by Rada, J. R.
“He’s not special. He’s just like any other white man,” Sarah argued.
Adam arched his eyebrows. “And you know this to be true?”
Sarah nodded. “Yes.”
“So then, you have talked to every white man there is? I find this hard to believe when you don’t even leave your rooms when there are tourists in town.” Sarah blushed. Her face darkened so that she almost looked like a full-blooded Hopi. “I would not want to be judged on the impression a white man got from meeting one Hopi. If the white man happened to meet Ralph Tawanimp´tewa, he might think I am also a drunk. Or, if the white man met Ethan Ta´bo, he might think I am skilled with silver. I’m neither. I am my own person. Just as David Purcell is his own person.”
“Oh, grandfather,” Sarah moaned and fell forward again softly sobbing.
Adam held her by the shoulders and lifted her up until she faced him. “I can’t say I know why you feel this way. It’s not because of anything that was done to you by a Hopi. We’ve accepted you as our own, which you are. If something happened to you before you came to Oraibi, then you must decide if it is important enough to allow it to scar your life.”
Sarah sniffled. She felt like a little girl tagging along with her grandfather as he worked his fields.
“I know one side of you, but you hide another side even from me. I would hate to see the side I know and love destroyed by the side you hide and hate,” her grandfather added.
“I’ll try to keep it from happening,” she said.
Adam nodded once that he accepted that. “It’s all I can ask.” He smiled and wiped away a tear from her cheek.
“How will you get in to see David Purcell?” Sarah asked. “He won’t want to see you.”
“I’ve thought about that, and I have thought of a way. But it requires your help.”
Sarah straightened her back and met Adam’s stare. “I’ll help you the best I can.”
“Good. I knew you would.” He paused. “And Sarah?”
“Yes?”
“I am not a sulker.”
Sarah smiled and then giggled.
CHAPTER 13
David’s stomach rumbled, even though he had eaten lunch only a few hours ago. He had devoured a ham-and-cheese sandwich on stale bread, a bowl of fruit, and watered-down orange juice as if it were a feast. It had stayed down, too, without any hint of nausea. Now he was hungry again. He might not look like a man who hadn’t eaten in five weeks, but he ate like one.
The red-haired nurse, Nurse Montgomery came in for a short time to make him swallow another pair of bitter pills. David was tempted to chew on them just to have something to eat.
The nurse talked incessantly about how her daughter had just had a baby boy and was staying up on the third floor. And, oh, wasn’t her grandson the most-handsome baby in the maternity ward; everyone said so. And wasn’t he the most-well-behaved baby up there? He didn’t cry or mess his diaper every five minutes like all the other babies.
David tried to tell the woman he was tired, but when he opened his mouth to speak, she stuck a thermometer under his tongue. She continued talking as she flicked a small penlight in his eyes to measure their response to the light. Then she tilted his head back and administered eye drops.
Kel´hoya saw the white-uniformed female and tried to roll to the side before she could kill him with whatever weapon she was holding. Realizing he couldn’t move out the way, he screamed curses at the woman for imprisoning him only to kill him. He stared at the woman as she aimed the short stick at his face. A blinding light seared his eyes. He tried to cover his face with his hands but his arms wouldn’t respond to his movement. Kel´hoya braced himself for whatever pain would follow.
The woman lowered the short stick. She tilted his head back and dripped a liquid into his eyes. The liquid burned and Kel´hoya wanted to scream, but he would not give her the satisfaction. When the woman realized Kel´hoya would not cry out in pain no matter what sort of torture she devised, she turned and left the room.
Room?
He was not in a room. He was resting in a cave behind the sipapu. He must be seeing Pahana’s room. It had to be. The dark kachinas were sending him a message. Where was Pahana? He could not see Pahana in the room, but why else would the dark kachinas show him such a vision? And who was the woman he thought was trying to kill him?
Kel´hoya saw a hand rise from his lap to rub his eyes, but it was not his own hand. This hand had the cream-colored skin of the Outlanders. Why did his skin appear like that of the Outlanders? Had the air of the Fourth World changed his skin color?
Then he saw the fingers. They were short, not long and slender like the fingers of the Bow Clan. This was not his arm at all. It was the arm of an Outlander. He was seeing through an Outlander’s eyes.
Pahana’s eyes!
He was being shown where Pahana was by being able to see what he saw. This was the way the Bow Clan would track Pahana and kill him. Now if only the darkness would come.
When the nurse finally left, David tried to nap. He was surprised he felt so tired all the time. It was like he hadn’t slept in the five weeks he was in the caves. As he fell asleep, he wondered if he still had a job to go back to.
That final thought must have influenced his dream because he saw himself as a new employee standing in front of his boss’s desk. Jared Abbott, sales director for Hayden Laboratories, was a balding man in his late forties. Though David hadn’t known it when he stood nervously in front of Jared’s desk three years ago, his new boss was two months away from a fatal heart attack. David would be the one who watched his boss crumple to the floor as he fumbled with the lock on his office door trying to open it. David would be the one who administered CPR, and he would be the one to feel the man’s heart stop just as the paramedics arrived.
