by Chuck Buda
“What does your mother want you to do?”
“She wants me to stay home and do nothing.” James folded his arms in frustration as he glanced out the window.
“I have to agree with your mother on this one, James.”
“What? But I thought you spoke for me?”
“I did. I represented your interests in the fact that you had nothing to do with the Mayor’s death. And that you didn’t belong in jail. It would hurt me if…” Eleanor paused. “It would be tragic if you were to get hurt or die.” She turned away from James and shuffled some things on the table between the windows.
“You know, this was the one place I thought I could go when everyone else threw me out. My Mom, Mr. Miller, now you.” James stomped a foot like a petulant child.
“Mr. Miller?”
“Yeah. He fired me this morning on account of me being a vigilante.” He felt like he might cry but he swallowed it down. Real men don’t cry, he chided. “Maybe it was a mistake moving to this town.”
Eleanor got closer to James. Her eyes darted back and forth as she searched his face. “I just want what’s best for you, James.”
“What’s best for me is to leave this place. Any man would be a fool to stay where he ain’t wanted.” He grabbed his hat off the bench and placed it on his head. James stormed off toward the door. As he opened it, Eleanor stopped him.
“James?”
He pivoted to face her. “Yeah?”
“Isn’t.”
“Huh?”
“Where he ISN’T wanted.”
James huffed and slammed the door closed.
Chapter 18
Carson shuffled the deck of cards as he watched Sarah leave the room. He was relieved that it was over. Carson was afraid that he was going to lose control. The cards sliding between his fingers soothed him.
He wished James were here right now. Carson missed him. He didn’t like to spend prolonged periods of time away from James. Sometimes, when James went to work at the store, Carson would get so lonely that he would try to start a fire in the room. Even though he didn’t really know how to do it. And then, just in the nick of time, James would come home for lunch. Or dinner. And everything would go back to normal.
Today was more difficult. Sarah talked. A long time. Carson struggled so hard to pay attention. His mind went to so many places. His legs wiggled like they wanted to jump up and run around the room. His fingers twitched, longing to grasp the solid deck of cards. To feel the crisp edges along his fingertips.
Sarah had spent most of the time worrying out loud to Carson about James. She believed in his abilities and determination, she said. But she was afraid of something bad happening to James. She said she wanted to let James make his own decisions and mistakes. What scared her the most was that if he made a mistake this time, it could cost James his life.
When Sarah mentioned the possibility of James dying, Carson found it easier to concentrate. His focus seemed to sharpen as he tried to figure out how to help James. Carson wouldn’t let any type of boogiedman hurt his bestest friend in the whole world. Nothin’ doin’. Carson aimed to stand up for James. He wanted to punch out the boogiedman like James punched out Mr. Black with his forehead.
Carson splayed the cards on the wood floor in front of him. He set them up to play solitaire even though poker was his favorite. Well, it was his favorite when he beat James. He giggled to himself as he recalled the multitude of losing expressions on James’ face. Carson loved to beat James at cards.
He didn’t understand why Sarah thanked him for taking her side. He hadn’t taken anything from her. She seemed to be pleased with him for it so he didn’t spend too much time trying to figure it out.
Carson scooped up the cards again. He got up and walked to the window, leaving the deck of cards on the table as he went. The street below was busy with people and wagons. He found it hard to believe that it was the same street that emptied for the gunslinger.
He pulled his finger from his belt loop, pretending it was a six shooter. Each time he drew it, Carson aimed his finger across the street and made a gunshot sound with his mouth. After a few rounds, he used the back of his sleeve to dry off all the spit on his lips.
Carson remembered how he was worried too. He was afraid James would try to leave him behind again. Carson still felt a little sore at James for last time. Even though he didn’t say anything to James about it. He knew James tried to protect him against danger. But they were supposed to be a team. Riding together on adventures. Fighting bad guys and getting newspaper stories about them. Together. It’s how they dreamed it out loud over meals. And in their favorite hiding spot.
He traced the window pane with his small finger. The smoothed surface of the wood reminded him of the feel of the playing cards. The edges felt the same when he held a deck.
Carson was determined to help James fight the gunslinger. But how? Sarah would do her best to keep Carson indoors. And James would shelter Carson from getting involved. He knew James would try to ditch him again. So what else could he do to help out? If nobody would listen to him or let him help then he would have to do it on his own.
He turned and headed to the cupboard. The drawer for the silverware slid easily. In the notch on the left sat a handful of steak knives. Carson reached down and picked up the first knife. The blade was a little dull. He rested the knife aside and went through the remaining knives. They all seemed to be dull. He ran his finger along the blade and it sliced his finger open. A line of blood traced his fingerprint and then it swelled.
Carson said “ouch” out loud to the empty room. He dropped the knife on the floor and grabbed a dishtowel from the linen drawer. He wrapped the towel around his bloody finger and squeezed it tight. He remembered how his mommy did the same thing once when he fell down the saloon stairs and scraped up his knees. She came to his aid and dabbed a rag on the wounds. When they kept bleeding she told him to wrap the rag around the scrapes and squeeze it tight until the boo-boo went away. He remembered how it worked like magic.
