Chapter 17

Shirley wiped the counter in front of John. She looked like she wanted to ask something, but was too nervous to come out and ask. John sipped his coke and ate some popcorn. The room was cool and he enjoyed the quiet of the early afternoon hours in the bar. When business picked up later, he would return home and prepare dinner.

Shirley finally asked, “What did you do to Ed?”

“Pardon?”

“What did you do to Ed?”

“Nothing. Why?”

Shirley dropped the rag she was using and leaned against the bar. Her crossed arms forced her breasts up and together. She said, “I’ve known Ed my whole life. He’s a bully. He always has been. Until the day after you and he had your little altercation in here, I would have said that he always would be a bully.”

“I don’t get your point.”

“He’s not acting like Ed any more. You know that night after you helped Jose with the snakes, Ed came in here. He actually ordered a coke and sat at that corner table over there.” She pointed to one of the tables. She shook her head and said, “Now there are a couple of things weird about that. First, he has never ordered a coke. He drinks beer for breakfast. Second, Ed never sits still for more than a few minutes. He’s always moving and looking for trouble. Third, Ed sat there ... alone. He didn’t say anything the whole evening. Ed has never been quiet, not even when he was in school.”

John shrugged and said, “Maybe he was just feeling a little off that night.”

Shirley laughed aloud. “You don’t really know Ed like we do. He’s never felt just a little off. Hell, he was sick with pneumonia and got in a bar fight.”

“So did you ask him about it?”

“Well, not that night. But about the fourth time in a row that he did that, I asked him what was wrong.”

“So what did he say?” John was getting curious about Ed. He hadn’t seen Ed except for once or twice since that time. Each time, Ed had been very friendly.

“He said that he had seen something that he didn’t believe existed. He said that he needed to rethink his life as a result.” Shirley stood up and threw her hands up. “I know he didn’t discover God. So what did you do?”

John nodded as he listened to Shirley. He honestly answered, “I didn’t do anything. I think you’ll have to take him at his word. He saw something that he didn’t believe existed and it changed him.”

“Jorge Mendosa said that Ed helped him change his tire the other night. That’s a first. Ed has never helped anyone before.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, the whole town is talking about Ed. The one thing that everyone agrees on is that he changed after taking you to the hospital.”

John laughed and said, “I know he met a nice woman there.”

“Kelly?”

“I believe that is her name.”

Shirley shrugged and said, “All I know is that he’s been seen with Kelly. She’s a nice enough girl. I don’t know what she sees in him. However, I really don’t think a woman is enough to change Ed.”

John finished his coke. He stood up and grabbed his walking stick. He left the money for the coke on the bar. It included a nice tip. As he was leaving, Shirley spoke up, “You know. It’s nice to have a customer that doesn’t leave here drunk. Come back more often, ok?”

“Sure.”

John walked back to his house. As he walked, neighbors came out and greeted him. He stopped and chatted with each one. Kids came up and asked to see his scars. Apparently, his nearly naked appearance had fostered many discussions about how he had been injured. The explanations for his injuries included a past as a special services soldier, undercover cop whose cover was blown, and gangster that was on the run. He laughed them all off and explained that he was a simple college student.

It was nearly dark by the time he arrived in front of his house. Ed Biggers strolled over and greeted him, “Howdy, neighbor.”

“Hi, Ed. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing fine.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Ed looked around and then asked, “You got a minute to talk?”

“Sure, I’ve got all week. I just finished the second draft and I’ll wait a week before reading it over.”

Ed said, “Well, I promise it won’t take a whole week.”

John gestured towards his house and suggested, “Why don’t we go out in my backyard and chat there? I have two lawn chairs, some iced tea, and a nice patio with a good view.”

Ed looked uncomfortable for a moment. He nodded and said, “Sure. That would be good.”

They went into the house. John took the pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator and filled two glasses with ice. He handed one of the glasses to Ed and kept the other. Motioning with his head, he went out to the patio. Ed followed him.

After seating themselves in the chairs, John poured the iced tea. He set the pitcher on a cinder block situated between the chairs. Taking a sip of the tea, he sighed and said, “Oh, that tastes real good on a hot day like today.”

