Chapter 6

Mom had maneuvered Vicky and the three Bells out of the house so it was just me and Bev with Mom and Dad. They were on a tour of the place led by Manuel. Mom promised to show Grace the garden when they got back.

When we were all back at the kitchen table with fresh cups of coffee and milk for Bev, Dad said, "I've known for a couple of months that there was something wrong with me. Over the past few weeks, I've suspected it was cancer. I thought I was doing a good job at hiding it from your mother and the rest of you. When she came to me the other day and told me she'd made an appointment with a specialist and wasn't going to let me weasel out of it, I realized maybe I didn't do such a good job, after all." He took Mom's hand and gave her a sad smile. "It's time for you kids to know. We'll tell Vicky later today. There's a reason I wanted just the two of you now."

"My abilities," I said.

He nodded and I said, "You know, Dad, Vicky already knows. Mom told us about the doctor last night."

"I know, she told me. I still want to talk her. It's time to stop hiding from this thing and pretending it doesn't exist. You know, I haven't led a perfect life, but I've tried to do the right things. I've done good by my wife and kids, our new daughter here, running the ranch and providing us all a pretty good living. I've done the things I thought were right to take care of my body. I ate right and got plenty of exercise, took it easy on the booze and I've never smoked. It's a real kick in the pants when something like this happens after a lifetime of doing the things that are supposed to keep it from happening. I'm not too proud to tell you, I'm scared. My body has started doing things on its own that it never did before. I used to be able to fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Last night's the first good night's sleep I've had in weeks. My food's off. Stuff that I'd normally stuff myself with has lost its attraction. I just don't have any appetite anymore. It felt good to be able to eat and enjoy our breakfast this morning.

"Val, your mother and I had a good talk after she talked to you last night. I know you're not getting your signal or whatever it is when one of your wishes goes through. We all knew there were going to be some areas that you wouldn't be able to do anything about. I think a deadly disease such as this may be one of them. I don't want you to feel bad if you can't do anything about it. If this had happened last fall before you went away, you wouldn't have been able to do anything and nobody would have thought anything about it."

Dad was the only one whose face wasn't wet. Bev and I were sitting on one side of the table, holding hands, trying to see which one could crush the other's. Mom and Dad were on the other side, also holding hands. He had his spare hand on top of both of theirs, comforting her. I knew I'd always see that picture when I thought of courage.

"What I told Mom is I tried to make whatever was wrong with you go away and it didn't work. Now that I know what we're looking at, it may be different. I didn't even know it was cancer so I made a kind of generic 'get better' wish. The results of the tests you took yesterday may give me some ideas. Mom told me that your trouble sleeping and eating were bothering her and I did what I could to fix those things. It looks like it worked, at least for the short term. Is there anything else?"

"I get tired during the day. I try to nap but it's the same as it's been at night. I toss and turn and when I finally doze off, something wakes me and I have a hell of a time getting back to sleep. I'm also starting to feel some pain. Your mother has a prescription if it gets too bad but I don't want to take anything unless I absolutely have to."

"OK," I said. "I don't mean to overstep my bounds, you being the father and me being the son, but I am the one with the powers here. I've known you all my life and I know you've got all these things going through your mind that you feel need to be handled before you go, so they won't be left for us to do. Well, that's tough. We'll live with it. Manuel's got plenty of family if we need them. I'm not going to let you kill yourself before you die.

"Your body gets tired for a reason. It's sick and it can't handle going full speed day after day. So I'm not going to mess with that. When your body says it should be tired, you're still going to be tired. I'm going to try and make you able to fall asleep and stay asleep. Not long enough to mess up your night time sleep, though. As far as the pain is concerned, that's a warning system your body has designed for survival. You don't need a bunch of drugs that will just wipe you out and turn you into a zombie. I'll try to make the pain bearable. That way, you'll still know that you're doing too much and need to slow down but the pain won't be bad enough to disable you. I've got to warn you, Dad. How little pain you feel is going to depend on you. If you insist on ignoring it because I made it bearable, I can make it less bearable."

Dad said, "Are you sure you can do this?"

"I've already gotten you to sleep and eat. Taking naps when you need them shouldn't be that hard. I don't know about the pain. I've been able to help Bev a couple of times when she was hurting so I'll do my best on that. I'm also going to see about preventing the cancer from spreading and then I'll work on taking out a little at a time instead of trying to fix everything at once. If either of you have any more ideas, don't be afraid to let me know. The worst that can happen is I try something and it doesn't work. I don't think anything I do is going to make things any worse, unless I just don't do anything."

I squeezed Bev's hand and looked her in the eye. "I'm going to need anything you've got, too. We're a team and this is our biggest challenge yet."

