William Redman Carter: Chapter 10

Posted: October 22, 2005 - 11:52:22 pm



The place they chose to eat was a standard small town high-end restaurant.

Wooden tables covered with white table clothes and surrounded by heavy chairs

were distributed across a red carpeted dinning room. Wood paneling, decorated

with the paintings by a local artist, was intended to give it a high-class old

world feel. The attempt failed just enough to be noticeable.

The party of five followed the waitress to the large round table that was

predictably placed in the corner of the room. When they reached the table,

William said, "Please allow Ken to sit in the corner."

Surprised by the request, Mr. Wilkins asked, "Why?"

"I'm not only his driver, but I also am his bodyguard. I need to watch the

room," answered Ken.

At the serious expression on Ken's face, William teasingly said, "Actually, the

reason he is so diligent is that he's terrified that Momma Ling will come in and

find that he isn't doing his job."

"You can say that again," Ken muttered as he took his seat.

William sat down next to Ken with Lucy on his other side. Mr. Wilkins sat across

from William. Mrs. Wilkins sat between her husband and daughter with a smile on

her face. She liked William. Looking at Lucy, she said, "You two make a cute

couple."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wilkins," William said nodding in her direction. He wanted to

say that he thought the same thing, but Lucy's father hadn't yet come to accept

him.

"Call me Ann."

Surprising Lucy, William, in a teasing manner, said, "I think I'd rather call

you Mrs. Wilkins until I can call you mom."

Frowning at the joke, Mr. Wilkins asked, "So you drove all the way down here to

tell us that you are dating my little girl?"

"As much as I would like to say yes, the truth is that I came here for a very

different reason," answered William. His voice was suddenly very serious and

demanded their attention.

"What is that?"

"Your daughter is in caught up in a very unpleasant situation at the university.

I would like to help correct that situation. I came here to get your permission

to allow me to help her."

Leaning forward, Mr. Wilkins had stopped listening as soon as he heard William

mention something about an unpleasant situation. He asked, "What kind of

situation?"

Looking at William for a second, Lucy answered, "My roommate is a horrible

person."

"Missy? What's wrong with her?" asked Mrs. Wilkins in surprise. Every time they

had been on the campus, Missy had been very nice and well mannered.

"She's nice around you guys, but when I'm there alone," her voice trailed off as

she searched for the right way to say what needed to be said. She blurted out,

"She's a bitch. I didn't lose the sweater you gave me for Christmas, she

destroyed it. She's destroyed half of my clothes. She borrows them without

asking and then returns them damaged."

"What?" asked Ann, her voice rising.

Once she had started, she couldn't stop. Lucy said, "Today I came home and she

was having sex with a man on my bed! She laughed at me when I yelled at her.

She's been doing stuff like that ever since I started school."

Lucy broke down and started crying. William put his arm around her and hugged

her. He whispered in her ear, "Don't cry. Everything is going to be okay."

Her father's face was purple with rage. The idea that someone would have sex in

his little girl's bed infuriated him. He hadn't wanted her to go off to college

because he knew something like that was going to happen. It was only after

constant badgering by his wife and daughter that he had given into the whole

idea. Barely able to keep his voice below a bellow, he asked, "Why didn't you

tell us this earlier?"

In a calm voice, William asked, "What would you have done if she had told you?"

"I'd have brought her home where she'd be safe!" There was a not so subtle

challenge in the way he said it.

"You know what, I agree that she would have been much safer at home," said

William disarming Mr. Wilkins. He earned a very dirty look from Lucy and her

mother. They couldn't believe that William would take the position that he was

taking.

"So you agree with me?" asked Mr. Wilkins equally surprised.

"Yes, I do agree with you. She'd have been much safer here than sharing a room

with Missy. I really hate to think of the kinds of things that could have

happened to her," William said. It was clear to him that the roommate wanted to

destroy Lucy's innocence. For all he knew, rape would have been the next step.

