Chapter 5

The phone rang shortly after Peggy and I went to bed. It was Mary. "Forrest, Rick was pronounced dead a couple of hours ago. The doctors were in this afternoon and standing by his bed having a consultation. This was after reading the transcripts from his machines since the last incident the day you left for your vacation. Suddenly his brain waves went wild. The doctors directed the nurses here to do several things to reverse the direction he was taking.

"Rick never revived, staying in the vegetative state he has been in for the last few days. Three hours later his heart slowed and stopped altogether. There didn't seem to be any correlation between his heartbeat and his wild brain waves. These waves continued for about nine minutes after his heart stopped beating. The doctors examined him and pronounced him dead. They are still puzzled by the timing of his death. He will have an autopsy, of course."

"Do you want me to be there with you?"

"No need. I'll make the funeral arrangements. You will be back from your vacation by the time I have it scheduled." There was a long pause. "Forrest, you know I hate to say this, but I'm glad Rick has passed on. He had no real life. For the last few months, it was as if I didn't know him anymore. Then I had that fiasco that you were instrumental in getting me out of. He said he forgave me, but I don't know."

"How is Trudy taking his death? She loved him."

"I know she did. We spoke a few minutes ago. She is taking it well. She claims it was just a job, but I know differently. I am going to do something for her, so she doesn't have to find another position at her age. She has been with him for seven years."

"That is extremely generous of you."

"You do know you have been named in his will don't you?"

"Oh I hope not."

"Nola is in it as well. He was so taken with her, I'm not surprised. This is all fine with me. I have money in my own right. What he is bequeathing is some of what was left from the settlement he received. I don't know any details. The lawyers will inform everyone when the reading of the will is to be."

"I don't want to even think about that. Are you sure you are okay?"

"Yes. I'll see you when you get home. Enjoy the remainder of your vacation. Goodnight, Forrest. You are such a good friend."

I turned to Peggy and asked if she thought I should tell Nola tonight. "No, wait until tomorrow morning." I could understand her reasoning, as my thoughts were on Rick for hours before I received any rest for myself.

Nola took it better than I thought she would when I informed her about Rick in the morning. "I'm glad he has died. I wouldn't like to live if I was like him. Seven long years he has been like that. How could he stand it?"

"I don't know. He did seem to take an interest in life and the people around him. I think for a bit you were closer to him than anyone except Trudy. He was so nice to you."

"Not all the time. Dad, do you remember when I felt he was taking over my life, and I felt as if I was being owned by him?"

"Yes, I remember that. Why?"

"Remember how you said to counter the feeling? I followed your suggestion and closed my eyes, just reading what he was saying with my fingertip. He said some awful nasty things to me. I didn't want to bother you with what he was saying. It seemed as if I was being hypnotized. If I closed my eyes, I could understand what he was saying. If I had them open and looked at the TV or computer, it was as if I had to follow his direction. I wasn't going to visit him anymore after we got home from here."

"I didn't realize this. You should have told me."

"I couldn't. You two have been friends for so long. I couldn't break you up."

"Nola, you must remember, you come first in everything, before anyone."

"Even Peggy?"

"Yes even before Peggy."

"I wouldn't want that, but thank you anyway."

