Storyville

by Caldon Mull

  “You got some good friends, also.” Michel rubbed my hand.

  “A man is measured by his friends, lad.” Parsons released my hand and collected the cups off the table “I think your friend Andy is a very lucky man indeed.”

  “You said it, baby.” Michel laughed, breaking the tense mood that had crept in, past the sunlight streaming through the windows into the kitchen. “Andy measures very well amongst his friends… huge, actually.”

  “Stud!” I gasped horrified.

  “Ermmmmm… I see.” Parsons turned, his face balanced between a blush and a smirk. “It’s been awhile since anyone joked in here.” He let out a huge guffaw, obviously spurred on by the look of discomfort I could feel plastered all over my face. “Especially about something so ordinary as the Finch family parcel.”

  “Well, sir.” Michel grinned at me and squeezed my hand “If you think that Andy’s ordinary, you’d best get down to NC State as soon as possible. If it runs in the family, there’n awful lot of lonely widow-wimmen down there who’d shoot each other easy as a breeze if they hear you a’comin’. No word of a lie…”

  “…” I spluttered, trying to get Michel to shut up.

  “No, Acey.” Parsons looked at me carefully “Let the lad here speak his mind. Everyone here has been tip-toeing around everyone else here for so long as we have forgotten what life is all about. It is refreshing to have to be reminded that mostly, life is about the simple things and let’s not clutter it with all sorts of meaningless silences and unsaid things, shall we?” Parsons shrugged “I’d rather have laughter and noise and opinions about your parcel flitting around, than anything I’ve heard around here in the last fifteen years. Honestly, it’s been awful… whispering Doctors, nurses… medical technicians… care supervisors, your therapists… I don’t think I’d have that back if I can help it. I would rather this old house light up just a little, and have the young running around noisily than anything else more sedate, and jokes… and scrabble. Michel, lad… do you play scrabble?”

  “Not for a long time, sir.” Michel shrugged and let go my hand, sat back in his chair.

  “I must teach you then. Perhaps we can give Dan Hawks a bit of a chance with you along when he comes for his game. In the mean time I’ll get your room set up, I really don’t care where you’d sleep after that. As for Cat and your Mr. Hoskins, I’ll get their rooms settled as well. It’s really going to be quite crowded by comparison, pity the circumstances.”

  “Cappy’s father’s funeral?” I whispered as soon as Parsons left the kitchen “Did his pop go that soon…?”

  “Yeah.” Michel nodded sadly “Cappy spent most of his time waiting for the old guy to wake up so he could show him stuff before he needed to be doped up again. I spoke to him a coupl’a times while you were resting, but he sounds fine with it. He got to show him the Football cup an’ the pictures of the Lodge and the new lake. From the sounds of it they were OK with each other when he finally shuffled off.”

  “Oh man!” I groaned, “I didn’t think that this week could’ve been any worse for all of this. At least you’re bin’ here with me. I… Stud, I really ‘preciate you here… really I do.”

  “You welcome, buddy… after all what are friends really for?” Michel smiled shyly. “I know with all this stuff coming out about you being The Trust might give you ideas about why I’m sticking around, but honestly… I don’t care. I love you, Andy… since the moment I first saw you… an’ I’m never gonna stop.”

  “You… what?” I looked at him, agape.

  “Nah… I mean it. Not like completely romantic stuff, I know both you’n me not really wired like that… but I mean I enjoy every minute with you, whether we fuckin’ or not and you make me feel really, really special. I said it, an’ I mean it. I love you, Big Guy an’ you my best friend. An’ that’s what I mean by that’s what friends are for. You need me, you lean on me. You done the same for me, and I’m jes’ returning the favour.”

  “How… how have I done anything for you, Stud?” I held his hand again, licked dry lips. “I can’t think of anythin’ like this.”

  “Nah, you fool.” Michel smiled, shaking his head. “You confide in me, you made me feel accepted, you share my thoughts with me… you hand out some of the best sex ever like it was candy… you put me in places where if I don’t push myself to meet with the challenges, I’d wind up just another bored hick in a tiny town no-one ever heard of.” Michel sighed deeply, then locked his aluminum eyes on me.

