The Legend of Safehaven

by R. A. Comunale

  Tonio had been sitting at his desk pretending to study. He was dressed in what he called his “thinking” clothes: old blue jeans, torn tee shirt, and no shoes. He heard a car coming up the lane and looked out his bedroom window. When he saw the station wagon, he dashed shoeless out of his room to the foyer and opened the door, just as Betty was about to knock. They gazed at each other.

  “Hi.”

  Oh, God, I must look horrible!

  “Hi.”

  You’re the most beautiful girl in the world!

  “Uh … can I come in?”

  “Uh … oh, yeah … sure, come on in. It’s cold out there. Uh … how did you get here?”

  “My parents. We were on the way home from the hospital.”

  “Oh, geez, Betty, I thought it was this evening. I wanted to be there!”

  “No sweat.”

  Nancy, Edison, and Galen were sitting in the living room, the curtains on the big picture window drawn back. When Nancy heard the car she swung into action quickly.

  “We have guests, Bob. Come help me get some tea and biscuits. Galen, use your inimitable charm to entertain them until we’re ready.”

  Galen grunted then headed for the foyer. When he saw the two young people standing there he walked silently past them, opened the door, and called out to the two adults in the car.

  “Come on in, it’s too cold to sit out there.”

  Tonio, seeing Hisayo and Jesse walking toward the door, turned to Betty.

  “Give me a minute. I need to get decent.”

  He ran down the hall, slipped on sneakers and a red flannel shirt, and ran back to the foyer, just as her parents entered the house.

  “Sorry to drop in unannounced, Dr. Galen, but Hisayo and I … well …we had some questions about our daughter, and we wondered if we could impose on you and the Edisons.”

  Galen nodded and led them into the living room just as Nancy entered from the kitchen.

  “Would anyone like some tea and biscuits?”

  Edison wheeled in the loaded serving cart he had recently made, and the aroma of biscuits and fresh-brewed tea permeated the air.

  Hisayo was delighted. She accepted the delicate teacup and saucer that Nancy offered her. Then she addressed the group.

  “The specialists and staff at the hospital were wonderful to our daughter. They answered our questions as best they could, but for Jesse and me, the answers only raise more questions.”

  The two anxious parents looked at Galen. He felt the familiar tightening in his chest that occurred whenever he was asked to make medical predictions.

  They didn’t teach us to be fortunetellers in school, but God help us when we don’t have an answer to everything.

  He steeled himself, took a breath, looked at the man and woman seated across from him, and mentally crossed his fingers.

  “Let me start by saying that I don’t have all the answers. I can only talk about possibilities. I can’t tell you if Betty’s remission means a cure or how long it will last. I know the folks at the hospital also covered this.

  “The problem with ALL—your daughter’s type of leukemia—is that there are different forms of it. Each type carries its own potential for treatment outcome. The sample of bone marrow that was taken from Betty showed an unusual variant form of the disease, which can make it tricky to treat.”

  “Dr. Galen, my husband and I have one special question.”

  The petite Asian woman opened and closed her hands then clenched them tightly in her lap.

  “I met my husband when he was in the military. He had come to Japan on leave from his base in Korea. We dated and married in my hometown, and Betty was born at the local hospital.

  “Dr. Galen, my home was only a few kilometers from Nagasaki.”

  Both parents looked directly at Galen, as Hisayo continued.

  “We have read that radiation is linked to Betty’s condition. I was born in 1947, two years after the city was destroyed. I have had no problems, but do you think that residual radiation from the bomb could have disturbed something in me that I have passed on to my daughter?”

  Galen’s heart sank. He was aware of the higher incidence of the blood disease in descendants of radiation-exposed persons. But this? He shook his head.

  “The most honest answer I can give you is, I don’t know.”

  The questions continued. Some he could answer, some he could only guess at based on studies of longevity and remission rates in the different types of the disease. He tried his best to tell the worried parents when his answers were more hunch than fact. He felt relieved when the questions ended.