William picked up the fork and started to polish it with his napkin. In an

off-hand voice, he said, "I know she was pretty unhappy about what was going on

in her room, too."

"You bet she was," said Mr. Wilkins. He wondered if William had brought her here

to convince her to return home. His respect for the young man rose a notch.

"You know, it makes me wonder. She must have been pretty happy about something

to be able to put up with such a horrible situation for so long," William said.

He put down the fork and picked up a spoon. After wiping it for a few seconds,

he paused and looked up at the ceiling with thoughtful expression. He asked,

"What do you think made her that happy?"

"Going to school, of course." A sudden silence fell upon the group when Mr.

Wilkins understood what he had just said. He looked across the table at Lucy

with an apologetic expression on his face. In a much softer tone of voice, he

said, "I'm sorry, pumpkin. I guess I have a hard time understanding how

important education is for you. I mean, going to school for me was a way to make

a good living. For you, it's a passion."

"That's okay," Lucy said.

Ann was staring at William unable to believe what he had done. After years of

talking to her husband, she had never gotten him to understand their daughter's

need to learn. In less than two minutes, William had led her husband to the

desired conclusion.

Nodding his head, William said, "A passion -- I like the sound of that. She has

a passion for learning. Of course, that leaves us with a horrible problem."

"Yeah. How do we keep her safe?"

William put the spoon and napkin down on the table. Sitting back, he said, "I

went to the Director of Student Housing and asked her essentially the same

thing. We considered a couple of possibilities. One, was that she move in with a

woman who is having emotional problems."

"No way," said Mr. Wilkins. The last thing he wanted was some crazy woman

killing his daughter.

"That goes without saying, but it did make me think about her situation in a

different light. I actually think Lucy shouldn't share a room with a woman who

is four or five years older than she is. It puts her at a significant

disadvantage socially," William said while looking at Mr. Wilkins.

Frowning, Ann said, "I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. I guess I

hoped that her roommate would watch over her like a little sister."

Lucy watched as her father went into his problem-solving mode. Frowning, he

said, "So what options do you think are left?"

"Well, you could have her move back home," said William opening a door that Lucy

wanted closed. It earned him another worried look from her.

"True," said her father. One look at Lucy and he knew that solution was not

going to be accepted. He had already fought that battle and lost. He said, "I

don't think she would be very happy about that."

"I know they have a private room available. What do you think about her not

having a room mate?" William asked.

Mr. Wilkins narrowed his eyes as he examined William. He was convinced that

William was going to find some reason for her not to live alone and that the

only solution was for her to live with him. That solution was not going to be an

option. He thought about his daughter living on campus in a single room. It

wasn't that bad of a solution. He said, "That's a possibility."

Lucy and Ann stared at him unable to believe what he had just said. Ann was

about to say that they couldn't afford it, when Lucy said, "It's too expensive."

"What is too expensive is often a matter of perspective," said William.

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Wilkins, let me ask you a question. Assume for the moment that I make a

hundred dollars a week. What would you think if I were to spend twenty dollars

taking Lucy on a date?" William reached over to the sugar container and pulled

out a handful of sugar packets. He set ten of them on the table and then pulled

two of them off to the side.

"I guess I would have to say that is a reasonable amount of money to spend on a

date considering today's economy," answered Mr. Wilkins watching William

arranging the sugar packets.

"Yeah, but that would be about twenty percent of my income for a week," William

said pointing to the two sugar packets he had pulled away. Shrugging, he pointed

to the other eight and said, "However, it still leaves me eighty percent of my

income to spend on food, clothing, and other essentials. I could probably even

save ten or twenty dollars if I'm careful."

"Yes."

William tore open one of the sugar packets and poured the contents onto the

table. Pointing to the pile in an offhand manner, he said, "Assume for the

moment that I make thirty thousand dollars a week. What would you think if I

were to spend a thousand dollars to make sure that Lucy was safe?"