She didn't say anything, she just sighed and leaned over on me, resting her head on my chest.

They all came back a few minutes later. The three Bells were all dragging their asses and walking stiffly. Vicky and Manuel had decided to combine their tour of the place with a riding lesson. Christina was rubbing her butt but she had a grin on her face that wasn't coming off anytime soon. She was now an expert on all things to do with horses, to hear her speak.

"So, Kyle," I said, "what do you think about riding?"

"It's OK, I guess."

"Well, if you're going to hang around with my sister, you'd better get used to it. She rides everywhere."

"Well, I'm not dating anyone who rides and my butt hurts," said Grace.

"It's a skill you're going to need if you're trying to run a ranch," I said. "Just take it easy and you'll be riding like you were born on a horse before you know it. You know you aren't going to find any better exercise."

"Maybe for the exercise. I don't suppose you have a Pilates class around here?"

Bev said, "Stick with the riding."

Vicky and Kyle went out hand in hand to walk off their ride. I got a gallon of beef soup in from the freezer on the porch and brought it in to thaw.

Mom took Grace and Christina outside to check out her garden. Over the years, it had grown from a small patch used to supplement our meals with occasional fresh vegetables to something that could completely feed both families on the ranch. We also had excess that went to the co-op and brought in a pretty penny. Mom was more like the patronista these days, planning, getting the seeds and whatever else was needed to grow while Manuel's wife Margarita and their daughter Josefina did most of the maintenance. Mom still went out there once in a while to pull a few weeds, stake some plants or water. She called it her therapy.

Vicky and Kyle had been gone for awhile when the phone rang. I answered it and it was Ronnie. She told me to tell Vickie she didn't have to worry about going to court. The judge had handled everything today.

"He didn't let them off, did he?"

"No. He said since he had signed confessions from all of them and they all pled guilty, all of them who were under 18 got sentenced as juveniles for two years. Several of them confessed to multiple crimes and trials are set for them in the future so that anyone involved in them can have their day in court. There were a few guys over 18 and they each got three years. Every one of them has to register as a sex offender for two years after they get out of jail. They'll be on probation for those two years and will be forced to register forever if they do anything to violate parole. He also said the minors got their break in not having to do hard time but he was not going to bury their records. The records will be accessible by any law enforcement agencies until they reach twenty five. If they behave, they'll be sealed, if not, they'll remain public."

"Sounds good. Do you need to talk to Vickie about anything?"

"Not unless she wants to. I'll be calling in a few weeks so we can plan some strategy on our civil suits."

"What happened with the cops?"

"They confessed to a lot of crimes. Several of them were getting regular bribes to look the other way, reselling drugs they confiscated, stuff like that. They're all locked up and trials are being scheduled with enough lead time to make sure the DA has enough evidence to convict each of them should any of them change their mind and plead not guilty. Two of the football coaches got a year, too."

"Cool. I'll let Vicky know when she gets back and she may give you a call later. Anything else?"

"The only thing is I've been trying to reach Grace Bell. She just gave me a cell phone number and that keeps going to voice mail."

"She's out back, checking the garden with Mom. She probably forgot to bring it. Do you need to talk to her right away or can she call you when she gets back inside?"

"She can call when it's convenient. Don't let her wait too long, though. I got the funds to replace her vehicle, so make sure she has some time this afternoon for car shopping."

"OK. If they aren't back in a half hour, I'll go looking."

"Good. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything else. I swear, you're going to get me that fuckin' island."

The ladies came wandering in about twenty minutes later, loaded down with fresh vegetables.

"Wow, all three of you are lookin' good. All rosy cheeked and healthy looking."

"You're just saying that because we've got all this food," Grace answered.

"No, take a look in the mirror. You ladies look like you belong in Country Girl magazine or something."

That put smiles on their faces and they proceeded to cut up and wash veggies. Neither Grace or her daughter had ever seen peas in the pod or summer squash before. I went up to Grace and said, "Have you got your cell phone?"

"Sure. It's in my purse."

"Show me."

She looked at me funny, then dug around, slowly at first, then more frantically, emptying items on the kitchen table...

"Christina, have you been using my cell phone again?"

"Yes," she mumbled, her eyes focused on the vegetables in her hands.

"Where is it?"

"I don't know."

"Christina?"

"My room?"

"If I know you, it is. Probably left on, the battery worn down and all my minutes used up."

"I was just calling Sandy."

"Look, I know you miss Sandy. But we've only been gone a day. You can't call her every day, Honey."

"I'm sorry."

"All right. Finish up what you were doing there and we'll figure out what we're going to do about this when we get home."

Christina didn't look too thrilled that there was going to be more when she got home as she turned the water back on in the sink.

