The Legend of Safehaven

by R. A. Comunale

  Both bear and wolf were watching him now, so he stared back. The wolves calmed down and sat. So did the bear.

  “That’s better. I’m going up to my own den now and get back into bed. I’m sure this is all an old man’s dream and none of you exist. Now…” and he laughed again, remembering the priest’s blessing at the end of mass when he was a boy, pax vobiscum.

  He turned away from the animals and began trudging back up the path.

  Better not say anything to the others. They’d probably have me committed for mental testing and blame it on the stress of the last few days.

  After all, he had killed a man, even though the police said it was justified. But in his soul he wondered.

  Green lupine and brown ursine eyes followed his passage up the mountain.

  The State Police car pulled into the driveway in front of the mountain home. A light dusting of snow sat on the wooden sign at the entrance, little mounds highlighting the letters.

  All the occupants, save one, looked at it before opening the doors and stepping out into the crisp, wood-scented air. Lachlan and Diana got out first then helped Ben and Miriam. The two wolf-dogs jumped from the car and started to roll in the snow, before Faisal called out “Akela, come here.” The large male rose quickly and went to his master’s side, waiting until the young man stepped from the car and grasped his harness lead. The smaller, gray-brown female, nameless except in Ben’s mind, also rose and stood by her charge.

  Ben had wanted to call the dog Irene but thought it might be regarded as a sign of disrespect for his late wife. And, besides, the wolf seemed to need no name or command. It was Miri’s shadow at all times, and the two seemed to understand each other on some level that other humans could not.

  Faisal hadn’t seemed to need eyes to guide him for some time now. He ran up the steps to the door faster than the sighted could move and was met there with a hug from his friend Tonio.

  “Wait till you hear what I’ve written for you, for all of you. It’s still in my mind, that is, I actually haven’t written it on paper yet.”

  Faisal was so excited he would have rolled in the snow if he were a dog.

  Ben led Miri up the steps. He carried a shopping bag with him and presented it to Nancy in the kitchen.

  “Ben, you didn’t need to bring anything. There’s plenty here,” Nancy told him.

  “This is special stuff, Nancy. Don’t tell Fai. It’s a honey-nut cake from a Middle Eastern bakery. A friend of mine from the force brought it back from Philadelphia.”

  After exchanging greetings and hanging up coats in the hall closet, they all crowded into the living room. Edison had stoked the massive fireplace well. Nancy and Carmelita brought out trays of cups and a large pot of tea. Miri sat on the floor in front of the glass fire screen and stared at the flames hungrily consuming the wood logs inside. Her wolf companion lay next to her.

  The youngsters listened, as Ben described the cleanup that had been done in Miri’s studio. Faisal stretched out his hand and placed it on Tonio’s shoulder, when he heard about Betty and their close call with the escaped convicts. And they were astounded to learn who the heroes of the escapade had been.

  “Lem’s getting out of detox next week,” Galen said. “Ben, I’d like you and Edison to come with me when he does. I’ll talk with you about it later.”

  “Dinner!” Nancy announced. “Everyone take your seats.”

  They filed into the dining room and found places at the now-larger table that Edison had expanded to hold even more than the eleven who were present.

  “Ben, why don’t you do the honors and say grace,” Nancy offered.

  “I don’t know stuff like that, folks,” the old trooper stammered.

  “You start it off, Tio Benny, and we’ll each add something. How’s that?”

  Faisal grinned and waited for Ben to reply. Ben took a breath and began.

  “Thank you, Lord, for reuniting me with my daughter. And for bringing friendships that exceed anything I’ve known since I lost Irene and Bandana.”

  Each in turn added a comment until only Miri was left. As usual she didn’t appear to understand what was happening. Then she looked down at the wolf lying next to her. Nothing needed to be said.

  When the dinner dishes had been cleared away, Tonio quietly walked into the kitchen, where Nancy was arranging the dessert.

  “Tia, could I take some dinner to Betty?”

