William Redman Carter: Chapter 9

Posted: October 17, 2005 - 08:51:22 pm



Like a man on a mission, William marched into the office of the Director of

Student Housing. The sign on the door identified the occupant as Mary Dove, but

he didn't give any thought to the name other than to remember it. On entering

her office, he was surprised to discover that the director was a woman of Native

American ancestry. It was obvious by her features and by the decorations in the

room. Hand carved artwork, weavings, and paintings hung on the walls. Framed on

the wall was the cover of a national magazine with his picture on it.

While William was surprised, Mary Dove was absolutely shocked to see him walk

into her office. Excited, she said, "You're him! You're Talks With Animals!"

"Yes, I am," said William wondering if he was going to get that same reaction

from every Native American he met. He glanced at the magazine cover and wondered

how many Native Americans had copies of it hanging on their walls. As far as he

was concerned, one was too many.

"My cousin was there with you," she exclaimed.

"Who is your cousin?" asked William. He noticed there was a poster on the wall

that told how the Lenape became known as the Delaware. He'd heard the story at

the Native American College and recalling the story brought smile to his face.

"Sam Iron Bear," she replied with pride. The fact that a member of her family

had participated in such an important event for her people was a source of

considerable pride.

It took William a second to remember the man. He had been one of the men who had

been injured in the explosion. He said, "He broke a couple of ribs."

"That's what he says, but he didn't have any broken ribs when he came home."

Nodding his agreement, he said, "My mother healed all those who were injured. It

took her a couple of days to get to everyone."

Mary Dove looked at William wondering how his mother had managed to heal broken

bones over the course of a couple days. It took her a moment to decide that it

didn't matter. If he said she did it, then she did it. That was all the proof

that she needed. She couldn't get over the fact that he was actually sitting in

her office. She asked, "What can I do for you?"

"You can take care of a housing problem for me," William answered. He knew that

the problem would get resolved, but he hoped that it would be for the right

reason.

"What problem?"

"A young lady is having significant problems with her roommate."

Mary Dove frowned at his statement. She had that complaint at least three times

a day, particularly from Freshman learning to live with others for the first

time. "That's a common complaint and we can't move students around because they

have problems with their roommates. I'm really sorry, but there is nothing I can

do for you."

Taking a seat, William said, "The young lady is fifteen years old. Today, she

caught her roommate having sex on her bed. While I am not concerned about the

sex, the roommate's actions have put her at risk to disease. It is also a direct

attack on her innocence.

"People need a space that is theirs, but the roommate violates her space with

great regularity. It is a very subtle form of abuse.

"Her roommate has destroyed clothes belonging to this young lady. It increases

the cost that must be born by the young woman. It increases the pressures under

which she must live and study. It can impact her grades. That is harm.

"Now, I believe that we must protect the weak from the strong. A

fifteen-year-old woman in a room with a nineteen or twenty year old woman is at

a significant disadvantage. We must act to protect her. I will not buy the

argument that she must learn how to handle people like that at some time.

Demanding that the weak get tougher without support is a fallacious stance that

does great harm," William said.

"I am aware that you are also a graduate of the Druid College," said Mary Dove

recognizing the philosophy that he was using as the basis for his argument. She

also had to admit that a very unbalanced dynamic was at work against the young

woman.

"So you know why I say we have to act," said William.

She turned to her computer and started looking up the rooms available. After a

few minutes, she said, "I've got one private dorm, but it is a lot more

expensive than a shared dorm room. There are a couple of two person rooms, but

I'm not sure those would be any better for her. A bipolar woman who stopped

taking her medicine occupies one of them. A man occupies another room."

"Put her in the private dorm room. I'll pay the difference," William said

knowing that he could afford to have an entire dorm facility built for her. He

was willing to pay whatever was required.

Mary Dove looked at the screen. She wanted to help William, but she was

unwilling to violate the law. She said, "You say that she's fifteen."

"Yes."

"I have to get her parent's permission to move her," said Mary Dove. She

wondered if the money given by William could affect the financial support being

received by the girl. She asked, "What's her name?"

"Lucille Desi Wilkins," answered William wondering how many fifteen-year-old

students there were on the campus. It took him a few seconds to realize that

Mary probably knew very few of the students by name. That was particularly true

for students who were not a problem.

Mary's fingers flew across the keyboard as she brought up contact information.

It took her a minute to find the necessary contact data. She looked up at

William and saw that she was there on a scholarship. The scholarship did not

cover room, board, or books. She asked, "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"Yes," answered William.

"I'll have to tell them where the money is coming from."

