by Shawn Inmon
The growing business didn’t mean he had forgotten about Nathaniel, however. Creech still thought about him every day, and his frustration grew with each passing month and year. He had fired J.R. when no noticeable results had resulted in the first twelve months, and was now working with a fourth agency trying to locate Nathaniel and his mother.
“It’s almost 1990!” he screamed into the phone at the last report. “People don’t just disappear. They’re out there, and I will find them.”
The investigation and search for Vivian and Nathaniel Hanrahan had cost Cyrus more than a small fortune, but with the success of his busines, he hadn’t even noticed the drain. He continued to write out checks each month while pursuing each new angle, idea, or lead. He had thought the investigators were closing in on them twice, once in Durango, Colorado, and once in Oceanside, California. Both turned out to be false alarms.
Cyrus’s attitude toward both Vivian and Nathaniel had also evolved over the years. Once he had believed that Nathaniel’s gifts came directly from God and should be used for His glory. But the longer he was frustrated in finding them, the more he ascribed negative connotations to Nathaniel and his strange talent.
“Perhaps it wasn’t from the glory of God, after all,” he would say. And, “If he were truly of God, he would share his miracles with the world.” And, “Somewhere, he no doubt bears the Mark of the Beast.”
These were Creech’s words and thoughts on the surface. But deeper, where the truth of his life was, it was simply frustration at his inability to find them, and, most importantly, to a man who seemed to have total control in his life, the fact that he could not control them.
Chapter Sixteen
1995
For the next six years, things ran as smoothly for Nathaniel, Andi, Violet, and Brutus as they ever did for any family. There were minor blips, of course. Andi had a hard time holding a job long term, because she hated being away from home each day. Her heart was in being a homemaker, and she always managed to find a way to make that happen, again and again. Violet was once again rising through the ranks at her job, though, so they didn’t really need Andi’s income to get by.
Nathaniel lost interest in his studies sometime during his freshman year in high school, and brought home a semester report card with two “C’s” and a “D” on it. Violet was flabbergasted. Nathaniel so often did unusual things, but they were more in line with floating a few inches off the bed when he slept, or astutely cutting to the heart of a debate with a few quiet words, as opposed to failing tests.
When Violet asked him why he brought home such a poor report card after ten years of exemplary ones, Nathaniel was honest, but that was not surprising. He seemed incapable of lying—not the outright lie, or a lie by omission or partial truth, or even the always-popular white lie, designed to save someone’s feelings. However, Violet had told him that when he was older and his wife or girlfriend asked him if he liked her haircut, or if her jeans made her butt look big, the only two correct answers were, respectively, “Yes, I love it,” and “No, not at all.” Nathaniel had filed these instructions away with a marker to remind him of when to use them.
So, when Violet asked him about the report card, he said, “Because I didn’t care, what we were studying was too simple and boring, and I just decided not to do the work.”
“But, we want to have all options open for you, when you are ready to go to college, so you need to get good grades the rest of the way.”
“I’ve decided I don’t want to go to college. I’ve spent too much time sitting in a classroom already. I’ll finish high school, and I’ll get good grades, because it’s important to you, but I’m not going on to college. The job I want to do won’t require a degree. Just empathy and a strong back.”
Vivian contemplated asking him what that job would be, because she knew he would tell her, but decided to leave that question for another day. Nathaniel had taught her many things by example, one of which was, Don’t borrow trouble. It will find you if it must.
Beyond these small blips, life proceeded apace. As soon as they had arrived in Middle Falls, Violet had found a job as a receptionist at a medical center. Nine years later, she had worked her way up to Assistant Director, and, if you asked anyone who worked there, they would tell you that they went to Violet first with every problem.
On Halloween night, 1995, the smooth path they had enjoyed for years became twisted and bumpy.
Nathaniel was sixteen, Jon had just turned seventeen, and both were too old to go trick-or-treating. Violet had asked them to stay home and watch Jamie Lee Curtis scream her way through Halloween, but the boys weren’t interested in that, either. Watching that movie on that night was a tradition for Violet and Andi, but this year, Andi was saving up for a new stereo and so had one of her intermittent jobs—delivering for The Leaning Tower of Pizza.
Jon and Nathaniel decided to walk around town and see what they could see, although they didn’t put a lot of effort into their costumes. Nathaniel found a long blond wig and a pair of black-framed glasses, Jon tucked his hair behind his ears and found a Wayne’s World baseball cap, and they transformed themselves into Garth and Wayne. Of course, the real Wayne wasn’t a hulking six-foot three-inch, 225-pound teenager, but Nathaniel had been working on his mimicry, and he had Garth down pretty well.
More than anything, they just wanted to be out and about, watching the kids trick-or-treat, stopping by Sammy’s Corner Grocery for a Coke and a bag of Twizzlers, and hanging out with each other. The highlight of their night was when they saw four guys dressed as KISS. They bowed repeatedly, repeating “We’re not worthy,” and cracking themselves up. Eventually, they tired of the limited fun a small town Halloween could offer, and headed back to Nathaniel’s house. Andi had promised to bring a giant pizza home with her at the end of her shift.
