by Sandy Nathan
15
THE OMELET
He was in a pitch black, unheated garage. Leroy unfolded himself and climbed into the front seat shortly after he heard the garage door close. He sat, trying to figure out what to do. After a while, he was so cold he was shaking. He needed to get warm. He needed clothes, a sleeping bag. And food. His stomach growled. They had all of those inside, but he didn’t want to scare them.
After a while, he was too cold to care. Leroy carefully closed the garage door and slipped away, surprised when he found out he was at an old, falling down motel. He tiptoed around the garage to the back door. The main part of the building was fixed up.
He focused his powers on the lock. Nothing. He couldn’t open it. He tried several times, from different angles. Still nothing. That’s what his powers were like. Shiftless. Grandfather was going to say he was shiftless if he didn’t get down to the Mogollon Bowl soon.
He took the door handle and shook it, then looked up at its glass pane. Niles was on the other side, pointing a gun at him.
“Oh, please. I didn’t mean nothin’. I’m jus’ cold. I’ll leave now.”
“No! You are Leroy Watches Jr. You blew up the bull. Why are you here?”
“Well, I hoped to get to New Mexico before my grandpa dies.”
“Why did you blow up the bull?”
“It was killing my pop. After the tail broke and it ran at my dad, the beams came. I thought I was jus’ lookin’ at it. But that’s how powers are for me. I never know what they’re gonna do.”
“Powers?” Niles didn’t look like he’d let him in, but he didn’t seem like he’d shoot him, either.
“Yeah, it’s on account of my grandpa, an’ my mama, an’ everyone in my family on that side, back forever. They have powers.”
“Psychic powers?’
“Yeah. An’ healin’ powers. I’m good at healin’, and with bringing rain, too. Snow, too, I guess. I can see things, like who’s good and bad and sometimes what’s going to happen. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.”
“Wait! Who is your grandpa? Where does he live?”
“Uh. He’s a shaman. Lives in New Mexico.”
“A shaman? A holy man?”
“Yeah, he’s a really good shaman. Better than me. He can do almost anything. He brings … God. He calls it the Great One.”
“The great one.” Niles’ forehead was working so hard, it might have kept him warm.
“Yes. If you don’t mind, I’ll leave …”
“What is the name of your grandfather?”
“His name from the Indian schools is Joseph Bishop, but he doesn’t use it much. People call him Grandfather.”
“Grandfather!” Nile’s jumped and his eyes widened. “The Grandfather?”
“You know my grandpa?”
“I’ve been trying to find him since I’ve been back in Las Vegas. I had a vision of an old man. He said, ‘Come to the Meeting, my son. You’ll find what you want.’ It was a shaman named Grandfather. I knew that, somehow. No one at the reservation would tell me where Grandfather is or the Meeting, either. But you know him!” Wonder bathed Niles’ face.
Niles made them a big omelet, the best Leroy ever had, stuffed with everything and some fried potatoes on the side. And fresh orange juice. They sat at a table in the kitchen and ate.
“First, Leroy, tell me how you got the name Leroy Watches. It’s a very unusual name.” He leaned over on one elbow, bright blue eyes serious and his long blond hair falling just so. Seeing him up close, Leroy thought that Niles might be better looking than Wesley Silverhorse.
“My name comes from slavery times.” He told him all about the first Leroy and the buffalo soldiers, and their ranch.
“Tell me about Grandfather. I am so interested in him after that vision, but also because of yoga. I started to study it years ago. I love it and feel like the spiritual person I am supposed to be when I practice it.”
Leroy regarded him, sensing and feeling. “Yeah, Niles, that’s you. You got somethin’ great in you. I don’t know what it is yet, but it’s comin’ soon. You asked about my grandpa. He loves the Great One, what he calls God, more than anything. He talks about ‘The world where love is king.’ Where everyone cares more about love and kindness than anything else. That world is real for him.
“He can heal anything. He’s so beautiful, Niles. The air around him sparkles. Where his body touches the air, it shines. I can’t say how much I love him.”
