Family Reunion

by Nicholas Sarazen

  "Well thanks, Miss Stephanie. But if I decide I don't want to go, I want you to promise me one thing. Promise me you won't talk about me, not even mention my name. They would only start askin' questions about how I'm doin' now." He blinked his watery eyes. "I don't want them to know that I didn't turn out as successful as them."

  Chapter 23

  Despite the Cessna cap, blue coveralls, and work boots, no one would have mistaken Paula Fitch for an airport pump jockey. Tasteful makeup highlighted the petite flight instructor's big eyes and peach complexion, and her coveralls, though somewhat loose-fitting, could not hide her attractive shape.

  Stephanie continued with her questions. "You say most of your students are men. Do they give you any trouble about you being a woman and teaching them how to fly?"

  "I don't get much of that. The only problem is when they make passes, but that's just on the ground." Paula winked. "At ten thousand feet they always seem to be perfect gentlemen."

  Stephanie watched as Paula unlatched the cowling of the Cessna 172. Her slender fingers moved deftly among the wires and hoses as she checked for loose connections. Satisfied, she closed the cowling and locked it into place. "I loaned it out yesterday and I always like to make sure it comes back the same way it went out."

  "So this is your plane?" Stephanie asked.

  "Uh-huh. Well, half of it, anyway. My friend and I bought it about a year ago from a salesman whose eyesight was getting too bad to keep his license."

  "And you work on it yourself?"

  Paula stepped down from the ladder. "My friend's not very handy with tools, so I do everything I can. I'm not certified to do major overhauls, but I can handle most of the routine maintenance and the minor things that go wrong. I'm off today, but I came in to help Flynn, our mechanic. Most of what I know I've learned from him. We're going to change the fuel pump on that Mooney over there." Paula pointed to a plane parked outside a nearby hangar. "It's a beauty, isn't it?"

  Stephanie didn't know much about small planes, but she did like the sleek lines of the blue and white aircraft. "That's sharp."

  They went inside so Paula could wash up. She then led Stephanie to an unused office where they could talk.

  Stephanie pushed the record button on her cassette player again. "What was it like living with The Family?

  "At the time it was a dream, but looking back on it now, it was really more of a nightmare."

  "Because of the murders?"

  Paula shook her head. "I wasn't there when that happened. I was just referring to some incredibly stupid things I did. Like we used to go on these garbage runs. Mother Earth said it was a sin to waste anything. So we'd rummage through dumpsters behind supermarkets for fruit and vegetables, things that had been thrown out. I never, ever ate any of the stuff, but I did climb in and help get it. There were rats and flies and maggots all over the place. It was awful. For years I couldn't eat a salad."

  Stephanie made a sour face. "What made you go along with them? You just don't seem the type."

  Paula shrugged. "I was a rebel, but I was incredibly naive. Like everyone else in The Family, I wanted to do what I could to save the environment. That was the common thread. So when the others did something, I went right along with them. I guess I just ended up substituting one kind of conformity with another."

  "Was a garbage run the worst thing you ever did?"

  Again Paula shook her head. "I wish it were. You've heard how The Family used to slither? I did that twice. We didn't take anything. We just went into these houses and crawled around, from room to room. At the time I had no idea why Mother Earth wanted us to do it, but it's pretty clear to me now that she was just training The Family for what was to come. I still shudder to think what could have happened to me if we'd been arrested or if the people would have woken up."

  "People were home?"

  "Oh yeah," Paula nodded. "It wouldn't have been as thrilling with nobody there. The people were asleep at both of the houses where I slithered, but I remember one of the girls telling me about slithering in this house where a couple was making love. I can't remember her name, but she said she crawled under the bed while they were going at it. I guess the whole time they were talking dirty to each other, and this girl said she had to bite her lip to keep from cracking up. She waited until they were through and had fallen asleep, then she crawled back out of the room."

  Stephanie shook her head and laughed. "That's terrible, but it is kind of funny. Imagine what those people would say today if they knew." She glanced down at her list of questions. "What made you leave The Family?"

