City Limits
10
Falling for You
Before the Fall
GEE ARRIVED to start shaking in the morning, only to find all his picking crews waiting for him. Around him, other shakers and their crews converged on the last remaining area of the forest to pick.
“We’ve got all little trees this morning, but there are a lot of them,” Jonathon said. “They shake fast, but the picking takes just as long, so all the crews will be working.”
“Your pickers are waiting for you, Gee. You’ve worked with over a hundred children this week and they all adore you,” Coretta added.
“I’ve scarcely had anything to do with the children,” Gee laughed. “I’m always in a tree and they are picking under the previous one.”
“Oh, but the shakers are the most inspiring people at Harvest. To see a big, strong man leap into the branches makes my heart flutter. I married my shaker,” Coretta said. “One of the couples being married today includes a shaker and her forester.” She giggled like a little girl. “It’s a wonder she ever waited for him!”
“Coretta!” Jonathon moaned. “This is embarrassing.”
“The first time Jonathon tried to be a shaker, he fell off his ladder,” Coretta explained. “Jessie stripped off his gear and put it on herself in a matter of seconds. He was still lying on the ground when she started knocking nuts out of the branches.”
“We kind of traded places. Heights make me dizzy.”
“She might have been the wedding shaker today except that she can’t be up in the tree and get married at the same time,” Coretta laughed.
“Okay, so shall we get some trees picked?” Gee asked as he finished strapping his own gear on.
“Yes. The catchers are out spreading canvas under the trees as we speak and will be moving stepladders from tree to tree to stay ahead of you. One of the catchers will hold the ladder as you climb.”
“Anything else I should know about this that’s out of the ordinary?”
“Just be your usual fun and entertaining self,” Coretta said. “Anytime you call out to the kids, they’ll respond. Sing! Laugh! Knock the nuts out of those trees!”
And so he went to work.
Gee ran from tree to tree and ladder to ladder. He sang the songs they’d learned and called out encouragement to the kids who were laughing and picking as fast as they could. He made jokes with the parents, teachers, and foresters who surrounded this final section of orchard as they worked their way toward the wedding tree.
At noon, the last nut had fallen, and the kids, parents, foresters, foremen, catchers, and spectators cheered.
“And now we come to the last tree,” a voice said over a loudspeaker system near the wedding tree. Gee looked around and saw Jonathon’s father, David Lazorack, on a small platform just beyond the tree’s canopy. “The closing ceremonies here at the wedding tree will begin at one o’clock. Please abide by the rules and stay outside the roped area. We will resume in one hour.”
Karen met Gee at the foresters’ coordination tent.
“Look at you! You’re soaking wet!” Karen laughed. “Come in here, big strong shaker man.” She took his shirt and worked his wet undershirt over his head. Then she led him to a basin with warm water and began washing his chest.
“Karen, it’s uh… You don’t have to… uh… I mean… I can…” Gee stammered, his body involuntarily responding to Karen’s gentle washing.
“I can’t let you go out there and charge up your ladder looking all sweaty and bedraggled,” she giggled. “And I’m certainly not going to let any of the other volunteers wash your sweaty pits. Here, put this towel over your shoulders and lean over the basin so I can rinse your hair.” Karen laughed about Gee’s discomfort and told him she’d caught the last half hour of his shaking and it was no wonder that all the kids loved him. She let him towel dry.
“I couldn’t do this part,” she said, “but I brought you your mug and razor. Do you want to shave?” Gee looked at his reflection in the little mirror over the basin in the tent and stroked his chin.
“I guess I’d better. Just make sure no one comes bouncing into the tent while I have a razor at my throat, okay?”
Gee lathered and Karen held his belt while he stropped the razor. His practiced fingers made quick work of his stubble as Karen watched in fascination.
“And that’s why your face is always so silky smooth when I come to bed at night,” she whispered after Gee had rinsed the remaining soap off and dried his face. She stroked his cheek and closed in for a kiss. One hand stayed on his face while the other ran through the soft hair on his chest. Finally, she took a deep breath and stepped away from him.
“Here’s a clean shaker shirt and your hat. I’ll pack your Dopp kit.” He pulled on the shirt and smiled patiently at Karen as she buttoned it. He tucked it into his pants and returned his belt to its loops as Karen placed the hat on his head.
Gabe Truman, one of the older foresters, collected them and led Gee to the staging area to explain the process.
“I’ll see you after the ceremony,” Karen said. She gave him one more kiss on his smooth cheek and left to find her place in the crowd.
“Okay, so here’s how the order goes,” Gabe said. “David Lazorack will welcome everyone and do opening remarks. He’ll recognize the volunteers by group and then turn it over to Clark Cavanaugh. Clark will go through the numbers. How many tons of nuts, cords of deadwood, and expected board feet of lumber to be cut for this year’s Harvest. Jack LaCoe, who chairs the festival committee, will take up space for a few minutes and bluster about how this was the best festival ever and invite everyone to the parade tomorrow.”
“You don’t like Jack much,” Gee said matter-of-factly.
“He’s fine. But… he’s an outsider. Married Gretchen Nussbaum and got into the Family, but he’ll always be an outsider.”
