Redemption Mountain (51 page)

Charlie thought about the meeting in New York to which he had been summoned on Friday. The message had come from Larry Tuthill, to meet with a committee of OntAmex and DD&M people to review Charlie's projects.

Once, it would have seemed like a fairly benign meeting, but the fact that Terry Summers and Warren Brand would be attending was a clear warning. Friday afternoon was typically when high-level management coups were orchestrated, to give the company the weekend to clean up the mess and manage the spin. With the power plant on schedule and the eminent-domain taking of Redemption Mountain in less than two weeks, Charlie knew he was now expendable. There was a good chance that, after tomorrow, he'd have little reason to return to Red Bone.

Walking up the wide stairway of the new library, Charlie smiled at how beautifully the light streamed in from the skylights. The small partitioned reading nooks would be cozy spots for the children of Red Bone. Charlie heard the crackling footsteps and muffled voices of the roofers overhead.

He sat on one of the low benches, which would eventually have padded seats, and looked around, imagining the final result. He thought about Natty's daughter, Cat, the tiny girl with the long, silky blond hair, who was always paging through a picture book whenever he saw her.
Cat will love this spot, up on the top floor of the library. It'll be her special place … like Natty's boulder.
Charlie closed his eyes. He ached to hold the little girl in his lap and read
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
,
The Dragons of Blueland
, and
The Indian in the Cupboard
to her, as he'd done with his own children long ago.

He heard a creaking sound on the stairway, and a backward Yankees cap appeared. The boy turned and saw Charlie smiling at him. Pie climbed the last step and jumped in front of Charlie, both palms raised for a high-five. Charlie laughed as he raised his hands to the boy. “Hello, Pie Man,” Charlie said. “I've missed you.”

Still holding Charlie's hands, Pie said, “I went to your office, but they say Charlie gone to New York.”

Charlie let go of the boy's hands and knocked his cap down over his eyes. “I'm going to New York tonight. C'mon, Pie Man, sit down,” he said. “Tell me about school and the soccer team. I understand the Bones are going to a tournament in Charleston.”

Pie sat next to Charlie, but he had something else he wanted to talk about. “Charlie?” he asked in a small voice. “Will you tell me the story about you and my papa cutting down the big tree?” Charlie smiled and nodded, as the boy, wide-eyed with anticipation, folded his legs underneath him on the bench.

“Your dad and I were out in the woods, way down where some of the trees are over two hundred years old. We were cutting trees with two lumberjacks named Frenchy and Dogface, two of the best loggers around,” said Charlie, beginning the story that Pie would cherish for the rest of his life.

 

CHAPTER 30

 

T
he bus was unlike anything Natty had ever ridden on. It was purple and silver with dark-tinted windows, and it towered over the road as it pulled out of the Red Bone Baptist Church parking lot. A five-hour trip would get them to the motel in Pennsylvania, then another five-hour drive on Friday morning would bring them to New York. Natty was anxious about the trip, but a free weekend in New York, with two nights in a hotel and a ticket to
Les Misérables
, was too good to pass up.

She felt uncomfortable about leaving the kids—she'd never been away from them overnight, except for her hospital stay—and she was uneasy about missing her patients on Friday. But the real cause of the gnawing in her stomach was Charlie Burden. He was definitely going to be in New York now, and they even had a kind of date set up, didn't they? And if anything was ever going to happen between them, she had a strong feeling that it would have to happen this weekend.

Mabel Willard put a soft hand over Natty's, positioned on the armrest between them. “You okay, girl?” she asked, sensing Natty's unease.

“Ain't even out of Red Bone, and I'm already homesick,” she said with a laugh. “Ain't been out of West Virginia since high school.”

Mabel patted Natty's hand. “Been a long time for me, too,” she said. “Twelve years. Since Lorena was havin' her troubles, and I had to go up to Detroit and bring the boys home.”