  “Andy… you’ve made me force myself to become the man I am today… I’ve done all of this stuff on my own, but it was you who helped, steered, supported, encouraged, pushed me if I needed pushing an’… an’… all this time you ‘bin handing out love like it was oxygen. I’m hooked, man I’m hooked on you. I… I love you Andronicus Caiphus Finch, man… you my best friend an’ I love you. That’s what friends are for.”

  “I…” I felt wetness on my cheeks as the tears spilled down them “I… love you, Michel. Thank you for bein’ my friend. Thank you for always bein’ by my side.”

  “You welcome, Running Deer.” Michel leaned forward and gently kissed my forehead “You are most welcome, my friend, my brother.” He grinned “Now let’s get you cleaned up and ready for your cousin and Cappy. I don’t think you gonna put their mind at ease lookin’ like this.” He tugged my hand gently. “C’mon, Big Guy… come with me.”

  I followed him meekly, grateful for his lead. When Cat and Cappy arrived some hours later, I was shaved, showered, clothed and fed and feeling like a million bucks.

  “Oh… Acey…” Cat flew into my arms as soon as the door opened “I’m so sorry. It’s been so long.” She hugged me while I looked over her shoulder. Bobby walked in, toting the bags, dressed in a cream golf shirt and a light pair of chino’s. He looked good, very good, he must have been getting some sun while he was down in Miami.

  “Hi.” I smiled at him.

  “Hey, Andy.” He moved up and, gripping the back of my neck kissed me on the forehead, hugging Cat and me both. “You holding up?”

  “Yeah. You?” He looked tired, haunted despite his obvious fitness. “Yeah. Think so.” He smiled at Michel. “How you, Stud?”

  “Good, buddy.” Michel smiled easily “Just fine. Quite a week, though.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it.” Bobby squeezed my earlobe, his secret sign for ‘later’ and stood out of our embrace. “One funeral to the next…”

  “Apparently this is just a service.” I shrugged and disentangled Cat “Mom didn’t have many friends these last few years. Being in a coma tends to limit your social calendar.”

  “Acey!” Cat gasped.

  “Just my way of dealing with this, Legs, don’t you worry none.” I chucked her under her chin and forced a smile I didn’t feel. “Mom and I got to talk a lot at the end, just like Cappy did with his Pop. I’m fine with the way things turned out.”

  “Cat… Cat told me on the way up about how things were. Why did you never say?” Bobby looked at me strangely.

  “Buddy, it never came up. And if it did, what was I going to say about it? For all intents she has been dead for fifteen years and I can’t… couldn’t… deal with it. It was difficult enough knowing I could have pulled the plug while knowing she was in there, just not being able to do anything about it.”

  “Yeah, sorry. It sucks and I know you’d always do the best by folks.” Bobby smiled sadly. “But, as you said, it turned out best it could.”

  “I couldn’t… murder… her, Cappy… I… couldn’t take something from her that wasn’t mine to take. She lived her life as best she could and… when it was time, it was time.” I took a deep breath. “I made sure I gave her as much as I could, even… though… I… should have done different.”

  “Hey.” Bobby whispered, pulling me into another hug. I just melted in his arms, all my strength just leeched out of my limbs. “Don’t focus on the ‘what-if’s’ and the ‘why’s’ or you’ll drive yourself buggy. If it turned
out okay, then that’s all that matters.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed into his neck. “All that matters.”

  “C’mon Cappy, I’ll take you to your room, an’ help you with some of the stuff. Parson’s got you checked into one of the main en-suites. Man, you gonna love this place.” Michel beckoned.

  “Thanks, Stud.” Bobby murmured quietly to him. “Thanks fer bein’ here, I wish it could’ve been me.”

  “I know, Cappy.” Michel squeezed his shoulder “But you here now. I think that’s enough for Big Guy right now.”

  “I jes’ hope it will be enough, is all.” Bobby gave me another strange look and followed Michel while I walked Cat to the study.