Ed laughed at the expression of contentment over a glass of iced tea. He said, “You know something. I didn’t know that until a couple of weeks ago. I’ve quit drinking.”

“Was it tough?”

Ed was quiet for a moment as he thought about it. He nodded slightly and said, “It was a little tougher than I thought it would be. It wasn’t that I was an alcoholic. I guess drinking was more of a habit.”

John nodded and said, “I understand. I had the same problem when I quit drinking.”

Ed looked very surprised at that and asked, “You used to drink?”

“Oh yes. I quit drinking the night my brother wrapped his car around a telephone pole.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“No problem,” John replied. “It took me a long time to come to grips with it. I guess the day I died was the major turning point with respect to my feelings about death and the death of my brother.”

“I guess it would tend to change your perspective. Of course, I wouldn’t know about that.”

John was quiet for a while as he thought about his past. He sighed and said, “I guess I’m not so afraid of dying now. I don’t know if that makes it easier for me to do the things that I’ve done. I really don’t think about any of that. I just act.”

Ed thought about what John had said. Neither man spoke for a long time. Finally, Ed said, “You acted in exactly the same manner before you died as you do now. That’s how you got killed.”

“I guess that’s true.”

They sat there for a while watching the stars come out. The dark Arizona sky made star gazing a wonderful pastime. Finally John asked, “So how do you feel now that you aren’t drinking?”

Ed laughed at the question and answered, “Pretty good. I’ve found that I have a lot more time than I ever had before.”

“So what are you going to do to fill up that time? Visit that nurse from the hospital?”

Ed answered, “Yeah, I’ve been doing a lot of that. Kelly’s very nice. She makes me think about things.”

“Like what, if I may ask?”

“Well, we’ve been talking about my future. It hasn’t looked very good for a long time.” There was a significant pause before he said, “I’ve decided to go to school.”

John had just finished putting down his iced tea glass, which was fortunate because if he had been holding it he would have dropped it. He had never heard anything so surprising in his life. He took a moment to compose himself and say, “That’s great. What are you planning on studying?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

John was taken by surprise again. He asked, “So what are you thinking?”

“I don’t really know what there is out there. Many things, well, they just seem out of my reach. I couldn’t be a lawyer or doctor, for example. I’m a little old to start down those paths.”

John was quiet for a while. Ed got a more nervous the longer John was quiet. John finally broke his silence, “Ed, let me ask you one question.”

“Go ahead.”

“What do you like to do more than anything?”

“The only thing I’ve ever done is work cattle.”

John shook his head and said, “No, I don’t mean work you like. I mean, what do you really like to do?”

Ed’s face wrinkled in confusion and he asked, “When?”

“Imagine that tomorrow you get to do anything you want. You can take the whole day off with no worries. What would you do?”

“I don’t know. What would you be doing?”

“I’d be out hiking. I hike almost four months of the year.”

“I didn’t think about stuff like that. What has it to do with deciding what you are going to study?”

John smiled and said, “I wanted to understand rainbows, sunrises, and sunsets.”

“So you studied physics. Yeah, it makes sense.”

“What would you be doing?”

“I guess I would be riding around on my horse.”

John was silent for a minute or two. This line of questioning wasn’t going as well as he thought it should. It wasn’t natural for an adult man not to have some kind of interest in something. A sudden inspiration hit him, “What are you doing while riding your horse?”

Ed looked around a little embarrassed by the question. He asked, “Promise you won’t laugh?”

John made a boy scouts honor gesture and said, “I promise.”

Ed made a sucking sound between his teeth. Finally, he said, “I’m looking at rocks.”

“Rocks?” asked John.

“Yes.”

“Any special kind of rocks?”

Ed answered, “All kinds. There are examples of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous in the area.”

“Are you more interested in the geology of the area or the mineralogy?”

“Actually, I like the mineralogy. You know, I look at things like the shape, composition, and color. The geology just helps me locate them. You don’t think that’s weird?”

John laughed at the suggestion it was weird and replied, “God no. That’s wonderful!”

Ed looked shocked and asked, “You don’t think it’s childish?”

“Oh, Ed. You and I are going to have to go to Arizona State University. There’s something there that you really need to see.”