“Like me,” Gee said. The forester looked at Gee as though just realizing that he wasn’t born in Rosebud Falls. He pursed his lips as he considered this a while.
“You’re a strange one, that’s true,” Gabe said. “You’ve been in town around three months, but… as far as anyone knows—including you—you were created whole that day you walked into Rosebud Falls. Then the Forest claimed you. Most people don’t know about the nut, but the foresters do. No one thinks you’re an outsider now. You wouldn’t be going up that tree today if they did.”
“There were ten foresters who didn’t vote for me,” Gee reminded him. The forester laughed.
“That’s all they told you? The ten who didn’t vote for you voted for Jessie Sims. They thought it would be a great joke to make her shake her own wedding tree.” They shared a laugh. “I’ve been a forester out here for forty years. We have our own sense of humor. Now, back to the ceremony. When LaCoe is done rambling, he’ll turn the show over to Judge Warren. The judge will call forward the couples to be married and their witnesses. ‘Do you? I do.’ That kind of thing.”
“I think Coretta is more excited about that than even Jessie and Jonathon.”
“She was married under a wedding tree close to sixty years ago,” Gabe laughed. “Once the couples all kiss, they’ll spread around the tree with big umbrellas over them. You’ll come running up the path, grab the rope on your shaker pole and climb up to the perch. Attach your flipline, just like usual, and pull your pole up. Your responsibility is the same as it was in the rest of the Forest. Be entertaining and shake the tree. Nuts will cascade down and bounce off the umbrellas. It’s the hickory blessing. After the cascade starts, others will open umbrellas and join the newlyweds under the tree. Just keep shaking and singing until the last nut falls. Now let’s check your harness and safety gear. You still need your goggles, gloves, harness, and flipline.”
The ceremony began. Clark finished his assessment of the year’s harvest. Jack LaCoe was mercifully short, simply welcoming all the tourists and inviting everyone back again next year. Judge Warren was introduced, and he called the wedding parties forward. While the couples and their witnesses moved into place, a bagpiper played somewhere deep in the Forest. Gee watched the simple but moving ceremony with a sense of joy for his friends.
“I now confirm the marriages of those here presented,” Judge Warren intoned. “Ladies and gentlemen, take your spouses to the wedding tree and open your umbrellas.”
As the couples fanned out around the tree, leaving a good space for Gee to approach his ladder, he tightened the chinstrap on his hat and ran toward the tree. Ten feet from the foot of the ladder, he did a front flip that landed him a step away. The crowd applauded his antic as he fastened the pull line for the shaker pole to his belt and began climbing. At the top of the heavy-duty extension ladder, Gee shifted to tree limbs and continued climbing to the place where Gabe had told him he would find secure limbs to rest on.
Gee tossed his flipline around the tree and fastened the carabiner to his safety harness. Turning to look away from the tree, he began hauling up the shaker pole. With the pole in hand he took one more look at the crowd below before yelling out, “A Hickory Wind is…”
Gee stopped short as his eyes locked on movement near the children who would gather the nuts. A man moved deliberately toward them and Gee saw Sally Ann just a few steps ahead of him.
“That’s him!” Gee yelled out. “Sally Ann! Behind you! Mead, arrest that man. It’s Reef!” There was a shift among the spectators in the direction Gee was pointing with his shaker pole, most wondering at the shaker’s unusual behavior. Foresters and police, however, were moving. Gee twisted again to keep his eye on the man and felt a sudden snap away from the tree as his flipline broke. Screams sounded all around the clearing as Gee hit his shaker pole, caught between two limbs halfway down the tree. He could feel his ribs crack as the pole gave way and flipped him over.
One-point-two seconds later, Gee hit the ground, fleetingly wishing he’d worn his hardhat.
After the Fall
BROTHER REEF underestimated the power of a child.
Sally Ann’s scream when she saw the ‘bad man’ riveted her classmates so they missed Gee’s spectacular fall from the tree.
“Get ’im!” Sally Ann yelled at her classmates. Reef easily caught and restrained the fifty-pound dynamo when she launched herself at him, but when multiplied by thirty, he was quickly bowled over. By the time Mead and two foresters had reached the scene, Reef was crying out and pinned down by the second grade class. It took a blast from Coretta’s whistle and a shouted “Form up!” from Colleen Zimmer before the children backed off enough for Mead to cuff the man and turn him over to two uniformed policemen to transport to jail.
That was when Sally Ann noticed the ambulance wasn’t coming for the bad man, but that Gee was being loaded into the back, accompanied by a doctor and nurse.
“No! Gee!” cried the girl. She tried to run after the ambulance but was caught by her father.
“He’ll be okay,” Dale Metzger comforted his daughter. “We’ll go see him in the hospital. He just fell… um… coming to help you.”
“I want to see Gee!”
“Honey, I’m sure he’s very proud of you,” Ruth Ann said. “Though that was a very foolish thing for you to do.”
“Come on,” Dale said, “We’ll have to go back to the school to get our car and then we’ll head to the hospital. We need to sign you out with your teacher.”
