“Help me get him into the truck.”
Sol ran to the office, broke the window, literally dove in, then ran back with towels to clean and cover his nephew.
“He’s gotta get to the hospital. They’ve beat the hell out of him. Let’s get him there, now! You know emergency de la White Memorial. You drive. I’ll be with him in back of the truck. Antonio, go and tell his parents, a Don Oakley, and look for Don Ernesto. Son vecinos. Tell them there was an accident, that Albert está en la White Memorial. Then come back and report to me. No te preocupes de la Madre del Río. The River Mother will know you are helping me.”
On the way to the hospital no tears fell from Sol’s eyes. He used all his strength and knowledge he had learned from living under the river with the lizard people to pack towels on and around Albert’s wounds and to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
AGATHA AND ALLISON drove Louise to Angels of Mercy Hospital after she had given birth to a full-term baby boy. The hospital, where the doctor had planned for Louise to have her baby, was only twenty minutes away from the house. Nurses checked the baby, bathed and wrapped him in a white receiving blanket. Louise’s doctor arrived, examined mother and child, and pronounced both healthy and hungry. Louise’s second son nursed at his mother’s breast and fell asleep. The grandmothers stood by waiting to take the infant and place him in his bassinet. Louise, exhausted and disoriented, stared at the windows, pointed to the door.
“Albert? Where’s Albert?”
“Sol went to get him.”
“Sleep, Louise. We’ll wake you when he gets here.”
“The baby came so fast!”
“Yes, he did, and you did wonderfully. The doctor said that all is well with you and the baby. He’ll be here tomorrow morning to check on you both again. Now sleep, my dear. You need rest. Sleep, my beautiful, wonderful daughter. I love you. Now rest, rest.”
AT THE MOMENT Oakley, Ernest and Emily approached the White Memorial Hospital entrance, Agatha’s father and brother followed right behind them. Shortly thereafter, two Los Angeles police officers walked into the waiting room and asked for Sol, who sat surrounded by family waiting for the doctor to explain the extent of Albert’s injuries. Three more men walked up to the family and asked for Mr. Rivers. Oakley and Sol both responded.
“Who brought Albert Rivers in?”
“I did,” Sol answered.
“Do you know what happened to him? Did he fall?”
“No, I found him, just like that. I brought him here.”
While the police asked questions, and Oakley and Sol insisted that they knew nothing about what had happened, another policeman crashed into the room and interrupted the interrogation.
“Did you see what they did to that boy? I can’t say there’s much left of that boy. Let’s get him to talk. I’ll start the paper work.”
“Hold on, officer. He’s a victim. He didn’t do anything wrong! You are not going to question my grandson until he’s recovered enough to speak,” Agatha’s father blurted out.
Mr. Banac proceeded to identify himself as a lawyer and invited the officer to leave the waiting area and go out to the hallway. Twenty minutes later the policeman returned to the family and called his fellow officers outside.
“We’re done here, fellas.” He glanced over at Oakley. “Hope your son recovers right quickly, Mr. Rivers.”
The police left and a silence fell upon the room. Finally, at one-thirty in the morning a doctor came to speak to them.
“Mr. Rivers, your son was severely beaten. He sustained a broken nose, several broken ribs and his right knee is swollen to the point that we cannot assess the damage. And he suffered a glancing blow to the head. Whatever they hit him with struck him mostly in the back. He was lucky, Mr. Rivers, very lucky.” The doctor paused and asked, “These folks all relatives, Mr. Rivers?”
“Yes, you can speak. What?”
“Well, it’s difficult for me to say what I have to tell you next. Well … but since these folks are your relatives … Mr. Rivers, the cowards that did this to your son, Albert, also attempted to castrate him.”
“What?”
“Yes, I know. They tried, but they did a bad job of it. There’s no other way to say this but to tell you that your son lost one of his testicles. The other one is slightly damaged. They cut one testicle out and slightly cut the other one. What remains will heal and should function normally. Albert has been sutured and the broken bones will mend. He’ll have to undergo a lot of therapy, but slowly, maybe in a year or so, he’ll walk again. He’ll recover, Mr. Rivers. He’s groggy, but you can see him now.”
