who had a reputation for performing services that more conservative Ministers would not. She was willing to accept that a marriage wasn't always between a man and a woman. Sometimes it was between a man and man, a woman and woman, or even a group of people. More conservative Christians often accused her to trying to destroy Christianity from inside through her subversive ideology.

She stood in front of the brides and grooms waiting for them to settle down and take their places. When they had all given her direct eye contact, she took a deep breath. Looking across the room, she said, "We are gathered here to witness these four people declare their love for each other. We should be honored that we have been invited to such a significant event in their lives.

"Love is a powerful force. From love comes the inspiration for magnificent creations like the Taj Mahal. From love comes acts of greatness that echo through the centuries. We respect love and take pleasure in seeing people declare their love for each other. We cry when love is lost. We laugh when love plays.

"Such declarations as we are witnessing here are obvious and public expressions of love, but there are other times when people express their love in purer ways. The partner who nurses their mate to health when they are sick is showing love without expectation of reward. Cooking dinner every night is another way of showing it. Love is often very subtle and easy to over look. On this day, I take the opportunity to remind everyone here to watch for love and learn to recognize it in the little things we do for each other.

"Now some will tell you that Love conquers all. I suppose that many of you think that I, as representative of my God, should tell you that. I can't, because it isn't true. Love is so fragile that neglect can kill it in the same way that neglecting a flower can cause it to wilt and die. It is important to take a moment every day to nurture love so that it can grow and blossom.

"A great storm can tear apart the mightiest oak. In the same way, strong harmful emotions can rend love into a million parts. Hate, jealousy, and anger can destroy love in a minute. Like Humpty Dumpy, it can't be put back together again. I remind you of this because Love has to be protected. Before allowing hate into your hearts, before allowing jealousy to color your world, and before allowing anger to consume you, think of poor delicate little love sitting there unprotected. Don't destroy that fragile flower with the hurricane winds of your savage emotions.

"Marriage is not easy. It is not easy to remember at times that others have needs that must come before your wants. The divorce rate in this country is over fifty percent. That should tell you something about the difficulty of staying married. It is difficult, but not impossible.

"There are four people entering into this marriage. Marriage is hard enough with only two people involved. Four people make it even more difficult to maintain a marriage, but it can be done. We are here today because these four people believe that they have what it takes to make a solid marriage.

"There are only a few things that you have to keep in mind to enable a marriage to last. Remember when times are hard that you are not alone. Accept the support of your mates and allow them to shoulder some of your burden. Remember when times are good that you are not alone. Share the joy that is in your life with your mates. With attention, care, and restraint, Love can grow into a mighty tree.

"When establishing a marriage, vows are exchanged that place walls between the members of the marriage and the rest of the world. This wall is described using words like fidelity and we vow to consider our mates above all others. We vow to protect and support our mates. Too often we hear these words and imagine that they encase us like prison walls.

"The walls erected by these vows are not a prison that keeps you from experiencing life. They are like the walls of a house in which you can retreat and feel safe. The exterior of our house is what keeps all that we value safe. Like every good house, the walls erected by our vows should have doors and windows through which we can experience the rest of the world. A marriage is not a jail cell in which the doors are locked and the windows barred.

"When you exchange your vows remember what it is that you are doing. You are erecting a house in which you can rest, relax, and recover. You are creating a place where you can grow together as human beings. You are creating a shelter into which you can retreat when the storms of bad times come blowing. You are creating a home that you can fill with love."

The Minister paused and looked at the gathered people. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Is there any one here who has just cause that should prevent these four from committing their lives to each other?"

When no one said anything, she turned to face the brides and grooms. Addressing the grooms, she asked, "Do you, Rock and Colt, promise to love, honor and cherish Natalie and Nicole?"

The two men answered, "I do."

"Do you promise to protect and support Natalie and Nicole in good times and in bad?

Again the two men answered, "I do."

"Do you agree to take Natalie and Nicole in holy matrimony?"

For a third time, the two men answered, "I do."

The Minister smiled and looked at the brides. She asked, "Do you, Natalie and Nicole, promise to love, honor, and cherish Rock and Colt?"

The two women answered, "I do."

"Do you promise to protect and support Rock and Colt in good times and in bad?

Again the two women answered, "I do."

"Do you agree to take Rock and Colt in holy matrimony?"

For a third time, the two women answered, "I do."

The Minister paused long enough for everyone to lean forward in anticipation of her next statement. She smiled and said, "I now pronounce the four of you, husbands and wives. You may kiss the brides."

There was a bit of fumbling at the front of the room while Rock and Colt tried to figure out which woman they were supposed to kiss first. One of the guests, a very large bodyguard, seated in the first row said in a voice that was a little louder than intended, "They haven't even been married for a minute and they've forgotten how to kiss."

A ripple of laughter broke out among the witnesses. It was enough for Rock and Colt to get down to the serious business of kissing their wives. As cheers broke out in the room, they switched partners and resumed kissing.

When the foursome marched out of the room, William looked over at Lucy and saw that tears were streaming down her face. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her tears. She was embarrassed about crying, but accepted his attentions. In a soft voice, she said, "That was so lovely."

"Yes, it was," William said, "The Minister did a very fine job."

-------

The reception was held in a large conference room of the casino. In light of the locale, William had arranged for gaming tables to be brought into the room along with fake chips that could be redeemed for gift certificates in the Casino stores. There were blackjack tables, poker tables, and roulette tables. People drifted to the table that interested them rather than being assigned specific spots.

At each table, a dealer stood ready to deal cards. Cocktail waitresses in skimpy outfits carried out drinks to people at the gaming tables. When it was time to eat, they brought the plates of food to those same tables. The guests ate the reception meal while gambling at the tables. The brides and grooms walked around the room talking with their friends.

The guests talked, joked, and laughed so loud that they nearly drowned out the band playing in a corner of the room. As the evening wore on, the volume of the conversations diminished and couples moved to the dance floor. Before long, new, if not more transient, relationships were being established.

Looking around the room at the folks gambling at the tables, Lucy asked, "Isn't this kind of cheesy?"

"Yes it is," William answered with a smile. Pointing to all of the people in the room, he said, "And everyone here is going to remember this day for the rest of their lives. Whenever Colt, Rock, Natalie, or Nicole meets up with one of them, they are going to mention this day. It is cheesy, but that isn't bad."

"You're right," Lucy said. A group at one of the poker tables exploded in a roar. From where she and William were standing, it was hard to tell exactly what happened. Whatever it was, the people were having a good time. She looked over at the dance floor and asked, "Are you ready to take me dancing?"

"I am, but first I should give the toast," William said picking up a glass of champagne and handing it to Lucy. He picked up one for himself.

"I forgot about that," Lucy said.

William moved to where the band was playing and motioned for them to stop. Taking the microphone, he shouted, "Everyone, could I have your attention?"

It took a minute, but people finished their games and turned to look at William. William said, "I'm sorry to hold up your games, but it is time for us to toast the newlyweds."

The room exploded into a minor roar as people yelled and clapped. When the noise died down, William said, "It doesn't matter if you've just drawn a royal flush or have been dealt a blackjack, I can say one thing quite honestly -- you are not as lucky as Rock, Colt, Nicole, and Natalie. You might leave a few chips richer, but they are leaving with each other. Fortune has shined on them today and I know that it will shine on them forever! Here's to the newlyweds!"

Watching William give the toast, Lucy hung back thinking about his behavior the past few days. She was convinced that he had finally learned how to deal with having lost his ability to see the future. He moved easily among the people at the wedding reception; talking and laughing in a natural manner. The strong confident William she had married was back. She raised her glass thinking, 'Fortune has shined on us, too.'



-------

Chapter 23


"Is it working?" Lucy asked watching the array of monitors at William's desk.

Shaking his head, William answered, "I don't know. We've only progressed ten years in the simulation. We've got another ninety to go."

"It's been running for twenty hours," Lucy said looking over at the clock. They had started the program the previous day at noon and it was now just a little after eight in the morning.

"That's right," William said woodenly. His eyes examined the curves of the various plots that appeared on the monitors. They all looked good, but he'd have to run further tests to validate the results.

"That's not good," Lucy commented. Ninety years of simulation time would require another hundred and eighty hours of real time.

"I agree," William said. There was a real sense of sadness to his voice.

"Can't you get a faster computer?" Lucy asked wondering if he was really that upset with the progress that he was making.

"That program is running on a cluster of a hundred computers, each of which is computing a part of the solution. Faster computers aren't going to help much," William said scratching his face.

"I guess I had better finish those transformations," Lucy said turning to look at the whiteboard and the equations scribbled across it.

"The equations are not complete," William said with a sigh.

"What's missing?"

"The rest of the world," William answered. At the moment he was running the simulation against historical data from Europe and Asia. His equations stopped at the borders of the United States. The predictions would start breaking down around World War II when the oil reserves of the Middle East began to have an impact on the international economy.

"Oh," Lucy said wondering why William was sighing so much. She stared at the equations on the board wondering what effect including external influences would have on their behavior. Although she could visualize the behavior of individual equations well enough, the total model was too complex for her to handle.

"Right. Oh," William said in disgust.

"Are you going to give up?" Lucy asked confused by his mood that morning. Something wasn't right and she suspected that it had nothing to do with the computer program.

"No," William said, "I'll have to make some approximations of the original set of equations and use them to predict behaviors overseas. It won't be accurate, but it'll be good enough for simple look-a-heads using the model."

"That's not good," Lucy said, "The program is going to take a week to simulate a single year."

"I know," William said playing with a pencil. He threw it on the desk in disgust at another setback in his work. He wasn't even going to mention the difficulties of including social unrest overseas dragging America into wars.

"What are you going to do?" Lucy asked.

"I'm going to visit the Druid College," William answered looking over at the calendar.

Nodding her head, Lucy said, "That's a good idea. I wouldn't have thought of getting some of the students there to work on it."

"That's not why I'm going," William said. There was a disturbing flatness to his voice.

"Why?"

In a voice filled with sadness, William said, "It is time."

"Time for what?"

William didn't answer. A single tear rolled down his cheek. Lucy looked at him and felt her heart break. There was only one other reason for him to go to the Druid College and that was the Carter Glade. All of a sudden the reason for his mood became obvious. She reached over and hugged him. There weren't words to express what she felt.

-------

Barbara stared at William. He had taken her completely by surprise. It wasn't just the nature of the request, but the intensity with which it was delivered. It took her a minute to recover and then she asked, "Do you know how much it will cost to rent a 727 for a month just to have it sit on the tarmac everyday except for three flights?"

"No and I don't care. I just want it done," William answered. He leaned forward and said, "I also want a briefcase with a hundred thousand dollars on the plane, three floors of a hotel in Bermuda reserved for an entire month, an additional ten bodyguards sent there, and the house in Pennsylvania cleaned from top to bottom."

Barbara wrote down the instructions; her hand nearly cramping while trying to keep up with the speed at which he was delivering instructions. She didn't know if she could accomplish all of that within twenty-four hours. Looking up from her pad, she asked, "Anything else?"

"I want you to arrange some calls for me. I need to talk to my grandfather, Oliver, Jennifer, and the Guardian Angels," William said.

"What's happening?" Barbara asked. The list of people to call was beginning to make her wonder if something had happened to Oscar Meyers.

Shaking his head, William said, "You'll know soon enough."

"If I know what is happening, then I can perhaps make some suggestions," Barbara said watching William shift uncomfortably in his chair.

Looking around, he thought about it. Shaking his head, he said, "I thought I had another six months, but I was wrong. I've got one last thing I need you to do. I need you to make arrangements for a trip to the Druid College. I want to leave tomorrow morning."

-------

"Oliver, I want you to send a couple of grief counselors to Israel. They need to be there tomorrow night," William said.

"What?" Oliver said sitting up at his desk staring at the telephone in his hand. He almost missed William's answer.

"I'm going to be arriving there tomorrow afternoon," William said.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Oliver asked. He'd been waiting for a long time for William to begin his service. It had always been a foregone conclusion that William would serve the Two-Sided One.

"Yes."

-------

"Hello, grandfather."

"Hello, William."

"How are you doing?" William asked. His throat was so tight with emotion that it was hard to talk. Now that he had his grandfather on the phone, he didn't know what to say. The great impassioned discussion that he had played through his head suddenly seemed trite.

"I'm doing well. My arthritis has been acting up," the Reverend Leroy Jones answered trying to keep a light tone to the conversation.

"I'm sorry to hear about your arthritis," William said. There was enough sadness in his answer to let the Reverend know that William had other things on his mind than arthritis.

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. Finally, the Reverend said, "You know."

"Yes, I know. Do you want me to tell Daddy Leroy?" William asked.

"No. I'll call him today. I should be the one who breaks the news to him."

"Okay," William said. He was silent for a long time and then asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I'm an old man at the end of my time. All I need is the loving arms of the one I serve," the Reverend answered. There was a sense of peace in his voice.

William was on the verge of tears. In a soft voice, he said, "I love you."

"I know. I love you, too. You've always held a special place in my heart," the elderly man answered in an emotion packed voice. There was a long silence while he struggled to control his emotions. The Reverend said, "I saw the Arc of the Covenant."

"Tell me about it," William said settling into his chair for a long conversation.

-------

Jennifer picked up the phone and, in a cheerful voice, said, "If you know who I am then you have the right number. Otherwise, please hang up now."

"Jennifer, it is time," William said.

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. In a much less cheerful voice, she said, "I'll leave for there now."

"Good."

-------

"Gabriel?"

"Yes, sir," the man answered recognizing the voice on the other end of the line. After nearly five months of sitting around, the call had taken him by surprise.

"Oscar Meyers will be contacting you today. Do as he asks," William said.

"Is something the matter?" Gabriel asked. Since Debbie had left Israel, the bodyguards had not been doing anything. William was paying them to stay in the area without any specific instructions. They hadn't heard from Jennifer in months.

"What's happening there?" William asked.

"There have been some major riots here. Jerusalem is not exactly a safe town at the moment," Gabriel answered.

"Be prepared to have a ringside seat at the biggest riot of them all," William said.

-------

Lucy set a cup of Lisa's hot chocolate in front of William. It was actually the kind that came out of the packet, but Lisa had made it and that was all that really mattered. William took a sip and said, "Thank you. This is just what I needed."

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked with a worried expression on her face.

"I've looked forward to this my whole life, but it has suddenly become a bitter-sweet moment," William answered.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said.

William took another sip of the hot chocolate while staring at the monitors. Less than half a year in simulation time had progressed in the simulation since they had examined the results that morning. The simulation was slowing down. He sighed and said, "Don't be sorry. I'll be beginning my service to the Two-Sided One soon."

There were two things that William knew since birth and a third thing he had known upon meeting Oscar. He was going to marry Lucy, he was going to serve the Two-Sided One, and Oscar was going to bring peace to the Middle East. The first had become fact and the last two were about to become facts. Lucy didn't know what to say to him. She slipped into his lap and said, "Please hold me."

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure," William said wrapping his arms around his wife.

Lucy didn't comment on the dampness that she felt on the back of her blouse where William rested his head. She was too concerned with the tears that flowed from her own eyes.

-------

It was a quiet trip to the Druid College. When William arrived, he was surprised by the number of Druids in attendance. The guest quarters had been filled and some of the unused dorm rooms were opened up for their use. William stepped out of the limousine that had carried him and Lucy from the airport. Looking at the crowd that had gathered, he turned to Lucy and asked, "Why are so many people here?"

"I don't know," Lucy answered. She noticed his brother and sister standing among the crowd waiting. She couldn't see their spouses. She said, "John and Beth are here."

"Really?" William asked looking around for a moment before spotting them. He raised a hand and shouted, "John! Beth!"

His brother and sister came over along with their spouses. For the next few minutes, the discussion centered on greeting each other and exchanging hugs. Lucy couldn't put into words how much better she felt to find them there. She asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, the news got out that William is about to go to the glade and Oliver wanted everyone to be here when he came out. He's convinced that you're going to emerge a prophet and we want to hear your first proclamation," Beth answered looking at her little brother with fondness. She didn't mention that Oliver had sent out word that all Druids were to return to the college to watch Oscar's entrance to Jerusalem as well.

"Oh," Lucy said.

Beth's husband, John, said, "It has been a long time since there's been a Druid Prophet. The last one predicted that John Carter would become the first Grand Druid in a thousand years."

As they entered into the Druid College, Jimmy Lee approached and said, "I heard you had come here to enter the glade."

"That's right," William said.

"Happy Harry would be so proud of you," Jimmy Lee said.

"Yes," William replied getting a little misty eyed at the memory of Happy Harry.

Shaking his head, Jimmy Lee thought about what William would be missing while in the Glade. Oliver had announced that Oscar Meyers was expected to visit Jerusalem at about the same time. The whole world was waiting to see what would happen when Oscar got there. He said, "From what I understand, Oscar is going to Jerusalem about the same time you'll be entering the Carter Glade. It's a shame that you are going to miss that event. It's going to be real interesting to see what happens when he arrives there."

"Interesting?" William asked. Shaking his head, he said, "I don't think I would call it interesting."

Jimmy Lee said, "The Voice of the Gods is going to the religious center of three of the most important religions in the world and you don't think that the results will be interesting? It is going to be one of the most significant events in history."

"Significant is a good word for what will happen there," William said in a sad voice. Lucy, knowing what William meant, hugged him.

Lucy asked, "What do you think is going to happen there?"

"I figure that Oscar is going to give some speech that is going to change the world. His words are going to change all three religions in some significant way," Jimmy answered.

Shaking his head, William said, "I don't think so."

"Every news service has set up cameras to cover this. Thousands of people have gone to Israel to watch him speak. Everyone is saying that Oscar Meyers is about to bring peace to the Middle East. Even your Grandfather is there to spread the message," Jimmy said making reference to the news feeding frenzy that rumors of Oscar's pending trip to Jerusalem had triggered. He added, "While your entrance to the glade is big news, most of us are here to watch the television coverage of Oscar's trip. Can you imagine that it is a Druid who is going to bring peace to the Middle East?"

William stared at Jimmy Lee for a moment and then said, "You don't know, do you?"

"I don't know what?" Jimmy asked puzzled by the question.

William stopped and looked around at the party atmosphere created by the Druids. They were laughing and talking about Oscar. There was a high level of excitement at the idea of what was going to happen in the next few days. For them, Oscar's trip to Jerusalem was a major advance in the public acceptance of their pagan beliefs. Frowning, William said, "No one knows what is going to happen."

"This isn't good," Lucy said imagining how they would react when events unfolded.

Jimmy frowned at William's lack of excitement about the events in the Middle East. Wondering if William knew something that he didn't, he asked, "What's the matter?"

"I need to talk to Oliver," William said.

-------

"Hello, Dad. I didn't expect to see you here," William said upon entering Oliver's office.

"Hello, William," Ed Biggers replied pleased to see that his presence had surprised William.

"Hello, William," Oliver said.

Irritated at what he had seen outside, William turned to Oliver. With more than a little anger in his voice, he asked, "Can you tell me why everyone outside thinks they are here for a party?"

"That was my idea," Ed said looking over at William.

"I thought that you were a servant of the truth," William said staring at Ed.

"I am. It was my suggestion to bring everyone here to witness two historic events," Ed said.

"I know all about one of the historic events. My friend, Oscar, and my Grandfather are going to die in what is probably going to be a very violent and horrible manner. What's the second historic event?" William asked. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his father.

"The establishment of a new Druid Prophet," Oliver answered.

Pretending to look surprised, William failed miserably. With sarcasm evident in his voice, he asked, "Who might this new Druid Prophet be?"

"You."

William jabbed a finger in Oliver's direction as he asked, "What makes you think that I'm going to be the new Druid Prophet?"

"You are going to get your ability to see the future back," Oliver answered wondering why William was so angry. He glanced over at Ed and could see that he was just as confused.

"What makes you think that I'm going to be a Prophet? Maybe I'll be the first Druid Doomsayer," William said.

"Why would you say that?" Ed asked worried about William. There was more than a hint of truth in his comment about being the first Druid Doomsayer.

William looked at his father and asked, "Who was it that told Happy Harry that he was going to die? Who is it that knows that Oscar is going to die? Who is it that knows my Grandfather is going to die? Me, that's who!"

"You're not the only one who knows that," Oliver said trying to get William to calm down a little.

William looked back at Oliver and said, "From what I've seen outside, no one outside of us knows about it."

Oliver leaned forward and, in a soft voice, said, "And no one should learn about what is going to happen until the event occurs."

"Why?" William asked folding his arms across his chest.

"Because it could undermine Oscar's sacrifice," Oliver answered.

With tears in his eyes, William said, "At this moment, my friend and my Grandfather are sitting somewhere knowing that on the Winter Solstice they are going to die. No one appreciates the bravery of those four men. They can escape certain death by walking away, but they won't. The idea that people will watch them thinking that they walked into death unaware of what lay in store for them makes me want to scream."

William looked at his father and said, "I want people watching those four great men face the mob to ask themselves, 'What magnificent men are these who give their lives so that others can live in peace?' If it is not to be the Druids who say it, then who will it be?"



-------

Part 3: Soothsayer

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Chapter 1


Responsibility is perhaps one of the most complex words in the English language. Written down on paper, it is fourteen characters long. It is pronounced using six syllables. Whether it is written down or spoken, the word is significantly larger than the average word. Despite that, it is still too short of a word to convey a concept so significant. It is a heavy word; just ask anyone who strives to live up to an unpleasant responsibility. Responsibility can weigh a ton.

A responsibility is a long term obligation. We carry it with us as we travel through life until the responsibility has been fulfilled. Our conscience reminds us of it whenever we are offered a divergence from our everyday existence. Will this diversion interfere with this or that responsibility? If the answer is yes, we shoulder our burden and continue past the diversion ever mindful of our responsibility. Sometimes we go on with the diversion, but the activity is tainted with guilt.

Life would be so simple if only one responsibility was placed upon us at a time, but life is not like that. Life is lived under the burden of many responsibilities that range from minor to major; from trivial to significant. Each time that someone depends upon us, another straw is added to the camel's back. That is the true essence of responsibility — someone depends upon us.

Responsibilities can conflict with each other. One will demand that we act in one way while another will demand just the opposite. Regardless of the choice that is made, someone will be hurt. People of moral character will feel bad for having let down the person who depended upon them.

At times, responsibilities are accrued faster than can be satisfied. All it takes to place a responsibility upon a person are the simple words, "I need you to... ," along with some demand. There are times when the load becomes too heavy. One can try, with varying degrees of success, to shift them to others in an attempt to remove the load from their backs. One can try to dodge some responsibilities.

It is not immoral to attempt avoiding new responsibilities. It can be a desired or necessary act because of the potential that responsibilities will overwhelm one to the point where they can't keep them. Sometimes people are overwhelmed and fail to live up to the demands placed upon them. Those who depend upon them are hurt and they feel guilt.

At times, a person can satisfy their responsibilities faster than they accept them. As a person grows old, they lose them faster than they can accrue them. Children grow up and the responsibility of raising them passes from the shoulders of their parents. A person retires from employment and, in the process, they lose those job responsibilities.

If person lives long enough there comes a day when they wake and discover that they have satisfied all of their responsibilities. It would seem that a life without responsibility would be a wonderful thing to experience, but it isn't. Ask any old person on whom no one depends if their life is good. The answer will be bitter and negative. They will shoulder any responsibility just to feel alive again.

Watch an old person taking care of a crotchety old dog sometime. See the care and attention that is lavished upon the ill-tempered beast. The old person will tolerate growls, bared teeth, and even occasional bites without too much complaint. The dog is a reason to get up in the morning, to make it to the market to purchase food, and to sleep at night to be ready for another day. It is the responsibility to care for the old dog that keeps the person alive.

A responsibility can weigh a person down while giving them a reason for living. They can force a person to choose who they will hurt when their responsibilities are in conflict. While a person can curse responsibilities for their negative impacts on their life; all know that their absence would be a curse.

Responsibility ties a person down. How well a person satisfies their responsibilities influences those around them far more than their beauty, wit, or intelligence. Perhaps fourteen characters are too few for such a complex word. Perhaps the six syllables roll of the tongue too easily for something that is so significant.

-------

William woke at four in the morning in response to some inner call to action and rolled over to watch Lucy sleeping. She was so beautiful that it took his breath away. He leaned over and kissed her bare shoulder. She stirred and asked, "Is it time to get up?"

"I have to go now," William answered.

Those simple words were enough to chase away any thoughts of sleep. Lucy sat up and said, "I'll walk with you."

"No. I need you to tell Oliver that I am going into the glade and that all of the Druids should be watching events at six. I need you to stay here and watch Oscar in Jerusalem," William said. He caressed her face and said, "Your presence among the other Druids is as close as I can come to making sure that Oscar's sacrifice is appreciated."

"I'll do it," Lucy said accepting his request. She knew that she would be there for him when he came out of the glade.

"Thank you, Lucy," William said rising from the bed. He went into the bathroom to take care of his morning necessities.

Lucy stayed in the bed while thinking about how difficult the morning was going to be for her. William had told her what he wanted her to do for him. She was to be present and make sure that Oliver Brown and Ed Biggers told everyone there what to expect well before Oscar made his sacrifice.

After taking care of the bathroom necessities, William went over to his suitcase and pulled out some jeans and a tee shirt. He was dressing for comfort rather than formality. The outfit that he wore was very similar to what his father had worn when he had met the Goddess in meadow in Colorado so many years earlier.

"You're wearing jeans and a tee shirt?" Lucy asked looking at the clothes he had selected with a frown.

"I'll wear a coat, too," William answered.

"Isn't that rather casual for meeting with a God?" Lucy asked. She felt that if she was going to meet a God or a Goddess that she'd want to wear something special.

With only his left leg in his pants, William hopped around trying to get his right foot into his pants. Not entirely surprised that she was concerned about his clothes, he answered, "What should I wear? A suit? A Tuxedo? I think it doesn't matter what I wear. The Two- Sided One is more interesting in the person inside the clothes rather than what the person is wearing."

"I don't want you to insult him," Lucy said. After a second, she added, "Or is he a her?"

"The Two-Sided One is both," William answered zipping up his pants. He grabbed his tee shirt and started to put it on.

"Why don't you guys have drawings of the Gods and Goddesses?" Lucy asked.

"We would, but we don't know how to represent them. I think that each of us experiences them differently and no one experiences them in their entirety. Is a picture of a mountain representative of the Earth or is a desert valley a better one? How does one capture the wind in a drawing?" William answered.

Lucy watched William put on his socks and cowboy boots. His Native American skin and Caucasian features combined to make him a very handsome young man. His long black hair was tied in a ponytail that hung down his back. It was a very personal statement of his roots in the Native American community. She asked, "Do you want me to braid your hair?"

"No. I'll wear it tied back today," William answered. He looked over at her when he finally got his foot into his right boot. Smiling, he asked, "Are you afraid that the Two-Sided One is going to look at me and think that I'm not taking this meeting seriously enough?"

"I just want you to look good for him," Lucy answered with a shrug of her shoulders. The gesture made her breasts move in a very attractive fashion. If William hadn't already been dressed, the sight would have brought him back to bed for an hour's diversion.

"I love you, Lucille Desi Carter," he said.

"I love you, William Redman Carter," Lucy said taken by surprise by his declaration of love. She got out of the bed and searched through her luggage for a clean pair of panties. Upon locating a pair, she slipped them on. She pulled out a simple dress from her luggage. It was just a moment before she had slipped the dress over her head.

"I'm going to get a quick bite to eat," William said glancing at the clock. It was just shy of four thirty in the morning. He had to be in the glade at six o'clock in the morning. That time corresponded to noon in Jerusalem.

Lucy went over to William and kissed him. Holding him in her arms, she asked, "Do you want me to join you?"

"I would like that very much, but there is too much for us both to do," William answered. He kissed her again and said, "I should go now."

"Go," Lucy said feeling like she was sending a warrior out to do battle without knowing if he would return. Despite William's assurances that all would be right, she still harbored some doubts deep inside.

"I love you."

"I love you," she said. She watched him step out of the bedroom knowing that he'd be changed when she next saw him. Licking her lips worriedly, she hoped that the changes would not be too great. She loved him as he was.

-------

William walked to the glade eating a donut and drinking a cup of hot coffee. The air was cold and a brisk wind made it feel even colder. He shivered inside his jacket thinking that he should have worn a heavier coat. The hot coffee combated with the cold air, but the liquid was losing the battle.

An owl flew past with the whisper of huge wings beating the air. William paused to watch it pass overhead; a dark shape against a dark sky. He continued his journey thinking that the owl had passed without trace while he left footprints in the thin snow. It was a minor mark in his history however temporary that record might be. The thought flashed through his mind that it was a wise old bird that could move through life leaving no record of its passing.

He reached the Carter Glade remembering back to the day when his father had consecrated it with his life. It had been a similar day. There had been a small dusting of snow spread across the ground. He looked up at the sky finding only darkness there. The clouds that threatened snow blocked the stars and moon. He stood outside the circle looking in and remembering his father.

William finished his donut and drained the last of his coffee. He flattened the paper cup into a thick disk and stuffed it into the back pocket of his jeans. A small kernel of fear leapt up at what would happen to him once he entered that sacred ground. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and entered the glade.

-------

The party-like atmosphere among the Druids gathered in the first year dining room had died a horrible death after Oliver explained that if Oscar showed up in Jerusalem that it was virtually certain that he was going to die. Somber faces watched the televisions at the head of room. Some of the channels were focused on the crowd, but a few were focused on Oscar as he stepped into the square in front of the Western Wall.

Lucy had started crying as soon as she had seen Oscar. She had taken one look at his tired face that displayed his resignation to fate and burst out in tears. There was a pounding in her ears that dulled the noises from the television. She thought about Georgia and Debbie. Although she hadn't seen them among the crowd, she knew that they would be there to the bitter end. The thought of what they were feeling tore at her soul. Unable to control her emotions, her tears and the pounding in her ears caused her to miss the events as they played out.

The Druids in the room stared numbly at the screen feeling helpless at not being able to go there and shoulder some of the burden from Oscar. They watched as Oscar stood his ground and gave voice to his mission for the whole world to hear. They listened as he repeated the words that he was to bring to the followers of the three religions and as the representatives of the three great religions acknowledged their duty to live by those words. Even through the medium of television, the words carried with them great power to move the hearts of men and women.

Everyone watching the events unfold on television jumped back in their seats when the rocks and bullets started flying. There were the horrible seconds when the television screens showed nothing but snow. When the signal was regained, the scene of the nearly empty square was a shock. It took long seconds for people to realize what had happened during those few seconds.

Even though the Druids had been prepared for what they had seen by Oliver's warning earlier, no one knew how to react. There was horror at the violence. There was pride at the courage the four men had demonstrated. There was awe at the idea that the Powers That Be had manifested in a manner that left little doubt about their existence. There was sympathy for the bodyguard's impassioned words of loss. Silence hung in the air for a full minute.

It was Ed Biggers who defined their reaction when he started clapping his hands and shouted, "Bravo Oscar Meyers! Bravo!"

One person at a time joined Ed in praising Oscar until the entire room echoed with their applause. Oscar was one of theirs and he had left the stage of life after having given an outstanding display of courage, honor, and dedication to service. Slowly everyone rose to their feet.

Lucy rose to her feet as well, but rather than stand and applaud, she ran from the room. Her tears blinded her, but she made her way to the room she had shared with William just hours earlier without running into any thing. Throwing herself on the bed, she wondered if William's service would require him to sacrifice his life. The thought was more than she could bear. She cried until she fell asleep.

-------

Dining rooms all over campus were quiet as students watched recordings of that morning's event over breakfast. All of them understood the significance of what they watched. No one questioned the reason why classes had been canceled that day. The dining room staff, normally a cheerful presence in the room, moved woodenly through their jobs. Counseling staff moved through the dining rooms pulling students affected by the event out for individual attention.

Patrick sat in the first year dining room drinking a cup of coffee while watching the television screen. He had heard a rumor that Oscar had known he was going to be killed. Seeing someone with the kind of courage that suggested had humbled him. He wondered if he could face certain death that way. He had nearly run from the college when it had come time to strip and that was a much more minor thing.

The waitress came over to the table and, in a flat voice, asked, "Do you need anything else?"

Patrick looked up at the woman. She was naked except for the apron she wore. All of the imperfections of her body were on display for anyone to see. At the beginning of September the fact that she had walked around unclothed had amazed him. With time, he had come to understand the desire to help that underlay her gesture. In a soft voice, he said, "You knew Oscar Meyers."

Sitting down, the waitress said, "Yes, I knew Oscar Meyers. He was a student here, just like you."

"Tell me about him," Patrick said thinking that knowing more about Oscar would be good for him and talking about Oscar would be good for her.

"He was short, but he was larger than life," the waitress began. Once she started talking, the words flowed from her as she remembered little incidents involving Oscar. Other students came to the table and listened to her weave a tale of a normal human being caught up in events larger than him.

The group laughed at the story about how Oscar had lightened the mood on the first night in the dining room by running out with a napkin draped over his face. Everyone understood the terror of that first day and the need for someone or something to break the tension. After watching the television, no one was surprised to learn that it was Oscar who had defused the tension.

For Patrick, listening to stories like that was how one learned to be a better person. He sipped his coffee without interrupting her. When his coffee was finished, he sipped his glass of water.

When the waitress finished telling her story, Patrick said, "Thank you for teaching us how to be better people. Your words are a lesson I'll carry with me for the rest of my life."

Surprised by the thanks, the waitress said, "Thank you for listening to an old woman ramble on."

"One day when I'm at the Native American College, I shall repeat your story to my classmates so that they can learn the lesson you taught us today," Patrick said. He would have to be a little creative in telling the story since his fellow students would not understand the full background of what life was like in the Druid College.

"If you want to know more about Oscar, you should talk to William Redman Carter. Oscar and William were very good friends," the waitress said. She paused and added, "He is in the Carter Glade today, but he'll return sometime this week."

"William is here?" Patrick asked in surprise. He had heard rumors that something important was happening with William, but he didn't know that William was on campus.

The waitress answered, "Yes, he is. In fact, his wife just walked into the dining room."

Patrick's eyes grew wide at the news that Lucy was there. He looked down at his naked body and groaned at the idea that she should see him undressed like that. He looked around and saw that she was headed in his direction. When she waved at him, he knew that it was too late to run. Trapped, he meekly waved back while muttering, "This is a disaster."

The waitress laughed at his reaction. Standing, she patted him on the cheek and said, "She's seen plenty of young men around here in your state."

"But I know her!"

Making a production of glancing down at his lap, the waitress said, "She'll be happy to know that you have the proper reaction to such a pretty young woman."

The waitress walked off just as Lucy arrived and took a seat next to Patrick. In a false happy voice, Lucy said, "Hello, Patrick."

Rather than answer immediately, Patrick examined Lucy for a second and didn't like what he saw. Her eyes were red and puffy. There was a small quiver in her chin that suggested she was on the verge of tears. Worried, he said, "You've been crying. Is there something wrong?"

"I watched Oscar this morning and William went into the Carter Glade to become a Druid," Lucy answered. When the waitress set a cup of coffee in front of her, she reached for it without thought.

"I have just learned a little about Oscar. He was a great man," Patrick said.

"I knew Oscar and I know his wives. I feel so bad for them," Lucy said. She sighed and said, "With William starting his service to the Gods and Goddesses, I can't but feel that one day I will be standing by helplessly watching while he is killed."

The idea that it could be William facing down an angry mob in the future shook Patrick. Surprised and concerned, he asked, "Do you really think that could happen to William?"

"I don't know and that scares me," Lucy answered. The tears were beginning to well up in her eyes.

Although he had been raised to avoid public displays of emotion, Patrick leaned over and hugged Lucy. In as calm of a voice as possible, he said, "I'm sure that the Gods and Goddesses won't require him to do that."

"You don't understand," Lucy said sniffling and hating the fact that she was acting like a weak woman. She said, "The more important a Druid is, the more likely it is that he'll be sacrificed. Look at John Carter and Oscar Meyers; they both gave up their lives in service of the Gods and Goddesses. Even William's grandfather, Reverend Leroy Jones, gave up his life for his God."

"That won't happen to William," Patrick said.

"I'm sure that William is destined for greatness. The Two-Sided One has always talked with him. He's one of their favored," Lucy said.

"William is already a great man and he hasn't had to sacrifice his life. There is no greater Medicine Man among the Native Americans than William. He will be a great man among the Druids and won't have to sacrifice his life," Patrick said feeling right about the words even as he said them.

"I want to believe you, but I love him so much. I don't know what I'd do if he were to ever die," Lucy said.

Patrick pulled back from her a little and lifted her chin with a finger. Looking into her eyes, he said, "We all dance in the great circle of life. I do, you do, and William does. We must concentrate on the journey around the circle rather than on one or two minor points along the way."

Lucy wiped her eyes and said, "Thank you, Patrick."

"You're welcome, Lucy," Patrick replied pleased that he could help her.

"I came over here hoping that you'd say something funny and cheer me up. Instead, you surprise me by being serious and cheering me up," Lucy said with a weak smile.

Grinning at her, Patrick settled back in his chair and asked, "Did I ever tell you what happened when I came to visit this school?"

"No," Lucy answered with a smile. She had an idea that it was going to be an interesting tale.

"I thought that showing up to hunt rocks dressed for deer hunting was embarrassing, but that was nothing compared to my visit here. When I walked into this room and discovered that it was full of naked people, I swear I could hear William laughing all of the way from Arizona."



-------

Chapter 2


Linda, an attractive young woman, was a special friend of Patrick. She had a well defined hour glass figure with long shapely legs. Her hazel eyes, flecked with gold, drew attention to her face. Her face with soft features was framed by naturally curly blond hair that gave the impression that she had just come from bed.

As far as most men were concerned, she would have been an ideal cheerleader type except for what many thought was one major flaw. She was the least endowed female on the entire campus. Her breasts barely qualified as an AA cup. She tended to cross her arms in front of her chest as if to hide them.

Despite some confidence problems with her body, she enjoyed sex more than most women on campus. Taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the circumstances at the school, Linda was exploring her sexuality. She was willing to try anything once and, if it was pleasant, she would add it to her repertoire of sexual activities. She didn't feel a great desire to take on any and all interested parties, but kept her favors to a lucky few. Patrick was her favorite of the lucky few.

Linda's appearance was great and her enjoyment of sex was an added bonus, but it was her personality that Patrick found to be most engaging. In short, she was intelligent, witty, and kind. She was from New York City and would tell stories about the famous city that Patrick found fascinating. She found his stories of the reservation to be equally intriguing.

The last thing Patrick wanted was to be around Lucy sporting an erection. It was tough enough being around Lucy while he was naked, but sporting an erection would have been absolutely mortifying. With Lucy visiting the college, Patrick found that he was spending a lot of time with Linda taking care of his overactive libido. In fact, he made sure that he visited Linda every time he was to meet with Lucy.

Unfortunately for Patrick's plans, Lucy arrived a little early for one their meetings and found Patrick and Linda seated at a table. Before saying a word, she examined the pair taking in the friendly glances they had been giving each other. Feeling a little playful, she said, "Hello Patrick. Who is your girlfriend?"

"Hello, Lucy. This is Linda," Patrick answered noticing the stress that Lucy had put on the word, 'girlfriend.' Hearing Lucy call Linda his girlfriend suggested images of his parents catching him naked with a woman. He knew how his parents would react if they found out that he was sitting around naked with an equally naked white woman.

"Hello, Linda," Lucy said with a cat that ate the canary smile. She entertained thoughts of singing a very juvenile song about Patrick and Linda sitting in a tree.

Trying not to express the sudden fit of tension he was feeling, Patrick turned to his friend and said, "Linda, this is Lucy Carter."

Linda was very aware that Carter was a famous name around the Druid College and that intimidated her. If Lucy was of that family, then she knew that it was a given that Lucy was rich and powerful. Linda looked at Lucy taking special notice of the clothes she was wearing. It was a weird mix of expensive and inexpensive. The blouse was definitely a designer label, but the jeans were from a chain store. She couldn't see the shoes, but she was willing to bet they were expensive. Lucy was cute, rich, and definitely educated.

Looking back to Patrick, Linda couldn't help but notice the sudden tension he was feeling. It seemed to her that he was unwilling to share with Lucy that they were very close friends and she couldn't help wondering why. She thought that he had shared his full sexual history with her, but his sudden nervousness around Lucy made her suspicious about the relationship between the pair. A small worm of jealousy rose within Linda at the thought that there might be a romantic history there that he had not chosen to share with her. With a slight chill to her voice, Linda asked, "How do you know each other?"

Sensing that the conversation was upsetting Linda, Lucy abandoned her plans to tease Patrick. It was a shame; she had a whole plan of describing the wonderful conversations she would have with his parents. Turning to Linda, she answered, "Patrick and my husband are friends. They go rock hunting and camping together on occasion."

"Oh," Linda said with a much friendlier tone to her voice once she realized that the relationship was different than what she had imagined. She still wondered about Patrick's sudden reticence to talk about her.

"William was my teacher in high school. I wouldn't even be here except that he helped me," Patrick explained. He hadn't wanted to boast about knowing someone so influential around the college.

"I assume that you are talking about William Redman Carter," Linda said putting all of the clues together. She hadn't realized that Patrick knew William Redman Carter and was actually pleased that he hadn't boasted about it.

"Yes," Patrick said.

Lucy leaned forward and gestured from one to the other with a finger. She asked, "So how long have you two been friends?"

"Since school started," Patrick answered. She had been standing next to him before they had to undress and had struck up a conversation while waiting for the rest of the students to make their way into the hallway.

"Really. She's so cute that I bet you couldn't keep your eyes off of her," Lucy said.

"Uh, yes," Patrick answered.

"How long did it take you to strike up a conversation with her?" Lucy asked.

"About ten minutes," Patrick answered. For some reason this conversation made him feel like he was talking to his mother. He didn't think that was such a great thing.

Lucy laughed at the obvious discomfort that Patrick was exhibiting. She was reasonably sure that there was a bit more than friendship between Patrick and Linda. Turning to Linda, she said, "You and I are going to have to have a long talk. I'll be going home and his parents are going to want to know how he's doing. I suspect that you know that better than anyone."

Seeing the frantic look on Patrick's face, Linda said, "That sounds like fun."

Lucy said, "That's great. I'm going to have so much fun telling his mother about what a cute couple you make. She's going to want all the details."

"I'm doomed," Patrick groaned.

"What's the matter Patrick? You look positively green," Lucy asked with a smile.

"You're going to tell my parents that you saw me here running around without clothes on, aren't you?" Patrick asked.

"Me? I'd never do that. Now William, that's a different story. I'm sure that if there aren't enough juicy details that he'd just invent them," Lucy said. At the look of horror on Patrick's face, she burst into laughter. Patting him on the arm, she said, "I'm just kidding."

"You don't know my parents. They are very conservative," Patrick said.

"You forget that I attended your sister's wedding and met your parents there. I think they'll understand that your current state of dress is not by your choice," Lucy said.

Patrick shook his head and said, "My parents will never understand."

"They'll understand when you tell them that it was undress or leave school," Lucy said.

"That's true," Patrick said. He'd rather face the entire tribe naked than tell his father that he quit or failed out of college on the first day.

'September, October, and November — that's one quarter. December, January, and February — that's a second quarter. March, April, and May — would be a third quarter, ' Lucy thought trying to remember the school break schedule. Lucy turned to Linda and said, "I'd like to invite you and Patrick to visit us at our home during your end of May break. I'm sure that Patrick's family will enjoy meeting you."

"Why then?" Linda asked with a frown. They had a week long break starting at the end of February.

"William is in the glade at the moment and we don't know when he'll come out. When he does come out, we have to take care of Debbie and Georgia. He also has to begin his service. I don't know what we'll be doing at the end of February," Lucy answered. Her voice broke when she said the names of Oscar's widows.

"Who are they?" Linda asked noticing the sad expression that came over Lucy's face.

"They are Oscar's widows. William and Oscar were friends; he promised Oscar that we would take care of them," Lucy answered wondering if William was going to find someone to make that kind of promise to him.

Feeling like a heel, Linda said, "Oh. I didn't know."

"That's okay. There's no reason that you should have known," Lucy answered. Almost none of the news stories had mentioned Oscar's widows. It was almost as if they didn't exist. The idea that the women in his life were ignored so thoroughly irritated Lucy. Of course, she also understood that it was probably for the best.

"How are they doing?" Linda asked wondering if Patrick had known Oscar as a result of his friendship with William.

"They are in Bermuda resting in a hotel. They haven't recovered from the shock of his death. According to the bodyguards, they were in a room across from the square where Oscar was killed. They saw the whole thing," Lucy answered. The grief counselors had been waiting for the women to recover sufficiently to begin the process of healing. They didn't expect to have a chance for at least another day.

"Those poor women," Linda said trying to imagine watching someone she loved die and finding the idea heartbreaking.

For the next ten minutes, the two women chatted about topics that were of no interest to Patrick. At first, he tried to follow the conversation, but that was impossible. He looked from one woman to the other wondering how he had suddenly become cut out of the conversation. When they started discussing various clothes designers, his mind drifted to the tests that he was facing later that afternoon. He was suddenly pulled back into the conversation when Lucy said, "So you'll be coming for a visit during the end of May vacation."

Linda answered, "Sure. That sounds like fun."

-------

Lucy had made the noon-time trip to the glade twice with Catherine and Oliver in the hopes that William would return. Those trips had required her to trudge through near blizzard conditions in which the snow fall was so thick that it was hard to see more than five feet. She had stood in the snow storm shivering from the frigid air that whipped at her clothes sucking away all warmth. Others had exited the glade, but there had been no sign of William.

This day though, the storm had broken and there was a bright blue sky. It was still cold, but the wind was still and the sun was warm. Her clothes that had been ineffective against the storm now felt too warm. She felt that the weather was a promising sign as she made her way along the path. Further adding to her hope that William would return from the glade that day was that other Druids who were visiting the College went out with her as well.

A crowd of Druids gathered around the path from the glade waiting for Oscar to arrive. Lucy looked from face to face trying to interpret the mood of the Druids. It was hard to tell what they expected to learn out there. Almost everyone looked nervous and unsure. Oliver paced, in part, out of nervousness and, in part, to keep warm. Lucy was sure that Catherine wore a dozen layers of clothes under her robe because she looked positively toasty.

Seeing her look around the crowd with a slight frown on her face, Ed Biggers believed that she was worried that so many people would overwhelm William when he came out of the glade. It never occurred to him that she was worried that William wouldn't return from the glade. He went over to her and said, "I did ask them to wait for him back at the school."

"What?" Lucy asked not following what he was trying to say.

Ed smiled at her confusion and realized that his concerns were unfounded. Her fears were the normal fears of anyone waiting for someone to return. He said, "I asked everyone to stay back at the college so that William would have a chance to get used to whatever gifts he's been given."

"Oh. I guess I don't know what to expect," Lucy said worried about her husband. She bit her lower lip and looked down the path that led from the glade.

"No one knows what to expect. Kelly was in shock for almost a full day when she came out. I don't think it was that hard on me or John. Beth sailed through without missing a beat," Ed said.

"What happens when you met them?" Lucy asked.

"As far as I know, we all have different experiences in the glade," Ed answered rubbing a hand over the medallion.

"What do you mean? Don't you know what others have experienced?" Lucy asked looking up at her father-in-law with surprise.

Ed fidgeted nervously and answered, "We don't talk about it."

"Why not?" Lucy asked. She had assumed that everyone there understood exactly what was happening to William.

Ed was quiet for a moment trying to figure out how to answer her question. Finally, he said, "It's too private. Do you share with people the details of your first sexual experience? You don't need to answer that. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do that. Now everyone assumes that their first sexual experience was a lot like everyone else's, but you don't really know that for a fact. Meeting with the Gods and Goddesses is a lot like that. It is even more private than your first sexual experience."

Frowning, Lucy asked, "Have you ever told anyone what you experienced when you met the Two-Sided One?"

Ed shook his head and answered, "No."

With that one word answer, Lucy realized that something had come between her and William; something so private that William would never share it with her. She stood by the glade feeling like something had been taken from her. She hoped that the William she knew hadn't been taken from her as well.

-------

William had entered the glade at six in the morning on the Winter Solstice. It had been as if he stepped directly from winter into spring. His clothes were suddenly too warm for the temperature. The sun was overhead despite the fact that it wasn't even sunrise. There was a soft breeze that carried with it the scent of flowers rather than snow.

William found that he stood at the start of a path that led through the trees. It was identical to the path he had seen in his vision quests. Animals of all kinds lined the path. He walked the path as he had done in previous vision questions knowing that this time his way into the meadow would not be blocked. As he trod on the path, a mist formed behind him. The animals bowed their heads to him as he walked past them reaffirming that he would remain tied to the Great Spirit. He paused to return the honor to each animal.

When he reached the end of the path, the vines that had always blocked his way fell apart giving entrance to the meadow. The Two-Sided One, in a feminine aspect, was seated in the middle of the verdant meadow surrounded by rabbits and squirrels. The air was filled butterflies, dragonflies, and birds. Overhead, there was the sharp screech of a hawk.

Gesturing for William to come to her with fat fingers, the Two- Sided One said, "There is someone here who would talk to you."

It was then that William noticed someone seated beside the Two- Sided One, but the person was partially hidden behind the massive body of the Two-Sided One. Approaching them, he was pleasantly surprised by the identity of the other person. He said, "Oscar!"

"Hello, William," Oscar said with a smile. The effect of the smile was tempered a bit by the young man's appearance. There were cuts on his face from the rocks and bottles that had been thrown at him. There were carmine spots on his robe giving mute testimony as to where he had been shot. Despite the wounds through which his life force was leaking, Oscar was not in pain. That had been a gift of the Goddess.

The Two-Sided One said, "The two of you do not have much time. Oscar exists between this heartbeat and his last. Say what must be said while there is time."

Oscar was silent for a moment while he considered his words. Looking William in the eye, he said, "The only reason that I succeeded in my service is because you gave me so much. At the darkest times of my trip, I would think about all that you were doing for me and that helped me go on. Allowing me to use your gift saved Georgia and me many times over. I was able to avoid reporters, military, and radicals who would have made my life miserable, locked me away, or killed me outright. You protected Debbie so that I wouldn't have to worry about her. You made sure that I had anything I needed. In fact, you made sure that I had anything I wanted. I couldn't leave without thanking you."

"I wish that I could have done more," William said staring at the gunshot wound in Oscar's chest. The crimson blood slowly leaked out as if flowing in slow motion.

Throat tight with emotion, Oscar said, "Thank you for every thing, William. I know that Georgia and Debbie will be well cared for."

"I shall do all that is in my power to give them a good life," William said.

Oscar smiled and said, "I fear that you are going to find that is going to be a tough job; they are both pregnant with twins. It happened while we were in Petra."

William glanced at the Two-Sided One and asked, "Let me guess, hermaphrodites?"

"No. A boy and a girl each," the Two-Sided One answered. He sighed and said, "The world just doesn't respect Hermaphrodites like it should."

"Ah."

"Your time is growing short," the Two-Sided One said.

Oscar looked away for a second and then back at William. He could feel his life force slipping away and knew his time had come. In an emotion laden voice, he said, "Tell my wives that I loved them."

William was about to reply when Oscar reached out and touched him. It felt as if he had been hit with a bolt of lightning. He flew across the meadow and landed on his back. His ears were ringing and his vision doubled. Shaking his head to clear it, he saw that Oscar was gone. He looked around to verify that Oscar was really gone.

Looking over at the Two-Sided One, he asked, "Is he dead?"

"Yes. He lived long enough to return your gift to you," the Two- Sided One answered with a sad little smile. Looking at the tears on William's cheeks, he added, "Do not cry for him. There are two worlds side by side separated by a very thin barrier. One world is for the living and one is for the dead. I am sorry that you are separated from your friend, but such separations are temporary for one day you shall cross that thin barrier too."

"Can you tell me of that other world?" William asked.

"That is not for the living to know. Without that final mystery, all actions of men would become meaningless," the Two-Sided One answered. He looked at William and said, "Fear it not."

"Thank you," William said.

-------

The next thing William could remember of his visit to the glade was waking to find that he was naked and nursing upon one of the monstrous breasts of the Two-Sided One. He felt small as if he was an infant sucking on its mother's breasts. The fat woman was stroking the back of his head and murmuring soft words of encouragement. William backed off the massive nipple and asked, "What happened?"