  Tonio and Betty had been standing in the hallway holding hands. They exchanged few words, but much passed between them. Then she noticed the silence in the living room.

  “I think my parents are finished interrogating your tio, Tonio.”

  “Sounds like it.”

  He didn’t want to let go.

  Jesse stood up.

  “We’ve taken up enough of your time, and I’m sure Betty wants to get home.”

  He looked at the two young people now standing in the living room doorway.

  His daughter spoke quickly.

  “Mom, Dad, Tony has offered to help me catch up on my schoolwork. Can we get together, alternating between our house and his, to do this?”

  The Orths looked at their hosts, and both sides agreed. Jesse headed outside to “warm up the car for Betty,” while Hisayo stayed with Nancy, Edison, and Galen.

  “You have raised the boy well. I see now where he has learned his manners.”

  She took Tonio’s hands in hers.

  “Thank you for giving my daughter a reason for living.”

  Winter was severe that year. The temperature remained constantly below freezing, and the winds rose in gusty protest against the home on the mountain. Nancy worried about the well-being of the wolves, so she and Edison made the trip to town to stock up on supplies for both animals and humans. She also wanted to do some late Christmas shopping.

  While they were gone, Galen invited Lem to the house for lunch. Caddler had been staying with Ben and Miri, helping out and watching over things, until ground could be broken for his cabin in the spring.

  “Lem, I’ve got some ideas for spring plantings along the lower side of the mountain. You know this area like the back of your hand. I’d like your advice and your help in laying the site out.”

  The old farmer read Galen’s list: berry patches, fruit trees, cabbage and tall grass, chinquapin nut bushes, and beehives. He looked at his former adversary and newfound friend and grinned.

  “Doc, I’ve hunted all my life. From the looks of that layout, I’d say you spotted bear spawn around here.”

  “Spawn? Hell, I saw it. I talked to the damned beast. And it answered me!”

  Lem laughed out loud and shook his head.

  “You sure it was me that got hit in the head the first time we met, Doc?”

  The men laughed, chewed on the ham sandwiches Galen had thrown together, and sipped their tea.

  “Promise me, Lem. Promise me you won’t say anything to the others yet. I don’t want them to think I’m crazier than they already do.”

  They laughed again.

  Caddler didn’t tell Galen about the drawing he had found on the floor recently after cleaning up Miri’s room. He hadn’t told Ben, either. He thought it was a good likeness of Galen, but he had wondered about the bear standing beside him and the semicircle of gray wolves. Now it was starting to make sense.

  It was late afternoon on that day of the winter solstice. After their lunch Galen walked down the mountain through the woods with Lem. They had surveyed the planned garden plot, and then he escorted Lem back to the little cabin he shared with Ben and Miri. They were approaching the fork in the path—one way leading down to the migratory-bird pond, the other to Ben and Miri’s home.

  “Think it’s possible, Lem?”

  “Don’t see why not, Doc. Soil’s good, and there’s a n
atural break in the trees there, so should be plenty o’ light. I’ll lay out the area, and then in the spring I’ll go rent a tiller at…”

  Both men stopped. Three canines stood at the junction. They were older now, but Lem recognized two of them, and they knew him.

  “Clyde! I’ll be damned … I thought ye was dead by now!”

  The oldest dog, now known as Zeus, pricked up its ears. The younger male did likewise. The female sat on her haunches but remained alert should the need arise.

  “He was your dog, Lem?”

  Galen was fascinated. How would this play out?

  “Yep, Doc, both o’ them. Ol’ Clyde there damned near took ma leg off, ‘fore he and that other critter up and left me.”

  The old farmer thought a moment then looked at Galen.

  “Ya know, Doc, can’t say as I blame him, seein’ as how I didn’t treat ‘em none too good.”

  He looked at the two dogs and shook his head.

  “Looks like you picked the right place, you two. Whose girlfriend is she?”

  “Zeus … Clyde is her mate.”

  He looked at the female wolf who returned his gaze impassively.

  Then Zeus stepped toward Lem and let out a whine.