But all those things were sixty-two days into the future from this dream. On this particular day, Jared was still in fair health, and he was welcoming David to the company as Hayden Laboratories’ newest regional sales representative. David would bring the newest products for cell-culture research to medical-research labs in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Jared recited the usual rhetoric concerning the company workings. David had company-paid medical coverage. He could take vacations whenever he wished because he was working on straight commission rather than salary. He had a sample account from which the cost of client samples would be deducted. If he overspent from the account, the difference would be deducted from his commission check.
His new boss didn’t even maintain eye contact with David. Jared just leaned his two-hundred-and-seventy-five-pound bulk over his desk and read down his prepared list of notes like a computer repeating programmed commands. David wondered how someone with such an impersonal manner could have ever made a life in sales, especially as the leader of salesmen.
David was only listening to Jared’s (he insisted on being called Jared, not Mr. Abbott) talk with half an ear. Most of his attention was focused on the bald man’s head. Jared’s skin was pale and unblemished except for a single brown mole just off center at the top of his head. He hadn’t noticed it when Jared had actually been talking to him three years ago. He had been too anxious to start his new job, but now that he was only an observer and not a participant, David had time to study the small details. The mole looked like a small eye staring at David. A thin film of sweat covered the top of Jared’s head and reflected the fluorescent light from above. It gave the pale skin on top of Jared’s head a slightly luminescent glow.
David tried to readjust his position without having Jared look up at him, but the shine seemed to follow him no matter where he moved. Suddenly, Jared looked up. David thought he had been caught, but his new boss thrust out his hand.
“Welcome to Hayden Labs, son. You’ve joined a great company,” Jared said with only the bare trace of a smile.
Taking hold of Jared’s hand was like grabbing a dead fish that had been out of water for two hours. It was clammy and limp, defin
itely not the handshake of a salesman.
“Thank you, sir,” David replied as he let go of Jared’s hand. “I’m happy to be here.”
David wanted to wipe his hand off on his pants, but Jared was watching.
“Call me Jared, please,” his new boss said.
David heard a door open and turned to see who was coming into Jared’s office. Instead of seeing someone standing in the doorway to Jared’s office, he saw his hospital room.
He opened his eyes and was granted a beautiful sight. Terrie was wearing the polyester uniform that she wore when she worked at the diner. It hugged her hips and showed off her figure. David hated the uniform, but he had to admit it accentuated Terrie’s body in a flattering way. Her brown hair was tied in a shoulder-length ponytail. He would have expected to see a smile on her face, but instead, he saw only uncertainty.
“Hello, David.”
A soft voice with a hint of sexiness and a lot of charm. He knew he had missed her, but he hadn’t known just how much until now. It was a lot.
Terrie came closer, holding her purse in front of her as if for protection. She didn’t rush to hug him like David hoped she would do.
Was she mad at him for some reason?
Could she be mad at him for falling in the cave? Even Terrie couldn’t hold that against him.
“I won’t break you know,” he said and held out his arms.
She finally came forward and hugged him. It was a light hug; the type of hug David would have given his grandmother. It was definitely not the type of hug he expected from a woman who wanted to marry him. He didn’t say anything about it. He was just happy to be holding her.
It had been a long time since he had touched anyone. True, the doctors had touched him and prodded him, but they had not touched his skin. Or if they had touched his skin, they had been wearing gloves to protect themselves. David detected the hint of a scented soap on her skin. He touched her cheek and slid his fingers down to her lips.
Terrie pulled away and said, “I’m glad to see you’re all right.”
“Thanks to you. Dr. Haskell told me you’re the one who reported me missing and got the police looking for me.”
“When you didn’t show up for our date or call to cancel, I knew something must be wrong. I was worried,” she explained.
“That’s not all you were.”
“What do you mean?”
“Terrie, I’ve been dating you for over a year now. I’ve learned how you react to different things. You were probably mad at me for not showing up before you ever got worried.”
David thought he detected more tenseness in Terrie’s voice when she spoke again. “Okay. I was a little bit angry, but what girl wouldn’t be when she thinks she’s been stood up? Besides, I had something important I wanted to talk to you about.” Her voice edged up a notch in volume, and David could tell she was getting frustrated with him. Why did they always seem to get on each other’s nerves lately?
“Don’t get upset. You’ve got my attention now. What did you want to talk about?” he said. He held out his hand hoping she would take it. She didn’t. He laid his hand on the bed.
Terrie hesitated. “I can’t talk about it here. When you get out of the hospital, we’ll talk about it.” She backed away from the bed and leaned against the window sill. She took a deep breath. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m a little sore, but the doctor says it’s amazing how well I came through the whole thing. I think they should release me next week some time.”
“I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Thank you.”
David was puzzled. Something was different. Before the accident, the one thing he and Terrie never had trouble doing was talking, but today their conversation seemed forced and phony. If David hadn’t known better, he would have thought he was talking with a total stranger, maybe a volunteer who went from room to room trying to cheer up the patients by impersonating their loved ones. His feeling could have come from Terrie if she felt uneasy about seeing David in the hospital, but he didn’t think so. That sort of feeling should have faded after a few minutes, especially when she saw he was in good spirits.
