Golden Glories

by Gerald Lopez

  “Bean, will you be alright here?” Forrest said to Bean, who was leaning against him.

  “I’ll stay with him,” Ginger said, as she walked up to us with the boy nuns. “The boy nuns can go with you.”

  “I’ll stay with Ginger to help,” Sister Vaughn said, ducking to miss a cane someone was swinging.

  “Thanks,” I said to Ginger and Sister Vaughn. “Let’s go, men.”

  “Go,” Bean said. “I’m OK.”

  We had to make our way through a rough crowd that was fighting over gold and jewels. When we neared the rooftop that thankfully was close by, I spotted Diesel, Ebony, and Ivory fighting. People were climbing the square wood columns leading to the roof where Alex and Sassy were huddled. I saw why the crowd was after them—the staff was glowing.

  I saw three men trying to climb the column to the left, ran, and used the men as steps. Softly ‘stepping’ on their backs I leapt from them to the roof.

  “Layton, you made it!” Alex said.

  “Of curse I did,” I said, then looked out over the large crowd. Miss Lucy was to the right, waving her arms, and yelling to be heard.

  “The baby’s coming!” Miss Lucy said! “The baby’s coming!”

  Buck was next to Miss Lucy, pushing people out of their way.

  Spotting Diesel in the crowd, I yelled down to her. “Diesel! The baby’s coming, get outta here!”

  Diesel, who was fighting yelled up toward me. “See ya!” She then pushed several people out of her way and headed back to Lily May.

  While I watched Diesel leave, I pushed someone back from the roof with my foot. Alex was busy dealing with two others, while Forrest and the nun boys dealt with the folks below. Someone had come up behind Sassy and grabbed her by the waist. He was too big for Sassy to fight off, and the guy shook her. I jumped the guy, causing him to fall backward with Sassy. Alex managed to get hold of Sassy before she fell off the roof, but the staff went flying.

  Miss Lucy and Forrest ran for the staff, along with the nun boys. The rest of us scrambled down from the roof. God, please let one of us get to the staff first, I thought. But when the ground shook and started to open around us I knew we were too late.

  No one had grabbed hold of the staff, but it had planted itself upright into the ground. The ground around it had cracked open, and fire and steam were coming out. Everyone screamed in a panic, not knowing where to go. From what I could see, we were trapped and no longer alone. Foul creatures started to come out from the cracks surrounding the staff.

  “I’ve got a plan,” I said to my people. Miss Lucy, Alex, Forrest, and the nun boys huddled around me. “I’m gonna run up to that staff and grab hold of it. I’ll need all of you to cover me with whatever holy water you’ve got left.”

  “You can count on us,” Sister Mack said.

  “Miss, Lucy,” I said. “What do I do with that damned stick when I get it?”

  “I have no idea, boy,” Miss Lucy said. “But our time is running out.”

  Chapter 39

  Time to Act

  “I’M AS READY as I’ll ever be,” I said.

  “So are we,” Forrest said. “I’ll cover your front.”

  “We’ll have your sides,” Sister Joe said.

  “And the rest of us will have your back,” Miss Lucy said.

  “On the count of three then,” I said.

  When I got to three, I ran straight toward my target—the staff. Small creatures jumped at me from my right and left but my team took them out. Forrest was right by my side, getting any foul demons out of my way using his Super Soaker, which had come in extremely handy. People were running and screaming around us, but I kept my focus on the staff. The street broke up and rose in front of me, but Forrest and I scaled it and hopped to the other side. When I finally got to the staff, I noticed my team was encircling me keeping even larger Hell beasts at bay with their water guns. Time was running out, but I wasn’t sure what to do, so I took a minute to pray. My prayer was a simple one—what the hell do I do, Lord Jesus?

  After that I reached out for the staff and tried to pull it out of the ground… to no avail.

  “Go help him, guys, we’ve got you covered,” Forrest said.

  The boy nuns ran to me, and together we tried to pry out the staff. Forrest was firing at the nasty creatures using his Super Soaker like a rapid-fire machine gun. Miss Lucy and Alex were no slouches either. We managed to get the staff out of the ground and everything suddenly went still. There was no noise or movement.

