Contents
Part I: Chapter One
Part II: Chapter Two
Part III: Chapter Three
Part IV: Chapter Four
Part V: Chapter Five
Part VI: Chapter Six
Part VII: Get Episode Two
Part VIII: Author Bio
Part I: Chapter One
Zeke, a mysterious sight to behold, observed people staring at him as he walked through the busy LAX terminal. As he hurried on his way, he averted his gaze from the man in the pin-striped suit who drank from a flask.
He was annoyed that sometimes he had to take the attributes of a human being to maneuver his way through all the obstacles to get to his destination. However, that was within the realm of the rules he had to play by.
His thoughts raced with the joy of giving away the golden key, which hung from a chain around his neck. It was only an ornament of symbolism, but it sometimes surprised him the powers it summoned simply through the mysterious realm of a person's belief system.
He approached the terminal gate, then hopped up on one of the seats as a young college lad grinned at him in amusement. Sometimes he wished the Master had given some height to compensate for his obvious "freak show" appearance.
Zeke stood at four feet two in his stocking feet and looked like one of the Munchkins from the Wizard of Oz. His gray hair was slightly balding and a tuft of it was neatly combed over the shiny globe of his head.
He mulled over the details of the assignment sheet he held in his hand as he mourned having to leave his Hawaiian paradise on the island of Maui. That was where he was most comfortable, amongst the guardians of the countryside church nestled in the crook of a restless ocean.
Zeke jumped when he realized the man with the flask sat in the seat next to him. He wasn't feeling exactly social at the moment, but nevertheless Zeke had to take advantage of every opportunity placed before him, since the Master always had a purpose in the meeting.
"Hi," Zeke said and offered his hand as a warm welcome to a new friend, "my name is Zeke, and yours?"
"Albert." The man took another swig from his flask as the stench of whiskey floated in the air.
"Nice to meet you, Albert. I assume you are gathering your courage to get on the plane by the way you are guzzling that brew you have."
"Half scared out of my wits. How in tarnation did you know that?" Albert said as he quickly took another drink as if he were afraid Zeke was going to grab the flask out of his hands. "Your last name?"
"Zeke, that's all you need to know."
"Where you headed?"
"To destiny, I am afraid." Zeke patted his chest, making sure he had not misplaced or lost the key that he wore. "It's time for a change of seasons in someone's life."
"Wow, heavy. Me, I'm going to Omaha to visit my mother. It's been far, far too long."
Zeke immediately sensed the man's eyes were tearing up. He grabbed Albert's hand and gently squeezed. "It's never too late."
"Yep, well, I ain't exactly been the best son, but I tried. Was never good enough, you know. Now she's on her deathbed, got cancer real bad."
"Oh, I am so sorry to hear that."
"Yep, but you know, I have to look at it from the sunny-side up, eh. I ain't worth a plugged nickel, and the reason I'm carrying this flask is because I'm a basket case when it comes time to fly on an airplane. I'm terrified of 'em but I really want to see her in case--well, you know--in case something happens."
"Well, you might start by putting away that whiskey flask and replacing it with a soft drink. You don't want to be all weepy and drunk when you see her, do you?"
"Naw, I guess not." Albert seemed stunned by Zeke's remarks.
"Anyway, Albert, I think you are worth more than a plugged nickel."
"Who are you, anyway?" Albert said.
"Oh, you could call me an angel." Zeke rose then hoisted up his bag, signaling he was getting ready to move on away from Albert. The whiskey smell made him nauseated. "But I'm really just a concerned traveler. I really hope your mother is okay and you can have a good visit with her."
"Thanks for that," Albert said as he got up and walked away.
Zeke stood there for a moment and watched Albert throw away his flask and enter the airport café. He assumed to order an ice-cold Coke.
He smiled as he turned to walk toward the loading area. He had a knack for changing people's minds about their problems. A stewardess, who just arrived from an incoming flight, alerted Zeke to her troubled thoughts as he passed her.
His mind instantly picked up the vibration that she was struggling with her fiancé's request for her to quit her job and join him on his ranch in Montana. Zeke was amused by people's confusion when it came to big decisions.
He knew their love had absolutely turned both their lives upside down and he also knew she had never been happier. He softly formulated the thought in his mind and transmitted it to her.
She would be gratified to know he just granted her the desire of her heart.
As his flight was called to board, he took in a deep breath, which caused his chest to puff out with pride.
If there was one thing about this gig, it was that he truly loved his job.
***
Roger Wilson paused at the picture of his girlfriend on the nightstand as he prepared to pick her up.
On the other side of the stand was a picture of him and his friend Mark Meyers, the cowboy, who had ridden through all the highs and lows with him as a member of the Blair Community High School Class of 1973.
Roger felt the weight of his recent decisions heavy on his shoulders. He picked up the picture of Anita Barlow and felt a pang of guilt pass over him. He was leaving her. Was he really sure he was making the right decision?
