Ring in Mine #3: Nephi and Jerome Chapter 44
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Parts of chapter 44 have been especially meaningful to me. I hope I conveyed the wonder and possibilities introduced in this chapter. I am almost caught up with my postings. I am currently on Chapter 49 but it will probably be Chapter 50. 48 is 22 pages long. I will find a breaking point for it.
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Chapter 44
The next morning Jerome helped Nephi get dressed. Standing would be less tiring with the brace, but lowering himself with his good leg and the grips on the table would be easier without. Jerome rolled Nephi to the table before the family arrived. Nephi stood as Jerome swapped out his wheelchair for a regular chair. Nephi practiced standing and sitting using the grips on the side of the table. It was tiring with only one leg doing the work. Nephi sat as the family arrived.
Nephi griped the table and pulled himself into a standing position. The family stood, Nephi motioned them to remain sitting.
"This morning, I have a puzzle for you. What did Jesus mean when he said to turn the other cheek? Keep in mind it isn't to let others walk all over you. We will discuss it over dinner. Clarke will you bless the food." Nephi bent his good knee. Supported by his arms he lowered himself into the chair.
Breakfast was a quiet affair. Family members had spent the night in soul searching. Nephi watched the food circulate the table. Nephi's plate remained empty. After Nephi had waved off the second platter Jerome quit offering.
As the family finished. Nephi repeated the ordeal of sitting in reverse. Going for broke, he leaned his good leg against the table edge for stability and spread his arms with palms upward in benediction.
"May the Holy Spirit be with you. Go forth and do good." Nephi rested his hands on the table and bowed his head.
Clarke may officiate at chapel, but Nephi was the soul and spiritual leader of Samaria. Clarke questioned his role as the chaplain. The family left leaving Clarke and Nephi at the table.
"Clarke, would you get my chair for me?" Nephi hadn't yet opened his eyes. Secure in his chair Nephi asked Clarke to roll him across the compound.
"Clarke, never doubt your importance in this family. The family sees you and Sean as the father figures. The landscaping crews look to Sean and Jerome for leadership. You and Sariah run the farm. Benny keeps the money straight. I am not sure what role I play."
Clarke stopped pushing. Nephi put his hands to the wheels and continued onward. By the time Clarke caught up, Nephi was helping Kenton with his algebra lesson. Clarke had a full schedule. He had a truck collecting the last of the steers ready for market. They kept most of the heifers for building the herd and increasing milk production. Clarke didn't want to feed more cows than they had to. They would need to plant more alfalfa next year. He disliked bailing hay, but it was less expensive than buying all they would need.
Clarke would need another farm hand before spring. He would prefer another Vet down on their luck. He had reached out to Margaret and the homeless shelter. Maybe if they found the right guy, he could convince Nephi to bring him on.
At lunch time Clarke asked, "Jared have you seen Nephi?"
"I put his chair in his car." Jared explained. "He mentioned doing something useful and left."
"Are you Clarke?" The man wore a Burton's Construction shirt. Clarke remembered seeing him around during all the construction the previous spring. "I have a team with two weeks free. Benny wants the greenhouses in before the ground freezes."
Clarke shook his head, another thing on his list of responsibilities. He had to have more help. In the office Clarke had created in the barn, Mitch Burton spread the plans out on the table. The planned location for the greenhouse had changed. It was in an unused pasture near the cornfield, tree farm and the pumpkin patch. Clarke had never been sure why they needed an acre of pumpkins but Sariah said it was a good source of income without a lot of labor.
"Why have you moved it away from the barn?" Clarke asked.
"The gas line has reached its limit. We are building on the site of a house demolished years ago. The gas, water and sewer stubs are still there and usable. It will save money and congestion near the compound."
"I thought they had run the power only for the well pump." Clarke noted. "You said sewer?"
"It will have bathrooms, a break room, locker room, and shower." Mitch answered. It would be handy having facilities at both ends of the farm.
"The county approved the permits. The foundations will take a day and the prefabricated facilities are ready to set on their foundations. Nephi chose a modular green-house." Mitch Burton explained. "If we stay on schedule it should take two weeks."
Clarke liked the time schedule. It would delay his plans for cutting the drying corn stalks but not by much.
Mitch already had a key for the gate. "My guys are already exposing the utility stubs and digging the two sets of foundations."