Our vacation lasted two more days. My father and Nola were inseparable, showing each other affection, even beyond what she showed me. I knew how Dad felt. It was as if you had found a missing link and suddenly your life seemed whole, where before you weren't quite connected. I knew that my father and mother would be coming to visit much more often now that Nola was living with me. Peggy was an attraction for them as well. Peggy seemed to have become the daughter Mom had longed for. Returning home, I immediately went to see Mary. "I'm fine Forrest. The house seems empty, of course, but my cares have lifted. Rick was a burden to us all. I have asked Trudy to stay here with me as a companion for awhile. She is still relatively young at sixty, and has never married. She will be coming into some money, as Rick did provide for all of his nurses. This is what his attorneys inform me. The reading of his will will be a week after the funeral, which is next week on Wednesday." "Is there anything I can do?" "Nothing at all. Just knowing you are here ready to step forward at anytime is enough." "Okay Mary, just ask if you need anything. You know you and I have had a complicated relationship that goes back for thirteen years. Rick was always a presence. It was exciting when we first came together and then when we confessed to him about our affair, I expected some sort of retribution. Instead, he seemed to accept it as something that was bound to happen, which surprised me. "Later, years after he became incapacitated, he pushed us to restart the affair again. I still don't understand that totally. It just wasn't the same between us. Oh the sex was good. Sex is always good, but there wasn't the fiery passion we had before. That is until our last time when you said it was to end. We really connected that one night." "I know, but it was time to end it and we both were aware that it should. Of course I screwed up and was caught up in what turned out to be a huge mistake. We are still friends aren't we now?" "Always, but it is time to move on and start new lives for ourselves. May I sit with you at the funeral?" "Of course. I'm counting on it." I went to the shop the next morning to carve on my Indian statue with a clear and untroubled mind. Nola resumed her volunteer work at the church, coming home singing, and as happy as could be. All she said about Rick was that she was glad she didn't feel compelled to go over there to visit. For myself, I did have one empty spot in my life. Peggy wasn't in my bed at night. However, I did see her most days, always culminating in a fast trip up the mountain to end the day.

The funeral was planned for eleven in the morning. Mary had received a report attached to the death certificate, just stating that no abnormalities had been found during the autopsy. Cause of death was attributed to an over-worked heart too tired to continue. The funeral was very small, consisting of our little group that had been around him for the last few years. There was one elderly aunt and three of the professors who at one time were colleagues of his.

Rick was laid to rest next to his parents in the family plot. Mary had a monument erected years ago. She had sandwiches and coffee served in the dining room of her home. It was a quiet gathering and only lasted an hour.

There were six nurses who had attended, Trudy the only one who had been with him all seven years of his confinement. They all reminisced about their time with Rick and with each other. The several doctors had sent condolences, but were not in attendance. Before breaking up the gathering, Mary announced the names of those who would be named in Rick's will. All would receive formal notices from the attorney by the end of the week. Life moves on.

My carving hours in the shop lengthened from my normal six to sometimes more than eight as I became more excited as my statue progressed. The facial features would be the last area that I would be carving. Rather than have the shaman standing still, I had her as if she was just taking a step forward. One arm was a little forward of the body. This gave the illusion she was walking. Of course the children would be keeping step with her.

At first I wanted the arm and hand that held the medicine stick to be raised, but gave that up as being too fragile. I instead had it slanted across her body. On her feet she would be wearing moccasins of decorated deerskin. Her skirt was to be down to the middle of her calves. This too was deerskin and plain with just a frazzle going down the outside of her thighs and around the bottom of the dress.

Her whole back was to be undecorated, except where her shaman's banner passed over one shoulder and down under the arm that held the medicine stick. This was to more define her shape than anything and was smooth over her buttocks. I was going to make her garment tight-fitting, so as to give the sense of her being robust, much as Peggy was in real life. That is if I was able to complete it before Peggy lost her roundness.

Peggy was sitting by the hour, silently watching me. She was enthralled as I brought out each detail. I looked over my goggles at her. "Let me think, Indian women didn't wear bras, so I guess I had better have nipples showing." I said this with a straight face.

"Don't you dare! If you do, you are never going to see mine again."

I laughed. "All right, I don't think they would show through the deerskin dress anyway." I thought this was a great joke, That is until I next glanced at her and she had her top off and there she was in all of her glory. It was a half hour before I got back to carving again.

As she came in one morning, Peggy handed me a flat package. "Here Forrest, you are spending too much time sharpening your chisels. These are new and have already been honed to the sharpest and finest edge. I'll take your old ones and get them back in a day. I'll get you another set if need be." The half hour I usually spent in the morning fixing my chisels I spent thanking Peggy.