  Caddler likewise stepped forward and put out his hand. The old dog stretched his snout forward, sniffed, then sat in front of Lem.

  He touched the dog’s head and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  “Felice Navidad, folks!”

  The front door burst open and Freddie, with Lilly Daumier by his side, entered the foyer of the mountain home. Carmelita had convinced Mike Dimitriades to fly in from California, and she allowed “her big Greek god” to carry in the mounds of packages she had brought. Faisal likewise had invited a guest who would stay with him and Akela at Diana and Lachlan’s house.

  “Hey, everyone, meet Jacob, Jacob Geltmacher. He’s the guy who stuck his face in the video he made of me. He says his folks are traveling in Europe, and I didn’t think he wanted to spend Chanukah alone.”

  Nancy, Edison, and Galen recognized Jacob immediately. Lachlan had shared the video with them when it first arrived. Indeed, the young man, despite his Chasidic outfit and scraggly beard, fit right in with the rest of the young adults.

  Almost in unison, the three greeted the boy with “Shalom, Jacob.”

  The young man’s eyes lit up, and he turned to Fai.

  “You told me they would understand. I didn’t believe it!”

  Nancy laughed.

  “Jacob, before I was married, my last name was Seligman. My husband Bob and I, and Dr. Galen, grew up in Northern New Jersey outside New York City. It’s been a long time, though, so you’ll have to let me know how you want your food prepared.”

  Jacob turned again and whispered in Faisal’s ear.

  “Tia Nancy, Jacob brought his digital video camera with him. Would it be all right if he recorded footage of us and the grounds at Safehaven? I promised him I would write the musical score for it, and you’ll all get copies when it’s done.”

  “Certainly, Jacob, just as long as you make us all look like movie stars,” Edison quipped. “And Oliver Hardy can play Galen.”

  All but one of the young people looked at him, until Freddie finally asked, “Who’s Oliver Hardy?”

  “Tio is showing how old he is, kids,” Galen replied.

  They had a simple homecoming dinner, but Nancy brought out special plates she had been given long ago by her parents. These she set in front of Jacob and told him of their origin and usage. He smiled in delight.

  “May I also call you Tia Nancy?”

  “Certainly, Jacob. So, tell me, where are your parents from? Your name is certainly a meaningful and unusual one.”

  The boy-man’s eyes clouded, and he stared off into space.

  “Tia, my great-grandparents came from a little town near Gdyni, Poland. They were captured and butchered by the Nazis, but they managed to smuggle their children—my grandparents—out of the country before they were captured. My grandparents were raised by members of the Chasidim in New York who adopted them and other refugee children.”

  Nancy stared intently at the young man.

  “Jacob, was that town by any chance called…” and she mentioned the name of the Baltic coastal village destroyed by Hitler’s killing machine.

  He looked in amazement and nodded yes.

  “Jacob, that’s the same town my father’s parents came from!”

  Afterward, Faisal and Jacob sat in Tonio’s room.

  “How’s Betty doing?” Faisal asked.

  “She’s still in remission. She’s supposed to have a full-body scan to be sure nothing’s acting up. It’s scheduled for after New Year’s. She’s a real trooper, letting them poke her for blood all the time. She looks good.

  “Fai, I told you what a remarkable girl she is. She’s already caught up on the schoolwork she missed!”

  Jacob grinned.

  “I take it you don’t like the girl … right, Tony?”

  The three laughed, but Faisal, who saw more without eyes, heard the worry in his friend’s voice. He was sure Tonio had absorbed every bit of data he could about the complications that Betty might incur.

  “Jacob, let’s be sure we get lover boy and his squeeze in the video.”

  “Where did you pick up that language, Fai?”

  Jacob looked at Faisal.

  “You’re right, Tony, he’s beginning to sound like a New Yorker.”

  “Listen, Betty’s coming over tomorrow. I hope you’ll both be nice and polite to her—and no comments about me. Promise?”

  “We promise,” the other two replied. Tonio didn’t see their crossed fingers.