The Two-Sided One said, "You have done well, little one. You passed all of the tests."

"I don't remember any tests," William said.

"You will remember them when you need the lessons taught within them," the Two-Sided One answered pulling William's head back to her breast. She said, "Drink up, my special boy. There is much for you to do. When you have had your fill, you shall rest."

On waking, William's hand went to his neck and found a gold medallion hanging from a golden chain. He didn't remember when it had been placed around his neck. William rose from the ground and staggered to the edge of the glade feeling very confused by his experience. He stopped to remember what he could of his visit with the Two-Sided One, but the majority of his time spent there was a complete blank.

William was about to leave the glade when the feeling that he was forgetting to do something very important settled over him. He stopped to look ahead at the future. Instead of a single future, thousands of possible futures spread out before him. He could see the present branching into major trunks of potential future realities.

Some futures had a beautiful façade, but at their core was an ugliness that he instinctively knew had to be avoided. The standard of living looked impressive but there was a terrible price that the people would have to pay for it. People were slaves to wages to afford the façade they presented to the world without living the life the façade promised. There was an undercurrent of misery that leeched away the human spirit.

Other futures were shallow and without any strength behind them. It was a kind of future in which problems were ignored, people were lost, and yet society went on as if nothing had happened. It was the kind of world in which bad things always happened to other people and, hence, planning for bad things could be ignored. It was an everlasting carnival in which the rapes and murders that occurred at the edges of the party were ignored.

Some futures were ugly through and through. It was a life in which people sacrificed for the greater good of the whole with no one actually getting the good. These were worlds ruled by tyrants with names like Science, Religion, Socialism, and Secularism. These good intentions warped people and societies from achieving anything resembling good.

William realized that it was up to him to select which future would hold for all of humanity. The first decision point was already upon him. It was a weighty responsibility and he took his time examining all of the possible futures. He walked out of the glade and to where Catherine stood holding a handful of black robes. Showing her his medallion, he said, "May I have my black robe, please?"

Catherine handed him a black robe and said, "This is all I have for you."

Ignoring her, William donned his robe and turned to face the Druids waiting for him. He looked from one person to the next thinking about the consequences of his actions. It was time to act and hence start humanity towards a specific future. In a loud voice, he said, "The conditions that required us to wear robes have come to an end. From this day forth, we will wear robes only when it is necessary to achieve a service. So it has been said, so shall it be."

He stopped speaking and then removed his robe. Having waited his entire life to wear the black robe, it hurt to remove it. He carefully folded the robe to store it away. He accepted the rest of the robes from Catherine before turning to Lucy. He held out a hand and, in a soft voice, said, "Let us take a walk."

Smiling, Lucy took his hand and let him lead her away from the Carter Glade. As they walked, she thought about what Ed had said. Curious, she asked, "How was it?"

"I don't know," William answered feeling uncomfortable about discussing his time in the glade. It was intensely personal.

Confused, she asked, "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I don't remember most of my time there," William answered.

"Oh," Lucy said not knowing what to make of his answer. She asked, "Can you see the future?"

"Yes. My gift has returned and it is many times stronger than it was before," William answered. He wondered if it was really that much stronger or that he was more aware of it.

Lucy wondered what other changes had occurred in William. The time without his ability to see the future had been hard for him. There were times when he was timid rather than confident. It wasn't without its benefits. He had grown as a person by having to face the uncertainties that plagued most people. She squeezed his hand seeking reassurance.

"I love you," William said.

Lucy smiled and said, "I love you."

Moving quietly, they walked along towards the side door of the Administration Building. About the time that they reached it, William said, "In case you're wondering, I'm back. Maybe I'm not as cocky as I was before, but I've got my confidence again. I think I will be a little more understanding of people's inability to see what is in their best interest."

"I'm glad to hear that," Lucy said wondering just how much of her William had actually returned to her.

William smiled and asked, "Would you like to celebrate?"

That was a loaded question and could mean anything. Of course, none of the possibilities were that unpleasant. She answered, "Sure. What would you like to do?"

"There's a Burger Burner in town that sells soft ice cream. What do you say to us going there and grabbing a bite to eat before coming back here and celebrating in a more private manner?" William answered.

Feeling as if a great weight had been removed from her, Lucy laughed and hugged William. She answered, "Now I know that my William is back. I'd love to visit a Burger Burner."

"That's great," William said opening the door for her.

-------

The Druids at the Carter Glade had watched William and Lucy walk off. His pronouncement wasn't what any of them had expected. As a group they turned to Oliver and waited to hear what he had to say. Only a handful of them had started to remove their robes, but stopped when everyone else did not follow suit.

Oliver watched William's retreating back with a frown. He had expected a prophetic statement and not a command. He turned and looked at Ed Biggers. Curious about the nature of William's service, he asked, "Did he say the truth?"

"Yes," Ed answered unsure how he felt about giving up the black robe as daily wear. The father had commanded them to wear them and now the son had commanded them not to wear them.

Oliver turned to the Druids and said, "You all heard him. From this day forth, we will wear robes only when it is necessary to achieve a service."



-------

Chapter 3


William looked across the table at Patrick and asked, "So how are things going?"

"They are going well. Once I got over the initial shock, I found that I can deal with the nudity," Patrick answered although he wasn't going to mention the unease he felt when talking with Lucy.

"Good. After two years here you'll be able to handle most things that life throws at you. You'll need that when you become a Chief," William said choosing his words with great care. It was time to plant a seed in Patrick's mind.

The comment about becoming a Chief surprised Patrick. He hadn't really thought through why William had suggested that he go to the Druid College for two years and then to the Native American College for the remainder of his education. He asked, "When I become a Chief?"

"Yes," William answered. He was silent for a minute and then said, "I'm sorry that we can't spend a little more time chatting. Lucy and I have to go take care of business."

Patrick had a good idea of the business that William had to address. He knew that William had taken responsibility for taking care of the widows of Oscar Meyers. He nodded his head and said, "I understand."

"I knew you would," William said looking towards the door of the dining hall. He was waiting for Lucy to arrive and then they were leaving for the airport. He only had another minute to spend with Patrick.

"I know this is going to sound stupid, but I miss the reservation," Patrick said.

"It doesn't sound stupid at all. You're homesick," William said taking the comment seriously. He gave a short laugh and said, "I've been away from home for a week and I miss it."

"Yeah," Patrick said.

"I like your friend, Linda. She seems like a nice young woman," William said.

"She's from New York City. Our backgrounds are very different," Patrick said. He knew that there wasn't the possibility of a long term relationship. Linda knew that as well.

William smiled at the comment and, rising from his chair, said, "I would say more, but a life without surprises is rather boring."

"What does that mean?" Patrick asked.

"Lucy is here and we must go," William said as Lucy walked into the room. He winked at Patrick and said, "So you swore you could hear me laughing all of the way from Arizona."

-------

Georgia and Debbie were seated on the love seat in the suite of the hotel in Bermuda. They were staring off into space with blank expressions on their faces and not saying a word. Although they were holding hands, one would be hard pressed to say they were even aware of each other's presence in the room. Lucy looked at them thinking they were catatonic. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of the pain they must each be feeling.

William walked to stand in front of them. Without looking at the grief counselors, he said, "They have denied that he was dead. They have been angry at the Powers That Be for his death. They have tried to bargain with the Powers That Be for him to return to life."

"That is correct," Kim said feeling that it wasn't quite accurate. She, along with Nancy, had tried to ease the two women through the stages of grieving. They had underestimated the depth of feelings the two women had for Oscar. The anger had been so intense that it had scared them. The bargains had been so extreme that Nancy had hidden every sharp object on the floor of the hotel. Still, it had all seemed a little too pat to be real.

Nancy had felt that they had failed in their service to the Goddess. The medallions had alerted them to several crises, but had not provided much guidance in handling their grief. All that they had really accomplished was to keep them alive. She wondered if the Goddess had abandoned them. She said, "We've tried what we could, but it just isn't working."

"They are both depressed now and do not want to live," William said passing a hand in front of their eyes. Neither woman blinked.

"Right," Kim said watching what William was doing with curiosity. She couldn't figure out why he was talking about them as if they weren't there.

William stood in front of Georgia and, in a voice reeking of disgust, said, "Oscar made the biggest mistake of his life when he married the two of you."

The transformation in the pair of women was instantaneous. Georgia went from being catatonic to launching her body at William with her hands out like claws, mouth open as if to rend his flesh with her teeth, and a fire in her eyes. Moving so fast that she was a blur, Debbie threw a vase at his head. William spun out of their way the barest fraction of a second before he would have been injured. He smiled at them.

Lucy stared as William danced around the two women who were doing their best to kill him. He stayed close enough to entice them to attack and distant enough that they couldn't touch him. Georgia and Debbie were screaming like cats; a feral sound that sent chills down Lucy's spine. Kim and Nancy had backed away from the fight terrified that it would turn in their direction.

"You can't even defend Oscar's honor! Bah! You're worthless!" William taunted.

The screams picked up in volume to where it hurt the ears. Georgia went low while Debbie attacked his head. William moved out of the way in a manner that should have been physically impossible and said, "You can do better than that."

After twenty minutes, Lucy got bored and decided that there was nothing she could do to help. She knew that when it came to fighting no one was better than William. As she went to the door of the suite, she said, "I'm going to get some coffee."

Narrowly avoiding a flying ashtray, William said, "You might as well get a nap. I'm going to be here for a while."

For two hours the two women chased William around the room with a ferocity that was truly terrifying. The two grief counselors watched the entire time amazed at William's ability to evade the duel attackers. It ended almost as quickly as it had started. Georgia launched one final attack and when it failed, she collapsed on the floor in tears. Debbie tried to attack William two more times before collapsing to the floor.

William stood over the pair of women for a second and then glanced over at the grief counselors. He said, "I hate to say it, but I think they were still in the denial stage. Now, I think it is pretty safe to say that they have passed through the anger stage."

Nancy looked over at Kim and then back at William. Swallowing heavily at the idea of ever facing that much anger, she said, "I think you're right."

"Help them get to bed. They are exhausted and need their rest. We'll resume in the morning," William said. He turned to join Lucy in the restaurant of the hotel in which they were staying. He knew that she was about to order dinner and he wanted to get there before the waiter arrived.

-------

"That was a horrible thing to say to us," Georgia said still angry at William.

"I know and I'm sorry that I had to say it," William replied.

Debbie looked at William and noticed the gold medallion around his neck. She said, "You serve the Two-Sided One."

"Yes, I do," William said looking over at Debbie.

"Can you talk to him about returning Oscar to us?" Debbie asked with hope in her voice.

Realizing that they had someone who could intervene on their behalf with the Gods and Goddesses, Georgia sat up. She said, "I'll give my life for his."

"I'll give my life," Debbie said.

"Why should I?" Oscar asked as if getting ready to negotiate a major deal.

The question brought both women up short. They had each assumed that he would do whatever it would take to help Oscar. Georgia and Debbie looked at each other in a nonverbal exchange of information. Finally, Debbie said, "We'll do what ever you want of us."

"Like what?" William asked leaning forward. He picked up one of the hotel pads of paper and a ballpoint pen. Leaning back, he put the pen to paper and waited for an answer.

"We'll sleep with you," Georgia said after a quick glance at Debbie.

William pursed his lips as if deep in thought. He made a little note on the pad of paper and then said, "Not enough. What else?"

Debbie couldn't believe that William was acting like such an ass. She said, "You say you're his friend. Why are you acting this way?"

"I won't dignify that question with an answer," William said. He looked down at his pad of paper and said, "So far all you've done is offer to sleep with me. What else will you do?"

"We'll give you everything we have," Georgia said.

"Everything?" William asked.

"Yes, everything we own. Our money, our cars, our jewelry,... everything," Debbie answered.

"That's not enough," William said adding another note to the pad.

"What else do we have?"

Frowning, William answered, "I don't know. You'll have to tell me. Don't forget, we're negotiating to see if I will intervene on your behalf to bring Oscar back."

The negotiations began in earnest. The pair of women pleaded, begged, and tried to use guilt to get William to intervene on Oscar's behalf. There were tears, threats, and invocations to the Gods and Goddesses. William kept saying that it wasn't enough, but they kept trying to find that one little thing that would convince him. The hours passed and William remained firm in his position.

After close to twenty hours of non-stop attempts to get William to help them, Debbie sat back in her chair. In a flat voice, she said, "He's not going to help us."

Georgia's head fell forward in resignation. She said, "You're right."

William looked at Debbie and then at Georgia. After a minute, he said, "There is no bargain that can be made that will return Oscar to you. It is not that I won't do it; it is that I can't do it. The Two- Sided One can't do it. Oscar has passed over to the other world. You must accept that."

-------

When William entered the suite the next day, Nancy met him at the door. Looking at her, he said, "They're very depressed."

Nancy nodded her head and said, "That is to be expected."

Kim stepped out of the bedroom in which the two women were hiding. After closing the door, she said, "They're very depressed."

William said, "Watch over them and keep them from doing anything stupid. I'll be back tomorrow morning."

Amazed at how William was handling the two women, Nancy asked, "What is your service?"

William looked at Nancy for a moment trying to decide how to answer the question. Finally, he chose to give her the words on his medallion and answered, "A future for all; for all a future."

"What does that mean?" Kim asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," William answered. It was the truth. He still hadn't discovered the full breadth of his service. He did know that it was up to him to make sure that Oscar's sacrifice was not wasted. He looked at the two women and said, "I'll see you in the morning."

-------

It was approaching dinner time and William and Lucy were riding rented scooters along a path by the hotel. They were forced to rent the scooters since Bermuda law prevented them from renting a car. Lucy wanted to be able to visit the sites without having to flag down a taxi or wait for a carriage. Having fun on the scooter, Lucy asked, "So how are they doing?"

"They are in the fourth stage of grief," William answered turning his head to face her. The scooter drifted towards her. He reacted by turning the handlebar the other direction, over compensating so that he steered the scooter off the path.

"What is that?" Lucy asked finding William's awkwardness on the scooter a little funny. She had been shocked to discover that he had never learned how to ride a bicycle. The scooter had been a bit of a challenge for him, but he was adapting to it faster than she thought possible. So far they had traveled less than a hundred yards and his control over the bike was improving.

"Depression," William answered. The scooter wobbled as he tried to avoid a small rock on the path.

"What happens next?" Lucy asked.

"I should have opted for the carriage ride," William said. He reached up to rub his face where a bug had hit it and found that the scooter had slowed down on him when he had released the throttle.

"Aren't you having fun?" Lucy asked. She had pestered him into renting the scooter thinking it would be fun.

"Acceptance," William said answering her previous question. Handling the scooter wouldn't have been difficult except he was trying to hold a serious conversation and learn how to ride at the same time. He added, "Give me about five minutes and I'll figure this scooter out."

Lucy rode along beside him letting him work the various controls to get a feel for how it responded. That was not to say that there were many controls. The scooter basically had a headlight, horn, a throttle and front and rear breaks. The Fusion Cell motor was able to take it to the maximum allowed speed in a single gear. Once he was satisfied that he could control the scooter, William said, "We'll only be here another two days."

"Only two more days?" Lucy asked surprised at how soon they would leave.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll snap them out of their depression. They'll want to talk to you most of the day. We'll go touring the parts of the island the next day," William said.

"You're pretty sure of yourself," Lucy said with a smile.

"I know all. I see all," William answered with a wink. He pointed to a building ahead and said, "There's our restaurant."

"Race you there," Lucy said gunning the motor even as she said the word race. The only disappointment was that it didn't create much of a noise. Electric motors didn't rev in the same way that old gasoline engines did.

William had gunned his motor at the same time as Lucy. The bikes were neck and neck. The speed governors didn't let them go faster than twenty miles per hour. They reached the parking lot at the same time. Lucy was laughing despite not having tricked William so that she would win. Raising his arms in the air, William said, "And the crowd goes wild!"

"You're so bad," Lucy said with a laugh.

They parked their scooters and went into the restaurant. Lucy had picked it out after reading all of the little brochures describing the local cuisine. After eating Peter's cooking for a year, it was very hard to be impressed by restaurant fare. If the crowd waiting to be seated was any indication, the food here stood a chance of being quite good.

After waiting to get the attention of the hostess, they were taken to a table. Like many successful restaurants, they had added more tables than could really fit in the room. They had to thread their way around tables to reach their table. William was not impressed.

Once they reached their table, William told the hostess, "I would like to talk to the manager."

"Why?" she asked thinking that all they needed was a customer who started whining about the quality of service right from the start.

William looked off into the distance for a second and then said, "He has a small problem that is about to escalate into a serious problem. I would like to give him some advice that will save his job."

"Okay," the hostess said before walking off. She'd pass the request along, but doubted that the manager would respond.

Lucy looked at William and asked, "What was that about?"

"Just trying to make sure that our visit here isn't ruined by tragedy," William answered. He gestured in the direction of a man headed in their direction and added, "He's coming."

The manager arrived at the table and said, "I'm Darnel Hammond. You asked to talk to the manager."

"I'm William Redman Carter and this is my wife Lucy."

"Nice to meet you," the manager said nodding in the direction of Lucy. He looked back at William and said, "The hostess said that you wanted to discuss a small problem with me."

"Yes. You hired a firm to replace your water heater," William said.

Rather surprised by the direction of the conversation, Darnel stared a moment at William. Wondering if this was a shakedown, Darnel said, "That is correct."

"Please insist that they double check their work before they leave. In fact, you should watch over them when they perform the double check," William said.

Frowning, Darnel asked, "Why?"

"They will have installed the release valve incorrectly. The boiler will explode if you don't force them to re-examine their work," William said.

"You're kidding," Darnel said wondering what William was attempting to achieve.

"Not at all," William said. He looked at Darnel for a second and then said, "It is your job and won't cost you anything to do as I suggest."

That comment made Darnel reconsider ignoring the request. He asked, "Are you a psychic?"

William adjusted his shirt and then answered, "I'm a Druid."

"Yes, sir," Darnel said having caught a glance at the medallion under William's shirt.

"Thank you," William said.

The manager backed away from the table deciding that he'd be very careful the next day when the repairs were made on the boiler. He didn't know for sure that William was a Druid, but following his advice wouldn't hurt.

-------

William stood in front of Georgia and Debbie. The two women were very depressed and looked up at him listlessly. William smiled and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Not so well," Debbie answered. She had woken up that morning and had thrown up. She had dismissed it with the thought that all of the stress was making her ill.

"Same here. My stomach has been real queasy in the mornings," Georgia said.

"I'm not surprised," William said with a smile.

Georgia was still feeling depressed, but she rose to the bait and asked, "Why?"

"A lot of pregnant women suffer from morning sickness," William answered.

"We're not pregnant. We're both on birth control," Debbie said looking over at William.

William laughed and said, "You'll discover that your birth control pills are ineffective. You're both pregnant."

"No," Georgia said sitting up a little straighter in her chair.

"That's not possible," Debbie said with a worried frown appearing on her face.

"You're forgetting that the Gods and Goddesses are involved. Anything is possible when they deem it so," William said.

"Oh my God," Georgia said wide-eyed.

"We're pregnant," Debbie said completing Georgia's statement before covering her mouth with her hand.

"That's right Ladies. You are both pregnant," William said.

Still trying to wrap her mind around the news, Georgia asked, "How do you know?"

"Oscar told me about Petra," William answered.

"When did he tell you about that?" Debbie asked looking over at William in shock.

Looking down at the floor, William answered, "Oscar and I had a chance to talk when I was in the Glade. He told me that you both conceived twins while you were in Petra."

"You talked with him?" Debbie asked. Her features softened as she asked her question.

"Twins?"

"Yes. The last thing he told me was to tell you both that he loved you," William said.

"Twins?" Georgia repeated.

William glanced at Georgia and saw that she was in a state of shock at the news about expecting twins. He smiled and said, "Yes, twins."

"We're both going to have twins?" Georgia asked again.

The enormity of William had said struck Debbie. Eyes wide, she said, "Twins?"

Leaning over to the women, William said, "Yes. Each of you is carrying a little piece of Oscar within you. It is time to accept his death and begin to take care of the lives growing within you."

Moving her hands over her stomach, Debbie said, "I'm going to have twins."



-------

Chapter 4


William looked over at the patio of the hotel where Debbie and Georgia were seated. The two women were talking with each other oblivious of their surroundings. It was obvious to him that they had left their depression behind.

Kim and Nancy joined William at the table. The pair of Druids did not look happy. Nancy said, "I feel like we failed."

"What do you mean?" William asked.

Kim said, "We're supposed to be the grief counselors, not you."

"We were useless," Nancy said running a hand over her medallion. It had been unusually heavy over the past few days.

Shaking his head, William said, "Do you think they would have lived long enough for me to get here if you hadn't been by their side?"

"No," Kim said. She looked over at Nancy and added, "We barely kept them from hurting themselves on several occasions. I've never seen anything like it."

"When I was in the glade with the Two-Sided One, Oscar charged me with taking care of his wives. Thanks to you, I was able to begin fulfilling the promise I made to him," William said.

"We didn't do much," Nancy said looking at him with an odd expression on her face. She was surprised that he mentioned anything about his time in the glade. She had never heard a Druid make reference to their time in the Glade.

William sighed and asked, "Did you know that Georgia was favored by the God and that Debbie was favored by the Goddess?"

"No, I didn't know that," Kim said with a frown.

"Yes. It was a union encouraged by the Gods and Goddesses. Both of those women loved Oscar with their entire heart and soul. I think the love they felt for him was never stronger than on the day he died. He really loved them back. The love they shared was so strong that it was almost physical. I mean, you could almost see the threads that tied those three together. To lose that kind of love has got to be horrific. I'm not surprised that they didn't want to live," William said.

"Oh."

Seeing that he hadn't convinced them that they had performed their duty well, William said, "The Goddess has not chastised you for failure, has she?"

"No," Nancy said.

"We each have a role to play in our service to the Gods and Goddesses. You have provided the service that was asked of you and you did it well," William said looking from one to the other.

"Thank you," Kim said rising from her chair.

"Yes, thank you," Nancy said. She stood and looked down at her robe. She sighed and said, "We have to go shopping for something else to wear."

"If you wait a little bit, I'm sure that Lucy, Debbie, and Georgia would like to go shopping with you," William said. He knew that Debbie and Georgia only had clothes that were appropriate for traveling through the hot climate of the Middle East. Neither had the clothes that would be appropriate for a return to the colder climate of Pennsylvania.

After the pair of Druids left, Lucy joined William at his table. Sitting down, she said, "I see that Debbie and Georgia are out of their room."

With a satisfied grin, he said, "It looks like they've taken the news that they are about to be mothers very well."

"It gives them a reason to live," Lucy said. She thought about how she would react to William dying and knew that she'd want to join him in death. There was no doubt in her mind that Debbie and Georgia had felt the same way. The idea that the Gods and Goddesses would have rendered their birth control ineffective like that was truly staggering. She said, "The Gods and Goddesses work in mysterious ways."

"Yes, they do," William said with a smile.

"I guess I had better go talk to them. I've got a feeling that they really want to share this with a woman," Lucy said recalling that William had said that they women would want to talk to her for the day.

"Yes. You might want to take them shopping. They are going to need some clothes for Pennsylvania," William said.

"That's a good idea," Lucy said thinking that a little time shopping would cheer the women up significantly.

"I think that Kim and Nancy would like to go with you," William said.

"Okay. What will you do?" Lucy asked.

"While you're off shopping, I'll talk with the Guardian Angels and make arrangements for dinner," William said.

-------

Gabriel looked across the table at William seeing his employer for the first time. That someone so young had provided so much money to protect another man's wife was rather impressive. He wasn't sure what to make of the young man, but he knew that he could trust him. He said, "You wanted to talk to us."

"Yes, I did. I just wanted to let you know that you and your crew did a very good job in protecting Debbie and Georgia. I was quite impressed with your performance. Debbie did not even know that you were her bodyguards until Oscar told them," William said. He looked around the table at the others of the team. He sighed and said, "They are safe now. I'll be taking them to live in Pennsylvania where no one will know who they are."

"We did very little," Gabriel said. Debbie had been very low key in Jerusalem and had not drawn much attention. The exception was her visitors.

"You got them out of the country before anyone could react. That was very important," William said. The search by the press for Debbie and Georgia had kicked into overdrive less than thirty minutes after the plane had taken off. He doubted they would have survived the onslaught of harassment by the press.

"I'm sorry that they witnessed what happened there," Remiel said with a frown. He felt guilty that they had allowed the women to watch. The violence of Oscar's death had shocked him. The violence that had occurred afterwards had shaken him to his very foundation. The Powers that Be had always been a kind of abstract distant thing for him. He added, "I'm really surprised that the Druid Gods and Goddesses killed so many people."

William shook his head at the misunderstanding of what had occurred there. He said, "It wasn't the Druid Gods and Goddesses that killed the people in that square. What you saw was Old Testament. It was Yahweh, Jehovah, and Allah punishing those who falsely proclaimed to be their followers."

"What?" Uriel asked staring at William.

"There were four voices of the Powers that Be in that square. Oscar was the only pagan. All of the other people in that square were followers of the other Powers that Be. When those followers turned their backs to their Gods because they refused to obey the commandments that had been delivered to them, their Gods punished them as an example to the rest of their followers," William answered.

The bodyguards looked around the table sharing glances at each other. They had all been concerned with doing their jobs that they hadn't really given that much thought to what had happened in the square. Uriel said, "Oh. I didn't realize that."

Gabriel asked, "What now?"

William pulled out an envelope from his pocket and said, "I suggest that you all take a vacation somewhere. You've earned it. I've included a bonus that should cover six months somewhere nice."

"Thank you," Gabriel said accepting the envelope from William. He didn't bother to look inside it. He said, "Give Ling our regards."

"We're not exactly on speaking terms at the moment," William said with a grimace. There was one more little piece of business to conclude. He looked around the table and said, "We'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. If I may make a suggestion, why don't you take Debbie and Georgia out to dinner tonight? I'm sure that they would appreciate the chance to thank you personally."

-------

Darnel Hammond approached the hotel with butterflies in his stomach. So far this had not been a very good day, but it could have been much worse. He had been shaken by what he had discovered when he the workers reexamined the installation of the new hot water heater. The young man who had warned him of the danger had been absolutely correct. He had been stunned when the foreman had told him what would have happened if it had exploded during business hours. The idea that everyone who had survived the initial explosion would have suffered major burns over their bodies sent shivers down his spine.

His day had only gotten worse when his Chef had climbed all over him. It had happened the moment the Chef had learned the identity of the young man who had given him the warning. The Chef had been furious that William Redman Carter had been seated in the main dining room like a common tourist.

After cajoling the Chef into not quitting, Darnel had decided that it was time for him to find out more about William Redman Carter. After putting in a query on the web, he nearly fainted when he read about the young man. At twenty one, the young man was a major powerbroker in the business world. He learned that William's word could destroy the career of a CEO in a matter of days. He nearly was sick when he thought back to his attitude towards the young man the previous day.

Darnel found William seated in a chair on the patio of the hotel sipping from a glass of iced tea. He approached the young man and said, "Pardon me. I wanted to thank you for your warning."

"Ah, they discovered the problem with the release valve," William said.

"Yes," Darnel answered.

"I'm glad to hear that," William said knowing that they would have witnessed the explosion when leaving the next day.

"My Chef and I want to extend an invitation for you to come to the restaurant for a special meal," Darnel said.

"Ah yes, your Chef. He has the potential of being great, but you are holding him back," William said.

"He does? I am?"

Nodding his head, William said, "He has to prepare too many different dishes and serve too many people. He can't fully develop his culinary skills under those circumstances."

"What can I do?"

"Have a seat," William said gesturing to the chair beside him. Once Darnel had taken a seat, William answered, "I'm not exactly an expert in the restaurant business, but I do have a couple of suggestions."

Having read about William's business record, Darnel wasn't about to miss a chance to get some advice. Sitting on the edge of the chair, he asked, "What are they?"

"First, you need to cut back the number of tables by about twenty per cent. It was too crowded to really enjoy the meal. The noise level was so high that it was hard to hold a conversation. It is also hard to maintain good quality control as a Chef when you have to deliver that many settings in an evening. I wouldn't expand the operation at all by adding more room to the restaurant."

Thinking about the loss of revenue that cutting back that number of tables would involve, Darnel said, "Okay."

"Second, I'd reduce the number of items on your menu. I'm sure that your Chef has a dozen or so main courses that are his real specialties. Those are the dishes that keep your place full of customers. There are a few dishes that you would have to include for those who don't have the palates developed enough to appreciate his specialties. I'm sure your Chef knows exactly what to include in the menu," William said.

The look on Darnel's face was sufficient feedback to know that he didn't exactly like the idea. William added, "You also need to increase the prices by thirty percent. You'll be moving up in terms of clientele and they'll be able to afford the increased prices. If you were to do that, you'd still increase your profits."

Darnel sat back in his chair while he thought about what William had said. He realized it was the kind of advice that could move the restaurant up a level. Earning that last star would really be a major accomplishment. He could see where William's advice could very well lead to that result. Nodding his head, he said, "I'll talk to the owners."

"Do that," William said.

"Will you come to our place tonight?" Darnel asked.

"Yes. We'll be there around eight," William said.

"Thank you," Darnel said. He looked around and said, "I'll tell my Chef to expect you."

Nodding his head, William said, "You might want to warn your Chef that I don't drink wine."

"Thanks," Darnel said and then left.

William took a drink of his tea and looked at the view around him. It was a shame that it was near the end of December. He could just imagine what the island would look like in late spring.

-------

Still recovering from their grief, Debbie and Georgia looked around the tastefully decorated house with subdued emotions. Although the original furniture of the house had gone to Arizona with them, Lucy had fixed up the house with new furnishings. Georgia turned to William and said, "It seems to me like the Carter Clan is always providing me with a place to live. First it was Ed Biggers and now you."

"I hadn't thought about it that way," William said with a smile. He walked over to the front door and opened it just as someone knocked. Holding the door open, he said, "Come in Jan."

Jan entered the house and gave William a quick hug. She then went over to Lucy and gave her a nice long hug. William went over to where Georgia and Debbie were standing and said, "That is Jan. She lives in the RV that is parked beside the house."

"Oh," Georgia said wondering why the woman was living in an RV rather than in the house.

Jan finished hugging Lucy and said, "I won't be here much. I'm driving the RV around the country for book signings. Fat Fred is coming with me."

"I'm so happy for you," Lucy said pleased to hear that the relationship between the two had progressed to that point.

"Thanks," Jan said.

Debbie asked, "Book signings?"

"Yes. My second book has finally been published and they want me to go around to bookstores to sign them," Jan said.

"That's great!" Lucy said. She had read the early manuscript and had found it to be just as inspiring as the first book. The second book had been about the lives of people in the Fusion Foundation.

"I owe it all to you," Jan said giving Lucy another quick hug.

William turned to Debbie and Georgia and said, "Our original staff will be returning here to take care of the house. You'll find them very helpful."

"We don't need anyone," Debbie protested.

"You and Georgia are both expecting twins. You'll need someone to look after you. I'm sure that you'll like Lisa and Ken. They are a nice couple," William said.

Lucy looked at William puzzled by the news. She hadn't known that Ken and Lisa were returning here. Rather than make a scene, she asked, "What about Tim?"

"He's going to finish high school on the reservation and then head off to college," William answered.

"They didn't say anything to me about moving back here," Lucy said feeling hurt that they hadn't mentioned anything to her about leaving.

William looked off into the distance for a second and then back at Lucy. In a soft voice, he said, "They're going to talk to us when we return home. Lisa is homesick."

"Oh."

Georgia and Debbie exchanged glances as they recognized that expression on William's face. They had seen Oscar do the same many times in the past. Georgia said, "I'm sure that we'll like them."

William looked over at Georgia and Debbie for a second and then looked over at Jan. A male voice with a definite female overtone to it said, "Yes. Jan will tell Oscar's story, but it will be a long time before they are ready to share it with her."

"That is good to know," William said aloud. Everyone turned to look at him wondering why he had said that when they had been discussing which rooms they would be using. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Sorry. I wasn't talking to you."

-------

Lucy accepted the soft drink from the stewardess and took a sip. She put the drink on the little tray built into the plush leather chairs of the leased jet. The seating was much more comfortable than the jet that had flown them from Bermuda. She sighed and said, "It's been a busy ten days."

"Yes, it has been," William said looking over at Lucy. Although they had not been physically active, the emotions she had experienced since leaving Arizona had taken their toll. She looked tired.

"We haven't really had a chance to talk since you came out of the glade," Lucy said.

"I know," William replied.

"So much has changed in the past few days," Lucy said.

"Yes. I've regained my foresight. We've helped Debbie and Georgia with their grief," William said.

"Ken and Lisa are leaving," Lucy said.

William nodded his head knowing that was the real thing that was bothering Lucy. She viewed the couple like a favorite aunt and uncle. He said, "You know that Lisa hasn't really been all that happy in Arizona."

"I know. She was doing all right until Peter came. After that, she's kind of felt useless," Lucy said. She had known that it was kind of hard for Lisa to give up ownership of the kitchen, but she hadn't realized that she was so miserable that she wanted to leave. In a way, she felt as if she had failed Lisa in some way.

"I think that she's discovered that she likes taking care of people. With the increase in staff, she isn't taking care of us. She's going to enjoy helping Georgia and Debbie with the babies," William said.

"I'm going to miss her," Lucy said with a slight quiver in her voice.

"So will I," William said.

"So what are we going to do now?" Lucy asked.

"Well, I've got to publish my book. We'll work on the model and start making predictions about how this country is doing. I'll start my service to the Two-Sided One," William answered. He looked over at Lucy and asked, "Are you interested in getting your doctorate?"

"Yes, I think so," Lucy said.

"Good. We'll start a family after you finish your degree," William said with a happy nod of his head.

The stewardess returned and leaned over to William. She smiled at him and said, "We'll be taking off in a minute."

"Thank you," William said while looking down to double check that he had his seat belt fastened.

Lucy looked at the stewardess and noticed that she had undone another button on her blouse. She smiled at the fact that William hadn't noticed. It was obvious by the slight frown on the stewardess's face that she was a little bothered that William hadn't noticed. In a voice that was a little louder than necessary, Lucy said, "Thank you, stewardess."

"You're welcome," the woman answered straightening up and glancing over at Lucy before returning to the rear of the plane.

That the woman would try to pick up William while she was seated next to him irritated Lucy. She said, "From now on, you travel with Barbara or Sandra when ever you leave the house without me."

"Why?"

"You didn't notice the stewardess?" Lucy asked gesturing towards the back of the plane with her thumb.

"What about her?" William asked puzzled by the question.

"She was trying to pick you up," Lucy said.

William laughed and said, "What are you talking about? There's no way she could have picked me up. I'm a little too heavy for her. Besides, I'm fastened in my chair with a seat belt."

Lucy burst out in laughter. She was too busy laughing to notice the plane take off. When she recovered, she said, "I deserved that one."

"You did. I tell you, you have a real active imagination," William said shaking his head.

"I'll bet you that she has three buttons of her blouse unbuttoned when she comes back up here," Lucy said knowing that William was chalking her concerns up to an overactive imagination.

"That kind of defeats the purpose of wearing a blouse, doesn't it?"

"Do you want to bet?" Lucy asked.

"Sure. Standard stakes?"

"Yes," Lucy answered with a smile.

"Good," William said shaking his head. Fifteen minutes later, William was paying off the bet with a kiss. It wasn't that he minded losing, but it had taken him by surprise.



-------

Chapter 5


William focused on the computer screen as a constant stream of raw numbers scrolled past. The set of equations that he was working with had changed a lot over the past few months. He had introduced some additional factors and Lucy had provided him with a set of transforms that simplified the computations significantly. On one of the screens, plots of various economic indicators were slowly being constructed. It now took less than five minutes to compute a year of simulation time. This was barely acceptable to perform what-if kinds of studies.

Lucy stood behind William watching the plots develop. She shook her head and said, "That doesn't look right to me."

William clicked a couple of keys on a separate keyboard and a set of graphs appeared on another monitor. Comparing the developing plot with the graph, it was obvious that Lucy was correct. Shaking his head, he said, "Numerical round off errors are killing me."

"I think you're right," Lucy said with a frown. She had hoped that this run would be acceptable. She picked up the set of equations and studied them for a minute with a frown.

"I need a really good programmer to help with this," William said sounding a little frustrated. It wasn't that he couldn't handle the project; it was that he didn't have the luxury of spending the time on it. He sat back and said, "I don't want to wait until September."

"Why aren't you willing to wait until September?" Lucy asked immediately realizing that was the wrong question to ask. Before William had a chance to answer, she said, "What I really mean to ask is -- why would you have to wait until September?"

"That's when the next batch of students from the Druid College begin their internships," William said.

"Call up one of those MIT guys and see if you can't hire someone graduating now," Lucy suggested.

"I need someone I can trust," William answered with a frown.

Lucy didn't need to ask why he had to trust the person who wrote the program. The potential for misuse was tremendous. She said, "You're right. I wouldn't trust anyone who hadn't learned to live by the two rules."

"I guess we'll try to muddle through the best we can until September," William said.

Lucy stared at the equations for another minute and then said, "I'll do a sensitivity analysis on the equations. There may be a way to predict where the algorithms you are using will become unstable. Why don't you see if you can't find an alternative way to compute the results? You might try to find a predictor-corrector algorithm. The problem is that I don't know if there are any that have been developed for equations of this form."

He turned in his chair to look at Lucy and said, "I love it when you talk math to me."

Lucy smiled at William knowing that he was serious. Winking at him, she said, "Maybe if you're good tonight, I'll shout out an equation when I climax."

"I'm looking forward to it," William said with a grin. He sighed and looked over at the computer screen with the plot his program was constructing. Points were jumping all over the place. He said, "This program has become a pretty good random number generator."

Lucy laughed and said, "People will pay good money for a good random number generator."

"It's too slow," William said. She was about to say something when he rolled his eyes and said, "I haven't forgotten."

"Forgotten what?" Lucy asked. She had been about to remind him that Patrick and Linda were arriving that afternoon.

"That Patrick and Linda are coming this afternoon," William answered.

"You are going to have to stop doing that," Lucy said finding his anticipation of what she was going to say a little unnerving.

"What?" William asked.

"Answering me before I ask you something," Lucy answered.

-------

Colt led Patrick and Linda down to the pool where William and Lucy were swimming. As was usually the case, they were swimming in the nude. With a grin, Colt gestured to the naked couple and said, "As you can see, they aren't too keen on clothes here."

Patrick and Linda shared a look. Linda stripped off her dress while Patrick started unbuttoning his shirt. Winking at Colt, she said, "Neither are we."

"You'd think I'd get to shock someone one of these days," Colt grumbled as he turned to leave. Having known Patrick before he had gone off to college, Colt had been sure that finding William and Lucy nude would shock Patrick, particularly if he was with a young lady. He hadn't quite believed William when he said that Patrick wouldn't even blink.

Patrick said, "Maybe next time."

"Right," Colt said shaking his head as he headed out to the pool room.

Waving to the young couple by the side of the pool, William shouted, "Come on in. The water will help you relax after your trip."

Patrick leaned over to Linda and said, "Like we need to relax after that trip? He's got to be kidding."

"I know what you mean," Linda said. William had arranged for a leased jet to fly them from the college to the airport in Phoenix. They had found a limousine waiting for them when they got off the jet. The entire trip had been spent in incredible comfort.

Patrick yelled back, "Give us a minute to get naked."

William said, "Don't take too long. Your parents are coming over for dinner."

"What? When?" Patrick asked feeling a sudden rush of panic at the idea of his parents catching him swimming naked.

"At six," William answered swimming over to the side of the pool. Lucy swam beside him.

"That's got to be any minute now," Patrick said glancing down at his watch. It was five minutes to six. He started to pull up his pants.

"You forgot the time difference," Lucy said with a laugh at the expression on his face.

Linda laughed and jumped in the pool. Turning over to float on her back, she said, "Come on in. The water is great."

It took Patrick a half a minute to get out of the rest of his clothes and into the pool. After rising to the surface, he swam over to where William was treading water. He said, "I really appreciate everything you did to bring us out here."

"No problem. We were looking forward to seeing you and I just couldn't see the value of having you fly on a regular airline," William said.

The group swam for about an hour pausing on occasion to chat. On one of those occasions, Patrick and William were at one end of the pool while Lucy and Linda were at the other. Patrick glanced over at Linda watching as she talked with Lucy. As much as he would have liked to bring her home with him, he knew his parents would object to him bringing home a girl. Leaning over to William, he asked, "Are you sure that you have a room for Linda?"

"Of course we have room for Linda," William answered with a smile. He asked, "Didn't you look around when you've been here? This place is huge."

"I guess I'm worried about nothing," Patrick said biting his lower lip.

"You're concerned about how your parents are going to react to you bringing home a white woman?" William asked striking to the heart of Patrick's concerns.

"Yes," Patrick said.

"Don't be worried," William said with a wink. On seeing that Patrick was reassured by William's comment, he added, "I've taken care of that."

"Really? How?"

"I told them she was an albino Indian," William answered. He laughed at the shocked look on Patrick's face before swimming off to the other end of the pool.

At the other end of the pool, Linda leaned over to Lucy and asked, "Are you sure that you have room for me?"

Laughing, Lucy said, "We've got a dozen guest suites. We'll get you set up in a guest suite where the two of you can spend a little time alone before his parents get here."

Linda glanced over at Patrick and, in a worried tone of voice, said, "He's been so worried about how his parents will react to me. Do I have to worry about that?"

Lucy shook her head and said, "I wouldn't worry if I were you."

"Good," Linda said relaxing a little.

Lucy grinned and said, "William took care of everything."

"How?" Linda asked.

Lucy said, "He told Patrick's parents that you were an albino Indian."

-------

John Black Thorn and his wife Mary Black Thorn greeted Patrick with normal Native American reserve. John had nodded his head and clasped Patrick's shoulders as if inspecting him. Mary had given him a simple little hug. Linda had watched the exchange feeling a little let down. At her home, there would have been hugs, kisses, and little screams of excitement.

After the greeting had ended, Patrick said, "Mom and Dad, I'd like for you to meet my friend Linda."

John looked over at the young lady rather surprised to learn that he had brought a friend home with him. Not quite sure of the relationship, he said, "Nice to meet you Linda."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, sir," Linda said.

Mary gave a slightly more critical examination of the young woman than John had given her. She had never thought that Patrick would go for a woman like her, but she didn't give voice to her thoughts. Her surprise wasn't because Linda was a white woman; it was just that she had almost no breasts. All of his female friends in the past had been well developed. She said, "Hello, Linda."

"Hello, ma'am," Linda said. The rather subdued reaction was not what she had been expecting.

Seeing that Linda was a little uncomfortable, Lucy said, "I believe that the Chef is ready for us."

As the group walked off, William positioned himself between John and Mary. After winking at Lucy, he patted John on the shoulder and said, "I fear that I mislead Patrick. I told him that I had talked to you about how he was bringing an albino Indian home for you two to meet. I fear he hasn't figured out that Linda is a white woman."

Patrick looked over at William and exclaimed, "She's White?"

John burst out laughing at the comment. Shaking his head, he said, "That boy was always too busy talking to ever get around to thinking."

Shaking her head, Mary said, "We tried to raise him right. The Great Spirit knows we tried."

"I imagine that it was a real trial," William said nodding his head. Patrick looked over at William and shook his head. William added, "She has to be good person to put up with him."

Linda was giggling at the exchange until she realized what William had done. The short time at the college made her realize William had brought up Patrick's concerns in a manner that completely diffused the issue. She looked over at him with awe.

Mary smiled at Linda and said, "I'm sure of that."

"I thought there was something different about her," Patrick said shaking his head.

Linda nudged him with her hip and said, "It's about time you noticed."

The group assembled around the dining room table on the first floor. John and Mary sat across the table from Patrick and Linda. William sat next to John while Lucy sat next to Linda. Standing at the head of the table was Peter. Looking over at Peter, William said, "What culinary delights have you prepared for us?"

"I thought that I would start the meal with Shrimp Cocktail. Since it is my understanding that Mary is allergic to seafood, I have prepared a nice Fried Chicken Liver appetizer for her," Peter answered. He waited for the inevitable comment from William.

Mary was shocked at the fact that he knew she was allergic to seafood. She said, "I love Fried Chicken Livers and I never get to eat it because no one else in the house likes it."

Peter looked over at William and shook his head. He had no idea how William had known that. He said, "It is based on a Japanese variation that I think you'll enjoy."

"I can't wait," Mary said smiling up at him.

Peter said, "I have some very nice Omaha Angus Porterhouse Steaks for the main course. As sides, I've chosen baked potatoes and steamed asparagus."

John said, "I like my steak cooked medium well."

Peter nodded his head and said, "William has given me everyone's preferences on how they like their steaks prepared."

Linda looked at William wondering how he had managed to do that. She liked her steaks cook medium rare and hated it when they were over cooked. Lucy nudged her and said, "Don't worry. William knows how you like your steak."

"For dessert, I have individual Soufflés," Peter said.

"Chocolate for everyone except Linda and Lucy," William said.

"Yes. I have Raspberry for them," Peter said nodding to the two young women.

Lucy smiled and said, "It sounds like a good meal."

After Peter had left the room, John looked across the table at Patrick. He asked, "How is college?"

Patrick was about to make a joke, but held back. In a serious voice, he answered, "It is the most difficult thing I've ever done. The instructors demand excellence from us. I never realized how difficult it is to perform at a high level day after day."

Nodding her head, Linda said, "They keep reminding us that we are in it for the long run and to keep up. They say that everything we learn today will be the basis for what we learn tomorrow."

John nodded his head and said, "That is very wise. It is true of life as well as school."

Curious how her son had handled himself, Mary asked, "How was the first day of school?"

Patrick looked around nervously trying to figure out how to answer the question. He said, "It was a real surprise."

Mary looked over at Linda and said, "It must have been particularly difficult for you."

"Why do you say that?" Linda asked glancing over at Patrick.

"To undress in front of so many people must have been very difficult. I don't think I could have done that," Mary said.

Patrick swallowed and said, "You know about that."

Mary smiled and said, "Yes. William explained it to us before you left for school. I was worried at first, but he put my fears to rest."

"He didn't tell me," Patrick said looking over at William.

William grinned back at Patrick and asked, "What was your first impression?"

"That I was surrounded by Native Americans," Patrick answered winking at Linda.

"Why?" John asked knowing that he was being set up for something.

"The way everyone was blushing, I was surrounded by red skins," Patrick answered.

As groans rose from around the table, Mary shook her head and looked over at Linda. She said, "I don't know how you put up with him."

-------

After Patrick had left with his parents, William, Lucy, and Linda were seated around a coffee table drinking coffee. Lucy asked, "So what did you think of Patrick's parents?"

"I like them," Linda answered.

"Patrick was very worried that his parents would not approve of what he has been doing at the Druid College. He was right to be worried. Native Americans are very reserved," William said.

"They seemed to be okay with the nudity," Linda commented. She knew that Patrick had been terrified of their reaction to that news.

William smiled at the observation and said, "They've had time to get used to the idea."

"Oh," Linda said.

Lucy said, "His parents are very conservative, but they want the best for Patrick. They recognize the advantages that he will gain by having gone to the Druid College. Every Native American who has gone there, even for just a year, has gone on to become important in their tribe. They appreciate the opportunity he is being given."

"What about the fact that I'm white?" Linda asked.

Smiling, William said, "The fact that you are in the Druid College speaks louder than the color of your skin."

"I didn't think of it that way," Linda said.

"Neither did Patrick," William said. He stared off into the distance for a second.

"Oh."

"In two years, Patrick is going to the Native American College. I fear that the time of separation is going to be hard on both of you. You will find yourself interested in another of your classmates. Patrick is going to meet a very nice young woman there," William said watching Linda's reaction.

"I am? He is?" Linda asked puzzled.

"Yes. It will be up to you to choose your husband. You will be much happier if you marry Patrick and his lady friend. So will Patrick. For that matter, so will the other woman," William said.

Shocked at the suggestion, Linda asked, "I will?"

Standing up, he looked at the two women and said, "Yes. I will let you and Lucy to have a little time together."

"Thank you," Lucy said knowing that Linda was going to grill her about William's pronouncement. She winked at him and said, "Pi R Squared."

William laughed and said, "I'm sure that will hold me until later."

Linda had watched the exchange a little puzzled. After William left, she asked, "If I may be so bold to ask, what was that about Pi R Squared?"

"I promised to talk math at him tonight," Lucy answered with a smile.

"Math?"

"Yes. It's our version of talking dirty," Lucy said.

"I can see why Patrick and William get along," Linda said laughing. She got serious and asked, "What was William talking about when he was saying that stuff about Patrick and me?"

-------

While Lucy and Linda discussed matters that were important to them, William was in his office staring at his computer deep in thought. Looking at the plot generated earlier that day, he knew it would be several years before the program functioned correctly. It didn't even take the gift of foresight to know that. Shaking his head, he said, "There's not enough time for me to be subtle. For now, I'll have to use brute force."

He picked up the phone and dialed his father. When his father answered, William said, "I need your help."

"What?" Ed asked surprised by the nature of the call. He had figured that after William had regained his ability to see the future that his son wouldn't need anyone's help.

"I need you to come with me when I go to visit some people," William said knowing that his father wasn't going to be too pleased when he heard who the people were.

"Who?"

William answered, "Some politicians."

"Oh, I hate politicians. They give me headaches. What do you need me to do?" Ed asked. It wasn't so much that politicians lied to him, but they never told the whole truth.

"I need your help in trying to dig up some skeletons," William answered.

"Convince me that it is a worthy cause," Ed said. He wasn't going to help William destroy someone's political career because they were on the wrong side of some issue that William thought important.

Sitting back in his chair, William said, "Oscar Meyers gave his life to eliminate the excuse that was being used to wage war. It is up to me to make sure that a different excuse does not take its place."

Put that way, there was no way that Ed could refuse. He said, "I hate Washington D.C."

"We're not going there."

"Where are we going?"

William put his feet up on his desk and answered, "We're going to Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, Massachusetts, California, and Texas. I figure while we're in Texas, we might want to stop by Daddy John's old house so that I can check up on some old friends."

"Sounds like quite a trip," Ed said wondering what William was planning to do.

"That's right. We're going to be meeting a lot of politicians so bring along a couple of bottles of aspirin," William said.

Chuckling at the comment about the aspirin, Ed asked, "Anything else?"

"You'll need your robe," William said.

That comment gave Ed a moment of pause. He asked, "When do we leave?"

"In a week," William answered.



-------

Chapter 6


Representative Sidney Smith walked to his office pleased that he had an entire afternoon without a single appointment. Between public speeches, committee meetings, time spent on the floor of the House of Representatives, and smooching with businessmen for funding, he felt that he never had time to think through the issues. It was his standing order that no appointments were to be scheduled Friday afternoons. That was his time to catch up on the issues of the day.

Entering his office, Sidney froze and looked at the two men seated in front of his desk. He swallowed and asked, "What can I do for you?"

"Ah, Representative Sidney Smith, allow me to introduce myself. I am William Redman Carter and the gentleman to my side is my father, Ed Biggers."

Sidney stared at the black robes and gold medallions around their necks. Stating the obvious, he said, "You're Druids."

"That is correct," Ed said giving Sidney a curt nod of his head. He figured that was the last fully honest sentence he would hear for the day.

Gesturing to the chair behind the desk, William said, "Have a seat. We have come here to talk with you."

"About what?" Sidney asked. He wasn't sure what it meant when two Druids showed up, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't good. He had heard that the Druids weren't going to wear their robes anymore unless it was part of their service. His mouth seemed to dry up as he edged towards his chair.

"About your past and then about your future," William answered glancing down at the small notebook that was on his lap.

"Okay," Sidney said wondering what they thought he might have done in the past. The bit about his future sounded a lot like a threat.

"I'd like to start off by asking you some questions. Although you might not want to answer them, it is important that you answer them and do so truthfully. Hearing lies gives my father headaches and we wouldn't want that to happen," William said while opening up a small notebook.

Uncertain if he was making a wise decision, Sidney said, "Okay. Ask away."

