The Way Things Seem

by Mackey Chandler

  “I have a few hundred dollar bills still,” David said.

  “Excellent. Stick them in your passport to as they say, grease the skids.”

  It amazed David the odd idioms Uncle knew.

  Nothing appeared out of the ordinary at the airport. David paid the driver, who appeared to see nothing that concerned him. He had a sudden thought and shoved extra money at the fellow. “Wait to take my Uncle back home,” he ordered and climbed out.

  Uncle reached and took David’s arm by the elbow. “Steady an old man,” he warned sharply. There was a sudden amazing transformation. Uncle was suddenly bent and had a hard time stepping up to the curb with an unbalanced lurch.

  The armed police had an anxious look on their faces. David saw it much better with the enhanced senses he had now. They had that look like they were bracing themselves to confront him, but when they saw Uncle stumble on the curb they had a sudden flash of concern for the old man. When David reached to steady Uncle their attention on him vanished. David wondered if Uncle had powers to influence people he hadn’t shared with him?

  “Look at the displays and buy the first flight to somewhere you don’t need a visa,” Uncle said.

  There was a flight in thirty minutes to France, it would be a bit of a rush get on it but he approached the Air France counter quickly.

  “Do you have a seat for Paris on the close departure?” David asked in French.

  “For one or two?” the young man asked, looking at Uncle.

  “Just myself, I’ve been visiting my Uncle here, but I need to go home quickly now. I’ll get connections in Paris,” David said.

  “I have a Seat Plus you might find more comfortable for a tall gentleman such as yourself,” the fellow suggested trying to up-sell him. David wanted to yell at him, given the short time but just said, “That will do nicely and thrust his credit card at him. The process seemed to run slower than it ever had, but it was his impatience. He didn’t hear any questions about his lack of luggage, which made him suspect they knew something was afoot.

  “There is a cart coming,” the clerk said. “It isn’t that far but we are tight on time.”

  David wanted to scream ‘No kidding?’ at him, but smiled and said “Thank you for expediting me.” He slipped a couple fifties to the kid and got a genuine smile back. He had time to give Uncle a quick hug before the cart stopped. He wasn’t sure that was local custom, but it felt right. The driver jerked the electric cart in motion right away. He must be aware time was tight and he’d obviously been told what gate to go to. It wasn’t until the plane started to taxi before he thought of Uncle again and worried if he’d get home safe? Uncle had said tonight, so there should be plenty of time to get to his nephews house and hole up against whatever trouble was brewing.

  Riding the cart seemed to make all the difference in getting his passport checked quickly and without extra scrutiny, although the money probably didn’t hurt either. He tipped the cart driver heavily too. The area beyond security was grimy. He was glad he made it just in time to board.

  When the wheels clunked up David felt a surer sense of relief. The authorities would have to have a serious, specific reason to call an aircraft back. Looking at the relief pained on the face of the cabin attendants to be airbourne, they were aware something was brewing too. If they got a call to come back they might not obey it. He didn’t think Djibouti had any interceptors and if the French had any in country he doubted they would agree to turn back an Air France plane.

  Thinking everything over now that there was no rush, he wondered if Ibrahim took any risk calling his phone. Considering what he’d seen of the man he was likely able to speak to Uncle in code words and generalities. There wasn’t much he could do for him. Indeed probably the best thing he could do for him was to pretend not to know him if anybody asked.

  * * *

  In Paris, David was back in the world with which he was at home and with which he was comfortable. He knew how things worked here and how to deal with them. His new sight saw the signs of security sensors everywhere. He knew they were there before, that was his business after all, but seeing their emissions directly was something new.

  He was exhausted after the adrenaline rush of his exit from Djibouti so he took their shuttle to the airport Holiday Inn. He had a couple favorite hotels further away, but just wanted to crash in a bed quickly. He had confidence they would be passable if unexciting. He’d just had enough excitement to last for awhile. The only clothing he had was what was on his back and they fit poorly after his trek with Uncle. The hotel could not have them laundered by the morning but they could be dry-cleaned. He looked at a news accumulator site before bed, but there was nothing about Djibouti.

