As the Eagle Flies. J. D. Oliver
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Seemed he couldn’t do it without yelling, of course there were members of the press there, which I am sure he called. I was a good boy, I didn’t do anything. Faith was a bad girl though.
She got right back in his face, then she did something that was pretty neat, she sort of fell backwards making it look like Dipper hit her. I was watching and I could hardly tell that she was faking. She staggered back and then kicked him in the groin and when he bent over, she kneed him in the face. He was out like a light.
I yelled at the press, “Did you see that, that man hit my wife, did you get a shot of that?” The camera man for the local TV station said, “Yes, I got it all.” There were a couple of police officers that seen it also, they turned Dipper over and cuffed him. Delbert was hopping up and down and screaming at the cops, they cuffed him also.
I gathered my family and we got the hell out of there. As we got in the car, I said,
“Honey, where did you learn to do that?”
“I told you I took gymnastics. That was nothing, I could of made it look much worse.” Faith said, with a big grin on her face. Rosie looked at her and said,
“Will you teach me how to do that fake thing? Also how to do what you did to him, I liked that.”
“Sure Honey, that was just self-defense, all women should know how to do that.”
Alita was laughing and clapping her hands, her eyes were sparkling. That kid was very aware of what went on, sometimes she was down right scary, how smart she was.
Rosie handed her one of those vanilla cookies, the kind that sort of melt in your mouth. Rosie said, “I read some to Alita last night, she really likes it.”
“I know Rosie, I try to read to her every chance I get. I’m really glad you are with us, you’re just what she needs, a big sister.” Faith said.
I said, “Well, what do you women think, do you think we should leave Dodge?”
“Huh? What do you mean leave Dodge?” Rosie asked.
“Get out of town, you know leave Dodge.” I said.
“Oh, you mean like Dodge City, in the old west. Where would we go?” Rosie asked.
“Home, to the ranch,” Faith said. “In the Chama River valley. Grandpa and Grandma are there, plus two cousins, you will like them.” Faith said to Rosie.
“Do we have a big family?” Rosie asked.
“Well, not too big. Just the right size you might say. But there are a lot people who work for the ranch, they have kids just your age. You’ll have loads to do, all kinds of fun things.” Faith said.
“You mean, I’ll have kids to play with?” Rosie said.
“Sure, didn’t you have kids to play with at the orphanage?”
“Not really, no one felt much like playing, they wouldn’t let us do anything that made any noise. Then after Blackie and Mina took me, they wouldn’t let me out of their sight. All they did was show me how to pick pockets and stuff.”
“Oh, so you know how to pick pockets? Well that might come in handy some day, if done for the right reason,” I said, “were you very good at it?”
“I guess so. Sometimes they let me do the dip and Mina was the handoff. I hated it; stealing that is. Do you believe that stealing is wrong?” Rosie asked me.
“You bet I do, very wrong. Look what it got Blackie and Mina, a ride on the big express to hell.” I said.
“Do you believe there is a hell? I heard a preacher one time say that we were all going to hell; if we didn’t join his church and give ten percent of everything we owned.” Rosie said.
“One thing I do know, Rosie, is that if you get the proper meaning of Hell, Hades or Sheol, they simply mean the common grave of mankind. And aren’t we going there anyway, some day?”
“Hey, that kind of talk is depressing, let’s think of something happy, okay?” Faith said.
“Alright,” Rosie said, “I didn’t like that preacher anyway, he kept trying to touch all of the young boys.” I looked at Faith and shook my head, we dropped it. We had arrived back at the Hotel anyway.
Chapter Six
Have you ever heard of the talking hills? It seems to me there was a poem or story about them. Also I read a story about traveling hills. Why do I mention them? Well my dreams this night were sort of like that.
I was camped in a valley with running water that was surrounded by hills. But when I camped there, one of hills seemed to be whispering to me. Of course I ignored it.
Thinking it was just the wind in the trees. But as I banked the campfire for the night, the ground shook, I thought, Oh Great, an earthquake.
I heard boulders rolling down the side of the hill closest to me, trees falling, a rush of air. The moonlight was bright. I could see the hill moving, heaving it’s great mass. It was rising into the starry night sky!
I always believed that the hills were alive, but not this alive. The hill stood up, it was in the shape of a giant man; two hundred feet tall. He looked down at me, a rumble of thunder came from his mouth: “Clay Bronson,” the thunder said.
In my dream, I answered, “Yes, I’m here.” Just like it was natural to talk to the hills. The hill said, “Are you lost Clay?”
“No, I don’t think so,” I answered. “I don’t know where I’m at, but I don’t believe I’m lost.”
“Ha, Ha,” his laughter rang out, “spoken like a true son of the earth,” he said, then, “yes, you will never be lost as long as you listen.”
“Listen? Listen to what?” I said.
“To the sky above, to the earth below, to the wind in the trees, to the flight of the Eagle. To the mouse as it burrow’s in the leaves of autumn. To the blood coursing through your veins. To creation itself. Listen Clay and it will save your life, not only yours but your family as well. Listen well Clay and creation will tell you the path to take.”
His rolling thunder was still in my ears as I awoke to a summer time thunder storm going on outside of our window. Faith was wrapped around me, or me around her, whichever. Faith had her face buried up against my chest, I could hear her whimper a little in her sleep, as the thunder rolled across the night sky.
Rosie came in with Alita in her arms. “Can we get in bed with you, Alita’s scared,” Rosie said. In a flash of lighting, I could see Rosie’s face, it was chalk white.
Faith had woken when Rosie spoke, “Of course, here get in beside me,” she said, as we both scooted over to make room.
A clap of thunder shook the room. Alita whimpered and buried her face in her mother’s bosom. Rosie scrunched up tight against them both.
“Wow! That’s sure a humdinger out there, isn’t it?” Rosie said, in a high falsetto.
“Nothing to worry about,” I said. “I was just talking to him, he’s just trying to make a point.”
Faith turned her head and said to me, “What in the world are you talking about?”
“I just had a dream is all, it must have been due to the thunder, my dream that is. Nothing important, you know how dreams are?”
“Well I know how mine are, but yours must be something else, talking to the thunder!” Faith said.
“Well I really wasn’t talking to the thunder, I was talking to a hill, his voice was like thunder.” I said.
“Talking to a hill, are you sure it wasn’t’ a mountain, that thunder sounds a lot louder than just a hill talking.” Rosie said.
“Oh,