  She saw in him the same love and devotion that she beheld in her Bob’s eyes, when he looked at her.

  “Certainly, Tonio, I’m sure she’d like that. Are the others going with you?”

  “No, just Fai. He hasn’t met Betty yet.”

  She paused.

  “I’ll let the others know where you’re going. I guess you’ll want to borrow Galen’s car. Does he know about it yet?”

  Tonio made a dash back to the dining room to find his tio.

  “Come on, Fai, we can’t stop to let every kid pet Akela. Besides, that’s not what you’re supposed to do with a seeing-eye dog.”

  “He’s a seeing-eye wolf, Tonio. That makes it different.”

  The two friends walked down the corridor of the ninth floor oncology wing. Families were visiting in droves for the holiday, and many stared at the two friends and the wolf-dog. When they reached Betty’s room Tonio asked Faisal to wait, while he checked to see how she was.

  “Are you decent, Betty?” he called, as he cracked open the door.

  She wasn’t there. The blankets were on the floor, the clothes closet was open, and her street clothes were gone. Tonio raced out the room toward the nursing station and almost shouted at the unit secretary, “Where’s Betty Orth?”

  The young man at the desk looked at him blankly.

  “Is she a patient here?”

  Tonio didn’t bother to reply. He looked around for the nearest nurse and spotted one coming out of another patient’s room. He ran to her and tried to stay calm, as he repeated the question. The nurse shook her head then added, “Is she a young woman, about eighteen?”

  “Yes.”

  She checked the log for any tests that might have been scheduled and found none. Then she hurried to the nursing station and called the security desk to report the girl missing.

  “Hey, Tonio, we can find her.”

  It was Faisal. He led Akela into the girl’s room and asked his friend to let the wolf sniff an article of Betty’s clothing.

  Tonio looked puzzled at his friend and then realized what Fai meant.

  Faisal sensed the confusion.

  “Akela can find things. I would have lost half my homework if I didn’t have him. Let’s try it.”

  Tonio waved the discarded hospital gown in front of Akela’s long nose, then Faisal called out, “Akela, find!”

  The beast turned, almost pulling his charge off his feet. They headed down the corridor and found themselves in front of the stairway door. Tonio took his friend’s arm and guided him through to the stairwell.

  “She must have wanted to avoid the elevators. We’ve got nine flights down. Can you do it?”

  “Wait ‘til you’re on a college campus running between buildings, kiddo,” Faisal said, as he headed downward, Akela leading the way. They reached the lobby level, and the dog headed toward the exit door. They continued across the large waiting room to a side door and soon found themselves on the street, as Akela moved away from the hospital.

  The wolf began a faster pace now, both humans having to jog just to keep up. They were nearing one of the enclosed, Plexiglas bus shelters. Tonio saw her standing there, no coat, both arms encircling her chest. He ran to her, took off his own coat, and wrapped it around her then took her in his arms.

  “Why, Betty?”

  “It’s not fair. This can’t be happening to me. I won’t stay there.”

  She began to cry and he held her closer.

  “Come on, we need to get back inside. In case you didn’t notice, it’s cold out here.”

  He led he
r away from the bus shelter and over to Faisal.

  “This is my friend Faisal and his seeing-eye wolf. Say hello, Fai.”

  “Hey, Betty, good thing this isn’t New York City. Your shoes would be gone by now. Come with us. This big lug brought you some Thanksgiving dinner, and it’s going to be colder than the three of us if we don’t get back to your room.”

  They began walking toward the hospital, when a security van pulled up and directed a searchlight at them.

  “You folks all right?” the guard asked.

  “Yes, sir, we’re fine,” Tonio replied. “She just wanted some fresh air. We’re headed back to her room now.”

  They walked to the hospital entrance, as the van followed them. This time they took the elevator back up, the other passengers staring at Akela. Tonio stopped at the nursing desk and informed the staff that his friend had just gotten lost in the complex and that they were headed back to her room.

  Betty sat on the edge of her bed, head down. He saw the swelling now on her neck and the bruises that hadn’t been there before. He didn’t know what to say.

