by C M Dancha
"Grandma LeeLee, what should I do with the body parts you sent in the antique wood box?" Anyone listening to Rollie in his apartment would have heard nothing but mumbling. It was like the speaking in tongues of the outlawed Pentecostal Christian sects. To LeeLee, the question was as clear and concise as if Rollie was sitting next to her on the front porch having a mid-afternoon, lemonade-drinking jaw session.
"Rollie, keep them hidden for now. It won't be long before you will use them in His name."
As Grandma LeeLee finished answering Rollie's question, a car pulled into her driveway and stopped next to the front porch. M.C. Sweats, Rollie's brother, and his girlfriend got out of the car and waved to the old woman rocking back and forth on the porch. LeeLee had no idea her other grandson and his friend were close by. But she could feel a wave roll through her connection with Rollie and hinder their communication.
"Grandma, do you know Sedgewick Slice from the World Council?"
"No, I don't think so. Does he know me?"
"What did you say, Grandma?" M.C. heard LeeLee's disjointed answer to Rollie's question about Slice and thought she was talking to him. When she didn't look in his direction or acknowledge his question, M.C. walked in front of his grandmother and looked at her glazed-over eyes. He could tell she was asleep even though her eyes were open, and she was rocking in her chair. His grandmother had always been a little weird and did strange things, but this ranked near the top of the list.
Before Rollie answered his grandmother, he could feel two back-to-back waves roll through their connection. "Grandma, he claims to know you and M.C. but I think he was lying to me."
"Rollie, your two friends seem to be good, God-fearing souls. I must go now. I love you. Guard yourself against the evil ones in your life."
The connection was broken. Grandma LeeLee awoke to find M.C.'s face less than three inches from her own. He was staring directly into her eyes. The concerned and confused expression on his face was so odd she almost broke out laughing.
"Grandma, are you okay? You've been gibber-jabbering ever since we got here. Do you remember what you were dreaming about? Here, take a sip of lemonade and cool off."
LeeLee remembered exactly what was said during her dream talk with Rollie. She appreciated M.C.'s concern but there was no reason to tell him the truth. Her two grandsons didn't get along well enough to mention either one's name and reignite their feud.
"Oh, hello M.C. I must have dozed off for a while. See, this is what old people do. Fall asleep on porches and talk to themselves." LeeLee let out one of her famous deep throat chuckles and then turned her attention to M.C.'s friend.
"Is this your girlfriend, M.C.? My, such a beautiful young lady. What's your name sweetheart?"
Grandma LeeLee acted like the perfect host for the next hour even though her thoughts were still on Rollie. She prayed that he understood everything she said during their connection. He was a bright, young man so there was a good chance he would figure out her comments regardless of how ambiguous they were. She had delivered God's message so there was no reason to continue to fret about Rollie's welfare. She focused 100% of her attention on M.C. and the new girlfriend who was just like the other tramps M.C. got involved with through the years. She wondered if M.C. would ever learn good from bad when it came to women.
In Zurich, Rollie slowly regained consciousness and opened his eyes. Sprawled in front of him was the pooch, still sound asleep. Behind him laid Sophia who was caressing his head with a gentleness he never knew she possessed.
"Welcome back. I was beginning to worry about you."
Rollie's eyes doubled in size and he flipped over to face a woman who was not Sophia. Lying next to him, fully clothed and with a big, inviting smile on her face was Gretchen. The same Gretchen who had served him dinner at the Raven's Lair restaurant. She looked exactly as he remembered her; long golden hair, light blue eyes, and a pleasant yet impish facial expression.
Before he could ask her what she was doing in his apartment, she said, "Were you having a bad dream? Whatever you were mumbling and screaming about sure sounded serious. That's why I came into your apartment when I found the door unlocked. I heard you yelling and thought you were getting beat up or something bad was happening. I was surprised when I found you asleep, thrashing about in your bed. I laid down next to you to see if I could calm you down."
Rollie's surprise at finding Gretchen was still wearing off. "What are you doing here, I mean, why did you come over in the first place?"
She lowered her eyes with schoolgirl modesty. He could tell she was embarrassed and preferred not to answer his question if there were a way to avoid it. There wasn't. "I'm not sure. I guess I wanted to see you."
It was Rollie's turn to be embarrassed. It wasn't often that a woman chased after him. It was a wonderful boost to his ego. He would remember this for many years.
"Well, I'm glad you came over and rescued me from my demons." It was easier blaming his loud, frightful outbursts on demons than trying to explain that he was communicating with his grandmother, the most loving, God-fearing person he knew.
"Hey, are you hungry? Why don't we go out and get something to eat?"
"That's sounds great. I've got to work tonight but not for another couple of hours."
"Okay, give me a minute or two to get cleaned up."
Rollie started to get out of bed when he remembered he didn't have any clothes on. He only had a bed sheet covering his naked body. He wasn't sure how he got under the sheet. A playful smile spread across his face when he thought that Gretchen might have found him nude. Whether she had seen him in the buff or not didn't matter. He modestly wrapped the bed sheet around his body and walked into the bathroom like a penguin.
