Calling the Shots (9 page)

“Are you speaking from experience, Mr Jones?’ Grace asked him.

“Fifteen years in Singsing,” he said calmly, “and a bunch of penal institutions before that. But hell, I was a prisoner long before they put me away. I was a prisoner inside here.” He tapped his head.

I saw Grace register that she was alone in the dark with a violent criminal. Then she took a good look at Caleb’s peaceful face, and seemed to relax “But you got out - of both kinds of prisons?”

The man gave her an extraordinarily sweet smile. “Once you’re free inside, there ain’t a thing in this world anyone can do to you.”

Caleb Jones went on his way at first light, while the family was still sleeping. Before he left, I saw him go to the truck and fix its damaged exhaust with some wire and a piece of old bandage. Then he picked some yellow wiry-stemmed flowers, some kind of prairie daisy, and left them where Grace would see them when she woke up.

Rose was horrified when she heard about their midnight conversation. “He could have murdered us in our beds, Mama!”

But Grace said firmly, “I don’t care what he used to be, Rose. It’s who he is now that counts. And the man I talked to last night is one of the finest, and most remarkable gentlemen I have ever met.”

All this while, Oklahoma had been gradually morphing into New Mexico, a dreamlike world of mystical mountains, tumbled red rocks and weird flowering cacti. Pink adobe houses nestled on slopes, and goats, pigs and chickens wandered about outside.

On the road, we passed dark-eyed men and women in vividly coloured woollen clothes, struggling under loads of avocados, knobbly chilli peppers or limes. The people called out to the Bloomfields and their lilting Mexican voices made me suddenly and sharply homesick for Lola.

I wondered where she was and what kind of human she was looking after. Wherever she was, I really hoped my soul-mate was safe and having fun.

Soon after midday, Lenny stopped at a gas station. An absolutely ancient old guy wearing an equally ancient pair of denim dungarees came out to fill up the truck. “Where you headed?” He asked.

“California,” said Lenny.

The garage guy pointed to a figure slumped beside the petrol pumps, apparently fast asleep. “Got a feller here needs to get to Santa Fe.”

“We’re going over that way,” said Lenny.

The old man gave a piercing whistle. “Gideon! You got yourself a ride!”

The man tipped back his cowboy hat, yawning. When he saw the Bloomfields, his face split into lazy grin and he got to his feet. “Well, thank you kindly!”

Gideon’s eyes made me feel uneasy. They seemed to be everywhere at once, flickering over faces, purses and pockets as if he had some spooky X-ray vision. He acted so sleepy and benign, yet his vibes chilled me to the core.

I suspected that Gideon was one of those humans who had come just a
teensy
bit too close to the PODS for comfort. I tried to tune into his thoughts, but it wasn’t like tuning into a normal adult human. He was more like some hyperactive little kid, constantly going, “Gimme gimme gimme.”

I sensed the Bloomfields didn’t like him either, but they generously took him all the way to Santa Fe.

That night the family set up camp. Clem wandered around collecting firewood, which was his special chore. After a few minutes, he came trailing back and drooped against Grace. “Mama, I don’t feel so good.”

She felt his forehead and looked dismayed. “Oh, my stars! The child’s burning up!” I saw her frantically thinking what to do. “Lenny, I know you’ve been driving all day, but we’ve got to find a doctor.”

Everyone piled back into the truck and Lenny drove for another two hours in pitch darkness, on a narrow road with hair-raising bends. By this time Clem was muttering feverish nonsense to himself. Grace stayed calm but I could feel Honesty silently freaking out.

We came to a small town called Sweet Rock, perched on a rocky hillside above the river. The Bloomfields checked into a Spanish-style inn called The Laughing Horse and Grace asked them to call the doctor.

They went up to their rooms and Grace undressed a weak trembling Clem. She lifted her little boy on to the bed and I saw his eyes roll right up into his head.

Honesty looked scared. “What’s wrong with him, Mama?”

“He’s just delirious,” said Grace. “Could you fetch me a bowl of water, Rose? I’ll sponge him down while we’re waiting for the doctor.”

“How are we going to pay for all of this?” Rose said anxiously. “Hotels and doctors cost money.”

