by Jeff Noonan
Like it or not, Lee had a new name. For as long as he stayed in the little community of St. Dubois, he was affectionately known as “The Dude”.
CHAPTER SIX: LOCAL HERO
The crowd surrounded Lee and Ray, chattering excitedly about the events of the previous evening. This was apparently big news in the small town. Lee answered questions as best he could, but he was very uncomfortable. Ray, on the other hand, was open and boisterous with the crowd, most of whom were old friends. After a short time, Lee began edging toward the edge of the crowd, hoping to escape to his cabin.
Suddenly a huge arm was thrown over Lee’s shoulders and a booming voice in his ear stopped him cold. “Where you going, Dude?” This was followed by a loud laugh, a booming infectious laugh that both reassured Lee and startled him. He turned to face the laughter and found himself dwarfed by the huge logger that had started the cheering earlier. The big man stopped laughing long enough to say, “You need to stick around and meet the people. We’re good guys here in St. Dubois. I’m Mike Morse.” Then he held out his hand to shake, and laughed again.
Finally, Lee had time to actually look at the big man as they shook hands. He was startled to see that Mike was about his age. But Mike’s face was darker than Lee’s and was also far more weathered. The thought immediately crossed Lee’s mind that this man had not had an easy life. Additionally, the big man had the dark complexion and high cheekbones that told Lee there was at least some Indian blood flowing through the man’s veins. Lee smiled at him and answered, “Hi, I’m Lee”.
Another peal of booming laughter. “Naw. You’re the Dude. I like that better.” More laughter.
Lee suddenly realized that the laughter was the big man’s way of covering his nervousness. Big Mike was painfully shy and this effort to meet Lee had him stretched to his limits.
“Okay, Mike. Have it your way. I’ll be the Dude if that works better. I’m glad to meet you.”
Mike seemed to suddenly relax all over as Lee spoke. The laughter stopped and was replaced by a smile that seemed to light up his face. “We saw you trying to sneak off, Dude. Not a good idea. People will start thinking you’re stuck up or something. Give this crowd a few more minutes and they’ll drift off. Then we’ll buy you a Coke, if you’re up for it.”
Lee suddenly realized that Mike wasn’t alone. A shorter, very blond, man, also dressed in a lumberman’s heavy clothing, was standing to one side, partially obscured by the big man’s bulk. Now he stepped forward, right hand extended. “Hi. I’m Tony Mancini. Glad to meet you.”
“Same here.” Lee shook his hand vigorously. I’ll take you up on that Coke. You guys are the first people my age that I’ve talked to in a couple of months. Thanks for coming over, and thanks for the invite.”
They talked for a few minutes as they stood there. His new friends wanted to know all about where he had come from and what he was doing in their little town. Lee gave them his standard answer. “Just wandering around.” He had long since decided that the true story, that he was looking for a lake in a painting, was just too bizarre to tell people.
The crowd was starting to thin and the three were starting to move toward the café when they were interrupted by Ray Moore’s loud voice. “Hey Lee, wait a minute! Got someone here that I want you to meet.”
Lee and his new friends stopped to let Ray and the man he was leading catch up. The man came toward Lee with his hand extended. Lee stepped forward to shake as Ray boomed out, “Lee Raines, I’d like you to meet Kurt Kochran, the politician we talked about earlier.”
The man quickly objected to the description, but did it with a smile. “Whoa, Ray. I’m no politician. Just a small businessman who happens to be serving in the legislature right now.”
Lee was studying the man’s face and liking what he saw. Kurt was about the same size as Lee, with tousled brown hair and an engaging smile. But what set him apart was something about his eyes. He had a way of looking at a person that seemed to penetrate to the core of one’s being. It was unnerving, but somehow friendly and honest.
Lee took the initiative now. “I’m very glad to meet you. I read about you in the paper and Ray’s been telling me about you. I like what I’ve heard.”
Kurt’s gaze suddenly fixed on Lee’s face, studying him. “I’m surprised, Lee. Why does someone so young, from so far away, get interested in our political battles here in the mountains?”