As he got ready, several thoughts ran through his head. First, he was glad his apartment building didn't have a doorman and the front entrance door lock had been broken for years. He then thought of how nice it would be to be seen in public with a woman. The cat-and-mouse game he played with Sophia was sophomoric and getting old. Lastly, he wondered how many men went to sleep with one woman and woke up with another in their bed. He couldn't help but think that he now belonged to a very select group of men who could claim such a feat.
But there was one thing which overrode and crowded out all his other thoughts. Was Gretchen one of the good souls Grandma LeeLee referred to during their connection? If so, who was the other? The only other choice Rollie could come up with was Fido. If anyone knew if dogs had souls, it would be Grandma LeeLee.
As he reached for the bathroom door, a scary thought raced through his head. Was Sophia the evil one Grandma LeeLee warned him about?
Chapter Twenty-Six
BD Doesn’t Taste That Good After All
"Mr. Santanez, we've asked you to come to the government office today to discuss a critical issue which has come to our attention. It seems that you have been accused of being a revolutionary and spreading seditious propaganda about our benevolent government."
Poppy Santanez was stunned by the accusation from one of the two women sitting across the table from him. His accuser's name badge identified her as Martina, a homely, overweight woman of approximately fifty years of age. Her traditional medium-length hairstyle, no makeup, and government-issued clothing identified her as a career government bureaucrat. Poppy had met many like her before. Her life revolved around the government. It was her child and husband. She needed no friends or family to confide in or love. Dishing out government punishment to the citizens within her district was all she needed to fill her life with meaning.
Poppy waited for Martina or the other woman to say more about his supposed treachery. Neither of them moved a muscle or spoke. They stared at Poppy without batting an eyelid. They wanted him to make the next move; either agree with the accusation or deny it.
Poppy began to laugh. At first, a weak chuckle. It gradually increased in intensity until it was a deep, uproarious laugh from his gut. He could tell the women were not prepared for this re
action. They were used to suspects who acted like scared little rabbits, fumbling over their denials and begging for mercy. Martina's face went from stoic to rigid as though it was chiseled from marble. The other woman who was much younger kept looking out of the corner of her eye at Martina without facing her. She wanted Martina's leadership to control this interview.
"Do you find this funny, Mr. Santanez?"
Poppy pretended to try to catch his breath, so he could answer Martina. What he was really doing under the facade of laughter, was racking his brain to think of what this old hag might be referring to. At times, he had voiced his disapproval with the government, but it was usually said to himself when he was mad. He could not remember one time when he voiced openly negative remarks about the government. He had been around too long to make a stupid mistake like that. The world was filled with snitches looking to turn someone in to one of the government's regulatory bureaus for a few extra world credits.
"I'm sorry, but you have to be playing a prank on me. Please tell me who put you up to this. Was it one of my neighbors or work companions?"
"Mr. Santanez, you're here to answer my questions. I'm not here to answer yours. Why don't you tell me the anti-government things you have done or said, and we'll all go home to our families."
"Miss, I love my government. Why would I say anything against it?" Poppy almost choked on his words of praise for the government. He hated everything about Papa government as he was beginning to hate the socialist pigs sitting across the table from him.
"Mr. Santanez, I don't know why you would degrade our wonderful government. But the facts indicate that you have spread anti-government propaganda with the intent to overthrow our leaders and bring down the structure of our society."
"Miss Martina, that is not true. Who makes these accusations against me?
Martina flipped through the file she had on Poppy, double checking her sources and information.
"Mr. Santanez, I don't normally divulge my sources or the names of people making a complaint, but in your case, I don't see a good reason for keeping these names secret. There are so many of them, I think it's time for you to hear what citizens say about you. Are you ready for this or would you rather tell me what you have been doing against the government? It would be to your benefit to freely admit your infractions rather than forcing me to bring them out in the open."
Poppy leaned back in his chair waiting to see how far Martina's bluff would go before she backed off. To his surprise, Martina said, "Okay, let's see. So far, I've received complaints from the Perez family, Tordo Ulinda, Mr. and Mrs. Ortize, Carlos and Maria Turlousa, the Escalara family, the …"
Martina went on for another twenty to thirty seconds listing the people who complained about Poppy's anti-government beliefs and activities. When she stopped, Poppy looked at her and asked, "Who the hell are those people? I don't know any of those people. Come on, this must be a joke. Now tell me, who's put you up to this?"
"Mr. Santanez, why do you deny that you don't know these people? They all know of you. You have offended every one of them with your anti-government rhetoric. And, worst of all, you have corrupted their children by infecting their minds with capitalistic theories. You have been preaching that individualism is more important than helping fellow citizens."
When Martina said the word "children", Poppy had the first clue. Now he might be able to piece together why he was being accused of hate speech against the government. His memory flashed back several months to the BD dessert incident on his porch. Was it possible that his grandson, Ramon, had told someone about the night Poppy took his BD dessert and gave it to his sisters to show how the government steals a person's labor? It was the only explanation which made any sense. But Ramon was a smart young man who was warned often about repeating to others what happened within the confines of his family house. Poppy had difficulty believing it was Ramon. The list of people accusing him of sedition against the government was too extensive to be due to Ramon.