The idea of telling her parents that their daughter's boyfriend was willing to

pay to get their daughter into a private room wasn't exactly how he wanted to

start his relationship with Lucy. He asked, "Where do her parents live?"

"They live in Harmony. It's a little town halfway between here and Pittsburgh."

Coming to the decision that he needed to speak with her parents, William got out

his cell phone and called Ken. When the man answered, William asked him to gas

up the Hugger and come get him from the school. He told him that they were going

to drive to Harmony that evening.

Looking up at Mary Dove, William said, "I would appreciate it if you would wait

to make that call until tomorrow morning. We're going to see her parents."

"We?" she asked wondering if he was including her in the trip.

"Lucy and I," said William.

"Okay," said Mary Dove. She took a moment to jot down information about Lucy so

that she could easily call up the account the next day.

"I had better break the news to Lucy," said William standing. He glanced at the

magazine cover with his picture on it and frowned.

"See you tomorrow," said Mary Dove. She couldn't wait to get on the telephone

and tell her family that she had met Talks With Animals.

William stepped out of the director's office and threaded his way to the front

office. Looking pensive, Lucy was waiting for him expecting to hear that he was

in trouble. She'd been terrified when he had just walked past the receptionist's

desk. Not knowing what to do, she had taken a seat to wait for him to get kicked

out. Worried, she asked, "What happened?"

"Well, we found a solution but we need to meet with your parents," said William.

The news that her parents would have to be involved concerned her. She didn't

want them to have to drive all the way from Harmony, but she was really tired of

her roommate's abuse. Of course, her father would probably require her to leave

the school. Licking her lips, she said, "They could maybe come here this

weekend."

"Oh, no. We'll drive down there tonight," William said not wanting her to stay

in that room any more time than necessary.

"Tonight? Drive?"

"I have a driver and he'll take us down there. We should arrive in time for

dinner. I did ask you out for dinner, didn't I?" asked William with a grin.

"Yes."

"So we'll have dinner in Harmony with your parents."

"Okay," she said wondering if that was such a good idea.

William led her away to where Ken would pick them up. As they walked, he asked

her questions about her parents. It wasn't a cross- examination with the intent

of learning how to manipulate them, but a consequence of a real interest in

learning more about them. When she started telling stories about her time at

home, he knew that she was becoming less concerned about having dinner with

them.

When they reached the place where the car was to pick them up, he asked, "Do you

need to use my cell phone?"

"What for?"

"To let your parents know that we're coming," answered William.

"Oh, yeah," she said, once again becoming nervous about seeing her parents. She

frowned and said, "I didn't expect my first date with a boy to be spent with my

parents."

Handing her the telephone, William laughed at her comment. He said, "Just

consider them as Chaperones."

"Chaperones? Does anyone do that anymore?" she asked.

"The rumor is that when my little brother gets old enough to date, there is

almost zero chances of him ever being alone with a girl," William said with a

laugh. Ever since Eddie had been born, people had been talking about the need to

lock up the girls. The closer to dating age that Eddie got, the more the town

worried. "The whole town is working to keep that from happening."

"Oh come on."

Pointing to the phone, he said, "You're just trying to put off making the call

to your parents."

Looking down at the phone in her hand, she realized that he was right. She

dialed the number for her mother. William listened to her side of the

conversation. "Hello, mom."

"I'm fine."

"Really. I'm fine."

"The reason I'm calling is that I'm coming to visit you tonight."

"No. I'm fine."

"Really. I'm fine," she said. Looking at William, she rolled her eyes.

"A boy is taking me," she said with a noticeable hesitation when she said 'boy.'

"He's my age."

"No. He's not driving."

"He has a driver."

"I'm fine."

"Really, I'm fine."

William grinned when she blushed and then turned her back to him. She said,

"Maybe."

"No, I'm not."

"Really, I'm not." She turned back to faced William and mouthed, 'she thinks I'm

pregnant.'

It was tempting to tell her that they could make that a possibility, but he

refrained. He heard her say, "I'm not pregnant!"

"He wants to take us out to dinner."

"I'm pretty sure that he can afford it," she said as she winked at him.

The Hugger pulled up to the curb and came to a stop. William pointed to it and,

in a soft voice, said, "Lucy, my car is here."

Looking at the Hugger, Lucy said, "Wow, you've got a Hugger. My dad wants one of

those so much."

Opening the door, William let her in the back seat. Once she was in place, he

said, "Don't forget you're still on the phone."

"Oh, yeah."