Mr. Wilkins stared at William and then at the pile of sugar. He watched as

William cut out a very small amount of sugar from the pile. Finally, he said,

"That's a lot of money."

"Yeah, but that would be about three percent of my income for a week," William

said pointing to the sprinkling of sugar he had removed from the pile. Looking

up at Lucy's father, William said, "It is all relative. I know that twenty

dollars doesn't seem like much while a thousand seems like a lot. Yet for the

guy who makes a hundred a week, twenty dollars is a lot of money. For someone

with a lot of money, a thousand dollars is very little."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm willing to spend every dime I have to make sure that Lucy is happy and that

she is safe," William answered. He could see that Mr. Wilkins was feeling

insulted. He held up his hands palms outward and said, "May I say one more thing

before you judge me?"

"Sure."

"My family measures a man's worth by his actions, not by the size of his wallet.

None of my fathers started rich. John Carter was a college student who had just

graduated with his doctorate when he invented the Fusion Well. Ed Biggers was a

cowboy. Leroy was a college student from a poor neighborhood. Dan Biggerstaff

was a design engineer. All of them work hard. They worked hard when they were

young and they continue to work hard to this day.

"All of them give away the majority of money they earn. John Carter gave away

ninety-five percent of the money he made off his inventions. Ed Biggers gives

away about the same percentage of what he earns. Leroy has never made a lot of

money, but he essentially funded the majority of research into Chronic Wasting

Disease. Almost a tenth of the computers produced by Random Computers are given

to schools and nonprofit organizations.

"I have worked since I was six. When I was at the Native American College, I

worked in the library for minimum wage. I have been running an investment

company ever since I turned nine. I respect people who work hard, strive to make

a nice life for their family, and help others in whatever manner they can. My

best friend earns a little more than eighteen thousand a year, but donates the

majority of his time to helping his community.

"I'll admit that I started with a good amount of money, but I've given away more

money than I ever inherited. I give to alcohol rehabilitation clinics, job

training centers, and hospitals. This year alone I've given away more than

twenty million dollars," William said.

The amount of money that William was describing was making his head spin. Mr.

Wilkins couldn't believe that a kid was talking in terms of giving away millions

of dollars. It made him feel small.

William said, "Lucy has told me that you support a little league baseball team

through the hardware store that you own. She said that you donated materials for

repairs to the church. Am I mistaken in my belief that there have been a few

customers who you've helped to recover from some personal tragedy?"

"No, you're not mistaken," said Mr. Wilkins.

"Speaking man to man, you have earned my respect by such actions. Never allow

the difference in our incomes make you think otherwise. Do not be concerned

about accepting help from me if I can provide it and you need it. Believe me, I

will definitely call upon you if I think that you can help me regardless of

whether you accept my offer."

Mr. Wilkins snorted and said, "Like I could ever help you."

Sighing, William said, "No man is an island. Human beings need each other to

become the best people they can be. In some cases, money can solve a problem.

However, the percentage of problems that can be solved by money is very small.

Most problems require a person on the scene. My father realized that he could do

very little to help people as a single person. He started the Fusion Foundation

so that his money could be used to mobilize thousands of people to help millions

of people."

"You wonder if you can help me. I assure you that you can. You can participate

in my job-training program in which one of my charities pays the salary of an

employee while you train them. You can help me double check that I'm not wasting

my money on construction goods when I donate to reconstruction programs. There

are so many people who would take advantage of me that you wouldn't believe it.

I need good people who can protect me from them," William said.

Mr. Wilkins was silent as he considered what William said. When put in terms of

helping each other, the offer of money was much less insulting. William turned

to Ken and said, "I need to use the restroom."

Standing, William left the table in search of a restroom. Ken sat at the table

for a moment trying to figure out what William meant when he announced his need

to use the bathroom. Suddenly, it dawned on him that William had tried to tell

him they should leave the family alone to talk. Standing, he said, "Excuse me. I

have bodyguard duties to attend to."

