“How will you do that?” TJ asked. “I thought about washing off in the fountain at the park, but the idea of jumping into that frigid water was a little too much.”
“Not to mention that some Big Blue would likely arrest you for indecent exposure,” Luke added with a chuckle.
“Big Blue?”
“Yeah, that’s what we call the cops around here. For the most part, they leave us alone as long as we don’t do anything stupid,” Luke replied.
“Like trying to wash in the fountain?” TJ asked.
“Exactly,” Luke answered. “No, most of us use the shelter over on Patton Avenue. The shower stalls are clean, they seldom run out of hot water, and the staff there don’t try to save your soul…least not too often. Of course, there’s no point in cleaning yourself up just to put you back in those nasty clothes or to send you back to sleep in a dumpster.”
“Yeah, that’s been my dilemma,” TJ admitted. “I wasn’t figuring on getting mugged my first night. I’m afraid I didn’t have a plan B when that happened, but I’m learning.”
Luke threw his head back and laughed heartily. "I bet you are. The street is a good teacher if it doesn't kill you in the process. Most of us will spend the night here. There's plenty of wood to keep the fires stoked, and I don't expect Big Blue will be visiting us. If so, hightail it to those woods over there, and we'll meet up tomorrow in the same area we met today."
“What is this area, anyway?” TJ asked. It was fully dark by now and impossible to see more than a few yards beyond the light of the fires.
“It's a construction site," Luke replied as he took a pocket knife from his coat pocket and began cutting up one of the rabbits with it. "In a couple of weeks they'll finish paving the roads, and a few months after that, there will be rows of new houses. Jacob over there has been doing some work for the contractor and promised to clean up a lot of trash left over from the initial clearing, which is where the fires come in. We're staying warm and cleaning up all at the same time."
“Wow, that’s cool,” TJ said.
“Yeah, I just wished more people were willing to give us a chance. Of course, then you run into folks like Saul and Sally who end up giving the rest of us a bad rep. It can become a downward spiral if you let it.”
TJ thought about what Luke said. He had sure gotten himself stuck in such a spiral. “You seem to have a pretty good outlook on life,” he finally said. “How do you manage it?”
Luke looked up from his work and stared into the fire for a moment before finally answering. “I spent quite a bit of time in Vietnam when I was in the service. That’s where this came from.” He held up the hand without the two fingers. “I learned a little about karma from one of the Buddhist priests I met there. It took me years to get the hang of it…probably still fail more often than not, but it seems to work for me.”
“Karma?” TJ asked as he pulled the other rabbit from the bag. “You mentioned that before, but I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”
“I’m probably not the best one to teach it to you,” Luke replied, “but this is my take on it in its simplest terms — what goes around, comes around. I had it tattooed on my arm so I wouldn’t forget it.” He pushed up the sleeve of his left arm to reveal the words inscribed in a circle on his arm.
“Wow, couldn’t you just have written it on a piece of paper and kept it in your pocket?” TJ asked.
Luke threw his head back and laughed for a second time. “Maybe, but it wouldn’t have meant the same thing.”
“But what does it mean—what goes around comes around?”
“Here's how I think of it," Luke replied as he cut off a chunk of meat from the hind quarter of the rabbit and popped it in his mouth. "The results of things that one has done will someday affect the person who started the events. Take Saul and Sally, for example. They've been doing some pretty bad stuff to people. You're not the first one to fall for their scheme. They've been sowing some pretty bad ‘karmic seeds,' and earlier today they reaped the results."
“What did you do to them?” TJ asked, suddenly worried.
“Let's just say my friends, and I helped keep the karmic wheel turning." Luke rotated one finger around, outlining the circle of words on his arm. "Now, finish cutting up your rabbit and let's get it in the pot. People are getting hungry."
As the two of them walked over to the large pot of simmering stew, TJ said, “You realize you ate some of that rabbit raw?”
“Did I now?" Luke said as he tossed a small chunk of it to Precious before popping another piece in his mouth. "Guess I learned that from ole Precious here. You learn to appreciate all the bounty this Earth has to offer in whatever form it comes to you."
Soul Searching
1
It took a couple of sleepless nights and more soul searching than Pat could remember ever doing before, but she felt like she finally had a plan that she could live with if she could pull it off. She had come to the conclusion she somehow needed to get TJ out of Allan and her lives if they were to have any chance of making it as a couple. At the same time, she had grown too fond of TJ to simply ruin his life by turning him over to Oliver and his crew at B.I.U.F.O. She had to give the boy the opportunity to find his place in the world—as long as that place didn’t involve Allan or her.
So far, she’d managed to be vague with Allan whenever he asked how the search for TJ was coming along; a question he asked her several times a day. But she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep him in the dark before he decided to take some action on his own. As it turned out, she was assisted by a busier than usual time at the clinic.
While she waited to hear back from Shack, Pat resorted to numerous long walks through the woods. It was during one such walk that she received the call from the Asheville P.I.
“What you got for me?” she asked.
“Good news!” Shack replied. “At least some of it is good. The documents you requested are ready, but the price tag is pretty high. Rushed jobs always cost more…”
“Not a problem,” Pat interrupted him. “I figured as much. What’s the quality like?”
