The Way Things Seem
Page 12
Uncle was shaking his head no. “It wasn’t the most artful thing I’ve ever seen. You had the grace of a cartoon hippopotamus doing ballet. But there was clear air below you. How far did the first airplane fly? I don’t know, but not across oceans I’m sure. The miracle isn’t in how high or how far but that it got up at all.”
David could see he would get nowhere denying it, so he tried to shrug it off with humor. “It will save me a ton of money on airfare,” he quipped.
“And you can give the children rides,” Uncle agreed, giving some of the same right back. “I do recommend caution. Imagine you managed to lift yourself too high, only to find you lacked the reserves to ease yourself back to a gentle landing.”
David nodded, taking the warning seriously, dusted himself off, offered a hand to help Uncle stand. They resumed walking, Uncle taking the lead again. He didn’t feel drained like he had so easily doing other things for the first time. Maybe they would still make it to their next camp OK. Every so often Uncle would giggle loud enough for him to hear.
* * *
The road on which they had been given such a long a ride earlier was the last real mark of civilization they had seen for a couple weeks. The walk back to it seemed much shorter than the walk out into wilderness. It seemed strange now to see such an artificial thing after days of the complex randomness of nature.
They saw the occasional contrail of a passing jet, and the last few days David had gained the ability to see false colors of the radio emissions from the aircraft just as Uncle had predicted. Knowing more about their systems, David wondered what he was seeing, their radio or radar or the actions of their transponders? Other than those distant signs he and Uncle might have been on a different and distant planet. When they came within sight of the road Uncle adjusted his direction slightly, to the left, so David knew that was the way back towards the city.
“This looks very much like the area the town was where we left the highway. Is it behind us, and the full width of the desert ahead, or is it still ahead of us?” David asked.
“You assume I know?” Uncle asked with a little smile.
“I’d be very disappointed if you don’t know and a pretty good idea how far, whichever way it is,” David told him. “You didn’t stay alive out here roaming around time after time without being able to navigate with some accuracy.”
“Hmmm… And you’re willing to walk across with me if the town is behind us?” Uncle asked.
“We’re past those questions,” David insisted. “You should have asked that on the way out. I trust you, not because I like you, but because you display competence. I learned that lesson in my business long before I met you. I’ve had to hire some people I really didn’t like.
“That was the real nature of my question,” Uncle admitted.
“Some managers won’t hire anyone smarter than they are either. My father taught me that’s a trap pretty early in life,” David remembered.
“I can imagine your father saying that.” Uncle turned and looked behind them. David became aware there was a faint noise once Uncle made him aware.
There was a dark dot on the bright road, so far away it was still lost to any detail in the heat shimmer. “Well, better out here to let them decide if they want to pay us any mind,” Uncle said and resumed walking, but on the very edge of the road. David fell in behind him.
When it got closer the engine noise and purr of tires against pavement eased up letting them know the vehicle was slowing. When it finally pulled up beside them it was a utility vehicle with two soldiers in the front. The near one ran his window down and motioned Uncle over. David stood back and tried to look disinterested and tired. The man had two stars on his uniform. David didn’t know what that meant here, but he doubted it indicated a very high rank. If the man was important he wouldn’t be a dusty utility vehicle in the God forsaken middle of nowhere.
He glanced at the vehicle following. It was a pickup with the windows rolled down, suggesting it didn’t have air conditioning like the lead vehicle. The long snout of a light anti-aircraft gun stuck up over the cab and he could see the butts of two soldiers hanging off of the bed sides in back. He looked away not wanting to show too much interest by staring. Nobody was looking at him, even the two in the cab of the rear truck were watching the lead vehicle and Uncle.
The conversation with Uncle seemed to be in Amharic. David only understood a few words. He was pretty sure Uncle told the fellow he didn’t speak Amharic just Arabic. When the fellow lifted his face and looked past Uncle at him David just touched his breast and bowed a little. He couldn’t read much in the way of emotions because the man had on dark glasses.
When he was through talking to Uncle he didn’t seem waste any words or formality on the old man, he just barked an order at his driver and the window glass was rising in front of Uncles face even as they pulled away. As they pulled away one of the soldiers in the pickup looked at them and the others weren’t even that interested. They had really old rifles, the stocks were wood and their camo uniforms were so dusty it was hard to see the pattern.
“He didn’t ask for any papers?” David asked, surprised.
“Good thing. I don’t have any,” Uncle said. “He asked where we were headed. When I told him we were going home to Djibouti, he asked if I knew how far that was? I said since we came all the way the other way we certainly did know. I explained how we were favored with a ride by a kindly driver who was driving the route anyway, and if Allah provided a ride the other way we wouldn't turn such charity down.” I tried to beguile him with my best old man begging face but it didn’t work.”
“I saw him looking at me. What did he say?” David asked.