Carson thought of his mommy. He wondered when she was going to come home. He felt a little guilty for forgetting about her. So much had happened since she left town to take care of a sick relative. And he had almost forgotten what she looked like now. He wanted to cry about it but he had things to do. He still had to figure out how to get the gunslinger.
Leaving the dishtowel around his hand, Carson went back to the knife he dropped. He scooped it up and turned the blade around in the sunlight streaming through the window. Carson knew how to sharpen a knife. He had watched James do it countless times. He found James’ sharpening stone. He sat on the floor under the table and began working on the blade. Once he got it sharp enough, he could stab the gunslinger and save James and the town.
Carson grinned to himself as he imagined the adventure. He got excited about it because if he won, then James would trust him enough to include him on every adventure. And Sarah would let Carson out of the room more often. He couldn’t wait.
“Back to square one,” Carson whispered to himself.
Chapter 19
James ran his hand through his messy hair. Sheriff Axl Morgan sat behind his large desk, staring at James. The meeting didn’t start off on the right foot.
“Let me get this straight. Your plan for tackling this evil ghost is to call him names?”
“Sort of. Well, not exactly, I guess. When I said I wanted to tease it, I meant, you know, try to get it to show itself by making it angry.”
“Are you out of your mind, son?” The Sheriff seemed exasperated. “What makes you think that yelling at a wicked spirit is gonna bring it back to life?” He slammed a fist on the desk which rattled the few items atop the plateau.
James blew air out of his mouth and sat back against the chair. He searched for better words to describe his plan, but he was drawing blanks. And if he didn’t think of something fast then his plan would be over in a flash like a stick of dynamite in an iron mine.
; “The way I see it, the gunslinger said he would come back for me. And he knew my name. So…if I call on him at high noon, then maybe he’ll come back.”
“Even if you were to whistle Dixie for this ghost, and he were to magically appear based on your toot-sweet sounds, then what the hell would you do? Draw down on him and shoot it out in the streets?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet.”
Sheriff Morgan rocked back in his chair and let out a slow whistle. “Impressive, James. I put my neck on the line for you and this is the best you got? Schoolhouse bullying and ‘I don’t know yet’?”
James looked down in embarrassment.
“These folks are counting on me to clean this mess up. And I swore to them that you and I had a plan to do it. It’s all that saved your neck from the swinging rope. And my tenure is at stake now that I vouched for your backside.” The Sheriff stood up and walked a small circle behind his desk. James watched him pace with his hands resting on his gun belt.
“I can do this, Sheriff. I know I can.”
“Do what? Talk out your crap-hole? Promise things you can’t back up?”
James stood. He put his hat on his head. “Well, if you don’t want to help me, Sheriff, that’s just fine. I’ll do it myself.” He turned for the door.
“Sit your ass down, son.” The shout shook the window panes and startled James. He stopped dead in his tracks and faced the Sheriff. “Sit. Now.”
James plopped back into the hard wooden chair. He lowered the brim of his hat to shield himself from a barrage of cuss words and screaming which he fully expected.
“Sorry I lost my temper, James.” Sheriff Morgan sighed and sat back down behind his desk. “It’s not easy keeping a town safe. Sometimes I fear the townspeople more than the occasional gang of miscreants. Or ghosts.”
James nodded even though he had no idea what ‘miscreants’ meant.
Sheriff Morgan came around the desk and sat against the edge. With folded arms, he gazed down at the top of James’ hat. “We’re gonna have to clear people out. That’s for sure. The hardest part is what to do when the gunslinger shows himself.”
James looked up at the Sheriff. From his vantage point, there seemed to be more age and wrinkles in the Sheriff’s face than he realized before.
“Well if bullets don’t work then I guess knives won’t either.” James rubbed his jaw and then jumped up with excitement. “I know. We trap it.”
“Trap it?”
“Yeah, trap it. Lure the gunslinger out of hiding. And then, BANG, right into a trap.”
“Like a genie in a magic lantern?” The Sheriff mocked the idea sarcastically.
“Not exactly. But sort of. If I can get the gunslinger stuck in a trap then maybe I can remove it from town.”
Sheriff Morgan rolled his eyes. “And even if it worked, what would you use to trap it in?”
“Uh…a mirror. Yeah, a mirror. Aren’t mirrors supposed to be the windows to the spirit side?”
“I don’t know where you get your tales from, son. But I never heard that before.”
“Well, I heard it or read it. I can’t remember now. But if spirits can enter our world through mirrors then they must be able to get trapped in them too.” James couldn’t contain his excitement. He felt like he had a plan now and that gave him new energy.
Sheriff Morgan stared at James. “Well, at least it’s something, I reckon. We better get started then. I’ll work on getting folks out of town for a few hours. I’m sure that won’t be easy.” He stood and picked up his hat from the desk. “You work on getting a mirror and we’ll meet back here in a bit. We need to get this done tomorrow. High noon. Understood?”
James nodded. He immediately thought of Carson. How could he get the boy to agree to leave town? His mother would back him up since she would not let harm come to Carson. But James didn’t want to let his little buddy down. He had promised they would fight evil together. And he was fixing to leave the boy behind yet again. Some friend, James admonished himself.
