Stone Ranger

by Bob Blanton

“Then I hope you and Brea survive the competition; she doesn’t like to let anyone ski better than her.”

  “I’m not interested in a competition,” Matthew said.

  “I’m not that competitive!” Brianna exclaimed.

  “Yes you are dear,” Mrs. Winthrop said, “but maybe Matt will help you to get over it.”

  Brianna just gave a huff of air and changed the subject.

  “Did you know that Jen and her parents are coming?”

  “No I didn’t, but Emily told me that she and her parents are going.”

  “Yes, we’ve got sixteen people going now, a full plane.”

  “Who else is going?”

  “I hate to tell you this, but Tyler is going with Emily,” Jason said.

  “I don’t care,” said Matthew, “he’s been leaving me alone lately.”

  “Hey, don’t try to start something,” Brianna hissed.

  “That’s enough, you’re supposed to be the hostess here,” Mrs. Winthrop scolded.

  Brianna refocused on polite conversation for the rest of the evening.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  As the guests were leaving, Brianna ran over to Matthew and gave him a kiss, “I’m so happy you’re coming.”

  “I am too.”

  “Are you and Jen ready?” Jason asked.

  “Yes we are, is the car ready, James?” Matthew jested. Jennifer and Brianna laughed, and Jason turned in a mock huff and went out to the car.

  “I leaving in ten seconds, with or without you,” he said over his shoulder.

  As Matthew and Jennifer followed him out, Matthew was happy to see that Jason was driving his father’s big Mercedes; it would be a lot more comfortable for the three of them, than his Lexus.

  Jennifer automatically climbed into the back seat leaving the shotgun position for Matthew.

  “Nice party, Jen,” Matthew said.

  “Thanks, it was a lot of fun to plan.”

  “You never told me how you know Brianna.”

  “Her mom’s Hanna’s doctor,” Jason said.

  “Oh,” Matthew said.

  “Plus, my mom’s on the fundraising board for Scripps Hospital with Mrs. Stevenson and Brea’s mom,” Jennifer said.

  “Well, the trip should be fun.”

  “Matt, are we still on for tomorrow?” Jennifer asked.

  “I hope so; 3:30 right?”

  “I’ll be there,” Jennifer said, as Jason pulled up in front of her house. “Bye, and Jason, thanks for the ride.”

  “What was that about?” Jason asked.

  “She’s going to watch Jessica while I’m practicing for my martial arts tournament.”

  “Sounded like more than that.”

  “I’m practicing with this guy she’s interested in.”

  “Oh, playing matchmaker.”

  “It’s the deal I had to make to get her to watch Jessica while I go to the Chargers game with you guys.”

  “I guess that’s not too bad a deal.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  At 3:15 Saturday, Jennifer knocked on Matthew’s door.

  “I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” yelled Jessica, as she ran to the door. “Hi Jenny,” she said as she opened the door.

  “Hi, Jessie,” Jennifer replied.

  Matthew walked up behind Jessica, “Hi Jen.”

  “Hi,” Jennifer said, as she shooed Jessica into the house. “So what’s the plan?”

  “We need to get Jessica enlisted.”

  “A bribe?”

  “No, I think in this case altruism should work.”

  “Huh?”

  “Jessie, will you and Jen help me get ready for my tournament?”

  “Sure! I’m coming to the tournament, too.”

  “Of course, and if you help me win a medal, I’ll let you keep it for me.”

  “A gold medal?”

  “That’s the kind I like.”

  “Yeah, me too!”

  “Okay, then I need you and Jen to help me practice with Jeffrey when he comes over.”

  “How?” she asked, “Do we attack you?”

  “No, but we need to practice our form, and the thing that makes us real nervous is the audience at the tournament.”

  “No, it doesn’t!” Jessica hollered.

  “But it makes Jeffrey nervous, and we’re just learning to do this form together.”

  “All right, but I get a Popsicle.”

  “Sure, any color you want,” Matthew said. “Now I need you to sit and make a lot of noise while we do the form. Can you do that?”