IT WAS NOT until the very next morning that everybody found out where Louise and Albert had been and that Louise had given birth to a healthy baby boy and that Albert had been brutally attacked. After the turmoil and terrible violence, the Rivers and the Kellers settled back into their homes. Only for a day no contact between them occurred. Then Agatha and Allison got together, followed shortly by Dame Marie, Emily and Gloria, who all pitched in to help Albert and Louise with the children. The girls got their parents to talk openly about what had happened to Albert. The tragedy was on all of their minds, but no one wanted to suggest who had attacked Albert. Albert hardly mentioned the incident, except when the police came to interview him.
“Can you identify the men who attacked you?”
“They hit me in the back. I never saw their faces.”
“Did you hear anything, anything?”
“Yes, but the words were jumbled. I didn’t understand what they were saying.”
The police came to talk to Albert several times, but the questions and answers were always the same. Finally, the police stopped coming, and Albert’s case was never solved. They never asked if he had recognized any of the voices. That night, between the blows and insults that slammed into his body, he had recognized the voice that shouted instructions about what to do and what not to do, but Albert never offered up the man’s name. He held it deep inside, knowing that each family member had the name on the tip of his or her tongue but could not pronounce it. It was too soon. They concentrated on the baby instead. There had to be family peace for the baby’s sake. If the name was said, there would be problems.
ALBERT’S RECOVERY PROGRESSED faster than the doctors had predicted. Oakley and Ernest made sure he had the best medical attention possible. They contracted a therapist who provided extra physical therapy and nurses who monitored and dressed his wounds. Albert responded eagerly, wanting to get back to work, to school, but always his first priority was to return home to Louise, little Keller and his new baby son, Allison Agat Rivers. While he exercised, his family appeared constantly on his mind. Although the doctors and therapist encouraged him to work harder, he realized that his knee would not heal fully, that he would walk with a limp for the rest of his life. Often Louise had to stop him from overdoing the exercises.
“You’re fine, Albert. Thank God you’re alive!”
Dame Marie walked with her brother and assisted him with his muscle-strengthening workouts. Months went by and never a mention of Uncle Philip. He never visited any of his nephew Ernest’s family, never stopped by to ask about Albert, young Keller or the new baby. Nobody really wanted to see him. They were afraid of what might happen if and when he did come to visit. Rumors reached the family that Uncle Philip and members of the Aryan Club of Southern California were dedicating most of their time organizing fundraising events to support the new German government. Several University of Southern California engineering students visited Albert and shared what they had heard and seen of Uncle Philip and the Aryan Club.
“Those people and their organization seem to be getting stronger as the new Germany gets stronger. They’re growing in number. Lots of people support them and their ideas.”
“Lots hate their ideas! Your uncle is now giving speeches on behalf of Germany and its effort to maintain the purity of the German master race.”
“Your uncle is encouraging students of G
erman descent to participate in the Strength for Joy Program and to bring their parents to their meetings and outings. They go swimming, hiking and eat … a day-long trip somewhere in Mulholland Canyon. I think they’re setting up some kind of campus retreat place up there.”
“Just keep that man away from my family,” Albert spoke softly.
“Yeah, you won’t have a problem with him. He’s just all over blond, blue-eyed students, what he calls Aryans, trying to convince them to attend the meetings.”
“You can’t kick them off campus. The club’s community membership is big, including really big university donors. Big alumni and even professors are members, and they made it a student body club.”
“How did they do that?”
“Free speech, new ideas, academic freedom, that old argument. I’ve heard the police chief is even a member.”
ON A SUNNY afternoon, one of those Los Angeles afternoons with a clear view toward Santa Monica, with powdery white clouds floating in and gradually turning red that guaranteed a magnificent sunset, Oakley and Ernest arrived at Albert and Louise’s house with steaks and salmon and got the grill outside going. They opened a bottle of Tempranillo from La Rosa del Trinoro winery and sat on Albert and Louise’s balcony sipping and waiting for Agatha and Allison to walk in with salads and desserts. Dame Marie, Emily and Gloria walked in after their mothers. Sol was already at the house working in the backyard.
