Chapter 13

“Come in.”

Oscar stepped into the office and looked around at the plain furnishings. For the most part, it looked like an office that hadn’t been assigned to anyone. There was a desk and two chairs on opposite sides of the desk. The desktop was bare of anything other than a telephone. The plain white walls were bare as well.

The high-backed chair behind the desk was turned so that all he could see was the back of it. He didn’t see anyone in the office. He frowned and wondered where the person who had called out was. He was about to leave when the chair behind the desk swiveled around with a slight squeak.

Much to his surprise, Oscar found that he was staring at a kid who couldn’t have been more than fifteen years old. The blue robe with white arms identified him as a graduate of the Druid College. Oscar studied the kid with a little more attention to detail. The boy was clearly of Native American heritage and wore his long black hair back in a braid. There was a strength about him that suggested he was a warrior. His dark eyes seemed to see beyond the here and now.

Voice cracking as a result of his age, the boy said, “My little sister sends her regards.”

“Who is your little sister?” asked Oscar taken aback by the greeting. He didn’t recall ever meeting a young Native American girl and wondered if the kid thought he was talking to someone else.

“Betsy.”

“Oh,” said Oscar putting two and two together and getting four. There was no way to forget the hyperactive young girl who had been on campus the first week of school. He asked, “So which of the Carter kids are you?”

“I am William Redman Carter. My birth-father was John Carter and my birth-mother is Linda Carter.”

Stepping over to the other chair, Oscar sat down and made himself comfortable. Expecting to find his advisor here, the presence of William made him decide that he was there for some other reason. He had no idea what that reason might be, only that he had been sent to this room. Relaxing, he asked, “What can I do for you?”

William laughed at the suggestion that Oscar was there to help him. Leaning forward, he said, “You can declare your major.”

“Huh?”

“I asked Oliver to be your academic advisor on this single occasion. It is time for you to declare a major,” answered William. He sat back and watched the expressions flash across Oscar’s face. They changed too fast to categorize them.

Somewhat irritated at having a kid for his academic advisor, Oscar asked, “So what do you suggest?”

“How about pottery?” asked William, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Are you kidding?”

“Why are you asking me what I think your major should be? You have already been told what some of your instructors believe it should be. You know what it has to be,” answered William. He studied the young man seated across from him. Oscar was definitely the man in his vision.

“You’re talking about Religious Studies, aren’t you?” asked Oscar. He recalled the conversation with his literature instructor two months earlier. He hadn’t thought about it, but ever since that day he kept getting assignments with major religious elements to it. Only three days earlier, he had been assigned the Crusades as a special study topic in his history of war class.

“Of course,” answered William.

“What makes you think the Two-Sided One wants me to major in that?”

It was a question that William didn’t know how to answer. Looking at Oscar, he said, “I don’t know if the Two-Sided One wants you to major in it. All that I do know is that you will major in it and you will bring peace to the Middle East.”

“I will?” asked Oscar with a grin at the suggestion that he would bring peace to the Middle East. Realizing William was serious, a look of concern came over his face. He said, “I don’t know anything about you, but you may consider talking to someone about your mental health.”

“A lot of people would agree with you on that,” answered William with a sigh. He was saddened at the fact that Oscar did not believe him. It had been his hope that the Druid would accept what he said without requiring proof. He stared into space for a minute and then said, “After leaving here, you are going to go across the street to Daddy Ed’s house. That is the only thing that will go according to plan tonight.”

Friday nights were used to relax and unwind after a week of school and work. The plans for the evening were very simple. It was their usual routine to go for quiet walk through the woods that were behind the house. A simple dinner prepared by Debbie would follow the walk. The rest of the evening would be spent cuddling with his two girlfriends and talking about the events of the week. Oscar knew there wasn’t much that could disrupt their plans.

Convinced that William was wrong, Oscar said, “So my evening is going to be ruined.”

“Yes.”

“And then?”

“Tomorrow morning, you will come here and fill out the papers declaring your major,” William said.

Oscar stared at William wondering if the boy was for real. Standing up with the intention of finding Oliver, Oscar said, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“No. I’ll be at the glade. Tomorrow is mid-summers day.”

“You’ve been called?” asked Oscar.

“No, but I shall go there anyway,” answered William wanting to end the conversation. He kicked the desk such that his chair swiveled around and his back was to Oscar.

“Oh.” Oscar stared at the back of the chair for a moment wondering if there was more to the story than William had told him. He turned and then left the office. Before he passed through the door, he said, “I wish you luck.”

William didn’t answer. His mind was on the visions of the future involving Oscar. The Druid didn’t know that it was going to be very necessary for him to understand and respect other religions before long. His thoughts then went to the glade and what wouldn’t happen there. He closed his eyes and the image of a fat man came to him. The fat man said, “Not yet, little one.”

After searching unsuccessfully for Oliver, Oscar walked down the driveway connecting the campus with the road. It was a beautiful day and he considered the sky in light of what William had said. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the temperature was perfect, and the wind was gentle. It was clear to Oscar that weather wouldn’t be a factor in ruining their plans. The boy had spooked him and he kept looking over his shoulder for some sign of a disaster.