  "I didn't leave them as much as they left me. One night I went into town with two other girls to get some groceries. After we finished shopping they sent me back in for cigarettes. When I came out they were gone. I don't know why they left, and I never went back to The Haven. By then I was tired of Mother Earth and her fanaticism and wanted to leave anyway. I moved back home with my parents and got a job washing planes on weekends at L.A. International. After that I started taking flying lessons and got my license. Here I am." She checked her watch. "And if we're going up we'd better go now. Are you ready?"

  "As ready as I'll ever be."

  Paula let Stephanie sit in the left seat and even take the wheel for awhile. They flew out over Santa Cruz Island and circled back. Over the loud hum of the Lycoming engine Paula explained the functions of all the gauges. When they returned to the airport Paula had Stephanie cut back the throttle and extend the flaps. Paula brought the plane in on a gentle slope.

  They talked further until Flynn arrived to work on the Mooney. Stephanie left the airport with a good interview and the promise of some free flying lessons.

  When Stephanie walked into the Riptide Recording Studio a session was in progress, so she passed the time by reading the gold records and BMI awards that covered the walls. The waiting room reeked of stale beer and cigarette smoke. She took a seat on a mustard vinyl couch that bore numerous scars and the many attempts at repair. An hour after the interview was to have begun the front door opened and in walked a short man with a bushy red Afro. He wore white shoes, a white jump suit open to the waist, and an orange cape with fuzzy white trim.

  "Hey momma, what's cookin'? Bet you're Stephanie now, aren't you?" Leggett looked her up and down. "You're the spittin' image of Nancy Wilson of Heart. Anybody ever tell you that?"

  "No, I can't say anyone ever has." Stephanie extended her hand. "You must be Harper Leggett."

  "The fun and only." Leggett reached up and yanked off the bushy red wig to expose a shaved head. Stephanie recoiled. "Gotcha, didn't I?" Leggett laughed. "Shock value, Stephanie. Life is nothing without shock value. That's why I've been so successful in music. Rock is shock. People don't want to hear the same old thing. They want to go beyond. I take them there."

  The interview started and Harper Leggett told about growing up in Detroit. He talked about his musical influences--James Brown, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett--and how he got his first big break in the business. Stephanie had to take Leggett's word that he was successful--she had never heard of either him or his former group, The Undead. When she asked about his time with The Family he talked mostly about the music.

  "I guess I was a bad fit because I was obsessed with music. And we all know what Mother Earth was obsessed with. I wrote a song called Save The Land, which she really dug. Problem was, that's all she wanted me to write songs about. That's just not my style, Stephanie. I have to keep boldly going where no musician has gone before. Can you dig it?"

  The interview went on for another hour. Stephanie knew she'd have a hard time separating fact from fiction, but the more Harper Leggett talked the more she liked him, despite his outrageousness--or maybe because of it. He let her tape the interview and afterward ran off his own copy in the studio.

  "You know, Stephanie," Harper Leggett said as she was about to leave, "no matter what you've heard about Mother Earth, she'll always be special, at least in my book."

  "What do
you mean?"

  "She was the first white person to ever look at me and not see the color black."

  Alexis McGivens. Stephanie sounded the words again in her mind as she rang the doorbell. She tried to picture the type of person who would fit such a glamorous name. She imagined a woman with luxurious hair, a woman who, though middle-aged, had a flawless complexion and an hourglass figure. A woman who'd be played by Joan Collins if they ever made a movie of her life. The door opened.

  "Hi. You must be Stephanie Kenyon."

  "Alexis?"

  "Come on in."

  Stephanie smiled, partly to herself, as she stepped inside. Alexis McGivens easily weighed two-hundred fifty pounds. Her auburn hair was closely-cropped. She had on sweat pants and a pink polo shirt on which the words "Puppy Luv Kennels" were barely discernible.

  "Please make yourself at home and I'll be right back with some coffee."