  “Yeah!” Jessica yelled.

  “She’s all yours; we’ll be practicing out on the back patio.”

  “I thought you said no bribe.”

  “Just a little additional incentive, and now she doesn’t have any secrets to blurt out,” Matthew whispered.

  “Smart thinking,” Jennifer said, “thanks.”

  “No problem. He should be here any second. I’m going to get the staffs.”

  Matthew went to the garage to get the staffs. He was carrying them to the patio when the doorbell rang.

  “I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” Jessie yelled.

  Jennifer followed her to the front door. Jessica looked out the side window at Jeffrey standing in front of the door. Not recognizing him, she hollered out, “Who is it?”

  “I’m Jeffrey, Matthew invited me over.”

  “It’s okay, Jessie, he’s the guy Matthew is going to practice with,” Jennifer said, then she opened the door. “Hi, Jeffrey.”

  “Oh hi, Jen, Matt didn’t say you’d be here.”

  “I’m taking care of Jessie while you guys practice.”

  “Oh, is Mrs. Brandt out?”

  “Yes; Matt is on the back patio. Why don’t you go on back?”

  “I’m going to watch,” Jessica hollered.

  Jeffrey just shrugged as he worked his way to the back patio.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Brandt, are you ready?”

  “Sure; where were you this morning?”

  “You mean you went to sparring this morning?”

  “Yes, why weren’t you there?”

  “After sparring I’m wiped; I wanted to keep my legs fresh for this.”

  “Good, then you should be ready,” Matthew said, as he threw Jeffrey a staff. “You’ve got this form down, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I’ve been working on it for my Brown Sash test for like six months.”

  “Yeah, they really make you earn the Brown and Black, don’t they?”

  “You can say that again.”

  Jennifer and Jessica came onto the patio, “Where should we sit so we’re out of the way?”

  “I set a couple of seats over there on the lawn,” Matthew said pointing at two patio chairs.

  Jennifer took Jessica over to the chairs and sat down with her.

  “Now, you two have to stay in the chairs, we don’t want to hit you.”

  “Okay.”

  “Now, Jeffrey, we’re going to do the form at half speed to start. I want you to aim at me not my staff, just plan on pulling the shot short in case I’m late with my block.”

  “Okay, but why shouldn’t I aim at the staff?”

  “If you aim at your real target, your swing will be truer and it’ll look more realistic. I want a medal out of this.”

  “A gold!” yelled Jessica.

  “All right, I’m ready.”

  Jeffrey and Matthew held their staffs in their left hands, stood sideways to each other and gave a slight bow. Then they went through the form slowly. The staffs whizzed through the air and struck each other with a loud whack each time. Matthew and Jeffrey spun, jumped and thrust their staffs at each other.

  Jessica and Jennifer applauded as they finished the form.

  “That was good. Now let’s do it at 90 percent,” Matthew said.

  Jeffrey nodded, and they started the form over. The speed of the staffs and their moves were so fast that Jessica cried out,
“Be careful, don’t hit my brother.”

  Jennifer held her in her lap, whispering in her ear, “Jessie, don’t worry, it’s just pretend like in the movies.”

  The two boys finished the form with a flurry. Jennifer and Jessica applauded.

  “Okay, are you ready for a full speed run?”

  “Can you give me a minute to catch my breath?” Jeffrey asked.

  “Sure, Jessie you want to play?” Matthew asked, as he held out the staff for Jessica.

  “Yes!” Jessica yelled and ran over and grabbed the staff.

  She started swinging it at Matthew with a vengeance. Matthew used his staff to block and gently bat hers away.

  Jennifer got up and came over to Jeffrey who was leaning against the house.

  “That was fantastic,” she said.

  “Thanks, Matt can make anyone look good.”

  “I don’t think it was all Matt. Your strikes looked totally ferocious.”

  “Do you think so?” Jeffrey asked.

  “Definitely, and I can’t believe that was only 90 percent.”

  “I can hardly believe it either,” Jeffrey said with a sigh. “Look at him, he doesn’t even look winded.”

