He sat in the chair facing them.
“You look as though you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, Sterling,” the monk observed.
“I feel as though I do, sir,” Sterling agreed. “As you know, the events of the past week moved rapidly after the car fire. The police and FBI convinced Nor and Billy that it was necessary to go into protective custody until the Badgett brothers’ trial. The expectation was that the trial would take place in a relatively short time.”
“We all know that won’t happen,” the shepherd said.
“Do you have a battle plan?” the admiral asked imperiously.
“I do, sir. I’d like to move through this earthly year quickly. I’m most anxious to get to the point where I meet Marissa and can start doing something to help her. My hands are tied until then. I’d just like to have glimpses along the way of what I will need to know to assist me in safely reuniting Marissa with her father and grandmother.”
“So you don’t want to spend another full year on earth?” The queen sounded amused.
“No, I do not,” Sterling told her, his voice solemn. “My earthly time is behind me. I’m impatient to help Marissa. She said good-bye to Nor and Billy only a few days ago, and already she’s desolate.”
“We’re aware of that,” the nurse said softly.
“Tell us your plan,” the Native American saint suggested.
“Give me the freedom and the power to move through the year as quickly as I feel necessary, plus the ability to transfer myself from location to location by a simple request to you.”
“Who are you planning to visit?” the matador asked.
“Mama Heddy-Anna, for one.”
The Heavenly Council stared at him in shock.
“Better you than me,” the monk muttered.
“Mama Heddy-Anna has put up with a lot,” the nun said.
“I dread the day she shows up here,” the admiral said. “I commanded ships in battle, but a woman like that, I must say, might just turn me into a coward.”
They all laughed. The monk raised his hand, palm outward. “Go forward, Sterling. Do what needs to be done. You have our support.”
“Thank you, sir.” Sterling looked into the face of each of the eight saints and then he turned his head toward the window. The gates of heaven were so close he felt as though he could reach out and touch them.
“It’s time to go, Sterling,” the monk said, kindly. “Where do you want to be placed?”
“ Wallonia.”
“To each his own,” the monk said and pushed the button.
A light snow was falling, the wind was cold, and the village of Kizkek looked as though it had been unchanged for a thousand years. It was in a little valley, nestled at the foot of snow-covered mountains that seemed to form a protective shield against the outside world.
Sterling found himself on a narrow street at the edge of the village. A wagon drawn by a donkey was approaching, and he stepped aside. Then he got a good look at the face of the driver. It was Mama Heddy-Anna herself, and she was hauling a load of logs!
He followed the wagon around the side of the house to the backyard. She stopped there, jumped down, tied the donkey to a post, and began to unload the logs, chucking them vigorously against the house.
When the wagon was empty, she unhitched the donkey and pushed it into a fenced-off section of the yard.
Stunned, Sterling followed Mama into the stone cottage. It appeared to be one fair-sized room built around a central fireplace. A large pot hanging over the fire was sending out the delicious smell of beef stew.
The kitchen area had a wooden table and benches. Mama’s rocking chair was facing a television set, which stuck out like a sore thumb in its surroundings. A couple of other well-worn chairs, a hooked rug, and a scarred wooden cabinet completed the decor.
The walls were covered with photographs of Heddy-Anna’s two offspring and her incarcerated husband. The mantel over the fireplace held framed pictures of several saints, obviously Mama’s favorites.
While Mama pulled off her heavy parka and scarf, Sterling climbed the narrow staircase to the second floor. It contained two small bedrooms and a tiny bathroom. One room was clearly Mama’s. The other had two side-by-side cots-obviously where Junior and Eddie laid their innocent heads during their formative years, Sterling decided. A far cry from the gaudy mansion on the north shore of Long Island they now inhabited.
The cots were piled with women’s designer clothes, all with the tags still on. Clearly these were gifts from the missing sons, all items that their mother found absolutely useless.