  Stephanie sat on the couch and looked around. An overweight yellow tomcat was curled up on a rug in the corner of the room. A portrait of a white poodle hung above a mantel crowded with trophies topped with gold and silver dogs.

  "Here you are," Alexis said when she returned with the coffee. "I'm anxious to get started."

  "Great. Why don't we begin with what you're doing now? You run the Puppy Luv Pet Centers?"

  "Well, actually they run me. We have twenty-eight stores right now and hope to build four more in the next year. I don't own all of the stores, though, just the franchise rights. I started the first store in Mendocino in '75. Then I opened up two more stores in '76, and that was more than I could handle. My brother's the real wizard. He joined the business as a partner in '77, and we decided to expand through franchising instead of doing it on our own." Alexis patted her stomach. "The only problem is that I've continued to expand, too."

  Stephanie smiled. "Your shirt reads ‘Puppy Luv Kennels.' Any connection to your stores?"

  "It's a separate business that still belongs entirely to us. We cater to entertainers, sports figures, and other celebrities who have to travel a lot. We even pick up and deliver."

  "You seem to be a woman with quite a few irons in the fire. What takes up the majority of your time?"

  "I like to say that my life is going to the dogs. I travel all over the country checking the best breeding stock. That's another extension of our business I guess I should mention--breeding. As far as my day-to-day responsibilities, I don't actually have many. Thanks to a lot of hard work during the early years, my brother and I have been very successful. I rarely go into the stores anymore. The only thing I'm really involved with now is the breeding."

  "I saw your cat as I came in, but I haven't seen any dogs."

  "I can see why that would seem odd. That big ball of fur over there is O. Henry. He's nine now. I used to have Tobey, a toy poodle. He and O. Henry got along great, but after Tobey died, O. Henry put up a big fuss every time I'd try to bring home a new puppy. I'm afraid it'll be just me and O. Henry for awhile."

  Alexis talked in further detail about her many business interests. Despite the credit Alexis gave to her brother, Stephanie suspected she had more to do with their success than she would admit.

  "How did you come to join The Family?" Stephanie asked.

  "I went to The Haven to help take care of the animals. You see, Mother Earth was really into saving endangered species. No one knew, but we even had four bald eagles and a pair of California condors."

  "So the animals interested you more than anything else?"

  "I guess I've always liked animals more than I've liked most people." The large woman hesitated. "Stephanie, when we talked on the phone you said you couldn't tell me how you found out about us, but you did say you would be talking to a lot of others. I would love to get in touch with someone I haven't seen since the old days. I was wondering if you were going to contact him, too?"

  The idea of a reunion again flashed through Stephanie's mind. "I'm sorry, Alexis, I can't give you any information. Everyone has been promised confidentiality, but I'll tell you what I can do. If I have an interview with the person you'd like to get in touch with, I can mention your name and see if he'd like to get together with you. What is his name?"

  "Arnie Fischinger. He's one of the few guys I ever really cared about, Stephanie. Does the name ring a bell?"

  The name did sound familiar to Stephanie but she couldn't place it. As she wrote it on her tablet she noticed that Alexis was studying her face, perhaps looking for any sign that she recognized the name.

  "You've never married?" Stephanie asked.

  "No. There just wasn't anyone after Pokey."

  "Pokey?"

  "That was Arnie's nickname."

  Pokey...Pokey...the book...the red X. Stephanie looked away, afraid her eyes would betray what she knew. "Well, if I happen to run across your friend I'll pass along your request." She put down the tablet. "You were talking about The Haven."

  "That's where I met Pokey." Alexis swept her hands down in front of her. "I wasn't always this big, you know. In fact, I only weighed about a hundred and thirty pounds when I was with The Family. I started gaining weight in the mid-seventies, when the business took up so much of my time. It didn't really matter, though, because my social calendar wasn't exactly filled." She laughed, but Stephanie could tell it was a painful, self-conscious laugh.

  "What made you stay with The Family?"

  "I was attracted to Pokey, and he was with The Family. I wanted to be with him, so I stayed. And then there were the animals, of course. That was the common bond between Pokey and me. He loved animals, too. We spent a lot of time together taking care of them."