William looked down the list of questions for a few seconds and then said, "Let's get the big ones out of the way. Have you ever committed a felony?"

"No," Sidney answered suddenly concerned that they were going to frame him for something he hadn't done. Being a moderate politician he knew that his position often put him at odds with religious fanatics.

"Good. Have you ever committed any criminal act?" William asked glancing up from his notebook on the final two words of his question.

"No," Sidney answered.

Ed cleared his throat and said, "That's not quite true."

Looking around as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Sidney said, "Well, there was the normal kind of stupid stuff you do when you're a teenager."

Smiling at the admission, William said, "I need to know everything. Don't forget traffic violations."

Sidney wondered if he needed to get a lawyer. He frowned and asked, "What's going on? Why should I tell you anything?"

"Well, I'm asking some questions to discover what kinds of skeletons you have in your closet. If I like the answers that I believe we'll get from you, then I'll ask you about your political positions on a number of issues of national importance," William answered. He smiled at Sidney before he said, "If I like those answers, then I'm going to get you elected to the House of Representatives."

"I'm already in the House of Representatives," Sidney said with a snort.

"I'm not talking about the Ohio House of Representatives. I'm talking about the one in Washington," William said.

"Bah. The guy who holds the office in my district has been there forever. There's no way that I can win against him," Sidney said.

William leaned forward and said, "That's where you're wrong. If you answer my questions, I'll show you how to beat him in a clean straight up campaign."

Sidney stared at William trying to see if the man was lying to him. After a long thirty seconds, he said, "You're serious."

Ed said, "William is the most serious person I know."

-------

Back at the hotel, William and Ed went out to a patio bar and ordered iced teas. While a very helpful waitress ran off to fetch their teas, they went over to a table well away from everyone else so that they could talk without being overheard. Upon taking a seat, Ed said, "I don't understand what you are doing."

"I'm trying to fix the Crisis of Followership and save the world," William said.

"How?" Ed asked.

"Last election I predicted the winner of every national and state race based on a very simple formula. Would you like to know something very odd about that election?" William asked.

"Sure," Ed answered.

"The winners at the state levels had positions that were supported by the majority of their constituents. The winners at the federal levels had positions that were supported by only ten percent of their constituents," William said.

"What?" Ed asked unable to believe what he heard. He knew that William was telling the truth, but that didn't mean he understood why it was the truth.

"The people elected individuals to the national offices who didn't represent their interests," William said smiling at his father.

"I'm sorry, but you are going to have to convince me. I just don't see how that is possible," Ed said.

"There are a dozen major issues that are important at any given time. Of course a candidate has a position on each of those issues. Now, a candidate could have a position on one of those issues that is supported by a majority of people within his district. If he runs on that issue, he's likely to be elected. Right?"

"Sure," Ed said.

"What if his position on the rest of the issues is not supported by the majority of people within his district? Does he lose?"

"Not if those issues are never raised," Ed said sitting back in his chair. He could see exactly where William was going in his explanation.

The waitress came by with their iced teas. The two didn't talk while she placed the glasses on the table. William signed the bill adding it to his tab at the hotel without noticing the telephone number on the slip of paper with the bill. The waitress glanced down at the tip and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," William answered.

"Can I do anything for you?" the waitress asked bending over to William. Her blouse billowed open.

"No," William said.

The waitress handed him the slip of paper that had been with the bill and said, "Here's my number. Give me a call if anything comes to mind."

Looking down at the slip of paper, William said, "Wow, that's a brilliant service idea. I never would have thought of giving the customers a cell phone number so that they can call for service."

Ed rolled his eyes while the waitress stared at William. She knew that he was rich and good looking. She couldn't imagine someone that rich being that dense. Finally, she said, "That's my personal number. If I can do anything for you, just give me a call."

Handing the number back to the waitress, William gestured to a table across the patio and said, "The woman seated over there is my secretary. Usually she runs all of my errands, but she might appreciate your help. Give her this and she'll call you if we need you."

"Okay," the waitress said backing away from the table wondering why he would want her to give the number to his secretary. Thinking that rich people did things their own way, she decided that the woman was in charge of his entourage or something.

William waited for her to leave before he continued his discussion with his father, "As I was about to say, a candidate runs on the one issue that he thinks will get him elected and ignores all of the other issues. Of course, the other candidate runs on the one issue that he thinks will get him elected. The voters choose between the two candidates never realizing that neither candidate actually represents their positions on the majority of the issues."

"I can see how that happens. Why are you interested in Sidney Smith?" Ed asked.

William smiled and answered, "Like I said. The situation is a little different at the local level. His position across all of the issues actually captures the position of more than sixty per cent of the people within his district."

Ed had found the man's positions to be fairly moderate. He didn't discuss any of the issues with an extreme dogmatic position. He said, "I'll accept your word on that."

"I've studied the demographics of this area very thoroughly. He's the best representative of the electorate in his district."

"How does that relate to the Crisis of Followership?"

"If he wins, the people will be able to follow him because they agree with him on the issues. It isn't a matter of the leadership qualities that he displays, but that he is the right man for the followers," William answered.

"What about the forty percent that don't agree with him?" Ed asked.

"They will agree with him on enough of the issues that the others won't matter that much. Less than ten percent will be opposed to him across all of the issues," William answered.

"What about his opponent?" Ed asked.

"Ah, that man campaigns on one issue and it is a very polarizing issue. The majority of voters doesn't know his position on the rest of the issues and would be disturbed to learn what he really represents. There is a hardcore ten percent who agree with him and a hardcore ten percent who disagree entirely with him. They know where he stands on the rest of the issues," William said.

Ed took a long sip of his iced tea while thinking about what William was saying. There were a lot of questions that remained unanswered. He asked, "How does this support what Oscar did?"

William answered, "That's a good question. The problem amongst the majority of individuals who are in office at the federal level is that they represent one of two extremes in terms of international policy. There's the world government crowd and the America first crowd. Because our politics have become so divisive, the leadership oscillates between the two extremes almost every election. The tension between those two groups leads to a very inconsistent foreign policy that will again drive the world to a state of global war."

Ed nodded his head. He said, "You know that Druids have been advising members of the government for a long time to prevent that from happening."

"Yes, but we've never been able to solve the underlying problem. The voters are electing people who don't really represent them. The situation has changed. The Bards have returned, the Druids are strong, and the graduates of the Druid College are moving into positions of influence around the world. Now we are in a position to get a more moderate class of politician in office," William said.

Ed shook his head and said, "I really don't like the idea of getting that involved in politics. Religion and politics don't mix."

"I agree. I'm not pushing a political agenda. All I'm doing is trying to block the more extreme positions from keeping control. It isn't the positions themselves that is the problem; it is the dogmatic extremism that exists. That's what is fracturing the populace and creating the Crisis of Followership. I'm trying to remove that problem," William said. A very minor change in the representatives to Congress would reduce the power at the extremes and strengthen the moderates.

"You're going to be walking a fine line," Ed cautioned.

William sighed and said, "If you could see the possible futures that I see, you wouldn't be able to sleep at night."

-------

William walked into the hotel suite to find Barbara on the telephone talking to someone. At least she was attempting to talk. She was laughing so hard that tears were coming out of her eyes. He wondered what was so funny. On seeing him, Barbara said, "I've got to hang up now. William's back."

Once Barbara hung up the phone, William said, "That must have been a funny story to make you laugh that hard."

Wiping the tears out of her eyes, Barbara said, "I have to thank you for having Frieda give me her telephone number."

"Frieda? Oh, you mean the waitress. She really wanted to be helpful and I thought that you might appreciate some assistance," William said going over to the desk in search of a telephone book. He wanted to find out if there was a Squid Shack or a Burrito Bungalow in the area.

Barbara burst out laughing. She barely managed to croak out, "You're killing me."

"What?" William asked looking over at her.

"She didn't want to be helpful in that way," Barbara said wiping her eyes.

"Okay," William said deciding that was an argument that he was going to lose. He asked, "Do you know where the telephone book is?"

"Why?" Barbara asked wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Dad said that I could pick out where to eat tonight. I'd like to see if there's a Squid Shack or a Burrito Bungalow nearby," William answered.

"There's a Fish and Chips place two blocks from here and a Taco place four blocks past that," Barbara answered with a smile. It was one of the first things she had looked up when they had arrived there. It wasn't a matter of if he would ask about them, but when he would ask about them.

"Oh, that's good. I wonder which one we should go to," William said thinking about it.

"It's up to you," Barbara said. Looking at the serious expression on his face, she was having a hard time keeping from bursting out in laughter. She was going to suggest getting Frieda to help him with the decision, but was afraid that he'd think she was serious.

"I really feel like a Squid Shack. Is it the one with the good malt vinegar?" William asked.

"Yes," Barbara said.

"We'll go after I call Lucy," William said.

Shaking her head, Barbara said, "I'd give her a few minutes before calling her. I imagine that she's still laughing."

"Oh, did something funny happen to her?" William asked. Barbara fell out of her chair she was laughing so hard.

-------

Ed and William walked down the street with Barbara sandwiched between them. They were headed towards the fish place and William had insisted that they walk rather than ride. The two men were wearing blue jeans and western style shirts that contrasted sharply with the typical shirts worn by the local men. With their cowboy boots and hats, it was very obvious that they weren't from around the area. Neither of them looked like a Druid. Barbara was wearing a business casual suit and a pair of walking shoes.

As a car approached them, William said, "It's really a shame that people aren't more mature."

"Why do you say that?" Ed asked looking over at William.

As the car drove past, a young man leaned out and shouted, "Hey, goat ropers, what are you doing with that fine piece of ass? You should be out chasing sheep or something."

Shaking his head, as the car sped off, Ed said, "Never mind."

"They'll be back," William said. He knew they had been drinking earlier and were looking for a fight.

They had gone about a quarter of the block up the street when the car drove towards them again. It had circled the block. Seeing it, Barbara said, "There they are."

William sighed and asked, "Dad, would you mind turning your back for a minute?"

"I've got a feeling that I'm not going to like what you are going to do," Ed said looking over at William.

"I just need to kill some time until the cavalry shows up," William said earning a puzzled look from Ed and Barbara. He added, "Look at what's across the street."

The car came to a stop and two young men in their early twenties got out. They swaggered over to where William was standing. It was obvious that they had been drinking quite heavily. One of them looked at Ed and then at William. He said, "Looks like we got a Cowboy and an Indian. Let's play a little Cowboys and Indians."

"Hey, Cowboy! We're talking to you," the other young man said tapping Ed on the arm. He asked, "Do you want to play Cowboys and Indians?"

"Turn around old man!"

Looking at the pair in disgust, William said, "He doesn't want to waste his time dealing with you."

"Indian boy, shut up. We're not talking to you," the first young man said. He went to push William with one arm, but William didn't move. The young man was too drunk to care that his effort wasn't successful.

"Maybe we'll just have to scalp you," the other one said.

In a falsetto voice, William said, "I'm so scared."

"You better be scared, Injun boy," the first young man said.

The second guy looked over at Barbara. He grabbed his crotch in an obscene gesture and said, "You need a real man in your life, baby, and I'm just the man for you."

William wanted to laugh, but the two guys were just too stupid. A couple of homeless men wandered over and stood behind the two young men. When one of the homeless men went to step forward, William shook his head. Things had to play out to end for the best. He said, "This is like some sort of scene out of a B movie. Even the dialog is bad."

Barbara watched the growing crowd of homeless men and wondered how long it would take the two young men to notice. Looking over at William, she said, "I'd definitely give it two thumbs down."

Ed watched a couple of homeless men shuffle over to where he was standing. Looking over his shoulder at William, he said, "Just get it over with."

"I'm waiting for more people to show up," William said.

Barbara looked over at William and asked, "Why?"

"I like an audience," William answered as he winked at Barbara.

One of young men said, "Oh, look at the big man talking. He thinks he can take both of us all by himself."

William looked at the pair glad that Ling wasn't there. They'd have been dead by then. He said, "You have no idea what you are doing. You're both drunk and acting stupid. If you don't take control of your lives, you'll end up in prison."

The taller of the two young men stepped forward and sneered, "Shut up, Indian boy."

"Half Feather, are these two bothering you?" one of the homeless men asked.

Another one asked, "Do you want us to make them disappear?"

"We can make it permanent," a third man said. There was a low growl to his voice that scared the hell out of the two young men.

"Or we can just... ," one of the men started to say before he noticed Barbara. He finished his sentence with, "... mess them up real good."

Startled by the voices behind them, the two young men looked around. They were surrounded by more than a dozen homeless men. The men didn't look very happy. In fact, they looked very angry.

Shaking his head, William answered, "Just take their keys away from them and keep them at the Homeless Hotel until they sober up."

The homeless men moved in and grabbed the two young men. Restrained by strong hands, the pair had their pockets emptied through the expedient act of ripping the pockets. One of the young men protested, "You can't do that!"

"They can and they just did," William replied with a smile. His comment provoked a round of laughter from the homeless men. The next twelve hours were going to be remembered by the two young men for the rest of their lives.

Angry about having his pants torn, the taller man said, "I'll sue!"

William looked at one of the homeless men and asked, "Chaser, would you like to spend an evening teaching these young men the law about the use of alcohol?"

"Sure thing, Half Feather. I can wax poetic about matters of a legal nature for the whole night. They don't call me Ambulance Chaser for nothing."

William looked over at a man with a jagged scar across his forehead and tattoos that covered both of his arms. He asked, "Hard Time, would you like to spend an evening teaching these young men the consequences of breaking the law?"

"Sure, I'll be happy to tell them all about what happens to fresh meat in the big house," Hard Time answered while putting an arm around each of two men. For some reason they paled at the prospect of spending time talking to him. Grinning down at their ashen faces, he winked at William and added, "Maybe I'll even show them."

"Great. I really appreciate it. I'm sure that one day they'll appreciate it as well," William said winking at Hard Time. Seeing that the homeless men had things well in hand, he said, "We're going down to the Squid Shack for a bite to eat. I'll swing by the Homeless Hotel later with some gift certificates."

Rubbing his hands together, Chaser said, "Boys, we're having fish for lunch tomorrow!"

William watched the homeless pick up the two young men like sacks of flour and carry them off. Giving his two companions a wry grin, he said, "I think those two are going to grow up very quickly."

Watching the homeless men carrying the two young men across the street to the Homeless Hotel, Barbara said, "I was nervous until I noticed the Homeless Hotel across the street."

"You knew this was going to happen when you suggested that we walk here," Ed said.

"They would have seriously hurt someone later tonight," William said with a sigh and shrug of his shoulders. He stared into the distance for a second. Although most of his life would be filled with labor, one day the taller man would save someone's life. The smaller man would live an unremarkable life, but he'd be happy with it. Looking over at his father, he said, "They are going to change the direction of their lives as a result of this."

Barbara shook her head in amazement and said, "What now?"

"Let's go eat. I think I'll spend the night over at the Homeless Hotel. I haven't visited with the guys in a long time," William said.



-------

Chapter 7


William shook his head in amazement while going through the stack of papers Barbara had handed him. She had all of their expenditures typed up for the accountant complete with receipts. The confirmations for chartered jets were in a neat little stack. The agenda for the meetings had been typed up with copies for everyone. Looking up at Barbara, he said, "You are amazing. I don't know how you keep up with everything."

Upon hearing more praise from William, Barbara squirmed in her chair. It seemed to her like every time she turned around he was praising her. It would be one thing if it was just words, but he meant them. He really did appreciate everything she did for him. Fighting to keep control of her voice, she said, "It is not that difficult."

"Maybe not for you, but I don't think anyone else could handle all of these details. You've got our reservations made, flights booked, and an itinerary laid out even while you're traveling around the country babysitting my Dad and me," William said looking her in the eye. He looked at her and thought she looked a little tired. He decided that she deserved a little break.

"I'm just doing my job," Barbara said. A week of preparing for the trip and then ten days on the road with William praising her the entire time was doing a number on her libido. He talked to her and not to her breasts. He complimented her on her ideas and not her looks.

She watched him go through the stack of papers. When he tossed a couple of them on the table she wished that he'd take a moment to throw her on the table and have his way with her. He said, "Excuse me for a minute."

"Sure," Barbara said thankful for the minor reprieve. She felt that if he had stayed one minute longer she was going to lose control.

William left the room and returned five minutes later. Sitting down at the table, he said, "I called down to the hotel spa and arranged for you to get a massage. They'll be ready for you in about thirty minutes."

"You didn't need to do that," Barbara said while thinking that if he wanted her to have a massage he could give her one.

"I'm sure that traveling with us has been very stressful. You need a chance to relax and get your mind off of your work," William said smiling over at her.

"Okay," Barbara said resigned to the inevitable.

She didn't seem all that excited about a massage. Wondering if she would like some help, William asked, "We keep running into women who want to be helpful. Are you sure that you don't want to give one or two of them a call?"

"You're hopeless," Barbara said shaking her head in amazement. Laughing, she left to change her clothes for the visit to the spa.

-------

When Barbara left for her massage, William paced around the room for a few minutes wishing that Lucy was there. After a few rounds around the room, he decided to call Lucy to see how she was doing. He pulled out his cell phone and pushed the buttons that would connect him to her. As soon as Lucy answered the phone, he said, "I miss you."

"I miss you, too," Lucy said putting down the pad with the equations she had been examining. It always took a couple of seconds to pull out of that world of mathematics in which she occasionally swam. It took more than that to return to the world once she was interrupted.

"What are you doing?" William asked.

"I'm working," Lucy said glancing over at the pad. Another relationship among the parameters popped out at her. She circled them on the pad to remember it before turning her attention back to the call.

"What are you working on?" William asked. She had stayed behind to work on better understanding the equations that William had generated. They were amazingly complicated and she had found herself getting drawn into them for days at a time. He hadn't wanted to drag her away from her work.

"The sensitivity analysis," Lucy answered wiping her eyes. She hadn't had any sleep for two days.

"That sounds like fun," William said. He wasn't being sarcastic, he actually meant it.

She yawned and then said, "I always thought that society was relatively stable, but it is extremely sensitive to some factors. It is kind of frightening to think of how unstable it is with respect to a handful of parameters. I'm really surprised."

"I'm not surprised," William said.

"You're not?" Lucy asked.

Sitting down in a chair and getting comfortable for a long conversation, William said, "Just think about how many countries go along appearing very stable. Then one day there is some event that destabilizes the government and within a year it falls."

"I hadn't thought about that," Lucy said. She looked over the array of equations trying to become one with them. They were just too complicated to understand in their totality. It amazed her that William had been able to generate them.

"We have to find the stable areas," William said.

"I'm working on it," Lucy said.

"I wish I was there. I love watching you work."

Lucy laughed at the comment. Although she knew it was true, she never understood what he found so interesting about her when she was working. She twitched her nose and twirled her hair thinking about the math with half her mind. She said, "I miss you, particularly at night."

"Same here. It is so lonely at night without you by my side," William said.

"I hope that Barbara is taking good care of you," Lucy said.

"She's doing a wonderful job. She's handling all of the travel details even though they change almost daily. I went over the receipts for the trip with her before she sent them back for Juanita. I tell you, that woman is a wonder," William said.

"I didn't mean that way," Lucy said chuckling. She was pretty convinced that Barbara was about to explode from frustration. The more William praised her, the hornier Barbara got. Lucy expected to get a call soon to hear about how Barbara had gone to bed with William refusing to take no for an answer.

"What way did you mean?" William asked. He rolled his eyes when he realized what Lucy was suggesting and, before she had a chance to answer, said, "I don't want to impose on her like that."

"Impose?" Lucy asked thinking that definitely wasn't the word that Barbara would use to describe it.

"Right," William said.

Lucy deep a deep sigh and said, "Promise me that you'll impose on her tonight."

"She's tense and needs to relax," William said.

"That's all the better reason for you invite her to your bed," Lucy explained.

He said, "I sent her down for a massage, but she didn't seem all that excited."

"Sleep with her," Lucy said rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure?" William asked. He never understood why Lucy was always pushing him to sleep with the staff. He felt that they had to be tired of his attentions.

"Yes, I'm sure," Lucy answered.

"I love you," William said.

Lucy said, "I love you. So does Barbara."

-------

With reservations made by Marguerite, William, Ed, and Barbara arrived at the finest restaurant in Boston. They were comfortably riding in a stretch limousine. Barbara sat beside William touching him on the arm. William and Ed did not realize that Barbara had reserved the car. They thought it had been provided by the hotel in which they were staying. They would have been happy with a standard taxi.

Knowing what restaurant they would be dining at, Barbara was dressed to kill. She wore a black evening dress that was tailored to show her cleavage to best advantage. The low cut back of her gown showed a broad expanse of perfect skin. Her hair was up highlighting her neck and face. Her high heels were the perfect height for accentuating her shapely calves. A simple emerald necklace completed the outfit.

Absolute silence reigned when she walked into the restaurant. Every head, male and female, watched her walk through the room to the private dining area the Chef had set up for them. Nobody seemed to notice that Ed and William were dressed in blue jeans, work shirts, and cowboy boots. All eyes were on Barbara.

As was often the case when Ed or William ate in one of the better establishments, the Chef went all out. As Ed raved about the Lobster Bisque, William quietly ate his soup. While Ed enjoyed the Tuna Steak, William ate his main course without a comment. Ed looked across the table at William and said, "What's the matter? You don't like the food?"

"The food is good," William answered.

"So what's the matter?" Ed asked.

"Somehow, eating doesn't seem to give me the pleasure that it gives you," William answered. He looked at his father and asked, "Don't you ever get tired of eating this kind of food?"

"No, I don't," Ed answered. He leaned forward and said, "I like the fast food just as much as the other person. The problem I have with it is that it is mass produced. There's no art to it. It is soulless.

"Now, this meal is very different. The Chef went out and selected the finest ingredients by hand. He blended the ingredients together to bring out the flavors in the hope of achieving an esthetic balance for my pleasure. It is a work of art and every dish is slightly different. I not only appreciate the flavor and the presentation of the dish, I also appreciate the time and effort put into its creation. I appreciate the hard work that it took to cultivate the kind of talent necessary to make such a dish."

William nodded his head and said, "You do have a point, but I still like a good Burger Burner burger."

Ed laughed at the comment and said, "I tease Marguerite unmercifully about how she's trying to poison me, but you have to admit that she works harder at her art than anyone else that you know. I respect her for that kind of dedication even though only a handful of people ever get to see the result of that hard work."

"I know," William said.

Barbara had followed the conversation although the majority of her attention was on the food. It was one of the best meals that she had ever eaten. She almost missed when William stared off into space for a minute and then frowned. She had come to recognize that as a sign that something rather unpleasant was about to happen.

Without looking, William said, "Senator, I know why you are here. I'm sorry, but your time in office must come to an end. Nothing that you can say on that matter will change my mind."

"I heard that you came here to talk to my opponent in the upcoming campaign. I thought you might want to talk to me to see if we can't come to some kind of understanding," the Senator from Massachusetts said. He glanced over at Barbara and nearly lost his train of thought. He wished that he was a younger man who could thoroughly enjoy such an attractive woman.

"Our positions are not reconcilable. You want to stay in office and I want you to leave office. You shall run for re-election and your opponent shall run to replace you. The voters will decide," William said.

"Now young man, I know you're wealthy and think that your money will help Edgar Lomb defeat me, but he doesn't stand a chance. You're young and naïve to the realities of politics. Your money will be better spent with me where I can help you in the future," the Senator said.

William slowly turned around to look at the Senator. Fire flashed from his eyes as he said, "I am not as naïve as you might think. I am not offering Edgar Lomb money. I am giving him something far more valuable."

"What?"

"My advice."

The Senator snorted and said, "Then I don't have anything to worry about."

Pursing his lips, William rubbed the palms of his hands together thoughtfully. After fifteen seconds had passed, he said, "I'll give you two pieces of advice. First, drop out of the race. Second, never fuck with a Druid."

"You're a Druid?" the Senator asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Yes," William answered. He looked over at his father for a second before turning to look at the Senator. In a dismissive voice, he said, "Leave us. We would like to finish our meal without any more unpleasantness."

"This isn't over," the Senator promised as he backed out of the private dining room.

Once the Senator was gone, William said, "That man sickens me. He's ripped off the American Taxpayer for over four decades. He talks about helping the poor while putting into place programs that keep the poor from ever succeeding. He says he hates big business, but accepts their money and supports them in every vote. For four decades he's destroyed people's lives while playing his political games. He's a detestable hypocrite."

Barbara smiled and said, "Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel about him."

Ed chuckled at her comment and said, "William isn't very good about expressing his feelings."

"You know what he's doing right now?" William asked.

"What?"

William answered, "He's trying to find some way to stop me. It isn't going to be very pleasant."

"I take it that you mean it will quickly escalate to violence," Ed said.

Barbara stared at her plate and said, "I'm beginning to lose my appetite."

William shrugged his shoulders and said, "Don't worry. I've got it all under control. Enjoy your food."

Barbara took a bite of her dish and found that the flavor helped drive off the bad feelings that had descended on the room. She smiled and said, "This is heavenly."

"Save some room for desert," Ed said. He didn't know what the Chef would prepare, but he was sure it would be good.

Chef Negrino entered the room pushing a small cart. He stopped at the table and said, "I have come to prepare desert for you."

"Ah," Ed said anticipating Cherries Jubilee or Banana Flambé.

"What?" William asked.

Chef Negrino handed William a small box as he said, "I will make desert crepes. For Dr. Biggers and Ms. Gray, I will prepare a nice cherry filling. One of my former classmates at the culinary institute suggested that you would appreciate the fillings in that box, Dr. Carter."

Curious, William opened the box and glanced inside. He did a double take and then exclaimed, "Purple Jelly! Strawberry Jam! Peach Jam! This is great."

"I see that he was right," Chef Negrino said with a grin. He hadn't believed his friend when he had told him that William would be ecstatic over the store bought jellies and jams.

Ed shook his head and asked, "May I ask who your classmate is?"

"William's Chef, Peter," Chef Negrino answered.

Ignoring the side conversation, William was busy examining the three jars of jams and jelly. They were even the low end products that he liked so much. William looked over at Ed and said, "I'll definitely recommend this place to Lucy."

At the shocked expression on Ed's face, Barbara broke out into laughter. He had just finished a meal fit for a king and he was going to recommend the place because they had given him store bought jellies and jams. She smiled at Ed and said, "He must have been something else when he was a child."

"Yes, he's still something else. I'm not sure what," Ed said.

-------

Ed and Barbara entered the limousine for the ride back to the hotel. It was only after they were both seated that they realized William wasn't with them. Ed asked, "Where's William?"

The driver leaned into the door and answered, "The young man called down to say that he would return in a minute. He mentioned something about having to deal with a minor unpleasantness."

Across the street, a man dressed in black clothes waited at the mouth of a dark alleyway for the subject to exit the restaurant. He was very good at his job and had never failed to deliver within his deadlines. His orders were to kill the kid before midnight.

A vice-like grip on the pressure point of his elbow paralyzed him. Out of the corner of his eye he made out the identity of individual who was causing him so much pain. The young man leaned over so that his mouth was right next to his ear. In a very soft voice, he said, "You might want to tell your boss that the individual you were supposed to kill tonight is a Druid. The man who ordered the hit knew that before talking to your boss."

The man swallowed at the realization of what he had attempted to do. This was the kind of job that could end up with everyone he knew in serious trouble. Nodding his head, he said, "I'll tell my boss that."

"Good," William said releasing the man's elbow.

The man rubbed his elbow and watched William walk across the street to the limousine. Furious, he reached into his coat and pulled out a cell phone. After dialing a number, he said, "The hit was on a Druid. The man who ordered it knew that."

As William entered the limousine, the man closed his cell phone and left while still rubbing his elbow. He had a new contract.

William settled into his seat and said, "Let's get to the hotel."

"You are hiding something," Ed said with a frown.

"Yes, I am," William answered. Remembering the instructions from Lucy that he had been given earlier that day, he turned to Barbara and said, "Would you care to join me in bed tonight?"

"I would enjoy that very much," Barbara answered pleased that her effort to dress up had enticed William at long last.

-------

Ed sat in the limousine and glared at William. In a rather icy voice, he said, "A certain Senator was seriously injured in a car crash last night. I find that rather suspicious."

"Yes," William said in agreement.

"You wouldn't happen to have something to do with that?" Ed asked.

"I told the person who was hired to kill me that I was a Druid and that the person who hired him knew it," William answered. The way in which he relayed the information was the same as if he was telling about replacing a light bulb.

Ed sat back in his seat and stared at William. Although there were times to use truth like a weapon, using it to cause a death was just as bad as using violent means. In a voice laden with disgust, he asked, "Did Ling corrupt you too?"

Looking over at his father, William gave a small sad smile knowing that his father knew better than that. Shaking his head at the accusation, he answered, "There were a lot of things that could have happened as a result of what the Senator did last night. I chose the best for everyone. As it is, a lot of bad men are going to be caught."

"He ended up in the hospital," Ed said thinking there were better ways to handle a situation like that. William should have had the man arrested and let the police handle the matter.

"That's true. He did end up in a hospital," William said. He looked his father in the eye and said, "If I hadn't squeezed the pressure point in the assassin's elbow, the Senator would have died."

Ed looked at William and said, "You could have handled it better."

Shaking his head, William knew better than that. He replied, "The more you know, the fewer choices you have available to you. In a way, I wonder how the Gods and Goddesses can even function."

"If it harms no one, do it," Ed said hearing William's words pounding in his ears with the full weight of truth within them.

"You and I both know that protecting the weak from the strong has precedence over that rule. When strength goes against strength, there will be harm," William replied.

"So how do you feel about what happened to the Senator?"

William said, "I feel bad. I can't even say it was his choice since I was a participant in deciding what happened. All I can say is that a lot of strong men who make their living preying upon others will no longer be in a position to cause harm."

"I suppose," Ed said.

"There is one person who will have to pay the price."

Ed asked, "Who?"

"Me. I will have to work twice as hard to make things right," William said looking out the window of the limousine. He watched Barbara leave the hotel. She tipped the bell captain and William wondered what the man had done for her. He had already tipped the man for all of his help.

Barbara got into the limousine with a smile plastered on her face. Noticing that she was in a particularly good mood, Ed said, "You look happy."

"I'm very happy," Barbara answered. The previous night had been wonderful and long overdue. She had woken up that morning feeling fully satisfied and relaxed. She turned and gave William a kiss on the cheek. Practically purring, she said, "Thank you, William."

"You're welcome," he said wondering what he had done to deserve her thanks. He shrugged his shoulders thinking that it was good that there were still mysteries in life. He looked up at the sky through the window of the car thanking the Two-Sided One that his knowledge wasn't absolute.

Settling into her seat beside William, she said, "I guess we are off to Tennessee now."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to going there," William said.

Ed shook his head and looked out the window. He wondered how it must be to see the future with the kind of clarity that William claimed. He had heard a great truth and decided that he was going to have a long talk with William. He muttered, "The more you know, the fewer choices you have available to you."



-------

Chapter 8


William rushed into the hotel and looked around the lobby. The elevator door opened and Lucy stepped out looking around the lobby. They met halfway with a hug that was just on the tasteful side of being publicly acceptable. William said, "I've missed you."

"I missed you," Lucy said burying her face into his chest and enjoying his scent. It felt good to feel his arms around her.

"I'm so glad that you could make it here," William said running a hand across her back. It felt so right to have her pressed against him.

"How could I miss the chance to see Tennessee?" Lucy asked with a grin. She had passed up visiting Boston despite William's repeated requests for her to join him there. It had been hard, but she felt that she had to give Barbara a night with William. The poor woman had been at the end of her patience.

"I don't know," William answered with a laugh. He kept taking Lucy to wonderful places like Oklahoma and Tennessee.

"You take me to all the best places," Lucy said teasing him.

"I do my best," William said. It was like she had read his mind.

The pair moved to the elevator walking together like one. As he pressed the up button, William asked, "Are you going to talk math to me?"

"Of course," Lucy answered with a laugh.

Barbara watched the young couple enter the elevator with a sad little smile. She didn't want to think about what they would be doing in a few minutes. She sighed.

Ed watched Barbara. Shaking his head, he said, "You wish that he would pay a little more attention to you."

Barbara looked over at Ed and knew that lying wouldn't be successful. She went with the truth and replied, "Yes."

"He loves her a lot," Ed said. He remembered how William had dreamed most of his life of meeting Lucy. He knew that they were soul mates. No one would ever be able to get between them.

Swallowing heavily, Barbara knew the truth would come out one day. She looked down at the floor and said, "I'm satisfied with the occasional night with him. I'd give a million dollars to spend a night with her."

"Ah, I understand," Ed said. He had years of experience of staff falling in love with the members of the family. Not all of it was directed at individuals of the opposite gender. He asked, "How about the rest of the staff?"

"We don't talk about it. Most of their interactions are with William. I'm pretty sure that Sandra feels the same way," Barbara answered. She had seen Sandra watching Lucy when she thought no one would notice.

He looked over at Barbara feeling sad for her. He said, "I fear that Kelly may have failed to warn Lucy of that possibility."

"She's just so... I don't know how to describe her. She's such a wholesome girl next door type, but she's so much more," Barbara said. There were times when Lucy looked at her with such an innocent expression that she wanted to hug her and protect her from the rest of the world. Other times, Lucy could look at William with such wanton lust that all Barbara wanted to do was ravish her. She just wished that Lucy would look at her with that kind of desire.

"She's brilliant," Ed said knowing that William valued Lucy's mind far beyond her physical beauty.

Barbara said, "I know. She's scary brilliant. That's part of her charm."

"She values your mind as much as William does. You find that kind of appreciation sexually exciting," Ed said looking over at Barbara. He noticed a slight blush form.

"Yes," Barbara said with a sigh. At the moment, all she wanted was to be alone. She looked at the door and said, "I'm going to go for a walk."

"Would you like some company?" Ed asked worried about her.

"No."

Ed watched her walk off knowing that she was telling the truth about wanting to be alone. Ed knew that if Lucy was here, then so were the bodyguards. He made a call to the room. When Colt answered the phone, Ed said, "Barbara is going for a walk. I'd appreciate it if someone watched over her."

"Yes, sir," Colt said. As soon as he hung up, he told Natalie, "Put on your new wig. Follow Barbara and keep her out of trouble."

Ed went over to the bar and ordered a coke. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. After dialing a number, he waited for his wife to answer. He was going to dump this little problem in her lap. He watched a red head run out the door thinking that she looked a lot like Natalie.

-------

William, Lucy, Ed, Barbara, Colt, and Natalie were gathered around a large table at a local restaurant for dinner. The walls were hung with cheesy tourist souvenirs from Mexico that only the most inebriated tourist would even consider buying. It was a fairly decent Mexican Food place, but everyone in the party had gotten used to the Mexican food in Arizona. Baskets of chips with small bowls of Salsa were distributed around the table. The chips weren't as salty as they were used to eating. The Salsa was a bit mild and bland, but it was fresh.

Natalie, Barbara, and Colt were not getting into the spirit of a night out at a restaurant. Natalie was busy keeping Barbara's attention from the rest of the party by talking about other matters. Colt was watching the rest of the room they were in for any threats of danger.

Unaware of the tension at the other end of the table, Lucy grabbed a chip and dunked it into a bowl of salsa. Before popping it into her mouth, she said, "I think I could study those equations for the rest of my life and continue to discover new facets to them."

"I know what you mean. The real world is very complex. We are basically developing a theory of physics for economics," William said.

"No, I think your work is the equivalent of introducing Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity into physics. Too bad that you'll never get credit for it," Lucy said. There was no way that they could publish his work. Her analysis of the past few weeks had pointed out exactly how they could destabilize the world. It was far more difficult to stabilize the world in a state where the economy could continue to grow and personal liberties could remain.

"I have my service and that is reward enough," William said dismissively. He didn't care about fame. He didn't need to receive public recognition for his work. Leaving behind a better world was all that he needed to feel good about his life's work.

"So how is the campaign to save followership going?" Lucy asked while reaching for another chip. She loved Mexican food, but had been spoiled after eating at Maria's Cantina back in Arizona. That was the best Mexican food she had ever tasted.

"It is going well. We've convinced seven of our proposed candidates to pursue higher office. We've found three candidates for the Senate and four candidates for the House. We'll have a much more moderate congress at this point. With another six people for the House of Representatives, the political balance in Washington will change for the better," William said reaching for his iced tea. He tossed the straw to the center of the table where everyone else had thrown their straws. Iced tea was supposed to be sipped, not sucked through a straw.

"That's good," Lucy said. She had helped William put together the list of potential candidates.

"A lot of very powerful men are getting ready to fight this," William said. Listening to the news he had seen signs that some politically active radicals were reacting to his efforts.

Lucy grinned at the idea of them trying to fight William. She knew that they stood a better chance of trying to hold back the tide. She said, "They are going to be surprised."

"Yes, they are," William said with a wink.

Frowning, Ed wondered what they knew that he didn't. He asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Do you remember when we talked about candidates who ran on a single hot button issue?" William asked.

"Yes," Ed answered. He clearly remembered that conversation, but didn't recall anything that would have led to such an easy confidence on William's part.

"The candidates that we've identified have the same stance as their opponent on that single issue," William said with a grin. He took a sip of his iced tea and then added, "They just haven't been as vocal or rabid about it."

"So you're forcing the other issues to the forefront," Ed said breaking out in laughter. He could imagine what would happen when the campaigns kicked into high gear. There could be nothing worse than finding your opponent agreeing on everything you said on the one issue that was supposed to win the campaign.

"That's right," William replied.

"That's mean," Ed said laughing.

Lucy winked at Ed and said, "That's politics."

-------

It was late and Lucy couldn't sleep. Call it woman's intuition or attribute it to heartburn, Lucy had a feeling that something was wrong. She looked over at William and decided not to wake him. Slipping out of bed, she didn't bother to dress. With one last glance at William, she slipped out the door and entered the common area of the suite.

William shifted in bed and watched her leave the darkened bedroom. The light of the common room illuminated a distant wall when she opened the door. He thought about following her to find out what the matter was that prevented her from sleeping, but decided to give her a little space.

It took Lucy a moment for her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the common room. She noticed Barbara sitting on a chair staring out the window. Coming up behind the beautiful woman, Lucy asked, "Can't sleep?"

"No," Barbara answered with a long sigh. She wished that Lucy would leave her alone, but didn't give voice to that desire.

"What's the matter?" Lucy asked concerned for the other woman.

"I don't want to talk about it," Barbara said. She looked out the window, but could see Lucy's reflection in the glass.

Lucy wondered if traveling with William was overly taxing Barbara. She sat down on a chair facing Barbara and said, "I really appreciate the way you've been watching over William. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Barbara turned to look at Lucy. The young woman, sitting casually on the chair, was completely nude. The expression on her face was one of concern. Her face, framed by long brown hair, drew attention to her worried eyes. Such compassion and care tore at Barbara's heart. Tears came unbidden and she covered her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Lucy asked wanting to help.

"I really can't talk about it," Barbara said.

Lucy rose to sit beside Barbara and hold her. Despite her good intentions, it was exactly the wrong move. Barbara stood and fled to her room leaving a very puzzled Lucy behind. The slam of the door echoed through the quiet suite. Lucy stared at the door wondering what she had done.

Having heard the noise, William stepped out of the bedroom and looked around the room. Going over to Lucy, he asked, "I heard a door slam. Is everything okay?"

"Barbara is very upset," Lucy answered. She asked, "Did you say or do anything to upset her?"

"I don't think so. Maybe she's upset about me asking her to sleep with me in Boston," William answered with a frown. That didn't seem right to him. She had seemed pretty happy the next day.

"That's not it," Lucy said staring at Barbara's bedroom door with concern.

"Should I go apologize to her?" William asked looking over at the door. His ability to see the future was flawed. He was blind to his family, his wife, and himself. The feelings of love that he held for the staff made him blind to their futures as well. With very few exceptions, he couldn't see his future or the future of those he loved unless it affected others.

"What would you apologize for?" Lucy asked looking over at him.

William shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know. If anyone has upset her, it must be me."

"I'll talk to her in the morning," Lucy said.

Stepping out from the shadows, Natalie said, "It won't do any good."

"Why?" William asked looking over at Natalie. He had forgotten that she was even there.

Natalie looked at William and Lucy unable to believe how blind both of them were with regard to their effect on others. She had watched the entire situation develop and knew what the problem was. She answered, "I'm sorry, but it is not my place to answer that question. Barbara has a personal problem and she doesn't see any way to resolve it."

"Is there anything that we can do?" Lucy asked.

Natalie examined Lucy knowing the answer to the question. Finally she said, "There is something that you can do, but you won't do it. It is not within your nature."

"I don't understand," Lucy said feeling lost and confused. She looked over at William for guidance and then realized what she was doing. William was the last one to go to for advice about the women around him. She felt a little embarrassed.

"I know and that is the real tragedy," Natalie said with a tired sigh. She hoped that she would not have to step between Barbara and Lucy sometime in the future.

William looked at Natalie and then at Lucy. He asked, "Should we talk to Sandra? She's really good at dealing with things like this."

Natalie laughed at the suggestion knowing that William had no clue as to what things Barbara needed handling. In a way, his suggestion was perfect. Barbara and Sandra would scratch each other's itch. She said, "Yes. Have her fly here tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Lucy said.

-------

William and Ed walked up to the front door of the rather substantial house of a style that was often referred to as a McMansion. Reaching into his pocket, William pulled out a quarter. He tapped the quarter against the glass pane of the window on the door earning a puzzled look from his father. Ed asked, "Why not ring the doorbell?"

"It doesn't work," William answered gesturing to the device. It had been pulled out and a wire was hanging loose. It looked like someone had taken a hammer to it.

"So why not knock?"

"The higher pitch carries a little better," William answered.

Wearing a bathrobe, Mayor Erl opened the door and found that he was facing two black robed Druids. He wondered what was going on in his city that would prompt two Druids to show up at his house. Without much of a visible reaction, he stepped back into the house and said, "Come in. I assume that you're here to talk to me."

William smiled at the assumption and said, "Actually, we're here to talk to your wife."

"My wife?"

Nodding his head, William answered, "Yes, we're here to talk to your wife."

"May I ask what this is about?" Mayor Erl asked rather puzzled as to why two Druids would show up on his doorstep to talk to his wife.

"You may ask, but I'll leave it up to her to answer your questions," William answered.

Ed was still staring at the doorbell. Curious, he asked, "How did you break your doorbell?"

"My grandson bet his friend that he could hit the doorknob with his baseball. He hit the doorbell instead. We were lucky that he didn't put it through the glass pane on the door," Mayor Erl answered with a look of disgust on his face. There were times when he worried about the upcoming generation. Shaking his head, he said, "His father grounded him."

"Ah," Ed replied. He didn't think the kid was too far off with his pitch.

"Follow me and I'll take you to the backyard where May is sitting by the pool. We weren't exactly expecting company so you'll have to forgive our informality," Mayor Erl said gesturing to them to follow him.

Earning a sideways glance from the mayor, William said, "I had counted on it."

When they reached the backyard, they found May Erl seated in a lounge chair wearing a one piece bathing suit. She was a rather plain looking woman in her late fifties. There were lots of bulges in her bathing suite that suggested she could stand to lose thirty to forty pounds. At her age, it wouldn't have helped much. A good dye job would have taken at least five years off her appearance though.

May looked at William and Ed wondering if they were there to see her or her husband. She recognized Ed, but not William although she had a very good idea as to his identity. She said, "It is nice to see you again Dr. Biggers."

Ed looked at her and realized that he had met her at a Fusion Foundation meeting. She was the representative for the state. Smiling, he said, "It is nice to see you again, Mrs. Erl."

She asked, "Are you here to see me or Ron?"

Ed smiled at her and answered, "We're here to see you."

"What can I do for you?" she asked hoping that nothing bad had happened at the Fusion Foundation.

Ed gestured over at William and said, "William would like to talk to you. It is a private matter."

May shrugged her shoulders and said, "Okay. Would you like to talk in the study?"

"Here is fine," William answered looking over at the pool. It was a kidney shaped pool with a diving board at the deep end. The water really looked inviting. He looked over at the mayor and said, "If your husband wouldn't mind leaving us alone for a few minutes."

"Ron. Would you mind getting our guests something to drink?" May asked looking over at her husband.

Getting the hint, he asked, "What would you like?"

"Iced teas would be perfect," William answered. His father nodded his agreement. William added, "We'll be done in four minutes."

Once her husband had left the pool area, May turned to William and Ed. In a very serious voice, she asked, "Is there something the matter at the Fusion Foundation?"

William smiled at her immediate concern for the Fusion Foundation. That kind of loyalty was rare in the modern world. Ed answered, "No. We came here to ask you to run for the Senate."

"The Senate?" May asked doing a double take at Ed.

"Yes, the Senate," William answered.

Grinning over at William, May said, "You've got three minutes to convince me that I should do something that stupid."

"You are the best person to represent the real interests of your state. You are conservative without being radical. You believe that everyone who fails deserves a helping hand up, but that people who make it a habit of failing must face the full consequences of their choices. You have spent the past twenty years of your life helping people. It is time for you to help the people of your state a little earlier in the process," William answered.

"What about that bozo who is in office now?" May asked. She had dealt with the Senator on many occasions in her role as the head of the Fusion Foundation in Tennessee. She didn't have that good of an opinion of him.

"You'll beat him in the election. He's only got one issue on which he can run and win. You've got them all," William answered. He rather liked how May referred to the current holder of the office. It was a rather apt description.

"How do you know that?" May asked.

William looked over at the pool for a few seconds before turning back to the discussion. He said, "I've studied it very carefully. You are the only person who can beat him in the upcoming election."

May hadn't watched William when he answered her question. She had been watching Ed to see if he flinched. Ed had smiled at her knowing exactly what she was doing. Nodding her head, she said, "You managed to convince me that you believe that."

"But I haven't convinced you to run," William said with a smile.

"That's right," May said with a wry grin. It was going to take some pretty fancy talking to convince her that she should do something that dumb. She thought it would take thirty years of talking to get her to agree to run for the Senate and by that time she'd be too old to survive the campaign.

"Here's one thing to keep in mind before you decide. My friend Oscar Meyers gave his life for world peace. We need people with integrity in office to assure that his sacrifice wasn't in vain. You have integrity. Bozo doesn't," William said.

She knew exactly what William meant about needing people to support peace. When Oscar had destroyed the religious justification of Jihad by the sword, the majority of terrorist organizations had collapsed. The fanaticism that allowed them to commit outrageous acts against other humans had been undermined. At the moment there was an uneasy peace in the world.

The current Senator from her district was making noises about going to war in order to prosecute individuals who had been terrorists. She often wondered if he owned stock in a weapons company. May was pretty sure that if the current Senator had his way that the entire world would be at war within five years. Continuing the hostility would only legitimize the terrorists' activities.

"You don't know what they are going to do with my past," May said alluding to the reason she initially got involved with the Fusion Foundation.

"Yes, I do. They aren't going to do a thing with it," William answered.

May snorted and said, "They're going to drag up my criminal record. They're going to try to destroy me."

Nodding his head, William asked, "What if that is your first campaign ad? What if you present your checkered past to the public in all its gory detail? What if you talk about how desperate times sometimes lead good people to desperate measures? What if you use it as a foundation by which you understand people?"

"It might work," she said although she wasn't really ready to make her full past that public.

"There are an awful lot of poor people in this state who have done things of which they aren't proud. They'll understand you. They'll know exactly what you are saying when you talk about working hard to turn your life around. You'll get their admiration when you talk about how hard it is to walk the path of redemption. They'll root for you when you say that the path is available to everyone."

Leaning forward to emphasize his point, Ed said, "The truth can be a very powerful weapon. Sometimes the first person to use the weapon is the one who wins the fight."

William nodded his agreement and said, "You'll have to hit them hard with the truth before they even know it is coming."

"So you're saying that an unmarried mother who turned to prostitution to feed her kids can run for, and win, a seat in the Senate," May said with a raised eyebrow.

"You bet. That's the American way," William replied with a nod of his head and a wry smile.

"You know what? I believe you," May said with a laugh. She knew that he had a very valid point. There wasn't too much they could do to her if she started with full disclosure. Nasty comments would make her opponents look small.

William said, "Good. So will you do it?"

She looked over at the house and said, "I don't know. I'll have to talk to Ron."

Gesturing over at the swimming pool, William asked, "Do you mind if my dad and I take a swim while you're talking to him?"

"No, go ahead," May said looking over at the pool. The water was a little cold, but the sun was warm.

"Thanks," William said. He walked over to the edge of the pool. In one smooth move he removed his robe and dropped it on the ground.

As he dived into the water, May laughed and said, "He's not shy."

Ed laughed at the comment. Rising from his chair, he said, "No, he's not. Neither am I."

May watched Ed strip and dive into the pool. She sat there wondering what was going to be harder to explain to her husband — that she was going to run for the Senate or why there were two naked men swimming in their pool. It was a tough contest.



-------

Chapter 9

William and Ed returned to the hotel refreshed from their little swim at the Mayor's house. William felt confident that another candidate had been found with a good chance of winning. They entered the suite laughing about the mayor's reaction on discovering them swimming in the pool.

The laughter turned to surprise when William spotted his mother relaxing in the living room of the suite. She was seated next to Lucy. He said, "Momma Kelly! What are you doing here?"

Seeing that William was surprised, Kelly sighed. It was not a good sign when events going on in his life surprised him. She looked over at Lucy wondering what was going to happen with her. In a sad voice, she said, "I'm here to talk to you and Lucy."

"You don't seem very pleased to see us," William commented with a frown. He looked over at Lucy for an explanation. She shrugged her shoulders suggesting that he knew as much as she did. In fact, she was rather surprised that he had looked to her for information.

Kelly rose from her seat and went over to Ed. She flowed into his embrace. After exchanging a very passionate kiss, Ed whispered, "I take it you want me to disappear and take everyone else with me."

"If you would be so kind," Kelly whispered back, "I'll make it up to you a little later."

"I look forward to it," Ed said with a smile.

William and Lucy sat together on the couch and watched as everyone except Kelly left the hotel suite. Barbara and Sandra looked over at Lucy before beating a hasty retreat. The pair of bodyguards took positions to the front and rear of the others. Once everyone was gone, Lucy turned to Kelly and asked, "What's the matter?"

Not wanting to answer immediately, Kelly went over to the hospitality bar and opened one of the small bottles of wine. After pouring it into one of the glasses, she returned to her seat. Watching his mother, William whispered to Lucy, "This must really be bad."

Kelly took a long sip of her wine. It wasn't a particularly good wine. She took a deep breath and then let it out. She started to say something and then stopped before a single word came out. Finally, she said, "I did something stupid. I didn't think it through and now there's a problem."

"What kind of problem?" William asked leaning forward. If there was a problem then he would try to fix it. He prided himself on being good at fixing problems.

Kelly looked at William thinking that this was one problem that he couldn't fix. She said, "When I gave you advice on picking out your staff, I didn't think about something rather important. You see, it wasn't ever a problem for us."

"What?" Lucy asked looking over at William hoping that he knew what his mother was talking about. He looked just as clueless as she did.

"We're bisexual and you're not," Kelly said.

"We all know that," William said wondering what that had to do with anything.

Nodding her head, Lucy said, "I know how you healed Natalie and Jan."

Shaking her head, Kelly said, "I don't know how to say this."

Thinking that this might be the one time that he wished Momma Kelly was more like Momma Ling, William said, "Just say it."

"You staff wants to sleep with you," Kelly said looking at Lucy.

William snorted and said, "That's what Lucy is always telling me. I don't really believe it, but she insists. Are you telling me that Rock or Colt wants to sleep with me?"

If the problem wasn't so serious, Kelly would have laughed at the suggestion. There were times when William really surprised her. The problem was that this was a very serious matter. She said, "I wasn't talking about them wanting to sleep with you."

Puzzled, Lucy asked, "So who were you talking about?"

"You," Kelly answered pointing at Lucy.

"Rock or Colt wants to sleep with me?" Lucy asked. She glanced over at William to see his reaction. She could discuss the matter with William and possibly find some sort of compromise.

"No," Kelly answered.

"Who wants to sleep with me?" Lucy asked wide eyed. She suddenly understood how William felt when she told him something like that. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling she had ever experienced.

"Barbara and Sandra," Kelly answered watching as Lucy's expression turned to one of surprise. She sighed and added, "I don't know if any of the others on your staff feel that way."

