Dances Naked (30 page)

“Did you call?” Billy asked as he poked his head into the room, his smile brighter than the high intensity spotlight above the examining table.

“Here,” Nate said as he handed Billy the empty plastic tub. Fill ‘er up at the sink and then you can make use of this.” Nate waved the plastic wrapped sponge at him. “I’ll go grab some washcloths and hand towels. Wet ‘em
,
then spread them on the thin skinned areas of his body, like his wrists and neck. You’d be surprised how much moisture skin will absorb topically.”

“You’re just being kind about the stink, Doc,” Marty said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a bath or a shower
,
and I guess if you can’t scrub me up fast enough, then you can go ahead and cover me up with wet towels.” Marty pulled the light blanket off his thigh with his non-punctured left hand and stuck his foot out. “I think we’re going to have to throw these boots away. I pretty much wore them out.”

“Um, what happened to your pants or do I want to know?” Nate asked.

“It’s a long story,” Billy interjected, “and we’ll tell you all about it, more or less, at Dad’s homecoming party. I’ll make sure you get an invitation. In the meantime, let me get him cleaned up. And
,
if you see a very beautiful gray-haired lady out there in the waiting room looking a bit anxious, that’s probably my mother. Could you escort her in? I’m sure Dad wants to see her right away, pants or no.”

“Sure
,
but, um, I thought you were an orphan like me,” Nate said softly, hoping the old man didn’t hear him.

“That’s another long story and, as you can see, it has a happy ending. How long does he need to stay here?” Billy asked.

“Well, we’ll let him get juiced up with the Ringers lactate
,
and then do a blood test to make sure all his levels are good
,
and then he should be ready to rock and roll. That is, unless he has other problems he didn’t mention.” Nate spoke loudly directly to Marty, “You didn’t break an arm or a leg and forget to tell us about it, did you?”

“Nope,” Marty said as he grabbed his drink and took another sip. “One arm working fine, the other only restricted by the plumbing you stuck in me. Now, how about that bath, son?”

Nate nodded and exited without saying a word. Billy was a good man and was one reason he was able to go back to medical school. A good detective was worth more than his weight in gold. In his case, Billy’s diligence had kept him free, out of prison or worse, after the extortion accusations had been proved false. James Bradford had skipped bail before coming to court
,
but Nate’s good name had been cleared.

Ж

“Oh, Dad, it looks like I have some help here. Or would you rather give him the bath all by yourself, Mom?” Billy asked cheerfully.

Marty looked up and saw Bibb, the mother of his two sons, standing arm in arm with Nate.

“Oh, um, I mean…” Marty stammered
. He brought his left hand up to cover his face, hiding his eyes and mouth, as he tried to compose himself. He had planned what he was going to say to her for the last two months
,
and now all of the sudden, he was as tongue-tied as a four-year-old sitting on Santa’s lap.

“How are you feeling?” Bibb asked, not sure what else to say. She had hoped he’d come back from the 18
th
century
,
but never allowed herself to believe he really would
,
so never thought about what to say if he did return.

Marty dropped his hand to his lap and asked, “Will you marry me? I mean, I’d like to get down on one knee or both knees or hell, after what I’ve put you through the last thirty years, I should be down on my belly, at least, begging you to forgive me, and well, will you, marry me
,
that is?”

Marty finally found the nerve to look her directly in the eyes. He saw the shocked look on her face and his fear turned into joy. She hadn’t expected his question. “Well, will you?” he asked again, this time with confidence that she’d say yes.

“Just try and stop me. I mean, you’re not going to change your mind are you? I mean, you’re not hallucinating
,
or in shock
,
or going to forget all about this as soon as you’re feeling better, are you?”

Bibb’s stammering only increased Marty’s ardor. “Are you sure I can’t go home yet?” Marty asked Nate half in jest.

Nate cocked his head and tried to find a way to tell him he’d have to wait another hour
,
at least. Billy interrupted and saved him the deed. “I know a preacher who does hospital weddings. All you need is a license and you’re ready to say your I do’s.  James and Leah were married right down the hall.”

“Or
,
I can get better and we can go to the British Embassy in Charlotte. It’s a couple of hours away
,
but I think I can pull a few strings and maybe get a proxy wedding set up, me being a subject of the Crown
,
and you being a Yankee and all,” Marty drolled in his attempt at a southern accent.

Bibb was shocked at his suggestion. It was obvious he had thought about this for quite a while and it wasn’t a stress-induced fantasy. Marty saw she was speechless and added, “Unless you want to wait and have a big wedding with doves and ice sculptures and acres and acres of roses…”

“Uh, no; just a little affair with you and Billy and, um, one or two others
,
will be fine with me. I just want you to get your strength back,” Bibb said then blushed at why she wanted him to be healthy again: her wedding night.

Marty saw her blush then reflected it back to her. “Are we about done here, Nate? I have a wedding to plan!”

Na
te looked at the half-
empty IV bag and said, “I think you need to wait a few hours before you start off on your honeymoon. And
,
you might want to be healthy enough to eat a meal and walk across the room by yourself before you undertake, um, anything more strenuous. Now, I’ll leave you three alone and see about getting you a clear meal. I take it you haven’t eaten anything substantial in a while?”