“Good,” Shack replied. “They should work just fine.”
“And the other news? Good or bad?” Pat asked.
“I'd say a little of both. The cops are continuing to look for the boy, but so far the case is still low on their priority list. After all, a homeless kid knocking off a couple of other homeless people isn't that big a deal to them, and they're trying to keep a low profile on it. It's not the kind of story any of the powers-that-be want to hit the newsstand, especially as we start the holiday shopping season."
“Any word on the Sally woman’s condition?”
“She’s out of I.C.U. and is expected to recover, but she’s still not able to talk.”
“Okay, thanks for keeping me up to date,” Pat said. “How do I go about getting those documents?”
“Glad you asked,” Shack replied with a lighter tone in his voice. “Remember that steak and seafood restaurant I mentioned the other day?”
Pat groaned but with a smile trying to break the surface of her face, something that hadn’t shown up there in several days. “Yeah, I remember.”
“We have reservations for 7 p.m. tonight…in your name. I’ll have the papers with me. Bring the cash — five G’s in small bills. And oh, do you still have that black, sequin gown you wore to that Gala a few years ago? I’d love to see you in that again.”
2
“Guess what?” Mimi shouted to Kendra as she ran up to her outside their school, drawing the attention of several other kids who were also leaving the school grounds late.
Kendra hadn’t seen her friend so excited or animated in quite some time, not since receiving the decree from her father that she could no longer help TJ with his homeschooling.
“I don't know, but I bet you're going to tell me, right?"
“You bet I am,” Mimi said as she hugged Kendra, spinning the two of them around until Kendra felt like
they’d end up falling to the ground.
“Whoa there. Not so enthusiastic,” but she couldn't help but laugh. It was good to see Mimi happy again. “So what’s got you so excited?”
“I just came from the D.M.V., and I passed my driver's license test! I got my license!" Mimi said as she finally let go of her friend.
“Wow! That is good news,” Kendra replied. “I thought your dad wouldn’t let you get one.”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t for the longest time, but Uncle Bo and I finally persuaded him to let me try for it. I think dear old Dad figured his dumb daughter would never pass the test, but I did!”
“Congratulations,” Kendra said. “That’s quite an accomplishment.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Mimi replied, “but don’t you realize what this means?”
“That you’re not nearly as dumb as your dad thinks?” Kendra guessed.
“Well, yeah, that too, but what it means is that we can now go find TJ." And with that Mimi started her happy dance again.
“What? You’re kidding. Pat said he’d run away to Asheville. That’s over thirty miles away.”
“Yeah, thirty-two miles to be exact,” Mimi replied. “I looked it up yesterday during my study break. So, we don’t have to walk now. We can drive.”
“Huh, just one little detail. To take such a trip requires more than just a driver’s license. We’d also need a car.”
“I know that silly," Mimi replied undaunted by Kendra's lack of enthusiasm. "Uncle Bo won't lend me his truck. Hell, he won't even let his brother drive it, but he's had an old clunker of a car in the barn for ages. He got it running the other day and said I could use it."
“To go all the way to Asheville?”
“I’m not going to tell him where we’re going,” Mimi admitted. “You know the old saying, ‘Sometimes it better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.’ This is one of those times.”
“Okay,” Kendra replied, starting to warm to the idea. “I guess we’re going on our first road trip to Asheville. When do we leave?”
“Early tomorrow morning. Uncle Bo gets up at the crack of dawn to go hunting on Saturdays this time of the year, so we can get an early start as well. I’ll pick you up around 7.”
“In the morning?" Kendra asked, suddenly less excited by the idea. She'd planned to sleep in since her sitting and homeschool job was temporarily on hold.
“Of course in the morning,” Mimi said. “That way we’ll have all day to find TJ and bring him home where he belongs.”
“Okay, I guess,” Kendra said. She knew it was pointless to try to talk her friend out of one of her ideas once it took hold. “Maybe we can get some early Christmas shopping in while we’re there.”
“There’s only one thing I want for Christmas,” Mimi replied. “And that’s TJ.”
Kendra studied her friend's face, looking for clues about what that last comment meant, but Mimi just smiled innocently back as she added, "That is, I want him back home where he belongs. For Allan and Pat's sake."
Menial Job
It had been a week since TJ had been serendipitously introduced to Luke through his dog, Precious, but much had happened during that time. For starters, Luke had taken TJ to the Salvation Army for a set of hand-me-down clothes and then on to the homeless shelter. There TJ enjoyed a thorough cleaning followed by a hot meal.
Things are beginning to look up, TJ thought, as he glanced around the dining hall that was about eighty percent filled with other homeless people and others down on their luck. As Luke had been quick to point out, “We live in a pretty great country that provides such accommodations and resources for less fortunate people.”
The comment surprised TJ coming from an old Army vet who seemed to have been given the short end of the stick by his country.
“No, not at all,” Luke disagreed. “This country has been good to me. Oh, I know it has its faults, don’t get me wrong. I’d like to see veterans treated with more respect, and for sure the VA department needs a major overhauling. It’s like my old lieutenant used to say, ‘We’re not perfect, just better than any of the alternatives.’”