"Why would they want to sleep with me? I don't have any interest in women," Lucy said as if her lack of interest in women would assure that women would not be interested in her. She looked over at William to see if he knew anything about it. Even as she did it, she knew that was a mistake.

Taking hold of her hand, William said, "I know why someone would want to sleep with you. You're the perfect woman. I thought that it was a little odd that they wanted to sleep with me."

"They want to sleep with you, too," Kelly said. She wondered how she was supposed to explain to William and Lucy that they were attractive, wealthy, intelligent, and sexy. It shouldn't have been necessary.

"I don't get it," Lucy said still trying to wrap her mind around the idea that two women like Barbara and Sandra wanted to sleep with her. They could have anyone they wanted. She didn't understand why they could possibly want her.

Kelly rubbed her forehead with the fingertips of her left hand. She could feel a headache developing. Looking up at the ceiling, she said, "I swear, youth is wasted on the young."

-------

Lucy and William were in bed. He was lying along one side of the bed with her lying at right angles to him. She was resting her head on his stomach. Idly, he was running a finger tip around her stiff nipple. She asked, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Do you love them?" William asked thinking it was a good question from which to start the conversation.

Lucy answered, "Yes, I do. The problem is that I don't want to have sex with them."

William ran his finger across her chest and started circling the other nipple with it. He said, "I don't want to have sex with them. I don't have sex with them. I make love to them."

"I don't think I could do that," Lucy said. The whole idea of doing things with a woman made her very uncomfortable.

William ran a finger down to her belly button. He said, "No one is asking you to do that."

Thinking about how Barbara had acted the previous night, Lucy sighed. She said, "I saw how upset Barbara was last night. She must really be hurt that I won't sleep with her."

"If it harms none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong," William said. He ran a finger up from her naval to between her breasts.

"How does that apply?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know. It makes me wonder if we aren't short a rule or two at times," William said with a chuckle. In a more serious tone of voice, he said, "It will harm you if you are forced into doing something that is against your nature. I guess we have to decide if it really is against your nature. Their desire makes them strong. If they try to push you into it then we'll need to protect you. At the same time, their desire makes them weak. If you act to exaggerate the problem, then we'll need to protect them from you. The problem is that you aren't doing anything other than being yourself and they are being their selves."

"It sounds complicated," Lucy said with a frown. She thought she understood the two rules, but this particular problem forced her to accept that some problems weren't always a matter of right and wrong, but a complex balance of opposing forces. She realized that was the reason for the different styles in solving problems that she had observed among the Druids. Some waited until the problem manifested before they reacted with overwhelming force. That was Ling's approach. It was brutal but effective. Ed preferred to apply a little force well before something had a chance to develop into a problem. William was somewhat in the middle.

"If it wasn't complicated then we wouldn't have a problem," William said with a tired smile. He ran his finger back to her nipple and slowly rubbed it.

"That's a little distracting," Lucy said swatting his finger. His touch was heating up her body.

"Good. Maybe it will take your mind off your problems for a minute or two," William said with a smile. He returned to running a finger around her nipple.

"Why would they want to sleep with me?" Lucy asked sitting up. She grabbed his hand in the process. His touch was driving her crazy.

"You're asking the wrong person that question. I'm a little prejudiced concerning that matter. I don't understand why someone wouldn't want to sleep with you," William answered.

"You're not being helpful," Lucy said rolling her eyes. She released his hand and turned to face him sitting tailor fashion.

William rolled over onto his side. He ran his finger over her lips and said, "I have always loved your long brown hair. I think you have the most beautiful face that I've ever seen. Your body is perfect. I marvel at your breasts. They are the perfect size and very sensitive. I can't find anything about your body that doesn't fill me with desire for you.

"I love your mind. When you apply your mind to a problem, it takes my breath away. I find your concentration and attention to detail extremely sexy. It is an amazing thing to watch. The most astounding thing to me is that your intellect is balanced by common sense. Your mind is disciplined.

"When you look at me with love, I have no choice but to surrender myself to you. Every cell in my body responds to that little look of desire that you have. My temperature rises a full degree.

"When I watch you dealing with other people, I'm struck by how caring and sensitive you are. You're honest and forthright in your feelings. You touch people. It isn't a superficial touch, but one that reaches into them and touches their spirit. You let them know that they aren't alone. You let them know that they aren't unloved.

"I can easily see why they would want to sleep with you. If they've spent any time around you then they've seen the same things in you that I have seen. They have no choice except to desire you."

Lucy moved over and started kissing William. His touch might have kept the embers of desire alive, but his words had fanned them into a bonfire. It took considerable effort on William's part to douse the flames of desire. When he was done and they were relaxing in post-coital bliss, she said, "Go sleep with them tonight."

"Why?" William asked feeling like it was a rather unusual thing to ask him to do considering what they had just finished doing.

"I need to be alone while I think about this," Lucy answered.

"Are you considering making love to them?"

Lucy covered her eyes and answered, "I don't know. I feel guilty for not sleeping with them and causing that much pain. I would feel even worse for sleeping with them."

"I understand," William said. He ran a hand through her hair and said, "I want to stay here with you."

Enjoying his caress, Lucy said, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," William said.

Changing her mind, she patted the bed beside her. In a tone of voice that conveyed her vulnerability, she said, "Stay here with me and hold me."

-------

William and Sandra had just finished laying out the campaign strategy for May Erl's bid for the Senate. It was a comprehensive plan that detailed the sequence of political ads that she should run. It identified the timing at which the ads were released. The campaign was designed to put all of the potential criticisms up front to defuse their impact.

William had taken care in designing this particular campaign. He wanted to place the opponent in the position where a character assassination would backfire. Americans liked to hear stories about people who sinned and then repented. They liked it when an underdog rose up from the ground to stand tall and proud. She would be a heroic figure rather than a fallen woman. To try and use her past against her would be political suicide.

Sandra had been absolutely amazed at the subtlety of William's campaign strategy. The first three ads didn't even identify the political office that she was trying to capture. Her opponent wouldn't even be able to respond until after she had solidified her support. Sandra had been in awe of the amount of detail that William had been able to provide in such a short period of time.

It had been hard working with William for the entire day. He had listened to her ideas and complimented her when she made good suggestions. The constant attention and appreciation had slipped through her defenses fueling her desires for him once again.

Several times, Barbara had come into the room to help. Whenever William praised one or the other, the pair of women exchanged glances that spoke volumes about the effect that William had on them. They knew that they would have to turn to each other for comfort later that night.

Barbara had just entered the room when William slipped a stack of papers into an envelope. He glanced over at her and then handed the packet to Sandra. He said, "Have Colt deliver this to the mayor's house."

"Okay," Sandra replied thankful that the intense work session was about to come to an end. She didn't know if she could have taken another hour of it.

"You've been a great help. I don't know what I would have done without you. I hope that I didn't overwork you," William said looking over at her with concern evident on his face. She looked a little tense and that worried him.

"You didn't," Sandra said squirming in her seat.

"Why don't you and Barbara go down to the spa for a little while? It would do you both some good to relax for a bit," William suggested.

Barbara looked at William and shook her head knowing that he had no idea what effect his words were having on Sandra. She said, "I think we can manage to relax a little better in our room."

"Oh," William said. He looked at the pair of women and said, "I'm worried about you."

"Don't worry about us," Barbara said slipping a hand down to rub Sandra's back. It was a little caress to let the other know that she was there for her. Sandra pressed back against the hand appreciating the gesture.

"Lucy and I are concerned that this trip has been a little too much for you," William said looking at the pair of women.

Hearing Lucy's name, Sandra decided it was time to change the topic of conversation. She held up the packet of papers and said, "I need to get this to Colt."

"Okay," William said with a frown.

Appreciating what Sandra had done, Barbara said, "I'll meet you in the bedroom."

"Thanks," Sandra said. She made a little gesture like she was eating.

Nodding her head, Barbara said, "Sandra and I are going out for dinner tonight. We'll be home late. Don't wait up for us."

"Okay," William said with a worried look on his face. The entire day had been spent tip-toeing around the issue. Kelly had taken Lucy out to shop with the ever present bodyguards. Ed was off to the local IRS to see what he could do to help them. William knew the situation was pretty bad if his father would rather visit the IRS than stay at the hotel.

-------

Ed shuffled out of the bedroom in his normal early morning mental fog. Kelly followed behind him smiling as it took two attempts for him to grab the handle of the coffee pot. Ed was basically a sleepwalker until after his second cup of coffee. After finally getting a grip on the handle of the coffeepot, he filled a cup with coffee. He put the glass pot down on the counter and shuffled towards one of the chairs.

Seated in a chair across the room, Sandra watched Ed go through his early morning ritual. She asked, "Is he always like this?"

"Yes," Kelly answered while fixing a cup of coffee.

"Oh, I thought it... ," Sandra started to comment and then stopped.

"You thought it was because I wore him out last night?" Kelly completed with a grin.

Blushing, Sandra said, "Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Don't be sorry," Kelly said. She looked over at Ed and smiled as she recalled the previous evening. She said, "For your information, you might be surprised to learn that he wore me out last night."

"I didn't mean to pry," Sandra said.

"I know. You were just wondering why he was shuffling around like a zombie," Kelly said. She looked around and asked, "Where's Barbara?"

"She's sleeping in late," Sandra said. She looked at the expression on Kelly's face and laughed. She said, "Okay. I wore her out last night."

"Because of him or her?" Kelly asked going straight to the matter.

"Both," Sandra answered unable to look at Kelly. She thought they had done a better job of hiding their feelings.

Nodding her head, Kelly sat down next to Sandra. After taking a sip of her coffee, she said, "They both love you, you know."

"I know," Sandra said. The sad thing was that she knew it and it didn't help. It only made matters worse.

Kelly sighed and looked at the closed bedroom door knowing that William and Lucy were sleeping behind it. She said, "I feel sorry for you."

"Why?"

Looking over at the younger woman, she said, "He's blind to your desires. She's unable to satisfy your desires."

"I know," Sandra said looking over in the direction of their door.

"I fear that you may find working for them becoming harder as time goes by," Kelly said. She felt that it would ultimately force the two women to leave William's employment. That would be a tragedy for everyone involved. She looked at the door for a second and then said, "He's the easier problem to solve."

"How?" Sandra asked wondering how dealing with William was ever going to be easier than dealing with Lucy.

Kelly laughed at the fact that Sandra had missed the obvious and said, "You just have to tell him what you want. You have to say to him, come to my room tonight and make love to me until morning. He'll be there."

"I guess we know that," Sandra said feeling miserable. She had discussed that in great depth with Barbara. She looked down at the floor and said, "The really perverse thing is that if we have to ask, we won't enjoy it. If he were to offer before we are absolutely desperate, we wouldn't want it."

Kelly shook her head in dismay despite understanding what Sandra was saying. The situation was even worse than she had thought. She wondered who she could talk with that might be able to fix this situation. It was bad and she didn't see any way for it to get better without a much more serious intervention. She asked, "Do you know if women have been trying to get to him?"

Sandra snorted and said, "Tons of women have been after him this trip. They ask him if they can do anything for him and he sends them to Barbara to see if she needs some help."

Kelly laughed and hit her leg with her hand. Eddie was having the same kind of experiences and he didn't have a clue. Barely able to control her mirth, she said, "You've got to love Carter men. They are just so oblivious to the effect they have on women."

Sandra looked over at the coffeepot. Ed was busy trying to pour his second cup of coffee. Gesturing towards him, she asked, "Even Ed?"

"Ed is just as bad as William," Kelly said with a smile. She took a sip of her coffee while watching Ed over the lip.

Ed walked over to where Kelly was sitting and took a seat beside her. After taking a sip of his coffee, he asked, "Who is as bad as William?"

"You are," Kelly answered with a smile.

Ed shook his head and then yawned. He said, "I thought you promised not to make fun of me until after I've had two cups of coffee."

"We were talking about the effect that Carter men have on women," Kelly said patting him affectionately on his thigh.

"Oh," Ed said, "I never understood that."

"I know dear. That is part of your charm," Kelly said. She looked at Sandra and said, "That is a part of their charm."

"I know," Sandra said feeling very depressed.

-------

William and Lucy were busy eating breakfast when Barbara and Sandra sat down at the table. William looked over at Lucy who was studiously concentrating on her food. Realizing that she was leaving it up to him, he said, "Barbara, could you make arrangements for Lucy to return to Arizona this afternoon?"

Surprised by the request, Barbara said, "I thought she was going to Texas with us."

"We changed our plans," William said. He looked up in time to see Ed leave the bedroom and stopped his explanation. It wouldn't do to stretch the truth in front of his father.

"Okay," Barbara said.

Wondering why William hadn't given an excuse for the change in plans, Lucy looked up and saw Ed. She said, "Good morning, Ed."

"Good morning," he answered. He sat down at the table and looked at the food. It was standard hotel breakfast fare comprised of scrambled eggs, toast, juice, bacon, fruits, and coffee. The eggs were hard and dry, the toast dry, and the bacon was stiff. He sighed and said, "I really miss Marguerite's cooking."

Sandra said, "Lucy is leaving today."

"Ah," Ed said loading up a plate. He looked over at Lucy fully aware of the reason for her departure. By the time he had become fully awake that morning, Kelly and Sandra had finished their discussion. Kelly had told him in the bedroom that a disaster was just waiting to happen.

Lucy was tempted to comment that he didn't seem surprised, but held her tongue. There was no reason to bring up a bad subject. She didn't need to bring it up. Barbara glared at Ed from across the table and said, "You told her!"

Shaking his head, Ed looked over at his bedroom door where Kelly was cleaning up after their little morning activities. He turned back to look at Barbara and said, "No. I told Kelly and Kelly told her. There's a big difference."

"We really need to talk," Sandra said touching Barbara on the arm. She hadn't talked to Barbara since her conversation with Kelly.

Crossing her arms, Barbara said, "She didn't need to know."

Ed cringed at Barbara's lie. Barbara was fully aware that Lucy needed to know. She wanted Lucy to know. It was like having a nail driven through his brain. Much sharper than he intended, he said, "Don't ever lie to me like that again. You know that she needs to know!"

Barbara started to say something, but Ed held up a hand. He said, "Don't even try it."

"But..."

Pushing his plate of eggs away, William looked around the table. Barbara was furious at Ed. Sandra was upset. Ed was frowning at finding himself in the middle of this mess. Lucy wanted to crawl under the table. In a stern voice, he said, "I will fix this problem right now. Barbara and Sandra will return to Arizona. Lucy will go to Texas with Ed and me."

"What about Kelly?" Lucy asked. She knew that the bodyguards would be coming with them no matter what.

"She has an errand to run," Ed answered realizing what William was going to do. He nodded in approval.



-------

Chapter 10


The small town in Texas where John Carter had grown up had not changed much since Ed Biggers had last visited it. It was as if the place was frozen in time except that the people looked a little older. A handful of the very old had passed and there were babies to take their place. For William, the changes were practically unnoticeable.

Once they reached the house, Ed walked into John's old bedroom and looked at the stark furnishings. The Ansel Adams posters on the wall had faded with time. The books on the shelves looked old. Probably half of the material in them was inaccurate. Ed said, "This room reflects the essence of John. He wasn't flashy. He was a simple man in awe of the natural world around him."

"There are no toys," William commented.

Ed looked over at William with a smile and said, "His favorite game was Hunt the Bug Eyed Monsters. He didn't need toys."

"I remember playing that with him," William said. It had been a long since he had played that game. He realized that it had been a long time since he had played any kind of game.

Running a hand across the wooden footboard of the old bed, Ed said, "I'll stay in his old room while we are here."

"Okay," William said knowing that his father missed John.

Lucy walked around the room and looked at the old Ansel Adams posters. She wondered how long they had been hanging there. The paper felt brittle to the touch. She moved over to the bookcase and looked at the books. Some of the pages looked as if time had gotten the better of them. She said, "I like this room. It has an old smell to it that reminds me of used bookstores."

"I noticed that, too," William said moving up to stand behind Lucy. She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her. Looking over her shoulder, he said, "I bet half of the science in those books is wrong."

"I wouldn't take that bet," Lucy said.

Laughing, Ed said, "I bet all of the material in the wilderness books is accurate."

"I wouldn't take that bet," William said with a smile.

Lucy looked over at Ed and said, "Tell me a little about John Carter."

Ed settled on the bed and looked around the room for a moment. In a soft voice, he said, "Most of what you need to know about John is in this room. He was happiest when he was in the middle of nature. It didn't matter where he was; he appreciated the raw natural beauty that he found there. Woods, swamp, plains, mountains, seaside, and desert were all just as beautiful to him. I think that of any man who I have ever met, John's love for the Goddess was absolute and total."

Gesturing to the closet, Ed said, "John was the most self sufficient person I've ever met. He was a minimalist in terms of what he needed. I'm sure that you've heard that old expression that needs are few and wants are infinite. John didn't have any wants. Occasionally he'd say that he wanted to go hiking when he really needed to go. It is a lot like a person saying that they want to breathe when you know they need to breathe to remain alive.

"John would go out into the wilderness for a month with the same supplies that the average person took for an afternoon picnic. He'd have a backpack with a tarp, a little food, a knife, some matches, an old boy scout cook kit, and a change of clothes. With nothing else, he'd be able to live outdoors for a month.

"John cared about nature. He never came out and said it, but I think he was driven to invent the fusion cell to save the Goddess from a long painful death. I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but this planet was dying. I doubt you two could have breathed the air that we grew up with. You could actually see it some days. It smelled vile. His little invention cleaned up the whole world. With cheap power, it became possible to do the impossible.

"It was a noisier world back in those days. It seems to me that everything made noise. Today, you can actually hear a jet fly overhead. Back then, you'd never even notice that it was in the air."

Ed was quiet for a moment and then said, "That picture over there is of John, his older brother, Eric, and Doug Wilkins. Those three were wild in their day. Then one day, John and Doug had an argument with Eric. In a drunken rage, Eric drove off in the car shown in that picture. He wrapped it around a tree and died. John sobered up right away and never drank again. John loved his brother. He loved his family. Family always came first for John.

"Eric was the first great loss in John's life, but it wasn't the last. The next one he lost was Betsy. She was a beautiful woman with a heart of gold. They were going to get married, but she was killed in a refugee camp trying to help women and children living lives of great desperation. Knowing her helped heal me," Ed said looking back at the past.

Lucy and William moved to sit beside him on the bed. Lucy had her head resting on William's shoulder. Tears trickled down her cheek. Ed said, "Beth was a beautiful woman. You will never meet a doctor with such dedication to her profession. She was the kind of doctor who would work on a patient for as long as was required to save them. It didn't matter if it was ten, twenty, or thirty hours; she'd be there fighting death with every spark of life within her.

"Beth was going to be the first mother, but it didn't happen. She was hit by a driver who had suffered a stroke. My first thought was that death was tired of losing to her. Kelly said that the Goddess gave her the highest quality of life available in exchange for quantity of life. I believe Kelly's version."

"The deaths of the women struck John hard. He came to terms with their deaths and then helped us accept them. Sometimes though, you would hear him say that Betsy would have enjoyed some particular sunset and that it was a shame that she wasn't there to share it with him. I'd hear that and think about how a love that could last beyond death was possible."

"Even though he was a private person, John loved people. Despite his love for them, he kept himself separate from them. William, you're like him in that way. You come in, stay a while, and then leave. In the process, you help some folks. After having saved a life or changing a person, you walk away leaving an acquaintance behind. Over his lifetime, John occasionally brought one of them into his life as friend and then family.

"For a long time, John helped people one at a time. Like I said, he really loved people. He saw that helping one or two people at a time was not making a dent in the misery that was the human experience. With his resources he built something that would last generations. The Fusion Foundation has been helping poor and needy people break the cycle of poverty."

Ed looked down at the floor of the room for a second and then said, "I'm supporting you in fighting this crisis of followership for one reason. I think that we need a lot more changes in our political leadership before we can rid this country and the whole world of the forces that feed the cycles of self destruction. John wanted that more than anything. He saw the Druid College as an instrument that could bring around that result."

Turning to look at William and Lucy, Ed said, "You are a lot like John in many ways. He was the smartest human being that I ever had the pleasure to know. I think that both of you are just a little smarter. Don't let that go to your head. Both of you do dumb things on occasion.

"John understood love better than anyone. John had no limits when it came to loving someone. He knew what people needed in order to grow into better people and he gave it without reservation. Don't get me wrong, but I think you both still have a lot to learn about love. You both have placed artificial limits on it.

"John also understood evil better than anyone without being evil. He knew that there were some people who were born without a shred of goodness in them. He did all that he could to protect people from evil. We would spend months tracking down pedophiles, serial murders, and hard core criminals."

Ed stood up and walked over to the bookcase. He looked over the books on it for a few seconds. He said, "John was many things. I guess to me, the most important thing is that he was my friend."

Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Thank you for sharing that with us."

-------

Getting prepared for the meeting that he was to have the next day with Mark Howell, William was hard at work at the dining room table when he looked up from the stack of papers he was reviewing. Turning to Lucy, he said, "We have company."

After rising from the couch, Lucy went over to the door and opened it. She found that she was facing a young woman with short black hair. She was about to greet her when a very large crow flew into the house. Rather surprised at the actions of the bird, she jumped backwards giving a small shout.

Looking at the large black bird that had landed on the back of the chair across from William, Lucy asked, "Is that a friend of yours?"

William said, "Hello, Blackie. I take it that Birdie came with you."

The bird answered with a raspy caw. Hearing the crow respond, Lucy said, "I'll take that as a yes."

"Hello," Birdie said smiling at Lucy, "You must be Lucy."

Lucy stepped back from the door enough to allow Birdie to enter the room. As she moved, she said, "Excuse my manners. Please come in."

Birdie entered the house and looked around. It hadn't changed since the last time she had been inside. Turning to Lucy, she said, "I'm Birdie."

"Hello, Birdie. I take it you are a friend of William's," Lucy said still somewhat distracted by the crow that was cawing at William.

"Yes."

Lucy turned to look at Birdie and said, "I'm half tempted to ask how you knew that we were here, but I'm almost positive that you'll answer that a little bird told you."

Birdie laughed at the comment and said, "William said that you were smart."

William rose from the table and held out a hand. Blackie flew to it and continued to talk to him. Entering the living room, William said, "Blackie says that things haven't been the same without you around here. He wants to know if you're going to take him with you when you leave."

"I hadn't thought about it," Birdie answered looking at the crow in surprise. She said, "Sure, I'll take him with me."

Satisfied, Blackie took off and flew through the door that Lucy was still holding open. She looked out the door and then closed it. Shaking her head, she said, "That was different. It is not very often that we get visited by a crow like that."

Birdie laughed at the comment and said, "I'm sure that stranger things have happened around William."

"True," Lucy said.

For the next two hours, Birdie told William and Lucy what had been happening in town. She filled him in on what was happening in the lives of the people that William had known. It was a pleasant visit.

-------

Colt had been standing in the hallway and heading towards the door to answer it when he had observed Lucy jump back as if pushed by someone. He had pulled his gun and nearly fired upon the crow and the figure standing behind it. A hair more pressure on the trigger and there would have been a dead bird. He might have been able to stop in time to prevent killing the young woman.

Having returned his pistol to the holster, Colt had stepped into the backyard. Barely able to control his anger, he said, "I damned near shot that bird."

"If I hadn't realized it was a bird, that girl would have joined it on the ground," Colt said looking around for something to break. There wasn't anything at hand so he stomped around the backyard trying to work off some of his anger. He was going to have a long talk with William one of these days.

-------

Representative Mark Howell was busy talking on the phone and didn't see the pair of men enter the room. There was a young college coed who wanted to help him get elected. She was very attractive and kept telling him that she'd do anything to help him. His fertile imagination was considering all of the things that she could do for him.

William and Ed entered the office without announcing their presence. The secretary had taken one look at them and told them to go right in. Amused by the look on the secretary's face, William took a seat. He gestured to his father to take a seat beside him. Ed had his hands over his ears. He didn't know who the woman at the other end of the phone was, but he was tempted to tell her to run for the hills.

Seeing that his father was ready to explode, William said, "Excuse me."

Embarrassed at being caught attempting to seduce a young coed, Mark Howell spun around in his chair ready to give his visitors a piece of his mind. He had given his secretary explicit instructions that he wasn't to be interrupted for any reason. Of course, he had always joked that a natural disaster, a catastrophe of epic proportions, or Druids dropping by for a visit were the exceptions. Staring at the two Druids, he wasn't too happy that one of his exceptions had come to pass. He spoke into phone, "I'll call you back."

After hanging up the phone, Mark asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk to you about your future," William said. His father gave him an odd look as there was both a truth and a lie to his words.

Mark Howell sat back in his chair with a broad smile on his face. He said, "Well, I'd be happy to have your support. My opponent doesn't have much of a chance of winning. His platform is weak and he is under funded."

William shook his head and said, "You're putting the cart before the horse. I'm not here to support your campaign."

"You're not?" Mark asked with a frown. He had heard a rumor that a pair of Druids were getting involved in selecting people to run for office.

"That's right," William said, "I'm here to ask you to withdraw from the race and to endorse a specific person as your successor."

"Why in hell would I do that?" Mark asked.

Sighing, William said, "So that you can spend the rest of your life with your family."

"Are you threatening me?" Mark asked leaning forward. He had a pistol in the top left drawer of his desk. He put his hand on the handle of the drawer.

"No, I'm not threatening you," William said. He waited for ten seconds to pass knowing that his next choice of words was important. He didn't really want to be the one who gave the man this news. He said, "You have a terminal disease and, even with my warning, you won't survive six months after the next election."

"What?" Mark asked staring at William.

Ed stared at William hearing the truth in his voice. He said, "He does?"

"Yes. He has pancreatic cancer," William said looking at his father. The prognosis was bad.

"I don't believe this. What makes you think you can come in my office and spout nonsense like that," Mark asked getting angry. He had heard that Druids acted like they knew things that others didn't.

"Call your doctor and make an appointment. He will confirm everything that I've told you," William said.

"This is an outrage," Mark said.

Looking Mark in the eye, William said, "You've been experiencing pains in your upper abdomen. The pain is relieved by leaning forward a bit. You're appetite hasn't been good lately. You've lost about five pounds over the past couple of months, but you've chalked that up to your loss of appetite."

The symptoms were all too familiar to Mark, but he wasn't willing to accept the diagnosis. Rising from his chair, Mark said, "Get out of my office."

Sighing William said, "I could have waited to tell you, but you'd have died before the election was held. By coming here today, I've given you an extra year of life."

"What do you want from me?" Mark asked. He'd always heard that having a Druid show up in your life was either a very good sign or meant that a disaster was looming.

"I want you to go to your doctor and have him give you a thorough examination. Insist that he gives you an ultrasound examination of the pancreas. Let him know that a Druid suggested it. Once you've gotten a diagnosis, then we'll talk again. I'll be in the area for a week," William said.

Mark couldn't avoid having his doubts. He did have the symptoms that William had mentioned. It wouldn't hurt to have a doctor check him out. He said, "I'll do it and if he determines that I don't have cancer, I'll make your life miserable."

"William is telling you the truth," Ed said.

"Who are you?" Mark asked realizing that he hadn't gotten the names of his visitors.

"I'm William Redman Carter and he's my father, Ed Biggers," William answered.

Mark had heard of Ed Biggers. The man was famous in Washington as the human lie detector. He stared at the man as a chill went down his spine.

William rose from his seat and said, "Believe it or not, I've given you a great gift."

"Right. You've told me that I'm going to die," Mark said.

William said, "I'll stop by in four days. We'll talk further at that time."

After the Druids had left his office, Mark Howell stared at the telephone on his desk. He hit the intercom and said, "Marcy, clear my calendar and put through a call to my doctor."

Outside, Ed said, "That wasn't a very pleasant visit."

"No, it wasn't," William said in agreement with his father. He didn't like having to give someone that kind of news. He said, "I hate doing that."

"I guess it reminds you of Happy Harry," Ed said looking over at William.

Nodding his head, William answered, "Yes."

Ed looked over at William realizing that he didn't want to talk about the subject. He understood and kept quiet as they made their way to their car. He asked, "What's next?"

"We talk to Joe," William answered.

"So I guess it is back to the house," Ed said.

William shook his head and said, "No, there's a burger burner on the way home. Joe will be there."

"You and your burger burners," Ed said shaking his head.

William smiled and said, "You'll like this one. They have great onion rings."

-------

Joe was surprised to see William enter the burger burner. He had been headed towards one of the tables after picking up his burger and fries. Joe said, "Hello, William. I was going to come by your place this afternoon."

"I know," William said distracted by the menu over the counter.

Seeing that William's fascination with fast food hadn't changed, Joe grinned and said, "Go ahead and order something. I'll be over there."

"Thanks," William said stepping up to the counter.

Joe looked over at Ed and said, "I take it you are with him."

"I'm one of his fathers," Ed said somewhat amused at how easily distracted William was by the chance to have a fast food hamburger.

"You must be proud of him," Joe said.

"I am," Ed said thinking it was unusual for someone of that age to make that kind of comment.

"I'll let you get something to eat," Joe said. He gestured to the table and said, "I'll be over here."

Ed got in line behind William and studied the menu. Shaking his head, he thought about the number of fast food places he had visited on this trip. In the couple of weeks they had been on the road, they had visited more fast food places than he had been in the first thirty years of his life. He looked down at the tray that was slid in front of William and said, "Oh, I see you've ordered for the two of us."

"Oh, sorry. I forgot about you," William said giving his father a smile that conveyed his embarrassment.

"That's okay," Ed said staring at the quantity of food on William's tray.

William sat down at that the table with Joe and asked, "So what's up with you?"

"I'm just waiting for Wanda to graduate," Joe said. He remembered how William had suggested that he would be the supporting character for two women. So far, there was just the one woman in his life.

"That's good," William said. He gestured to a young woman across the room and asked, "Who is she?"

"That's Melissa," Joe answered looking at where William had pointed. One of the problems of living in a small town was that everyone knew everyone. She had just graduated with her law degree and had returned home for the summer.

As William dunked a French fry into the little paper cup of ketchup, he said, "She sure seems interested in you."

Seeing the dirty looks she was sending his way, Joe laughed at what William was suggesting and said, "She thinks I'm some sort of dumb jock."

"Interesting," William said after eating his French fry. He turned and gestured to Melissa for her to come over to the table. She stared at him for a second. William made gestured to Joe and then back to her while making kissing gestures with his lips.

Melissa glared at William thinking he was making fun of her. Furious, she rose from her seat intending to give him a piece of her mind. She didn't appreciate jocks making fun of her like that. She couldn't help the way that she looked.

Joe stared at William as if he had lost his mind. As she approached, Joe said, "She's going to kill you."

"No, she's studying for her bar exam and needs someone to help her," William said just in time for Melissa to hear him.

Melissa was not amused, but was surprised to learn that the stranger seemed to know a little too much about her. Her step faltered as Joe said, "You mean she's the other one?"

"That's right, Joe. She's the other one. She needs your support," William said unwrapping one of his hamburgers.

"What are you talking about?" Melissa asked glaring at William.

William smiled and answered, "Melissa, I'd like to introduce my friend Joe. Joe, this is Melissa. You two are going to make such a lovely couple."

"Who are you?" Melissa asked looking at William like he was insane. He ignored her question and took a bite out of his hamburger. She stood at the head of the booth with her hands on her hips staring at him. She repeated her question, "Who are you?"

Ed arrived carrying his tray. Overhearing the question and seeing how irritated she was, he answered, "That is William and he's a pain in the ass at times."

William laughed and said, "I thought your service required you to tell the truth."

"It does," Ed said with a grin.

William turned to Melissa. He reached up to her face. Tracing a finger along the scars that marred her features, he said, "When you're ready to run for office, come visit my mother. She'll take care of your scars."

"How dare you?" Melissa asked as tears welled up in her eyes. People stared at her scars and often commented on them when they thought she couldn't overhear. Seldom did they make such ugly comments to her face.

Unmoved by her tears, William answered, "I dare because I want the best for you and Joe. Your future depends upon Joe helping you. Joe's happiness depends upon supporting you in the pursuit of your dreams. Your dreams involve political office and you won't win with those scars. My mother can remove those scars."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Melissa said.

"William knows what he's talking about. Kelly can remove those scars, but it will be painful," Ed said opening the salad he had ordered. There wasn't too much that one could do to ruin a salad, even in a fast food place.

"I've seen a dozen plastic surgeons. Don't give me that line of bullshit," Melissa said glaring at Ed.

"My wife is a Druid healer," Ed said opening the little packed of salad dressing. He glanced up at her and added, "She can remove those scars."

Melissa stared at Ed wide-eyed. It was hard to believe that they were suggesting that a Druid healer would bother with her. Too soft to hear, she asked, "Who are you?"

"What will Wanda say?" Joe asked.

"Wanda? Wanda Sultimier?" Melissa asked. She had heard that Joe was dating Wanda, but she hadn't believed the gossip. Shy little Wanda wasn't the type to attract the attention of a jock.

"She'll be fine with it," William said.

"Wanda?" Melissa repeated.

Nodding his head, William said, "She's a lot like you. Her sexual horizons grew in unexpected directions while she was away at college, too."

Melissa's face burned with embarrassment. Ed said, "You need to learn a little tact, William."

Looking over at his father, William said, "I said exactly what needed to be said and I said it exactly as it had to be said. I know when the future depends upon every word I say."

Ed shook his head and said, "I hear the truth in your words, but I find it difficult to believe."



-------

Chapter 11


Mark Howell sat at his desk staring at the empty chairs across from him. He had just returned from his doctor's office. The results of his tests were not good. Everything that William had told him was the truth. He leaned forward to ease the pain in his abdomen. The act only reminded him of the disease eating away at him.

Alone, William entered the room. It wasn't necessary for his father to attend this meeting. He looked at Mark and said, "I'm sorry."

"It is not your fault," Mark Howell said feeling tired. He still hadn't told his family of the diagnosis.

Looking the man in the eye, William asked, "What will you do?"

"I'm stepping down," Mark answered coming to a decision. Suddenly the power politics of Washington had lost their appeal. All he wanted to do was to spend the remainder of his time with his family.

William had known that Mark would do that. Nodding his head, he said, "We need to work out a strategy to get Dan Colson to take over your seat."

"Dan Colson?" Mark asked surprised at William's choice. The man was the last one he would have chosen to take over his seat.

"Yes," William answered.

"My position is a lot more conservative than his. There are a lot of people I'd rather see take over my seat," Mark said. He wondered how many of his political supporters would feel betrayed if he were to support Dan Colson.

"You have to support Dan Colson," William said.

"Why?"

William leaned forward in his chair and looked Mark in the eye. He said, "I see a horrible future for this country and the world as a whole. If things don't change, we'll see war on a global scale like you wouldn't believe. Dan Colson will be a pivotal vote. He'll prevent a global disaster."

"What kind of disaster?" Mark asked thinking that William was being melodramatic.

William closed his eyes as he answered, "There are many possible futures. In the most likely future, the Middle East will turn on the West. Rather than being divided along religious grounds, they will be united in their economic and political grievances. There won't be a hundred different militias fighting the West. There will be one united army.

"The Far East and Asian-Pacific Rim will join them. Africa will burn as internal strife leads to genocide. Divided in ideologies, South America will sit to the side watching. It won't join until it is too late to affect the outcome.

"It will be a war in which four billion people are fighting against one billion. The war will escalate from men versus men to machines versus men. The weapons will kill without regard or remorse. There won't be a world left after the nuclear dust settles."

Mark frowned and asked, "How do you know that?"

"I see the future. I see all possible futures. It is my service to the Gods and Goddesses to select the best future for all of mankind," William answered.

Mark thought about what William had said. As a representative of the people, it was his duty to select the best future for his country. He said, "That is my job."

"To a certain extent it is, but politicians alone are not responsible for the future. Everyone has a role to play," William said nodding his head. He asked, "In all honesty, how well does your public position on the issues agree with your private ideals?"

It was a very good question. Mark thought about the ideals with which he had entered office. He thought about the positions that he had taken early in his political career and how he had become trapped in them despite what he had learned over time. Too many compromises had diluted his position. He sighed and said, "I've matured, but my politics haven't. I've taken positions that I don't like because I thought I was representing the positions of my constituents. I've taken positions that I don't support to get support for issues that I think are important."

"Politics is a balancing act."

"That's true," Mark said.

"While opposing you on some things, Dan supports your core beliefs," William said.

Mark said, "I'll think about it."

"I believe that you'll do the right thing," William said rising from his chair.

"Where are you going?"

William answered, "I'm going to visit Dan Colson."

"You're pretty sure that I'll back him," Mark said studying William.

"That's right," William said.

-------

Joe and Melissa sat at the diner staring at each other with very little to say. This was worse than a blind date. Melissa said, "So what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know," Joe said shrugging his shoulders.

"Your friend seems to think that we are supposed to be a couple or something," Melissa said.

Joe nodded his head and said, "He's a Druid. So is his father."

"They are?" Melissa asked surprised by that little piece of information. She had never met a Druid before.

Joe gave her a weak smile. He answered, "When William says something; you should believe him."

"Is that why we're here?" Melissa asked looking around the diner.

"I guess," Joe said.

-------

Barbara was seated next to Sandra feeling a little like a kid waiting to see the principal. She looked over at Sandra and asked, "Why do I feel like I'm in trouble?"

"I don't know. I feel the same way. There's this sense of doom emanating from the door," Sandra answered. She looked over at the closed door wondering why she felt so nervous. The pair of them had found a note when they woke that morning to wait in the conference room. They had already been there for more than an hour.

"It has been nice working with you," Barbara said. She was pretty sure that one or both of them were going to get fired.

"Yeah, same here," Sandra said turning to stare at the door some more.

After saying nothing for ten minutes, Barbara said, "You've got to admit that our relationship with William and Lucy is a little sick."

"I wouldn't say sick. I'd use the word unhealthy," Sandra replied looking over at Barbara. It wasn't healthy to only want individuals who didn't want you. Barbara had it worse than Sandra.

"You're right," Barbara said staring at the door. She sighed and said, "So many men spent so much time trying to get me into bed. All they saw was a sexy woman. They never saw my mind. I really hated them."

"Me too," Sandra said with a sigh.

"No one has ever appreciated my mind like William," Barbara said. She wanted to cry at the thought of going back to a world where men hired her for her looks and ignored her mind.

"I know," Sandra said.

"I'm going to miss that."

"Me too," Sandra said. Feeling angry, she said, "We're just going to have to accept being fuck bunnies from now on."

"I'll never forget what one of my fellow students said during my senior year at college. He told me that I could talk the talk well enough that a senior executive wouldn't be embarrassed by promoting me as a result of sexual favors," Barbara said. He had even leered at her when he said all of that. She had so angry at the guy that she had kneed him in the groin.

"I heard similar things," Sandra said, "The women in my classes were worse. The ones who weren't good looking enough to attract the attention of the professors were more than willing to trade sex for grades. They really hated me because they were sure that I was doing it."

"They were bad, but I really hated the women who were trading sex for grades. I'd work and they'd get the grades. Half of them couldn't pass a test to save their lives," Barbara said.

Sandra sighed and said, "You know I'd work with William all day and rub myself raw with my vibrator all night."

"I know what you mean. At least we were flying private jets. Could you imagine the embarrassment of having someone search your luggage and find your vibrator?" Barbara said.

Shaking her head, Sandra said, "I had that happen once. I just about died on the spot. The woman there asked if I had problems getting the real thing. I wanted to slap her."

Both women jumped when the conference room door opened. Cole entered the room carrying a box. He looked over at the two women studying their features for a full minute. Satisfied with what he saw, he said, "Kelly asked me to talk to you. You might say that I'm a Druid head doctor. She seems to think that you two are pretty screwed up in the noggin. From what she told me, I'd have to agree. You got a few screws loose that need a little tightening. Are you willing to talk with me?"

"Sure," Barbara said thinking this guy didn't pull any punches.

"What choice do I have?" Sandra asked.

"Well, you could go the rest of your life trying to have relationships with men who aren't interested in you," Cole answered.

"I guess," Sandra said.

"So what will it be? Will you talk to me or walk out of here?" Cole asked.

"I'll talk," Sandra answered.

"Good," Cole said. He pulled out two baggy outfits from the box and tossed one each to the women. Smiling he said, "The first thing we're going to do is give you a make over."

"Huh?"

"You are not going to be yourselves for the next week," Cole said with a grin. Seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, he said, "Don't worry. I took makeup lessons at clown school."

"Clown school?" Barbara asked looking down at the outfit he had thrown her. Frowning, she said, "You're going to have us dress up in clown suits?"

"That's right," Cole said holding up two red noses.

"Why?" Sandra asked looking at Cole in horror.

Cole answered, "You have a hard time with people taking you seriously because you're pretty. Well, I figure that they'll take you more seriously if you aren't quite so pretty. The hard part is getting two such attractive women to look less attractive. I thought long and hard about that little problem before I came to the conclusion that having you wear a clown outfit is a lot easier than making you fat or ugly."

"No one takes a clown seriously," Barbara said.

"Put on the outfit and then we'll talk," Cole said with a grin. When neither woman moved, he said, "Hurry up. I've got lunch reservations in one of the nicest restaurants in Phoenix."

"You expect us to go out in public wearing these outfits?" Sandra asked.

"Sure. Ugly people go out in public all of the time," Cole answered.

-------

Feeling a little bored, Ed sat in the back yard sipping a glass of iced tea. It was late afternoon and the world was quiet. The air was calm, but the sweet scent of honeysuckle tickled his nose. He wasn't quite sure where the scent was coming from.

Lucy came out and sniffed the air. Smiling, she looked around before spotting the bushes in the yard next door. She went over to the honeysuckle bush and broke off a small branch with flowers. There were two colors of flowers on the vine — yellow and white. She went over to the table to join Ed. Sitting down, she said, "Hello."

Ed looked at the branch in her hand and asked, "What are you going to do with that?"

"I'm going to enjoy the nectar," Lucy answered. She pulled off one of the flowers and pulled the stamen through the trumpet. It forced a drop of nectar to collect. She stuck out her tongue and tasted the nectar. She smiled over at Ed and said, "I love doing this."

Ed leaned forward and said, "Show me what you did again."

Lucy plucked another flower off the branch and ate the nectar from the end. She was amused by how intently Ed watched her do that. She asked, "Would you like to try it?"

"Sure," Ed answered. He tried it, but the stamen broke off before the nectar appeared.

Lucy plucked another flower and said, "Gently."

Ed managed to get a drop of nectar to appear at the end of the flower. He tasted it and said, "That's interesting."

Lucy sat back and said, "My mom and dad have a honeysuckle bush in their backyard. When I was a little girl, I used to sit out there with my friends and we'd do that all day. I'm surprised that we didn't kill that little bush considering how many of the flowers we used to pull off of it."

"There isn't much nectar in a single flower," Ed said.

"No there isn't," Lucy said. She pulled another flower off and examined it. She said, "I find it amazing that bees collect nectar and produce honey. Imagine collecting enough nectar to produce a teaspoon of honey."

"It is amazing," Ed said examining the remains of the honeysuckle flower. He was used to the cactus flowers of his beloved desert.

"So what are you doing today?" Lucy asked.

"Just sitting around," Ed answered.

"Same here," Lucy said. She didn't have much of anything to do at the moment. William was off talking to politicians; her research was back in Arizona; and she didn't really know anyone in the area except Birdie.

Ed took another sip of his tea and looked up at the sky. He said, "There really aren't many interesting rock formations in this area. Normally, I'd go off to explore the geology of the area."

"How about we go up to Dallas?" Lucy asked with a grin.

Ed grinned and said, "I have a better idea. How about we head up to Fort Worth and check out the Sid Richardson Museum. They've got one of the finest collections of western art."

"That sounds like fun," Lucy said.

-------

Ed leaned over and examined the bronze statue of a cowboy riding a horse. It was one of several dozen pieces in the museum. Smiling, he said, "I've always liked Frederic Remington's work."

"It is impressive," Lucy said.

The desire to run a hand over the bronze statue was almost overwhelming. Ed said, "Echoes of a lost time. We have a hint of a world that has long disappeared. It harkens back to a time before the land was partitioned by fences."

Smiling, Lucy said, "I guess it reminds you of your youth."

"I'm not that old," Ed said with a laugh.

Lucy laughed and asked, "Why don't you have a collection of western art like this?"

"I do," Ed said with a smile.

Looking around at all of the works of art, Lucy asked, "This is yours?"

"No. My collection is spread across museums all around the country. There are a lot of places where the old west is just a myth. The people don't believe in cowboys or Indians. They think the real world is an urban setting rather than an open prairie or desert. They go to indoor riding rinks and spend an hour or two on horseback. It is an entertainment rather than a lifestyle," Ed answered.

Lucy thought about their life in Arizona. There was still an element of the untamed west to it. Their place had thousands of undeveloped acres. She said, "It kind of makes me homesick."

"Arizona or Pennsylvania?" Ed asked looking over at Lucy.

"Arizona," Lucy answered. She wondered when that had become home. She didn't miss the wooded land of Pennsylvania.

"The desert grows on you," Ed said. He walked over to a painting and studied it.

Lucy was silent for a moment and then said, "I think this is William's last major trip away from home."

"Why do you say that?" Ed asked.

Lucy looked at the painting of cowboy roping a steer. The scene was dynamic. Dust kicked up by the animals filled the air. She said, "He's going to hide away in Arizona manipulating the world. He'll need the stability of the open space to keep him sane."

"You might be right," Ed said.

"The economic and social model we are developing is really extensive. He could use it to control the whole world," Lucy said.

"It is that powerful?" Ed asked.

"It is that accurate," Lucy replied.

"That sounds very dangerous," Ed said.

Nodding her head in agreement, Lucy said, "It is very dangerous. Can you imagine what would happen if a greedy person were to get control of the program that William is developing? What if they could identify every major and minor economic trend? They could do anything. We'd see the emergence of multi-trillionaires who could buy and sell individuals with the same ease that we purchase pets in a pet store."

"Scary," Ed said. Having fought human slavery in the past, the idea of people with the power to enslave others through money scared him.

Lucy looked at the painting and said, "When I look out at the canyon from the windows of our house, I'm reminded of what really matters. It isn't money and it isn't power. It isn't anything that is specifically human.

"What really matters is the majesty that is our world. It is the outline of a mesa against the setting sun. It is the scream of a hawk plummeting to earth to make a kill. It is the sand blowing across the ground."

"It is the scent of honeysuckle in the air," Ed said with a smile.

"Yes," Lucy said.

"There's more to it. There is the greatness of our dreams. Our ideals for a more perfect world," Ed said.

"That is true," Lucy said. She looked over at him and added, "William needs the isolation and the desert to keep him centered. After this trip, he will not travel far from home. We won't be away from home for more than a day or two."

"Has he told you this?" Ed asked.

Shaking her head in the negative, Lucy answered, "No, but I know William. He stopped here because it was his last chance to revisit the world that John Carter once knew."

"Oh," Ed said.

Lucy stepped over to another painting and looked at it. She smiled and said, "I remember reading stories about great expeditions to meet wise men living in remote regions of the world. I always wondered why wise men secluded themselves from the rest of humanity. Living with William, I've come to appreciate the reason."

"And what would that reason be?" Ed asked.

Lucy smiled and said, "The only reason those men are wise is because they separate themselves from the concerns of men. They live in remote regions where the physical world can remind them of what really matters."

"I think you're right," Ed said.

Lucy looked at the painting and said, "I like this one."

Looking at the picture, Ed said, "The man in it reminds me of William's grandfather, William Redman. It isn't so much the features of the face, but the tired wisdom written upon it."

"That is William's face forty years from now," Lucy said gazing upon the painting. It was a face that she could love.



-------

Chapter 12


While the clerk put the bottle of face cream in the plastic bag, Barbara glared at him. Chuckling to himself, the guy said, "Two cannibals are eating a clown. One cannibal turns to the other and asks, 'Does this taste funny to you?'"

"Very funny," Barbara said in a low growl. If she heard one more clown joke, someone was going pay for it.

The guy smiled and said, "I thought clowns were supposed to have a sense of humor."

"I'm not a clown," Barbara said still holding out the money to pay for her purchase.

"You sure look like one to me," the guy said.

"Just let me pay for my purchase so I can get out of here," Barbara said. She had never considered how other people were treated as a result of their appearance.

Sandra came into the store and asked, "What's the problem?"

"This guy is too busy making jokes to take my money," Barbara said.

The guy took the money from her and made the change. Handing it over to her, he said, "I like your purse."

Barbara looked down at the obscenely large clown purse in disgust. She said, "Right."

After Barbara picked up her purchase, the clerk smiled at her and said, "Don't hit your funny bone on the way out."

Barbara glared at the clerk and walked off growling. Trying to maneuver the clown shoes through the door, she hit her funny bone on the door frame. Angry, she stomped over to the car with Sandra. Barbara slammed the door shut getting part of her costume caught in the door. She growled and said, "I'm going to kill Cole."

Sandra got in the car and started removing her shoes since there was no way to drive while wearing the shoes. She threw her shoes on the back seat. Sandra said, "Get in line."

"He must have mailed out clown jokes to everyone in the area," Barbara said.

"Let me guess. You got the one with the cannibals," Sandra said.

"Of course," Barbara said.

Sandra said, "I don't know which is worse - having a guy drool while talking with you or having them laugh at you."

-------

Tired, William rubbed his eyes and said, "Well, that's another candidate I've convinced to run for office."

"What was the problem?" Ed asked.

"Convincing Dan Corbet that he could actually win," William said.

Lucy asked, "Why would that be a problem?"

"He was concerned that it was too early in his career. The man felt that he had to have a better known reputation locally before he'd be accepted on a national level. I managed to convince him that with the backing of Mark Howell that he'd be taken very seriously," William answered. It had taken a telephone call to Mark Howell to convince Dan Corbet that he'd get the backing William was promising. Dan and Mark had crossed paths in the past and Dan knew that he hadn't impressed Mark.

Ed asked, "So what does that mean in terms of your plans?"

"We still have to convince two other people to run for office," William said.

"I feel like I've been on the road for months. How much longer are we going to be doing this?" Ed asked.

"Only another ten days," William answered.

"I bet you'll be glad that your job is done," Ed said.

"It is just starting. I still have to get them elected," William replied.

"Then you'll be done," Ed said.

"Not even close to done," William replied with a weary shake of his head.

"What do you mean?"

"The balance of power will change significantly to a more moderate tone. The volume of arguments in Washington will diminish. The arguments will still exist, but they'll be closer to the real issues. Real solutions to the nation's problems will be addressed without political rhetoric getting in the way. I'll have to guide people to the real problems," William answered.

"You keep talking about the real problems. What are they?"

Rubbing his forehead, William answered, "Where should I even begin? Every aspect of our society is on the verge of collapse. The infrastructure of this country is on the verge of collapse. Bridges, dams, roads, and water and sewage treatment plants are all being used twenty years after the end of their expected lifetime. When they start to go, the whole country is going to be in trouble.

"Economically, the average household is living beyond its means. A huge number of families live with a net worth that is negative rather than positive because of debt. Local property taxes are killing home owners. Inflating mortgage payments are sucking up any increased wages.

"The average family is living on borrowed time. There are two income families that are living paycheck to paycheck without any savings. They are at risk of losing everything with even a minor setback. Some families are even using the wages of their children to make ends meet.

"The major corporations are in serious trouble. We have to get a handle on corporate criminal behavior. Executives have to be held accountable for their negligence and incompetence. People who basically steal the retirement nest eggs from thousands of people should be treated very harshly. Somehow, corporations have to be held to standards of due diligence commensurate with the damage that they can cause.

"The legal system needs revamping so that equivalent crimes get equivalent sentences. The entire criminal code needs to be reexamined. What once constituted an unimaginable amount of money is nearly nothing today. We punish petty criminals as if they were major crime lords. Major crime lords get sentences that are laughable. Drug laws need to be revisited and solutions put into place that addresses the problem rather than punishing the victims.

"The huge number of trivial lawsuits has to be reduced. Lawyers have to take responsibility for bringing cases to court that are groundless. Hurt feelings are not a reason to sue. People need to take responsibility for their own actions; not try to blame others through lawsuits.