Finally I was down to the beads and quills. This detail was repetitious, but had to be so carefully done. If you messed up one bead in a row, it would be disastrous. I got through it without mishap, thankfully. All I had left for carving on the full-sized statue was the face. I would do this next, as school would commence in two weeks. I would need Peggy here as I was using her facial features--exactly. Tomorrow was the reading of Rick's will, so I didn't attempt anything more for the day, even though it was too early to stop carving. I took Peggy to Otter's for a late lunch.

The attorney came to Mary's home for the reading, and everyone joined her there. The attorney first made an announcement. "Most of you involved in Mr. Hanson's will, do know how to read Morse code. In the interest of time, I have had his visual eye movements decoded by three different disinterested people. All agree that my written copy is as accurate as can be. The tape with his eye movements will be made available to anyone who wishes to read it. It will also be made available if anyone wishes to challenge my interpretation in a court of law.

"Mr. Hanson was not a wordy person, which is understandable. First I have a list of the smaller bequests to the nurses and one relative. This money is the remainder of the settlement he received from the insurance company for compensation for the injuries he received in the accident seven years ago. The sum is still quite substantial."

The sums given out to five of the nurses that were in attendance for varying lengths of time, went from $500,000, to $1,250,000. Trudy, who had been there all seven years, received $2,500,000. Tears were running down her face as this was announced. His aunt received a like amount.

"To my wife, Mary, faithful and unfaithful at times, depending on how she felt about me and who she was with when I was not in attendance, I leave the bulk of my personal estate, amounting to $47,000,000. The only reason she inherits is because she was with me at the beginning of our life together. Even though unfaithful at times, she has been the one to most extend my time on earth, by directing my care through the excellent nurses she employed.

"To Forrest Green, friend at times and one who succumbed to the seduction by my wife, Mary, I leave $5,000,000. I have directed my attorney to send you a tape after a period of three months about how I have seen my life. Especially during these last few months. This is for your eyes only and hasn't been decoded by anyone.

"To Nola Green, sweet daughter of Forrest, I leave $7,000,000. That and an apology for some unwise moves I attempted. May you use the money wisely.

"To all of you, I must say I have not enjoyed my time on earth. I wonder if there is a God to have placed this burden on me and on those who have had to care for me all these years. I bid you adieu with that thought in mind."

The room was silent. I don't believe many of those present had thoughts of Rick, himself. They would be thinking more of the money that he left them. Trudy seemed the only one who appeared to be hurting. I stepped to her and folded her into my arms. She clung to me and whispered into my ear, "He was a good, good man."

"I know Trudy. You were so faithful to him."

"I would have been more if I could. Not for any money either."

"He knew that from the minute you came into his life until he decided to leave."

"It was his decision wasn't it? I feel that as strongly as you do too. That alone makes me feel better."

The gathering soon broke up. Nola was conspicuously silent on the way home. "Pop, am I really worth $7,000,000?"

"Well after you pay taxes, you might have about $5,000,000 left. You are definitely a rich young woman."

"I hate what I thought about Rick along toward the end. I wish I could thank him. Dad, what was that about the apology?"

"I have no idea. Whatever it was apparently didn't work. Send up a prayer. For all that he said, I think he believed in the Lord."

"I will Dad, I surely will." Nola made a phone call to her mother when we arrived home.

"Mom, something serious happened to me today."

"What? Did you get into trouble again?"

"No, Mom, I became a very rich girl. Dad says I'm worth about five million dollars."

"Oh come on, Nola. No one we know is that rich."

"I am, Mom. That man, Rick Hanson, who I have been visiting, left me $7,000,000 and Dad says after taxes, I'm still worth a lot."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I probably will get someone to tell me what is the best thing for me to do. I'm still a minor, so I don't even know if I have control of it. I'll have to ask Pop. Anyway, I thought you would be happy for me."

"Is your father there? Let me speak to him, please." Nola called me to take the phone.

Vida started right in with questions. "Is what Nola said true?"