Jonathon and Jessie were closest to Gee’s fallen body and rushed to his aid, yelling for a medical team. With a crowd like this, EMTs were only a minute away, fighting their way through the panicking crowd. They strapped Gee to a backboard and the crowds parted. Dr. Poltanys and his nurse sister, Julia, intercepted the EMTs at the ambulance. They rode with Gee as the ambulance sirens screamed to clear a path out of the Forest.
“Let me through!” Karen screamed. “That’s my fiancé!” People near her in the unyielding crowd finally turned and tried to clear a path to the scene, but by the time Karen got through, the EMTs had already moved him to the ambulance. Like Sally Ann, Karen ran after the wailing siren.
Strong arms grabbed Karen as she stumbled—Jessie on one side and Wayne Savage supporting her on the other.
“I have to get to the hospital,” Karen cried. “I have to see him.”
“This way,” Jessie said, leading her past the tree in the opposite direction.
David Lazorack, without any equipment, was already at the top of the ladder and swinging to the first limb.
“Dad! Get equipment and a spotter!” Jonathon yelled.
“Go!” his father yelled back. “Gabe is on his way. That flipline was cut, it didn’t break. I’m going to find out what cut it.” Gabe, the old forester who had helped Gee prepare for the ceremony, raced across the clearing and hit the bottom rung of the ladder with a spring that belied his age.
“I’ve got this,” Gabe yelled as he climbed to meet David with safety gear. They roped themselves together and climbed. Jonathon pulled up in a golf cart and Jessie seated Karen in it.
“What’s going on?” Karen cried. “I have to get to the hospital!”
“We had this waiting to take us through the Forest to our car,” Jessie said. Wayne steadied Karen in the back as the cart lurched forward. “It will be faster to go through the Forest to our car than to get through the crowd.”
Karen could only sob as Wayne held her, the image of Gee falling from the tree seared into her brain. It seemed to take forever.
Jonathon had to pull over for the flashing lights of a police car while he was still two blocks from the hospital. Karen recognized Detective Oliver’s car with Judge Warren riding shotgun as it sped by. Jonathon was upset and frustrated when he was directed away from the emergency access by a uniformed policeman.
“Unless you are bleeding, you need to go to the parking lot,” the officer shouted. “We can’t get another vehicle into the drive here.” The emergency room entrance was blocked by vehicles with flashing lights crowded into the access area. Jonathon pulled up in the adjoining parking lot as close as he could get and waved his passengers out of the car while he went to park it. Jessie and Wayne supported a stumbling and crying Karen as they rushed toward the emergency room doors.
Inside, the hospital was almost as chaotic as outside, though no one seemed to be injured. Judge Warren and Mead Oliver were standing near the door into the heart of the emergency room arguing with a nurse who stubbornly refused them access. Sheriff Johnson pushed his way through the doors behind Karen and rushed to join Mead and the judge. Karen frantically tried to get the attention of the receptionist as another officer came out of the emergency room.
“He’s dead,” the officer flatly addressed the detective.
“No!” Karen screamed. Wayne and Jessie caught her as she collapsed between them.
“How could you let that happen?” Mead yelled at the police officer.
“What the hell?” Warren said at the same time as he looked over toward Karen. An emergency light flashed over the door as Nurse Ellie rushed through and over to the unconscious woman.
“You were there when we put him in the car, Detective,” Officer McCarran said. “I was on my way to the station when I saw him go into convulsions in the back seat. That’s when I radioed for backup and changed course for the hospital. As soon as Officer Jacobs arrived we opened the back and got the prisoner onto a cart. Dr. Gaston was here on duty and pronounced him DOA as soon as we got into the emergency room.”
Judge Warren spun away from the police and strode across the room to where Ellie was holding a glass of water to Karen’s lips.
“Dead? No! He can’t be dead!” Karen wailed as she regained consciousness.
“Karen! Karen, listen to me!” Judge Warren was kneeling over her as Ellie tried to grasp what was happening. “It wasn’t Gee! It was the prisoner who died. Karen, listen. Gee is all right,” Warren pled. Then he looked at Ellie. “Isn’t he?”
“Gee is in surgery with Dr. Poltanys,” Ellie said. “Julia is assisting him.”
“Surgery?” Warren asked.
“I can’t say much, but the doctor had to cut his chest to pull a broken rib away from his lung,” Ellie said.
“I need to go to him. I need to be with him,” Karen pled.
“I can’t get you into surgery, Karen,” Ellie said. “I don’t know if you can even be admitted to the recovery room.”
“Karen has Gee’s medical power of attorney,” Jack LaCoe said as he paused inside the door. He caught the exchange and addressed both the judge and nurse. “That is as close to next of kin as we can get and should be all that’s necessary to get her in to see Gee as soon as possible.”
“Good. Drink some water and sit, Karen,” Ellie said. “If you feel faint again, put your head between your knees. We’ll get you to the recovery room as soon as Gee is out. I’m being beeped by Dr. Gaston. I need to go.” Wayne helped Karen to a seat while Jessie got a bottle of water from the vending machine. Jonathon came into the waiting room and spotted them.
“What a mess out there. Even after I parked, they started stopping everyone coming into the emergency room to verify there was a reason to be here. It looks like half the town is out there. I even saw the little girl who spotted Reef earlier in the week. She’s crying like crazy, but the police won’t let them through.”
