Canyon Secret

by Patrick Lee

  Back in Martin City, John Nolan sat on Mikhail’s bed. He knew he had to make peace with Mikhail following their hour-long argument about Tomas going to Butte with David. Nolan chastised Mikhail for his lack of attention to Tomas. Earlier, Mikhail bristled at the insinuations Nolan made about his attitude toward his son. But like they did for thirty years, Nolan started the road back to forgive and forget. “You ain’t gonna slick your hair down with that Vaseline again, are you? That Hannah woman will laugh her lovely little ass off.”

  Mikhail roughed up his wet hair with the towel after his shower. “I’ll put whatever I want on my hair.”

  Sometimes Nolan laughed before he blurted out something very funny. He enjoyed his own sense of humor more than the person with him. “Ya, go ahead. Grease the shit out of it. That way when you hit your head on the doorframe into her kitchen, you’ll naturally slide right on by without gettin’ hung up.” He laughed again as he visualized Mikhail sliding through a doorframe. “Then you can—”

  Mikhail laughed and said, “Shut up, Nolan.” He snapped the towel and stung Nolan’s leg. “I don’t know why I keep you around.”

  Nolan stood up and walked toward the door to the hallway. “You thick-headed Bohunk. You’d still not be able to tie your shoes if it wasn’t for me. And you’d still leave a table with shit all over your mouth if I wasn’t there to point to your big ass mouth. One more thing, you sure as hell wouldn’t know what time it was because you was sixteen before you learned to tell time. Without me—”

  The end of the wet towel zinged Nolan on the arm. “Go pester somebody else, Nolan. I’m gonna be late for pickin’ her up the way it is.” Mikhail smiled and like a thousand times before, stuck out his hand for Nolan to shake.

  Nolan grabbed his hand and looked down to see his small right hand completely enveloped in Mikhail’s monster size hand. “You better be sorry. Next time I’ll kick yer big brown ass up and down this here bunkhouse.” He released Mikhail’s hand and continued, “Think about what I said about Tom. That’s all I’m goin’ say about it.” Mikhail nodded his head forward and walked back to finish dressing.

  He fixed the last button on the clean white shirt that he bought the afternoon that his new partner Bud invited he and Hannah over for supper. Mikhail noticed that the extra large shirt now fit snug. The hard work for the past months tightened his already muscular chest, back, and arms. He shook his head as he noticed the farmer’s tan on his arms. As he reached for his pants, Nolan’s angry words about needing to pay more attention to his son jumped to his mind. Nolan made good points about how tough it was on Tomas to lose his partner and that Mikhail needed to be more of a father during this tough time. Mikhail brushed the thought off as he recalled being there on the accident scene holding Tomas.

  He laced his shined black shoes and reviewed more angry words from Nolan about allowing Tomas to go to Butte with his son-in-law. Mikhail felt it was a good time for Tomas to get away for a while and visit his sister and niece. He didn’t bother to tell Nolan that he hugged Tomas before he left for Kalispell. His son thanked him for allowing him to go and for being so strong during those three days after the accident.

  The short drive over to pick up Hannah allowed Mikhail to look at himself in the rearview mirror. He smiled as he viewed his very dry and out of control bush of hair. Nolan’s advice stuck with him as earlier he set the Vaseline jar back on the small shelf above his mirror. He yawned and switched his thoughts from Nolan and Tomas to Hannah. Surprisingly, Mikhail felt relaxed and looked forward to spending time with her and Bud and his wife. The fried chicken planned for supper made his mouth water. He laughed as he thought about Nolan telling him he didn’t know how to wipe food off his mouth.

  Hannah sat on the top step of the four stairs that led to the porch in front of Maggie’s cabin. She wore a cotton square top shirt. The background of her shirt was white and the pattern design held brown and yellow circles in rectangles. The large tan collar perfectly matched the Capri pants that she wore. Mikhail arrived ten minutes early and stopped in front of the two women. He lumbered out and walked around the front of the car toward the porch.

  Hannah pushed up from her knees and slowly walked down to meet him. “Mikhail, I want you to meet my best friend in the world. This is Maggie. I’m pretty sure I mentioned her to you.”

