by Harper, Chap
Chapter Fifteen
Lester remembered that his dad had taken a new job with a construction company that let him off at 3:30. It was ten to four so he tried him.
“Dad, how you doing?”
“Well, hell, I can’t get no better than I am. Saw on the news you had a big shoot ’em up at the bait store. I’m mighty glad ol’ Jody weren’t no more hurt than he was. He’s a good friend and gave me a good deal on spinner baits for stripers the last time I was in.”
“Are you coming by?”
“That I am, and I’m taking you to Stubby’s for ribs. You’re going to meet Debi. Might up and marry her someday. I’ll be by in a few minutes.”
“All right then. I’ll put on a clean shirt and britches. Might even comb my hair. Want me to bring a date?”
“God, no! Dad, let’s keep this simple until you get to know Debi.” Lester knew most of his dad’s girlfriends were picked up at Boot Scooters night club and were of dubious character.
Lester loved his dad, but knew he was a product of a very poor family who never placed much time or effort into formal education. He guessed his dad saw the quality of both education and beauty when he married a very pretty young flaxen-haired school teacher named Lil. Adrian hoped she might help refine him, but she didn’t live long enough to cause the transformation.
Lester got some of his looks from his dad, who was tall and ruggedly handsome, and his softer looks and blond hair from his mom. His dad always walked with the certain assurance of a man who wouldn’t back down from a fight and who maybe owned property or had money. He had little of either.
Adrian did own a small house in Mt. Pine, and it was paid for. He had received a settlement check from the wreck and paid off his house and a few bills with it. Also, he had enough money after paying off the house to buy a nicely-equipped fishing boat with outriggers. At the time, he wasn’t aware Lester was going to have issues learning to read or he might have held off on the boat. The fancy fishing boat wasn’t just for fun, as he was a professional fishing guide on weekends or whenever he could break away to do it. Mainly, he went after the big stripers that sometimes weighed over thirty pounds. This species of fish had acclimated from salt water to fresh water. Many people hated the stripers because they ate the bass and trout hatchlings placed in the water by the game and fish department. Adrian loved them and the $300 to $1000 a week he could make during the season, guiding a bunch of first-timers or even experienced fishermen.
When the mill closed down, his money earned as a guide kept him going. He mainly got clients from referrals but did print cards and a brochure. Once, after a particularly good season, he bought billboard space on Highway 270 going towards Lake Ouachita. He got a few clients from it, but primarily it expanded his pick-up ratio at Boot Scooters. He told Lester that he found higher-class women at “The Electric Cowboy” in Little Rock. When the time came for Adrian to bring a date to a function, Lester hoped the Little Rock club would furnish his dad with a woman that would embarrass his son just a little less.
Lester pulled up in the driveway of his dad’s small white frame house and saw his Z71 Chevy truck parked under the carport. It was freshly washed and fell in line with the mowed and trimmed yard and well-maintained house. Adrian was always neat in appearance, and everything around him that he controlled was clean, combed, pressed and creased in all the proper places. He had been in the Marines as a young man, and their brand of discipline had been indelibly stamped on his psyche.
The front door opened and Adrian stepped out onto the porch and locked the door behind him. He climbed into Lester’s SUV and extended a hand to his son.
“You okay? Something must be up for you to drag me out at short notice to meet your new girlfriend.”
“Dad, I’ll lay it out. I’m going in Friday to have some scar tissue removed from my brain. Got it from the wreck and they believe it caused my learning problems. I hope you can come to the hospital over the weekend to give Debi a rest. Dr. Arrison thinks he can get it without drilling in my skull, so a shunt will only be in for a couple of days. You okay with that?” Lester said. His dad knew there was more.
“You worried about something, son?”
“Don’t know the outcome. Might be really retarded or a zombie or just stupid for a while. I think I will have to re-learn everything I know, but if it works I can learn to read like everyone else, then I’ll be able to go to college and possibly law school—maybe make some real money. I just wanted you to know that if I’m really fucked up afterwards, then put me in a home somewhere and tell Debi to go on about her life,” Lester said nervously.