“Ms. Weisman, I’m sorry I blurted out the words I did without looking to see who might hear me,” Officer McCarran said as he came up to the little group. “I hope you are aware by now that Gee is in surgery and it was the suspect who died. I apologize for causing you unnecessary stress.”
“You’re forgiven,” Karen struggled to say. “Thank you.”
“If there is anything I can do…”
“Yes. There is,” Karen said rapidly. “There is a distraught little girl and her parents out there. Her name is Sally Ann Metzger. Please go out and reassure her that Gee is all right. If you can get her family in here, that would be appreciated. I know Gee will want to see her.”
“Karen, you have enough to deal with. Let us handle the little things,” Jack said. “I’ll make sure the Metzgers are treated well. Gretchen will stay here with you to run interference. Gee will be okay.”
“He will be. Won’t he?” Karen was still babbling and looking for assurance. “I’ll die if he isn’t okay.”
“Thank you for getting me here so quickly,” Karen said to Jonathon and Jessie. “Um… You should go and um… start your honeymoon.”
“Oh, we started last night,” Jessie giggled. Jonathon turned red. “We can wait for round two until we know for sure how Gee is.”
“Waiting is always the hardest part,” Wayne agreed. Jonathon’s phone buzzed and his face lost color. He spun to locate Mead talking to the Judge and a doctor and rapidly crossed the waiting room to him.
“Dr. Gaston, as our county medical examiner, I want you to get an autopsy underway immediately,” Judge Warren said.
“We don’t have family information or permission,” Mead protested.
“I’ll have a court order drawn up as soon as I get to the office,” Warren said.
“I can tell you what we’re going to find,” Dr. Gaston said. “Ruptured organs. Appendix for sure.”
“Jacques, get the body down to the morgue and document everything, but keep it under wraps. All information regarding the cause of death is to be suppressed until we know what we’re dealing with.”
“Detective Oliver,” Jonathon said. The men turned sharply to him.
“Not a word of this to anyone, Jonathon,” the judge snapped. Gaston turned and headed back into the emergency room.
“No, sir. I didn’t hear a thing. But my father just sent me pictures from the tree. Gee’s flipline was cut. Falling wasn’t an accident.” Jonathon held out his phone with the pictures his father had just sent. “That’s a fifteen-inch sharpened blade you see in this picture. Dad says Gabe got cut on it when he reached around the tree with the line and they suspect there was a drug on it. Gabe is woozy and they’re bringing him here.”
“Tell Gaston to put the perp on ice and get back up here ready to receive another injury,” Warren snapped at the overwhelmed receptionist.
“Gee must have tossed his flipline around the tree and fastened it without ever knowing it was against a blade. After all the thrashing around he did up there pulling up his shaker pole and then pointing out that bastard, the line was severed enough to break,” Jonathon concluded.
“I’ll need to get someone up there to collect the blade as evidence,” Mead said. “Damn it, I don’t have enough officers!”
“Get backup from Sheriff Johnson,” Warren said. “Also release word that this Brother Reef was wanted on suspicion of attempted kidnapping and two counts of attempted murder. There is no newspaper until Tuesday, but if you put it out on the police blotter, there will be plenty of busybodies listening to get the word out.”
“Ah, the reception committee or fan club?” Dr. Poltanys said as he stepped into the waiting room after finishing with Gee. Gabe Truman had already been taken into an examining room by Dr. Gaston.
“How is he? Is he awake? Can I see him now?” Karen said. She started to step around the doctor but he held up a hand to delay her.
“He’s in recovery. You’ll be able to wait in his room and I expect he’ll be there in about fifteen or twenty minutes. Julia will show you where. I’ve never had so many nurses competing to tend to a patient. I think my mother is even hovering around recovery.”
“So, what’s the prognosis?” Warren asked.
“Gee has two cracked and one badly broken rib, a dislocated shoulder and bruises over most of his body. After x-rays, we moved immediately to surgery because the broken rib was impinging on his right lung. I was afraid any shift would cause a puncture if I didn’t go in and set it. Now that it is set and wired in place, all we can do is let it heal. I also managed to put the shoulder back in place. Apparently, he tried to break his fall by keeping hold of the pole and the force pulled the ball out of the socket. It probably saved his life. If he’d fallen the full seventy feet without anything to break the fall he’d have ended up much the same as your grandfather did, Jonathon.”
“Any damage to his head?” Judge Warren asked. Poltanys let out an uncharacteristic laugh.
“With Gee, how can you tell?” There were several unsuppressed titters. “He seems his same old self. He was awake during x-rays. He looked at me and said, ‘The first thing I remember is seeing the Pub and Grub.’ I think he was trying to be funny.”
“May I go see him now?” Karen pled.
“Go to recovery and Julia will tell you when. I need to look in on Dr. Gaston and the other injury now. I understand we lost one.”
“Not a great loss,” Judge Warren said. “Gaston will tell you about it.”
Recovery
THERE HAD BEEN a long line of well-wishers, who had been limited to three or four at a time and for only five minutes each. At least one representative of each Family had come to deliver their Family’s get well wishes. Ellie and Julia took turns controlling the stream of visitors and no one was allowed to stay longer than the nurses would permit. Jonathon and Jessie were the first to come by his room.