He walked around the Hugger and got in the other side after throwing his book

bag into the rear of the Hugger. Looking over at the unexpected passenger, Ken

said, "I guess we're not training tonight."

William leaned forward and said, "Not tonight. I've got parents to meet."

Glancing at Lucy, Ken raised an eyebrow and said, "Combat of a different kind."

William heard Lucy say, "We should be there in about an hour."

She laughed and said, "We can talk when I get there."

William thought about the call and how she had never once used the whiny

'Mother' that Jennifer used with great regularity. It was clear to him that her

relationship with her mother was of a very different nature than what existed

between Jennifer and her mother. She handed him the phone and said, "I think she

would have talked to me the whole trip there."

"That would have been okay," William said with a laugh. It would have been easy

enough to watch her while she was talking with her mother. She was very easy on

the eyes. He took her hand and asked, "Are you nervous about introducing me to

them?"

Lucy thought it about it with the same kind of care with which William attacked

personal problems. After a moment, she answered, "I'm a little nervous. They

want to protect me from adult pressures and give me a chance to grow up

normally. I don't know how they'll react to me bringing home a boy at my age. I

think they hope that I won't have a boyfriend until I'm eighteen."

"I understand and respect their sentiment," William said as he thought about it

from their perspective. He knew his family was exceptional in establishing long

lasting relationships early in life. His sister, Beth, and his brother, John,

had found their true loves early in life. It wasn't that way for other people.

Youth was associated with hormones and a lack of responsible behavior.

Seeing her puzzled expression, he said, "I live my life by two rules. If it

harms none, then do it. Protect the weak from the strong. Your parents are

following the second rule to the best of their ability."

"I can tell that you graduated from the Druid College," Lucy said. She settled

into her seat and looked out the window of the car. The last time she had seen

that scenery was when she went home during spring break. She wondered if her

parents were to tell her not to see him, if he would respect them on that

request. Curious, she asked, "What if my parents told you never to see me

again?"

"It's not going to happen."

"I'm asking you what if it does happen," she insisted.

Taking her hand, William said, "Lucy, you and I are destined to be together for

life. There is no power on earth that can prevent that from happening."

"How can you say that?" she asked overwhelmed by his certainty.

"There are some things that I have known as long as I can remember. I know that

I will become a servant of the Two-sided One. I know that you and I will be

together for life. I know that peace is coming to the Middle East," said Oscar

with certainty.

"The Two-sided One," she echoed weakly.

"Yes, the Two-sided One," answered William.

Lucy watched the countryside pass outside the Hugger while she thought about the

young man seated beside her. He was the son of John Carter and intended to serve

the most mysterious of the Gods and Goddesses. He thought they would be together

for life. She wished she could believe that, but belief was beyond her. After

all, he believed there would be peace in the Middle East.

Harmony Pennsylvania was located beside an interstate highway with a state

highway that ran through the center of town. William stared at the handful of

fast food restaurants that lined the state highway. They were clustered on the

end of town that was closest to the interstate and served as a rest stop for

cars traveling to and from Pittsburgh along the highway.

Having grown up with few visits to fast food places, William was often curious

about them. There was one that was actually nearer to the center of town.

Spotting it, he asked, "What's a Dairy Queen?"

Lucy looked at him and asked, "You don't know what a Dairy Queen is?"

"No, I don't," answered William. He wondered if he could convince her parents to

go there for dinner.

"They serve a lot of ice cream stuff and hamburgers," she answered.

Having observed William's fascination with fast food in the past, Ken said, "If

I may make a suggestion..."

"Go ahead," William said knowing what Ken was going to say.

"I think that visiting the Dairy Queen should be postponed to another time," Ken

said.

"You're right," said William having turned his body trying to get one last

glimpse of the store.

Lucy watched him incredulous that he would be so interested in a Dairy Queen. It

was the local teenage hangout and nothing special. It made her realize that

although he was very knowledgeable about some things, he was very inexperienced

in others. Taking a little comfort in that insight into his character, she sat

back in her seat.

Ken pulled up in front of the Wilkins house. It was a simple place with a brick

and wood exterior. A driveway covered in gravel led up to a one-car garage. Two

basic sedans were parked in the driveway. The large lawn was covered with brown

grass that had not yet recovered from winter. Bushes were planted along the

front of the house with a patch for a flower garden. There was a large Oak tree

near the center of the yard.

The movement of a curtain in the large front window suggested someone was

waiting and watching for them to arrive. Ken stepped out of the car and walked

around to the side where Lucy was seated. William stepped out and looked around

at the neighborhood.