“I doubt that’s gonna happen, but if it does and you’re a vegetable, I’ll take ya to the best vegetable home around,” Adrian said with a laugh.
After that, Lester and his dad mainly talked about fishing and other relatives that were still around but needed their statuses updated. They explored Debi’s background, and Adrian had some questions about her parents, which Lester assumed meant he was speculating on how well he would be accepted.
“Sounds like they’re good people.”
“Her dad is really easy going, even if he’s a doctor. Her mom doesn’t like that I’m a cop. I brought a rosebush as a peace offering. She seemed to warm up.”
“Think if I offer her a fish she’ll like me?” Adrian asked.
“When we get to know them, we’ll invite them on a striper trip. Her dad, Tom, is a big duck hunter, so in any case, he would enjoy it. Debi shoots trap so at least she does some gun stuff.”
As they pulled up at Stubby’s, they saw Debi parking her BMW. Adrian got out first and introduced himself to Debi. She shook his hand and stared at his face for a minute.
“Damn, you’re as handsome as Lester,” she said, shaking his hand with both of hers. “I’m not real sure which one of you to take home.”
“He said you were a good lookin’ young lady, but he really needs to do a better job of describing.” Adrian chuckled and gave her a little hug.
“Dad, she’s taken, so don’t flirt with her.”
They went through the line with their trays, picking up ribs, deviled eggs, and coleslaw. Debi wanted a fried peach pie, and as usual, Lester got a barbecue salad, which consisted of lettuce with chopped pork on the top, which they made especially for Lester since it wasn’t on the menu. They chose a table nestled under a collection of license plates nailed on the wall.
“Dad and Deb, I just wanted you two to meet each other before the surgery. I will go in early Friday and hopefully by noon you should know if there are any issues. I truly don’t expect any as it’s a straightforward operation.” He paused and left out the part where he could die.
“The aftermath is the big question, and how I will go about relearning everything. Debi has a good friend in Hot Springs that teaches second grade who’s agreed to help. She’s going to come by in the evenings to give me my lessons. Debi will help test me. I hope after I relearn the basics, I can take off from there.”
“Sounds good, son. I’ll be there Friday morning with Debi.”
“Look at these ribs and how much meat is on them!” Adrian said as he took a large bite out of the center of a particularly large rib with pink meat over an inch thick.
“I’m taking most of mine home for later,” Debi said. She looked at Lester. “Do you want me to drive you over on Friday?”
“Yeah—please. You know I’ve never had surgery. Is there something I should know or worry about? I’ve heard people wake up during operations. I hope that doesn’t happen.”
“Just tell the doctor hi. It’ll scare the shit out of him and he’ll knock you out again,” Debi said, getting a laugh from both men.
“Everything will be fine, son. I’m going to guess this Dr. Arrison is one of the best in the state. I think he wants to be known for fixing the famous Lester McFarlin.”
“He’s one of the best in the nation,” Lester said.
“I’ve got to run by and talk to the sheriff after
I take you home, Dad. Are you ready to roll?”
“Yepsir. I’m taking a bunch of these ribs home, too,” Adrian replied as they all got up to leave.
Lester kissed Debi and told her he would see her after work since she had one more late appointment. She had moved in with him for the most part, and he had seen his closet space diminish daily. Frightening objects like tampons and makeup now occupied space that he had left bare for no real reason except neatness.
Lester returned from taking his dad home to Mt. Pine and knew everyone in the office was working late. It wasn’t by choice since the coordination of all the task forces was eating up normal working schedules. He knocked on Sheriff Mike Adams’ door and didn’t wait for an answer. He could see through the glass door that he was alone.
“Mike, they’re going to remove my brain on Friday. Since I wasn’t using it much, there might not be much change afterwards. My recovery will depend on how quickly I relearn the entire English language,” Lester said, trying to make his operation seem insignificant.