“You should be off on your honeymoon!” Gee said. His friends hugged each other.
“It’s not like we’re leaving town. We’ll do that after the parade tomorrow,” Jonathon said.
“We have a special place we’re going in the Forest tonight,” Jessie said, looking up at her new husband adoringly. “The perfect place to start our family.”
“Jessie!” Jonathon hissed. It was apparent that Jessie could get Jonathon to blush every bit as easily as her grandmother could. The red in his face began to subside when he turned back to Gee. “We brought you this. It was supposed to be presented after the shaking and we had it on our cart. I told you there were rewards to be had in the Forest.” Jonathon held out a rod of polished hickory, five feet long. “You picked this up in the Forest the first day I met you. I had it made up into a walking stick by Luke Zimmer. It might not be the exact same stick, but it’s the thought that counts. Traditionally, the wedding shaker receives a gift from the married couples and we all agreed to give you this.”
“This is beautiful, Jonathon. I won’t get arrested for carrying it around, will I?”
“You’re safe.” The couple thanked Gee again and left for their somewhat delayed honeymoon.
Gee quickly discovered how many other friends he had as they dropped by to wish him well. Mead Oliver stopped to say that Rena Lynd had positively identified the deceased suspect as the man who had provided the Lustre Plus that put her in the hospital. That gave police another set of crimes to pin on the dead man. They immediately released a bulletin that Brother Reef had been wanted for distribution and sale of a controlled substance and for attempted murder by overdose. The charges, of course, could never be pressed, but it would help to quell any sympathy for the dead man.
The LaCoes told Gee he was fully covered for his medical expenses under the Festival policy. They assured both Gee and Karen that the medical power of attorney had been accepted on both their behalf and assured Karen that as far as the hospital was concerned, there was no issue regarding her access to Gee in the same capacity as a spouse. She gripped his hand a little more firmly and felt his responding squeeze.
Judge Warren, of course, had stopped briefly, and even Gabe Truman had come up to Gee’s room after he was treated for a mild poisoning from the cut he suffered.
It was two tiny voices, however, that brought a smile to Gee’s face. “Gee!” Devon rushed across the room and struggled at the edge of the bed to reach Gee’s hand.
“Dee!” he responded.
“Honey, Gee is hurt so be very gentle,” Marian said as she crossed the room.
“Hello, Mr. Gee,” the slightly more mature voice of Sally Ann called for his attention.
“My two favorite reading buddies!” Gee said reaching out for their hands. His right arm still hurt, but his left could function.
“The kids have been frantic to see you,” Ruth Ann said. “I’m so thankful Marian and Nathan showed up to help calm things down. Sally Ann’s entire class was lined up in formation outside the hospital singing hickory songs for you.”
“Thank you for bringing your daughter in to see me, Mrs. Metzger. And Marian, you can’t imagine how much it means to me to see my little buddy. My left side is okay as long as we don’t try to wrestle. Can you lift him up over here so we can talk? And Sally Ann, come right here beside me. You can sit on the edge of the bed if someone will lift you up.”
“Are you sure?” Marian asked. She picked the toddler up and placed him under Gee’s left arm. Dale lifted his daughter so she could sit on the edge of the bed next to them.
“All better?” Devon said as he settled in and gave Gee a little kiss on the cheek. “Read?”
“That helped, little buddy. But I don’t have a book in the hospital to read to you.”
“The bad man wanted to hurt us, Gee. He wanted to hurt all the children,” Sally Ann said fiercely.
“I’m glad you helped the police, sweetie,” Gee said thoughtfully. “I just hope you won’t always feel that you need to strike out. Bad things in our world can’t always be helped by hitting them.”
“I know that, Mr. Gee,” said the bright little girl. “Mrs. Zimmer promised to help us understand.”
“Then listen to your teacher and know that we all love you. We’re doing our very best to make sure our town is a good place for you to grow up,” Gee said.
“Are you hungry?” Nathan asked as he entered the room. “The dinner they’re serving down by the river is unbelievable. I volunteered to bring you… um… both a plate.”
“Nathan, you’re a life-saver. I was afraid we were going to have to eat hospital food tonight,” Gee said. Marian helped Karen clear the tray table and set out an array of great-smelling food. “Oh, man! Those ribs look great. I might need help eating them.”
“We all just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Ruth Ann said. “Nurse Julia allowed us two extra minutes on her stopwatch so the children could take their time, but we’ll have to go to avoid her wrath.”
“I’m not that big an ogre,” Julia said from the door. Ellie entered the room behind her.
“I guess you won’t be able to work for a while with that shoulder and ribs,” Nathan accurately surmised as he gathered his son from under Gee’s arm. “I just want you to know, Gee, that your job is waiting for you when you’re ready to come back. We… I… miss you… down at the store.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can lift those soup kettles,” Gee laughed and then caught his breath. “Oh! It hurts to laugh.”
“Yeah. You’ll die the first time you sneeze,” Ellie warned him.
“Devon and Sally Ann, it’s time to say night-night to Gee. He needs to eat now,” Marian said.
“Love you, Gee,” Devon and Sally Ann both said as their parents led them to the door. Karen moved the tray table to where Gee could reach the food.
