Chapter 30

William Redman Carter looked at the check and then across the patio table at Oscar. He was impressed by the size of the check. Raising an eyebrow, William asked, “How did you manage to win so much in Las Vegas?”

“I was seeing the future,” Oscar said gesturing to the sky with an open hand hoping that William wouldn’t think he was insane.

“You were seeing the future?” William asked leaning forward in his seat. His curiosity had gone into overdrive on hearing that Oscar was seeing the future.

“It was real strange. It was like I was seeing the now and the future at the same time.”

“Why do you think it happened?”

Oscar frowned and looked at William with an expression the other man couldn’t read. He answered, “The Two-Sided One said that it was training.”

“Training,” William repeated staring at Oscar in shock. That was the same thing that the Two-Sided One had said when his gift had left him. A sinking feeling came into his stomach. He asked, “Has it happened before?”

“Yes. It’s been happening off and on for a couple of months. I don’t understand what’s going on,” Oscar admitted. Feeling uncomfortable discussing the matter, he took a sip of lemonade and looked around the garden behind William’s house. A couple of rabbits were eating some grass. A few squirrels were chasing each other around a tree. One of the trees was loaded with birds. It was odd seeing so many animals concentrated in one yard.

William sat back in his chair and thought about what Oscar had said. After a minute of silence, he said, “You say this happened Monday afternoon around two o’clock Vegas time.”

“Right,” Oscar said.

That was the same time that his gift had left him. William didn’t bother to mention that little detail. Seeing that Oscar seemed uncomfortable discussing that matter, William decided to change the subject. Holding up the check, he asked, “So why did you give this to me?”

“I was hoping that you could invest it for me,” Oscar answered. From their discussions he knew that William was pretty good when it came to investing money. On the other hand, the only thing he knew to do was deposit it in a savings account.

William sat up realizing that this was the first time that anyone had ever asked him for investment advice. Surprised at the request, he asked, “Why?”

“Look, I don’t think I’m going to ... I want to leave a little something to support Georgia and Debbie once I’ve left for the Middle East,” Oscar answered glancing away feeling uncomfortable about the subject.

Knowing what Oscar meant and wasn’t saying, William raised a hand to stop Oscar. Aloud, he said, “Say no more. I understand completely. I’ll do my best for you.”

“Thanks,” Oscar said feeling relieved. He knew that he could trust William to get the most out of the money.

“It’ll take the rest of the day to set up an investment account for you,” William said while pulling out his cell phone to make arrangements for Oscar to meet with Sandra. Oscar nodded his agreement and pulled out his cell phone to tell Oliver that he would be delayed by a day in returning to the College.

When William hung up the phone, Oscar said, “Thanks. I really appreciate this. I love them both so much. I just can’t leave them without making sure that they are taken care of.”

The next evening, Oscar stepped through security at the airport and spotted Oliver waiting for him. He had expected to find one of the regular drivers waiting for him. Walking over to the Grand Druid, Oscar asked, “You came here just to pick me up?”

Oliver peeked over his silvered sunglasses at Oscar and shook his head. He answered, “I came here to yell at you.”

“Why?”

Looking at Oscar in dismay, Oliver answered, “You hit over twenty consecutive numbers in roulette and you dare ask me that question?”

“How did you know about that?” Oscar asked wondering if Mullah Farzin bin Saud had told Oliver that he had been spotted gambling. His actions were having significant repercussions concerning his education.

“The casino manager called me. He wanted to know why one of our Druids would go in and rob them of three quarters of a million dollars,” Oliver answered. The casino manager didn’t have any proof, but he was convinced that Oscar had cheated. Although he knew that Oscar hadn’t cheated, he still wondered how Oscar could have possibly picked that many numbers in a row.

“Oh, I thought maybe Mullah Farzin bin Saud told you.” The old man had been very upset, particularly when he heard from several sources about how much money Oscar had won. Oscar hadn’t been aware that he had attracted that many observers.

“Oh, he told me, but he was relatively calm about the matter. The owner of the casino was a bit more perturbed,” Oliver said. He still couldn’t figure out how Oscar had managed to hit so many winners in a row. Oliver asked, “I just have to know, how did you manage it?”