"To answer your question, it looks like my cell phone is somewhere in my daughter's room, most likely with no time left and in need of charging. Why?"

"Oh, I got a call from a woman who said she had some money for you to get a replacement vehicle."

She brightened up. "Really? Veronica called? Boy, that was quick."

"From what I've seen of her, she doesn't sit around, waiting for things to happen." I pointed to a note on the cork board next to the phone. "Feel free to call her. If you need to borrow a car or you need someone to drive you around, I'm sure we can work something out."

She got on the phone and called Ronnie. Her side of the call consisted mostly of Uh Huhs and I Don't Believe Its. There was a Those Assholes thrown in there, which I assumed referred to the insurance company. She said, "Oh, that would be great," then got her purse and dug out a checkbook. She read the numbers off a check, thanked Ronnie and hung up.

"She got me $25,000 from the insurance company," she told us.

"Is that a good price?" Mom asked her.

"Ronnie said it was blue book, so I guess so. The car was totaled. I can't get another new Lexus for that but mine was three years old. Ronnie got $2500 for getting me the money, but it's worth it. The insurance company wasn't even going to talk to me. They told me I could take them to court."

Mom said, "So, are you going to look for a new insurance company when you get your new car?"

"You better believe it. Do you know of a good one?"

"We've used the same agent since before Val was born. We've had a few claims and there's never been a problem. He'll take care of everything you need. I can give you his number if you want."

"That would be great. I won't be on my ex's life insurance policy in another two months. That may be part of the problem — it was his policy. I imagine I'll need to get extra for the ranch, too."

"Oh, yeah. He'll take care of all that for you."

Every time we butcher a beef, Mom makes beef soup. Water, a little salt and a lot of chunks of beef, simmered for a couple of hours with a bone thrown in. She has a couple of five gallon pots she fills, then we freeze everything we don't eat for dinner that night. When we feel like soup, we gather some fresh vegetables, thaw out what we need and throw it all in a pot. Today we had fresh peas, green beans, tomatoes and summer squash in our soup. While Bev was watching Christina stir it, I took Vicky into my room and sat her down.

"I got a call from Ronnie today. She said to tell you that you won't need to appear at any of the trials."

"Don't tell me they got off," she blurted out as she stood.

"No, the judge sentenced them all. Those under 18 got two years in Juvie and the older ones got three years. There's some probation after they get out and how they behave determines how long they're on the sexual predator list. Some of the cops have several things they'll be tried for and they're scheduling trials far enough away so that they can get the proof they need to put them away for a long time. It sounds like the judge and the district attorney aren't making any deals at all. They even put a couple of the football coaches away."

"Good. I hope they rot. Especially that asshole Houston. Do me a favor, Val. Don't tell Kyle or his mother about what happened."

"I won't. But you know you can't hide it forever. Somebody's going to say something and it's going to be better if Kyle hears it from you first. At least he'll get the truth from you. I imagine you're going to have some people pissed off at you when you go back to school. Half the football team and most of the coaches will be gone. Don't plan on winning Miss Popularity."

"I'll tell him. I just want to get to know him a bit better first. I don't know about his mom. How do you think she'll take it?"

"Hey, she just lost a car because an asshole she's divorcing pushed it down a hill. I don't think she'll immediately think the guys were on their good behavior and the girls made a fuss about nothing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Vicky, you've got to get it through your head, this isn't your fault. A bunch of low lifes didn't care who they hurt to have their fun and you and a bunch of girls got hurt. None of you caused it. If Kyle or his mother can't get that concept, then you will be better off not having anything to do with them. And if that's the case, the sooner you find out, the better."

"Yeah, you're right. I just don't know if I'm going to stay with Kyle. I mean, things are going OK now and I really like the guy, but..."

"I know. You don't want to rock the boat. I'm not going to twist your arm on this but I want to make sure you know that this is a perfect time to bring it up. Grace just used the same lawyer you did. She's happy with the results and so are you. It would be a lot less awkward than knocking on their door in a couple of weeks after you and Kyle have decided to go your separate ways. You do want them to hear your side of the story, don't you?"

"Of course. I guess I just need to force myself. You're right, I didn't do anything wrong. I just feel like I should have done something."

"Vicky, don't be an idiot. Your hands were tied behind your back, you were drugged and there were a lot of guys there who would have stopped you if you'd been able to overcome Houston once you got to the junior high. You're the one who was able to text where you were all being held. None of you would have been saved if you hadn't done that."

"Yeah, but you're the one who put the phone in my hands."

"And you're the one with the skill to text Bev with your hands tied behind your back. Give it up, Vick. You're not the villain here."

"OK, tell you what. I'll tell both of them when she shows me her new car."