  The shower was a treat with unlimited hot water and David stood face into it, unashamed to be glad to be back to such luxuries. When he came out of the shower he was shocked to see himself in the huge mirror above the wash basin. He knew he’d lost some weight, but this was almost like a stranger looking back at him. Some of the constant urgency to get things done had been muted by his stay with Uncle. He wasn’t sure he wanted to allow it to creep back into his life and lose this physical conditioning. He’d have never taken the time to get in such good shape without this trip.

  There was finally a news item. Phone and internet service to Djibouti was interrupted and the news service intimated it might have political causes rather than any technical problem. That made him worry about Uncle and Ibrahim, but oddly gave him some satisfaction that he hadn’t rushed away for no reason at all. There was a buffet breakfast downstairs and he elected to have it rather than use room service. He was enjoying exploring his senses in first world conditions and wanted to see more people and continue to learn what he could tell from their countenance.

  He enjoyed a bountiful plate and was thinking of indulging just a bit more, having been away from such an abundance so long, when a fellow went to the buffet who had a odd appearance. He had a sickly dirty yellow tinged aura about him and seemed tired. After he got a plate and returned to his table he discreetly wiped his nose and eyes with his napkin. David quickly realized the man was sick and feeling miserable with something. Whatever it was he didn’t want to catch it, so he eschewed another plate off the hot buffet where the man had just touched most of the serving handles. He got a few pastries off the desert table the man hadn’t approached yet and another coffee. These new abilities were turning out to have unexpected benefits and uses.

  There was a late flight available to New York. That sounded fine to David. The terminal would be a little less crazy and traffic to get to a hotel easier. He booked it and called for a cab to go buy some decent clothes that fit him. The hotel concierge suggested a place called Charvet for ready to wear if he didn’t have time for made to measure. As the cab was pulling away from the hotel he was looking out the window and a man on the sidewalk jerked like he’d been shocked and drew his hands up in a defensive pose with his palms out. He spun around and bent his knees slightly although there was nobody near him. The oddest thing was his face was contorted in anger and he clearly looked straight at David with the most hateful expression.

  The cab soon was out of sight of him, but it left David shaken. He couldn’t see any reason for the fellow’s extreme reaction. It happened when the cab was approaching him from the rear, so it wasn’t a matter of the man seeing David or recognizing him. He’d changed in appearance enough he suspected he might be difficult to identify by people he hadn’t seen in awhile. The cab had just pulled away from the curb, picking up speed, so the man might reasonably connect him with the hotel.

  He didn’t understand why anyone would react to him like that, but he didn’t want any trouble either. There wasn’t anything requiring him to go back. He’d intended to check out later anyway, so he called the front desk informed them he was unable to return to check out and they should close out the bill on the room and put it on his card. Acting on that made him feel a little better.

  The salesman at C
harvet was pleasant, but seemed distressed when he explained he’d lost all his luggage and had a flight booked for the evening. He needed something to wear now with no time for alternations at all, as well as a couple shirts and a decent pair of shoes. The third suit David tried on seemed to fit as well as anything he’d ever owned before, but the fellow fussed with the shoulders unhappy and tugged on the sleeves like they might stretch, but agreed there was no help for it given the press of time. He asked if there was another suit made on the same pattern in a different fabric. A similar suit was available in a crème instead of the silvery gray of the first and David was happy with them, much more so than the salesman. He got four shirts and ties and a few odds and ends like socks. He rejected the shoes as too formal and uncomfortable to have to wear traveling with no time to break them in and determined he’d have to make another stop for others. These he had on didn’t go with the suit at all but that was just too bad, no matter what sort of face the salesman made at them.