“David,” Terrie said, “I have to leave now, they’re expecting me at work.” Terrie was a waitress at the Blanding Inn.
David wanted to ask her why she hadn’t come earlier if she knew she had to go to work, but he decided against it. Besides, he already suspected the answer. This visit was only a formality; something she felt she had to do. To question Terrie about it would only put her on the defensive and make her angry. Of course, he thought he might prefer her anger to the cold shoulder he was getting now.
“I’ll see you later,” Terrie said quietly.
David waited for her to kiss him goodbye, but the kiss never came. She turned and walked out the door. Seeing her leave like she did, depressed David. He had been looking forward to seeing Terrie since he had awakened. It had been so long since he had seen her. Now that she was gone, he almost wished she had never come.
He remembered the last time he had seen Terrie. It had been the weekend before he had fallen into the cave. He remembered holding her hand as they walked out onto the dance floor of the St. George Hilton during Terrie’s sister’s, Rose’s, wedding reception. Two chandeliers dimly lit the Hilton ballroom. Off to David’s left, the band started playing a slow song that David didn’t recognize. They weren’t very good, but Terrie’s sister had liked them, and it was her wedding.
Terrie looked gorgeous in her maid-of-honor dress. It was peach taffeta with a long skirt and off-the-shoulder sleeves. Her hair was pulled up in a bun showing her bare neck. David admired the gently slope of her neck and her flawless, tan skin. He found it slightly arousing.
She turned to face him. Sliding his free arm around her waist, David pulled Terrie close to him. She laid her head on his shoulder and they began to turn in time with the music. The sweet scent of Obsession perfume drifted past his nose. He applied the slightest pressure on her lower back, and she responded by moving even closer to him.
That was one of the good memories, but now David was wondering if it hadn’t been the last of the good memories. Was he too late to make up with Terrie this time?
Terrie climbed into the BMW on the passenger side. A blond-haired man was sitting behind the steering wheel listening to the Box Tops sing about how a soldier’s girlfriend had written him a “Dear John” letter. He turned to Terrie as she sat down, and she leaned over and kissed him. He pulled her closer and held her tightly for a moment before breaking the kiss.
“So how did he take it?” the man asked.
Terrie turned away from him.
“I didn’t tell him.”
The man slapped his hand against the steering wheel. “What? That was the whole reason you came today.”
Terrie nodded quickly. “I know. I know. And I was going to tell him, but when I saw him looking so helpless in the hospital bed, I couldn’t do it. I want to let him recover from his accident first before I drop another bombshell on him. He’s going to hate me,” Terrie said.
“That’s wonderful,” the man said sarcastically as he crossed his arms over his chest. “So what do we do until then?”
Terrie touched the man’s left cheek and turned his face toward hers. “Randy, I love you. You’ve helped open my heart up more than it ever has been. But just because I love you, doesn’t mean I should be cruel to David. After all, he didn’t hurt me. True, he was not as attentive as I would have liked, but he was never mean.”
Randy kissed her quickly. “Okay. I’ll let you handle it your way, but for some reason I feel like we’re going behind his back. I don’t like feeling like a scoundrel.”
“You’re not. As far as I’m concerned, David and I were through over a month ago, and if he had shown up at my apartment instead of falling into that stupid hole, I would have told him.” She patted Randy’s hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him soon. He said he gets out of the hospital next week.”<
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CHAPTER 14
Sarah hurried through the sliding glass doors into Blanding Community Hospital leading Adam. He clutched at his chest and walked with his eyes closed. His breaths were short and stopped abruptly with each inhale. Sarah’s brown eyes were wide and darting around the lobby.
Sarah helped her grandfather sit down in one of the hard, orange-plastic chairs in the lobby of the emergency room. His head slumped forward onto his chest and he groaned.
When he was seated, Sarah said, “I’ll only be a minute.”
He barely nodded, and she ran to the emergency room desk wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Please help us. My grandfather...his chest hurts. We were driving to Salt Lake City and he suddenly grabbed his chest and yelled,” she told the nurse behind the desk. “He’s eighty-four-years old. I’m afraid the strain may kill him.”
The woman looked over at Adam. “How are you feeling now?” she asked.
“I’m dizzy and my chest still hurts,” Adam said weakly. He started to wobble back and forth in the chair and had to steady himself by grabbing the arm of the woman sitting in the chair next to him.
“He tries to do the same things younger men do. He doesn’t want to admit he’s an old man,” Sarah told the nurse.
“I do what I can. If I can walk, I walk. If I can tend a garden, I tend. That’s our way,” Adam said behind Sarah.
Sarah looked over her shoulder. “But you have to know what you can safely do. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately.”
“I have not!” Adam snapped.
The nurse put her hand on Sarah’s arm. “Try not to upset him. It may only make things worse. Wait right here. I’ll get a doctor,” the nurse explained to her.
The nurse disappeared through the emergency room doors and returned a few minutes later leading an older doctor. The doctor ran over to Adam and kneeled down next to him.
“I’m Dr. Brady,” the bespectacled man said, “I need to examine you to see how urgent your condition is.”