Sparkles

by Michael Halfhill

  Indian Love Call

  THEY’D BEEN up since before dawn, and just arrived at Colin’s solar Station Number One. “I just need to check on a panel that I installed last week. I won’t be long,” Colin said as he swung out of his saddle.

  Jan dismounted too. He walked the length of the station and back again. “Colin, this is amazing. How many of these do you have?”

  “I’ve built ten. The line shacks they supply aren’t far. Fiber-optic cables carry all the energy produced. Add to that, the shacks have batteries that kick in if the power level dips. So far that hasn’t happened.”

  “Why do you have so many line shacks anyway?” Jan asked.

  “There are miles of wilderness here. The shacks are only two hours apart by horse, or four hours on foot. Everyone on this range knows where the shacks are located. It’s not foolproof, but so far, no one has been lost in bad weather.”

  “What about the wind farms?” Jan asked.

  “Oh boy, Dad! Wait until you see those. They’re the workhorses. Eventually, they’ll take the place of the solar stations. But these have to do until I can get enough mill sites set up and—”

  A buzzing noise split the air. Colin looked toward the emergency call box. A red light blinked off and on. “What now?”

  While Colin spoke on the phone, Jan walked off and sat on a fallen log. He looked over at Colin and thought, Dad. I think I can count on one hand how many times he’s called me that. Feels nice.

  Colin returned a few minutes later with a scowl on his face.

  “What’s up?” Jan said.

  “That was Zan. I guess my cell phone was turned off, so she took a chance that we’d be here. Anyway, the schoolteacher in the Indian compound phoned to say that two teens have run off. Sounds like the two families are squaring off in a shouting match. We’d better see how far this has gone.”

  Jan stood and walked over to his horse. As he swung into his saddle, he said, “Does this happen often?”

  “No. Not so far.”

  “Shades of the past,” Jan said with a wry smile.

  The memory of a teenaged Colin running off and ending up in the hands of bad guys was not lost on him. “It’s not quite the same thing, Dad. But I take your meaning.”

  COLIN AND Jan rode hard for about a half hour, arriving at the compound of four houses, each with a barn and corral. A fast-running stream ran between them, separating two of the houses from the other two, creating the sense of a larger community. Two men led horses across a grassy plot that served as a common area. Each man carried a rifle. Another man sat on a porch step, watching. Three women stood off to one side. Children ranging from toddlers to early teens hung back, away from the fray.

  “Jim Barrows…. Bill Taylor,” Colin called out. “What’s going on here?”

  The two men stopped. The one called Jim cupped his hand over his eyes, shielding them from the sun’s glare. He looked up at Colin and Jan as they urged their horses closer.

  “Mr. Phillips, what are you doing here?”

  “Heard there was a problem. You wanna tell me about it?”

  “I can tell you what’s going on here, Mr. Phillips,” Bill Taylor said angrily as he stepped closer. “Eddie, that’s Jim’s boy, took my daughter off somewhere. Far as we know, all they brought with them was the clothes on their backs, and Eddie’s rifle.”

  Jim rounded on his neighbor. “Bill, if you hadn’t tried to keep them apart, this wouldn’t have happened. Admit it, you don’t think my family is good enough for you!”

  Bill shook his head. “Jim, we’ve been friends for years. There’s nothing wrong with your family. There’s nothing wrong with Eddie, except he’s too young to get involved with Olivia.”

  Colin held up his hand. “All right. That’s enough.”

  “Just a minute, Mr. Phillips,” Jim Barrows said. “This here is a family matter. Just because we get our houses for free doesn’t mean you can mix in our affairs.”

  Colin leaned forward in his saddle. “Jim, maybe you don’t understand. Your houses are part of your pay package. Nothing is free here. You all keep the range working. It’s hard work. You all know it, and so do I. But the range is my property, and when it comes to trouble that can lead to violence, it becomes my business.”

  “Your property, Mr. Phillips?” Jim said, sweeping his hand in an arc. “This belongs to all of us. You’re just a caretaker, like us. In the end, the only property we get is six feet.”