Alone at the table, the family members looked at each other. Mr. Wilkins was

trying hard to decide what he thought about William's offer. He looked at Lucy

and said, "I never thought that when you found a boy that we'd have a talk like

this."

"He is a little overwhelming at times," Lucy said.

Concerned by her daughter's admission, Ann asked, "Has he tried to pressure you

into anything?"

"Huh?"

"You know. Has he tried to get you to sleep with him?"

"He hasn't even tried to kiss me yet. This is our first date," Lucy said as a

small smile crossed her face. She said, "I think he's afraid of scaring me

away."

Mr. Wilkins thought about the situation. He agreed with most of the things that

William had said about the value of a person. Shaking his head, he returned to

the central problem. Looking at his wife, he asked, "Can we afford to pay for a

private room?"

When she didn't answer right away, he said, "Give it to me straight and don't

worry about hurting my feelings."

Ann looked at down at the table and answered, "Not really. Even with the

scholarship money, we have just been covering our bills."

Biting her lower lip, Lucy looked from her father to her mother. She knew her

future in college depended upon their decision. The problem was that she didn't

think her father would accept financial help from William. She was not surprised

when her father said, "I don't want to accept charity."

Lucy slumped in her seat. Her mother said, "So I guess you won't accept his

offer."

"It wasn't an offer of charity that he made," said Mr. Wilkins. William was

offering to help him with his need while asking him to help William with his

need. Throwing up his hands, he said, "I need to think about it."

When William and Ken returned to the table, the waitress came over to take their

order. The rest of the meal was of a more relaxed nature. William asked

questions about the town and the people living there. His interest was genuine

and his open interest was obvious to all at the table.

Throughout the meal, Ken thought about what William had said about his family.

Until William had hired him, he had been so busy taking care of his family that

he hadn't given much thought to the bigger picture. He had dropped change in the

charity jar at the convenience store, but he hadn't really participated in

helping others.

They were returning to the Wilkins house when William exclaimed, "Ken, pull into

the Dairy Queen."

"What?"

"Pull into the Dairy Queen. I just spotted someone I know," William said in a

very excited tone of voice. He was pointing to a roach coach parked in front of

the fast food place.

Ken pulled into the parking lot. William turned to the Wilkins family and said,

"Come on. I want to introduce you to someone."

Pausing only to help Lucy out of the Hugger, William raced over to the truck. A

disheveled man walked around the side and spotted William. Smiling, he said,

"Hey, Half Feather. It's been a while since I've seen you."

Considering the kinds of nicknames that the street people could have given him,

William always found it amusing that they had selected Half Feather. He

answered, "I'm surprised to run into you here, Bottle Cap."

The Wilkins family and Ken walked over to William. Mr. Wilkins frowned at the

sight of the homeless man talking to William. Noticing their arrival, William

said, "Let me perform the introductions. This is Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins. The young

lady is Lucy Wilkins. The guy standing over there, trying to look tough, is Ken

Armstrong. Everyone this is Bottle Cap."

Nodding his head, Bottle Cap said, "Pleased to meet you."

Everyone else mumbled his or her replies, rather surprised to be introduced to

the man. William asked, "So where is Happy Harry?"

"He can't resist a cone of soft ice cream. He'll be out in a minute," answered

Bottle Cap pointing back at that Dairy Queen.

Mr. Atkins sidled up to Ken and asked, "Do you know anything about this guy?"

"Nothing," answered Ken with a frown and a shake of his head.

Happy Harry stepped out from behind the truck and spotted William. In a loud

voice, he said, "Well. If it isn't Half Feather! How are you doing?"

The sudden appearance of the green robed Druid captured everyone's attention.

Looking over Harry, William said, "You're looking fit, Happy Harry. What are you

doing here?"

"I'm taking Bottle Cap down to Pittsburgh so that he can take over the daily

operations of the Homeless Hotel there," answered Harry. His words caused

everyone to re-evaluate Bottle Cap.