  “Why is it always left to the blind guy to break the ice?” Faisal quipped.

  Betty snuffled then started to laugh.

  “All right, you turkeys, I’m ready for some of that food you brought.”

  “Turkey you want? Turkey we got,” Faisal quipped.

  Both young men felt the tension easing.

  Later that night the two friends sat in Tonio’s room back at Safehaven. Faisal had asked Lachlan and Diana if he could stay over.

  “You really fell for her, didn’t you?”

  “She’s everything I could ask for, Fai.”

  Galen stood listening outside the room. He knew the likely outcome and wished he didn’t. He made his way quietly back to his own room, took the stuffed toy dog down from its shelf, and held it tightly.

  Leni, Cathy, what do I tell him?

  The November winds whispered outside his window.

  The truth.

  CHAPTER 8

  Suffer the Little Children

  PART THREE

  The holiday weekend passed. Carmelita, Freddie, and Faisal reluctantly left to return to college, and despite the tragedy in the cottage, life on the mountaintop returned to normal. Then Christmas brought its own frenetic energies into play.

  The three friends sat in the living room listening to Edison’s favorite opera, Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino.”

  “We’ll be picking up Lem Caddler tomorrow,” Galen said. “Nancy, could I impose on you to stay with Miri, while Ben and Edison come with me? I have an idea I’d like to try. Then we’ll bring him back here, until his cottage is ready.”

  Edison glanced at Nancy.

  “Can you handle Miri? She’s a pretty strong girl for her size.”

  “I’ll do what Ben does. As long as she has her clay and drawing paper, she’ll stay settled. By the way, Galen, Ben left something for you while you were out wandering the mountain today.”

  She handed him a manila envelope from the end table. Galen opened it and unfolded the sheet of drawing paper inside.

  “Look at that!” Edison exclaimed. “I didn’t know you had a twin brother!”

  Galen held the drawing up and stared at it. The image of a large, upright black bear stared back.

  His friends checked their laughter, when they saw he wasn’t joining in. Nancy changed the subject.

  “How’s Betty doing? Tonio’s been spending every spare moment at the hospital.”

  Galen stuffed the drawing back in the envelope. He felt relieved at not having to explain anything.

  “She’s getting out tomorrow, too. The chemotherapy has her in remission at this point. Now it’s up to her body and the drugs to see if it will last. I haven’t talked with Tonio about her yet, but I know he’s been scouring my books and the Internet about ALL. He probably knows more than I do at this point.”

  Edison hesitated before asking, “What are her chances?”

  “Without getting too technical it’s going to depend on the genetic type of ALL that she has. The results of the initial tests on her bone-marrow sample were contradictory. The hematologists say they’ve never seen one like hers. There are different subtypes, and each one has its own prognosis and possible outcomes. We’re still waiting.”

  They sat quietly, immersed in their own thoughts. “The Force of Destiny” played on.

  Lem Caddler waited in a wheelchair at the nursing station for his final discharge instructions. For the first time in years he was totally sober, and it felt strange. All his senses seemed sharper. He felt younger. Everything was so alive and vibrant.

  His leaving the hospital stirred up other feelings as well. He was disengaging from the twenty-four-hour support womb that the staff and counselors had provided to all the men and women in the alcohol-detoxification unit. Now he experienced the same emotions as the day before his first real battle in the army: anxiety, fear of failure, and the never-ending death of cowardice while fighting the enemy.

  One of his counselors put it succinctly. He had pulled out a copy of the old comic strip, “Pogo.” The possum-shaped cartoon character stared at the members of his counseling group, and the word balloon above Pogo’s head read: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

  Three men walked down the hospital corridor from the other end of the floor, and Caddler’s sharp, hunter’s eyes recognized them. He felt elation, as he saw Galen, Edison, and Ben Castle, their now-familiar faces smiling as they approached.