Grace tried to smile. “It’s all right, honey. I still have your daddy’s ring.” She reached into her bag and pulled out the blue silk scarf. She tenderly unwrapped it, then stared in horror at the dirty pebble inside.

“I am so stupid,” she said in a harsh voice. “I knew Gideon was a phoney and I let him go right ahead and make a fool of me.”

“You think Gideon stole your ring?” said Lenny incredulously.

“There is not a doubt in my mind.”

Grace crouched down beside her open suitcase and started hunting for something.

“Clem is going to die isn’t he?” Honesty burst out. She was trembling.

Grace stopped her rummaging. She took hold of Honesty and forced her to look into her eyes. “No, Clem is
not
going to die. He’s got a high fever, that’s all. Once it goes down, he’ll be better in no time.” She gave a sigh of relief. “Gideon didn’t get this at least.” She held up the cheque her father had written all those weeks ago in Georgia. “The Lord surely works in mysterious ways,” she said gratefully. “I never did understand why I didn’t just tear up that old buzzard’s money. But I am truly glad I didn’t.”

The doctor came and clicked his tongue at Clem’s condition. “Your son is exhausted and badly dehydrated. He needs fluids, bed-rest and most of all, a calm, stable environment,” he told Grace as he wrote out a prescription.

After he’d gone, Grace paced up and down the hotel room. She looked totally haunted. “Why didn’t he just come out and say, ‘You are a terrible mother, Grace Bloomfield. You made your little boy ill, by dragging him selfishly all over America’?” she said despairing

She was unnaturally quiet all the rest of the evening. I wondered if I should try to read her thoughts, but didn’t like to intrude on her privacy. I guessed she was trying to work out what she should do for the best.

Next morning Grace announced that they were staying put in Sweet Rock, until Clem had recovered. I thought her instincts were totally sound, and made up my mind to do everything in my power to back her up.

Angels aren’t supposed to interfere with human destinies, but as you know, there are times when a teeny little cosmic nudge can make all the difference.

I dialled up the GA hotline and asked Orlando for help. “Hi, it’s Mel! Sorry to hassle you, but the Bloomfields need to crash in Sweet Rock, for a while,” I rattled off breathlessly. “Do you think the Agency could find them somewhere to rent around here? Plus it would be helpful if Lenny could get work locally. The way I look at it, we’re just helping them to help themselves, right?”

“I’ll see if I can pull a few strings,” he promised.

I never found out what cosmic strings Orlando pulled, if any, but the Agency
definitely
delivered the goods. The very first time Rose and Lenny went house-hunting, they found the coolest little cottage to let on the edge of town. It was built out of rose-coloured adobe, a kind of local mud, and it looked exactly like those houses in Luke Skywalker’s hometown in the Star Wars movie!

Rose and Honesty set to work making it homey, leaving Grace free to look after Clem. The day after they moved in, Lenny found work on a neighbouring ranch.

I can’t explain why New Mexico felt so right for the Bloomfields. Maybe it was all those angel place names? Angel Point, Angel Canyon, Angel Fire. Whatever, I was absolutely certain this was the perfect place for Clem to grow strong and well again after all his weeks on the road.

And guess what! It turned out to be perfect for Lenny’s love life too!

Clem was getting better by this time, so when the circus arrived in Sweet Rock Lenny took the girls along for a treat. Naturally I tagged along.

We filed into the tent and squeezed ourselves on to one of the front benches overlooking the circus ring. The locals were cheerfully turning their circus outing into a major fiesta. Children threw coloured streamers and tooted horns. Mothers kept passing delicious New Mexican goodies to Lenny and the girls. Plump grannies pinched Lenny’s cheek and told him how handsome he was. And the grandpas insisted on giving him swigs of the local hooch which, being macho New Mexicans, they didn’t even bother to hide in paper bags!

Once again I saw that alert little gleam in Honesty’s eyes as if she was amused despite herself

It wasn’t the most sophisticated circus in the world: a couple of clowns, some geriatric elephants and a wobbly trapeze artist in grubby pink tights. Then the ring master bawled, “Presenting the one and only, magnificent Ruby Rio!” and I felt that thrilling prickle of angel electricity that means something is going to happen.