“We all love you, Gee,” Marian assured him.
“Out. All of you!” a commanding presence said from the door. “This patient has had enough visitors and needs to get some rest. That includes you two,” she said pointing at the nurses. The head nurse who stood in the door was five and a half feet tall but towered over everyone as if she were six feet or more. Her green eyes blazed in a near match to the color of her scrubs.
“I’m not leaving,” Karen said defiantly.
“Don’t you need to get this poor man toiletries, clean clothes, and pajamas? We frown on couples sleeping nude together in the hospital. Unless it’s a doctor and a nurse, of course.” Her severe demeanor broke at last and a smile creased her face. “I assume you do plan to spend the night, don’t you, Karen?”
“Yes, Mrs. Poltanys.”
“Then go get the things you need and I’ll keep your fiancé company for a few minutes. I’ve heard my husband, my son, and my daughter all talking about him but haven’t yet had the honor.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Karen said. “I’ll be right back, honey,” she said as she kissed Gee lightly on the forehead and then almost ran for the door.
“Uh… Hello,” Gee said as the nurse held two fingers to his wrist and looked at her watch. “I’m Gee.”
“Yes. We haven’t met because I’m on a nice regular day shift and you tend to arrive in the middle of the night or on weekends. But I’ve heard much about you.” Gee looked at the older woman. Pale blonde hair hid any sign that she might be graying, but Gee estimated her age to be near sixty. Her high-set cheekbones reminded him of someone and he struggled to remember if he’d met her before. “I’m Sofia Poltanys. You’ve met both my son and daughter here at the hospital. It’s all I can do to keep them corralled. They would create havoc on their own, but not in my hospital.”
“You own the hospital?” Gee asked. Sofia laughed out loud.
“In a manner of speaking. I’m the head nurse and ne’er doctor nor nurse dare cross my path,” she said in mock severe tones. “Especially not if they are my children.”
“I’ve heard only good things about your children and my experiences here bear that out.”
“Well, it looks like you’ll live through another misadventure,” she said.
“Thank you, Mrs. Poltanys.”
“Just Sofia, dear. I only require my children to address me by title.”
“They call you Mrs. Poltanys?” Gee asked.
“No. They call me ‘your majesty’,” she laughed.
Karen left Gee only long enough to pick up toiletries and fresh clothes for them. She intended to stay in the chair next to his bed all night, but Gee had other ideas.
“It really didn’t hurt to have Devon next to me,” he whispered. “If I can slide over a couple of inches, I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to have you next to me.”
“Really? You want me there beside you?”
“Now and always, Karen.”
“Is Sofia gone?”
“I think so. She said she only stopped in to restore order in her hospital. She was a little scary at first.”
“Everyone is afraid of Sofia Poltanys. She’s just… in authority,” Karen laughed.
She helped him slide over and crawled onto the bed next to him. Before settling down, she leaned over to kiss him softly. He winced as the kiss became deeper and she pulled away.
“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I suggested we move in together today,” Karen whispered as he placed his arm around her shoulders. “But here in your arms is where I want to be. Where I want to live. I love you, Gee.”
Dragon of the Apocalypse
“BROTHERS AND SISTERS, yesterday was a tragic day in our community. The events during the City’s Harvest have left many of us feeling frightened and insecure. Our children are wondering what the world has come to. This is a time for us to put our trust in the Lord and ask his guidance,” Pastor Beck intoned as an introduction to his sermon. He had spent much of the night working on this sermon and knew that he needed to mold his congregation into a force. Ever since the shocking ouster of the board at SSG—all members of Calvary Tabernacle—the Lord had laid a burden on his heart that he needed to carry and rise above.
“A kind and quiet man entered the Forest yesterday. He was mercilessly attacked and brought low. And today we mourn the passing of Brother Reef. Many of you have already heard baseless rumors and accusations against this gentle soul. I want to tell you, the enemies of God will spread lies about Brother Reef for no other reason than that he was a true believer. I know for a fact that the police were looking for him. But ‘Why?’ you may ask. In the early hours yesterday, I spoke to the County Sheriff and a City detective. I was assured by these officers of the law that they wished to speak to Brother Reef to eliminate him as a suspect in unnamed crimes.
“Yet, when Brother Reef died—while in their custody—there was a flurry of accusations and justifications for their unseemly actions. In truth, he should never have been in their hands at all.
“You see, there was another involved in these false accusations. I have met this soulless being and when I looked into his eyes, I stared into the great abyss. On the very day this man first appeared in our community, I pled for his soul, but already, the dark minions of hell had surrounded him. They call him a hero—a champion—but we know the signs of the deceiver, do we not?”
“Amen,” voiced one of the more vocal of the congregants. He was soon joined by the voices of several others.
“Has this servant of darkness ever once praised our Lord for putting him where he could be used for good? No! Instead he accepts the accolades of the people. He has trapped—dare I say, enslaved—the children of the community. Think on this. At the very moment he accused Brother Reef in the Forest yesterday afternoon, God cast him down from his exalted perch! But the damage had already been done. Even as he fell, he mustered his tiny army to attack Brother Reef.”
“No!” shouted a woman near the center of the sanctuary.
