A Day in June, Chapter 12
Near the end of January, Dyani mentioned that she should go back home for a day or two to attend a tribal meeting and to pack a few more clothes to bring back. While she had washed her clothes several times while staying with the men, she was getting tired of being seen in the same outfits all the time. If she hadn't inadvertently shipped her things from Arizona to her home address, she might not have had to make the trip. But still, she wanted her sewing machine to fill some of the moments when Jayden was asleep. She might make a stuffed animal or an outfit for him. Dyani liked to keep busy.
Devon and Jade thought that it would be a convenient time for her to make the trip. She had been with Jayden long enough for him to get used to her, and Devon still had a few weeks left for his paternity leave. He could be a full-time father while she was gone. Truth be told, he was looking forward to having his son all to himself for a while.
Dyani needed only a one-way ride; she could drive her car back when she was ready. Having a third car at their disposal would help with logistics, especially since Jade's old faithful vehicle was becoming a bit less reliable than it had in the past, in particular on very cold mornings.
Jade said that he was the logical person to take her home so that neither Jayden nor Devon would have to get out in the cold unnecessarily.
And so it was that Jade and his grandmother left early on the next Saturday morning in the convertible. Although the temperature was on the cold side, the roads were clear. Jade made pretty good time.
He had packed an overnight bag and had planned to return on Sunday. However, he changed his mind and headed for home as soon as he got his grandmother settled. He would be tired from the trip, but he should be able to stay ahead of a powerful snow storm which was moving in from Nebraska. Its exact path had yet to be determined, but it looked like it would hit the eastern part of the state pretty severely. Although his grandmother hated to see him turn right around and drive back, she understood his eagerness to be with his family.
Dyani was happy to be in her own bed for a change. She had enjoyed her annual visit to Arizona and had been delighted to stay with her grandson's family. Yet, there was something about pottering around one's own digs that felt especially nice.
She read for a while, propped up in bed, but turned out the light around 9:00 and promptly fell into a deep sleep.
Something awakened her about 45 minutes later. At first, it was a rattling noise, but that was quickly followed by the sound of breaking glass. Fearing that it might be her son Robert, she hit the emergency button on her cell phone and talked to the 911 operator.
While she was explaining her situation, she pulled her Ruger 380 out of the bedside table and slipped a magazine into it. She made sure there was a round seated in the chamber, but left the safety on for the moment.
Telling the operator that she was unable to exit the bedroom at this point in time, she pulled the blanket over two pillows to make the bed look like it was occupied. Then she hid in the closet with the door ajar, giving her a good view of the room.
The floorboards creaked as someone came closer to the bedroom door. It opened fairly quietly. In the pale light from the moon shining on the snow cover, Dyani could see a large man entering the room with a knife in his hand. She knew immediately it was her son.
Robert tiptoed toward the bed and shoved the knife into the soft material which covered it, expecting to hear a scream.
"What the fuck!" he exclaimed.
Turning on the light, he yelled, "Where are you old lady?"
"Right here, and I'm armed. You just ruined my beautiful new comforter! Put that knife down and get out of my house!"
"Like hell, I will! You're gonna tell me where my bastard son is. I have a score to settle with him. He took away my income source from the casino money and now I'm broke! I know he brought you home."
"I'm telling you nothing. If you make one move toward me, I'll shoot!"
"You can't bluff me with that old toy gun. I remember how you kept it around to scare off any burglars who might come around. I hope you have plenty of caps! Boy I'm frightened!" he mocked.
"This is the real thing, and I'm taking the safety off. I'm warning you, I know how to use it. I can incapacitate you long enough for the sheriff to get here. He's on the way."
"He must have mystical powers these days, or did the Great Spirit call him? It can't be you, because I cut your phone line before I broke in."
"Ah, it's the mystical power of the Smartphone this time. The Great Spirit probably allowed people to develop it for such emergencies."
"Bull shit!" Robert thundered as he lunged toward his diminutive mother.
Dyani fired three shots in rapid succession. The first two went into his left shoulder exactly as she had intended. The third one strayed downward and to the right as the weapon drooped slightly in her shaky hands. It was that one which went into his heart.
"What the fuck," he gurgled as he slumped to the floor less than yard from her feet.
"Are you okay, Ms. Young Bear?" a voice asked from her phone.
"I am physically unharmed, but I fear that my son is dead. I tried hard just to wing him. How can I ever forgive myself if I've killed my own flesh and blood?"
"Sheriff Burns and one of his deputies should be there in a very few minutes. Do you think you can go to the door to let them in? Keep your gun handy in case your son is playing possum."
"I will, but I don't think that's the case."
Dyani gave the sprawled figure as wide berth as possible in the small space and hurried to the living room. She had scarcely turned on the front light and opened the door before the patrol car pulled into her drive.
She removed the clip and cleared the chamber of the gun before engaging the safety and handing it toward the sheriff butt first.