“I dunno for sure. But I crossed rivers in the iron and coal country in Pennsylvania that I thought were disgusting. The Ohio and Mississippi weren’t much better. I could actually smell them when they were nearby. Then I got out here and everything looked so clean and nice. I actually thought that I’d left the trash behind me. Then I read the article in the paper and Ray showed me the crap floating down the Clark Fork.”
Lee stopped to gather his thoughts, mentally squirming a bit as Kurt’s level gaze drilled into him. “I guess what really caught my attention is that some of you are trying to fix this before it gets worse. I never saw a sign of that kind of effort back east. Frankly, I’m impressed.”
Finally the politician seemed to relax and he smiled. “You’re quite a guy, Lee. I hope you stay around for a while.”
Lee started to respond, but big Mike broke in at that point. “Hey, he ain’t Lee. He’s the Dude. We renamed him.”
Kurt chuckled at that. “Mike, call him what you want, but he’s a good man. Take care of him.” Turning back to Lee, he again shook Lee’s hand. “I’m late for a meeting and gotta run. Lee, if you stay around here, I’d like to talk to you. Maybe we can help one another.” With that cryptic comment, he and Ray left. The three young men continued on their way to the café and claimed the table in the corner.
Mike, with his characteristic big laugh as a prelude, opened the conversation. “Dude, that Kurt Kochran really likes you. I wonder what he meant by the ‘helping each other’ business?”
“I dunno. He said that he was a small businessman. What does he do when he isn’t politicking?”
Mike shrugged, indicating that he didn’t know. It was Tony Mancini that finally answered. “He’s some kind of an engineer. I know that he does a lot of work designing roads and stuff like that. I’ve heard that he’s working on the design of some dams that the government plans to put further down the Clark Fork to generate electricity.”
“That’s cool. But I sure don’t know how I’d ever help with that. I’m no engineer, for sure.”
Just then the waitress came over to take their order. It was the same girl who had served Lee when he first got to town, so he greeted her with a cheerful, “Hi Betty.” He was rewarded with a big smile as she asked for orders. Lee followed the others’ lead and just ordered a coke. He was a bit hungry, but he decided to hold off for a while.
After the waitress left, Mike let out his big laugh and asked, “Hey Dude, you don’t waste any time, do you? Already on a first name basis with the best looking gal in town. Not bad for a dude, if I do say so myself.”
Lee grinned. He knew how to respond to this kind of friendly ribbing. “Well, you know how it is, guys. I came into town yesterday and she took one look and decided this was the best thing she’d seen in months. The rest just happened naturally.”
Mike’s normal, nervous laugh was nothing compared to the whoops he let out when he was genuinely amused. He was now and he let it be known. Between huge peals of laughter, he managed to get out, “Dude, you’re all right.” Then he slugged Lee in the shoulder in a friendly gesture that almost knocked Lee out of his chair. Big Mike obviously didn’t know his own strength.
Tony was chuckling during all of this. Now he spoke up. “We’re planning to play baseball with a pickup team this evening. Do you play?”
“I guess. I played a bit in high school.”
Big Mike chimed in then. “Hell that’s enough. We’re going to get our butts kicked anyway. We’re playing the Town Team.” He stopped as if that explained everything.
Tony saw Lee’s puzzled
look and hastened to explain. “The Town Team is almost all college baseball players. They’re all trying to make it to the big leagues. The mill owner brings them here every summer and gives them a job if they’ll play for the St. Dubois Town Team. Other towns do the same thing and they compete with each other. This gives the guys some summer practice and an income before they go back to school. It works out well for the sawmill because the summer is their busiest time and a bunch of healthy workers are pretty welcome.”
Tony paused, then continued. “We don’t have a chance of beating them, but it’s always fun to try. We play them about once a week. Usually we don’t have enough players, so some of them play on our side. You’re welcome if you want to give it a try.”
“Why not? I sure don’t have any pressing plans for the evening. I do have a ball glove somewhere in my car. Do I have time to get a hamburger before we have to go?”