  He reached up and held Maggie’s extended hand, “Happy to meet you, Maggie.”

  She smiled and rolled his hand over and looked at the lines in his calloused hand. “I see many things in your hand. I believe you have suffered loss of loved ones in your life. The initial M shows through strong lines. Did you lose someone with that initial?”

  Without letting loose of her hand, Mikhail searched his memory for people in his life who died. His father’s name jumped forward. “My father’s name was Marko. He died when I was young.”

  Maggie patted his hand as she spoke, “I see that. You also have a strong letter that comes across the middle of the M. I can’t make it out. That person is a special friend and will bring you much happiness. Maybe it’s Hannah.”

  “Well, we’d best be goin’. Our friends are expectin’ us for supper.” Mikhail moved back and stood by Hannah. She walked up and kissed Maggie on the cheek and joined Mikhail. He drove the five miles to Columbia Falls and listened to Hannah talk about Maggie and her palm reading experiences.

  Mikhail finally saw an opportunity to speak, “You look real nice tonight, Hannah. I ain’t never seen a shirt like that before.”

  “Well, I’ll be go to hell. You just talked more right now than you did the rest of your life. Are you feelin’ okay?”

  His laugh freed any anxiety that she might have had about their time together. “I feel good. Maybe Maggie was right about you.” “Maybe. I look forward to meetin’ your new partner. I know his wife Sara a little bit. This should be fun. And thank you for the compliment.”

  After eating supper with Bud and Sara, Mikhail drove Hannah home. He shut off the engine in front of her cabin. Stomach nerves tightened. He knew he’d struggle with the good night. Their last date ended with him standing on her porch like some fifteen-year old boy on his first date. He remembered searching for something clever to say to Hannah. It was times like this that Nolan told him he didn’t know if to shit or go blind.

  Tonight his confidence helped him make a decision. He’d kiss her tonight for the first time while they stood on her porch. Before he could get out of the car, Hannah slid over next to him and tilted his head toward her. In a very calm, slow motion, she parted her lips and moved up and kissed him.

  Mikhail watched her lips close in and touch his own lips. He closed his eyes and savored the sweetness of her soft lips. She slowly pulled back a few inches and her eyes and smile joined his. He moved to her and matched how she kissed him. It was close to four years since he kissed his ex-wife. And these two kisses were the best in his life. He whispered in her ear. “Now I know Maggie was right. You do make me very happy.”

  Arm in arm they walked to her door. “Mikhail, I really enjoyed tonight. It was very nice. Your partner Bud and his Sara are fun people. I’m glad we’re getting together with them next Friday night.”

  They kissed softly one more time and said good night. As he walked to his car, he noticed how good it felt to think about someone other than one of his family members. He also thought how the long lost erection scrunched in his pants felt pretty damn good too.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  The Oasis Bar in Polson stood as a mainstay for customers driving Montana Highway 93. Travelers stopped often and used the restrooms, drank a couple of beers, and usually toted along a six-pack or two for the road. David finished the second of his tap beers, and Tomas drained his ice-cold bottle of Pepsi Cola. He held true on his July 5th promise not to drink again. The bartender ignored David’s attempt at friendly conversation and paid more attention to the baseball game over the static of the well-used radio. David ordered a six-pack of Great Falls Select, and handed them to
Tomas to take to the truck. He sauntered back to the men’s room and lit a cigarette as he walked.

  Tomas regretted not eating the sandwich after the funeral. His stomach growled, and he planned to ask David to stop somewhere around Missoula to eat. He checked his pocket watch as he waited for his brother-in-law to join him in the truck. It was 1:30 and Tomas figured it would take about three to three and a half more hours to make the drive to Butte.

  On the drive to Missoula, Tomas tried to talk to David about him joining the Navy. “David, what do you think about me joinin’ up with the Navy? I really have—”

  David interrupted him in mid-sentence, “I don’t know. Hey, what did you think about that bartender back in Polson? She sure was friendly to me. If I wasn’t married, I’d probably take her up on her offer to stay the night.”

  His eyebrows felt the pressure of his eyes squinting. He hesitated before answering, “I, I didn’t pay no attention. I was thinking about seeing Anna.” Tomas looked in his side view mirror, signaled, and passed the slow-moving farm truck overloaded with hay.