A golden-skinned girl rode into the ring on a palomino pony. She had flashing dark eyes and her glittery scarlet costume left little to the imagination. The pony began to trot faster, and suddenly Ruby Rio stood upright on the pony’s bare back. She gave a whoop of triumph and struck what had to be the sassiest pose the people of Sweet Rock had ever seen.

Without warning, she let herself fall backwards. But just as it seemed she was sure to hit the sawdust, she casually reached out to save herself, and continued to ride round the ring, but
underneath
the pony!

There was a collective gasp and Lenny’s tortilla fell from his hand.
Omigosh
, I thought.
This girl is dynamite!
Plus her dress sense was totally slamming! Honesty was mesmerised. So was Rose.

Ruby and her pony clearly had some telepathic link, because no matter how high she leaped, or how many times she spun around in the air, or how far she slid under its belly, she was always able to climb on to its back. She even rode around the ring standing on her head!

The audience went mad, clapping, stamping, yelling out in Spanish. The atmosphere was electric!

When the show was over, Lenny said huskily, “You girls go home.”

“Why, where are you going?” asked Rose. For someone so clever, she could be quite dense sometimes. Hadn’t she heard of love at first sight?

Ruby Rio turned out to be half Native American and half New Mexican cow-girl, so you could say she was always destined to be out of the ordinary But what I think is so sweet is that this incredible girl had spotted Lenny in the audience, and instantly fell in love with him at first sight too!

Can you believe that she and Lenny even shared the exact same dream of going to Hollywood to be famous stunt persons?

So when the doctor gave Clem the all-clear at last and the family was able to continue on their journey, Ruby Rio came too, bringing her impressive collection of costumes.

“Next stop Arizona!” Lenny said happily, putting the truck into gear. “In a couple of days we’ll be the City of the Angels!”

Oh, right!
I thought.
City of the Angels. Duh!
I’d never actually registered the true meaning of Los Angeles before.

I have to admit that as we got closer I was getting totally over-excited. I was like, “I can’t BELIEVE I’m going to be in Hollywood at the dawn of moving pictures!” I might see Charlie Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy, or my own personal favourite Harold Lloyd; stars that were like,
legends
.

It’s a pity no-one was filming our arrival in Hollywood, because as we chugged into Sunset Boulevard, Mr Mantovani’s faithful truck spluttered, choked and died spectacularly.

The truck obviously wasn’t going anywhere, so everyone got out.

I immediately ran up to the Sunset Boulevard sign, going, “Woo, we’re in Hollywood! Oh, wow, this is so cool!” I was fizzing with happiness.

Lenny whispered to Ruby, “I’ll make you proud of me, you’ll see.”

I saw Honesty shiver in the California sun. She wrapped her arms around herself, scowling. “None of this is real,” she said. “Not a single thing. They imported the palm trees from Hawaii. It’s all totally, utterly fake.”

I knew this wasn’t Honesty talking. It was Honesty under the influence of PODS FM. She felt lost and scared and she didn’t even know why.

She’s going to need my input more than ever
, I thought. Being on the road was one thing. Now she’d got to make a new life in completely strange surroundings.

My mobile rang.
Yippee!
I thought.
Now I can swank to Orlando about being in Hollywood
. “You’ll never guess where I am—?” I babbled.

“I know exactly where you are,” he said. “And now it’s time to come back.”

All my fizzy happiness drained out of my feet. “But I’m just getting the hang of being a guardian angel!” I wailed.

“I know, and everyone thinks you’re doing fine but it’s time you had a break.”

“I don’t want a break!” I fumed. “It totally doesn’t make sense for me to leave Honesty now.”

Orlando sounded annoyingly serene. “I know seems that way,” he agreed. “But the Agency is generally pretty good on cosmic timing.”

“Cosmic
baloney
!” I raged. “They send me to look after this damaged girl, then just when she needs me the most, they tell you to pull me out!’ I was practically yelling into my mobile. “I
know
Honesty, OK? And she’s still
really
vulnerable. You’ve got to let me stay!”
And I only just got to Hollywood
, I screamed silently.

“Sorry Mel, rules are rules,” said Orlando. “Don’t worry. They’ll have her on twenty-four-hour Angel Watch.”

And before I had a chance to say goodbye, a blinding beam of light came down and I went blasting back to Heaven.