Big Mike took charge of the conversation again. “Sure. We’ll head out pretty quick here and get something to eat at home. Then we’ll pick you up at about six at your cabin and give you a ride to the field.”
The next few minutes flew by. The conversation turned to other things and Lee got to know his new friends better. The two men had been friends since an early age and had graduated from the St. Dubois High School last year. Both of them worked at the local sawmill as laborers. Mike’s job was ‘pulling boards off the green chain’ and Tony was driving a forklift, moving piles of lumber from place to place. The two lived together in a small house that they rented from the mill owner.
When Lee asked about their families, the conversation slowed. Tony was vague, just saying that his parents still lived over in Big River. Mike was more open. “My old man died a while back and Mom still lives here, but she’s got other kids and she don’t need my mouth to feed, so I got my own place when I got a job.” Lee knew that he’d stepped into a tender subject, so he dropped it immediately. Soon, the two friends left for home and Lee ordered his dinner.
Promptly at six, Mike and Tony arrived at Lee’s cabin and the three left for the ball field. Lee wasn’t too sure what he was getting into, but it was certainly better than sitting in the cabin for another lonely evening.
The field and bleachers were alive with the town’s young people when the trio arrived. Apparently this was a popular hangout for the town’s bored teenagers and young adults. Lee spotted some of the people who had been in the crowd outside the truck stop, and, judging by the “Hey Dude” greetings, they knew him also.
Suddenly bashful, Lee picked up a baseball and asked his friends to throw a few with him. This set up a rumbling among the crowd that made him even more self-conscious. Judging by the comments he overheard, the crowd was obviously excited that ‘The Dude’ was going to play tonight. Lee stifled a smile and continued tossing the ball to his new friends.
He knew that he wasn’t going to disappoint them. Not at baseball.
Lee, looking around, realized why Mike had been so pessimistic about their chances of winning. The town team was functioning like a well-oiled machine, with a coach barking orders at the individual players and the batting lineup already swinging their bats at imaginary balls. Every player wore cleats and older, well-worn, uniforms. Compared to this group, his pick-up team looked like the rank amateurs that they were.
The game got underway with a surprising three up, three down half-inning. Lee, playing second base, got the team going by single-handedly making a double play on a line drive that he grabbed. But then his side went down as fast, putting them back in the field. The Town Team got a run the next time at bat and went down after a struggle. In the bottom of the second inning, Lee hit a long home run, bringing in himself and a runner that had been on first base. But after that, the Town Team came together and shut out the fledgling pick-up team.
But, for just a short time, the score had been two to one and, for the first time in their history, the pick-up team had been ahead of the invincible Town Team! From that moment on, the little crowd had been going absolutely wild.
During the bottom half of the sixth inning, Lee took a seat on the bench to watch while waiting his turn at bat. When he was seated, an older man left the crowd on the bleachers and, limping slightly, approached Lee, held out his hand and introduced himself. “Hello. I’m Charlie Benton. I own the sawmill here in town. I haven’t seen you around here before, but I’m told that you’re the young man who caught the robber last night. Thank you for that.”
Lee took the proffered hand and replied. “Yeah. I’m Lee Raines. I got lucky with that guy. But thank you anyway.” He turned back to watch the game.
But the man wasn’t done yet. “You play a good game of ball. Would you be interested in joining our Town Team?”
Surprised, Lee turned back to face the man. “I’m sorry, Mr. Benton. I’m just waiting for parts for my car, then I plan to get back on the road. But I do appreciate the offer.”
Charlie Benton wasn’t one to take “No” for an answer. “I’m sorry to hear that, son. But, if you’re looking for work, I can always use another good man in the sawmill. You could work there and play ball all summer if you decided to stick around. Why not give it a try?” Lee slowly smiled while his gaze locked with that of the older man. “Sorry, Mr. Benton. I don’t need a job and I have other things that I need to do before winter sets in. My answer has to be no. But thanks again.”