Natty squeezed Mabel's hand. “I remember. I was pregnant with Pie when Lorena died.” Natty recalled Mabel's beautiful, talented daughter, two years ahead of her in school. She was so self-confident and ready for the world, she couldn't wait to leave McDowell County to seek her fortune in the big city. A year later, she was living in a Detroit tenement, the mother of twin boys, and a year after that she was dead from an overdose.

“Took those babies away from that awful man, one in each arm, and took the bus back down here.” They were quiet for a few minutes, each woman lost in her thoughts.

“Mabel?” Natty whispered. “Do you still miss her … after all these years? I mean, do you think about her a lot?”

Mabel sighed. “Zack and Sammy are a handful, but, yeah,” Mabel's voice cracked, “I think about Lorena every day, first thing when I get up in the morning, last thing at night. Mother never stops missin' her child.”

After a few moments, Natty said, “How about a father? Think they miss their kids like that?”

Mabel sniffed and straightened up a little in her seat. “Well, men are
scum,
o' course, so they don't miss nothin' for too long but their drinks and their pussy and their TV sets.” Both women burst out laughing.

Then Mabel lowered her voice to make sure no one could overhear. “But, child, if you're asking me what I think you're asking me, well, then, I'm going to tell you one time and then zip up my fat mouth forever. Whatever you end up doin', ain't no one in McDowell County, including myself, will ever say you shouldn'ta done whatever you chose to do. 'Cause, child, you earned that right. Losin' your daddy, and then little Annie, bless her soul, and raisin' them kids by yourself, helpin' so many people all these years—my God, child. You earned the right to finally, one time in your life, do somethin' just for yourself and for them children!” Mabel looked up to see if anyone had overheard. Satisfied, she continued in a lower voice. “Now, you know Buck was never one of my favorites. Never could warm up to the boy or his daddy. And then he went and took advantage of you—”

Natty laughed and shook Mabel's arm. “Wasn't quite the way it was, Mabel. That was as much my doin' as it was Buck's.”

“I know, child. You was in
love
,” Mabel said, with an angry scowl. “And you was still in love the night he beat you and put you in the hospital for two weeks, when you couldn't eat solid food for a month.” Mabel stopped abruptly and took a deep breath.

Natty rubbed the black woman's forearm. “That was just one time, Mabel. 'Cause of his drinking.”

“That kinda thing ain't never a
one time
. Seen enough bruised women in my time to know,” said Mabel.

Natty didn't argue. She already knew Mabel's opinion of Buck. After a long pause, Natty stretched her eyebrows up to look into Mabel's huge brown eyes. “So what should I do, Mabel?”

“Natty, child, you got to do what your heart tells you to, without caring about what Buck thinks, 'cause he don't deserve one more second of you feeling guilty about what happens to him.” Mabel squeezed Natty's hand in both of hers as she looked past her out the big window.

“Charlie's a good man, Nat. Seen that first time I met him, on the porch in front of the store. And I seen Charlie was already moonin' over you like you was a couple of high school kids. The way he was watchin' you, and the look in his eye. He was a goner!”

They both giggled, and Natty pushed the black woman's arm playfully. “Go on, Mabel, you don't know nothin' of the sort.”

“I knows what I knows,” Mabel said quietly, “and that man loves you and them children, so it's all up to you, child, to make something out of it or don't.”

“I think you're bein' a little overly romantic, Mabel,” Natty said, half to herself. She turned toward the window. Mabel crossed her arms and rolled her head away to try to nap.

Natty gazed out the window, unaware of the scenery passing by as the bus struggled with the narrow road to the highway. In her mind, she saw Charlie standing next to the Lexus, as she put her arms on top of the car. She heard him say it again—the
L
word.
Said it twice, in fact.
Natty smiled and let the warmth of that moment, the sound of Charlie's voice, engulf her once again.
The first time in her life any man had said he loved her—least one not pantin' and humpin' up a hot sweat in the back of Buck's daddy's Blazer.

*   *   *

T
HEY WERE NOW
on the highway and the bus sped along, headed for Pennsylvania and the motel and, tomorrow, for New York City.
And then what?
After they checked in to the hotel, they would go on a bus tour and then to dinner at the fancy restaurant in Central Park.