  "So…what happened with Pokey?"

  Alexis looked down. Stephanie could see her swallow. "I woke up one morning and he was gone. No good-bye, no note, nothing. That's why I was hoping you might be contacting him, that maybe he's turned up again." Alexis raised her head and Stephanie could see her eyes were moist. "Some pain just never goes away."

  Stephanie nodded. Once more she thought of the red X. "How long did you stay with The Family after Pokey left?"

  Alexis shrugged. "A month, maybe two. I kept in touch for awhile just to see if there was any word about Pokey. Then I finally accepted that it was over. I went to work for a vet in Mendocino. He helped me get a loan and I opened the first store. You know the rest of the story."

  They talked for another thirty minutes. Other than her business success, Alexis McGivens seemed to have gotten very little out of life. Stephanie felt sorry for her. She didn't know if she would use the interview in the series. If the reunion came about, she didn't know if she should invite Alexis. But she did know that one day she'd return to Stockton and tell her the truth about Pokey.

  Chapter 24

  Stephanie cursed under her breath. Somehow she had made a wrong turn, perhaps because her mind was still on Alexis McGivens. It wasn't until she had passed through Milton and stopped to recheck the map that she caught her mistake. She had left herself barely enough time to make it to her three o'clock appointment with Dirk Yates, and now she would lose several minutes in retracing the route back to Copperopolis. The air conditioner in the rental car had stopped working just outside Stockton and now blew only warm air. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of her face.

  She was fifteen minutes late when she reached Sonora, and it took her another ten minutes to find Yates' place. She pulled into the gravel driveway and parked beside a four-by-four with raised suspension and oversized tires. Stephanie was about to open her door when she found herself staring into the face of a Doberman.

  "Easy, boy," she said. "Take it easy, now." Stephanie moved her left arm in slow motion and started to raise the window.

  "It's all right," boomed a voice. "A.K. won't hurt you. Come on out."

  Stephanie looked at the big man on the front porch of the rustic A-frame, then looked again at the Doberman. The car window inched up.

  "A.K. Come!"

  The Doberman turned and ran to its master
. The man stayed on the porch, staring at Stephanie. She wasn't sure what she should do. As the door latch clicked open the dog's ears twitched, but it remained at the big man's side.

  "I told you it's all right," he said.

  She eased out of the car and took a few steps toward the porch. "Are you Dirk Yates?"

  "Yeah."

  "I'm Stephanie Kenyon."

  "I figured that."

  "I'm sorry, I've always been afraid of Dobermans."

  "A.K. might lick you to death, but that's about it. Stand real still. I'll show you that you don't have anything to be afraid of." Yates patted his dog on the head and pointed at Stephanie. "Friend."

  The dog bounded off the porch and over to Stephanie. It began lapping at her hand.

  "You are friendly, aren't you?" She patted the dog and felt the taut muscles beneath its shiny coat.

  "See, I told you A.K. wouldn't hurt you."

  "A.K. What does that stand for?"

  "AK-47, the Soviet automatic rifle." Yates grinned. "If you're on the wrong side of either one, it'll tear you a new asshole."

  Stephanie now had a chance to get a good look at Yates. His tangle of curly hair gave off a blue-black shimmer and his teeth gleamed against his tanned face. His heavily-muscled body was more likely the product of physical, outdoor work than of Nautilus machines in some suburban health spa.

  "I'm sorry I'm late," Stephanie said. "I took a wrong turn."

  "No problem."

  Stephanie put a foot on the porch and Yates easily lifted her with one hand. Standing beside him, she only came up to his shoulders.

  "Would you like to sit out here or go inside where it's cooler?" he asked.

  "Inside, if you don't mind. I think I now know what a raisin goes through."

  Yates held the screen door open. "I don't have air conditioning, but the trees keep it pretty cool and the fan moves the air around a little. Have a seat." He turned toward his dog. "A.K. Lie down." The dog obediently plopped down at his feet.