"Yes it is. In fact I was left some money as well. Not as much as she was, but a lot."

"How much?"

"None of your business, Vida. Let's just say that I won't have any trouble paying the mortgage."

"Lucky you." There was a long pause. "Forrest, I'm glad for both of you. I have some news as well. Frank has proposed to me, and I have accepted. I think we will be married on New Year's Day."

"Congratulations Vida, that is good news. I hope you will be happy."

"Thank you. You know just as soon as Nola went to live with you my prospects improved all the way around."

"I guess you can say mine have as well. We will have to get together and celebrate our good fortune."

I called Peggy and told her the good news, both mine and Nola's. "Is this going to change your lifestyle? Oh damn, you're not going to want me around any longer, are you?"

"Umm, how about all of us going out to dinner tonight? Fred is invited. Nola will want to tell him all about it. Peggy, haven't you ever imagined having a rich man fall in love with you and give you everything you ever wanted?"

"Forrest, I don't want material things, I want you. That's enough."

"Okay then, party this evening and back to work tomorrow. I have commitments." It was a wonderful, happy evening. Nola was almost giddy and maybe I was a little that way myself.

I had trouble getting to sleep. It was Rick, of course, that bothered me. First, he had named Mary unfaithful in a more or less public setting. Also he named me as the one that she was unfaithful with. I had the feeling, Rick, dead as he might be, was not through with me. I suppose I had until the 25th of November before I would find out. That was three months from today.

It was difficult to concentrate on carving in the morning. I knew I was too hyper to do the small detail work on the shaman. I roughed out the two child figures. Nola went along to the church soup kitchen for the noon meal. "I suppose you told everyone how rich you are now," I asked when I picked her up.

"No, I didn't tell a soul. Dad, I think we should find someone to advise me what to do with my inheritance. There are a hundred things I have thought to do when a person has so much money. The soup kitchen needs larger quarters. I'll bet if I suggested they start a fund drive to buy the building behind the church, I could match the money they raised and make it happen. Could you hire someone to tell us what to do with our money?"

"I can, and I'll make some phone calls. The funds haven't been transferred yet, but will be just as soon as the administrator dispenses them. Tomorrow, I have to be calm enough to continue carving. I can't lose another day. Time is getting short and Peggy has to start classes soon."

"Why don't you marry her and then she won't have to work, just like you won't have to."

"Nola, I'm not giving up carving. I enjoy it too much. Peggy teaches school because she wants to. Neither one of us is going to be sitting around. The reward for that isn't enough to make a person happy."

"That's the way I feel when I'm at the church filling plates for those people that need food. I'm thinking I may use some of the money to help out the church someday. I just don't know how yet."

"Time enough to decide."

Peggy came up to the cabin early, with Fred driving. He was taking Nola to the church today. Peggy and I had coffee and then I said, "Let's get started on the head." I worked as much with my fingers as I did by eye. I would feel her living, breathing face and wanted to imbue the same into the wood I was carving. This worked for me. The shaman's eyes, though, wouldn't really come alive until the color was applied.

I had a problem with the chin. I was just so afraid I would pare the wood down too far and I wanted my subject to show the strength of a confident, in-charge woman. It was there in Peggy's features and I wanted to duplicate it in the Indian. I worked so intently that suddenly I started shaking with fatigue. I hadn't worked that many hours in time actually, but was affected by being so intently focused on what I was doing. I stepped back and was really pleased at what I had accomplished. I knew one more session would complete the carving.

Peggy followed me into the house and told me to go rest in the bedroom while she prepared some food. I dozed until I heard voices in the kitchen. I went to see who was here. I stood just out of sight in the living room. It was Mary who had come and she was explaining to Peggy what the attorney had read in the will about her and me. I guessed I wouldn't interrupt and went back and laid down.

When next I awoke, Mary was gone. Peggy never mentioned that we had a visitor. It was addressed obliquely, though, when she, out of the blue stated, "You know for all of Rick Hanson leaving you a lot of money, I don't think too much of him." I let this pass. I didn't think much of Mary either, for kissing and telling Peggy about our earlier life together.