  David ignored the words about his daughter, Anna. He popped another beer and then asked, “I mean, did you notice how that lady bartender kept flirting with me? You must’ve seen the way she smiled and brushed me when she set my beer down.”

  He stepped on the gas pedal and hit sixty miles an hour. “Didn’t notice nothin’ about her.” Tomas didn’t care to talk about any bartender. He wanted to talk about his plans for the Navy. Or talk about Anna. “When did you see Anna last, David?”

  “Jesus, it’s hard to keep you on the subject. I’m talkin’ about some good-lookin’ woman, and you’re talkin’ about some other shit.”

  Tomas shook his head and decided to just drive and forget about talking to David. He noticed David slurred his words and only wanted to talk about some bartender. As they neared Missoula, David told him to pull over at Fred’s Bar and Restaurant right outside the city limit of Missoula.

  After a quick burger and fries, Tomas stood up to leave for the truck. David grabbed his arm hard. “Sit down for Christ’s sake. I ain’t ready to leave yet. I just ordered a boilermaker. What’s your hurry anyway?”

  Tomas looked down at David’s hand locked onto his muscular forearm. Quietly he confronted David, “Let go of my arm, David.” His hand loosened and Tomas continued, “I’m really anxious to see Kat and Anna. It’s been about three and a half months. I can’t wait. Besides, I told Kat we’d be home around five o’clock.”

  He mumbled something to himself as he stared into the back bar mirror.” He awkwardly spun the barstool around and faced Tomas. “So you think you’re gettin’ pretty salty, huh? Maybe we should go out in back and see who’s who.”

  The bartender tapped the nightstick on the bar. “Time for you to hit the road, pal. Pay up and leave.”

  David fell asleep in the truck about thirty miles outside of Missoula. Tomas experienced a form of relief. He didn’t like being around David when he got drunk. Memories of July 3rd stood fresh in his mind. His stomach turned as he thought how cross his sister would be when David showed up drunk. He decided to remain as quiet as possible and hoped the two-hour drive to Butte would be enough time for David to sober up some.

  The drive to Butte went by quickly and David slept soundly. He never moved a muscle. About five miles outside of town, Tomas gently nudged David and woke him up. David sat up straight and said, “You gotta pull over somewhere quick. I gotta piss right now.” Tomas guided the truck to the turn off at Ramsey. David quickly ran over and relieved himself behind a parked car. Tomas needed to go too, but he decided to wait until he got to McQueen. After he zippered his pants, David walked around to the driver’s side. “I’ll take over from here. Push over.”

  The smoke from David’s cigarette blew across the front seat and caused Tomas to cough. He quickly opened his window and stuck his head outside to catch some fresh air. David tapped the ashes off his cigarette into his pants cuff. The truck swerved into the middle of the highway. He looked up and corrected. Tomas quietly asked, “Are ya sure you’re okay to drive, David?”

  “Ya, I’m okay. I have a bad headache, but I’ll be fine. Pick up those empties and stuff em’ in that there bag for me. I don’t want your sister seeing them. She’ll go off shift on me.” He laughed and patted Tomas on the thigh. “It’ll be good to see them again. I ain’t seen em’ since about March or April.” Tomas wondered how a father could stay away from his sick daughter for that long.

  David stopped the truck in front of the McQueen Club. “Let’s go in and have just one. It’ll do my hangover some good. Just one, I promise you Tommy Boy.”

  “It’s almost five right now. Knowing Kat, she has dinner waiting for us.”

  “Okay. Okay. You win. Let’s go.” David dreaded seeing his wife after such a long time. He knew that he didn’t want to get back together. All the alcohol in Hungry Horse didn’t drown the fact that he and Kat weren’t any good for each other any more.

  Divorce would be tough. And now he had to see his little girl sick and weak from polio. He wished he’d found the courage to come visit sooner. David wondered if he could even stand being here for two days.

  Tomas snapped him from his thoughts. “There she is sittin’ on the porch waitin’. She’s wearin’ her apron. Can only mean supper’s waitin’.” After the truck came to a stop, Tomas rushed out of the truck and lifted his sister up off the porch and into the air. “Oh Kat! It’s so great to be home. You look real good. And you smell good too. Did you cook lasagna?”