Young Keller and little Allison Agat were the center of attention. The three aunts—Dame Marie, Emily and Gloria—played games and sang songs with the boys. They truly enjoyed being with them. They changed their diapers, bathed and fed them. They tried on different pants and tops until they were satisfied that they had found the perfect outfits. During dinner Dame Marie insisted that young Keller sit on her lap, and Emily held Allison Agat.
“Why did you name him Allison? It’s a girl’s name! And he’s a boy!” Dame Marie smiled.
“I think Allison is a strong name. It can be a boy’s name. Why not?” Grandpa Ernest answered.
After dinner Louise and the girls went for a walk with little Keller and Allison Agat. They headed toward an empty lot with a view of Los Angeles. Albert stayed, did his exercises and listened to his parent’s conversation, at times adding his opinion to the discussion. Albert kept exercising his legs without noticing his parents and the Kellers’ silence. Albert walked out to the patio.
“It was Philip, your Uncle Philip!” Oakley whispered in a strange tone of voice.
“There is no proof of that. The police didn’t press charges,” Ernest said.
“We know how much he hates Albert, hates us! Now with Germany pushing Europe around, he must feel really mighty. Ernest, you must do something. You, deep in your heart, know that he wanted revenge. He said many times that he was out to get him. You have to stop him before he hurts Albert again or hurts somebody else. I think he and his cronies are capable of worse.”
“What can I do?”
“Cut him off. Cut his company salary. Make him go back to work so that he doesn’t have so much time to hurt people.”
“I can’t do that. Uncle Philip is an investor. He has the right to benefit from his investment.”
“You mean your investment. Ernest, you saved his ass when he lost everything in the Crash. You can do away with his source of income, put a scare into him.”
“I will not do that, Oakley!”
“You’ve done it before!”
“He’s my uncle!” Ernest snapped.
Oakley warned: “Tell Philip if he gets anywhere near my family, my children, I’ll give him what he’s earned!”
“Dad, please calm down. Please don’t say those things. No more violence. We can’t be like them, like the people that Uncle Philip supports.”
Agatha and Allison rushed in from the kitchen with coffee, tea and dessert. Allison went out and brought the girls and the boys back to the house. The conversation turned back to Allison’s name.
“Now with two Allisons in the family, we should have a lot more say-so!” Allison picked up her infant grandson, who smiled for all the family to see. “You see, he agrees!”
Now here was something else that the Keller and Rivers families could look forward to: the shared future of their grandchildren.
SOL WATCHED OVER Albert and Louise and guarded their offspring as if they were the most precious children in the world. Sol invested most of his free time in working at Albert and Louise’s house. There was so much to do because Louise wanted changes to the house inside and out, and work needed to be done in the gardens in the front and back. Sol refused a room inside the house, but with Louise’s permission he built a cottage in the back garden. He stored everything he needed there. The cottage was simple and practical. Sol’s little house was similar to the cottage he had used in the back garden of his brother’s house in Hancock Park and the cottage-tool shed on the Ríos Adobe property. He took more care to construct this cottage because he saw it not only as a place for tools but also a home. He had never thought about where he lived as his own personal home, but as homes that belonged to the people he loved. Now that Albert and Louise had babies, he thought more about having his own place. Exactly why, he did not know. He was close to his nephews and to the River Mother, all of whom he visited often.
Sol’s cozy house consisted of a large kitchen, dining and living room areas with a large fireplace featuring an impressive carved wood mantel that he had salvaged from the river, and a bedroom with a small bath. To capture the view to the ocean, Sol designed and installed on the west-facing wall a rectangular window and glass double doors that captured the view of the city and beyond to the ocean. One day, standing before the view he had framed with fine oak casings, he found himself alone.