Mitch left. Clarke needed to talk with Nephi. The phone rang. "Clarke, this is Benny. I need you to come to my office."
Clarke would have to conscript the teens to help after school to finish the work he would miss. He took the time to shower and change before heading into town. Maybe he would stop by Bertram's for a quick lunch on the way home.
Clarke walked into Benny's office. Benny met him in the reception area. "There are two men in my conference room. Perhaps they could help on the farm."
"What can you tell me about them?" Clarke asked.
Benny handed a handwritten note to Clarke. "Ask Clarke to check these guys out."
"They will tell you their stories." Benny handed Clarke three bottles of water to carry into the conference room.
Clarke handed the men the water and opened his own. He recognized the shorter man. "May I ask why you are here?"
The taller man spoke. "I'm Garrick and this is Myles. We were behind a little bakery on State Street. A guy pulled next to the dumpster. Before we could leave, he asked for help. He gave us an address and twenty dollars. He said there would be another twenty."
Nephi pulled in behind Bertram's bakery to continue working with Brock. He found one man in the dumpster and another scanning the surrounding area, much like Clarke and Sean had done when they first came to Samaria. The layer of grime, told Nephi they were having hard times. Clarke needed another pair of hands. He knew they came as a pair.
Nephi lowered his window. "Would you help me with my wheelchair?" Their first response was to run, but they stopped and retrieved the wheelchair.
Nephi explained they wouldn't find day old food in the dumpster. He pointed to an enclosed metal locker. "We put the day-old in there."
Day-old wasn't to be on their menu today. "Would you help me up the ramp?"
The shorter man held the kitchen door open. Nephi insisted they continue pushing him.
"Hi, Nephi! What brings you in?" Bella brushed flour from her hands.
"I'm working with Brock today. He is a great kid. I want you to meet my angels. They helped me with my wheelchair. This is..."
"I'm Garrick and this is Myles."
"They are having lunch with me in the break room." Nephi had offered lunch to homeless people before. Nephi pointed them toward the employee bathroom. "Wash and I'll make us lunch."
Nephi pulled his apron over his head and latex gloves on his hands. He introduced himself to the woman manning the counter. It wasn't too busy. So, he wasn't in her way.
The tall work surfaces posed a challenge for Nephi. Bella watched Nephi struggle to accomplish what he once could do easily. She wanted to help; Margaret had warned the family to wait until asked.
"Would you scoop the chicken salad?" Nephi asked. The cold sandwich makings were out of reach. With the three fresh ciabatta buns filled with all the trimmings and plated with potato salad, Nephi retrieved three single serve cartons of milk from the cooler. Nephi paid for the meals.
The tray rested on his legs as he returned to the break room. Garrick and Myles exited the restroom much cleaner. "We hope you don't mind we used the shower." Myles announced. "We left it clean."
With everyone served. Nephi excused himself to use the restroom. The men left the restroom spotless, telling Nephi a lot about their character.
When he returned, the food had disappeared from the plates. He forced his sandwich upon the pair.
"How would you like a job? I have a friend looking for help. Are you averse to farm work? The pay isn't a lot, but it comes with room and board." Nephi hadn't waited for answers to his questions.
He handed the pair a twenty-dollar bill and an address. "This is yours; when you arrive, there will be another twenty." Nephi handed the pair a handful of change for bus fare and another ten. "Take the State Street bus to 45th. Be sure to get a transfer slip. Stop at the thrift store and get clean clothes. I suppose you would prefer new but I shop at the thrift store for my clothes. Take the 45th Street bus to Seventh."
Nephi handed them a note. It had an address and a cryptic message.
Nephi sent the pair on their way and picked up the phone. "Benny, I hope we can afford two more farm hands. I sent two homeless vets to your office. When they show up, I promised them a twenty-dollar bill. Call Clarke and have him interview them. It's his decision, but they belong at Samaria."
Nephi hung up the phone as Brock entered the bakery. Brock hugged his cousin. Nephi didn't pull away making Brock smile.
"What are you doing here?" Brock asked.
"Creating artistic desserts. They're fun and earn better tips."
Brock looked to his older sister for validation. "Don't look at me. Nephi is the artist. He has even been the dessert chef for an exclusive resort." Bella didn't add it had been for less than a week.