  A tense quiet settled in the small enclave. A chilly breeze ruffled through the trees. Colin eyed the armed men. Breaking the silence, he said, “Bill, you said that Eddie has his rifle with him, and here you two are, all set to go out after him with your rifles. What could possibly go wrong?”

  The two fathers scuffed the ground with their boots and eyed one another. “What are you gonna do, Mr. Phillips?” Jim asked.

  Colin gestured to Jan. “This here is my father. We’ll go find Eddie and Olivia. You two stay here. I’ll call on your cell phones if I need you. Oh, I almost forgot, one of the mills looks out of kilter. Go up on the high ridge and make sure…. Okay?”

  Colin didn’t wait for an answer. He spurred his horse across the bridge toward a trail that led away from the compound. As they passed by the schoolteacher’s house, a woman called to them. “Mr. Phillips! Mr. Phillips…. Wait!”

  Colin reined in his horse. Jan stopped just behind. “Mrs. Gray?”

  The woman hurried up to Colin. “I have some food to take with you. There’s water too.” Then in a conspiratorial tone, she said, “They’ve gone up to that broken-down miner’s shack near Old Bear Mountain. They’ll be hungry when you get there. There hasn’t been anyone up there for ages, so I’m sure there’s no food stores left. When you find them, say that they can stay with me—together I mean, if they want to, that is. I can keep an eye on them and see that they get their schooling.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Gray. I think you’re a treasure.”

  Colin looked back at his father. “Ready?”

  Jan nodded.

  As they rode away from the compound, Jan asked, “You didn’t mention a problem with one of the windmills before.”

  “There isn’t,” Colin said. “They need something to do, and I gave it to them.”

  “Clever.”

  “Jim’s right about not owning the land, though,” Colin said. “No matter how much we have, we take none of it to the grave. As Shakespeare says, And nothing can we call our own but death, and that small model of earth which serves as paste and cover to our bones.”

  “You’re getting wise in your old age,” Jan said in mock sarcasm.

  “As I recall, I wasn’t always so wise, or have you forgotten Iceland?”

  “I think every boy thinks of running away from home at least once in his life.”

  “Getting kidnapped by thugs, and nearly getting Zan killed, kinda takes it to a different level, wouldn’t you say?”

  Jan shook his head. “You were just sixteen then. Are you still beating yourself up over that, after all these years?”

  “I’ll never forget how you followed us up that glacier,” Colin said, choking with emotion. “You saved our lives…. Dad, do you remember what you said, when I asked you why you risked your life, after I’d been so rotten to you?”

  “I’m afraid it’s all a blur. I was just thankful we got out alive.”

  “I don’t believe that…. You said it’s what fathers do. You knew where I was, and you came to get me.”

  “Now it’s your turn,” Jan said. “Let’s see if you can rescue a couple of runaways.”

  “By the way, I keep forgetting to ask how things are in your world. Still finding windmills to battle?”

  Jan shifted in his saddle. “Well, I’ll tell ya….”

  Noon

  COLIN AND his father cautiously approached a weather-beaten shack that seemed to hang somewhere between collapse and disintegration. Their horses’ hooves shuffled across the loose shale that covered the trail
. A gust of windblown snow sifted cloudlike through the trees that covered the mountain. Somewhere a hawk screeched a complaint. As they neared, the front door opened. Eddie stepped out onto a small stoop. He stood legs apart in defiance. His eyes blazed with dark brightness. Shiny dark hair draped over his shoulders. He held his rifle with the barrel pointing down.

  Colin reined in his horse, and immediately held out his hand, showing he held no weapon. “Eddie Barrows. It’s Colin Phillips. I’m here with my dad.”

  “Mr. Phillips, me and Olivia won’t go back. We wanna get married. So you just leave us be,” Eddie yelled.

  Ignoring the boy, Colin eased out of his saddle. “Eddie, I’m coming in. I have some food for you.”

  Olivia joined Eddie at the door. Colin remembered her as a pretty girl. She had grown up. She was beautiful. She was barefoot. “Eddie, I’m hungry. Please, Eddie, let Mr. Phillips in.”