Sheriff Morgan set his hat upon his head. He opened the door and swung his arm out to indicate that James should exit first. James smiled and set off across the street.
His plan was to find a mirror first. There were several large mirrors in the brothel for the ladies to dress in. The trick would be to grab a mirror without his mother knowing. If she didn’t approve of his battling the gunslinger then she probably wouldn’t approve of him borrowing an expensive mirror either. Then he would have to talk to Carson. James figured he would rather go up against the haunted gunslinger than disappoint Carson.
James thought to himself that this hero business had lots of downsides. Every time he thought he was beyond an obstacle, another one would take its place.
He scuffed his boots in the dirt, narrowly missing something a horse had recently left behind.
Chapter 20
Sarah watched James from behind the dressing blind. She snickered to herself how funny he was. But she was still going to let him have it.
James had come into the common room of the brothel on tip toes. He had peered around the corner and checked the hallway several times to make sure the coast was clear. Little did he know that his mother was tidying up inside. When she saw him enter the room, she decided to hop behind the dressing blind to see what he was up to.
Sarah stifled another giggle. She couldn’t help herself. She felt like a little girl again, hiding from a friend so that she could jump out and scare them. Except this time, she was hiding from James. And she planned to jump out and give him a scare too. One that he would never forget.
James approached the full-size mirror which stood on wooden legs on the other side of the dressing blind. Sarah heard him grunting as he attempted to lift the mirror up. She peeked over the blind and noticed his red face as he turned with the mirror in his arms.
“Stop right there.” She shouted over the blind. James shrieked and lunged forward. His body cradled the mirror as he sprawled out on the floor. She was impressed that he had the wherewithal to twist his body so that he ended up underneath the mirror, saving it from breaking.
“Mom.” James shouted back at her.
Sarah sauntered from behind the dressing blind. She walked up to James who was frozen on the floor.
“There’s no need to take the mirror out of the room. You can check yourself out right here.” She raised her eyebrows so James knew he was caught in the act.
“I…um…just…”
“Knock it off, James. What do you think you are doing with my mirror?” She rested her hands on her hips and tapped her foot.
“Let me explain.”
“Well, I’m waiting. Aren’t I?”
James rolled gently over and placed the mirror on the floor. He brushed himself off while he stood to face his mother.
“You see. I need to borrow the mirror to trap the ghost.” He winced, expecting her to yell.
“So you’re going through with it, huh?” She didn’t wait for a response. “Then I guess this is it.”
James grabbed her arm as Sarah began to storm off.
“Wait, Mom. Please.”
Sarah paused to face him. She was so torn. James was a young man and she knew he was free to make his own choices now. But she feared for his life and struggled with her maternal instincts. She knew she wouldn’t be able to just turn it off after seventeen plus years.
“I have to do this. You know I do. And the mirror is gonna help me trap the gunslinger so we can get him out of town. I’ll pay you for the mirror. Honest.”
“Well if you’re borrowing it then why would you have to pay me?”
“On account of I will have to break it.”
“What? Why?”
“Once the ghost is in the mirror then I have to take it out to the fields and shatter it. Then the ghost won’t have a way back to this side.”
Sarah groaned. “James, that is an expensive mirror.” She huffed at him.
“I need some help too.” He s
crunched his shoulders to accentuate his begging. Sarah shifted from one foot to the other without responding. She waited to hear his next request.
“I need you to talk to Carson for me.”
“Oh, no. No way. I am not doing your dirty work for you, James. I cleaned your britches but I ain’t cleaning up your messes anymore.” She stormed for the door.
James chased her into the hallway. “Mom. Please. I can’t disappoint him again. You gotta help me out with this. He’ll listen to you. I don’t want him to get upset.”
Sarah spun around as James slammed into her. “And you think he won’t be upset when I break the bad news to him? Are you insane? That boy wants to be like you more than anything in the world. And all you can do is run off on him and leave him behind. How could you, James? You were the one who promised to look out for him.”
James lowered his head. “I know. But I didn’t know that I would get these chances to fight bad guys.”
“Funny. Because you dreamed about it for years and got Carson all caught up in your delusions. And now you want to toss him aside.”
James’ expression changed. “You mean, it’s okay if I take him along with me.”
“Hell no. I didn’t say that at all. What I am saying is that you should stay put and forget about ghosts and start taking care of your duties. You have a job and a family to care for.”
“I lost my job.”
Sarah fumed. She couldn’t believe how much things had changed with James. He seemed to be growing up and taking on more responsibilities. And now it was all crashing down around him. And her.
“James, I want you to take that damn mirror and go do whatever it is you feel a calling to do. But don’t come back here. You can’t keep hurting Carson. And you can’t hurt me either. I won’t allow it.” She sighed and gently kissed his cheek. “Good luck, James. I will miss you.”
Sarah walked away and left James standing dejected in the hallway. He watched her go. His shoulders slumped as he turned to retrieve the mirror from the common room. The sound of his shuffling boots echoed a sorrowful cadence.
