Hearts of Grey

by Earl E. Gobel

  “Well I be,” Katie started to say as Bobby pulled her into him, and they danced. Katie was really surprised to see just how well the little boy could dance. She was impressed. With his hand pressed firmly on to her waist, they danced. She half waited for his hand to drop to her backside as all of the other boys had done when they had danced with her. But not Bobby, he was a true gentleman. Right up to the end of their dance anyway. As the music ended, Katie looked at Bobby.

  “Sir, that was the nicest dance that I think I have ever danced. Thank you so much,” she told him.

  “Well, there’s more if you care to dance another one with me,” the little said.

  Katie just looked down at the little boy. Oh, he was a charmer indeed.

  “Bobby, I would love to dance another dance with you,” she told him.

  But just then, Grady walked up and asked for the next dance. Bobby just looked at him.

  “Buzz off, old man. The lady is with me,” Bobby told Grady.

  Katie was in total shock. “Bobby!” she yelled at him. Then she noticed that her dad was laughing. She looked down at Bobby and then back at her dad. “You put him up to that, didn’t ya?” she asked him.

  “Relax, Katie, you should have seen the look on your face. It was worth it,” her dad told her.

  “He made me say it. I didn’t want to, with you being a lady and all,” Bobby said.

  “Well, I forgive you, Bobby, but as for you, Daddy dear, that was mean,” she told him.

  “Maybe so, but that look on your face, if only for a second, was priceless, dear. So you two can go on dancing, and I’ll leave you alone, but that was funny as hell,” Grady said as he turned and walked away.

  Katie looked down at Bobby. “Okay, now you have to promise me that you’ll never be rude like that again. Okay?” she told Bobby.

  “Okay, I promise. I’m sorry if I made you not like me anymore,” he said.

  “I never said that I didn’t like you. I just don’t like it when sweet, charming little boys like you are rude. That’s not the way to win a girl’s heart. You know that, don’t you?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I do, and I tried to tell your daddy, but he said it would be okay, just this once,” he explained.

  “Well, I believe you. So where were we?” she asked.

  Bobby clapped his hands again, and the music started again as did their second of many dances.

  Weasels and Riffraff

  Grady was feeling pretty darn good about himself right about now. What he and his daughter, Katie, had done was truly rewarding in a very peaceful sort of way. And of course, there was Mike and Melissa to thank as well. After all, they too had added a lot to this adventure. Yes, sir, Grady was about as peaceful as any man could be on the inside. And there was nothing that was going to ruin his day.

  However, nothing wasn’t something—it was someone. And that someone was named Mr. Walter Mitchell. Grady was perched against a white railed fence that ran from the far side of the house and out to the gate. He had watched this weird little man walking around, talking with this or that person, and well, that’s all he was doing, which didn’t really bother Grady, not at all. After all, there were a great number of people here, but this man was, well, weird. And that was the only word that Grady could come up with that fit what he saw in this man. Weird.

  Grady guessed that this weird little man stood maybe five foot five or maybe a little less. But it appeared that he was as big around as he was tall. A fat little man, this Walter Mitchell was. And the brown derby hat that he wore just added to his weird little shape. When Grady noticed that the weird little man was headed in his direction, Grady thought, Aw hell, what does little man want from me?

  “Sir, I hate to bother you, but—” Grady cut him off in mid sentence.

  “Then don’t,” Grady said to the man.

  “Don’t what?” the little man asked.

  “Bother me. If ya hate to do something, then just don’t do it,” Grady told him.

  “Sir, that was a figure of speech. But could you help me. I need to find this guy called Grady Windslow. But I can’t seem to locate him, so if you could point him out to me, I’ll leave you to finish whatever it was that you were doing, sir,” the little man replied.

  “Grady, Grady Windslow? What in the world would you want to find him fer?” Grady asked.

  “Well, that, sir, is none of your concern. However, if you need to know, I’m a reporter for the American Free Press, and I’d like to interview him for the paper. So if you would be so kind and just point him out to me,” the little man told Grady.

  “American Free Press? Never heard of it. And I’m pretty certain that Grady wouldn’t be interested in talking with a reporter from a paper that he doesn’t know,” Grady told him.

  “Well, sir, I’ll have you know that my paper, or the paper that I work for, is in fact the largest paper in the world, sir, so if you could just point him out to me, I’ll be on my way,” the little man barked back. But how much of this hogwashed story did he expect anyone to buy was anyone’s guess.

  “Largest paper in the world, you say? Hmmmm, okay I’ll bite. Pull yourself up a fence post, and I’ll talk with ya. What did you say your name was again?” Grady asked.

  “My name, my dear sir, is Mr. Walter Mitchell. But why in the world would I want to talk to a worn-out old geezer like you. Especially when there’s this adventure-seeking icon like Grady Windslow somewhere around here,” the weird little man told Grady.

  Grady’s temper was soaring. “Okay, I’ll point him out to ya. But would you prefer before or after?” Grady asked.

  “Before or after what? May I ask?” the little man asked.

  “Before or after I plant my boot across the seat of your trousers!” Grady told him.