"Everything we make can be blah or extraordinary. Extraordinary doesn't take much longer and the customers tip more." Brock appreciated the tips he had made the previous night.
This face had haunted Clarke's dreams. He was once again under the truck with the wounded soldier he had dragged to safety. The screams of the wounded and the screech of bullets overhead filled his ears. He pressed a handkerchief his mother had given him against the boy's wound. He watched the medics load him into an ambulance.
"Clarke! Clarke, Come back to us!" Benny shook his shoulder.
Tears filled his eyes. "How does Nephi do this?" Clarke looked to Benny for answers. Benny shrugged, not sure what Clarke was asking.
Clarke turned to Myles. He could see the faint shadow of a tattoo on Myles' chest. "Myles why do you have a crucifix on your chest?" Clarke asked.
"I was in a convoy when the lead vehicle exploded. The bullet wound should have killed me is the center of the tattoo. A chaplain pulled me under a truck and stopped the bleeding. I didn't see his face. I remember his prayers. To this day I believe his intervention saved me." Tears flowed across Myles face. "I tried to find him but there wasn't a chaplain on the convoy."
Clarke remembered catching a spare seat. The convoy's destination was a camp that hadn't seen a chaplain in months. Clarke could minister to the camp and catch the next convoy back. There was no record of him on the ill-fated trip.
Clarke pulled himself together and began the interview. He learned of the pair's background. This was before the time of `Don't Ask - Don't Tell.' Myles had been a mechanic in the motor pool. Garrick claimed there wasn't an engine Myles couldn't take apart and put back together. An inoperable vehicle required Myles attention. Garrick drew the short straw to transport Myles five miles through the jungle.
As bombs fell, they built an intimate friendship huddled under the roots of a tree.
After the ill-fated convoy Garrick missed Myles as he recovered. A medical discharge waited for Myles. Garrick's enlistment had reached its end. The fates smiled on the pair. They flew home together. Myles and Garrick spent a month camping on the beach, enjoying each other's company.
They attended a traveling carnival. A critical generator and the backup had failed. Their mechanic had quit. Myles fiddled with it for ten minutes and had it running before they needed it for the night. They offered him a job. Myles accept if they included Garrick. The carnival always needed help. They traveled with the carnival for the spring and summer. A carny had swapped Myles his tattoo for an oil change. In a small town in Utah the carnival packed and took a month off. They were on their own. The carnival had paid in cash. Myles and Garrick turned to odd jobs and living on the street.
Clarke explained what he needed. Between the farm and the landscaping business, equipment always needed service. Garrick had spent summers on his grandfather's farm. Myles suffered from PTSD. Crowds could push him over the edge.
"Benny, did you give them their twenty dollars?" Benny handed them a twenty-dollar bill. "I'm taking them to the compound. We will talk later." Clarke realized he would hire them the moment he had seen Myles again. He couldn't save the boy's life and now lose his soul.
Benny handed Clarke a hundred dollars. "Get the basics. You know what they will need."
The size of the compound surprised Garrick. They didn't have time for niceties. "I am assuming you would prefer a queen bed. This room will be yours to share. The clothes you're wearing will work for chores. We eat with the family.
Garrick helped a teen named Phil with the milking. Clarke had conscripted Kenton and Jared to introduce Myles to fence repair. They were both surprised everyone helped with evening chores. Little kids were feeding and watering the smaller animals.
The fence crew came in when the radio worn on Jared's belt reminded them of dinner. "We didn't finish." Myles noted.
"Fence repair is a constant on a farm the size of ours." Kenton shared.
They rode the utility truck back to the barn. "Get showered and dressed you have about fifteen minutes before dinner in the main house." Jared suggested.
Myles looked around the compound. The main house was obvious. It wasn't any nicer than the rest of the compound, it was taller.
There wasn't much time. Myles offered to share the large shower stall with Garrick. Myles promised a leisurely shower later.
Dressed they heard the dinner gong. They followed the crowd. Other house members introduced themselves as they shared the walk to dinner. Jared pointed them to a spot across from Clarke. Clarke wasn't sitting at the head of the table. Wasn't he the boss?
The head of the table was vacant. The boy next to Myles leaned into him. "We always worry when the boss makes a grand entry. It means family council after."
