Touching Cottonwood

by Randall Simpson

  Sitting at a corner table in Ernie’s were Amanda and Chelsea Reese, along with Rebecca D’Arcy.

  “So, you say this man was completely nude?” asked Rebecca as the three of them looked over their menus.

  “Bare-butt naked,” said Chelsea with a grin. “Isn’t that rude?!”

  Amanda glanced at her and then back at Rebecca. “Who knows,” she began, “under the water, he may have had some shoes or sandals on or something…but, yes, as far as I could see, he was totally in the buff.”

  The three ladies chuckled.

  “And how old was he?” asked Rebecca.

  “Well, I didn’t get that good of a look at him, but…”

  Chelsea snickered and Amanda paused.

  “Was that funny, Chelse?” asked Amanda.

  “You looked closely enough to notice his lack of tan lines!” said Chelsea.

  Amanda looked at Rebecca, and the three ladies laughed again.

  “Okay, as far as I could tell, he was maybe around your age, Rebecca—thirty or so?”

  Rebecca smiled and then looked over toward the crowd still standing by the front door waiting for a table. In the crowd, Rebecca noticed that Matthew Duncan had entered the restaurant and was also waiting for a seat. Amanda and Chelsea had their backs to the front door and hadn’t seen Matthew walk in.

  Her heart started beating faster and without even thinking, Rebecca stood up and waved her hand toward him. “Matthew!” she yelled out.

  After a moment, Matthew looked across the diner and spotted her. She pointed to the empty seat next to her as Amanda and Chelsea turned around to see to whom Rebecca was motioning.

  Chelsea and Amanda immediately looked at each other, as Chelsea grabbed and squeezed her mother’s leg under the table. “Oh—my—god,” Chelsea whispered to her mother so that Rebecca couldn’t hear, “I don’t believe this…it’s him!”

  Matthew made his way over to the table, still carrying Old Blind Carl’s cane. He sat down next to Rebecca, leaning the cane against the table between them. He smiled warmly at Amanda and Chelsea. They only stared wide-eyed at him.

  “Thank you,” Matthew said to Rebecca. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this diner so crowded.”

  “No problem,” said Rebecca. “I couldn’t see any reason for you to have to wait—when we had an open seat.” It was a truthful lie. Rebecca’s rapidly beating heart knew the full truth.

  Rebecca looked over at Amanda and Chelsea and noticed their blank expressions with their moon-like eyes. They must find him as incredibly attractive as I do, she thought.

  “Amanda and Chelsea Reese,” Rebecca began, “I’d like you to meet Matthew Duncan. He used to live here in Cottonwood before you moved to town. He and I grew up together.”

  Amanda and Chelsea remained speechless, each managing only tiny sheepish smiles.

  “Thank you, Rebecca,” Matthew said. He then turned and looked directly at Amanda and then Chelsea. “Nice to meet you both…formally,” he said to them. He reached out his hand, and mechanically, Amanda and then Chelsea each shook it.

  “Is something wrong?” asked Rebecca, looking mainly at Amanda.

  “He’s the man without the tan lines,” said Amanda plainly.

  Rebecca turned and looked at Matthew, with her eyes now growing wide. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “She’s seen parts of me, at least, pretty well,” he replied.

  “Were you over at the river today?” asked Rebecca.

  Matthew looked at Amanda and Chelsea and then back to Rebecca. “I was. It was a great day for a bath. Very refreshing.”

  “Matthew,” said Rebecca, “were you, uh…in Little Bear River without any clothes on?”

  Matthew looked at her. “I didn’t happen to have a bathing suit with me, and I needed to clean up a bit. That’s what water is for, isn’t it?” Matthew then looked back toward Amanda and Chelsea and continued, “I’m sorry if I upset you. You both rode by me pretty fast on your bikes. All I had time to put on was a pleasant smile.” Matthew looked right at Chelsea when he said this, and she blushed like the schoolgirl she was.

  Rebecca could tell that neither Amanda nor Chelsea was ready to speak. “Uh, well,” she said to Matthew, “things have changed here since we were teens. It’s probably not a good idea to do that anymore.” Rebecca looked over at Amanda and Chelsea. “Some of us used to skinny-dip in the river when we were younger. Maybe Matthew was reliving his high school years.”