  “Let’s go, Lem. Time to leave this vacation paradise,” Ben quipped. “I know I didn’t want to leave after my stroke, but look at me—I made it.”

  Galen picked up Lem’s few possessions and discharge sheet, double-checked it, and then put his hand on one of the handles of the man’s wheelchair.

  “You get the deluxe tour of the hospital, straight to the Loading Doc,” Ben joked again, as he grabbed the other handle and they made their way to the exit.

  Edison had gone ahead, opened the passenger door on his van, and waited for the other three to arrive in the parking lot.

  “Where we headed?” Lem looked uncertainly at the others, as Galen and Ben helped him into the back seat and climbed in after him.

  “We’re going back to Safehaven, Lem,” Ben said, “but Doc Galen and I wanted to introduce you to some friends of ours, before we take you home. We think you might like to meet them.”

  Galen and Edison caught Ben’s use of the word “home” and smiled at each other. Ben directed Edison to a small building at the outskirts of town that was used as a grange hall and an all-purpose, get-together area. The van pulled into the side parking lot of the old, Pennsylvania-bluestone structure, and the four men got out. They walked down the hallway and turned into a large, auditorium-sized room with rows of tables and chairs set up. On each table were pitchers of water and juice, and thermoses of coffee and tea.

  Two middle-aged men walked forward from the crowd that was milling around and approached the newcomers. One was a tall African-American, the other a heavyset white man. Lem recognized the first as the owner of the local hardware store. The other was a prominent town attorney.

  “Hello, Ben. Brought us another friend, have you?” the attorney smiled.

  “Yep, guys, this is Lem. Lem, this here’s Phil, and the potbellied bald guy is Steve.”

  Caddler was confused. Then he saw the sign on the speaker’s platform at the head of the room: AA, Alcoholics Anonymous. He turned to Ben, Galen, and Edison. The three men nodded.

  Phil put his hand on Lem’s shoulder.

  “Pretty confusing and scary, isn’t it, Lem? Well, we’ve all been where you’re standing. How about staying for the meeting? There’s plenty of the right stuff to drink.”

  Lem looked at his escorts.

  Edison didn’t hesitate.

  “We’ll be right here, sitting in the back.”

  He turned to Phil and Steve.

  “Is that a
ll right with you guys? I know we’re not guests, but we’d like to learn.”

  The two men said yes, and then Phil guided Lem to a table near the front. Steve headed to the stage and rang a little bell sitting on the top of the white lectern. People quieted down and took their seats.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a guest here today. This is Lem.”

  In unison the crowd of men and women called out, “Hi, Lem.”

  Steve looked out over the group and took a deep breath.

  “My name is Steve, and I am an alcoholic…”

  An hour later Lem stood next to friends, as Phil and Steve approached them again.

  “Lem, Steve and I would like to sponsor you and be available should you need help. I think we’ve loaded you down with enough reading material. We cannot emphasize how much that little book you have in the envelope means to all of us here. Read it, ask questions, then read it again and again.

  “Ben, Dr. Galen, Dr. Edison, thanks for bringing Lem here today.”

  The men shook hands, and the four headed back to the van.

  Lem looked in the envelope. The title of the book inside was simple: “The Twelve Steps.”

  Betty sat silently in the back of the gray-green station wagon. They had told her she was “in remission,” that her blood count and the white cells that had gone berserk were back to acceptable levels. But she didn’t feel right. She was weak and tired; and she had no interest in anything.

  She looked at her reflection in the rearview mirror.

  My God, that can’t be me! That isn’t my face! I’m not old!

  She started to cry.

  Hisayo Orth sat in the front passenger seat, while Jesse drove. She sensed the waves of despair pouring from her daughter. She leaned over to whisper in her husband’s ear. He nodded. A few moments later the big station wagon turned and made its way up the steep, mountainside road.

  Betty paid no attention to her surroundings, until she saw that the car had pulled up and stopped in front of the big, wooden sign. Her face lit up when she saw the letters. She opened the car door and, despite her fatigue, almost ran up the steps to the front door.