Poppy shook his head back and forth giving the inquisitors the impression he still didn't know what they were talking about. There was a good chance the BD incident was the basis for this interrogation. But who was the leak in the Santanez family and how could so many people have heard about what Poppy did with the BD that evening?
"Miss Martina, I'm sorry. I have no idea who these people are and what you are talking about. You need to give me more information before I can comment on anything."
Martina's face turned a pale shade of crimson and the carotid artery in her neck stood out and pulsated with each beat of her heart. She was irritated with Poppy's responses. When she slammed her fist on the table, Poppy and the co-interrogator were surprised enough to lift slightly from their chairs.
"Mr. Santanez, if you want to be difficult that's fine with me. Your denials and lack of cooperation will be taken into consideration when a penalty is determined for your crimes against the state."
Martina stopped to let her threat sink into Poppy's brain. She hoped that he would start a confession but that didn't happen. "Mr. Santanez, do you know two girls by the names of Louisa and Christina?"
Poppy thought, "Oh no, not the girls." What did these two innocent children do to cause such a major inquiry by the state? They weren't old enough to understand the underlining political message of the BD incident. If they didn't understand the message, how could they repeat it to anyone? How could they corrupt anyone's mind against the government by simply repeating what happened at the Santanez home on BD night?
"Yes, Madame, they are my granddaughters. But what can these two children have to do with the accusations you have made against me?"
"So, you deny knowing what they have done?"
Poppy was sick of playing a cat-and-mouse game with Martina. Her attitude was shameful. How dare she treat an elderly person like a criminal. His years of working like a slave on the land made it possible for bureaucrats like her to enjoy a higher standard of living than his and most other citizens.
Poppy lost his temper and stood up. He leaned over the table, stared into Martina's eyes and through clenched teeth said, "Yes, I deny knowing what dreadful things an eight and ten-year-old have done. I find it hard to believe that a couple of little girls can do anything which could bring the government to its knees. So, Martina, let's knock off the bullshit and tell me what these two hardened criminals have done." Poppy was furious, and he was yelling rather than speaking his words. "You're a servant of the people, Martina. I'm one of those people. At least have enough respect for me to be honest. What do you think they have done?"
This guy had things completely backward. She wasn't a servant of the people. She worked for the World Council. Everyone worked for the government, including this old man. Her position within the government hierarchy gave her certain privileges which were unattainable by this old man and his family. He obviously didn't realize what an honor it was for peasants like himself to serve and support her and the other government officials.
Where had he learned such capitalistic nonsense? Her baiting him had paid off. He lost his temper and exposed his true feelings about the government. This was a man who hated his government and needed to be taught a lesson to rid his mind of such rancid thinking. There was no question that Mr. Santanez was a cancer within his family and community. The complaints against the children were secondary to dealing with Mr. Santanez.
Martina smiled at her ability to trap anyone into confessing anti-government beliefs. She stood up, walked away from the table and with her back to Poppy, stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes. From past interrogations, she knew how infuriating this was to detainees.
Poppy took her departure from the table as a sign he had either won or at least battled her to a draw. With an over-inflated sense of victory, he went in for the kill. "Well, are you going to tell me or let me go home to my family?"
Martina spun around and pushed a button on her hand-held recorder controller. "Mr. Santanez, this is precisely what y
our family doesn't need from you."
A holographic recording began to play against the far wall. In it were Poppy's two granddaughters and few of their playmates. Poppy's granddaughters positioned their friends in front of tables, near each other, and then gave each child a bowl, spoon, and cup. For the next few minutes, Poppy watched his granddaughters reenact, almost to the word, what happened on his porch months earlier during the BD incident. One of the girls played the role of Poppy and the other stood in for their brother, Ramon. Without realizing what they were doing, the girls had made a game out of the BD incident. The kids laughed and enjoyed themselves thoroughly during the entire recording. They went through the game a couple of times before tiring of it. The recording ended when some unknown adult entered the picture, broke up the party and sent the children home.
Poppy felt like he had been hit across the back with a tree limb. He returned to his seat and hung his head. He was filled with so many different emotions he was at a loss for what to say or do. The only thing he knew for certain was that he had let his family down. He should never have voiced his displeasure with the government in front of the younger members of the family. Now, he and his family were at the mercy of Miss Martina and her heartless cohorts.
He didn't care about his own welfare but penalizing the members of his family was unacceptable. Why should they pay for his egotistic bravado of teaching Ramon a lesson about the pitfalls of socialism? He tried to clear his mind and focus on a simple question. How was he going to get out of this mess?
"Well, Mr. Santanez, did you recognize anyone in this recording?" Martina didn't wait for a confirmation of the obvious. "Did you recognize what your granddaughters were doing in this recording? Were they reenacting something which may have happened at the Santanez home? It always amazes me, Mr. Santanez, how observant children are. I like to think of them as sponges and mirrors. They suck in everything going on in their world and then reflect it back into society. Don't you agree with me, Mr. Santanez?"