What was love anyway? In the year since they've been going out together, he thought he knew the answer. But at times, he felt somehow smothered by the town, by Mark, and yes, by Anita.
The truth of the matter--she was getting too close to his heart. He had to step back and get some perspective on the issues at hand. Sometimes, the oppression that a committed relationship required smothered a freedom of youth he wanted to preserve.
He sat on the edge of his bed, took a deep breath, and removed the box from his pocket. He fumbled with the top, then opened it to gaze upon the engagement ring lying in wait.
He couldn't go through with this tonight. Maybe it was better to wait until his going-away party next weekend. He really wasn't sure why, but he wanted Anita to know that even though joining the military was something he had to do, he intended to marry her in the future.
Signing the military papers had been liberating, but it also scared him in a big way.
Was he truly being a hero or a coward?
As he closed the lid to the ring box and lay flat on his bed--staring at the ceiling--he reflected on the real reasons he was experiencing conflicted emotions.
Anita provided him with security. She was really the only place he felt safe, and he needed her to understand and commit to his plan for the future as much as he was.
Deep down, his doubts stirred again. He knew he couldn't be the husband Anita needed until he found out who he really was. All else was just window dressing.
He got up from the bed, opened the top dresser drawer, and buried the ring box among his socks.
Was he being foolish?
He closed his eyes and silently prayed to a God he didn't really believe in that Anita would say yes to his proposal, because he had to be totally honest with himself...
***
Barbara Wilson enjoyed washing dishes as she looked out at the panoramic view of the Wilson family farm. She cherished every year of her twenty-eight-year marriage to her husband, Ed, and loved her two sons, Paul and Roger, with all her heart.
It still amazed her that just yesterday both boys resided under her roof, and a short time ago small boys played cowboys and Indians and roughhoused in the basement, which was now transformed into a recreational area with pool table and Atari games.
She knew Roger was upstairs preparing to go out with Anita tonight. It was only one week until he would be attending the going-away party Paul was throwing on his behalf.
Something had changed between the two brothers since Paul had returned from his Vietnam tour. Paul became more reclusive, but more protective of his little brother. She never was quite sure what had happened over there, but she knew the war had changed her older son. It was something only a mother's intuition could sense.
She was also wise enough to never push the issue with Paul.
Yet, Roger seemed to have this desire to follow his brother's footsteps by joining the Marine Corps. He said he felt the call because of a sense of adventure. She couldn't understand his drive to take that path, but she wouldn't stand in his way.
Roger was the unsettled of the two, he had already changed his major twice in college. Her husband had assured her it was probably good Roger was leaving, pointing out a break from college may indeed be what his young soul needed.
She wasn't sure her younger son truly recognized some of the talents he possessed. She certainly couldn't understand how Roger got captured by a military recruiter's designs by moving in that direction despite having a solid relationship with Anita Barlow.
This was where Barbara Wilson had trouble applying logic to her son's situation. How could he leave if he truly loved Anita? There was no draft, no war, not even a call to action.
She suspected her younger son was running from commitment of all shapes and sizes. She prayed that the military would help him get his feet on the ground and provide some stability to his maverick ways.
Yet, she feared that the military could change her younger son in just the same way it had changed Paul. He had locked his feelings up inside, and was sometimes hard to reach, and she prayed he would find someone who could unlock his soul and release whatever demons lurked there.
Roger burst into the room and headed for the refrigerator as he grabbed a glass and poured himself some milk.
"Haven't got time to eat anything, running late," he said as he gulped down the contents of the glass.
"You just be careful, son, and I still wonder if you know what you're doing leaving Anita behind. She's such a caring soul and such a good influence on you."
"So you say," he said as he darted out the door.
Barbara Wilson sighed. It was really happening this time.
Her nest was truly empty.
She poured her husband, Ed, a cup of coffee and took it to him as he sat in his recliner smoking his Old English pipe. She smiled as she observed him reading the latest issue of the Omaha World Herald.
Barbara just turned fifty a week ago, and it was a birthday she wanted the world to forget. She wondered how their dreams had passed by so quickly. She sometimes felt like the world was wanting to put them both out to pasture way too soon.
"Honestly, honey, I swear that boy's wheels are going to come off of his cart someday," Ed said as Barbara placed his coffee cup on the reading stand next to his chair.
"I honestly think he's about to do something totally out of character and maybe not in his best interests."
"What are you saying?"
"Ed, when you married me, did you ever think I stopped you from living your dreams or cramped your style?"
Ed smiled as he responded to his wife's gentle romance. "When I married you, my dreams were just getting started."
Barbara glanced out the bay windows as she saw Roger's headlights create shadows against the living room wall. She secretly wondered if she would ever see that Roger ever again.
***
Anita Barlow quietly shut the door to her apartment as she escaped the amorous advances of her boyfriend, Roger Wilson.
She was infuriated at him for his flippant attitude since he informed her a month ago he was joining the United States Marine Corps. She didn't understand why a recruiter's sales pitch had so easily swayed him to enlist.