  “You got in all right? No problems with the ‘plane?” I slapped her butt as we walked the stairs. “I know you love that thing, but it’s getting difficult to source parts. You think if I could get another two or three you’d have spare parts for awhile?”

  “I guess.” Cat shrugged “It’s your money.”

  “Yeah.” I opened the library door and shooed her in “But without you flying here and there and everywhere for us, I’d never get anything done.”

  “C’mon, admit it…” Cat opened the study door for me “You just like the idea of me being away from here, taking my life into my own hands with an ageing set of wings.”

  “Nothing further from the truth, legs.” I opened up the portfolio of all the shots I had taken on the way up. Michel had them developed while I was… resting. “I’ve been looking at these sites to set up more Lodges. I’m going to need someone to scout them out, find out stuff about owners and suchlike.”

  “You going to build more Lodges?” Cat blinked.

  “Yip, I reckon I am.” I grinned at her. “First, it was a good idea. Second, it’ll make Bobby and me a whole whack-load of cash and third, there are only so many ways to keep the smaller places like Storyville and places like that afloat with all the changes going on in the economy.”

  “Well…” Cat fidgeted, but I didn’t notice too much.

  “Think about it, Cat.” I waved the file at her “Michel’s keen on the challenge… his work is absolutely perfect for what they are, Will Dekker and Bobby Hoskins are the perfect businessmen to direct the franchise and I’ve got the cash to put the whole thing together…”

  “Acey….” Cat took another deep breath, squared her shoulders.

  “… and it’s what they’re good at, Cat, given a chance to do what you are good at, and actually making money while you doing it, being rewarded for doing something you love is got to make all the difference in the world…”

  “Acey…” Cat took a step forward “I told him everything!”

  “What?” I did a double take, my mood turning almost immediately. “You… why?”

  “I didn’t mean to, but…” Cat’s face screwed up, usually when she wanted to cry, but couldn’t… she’d do that. I’ve never actually seen her cry “After spending all that time together and… as soon as we started making love… I couldn’t… hide anything from him anymore.”

  “You… what?” I froze. I found my mouth was working but no sounds were coming out.

  “Oh god!” Bobby’s voice drifted from the library door. I looked up and saw him standing in the shadows, he must have heard everything Cat and I had been saying.

  “You did what?” I whispered to him, my voice came out strangled and oddly pitched.

  “I fucked up, Andy.” He whispered back, face working in anguish, “This time I really fucked up… I love her. I shouldn’t… but I did… and now I do… an’… an’… Oh god…!” he melted into the shadows under my anger, my face must’ve been awful to see. I didn’t even register when he left the room.

  “Cat!” I barked to her as she cringed “What have you done!”

  “He’s the one, Acey…” tears rolled down her face as she squared up against me “Really, he’s my one. I didn’t think it would be so bad, maybe a hit or two… and then… but the time we spent was… he was so different… and… and…”

  “So he finds out that all along I’ve been… what? Cat, think!” I snarled “Putting money into his farm… building a Lodge on his property… Fuck! Cat!” I reached and grabbed her shoulders and shook her, hard. “All the reasons I’ve been trying to keep this quiet so was he wouldn’t think this was a shyster deal or… or something else! It’s not just for nothing I’d been so furtive, Cat. He’s my best friend and he’s one of the proudest men I know… You think… you’d think…”

  “Acey, I didn’t think…” Cat’s eyes started rolling tears, the first time I’d actually seen her crack her shell and see into the girl hiding all the way down there. “All I saw was a lovely man… and hoped he’d finally be the one for me. I… he’s strong, and he’s kind and… he makes me laugh, and he can laugh at me without it being nasty… and he’s gentle, and he’s great in the sack… ohmigod, he’s great in the sack… and he’s handsome… and he’s the one, Acey!”

  “Really!” I could feel my face freeze, my snarl etched into my skull. “Perhaps… perhaps you could have waited for me to tell him. I mean, now that this is all ready and Parsons has got all the paperwork sorted out, we could have done this properly and not set up a scene to drive him away this quickly. I could have come clean and things would be great for all of us… Caitlin, you fool!” I hissed at her.