“I say yes!” Beck responded. “Can you imagine one of our precious little ones as part of an unholy mob, attacking and bringing down an innocent as if they were hounds after a stag?”
“No! No!” the congregation was getting worked up and Pastor Beck continued to whip them into a frenzy.
“It was only the Prince of Darkness who could change innocent children into a pack of wolves, with eyes glowing like demon spawn. And yet, the parents of the City praise his name while he turns their children into ravening beasts.
“Our church… Our faith… The very essence of Christianity is being attacked in Rosebud Falls. The City would strip from us the resources we need for our Youth Reclamation Camp. The City would build a wall around our enclave and silence our voices. You might be thinking, ‘Oh, we are a tiny church. We don’t count in the great scheme of things. We are helpless. We can’t do anything.’ But I tell you, you are Joshua’s army camped beside the City of Jericho. You must shout out against the evils that surround us and blow the trumpets of righteousness. For the City has put its trust in a false god.
“For generations, citizens have believed in the faithfulness of the city fathers, the Seven Families, to protect and defend the community. But those we trusted have become seven heads of the dragon of the apocalypse and they are led by Lucifer himself. As it is written:
“Woe to the inhabitants of the City and of the Forest! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. … And the seven-headed dragon of the Families is wroth with the church, and have come to make war with the remnant which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. … He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. If you have an ear, then hear the Word of God.”
The congregation rose to sing ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ and left the church ready to do battle with the great Satan.
Grand Parade
GEE MOANED as he worked his way out of Karen’s car at the high school Sunday at noon.
“I’m not sure this is such a good idea. I walk back and forth to the market every day, but now, even walking from the car to the stadium feels like too far. I really don’t think I can march in a parade, Karen.”
“They won’t make you, sweetheart. Here’s your new walking stick. Let’s just say hi and then we’ll go find a place to watch from.” Gee leaned heavily on the stick in his left hand and walked with Karen protecting his right side toward the staging area a hundred yards away. In less than a minute, he was puffing shallow breaths, nearly hyperventilating. He just wanted to sit down.
“Yay, Gee!” a group of kids screamed as they ran toward him. Gee tensed, and Karen moved in front of him to slow down the onslaught. A whistle-blast brought all of them to a sudden stop and the members of his crew organized themselves into their fire drill attendance formation. Coretta took the whistle from her mouth and smiled at Gee as Colleen Zimmer brought a golf cart towing a trailer to a stop in front of him. On the trailer was a luxurious leather throne.
“We got the most comfortable ride we could manage for you,” Colleen said. “We thought at first that we’d get you a recliner, but we were afraid you would have difficulty getting out of it. This chair has good cushioning and even has one of those levers that helps old people get out of their chair.”
“Oh boy. Now I’ve joined the ranks of old people,” Gee said. He was careful not to laugh, but let Colleen see the mirth in his eyes.
“We borrowed it from Coretta,” she whispered. At that, Coretta’s whistle blew, and the kids were released to gather around the trailer as Gee settled into the chair. A hastily lettered sign on the back said, ‘Wedding Shaker.’ The cart was decorated with baskets, leaves, and Rosebud flags.
“I never use this chair,” Coretta said. “My son thought it was a good idea for me to protect my fragile old bones. Ha! After the parade, we’ll deliver it to your home to use while you recover.”
“That’s so thoughtful of you, Coretta,” Karen said. She kissed Gee softly on the cheek. “I’ll see you at the end of the parade, love. Here’s your staff. Now you can pretend to be King of Harvest.”
“He won’t pretend,” Sally Ann piped up. “He is the King of Harvest.”
Once the parade started moving, it was to be an hour long, led by the Rosebud High School marching band and half a dozen convertibles carrying the Harvest dignitaries. The convertibles were followed by Gee’s throne, surrounded by the happy chanting children.
The ambush struck just as the parade turned north on Main Street in front of the Rexall Drug Store. Congregants from Calvary Tabernacle stood along the parade route chanting, “No Annexation!” But when Gee’s wagon arrived the demonstration turned nasty.
“Beelzebub!”
“Murderer!”
“Leave our children alone!”
Gee was nonplussed, but the children marching with him moved up beside his wagon and the crowd began throwing nuts at them.
“Demon-spawn!”
“Hellions!”
Gee started to stand, but the movement of the wagon knocked him back into his seat. A policeman manning the barricade that prevented traffic along the parade route was on his radio as he moved to intercept the surging crowd, pelting the children and Gee with nuts. Two motorcycle policemen who were escorting the front of the parade peeled back along the column with sirens howling.
Seeing the coming confrontation, the congregation redoubled their efforts to spend the tiny missiles on the parade and then fell back, scattering away from the route. Coretta blew her whistle, bringing order to the panicked children.
“Pickers! Collect those nuts! The hickory wind just brought us a windfall! Just like in the Forest, don’t leave a single nut on the ground. Fill your hands and bring them to the baskets on the cart.” The children went to work immediately as the police cordoned off the Rexall parking lot and blocked any more attacks.
Gee began singing as loudly as his injured ribs would let him, “Hickory nuts keep falling on my head…” one of the children’s favorite picking songs, and they joined in, drowning out the few catcalls that continued from farther away. A troop of foresters trotted up along the parade route from farther back and helped the children sweep up the nuts that had been thrown, joining in the singing.