LOUISE AND HER mother had taken young Keller and Allison Agat to the doctor for checkups. Sol worked on several linen closets he was installing in one of the first-floor halls. The housekeeper and cleaning women had finished their tasks early and asked Sol for permission to leave. The house was empty except for Sol, who put his tools down and walked out to the porch facing downtown Los Angeles. He saw part of Sun Construction’s yard, and to the right his gaze followed the river’s edge to a corner of the River Mother’s gleaming roof. Sitting in the early afternoon, taking in the view, Sol felt content, needed by Louise, the children, his family. He wanted to remain forever in this blissful moment. A scratching on the wooden floor caught his attention. Three small lizards scurried across a corner of the porch. Sol leaned forward for a closer look. The lizards stopped on their tiny claws, turned their beady eyes on Sol. A large lizard came up onto the porch, stopped behind the three small ones. The large one seemed to be scolding the smaller ones, then took several steps forward. The three small lizards dashed off the porch. The large lizard raised its head up and focused directly on Sol’s eyes.
“I come from the river.”
Sol heard the voice of thoughts that appeared to come from the lizard that suddenly started to get larger and larger until it stood upright. Sounds, words, phrases whirled in the early afternoon on the porch where Sol now embraced el lagarto, one of the beasts who had saved him in the river. Sol understood the embrace, a reminder of what he had become in the reptile underworld deep beneath the city and the waters of the river. Sol opened his eyes to see—standing at the corner where the lizard had reached out to embrace him—a woman. She smiled, walked up to him, then stood perfectly still. She was barefoot. Maybe she had come up from the river. Her clothes were wet. Sol stared right through her thin linen blouse. A tattered skirt clung to her legs. The woman took a few steps forward, seeming to look beyond Sol into the cottage. His eyes, his mind would not release the woman. He was rapt as she opened her blouse. He thought he saw a light that fluttered behind her. Sol put his left hand up to block the radiant glow.
“Come on, you have a bed in there, don’t you?”
She took his right hand and placed it on her breast.
“Feels nice? I know
you want to. Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”
Sol tried to take his hand away from her body. She coaxed and gently moved him into the living room, now filled with a golden fiery light. As she deliberately lowered the garment wrapped around her hips and legs, she bowed slowly. Sol felt a breeze created by large bright wings on her back that flapped open and closed. Wings! He never saw her garment on the floor. He stared at the beautiful wings. The creature was beautiful. He touched his lips, and a sweet white liquid moistened his dry mouth and shocked his body and mind. Unable to move, he felt like a hot stone encased in ice. Perfect divine power and brilliance ran into, packed and jumbled his thoughts. He attempted to raise his hands to protect his eyes from the glow of the beautiful wings. A large lizard somehow caught his eye, and he broke away from the gaze that bound him to this wonderful magnanimous creature. Sol ran after the lizard that scurried onto the porch. The reptile looked back at him. The radiance of the woman shined off the lizard’s scales.
“Put your clothes on. You must leave now!” Sol spoke with great effort. He felt the sweet liquid again in his mouth. This time the amount filled his mouth and forced him to gulp several times.
“Come on, Sol, you will enjoy it.”
In a swirl, her garments adorned her nakedness. Although her wings began to shine fiery again, Sol saw her eyes wide and clear. She again gazed beyond Sol into the city. She stepped right off the porch and moved a short distance away and looked back at Sol. Her eyes held him for a long while.
Sol collapsed on the porch. He opened his eyes and sensed that something powerful yet wonderful had picked him up, and something even more wonderful had lifted and held him up. He turned toward the river. The young powerful woman was gone. Forgive her, he thought. An answer came: She was safe. Sol found himself on Albert and Louise’s porch. For an instant a flow of energy and light went through and around him. He looked out toward the river, hoping the light had flown there, but only a multitude of wildflowers and their colors carpeted parts of the river’s edge, and green trees and bushes stared back at him. On the other side of the river Sol saw the railroad yards, railroad barns, and buildings and mansions built by the wealthy Anglos who had bought the land. Still wanting to see that fiery brilliant light from the wings, he searched over the fast-growing City of Los Angeles, the green hills, the basin, clear sky, all the way to the sea.
River of Angels Page 30