  “Acey… I’m so sorry.” Cat cried openly, her voice a small squeak “I didn’t… I…” she turned quickly and fled from me, while I looked around the empty room, crumpled paper in my fist. I smoothed the paper out again and placed it in the folder, and sat down in the overstuffed leather chair my father loved, and stared at the trees in the State park, not really seeing them, until Michel came to tell me that Mom’s reception was starting.

  I sat through the ceremony dull and listless, The Priest made as short a speech as was necessary, Cat sat next to Parsons and Bobby sat as far in the back as he could. I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck all the way through the speeches. When the ceremony was over and the few guests milled through into the wake, Bobby was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t think too much about it, and after the pleasantries and the smiling of all the guests I went upstairs to sleep. I guess Michel joined me sometime later, I had hoped it would be Bobby but I was glad for the release, no matter who it was. I plunged into a restless sleep when we were done.

  I woke up with a start about three in the morning, gently untangled Michel’s arm from my chest and padded down to the kitchen for a glass of milk. I don’t know what woke me, but something was wrong and I didn’t know what it was. I thought about the look on Bobby’s face and what he meant to me and about Cat and what she meant to me and… I’d rather settle for a glass of milk now and discuss it with him in the morning. I thought, well, after all this, let’s see what he has to say rather than just… wallow…

  “Acey… Andy…” I heard a whisper while I was sitting at the table sipping my milk.

  “Yeah. What?” I growled at her.

  “He’s gone, Andy.” Cat smiled at me tearfully “After you went upstairs, he walked out with Michel’s truck keys… and he left.” I had never seen her look so distraught before.

  “Where to, legs… where’d he go?” I stood up carefully and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against my chest. Her hair smelled like persimmons as she sobbed against me.

  “I don’t know.” Cat wailed “He just… left. Ac… Andy, he took his stuff and he just left. I… don’t know what’s wrong with what we did… what we did… but I don’t care.” Cat’s fingernails dug into my undershirt “An… I don’t care about how we work this out… But he loves you Andy, an… an… he’ll listen to you. Please… please find him for me, I… I know you can do this… because you can do… anything.”

  “Hey… legs.” I chucked her chin and looked into her hurt, sad eyes “He didn’t leave you. When I said he was proud… I should rather have said that he would think that I was betraying him, by keeping al
l these secrets from him, or that he let me down because he slept with my cousin. I love him too, punkin’. I love him, and I don’t want to see him hurt, or have him get the wrong picture, y’see…?”

  “I… I never asked you for anything, Andy…” Cat swallowed hard and looked up into my eyes “But I’m not proud… not with him… I’m asking you, please… Please find him and bring him back. I don’t care… how you do it… but he is the one, he is my ‘the one’… I… Andy… please bring him back.”

  “I always said one day I’m gonna git ya, legs…” I kissed the top of her head “I guess this is the day. It doesn’t feel too good, though… it’s hurting me something terrible, too.” I hugged her “I’ll make a promise to you, I will find Mourning Song, my brother and I will bring him back to this place, our home.”

  Part Three – The Seventh Chakra

  The seventh chakra integrates all the other chakras with their respective qualities. It is considered to be represented by a white lotus with thirty-three petals. It is concerned with inner wisdom and the death of the body.

  Strange how we change… strange that we can change, and even stranger to me that sometimes we choose to change only because there is no other way forward

  I have cleared my body and I have cleared my heart, I guess I have nothing left but to bear my soul and clear it, in turn

  I don’t mind anymore, and I don’t care what anyone thinks anymore. I said that I would write until there was nothing left for me to write. I will always finish what I start. I will finish this; I will be complete - January 1997

  Chapter Twenty One

  The sun pulled itself over the horizon, casting a dull orange glow over the mountains, brightening to a pale yellow as it gained strength. My boots crunched in the sandy gravel as I walked over the clearing. The reservation general store was still closed and quiet, and my jeep was parked behind it. I walked to the edge of the cliffs and hunkered down next to Bobby.