  “Well, I will not stand here and be threatened any longer. Apparently, Mr. Windslow will allow any type of riffraff onto his property. Good day to you, sir,” the little man said as he turned to leave.

  “Yep, but you’re mistaken about one thing you know?” Grady told him.

  The man turned to face Grady. “And what would that be?” he asked.

  “Well, actually, Mr. Windslow has allowed anyone and everyone onto this nice little piece of land. Everyone, that is except for rude, obnoxious, inconsiderate little weasels like you,” Grady told him.

  “That’s exactly my point. Again, good day to you, sir. I will continue my search for Mr. Windslow elsewhere,” he said as he turned again to leave.

  “Fine, you do that, but when you do find Grady, you tell him that you’re an idiot. And tell him that I said so,” Grady told him.

  “I certainly will not. However, I will tell him how rude his guests are. All of these vermin acting like stupid soldiers. Guests like you, sir, ruin everything. And may I tell him your name?” he asked.

  “Sure can,” Grady told him.

  “Sir, I cannot tell Mr. Windslow your name if I don’t know your name now, can I?” he asked.

  “Guess not,” Grady told him, but inside, Grady wanted to brand his name into the man’s fat butt. But he couldn’t.

  “Well, sir, I can see that not only are you rude, but you’re also a coward,” the man told him as he turned and walked away.

  A coward? Did that fat little weasel just call me a coward? I should go beat his ass. But he’ll get his—just wait for it. Revenge would be sweet. And it will be all mine, Grady said to himself.

  About a half hour later, Grady had just finished talking with Katie. He had told her about the conversation that he had with this weird little man. Katie was in shock.

  “He called you a coward? And an old geezer too. And you didn’t hit the son of a bitch. Daddy, are you getting soft?” she asked.

  “Soft? No. But I do have something else that will get this little weasel his just desserts. This is what I want you to do,” he told Katie what to do, and again that devilish smile appeared across her face.

  “Got it. When do I do this?” she asked.

  �
�The sooner the better,” Grady told her.

  And just like clockwork Katie was doing as her daddy had asked. She climbed up on the stage and stood before the microphone.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your undivided attention please?” she asked. Everyone or mostly everyone turned and approached the stage.

  “Thank you all again for coming today, but we have a special announcement to make. So could I please have a Mr. Walter Mitchell up on the stage please? A Walter Mitchell, could you please come up on the stage?” Katie said through the public address system. And she waited. But she didn’t need to wait that long, not at all.

  “I’m Walter Mitchell. Did you ask for me?” the little man said as he made his way through the crowd.

  Katie almost started to laugh. Her daddy’s description of this weird little man was right on the money. He was indeed weird looking.

  “Well, if you’re the Walter Mitchell that’s with the Free American Press, then you’re the one that we want. Come on up here,” Katie told him.

  Walter climbed the few short steps up to the stage and walked right up next to Katie.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Walter Mitchell,” Katie turned and looked at Walter. “This is you’re lucky day, Walter. Do you know who I am?” she asked.

  “No, I can’t say that I do, miss,” Walter responded.

  “Well, my name is Katie. Katie Windslow to be honest,” she told him.

  “Grady’s daughter?” he asked.

  “That’s right. Grady is my daddy. So, Walter, have you had a good time here today meeting all of these fine southern folk and seeing all of the Civil War stuff and eating all of this great food? So have you enjoyed yourself?” she asked.

  “Not really, miss. I’ve been looking for yer dad,” he explained to her.

  “Yeah, I know that’s why you’re up here, Walter, so you can meet my daddy. But tell me and these fine people about that old geezer that you ran into,” she told him.

  “Well, he was rude and not very friendly,” he told her.

  “Really? And you called him and his guests riffraff, I think was the word that you used. Well, Walter, do these people out here look like riffraff to you?” she asked.

  “That’s not what I meant. I meant he was a riffraff, that old geezer fart of a man,” Walter was getting a little upset, having to defend what he had said before all of these southern folk.

  “And you called him what else, Walter? Didn’t you call that old geezer a coward as well?” she asked.

  “Well, he wouldn’t tell me his name when I told him that I was going to tell Mr. Windslow how he had treated me,” Walter told Katie, and everyone else that was in an earshot of the speakers.

  “Well, Walter, I’m going to let you meet my daddy, so you can confront him about that old geezer and all of these people here that you call riffraff,” she told him. And with that, Grady walked out onto the stage, but he stayed well out of Walter’s sight.

  “Walter I’d like you to meet my daddy, Grady Windslow,” Katie told him.

  As Walter spun around to meet Grady for the very first time, he got the shock of his life.

  “It’s . . . it’s you . . . you’re Grady Windslow? Oh my god!” the little man said as he looked Grady straight in the face.

  “Yeah, that’s my name. But let’s talk about you for a second, shall we?” Grady asked.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know who you were,” the man said.

  “That’s a good place to start. Everyone here would like you to know your answers to this. Why are you a babbling pimp squeak of a man that apparently was never taught any manners and talks to people like you’re better than anyone else? On top of being a liar,” Grady asked.

  “Sir, I am not a liar,” the little man spoke back.

