Chapter 16: Sunday-Thursday, Week Two

Sunday

“Mr. Owens?” asked the girl behind the registration desk in the lobby of the Wolf Lodge. “You have a letter here. It came yesterday, but we never saw you.”

“Thank you,” I told her as I continued on to my room to shower off the sweat from my Pilates class. I’d read it over breakfast. It was Sunday and I loved their waffles.

The letter was from Madison, even though it was addressed in an adult cursive handwriting. Madison wrote me all about getting braces and warned me how they made her look bad. She said she tried to send me a picture but my phone was turned off. She told me that the twins had gotten in trouble for rolling their last-years English teacher’s house with toilet paper and had to rake the entire yard and turn in a ten page paper to her on Shakespeare.

Peyton made the cheerleading squad, but her mom was complaining about the cost of all the outfits and trips to summer camps and such.

She also reported that her mom and my dad are taking them to a naked amusement park (it was a naturist park. She was assuming the ‘amusement’ part).

Of course she told me she missed me and hoped I still loved her when I returned.

Crystal had penned an explanation concerning the naturist camp at the bottom of the letter and wished me well.

I decided I needed to write her back soon, but I’d have to work on it later. I was about to be late to Studio One.

After Julie’s revelation last night, to say that my mind was like a mobile home in a tornado would be an understatement.

We had talked for another hour, not about AEI and their plans, but about her and I and what we both felt about each other. We decided that her confession didn’t really change much, but I think we were both aware that we were lying to ourselves.

When I finally got to Studio One, Marjorie already had everyone hopping to get the other four scenes done today. But since I had already done both of my scenes yesterday, I didn’t have much to do and a lot on my mind. So, I decided to take a walk. I left Marjorie a note and then headed out on one of the paths away from the campus.

I hadn’t walked more than half a mile when a golf cart pulled up beside me. He didn’t say anything, just motioned with his head for me to get in. After a few moments of silence, “She told you that she’s my granddaughter, didn’t she?” Benjamin Nobles asked.

“Yes, Sir,” I replied.

“Did she tell you about the company and the trust?” he asked.

“She mentioned that the company had combined all the studios,” I said. “But she didn’t say anything about a trust.”

“Smart girl,” he mumbled as we continued on in silence.

I became acutely aware that we were getting further and further away from the campus as he took several turns, always on the paved paths. We had not run this way in the mornings, or quite this far, so I had no idea where I was. Finally, after about ten minutes, we crested a rise. There in the distance was a breathtaking view of some very high mountains. In a small valley just in front of the mountains was a very large, log cabin style chalet.

“Let me have your lanyard,” he commanded. When I handed it to him, he passed it over a small screen on the golf cart’s dash and handed it back.

I looked at him in question but didn’t say anything.

“This is the boundary of the Cherokee lands. Since we are technically leaving the camp, I deactivated your sensor. What you see before you is our family land and the cabin is Noble Lodge.”

As we got closer the Lodge’s real size became even more apparent. We finally parked in front of the now massive lodge and mounted the half dozen wide wooden steps to a porch that spanned the width of the lodge.

Benjamin didn’t stop but opened the door and led me into an equally massive room I would call a den, decorated with all sorts of Indian artifacts and things like Indian rugs, and pictures and bronze sculptures. A pair of large pictures of what I guessed were Indian Chiefs because of their headdresses, hung on the far wall. Bows and arrows, spears, and other weapons adorned a large, well-lit case on another wall.

“Have a seat. I’ll get everyone,” he mumbled.

Moments later, Nora Van Croft entered and came towards me. I stood as she hugged me.

“It is so good to see you again,” she gushed. “I am still just simply amazed with the scenes you showed us yesterday.”

Brad Nobles and his wife, Susan, came in and greeted me warmly as well. Benjamin was there also but said nothing.

“Why don’t we have a seat. Eric and Alyssa will be here shortly,” Susan said as she gestured to the leather chairs and sofas. “Would anyone care for something to drink?”

Although my mouth was dry, I wasn’t going to ask for anything, but Nora insisted, so I had a Coke.

“I’m sorry Ivan couldn’t be here this morning. He had to fly back to Las Vegas last night,” she explained.

At that moment, a man about Brad’s age came in pushing a wheelchair. The person in the wheelchair was wearing an expensive dressing gown and was smiling brightly as she came into the living room/den.

I knew that face! Those eyes! This had to be Julie’s mom.

“Ryan, allow me to introduce my brother, and Julie’s parents, Eric and Alyssa Nobles. Eric, Alyssa, this is the young man who made those scenes I showed you last night. His name is Ryan Owens from LA. He’s eighteen and will be a high school senior this fall,” Brad said.

I stood as Eric stepped up to shake my hand. Then I took three steps to the wheelchair and knelt beside it. Taking her hand, I looked in her eyes as I told her, “I now know where your daughter got her beautiful eyes!”

Alyssa studied me for a long time, her eyes never leaving my face. Finally, her lips formed a smile and she looked to her family.

“I can now see why she feels that way,” she said cryptically.

“Ryan,” Brad said when I was seated again. “Eric and Alyssa are the other two members of the Board of Directors for AEI. After they saw the scenes and spoke with the others, they wanted to meet with you.”

“Yes. Thank you for taking your time to meet with us today. I’m sorry that we could not be present yesterday, but, as you can see, Alyssa does not travel well,” he explained.

“Well, go ahead!” Benjamin snarled at his son.

“Ryan ... at this point, we are not prepared to make any offers, but we wanted you to know that you have suddenly become a person of importance to us. Each of the scenes you have been involved in have been personally reviewed by all of us.”

“The horse head too?” I asked in horror.

“Yes, the horse head too. The exception that proves the rule, so to speak. Even as ragged as it appeared on film, we gleaned several important aspects from it, including your originality, creativity, and bravery. The willingness to put yourself out there,” Eric explained.

“As you can see, Eric is the brains behind the board,” Brad said.

“But unfortunately, other obligations have prevented me from being as active as I once was,” he said, smiling at his wife. “It seems that her condition has required more care recently.”

“May I ask of your condition?” I asked politely.

“Unfortunately, I was in the same plane as Julie when it crashed,” Alyssa said as she whipped the blanket from her lap exposing her mangled legs.

“I’m sorry,” I told her.

“Don’t be. I am fortunate that both Julie and I are still alive,” she said.

“Get on with it!” Benjamin growled at his sons.

“We’re getting there, Dad,” Eric said. “Ryan, would you mind sharing your plans for your future with us?”

“Until I got here, the only thing I had planned, was my upcoming senior year of high school,” I told them.

“Do you plan to continue your affiliation with Lancelot?” he asked.

“I certainly hope so!” I replied. “I guess it depends on how I do here at camp.”

“Would you be willing, in your free time, to come to Las Vegas to continue working on your project with Julie?” Eric asked. “At the company’s expense, of course.”

“Julie and I have already discussed it and we both have some ideas on that,” I explained. “We’re thinking of a set of educational style videos on sex and handicaps. Maybe other handicaps beside missing limbs.”

“Are your parents supportive of your new career?” Nora asked.

“I think so, although we’ve never really discussed it. They have not, to this point, objected to me going to Lancelot and they are certainly aware of what I do there. Although, anything I do once school starts will be governed by how good my grades are.”