  A soft breeze flowed around all of us, and we covered our ears to protect them from the loud shrieks of creatures running back into the Hell holes they’d emerged from. A warm light now enveloped the entire area, and an angel larger than the brother and sister from earlier appeared.

  “Throw him the staff!” Miss Lucy said.

  I threw the staff toward the angel, who caught it and broke it in half. The staff disappeared, and a bright light came from the angel’s outstretched arm. It was still warm but we had to cover or close our eyes from the sheer, intense white of the light.

  When I opened my eyes again everything was like before, only there were two changes. Out from the silence we heard the cry of a newborn babe. And in the middle of the street was a treasure chest. Then I heard a new noise—a motorcycle. Granny raced up to the treasure on a motorcycle with two sidecars. Antoinette and Bogie were in the left sidecar. Before anyone even knew what was happening, Granny jumped off the motorcycle, grabbed the treasure chest and put it in the right sidecar. With her white hair blowing in the wind, Granny raced off on the motorcycle.

  “So long suckers!” Granny said, as she drove past everyone. She tossed Miss Lucy a large, drawstring bag, then laughed before disappearing into the night.

  I walked up to Miss Lucy and whispered in her ear. “What’s in the bag?”

  “The chalice,” Miss Lucy said, and laughed.

  Everything was over, and the crowd of people who were still in the area looked around confused. Some started to walk away, discouraged and shaking their heads.

  “Hey, everybody!” Poppy said. “What’s left of Poppy’s is open for business, and Lady Momma says the first drink is on the house!”

  The crowd cheered. The old lady in the electric wheelchair sped by us shouting. “We’s all gonna get plastered! We’s all gonna get plastered! Woo-hoo!”

  “Good shooting, boys,” I said to Forrest, Alex, and the boy nuns. Sassy looked at me and coughed.

  “Do Miss Lucy and I look like boys?” Sassy said.

  “Good shooting, team,” I said.

  The boy nuns decided they’d earned a drink, and I agreed.

  “If you see Ginger, Buck, or those chickenheads tell them to take the night off,” Miss Lucy said to the boy nuns.

  “We will,” Sister Joe said. “You all should meet up with us at Poppy’s later.”

  “We’ll do that,” I said.

  The nun boys left, and the rest of us went to meet the newest member of our group. Forrest walked with us, but was calling Chip to check on him.

  When we went up to where the new mommies were with their son, Charity was there.

  “Did Grandma abandon y’all already?” Miss Lucy said. “I don’t see Gloria.”

  “Momma went to treat our strong protectors to drinks at Poppy’s,” Lily May said.

  “Ralph, Timmy, and the hotel owner stayed by our side to keep us safe from the crowd,” Diesel said. “Those men are alright.”

  “Well, I’m not gonna be shy,” I said. “Give me a look at the new guy.”

  Lily May, who was lying back in a bench holding the baby, pulled back his blanket so I could see his lil head that had tons of black, wavy hair.

  “He has dark hair like his mechanic mommy,” I said, then noticed how the baby held his arm. “But that there’s the arm of a future, top-ranking, military sniper.”

  “Woo-hoo!” Lily May said. “That’s right. I knew I liked you from the start, Layton Shayne. I’m just sorry I misse
d all the action.”

  “You did take out those two ghost chickens, don’t forget,” Alex said.

  “Now that’s a cute baby,” Miss Lucy said. “Not all of them are, ya know. God bless him, look at that twinkle in his eyes. He’s gonna be a charmer, you’re gonna have to watch him.”

  Diesel and Lily May chuckled.

  “Mommy Diesel,” Lily May said. “Why don’t you go to Poppy’s and get a drink? I’m just gonna go back to the hotel and sleep a while.”

  “I’ll help her there,” Charity said. Gloria found us a wheelchair. I just need someone to give Lily May a hand into it.”

  “I’m headed that way so I’ll help,” Miss Lucy said.

  “And I’ll go with them, and take the opportunity to freshen up,” Sassy said.

  While Forrest helped Lily May into the wheelchair and Alex held the baby, Diesel spoke to me off to the side.