“He made a crude remark about you I’d rather not repeat and asked if we were related. That was meant to be an insult but I ignored it. I said you were my nephew’s house servant, a little simple, but only spoke Arabic and not very well. He informed me they didn’t pick up riders in official government vehicles and he thought we were crazy to go past the next town without a ride hired, but that the world was full of crazy people.” Uncle started walking again and David followed.
“Well, he has a point,” David allowed. “I was looking at his face because I was hoping to see some of these new colors playing on it, but I really couldn’t see anything unusual.”
“There wasn’t much to be seen,” Uncle admitted. “I could tell he drinks a bit, which is not as unusual here as you might think. Otherwise he was unremarkable.”
“No deep seated anger? Subdued violence? I mean, being a soldier and all.”
“I’m surprised you’d think that,” Uncle said. He was ahead again but David could hear the frown in his voice. “You’re usually a very perceptive man for your age. Rage and anger can be found in school masters and farmers as easily as those whose work might require violence. In fact some would avoid it all the more for being honestly acquainted with it.”
“That seems counter to my experience,” David said.
“Well perhaps your experience is valid where you gained it and mine is valid where I had the experience of it,” Uncle surmised.
“You’re very hard to argue with if you are prepared to allow the other fellow’s view,” David said.
“Is that against the rules?” Uncle asked. He almost kept the laughter out of his voice.
Chapter 13
It was very late in the day by the time they reached the fuel stop where their previous ride had dropped them off. Uncle went to the public pump and washed the dust off as best he could while dressed and made sure David did the same.
“I will confess, I have crossed the rough country before there was a road, just as I told our kindly driver coming here, but in recent years since the road went in I’m always been able to get a ride. I didn’t say anything because I was uncertain if I would get the same offers with you along. If we crossed off the road it would have been much less direct. One must go from spring to spring and some parts are better crossed at night.
“Are you using your ability to read faces?” David wondered. “Will it tell you who is open to suggestion and who is unapproachable?”
“Not as directly as that. It will tell me who is dangerous and who is scared. It won’t tell me if a driver is friendly and would take us, but the vehicle owners are very strict and he can’t take riders for fear of losing his job. But even such a small advantage can still be useful,” Uncle explained.
The first truck to pull in and fuel up was a small straight truck, not a tractor, with a reefer box on the back and a compact cab over in front. When David looked at Uncle he smiled and said. “The cab is too small to seat three comfortably, unless you’d like to sit in the back?”
Before he was done at the single pump a tractor trailer pulled in with the trailer enclosed in tarps over hoops. The man already had a rider who immediately got out and stood at the back of the trailer watchfully guarding it. The driver never got out. David didn’t bother to ask.
The third truck took awhile to show up. It had a lone driver, with pieces of machinery chained down on a flatbed. The windows were rolled down so he must not have air. Uncle volunteered his take on this one. “There’s something wrong with that fellow. He’s not right in the head.”
David watched hoping to see what he saw. It didn’t click for awhile but then when he got a better look at him the man looked like he had eye shadow on, like a woman, but it was his new vision.
“I saw it,” he said in a carefully low voice so it wouldn’t carry. Uncle just nodded.
The next truck looked likely. It was a straight truck again with nothing on the bed but tarps and chains to bind a load down when he got one. The driver got out moving lightly for someone who had been sitting hours and looked at David, not Uncle, with an engaging grin.
“Nooooo,” David told Uncle urgently.
“What, you won’t pay for your ride?” Uncle asked, amused. David wouldn’t even look at him.
A smaller truck came in, a very heavy duty pickup with dual rear wheels and a fifth wheel trailer behind with cattle. The driver was alone and looked tired. Uncle approached him and made the breast touching gesture and made his plea with slightly cocked head. The fellow looked at David, but after his inspection looked skeptical. They talked further.
Uncle beckoned him over and David approached trying not to look to eager or aggressive. “Yes Uncle, what may I do?” he asked, in Arabic, so the driver would see their relationship.
“The man wants to know if you can drive a truck. I know you drive cars,” Uncle said, in English, “but couldn’t speak to your experience with a truck.”
“I have driven trucks, both on highway and off, and I have pulled a trailer, though it has been awhile and I’d be slow and cautious trying to back it in anywhere difficult. You should know however I don’t have any papers on me, including a driver’s license,” David said, switching to address the driver directly. “I’m willing to take the chance to drive without papers however, if you are.
“You’re American,” the man declared, surprised. “East coast, maybe to the South?”
“My home is in Atlanta Georgia, but I’ve lived in New York and Pennsylvania,” David said.
The man looked like he wanted to ask more, but just nodded. “You’ll do. I’m tired and need to make Djibouti by the morning. You have a ride if you will switch off with me and let me nap a couple times. You won’t have to back up anywhere,” he promised.
“Your kindness is appreciated. I’d be happy to help,” David said.
“Do you have baggage?” The man asked, eyes going back to where they had been seated.
“Nothing, just what we carry,” Uncle said.
“I’ll get a couple extra bottles of water then. I’m Jesse,” he offered.