"I'll lay it on the table if you want to preserve my fingerprints," she offered.
"I suppose I'll have to take your weapon for the time being to have it checked out, but I suspect no charges will be filed," Sheriff Burns said confidently. "The 911 operator has a recording of everything that transpired here. Your son was in violation of the restraining order, and you had every right to protect your life and property. Can you show us where he is, please?"
Dyani pointed toward the open door to her bedroom. The lawmen went in with guns drawn. Deputy Ortega bent down to check for a pulse while the sheriff covered him.
"There's no sign of life."
"Okay, let's photograph the scene from several angles before the ambulance arrives. Better yet, why don't you take care of that while I interview Ms. Young Bear?"
"Sure thing."
Sheriff Burns had finished well before the EMTs got there and had made a pot of tea to help settle Dyani's nerves. He discovered a small bottle of rum in the cupboard and had put a bit into her tea, with her permission, of course.
The sounds of gunfire and the emergency lights from two vehicles had awakened many nearby residents. Several stood patiently outside in the lightly falling snow, waiting to see if they could be of help.
After Robert's draped body was placed inside of the ambulance, one elderly neighbor came to the door.
"Is there anything I can do, Sheriff," she inquired.
"Yes there is. Could you look after Ms. Young Bear? It would be good if you or someone could put her up tonight since this is technically a crime scene. It is a very trying time for her. She will need her friends."
Within a few minutes, Dyani was sitting in her neighbor's living room telling her story. Two of the men from the tribe were covering her broken back door with a piece of plywood, secured to the frame with many long drywall screws.
With the sheriff's permission, some of the ladies brought several articles of clothing and her bag of toiletries from Dyani's house so that she could avoid going into it for several days if she wished to.
One of them made a fresh pot of tea to warm those who had been out in the snow. Another went home for cookies to serve.
"Has anyone seen my cell phone?" Dyani asked.
"I picked it up by the closet and put it in your bag," one of the women told her.
"Thank you. I must call my grandson's fiancé."
Devon received the news with mixed emotions. He was relieved that the monster who had molested his boyfriend had met his end. However, he felt sympathy for the lady who had the dreadful experience of being the means of the man's demise. He shuddered to think of what it would be like to kill one's own son.
While on the phone with Grandma, Devon had reassured her that she did only what she had to do. He praised her for keeping a cool head and for not giving Robert the information he sought. He reminded her that she had not only preserved her own life, but very likely Jade's, Jayden's, and his as well. In Robert's crazed head, he might have massacred everyone living with Jade.
Dyani thanked him for making her feel better.
Jade had called him the minute he got on the road to come home. If Jade called again on the road, Devon wouldn't tell him about what had transpired until he saw him in person. The onset of a winter storm was enough to stress over. The snow was beginning to fall heavily as Devon looked outside. He said a prayer for his lover's safety.
Jade was making pretty good time initially. He seemed to be staying ahead of the storm. The weather reports on the radio sounded grim in the area where he was headed, though. Jade continued to drive as fast as he could without endangering his safety or that of anyone else.
Despite his efforts, he ran into heavy snow about the last 50 miles and the going was very slow from then on.
Devon had only just put Jayden back in his crib after feeding when he heard the garage door open. He stood by the kitchen door to embrace his tired lover the minute he came into the house.
"You're a welcome sight!" Jade exclaimed after they'd had their hug and kiss.
"You saw me a mere 15 hours ago." Devon teased.
"It feels like a week! Um, what's wrong? I can feel strange vibes from you."
"It's difficult news. Let me begin by telling you that Grandma has not been harmed. She had to shoot your father in self-defense and he is dead."
"And I'll bet she's feeling guilty," Jade shook his head. "She did the world, and especially me, a favor. He needed to be put down like a rabid dog!
What happened?"
"He broke into her house and threatened her with a knife. He was seeking information on how to find you. He evidently held a grudge over being cut off from the tribe over stealing your allotment for so long."
"I'll rest more easily knowing he's out of my life forever."
"I will too."
After a few more minutes of Devon's telling Jade all he knew, they crawled into bed. Devon held Jade close, and both fell asleep almost immediately.
Jade seemed to be unaffected by the news of his father's demise, but about 3:00 a.m., he suffered a nightmare in which he was being abused by the man. His pleading words of "please don't do it to me; it hurts!" brought Devon from his sleep quickly. He was already rousing because Jayden had started to fuss.
"I'm here Jade. No one can hurt you," he said and he held his boyfriend tightly.
"Oh Devon, it was so real. I thought I was over this crap!"
"Probably the mention of your father's death triggered the nightmare. I hope it won't happen again, but I think you should talk to your counselor just in case."
"I will. You need to let go of me and see to Jayden."
"Not yet. He's been eating more and he won't starve if he waits until I've seen to you."
"I'll help you with our son. That will calm me down for sure."