  She laughed and slapped his back urging him to put her down. “Put me down you wild man. Of course I made lasagna. Now go see your niece. She wouldn’t take a nap she was so excited.”

  Tomas gently set his sister back down on the porch and kissed her firmly on the cheek. She hugged him and looked over his shoulder at her husband. David sheepishly stood at the head of the sidewalk and forced a smile. She walked down the porch steps toward him. He closed the distance between them as tears burst from her eyes. Kat Sednick embraced her husband for the first time in months. She smelled his stale beer breath and his cigarette smoke-drenched shirt. It didn’t matter; they were together.

  Tomas learned from a phone call two days earlier that his niece Anna showed some improvement. But she remained weak and remained totally dependent on the oxygen mask for breathing. Tomas flashed on the last time he saw her and how she looked trapped in the iron lung. He walked into the living room and made her favorite face. His fingers pulled hard on each side of his mouth and his eyes crossed and pointed downward.

  Through the oxygen mask she giggled like he saw her do every time he made that face. Tomas walked over to her with his hands in front of his chest. He curled his fingers and wiggled them like a cat moves their claws. Anna moved her hands in front of her eyes and blocked his hands from her view. She giggled harder now and then started to cough. “Oh, I’m sorry Butterfly. Take it easy now. The monster is going to take a rest. Oops. He’s gone now. Whew! That was close. All gone.”

  Anna regained her breath and reached out for her uncle. They hugged around the tubes. “You look like a million bucks my Little Butterfly.” Tears came easily for him as he whispered to himself a prayer of thanks. He visualized this moment for weeks and begged God to send her good health. Her improvement exceeded his expectations. She looked good. Tired, but good.

  Anna cautiously lifted the mask up onto her forehead. She whispered in a wispy and breathy voice, “Is my daddy here too?”

  Tomas broke into a big smile. “Yes, he is. He’s out talkin’ to your mom. He’ll be right in.”

  The paper bag he laid on the floor caught Anna’s attention. “What’s in the bag, Uncle?”

  He shook the bag. “What do think it is?”

  “Don’t tease.”

  He opened the bag and pulled out two cutout doll books. She opened her mouth and snorted in some air. Anna pulled the mask down over her mouth and nose. A big, open smile crossed her pale f
ace as she fingered the pages of the first book, Puss and Boots. Anna slid the second book on top. Raggedy Ann and Andy contained a boy and a girl doll with several outfits. “What does it say? What does this one say?”

  “It says Raggedy Ann and her friend Andy.”

  Anna turned the pages slowly. She pointed to Raggedy Ann. Her muffled voice cleared the oxygen mask, “Raggedy Anna?” “That’s what it says. It’s about you.”

  The front door opened slowly and David and Katya walked in arm in arm. Anna looked up from her book. Her brown eyes focused on her father. He hesitated before going to her. Katya led him toward the big recliner chair. Words eluded him. Reluctantly, he knelt down in front of her and touched her arm. “I, I, I.”

  Anna raised her mask once again, “Hi, Daddy. I missed you.”

  Tomas excused himself and went outside to the porch. More tears rolled down his cheeks. He wondered how many more times he could cry. Shorty’s death drained his bank of grief tears, and now Anna wrenched any remaining tears from somewhere. He didn’t know where. But somewhere. “Maybe this visit is just what David needs to straighten up. Now maybe we can get back together as a family. Dad and John Nolan will learn what a good man he really is. We can all help him to stop drinking. That’s his main problem anyway.”

  After they finished eating Katya’s lasagna dinner, Tomas helped her clean up the dishes and the kitchen. He dried the last plate and placed it in the cabinet above the toaster. In the background he heard David talking with Anna. Katya dried her hands on the dishtowel he used. She folded the towel and carefully tucked it in the door handle of the refrigerator. She watched her brother walk outside onto the back porch. In her mind she flashed back to days when they were children. It seemed like yesterday. And now she watched a full-grown man stand on the porch. “When did he become a man? I’ve been so busy being a mother; I’ve missed his whole growing up. My brother, a man. Holy smokes.”