Sterling could hear the faint sound of a phone ringing and hurried downstairs, immediately realizing that the Heavenly Council had given him a gift he hadn’t thought to request. I never thought I’d see the day I could understand Wallonian, he reflected, as he heard Mama tell a friend to pick up some extra wine. Apparently there’d be ten of them for lunch and she didn’t want to run short.
Oh good, Sterling thought. Company’s coming. It’s a great way to find out what Mama Heddy-Anna is all about. Then his eyes widened. She was speaking on a wall phone in the kitchen area. Next to the phone, where most people keep emergency numbers, there was a blackboard with a numbered list.
Probably a shopping list, he decided until he saw the words written in bold lettering across the top of the board:
ACHES AND PAINS
Sterling ’s eyes raced down the list:
1. Bad feet
2. Pains around heart
3. Gas
4. Dizzy spell
5. Threw up twice
6. Can’t taste food no more
7. Need operation
8. Broken heart
9. Never close an eye
10. Bad back
11. Swollen gums
Now, I’ve seen it all, Sterling thought, as he noticed checks after each complaint, with dates of the brothers’ phone calls from America. She’s got this down to a science, he thought. She doesn’t use the same complaint twice in a row.
Mama Heddy-Anna had hung up the phone and was standing next to him, examining the list with a satisfied smile. Then, moving with the decisiveness of a drill sergeant, she began slinging dishes, glasses, and cutlery onto the table.
A few minutes later, her friends started to arrive. Wreathed in a smile, she greeted them with bear hugs.
She had said there would be ten of them. They’re all very prompt, Sterling observed. The tenth guest was the one carrying the wine.
He guessed that they were all in their seventies and eighties and looked as if they had spent many years working outdoors. Their leathery complexions and callused hands were testimony to a lifetime of hard physical labor, but their ready laughter and joy in socializing was not different from that of the groups of friends Sterling had observed gathered at the King Cole bar in Manhattan, or at Nor’s Place on Long Island.
Mama Heddy-Anna produced a steaming loaf of fresh-baked bread from the oven and dished out the stew. The wine glasses were filled, and everyone gathered at the table. Frequent bursts of laughter followed the exchanges of stories about their fellow villagers, or about outings they had enjoyed together. There had been a dance at the church hall the week before, and Heddy-Anna had done the Wallonian national folk dance on a tabletop.
“Now I want to dance on a tabletop at the monastery when they have their grand opening as a hotel on New Year’s Day,” Heddy-Anna announced.
“I skied over and took a look,” the baby of the crowd, a sturdy seventy-year-old, said. “Can’t believe how nice it is. It’s been closed for twenty years, since the last monk left. It’s nice to see it all fixed up.”
“My boys used to ski over there all the time.” Heddy-Anna helped herself to more beef stew. “Too bad the monastery is over the border. We could use the tourists’ money here.”
The peal of the telephone made them all giggle. Heddy-Anna wiped her mouth with her napkin, winked at her friends, put her finger to her li
ps, and waited for the fifth ring before answering feebly. “Ha…llllo.”
She stood up to get a better look at the blackboard. “I can’t hear. Talk louder. Wait, I gotta sit down. My foot’s so bad today. It came out from under me. I laid on the floor all night. Finally managed to get up.”
Her expression changed. “What’d’ye mean, ‘Wrong number,’ isn’t this my Eddie?”
She slammed down the phone. “False alarm,” she told her friends as she sat down and picked up her fork.
“It was good practice,” the woman next to her said admiringly. “Heddy-Anna, believe me, you get better every time.”
The phone rang again. This time Heddy-Anna made sure who she was talking to before she began to recite her list of complaints. She repeated almost verbatim the story she had told to the first caller. “And besides that…” she continued, tears in her voice.
The friend nearest the phone jumped up and pointed to item six on the list.
Heddy-Anna nodded. “…I can’t taste a single bite of what I eat. The weight is dropping off me.”