"We are living in times where crimes unimaginable in the past are occurring on a daily basis. Our legal system has archaic laws in place that don't even pretend to punish the newest forms of criminal behavior. It is possible to steal the identities of thousands of people in one afternoon and destroy their savings, credit, and lives by nightfall. We punish it as though it was a simple white collar crime. It isn't; it is murder. Some people commit suicide when they lose everything they have.

"People can write programs that destroy lives and companies, but it barely registers as a crime. Trillions of dollars are spent worldwide as a result of these destructive programs. That money doesn't improve the quality of life or improve productivity. It is a drain on the economic health of every person, business, and government.

"This is a nation that believes in entitlements and there just isn't the money to pay for them. It isn't that we have to balance the budget; we have to eliminate the debt. The national debt is killing our future. We are indebted to countries that are hostile towards us. You can't have a sane foreign policy when your enemies hold an economic sledge hammer over your head.

"Individuals need to take responsibility for their own actions. We can't solve the nation's problems by throwing money at people when they don't know how to use that money to their best advantage. It is even worse when they misuse that money to support their negligent behavior.

"This is the least healthy generation in almost two centuries. Nutrition is an individual problem, but the number of people who ignore it is overwhelming. I recognize it is impossible to control the eating habits of a population through laws, but changes have to be introduced. Obesity has led to a dramatic increase in the rate of diabetes. Healthcare costs are obscene once you factor out the moderating effects of the Fusion Foundation.

"The quality of education has to be addressed. The previous generation was better educated than this one. There's something wrong when the intellectual worth of a society regresses. Engineering and science education programs need to expand. There will be no future growth without engineers and scientists. The only reason the environment isn't a problem today is because of the invention of the Fusion Cell by my father. If we were still a petroleum based economy, we'd really be in trouble.

"Almost five percent of the people in this country are undocumented. With a population of three hundred million, to have fifteen million people running around who are outside of the system is a huge problem. We need to get control over who is in this country."

Ed raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is that all?"

"No. It is even worse than that. I haven't even dealt with our international policies," William answered.

"So do you have solutions to all of those problems?" Lucy asked. She had been playing with the economic models and knew just how complex the problems were.

"No," William answered shaking his head. He added, "I see the general trends, not the specific solutions. I have to nudge this society along pathways that lead to a better tomorrow rather than allow it to wallow in the mud.

"The first step was to get rid of the polarizing factions of the political landscape so that real solutions could be sought. The days of dogmatic pursuit of extremist agendas have to come to an end. That will help solve the crisis of followership."

Ed nodded his head in agreement. He asked, "What's the next step?"

"The Bards need to work to change things at a personal level. We need to educate people outside of a formal education environment. Only a small fraction of our population is in school where education programs are effective. We need some mechanism to educate the masses. That is the work of the Bards," William answered.

"What about Druids?" Ed asked.

"Oh, the Druids are going to be very busy helping the elected leaders find good solutions to all of our problems," William answered.

Ed frowned and asked, "How long is all of this going to take?"

"Oh, I'd say eighty to a hundred years," William answered knowing that he'd be dead and buried by the time the world was firmly established on a good path again.

Stunned by the kind of timeline that William was discussing, Lucy said, "I can't believe it will take that long."

"Why? It took us a hundred years to get in this mess," William replied. It would require at least three election cycles to get rid of the more extreme elements in government. The problem existed at the local, state, and national level. So far, his efforts were just a drop in the bucket.

"You can't speed it up a little?" Ed asked rather surprised by William's answer.

"I could do it in half of the time. It would require me to kill a couple thousand people. I don't think that you or any of the other Druids would approve," William replied with a negligent shrug of his shoulders.

"You can say that again," Ed said. He was pleased to learn that William wasn't even considering that solution. Curious, he asked, "How would killing that many people speed up the process?"

William said, "There are people with influence and power who are driving this country in the wrong direction. Their influence is going to last for decades. They'll be passing legislation thirty years from now that I'll have to undo fifty years from now. If I could get rid of them, I'd be able to address some of the issues a whole lot sooner."

Lucy said, "I thought that you were just going to tweak the society a little here and there."

"I am. The whole world requires a lot of tweaks," William said with a smile. The whole world was a pretty big place. He wondered if Oscar had the easier problem. All Oscar had to do was to win the war; William knew that he had to win the peace.

-------

"Explain this whole thing about the bar to me again," Joe said looking at Melissa.

Melissa sighed and said, "Getting a degree in law doesn't make you a lawyer. It is just one step to being one. You have to pass the Multistate Profession Responsibility Exam. Then you have to pass a state administered bar exam. After that, you have to be certified by the state bar association that you are of good moral character and fitness to practice law. Then you have to apply to be a lawyer and pay all of the required fees. At that point, you are a lawyer."

"How do they know that you are of good moral character and fit to practice law?" Joe asked. It seemed to him that it was overly complicated.

Melissa said, "Don't worry about that. The hurdle I have to get past now is the bar exam."

"What about that responsibility thing?" Joe asked.

"I already passed the MPRE while I was in law school," Melissa answered.

"Okay," Joe said. He looked over at the stack of books and asked, "So you need to know everything in these books."

"Basically," Melissa answered.

Frowning, Joe asked, "What will you do for a living until you pass the bar exam?"

"I'm a law clerk for one of the state judges," Melissa answered. She was the law clerk for one of the judges on the State Appellate court. It was rumored that he'd be appointed to the State Supreme Court soon.

"Oh, so you ask people to stand when the judge enters the courtroom," Joe said.

Melissa laughed and said, "No. I help the judge research issues that are before the court."

"Oh," Joe said shaking his head. He'd never given much thought to the legal profession. As far as he knew, a person went to law school and became a lawyer when they graduated.

"Believe it or not, it is a very prestigious job. There are a lot of law students who would kill to have my job," Melissa said.

Joe shrugged his shoulders and asked, "So what can I do to help?"

"Well, you can ask me about cases in those books," Melissa answered gesturing to a huge stack of books.

Joe opened a book and looked at one of the pages. He frowned as he studied the page and then looked back up at her. He smiled and then said, "I'll try. You'll get through this. I'll make sure of that."

Melissa looked at Joe and realized that he was going to be there for her through the whole process. He would support her emotionally and physically. She wondered why he would do that for her.

-------

William looked up from his science fiction book and said, "We're going to have to rush the next two visits so that we'll be in Pennsylvania in time."

Lucy was lying crosswise to William with her head resting on his thigh. She asked, "In time for what?"

"Debbie and Georgia will be giving birth soon. We'll want to be there for it," William answered.

"So soon?" Lucy asked.

"There is nothing soon about it," William answered.

-------

In the center of Penn Station, a musician stopped and looked around. Signs announcing the departures of trains hung down from the ceiling above. Despite the late hour, the concourse was packed with people going about their business. The air smelled of close packed humanity. The high ceiling seemed to swallow the sounds of people talking and laughing.

He set out a small stool and sat down. From his case, he removed a mandolin. He spent a minute tuning the fragile instrument. He closed his eyes, gave a small word of thanks to the Gods and Goddesses, and then began to play.

The crowd that would normally pass by a street musician slowed and came to a halt. Everyone stood around listening to the man sing. He cast a spell over the crowd with soft notes that carried far beyond what physics could explain. His words took root in minds opened by music.

In Madison Square Garden above Penn Station, a large concert was just coming to an end. Thousands of fans excited about the performance of Street King started to leave. Many of them made their way downwards into Penn Station. The crowd grew quiet as the music reached out to them. Emotions that had been high cooled as if liquid nitrogen had been poured on them.

Word of what was happening in Penn Station trickled up to the dressing room where Street King was being entertained by a rather well endowed woman. Angry, he pulled her head off his cock. He shouted at his manager, "Are you sure it is that damned Bard?"

"Yes, Street King," the manager answered.

New York had been his last bastion of fans. Street King said, "That son of a bitch is trying to kill me."

"I don't think he's after you personally. After all, this is the first concert of yours that he's shown up at," the manager said. For six months, nearly every concert in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco had ended with the Bard playing outside the auditorium. Sales of rap music in California had dropped to nearly nothing. After California, it had been Atlanta, Florida, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Boston.

"Shit, I'm going to go down there and give him a piece of my mind," Street King said.

Still holding his cock in her right hand, the woman asked, "What about me?"

"Finish the blow job," Street King said pushing her head down to his cock. He figured it would be the last one he'd get for a long time.

The musician played for an hour to a packed audience. People sat where they had been standing. Police who had moved into the station in order to remove the musician found they were sitting on the floor along with everyone else. No one moved forward to drop a dollar in the instrument case.

Greg Banner stopped playing and looked around the room. The crowd stared off into the distance entranced as if seeing a vision of heaven. Smiling, he packed up his mandolin. That act seemed to drive people to their feet and they left the station for whatever destinations they had intended to go. Greg stood and folded his chair.

"You mother fucker," Street King shouted as he approached Greg. He was angry, but he couldn't say that he hadn't been warned. William Redman Carter had told him that his form of music was going to die. That didn't make it any easier to accept.

"Hello, Street King," Greg said without turning around to face the musician.

"It isn't right what you've done," Street King said.

Turning to look at Street King, Greg was sure that the man had taken his actions personally. It wasn't a personal matter, but a matter of necessity. He asked, "What did I do?"

"You killed a music genre," Street King answered.

Surprised at how the man had phrased his charge, Greg said, "I guess I did at that."

"Why?"

"It was a genre that promoted ugliness, anger, and hate. It could have promoted positive values, but that was too much work for lazy musicians. You could have used it as a voice for self improvement. You could have used it to inspire, but you didn't," Greg answered.

"What am I supposed to do?" Street King asked. The loss of sales had hit him hard. He'd had to sell his large house, his cars, and his airplane. The money he made from the sale and his savings had just paid off the loans. He was nearly broke and living in a small house. At least he owned the house.

Greg had dealt with many musicians over the past year. Some had been angry and attempted violence. Some had been depressed and wandered off without saying a word. Others had left denying the growing trend away from their music. None had asked him that particular question. He answered, "I suppose that you'll have to reinvent the genre."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Street King asked knowing that after tonight there wouldn't be anyone in the music industry that would answer a phone call from him.

"Come with me," Greg answered handing Street King the little folding chair.

The pair went over to one of the stores inside Penn Station. Greg pointed to one of the men working there. He asked, "What do you see?"

"I see a black man working in a crummy store for minimum wage," Street King answered shaking his head.

"That man is the owner of that store. He got a business loan and bought it six years ago. He's making a living that will provide for his family. He doesn't live in the slums where he grew up. He lives in a nice neighborhood. His kids will go to college and become doctors or lawyers. They have a future," Greg said.

"Okay," Street King said watching the man sweep the floor like a lowly janitor. He realized that it was not an act of degradation for the man, but an act in which he was protecting his investment.

Greg pulled Street King out to the street and pointed to a man with a push cart selling hotdogs despite the late hour. He asked, "What do you see?"

"I see a man with no future," Street King answered.

Shaking his head, Greg said, "That man made six figures last year selling hotdogs. That's a good living even for New York City."

"Six figures?" Street King asked.

"Yes," Greg said. He smiled and said, "Go buy a hot dog from him."

"You want me to buy a hot dog from him?" Street King asked.

"Sure. He's a fan of yours," Greg said with a smile.

Street King went over to the hotdog vendor and purchased a hot dog. In the process he heard the man's whole life story. He walked away seeing a different world than before. Greg joined him and asked, "What did you learn?"

"There are battles being fought in this world that are of a different nature than what I've known. There are people who are engaged in battles fought with same level of determination and desire to succeed that characterize the battles of the gangs from my old neighborhood. There aren't guns or insults being bandied about. The weapons of choice are hard work, sweat, and tears," Street King said watching the vendor fix another hotdog for a customer.

"Yes. You can put to song stories about fighting the cold of winter to make a better life for your child. The driving beat of rap is fitting," Greg said.

"It seems like a cop-out to me," Street King said. To go from tough gangster rapper to a supporter of small business just wasn't the kind of future he had envisioned for his career.

"Chicks like wealthy men. They don't care if he got rich selling hotdogs," Greg said with a smile.



-------

Chapter 13


William stepped out the front door of the hotel and froze. Rather than facing a run down street in San Diego, he was in a meadow. There in front of him was a contrived scene of life and death. To his right, a man was facing death as a giant wrecking ball swung towards him from behind. To his left, a different man faced an identical death. He shouted, "Duck."

Both men stared at William as the wrecking balls swung through them. William stared in horror at the result. Two broken bodies lay on the ground in front of him. It was not a pretty sight. With his shout he had tried to save both, but had saved neither one. Sick to his stomach, William stared at the consequences of his failure.

William stepped forward only to find the scene repeated. Two men, each with death bearing down on them from behind, looked at him. Still trying to save them both, William shouted, "Get down now."

The men stared at him with puzzled expressions on their faces. A fraction of a second later, two broken bodies lay on the ground. Angry, William said, "It's not right."

He took a step forward and the scene repeated. Rather than shout, he ran to one man and tackled him. The wrecking ball passed over them. William turned and saw that the second man was dead. He had managed to save only one of the men. The man he had saved thanked him and walked off.

William rose from the ground and took a step forward still wanting to correct the problem. The scene repeated. This time William tackled the other man. The wrecking ball passed over them. The first man was dead. Frustrated, William rose from the ground and took a step forward to find that the scene was repeated. Over and over, William tried to save both men. Each time, either one survived or both died. He could find nothing to do to save both. He tried everything that he could imagine.

The flashback to his trial in the glade ended leaving William blinking in the bright sun.

Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead. He frowned as he thought about the lesson taught in the trial. He looked forward through the immediate future and saw two people dying. One was a young boy and the other was a middle aged man.

Turning to Ed, William said, "There a joke about a stubborn mule that dies of starvation because it is standing exactly halfway between two bales of hay. It couldn't decide which way to turn. I find myself in that position and I don't find it very funny."

"What's the matter?" Ed asked. He had nearly run over William when his son had come to a stop outside the door of the hotel.

"If I go to the right, I'll save someone from getting run over. If I go to the left, I'll save someone by preventing a robbery. I can't save them both," William answered.

"I'll go one way and you can go the other way," Ed said.

Shaking his head, William turned to the right and headed down the street. He said,

"Sometimes, it doesn't work that way."

Puzzled by William's answer, Ed stood watching William walk off. There was a sense of resignation about how his son was walking. He decided to try to save the other person and headed off in the other direction. William turned back and shouted, "It is a barber who gets killed, but I can't describe the place to you. I'd recognize it if I saw it, but I don't see enough details to describe it to you."

As Ed walked, he tried to spot the beginning of a robbery. He wished William had known enough to tell him what he was to look for, but he hadn't. All he had was the occupation of the victim. The most likely place to find a barber was in a barbershop. He decided that he'd look for a barbershop, but also that he'd keep his eyes open in case it didn't happen in a barbershop.

It was a simple street in a low end neighborhood of San Diego. Little stores with bars on the windows lined the street. There was a little trash here and there, but it wasn't the kind of filth that one found in a truly impoverished neighborhood. A few stores were freshly painted, but more than one had paint peeling. Not all of the stores had permanent signs that described the business inside. Some stores had signs that were written on cardboard using a black marker and taped to the window. This was the kind of neighborhood in which people knew the businesses and didn't need the signs.

Ed walked a little and looked around trying to spot something that didn't fit. He walked past two men talking. He paused in his walk for a moment to overhear what they were saying. Their conversation concerned a car. There was nothing out of place with the conversation and nothing to identify either man as a barber. He walked past a check cashing service and looked through the glass windows. If there was a robbery taking place, then this would be where he would expect it. A clerk sat behind thick glass looking bored.

Ed shook his head and continued on down the street. As he walked, he glanced into one place of business after another, never seeing a sign suggesting a barbershop. Everything just looked so normal. He heard a gunshot behind him and spun around trying to see where the noise had come from. A man ran from a shop. Ed gave chase, but he was too far away and the man got away. Frustrated by his failure, he bent over to catch his breath and said, "I'm going to give William a piece of my mind."

Ed returned to the shop and looked through the window. Only when he had looked through the window did he see that it was a barbershop. A man was lying on the floor with a wound in the middle of his chest. He tried the door, but it wouldn't open. Ed pulled out his cell phone and called the police.

It took him twenty minutes to deal with the police. It was only after he showed his medallion that the questioning took a more respectful tone. After the police had finished their questions, he stepped back and looked at the building. There was absolutely nothing that William could have said to him that would have allowed him to identify it. There was a small cardboard sign in a corner that announced that it was a barbershop. He had walked past it without noticing the sign.

He turned to head back to the hotel. As he walked along, he thought about what William had said. He had two choices and there wasn't a good answer. He reached the hotel to find William sitting outside waiting for him. William looked up and said, "I can see by the look on your face that you didn't prevent it."

"No, I didn't," Ed said.

"I could see it happening, but I couldn't see the details," William said with a shrug of his shoulders. He would have liked to have been able to give Ed directions that would have prevented the robbery.

"Did you save your person?" Ed asked.

William nodded his head and answered, "Yes. A kid came out of an alley riding his bicycle. I grabbed the kid before he entered the street, but a car totaled his bike."

"There would have been no chance of me being able to catch him?" Ed asked.

"You're a good fighter, but your reflexes just aren't that good," William answered looking at his father. He knew with the surety of his gift, that his father would have been close to the scene, but wouldn't have been able to stop it.

"You might be right," Ed said as he sat down beside William. He sighed and said, "At least you saved one of them."

"I'll have to take comfort in that," William said with a sad sigh.

"There was nothing that could be done to save them both?" Ed asked with a frown.

William sadly shook his head as he stared at a small patch of grass in front of him. He said, "I can see glimpses of the future, but I'm not all powerful. There are things that I can do nothing about. I can't be in two places at once."

"How does that make you feel?" Ed asked. He studied William taking note of his posture. It was obvious to him that William was saddened by the affair.

Irritated, William asked, "How do you think it makes me feel?"

"Helpless," Ed answered.

"Useless," William countered. Deciding which one was to live and which one was to die was one of those choices that he never wanted to make. What good was his gift if it couldn't be used to save lives?

"It makes you human," Ed said.

Nodding his head, William said, "You're right. It is easy to forget that at times."

Ed thought about it. The potential for William to become arrogant in his abilities was significant. He wondered if this had been a lesson by the Two-Sided One. Events like this would serve as a reminder that he wasn't a god. He asked, "How did you decide which one to save?"

"I picked the youngest," William answered. Knowing nothing more than what each person looked like, he had no real criteria to select.

"Oh," Ed said. He would have probably made the same choice. He favored the potential represented by youth.

William said, "I hope you don't mind, but I don't really feel like going to a burger burner right now. Let's just get room service."

-------

Cole sat down and studied the two clowns seated across from him with a twinkle in his eye. They were not the happy characters that their costumes suggested. He asked, "Do you know why a clown's nose is never twelve inches long?"

"Because it would be a foot," Barbara answered in a low growl. A week of walking around dressed like a clown had turned into ten days. She was ready to kill Cole.

"I take it you are tired of being clowns," Cole said.

"Very tired," Sandra said. No one took a clown seriously.

Nodding his head, Cole said, "Barbara. I want you to go upstairs to your suite and get into the fat suit that I left on the bed. There's a woman up there who will help you get into it. Be nice to her. Sandra, you can get into your regular clothes."

"Fat suit?" Barbara asked feeling a little sick in the stomach.

"Yes. I was talking to a gentleman who works in the movie industry. He told me about a fat suit that he made for a movie. I had one made for the two of you. You get to be the first to use it," Cole answered.

"Okay," Sandra said thinking it would be great to be wearing her regular clothes for a change.

"When each of you is finished changing your clothes, go to the restaurant here. I made reservations for you," Cole said with a smile.

Barbara had learned not to trust Cole's smiles. She asked, "What's the trick?"

"No trick. I imagine that Sandra will finish changing clothes first and will have to wait for you at the table," Cole said. Looking at Sandra, Cole said, "Enjoy your clothes because tomorrow, you get to wear the fat suit."

An hour later, a very fat Barbara waited for the hostess to take her to where Sandra was seated. More than once, the woman had seated others who had arrived after her. It was as if the women didn't see her standing there. Barbara wondered how the woman could miss her; she was so big that she nearly occupied the entire room.

Furious, Barbara went into the dining area to search for Sandra's table. It took her five minutes to locate Sandra seated at one of the best tables in the place. Sitting down, she said, "That damned hostess just ignored me."

"She seated me right away," Sandra said a little irritated at the delay. She had gotten tired of waiting for Barbara to arrive. The waiter had come to the table repeatedly to see if she wanted something.

"I'm hungry," Barbara said.

"You really look horrible," Sandra said taking in the effect of the fat suit. Barbara looked like she weighed a ton.

Barbara looked over at Sandra. The woman was wearing an outfit that made her look like a million dollars. She said, "You look nice."

"Thanks," Sandra said. The chance to wear nice clothes for a change had too good to pass up. She had gone all out to look nice.

The waiter arrived and, turning his back somewhat to Barbara, addressed Sandra, "Are you ready to order yet?"

Twirling a lock of her hair, Sandra smiled at the waiter and answered, "Not yet. My friend needs a chance to look over the menu."

With barely a glance at Barbara, the waiter said, "Of course."

Once the waiter had left, Barbara frowned at Sandra and said, "That waiter was rather rude."

"What do you mean?" Sandra asked.

Irritated at how Sandra had been flirting with the waiter, Barbara answered, "He totally ignored me."

"No he didn't," Sandra said looking at Barbara feeling a little confused by her insistence that everyone was acting rude.

Barbara said, "It didn't help that you were flirting with him."

"What are you talking about?" Sandra asked staring at Barbara.

Across the room, Cole looked over his menu and chuckled as the two women glared across the table at each other. This was too much fun.

-------

Lucy frowned as she studied the equations. She had written a small program that would allow her to study the effects of minor variations in what were typically considered constants. As the program progressed, it suddenly transitioned from a single solution to three separate solutions. Curious, she examined the solutions and backed up the calculations a few steps. Running them forward with a minor variation in the parameters, she saw that again there was a point where the single solution suddenly transformed into three separate solutions.

For eight hours, Lucy played with the program trying various adjustments to the parameters. In some cases, the solution broke into three separate solutions. In a few cases, it broke into five separate solutions. She knew that this was a case of chaotic behavior, but she had no idea how to force the world down one path over another.

There was a knock on the door of her office. Irritated at the interruption to her thoughts, Lucy opened the door and asked, "What?"

Peter stepped back a little surprised at her harsh greeting and said, "You haven't eaten a thing all day. I've brought you something to eat."

Lucy wiped her eyes and said, "I'll stop for lunch."

"Lunch time was seven hours ago," Peter said looking at her. She had lost a little weight over the past few weeks. The hours spent in her office were taking their toll on her.

"Really?" Lucy asked. She turned and looked up at the clock finding that it was nearly eight at night. Confused, she said, "Where did the time go?"

"I have no idea," Peter said. He pushed the little table with food on it into the room. The table had been specially designed for them. The sides would rise to form a nice circular table for two. He set up the table and arranged the plates.

Her stomach growled on smelling the food while she watched him work. She asked,

"What did you make for me?"

"I figured that without having eaten for a while that you'd appreciate something light. I made some desert crepes with a blueberry filling," Peter answered. It wasn't the best meal in terms of nutrition, but it was one that she'd eat the entire thing.

"Um, sounds good," Lucy said. Her eyes widened when Peter removed the cover and she saw the four crepes. Licking her lips, she said, "That looks good."

"Eat," Peter said gesturing to the dish.

Lucy pulled her chair over to the table and took a seat. Peter put one of the crepes on a plate and set it in front of her. With her hunger fully roused, Lucy attacked the crepe. She moaned as the full flavor hit her mouth. Unlike fillings that came from a can, this one wasn't overly sweet. The full flavor of the fresh blueberries teased her taste buds. She rolled her eyes and said, "This is heavenly."

"I'm glad that you like it," Peter said watching her gobble down the treat. In a restaurant, the dish would cost twenty dollars. It hurt to watch her eat the crepes without savoring each bite.

"I'll take another," Lucy said.

Hoping that she would take her time on this one, Peter placed another crepe on her plate.

He asked, "So what were you working on that made you lose track of time like that?"

"Just studying the model that William created," Lucy answered glancing over at the computer trying to decide what she should try next. The crepe on her plate demanded her attention and she returned to eating.

"Sounds boring," Peter said.

"Not really," Lucy replied between bites thinking that this was the perfect treat.

"What's so interesting?" Peter asked. He never understood how someone could get so involved in something that they'd forget to eat.

"Well, it seems that the world can evolve along different paths. It is unpredictable as to which path the world will select," Lucy said. She had a feeling that William understood it from a completely different perspective than her.

Peter snorted and said, "It will take the path of least resistance."

Having studied the models, Lucy knew otherwise even though there was an element of truth to the comment. There had to be pivotal events that selected one path over another, but it was impossible to know to the level of granularity of the world what those events were. She said, "Not really. It is hard to say why the world takes one path over another.

It is like flipping a coin. The physics may be well understood, but the specifics of what leads to heads or tails are so fine grained that all you can give is probabilities."

"Maybe that's why we have Druids," Peter commented with a chuckle.

Lucy sat back in her chair and looked at Peter with a stunned expression on her face. A number of historical data points suddenly made sense to her. She said, "I'll have to study that in a little more detail."

"Not until after you've eaten," Peter said pointing to the food in front of her.

"Okay," Lucy said absently. She barely tasted the blueberry crepes that she mechanically ate. Her mind was busy thinking of some test cases that she could run to test the hypothesis that the Powers That Be were working through Druids to drive the world along the best possible path.

Peter watched her eat her meal with a disgusted look on his face. His comment had distracted her away from his food. He had hoped to get her attention focused more on the food with his Druid comment. It seemed to him that no matter how hard he worked on creating masterpieces of culinary art, Lucy and William rarely noticed.

Nodding her head, Lucy said, "You've given me a very good idea. Thanks."

Noticing that her plate was empty, he served another crepe. She didn't even notice the addition on her plate. Her fork made the round trip from plate to mouth as if on autopilot.

Peter said, "Next time I will serve dishwater as your soup."

"That's nice," Lucy said absently while looking over at the program. She decided that it was time to run the simulation for illegal drug usage to see how that had evolved over time. Druids had played a major role in the elimination of drugs as devastating social problem that it had once been.

"I will follow that up with a poison ivy salad," Peter said.

"Okay," Lucy said not listening to a word that the Chef was saying. She smiled as she realized how to code that specific problem.

Shaking his head, Peter said, "I'm sure that a little roast of road kill will serve as a main course."

"What ever you think is fine with me," Lucy said. She rolled over to the computer in her chair and started to run a simulation.

"We'll finish with a crepes stuffed with dirt," Peter said watching her leave the table.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard entering data. Hearing only one word, Lucy said,

"You make great crepes."

Disgusted, Peter cleaned up the table noticing that she had left half a crepe on her plate.

Shaking his head, he said, "You are as bad as William."

"I know," Lucy said watching the curves slowly appearing on the screen. She stopped the simulation and adjusted the factors consistent with the actions of Oliver Brown during the cocaine drug war in South America. Rather than splitting, the simulation followed the downward trend for drug use.

Peter lowered the wings on the table so that he could wheel it out of the office. Glancing over at Lucy, he could see that she was lost in her work. He pushed the table out of the office and headed towards the kitchen. As he walked, he muttered, "She ignored my crepes for a stupid computer. What kind of household is this?"

Juanita saw Peter muttering to himself. Amused by the expression on his face, she asked,

"What's the matter Peter? You look upset."

"She ignored my crepes for a stupid computer," Peter said.

"Who?"

"Lucy," Peter answered looking back the way he had come.

"You managed to get Lucy away from her work?" Juanita asked.

"For about ten minutes," Peter said shaking his head in disgust.

Juanita laughed at the Chef knowing that he had no idea what he had accomplished. She said, "I'm impressed that you're even alive. Even William doesn't try to get between her and her work."

"But, they have to eat," Peter said.

"Do you want some advice?" Juanita asked.

"Sure."

Juanita looked around and said, "You put a plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches next to where they are working. Both William and Lucy enjoy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. William likes his with grape jelly and Lucy likes hers with strawberry jam.

You won't have to kill yourself cooking and they'll give the food as much attention as they're willing to spare."

"Barbarians. I work for barbarians," Peter said pushing the table down the hallway.

Lucy sat back staring at the computer screen. Oliver Brown had removed over sixty tons of cocaine from the supply pipeline. Although it wasn't a great amount in the grand scheme of the drug traffic of the time, the sudden disappearance of that much cocaine from the market had changed the evolution of drug use in the country. The numbers had taken a significant downturn almost overnight. With a smile she said, "The Druids have been directing the evolution of society all this time."



-------

Chapter 14


Feeling like an elephant, Georgia rose from her chair with great effort. In the time it had taken her to get up, Ken had been able to come down from the upstairs room he shared with his wife and answered the door. Ken looked at the visitor and said, "I should have known that it would be you two."

William grinned and said, "We had to come."

Giving Ken a hug, Lucy said, "We wouldn't miss this for the world."

Georgia waddled over to William and stopped a few steps from him. Putting her hands on her swollen belly, she said, "I'd give you a hug but my arms won't reach beyond my belly."

"Twins will do that to you," William said looking down at her belly. It was pretty obvious that she was expecting twins.

Lucy smiled at her and said, "You're looking well."

"I'm fat," Georgia said with a grimace.

Looking even larger, Debbie slowly made her way into the room. She looked over at William and Lucy with a smile. Pleased to see them, she said, "Thank the Powers That Be you've come."

"Why?" Lucy asked unable to believe how large Debbie had gotten as a result of her pregnancy.

"I know that we'll be giving birth soon," Debbie said with relief evident in her voice. She knew that William wouldn't miss the birth of Oscar's children.

Nodding her head in agreement, Georgia asked, "How much longer until we go into labor?"

William smiled at the pair of women and answered, "I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."

"Spoil it," Debbie said. She was tired of waddling around like a duck on land.

From the kitchen, Lisa shouted, "I'll be right out."

Without even looking in the direction of the kitchen, William knew the Lisa was busy making them a treat. He leaned in the direction of the kitchen and shouted, "Two cups of hot chocolate would be wonderful, Lisa."

Lucy smiled at his suggestion and said, "Yes, that would be wonderful. You don't know how much I've missed your hot chocolate."

Puzzled by Lucy's comment, Lisa came out of the kitchen carrying two cups of hot chocolate. She said, "It comes out of a packet. All I do is add hot water to it."

Lucy said, "It's perfect because you are the one adding hot water to it."

William accepted the cup from Lisa with a wink. He asked, "Do you want me to hold the other cup while you say hello to Lucy?"

Lisa handed over the second cup and went over to Lucy. The two women hugged. In a soft voice, she said, "I've missed you too, Lucy."

As the women hugged, William looked around the house. It was clear to him that Debbie had taken it upon herself to fix up the house in a very classic style. The overall impression was very feminine. He said, "I like how you've decorated the house."

"Thank you," Debbie said as she rubbed her back. It was hard on her lower back carrying the weight of the twins. She had a nearly constant backache from the strange distribution of weight.

"You're welcome," William said. He held out the cup of hot chocolate for Lucy. She took it without commenting on the fact that he had positioned it exactly where she had been reaching. She had gotten used to him doing things like that.

Lucy took a sip of hot chocolate and said, "This is so good."

"I guess we should hurry up and finish our hot chocolates," William said before taking a sip from his cup.

"Why?" Lisa asked looking over her cup at him.

"I'd say that these two women can expect to give birth any time now," William said looking over at Georgia. He winked at her.

"Oh," Georgia said. There was a little ripple in belly and she looked down. Surprised, she said, "Oh!"

"Surprise," William said with a grin.

-------

Feeling very depressed, Sandra stared across the luxury suite at Barbara. The other woman wasn't feeling much happier, but at least she wasn't wearing the fat suit. Sandra said, "I never realized how we act to draw attention to our attractiveness."

"Same here," Barbara said looking over at Sandra. She couldn't help but wonder when she had adopted all of the little flirtatious moves that attracted the attention of men. She didn't see it in herself, but it was obvious by how Sandra acted when dressed to kill. The past ten days had been an eye opening experience for both of them. They had each served as a mirror for the other.

"What are we going to do?" Sandra asked feeling depressed. Her perceptions of the world had been turned upside down. It was one thing to blame men for all of her problems; it was another to accept responsibility that half of the problems were of her own creation.

Shrugging her shoulders, Barbara answered, "I don't know. I'll tell you one thing; I'm never going to get fat."

"Same here," Sandra said adjusting the fat suit. If being attractive meant that men looked at you as a sex object, then being fat removed you from being a person altogether. People either ignored you or were insulting. Insults ranged from unconscious avoidance behaviors to very vocal abuse.

"If Cole says it is okay, how about we dress down today?" Barbara said. She realized that she had always known that there were ways to dress that minimized her sex appeal, but she had never chosen to dress that way.

"Good idea," Sandra said.

"Speaking of Cole, I wonder where he is," Barbara said looking over at the door of their suite.

Sandra rose from her chair with difficulty. She complained, "This damned suit is heavy."

"Yeah," Barbara said. She couldn't imagine moving around with that much weight on her for the rest of her life.

Sandra walked over to the counter where the coffee pot was and poured a cup of coffee. As she fixed it, she said, "I never would have realized that the austere business woman was such a sexy image to men if it wasn't for this past week."

"Who would have thought that we dressed to fit a sexy stereotype?" Barbara asked. Of course, she suspected that she had known it, but hadn't given it that much conscious thought. The way they had been dressing was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. It was sure to attract the attention of men and promote exactly the behavior that they hated.

"We should have known," Sandra answered feeling depressed. She took a sip of her coffee.

"You're right," Barbara replied with a sigh. There was nothing worse than finding she was the source of her problems.

Running a hand through her hair, Sandra said, "It kind of makes me wonder if that isn't the reason why business casual has taken such strong root in the business world today. Only the people at the very top of companies dress business formal anymore."

"I hadn't thought about it," Barbara said.

Sandra returned to her chair and plopped down in it with a sigh. She said, "I'll be glad to get out of this blasted fat suit."

"Yeah," Barbara said. She looked over at the door of the suite hearing a noise.

Cole entered the suite and looked at the pair of ladies. Smiling, he sat down and said, "Sorry I'm late, but my other cases in the area were at critical junctions in resolving some of their issues."

"You have others you are treating?" Barbara asked surprised.

"Of course. You two aren't the only ones around with problems," Cole answered. Their problems were relatively minor compared to most that he treated.

"I didn't think about that," Sandra said. It made her wonder when she had adopted such a self oriented view of the world.

"Yes, I know," Cole replied.

"What now?" Barbara asked hoping that he would tell her they could dispense with the fat suit.

"I think you two should go shopping and get some sedate outfits," Cole said.

"What do you suggest?" Sandra asked.

Cole answered, "Loose fitting pants that mask your figures, flats, and simple shirts that don't show your cleavage or draw attention to your figure."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that," Barbara said. She wondered how people would treat her dressed in that fashion. She realized that she was about to find out. It seemed to her that she was discovering why the Carters often said that clothes were the first lie that people tell each other.

-------

The deliveries were relatively easy, but it would have been hard to convince Georgia or Debbie of that. The women were lying in bed holding their babies. It was a nearly perfect Hollywood image of mothers bonding with their newborns. Marring the effect was that neither woman was wearing make-up and they both looked exhausted.

William followed a rather excited Lucy into the hospital room. She could hardly wait to see the babies. It wasn't that her biological clock was ticking, but she was interested in motherhood at some point in the future. She went immediately to the bedside.

Debbie said, "I'd like you to meet Marjorie Georgia Meyers and Patrick Oscar Meyers."

Georgia said, "And these two little wonders are Gloria Deborah Meyers and Mark Oscar Meyers."

William looked at the babies appreciating the miracle that was life and said, "I like the names you've chosen."

"Thanks," Georgia said.

Lucy leaned over and examined the fingers of Mark Meyers. She said, "Their little hands are so perfect."

"It is amazing isn't it," Debbie said looking from one baby to the other.

Georgia sighed and said, "I wish Oscar were here to see them. He'd be strutting around like a bandy rooster."

"I'm sure he would," Debbie said with a grin.

The nurse came in the room and stared at the four babies. Although she had known the patients' last name was Meyers, she hadn't put that together with Oscar Meyers. It was a rather offhand comment about the birth certificates by one of the other nurses that had made her realize the identity of the two women. These were the wives of the famous Oscar Meyers.

The nurse wasn't the only one who had figured out the identity of the two patients. Downstairs, a small but growing crowd of reporters was gathering. There was the expectation that someone would give a press release and they were ready with their questions. She said, "The press is here."

Looking over at the nurse, Debbie asked, "Why is the press here?"

"You were married to Oscar Meyers and just delivered his babies," the nurse answered rather surprised that Debbie had asked the question.

"Oh," Georgia said. Thanks in large part to William's efforts; the two women had not been bothered by the press. Going through the pregnancy in the relative isolation of their home, it was easy to forget that they were minor celebrities.

"I'll talk to them," William said. He turned to Lucy and asked, "Would you like to go down there with me?"

"No," Lucy answered with a shudder. She hated dealing with the press.

"It will be good practice," William said with a wink. He knew how much she enjoyed dealing with reporters.

"That's okay. You go and have fun," Lucy said blowing a kiss in his direction.

William left the room and went down to the car. He had packed a small bag for this occasion. He opened the bag and removed a black robe. Although this wasn't exactly Druid business, William was going to make sure that the kids were never bothered by a press that wanted to turn infants into celebrities. One way of doing that was to lay down some ground rules and backing them up with a threat that would be believed.

William returned to the hospital and entered the room where the press was waiting. Rather than enter at the front of the room, William entered the back of the room. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the members of the press. All eyes watched him as he started towards the front of the room. His black robes drew attention as they swirled around while he confidently walked the aisle that passed through the center of the room. He was an intimidating presence among individuals who were not used to being intimidated.

At the front of the room, William turned and faced the press. With a very grave expression on his face, he said, "I'd like a moment of silence in honor of Oscar Meyers."

A wave of unease flowed over the room. A polite request to shut up wasn't the way that most press conferences started. Individuals who had been about to shout out questions were particularly off balance as a result of the request. After a minute, William said, "This afternoon, Georgia and Deborah Meyers each had twins. Debbie gave birth to Marjorie Georgia Meyers and Patrick Oscar Meyers. Georgia gave birth to Gloria Deborah Meyers and Mark Oscar Meyers. The mothers and infants are healthy."

"Will they be Druids?" one of the reporters asked.

"That is up to the Gods and Goddesses. They don't tell us their plans," William answered knowing that his father would have to hold his hands over his ears on hearing that answer.

"What do they look like?"

William looked at the reporter with disdain and answered, "They look like babies. You know, small and kind of cute."

"Will the mothers give interviews?" one of the other reporters asked.

Shaking his head, William answered, "No. You will respect their privacy."

"This is news and the public has a right to know," one of the reporters commented.

William faced the reporter and, with eyes narrowed, said, "It has a right to know what exactly? That a baby is a baby? That a mother is protective of her child? That a child will learn about the world through trial and error? That sometimes little children aren't perfect? Do you think that the public has a right to feel superior to them because they will make mistakes? Do you think that the children of famous people have fewer rights to privacy than the children of other people? What right does the public have to snoop in the lives of young children?"

William's questions created a minor stir among the reporters. It wasn't a typical event to have the subject of an interview question their right to know in such a fashion. One of the reporters answered, "Yes, the public has a right to know all of that."

"I suggest that you rethink that position," William replied with a nasty little smile.

"Why?"

"There are forces in this world that will intervene when children are being exploited. I, like many others, feel there is no crime worse than exploiting a child for self gain," William answered.

Coming from someone wearing the robes of a Druid, William's words were interpreted as a direct threat. Everyone in the room knew that William had promised that careers would end if they pursued the story. More than one reporter muttered, "You don't fuck with a Druid."

Looking around the room, William asked, "Are there any more questions?"

No one was willing to ask a question. Smiling, William said, "Thank you very much."

After William left the room, cameras were turned off and the reporters started to talk among themselves. One reporter said, "That killed that story."

"You can say that again," another reporter said in disgust.

"We were live with a full minute of dead air time. The boss is not going to be happy about that," one of the reporters remarked shaking his head. He wondered how William had managed to get such total and absolute control over the news conference.

"The editor of the paper wanted a headline," one reporter said. There could be headline, but the story would only cover two inches of a single column.

"I'm not going to explain to my editor that you don't fuck with a Druid."

"You don't need to tell him that. He knows."

"I hate dealing with Druids," one reporter said shaking his head.

"You never win when you go up against a Druid."

William returned to the hospital room. This time, his journey through the hospital created a stir among doctors, nurses, and patients. The now rare sight of a Druid in robes tended to attract lots of attention. Those who were not aware of his reason for being at the hospital watched him pass by with concern.

William paused beside a distraught looking young woman. She was shaking out of fear at the tests that she was about to undergo. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he said, "Cheer up. It is not that bad."

"It's not?" the woman asked looking up at William.

"There's no need to worry. You will recover and be stronger than ever," William answered looking into the distance.

"Thanks," the woman said feeling relieved.

William walked down the hallway to the room where Georgia and Debbie were recovering. He was amazed at how people got out of his way. He entered the room and said, "That went well."

Having watched a live broadcast of the interview, Lucy laughed. Gesturing to the television where a talking head was trying to say something intelligent about the press conference, she said, "That depends on who you are."

"That's always the case," William said with a smile. The reporter on the television finally gave up trying to make commentaries and the regular program resumed.

Debbie realized the full magnitude of what William had done for them. The press would not bother them for a long time. She said, "Thanks for doing that."

"There's no need to thank me. I think it is long past time when the press learned that the lives of children are not to be subject to the kind of public scrutiny that has been past practice," William said. He thought of the children of other celebrities and how their lives had been warped by living under the microscope of a ravenous press.

"I agree," Lucy said.

"Well, you just made our lives a whole lot easier," Georgia said.

Sitting down on a chair, William asked, "What are your plans now?"

Georgia and Debbie exchanged glances. Ever since learning that they were pregnant, they had discussed what they were going to do after giving birth. William's house had served as a nice retreat where they could heal from Oscar's death and spend their pregnancy, but it was just a retreat. Georgia said, "We will stay at your house for a while longer."

"We'll stay until the babies are ready to travel," Debbie said. She couldn't imagine traveling around with a pair of twins in diapers.

"Then we'll look for a place of our own," Georgia said.

"Thanks to you, we are very well provided for and can afford to live anywhere we want," Debbie said.

"Thank Oscar, not me for seeing to your financial future. I only did what little I could," William said.

"Right," Debbie said rolling her eyes. The expression on her face caused Lucy to giggle.

"We're going to stay together for now," Georgia said looking over at Debbie. Debbie smiled back at her and nodded.

Lucy said, "I don't blame you. You've both been through a lot."

Wanting to change the subject, Georgia looked over at William and asked, "What about you two? What will you do now?"

"I'll go home and perform my service," William answered.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'll stay home and take care of William."

William laughed and said, "You make that sound like you are condemned to a life of misery. I'm not that bad."

Grinning at William, Lucy said, "Speak for yourself."

Colt and Nicole entered the room. With barely a glance at the babies, Colt said, "We've made arrangements for tomorrow."

"Good," William said.

"What about tomorrow?" Debbie asked.

"You're checking out of the hospital tomorrow," William answered.

"We've arranged for a car and security. We'll leave a security team to watch over you for the next few months," Nicole said.

"Why?" Debbie asked. Georgia just shook her head.

"The paparazzi will not be so easy to deter as the mainstream press," William answered. He knew that there would be some individuals who would do anything to get a picture of the babies. They had already discovered that there wasn't a market for pictures of the two women when they were pregnant. It would take them some time to learn that there wasn't a market for pictures of the babies.

"I didn't think about them," Debbie said.

Georgia said, "I'm kind of surprised that pictures of us looking like whales didn't appear in the tabloids."

Although Debbie and Georgia weren't the reasons behind William's actions, Lucy said, "William let a few of the tabloids know that he had purchased a number of loans that allowed them to remain in business. He can kill a story with a single phone call."

"Oh," Debbie said.

He said, "I got tired of having people following me around trying to create a news story where there wasn't one. I really didn't like it when they took advantage of Lucy."

"They tried to publish a nude picture of me taken by a hidden camera while I was in a changing room at a store. William was more than a little angry about that," Lucy said.

"A little angry?" Georgia asked raising an eyebrow. She had a feeling that Oscar would have killed whoever had done that.

Lucy said, "The photographer who took the picture is now in prison."

"Good," Debbie said.

"The man who was going to publish it is now a janitor at the tabloid where he was once the lead editor," Lucy said glancing over at William. The expression on his face suggested that he had really wanted to take the man out somewhere and bury him. She added, "He knew how the picture had been taken."

Georgia looked at William remembering how Oscar responded to aggression. Oscar also had that same no holds barred attitude. She shook her head as she said, "You really know how to play hardball."

"I suppose that I do," William answered.



-------

Chapter 15


Ling and Betsy stopped the car at the front gate leading to William's place. Over the past year, the front of the property had changed to where it looked more like the entrance to a military base than a ranch. There was a little guard shack that sat beside a closed metal barrier. Ling's trained eye recognized the retractable barrier was capable of stopping a charging dump truck.

Worried about the kind of reception they would receive, Betsy asked, "Are you sure that he'll see us?"

"It has been a year," Ling answered looking at the gate. She had expected it to open upon their arrival, but it had remained closed. She looked over at the guardhouse and noticed that the man was on the telephone. She wondered if they should have called before heading to William's house. She didn't think Betsy would survive if William turned her away at the door.

"He was pretty mad at us," Betsy said biting her lower lip. She felt like crying.

The guard hung up the telephone and made his way to the car. He was a tall Native American with a pony tail that came down to the middle of his back. Rather than a typical guard uniform, he was wearing blue jeans and a blue work shirt. On his hip he had a revolver in a holster. Ling noticed that the holster was rigged for a quick draw.

The gate slowly opened as the man stopped in front of Ling's door. She rolled her window down and said, "I'm Ling Carter."

"I know. Talks With Animals and Walks With Wisdom are not home. He said that you were to drive up to the house and someone would take care of you until he arrived," the guard said. Once he had checked out the occupants of the car, he kept his eyes on the road approaching the gate and only occasionally glanced down at Ling while talking.

"Oh," Ling said with a frown. It wasn't like William to play petty games like this.

"Just drive on up to the house," the guard said stepping back.

Ling noticed there was a second guard who had remained in the guard shack watching them carefully. Frowning, she drove the car up the road towards the house. She asked,

"Did you notice the fence along William's property?"

"Yes. It was rather intimidating," Betsy answered. There was a double row of chain link fence with each row topped by barbed wire. Every fifty feet there were signs warning that trespassers would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

"I hope that William isn't becoming paranoid," Ling said. She tended to favor security measures that were a lot more subtle than this. She figured that the barrier at the gate would stop an attack, but any heavy vehicle could drive right through the fence.

Betsy shook her head and said, "William only does things for a reason. He must feel that he needs this kind of security."

Ling noticed a small structure off the road and slowed down to check it out. It took a minute for her to realize that it was the housing for a laser. She wondered if Rock and Colt had been responsible for designing the security measures around the house. If so, she was going to tell them that they probably needed a couple more lasers to provide better coverage.

They drove past the outbuildings in which some of the people who worked on the ranch lived. She noticed that everyone was armed. Ling said, "There is something wrong here."

"What?" Betsy asked.

"Everyone is armed," Ling said. She wasn't going to mention that they all looked tense and watched the car like hawks.

"Snakes," Betsy said in a soft voice.

"Huh?" Ling asked.

Looking over at her mother, Betsy said, "I bet they are concerned about snakes."

"I doubt it," Ling said. She pulled into a parking space at the entrance to William's house.

She noticed that there were cameras mounted that gave total coverage of the parking area. She shook her head and said, "It looks like he's expecting an army to attack."

"He isn't prone to paranoia," Betsy said. She could hardly wait to get out of the car after the long drive to his house. In the past, Ling would have let her out down the road and let her run to the house.

"No, he isn't," Ling said getting out of the car. She noticed that a camera tracked her movements.

"Let's go in," Betsy said.

Rock greeted them at the door. Holding it open, he said, "Come in, Ling. Hello Betsy."

"Thanks, Rock. What's going on?" Ling asked gesturing towards the security cameras.

"We tend to crank up the security around here when William is absent from the house,"

Rock answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Ling said, "Surely this level of security isn't necessary."

Looking a little uneasy, Rock said, "William says that things are going to get very busy around here. I tend to trust him when he says things like that. He's never wrong."

"You're right to trust his predictions," Ling said. From what she had seen, William had to expect some very bad things to happen to insist on this level of security.

Betsy looked over at her mother and asked, "Is William going to be okay?"

"William knows how to take care of himself," Ling said.

-------

William and Lucy returned from Pennsylvania feeling a little tired from the trip. Lucy noticed the car in the lot and said, "We have company."

"Yes," William said, "Ling and Betsy have come for a visit. Their year of banishment comes to an end today."

"It will be good to see them again," Lucy said. She had missed having Betsy around. She enjoyed the energetic young woman. Despite the fact that she loved Ling, she didn't really miss her company. The small Asian woman was a little too intense at times.

"The rest of the family will be coming tonight," William said.

"Really?" Lucy asked thinking it had been a long time since they had entertained the entire Carter Clan.

"Yes. I suppose that I should have warned Peter," William said with a smile. He wondered how the chef was going to react to the news that he was going to have to prepare dinner for fifteen. The Carter Clan included Ling, Linda, Kelly, Claire, Ed, Leroy, Dan, John and his wife Susan, Beth and her husband John, Eddie, Betsy, and Michael. Michael, being just a few weeks shy of being one year old, would not be seated at the table.

"How many are coming?" Lucy asked. Family gatherings of the Carter Clan tended to be very large affairs. They seldom occurred since everyone in the family was very busy.

"We'll have everyone," William answered with a smile.

Lucy nudged William's shoulder and said, "You should have warned Peter."

"He can use the challenge," William said.

"So where are Ling and Betsy now?" Lucy asked not seeing them at the door.

"Where else?" William asked with a grin.

Lucy returned the grin and said, "I could use a dip in the pool myself."

-------

William, followed by Lucy, entered the pool room. The smell of chlorine was barely noticeable in the highly controlled environment. The pair watched Ling and Betsy swim in the pool. Ling was sedately swimming while Betsy was cutting through the water like a shark. The pair of women noticed William at the same time. Despite being further from the edge of the pool, Betsy beat her mother out of the water. Rather than charge over to him, she stood back watching him nervously bouncing from foot to foot.

Ling and William looked at each other from across the room. They exchanged a head nod before Ling asked, "Have you kept up with your training?"

"Of course," William answered in a neutral tone.

"We shall have to spar later," Ling said thinking it was a relatively neutral activity that would help repair the damage to their relationship.

"I look forward to it," William answered. It would be nice to spar with someone who was challenging.

Betsy couldn't take it any more and raced across the room. She stopped three feet from her brother and asked, "Am I forgiven?"

William searched her face for a second and then asked, "Have you learned anything from this?"

"Yes, I have," Betsy answered. The corner of her mouth quivered and she swallowed heavily.

"You're forgiven," William said giving her a hug. It was nice holding his sister again despite the fact that she was wet.

William held the hug long enough for Betsy to squirm and then released her. She immediately flew over to Lucy and gave her a hug. He smiled watching Betsy fight her urge to move that combated with her desire to hold onto someone.

Stepping back from Lucy, Betsy said, "I'm so happy."

Lucy reached out and wiped a tear from Betsy's cheek and said, "We've missed you."

"I'm glad to hear that," Betsy said. Now that her exile was over, she wanted relations with her brother to return to normal. She looked over at the pool for a second with a large grin on her face. Turning to William, she asked, "Do you want to race?"

"Standard rules?" William asked with a smile.

"Sure," Betsy said jumping into the pool. She'd swim around a bit until William was ready to race.

It only took a minute for William and Lucy to get out of their clothes. William walked over to the end of the pool and entered the water. Betsy waited by the wall of the pool.

Looking over at her, William said, "On three. One, two, three."