Marty
shook his head, remembering the
small amount of ham he had eaten days before, the last gift Red Shirt had given him. “No, not for at least three days.”

“Well, then,
I’ll give you a choice: red or green Jell-O?” Nate asked as he stood by the door, ready to retrieve his charge’s meal.

“I’ll go for the green. And bring some for everyone,” Marty said playfully, realizing that this was just the first of many meals he would have with his 21
st
century, North Carolina family.

“O

h, my God,” Marty exclaimed after Nate left the room, suddenly bringing the joyful mood of his family down to the ground.

“What’s wrong?” Billy and Bibb chorused.

“My coin;
I left it back at the site. I don’t want someone to find it there. I mean, it’s not the monetary value
,
but if someone finds it there, especially a child with an active imagination
,
or one of those Revolutionary War re-enactors, they could be flung back in time and not know what in the blazes happened. Good Lord, how could I have been so careless?” Marty moaned.

“Uh, you had other things on your mind, like staying alive. But
,
don’t worry, Dad, I have it right here.” Billy held up the silver Greek drachma with two holes drilled in it. “You don’t want to use it again, do you?” Billy asked, his apprehension showing as his voice squeaked at the end of his question.

“No way, Jose! At least not unless you two want to go, too,” Marty replied. He brought Bibb’s hand up to his face. “It’s a rough life
,
but if you want to go, I’ll get another coin.” He looked up at Billy. “And
,
one for you, too, son. I really, really don’t want to be separated from you two ever again.”

“Me
either,” Billy said. “Although
,
I hope you feel the same way after getting to know me better; me and my family that is…”

“I’m sure your father will love Peter just as much as I do,” Bibb said proudly, showing her support for her son’s alternative lifestyle.

“I’m sure I will,” Marty said, glad that he had been forewarned by his other son, James, that Billy had a same-sex partner. Marty reached out to hold Billy’s hand. “If he’s good enough for you, son, then he’s good enough for me, us, too.”

“Oh, and Peter doesn’t know anything about you and James being time traveling fairies,” Billy joked. He then brought his perky tone down a notch. “But
,
there is another one of you out there,” he said seriously.

Marty tried to bring the mood up again. “What, another fairy?” he asked lightly. He looked at Billy
,
then B
ibb, and saw this was important—
they were getting ready to lay a bomb on him.

“Did you ever read the
Lost
novels by Lisa Sinclaire?” Billy asked.

Marty nodded, saving his words. He was starting to tire but didn’t want the two of them to feel obligated to leave. After he had read Evie’s first letter years ago, he had waited for t
he first of the Lisa Sinclaire
novels to be published, anxiously awaiting each episode to be released so he could find out more about the Pomeroys, the family 20
th
century-born Evie, the letter-
writing, time traveling fairy, had married into during the Revolutionary War.

“Well, they’re true, at least parts of the stories. You see, two months ago, just after James and Leah went back through The Trees to see you and her mother
,
Evie, someone came to me looking for
Leah
. It was Jody Pomeroy’s grandson, Benji. He said he wanted to go back with
her
to the 18
th
century
to see his grandparents;
that he had been born then
,
came
forward
to the 20
th
century as a child
,
and grew up here
in this time
. Dad, they’re
real, the Pomeroys and MacKays;
they’re not fictional characters. Those are history books written by Lisa Sinclaire, not historical novels. Benji’s here, now, but he’s going back, too.”

“Well,” Marty said, “I met
Benji when he was yay high, he
and his father. But
,
I had no idea that they, or rather Benji, wanted to go back. And
,
I did get a chance to meet Jody’s nephew Ian Kincaid when I was back there. He was, is, Bibb’s great-great however so many times over
,
grandfather. He was the reason I went back.
I thought you knew about that. Didn’t James share the letters with you before he left?”

Billy and Bibb shook their heads in tandem
,
but it was Billy who spoke up. “They were stolen before James could read beyond the first one. It’s a good thing he read it though, or Leah would never have known that her mother went back in time, was alive and well in 1781
,
and had another family. They’re okay, aren’t they, James and Leah
,
that is?”

“They took off in the opposite direction from me
about
two months ago. I’m sure they’re fine. They had horses, food and water
,
and good directions,” Marty explained
,
then remembered that they hadn’t read the rest of the letters. Neither James nor Leah’s arriv
al or life had been recorded in them
,
but he didn’t want to tell them that. He could only hope they had sent their dialogues to a different place and
t
he
y
just hadn’t
been
found yet.

“So tell me more about this other fairy, Benji,” Marty said then looked to his IV bag. “He’s bound to have changed a bit in the last twenty years and I need some distraction while I’m waiting to get a refill.”

End of Book Three

Preview of the fourth in the series, THE GREAT BIG FAIRY, follows.

“W

ell, Dad,” Billy said with a big inhale, proud of having a father, a living father, who he could use that designation with, “this is how it went down a few months ago. Actually, I remember the date:
August 17, 2013
. Let me tell you the story like a narrator. I’m still pretty tender about their loss—I mean James and Leah leaving. But, you need to know what was going on in my head when I met him, Benji, the biggest, sweetest man there ever was.”