  After a few steps, Colin asked, “Olivia, where the hell are your shoes?”

  “They got soaked through, when I slipped in a creek.”

  Colin returned to his horse and rummaged in his saddlebag. He pulled out two pair of woolen socks, and then climbed the stairs to the stoop. He held them out to the girl. “Put both pair on before you catch your death.”

  Colin looked back at Jan. “You okay staying here?”

  “I’m good. You go on… and Colin?”

  “Yeah?”

  Jan mouthed, “Be careful.”

  Colin nodded.

  Friendly Persuasion

  THE MINER’S cabin was cold. The lone window that had served for air and light had been broken out. Colin looked around. A rough hole in the far wall was the only evidence that a stovepipe had been there. The stove too, was gone. Olivia opened the food packet and began to eat. She offered some to Eddie. Eddie ignored her outstretched hand. Still defiant, he stood with his back to the wall.

  “You two look like hell. What did you think you’d accomplish, running off like that?”

  “I told you, Mr. Phillips, we’re in love. We want to get married. Our folks don’t want us to… so that’s why we left.”

  Eddie’s remark dragged Colin’s mind back to a painful memory of his own. I love Zan. I want to be with her all the time. I thought if I could get a place of my own we could be together, but it all blew up in my face. Stupid! Stupid.

  Colin looked at the two teens for a moment. “Love. Well, that’s a reason, but just look at you. You’ve no food, no money, no clothes, and most important, no job. As far as I can see, all you have is that rifle. What were you going to do, shoot your way into the chapel of love?”

  Eddie blushed with shame. Despite the situation, Olivia giggled at Colin’s joke.

  Eddie fingered the hammer on his rifle. Colin ignored the gesture.

  “None of that changes how we feel, Mr. Phillips,” Eddie said, his voice frustrated.

  “Eddie, this can still be put right. Think about it. You’re an Indian. Do you really want to have a run-in with the law? Under these circumstances, you wouldn’t stand much of a chance. Olivia’s parents would be against you…. You know the odds. The system would eat you alive. Now, do you want to hear my plan?”

  After a long pause, Eddie said through a pout, “Guess so.”

  “Mrs. Gray said you can stay with her… both of you. You’ll finish your high school courses. Then if your grades are good enough, yours too, Olivia, and you still want to leave, I’ll see about college for you. Either way, if you want to work for me, then you’ve got jobs.”

  Colin stood aside while Eddie and Olivia whispered their futures.

  “You’ve got a deal,” Eddie said as he stood up.

  Colin walked to where Olivia squatted finishing a sandwich. He looked into her eyes. “Olivia, are you pregnant?”

  Olivia’s eyes grew large. “No!”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure!”

  “Good. Keep it that way.” Colin looked back at Eddie. “That goes for you too.”

  An awkward silence settled over them. Colin was sweating underneath his wool vest.

  “Let’s get moving.”

  Chapter 6

  Homeward Bound

  THEY RODE single file with Eddie sitting behind Colin. Olivia rode with Jan. Wrapped around Jan’s waist, Olivia’s arms felt frail—childlike. He wondered how old she was.

  “Are you really Mr. Phillips’s dad?” Olivia asked.

  “I am. Why do you ask?”

  “You look more like brothers.” Olivia giggled. “You could even be twins.”

  Was she flirting with him? Jan changed the subject. “Olivia, you know that you’re not home free. You’ll be staying with your schoolteacher, and you have to finish school before you two can get married. You know that’s the deal, don’t you? If you screw up, you two will have to live with your folks.”

  “Yes, sir. I know. We’ll be good.”

  Jan sincerely hoped the deal would hold. He thought of Colin’s runaway escapade and how that adventure nearly ended in tragedy. Kids; when they’re little they step on your shoes. When they grow up, they step on your heart.

  Late afternoon

  THEY RODE abreast the last mile before home. The air had become heavy with expectant snow.

  “When do you think the snow will come?” Jan said.