"Ezekiel, be nice. Family council isn't awful."
"That's my mom, Sariah. My name is Zeke. Welcome to Samaria."
Everyone stood. Nephi rolled to the head of the table. Garrick could see the effort it took for Nephi to stand. The young man with him replaced the wheel chair with a regular chair. Nephi pulled Jerome into a sideward hug and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you, Jerome." Nephi turned to his family. "This is Garrick and Myles. Their past intertwines with a member of our family. Remember no prying. When they wish to share, they may."
"We will discuss turning the other cheek over dessert. Uncle Bertram sent something special." Nephi announced. "Clarke as family chaplain would you pray." The request puzzled Clarke. He had prayed at breakfast and Nephi never called him chaplain.
Nephi bowed his head. Family members held hands around the table. Jerome and a little one didn't as much hold Nephi's hand as put theirs on top of his. Garrick noticed Nephi was holding onto something to keep him standing.
With eyes closed and head bowed Myles listened to the blessing on the food and the family. Tears flowed. Deep sobs wracked his body. As Clarke said amen, Myles looked into Clarke's eyes. "It was you." Clarke smiled.
"Please sit and enjoy dinner while it is hot." Nephi interrupted.
"He means he is getting tired trying to look like standing there is easy." Zeke quipped.
"Ezekiel you are pushing the limits of good behavior." Sariah responded.
Nephi lowered himself into his chair. "He may not be polite, but he is right Sariah."
Garrick enjoyed the first home cooked meal he had eaten in months. This place raised many questions. The two young boys sitting next to Myles were feeding each other pieces of chicken. "Jerome," Jared whined. "They are doing it again."
Jerome answered by offering Nephi a piece of curried chicken. Phil offered Ester a piece of his chicken.
Sariah interrupted the feeding frenzy. "Garrick, do you like the chicken curry?"
"It's not chicken." The little boy next to Nephi interrupted. "It's those two damn roosters."
"Jerry who called them damn roosters?" Nephi asked.
Rebecca answered. "I didn't mind wringing their damn wicked necks. They were mean in the run but delicious on the plate."
All serious conversation ended. No one could outdo Rebecca's last comment.
As dinner ended. Nephi looked out over the table. "Because of our guests we will postpone our discussion of turning the other cheek until tomorrow. Jerome has an idea he wants the family to consider. Sariah will serve the dessert at the pool afterwards. Garrick and Myles, the guys will find you suits."
"Speedo-Night," Zeke shouted. Myles panicked. He wasn't sure about showing the physical scars left from Vietnam.
Jerome shared an article he found in an agribusiness magazine. It involved creating a maze out of the corn field and other family fun activities. "The lawyers have arranged for the permits. I expect your great ideas tomorrow at breakfast. Tonight, I'm ready for a swim and dessert. Myles and Garrick if you would come with Nephi and me?"
The new residents worried about what Nephi had to say. Nephi rolled to the dresser and found a pair of blue shorts suitable for swimming and tossed them to Garrick. "These are loose on me. They should fit you fine. These yellow shorts should work for you Myles."
Jerome offered Myles a black t-shirt. "This one won't go transparent when it gets wet."
"The farm is an important income source for Samaria. Clarke needs help, and you are the ones for the job. We will talk next week if you want to stay." Nephi suggested.
"This is overwhelming. Nephi would say the Lord brought you here. Put on your suits and hang out with the family. Give yourself time to find out why." Jerome suggested.
"I'm not sure I believe there is a god." Garrick responded.
"He believes in you and that is enough." Nephi answered.
As the pair changed into the borrowed swimming suits, they discussed the pair of young guys who welcomed them into their home. "Nephi is unnerving. He makes me almost believe in reincarnation." Myles mused.
"He looks young but has an old soul with lifetimes of experience." Garrick offered.
It had started in the army after a near death experience. The world around Garrick would fade away. Some would call it an out-of-body experience. He couldn't predict what would trigger an episode. ---------- Garrick observed unseen as four guys beat upon a shorter man. "This is what a sick faggot like you deserves. Maybe we will let you live, this time.
They took his wallet and smashed the groceries he was carrying. The beaten, bloody man pulled himself off the sidewalk.