Peggy and the two young people made plans to go shopping for school attire. Although the funds for both Nola and myself hadn't been transferred yet, it gave Nola a sense that she could buy whatever her fancy desired. I wondered if she would really splurge.

In the morning I checked every cut I had made. There were a few places on the statue that needed some attention, making them a little crisper and better defined. Satisfied, I set about sealing the whole statue. This was done to prevent the stain and colors from sinking into the wood and to make sure they wouldn't bleed beyond the lines. This again was to give me a sharp, crisp detail to the subject.

When staining wood, the carver had to be very careful when coloring where he had cut across the grain of the wood. The stain would be more apt to sink in here, and when dried, would appear darker than those areas where the color was going with the grain. I was experienced and well aware of these problems. When finished, I went to work on the Indian youths.

"Did you spend all of the money you had in your card?"

"No. I bought four simple skirts and tops and three new pairs of slacks. Peggy already knew which shops had sales on. I bought two new pairs of flats. I think I'm all set. Wait until you see what Peggy purchased. She looks neat. She only bought a couple of outfits. She said she didn't know what size she was going to end up being." Nola was acting a little concerned about something. "Pop, you aren't going to disappoint Peggy are you? I know you two have been intimate because I helped set it up. I do think she can make you happy or I wouldn't have bothered."

"You are okay with us being married?"

"Yes I am. I know she is two years older than Mom, but she still is more like a sister to me than a future stepmom."

"What about Fred and you? How is your relationship with him going to be affected?"

There was now a long silence as Nola was trying to find some words. "We have talked about 'what if ' if you and Peggy were married. If you do marry her, he and I will have a brother-sister relationship. That's the way it has to be."

"If I didn't marry his mom, what then?"

"If I was a year older, we probably would get a lot closer than we are now. I don't think we would ever get married even if you and Peggy don't, but it would be an experience to share with someone you can trust."

"I think I get your meaning. I don't think I can advise you. Maybe you could talk to Peggy a little about it. I guess I would go along with whatever she says. I'm not married yet and Fred isn't your brother yet." I had talked myself into a corner and didn't know what to say next.

Nola came over to where I was sitting and pulled me to my feet. She put her arms around me and hugged me as tight as she could. "That's what I like about you, Pop. You understand so much. I guess it is ultimately Fred and my decision, but it is so good to be able to talk about something such as this. There is no crying and screaming and threats that you can't do this or you can't do that." I had made my daughter as safe as possible. Now it was up to her to find the best way to grow up and be happy.

Peggy and I made sure that we weren't intimate around Nola. Sure she knew we were and we did find time for each other. Peggy didn't stay over and I didn't sleep at her house either. She was on my mind a lot, especially when I was painting in the various color on the beads and quills. I hated to keep saying shaman or Indian statue, so I named my carving "Oona."

Oona started taking on a life of her own. Her eyes were some of the first portions I colored in. I even found myself talking to her if I was alone. I found I could let my mind drift as I got down to some of the staining on this hunk of wood. I thought about my time with Vida and how miserable I was. After we were married, it didn't seem as if I had a happy moment at all. Then when she divorced me, I had to deal with the loss of Nola.

That drove me to being seduced by Mary. I was an easy target. My unhappiness and my depression drove me into her arms and then into her bed. It was lust, pure and simple, and I didn't wake up until Rick came back from England and it all came out. He did accept that it happened and seemed to be able to live with it. He kept me there near both Mary and him. That was torture in itself, knowing he was making love to this seductress in a different part of the house, while I was alone.

I had given my word not to be intimate with Mary again and I kept it faithfully. He was a professor of psychology. It came to me now that maybe he was playing head games with me and I didn't realize it. Son-of-a-bitch!