“Well, if you change your mind, look me up. We could use your talent on the team.”
“Thank you, sir.”
With that, the man limped back to the stands and Lee turned back just in time to see the third out of the inning. He trotted back to second base.
Lee jokingly told Mike, after the game was over, that they should have just stopped playing after the second inning. But they didn’t and the embarrassed Town Team played one of their best games ever. When they stopped the game at dark, seven innings had been played and the final score was nine to six, with the Town Team taking the game. But no one could believe that the underdogs had done what they had done. It was a cheerful crowd that saw the game end.
Mike, Tony, and several other team members tried to get Lee to go to the café after the game. But Lee begged off, saying that he was just too tired and he wanted to get a shower and crash. The truth was that he was just too shy to go through another session with the people at the café.
Mike dropped him off at the cabin, where Lee collapsed into the room’s only chair. It had been an exciting couple of days.
CHAPTER SEVEN: JOB OFFERS
Lee hadn’t been at the café long enough to get his first morning cup of coffee before Ray and Dawn came to sit with him. Ray immediately asked, “What’s this I hear? They tell me that you’re a baseball hero as well as a bandit-basher! Tell us about it.”
“Aw c’mon, Guys. It was just a little pick-up game.”
“Yeah, but you managed to get the whole town stirred up. Nobody has given the Town Team so much trouble before this. Are you a pro ball player or something?”
Lee laughed at that. “Nope, just a kid with a broke-down car that had been planning to pass through town.”
Ray wasn’t about to leave it there. “Where did you learn to play ball like that?”
“I played for my high school back in Pennsylvania.” Lee hesitated, then he added, “I had a baseball scholarship to Villanova. But I left there last spring before the season started.”
At this admission, Dawn broke her silence, incredulity in her voice. “You had a scholarship and you dropped out?”
“Yup. A full-ride scholarship. Not too bright, eh?”
“No shit!” This from Ray.
Lee’s coffee came and he took time to add some sugar and take a long sip. Ray and Dawn watched him silently. When he finished the little ritual, Dawn broke the silence.
“Why, Lee? I’ve got a feeling that there’s a lot more to this story.”
“There is, Mrs. Moore. But I’m not really comfortable talking about it. If you don’t mind,
could we talk about something else?” Lee had a strained look on his face and Dawn saw that she had opened a wound. She was quick to agree.
“Of course, Lee. I didn’t mean to pry.”
Lee smiled at her, obviously relieved to be off the hook. Looking past her, he saw a familiar face arriving. “Hey, it’s Kurt Kochran!” He was happy to change the subject.
But Ray had still another subject for them. “Oh, Lee. I almost forgot. Your water pump should come in on the afternoon bus. If it does, your car will be ready to go by tomorrow morning.”
“That’s great news, Ray.” But deep inside, Lee was not as happy as he let on. He had started to like this little town and its people. His long search for the little lake in the painting wasn’t getting anywhere and he was tired of travelling.
Ray had risen to greet Kurt as he came into the café. The two exchanged small talk while Dawn took Lee’s breakfast order and moved back toward the kitchen. Then Kurt turned to greet Lee. “Hey Slugger. How’s it going?” He had a big grin on his face as he said it.
“Okay, sir. How are you this morning?”
“Good. But please, I’m Kurt, not sir,”
Kurt smiled. “Anyway, Lee, how would you like to make a few bucks while you’re waiting around here?”
“Gosh. Thanks, but I’m really not looking for work, Mr. Kochran.”
Kurt looked at him quizzically. “Kurt. No ‘misters’ okay?”
“Okay, Kurt.” It came out hard for Lee. He had been taught to never call his elders by their first names.
“Lee, you just surprised me. If you aren’t looking for work, what are you doing out this way? You’re too young to be a tourist and you certainly aren’t a bum. So what’s the story?”
“It’s a long story, Mr. - uh, Kurt. Let’s just say that I’m doing an errand for my parents. Okay?”
“Sure. No problem. Dammit though, I was really hoping to get you to help me.”