Niles grabbed Leroy’s hand. “You don’t have to say. It shows. How lucky you are to have him, Leroy. I wish I was so lucky.”
Niles raised his finger. “I want you to know why I want to meet Grandfather. I have very good career as an actor. I am booked ahead for years. I make horror movies. You know what those are?”
“Yeah, but I don’t watch them, even on TV. They scare me too much.”
“That is my problem. Do I want to spend my life making movies that make people scream in terror? Do I want to have fake blood all over me and act like I am killing people? Pretending to eat them?
“I do not. But acting is I all I know. And I make money. I have lots of money. But I am unhappy. That is why I want to meet Grandfather. To find out what I want to do, and how to do it in Hollywood. They see me as the beautiful man who is a monster and nothing else.”
“My grandpa would help you. He has a retreat every year called the Meeting. This is the first day, Sunday. It goes all the way through next Saturday. People will welcome you there; just tell ‘em what you tol’ me. You better go fast. This is the last retreat because grandpa is dyin’.” Tears stung Leroy’s eyes. “I entered the rodeo to win airplane ticket money to see him before he dies.”
“I can give you money,” Niles said.
“Seein’ that I walked out on the FBI at the hospital an’ from what I saw on the TV, I think that public transportation is out. Thank you very much, though.
“Also, I’d rather die than get on a plane. I ain’t never been on one and don’t intend to start.” He heaved a sigh. “I thought I’d pick up my horses at the Thomas & Mack, but Reason Jimson sold them. I might be able get some more from the tribe, if anyone is talking to me.”
“The reservation is twenty or thirty miles away. Leroy, you do not know everything. FBI and ATF have offices in the Thomas & Mack. The Center for Disease Control is there, too. They say you are a terrorist who spread mad cow disease by exploding the bull. They say you are a killer. You are in very big trouble Leroy. It’s all over the TV.”
“I know. It’s crazy!”
“Yes, this is true. Mr. Zemsky, Sylvia’s husband is a … certified nut case. Poor Sylvia.” Niles looked at him with longing. “Can you heal her? And the kids? They’ve had a bad time, and they’re going to have more. She’s filing for divorce. He will fight it.”
“I’ll give it a try.” Leroy pushed back from the table and closed his eyes. He saw Sylvia riddled with dark spots, every one a hurtful word or neglectful action from her husband. The children looked caved in. Where their souls should be fluffy and robust, they were squashed. He went to work, puffing them up and throwing away Sylvia’s darkness. When they were shining, he opened his eyes.
“That should hold them, though Sylvia really should see my grandpa.”
“You healed them, just like that?”
“Yeah. This time it worked. Sometimes I go to heal and somethin’ I didn’t want happens. Struck oil at my neighbor’s once. I went there to heal a cow.”
“Really?”
“I can see things, too. Something’s bothering you right now. What is it?”
Niles’ cheeks reddened a bit. “It’s Sylvia. I am very attracted to her.” He sat up straight and pointed a finger into the air. “I will not lay with her while she is a married woman. I will not do that ever again. But in Nevada, she can be not-married very fast.” Niles flashed a grin.
“The problem is … I like her very much. I think I love her. It happened in the tantric yoga classes. It see
ms crazy, because it’s so fast. I love the way she acted today, so frightened, but strong. She loves her children. She is a very good mother.
“Will she love me? Because I feel more, Leroy. I feel like I want to marry her.” He leaned closer to Leroy. “I am not good at marriage, Leroy. I was married two times already.” He held up two fingers. “Is probably like your ‘getting on a plane fear.’ It is me, and it’s Hollywood. Will I be able to keep our love in Hollywood? I want children, Leroy. And I want her for my wife. Forever.”
Something started growing while Niles was talking. Leroy could see it, maybe Niles couldn’t. A pale green vine came up out of the floor, into the air, over Niles’ head. More vines came from both sides, growing and joining at the top. Vines and more vines, twisting around each other. As they grew, they turned white and creamy, like pearls. Leaves sprouted from them. Shiny leaves that lit up the room. Vines arched over Niles’ head like a wedding bower.