The so-called friendship lasted for six years until his accident. By this time I was a teacher. I suppose I was a loner and in all of my free time I taught myself how to carve. During this time Rick would call and insist I come for dinner. Mary would be as elegant as only she knew how to be. Then came the accident. I supported Mary while she was getting through the worst of her immediate change in lifestyle.

Later I thought with Rick's ability to blink his eyes, we could talk if we could learn Morse code. It worked out just as I hoped, but it bound me closer than ever to both Rick and Mary. This wasn't my intention. I wanted to use every minute of my spare time carving. When Rick came up with the idea of what amounted to servicing Mary, I resisted. Not for long, though. Mary went through her seduction of me again and I was hooked.

I had been without an outlet for any intimacies and soon I was enticed into her arms. This time I lasted a couple of years and I, at times, found it a chore. I wasn't disappointed to find that Mary had another interest, but I did worry about her, which led me to hire Carlo to protect her.

Now I had been seduced by another woman. This time, I felt I had a chance to find real happiness. I smiled to myself as I ran my fingers lightly down and over the breasts of Oona. I knew what lay under the carved deerskin dress. How could I help it? I had created the Indian in the likeness of one I was fast coming to love--enjoy to the fullest as well. I leaned forward and rested my lips on those I had created in wood. I must be crazy.

Nola, prevented from serving the noon meal in the soup kitchen while at school, still traveled to the church, helping organize and prepare the meal before she had to be in class. Fred was usually here early and took breakfast with Nola and me as he wanted to be her steady transportation until she could drive herself. Nola was able to get into one of the classes that she needed to get her license to drive. She was also carrying a full load of courses. Never a complaint was heard and she seemed to thrive on her filled up days.

I didn't often see Peggy now, except on weekends, as she always seemed to have course work or papers to correct during the week. We did find time for each other then, and Nola again made sure that she was absent at least some of the weekend.

Oona and her young ones were completed by the first week of October. I spent several days building a special crate to ship Oona out to John Marquette. I shipped her off on the fifteenth. Five days later, I received word back that she had arrived safely and intact. Marquette was thrilled and insisted I be there at the unveiling on Halloween.

"Peggy, can you get three days off to go with me?"

"I think so. Let me find out." She hesitated before asking, "Forrest, what about Fred and Nola? They can't go with us."

"I know. I thought maybe they could stay either here or at your house together."

"You would be okay with that? They are awful young. Something might happen."

"It could. Do you think that is a bad thing?"

Again there was a long pause and then a quiet "No," came from Peggy. "I just wondered if you were aware that they might do some exploring. More than they have already."

"I'm aware and I trust Nola. I feel that Fred would treat Nola as she should be treated too."

"Okay, I'll see if I can get the time off. Are you going to tell Nola that we are leaving them alone together?"

"Yes, I'll do it. I'll speak to Fred as well."

"What are you going to be saying to him? He is my son so maybe I should do it."

"I don't think it necessary. I'll just ask Fred to obey Nola if at anytime she says stop. That should be enough."

"They are almost adults aren't they? I think Nola is the more mature about sex. Certainly more than I was at that age."

"Me too. I don't think our parents were as close to me as I am to Nola. That's the difference and I didn't know what kind of trouble I could get into. I damned sure got into enough." The next day Peggy said she had the three days off that she needed. The next morning at breakfast I mentioned to the two kids our plans.

"We'll be gone three days and the weekend. You two can hang out here. Now all I want is your promise to respect each other in all things."

I looked at both and their faces had flushed at my announcement. "Thanks Pop, we'll be fine. You can trust us to get along okay." I made reservations later on in the morning for our flight.

Marquette's chauffeur met us at the airport and transported us directly to his mansion. I wanted to see Oona the very first thing. She was in an alcove at the head of the stairs, not in the foyer. Fully draped with a sheet, he uncovered her for my inspection. Oona was surrounded by some plants and was placed as if she was striding across the prairie. I about burst with pride. Somehow Marquette had put a light on the far side of the room that was the image of a three-quarter moon. It seemed as if Oona's eyes were lifted to this. The whole effect was startlingly real.