The houses were spaced a good distance apart along the street. Most of the

houses looked similar to the Wilkins place. Parked alongside a couple of the

houses were boats or campers giving testimony that some members of the

neighborhood partook of outdoor activities with great regularity. In a funny

way, it reminded him of his hometown.

Lucy walked around the car and stood next to William. With a worried look on her

face, she asked, "Are you ready to meet my parents?"

"Yes," answered William.

The young couple walked, side by side, to the house with Ken following them. The

door opened before they reached it. A woman, in her late thirties, stepped out

and held out her arms for her daughter. Lucy stepped up to her mother and hugged

her. It was a real heartfelt hug that spoke of deep feelings between the two.

William watched the exchange with a smile having been through the same thing

with his mothers.

When they ended their embrace, William stepped forward and took her mother's

hand, Looking her in the eye, he said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs.

Wilkins. I am William Redman Carter."

She was unprepared for his directness and confidence. Feeling a little off

balance, she said, "It's nice to meet you."

"The gentleman behind me is Ken Armstrong. He's my driver."

She looked at Ken and didn't know what to say. After a few seconds of

hesitation, she said, "Nice to meet you. Won't you come in the house."

They followed her into the house. Lucy's father was seated in a lazy boy

recliner. Using the lever, he lowered the leg support and rose out of the chair.

He was a tall man with a bald spot and receding hairline. His stomach was

approaching the point where it would soon overhang his belt, but it hadn't quite

gotten there yet. The look he gave William wasn't exactly friendly.

William stepped forward and extended his hand. In a confident voice, he said,

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wilkins. I'm William Redman Carter."

Her father accepted his hand and examined the young man. He didn't like what he

saw. With a chill in his voice, he said, "That's a rather pretentious way to

introduce yourself."

"Perhaps, but I'm proud of my name," William answered.

"And why would that be?"

Knowing what was coming, Lucy smiled and waited for William to give his answer.

Looking her father in the eye, William said, "I am named after my

great-grandfather, William Redman. He was the greatest Medicine Man of my

tribe."

"I kind of noticed you were an Indian," her father said. He wondered what kind

of lowlife kids his daughter had attracted. Looking around the house, he figured

the kid would never be able to provide a place that was quite so nice. His

daughter deserved better.

"He was the founder of the Native American College," said William without

rancor. He understood the father was antagonistic because he was concerned for

his daughter. At the raised eyebrow from the father, he said, "My last name is

from my birth-father."

"What you got more than one father?"

"Yes, I have my birth-father and three others," answered William.

"Things are just getting better and better," said the father shooting a dark

look at Lucy. He wondered what kind of dysfunctional family produced this kid.

"My birth-father was John Carter. He was the inventor of the Fusion Well and the

Fusion Battery. He was the Grand Druid and founder of the Fusion Foundation and

the Druid College."

As soon as he heard the name of John Carter, Mr. Wilkins realized he should have

recognized the last name. The wide-eyed expression on his wife's face let him

know that he had really stepped in it. It seemed highly likely that he had

chased off a perfectly good boyfriend. If so, he was going to hear all about it

from his wife.

William continued, "Ed Biggers, the second of my fathers, is currently the head

of those who serve the Two-Sided One. He is also the current CEO of the Fusion

Foundation. My third father is Leroy Jones, Junior. He won the Nobel Prize for

his research into Chronic Wasting Disease. My most recent father is Dan

Biggerstaff. He's the chief scientist of Random Computers."

Looking at Mr. Wilkins, he asked, "Would you like to know about my mothers? I

have four of them."

"Sure," answered Mr. Wilkins. Worries about the kid being able to support his

daughter were replaced by fears that he was going to play rich kid with her. He

would tear her heart out and leave her behind, probably pregnant.

"My birth-mother is Linda Carter. She's the author of a number of children's

books. You may have heard of them -- Indian Tales. My second mother is Kelly

Carter. She's founder of the International Association of Nurses and has a seat

on the board of the Fusion Foundation. My third mother is Ling. She's the

retired national champion in Kung Fu and holds the rank of Grand Master. My

fourth mother is Claire. She's the woman's national shooting champion in the

rifle and pistol." His recitation was delivered in a factual manner without

boasting.

Listening, Ken wondered how good Claire must be with a gun. If she was better

than Ling, then she had to be a phenomenal shot. He wondered if she had the same

take no prisoners attitude of Ling.

"Oh."

"Would you like to hear about my brothers and sisters?"

Over his head, Mr. Wilkins didn't know how to answer the question. His wife

said, "I'd love to hear all about your brothers and sisters. Maybe we can talk

about it over dinner."