Chapter 167: Jimmy

Monday, June 21, 1971

“What’s going on, Michael?” Robert asked. “What have you done to her?” He was referring of course, to his daughter who was crying in my arms.

“Hold that thought,” I told him as I quickly scanned Hanna to see what was upsetting her.

“Oh, Michael. Everybody knows what it means when a girl can overhear your thoughts,” Hanna thought through her tears.

“But why is that upsetting you, Sweetheart?”

“Because of Jimmy,” Hanna cried. “He loves her!”

I had left the girls connected so that they could understand why Hanna was crying, but I didn’t try to connect any of our guests with us.

Meanwhile, Alice just sat there, staring at us as she reviewed the last four years. She was dimly aware that her cousin may have had a youthful crush on her before the accident, but since then, she couldn’t recall anything that would have indicated any interest. She was also wondering why I had included her, when I hadn’t included the adults or Jimmy in our thought connection.

“I’m sorry,” Hanna finally told them. “I just thought that Jimmy ... still loved her.”

I glanced up to see Jimmy wince when Hanna said his name. Quickly scanning him, I found that there was some truth to what Hanna said, but it wasn’t entirely accurate. Jimmy kept his head bowed as I continued to scan him. What I found simply made me like him more.

It was true that before the accident, Jimmy had had a crush on his pretty, fifteen-year-old cousin, but in the way of crushes, it had passed quickly. Giving way to other matters of the heart.

It seems that Jimmy, despite his accident induced semi-paralyzed condition, hadn’t succumb to self-pity after the accident that had claimed the life of his father and put him in a wheelchair for life. In an amazing display of maturity for a then fifteen-year-old, Jimmy had simply decided that he would not be sad about what had happened to him. I could see that the decision had not come immediately after the accident, but more as they had nursed him back to health. And it was his caregivers, his mom, his Aunt Cindy, and his cousin, Alice, who had caused him to reach that decision. So there was affection for all of them.

After almost two months in the hospital, Jimmy had been surprised to find that his level of pain had dropped drastically after his body had time to heal the repairable damage. Of course, his heart still hurt when he thought of his dad, but he had long ago come to terms with that. It was the pain his mom felt, every time she looked at his pitiful condition, which caused him the most agony.

However, since Jimmy felt no real pain below his waist, or in his right arm, he set about doing everything he could to make himself as independent as possible, hoping to lessen the load on his mom and aunt. He quickly regained the strength in his upper body, despite his poorly functioning right arm, that would allow him to move himself from bed to wheelchair, and then to his specially designed bathroom.

His mother’s happiness soon became an obsession, his personal quest. This was why, when he discovered that his uncle and aunt had started including his mother in the more intimate parts of their relationship, he had been happy for her. Jimmy had gone to great lengths to never allow any hint that he knew about it to surface, lest he hurt or embarrass his mom.

I also discovered that Melanie had worked at the library before the accident. After a while, Jimmy began urging her to return, but his mother was reluctant to leave her disabled son for the whole day. With the help of family and some good friends at the library, they built access ramps and reconfigured a small break room to make it comfortable for Jimmy to come to the library with her. For the last two and a half years, Jimmy had been going to work with his mom every day. And while she worked, he read. At this point, he was almost half-way through his quest to read every book in the library.

Of course, he had his favorite books or genres, but again, in an amazing display of maturity, Jimmy had forced himself to delve into a little of everything the library offered. Hence, his personal quest. A quick and curious mind, unencumbered by outside distractions, can have amazing results. I was impressed.

I could also see who had claimed Jimmy’s heart.

As for the adults, Melanie and Cindy were confused. They were certain that they knew their children better than that. If either one of their children had had an interest in the other, they would have known.

“Hanna, listen to me,” I said. I knew it seemed strange to her family as they watched us, because no one uttered a word or even moved as I replayed some of Jimmy’s feelings for Hanna, all except the part about his mom.

“Oh!” Hanna squeaked aloud as I shared my conclusion with her. “Show me again, I didn’t see it all.”

I went ahead and connected with the others from my family as I again replayed my discovery, then connected Hanna straight to Jimmy as I delved a little deeper. I felt Hanna becoming nauseous as we found Jimmy’s memories of the accident, and the subsequent pain, so I quickly backed away. That was far enough to show her what I had concluded.

As I broke the connection, I became aware of the excitement and the turmoil that had enveloped Alice while we were busy exploring Jimmy. Quickly connecting her to the rest of my family, it was obvious that she had witnessed all that I had just shown the others, even though I had not included her.

“Alice! Don’t you dare say a word!” Hanna warned her sister quickly. Then looking at me, she asked, “What do we do now?”

Bob and Cindy, along with Melanie, had exhibited great patience with us up until now, watching as we did something they could not participate in. I could tell that their patience was coming to an end.

“Sorry for the momentary lapse, Mr. and Mrs. Castleberry,” I said quickly. “When you’ve been around us a little longer, these little lapses won’t seem quite as strange.”

“I feel like there’s a big secret, and everyone knows but me,” Cindy said.