Natty thought about the new-dark-blue warm-up suit she'd bought in Bluefield. She didn't want to look like a hick when they went running in New York. After their run, she would get her hair done, before the matinee. She felt her front pants pocket, where she'd tucked a small wad of money.

They had an extra ticket to
Les Misérables
, which they all agreed Natty would offer to Charlie.
After the play, that would be their time. Maybe they'd have dinner.
Natty smiled as she thought about the short black dress with the matching jacket she'd bought for the occasion and the silver high heels she'd borrowed from Sally.
Shit, I hope I can walk in them.
Natty tried to remember the last time she'd worn high heels.

She swallowed hard. So if something were to happen between them, it would be Saturday night. Charlie had already told her how
he
felt, so now it was up to her. She knew that this might be her last chance, because Charlie wouldn't be in West Virginia much longer. She sensed that he could be gone right after the Redemption Mountain hearing. Ten days, then Charlie might be gone, with nothing resolved, the opportunity gone, all the affection and feelings between them adding up to nothing.
Not even a kiss, unless you count that cheap little peck when he was in the hospital.
This weekend would be different.

*   *   *

T
HE FINAL LEG
of the trip, as the bus passed through the Holland Tunnel and into Manhattan, was a blur. As it moved up Eighth Avenue, the buildings got taller and the noise louder. Soon they were surrounded by a sea of yellow taxis, all moving too fast and blowing their horns.

The bus came to a stop on the corner of West 45th Street, in front of the Milford Plaza. After the group claimed their luggage on the sidewalk, the travel agent led them into the hotel lobby jammed with tourists, where they waited to check in and get their room keys.

Natty and Mabel laughed when they opened the door to their room and saw how tiny it was. They laughed again when they saw the room rates posted on the door of the closet—and this was one of the cheaper hotels in New York! They unpacked and, with an hour to spare before their bus tour departed, they talked Ada and Emma's mother, Janice Lowe, into going out to find Times Square.

They were lost immediately. After a couple of blocks, they dug out the little map the travel agent had distributed, and after turning around several times while looking up at the street signs, they figured out which direction to go. At the Disney Store, Natty gawked at the price tag but bought a Mickey Mouse
I LOVE NEW YORK
T-shirt for Cat and a Yankees shirt for Pie. Stuffing her money back in her front pocket, she wondered if she'd have enough left to get her hair done.

When they found Broadway, they stopped to watch the street shows, a juggler, a rock 'n' roll duo, and three black teenagers break dancing. The music, combined with the roar of buses and trucks, produced a sound unlike anything the women had heard before. The aroma of sausage, onions, and fresh coffee drifting through the air reminded them of their hunger. As they passed several small restaurants, Mabel and Ada examined the posted menus and rolled their eyes at the prices.

On their way to the hotel, Natty pulled her three friends into Starbucks, where they bought the smallest coffee available. They found a table at a window and watched the passing parade. Then, mindful of the time, they headed back so they wouldn't miss the tour bus. They would have some sorely needed nap time later, before dinner at Tavern on the Green, a very special treat, the travel agent said, courtesy of Charlie Burden.

*   *   *

T
HE OLD ELEVATOR
in the DD&M building moved slowly. Charlie figured he could've run up the six flights in the time it took. But he was in no hurry today. This was one meeting he wasn't looking forward to. His fears were confirmed when he glanced into the boardroom. He couldn't identify everyone, but there were too many people for a simple projects meeting. He saw Summers and Tuthill, and a couple of other DD&M executive committee members who were in Warren Brand's cabal. They had no real reason to be at a meeting about OntAmex business. So the meeting would be about something else.

Charlie strode purposefully down the hall. He wanted to see Lucien before he stepped into the wolves' den. His friend looked old and tired, seated in one of the black leather chairs in his office. “Hello, Charlie,” he said without rising. Standing at the dry bar was Charlie's old golfing pal, Mal Berman, counsel to DD&M and Lucien's personal lawyer.

“Hello, Charlie,” Berman said warmly.