Betsy took off like a shot. Lucy sat down on the edge of the pool and said, "She's in good form today."

"Yes," William said watching his sister slice through the water with ease.

Ling entered the water and said, "It is good to see her smiling again."

"I'm sure it is," William said looking over at his mother.

Ling looked away for a second and then said, "You were right. We were a little out of control."

Nodding his head, William said, "There is a fine line between self-defense and battle.

You are too willing to cross that line."

"I know," Ling said looking away. The past year had been the hardest of her life.

-------

While the kitchen staff was clearing the table, the Carter Clan remained seated around the dinner table. Peter had risen to the challenge of preparing dinner for fifteen with little more than six hours of warning and the meal had been outstanding. After taking a long sip of coffee, Leroy said, "It is good to see the family gathered together again."

"Yes, it is," Claire said.

"I'm sure you noticed the defenses around our place when you came in," William said.

"Yes," Ling said. She looked over at the door when Colt entered the room.

Claire said, "They seem quite extensive. Are you expecting to fight off an army?"

"We are expecting an attack," Colt said from the door of the dining room.

"Why?" Ling asked. This reminded her of when John and Ed were fighting organized crime.

Colt answered, "William destroyed the financial empires of several very wealthy people a couple of months ago. Some of them didn't take their loss of influence very well."

"Oh," Ling said.

Nodding his head, Colt said, "There are three millionaires now who used to be billionaires. Two of them are facing prison."

Ling realized who Colt was describing. Three months earlier, a number of men who had been supplying weapons to unstable parts of the world had been exposed for creating the market for their weapons. They were paying the insurgent leaders to wage wars. She said,

"I didn't realize that William was behind that."

"He's behind a lot of things going on in the world," Lucy said shrugging her shoulders.

William looked over at Colt and said, "I take it there is something you need."

Colt nodded and said, "Hank from the hardware store called. He wanted to let us know that some strangers have arrived in town."

"They'll attack tomorrow night," William said.

Colt said, "I've already increased the alert level."

"That's good," William said. He watched Colt leave to take care of security. He sighed and said, "Sometimes I feel like it is harder keeping the peace than creating it."

Dan asked, "Why would you say that?"

Noticing that Ling was staring out the door through which Colt had exited, William sighed at the expression of longing on her face. He knew that she wanted to be involved in the defense of the house. Looking over at Dan, he answered, "Violence is an addiction.

Centuries of violence throughout the world have left us with a lot of addicts. Nothing is more violent than war."

Leroy chuckled and said, "That's a new one to me. War addicts. I'm going to have to think about it."

"They aren't any different than danger junkies. Getting shot at is just as much of a rush as skiing down a slope in front of an avalanche," William said.

"That's true," Ed said rubbing his chin while thinking about it for a moment. Leaning back in his chair, he said, "I've been in some pretty tough situations often enough to understand just how the body reacts. Even at the height of danger there is this incredible feeling of being alive."

Kelly said, "Adrenaline and endorphins. They are addicted to adrenaline and endorphins."

"I'll accept that," Leroy said nodding his head.

"A lot more men and women experience war than experience dangerous sports," William said.

Lucy had listened to the discussion and asked, "Are you saying that there are a lot more War Addicts than Danger Junkies?"

"A hundred times more," William said. He leaned forward and said, "They are entering withdrawal at the moment and will be unpredictable over the next few years. In their drive to get that rush, they are going to try to stir up insurrections. We'll see the emergence of hundreds of little rebellions across the world."

Wriggling around on her seat, Betsy asked, "Did any of you feel like you were becoming war junkies?"

"No," William answered in a flat voice. There wasn't the same rush of thrill when you knew the outcome of an engagement.

"I don't know," Ed answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Surprising everyone, Ling answered, "Maybe."

"What?" Betsy asked looking over at her mother.

Ling stared at the cup of tea in front of her. She said, "A lot of my life has been spent in or near violent situations. The time between episodes of violence passed getting ready for the next violent situation. I would train, then fight, and return to train for the next fight. I guess the idea that there wouldn't be a next fight never crossed my mind."

"There will be a fight tomorrow night," William said looking across the table at Ling. He knew that she'd want to be in the thick of it.

She glared at him and asked, "Are you inviting me to join in or are you warning me to stay away?"

"Neither. I'm just stating a fact," William answered watching the expression on her face.

Relaxing a little, he said, "I fully expect you to stay here for the attack."

Ling immediately became calmer and more relaxed. She sat back in her chair thinking that it would be pretty easy to convince Colt and Rock that she belonged in the thick of it.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Claire asked, "May I attend?"

"Yes," William answered with a nod of his head.

"Good," Claire said easing back in her chair with a half smile on her face.

William shook his head and said, "Danger junkies."

"You don't understand what it is like," Claire said.

"I understand addiction," William replied in a voice that did not admit argument.

Betsy said, "I don't want to be addicted to adrenaline and endorphins."

Leroy said, "You're halfway there."

"What?" every woman in the room asked.

"You're addicted to endorphins. You live in a constant state of runner's high," Leroy answered with a negligent shrug of his shoulders.

"No she's not. She's something else," William answered looking over the table at Leroy.

"What?" Leroy asked.

"She's been touched by the Gods and Goddesses. For what purpose, I don't know,"

William said. Ed looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. Noticing the look, William said, "They don't tell me everything."

"I never thought they did," Ed said. He looked at William and then said, "You did a perfectly marvelous job of changing the subject. Let's get back to keeping the peace.

How are you going about it?"

"There's not too much that can be done at the current time. Our State Department is making the same mistake now that it made at the end of the Cold War," William answered.

"What mistake is that?" Kelly asked.

William was silent for a moment while he considered his answer. He said, "For almost forty years, the US had a foreign policy that was built around preventing the spread of communism. The State Department was actually the most important government organization during the Cold War. The military may have fought a few battles here and there, but it was the State Department that was selecting the battle fronts.

"When the Berlin Wall fell, the State Department continued with its activities as though the Cold War was still going on. In effect, they were still trying to stop the spread of communism despite the fact that it was already dead. The dialog was the same, but the other countries just laughed at the threat of communism. The State Department didn't realize that the other countries just weren't listening to them. It got to the point very quickly where other countries were irritated at the continued reference to the war against communism.

"It was particularly grating when in the same conversation the US would talk about the threat of communism and also talk about how it had protected them from communists.

The other countries were looking to the future while the US was looking to the past. The past is not a particularly good direction to face when making international policy.

"The US completely missed the real threats that were gathering on the horizon. Despite several terrorist attacks, it just went along merrily trying to stomp out governments that were unfavorable to democracy. The Jihadists just snuck up on the world because the US was beating a dead horse and not paying attention to the pack of jackals standing behind it.

"Now the religious excuse for Jihad has been removed, but the nature of the men who waged war hasn't changed. They are looking for the next excuse to wage war. They'll use any excuse to wage a war whether it be political, economic, or imagined. The State Department has not recognized the change in the world yet and is about to make the same mistake it did after the Cold War."

Lucy asked, "What about the United Nations?"

"It has been a defective organization for a long time because each member country has been pursuing political gain rather than international peace. A lot of the individuals working there are corrupt. It would take a Druid like Ed walking through it to clean it up," William said looking at his father.

Ed groaned at the idea of walking through the United Nations building and said, "I hate politicians."

William looked at Ed and said, "In the future, we're going to have to open the Druid College to more students from other countries. The Druids favor the US too much. There are a lot of countries that need cleaning up and Druids are underrepresented overseas."

"I'll talk to Oliver," Ed said with a frown.

William stared off into space for a minute and then said, "Don't bother. He already knows."

Eddy said, "You know, there are times when you are a little scary."

William laughed and asked, "Only a little scary?"



-------

Chapter 16


"You're going to be heading off to college soon," William said looking across the fire at Eddie. He added another small log to the fire and sat back to watch it catch.

"I've got another two years of high school," Eddie said poking a stick into the fire and watching the end start to burn. He pulled the stick out of the fire. The weak flame flickered and died. The small glowing bud at the end of the stick slowly faded.

"Enjoy them while you can," William said.

Everyone was telling Eddie the same thing. Enjoy his time now while he could. He wanted to grow up and do more adult things. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "You talk like you speak from experience."

"Not really. My life has been a lot different than yours," William replied. He looked into the small fire and stared at the shimmering red coals. He sighed and said, "You're lucky."

"I'm not blessed by the Powers that Be like you are," Eddie said. He looked across the fire to see his brother's reaction.

"You've been blessed by the Powers that Be. It is just that you've gotten a different blessing than I," William said. He thought about how much he knew and how little he could do. It seemed to him at times like every move he made was dictated. Knowing what was about to happen two miles from where he was seated, he sighed and said, "I think you have gotten the better blessing."

The comment surprised Eddie. There were times when he was in awe of his brother and what he could do. If he was a less balanced person he might even have been jealous of his brother. He said, "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

William laughed and said, "I am saying that to make you feel better. That doesn't mean it isn't true."

"I don't understand. You're special and everyone knows it. You know all kinds of things. You know what is going to happen before it happens. I'm just a regular person. There's nothing special about me," Eddie said.

William reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He took one out and handed the pack over to Eddie. Seeing the cigarettes come out, Eddie knew that William was about to cover some very serious subjects. He took the pack and pulled out a cigarette. He lit it with the stick he had been poking into the fire. He held up the stick for William who used it to light his cigarette.

William took a long drag off his cigarette and exhaled to the sky. He said, "One of the hardest things about becoming an adult is learning to accept responsibility for your actions."

"I know that. The moms and dads are always talking about responsibility," Eddie said. He took a drag off his cigarette and watched William study the stars overhead.

"If I were to push you into the fire, would I be responsible for your injuries?" William asked after a minute.

"Of course you would," Eddie said nodding his head vigorously.

"If you were to trip over that stone and fall into the fire, would I be responsible for that?" William asked pointing to a small stone near the fire. The coffee pot filled with hot water was resting on the stone.

"No. It would be an accident," Eddie said looking at the stone. He had put the stone there earlier.

"How about if I were to know that you would trip over it and didn't warn you or move it out of the way?" William asked raising an eyebrow.

"I guess you would be partly to blame, but you couldn't know it for a fact," Eddie said with a frown. He had a feeling that he knew where his brother was going to take the discussion.

Looking at his brother, William said, "That's the problem. I can know it for a fact."

Feeling that his brother was taking too much responsibility, Eddie said, "It would be partly my fault. I should have been looking where I was going."

"That's true, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't have moved the rock to prevent you from falling into the fire," William said with a slight nod of his head. He looked up at the sky for a second and then said, "There are a lot of little partial responsibilities like that in my life. You don't have them because you can't know all of the consequences of your actions."

"I think that you take too much of the world's problems on your shoulders," Eddie said. He took another drag off his cigarette and watched the fire. A little blue jet of flame escaped out the side of the log William had put on the fire earlier. With a hiss, it flickered and then went out.

"I don't take the world's problems on my shoulders. My service forces them upon my shoulders. I have to watch everything I do with great care because I know the long-term consequences of each and every act I perform," William said.

"I guess I never thought about it like that," Eddie said. He wondered how anyone could live like that. He said, "You must be miserable."

William thought about it and said, "I'm happy enough. I have a very supportive family."

"I guess," Eddie said wondering how he contributed to William's life. He took a drag off the cigarette and blew the smoke up to the sky. He said, "We don't do that much for you. It is not that we don't want to, but that you don't seem to need much from us."

William laughed and said, "You're doing a lot for me at the moment by sitting here and listening to me."

"It is very little," Eddie said. He looked at William and noticed that his face looked like he had just bitten into a very sour lemon. William was looking off to the side as if there was something very ugly happening over there.

Shaking his head, William returned to the moment and said, "Enjoy your time now. One day you'll take over for Daddy Ed and you'll be in charge of his businesses."

"Don't forget the town," Eddie said knowing how his father felt responsible for the town.

"Never," William said.

There was the sound of a large explosion in the distance. Eddie looked around and asked, "What was that?"

"The attack on the house has started," William answered. He waved a hand as if it was nothing.

Worried, Eddie asked, "Shouldn't we get back to the house?"

"No. Momma Ling, Momma Claire, and my security are there. Let them take care of it," William answered.

"You're sure that they can handle it?" Eddie asked.

"Quite sure," William said tossing his cigarette into the fire. He turned and rummaged through his pack. He pulled out a plastic bag and asked, "Would you like to toast a marshmallow or two?"

"Sure," Eddie said surprised to see the bag of marshmallows. He had a brought a little treat of his own. He asked, "Would you like some hot chocolate to go with that? I've got a couple of packages of instant cocoa here."

"That would be perfect," William said reaching over to his pack to get out a cup.

At the house, Ling was watching the security monitor when an explosion took out a section of the fence surrounding William's property. Three black SUVs were driving down the road toward the hole in the fence. A small infrared signature showed up in the desert on the property across the road. She said, "I've found the guy who placed the explosives."

Claire commented, "The SUVs are going to enter through the breach. We should get some people there."

"I've got the industrial laser ready. I'll just cut them in half as soon as they enter William's property," Ling said running her fingers over the controls. She raised the laser so that it would sweep out at forty inches above the ground. That would cut through any vehicles at a height that would correspond to the height of the waists of the occupants.

"That's not an industrial laser. It is a military laser," Rock said glancing over at Ling.

Colt was in charge of the defenses. Looking over at Ling, he said, "Just take out the tires. Let them get fifty yards in before you use the laser."

"Half measures," Ling grumbled despite being impressed that William had military lasers. She lowered the lasers so that they'd sweep out seven inches from the ground.

Colt spoke into the microphone, "Teams one and two, move through the trench so that you're in front of the break. I'll tell you when it is safe to raise your head. Team three, the guy who set the explosives is in sector A-5."

Claire had driven through William's ranch without noticing any kind of trench. She asked, "Trench?"

"What trench?" Ling asked.

"We've got trenches dug seventy-five and a hundred yards inside the property line," Rock answered watching the monitors. A line marking the trench appeared as the camouflage cover retracted. He could see the two teams moving through the trench. He added, "We'll send them out to take control of the occupants of the vehicles once they've been stopped."

"The bad guys aren't going to give up," Ling said. The three vehicles burst through the fence. Impatient, she waited for them to reach the fifty yard mark so that she could press the fire button on the laser.

Rock looked over at Ling and then turned to face Nicole. He said, "Get the LRADs ready."

Nicole said, "They are ready."

"What LRADs?" Claire asked. She had thought she had seen all of the defensive systems that had been arranged around the property.

"William had some Long Range Acoustical Devices installed around the property," Rock answered. The devices sent a focused beam of sound that could cause nausea or unconsciousness in a person who stood in the way of the beam. It was actually a phased array of speakers arranged such that the propagation of sound to the sides was negated while the propagation of sound to the front was reinforced. The effect on a person standing in front of it was devastating, but a person standing behind it or off to the side was unaffected.

Ling fired the laser so that it swept out a short arc during the few milliseconds that it fired. The high intensity light cut through the three cars at a height of seven inches. All tires and half of the rims were cut off almost instantaneously. The result was an explosion of dust when the SUVs stopped being supported by their tires. The vehicles slid to a stop in less than fifteen yards. Colt chuckled and said, "I bet they weren't expecting that."

Ling watched the monitor and said, "The laser is recharging. I can give them another shot in ten seconds."

"Stand down, Ling. The cars have been stopped," Colt said watching the action on the monitor. He wondered what was happening inside the vehicles. He was pretty sure that a few brains were rattled by the sudden drop in speed. The glass hampered the ability of the infrared cameras to see what was going on inside the cars.

There was a good thirty second delay before the men inside the car boiled out. Despite the time delay, they didn't look very organized. All of the men were obviously armed. Rock said, "Order them to lay down their weapons and put their hands over their heads."

A little action on one of the monitors attracted Ling's attention. She saw that the lone person who had set the explosives was now surrounded by five other heat signatures. She had no idea where they had been hiding. She realized that the team had to have been positioned before the attack began.

Nicole leaned forward and activated a microphone. She said, "Lay down your weapons and put your hands over your heads."

The LRADs broadcast the message in the direction of the cars. The men ignored the command and started heading towards the house. Shaking his head in disgust, Colt said, "Hit them with the sonics."

Nicole flipped a switch. The result was practically instantaneous. The windows of the SUVs blew out. Dropping their weapons, the attackers tried to cover their ears. Their steps faltered and they staggered around as if drunk. Some of the men fell to their knees and started vomiting. The rest just fell to the ground and writhed in pain.

Rock grimaced and then said, "That hurts just to watch it."

After a minute passed, Nicole flipped off the switch and said, "It is safe for our teams to advance now."

Rock keyed his microphone and said, "Teams one and two. Get the intruders now."

Ling stared at the screen and asked, "Are they paralyzed?"

"No, they're just disoriented. It will take them a minute or two to recover," Colt said with a small smile. He had experienced a slightly weaker blast from the LRAD and lost his lunch. The volume was loud enough to hurt the ears, but that wasn't the worst of it. The noise generated was worse than scraping chalk over a blackboard. He had felt like his brain was getting pulled apart.

The two security teams gained immediate control of the situation. The intruders were bound with plastic wrist ties and the weapons gathered. After two minutes, one of the team leaders radioed back, "We've got it under control."

Colt thumbed his mike and said, "Don't relax yet. We're still monitoring the second team."

Even while Colt was talking, another monitor showed some action taking place a mile down the road. Natalie turned around and said, "The other three cars have turned around. They are leaving the area."

Shaking his head, Rock said, "We knew that this was a probing attack. I wouldn't be surprised if they are already talking about putting together another attack right now."

"They'll consider bringing in air support and missiles next time," Colt said.

"I guess it is time for us to ruin their plans," Rock said with a smile. He tapped Nicole on the shoulder.

Nicole picked up the telephone and dialed a number. She waited for the other party to answer and then said, "You can pick them up now. The three cars are heading north on the access road. They'll be at the highway in five minutes. We've got twelve armed trespassers in custody and we'll hold them until you can get here."

Listening to how prepared they were for the attack, Ling sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. Feeling like William had used this as way of making her feel foolish, she asked, "How much detail did William give you about this attack?"

"Just the date," Colt answered. Colt had actually expected the attack to occur later in the night.

"He didn't tell you how they would attack?" Ling asked.

"He only told us the date. You were at the table when he told us it would be tonight," Rock answered.

Not quite believing them, Claire said, "It was like you knew exactly where they were going to attack."

Colt laughed and said, "They've been under surveillance for a month."

"Oh," Ling said.

Colt said, "Nothing goes on around here without our security team knowing exactly what is happening. We've been watching a variety of people casing the place for months. Four of our people have been approached by others to make maps of the place."

"You're kidding," Ling said. She would have tried to shut down their activities as soon as she had heard about them.

Rock said, "When it comes to protecting Lucy, William doesn't take a chance. Every car that gets within three miles of this place is checked out. Every plane that flies over the ranch is tracked. Every visitor in town who asks any questions is investigated."

Ling frowned and asked, "He's becoming paranoid."

Nicole looked at Ling and said, "You do the same thing where you live. No one comes into your town without a hundred folks asking them a hundred questions."

"Well, that's different," Ling said looking a little embarrassed.

Out on the range, William and Eddie were roasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolates. William pulled his marshmallow out of the fire and examined it. Grinning, he said, "Perfect."

"Mine is better," Eddie said looking at his marshmallow. The entire outside was a nice even golden brown.

William ate his marshmallow in one huge bite. After swallowing, he grinned at his brother and then said, "Let me eat yours. I'll give you an unbiased judgment on how well yours is cooked."

"No way," Eddie said taking a bite out of his. The toasted outside slipped off leaving a nice melted gooey mess on the stick. Licking his lips, he said, "Perfect."

William looked up at the sky and said, "It is nice to be out here with you, Eddie."

"I'm enjoying it, too," Eddie said. There weren't many occasions when he and William were alone like this. Most of the time, Lucy or Ed was around.

William said, "I won't be leaving the ranch very often from now on."

"Why?"

"The conspiracy nuts have started calling me the Desert Spider. They think that I'm going to take over the world from here," William said with a sigh.

Eddie snorted and said, "That's nothing new. A lot of people think that you are using your money and influence to control the government."

"I am," William said looking across the fire at his brother. He smiled at the expression of embarrassment that crossed his brother's face.

"Well, I know that, but you aren't doing it for evil reasons," Eddie said.

Amused by Eddie's defense of him, William asked, "Are you sure about that?"

"You bet," Eddie said.

"I wouldn't take that bet," William said with a sigh.

Frowning, Eddie asked, "Why?"

William said, "There are a lot of people who believe that the world should work one way and not another. There are just as many who believe the opposite. If you are changing things significantly, you're going to make one group or another angry. I'm making a lot of changes. In fact, I'm making enough changes that every group is going to get angry."

"You're making the world a better place," Eddie said with a frown.

"There are going to be a lot of angry people. If you ask them, they'll tell you that I'm the bad guy," William said. "If I reduce welfare a little here and there, a thousand people who expected the support will lose it. They'll want to blame someone for their loss and as the person behind the move to reduce welfare I'll be blamed. Destroy the need for weapons and lot of people will lose their jobs. Who else do you blame except for the person who destroyed the need for the weapons?"

"You have to be able to do something about it," Eddie said.

William shook his head and said, "With every social change there are winners and losers. Even if everyone wins a little, they all lose a little. People concentrate more on what they've lost than what they've won. It is human nature. I can't change that."

"I don't believe that," Eddie said.

"If you found a hundred dollars on the ground, how long would you remember it?" William asked.

"For a long time," Eddie answered. Seeing the look on his brother's face, he said, "Maybe a week or two."

"If I were to take ten dollars of that hundred right out of your hand and walk off with it, how long would you remember what I did?" William asked.

"Forever," Eddie answered.

William said, "That's right."

Eddie was silent while he thought about what William had said. He put another marshmallow on his stick and stuck it over the fire. He said, "I guess you're right."

William asked, "So what do you think?"

"I think that you are going to become one of the most hated men in the world."

"Maybe," William said. He looked up at the sky and watched the stars for a minute. He said, "I will do my best to remain invisible to the world. They won't realize all that I've done and that will protect me a little."

"Does Lucy understand this?" Eddie asked.

Nodding his head, William answered, "Yes, she does. She sees the power that I've got and understands what will happen when I use it."

Eddie said, "You might be right."

"About what?" William asked glancing over at Eddie.

"I got the better blessing from the Powers that Be," Eddie answered. He checked his marshmallow. It wasn't quite done, but he ate it anyway.

-------

In the living room, Ed looked over at Lucy. He asked, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Lucy answered.

"You didn't seem concerned during the attack," Ed said.

Lucy chuckled and said, "William is out on the desert."

"So?"

Lucy asked, "Do you think he would have gone there if I had been in any danger?"

Ed laughed and answered, "No."

"William told me once about the times when he was young and people attacked your home. He was right about how it feels," Lucy said with a sigh.

"How does it feel?" Ed asked.

Lucy answered, "He said he felt disappointed by the attackers."

"That's a good way to put it," Ed said nodding his head.



-------

Chapter 17


Sandra walked around the table placing folders in front of William, Lucy, and Barbara. Holding the last one, she took a seat beside Barbara. The two women had changed their appearance significantly. Rather than wearing their hair pulled back and dressing in business clothes that were tight fitting, their hair was down and their clothes were loose. It was hard to tell what they looked like under their clothes.

Across the table from Barbara, Lucy watched the woman trying to determine what she was thinking. She still wasn't sure what she thought about the woman desiring her in a sexual way. She still found it hard to believe that they had such strong feelings for her without her knowing it despite what had happened. She understood a little better how William felt when she pointed out that some woman desired him.

Looking up from the folder, Barbara said, "We've got the initial poll results for the candidates you've put up for office."

"How are they?" Lucy asked turning her attention to the business at hand.

"The numbers are pretty bad except for May Erl. The only numbers we have for her are a general approval rating," Barbara answered. She had been shocked when assembling the report thinking that William was wasting his time with this project.

"Bad in what way?" William asked without bothering to open the folder.

"None of your candidates stands a chance of getting elected," Barbara declared running a finger down the page of data.

"They are exactly what I predicted," William said after looking over the numbers.

Lucy glanced down at the numbers and then said, "That's not bad. That confirms what we thought."

"Look at Dan Colson's numbers," William said gesturing to an entry on the second page.

"Excellent," Lucy said tapping the column associated with name recognition.

Frowning, Barbara couldn't understand why they were pleased with the results. She expected all of the candidates to drop out of the race based on the polling numbers. She said, "Dan Colson's numbers are in the gutter."

"It isn't the starting positions in the race that are important, but the positions at the end of the race. I told all of the candidates exactly what they could expect," William said.

"It still looks pretty bad," Sandra said with a frown. Dan Colson had an approval rating of less than nine percent. He was virtually unknown in eighty percent of his district.

William shrugged his shoulders and said, "We've got it under control."

"I'll put the numbers in the model," Lucy said picking up the folder. She glanced over at William and then jerked her head in the direction of the two women across the table.

William nodded his head and watched Lucy leave the room. Once the door closed behind her, he turned to the women. He asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Barbara said after looking over at Sandra.

"Yes," Sandra said.

"Good," William said. "Have you gotten your feelings for Lucy under control?"

"Yes," Sandra answered. Getting past the reactions of men to their appearance had involved understanding themselves and their feelings a little better. Being appreciated for their abilities had been such a rare occurrence in the past that they had desperately clung to William and Lucy. That desperation had manifested itself as sexual desire.

Facing what had been a bitter truth, Barbara said, "We discovered that we were more than a little responsible for the reactions we were getting from men."

"You might have noticed that we've toned down our clothes," Sandra said. The interactions with others had significantly changed for the better once they had started wearing clothes that were much less sexy. Men noticed them, but still managed to treat them with respect.

Puzzled, William said, "I never noticed that you wore particularly bright clothes in the past."

"I wasn't talking about the colors of our clothes," Sandra said shaking her head. There were times when she was sure that he was from another planet.

Barbara rolled her eyes and said, "We aren't wearing sexy clothes."

"I don't remember you wearing anything particularly sexy," William said with a frown. He was pretty confident that he knew what sexy clothing looked like. He had seen a lot of examples of explicit clothing as a result of traveling around with Happy Harry. Happy Harry dealt with all kinds of people including street hookers and high-end prostitutes.

"Believe us, the clothes we used to wear are sexy. There are a lot of men who really go for the austere business woman look," Barbara said.

"Oh," William said thinking that he must have missed something important. He licked his lips and said, "The sexiest outfit Lucy wears is my shirt."

Sandra burst out laughing. Looking over at Barbara, she said, "He's hopeless."

"It is hard to believe that we missed that one," Barbara said shaking her head.

"Well, I'm glad that you've resolved your problem," William said. It was time to get to the real subject that concerned him. He asked, "Will you be staying?"

"Yes, we'll be staying," Sandra said. Her hand slipped under the table and she stroked Barbara's thigh. They had come to the realization that they were a couple and that if they were going to bring a man into their relationship that it would have to be a package deal.

William relaxed and sat back in his seat. He said, "Good. I don't know what we would have done if you had left."

Barbara slipped a hand under the table and took Sandra's hand in hers. She looked at the other woman and whispered, "Should we?"

Sandra nodded her head. She pointed a finger at Barbara to let her know that she should be the one who asked.

"Could we ask a favor?" Barbara asked licking her lips nervously.

"Sure," William said wondering what they wanted. He couldn't recall seeing them act this nervous.

Sandra bit her lower lip, shivered, and then said, "Would you join the two of us in my room?"

"Is there something wrong with your room?" William asked sitting up. There had been only a few problems with the house and most of those had been corrected during the first few months there.

"No," Sandra answered. Not for the first time, she wondered how someone so brilliant could be so clueless.

"We want you to make love to both of us at the same time," Barbara said knowing that they were going to have to spell it out for him.

"Oh," William said. Puzzled, he asked, "Together?"

"Yes," Barbara answered knowing that there were men who would have murdered to have the two of them in bed.

"Wow," William said bringing smiles to the faces of the two women.

"I'm glad that you like the idea," Barbara said.

William didn't really know what to make of the request. He wasn't going to mention that his reaction was more one of surprise than interest. He asked, "Did you talk to Lucy about this?"

"No," Sandra answered having anticipated the question. She was pretty sure that any other man on the planet would have answered yes to their request without worrying about how their significant other would react.

Barbara said, "We were going to talk to her first, but we haven't had the chance."

"Oh," William said. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm going to have to make sure that it is alright with Lucy first."

"We know," Sandra said glancing over at Barbara. She wondered if they would ever find a man that would be so concerned about their feelings.

Barbara said, "Why don't you go talk to Lucy and then let us know."

"Okay," William said thinking that the answer was probably going to be no. Looking at the pair of women, William asked, "Is there anything else?"

"No," Barbara said.

"No," Sandra said.

William left the room to return to his workroom. He wanted to see how the model was tracking. It still suffered from numerical instabilities and he couldn't wait to have an expert programmer arrive and take on the job of fixing the program. It took too long to project the current state into the future for him to try exploring the consequences of various actions.

Entering the workroom, he paused to watch Lucy hard at work on the computer. Her fingers flew over the keyboard entering data. He smiled when she paused to run a finger across her hair to settle it behind her ear. She glanced over at him and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"You," William answered.

"So how did the talk go?" she asked nervously. She knew that losing them would really create a lot of problems around the household. It seemed that the two women were involved in just about every aspect of their lives.

Moving to where he stood behind her, William answered, "It went okay. They said that they have their feelings for you under control."

"That's good," she said feeling relieved.

"They asked me to sleep with them," William said.

Lucy wasn't surprised that they wanted to sleep with him, but she was surprised that they had actually asked him directly. She tried to remember when they had done that before and couldn't recall a single time. She turned around to face William and asked, "So which one wanted to go first?"

"They want to be together with me," William answered.

Surprised by that, Lucy said, "That's something I'd like to see."

"What?" William asked confused by her comment.

Shrugging her shoulder, Lucy said, "I think it would be rather interesting to watch two women making love to one man. I mean, there's one guy for two women. What is the second woman going to do while the guy is busy with the first?"

"I don't know," William answered. He hadn't even thought of that problem.

"I was thinking about what Ed said to us in Texas," Lucy said.

"When?" William asked not quite sure what Lucy was trying to say.

"When he was saying that we both needed to learn a bit more about loving," Lucy said.

"Oh," William said.

"I think he's right," Lucy said licking her lips. After thinking about the events with Barbara and Sandra, Lucy couldn't help but wonder if she had contributed to the problem.

"Are you telling me that you're willing to sleep with the two of them?" William asked.

Shaking her head, Lucy answered, "No."

"Okay," William said wondering what she wanted to say.

Lucy said, "I was just thinking that we needed to be a little more careful in how we deal with people. We don't really notice how people feel about us."

"You might be right," William said. He moved over to his chair and took a seat. Sometimes being aware of all of the consequences of his actions was tiring. He wished that he could relax and take things as they came along, but that wasn't possible.

Lucy gave him a worried smile and said, "You look tired."

"I am," William replied.

"Maybe you and Spirit of Desert Rock should take a little stroll out in the desert," Lucy said.

William stared off into the distance for a moment. The new programmer was going to show up in six weeks, there were the campaigns to monitor, some significant world events would occur in the next few weeks, and he had a week's worth of meetings with the rest of the staff on his various projects. He sighed and said, "There's no time."

"Yes there is," Lucy said.

"When?" William asked with a frown.

"You can make the time," Lucy said.

"When?" William asked.

Lucy sat back in her seat and said, "You've got the campaigns mapped out for the next six months. Your plans were detailed enough that I'll know if there is any kind of major deviation from what we predicted.

"Rudy is busy in the library. He's updating the server software, the displays, and acquiring additional content. I can buy anything he suggests without you having to be involved.

"Victoria is gathering the research material you've requested, but it will take time to assemble. It will be a few more months before the data on the sex industry will be available. She's been pretty good about making sure that the data for the rest of the model is being updated monthly.

"Dave is managing all of the polling activity. He's got four polling outfits tracking the campaign numbers. He's also overseeing the collection of data concerning the attitudes of the people in three dozen geographic areas. You know that is running like a well-oiled machine.

"Sandra and Barbara will run everything just like they always have. They can handle just about any problem that will arise. If they can't handle it, they can talk to me.

"I can monitor the investments using the model to make short term predictions of pretty good quality. Judging by what I've seen in the model, nothing too unexpected is going to happen anytime soon."

William shook his head and said, "There's going to be a rather spectacular murder that will cause a minor fluctuation in the stock market."

"Who?" Lucy asked.

"A rather powerful businessman in Europe," William answered.

Frowning, Lucy asked, "Can you stop it?"

"I don't know," William answered rubbing his chin. He said, "I'm not sure of all of the consequences of his death."

"When will it happen?"

"In about two weeks," William answered. He looked into the possible futures. One of them was very dark and the other left the world unchanged in any significant way. The dark future followed from the man getting saved.

The room disappeared around William to be replaced by a city street. After taking stock of his surroundings, William watched a man crossing the street. He was walking towards a kid playing with some toy cars in a miniscule front yard of a brownstone house. A car came roaring down the street towards the man.

Seeing that the car would hit the man, William called out, "Watch out."

The man looked around and backed out of the way of the car. He waved at William and shouted, "Thanks."

William turned to walk away. He hadn't taken more than three steps when a gunshot rang out. He spun around to find the man he had just rescued standing over the kid. The man was holding a gun in his hand. Even from a distance it was obvious that the kid was dead. The man turned to look at William and grinned.

The scene shifted back to where it had started with the man crossing the street while a car raced towards him. Heading in the direction of the man, William shouted, "Watch out."

The man looked around and backed out of the way of the car. He waved at William and shouted, "Thanks."

William ran to catch the guy before he crossed the street. He was too late and had to watch while the man stood over the kid and pulled the trigger. The man turned and smiled at William even as William reached him.

The scene shifted back to where it had been. Without taking a moment to look around, William started running towards the man. As he ran, he shouted, "Watch out."

The man saw the car headed towards him and ran forward. The car swerved in William's directions. He was forced to stop to avoid getting hit by the car. The man shouted, "Thanks."

William headed across the street as soon as it was safe. Once again he was too late. He watched the man reach the kid and pull the trigger on his gun. Even as the kid crumpled at his feet, the man turned and smiled at William.

The scene shifted back to where it had been. William watched the man cross the street while the car barreled down on him. Shaking his head, he watched the car strike the man. The man was thrown thirty feet down the street.

The kid looked up and headed across the street. He shouted to William, "We need to get an ambulance here."

William headed over to where the man was lying on the ground. From the way the man was sprawled out on the cement, it was obvious that he was dead. William grabbed the kid and asked, "Do you know him?"

"No," the kid answered.

The scene shifted back to where it had been. William watched the man cross the street while the car barreled down on him. Shaking his head, he watched the car strike the man. The man was thrown thirty feet down the road.

The kid looked up and headed to William. With each step, the kid got fatter and fatter. The features turned a weird mix of male and female. The Two-Sided One asked, "Why did you let him die?"

"I could find no way to save him and the kid. I chose not to act," William answered.

The Two-Sided One asked, "Why let the kid live?"

"He did nothing wrong that I could see," William answered.

"Sometimes the best action is doing nothing," the Two-Sided One said.

The street scene disappeared leaving William back in his room. He shook his head remembering the test that had occurred in the glade when he had begun his service. He wondered how many tests had taken place that he wouldn't remember until it was time for the lesson to be applied. He blinked his eyes.

Lucy had seen his eyes glaze over. Worried, she asked, "What's the matter?"

"I just remembered a lesson," William answered not really wanting to talk about it. He wondered why the lessons he had learned all revolved around life and death.

"Oh," Lucy said understanding that there were some things that William could know that she would never be able to learn until they happened. She leaned forward and asked, "Will this require you to do anything to prevent the murder?"

"I won't prevent it," William answered after giving a moment of thought.

Surprised by his answer, Lucy decided to change the subject to something a little safer. She asked, "Will there be any attacks against the house anytime soon?"

"No," William asked.

"So what requires you to be here?" Lucy asked.

"Not much, I guess," William answered.

Lucy said, "Call Dale and see if he's interested in spending a week or two out in the desert."

"Would you like to come with me?" William asked.

"Not this time," Lucy answered. She gestured to the whiteboard and said, "I've got to finish finding the transform functions that will simplify the calculations. I had a couple of insights into the problem while we were visiting Georgia and Debbie. I'd like to spend some time investigating them."

"Okay," William said with a sigh. He would have liked to watch her work.

Lucy brushed her long hair back behind her ear and said, "See, the world doesn't revolve around you."

"Maybe," William said. He looked in the distance and saw the trends play out. The world was such a large place that disaster presented itself on almost a daily basis. Most of the problems would resolve themselves without his interference. Only a few would require him to act. She was right, but that didn't lessen his worries any.

"Let me get back to work," Lucy said.

"Okay. What about Sandra and Barbara?" William asked.

Lucy smiled as an idea crossed her mind. She said, "Let them know that it is okay with me."

"You're sure?" William asked.

"I'm sure," she answered. Watching him for his reaction, she added, "Ask if I can watch."

Puzzled by the request, William said, "Okay."

"Good," Lucy said turning to work on the computer.

William stared at her back wondering if he was going to be able to perform with her in the room with them. Shaking his head, he decided that it would be a good time to call Dale to arrange for a little trip out into the desert. He wished that Patrick was around, but it wouldn't be until the end of December that he would return to Arizona.

-------

Barbara went into her office and sat behind her desk. She had just gotten out her notepad of to-do items when Juanita knocked on the door. Looking up, she said, "Come in."

"How did it go?" Juanita asked.

"He said that he would talk to Lucy about it," Barbara answered.

Nodding her head, Juanita said, "Like there was any doubt that he'd say that."

Barbara said, "You've known the Carters a lot longer than I have. There are a lot of things that I don't understand them. Could you explain what it means to be a Carter to me?"

Juanita burst out in laughter at the suggestion that she could explain the Carter Clan. She said, "I don't think anyone can do that."

"Try," Barbara said giving voice to her frustration.

Juanita was silent for a moment while thinking about it. Finally, she said, "Each member of the Carter Clan is a strong independent individual. No two of them are alike. It isn't as if their individuality compliments each other. They have different interests, different passions, and even different beliefs. That family is a hodge-podge of religious beliefs despite the fact that John was the Grand Druid. You'd think that they would fight, but the fact is that they enjoy their differences.

"Each of them pursues their passion individually, but the others support them the best that they can. They strive for excellence rather than perfection. When they do work together for a common cause, the results can be overwhelming."

"I know that," Barbara said feeling frustrated that she couldn't phrase her question better.

Juanita could see that Barbara was frustrated and said, "I sometimes forget that you grew up in a toxic environment."

"Toxic environment?" Barbara asked.

Juanita nodded her head and said, "There weren't many individuals where you came from. Everyone was trying to be like everyone else. You never saw an entire community of people who worked for their individual growth and supported those around them in growing to be better people.

"You only saw people competing with each other, never truly working together. You never experienced having a problem and then having a dozen people show up to help you. You don't know many people for whom giving is everything and receiving is viewed as the greatest gift you can get. You still don't know what it is like being surrounded by people who will give you their full unfettered attention."

"I guess. I'm not really sure what you mean by getting their full attention," Barbara said.

Juanita said, "What is it like when you make love with William?"

"I feel like I'm the center of the universe," Barbara answered.

"Is that the only time you feel that way?" Juanita asked.

Shaking her head, Barbara said, "No. It is that way when I'm working with him, too."

"That's what I mean. In my home town, every time you interact with someone on a personal level you feel like you are the center of their universe. I must admit that I miss being around home," Juanita said.

Barbara was about to reply when William knocked on the door. He stuck his head in the office and said, "Lucy said that it was okay for me to join you and Sandra tonight. She'd like to watch."

Barbara didn't know how to answer. She nodded her head. Much to her relief, William accepted that as an okay and left. Turning to Juanita, she said, "I didn't see that one coming."

"You never will," Juanita said with a smile.

"Why would she want to watch?" Barbara asked.

Juanita answered, "Maybe she thinks that she'll learn something by watching,"

"What?"

"I don't know. I don't think she knows," Juanita answered.



-------

Chapter 18


Lucy and William were in the gym practicing their Tai Chi first thing in the morning. As always, they were both naked so that any imperfection in their movements would be visible. Normally, they flowed together with ease. This morning was different. His movements flowed, but hers were jerky.

After having moved through four of the major movements, William stopped and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Lucy answered.

"You're moving like your joints are rusted shut," William said.

Lucy dropped her position and turned to face him. She said, "I guess I'm just a little upset about last night. To tell the truth, I'm a little jealous."

Hearing her give voice to his worst fear, William said, "I was afraid of that. You don't have to be jealous of them. I love you more than life itself."

"I'm not jealous of them," Lucy said amused by his reaction. She had always been impressed with the beauty of the two women, but last night they had been spectacular in a more subtle manner. Rather than relying upon their outer beauty, they had allowed their inner beauty to shine through. The sight had actually taken her breath away.

"You're not?" William asked.

Lucy said, "I'm jealous of you."

"Me?" William asked even more confused by her statement. He wondered if she was jealous that two women were interested in him and none of the men had expressed an interest in her.

Looking around the exercise room, Lucy felt it wasn't the best place to have a talk about this subject. She didn't think that a room with exercise equipment and a training mat was the ideal setting for a heart to heart talk. She said, "Let's talk about this somewhere else."

"Where?" William asked.

"How about our bedroom?" Lucy asked.

With butterflies in his stomach, William followed Lucy to their bedroom. When they arrived there, Lucy said, "Have a seat."

"Okay," William said taking a seat on the bed facing her. He watched her move nervously around the room. Her long brown hair had grown down to the small of her back. It flowed with her movements. Her body was toned and unblemished. Watching her, he knew that no woman in the world could match her beauty.

Lucy opened the curtains of the room so that the canyon was exposed in all of its glory. She looked out at the rough wall of the canyon. The jagged rocks with sharp edges reflected her feelings. Turning to face him, she said, "I envy your ability to give."

"You're the most giving person I know," William said confused by her statement.

"Last night, there was a time when you were kissing Barbara. Your other hand sought out and caressed Sandra. Both women were responding to your attention. I knew that each of them was feeling the full force of your love for them. I felt a little thrill when you looked over at me. I realized that you had enough love within you to satisfy a dozen women all at once," Lucy said smiling at him.

"I don't know what to say."

Lucy tilted her head and studied her husband. He was a handsome man with all of the best features of ancestry. The two scars on his chest did nothing to mar his appearance. He had trimmed his hair so that it just brushed his shoulders. More than his physical appearance, he had a real presence. There was a solidity to him that left her breathless in the same way that the canyon did. She said, "You don't have to say anything."

"I don't want you to feel bad," William said.

"Don't worry about it," Lucy said.

Frowning, William said, "Maybe I should cancel the trip to the desert."

"Don't do that. I need a little time alone with my thoughts," Lucy replied.

-------

The stable smelled of hay, oats, horse manure, urine, sweat, and leather. It was the kind of odor that smelled good if you were used to it and horrible if you weren't. The stable was relatively clean, but no amount of cleaning could chase away the smell. It was a smell that reminded William of his days at Ed's place across from the Druid College. It always brought back good memories.

Dressed in a blue work shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots, William moved with ease through the building. There were two dozen stalls, but none of them held horses at the moment. He made his way to the corral which held six horses. A number of the men who worked the ranch were out on their horses otherwise the corral would have been much more crowded.

His and Lucy's horses were among them. Derrick was leaning against a post of the corral watching William with a wry smile. William waved and shouted, "How are you doing, Derrick?"

"I'm doing fine. How about you?" Derrick answered.

"Things are looking up," William said. He took a deep breath and smelled that special fragrance of the desert.

Derrick wandered over to him and said, "What's up?"

"I'm going to spend a few days in the desert. I need to get my horse and a pack horse," William answered looking around for a lead rope to attach to the halters of the horses.

"I'll take care of that for you," Derrick said.

"That's okay. I can do it," William said not wanting to divert Derrick from his work.

Derrick looked over at him and shook his head. Knowing that William would saddle his own horse, Derrick said, "I'll help you with the pack horse."

"Okay," William said.

Derrick whistled and a man came running out of one of the buildings. Derrick pointed to the two horses. Seeing which horses Derrick had pointed at, the man glanced over and spotted William. He immediately entered the corral while grabbing a couple of lead ropes to put on the horses. In just a minute he was leading three horses over to the stables.

"I would have been happy to get the horses," William said with a frown. He wondered why he couldn't see the identity of the man who had fetched the horses. The only time something like that happened was when it involved someone he cared about. It wasn't until the man was headed in his direction that he realized the man's identity.

"Hello William," Dale said with a wink.

"Dale! What are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet tomorrow out by the gully behind your place," William said.

"I got out of work a day early," Dale answered with a grin. He held out a lead rope for William.

"It is good to see you," William said taking the lead rope.

"It is good to see you again. You've been gone too long," Dale said handing the lead rope for the pack horse to Derrick.

"Just trying to keep the peace," William said shrugging his shoulders.

"Is that all?" Dale asked with a grin.

The three men headed into the stables leading their horses. Each horse was tied in front of the stall where the appropriate gear was stored. Grabbing a brush, William started brushing down the horse. As he worked, he asked, "So where do you want to go?"

"How about we just head west for a week?" Dale asked. He continued to brush his horse while he talked.

"Sounds good to me," William answered.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Derrick asked.

"Two weeks," William answered. He walked around the horse keeping a hand on it. Once there he returned to brushing the horse. He actually enjoyed the process of getting a horse ready for ride. The act of grooming the horse helped calm him.

Derrick mentally calculated the weight they'd be putting on the horse. He asked, "How much water are you taking?"

William looked over at Dale and asked, "How's the water out there?"

"Not too bad. The last time I checked, the seeps had plenty of water. We'll only need to carry a couple of gallons for the horses while we move from seep to seep," Dale answered.

Derrick said, "Okay. I'll pack ten gallons."

"That should be fine," Dale said.

"That'll be eighty pounds of water and sixty pounds of alfalfa cubes. How much gear will you be packing?" Derrick asked.

"Forty pounds," William answered.

"Food?" Derrick asked.

Looking over at William, Dale said, "Forty pounds of food?"

"Yes," William said.

Derrick shook his head and said, "That's two hundred and twenty pounds."

"That's about right," William said. "I'll carry five pounds of water on my horse and about ten pounds of gear."

"Same here," Dale said.

"You'll be packing heavy," Derrick said. He didn't like to put more than a hundred and eighty pounds of gear on a horse.

"It is a big horse. You could put two hundred pounds on it," Dale said looking over at Derrick.

"The horse wouldn't like that much," William said. He put the brush back where it belonged before heading over to the saddle.

"The weight will drop by ten pounds after the first day," Dale said.

Derrick went about the business of putting the pack on the horse. He knew that Dale was right, but he didn't really like to load up a horse like that. He said, "We're going to have to buy a mule. A mule can carry two hundred and twenty pounds."

After checking the saddle, William picked up a saddle blanket and carried it over to the horse. After giving the horse a chance to smell it, William laid the blanket over his horse taking care to position it properly. He said, "I'd rather take two horses."

"A mule is better. It can carry more and work longer than a horse," Derrick said.

William went back to the saddle and hooked the stirrup over the saddle horn. He laid the cinch strap across the saddle. He carried the saddle over to the horse. He gently set the saddle on the blanket. He said, "That might be true, but a mule is a lot more stubborn than a horse."

"Kind of like you and Dale, right?"

Dale laughed and answered, "Right."

It would take another thirty minutes before the two men were ready to leave. Of course, a good ten minutes of that was spent saying goodbye to Lucy. Saddling up, William said, "We'll be back in two weeks."

"Have you got your cell phone?" Derrick asked.

"Yes, I do," William answered.

"Have fun," Derrick said.

Lucy waved to William and said, "Have fun out there."

"I wish you were coming with me," William said.

"Go!" Lucy said.

-------

After more than a year of work, Lucy found the transform function that significantly simplified the computations. She stared at the sheet of paper unable to believe what she had accomplished. With hands that trembled from excitement, she applied the transform on the equations of William's model. One by one, they simplified into something that was trivial to compute. She stood up and danced in place for a minute.

Excited, she stared at the result. The inverse transform that would generate the answers in a form they could use were complex, but not impossible. Just by looking at the equations she was able to identify where they would exhibit numerical instabilities. Of course, those were the places where the equations would demonstrate chaotic behavior.

Grinning she said, "William is going to be so surprised when he gets back."

Staring at the equations, she thought about the next step. She smiled thinking about how she was going to present the results to William. Reaching across her desk, she hit the speakerphone button on the telephone. After dialing a number, she waited for an answer. When the phone was answered, she said, "Dan, I need a hundred of your biggest computers."

"What?" Dan Biggerstaff asked expecting a least a hello.

"I need a hundred of your biggest computers," Lucy repeated.

"Is that you Lucy?" Dan asked double checking his caller id.

Impatient with all of the questions, Lucy answered, "Yes. I need a hundred of your biggest computers."

"A hundred?" Dan asked rather surprised by the request. With the low energy costs that resulted from the fusion cell, the cost of computers had dropped to nearly nothing. Everything had computers in them. With the typical desktop computer costing less than a hundred dollars, his top of the line computer sold for about forty thousand dollars. One of them was capable of handling the computing needs of a very large corporation. He sold less than a thousand of them a year. A hundred of them would represent a four million dollar sale.

"That's right," Lucy answered.

"My biggest computer?"

Smiling, Lucy said, "That's right. What have you got in development that's big, fast, and packed with memory?"

"What? My biggest machine isn't good enough for you?" Dan asked in a teasing voice.

"That's right," Lucy answered.

Surprised, Dan asked, "What are you going to do with them?"

"I've got a monster program to run," Lucy said tapping the sheet of paper with her pencil. She could see the program executing in her mind. She'd run a million different trials with each trial different by a miniscule amount on the input values. The result would be a tree of possible futures.

Dan was silent for a minute thinking about it. He asked, "How big?"

"Very big," Lucy answered. She smiled and said, "I'd like to run a million concurrent programs and I don't care how big your machine is, I'll still need CPU cycles."

"A million?" Dan asked in shock.

"That's right," Lucy answered with a smile.

Dan sat back in his chair and thought about it. That would require each machine to run ten thousand concurrent programs. He said, "A hundred computers won't help you with a computation that large."

"I know that. That's just the number of machines I want to use while I'm writing the program," Lucy replied. She spun around in her chair and then added, "I expect William will want to order another ten thousand of them when he gets back from his vacation."

Dan dropped the handset on hearing that little piece of news. Lucy laughed hearing him fumble with it. After a few seconds, Dan said, "You're crazy."

"How much would you like to bet that William calls you with that order within three weeks?" Lucy asked.

"I wouldn't take that bet," Dan said with a sigh. He wondered if they had the production facilities to make that many machines without causing a shortage in their sales stream.

Lucy looked up at the ceiling thinking through the problem. After a few seconds, she said, "I'm going to have to get a building constructed to house them all."

"Sounds like you are going to have some work ahead of you," Dan said.

Lucy asked, "Have you got someone that can design the network?"

"Maybe," Dan said.

"Who?" Lucy asked.

"Me," Dan answered deciding that he'd do it. This was going to be a real challenge.

Lucy was silent for a minute and then asked, "Are you still there?"

"Yes," Dan answered puzzled by the question.

"Shouldn't you be getting your ass over here?" Lucy asked with a smile.

Dan was surprised by her language. He couldn't remember ever hearing her say anything like that. It dawned on him that she was actually pretty excited about something. Chuckling, he said, "I guess so. I'll be there in about five hours."

"Bring those computers with you," Lucy said.

Dan laughed and said, "I don't have a hundred of them sitting around. I'll get ten of them to you tomorrow."

"I'll be looking forward to seeing you," Lucy said hanging up the phone. She dialed another number and waited for an answer. When there was an answer, she said, "I need a building designed."

"Uh," a female voice at the other end said.

"This is Lucy Carter. I need to talk to Beth."

"Oh," the woman said, "I just started working here. What did you say the name was?"

"Lucy Carter."

"I'll see if she'll take your call," the woman said.

"She will," Lucy said rolling her eyes.

After a minute, Beth said, "Hello, Lucy. Sorry about that. She's..."