  Rebecca smiled, but the other two women remained silent.

  “Seems I remember you did it more than once,” said Matthew to Rebecca.

  Rebecca could feel herself blushing.

  “You did?” asked Chelsea, breaking her silence.

  “Okay, yes, just a few times. But that was long ago, when I was young and foolish.”

  Amanda stared at Rebecca for a moment and then said, “It’s just a bit shocking. We normally don’t see naked men on our bike trips, right Chelse?” she added, looking over at her daughter.

  Chelsea did not meet her mother’s look, however, as her gaze had shifted from Matthew to the object resting against the table between Rebecca and Matthew. Neither Rebecca nor Amanda had noticed the object, but now their eyes followed Chelsea’s downward to stare at the plain and well-worn wooden cane anyone in Cottonwood could instantly recognize as belonging to its most beloved citizen.

  “Why do you have Old Blind Carl’s cane?” Chelsea asked plainly.

  Matthew glanced down and picked up the cane, rolling it in his fingers and staring at it for a moment as though it were the most interesting and rarest of objects in the universe. He then looked at Chelsea and smiled. “Well, that’s the most wonderful part of my day really, you see…”

  Just then, a waitress approached the table and interrupted them. She was Jenny Aaronson, a seventeen-year-old strawberry-blonde and a friend of Chelsea’s.

  “Hi Chelse…Mrs. Reese…” she said, smiling at them and then at Rebecca and Matthew. “What can I get you folks tonight?” she asked.

  No one answered.

  “Uh…do you need more time?” asked Jenny.

  In unison, Amanda, Chelsea, and Rebecca picked up their menus once more.

  “Oh…gosh,” said Rebecca. “I guess I’m not that hungry. I’ll just have some apple pie and a glass of skim milk.” She handed her menu back to Jenny.

  “And I’ll have the same,” said Matthew, who didn’t have a menu.

  Chelsea looked up from her menu. “I guess I’ll have a BLT, a bowl of Ernie’s chili, and a diet Coke,” she said, also handing her menu to Jenny.

  Without looking up from her menu, Amanda said, “All right, I know I’m slow here. Uh, give me the french dip, the house salad, and an iced tea.” Amanda closed her menu and joined Chelsea and Rebecca in staring once again at the cane that Matthew continued to hold.

  “I’ll take that,” Jenny said to Amanda.

  “What?” asked Amanda.

  “Your menu,” said Jenny. “If you’re done with it, I’ll take it.”

  “Oh yeah, thanks,” said Amanda, handing her menu to Jenny.

  “We’re busy, but your orders shouldn’t take long,” Jenny said as she left the table, not noticing what the three ladies were staring at.

  “So, go on with your story,” said Amanda with a bite to her voice. “You were telling us why you have Old Blind Carl’s cane. It’s odd you have it now, because we saw it earlier today down by Carl’s bench at the river. I guess you picked it up after your…bath today?”

  “Yes, it was a wonderful gift, completely unexpected by me,” said Matthew, rolling the cane in his fingers and studying it closely. “Old Blind Carl gave it to me. You know, you can sure tell a lot about people by their possessions, and I can’t think of a more valuable possession for a blind man than his cane. Carl had this one a long time.” Matthew then looked directly at Chelsea. “There’s a lot of history in this cane, if you’re willing to pay attention to the details.”

  “Why would
Old Blind Carl give you his cane?” asked Chelsea, growing bolder and more curious.

  “That’s a very good question,” said Matthew. “Why do any of us give something valuable and important away to someone else? It’s almost a mystery, isn’t it—these acts of unselfishness?”

  “Doesn’t Old Blind Carl need his cane?” Chelsea replied. “I mean…he needs it to get around. Did he get another one?”

  Matthew glanced down at the old worn cane and then back to Chelsea. “No, I don’t believe he got another one. Why would he? The last time I saw him, I don’t think he needed one anymore.”

  “Why would that be?” interjected Rebecca. “Why wouldn’t Old Blind Carl need his cane anymore and give it to you? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  Matthew looked at Rebecca and the concern on her face. “This is just a guess, because as I said, unselfishness is a wonderful mystery, but I think because I gave something to him, he wanted to thank me somehow.”