Well-dressed people in their designer suits and dresses ignored the beaten man leaning on the dumpster. A dirty man in a torn shirt and pants came into Garrick's view. He walked with a painful limp leaning on a knobby tree branch to steady his gait. He knelt and offered the victim a drink from a water bottle. The kneeling man tore multiple lengths of white fabric from his t-shirt. With the water from his bottle he bathed and bound the victim's wounds.
Unable to interact with the scene before him Garrick wondered. "Who is this man?"
The tattered man turned and captured Garrick's gaze. Unable to break the connection Garrick could see the into the depths of eternity in the man's eyes. The same scenario replayed over and over, a beaten man in robes, a black man lying at the base of a burning cross. a child sold into prostitution, a wounded soldier alone on a battle field.
"Why?" Garrick thought.
The man turned away freeing Garrick from his gaze. "It has been so since the beginning and will be so until the end. Will you finish the work I have here begun?"
The man turned away freeing Garrick from his gaze. The tattered man may have had middle eastern features, but it was unmistakably Nephi. They all were Nephi. Garrick lifted the dirty and bloody body.
"Carry him to Samaria, where together we will make him whole." It wasn't a command, but a promise tendered with compassion. Garrick looked at his bruised burden into the face of his best friend.
"Garrick, are you all right? You zoned out again." Myles' concern for his friend and partner were obvious.
"Myles, we need to be here. I'll tell you about it later." Garrick told his friend.
"You always say I'll tell you later but you never do. I agree we need to be here. The mysterious Chaplain who saved my life said grace at dinner."
Nephi sat in his chair wearing only shorts enjoying the last of the summer's sunshine and watching the family having fun. Garrick and Myles arrived. Garrick pulled Clarke into a tight hug. "How can I thank you? I am honored to work for the man that saved my best friend."
"Garrick, here of all places you can acknowledge Myles as your partner. Try saying it." Clarke suggested.
Garrick took Myles' hand in his. "This is Myles, my partner."
"And?" Clarke prompted.
"And I love him more than life itself." Garrick finished.
"Now kiss him!" Rafe pushed.
Garrick leaned in and gave his partner a kiss on the cheek.
"I am disappointed; this is a kiss." Rafe took the Speedo clad Zeke in his arms. Leaned him backwards into a kiss of passion that would rival any kiss on the silver screen.
Garrick leaned into Myles. It was a first kiss. The first kiss without fear of reprisal. Rafe and Zeke hadn't yet come up for air. Jared gave them the smallest of pushes and they toppled into the pool.
Jared smiled. "I suggest you take this to your room. No one will care.".
Garrick took Myles' hand. The pair ran from the pool area laughing like newlyweds.
There was one more announcement. Jerry put his hand on Sariah's stomach. "When is my little brother coming?"
Sariah looked shocked. "How can he know? I found out this morning."
"So, when is he coming?" Jerry asked again.
"In June, but it might be a girl." Sariah answered.
"It's a boy. His name is Neil." Jerry announced with confidence.
"Clarke, it looks like congratulations are in order." Nephi announced.
"Don't look at me. It's not mine." Clarke protested.
Nephi looked at Sariah. "This isn't how we planned on telling you, but it's yours."
"How?" Nephi began, paused and continued. "The condoms!"
"Right, now we can both stop using them," Clarke exclaimed.
After a round of congratulations, the front gate chimed. Nephi checked the monitor to find Brock at the gate. "May I stay here tonight?" Nephi buzzed the gate open. Nephi checked the map on the wall. He'd give Brock the room by Phil and Ester. There was still plenty of room but they were filling up. What would they do when there was no more room at the inn? Nephi shook his head wondering where that thought had come from.
Nephi gave Bella a quick call. "Have you lost something?"
"Please tell me he is with you so I can quit worrying. Brock and my boyfriend had a fight about money. He accused Brock of taking my money. As much as Mom didn't like gay guys, she left the finances in Benny's hands. As long as Brock is in school he gets a Social Security check to cover his expenses. I had to explain Brock is more than paying his way."
"Brock asked to stay the night. We will see what happens tomorrow." Nephi answered.
Nephi met Brock at the gate. He rolled to Brock's temporary room and handed him a key. "Sleep well. It gets a little noisy around 6:30 when the household does chores."
Brock wasn't too sure he liked the sound of chores. He looked through his room and threw his bag in a corner. He wanted a shower and hit the sack.