William turned to Bottle Cap and said, "Congratulations, Bottle Cap. It is good

to know that Pittsburgh will be in good hands from now on."

"Thanks. Happy Harry has been showing me the ropes."

Harry paused and looked at Lucy for a second. He handed one of the ice cream

cones he was carrying to Bottle Cap. Walking over to the young woman, he said,

"I see that William has finally found you after all these years of searching.

This is glorious news indeed. Tell me young lady, has he sung love songs to

you?"

"Uh, no," answered Lucy surprised by the question.

"Ah, poor William is totally hopeless when it comes to wooing a young lady. I've

tried to teach him love songs, but he can't carry a tune to save his life.

You're probably better off that he doesn't sing. Have patience with him for he

has a feeble voice."

Lucy was laughing at the comment. Ann giggled at the idea of wooing by singing

love songs. Harry stepped up to her and made a huge production out of kissing

her hand. He said, "I can see where the light of William's life gets her

beauty."

Turning to Mr. Atkins, he said, "If I were a younger man, I would be outside

your window on bended knee, singing love songs to your wife in the hopes of

stealing her away from you. The pity is that I'm old and can't kneel down. So

you'll have to excuse me if I stand while I sing."

Looking over at Ken, Happy Harry took in the tense stance, frown, and narrowed

eyes. Winking at William, he said, "This is clearly a man who has met Ling. I

fear that it will take years before he can smile again. Never fear young man, we

all recover from meeting Ling."

Laughing, William said, "You're impossible, Harry. Allow me to provide

introductions. The young lady is Lucy. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins. And

the gentleman who has met Ling is Ken."

Turning to everyone else, William said, "If you haven't guessed, this rascal is

Happy Harry, last of the hoboes."

Happy Harry went over to William and hugged him. Looking down at the young man,

he said, "It's good to see you, William Redman Carter."

Looking at the ice cream cone, William asked, "How is the ice cream here?"

Harry took a long lick of his ice cream and gave a look as if he had just tasted

heaven. He laughed at the expression on William's face and said, "As much as I

like your parents, I fear they did a poor job of introducing you to the

pleasures of fast food. I invite all of you inside for a treat."

Putting an arm around Ann's shoulders, Harry led the Wilkins family into the

Dairy Queen. William and Lucy raced ahead followed closely by Ken. As Harry

walked, he spoke to Mr. Wilkins. "It is good that William has finally found his

lady love. Perhaps now he'll be a little happier."

"Happier?" asked Mr. Wilkins.

"I hope that you'll show him some of the things that he's missed out on. I'm

approaching eighty years old and there are times when I feel young compared to

William. It's a tragedy really."

Looking at Harry, Ann asked, "Tragedy?"

"Yes. William sees the future. It has made him far older than he really is,"

said Harry with a sad shake of his head. Gesturing towards the young couple with

his cone, he added, "He's described Lucy so many times in the past that I would

have recognized her even if he hadn't been around. He's been waiting twelve

years to meet her."

"You're kidding?" asked Mr. Wilkins amazed at what the Druid was saying.

"No, I'm not. I love him like a son. I must admit that I'm going to miss having

him around this summer," said Harry.

"Miss him?" asked Ann.

"Oh, William has worked with me every summer since he graduated from the Druid

College. He's going to work through the summer at the college this year."

Recalling William saying that he worked, Mr. Wilkins asked, "What kind of job

did he have for you?"

"Job? He was a volunteer, just like all the other Carter Kids."

"So what did he do?"

"Why he helped take care of the homeless, of course."

The entered the Dairy Queen in time to hear Bottle Cap tell Lucy, "Lucy

Diamonds, if you are ever in trouble, just find one of the homeless and tell

them who you are. They'll keep you safe, sound, and fed. There ain't a man out

on the street that will let the girlfriend of Half Feather suffer."