"I need a building," Lucy said interrupting her sister in law.

"What kind of building?" Beth asked surprised at the intensity Lucy was demonstrating. She was seeing a side of the young woman that she'd never seen before. Lucy reminded her of William when he was focused on something.

"One capable of holding ten thousand computers," Lucy answered.

"Why not a million computers?" Beth asked thinking that Lucy was exaggerating.

"I figure that spending four hundred million dollars on computers is enough. Dan is coming out here to help design the network," Lucy answered. She figured that William might have a problem with her spending forty billion dollars.

"You don't want a building for that. You'll want a hardened underground vault," Beth said shaking her head in wonder. Considering how William seemed to attract violence, she was pretty sure that he wouldn't want that much money sitting on the ground.

Lucy sat up and said, "You're right. Can you do it?"

"That isn't going to be cheap. Something like that could cost twenty million dollars," Beth said.

"I don't care. I want it finished in two months," Lucy said. Now that she had solved the problem of the transform functions, she wanted to see the program running.

Wondering what had Lucy so excited, Beth said, "I'll come out there."

"When?" Lucy asked.

"I'll fly out tomorrow," Beth said looking over at the clock. It was ten o'clock in the evening where she was.

"Good," Lucy said hanging up the telephone. She dialed another number and waited for it to be answered. It seemed to ring forever before someone picked up the line. She said, "Oliver, I want those programmers you promised us now."

"Uh, this is Catherine."

"Oh. Tell Oliver that I want those programmers now," Lucy said.

"Who is this?" Catherine asked. She looked at the clock and realized that it was a little after eleven in the evening.

"I'm Lucy Carter."

"He's asleep," Catherine said.

Impatient, Lucy said, "He can take his nap later. This is important."

"It is eleven o'clock at night," Catherine said.

"Really?" Lucy asked. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was after eight. The three hour time difference made it pretty late to be making this call. She said, "Oh, sorry."

"I'll tell him in the morning," Catherine said.

Lucy was silent for a moment and then said, "But I want the programmers on the plane tomorrow morning. I just ordered a hundred computers. They should be here in a day or two. We can't wait."

Catherine said, "I'll tell him in the morning."

"Have him call me when he wakes up," Lucy said.

"That will be three o'clock in the morning there," Catherine said.

Discounting the objection, Lucy said, "Oh, I'll still be working at that time."

"Okay," Catherine said.

Lucy hung up and thought about what she had just done. She dialed another number and waited for an answer. When it was answered, she said, "Uh, Barbara. I just spend about twenty five million dollars. Have we got the cash to cover that?"

"Yes," Barbara answered surprised by the question. She couldn't recall Lucy ever asking for more than ten thousand dollars and that was to give to a charity.

"I need about four hundred and twenty five million more. Is that a problem?"

There was a long moment of silence. Finally Barbara asked, "Are you planning on buying a country?"



-------

Chapter 19


The break room at the Canyon house was a very different kind of room than had been provided in Pennsylvania. Instead of commercial quality tables and chairs, the furniture was more appropriate for a home. The tables were made of polished wood with chairs that had leather seats. There were a couple of comfortable sofas at the far end that faced a large screen television that was showing the broadcast of a news channel. There were a few massage chairs that were perfect for relieving stress.

The room was empty except for Juanita and Amanda. They were seated on the couch drinking coffee and eating pastries that Peter had made that morning. Juanita gently held Amanda's hand in hers. She stroked the palm with her other hand while she said, "It is just one night."

"I don't like blind dates," Amanda said. She never could understand how it was that Amanda could excite her just by holding her hand. She might not have understood it, but she had come to enjoy it a lot.

Juanita laughed and said, "You'll be the only one blind on this date."

Amanda laughed at the old joke. She said, "You know what I mean."

"Yes I do," Juanita replied.

Amanda said, "I don't know. I just don't feel comfortable dating."

"You'll like him. He's from my home town," Juanita said. Although she continued to hold Amanda's hand, she stopped stroking it.

"Don't stop," Amanda said licking her lips.

"Don't stop what?" Juanita asked in a sultry hot voice.

"Whatever it is you are doing to my hand," Amanda said. She had no idea why it felt so good.

Resuming her stroking of the blind woman's hand, Juanita said, "Les Rodriguez is a very nice young man. He really knows how to treat a woman right. You'll feel like a queen by the end of the evening."

"I don't know," Amanda said. She nearly jumped when Juanita started running a hand from her palm to inside her elbow with feather light caresses. It sent chills of pleasure running up and down her spine.

"He was my first young man," Juanita said. She slipped her mouth over one of Amanda's fingers.

Not wanting to interrupt what was obviously a private conversation, Lucy stood outside the door of the break room watching the two women talking. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see the effect that Juanita's attention was having on Amanda. The blind woman actually shivered when Juanita sucked on her finger.

"Your first?" Amanda asked surprised by that little piece of information.

Juanita eased off the finger while returning to stroke the inside of the other woman's arm. Smiling, she said, "He is as good in bed as William."

Amanda shivered and, with a low moan, said, "Okay. I'll go."

"I thought you would," Juanita said with a smile. She looked down at Amanda's chest and saw the twin bullets tenting her shirt.

Amanda said, "I better get back to my office before I leave a wet spot here."

"Are you sure?" Juanita said.

"Yes," Amanda answered.

"Be ready for the date at six," Juanita said.

"Okay," Amanda said rising from the sofa. She unfolded her cane and maneuvered through the room with ease.

Seeing Amanda leaving, Lucy walked into the break room. Before she had a chance to say hello to Amanda, the blind woman said, "Hello, Lucy."

"Hello, Amanda," Lucy answered wondering how the other woman knew it was her.

As if reading her mind, Amanda said, "I like how you smell like the desert. You're the only one who uses an Aloe Vera shampoo."

"William likes how it makes my hair smell," Lucy said.

"It smells nice," Amanda said.

"Thank you," Lucy said watching the blind woman leave the room.

Lucy went over to Juanita. The young woman looked up at her and asked, "Do you need me to do something for you?"

"I'd just like to talk with you for a minute or two," Lucy answered. She had four hours of free time while Dan was out making arrangements for computers and the programmers were purchasing the development tools they would need to complete the program.

Relaxing a little, Juanita said, "Have a seat."

Looking around, Lucy licked her lips nervously before she said, "Maybe we could talk somewhere else?"

"Is there a problem?" Juanita asked with concern.

"It is kind of personal," Lucy said.

"Okay," Juanita said and followed Lucy from the break room. She was surprised when Lucy led her past the conference room and to the elevator. Getting in, she was surprised again when Lucy pushed the button for the lowest floor rather than the upper floor. While the elevator headed downwards, she said, "It must really be personal if we're going to your private floor."

"It is," Lucy answered. When the elevator stopped, Lucy led Juanita to the open living room where they would have the full view of the canyon. She went to an area where a handful of chairs were isolated from the rest of the room by living plants. There was a real sense of privacy while having a fantastic view.

Awestruck by her surroundings, Juanita said, "This is beautiful."

"It is my favorite spot in the house. I come here when I need to relax or think," Lucy said.

Juanita said, "I can see why."

"Have a seat," Lucy said gesturing to one of the chairs. She took the chair next to it.

"Thank you," Juanita said taking a seat.

Lucy sat down in the chair next to Juanita's. Deciding to get straight to the matter, she said, "The other night I watched William make love to Barbara and Sandra."

"Ah," Juanita said having already known that. It was impossible to keep something like that a secret in that household. She leaned forward and patted Lucy's hand. She said, "There's no need to be jealous of them. Everyone knows that William loves you and would never do anything to hurt you."

"That's not the problem," Lucy said.

"Oh?" Juanita said.

"I watched how he was able to make all of us feel like we were the center of his universe," Lucy said.

"He's good at that," Juanita said from experience.

"Yes, he is," Lucy agreed. She sighed and said, "The only one I can make feel that way is William."

"Is that a problem?" Juanita asked.

"I felt like I should have joined in, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it," Lucy said looking out the window.

"I can understand that, you aren't interested in women," Juanita said.

"It wasn't that. I could have joined in without ever touching either woman," Lucy said. She had this sense that the dynamics of the session would have really changed if she had entered the action. It would have become two sets of people with William, Sandra and Barbara forming one set and her and William forming the other set.

"True," Juanita said.

"I don't know how to explain it," Lucy said feeling frustrated.

Juanita said, "You still have a lot to learn about love."

"That's what Ed said," Lucy replied.

"I noticed you watching Amanda and me earlier."

Lucy said, "I didn't want to interrupt."

Juanita held out her hand and said, "Take my hand and try to give me a little pleasure."

Lucy took the other woman's hand and just held it. Looking at the young Hispanic woman, she wondered what she was feeling. She was also worried about how it would look if someone were to see them.

"What are you thinking about?" Juanita asked.

"Nothing," Lucy answered.

Juanita smiled and asked, "You are thinking about what others would think if they were watching us."

"Yes," Lucy replied licking her lips nervously. She wondered how Juanita knew that.

"If you were holding William's hand, your thoughts would be completely different," Juanita said.

"Yes," Lucy said.

Juanita turned the hand holding around so that she was holding Lucy's hand. She caressed it softly. In a soft voice, she said, "I've seen you and William reading books together on the sofa at your house in Pennsylvania. You would hold hands while reading. Although you were reading, it was easy to see that each of you were totally aware of the other. Neither one of you were worried that you looked foolish."

"True," Lucy answered staring at her hand. It was amazing, but Juanita had the same touch as William.

"That's part of love. Enjoying the moment with the person without fear of looking foolish and fully aware of what the other person feels," Juanita said. She ran a hand over Lucy's wrist.

"Oh," Lucy said thinking that she should be doing something for Juanita in return.

Juanita said, "It is also about being able to accept the pleasure without feeling like some sort of debt has been acquired."

"Oh," Lucy said realizing that Juanita had read her mind once again.

Juanita said, "You are a Carter woman in every way, but one. You have an infinite capacity for love, but you still hold back from giving yourself physically to others who love you. The one exception is William. You need to learn to love others with total abandon."

"You're right," Lucy said.

"I find it one of the more fascinating aspects of your character. You give others your emotional love. We all feel how you feel about us. You give us your love, but you fail to follow up with the physical gestures that confirm it. There is always just that little barrier there," Juanita said.

"You're right," Lucy said.

Juanita smiled and said, "Take my hand."

-------

It was during the hottest part of the day. The heat produced mirages that made the desert floor look like it was in constant motion. The pair of men sat on the side of the butte looking out across the desert. Others might have found the view dead and lifeless, but to William and Dale it was spell binding. Dale said, "You have been quiet this trip."

"There is a lot on my mind," William said. They had been riding for three days and only now was the desert having a calming effect on William.

"You are too serious," Dale said glancing over at William.

"You are not serious enough," William said with a grin.

Dale chuckled and said, "I'm being serious. You are too serious."

"I know," William said. He looked out across the desert feeling the life that was just out of sight.

"The desert will be here long after we are gone. Some things have a sense of permanence about them while others are fleeting. The rocks will erode, the sand will move, but the desert will remain. Individual animals will be born, grow, and die. We care for the land so that it will be there for our children," Dale said.

"That is the way of our people," William said with a nod of his head.

"You are trying to take care of something more difficult to leave to your children. Like the desert, some things in a culture have a sense of permanence while others are fleeting," Dale said watching William for his reaction.

"That's true," William said.

"You job isn't to sculpt the culture, just to care for it so that it will be there for our children," Dale said.

"A culture is a lot more fragile than a desert," William said.

"Then it will require a bit more work on your part," Dale said. He looked out across the desert and added, "The caretaker of the desert lives in the desert. Shouldn't the caretaker of a culture live within the culture?"

"I would, but I wouldn't survive," William answered.

Nodding his head, Dale said, "The desert is dangerous too. We have had to acquire the skills and tools necessary to survive the desert so that we can care for it. I think you haven't developed the skills and the tools to survive the culture you are trying to care for."

William spotted a hawk floating on the currents of the wind. It suddenly dove towards the ground. There was a screech and the hawk disappeared into the sage brush.

William thought about his childhood and how removed from the rest of the world he had been. Nodding his head, he said, "You're right."

The pair of men watched the desert for a while without speaking. After twenty minutes, the hawk took wing again. William watched as it flew out of view. There were lessons to be learned in the desert; it was just a matter of being open to them.

Dale said, "I was thinking that we might want to head north for a couple of days."

"That would put us in the area of my dad's mine," William said. He picked up his canteen and took a sip of water from it. The tepid water satisfied the body, but not the spirit.

"Yes, it would," Dale said.

"Are you suggesting that I give him a call?" William asked.

"You could always ask him to bring some steaks," Dale said with a grin.

-------

William squatted across the morning campfire while Dale fixed the coffee. The sun was just barely peaking over the horizon. Watching it reminded William of his father. His eyes glazed over and he was suddenly seeing something else.

Carl Yaeger stepped out of the limousine and looked around at the crowded street in the center of Budapest. Everything about his appearance announced that he was a wealthy man. His suit, made of the finest material, was made in England by the same tailor who served the crown. He was a very wealthy man and expected to become a whole lot wealthier by the end of the day. He paused for a moment to watch people going about their business.

An attractive young woman walked past. Her hips swayed as she walked. He eyed her with disdain. By the end of the day, he would be able to buy and sell people like her. In ten minutes he would be signing the papers that would make him worth half a trillion dollars. He smiled at the idea of buying a hundred women just like her and what he would do to them.

He took a step toward the bank where his business was to be concluded. A young man stepped in front of him. Glaring at the man who was his body guard, Carl said, "Get him out of my way."

Before the bodyguard had a chance to react, the young man pulled out a pistol and fired three times. The last two shots were totally unnecessary. Carl was dead before he hit the ground. The young man was wrestled to the ground by the body guard and held until the police arrived. In what had to be one of the greatest ironies of the event, Carl was responsible for the fact that his body guard had been too slow to save his life. He had hooked the man on drugs as a way to assure his loyalty.

The investigation into the murder never revealed the vast network of shady dealings that would have made Carl Yaeger the wealthiest man in the world. While the lattice of interconnected business deals fell through, stock markets around the world dropped five percent. A lot of people lost money over the course of the week. To everyone, it was just one of those unexplainable burps that occasionally shook the marketplace.

In time it would be revealed that the young man had killed Carl Yaeger because Carl had destroyed the life of his sister. After one month with him, the young woman had returned home physically, emotionally, and spiritually battered. The only thing that kept her from feeling all of the pain was the fact that she had become addicted to heroin. Her mind had been destroyed. Her days were now spent looking for the next heroin high.

In the grand scheme of things, the death of Carl Yaeger was a minor event which made for interesting news. People went about their business. Companies produced goods that were then purchased by consumers. Dinners were served in restaurants. Lovers strolled down lanes holding hands and planning futures together.

Carl Yaeger was a sociopath who would have destroyed the lives of a billion people if he had lived. He had visions of creating his own country which he would rule from behind a desk. Grand shows of decadence and death would have been his nightly entertainment.

With the exception of one person, no one knew that they owed the young man a debt of gratitude. Only William knew that the world had been saved from rule by a new breed of rulers. Men worth half a trillion dollars would have used their wealth to make the world's population their entertainment. Some would be magnanimous, but most would have been cruel. He had nothing to do with the incident, but he felt relief none the less. It was a fight that William was more than happy to avoid.

Out in the desert, William had seen a potential future disappear when the bullet had done its job. William gave a sigh of relief. Dale looked over the morning campfire at William and asked, "What happened?"

"The world just became a better place," William answered.

-------

Dan rubbed his chin thinking that he hadn't shaved in three days. He knew that he was going to have to get a full night's sleep soon or he was going to collapse. It had been a long time since he had put in twenty hour days with short naps. He looked down the length of the table and saw that Beth had just fallen asleep. He glanced over at Lucy and shook his head.

Lucy was still looking fresh as ever. She was talking with the two programmers about some details of the program they were developing. She pointed to one of the equations and said, "Danny, when this value gets close to zero you are going to have to change the algorithm you are using. I'd suggest using a predictor-corrector. The equations get very unstable."

"We could use a symbolic algorithm," Dawn said. It would be a beast to program, but they could carry as many significant digits as necessary.

"That would be too slow," Lucy said shaking her head.

"You keep saying that," Dawn said. Every time they made a suggestion, she asked how long it would take to compute a point. After each estimate, she answered that it was too long.

"That's because it is," Lucy said.

Shaking his head, Danny said, "You've got sixteen coupled equations here. Can't you simplify them some more?"

Lucy pointed to the white board and said, "These are the simplified versions of those equations on the board."

"That ugly mess is this?" Danny asked.

"That's right," Lucy said.

Dawn studied the equations and said, "I'm sure that we can do it. It'll take a week or so."

"Dan Biggerstaff is delivering another ninety computers in a week," Lucy said. She noticed that Dan had straightened up upon hearing his name.

"You've already got ten of the VIPER-50s," Danny said.

"I know," Lucy said.

"Just how many points are you expecting to calculate during a single run?" Dawn asked with a frown.

"About twenty billion. We want to make a run about once every hour," Lucy answered.

"Twenty billion?" Danny asked.

"That's about right. A million data points projected 365 days a year for 50 years," Lucy answered.

"How many runs total?" Danny asked.

"We'll be running this program continuously for at least the next fifty years," Lucy answered.

Danny laughed and said, "Even a hundred VIPER-50s aren't enough to do that."

Dawn scribbled down some numbers and said, "You said that you wanted to have a hundred instances of the program running on each machine. Each instance of the program would have to calculate over five hundred points per second. Even with a VIPER-50, we'd be pushing it to get it to an instance able to calculate five points per second."

"I've got an order in for another ten thousand VIPER-50s," Lucy answered.

The two programmers stared at her incredulously. Danny wasn't sure, but he estimated that ten thousand VIPER-50s would represent about 5% of the computing power of the entire world. He shook his head and said, "That might do it."

Still worried about the size of the order, Dan said, "I'm not sure that we're going to be able to build that many computers."

"Sure you will," Lucy said waving a hand in a dismissive gesture.

"Why do you say that?" Dan asked.

"William will arrange things," Lucy said.



-------

Chapter 20


Lucy watched the screen through red eyes that saw the world through a blur. She hadn't sleep for the past thirty hours. The programmers were asleep on the floor having exhausted the last of their stamina under the nearly constant pressure from Lucy.

Even if she hadn't been so tired, it would have been hard to interpret the results. There were a hundred curves all overlaid one upon another. After running twenty four hours, the model had projected ahead only twelve years. Considering the limited computing resources she had that was a good result. Of course, it wasn't enough to judge the accuracy of the model despite the fact that the model was making predictions that corresponded to the historical data she was using as a baseline.

Beth walked over to Lucy. Without saying a word, Beth grabbed her wrist and put her into a hand lock. Shocked, Lucy asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to bed," Beth said leading the young woman away from the computer.

"I just want to see this," Lucy said knowing that it was useless to physically resist Beth.

It didn't prevent her from twisting her head to look at the screen that was getting further away with each step.

"I want to be adored by millions of men, but that isn't going to happen," Beth said wryly.

She continued to steer the woman down the hallway towards the elevator.

"Someone needs to watch it," Lucy said. She had to keep her feet moving in order to keep the pressure off of her arm.

"It is a computer program. No one needs to watch it," Beth answered. She pressed the call button for the elevator.

"Just let me watch it another hour," Lucy said.

"You can watch it another twelve hours," Beth said. Seeing Lucy perk up, she added,

"After you've gotten some sleep."

"That wasn't nice getting my hopes up like that," Lucy said finding herself in the elevator and heading downwards.

"It will all look better after you've had some sleep," Beth said with a smile. Sometimes it was necessary to intervene when someone was driving themselves too hard. Her husband, John, had done this same thing to her a dozen times in the past. She was pretty sure that he would do it again in the future.

Lucy stumbled along under the very physical guidance provided by Beth. She reached her bedroom in quick order. With an easy move, Beth had Lucy lying in the bed.

Standing over her, Beth said, "Sleep."

Yawning, Lucy said, "I'm not sleepy."

Beth stood over the young woman for a minute. She smiled when Lucy dropped off to sleep before the minute was over. Shaking her head, she said, "William found a good one when he found you."

-------

Riding along side of William, Ed was listening to half of a conversation. For the past seven days William had been getting several calls a day. He had to believe that the calls were important in order to justify calling him when he was out in the desert. His curiosity had been aroused and he was going to get it satisfied. When William closed his cell phone, Ed asked, "What was that about?"

"That was Beth. She called to tell me that she put Lucy to bed," William answered with a smile. He couldn't help but wonder why Lucy had not been to bed in over thirty hours.

"Our Beth?" Ed asked surprised to learn that Lucy was with Beth. As far as he knew, Beth had been in Dallas working on a major project.

"That's right," William answered.

"Where are they?" Ed asked.

"At our house," William answered.

Feeling frustrated that he had to pull information out of William one fact at a time, Ed asked, "What's going on?"

"It appears that Lucy is trying to arrange a surprise for me. According to Barbara, she's spend almost half a billion dollars on it," William answered with a smile.

"Half a billion dollars?" Dale asked wide-eyed. He knew that William was rich, but hearing about that kind of money made him dizzy.

"Yes," William answered.

Ed said, "It must be a big surprise."

"Well, I don't know what her surprise is so she's been successful," William replied. He had his suspicions, but he didn't attempt to confirm them by probing the future. If Lucy was going to so much trouble, he didn't want to ruin it.

Ed's truth sense let him know that William was telling the truth. The fact that William didn't know what Lucy was doing was very surprising. Ed was silent while riding through the desert. He kept glancing over at William and shaking his head. He had a pretty good idea how much William was worth, but it was still hard to believe that William could accept that kind of expenditure without showing a reaction.

Dale asked, "Aren't you worried about her spending that much money?"

"Not really," William answered. Seeing the shocked expression on Dale's face, William said, "I trust her. She wouldn't spend that much money without having a very good reason."

"Does that make you poor?" Dale asked.

"No," William answered. He was going to have to clear out his play money account and sell two hundred million dollars worth of his conservative investments. He said, "I guess I'll just sell off one of my smaller office buildings in New York."

"One of your smaller office buildings?" Dale asked wondering if he had heard William correctly. He knew that there were buildings in New York that cost more than a billion dollars.

"Yes," William answered.

The men stopped the horses in front of a gate to William's property. William dismounted and handed the reins to Dale. He stretched a moment and then walked over to the gate. It was a standard western style gate common on ranches across the entire country; namely two posts connected by three strands of barbed wire. One post was permanently attached to the fence post with baling wire. The other post had the bottom in a loop of bailing wire and the top held in place by another loop of bailing wire. William slipped the top wire off the post and lifted the post out of the bottom loop. He carried the fence post over to the side so that the horse could enter his property.

"We'll be at your house in about six hours," Dale said riding through the opening. It took him some time since he had to move far enough past the gate to get William's horse and the pack horse through it.

"These two weeks passed in a flash," William said. He had enjoyed the days under the scorching sun and the nights under the stars. Ed had collected a few rock specimens, but most of the time had been spent appreciating desert.

"I could spend years out here," Ed said following Dale onto the property. He was leading a pack horse and stopped beside Dale.

William laughed and said, "Tell me something I don't know."

"What can I say?" Ed replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He was at home in the desert.

William spent a minute getting the gate back in place. Dale watched and said, "It has been nice being out here. Tomorrow, I go back to work. There are times when I get so tired of listening to other people's problems."

"You have no idea how nice it is to spend ten days without hearing a lie," Ed said settling back in his saddle.

William grinned and said, "We can't have that. I'm sure that between Dale and me, we can come up with some real whoppers."

"You don't have to do that on my account," Ed said giving William a dirty look. He knew he was teasing, but ten days without hearing a lie had been a great relief. He doubted that he'd get home before hearing a lie.

Dale laughed at the exchange. He handed the reins over to William and said, "We're burning daylight."

"You're right, William said while climbing on his horse.

It was easy to forget for Dale to forget that he was out there with two Druids. Away from everyone else and the responsibilities thrust upon them, they were just men who appreciated the desert. There were times when he felt sorry for the two men. He was just a medicine man for the tribe and the responsibilities of that position weighed heavily upon him. He couldn't imagine what it was like to feel responsible for the world at large.

Ed noticed the introspective expression on Dale's face. He said, "You're thinking deep thoughts, Dale."

"Sometimes I wonder how the two of you bear up to the strain," Dale said.

"Family helps," William answered.

"So do friends," Ed added.

Nodding his head, William said, "Friends are important."

"Patrick will be starting at the Native American College in a few weeks. We'll be seeing more of him," Dale said.

"That's true," William said. He grinned and asked, "Should we invite him to another hunt?"

Dale laughed and said, "He'll be home around Thanksgiving. I suppose we could go deer hunting for a day or two."

Having seen several dozen deer over the past three days, Ed said, "You've got a lot of deer around here."

"Too many. The herds are worried," Dale said.

Ed heard the truth of his words, but still found it hard to believe. It was easy to forget that the two young men talked with animals. William said, "I'm pretty sure that a cougar will be moving into the area soon."

"I'd say it would take up in the canyon area, but that is too close to the house," Ed said.

William shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'll talk to it and let it know that we won't bother it so long as it leaves people alone."

"Ah," Ed said shaking his head. Although he had been around William a lot over the past year, it was still a little shocking to see the kinds of things that William took for granted.

"Culling three older deer will alleviate some of the pressures on the herds," Dale said looking down at the ground. There was a deer print in the sandy soil on the trail they were riding.

"That should do it. A fourth deer would assure it," William said looking over at Ed.

Ed shook his head and said, "I'm going to be in Antarctica. I bet Leroy would enjoy a day or two of hunting."

"How about Dan?" William asked.

Ed smiled at the question and said, "Dan doesn't like to hunt."

"I didn't know that," William said.

The three men rode along for a while without talking. After a bit, Ed said, "It is time to give the horses a bit of rest."

-------

Having heard the disturbing noise of earth moving equipment for the past two hours, Ed rode ahead to see what was happening. Upon coming over the rise, Ed looked at the equipment that was tearing a hole in the ground. A very large crane was lifting dirt out of the hole in a monster clam bucket. Ed stared at the machine wondering where they had found it. It spun around and dumped dirt on a very impressive pile that ran behind the machine. The pile ran a hundred yards in length and looked to be about twenty-five yards high. There was no telling how wide it was based on where Ed was sitting on horseback.

Based on how far the bucket was lowered into the hole, Ed estimated that the hole was at least forty feet deep.

He waited for William to ride up to him. When William finally reached him, Ed asked,

"What's with the hole in the ground?"

William looked at the activity and adjusted his cowboy hat. He answered, "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Dale asked. That kind of activity didn't happen overnight. Of course, there had been nothing there when they had left two weeks earlier.

William studied the action for a minute and then said, "It looks like they are building an underground facility."

"It could be a mine," Dale said. They were still two miles from the house and it didn't make sense to him to build something like that in the middle of nowhere.

"Beth is here. I bet she has something to do with this," William said.

Ed shook his head and said, "Beth designs buildings. She doesn't dig mines."

"I'll admit that it looks like a mine, but there's nothing here to mine," William said.

"That's true," Ed said. He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. He put his hat back on his head and said, "You must be right. Beth must be behind this."

Dale said, "Let's head to the house. This is giving me a headache."

"Is it because of the damage to the desert?" Ed asked looking over at Dale. He remembered that Dale was named Spirit of Desert Rock. He wondered if the excavation was hurting the Earth Mother.

"No. I just don't like the noise," Dale answered wryly.

Ed laughed feeling like he had walked into that one. He nudged his horse and rode on towards the house chuckling. William winked at Dale and nudged his horse forward. As they rode past the hole, a bulldozer drove up a ramp that led down into the hole.

William stared at the dozer while riding past it. He shook his head and said, "I wonder what Lucy is doing."

Dale said, "I hope that isn't what she's spending a half a billion dollars on."

William laughed and said, "That would be an expensive hole."

"A real money pit," Dale said with a grin.

William laughed and said, "Let's head to the house."

Despite their curiosity of what was happening out in the desert, William, Dale, and Ed took their time taking care of the horses upon returning to the ranch. The five horses were brushed down, watered, and then fed. The contented animals were left their stalls for the night. The saddles were cleaned and put back where they belonged. Ed's camping gear was stacked by the door of the stable to be loaded in his hugger. Dale's gear was dropped off in the back of his pickup truck. William's gear was returned to the storage room of the stable.

William led the other two men to the private entrance to the house. Much to their surprise, Dan was waiting for them. Ed asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm selling computers door to door," Dan answered with a wink.

"You don't say," Ed said looking over at his husband.

Dan said, "Lucy is waiting for William in the workroom."

"We'll go there now," William said.

"I think Ed and Dale should go with me down to the pool. I'm sure that after two weeks in the desert that a little time in the water will feel great," Dan said not looking in Dale's direction. Lucy had instructed him to send William to the lab alone.

William's eyebrows rose a little. Nodding his head, he said, "You might be right."

The four men got on the elevator. When the elevator reached the second floor, William got out and said, "I'll catch up with you in a little while."

"Okay," Ed said even as the elevator door closed.

William walked to the private workshop. Entering the room, he stopped and looked at Lucy. She looked tired, but very pleased. Doing his best Desi Arnez imitation, he said,

"Lucy, I'm home."

Lucy laughed and went over to hug him. He was a little rank after having spent two weeks in the desert. She ignored the assault on her nostrils and kissed him. Stepping back, she said, "I've got a surprise for you."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with that hole we rode past on the way here?" William asked gesturing in the direction of the hole.

Lucy frowned and said, "You saw that?"

"We couldn't miss it," William said.

Lucy said, "I kind of spent some money while you were gone."

"Really?" William asked.

"I got a little carried away," Lucy said looking a little nervous.

"How much?" William asked.

Hoping that he wouldn't be upset, Lucy said, "About a half of a billion dollars."

"All of that money is going to come out of your allowance," William said. Seeing her surprised reaction, he winked. Chuckling, he said, "Barbara called and told me that you wanted to spend four hundred and fifty million dollars."

"Oh," Lucy said with a frown. She asked, "Did she tell you what I bought?"

"No. She told me that you had a surprise for me," William said. He looked around the room to see what Lucy wanted to show him.

"Good," Lucy said with a grin.

William asked, "So what is the surprise?"

Lucy stepped over to the desk and picked up a remote control. She pressed a button and four projectors came on. As the pictures slowly brightened, she said, "The last fifty years of economic possibilities."

William turned to look at the projected image. Stepping forward, he studied the tree that ran from left to right. He asked, "Where's the historical data?"

Lucy smiled and went over to the computer keyboard. She pressed a button and one of the lines turned red. She said, "That line is history."

William took a long slow breath. Staring at the curves, he said, "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Lucy said watching the look of awe on his face. She understood what he was feeling. For the past six hours, she had stared at the display transfixed by its sheer beauty.

He walked up the display. His body blocked the image. He ran a hand along a line and asked, "What would the world have been like if we had followed this line?"

Lucy went over to the computer and moved a cursor over the line. She clicked on it and said, "You'll see the economic and social measures printed over there while that line is traced out."

William watched the numbers change. The social and economic trends traced out were a lot better than what had actually occurred. He said, "This is beautiful."

"You like it?" Lucy asked watching him. It was clear that he appreciated the results being presented, but she wanted to hear him say the words.

"I like it a lot," William answered. He looked over at her with a grin and said, "I'm also a little disappointed."

"Why?" Lucy asked with a frown.

"I really wanted to see you solve that problem," William said.

"Sorry," Lucy said looking over at him. She smiled and said, "I promise that you'll get to see me solve the next one."

"You better," William said.

Remembering his smell, Lucy said, "Go shower and then meet me in the bedroom. I've been horny ever since I figured out the transform functions."



-------

Chapter 21


The months passed without much of anything too remarkable occurring. William spent most of his time working with the candidates running for office. Lucy worked on the program trying to find ways to represent the quality of the society graphically. Construction on the facility for holding the computers was progressing nicely. The young couple kept the staff very busy as well.

With the ever increasing need for data, Victoria spent nearly every hour of the day searching for new sources of data and, as a result, was very happy. She now had sources in nearly every government agency in the country and half of the governments around the world. She kept Dawn busy writing programs for importing that data for use by William's program.

Jack was continually coming up with new polls to develop data concerning the lives and standard of living of individuals living in various parts of the country. The questions he was asking in his polls had become more subtle. Rather than asking if people were happy with their lives, he asked about their leisure time activities, their jobs, and their plans for the future.

Barbara and Sandra were not as busy with work, but their private lives had taken on a deeper meaning. Although they had never ridden horses before moving to Arizona, they now went riding several times a week. While riding, they found a friend who joined them almost every time they went out. The friendship with Derrick was quickly moving to a more romantic foundation.

Despite being busy, a regular routine was established at the house. Lucy and William spent the early morning practicing Tai Chi and swimming before heading to the lab. They would work the day taking a break for lunch. After dinner, they usually relaxed by reading books or going to one of the social functions at the reservation. It was a rare occasion when they went into Phoenix, but they always stopped by the homeless hotel when they were there.

-------

Ed looked down the conference table at the individuals gathered there. With a sigh, he said, "I call the meeting of the board of directors for the Fusion Foundation to order."

William could tell by the expression on his father's face that he was not pleased about the subject of the meeting. Of course, none of them really enjoyed being there for budget meetings. Ed picked up the binder in front of him and said, "You've all had a chance to go over the budget. Are we in agreement with the allocations of moneys presented in it?"

Everyone around the table nodded their heads. Ed said, "I'd like to move that we adopt it without discussion."

"I'll second that. I'd love to have a short meeting for a change," William said. The budget outlined how thirty billion dollars was going to be spent over the next year. If someone started challenging the allocations, they could be there for days.

Everyone around the table chuckled at the comment. Ed said, "All those in favor of this budget please say Aye."

The vote didn't take long. William was ready to pack up and leave when Ed said, "There's one matter that has to be addressed before we go."

Sherry, looking much older than William remembered her, asked, "What's up?"

"The money from John's patents is starting to dry up," Ed said looking around the room. This was the second year in a row in which the income from the patents had dropped.

Surprised by that announcement, William sat up and asked, "How did that happen?"

"The technology has been around for a long time. People have made improvements on it. The original patents aren't in such high demand anymore," Ed said.

"How bad is it?" Sid asked with a frown.

"We saw a five percent drop this year. I expect that the money will drop to about ten percent of what we see now in ten years," Ed answered.

William sat back in his chair wondering how he had missed that coming. Looking into the possible futures, he didn't see anything about the Fusion Foundation failing. In fact, he saw it playing a large role in the future. He said, "We have a large war chest invested. How are our investments doing?"

"They are doing fine. A lot of our investments are growing in value, but to access the money we would need to sell them. We are going to have to change our investment strategy in order to make them a little more liquid. It looks to me like we are going to have to live off of them for the rest of the foundation's future," Ed answered.

William looked at Ed and saw that he had been aging significantly over the past few years. Looking around the table, he realized that everyone was getting old. Sherry had to use a walker to get around now. Sid's hair was grey and the man slumped in his seat. He looked over at Kelly and saw that his mother was getting old as well. It dawned on him that they would be replacing members of the board over the next few years.

The discussion of what should be done filled the air. Silent, William watched the men and women around him try to solve the problem. Rather than participate in the discussion, William wrestled with what would become of the Fusion Foundation in the future. There were twenty board members and sixteen of them were over sixty. Most of them had been handpicked by John Carter. The question was where they could find men and women of equal caliber.

William became aware that the talking had stopped. Looking around the room, he noticed that everyone was looking at him. Confused, he asked, "What?"

Ed said, "Sherry wanted to know what you thought could be done to resolve the money problem?"

"Sorry, my mind was elsewhere," William said stating what had been obvious to everyone.

Sherry asked, "So what do you think?"

Taking a deep breath, William said, "I think that we all have to give the matter a lot more thought. I suggest that we end the meeting now."

His words created a flurry of discussion, but William tuned it out. He was jogged out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, William realized that he was alone in the room with Ed and Kelly. Kelly asked, "What's the matter?"

"The reduction in income to the Fusion Foundation isn't the only problem we are facing," William answered thoughtfully.

Feeling like it was the most significant problem, Ed asked, "What else is the matter?"

Sighing, William said, "Half of the board members will be dead in ten years."

Ed heard the truth in William's words. He slumped in his chair while thinking about it. He realized that not only was the Fusion Foundation facing an economic crisis, but that it would have to do it with new leadership. He asked, "Are you talking about me?"

"I didn't look," William answered. There were some things that he didn't want to know. The Two-Sided One was kind and hid some aspects of the future from him.

"Oh," Ed said feeling a little sense of relief.

"How many of the members are over seventy?" William asked.

"More than one, that's for sure," Ed said.

Kelly nodded her head in agreement. She put a hand on Ed's arm and said, "We're getting up there in years, too."

"I know," Ed said. It was time for him to think about the future. He looked at William and asked, "Will you run the Fusion Foundation after I die?"

"No," William answered.

"No?" Kelly asked surprised by his refusal.

William answered, "I told Happy Harry when I was added to the board that there would come a time when I would step down. I can't be put in charge of the Fusion Foundation."

"I forgot about that," Kelly said. Her brow wrinkled while she thought about it. Finally, she asked, "Why will you step down?"

William leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. He said, "I'm directing the evolution of the world to produce a lasting peace. That will not make me a popular person. If I'm affiliated with the Fusion Foundation, it will lose all credibility. I need it to be credible."

"I don't understand," Ed said.

William rose and went to the door. Closing it, he turned back to face Kelly and Ed. He said, "We are Druids and what I tell you must never leave this room."

"Okay," Ed said frowning.

Concerned by his involvement of the powers that be, Kelly said, "Okay."

"The world is facing a financial crisis unlike anything in the history of the world. The Fusion Foundation is going to be the only thing standing between civilization and barbarianism," William said.

"You're going to let that happen?" Ed asked shocked to his core.

Nodding his head, William answered, "Yes. It is the only way to bring lasting peace."

"You can't be serious," Kelly said.

William looked over at her and said, "There are some very wealthy people who have done nothing to make the world a better place. Some have gotten rich off the misery of others. I have to rid the world of them and an economic crisis that removes their money from them is the only way to accomplish it."

"The rich are pretty good about protecting themselves from disaster," Ed said.

"This disaster will strike at the heart of what makes them rich," William said.

Kelly said, "I can't see how that could happen."

"I'm nearly the richest man in the country. I will lose ninety percent of my wealth during that crisis. I will be the richest man in the world when the crisis is over," William said.

Ed sat back and stared at William. The idea that he would lose ninety percent of his wealth was almost incomprehensible. William had become a multi-billionaire by the time he had turned sixteen. He said, "You know it is coming. You could protect your wealth."

"No, I can't. There will be no safe place to put my money," William said shaking his head.

"What about us?" Kelly asked.

William said, "You are better protected than I am. You'll still lose about ninety percent of your wealth, but you won't be destroyed by it. You'll recover very quickly after the crisis is over. You have a real source for your wealth. That won't change."

"I don't understand," Ed said frowning.

His medallion became warm. Putting a hand on it, William said, "I can't tell you more than that."

Kelly looked over at William and said, "The family is going to continue after us. We're bringing in another husband."

"Finally," William said with a grin. He returned to his chair and said, "Tell me about him."

"His name is Bill Strauss," Ed said. He smiled and said, "Claire and I met him when there was a construction accident. He was a bystander who charged in to help dig out some people who had been trapped. Parts of the building were coming down around him and he was carrying a guy out."

"Another hero," William commented.

"Yes," Ed said.

William asked, "What does he do for a living?"

"He works in a wire company. He makes wire," Kelly answered shrugging her shoulders.

"He has dreams," Ed said watching William for his reaction.

Kelly said, "He wants to save the world from trash."

"Interesting," William said thinking about it. He smiled and said, "Very interesting."

-------

Mike Clark sat at the conference table waiting for the mysterious person who had brought him there. He had no idea how much the conference table cost, but he was sure that it cost more than his house. He was pretty sure that the chair cost more than his off-the-rack basic blue suit. The overwhelming display of wealth only made him more nervous.

As an automotive engineer, he had a good living, but it wasn't really a lot of money. He had quit and stayed out of the industry for ten years after the company he worked for turned down his product concept. During the day he worked at a hardware store while at night he designed his dream car. Three years ago, he had finished the design and begun the most difficult part of his quest to make his dream car a reality.

For the past three years he had visited every investment company in the country looking for the capital necessary to start his company. Everyone he talked to had turned him down. The idea of starting a new car company that would compete with the existing companies was viewed as too risky.

Although he wasn't a suspicious man by nature, he knew that the big car companies were blocking him at every turn. Repeated lawsuits had been filed to shut him down. He'd suffered through three tax audits. He'd been told point blank by a banker that no one in the country would invest in his company.

Two days ago he had received a telephone call to come to this place. He wasn't sure if it was a business or a house. He wasn't even sure who he was going to meet. The message had been cryptic, "Come to this address if you want to start your company." Unwilling to give up on his dream, he bought a bus ticket and made his way there.

Barbara entered the room and asked, "Would you like some coffee while you're waiting for William to arrive?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mike said thinking that he now had a first name for the person who had called him there.

Barbara went over to the telephone and dialed a number. After a few seconds, she said, "Peter, could you have a coffee service sent to the conference room?"

"Yes, those chocolate chip cookies would be great," Barbara said smiling over at Mike. She hung up the phone and said, "You're in for a real treat. We're getting some of Peter's chocolate chip cookies."

"Thank you, ma'am," Mike said nervously.

Barbara took a seat and said, "William will be here soon."

Mike shifted nervously in his seat and asked, "William Who?"

"William Redman Carter," William answered stepping into the room. He reached across the table to shake hands with Mike.

Mike rose and accepted the handshake. He said, "Mike Clark."

"Have a seat," William said gesturing to the chair. While he was sitting down, he looked over at Barbara and asked, "Can we get some coffee?"

"It is on the way. Peter included his chocolate chip cookies," Barbara answered.

"The ones that come in the bag?" William asked.

Barbara laughed and said, "No. He made them."

"I really like the soft ones that come in the bag," William said. William reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. Sliding it across the table, he said, "That is how much I'm willing to invest in your car."

Mike glanced down at the piece of paper. He looked at it a second time unable to believe what he had seen. He counted zeros and was shocked that there nine of them. He blurted out, "Two billion dollars?"

"That's right," William said leaning forward. He added, "There are some conditions attached to that money."

"What kind of conditions?" Mike asked unable to take his eyes off of the scrap of paper. He forced himself to look up at William.

William said, "You wait three years to start. You guarantee your cars for twenty years or a million miles. You sell the car for less than ten thousand dollars."

The conditions stunned Mike. He shook his head and asked, "Three years? Twenty year guarantee? Less than ten thousand dollars?"

"That's right," William replied.

"You're crazy," Mike said thinking that he had wasted his time. He had plans for marketing his car for over thirty thousand dollars.

William chuckled and said, "Three years from now, the big automakers will experience some significant business challenges. Two of them will launch products that will fall flat in the marketplace. One of them is already suffering from poor performance in the marketplace and their workforce will be coming up for labor negotiations. None of the companies will be in a position to worry about you. They'll be struggling to stay in business.

"Furthermore, I'll want you to work for two years with my brother-in-law to put some finishing touches to your car design. With his assistance, you'll be able to guarantee your cars for twenty years or a million miles."

"Who is your brother-in-law?" Mike asked skeptically. He didn't know of a single automotive engineer who would dare suggest that their design would last twenty years.

"John Fitzpatrick," William answered.

Mike stared at William recognizing the name. As far as he knew, there was no one who was better in automotive engineering than John Fitzpatrick. He took a deep breath and exhaled noisily. He said, "Oh."

"John will also help you get the price down to under ten thousand dollars," William added. He looked at the door and said, "Ah, the coffee is here."

Not having heard anyone behind him, Mike turned to look at the door. It was closed and he couldn't hear anything.

Without saying a word, Barbara stood up and opened the door. She stepped into the hallway and greeted Peter who just arrived there with a pushcart. She carried a silver tray with a china carafe of coffee into the room and set it on the table. The tray held four finely crafted china cups, a crystal pitcher of cream, and a crystal bowl of sugar.

Mike stared at the silver tray. In his search for money he had been to a lot of offices of very wealthy men. He hadn't seen anything like this. The young man wearing a blue work shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots didn't strike him as the type who would go for such an obvious display of wealth.

Peter, wearing his chef's uniform, brought in a plate of cookies. The china plate was piled high with very large chocolate chip cookies. William looked at the cookies and asked, "Have you got any that come in the bag?"

"No," Peter said shaking his head. He cursed the day that William had found the cheap chocolate chip cookies at the grocery store.

William looked at the coffee service. He didn't like the little china cups that Peter kept trying to force him to use. He preferred a good sized mug that held more than three sips of coffee. Looking up at the chef, he asked, "Did you bring a mug for the coffee?"

"Yes," Peter said. He went out to the hallway and brought in a second tray filled with mugs. He put them on the table and said, "Here you go."

"Thanks," William said reaching for a mug.

Barbara reached out and grabbed a cookie. She put it in her mouth to take a big bite out of it. She gave a low moan that was almost sexual in tone.

"Couldn't wait to eat one of those cookies, could you?" William said.

Barbara mumbled around the cookie. She chewed and swallowed before she answered, "I had to make sure that I got one."

William gestured to the coffee and cookies. He said, "Help yourself, Mike."

"Thank you," Mike said. Before reaching for a mug, he slid the piece of paper William had given him to the side. He grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee. The fact was that he was happy to see the mugs appear. He was terrified that he'd break one of the fragile looking china cups.

Barbara went back into the hall and returned with some china plates. She set one down in front of Mike and one where she was seated. Holding up a plate, she asked, "Do you need one?"

"That's all right. I'll just use the one the cookies came in on," William answered with a grin.

"I knew it," Peter said marching from the room triumphantly.

Barbara set the plate in front of William and, smiling at him, said, "Use this one. At least that way your guest might get a cookie."

William poured a cup of coffee into one of the mugs. He took a sip and said, "There are times when I really miss Lisa. She really knew how to make a simple cup of coffee."

Mike took a bite out of a cookie. The flavor burst over his tongue. He moaned while chewing it. After swallowing, he said, "That is a good cookie."

"Have you ever had one of those chewy Chips Abouy cookies?" William asked.

"Lots of times," Mike answered. He was unable to believe the subject of conversation. He had come to talk about building a car and William was talking about cookies.

"That's a good cookie," William said looking Mike in the eye. He leaned forward and said, "A bag of those cookies sells for a price that is the same that you would pay for one of those cookies on that plate. If Peter were to sell his cookies, he might sell a couple thousand of them in a year in a single gourmet cookie shop. They sell thousands of packages of Chips Abouy in each and every grocery store across the entire country every year."

"This is a better cookie," Mike said holding up a half of a cookie.

Nodding his head in agreement, William pointed a finger at Mike and asked, "If you were to invest in a startup cookie company, would you invest in Peter's cookies or in Chips Abouy?"

"Chips Abouy," Mike answered realizing that William wasn't talking about cookies at all.

"I want you to produce the Chips Abouy equivalent car," William said, "I want a car that is affordable, reliable, useable, and durable. I want ninety percent of the population to buy your car rather than one built by the other car companies."

"Yes, sir," Mike said. The cookie suddenly tasted like sawdust in his mouth.

William made a gesture to Barbara and then took a bite out of a cookie. Barbara slid a folder over to Mike and said, "Inside the folder is a good faith check for one million dollars. There is also a contract that states the terms in which the remainder of the two billion dollars will be delivered. Take it to a lawyer of your choice. When you are convinced that the deal is acceptable, sign the contract and send it here. William will make arrangements for you to work with John Fitzpatrick."

"A million dollars," Mike asked with a frown. He wondered if he was getting bought off for a million dollars rather than the promised two billion.

William said, "You came here on a bus. I doubt you could afford a lawyer that would give you good advice at the moment. Use the money to pay a lawyer and to cover your living expenses for the next three years."

"Okay," Mike said thinking that he'd read the contract very carefully before cashing the check.

William smiled and pulled out his medallion. He said, "I'm a Druid. You can trust me."



-------

Chapter 22


The underground bunker for housing the computers had been completed. A work crew sent by Dan Biggerstaff was busy wiring the room to support the network that would tie the computers together. It was a massive job considering that they were linking ten thousand computers together. It was made even more difficult due to the fact that they were physically located on four separate floors.

The room was cold. The air conditioner was set up to cool ten thousand machines, but there were only empty racks at the moment. Each rack would hold ten machines, a backup power supply, and an optical switch. There were three special racks. One rack would hold ten machines and serve as a gateway to the satellite downlink that would feed the databases storing the massive quantity of economic data. The database machines would be on a rack of their own. These machines would have monster arrays of disk drives with special controllers to maximize input and output. The final rack would hold the master controllers that tasked all of the other machines.

William and Lucy walked around taking in the layout of the room that constituted the fourth floor. Spinning around, Lucy said, "It is gorgeous."

"Yes, it is," William said knowing that it took a special eye to see the beauty of a room like this. Most people would see empty racks, loose wires, and bare walls. Lucy saw the million virtual worlds that would be created within those bare walls.

The sound of the elevator opening caused them both to turn to see who had joined them. Dan stepped out of the elevator and said, "You'll get the computers at the rate of five hundred a month."

"Only five hundred a month?" Lucy asked feeling a little disappointed. At that rate of delivery it would take almost two years for the facility to come up to full speed. She wanted to see the answers now, not in two years.

"It was a good balance between the ability to manufacture them and to install them. We'll have three men here installing them five days a week. They can only install and configure twenty-five machines a day," Dan replied knowing that Lucy was anxious to get the facility up to full running capacity as quickly as possible.

"Oh," Lucy said realizing that she hadn't thought through all of the logistics associated with a project of this size.

Dan smiled at her and said, "Don't be embarrassed. This is the biggest project that I've ever overseen."

"I didn't realize," Lucy said looking over at William.

William said, "I've got a feeling that we'll be seeing results before you know it. We'll get updates every day rather than every hour."

"It has already been four months," Lucy said looking around the room. Despite the fact that most of the exterior of the building had been pre-fabricated even while the hole was being dug, construction on the building had taken almost three months. Installing the infrastructure for the machines had taken a month. Another twenty months would put the system coming up to full speed two years after she had found the transform functions.

Pulling her into a hug, William said, "You're going to have to accept a slightly different view of time from now on."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked confused by his comment.

"We're working on a project that takes longer than we will live to complete. We'll have to take actions that won't produce results for twenty years. We will live in the now and in the future simultaneously," William answered.

"I haven't thought about that," Lucy said. She realized that she would be joining him in his world view.

Dan listened to the conversation wondering what they were discussing. Lucy had stated her need for the computers without telling him what she needed them for. William had been just as closed mouthed about the project. He was fully aware that the programmers didn't even know what it was about. He asked, "What is this program supposed to do?"

"Do not worry about it," William said with a sad smile.

"I'd like to be able to advertise this," Dan said. He looked around the room thinking that this was the largest computing project in the world. To be able to tell the world about an installation of this magnitude would really help his company.

"You can't," Lucy said covering her mouth with her hand in horror. She was sure that if anyone discovered what they were doing, there would be an entirely new kind of war.

"You mustn't even breathe a word of what we are doing to anyone," William said. He knew that if anyone else discovered what they were doing that the model would be rendered ineffective.

"Come on, it can't be that bad," Dan said.

William stepped forward and said, "Touch my medallion."

Those words sent a chill down Dan's spine. The last time he had been told that was when Ed had discovered that pit of evil. He reached out and touched the medallion. The room dropped away and he found himself in a meadow.

"This is the second time you've come before me," the fat man said in a feminine voice.

Dan stared at the naked fat man. The grotesque figure was slowly masturbating his very small erection that more closely resembled a clitoris than a penis. Uncomfortable with the onset of an erection that was hard enough to cleave diamonds, Dan said, "I'm sorry."

"What will we do with you?" the fat man said. His breasts started growing and his features became more feminine.

"I guess you will do with me what you want," Dan said realizing that he was naked. It was taking every bit of willpower he had to keep from grabbing his erection.

The fat woman laughed and said, "What I will do is ask you to do something for me."

"What?" Dan asked discovering that his hand had started stroking his cock in time with the fat woman's hand that was now plunging in and out of her cunt.