Sylvia appeared in Leroy’s mind, and Niles and she stood together, the most beautiful people he’d seen. The kids were there, filling in the arch, and more kids stuck up. Two more. Boys. A beautiful family surrounded by a heavenly wedding arch.
“You’ll be OK, Niles. You got somethin’ on your side this time. I’d grab her and not worry about a thing.”
Leroy felt the most intense sadness. He’d realized what his grandpa had wanted him to discover: what he wanted to do and be. He wanted to be the man in that arch, surrounded by pearly flowers, holding on to his wife’s hand. That’s what he wanted. His wife and children. But where were they? How would he find them now, with all the law in the world after him?
His wiped his cheek.
“You must be so tired. Sleep for a while. I will think of a way for you to go to the retreat on time.”
16
HIT THE ROAD, LEROY!
The sun wasn’t too high in the sky when Niles heard Leroy moving. “Oh, you are awake. Come. I will show you how you will get out of Arizona without a problem. Maybe you can get farther than that.” A neatly bound bundle lay on the sofa. “Here is your bedroll and some clothes. We will go outside and see you off.”
Sylvia came out with the kids. “Leroy, the children want to meet you.”
They were wide eyed and very excited. “Do you ride in the rodeo all the time?”
“Nah. Mostly I raise cattle. Some horses. Maybe someday you can come to my ranch. Me and my dad live there.”
“That would be cool.”
Hannah couldn’t restrain herself, “How did you blow up the bull?”
“I don’t know, kids, I really don’t. I’m sorry you got hurt, J-man. And I’m sorry you got scared and dirty.”
“That’s OK. The lady from the ATF helped us. She said she’d testify for mom at the divorce. Maybe it was worth it.”
“I’m giving this to you, Leroy.” Niles handed Leroy the pink slip when they got out on the driveway.
“I can’t take it.” He stood next to a brand new, candy-apple red, 1997 Harley Davidson motorcycle. A Road King. Niles had unearthed it from his garage.
“You can take it, and you are going to. Does this fit you?” Nils gave him a leather motorcycle jacket.
Like the rest of the clothes Niles had found for him, it fit, but barely. “I can hardly bend my arms,” Leroy said.
“If the blood can get through, it fits. Here is my helmet,” Niles handed him a sleek black helmet with gold lightning on the sides. “Does it fit you?” “Yeah.” “Wear it and these,” a pair of gold-tone leather gloves with long fringes, “wave if you pass a patrol car. The police around here know me. They’ll recognize the bike and helmet. They’ll think you’re me. You will be safe until Arizona. Then you may have trouble.
“I checked the news early this morning, Leroy. You are Most Wanted by the FBI. They say you are a terrorist. They will have roadblocks up. Be ready for anything. That’s why I’m giving you the pink slip; they won’t think you stole the bike if you have it. Here’s some money …”
“No, I can’t take it.”
“Yes, you can. You won’t make it without it.” Niles frowned. “The situation is bad. The FBI and ATF are working together. They never do that.
“I saw your father on the early news. He looked well.” Niles smiled. “He certainly knows many swear words. Practically everything he said was bleeped off the air. Sylvia’s husband tried to charge him with conspiracy and terrorism. The Sheriff wouldn’t uphold it. The federal judge threw the charge out.
“Your father said, ‘They tried to arrest me for getting stomped by a bull? That is the stupidest …” And then he said many colorful words.” Niles laughed. “My attorney will go with us to pick him up at the hospital this afternoon. My attorney said they cannot hold him.
“Leroy,” Niles laid his hand on Leroy’s arm, looking at him earnestly. “I am not Niles Swanne. My name is Nils Svanbäck. I am from Sweden. My agent made up Niles Swanne. That is not who I am. I want to be myself.
“And I want to go to the Meeting and meet Grandfather. I want to tell him that he changed my life. When he came to me in that vision, I got the strength to question what I was doing, and leave what was bad for me. My life will be different now. Will you tell me how to get there?”