The walk to the house was about a mile and normally was the beginning of his weekend relaxation. This particular afternoon the walk was not serving that purpose. He had to pause at the road when a black limousine left the campus. For a second he wondered if William was in the back of it, but dismissed it based on the boy’s assertion that he was going to the glade.

It was with an uneasy feeling that he walked up the driveway to the house. Georgia’s car was not parked in its normal spot. She very seldom used the car since she typically walked across the road to go to work. Shrugging his shoulders, he hoped that it wouldn’t delay their walk too much.

He entered the house and found Debbie seated on the couch in the living room. She looked over at him and, based on the expression on his face, said, “Georgia went grocery shopping.”

“Okay. Any idea when she’ll be home?” asked Oscar. He went into the kitchen to get something to drink. Opening the refrigerator, he saw that there was absolutely nothing to drink or eat. He thought to himself, ‘Scratch that plan.’

“She should have been back by now. I’m sure she’ll be here anytime now,” answered Debbie as she ran her fingers through her long red hair.

“She has her cell phone with her, doesn’t she?” Oscar asked feeling uneasy. He wondered if Georgia was going to be in an accident. He knew that would definitely ruin any plans they had for the evening. The conversation with William had him spooked.

“Sure.”

Going to the couch, Oscar sat down next to Debbie and took a moment to look at her. As always, he was amazed at her beauty. Her milky white skin was so soft to the touch that there were times when he worried about hugging her too tightly in fear that she would bruise. Her red hair curled and cascaded down to the middle of her back. She had eyes that were such a startling shade of green that he felt he could get lost in them. In contrast to the fiery temper associated with others of her appearance, her demeanor was kind and gentle.

With the recent conversation with William still on his mind, he asked, “Did you meet with your academic advisor today?”

“Yeah. It was a rather trivial exercise. I went in and said that I wanted to major in Chemistry. Oliver said okay and that was it.”

The fact that her meeting didn’t last long wasn’t a surprise to either one of them. Debbie had discovered how much she enjoyed Chemistry and had decided, before the course was even half over, that she would major in it. Oscar’s meeting had been short, but of a different flavor. He asked, “Have you ever heard of William Redman Carter?”

“Isn’t he one of the Carter Kids?”

“Yeah. What else do you know about him”

“That’s all I know about him. He’s one of the Carter Kids,” answered Debbie with a shrug of her shoulders. She didn’t follow the lives of the rich and famous. Curious why he would be asking about him, she asked, “What about him?”

“Oliver assigned him to be my academic advisor,” answered Oscar. He wondered why Oliver had done such a thing.

“So what was he like?”

“He looks like he’s fifteen years old. Even though he’s a graduate of the Druid College, I’m halfway convinced he uses drugs,” said Oscar knowing even as he said it that he was not being fair.

That suggestion surprised Debbie since she couldn’t imagine any of her classmates getting involved in drugs. She asked, “Why do you say that?”

“He was telling me that I’m supposed to bring peace to the Middle East.”

“What are you going to do? Kill everyone there?” asked Debbie figuring that was the only way that area would ever achieve peace. It only took two people to create a war in that part of the world.

“No, I just thought I’d make them coffee,” said Oscar with a wink.

“Now that is a catastrophe of Biblical Proportions,” said Debbie. She burst out laughing at the idea of Oscar let loose in a kitchen somewhere in the Middle East. Her laugh was contagious and it wasn’t long before Oscar was rolling on the floor.

Once they had recovered somewhat, Oscar asked, “Who knew that Armageddon was Aramaic for I’ll take mine with cream and sugar?”

The comment caused them to burst out laughing once again. It took a while before they calmed down. Still chuckling, Debbie said, “I know what it means! It means, ‘Oh, no! Oscar’s in the kitchen!’”

Carrying two bags of groceries, Georgia entered the room just in time to overhear Debbie’s comment. She didn’t see Oscar on the floor at Debbie’s feet. In a very concerned voice, she asked, “Oscar’s in the kitchen?”

Seeing the look of horror on Georgia’s face, Debbie started laughing even harder. Oscar recovered long enough to sit up and say, “We were just giving possible translations for the word, Armageddon.”

“You in the kitchen wins my vote,” said Georgia relieved to learn that Oscar had not been in the kitchen. He’d been responsible for more than one disaster in the kitchen and it had become a firm rule of the house that he was not allowed in it. Her comment just made Debbie laugh even harder. Realizing that Oscar and Debbie were laughing too hard to help her with the groceries, Georgia carried the bags to the kitchen.

When Georgia was about to empty the bags, the telephone rang. Overhearing Oscar give another translation of Armageddon, she knew that Debbie and Oscar hadn’t noticed it. She picked up the phone and talked to the party on the other end. The conversation lasted less than a minute.

“Debbie,” said Georgia on entering the room.

The laughter died after Debbie looked at Georgia. The expression on her face suggested that something horrible had just happened. Suddenly serious, Debbie asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Oliver just called over here.”

Oscar sat up and looked over at Georgia. He didn’t like the solemn tone of voice she used. Concerned, he asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Debbie, your father was taken to the hospital half an hour ago.”

“Daddy? Daddy’s in the hospital?” repeated Debbie, sounding like a little girl.

Visions of her father lying in a hospital bed hooked up to equipment and with tubes keeping alive flashed through her mind. Those visions were replaced by visions of her father dying.