  All three women looked confused as they glanced at each other and then looked back at Matthew, who continued rolling the cane in his fingers with a smile on his face.

  Finally, after a few moments of silence, Amanda said, “I don’t think any of us really understand what you’re talking about, but the important thing to me right now is—where is Old Blind Carl at this very moment? Do you know?”

  “Well, no, I’m not sure exactly where Old Blind Carl is. Where does a blind man go who doesn’t need his cane anymore? Where would you go?”

  Rebecca’s chest began to tighten. “Matthew,” Rebecca began, “I agree with Amanda. You’re really talking in circles here and confusing all of us. You say Old Blind Carl gave you his cane and that he probably didn’t get a new one. Why wouldn’t he need a new one? Unless he’s—”

  “Dead,” interjected Amanda.

  Rebecca looked at Amanda and then back to Matthew. “Is Old Blind Carl…dead?”

  Matthew laughed and said, “I don’t think so. He wasn’t the last time I saw him anyway, so I hope he’s not now.”

  “Well, we all hope not,” said Rebecca plainly. “So, explain to us exactly why he doesn’t need his cane anymore?”

  At that moment, as the three ladies were waiting for Matthew’s answer, making his way through the crowd at the front door of Ernie’s Diner was Cottonwood Deputy Sheriff Sparky. He had followed Matthew from the meeting, and for the past few minutes, he’d been standing outside the diner looking through the window—observing Matthew and the ladies sitting and talking at their table.

  Sparky’s own intuition and the facial expressions of the three women told him they were getting increasingly upset by something Matthew was saying. Sparky wasn’t ready to do anything just yet, but he wanted to get closer to the action, just in case.

  The deputy moved over to the front counter where all the single swivel-style seats were occupied. There was, however, one seat in particular he had his eye on. It was at the very end of the counter and offered him a clear and direct view of his table of interest. Also, he was feeling a bit hungry, as he hadn’t eaten since before commandeering Ned’s car earlier in the day and thought a bite to eat might be just the thing. Carefully, so as not to draw any attention, he tapped the shoulder of a patron who was sitting in his target seat. The patron was a thin gray-haired man in his fifties. Sparky didn’t recognize him and assumed he was from out of town. It was Colin, the same man Duke McKenna had helped earlier by pushing his stalled car over to Al’s Garage.

  “Excuse me, sir,” Sparky said, speaking low and close to the man’s ear. “I’m on official police business right now, and I need to sit in this chair.”

  Colin eyed Sparky, his uniform, and his badge. “I’ll be done in a few minutes,” said the man, turning back to his eggs and sausage.

  Sparky leaned closer to Colin. The most exciting day that Sparky had experienced in law enforcement in quite some time was now continuing. His heart was pounding harder. “I don’t think you understand,” Sparky said low but very sternly. “This is not a request, and I don’t have time to wait for you to finish your eggs. You’ll need to find another place to sit…right now.”

  Colin looked Sparky dead in the eyes. He saw Sparky’s determination. He knew Sparky had a badge and a gun. “Jesus Christ,” Colin said, downing his coffee. “I never thought I’d see the day come where a cop would use his badge just to get himself a seat in a flea-bag restaurant.” He threw his dirty, crumbled-up napkin and five dollars on the counter as he stood up. “Tell the waitress you’ll pay her a tip. I can’t wait to get out of this god-damn little town.”

  Colin roughly pushed his way through the crowd and toward the door. “The food here sucks!” he said toward the waiting customers but to no one in particular as he left the diner.

  Sparky watched him leave and then edged into the man’s vacant seat. He felt a huge sense of satisfaction inside. He had commandeered an electric car and a seat in a diner, all in the same day.

  At their table across the room, Rebecca, Amanda, and Chelsea were waiting for Matthew to answer their question—why doesn’t Old Blind Carl need his cane anymore? As they stared at him, Jenny Aaronson returned with their orders and placed them on the table to strained smiles from the three women. Matthew gave her an easy and relaxed smile. She seemed to sense the tension but smiled anyway.