“Yeah. It’s one of those places you’ll never find unless you know exactly where it is. You heard of the Mogollon Bowl?” Nils’ face was blank. “It’s sacred land in southern New Mexico, on the reservation. Grandfather has the Meeting there. It’s a strange place, Nils. People become psychic and develop powers like mine. They have visions. They find out what they really want and need. And they find their soul mates. Mostly, they find God. That’s all without Grandfather. He makes everything ten times stronger. Do you still want to go, Nils?”
“Yes, more than anything.”
“Get me a paper and pen, I’ll draw you a map that will take you right there.”
Nils, Sylvia, and the kids stood in the driveway as Leroy drove off. They waved at his enormous back, admiring the way he wove around the remaining ice hunks.
“I really like him, Mom. Are they going to put him in jail?” J-man searched her face.
“I don’t know, Jimmy. They’ll have to catch him first.”
“I think he’ll be hard to catch,” Nils said.
EPILOGUE
“You’re a great cook,” Sylvia said to Nils over the delicious omelet he had made her. “Even in the afternoon, an omelet tastes good.”
“Ya. I do pretty much everything for my grandparents. I am a big multi-tasker.”
“Mom, there’s a black car outside,” Jimmy dashed into the kitchen.
“I think its dad.” Hannah looked close to tears. “Don’t let him take us.”
“Get out of my way, Niles. I want to talk to my wife.” Austin barged into the motel with all the self-righteousness of the truly ignorant.
“You’re on my property. I don’t have to let you in.”
Austin flashed his badge.
“Do you have a search warrant?” Nils moved closer to him, standing tall.
“No. I came for Sylvia and the kids.”
“I’ll never go with you, Austin. I’ve been miserable with you for years, and so have the kids. You’re never home. You’d leave us in an instant if you felt like it.” Sylvia took a step toward him, lips pulled back a bit so her white teeth were visible. She looked like she might bite.
Austin turned on Nils, screaming. “It’s all your fault. You took my wife. I’ll put you in jail …”
“Would you be interested in knowing that Leroy Watches was here a while ago?” Nils said nonchalantly.
“What! Were you harboring a fugitive?”
“No. He was hiding in the garage.”
“Where did he go?”
“He left, traveling like this––” He held out his hand, thumb extended. “I saw him surgical scrubs.”
“He’s hitch-hiking? In surgical scrubs? Which way did he go?”
Nils swept his arm, indicating the en
tire southeast.
Austin spun out the door. They heard his car drive away.
“You shouldn’t lie to the FBI, Nils,” Sylvia said. “You can get into real trouble.”
“I didn’t lie to him. Leroy was hiding in the garage. I did see him in surgical scrubs and he was going,” he waved his arm again, “that way. I just didn’t mention the motorcycle, money, and clothes. He will never know.”
“Do you think most of a day is enough of a head start, Nils?” Sylvia said.
“For Leroy, yes. Your husband won’t call for reinforcements, will he?”
Sylvia shook her head. “No. This is the career break Austin has always wanted. He’ll keep his intelligence about Leroy to himself.” Her eyes misted. “We were together seventeen years. He didn’t look back.”
“I need to be alone for a while,” Sylvia said, shoulders drooping. “Can you stay with the kids, Nils?”
“Ya. Certainly.”
She was gone for quite a while.
“Is mom OK, Nils?” Jimmy asked.
“Yes. She needs to cry, kids. Maybe you need to cry, too.”
They did. Nils sat on the sofa with his arms around them.
“Sometimes he wasn’t awful, Nils,” Jimmy whispered. “Sometimes he was OK.”
“No one is awful all the time, J-man, even the devil.” Nils tousled his hair as Sylvia walked into the room. Her face was swollen and her eyes inflamed.
“I really needed that.” Tears flowed again and she plopped on the sofa with the rest of them. “He didn’t look back.” Sylvia turned to the blond man. “Nils, you know what? I’d like to go to that retreat. I need to. I want to meet Grandfather.”