"You will do everything in your power to support William in his work without asking what he is doing and without saying a word to anyone else," the fat woman said.

"Yes," Dan said finding it difficult to talk while his lust was overwhelming him. His hand was now a blur on his cock.

The fat woman said, "Come for me."

Closing his eyes, Dan thrust his hips forward and experienced the most intense orgasm of his life. He opened his eyes after coming down from the mind shattering experience. The first thing that he noticed was William and Lucy were standing in front of him and watching him thrusting his hips forward -- humping the air. He managed to get control over his body. He blushed when he realized that the front of his pants were wet with his come.

Shaking his head, he said, "I hate when that happens."

William patted him on the arm and said, "It happens to everyone who meets one of the Gods or Goddesses."

"It happened the last time too," Dan said.

William looked at Dan surprised to learn that this wasn't his first time to face one of the Powers That Be. He said, "I didn't know that."

"I will not ask you what you are doing. I will support you however I can and will tell no one," Dan said. He felt a great relief upon saying those words.

William looked Dan in the eye and said, "I will hold you to those words."

"A greater power than you will hold me to those words," Dan said. He looked down at the wet spot on his pants and said, "I better go change my clothes."

"Don't be embarrassed by it," William said.

Dan gave a weak little laugh and said, "I look like I wet my pants."

William looked off into the future and said, "When you get in the house, wait two minutes before pressing the elevator button. No one will see you."

"Thanks," Dan said.

Lucy waited until Dan was out of the room to say anything about an epiphany that she had while Dan was touching the medallion. Once the elevator closed behind him, she said, "I realized a few minutes ago that we will soon share a common view of the world. We will both see the now and the future; you through your gift from the Two-Sided One and me through the program."

"That's true," William said.

"You never needed the program to complete your service," Lucy said looking into his eyes seeking confirmation of what she had realized.

Nodding his head, William answered, "That's true."

"You've worked for your whole life to allow me to share your vision of the future with you," Lucy said finding that her throat was suddenly tight.

"Yes," William said.

With tears in her eyes, Lucy hugged him tightly. She asked, "Why all that effort when you could have been doing other things?"

"Because I love you and I want to share every part of my life with you," William answered.

Lucy was overwhelmed by that simple declaration. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Crying, she said, "I love you."

"I can't breathe," William croaked.

Releasing her hold on him, Lucy said, "I'm so sorry."

Tenderly William placed his hands on her cheeks and kissed her. With his thumbs he wiped away her tears. In a quiet voice, he said, "You know that you never have to apologize to me."

"I love you so much," Lucy said.

"You are the one true love of my life," William said looking lovingly into her eyes.

Every fiber of her being wanted to reach out to him and draw him into her. Lucy said, "Let's go back to our room."

"Okay," William said. He paused one moment to take one last look around the room and said, "It is impressive."

"It is magnificent," Lucy said. In creating it, she had thought of it as a surprise for William. Now she viewed it as a temple built by William's love and dedicated to her.

-------

Lucy had worn William out over the course of the afternoon and evening. Her libido had kicked into overdrive and he had been the lucky recipient of all that energy. Even the half dozen times together had not slowed her down. She rose out of bed and looked upon his sleeping figure in the weak light that filtered in from outside.

Not wanting to disturb his sleep, she slipped out of the bedroom. Pacing nervously around the living room of their suite, she decided that a little late night hot chocolate might calm her down. After drinking a cup of hot chocolate, she was still not sleepy. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was 3:30 in the morning. Wanting to move around, she slipped out of their quarters.

Walking aimlessly, Lucy made her way through the dimly lit first floor of the house. The only light came from the floors above and the huge window that gave view to the canyon outside. Even in the dim light, the house was comforting. She agreed with William that living there was like being embraced by the Earth Mother at all times.

She could hear the noises of one of the body guards going about his business on the upper levels. She paused to listen to the sounds of the house. It was never absolutely quiet. The air conditioner was a constant presence. There were people working around the clock and they made the typical noises of busy people. The design of the house dampened the noise, but one knew that it was always present.

Without realizing it she found herself at her favorite spot. She moved over to the chair and sat down to gaze out the window. There was a half moon visible just over the horizon. She sighed and looked out over the dimly lit canyon. She sighed and said, "No woman has ever been loved like me."

A tear rolled down her cheek while thinking of what William had done for her. It was unimaginable to her for someone to dedicate the first twenty one years of their life to make it possible for another person to share their life with them to such an extent. It was hard to accept that he worked for the first fifteen years of his life without even knowing her.

She looked out upon the floor of the canyon and asked, "How does one return a love like that?"

She thought back to the afternoon spent there in her favorite spot with Juanita. The Hispanic woman had shown her what it was like to give without expectation and to accept without obligation. It had been a lesson that was unnecessary for her with regard to William, but there were other people in their lives. Their time together had never progressed beyond holding hands, but Lucy treasured that time together. She had learned a minor lesson in love. In learning it, she realized just how much more she had to learn.

Thinking of what William had done for her, she doubted that she even knew how to love him in a manner that was the equal to his love for her. The energy, the dedication, and the money he had poured into this project were phenomenal. Up until now, his entire life had been spent making that program possible just so that he could share that aspect of his life with her. That program was his Taj Mahal declaring his love for her.

While sitting there, she knew that she couldn't even talk to anyone about what William had done for her. She realized that William had never really explained fully what he was doing to anyone. He had presented small parts of his work to different people, but the only one who understood the full scope of what he was doing was her. His family knew about his ability to see the future and that he was to make sure that the future was filled with peace. They only had a little idea of just what he was going to do to accomplish that. She knew that all of the clues necessary to put the whole picture together were there for others to find, but no one had all of the clues.

William had trusted her and her alone. In trusting her with that secret, he had shifted a small portion of the burden of his service to her. He had someone with whom he could talk. He now had someone with whom he could share his hopes, his fears and his triumphs. She swore that she would dedicate the rest of her life to making sure that she would be there for him at the best of times and the worst of times. She would be the perfect partner.

"That's a foolish decision, little one," a voice said to her.

Looking around, Lucy didn't see anyone. Scared, she asked, "Who are you?"

"William wears my medallion," the voice said to her.

Swallowing heavily, Lucy knew the identity of the speaker. She asked, "Why is my decision foolish?"

"You do not need to be perfect. You just need to be there for him," the voice said to her.

"Oh," Lucy said.

"Sleep, little one," the voice said.

Lucy fell asleep in the chair even before the Two-Sided One had finished speaking. The sun rose and the room brightened around her without disturbing her slumber. The normal noises of day filled the house. Breakfast was served to those awake, people arrived to work in their offices, and the cleaning crew went to work making the house neat and orderly. Lucy slept through it all.

William sat in the chair next to hers watching her sleep. He had searched around the house for almost half an hour before finding her. A small smile of contentment appeared on her face shortly after he had sat down. He thought, 'I'm so lucky to have her in my life.'

He reached over and took her hand in his. He drifted off to sleep. The cleaning woman running a vacuum cleaner woke the pair not even knowing that they had been there. Lucy woke and discovered William waking beside her. She smiled at him and said, "Let's get some breakfast and then get to work. We've got some elections to win."

"Sounds like a plan to me," William said with a smile. He held out a hand for her. She took it and rose from the chair.

"I guess I met the Two-Sided One last night," she said.

"Oh," William said looking at her. He wondered what had caused the Two-Sided One to intervene in her life.

They entered the dining room to find Juanita and Amanda finishing breakfast. Still unable to accept what she had learned on her date the previous evening, Amanda said, "I can't believe that Les is coming here to work."

Juanita smiled at the blind woman and said, "You do know that you're going to have to share him with me."

"Who are you talking about?" Lucy asked taking a seat across from the two women.

"Les Rodriguez," Amanda answered covering her mouth with her hand. It was a habit that she had adopted to hide her emotions. She didn't want to broadcast to everyone that she was in love with the young man.

Seeing how Amanda was reacting to her suggestion that she was going to have to share, Juanita said, "He's going to be our husband."

Amanda frowned at the reminder that Juanita wanted her as a wife. After three years she still didn't know how she felt about that desire. Confused, she said, "I still don't understand that."

William was silent for a moment trying to remember where he had heard the name of the young man. He recalled something about a young man from his hometown asking Dan for an internship years ago. He asked, "That's the young man that Dan is mentoring, isn't it?"

"Yes," Juanita answered. Les was ambitious, but not in a bad way. His ambition was tempered with humility. Before graduating college with a degree in computer engineering, he had gone to Dan Biggerstaff to find out if he could get an internship at the company where Dan worked. After he graduated, Dan hired him to work in his department designing new computer hardware architectures.

"He's from our hometown, right?" William asked wanting to verify if he was remembering things correctly.

"That's right," Juanita answered. She glanced at Amanda and said, "He was my first love."

"Oh," Lucy said. She thought about how Amanda would feel about the young man as a result of having shared that special time. She asked, "Do you still have special feelings for him?"

"Yes," Juanita said. Les had always been special even within a town of people who had learned to love. She appreciated his gentle nature and the way that he could make her feel like she was the most important person in the world.

Amanda nervously picked up her folded cane and played with it a bit. Her feelings towards Juanita were confusing. She was strongly attracted to the woman, but felt that loving a woman was wrong. Still, when Juanita stroked her hand all thoughts of it being wrong fled. She said, "I still don't understand why you want both of us."

"Because I love you both," Juanita answered in a very soft voice.

"Oh," Amanda said.

Lucy walked over to where Amanda was seated. Standing behind the blind woman, she leaned over so that her head was next to Amanda's ear. Without knowing why she did it, she shifted her position and kissed Amanda on the neck. In a soft voice, she whispered, "Don't question it. Go with what your heart tells you."

"I don't know what I want," Amanda said biting her lower lip.

"Yes, you do," Lucy said.

William watched the exchange with a small smile. Knowing that there would be very little talk, he suggested, "Why don't you and Juanita take a day off to talk?"

Amanda bit her lower lip and answered, "That might be a very good idea."

"It is a very good idea," Lucy said with a grin.

Juanita rose from her chair and took Amanda by the arm. She led the blind woman from the room. When they had left, William said, "Juanita reminds me of Mom Kelly at times."

"Yes," Lucy said. She had heard the stories about how Kelly had worked to create the family that she wanted. In the process, she waited for Beth and John to be ready to make the commitment necessary to make the family a reality for almost two years.

"I think Amanda will be happy with the choice," William said.

"You don't know," Lucy asked looking at William.

Shrugging his shoulders, William said, "My ability to see the future of those that I love is a little limited now. When I can see, I don't look except when it is important."

Confused, Lucy said, "How do you know if it is important if you don't look?"

"I just know," William answered.

"Let's have breakfast and then get to work," Lucy said.

Winking at Lucy, William called out, "Peter, how about one of those egg muffins like they make at the burger burner?"

"Don't compare my cooking to a burger burner," Peter called back from the kitchen. He slammed a pan down on the counter.

William said, "He's in a good mood this morning."



-------

Chapter 23


While reading her book, Lucy occasionally glanced over at the television to watch the election coverage on the television. It was kind of sad, but the news coverage only addressed a few of the state elections. When they failed to mention the race in Texas, she shook her head and said, "The news services really make me mad."

"Why?" William asked moving his book aside to look at Lucy.

"They are only covering some of the races we're interested in," Lucy said gesturing over at the election coverage that was on the television.

William said, "They are covering most of them."

Lucy shifted around so that her head was in a more comfortable position on his lap. She said, "That's because they are rather surprised that their candidates of choice are losing."

"You knew that was going to happen," William said. His hand drifted down to stroke Lucy's breast. Even though she was fully dressed, he could feel her body reacting to his touch.

"They don't even realize the significance of this election," Lucy said glancing over at the television.

"No one does. The majority of political analysts won't realize what happened tonight for years to come," William said. The power structure of Washington had just become a lot more moderate and less divisive. Several major committee leaders had just lost their seats in office. The policies of those committees would change directions significantly.

"A third of the Senate Armed Services committee just changed," Lucy said.

"That's nothing compared to the ethics committee," William said. There were going to be a lot of shakeups in Washington over the next few years.

"I didn't realize that," Lucy said. She was going to have to spend the time to come up to speed on the nature of Washington politics. She thought about the display thinking that none of the lines displayed even hinted at things like that.

"There's still so much work to do yet," William said. There were elections overseas that had to be addressed.

"We've got to start finding the candidates for the elections in two years," Lucy said. There were a couple of radical Senators and Representatives that hadn't been up for reelection this year that had to be removed.

"I've already got Victoria working on it," William said.

"You know that you overwork that poor woman," Lucy said with a grin.

William laughed and said, "She loves every minute of it."

"You're right," Lucy said. It amazed her how that woman spent nearly every minute of the day at the computer searching out information about every subject possible. She added, "She's going to have to get a personal life."

"We're going to have to find her a boyfriend," William said.

"You're right," Lucy said wondering how he had managed to get the topic of discussion away from the election results. Of course, neither one of them had been surprised by the results despite the shock the various pundits on television had expressed. She asked, "Do you have any men in mind for her?"

"No," William answered.

"Neither do I," Lucy said. Unlike a lot of women, Lucy didn't really go for the match making bit. She had never tried to set up two people in the hope that they would like each other.

William was quiet for a moment. He said, "We've got a wedding to attend in a few weeks. I still haven't come up with a good wedding present."

"What do you think of Bill Strauss?" Lucy asked.

"I like him. The family has needed another man in it for a long time," William answered. With four women and only three men, the family had been out of balance for a long time.

Lucy thought about it. The young man was going to college. He was currently working in a wire company to pay for his education. She wondered how easily he would adapt to having the kind of power that marrying into the Carter Clan would give him. She said, "He seems kind of naïve to me."

"He's young," William said.

Lucy frowned at the characterization of Bill as being young since he was a couple of years older than both of them. She said, "He's older than us."

"We're older than us," William replied dryly.

"You're right," Lucy said after thinking about it for a moment. At twenty years of age, she had an advanced degree in mathematics and control over billions of dollars. It was easy to forget just how much she had experienced of the world compared to most people her age.

William said, "He's not like my father, but he's going to be important to the future of the world."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked sitting up to face William.

"Daddy John invented the fusion cell and saved the world from an energy crisis. It cleaned up the air and eliminated much of the pollution. He made it possible for people in remote areas to have a standard of living unimaginable in the past. I think that Bill Strauss will solve another major problem facing the world," William answered.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"The decline of natural resource reserves," William answered.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked. She knew about the young man's desire to deal more effectively with the trash an advanced civilization produced.

"Think about it. What is in the trash we create?" William asked.

"I don't know. Stuff, I guess," Lucy answered still not following him.

William said, "I'm talking about materials of which the stuff is made. You throw away a television and it has metals in it. A million televisions get thrown away and that is a lot of metal."

"Oh," Lucy said realizing that it was all about numbers. One item wasn't much, but a million of them made it a lot. There were six billion people on the planet consuming resources and throwing away their trash. With a global increase in the standard of living, there was an awful lot of trash getting generated.

William said, "There is more than just the stock of metal reserves at stake. Just think about all of the other material that is in trash. All of it can be recycled into new products. Glass, ceramics, and plastics can be used in all kinds of things. Even organic material can be transformed into oil and fertilizers."

"We don't need oil," Lucy said.

William said, "We still need lubricants. We still manufacture plastics out of petroleum."

"I guess I never thought about that," Lucy said.

William said, "When Bill realizes his dream, he will have taken a huge burden off of the planet."

"You're right," Lucy said. She didn't need to ask if he would realize his dream. With the support and resources of the Carter Clan behind him, he could make those dreams come true.

"He's going to be very important one day," William said.

"What about the age differences?" Lucy asked. Kelly was starting to show her age. There was more than a forty year difference in age between her and Bill. Ling was nearly thirty years older than Bill. Linda was twenty years older. Even Claire was ten years older than Bill.

"I wouldn't worry about that. Even though Mom Kelly and Ling are still attractive women, it isn't the physical appearance that is the foundation of love. I'm convinced that he loves them for all of the right reasons," William answered.

"You're right," Lucy said hoping that he was correct.

"Of course I am. I'm William Redman Carter."

Lucy started tickling him. Laughing, she said, "You are going to get punished for that."

An hour later, the young couple returned their attention to the television. William said, "The election results are in."

"All of our people won," Lucy said tracing a finger along the scars on his chest.

"I suppose that I should call them and congratulate them on their victories," William said with a sigh. He reached down and cupped her naked breast. He ran a thumb over her stiffened nipple.

"Call them tomorrow," Lucy said moving her hand down his body.

"I can't," William said. He frowned while thinking about the nature of the conversations that he was going to have. In a sad voice, he said, "We have to remind them how they got to where they are."

"You're right," Lucy said while sitting up. She patted him on the thigh and said, "Go make your calls."

After dressing, Lucy made her way to the laboratory to enter the results of the election into the model. She knew that it would take almost a week to calculate the new projections out fifty years, but she would know the short-term consequences within a couple of days. For now she would have to live with that.

After entering the data in the program, she sat back and watched the display slowly update. Frustrated by the lack of information that was captured in the flat two dimensional image, she said, "I'm going to have to figure out a better way to display the results."

She reached for her pencil and pad of paper. Sketching out three axes on the sheet of paper, she mumbled, "One axis has to be time. There are just so many different factors that have to be displayed. Three dimensions just aren't enough. I guess I could add color to the lines. That would allow me to display a fourth factor. The line style could provide a fifth. The line thickness could provide a sixth. That leaves me with the problem of trying to express a hundred other measures."

She turned to stare at the whiteboard on which William's original equations were displayed. Although there were relatively few equations, they had replicated them for each country. There were interactions between the parameters for each country that made the overall computation unimaginably complex. Her transform functions had bundled a number of factors together. That only made it more difficult to interpret the results. She sighed and said, "This isn't going to be easy."

Picking up the phone, she made an internal call. When Dawn answered, she said, "Dawn, are you doing anything at the moment?"

"It is ten o'clock at night," Dawn answered. She was already dressed for bed.

"I just need to talk to you for a few minutes," Lucy said.

Dawn sighed and said, "I'll be there in a minute."

Lucy looked up from her sketches when Dawn entered the room. It was hard to not to laugh. The young woman was dressed in her pajamas with slippers on her feet. With obvious irritation, Dawn said, "Don't say a word about how I'm dressed."

"I won't," Lucy said unable to keep her eyes off the bunny slippers.

"I ran into everyone I know coming over here. You'd think no one had ever seen pajamas and slippers before," Dawn groused.

"I just didn't realize that they made pajamas with little bunnies on them in that size," Lucy said staring at the outfit.

"I like them," Dawn said a little defensively. Her mother had bought a pair of them for her when she turned sixteen as a joke. Much to her surprise they had been the most comfortable pajamas she ever had worn. Ever since then she had ordered new ones just like them whenever her current pair had worn out.

"Okay," Lucy said. She decided that William would like them almost as much as he liked her wearing his shirt. She added, "I bet William would like me to have some like that."

It seemed to her that everyone made fun of her pajamas. She had expected Lucy to be a little different. Taking a seat, Dawn asked, "So what is so important that you called me here at this late hour?"

"I don't like how we are displaying the results," Lucy said gesturing to the front of the room.

"Okay. Just tell me what you want displayed and now you want it displayed. I'll write a program that does it," Dawn said shrugging her shoulders.

"I want to display a hundred different things at once and I have no idea how," Lucy answered.

Dawn said, "Well, I can't write a program without knowing the requirements."

"I can't give you requirements without knowing what is possible," Lucy said.

Dawn sat back and thought about it for a minute. She didn't even know what to suggest to Lucy for this particular problem. She said, "I'm not going to be able to solve this problem tonight."

"I'm not asking you to solve it tonight," Lucy said.

"Good," Dawn said rising from her chair.

Lucy smiled and asked, "Can you get it done tomorrow?"

"No," Dawn said staring at Lucy in disbelief. It took a minute to realize that Lucy was joking. Shaking her head, she said, "I'm going to bed. I'll think about it and give you a call when I've got a suggestion."

"Good," Lucy said. When Dawn reached the door, Lucy asked, "Where did you get those pajamas?"

"I ordered them online. Why?" Dawn asked.

Lucy said, "I think William might like them. I bet he'd find them sexy."

"You've got to be kidding," Dawn replied. Judging by the expression on Lucy's face, she decided that Lucy wasn't kidding.

Almost as if knowing that he was being discussed, William entered the room. He looked over at Dawn and said, "Sexy pajamas. Can you tell Lucy where you got them? I bet she would look good in a pair of them."

"You two are sick," Dawn said thinking this was the first time that he had ever looked at her with any indication that he was even aware of her gender.

"What did I say?" William asked looking over at Lucy.

Lucy laughed and answered, "I had just asked her where she had bought them."

"Oh. Great minds think alike," William said walking to stand behind her.

"I'm going to bed," Dawn said leaving the room. She had never had anyone say that her pajamas were sexy.

William looked at the display and said, "It sure is hard to see what the lines represent."

"That's what I was just discussing with Dawn," Lucy said.

"We're going to have to get a three dimensional display," William said.

"We need a hundred dimensional display to show all of the information we have," Lucy said.

"I can't even picture that in my mind," William said.

"Neither can I," Lucy said with a sigh. She said, "I guess the only choice is a pair of 3-d glasses."

William said, "I don't like wearing those 3-d glasses. There's got to be something better."

"There aren't many options out there," Lucy said.

William said, "You could illuminate a rapidly moving translucent surface. Of course, that would require a vacuum since spinning something at the kind of speeds necessary would meet a lot of air resistance."

Looking up at the display that took up the entire front of the room, Lucy said, "It would need to be big to display all of that data."

"Yes it would," William said.

Lucy said, "I don't think it would be practical."

"There's always multi-photon absorption," William said thinking aloud.

"What's that?" Lucy asked sitting up.

"Some atoms will make a transition if hit with two wavelengths of light at the same time. They get excited and then decay back down to a ground state by giving off photons of a third wavelength," William said.

"Interesting," Lucy said.

"Of course, you'd need a powerful laser to get much of an effect," William said.

"That doesn't sound very feasible to me," Lucy said.

"Maybe, maybe not," William said. He thought about it and said, "It would be nice if it could be done with air. You wouldn't need to enclose it."

"It would have to be enclosed. Lasers that powerful would represent a danger. People could go blind," Lucy said.

"True," William said.

"Hmm, do you think that Amanda's boyfriend might be up to the challenge?" Lucy asked thinking about it.

"He might be," William said scratching his chin. It would be a tough problem to solve finding the right mixtures of gases, the right frequency lasers, the proper control optics, and fast enough control algorithms.

Lucy asked, "Do you want to talk to him or should I?"

"I will," William said.

"That is probably best," Lucy said. She had an idea that the world of computing was about to make another transition in complexity.

"I'll talk to him in the morning," William said.

"Good idea. Don't you have some more calls to make?" Lucy said.

William said, "I finished all of my calls."

"In that case, let's get to bed," Lucy said.

"Sounds like a plan to me," William said. He looked at her and asked, "Are you going to wear my shirt tonight?"

"If you want me to," Lucy said with a grin. She knew that she'd only wear it for a few minutes before he took it off of her.

"I want," William said. Talking about her wearing his shirts reminded him of something that he had wondered about. While walking towards the elevator, William said, "I noticed the other day that a couple of my shirts are missing. I kept waiting for them to come back from the laundry, but they never did."

"I'll buy you some more," Lucy said with a smile. She didn't have the heart to tell him that Sandra and Barbara had borrowed two of his shirts.

William said, "I'd like to go visit the homeless hotel tomorrow."



-------

Chapter 24


It was the day after Thanksgiving and William sat in his hunting stand watching the area in front of him for an older buck to appear. Several does and a young buck had passed in front of him a little after sunrise, but they were young animals that would strengthen the herd. He was waiting for an older deer to come through.

There was a nip of cold in the air that was usual for that time of year. He could actually see his breath. Frost had covered the few grasses that grew along the banks of the small stream that ran through his land. Now with the sun having been up for an hour, the frost had disappeared. The crystalline looking vegetation had transformed into brown dried out grass. It had been such a slow process that he hadn't realized it had happened until it was over.

There was a light wind that blew into his face. Little gusts occasionally kicked up that threatened to bring tears to his eyes. There wasn't too much that he could do about that. He was wearing a bandana over his mouth and nose to help keep warm. His layers of clothing kept out most of the cold out, but his butt felt like it was going to freeze off.

William enjoyed hunting. It wasn't so much the act of hunting, but the chance to just sit and watch the world. Problems that bothered him were often resolved while waiting patiently in his hunting stand.

A shot rang out a half of a mile south of him. The shot had come from the stand in which Patrick was hunting. Dale was a mile south of him, Leroy was a half a mile north of him, and Bill was a mile north. He waited a minute to hear if there was a second shot. William smiled and said, "It sounds like Patrick may have gotten his first buck. I had better teach him how to field dress a deer."

He opened the chamber of his rifle and removed the bullet. He left the bolt open and slung the rifle on his back. It took a little maneuvering to get out of the stand and onto the ladder. He climbed down and headed to where his horse was tied. Once he reached the horse, he slipped his rifle into the carrying case. With ease, he tightened the cinch straps. He led the horse a few steps and tightened the straps a second time. He climbed into the saddle and made his way towards Patrick's stand.

While riding, he sang a little song to make sure that no one confused him and his horse for a deer. Young hunters on their first real trip were often a little over enthusiastic about getting their first deer. He made his way to the stand and looked around. He spotted Dale a hundred yards away. Tying up his horse to the legs of the tree stand, he loosened the cinch straps. There was no reason for the horse to be uncomfortable while he was busy.

Dale looked over at William and said, "Patrick got himself a nice buck. I've already tagged it. We were waiting for you to get here."

"That's good," William said looking over at the buck. The tag already hung off one of the antlers. It was a six pointer, but of a good size. He figured it was about five years old. Grinning, he winked at Dale and added, "I guess it is time for us to explain how to field dress a deer."

"I'd say you're right," Dale said scratching his belly.

"I see he got a buck," William said. "I brought garter belts, a bra, and a dress in case he got a doe. Did you bring pants and a shirt?"

"Yes, I did," Dale said with a grin.

Patrick looked over at the pair of them and laughed. He said, "I know better than that."

William knelt down next to the deer and opened its mouth. Looking over the teeth, he said, "The premolars are moderately worn. I'd say this fellow is about five years old."

Dale looked over and said, "I'd have to agree with you on that."

Patrick asked, "What are you talking about?"

Dale said, "Deer are vegetarians. That means they have to chew their food rather than shred it. As they age, they wear down their teeth. You can estimate how old a deer is by the condition of their teeth."

"I thought it was by the size of the rack," Patrick said.

Shaking his head, William said, "That's not really reliable way to estimate a buck's age. The population is relatively high here and food is scarce so the antlers will not have as many points. Last year, he might have had ten points. This year, he's done pretty good to have six."

"Besides, the teeth work for doe's too," Dale said.

"Oh," Patrick said.

"We've been waiting for a cougar to move into the area to trim the herd a bit, but one hasn't shown up. Maybe one will show up later this winter when food gets scarce elsewhere," Dale said.

Nodding his head in agreement, William said, "That's why we invited so many people out to hunt this year."

Dale said, "The first thing to do before you even make a cut is to mentally go through what you need to do."

"Okay," Patrick said.

William asked, "Do you want to field dress it here or over there where it is a little flatter?"

"I guess I'd rather do it over there," Patrick answered.

"Good choice," William said.

"Let's drag it over there," Dale said.

It took the three of them a minute to move the deer. Standing up, William said, "Usually if you don't know where all of the other hunters are, you'd put up something to let folks know that you are here. We know where everyone is, so you don't have to worry about that."

"We're going to place the buck on his back so that you have access to its abdomen," Dale said.

"Okay," Patrick said rolling the deer over onto its back.

Kneeling down, Dale said, "A lot of people think that the first thing you have to do is get rid of the scent glands. You don't, but there are a lot of folks who would argue with that."

"Chief White Feather told me to do that," William said.

"So we'll do it," Dale said with a chuckle.

"Why do it if you don't have to do it?" Patrick asked.

"Some folks think that it will ruin the meat," Dale said.

"Other folks think that if you leave them on the deer that you'll get the scent on your hands while field dressing the deer and that will ruin the meat," William said. He held out a plastic baggy and said, "Put this over your hand while cutting off the scent gland. That way the scent gets on the baggy rather than your hand."

"Okay," Patrick said.

"I have a knife that I use only for that purpose," William said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife.

Patrick stood back and said, "While you're showing him how to do that, I'll build a fire."

Smiling, William looked over at Dale and said, "Good idea."

"What do we need a fire for?" Patrick asked.

"We're going to have some liver," Dale said.

"I hate liver," Patrick said.

William laughed and said, "You've never had fresh liver."

"Is this a tribal custom?" Patrick asked.

Dale said, "No. We do it because it tastes good."

"Real good," William said.

While William walked Patrick through the process of field dressing a deer, Dale built a small fire. While the fire was burning down to coals, he got a small skillet out of his saddlebags, a small sack of flour, an onion, and a small bottle of cooking oil. He didn't find his little bag of spices and called over to William, "Have you got any spices?"

"In my saddle bag," William called back.

"You are serious about eating the liver," Patrick said.

"That's right. We do that every time one of us gets a deer," William said. Patrick might not have realized it, but he had just taken a big step into becoming part of the tradition that would last the rest of their lives.

Dale called out, "I found it."

"Great," William called back.

The sound of a shot rang out in the distance. Patrick said, "It sounds like someone else got a deer."

"That's probably Bill," William said based on the sound of the gun and the distance. Looking back at the deer, William said, "We had better get to work if we're going to be eating liver any time soon."

The young man field dressed the deer without getting too bloody. Dale could have done it without getting a drop of blood on him. He pointed out the liver and the heart saying, "Take them over to Dale so that he can clean and cook them."

Patrick held up the liver looking at it suspiciously. He didn't like liver and wasn't looking forward to choking it down. He picked up the heart and headed over to Dale. Shaking his head, he returned to William and asked, "What now?"

"Now we hang the deer so that it can cool down," William said.

"Oh," Patrick said.

William and Patrick took the deer over to the largest tree in the area and hung it head down. The tree was barely big enough to keep the nose out of the dirt. Once they were done with that, William asked, "Where's your knife?"

"Uh," Patrick said. He checked his sheath and found that it was empty. He said, "I left it back over there."

"Let's go find it," William said shaking his head. He hoped that it wasn't buried under some organs.

"I feel pretty stupid," Patrick said.

"Don't worry. I did the same thing when I got my first deer," William said. Robert White Feather had admitted that he had done it when he'd gotten his first deer.

After finding the knife, the pair joined Dale at the fire. Sitting down, William said, "It smells good."

"It'll be a while yet," Dale said watching the liver cook.

Turning to Patrick, William asked, "Did you thank the deer?"

"Yes," Patrick said nodding his head. That practice had been told and retold in every hunting story he heard at the Native American College. It had actually come pretty automatically to him.

Pointing to the liver, William said, "A lot of people think that meat appears by magic at the grocery store on a foam tray and all wrapped up in plastic. It doesn't. You've just taken part in an activity that goes back tens of thousands of years."

"A lot of people will tell you that what we've done is unnecessary. They are wrong, particularly in the modern age. This is a natural part of life. The herd would starve if one or two members weren't killed off. Animals don't die of old age in the wild," Dale said.

"I know," Patrick said.

"We will take the deer back to William's house and butcher it there. Your family will have a lot of good meat this year," Dale said.

William looked at the liver and asked, "Where are the plates?"

"Do I have to do everything?" Dale asked looking up at William with a grin.

Rolling his eyes, William stood up and walked over to his horse. He could hear the sounds of the ATVs moving in the distance. He got four plates out of his saddlebag. He stopped by Dale's horse and got another plate. Returning to the fire, he said, "We'll have company in a bit."

Dale stabbed one of the pieces of liver with his knife and put it on a plate. Handing the plate over to Patrick he said, "First piece is yours."

"Thanks," Patrick said without much enthusiasm. He sniffed the piece of liver and made a face. He wondered where the forks were.

William laughed at the expression on Patrick's face and said, "You haven't even tasted it yet."

Dale handed William a plate and said, "Here you go."

"Thanks," William said. He pulled out his knife and stabbed the piece of liver. Holding it up, he took a bite out of it. He moaned while he chewed. After swallowing, he said, "That's good."

"You put a bit more mustard in your spices than I do," Dale said after eating a bite of the liver.

Patrick took out his big knife and stabbed the piece of liver. He took a bite and chewed. Surprised that it didn't taste at all like the liver his mother made, he said, "This isn't too bad."

"It is fresh," William said.

"The stuff from the store is old. It tastes bitter and of chemicals," Dale said. He set down his plate and put some more pieces of liver in the frying pan.

William took a couple pieces of sautéed onions and dropped them atop the liver. He took a bite. Patrick tried it with some of the onions and found that it was even better that way. He said, "This is really good."

The sounds of the ATVs got louder. William heard them stop and shouted, "We're by the fire."

"We've got some liver here," Leroy called out.

Bill came over with a plastic bag holding the liver and heart. Looking down at the fire, he said, "You started without us."

Dale served up two pieces of liver on individual plates. As he handed them to the others, he said, "We thought you'd be here earlier until we heard the shot."

"I got a nice spike buck," Bill said taking the plate from Dale.

"Spike?" William asked.

Bill shrugged his shoulders and said, "I know you asked us to take older deer, but getting a deer every year is about the only way I get good meat to eat. The alterative is cheap hamburger that is mostly fat."

"You're marrying into the Carter Clan," William said looking across the fire.

Bill said, "I know, but I'm still on my own and I've got to eat."

Dale nodded his head and said, "For years, a deer or two was all that kept a lot of the families on the reservation from starving."

"I never got much venison growing up. My dad thought that hunting was too Indian of a thing to do," Patrick said. He took another bite of his liver deciding that he actually liked the stuff.

Leroy opened his Swiss pocket knife and speared the liver with his fork. Winking at William, he said, "I'm not as barbaric as some folks around here. I prefer to eat with a fork."

Bill tasted the liver using his knife and said, "I use a bit more paprika."

Dale asked, "Did you bring your spices?"

Shaking his head, Bill answered, "No. I usually wait until I get home to cook the liver."

"I don't know, I think it tastes a whole lot better out here," William said looking up at the blue sky above.

"To be honest, I usually make a big production out of eating the liver," Bill said. For a couple of years, it had been his only Thanksgiving meal.

Leroy said, "Your life is about to change, you know."

"I don't know about that. I plan on keeping my job in the wire factory and going to school," Bill said.

William said, "We know that. There are other things that will change. You'll be eating Marguerite's cooking nearly every meal."

"That's true," Bill said.

"You'll have four wives and three husbands," Leroy said.

Bill said, "I know that."

"You'll be rich," Patrick said.

"That's what worries me," Bill said. He was just an average guy with dreams; not some sort of rich tycoon. Working in the wire factory didn't bring him a lot of money, but it did pay for his apartment and his tuition. He took a bit of pride in the fact that he was paying his own way through life.

"What's the matter?" William asked looking across at Bill.

Bill looked around at the four men. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm just hoping that it doesn't change who I am. I want to make a difference in the world by what comes out of my head and not for having a bunch of money."

William laughed and said, "I wouldn't worry about that."

"You wouldn't?" Bill asked noticing Leroy smile.

Leroy said, "I was just a poor college student when I married into the family. The marriage didn't make me rich. It did allow me to pursue my dreams. To tell the truth, I'm still about the poorest member of the family."

"Oh," Bill said.

William nodded his head and said, "Just about every dime that Leroy has made has gone into his research."

"That's true," Leroy said. He looked across the fire at Bill and said, "I've bought exactly two shares in the family. I inherited some from John, but that's all I've got."

"Oh. Well, what I want to do is kind of dirty and smelly. I don't think your average wealthy person would approve of it," Bill said.

Dale asked, "So what do you want to do?"

Bill said, "I want to do something about the trash problem."

"Huh?" Patrick asked.

"I want to eliminate trash from the world," Bill said.

"What made you want to do that?" Patrick asked.

Bill took a bit of his piece of liver and chewed it thoughtfully trying to figure out how to answer that question. Finally, he said, "When I was a little kid, I was watching a movie on television. I don't even remember the name of the movie, but the star jumped onto a barge that was carrying garbage out of New York City. I think it was supposed to be funny having the hero standing there covered in garbage. I didn't find it funny.

"I remember thinking, that's a lot of garbage. After that day, I started noticing things in movies and television shows where huge dumps were filmed. I was shocked when I learned about those huge landfills with piles of garbage being moved around by bulldozers.

"I kept saying that someone should do something about it. I mean, we're talking about mountains of garbage that is just getting buried. Bacteria that can kill you fester on spoiled food. Organic material just rots and ferments in the ground producing methane gas. Toxic chemicals are released into the soil. Everyone else just ignores the problem.

"One day it is going to catch up to us. We'll have poisons in our water. The landscape will be dotted with hills hiding a terrible danger from everyone who lives within several miles of them. One day, something will break and people will get sick. Babies will be born with birth defects. People will end up with a fifty-fifty chance of getting cancer."

Thinking that he was probably boring everyone, he said, "I just want to keep that from happening."

William asked, "How many tons of trash are generated in the US a day?"

"Billons of tons," Bill answered. He looked over at William and said, "We are the worst country in terms of per capita trash production, but we aren't the worst in terms of overall trash generated as a country. We lag behind others only because they have larger populations."

"I'm sure that with a little effort on our part we could catch up on population," Patrick said with a grin. William and Dale chuckled.

Looking across the fire at Patrick, Bill said, "This is something that has to be fixed."

"One man's trash is another man's gold," William said.

"That's true," Bill said. Holding up his piece of liver, Bill said, "This is great."

William looked across the fire at his companions. He smiled and said, "We'll have to do this every year."

"Sounds good to me," Dale said.

"Great," Patrick said.

"Count us in," Bill said after getting a nod from Leroy.



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Chapter 25


After having studied the possible futures for three weeks, Lucy looked up at the display at the front of the room with a smile. She pressed a key on the keyboard and the tree illustrating the possible futures remained, but the colors of the lines, the style of the lines, and the legends changed. She pressed a different key with a similar result. She pointed to the one line and, while looking over at William, asked, "Is this the one?"

"I believe that is the one I'm pursuing. I see them differently in my mind than up there," William answered. His vision didn't show lines on a monitor, but sequences of images of stereotypical people and lifestyles. There was far more detail in what he could see.

Lucy used a pointer to select that particular line. A complete description of the line appeared on the display. The line was now captured as a set of graphs for each independent variable. She scanned the values of all of the variables for that particular line. A lot of the predictions weren't pretty. She sighed and said, "There will be a lot of unhappy people for a while if we pursue this future."

"Yes," William answered walking up to the display. It was now lit from the back so that they could approach it and discuss aspects of each line without blocking the projection. He walked along the line pointing to various features while he walked. He said, "The cost of living is increasing throughout this time period. The values put on real estate are going to inflate beyond their actual worth starting about this time. There will be a lot of speculation going on and the values will climb a lot higher.

"At this point, the trend is going to end when there is a normal market correction. Some of the more aggressive speculators will lose everything. Even though they will constitute less than half a percent of the people buying real estate, they will have driven the market prices to more than double their actual value."

"Wait," Lucy said with a frown. She double-checked the values on the screen and then said, "You're telling me that less than half a percent of the buyers can inflate property values that much?"

"Any time you have aggressive speculation in a single market the speculators exaggerate a trend. Buying and selling property becomes their livelihood. They are always on the lookout for deals. They kill the lower end of the market forcing others who are interested in buying property for use as a home to have to pay a higher price. They take a low end property and sell it as a higher value property. Everything gets inflated," William answered.

"I still don't see it," Lucy said with a frown. As far as she was concerned, there were always deals that could be found.

William said, "Let's say that the average home purchaser buys a house once every twenty years. When they are ready to buy a new house, they sell their old house. A speculator might buy and sell twenty houses a year. That makes them equivalent to four hundred regular buyers. Even though they may constitute a small percentage of the buyers, they are effectively as much as a quarter of the actual market. That has a big effect when the goal is making money rather than buying a nice home."

"I didn't think about it that way," Lucy said.

"They will also account for a major portion of the bad debt because it really isn't backed up by much beyond the properties they owe mortgages on," William said.

"Depending on the size of the debts, that could really put a squeeze on the banks," Lucy said.

Nodding his head in agreement, William said, "We are going to see a collapse of the credit companies when people can't pay their debts. Right about here, one of the major credit card companies is going to fold. Stocks will plummet, real estate prices will fall, and a lot of small businesses will fail. Medium sized companies will shrink. The very large companies will have to fracture into hundreds of smaller companies in order to survive.

"Several dozen rather well known billionaires will file bankruptcy when their total assets fall under a billion while their debts remain well over a billion. They will bring down a lot more billionaires and multimillionaires when they fail.

"The average person is going to suddenly realize that they have lost almost all of their investments. Nearly a quarter of them will become unemployed. That will further drag the economy down despite the actions of governments all around the world."

Lucy stared at William open mouthed. After a few seconds, she said, "That's horrible. What are people going to do?"

"There will be soup kitchens just like in the great depression. There will be more homeless than ever. The Fusion Foundation will step in and save millions of people from total economic destruction. This isn't going to be limited to the United States, but will have international impact. The Fusion Foundation will have to reach out worldwide in order to help," William said.

"You stepped down from the board of directors," Lucy said thinking that it was the worst time possible for the Fusion Foundation.

"That's right," William said.

Shaking her head, Lucy said, "I hope it steps up to the challenge."

He smiled and said, "One of the saving graces will be that a lot of people will own cars that can take them to where the work is. These are cheap cars that last forever."

"Your car company?" Lucy asked.

"Yes and no," William answered. He said, "My little car company won't survive as a major economic force, but it will force car companies around the world to adopt a longer term perspective on the automotive market. They'll come to understand that their corporate goal is not to grow but to maintain a basic healthy bottom line that comes from having a consistent market share and to maintain a good profit by maintaining a low operating cost."

"How?" Lucy asked.

"They'll stop coming out with a new model every year," William answered with a smile. Too much of the market was driven by fashion rather than function. A major economic crisis would put a lot of that market drive back on track.

"Ah," Lucy said. She wondered how much money was wasted every year doing nothing except changing the body style a little here and there.

He walked a little ways down the display to another point. He said, "Four years after the first major effects of the fall are felt, the economy will start to recover. Local small scale manufacturing will be the first economic sector to recover. They'll produce low cost high quality products that everyone needs. It will be a matter of making necessities rather than luxuries."

Lucy frowned and asked, "What kind of products?"

"Nuts, bolts, screws, nails, wire, replacement parts, fusion cells, light bulbs, and other standard household items," William answered.

Staring at the chart, Lucy asked, "Where is the capital for all of this going to come from?"

"I've been shifting my investments from stocks, bonds, certificates of deposits, and real estate into ownership of small companies across the country," William answered with a smile. It was going to take him over ten years to transition his investments so that his actions wouldn't trigger an early crisis. He added, "I've been spending the money on purchasing buildings, machines, and farms."

"Farms?" Lucy asked.

Nodding his head, William said, "No matter how bad the economy gets, people will need to eat. For a while, the biggest purchaser of agricultural products will be the Fusion Foundation. Of course, I'll sell it at cost."

"You've got it all planned out, don't you?" Lucy said staring at William.

"Yes, I do. This is the only future that I've found that changes the basic consumer driven economy in what I view as a good direction. The current economy is based on planned obsolescence. That doesn't really move the standard of living forward. In fact, it holds it back. Sure, some improvements are made here and there in products, but the economic cost on the average household is tremendous and the stress on resources is phenomenal."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked. Like many people, she had assumed that the standard of living had improved tremendously over the past thirty years.

William answered, "Take a common household item, let's say an iron. There's not too much that can be done to an iron. It is used to press clothes. It is a utility item in just about every household. You buy one and use it for an hour or so a week. Most of the time, it is kept in a closet somewhere. Why should a household have to buy a new one every four years or so? There's no reason. The style of the iron isn't all that important."

"An iron costs thirty dollars or so," Lucy said not seeing what the big deal was about it.

"It is just one of many household items like that. There are mixers, vacuum cleaners, telephones, and other things. Sure it is just thirty dollars, but ten such items a year is three hundred dollars. Let's take a slightly more expensive item like a DVD player. They last about three years before the plastic gearing dies," William said.

"I see your point," Lucy said. Lots of money was getting spent just to maintain the status quo rather than improve the standard of living.

"The cost of these little items will increase, but you won't have to replace them every three or four years. Improving the quality of an item does cost a little money, but that money goes to people who do the work. It does require extra people, but they are consumers," William said.

"So the market for cheap poorly made items will disappear. Won't that mean that companies will experience slower growth?" Lucy said.

William smiled at that and said, "The only way for a company to grow will be to come up with new products. These will be products that represent a real improvement over the current generation of products. It won't just be a matter of changing the color of the buttons, but a real substantive improvement in functionality. It has been decades since there's been real substantive improvement in household products."

"What do you mean?" Lucy said with a frown. She considered the computer and all of the major improvements that have occurred over the years.

"Look around the house. How many items are actually improvements over what was on the market thirty years ago? You'd be surprised at the answer. Furniture? No. Kitchen ware? No. Hygiene products? No. Take a good inventory of what is in the house and ask yourself if there has been a real improvement in utility, quality, or value of that product. All that has occurred is that the majority of those products have become disposable," William said.

"Oh," Lucy said. She hadn't thought about all of those hidden costs.

"The whole world has to go through an economic crisis to realize the waste of money that use of disposable products has come to mean. Spending the ten dollars more to get an item that lasts three years instead of one use will start to make sense," William said. "There won't be the endless cycle of buy and replace that has developed over the past thirty years. The demands on resources will diminish as well."

"That's a vision," Lucy said coming to appreciate the full scope of his plan for the world.

William said, "We've become a world of self-service businesses. That's not going to survive this economic crisis. When you can't afford the quantity of food that come pre- packaged, you'll stand in line to get the quantity you can afford. When you can't afford to buy the wrong part to fix something around your house, you'll expect a knowledgeable person at the hardware store."

"I can see where you're going with this," Lucy said. She asked, "What about crime?"

Nodding his head, William said, "A lot of criminal activities will flare up during the economic downturn, but the new economy with long lasting high quality goods will change things tremendously."

Looking back at the period of economic stress, Lucy asked, "What about prostitution and drug use?"

"You have to be able to afford drugs to use them," William said. That was going to be a major issue during the early days of the economic crisis. There would be a lot of addicts in dire need of cash to get drugs and cash wouldn't be easy to get.

"That will cause a lot more crime," Lucy said.

"In the short-term," William answered.

Lucy shook her head and said, "I don't know about that."

"Prostitution will become legal," William said.

"What?" Lucy asked surprised by that.

Nodding his head, William said, "It will become legal. Cities, counties, and states will need the tax revenue."

"I wouldn't have predicted that," Lucy said.

"The tax boost will be transient, but the legalization will last," William said. A major change in the criminalization of the citizenry would take place over the next few years. A lot of laws that made individuals who were basically law abiding citizens into criminals would be repealed. Even little things like registration of vehicles would change. The need for annual registration was an income generating activity more than anything else.

"Why would the tax boost be transient?" Lucy asked. She didn't imagine that the demand for prostitution would go down.

William smiled and said, "Well, the tax laws are going to undergo some major changes as well. You see, the second economy is going to make a major upswing as a result of the primary economy taking a downturn. People will be paying cash for services rather than using traceable mechanisms to avoid the added cost imposed by the tax burden. There will be a lot of unreported income over that four year period and that will significantly hurt tax revenues. Deficit spending on the part of government will go through the roof."

"That's not good," Lucy said.

"That's right. So instead of taxing income which is very hard to measure, the government will turn to taxing expenditures on goods rather than services. Like I said, services will increase across all market sectors. The taxes on goods will be significant, but the tax revenue will be consistent across time and easily collected," William said.

"Okay," Lucy said.

William added, "That will also increase demand for high quality long lasting products."

"It all seems to fit together," Lucy said.

"It is even better than that. Healthcare costs will decrease significantly since healthcare is a human intensive service activity. More nurses will be on staff and the quality of healthcare will increase. The profession as a whole will have more human resources to throw at the problem of prevention rather than treatment," William said. His vision showed him a future without waiting lines at hospitals and clinics. He saw a future where healthcare turned more towards treatment of injury rather than chronic condition.

"I suppose," Lucy said doubtfully.

The changes he saw were at a more fundamental level than he was conveying. William said, "Look at it this way. A gym is predominately a service oriented business. When there are no taxes it becomes easier for a gym to stay in business despite offering lower cost memberships. They can afford to pay for more trainers. The customer value increases and memberships increase. People work out and lose weight. The incidence of diabetes goes down."

"You're saying that the lifestyle of the entire world will change," Lucy said uncertain that more people would make it to the gym. People were already stressed with more than enough demands on their time.

Nodding his head, William answered, "Yes. It will change at a fundamental level. Rather than cheap fast food, people will want inexpensive dining experiences complete with real service. Rather than walk through a grocery store pushing a shopping basket, they would rather use their computer to call in their order and pick it up. It will take five minutes to do the weekly shopping rather than an hour."

"All that will come about because of changes in the tax laws?" Lucy asked.

"That and more," William answered. Looking at her, he said, "Think about the changes in employment that will result. Hiring an extra person won't cost much at all once you take out the overhead associated with managing staff. You end up with no taxes to compute and an hour's pay for an hour's work."

"You're really pushing service," Lucy said.

Nodding his head, William said, "A lot of pundits are talking about this country becoming a service-oriented economy. They don't realize that we used to be a service- oriented economy. Service has almost disappeared in this country. Every transaction fifty years ago had a service component to it that has disappeared in the modern world of self- service. ATMs and automated deposit have replaced bank tellers."

"I hadn't thought about that," Lucy said. Self-service seemed to be the buzz word everywhere she went. Grocery stores now had self-service checkout lanes, even fast food places had order takers rather than waiters, and no one checked the oil at gas stations anymore. She wondered how all of that had disappeared.

William walked to a point well down the branch he wanted to drive the world. He pointed to the last point on the chart and said, "After this, the economic chaos that holds today will have quieted down. A world-wide improvement in the quality of life will take hold. The standard of living will increase, political instability will decrease, and overall health will be increased. The environment will have improved. Family planning will be the buzzword of the day. Population growth will decrease worldwide for the first time in history."

"It sounds like a utopia," Lucy said. She noticed that the degree of branching had quieted down significantly along that branch. It was just another sign of the stability that would come.

"We won't be alive to see it," William said looking over at Lucy.

"That is just fifty years from now," Lucy said with a frown.

Shaking his head, William said, "What I'm talking about is more than a hundred years in the future. Fifty years from now there will still be poverty and unequal living conditions around the world. It will take a lot of time for the standard of living in the third world countries to come up to equality with what is here."

"Oh," Lucy said.

William pointed to the last point and said, "The need for me will come to an end about here."

"And then what?" Lucy said.

"We will take a well deserved vacation," William said with a smile.

Lucy laughed and asked, "And until then?"

William looked over at his wife and lover. In a quiet voice, he said, "We will live here and watch the world. We'll nudge the world along the path we want with little actions taken well before the world even knows what is going on.

"We'll spend our days with a few friends, our family, and the staff. It will be a quiet life disrupted occasionally by those who want to resist the changes we are bringing about. The first twenty years will be rough, but it will quiet down. It will be a peaceful life despite the fact that we'll be isolated from most of the world."

"You won't get credit for what you've done," Lucy said stating what she believed to be a fact.

"That's right," William said putting an arm around Lucy.

Lucy said, "I think that is a shame."

He looked at the line on the display and said, "I don't need credit. Knowing what I've done is reward enough."

"It doesn't sound like a bad life to me," Lucy said giving him a hug.

William winked and said, "There will be a lot of time for you to do mathematics."

"Now that sounds pretty good to me," Lucy said with a laugh. She looked at him for a second and asked, "How many kids are we going to have?"

"I have no idea," William answered with a satisfied sigh. Even for a prophet, some things in life have to remain a mystery.


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The End
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Posted:  2005-09-12
Last Modified: 2008-11-21 / 08:33:07 am
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