  “Let me know if you need anything else,” Jenny said. “And by the way,” she continued, looking at Matthew and Rebecca, “you’re both lucky to get that milk. It’s all due to our new miracle fridge.”

  “What do you mean?” Rebecca asked mechanically, not really caring but simply wanting Jenny to go away as soon as possible so Matthew could explain about the cane and Old Blind Carl.

  “Well, a few hours ago we were out of milk. There was none in the walk-in fridge, or so we thought. There’ve been no deliveries today when we’d normally get milk, but every time we run out of milk and go back to the fridge to get more, another five-gallon container magically appears in the fridge. Someone’s having fun playing games around here, so we’re all just calling it the ‘miracle’ fridge and playing along with it. Pretty funny, huh? You folks enjoy your meal.” Jenny smiled once more as she left the table.

  Rebecca hadn’t heard much of what Jenny said. She wanted Matthew’s answer, and from the looks on Amanda and Chelsea’s faces, so did they.

  “Matthew…we’re still waiting for an explanation,” said Rebecca.

  Matthew rested the cane back against the table and took a bite of the hot apple pie sitting in front of him. “Oh my,” he said after chewing the bite. “This is just as good as I remembered it was. Ernie’s always used the best apples he could find. Delicious.” He took another bite.

  None of the three ladies even looked down at their food. Matthew finished chewing the bite of pie and took a swig of milk. “Ah,” he said after swallowing, holding up the glass, and looking at the milk. “I think this milk tastes even better coming from that miracle fridge, as Jenny put it. What could possibly be fresher than miracle milk?”

  Matthew set the glass down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “All right,” he began, “the three of you want to know the truth about Old Blind Carl. Before I tell you what I know to be the truth, let me just say this—from my experience, sometimes people say they want the truth but don’t really or aren’t ready for it when it’s handed to them. I believe that one of you is almost ready for the truth—if you search your heart, one of you could go either way, and one of you is definitely not ready and might cause all sorts of interesting problems because of that.”

  Matthew picked up the cane once more and looked at it almost lovingly, as though it represented Old Blind Carl himself. “Are you ready for the truth?” he said as he looked each of the three women, one-by-one, directly in the eyes, ending with Rebecca. “Are you? Let’s see then…because the truth is, the reason Old Blind Carl doesn’t need this wonderful old cane anymore is the same reason none of us would need one—he’s no longer blind.”

  Am
anda let out an audible laugh, Chelsea squinted and cocked her head, and Rebecca simply stared at Matthew.

  Over at the lunch counter, Sparky was keeping one eye on the table of four and was also now scanning the menu. The waitress had taken the previous customer’s dirty plate away and made a vague comment about the lack of a tip. Sparky said nothing to her.

  The waitress was Ellen Obermeyer. She was a pretty, full-figured, blonde-haired woman. Sparky’s lucky and exciting day seemed to be continuing, as he’d been interested in dating Ellen for some time. Whenever he came into the diner, if she was working, he’d ask her out on a date. She’d always turned him down without explanation.

  “What can I get for you tonight, Sparky?” she asked him. She was ready for his stock response, which was usually “you on a date with me” or some other such well-worn pick-up line waitresses have had to endure for decades from drunks, losers, and apparently, deputy sheriffs in small towns.

  For the first time in as long as Ellen could remember, Sparky didn’t reply with a request for a date. Instead, he took one last glance at the menu, closed it, and said, “I guess I’ll have the steak and eggs, a side of toast, and coffee.” He then smiled as politely as Ellen had ever seen him smile and handed the menu back to her.

  “Uh…great,” Ellen said as she wrote down the order. “We’re a little busy tonight, as you can see, so your meal might take a while, but I’ll bring your coffee right away.”

  “No problem,” said Sparky, smiling again at Ellen as she walked off and seemed to be caught off guard by Sparky’s sudden manners. He was on official business tonight and was behaving his very best. There would be no flirting with Ellen right now; that could wait for another time.

  Sparky focused his gaze across the diner and back over toward his target table. The four were now eating their meals in what appeared to be complete silence. Considering how animated and loud the rest of the crowd was in Ernie’s, their silent table appeared out of place. Sparky was certain that something most peculiar had been happening at that table.