  Colin looked up at the sky as if to read the clouds. “Tomorrow afternoon, I’d say. You and Amal will be airborne by then.”

  “I’ll miss you and Zan.”

  Colin reined his horse to a stop. He looked at Jan for a moment. “We’ll miss you too. I mean that. I didn’t come out here to get away from you.”

  Jan smiled. “I didn’t think you did. You know I’m very proud of you. A lot of people who come into a fortune wouldn’t have invested in the land, and especially its people, the way you have.”

  “You know, Dad, I’ve always felt I needed to live a life of meaning, and not just lazing around, bored to death with too much money and time. I hope I’m accomplishing something here.”

  “You are, Colin. You are.”

  Chapter 7

  Trouble in Paradise

  JAN FOUND Colin behind the house. Colin was splitting wood with a double-headed ax. He put the ax down as Jan approached.

  “Taking out your frustrations?” Jan joked.

  Colin ignored the remark. “Dad, is it okay if Zan flies back to Philly with you?”

  The question caught Jan off guard. “I thought her mother said you two are coming out for Christmas. Did I miss something?”

  The look on Colin’s face was not good.

  “Does she want to go back with us?” Jan asked cautiously.

  “Yes, I believe she does.”

  “Do you want her to?” Jan said.

  “What do you think?”

  “Colin, I’m not a mind reader. I don’t know. Do you want to tell me what’s been going on?”

  “She’s lonely. Coming out here was a mistake… for her, at least.”

  “Did Zan say that?”

  “Not in so many words. But she sits for long hours looking out the window. If I ask her if anything is wrong, she just shrugs. If I press her, she gets upset, but we never seem to get to what’s wrong.”

  “You didn’t answer my question. Do you want her to leave?”

  “No! Of course I don’t.” Colin wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “You know Marsha was out here a while back. They laughed and talked for days. Then as soon as her mom left, Zan got all quiet again. I tried to talk to her, but she just went deeper and deeper into herself.”

  “Colin, psychologists say that three things derail a marriage, money, children, or sex. It can’t be money, and there aren’t any children yet. That leaves sex. It’s a touchy subject. We can leave it alone if you’re too uncomfortable to talk about it.”

  Colin shook his head. “It’s about a baby, not sex.”

  “Sex is how you get babies.”

  “Very funny.” Colin frowned and
looked off toward the trees. “Zan’s afraid she can’t have a baby. Our doctors say there’s nothing preventing us from conceiving, but….”

  “Maybe you’re trying too hard. It happens to lots of folks.”

  “We’ve been told that, but I’m not so sure.”

  “Look, there is absolutely one thing I am sure of. If Zan goes to Philly, nothing will happen for you in the baby department. If having, or not having, a baby is the issue, then where you two make your home is not the problem, and I don’t believe her flying back with us will help you.”

  Colin sat down on a tree stump. Jan squatted beside him. “Let me ask you something. How much time do you spend away from home?”

  Colin shrugged. “Umm, a few days a week. This is a big place. You saw the wind farm, and the solar panel fields. They don’t take care of themselves.”

  “A few days?” Jan asked, with an edge to his voice.

  “Sometimes more,” Colin admitted.

  “We’re talking man-to-man here, so I’ll be up-front with you. Zan needs, no… wants attention. She needs to be included. Everything I see here is all your doing. You built your house. You picked out the sites for the line shacks. You arranged for a police presence. You set up the wind and solar farms. It’s all you. Where is Zan in all this?”

  “So you’re saying she’s unhappy because of me?”

  “No. I’d say she’s unhappy because she doesn’t know where she belongs in your life. She’s married to a man she loves, and according to you, she’s lonely. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Look, you’ve got a purpose here. You’re making a self-sufficient life. From what I hear, all Zan has is you. As romantic as that sounds, it’s not enough for her. Hell, it’s not enough for anybody.”

  “What should I do, then?”

  Jan’s frustration with his dense son was beginning to show in his voice. “When you go off to work, take her with you! Make room for her in whatever you’re doing. Zan is pretty, but she’s not an orchid.”