  “What other forms are you going to do in the tournament?” Jennifer asked.

  “I’m doing the broadsword, my purple sash sets and then Tai Chi.”

  “I didn’t know you did Tai Chi, also.”

  “I don’t really. They make us do a Tai Chi form to qualify for push hands.”

  “What’s push hands?”

  “It’s the Tai Chi style of fighting. You have to stay in contact with each other, and you can’t hit your opponent.”

  “Then, how do you fight?”

  “You try to get your opponent off balance and push or throw them to the floor. In the first round it’s restricted step, so you only have to get them to move their foot to score a point.”

  “That sounds hard.”

  “It is; the medal rounds are moving step, so you’ve got to get your opponent to the floor to score, or get him to take two stumbling steps.”

  “That sounds interesting. You’ll have to show me.”

  “After we’re finished practicing, maybe I can get Matt to do some push hands so you can see.”

  “Sure,” Jennifer said, looking a little unhappy.

  “You ready, Jeffrey?” Matthew asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Okay, Jessie, give Jeffrey his staff back.”

  “No!”

  “Come on, we have to practice.”

  “All right,” Jessica said with a little pout.

  The two faced off again. This time, the speed and fury of their moves even scared Jennifer. She grabbed Jessica and held on to her while she perched on the edge of her seat until the two boys finished their form and bowed to each other.

  “One more time?” Matthew asked.

  “Sure,” Jeffrey said, taking a deep breath.

  Again they went at it full force. This time Jeffrey’s moves weren’t as crisp; he was obviously tired and struggling to keep up.

  “That should do us for the day,” Matthew said, as they bowed to each other to finish the form.

  “That’s great, because I don’t think I could do it again.”

  Jessica and Jennifer applauded again. “That was really great,” Jennifer said.

  “It was a little rough that time,” Jeffrey said.

  “It looked just perfect to me.”

  “Mr. Brandt, Jen wanted us to show her push hands.”

  “What’s with this Mr. Brandt stuff?” asked Jennifer.

  “We use formal address at our school,” Jeffrey replied.

  “Mr. McArthur, I could go a couple of points if you want; that is if Jen is still interested,” Matthew said, looking at Jennifer.

  Jennifer shrugged her shoulders.

  Matthew took a stance opposite Jeffrey, and they touched their right wrist to each other and placed their left hand on each other’s right elbow.

  “Okay, Jen, the basic rules are, you can’t take an uncontrolled step. So I can move my left foot up here close to my right if I want, but I can’t pass my right foot. The same with my right, I can bring it back but I can’t pass my left foot. And I have to demonstrate control at all times. The main object here is to get your opponent to take a step without meaning to.”

  “Are you ready?” Matthew said.

  “Ready.”

  Matthew and Jeffrey moved their right arms in two circles then started pushing and pulling on each other. After a few seconds, Matthew pulled Jeffrey’s right arm while his left hand pushed on his ribs, forcing Jeffrey to take a step. They reset and started over. After a few seconds, Matthew slipped his right arm against Jeffrey’s chest and stepped forward while twisting to the right; again Jeffrey took a step.

  “You get the idea,” Matthew said, looking at Jennifer.

  “I guess.”

  “Good, Jeffrey why don’t you show Jen a few of the basic moves while I get Jessie a Popsicle?”

  “Sure,” Jeffrey said.

  Matthew picked Jessica up, “What color do you want?”

  “Purple.”

  “Okay, purple it is.”

  Jennifer took a stance in front of Jeffrey, imitating the one Matthew had done.

  “Is this right?”

  “Yes, now hold your right hand up here like this,” Jeffrey said.

  Jennifer and Jeffrey formed their arms as he and Matthew had done.

  “Okay, now the key to Tai Chi is to stay completely relaxed. Any energy or tension is an opportunity for your opponent.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Like this,” Jeffrey said as he pulled himself away from Jennifer. She stumbled forward for half a step.

  “How did you do that?”

  “You were leaning against my arms.”

  “Well, you were, too.”