  “Yes, you are. Let’s talk about the American Free Press. You claimed it to be the world’s largest paper. Well, if that was true, then why hasn’t anyone ever heard of it? Why is it that your paper, and yes, I said your paper because you own it, only has a subscription of—well, let’s say it’s under a thousand?” Grady asked.

  The little man looked at Grady with wonder in his eyes. There was no way for him to have known that. No way.

  “Sir, I don’t know where you got your information, but I assure you that you’re mistaken,” the little man told him.

  “Mr. Mitchell, that gentleman standing next to my daughter is Aaron James. He’s with the United States Treasury Department, and you’d be surprised what information can be turned up with a single phone call. So would like another chance at answering the question, sir?” Grady asked.

  “Okay fine, it is my paper. But I only told you that in hopes of landing an interview. An interview from someone like you, well, it would have made our subscriptions soar,” the little man confessed.

  “Sir, let me let you in on a little secret. I would have given you an exclusive interview had you been honest with me and told me that you were an independent publisher trying to make your mark against the giant papers. That would have been the honest play, sir,” Grady told him.

  “I’m sorry . . . I should have been honest. But since we’re talking about being honest, sir . . . why didn’t you tell me that you were Grady Windslow?” the little man asked.

  “Okay, that’s fair. Why didn’t you ask me? Before you started acting like a complete idiot. Calling everyone here riffraff and calling me a coward. Okay? Now it’s my turn to ask a question. I was wondering about your suit. Is that imported? It looks rather expensive, is it?” Grady asked.

  “Why, yes, it is. You have a good eye, sir. It’s imported from Italy,” the little man said with a sense of pride.

  “I thought so. First rule, lose the suit. When you take a piece of shit and roll it into a little ball, it’s still a piece of shit, sir, even if you wrap it in an expensive Italian suit. And lose that ridiculous hat. It looks like a cherry on a ball of shit.

  “And instead of running your mouth, you should try just running. You could stand to lose a few pounds, you out of shape piece of crap.

  “You will find that if you treat people the way that you yourself would want to be treated, you’ll get a lot further in this world of ours.

  “Second, all of these people here are not riffraff. They’re Americans, sir. Americans that are proud to be just that—Americans. And while they may indeed be dressed up like Confederate soldiers, it’s their pride that brought them here so they could be a part of something special like what happened here today. They also help us all to remember an important part of American’s past, sir. They represent what America is all about, sir, while you sole handedly represent the complete opposite, sir,” Grady said as he casually knocked the derby from the man’s head, sending it the floor of the stage about four feet in front of the man. “Now pick up your hat, sir before I stomp on it,” Grady told him.

  As the man bent over to retrieve his hat, Grady firmly kicked him across the seat of his trousers, sending him forward toward the edge of the stage.

  “One final word for you, sir. You have but ten seconds to remove yourself from my property, or I will unleash about five hundred pissed-off Confederate soldiers that would love to get hold of a Yankee reporter, sir. Now git your fat ass off of our stage and don’t ever let me see you around here again. And one thing more, you might want to read about your stupidity in the Boston Herald. Watch your subscription numbers now, you worthless piece of filth!” Grady told him as the entire crowd erupted in a hail of cheers as the little man ran from the property.

  As Mr. Walter Mitchell ran or wobbled from the property, Aaron James walked up to where Grady was standing. “Excuse me, Grady, but you never asked me to make any phone calls about that guy or his paper,” he told him.

  “I know that. But apparently, he didn’t,” Grady replied.

  “But how did you know—I mean, okay maybe his paper isn’t the largest paper in the world like he claimed, but how did you know the rest?” he asked.


  “I didn’t. But I just knew that I was right. And sometimes the best way to go is to bluff your way through,” Grady explained.

  “Well, remind me never to play poker with you, okay?” Aaron told him with a smile.

  “Deal,” Grady responded as he slapped Aaron on the back of his shoulder as the two of them walked up toward the house.

  “So what happens to the gold now?” Grady asked.

  “Well, as soon as it’s done being loaded, it will be transported to a secret location until they can arrange the proper transportation to take it on to Washington. And before you ask, yes, it will be under the tightest security possible,” Aaron reassured him.

  “Well, that was going to be my next question. But now I feel a lot better knowing that it’s protected. So what do you say we go rest ourselves on the porch and have a beer or two?” Grady asked.

  “Sir, it would be an honor to share a beer with ya,” Aaron responded.

  As they slowly made their way to the porch, they were very pleased to see the two couples sitting on the porch.

  “Looks like we’ll be having some company with that beer,” Aaron told him.

  “And some very good company at that,” Grady replied.

  As the two men got closer to the porch, Grady knew that they were all making plans for their weddings.

  “So what are the four of you conspiring to do now?” Grady asked.

  “Nothing yet, but I have a question for you, Daddy. When did you first know that he was going to propose to me?” Katie asked.

  “Do you want the very first time or the confirmed time?” Grady asked her.

  “The very first time. When did you know that we would be getting married?” she asked.

  “Well, let’s see now. Hmmm, okay, the very first time that I knew that the two of you were going to be married was the very first time that Michael here walked you home. But it wasn’t confirmed until we were up on that stage today. Okay?” Grady told her.