  Freddie drove Faisal and Jacob to the Douglass home, and then he and Lilly left again to take a walk in town. He promised to be back but said it would probably be late, “so don’t wait up.”

  Carmelita took a wrapped gift to Tonio’s room.

  “What is it, Carm?”

  “It’s for Betty. It’s a special assortment of girl stuff—make-up … you know. You can give it to her tomorrow, when she comes over.”

  “Aren’t you going to be here? You can give it to her. She likes you.”

  Carmelita barely hid the blush on her face.

  “Uh … Michael and I are … uh … going out tomorrow. We’ll be back late in the day, but I’ll try to be back when she gets here.”

  She eyed her younger brother.

  He’ll do better alone.

  She would try to keep her promise. She always did.

  “Tio Galen, can I borrow the Jeep? Faisal and I want to show Jacob the mountain, so he can take some video. Lachlan is on patrol duty, and Mrs. Douglass is busy making the stuff she’s bringing over for Christmas dinner.”

  Galen reached for his car keys once again and wondered why the boy never asked to borrow Edison’s. He would never admit it, but he actually liked being the one Tonio always approached.

  He watched, once more, his beloved red Jeep heading down the mountain with someone else at the wheel. He hadn’t told Tonio, but he planned to give him the keys permanently to help him get to and from college. Nancy had given her old car to Carmelita, and Edison’s “kidmobile” van had gone to Freddie. Soon it would be his turn to do the giving.

  The telephone rang.

  “Galen, it’s Jay. We’ve got the final reports back on the Orth girl. The genetic analysis shows she has a mosaic—bad one. I hope she stays in remission, but you know the odds on that. It’s going to be a rough one if she gets a flare-up.”

  “Have you sent her sample in for bone marrow typing, just in case?”

  “Yes, but even that is less likely to work in her case. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

  The blood specialist paused then added, “Oh, by the way, happy holidays.”

  Both men knew the irony of that remark.

  Galen went to his room and stared at the wall, hoping for an inspiration, something to avert the inevita
ble. The wall remained silent.

  “Come on, Tonio, let’s show Jacob the wolves. He’s already seen Akela, and I’ve told him about the pack. He can get some great shots.”

  Faisal was almost dancing with excitement, as he and Geltmacher piled into the Jeep.

  “Uh … guys, I’d like to pick up Betty, too. She was coming over anyway.”

  “I smell love in the air,” Jacob laughed.

  “Nope, it’s the mold in Tio Galen’s old car.”

  Now, all three laughed.

  Tonio drove to Betty’s house, not far from St. Ignatius. He jumped out and warned the guys not to act like idiots, when she came back with him. Then he ran to the Cape-Cod-style, oyster-white home. He had just begun to knock, when the door opened. She was already waiting for him.

  “Hi,” he sighed.

  “Hi!”

  “Faisal and Jacob are with me. We thought you’d like to take a walk in the woods.”

  He bent over and whispered in her ear, “We can always lose them out there.”

  She giggled and took his hand, as they walked back to the car. She got in the front seat then turned to the two young men and the wolf-dog in the back.

  “Tony, I thought there was only one wolf in the car.”

  The ride back to the mountain house was filled with easy conversation about life at school in New York and career objectives.

  Jacob had his video camera and was recording the ride while asking questions and panning among the occupants of the car.

  “What do you want to do next year, Betty?”

  “Tony and I are going to take pre-med classes at The University of Pennsylvania then medical school. How’s that sound to you?”

  For his age Geltmacher already had become a skilled interviewer, and by the time they arrived at Safehaven, all four had talked about their plans for the future. As he slowly zoomed in for a close-up of the sign, he asked Tonio where the name came from.

  “It’s kind of strange, but it started with an injured female wolf, two stray dogs, and Tio Galen beating the crap out of a drunk hunter who trespassed on the land. After he clobbered the guy he went into a tirade against hunters and said that this mountain was a refuge for animals. When Tio Eddie heard him use the words ‘safe haven,’ he went back to his workshop and made that sign. The name stuck.”