Next, TJ learned from Luke that there were some jobs available that didn't require ID papers or written permission from a parent. They were menial jobs like unloading trucks, or at other times of the year, picking apples, and the like. Most of them paid below minimum wage for hard, back-breaking work, but you got paid at the end of the day in cash. Such work was spotty at best, but TJ had been lucky that morning and obtained his first such job. Now, although he was bone tired, it felt good to have a few bucks in his pocket. He planned to pay Luke back the money he'd given him, but that still left some money over for food. He figured he'd surprise Luke and the others with sandwiches from Subway, his treat in thanks for all they'd done for him.
Of course, he'd had to show the young lady behind the sandwich counter that he had enough money to pay for the sandwiches before she'd make them for him, but it would take more than that to dampen his spirit this evening. He grabbed the bag of sandwiches and headed to his new family's latest location.
They'd stayed at the construction site for three nights before they had to move on. He'd learned that it was safer to not stay at any one location for more than two or three days. Their latest location was at a small park known as the Bountiful Cities Edible Gardens, though in November there wasn't anything edible on the grounds as far as TJ could tell. Still, it wasn't far from Pack Square Park, where he liked to hang out during the day, and Luke had told him that it was a pretty safe place to bed down for a couple of nights.
“We should be fine as long as we keep the fire small and the boom box on low,” Luke had said.
By the time TJ arrived, Luke and Precious were already there along with Alley Cat and her boyfriend, Oscar, as well as Elmer and a new family member Luke introduced as Marlin. “He loves fish and smells like one that’s been kept out in the sun for about three days most of the time,” Luke said by way of introduction, then noticing the bag asked, “Whatcha brung us?”
“Sandwiches from Subway,” TJ said, holding the bag up for everyone to see.
“So you got the job, huh?”
“Yeah, and they paid me at the end just like you said they would.”
“Good,” Luke replied as he pulled one of the sandwiches from the bag. “You didn’t need to spend all your money trying to feed us though.”’
“I know, but I wanted to,” TJ replied as he tossed a couple of the other sandwiches to Alley Cat and Oscar. “Besides, I still have a few bucks left over.”
Everyone sat around the fire that Luke had built, munching quietly on the food. Finally, Luke looked over at TJ with a serious look on his face.
“How old are you, boy?”
Not knowing how to answer the question TJ answered, “Old enough.”
“Do you have your high school diploma?”
“What's that?" TJ asked, taking the last bite from his sandwich, then tossing the paper into the fire.
“It’s what you get when you graduate from high school,” Luke replied. “Everyone knows that.”
“I was homeschooled,” TJ replied a little defensively. “Why all the questions?”
“Oh, I was just wondering what your plans were?” Luke replied after a moment.
“Plans?" TJ studied his new friend with a puzzled look on his face. "I don't know. I guess I plan to sleep here tonight and maybe go looking for another day job tomorrow."
“And after that?” Luke persisted.
“Hell, I don’t know,” TJ replied, suddenly irritated, mostly at himself because he’d been avoiding asking himself such questions.
The two of them sat quietly. Luke rubbed Precious's ear as she lay sleeping beside him, snoring quietly. Now and then he'd toss a twig into the fire. Finally, he said, "I noticed that game you have was called Mercenaries. You any good at it?”
“Not bad,” TJ replied, though he knew he was one of the best players around, at least from what he’d re
ad on the internet from other gamers.
“Well, playing a game ain't the same thing as being in a real war," Luke said, "but I was wondering if you ever thought about joining the Army. Sure beats working those day jobs for next to nothing."
“You trying to get rid of me?” TJ asked, only partly joking.
“Nah, that ain’t it. I’m just saying a body could do a lot worse, especially someone who didn’t have anything better planned. Think about it.” And with that he lay back, pulling his faded green Army jacket around him and went to sleep.
Piece of Work
1
Two days after meeting Shack in Asheville to pick up TJ’s fake ID papers, Pat received another call from the P.I.
“Wow! I can’t believe you’re calling me on a Saturday morning and before noon,” Pat joked with him.
“I can’t believe it either,” Shack replied in a less than spritely voice, “but I just received word from one of my street connections. I think we may have found your boy.”
“Really! That’s good to hear,” Pat replied. “Where is he?”
“My connection says that he’s seen a boy that fits the description hanging around the Pack Square Park area. Seems like he’s hooked up with an old Army vet named Luke Glover. If so, that’s probably a good thing. I know Luke. He’s not a bad guy.”
“Okay, that’s good to hear,” Pat repeated.
“That’s the good news,” Shack continued. “The not so good news is that I’ve also heard that a local reporter has gotten wind of the throat slashing incident and is investigating it. He’s been snooping around as well and could break the story at any time.”
“Damn,” Pat said.
“He’s not the most ethical guy. You may be able to pay for his silence.”
Pat groaned. Her savings account had already taken a significant hit with the purchase of the I.D. papers, but she could hardly be concerned with the cost at this point.
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