“We’re too early,” Jon said, nodding at the driveway at Nathaniel’s house. Violet’s Toyota Camry was there, but Andi’s older-model Mazda was not.
Nathaniel shrugged and hurried up the steps. “Well, hopefully, we stayed gone long enough that Mom has watched her movie. Maybe we can find Night of the Living Dead on until Andi gets here.”
Nathaniel threw open the door and would have been bowled over by the attack from Brutus if Jon hadn’t been standing at the ready, bracing his shoulders.
“Sorry, boy. This just wasn’t a good night to be walking around with a giant, shaggy dog. You would have taken all the attention away from our awesome costumes. Hey, Mom,” he said, plopping down on the couch, “Where’s Andi and the pizza? We’ve only had dinner and a bunch of candy and pop while we were out. We’re growing boys!”
The phone rang, and Violet said, “She was supposed to get off half an hour ago. I’ll bet she had to make some late deliveries, and that’s her.”
“I’ve got it,” Nathaniel said, sliding across the kitchen floor in his stocking feet. He picked up the cordless phone, extending the antenna in one smooth motion. “Hello, Moon residence.” The smile faded from his face. A short pause, then, “Mom? It’s the hospital. They’re asking for you.”
Violet vaulted up off the couch and was across the room in two seconds. “Hello?” She listened intently, then said, “We’re on our way.”
She dropped the phone, clattering, onto the counter. “Shoes on. Andi’s been in an accident. Let’s go.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jon left for home and let the Moons go to the hospital alone. As much as he was part of the family, Violet’s expression told him that she wanted it to be just her and Nathaniel.
In the car on the short ride across town to the hospital, Violet was quiet, and focused on driving. When they pulled into the Emergency Room parking lot, she turned the engine off, but didn’t immediately open the door.
Looking straight ahead, she said, “They didn’t tell me how bad it is, but from their tone, I’m afraid it might be serious. I’m hoping she’s just got a broken bone or two, and we can take her home soon to heal up. But
prepare yourself for something more than that.”
Nathaniel nodded, laid his hand on the door handle.
Then let’s go.
Violet reached out and touched his shoulder, holding him back.
“When you were just a little boy, I asked you to not use what’s inside you—to not heal anyone, unless we talked about it.”
And I haven’t, at least, not much, and things have been good. You were right.
“Mom. You don’t have to say anything. I know. If Andi is in bad shape, I will help her.”
“You haven’t done it in so long, I was afraid you would have forgotten it, or couldn’t do it.”
When you say things like that, I know you truly don’t understand this, but that’s okay. You don’t need to.
“It would be easier to forget how to breathe.”
“Sometimes I wonder if I was wrong. I was afraid. You are so special, I’ve been afraid that someone would try to take you away from us.”
“It’s okay. If it was something I really wanted to do, I would have just talked to you about it. But, I just want to be what I’ve been—a normal kid, living a normal life. If I had helped every person that was sick, that life would have been over pretty quick.”
“Now that I hear you say that, I feel selfish for worrying about it. But, let’s worry about that later, honey. Let’s go and make sure our Andi is okay.”
They hurried into the ER entrance and to the admissions desk.
“Can you tell me what room Andrea Moon is in?”
The woman at the desk consulted a computer monitor, then said, “106, just down the hall on the left.”
Violet and Nathaniel hurried down the hall, checking the numbers on each door. When they spotted Room 106, there was a doctor wearing a white lab coat and talking to a nurse, who was holding a chart and making notes. When Violet tried to push past them, the doctor held up a hand to stop them.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m Violet Moon. I’m looking for my sister, Andi.” The practiced lie slipped easily off her tongue.
The nurse melted away, but the doctor reached out and touched Violet’s elbow. He indicated a small waiting room. “Let’s sit down over here, so we can talk.”
Violet opened her mouth to object, but Nathaniel said, “Mom, he probably has the answers we need,” and they followed the doctor to a small semi-circle of chairs.
“I’m very sorry to say...”
As soon as Nathaniel heard those words, he looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. He calmed his heart rate and breathing. When he opened them again, the doctor was saying, “We did absolutely everything we could to resuscitate her, but she was already gone when they brought her in.”
Violet’s head dropped. When she looked up, her face was wet with tears, but a cunning look played across her face.
“Doctor, is there any way we can see her, spend a few minutes with her? She’s our only family.”
“Of course. We’ll be moving her soon, but take whatever time you need with her.” He stood, said, “I’m very sorry,” and hurried on to other patients.
She pushed the door open and found the room as quiet as a tomb. All the machines and monitors had been turned off. A small lamp on a bedside table cast a feeble, yellowish glow. Andi lay in the bed. The wreck, while traumatic, had left her face clear and untroubled. For all the world, she appeared to be sleeping.
“Oh, Andi.” Violet struggled for control. She looked to Nathaniel, eyes pleading. She said only two words: “Can you?”
Nathaniel, still a boy to all outward appearances, met her eyes and said, “I can, but, I don’t know if I will.”
“But, this is our Andi. Our dearest Andi.”
Nathaniel smiled, a cheerful smile, and said, “Almost everyone is someone’s dearest. Still, there are times they need to go, and we need to let them go. I remember that.”