“Yeah. And I know how you just hate not knowing what’s going on!” Melanie teased her sister.

“Let me back up,” I told the Castleberrys. “This all started when I suggested that Hanna invite her mom to travel with us to New York for the weekend, and if you’d like, on to Washington for the State Dinner next Tuesday night. After that, we’ll be returning to Tennessee, but we won’t be there long as we’ll next to head to Tapato for several reasons.”

“Yeah! And some of us know which of those reasons are the MOST important!” Sandy quipped.

“True,” I mused. “But where I’m headed is that I have also discovered some other interesting things. In the short time you all have been here, I have come to admire Jimmy’s courage and his attitude. I had to explain it to Hanna and the others first, but what I’d like to do is invite ALL of you to travel with us. We have plenty of empty beds onboard, and an almost empty mansion in New York that my grandmother would love to see filled.”

The talk was lively and loud as the Castleberrys debated my invitation. Of course, the girls all contributed as well, until Robert, the lone holdout, finally succumbed and they began to work out the logistics.

Hanna wanted to take Ileana and go with her parents as they packed a bag for the trip. However, with only Kip available, it would have to be all or none of us. I had to put my foot down.

“But how will Jimmy be able to get around?” Melanie asked.

“You’re right, that is a challenge, Melanie. However, I think I have a solution. What we’ll do is let him use my stateroom. After all, it was originally designed for a president in a wheelchair. And then Kip and I can assist in getting him to the Dining Room as he would like. And remember, it’s only for three more nights. We have to be in New York on Thursday.”

I saw Melanie’s face perk up at the mention of the accommodations being designed for a wheelchair.

“Was it Roosevelt?” Jimmy asked quickly.

“I told you I liked this guy!” I said happily to Hanna, as I gave Jimmy a wink.

“Oh. By-the-way,” I quickly added. “Melanie, would you mind sharing the stateroom with Jimmy? That way, I won’t have to sleep on the couch, if you don’t mind.”

“There’s no way you’re sleeping on a couch if I’ve got a bed!” Eve stated adamantly.

Everyone laughed with Eve except Jimmy. His mind was churning in a mild panic. His love for his mother was something he kept locked carefully away. He found himself wondering if he could share a stateroom with her for two nights, and still keep it that way.

It was finally agreed that the three adults would go and pack bags for all of them. So, while Alice and Hanna reminded their mom of all she should bring, I admonished them not to bring too much. After all, they would have to carry their own bags. But I had a feeling that my reminders were falling on deaf ears, as Hanna continued to tell her mom and aunt what they would need for the State Dinner.

“We have to vacate the siding in two hours. Will that be enough time?” I asked Robert.

“I could be back, packed for the week, in less than twenty minutes. We only live about a mile from here. But those two? Now that’s a different story,” he said with a grin.

I did my teenaged shrug. I knew that it was already a battle I couldn’t win. Then as the Castleberrys left to go pack, I headed to the galley for KP. This was too big of a crowd for Kip to handle all the kitchen duties and still keep up security. Earlier, I had sent him to bed with the promise to wake him at midnight. Meanwhile, I had been scanning the area around the train every few minutes. I could still vividly remember what happened in Houston.

It was about two hours later that I heard them returning. Harvey already had us hitched and was waiting on our ‘all-clear’ signal to get under way. I was just finishing up in the galley when they came in.

Yeah, I had thought that at least one of the girls would have come to help me. And when I scanned to find out why, I quickly backed out, realizing that no help would be forthcoming in the near future. It seems that Ileana, Sandy, Hanna, Rose, Eve, Grace, and even Kalani and Narvenia were in the Parlor, discussing the whole situation with Alice, who, in their minds, would definitely be joining us soon. It was a long and complex story, and it took all eight of them to tell it properly, and without overwhelming Alice completely. I just sighed as I went back to washing all the supper dishes.

Jimmy had remained in the Dining Car, in the booth closest to the galley, exactly where I had deposited him earlier today. He talked with me as I cleared the tables, and then seemed to slip into a meditative trance while I was scrubbing the pans. I didn’t disturb him, but when I peeked on him once or twice, I was amazed at the speed he was processing his thoughts. It wasn’t as fast as Vickie, or even Adriana. But, for a guy, it was fast.

Kip was coming out of his stateroom when the Castleberrys returned.

“You’re early,” I told him as he looked over the galley without comment. “I hope I did it to suit you,” I added as I finished drying the last of the large skillets, and then wiped it down with oil to season it.

“You?” was his one-word question.

“Yeah, the girls are all in the Parlor, welcoming the newest addition,” I told him. His eyebrows shot up when he heard that, but he said nothing as he quickly figured out who it was.

“Where did you learn to season a skillet after you wash it?” he asked suddenly.

“Grandma Brown, in my first life, was a stickler for doing things right. I loved her and spent a lot of time with her in the kitchen. I guess it was because she spent so much time there,” I explained. Then I quickly filled him in on the new tactical situation, with the Castleberrys now joining us.