“What the fuck! I didn’t know you were planning this so soon. Please explain why you’re doing this in the middle of the biggest organized crime take down in world history! Do you fucking notice everyone working late?” Sheriff Mike was clearly not in the loop concerning timing for the operation but did know about the scar tissue, the MRI, and the visit with the surgeon.
“Not a problem. Jim is setting up wiretaps and surveillance around the S.G. Crystal shop and the bait store. Also, they’re trying to find out about the call girl business, and although I volunteered to test the quality of the ladies, they turned me down. The FBI is never going to get in a hurry when it’s possible to collect enough information to fill a small library. I hope to be well enough to go with Little Richard to New Orleans in about a week to pick up our machine pistol. He can take Becca and I’ll take Debi to appear to Tony’s group that we’re normal people. So really it is a perfect time to have my brain vacuumed and cleaned.”
“Jesus H. Christ! I didn’t okay any trip for a brainless investigator and his group of party animals to go to New Orleans. I need to think about this and see if we can afford it.”
“Remember the new money you have. Oh, we need thirty-three hundred to buy the Mac-11,” Lester said, with a huge smile.
“Get the fuck out of here. I’ll contact the ATF people to see if they have any money so we don’t use all of our new slush fund. And you don’t know if they’ll put your brain back in right side up, so we’ll see how you’re recovering.”
Mike then calmed down a bit. “Lester, is there anything I can do for you during your recovery?” There was actually concern in his voice.
“No, just stay in touch with Jim Webb and Jake.”
Next, Lester stopped by to talk to Rich and Becca about the trip. They were ready and said they would set up the hotels once they found out how he had survived the operation. Lester agreed to take his car since he wasn’t allowed to fly. Rich would drive.
Lester decided to go to church before his operation. He was concerned, but not to the point of being scared. He loved his life now and wanted the part that included Debi to be the same after Friday. He called her late in the afternoon.
“I’m going to church. Want to go with me?” Lester said.
“If you can wait an hour, I’ll go with you. Do I need to dress up?”
“No, it’s not that kind of church. It’s just a place that feels religious to me.”
After picking her up at her clinic, they drove towards Kirby.
“Lester, tell me more about your church.”
“Listen, Debi, I don’t you want you to think I’m weirder than you already do. It’s just a little cafe where you can feel the whole world—or at least I do. I just sit where I can listen to a lot of conversations at once. I somehow feel the spirit of Arkansas and America by just listening. We’ll order coffee or tea but no food. We’re not there to eat but to listen and meditate quietly. We won’t stay long, but maybe it will calm me before the operation,” Lester said, hoping Debi didn’t have him committed to Happy Hills Mental Farm as soon as they got back.
“Lester, I mean this in the sincerest way—you are fucking nuts!” she said, giggling and shaking her head.
“Hey, it’s no different than so many people who go to church and don’t believe any of the tenets or the existence of a God, but go through the motions so their kids learn what the church considers right and wrong.”
“I agree many people don’t take it seriously but feel better that they showed up in church, hoping something spiritual has washed over them after the sermon,” Debi said.
“I don’t expect you to get as much out of this experience as I do, but I care deeply for you and wanted you to understand why I go there for my mental readjustments.”
“I promise to behave myself and take it all in as best as I can. You’re still fucking nuts.”
In less than an hour they found a parking place in the limited space next to the modern yellow brick cafe. It wasn’t fully packed yet as it was only five o’clock, and the work crowd hadn’t all arrived. Lester and Debi entered the cafe and were greeted by Sherry, who recognized Lester. She took him to one of his favorite perches close to other tables and next to the long window which extended the length of the building. Lester ordered coffee and Debi had a sweet tea, something she rarely drank, but decided to get wild since this was going to be a new adventure.