“I am Bouh, though David here calls me Uncle. You are welcome to use either.”
“David Carpenter, David felt compelled to add.
“I shall ride in the corner of the bed, Uncle said, “so you have room to spread out and nap comfortably. He stuck his toes in a recess made for that purpose and went over the side with the ease of a much younger man.
“I’ll drive first,” Jesse said. “I’ll get a few things and be right back.
Jesse got in the cab and returned with bottled water and some snacks. He put them in a cooler in the opposite corner of the back from Uncle. He didn’t have a key, just a starter button, so he must have a wireless key in his pocket. He started it and dropped it in gear. David was happy to see it wasn’t a manual transmission. He could drive one but he might not be smooth at first.
“The old boy is pretty spry,” Jesse observed, switching to English.
“You have no idea,” David assured him. “He can march me right into the ground.”
Jeese laughed. “Is he really your uncle?”
“No, I meant it as a title of respect. I don’t know if we share any blood in the distant past, but my father knew him. When my father died recently he made my inheritance conditional upon coming to Ethiopia and learning what I could of the traditional ways Uncle follows.
“Why was your father over here to ever meet him?” Jeese wondered.
“Do you know? He never told me why. That’s a very good question.”
“Well, have you learned anything from the old boy they couldn’t teach you in Atlanta?”
“It is no exaggeration to say he has completely changed how I look at the world,” David said.
“I’m no philosopher,” Jeese said, with a smile. “But if it was worthwhile good for you. Do you see anything about the truck you need to know?”
“It looks pretty straightforward,” David said.
“If anything goes wrong a ladies voice will warn you. It’s good you speak English because that’s how it is set. If you need it to be cooler to stay alert go ahead. I have a jacket if it gets too cool for sleeping. Don’t be shy to pull over if you need to take a piss or get a bottle of water. That’s better than going to sleep or letting the road mesmerize you. Hold it right on eighty kilometers an hour, or set it if you can stay alert, that’s where it gets the best mileage. If you want sun glasses there’s a cheap pair in the glove compartment. They may be a bit scratched up.”
“I’ll do just fine,” David promised. The sun was low but off to his left, so he skipped the glasses.
Jeese let off the throttle and slowed looking at the shoulder and picked a spot without any large rocks to pull off. He didn’t bother to explain his thinking to David. He turned off the engine with the same button that started it. He might trust them just fine, but he could not start the truck and drive off while the fob was outside in Jesse’s pocket. David walked around rather than scoot over.
David put his seat belt on, something with which Jeese didn’t bother. He must have ripped the chime out that would scold him. He looked in the mirror but there wasn’t anything coming clear to the vanishing point. By the time he had it up to speed Jeese had a jacket from behind the seat rolled up for a pillow and was finding a comfortable position.
David had two trucks pass him before it was full dark and three pass going the other way. He got very nervous though when headlights appeared from behind going really fast. He realized he hadn’t stopped and checked the trailer lights when he’d turned the truck lights on. He looked carefully in the mirror and could see the red taillights reflected on the road surface. Still the oncoming headlights seemed so unwavering he pressed the emergency flashers on briefly, worried the onco
ming driver might be suffering from road hypnosis and plow into him. The fellow flashed his high beams to acknowledge he saw him, but didn’t cut over to the other lane until he was uncomfortably close. His passing rocked them from the wind buffeting and woke Jeese.
“Damn, guess somebody else buys his fuel,” Jesse said, looking at the receding taillights. If you want to pull over, everybody can take a piss and I will drive awhile.”
David did so, carefully. It was harder to judge how even the ground was in the headlights. Jeese figured that out and reached over, throwing an unlabelled switch that turned some extra lights on. That helped a great deal to judge the roughness of the shoulder. When he was off the road and stopped David flipped it back off noting carefully where to find it again.
When they went to leave again Uncle was back in the bed and Jeese started the motor before David was back in his seat. For an instant David realized he could drive off leaving him here and Uncle could not dive from a moving truck. He had real doubts he could survive very well without Uncle. But Jeese sat and waited for him. He was going to offer to switch with Uncle, but that jolt of fear prevented him from doing anything but hurrying to get aboard.
Jeese didn’t drive for that long, about an hour and switched with David again. He didn’t go to sleep right away. He reached up by the interior lights and pushed a button, it must be a satellite link or more likely a link to an orbiting high altitude drone. He got out his phone and pecked away at it for awhile his face lit in the glow.
“That’s you,” Jesse said, turning the phone to him.
David glanced at it very briefly, eyes going right back to the road. It was a company portrait with him in a good suit and the company logo on the wall over his shoulder. David know it well, because he’d spent a couple hours to get it just right and drove the photographer batty being picky.
“Yep, that’s me,” David agreed. He wondered if the man expected him to deny it?
David could see Jesse look at him in the corner of his eye, but watched the road and didn’t volunteer anything. To his credit the fellow didn’t tell him he was crazy to be hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere or ask him why? He rolled his makeshift pillow back up and slept some more.