  The salesman didn’t seem surprised when David asked if he had a small plastic bag. He indicated a size range with his fingers. When he got another pair of shoes he intended to remove his botanical specimens and carry them in his pocket. If asked he’d truthfully say they were an herbal remedy that helped his vision. If anyone took serious exception to the little sections he’d broken off, he’d yield them and find another way to import them. The fitter brought him a couple small bags that self sealed like you might put extra buttons in. David divided his Wizard’s Jewel stash into both of them.

  He asked the salesman to call a car service and went to change into the gray suit. The salesman seemed approving for the first time when he asked them to dispose of his old clothing. The second suit came in a black synthetic hanger bag, David decided that would serve and a carry-on and the handle bag would serve for his shirts and ties. He really didn’t feel like shopping for luggage. At least it didn’t say Yoder’s Fudge on the side. That left enough of the day free to have lunch, find some comfortable shoes and still have time to kill before a late supper and flight.

  The car was a Porto, a fairly new service David hadn’t tried. It was a standard size and unremarkable car which was fine, he didn’t need to impress anyone. Being flashy just attracted the wrong sort of attention and made people charge you more. The driver was a solid fellow, not fat but stocky with thick burly eyebrows and an open collar casual shirt. He seemed mildly dubious of David.

  The shoes ended up being Italian slip-ons with a woven top. His old shoes weren’t that bad but too much weight to want to add to the bag and not worth shipping home. David told the merchant to toss them in the trash or give them to charity. The fellow seemed to take it for a joke. The cab was still waiting for him when he went out. He wasn’t sure he’d still be there, the fellow hadn’t seemed pleased at his request and had asked to be paid to that point. Perhaps he thought David would slink out the back and stiff him.

  “If you aren’t going off duty soon, I have time to kill before a late flight. If you would suggest somewhere you’d eat dinner yourself, you can let the meter run and I’ll treat you to dinner, then you can take me to the airport,” David offered.

  “Do you like Hungarian food?” the fellow asked. He seemed oddly defensive.

  “I’ve only had a few common dishes, but I have yet to find any sort of food that isn’t good properly prepared,” David said truthfully. “I suspect if you think you don’t like any sort of food it’s because you didn’t get the real thing that someone’s grandmother would have fed them.”

  “I’m a bachelor, so I have no family to run home to. I pretty much set my own hours, so I’ll take your kind offer. There’s a place not too far off a route to the airport that serves a decent goulash or stuffed cabbage like you’ve probably had. They make a good chicken paprikash too, but you can get a similar dish, a pörkölt that is excellent made with lamb if you care for that and feel adventuresome.”

  “I just came from Djibouti, so fortunately for me I like lamb. I’ll try just about anything,” David claimed, “so lead on.”

  “Ah good, but I won’t run the meter eating on your hospitality,” the hack said, dropping it in gear. “I appreciate the trade, but I’d find that greedy. Oh, they have deserts to die for too.”

  * * *

  “I ate too much,” David said, staggering back to the cab.

  “Well, nobody was holding a gun to your head,” Tony said, laughing. They’d traded names at dinner and chatted, mostly about food and nothing serious.

  “What was that last? The three kinds of cake with everything piled on it?” David asked.

  “Somlói galuska, but if you can’t remember just describe it like you just did, as three kinds of cake with cream and nuts and raisins. Any good Hungarian place will know what you mean.”

  “And chocolate sauce… ” David remembered. “I’m going to fly across the Atlantic in a couple hours. I should have just had the entrée and skipped the bread, much less desert, but I was on thin rations in Djibouti, down in Ethiopia actually. I’m afraid I went a little crazy being back where I can eat what I want.”

  “You can’t eat like that every night,” his driver agreed. “You’re an odd one. You dress nice and obviously aren’t hurting for money. Why would you go without food? Did you get in trouble with the law? I’ve heard those countries are a horrible place to get arrested. I’d have to be persuaded pretty hard to risk visiting them at all.”