Violet nodded. “You’ll know. I trust your judgment.”
That’s what she says. What she means is, she’s sure I’ll do what she wants.
Just an hour before, Nathaniel had been wearing a silly Halloween costume and cracking wise with Jon. Now he was asked to make a decision that went somewhere beyond the border of life and death.
He sat on the bed beside Andi, picked up her hand, and held it between his own. It was cool, but not yet cold. He closed his eyes and reached out for Andi. Initially, he saw and felt nothing but blackness, but then, in the far corner of his consciousness, he saw her. She was just a small glimmer of light at first, and she was so far away, but as he looked at her, Andi drew nearer.
Soon enough, she stood in front of him. She glowed with happiness and vitality.
“Hello, Andi.”
She wrapped her arms around Nathaniel and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ve been lingering here, waiting for you, but it has been so hard. I am being pulled away, and I want to go.”
“Of course. That is the way of it. Violet asked me to find you and bring you back.”
“I knew you could bring me back to that life, but that’s not why I waited for you. I was sorry I didn’t say good-bye.” She touched his cheek. “I love you. And you know I love Violet. I am so grateful I got to spend this time with you. You both brought me so much happiness. You are my true family, and I know we will see each other again. Will you tell Violet how much I love her, but that I chose to go on?”
“Of course. She knows how you feel. You’ve shown her every day, in all the small ways you took care of us. But, I will tell her.”
Andi reached down, took both of Nathaniel’s hands in hers. “Thank you for letting me go. If you had wanted me to, I would have stayed.”
“I know. We’ll hold the happy memories of you in our heart forever.”
Andi let go and took a few tentative steps backward. Then she shot her hands straight up, giggled with happiness, and disappeared.
Nathaniel stayed where he was for an unknown time, cherishing Andi and her perfect spirit, then opened his eyes.
Violet had moved to sit on the bed as well, and sat looking back and forth at him, then Andi.
“She wanted me to tell you how much she loved you, and how happy our time together was, but she’s gone now.”
Violet turned to focus on Andi’s empty body, as though she might have the ability to bring her back, where Nathaniel had failed. Finally, she turned her attention to Nathaniel.
“Why would she ever leave us?”
“Because,” Nathaniel said simply, “it was time.”
Chapter Eighteen
2018
Nathaniel was as good as his word. He had gotten straight “A’s” for the rest of his high school years, and graduated a very respectable twenty-second out of his class of one hundred and seventy five. That was typical of Nathaniel—he enjoyed performing and excelling, but he much preferred to stay out of the spotlight.
Jon had to work much harder to get essentially the same grades, but he had never been afraid of hard work. He graduated just ahead of Nathaniel and that was good enough to get him accepted into the University of Oregon.
Victoria did her best to not compare Nathaniel’s apparent lack of ambition to the more fired-up Jon, but she struggled with it. She knew that Nathaniel could accomplish absolutely anything he wanted, so when he told her that what he wanted was to be a janitor at Middle Falls hospital, she was crestfallen.
Nathaniel was steadfast in his desire to work at the hospital, though, and over time, Victoria had come to accept that it was a place where he could accomplish much good, while still living the non-headline grabbing life he had chosen.
In 2002, Jon had returned from the University of Oregon with not only a Bachelor of Architecture, but, much more importantly, a new bride. He and Melissa had met during his second year, and fallen in love during his third year. They got married back in Middle Falls over Christmas break, Jon’s final year at the university. In 2010, they had a beautiful baby girl they named Kate, but everyone called her Katie. They asked Nathaniel t
o be her godfather, of course.
In the years that Jon was gone to college, he and Nathaniel stayed as close as ever. Nathaniel drove to Eugene for big football games, and Jon came back to Middle Falls every chance he got.
Nathaniel, meanwhile, continued to work the swing shift from three to midnight as the night janitor in the critical care wing of Middle Falls Hospital. Even though he didn’t get home from work until after midnight on the nights he worked, Nathaniel was a habitually early riser, up before the sun most days. He needed very little sleep and loved spending hours in the recording studio he had built in the basement of his little house. His love of the accordion had given way first to the steel guitar, then acoustic guitar, and eventually various keyboards and drum kits. He had spent the last year trying to learn to drum like Max Roach, which is like picking up an electric guitar and trying to learn to play like Eric Clapton. He knew it wouldn’t happen, but also knew it was more about the journey anyway.
Nathaniel composed music and recorded it on the sixteen-track mixing board he had bought second hand. Like the rest of the house, he and Jon had done all the work themselves, from soundproofing the walls to running the wiring and installing acoustical ceiling panels. It had only taken them a few years to get it the way Nathaniel wanted it. Now, he had a perfect little room where he could record by himself or with friends.
The music he made was a combination of jazz and new age, with the flavor of Mexican Polka thrown in somewhere. It was not commercial music, certainly, which didn’t concern Nathaniel in any way. He recorded for himself, and piped the music upstairs, where it played whenever he was home. Visitors often had strong reactions to the music, ranging anywhere from a horrified expression to a few who were initially repelled but eventually gave in to its charms.