I guess I have the picture of what’s going on in Wallonia, Sterling thought wryly. Now I’d like to jump ahead to the next season and look in on Marissa.
He left the stone cottage, looked up at the mountains, then stared into the heavens.
May I please go back to Marissa’s house? And let it be April, he requested, and then closed his eyes.
Spring comes first to the willows, Sterling thought as he looked at the slender and graceful clump of willow trees on the lawn outside Marissa’s home in Madison Village. There was a pinkish haze about them, a promise of the blossoms that would soon be visible.
It was early evening, and dusk was just beginning to settle as the lingering rays of the sun disappeared. He went inside and found the family at the dinner table.
He took a chair in the dining room as far away as possible from Roy Junior and Robert, who were vigorously thumping their high chairs with spoons.
Marissa was sitting opposite them, silently picking at a small slice of chicken.
Denise and Roy were at the ends of the table, each one with the chair pushed close enough to the side so that they could easily feed a twin.
“How was school today?” Roy asked Marissa, as he managed to get a spoonful of mashed potatoes into Robert’s mouth.
“It was okay, I guess,” Marissa said listlessly.
“Marissa, you’re just pushing the food around on your plate. You’ve simply got to eat something,” Denise pleaded, then abruptly closed her lips after receiving a warning glance from Roy.
Marissa put down her fork. “I’m really not hungry. May I be excused?”
Denise hesitated, then nodded. “Daddy and NorNor should be phoning in an hour.”
“I know.”
“I’ll call up to you, and you can go into our room and talk to them there.”
Sterling was tempted to follow her but decided he wanted to hear what Denise would say to Billy when he called.
Denise waited until Marissa had disappeared up the stairs before speaking. “ Roy, I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her about the progress reports. She just can’t seem to focus on her classes. The teacher said that she believes Marissa is blaming herself for Billy and Nor leaving, that Marissa thinks that somehow she did something wrong.”
“A lot of kids feel like that when something happens to their parents, whether it’s death, or divorce, or separation,” Roy said. “We just have to be understanding.”
Roy ’s a good soul, Sterling thought. He’s trying very hard.
“Down, down, down.” Roy Junior had had enough of sitting at the table.
“Down, down,” Robert echoed, bouncing in his high chair.
Roy took a final bite of salad and got up. “Coffee later. I’ll get these two upstairs and their baths started.”
Denise began to clear the table. The phone rang a few minutes later. “Oh, Billy, you’re early,” she began. “No, of course, Marissa isn’t out. If she knows you’re going to call, she doesn’t budge from the house for fear of missing you. Any new developments?”
She listened, then said, “Well, when you talk to her, tell her how proud you are that she’s always been such a good student. We both know she’d do anything to please you. All right, I’ll put her on. Give my best to Nor.”
She laid the receiver on the table and walked to the staircase. “Marissa,” she called.
Marissa was already at the head of the stairs. “Is that Daddy on the phone?”
“Yes.”
Sterling hurried up the steps and followed Marissa’s flying feet to the master bedroom. She closed the door tightly behind her.
For the next few minutes, Sterling listened as Marissa pleaded with Billy to come back. She promised she wouldn’t ever pester to go to the movies, or try to make him stay on the phone and talk to her when she knew he was busy, or…
Sterling went over and bent down to listen to what Billy was saying. “Baby, don’t even think like that! This has nothing to do with anything you did. I loved it when you phoned me…”
“Then why won’t you tell me your phone number right now?” Marissa asked tearfully.
“Rissa, it’s just that I can’t. I have to borrow a phone when I talk to you. NorNor and I want nothing more than to get home to you as soon as possible. Once I’m back, I’ll make this all up to you, I promise…”
After she had finally said a tearful good-bye, Marissa went back to her room, sat at her desk, and turned on her CD player.
The sound of Billy’s hit single filled the room. “I know what I want… I know what I need…”
Sterling watched as she put her head down on her arms and began to sob. I’m going to get you what you want and need, Marissa, Sterling vowed. And I’ll do it if I have to move heaven and earth. No, with the help of heaven, he corrected himself.