  “That’s a pretty baby boy, isn’t he?” Diesel said.

  “He sure is,” I said.

  “Your’s are coming soon too, brother,” Diesel said. It’s all kind of crazy—having a baby. Even after this insane treasure hunt. By the way, would you believe that crazy Granny tossed me a bag of gold when she drove by on her motorcycle. Told me it was the baby’s share.”

  We both laughed.

  “We don’t know the half of it when it comes to that Granny character,” I said, then chuckled. “Screw all that, I think we’ve all earned a drink.”

  “Amen to that,” Forrest said, when he walked up to us with Alex, who’d given the baby back to Lily May.

  “Your kids won’t stand a chance with three tough daddies looking after them,” Diesel said. “The girls or guys will be afraid to ask them out on dates.”

  “Chip already has Layton wrapped around his little finger,” Alex said.

  “Guilty as charged,” I said.

  We walked to Poppy’s, met up with the boy nuns, and enjoyed a couple drinks. Sassy joined us later, and we all talked and laughed with Poppy and Lady Momma.

  “I hate to break up the party boys,” Bambi said to our group. “But Nikki called, and y’all have been summoned to the compound ASAP. Something big is happening, and she couldn’t even tell me about it on the phone. I told her I had to help here and couldn’t go with the rest of the group.”

  “Oh no, girl,” Lady Momma said. “I’ll take over for you. If Nikki’s summoning folks, then it’s something too big to miss.”

  “Well, they’re expecting you too, Diesel,” Bambi said. “Charity said she’ll stay with Lily May and the baby till you get back.”

  “OK, then,” Diesel said. “We’d better head out.”

  “I’ve got my golf cart out back, so you girls can ride with me and we can talk shit about all the hunky men,” Bambi said, and chuckled.

  “Don’t y’all go getting into trouble now,” Poppy said. “You head straight for Miss Nikki and find out what’s going on.”

  “We’ll do that,” Bambi said, “don’t worry.”

  When the women left with Bambi, and Lady Momma started waiting tables, I turned to Poppy.

  “I sure hope you managed to grab some of that gold to fix this place up,” I said.

  “Nuthin’” Poppy said. “But we’ll manage, somehow. We always do.”

  “That’s a good attitude to have,” Sister Vaughn said, then put a handful of gold coins on the bar beside Poppy.

  “If you need more than a good attitude, then maybe these will help,” Sister Randy said, and placed a few more gold coins beside Poppy. Before we left there was a decent size pile of gold coins next to Poppy, and people were walking by adding more to it. The man was so touched that I thought I saw a tear or two in his eyes.

  “Alone at last,” Forrest said, while I drove the three of us in a golf cart back to the compound. The boy nuns were in a golf cart behind us.

  “Whatever will we do when we’re alone in a bed again,” I said, and chuckled.

  “I can think of at least two things—or rather, people I wanna do,” Alex said from the seat next to me.

  “You mean you don’t want to add any of those cute boy nuns to the mix,” Forrest said, looking comfortable in the back seat.

  “Well—” Alex said.

  “That Sister Joe does have a nice ass and seems very eager to please,” I said.

  “He did indeed seem eager,” Forrest said. “Did you hear that?”

  “What?” I said, then stopped the golf cart.

  “I heard it too, now,” Alex said. “A scream or cry. Someone’s in trouble.”

  Chapter 40

  Happy Surprise

  THE BOY NUNS stopped their golf cart behind ours and got out.

  “What’s going on?” Sister Mack said, when he walked up to our golf cart.

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Forrest said. “We heard someone in trouble.”

  We stepped out of our golf cart and looked around.

  “Up here!”

  Everyone looked up into the treetops.

  “Don!” Sister Vaughn said. “It’s Don!”

  “Stop all that cheering and get me down from this damn tree!” Don said.

  “You want us to go up and help you climb down,” Sister Vaughn said.

  “Are you crazy?” Don said. “I’m an old man. Being in that gold water helped me lots, but I still can’t climb down this tree. Go get the ladder from Poppy’s place.”

  “We’ll go get it,” Sister Joe said.