As the men took care of their baby, they became aware of the storm raging outside. Jade turned on the porch light to check the street and found that a large drift had already formed across the driveway.
"It's really nasty out there! I'm thankful I didn't stay over with Grandma, even though I might have been able to comfort her. I do feel bad about that."
"On the other hand, your father might have found you asleep and killed you if you'd have been there. I think the threat of this storm could have saved your life."
"I suppose that's possible. Some people do say that everything happens for a reason, but I can't believe that God made it snow in order to save my life."
"I'd have to agree with you on that; however, it does seem like you have had a guardian angel watching over you at times. I'm so thankful you have come through everything that's been thrown your way!"
"I am too, but I couldn't have made it without you. I love you more than I can find words to express it."
"Sometimes it doesn't take words," Devon smiled.
Jade lifted the sleeping infant, now contented after being changed and fed, and put him back into his bed. Then he took Devon by the hand and led him back to their bed where he proceeded to express his love in an intimate, non-verbal way. Making love brought him comfort as well.
When the men awakened a few hours later from their post-orgasmic nap, they heard the wind still howling outside. It looked like the storm had settled in and had no intention of moving further east anytime soon.
Jade booted up his laptop to check latest weather report. The meteorologist gave a dire prediction for Sunday into Monday. Churches in the area had all canceled services and all schools, including the university, were closed for tomorrow and possibly a couple of days after, depending on how much snow accumulated and how long it took road crews to get things cleared.
"Well, it looks like we're snowed in for at least a couple of days," he said to Devon.
"We should make good use of the time, I guess."
"I can certainly use the time," Jade exclaimed. "I have an important paper for my psych class that's due a month from now. I have done a lot of the research and can probably do the rest on the Internet. At the very least, I should have a rough draft by the time the city is dug out. That will save me a lot of stress later."
Devon spent part of the day preparing for the units he would be teaching after his paternity leave was over. Having kept in constant contact with his sub, he knew almost exactly where his students would be in their studies at that point. His major concern was arranging child care until Dyani would be able to return.
As he was making a list of options, Jade received a call from his grandmother which settled everything. Jade put his phone on "speaker" so they could all converse.
Dyani informed the men that she was ready to return as soon as possible. A hearing was scheduled for Monday, and since the snow at her place had been relatively light, there didn't seem to be any reason for postponing it. On top of that, Jimmy Gray Wolf's little sister Jenny needed a ride back to the university when it opened again. Jenny would be happy to accompany Dyani and help drive in exchange for transportation. Now, neither Jade nor Devon would need to make the trip to be sure she wasn't out on the road alone. Things were falling into place.
"I'm staying with neighbors and they will help me get the clothes and things I need out of the house as soon as it's cleared as a crime scene. The crime isn't about what I did, but is about when Robert broke in and tried to harm me. Everyone tells me I'm not going to be charged with anything. I'm still not sure if I'll ever be able to stay in that house again. There is too much evil there."
"You will always have a home with us," Devon told her. "We will enjoy all being together as a family."
"That is a great kindness on your part, and a great comfort to me. Coming to help with Jayden will give me a purpose in life, something I've been in need of for a while anyway. Old people waste away and die when they're of no use."
The snow storm proved to be a good thing for Devon as well as Jade. Devon's paternity leave would be extended by two days because it only counted for days in which school was in secession. Days when it was canceled for weather didn't count.
On Tuesday afternoon around 3:00, Grandma and Jenny arrived. Travel had been slow, but relatively safe for winter conditions. They hadn't even had any close calls, but had seen a number of drifted-over vehicles in ditches.
Jade drove Jenny to her dorm in the convertible so that she wouldn't have to wait on getting Dyani settled. She was thankful for the ride, and offered Jade gas money, since Dyani had refused any.
"Nah, this will help pay back your brother for being nice to a half-bread kid when a number of others weren't. Tell him I remember him fondly."
"I will. He said to give you his greetings and tell you he still remembers the good times you had camping and canoeing."
"That's cool. I do too.
Uh, this is your dorm, right?"
"Yes. Please thank your grandmother again for her kindness to me."
"It was a win/win situation because she wasn't looking forward to making the trip alone. She's a strong lady, but she's not getting any younger."
"Her spirit will be eternally young."
"Yes, you are correct about that."
Author's notes: As always, I appreciate your emails. Since last posting, I've heard from: Tom A, Mike D, Bob O, Wayne, Ott H, Vern, Jim W, Bruce D, Jim L, Mendy D, Arden C, Zero, Paul R, Walt S, JJ, Nick S, and Luke C. Please let me know if I've missed your name!
Next week's posting will be delayed by a few days as I will be out of the country. I hope to have chapter 13 up by that weekend at least.
A reader recently recommended a story in the "beginnings" section called, "Forever" by Jack Schaeffer. I haven't had time to read beyond the first few chapters, but it looks promising.
David