Once seated, Lester listened around him and tried to separate the noise from the kitchen and the softer tones of conversations at tables near him. It was important to hear discussions from servers and cashiers as well, as they were all a part of the big picture. He always sat so his good right ear would compensate for the partial deafness on the left. After a few seconds a conversation among a group of men at a nearby table began to float through the air and pierced a hole in the extraneous sounds surrounding it. They all worked for a construction company, building houses.
One man was doing most of the talking. “I should have fired Travis years ago, but since I was responsible for getting him sober, I just couldn’t let him go. He would show up for work spitting up blood—probably crapping it out, too. Had a bleeding ulcer and couldn’t keep food down—and drank like a fish. I offered to take him to AA—told him he had to quit drinking or I couldn’t keep him on the job, and he was probably going to die. He had a two-year-old boy he was helping take care of for his daughter. He said he would quit on his own. I told him it was too hard to do on his own. Here’s what he told me: ‘I was on meth real bad four years ago—just stopped and never had it anymore. I’ll do the same thing with the liquor.’
“And by God, he did. Kept him on to this day, but he ain’t the best hand I have. He’s good at installing microwaves—can do it in twenty minutes. It’d take José two hours to put one in. Travis done it so much he knows right where to drill all the holes. Travis is good at laying tile, but I wouldn’t let him touch framing. Just can’t figure it out, so we always put him on something else. He’s so little that you’d think he can’t carry boards. He does it ok. Probably weighs about the same as my wife…’round 130, maybe 135. Wiry and all muscle, though. Came to work one day with one eye completely shut and the other black and blue. Said he got beat up cause he took out another man’s wife. Then he said, ‘You should’ve seen the other guy!’” The entire group roared.
“He’s the guy you want in a foxhole with ya,” he continued. “Doesn’t back down to nobody—fearless, stubborn, and loyal.”
Debi was concentrating on the conversation of two women at another table. One was a mother who was concerned her daughter was falling hard for a loser, and she didn’t know what to do. The guy didn’t have a job and was behind on his pickup payments. Her daughter was giving him money, and the boy just smoked pot and drank beer. The boy’s dad was in jail for drug charges, and it appeared the son wasn’t far behind him. She was afraid if she complained too much she would lose her daughter.
The two chur
ch-goers drank their coffee and tea, listened to the surrounding conversations and finally took in an exchange between two waitresses.
“Sherry, I got a birthday party Saturday for Evan. Can you work for me then—I’ll owe you?”
“I can cover you until about six, Taylor, and then I’m going out with Donny. Can you finish the party by then?” Sherry asked.
“Guess I’ll have to,” Taylor said as she handed Lester the meal check.
Lester paid the bill and left a nice tip on the table. Outside, they got into the SUV and just sat there a minute.
“I get it, Lester!” Debi said. “You listen to people and how they go through life, then use it much like a sermon to learn good and bad from their examples. Yes?”
“That’s part of it, of course, yet it is life going on—it keeps going on all around you. In that one space, the whole world comes together to teach you that people survive and dance and cry and laugh through heaven and hell every day to show up at the Kirby Cafe—then confess it all.”
“Holy shit, Lester…there’s a very deep side to you. Keep it up and you’ll be a poet someday. Thanks for taking me to your church. How do you feel?”
“At peace, my dear—at peace.”
Chapter Sixteen
A construction crew from Louisiana arrived at the bait store at the same time that a local lighting and fixture company pulled up to the side of the building. Stick was there to give instructions.
“Want a three-color neon sign—little larger than the sign is now. Maybe yellow-blue-red. Is that a good color combo?” Stick asked in the direction of a young kid who probably didn’t know the roygbiv concept and most likely flunked art class.
“Lot of people doing purple, gold, and red,” he said, trying to push out as much color information as he had stored in his nineteen-year-old brain.
“Fucking LSU colors with Razorback red thrown in! The bitch’ll love it. Do those and get ’em made fast. Can you make the neon and install it by Monday?”