“It was the Two-Sided One,” Oscar said feeling uneasy about mentioning it.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. He was showing me the future,” Oscar answered feeling uneasy about making that claim. He looked down the length of the airport. The airport was busy, but the two men were standing in an island of isolation. Travelers moved around them giving them plenty of space.

Oliver was surprised by Oscar’s answer. It did explain how he was able to pick that many winners in a row. Of course, the question of how Oscar was seeing the future remained unanswered. Frowning, he said, “Oh.”

Looking over at Oliver, he asked, “Do Georgia or Debbie know about the money?”

“No,” the Grand Druid answered wondering what Oscar meant by his question.

“Good, I’d like to leave it that way,” Oscar said. He hadn’t told them about the money despite the fact that he intended to give it to them.

Unable to see any malice in Oscar’s answer, Oliver said, “Okay. I won’t say a word.”

“You might let the owner of the casino know that the attendees of the conference lost more than I won,” Oscar said. There was one very famous televangelist with a less than stellar reputation who lost a fortune at in the casino. Shaking his head, he said, “If I understand correctly, a certain television preacher lost exactly twice what I won.”

Oliver found the idea of using the casino as a way to transfer money among individuals of a religious calling humorous. He chuckled and said, “The Powers That Be work in mysterious ways.”

“Yes, they do,” Oscar agreed with a nod. He grinned and said, “The casino even got a fifty percent usury fee.”

“So what are you doing with the money?” Oliver asked assuming that Oscar would turn it over to him to be used for some great purpose.

“I gave it to William Redman Carter to invest for me,” Oscar answered after a slight pause. He felt a little guilty about keeping the money, but it wasn’t really for his use.

“Oh,” Oliver said. The idea that Oscar would keep the money had never occurred to him. For a moment he didn’t have anything to say. Finally, he said, “Tell me about seeing the future.”

“When I was walking through the casino, I realized that I was seeing the present and the future overlaid one atop the other,” Oscar said.

“Ah, that’s interesting,” Oliver said studying Oscar carefully. At some point in time he would have to learn more about that gift. He asked, “Did the Two-Sided One let you know that was he was going to do that?”

“No.”

“Have you visited the Carter Glade recently?”

“No.”

Oliver shook his head and headed towards the exit of the airport without saying a word to Oscar. Everything about this situation sounded odd to him. On reaching the parking lot, Oliver took a deep breath and asked, “Did you ever have that happen before?”

“That afternoon when I got sick by the road was the first time. At least, I think that was why I was sick,” Oscar answered.

“And you haven’t been out to the glade?”

“Not at all,” Oscar answered.

Shaking his head, Oliver said, “I’ve never heard of a Druid getting a gift from the Gods and Goddesses without a visitation. Of course, I’ve never heard of a gift that comes and goes, so I don’t know what to make of it.”

Rather than answer, Oscar walked beside the Grand Druid to the car. He didn’t really want to talk about the matter. There were other issues that required discussion. He asked, “So what did you think of the Mullah’s suggestion?”

“I wasn’t happy about it, but we’re going to do it,” Oliver answered. When Mullah Farzin bin Saud had said that Oscar had been too visible at the casino, Oliver hadn’t understood what he had meant. Of course, once he had learned the rest of the story from the casino manager, he understood exactly why Farzin had changed plans. The stunt in the casino required that they avoid further contact so that there would be time for the connection between the two of them to be forgotten by anyone who may have noticed Oscar.

“So what am I supposed to study for the next three months?”

“Buddhism,” Oliver answered. He knew that Oscar wasn’t going to like the rest of the plan.

“So when is the Buddhist ... whatever he’s called ... going to show up?” Oscar asked wondering what kinds of ranks there were in the Buddhist religion.

“No one is showing up here,” Oliver answered. He paused to look over at Oscar and said, “You’re going there.”

“Wow, so I’m going to India to study with the Dali Lama?” Oscar asked assuming that the Grand Druid would have arranged for him to study under the Dali Lama. It dawned on him that Dali Lama might be a title rather than a name.

“Not quite. You’re going to Thailand,” Oliver said.

Going to Thailand meant he was going to spend three months away from the school. Although the country of Thailand had a reputation for sex, he knew that his girlfriends would be more upset about the separation than the possibility of any visits to dens of iniquity. He said, “I don’t think that Debbie and Georgia are going to like that one little bit.”