He closed his eyes and addressed the Heavenly Council. Would you please deliver me to wherever the Badgett brothers are at the moment?
When Sterling opened his eyes, he found himself inside a large, bustling, noisy restaurant on the water.
Unless the brothers are traveling, I guess that’s Long Island Sound, he thought. He looked over at a woman studying the menu. The cover read SAL’S ON THE SOUND.
It was a steak-and-seafood place. People with bibs were happily breaking lobster claws; sirloin steak on sizzling platters was obviously popular. And, he noticed, many diners had chosen his favorite appetizer, crabmeat cocktail.
But where were Junior and Eddie? He was on his second tour of the tables when he noticed a secluded semicircular corner booth with a prime water view. Upon closer inspection he saw the three occupants were none other than Junior, Eddie, and a scantily clad Jewel.
Junior and Eddie had just had one of their telephone visits with Mama Heddy-Anna, and as usual both of them were in a tailspin worrying about her. Jewel had suggested they’d all feel much, much better if they went out for a nice, relaxing dinner.
They were already sipping cocktails, and the waiter was in the process of collecting the menus.
Sterling took a seat on the windowsill at a right angle to them. I wonder what they ordered? he thought.
“I don’t think I can eat a bite,” Eddie lamented. “When I think of how sick Mama is, I’m crying inside.”
“You’ve been crying outside too, Eddie,” Jewel said. “Your nose is all red.” She patted Junior’s hand. “Yours is red too, lambie.”
Junior pushed her hand away. “I have a cold.”
Jewel realized her mistake. “And your allergies, honey. The allergy season is terrible right now. This is the worst it’s been in years.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Junior picked up his glass.
“She fell again,” Eddie mourned. “Our poor mama’s foot gave way again, and on top of that, her gums are swollen. She can hardly chew.”
I guess she didn’t use that one last time, Sterling thought.
“And her friends kee
p begging her to eat. Nothing tastes good to her anymore.”
“She’s been saying that ever since I met you guys three years ago,” Jewel said earnestly. “She must be eating something.”
Beef stew, Sterling thought. Lots of beef stew.
“She hasn’t fallen since January,” Eddie continued. “I was hoping her legs were getting better.” He turned to Junior. “We gotta go see our mama. I’m telling you we gotta go see her.”
“We can’t and you know it,” Junior snapped. “We sent her some nice new clothes to cheer her up.”
“She’s gonna love them,” Jewel enthused. “I picked them out special. Two pairs of satin lounging pajamas, a cocktail dress, and a hat with lots of flowers to wear to church on Easter Sunday.”
Eddie’s expression soured. “Mama says the clothes we send her stink.”
“That hurts my feelings,” Jewel said, pouting. “If I met her, I’d be able to shop for her better. Every woman has figure problems. I mean it could be her hips, it could be her waist, her behind might have a funny shape-”
“Shut up, Jewel,” Junior thundered. “I don’t want no more anatomy lessons.”
I was enjoying it, Sterling thought.
Obviously offended, Jewel got up. “Please, excuse me,” she said with exaggerated emphasis.
“Where yuh goin’?” Eddie asked.
“To the lala.” She flounced away.
“Is she mad because I said Mama don’t like the clothes she picked out?”
“Forget the clothes,” Junior barked. “Listen, I got a call when you were in the lala.”
“When was I in the lala?”
“You’re always in the lala.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. Every time I go look for you, you’re in the lala. Now listen to me. Our guys can’t track down Nor Kelly and Billy Campbell.”
“They’re a bunch of dopes,” Eddie said.
“It takes one to know one. Keep your mouth shut and listen to me. The whole case against us falls apart if Kelly and Campbell don’t take the stand. We gotta get rid of them.”
“It’s a big country. How do we get rid of them when we can’t find them?”
He Sees You When You're Sleeping Page 10