As she opened her kitchen cabinet and fetched the wine glass, she pondered his insane reasoning that with the factory slowdown, which had occurred recently, it was a sign he needed to do something to improve his life.
He argued that with President Nixon's new ban on the draft, it was a perfect time to seek the adventure calling him and he assured her that unlike his brother, he would not have to serve in Vietnam because the war was finally coming to an end.
She poured herself a full glass of wine, not caring about the volume. She loved him, she could not deny that, but his decision left her with lots of doubts over the past few weeks. She believed he was struggling to find his identity apart from his father who was a farmer of the land. She understood his missing the mark in college by failing to keep up his grades because of his inability to focus, but for the life of her, she could not understand why he was so blatantly leaving her out of this decision.
Could she really wait for him to play with his toy soldiers for the next four years before he put her first? The idea of breaking up with him flitted at the edges of her mind, she had to figure that out in time, even though she felt selfish in entertaining the thought.
She fetched her diary from the cabinet under the pantry--her specific hiding place. She felt the need to vent to her private therapist in a way she'd never felt before. Roger had been so excited about his decision and thought she'd be thrilled. Anita was amazed he had assumed so much.
She opened her diary to an entry written a year ago, September 6, 1974. They had both attended a party at her roommate's brother's house. Roger was a freshman studying accounting. Anita grinned as she recalled his failure to focus on a particular path, while she was enrolled in a two-year nursing program. A tear formed in her eye as she read the entry.
"Met Roger Wilson tonight. An incredible experience. He is studying to be an accountant. He totally has his head on straight, works full time at a factory and has a cowboy friend named Mark. I'm not sure, but this one could be a winner."
She took a sip of wine as she allowed her memory to slip back to that initial meeting.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
A loud knock on her door startled her. What in the world? She quickly put her wine glass on the coffee table as she rushed to see who it was, secretly hoping it would be Roger confessing his young foolishness at leaving her side.
As she opened the door, she gasped as her gaze fell on the short, squat man who stood there, then rushed past her without one word of apology or explanation.
"What are you doing?"
"Hello, Miss Barlow. I hope I have not called at a bad time or have frightened you, but I must quickly dispense with formalities and let you know that what you need, I've got."
"What?"
"You don't know it yet, but your boyfriend is torn between his duty to God and country, and you. He will ask for your hand in marriage very soon. I hope you will say yes and save us all a bunch of grief."
"Who are you?" Anita's question was more an accusation than a fact-finding statement.
"Do you love Roger Wilson?"
This was totally absurd. This man was violating her safe zone, invading her apartment, and being totally mysterious...and somewhat annoying. "How do you know so much about my life?"
"My name is Zeke, and I am a special friend to some special people. I just need you to give this key to your boyfriend."
Anita watched in awe as the midget took from around his neck a key that glittered when it caught the light and appeared to sh
ine and sparkle.
"You mean as a going-away present?"
"Yes, it's very vital that you give it to him and it is very vital that you say yes to his marriage proposal. It will set everything in motion, I assure you."
"You still haven't answered my question, who are you?"
"If you must know, I am the answer to all your confused thoughts right now. My name is Zeke, that's all you need to know. Now--" Zeke offered her the chain with the golden key hanging from it. "--will you fulfill those two conditions?"
"You mean a gift for Roger and to say yes to his proposal?"
"Yes."
"This is crazy," she said as she sighed and placed the golden key around her own neck. Strangely enough she suddenly felt comforted by this intruder into her private world. "Yes, I do love Roger."
"That is so grand. The stage is set." Zeke smiled as he rubbed his midget hands together. "I must be off, my child. It was nice meeting you. I must confide to you that you won't remember me five minutes after I leave, be sure to tell your diary about me. It's very important. Follow all my instructions and the golden key will open many doors for you."
"Did Roger put you up to all this?" Anita suddenly began to have a feeling this was part of Roger's proposal.
"Anita, I assure you, Roger does not have a clue about any of this. He is too busy trying to juggle all his own issues. You have agreed to do much, I thank you, and bid you good day."
Zeke bowed before her as a giggle slipped from her lips. He gracefully left her, there one moment and seemingly gone the next.
Speechless, she locked the deadbolt to the apartment door, something she hadn't done since she moved in a year ago.
She settled onto the sofa again and opened her diary to the last entry.
Dear diary, she wrote, I was feeling blue about Roger leaving for the military when a man named Zeke...
***
"Hey, man, great party," Al Larson yelled from across the room as Roger attempted to deliver drinks to Anita in the backyard. It wasn't exactly the atmosphere for the serious discussion he planned to have with her.
"I don't believe you're actually going to go through with this," Mark Meyers yelled over the ruckus of the party as he gave his friend a hearty slap on the back.
The Golden Key: A Quest For Freedom (The Golden Key: Quest For Freedom Book 1) Page 1