  “No I wasn’t, I was putting energy into my arms, but I was staying relaxed and keeping my posture upright.”

  They set up again.

  “I didn’t know you knew Matt,” Jeffrey said.

  “I live just across the street, and I’m friends with his girlfriend,” Jennifer said.

  “Cool.”

  They played through a few more examples before Matthew came back out.

  “How’s she doing?”

  “Great, she’s picking it up quickly,” Jeffrey said.

  “I am not,” Jennifer said. “I don’t see how you guys kept your balance with all that pushing and shoving.”

  “Well, come to the tournament in two weeks and you can watch us do it for real,” Matthew said. “Brea’s coming.”

  “Yes, I know, she asked me if I’d go and keep her company.”

  “Well, will you?”

  “Sure.”

  “And while I’m asking favors, would you help out with Jessie when we practice next week?”

  “If I can. When are you going to practice?”

  “I was hoping we could do Tuesday before Thanksgiving, then Tuesday and Thursday the week before the tournament.”

  “I’ve got school on all those days. So what time?”

  “I’m flexible, but we need light, so it’s got to be before 4:30. What about you, Jeffrey?”

  “Whatever works for you two.”

  “Then 3:30 both days; is that early enough?”

  “I think it’ll be perfect,” Matthew said, “I’ll put the staffs away if you two want to get something to drink.”

  Jeffrey looked at his watch, “I’ve got to go. I’m supposed to be home for dinner in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, Jen, will you let him out? Come on, Jessie, let’s put the staffs away.”

  “I’ll carry that one,” Jessica said grabbing at one of the staffs.

  “Don’t hit anything,” Matthew said, as he let her take it.

  They walked down the side yard to the garage.

  “Jen, thanks for helping out. It’s really a big deal
for me to get to do this form with Matt,” Jeffrey said, as Jennifer walked him to the door.

  “It was interesting,” Jennifer said, as she walked with Jeffrey to the front door.

  “Okay, Jen, I’ll see you in school Monday.”

  “See you,” Jennifer said as she closed the door.

  “Well, did it work?” Matthew asked as he and Jessica came in from the garage.

  “I think so, and thanks so much, you worked everything just perfect.”

  “I got some hints from Brea.”

  “Well, thanks a bunch, I think he likes me.”

  “I’m sure he does, but don’t scare him away.”

  “I know, but he’s so cute.”

  “And don’t call him cute.”

  “Okay, bye; bye Jessie.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  That night Matthew checked in on Alex. As usual, she was camped out above Sayid’s estate reading. She had her night vision binoculars hanging around her neck and the parabolic microphone hanging on her car window like a drive-in tray. It allowed her to have the window up, while she was listening. Occasionally some sound would alert her and she would take the binoculars and scan the residence.

  Matthew guided his virtual camera to the estate. It was still empty.

  “Thank God for that,” Matthew muttered.

  Before going to bed Matthew, checked on Alex again. She had put her stuff away and had started her car. Matthew continued to watch until she had the car in gear and was driving away. Before closing his virtual camera, Matthew made one last pass through Sayid’s house. As he was finishing up his inspection, a black Mercedes pulled into the driveway. Sayid was talking on a cell phone in the back seat.

  “Uh-oh, they’re back,” Matthew moaned as he closed down his camera.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Matthew spent Sunday at home. In the morning he ran ten miles and did a long stretching routine after. Then he called Emily.

  “Emily, Sayid’s back.”

  “Does Alex know?”

  “Not yet; he showed up after she left on Saturday, but tonight she’ll be able to tell for sure.”

  “Darn it! Why couldn’t he stay away until after we leave for Vail Wednesday morning?”

  “You could call him and ask him to coordinate schedules,” Matthew said.

  “Funny; now what are we going to do?”

  “Nothing; hopefully nothing will happen before Wednesday and she’ll lose interest after the ski trip.”

  “We can only hope,” Emily said. “Oh, by the way, why don’t we study at your house tomorrow night; that will save you from having to ride your bike home in the dark.”