  David would have resented the personal question from a simple hired hack, but he didn’t after sharing a meal and conversation with the man. “I never had any particular desire either,” David admitted, “but my father died recently and left me a duty to visit and study with a sort of local wise man. He wasn’t exactly what you would expect, neither a medicine man nor a religious figure.”

  “Was it worth it? Did you learn anything?” Tony asked.

  “Without getting all mystical on you, he changed how I look at everything,” David admitted. “It has completely altered the way everything seems to me.”

  “Good on you then, for respecting your father’s wishes,” Tony said approvingly. “Maybe you better walk around the terminal a little after that dinner,” he suggested.

  David gave him a handsome tip when dropped off. The airport ride was a separate charge set by law, so he had to pay that separately. It seemed silly. The whole evening was easily worth it for the educational value and not gouging him. He’d have willingly paid for the meter running until after dinner. He was hardly poor. Tony had no trouble accepting the gratuity as his due.

  * * *

  Walking was a good idea. David thought he was taking decent care of himself before going with Uncle, but had revised his opinion his first day in the dessert. If he didn’t make a conscious effort he’d loose all the conditioning he’d acquired and get soft again. He could imagine some people would ask why it mattered. He was after all not an athlete. Neither did he expect to continue adventuring in remote areas. But he felt better than he had since he was a teenager. David got his boarding pass from a kiosk, took a tram to security, then an escalator ride up to the gates.

  Checking the time the waiting area to the gate closed he had a little more than an hour before the close of check-in time. He set a twenty minute alarm on his phone and walked away, stopping at a restroom along the way. When his phone buzzed he retraced his route with time to spare. Tony was right, the constitutional did help settle the big meal. Now if he’d only thought to get a paperback he’d be set. He had some books on his phone but the screen was really too small to enjoy.

  There were two women sitting by themselves, one older and one much younger. They might have been mother and daughter. They had on Middle Easter clothing but not the extreme burka with the grill over the face. The older had a flared white coat with the front open showing a pleated multicolor gown underneath. The younger a single black dress with elaborately embroidered arms that ended with pearl beads around the cuffs. The both had head scarves, the older woma
n a white on white texture and the younger black with silver threads to match some of the stitching on the arms.

  David found them interesting but he had no idea what country they were from by their dress. Somewhere fairly liberal since there was no male relative in attendance. They also had their lower faces uncovered, although that might be a liberty they were taking away from home.

  The older woman looked up and caught David looking at them, jerking all over like somebody jabbed her with a shock stick. Her face contorted and she grabbed at her scarf and wrapped the end over her lower face barely leaving her eyes showing. Even that still uncovered was full of anger.

  David was embarrassed. He hadn’t thought he was staring or displayed too much interest. He averted his gaze thinking to mollify her but she drew his eyes back by making an aggressive gesture at him. She thrust her hand out palm to him with the thumb and two fingers up and the end two folded down. She muttered something at the younger woman David couldn’t hear clearly, except the word jinn, because she spat that out as an expletive.

  The younger woman looked horribly embarrassed. She was obviously trying to calm the older woman and not succeeding. The older woman made a gesture about her face like Uncle had in describing the aura some people had that showed their health or emotional state. The old woman got up ignoring the restraining hand the younger put on her arm and marched up to the gate counter.

  There were two employees for Canadian Airlines. The woman waved away the man briskly with a chop of her hand that turned into a beckoning motion to the woman. She switched to French and started out speaking softly, but when the agent started shaking her head no she got upset and they both ended up raising their voices until David could follow most of the exchange.

  “I didn’t see the man approach you,” the gate agent objected. “Did he even speak to you? He seems to be sitting there very inoffensively.” The older woman leaned in closer and hissed something unintelligible to David. “Madam, we serve people of all faiths.” The agent said a bit huffily. “I don’t care if he is a Catholic or a Baptist, or even a witch, though I can’t see how you can tell just looking at him. It is simply not our concern.”