“What’s there?”

“Only one of the finest mineralogy departments in the country. It’s going to blow your mind with the kinds of things they’re doing there.”

Ed sat up straighter and asked, “Really? What kinds of things?”

John smiled and said, “You’ll just have to see for yourself.”

“You know, I never thought of actually studying rocks formally.”

John answered, “Let me tell you something that I really believe. If you are truly passionate about a subject, someone will pay you to work in it. It doesn’t matter what subject. I know of a guy who likes to review bad movies. He has a nationally syndicated column where he gets to review bad movies. Like I said, it doesn’t matter what subject you are passionate about, someone will pay you for what you know.”

“You’re serious aren’t you?”

“You bet,” John replied. He looked up at the sky for a minute and then said, “I’ll tell you what, let me make a call or two tomorrow and arrange a visit there. I’m not sure when the visit will be, but we’ll drive up there together. If you want to take Kelly with you, that’ll be all right, too.”

“John, you are an amazing person. I’m really glad I talked to you.”

John shook his head and said, “I’m glad I was able to help. It’s not going to be easy. You’ll have to take a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with mineralogy.”

“No problem.”

John refilled the iced tea glasses. He took a sip of his and voiced his satisfaction with a sigh. The two men sat there watching the stars in the sky and listening to the sounds of the desert just beyond the yard. John thought back to his conversation earlier in the day and started to laugh.

Ed asked, “What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking back to a conversation that I had with Shirley this afternoon. It seems that you and I have become major topics of conversation. Everyone seems to be wondering what happened to you. They all say you’ve changed. They also wonder if I was the one who did it. Everyone is also curious about my scars.”

Ed laughed and said, “Small town. There’s nothing better to do than gossip. If you don’t answer the questions to their satisfaction, they’ll talk about you for years.”

“Well, after I’m gone you can decide if you’ll tell them anything. Until then, I’d rather not have to talk about some things, if you understand what I mean.”

“I understand. Besides, it’ll do them good to wonder about it for a long time.”

They sat there for a while longer drinking their iced teas. Finally, Ed stood up and announced, “It’s getting late and I’ve got an early day tomorrow. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sure thing. Have a nice night.”

“You, too.”

The next morning, John made several calls. It didn’t take him long to get a good contact within the university who would be glad to show them around. He used the excuse that he would like to serve as a visiting lecturer there for a semester with full funding provided by an external source. He had learned from his professors the power that a visitor with money could expect to wield. He scheduled the visit for two days from then.

He had just hung up the telephone after the last of the calls when it rang. He picked it up expecting to get a sales pitch. Instead, it was Betsy. She called to let him know she was going to be there that evening for a two-day visit before heading off to the Middle East. He accepted her statement that she wanted to drive herself so that she could leave on her timeline rather than his. He was ecstatic that she was visiting until he realized that he didn’t have a bed. He spent the next few hours getting a bed and the appropriate coverings for it.

He was left with two hours before she would arrive. He spent half of that time trying to decide what to cook for her and finally decided that he would take her to the Mexican restaurant in town. He also thought he might take her into the bar to meet Shirley. For some reason, he thought the two women would get along very well. Although he had spent most of the day locating a bed, he didn’t want to just drag her into bed as if she was a just a sex object. He wanted to spend time with her and recover some of the intimacy that had been lost over the past two months.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He went to the door and opened it hoping to see Betsy. Instead, it was Ed. He didn’t do a very good job of hiding his disappointment. Ed was rather taken aback by the less than friendly reaction. John noticed the change in Ed’s demeanor. He apologized, “Oh, Ed. I’m sorry. I’m expecting my girlfriend to drop in anytime now. I had thought you were her for a moment there.”

Ed knew about the big blowup between the two. It was a good sign that she was coming out here. Ed laughed and said, “Hell, I’d be disappointed if a man was at the door when I was expecting a woman.”

John smiled at Ed’s easy acceptance of his apology and said, “Well, I’m sorry anyway. I set up a visit to the university for the day after tomorrow. If Kelly comes, that will make four.”

Ed grinned and nodded excitedly. He said, “Okay, I’ll talk to her tonight. We’ll both take the day off.”