  The boy nuns went back to their golf cart and left for Poppy’s place.

  “What about calling the fire department?” Alex said.

  “Poppy heads the volunteer fire department,” Don said.

  “Don, are you OK, other than being stuck up there?” I said.

  “I’m good, but I’ll need help getting down,” Don said.

  “I’ve done some training with the volunteer fire department back home,” Forrest said. “I can use the fireman’s carry to get you down, Don.”

  When the boy nuns returned with the ladder, Forrest went up and brought Don down safely. After a round of applause, we got back in the golf carts and were off.

  “You know, I thought I was doing good—better than ever in regard to my mind after bathing in that golden water,” Don said, from the back seat of our golf cart where he sat. “But now I don’t know. Did I really get swept up by some blue light?”

  “You really did, Don,” Alex said. “We’ve had a crazy time of it.”

  At the compound, we found everyone in the pavilion talking about wedding cakes of all things.

  “You bastards aren’t thinking of getting married cause you thought I dun bit the dust, are you?” Don said.

  “Don!” Pete said. “Braeden, it’s Don, and he’s alive!”

  Pete and Braeden ran to Don and hugged him.

  “Thank the good Lord!” Bambi said, then walked over to the threesome and gave them all a hug. “I thought for sure you were a goner, Don.”

  “It’ll take more than a ghost slapping me around, tossing me in the air, and landing me in a tree to take me out,” Don said. “Damn ghost almost made me lose my cane.”

  “Guess who’s here,” Sassy said, then pointed toward the back table.

  There were Granny and the kids sitting in front of a table covered in piles of gold and jewels.

  “What took you all so long?” Diesel said.

  “We had to retrieve the ladder from Poppy’s, then get Don down from a tree,” Sister Randy said.

  “Forrest climbed the ladder and carried Don down, like the firemen do,” Sister Joe said.

  Pete walked over to Forrest and gave him a hug.

  “We have a lot to do people, so listen up,” Nikki said.

  “First we need someone to count all this pirates’ bounty, so we can get it divided up evenly,” Granny said. “Make sure to put some aside for all those old folks. They’re gonna need it to repair their wheelchairs and get new walkers.”

  “The buses that broug
ht them will be leaving early too, so we need to hurry up,” Jorri said.

  “I’m studying to be an accountant,” Sister Randy said, “I can get it all counted and divided.”

  I spotted Antoinette wearing a tiara, necklaces, and rings, and chuckled. “Someone’s already picking her share of things.”

  “Antoinette, girl,” Granny said. “Don’t wear those things, you don’t know if they’re cursed or not.”

  “We sprayed everything down with holy water from our water guns first,” Antoinette said.

  “Hey, there are no crowns in here for Chip and me to wear,” Bogie said.

  “You can buy crowns later,” Nikki said. “We’ve got more important things to deal with at present.”

  “Like the wedding,” Randall said. “Jorri just decided to inform us that his male model beau is arriving for a sunrise ceremony. That’s not enough time to prepare anything. We have to put the wedding arch up on the beach, get the folding chairs set up—”

  “Not to mention the food,” Bean said. “How are we gonna get all that done?”

  “The kitchen’s already closed at Poppy’s,” Bambi said. “But you know what, I can make some mac and cheese—I’ve got plenty of fixings for that in my pantry.”

  “The guys and I can help with the beach setup,” Sister Mack said.

  “All we have at the ready is hot dogs and hamburgers,” Nikki said.

  “That doesn’t matter,” Jorri said. “It’s all good.”

  “I don’t even have time to trim your beard, ya old goat,” Nikki said. “We can’t have your upper-crust man thinking we’re a bunch of beach bums.”

  “He’s not like that,” Jorri said. “He may be gorgeous, but he’s regular folk like us. His favorite thing to eat—when he indulges—is pigs in a blanket.”

  “Baby, there’s not even time for that,” Nikki said, getting in a panic.

  “And what about cake,” Don said. “You mentioned a wedding cake.”

  “There’s no time,” Bean said. “Have any of you by any chance looked at your watches? We must’ve been stuck in some sort of time vortex.”