The parade was delayed only a few minutes as the street was cleared of all nuts, but the singing continued along the route all the way to the fairgrounds where the parade finally ended.
Most people along the route had no idea what had occurred at the south turn, but joined in singing along with the children, the high school band, and the other floats that followed Gee’s crew. By the end of the three-plus miles to the fairgrounds, all but a few of the hardiest kids had taken seats on the hay wagons following Gee’s cart. Many spectators walked along the river trail back to the main festival instead of following the parade to its end. Colleen drove the cart with Gee in his chair to Karen’s home where the rest of the Zimmers helped unload the chair and move it inside.
Gee pled exhaustion and struggled upstairs while Karen talked to Colleen Zimmer and found out what had happened on the parade route. At last the Zimmers left and Karen ran upstairs to find Gee sound asleep fully clothed in his own bed.
“You poor man,” she said as she sat and stroked his hair. She removed his shoes and made sure he was comfortable. Gee didn’t stir. Karen kissed him softly and whispered, “I love you.” She went back downstairs to her office. “They want to play with hellfire. We’ll see how they like it when it rains down on their heads.”
Golden Parachute
“YOU EXPECT PEOPLE in this company to follow a man in a dress?” Deacon snarled when he walked into the conference room Monday morning.
“It’s a kilt.” Pàl Savage stood at the end of the Rose Hickory conference table in the executive board room. “Of course, you knew that, so we’ll just assume your comment is part of your normal lack of consideration for other people, ideas, concepts, and morality. Sit down, Mr. Stewart.”
Stewart sat at the end of the table opposite Savage. His attorney, Matt Hogue, sat to his left. He moved immediately to take control of the meeting without waiting for Savage to introduce the others at the table.
“My attorney has prepared two documents and we’re here to determine which will be served,” Stewart began. Savage sat back and crossed his arms, waiting for the former chairman of the board to present his spiel. Stewart took his lack of objection as a sign of the old man’s inherent weakness and inability to run a company. Stewart turned to Matt to make the presentation.
“The first document is a tender offer of ten cents per share for all outstanding shares of Savage Sand and Gravel by Deacon Carl Stewart. This is a complete buyout and takeover. All shares are to be tendered no later than midnight on September 30 or be forfeited. This offer is to be approved by the board of directors and notification sent to shareholders within twenty-four hours,” Matt began.
“A little undervalued, I’d say,” Savage offered vaguely. “The second document?”
“The alternative is to face lawsuit for fifty million dollars, the amount of the severance package guaranteed to Deacon Stewart in event of his dismissal. This will, I am sure you realize, result in the imminent bankruptcy of Savage Sand and Gravel. In the end, Deacon Stewart will still acquire all the assets of SSG which amounts to the same thing as accepting his tender offer, except that shareholders will receive nothing for their shares. I think you can clearly see that it is to the advantage of the shareholders, whom you profess to honor, to accept the tender offer.”
“I see. And exactly why are these two options on the table?”
“My contract states that in case of involuntary termination, I will receive the sum of fifty million dollars,” Stewart gloated. “There is no way around it.”
“And exactly when were you involuntarily terminated?” Pàl asked.
“What? Your cronies replaced me at the shareholder meeting on Thursday. That’s why you are sitting in my seat at the head of this table today,” Stewart shouted.
“No one has terminated you. Yet.”
“But…”
“You were elected chairman of the board, not employed as chairman. In fact, the corporate bylaws specifically state that board members shall not receive compensation or remuneration beyond reasonable expenses for their participation. While your employment contract states such important things as your exorbitant salary, earned vacation, and severance package, it says nothing about the actual job you will do in the company leaving it as ‘duties to be assigned.’ No one in authority over you, which means the board of directors or me as chairman of the board and CEO, has relieved you of either your position as president or your job responsibilities. Without a termination of employment, your two documents have no standing in law or in fact.” Pàl sat back and stared at the two men.
“That’s ridiculous. Your puppets at the annual meeting already stated that when you were elected as chairman of the board, you would also take over as chief executive officer,” Stewart said.
“I have gone over the corporate records and budgets for the past five years,” Pàl said. “Other than some questionable line items in the budget and expenses, I find no indication that you have failed as an operations officer. Therefore, unless you are resigning from the company, which would cancel your golden parachute, I see no reason to immediately replace you as president and chief operating officer. I believe the term of your contract expires at the end of next year, approximately fifteen months from now. There is no clause mandating extension of the contract or any of its terms. Should we discover during that time that you are not performing according to expectations as president and chief operating officer, you have my word that we will find an appropriate position for you… somewhere.”
“You can’t box me in like that!”
“I’d suggest you check this with your attorney, who, by the way, does not have a similar golden parachute and has been replaced as corporate counsel. He may wish to discuss future employment possibilities with our new corporate counsel, Rex Russell.”
The two men stared at each other for a full minute, but Stewart was defeated in this round. He stood to leave.
“I will need your confirmation that you will perform the duties that have been assigned to you,” Savage said. “I believe you have built a loyal employee base and would hate to see a general walkout and loss of their jobs.”
“I’ll let you know by the end of the day.”
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